Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Good Luck clicked the end of his pen restlessly, holding his head in his other hand as he stared at the front of the class ahead of him. Up there, his professor was talking away, and every few moments Good Luck would nod along as if he was agreeing - but he wasn’t fully listening. It was his last class of the day, how could he? His mind was on other things, as it usually was.

Silently beside him, his phone’s home screen lit up with a notification. His eyes darted to it immediately with full attention, as if the message on his phone was more deserving of his attention than the education he was forking out thousands of dollars for. 

[Messenger] “the squad”

Cheer🌺🌈: Is everyone still good for food tonight?

The corner of Good Luck’s lips turned, unconsciously smiling at the invitation, making a note to respond to it after class. It was routine for his friend group to go out for dinner at least one night every week, whenever their schedules aligned. Sometimes classes got in the way, sometimes it was extra study (for the workaholics like Cheer), and other times…

[Messenger] “the squad”

funshine😎: hell yeah!!!!!!

Good Luck stared at the second notification as it slid onto his screen, subconsciously shaking his head, his smile still prominent. This time, he didn’t even think twice about the consequences of texting in class when he opened his phone, typed his password and clicked on the Messenger app. 

Good Lucky🍀: did you cancel your shift again?

He sent the message instantly, eyes glued to the screen as ‘ funshine😎 is typing… ’ appeared on his screen - a string of words he saw just about as much as he breathed. The only time the two weren’t talking was when they were confined to the responsibilities of their adult lives - those being work or class. That is, unless you were Funshine, who prioritised spending time with his friends over both of those things. Tonight being another case of that.

funshine😎: why do u wanna know huh

Good Luck let out a light chuckle, the sound bringing him back to reality. He covered his mouth and feigned a cough, putting his phone face down on the table, hoping it would be enough to get through the rest of the class without any unwanted attention. Still, though, he thought about the message, and a warm feeling flooded his chest. Funshine was really good at making it feel like his friends were the most important thing in his world, but he was just as good at falling short at attending all of his registered shifts. Good Luck had tried to convince him to put his job and money first sometimes, but to no avail, it was always met with something like ‘talk to me about working when you get a job of your own’, and followed with laughter. 

Truth be told, though, Good Luck didn’t believe with his whole heart that Funshine should skip group dinners for work. Maybe that’s why he had never convinced him enough. Infact, Funshine being there was the most important part to him. As much as Good Luck loved his friend group, he found it a little too easy to blend into the background sometimes. Everyone was always so loud - not just in volume, but in personality, and interests - and he could never match them. But it’s hard to fade into obscurity when you have a best friend like Funshine, one who always has one eye on you, pulling you back into the conversation when you get lost or left out.

And actions like that are what have put Good Luck in this situation.

The professor continued talking, completely unaware that Good Luck, who was sitting in his class, was actually not in his class at all - he was on a planet of his own. His mind buzzed with the need to respond to Funshine, thinking about what he could say. He thought about how Funshine could react to what he’d say, the way his eyes would squint when he smiled… Suddenly, the once quiet class erupted into noise as people pulled out their chairs and started to leave, chatting away about the contents of the class with their friends. Good Luck blinked like he was knocked out of a daze and looked around, before collecting his things and making a move as well. Unfortunately for him, most of his classes - all but one - he had no friends in, so he couldn’t talk about the class like the other students were. He couldn’t even ask someone to catch him up on what he missed whilst he was zoned out.

He figured that he’d worry about it later. It was the end of the day after all, tomorrow was a new one. And it’s not like missing out on some information in classes ever set him back. Even now, when exams were slowly approaching, he didn’t feel like he was missing much. His friends commended him on his knowledge and grades, but Good Luck believed it was just luck (it was in the name, after all). He tried to keep his grades to himself because of it - he felt bad for people like Cheer, who spent all of their free time studying.

Thinking about his friends, he realised he hadn’t responded to the group chat. Scrambling to open up his phone, he was greeted with more notifications, confirming the whole group’s attendance - except his.

[Messenger] “the squad”

Grumpy.: I’ll be there.

[Messenger] “the squad”

share bear💜🩵: count me in!! (˶> ᵕ <˶) ♡

[Messenger] “the squad”

Cheer🌺🌈: Good Luck?

Good Luck unlocked his phone and was greeted with the pre-opened Messenger app right where he left it in class - on Funshine’s DMs. He stopped in his tracks beside the front door to his class, looking at the messages again. He thought.

Subconsciously prioritising Funshine’s messages, he then typed, smiling.

Good Lucky🍀: you’re not gonna have any money to buy anything with if you keep doing that yk

And instantly -

funshine😎: u’ll cover for me, right bro? 

funshine😎: <3

Good Luck breathed at the sight of the heart emoticon and shook it off, knowing how playful Funshine was, especially with the context of the conversation. But what he couldn’t shake off was how right he was, even if he was joking. It’s like he could see through Good Luck without even knowing it. There’s not a lot that Good Luck could offer to his friends to help them when he wanted to, but his weekly allowance was starting to whisper Funshine’s penniless name.

funshine😎: kidding kidding

He leaned against the wall of the classroom and let out a deep sigh, quickly switching his focus over back to the group chat.

Good Lucky🍀: yeah! i’ll be there

Good Lucky🍀: sorry for the late reply.. got stuck in class

Cheer🌺🌈: All good! 

Cheer🌺🌈: Let’s meet at the gate and go from there :)

Grumpy.: I’ll pick you all up. I have to drive there anyway.

The gate to their uni was just a few floors down, so Good Luck would get there fast. He hoped he wouldn’t be the first one down there, he hated awkwardly standing there waiting for his friends to show up. It was bad enough that he had no friends in his stream, it was worse when people outside of his stream saw him standing by his lonesome self too. 

He tried to shrug it off and took his earphones out from his jeans pocket, connecting them to his phone and opening up his favourite playlist, hoping his favourite music artists would be enough to keep him company in the meantime. Listening to music was one of the main things Good Luck found himself doing in his free time. It’s not like he had the talent for an artistic hobby, or the agility for some sports. He didn’t even have a job - his family was well off and his weekly allowance was more than enough to get him through while he was still studying. Another few reasons why it was so hard to connect with his friends sometimes. Compared to them, he felt like he could wash away in the calmest river.

[Messenger] “the squad”

funshine😎: y’all are sloooow pokeeeesssssss

The notification buzzed in Good Luck’s hand and he looked at it in surprise. Did that mean Funshine was already there?
“That was fast…” Good Luck breathed, picking up his pace a little more as he went down the stairs to the first floor. Heading out of the doors, squeezing through the groups of other students making their way through to their later classes - or out to home or plans of their own - and taking out his earphones, he saw Funshine and Cheer standing at the gates. Funshine caught his eye almost instantly, as if he was looking specifically for him, and sent him a big, cheesy grin and a wave. The sudden energy from Funshine caught Cheer off guard and she looked up from her phone and saw Good Luck as well, giving him a calmer, but still just as cheerful smile. Of course the two of them were there at the same time though, they were doing the exact same university course in piloting. The two had been close since they were kids, so it was only natural for them to end up with the same interests.

A small flicker of warmth lit up in Good Luck’s chest as he waded through the crowd to get to his friends, an embarrassing amount of urgency in each of his steps towards them. 

