Remember Sunny Days

1

"Whoa, dude! What happened? Did you try to climb into the treehouse without Mari to make sure you made it fine? You've gotta be more careful!" Kel said, going through his mess of a bag next to him in a vain attempt to find a sharpie. Sunny's stoic gaze broke for a moment as he looked up at Kel, an unrecognizable expression finding its way onto his face. Kel took a couple steps backwards, throwing his hands up.

"Hey man, I get that no one likes getting hurt. It can't be that bad though, why don't you tell me?" He tilted his head quizzically, watching as Sunny attempted to say something, opening his mouth, only to shut it quickly, shaking his head. It's only in that moment that Kel realized Sunny's frame was shaking slightly, the one hand with more free range grasping his opposite arm. Before he could ask anything beyond that, the bell rang over their heads. Kel patted Sunny on the back roughly, accidentally pushing him into the desk. Something in Sunny snapped as he stood up quickly, his bookbag and its contents spilling haphazardly on the floor. He didn't pay any mind to them as he wordlessly exited, his feet moving on their own.

The images of Mari-- poor, innocent Mari-- felt like they wouldn't leave him alone. The wide eyes continued to stare at him as he started breaking into a full sprint, running directly to the fence at the edge of campus. He pushed through crowds of late kids, attempting to desperately get away from everything. By the time he had bounded to the fence, he had caught the eyes of far too many people for comfort. It didn't stop him from struggling to climb the fence, cursing his other hand for being out of commission. The distant sound of someone familiar yet strange called out to him, yet it only fueled his desires even further. He needed to leave, no matter the cost.

Finally making it to the top of the fence, he turned to see Kel had made his way to the fence, panting and watching with wide eyes. It was to be expected, as Sunny wasn't necessarily known for being a problem child of any sorts. The moment they met eyes, Sunny paused.

"What's gotten into you?! This isn't cool," he started, putting his hands on the fence. "I don't know what happened, but if you fall, you might mess up your wrist more."

Sunny's eyes panned to the cast, and he closed his eyes for a moment, trying to focus on his breathing. He'd seen Mari do the same thing whenever she got frustrated, and it seemed to work for her. However, the more he tried to breathe in and out, the less he could keep himself composed. With a final swift movement, he threw himself over the fence, curling in on himself to protect his wrist as he jumped. After clumsily getting up, he didn't stop running. Kel watched as Sunny's back grew further and further away from him. He was about to follow when a teacher came behind him, clearing their throat loudly. He turned around, looking back for a moment before apologizing and heading back to class and gathering Sunny's things and putting them into his bag again.

He could just visit after school and see what was up.

------

Sunny found his home, breathless and dizzy from his running, putting his hand on the door as he caught his breath shakily. He started trying to open the door with his casted hand, quietly whimpering as he attempted to despite the wrist being uncooperative. He finally struggled it open, running inside and going to Mari's room without hesitation. He slammed his fists on the door, hoping she would answer. When no response came, he began to fight with the door in the same fashion, his noises of agony getting louder with every attempt until the door opened.

Mari was nowhere to be seen, the room slightly unkempt as if she had been looking for something before she had left it. She was normally a pretty tidy person, finding herself much happier in clean spaces. It wasn't until his eyes landed on a folder laying on the piano with their sheet music for practice that he found himself backing into the wall of the hallway, stumbling on his footing and pressing himself up against the wall. There was no way that all really happened. He kept trying to deny the idea to himself, whimpering as his hands found his way to his hair and started pulling. With shaky legs, he ran out the front door, not taking care to lock it as his feet pounded the pavement.