Greener Pastures

Chapter One: New Arrivals.

	The past few years have been peaceful for you. Moving half-way across the country from your parents seemed daunting, at first, but you still keep in contact. Even if you wanted to stay near them, this career offer was much too tempting to pass up on. It landed you in a nice apartment at the end of the hall, just a few blocks away from a large commercial zone in the city. As far as you can tell, the neighbors have been pleasant people, though you've never really gone out of your way to meet them. There's only one real oddity that comes to your mind when you think about your current living situation..

	You've never had a next-door neighbor. It's been up for rent ever since you moved here. The nice couple across from you claim someone used to live there, but you never got many more details out of them other than the fact the previous occupants ended up getting noise complaints every month or so. A few people were going in and out of the place for a week or two. Renovations, maybe? You had bigger things to worry about, the whole situation didn't seem that important at the end of the day.

	The weekend finally comes and you're ready to enjoy your days off. A nice, lazy Saturday where you can relax, maybe catch up on that show you've been meaning to finish. You sleep in, but eventually your hunger gets the better of you as you crawl out of bed to prepare breakfast. You're not exactly a five-star chef, but living away from home has given you an appreciation for home-cooked meals, a craft you've been improving at these past months. You sit at your table, with a freshly prepared breakfast and a nice open window to let the fresh early summer breeze into your home. Though, it seems today is going to be a little more eventful than you gave it credit for. You hear the slamming of doors out your window. Curious, you glance through the curtains.. Before your eyes is a small white car, as well as a large, tan colored moving truck. As you continue to watch and eat, you see a group of three men exit the truck, opening the bed of the truck to reveal two more men, all dressed in the same brown uniform.

	Neighbors? You finish your breakfast and quickly dress yourself and step outside to get a better look. Sure enough, the door next to yours is open and you can hear a feminine voice giving directions inside. A few grunts and groans from the moving men later, they step out of the apartment and begin to trudge back downstairs, paying you no mind. However, a woman emerges. An older looking brunette, with a simple dress and some rather large earrings. Her eyes quickly lock onto yours. A big smile spreads across her face and she begins to approach.

	"Well, hi there!" She speaks in an infectiously cheery cadence. "You must be one of my next door neighbors! Must have come out to see who you're gonna be dealing with, huh?" Her tone becomes playful and her smile turns into a grin. You nod, about to speak before she continues, "Don't worry about us, we're a nice, quiet little family. Came from Faraway Town, it's a few hours out from here. Know anything about it?" A pause to think for a moment, nothing coming to mind before replying, "Can't say that I have, though if it's only a few hours out, it's definitely not that far away." The woman chuckles heartily at your bad joke, though you're not able to tell if it's out of politeness or if she actually thought it was funny, "Ha ha! Alright, I like you, you're a good one. Hopefully we can chat a bit more.." She spins on her heels as the moving crew arrive with another set of boxes; one of them looks to be particularly heavy. "Oh! We're going to get those unpacked as soon as we can, just leave them in the living room!" The line of men grunt and walk into the apartment. But something catches your eye. There was an extra person in the line. You didn't get a good look at them, but they seemed smaller than the relatively fit moving men.

	You hold up a hand and begin to speak to your new neighbor as she's turning around to look at you again, "Do you want any help moving that stuff in? I know those stairs can be a bit of a pain.." Another small laugh, "Oh, no, no, dear, the movers would get upset and accuse me of bringing in someone else so I don't have to pay them as much, or something silly like that!" But she pauses, bringing a finger to her chin, "But, if you want to come in the evening when they've got everything moved in and help us unpack, I certainly wouldn't say no to an extra pair of hands. My son was in the hospital recently, so I'd rather not have him strain himself.."

	You decide not to pry into that subject, but it sounds like she could definitely use the help. You figure she's at least in her forties now that you've gotten a better look at the woman and it wouldn't hurt to lend them a hand, "Er.. Sure thing. I have the day off, how does six sound?" You ask. "That sounds perfect, dear! So long as we don't get caught up by anything while getting the boxes in here, I will see you then!" She raises her hand and waves goodbye, disappearing back into the next door apartment to direct the movers.

- - -

Chapter Two: Sunny.

	You spend much of the early afternoon relaxing in your apartment, the television set to a higher than normal volume to drown out the din of your new neighbor directing the moving crew as boxes upon boxes are hauled into the newly rented abode. The new occupant seems like a very pleasant woman, from what little you've spoken to her about. Seemingly chipper and always in a good mood. Though you admit to yourself that you're a bit more curious about her son. Whatever he ended up in the hospital for was likely unplanned, you doubt someone would schedule a regular appointment right before they moved. At least it ends up being a decent excuse to speak to them more, and get an idea what kind of people they are.

	Almost on queue, your phone begins to chime, the alarm you had set for six PM goes off. You haven't heard any moving about outside for roughly an hour now, so it seems your estimation was about correct. You change into a light set of clothes that won't interfere with any sort of heavy lifting you may be doing and exit your apartment, 209, and stepping over to 208. With a quick knock at the door, you wait to meet your neighbors proper.

	With a pull, the door quickly swings open and you're met with the familiar face of the mother, she seems a bit winded, but still in good spirits as she smiles and begins to speak, "Right on time! Come on in. The movers handled a lot of the big stuff, but we're not quite done yet!" She moves aside, allowing you in. As you cross the threshold and take a quick look around, it's mostly just smaller boxes, as she said, but more importantly, a few things catch your eye.

	First is the rug laid out in the living room. It's absolutely massive, something of this size would cost a pretty penny. You look closer.. Is that a stain? The other object of note is an opened box, sticking out it is a rather large portrait, it depicts a family of four. You recognize the brunette in the photo, but not the other three: A small boy, a slightly older girl and an older man, all with black hair. Though you quickly connect the dots that the boy is likely the son she has been talking about.. You're not sure about the other two.

	The woman quickly picks up on the fact that your gaze is lingering on the portrait. "Actually, that would be a great place for you to start, dear." She jabs a thumb towards a door to your left. "We're using that room as a bit of a storage closet as we get everything unpacked, and I think that should go in there for now." You walk forward and grab hold of the box, lifting it up with a lot less effort than you were expecting, you look over to her and say, "I think there's a place around here that could get this hung up for you for pretty cheap, if you want me to give them a call.." She steps past you and opens the door to their storage and replies, "I'm not sure if we're going to put it up, honestly. I'll let you know. Oh! And walk around the center of the room!"

	Large photo obscuring your vision, you step into the storage room and walk along the sides of the room, avoiding the middle as she instructed, and you carefully set down the box. You turn and see what exactly she was instructing you to avoid, a grand piano, resting upon a small carpet. "They got this all the way up here?" You turn to her, she beams, "Well, that's what I paid them to do! They didn't seem to mind it as much as the new furniture.. Well, either way, there's a few more things that need to be moved in there." You nod, stopping before you leave the room to look at the piano. The word "OMORI" is etched across the center.

	Fifteen minutes pass as you haul a few more boxes into the room, after which, the woman stops you for a moment, "Would you like something to drink, dear? Maybe rest for a moment?" These both sounded quite tempting. "Sure, I wouldn't mind a glass of water," you say, settling in to one of her new leather couches. Within a minute, she appears from the kitchen with a cold glass, which she sets down on a coaster on the table nearest you. She seats herself across from you in a nice white chair. "So.." You glance at her. "Why did you end up moving out here? Got a good job offer lined up?"

	"Oh no no, nothing like that.." She takes a long sip of what appears to be iced tea before continuing, "I just always loved the city life, and our old house was far too big for just us two.. So I figured, why not move into a little place out here? It's a lot cheaper and, honestly, I think we really needed the change of scenery." You nod, listening along. Maybe getting a better idea of where the other two members of that family portrait are. You hope the kids weren't too shaken up by the divorce. You finish your water and see a stack of two boxes, one with the words 'BOOK' and the other 'TOY', both written in marker. You opt to continue your work by grabbing those. "Oh! Those go in his room, actually. It's the one closest to the kitchen. You nod and carry them forward, with her opening the door for you.

