TW: Scars/scrapes, course language, and slight mentions of s/h.
"...So, you're telling me we've been sharing a dream?"
"I-I know it sounds hard to believe."
"Hard to believe is an understatement, I think." I tapped my foot rhythmically on the hospital's tiled floor, holding my fist to my mouth. "Is it, like... magic or something?"
"I don't know, maybe??"
The silence was suffocating. I was stressing. Hero was staring blankly at the wall, his eyes glazed over. For somebody who had been in a comatose state for a while, he looked exhausted. But, the quiet was broken by the sound of my vibrating phone. I answered the call quickly, reading the caller ID: Sashi Kaube. The bassist of Star Navy.
"Sunny, where the fuck are you?? Rehearsal is starting in five minutes!" they snapped at me, the sounds of the others tuning their instruments in the background.
"It is?"
"Duh!! Where are you, we're gonna play the song today!! You know, the song you wrote? The one you sing?"
"Oh crud, right. I'm visiting a friend in the hospital right now, but I'll head out now, ok? Practice another while waiting for me."
They groaned loudly, but ultimately agreed. "Fine. Get over here asap, ok?"
"Alri-"
They hung up the phone before I could finish my sentence. I turned over to Hero, who had snapped out of his trance and was staring at me. "Work?"
"Yeah, work. I'm so sorry, I've got to go. I promise I'll come back, ok? Then we can talk more about... whatever the hell this is."
"Ok. I'll see you around, Sunny."
With a weak wave, I dashed out of the door, giving the others a short explanation to the others before rushing to my car. As I drove down the road, I sang along to the radio in hopes of warming up whatever voice I had left.
When I arrived, the whole band was there. Silver, the drummer. Sashi, the bassist. Poppy, the lead guitarist. Kye, the keyboard player. And, finally, Charlie, the lead singer with the total of two personality traits: fluffy hair and a British accent.
"Finally! Thought you died again, dude!" Silver greeted, waving wildly.
"Sorry for being late."
"Sashi told us about your friend in the hospital. Are they ok?" Poppy asked, plucking a few strings and not looking up at me.
She pretended to care. None of them really did. I never knew anything about them other than their names. We were just forced to be in a group together in one of the world's blandest yet most successful industry plants. I didn't fit into their dynamic very well, yet I was one of the most loved, second only to Charlie. I guess they grouped me into the 'emo bad boy' archetype? Seriously. Fans think they know me, but they don't understand a thing.
"Yeah, he woke up from a coma today."
"Wow." The response was monotonous. "Anyway, enough of that, it's time to practice."
After hours upon hours upon hours of practising, my throat felt hoarse and my fingers were beginning to form more callouses.
"Alright, that should be good for now. Our last concert in Faraway is gonna be in two days, so you better not blow it. I'm gonna go sign some autographs," Sashi said, turning on their heels and walking away.
Once I got back to my dressing room, I opened up my phone and decided to scroll through the buckets of fan content. There were edits, fanart, song leaks, even some odd writings coupling me with the other members of the band. Sunver? Sunshi? Sunlie??? Heh. As if that'd ever happen. My eyelid was getting heavier and heavier as I scrolled. Charlie was live on Instagram on the other side of the door. I wouldn't be bothered for a while, so I decided to close my eye and sleep for a while.
...
When I woke up, it had been about 2 hours. No dream. So, I sat up and turned on the television. A Captain Spaceboy cartoon was on. He looked different. It wasn't the same as when I was a kid. It was modernised. It looked ugly. I put on the DVD instead, deciding it'd been a while since I had some childlike wonder rather than bitter adult cynicism.
My watching was interrupted by a knock at the door. "Yoo-hoo, Sunny! The fans want to say hello!" the irritating Charlie yelled from the other side. I rolled my eyes in irritation. The faster he's in, the faster he's out. So, I yelled back an affirmation, plastering on a fake smile. He came in, cheery as ever, holding a Caesar salad in his hand.
"There he issss! Hey, Sunny! Sunny, say hello!"
I looked over the comments flying in, and the heart emojis.
THERE'S OUR EMO BOY LES GOOOOOOO
hi sunny!!
Stan Sunny for clear skin
SUNNY MY BELOVED <3
here he is!!!
Sunny, what's your favourite type of donut?
please respond to my dms ive dedicated my whole life to you sunny
I widened my smile, making a small heart shape with my fingers. There's that one creep, they threw a bra with their username at me once. It was gross. "Hello, lovelies! How are you today?" The responses to my question came flooding in, making Charlie laugh.
"The fans and I made you dinner!" Although I didn't appreciate the invasion of privacy, I appreciated the lunch. "What's Sunny up to today?"
"Aww, thank you, everybody! Just watching TV." Piss off.
"What show?"
"The Adventures of Captain Spaceboy, the classic one."
"Good ol' Sunny, always watching Spaceboy." Why use my name every sentence, you fancy pants prick? I shovelled a mouthful of salad into my mouth, just to make sure I wouldn't yell and/or strangle him. I was a professional, you know.
"Yeah, it's my favourite!" I put extra effort into making my giggle sound what people would classify as adorable, purely for the extra clout. Outside the window, the sun was beginning to set. How much longer will you be live for? Get out of my room.
I watched the comments rolling in, a lot of them saying the same thing:
hey, is sunny ok?
What's up with his arm?
What are those scratches??? is he ok????
sunny please respond i gave you my number.
"Huh? What scratches?" I rolled up the sleeves of my baggy sweatshirt, which were already drooping a little. And, sure enough, my forearm was scratched up. It took me a while to remember, but it occurred to me.
She grabbed onto me tightly, her sharp nails digging into my forearm so tight they could draw blood. I grunted, making an effort to escape, but she dragged her fingers across, leaving four scratches on my arm. Then, she used her tight grip to slam me against the wall.
It was my dream. I got this injury in a dream. Quick, think of a lie!
"Oh, these? Yeah, I was scratched by a dog when I went to pat it recently, ehe. Don't worry, everyone! I'm fine!"
Charlie, who was off-screen, signed something to me. 'Are you really ok?' I gave him a curt nod in response, still smiling. We had both learned sign language in the past, him to communicate with his deaf sister, and for me to communicate in general, when I didn't feel up to talking in the past. I guess we cared about each other to a degree, and that I appreciate.
Luckily for me, my phone began to ring. Hero. Thank you, you really are my hero. "Oh dear! I've gotta take this now, it's personal. I'll see you cuties later at tomorrow's show!" I blew a quick kiss before Charlie left the room, talking to his viewers. My cheeks ached from smiling. I picked up his call. "Hello?"
"Hey. I'm gonna go to bed now. How about you?"
"Why do you ask?"
"I was thinking... If we go to sleep at the same time, d'you think we'll be able to go back or something? I dunno, just a thought that's been bouncing around my mind."
I paused to think. "...Possibly. I'm so tired."
"Yeah, I understand."
"Alright. I'll go to bed now."
"Cool. Let's see if this works."
After saying our goodbyes, he hung up, and I laid down on the couch once more. I decided to not mention the scratches. I'd tell him later. I closed my eyes, and let the sounds of Captain Spaceboy soothe me to sleep.
...
My salad went soggy.
Damn.
alright, new chapter! i've made the decision to make multiple endings to this fic: a good end, a bad end, and one or two neutral ends. so uh, be hyped for that!
thanks for 5.4k! i appreciate the support on this one, and i hope you're enjoying an actual story driven fic!
that's all for now! catch ya on the flip side, trash gremlins!
- trashbag