#when sun shines again⛅

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

The gang is finally all here

Hero & His College Friends from When Sun Shines Again ⛅️ [From left to right Tamra (OC), Lorraine (OC), Kyle (OC), Hero, Zoey (OC), C.J. (OC), and Brandi]

(Art by Mod Sprinkles; background photography by Mod Acacia)

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

This was one of my favorite parts to write in our most recent one shot "The Hero You Loved" (no surprises there given how absolutely feral I am about Hero finding healing and leaning to be happy again, though definitely more romantic than what I generally write) 💙

Story description (if anyone's curious): 12 years after the good ending of OMORI, Hero reflects on the unexpected turns his life has taken. He wasn't the same person he used to be and knew he would never be that person again. After such a devastating loss, he had truly believed he could never be happy again, but things were different now...

OR Hero finds healing and loves again (the abridged version).

“It was so hard to believe his painfully pieced together heart was worth much of anything—even though he loved her with every inch, every crack, every crevice, ever bruise and broken edge of it.

He loved her more than he had ever imagined he would or even could love someone again.”

—Lines I Can’t Believe I Have Actually Written

[vitaminseetarot]

PAC: Random Messages You May Need 🌈🎆⛅

Sup, y'all. I'm finally back for another pick a card reading. I really apologize if folks have not heard from me over the past month, I meant to get this reading (among other things) out a while ago. I have not been able to touch tarot for the past few weeks. Life has been… topsy turvy, to say the least. Heh heh. [sweating profusely]

I meant to have another game out and to have paid readings available by now--that is still part of the plan. What was meant for June will be in July. So this blog might go from 0 to 100 mph real soon, to move along with plans as intended!

I was loosely inspired by the Baker pride flag from 1978 for this group selection. These piles are pretty nondescript: each one contains a random message that may resonate with you. Pick based on whichever color of the Prism Oracle speaks to you most, and feel free to choose more than one. Take only what resonates.

Pile 1 - Strength (Red) Pile 2 - Happiness (Orange) Pile 3 - Illumination (Yellow) Pile 4 - Movement (Green) Pile 5 - Flow (Turquoise) Pile 6 - Trust (Blue) Pile 7 - Intuition (Violet) Pile 8 - Love (Pink)

Pile 1 - Strength (Red)

10 of Swords, Insight

You've been asked by the universe to put up with a lot, especially recently. You're reaching a finish line of a very long and brutal marathon. There have been too many times where you questioned whether or not to throw in the towel. If you have, you may also have questioned whether or not it was the correct choice. Sometimes, things don't work out, and it's better to move on. It can be difficult to hold everything up when one thing after another seems to fall apart at the seams, but either way you're being reminded of the light at the end of this long and turbulent tunnel.

Collect yourself, pick up what pieces you can. Time has shifted everything, but the essentials still stand. Gather the wisdom you have learned from this ordeal. There is still beauty to be found in the decay, glittering gems in the rough.

Maybe you don't want to get stronger. Healing may feel like a better option than grinding for difficult experience points. Give yourself the rest and repair you need. Let go of only that which is keeping you from starting again, but you don't need to throw the baby out with the bathwater. You've gained so much wisdom and strength, this trial wasn't without gain. Treasure it and begin anew.

Pile 2 - Happiness (Orange)

2 of Swords, Clarity

Whatever answers you seek are coming to you. Or perhaps they've already arrived; open your eyes and see for yourself. You may be wondering which path will satisfy you more. The process of reconciling this could take forever unless you lean on your gut here. This can't be decided based on intellect alone, for you could get stuck mulling it over for days. Imagining all the different possible outcomes could be taxing for your brain, so narrow it down. Eliminate the weakest links and home in on what excites you. It should feel like an "aha, yes!"

If you cannot see the answer right away, go within to the realm of imagination. Feel your way through. Visualize not just with sight but with yearning. Does the light of the sun make you feel hopeful? Does the cool rain make you feel relaxed? Would an art class expand your capacity to imagine many things, or would taking a science class?

The X mark in 2 of Swords is like a railroad crossing sign. Redirect that train of thought into brighter and more positive avenues of expression. Say "what if" as if you can't wait for something to happen. "What if I saw a shooting star tonight? What if my cute neighbor asked me out?" Let the future shine its beacon for you. It will all make sense in due time.

Pile 3 - Illumination (Yellow)

Ace of Cups, Reconciliation

Have you been staying up way too late trying to figure everything out? Please give yourself a brain curfew: no problem solving or saving the day after 10 pm! I'm getting that you may tend to ruminate on the same strong emotions. For some I'm getting that there is a crush here. There's inconsistent text messaging. I know it's easy to get too nervous about their reply, but try to wait until at least the next day to hear back. They may need time to formulate their words right. They may not even see your message straight away. Take it all in stride and sleep on it; if they want to reach out to you, then they eventually will.

For others in this pile, you may be going through a rough patch with another person right now and could be wondering how things will pan out. Give them time to respond, they could still be processing it. Stay on the more positive end of things with the idea that things will work themselves out. I feel like if you can manage this in a relaxed and non hurried way, the knot will untangle easily. The coffee in the Ace of Cups is very hot, so give it a chance to cool.

There is opportunity in your near future to make up for something that went awry due to a miscommunication error. You may get a chance to make up for a test, appointment, or an interview. You will receive grace for any mishaps. Remember that tomorrow won't necessarily be the same as today, so cherish both the good you have now along with the good that soon awaits you.

Pile 4 - Movement (Green)

IX Hermit, Devotion

Looks like things are progressing faster than you even thought they would. You may be blinking your eyes in partial disbelief: could this ball really be rolling? Indeed, thanks to your efforts, goals are being met and results are more evident by the day. You eschewed a lot of distractions to make this work, so give yourself a pat on the back for the level of commitment you put into it. Some of you in this pile may have just graduated, if so then congratulations! But try not to get too comfortable with your laurels, for you have a long road ahead of you in whatever you do next. This one completion is the start of many.

Does that thrill you? If so, wonderful! On the other hand, some of you may be feeling uncertain about continuing. You may be reviewing your options to see if this really is worth pursuing. Something that requires a lot of dedication and focus on it to the exclusion of all else… yeah, I can see how that can get tiring after a long time. There are folks who can get their Master's right after their Bachelor's, or have another child right after the first, but people can also happily move on to what feels more right for them instead.

It's okay to stop and assess your tracks if necessary. Taking time off is not the same as quitting. It's not losing motivation, it's recovering it. This is your passion and your discipline, not anyone else's. If you need to give other parts of your life more room to breathe, then do so with the confidence that your great work will wait for you.

Pile 5 - Flow (Turquoise)

4 of Wands, Hospitality

Have you been stuck with something for a while? There's a strong sense of a blockage that is being eroded away over time. This process can be sped up by allowing the ice to thaw a little more. "Break the ice." You may be wanting to open up and spend more quality time with other people but don't know how. Or you could be faced with meeting new people and being nervous about interacting with them. Even more so if they're roommates. A few people in this pile could be moving or have just moved. This is a chance to ease up and get to know new people.

This blockage could be a result of the past and of anxiety. The sound of a turning doorknob just jumpscared me as I typed the last sentence. You may benefit from learning about social anxiety and how to manage it. It's not an overnight job for you to fix this, though, but to just be aware of it and not allow it to get in the way of positive change in your life.

If you're struggling to figure out how to deal with meeting new people, I would suggest looking up videos or how-tos on social interaction, especially if a certain etiquette is required for an event. Learn about conversation starters and fun things you could do together like hosting a game night. Practice makes perfect, and over time the blockage will melt into the stream.

Pile 6 - Trust (Blue)

3 of Swords, Conversion

You have a very soft and tender outlook on life, which makes it all the more painful when reality doesn't conform to such a compassionate vision. It doesn't always try to respond to vulnerability in appropriate ways. Much of the time, this isn't from natural events as much as it stems from the ways in which people can treat one another cruelly. You've had some toxic people in your life who have put you through the wringer and attempted to squeeze every ounce of kindness they could from you. Making light of this pain to them only resulted in further deflection and antagonism on their part. The only outcome was to salvage whatever you could and pray for the best.

It is not your job to change their closed minded perspectives. They're on their own, here. Do not concern yourself with their messy inner world and lose any more of your energy. Also, do not attempt to regain what energy has been lost through bargaining either, as much as it hurts to press onward without looking back. You will recover, but you have to move on first and prioritize what you deeply care about most (you included).

There will come a time when your heart will be healed so you can see the brighter side of human connection again. All the beauty that your gentle soul is seeking is still there, shrouded by layers of protective petals that will one day bloom again and your life will truly flourish. For now, this is a time to give yourself all the comfort you can.

Pile 7 - Intuition (Violet)

XII Hanged Man, Spring

I get the feeling that you've been waiting quite a while for some good results to come in. This could either be from something that you started back in the spring, or are waiting to see results which may come around springtime. It is a season of flowers, so you may be waiting for this thing to blossom--that is, to be fully presentable to the public in some way. To have something to show for the time you put in. Like "hey, this is what I've been working on, this came from the seeds I planted." It could be growing in a direction unlike what you're used to, leaving you wondering how it could succeed in such unusual and burdensome conditions.

Lean on your inner guidance when it comes to the right timing. I don't believe that you're currently in a space where you need to push so hard for the best results. You can let things move at their own pace. Over tending to anything can end up in just as much trouble as neglect. There's only so much you can do before you have to let the flower do the growing and blooming for itself.

It's not always easy to sit in the place of uncertainty with the idea that doing more will provide more. But sometimes less is more. What you're creating is coming to fruition and may even turn out better than you expected. Trust in both the knowledge you've earned over time from learning lessons, as well as your natural intuition, to help you decide when it's time to take action.

Pile 8 - Love (Pink)

7 of Swords, Gossip

Let your heart lead the way here, not your worries over what others will think. Sure, you may end up with some people talking about you, but opportunities will keep passing by if you wait for everyone else to catch up to you. Leaning too much on everyone else's perspectives will only distort the vision you have for your own life journey. We all have unique journeys to go on, but unconditional kindness remains at the center of the Love card, the one thing that brings us together. Following life from a heart centered place may result in having others glance over and whisper, but that shouldn't distract you.

There is a rather delicate message here about dealing with friendships, colleagues, or possibly even family. You may have a tricky situation between several other people right now who have beef not with you but with each other. They may be coming to you to air their grievances and ask for advice.

If you care about both of these people, then it's best to approach this issue as diplomatically and impartially as possible and avoid feeding into the conflict. What would an enlightened mindset do in this situation? How would you want the other person to behave if they were in your shoes? Come from a place of pure compassion. They may choose to make amends or not, it's up to them. If their butting heads is bringing you down, it's always okay to step back and take a break. You are not responsible for what's going on in their heart, only your own, so protect yours well.

This reading has not been evaluated by the FDA to diagnose, prevent, treat, or cure any disease or infection. Please ask your physician before going online.

2024, @VitaminseeTarot ™

[logarhythm-bees]

To Unearth and Back Again; ⛅Chapter 15

Chapter Fourteen | Table of Contents | Chapter Sixteen

See ronithesnail's absolutely wonderful art for this story!

And it's warm and real and bright And the world has somehow shifted All at once everything looks different Now that I see you

-I See The Light, Tangled

“I cannot believe we got lost!” Roman groaned, kicking angrily at the grass. “Stupid quest, stupid brother, making us go on this dumb journey to get lost in these dumb woods!”

Virgil hummed contemplatively, toying with a branch between his fingers where he’s laid down i the grass. Roman watched him think, grumbling next to him as he flopped down with him.

“It’s not so bad,” Virgil said after a couple moments, letting the branch come to a rest in the palm of his hand, his thumb rubbing back and forth over the bark. “I mean, no fun being stuck in the woods, yeah. But, I mean- I get to hang out with you. I like hanging out with you.” Virgil shrugged, not quite looking at Roman but not entirely looking away. “So, y’know. Not so bad. Being by your side and everything.”

Roman felt his thought processes slow, forgetting his frustration with his brother to turn instead to memories and emotions circling through his head, flipping words over and haphazard feelings and fleeting notions of something more, and realizing that maybe something more wasn’t quite what he had been looking for nearly so much as something different, something special, something Virgil had managed to articulate so instantly despite Roman’s ages and ages of pondering and looking for the answer.

That was what he wanted, really- to be by Virgil’s side, by quest and normal life. It didn’t matter, suddenly, whether he was in love with Virgil, because he loved him- and it didn’t matter just how, just that he did, and that was enough.

The sun was shining in Virgil’s hair, casting him in almost ethereal, an answer to Roman’s questions; not a missing piece to him, but a complementary set. 

“-now that I see you,” Roman sang in a gentle whisper to himself that rung too quiet for Virgil to hear, finishing a sentence he’d long forgotten he’d started. 

+

“I do wonder if Remus researched any botany before creating this world, or if it simply created itself like this because he knew how he wanted it to be,” Logan questioned, talking to himself. “It is so curious, the way the imagination works. So many questions, and yet some unanswerable by anything but human creativity.” He felt like he was wandering through the forest, slow in contrast with their daring adventure, but he couldn’t help it. There was so much to see, so much to explore! He had to come back some time and learn about this ecosystem under more freeing circumstances. He’d love to learn about the magic system too, he realized, forming a little ball of light in his hand. His grasp of it was shaky at best, and he’d be pleased to have the opportunity to try to master it.

He was so focused on his observations of the world in front and to the sides of him that he forgot to look down. His foot brushed against something and he jumped involuntarily. Peering at the dirt floor to explain what he’d felt, his eyes caught on a beautiful fuschia blossom. He knelt down to study it, cupping it gently in his hands.

“Beautiful,” he spoke. “I’ve never seen anything quite like it. It’s almost like a rose, but the petals are different. They appear almost heart-shaped.” He sighed, sitting back on his heels. “It would be nice if I could take a picture, to ask Remus or Roman about later. I’ll have to remember to bring it up.”

Peering around the flower, he brushed at the dirt trying to get a glimpse of the roots when the thread of the path caught his attention. It was circled around the base of the flower, its same vibrant pink color glowing, and it did not continue any further than the flower did, leaving Logan without an obvious path for him to follow.

“Ahh.” Logan said. “This is not the right path, and now the correct way to proceed is up to me to find. I think I understand.”

The wind blew his hair in the direction the thread had been going before it stopped, and Logan huffed in amusement as he continued to continue the suggested way. The dirt path itself continued even though the thread did not, so Logan followed it until he couldn’t anymore. The path was overrun at the bend by a field of flowers, almost thick enough that Logan could not see the soil below it. He bent down, looking at a stem of bluebells and debating picking some for Patton when the realization hit him.

“These are all real flowers.” Logan announced to himself, his eyes wide. “But the flower the thread lead me to was not. If I can find–aha! There!” Logan cheered, picking out the familiar pink heart petals in the doozy of others. From there, a line of them lead the way through the woods, brilliant spots of pink dotted among the flowerbeds, and Logan soon found himself in a clearing, Thomas and Patton standing on a length of fuchsia thread.

+

“It’s rather nice out here, isn’t it?” Patton commented, swinging his hands back and forwards as they walked. “You’d hardly believe Remus was involved with it, look around.” He jumped on a leaf, hearing it crackle beneath his feet. “It’s breathtaking.”

“It is nice.” Thomas agreed, but his face was worried. “I just…I wonder why Remus would do this? It seems so weird.”

Patton looked at him and put his hand on his shoulder. “Maybe Roman was right, when we first got here. If Remus is already weird, maybe his doing a normal thing is the weird part.” Patton sighed, a hopefulness at the back of his throat. “Besides, maybe this is proof that Remus does have some of our best interests in mind. He may be…disruptive, and kind of gross, and he doesn’t care what anyone thinks.” Patton took Thomas’s hand and swung it between them. “He’s still a part of you though, and I think, in his own weird way, he does like you. Maybe this is just his Remus-y way of showing it.”

“Maybe.” Thomas responded.  “I want to think you’re right.”

Patton looked at him a bit sadly, still swinging their hands back and forth as he bumped Thomas’s shoulder. “I can’t say that I know it’s true,” he told him. “But all we can do is hope it is.”

“Yeah.” Thomas replied, leaning his head on Patton’s shoulder. “I do want it to be.”

They walked in silence for the length of the thread until it led them into a wide clearing where the small woods became tall jungle trees, and then they talked about wants and truths until Logan came out of the forest to greet them and tell them about the ecology of this new flower.

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

Here's a sneak peak for the next chapter of "When Sun Shines Again" which is Sunny and Hero's friendship centric! 💙💛

Hero’s hands began to tremble. He could hear Mari’s warnings about Sunny’s tendency to wander off echoing in his head—though that had been back when Sunny was five. He was sixteen now. Surely, he wasn’t going to get lost in a mattress store…

After combing through aisles with no sign of him, however, Hero began to get worried. “Sunny…” he quietly whispered, trying not to draw too much attention to himself or disrupt any shoppers. “Sunny, where are you?”

Finally, as he turned out of an aisle of king-sized sheet sets, he sighed in relief, finding Sunny lying down with his eyes closed on one of the made beds pressed up against a wall. Hero’s face flushed. Could he do that? He wasn’t really sure you were supposed to.

“Uh…Sunny…?” he awkwardly stumbled.

Sunny’s eyes fluttered open, and he blinked at him before he mumbled, “6 out of 10.”

“Wh—what?”

“This is a 6 out of 10,” he repeated, patting the floral duvet with his hand. Then he pointed to another bed nearby with striped bedding. “That one’s a 6 out of 10 too.” Then at another covered in messy throw pillows. “But that one’s only a 5 out of 10—it’s too soft.”

Hero tilted his head in confusion. “Are you…uh…rating the beds in the mattress store?”

Sunny nodded. “It’s one of my hobbies.”

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

OH MY GOSH THIS IS SO BEAUTIFUL!! 😭🥺💖 There are absolutely no words to express how utterly amazing this art is and no words to tell you how grateful we are for it! Honestly we're both in tears right now in the best way! Sprinkles literally screamed and jumped up & down, and I am at loss for words for probably the first time ever and can only think of feral keyboard smashes ASHDHSDHSADHASHFHSFHFHSDFHSHFASHFHAHDHSD!!!!

It means so much to us that you love our little story and our ocs so much that you wanted to draw them! 🥺 You're such an incredibly talented artist, and you've perfectly captured the personalities of everyone in this group! Kyle's lopsided smile and his arm around Hero. Lorraine's playful peace sign, and Tamra's gentle hand on her shoulder. Brandi crossing her arms. C.J. easy-going and his hands in the pocket of his hoodie. Zoey holding onto Hero's arm, and the man himself, our dear Hero, looking so emotionally moved and so happy to be with his friends. It's all just so, so perfect and wonderful!!

We absolutely adore the outfits that you've chosen for them too (Direct quote from Sprinkles: "They would all totally wear those clothes!!!" And then we proceeded with the excited screaming & crying again). The attention to detail here is just mind blowing (honestly going to start bawling over the lacy sleeves on Lorraine's blouse, Kyle's jacket, C.J.'s hoodie, and Tamra's music note hair pin and earrings along with so many other things!! The way you've drawn Zoey's freckles is adorable and also deserves to be mentioned!!)

The longer we stare at this absolutely gorgeous piece, we just keep finding more and more things to love about it, and the fact that you've paired it with such a beautiful line from "Good Morning" means everything. 🥺 It really sums up what "When Sun Shines Again" is really all about: Hero finding healing, opening himself up to new friendships and new horizons, gathering the strength to carry on, and learning to be happy again even in a world without Mari. His life will never be the same as it was before he lost her, but that doesn't mean that it can't still be a meaningful and happy one. Hero deserves that. He deserves to be happy. 💙

And this "When Sun Shines Again" project is but our small contribution to the "Hero deserves to be happy" genre. It means the world to us to know that other people connect with this story, with our portrayal of Hero and the other OMORI characters, and with our original characters as well (which is especially flattering! Thank you so, so much!). Honestly, I am truly so flattered, honored, and just overwhelmed with gratitude for this art that I'm really not sure what else I can possibly say besides thank you so, so much for such an incredible gift and for bringing this world and these characters that are so dear to me to life in such a gorgeous art piece. I know I speak for both Sprinkles and myself when I say that this beautiful work will be treasured always. 💕

Thank you also so much for supporting us and our story! You are truly wonderful, @shine-n-bright, and so kind and so generous! We wish you all the best and wish you every joy that life has to offer! 💖 Please keep up the amazing work and please don't ever hesitate to stop by our blog or ask box anytime (especially if you'd like to talk about Hero and/or "When Sun Shines Again).

Cheers & much love to you, friend, and thank you so much again for everything! Take care!! 💙

"Tough the pain remains, And though it may be hard"

"I'll carry on"

-Good morning

A little fan art of a bunch of ocs (+Hero & Brandi) by @hero-deserves-to-be-happy

(I do hope you don't mind the outfit changes in their designs,,, o_o)

They show up in a very amazing fic called "When Sun Shines Again" on Ao3!

If you to are a random hero fan™ then I guarantee you'll love this fic!

Go give it a read and support the authors!!!!

Some alts under the cut

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

Old Friends and New Friends! All the Friends for Hero! 💙

(The top image is Hero with his childhood friends from the game. The bottom image is Hero with his college friends from our "When Sun Shines Again" series ⛅ From left to right: Tamra (OC), Kyle (OC), Lorraine (OC), Hero, Zoey (OC), C.J. (OC), and Brandi)

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

“But…but mostly I think it’s just that I wanted to be with Mari forever, and”—there was a hitch in his voice as tears began to pool in his eyes again—“even now, all these years later, I guess I…I just still don’t know what forever looks like without her.”

A tear finally struggled free from his eye and splashed down his cheek, followed by another, then another. Hero frantically swiped at them, but they wouldn’t stop. Zoey’s arms wrapped around his shoulders again, and she pulled him close.

He wasn’t sure how long she held him. How long he listened to the sound of her steady breathing, felt her hand gently tangling in the hair at the base of his neck. How long it was until she whispered, “I wish you had gotten your forever…”

Art of one of our favorite scenes in "Am I Ready For Love? Or Maybe Just a Best Friend" when Hero finally opens up to one of his college friends about Mari.

Bonus Hero Character Analysis (Warnings: OMORI spoilers. Grief/Mourning): It is very important to us that Hero eventually finds people who he actually feels he can open up to about these deep wounds and struggles in his life. He takes his role as the "big brother" in his childhood friend group so seriously that we think it's difficult for him to really talk to Kel, Aubrey, Sunny, and Basil about his own struggles especially related to his grief. He wants to protect them and pushes his own feelings aside to comfort them instead.

While Hero loves his brother and his childhood friends deeply, and they care for him in return, there is a concern that Hero, being the selfless giver that he is, will let his fears of burdening them and/or triggering their own grief prevent him from really opening up to them and that he will let his intense feelings of responsibility for them and wanting to protect them and be their "older brother" prevent him from showing them how much pain he is really in. One of our favorite scenes in the game is when Sunny finds Hero at Mari's piano and they share this sweet bonding moment where Hero comforts and supports Sunny, but when Sunny goes back into the room, he realizes that Hero is crying and was really just putting on a brave face and trying to be strong for him because that's what Hero does. He pushes his own feelings aside for others and takes care of people.

Our "When Sun Shines Again" series was inspired not only by wanting good things for Hero and for him to find healing and learn to be happy again but also by the fact that we really felt he needs some people in his life who aren't personally connected to Mari--people who he doesn't feel he has to protect and who he isn't too afraid of hurting to actually open up to about some of the things he could never really bring himself to talk about with his childhood friends. We wanted to give Hero a group of friends in college that he would (eventually) actually let support and take care of him, just like he supports and takes care of everyone else.

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

Under The Weather (A Hero-Centric Sick Fic)

When Hero has to cancel his visit home due to illness, Kel gets worried and calls in some reinforcements to take care of him. Kel knows there is nothing that upsets his brother more than being fussed over and worried about, but maybe he'll let himself be taken care of just this once...

Genre: Sick Fic, Slice of Life and Hurt/Comfort. Friendship and Kel & Hero's Brotherly Love. Post-Good Ending. Self-Indulgent. Hero Deserves To Be Happy.

Characters: Hero (POV Character), Kel (POV Character), and Zoey (OC). Sally and the parents make brief appearances. Mari and Sunny are mentioned.

Relationships: Hero and Kel's Brotherly Bond. Kel and Zoey (OC) Friendship. Hero and Zoey (OC) Friendship [Could be Hero/OC if you really wanted, but this story take place mid-extremely slow burn so they'd swear they're just friends here]. Past Hero/Mari is implied, referenced, and mentioned.

Word Count: 11,886

Rating: G

Warnings: Some hurt/comfort. Some mentions of grief. Mentioned flu and flu-like symptoms. Sick Character. Referenced Canonical Character Death. OMORI SPOILERS. There is a little angst, but it wraps up with brotherly love and Hero actually being happy and taken care of after the good ending (who knew we'd live to see the day...)

⛅This story is part of the "When Sun Shines Again" universe & includes specific references to "Am I Ready For Love? Or Maybe Just A Best Friend" but it should stand-alone and make sense without reading any of that. 

A/N: It's my birthday and this is my (Acacia's) self-indulgent present to myself. 😁Thank you for indulging me!

Link to work on AO3. Full text below the cut.

Thank you for reading! 🧡💙☂️

Kel glanced over at the clock, watching as the second hand barely ticked away. He generally wasn’t this distracted or antsy at basketball practice, even when his coach called an emergency practice after school on a Friday when everyone was naturally jittery with anticipation for the weekend. But he couldn’t seem to focus on anything today—found himself zoning out until something collided with the back of his head.

“Ouch!” he yelped, rubbing his hand across the spot the basketball had just bounced off of him. That was definitely going to leave a mark. Some of his teammates snickered while a few offered shrugs of apologies. His coach huffed, crossing his arms clearly unamused.

“What is going on with you today?”

“Sorry, coach,” he mumbled sheepishly—scratching the back of his neck. “My brother’s coming home from college for the weekend, so I guess I’ve been a little distracted.”

His coach frowned. “Well you can run out that distraction by running laps around this gym. 10 laps—go!”

Kel sighed, but he sprinted off for his laps. If he was being perfectly honest, he didn’t mind. If he was lucky, maybe running laps would help time pass faster. He’d try anything that would help time pass faster. Hero was coming home, and he couldn’t wait to see him.

When practice finally wrapped up, he practically sprinted out to his car and, though it likely would have worried his mother, he sped home at, at least, a solid 10 mph above the speed limit. He hoped he hadn’t missed Hero’s arrival—though he knew he had a class this morning and wouldn’t have been able to leave until later in the day, then he had what was probably a 3-hour drive taking traffic into account, so maybe time was on his side.

When he pulled onto his street, he was relieved to see that Hero’s car was not in the driveway, and as he ran through the doorway into the house, he called, “Have you heard from Hero at all?” Do you know what time he’s coming?”

With an affectionate chuckle, his mom looked up from the block structure she had been building with Sally. “Well, welcome home to you too, Kel. Did you have a good day at school? How was basketball practice?”

“It was fine,” he said with a shrug, trying to ignore that lump on the back of his head. “But have you—?”

“Wanna play ‘zoo,’ Kel?” Sally interrupted with a bright smile as she held up some of the colorful, plastic animals he and Hero had bought her for her birthday. “You can have any ammimals you want.” She stared up at him with wide, expectant eyes as she handed him an elephant. Kel smiled, patting his little sister on the head.

“Thanks, Sally. We’ll play in a minute, okay?” He paused, turning back to his mother. “Mom—”

“I haven’t heard from him since this morning. He was supposed to call before he left, but maybe he got busy or forgot,” she cut him off with a slight shake of her head. “I hope he’ll make it back in time for dinner.”

“I’ll call him,” exclaimed Kel reaching for the telephone receiver. As Kel began to dial the number he knew by heart, he stopped—wondering if it would be better to call Hero’s cell phone. They were all still adjusting to the fact that he had gotten one. It made their mother feel safer and more secure, knowing that Hero had a way to call for help in an emergency, but since he had limited, prepaid minutes, they all still usually communicated with him by calling the landline at the fraternity house where he lived. In this case, however, Kel was hoping that Hero was already on his way, in which case, his cell phone would be the best way to get ahold of him.

“What if he’s driving?” sighed Mom as Kel began to flip through the address book they kept near the phone. When he found the number, Kel shrugged.  

“Then he won’t answer, and I’ll just leave a message.”

“Tell him about my zoo,” giggled Sally, and Kel nodded. As he held the phone to his ear, the ringing of the telephone mingled with Sally’s best impression of a lion. A smile tugged at his mouth as he watched as his sister began to set her animal toys in the block zoo she had been building with their mother.

He was so distracted he almost didn’t hear the slow, heavy breath followed by a hoarse, groggy, “Hello?”

Kel’s brow furrowed. “Hero? Uh…it’s Kel…” He stumbled over his words, worried he had dialed the wrong number. The person on the other line barely sounded like his brother at all. There was more wheezy breathing as if Hero couldn’t catch his breath, followed by an audible gasp and a stumbling, almost panicky, “Kel? Oh my gosh—what time is it?”

“Um…around 6:00, I think.”

“I’m so sorry,” apologized Hero, sounding like himself again besides the hoarse breathiness of his voice. “I wasn’t feeling well so I lied down to take a nap before I left, and I must have completely lost track of time.” His voice cracked and hitched—raspy and wheezy before he finally burst into a fit of nasty, phlegmy coughing.

“You sound terrible. Are you sick?”

“He’s sick?” interjected their mother bustling around him in a fidgety panic. “What’s wrong? Did he see a doctor? Does he have a fever?”

“I don’t know, Mom,” huffed Kel, but he was promptly cut off by Hero.

“Mom’s there?” There was something concerned and guilty in his already weary voice. “Tell her not to worry. I’m fine. My friends have been passing this bug around. I’m the last one to catch it. I’ll probably be better in a couple days.”

Kel nodded before he realized his brother couldn’t see him; then, he turned to his mom giving her a reassuring pat on the shoulder. “He says all his friends have had this bug. It only lasts a day or two. He’s gonna be fine.”

“Tell him to take medicine, get lots of rest, and drink plenty of water and to keep checking his temperature,” his mother began rambling. “If it reaches 103, he needs to call a doctor or go to urgent care.”

“Mom,” sighed Kel. “Hero’s gonna be a doctor. I’m sure he knows all that.”

“You can hand the phone off to Mom If you want. I’ll talk to her,” Hero weakly interjected before he started coughing again. “I’m really sorry I’ll have to postpone my visit, but I’m not well enough to drive and I wouldn’t want to get you sick.”

“It’s fine, okay? Don’t worry about it. Are you sure you’re alright? That’s a really nasty cough.” Kel bit his lip, trying not to sound nearly as concerned as he felt. His fingers trembled as they gripped onto the receiver. As he looked in his mother’s face, he knew she was worried too and likely for the same reason: Hero never got sick.

“I’m fine,” he insisted but his raspy voice and coughing fit seemed to imply otherwise. “Don’t worry about me. I’m probably just going to make some instant ramen and go to bed.”

“But you hate instant ramen…”

“He’s making instant ramen,” interjected their mother. “Tell him to try to eat something healthier—more hearty like soup.”

“Mom—” Kel began to protest before Hero cut him off with a weary sigh.

“I just didn’t have the energy to make anything else…” Hero’s voice trailed, and Kel swallowed hard.

“Is there someone there who can take care of you?” he asked, and Hero sighed again.

“I don’t want to bother anyone or get them sick. Besides they’re all heading out to this party tonight.” He paused, coughing again. “But it’s fine. I’m really okay, Kel, just a little under the weather.”

Kel sighed heavily. He wished he could believe him, but Hero had always had this way of deflecting and belittling his own problems because he didn’t want people to worry. This had gotten especially bad over the past couple of years. Ever since their fight, it seemed like Hero would never tell him that anything was wrong ever again. Kel’s chest ached. His brother could be dying right now, and he’d have no idea.

“Hero—” He stopped abruptly, unsure of what he even wanted to say. It would probably just be the wrong thing anyway, so it might be better if he just didn’t say anything at all.

“I’m okay, Kel,” Hero gently insisted again. “And I’m sorry…but we’ll see each other another time. Maybe next weekend or the weekend after? Whenever I’m not contagious anymore.”

Kel sighed, but he finally answered, “Yeah…You just take care, okay? Do you want me to put Mom on now?”

Hero hummed, and Kel handed the phone off to their mother who started blustering and prattling away about cold medicine, sponge baths, and electrolytes. Kel didn’t catch most of it, but he did clearly hear, “I wish you had someone up there to take care of you.” Kel let out a long, heavy sigh. He certainly felt the same way, but that definitely wasn’t going to happen. Hero hated asking for help more than he hated instant ramen.

“Is Hero gonna be, okay?” asked Sally, tugging on his arm. Kel gave her a reassuring smile.

“Yeah. He’s just a little sick right now, but he’ll be fine. Then he’ll come visit and see your zoo.” He took Sally’s hand and led her back to the blocks and toys. “Here, I’ll help you with it.”

Helping Sally with her zoo project did not distract Kel nearly as much as he hoped. He was constantly distracted by worries about Hero and how bad his health was—if he was really telling them the whole story. He didn’t usually get sick after all, and he sounded horrible. What if he had a flu or something and needed medical attention? He could at least use someone who could check in on him and make sure he was getting water and enough to eat that wasn’t instant ramen. But Kel wasn’t sure who that would even be. Unless…

Impulsively, Kel raced upstairs to his room to grab the notecard where he had written Hero’s friend Zoey’s phone number after she had offered to let him call her whenever he got stuck on his math homework. Kel had used to call Hero with all his homework trouble, but after Hero himself was stumped by a particularly difficult math problem, his brother had suggested they ask his friend who was an engineering major and, Hero insisted, a math genius. Best of all, she had just so happened to be hanging out with him when Kel had called. Zoey had quickly solved and walked him through the problem, then several others. Then she generously offered that he could call her with any other questions—which he had multiple times. Honestly, he’d probably be failing math right now if it wasn’t for her.