“Heyyyy bro!” Funshine beamed at him, lazily slurring his words as he held out his fist for a fistbump. Good Luck found it hard to contain the apprehension that built up in his chest all morning, waiting for this moment, to be out of class and with his best friends again… with Funshine again. Good Luck curled his fingers and connected his own fist with Funshine’s, meeting his eyes with a smile.

“Hey Good Luck!” Cheer added, giving him a quick hug and looking back at her phone at the time. “Grumpy should be here in a minute. Has anyone heard from Share?” 

Good Luck and Funshine exchanged a clueless glance before both shrugging, and Cheer’s expression changed to uncertainty. She hummed a little bit and checked her phone again, scrolling on it and then looking back up at the boys. “She hasn’t been online since she sent that message earlier… normally she’s way done with childcare by now.” 

They let minutes pass between them as they waited for the last two in their group to arrive. It took some time, but soon they got the message from Grumpy that he was parked in the student car park. Cheer decided to wait around for a little while longer, waiting for any response from Share, until following with the group to Grumpy.

“Still nothing?” Grumpy asked Cheer through the rolled down window as the three of them approached his car. It was a piece of work, Grumpy’s car - it was blue, of course, spray painted by himself. The hoods on the tires were mismatched and there were a good few scratches and dents, but he loved and treasured that car like it was his own child. Grumpy was studying mechanics anyhow, so it only makes sense that he’d pick up a car like that and work on it to make it his own.             

Cheer shook her head and opened the passenger seat, putting on her seatbelt and opening her phone immediately again. It was clear that she was a little bit worried, but pushing it down so that the rest of the group didn’t worry too. It was just like her to prioritise the group’s feelings above her own. That, and being the one to organise most events, made her the leader of sorts - despite joining the group late. She was the only person in their group that they met through uni specifically, the other four had all become close during highschool - aside from Funshine and Cheer, whose parents were close friends, so they naturally grew up like family together. Cheer was homeschooled, however, and got into uni easily because Care-A-Lot University belonged to her parents. And that’s when Funshine got to introduce her to them properly.

Good Luck looked at Funshine, who was watching Cheer carefully as she got into the car. Despite her trying not to look worried, it was obvious to all of them. Funshine and Good Luck got in the back seats where they usually sat together - and Share would normally be in the middle. But the empty space between them was harrowing, but they tried not to think too much about it.

“She’s at Silver Lining today, right?” Grumpy began, putting the car in reverse and looking at the outside of the car behind him as he talked. He began to drive when Cheer nodded and gave him a soft “mm” of confirmation. “Let’s just go there,” he finished.

The car ride was quiet, aside from the radio (which was on volume 4) and the muffled sounds of the roads around them. The sky was only just starting to dim as it got deeper into the evening, and Good Luck found himself being entranced by the way the world moved outside of the window. He thought about how he could almost be lulled into sleep by it, when he felt someone prod his side and he jumped.

“Hey!” He said loudly, surprising the other two in the front as well. Good Luck turned to his side and saw Funshine looking at him with a mischievous glint in his eyes, suppressing light laughter. He suddenly sat up and avoided Good Luck’s glance, looking out of the window, and, with a childlike lightness, said, “wasn’t me.” Good Luck was so caught off guard that he couldn’t find it in him to argue back, he just rolled his eyes and replied with a lighthearted, “whatever.” It was always Funshine trying to bring some sort of light to a situation, as if he couldn’t stand the thought of the group feeling anything other than joy. And unfortunately, especially on Good Luck, it usually worked. He turned to look out the window again, smiling this time, when they finally arrived at the daycare. 

Grumpy pulled up in the carpark and stopped the car, making an observation at the lack of other cars in the carpark. It was past 6pm now, which meant it was after hours, so all of the kids would have gone home by this point. 

“Are we all going in?” Good Luck asked as the others started unbuckling their seatbelts, checking to see if he was really needed or not. Funshine nudged him in the arm and replied, “I don’t see why not. We’re just going to pick up our kid.” They laughed. 

All four of them walked through the door to the daycare, where most of the lights were turned off and everything was packed away ready for closing time. They walked past the lockers for the kids' belongings and saw that all were empty except for one, with a small, dirty backpack accompanied by some rain boots. Good Luck raised an eyebrow at them as they walked past - sure, it was later in the year, but it wasn’t scheduled to rain yet. Knocking him out of his thoughts, the four of them heard shrill crying coming from the main room and shared looks before walking through to find Share sitting with her knees on the floor, trying to calm down a little girl.

“Hey, hey, Dibble, it’s okay,” Share’s hushed voice reached out to the girl, who was cross legged and hunched over, wiping her tears with her hoodie sleeve - though that hoodie seemed to be twice her size. “He’ll be here soon, just relax and-” Her eyes met the group and widened in surprise and guilt. “Oh, oh my gosh, you guys! So sorry I didn’t let you know, I-”

“Where’s my dad?!” The girl, Dibble, choked out with heavy sobs and more screaming. Good Luck covered his ears, trying to drown out the sounds of the child’s distress. Not only was it heartbreaking to hear - it was loud. Good Luck looked to his side and noticed the others doing the same thing.

“It’s okay Dibble, it’s okay,” Share said quietly, reaching out this time to touch Dibble’s arm - but it wasn’t well received. Dibble pushed her away and kicked her legs, carrying on more. Share looked back towards her friends with helplessness in her eyes, and that was enough to kick Cheer into motion, lowering herself to Dibble’s level and waving at her kindly. Cheer wasn’t fond of kids - but she was fond enough of her friend to at least try to help.

“Hi there, Dibble,” she said with a smile. The new voice and face seemed to be enough to interest Dibble enough to stop her from carrying on for a moment, and she looked up from behind her sleeves and met Cheer’s eyes with big, teary ones of her own. She let out a few hiccups and sobs as Cheer tried to talk to her. “What’s wrong? We can help you.” 

Cheer’s tactics seemed to work, at least, until Dibble noticed something behind Cheer and focused in on it. Cheer hadn’t noticed until she tried talking to her more and was met with no eye contact or reaction, and she turned to follow Dibble’s gaze, noticing her locked in on Grumpy with an intense fixation. Beside Cheer, Dibble now shakily got up onto her feet and waddled over to Grumpy, who took a few steps back in surprise.

“What’s she doing?” He asked unsurely, looking to the others for help.

Share looked at Grumpy with tired eyes. “Please just let her,” she whispered. Grumpy still remained unsure for a few moments, but then nodded seriously, watching as Dibble very quietly approached him. The room was silent for the first time since they got there, and they all watched apprehensively to see what would happen. But, it was as simple as Dibble placing herself on the ground next to his leg and leaning into it quietly, closing her teary eyes and sniffing every few moments as she recovered from her breakdown. 

“Dibble? Are you okay now?” Share asked gently, her approach to kids amazing even Good Luck, who couldn’t imagine what he would do in that situation himself. Dibble didn’t open her eyes, she just let out a content sound and nodded. Something about the gesture must have softened Grumpy’s heart, because he looked down at her fondly, and then dropped to his knees beside her and began to talk to her, mimicking Share’s gentle tone - the gentlest he had ever sounded.

“Do you want me to hold you?” Grumpy asked, his tone full of care. He shared a glance with Share as if to make sure he was doing the right thing, and helping relieve her stress, and she just nodded back, a glint of fascination in her eyes. Dibble nodded and held up her hands with a grabbing motion, and Grumpy lifted her up effortlessly, holding her in a comfortable embrace as she started to calm down and breathe slowly.