	This room is.. Barren, and dark. The lights aren't on.  The only illumination is a small computer screen, but it's enough to orient you as you bring in the two boxes. Taking a closer look you really only see the desk with the computer on it, a single bed with a dresser and end table next to it, a bookshelf, and a toy box. But more importantly, you see a boy. He's staring at the computer screen, with a pair of headphones on. You're about five feet away from him and can hear the music blaring through them. Not one to interrupt someone's music, you open the box labeled 'BOOK' and begin to stock the bookshelf on the right side of the room.

	You initially try to group them based on genre, but you quickly realize there's very little rhyme or reason to these books. A comic book and several young children's books are here, but then you see books about nutritional needs, educational books about the solar system and a book about.. Tofu? The last book is a strategy guide about pet rocks? "Ah, man, I haven't heard about these in forever," you muse aloud, though the boy has still yet to notice you.

	Next up is the 'TOY' box. The first thing you pull out is an obnoxious looking Princess. Definitely not the kind of toy a boy would have.. You step up to the actual toy box and try to pop it open, but it doesn't seem to budge. More importantly, you hear the dull droning of the loud music coming from the headphones stop. You turn to the computer the boy was sitting at and he was silently staring at you. A rather small boy with black hair in rather nice dress clothes. You lock eyes with him for the briefest moment before you're immediately taken aback. His right eye was covered up with an eye-patch. You try not to react but you know you've failed in doing so. Strangely, the boy's face doesn't change, and he seems to be waiting for you to explain yourself.

	"Oh. Uh.." You stutter briefly before continuing, "I'm your next door neighbor. I offered to help your mother move in and get set up." He does not reply. "I put all your books up on the bookshelf." His head swivels around to confirm your words, you realize now why he did not notice you sooner. "Oh." He begins to speak, not looking at you, "Thanks." You feel a bit relieved and continue, "I was going to put these toys away, but the toy box is locked." The chair spins, he is staring at you again. "Yes. It is." The air was tense and quiet for a long moment before the boy speaks up, "I'll unpack it. Those were my only boxes." You nod, moving a bit closer to the door, still looking at him. You notice his computer screen. It looked like.. Blackjack? You didn't want to leave the conversation so awkwardly so you finally speak again. "I noticed you had a pet rocks strategy guide. Do people still play that?" Wordlessly he reaches into his pocket and sure enough, he pulls out the little plastic rock shaped toy and replies, "Do you?" You're taken aback by his brazen challenge, but not to be deterred, "If I can find it." The boy nods. "Alright." You return his nod and reach for the door, but you stop short. "What's your name, kid?" Though at this point he's turned back to his computer, he places the headphones back on his ears and finally replies, "Sunny," before you hear the music begin again.

- - -

Chapter Three: Are You Ready to Clash?

	You exit the boy's room, a bit dazzled by the comparatively brighter lighting of the living room, and promptly greeted by the brunette digging through a box nearby, speaking up as she hears the door click behind you, "Got that all taken care of? I think that's most of the heavy lifting handled.. There's a few odds and ends still, but I should be able to have the place cleaned up by the time they arrive tomorrow." You take a moment to return to your glass of water, finishing it off in one gulp before responding, "You're already planning to have company?"

	"Aha!" She pulls a stack of plates from the storage box. "No, nothing like that. The cable company's going to show up early in the morning to set up a few things, the TV and the internet, which I'm a little worried about.." You tilt your head at this, prompting her to continue, "We didn't have that back in Faraway, we only had one computer and I was scared of strangers using it to talk to my baby!" The sentiment is a little cute, and she's an older woman, so you can't judge her too harshly. You shrug. "I don't think you need to worry about that, he seems like a smart kid." She swells with pride and lights up with the bright smile of a very proud mother. "Oh, did he talk to you? Sunny's such a sweet boy. So considerate! The main reason I even went along with getting this internet plan was him asking for it. He said he needed it to keep in touch with his friends back in Faraway. Something about a video.." She pauses, recalling his exact words, "A video call? I'm not sure. Plus, it makes my phone plan a little cheaper if I get their full package deal."

	As she speaks, you remember. You've been challenged. Your honor is on the line. "Ah, speaking of Sunny. He wanted to play something with me, can I come back in a second?" His mother seems a little confused, "A game? It's getting a bit late, so I suppose if it doesn't take too long." You nod and excuse yourself, returning to your apartment next door. It takes a moment for you to consider where you would have kept your old Pet Rock toy, but you dig through old containers of your childhood memories in your bedroom closet, and sure enough, the plastic rock is there, dusty and slotted with old batteries that surely don't work anymore. You quickly replace those and return to your neighbors, knocking before you enter.

	Sunny's mother eyes the child's toy with a bit of confusion, but does not stop you as you step into the boy's room. He has not moved since you left, though his music is noticeably quieter, and indeed stops as he has heard you enter. "So. You're back." His chair spins, the familiar expression from earlier gazing at you. "I am, and I found it." You flip the light on, presenting your rock, his single eye squinting ever so slightly as the room brightens. You power the Pet Rock on. Are you ready to clash!?

	Two Jashes appear on the screen, both with an equal three hearts, waiting for input. Unfortunately for Sunny, you also owned that strategy guide, and you take a long moment to consider your first move. There was one consistent rule in Pet Rocks when you used to play, and that was thus: Playing rock first was a surefire way to lose, rock is often over-relied upon by simpler players. You think about scissors, but decide against it. Opening with scissors is a brazen and disrespectful play, you choose paper. The blocky noise ticks down, three, two, one.. You both chose paper. Some things never change. The real game begins now.

	Sunny remains expressionless, the trait of a strong player. Another aspect of Pet Rocks is to minimize your hand movements as you choose, large movements to the left or right may tip your opponent off that you've chosen rock or scissors if they wait for you to select first. You can exploit this, but not now. You choose paper again. Three, two, one.. Your hearts decrease, he chose scissors. This was a calculated sacrifice, he has the multiplier and you've only shown him paper, he doesn't show it, but he's hungry for the kill. You choose rock. Three, two, one.. Sunny loses a heart, he underestimated you and paid for it. Now is the time to enact your strategy; You make an exaggerated thumb movement to the right, but you use the palm near the bottom of your thumb to click rock again. Three, two, one.. Sunny's hearts vanish in an instant, the multiplier causes you to do double damage.

	His face changes. Sunny has only looked at you with a blank face, but as you glance up at him after securing your victory, his teeth are grit and bear, ever so slightly, his face is twisted into a scowl. The long silence is broken, "Rematch." You nod, the Jashes appear again. That brief flash of anger appears to be gone and he has returned to his serene expression. The second match moves much quicker, you take his first heart, but he responds in kind, you break his multiplier with a tie, but he takes your second heart. You fire back and quickly find that you are both at one health.

	And it starts. Three, two, one.. You both pick rock. Three, two, one.. Again, dueling rocks. Rock. Rock. Rock. At this point you two are in a stare down, neither of you even looking at the screen and pressing the button without even considering an alternative strategy. Fifteen seconds pass but it feels like an eternity, you know this has to end. You pause for a long moment and select rock again, to slow down the game from the rapid button presses. Sunny does the same, but now is the time to strike, you press paper with all of the subtlety afforded to you in your thumb. Three, two, one.. What? Scissors? How did he read so perfectly?! He lowers the toy, seemingly taking no joy from the victory, but at this point, you know he doesn't seem to be a boy who doesn't wear his emotions on his sleeve.

