Ataxia [OMORI]

[Myositis]

Sunny and Basil reached the entrance of the store. He considered letting go of Basil's hand, but he knew Basil needed him to keep himself from falling.

Entering Othermart, there was that usual blast of cool air you'd usually feel whenever you enter a supermarket. The open freezers, fridges, and other cooling units would always keep things cold inside one of these buildings.

That's why Sunny used to love supermarkets. Until he developed social awareness in a way that made him hate speaking to most people, he thought this was the best place on earth. Now that he was expected to make conversations and behave in certain ways, it felt so pressuring. So isolating. The only comfort now being the cold.

Sunny kept Basil's warm hand in his as they ventured towards the aisle in which there were cookies, picking up a basket on the way.

Basil's warmth was still comforting in spite of Sunny's preference for the cool. He only liked the cold because being warm in spite of it was so comforting.

"Oh, there they are! Look, it's the bear grahams!" Basil pointed out. Sunny noticed something was off about Basil. He didn't have his usual flower pin. He couldn't just waltz into Basil's grandma's old house to get it, either.

Sunny would have to solve this discrepancy quickly... after getting snacks for his Basil. For Basil. Not his. Bad Sunny.

Basil placed another set of cookies into the cart. The chewy kind from the "Chips Ahoy!" brand. It was Sunny's favourite kind. "Why did you put these in?" Sunny asked curiously.

The blonde shrugged, "I dunno, I thought you might like them!" he spoke with a kind smile. His voice was as sweet as always. Sunny felt his head hurt a little, trying to stop himself from saying something stupid.

"Uh... thanks. Let's go check the candy aisle. There's some chips and stuff there, too," Sunny said, moving with Basil around the corner to the next aisle.

Basil excitedly bounced as they walked over, "Can we get Goldfish? I love them!" it was definitely all of Basil's favourite childhood snacks he was getting. Sunny didn't mind, though. They all tasted good regardless of what age they were eating them.

Especially Goldfish. Sunny never gave those up. Anyone who did was a fool, losing out on the delicious cheese-ish flavour.

Sunny did as asked and picked up a... no, two bags of Goldfish. He needed the extra, just in case.

Suddenly letting go of Sunny's hand, Basil rushed over to the other end of the aisle and looked at the chocolates. "Look, there's Dairy Milk chocolate!!" he excitedly pointed out. Sunny rushed over to Basil and took his hand.

"Don't run off like that, Basil, you might get hurt," Sunny cautioned... he still picked up the bar and put it in the basket.

Basil pouted, "Fine..." he quickly switched his tune and smiled at Sunny, "You should get yourself something, too, Sunny!"

Now, despite the fact that the cookies that Basil probably subconsciously got for him and the second bag of Goldfish, Sunny obeyed. "Uh... sure, I'll get these," he said, picking up a bag of tortilla chips, "Should we check out the candy store... thing?"

Basil shook his head, "I think we got enough! I don't wanna waste all of your money..."

"Alright. That's fine," Sunny was secretly relieved. That was where Kim was usually trying to sneak in, giving him a great chance of being seen by her and possibly being confronted on Aubrey's behalf. "Should we go straight home after this, or do you want to... uh... did you want to hang out somewhere?"

Immediately, Sunny regretted asking. Staying outside would be a horrible idea. At any moment, someone could go up to them and start talking about the incident, asking questions, exposing Basil to the truth before he could handle it.

"Sure! Maybe that park we passed on the way here?" Basil suggested with his cheeks dyed a pinkish tint. Sunny was too busy overthinking things to notice.

Of course, Basil had to choose the park. "O-Okay, sure," approved Sunny reluctantly. He decided he'd have them leaving as soon as he could.

The pair went through the checkout, Basil begging for a pack of "Starburst" candies on the little shelf of chocolate, candy, and gum they always put by checkouts. Sunny obliged, getting the extra candy, and then getting all the items in two plastic bags.

Sunny planned to carry both, but Basil silently offered to carry one so he could continue to hold his hand. Once again, Sunny obliged, giving Basil a bag. He seemed to be handling it well, though he was occasionally tightening his grip on Sunny's hand.

After a short walk, Basil and Sunny had arrived in the park. "Why don't we sit here?" Basil asked, pointing to the bench. Sunny could come up with a myriad of reasons, but he couldn't really just tell Basil any of them, so he sat on the bench with his friend.

Surveying the area, it looked like they would safely escape the questions and concerns of any of their likely ex-friends. Sunny breathed a sigh of relief.

A sigh breathed too early, as a head of pink haired, followed by a yellow wigged head rounded the corner and rode towards the park.

Sunny's expression contorted with fear. Basil obliviously said to Sunny, "Today is really nice! Usually it's hot this time of year!" he happily swung his feet under the bench as he looked up at the sky.

Honestly, Sunny didn't even notice what Basil said. His eyes were steadily trained on Aubrey's bow flowing in the wind as she biked towards the park. He prayed that she would turn the corner and leave them alone.

Unfortunately, if there is a god, he is a cruel trickster, as Aubrey continued towards the park, crossing the street. "Hey, Sunny... you're kinda quiet. Is something wrong?" Basil asked as Sunny felt his body tense up.

"Basil, we gotta go. Like, now," Sunny said softly as he could, whispering as though they were going to hear him.

Of course, while Aubrey couldn't hear him, she could see him. "Hey!" she shouted at the two. Sunny felt his hair stand on end.

"Who's that yelling at you?" Basil asked as Sunny picked up his bag. He quickly replied.

"Long story."