You're Who I Longed For (slow updates)

Chapter Three: One Day Left

Sun shone through the window to Sunny's room, his eyes open. A yawning sound escaped him. "...hm?" He felt around and realised the outline of Kel was missing. And he was also cold. The smell of breakfast wafted into his nose, and he rolled over, groaning.
Eventually, he got up and moped down the stairs. Kel was sitting in the kitchen, Hero cooking. He was downing his breakfast. " Hey Sunny! Hero made breakfast!" He turned around and placed down the food.
" Get it while it's hot!" Sunny stared at it for a few moments and then started eating. Hero sat down and began to eat his food. " We were thinking about maybe visiting Aubrey? We're really worried about her since she passed out and all. And Basil isn't answering his phone, so..." Kel shrugged. " I think we need to go make sure everything's alright." For a few moments, the room was quiet. And then Hero stood up with a panicked expression. " Basil isn't answering?! Kel! Aubrey might be dead!" Immediately, Sunny jumped out of his chair, almost falling backwards in the process. He flung the front door open and bolted down the street, panting. Kel and Hero followed after with Kel downing his breakfast as quick as he could.

Meanwhile, Aubrey and Basil were sitting quite calmly in the kitchen drinking tea. Silence filled the room, but comfortable silence. There was a small candle sitting in between them, the smell slinking in and out of their noses. It was relaxing, calming, and peaceful.
Or it was for the next five seconds before Sunny slammed the door so hard he knocked it down and ran into the room, panting. " Well. Uh. Hi Sunny?" Aubrey smiled. He ran over to her and hugged her tightly, which meant she barely kept her piping hot tea from spilling over her lap. Gently, Basil took it from her and placed it on the table. Kel and Hero both ran into the room and breathed sighs of relief at the fact Aubrey was okay. Hero was wheezing on the ground now though. Four years of no exercise and working sitting down didn't exactly give him a pack of abs.
" Sorry about that door, Basil. I don't think Sunny meant to break it, he was just worried. I can get a crew to come fix it if you'd like." Hero said between a few heavy breaths. Basil shook his head gently and put his tea down. " No, that's alright Hero. I'll ask Polly to fix it later."
As they talked, Sunny continued hugging Aubrey. She tried to peel him off, but he just hugged her tighter. Sighing, she took her tea and started drinking it again. Kel attempted to put the door back on, except for the fact he didn't have any tools so he kind of just propped it up against the frame and started wondering how Sunny managed to break it open since he wasn't particularly strong. " So, did anything happen during the night?" Hero asked. " You didn't call us or anything so we were pretty worried." Basil thought for a moment and sipped his tea. " Me and Aubrey talked it out. That's all." Grinning, he ruffled Basil's hair lightly. " Good job Basil. I'm proud of you." Beaming, he playfully swatted at Hero. " Thanks, I appreciate it. What should we do today?" Kel waddled over, asking Basil where the bathroom was. He pointed over to where it was and went back to discussing the plans for the day with Hero. It seemed a lot darker here than where they were, but he didn't pay it much notice.
As Kel walked towards the bathroom, the door creaked open slightly. Inside it was almost completely dark. " Basil! Your lightbulb in the bathroom is broken!" He shouted. There wasn't a response except for some laughter that wasn't aimed at him. He shrugged and went inside, leaving the door slightly ajar as he did so. It was oddly echo-y in a bathroom that wasn't that big, Kel thought. Every step he took made a resounding thump noise. Again, he shrugged it off. He finished his business and started washing his hands, looking at himself in the mirror as he did so.
His heart dropped when he saw what was behind him.

--
Laughter came from everyone's mouths, and they seemed to have forgotten about Kel for the moment. " Oh my god, that happened?" Aubrey said between breaths " No way you had to do that at college!" Hero had the most shit-eating grin on his face that you could imagine " Well, y'know, if they reaalllly needed that much flour for a cooking event, then who am I to keep it from them, huh?" Basil lightly elbowed him in the arm and he grabbed him and rubbed his knuckles on his head. Sunny smiled to himself in his chair, watching them mess around. It was nice to see Hero again. He frowned. Kel had been in that bathroom for a while now, huh?
--
Mari.
Mari stood behind him. He turned around, praying it wasn't real, that he was hallucinating or something, but no.

No.