	"Best two of three." He says, you counter, "Let's just call this a draw for now, alright? Maybe later." He considers, "Fine. but we will play again." You nod and he returns it. "But, how did you know?" You ask him. He takes his hand and gestures to the table near his bed. Sitting there is a cap, displayed almost like a trophy, that simply reads "YOU ROCK." After you see it, he begins to explain, "Do you know who I had to beat to get that?" You look at him in confusion. "Er.. No?" A long pause. "Oh. Right. I guess you wouldn't." A tinge of embarrassment in his voice, but he continues, "Well, I had to beat a lady and her Pet Rock had nine health." You're a little impressed, but he was probably expecting a bigger reaction, so you exaggerate, "Wow. How'd she even get that much health?" Sunny raises his hands with his palms toward you as a sort of half-shrug, as if you asked the exact question he had, "Right? Everyone else has rocks with tons of health."

	You spend the better part of the hour with Sunny, discussing strategies about Pet Rocks and looking through the old strategy guide to figure out how to get your Pet Rocks extra health. Apparently it was a reward for showing up to developer hosted tournaments, which is weird, because you would think that you would want everyone on an even playing field for a tournament like that. Maybe the extra health is banned? It doesn't much matter to you or Sunny because there obviously hasn't been one of those hosted for years, but he explains to you that it made a lot of sense since that lady he ended up beating was very good at the game.

	Eventually, there's a knock on the door, and you hear his mother's muffled voice through it, "Sunny! It's late! I hope you're done playing with our new neighbor!" You pocket your Pet Rock and pull the door open, surprising her a bit. "Oh! I guess you two are finished? Did you have fun?" It takes him a second to respond, "Yeah." She glances at you with a small smile, "Well, I'm thrilled! We're both making new friends already, I told you this would be great for us, honey! But I've got a big day tomorrow, I'm going to start interviewing new tutors to get you ready to go back to school! If you're alright with that, sweetie." A tutor? He hasn't been going to school? "Yeah. Yeah, that's alright, mom."

	"Good, good! Mommy's so proud of you, Sunny!" She clasps her hands together and, again, you see the boy's expression change, he's clearly embarrassed. "Mom.." She looks at you, quickly realizing what she's doing, "Well, I am! Make sure to get a lot of rest tonight, okay?" She shuts his door, saving him from the awkward situation. You begin to excuse yourself, but she stops you, "Before you go, I hope I can see more of you as we get settled in. I didn't expect Sunny to react so positively to you spending time with him, he's usually a very shy boy.. Can you maybe visit now and again? I think it would help him get used to the city a lot faster." You don't think about it for too terribly long before responding, "Sure, I don't see why not. Let me give you my number, you can call me as long as I'm not working." She records your phone number with her cell phone before seeing you off for the night.

	Later, you lie awake in bed, thinking about your day. The new neighbors came as an interesting surprise, but not an unwelcome one, certainly a more interesting way to spend your lazy weekend. You feel like you've got a good read on Sunny's mother, she seems like an open book. Easy to get along with and between the piano and the new furniture she said she purchased, you figure that money isn't much of an object to her. Sunny, though. You're curious about the boy, his schooling, the family of his you haven't seen, his eye. There's so much you don't know about him, and he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would tell you so freely. You're going to spend more time with these two. Why not? They seem like good people. You drift off to sleep..

- - -

Chapter 4: The Grand Tour.

	The Sun rises, greeting you with a new day. Another day off, thankfully, but you'll be tied up until evening for the next five days starting tomorrow. Normally, your weekends off have been very simple, usually just relaxing, maybe catching up on the shows you're often behind on, perhaps order some delivery. Though with the new arrival of Sunny and his mother, you find the notion of simply staying at home all day to be a bit of a waste. You prepare for the day, pondering the best course of action.

	An idea hits you. You quickly retrieve your phone and select Sunny's mother in your contact list. Really should ask what her name is at some point, it just says 'Neighbor' in your contacts. Ring, ring, ring.. You are greeted by a familiar voice, "Hello, there!" It takes you a moment to think of the proper wording as you reply, "Hello. Is this a bad time? I know you said you were going to be busy today.." She cuts you off, "No, no, no! You go right ahead, dear." Here goes nothing. "Well, since you're going to be out and about for the day, I just figured I'd make the offer to drive Sunny around for the day, maybe take him by the local high school, the library, some of the fast food places. Things like that?" There is a moment of silence, occasionally broken by a few 'Hmm..'s as she considers your offer. "As long as you don't have him out too late, I'm alright with that. It's early enough in the day so that shouldn't be a problem, right?" You quickly respond, "No Ma'am." You're in. She continues, "Alright, well, I'll call Sunny. Give me about five minutes and if I don't call you back, that means he wants to go and he'll be waiting for you to knock. Buh-bye now!" She hangs up.

	Ah, right. You didn't actually consider the possibility he may not even want to go. He did just get an internet connection, after all. Well, not much you can do about that! You grab your wallet and your keys and spend a few minutes deciding the kind of places he might like to see. Seems to like books and games, so those are pretty obvious choices. Maybe see if he's hungry? You leave your apartment and rap on the door next to yours. Some time passes, she didn't call you back, though he still hasn't answered.. Finally, the door creaks open ever so slightly. You see Sunny's eye peering at you through the crack.

	"Hey there! Glad you decided to come along. Got everything you need?" The door is pulled open slowly as Sunny emerges from the apartment, he locks the door behind him before turning to you with a nod. "Alright, I've got a few places you might be interested in, they aren't too far away, either." You wave him along as you take the stairs down into the lobby, Sunny's with you, though he did seem to stop and eye the elevator for a moment. Exiting the building, you're hit by the heat of early summer, it's not bad yet, but in a month or two it might get sweltering at this rate. Your car is parked near the front, you get in, unlock the doors and wait for Sunny. Key's in the ignition, your hand rests on the dashboard. Not the fanciest thing on the road, but it gets the job done.

	The passenger door opens and the boy slowly slides into the car, fastening his seat belt as he settles into the seat that's much too large for him. After exiting the parking lot you decide to give him a quick rundown. "So!" you begin, "I've lived here for a couple of years, and I figured I can show you a few places you might went to spend your time if you ever feel like getting some fresh air, maybe meet a few people your age. Feel free to ask away if you've got any questions, too." And leave it at that. At first the ride remains silent, you catch his occasional glance at you when you're stopped but eventually, Sunny breaks the ice.

	"Is it safe to walk around here?" He asks, rather plainly. Not exactly the first question you expected, but you respond, "I mean.. It's safer than most cities since we're not all that large of a place, but I'm not going to say bad things can't happen. I wouldn't go around very late at night or down alleyways. And you don't necessarily have to walk, there are buses that can take you around." He absorbs the information, but surprisingly, his questions continue, "Should I carry around something to defend myself with? Like a knife?" You turn and stare at him with a slow blink. "What? I.. I feel like your mother would be very upset with me if I humored this thought--" you trail off. "What kind of knife, exactly?" Sunny just shrugs. "I dunno. Steak knife?" You need to stop this before it starts. "No, absolutely not, do not carry around a steak knife. I don't know how it is in Faraway, but there are cops here and they will absolutely arrest you if you're carrying around something like that.. Maybe.. I don't know, carry around a little bottle of pepper spray, if you're worried?" Sunny rests his hand on his chin. "Oh. Yeah. That does work pretty well, maybe I'll do that." You're even more confused that he's familiar with the effectiveness of pepper spray.

	You're desperate to pull the topic away from this teenager carrying around weapons, so you quickly glance about to see if there's any establishments worth talking about. "Er, well, this is the restaurant row, should be some type of food you'd end up liking here, a few of them deliver if you're close enough. My favorite pizza place is around here. It's an old mom and pop store, got anything like that back in Faraway?" Sunny is rotating his head to the left and right to get a better view of the food selection available to him. "There was a place called Gino's. It was alright, they delivered." You continue down the street of restaurants, there's a good mixture of fast food places, buffets and actual sit down dining establishments, but more importantly, you're closing in on one of the spots you intended to show him.

