#i like aubrey x basil in a different way than i like sunny x basil. its like when you have babies and you love them in their own unique ways

[frogoru]

if i drew omori photobomb fanart would u guys burn me at the stake

[aritsukemo]

Heyyy! I hope the requests are open and im not putting too much work on your shoulders...

Anyways, this is my first ever time requesting... ANYTHING at all so i hope this is a not-so-hard or something that i shouldn't request (if not or you just don't feel like doing this request do NOT respond/do this request. I don't want to cause you burnouts or anything...)

Okay.. so...

May i request OMORI main gang x reader (all separate ofc) how long did it take for them to get comfortable around their s/o fully and how do they act in the developed relationship?

Thank you for your time! ^^

How long would it take the Omori Gang to become comfortable with their s/o? Well..

( @weed-stoner )

Warnings: Spoilers ahead! ( Implied in others and blatantly stated in Aubrey's part )

A/N: I AM SOOOOO INCREDIBLY SORRY THIS TOOK SO LONG!!! I started this shortly after you requested it but then things happened and I had a little dry spout with Omori and forgot about it completely. Nevertheless, I hope you enjoy this! ( And again, I am SOOO sorry, love! 😅)

I'd say, based on their level of openness, the ranking of how quickly they'd become comfortable with their significant other would look something like this..

Kel

Mari

Hero

Aubrey

Sunny

Basil

And here's why..

Kel is the type of person who can vibe with anyone as long as they aren't a horrible person. ( Or act like Mikhael. Even then there's a chance. )

I'd say give it maybe a couple weeks? He's never been in any kind of relationship like this one so he may act a little different than usual for a while. Once that's over though, he's pretty much the same eager ball of sunshine! He'll always want to nag them to come out and enjoy the world with him and will do everything in his power to be around them! After all, it's way more fun hanging with them than being at home..

Now this can be up for debate, but I think Mari wouldn't take long at all to grow comfortable with her significant other. In her opinion, communication and trust are key parts to any lasting relationship so she doesn't mind coming to you when she's a little bothered by things. ( Which happens more times than one may think )

I see her taking maybe around a few months ( like three to four ) before completely letting the person in. It's nothing personal, she just wants to gauge their personality and see whether or not this relationship will be able to last.

Now, Mari doesn't act much different when she's comfortable with people. Subtle things do change though. For example, her smile seems more relaxed and she gets less upset when making mistakes around that person. Their presence soothes her and as a result, she's less uptight around them.

For Hero, it really depends on when he got into the relationship. If it was before his relationship with Mari, which is not likely, he's not that much different to Kel. He'll spend a lot time with the person and pretty much tell them anything and everything. If it's after his relationship with Mari, which is more likely, it'll be much different.

You see, Hero has experienced heartbreak in one of the worst possible ways and it'll take time for him to heal. That being said, I really don't see him dating anyone until that happens, but let's say that he does. Realistically, it take quite some time which can vary from a few months to a year to way longer than that.

Now, Hero is still Hero so he'll treat whoever he dates with the kindness and respect that they deserve and will do everything he can to make sure they're happy and healthy, ( both physically and mentally ) however when it comes to verbalizing his own emotions, that's where we hit a nail. Whoever he dates would have to be very patient with him otherwise it may cause him to put even more walls up.

When he's finally comfortable around them, it'll show. He'll start telling them things he wouldn't before and'll even rant to them about his problems occasionally. He'll be way more open with his partner and'll be just a tad bit ( a lot ) more clingy than he used to.

Aubrey is a rather tough cookie. Ever since Mari died and everyone distanced themselves, forcing her to cope with everything alone, she has never truly let her walls down in front of others. And, if someone attempted to break down those walls, she'll grow defensive and even violent towards that person.

How long it would take Aubrey to even be comfortable enough to date someone really depends on the personality. Like, I see her letting her guard down quicker if the person is more kind and patient with her like Mari rather than someone's who's short-tempered or rough around the edges like her.

When Aubrey is comfortable around her significant other, she'll be less afraid to tell them how she feels. She'll vent to them, but because of that, she'll be more shy towards them. Aubrey'll also hold that person in higher regard than others and'll hold them close to her heart. When they scold her, she actually listens and tries to do better. If they're upset, she'll be the first to notice and'll be there to listen to them rant/help them out in any possible way. And, she'll always try to make sure that her little fights and other violent affairs never mesh and disturb the person's daily life. In a way, she sees this relationship as a way to pay them back for putting up with her for so long so she'd pretty much do anything for that person.

Sunny's next and oh boy..

I honestly don't see him indulging in any kind of romance with anyone unless him and that person were like childhood friends—I'm talkin' never leaving each other's side, seen everywhere together type of close childhood friend with someone—and even then, it's hard to imagine post-traumatized him feeling comfortable around anyone besides his former friends, let alone a relationship. But for the sake of this, let's say he does..

I can't put a time limit on how long it'll take him simply because I see it depending on which ending we're talking about. Obviously if we're talking about any of the bad endings, he's pretty much a lost dead cause. He's not going to make any attempt to open up to them and no matter how much they may try, there will always be distance between them. Now, if we're talking about good ending Sunny, the person actually has a chance.

There will be a lot of trial and error simply because Sunny's used to keeping things bottled up. He's not used to being upfront and truthful and he's only used to running away and not facing his problems. That being said, I see the process quickening a bit if the person he's dating is super gentle and patient with him. If they just gave him time, and a tiny push here and there, he'll come around. And when he does, he'd be stuck to them like glue.

I feel like he'd make it known with his body when he's truly comfortable around his partner. Whether his shoulders noticeably slump in their presence or maybe he lets his guard down enough to hold you or lean on you. Just something that'll let the person know that he feels truly safe around them! I see him being sorta touch-hungry and expressing it once he's comfortable with that person by giving them a bunch of hugs and cuddles and such.

And hey, maybe he'll even talk! ( Nah I'm playing BAHAHA- )

Finally, we have our sweet boy Basil. The gardening genius that carries a ginormous bouquet of trauma wherever he goes..

It's easy to say that whether the person was his friend prior to the incident or not, it'll take forever for Basil to truly feel comfortable around them.

If they were his friend prior to the incident, well, it all really depends. Was he close ( closer than he was with the others ) with them before the incident occurred? Did they distance themself from the group like everyone else? Did they stick to him and never let him go? Depending on what the person does all depends on how long it'll take. To me, I definitely feel like Basil would spill everything eventually if the person decided to stick with him when everyone grew apart and, as a result, would become sort of this unhealthy lifeline to Basil. Since they'd be the one he confides in about everything, it would grow to the point that they'd be the one thing keeping him together. He'd be at their mercy, and in a way, they'd be at his and nothing would really change until probably after the truth comes out ( if it were to come out ) and Basil got the proper help he needs.

If they weren't his friend before the incident, good luck. They'd be lucky enough to even get a full conversation from him, much less get him to be their friend and harbor any kind of romantic feelings for them. But let's say that is the case. Let's say that through some stroke of luck they managed to befriend Basil and eventually end up in a relationship with him. The person is going to have to put up with a lot. Basil is a very sensitive person and all it takes is one bad interaction for him to completely shut them out. They'd have to tread very lightly ( but not too lightly; if they don't try enough, the relationship's not getting anywhere ) or else they'll end up back at square one. I see this taking years ( specifically four or more ) and really, I only see him completely growing comfortable with the person after some extensive therapy.

When he's finally, fully comfortable with them, he'll be way more verbal and open. The fear of being rejected/judged would've been less apparent and slowly pushed to the back of his mind. Being with them for so long, ( and having gotten at least some bit of therapy since I literally don't see this happening otherwise ) he's grown to trust them to some extent. He's also grown to love rambling to them about whatever's on his mind. Whether that be about flowers or things much darker. I see him craving their touch and he wouldn't mind asking. ( But not too many times, he's still Basil after all ) I see those two spending so much time together that Polly would see them as an extension of the household. ( She'd fix them dinner every evening and would grow concerned if they didn't show up to get it and say hey to Basil. That's how much they'd be together. )

Dividers were made by me, pictures used are from Pinterest, post formatting is inspired by @xxsabitoxx

[zeni1098]

@halfhissandwich

My omori x sander sides au!!! X0

————————————————

If you were on my blog you’ve probably seen the au lol. Basically Patton kills Virgil and Remus helps him cover it up. The roles are

Sunny=Patton

Omori=morality

Aubrey=Logan

Kel=Roman

Hero=Janus

Basil=Remus

Story

_____

Virgil and Patton were in an argument, Remus had sort of did something to Patton and Patton was sort of upset. Virgil was trying to console him but Patton lost control and pushed him into “memory lake” (it’s a place where Thomas’s memories are kept. If a side fell in Thomas would forget them slightly but not the sides). Remus witnessed it and rushed over to try and get Virgil out but it was too late. Patton was already tearing up and was paralysed, he was apologising over and over again while sitting down next to Remus while Remus just stared down at Virgil. Remus WAS going to tell the others what Patton had done but Patton begged Remus not to, Patton didn’t know what to do. He didn’t want the others to hate him and he didn’t want them to be upset so he thought irrationally. Remus agreed to keep quiet. They then left and went back to the mindscape. The others realised Virgil was missing and then later found him dead underwater.

Remus was the one that self isolated, not Patton. He didn’t have a headspace but he stopped leaving his room until Roman managed to get him out. He wasn’t the same since.

Logan was petrified and was sort of alone. He needed help and no one would help him or be there for him. He begged everyone to just hang out with him but no one would. Remus was the only one that sort of listened to him and hung around with him so Logan considered Remus his “only friend”. Later the desperation then turned to “hatred” and “resentment” to the others. Logan wears a white jersey over his clothes, he doesn’t go out of his way to “bully” the others but he has a short patience and temper it everyone (especially Patton and Janus). He only gets physical when he gets impatient. The reason Patton and Roman look for him in the audience is because he took Janus’a snake cane.

Janus was in a denial, at first he was depressed but one day he sort of acted like nothing had happened and refused to believe Virgil passed. He usually stays inside and comes out rarely, his excuse is usually “Oh I can’t leave yet guys! I don’t want to miss Virgil when he comes back!” But no one has the heart to give Janus a reality check. Janus also has a headspace. He is always smiling calmly and is soft spoken, gentle and nice to everyone. Morally because denial has led him there and if he got the reality check he’d probably turn back to normal Janus.

Roman is mostly the same as Kel other than the fact he had hero’s grieving for a while before accepting what happened and moving on. He wants the group back together more than anything, he was very happy when he got Remus to come out. Remus had changed a lot and was very different to how he used to be, Roman sort of wants Remus back to the way he was because he knows Remus isn’t happy.

Remus fully isolated and never left his room until a few months ago, he became quieter, more introverted, sensitive and emotional. He wants to tell everyone the truth but won’t let himself do it without Patton. The fight was about Remus finally cracking and telling Patton to tell everyone the truth.

Remus actually told Orange about what happened, and visited him for advice (in replace of Basil visiting his grandma in the hospital). You all can decide what Orange had said. Remus was going to jump into memory lake if Patton hadn’t caught him self harming in his room at night (before the fight).

Patton was morally the same, instead he wears his cat jumper instead of on his shoulders. Instead of a knife he carries a rugby football to throw at enemies (since I think it fits him more than an actual weapon lol). He isn’t a bad person or “unsympathetic” he just doesn’t know what to do all the time and especially in the current situation. He doesn’t mean to hurt anyone.

(I’ll talk about the headspace’s another time lol!!!)

[sapphire-sans]

You're in my Headspace!!

Hello! I'm starting to get back into writing because I started to play Omori. I also remembered a few poems I created a while back and I decided to create Omori poems! Omori does not belong to me.

Anyways, I was making a Sunny x reader but Sunny seemed like a Yandere, so now it's a Yandere Sunny x reader haha.

Enjoy!!

ONE

Y/N:

Hello,

It’s nice to meet you

I feel like I know you

If you’re reading this,

Thank God

That there are others like me.

Lost, in their own,

Dark world.

One that we like to call

“Blackspace.”

Mari:

I’m not so sure

My brother’s alright

He’s been acting strange

Ever since

Our new neighbor showed up

He’s been locking himself

Up in his room

He won’t come out

Unless I tell him to

Every time I open his door,

I see him staring out his window,

As if he were watching something

Or someone…

Sunny:

Life is different

With her around

I find myself

Watching her

More than I would like

Or admit.

Hero:

I was over at Sunny and Mari’s house earlier.

They told me that there was a new kid in town.

I cannot wait to meet them!

I hope they’re nice

Mari told me

She thought the neighbor

Was kind of cute.

Not like it can change

My perspective

On Mari ;3

Kel:

There’s a new kid in town!

There’s a new kid in town!

I heard it’s a girl!

I hope she likes me,

And maybe more ways than one,

Hehe~

Aubrey:

I’m so excited

To meet this new kid!

I hope it’s a girl

And I hope she’s nice

Like Mari.

I hope she likes to dance

Or at least likes music

Maybe she plays an instrument,

A piano, like Mari

Or a violin

Like Sunny.

Basil:

The other day,

When I was visiting Mari and Sunny

They told me that there’s a new neighbor.

I looked out the window

To find a moving truck

Parked outside

The house next to them.

I’m very excited to meet them

I hope they like photography

Or even like to draw

Or write.

[XX]

(This story takes place before Mari's death. I'm not sure how many chapters it will have, but I hope to have the entire storyline of Omori in this fanfiction.)

[styloplumes]

Cuddles

Omori, Dw Basil, Dw Aubrey, Dw Kel, Dw Hero, Dw Mari, Sweetheart, Capt. Space boy, Unbread twins, Sunny, Basil, Aubrey, Kel, Hero, Mari x reader

Omori

-When you first asked to cuddle him he was confused

-He's never cuddled with a person, just Mewo

-He's a bit awkward when it comes to cuddles

-Cuddles always in white space

-Doesn't have a preference for cuddles

-He isn't used to the company but it feels nice in someway

-You'll probably always have to initiate cuddles

Dream Basil

-He enjoys them

-He finds them as a way to relax with you

-Sometimes he has soothing flowers around the two of you as you cuddle

-He's a really comforting person so if you're ever feeling stressed he'll offer to cuddle

-Might be more of a little spoon but if you asked he wouldn't mind being big spoon

Dream Aubrey

-Really clingy so cuddles are a must

-When the two of you cuddle Mr. Eggplant is not left out

-Probably the little spoon

-She also gives Mr. Eggplant more attention than she does with you even if you're cuddling

-Rambles on about random drama

Dream Kel

-Honestly it would be hard to cuddle with him

-He's very energetic and can almost never stay in one place

-When he passes out it's usually in a weird position too

-But if you ask he'll try his best to stay still and cuddle with you

-Doesn't have a preference

-If you wanna be little spoon he'll be big spoon, you wanna be big spoon? He'll be little spoon

Dream Hero

-Big spoon

-He likes being the big spoon, he feels as if he's protecting you in some way

-Sometimes during cuddles he'll tell you a story

-He always makes sure you're comfortable

-If you like talking he'll plan out some topics for the two of you to discuss

-But if you'd prefer to just lay there he wouldn't mind doing that either

Dream Mari

-Usually cuddles after a picnic when everybody else is sleepy and tired

-If you're lucky she'll have snacks (usually her cookies) on hand

-If you'd like she'll happily sing or hum you a song

-I don't think she would mind being big or little spoon

-If the others are exploring and you sit out with Mari for a bit she may ask to cuddle while you two wait for the others

Sweetheart

-Always busy so almost never has time

-When she does have time she's very strict about it

-Depending on her mood depends on the cuddle position

-During cuddles she'll probably rant about random things

-When she does want to cuddle she'll command the sprout moles to get everything prepared and perfect

Capt. Spaceboy

-Yes

-He will put everything aside to cuddle you

-In the middle of a mission? Put it on hold it's cuddle time

-Likes holding you to feel tough but deep down he wants to be held too

-Probably initiates cuddles more often than you do

Unbread twins

-They're very busy so almost no time for cuddles

-Of course maybe now and then you can convince them to take breaks and cuddle with them

-Cuddling with the two of them is a bit complicated so they prefer to hold you in a cuddle sandwich

-Talk about different types of bread every time

Sunny

-L o v e s  c u d d l e s

-He finds them very comforting so when you asked he was overjoyed

-Prefers to be little spoon but might be big spoon from time to time

-He probably prepares sometimes, for example having a movie set to watch, snacks, blankets, you name it

-He usually falls asleep drifting into headspace but when he does it's actually calming for once and not all chaotic

Basil

-He likes them

-Definitely little spoon

-He's really shy about it

-You'll probably have to be the one to initiate cuddles because he's nervous/shy to ask you

-Cuddles make him feel safe and are a little escape from reality

Kel

-Loves them!