There was Mari.
She floated slightly above the ground, smiling. She seemed...A lot paler. Her hair was still dark, but her eyes were pure white and her clothes grey.
" Hello, Kel."
" Mari? Is that really you?" His eyes widened. He stepped forward, unsure of how to react to this.
She also stepped forward. " Yes, Kel. It's me." Her expression changed to sadness. " I've been wandering here for a long time, with nobody to talk to. Nobody to listen to me. But you're here, and you can see me! It makes me so happy someone can see me, Kel."
Kel's expression shifted from happiness to wariness. " But...Why can I see you? Why not Hero, Sunny, or Aubrey? Or maybe Basil? We weren't that close before you died, were we?"
Her expression eased back into smiling- God since when has Mari smiled so much?- and replied. " Oh, that's an easy one Kel; you're the most accepting person I know. Hero would freak out and so would Sunny. Aubrey and Basil would probably think they're hallucinating, but you...You realise that I'm not a fake person. I'm real. Except now, I'm a ghost."
Kel hesitated, but it wasn't like there was anything he had to lose. " Why did you do it?"
The smile on Mari's face faltered slightly. " Do what?"
" You know..." He hesitated " Why did you kill yourself?"
She tilted her head, that same confused smile on her face.
" I didn't kill myself, Kel."
Just as Kel was about to question her again, someone opened the door. Kel reacted to the light by shielding his eyes, and when he looked again Mari had disappeared. Standing in the doorway, Sunny held one of his hands to his chest and the other held the handle. " Oh, uh, hi! Sorry, I was just finishing up." When he tried to just walk straight past him, however, Sunny grabbed his wrist and looked at him closely. His eyes were narrowed. " Hurt?"
Kel blinked, grinning nervously " Huh? No, I'm fine."
After a few more moments, he let go of Kel's wrist and started to walk away. He followed after him. " Oh, there you are Sunny!" Basil smiled. Kel quietly mumbled something under his breath. Hero noticed him" Hm? Did you say something, Kel?" He shook his head and walked into the kitchen to get some water. Basil shrugged and went back to talking with Hero and Aubrey. As Kel was in the kitchen getting a glass of water, the phone started ringing. Basil wasn't paying any attention to it, so Kel just picked it up as he sipped his water.
" Hello, is this the Haugen residence?" A female voice came through the phone, pronouncing Basil's last name very wrong.
" Yes, and it's pronounced Hau-gen. What can I help you with?"
" I'm calling from Faraway Hospital, and I have some very important news to share about the status of Mr Haugen's grandmother." She pronounced it correctly this time. " Can I ask what your relationship with him is?"
Kel hesitated, looking at Basil carefully. " We're close friends."
" Well, unfortunately, his grandmother has passed away in hospital."
Kel was silent for a moment " I see. May I ask how she died?"
" Heart complications and old age, I'm afraid." Basil noticed Kel looking at him weirdly and Kel gestured he needed to come over. Basil excused himself and walked to him. " Kel?" He asked, eyes wide, " Is something wrong?" Kel sullenly handed him the phone and watched his expression fall into fear and realisation. He hung up the phone, shaking. Without any previous provocation, Kel brought Basil in for a hug. He began to sob into him, quietly. The others noticed this and asked what was wrong.
Neither answered.
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As a group, they decided it would be best if, for the day, Basil and Kel stayed together at home. Basil didn't want to go out because he was grieving, and knowing his mental state, Kel didn't want to leave him at home by himself since Polly was out working and wouldn't be back until later. " We don't mind staying behind Basil! We'd rather spend more time with you than do nothing." He shook his head while smiling weakly. " I know that, but I don't want you just to stay here the whole day. We can hang out later today and have a sleepover, maybe go out late at night. And, I'd rather not be left here alone, you know..." His face faltered for a second. Aubrey sighed and nodded. " Alright, all right. We'll come in later and make sure you guys are okay. If you need anything you can call us." However, just as they were about to leave, a thundering sound broke the flow of conversation. The rain started pouring down, hammering on the roof. Some of it dripped down and landed on the plants. " Ah. Well. Never mind then." Basil sighed and moped away into the bathroom, shutting the door lightly. Everyone stood there in silence for a moment. " Should we play video games?" Sunny asked, quietly. " I guess so." Aubrey shrugged and walked over to Basil's TV, attempting to switch it on and fiddling around with it. " No, Aubrey! Don't pull that, that's the DP cable!" Rushing over, Kel moved Aubrey out of the way and put the cable back in. " Hey! Let me do this!" Aubrey shoved him back, moving it around. She and Kel squashed and moved against each other, trying to put the cable in and take it out. Hero and Sunny watched them from a distance. " Do you think we should help?" Seemingly answering Hero's question, Aubrey and Kel started punching and scratching each other. Hero rushed over to sort them out, but Sunny felt a cold wind on his back as he did so.
It was coming from the bathroom.