	The car comes to a stop in the parking lot of a large, two story shopping center. "This is the Mall! Tons of kids around your age spend their weekends here. I think, anyway." You awkwardly scratch the back of your head, it's been ages since you've actually gone there. "It's mostly clothing stores, but there are a few places there worth checking out, like the one for old collectibles, the comic and games place, and, most importantly, a real big arcade!" Sunny glances over with sudden interest as you mention the arcade, "Anything good?" You chuckle at the query, "Well, it's mostly old fighting games and a few light gun shooters, but I haven't been there in a hot minute, so maybe they got some newer stuff, maybe we can go check it out next week?" Sunny seems to strongly consider this, but ultimately gives you a shrug. You start up your car again and head to your next destination.

	It takes a bit of time and a quiet car ride before you reach another barren parking lot. "So, here's the local High School, bit of a ride out from where you live, but I think there's a few other people in our building who go there, I see the bus every day. Additionally, down the block from here is the Library. Most of your books seemed pretty old, so I'm not sure how much of a reader you are--" Sunny cuts you off, pointing directly at a building stationed across from the school. "What's that?" Your gaze follows and locks on a building with a clef note on it. "Oh, that place? It's a music shop run by the school, all the band kids get told to go there to buy or rent whatever they want to play. It's a little pricey." Sunny slowly lowers his hand, still affixed on the building. You ask if he's okay, but he doesn't respond, seemingly lost in thought. The silence continues for some time but is finally broken, you hear a loud rumbling coming from Sunny's gut. Come to think of it, you also forgot to get something to eat before you left. "You, uh.. You hungry?" A long pause. "Yeah.." You start the car again and start to exit the parking lot. "Me, too. Let's get lunch."

- - -
Chapter Five: Aspirations.

	You return to the long street of restaurants, taking some time to consider what you may want to eat, and you also wonder what Sunny might be interested in. "Anything you're interested in? We could go over to that pizza place that I was--" He turns to you, a longing, hungering stare as he interrupts you. "Steak." You cock a brow at this request, instinctively moving a hand to check your wallet. "Er.. Th--That's a bit expensive, don't you think?" He leans towards you, "Just tell mom you bought me lunch. She'll pay for it. I want steak." He isn't going to take 'no' for an answer. "Alright, alright, we'll go to the steakhouse." You have to do a U-turn to get back towards the place, since you were assuming he'd just go for a pizza or maybe some burgers, but you arrive quickly enough.

	Sunny quickly exits the car, actually walking in front of you into the building. You suppose that this worked out, since you've learned that he's seemingly very food motivated. These sit-down restaurants usually only get busy in the evenings, so you're seated rather quickly. Both of you scan the menu, you read it over a few times before you decide what you want, Sunny, on the other hand, seems like he put it down near instantly. The server arrives and immediately assaults your ears with a thick, possibly fake, southern accent, "Howdy, y'all! What can I git for ya t'day?" You double check the page you have the menu turned to before replying, "I'll have the fried pickles with ranch to start, and, er.. Ribs, with a side of baked beans, as for him.." You trail off and wait for Sunny to pick up, "Cheese fries, and a prime rib with a baked potato with the cheese and bacon." The woman quickly scribbles down your order, confirms it, and is on her way.

	"Eck. Pickles?" Sunny looks disgusted. You shrug at him in response, "What's wrong with pickles?" He holds up a hand and begins to count on his fingers, "They're slimy, they smell awful, the crunching is gross, and people drink that brine stuff from the jar when they finish eating them." It takes a bit of effort to not snicker, but you huff at him, "Well, I didn't know you were a food critic. You're certainly not built like one." Sunny purses his lips, peering down at his thin frame, "I--I just used to not have much of an appetite. Trying to be better about it now that I'm here.." This, admittedly, makes you feel a bit bad about the teasing.

	The appetizers arrive, Sunny almost immediately begins to rip into his cheese fries with vigor, but you assume he can still har you. "Well, hey, buddy.. We all gotta start somewhere, any steps are good steps so long as they're forward, right?" He glances up and nods at you. "I'm sure your mother is very proud of you, I mean, she said she wanted to get you tutored over the summer to go back to school, that's a big decision. You didn't seem worried about that at all." Sunny shakes his head and you hear a loud 'gulp' as he pulls back from his fries. "School was pretty easy. I spent more time looking outside than listening to whatever the teacher was saying, and my grades were fine." He returns to eating, but there's a few occasions where his eye meets yours, he's a smart kid, he's probably expecting you to ask why he stopped going to school in the first place if it was so easy for him. You decide against it.

	The meal continues in relative silence until the main course arrives. The steak is laid out in front of Sunny, he takes a moment to put a very small amount of sauce on it, before reaching for his knife. He uses the flat side to spread the sauce before he begins to cut into it. While he was almost ravenous before, he's now being very deliberate, he begins to dissect it. Cutting it into smaller pieces, after it is cut into portions, he slowly lifts the pieces to his mouth and takes a long time to enjoy each and every bite. Apart from his strange choice in well-done, Sunny is truly a lover of steak.

	You watch this in a small bit of confusion, and while it's slightly distracting, you eat through most of your beans and about half of your ribs, figuring you can just package up the rest and eat it tomorrow. As he's between bites you ask him, "So. If you're going back to school.. Got any plans for your future? Any hopes and dreams?" Sunny lowers his fork from the bite he was about to take. "Hopes? No.. Not really. I have no clue what I want to do. Dreams?" He pauses, thinking. "I haven't had any dreams in awhile. Not since I got out of the hospital." This wasn't exactly what you meant, but you humor him, "I've heard that you always dream when you sleep. You just usually don't end up forgetting them pretty quickly after you wake up unless they're particularly striking.. You could keep a little notebook by that table near your bed and write them down if you remember anything after you wake up." Sunny shrugs and continues to eat.

	Your server seems to notice you're both about done and offers to get you a box for the rest of your meal after setting down the bill. With some hesitation, you check it after she leaves. It is a hefty sum, far more than you were expecting to pay for a simple lunch. The idea of mentioning it to Sunny's mother for her to pay for it doesn't necessarily sit well with you, so you bite the bullet and leave out a sum of cash with a tip, box up your ribs, and leave the steakhouse. "At least it was good. You ate all of that, too. Sure you're not going to be sick later?" He turns to you with his normal expressionless face and replies, "If I do, it was worth it. I'm ready to go home." The car awaits for your journey back to your apartment.

- - -
Chapter Six: For Her.

	A week passes, work keeps you busy. You see Sunny's mother in the mornings often, but she always seems to be going out to do something for the entire day, constantly focused on taking care of things. It's admirable, but you're curious if this is how it always is for him, home alone. You can't imagine he minds all that much, but it still doesn't sit right with you. It may not be any of your business, but you decide to ask him about it the next time you talk to him.

	You get home and decide to spend a few hours relaxing. The sun goes down and it begins to get dark, and you're getting ready to head to sleep, though something catches your ear.. It's muffled, quiet, but, is that.. Music? You turn off your television, things are silent, except for a quiet, droning, melody. You take a moment to step out of your apartment into the hallway, though you can't hear anything out here. It either stopped, or you can't hear it from out here. What you do hear, however, is a ringing tone, your phone is vibrating in your pocket. You answer it.

	The familiar voice of your neighbor begins to speak as soon as she hears that you've answered, there is a deep concern in her voice, "Oh, thank goodness you picked up! Have you seen Sunny at all? He hasn't answered the phone in hours!" You glance at the door to their apartment, the door is undisturbed and locked. "Er.. I haven't, but it doesn't look like anyone broke in, and I haven't heard anything all day." It's obvious that you've calmed her down a bit with your response as she continues, "Well.. Still. He usually picks up my calls. Could you at least check on him for me? I'll call the manager, and they'll give you the spare key. Please?" It's hard to deny such a request, so you agree, assure her that everything's fine one last time before you hang up to get the manager.

