Fallout and Future

Chapter 3: Reunion

A/N: CWs at bottom

Aubrey was fortunate enough to spot the hospital van driving off, so she wouldn't end up biking all the way to the hospital before being informed Basil was discharged. All it did was drive a pit further into her stomach, though. Now he was back, and she had no idea how to handle it. What if she ran into him at Othermart, or something, and he blamed her for never visiting? Should she go knock on his door, or would that be too intrusive? There was no way he'd say no, even if he was uncomfortable, which she didn't want to do to him.

She decided it would be best to wait a bit before trying to contact Basil again and leaned her signature bike against the wall of her house. Perhaps she could walk to Kel's place and get that out of the way. Aubrey sat down, smoothing over her shorts as she pondered what to do next. Nails from her freshly de-nailed bat littered the ground, along with the pliers she'd done the deed with. Fuck, I'm going to have to see Kel eventually, right? Best to do it on my own terms. She got to her feet and looked at the route to his house determinedly, steeling her nerves.

"Come on, Aubs. You have to talk to him." Aubrey muttered quietly, watching as the house loomed ever closer over her.

She stopped dead in her tracks as a voice behind her innocently asked, "Talk to who?" She spun around, wishing she'd brought her bat. Kel, standing head-and-shoulders above her, looked down, a broad grin upon his face and basketball uniform on his frame.

"No, seriously. Talk to who?" He rubbed the back of his neck, smile unwavering.

"Uh... well, I was planning to go talk to you?" Aubrey repeated the gesture, looking away awkwardly.

"That's cool." Kel replied, letting the silence linger as he continued to smile. "I tried approaching you a few times, but you seemed pretty determined to stay away from everything, so I decided it'd be better to leave you on your own for a bit."

Aubrey took notice of a bag of groceries in his hand. She decided not to question how, despite Othermart being in a completely different direction, he'd ended up here; that was just how Kel was. "Yeah, sorry for avoiding you. I'm pushing everyone away again, aren't I?"

"I mean, I'd have given you the Sunny treatment if it went on for too long." Kel commented, beginning to walk towards his house as though he expected Aubrey to follow. She did.

"Haha, yeahhh. Sounds like you." She'd looked at the ground at the mention of Sunny's name. Once again, a silence that only seemed to be awkward for her filled the air. "So... how, eh, are things?"

"I'm probably going to be made captain of the basketball team this year, which is pretty neat. We got absolutely trounced last semester, remember?"

"Oh, yeah. That last game was something else..." Aubrey grimaced as she recalled it.

"Yep! Also, I never knew you showed up to my games." Kel cocked his head, a smug, faux-innocent expression on his face.

"W-wh... I didn't. No, Angel told me." She said hurriedly.

"Angel literally goes to a different school." He chuckled.

Aubrey sighed, face-palming lightly. She'd forgotten why she bickered so often with Kel. "Alright, but you know what I meant by 'how are things.'"

The cheery August atmosphere seemed to dissolve immediately. Kel's face grew uncharacteristically serious, darkening. "Hm. Hero went back to college. He's communicating less; doesn't like talking about when he's coming home." He recalled the early days of his supposed return to form, following Hero's year of depression; this was better than that, at least. "And, before you ask..." His expression turned shameful. "I haven't seen Basil, either. Couldn't bring myself to do it."