Phytoremediation

I just like you a little more than me

Basil wiped the tears from his face and looked into Sunny's eyes. For a moment, everything seemed a lot less bleak.

"Um... excuse me, the uh... next movie is starting soon..." an employee of the theatre said awkwardly, "So uh... you'll have to leave..."

Basil's face flushed pink with embarrassment, "Oh, yeah, s-sorry, we can go now."

Sunny and Basil silently speedwalked out of the theatre and out the front entrance.

"Sorry about that earlier, Sunny. I've just been stressed... and lonely..." Basil tried not to sound sad. He felt like if he showed what he was feeling, he'd be manipulating Sunny.

I already took so much from you...

"It's okay, Basil. You don't need to apologize." Sunny said reassuringly... well, his tone was sort of flat like it usually was, but Basil knew how to differentiate things.

"I-I do, Sunny, I keep taking things from you! I... I need to stop putting everything on you!" Basil shouted, "I keep using you to dump all my problems on someone else! Now I just... I think..." Basil stammered for a few moments before pausing.

"I think I need to stop relying so much on others. It just hurts me and them. It ended up with Polly dying. I won't hurt you anymore."

Basil turned and began to walk away.

Sunny stood still, processing what was said for a few moments before running after Basil.

"B-Basil, wait! You don't have to do this!" Sunny said, grabbing Basil's shoulder.

Basil pulled away from Sunny's grip. "Basil, please, we can talk about this!" Sunny said frantically as he grabbed his arm.

Basil pulled his arm away aggressively. "Sunny, please stop."

Sunny sprinted to be in front of Basil, and he put his hands onto Basil's shoulders. "Basil, listen, I need you to try and breathe. Please think about-"

Basil pushed Sunny over. "Let GO!"

Basil's face became darkened with regret, and he ran back to his house without another word.

"Basil, wait!" Sunny called from behind Basil, but it was too late. He slammed the door behind himself.

Basil ran upstairs to his room and sat on his bed crying. He sobbed out incomprehensible sentence strings. Nobody was around to hear him. Except...

"Hello, Basil. Rather pathetic display, take some pride in yourself, pig."

"W-Who?" Basil sputtered out in confusion as he cried.

"Call me 'Omori'. I believe I have a conversation to have with you."

"S-Stay out of my head!" Basil yelled, shutting his eyes tightly with fear as he grabbed his head.

Knocking at the door began, increasing Basil's anxiety. Basil began to sob quietly.

"Now, Basil, I believe I have a great solution to this problem you are facing. Fall asleep, so we may speak face to face, and I can guide you through what to do." Omori said with an invisible smile.

"Um..." Basil began.

--

Sunny continued to knock on Basil's door. "Please! Basil, please come outside! Please!" Sunny felt himself begin to cry. "Please..."

After a few more minutes of knocking, Sunny gave up and walked home. He tried not to let the tears in his eyes distract him from his destination. He entered his house and sat down at his old dinner table.

"Mari... what do I do now..? I... why did I have to push you that day... I'm so stupid." Sunny spoke quietly as he cried into his hands.

"Look, Sunny, what's done is done. We were being dumbasses and I ended up dying. Better me than you. So don't touch that knife in your drawer that I know you were just thinking about." Mari's voice echoed.

She was right, too, since Sunny was considering stabbing his own throat then and there. "Sorry, Mari..." Sunny whispered.

Sunny went to his room and stared at his bookshelf. Anything that could make him stop thinking about how worthless he was.

A book he remembered Mari doing a book report on. "Lolita" was its name. Sunny decided to pick up the book and open it. Couldn't be that bad.

--

Basil felt himself hyperventilating

"He's abandoned you, you know. He never cared." Omori spoke with sinister apathy.

"F-Fine, I'll go to sleep! Just leave me alone, please! Get out of my head!" Basil shouted.

Omori fell silent, though his presence remained.

Basil cried into his pillow.