	After a quick trip downstairs, you return with the key and enter their home, the light in the living room is on, but you don't see or hear anyone. "Sunny?" You call out, "Your mom wanted me to come check on you!" Silence. You figure he's just listening to something in his room, so you approach and knock. "You there, buddy?" Still nothing. This is a bit concerning. You slowly open the door and peek inside, expecting the worst, but it's empty, he's not here. After flicking the light on and stepping inside, you notice a few new things: A pill bottle on his computer desk, and a small notepad by his bed. Did he actually take your advice? It would be a breach of trust to invade his privacy like this, but.. You're too tempted. You check the notepad.
	"Tuesday - Dreamed about Basil. But he was a caterpillar. I wonder if he'll be a butterfly if I see him again.."
	"Thursday - Dreamed about a mansion. I went in. Kel was there with a big briefcase of money. Said he was finally paying me back."
	"Friday - Dreamed about Aubrey. The bow she wears was talking?? Had a weird accent. Told Aubrey to fight me to avenge her bloodline? 	Something like that. She hit me with her bat and I woke up."
	"Saturday - Dreamed about Mari. We talked. I don't remember about what. She seemed happy."

	You put the notepad down and step back, taking a quick look at the pill bottle. You don't recognize the name of the medication, but it's full. Satisfied, you leave Sunny's room. The bathroom door is wide open, so he's not there--Wait. The storage room. You glance over at it, the door is slightly ajar, it wasn't before. It's hard to imagine he's anywhere else, unless he snuck out, but that doesn't seem like him. The door slowly creaks open as you near it, and you step inside. It's dark, a lot of the boxes have been pushed aside, there's a stand in the middle of the room near the piano. "Sunny? Are you in here?" A meek and quiet "Yes.." breaks the silence as he steps into your sight.

	Slowly reaching over and fumbling in the darkness briefly, you flip the light on. He's holding a violin. Sunny's gaze is fixed solely off to the side away from you, like he's done something wrong. It takes a moment, but you connect the dots, what you were hearing earlier was Sunny playing. It makes sense, this room is the one closest to your apartment. Whether he stopped when he heard commotion outside or this room is blocking the noise from traveling too far isn't clear, but at least you figured it out. "This is what you've been doing? Your mother's been trying to call you for a bit now." His head dips, still remaining very quiet, "Oh. Sorry.." You step closer. "Well, I'm just glad you're alright. I figured you were, but, you know how moms are.." Silence. "I heard you playing earlier." He finally looks at you, you continue, "Not much, but it sounded fine. Can I hear what you were working on?" The boy fervently shakes his head. "I haven't played in a long time, I'm not very good right now."

	"Well, if you say so. I'll.. I'll leave you to it, alright?" You turn to leave. "Wait!" A pause. "You.. You can't tell my mom about this. I.. Had to make up a story about buying a new game system for her to give me the money to get this.. And.. She said this would be a fresh start for us, she wouldn't want me doing something like this. But I have to." You roll your shoulders, offering him a small shrug. "I think you're worrying too much.. But your secret's safe with me, okay?" Sunny shuts his eye and breathes a long sigh of relief. You decide now's a good a time as any to ask him. "Speaking of your mother, is she always this.. busy? Seems like you're home alone all day."

	Sunny sets his violin down carefully on a nearby box. "We just moved here, I guess she has a lot to do. I'm sure she'll be done soon and be around more." You approach Sunny and place a hand on his shoulder, he flinches at the touch. "Well, if you're ever feeling lonely, you're always welcome to come over when I'm home. I don't have any games or anything, but I'm always willing to listen, and maybe we can break that Pet Rocks tie." There is a long silence before he finally replies, "Okay." You give him a smile. "Perfect, tell me when you're ready to play something on that for me, I'd love to hear it." A gesture to the violin before you take your leave to head home and call his mother to assure her that her son is fine.

- - -
Chapter Seven: Exhaustion.

	The week ends without incident, barring the occasional tones of Sunny's violin coming through your walls. From what you've listened to, he's not that bad at all, though it doesn't seem like he has many sheets of music to practice with, since you've only heard him play three or so different songs. You think about surprising him with a few extra sheets that he could play, why not? You more or less get to listen to them so long as he's playing and you're home. But it's a thought for another time, as your weekend and days off have arrived, and you intend to spend them relaxing.

	This plan goes perfectly fine, for a short while. But your casual lounging is interrupted by a knock at your door. Your best guess is that it's Sunny, since nobody else around here has any reason to bother you about anything.. He did end up listening to you about the dream notebook, maybe he's actually feeling a bit lonely and wants to hang out? They knock again as you get up and approach the door, finally opening it. Sure enough, you're greeted by Sunny once you pull the door ajar, his arm hanging in the air, ready to knock on your door again, but he slowly lowers it. "Hey." He stares up at you, a morose look on his face, "Can you drive me to the hospital?" You blink and examine him carefully, he doesn't look hurt or sick.. "Is something going on?" When prompted, Sunny exhales sharply before replying, "Something's wrong with Mom."

	"Wait, what?" You nearly spin on your heels as you turn and quickly fetch your keys from the nearby countertop, "Do you know if it's something serious?" He shakes his head, "They just told me she collapsed while she was out running errands." You hurry him along downstairs out into the parking lot, he keeps pace, clearly as worried as you are. The heat of summer hits you as you exit the lobby, it's definitely hotter than it has been the last few weeks. The car starts, you crank up the air conditioning and make the drive to the hospital with the occasional glance at Sunny, though he stares squarely at the floor of the vehicle. The ride is wordless.

	You park as close to the front entrance as you're able and make for the main entryway, though Sunny has taken the lead, he strides past you and through the doors, going past the receptionist desk and towards the elevators--They must have already told him what room they're keeping her in. Sunny leans to the left to glance past you as you enter the elevator and quickly stabs the button to close it, you hear a muffled 'Hey!' as the doors shut and he quickly depresses the key to go to the fourth floor. "Room 408.. On the left." He mutters loud enough for you to hear. Sunny deftly dodges past two people waiting at your stop and brings you through the sterile white halls of the hospital to her room.

	As the door opens, you're quickly relieved to see Sunny's mother awake and in one piece, she's hooked up to an IV but other than that she seems to be just fine. Her gaze quickly darts to the door and she scrambles for the remote resting on her lap to mute the television she had running. "Oh my gosh! Sunny!" She lights up with a huge smile. "You didn't have to come visit!" He zips across the room to the bed and quickly throws his arms around her. "Mom. Of course I had to." Sunny's mother weakly returns the hug, beaming with unabashed pride on her face. You raise your hand, "So, uh, what happened? Are you alright?" A nod at you as she explains, "Oh, yes, dear, I'm perfectly fine. I was out grabbing some things at the market for dinner and, well, I just passed out. Someone restocking the shelves called an ambulance and stayed with me until they took me here.. Nice boy, he was, but not as nice as my Sunny!" He winces a bit at this, but lets it slide.

	"Anyway, the doctors said I was dehydrated, and combined with all the running around I've been doing in the heat, I guess I got a little dizzy spell and fainted. They want to keep me here for a day or two to make sure it wasn't a heat stroke or anything that could have lasting effects on me. I feel just fine, though!" She pauses for a moment, "But, still, I'm glad you both came to check on me.. Actually. Sunny, could you do a favor for Mommy?" Sunny nods. "Good. Now.. The doctors said I should only be drinking water, but, I really want something sweet. Could you go down the hall and get something out of the vending machine for me? Please?" He dig through her purse for a moment and retrieves some change. "Sure. I'll be back."

	Her cheery facade quickly fades and is replaced with a somber expression. You take a seat next to her as she begins to speak, "I feel like such an idiot. I've been running myself ragged, day in, day out, ever since we got here. I'm tired, I've been tired. And I guess it finally caught up with me." Her fingers curl and she grips the linen blanket draped over her tightly. "But.. I've been doing it for him. We've only been here for two weeks or so, and he's gotten so much better. He told me before we left that he went outside, he started helping around town, and even reconnected with some of his old friends. Just.. Out of nowhere. He hadn't left the house in four years until then, not once." Her voice quivers, she's tearing up. "But, you saw him, when I talked about him going back to school, he didn't even question it. He was fine with it! I couldn't even imagine asking that of him even a month ago."