“Are we sure he’s not being possessed?” Funshine whispered into Good Luck’s ear beside him. Good Luck stifled laughter and poked him in the side with his elbow, whispering back, “shut up.”

“I heard that,” Grumpy shot them both a warning glare, his usual grumpy self shining through even the sweetest of moments. “Don’t get used to this.” He moved his body slowly side to side, gently rocking her, and she almost immediately fell asleep in his arms. Share breathed a sigh of relief and stood up next to Grumpy, watching the little girl with tired eyes.

“Sorry about that, you guys,” she apologised, dipping her head. “Dibble’s new, she causes a bit more of a fuss than the others. I couldn’t even get to my phone to let you guys know I’d be late.”
“Why are you here all by yourself?” Cheer asked. “Isn’t it after hours? Where are her parents?”
“That’s the issue…” Share began quietly, when another person walked through the door. It was a bigger, scruffier looking man with bags under his eyes. He waddled into the room, slightly dragging his shoes as he stepped. Good Luck couldn’t describe it, but something about the man’s presence made his stomach feel uneasy. The entire group turned and looked at him as he made his way through.

“I’m here for her,” the man grumbled, pointing at the girl in Grumpy’s arms. Upon his voice sounding, her eyes blinked awake again and she squinted against the light, seeing the man. She didn’t say much aside from a few protesting whines when Grumpy lowered her onto the ground again and she stood, hiding behind his leg.

“Ah! Of course, no worries,” Share began, seemingly recognising the man. She walked beside him, guiding him to the front desk with a kind smile. “You can check her out over here, and then you’ll be good to go.” The two walked off together and the remainder of the group’s attention turned back to Dibble, who was staring up at Grumpy with wide, puppy-like eyes. Grumpy shared a few confused looks with the others, and then started nudging her along in the direction of her guardian.

“Come on, Dibble, time to go home,” Grumpy assured her with a smile. Grumpy walked to the others, leaving Good Luck with Cheer and Funshine, listening to the conversation from the other room.

“Did she cause a fuss again or somethin’?”
“I wouldn’t say it was a fuss, but she was upset…”

“‘Course she did, hmph. Come on kid, let’s go.”

A soft, sad whine from Dibble.

“I said let’s go. ”

Then, the door opening and closing.

Share and Grumpy walked back to the rest of the group, uncertainty reflected in Share’s eyes, and Grumpy’s full of thoughts of his own. But none of them spoke them. Share just breathed and wiped her forehead dramatically, giving her friends a smile for the first time during the encounter.

“Thanks for the help guys, and for coming to get me. Sorry again for worrying you,” she apologised gently, dipping her head once again. In the quiet of the room, it was clearer to them how tired and disheveled she seemed - could that have been only from the fuss Dibble caused? 

“I don’t how you do it, Share,” Cheer smiled at her, rubbing her hand over Share’s back comfortingly. The others murmured agreement and Share just released a sheepish giggle, avoiding their eyes and thanking them humbly. The group of them made their way out of the childcare, Share grabbing her bags and locking up the place after them, taking her place in the middle back seat in between Good Luck and Funshine, as usual, and they made their way to the restaurant.

–

“There’s no way I’m 5 bucks short.”

Funshine’s jaw dropped in disbelief as he looked at his bank balance on his phone. They had all ordered and their food had come out one at a time, but Cheer had taken the tab on her own and decided everyone could just pay her back after they got their food - to make it easier. Everyone seemed to be fit for an arrangement like that, except for Funshine. Good Luck shook his head and said, “I told you.” beside him. Funshine looked to the side, his eyes full of the guilt of a dog on a ripped up couch, and a pang hit his heart. He knew Funshine meant well, but- he sighed, before beginning.

“I’ll cover f-”
“Let me pay for him!”

Good Luck looked across the table at Share - who had finished her sentence quicker than he could. She had a kind smile, her eyes fixated on Funshine with a look he couldn’t recognise, and his heart sank through his chest. She probably hadn’t even heard Good Luck, and at this moment in time, he really hoped that no one else did, either. Luckily for him, the conversation continued as if his words didn’t even reach them.

“Are you sure?” Cheer asked, looking between Share and Funshine for some sort of confirmation. Funshine shook his head and waved his arms sheepishly, saying, “no, no, it’s fine, I get paid this week, so-”
Paid for what shifts? Good Luck thought silently, thinking about how little shifts he was getting as it is, and how often he cancelled. He worried about how long Funshine would even keep the job at that point, but got his worries pushed aside when he tried to voice them, as if Funshine didn’t want anyone to worry about him.

“I insist,” Share added, typing something into her phone and then grinning over at Cheer. “I sent it to you! Make sure it got there.”

“That’s sweet of you, Share.” Cheer checked her bank and confirmed that it all went through, and certain feeling bubbled inside of Good Luck’s chest. One that made the food in front of him suddenly look unappealing, like the thought of eating it alone was enough to put him off. He couldn’t put a name to it, but he didn’t like how it felt, so he tried with all of his might to push it down. Instead, he turned to look at Funshine, and tried to focus on the presence of his best friend beside him.
“Thanks Share,” he said to her across the table, his blue eyes shining with genuine gratitude. “B-but don’t do it again, I don’t need it. I’ll pay ya back though, promise.” Share giggled and looked at him with that same look again, tucking her hair behind her ear, and Good Luck awkwardly shifted his attention back to the food on his plate like it was his only option. He poked at it with his fork.

“How is work going, Funshine?” Grumpy was the one to speak this time. “You hardly talk about it.”

“What is there to talk about?” Funshine replied, his mouth stuffed with a slice of his pineapple pizza. “It’s scan this, stack that, count this. Anyone could do it. It’s not like your job, why don’t you talk about that?”
“If I tried talking about my job, none of you would have any clue what I’m on about.”
“Try me.”
Grumpy stared Funshine in the eyes with a look that said, ‘I have better things to do’, and he took a mouthful of his own meal and focused on that. Funshine settled down with a smile, and the others laughed lightly. Good Luck took a peek up from his food at how Share reacted and noticed her staring a little too long, and found it hard to join in on the laughter. That feeling he tried pushing away rose up in his stomach again. Jealousy - that’s what it was. Jealousy, paired with the most bottomless feeling of helplessness imaginable. He shouldn’t be feeling jealous of two of his best friends interacting. Even if Share did like Funshine like that, what did it matter? It’s not like Good Luck could do anything about it, or even should. Funshine didn’t belong to him like that. He just had to suck it up and face it, a somebody is going to end up with another somebody, not a nobody.

“‘You not hungry, bro?” 

The sweet voice of none other than Funshine broke him out of his jealousy-induced trance, and he realised he had been poking at and staring at his food silently for a good few minutes. He probably looked insane.

“Mm, nah, I-I had a late lunch,” he lied, giving his best friend a reassuring smile and turning back to his food. The interaction stuck in his mind, and he analysed it, as always. Funshine had lowered his voice to ask that, as if it was just them, only Good Luck he cared about hearing him - like he wanted to keep the question private. Sometimes, Good Luck would have a little bit of guilty fun picking apart his intentions, but this time, he figured it was purely because it was a touchy question. The thought of wanting Funshine to care about him in a special way made guilt eat at him from the inside, making him feel worse than before.

“Could always take it away,” Funshine said, getting up from his seat. “Want me to go ask for a box?”
“Oh, uh, I could-”

“I’m already up, I’ll BRB.”
And off he went. 

It’s just him being my friend.