He talked to her all the time, sometimes it seemed, even more than Hero, though Kel often thought he probably got a more accurate account of how Hero was actually doing from her than if he had just asked his brother himself. He could only be told ‘I’m fine, just busy’ so many times before it started sounding automatic and rehearsed. Zoey at least told him the truth: he’s stressed about upcoming exams, busy cooking food for a party his fraternity was hosting, or groggy from staying up all night studying. Kel sighed. He understood if his brother wanted to keep a lot of his life private, but, he’d be lying if he said it didn’t hurt a little to be cut off from his reality by dismissive ‘I’m fine’s. He knew Hero didn’t want him to worry and was likely just trying to protect him from that, but still…he couldn’t shake the feeling that it was his own fault. Hero probably didn’t want to tell him he was stressed out, overwhelmed, or sick because he was worried Kel would just say the wrong thing, just like he had when Hero had gotten so depressed after Mari had died.

Neither of them ever wanted that to happen again so they just didn’t really say much of anything anymore—at least not much of anything that mattered. Sure, they still talked—so much and so often that Kel knew the phone number to Hero’s fraternity house by heart, but it barely scratched the surface, never touched anything deep or meaningful. In a way, it felt hollow, distant—like Hero was only showing him a hazy impression of his life, enough to reassure Kel he was doing okay but not enough that he could feel like he actually knew him anymore, at least not like he had when they were younger and Hero had told him everything. It was getting better—had been over the past two years since they had learned the truth, but…Kel knew things would never go back to the way they were. He should probably be used to that by now. His brother was a very private person, and he probably always would be.

And by the time Kel had dialed the number and listened to two rings of the telephone, he realized with a somewhat sheepish sigh that he probably should have been a little more respectful of that. His hands began to tremble as he clutched onto the receiver—genuinely starting to worry he was crossing a line. Zoey was one of Hero’s best friends, and Hero might be embarrassed to know his younger brother had been calling her to ask if she’d check up on him.

Before he could even begin to consider hanging up, however, someone answered the phone with a “Hello?”

“Hey, uh, this is Kel. Is Zoey there?”

The young woman on the other line laughed. “Scotty, how are you?”  she asked, and Kel’s mouth curved into a bright smile. He knew immediately it was her. She was the only person in the world who called him ‘Scotty.’ Zoey had explained to him once it had to do with his talent for fixing things, just like “Scotty the Miracle Man,” a reference to some old tv show Zoey said she had used to watch with her dad. It didn’t bother Kel that he didn’t get the reference. He was honestly just kind of excited to have a nickname. After all, he had never really had one besides ‘Kel’ before and that was just a shortened version of his name. He had always kind of wanted one, just like Hero, but he had never told anyone that before.

“I’m good,” he replied with a chuckle. “You?”

Zoey hummed. “I’m doing okay—been kind of busy. You stuck on your math homework again?”

“Well yeah,” Kel admitted with a shrug. “But that wasn’t why I was calling. Is this a bad time?”

“Nope. Most of my sorority sisters are headed out to this party, so that’s probably what you’re hearing in the background.”

Kel’s brow furrowed. He heard some background chatter and rustling noises, but it was all kind of faint—nothing he would have thought was worth mentioning if Zoey hadn’t brought it up herself. “You’re not going to the party?”

“I have a project due next week, and honestly, parties aren’t really my scene. Don’t tell your brother, but I really don’t think I’d have a good time without him there anyway. We’re usually the only sober ones, and drunk company’s really not all it’s cracked up to be,” she replied dryly, and Kel laughed but shrugged his shoulders.

“Have you talked to Hero at all?”

“Not since yesterday. Did he make it home okay?”

Kel sighed. “He’s not coming. He’s sick.” Kel paused—sighing again and trying not to sound too disappointed. “He called like 45 minutes ago—has this terrible cough. He says he caught some bug or something and isn’t well enough to drive.”

“I knew this would happen,” huffed Zoey though she sounded more guilty than upset. “We’ve all been passing this flu around, and Hero’s been trying to take care of everyone so, of course, he got sick himself.”

“A flu?” interrupted Kel. He shook his head. So Hero had been underexaggerating again…? He should’ve known.

“I’m sure he’s going to be okay,” Zoey reassured him. “He has a really strong immune system—barely ever gets sick. It’s one of the reasons he’s going to be a great doctor. Don’t worry. I had this flu too—got over it in a couple days.”

“He got it from you?” teased Kel, and Zoey laughed.

“Probably from Kyle. They are roommates. But we’ve all had it. Hero’s the last one.” Zoey paused, sighed. “We really didn’t think he was going to get sick.”

“Yeah he uh…usually doesn’t, but he sounded pretty miserable when I talked to him earlier today. Said the only thing he could eat was instant ramen.”

“He hates instant ramen,” Zoey interjected, and Kel shook his head with a sigh.

“I know.” He paused thoughtfully then tried to ask as nonchalantly as he could manage, “Hey…uh…do you think you could bring him over some food or something? Just so he wouldn’t have to keep eating instant ramen. I wouldn’t want you to get sick or anything, but since you already had it, maybe you could just drop it off and maybe check in to make sure he’s doing okay…?” His voice trailed, and he bit his lip as he waited for her answer.

“I’m not much of a cook, Scotty,” chuckled Zoey. “But I could stop by a restaurant or Other Mart to pick up a couple things and drop them off for him. You know it’s only going to make him feel guilty though. He’ll help anybody that needs him without batting an eye, but the minute you try to turn it around and return the favor, it’s suddenly a big deal.”

Shaking his head slightly, Kel sighed. “Yeah…that’s just Hero for you.”

When Zoey sighed herself, Kel imagined she was shaking her head with the same somewhat affectionate exasperation, but she hummed thoughtfully. “I’m sure he’s feeling pretty miserable right now, and not just because he’s sick. He’s been so excited to see you—talked about practically nothing else for the past couple weeks.”

“Really?” The question slipped out before Kel could stop it, and his face flushed. Luckily, she couldn’t see him.

“Yeah, of course,” Zoey chuckled like it was the most obvious thing in the world. “I don’t know if I’ve ever known anyone who’s so excited to see his brother. I mean, I love my brother, but the way Hero talks about you—it’s like you’re the most important person in the whole world, his best friend.”

“I don’t think I’m his best friend anymore,” mumbled Kel without thinking.

“Hey…” Zoey’s tone of voice softened—something gentle and sympathetic in it. “If you’re talking about me or Kyle or Brandi, C.J., Lorraine, Tamra…yeah, we’re all Hero’s friends and we all care about him, but none of us are you. And we’re never going to be you, Scotty. You’ll always be number one.”

“I dunno,” sighed Kel. He was pretty sure he lost that spot when he was insensitive, said all the wrong things after Mari died—when he hurt his brother, broke him.

“I don’t really know if it’s my place to say but…” Zoey began tentatively, but she let out a conceding sigh. “You know the only time I ever really see Hero happy is when he talks about you—about how amazing you are and how proud he is. His face just lights up, and he smiles for real—it actually reaches his eyes.”

Kel’s face grew warm, but he stifled a chuckle. It was funny to hear her say that considering he would have said the exact same thing about her. They all would have. It was Sunny who had noticed it first, actually, on account of the fact he lived in the city and Hero often invited him to hang out with him and his friends. Kel would never forget how he had excitedly told him, Aubrey, and Basil all about what it had been like to see Hero smile again. They almost hadn’t believed him, but then Hero had come home on a break and told him about how he got caught in the rain with some friend of his, a spunky engineering major who thankfully had a red umbrella. In the middle of his story, Hero’s face had lit up and he had smiled just like Sunny had said, a real smile that actually reached his eyes. Kel’s chest ached just thinking about it—about how much he wished his brother would smile like that all time, about how much he wished he would be happy again.

Kel took a long, deep breath. Could it really be possible that Hero smiled like that when he talked about him too? He couldn’t really believe that. Not after everything that had happened.

“He really loves you, you know?” Zoey continued quietly, and Kel fidgeted. Could she read his mind or something? “If the situation was reversed and you were sick and he was hours away, he’d be calling your friends too—having Aubrey and Basil go check up on you and make sure you’re doing okay. He’d probably be calling your parents all the time for updates too. Everyone in Faraway Town would be keeping an eye on you for him.”

Something twisted in Kel’s chest, and his eyes fluttered closed as he took a deep breath. “Please don’t tell him I’m worried.” His voice hitched over his words—quiet, small, like he was that little boy cowering in the corner watching Hero break again.

“You can tell him yourself,” Zoey gently encouraged. “I’m sure he—”

“You know about our fight, right?” Kel interrupted without thinking. He swallowed hard—the only sound during the long, heavy pause which followed. It probably crossed a line to ask that. He didn’t even know if she knew, but Hero had told him he had told Zoey about Mari, had told her a lot of things that he didn’t think he’d ever tell anyone. It wouldn’t have surprised Kel if their fight was one of them.

“Yes,” Zoey finally admitted—quiet, matter-of-fact. “He told me.”

Kel huffed lightly, breathily almost a disbelieving laugh. “Then you know why I can’t just call him up and tell him I’m—” His voice hitched, and he stopped abruptly.  

“Kel—” she began to protest, but he cut her off.

“And you also know that it’s all my fault that we’re not—” He stopped abruptly—the words getting caught in the back of his throat. He shut his eyes tightly and swallowed hard.

“That’s not the story he told me.”

Something twisted in Kel’s chest. He couldn’t imagine what else his brother could have possibly said. Even if Hero had tried his best to protect him with his account and paint him in a better light so Zoey wouldn’t hate him, he couldn’t change the fact that it was his pushy and insensitive words that had broken him, right? He was the one who had made him feel guilty, made him feel like it was his fault he was so depressed, like he could just snap out of it somehow, like he wasn’t doing enough, and worst of all, like he was disrespecting Mari. He was the one who had said all the wrong things, who hadn’t been sensitive or kind enough like Hero himself would have been if the situation had been reversed. He was the one who said this wasn’t what Mari would have wanted, and he was the one who watched while those words broke his brother. He was the one who had broken him.

No version of the story Hero could have possibly told anyone could have changed that, but he supposed it was really none of his business.

“You know, Kel,” Zoey continued with a heavy sigh. “Sometimes we put up walls between ourselves and the people we love because we’re afraid of hurting them. It doesn’t mean we don’t love them—it just means we don’t know how.”

Kel’s chest ached, but he swallowed hard. “And you’re saying Hero’s like that?” He paused, and the words slipped out before he could stop them. “With you?”

“With everyone.” She hadn’t missed a beat. Kel supposed he admired that about her. She could be so honest but so kind too, and she knew Hero so well. Kel could tell that she cared about him and was a good friend. Both she and Hero vehemently insisted they were nothing more than that, and Kel believed them—which is why his question probably crossed a line, why Zoey felt compelled to add, “Not just me. You know that we’re not—”

“Yeah, sorry,” stumbled Kel interrupting as he shifted and fumbled around with the phone in his hands. “I didn’t mean anything by that. I just—”

“It’s okay,” she thankfully cut him off. “Just wanted to make sure you weren’t getting the wrong idea. We get teased enough as it is by our friends—I can tell it bothers him. He won’t say, but I know it’s a touchy subject…”

“Do you think he’ll ever…uh…you know…?” he stumbled over the question, feeling guilty for even asking though he was desperate to hear another opinion that wasn’t the dismal ones he, Aubrey, Basil, and Sunny could generally come up with. Given the way he had tripped over his words, he wasn’t sure she’d even understand what he was trying to say, but she sighed.

“Honestly…I don’t know.” She paused thoughtfully. “But I do know that he’s not ready right now.”

Kel’s brow furrowed. That wasn’t exactly the answer he was expecting. “He told you that?” he asked before he could stop himself.

There was a long pause before Zoey answered, “Yes.” Her voice was matter-of-fact, pragmatic, and unreadable, but she sighed heavily. “Scotty, if you want to talk to Hero I feel like you should. He’s your brother. You should be hearing all this stuff from him—not me. It’s really none of my business.”

“He won’t talk to me.” Kel’s face flushed. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud. Zoey sighed.

“Kel…”

“It’s fine. It’s just…the way it is, you know?” he shrugged, swallowing hard. “He wouldn’t even tell me how sick he was.”

“He didn’t want you to worry.”

Kel huffed. “Well, I did anyway.”

“I’ll go check on him, okay?” Her voice softened—kind and sympathetic, almost reassuring. “But he’s going to be fine. Don’t worry. Then, I’ll call you later and tell you all about how he’s feeling better already.” She paused chuckling. “Okay?”

Kel sighed, but he shrugged his shoulders conceding, “Okay.”

“Good. Now what’s that math problem you’re stuck on?”

Kel snorted a laugh in spite of himself. “You think we have time for that?”

“Unless you want me to tell your brother you called specifically to ask me to check up on him, then yeah—I’m gonna have to actually help you with your homework,” she quipped dryly. “I think there’s a special place in hell for the kind of person who’d lie to Hero.”

Reaching for his math textbook, Kel laughed. “Alright…Well in that case, it’s another one of those functions…”

*-*-*

Wearily rubbing his eyes, Hero groaned. He was so exhausted it took all of his strength just to roll over onto his side so he could reach his bottle of water. He knew it was important for him to stay hydrated, even without his mother reminding him, and was truthfully desperate for something to drink given how hoarse and sore his throat was after he had just woken up.

Coughing, he managed to take a few sips before he sunk back down into his bed. Sunny had once rated it a 9 out of 10, but now Hero would probably rate it an 11, the most comfortable bed on earth. He never wanted to leave it ever, ever again—but that was probably just the flu talking.

Hero couldn’t remember the last time he had had the flu. He rarely ever got sick. Contracting what he had originally thought was a cold was a surprise enough, but he had just chalked it up to being a little under the weather and tried to push through it—until he had crashed that afternoon after a coughing fit—chilled, aching, and too tired to even move. By the time he woke up to answer Kel’s call, he was honestly miserable—phlegmy, wheezy, shivering, and so feverish he could barely put a sentence together. Even now, his head throbbed, and his thoughts were cloudy and muddled. He felt disoriented and too exhausted to even think too hard.

Hero sighed. He should probably take his temperature again—make sure it wasn’t too dangerously high. It barely took any time at all for the thermometer to ding—flashing a whopping 102.2 degrees Fahrenheit. Hero took a long, deep breath, or at least as deep as he could manage given his nasty cough. A fever that high certainly explained why he felt so crummy. He reached for some tissues and blew his nose before he coughed again. It would probably be best if he just went back to sleep.

His eyelids grew heavier and heavier until they finally started drooping closed, but Hero was distracted by rustling noises he heard downstairs. His brow furrowed. He thought his entire fraternity was out at a party. Had someone come back early?

The sound of footsteps walking up the stairs echoed through the hallway, followed by a knock on the door to his room.

“Uh…Come in…?” Hero mumbled unsurely in a hoarse voice before he coughed again. He tilted his head at the door as it swung open, and Zoey walked in with two bags—one paper, one plastic.

“You look terrible,” she teased dryly, but her freckled nose wrinkled as she smiled at him brightly enough that it reached her green eyes.

“Zoey?” Hero stumbled slowly, breathily. He rubbed his head—unsure if he was seeing things. “What are you doing here?”

“I heard you were sick so I brought you some soup and a Hero sandwich but I put that in the refrigerator since I thought you probably weren’t up for solid food yet.” She reached into the paper bag and took out a plastic spoon and a to-go container of soup from his favorite soup and sandwich place in the city.

“Thank you…” Hero’s voice trailed as he struggled to catch his breath.

“It was nothing, especially compared to the homemade soup you made me when I was sick.” With a thoughtful hum, she ran her hand through her short, red hair and began fumbling around in the plastic bag. “I’ve also got you some sports drinks, water, cough drops, tissues, tea, and VapoRub.”

 “You really didn’t have to do that…” Hero insisted in a raspy whisper. “How much do I owe you?”

Zoey waved her hand dismissively. “Don’t worry about it. It’s my co-op semester so I’m basically rolling in money.” She chuckled lightly. “Plus, I wanted to do this for you. What are friends for, right? And I mean, I’m the reason you got sick.”

Hero shook his head weakly as he took a long breath. “No, you’re not.”

“Right. Sorry. It was all of us,” Zoey corrected with a lopsided twitch of her mouth. “And your lack of boundaries.”

Hero chuckled lightly in spite of himself, but it quickly turned into coughing. As Zoey scrambled to get him some water, he managed to choke out, “Sorry…”

Zoey tilted her head handing him the water to drink. “For what?”

Hero shrugged, but he took a few sips. “I don’t want to get you sick.”

“I’ve already had it. I’ll be fine.” She sighed with a pointed tilt of her head. “You take this ‘hero’ stuff way too seriously, you know? It’s not gonna kill you to let someone take care of you every once and awhile.” She pushed his desk chair next to his bedside and took a seat. “Now you just sit back, relax, and take easy, okay? Mama’s here.”

“I thought I was ‘Mama’,” he teased—dry and breathy. He wouldn’t have had the energy to argue with Zoey on the best day but especially not when he was so rundown and miserably ill like this, so instead he chose to banter. Mama was the nickname his roommate and Zoey’s long-time best friend Kyle had given him back in their freshman year, after all, so it seemed appropriate.

A smile tugged at Hero’s chapped lips as he watched Zoey laugh. Something warm spread through his aching chest knowing he had made her smile.

“Hey, I was ‘Mama’ before you were,” she bantered back. “But don’t worry I won’t tell Kyle.” She twisted her mouth to the side, but her expression softened as she reached out to take his hand. Frowning, she shook her head. “Your hands are so clammy.”

“Sorry…” mumbled Hero as she pushed some sweaty hair out of his face—pressing her palm to his forehead.

“You’re burning up. You have a thermometer?”

Hero nodded—then weaky motioned to his bedside table where his thermometer was sitting amongst a bunch of tissues. “I just took it. It’s 102.2.”

Zoey’s brow furrowed. “When do we call a doctor?”

Hero shrugged. “Probably if it’s over 103…” His breathy voice trailed wearily. “But there’s things you can try to bring it down before then.”

“Like a cold sponge bath like in a movie?” asked Zoey, her mouth quirking to the side. Hero shook his head.

“You want it lukewarm—not cold. If it’s cold, the blood vessels will constrict, and the body will hold onto heat…” He sighed then coughed into his elbow. After he managed to catch his breath, he added, “But tepid water is good. You can take a wet rag and use it to sponge the back of the neck or the forehead—the arms and torso would help too.”

“You want me to go get one?”

Hero’s face flushed, finally realizing what he had said and that it had come out in a way he hadn’t intended. “No, uh… I meant ‘you’ in the impersonal sense. I couldn’t ask you to do that.”

Her mouth curved into a slight smile. “I’m happy to help.”

“I know,” he said, but he fidgeted, something almost bashful in his expression. “But I uh…I wouldn’t want you to have to see me…uh…”—his voice cracked and he mumbled—“shirtless.”

Zoey chuckled. “You’re adorable, you know that?” she teased. “It’s nothing I haven’t seen before. We’ve been to the beach how many times and you’re a lifeguard for goodness sakes. You can’t possibly be that self-conscious.”

“That’s different. That was the beach or the pool—this is…” He could feel his ears burning. “my room. We’re alone here, and—”

“And you’re sick. It’s all medical. Surely, I don’t need to explain that to you, future doctor.” She crossed her arms with a pointed look, before she clicked her tongue and bantered, “Yes, we all know you’re very attractive, Mr. Prince, but you kind of look like death warmed over right now. It’s nothing to get worked up over.”

Hero choked, then coughed repeatedly—phlegmy and guttural, definitely not attractive in the slightest. As he hacked and lurched forward, Zoey patted him on the back, firm but gentle before she rubbed her hand across his shoulders.

“Woah. Woah. Take it easy. I was just teasing you.” Her voice was soft and kind, and there was something so gentle in her eyes as she met his and apologized. “Sorry.”

Hero’s insides twisted. He could tell he had worried her, and he couldn’t stand it. He never wanted anyone to worry about him—especially not his friends.

“No. It’s okay,” he insisted when he finally caught his breath, but his words got jumbled and muddled in his foggy brain and scratchy throat. “I…I know you were... It’s just…that’s not what I meant. I was just…embarrassed. I mean you’ve already had to see me in my pajamas.” Hero stared down at his pajama shirt and pulled on the collar as his face burned and not just from the fever.

“Your grandpa pajamas?” Zoey teased dryly. His face flushed, but he nodded. Chuckling lightly, Zoey shook her head. “You do realize I’ve seen Kyle in his underwear more times than I’d care to admit, right? This is nothing. And besides, I’ve already seen them before.”

“You’ve”—Hero’s voice cracked—“seen my pajamas?”

“Well not in person, but Sunny drew me a picture of you in them.”

“Sunny drew you a picture of me in my pajamas?” Hero repeated incredulously in a disbelieving, hoarse voice.

Zoey shrugged but answered matter-of-factly. “He only draws you in your pajamas. He draws everybody in pajamas. You know, the last time I saw him he asked me about my pajamas so he could draw me in pajamas too.”

“Why—?” Hero’s voice hitched—cut off by an awkward laugh and wheezy coughing. “Why would he do that?”

“No idea. You tell me.” She paused, but Hero could only shrug his shoulders. Sunny was a talented artist, but Hero would be lying if he said he understood a lot of his abstract pieces or the reasoning behind them. Zoey’s guess as to why Sunny wanted to draw everyone in pajamas was as good as his, he supposed. “But I’m pretty sure he always draws you in these exact pajamas—long sleeves, button down shirt, stripes. I remember thinking ‘why does Sunny think Hero wears grandpa pajamas?’ but clearly it’s because you do.”

Hero chuckled lightly but tilted his head at her. “What’s wrong with my pajamas?”

“Nothing—if you’re over the age of 70,” bantered Zoey. “If you’re not, I don’t think anyone’s worn pajamas like these since the 1950s, but I guess you were always a Wally Cleaver type, huh?”

As his face burned, Hero sighed. “I don’t think I’m as charming as Wally Cleaver, and I’m definitely not as athletic as him. And he had all those girlfriends…”

“That’s a moot point,” Zoey interrupted, waving her hand at him. “Wally wanted all those girlfriends—you don’t. If you did, you absolutely could have them.”

“I’m sure that’s not—” Hero began as his blush deepened, but Zoey cut him off again.

“No, it is. Every girl in my sorority house would date you in a heartbeat,” she replied bluntly—pragmatic as if it was a well-known fact, but her mouth curved into a lopsided grin as she dryly teased. “You are Mr. Prince, after all.”

“Tamra has a boyfriend…” Hero protested—weak but somewhat playful.  

Zoey sighed, rolling her eyes. “Well okay…not Tamra then...”

“Or you,” he quietly added, but Zoey’s mouth twitched into a lopsided smile.

“I don’t know, Mr. Prince. If you were actually interested in me, I think I’d have to seriously consider it—especially now that I’ve seen you in your grandpa pajamas.” She beamed at him with a bright, teasing grin before she let out a short, playful whistle.

Hero blushed before he buried his burning face in his hands. “Zoey…”

Before either of them could say anything more, however, they were interrupted by a distant, shrill whistling sound.

“That’s the kettle,” said Zoey. “I’ll be right back with some tea for you.”

“You really don’t have to—” Hero began to weakly protest, but she cut him off with a pointed stare.

“I don’t want to hear it, Henry.”

Hero paused. It still caught him off guard every time she used his real name. It wasn’t too often that she did—only when she wanted to tell him to stop being a ‘hero.’ It was her way of reminding him to take care of himself, reminding him that it was okay if he was just ‘Henry’ for a while. If Hero was being honest, it meant a lot to him to know someone cared enough to tell him that. Zoey had been telling him that for years now, but she only started calling him ‘Henry’ to do it after he had told her about Mari.

To this day he wasn’t sure why exactly he had told her in the first place besides the fact she had sort of figured it out on her own, but he was grateful that he had told her the truth, had finally been able to share that with someone. He would never forget the way she had cried for him—held him, told him that she wished he and Mari had gotten their forever. He had been so stunned, so moved by her empathy and kindness, that he had just panicked—trying to apologize for making her sad, for making her cry. After a lot of back and forth of him apologizing profusely and her gentle reassurances that it was okay, she had finally just cut him off in that spunky little way of hers. “No. None of that, Henry,” she had said with a pointed emphasis on his real name, trying her best not to smile as she said it for possibly the first time. Even so, she had insisted, “I’m serious. I’m going to keep calling you that until you stop that. Stop being a ‘Hero’—stop worrying about everybody else for just a second. It won’t kill you to be a little selfish for once…and it’ll honestly make the rest of us look better.”

Hero chuckled lightly to himself just thinking about it. She certainly kept her word—pulled his real name out for that reason whenever she felt he needed reminding of that. There was always a certain warmth and a flutter in his chest whenever he heard her say it.

A smile tugged at his mouth as he stifled a laugh, and the way her lips twitched in the corners made him realize she was trying not to laugh now too. Could it be that even after all this time, it still felt a little unnatural, a little awkward for her to call him that? After all, she generally called him ‘Hero’ or if she was feeling playful or cheeky ‘Mr. Prince.’

Hero’s chuckling was soon drowned out by coughing again, and Zoey patted his back and handed him tissues, water, and a cough drop until he finally calmed again.

“Still think you don’t need me?” she quipped, quirking an eyebrow at him.

“I’m glad you’re here,” he admitted quietly.

Her smile widened before she gave him one final pat on the back then took off down the stairs. “I’ll be right back with the tea.”

Hero took a long, shaky breath, trying his best to stay awake as he waited for her to return. His mind was feeling hazy again—sluggish and foggy from fever and exhaustion, but a question nagged at him. How had Zoey known he was sick? Yes, she was very perceptive, and there had certainly been times he was almost convinced she had to be a mind reader but…he hadn’t been that ill when he talked to her last. He supposed Kyle could have said something, but as far as Hero knew, Kyle had just assumed he was napping not battling with a flu.

“Here’s your tea,” said Zoey, swiftly reappearing with a warm mug, a gift from his fraternity brothers that read ‘World’s Best Mama.’ Hero laughed every time he saw it, though this time it came out more like a breathy wheeze then a cough. “It’s lemon and echinacea since you’re sick. I put a little honey in it for you too.”

Hero smiled as she handed him the cup. He probably shouldn’t have been surprised. Zoey was one of his best friends. She probably knew more about him than anyone else—of course, that would extend to knowing how he took his tea. But it wouldn’t extend to knowing he was sick, would it?

“Thank you,” he mumbled, taking a sip of his cup of tea before he took a long, shaky breath. “Hey…Zoey?”

“Yeah?”

“How did you know I was sick?” Hero swallowed hard—then coughed again. Zoey tilted her head pointedly at him.

“It’s kind of obvious,” she quipped—deflecting. Hero sighed. He knew a lot about that himself.

“Yeah…but did someone tell you? Ask you to check up on me?”

Zoey sighed heavily, but she finally admitted. “Yes. Scotty mentioned it when he called me earlier. He said you were too sick to drive home this weekend so you had to cancel your trip.”

Hero blinked at her. It took a minute for the words she had said to register. Scotty was her nickname for Kel, some reference he had never quite gotten himself, but it seemed to make his brother happy to have a nickname. Hero’s head ached. His brother…? “Kel?” he asked in a weary confusion. “Kel called you?”

Zoey nodded. “I helped him with his math homework.”

Hero swallowed hard. Somehow he knew that wasn’t the entire truth. The thought made something twist in his chest. He bit his lip as he quietly asked, “Is he worried about me?”

“What do you think?” Zoey paused, but from the look she was giving him now, Hero knew the answer, if he hadn’t already. “You two are a lot alike you know—you both worry about each other but won’t really say.”

“I don’t want Kel to worry...” The words slipped out without him really thinking about them—honest, vulnerable, real. The feverish haze was loosening his tongue, it seemed. Hero’s brow furrowed. He didn’t like it for the same reasons he didn’t like drinking. It felt like losing control—only this time, he didn’t have the energy to care too much.  

“Then I don’t think not telling him anything is the answer,” Zoey replied. “Kel’s pretty smart, you know? He knows something’s wrong even when you won’t say—knew you were way sicker than you let on. He asked if I could stop by and check on you.”

Hero’s face flushed. He couldn’t really process what she was saying, “Kel did that?”

“Why do you sound so surprised?”

Hero swallowed hard. He met her eyes—hoping the look in them would say louder than any words that she already knew why. Ever since their fight, he had felt Kel slipping away—walking on eggshells around him like he was scared he was fragile and would snap again. No matter what he did to try to reassure Kel that he was okay and that he would never lash out at him like that ever again, Hero couldn’t shake the feeling that he was losing his brother. He tried his best to stay connected—talking to him all the time, planning trips home to visit him, even letting him stay with him in the city, and even though things had been getting better since they had learned the truth two years ago, Hero knew that they would never be the same. They could never be the same, not anymore. Not after…

“I really hurt him…” Hero’s voice cracked—breathy, dazed, but heart-wrenchingly guilty even all these years later.

He hadn’t realized he had said that aloud, until Zoey gently reassured him, “And you apologized and moved on. That’s all, in the past now. I don’t think Kel holds it against you at all.” She paused, sighed. “What if he’s sitting around, saying the same thing—worrying the same thing…?”

Hero’s chest ached, but he shook his head. “No, I…”

“Hero,” Zoey sighed, cutting him off. “If there’s distance between you and Kel, it’s only because the two of you won’t just talk to each other. If you did, maybe you’d realize you’re both scared of the exact same thing, and that it’s not worth being worried about. You had one fight. It doesn’t mean your relationship is just broken forever.”   

“It was a really big fight,” Hero gently protested, swallowing hard before he tried to catch his breath. “There are some things you just can’t come back from.”

“And I can promise you, this is not one of them.” She reached out and took his hand again, holding it tightly until he looked up at her and her reassuring green eyes. “You should hear the way Kel talks about you. It’s constant—all the time, no matter what we’re talking about. We’ll be working on polynomial functions and suddenly he’ll just start going on and on about how you always got all As on your report card or how you jumped into a lake to save Sunny and Basil or how you won some hot dog eating contest. He polishes all your trophies while you’re away at school. He’d be the first to tell you that you are the kindest, most amazing person he’s ever known, and he wants to be just like you. You’re his hero—no pun intended. And nothing you could possibly say could change that—could change how much he looks up to you.”

Hero’s face flushed red—he could feel the tips of his ears burning as he turned away from her staring down at his duvet. “He…he said all that?”

“He didn’t have to. Scotty wears his heart on his sleeve. It’s obvious, and honestly you only have to talk to him for five minutes to know how important you are to him. It honestly makes me wonder a little about what Jared and Lorraine say about me—probably nothing nice,” she chuckled teasingly with an affectionate roll of her eyes. “I can almost guarantee you; most people are not talking about their siblings like they’re actual saints behind their backs.”

Hero chuckled lightly, but his expression softened—something warm spreading through his chest as he thought about Kel. Could that really be true?

He sighed, pushing the thought away—grateful for the opportunity Zoey had given him to change the subject to her own family. Hero knew that wasn’t her intention, but he was taking the opportunity anyway. No matter how easy Zoey was to talk to and how many private and difficult things he had told her about himself, he still didn’t like to be the center of conversation and would never enjoy talking about himself. Zoey didn’t enjoy that either, so he wouldn’t want to put her on the spot, but this was about her siblings, right?

Hero didn’t know Zoey’s younger brother Jared very well, but he didn’t really seem like the type to have many nice things to say about anyone, but her twin sister, Lorraine, was also a good friend of his. They often knitted or did arts and crafts together during which time Lorraine tended to gush about her sister in a way Hero found very sweet and endearing. He hoped Lorraine wouldn’t mind if he told her that.  

“Lorraine has nothing but nice things to say about you,” he admitted with a slight smile. “She’s always telling me how smart, driven, and beautiful you are. How you’re strong and honest but so kind, so much softer than you want people to know. She says you’d make a great girlfriend.” Hero blushed. That last part had just slipped out—he probably wouldn’t have said it, if he wasn’t so feverish, but Zoey just laughed.

“Lorraine said that to you?” She sighed, rolling her eyes somewhat affectionately but the look in them was genuinely guilty. “Sorry. I’ll talk to her.”

As he coughed, Hero shook his head. “No, it’s…it’s okay. She’s right…” His voice trailed, distant and breathy, but he couldn’t stop the words that tumbled out of his mouth, “You are all of those things, and if you did ever want to date someone, that person would be very lucky…”

“Not nearly as lucky as the person who gets your heart, Mr. Prince.”

Even though Hero was sure she was only teasing him, his face flushed anyway—burning to the tips of his ears. He pursed his lips together, then stared down at his hands on the duvet. “It’s pretty broken…I’m not sure it’s much of a prize anymore,” he mumbled, trying his best to play along despite the sadness that crept into his words.

He bit his lip, but he felt her warm, gentle hand reach out to take his. He couldn’t look at her face, but he felt her squeeze his hand, heard her voice—quiet but sincere. “I don’t think that’s true.”

As he took a long, shallow breath, Hero shivered, but he wasn’t sure it was from the fever. Zoey let go of his hand immediately.

“You’re trembling. Let’s get you another blanket,” she said, turning towards Kyle’s bed. “You can have Kyle’s. He won’t mind.”

“It’s okay. I have a quilt…It’s under the bed.” Hero struggled to catch his breath as he leaned forward, trying to pull himself out of bed to look for it, but Zoey gently reached out her hand to stop him.

“I’ll get it,” she insisted; then she pulled the quilt out of one of the plastic bins under Hero’s bed—unfurling it then tucking it around him, all the way up to his chin. With a sigh, she ran her hand across the carefully stitched pattern of bright orange and yellow marigolds. “It’s beautiful.”

“My Tía Gloria made it for me after Mari died.” The words just slipped out—automatic, unfiltered. Hero flushed. He hadn’t meant to say that—probably wouldn’t have to anyone else, maybe not even to her if he was a better state.

“Oh Hero…” Zoey began quietly, but Hero cut her off with a fit of coughing that upset his blankets. Zoey pat his back again, but he could feel her tender hand running across his shoulders long after he had stopped coughing.

“Zoey…I…” he began, hoping the words would come to him if he just started talking, but thankfully she cut him off.

“It’s okay. You don’t have to explain anything—unless of course, you want to,” she paused, blinking at him with a soft expression in her eyes. “But I don’t need explanations, especially not now when you’re sick.”