	"What happened?" You lean forward, nearly on the edge of your seat, you can tell she's doing everything she can to not cry. "My daughter. Mari. She.. She passed." Your eyes widen as you remember the large portrait in the moving box. "It tore our family apart. His father left. Sunny stopped talking to me, stopped going to school, stopped everything. But.. We finally moved out here, and he's doing so much better, and I don't even know what changed, because I've been busy. I couldn't be prouder for my baby.. But that's why I've been pushing myself so hard. I just want my boy to keep flourishing. It's been so hard with just us two, and--" The door creaks, she quickly clears her throat and wipes her reddened eyes.

	"And I think you're a good influence on him! He won't admit it, but I think he likes spending time with you." You hear a quiet groan from Sunny as he steps inside, "Mom.." A quick glance at Sunny's mother, it's like she wasn't even crying a moment ago to you. "Oh, there you are, honey! What did you get for Mommy?" Sunny presents a small plastic bottle and sets it on the table. "Pink lemonade." She takes Sunny's hand and clasps hers over it. "Perfect! My favorite! So, I was thinking: You don't work on weekends, right?" You nod as she continues, "Well, the apartment manager mentioned that you forgot to give that key to our house back to him, but I figure it's fine for you to keep it, and maybe you can keep an eye on Sunny while I'm stuck here. If that's fine with the both of you?"

	You'd feel bad turning her down after she just poured her heart out to you. "Of course, I can do that." You both turn to look at Sunny, who just offers a non-committal shrug. "I'm okay with that." She reaches over to her purse and digs around in it for a moment, pulling out some money and offering it to you. "Then it's settled! I'm lucky to have a neighbor like you. Use this to order out for something to eat while I'm away, unless you think you can cook something up with what we've got at home." You and Sunny keep his mother company well into the evening, discussing things you may do over this weekend. The hospital chairs aren't particularly comfortable, but you find it to be time well spent nonetheless. Eventually, you say goodbye to her and head back home, knowing you won't see her for another two days at least.

--

Chapter Eight: Cracks.

	The heat calms down as evening falls and you return home, you and Sunny are in good spirits despite the circumstances of the day, though he's clearly quite drained from the experience, a bit slouched over and seemingly deep in thought. As you enter your neighbor's apartment, you briefly consider if you're going to be sleeping in here or if you're just going to head back to your home for the night, but decide to mull it over while relaxing. You seat yourself and flip on the television, Sunny lazily saunters over and hops up onto the couch next to you. "Oh." You look surprised, "I figured you were going to head to bed, you look pretty out of it." He shrugs. "Maybe after we eat.." A tilt of his head, "Can you actually cook?"

	"Well.. Depends on what you have around here. I'm a bit tired too, though, maybe we can just order out today and whip up some breakfast when we wake up. What about you?" Sunny takes a moment to think. "I helped my friend in the kitchen sometimes?" That sounds good enough to you, though there's a small tinge of disappointment as he continues, his gaze drifting downward and his tone softening, "It was always really good.." You frown and decide to quickly change the subject to break the silence. "Plenty of good pizza places around here, so let's go with that, yeah? Anything you're craving?" He snaps back up quickly. "Beef." That lines up pretty well with what you know about Sunny that you can't help but smile, you hope he doesn't take it the wrong way. "Works for me, we'll split it and try some home cooked stuff tomorrow." It takes a moment of glancing around the room before Sunny realizes you don't actually know where the phone is, he points it out to you and you place an order.

	He hovers around you as you're speaking over the phone, briefly interrupting you before you hang up. "Get breadsticks too if they're any good." You nod, correcting your order before setting the phone down and returning to your seat. "It'll be a little bit, got some time to kill.." A small temptation to prod him a bit about how he's been doing with his violin but you don't want to be so direct, at least not yet, "Any ideas?" He's flipping through the channels, looking for something that interests him. "TV's fine. One of these has old reruns of a Captain Spaceboy cartoon.. It got cancelled after a few seasons, but it's new to me." Something comes to mind, you snap your fingers. "Oh, right! I was thinking about this when we were visiting your mom.. Your old house wasn't too far off from here, right? She said it was Faraway Town? Can't be more than a few hours out." This gets his attention, he looks at you as you continue, "I figured, you're getting around that age where you can get a permit and learn to drive. We can head out sometime this weekend and maybe drive around a bit in the school parking lot? It's empty in the summer, safe place to practice.. Maybe I could show you the ropes and we can get a head start on teaching you how to handle a car."

	"You'd.. do that?" You give the boy a warm smile and pat him on the shoulder, he doesn't react as harshly as he did the last time you did this. "Sure! I mean, so long as you don't crash my car. I'd offer to just drive you back to Faraway to visit, but we'd have to plan something like that in advance, since I'm working weekdays." He seems a bit stunned, but he does eventually slowly nod. "That would be nice. Either of those." A small moment of silence to give him a moment to reconsider, though he seems convinced. "Settled, then. We'll do it tomorrow." Some time passes, though you try to focus on the TV, eventually.. you glance past him, looking at storage room, thinking. The temptation is too great, you mute the TV and decide to finally ask, "Say. How are things going with the violin? I know it hasn't been that long, but you sound fine from what I've heard of it." This quickly gets his attention, he digs his hand into the arm rest of the couch and swiftly glances between the room where his violin is and you. "I--wait. You can hear me when I play?" He stammers. "Uh.. It's.. It's fine. I'm a bit stuck on one song. I'm not ready to play for anyone yet, though."

	You're about to reply and encourage him further before there's a loud knock, followed by someone shouting "PIZZA DELIVERY!" far louder than necessary. You both wince at this and you quickly rush to get the door. There's a young adult waiting for you with a large box and a small bag placed on top of it, you quickly pay and tip him to get him out of here before any of the neighbors come out to scold him, since you know they tend to have an issue with loud noises, especially at this time of night.

As you turn back and shut the door, you see the dining table in the kitchen has already been set with two plates, across from one another at opposite ends. Sunny is waiting. You approach, setting it down in the middle and grabbing a piece.
He does the same.

Something feels wrong. He's looking directly at you pensively, not touching his food. There's a long pregnant pause before Sunny speaks up, a seemingly critical tone in his voice. "So. You asked me a question. Can I ask you one?" You don't reply, he slowly picks up a piece of beef off his pizza and puts in his mouth, chewing.

	"Why was Mom crying?" It sounds more like an accusation than a question. You can't help but stumble over your words, "Ah. You, .. You noticed that, huh?" A small motion with his shoulders akin to a shrug. "It's obvious if you know what to look for. I'm sort of used to it at this point. Now.." He trails off, waiting for you to answer him. "Oh. She was just talking about how she was proud of everything you've been doing recently. She also mentioned your sister, which probably didn't help."

	"Ah." Another long pause.
	"What did she say about Mari?"

	"Nothing, really. Just about how it affected you. I understand. Dealing with something like that when you were so young was probably hard.." Sunny's eye is shut, he's slowly nodding to himself. "I get it now. It makes sense. All of this; It's just because you feel bad for me, right?" You reflexively pull your head back and do a double take, "I--what?"

	He's staring intensely at you, his voice dripping with venom, "Why else would you go through all this trouble? You saw a single mom and her one-eyed kid with his dead sister and you're just being nice to us out of the goodness of your heart? No other reason? I don't buy it. I've seen people get judged by other people for less." You open your mouth but he keeps ranting, his fists are balled up and pressed down tightly on the table as they slowly tint red. "I don't need your pity, alright? And I especially don't need you constantly pressuring me about my violin practice!"