“Where’s Funshine going?” Share asked from across the table, patting her lips politely with a napkin as she finished her food. It was a simple question, anyone on the table could have asked it and it wouldn’t have made a difference - but it coming from Share, tonight of all nights, made him want to shrivel up into a ball and not talk to any of them again. Not with the way he was thinking, not with how he was feeling about Share in his head, or about Funshine. He didn’t deserve to be at this table.

“Uh, to get a takeaway box, I think,” Good Luck responded with uncertainty, avoiding the looks of everyone else on the table.

“Is he not hungry?” Cheer said with concern. Funshine made his way back to the table with not one - but two take away boxes. He gave one to Good Luck and kept one for himself, putting the rest of his pizza in it. Good Luck sat and watched, wondering why. Share added onto Cheer’s concern, looking towards Funshine as she watched the same scene unfold. “Funshine, are you taking care of yourself?”

“What?” Funshine asked, not paying attention. “Yeah, of course I am! It’s impossible not to when you’ve got a sis like Cheer on your back all of the time, you can count on that.” Good Luck hoped the conversation would stop there, wanting to put his meal away when the others weren’t paying attention so as to not draw any attention to his weird behaviour. His panic grew when it looked like Share was about to go on, but Grumpy jumped in to save the day.

“Is she on your back about classes, too?” He asked.

“Duh,” Funshine replied, casting a look at Cheer. “She reminds me of due dates eeevery day. It’s been impossible to have a normal conversation with her since the start of the semester.”
“It’s nearing the end of the year, we have to finish our assignments so we have time to study for exams, you know that,” Cheer sighed, taking a sip of her drink to keep her composure. Funshine just laughed and nudged her playfully. The group laughed. All was well. Except for the aching feeling inside of Good Luck’s chest.

The group finished their meals (aside from Good Luck, who sneakily put it into a takeaway box of his own - which Funshine held for him) and walked out of the restaurant together, faces glowing with smiles and laughter as they headed out. Good Luck managed to fit himself back in, but not without the lingering feelings from the start of the night tugging at the back of his mind. He had tried to keep his eyes off of Share the whole night, but it was near impossible. It was self sabotage of sorts, but he couldn’t help it, he had to make sure he wasn’t overthinking it.

“That was great guys, thanks for hanging out,” Cheer said after the group’s laughter died down. The sun was setting now, casting a dark shadow over the world, and lighting the sky up with soft, warm colours. “I’ll see some of you around at uni tomorrow, right?”
“Sure will,” Funshine smiled cheekily, knowing full well that they spent every single class together anyway. Cheer laughed and kicked his leg, murmuring “shut up” in between her laughter. It was times like tonight that really made them feel like kids again - even though most of them hadn’t known Cheer for that long, it was nice to forget about their worries and just talk and hang out outside of school sometimes. Not that Good Luck had many worries as it was - except for the ones that were able to eat him away on nights like tonight. He sighed a breath he didn’t know he was holding and looked out into the carpark at the other cars. And soon, he had let himself trail behind the rest of the group, who were walking in pairs ahead of him. He hadn’t noticed, but Funshine took a few slower, bigger steps, letting himself fall behind next to Good Luck.

“Hey, Good Luck,” Funshine began, surprising him. “I know this is sudden, but…”

Good Luck’s heartbeat quickened. He didn’t think it was possible, but about a million thoughts ran through his mind during the gap between his last sentence and the next.

“Do you wanna hang out tonight? Like, to sleep?”
That’s all. Phew.

He thought for a few moments, about his availability, and about if it would be okay to. He’d feel guilty saying yes, after what’s been going through his mind all night… but, crush or not, Funshine was still his best friend. And if he wanted to hang out, was there any real reason for him to say no? 

“Yeah! Yeah, that sounds great,” he decided. “Mine or yours…?”

“I was thinking yours - if that’s okay! Mine’s not exactly…” Funshine rubbed the back of his neck sheepishly, casting a quick look at Cheer walking in front of him, “in shape right now.”
“Seriously? She’s been telling you to clean it for weeks, dude.” A genuine smile formed on Good Luck’s lips for the first time since the beginning of dinner, and his chest felt light again, like nothing ever happened. 

“Hey, cleaning takes time, and as you know, I’m very busy with my studies!

“And work?” Good Luck raised an eyebrow.

“Yes! And work. You get it,” Funshine winked. They heard Cheer lightheartedly scoff from where she was walking, and they laughed, getting into Grumpy’s car after her.

–

“I’m home!” Good Luck called into his house as he unlocked the front door, with Funshine trailing behind, still carrying their two takeaway boxes in his hands. He looked around for any signs of his brother, when he came running out from his room to greet them.

“Good Luck! Funshine!”

“Hey Oopsy,” Good Luck replied to him, patting his shoulder. His brother then turned to look up at Funshine’s height, his eyes sparkling with admiration as they usually did. 

“‘Sup lil’ dude,” Funshine greeted him with a toothy grin, ruffling his messy green hair.

“We’re probably gonna head straight up to my room,” Good Luck informed him, fastening the strap of his backpack on his shoulder and making his way over to the stairs with Funshine. It was already getting late, Oopsy would have eaten dinner before their mom left for her night shift, so he was sorted for the night. “You’ve got school tomorrow, so sleep early. ”

“B-but you guys are here…” Oopsy looked at them with sad eyes. It would have worked on them, too, if Good Luck didn’t already know what would happen if it did. 

“Last time we let you stay up, you overslept and missed school.”

“But-!”
“Mom’s not here, so I’m in charge, remember?” Then, Good Luck softened up, knowing he shouldn’t be so harsh on his little brother. It was one of Oopsy’s common traits to make mistakes like that, and he already got enough slack about it from their mom (especially compared to Good Luck, who always happened to do everything right by accident). He probably didn’t need to hear it from his brother as well. He sighed and walked over to Oopsy, who was shuffling his feet sadly and staring at the floor, and gave him a hug. “I just want to make sure you don’t get in trouble again, ‘kay? Hey, maybe on the weekend, me, you and Funshine can go somewhere fun. As long as you get to school on time tomorrow. Deal?”
Oopsy’s eyes sparkled and he nodded his head quickly. “Deal!”

Funshine and Good Luck walked up the stairs into Good Luck’s room, shutting the door behind them and then collapsing onto Good Luck’s bed. Good Luck lay on his back and stared at the sealing for a bit as Funshine took off his shoes and sat beside him, kicking his feet restlessly.

“You hungry now?” He asked, looking down at Good Luck and holding up the boxes.

Good Luck lay and stared for a moment. Of course Funshine still had that on his mind. For a moment, he wished he could take a look into Funshine’s brain, to see just how much of it contained information about his friends that not even they thought about. Good Luck didn’t even remember he hadn’t eaten, and it wasn’t until Funshine asked that his hunger tugged at his stomach. He was relieved by it, though - it meant the feelings from before were gone, and he could eat his food without the certainty that it’d come back up again full of nerves.

“Yeah, a little bit,” Good Luck admitted, sitting up now too. Funshine passed him his box and then opened his own, with his half eaten pizza in it. The questions Good Luck had from before lingered in his mind, until he realised he could just ask. “Why’d you save yours? You’re never not hungry enough to eat all of it.”