Hero sighed in relief, and hoped the look in his eyes would convey the gratitude he didn’t quite have the strength to express at the moment. “Thank you...”

“Don’t mention it,” shrugged Zoey. “You look tired. You want me to go?”

“You can stay if you want—maybe watch a movie…?”  

Zoey smiled, but as she glanced over at the tv and shelves of tapes which, naturally almost all belonged to Kyle, she teased. “Let me guess: the choices are raunchy comedy or sports biopic?” 

Hero chuckled, lightly, breathily. Zoey certainly knew Kyle and his movie collection very well. He supposed he would expect that given how long the two of them had been friends. “We rented The Godfather from Blockbuster.”

“That’s not bad,” hummed Zoey. “But if we’re talking about Brando’s mob movies, On The Waterfront is better.”

A smile twitched in the corners of Hero’s mouth. “I have that one.”

“Really?” Zoey asked, her brow furrowing, and Hero nodded. “So you really do like old black-and-white movies after all, huh? Here I was thinking you were all talk.”

Hero let out a few chuckling heavy breaths, then swallowed hard. Finally, he took a sip of water trying to cool the burning of his hoarse throat. “I only have a few tapes. Most are in color, but I have some black-and-white.” He paused—shutting his eyes as he tried to clear his head—sifting through the fogginess to focus on his tape collection until he could picture it in the feverish haze of his mind. “Casablanca, Roman Holiday, It’s A Wonderful Life, 12 Angry Men, Christmas in Connecticut…”

“You do not have Christmas in Connecticut over there,” Zoey interrupted in disbelief.

Hero took a deep breath, but he nodded. “It’s on the bottom shelf.”

“I’ve never met another person who has even heard of that movie,” laughed Zoey, but Hero just shrugged, pulling the quilt up around his shoulders again.

“It’s one of my favorites. Always makes me laugh. I love the scene where she tries to flip the flapjacks and the pancake sticks to the ceiling.” Hero laughed then, par for the course, coughed.

“It’s one of my mom’s favorite movies too,” Zoey said as he handed him his water, giving him a firm but gentle pat on the back for good measure. “I used to wonder if that was because the main character falls in love with a navy guy.”

“Like your dad…?” asked Hero, worrying only after the fact that it was a prying question. He didn’t know much about Zoey’s father except that he was an admiral in the navy, and, according to Kyle, particularly stern, serious, and somewhat frightening. Zoey, however, only shrugged.

“I don’t know. I think my dad is a lot rougher around the edges than Jefferson Jones.” Her lips curved into a smile. “Jefferson’s pretty soft—quite the catch actually: sincere, generous, kind, domestic…and he can play piano.”

Hero’s brow furrowed, and he stumbled in confusion, “Is…that a…?”

“Perk?” Zoey finished for him. Then she chuckled dryly and nodded. “Yeah, I think so.”

“Are you just saying that because you know I can play?” asked Hero dryly, but his mouth twitched in the corners.

“You know I’ve never actually heard you play before,” she teased back. “You could be terrible. In which case, it wouldn’t be a perk at all—more like a deterrent.”

Hero chuckled lightly. “I probably am terrible. I’m really rusty, and out of practice.”

“Well, we’ll never know for sure will we.” Her mouth curved into a lopsided grin before her expression softened. “Though Scotty told me you used to be quite the pianist—had a lot of fun with it. What did you used to play when you were in practice?”

“Nothing too complicated. I…I think my favorite song to play was ‘Vienna.’”

“Billy Joel?” asked Zoey, and Hero hummed. “That has a great piano part.”

“Yeah it’s pretty fun. I’ve always been a fan.”

“I can see that…” teased Zoey glancing over at the stack of CDs on Hero’s bedside table. Cold Spring Harbor was on the top—probably because Hero had been listening to a particular song on it on repeat. His face flushed as he thought about why, but he swallowed hard and shrugged his shoulders, trying his best to push the thought away.

“I used to annoy Kel with it a little, I think,” he admitted. “I played it over and over. He once threw a pillow at me while I was practicing and yelled ‘Don’t you know any other songs?’” Hero chuckled breathily, and Zoey laughed.

“When was the last time you played it?”

“I dunno. It’s been years…had to have been before Mari died.” He paused—catching his breath, but he kept talking, almost like he couldn’t stop. “I haven’t really played anything since then. I played a few bars on her piano before her family moved away, but…” His voice hitched, and his chest ached—panging in that all too familiar space in his heart that Mari had left behind. “You know I…honestly I learned to play piano because she loved it. I enjoyed it sure—it was fun, but Mari…Mari was the one who had real passion for music and I guess…I just wanted to be part of that. After she died, I just…I didn’t want to play anymore—didn’t want to play without her.”

Hero stopped—his face flushing. He hadn’t meant to say all of that. Talking about Mari with Zoey was getting easier—clearly, but he wasn’t sure if that was a good thing, just like he wasn’t sure if he would have even said all of that if he hadn’t been sick or feverish. He couldn’t bring himself to look at her, to know that he made the smile disappear from her face, made something sad pass over her eyes.

“I’m sorry…” he began to apologize. “I keep talking about her…” Swallowing hard, he stared down intently at his quilt—running his hands over the thoughtfully embroidered orange and yellow marigolds—a symbol of hope, remembrance, a connection that endures even after death.

“It’s okay, Hero…” said Zoey, quiet, gentle as she reached out to pat his hand. “And it’s okay if you never want to play piano again either. You don’t have to. It’s nothing to feel guilty about.”

Hero took a long breath, watching as Zoey’s fingers slipped between his. He curled his hand catching hers—intertwining their fingers, holding on tightly to her. “I’d play for you if you wanted…”

“I know you would,” Zoey replied with a tilt of her head and a kind smile. “And as much as I would love to hear you play piano, I’d only want you to play because that’s what you wanted—not because you felt obligated. Someday if you see a piano and you just feel like playing, I hope you will and then you can call me and play for me, but don’t force yourself. It should be something that makes you happy, like it used to.”

Hero’s chest ached, but he managed the twitch of a bantering smile as he asked dryly, “How else will I pay you back for taking care of me when I was sick?”

“Oh, don’t worry about that. Our debts are paid,” she insisted with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You took care of me first remember, and besides I’ve already gotten my reward which is getting to see you in your grandpa pajamas,” she teased winking playfully at him.

“Zoey!” Hero burst into a fit of laughter mixed with intense, nasty coughing.

“If you’re going to have a coughing fit every time you laugh, do you really think we should watch this movie?” she quipped, but Hero shrugged.

“It’s fine. I’m probably just going to fall asleep anyway.”

Chuckling, Zoey got up from her seat and put the tape into the VCR with a “Okay. Whatever you say” then she curled up on the edge of Kyle’s bed—pulling her knees to her chest as she leaned back into his mountain of throw pillows.

Hero chuckled a little himself before his weary eyes started drooping again. He had been right, of course. He started nodding off during the opening credits and was sound asleep before he even got anywhere close to his favorite flapjack scene. He wasn’t sure if he had dreamed it or imagined it in a half-asleep daze, but he could have sworn that once the movie had ended, he had felt gentle fingers tangling in his hair as it was pushed out of his forehead and Zoey’s voice whispering, “C.J.’s back now and will keep an eye on you, so I’m going to head out. You take care of yourself, Henry…”

*-*-*

Two Weeks Later…

“You made it!” exclaimed Kel excitedly as Hero walked through the front door with his suitcase. Kel threw his arms around him, hugging him tightly.

“Sorry it took so long,” Hero chuckled lightly as he scratched the back of his neck somewhat sheepishly.

“Are you feeling better at least?” asked Kel with a kind smile, and Hero nodded.

“Yeah…I was only sick for a couple of days, and my friends looked after me.” Hero paused, meeting Kel’s eyes with an expression that said more than his words, “Thanks for that, Kel.”

Kel flushed a little, but he laughed. So Hero had figured that out after all? He should’ve expected that from his brother. He was always so smart. Luckily, he didn’t seem to mind too much that Kel had meddled, not that he’d really tell him if he had. Still Kel smiled and teased, “Hey, no problem. You’re lucky I didn’t drive up there myself.”  

“Your father and I almost drove up too,” said their mom before she pulled Hero into another hug herself. “It was horrible thinking of you so sick in the city all alone.”

Hero’s face softened, as he pulled away from their mother to look her in the eyes. “I was fine, Mom. Please don’t worry.”

“Hero! Hero! Wanna play zoo?” exclaimed Sally, twirling around him with her favorite plastic animal toys until he scooped her up into a hug.

“Of course, Sally, but uh…”

“Give him a minute,” Kel interjected with a good-natured laugh. “He hasn’t even taken his coat off yet.

“Oh let me take that,” said their dad—patting Hero heartily on the back as he slipped his arms out of his coat. “It’s good to have you home.”

“Good to be home, Dad,” Hero replied with a kind smile.

“Let me take your bag upstairs,” exclaimed Kel reaching for the suitcase Hero had brought with him, but his brother reached out a hand to stop him.

“Oh…you don’t have to do that. I can get it.”

Kel waved his hand at him. “Don’t be silly. It’s just upstairs. Come on. You can freshen up for dinner too.”

“I made all your favorites,” said Mom. “And I even ordered a hero sandwich for you from Gino’s.”

Hero scratched the back of his neck—the slightest tint of pink in his cheeks. “Thanks, Mom, but you really didn’t have to go through all that trouble.”

Kel snickered and was still snickering as Hero followed him up the stairs. “You know Mom’s just going to make a big deal out of every time you visit even if you tell her not to, right?”

Hero sighed conceding, “Yeah…”

As Kel opened the door to their room, he set Hero’s suitcase down on his bed—still perfectly made from the last time he had visited, but as he turned back to his brother he paused, tilting his head curiously as he watched Hero staring wide-eyed at their old keyboard, pushed up against the wall next to the door.

“Oh uh…yeah…we found that when we were cleaning out the garage—” Kel shrugged, scratching the nape of his neck. “Thought we might as well set it up again.”

“Are you going to start playing again?” Hero asked, and Kel laughed.

“Nah. I don’t think I can even read music anymore, but maybe Sally will want to. She likes to come in here and bang on it sometimes—doesn’t sound much like music though.”

Hero chuckled, but before he could say anything, Kel said, “Or you could…if you wanted. I found a bunch of your old books and sheet music and stuff.” He motioned to a box on the ground near the keyboard, but he twisted his mouth to the side. He didn’t want to seem pushy. He knew Hero hadn’t played since Mari had died, and he probably wouldn’t want to ever again. Kel supposed, it was just one of those things his brother just couldn’t bring himself to do without Mari.

Kel sighed—blinking at Hero’s unreadable expression. Had it made him sad? He couldn’t tell. Maybe he should have given him a heads up about the keyboard or hidden it in the garage or something while he was visiting?

“Yeah. Thanks, Kel,” shrugged Hero, clearly putting this conversation to rest.

“Well uh…” Kel began to stumble before his mother’s voice called for him.

“Kel, can you come give me a hand for a minute?”

“Sure, Mom!” he yelled before turning back to Hero with a somewhat helpless shrug of his shoulders. “Hey, uh…I’ll be right back okay?”

Hero nodded, and Kel disappeared through the doorway. He shook his head. Why did everything have to be so awkward?

Kel sighed, and his chest ached. He knew why. But he swallowed hard—pushing the thought away, focusing instead on helping his mom set the table. As he was setting out some silverware, he stopped abruptly—his ears perking up at the sound of distant music, a familiar progression of notes he recognized.

“Do you hear that?” gasped Kel in disbelief, but it seemed his mom could only blink at him with wide, surprised eyes as Sally gushed and giggled.

“So pretty!”

Kel nearly dropped the silverware he was holding—fumbling around with the forks and spoons until he finally dropped them in a disorganized heap on the table and raced up the stairs—that all-too-familiar song growing louder and louder. As he burst through the door of his room, he could scarcely believe his eyes. Hero was sitting at the keyboard—his hands gliding across the keys playing music again.

“Hero?” Kel choked in a breathy disbelief which must have startled his brother because he stopped playing abruptly—clearly bumping the wrong keys in surprise creating a dissonant chord.

“Oh uh…sorry…” he mumbled, his face flushing somewhat sheepishly as he fidgeted—recoiling his hands away from the keyboard. “I just uh…I saw the keyboard and…wanted to play…”

Kel could only blink at him with wide, dark eyes. “You wanted to play piano?”

Hero’s blush deepened, but he nodded. “Yeah…uh…” He scratched the back of his neck. “I know you don’t really like that song but the music was on the top of the stack and…”

His voice trailed, and Kel’s expression softened, brightening into a wide smile. He supposed Hero was right. Once, what felt like a lifetime ago, he had given his brother all kinds of grief for playing that particular song over and over, but in the years that had followed, he would have given anything to hear him play it one more time, would have given anything to hear him play again. And now that he hadn’t heard it in so long—now that their room, their home had been quiet and empty for so long…

“I…I can try to play something else…” Hero chuckled awkwardly, but Kel cut him off.  

“No, I’ve never been happier to hear anything in my whole life.”

Hero laughed lightly, and his mouth curved into a smile—a real one that reached his eyes.

Kel’s chest ached. He had missed that even more than the music. He rushed forward—throwing his arms around his brother and hugging him tightly, hoping that gesture would say more than his words ever could.

“Kel!” Hero gasped quietly, leaning backward in surprise, his shoulders stiffening a little before he relaxed. He wrapped his arms around his brother, running his hand across his back as Kel pressed his chin to his shoulder.

Kel shut his eyes tightly, but he whispered with the brightest smile on his face, “It’s so good to have you back.”

He could feel the chuckle reverberating in Hero’s chest before his brother patted him on the head and whispered, “It’s good to be back.”

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

When Sun Shines Again Chapter 4: "To Lead A Better Life:" Part 3

⛅CHAPTER 4⛅ "To Lead A Better Life" Part 3

Chapter Description: When Hero visits Basil one last time before returning to college for the fall semester, Basil gives him a letter that forces him to confront bittersweet memories, painful truths, and the complicated feelings that Hero had tried so hard to bury.

This Chapter is Hero & Basil's Friendship-Centric.

Chapter Word Count: 6700. Link to Chapter 4 on AO3.

Description (for the entire work): When tragedy struck, Hero lost not only his dearest friend but also his dreams for the future. Even years later, Hero doesn't know what his "forever" looks like without Mari in it, but somehow he finds the strength to carry on and build a new life for himself. With his family and friends both old and new by his side, Hero struggles through life's ups and downs--the joys and sorrows he faces in a world without Mari. In the beginning, he's only looking to survive it all, but somewhere along the way, he might find a purpose, a reason he's still here. Maybe there really is a way he can learn to be happy again, and maybe, just maybe, when he's least expecting it, he might even find himself slowly opening his heart to love again--he might even find himself believing that even the darkest, stormiest of times will eventually pass and the sun will shine again.

A Hero-Centric story spanning 15 years of his life post-good end. Focuses on Hero finding healing & building a life for himself after the loss of Mari. Eventually includes him learning to love again after an extremely slow burn. All pairings are tagged upfront. Rated T for heavy themes & some language. Reading the prequel is recommended.

⛅Tags For The Story As A Whole (So A Lot Of These Are "Eventual" Tags):

Romantic Relationships: Main Ships: (Past) Hero/Mari and (Eventual) Hero/OC. Side Ships: Brandi/OC and a brief mention of Mikhael/Bebe are the only side ships involving canon characters.

Platonic Relationships: Hero & Brandi Friendship, Hero & Original Characters Friendship. Some Hero & Kel Siblings Relationship & Brotherly Friendship. Hero & Aubrey Friendship. Hero & Basil Friendship. Hero & Sunny Friendship. Hero & His Family.

Characters: Major Canon Characters: Hero (POV Character), Brandi [Intimidating Girl], Mari and Mari's Memory, & Kel. Major Original Characters (Hero's college friends): Kyle, C.J., Zoey, Tamra, and Lorraine. Other Included Canon Characters: Sunny, Basil, Aubrey, Sally, Hero's Parents, Bebe (Short Haired Girl/Fountain Girl) & Mikhael (The Maverick).

Genre: Hero-Centric Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Slice of Life, College Life, Lost Love, Finding Love Again, Finding Healing After Grief, Slow Burn, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, Greiving, Catharsis, Heart-To-Heart Chats, Hopeful/Happy Ending, Post-Good Ending, Hero Needs A Hug, Hero Deserves To Be Happy

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some language.

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some Language.

Link to Entire work on AO3.

⛅ Link to the "When Sun Shines Again" Masterlist. ⛅

Full chapter text below the cut. Thank you for reading! ⛅

“Do you have any sevens?” asked Kel.

Twisting her mouth to one side, Aubrey frowned at her cards, but she shrugged her shoulders. “No. Go fish.”

Curiously, Hero glanced down at his own hand, then at a nearby clock on the wall. They had been playing Go Fish for nearly an hour, and Hero couldn’t for the life of him understand how no one had managed to win yet. Even thinking back on the many rounds of Go Fish he and his friends had played in their youth, he couldn’t remember a game that lasted more than half an hour, at the most, but it seemed that ever since they had started playing cards with Basil whenever they visited him in the hospital the games were growing longer and longer.

Hero wondered if that was on purpose—if his companions were somehow purposely dragging the games out so they would have something to do, something to keep Basil distracted so he wouldn’t start crying again. After all, their first couple of visits had mostly consisted of Basil weeping in tearful apologies, and Hero was certain he was not the only one who wanted to avoid that going forward.

Something ached in Hero’s chest whenever he thought of how emotional things had been in the beginning—how fragile Basil had been and that heartbreaking look on his face like he was always on the verge of tears. If Hero was being honest, it scared him, and though it made him feel overwhelmingly guilty to admit it, somehow he couldn’t help but wonder if that’s what his family had seen every time they had looked at him after Mari had died: a shaking, shivering shell of a person they had once known and loved. It was painful to watch, and as much as his heart ached seeing Basil suffer, he could only imagine that his family had suffered even more in watching Hero, himself, suffer in the same way. Knowing he had put his family through that… It was nearly enough to make Hero not want to get out of bed in the morning.

There was something surreal in being on this side of it all. Even having gone through a similar period of deep depression himself—even knowing firsthand how painful and hopeless that darkness and numbness could be, Hero felt completely helpless when it came to Basil and his suffering. He had no idea what to do—if there was even anything he could do to make Basil feel better. This feeling of helplessness coupled with the sickening, twisting feeling in his gut whenever Basil burst into tears at the mere sight of him had given Hero a new and incredibly painful appreciation for Kel and what his brother must have been through these last couple of years stuck on the periphery of his loved ones’ collapsing world. But maybe that was Kel’s strength. He could be so supportive and attentive to the needs of the other people around him, and he just had this way of knowing what might help someone, even someone at their lowest, feel better. It had been his idea to start playing cards to cheer up Basil, after all.

After a long and ongoing debate about whether or not the three of them should just stop visiting Basil altogether, Hero, Kel, and Aubrey had sat down with Polly to discuss whether or not their visits were actually helpful or were just hindering Basil’s recovery, which, Hero knew, was the last thing any of them wanted. When Polly had told them that she thought that it would be much more hurtful to Basil if his friends never came around, Kel had suggested that they try to think of activities to do when they visited so Basil would be too busy to think about being sad.

It turned out Kel was right. They soon found that their visits with Basil at the hospital went much more smoothly if they all did an activity together—sometimes a puzzle, other times arts and crafts. They quickly settled into playing board games or, more frequently, cards just like they used to when they were kids.

As time went on, Basil seemed much happier, especially when he was distracted. The color slowly returned to his face. He started tending some flowers in the hospital’s garden and even started taking some photos again. Most promising of all, the last time they had visited, Hero saw Basil laugh for the first time in possibly years at a silly joke Kel had told them about a pirate’s pet parrot of all things. It was good to see Basil beginning to heal and come back to his old self again. Still, they didn’t want to undo any progress so they kept playing infinite games of cards which, if Hero had to guess, they probably did drag out on purpose, at least on a subconscious level.

“Are you sure you don’t have any sevens?” asked Kel, pulling Hero out of his thoughts. His brow furrowed as he glanced over at Aubrey with narrowed eyes.

“No,” she huffed, growing more exasperated. “I don’t have any sevens, Kel.”

 “I—I have sevens,” sniffled Basil “You—you can have my sevens…”

“Sweet!” exclaimed Kel, reaching across the table to take Basil’s cards, but Hero gently stopped him with a pat on the arm.

“Kel, that’s not fair. You can ask Basil for sevens on your next turn.”

Basil sniffled again, pulling his sweater tightly around his shoulders. “It…It’s okay. I don’t mind. Kel can—”

“You’re ruining the game!” Aubrey interrupted with a huff. “It’s just Go Fish. There’s no reason to get so competitive about it!”

“Competitive?” Kel repeated so loudly that Basil practically jumped. “If anyone’s getting competitive, it’s you!”

As Kel and Aubrey began to bicker, Hero looked over at Basil with a certain concern in his eyes. Hero had always known that Basil was almost as conflict avoidant as him, and it was obvious from the way he cowered at Kel and Aubrey’s bickering—twisting his hands and biting his lip—that he would give just about anything for this fight to be over, including an entire hand full of sevens, if he’d had them. If Hero was being honest, he felt the same way.

“C-c’mon now,” Hero gently interrupted, trying to keep the peace “This is just supposed to be fun. We’re here to visit Basil and spend time with him. There’s no reason to start fighting.”

Kel and Aubrey stopped—each letting out a heavy sigh as they stared down at their hands of cards. “Hero’s right,” said Kel “Who cares about this stupid card game—we’re just happy to see you Basil. We can even do something else if you want.”

Basil’s eyes widened, but a smile twitched in the corners of his mouth. “I don’t care what we do—I’m just glad you’re here. It’s really good to see you guys.” Basil paused and sighed. “It gets…kind of lonely here sometimes.”

Something ached in Hero’s chest, and his expression softened. He couldn’t help but feel sorry for Basil all alone in the hospital far away from his family and friends. Even if he knew it was the best thing for him and was glad that he was getting the help that he needed, it made Hero sad to think that Basil was going through such a difficult time alone.

Hero sighed. He supposed Basil had been suffering alone for a very, very long time, and regardless of the complicated feelings that Hero himself may have been feeling towards Basil and everything that had happened, it was more important to him that Basil wouldn’t have to suffer by himself anymore—that he would never have to suffer by himself again.

He supposed Aubrey had eventually realized she felt this way too. It wasn’t long after their conversation about Basil and her complicated feelings towards him a couple of weeks ago that Aubrey had started visiting Basil again. She had never talked to Hero about it, but he could only assume that, like him, ultimately the love, friendship, and concern she had for Basil far outweighed her own hurts and feelings.

It meant a lot to Hero to see Aubrey offer Basil forgiveness, even when it was hard, and he knew how much it meant to Basil that she was there for him—that they were all there for him, even after everything that had happened. These days, it felt like the only person who hadn’t forgiven Basil was Basil himself, but Hero knew that would be the hardest part of all.

“Don’t worry, Basil,” Kel reassured him, patting his arm. “I’m sure you’ll get to come home really soon.”

Basil bit his lip but nodded as he quietly admitted, “I hope so…I uh…I’ve been really worried…about my flowers.”

“Oh you don’t have to worry about those. Hero has been taking care of them for you!” Kel beamed at Basil, giving him a pat on the back.

Basil’s eyes widened, but his hands began to tremble as he turned towards Hero. “Oh…you didn’t have to do that.”

“It’s no trouble at all,” Hero gently insisted with a slight smile. “Your house is on my way home from the pool, so I stop by on my way home from work. It barely takes any time at all, and it’s nice to have a hobby. Besides, Polly has been doing most of the work.”

“Aubrey and I have been helping out too,” added Kel. “But we’re not as good at gardening as you or Hero.”

Basil cleared his throat. “Well, thank you—all of you. I really appreciate it. I just…”  He paused, biting his lip and staring at his twisting hands. “I just…hope it’s not ruining your summer or taking up too much of your time.”

Aubrey, Kel and Hero quickly glanced at each other with somewhat awkward smiles—silently agreeing not to tell Basil that this had probably been one of the worst summers of their entire lives even without having to look after his garden for him. Hero had spent most of it working long hours at the community pool, cleaning his house, tending Basil’s garden, going for runs around the neighborhood, and desperately looking for anything else that would take his mind off of things. He craved being busy, but more than that he craved a distraction from his crumbling world. Sunny had moved. Basil was in the hospital. Kel and Aubrey were struggling. Everything in Hero’s life seemed to fall apart again this summer—collapsing under the weight of the truth. He could only imagine that Aubrey and Kel felt the same way. They couldn’t wait for this summer to finally be over…but they could never say that to Basil who stared up at them with frightened but hopeful eyes.

“How—how are you all doing?” Basil stumbled, in what Hero could only guess was a desperate attempt to fill the silence. “Is there…anything new and exciting in Faraway Town?”

Hero wracked his brain, but he couldn’t think of even one piece of good news to tell Basil. From the look on Aubrey’s face, it seemed she couldn’t think of one either. They both turned to Kel, who twisted his mouth to one side—his brow furrowing thoughtfully as if he, too, was scrounging to think of something positive to say.

“Uhhh… Hero got a postcard all the way from Venice, Italy.”

“Well…that’s pretty cool” said Basil with a slight smile.

Hero shrugged his shoulders. He supposed it was kind of sad that the most exciting thing that had happened all summer was that he had gotten a postcard from Italy, but his family, Kel especially, had been very fascinated by it. They had never gotten something in the mail from somewhere so far away before.

“It was really cool!” exclaimed Kel “It had a bridge on it.”

“Who was it from?” asked Basil.

“My friend from college, Kyle, sent it to me while his family was on vacation there,” said Hero. “It has the Bridge of Sighs on it. Kyle said he always buys postcards with bridges on them because one of his best friends is a civil engineering major and wants to build bridges someday. He gets her postcards of local bridges from all of his vacation destinations, but he had an extra one this time so he sent it to me.”

Basil smiled. “That was really nice of him. I think my parents went to Venice once. I saw pictures of it, and it was really pretty. I’ve always wanted to go someday”

“Then you should!” interjected Kel “We should all go. Someday when you get out of this place and we’re all grown up and stuff, we should all go to Venice—and then we can ride on those cool boats they have there!”

“They’re called gondolas, Kel,” Aubrey corrected with a huff.  

Kel rolled his eyes, but he beamed at Basil. “Sunny can come too. It’ll be an adventure!”

Aubrey sighed. “It’ll be years before we’ll be able to go to Venice, Kel. We might not ever be able to go there.”

“Well…” said Kel. “In the meantime, maybe Hero can bring his postcard to show Basil the next time we come to visit.”

“Oh wow!” Basil’s face seemed to light up as he smiled at his friends. “I’d love to see it.”

With a shrug of his shoulders, Hero tilted his head and gave Basil a bittersweet smile. “I’d love to show you my postcard, Basil. I’m sorry I didn’t bring it. I didn’t know that you wanted to see it. Unfortunately, I don’t think I’ll be able to come visit you again because I have to go back to college next week.”

Basil’s face fell, but Hero could tell he tried his best to smile at him. “That’s okay” he said. “The doctor doesn’t think I’ll have to stay in the hospital for too much longer anyway. He hopes I’ll get to go home by the time school starts again.”

“That’s awesome Basil!” exclaimed Kel, and Aubrey nodded in agreement.

“I’m so happy to hear that,” said Hero. “I’m sure Kel and Aubrey will take really good care of you and help you get settled back in when school starts.”

“Yeah,” agreed Kel “And if anyone gives you weird looks or something, Aubrey will just beat them up with her nail bat.”

“Kel!” huffed Aubrey.

Before anybody could say anything more, however, the nurse came by to tell them that visiting hours were almost over and that they would have to leave soon. Aubrey and Kel both got up from the table to go to the bathroom before their long drive back to Faraway Town, leaving Hero and Basil alone.

“Are you excited—to be going back to college?” asked Basil.

Hero bit his lip. The honest answer was yes. In fact, he had never been happier to go back to anywhere in his entire life—though he supposed that wasn’t an entirely fair statement. It wasn’t going back to college that Hero was looking forward to—it was the idea of this long, horrible summer finally being over.

He didn’t want to upset Basil by telling him that, however, so he merely shrugged with half a smile and said “A little. It’ll be hard to leave my family again but…I missed school and my friends in the city. Plus, I made plans to see Sunny”

“Really?” asked Basil.

“Yeah. I called him last week and asked if I could take him to one of my favorite coffee places near campus. It’ll be nice to see him again and see how he’s settling in after the move.”

Basil’s expression softened, and he smiled. “I’m so glad to hear that. I’m sure it will mean a lot to Sunny that you want to visit him.” He paused, fumbling around for something in the pocket of his sweater. “That reminds me, I have a letter for Sunny. Do you think you could give it to him for me?”

Hero nodded. “Of course”

“I have one for you too,” Basil continued, handing Hero two envelopes. They were both heavy and lumpy like two small packages rather than letters. Whatever letters were inside must be several pages long.

Hero swallowed hard—trying his best to calm himself with a deep breath. He could only imagine what his letter said, but the truth was, he didn’t want to imagine it. He wasn’t sure he even wanted to read it.

For the entire summer, Hero had been trying his absolute best not to think about what Basil had done. He hadn’t lied to Aubrey when he told her he wasn’t angry with Basil, but he knew there were still complicated feelings, hurts, there under the surface. He supposed he had been running from them—pushing them aside like a kind of self-preservation or, perhaps more accurately, a somewhat desperate attempt at triage.

Triage, Hero thought. That certainly seemed like a good word for it.

In a medical ethics class he had taken last semester, Hero had learned about disaster triage or how to prioritize individual emergencies during a large-scale disaster. It was the best metaphor he could think of for how this summer had felt, especially as far as Basil was concerned. Whatever Hero may have felt or may have been dealing with on his own—it was small and inconsequential compared to Basil’s well-being when he was so fragile and such a danger to himself. Hero knew that he, himself, was hurting. He accepted that, but he couldn’t accept that that mattered, so he had buried his own complicated feelings so deep that he wasn’t even sure what he felt anymore. As he stared at the envelope in his hands, however, his stomach coiled and twisted with the sickening, sinking feeling that as soon as he opened that letter, he wouldn’t be able to run from it anymore.

“Do you…uh…want me to read this now?” Hero stumbled with a crack in his voice. He tried not to sigh too loudly in relief as Basil shook his head.

“It’s kind of long… You should probably read it when you get home. Or uh…”—his voice hitched—“you don’t have to read it at all, if you…”

As Basil’s voice tapered off, Hero reached out to gently pat his twisting hands. “No, um…I will. I’ll try to read it tonight. Thank you.”

“I have letters for Kel and Aubrey too, but I’ll see them when I get to come home so…” Basil’s voice trailed, but Hero nodded.

“I’m really glad that you’re going to get to come home soon, Basil. I’m sure Aubrey and Kel will look after you, but I’m always here too. If you need anything, just call” He reached for a nearby pad of paper and a pen, which Aubrey had been using to keep score during their card game and wrote down his phone number “This is my phone number at college. Feel free to call me anytime.”

As he handed the piece of paper to Basil, Basil smiled and muttered a quiet but grateful, “Thank you.”

Hero sighed. From the look on Basil’s face, he knew that Basil was never going to call him. If Hero had to guess, Basil was probably thinking that as soon as Hero read whatever he had written in that letter, he would regret giving him his phone number and would never want to speak to him again. Hero wished there was a way to reassure Basil that this wasn’t the case, that there was nothing that Basil could possibly say that would ever make Hero abandon him, especially when he needed him most. But as it was now, Hero just didn’t have the words…so he hugged Basil goodbye, wished him well and headed back home to Faraway Town, where he spent the rest of the evening staring at that thick envelope wondering when he would ever have the strength to open it.

When the clock at the bottom of the stairs chimed 8:00 PM, Hero, finally, tentatively reached towards the letter. He held his breath—biting his lip as he carefully opened the seal with trembling hands, bracing himself for whatever might be inside. He pulled out a dense stack of notebook paper which he slowly unfolded counting not two or three but ten pages filled with small, delicate script on both the front and back sides. Thankfully, the pages were numbered.

Hero swallowed hard and staring down at the paper in front of him, began to read.

Dear Hero,

This is the fourth time I have tried to write this letter. My doctor suggested that it would be good for me to be honest with you about my regrets to try to make amends and move forward. I don’t think I’ve been doing a very good job of that, and I’m really sorry if I, or this letter, am a burden to you.

I want to start by saying that I have always looked up to and admired you. I’m sure you know that my family wasn’t ever really around. For a long time, it was just me and my grandma. I never had any brothers or sisters, but I had you and the rest of our friends. You were all like a family to me, especially you, Hero. If I ever had a big brother, I imagine he would be a lot like you—always looking out for me.

You are one of the kindest people I have ever met in my whole life. You always think of everyone else before yourself and try to take care of everybody. Even now, when I know that you’re really hurting, you’ve still come to visit me. You still talk to me and take care of my garden. That really means a lot to me, more than I have the words to say, but I want you to know it’s okay if you’re angry with me. I know I would be. I really hurt you—hurt everybody with what I did, and I am so, so sorry.

I know there’s nothing I can say or do to make amends for what I’ve done, and I’m not writing you this letter to make any justifications or excuses. I only want you to know that you mean so much to me—that my whole life all I ever wanted was to be like you. I never meant to hurt you and knowing that what I did hurt you in ways that I can’t even imagine breaks my heart. But what hurts even more is knowing that even now, even after everything I did, you’re still trying to protect me like you always have.

But you don’t have to do that anymore, Hero. If after you read this letter, you never want to forgive me and never want to talk to me again, I completely understand. There are certain things that can’t be fixed with apologies and regrets. I have a lot of regrets—one of the biggest is hurting the one person in the world I knew would always be there for me. I am so, so sorry…

Hero’s breath got caught in his throat. His eyes burned. He couldn’t read anymore.

“I’m going on a run,” he choked out—frantically reaching for his running shoes. Kel looked up from the video game he had been playing with a confused tilt of his head.

“You’d better bring a jacket. It’s cold out there. I heard on the radio that there’s supposed to be a cold snap tonight.”