	You raise your hands, "Hey, hold on. Listen. It's nothing like that, alright? I just wanted to meet my new neighbors and your mother was just being friendly, so I thought I'd return the favor--" He doesn't look convinced, you frown back at him, "This is a little worrying, Sunny. Are you taking that medication?" He snaps out of his chair onto his feet, the wood grinds against the ground as it slides back, you wince as actually raises his voice to you for the first time, "You were in my room?!" That may have been the wrong question.. You try to recover, "Well, remember, she was trying to call you so I figured you would be in your room and I just saw them is all.."

	Sunny, at this point, is visibly shaking with anger, he mutters through gritted teeth, "I.. Think you should go." You silently stand, figuring there's no getting to him in the state he's in. As you step out of the kitchen and move towards the door, you hear him again, standing at the threshold between the two rooms, "I know you have to stay over to 'watch' me tomorrow. I'll be in my room. Just.. Leave me alone, alright?" It feels like an eternity passes as you look at him, hoping he'll change his mind, but eventually you turn and leave their apartment and go back home. This definitely didn't go the way you wanted to. You hope tomorrow you'll be able to coax him out and have a discussion with him after he's calmed down.

- - -

Chapter 9: Breaking Point.

	Laying in bed as the night goes on, you spend most of your time in thought. Sleep comes and goes but never for longer than an hour or so. You know what Sunny was saying was wrong, but it was disheartening how quickly he convinced himself about it. You don't want to judge him too harshly for it, but you're pretty convinced that something's bothering him. Another curious point is how negatively he reacted to you mentioning his medication. It may have been just because you were in his room when he wasn't, but he may actually not be taking whatever it is.. You really need to try and ask him about these things about some point, but it seems out of the question for the moment; Maybe not even for a few days. He'll just need some time to calm down, you think, but as you continue to ponder your silence is interrupted by the fiddling through the wall.

	He's still awake? And playing the violin at this hour? It's past midnight. You wonder if he's just doing this to mess with you, to keep you up as you try to sleep. You quickly dismiss the idea, you may not know a whole lot about Sunny, but he hardly seems like the petty type that would pull something like that. Not only that, but something seems.. different. The music abruptly starts and stops repeatedly as you listen, notes seem to be misplaced or in the wrong order, it doesn't really even sound like the same person is playing. This continues for a few more minutes, but eventually the sound of the violin is being replaced by frustration, a muffled voice becoming increasingly louder, and eventually, you hear a resounding clatter of something hitting the floor. At this point you have to go see what's going on before the neighbors get involved.

	You quickly dress yourself and exit your apartment, there are already eyes peering through the cracks of the nearby doors, looking for someone to blame for the interruption of their peace and quiet. Quickly, you shoo them away from the doors, insisting that you can take care of whatever it is that's going on. They're placated, but still nosy, curious. Ideally you can stop whatever this is before it gets any worse and people investigate further. The door unlocks and you shut the door behind you and set the locks back up again. Everything's gone quiet, and you weren't exactly subtle about entering, so Sunny likely knows you're here. You're worried something's happened, so you stride over to the storage room where he normally practices and throw the door open.

	The dim light in the room and the light behind you casts faint shadows as you peer inside.
	You see Sunny, his head tilted towards you. He's holding his violin above his head with a single hand, the sheet music stand has been cast to the floor, and scattered papers line the floor. You turn the light on and watch him. His breathing is heavy and he looks absolutely incensed. You stare him down, confused and unsure about the situation.. The air is thick with silence as time crawls along. Finally, all the tension seems to leave his body as he slowly lowers his arm. "I.. I don't even know what I'm doing." You step a bit closer, "Sunny?" There's an audible dry swallow as he continues. "I don't know. I can't help it. I'm just like her--I want it to be perfect. And--" his voice begins to tremble. "And I thought I could do it this time. That's the only reason I lied to get this stupid thing!" His hands involuntarily twitch, his grip tightening on the instrument; though after a brief moment he rests it on the bench of the grand piano behind him.

	None of this still makes much of any sense to you, but you decide it's best to just not say anything for the moment. Sunny has been visibly sagging as his rant goes on, and eventually he simply slumps onto the floor, his knees huddled to his chest. You sit with him. "Everything's going to get better. When? How? What was moving supposed to even do? Now I just miss my sister AND my friends." Sunny begins to choke up, sniffling loudly. "I just messed everything up and ran away from it. And the worst.. the worst part of it all. They ended up forgiving me. After everything." He runs his arm across his face to wipe his tears, his cheeks now flushed red. "I stayed up all night in the hospital, thinking I'd never see them again after they left. But.. First thing in the morning, there they were. Hero.. didn't show up until later, he wanted to talk to me alone, but even Hero stayed with me."

	"You must mean a lot to them, Sunny." You finally reply. "And, I know I can never be a replacement for them, but I can at least keep you company until you get to see them again." He raises his head to meet your gaze with an uneasy look. "You said I felt bad for you, but I think you're pretty lucky to have them in your life. I'm sure they meant everything they've said to you.. Just like me." At that, he almost crashes into you, you reel back in surprise as he throws his hands around you, gripping you in a hug with all his might. Minutes pass, the only noise in the room is his soft weeping as his tears stain your shirt at an increasing rate. You spend much of the night here with Sunny, asking him about his friends. The stories he tells about his memories with them seem to give him some bittersweet cheer after awhile. Though after a few hours, he seems too drained to continue. You walk him to his room for the night and leave the apartment.

	"Oh! Hey! You're out awfully late." You freeze in the hallway as you hear a familiar voice call to you. You tilt your head around to see Sunny's mother. You can't possibly show her the tear stained clothes you've been stuck with, so you don't turn any further. "Ah--oh.. Hey. They let you out early, huh?" She places her hands on her hips and smiles. "Yep! I still got plenty of kick left in me! No darn heat's gonna stop me any longer than it needs to! You just headed to bed, there? You could have just slept in mine, y'know. It's awfully comfortable." You give a halfhearted chuckle and wave your hand, "No, no, it's just, er.. Something was wrong with Sunny's computer, so I spent a few hours trying to get it fixed." Sunny's mother steps a bit closer to her door. "That so? Well then I should thank you! With all of the work you've been doing.. Helping us move in, keeping Sunny company, fixing stuff up. You're almost like the man of the house, eh?" You only see it out of the corner of your eye, but she flashes a grin. "We could make that a permanent thing, if you wanted to.."

	You freeze in place. Did she just.. Today's been busy enough, we can't do this, too. You quickly think of an excuse, "Ah--er--well.. Maybe we can talk about it over dinner or something in a few days, my brain is just fried tonight, I need to hit the hay." She seems to laugh at this, "Alright, I'll hold you to that! It'll be nice to sleep in a real bed tonight, so I'm with you on that one. You rest easy now, alright?" Awkwardly, the only thing you can manage is "You too.." before you go your separate ways and return home. It wasn't a lie, you were definitely exhausted, but at least today ended on a good note.

- - -

Epilogue: Faraway.

	The last few weeks have been busy, to say the least. You've been spending more time at your neighbor's apartment than your own. Really, you just return home to sleep most of the time these days. As your alarm goes off and you quickly move to silence it, you settle back into bed for a moment before fighting the urge to fall back asleep, today is a special day, after all. You crawl out of bed, beginning your preparations for the coming hours, getting dressed, taking a shower, and marking off your calendar. You quickly scratch a line through the current date, May 23rd, and over the word 'TRIP' written over the date.

	It's still very early in the morning, the halls of the apartment are still empty, nobody's even left for the morning rush to their workplaces yet. You approach Sunny and his mother's apartment and let yourself in, no need to knock, it's simply expected at this point. You're almost immediately greeted by both of them. Sunny's mother is as energetic and lively as always, "Well, good morning!" Meanwhile, Sunny, he's.. clearly not used to waking up so early. "Mrrnngin.." You hear him mutter before a loud yawn. "Morning, you two." You reply in passing, stepping your way over to the kitchen. Work always keeps you busy, so most of the time you return here to see dinner ready for you, so you try to take advantage of your days off to prepare breakfast for everyone in return.