“It didn’t feel right finishing all of mine without you,” Funshine admitted, already stuffing his mouth with his food as if he had been waiting every second to be reunited with the ham and cheese. Good Luck wondered if amongst his brain’s friend-centered thoughts were Hawaiian pizza-centered ones. “So I thought we could eat together.”
Of course you did, is what Good Luck wanted to say. Out of frustration? Affection? He wasn’t sure. But what he was sure of is that he was reeled right back into the guilty pleasure he got from being with him. Instead of saying anything, he bit his tongue and dug into his food. The two chatted casually as they ate, played some games for a few hours on Good Luck’s console, got ready for bed (Funshine had his own toothbrush at Good Luck’s because of how often they hung out), and lay in Good Luck’s room talking. Funshine was on a mattress on the floor, staring up at Good Luck on his bed as they talked the night away. Before they knew it, it was early in the AMs.

“Do you ever worry about your brother?” Good Luck asked Funshine, thinking about his own brother. The conversation had gone everywhere, from the games they played, to new food spots they could try with their friends, to talk about their family lives. Once they started, they found it hard to stop - it was easy with Funshine, to talk about anything and everything. 

“Hah,” Funshine laughed. “I think he worries about me. ”

“Why?”

“He’s always asking me how I’m going and stuff. I guess ‘cus I’m in uni and he never went, he’s not got much of an idea of how it all works. Or how well I’m handling it.”

“How does your dad treat it?”
“Sort of the same… I dunno, it feels weird being the only one out of the three of us to be doing this. It’s not like I’m… smarter or anything, y’know?”

“‘Weird’ though?”
“It’s like… how did I end up being the one to go, right? You know how much I struggled in school.”

Good Luck smiled at him, recalling the memories. “Having unmedicated ADHD definitely doesn’t help in highschool.”

“You get it.”
Good Luck thought for a moment. “Do you think the medication’s been helping you with uni?” There was no immediate response this time, only a flicker of an unfamiliar emotion in Funshine’s eyes. He pondered for a moment, and then nodded, looking away.

“Yeah. I think so.”

“That’s good.”

A silence hung in the air. But it wasn’t a bad one - it was comfortable. It was like a quiet waiting period in between conversations, where they both thought of what could come next, like they could do this forever and ever.

“Did I tell you Love-A-Lot’s been coming to see my dad more often?” Funshine began, squinting his eyes with a cheeky smile. Good Luck gasped a little, matching Funshine’s enthusiasm.

“When are they going to just get together?” He joked. Funshine laughed along with him and added, “I know, right? Me and Birthday are just waiting for it. We’ve started betting.”

“Get me in on that. Surely… 3 months from now. And even that’s a stretch.”
“You’d be surprised. They’ve known each other forever, they know how to keep us waiting.”

They laughed. Everything felt okay again. The jealousy Good Luck felt earlier had completely dissipated - it didn’t matter how the others felt about him, there was nothing that could ruin nights like this where it was just them. Nothing else. No need to move, or do anything else at the same time, just talking, and talking, and talking. And then, Funshine’s laughter faded and a soft, bittersweet expression overcame him. Good Luck noticed immediately, and took the chance to ask, “you okay?” It wasn’t often Funshine let his guard down like that, especially not in their group - Good Luck was lucky to be the one to see it when it did happen, so he knew never to let it slip by him.

Funshine’s voice came out in a whisper. “I do miss my mom still.”

Good Luck’s heart ached for his best friend, and everything else in the world became unimportant to him. He got up from under his sheets and slipped off his bed, sitting up beside Funshine, urging him to do the same. Funshine avoided his eyes, struggling to feign his smile, when Good Luck quietly hugged him. “That won’t go away. But it’s a good thing.”
He heard Funshine sniffle from beside him and let go, meeting his eyes with a smile.

“Thanks.”
He wished it wasn’t weird to want to hold his best friend sometimes. Sure, there were some feelings there, but even disregarding that, he knew Funshine needed it. He was always the one hugging the others, patting their backs or nudging them in the sides. Funshine may have been good at paying attention to everyone else’s needs more than his own - but Good Luck was good at paying attention to Funshine’s needs too, and he knew that boy needed the physical affection he gave others. There was always something in the way he very slowly withdrew from Good Luck’s hugs, like he was hesitating, needing it more than he let on. Even if nothing else changed between them for years, he wished he would be able to give Funshine that peace.

Funshine yawned and let his eyes droop sleepily, tiredness sucking the life out of him in an instant, like showing that much emotion was a day’s worth of hard work for him - and Good Luck softened. “Time for bed?”
“Yeaaahhhh,” Funshine dragged, clicking his phone to check the time. “1AM’s not bad.”

“Uugh, I’m gonna be tired tomorrow,” Good Luck groaned, climbing back into his own bed and slipping under the sheets once more, letting his head hit the pillow with a thud. He wasn’t the slightest bit tired, now that he was awake. Jealousy creeped inside of him again - but this time, not at Share - at Funshine, for being able to fall asleep so quickly and so soundly.

“Worth it though, right? To spend time with me?” Funshine teased.

“Yeah, yeah, very funny,” Good Luck responded.

He yawned again. “G’night, Good Luck.”

Good Luck smiled to himself, chest warm and full. “Night, Funshine.”

Good Luck was the first one to wake up in the morning - naturally. He woke up at 7AM, as per his usual routine, and he very quietly got up from bed and put on some pants ready for his morning run. He sat back on his bed to tie his shoes and found himself getting distracted by Funshine’s sleeping presence - the way he snored every few moments, his face so peaceful in his sleep and his hair so messy. It was the only time ever that Good Luck had an excuse to stare at Funshine for so long, to admire all of the features he’d otherwise gloss over. Like the freckles covering his body, the tan lines peeking out from his shirt collar, the way his blonde hair darkened at the roots…

Good Luck felt his face flush hot when he realised just how long he’d been staring and he checked the time, realising he was a few minutes later than he’d usually be on his way out. Very carefully tip-toeing his way around Funshine, but knowing it would take a lot more than that to wake him up anyway, he made his way out of his room and slowly shut the door behind him. He hummed peacefully to himself as he stepped down the stairs, knocking on Oopsy’s door to wake him up for school on the way through, pleasantly surprised when Oopsy met him at the door after the knock.

“I slept early, like you said,” he beamed up at his older brother. Good Luck looked at him proudly and praised him, before heading out for his run. He locked the front door before realising he left both his phone and his earphones on his bedside table… all because he was too focused on Funshine to remember them. He cursed himself a bit before deciding it wasn’t worth going back to get them and he ran his usual route.

He got back at 7.30, had a shower and got changed into his clothes for the day, all whilst managing to not wake Funshine up. But it hit 8AM, and Good Luck figured he better wake Funshine up or he’d be late for his 9AM class. He was lucky that he lived within walking distance of Care-A-Lot University, but it was still a 30 minute walk within itself. Good Luck’s first lecture didn’t start until 10, so he still had plenty of time, but if it meant he could spend more time with Funshine, he wouldn’t mind walking in early.

“Funshine,” Good Luck whispered, nudging Funshine a few times but receiving no response. He sighed - Funshine was a deep sleeper. He, like Oopsy, had definitely missed a few too many classes to it. So, he raised his voice a bit and shook Funshine harder, but not hard enough to scare him awake. “Funshine. C’mon.”

“Wha-what…oh… hey Good Luck…” Funshine mumbled behind squinted eyes.

“You’re gonna be late for class, dude. Get up.”

“What…? Oh… OH.” 

Funshine shot up in an instant, his eyes wide as he scrambled for his phone to check the time. Good Luck laughed lightly and put his hands on Funshine’s shoulders. “Chill out, dude, you have an hour. You’re good.”