Hero nodded, but he couldn’t say Kel’s words really registered with him until he was running against the chilly wind. He wished he had listened to his brother and grabbed his jacket, but at the time he had just been so desperate to get out of there—or, he supposed, more accurately to get away from that letter. There was perhaps something poetic in literally running away from it, but Hero hadn’t really been thinking of that at the time. His jogs were his one lifeline—sometimes the only thing that kept him sane, kept him together when he was about to fall apart. It seemed like the only thing he could cling to now.

As Hero turned the corner out onto the main street again, a cold gust of wind blew past. He shivered. It was far too cold for this time of year. Cold snaps weren’t particularly common in Faraway Town, but they generally happened in the spring rather than the fall, at least as far as Hero could remember. He couldn’t recall a lot of cold snaps. As much as it pained him to admit it, a lot of his memories from before Mari had passed away were becoming hazier and hazier, but he could remember a particularly nasty cold snap from about five years ago…

*-*-*

“And watch out for that unexpected cold front,” said the disc jockey on the radio. “Temperatures will drop to the low 30s and below tonight, so you’ll want to get your coats and sweaters back out for the morning.”

“So much for that spring weather…” huffed Aubrey shaking her head as she stared at her hand of cards. “Also, go fish.” 

Kel groaned seemingly upset about both the upcoming cold snap and the fact he was losing at cards. “I don’t even know where my coat is.” 

“I’ll help you look for it,” said Hero patting his brother on the arm. “I think I just saw it hanging up in the closet.”

As Kel just shrugged and reached to draw some cards from the pile in the middle of the table, Hero felt a hand tugging at his shirt sleeve. Sunny blinked at him then motioned to his coat in the corner where he had left it weeks earlier, back when the weather had finally started warming up.

“That’s very nice, Sunny, but you don’t have to loan Kel your coat. He has one at home, and you’ll need it yourself tomorrow.”

Sunny nodded though his eyes widened in surprise as Mari snuck up behind him wearing his coat and wrapped her arms around him. She giggled as she playfully waved the sleeves around, and Hero stifled a laugh as she teased, “This coat is a little heavier than usual, isn’t it?” 

A slight smile tugged at the corners of Sunny’s mouth, and he let out two quick, heavy breaths—which Hero knew meant he was laughing. Seemingly pleased with herself, Mari’s smile widened, and she ruffled her brother’s hair before slipping out of the coat and handing it to him.

“I already boxed up my coat,” said Basil, nervously twisting his hands. “I think it’s under my bed. I’ll have to go home and check.”

Hero tilted his head at him. Somehow Basil seemed more nervous than usual. Mari seemed to notice as well as her face softened, and she gave him a reassuring smile.

“How about I walk you home?” she suggested. “So I can help you look for your coat.”

“Thank you, but you don’t have to do that, Mari,” sniffled Basil. “I’m sure it’ll be okay.”

“I don’t mind at all. It’ll be easier to look for it with several people helping.”

“I can help too,” said Hero. “After I walk Aubrey home, I’ll stop by and help you look for your coat.”

Basil’s eyes widened, and he held up his hands. “Oh no. You don’t have to do that. It’s really not a big deal at all.”

“And you don’t have to walk me home either,” huffed Aubrey with a slight frown. “I just live a street away.”

“But it’s dark out. I just want to make sure you get home safely.”

Aubrey rolled her eyes, but her mouth twitched in the corners as she shrugged her shoulders. “Alright, fine, but we should probably get going, huh? It’s getting late.”

As they all started to say their goodbyes for the evening, Hero watched as Mari gave him a reassuring smile and a look that said, “Don’t worry. I’ll find out what’s bothering, Basil.”

Hero sighed. Of course she had noticed there was something bothering him beyond just his lost coat. Mari was so good at reading people. She always knew when something was wrong and what to do to make someone happy again. It meant a lot to Hero to know that Basil was in such good hands—though he was sure he would feel a lot better once Aubrey was home safely and Mari had helped Basil work through whatever was troubling him.

After dropping Aubrey off at her house, Hero headed to Basil’s house where he was surprised to see Mari and Basil, who was now wearing his winter coat, out in the yard.

“Basil is worried that his plants will get too cold overnight so we’re going to cover them with some tarps and old picnic blankets,” Mari explained. How she had managed to get Basil to tell her this in such a short amount of time amazed Hero, but he supposed that was just Mari’s way with people. He always admired that about her.

Hero reached for one of the tarps and covered a nearby flowerbed. The cold wind biting at them, loosening the coverings as soon as they had been placed, made the task more difficult than it needed to be, but eventually every flowerbed in Basil’s garden was properly covered, warm enough to survive the cold night.

As the three of them surveyed their work, Basil sniffled. “Thank you so much for helping me. You really didn’t have to do that, but it means a lot.”

Hero smiled as Mari threw her arms around Basil and hugged him tightly.

“It was no trouble, Basil,” she said. “We’re always happy to help. That’s what family’s for.”

Tears pooled in Basil’s eyes as he choked out, “Family?”

“Of course. You’re like our little brother.” Giggling, Mari beamed at him and gently ruffled her hand through his hair. “If you ever need anything, we’ll always be here to help you—no matter what.”

Hero nodded in agreement and patted Basil’s shoulder before giving him a hug himself. Wiping the tears from his eyes, Basil sniffled again before saying his final thanks and goodbyes and heading back into his house.

As Hero and Mari started to walk home, Mari reached for Hero’s hand and gave it a gentle squeeze. Hero smiled at her, but watching her shiver in the wind, he immediately let go of her hand and tried to disentangle himself from his jacket.

“Here, you can take this…” he said holding out his coat to her.

Chuckling, Mari wrapped the jacket around her shoulders and playfully teased, “What a gentleman! Thank you.” She took his hand again—intertwining their fingers. “You’re always so sweet, Hero.”

Hero blushed. He watched his feet shuffling on the sidewalk as his face grew warm. “You’re sweeter,” he gently insisted. “What you said to Basil back there was so kind. I could tell it really meant a lot to him.”

Mari’s expression softened, and something bittersweet passed over her eyes. “I feel so sorry for Basil. It’s just him and his grandma. He must be so lonely…and he’s such a gentle-hearted person. I…” She paused. “I worry about him sometimes. He needs somebody to look out for him.”  

Hero nodded solemnly, but he gave Mari’s hand a reassuring squeeze.

“Hero?” As Mari looked up with him with wide, kind eyes, Hero’s heart could have melted. A smile twitched in the corners of her mouth as she quietly continued, “Promise me…that we’ll always take care of Basil…?”

As Hero nodded, a bright smile once again spread across Mari’s face. “Of course, Mari. We’ll always take care of Basil…and his flowers too.”

*-*-*

Hero stopped. Basil’s flowers. What if it got too cold for them and they froze before Basil even got to come home and see them?

Rubbing his hands together for warmth, he took off running towards Basil’s house where he found Polly out in the yard putting tarps over some of Basil’s flowerbeds.

“Hi Polly. Can I help?” asked Hero with a slight smile. “I was out on a run when I remembered Basil’s flowers and…with this cold snap coming in…” His voice trailed, but Polly smiled.

“Oh that’s so sweet of you, Hero,” she replied. “I’m just about finished, but if you want to cover that flowerbed over there”—she paused, motioning to her left—“that would be a big help.”

Hero nodded, and he reached for a nearby tarp. His brow furrowed as he turned towards the flowerbed—his chest aching at the sight of the clusters of lilies. Lilies had been Mari’s favorite flower, and Basil had always used to say they reminded him of her. When they were kids, Basil had had flowers that reminded him of all of his friends. If Hero was remembering correctly, his flower had been roses—though he had never felt he deserved it.  

Hero’s eyes narrowed, and he tilted his head. There were rose bushes in this flowerbed too. When had Basil planted these?

“This is one of Basil’s favorite flowerbeds, you know?” Polly said quietly. “When I first came to work here, I once found him curled up in it in the middle of the night during a cold snap like this. He had covered the plants but was worried they still weren’t going to be warm enough, so he took the blanket off of his bed and dragged it out here and curled up next to them himself.”

Polly sighed. “When I tried to tell him that they were probably warm enough now and he could come back inside, he wouldn’t. He said he planted these flowers for his big brother and sister, and he wasn’t going to leave them. I was so confused because Basil is an only child, but…after everything that happened this summer…I started thinking…”

Polly stopped and turned to look at Hero. She didn’t say anything more, but she didn’t have to—Hero knew what she was thinking. He was thinking the same thing.

With a heavy sigh, he sunk to the ground. Something coiled and twisted in his chest as he thought about what these last four years must have been like for Basil. Not only was he grieving the loss of Mari, blaming himself for her death and everything that had come after, but he was grieving the loss of his family too, worrying that as soon as they knew the truth, they would see him as he saw himself: unredeemable, unforgivable, and unlovable. Hero could picture him shivering in the garden, desperately clinging to his few remaining memories of the only family he had ever known—waiting for the other shoe to drop, for them to learn the truth and leave him behind forever.

As Hero stared at the flowerbed, the carefully tended roses and lilies that had always reminded Basil of him and Mari, Hero’s eyes burned and his vision grew blurred and misty. He could hear Mari’s words, “Promise me…that we’ll always take care of Basil…?”

Hero watched as Polly’s eyes widened in concern. As she leaned forward with an outstretched hand, his brow furrowed. He reached up and touched his cheek—cold from the chilly wind and damp from the tears that had finally struggled free.

*-*-*

“H—Hero?” stammered Basil in surprise as he walked into the hospital’s common area.

Hero gave him a slight smile. “Hey, Basil. How’s it going?”

“I…I thought you were going back to school.”

“Yeah…I…I leave Thursday, but I…” He paused—twisting his hands around the handles of the gift bag he had brought with him. “I wanted to see you one more time. I hope that’s okay…?”

As Hero’s voice trailed, Basil blinked at him with wide eyes, but he managed a brisk nod.

“I brought this for you,” Hero continued, handing Basil the bag. “They’re from your garden.”

Basil pulled out a jar filled with roses and lilies that Hero had carefully picked from his garden with Polly’s permission of course. Hero stared down at his hands and took a deep breath. “Polly told me that flowerbed was one of your favorites. It’s still in bloom and really pretty. I hope you’ll make it home in time to see it before the Fall.”

Basil nodded again but sniffled. “You…you didn’t have to do this. And you didn’t have to come either. I…I know you’re really busy.”

“I always have time for you,” said Hero with a smile. “And after I read your letter, I just…I wanted to come see you because…there’s…something really important that I have to tell you.” He swallowed hard with a slight shrug of his shoulders. “I tried writing it down, but I just couldn’t find the right words and I—”

“It’s okay,” Basil quietly interrupted him with a wavering voice. “You can…say whatever you need to say. I’m ready.”

“No. Uh…um…Basil…I—” Hero stopped abruptly. As he watched Basil tremble, watched the tears pooling in his eyes as he braced himself for the worst, his heart ached. He completely forgot all the words of reassurance he had planned to say and practically leapt forward, wrapping his arms around Basil and holding him tightly. He could feel Basil’s shoulders stiffen—could feel him gasp in surprise.

“He—Hero?” choked Basil—his voice cut off by a strangled, garbled sob in the back of his throat. As he started to shake, Hero knew he was crying, and it broke his heart but not as much as his whispered, “I’m so sorry…”  

Hero pressed his chin to Basil’s shoulder as tears began to prickle in his own eyes. He hugged him tighter—hoping that simple gesture would say everything he didn’t have the words to until finally, at long last, he took a deep breath and said, “I forgive you.”

“What?”

“I forgive you, Basil,” Hero repeated in a trembling voice—taking a deep breath to brace himself for the next part, the hardest part, of what he knew he had to say. “I…what happened…it…it hurt me.” He paused—suddenly struck by the weight of those words and of finally saying them aloud. “But…but that doesn’t make you unforgiveable and that…that doesn’t mean I don’t care about you anymore. I forgive you, and I know it’s probably not my place to say this but…I think…Mari would forgive you too and…she’d want you to forgive yourself. It’s…it’s what I want too.”

Hero’s throat grew dry and burned, but he took a long, shaky breath and continued, “You’ve suffered enough, Basil—punished yourself enough. I know you think that’s what you deserve, but that’s not what Mari would want for you. She really loved you, and all she ever wanted was to take care of you. Beating yourself up about what happened, only hurts you…It’s not going to bring her back. I…I”—his voice hitched— “I know that better than anyone. Believe me…if it did, she’d be here.”

Hero stopped—a lump forming in the back of his throat as his eyes burned with tears. “Mari—Mari isn’t…here…anymore…” he stumbled over his words, until finally he pulled away from Basil, placed both hands on his shoulders and met his teary eyes. “But I am, and I will always be here for you.”

At these words, tears began to pour down Basil’s cheeks as if he had never needed to hear something more in his entire life. He threw his arms around Hero and broke down sobbing. Hero’s face softened, and he pulled Basil close. As he gently patted his back, as he often did whenever he comforted any of his siblings, he caught sight of the jar of flowers on the table: the much loved lilies and roses. Hero sniffled, wiping a tear from his eye, as he thought of Mari and her wish: “Promise me…that we’ll always take care of Basil…?”

“I will always take care of you,” Hero gently whispered. “For both of us…”

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

When Sun Shines Again⛅: Chapter 8 "Changing My Life:" Part 3

⛅Chapter 8 Description: Shivering and soaking wet, Hero drives Lorraine back to her sorority house, and as surprising as it is, what happens next might just have him thinking it was probably for the best he didn't skip out on this party after all...

The Party That Changed Hero's Life: Part 3 of 3

Chapter Word Count: 10,743. Link to Chapter 8 on AO3.

Description (for the entire work): When tragedy struck, Hero lost not only his dearest friend but also his dreams for the future. Even years later, Hero doesn't know what his "forever" looks like without Mari in it, but somehow he finds the strength to carry on and build a new life for himself. With his family and friends both old and new by his side, Hero struggles through life's ups and downs--the joys and sorrows he faces in a world without Mari. In the beginning, he's only looking to survive it all, but somewhere along the way, he might find a purpose, a reason he's still here. Maybe there really is a way he can learn to be happy again, and maybe, just maybe, when he's least expecting it, he might even find himself slowly opening his heart to love again--he might even find himself believing that even the darkest, stormiest of times will eventually pass and the sun will shine again.

A Hero-Centric story spanning 15 years of his life post-good end. Focuses on Hero finding healing & building a life for himself after the loss of Mari. Eventually includes him learning to love again after an extremely slow burn. All pairings are tagged upfront. Rated T for heavy themes & some language. Reading the prequel is recommended.

⛅Tags For The Story As A Whole (So A Lot Of These Are "Eventual" Tags):

Romantic Relationships: Main Ships: (Past) Hero/Mari and (Eventual) Hero/OC. Side Ships: Brandi/OC and a brief mention of Mikhael/Bebe are the only side ships involving canon characters.

Platonic Relationships: Hero & Brandi Friendship, Hero & Original Characters Friendship. Some Hero & Kel Siblings Relationship & Brotherly Friendship. Hero & Aubrey Friendship. Hero & Basil Friendship. Hero & Sunny Friendship. Hero & His Family.

Characters: Major Canon Characters: Hero (POV Character), Brandi [Intimidating Girl], Mari and Mari's Memory, & Kel. Major Original Characters (Hero's college friends): Kyle, C.J., Zoey, Tamra, and Lorraine. Other Included Canon Characters: Sunny, Basil, Aubrey, Sally, Hero's Parents, Bebe (Short Haired Girl/Fountain Girl) & Mikhael (The Maverick).

Genre: Hero-Centric Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Slice of Life, College Life, Lost Love, Finding Love Again, Finding Healing After Grief, Slow Burn, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, Greiving, Catharsis, Heart-To-Heart Chats, Hopeful/Happy Ending, Post-Good Ending, Hero Needs A Hug, Hero Deserves To Be Happy

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some language.

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some Language.

Link to Entire work on AO3.

⛅ Link to the "When Sun Shines Again" Masterlist. ⛅

Full chapter text below the cut. Thank you for reading! ⛅

The inside of the Triple E sorority house looked fairly similar to Hero’s fraternity—old, mismatched furniture arranged around a large area rug and coffee table—though it was much tidier and more decorative with colorful blankets and throw pillows scattered about. The dim light and pleasant floral scent of some candles definitely helped the place feel much more inviting, and there was faint music.

Hero froze—something aching in his chest. He recognized this song—that distant, wistful melody. In an instant, he felt like he was that kid playing in his side yard—stunned into silence by the sound of Mari’s piano practice. How many times had he quietly listened by the window to her tinkly melodies?

Hero’s insides twisted. How deafening had that silence been after she was gone?

Tilting his head curiously, his dark eyes narrowed at a nearby piano with chipped wood. Someone in this house must play…Tamra perhaps? Most music majors had to pass a piano proficiency test, didn’t they? Or maybe she was already a pianist? He could hear Brandi’s words in his head again, “This is exactly why I didn’t mention her” and his stomach felt sick.

Regardless, she wasn’t playing now. No one was, and Hero rubbed his forehead wondering if the music was all in his imagination, some memory triggered by the sight of that old piano.

“Do you hear that?” he asked Lorraine.

“It sounds like Tamra’s practicing…” she replied with a shrug, and something twisted in Hero’s chest. No wonder she reminded him of Mari.

Lorraine paused, glancing over at the empty piano with a thoughtfully furrowed brow. “Or maybe it’s a CD?”

As Lorraine stumbled forward towards a nearby bookcase, Hero was thankfully pulled out of his thoughts. He reached out to steady her, but she gripped onto one of the shelves and began messily rifling through a stack of CDs.

“That’s okay, Lorraine,” he tried to insist as she started pulling CDs off the shelf, but his brow furrowed curiously at some of the more unexpected albums in their music collection. Sure there were several Backstreet Boys, New Kids on the Block, and *NSYNC albums, a lot of Spice Girls, No Doubt, and Britney Spears, and even some Alanis Morissette, which Hero was fairly certain belonged to Brandi. At first glance, it was all music he probably would have expected from a sorority house, but then Lorraine started pulling out Fleetwood Mac, Guns N’ Roses, The Rolling Stones, Carole King, and The Doors.

Curiosity getting the best of him, he glanced at the shelf where he saw a lot of his own music collection: The Mamas and The Papas, The Pretenders, Harry Nilsson, and Billy Joel. He swallowed hard—his breath caught in his throat as Lorraine pulled another CD off the shelf, and Hero caught sight of the familiar album cover of The Beatles’ Revolver.

“Lorraine…uh…are these yours?” he asked before he could stop himself. Lorraine set The Beatles’ album on the table with a thoughtful hum.

“Um…not this one, but some of them. Like this—” With a bright smile she held out the Backstreet Boys’ “Millenium” to him. “This is mine.”

Nodding at her, he smiled slightly, trying his best not to appear too disappointed as he answered kindly, “That’s a good one.”

Lorraine giggled but before she could say anything to him in response, she, seemingly, lost her balance—tripping over her feet until she caught herself on the arm of the sofa. As Hero reached out to steady her, supporting her once again against his side, he asked, “Is someone here who can help you, Lorraine?”

“Maybe my sister…” She hummed before she called, “Zoey? Zoey, are you home?”

There were faint noises coming from a nearby doorway which if Hero had to guess, probably led to the kitchen. Lorraine called again, “Zoey, you’re never going to believe who’s here!”

“If it’s Connor again, I swear Lorraine…” a voice called back. “We talked about this.”

The nearby door swung open and a girl with short, red hair stomped through with a huff, crossing her arms. If Lorraine hadn’t said they were sisters, Hero probably wouldn’t have been able to guess—the only traits they had in common were their high cheekbones and the dusting of freckles across their pale noses which were much heavier and much darker in the case of Lorraine’s sister. Zoey—had she said her name was?

Hero swallowed hard as Zoey met his gaze with warm and inquisitive eyes, nearly as bright green as her emerald sweater. He wondered if he had ever seen eyes that green before. Had Lorraine’s been the same shade? He supposed he hadn’t noticed and thought it would be rude or perhaps uncomfortable if he turned to look at her now to double check.

With a discerning quirk of an eyebrow in his general direction, Zoey tilted her head at him. Hero fidgeted. Something in her green eyes seemed to snap at him—clever, perceptive, as if she could see right through him.

He turned away from her with a flush of pink in his cheeks but not before he caught sight of the slightest twitch of a dry smile in the corners of her mouth as she quipped, “You’re not Connor.”

“No,” Hero chuckled lightly, somewhat awkwardly rubbing his hand across the nape of his neck, but Lorraine cut him off—stumbling forward, clutching onto her sister’s hands and excitedly, drunkenly rambling.

“No. No,” she insisted. “It’s him. It’s the prince. He came for me. He saved me! Isn’t he handsome?”

Hero’s face burned. He knew Lorraine was very intoxicated, but her voice was still far more swoony than he felt he deserved especially when he heard Zoey’s breathy, stifled snort of a laugh.  

“The prince, huh?” she repeated—her voice deadpan. Hero stared intently at his feet, too embarrassed to see her expression, but he did hear her add in what seemed to be genuine confusion, “Why is he soaking wet?”

“He jumped in the pool to save me after I fell in,” explained Lorraine in an enthusiastically bubbly voice, seemingly suddenly forgetting about how much she hadn’t wanted her sister to know about that a mere fifteen minutes before.

“You fell in the pool?”

Lorraine conveniently sidestepped the question or perhaps it just didn’t register in the mental fog of drunkenness. “He jumped right into the pool after me even though the water was freezing cold and then he drove me all the way home. He’s the taxi prince too, Zoey.”

“Really? I was starting to think that was just a rumor.” She paused, then shot him a crooked smile. “You have quite the reputation, Mr. Prince.”

Hero could feel the tips of his ears turn red. He wasn’t entirely sure how to respond to that. He was sure she wasn’t really making fun of him, but her delivery was so dry that he wasn’t sure how serious she was being either. Not to mention the fact that, before tonight, he hadn’t had the slightest idea that he had a reputation in the first place, and the very idea made him feel almost as uneasy as that knowing look Zoey was giving him now.

Before he could begin to explain himself, however, Zoey’s expression softened. A slight smile spread between her cheeks—warm and genuine. It reached her green eyes as she said, “Thank you for saving my sister. Can I get you anything? A warm cup of a tea?”—she quirked an eyebrow at him—“A towel maybe?” 

Hero glanced down at his clothes—still dripping water all over the wood floors, and he buried his face in his hands. “I’m sorry, I—”

“He said he wanted sandwiches. He’s going to make me one,” Lorraine interrupted with a giggle.

Zoey sighed, rolling her eyes, though Hero could have sworn there was some affection in them. “He’s not going to make you a sandwich,”

There was a short lag in Lorraine’s reaction time. She blinked blankly at them before she pouted, “Why not?”

“Because I’m sure he has to go back to his castle,” quipped Zoey “Sign some royal proclamations, maybe slay a dragon later if he has time.” She paused, that sarcastic twitch of a smile curving in the corners of her mouth as she turned to him with a dry, “Or have you already done those things before you started saving damsels in distress?”

Hero laughed in spite of himself and his flushed cheeks. It was kind of impressive how quick witted she was, and, if he was being honest, he much preferred these ‘prince charming’ jokes when the punchline seemed to be that he wasn’t actually deserving of the title.

As he pursed his lips to stifle his laughter, Zoey met his eyes again and a smile tugged at her mouth, but before she could say anything, Lorraine sighed, “But couldn’t he add making sandwiches to his royal to-do list?”

Zoey’s eyes narrowed. “Are we sure he can even make a sandwich? Don’t you think he has a royal chef to do that?”

“Oh…” sighed Lorraine who, it seemed, was far too drunk to catch on to her sister’s sarcasm. “We don’t have a chef, Your Highness.”

“That’s—that’s okay,” Hero breathily reassured her, but his blush deepened as he turned towards Zoey. He looked away abruptly but gently began to insist, “I—I can make a sandwich…It’s really no trouble at all.”

“We’re good. Thanks,” answered Zoey curtly with a pointed stare, and Hero’s ears burned. Had he said the wrong thing?  

“But—” Lorraine’s protest was promptly cut off by her sister patting her lightly on the head.

“Go change out of those wet clothes, then we’ll get you some water and a granola bar or something if you’re that hungry. I’m sure ‘prince charming’s’ royal carriage is waiting.”

Hero half-laughed, half-coughed in spite of himself. It was probably the only time his hunk of junk of a car, as Kel would probably call it, would ever be called a royal carriage.

Zoey tilted her head towards him—an expression he couldn’t quite place passing over her face until she dryly teased, “I’d offer you a change of clothes too, your majesty, but unless you want to wear a towel, I’m not sure we have anything that’ll fit you.”

“You can wear one of my towels,” swooned Lorraine before she hiccupped lightly and burst into inebriated giggling.

Hero choked—his face flushing scarlet. “Oh…uh—” His voice cracked, but luckily Zoey cut him off.

“Lorraine, he’s royalty—try to have some class.” Her delivery was so dry and snarky that Hero chuckled in spite of himself as he stared intently at the floor, his cheeks burning at the idea of waltzing around anywhere in a towel—let alone the sorority house of practical strangers. If Kyle was here, he’d likely say that was the college experience, but it wasn’t the experience Hero wanted.

“Right…I’m sorry, Your Highness,” Lorraine offered a slurred but sincere apology. “I’m sure you only wear royal towels.”

Snorting a laugh, Zoey rolled her eyes and playfully swatted at her sister. “Go on… Get out of those wet clothes before you embarrass yourself even more in front of the prince.”

As Lorraine nodded and stumbled her way down a hallway to the left of the entry way, Zoey shook her head and sighed. “Sorry about that. Lorraine gets aggressively flirty when she gets drunk. Just ignore her.”  

“It’s…it’s okay…” choked Hero though his face was still bright red.

“I’m sure you’re used to getting flirted with all the time—seeing as you are royalty,” Zoey dryly teased.  

As he rubbed the back of his neck, he somehow managed a quiet and breathy, “You’d be surprised…” He paused—twisting his hands as he quickly added, “Uh…what I mean is…I—I don’t think people really…I’m not very…uh—” He stopped abruptly realizing that his nervous fidgeting had been spraying water all over the ground. “Oh, I’m sorry. Let me help clean that up…”

“No, it’s fine. I’ll get it,” Zoey cut him off with a dismissive wave of her hand. “You should probably get out of those wet clothes too. Maybe head home or at least head back to whatever party you were at?”

Hero nodded. It didn’t sound like much of a question. “Yeah, sorry.”

“Thanks again for saving my sister,” said Zoey with a smile, and Hero could feel that warmth in his cheeks again.

“It was really nothing,” he insisted with a shrug of his shoulders. “And it was probably overkill. I just spent the summer as a lifeguard so I think I just went into autopilot when I saw her fall in.” Just like he had with Sunny and Basil in Faraway Park…But he didn’t tell her that, just pushed the thought away swallowing hard.

“You’re a lifeguard too, and modest…?” Zoey tilted her head at him. “You certainly are a man of many talents, Mr. Prince.”

“You really don’t have to call me that,” Hero chuckled awkwardly. ”You can just call me ‘Hero.’”

Zoey quirked an eyebrow at him. “Smooth.”

Hero’s face burned. He realized how that sounded only after he had said it, and he somewhat frantically began to stumble over his words of explanation. “No…uh…um…that’s just my nickname.”

“Can’t imagine why that is…” she quipped with the twitch of a smile. Hero’s blush deepened, and he ran his hand through his damp hair before he scratched the back of his neck.

“I really liked hero sandwiches as a kid. I wanted to eat them for every meal so everyone started calling me ‘Hero’ and…” He swallowed hard, turning away from the pointed look she was giving him. “My actual name is Henry—you can call me that if you want, but nobody ever really calls me that.”

“So you want me to call you something nobody else calls you?” she teased dryly, and Hero tried his best to take a deep breath. Oh gosh, did she think he was hitting on her…? He wanted to sink into the living room rug.

“Uh…um…I’m not really sure I have any other nicknames. My Mamá Alma calls me ‘cocinerito’ sometimes, and my roommate calls me ‘Mama’ and he’s got the rest of our fraternity doing it now so I guess you could call me that if you want,” he added in a panic, staring pleadingly at the floor hoping it would swallow him up. A look of recognition passed over Zoey’s eyes, followed by surprise.

“Wait…you’re ‘Mama’?”

Despite his brow furrowing, Hero nodded, and Zoey laughed. “Kyle will not shut up about you. Not that that means anything since Kyle won’t shut up about anything, but…you’re just not what I pictured I guess.”

“You…know Kyle?”

Zoey laughed. “Yeah. And he’s told me almost everything about you, but I guess he never mentioned me, huh?”—she rolled her eyes somewhat affectionately—“Calls himself my best friend…what a moron.”

Ignoring that blush in his face, Hero tilted his head, finally realizing what he should have put together ages ago. “You’re Zuzu…?”

“Oh gosh, no one calls me that except Kyle, and I have no idea why he does, especially after everything I do for him.” She shook her head lightly, but she smiled—meeting his eyes again with her bright green ones. “I’m Zoey—Zoey Park.”

She held out her hand, and he reached to shake it with a smile as he said, “Hero…or uh…Henry Padilla. Whatever you want to call me. I don’t mind.”

“Hero’s fine. It suits you,” she replied with a shrug and a twist of her mouth. “But I also like ‘Mr. Prince’ and ‘Mama’ even though I’m pretty sure you stole that nickname from me, you know?” she teased, and Hero sheepishly chuckled.

“Sorry…” he mumbled. “I’ll talk to Kyle if—” Zoey’s laughter cut him off, and Hero shuffled his feet with an almost inaudible, “What?”

“Nothing. It’s just…you really are just as sincere as Kyle said, huh?” She paused, but her expression softened. “It’s fine—really. I’m only kidding around. Sorry if I’ve been acerbic. Kyle says I’m too dry—it’s hard to tell if I’m joking or not.”

She shrugged her shoulders with a slight smile. “But I’m actually really glad Kyle has someone to look out for him. I can’t keep up with all his partying, and I think he got sick of me telling him off for binge drinking all the time, so it’s nice to know he still has a good influence around. He has nothing but nice things to say about you—thinks you’re a literal saint.”

Hero’s face blushed red. He could feel the tips of his ears burning again. He really should learn how to take a compliment one of these days.

Before he could even think of something to say in response, however, Zoey continued, “Which of course means that I definitely can’t send you back to that party soaking wet. Kyle will never let me hear the end of it.” She paused, chuckling before she sighed. “Do you have something you can change into? You’re welcome to use our bathroom before you head out, and we do have towels to help you dry off—but please don’t wear them. Nobody wants to see that.” She was deadpan, but Hero knew she was teasing him. His face burned. Somehow, despite his embarrassment, however, he found himself laughing—though he tried his best to stifle it.

“I…uh…actually think I have a change of clothes in my trunk. I just bought some for my brother on a clearance rack at Other Mart but Kyle wouldn’t let me unload all my groceries before we left for the party so…” His voice trailed with uncertainty, but he supposed that Kel’s clothes were probably better than these sopping wet ones and were definitely better than a towel.

It wasn’t until he was out in the street, digging through his car in the rain which had once again begun to sprinkle, that he realized how ridiculous this all was. He could just change clothes back at the party, instead of imposing on practical strangers, but he couldn’t deny that he would feel so much better if he didn’t have to spend another minute in these chaffing wet jeans and the heaviness of this soaked sweater dripping water everywhere. Even getting to dry his hair with a towel would be a great comfort. He would run inside, change quickly, thank Zoey and Lorraine again for letting him use their bathroom, apologize for any inconvenience and head back to the party.

Once he found the clothes, Zoey let him back into the house, showed him to the bathroom and gave him a stack of towels before she disappeared to help Lorraine and Hero headed into the bathroom. With a sigh of relief, he dried off and finally changed out of those uncomfortably soaked clothes. As much as he felt guilty for imposing of these women he barely knew, he would be eternally grateful to them for allowing him the respite of not having to spend one more minute in those chaffing jeans.

When he walked back into the living room to thank Zoey profusely one more time before heading out, however, he found her talking on the phone. He shuffled awkwardly in place not wanting to interrupt but also not wanting to eavesdrop as he heard her say, “You’re worse than, Lorraine. I swear I’m hanging up on y—” She stopped abruptly, covering her hand with her mouth in her best attempt to stifle a snorted laugh that reached her eyes at the sight of him.

Hero flushed. He supposed Kel’s clothes did not fit him nearly as well as he would have hoped, and he reached up to pat his damp, messy mop of hair which he was sure was even more unruly than usual.

“No. No, not you Brandi,” she said hurriedly into the receiver. “He just walked out. Do you want to talk to him?” There was a pause before she nodded and continued, “Okay. I’ll see you later. Bye.”

As she hung up the phone, she couldn’t seem to hide the smile that tugged at the corners of her mouth. “That is quite the look, Mr. Prince,” she quipped.

“My brother plays basketball,” Hero explained, though even he could admit he probably looked a little ridiculous with his slim frame practically swimming in the long shorts and jersey. Even if he and Kel were roughly the same height, his brother had far more muscle than he did and likely wouldn’t be so drowned by the loose-fitting athletic clothes.

Still stifling a laugh behind her hand, Zoey nodded, and Hero cleared his throat—trying his best to change the subject.

“Was that Brandi?”

“Yeah, she just wanted to give me a head’s up that you and Lorraine were headed over. I didn’t realize you knew her.”

Hero nodded. “We grew up in the same town—graduated from the same high school. She was the only person I knew in the city for a while.”

“Well she’s a much better character reference than Kyle. I would’ve led with that,” bantered Zoey, but her expression softened. “She said you were pretty heroic—no pun intended.”

As Hero chuckled lightly, Zoey reached out to take his wet clothes from him asking, “Do you want me to throw these in the dryer for you?”

Flushing, Hero held up his hands and insisted, “Oh you don’t have to do that.”

Zoey shrugged. “It doesn’t have to be a whole cycle just enough so they’re not dripping water anymore.”

“I’ve imposed enough already,” sighed Hero. “I don’t want to cause you any more trouble.”

“It’s no trouble—in fact you’d be kind of helping me out. Brandi said if I don’t at least offer, she’s never going to talk to me again, and Kyle will probably be mad too.” Hero couldn’t tell if she was completely joking or not, though the upturned corners of her mouth seemed to suggest she was teasing just a little. Still, he apologized, “Sorry.”

