HeatStroke // KelBrey [Omori Spoilers]

Remembrance

A faint crying can be heard from the girl's room upstairs, with an entrance that has a ladder surrounded by garbage and creaky wooden boards. What is the cause of her crying? It's prom day at school, and everyone should be happy. Should she be supported, or is it better to not touch the crying girl in a beautiful dress?

All those racing thoughts went through Kel's head as he approached the ladder. Would his appearance make it worse or better? No one knew. He felt bad for the girl but didn't understand the reason for her grief at the same time. So many thoughts were filling up his head. There was no turning back already. He needed to do something. He couldn't just enter the house with his intentions and then back off because he couldn't confront the girl.

Kel adjusted his suit and took a deep breath, summoning every bit of bravery inside him, and putting it to work while climbing the ladder. "Aubrey?" Kel's faint voice reached the room as he popped his head through the entrance. The girl slowly turned around. All her grief was visible in the form of tears rolling down her face, with a big frown spreading across her entire face. Aubrey slowly opened her mouth and struggled to speak, "K-kel? What d-did you forget in here?" She wanted to scream but couldn't gather enough strength.

"Ahm... I'm sorry if I'm interrupting you or... ahmm," said Kel, clearly not sure of what to say. "Yes! Yes, you.. you are interrupting m-me!" Aubrey screamed with all her might. "Woah woah. I said that I'm sorry. I just... I just couldn't stand hearing you cry and not doing anything..." blurted out Kel, feeling embarrassed about something he didn't even know. "I... I can leave... if you want, of course," blurted out the boy again, while standing above the ladder and looking worriedly at the girl in a shiny dress. Aubrey's mouth opened, but nothing came out. Kel started coming up the ladder and stepping on the creaky wooden boards to reach Aubrey.

Kel walked over to the bed and sat down beside Aubrey. "Aubrey, what happened? I promised you that I'll always be there for you. That's what friends are supposed to do..." said Kel, trying not to be too annoying.

"You know," said Aubrey very quietly, wiping tears from her face. "You know that I'm not good at reading the room. So I don't know. Please tell me. I will try my best to help you," said Kel, really worried about Aubrey.

"It's about Mari and Sunny" said Aubrey, looking away from Kel a bit. "Continue, I'm listening" said Kel, trying to be as helpful as possible.

"After Sunny told us about what truly happened... Sometimes I just can't come to terms with it. Even after one year after he told me. I just want to blame Sunny for everything, but I know it was an accident. And then I blame myself for blaming Sunny and Basil. And it continues like this in an infinite loop... I just miss Mari," said Aubrey, being really upset.

"Is there anything else you want to tell me?" asked Kel, but was met with silence. Kel wanted to say "I'm not good at helping" but decided to back off his insecurities from the conversation.

"Aubrey... It's okay to feel like that" said Kel, but got interrupted by Aubrey saying, "No, it's not... I'm a complete jerk. He is my friend, and I'm blaming him for everything." Kel was stunned but, after taking a breath and thoroughly looking at the girl, continued, "You are not a jerk. Don't say that about yourself! I'm sure he would understand you... Everyone has moments like this, and everyone moves on in their own ways."

"Oh, what do y-...", wanted to say something Aubrey but decided not to. "What do I?", asked Kel. "Forget about it", blurted out Aubrey. "If you say so", sadly added Kel. 

Two friends sat near each other for what felt like an eternity, but was only a minute. Kel knew he needed to do something and was really nervous about not saying anything. "What do I do? What do I do? Think, Kel," thought Kel to himself. The best thing Kel could think of was to do something that always worked and that he had always longed for. "I'm sorry, but..." Kel blurted out quickly, and moved towards Aubrey. Suddenly, the two friends were combined in a long and thorough hug.

"Kel! You know I don't like hugs!" screamed Aubrey, while becoming a bit flustered.

"And you want me to let go?" said Kel.

Nothing came off from Aubrey but it seems she didn't want to.

The two friends sat in a hug for what felt like a really long minute, not wanting to let go of each other until Aubrey said, "Thank you, Kel."

"I just want to see you happy. That's all," said Kel with a wide grin.

Aubrey smiled back at him and completely wiped her tears.

Two friends finally let go of each other, but it was clear they didn't want to. "Kel, why did you even come here in the first place?" Aubrey asked, confused.

"Oh right... Ahm... Ahm..." Kel became a bit flustered. Aubrey didn't understand but decided to tease the boy like in the old times. "Oh, what's the problem Kel? Did you come here to invite me to be your prom date or something?" Aubrey said with a smug expression, waiting for Kel to become annoyed and have some fun.

"Well... Uhum" Kel said quietly, as his heart was beating out of his chest.

"W-what?! You are joking... r-right?! Is this another of your teases to make me angry?!" Aubrey said as her heartbeat became a bit faster.

Kel thought that maybe it's better to turn back and say that it was all a joke, but he decided to stick to his plan. "No, it's not a joke," Kel said with a little bit red showing on his cheeks, and soon enough, Aubrey's face became the same. The two friends stood near each other for a while.

"So... Do you accept?" Kel asked carefully, already expecting and coming in terms with a rejection from Aubrey, based of her silence

Aubrey didn't answer for some time, trying to understand if this was real, no one ever asked her to a dance and to such an important one! And her childhood friend Kel, who she is so familiar with. After a few seconds, she blurted out, "Yes, I do", as she turned away her head instantly from Kel. Kel was surprised and flustered; he had really thought he was going to get rejected, but it was really pleasant to know that he was wrong.

"We should probably go. Or we will be late," Kel said, while also not looking at Aubrey; scratching his head with a hand.

"Yes. I agree," Aubrey answered, still not looking at Kel.

With that, the two friends climbed down the ladder and walked to the living room of the house. Aubrey's mom still didn't show any signs of caring. They both wanted to open the door at the same time, and their hands met on the door handle. They quickly pulled their hands back and refused to look at each other. Kel decided to open the door since Aubrey refused to even turn around.

They walked out of the house to the fresh smell of summer air, and although school had ended, it felt like something new was just beginning.