“You did not have to scare me like that,” Funshine breathed.

“Haha, sorry.”

He ran his fingers through his hair and realised how messy and tangled it got in his sleep. Rubbing his eyes sleepily, he turned to Good Luck and asked, “is it cool if I use your shower?”

“Is it cool if I use your shower? ” 

Good Luck had used Funshine’s dorm shower when he stayed over - because he had a routine, and he needed to maintain it no matter what. But Funshine had never used his before. He felt heat threatening to rush to his face but he shoved it down, realising it’s not that big of a deal at all, and that he was being silly over nothing. There’s no reason to get so fired up at the idea of your crush showering in your shower, no. Especially not when you’ve already dealt with that dilemma plenty of stories ago. Stop being silly, Good Luck. Stop it.

“Yeah man,” Good Luck replied coolly. “Just be careful with the taps, mine are sensitive.”

“Gotcha,” Funshine clicked his fingers and guided himself to the shower.

Good Luck sat on his bed in silence as he heard the water start running through the pipes, his mind stuck on the fact. But he had stuff to do. He should have probably plugged in his earphones to help move the process along, but the distant sound of the running water was oddly comforting to him - like Funshine’s presence was still felt to him, even if he was on the other side of the house. He listened to it like it was music as he folded Funshine’s blankets and shoved the mattress back under his bed. He prepared his bag for the day, and then sat on his bed, and continued listening to the high shrill of the water until it suddenly stopped. Which meant he was done. Which meant he was getting out… which meant…

funshine😎: hey so

funshine😎: major awkward

funshine😎: do u have any clean clothes i can borrow 

Good Luck’s face flushed and he tried to shake it off, typing back with one hand as he began to sift through the clothes in his closet and drawers.

Good Lucky🍀: YEAHALL Good

He almost hit himself in the face when he looked over at the message he had half-attentively typed and sent.

Good Lucky🍀: sorry caps idk why it did that

Good Lucky🍀: i’ll come hand you them :) 

Funshine wasn’t that much taller than him, luckily, so that wasn’t a problem. But he did wear much lighter coloured clothes than him, so he figured anything he gave Funshine would look a little… off on him. Still, he tried and picked the lightest he could - a gray t-shirt and some faded blue jeans. Definitely not as full of personality as what he normally wore… but it’d be alright, he asked for it, right? He wouldn’t make a fuss. Good Luck was overthinking this. As usual. Stop. It.

He rushed down to the bathroom and knocked on the door a few times, waiting for Funshine to open it up a crack to grab the clothes from him, but was pleasantly surprised when he basically opened the door all the way, greeting Good Luck with nothing but a towel around his waist as if it was no big deal. Good Luck stood, stunned for just a moment, knocked out of it when Funshine took the clothes from his arm and gave him a casual smile and “thanks” before shutting the door again.

Good Luck wanted to scream.

–

They talked casually on the walk to uni. As planned, Good Luck went in early with him, just to accompany him on the walk - he would have been rude not to. Granted, he would have enjoyed the alone time to scream about what he had seen in the bathroom, but alas. They enjoyed walking and talking so much that by the time they got there, there was only a good 8 minutes before Funshine’s lecture started.

“I don’t mind being late,” he had said breathlessly as their leisurely walk turned into a fast jog. “It’s the lecture I’ll get from Cheer that’ll kill me.” Good Luck had laughed and they had continued on through, arriving at the gates, stopping to catch their breaths. Good Luck leaned one arm against the fence and Funshine basically collapsed onto him, leaning into his side, breathing heavily. Once their breaths were caught, they laughed a little, interrupted by a familiar voice sounding from behind them.

“Hi, you two!” Share beamed at them, holding her bag in her hand, her long eyelashes fluttering as she blinked and observed their situation. She tilted her head, asking, “did you both run here?”
“Indeed we did,” Funshine said, checking his phone for the time. “I’m nearly late. I gotta bounce. I’ll talk to you guys later, yeah?” Both Share and Good Luck mumbled their agreements before Share stopped him.

“Wait, what are you wearing?” She asked. “I’ve never seen you in those!”
“They’re Good Luck’s,” Funshine replied quickly, with a bright smile, still trying to step away from them. “I slept at his - I really gotta go - later, dudes!”

And with that, he ran. Share and Good Luck stood in silence, watching as he skipped the elevators and ran up the stairs, disappearing into the distance of the university floors. After he was gone, they shared a look and laughed a little.

“That boy is always doing something, isn’t he?” Share said to Good Luck, turning to face him with admiration in her eyes. The look of it sent prickles down Good Luck’s skin, and as much as he tried to push it away for the moment - it wouldn’t. Looking at Share made him feel small and insignificant all over again. The way her wavy hair fell perfectly on her shoulders, her bright blue eyes shone with kindness, her voice spoke with a gentleness only she could maintain - it was hopeless.

Then, he got a notification.

[Messenger]

funshine😎: thx for letting me stay at urs + borrow ur clothes. ur the best!!! ttyl, lunch?

Chapter Text

Good Luck clicked the end of his pen restlessly, as always. It had been days upon days since Funshine stayed over at Good Luck’s for the night, and his mind would not let go of the fact. Something about it had struck him differently to other sleepovers they’d had. He always thought back on what happened, trying to figure out why… And every time he re-remembered the shower and shivered. That was why.

He clicked at his pen faster, trying to chase the thought of it out of his mind again. There was a point where the crush went too far, and he was becoming more and more afraid of crossing that line. His friendship with Funshine was far more important than his feelings for him, he knew that confidently - so why was every little thing he did getting to him recently?

“Good Luck.” A voice beside him sounded, hushed but forceful. The pen clicking stopped at the same time, not by Good Luck’s power, but by Grumpy’s beside him - who, without tearing his eyes away from the presentation going on in front of them, had reached over and grabbed Good Luck’s hand himself. He looked up from where he was looking (well, staring blankly as he zoned out) and up at Grumpy, who only looked at him for a second - sending him a warning glare - before turning his eyes back to the front of the class. Good Luck lay the pen to rest on the table beside him, and tried to pay attention.

It was the one topic that he and Grumpy had together. For both of them, it was the only one they shared with anyone they knew. And as much as he loved Grumpy, sometimes he thought he took class a little too seriously, and wished it was Cheer who Grumpy shared the class with instead. The two of them got along because of their shared study methods and view of schooling - it might have been better for the both of them if Grumpy wasn’t stuck with the guy that never studied and still got perfect scores. Or, a better way to put it - the guy who couldn’t focus in class because of a blonde-haired dope. He bit his lip and tried to shake it again, when Grumpy’s phone lit up beside him in the darkness of the class.

It was an incoming phone call from Share, and it caught Grumpy’s attention immediately. Seemingly disregarding the class, Grumpy grabbed his phone and very quickly made his way out of the classroom to answer it, leaving Good Luck astonished. He had a sneaking suspicion he knew what this was about, but to have it happen in the middle of class was definitely something new. Good Luck was sure of one thing though, that nothing - no force on this Earth - would be able to pull Grumpy out of his class early. Not even him getting sick was enough to pull him out of class - especially not when exams were so close.

And Good Luck was right, because a few minutes later, Grumpy came back in, his phone in his pocket. He pulled out Grumpy’s chair beside him to welcome him back, but was surprised when Grumpy didn’t sit. He just grabbed his back and started packing his things quietly, but quickly, leaving Good Luck with nothing but a wave before he disappeared back out of the class again. He just stared back at the door.