“Don’t worry about it,” she waved her hand dismissively, but the expression in her eyes was kind. “They kind of have a point, I guess. You did save my sister…The least I can do is throw your clothes in the dryer.” She paused. “Unless you’re heading home.”

“I’m the designated driver so I’m stuck out for a while,” he sheepishly admitted. “But…I really don’t want to intrude…”

Zoey waved her hand at him. “The dryer it is. And you’re not intruding.” Her mouth twitched into a lopsided smile. “Believe me, if I didn’t want you here, you wouldn’t be, no matter what Kyle or Brandi had to say about it.”

As she shot him a half-smile, Hero somewhat awkwardly followed her through the doorway into a kitchen, dining, and laundry room combination where she quickly threw his wet clothes into the dryer which was loud and clanging—shaking and humming until Zoey gave it a good smack with her hand. It quieted a little after that but didn’t completely stop.

“You learn to ignore that,” she quipped before she made her way over to the kitchen counter. “Can I get you anything? Some water—a cup of coffee or tea?”

“Uh…” Hero stumbled unsurely—trying to decide whether it would be more rude to refuse her offer or to take her up on it, but Zoey met his eyes—giving him a reassuring smile and he said, “A cup of tea would be great, please. Thank you.”

“You’re so polite,” she chuckled as she turned to pick up the tea kettle and began to fill it with water. “Guess the royals really do take those manners seriously.”

As Zoey turned around, she caught him chuckling under his breath and her mouth twitched to one side in a lopsided smile. She didn’t say anything, however, just motioned to the barstools at the counter. “Please feel free to sit down. It’ll take a minute for the water to heat up. I’d let you sit at the table, but it’s kind of a mess right now.” Hero glanced over at the books and papers spread out over the kitchen table. Zoey or someone must have been studying. “I wasn’t expecting company.”

Before Hero could begin to apologize for intruding and offer to leave, he paused—growing suddenly aware of that faint piano music again. He rubbed his hand wearily across his forehead. It was much louder in this room and he was beginning to wonder if he was just hearing things when he realized there was a cd player on the hutch of a china cabinet.

“Is that Chopin?” he asked, and Zoey nodded. “Do you play?”

Chuckling, Zoey shook her head. “No. I probably couldn’t even pick out ‘Mary Had A Little Lamb to save my life,’ but my roommate Tamra is a double major: Music and Education and has a ton of these CDs. I got hooked on listening to them while I study.”

Hero sighed. So she was Tamra’s roommate Brandi had mentioned to him earlier. It really was a small world.

“What about you?” she asked. “Do you play?”

“I used to, a little. I was never good enough for Chopin though.” He chuckled. “But I knew somehow who was. He was her favorite composer. She loved his waltzes especially this one. It’s called ‘The Farewell.’”

“That’s beautiful. I didn’t know that. On the back of the CD, it just says ‘Waltz in Whatever’…” Her voice trailed, before she smiled. “I think Tamra loves this song too, but she says she has a love-hate relationship with Chopin right now. Apparently the chair of the music department keeps making her play his stuff, and she’s getting sick of it.”

Something coiled in the pit of Hero’s stomach, and he swallowed hard. Suddenly thinking of Mari. If she was still with them, would she be a music major now too? Spreading her love of classical music to her roommate? Growing frustrated with having to play Chopin over and over?

His chest ached, and he mentally kicked herself for bringing her up in the first place. It was his own fault, and he shouldn’t have done it—probably wouldn’t have in any other situation, but Zoey was so easy to talk to. He couldn’t explain why, but there was something comfortable about her that made him feel at ease, made him forget to think before he talked.

He swallowed hard. He'd have to be more careful before he ended up dumping on her or making himself miserable or both.

“Tamra’s great,” Zoey’s voice pulled him out of his thoughts. “You really should meet her sometime—especially if you’re a Chopin fan.”

“I think we actually met earlier at the party,” Hero replied, but he swallowed hard—suddenly thinking about Tamra’s earrings again. The way that her laughter had reminded him so much of Mari’s. And she was pianist now too… His chest ached, and he pushed the thought away. “We uh…didn’t talk about music though.”

“Well you should,” said Zoey with a smile. “Nobody around here knows anything about music, so I’m sure she’d love to talk to someone who really appreciated it.”

“Somebody here has good music taste,” Hero gently insisted, thankful for the opportunity to change the subject. “Fleetwood Mac, The Rolling Stones, Billy Joel, The Beatles…”

“Do you usually make a habit of snooping through other people’s stuff when you visit them?” Zoey interrupted crossing her arms though there was something bantering in her eyes.

Hero’s face flushed. “Sorry,” he quickly apologized even though he knew she was only teasing him. “Lorraine was taking some of the CDs off the shelf in the living room, and I just…noticed, I guess. I wasn’t trying to pry.”

Zoey chuckled lightly. “I’m just teasing. It’s fine, especially since you have good taste.”

“Are those CDs yours?” he asked with the slightest twitch of a hopeful smile, and Zoey shrugged.

“A lot of them. I got sick of listening to bubblegum pop and boy bands all the time, so I thought maybe I’d get my sorority sisters to expand their horizons a little. But I keep most of my favorite CDs in my room.”

“What’s your favorite?”

Zoey tilted her head thoughtfully. “Right now or of all time?”

Hero’s brow furrowed, and he hummed, eventually deciding on, “All time?”

“Everybody Else Is Doing It, So Why Can't We? by The Cranberries.” Her answer was immediate, confident as if she didn’t even need to think about it, and as she continued, it was clear to Hero why. “It was the first album I ever bought myself. I couldn’t get enough of the song ‘Linger.’ I used to obsessively sit by the radio hoping they’d play it, and finally decided I should just buy the whole album so I could listen to it whenever I wanted. I loved the whole thing—fell in love with the band too. I even cut my hair in high school—had a pixie cut to look like Dolores O'Riordan. It’s grown out now.”

She chuckled ruffling her hand through her bobbed red hair. Hero tried to picture her with even shorter hair. He wondered how different she’d look.

“I have every Cranberries album now,” she continued. “but that one’s still my favorite. There’s just something special about that first album you ever buy, you know? But it’s funny— ‘Linger’ isn’t even my favorite song on it anymore.”

Hero smiled, somewhat sheepishly. He honestly wasn’t sure he had ever heard of that song or that album before—maybe he’d recognize it if he listened to it, but still he was curious. “What’s your favorite song now?”

“It’s called ‘Sunday.’ Very underrated.” She paused—her mouth curving into a lopsided smile. “Don’t tell me you’re a Cranberries fan too, Mr. Prince.”

Hero shook his head, though his face felt a little warm. “I’m sorry. I can’t say I’ve ever really listened to them before.”

“Well, it’s nice to know you have some flaws,” she teased dryly. “But this one’s fixable. Especially since I know Kyle has that album, believe it or not. I think he got curious about my hair so he bought it to see what all the fuss was about. I’m not sure if it was really for him though. He tends to stick to his Top 40 hits, and The Cranberries have had a couple, but they’re a little too alt-rock for Kyle’s taste, I think.”

The kettle whistled, and Zoey turned back to the stove, turning off the burner. “What kind of tea would you like? I’ve got black, green, herbal…”

“Anything is fine. Thank you,” he said as she started rifling through one of the cabinets.

“How about Earl Grey?” asked Zoey with a hum as she pulled out a box.

Hero’s smile widened. “That’s my favorite.”

“Mine too. Small world, huh?” As she pulled out two coffee mugs and began to prepare their tea, Zoey asked, “So uh…what was the first album you ever bought—if you don’t mind me asking?”

Hero swallowed hard. He was grateful she had her back to him so she wouldn’t see his face as he quietly answered, “The Beatles Revolver. I bought it on vinyl.”

“Ooh, fancy,” she teased with a laugh as she handed him his cup. “And good choice. Just don’t tell me you bought it for ‘Yellow Submarine.’”

Fidgeting, Hero turned away from her, staring down at his hands as he managed a breathy laugh and a shake of his head. “Uh…no, um…I mean it’s a good song but…there was a different one…”

There was a long pause, and Hero shifted in his seat. He could feel Zoey staring at him inquisitively, perceptively. He suddenly felt exposed—though he knew it was irrational. He hadn’t said anything all that personal, but…everything that was related to Mari felt so intimate now. He didn’t want to talk about any of it. He was almost afraid to.

Hero sighed—trying to push the thought away. Surely, she wouldn’t…

“Let me guess: ‘Here There and Everywhere?’”

Hero’s breath caught in his throat, and his chest twisted. “How did you know?” The words tumbled out of his mouth before he could stop them.

Zoey shrugged, seemingly unphased as she took a sip of her tea. “Eh, you just seem like the type. If you had said it was ‘Abbey Road’ I would’ve guessed it was ‘Something.’”

Rubbing his hand across the nape of his neck, Hero chuckled lightly, awkwardly. He supposed he was pretty predictable. Still, he hadn’t realized he was so transparent. He certainly didn’t try to be. Quite the opposite usually.

“It’s a good song,” he admitted quietly. “But I don’t really listen to it anymore. It…brings up—” He stopped abruptly, hoping that had been enough explanation.  

After a short pause, he finally looked up at Zoey again. Her expression had softened, and she tilted her head towards him—something sympathetic in her eyes. “It’s always a shame when good songs get tangled up with bad memories, isn’t it?”

With a sigh, she shrugged her shoulders, and Hero nodded. In the pause that followed, he pursed his lips together trying to push it all out of his mind by focusing on something else—anything else. It just so happened that that “something else” was the refrigerator which was covered in colorful magnets, notes in glitter pens and flowery handwriting, and pictures, including several of Lorraine.

Hero shook his head somewhat guiltily. He couldn’t believe he had forgotten. “Is…um…Lorraine, okay?”

“Oh yeah. Sorry, I forgot to tell you. She’s safe in bed now and wanted me to say goodbye to you for her,” Zoey replied with a smile. “She tried to stay awake for you, but she completely tuckered out—was practically falling asleep standing up so I helped her into bed while you were out at your car. Don’t worry I gave her something to eat and plenty of water too, but she was pretty tired.”

Zoey paused, chuckling. “She says thank you again for everything. Believe me, this is probably all she’ll talk about for the next month or so, and I’m sure she’d love to see you again if you wanted to actually take her out. You are her ‘prince charming’ after all.”

Hero blushed but bit his lip. “Oh uh…it’s…it’s not like that. I mean…Lorraine seems like a very sweet girl, but I—I’m not really looking for a relationship…I’m too busy with school. I was really only trying to help. I have a little sister myself, and I guess I was just kind of hoping that if she ever fell in a pool one day at a party that somebody would jump in after her.” Hero twisted his hands. He hadn’t meant to say all of that—especially not in such rambling panic, but Zoey just smiled.

“That’s sweet. How old’s your sister?” 

“She’s one,” said Hero with a smile and a light chuckle. “Was born at the end of my senior year of high school. It was a big surprise and kind of a big age gap, but I always wanted a sister. I feel bad that I haven’t been able to be home that much with her, but she has Kel—that’s our brother. He’s 16.”

“And more athletic than you?” teased Zoey, her brow furrowing at the basketball clothes.

Hero chuckled. “Yeah, but that’s a low bar. I mean—besides being able to swim and my morning runs, I’m really not that athletic.”

“I ran track in high school so I’m a little insulted you don’t count running as a sport.” She clicked her tongue, but she chuckled banteringly.

“Believe me, it’s not a sport the way that I do it. It’s kind of pathetic actually,” quipped Hero with a somewhat self-deprecating laugh. “But I really just run to clear my head and for some exercise—not to be an Olympic sprinter. I’m honestly not very fast, but my brother Kel is super speedy—can run circles around me, around anybody really. And he’s a really talented athlete. His basketball team’s won all kinds of tournaments. He’s supposed to have one in the city later this year. I’ve been hoping he’ll get to stop by for a visit when he’s in town.”

“You miss him.” It wasn’t a question, and there was something warm in her expression that made Hero nod and answer her.  

“Yeah. He was my best friend.” He paused. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud, and he hoped Zoey wouldn’t catch the hidden meaning in those words. Her brow furrowed, and the knowing look that passed over her face made Hero fidget.

Thankfully, she didn’t pry; instead, she said, “I miss my little brother too, but I don’t think he misses me all that much. Jared’s 15 and has been going through a misanthrope phase, but I guess he’s kinda been going through that forever. He tolerates me, I think, and talks to me sometimes, but he has very little patience for Lorraine. She says he’s been dodging her calls.”

“How…uh…” Hero paused, unsure of how exactly to word his question without it seeming rude. “How much of an age gap do you and Lorraine have?”

“3 minutes. I’m older,” laughed Zoey. “It was kind of a surprise for our parents, I think. Twins don’t run in our family. But apparently they do now. I keep telling Lorraine we need to be extra careful out there—the chances of a fraternal twin having twins herself is pretty high. I don’t know if she ever listens to me though”—she rolled her eyes—“siblings, right? You’re the oldest too, aren’t you? So you get it.”

Chuckling, Hero nodded. “Yeah. I’m the oldest—everywhere actually. Even with all my cousins on both sides of my family. At home, though, it’s just the three of us: me, Kel, and Sally. What about you?”

“We have a couple cousins on my dad’s side, but we were never very close. My mom’s an only child so no cousins there. She always wanted siblings so I think that’s why there’s three of us, but yeah, it’s just me, Lorraine, and Jared.” She paused, humming thoughtfully. “We sometimes throw William in there as an extra little brother. He’s Jared best friend and practically lives at our house so he’s always felt like one of the family.”

Hero’s face softened, and his lips curved into a bright, kind smile. “My brothers’ best friends—well, uh, they’re my friends too but um—I feel the same way about them. It’s like having a second family—all these other siblings.”

“Exactly.” Chuckling in agreement, Zoey took a sip of her tea. “I suppose I’d throw Kyle in there too. He’s always been like a brother to me, but that’s different.”

Hero tilted his head. He was curious about Zoey and Kyle’s friendship and about how they had become friends in the first place, but he didn’t think he knew her well enough to ask and he didn’t want to pry into her private business. Still, it seemed she gave him a half-answer to the question without him even needing to ask it.

“Kyle has this way of kind of adopting people—especially when they help him study. But that’s how you guys became friends too, right? Kyle says you guys met in chemistry.” She paused, and Hero nodded. “You’re a pre-med major, right?”

“Yeah. And you’re…engineering?”

“Civil Engineering.” Zoey stopped, and her face positively lit up when she said, “I want build bridges.”

“Have you always wanted to do that?” asked Hero though from the bright smile on her face when she talked about it, he could already guess the answer.

She nodded. “Yeah. Even when I was little and my sister was playing dolls or dress up, I was building bridges out of blocks and tinker toys. I even built one out of a gingerbread house kit one year.”

“How did you do that?”

Zoey shrugged. “Well, it was a while ago, but I think I used toothpicks and candies for the trusses. I was only 11 when I made it so, honestly, I’m not sure how well it would’ve held up if Jared started sending his toy cars across it.”

As she laughed, her smile reached her green eyes. There was so much passion in the way she talked about bridges. It was infectious. Hero didn’t want her to stop, but since he honestly didn’t know the first thing about bridges, he didn’t know what to ask as a follow up question so he stumbled his way through, “What’s your favorite kind of bridge?”

Zoey burst into laughter—though, for her credit, she tried to cover her mouth. “Did you just ask me my favorite kind of bridge?”

Hero’s face flushed, but he shrugged his shoulders. “There…are…multiple different kinds, right? I…uh…think I saw a Magic School Bus episode about that over the summer with Sally. My mom tries to put on educational shows for her.”

“Well you must be an expert then,” Zoey bantered, but her expression softened. “But yes, there are multiple different kinds of bridges, and I’ve never actually been asked this question before, so I don’t know…”

With a light laugh and a hum, she clicked her tongue. “I guess, suspension bridges are pretty cool, but they’re kind of overrated. I think I prefer truss bridges—especially a good bowstring truss or just any kind of bowstring bridge in general, I guess. That’s probably my favorite.” She smiled at him, but her grin widened—teasing and cheeky like she knew he didn’t understand anything she had just said. “What about you, Mr. Prince?” she bantered dryly. “What’s your favorite kind of bridge?”

“Well, uh…I like the Stanley Wilbertson Bridge.”

Zoey hummed, clearly trying her best not to laugh. “Good choice. That is actually a bowstring arch bridge so one of my favorites too. Though I’m guessing you picked it because it’s one of the only bridges you know.”

Hero blushed, but he nodded conceding, “Yeah. We didn’t have a lot of bridges in Faraway Town where I grew up. I know the big ones like Golden Gate Bridge or Brooklyn Bridge or London Bridge. Kyle sent me a post card from the Bridge of Sighs this summer.”

“Yeah, he sent me that one too,” chuckled Zoey. “He’s always sending me postcards of bridges. I think he’s teasing me—thinks it’s a strange interest, but I love them. I’ve never wanted to do anything else besides build one. It’s my dream.” Her expression softened. Something wistful passed over her eyes before she asked, “What about you? You always wanted to be a doctor?”

Hero shifted in his seat, staring down at his hands twisting around the handle of his cup. After listening to how passionate Zoey was about her career path, he honestly felt a little self-conscious about how unsure and somewhat apathetic he felt about his. Ever since his conversation with Sunny, he had started to consider the possibility of it becoming a real passion for him someday, but he wasn’t there yet. Right now the honest answer was, “No. I uh…well…I actually wanted to be a chef when I was a kid.”

“A chef, huh? Well that explains why Kyle thinks you’re Bobby Flay. I thought he was just impressed because he can’t make a pop tart, but hey, you’re probably making gourmet meals over there.”

Sheepishly scratching the back of his neck, Hero shrugged. “I dunno. I don’t really cook much anymore. I’m too busy with school, but…I still enjoy it when I can. I think I prefer it as a hobby though—having to cook as a job might take the fun out of it.” He chuckled lightly—running a hand through his unruly hair. “But I’m—I’m really out of practice.”

“I’m sure you’re better at it than most guys I know.” She twisted her mouth to one side. “Sorry, I teased you earlier about not being able to cook. I bet you make a mean sandwich.”

“Would you like me to make you one?” he asked with a slight smile. “It’s the least I can do to thank you for letting me borrow your dryer.” And for overstaying my welcome… Hero thought, but he didn’t add that part.  

“Lorraine would never forgive me,” laughed Zoey. “Better take a raincheck on that.”

Hero nodded, and Zoey tilted her head curiously as she leaned on the kitchen counter. “Where did you learn to cook?”

“My grandma, Mamá Alma—she taught me when I was really young. She’s an amazing chef. Her family used to run a restaurant, and she worked there most of her life until she moved with my Papá Miguel to Faraway Town and settled down to raise a family. Cooking was always one of her passions though.” A gentle, affectionate smile spread across his face. “None of my cousins ever really took an interest, but I used to go over to visit her on Sunday afternoons and help her cook a big family dinner for everybody. She said I had a gift.”

“Is that why she calls you ‘Little Chef’?”

“Yeah. She always calls me her ‘cocinerito,’” chuckled Hero, impressed she had remembered. “You speak Spanish?”

With a modest chuckle, Zoey sighed. “Not very well, I’m afraid. I lived in Spain for three years, but it was from the time I was 6 to the time I was 9 so it’s all kind of rusty and I definitely wouldn’t consider myself fluent.” She shrugged her shoulders. “Most of what I remember is related to food, honestly.”

“Why did your family move to Spain?” Hero asked curiously.

“My dad’s in the navy. He’s an admiral now and has been stationed at the base in Seaport since I was about 13, but we used to move around a lot.” Zoey reached for her cup and took another drink of her tea. “By the time I was 12, I had lived in 5 different countries.”

“Wow, I uh…that’s amazing. I think the farthest I’ve ever really traveled is a family trip to Florida once. I’ve barely ever left Faraway Town which is where I’ve lived my whole life. It’s just this tiny suburban town in the middle of nowhere—about 3 hours from here, maybe 2 and a half if you don’t hit too much traffic. It’s about 2 hours from Seaport too, I think. It’s been a while since I’ve made the drive. My friends and I used to go on day trips to the beach there when we were younger.” He paused, chuckling lightly as he ran his hand through his hair. “But I’m sure that sounds pretty boring to a jetsetter like you.”

With a sigh, Zoey shook her head. “It’s not all it’s cracked up to be. I always kind of wished I grew up in a small town—put down some roots close to family and friends without having to pick up and leave again.” She sighed again. “I’m sure it has its downsides too, though.”

Hero nodded, and the words slipped out without thinking. “There’s nowhere to run…”

Zoey tilted her head at him—her eyes narrowing inquisitively as she leaned her elbows on the counter, resting her chin against her hand. “Are you running from something?”

Hero blinked at her—swallowing hard and fidgeting under the weight of her gaze. He took a deep, shaky breath, but thankfully before he had to say anything the buzzer of the dryer interrupted them.

With a shrug of her shoulders, Zoey walked over to check the dryer then called, “Your clothes are still damp. Do you want me to run them again?”

“You don’t have to do that,” Hero insisted, but Zoey waved her hand.

“It’s no problem, and honestly, just between us, you probably don’t want to go back to the party dressed like this.”

Hero chuckled lightly but nodded, conceding that she was probably right.

After starting the dryer again, she pulled one of barstools around to other side of the counter so she could sit down and still face him. When he commented on how nice the furniture was, especially when compared to the barstools at his fraternity, Zoey went into a story about how Tamra and the president of their sorority, Karey, had stumbled on them at a flea market about a week ago and haggled over the price eventually purchasing them for next to nothing. Hero thought this was the perfect segue into his own story about how some of his fraternity brothers had recently dragged home a beanbag chair they had found thrown out on the curb in front of some apartment buildings near campus. It made Zoey laugh, and Hero smiled watching the way her laughter reached her eyes.

He wasn’t entirely sure what they talked about after that. It felt like a little bit of anything and everything: their favorite foods and movies, their laments about Kyle’s reckless antics, their stresses about professors and homework, even their favorite spots to visit in the city and favorite places to study. He was happy to hear that she was also a fan of Layla’s coffee shop.

Hero was halfway through a story about Hector when the phone rang. Zoey held up a hand to him with the twitch of a smile and a kind, “Hold that thought.” She clicked the receiver and held it to her ear. “Hello? Oh hey, Kyle.”

Hero’s eyes widened. Kyle. He had completely forgotten about him.

“Yeah, Lorraine’s okay. I put her to bed. You sound drunker than she is.” Zoey stopped and snorted a laugh before she rolled her eyes, “Hey, it’s your liver.”

She paused again then glanced at Hero with a slight twitch of a smile. “Yeah, he’s still here.” Pause. “No, I’ve definitely been playing nice. I gave him a cup of tea and threw his wet clothes in the dryer.” She listened, then scoffed followed by a bitingly sarcastic, “Oh yeah, you’re definitely interrupting something very heated. He asked me my favorite kind of bridge and everything.”

Hero’s face burned—flushing red to the tips of his ears, but Zoey just chuckled and shook her head as if reassuring him it was fine and not to worry about it. Still, he looked away from her, embarrassed, and his embarrassment only grew as he looked at the clock and realized how late it was now. How had he possibly been here for three hours? His blush deepened realizing he had completely lost track of time and had had no idea.

“Tell Kyle I’m so sorry and that I’ll come get him right away,” he quietly interrupted, and Zoey nodded.

“He’s heading out now. Should be back there in a few minutes to pick you up.” She paused, laughed with a roll of her eyes. “Yeah…that’s not happening. Goodbye Kyle.”

Hero’s cheeks burned, and he buried his face in his hands guiltily mumbling, “I am so sorry.”

“Don’t be,” chuckled Zoey as she pulled his now dry and toasty warm clothes out of the dryer for him.

“I had no idea how late it was. I completely overstayed my welcome.” He tripped over his words, but Zoey just shook her head at him as they made their way back to the entryway.

“It’s okay really. I would’ve kicked you out if I got sick of you.” She teased but offered him a kind, reassuring smile, and Hero fumbled with his folded clothes in his hands as she added, “But it was actually really nice talking to you, Mr. Prince.”

“It was really nice talking to you too.” He met her eyes just briefly before he looked away again. “Thank you so much again for letting me use your bathroom and your dryer and uh…also for the tea.”

“No problem.” Zoey chuckled as Hero ran a hand through his hair which was still a little bit damp.

“I feel terrible I stayed so late. And I completely forgot Kyle…” he sighed, rubbing his forehead. “I hope he hasn’t been waiting on me.”

“He’s fine,” Zoey insisted with a dismissive wave of her hand. “Knowing him, he only just called when he was ready to leave. He can wait a few minutes—it won’t kill him.”

Hero bit his lip. He hoped she was right, especially since he felt overwhelmingly guilty about it. He quickly but politely said his goodbyes to her, but when he opened the front door he stopped—staring despondently at the torrential downpour that awaited him outside.

“And after you just got dry,” sighed Zoey with a sympathetic shake her head. “You really can’t catch a break, huh?”

Hero sighed. She had no idea.

“It’s okay,” he gently reassured her with a conceding tilt of his head. “I’m used to the rain.”

“Sounds like you could use an umbrella,” she quipped, but her smile was kind. Hero shrugged his shoulders.

“I’ve got one. It’s in the back of my car.”

“Well that’s not going to do you any good is it?” Playfully rolling her eyes, Zoey chuckled, but she turned around and picked up a red umbrella from a coat rack by the door. “Why don’t you take mine?”

Hero shook his head insisting, “Oh no. I couldn’t.”

“I don’t need it. I’m not going out in this weather,” answered Zoey matter-of-factly. “And I trust you to give it back to me. If you don’t, I know where you live so I’ll just steal it back the next time I visit Kyle.” She teased with a snarky half-smile that made Hero chuckle in spite of himself. “Or the next time I see you. I’m sure we’ll be seeing each other around.”

“I’d like that.” The words slipped out of his mouth without him even needing to think about them which made him feel suddenly self-conscious again, but Zoey just smiled as he finally took the red umbrella she had been holding out to him. “Thank you for letting me borrow this.”

“You’re welcome.”

They stood there for a moment—comfortable silence only made awkward by the thought that this might be an appropriate time to ask for her phone number and by Hero realizing he wanted to but didn’t think he could without her taking it the wrong way. The truth was he really only wanted to be her friend, and he hoped he had made that obvious enough, but the fact she had already mistakenly thought he was hitting on her once tonight made him feel hesitant and unsure. He didn’t want to repeat that so instead he cleared his throat—shaking his head slightly as if he could somehow shake away his thoughts, and said, “Thank you again for a wonderful evening. I had a really nice time tonight.” He somewhat playfully held up the umbrella she had lent him. “And I promise I’ll return this.”

“You’d better,” she bantered, but she smiled at him—her green eyes meeting his brown ones one last time before they said goodbye and he opened the umbrella as he stepped onto the front porch and walked out into the rain.

*-*-*

Luckily Zoey was right and Kyle didn’t seem all that put out that Hero had completely abandoned him at that party—though that could have been because he was too drunk to care. Still, Hero apologized profusely as he helped Kyle stagger out into the passenger seat of the car as C.J. who was not nearly as wasted but was clearly more exhausted, sprawled out in the backseat where he promptly fell asleep.

“Nah,” Kyle cut him off as Hero tried to apologize for the umpteenth time while starting the car and pulling out of his parking space. “I’m sorry I interrupted you, but after I threw up in that Ficus, I just thought I should probably get home.”

Hero stomach sunk—coiling guiltily. “I am so sorry, Kyle. I completely lost track of the time.”

“It’s okay. It happens,” Kyle insisted dismissively before a wide, smug smile spread across his face. “I’m glad you actually had a good time tonight.” His voice trailed, slurred and breathy but wistful as he mumbled, “She really is something isn’t she.”

“Yeah,” Hero agreed with a smile as he started off towards their fraternity house.

“And just gorgeous,” sighed Kyle. “The prettiest girl in our whole high school.”

Hero hummed. He was used to Kyle saying things like this especially when he was intoxicated, and he generally went into an autopilot of hums and nods of agreement—never really having much to add. But this time, to the shock of even himself he said, “She has beautiful eyes.”

He stopped abruptly. His cheeks burning as the words registered. He hadn’t meant to say that out loud and was honestly surprised at himself for even having thought it—for even having noticed. His swallowed hard and quickly added, “I mean, uh…I just…I’m not sure I’ve seen eyes that green before.”

Biting his lip, he secretly hoped that C.J. was still asleep and that Kyle was too drunk to have caught what he just said—or at the very least that neither of them would remember this in the morning. But just as Hero was beginning to feel relieved by the lack of response, Kyle sighed, “Yeah…” before adding confusedly “But…I always thought they were hazel...”

Hero’s face flushed. He didn’t really want to have this conversation, but he twisted his hands nervously around the steering wheel and conceded, “Oh yeah. Uh…maybe…I mean, she was wearing green so maybe they just looked more—”

“I thought she was wearing pink,” interrupted Kyle. “But I guess she got all wet so maybe she changed her clothes…?”

Hero tilted his head in confusion, and his brow furrowed. “Wait…are you talking about Lorraine?”

“Yeah,” answered Kyle as if it was obvious, and Hero’s blush deepened. Of course he was talking about Lorraine. Hero curled his toes in his shoes. He was so stupid…and now so mortified. And unfortunately, Kyle somehow put this all together despite his drunken haze, laughing smugly and teasingly, “But you’re not…” His voice was sing-songy like a juvenile taunt, and he playfully poked at him in the arm. “You’re talking about Zuzu…who does have the greenest eyes I’ve ever seen. I’m just surprised you noticed.”

Hero cleared his throat. Honestly he was surprised he had noticed too, but he didn’t want to have to explain that to Kyle and honestly felt too embarrassed to make it through much more of this conversation so instead of saying anything semi-intelligent he decided to ramble, “Well…uh…I don’t know. Like I said, she was wearing green and she has this beauty mark under her left eye so I guess I noticed that and—”

“Woah you noticed that too?”

Stop talking. Stop talking. He mentally begged himself.

“C.J.! Wake up!” yelled Kyle. “Hero actually thinks somebody’s hot stuff.”

C.J. groaned in half-asleep exhaustion, but he quipped under his breath, “So much for that lifelong vow of celibacy…”

Hero’s ears burned, and he gripped his hands around the steering wheel. “It’s—” his voice cracked in embarrassment “It’s not like that! I mean…I think she’s really great, but I just want us to be friends.”

“Please tell me you got her number,” said Kyle, and Hero bit his lip.

“Well…no,” he sheepishly admitted.

“Why the hell not?” Kyle scoffed—his voice shrill and cracking probably due to too much alcohol. “I know Zuzu. She would’ve totally given it to you if you asked.”

“Hopeless…” C.J. drowsily mumbled.

“I just didn’t want her to get the wrong idea,” Hero insisted. “She already thought I was hitting on her when I wasn’t so I thought if I asked for her number she’d take it the wrong way and…”

“Woah…why’d she think you were hitting on her? Were you?”

“No!” Hero insisted far more forcefully than he had intended as Kyle just laughed. His throat felt suddenly dry, and he swallowed hard. “Of course not. I…there was just a little misunderstanding when I tried to introduce myself. She was…kind of teasing me—calling me Mr. Prince and I told her she didn’t have to call me that she could just call me ‘Hero.’”

“Smooth!” declared Kyle followed by raucous, drunk laughter and applause and C.J. groaning about the noise. “That’s a great line, dude. I’m gonna have to try that.”

“It’s—it’s not a line. It’s just my name,” choked Hero. “But she didn’t know that and so…” His voice trailed, and he sighed. He had totally messed this up, hadn’t he?

“I don’t even really know if she likes me that much. I totally overstayed my welcome and dripped water all over her floor and”—he sighed again—“she gave me her umbrella.”

“Please tell me that means something steamy,” joked Kyle in a low voice before clearly cracking himself up. Hero couldn’t imagine how red his face was right now.

“No, she literally lent me her umbrella. It’s right there in the back seat of the car.” He motioned with his hand though he knew no one could see him in the dark. “I need you to return to it the next time you see her.”

“We’re supposed to meet up for coffee at Layla’s tomorrow, if I’m not too hungover.” Kyle laughed, but he gasped with an excited, “Hey why don’t you just tag along and give it back to her yourself.” He hummed in that low teasing voice again as if he still thought this umbrella thing was some sort of euphemism.

“It’s not—” Hero stopped. With a heavy sigh, he wearily rubbed his forehead. There was no use in trying to explain this. “Look, I really appreciate you inviting me, but I wouldn’t want to intrude. Honestly…I’m not really sure if she likes me that much. She probably doesn’t even want to be friends.”

“Listen man,” interjected Kyle. “I’ve known Zuzu forever. If she didn’t like you, she’d have kicked you out.”

“Yeah…you talked to this girl for hours,” agreed a sleepy C.J. “There’s no way you guys aren’t friends.”

Hero shrugged. He wasn’t sure about that, and he certainly didn’t want to be presumptuous and show up unannounced again. So the next day, when Kyle headed out for Riverfront Center, Hero merely sent him with Zoey’s red umbrella and with a post-it note stuck to its handle that read, “Thank you again for everything” just in case Kyle forgot his directions to thank her again for him. Hero tried his best to just push it out of his mind and forget about it—turning his attention instead to his Organic Chemistry homework which, he could now somewhat shyly admit to himself, he was glad he had put off until today instead of staying home and working on it last night.

It had certainly been eventful, but he liked to think it was worth it, especially when Kyle returned home with a ‘hero’ sandwich for him from one of the sandwich shops near Layla’s. He handed it to him with a wink and a smile as he said, “It’s from Zuzu.”

Hero’s eyes widened in surprise, and he felt the slightest flush in his cheeks which deepened as he saw the bright blue of his post-it note in the takeout bag with the sandwich.

It read in thoughtful script, small enough to fit on the tiny paper:

No, thank you for everything, Mr. Prince. And for returning my umbrella.

Given the circumstances and your, dare I say, ‘heroic’ actions saving my sister, I thought a hero sandwich was in order.

(At least, I hope that’s what this is… To be honest, I have absolutely no idea what is in a hero sandwich.)

