Basil gently blew at the piece of string tied to his finger, watching intently as it swayed in the air. The string had come from his blanket; a small strand was poking out of the fabric, so he had simply pulled at it until it came out. He’d tried to tie it into a small noose, but found that the string was entirely too thin and delicate, at least for a classic hangman’s knot. So instead, he simply wrapped it around his fingertip until it was secure. He couldn’t help but feel a sort of serene calmness as he stared at the dangling string. The act was almost meditative.

Taking a peek outside, he saw that the pitch black sky had started to shift into a soft blue, with clouds appearing to obscure the fading moon, which had already begun falling past the horizon. He took his phone from his bedside dresser and checked the time: 6:28 AM. Figuring that was a reasonable time to be awake, he stood from his bed and tugged the string off his finger, carelessly dropping it to the floor without a second thought. As light began to gently filter into his room, he noticed it. Somethings, or at least, their shadows. He looked down at the floor as their silhouettes danced.

Perhaps “danced” was putting it too kindly. Their shadows, the disgusting amalgamations of fading darkness, seemed to shift and fold upon themselves, jerking about in a bizarre fashion as their shape morphed. Still though, Basil found that he was able to just barely recognize the crude shapes being formed. A noose. A hanging body to go with the noose. An eye, peering out from under the body’s hair. A boy with an eyepatch.

He stopped looking.

Without really thinking, he walked out of his room, not bothering to close the door behind him. He found his way into his kitchen and grabbed a banana before heading outside to his garden. He unpeeled the banana and tossed both the peel and fruit itself into a compost bin. Really, he doubted that any amount of composting would fix the depressing state of his garden, but he needed an excuse to actually do something. He sat down and put on a pair of gardening gloves as he began pulling at some weeds. Frankly, it was astonishing that they were growing at the rate that they were. If he pulled out one patch, three more would take its place. Herbicide didn’t work, and not even the potted plants, which were spared from the infestation, were healthy.

“So, what’s the point of doing this then?” Basil’s hands slowly came to a stop as he looked around him. Not a single plant was alive, aside from the weeds. “Why am I even trying? Nothing I do works.”

Right. But he needed something to do. Anything.

“There’s no reason though.” He stood up, wincing as a spell of nausea briefly overtook him. It, along with a piercing painful headache, suddenly took up every part of his brain. As soon as they appeared though, they vanished. Shaking his head, Basil stumbled back inside of his house and collapsed on his couch. He used to keep plants inside as well - various shades of tulips and an array of sunflowers. Of course, they had all died too. It didn’t matter that he watered them regularly, that he provided home-made fertilizer, that he ensured that they got enough sunlight. One by one, they had simply dropped dead.

Basil turned on the TV, ignoring the two empty vases that flanked it. He tried to focus on whatever he had tuned in to, but it seemed like his mind decided to filter it all out. No matter how he tried to concentrate, the screen remained a jumbled mess of shifting colors and incoherent sounds.

“Captain Spaceboy…” Sunny muttered. Basil turned to see with mild surprise that right beside him, Sunny sat. The boy yawned lazily, scratching his cheek with a limp hand as he slumped back on the couch. “They’re doing reruns again, huh?”

Basil nodded. “Getting tired of him? I’m surprised they’ve kept the show on air for this long. The latest episode aired, like, four years ago.”

“Eh.” Sunny gave a noncommittal grunt as he scooted closer. Yawning again, he closed his eyes and snuggled up to Basil, letting his head drop to rest on his shoulder. “Why do you have to be up so early? It’s basically still night.”

Basil laughed softly as he started to pet Sunny’s head, letting his hand run through the mess of tangled hair. He couldn’t help but marvel at how soft his hair was; it was almost exactly like petting a cat. The fact that Sunny almost seemed to purr and lean into his hand, silently asking him to continue, only strengthened the comparison. “It’s early morning Sunny, you’re just lazy.”

“So? You don’t even sleep anymore, so what would you know about that? It’s kind of disturbing, actually.”

“S-Sunny… Why would you… Why would you say that?” There it was. The painfully familiar twisting sensation that always started in his chest. The kind of feeling that made him wish he could just curl up into a ball and die. The kind that filled him with the overwhelming urge to just be alone. To get away from it all, to escape the expectant stares of everyone around him.

The TV switched off, leaving behind an empty black screen in which Basil could only stare at his own reflection. He was sitting completely still, unable, unwilling to move, as Sunny sat next to him. Except, there was something wrong with all this, wasn’t there? Yes, an undeniable contradiction that stuck out like a sore thumb. Why would Sunny be acting so affectionate when he clearly hated him? For ruining his life, for breaking up their circle of friends, for being an ugly stain on his life?

Basil felt his heart drop as Sunny scowled and sat up, pushing himself away from him. The soft warmth that had so comfortably settled on him just seconds prior was replaced with a jarring coldness. They sat on opposite sides of the couch now, with Sunny looking offended for being even in the same room as him. He opened his mouth to try and say something. An apology. A beg for forgiveness. Anything. But nothing came.