After class on the days Share was at the Silver Lining Daycare, Grumpy would normally offer to go down and be the one to pick her up, or get asked to come down by her. Of course, Grumpy would drop anything to help anyone in that group, but something must have happened to make it be Share every single time. Share didn’t even call on Cheer that much - which was fair enough. Cheer was focused on studying and seemed more stressed than usual. But for Grumpy to ditch class to go and pick her up…? Worry prickled in his gut. What if something was wrong? 

Or, alternatively, what if something was right? What if Share and Grumpy were just getting really close…? So close, that Share forgot about any other feelings she may have…

Good Luck wanted to slap himself for feeling hopeful. Instead, he filled his mind with scenarios of the alternative. Share was sick, something happened to the daycare, all of these things that made him feel worried and unsettled - the way he was supposed to be feeling in this situation. But the hopefulness prodded him at the back of his mind, and he swallowed, trying to ignore the guilt stabbing at his chest.

–

[Messenger] “the squad”

share bear💜🩵: has anyone seen Grumpy recently…? (╥﹏╥)

The notification scared Good Luck out of his thoughts. He was at home - all of his classes for the day were done, and he figured he might actually sit down and try to study with the free time he had. Not that he really needed to, but he thought, since he’d been struggling to focus in class recently, he should at least try to remember what the lecturers were even talking about in class. It was also the only thing he could do to distract his mind from worrying about how Grumpy was completely absent - didn’t even turn up - from their class today.

[Messenger] “the squad”

funshine😎: noooooope

Cheer🌺🌈: Not me

Cheer🌺🌈: He hasn’t responded to texts, either. :( 

Fear creeped down Good Luck’s neck. He thought things were a little weird when Grumpy ditched class for Share the other day, and knew things were weird when he didn’t show up today. It was like Grumpy not to respond to texts, especially this close to exam season. But it’s been his class days, he should be on campus. Even when he was studying, he let the group know not to expect responses.

But he figured Share would know, right? So if Share didn’t…

[Messenger] “the squad”

funshine😎: oh phew i thought he was just ignoring me asking for his help on my hw

Good Luck rolled his eyes.

[Messenger] “the squad”

Good Lucky🍀: he wasn’t in class today.

Good Lucky🍀: first one he’s missed i think

Good Lucky🍀: i thought Share might know where he is but…

share bear💜🩵: he hasn’t been responding to me too (◞‸ ◟)💧

share bear💜🩵: weirdest thing is that Dibble hasn’t been showing up to daycare either.

share bear💜🩵: the last time i saw them was when he helped me calm her down on Tuesday

Good Luck stopped. Dibble …? The little girl that was causing a fuss when they first went to the daycare to pick up Share for dinner? So that was why Grumpy was always going to pick Share up, and why he abandoned his class to answer her call. He was relieved to know the answer, but slightly disappointed by his wishful thinking at the same time.

[Messenger] “the squad”

Cheer🌺🌈: I might just go to his house

Cheer🌺🌈: The worst he could do is get mad. 

funshine😎: that’s just another day talking to grumpy

Good Luck suppressed yet another eye-roll. He was amazed at Funshine’s ability to keep everything he said, even in serious situations like these, light and unserious. He wanted to laugh, but part of him wanted Funshine to read the room as well.

funshine😎: but i’d take that if it meant he was ok

funshine😎: i’ll meet u in the car park cheer

Oh. Good Luck’s heart ached, and then sped up a little. That was sweet.

share bear💜🩵: is it any trouble to pick me up too?

Cheer🌺🌈: Not at all! We’ll be 10min.

Good Luck thought, and realised he should probably be there too. It’s not like he was doing anything important, and above everything else, he wanted to eliminate the itching feeling in his chest that something was wrong with Grumpy. He wanted to feel normal again. But his house was on the opposite end of where Share and Grumpy’s were, so they’d be going out of their way to pick him up.

Good Lucky🍀: me too, if that’s okay. i can run to campus rn

Cheer🌺🌈: I’ve got no problems driving up to you!

Good Lucky🍀: already leaving, i’ll meet you guys at the carpark too

funshine😎: attaboy good luck :p 

Good Luck decided that he wouldn’t reply to that last message, grabbed the house keys and left for the uni campus where Cheer and Funshine lived.

–

In the car, Share sat beside Cheer in the front seat, leaving Good Luck and Funshine in their usual seats in the back. Good Luck and Funshine had talked quietly and casually on their way to pick up Share, about anything else, as if to ease their nerves. And Good Luck would be lying if he said it didn’t work. Talking to Funshine made him nervous for other reasons, but it was good for a moment to feel nervous because of his crush rather than his friend’s safety. Good Luck looked to the front seat to see if Cheer was feeling any less tense, and he swore he caught her taking glances at them in the back every now and again.

“So you saw Grumpy on Tuesday?” Cheer asked Share through the drive. Grumpy lived the furthest from them - only a 20 minute drive from Share’s, so they had enough time to talk about things before they got there. Good Luck and Funshine locked in on the conversation in front of them, the moments of peace they had shared gone as the reality of the situation dawned on them again.

“Yeah,” Share nodded. “I… had to call him out of class to help me with Dibble at the daycare. I felt so bad, I’ve been asking him to help with her for the past week, but it’s just…” Her speech trailed off as she drifted into thought, recalling the memories of the past week with Grumpy and Dibble. “He’s the only person she seems to calm down around. None of us get it. And I think Grumpy doesn’t mind…?”

“Clearly not, if he dropped class to go and help,” Funshine pointed out.

“And if he didn’t show up to today’s like Good Luck said,” Cheer continued, piecing together the evidence as she talked. “And Dibble isn’t showing up to daycare… I don’t know what could have happened, but they might be connected, right?”

“Maybe she withdrew?” Good Luck suggested. Share shook her head and said, “No. Her name is still on the list. She’s just been absent.” 

They pulled up to Grumpy’s house and Cheer parked in the driveway. His car would have been in one of the two garages - the other was for his job, so there was no real indicator of whether or not he was home yet. Still, they took the chance and all climbed out of the car one by one. Funshine made the effort to slide out of the car after Good Luck rather than opening his own door - not important, but something Good Luck took note of. Then, as a group they walked up to his door and Cheer knocked four times.

Nothing. The group exchanged glances.

And then, footsteps. Heavy, angry footsteps. And everyone dropped their tense shoulders and breathed a sigh of relief.

The door opened, and they were greeted with an angry, tired looking Grumpy.

“What do you want? What’s the big ide-” he began angrily, stopping with wide eyes when he saw who it was at his door. Upon seeing the group, he softened a bit, but there was still that hardened exterior that kept his guard up, as well as the bags under his eyes that betrayed him. “What are you guys doing here?”
“The question is, what have you been doing?” Cheer began, straightening her posture, making sure she matched his authority in order to get answers out of him. Even still, Good Luck could see the relief in her eyes. “You haven’t been answering texts? We’ve been worried sick about you.”

Grumpy opened his mouth, like he was about to protest, when a small voice sounded from inside of the house behind him. “Gwumpy? Who’s that?”