-Zoey

Hero laughed, but his brow furrowed as he tilted his head at the post-script which read, “P.S. Kyle said you were really upset you didn’t get this” followed by the drawing of an arrow. Curiously, Hero flipped the post-it note over to the other side where he had written his own short message of gratitude. Only this time there were also the circled 10 digits of Zoey’s phone number. Hero’s cheeks flushed, but he couldn’t hold back the smile the tugged at his lips at the words scribbled underneath, “Call me sometime.”

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

When Sun Shines Again⛅: Chapter 7 "Changing My Life:" Part 2

⛅Chapter 7 Description: With his hopes for a lowkey evening of studying ruined, Hero finds himself searching for a quiet corner to wait out this party until he can finally go home. His friends, however, have other ideas.

The Party That Changed Hero's Life: Part 2 of 3

Chapter Word Count: 10,268. Link to Chapter 7 on AO3.

Description (for the entire work): When tragedy struck, Hero lost not only his dearest friend but also his dreams for the future. Even years later, Hero doesn't know what his "forever" looks like without Mari in it, but somehow he finds the strength to carry on and build a new life for himself. With his family and friends both old and new by his side, Hero struggles through life's ups and downs--the joys and sorrows he faces in a world without Mari. In the beginning, he's only looking to survive it all, but somewhere along the way, he might find a purpose, a reason he's still here. Maybe there really is a way he can learn to be happy again, and maybe, just maybe, when he's least expecting it, he might even find himself slowly opening his heart to love again--he might even find himself believing that even the darkest, stormiest of times will eventually pass and the sun will shine again.

A Hero-Centric story spanning 15 years of his life post-good end. Focuses on Hero finding healing & building a life for himself after the loss of Mari. Eventually includes him learning to love again after an extremely slow burn. All pairings are tagged upfront. Rated T for heavy themes & some language. Reading the prequel is recommended.

⛅Tags For The Story As A Whole (So A Lot Of These Are "Eventual" Tags):

Romantic Relationships: Main Ships: (Past) Hero/Mari and (Eventual) Hero/OC. Side Ships: Brandi/OC and a brief mention of Mikhael/Bebe are the only side ships involving canon characters.

Platonic Relationships: Hero & Brandi Friendship, Hero & Original Characters Friendship. Some Hero & Kel Siblings Relationship & Brotherly Friendship. Hero & Aubrey Friendship. Hero & Basil Friendship. Hero & Sunny Friendship. Hero & His Family.

Characters: Major Canon Characters: Hero (POV Character), Brandi [Intimidating Girl], Mari and Mari's Memory, & Kel. Major Original Characters (Hero's college friends): Kyle, C.J., Zoey, Tamra, and Lorraine. Other Included Canon Characters: Sunny, Basil, Aubrey, Sally, Hero's Parents, Bebe (Short Haired Girl/Fountain Girl) & Mikhael (The Maverick).

Genre: Hero-Centric Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Slice of Life, College Life, Lost Love, Finding Love Again, Finding Healing After Grief, Slow Burn, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, Greiving, Catharsis, Heart-To-Heart Chats, Hopeful/Happy Ending, Post-Good Ending, Hero Needs A Hug, Hero Deserves To Be Happy

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some language.

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some Language.

Link to Entire work on AO3.

⛅ Link to the "When Sun Shines Again" Masterlist. ⛅

Full chapter text below the cut. Thank you for reading! ⛅

Rowdy. That was the best word Hero could think of to describe this party. Since the host, Kyle’s friend Sawyer, lived in the ritzier part of town near Riverfront Center, there was a lot more room in the house than Hero had originally been anticipating. Still there were far too many guests than space probably allowed for, and the bad weather meant they were crammed inside where it was unpleasantly loud and uncomfortably warm from the amount of body heat. Not to mention the fact that it reeked of beer, as if someone had poured an entire keg all over the floor, mingling with smell of sweat, puke, and hard-liquor—probably from Sawyer’s parents’ whisky collection which Hero had been hearing so much about.

Brandi had said it smelled like an armpit in here, but rather than bemoan this fact in a quiet corner somewhere, she hadn’t particularly cared and had disappeared into the crowd ages ago with C.J. following dutifully behind her. Hero had lost Kyle even more quickly than that. He was probably off getting plastered and making out with some girl he just met, and Hero probably wouldn’t see much of him until he was ready to go home.

Hero was used that by now. His friends were much more interested in partying and the “college experience” than Hero could ever be. He tried to be supportive and to keep them safe by making sure they drank plenty of water and didn’t drive drunk—even if that meant that Hero himself spent a lot of parties stalking out a quiet corner where he could hide out of the way and desperately watch the clock, waiting for the minute it would finally be over and they could go home again. In his freshman year, he purposely avoided parties and at the ones he, unfortunately, found himself attending, mainly clung to Brandi “like a sad, lost puppy” or so she often teased him, but since he had made the decision to join a fraternity against her advice to the contrary, she had unceremoniously told him he was now on his own and would have to learn to survive college parties without her.

She said this of course, but within an hour she had plopped down next to him on the couch—wrapping an arm around him and leaned against his side with a disgruntled huff. As she slammed her empty bottle on the end table, she nestled into the crook of his neck, and Hero gently patted the top of her head like a concerned and comforting parent. It was the same thing he would have done to Kel or Aubrey, Sunny, and Basil if they ever curled up next to him like this—but they wouldn’t, not anymore. And Brandi only did this when she was drunk. Otherwise, she didn’t need him.

“You okay?” asked Hero in a quiet, gentle voice as he ran a hand through her hair. He stopped abruptly and flushed as he realized what he was doing and how it must look to the outside world, and he frantically, pleadingly glanced over at C.J. who was perched on the curving leather arm of the sofa hoping he wouldn’t be bothered by it or get the wrong idea. He was grateful for Brandi’s friendship, but he didn’t see her in that way. He hoped C.J. knew that. Thankfully, like with most things, he didn’t seem too phased by it.

Brandi hummed with a crooked smile as she replied bluntly, sarcastically, “I’m peachy.”

“How was beer pong?” he asked. “Did you win?”

“Yeah, but then I got hit on by some gross, drunk guy so I don’t feel like a winner.” Brandi rolled her eyes—shaking her head. “That’s the last time I tell some stranger about my tattoo.”

Hero’s eyes widened. “You have a tattoo?” The question sounded more surprised than he had intended, and he hoped Brandi wouldn’t get the wrong idea.

She shifted away from him until she could look into his face with a crooked smile and a coquettish quirk of her eyebrows. “Yeah, you wanna know where it is?”

“Um…only if you want to tell me.”

Brandi burst into laughter followed by C.J. who tried and failed to stifle his. Hero flushed a little, honestly kind of unsure about what was so funny before Brandi playfully elbowed him in the arm. “Oh Hero” she sighed before a laugh interrupted her. “You really are one of a kind. Please tell me you’re here to meet girls.”

Hero’s face grew hot, but he swallowed hard—sheepishly running his hand across the nape of his neck. “I’m the designated driver.”

Brandi snorted a laugh before rolling her eyes again. “Of course you are.” Shaking her head, she sighed again. “I need a drink.”

“I can get it for you,” chimed C.J. with a shrug of his shoulders. Brandi blinked at him for a moment, but conceded, “Okay, but take Hero with you. He needs to get up off this couch at least once during this party.” Brandi shot him a pointed, intimidating glare, and Hero knew there was no arguing with her. With a dutiful nod, he took off after C.J. making his way to the kitchen where a bunch of beverages were haphazardly strewn across the counter.

“Have you seen Kyle at all?” asked C.J. as they waited their turn at the makeshift bar.

Hero shook his head. “You?”

“Last I saw him, he was being fawned over by some girl.” C.J. sighed shaking his head and muttering, “Some guys have all the luck.”

Hero’s brow furrowed thoughtfully. He wasn’t sure that was necessarily lucky. He had been rooming with Kyle for almost two months now and had noticed that even despite his excessive flirting, constant dates, and the many girls he had brought in and out of the house, there always came a point where Kyle was alone. And it seemed to Hero that none of these girls stuck around long enough to really get to know him—the actually kind of sweet and very generous guy he was under all that fun-loving goofiness and flirty bravado. Like Brandi, they tended to write him off as just another shallow and self-absorbed trust fund baby concerned with very little beyond just having a good time. And sure, Kyle could be those things, but when he stumbled drunkenly into their room alone at the end of the night and Hero tucked him into bed like a little kid, he couldn’t help but think he was more than that…He was lonely.

Hero would never say anything, would never be so presumptuous as to know what exactly went on in Kyle’s innermost world. It was possible he didn’t feel that way at all, but it seemed to Hero that getting fawned over by numerous beautiful women and having more flings than Hero could keep up with, never really made Kyle nearly as happy as Hero had been with Mari. That real, genuine companionship—being with someone who truly knew you and truly loved you was priceless and, at least to Hero, much more meaningful than the idea of turning the heads of every woman in the world. He’d give up the chance of ever being noticed by a woman again for just five more minutes with Mari—would give anything just to talk to her one more time, even if he never got to say his peace and they just talked about silly, mundane things like the terrible, stormy weather that had seemed to follow him around ever since she had died.

He and Mari had been able to talk for hours about anything. He had hung on every word she said—enthralled by her passion, the way her face lit up when she spoke. He could’ve listened to her talk for eternity and had loved being with her so much that he had often found himself completely losing track of time whenever he was with her. It was as if Mari could make time stop…

His chest ached—hollow and twisting until something bittersweet burned behind his eyes. Even if she couldn’t, her death certainly had—had frozen him in a never-ending nightmare where time moved on but he didn’t.

Even so, he was painfully aware of the passage of time now. Seconds turned into minutes. Minutes into hours, and hours into days as the world kept turning—reminding him that Mari hadn’t kept it in motion and he’d have to continue on without her. He could no longer lose track of time anymore—it loomed over him like a dark cloud. He didn’t have conversations like he had had with Mari anymore either. He doubted he ever would again.

He tried to push the thought away as quickly as he could, but he realized he had already zoned out and missed whatever had made C.J. transition into prattling about his “one good pickup line.”

Hero sighed. C.J.’s “one good pickup line” was that he had once been told, supposedly by his high school girlfriend, that he looked like Usher with glasses. As much as Hero would’ve never admitted it to C.J., it wasn’t actually a very good one.

“It works sometimes,” C.J. insisted, and Hero’s face flushed—suddenly and irrationally concerned C.J. had somehow read his mind. “I mean…I’m no Kyle, but I get by. Kinda wish I had his game though…” He sighed heavily—glancing back over at Brandi with an almost wistful look in his eyes.

Hero’s expression softened, and he placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder. “You don’t need that. You don’t need every girl in the world to like you. You only need one, and if she’s the right one, her love and being worthy of it…is so much better than being fawned over.”

C.J. blinked at him in wide-eyed disbelief—whether at the sentiment itself or the fact that those words had actually come out of Hero’s mouth, Hero wasn’t sure.

Before he could say anything in response, however, a lithe voice cut him off, “That’s so sweet—like something out of a movie.”

The girl who had just spoken let out a cheerful, tinkly giggle, and Hero caught sight of a wave of thick dark curls. Bright mauve lipstick popping against dark skin as her lips curved into a warm smile. As he turned away, he was suddenly struck by the glistening purple of her earrings.

Something panged in Hero’s chest. Music notes. He was sure he had given Mari the exact same ones once upon a time.

“Your girlfriend���s really lucky,” she giggled again, and that bittersweet ache permeated the hollowness inside him. He shut his eyes tightly. The way she laughed… It reminded him of…

He didn’t get to finish that thought—cut off instead by C.J.’s elbow nudging him in the ribs and the girl kindly asking, “Are you okay?”

“Uh…yeah…sorry. Thank you…” he mumbled apologetically, whether at the girl or at C.J. he wasn’t entirely sure. He could feel C.J.’s secondhand embarrassment oozing off of him as the girl laughed again. She took a deep breath as if she was about to say something but was interrupted by another girl patting her on the back but looking right at him when she said, “Tamra has a boyfriend, but I don’t.”

“Well I’m sure you’ll find one soon,” said Hero, in best his attempts to be reassuring.

C.J. smacked his hand against his forehead so loudly that Hero could hear it. Was he saying the wrong thing? He was so bad at this.  

The taller girl didn’t seem too perturbed by that, however, instead she eyed him, deliberately and replied, “Maybe I just did.”

Hero’s face flushed red. He got it now. And he wanted to sink into the floor.

“Uh…um…” he stumbled over his words—his cheeks burning.

Unexpectedly, though thankfully, Tamra chimed in with gentle, “I think he’s taken, Madison.”

“What?” she huffed, whipping towards him accusatorily as if demanding an explanation. Hero swallowed hard, wondering how he was going to explain his way out of this and desperately wishing he didn’t have to when suddenly he felt a hand snaking around his back.

“Hey babe, what’s been taking you so long?” asked Brandi in a low almost seductive voice. She glared directly at Madison but wrapped her hand protectively around his arm like a child might grip onto her favorite toy.

After swooping in to save him from being hit on more times than Hero could count, Brandi had this down to a science. Hero however, did not and awkwardly stumbled his way through, “Sorry, uh…there was a line…” Luckily, it didn’t seem anyone heard him or at least didn’t care as Madison scoffed.

“This is your boyfriend? You really expect us to believe that.”

“I don’t really care what you believe,” said Brandi without even flinching. “But he’s mine so back off, Madison.”

Madison frowned. “How come you never mentioned him to us before?”

Hero took a deep breath—trying his best not to look pleadingly at Brandi despite putting all his hopes in her to be able to somehow get him out of this situation.

“I knew about him,” said Tamra quietly though a kind, knowing smile twitched in the corners of her mouth. “It’s so nice to finally meet you. I’ve heard so many good things about you. I’m Brandi’s sorority sister, Tamra.” She held out her hand for him to shake, and Hero sighed. He felt bad that Brandi’s friends were getting involved now. Still, he politely introduced himself. “I’m Hero. It’s nice to meet you too.” He hoped the expression on his face would convey his gratitude. He’d have to ask Brandi to thank Tamra properly later, but she was a little too busy glowering at Madison at the moment.

With a huff, Madison, it seemed, finally conceded muttering bitterly about how “some girls have all the luck.”

“I’m pretty sure Cody’s available,” interjected C.J. with a shrug of his shoulders—motioning through two French doors to one of their fraternity brothers who was currently doing a keg stand on the back patio.

Madison just blinked for a minute but then shrugged with a resigned, “Okay” and took off onto the back porch.

“Thanks,” said Brandi sharing a knowing look with Tamra who merely waved her hand.

“No problem. I’ve actually got to head out here. They need me to fill in at work tonight, but I’ll be back to pick you up later.” She paused, then turned to Hero with a smile. “It was nice meeting you, Hero. Bye, C.J.”

“See ya,” C.J. called after her and Hero waved goodbye as she disappeared into the crowd with her drink. When she had gone, Brandi huffed—finally untangling herself from him and reaching for another beer.

“You’re welcome,” she said pointedly, through her teeth, and Hero’s face grew hot.

“I’m sorry…” he began to apologize, but Brandi just crossed her arms.

“You can’t even put your foot down with Madison? She’s dumber than a box of rocks and, I swear, talking to her for more than five minutes would make even you want to bang your head in a cabinet.”

C.J. snorted a half-stifled laugh, but Hero just shuffled his feet mumbling, “Sorry, Brandi.”

“Seriously,” she huffed. “We have got to get you a spine. I can’t keep stepping in as your fake girlfriend forever you know. I’m going to start demanding ‘real girlfriend’ perks—fancy dinners out, expensive gifts, maybe even a kiss.” She clicked her tongue, and Hero’s face grew hot. “And I don’t think you want that.”

“I’m really sorry, Brandi,” he apologized, sidestepping most of what she had said and hoping she wouldn’t notice or at least wouldn’t care. “Thank you for helping me. I appreciate it. I…uh…will try better next time.”

Brandi raised her eyebrows. “I don’t believe you, but I’ll let it slide because you’re so cute.” She pinched his blushing cheek and laughed as Hero glanced apologetically over at C.J. who this time, at least, seemed the tiniest bit rattled.

“Listen, I know it’s none of my business, but you guys aren’t…actually like…?” C.J.’s voice trailed, but his question was clear enough to make Hero’s blush deepen and Brandi snort a laugh.

“I’m honestly kind of flattered you think I could bag a guy like Hero. He’s sweet, cute—the perfect gentleman, and yeah, I’d date him—no woman wouldn’t. But…” Giving Hero a pat on the shoulder, she shot C.J. a bright, crooked smile. “He’s just a friend, and I’m just a tease.”

A smile curled in the corners of C.J.’s mouth. “So are you seeing anybody?”

“At the moment, no,” answered Brandi twisting her mouth to one side. “But you know I don’t date frat boys so don’t get any ideas.”

“You just said you’d date Hero.”

Brandi huffed. “Hero’s a den mother to a bunch of fraternity guys—that doesn’t count.”

“But I actually did join the fraternity,” Hero gently interjected. “So technically I am a—”

“How did that happen anyway?” Brandi cut him off before he could finish his sentence. “You hate drinking, partying, and being hit on. What in the world could you possibly want out of a frat?”

“Friends…” Hero mumbled, his face growing warm again. He hadn’t exactly meant to say that aloud though he didn’t exactly understand what the problem was. After all, Brandi herself had joined a sorority in the hopes of making friends and having a good time. If anything, he thought that was why most people joined—or at least, he liked to think that…regardless of evidence to the contrary.

“You’d have better luck making friends at a nursing home, grandpa,” she teased—snarky and sarcastic, but she shook her head. “I can’t believe you let Kyle talk you into this.”

“Kyle can be very persuasive,” Hero insisted.

Brandi scoffed—snorting a laugh before she took a sip of her beer. “Kyle couldn’t persuade his way out of a paper bag. You just couldn’t say ‘no’, admit it.”

Pursing his lips together, Hero stared down at his shuffling feet. He couldn’t really argue with that.

Still Brandi sighed, “If you’re so desperate for friends that you’re willingly going to room with Kyle, I’d be happy to introduce you to some of mine. They’re not all like Madison. Tamra’s pretty cool and so’s her roommate. She’s a real old person, just like you—only joined our sorority to keep her sister out of trouble.”

“Thanks Brandi, but uh…I wouldn’t want to give anybody the wrong idea.”

Brandi snorted. “Yeah…pretty sure you couldn’t do that even if you wanted to. But even if you could, she’s a ‘married to school’ type—wants to get a master’s degree or something. And Tamra actually does have a boyfriend, so no worries there.” Brandi paused and shrugged. “I’m actually kind of glad you finally met tonight. I’ve been thinking you would really get along but I didn’t want to say anything because she—”

Brandi stopped abruptly as she glanced from Hero to C.J. then back to Hero again. It wasn’t like Brandi to self-censor, but Hero appreciated it when it was for his sake and he knew exactly what Brandi was about to say because he had been thinking it too. Tamra reminded her of Mari…and reminded him of her too.

Rather than explain this to a confused looking C.J. however, Hero hurriedly said,  “She’s a musician” hoping Brandi would crack the code without perplexing poor C.J. any further.

Brandi, however, just tilted her head at him. “Yeah…she’s a music major. How did you know?”

Something ached in Hero’s chest again as he mumbled, “Her earrings…um…” He stopped turning away from Brandi and the look she was giving him now. “They’re music notes.” He conveniently and purposefully left out the part about how Mari had had the same ones, how she had run around town showing them off after he had given them to her—how she had almost been buried in them but they were given back to him by her mother and were now locked away in a box in his closet at his parents house with the rest of the things that reminded him of her.

With a bittersweet sigh, he pushed the thought away as best he could. He didn’t like to talk about Mari. Didn’t like to think about her either, not just because it made him feel sad but because it made his friends look at him the way C.J. and Brandi were now—a strange mix of pity and confusion.

“Your ex was a musician?” asked C.J. It wasn’t much of a question, and despite the look of confusion passing over Brandi’s face, Hero thought it was best to just nod and hope that changed the subject. It didn’t.

“You’re as bad as Brandi, you know?” C.J. turned his attention back to her—shaking his head and bantering, “You’re such a bad influence.” Brandi frowned, but it seemed she couldn’t quite hold back the twitch of a smile in the corners of her mouth. “You do know it’s okay to have a type, right? And swearing off dating anyone with the same traits as your ex is kind of extreme—especially if they’re really superficial like being a musician or in a fraternity.” Despite his playfulness, he gave her a pointed stare. Brandi, however, side-stepped the point entirely.

“Since when do you know Hero has an ex?”

Hero grew suddenly interested in his twisting hands, but C.J. just shrugged. “A couple of hours ago—I dunno. It’s not some big secret, is it?” He chuckled awkwardly, perhaps even a little confused, but he half-teased, “It’s not you is it?”

“No,” Brandi snorted. “I can’t even play the triangle.”

“Well then how’d you know?”

Hero found himself holding his breath—praying that Brandi wouldn’t say ‘because I knew her’ opening up this conversation to a myriad of questions Hero did not want to answer. She must have seen this on his face or else sensed him pleading with her because she took a step forward—tilting her head at C.J. “He told me,” she flat-out lied like it was nothing, and her lips curved into a smile. “Unlike Kyle, I actually can be very persuasive.”

Winking at C.J., she wrapped her arms around his neck, and C.J. swallowed—that coral red seeping into the tip of his nose and ears again. “And now I’m gonna persuade you to go get us some chips and pretzels—just give us two minutes…” Her voice was low, flirty again, and she held up two fingers to him. Hero fidgeted as he watched C.J.’s hands find their way to her waist. He felt like he was intruding on something private.

“Will two minutes be enough? How about five?” whispered C.J. in a tone of voice which proved he was much more smooth than he had given himself credit for earlier, even if Hero knew the two of them were just playing around. “And what about Funyuns? I saw they had a bag of them over there, and I know they’re your favorite.”

Brandi’s smile widened—it seemed, almost in spite of herself, and she laughed, the words slipping out under her breathy, somewhat tipsy chuckling, “I love you.” Though she didn’t show it, Hero knew her well enough to know she hadn’t exactly meant to say that. Brandi was always honest—often to a fault, but that was just a little too sincere.

C.J. knew this too—or at least he seemed to. His eyes widened, but before he could recover from the compliment, Brandi pulled away from him, patted his cheek, and quipped, “But I’m still not dating you.”

And the moment was gone.

Laughing, C.J. gave her a thumbs up. “Got it. Friendship snacks only,” he teased, before turning to Hero with a smile that somehow seemed brighter than before. “You want anything Hero?”

“No thanks.” Hero shook his head and weakly insisted, “But you—you don’t…have to go.”

“Yes you do,” Brandi interrupted, grabbing Hero by the arm and dragging him back over towards the sofa. “Just give us a minute.”

C.J. just shrugged and headed off towards the snack table, and Brandi huffed, gritting her teeth. “I know what you’re thinking and we’re not wasting our five minutes talking about me and C.J.…”

“I wasn’t going to say anything, but uh…now that you mention it…” A smile twitched in Hero’s mouth. He was grateful for an escape from whatever conversation Brandi actually wanted to have. “He really is a nice guy you know? His little sister Cami is seven and she calls him almost every night so he’ll tell her a bedtime story. It’s really sweet.”   

Brandi just blinked at him with a long and heavy sigh. “You’re a terrible wingman,” she said, shaking her head. “But we’re not talking about this right now. I don’t date fraternity guys. It’s not up for discussion.” Her pointed glare and the grit of her teeth made Hero swallow hard. He knew better than to argue with Brandi especially when she was in this kind of mood.

Brandi sighed again and changed the subject. “Did you really tell C.J. about Mari? Like…the whole story?”

Hero shook his head. He hadn’t really told C.J. about Mari at all, and barely anyone knew the whole story about her, even Brandi didn’t.

“Well it’s a start anyway…” Brandi sighed—taking another sip of her drink, but something softened in her expression, as she asked, “Are you okay, Hero? You’re thinking about her again—aren’t you?” When he didn’t answer, she added, “Don’t let it ruin your night, okay?”

“It’s okay. I wasn’t having much of a good time anyway…” He flushed, realizing how that sounded only after he had said it. He hurriedly added, “I didn’t mean it like that. I just meant…I—I’m not much of a partier, you know?”

Brandi nodded but gave him a nudge with her elbow. “Yeah. Yeah. I know, grandpa. I just…I started to feel bad, I guess. I should’ve given you a heads up about Tamra, but this is exactly why I didn’t mention her.”

“It’s okay,” Hero insisted, something guilty twisting in his chest. “She seemed really nice. I’m glad you’re friends.”

“I knew there was something familiar about those earrings…” Brandi continued—whether she hadn’t heard what he said or just ignored him, however, Hero couldn’t be sure. “Mari had the same set, didn’t she?”

Hero nodded.

“Did you give them to her?” asked Brandi, and Hero nodded again. His eyes widened.

“Yeah…” he admitted. “How’d you know?”

Shrugging her shoulders, Brandi swallowed. “Tamra got those from her boyfriend too—some science guy she’s known forever named Andre.” She paused—the slightest twitch of a smile in her mouth. “You know you can always tell how much a girl likes you by how often she wears the jewelry you give her. Tamra never takes those off.”

Brandi let out a breathy chuckle—shaking her head almost in disbelief. “You should hear the way she talks about him…like he’s her soulmate and they’re going to be together forever. And it’s not that she’s goo-goo-eyed or infatuated or delusional…you know, like most girls when they talk about their boyfriends.” Brandi snorted but her face softened, “I—I really believe her…I don’t even think she sees other men, if you can believe that?”

“I can,” answered Hero though the surprised quirk of Brandi’s eyebrow seemed to imply she had only meant that as a rhetorical question.

Still, she tilted her head at him, the sharper edge in her tone of voice softening as she said, “I’ve only ever heard one other girl talk about her boyfriend like that, you know?”

She stopped and met Hero’s eyes, but she didn’t have to. Hero knew what she meant—knew who she was talking about. It made his heart ache.

Mari…

“She’s really lucky,” sighed Hero, deflecting the conversation away from him and back to Tamra. “A love like that is really special—only comes around once in a lifetime.”

“You’re never gonna date again with that attitude,” Brandi quipped, rolling her eyes, and Hero’s face grew hot. Something sickening coiled and twisted in the pit of his stomach, and his eyes burned. It was beyond his imagination, and he didn’t even want to think about it.

“I…I don’t want to,” he quietly, gently insisted.

Brandi frowned. “Ever?” Hero nodded, and Brandi sighed again.

“I understand,” she conceded though she didn’t sound particularly happy about it. “But you do know that’s like a giant middle finger to all the women of the world, right?”

Hero blushed and guiltily shuffled his feet. “I…I wouldn’t say that.”

“You’ve seen what we have to choose from. And yeah…you’re a one woman guy but that’s one woman who won’t have to end up with a Kyle or a Trent.”

Hero paused at the mention of Brandi’s ex—the one who had made her swear off fraternity guys forever, but he felt awkward mentioning anything about that so instead he said, “Kyle’s actually a pretty nice guy. There are a lot of nice guys out there. C.J.’s nice.”

“C.J.’s not a bona fide prince charming like you,” Brandi insisted—Hero noticed—conveniently withholding judgment on whether or not C.J. was, in fact, a nice guy.

“I—I’m not…” he began to protest, but Brandi cut him off.

“You know, there’s this rumor going around my sorority about this ‘prince’ who drives drunk girls home from parties and doesn’t hit on them, even though he totally could because he’s super cute.” She stopped, giving Hero a pointed look that made him fidget. “When I first heard that, I just knew they were talking about you. You’re the perfect gentleman—like something out a fairy tale.”

Hero choked—his face burning as he awkwardly twisted his hands. He didn’t think he deserved such high praise and had always considered himself kind of boring and awkward—much more of a dork or a “grandpa” as Brandi teasingly called him than a prince.

“You’re a catch, is all I’m saying. It’s a shame to think you’re gonna count yourself out when I know a ton of girls who would give up a limb just to have the chance to date someone like you.” She shrugged her shoulders. “I know I would.”

Hero swallowed hard—wringing his hands again. “Brandi, I uh…um…I’m really flattered but uh—”

She, thankfully, cut him off with a laugh. “Calm down. I didn’t mean it like that. Honestly, I think I’d get tired of your wet blanket, doormat shtick pretty quickly.” She winked at him before she swatted him in the arm. “But that doesn’t mean I wouldn’t go for it if you actually wanted me. Graduate from ‘fake girlfriend.’”

Hero knew she was just teasing, but something twisted inside him all the same. “Brandi, I think you are amazing. You deserve to be someone’s ‘real girlfriend’—someone’s one and only. Everyone deserves that…to really be loved.” He took a deep breath. “I’m just…I’m not sure I can do that anymore. I”—a bittersweet smile tugged at his mouth—“I already had my ‘one.’”

“Yeah, but that doesn’t mean there won’t be another one,” bantered Brandi, but she hummed thoughtfully. “Look, I’m not trying to be pushy. I get it—you’re not ready, but that doesn’t mean you won’t ever be, right? It’s a big world out there, Hero. There’s tons of people in it, and who knows, maybe someday—not necessarily today but maybe years from now when you’re like middle aged and picking out gray hair or something, you’ll meet somebody and you’ll realize it was silly to think you’d never be able to feel that way about someone again.” Brandi stopped shaking her head with a smile.

“And that girl is gonna be so lucky,” she teased in a low drawl before she winked at him again causing his face to flush an even deeper red. Before he could even begin to stumble his way through a response, however, C.J. returned with the snacks and handed a paper plate of potato chips, pretzels, and Funyuns to Brandi.

“You’re not gonna believe this, but I actually saw Kyle, you guys,” C.J. chuckled. “He’s out on the patio”

“Let me guess,” Brandi cut in. “Deep in lip-lock with some girl?”

C.J. nodded. “Yep. Honey-blond hair. Striped tube top. Big blue scrunchie. Totally Kyle’s type”

“That sounds like my roommate,” Brandi quipped, but she stopped suddenly, whipping around towards the windows to the outside. Sure enough, there was Kyle sloppily making out with a girl—except Hero actually vaguely recognized this one. He had driven her home from a party a couple of weekends ago while she and Kyle had drunkenly made out in the backseat of his car. He felt sorry for admitting it but he couldn’t really remember her name.

“Courtney!”

That was it, thought Hero, as he watched Brandi huffily stomp off through the double doors into the backyard.  He wasn’t sure if he should follow her, but C.J. pulled him along, practically dragging him outside onto the patio, a decently-sized covered area filled with wicker furniture and a grill beside the inground pool Kyle had mentioned which was still open despite the autumn chill in the air and no one swimming in it.  

There was even more furniture out in the yard arranged around a fire pit, and it seemed that now that the rain had let up, a lot of guests had congregated out there—mostly huddling around the keg where they had seen Cody earlier. He wasn’t out there anymore—maybe going off somewhere more private with Madison, unlike Kyle who had absolutely no problem making out with Courtney in front of everyone on one of the poolside lounge chairs.

“Courtney! Courtney!” huffed an irritated Brandi, tapping her repeatedly on the shoulder when her calls failed to get her attention.

Finally, she disentangled herself from Kyle with a disgruntled, “What?”

“Do you have any idea who this is?”

Courtney rolled her eyes. “Yeah. It’s Kyle Davenport—like the library.”

“Like the moron,” Brandi quipped. “And the library is ‘Carl Davenport’ after his grandpa.”

Courtney blinked at her—that drunken brain fog seemingly taking the words longer to register, but she eventually just shrugged with a matter-of-fact, “Look when you’re that rich, you don’t have to be smart.”

Hero immediately glanced over at Kyle whose expression was blank until, it seemed, he had finally caught his breath enough to laugh. “Hey. That’s what I always say!” he joked in a slurred voice.

Hero sighed. He was wasted—again. He shouldn’t have been too surprised about that.

“Don’t mind Brandi,” Kyle reassured Courtney with a wave of his hand before he tangled it into her hair and leaned towards her again.

“No,” scolded Brandi like a stern schoolteacher, and Kyle just turned to her with a smug, charismatic grin.

“Who knew you were so jealous?” he teased, clicking his tongue at her. “You should’ve just said something.”

Brandi rolled her eyes. “I’m not jealous. I just don’t want you to make out with my roommate—I see you way too much as it is.”

“You can’t tell me who to make out with,” scoffed Courtney. “You’re not my mom.” She practically lunged towards Kyle, but he swerved out of the way. C.J. shot Hero a bewildered look, and he knew his friend must have been thinking the same thing. They had never seen Kyle ever turn down a kiss with a beautiful girl before. Coutney pouted—looking somewhat outraged and embarrassed, but Kyle didn’t seem to notice.

“Wait…” he asked Brandi in a trailing voice. “Courtney’s your roommate?”

“Yes,” huffed Brandi again, clearly losing her patience.

Kyle’s brow furrowed and turned back to Courtney again. “You didn’t tell me you were one of those Triple E girls?”

“Yeah…” Courtney frowned, and Kyle cursed under his breath. “Is that a problem?”

“I can’t date Triple E girls.”

“Oh my gosh! Not you too,” exclaimed C.J., mostly playing up the melodramatic outrage. “What is wrong with you guys?”

Kyle blinked at him in confusion before turning to Hero. “What’s he talking about, Mama?”

Hero shrugged. “It’s kind of a long story…” he mumbled, but before he could say anything more, Brandi cut him off.

“Not that I’m upset about this but just what exactly do you have against Epsilon Epsilon Epsilon?” Brandi glowered at him. “And don’t give me some crap about how we’re not as hot as the other sororities because we totally are.”

“Nah, yeah”—he waved his hand at her—“you guys are total babes, but I promised Zuzu that her sorority sisters are off limits.”

“You have some crazy jealous ex in our sorority?” interjected Courtney shaking her head. “We don’t have to like…tell her, you know?”

Kyle burst out laughing. “Zuzu’s not my ex! She’d never, ever date me. I’m not her type at all.”

Hero squirmed. Had Kyle looked over at him when he said that or had he just imagined it? He tried not to think about it.

“We’re just friends,” Kyle insisted emphatically, and Brandi snorted.

“Somehow I find that harder to believe than her being your ex.”

Kyle laughed again, but asked, “Why?”

“Because she’d have to have multiple conversations with you sober and still want to talk to you after, and I don’t think any of my sorority sisters are that stupid.”