-He will always put time aside to cuddle you

-Big spoon

-Rambles about random things

-Sometimes he'll tell jokes to try and make you laugh

-He also likes playing songs on his boombox

-When he cuddles with you he gets an excuse to not do his chores

Hero

-Usually quite busy but every now and then he'll try to find time for cuddles

-Cuddles are actually a way to help with his stress

-Usually big spoon but if he's feeling quite stressed out he may ask to be little spoon

-Cuddles with him are quiet but comforting at the same time

Mari

-Likes cuddling after piano practice

-No cuddle preference really, she just likes them

-If you like cuddling with her she may initiate them more

-If there's ever anything on your mind for example somethings bothering/upsetting you, she'll listen to you and comfort you

MY TIME (Omori masterlist)

Main navigation

[cyberfunsupporter]

1,7,19,27 for omori!!!

1) what otps in your fandom do you just not get?

i just do not get sunflower at all. i’m very sorry but it makes no sense to me. those 2 boys are not ready to date and they are DEFINITELY not going to date each other after basil had the idea to make mari’s death look like a suicide??💀💀💀 that’s just. not happening sorry

other ones are aubrey x any of the guys sorry. the one i hate the most is definitely p/hotobomb though like are you actually seriousssjxjdhfh that’s a gay man and a lesbian AND ALSO. basil? would not be interested in aubrey and aubrey would Not be interested in basil. not to mention everything that happened would make that even more impossible too like i don’t know if aubrey could look past the suicide thing + i don’t think basil could look past aubrey bullying him enough to Date her lol. i used to hate s/unburn more than p/hotobomb but seeing p/hotobomb genuinely makes me uncomfortable. s/unburn just feels dumb to me cause they’re more of friends imo, it’s the same deal w k/elbrey although i’m def more uncomfortable when i see s/unburn just cause i do not like the idea of sunny dating anybody in that friend group. w k/elbrey to me idk they’re just friends so they wouldn’t date yk but if the fanart is cute maybe i’ll rb it

7) is there anything you used to like but can’t stand now?

…basil. i’m unashamed to admit that. he’s so fucking awful idgaf. it’s lowkey the same way i feel about sun (2/3.5) but 10x worse. basil is genuinely terrible to me he used to be my favorite character but now seeing him just annoys me LOL. “he was 12” when i was 12 i would definitely not have framed a death caused by falling down the stairs as a suicide, but okay. and i wouldn’t have let that ruin my best friend’s life and just not told anyone what happened sorry that’s just so fucked up and for whatever reason everyone thinks that’s a normal tween behavior which it’s not… i don’t hate him for his bpd symptoms i hate him for ruining sunny’s life when he could’ve gotten help from an adult or like. 911. thereeee is a difference and i’m actually sick of being lumped in w ableists that hate cluster b disorders cause that’s literally so far from the truth ?|]£~€>{} you guys will hate aubrey for her bpd but if i don’t like basil because he’s actually lowkey a bad person then i’m evil?? i get maybe he was so scared to get sunny (his fp) in trouble he didn’t call for help but that just doesn’t excuse what he did at all actually 🩷 accountability still exists and you also don’t have to like somebody if they fucked you over, regardless of if they apologized or not. so i don’t like him! also his design is lowkey ugly to me

19) what is the one thing you hate most about your fandom?

nobody interacts w the characters w much thought which is so fascinating considering the game is so well written and explores a lot of deep topics with tact lol. yes this is referencing basil likers mostly

27) least shippable character?

Sunny. that boy does not need a relationship i think he needs time to chill and be normal actually. he needs to have friends irl first. things got really bad for him and he was isolated for 4 years like jumping into dating would be very bad actually

[acacia-may]

There Is Happiness (OMORI Kelbrey Fanfiction)

Description: Aubrey hadn’t always been this way. She could still remember a younger, less jaded version of herself who was actually excited about the idea of prom. A happier Aubrey who had used to giggle with Mari over the gowns in store catalogs and dream about all of her friends getting dressed up and going dancing together one day. A more innocent Aubrey who used to spend hours making plans for a future that would never get to happen. Her friends never got to go to a prom, and neither did she…Until now that is...

OR

Nearly a decade after the bad ending of OMORI, Kel and Hero plan a fake "prom" to surprise Sally, drudging up bittersweet memories for Aubrey about her friends--both the ones she had lost and, especially, the ones, who like her, had been left behind to pick up the pieces. Will confronting the past lead her to a brighter future?

Kelbrey Slow Burn, Hurt/Comfort, & How Their (Functional) Relationship Developed Over Time After the Bad Ending of OMORI. (Note: This is a standalone one shot that is a completely different bad end AU than my other really angsty bad end AU fic).

Relationships: KELBREY (Romantic Kel x Aubrey) CENTRIC (Functional, Healthy, Slow Burn Kelbrey). There are also important platonic friendships discussed & depicted in flashbacks: Aubrey & Hero & Kel friendship, Aubrey & Kel & Sally friendship, Aubrey & Mari friendship, Aubrey & Kel & Sunny & Basil & Hero & Mari friendship [Aubrey & Kel's friendships with Basil, Sunny, & Mari are a recurring & important theme]. Past Romantic Hero x Mari is referenced/heavily implied.

Characters: Aubrey (POV Character), Kel, Hero, Sally, and Mari (Sunny & Basil also appear briefly and are mentioned).

Genre: Slow Burn Romance, Friends to Lovers, Hurt/Comfort, Developing Romance Through the Years, Angst With A Hopeful Ending, Post-Bad Ending, Many Flashback Sequences, Prom

Word Count: 12,748

Rating: T for some heavy themes and thematic elements (i.e. grief & healing from grief and trauma. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death & Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues including depression & suicide).

Warnings: Major Spoilers for OMORI! Heavy themes and thematic elements (i.e. grief & healing from grief and trauma. Implied/Referenced Canonical Character Death & Implied/Referenced Mental Health Issues including depression & suicide). Kissing.

Link to original post on AO3. Please do not repost to another website.

A/N: Unfortunately, I missed Kelbrey Week because I did not know the ship even existed at the time (and had never played OMORI back in the dark ages of a couple of months ago), but I saw the prompts on Tumblr and was really inspired by the Prom prompt. Not only did the idea of "Kelbrey Prom" get a bunch of wheels turning in my brain, it also just so happened to be the prompt on my birthday, so I felt like it was it was just meant to be and I needed to write this story as soon as I had the idea. So I just wanted to offer a word of many, many thanks to @kelbreyweek for the prompt & inspiration for this story. 💕

Story below the cut. Thank you for reading!

Aubrey slammed her foot on the brake. She had lived in Faraway Town her whole life and still forgot about that stop sign. She probably always would.

The intersection was bustling today, and there was far more traffic than usual for a Saturday night. Aubrey supposed that was to be expected seeing as it was their local high school’s prom tonight, and the streets and sidewalks were filled with gussied-up teenagers in suits and poofy, colorful dresses. Aubrey rolled her eyes, conveniently ignoring the fact that she was in a pink prom dress herself—but at the very least it wasn’t that poofy.

Aubrey didn’t understand all the prom hype, especially now that she was trying to drive with teens darting in and out of the road and the straps of her dress uncomfortably digging into her arms whenever she tried to turn her steering wheel. She sighed. She sounded like such a grouchy old woman.

She hadn’t always been like that. The memories were hazy now, but she could still remember a younger less weathered, less jaded version of herself who was actually excited about the idea of prom.

*-*-*

“They’re so lucky,” sighed Aubrey glancing up from her pizza to watch the group of teenagers who had just walked into Gino’s dressed up in their finest suits and prettiest dresses for the prom.

Mari chuckled but patted her shoulder. “Don’t worry. That’ll be you too soon enough.”

“It’ll be you sooner,” Aubrey insisted with a widening smile. “You’ll get to go in just a couple of years, right?” She paused, then giggled teasingly. “With Hero.”

Hero’s face flushed, and he grew suddenly interested in his piece of pizza. Mari’s expression softened—something affectionate passing over her eyes as she chuckled at him behind her hand. She shrugged her shoulders then teased, “I don’t know. I might have to think about it,” but she winked at him and the blush in his cheeks deepened.

“Why do you even need a date to the prom anyway? Can’t you just go with your friends?” asked Kel as he practically shoveled pizza into his mouth.

Aubrey rolled her eyes and huffed. “Don’t talk with food in your mouth. It’s so gross.”

“You’re gross,” bantered Kel, sticking his tongue out at her before shoving the rest of his piece of pizza into his mouth.   

Aubrey huffed again, but Hero gently interrupted changing the subject. “I think people do go to prom in groups with their friends. You don’t have to take a date like in the movies.” He paused before turning to his brother with a dry, bantering smile. “But if you want someone to take you, I’m sure Kel can.”

“No way! I’m not going to the prom with her. Basil can take her.”

“Wha—what? Why me?” stumbled Basil, bright red in the face.

“Because they always have those flower bracelets at the prom in the movies and you know all about flowers and stuff.”

“That’s called a corsage, moron,” bantered Aubrey. “And don’t worry, I’d rather go to prom with Hector than you.”

With a confused tilt of his head, Kel blinked at her. “Can we take dogs to prom? Awesome!” Kel beamed, and Aubrey rolled her eyes. “I’ll take Hector then, and Basil can take Aubrey.”

Basil’s blush deepened as he twisted his hands. “Well…um…I mean…” He paused, swallowing hard. “Well…maybe Sunny can take you…? He’s probably better at dancing.”

“Sunny will take you,” agreed Mari with a warm smile. “Won’t you, Sunny?”

Sunny pursued his lips together and pensively stared at his hands. Aubrey wasn’t sure but his face seemed a little more flushed than usual. He finally nodded briskly and quietly said, “Okay” though he wouldn’t look up from his plate.

Mari’s smile widened, and she chuckled. “See, problem solved.”

“I don’t understand why we can’t just all go to prom together,” sighed Kel. “You, me, Sunny, Basil, and Hector, and Hero and Mari too even though they’ll be older. We can all just go as friends.”

“That sounds nice,” said Sunny so quietly he was difficult to hear over the low roar and ruckus of the restaurant patrons.

“See!” exclaimed Kel triumphantly. “Sunny agrees with me. We should all just plan to go together as friends.”

“You might change your mind when you get older, Kel,” teased Hero with a dry but affectionate smile. Kel grimaced, sticking his tongue out at his older brother.

“No way!” He huffed then turned to Basil. “You think this sounds like a good idea, right Basil?”

“Wha—what? Oh…uh…yeah okay…” he stammered unsurely.

“Aubrey?”

Kel crossed his arms and glared at her, but Aubrey sighed and conceded, “Alright, but only because Sunny likes the idea. It might be nice for all of us to go as friends, but if I get a date, he’s coming with us too, okay?”

Mari started laughing behind her hand as Kel exaggeratedly rolled his eyes and huffed, “Whatever.”

*-*-*

A bittersweet smile tugged at Aubrey’s mouth. How silly they were then—how innocent. There was a pang in her chest, even now, so many years later as she remembered how they had spent hours together talking and laughing—making plans for a future that would never get to happen. She remembered how she used to giggle with Mari over the evening gowns in department store catalogs, sighing wistfully at the billboards advertising that year’s prom theme at the local high school, and dreaming of the day they’d get to go to one themselves. Aubrey’s chest ached as she sighed. Mari never got to go to a prom, and neither did she…

*-*-*

Tears prickled in Aubrey’s eyes as she glanced over the unworn prom dress still hanging up on the back of the closet door. She would probably feel better if she just shoved it into the back of her closet, but she couldn’t bring herself to. She had worked so hard for that dress—picking up extra shifts at Gino’s to afford such a luxury. She had justified it by reminding herself it was probably the only time in her life that she would get to wear such a dress, and this one was exactly what she had always dreamed: deep pink, floor-length chiffon. As soon as she saw it in the department store, a real, genuine smile had tugged at her mouth for the first time in so long that the sensation had felt almost foreign to her. And when she had finally bought the dress and tried it on for her friends to see, Charlene had quietly said she looked happy in it. She didn’t need to add that Aubrey hadn’t looked happy for a very long time.

A tear streamed down Aubrey’s cheek. She had wanted to wear that dress and go to the prom, but she just couldn’t—not today. Not now. Not without them.

Aubrey sniffled—rubbing her hand across her throbbing forehead. Her headache was so severe that she was actually starting to hear the pounding of her head. Or at least she thought she was until her mother called in a slurred, irritated voice,   

“Aubrey! Get the door.”

Aubrey quickly wiped her eyes and scurried downstairs.

“Tell them whatever they’re selling we don’t want it,” her mother added with a dismissive wave of her hand as Aubrey walked by the couch carefully tiptoeing around the empty liquor bottles which littered the ground.

Aubrey wasn’t sure who was at their front door, but she doubted a salesman would be bothering them at this time of night. Still she mumbled, “Okay” as she turned the bolts of the lock and opened the door.

“Hey, Aubrey,” said Kel with a slight wave of his hand and a friendly smile. “How’s it going?”

Aubrey could only blink at him. He was dressed in a nice, dark suit with an unexpected bright pink tie. If she had been feeling better, she probably would’ve thought of a dry quip to tease him about it but instead she just sighed, ushering him out onto the porch before her mother got irritated by the noise.

“Kel, what are you doing here?” she asked through her teeth. “Aren’t you supposed to be at prom?”

Kel shrugged. “I was there for a while, but you weren’t there so I thought I’d come check on you.”

“Sorry…”—Aubrey’s face flushed—“I tried to call you…”

“I know,” he interrupted. “I got your message. Is everything okay?”

“Yeah, I’m fine. It’s just…I…uh…wasn’t feeling up to it.” Aubrey sighed, hoping that Kel wouldn’t read too much into it.

