You're back, Mari

Chapter 8: Hero

"Alright, everybody settled?" Kel clapped his hands, grinning. "We've got snacks, drinks..." Kel shuffled a bit, grabbing a box from behind himself. "And tissues!"

"Are we really doing this...?" Hero nervously laughed, grabbing a soda can. Aubrey shrugged, popping a few chips into her mouth.

"Do you have any other ideas?" She rose a brow at him, and Hero shook his head.

"I think this could be fun!" Basil nudged Sunny who was next to him. Sunny startled, looking to Basil. Sunny then handed over the bag of chips he was trying to open. Basil proudly opened it and handed it back. Basil then brightened, remembering something.

"Oh! Sunny! I got you this." Basil reached into his backpack and pulled out a sketchbook and a pack of colored pencils. He gave them to Sunny, who just tilted his head. "This way if you don't feel like talking...you can write instead!" Basil bounced a bit in place, eyes shining. Like he was waiting for praise, he kept staring at Sunny.

"...Okay." Sunny nodded, a tiny smile on his lips. Basil vibrated in happiness.

"Now that that's settled," Kel raised an arm in the air, "let our first The Stressed out Support Group meeting begin!"

"The name's lame." Aubrey snorted. She glanced around Hero and Kel's bedroom for a bit, before looking back at Kel. "Who's going first?"

Nobody spoke up.

"U–Um!" Basil actually rose his hand, surprising everyone. "I can...start...if that's fine." Basil's smile wobbled.

"Great!" Kel gave a thumbs up. "Okay, um...should we do like, questions?"

"I don't know." Hero rubbed the back of his head. "I'm still pretty sure this is usually done with...professionals."

"Bah, who needs those." Kel waved Hero off, "plus...it's not like we can do that. We'd have to...expose some things." Kel shook his head at the thought, smiling again. "You're the adult supervision, so we're fine." Kel opened a chip bag.

"I'll start with a question I guess." Aubrey took a swig of some knock–off soda brand. "On a scale of one to ten, how stable do you think you are? One being completely out of your mind, and ten being the level of a normal person." Hero's eye twitched. That was...blunt.

"Oh! Um..." Basil actually seriously thought about it, rubbing his chin. "A few days ago...probably...a two? But right now I'm feeling a solid five!" Basil gave a thumbs-up as if his answer was comforting in any way. "We should ask everyone this when it's their turn! It's a good question!" It really wasn't.

"Sounds good to me." Kel nodded. "Oh, I have a question too. How have you been feeling about, uh..." Kel gestured to his own eye, referencing Sunny. Basil's mouth twitched, hands fidgeting.

"I'm...a lot less upset about it now. I was a lot more guilty before and...almost did something a bit rash...haha..." Hero rose a brow. A bit? "But, now I know that I just need to make up for it by being a great friend!"

"Awesome!" Kel cheered, then shoved a mouthful of chips in his mouth. "Anything you're really worried about right now?" Aubrey threw a chip bag at Kel's head.

"Don't talk with your mouth full!"

"Sorry..." Kel then covered his mouth, making the same mistake. Aubrey just glared, huffing and turning back to Basil.

"Um..." Basil frowned, clasping his hands together to prevent more fidgeting. "I guess...just about Sunny." Sunny was drawing in the book that Basil got him, not showing any sign he was listening. "I feel like it's...more concerning every day. He's...uh...becoming more distinct? I guess? How do I put it..." Basil rubbed his chin, "I think...it's like he's developing more into a person...?"