Kyle scoffed in mock offense—gripping his heart. “You’re so mean to me,” he whined. “And Zuzu’s not stupid. She’s like super smart. She was—what’s that thing called where it’s like not the valedictorian but like the runner up?”

“Salutatorian,” said Hero quietly, and Kyle clapped his hands.

“Thank you!” He pointed two fingers at him before he jumped into a semi-incoherent drunk ramble that Hero couldn’t quite keep up with, “Yeah! She was that for our whole fancy prep school. She probably would’ve been valedictorian too, but Gabe is an asshole and beat her by like 1% or something. But it’s fine ‘cause like she got a full ride scholarship and is gonna be an engineer and build bridges and stuff…”

Brandi stopped—a look of realization passing over her face. “No way. I think I know who you’re talking about. But there’s no way she actually talks to you.”

“She does to!” Kyle exclaimed, his face flushing whether from indignation or intoxication Hero wasn’t entirely sure. “She’s like my best friend. She bailed me out of jail and everything…”

Hero’s eyes widened, and C.J. stifled a disbelieving laugh. Courtney seemed disinterested or perhaps just dazedly drunk, but Brandi huffed, “What were you doing in jail?”

“It wasn’t a felony or anything just some underage drinking, destruction of public property, and drunk and disorderly conduct.”

“So basically your usual Friday night?” bantered C.J., and Kyle tried his best to frown even though he couldn’t stop laughing.

“You know, I don’t have to put up with this,” he tried and failed to huff. “You guys are supposed to be my friends.”

Brandi crossed her arms. “You’re not exactly the most believable person in the world, Kyle. You got any corroborating evidence?”

“Don’t go all lawyer on me,” he playfully whined. “You know I can’t keep up with that.”

“Hold on. Hold on. I’m confused,” interrupted Courtney. “Should I like go…? Are we like…not gonna make out?”

Kyle sighed bitterly, but shook his head. “We can’t. And if you could not tell Zuzu about how we kind of made out a little earlier tonight, that would be great.”

Hero’s brow furrowed. So he didn’t remember making out with Courtney in the back of his car. He supposed that was okay…since Courtney didn’t seem to remember it either.

With a shrug of shoulders, Courtney fixed her hair. She didn’t seem too upset about this, especially when Brandi quipped, “It’s really for the best believe me.”

“Yeah…whatever. What about him?” She turned her attention to Hero, batting her eyelashes and smiling at him in an undeniably flirtatious way that made him feel uncomfortable. He felt even worse knowing that Brandi couldn’t swoop in to save him this time.

Or so he thought anyway until she said, “That’s Hero. He told me earlier tonight that he’s taken a lifelong vow of celibacy.”

“You have?” gasped Kyle so stunned he actually rose to his feet losing his balance and tottering towards Hero who steadied him with his hand.

“Woah, easy there. Maybe we should get you some water.”

There was a slight delay as Kyle just blinked at him before his face relaxed into an easy, nonchalant grin. “Nah, I’m fine, Mama. Don’t worry. But…are you really gonna be a monk or something?”

“That’s such a shame,” sighed Courtney who seemed to be suffering from the same kind of alcohol-induced mental haziness.

“I know that’s what I said.” Brandi shook her head, and Courtney turned her attention to C.J. instead. “Well…what about him? He’s cute.”

“Thanks. Hi, I’m C.J.,” he said holding out his hand to her. “I’m a friend of Brandi’s—we have the same major. I think we’ve actually met before and—”

C.J. stopped abruptly. His eyes widening behind the rims of his glasses as Brandi snaked an arm around his back just like she had done to Hero earlier that evening. Only this time, she positively glowered at Courtney and she held onto C.J.’s arm so tightly that her long nails dug into the sleeve of his sweatshirt as if to say far louder than any words, “mine.”

“He’s not for you,” she said.

“Oh,” shrugged Courtney. “Is this the guy from your legal research class you called dibs on? Because you’re totally wrong, he actually does look like Usher with glasses.”

“Thank you!” exclaimed C.J. his face lighting up, but Brandi rolled her eyes.

“And I suppose you think Kyle looks like a Backstreet Boy.”

Courtney tilted her head discerningly at Kyle before she said nonchalantly, “Yeah. He kinda looks like Nick Carter.”

Kyle groaned—burying his face his hands and bitterly muttering something along the lines of “Zuzu! Why did you do this to me?”

But he was promptly cut off by C.J. who seemed to have finally caught onto the truth behind Courtney’s words, “Wait a second…you called dibs on me?” He turned to Brandi his face beaming with that 100-watt smile even though it curved into a teasing grin.

Indignantly, Brandi frowned. “I did not call dib on you,” she insisted but that slight flush of pink in her cheeks implied otherwise, and C.J. knew it.

“You did! You called dibs on me.”

“I did not,” she huffed, but it was no use.

C.J.’s face was as bright as a little kid’s on Christmas morning, and he playfully poked her in the arm, repeating in a playfully juvenile sing-songy voices, “You called dibs on me.”

“I still don’t want to date you,” she declared as C.J. just smiled and Kyle practically doubled-over with laughter in the background.

“She does. She totally does,” chimed Courtney rolling her eyes again.

“Thank you, Courtney,” said C.J. turning towards Brandi with a teasing smile. “Let me help you out, too. Have you met Lance? He’s available.”

As he headed towards the double doors and led Courtney back into the house, C.J. looked over his shoulder and teasingly winked at Brandi with a, “You comin’?”

Brandi huffed, but eventually rolled her eyes and took off after them—a cackling Kyle stumbling behind.

“Mama?” he called to Hero before he disappeared back into the house, and Hero lurched forward to catch him as he lost his balance in the doorway. Hero helped Kyle over to the kitchen and gave him a cup of water from the makeshift bar, then a plate of potato chips from the snack table. It was a shame there wasn’t anything more substantial to eat here, but he hoped that would hold Kyle over and prevent him from falling on his face.

“Thanks, Mama,” he said with a kind smile as Hero refilled his water cup.

“I’m sorry about Courtney,” Hero said awkwardly but trying to be sympathetic.

“It’s okay, man. Zuzu’s way more important.” A genuine smile twitched in the corners of his mouth. “There’s nobody else like her. You’ve got to meet her one of these days.”

Hero nodded. “I’m sure I will.” If he was being honest, he kind of hoped he would get to meet her at least once someday. He was kind of curious about the girl who could get Kyle to set any kind of limitations on his flirtations. Truthfully, it was probably kind of good for him. She was probably kind of good for him, and it was interesting to think that she brought out a different side of Kyle he hadn’t gotten to see before. Most of what Hero saw of Kyle was what he assumed Kyle wanted him to see—airheaded, shallow party boy and charismatic flirt, but he was still generous, kind, and devoted to his friends. It was nice to see that beyond all that binge-drinking. That reminded him…

“You’re not ready to go home, are you? If you’re feeling tired, I can take you back to the house…” Hero glanced down at Kyle’s bad knee. From the way he was shifting his weight, he could tell it was bothering him again, but it wasn’t something they ever talked about and Hero didn’t feel it was his place to bring it up especially when Kyle just laughed and shrugged him off with a, “What do you mean? The night’s still young! We’ve barely been here at all.” Kyle downed his water before determinedly whipping around towards the dining room. “I think I’m gonna go play beer pong. You wanna come?”

Hero sheepishly scratched the back of his neck, but he tried his best to manage a, “no thanks. I…uh…I think I’m gonna get some fresh air.”

With a shrug of his shoulders, Kyle nodded. “Suit yourself. See ya later.” He waved at him before disappearing once again into the crowd.

Hero poured himself another cup of water and decided it actually would be good to get some fresh air, plus it would likely alleviate his guilt in having had to say no to Kyle’s request.

As Hero made his way back outside, he was just lucky enough to find an empty bench removed from the rest of the guests, and he took a seat on its weathered, floral seat cushion. This was as good a place as any to wait for Kyle until he was finally ready to leave—the unfortunate consequence of being the designated driver, he supposed. He should have brought organic chemistry textbook with him to pass the time since he would probably be better off studying for his upcoming exam than sitting in a friend-of-a-friend’s backyard.

Hero sighed. There was that MCAT book he had recently purchased too. He was pretty sure it was still in the back of his car with the other non-perishables he had bought earlier today which Kyle had not deemed important enough to bring into the house and put away before the party. Maybe he could run out really quickly and get that before anyone realized he was gone. On the other hand, it might be rude to start studying in the middle of somebody else’s party, but it might be even ruder to sit off alone. Maybe…

“Eeek!”

Splash.

That yelp followed by a squishy, wet noise pulled Hero out of his thoughts immediately. All of those summers he had spent working as a lifeguard, suddenly flooded back to him—just like they had when Sunny had fallen into the lake in Faraway Park, or Hero supposed, jumped in after Basil, even if he couldn’t swim very well.

Splish. Splash.

The next thing he knew he had ripped off his jacket and stood to his feet rushing over to the side of the pool. Some of the spectators had turned to stare at the girl struggling in the deepest part of the water. Hero thought about Sunny sinking under the surface of the lake, about Basil floating amongst the seaweed—both of them lifeless until Hero had managed to fish them out.

Something coiled in his stomach, bile burning the back of his throat as he thought about what would have happened if he hadn’t been there.

Splish. Splash. Splosh.

When the girl didn’t immediately swim to the surface, Hero’s stomach dropped. What if she also couldn’t swim? His heart pounded, once again thinking of Sunny and Basil floating in that lake in Faraway Park, and without a second thought, he jumped in after her.

Splash.

The water was frigid. It prickled against his skin and the added weight of his soaked sweater made it difficult to swim freely. Still, he managed to reach her fairly quickly and help her back up to the surface.

By the time he pulled her out of the pool, a whole hoard of concerned bystanders had gathered. He could hear them murmuring about calling for an ambulance. Hero pushed the girl’s sopping blonde hair out of her face and leaned close enough to her to determine whether or not she was still breathing. He sighed in relief to discover she was. She coughed, then spluttered—staring up with him with wide, eyes as her pale cheeks flushed a bright red.

“Where…? What…?” she stumbled shifting and rubbing her head.

“Easy…” he said softly, and he gently held her shoulder as she tried to stir. “Are you okay? Does anything hurt?”

She shook her head. “No…”

“Do you remember what happened?”

She merely blinked at him, and Hero’s brow furrowed in concern. “Do you know where you are?” he asked to only more blinking. “Or who you are? Your name I mean.”

She blinked again but finally said, “Lorraine. What’s your name?”

“Um…it’s Hero.”

“My hero,” she repeated with a smile, and his face flushed. Though he was embarrassed and perhaps a little flattered, he didn’t think now was the proper time to correct her, especially since that certain distant dreaminess in her voice concerned him. Had she hit her head on her way into the pool? Was she concussed?

When she tried to sit up again, he helped her the best that he could; then asked, “Did you hit your head when you fell in? Do you remember?”

Lorraine tilted her head at him as if she was confused by the question, but she shook her head. “No, I didn’t hit my head. I…I just tripped and…” The poor girl shivered and then tears began to well up in her eyes. “I…I fell in. Oh my gosh! I’m so embarrassed!” She buried her face in her hands as her shoulders began to shake with sobs. Hero awkwardly tried to pat her back to comfort her as his friends pushed through the crowd of spectators.

“What the hell happened?” exclaimed C.J. as Brandi followed quickly behind him with a stack of towels. Hero had no idea where she found those, but he didn’t think it was the proper time to ask.  

“She fell in the pool. I’m not sure if she was hurt or…” Hero’s voice trailed as Brandi handed him a towel, wrapping the other around Lorraine’s shoulder.

“Are you okay?” asked Brandi. Nodding, Lorraine sniffled as Brandi patted her shoulder comfortingly, then turned to the nosy crowd. “What are you all looking at? She’s fine. Get on with the party and mind your own business.”

At Brandi’s intimidating glare, the rest of the party guests began to fan out, and she looked fairly pleased with herself before she turned to Hero with a concerned expression.

“What do you think, Hero? Should we call an ambulance? Or maybe someone should take her to the hospital?”  

Hero sighed. Since Lorraine was clearly drunk, it would be difficult to tell for certain if she had suffered any kind of head injury—though it was promising to hear that she didn’t have any headaches or pains and she didn’t seem to have any other signs of head trauma. He tried to think back to his first aid training—trying to remember the questions you were supposed to ask someone who may have suffered a concussion.

“Can you count backward from ten?” Lorainne just blinked though Hero wasn’t sure if she was confused by the question or just intoxicated.

“Yeah?” she answered unsurely, and Hero chuckled. It was probably on him that she had misunderstood question.

“Do you know what day it is? Or who the president is?”

“It’s Friday,” answered Lorraine though her brow furrowed. “And um…oh…it’s—it’s that guy…um…what’s his name?” She sighed. “You know I’m not very political…”

“Ask her who her favorite Backstreet Boy is,” suggested C.J. earning him a scowl from Brandi.

Lorraine however quickly chimed in, “I like AJ. He’s a bad boy, but Nick’s pretty cute. I like his bangs.”

Hero thought Kyle would probably be happy to hear that, but it was probably an inappropriate time to be thinking that now.

“What about *NSYNC?” quipped C.J. with a lopsided smile.

Brandi, however, was unamused and glowered at him with a pointed, “Knock it off.” She turned to Lorraine. “Don’t answer that.”

Lorraine blinked at her with wide, confused eyes, and C.J. huffed but was luckily cut off by Kyle letting out a string of curses before he could put his foot in mouth even further.

“Lorraine! Lorraine!” exclaimed Kyle, catching his breath from his sprint up to them. Hero’s brow furrowed. He wondered if he had ever seen Kyle look so genuinely concerned before as he practically fumbled over himself, kneeling down on his knees next to Brandi and Lorraine. “Are you okay?”

“Hold on…you know two each other?” asked Brandi, and Kyle nodded.

“Since high school.” He tilted his head. “Do you?”

“Yeah she’s in my sorority.”

“Oh that’s right…I almost forgot about that…” Kyle mumbled distractedly. He reached out his hand to Lorraine—comfortingly pushing her hair out of her face. “Are you okay, Lorraine?” he asked again—his voice low, gentle.

Lorraine sniffled but whined in a voice slurred probably from too much alcohol, “What are you doing here, Kyle?”

“Checking on you. What the heck happened?”

Lorraine groaned. “I fell in the pool because I’m drunk. Don’t tell my sister. She’d kill me.”

Kyle’s expression softened and something genuinely kind passed over his eyes. “Don’t worry. I’m actually pretty good at keeping a secret, believe it or not.”

Whether Lorraine actually agreed with him on this point, Hero could not be sure, since she pulled her hands away from her teary face and turned to look at the rest of them. “I’m really sorry for all the trouble. I’m okay. I think I was just so drunk that I tripped and fell in, but I didn’t hit my head or anything.” She turned to Hero. “Thank you so much for jumping in and saving me.”

As she smiled at him, Hero felt his cheeks grow warm. He fidgeted. He never had learned how to take a compliment or gratitude. 

“It’s no problem. I’m just glad you’re okay.”

“Thanks, man. I really owe you one.” Kyle patted his shoulder and sighed with genuine relief. “You um…you think you can get her home? I’d do it myself but uh…”—he scratched the nape of his neck sheepishly—“I…uh…can’t um…”

“Gotcha,” whispered Hero with an understanding nod. “And sure. I’d be happy to give her a ride, as long as that’s okay with her…We don’t really know each other so…” Hero knew it was extenuating circumstance but they were still strangers and he wouldn’t really want to climb into the car of someone he didn’t know.

“I can vouch for him,” quipped Brandi with a smile. “You remember those stories about that guy who drives drunk girls home but doesn’t hit on them?”

“The taxi prince?” asked Lorraine, and Brandi chuckled.

“Yeah…that’s him.”

Lorraine gasped, then nodded towards him solemnly. “Your majesty!”

Hero’s face burned, but he cleared his throat. “I…uh…I’m not actually a prince, but I uh…I’m still happy to give you a ride, if someone will give me directions?”

“Uh…yeah!” interjected Kyle, even though Hero had really been looking to Brandi who actually lived there. “You know…it’s just like down the road and to the right…or maybe the left…”—he rubbed the back of his neck—“Sorry, I can’t think right now. Um…maybe I can call Zuzu…”

“No!” cried Lorraine, actual tears in her eyes again. She practically lunged forward, gripping onto Kyle’s arms as the slightest hint of pink flushed in his cheeks. Hero’s eyes widened. Until this moment he honestly hadn’t thought it was possible to make Kyle blush. “Please, Kyle. Don’t tell her. You promised.”

“I was just going to ask for directions…” Kyle insisted though his voice cracked as she burrowed into his chest. He would probably be soaked himself soon, but he didn’t seem to mind. “But okay, okay.” He somewhat awkwardly patted her on the back. “Mama’s really good with directions so I’m sure he’ll find it.”

As Lorraine nodded, Kyle turned to him with a somewhat helpless, pleading smile, and Hero, never one to argue, simply sighed with a stumbling, “Yeah…”

“Or I can just give him directions…” Brandi shook her head with a sigh as she mumbled with a certain affection, “Idiots…”

After Brandi had given him directions back to her sorority house, Hero grabbed his keys and wallet from his jacket pocket, then draped his coat over Lorraine’s shivering shoulders—helping her up to her feet and out to his car with her leaning on his side the entire way, her long, wet hair splayed across his cheek. Kyle staggered behind them, but he did manage to open the passenger door and help Lorraine into the car. For a moment, it was almost as if he had completely forgotten that Hero was there with them as he gently stroked a hand through her wet hair and kissed her forehead with a soft, “Take care of yourself, okay, Lorraine?”

Hero had never seen Kyle like this before—so gentle with such a tenderness in his expression. From all accounts, including the ones from Kyle himself, he was a shameless flirt and a serial dater with a trail of short-lived, failed relationships in his wake, and Hero had never thought it was any of his business to speculate about why that was. But the way he had jumped to Lorraine’s rescue, the genuine care and concern he had shown to her, and the look he was giving her now, certainly made him wonder.

In an instant, however, the moment was gone, and goofy Kyle was back with a final sigh of relief and the return of his lopsided grin as he closed the passenger door. He gave a big wave and mouthed an emphatic “thank you” to Hero before taking off back to the party.

As Hero climbed into the driver’s seat, Lorraine mumbled words of thanks and protest. “You really don’t have to do this…Kyle worries about me. I don’t know why. But I’m okay really…”  

“It’s no problem…” Hero gently insisted as he started the car. “I’m happy to help, and any friend of Kyle’s is a friend of mine.”  

Lorraine leaned back into her seat, and her expression relaxed into a bright smile. As he drove through some of the residential streets back towards their campus, he was sure that she had drifted off to sleep, until she asked drowsily. “Is there anything you want right now?”

“Uh…why? Do you need me to stop and get you some food?”

Lorraine hummed. “Do you want any food?”

“I’m okay,” Hero reassured her, but his stomach rumbled. As Lorraine giggled, Hero sheepishly admitted. “I guess I could really go for a sandwich right now…”

“Me too!”

Hero nodded, but his brow furrowed. “I don’t know if there’s anywhere open right now—at least not that we’ll pass on our way back to your house, but if you have ingredients, I’d be happy to make you a sandwich when I get you home.”

“I’d like that,” said Lorraine. “Thank you, your highness.”

“I’m really…uh…not a prince. I’m just a guy…” he tried to explain again, but Lorraine just shook her head.

“I don’t think so,” she insisted, and Hero sighed. There would be no convincing Lorraine of this while she was this drunk and tired. Truthfully, she might not even remember this conversation tomorrow so Hero supposed it didn’t matter much.

Still…he thought back to what Brandi had said earlier about him being a ‘bona fide prince charming’ and swallowed hard—his cheeks burning. He had never really felt like much of a prince and didn’t feel he deserved that kind of praise. The truth was he was just kind of ordinary. It surprised him that nobody really saw that in him…at least not anymore.

But maybe that was for the best. Getting put up on a pedestal he didn’t deserve at least kept him away from people—prevented him from hurting them and from letting them down. It would be far worse to actually be seen—to have people know he wasn’t anything special.

He wasn’t a prince or a hero or perfect… He was just a guy. And he was sure that if people really knew that, they’d only be disappointed.

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

When Sun Shines Again⛅: Chapter 6 "Changing My Life:" Part 1

⛅Chapter 6 Description: People never seemed to think of the impact of their smallest decisions. Hero certainly hadn’t before, and even now, he wasn’t really thinking of it, wasn’t really expecting Kyle’s assertions that he was about to "change his life" to be anything more than impassioned attempts to get him out of the house and to play ‘designated driver.’ But maybe Kyle had a point…maybe a party could change your life.

The Party That Changed Hero's Life: Part 1 of 3

Chapter Word Count: 4142. Link to Chapter 6 on AO3.

Description (for the entire work): When tragedy struck, Hero lost not only his dearest friend but also his dreams for the future. Even years later, Hero doesn't know what his "forever" looks like without Mari in it, but somehow he finds the strength to carry on and build a new life for himself. With his family and friends both old and new by his side, Hero struggles through life's ups and downs--the joys and sorrows he faces in a world without Mari. In the beginning, he's only looking to survive it all, but somewhere along the way, he might find a purpose, a reason he's still here. Maybe there really is a way he can learn to be happy again, and maybe, just maybe, when he's least expecting it, he might even find himself slowly opening his heart to love again--he might even find himself believing that even the darkest, stormiest of times will eventually pass and the sun will shine again.

A Hero-Centric story spanning 15 years of his life post-good end. Focuses on Hero finding healing & building a life for himself after the loss of Mari. Eventually includes him learning to love again after an extremely slow burn. All pairings are tagged upfront. Rated T for heavy themes & some language. Reading the prequel is recommended.

⛅Tags For The Story As A Whole (So A Lot Of These Are "Eventual" Tags):

Romantic Relationships: Main Ships: (Past) Hero/Mari and (Eventual) Hero/OC. Side Ships: Brandi/OC and a brief mention of Mikhael/Bebe are the only side ships involving canon characters.

Platonic Relationships: Hero & Brandi Friendship, Hero & Original Characters Friendship. Some Hero & Kel Siblings Relationship & Brotherly Friendship. Hero & Aubrey Friendship. Hero & Basil Friendship. Hero & Sunny Friendship. Hero & His Family.

Characters: Major Canon Characters: Hero (POV Character), Brandi [Intimidating Girl], Mari and Mari's Memory, & Kel. Major Original Characters (Hero's college friends): Kyle, C.J., Zoey, Tamra, and Lorraine. Other Included Canon Characters: Sunny, Basil, Aubrey, Sally, Hero's Parents, Bebe (Short Haired Girl/Fountain Girl) & Mikhael (The Maverick).

Genre: Hero-Centric Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Slice of Life, College Life, Lost Love, Finding Love Again, Finding Healing After Grief, Slow Burn, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, Greiving, Catharsis, Heart-To-Heart Chats, Hopeful/Happy Ending, Post-Good Ending, Hero Needs A Hug, Hero Deserves To Be Happy

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some language.

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some Language.

Link to Entire work on AO3.

⛅ Link to the "When Sun Shines Again" Masterlist. ⛅

Full chapter text below the cut. Thank you for reading! ⛅

“Mama! Mama!” It took the words a bit too long for Hero to register them. It wasn’t that he hadn’t gotten used to the nickname. After all, Kyle had had their entire fraternity calling him “Mama” almost exclusively from the minute he had, somewhat tentatively, requested to pledge for it a little over a month ago. He wouldn’t be surprised if some of his fraternity brothers still didn’t know his actual name or, at the very least, his usual nickname. In a way, he supposed this nickname suited him better than his other one. He had never really felt like much of a hero, but he certainly felt like a mom—especially now that he was spending most of his spare time cooking, cleaning, doing laundry, and grocery shopping for a group of rowdy fraternity guys.

Brandi often huffily told him off for his lack of boundaries, continuing to insist that he never should have joined in the first place, even though he felt guilted into it after Kyle’s father had purchased high-density viscoelastic polyurethane mattresses for the entire house. He knew Brandi was right in that a mattress, even an extremely expensive one, did not give them the right to take advantage of him and make him their den mother, but Hero couldn’t find it in himself to say, “no”—not just for Kyle’s sake or because of Mr. Davenport’s generous donation, but more for the heartbreaking look in Sunny’s face when he had told him he didn’t want him to be lonely. The tears in Basil’s eyes that told Hero he was convinced he had ruined his life. How Aubrey had broken down and begged him to find someone to talk to, someone he didn’t feel he had to protect. How when his parents had asked him to “Say hi to your friends for us” their expressions had pleaded with him to actually have friends to say ‘hi’ to. How tightly Kel how held onto him when they said their final goodbyes before he had headed back to the University of Somewhere City for the new term and how his parting words had been, “I know you’re really busy studying and stuff, but try to make time to make some friends, too okay?”

It made his stomach twist—bile tickling the back of his throat just thinking about it. He couldn’t stand when people worried about him. And if him joining a fraternity put his friends and family at ease, it was worth any amount of household chores imaginable.

The truth was Hero didn’t really mind the housekeeping anyway, and if him stepping in to sweep floors, do dishes, cook dinner, or go grocery shopping prevented the house from turning into the pigsty it had been when he had first moved in, he felt it was worth it. He didn’t mind being “Mama” for his fraternity if that’s what they needed. And, if Hero was being honest with himself, it was nice to be useful, to be needed again.

In a way, he supposed it was kind of selfish—especially seeing as he, personally, didn’t want to live in a disgusting, disaster zone. What Brandi didn’t understand from her sorority house full of girls who, from Hero’s experience, tended to be a bit cleaner in general, if Hero didn’t do the household chores, they just wouldn’t get done and they’d all be stuck living in squalor again and eating nothing but instant ramen noodles with only a case of cheap beer and a half-empty bottle of mustard in the refrigerator.

Before Hero had moved in, they hadn’t had one vegetable in the entire house. Now, the backseat of his car was filled with them and with other groceries too: a couple gallons of milk, a few loaves of bread, nonperishable snacks, and ingredients for the soup he wanted to make. He had even picked up some athletic clothes for Kel—a pair of shorts and a jersey modeled after the uniform of his favorite basketball team in the city which had been majorly marked down on clearance now that the weather was cooling off and they were headed into Fall.

The change of season certainly explained the intermittent torrential downpour and the deluge of water currently crashing into his windshield, fighting with the violent swipes of his windshield wipers, which thankfully were working today. His old clunker of a car had been giving him a lot of trouble ever since he had gotten back to the city, but none of it was serious enough for him to feel it warranted taking it into the shop. With a certain homesick sadness, he often thought that his dad or maybe even Kel would have been able to fix whatever was wrong with it, so he was hoping his car would manage to hold on until his next weekend in Faraway Town. He had promised Kel, Aubrey, and Basil that he would try to make more visits this year—but over a month later, he hadn’t been home yet—too busy with schoolwork and now, Greek life and, unfortunately, the partying that came along with it.

As Kyle came running out into the driveway in the pouring rain waving at him with a beaming smile and calling, “Mama! Where have you been?” Hero just knew he was going to ask him to be the designated driver…again.

“What are you doing out in the rain, Kyle?” he asked stepping out of his car into the storm. The rain soaked his clothes and was cold against his skin. Hero sighed. He should’ve been used to it by now.  

Kyle merely shrugged his shoulders—pushing his sopping, curtain bangs out of his face. “I’ve been waiting for you to come home. What took you so long?”

“Sorry. The grocery store was kind of busy, I guess,” Hero mumbled, scurrying around to the backseat of his car to grab some bags of groceries.

“Forget about those,” Kyle interrupted with a dismissive wave of his hand. “We can take ‘em in later. We got a party to go to.”

Despite Kyle’s enthusiasm, Hero merely sighed. He had wanted to make his soup, get a head start on some homework, and maybe if there was time leftover crack open that book he had recently gotten about studying for the MCAT, but he should have known better than to think his roommate would let him get away with having a quiet evening at home on a Friday night.

“My friend Sawyer’s invited a bunch of people over. His parents are professors and at some symposium or something so he has the house to himself. I heard they have a pool.”

Glancing up at the dark, cloudy sky, Hero shivered from the cold. “I don’t think this is the best weather for swimming, Kyle…and even if it was, some of these groceries are perishable and have to go in the refrigerator so we need to take them in before we go anywhere.”

“Let me help,” said a voice from the other side of the car, startling Hero. C.J., who  had also just joined their fraternity in the most recent pledge term, was opening the other door to the backseat and grabbing bags of groceries to take inside without being asked.

“You really don’t have to do that,” Hero insisted. Though he was grateful for the help, watching C.J. pause to wipe raindrops off the lenses of his glasses made Hero feel guilty. He didn’t want his friends out in the rain, but C.J. just shrugged with an easy smile spreading across his face.

His hand ruffled through the tight, dark curls of his hair—seemingly unperturbed by the water splashing onto his forehead as he replied, “No problem. It’ll go faster this way.” He paused, a bright, 100-watt smile spreading between his wide, dark cheeks. “Then you can make it to the party with us.”  

Hero sighed. Of course, C.J. was in on it too. He should just kiss any dreams of that quiet evening at home goodbye.

Before he could say anything however, Kyle, pushed past him, rummaging around in the backseat of the car until he found a grocery bag filled with only a gallon of milk. “There’s not a lot a time. Just grab whatever has to go into the refrigerator and let’s get out of here!” He turned to him with a playful, whining frown. “We’ve been waiting on you forever.”

“You really didn’t have to do that,” stumbled Hero apologetically. He rubbed his hand across the back of his neck. It was damp and clammy from the rain. He wasn’t sure he wanted to go back out in this weather especially to a house party. In Hero’s experience, which was much more extensive than he would have liked, college parties were generally wildly crowded, even when the overflow could spill out into the yard, but with bad weather like this, they’d all be crammed into Sawyer’s house like drunk sardines. It didn’t sound particularly fun.

“I don’t know, Kyle…Maybe you and C.J. should just go this time and I’ll sit this one out.”

“Oh come on,” Kyle whined. “It’ll be fun.”

“I’m sure it will be, but I’ve got homework and—”

“Brandi’s right—you’re such a grandpa,” interrupted C.J. giving him a light, teasing tap on the back of the head. “You’ve got all weekend to do your homework.”

“And you don’t even have to drink,” added Kyle as they scurried back into the house with the groceries. “You can be the designated driver, and then do that thing where you drive beautiful drunk girls home and don’t hit on them.”

Hero’s face flushed as he closed the front door behind them and headed back to the kitchen. That had only happened a handful of times, and he wished Kyle would stop bringing it up.

“What?” laughed C.J. and Kyle, seemingly cracking himself up, laughed along with him.

“It’s unbelievable. Mama’s all charming like ‘hey, do you need a ride home?’ and then when they get there and these gorgeous girls are like ‘thanks for the ride—wanna make out in the back of the car?’ He turns all red and starts mumbling about how he’s flattered but ‘no thanks. Would you like a water bottle and a granola bar instead?’”

Hero buried his blushing face in his hands at Kyle’s impression of him as C.J. tried and failed to stifle a laugh and Kyle rolled his eyes, shaking his head in melodramatic disbelief as he set the grocery bags on the kitchen counter.

“It’s crazy,” snorted Kyle. “I mean they’re just speechless and I feel kind of bad for ‘em so usually I’m like ‘Well I’ll make out with you’ and sometimes that works but other times they’ve only got eyes for Mama. The poor things…”

“I’m”—Hero’s voice cracked—“I’m not trying to give them the wrong idea. I just want them to get home safely. It—it can be dangerous out there…I’m just trying to help. I don’t want to…! That’s not why I—” Hero tripped over his words—his face growing hot. He wasn’t sure what he was trying to say. “Plus they’re drunk and I’m sober…I just don’t feel right about that…”

“Well that’s fixable,” teased Kyle with a click of his tongue. “We just get you drunk too.”

“Or find you a sober girl, then the two of you can be sober together,” chimed C.J. with a playful smile as he put some of the vegetables in the crisper drawer of their fridge.

Hero flushed as Kyle clicked his tongue again and patted him on the back. He fidgeted. “That’s—that’s not the problem.”

Hero stopped abruptly realizing he couldn’t really explain to them exactly what the problem was unless he wanted to unceremoniously announce in the middle of their kitchen ‘the love of my life died when we were 15 and I don’t think I’m ever going to love again, so thanks but no thanks.’

He swallowed hard. He couldn’t even imagine being that honest—sharing something so personal and vulnerable with anyone, even his friends. He had no idea how Kyle or C.J. would even react to that information, and he didn’t want to find out, so instead he started rambling, hoping to eventually say something semi-coherent, “I…I know these girls are very lovely, but I barely know them. Drunk or not, I—I wouldn’t want to kiss them. I—I think that should be special.”

C.J. blinked at him. Kyle did too, before he let out a disbelieving chuckle, “Woah, Mama, don’t tell us you’re about to go into some sob story about how you’ve never kissed anyone before and are waiting for that ‘special someone.’ I mean, even Zuzu’s been kissed.”

Hero’s mouth grew suddenly dry, and his cheeks burned as he found himself too embarrassed to even begin to formulate a response. Thankfully, he didn’t have to as C.J. scolded, “Kyle” with a tut and a shake of his head before he turned towards Hero with a sympathetic smile. “There’s no shame in that. You’ll kiss somebody someday.”

C.J.’s reassurances were kind and well-meaning, if a little confused and misguided, but Hero wasn’t sure he wanted to correct him and explain that the problem wasn’t that he hadn’t kissed someone before but rather that he had. He had kissed just one girl and had wanted to kiss only her for the rest of his life, but—something panged in his chest at the thought—he would never get to kiss her again. And no matter how much time passed, even now, even all these years later he couldn’t imagine kissing anyone else. He couldn’t imagine even wanting to.

Hero knew his friends saw his rejection of the advances of these, from all accounts, beautiful women as some sort of superhuman feat, a masterclass in self-restraint, but the truth was it really wasn’t that difficult for him. As guilty as it made him feel to admit it, he didn’t feel attracted to these women. He didn’t really even notice them, didn’t see them. It had been that way for as long he could remember—as if he couldn’t see anyone else in the world except Mari. And now that she was gone, he couldn’t even see her, couldn’t see anyone. Not like that. Not anymore. But he could barely make sense of that himself. He’d never be able to explain it to C.J. or Kyle. It would be best to just let them misunderstand…

Or so he thought until Kyle interjected well-meaning though staunchly determined to ‘solve his problem.’ “Don’t worry, I’m sure we can find lots of girls who would kiss you! Heck I’d kiss you, but I’m not sure you’d want that,” he teased bursting into raucous laughter before adding, “I’ll ask Zuzu. She hasn’t been kissed in a long time. It would do you both a lot of good—you could use a good kiss!”