“Oh…are you feeling sick? The pharmacy should still be open. I can run down to—”

“No, Kel,” she cut him off, placing her hand on his arm. “That is…uh…I’m fine. You should go back to the prom. I don’t want to ruin your night.”

Kel’s expression softened, and he smiled at her. “Don’t worry about it. The prom was kind of boring without you anyway.” He paused. “You sure you don’t want to—?”

“Yeah,” she cut him off just a little too forcefully, trying her best to frown despite her flushed face.

“Okay…” he said quietly. “Then…do you mind if I hang out here for a little while?”

Aubrey’s face grew warm with guilt and embarrassment. Just because she had ruined her own night didn’t mean she had to ruin Kel’s as well. “You really don’t have to do that.”

“Nah. I want to. I’d rather spend tonight with you than at the dumb prom anyway.”

“Kel, I can’t let you do that,” she insisted, but he smiled at her.

“It’s just a bunch of people dancing and stuff—and sure that’s fun and all but it’s not as cool as everyone acts like it is.” He shrugged his shoulders. “They did hang all these Christmas lights from the ceiling though and that was kinda cool—since the theme is ‘A Night Under the Stars.’” Sighing, Kel took a seat on the porch—leaning back on his hands and looking up at the sky. “But there are real stars out here which are better anyway.”

“Kel…” Aubrey began to argue, but she wasn’t sure what to say. “You can’t just miss your prom.”

“Sure I can,” he shrugged with matter-of-fact nonchalance. “You are, aren’t you? And the prom always mattered way more to you. You were really looking forward to it…” Kel’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. “Did someone break your heart or something so you didn’t want to come anymore?”

Aubrey stifled a breathy chuckle but shook her head. “No. Nothing like that. I wasn’t even planning on going with a date.” She paused, glancing over at Kel’s pink tie. “Won’t your date be upset that you left?”

“Oh uh…” chuckled Kel awkwardly, fidgeting with his tie. “I didn’t go with one.”

“Really?” The question slipped out before Aubrey could think to stop it, but Kel just shrugged his shoulders.

“Yep.” He paused and sheepishly scratched the back of his neck. “To tell you the truth, I—I kind of wanted to ask this one girl, but it didn’t work out. Oh well…”

Aubrey paused. While he was one of her best friends, they never really discussed their love lives or lack thereof. She didn’t even know Kel was romantically interested in anyone and couldn’t even begin to guess who it was. She supposed it was none of her business, but if Kel had left prom early because of this girl rather than just to check on her, it would certainly help her feel better about things.

“Is she the reason you left?” asked Aubrey taking a seat next to him on the porch.

Kel froze, and his cheeks flushed. “Wha—what?” he stumbled, more awkward than she ever would’ve expected from the happy-go-lucky Kel. He chuckled lightly but didn’t say no.

“It’s okay if she is. I wasn’t going to tease you or anything. I just—” She stopped. “I just don’t want to you miss out,” she said in a shaky voice. “Especially not because of me.”

“I already said don’t worry about it. I’d rather spend prom night with you, even if we don’t actually go to the prom.” Aubrey’s mouth twitched, she could almost hear the smile in his voice, but she frowned with a heavy sigh.

“But you already missed the last one…”

“Because Basil—” Kel’s voice cracked. He didn’t finish that statement, but he didn’t have to. Basil had died just a few weeks before their Junior Prom and the last thing either of them had wanted to do was go to some big party, especially one that Basil should have been attending himself, and instead they had spent prom night at the spot in the park where they had always had picnics with their friends, then sitting around Kel’s kitchen table looking through Basil’s old photo albums.

Aubrey had never told Kel that she had been considering skipping prom months before Basil’s death anyway, too saddened by the idea of having to go without Sunny and of Mari having never been able to go to hers. Basil’s death and the note he left behind for them was the final straw. She wouldn’t have blamed Kel if he had still wanted to go himself, but he had told her he was just too sad. She could understand that. Back then, it really felt like neither of them would ever be happy again.

But this year… she had been so determined, so set on going and trying to have to good time because she knew her friends wouldn’t want her to miss out on it on their account. Aubrey’s insides twisted, and her eyes burned, tears prickling behind them again.

“Aubrey?” When she turned to look at him, the faint flush of red had faded from his cheeks and his expression had softened but a look of concern quickly passed over his eyes. “Have you been crying?”

Aubrey’s face grew hot, and she swallowed hard as she frantically swiped at her eyes again. How red and puffy were they that Kel had noticed? “You can’t just ask someone that, Kel,” she replied with a shaky, bantering huff, but Kel only blinked at her.

“Do you want to talk about it?” he asked, and Aubrey bit her lip. She couldn’t believe him—skipping over the ‘are you sure you’re okay?’ questions and straight to the ‘do you want to talk?’ Aubrey sighed though she felt a blush fill her cheeks and she fidgeted. She should probably expect it by now, given how many deep conversations she and Kel had been having over the past two years ever since Sunny and Basil had passed away. Her chest ached at the thought. Kel was giving her that look now—like he could see right through her, knew something was wrong and knew she was hurting even if she didn’t have the words to say it. She could see his pain too—that hollowness that crept into his smiles, that bittersweet sadness in his eyes. Kel’s eyes reflected the same pain that ached in her chest whenever she thought of Mari or Sunny or Basil. She was sure he could see his own grief in her as well, and perhaps that’s what had led them to find each other in the first place, in the wake of the loss of their friends—clinging to each other like two lost souls, sharing things with each other they could never even begin to tell anyone else.

“You can talk to me,” he gently encouraged her, placing a gentle hand on her shoulder.

Aubrey took a deep breath. She didn’t know if she wanted to unpack this, and she certainly didn’t want to dump it all onto Kel. She already felt guilty enough that he had left the prom to check up on her. But the look on Kel’s face was so warm and so kind, and the words, the painful truth was eating away at her waiting to be told to someone.

“You remember how we’d all promised we’d go to prom together someday?”

Kel’s brow furrowed. “Not really, but my memories of everyone are getting fuzzy…” There was a painful sadness cutting through his words as he said them.

“It’s okay. It wasn’t a big moment or anything. We were just at Gino’s joking around about it once, after a group of teenagers dressed for prom came in.” She paused. “You said you wanted to bring your dog.”

“Oh yeah…” said Kel with the slight twitch of a smile. “I remember that now. Mari was teasing Hero about taking her someday, and Sunny agreed with me that it would be nice if all of us could go together as friends.” Sighing, Kel paused—something bittersweet passing over his eyes. “You’re sad you couldn’t go with them, aren’t you?”

It wasn’t really a question.

Aubrey sniffled and nodded, and Kel cut her off reaching out to her. “Oh Aubrey, I…”

“It’s not just that. I was actually planning on going. I wanted to go. I bought a dress and everything. I knew it was going to be a hard day, but I was determined to do this. I knew they wouldn’t want me to miss out—would’ve wanted to me to go, even if I was sad they couldn’t be there with me.” Her voice cracked, and Kel nodded solemnly, understandingly.

“But…but…” she stumbled over her words as her eyes burned. “I was out of hairspray and knew I needed some for tonight, so I was riding my bike down to The Other Mart, and I saw there was a group of kids in the park and…” The tears started to pool in Aubrey’s eyes, and she took a deep, shaky breath, barely managing to choke out, “They were making flower crowns…”

She swiped at the tears that began to splash down her cheeks as she stumbled in the bits and pieces of sentences she could manage despite the panging ache in her chest, “I just—I just froze. I…I couldn’t stop thinking about…I turned around and came straight home and I just haven’t been able to stop crying…” She sniffled, wiping her eyes. “I know it’s so silly…to let something like that ruin my whole day, especially when it’s the prom, but I just started thinking about them and how they never got to go to prom and all the things they never got to do and will never get to do and…” Her voice trailed, as her words got choked by a sob in the back of her throat.

“I know,” sighed Kel quietly, giving her a reassuring pat on the back and pulling her into a hug. Aubrey took a few deep shaky breaths as she pressed her chin to Kel’s shoulder.

“It’s so stupid…” she mumbled, angry with herself as she pulled away from him.

“It’s not stupid at all.” He sighed heavily. “You know the other day I was supposed to be picking up a couple of groceries for my mom, and I was in that aisle in The Other Mart where they keep all the soups and sauces and stuff, and there was this lady there with her kids and the one kid dropped this big jar of spaghetti sauce—made a huge mess”—he paused as his breath hitched—”And I remembered that time we all tried to make spaghetti to surprise Hero, and I dropped the jar on the counter and the sauce splattered everywhere—it got in Basil’s hair and… Sunny was blinking at me with sauce all over his face and you were so mad but Mari just laughed…” He paused, swallowing hard. “It was like I couldn’t breathe. I ran out of there—totally forgot about the groceries.”

“Kel…” Aubrey began as she hugged him more tightly.

“I guess the moral of the story is neither one of us should be going shopping at the Other Mart, huh?” Kel chuckled lightly, but he sniffled and Aubrey could feel his shoulders trembling like he was trying not to cry.

They just sat there holding each other for a long time. No words were spoken, but they didn’t have to be. They understood—shared this pain of being the ones left behind. Kel sniffled, and Aubrey wondered if he was crying. It wouldn’t be the first time he had cried in front of her, and she knew—they both probably knew—that it wouldn’t be the last.

“You know, sometimes I think, I’m okay,” Kel managed in a wavering voice. “I still miss them, of course, but I’m not going to just start crying in the grocery store…but then…something like that happens and I just…I don’t know if I’m ever going to be okay. Like there was this whole life that I had before, but it’s all over and now I have this new life and even if things get better and it doesn’t hurt as much all the time, that sadness is always going to be there. There’s always going to be something missing, and I’m never going to not miss them.”

Aubrey sniffled and pulled away from him to look in his face, but that deep, indescribable pain in his misty eyes made her forget her words. She supposed it didn’t really matter. There was nothing she could possibly say that would make him feel better—she knew that better than anyone.

“Sorry,” he said hurriedly as he wiped his tears away. “I didn’t mean to make this about me. I feel really bad for dumping all that on you, especially when you were already upset.”

“No. I’m…I’m glad you told me, Kel,” she said hugging him again. “It’s…nice to know I’m not the only one…”

“You’re definitely not the only one—but it really does feel like you and me against the world sometimes, right?”

A kind, bittersweet smile pulled at the corners of Aubrey’s mouth as Kel wrapped an arm around her and she leaned her head on his shoulder. “Sometimes.”

“Hero too, but…” Kel paused, fidgeting. Aubrey nodded in understanding. He didn’t have to explain. She knew Hero worried especially about his younger brother which made it more difficult to open up to him about all of this sometimes, plus he was away at school and neither one of them wanted to bother him, especially when he was suffering a lot on his own.

“He missed his prom, too, didn’t he?” asked Aubrey quietly, changing the subject. Kel hummed, and she could feel him nod in response.

“But it’s overrated anyway…”

*-*-*

Kel was probably right, and the prom was overrated. That didn’t mean that she didn’t have the occasional regret about not going to hers, however. It wasn’t something she ever really talked about, but if she didn’t know better she would have thought that the fact she had skipped out on hers was part of the reason that Kel had invited her over tonight for the “prom” he and Hero had been putting together to surprise their younger sister, Sally.

Even though Sally was far too young to go to a prom, she was fairly vocal about the fact that she desperately wanted to. Though Aubrey thought it was a little odd to throw a prom for a little kid, she supposed there was no harm to it, and it was sweet that Hero and Kel were always trying to do such nice things for their little sister. She had also offered to help put it all together though she reminded Kel that she had never actually been to a prom so what would she possibly know about it? He said it wasn’t anything too fancy, but still insisted they should all dress up nicely. Just luckily Aubrey had had her unused prom dress from her own senior prom still hanging up in the back of her closet collecting dust. She supposed it was nice to finally get the chance to wear it, even if that meant getting stuck in stop-and-go traffic for half an hour.

Aubrey sighed. There was never any traffic on the way to prom in the movies. The people just got into their car—or their limo—and whipped right to the school without another car on the road. It was more than little unfair. Though she supposed she should know better than thinking of movies, especially teen rom coms, as real life.

*-*-*

“Okay, okay. I know we watch this movie every year, but I still don’t understand: can everybody at this school afford a limo? And where do the limos go when they’re all at prom?” asked Kel between bites of what had to be his third or fourth piece of birthday cake. Hero had been apologizing profusely for the fact it was store bought this year, but they understood he was extremely busy in medical school. They tried to reassure him that Mari would understand too, but Aubrey wasn’t sure if he had believed them. “How do all the limos even fit in the parking lot?”

“I don’t know, Kel,” Aubrey sighed, setting her piece of cake on the coffee table. “Just don’t think about it too much.”

“Listen, I went to prom—well part of it, and nobody came in a limo. Nobody,” Kel insisted forcefully, gesturing emphatically at her with his fork and flinging cake and frosting onto her face.

Aubrey huffed. “Kel!”

“Oh, you’ve got something on your nose,” he teased before playing poking at it with his finger.

“Here’s some napkins,” said Hero, handing her a stack of napkins with that said ‘Happy Birthday’ surrounded by balloons.

“Thank you.” Aubrey nodded at Hero then rolled her eyes at Kel shaking her head, but his attention was transfixed on the movie again, probably still wondering about the limos.

Aubrey sighed. Every year they watched Mari’s favorite movie for her birthday, and every year Kel found something else about it that didn’t make sense to him. Last year, it was how nobody in the school had worn anything even close to the same outfit. The year before that it was how the main character who was supposed to be smart hadn’t ever questioned her love interest’s obviously complicated motivations in asking her to the prom in the first place. This year it was the limos.

Aubrey sometimes wondered if Kel had only started this tradition of chattering away during the movie in the hopes that it would keep her and Hero’s spirits up and prevent them from being too sad that Mari wasn’t there to celebrate her birthday with them. But other times—like now, when she watched him pick up his piece of cake with his hands and shove it into his mouth as the icing squished into his face, she thought it was probably more likely that it was just Kel being Kel.

A smile tugged her lips in spite of herself, but she pushed the thought away. She’d never admit that she was glad Kel was around to ask dumb questions about the movie, and as she watched the small smile in the corners of Hero’s mouth, she was sure he felt the same way.

When the credits began to roll, Hero started cleaning up the cake, plates, and napkins, and Kel started prattling away again. “Why do movies make prom into such a big deal, anyway? They act like it’s the most important thing that will ever happen to you.”

“Well…” Hero sighed, his brow furrowing thoughtfully. “I think they need a climatic moment for the story, and when the characters are teenagers, they can’t have a wedding or something like that so they use the prom.”

“It’s really not as cool as all that though. I was honestly kind of let down.” Kel’s mouth curved into a teasing, lopsided grin before he chuckled, seemingly getting distracted once again by his cake. “This cake was great, by the way!”

“You can thank Aubrey for that. She picked it up from Nona’s.”

Aubrey shrugged. “It’s no big deal. I was in there anyway.” She stopped, not quite ready to admit that she was in that bakery a lot. It was one of her favorite places in their college town, and she liked to treat herself with a pastry every now and again after exams, if she did well on them of course.