Still, this wasn’t right. A slight detail that didn’t make much sense. He still had both of his eyes, which were filled with frightened disgust, as if he were recalling all of the horrible acts Basil had done. One blink and the disgust left, leaving behind pure, acute terror as his right eye suddenly burst in an explosion of blood. His mouth opened in a silent scream as he covered the gaping wound with his hands, chest heaving as blood spilled out from in between his fingers and onto the couch.

Still. It was wrong.

Sunny was dead. Basil shook his head. Sunny was dead. None of this was even possible.

Finally regaining control over his body, Basil tore his eyes away from the TV screen and looked beside him, where he saw nothing. Nothing but an ordinary couch, nice and tidy other than a thin layer of dust that had accumulated from disuse. When he looked back at the TV screen, all he saw was his own reflection staring back at him. He looked sick, with dull, gloomy eyes that couldn’t seem to focus on anything and lethargy that tainted his every movement. It was probably just the screen warping his reflection, like some sort of twisted funhouse mirror.

“Oh, good morning Basil! You’re up early, even earlier than usual!” Polly said cheerfully. Slowly, he turned his head to see Polly emerging from the hallway, dressed in a blue nightgown. Judging from the serious case of bed-hair she was sporting, she probably only woke up minutes ago. Despite this, she managed to maintain a chipper attitude, smiling at him as she made her way to the kitchen, doubtless to prepare coffee, or breakfast, or both.

“Good morning.” Basil said. “I already ate, don’t worry about making me anything.”

“Huh? Well, alright then.” Polly shrugged. “How are you feeling? If you don’t mind my saying so, you look a bit tired. Maybe you should try to get some more shut-eye? I promise I won’t make too much noise.”

“I’m fine.” He said firmly, getting up from the couch. And really, he was. Despite everything, he didn’t feel that tired. In fact, he felt less sleepy than yesterday. All in all, an improvement. “I-I’m gonna go out. See you later.”

Whether Polly responded or not, he couldn’t tell.

Basil blinked, body jerking as he quickly looked around him. He squinted as a harsh light filled his vision, putting a hand up to shield his face as he started blinking, eyes slowly adjusting to the sudden influx of brightness. One second, he had been closing the door behind him as he walked out of his house, the next…

“Where… am I?”

It took a few seconds, but recognition eventually hit him like a truck. He was at the old hangout spot, where he and Sunny and all of the others used to get together. He stood at the docks just before the small lake, which unfortunately seemed a bit… dirty. Bits of random trash littered its dull blue waters, making it quite a long ways from the beautifully pristine body of water it once was. What was once a crystal clear lake, seemingly free from imperfections, was now a hole in the ground filled with murky water and garbage.

Slowly, he sat down at the edge of the dock and dropped his feet into the water, not bothering to take off his shoes. Closing his eyes, he allowed himself the small comfort that came with the coldness of the water. Despite almost having drowned here recently, it still felt nice to return here, where he could rest easy knowing that no one was around. If he really tried, he could even pretend that everything was okay. That Mari and Sunny were both still alive and having a picnic behind him, along with Hero. Kel and Aubrey would be taking turns jumping into the lake, laughing and teasing each other as they always did.

He opened his eyes and stared down at the water, at his own reflection. Sunny was sitting next to him, hand gently placed over his. It brought upon him a startling sense of nostalgia, one that almost seemed to make him happy. It only made everything hurt more, only reminded him of everything he destroyed.

“N-Not real. You’re... not real.” Basil whispered. “Leave me alone. P-Please.”

Sunny frowned at him, confused. “Basil?”

“I know you’re not. You don’t have to keep following me around like this, I know I messed up, okay?” Basil snatched his hand away from Sunny’s, wincing as a flash of confused hurt washed over the former’s face. Why did it have to feel so real? “I’m… I-I’m sorry. About everything. Really.”

“...”

“Say something… Say something or just go away!”

"We could have been happy, you know." Sunny said quietly. He produced a pebble out of seemingly nowhere and tossed it into the lake. It made a small splash, and sent out waves of ripples that were just barely visible on the waters of the lake. "But Something pushed her down. If only... If only I could have stopped it."

Basil gulped.

"But we can still be happy. Despite everything."

"What do you mean?" Basil asked.

Wordlessly, Sunny scooted over the edge of the dock, gently lowering himself into the water. Something was below him. In the water. Something, with its shifting, dark face and countless tendrils that moved to wrap themselves around his legs. Sunny didn’t seem to mind though. He only looked up at Basil with a silent question on his face:

“Join me?”

His heart dropped. “I… Can I? C-Can I, really?”

He nodded once. Extending one arm forward, he held out his hand to Basil in an invitation.

The shaking wouldn’t stop. Every single part of his body was buzzing with anticipation, like a jackhammer gone haywire. It made it hard to think, hard to see. Everything was blurry, everything save for Sunny, who stood as an unmoving statue, bathed in the sunlight in a way that framed him as an angel. Here, right in front of him, stood a chance. One last chance to be happy again, to be with Sunny again. He knew that none of this was real. He knew that everything about this was wrong. But did it really matter anymore?

Basil grabbed his hand and smiled.

Sunny smiled back. He began to move backwards, pulling Basil into the lake.

“Everything’s going to be okay.”