The Good, The Bad, And The Ones In Love ~ corpsekkuno

3

A Few Hours Prior

Getting to the checkout counter with Corpse trailing behind him awkwardly is one of the most dreadful situations Sykkuno has ever been in. Bimbus – who had been awfully silent all this while – walks with them.

Corpse patiently waits for Sykkuno to collect all of his change and the bag full of unwanted snacks – which Sykkuno and Toast call groceries. Corpse quietly guides him to the café in the mall. Half of the people there who aren't busy either snogging their partners at 9 in the morning or chomping down their breakfasts, turn to him and instantly give him pity eyes. Corpse doesn't notice.

"A large coffee with two sugars and milk and a cappuccino please." Corpse orders before Sykkuno can even say a word.

Warmth spreads across his chest when he realises that Corpse remembers how he likes his coffee. He puts his head down and moves himself to a nearby table with less chairs so he can fit his wheelchair in. Corpse plops himself down on the chair opposite to him. Neither of them say a thing as Corpse texts on his phone – probably to inform Rae that he's not in the grocery store anymore. Sykkuno admires the back cover of his brand new phone, not the little Nokia that he refused to replace, the album cover of the 1975's latest album – the band that Sykkuno had forced Corpse to listen to, which Corpse never admitted to like.

Too involved in memories from the past, he flinches when Corpse noisily places the phone on the table. Both of them look at each other without saying a thing. Sykkuno inspects his face. His hair has grown much longer than he remembers. Guess he took him up on the advice to not cut his hair. He still looks like he hasn't aged a day though. Still looks like nothing's changed.

"Quite a few things have changed, haven't they?" Corpse speaks up, contrary to Sykkuno's thoughts.

"Yeah, your Nokia's been replaced." He points to the phone sitting midst them.

"Ramona smashed it into pieces." He chuckles. "My niece." He adds as an afterthought.

"And they thought Nokia could not be broken." Sykkuno jokes, a round of laughter passing through them, the thought of Corpse's step sister, Rae, having a baby still mind boggling to him.

They both fall silent after that. Sykkuno starts picking on the menu card of the café that has the stupidest tagline, "I drink tea to bring out the real me!" with a stupid man drinking from what looks like a gigantic tea cup.

"Why'd you do it?" Corpse breaks the silence.

Even though he doesn't specify it, Sykkuno knows what he's asking about. He buries his face into his hands before rubbing them on his thighs.

"Honestly, Corpse, I don't know. I ask myself the same question sometimes." All the time, Sykkuno's subconscious corrects.

Corpse's eyes light up for a second before the emotion is gone again. The waitress comes to the table with both their orders. Both of them say a quiet thank you to her before she smiles and disappears. The silence hangs over them once again. The only sounds being the slurping of their beverages.

"You can ask the question, you know? About what the hell happened to me." Sykkuno says even though that's one question that he doesn't like to answer.

Corpse, though, reads through him. Knowing the best as always.

"I know you wouldn't want me to."

Sykkuno's nose flares. He doesn't have to know him so well. "I was walking back to the dorm–"

"I didn't ask, Sy."

"But I'm telling you." He says, a bit too harshly.

"You don't–" he swallows, "you don't have to."