“Sorry I couldn’t make one this year…” Hero apologized again with red, apologetic cheeks. “Neuroanatomy is just kicking my tushie.”

Aubrey and Kel broke into raucous laughter. “Your tushie? Really, Hero?” teased Kel.  

“What are you—five?” Aubrey bantered.

“You know what I mean,” sighed Hero. Though his cheeks were flushed, he was smiling in spite of himself. “Medical school is hard.” He sighed again. “I’m sure Aubrey understands being in nursing and all.”

“I’m glad I’m going to be a nurse and not a doctor—there’s too much memorizing. I’m not smart enough for that.”

“Don’t say that, Aubrey,” chimed Kel. “You and Hero are both super smart—you know all kinds of medical stuff. I could never do what you do.”

“Well I’m sure neither of us could ever do what you do either, Kel,” Aubrey insisted, and Hero nodded in agreement. “You can fix anything, and I wouldn’t even know what to do with a welding torch if my life depended on it.”

Kel chuckled his face brightening. “I can show you sometime if you want. It’s really not that hard.”

“Says the ‘Welder of the Year,’” bantered Aubrey.  

“It was only ‘of the month,’ and…”  

“I still have the newsletter hanging up on our refrigerator,” interjected Hero with a proud smile. Kel scratched the back of his neck as his face flushed.

“You can take that down, you know? It’s really not that big of a deal…” He sighed. “I only fix engines and stuff. I don’t save lives or anything like you guys.”

Aubrey sighed, shaking her head. “I’ve never saved a life.”

“I’ve barely even left my classroom,” said Hero. “So you’ve at least got one up on me. You’re in clinicals now, aren’t you?”

Aubrey nodded. “Yeah. I’m trying to get a job as a student nurse too. I just interviewed in behavioral health and psychiatry.”

She stopped abruptly as Kel and Hero’s eyes widened, a certain sadness in them that Aubrey had used to see all the time but which hadn’t been in their expressions in a while. A silence spread through the room, and Aubrey sighed, wishing she hadn’t mentioned it. She was about to apologize for bringing it up and ruining the mood of everyone’s evening, but then she felt an arm wrap around her shoulders and a gentle hand patting her back.

“That’s great, Aubrey,” said Kel with a kind smile and soft expression. “I hope you get it and help a lot of people.”

“Me too,” said Hero. “I think you’ll be great at that.”

“Thanks,” Aubrey mumbled, her face feeling suddenly warm.

“Well, I think this deserves a toast.” Kel stood up from his seat and poured some cups of coffee from the coffee maker for them.

Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at him. “We’re toasting coffee?”

“Yes,” he answered, completely unphased as if it was the most natural thing in the world. He held up his coffee cup. “To Aubrey, soon to be ‘World’s Greatest Nurse.’”

He winked at her, and Aubrey shook her head but bantered, holding up her own cup, “And to Kel—Welder of the Year,”

“Would you stop it with that?” he teased under his breath as a flush of red filled his cheeks. He shook his head and turned to Hero. “And to Hero—who can do anything!”

“And everything,” added Aubrey as Hero turned away from them blushing a bright red.

“You guys…” he mumbled.

“And let’s toast Mari too,” said Kel. “Happy Birthday, Mari!”

“Happy Birthday, Mari,” Hero and Aubrey replied with kind, bittersweet smiles.

As they took sips of their coffee, Aubrey’s lips puckered, and her face contorted as she resisted the urge to spit hers out. Even Hero grimaced.

“What in the world is this, Kel?” She reached for her water to try to rinse out the taste.

“Oh you’re never gonna believe it, but Orange Joe makes ground coffee now.”

“Why?” groaned Aubrey.

“You really should warn us first,” Hero quipped dryly with a slight smile, but Kel just shrugged.

“What? I thought it was pretty good.”

“I don’t know how you drink this garbage. It tastes like rotten oranges,” Aubrey bantered. “It would’ve been better if we toasted with broccoli juice or something.”

“I have some soda in the pantry. Let’s just use that.” Hero, always the peace-maker, got up from his seat and made his way to the kitchen with a gentle smile. Once he was gone, Kel finished off his cup of coffee and turned to her with a soft expression in his eyes.

“Hey Aubrey?”

“Yeah?” she asked, her brow furrowing.

“I think it’s really great that you want to be a psych nurse and everything.”

Aubrey sighed. “I don’t know if it’ll work out, Kel. I mean I just interviewed so…”

“It’ll work out,” he cut her off with a reassuring smile. “I know it will, and when it does, I know you’re gonna be great. I…”—he paused and glanced away from her—"I think you’re really great—at everything.”

Aubrey’s cheeks grew warm from the compliment. “Thank you, Kel. I think you’re—”

She didn’t get to finish that thought, however, as Kel wrapped his arms around her and pulled her into an unexpected but welcomed hug. Aubrey pressed her chin to his shoulder and gave him a pat on the back. She waited for him to let go of her, but he held her far longer than usual.

Finally, he whispered so quietly she almost couldn’t hear him. “Do a good job, okay? For all of us…”

Aubrey nodded. She contemplated pulling away from him, but he ran his hand through the ends of her long hair mumbling, “And Aubrey…Uh…I was wondering…”

“Yeah?” she shivered, in spite of herself.

“Uh…” he began again, and she could feel his hands begin to shake as they gently held onto her.

“Do you want diet or regular? I also have a few cherry—” Hero’s voice stopped abruptly. “Oh sorry… I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

Kel and Aubrey quickly pulled away from each other. Aubrey could only hope she wasn’t blushing as much as she feared. Her cheeks burned, but she and Kel hurriedly talked over each other, reassuring Hero it was fine, and he wasn’t interrupting anything. Aubrey’s head reeled, but Kel seemed completely unphased, politely declining Hero’s soda and pouring himself another cup of Orange Joe.

As Kel stood up from his seat beside her on the sofa, Aubrey could have sworn that Hero shot her a knowing, somewhat teasing smile that made her stomach twist. She bit her lip and tried her best to push the thought away—nervously, reaching for her coffee cup in an attempt at nonchalance and unfortunately failing to remembered it was still full of Orange Joe until she had actually taken a sip. Aubrey grimaced at the bitter taste, but her cheeks burned as she watched Hero’s mouth twitched in the corners at her.

*-*-*

Aubrey wished she could say that was the last time she ever accidentally tried Orange Joe. It wasn’t, but both her and Hero did get much better at predicting whether or not Kel was trying to pawn the drink off onto them. It had a distinctively putrid citrusy odor that, eventually, made it much easier to identify. If she knew Kel, there would probably be a whole pitcher full of it at the “prom” he was putting together even though Hero had insisted multiple times that Sally was much too young for coffee.

It was nice to hear that Hero was going to get to come tonight, too. He had been so busy with his residency that they didn’t get to see too much of them these days. Even Kel who was his roommate said he was lucky if he occasionally managed to catch Hero as he was heading to the hospital when Kel himself was getting home from his third shift at the manufacturing plant where he worked. Hero promised them that he was happy, just very busy, and they respected his need for rest, even if it was starting to feel a little bit like her and Kel against the world again.

That reminded her, she ought to give him a call about the traffic—letting him know she was going to be late.

“Hey Kel,” she began, but his voice, muffled and staticky from what Aubrey presumed was a bad connection, cut her off.

“Hi Aubrey. What’s up?”

“Well, I’m on my way, but I’m stuck in traffic. You would not believe how many cars are out here right now.” Aubrey sighed wearily. “On their way to prom probably”

“Have you seen any limos?”

Aubrey laughed. “No, Kel. No limos. I really don’t think we even have those in Faraway Town.”

“That’s probably true.” He chuckled before changing the subject. “It’s no big deal if you’re late or anything. Just drive safely, and you can let yourself in through the fence to the backyard.”

“Oh, are you having it outside?”

Kel hummed. “Yeah, it was such a nice night that I thought it would be fun to dance out on the porch and stuff. I’ve been practicing my dancing, and I think I’m a lot better than the last time you danced with me so…”

Aubrey’s face grew suddenly hot, but she took a deep breath, trying and failing not to think of the last night Kel had danced with her…

*-*-*

“Okay, explain to me again how you came to win dancing lessons?” quipped Aubrey, quirking an eyebrow at Kel, but he merely shrugged at her.

“Well I bought a bunch of raffle tickets because I wanted this ceramic chicken.” He paused before adding hurriedly with a sheepish smile, “And, you know, to support the hospital and everything too.”

Aubrey sighed and shook her head, but Kel didn’t seem to notice. It was very nice of Kel to come with her to her hospital’s charity benefit. They were raising money to build a new wing which would mean more beds in the juvenile behavioral health ward where she worked as a nurse. She had told Kel that the gala was mostly for the really big donors, and she was just inviting him for his company so he shouldn’t feel obligated to donate anything. Even so, it was sweet of him to try to buy some raffle tickets for some of the less expensive items.

A smile twitched in the corners of her mouth. It was just like Kel to do something thoughtful like that—especially for a dumb reason like wanting a ceramic chicken he could probably buy for himself half-as-cheap at a local home goods store.

“I was going to put all the tickets in the drawing for the basket with the chicken,” Kel prattled on. “But then some of the other people were giving me these weird looks, so I started to put them in the drawing for some of the other raffle baskets too, and I guess I won the one with the dancing lessons.” With a slight shrug of his shoulders, Kel frowned disappointedly. “Didn’t win the chicken though. I was pretty bummed about that.”

“What would you even do with a ceramic chicken?” Aubrey teased dryly.

“I don’t know, but I’d probably get more use out of it than dance lessons.”

A chuckle escaped Aubrey’s mouth as she barely stifled a laugh—turning back to the stove where she was frying some potatoes as they waited for the lasagna they were making for dinner to be finished cooking in the oven. It wouldn’t be nearly as good as Hero’s, but he was far too busy with his residency to cook for even himself these days. They were making this meal to surprise him when he got home and to celebrate his first weekend off in months.

“Do you want to take them with me?” asked Kel as he absent-mindedly stirred the pudding they were making for dessert.

Aubrey tilted her head at him. “The dance lessons?”

“Yeah. It’s for two people, and I didn’t really know who else to bring.”

“What about Hero?” She didn’t realize how silly that suggestion sounded until Kel laughed.

“Hero is a great dancer already, and he’s super busy right now anyway.”

With a conceding shrug of her shoulders, Aubrey sighed. “Isn’t there someone else you’d rather bring, Kel?”

“Nope,” he replied immediately, clearly not understanding the meaning behind her words. “Why would there be?”

“Well…you know…some people think that dancing can have a more romantic connotation, so I was just thinking that if you were interested in someone you might want to bring…” Her voice trailed as she tilted her head confused and inquisitively at the unreadable expression on Kel’s face.

“Oh…uh…well…” Kel chuckled though he rubbed his hand sheepishly across the back of his neck. “Actually, I’d rather take you, but if you don’t want to come, you can just say...”

“It’s fine, Kel.” With a shrug, Aubrey stared down at the potatoes, put the lid over the pan, and turned the stove down to low heat so they could simmer. Her mouth twitched into a bantering smile. “I just meant, you should probably be careful going around asking other girls to go dancing with you. They might get the wrong idea.”

“Is it really that much of a romantic thing?” asked Kel blinking at her.

Aubrey shrugged again. “It is in the movies.”

“But that’s just the movies. They make everything romantic, especially when it doesn’t have to be. Like how they always make it seem like prom is the best night of your life or when the couple dances together there one time, they’re suddenly desperately in love forever.” Kel laughed, but Aubrey frowned.

“I didn’t mean it like—” She huffed, shaking her head. “And what would you know about prom anyway, you barely even went to ours?”

“I went to enough of it to know that it wasn’t super magical or anything, and yeah, I danced with a few girls, but it’s not like I’m just pining for them forever now.” Kel paused, chuckling to himself, and Aubrey’s face flushed but her brow furrowed. Was he making fun of her?

“That’s not the same thing. For some girls it’s different. They romanticize it in their heads”—she sighed—“not me but…”

“That’s because you’re a cynic,” teased Kel.

“And you’re a moron—especially if you think that another girl wouldn’t take your invitation to dancing lessons in a romantic way.”

Kel just shrugged and admitted, “I don’t get it.”

“Well…what if you had danced with that girl, the one you actually wanted to take as your prom date? Don’t you think that would’ve been special?”

“I didn’t get to dance with her—ever actually, but I don’t think it would’ve changed anything. A dance is just dance, isn’t it?” He tilted his head as a bantering smile tugged at his lips. “You’re acting like if I just started dancing with you right now, you’d—?”

“K—Kel?” Aubrey’s breath hitched as he slipped his arms around her waist. “What are you doing?”

“Proving a point,” he insisted with a shrug.

Aubrey huffed. “There isn’t even any music.”

“Oh.” Kel absentmindedly tilted his head before pulling out his phone, presumably choosing a song to play. As the song’s intro began to play, he set his phone on the counter and held out his hand to her.

“Can I have this dance?” he asked with a playfully melodramatic bow, and Aubrey sighed with a somewhat affectionate roll of her eyes.

“Fine,” she sighed. “Whatever will get you to focus on cooking again.”

Kel smiled brightly as he wrapped his arms around her waist again. As he met her eyes, she looked away abruptly—clearing her throat as she snaked her arms around his neck. He was so close to her. Her cheeks felt warm, and she swallowed hard, pushing the thought away. ‘It’s just Kel,’ she reminded herself.

He began swaying—Aubrey shook her head—off tempo with the music. “You really can use those dance lessons,” she teased though there was a certain, uncharacteristic shakiness that seeped into her words. She pursed her lips and mentally kicked herself. What was wrong with her all of a sudden?

She could almost feel Kel’s chuckle reverberating in his chest. “Yeah, well I guess it’s good I won them then.” He smiled at her, and as he met her eyes, Aubrey shuddered in spite of herself.

Kel pulled her closer to him—almost pressing his cheek against hers and began to quietly sing along to the music. Aubrey’s face flushed. Knowing Kel he probably wasn’t even aware that he was singing, but she could feel his warm breath, those affectionate words almost whispered in her ear. For the life of her she couldn’t even begin to guess why Kel had picked what was probably one of the most romantic songs in the universe. The slow crooning of the melody alone screamed romance, but there was so much devotion, so much longing in the lyrics—and to hear them in Kel’s voice... Aubrey inhaled sharply—hoping her face wasn’t nearly as red as she feared.

“How”—her voice hitched, and she pulled away from him—“How do you even know this song?”

Kel just shrugged. “Hero showed it to me. He likes all those old songs, you know? And I thought it would be good for this.” He paused. “Why? Do you like it?”

“It’s fine,” shrugged Aubrey though she found she couldn’t look at Kel for some reason.

When she finally met his gaze again, there was something so warm, so gentle in his expression, and his dark eyes seemed to glisten with an emotion that she couldn’t begin to describe but which made her heart pound all the same. He lifted his hand from her waist and gently pressed his palm to her cheek.

“If this was a movie, this is probably the point when I’d say something corny like…” Kel paused, blinking at her with heavy-lidded eyes before he continued with a gentle sincerity that made her breath catch in her throat, ”‘You are so beautiful.’” He stroked her cheek with his thumb, and as his eyes fluttered closed, he sighed, “‘I’ve wanted this for a long time.’”