“That’s…that’s okay, Kyle,” choked Hero—bright red in the face. “Please—please don’t do that. I uh…I have kissed someone before…”

His face grew hot, and he became suddenly interested in his hands. He hadn’t meant to say that. It was private, personal—even a little painful now. But—Hero sighed—with any luck, it would convince his friends to finally put this uncomfortable topic to rest. As C.J. and Kyle merely blinked at him with wide eyes, however, Hero fidgeted and hurriedly added, “Or uh…I guess I’ve been kissed…”

He wasn’t sure if the distinction of who had kissed whom actually mattered, but he thought maybe explaining that he hadn’t been the one to initiate it would make the story more believable. After all it was no secret that he could be particularly shy about physical affection, especially these days, whereas Mari had been so cuddly. Despite his wanting to kiss her, they probably wouldn’t have if it hadn’t been from her initiating it, but he was glad she had—glad he had that precious memory of her to hold onto even if he had been stunned, awkward, and confused about what to do. He couldn’t imagine he was a very good kisser at all, so perhaps it was for the best he was never going to kiss anyone ever again.

His chest ached—that all-too-familiar bittersweet sadness seeping into the empty space in his heart Mari had left behind, and his eyes prickled, burned. Even the thought of kissing anyone else made him want to cry.

He must not have done a very good job of hiding that because the expression on C.J.’s face softened, and he gave him a sympathetic smile and gentle tilt of his head as he closed the refrigerator door and began scooping the empty grocery bags off the counter. “Hey, man. It’s okay,” he said reassuringly. “We believe you.”

“Yeah. Yeah,” agreed Kyle with an emphatic nod. “I’m sure it was great! Was there tong—OW!” Kyle yelped, a much more dramatic shriek than the light smack on the arm C.J. had given him likely warranted. “Okay. Okay. Geez…” he muttered defensively. “No details—got it. You’re as bad as Zuzu.”

“I like her already,” quipped C.J. who, it seemed, had also never met Kyle’s mysterious and, supposedly, actually-responsible friend but, unlike Brandi, believed she actually existed. Hero was inclined to believe this too—if only because the things he had heard about her had become far too detailed to be a lie or, at least, to be a lie that Kyle could have come up with, though he felt guilty for thinking that. Kyle was a lot smarter than he was often given credit for, after all, but he wasn’t particularly deceptive and would likely get bored of a long con. There was probably a girl named Zuzu out there…and she wasn’t Kyle’s “girlfriend from camp” or “Canada.” She just had the good sense not to hang around with any of Kyle’s fraternity brothers, and Hero really couldn’t blame her for that.  

Kyle’s mouth curved into a lopsided grin, and the burning in Hero’s face quickly spread to his ears as he could have sworn he glanced over at him for a split-second before he decisively told C.J., “You’re not her type.”

“I didn’t say I wanted to date her,” C.J. replied with a roll of his eyes, and Kyle’s smile widened—something knowingly playful glistening in his rolling eyes.

“Yeah, yeah, you’ve only got eyes for Brandi—we know,” he bantered, and Hero’s own mouth curved in the corners as he watched the slightest tint of deep, coral red seep into the tip of C.J.’s nose.

C.J.’s attraction to Brandi was no secret to anyone—least of all to Brandi herself who, unfortunately for C.J., had sworn off dating fraternity guys after a particularly rocky relationship with one her freshman year. This did not stop him from sincerely pining after her, however, and putting in a genuine effort to become friends, especially now that he had learned they had a mutual one in Hero.

While Hero didn’t think it was his place to get involved, he couldn’t deny that he thought they were well-suited, and even if they never dated each other, could be good friends. To that end, Hero had been trying to subtly talk C.J. up to Brandi and convince her that, unlike Kyle, he was not the stereotypical frat boy. Even though he was pretty much up for anything, it was because he was easy-going—never phased, rattled, or bothered by much. He took care of himself and was responsible, got decent grades, and took pride in his work and his dreams of becoming an attorney, which was something he and Brandi had in common. Most of all he thought that Brandi was absolutely wonderful. Hero often saw himself in the way he looked at her. It reminded him of how he had looked at Mari which made something pang in his chest and worried him that he was, perhaps, a little bit biased.

Fidgeting, C.J. cleared his throat, but knowing he couldn’t really deny this fact or, perhaps, not wanting to, he simply shrugged his shoulders and insisted, “Hey, she’s cool.”

“She’s Brandi”—Kyle rolled his eyes—“she’ll chew you up and spit you back out without batting an eye.”

A smile curved in the corners of C.J.’s mouth as he quipped in a low voice, “I don’t mind that.”

“Whatever,” huffed Kyle. “We’re wasting time. The party’s already started.” He turned to Hero who was putting away the last of the perishables. “You are coming right, Mama? You can’t leave me alone with C.J.—he’s hopeless.”

C.J. shook his head. “You just want a designated driver so you can get sloshed. Leave me out of it.”

“Hey, I want Mama to have a good time too!” Kyle wrapped his arm around Hero’s shoulders. “All he ever does is study. If I didn’t drag him out of the house, he’d never leave except to go to class and the grocery store.” He clicked his tongue, then laughed, seemingly amused with himself before he begged, “Come on, Mama, please?”

As Kyle dragged that final ‘please’ out into a long, nasally whine, Hero sighed, but before he could begin to protest Kyle added, “You never know what you’re missing out on. ‘Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in a while, you could miss it.’”

“Did you just quote ‘Ferris Bueller’s Day Off’?” laughed C.J. “You’re getting desperate.”

“No. It’s just because Hero’s being such a Cameron.” Kyle crossed his arms with a huff, turning to Hero with a stern shake of his head. “Don’t be a Cameron. Go out and live a little. Tonight could be the best night of your life, and you’d have no idea if you just stayed home studying at your desk.”

“I dunno…” Hero began unsurely. Despite knowing his conflict avoidance would eventually win out and he would ultimately end up at this party tonight, he tried his best at a feeble protest or at the very least, an expression of uncertainty, but Kyle wouldn’t even hear that.

He began pushing him towards the door with a teasingly smarmy, “Come on. Let’s go change your life!”

Hero stifled a somewhat awkward chuckle in spite of himself. This was one of Kyle’s most outlandish attempts to convince him to go to some party. Hero had been to enough of them by now to know that there wasn’t anything ‘life changing’ in a group a sweaty, plastered college students playing beer pong, dancing the Cotton Eyed Joe on someone’s dining room table until they threw up, or sloppily making out while Aqua’s “Barbie Girl” blasted deafeningly loud in the background.

That said, after everything that had happened in his life up until this point, there was no way that Hero would ever be able to deny that the smallest, seemingly insignificant things could, in fact, change the course of somebody’s life. He thought about Mari planning to have that recital. He thought about Basil deciding to watch her and Sunny’s final practice. Thought about Sunny storming out—throwing down his violin. Thought about Mari running after him—following him up those stairs…

His chest ached—hollow and panging with a pain that would never really go away. He almost wanted to say that all of his experiences with the butterfly effect had been negative, painful…but then he thought about Kel…thought about him knocking on Sunny’s door three days before he was supposed to move away. He thought about Sunny opening it for him and venturing outside for the first time in four years. He thought about Aubrey suggesting they all stay at Basil’s house on Sunny’s last night in Faraway Town. And venturing deep into his memories of that long, distant past that often felt like nothing but a dream now, Hero thought about Mari again—her insistence that they help Aubrey when she was just a crying little girl who lost her shoe or that they take care of Basil and his garden. Or long, long before that…he thought about his dad buying a potted cactus and suggesting they take it over to their new neighbors.

People never seemed to think of the impact of their smallest decisions. Hero certainly hadn’t before, and even now, he wasn’t really thinking of it, wasn’t really expecting Kyle’s assertions to be anything more than impassioned attempts to get him out of the house and to play ‘designated driver.’

But as it turned out, years later, whenever Hero would mentally list those seemingly insignificant but life-altering decisions, he would always throw in this moment when his mouth twitched into a conceding smile and he sighed, “Alright, Kyle. Just let me go change my clothes first; then we’ll head out.”

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

When Sun Shines Again: Prologue "Hoping I'm Always There"

⛅CHAPTER 1⛅

PROLOGUE: "HOPING I'M ALWAYS THERE"

Description: When tragedy struck, Hero lost not only his dearest friend but also his dreams for the future. Even years later, Hero doesn't know what his "forever" looks like without Mari in it, but somehow he finds the strength to carry on and build a new life for himself. With his family and friends both old and new by his side, Hero struggles through life's ups and downs--the joys and sorrows he faces in a world without Mari. In the beginning, he's only looking to survive it all, but somewhere along the way, he might find a purpose, a reason he's still here. Maybe there really is a way he can learn to be happy again, and maybe, just maybe, when he's least expecting it, he might even find himself slowly opening his heart to love again--he might even find himself believing that even the darkest, stormiest of times will eventually pass and the sun will shine again.

A Hero-Centric story spanning 15 years of his life post-good end. Focuses on Hero finding healing & building a life for himself after the loss of Mari. Eventually includes him learning to love again after an extremely slow burn. All pairings are tagged upfront. Rated T for heavy themes & some language. Reading the prequel is recommended but not required.

Chapter Specific Notes: The prologue is HeroMari-Centric and Mari actually appears in this chapter.

⛅Tags For The Story As A Whole (So A Lot Of These Are "Eventual" Tags):

Romantic Relationships: Main Ships: (Past) Hero/Mari and (Eventual) Hero/OC. Side Ships: Brandi/OC and a brief mention of Mikhael/Bebe are the only side ships involving canon characters.

Platonic Relationships: Hero & Brandi Friendship, Hero & Original Characters Friendship. Some Hero & Kel Siblings Relationship & Brotherly Friendship.

Characters: Major Canon Characters: Hero (POV Character), Brandi [Intimidating Girl], Mari and Mari's Memory, & Kel. Major Original Characters (Hero's college friends): Kyle, C.J., Zoey, Tamra, and Lorraine. Mentioned Canon Characters: Sunny, Basil, Aubrey, Sally, Hero's Parents, Bebe (Short Haired Girl/Fountain Girl) & Mikhael (The Maverick).

Genre: Hero-Centric Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Slice of Life, College Life, Lost Love, Finding Love Again, Finding Healing After Grief, Slow Burn, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, Greiving, Catharsis, Heart-To-Heart Chats, Hopeful/Happy Ending, Post-Good Ending, Hero Needs A Hug, Hero Deserves To Be Happy

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some language.

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some Language.

Chapter Word Count: 2731

Link to Original Post on AO3.

Full chapter text below the cut. Thank you for reading! ⛅

“Can I open my eyes now?” giggled Mari—one hand over her eyes. The other held tightly onto Hero’s hand as he led her into the backyard.

“Almost,” he replied with a somewhat sheepish chuckle, and Mari laughed again.

“Okay…but can you tell me where we’re going?”

Hero bit his lip before he accidentally spoiled the surprise. He knew that Mari had always loved surprises, but he also knew that he himself was not much of a surprise kind of person. While he was trustworthy and could keep a secret if asked, he found it too difficult to keep things from his friends and family for too long, especially if they were good things that he was excited about. He had been planning this surprise for Mari for weeks now, and, he was sorry to say, had nearly slipped up and told her about it a couple of times already. Truthfully, a part of him even wanted to go ahead and tell her now, but they were almost there so he promised himself he’d manage to keep it a surprise for just a few more minutes.

“Almost,” he repeated, laughing a little at his repetition.

“Ooh…”Mari chuckled before she donned a frown and began her best impression of a serious commanding officer in one of the war drama films they sometimes watched with his dad. “It’ll be hard to break this one, general. His lips are sealed.”

Mari teasingly saluted at him, before covering her eyes again. For Mari’s credit she had kept her eyes firmly closed shut so the hand covering was merely a formality. “Bet I know a way to unseal those,” she giggled—her tone playful not sultry, though she did blow a kiss at him and Hero suspected she would have winked in his general direction if her eyes had been open.

“Mari—” His voice cracked, and Hero’s face flushed red as he shook his head.

“What? I just meant I bet you’d tell my pet tarantula.”

Hero’s face blanched. “That’s not funny,” he tried to insist though his breathy laugh seemed to imply otherwise. “Don’t even joke about having a pet tarantula.”

“Aww…” Mari pouted teasingly. “But I’ve really been thinking about getting one.” She paused, then added, “Just kidding. You know I’d never do that to you.”

Giving Hero’s hand a reassuring squeeze, Mari giggled again—her laugh light and tinkly like a music box. Hero had often thought it was a far prettier melody than even the most beautiful songs she played for him on her piano, but like any usual teenage boy, he was far too nervous and shy to even begin to tell her that. Still, seeing as Mari was his closest friend and knew him better than probably anyone else in the world, Hero had always suspected she already knew how he felt—how his heart raced whenever she met his eyes, how his chest ached whenever she called his name or how his stomach fluttered whenever she patted his back or held his hand or leaned her head on his shoulder. Mari had to know that whenever he was with her, he felt like they were in their own little world, had to know that he couldn’t see anyone else but her and that he could laugh or sing or just combust from how positively and completely happy he was to even be close to her, listening to what she had to say and trying his best to be supportive and make her smile.

With a sigh, Hero’s face softened as he watched Mari smile now—giggling as she stumbled with her eyes closed. Mari had the most beautiful smile—bright, beaming, and so warm that Hero could have sworn it made even the sun shine brighter.

He would do just about anything in the world just to see that smile—though the truth was he would do just about anything in the world for her, no matter what it was. He’d even spend all weekend cleaning off his patio just to plan a special afternoon for her before they headed back to school for the new term. And if she didn’t know that already, she’d probably know it as soon as she opened her eyes.

“But uh…oh, watch your step.” Hero reached out to steady her before she stumbled onto the uneven pavement of the patio, and his face flushed scarlet as she tripped a little—practically twirling into his chest as she clutched onto his arm. “Are you alright?”

“I’m fine, though I’d be better if you’d let me open my eyes so I could see where I was going,” she teased as a playful smile tugged at her mouth. “It’d be nice to see your pretty face too.”

“Mari,” choked Hero—his face blushing an even deeper shade of red. He looked away from her, even though he knew she couldn’t see him as long as she was respecting his wish that she keep her eyes closed, but she squeezed his hand and intertwined their fingers.

“You didn’t have to surprise me, you know? It’s not even a special day or anything.”

Hero shrugged his shoulders. “I know, but I wanted to. We’ll be going back to school soon so I wanted to plan something special for the end of the summer, and there’s”—his cheeks grew warm as he shuffled his feet on the pavement—“there’s something I want to show you.”

“Ooh…mysterious,” giggled Mari, but her smile widened.

“Not really…” Hero shrugged. “But I hope you’ll still like it.” With a long sigh, Hero took one final glance around the yard before finally saying, “Alright. You can open your eyes now if you want.”

As Mari dropped her hand from her face, her eyes fluttered opened—blinking in the bright sun. She gasped. “It’s beautiful.”

Hero smiled but shuffled his feet as his face flushed. He had been hoping she would say that. He had spent hours working on building that canopy out of plywood with his dad, and while it was somewhat crude, basic work, even Hero could admit that it did look very pretty when covered in the garlands of flowers he had made with Basil. Sunny and Aubrey had helped too—and Kel, for a little while before he got distracted and Hero asked him to move all the outdoor furniture to the perimeter of the patio leaving a big, empty square in the middle.

“What is all this, Hero?” Mari asked, turning to him with wide, smiling eyes.

Hero shrugged his shoulders and twisted his hands. “Well…I was thinking about how you had to miss the Spring Formal…”

“I told you that’s okay. I can always go next year,” Mari insisted giving him a reassuring pat on his arm.

Hero’s expression softened. He wouldn’t tell her but he knew she was putting on a brave face and had been genuinely disappointed when her bad knee had started acting up again back in April and her doctor had urged her not to put any weight on it for a while, meaning she had ended up back on crutches for the week of the dance and about a week and a half after that. Mari had insisted that Hero should go on without her, but he hadn’t wanted to and instead had gone over to her house where they baked a batch of chocolate chip cookies together and curled up next to each other on the couch to watch old black-and-white movies. Hero thought it had been a much more fun evening, especially seeing as he couldn’t dance, but he had been hoping to make it up to her for a while.

“I know,” he said with a gentle nod. “But I still felt bad that we never got to dance together so I thought…” As his face flushed, his voice trailed. He looked away from Mari instead glancing over at his suitcase record player which he had set on the patio table under the big sun umbrella. “There’s also a song I’ve really been wanting to play for you…”

Hero opened the record player suitcase and carefully took his vinyl copy of The Beatles’ Revolver out of its jacket and sleeve. Knowing that it was the first record he had ever purchased for himself filled him with a sense of pride. After wearing out his parents’ cassette of the album listening to a particular song over and over again for his own enjoyment and “Yellow Submarine” which was Kel’s favorite, Hero decided that he’d like to own the record and hear what it sounded like in vinyl. Hero had a small but growing collection of vinyl records—most of which he had gotten as gifts for his most recent birthday after having gotten his portable, suitcase record player for Christmas, but he had only recently started adding to it himself. Most of the money he made at his summer job cleaning pools and mowing lawns was being put away to help him pay for college when the time came a couple years from now and the rest was going towards having enough money to buy gifts for his friends and family for birthdays and the holidays when they rolled around, but he allowed him a little bit of money for himself and saved up most of to buy a vintage copy of Revolver that their local record store had proudly displayed in their window. He could have sworn he was walking on air when he had finally purchased it and though he had added several other records to his collection since then, this was by far his favorite and the most special to him.

Smiling brightly, Hero gently set the needle to his favorite song, the reason he had been so eager to purchase the record in the first place. At the sound of the opening chord and the first line, “To lead a better life, I need my love to be here…”, he held out his hand to Mari and asked with a somewhat shy shrug of his shoulders, “Would you like to dance?”

Mari beamed at him. “I’d love to.”

Hero flushed as Mari wrapped her arms around his neck, but somehow he fumbled his way to placing his hands on her waist. He took a deep breath trying to remember back to the dancing practice he had been trying out in his room for the past few weeks, much to Kel’s giggly confusion. Hero sighed. He wasn’t sure if his attempts at practice had helped much and he apologized, “I’m sorry. I’m not a very good dancer.”

“That’s alright. I’m not very good either so we can muddle through together.” Mari’s smile widened, and she tilted her head. “This is a beautiful song. I’m not sure I’ve heard it before.”

“It’s called ‘Here There and Everywhere’, it’s”—Hero’s voice cracked and he stared off intently over Mari’s shoulder as his face blushed red—“it’s my favorite love song. I actually bought this record because I couldn’t stop listening to it.”

“I’m glad to hear it’s your favorite because it’s our song now so we’ll probably be listening to it a lot,” she teased, winking at him.

Hero chuckled lightly, rubbing his hand across the back of his neck before remembering he was still supposed to be holding onto Mari’s waist. “Our song?”

Mari nodded. “Everyone knows that the first song that you ever slow dance to is special. That’s why a lot of people dance to it at their weddings.” Mari giggled behind her hand, and Hero’s heart raced as he took a deep breath hoping his face wasn’t as red as he feared. “But no pressure,” she added teasingly. “All I meant was that you’ll have to start thinking about us and about me when you listen to it from now on.”

Hero bit his lip shuffling his feet as he danced with her. “I…I don’t think I’ll have to start doing that…” he admitted, his face growing suddenly hot. Mari’s brow furrowed.

“What do you mean, silly? You can’t just not make this our song—it’s our song forever now. You should have thought of that before you played it for me.” Giggling, she winked at him playfully. “Or were you planning to go around playing it for all the other girls?”

“No,” Hero insisted with an awkward, breathy chuckle—his face crimson as he tripped over his words. “There’s…there aren’t any other girls…that’s…that’s what I was trying to…” His voice hitched, and he swallowed hard. “I…I always…only think about you whenever I listen to this song. It’s…it’s your song.”

He bravely met Mari’s eyes, and she smiled at him—that beautiful smile that made the sun shine brighter. She reached out and pressed her palm to his cheek.

“Our song,” she gently insisted, and Hero nodded at her as she ruffled the tips of her fingers through his hair. Hero froze—his hands beginning to tremble as Mari’s eyes fluttered closed and she leaned forward. His heart pounded. Was she…? He swallowed hard. Was she going to kiss him?

“You guys are so gross and mushy!” exclaimed Kel jumping out from behind a nearby tool shed. “Why don’t you listen to a good song next like ‘Yellow Submarine’?”

“Kel!” scolded Aubrey’s voice though Hero couldn’t see her apart from her arm tugging on Kel to come back to his hiding place, but Kel shrugged her off.

“What? It’s a better song than this!”

“I think it’s sweet,” Basil’s voice gently interjected.

Hero was too busy blushing at the unexpected audience to say much of anything in response, but Mari just laughed returning to her best impression of a character in a military drama, “Looks like we have a few covert operatives on our hands.”

“You’ve been watching too many movies with my dad,” chuckled Kel as Mari motioned to him.

“Why don’t you come on out and dance too?”

Kel practically sprinted over the patio. “Awesome! I think ‘Yellow Submarine’s’ next right, Hero?”

Hero nodded as Aubrey, Basil, and Sunny followed quietly and somewhat apologetically behind.

“Sorry, we didn’t mean to interrupt,” Basil insisted nervously twisting his hands as Sunny nodded in emphatic agreement.

“Kel is such a moron,” huffed Aubrey shaking her head at him. “Sorry Mari. Sorry Hero.”

“It’s okay,” Hero finally managed, patting Aubrey’s head reassuringly as Mari gave both Sunny and Basil comforting pats on the back.

“It’ll be more fun with everyone anyway,” Mari added before she turned to Hero with a kind, affectionate smile. “Besides that’s our song now so we’ll have plenty of time to finish our dance.”

Hero nodded at her, but before he could say anything he stumbled backwards, startled by Mari’s suddenly hug. Basil and Aubrey both giggled behind their hands—probably at Hero’s bright red face as Sunny watched with wide eyes and Kel was, naturally, far too distracted by his own prattling about “Yellow Submarine.”

Taking a deep albeit shaky breath and trying to calm his racing heartbeat and trembling hands, Hero wrapped his arms around Mari. “You’re right,” he said. “We have plenty of time.” Mari hummed, nestling her chin into his shoulder as Hero pulled her close—holding her tightly as if he never wanted to let go.

It was hard enough to manage that given the shy, awkwardness of his youth. In his mind, Hero thought of a day years down the road when he would be older and more confident, when hopefully it wouldn’t be so hard to tell her how he really felt. He had no way of knowing that that day would never come—that for years later he would think back on this moment—desperately wishing he had restarted the song, had finished that dance, had been brave enough to tell her how much she really meant to him. Hindsight really was 20/20. Hero knew that possibly better than anyone, but it didn’t stop him from wishing that he just held onto her tighter because someday the day would come when he was left alone with only a song and the memories of a wonderful girl he had always thought of when he listened to it. He still thought of her and probably always would, but she wasn’t there to dance with him anymore.

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

Meet the Cast of "When Sun Shines Again" [Hero's Life After Mari]⛅: Kyle Davenport (OMORI OC)

Kyle Davenport

KYLE is an exuberant sports medicine major who is always up for a good time. He’s charming, outgoing, adventurous, talkative, and enthusiastic with a big personality and penchant for being the center of attention. The fact that he’d do almost anything for a laugh can get him into trouble from time to time, but even though he can often be reckless and impulsive and usually has absolutely no filter whatsoever, he has a heart of gold underneath all his charisma and truly loves his friends (even though he swears he’d love them more if they weren’t such wet blankets).

Birthday: February 3rd

Likes: Parties, Football, Meeting New People, Listening to Himself Talk, Nicknames, Flirting, Video Games, TV Sitcoms, Making People Laugh & Vacationing (particularly at the beach)

Dislikes: Studying, Housework, Being Lectured to by “Boring People,” Pros & Cons Lists, & Lime Jello

Bonus fun facts below the cut!

⛅You can read about Kyle and all of Hero's college friends in the "When Sun Shines Again" series. He just had his proper introduction in Chapter 5! ^^

Kyle would be the first to tell anyone that he’s a “trust-fund baby.” His family is extraordinarily wealthy—having made a fortune selling mouthwash and other dental care products. They live on a private beach in Seaport, four hours away from the city, and have numerous vacation homes. Needless to say, nearly everything Kyle owns is expensive. He often jokes that his parents buy him luxury items to make up for the fact they’re never around. Given the opulent and spoiled way he was raised, Kyle is particularly naïve about money and has very little concept of what constitutes “expensive,” which his friends often tease him about. He has to be given specific parameters about how much he can spend on presents for them. Zoey has made him promise that he won’t ever buy her anything that he couldn’t purchase at Other Mart, for instance.

While Kyle might come off as shallow sometimes, there isn’t an air of arrogance to him. He is extremely charming but genuinely likable, and he tends to be very generous with his money and his time. He, occasionally, purposely flaunts his wealth in an attempt to make friends or get dates, but he knows a lot of his relationships are surface-level and disingenuous for this reason, which is why he values his closest friendships so much. He knows that Hero, Zoey, Lorraine, Brandi, C.J. and Tamra genuinely like him and want to be around him, not just his family’s money which only makes him want to spoil his friends with expensive gifts. He also gives incredible tips for service industry workers.

There’s nothing Kyle loves more than a good party! He is always up for a good time and prides himself on coming up with wilder and wilder antics (like doing line dances on tables or singing Spice Girls karaoke). He is also a binge drinker and has several “levels of drunkenness” including “Karaoke Drunk,” “Touchy-Feely Drunk,” and “Will-Flirt-With-A-Floor-Lamp Drunk.” His friends, particularly Hero and Zoey, try to intervene before he reaches the final stage which is a serious and vulnerably honest drunk clarity which is very dark for the usually happy-go-lucky Kyle.

Kyle has always loved T.V. Sitcoms, especially “Saved By The Bell” which was very formative to him in his preteen years. He has often (drunkenly) told Zoey that she the “Jessie” to his “Zack” though Zoey often jokes that Hero’s the “Jessie” now seeing as Kyle has named him “Mama” (no one knows for sure if this was actually, intentionally, a “Saved By The Bell” reference). He is unfortunately, still waiting on his “Kelly”

Kyle was a big football star in high school (granted his private prep school was known more for its rigorous academics than its athletics but they did fairly well for themselves), but he suffered a terrible injury to his knee in his final season which required countless hours of physical therapy, a lot of mobility aids, and multiple surgeries, including finally a full knee replacement at the age of 18 when doctors were reasonably assured he had stopped growing. He missed a ton of school due to his injury and recovery, so his parents arranged to have Zoey tutor him in his math and science classes so he wouldn’t fall too far behind and that’s how they became friends. With Zoey’s encouragement that he was actually a lot smarter than he gave himself credit for (if he’d actually put in some effort) , Kyle decided to become a physical therapist to give back, grateful for everyone who had helped with his own recovery. His bad knee still bothers him sometimes, and he has to wear a brace if he overexerts himself. He also owns a very expensive, high-quality cane, but it makes him feel self-conscious so he purposely avoids using it (even when he probably should) and only relies on it as a last resort.

Kyle joined his fraternity as a freshman and is a legacy since his father joined the same one when he was in school. Greek Life was something he was most excited about when going to college, and he was thrilled when his charisma (and probably his family’s money) got him into a frat right away as a freshman. He moved into the frat house in the spring semester of his freshman year and after his previous roommate moved out into off-campus housing, he tried his best to convince Hero to join and become his new roommate.

Kyle loves traveling and loves to send his friends postcards from his vacation destinations. He always tries to find postcards with bridges on them for Zoey and ones with food on them for Hero.

Kyle is a terrible cook. He swears he could burn water and can barely even make a Pop-Tart. This is one of the reasons why he is so impressed by Hero and his culinary skills. Hero has tried to teach Kyle some basics of cooking on several occasions, but he is beyond help.

[hero-deserves-to-be-happy]

When Sun Shines Again [Hero's Life After Mari] Series Masterlist ⛅

"When Sun Shines Again" is a Post-Good Ending Hero-Centric series focusing on Hero finding healing and building a life for himself after the loss of Mari. Eventually includes him learning to love again after an extremely slow burn.

Romantic Relationships: Main Ships: (Past) Hero/Mari and (Eventual) Hero/OC. Side Ships: Brandi/OC and a brief mention of Mikhael/Bebe are the only side ships involving canon characters.

Platonic Relationships: Hero & Brandi Friendship, Hero & Original Characters Friendship. Some Hero & Kel Siblings Relationship & Brotherly Friendship.

Characters: Major Canon Characters: Hero (POV Character), Brandi [Intimidating Girl], Mari and Mari's Memory, & Kel. Major Original Characters (Hero's college friends): Kyle, C.J., Zoey, Tamra, and Lorraine. Mentioned Canon Characters: Sunny, Basil, Aubrey, Sally, Hero's Parents, Bebe (Short Haired Girl/Fountain Girl) & Mikhael (The Maverick).

Genre: Hero-Centric Hurt/Comfort, Angst, Slice of Life, College Life, Lost Love, Finding Love Again, Finding Healing After Grief, Slow Burn, Developing Friendship, Developing Relationship, Greiving, Catharsis, Heart-To-Heart Chats, Hopeful/Happy Ending, Post-Good Ending, Hero Needs A Hug, Hero Deserves To Be Happy

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some language.

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. Mentions of Underage Drinking & Partying). Some Language.

⛅WORKS:

PREQUEL: "Am I Ready For Love? Or Maybe Just A Best Friend" [Tumblr Link]

**This story is intended to be read prior to "When Sun Shines Again" & is recommended**

Description: While playing "Mom Friend" to his college buddies' shenanigans, Hero is shocked to learn that he is widely considered the "Prince" of their campus. Though flattered, he doesn't feel he deserves the praise, especially seeing as his heart still missed the best friend and childhood love he had lost far too soon. He would always miss her and simply couldn't imagine being with anyone else...but that didn't mean he wasn't lonely. Even self-imposed loneliness wasn't free from sadness.

When an unexpected conversation drudges up bittersweet memories for him, however, Hero begins to wonder if he doesn't have to be nearly as lonely anymore. He might not be ready for love, but a best friend didn't sound too bad...

Hero Centric Hurt/Comfort, Angst, & Slice of Life; Post-Good Ending. Special emphasis on Past Hero/Mari (Angst) and Hero's platonic friendships with his college friends (Brandi & OCs) in the present. Could be Hero/OC if you really wanted to see it, but this story is focused on their platonic friendship.

MAIN STORY: "When Sun Shines Again" [AO3 Link; Tumblr Links Below]

Description: When tragedy struck, Hero lost not only his dearest friend but also his dreams for the future. Even years later, Hero doesn't know what his "forever" looks like without Mari in it, but somehow he finds the strength to carry on and build a new life for himself. With his family and friends both old and new by his side, Hero struggles through life's ups and downs--the joys and sorrows he faces in a world without Mari. In the beginning, he's only looking to survive it all, but somewhere along the way, he might find a purpose, a reason he's still here. Maybe there really is a way he can learn to be happy again, and maybe, just maybe, when he's least expecting it, he might even find himself slowly opening his heart to love again--he might even find himself believing that even the darkest, stormiest of times will eventually pass and the sun will shine again.

A Hero-Centric story spanning 15 years of his life post-good end. Focuses on Hero finding healing & building a life for himself after the loss of Mari. Eventually includes him learning to love again after an extremely slow burn. All pairings are tagged on AO3 upfront. Rated T for heavy themes & some language. Reading the prequel is recommended.

Prologue: “Hoping I'm Always There” [HeroMari-centric]

Chapter 1 (HeroMari Centric)

Part 1: “To Lead A Better Life” [Hero's Platonic Relationships with Canon Characters (his friends & family from the game)-Centric]

Chapter 2 (Hero & Kel-Centric)

Chapter 3 (Hero & Aubrey-Centric)

Chapter 4 (Hero & Basil-Centric)

Chapter 5 (Hero & Sunny-Centric)

Part 2: "Changing My Life" [Hero's Platonic Relationships at University-centric]

Chapter 6 (The Party That Changed Hero's Life: Part 1 of 3)

Chapter 7 (The Party That Changed Hero's Life: Part 2 of 3)

Chapter 8 (The Party That Changed Hero's Life: Part 3 of 3)

Part 3: “Believing That Love Never Dies”

Part 4: “Everywhere”

Part 5: “She's Got A Way”

Epilogue: "A Million Dreams Of Love"

ABRIDGED VERSION/EPILOGUE: "The Hero You Loved" [Tumblr Link]

**This story includes specific references to the other stories in this series (particularly "Am I Ready For Love Or Maybe Just A Best Friend?"), but it should stand alone and work as a sort of abridged version and epilogue to everything else so reading the other stories is unnecessary.**

Description: 12 years after the good ending of OMORI, Hero reflects on the unexpected turns his life has taken. He wasn't the same person he used to be and would never be that person again. After such a devastating loss, he had truly believed he could never be happy again, but things were different now…

Hero finds healing and loves again (the abridged version). Past Hero/Mari and Current Hero/Zoey (OC) Slice of Life, Romance, and Hurt/Comfort. Rated G.

SIDE STORIES:

Under The Weather - A (Self-Indulgent) Hero-Centric Sick Fic with a Side of Hurt/Comfort and Slice of Life Post Good-Ending feat. Hero and Kel's Brotherly Bond & both Kel and Hero's relationships with one of Hero's friends from college, Zoey (OC). Rated G.

⛅Cast Profiles:

C.J. Watkins [OMORI OC]

Kyle Davenport [OMORI OC]

Lorraine Park [OMORI OC]

Tamra Lamarre [OMORI OC]

Zoey Park [OMORI OC]

⛅Art:

Old Friends and New Friends

Scene from "Am I Ready For Love? Or Maybe Just A Best Friend"

"The Gang's All Here" [Hero & His College Friends Art]

⛅Hero & His Friends Art by @shine-n-bright