	You hear Sunny's mother call from the living room, "You sure you two don't want me to come along?" The bacon and eggs simmer a bit in their pans, you figure it's fine to step away, leaning around the corner to the kitchen, "Well, I can't tell you 'no', but I'm sure there's something around here that'll keep you busy." There's a bit of a joking, crocodile tears sadness in her voice, "I've been trying to spend more time with my boys but now it's a guy's night out, huh? I can't help but be a little hurt!" Sunny speaks up, "C'mon, Mom.. It's not like that." She chuckles and puts an arm around his shoulder, giving him a small squeeze. "I'm kidding, I'm kidding. Just have fun, enjoy your little birthday party. Aubrey, right? She was always so nice to have around."

	The timer by the oven dings, you rush back and prepare a few plates and enjoy breakfast. You've never been anything special at cooking, but you can't help but still appreciate how much livelier Sunny looks after a good meal. You say your goodbyes to his mother and head to your car. The summer heat hasn't been letting up, but thankfully your time outside is going to be mercifully brief, you were told the party was going to be mostly indoors. The trip is a few hours, but it passes pretty quickly, you spend the time talking to Sunny, about old shows, what he's been doing on his computer, and eventually, he spends the last leg of the drive talking to you about Aubrey, giving you a bit of what to expect when you meet her, he describes her as 'cool' more than a few times.

	Eventually, you reach a small suburb, a pretty classic 'streets with rows of houses' sort of place. Sunny takes the lead, pointing out where you need to go. You navigate the maze of seemingly similar looking houses and drive past a park, despite the heat, there are still a few people at play, a few kids here and there, some at a juice stand, the others at the vending machines, looking for something cold to drink. There are also.. Some guys with little waste bins on their heads? You think to ask, but it's probably for the best you don't. Must be a small town thing. You continue up the road and eventually reach a small section of buildings with a spacious parking lot. It's easy enough to find a parking space, and you exit the car.

	"Hmm." You examine the four stores in the plaza. "You said it was the pizza place, right?" Sunny simply nods. "Yep." The obvious followup question presents itself. "They any good?" He seems to take a moment to consider his answer, "It's good, but it's expensive." A small shrug as you begin to make your way towards the store that's simply named 'Gino's.' Sunny follows, but he places his hand on your arm for a moment to stop you. "Hey.. I'm going to go visit.. Someone. I'll be back, okay?" He doesn't wait for you to respond, walking past you and towards the store on the far right of the plaza, "Fix-i?" Oh. Wait, no, the T's just on the ground, it's called Fix-it. You decide it's best to let him be and head into the pizza place.

	The smell of grease assaults your nose as you enter, it's early afternoon now so you figured this place would be packed, but there's only one occupied table. That said, it's actually two tables pushed together with a large crowd of young adults, you count ten in total, and there's still an empty chair, in the center of the tables is a large pink cake. The air is filled with their chattering so you take the opportunity to step over to the counter, the man behind it, you presume his name is Gino, quickly approaches. "Welcome to Gino's Pizzeria! You looking for some good lunch?" You lean closer, lowering your voice, "Well, actually, have those kids ordered anything yet?" Gino seems to get the hint as he begins to whisper too, "Them? Oh, nah, they just wanted to celebrate here, and I recognize 'em, good customers, figured 'why not?' Why do you ask?" You fish in your pocket for your wallet, eyeing the group for a moment. "Well, let's get three.." You look again, two of the kids are pretty big. "Four. Four pizzas." Gino smiles and rings up the register, "Eighty bucks." That is expensive, Sunny wasn't kidding.. But.. It is a special day. You pay him and take a seat in one of the unoccupied tables near the group, you can't help but listen in.

	You immediately identify the one with the pink hair as Aubrey, she glances over to two boys on her right, both tall with brown hair and begins to speak to them, "Hey.. I should have said this sooner, but, thanks for making this cake for us, Hero. Must have taken all night." The cake is huge, adorned with little strawberries and pink frosting, the word 'AUBREY' written across the bottom of it. He did that by himself? Wow.. The taller boy scratches the back of his head, "Oh, no! It wasn't a big deal or anything. Really, Mom helped me out a lot." The boy sitting next to him does a double take and speaks up, "And?" Hero turns and glances at him, "And, uh.. You definitely made sure the frosting was good, Kel." Aubrey has a blank expression on her face. "Kel. Did you.. Did you eat all the frosting?" He throws his hands up as if being accused of a crime, "Hey!! Come on! I ran to the store and got a new can of it! And either way, I still helped after that! I'm feeling a little betrayed here, Hero!" Hero just laughs, "I'm just kidding, Kel and my Mom helped out a lot." Kel gives an affirming nod before groaning and resting his head on the table. "Uggghhh. I've been trying to get my hair cut for weeks now, but Mom's always too busy with Sally, look at this. It's crazy." He ruffles his hair, sending it everywhere like a shedding dog. Aubrey slides out of her chair to avoid this and approaches Kel. "Eh?"

	"Just stand still." She grumbles, a band in her hand as she fiddles with the back of his hair for a moment before snapping it into a small ponytail. "I don't want you getting hair all over the cake." The girl sitting across from Kel with a side cut leans forward with a predatory grin. "Hey, look, it's Kelsey! The prettiest girl in all of Faraway! Mikhail! Mikhail! Maybe you can drop a few bucks to spend a nice evening with her!" She begins to laugh like a hyena, banging her hand on the table. The larger boy next to her gives a bit of a half-hearted 'Heh.', but it's almost immediately drowned out by one of the two blondes at the table erupting into hysterics. "It is THE MAVERICK! THE MAVERICK!! How many times must it cross through your head before it STAYS THERE? And SECONDLY, I would never deign to waste my hard earned money on such a specimen! She is far too gangly, and built like a gorilla!" Kel interrupts. "Mikhail, I can't be *both* of those things at the same time. That makes absolutely no sense." THE MAVERICK swings a finger at Kel. "SILENCE! The both of you are mere seconds away from incurring the wrath of THE MAVERICK!" The smaller boy interjects, "But, Master! Today is Aubrey's birthday! We cannot engage in combat on a most holy day such as this!" THE MAVERICK pauses before running a hand through his hair, nodding sagely. "Yes.. Yes, my pupil, you are right. I have trained you well. Besides. I promised the light of my life, my darling north star, Bebe, that I would only use my power to protect her. Isn't that right?!" He looks over to the girl sitting next to her, she seems a bit put on the spot but quickly recovers and rolls with it. "Yes, of course!" Most of the table erupts in laughter, though the chaos is quickly broken by the ringing of the entrance bell, they all turn to glance, and see Sunny.

	"Sunny!!" The table erupts in greeting. You swear you hear someone say 'Nerd' instead of his name but you can't pick the voice out from the crowd. The other blonde boy at the table almost leaps out of his seat, rushing over and pulling Sunny into a tight hug "Sunny! You finally made it!" You've seen Sunny struggle with physical touches, but he seems relaxed. He returns the embrace. "Basil.. Good to see you. How are the flowers?" Basil releases Sunny and gives him a bright, warm smile. "Ah, right! It was a bit of work to get them out of their planters.. I'm not sure where you got all of those from, but it was nice to have so many additions to my garden. They're all thriving, doing fantastic." Sunny nods at this as he walks to the table with his friends. "That's why I gave them to you." You stand and approach the table with Sunny. Aubrey gives you a curious glance. "Hey. Sunny? Who's that? Where's your mom at?"

	Sunny stops, and he pauses, he looks at you. You're not entirely sure what to say, so you shrug. "Well, uh, I'm--" Sunny cuts you off.

	"He's my Dad."

End.