Aubrey swallowed hard. She tried to frown even though she was sure her face was bright red from that…that pining underscoring his voice. ‘This is just a game,’ she reminded herself—one that Kel seemed to be getting extremely into, but a game all the same. Still... the way his voice faltered, the earnestness in his eyes made it easy to forget.

“You’ve been watching too many romance movies with Hero…” she quipped, but her voice wavered.

Kel chuckled lightly. “Maybe…”

His hand softly stroked the side of her cheek until the tips of his long fingers began to tangle in her hair. She shivered as she took a long, shaky breath. His lips parted slightly as his mouth relaxed. She bit her lip and watched as Kel did the same.

“Aubrey…” he whispered as she tangled her trembling hand in the hair at the nape of his neck and gently pulled him towards her in slow, deliberate movements that didn’t feel like her own. His long, dark eyelashes fluttered. He was close enough to her now that she could almost feel them against her skin.

Her heart pounded. Her hands shook. He hovered in front of her mere inches away from her face. When he whispered her name again, she realized they had stopped dancing.

As Kel’s eyes fluttered closed, he tilted his head and cupped her face with his hands. His breath was warm against her skin, so close Aubrey could almost taste the coffee and citrus lingering from that awful Orange Joe he loved so much. As she began to lean closer to him, her hand curled around the unruly strands of his hair, and she pressed her palm to the back of his head—pulling him in. Closer. Closer.

He began to lean forward. That space between them was almost non-existent now. Aubrey froze—unable to move, unable to breath. Her heartbeat raced, and she could almost feel Kel’s heart pounding as he stopped, a breath away from her. She gripped the soft fabric of his shirt and shut her eyes tightly. Waiting. Waiting until…

BEEP! BEEP! The sound of the oven timer rang through the living room. Aubrey exhaled deeply though her cheeks flushed. What had just happened?

Kel startled, pulling away from her abruptly. “Oh! The lasagna!” he exclaimed with a bright smile, seemingly, completely unphased by what had just happened, by the fact that they had almost…

Aubrey inhaled sharply, then took a few deep breaths to calm herself down. She bit down hard on her lip. It was just a game to him. Of course it was.

“Alright fine, Kel…” she laughed it off with as much of a frown as she could muster as the music stopped. Her racing heartbeat and wavering tone of voice didn’t seemed to get the memo, however. “You’re right.”

His face beamed. “Seriously?” He chuckled, playfully poking her in the arm. “See, I told you that you didn’t miss out on anything at the prom.”

Aubrey sighed—willing that blush she could still feel in her face away. “Yeah… It’s just a dance—nothing necessarily romantic about that. But you know I agreed with you from the beginning, right? So don’t get too excited about it. I just meant a lot of other girls might get the wrong impression.” ‘Especially if you dance with them like that,’ she mentally added, barely managing to stop herself before the words tumbled out of her mouth.

“Yeah, alright. You know, honestly, I actually kinda see your point now too.” Kel tilted his head and chuckled breathily though his expression was unreadable. Aubrey’s heart raced in spite of herself as she tried to push these thoughts, these feelings, whatever they were away for good.

*-*-*

Aubrey let out a long and heavy sigh. She could feel the blush in her cheeks even now just thinking about it. She hadn’t done a very good job of pushing the memory away. Even though they had never talked about that dance, about that almost-kiss ever again, Aubrey had mulled it over in her mind more times than she could count, until she could almost believe that she had been imagining things, that she had just gotten caught up in the music and dancing and that nothing had actually almost happened. But…—Aubrey sighed—the way he had looked at her…

She swallowed hard and pushed the thought away. This was Kel. Kel—dopey, happy-go-lucky Kel who used to eat spray cheese directly out of the can until she and Hero staged an intervention to ask him to stop and who once got a popsicle stick stuck up his nose because he wanted to see if he could touch his brain with it. Granted he was seven at the time, but still… this was Kel, and Kel was…was…

Aubrey sighed. Kel was sweet and thoughtful. He’d do anything to make his friends and family happy, and he loved making people laugh. He could make friends anywhere he went, and he always found things to smile about. And yeah, he could be awkward sometimes, airheaded, oblivious, and occasionally stubborn, but he had a big heart and even if his words didn’t always come out the way he wanted them to, she never doubted how much he cared. He was a great friend—her best friend, probably if she was being honest, but she wasn’t about to waste another minute of her life sitting around analyzing whether she may or may not have almost kissed him once. And she especially wasn’t going to sit around analyzing whether or not she should have or, worst of all, whether she had wanted to.

“You will dance with me again, won’t you?” asked Kel’s voice through the phone. “I gave those dancing lessons to my parents as a gift, but Hero was helping me practice a little bit, so I think I’ve gotten a lot better.”

“Uh…yeah…sure Kel…” stumbled Aubrey trying her best not to think anything of it.

“Okay, great! I’ve got to go now, but I’ll see you soon, okay? Bye.”

“…Bye…” mumbled Aubrey. She let out a long and heavy sigh, shaking her head and mentally kicking herself for getting so flustered about Kel of all people. It was nothing, clearly…given the way he could mention it so nonchalantly like that. She should just stop thinking about it and worrying that it was something that it wasn’t.

She pushed the thought away—trying her best to think about something else, anything else. What was everyone going to wear tonight? Sally would probably look adorable all dressed up in party dress or a costume if she wanted to be an actual princess—though Aubrey supposed Kel had specifically used the word “prom” rather than “ball” so Sally might not want a princess dress. Would Kel and Hero go all out and rent tuxes or just wear nice suits? Maybe Kel would bring back that bright pink tie from their prom…

Aubrey stopped. That tie. She hadn’t thought about it in years until it got brought up a couple of weeks ago when she and Kel were going shopping at the outlet mall with Sally.

*-*-*

“They’re so pretty,” Sally sighed wistfully with a little twirl as they passed some of the clothing racks filled with sparkly prom dresses. “I can’t wait ‘til I’m old enough to go to the prom.” She giggled and squeezed Aubrey’s hand. “What was it like? Did you get to wear a pretty dress like that, Aubbie?”

Aubrey smiled. Sally had given her that nickname years ago when she was a little toddler who struggled with her “r”s, and it made it happy to think that it had somehow stuck all these years. Her smile quickly faded however, as she awkwardly replied, “Well…Sally…I didn’t actually go to my prom.”

“Oh…” Sally’s eyes widened sadly, and she tilted her head. “I’m sorry.”

“That’s okay,” she reassured her, giving her a gentle smile and a reassuring pat on the head. “Your brother went though—to part of it. He wore this bright pink tie.”

Kel laughed and playfully poked her in the arm. “You remember my tie?”

Aubrey’s face flushed, but she bantered. “It was kind of hard to forget. Why’d you pick a color like that anyway?”

“Oh uh…” Chuckling, he scratched the back of his neck. “I never told you?”

“No…” Aubrey quirked an eyebrow at him, but Sally giggled.

“I wanna hear about it.”

“Well, okay, just for you Sally,” Kel’s expression softened, but he shrugged his shoulders. “But I’m warning you, it’s…kind of silly now that I’m thinking about it…” He sighed. “There was this girl…She was really amazing. I wanted to ask her to prom, but I was really afraid she would say ‘no’ so I kind of chickened out. But she really liked pink so…I thought maybe she’d like that pink tie. Kind of silly, right?” He laughed it off, but his cheeks flushed.

“Did she like it?” asked Sally, curiously blinking up at her older brother.

Kel’s mouth curved into a smile, and—Aubrey blushed—she could have almost sworn he glanced over at her when he said, “Yeah. I think she did…”

“You know, you never told me—that girl, did she go with someone else?” The question slipped out before Aubrey could stop it. She had spent years wondering, worrying if she had ruined Kel’s prom with her own problems or if he was nursing a broken heart of his own that had nothing to do with her grief. It was probably selfish to be bringing it up now after all these years, but she couldn’t give up the opportunity to find out for sure if Kel would have left the prom early anyway, even if she had been there.

“Nope,” Kel shook his head with a sigh, and Aubrey swallowed hard.

“Did you get to dance with her, then?”

A smile twitched in the corners of Kel’s mouth—something unreadable but undeniably affectionate flashing across his eyes. “Eventually…”

“Was she a good dancer?” giggled Sally.

“Better than me.” Kel shrugged, but he reached out to take Sally’s hand and gave his sister a little twirl. “But I am getting better.”

He flashed Aubrey a teasing smile, and she shook her head at him as she stifled a laugh. She knew it was a sign that this conversation was over, but it nagged at the back of her brain for the rest of the day as they absentmindedly wandered from store to store, eventually stopping for soft pretzels at the food court and surprising Sally with a bright yellow bow for her hair. There was no more talk of prom.

When it started storming, they decided to call it a day and headed back to Faraway Town. It wasn’t long before Sally fell asleep in the back seat of her car, exhausted from the long and exciting day of shopping. Aubrey dreaded the silence left by the absence of Sally and Kel’s cheerful prattling, but she was grateful for the opportunity to focus on driving rather than on mulling Kel’s words over in her head. That guilt she had been feeling ever since he had had to skip out on their prom on her account was suddenly fresh again, gnawing at her, getting harder and harder to push away.

“Hey…uh…Aubrey? Are you okay?” asked Kel quietly enough so as not to wake up the napping Sally. “You’ve been kind of quiet…”

“Well Sally’s asleep Kel,” she replied with a tilt of her head as she glanced in her rearview mirror.

“Yeah, but I meant before that…Ever since we were in that department store…”

Aubrey took a deep breath and tried to muster a, “Yeah…I’m just…”

She stopped abruptly. Even if she didn’t take her eyes off the road, she could almost picture Kel’s reassuring smile, encouraging her that she could tell him anything. Maybe it would be best to ask him now when she didn’t have to look in his face...

Before she could decide, however, she pulled into the driveway of Kel’s parents’ house. Grabbing a nearby umbrella, Kel got out of the car and gently lifted a sleeping Sally, draping his jacket over her head so her face wouldn’t get wet from his attempts to carry her and the umbrella.

Kel fidgeted until he was shielding Sally completely with the umbrella, getting himself soaked in the process. Aubrey sighed and shook her head with a somewhat affectionate smile. He was going to be sopping wet by the time he got back to the car, but if Aubrey was being honest, she didn’t mind. It was sweet how much Kel cared about his sister. Aubrey supposed that was really just Kel—he always thought about everybody else and how to make them happy. He’d give a stranger his umbrella if they needed it, even if that meant he’d get himself soaked. It was something Aubrey admired most about him.

Her face felt suddenly warm, and she pushed the thought away, watching as Kel handed Sally off to his mom on the porch. She gave Aubrey a bright smile and a cheerful wave as Kel rushed back across yard. Aubrey waved back.

Sure enough, when Kel got back inside the car, he was dripping water. He ran his hand through his sopping hair.

“Sorry, Aubrey. I’ll clean it up when you drop me off,” he insisted with a sheepish smile, but Aubrey waved her hand.

“Don’t worry about it. It’s just water.”

Chuckling, Kel’s mouth twitched into a lopsided grin, and he shrugged his shoulders, “Okay, now that Sally’s inside…what’s up? Something’s bugging you.”

“I’m fine,” Aubrey said, but she knew Kel knew her too well to believe that.

He sighed, a look of concern passing over his eyes. “Are you sure? Is it something I said…?”

“No…” She bit her lip. “It’s not you. It’s just…”

“You’ll feel better if you just tell me. I know you will,” he teased with a kind smile.

Aubrey huffed. He was right, of course, but she didn’t really want to admit that.

“Why did you leave our prom?”

Kel’s brow furrowed, and his eyes widened in confusion. “What?”

“You know…was it for that girl you wanted to take but didn’t end up asking or was it for…?” She stopped and cleared her throat.

“Well…actually…” Kel stumbled, his face flushing. Aubrey sighed guiltily. She didn’t mean to fluster him like this—it wasn’t fair.

“I just…I know it’s none of my business, and I feel bad asking but I just don’t want to be reason that you had to skip out on our prom, you know? So if you left because you were heartbroken or…”

“Oh,” Kel interrupted. Clearing his throat, he rubbed his hand across the nape of his neck. “Uh…I wasn’t heartbroken or anything, but…yeah, I did leave because of that girl—the one I wanted to ask…”

Aubrey sighed. She didn’t feel as relieved to hear this as she had always imagined she would. She felt almost…sad…

“Do you regret it?” she asked quietly, staring at her hands. “Leaving her there at the prom?”

“What?”

“You know, you could’ve stayed. You didn’t have to miss out on it, especially not to just waste the whole night sitting on my porch…” She cleared her throat though she twisted her hands around the steering wheel, staring intently at the swaying windshield wipers. “Do you ever wish that…things had been different?”

“I mean…I guess sometimes, maybe, but only to wish that you had been there and that everyone had been there to come with us.” Sighing bittersweetly, Kel paused. “Why? Do you?”

Aubrey sighed, adjusting her grip on the steering wheel even though the car was still parked. “Sometimes…” she admitted. “But for the same reason as you, I guess, and…” Her voice trailed, and she could feel Kel shift next to her.

“And what?”

“I’ve just…” Her face flushed as she took a deep breath. “I always felt guilty for making you miss it. I really am sorry about that.”

Kel chuckled lightly and placed his hand on her shoulder until she turned to look at him. “Aubrey, don’t worry about it. I already told you. I wanted to spend it with you.”

His smile was warm, and the look in his eyes was so tender that Aubrey’s hands began to shake as her cheeks blushed rose. She turned away from him, and he shrugged his shoulders and admitted, “I think about that night a lot, actually…in a good way. I don’t have regrets.”

He gently pushed a piece of hair out of her face, and Aubrey shivered but not from the cold and wet of the rain on his fingers. “Aubrey, I…There’s actually…” He stopped and pulled his hand away from her abruptly as water began to drip into her face. “Oh shoot. I’m sorry,” he stumbled, panicking over the damp streaks in her hair.

“It’s okay, Kel…” Aubrey sighed—politely failing to mention that his panicking over dripping water everywhere was just spraying water and making everything wetter. “Let’s just…get you home.”

“Okay…” Kel nodded, but his face was flushed. Aubrey was sure hers was bright red. She could only hope he wouldn’t notice.

*-*-*

Taking a deep breath, Aubrey parked her car on the street in front of Kel’s house. This was probably the worst possible thing she could have been thinking of right now. Why did she do this to herself?

She sighed heavily, burying her face in her hands before she composed herself, pushing all those thoughts away. She didn’t even know where they were coming from, and even if she did, now was definitely not the time to be thinking about any of that. She could almost guarantee that Kel certainly wasn’t. There was no way he was sitting around wondering what would have happened if the timer hadn’t gone off when they were dancing or if water hadn’t started to drip into her face when he was running his hand through her hair. These were just things Kel did without thinking—it didn’t mean anything more to him than that they were just friends, so why should it mean anything more to her? And…perhaps more importantly, why would she even want it to? Why would she want affection for him that would never be returned?  

Her shoes clicked across the pavement as she made her way down the sidewalk and up the driveway to the house where Kel lived with his brother, at least until Hero finished his final year of residency and paid off enough student loans to afford his own place. There was the faint sound of music echoing from the backyard and lights shimmering from what she assumed was probably their decorated porch. As soon as she walked through the gate to the yard, however, she realized she was wrong. There was a beautiful trellis canopy covered in Christmas lights with twinkling icicle lights hanging from the ceiling—underneath it was Hero’s record player, playing classic love songs.

Aubrey froze just staring at it—how it beautiful it was. She didn’t even notice Kel until he chuckled beside her.  

“Aubrey, you made it!” He paused, his expression softening. “You look beautiful. I’m glad I finally got to see your prom dress.”

Aubrey’s face flushed, and she curled her toes in her shoes both at the compliment,  and at the fact that Kel didn’t look too shabby himself dressed in his dark suit with combed hair and shiny dress shoes. “You look nice too, Kel. I see you’re wearing that tie—” she tried to tease him, but her voice cracked. Kel, however, just chuckled lightly.

“Oh yeah…well, you know…” With a slight shrug of his shoulders, he paused fidgeting with the bright pink tie around his neck. “Do you like it?”

Aubrey somehow managed a playful roll of her eyes. “It’s great, Kel.”

“I got you this,” he exclaimed excitedly, holding out a plastic container with a corsage inside.

“Wow, thank you,” she stumbled as he helped her slip it onto her wrist. “You really did go all out, huh?”

Kel hummed and nodded enthusiastically, but Aubrey’s brow furrowed as she glanced around. “So, uh…where are Hero and Sally?”

A faint flush of rose filled Kel’s cheeks. “Oh. Uh…well…about that. They’re not here.”

“Why not?”

“It wasn’t really a lie,” he tripped over his words. “I was just trying to surprise you, but I…I didn’t do this for Sally…”

As he met her eyes, Aubrey shivered and swallowed hard. Kel chuckled sheepishly. “I knew you were kind of upset that you missed your prom, and so I thought I’d make you your own prom. Surprise!”

Aubrey looked around the yard—at the twinkling lights, the trellis, Hero’s record player, then at Kel, all dressed up in his best suit with his pink tie, the kindest look in his eyes and the brightest, beaming smile on his face.

“You...”—she inhaled sharply—“You did all this…for me?”

“Yeah…Is it overboard? I was worried it might be a little overboard.”

Aubrey could scarcely put coherent sentences together—her head was spinning. Kel…Kel had done all of this…for her…? “Why?”

“Why?” Kel repeated with wide eyes. “Well…because it’s a lot…with the music and the fancy clothes and the decorations…”

“No, uh—” she stumbled. “Why did you do this for me, Kel?”

“Oh…well I thought you were upset about our prom ever since we went to the outlet mall, and I thought maybe a ‘do-over’ prom would make you happy.”

Aubrey’s blush deepened as she stared down at her feet. “You…you really didn’t have to do this Kel. Especially since I’m the one who basically ruined your prom in the first place.”

“Aubrey…” He pressed his palm to her cheek—smiling, waiting until she finally looked up at him. “That’s what I’ve been trying to tell you this whole time. You didn’t ruin my prom—not at all. I wanted to spend it with you. I know I probably should’ve just asked you, but I don’t know, I was just…I had never felt so close to anybody in my whole life, and I thought you were so amazing, I didn’t know what to do with myself…” He paused, chuckling awkwardly with a sheepish shrug of his shoulders.

“Wait…you…you…” she stammered trying to make sense of what she was hearing. He couldn’t have possibly just said…? “You wanted to take me to our prom? I’m the girl?”

Kel’s cheeks blushed red, but he nodded. “You’re the girl.” Aubrey could only blink at him as he chuckled lightly, awkwardly again and joked as he fidgeted with his hands, “You know…if this was a movie, this is probably the part where I’d say something really corny like ‘You’ve always been the girl.’”

As he met her eyes, Aubrey froze. His words may have been corny, but the look in his eyes was so sincere, so…affectionate. She swallowed hard—sure her face must be bright red by now, but she couldn’t move, couldn’t think. She tried her best to take a deep breath and shakily tease him but her voice was wavering, breathy—it almost didn’t sound like her. “Yeah…that’s—that’s really corny…”

“Yeah, I’m no Hero…” Kel chuckled self-deprecatingly. “I’m really not good at any of this stuff…” He bit his lip and looked back up at her with a gaze that made her shiver. “But I really do think you’re great—probably the most amazing person I’ve ever met. I’m sorry for not saying it before.”

“Kel, I…” Her voice hitched. “I had no idea you felt this way…”

“That’s okay,” shrugged Kel. “To be honest, I didn’t even know I felt this way for a long time. It took me a while to figure it out…I was just kind of dense, I guess.” He laughed with a sheepish grin. “When I finally mentioned it to Hero, he gave me this look like ‘it’s about time…’ Then he was the one who was really encouraging me to tell you, but I just never really could figure out how and…then I was worried I was going to mess up our friendship and I didn’t want to make things awkward…But I guess this is kinda awkward, huh? All the movies make it look so easy…”

Aubrey blushed. If one of them should be feeling dense right now, it really should be her. Kel was…Was he really…?

“Listen, uh…you’re really quiet right now. You don’t have to say anything. We can just pretend that I never said anything,” he began to ramble quickly, nervously. “I didn’t want to put you on the spot, I just—I thought that was something you should probably know about me, er, about you, er how I feel about you because I—I really like you and I think you are really great and if you ever talk to me again after this, I would really like to take you to dinner and…”

Aubrey could only blink at him, unable to get a word in edgewise as he let out a long heavy sigh. “And I am totally messing this up…” Sighing heavily again, he ran his hand through his hair, before he met her eyes. “Aubrey…I’m sorry—”

“Don’t be…” Aubrey interrupted, reaching up to stroke Kel’s cheek with her hand. “I know it’s not an easy thing to say…”

“No, but you don’t understand. I tried to practice and everything. I was going to say all kinds of really nice stuff like that you’re probably the most important person in the world to me, and I don’t know what I’d do without you. After Mari and Sunny and Basil…”—his voice hitched—”Things were so dark and so sad…it was probably one of the worst times in my life, and I felt so alone, but then, you found me…and you showed me that even if this world without them is always going to be a little sadder than it was, that doesn’t mean that there aren’t still good things in it too. And a lot of those good things were because of you—when we tease each other and we’re throwing popcorn at each other or I’m wiping frosting on your nose or splashing water at you at the beach—when we laugh about corny movies or dance in the kitchen or when we just talk for hours and completely forget about the time…or when your face turns all red when you’re trying not to smile or the way your nose wrinkles when you laugh. And you”—he cupped her face in his hands—“You’re the best thing.”

“Kel—I…I…” Aubrey began to trip over her words, unsure what she even wanted to say.

Kel sighed, his face blushing red as he pulled his hands away from her, and mumbled, “I don’t even know if that makes sense…”

“No, it…it does,” Aubrey said with a reassuring smile. “I…I completely…” She stopped. “Back then, I…I never thought I could ever be happy again, but you showed me I could be, that there’s still…happiness…” Her voice trailed, but Kel wrapped his arms around her and pulled into a tight hug.  

“Aubrey…I’m…I’m so glad…I…”—Kel’s voice hitched—“I just want you to be happy. I want you to be so, so happy. I just never thought I’d ever be lucky enough that you could be happy with me.”

“I am happy, Kel,” Aubrey whispered, unable to think, unable to breath. Something she couldn’t even begin to describe seemed to propel her forward—her whole body almost moving on its own as she pulled back from him just enough to close her eyes and brush her lips against his.

“A—Aubrey?” stumbled Kel with a look more akin to having been whacked on the back of the head rather than kissed.

“Kel, uh…sorry…” she began staring off over his shoulder. “I just um…”

“No, I’m sorry, I just…I wasn’t ready.” Aubrey’s eyes widened, but Kel hurriedly added, “Ready as in prepared not as in ready like I—I didn’t want…because I—I do…”

A playful smile tugged at Aubrey’s lips, but she was blushing too much to actually tease him.

“I—I…” Kel began to stumble again, and Aubrey could have sworn she heard him mumble, “Oh forget it…” under his breath before he finally just threw his arms around her neck and kissed her. His hands tangled in her hair as hers gripped the collar of his suit pulling him even closer to her. She could taste that sickeningly sweet Orange Joe on his breath, but she didn’t even care.

When they finally broke apart from each other, red-faced and breathless. Kel chuckled teasingly, “I guess I should probably ask you to dance now, huh?”

As that familiar song began to play, Kel wrapped his arms around her, and Aubrey slipped her hands around his neck. They swayed in time to the music, and neither one of them could hold back their smiles.

As Aubrey nestled into Kel’s chest, she could feel him chuckling lightly to himself.

“What?” she asked quietly.  

“Nothing it’s just…” Kel pulled away just enough to look at her and meet her eyes as his mouth twitched into a soft, playful smile. “Maybe it really is true what everyone says about prom after all…”

[cheezyhamster]

So I tried to write something

It might be poorly written idk I've never finished personal creative writing projects

It's the incident so OMORI spoilers, but it's somewhat different; very, very loosely inspired by @woodchipp's omori rewrite and their comments about the game, forgive me if I didn't do anyone's vision justice

It's also supposed to be the timeline that Lyra (my oc) lives in, even though she's not actually existing in this specific thing

And this is supposed to function as a screenplay for the animation I was making!! It won't be exactly the same, but I thought writing a narrative to get an idea of what would happen in the animation would be easier than writing a screenplay or making a storyboard. so. We'll see if I was actually onto something

The thing here (2436 words) ↓

Days. Weeks. Months. Months of playing the violin, unable to spend time with his friends as he pressed down on the strings until his fingers hurt, listened to Mari’s scolding and her biting remarks about his playing posture, his timing here, the pitch there, almost every practice, and every single day the month of the recital. It had seemed like a fun project initially, just something for him to do with his big sister, to be close to her. But it had quickly become something that kept him away from Basil, from Aubrey… from everyone else all because he wasn’t good enough, according to his parents, according to even Mari. And he was forced to spend hours upon hours laboriously playing his instrument to make up for his shortcomings.

Wandering around the piano room after a particularly poor run-through of the duet that had left Mari counting to ten as she sat with her fingers clenched tightly around the edge of the piano bench, he gazed down at the calendar that sat on a table in the corner of the room. Big, red X’s drawn in marker crossed out each day of the month, up until October 25th, where the word “RECITAL” was circled. Today. It should feel exciting, shouldn’t it? Finally getting to show off how hard he and his sister had practiced to perform such a beautiful piece? So why didn’t it? Why was it so stressful? Why was Mari giving him such angry looks, instead of being proud of him? He’d agreed to do the duet for her, to make her happy. With how things were going, it looked like he had failed, and he was going to be a disappointment. Again. He suppressed a sigh as Mari spoke up, her voice strained in her effort to maintain a facade of serenity.

“Let’s try again, okay, Sunny?”

Nodding reluctantly, he turned around, his feet dragging on the floor slightly as he made his way back to the piano, taking his violin and bow into his hands from where the instrument sat on top of the grand piano Mari had slammed her hands onto in a bout of anger just minutes ago. 

“One more time before we have to change into our recital clothes,” she murmured, her voice comparable to a silk ribbon stretched taught. 

As Mari rested her fingers on the ivory keys in front of her, he raised his violin, tucking the Guarneri chin rest under his chin and preparing himself for another playthrough of the duet. Surely they'd get it right this time.

No more than a dozen beats in, he heard Mari hit a key a half-step off, throwing him off and making his bow screech horrifically against the strings. His sister yelled in frustration, her hands balled up into fists as she slammed them down on the piano, the discordant notes hurting his ears as she gave up on pretending to be calm.

“Goddamnit Sunny! Can't you play without screwing up?!” 

Wait, that wasn't fair. He heard her mess up first! He quickly tucked his violin and bow under his arm to free up his hands, raising them to protest. But his effort to communicate was futile as Mari turned away from him, storming out of the piano room.

He scrambled after her. Did he make her too mad this time? Was it truly his fault? He thought he had been doing a good job, making his friends happy. Why wasn't she? Didn't she see that he was trying? 

As he chased after her, up the stairs, he gripped his violin tightly. Maybe he could show her that he really was good. Twisting to face her as he reached the top of the stairs, his bow slipped out from between his elbow and side, clattering as it fell down the wooden stairwell. So much for that idea. It only seemed to enrage Mari further as she glared at him.

“Why have you come up here? To ruin things further? The recital is going to be a failure, and it'll be your fault! I've tried so hard, and nothing is working! Don't you get that all our friends are counting on us? Don't you know how disappointed they will be when they hear how nothing is perfect, nothing is how it should be? It's your fault! It's- I've been patient! I've been trying so hard to tolerate your clumsiness, your mistakes! You're ruining everything! This is because of how often you ask to see Basil, see Kel, see Aubrey! You need to stop being so childish, distracting yourself! Be serious for once! They don't want you around if you can't show them that you're useful! That you can do anything right!” she shrieked at him.

He felt himself flinch violently at her outburst. This wasn't Mari. Mari doesn't yell at him like this, right? He was trying, he really was. But he wanted to hang out with his friends. Did she have a point? Would they not like him if he messed up at the recital? He would be a failure. A pathetic, useless disappointment. Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes as Mari continued to berate him.

“Dad is right! You're not good enough! You don't work hard enough! You'll never be enough! Sometimes it feels like everything would be easier for everyone if you just disappeared!”

That wrenched a gasp out of him. Surely she didn't mean that. His own sister. His big sister, who comforted him when he woke up from nightmares. Who defended him from his father's criticism, his judgment. Who told him he was perfect in his own way, and didn't have to change himself if he didn't want to. Who was loved by and loved everyone like she was their own mother. Why was she being like this? Was it because of the recital? Was it truly his fault? It couldn't be! Right? His heart pounded violently against his chest as if it was fighting to rip out of his flesh. He could hear the remarks of his parents stabbing into him alongside Mari's yelling.

“Worthless.”

“If only you were normal.”

“You ruin everything you touch.”

“It's pointless to pretend that you can be anything like Mari.”

“You don't truly matter to your friends.”

“Why can’t you something useful for a change, instead of being pathetic?”

He didn't want to listen to any of it anymore. The hate, the pain. He wanted it gone! His mind whirled as he tried to keep a hint of a grip on himself, his big sister's shouts fading slightly as he realized what the problem surely must be. 

The violin. The damned violin. If only he had refused to play it from the start. If only everything stayed the same, then he would be with his friends right now, not listening to Mari’s curses. She was yelling at him because of the violin, too. It would be better to just get rid of it. 

Without any further thought, he promptly threw the violin down the stairs, feeling a vague sense of satisfaction as he heard the wood splinter and crack. He wouldn't have to play it anymore. Then- then Mari would stop yelling at him, right? His parents would scold him less.

“Sunny, what the fuck did you do?! What have you done? Everyone worked so hard to get that just for you, and you threw it all away! What is wrong with you?! You're sick! You're broken! You keep making everything worse!” 

Mari's voice ripped through the thin veneer of hope he had felt, filling him with guilt instead. The tears that had been threatening to fall could be contained no longer, cascading down his face. He really did ruin everything. Maybe he shouldn't be here at all. He raised a fist to his chest to apologize.

“Don't- stop doing that!” 

Mari grabbed his wrists, keeping him from signing.

“Talk out loud, like a normal person! I'm sick and tired of pandering to your stupid mutism! You can talk! Can't you be good at something, instead of making life harder for everyone?”

His mouth opened, but no sound came out, his throat constricting as his pulse echoed loudly in his ears. Why was she doing this? Didn't she understand how hard it was for him to speak? He couldn't answer, not without his hands. Why wouldn't she let go? He wanted her to let go!

In a burst of panic, he shoved her away as hard as he could, yanking his hands out of her grip. He was about to bring the side of his hand down on his other palm in a “stop”, before he saw Mari's bad knee give out, making her stumble more than most people would, resulting in her crashing down on the hard, wooden floor.

His eyes widened as he saw the pain in his big sister's eyes. It really was his fault. Everything was his fault. Bringing his fist to his chest, he said sorry. Sorry. Sorry. Sorry. He didn't mean it. He didn't mean to hurt her. But as he stepped forward to help her up, she pulled herself back, away from him.

“Get out,” she ordered, her harsh tone near inaudible.

He brought his index fingers together close to his chest and moved them away from each other a small amount in a gesture of protest.

“Get out! I don't want to see you here! Everything is ruined, I am ruined, why- just leave me alone!” Mari’s voice rose shrilly, prompting him to stumble down the stairs, barely avoiding face-planting into the ruined violin at the base of the steps as he dashed to the front of the house and yanked open the front door as fast as he could, not bothering to slip shoes on before sprinting out onto the sidewalk, trembling violently as he gasped for breath.

It was his fault. It was his fault. It was his fault his fault his fault his fault. Ruiner of everything, failure to everyone, someone who should just die. 

He shivered against the cold October air, a silent sob escaping his lips as he ran down the street, almost hoping that a car would hit him as he ran across a road, towards the park. The playground. To the good memories, where all he knew was smiles and laughter from his big sister, not screaming and shouting. 

Sitting on the freezing ground with his knees to his chest inside the big metal cat in the playground, it was almost easy to pretend that nothing had happened. That he had imagined breaking his violin, imagined how angry Mari was with him. He was just enjoying the weather right now. That was why he was outside. That was all. No other reason. If he went back home now, surely everything would be just fine, and his big sister would be there with a big smile, to hug him and tell him that she loved him. Surely. But maybe it wouldn't hurt to wait a bit longer to return. 

As the sky darkened after what could have been hours or mere minutes, the chill from the atmosphere seeped into his bones. Maybe he had had enough fresh air for now. He had a recital to get to, didn't he? Yes, that sounded about right.

Pushing himself to his feet, he shuffled out of the park, trying to ignore how the wet grass beneath his feet soaked his socks. They'd be ruined by the time he got home… oh well. He could get another pair. 

He nearly walked into oncoming traffic on the way back. Odd, wasn't it? No, it shouldn't be. He should ignore it. Nothing was odd. The flashing red and blue lights hurt his eyes but he tried to pretend that they weren't there. Because everything was normal, and everything was okay!

There were cars in front of his house. Police cars. An ambulance. What were they doing here? Surely nothing had happened? Fighting down the rising dread, he squeezed his eyes shut, desperately brainstorming a harmless reason they were here. False alarm, maybe? If it was a false alarm, then why did he hear sobbing from the backyard? Reopening his eyes, he took shaky steps towards the voices. Unfamiliar for the most part, save for Hero’s wailing. Why was he wailing? What for? 

Getting to the backyard hardly made the situation any more lucid as he was immediately caught in the embrace of a blond. Oh. What was Basil doing here? 

“Where have you been? We were so worried about you,” Basil was saying. “I’m so sorry…”

Sorry about what? Everything was fine! He craned his neck to try to see past his friend, to where policemen surrounded one of the trees. His head felt fuzzy. Almost like being dizzy, but without the spinning. He tapped on Basil’s spine in a request to be let go. Basil only tightened his grip.

“You don’t want to see it. It’s- it’s…” 

His best friend’s expression made him faintly nauseous. His attempt to maintain some semblance of positivity crumbled. What was going on? He struggled against Basil’s grip until he was free, skidding on the wet grass as he came to a halt in front of the tree, where he could finally see what had happened. 

He wanted to vomit. He felt so sick. Mari hung from the tree, her hair obscuring her face as she swayed gently in the wind. She had been yelling at him the last time he saw her alive. He felt an inkling of relief before he stamped it down with disgust. Relief? He killed his sister! The realization struck him like a bat to the head. He’d done this. This was his fault. He brought her to this point. He really did make everything worse. He barely felt Basil’s hand on his shoulder as he fell to his knees, rubbing his fist against his chest in a hopeless attempt to apologize to someone who would never forgive him.

He didn’t know how long he’d been apologizing before he was pulled away from his sister, his friends’ tear-streaked faces crowding around him as they all tried to comfort each other amidst the shock and anguish. He didn’t deserve their comfort. They would hate him if they knew how he’d hurt his big sister, drove her to string herself up on that tree. 

Glancing back to see her one last time, he saw one of her sightless eyes peering through the curtain of ebony hair, the wretched view searing itself into his mind as he quickly turned away.

[starfilled-galaxy]

so like whats the main idea in omoshot- the main premise, ✨️story✨️-

stimming omg finally someone's asking ab it (ily /p)

okok so i wrote an au explanation on my wip omoshot carrd so lemme js copy paste

OmoShot is an OMORI x OneShot AU that takes place in OMORI's world with OMORI's characters, but Sunny is replaced with Niko from OneShot. Niko's headspace is a mix between Sunny's headspace and the world they were brought into in OneShot. This AU also is a bit of a half role swap between Aubrey and Basil; Aubrey having witnessed Niko and Mari's argument and coming up with the idea to cover it up as a suicide, but, while Basil is a bit less anxious than his canon counterpart, he does not play the role of an antagonist like canon Aubrey does. Instead of Basil going missing in headspace, it's Aubrey who goes missing, and the group has to find her. Headspace Aubrey (after going missing) takes the role of Stranger, as well as a bit of The World Machine, though she and canon TWM are different in many ways, too.

After Mari's death, Niko becomes a hikikomori, never going outside for 4 whole years. Until one day, they get a knock on their door - which they answer - from one of their childhood friends, Basil. As they search for their missing friend in headspace while following Basil and Kel in the real world trying to reunite the old friend group, they start to realize they must confront the truth very soon, and confess something to their friends that they've kept secret for all these years. Can they muster up the courage, or will the fear and pain be too much for them to bear?

[the-bugs-under-ur-skin]

Yandere Sunny/Omori With a Crush Who Doesn’t Like Him HCs - Omori

that’s right i’m back 🙄

[Sunny/Omori x reader]

-it isn’t that surprising that you don’t like Sunny

-he can completely understand why you don’t want to be around him

-it’s just that he completely hates it

-Sunny probably went through that “obsessively hate you” phase where instead of constantly worshipping you in his mind, he hated that he was obsessed with you and wished you were dead

-but milkshakes melt, people change, and he eventually found himself completely head-over-heels for you

-it’s probably because (especially if you’re friends with Kel or Aubrey) he does enough of watching you to realize you could be one of the greatest things to happen to him

-so he tries to subtly get closer to you by sitting next to you when you guys are lounging around or being the guy you walk next to when the gang is running around town

-even when he sees you out without anyone else, his head will perk up and he’ll walk over to you

-so it kills him that you continue to avoid him whenever he does that

-but other than that, he probably won’t try many other things to get you to like him

-he’s too awkward to ask you why you hate him or try to be more friendly so you don’t hate him

-of course, Omori has a very different experience with you

-you’ve dominated all of his thoughts and dreams, he hardly even spends time with anyone besides you in the headspace

-in the headspace you’ll jump up and run to see Omori when he exits the whitespace and you always give him kind smiles and hugs

-Omori will usually leave everyone else behind and instead take you along everywhere he goes

-he makes the most of his time in the headspace with you and will set up dates and tell you things he’s always wanted to tell you in person

-you’ll also pretty much take Basil’s role in the headspace 

-like, i could completely see you just one day disappearing in the headspace like Basil did and Omori going absolutely insane

-the only real difference is that Omori won’t be as “calm” as he was before, and that’s saying a lot because he was a literal wreck in the game

-all of this makes Sunny a little crazy, especially if he ever isolated himself again

-it would drive him insane after spending so much with the dream you that the real you still very much hates him

-some great advice would be to at least give Sunny a chance

-just because he’s too socially awkward to make small talk with you doesn’t mean he won’t try other ways to make you be his friend

[sargentpotato-probably]

The OMORI Sunset AU chapter list

Spoilers for OMORI turn back and play the game before reading this

I update with a new chapter very frequently (so far one a day...)

Q: what is the OMORI Sunset AU

A: imagine a alternate reality where on that fateful day Basil was busy doing school work. What if Sunny had used this wits and dialed 911, what if Mari survived? This is the Sunset AU.

Q: what time does it take place?

A: same time as the RW in OMORI, 4 years after the incident. Hero and Mari are returning from their first year in college for the summer. Sunny, Aubrey, Basil, and Kel are 16 and its the begining of summer break.

Q: is this a sunburn story? (Sunny x Aubrey)

A: Yes, Aubrey never had the chance to become a delinquent and stayed friends with everyone. Sunny gained better social skills and is less pale and skinny. Their personalities are different then cannon OMORI.

Q: is there any shred of headspace?

A: no, headspace cant exist, neither does Omori or any other DW characters.

Chapter list:

Count-8

Quick note: I have to link several chapter lists together in order to link chapters to a chapter list.

Also, due to school posts will as of now be up to twice a week (no promises.)

Prologue

Chapter 1

Chapter 2

Chapter 3

Chapter 4

Chapter 5

Chapter 6

Chapter 7

Chapter 8

Chapter list continued

[melohax]

So, I actually saw that you shipped Sunny x Kel, and I am actually pretty fond of that ship myself. I do know that in canon Sunny does have a crush on Aubrey, or at least used to. But one thing I want to know is if there are any personal headcannons you have with that ship. Kel

Yeah! I like Sunny and Kel together best. Sunny and Basil is also good cus of the intensity of their relationship but I’m more if s Suntan kind of person in the end. I love the contrast between Sunny’s quiet, sadboi personality and Kel’s loud kindness. I’m a slut for the “opposites attract” trope and I also think as a plus that Kel’s presence is really healthy for Sunny.

I don’t really have ship hcs per say but just thoughts on why I like Kel with Sunny.

Basil was right: Kel is resilient and strong like a cactus lol. Even with how overlooked Kel is by his parents, he’s legit the healthiest one of the friend group. Kel doesn’t show any sort of grudge towards Hero for being the favorite either even though that’d be an expected reaction for his situation.

Kel’s good of heart and dumb of ass. His energy, positivity and simplicity are something everyone in the friend group could really use, especially Sunny and Basil.

The fact that Kel’s the one to pull Sunny out of isolation is pretty significant, imo. Sunny has very little impetus on his own so Kel complements Sunny really well there cus he’s willing to pull Sunny out of complacency. The amount of times Kel knocks on Sunny’s door if you choose not to go out is ridiculous and does a good job of showing his persistance when he puts his mind to something.

I think an emotionally strong and mostly fearless person like Kel is really good for someone like Sunny, who’s fears often keep him frozen and passive instead. Real world Sunny learns the “persist” skill towards the end cus it’s one of the things that’s hardest to him whereas to Kel, persisting is just what’s normal.

I also really like how chill Kel is with Sunny’s (and Basil’s) “weird” parts. This could be seen as Kel just being too dumb to understand his friends’ emotional distress or something but there’s some reasons that make me see it differently.

Even though Sunny does things like carrying a knife around and acting off in general, Kel still shows a surprising amount of emotional intelligence at times that les us know he understands more than he lets on. He gets angry with Aubrey when she says Sunny’s a psychopath living in a bubble cus even though he doesn’t fully know Sunny’s circumstances, Kel shows that he still understands just how hard even the smallest things are for Sunny atm.

Something I find really sweet as well is that Kel is quick to praise Sunny a lot when they’re outside together. At the end of each day, he lets Sunny know how happy snd impressed he was by Sunny agreeing to go outside with him after 4 tears of being a shut in. He’s gentle with Sunny in a way that isn’t overly careful nor patronizing and I think that’s extremely important for Sunny’s growth as a person. At the same time, Kel is like Hero in that he’s very dependable emotionally and a rock to lean on.

It’s not all just one-sided either! Kel actually benefits from Sunny too because with such a quiet closed person at his side, he gets to learn to notice subtlety and use his braincells more lol. Being with Sunny can help Kel to be a bit less naive in general and better at handling complicated personal issues.

PS: I also think Kel would be good with Basil for similar reasons but I haven’t really thought about it thoroughly. Then again, Kel is just a good fit for all his friends tbh.

[jaqdawks]

(hi i still have this assignment)

Ramblings of a Vet. Omori Fan

Omori has a relatively small fandom, but with all fandoms comes fanfiction. Here are ten fanfictions I recommend checking out;

10. The Faraway Terrarians

I’ve been playing Terraria for a few days nonstop, and it is killing my productivity. This is a pretty interesting fanfic if you like Terraria.

9. Hidden Mindscape

This fanfic takes place after the Bad Ending of Omori, where Sunny commits suicide. It follows the others, Aubrey, Hero, Kel, and Basil, as they experience the aftermath. This fanfic hasn’t been updated in a while though, so I’m not sure if the author is planning to update it any time soon.

8. Hikikel

The Undertale community was well known for its Swaptale/Underswap AU, and many fandoms will take a crack at the ‘everyone in a different position’ AU trope. If you find characters being swapped into other roles interesting, this one’s for you!

7. Omori: Playing Hero

The Good Ending of Omori leaves the next events unknown. In this fic, Hero goes on his own grief filled adventure into his own headspace, as he copes with the news on his loss from years ago. In the cannon, Hero and Mari have an implied sort of relationship, and losing Mari must have truly hit Hero hard. This is an interesting take on how Hero would deal with the news.

6. New Memories

Be warned, this one is quite mature, and may not be for all audiences. Again, the Good Ending of Omori leaves the next events unknown, and this fic has a really good take of how things may progress in the next few years. There’s also some shipping, for those who enjoy it.

5. I love you because-..

I see a lot of Basil x Sunny fanfictions, but this Kel x Sunny one is quite interesting. The two certainly have a bond in cannon, and the way the author explores how it would work as a relationship is very interesting.

4. Marsbar

This fic follows the ghost of Mari, but also. . . Captain Spaceboy from Headspace! This is such a unique fanfiction to the story of Omori, and I haven’t seen anyone do anything like this. Also I’m immediately biased because Captain Spaceboy is there. Go read it it’s amazing and also not too dark.

3. OMORI - Inertia

This fic follows an interesting AU that focuses on Sunny’s psyche. The idea that Sunny may relapse into his world in Headspace is a very unique take that I haven’t seen attempted that often. It explores some very sensitive topics, however, and may not be for some audiences.

2. TRAI

TRAI follows the friends and how they all navigate through life after the news at the end of the True Ending/Good ending. Rather than focusing on one, as others have, this gives insight to all characters and how they are feeling. I find the expansive approach to be very nice.

1. Like the sunflowers

Much like some other fics I’ve mentioned, this one follows the Good Ending. The reason I have placed this at number one, is because of how well the author has a grasp on what world shattering guilt can do. This fic doesn’t pull back it’s punches, and the author wrote this beautifully. In it, the friend group disbands again after Sunny’s confession, and it follows Basil as he lives through it all again.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

Since it’s been a while since I have posted one of these, here is the first blog post incase anyone (who isn’t from my class, because this is an assignment) is confused.

[the-bugs-under-ur-skin]

Yandere Kel, Sunny, Aubrey and Kel Having Their First Kiss HCs - Omori

ALL OF SUNNYS SPRITES SUCK SO JUST IMAGINE THAT HES SHY AND NOT SAD

[yandere Kel x reader]

-Kel is already clingy and affectionate so the thought of actually kissing isn’t really foreign to him

-however, it really depends when it comes to Kel

-he’d either go straight into the kiss by kissing you when you guys confess to each other

-or chicken out and either wait for you to kiss him first or somehow get pushed into it by a friend

-if he were to kiss you first, he’d be giddy and confident

-like i said, he’d probably kiss you either as a confession or after the confession so he’s already on cloud nine

-he’d probably pull you into a hug and then he’d immediately take you with him to go on an adventure/date 

-the kiss was also probably more on impulse then him trying to make it more romantic or anything

-but he’s hyped up about it for the rest of the week, telling everyone he sees how happy he is

-if you kiss Kel first, he’d still be giddy but a little shy too

-pretty much every time he gets a kiss from you he’s excited so there’s nothing really shocking about that

-but he was probably caught off guard since he wasn’t really expecting you to kiss him first

-he’ll be uncharacteristically quiet at first; the first thing you’ll probably hear from him is an awkward laugh

-but he’ll start speaking again soon, albeit with a bit of a stutter

-he’s always up for affection though, no matter who kisses who first

-this is one of the ways to really cement Kel’s obsession with you

-with every big romantic gesture that happens throughout your relationship, it makes him more and more unhinged

-hopefully you didn’t think a kiss would tone him down because now it’s just going to get harder to get away from him

-and Kel just continues to be blissfully oblivious to his own toxicity, instead focusing on how to give you more and more of his affections

(i had to hand edit this btw)

[yandere Sunny x reader]

-Sunny is surprisingly shy about the whole thing

-he always keeps a poker face on, and yet the thought of kissing you makes his cheeks burn red and his hands shake ever so slightly

-if Sunny were to kiss you first, he’d try to make it special

-like during a sunset while you two are hanging out or maybe after he takes you home from your first date or something

-you could probably tell that he’s thinking about it too because he’s shifting a little and avoiding eye contact

-he’ll probably try to run away from the embarrassment after he did it, but he’d probably just run around the corner and then watch you from afar to see how you feel about it

-if you were to kiss him first, he’d be both excited and a little nervous

-he probably wasn’t expecting it even though he’s been trying to plan out his first kiss for awhile

-he’s less embarrassed if you did it though, and that embarrassment is replaced with giddiness

-he’s still very flustered, but not enough to run away or anything

-the thing Sunny is nervous about is how you feel about it

-he’s less confident about it because he barely got a chance to plan it, so he’s worried that you’re not going to like him or something

-but other than that, he’s ecstatic

-very pleased with the fact that you just couldn’t wait to kiss him

-no matter who kisses who, it’s probably the first time you’ve seen a more vulnerable part of Sunny

-you can either handle him with care or take advantage and manipulate him

-he doesn’t care which one you do, he just couldn’t handle you leaving him after something like this

-he thought everything was fine; or at least fine enough for you both to finally kiss

-all he wants to know how he can fix it and who’s actually at fault for ruining your relationship

-he knows that neither you or himself can be the problem, so he has to figure out who ruined his first kiss

[yandere Aubrey x reader]

-Aubrey is more shy about it than she admits

-she probably has daydreamed about it once or twice, even before you both were dating

-she probably doesn’t worry about it being some big romantic event because she “just wants to get it over with”

-she’d honestly be over the moon if your first kiss was at a dump, she just wishes she could get the nerve to actually kiss you

-if she kissed you first, she would probably try to play it cool

-it’d be after a small date or maybe just a hang out with her gang

-and while you both are alone she’ll just give you a quick kiss

-she’ll try to play it off by just walking away or speeding off on her bike

-but the moment she gets home she’ll be monitoring her phone like a crazy woman

-she wouldn’t hesitate to track you down to get a response from you

-if you kissed her first, she’s both caught off guard and a little euphoric

-she would take awhile to finally kiss you so it’s not like it’d be shocking if you just decided to go for it

-she would be take aback though, but she tries to shake off the shock and play it cool

-but you’d probably know how she actually feels since not only would she be blushing, but she’s got a very genuine smile on her face

-not a smirk or anything, just a soft and sweet smile

-no matter who kisses who, that brief affection that you two share always fills Aubrey with complete euphoria

-in that moment she’s sky high and full of adrenaline, this is the happiest she felt in a long time

-Aubrey’s reaction is actually more wholesome than you’d expect

-granted, she does still obsess a little more over you

-but it’s more of the sweet kind than the murderer possessive kind

-don’t get it twisted though, Aubrey has a short temper and could lash out your or her friends at any moment

-so just let her relish in the moment for awhile, okay?

[yandere Basil x reader] 

-Basil has definitely thought about kissing you before, honestly it’s almost all he thinks about

-there’s just something about him that makes me think he cuddles and kisses his pillow and imagining its you he’s while trying to sleep

-since he wants to kiss you so badly, i think he tries to hype himself up by talking to himself in the mirror

-keyword is tries because even his own delusions can’t convince him that he’s ready to actually kiss you

-i do think that he’d eventually be able to do it, but you’d have to be really patient 

-if Basil were to kiss you first, he’d be very anxious and tense

-it would probably just be a quick peck on the lips because i don’t think he’d work up the courage to actually do much more

-you could kiss him more if you want! it would probably be the best way for you to respond to him

-you can also just tell how shy he is, not only is his face red but his legs are visibly shaking

-but even though he’s more nervous than both Sunny and Aubrey combined, i think he actually wouldn’t run away after kissing you

-sure, he’s avoiding eye-contact and trying to hide his face a bit, but he just wants to see how you react right here and up close

-if you kiss Basil first, he’s still jittery but now for a different reason

-there’s just so much visible joy on his face in that moment

-not only did you want to kiss him, but you also wanted to kiss him so badly that you couldn’t wait for him to start something

-i can imagine him covering his mouth afterward and giggling a little

-he feels like he shouldn’t be this surprised you kissed him because he was literally waiting for you to kiss him ever since you both met

-but i guess there was still a bit of doubt he tried to ignore

-but that doesn’t matter now, that doesn’t matter at all!

-you kissed him and he’s never been happier

-it’s the new thought that constantly plagues his brain, Polly probably notices how Basil will start randomly blushing even when absolutely nothing is happening

-he won’t be getting over his first kiss anytime soon, he’ll cherish the memory until he dies

-so please kiss him more, he doesn’t mind when or where he just wants you to kiss him until he can’t breathe

-whoops... was that too far? he’s sorry, he only wants what you want, of course!!

[the-bugs-under-ur-skin]

Yandere Kel, Sunny, Aubrey and Basil with a yandere S/O Hcs - Omori

this was a really fun concept to write! thanks for the support, you guys are amazing!

[yandere Kel x reader]

-Kel probably wouldn’t think that your behavior is strange or abnormal

-pretty much any and all attention and affection he gets will be appreciated by him

-he already absolutely craves your attention, so if you go out of your way to dedicate all of your focus and time on him, he’ll be over the moon

-all of that excitement would overshadow any toxic behaviors you might have like manipulating him or invading his privacy

-just you reassuring your love for him will make him go along with anything you need

-if he has plans for the day but you’re a possessive type, he’ll be perfectly fin with you trapping him in your arms and keeping him in for the day

-of course, he’ll still need to go outside sometimes, but he’ll always respond to any texts and calls you send him

-and when Kel comes back to you, he wouldn’t mind any sort of affection you give him, promising not to leave your side for a least a few days

-while he’s very excited to introduce you to his family, he’ll quickly get defensive over you if they voice their concerns

-he treats the relationship between the two of you as normal, he doesn’t change how he acts because he assumes this all completely normal

-this is love to him, and he’s so lucky that he’s the one you love

[yandere Sunny x reader]

-if you have yandere tendencies in the beginning of the relationship, he’ll notice right away

-he slowly unhinges more and more as time passes, so he can recognize the behavior almost immediately

-even then he didn’t really mind, as long as you weren’t sadistic he would just let it happen

-but if your obsession slowly built up as your relationship grew, he’d be less aware of how strange you act

-the only difference is that in the beginning he’s lenient with the behavior, but as time goes on he welcomes it

-Sunny just wants you to stay with him, so when you show how dedicated and loyal you are to him, he silently soaks it up like a sponge

-he never really has anywhere to go, but sometimes he’ll purposefully try to trigger some of your yandere traits just because he likes them so much

-he’ll assure you that you shouldn’t hide how he feels about him for one very important reason: he doesn’t want you getting hurt

-if you tell him how much you want to hurt someone, he’ll do it for you

-he doesn’t want to put you in harms way, so he tries to keep tabs on who you give dirty looks to

-also, since flustered Sunny is best Sunny, i think that despite his emotionless  demeanor his face will glow bright red if you show your obsessiveness or jealousy to him

-he’s very happy with having a yandere significant other, no matter how intense your feelings for him get

-i just hope you aren’t the type to hop around different partners a lot, something tells me it’ll end up getting messy

[yandere Aubrey x reader]

-Aubrey would be 100% down with this

-she wants nothing more than to just be chaotic and violent with you, so if you’re down then she is too

-she’d enjoy you being violent most of all, encouraging you to grab someone by the throat if you think they’re out of line

-she would enjoy possessiveness; you are hers, and she is yours

-usually she’d be embarrassed about pda or whatever, so saying “you’re mine” or something in front of her posy or even in public in general will make her freeze her up

-she won’t get mad, of course! but she probably wouldn’t do much more than wrap an arm around your waist and bury her head in your neck

-she also wouldn’t object to any obsessiveness you have

-she likes that its always her on your mind, she’d never have to worry about your loyalty and the dedication you have to her would be an added plus

-every time you go out of your way to show her how much you love her, whether it be with pictures that you took of her while stalking her of someone's decapitated head in a box, she’ll cherish the memory and think about it on a rainy day

-she also likes that she’ll never have to be rough or intimidate you, if she wants you than she can just ask

-she really just can’t get enough of you, she’s probably appreciates the behavior the most out of anyone in the entire omori universe

-she eats up every type of yandere and, well, she also likes you a lot!

[yandere Basil x reader]

-ugh take back what i said about Aubrey, Basil is actually much worse

-he’s constantly around you and focusing on you, so he notices your behavior the moment your composer slips

-he’s over the moon, heart beating out of his chest, head to toe obsessed with you

-like, you’re possessive of him? oh no, it looks like you’ll have to lock him in your arms and make sure he never talks to anyone else 😏

-oh, you’re obsessed with him? wow it looks like you have to devote all your time and attention to him :/

-he loves it so much, he honestly can’t handle it

-anytime you actually show off how crazy you are for him, he loses his mind

-he’ll actually start to encourage it, he’ll lie about having plans or pretend to be busy when you need his affection

-Basil will always try to keep your behavior as intense as it can be

-he loves your obsession and doesn’t want you to lose it

-he’ll let you do anything, whether you’re soft or more aggressive, he doesn’t mind because it’s you and you’re the best possible outcome

-honestly, he’s falls so much harder for you if you’re a yandere too

-like, he just feels better and more sane when around you

-of course, this is just his delusions and he’s actually so much worse

-yandere you and yandere basil is such a toxic combo but he really doesn’t care about any of that

-if he did, he would’ve left you alone ages ago, but he didn’t because you’re just so perfect and amazing

-just stay with him forever, that’s what you want too, right? you’ll love him forever no matter what, right? i mean, you don’t want him going out and dating others... right?

[nikos-oneshots]

for the event! Can I get kil for 12, 20 and 24? Ty!!

100 Follower Event: Kel

Add-Ons: 10, 12, 20 and 24

Requests Open for Event!

CW: OMORI SPOILERS

Name of Character:

Kelsey / Kel

Nicknames:

Kellogs (Hero, Mari, HS!Aubrey), Keller (Omori, Hero)

Gender / Pronouns HC:

Cis Male | He/Him

Sexuality HC:

Pansexual! He has a lot of love to give!

Age:

17 (See Gen Hc

Height:

6'0

OTP:

Probs either Sunny x Kel or Aubrey x Kel

BROTP:

HERO AND KEL!! Also Basil x Kel

NOTP:

Hooligans x Kel (And Hero / Mari x Kel, but that's obvious

Fav/Gen HC:

He is 17. I know it's canon that he's 16, but I like to think that he's 1 year older than the others. I think somewhere it said that he's the oldest out of Sunny, Aubrey and Basil, but his birthday is Canonically in November, soooo.?

Platonic HC:

If he's making a new friend and they are sort of difficult to befriend (shy, mean, etc) he will just talk about random stuff to them. Like, he will just run up to you and say "Hey! I saw 2 dogs on my way to find you and one was pregnant and they let me pet them and it was amazing!" Then he will go on about the new season of a popular TV show.

Romantic HC:

He learned romance from his brother with Mari, Even if he has never been in a relationship. Before Mari passed, Hero gave him lessons on what and what not to do, the best date spots, and how to set a romantic mood. He's not really the romantic type like Hero is, but he is in his own way.

Add Ons!

10. Past/Memory HC:

Has had multiple pet rocks as a Kid, other than just hector, he had like 10 others that he lost. They were mainly the first ones he had, but then just kept throwing them around because he was a kid. The only reason he stopped is because he hit somebody in the head with Matthew the Second and he was confiscated. He has no memory of any other rock besides Hazel, Matthew, Matthew the Second, and Hector.

12. Love Language:

Giving and Receiving quality time and Words of affirmation with a heavy preference for quality time. Spending time with him is how he knows that he's wanted. It's not that he will break up if you don't spend time with him, its that he will make you do it. He will show up at your house and kidnap you. He also likes the small things rather than the big stuff. He would prefer you two to go to the park and teach you how to play basketball than you two going to a fancy restaurant.

20. Insecurity:

He is a picky eater. Like I might be projecting here, but you can't tell me that Orange joe wasn't one of his safe drinks. Hero tries to make him eat the stuff he cooks, and he does try it, but one bad feeling and the whole ball of wet food is in his hands. He hates how he doesn't have a wide range of foods like a normal person should, but can't bring himself to like a lot of foods.

24. Childhood Dream:

Of course, his childhood dream was to be a Sports Star, but I'm going to pick something else. I'm gonna say he wanted to be a teacher. He wanted to be the cool teacher he didn't have in grade school. He still had a passion for sports and specifically wanted to be a gym teacher. Once he found out that the people playing basketball on TV were actually working, he dropped the teacher thing.

Tysm for participating in my event! Kel was really fun to write for! I was already doing Kel for the any fandom one, but then the other request came into my Inbox, so instead of doing a different character, I thought it was a good idea to combine them! I hope you two enjoyed it!

Lots of Love

- Niko 🥞