The group peeked behind Grumpy and noticed a tired looking Dibble stumbling down the hallway towards him. Along the ground of the hallway were shopping bags, lazily thrown on the floor, stacked to the brim with stuff a six year old girl could need. Snacks, juice, some clothes and toys… When Grumpy noticed them looking, he stepped in front of them again and said, “Don’t make a fuss. You’ll freak her out, and I just got her to sleep-”
“Dibble!” Share said, relieved, completely disregarding what Grumpy just said. She pushed past him and raced towards Dibble, kneeling down to meet her. “Hi Dibble,” she began gently, “Are you okay?”
Dibble smiled up at Share with wide, happy eyes and replied, “I’m okay!!!” The young girl bounced around with reinvigorated energy, and Share giggled. Even Good Luck smiled at the sight - he hadn’t seen Dibble much outside of her tantrum, so it warmed him to see her filled with life. But he, like everyone else, still had lots of questions.

“Did you kidnap her, bro?” Funshine was the first to ask, a little louder than he probably should have. Grumpy must have thought the same thing because he immediately nudged Funshine further away from the door, backing him up into Good Luck, who caught and steadied him. 

“ No , I didn’t kidnap her, she just-! Ugh! All of you need to leave, right now. I can’t deal with this.” He pushed them further out of the door and, out of respect for him, the three of them didn’t protest. They just stood and watched on, sharing confused and concerned looks. He marched back inside and nudged Share with his foot, urging her up and telling her to leave as well. 

“Do we just leave? After all that?” Funshine said, once again asking the questions on everyone’s minds. It didn’t feel right to have come all this way to check on Grumpy, just to be told to get lost, not when they’d spent the past week reaching out to him and worrying about him. And now he was looking after a child, too? It seemed like if he needed their help at any point in his life, now would be the time he would need it the most. They couldn’t just leave him, but he didn’t seem like he was going to let up easily. Good Luck and Funshine looked to Cheer, who was staring back in the house and thinking. Then, she just sighed and shook her head.

“We should go. It’s what he wants,” she answered, turning to them with a small, understanding smile. “It looks like he’s stressed. We’d just be adding to that. We know he’s okay, so mission accomplished, right?”
“But, but-” Funshine began, looking from Cheer, back to the house, and back to her again. She didn’t budge, and it looks like that alone was enough of a sign for Funshine to let up, and he did, dropping his head and shoulders with a sigh of his own. “Alright.”

In between the two’s discussion beside him, Good Luck could hear faint conversation coming from inside of the house, and knew Share was still in there talking to him. He strained himself to try and hear the most he could over Funshine’s groaning and complaining.

“Let me help, Grumpy. I know what I’m doing, I could really-”
“No. She came to me, this is my responsibility.”
“But-”

“You have plenty of others, focus on those.”

“Exams are so close. At least bring her to the daycare during the day.”
“...I don’t think it’d be safe for her.”
A defeated sigh from Share. “You’re right. I don’t know. Just call if you need.”

“I’ll be fine. Go back with the others.”
“Mmm. Okay. I’ll talk to you soon then.”

Share walked back with a defeated expression on her face, but she turned and waved at Grumpy and Dibble before shutting the door behind her and joining the group. 

She smiled at them. “Who wants lunch? My treat.”

–

“So she found him ? How on earth is that possible!?” Funshine said, slamming his cup on the table in surprise. He took a sip out of the straw, eyes closely on Share as she explained to the group what she knew.

“Yeah. It’s so far, I have no idea,” Share admitted, holding her own drink with both of her hands and keeping her head down, talking quietly. “But I know - I mean, I think - things aren’t easy for her at home. So, it’s safe to assume she just ran away on her own.” Good Luck listened silently and nodded along. If things weren’t easy for her at home, it made sense why she carried on so much at daycare, and why Good Luck had a bad gut feeling about the guy who went to pick her up that day. But he kept his mouth shut, unsure of the boundaries of the conversation.

“There’s no way he can just keep her there forever, though?” Cheer asked. 

“That’s the thing… I don’t know what to do. This should be my responsibility more than Grumpy’s - I’m an official carer, as someone who volunteers at the daycare, but…”

“Could we call someone? CPS?” Good Luck suggested.

“We probably should,” Share agreed, nodding her head, her gaze softening with doubt. “But not without Grumpy. This does involve him now, too.”

“Did you see all the stuff in his house?” Funshine began, looking around the group for their responses. “I’ve never seen his place a mess like that. Looks like he went out shopping for her, so I don’t think he plans on letting her go.”

“Which means he’ll be stuck at home caring for her,” Cheer pointed out.

Share nodded again. “And he still has class. He just… gosh, he’s so stubborn!” This time, a sliver of Share’s frustration and stress showed. She was right, though, if Grumpy wasn’t so stubborn, they all could have stayed and talked things through. But once he has a responsibility, he shoulders it all on his own, as if he’s not allowed to ask for help. It seemed that even Grumpy doesn’t understand the full extent of how serious this situation was, despite him always acting like the most mature and knowledgeable one of the group - even as the second youngest.

“For real,” Funshine grumbled, crossing his arms, sharing in her frustration. The four of them sat silently for a few moments, looking at the table in front of them.

“I guess all we can do until he comes around is support him.” Cheer’s voice spoke up above the silence, her leadership skills showing through even her uncertainty. Even through that, she continued, letting herself talk until she sounded confident. “We know Grumpy, this isn’t the kind of thing he would do for just any kid. He cares about her, he knows she needs him… So, we just have to show him that we understand that. Then maybe we can figure out something more permanent.”

Thinking, and then mumbled agreements dispersed around the group. Pleased with the agreement, Cheer continued. “Maybe we can visit one by one, give him anything he needs or just to chat. Sounds good?”

Agreements again, then quiet.

“Thanks for lunch, Share,” Funshine said politely. Her eyes shone and she smiled back.

And then Good Luck was brought back to his own world.

–

A few days had passed, and it was Good Luck’s turn to visit Grumpy. The group decided on the order based on who Grumpy would least likely get mad at, compared to most. Good Luck and Funshine were on opposite ends, and Good Luck was relieved that he was considered to be on the best neutral terms with Grumpy. Especially considering Good Luck was the one he saw most in class, they figured he could bring Grumpy back up to speed with anything he missed out on. He nodded and agreed that it was a good idea, but in his heart he knew it wouldn’t go anywhere. Not even Good Luck remembered what went on in the classes he missed. But he made a mental note to make more of an effort going forward - for Grumpy’s sake.

He stepped off of the bus and fastened the strap of his bag on his shoulder, a bag that was full of Oopsy’s old clothes that they kept in the attic. They never did much with them, and his parents didn’t have any strong emotional connection to them, so he decided they could go to Grumpy. Even if they were a little too big for Dibble, he thought that maybe the gesture alone would set up the rest of his friends’ meetings with Grumpy. After all - he was the example. He usually was, anyway. Being perfectly average at everything made you something of an example.

As he approached Grumpy’s house, he unplugged his earphones and fastened them in his pocket, taking a deep breath before knocking on Grumpy’s front door. It opened slowly, and Grumpy appeared on the other side. His eyebrows were furrowed the same way they were the first time they appeared at his doorstep, but - as predicted - they softened at the sight of Good Luck on his own. Good Luck smiled sheepishly at him and lifted the bag, showing him.

“I brought some stuff you could maybe use?” He said shyly, holding eye contact, waiting for some sort of expression change. Grumpy seemed to run through it in his head, releasing a breath and opening the door wider for him. “Come in, then.”
Good Luck followed in after him, narrowly avoiding the bags on the floor, which were mostly empty now - but still lazily thrown about. He looked around the house, it was familiar to him, but in a nostalgic type of way. He, Funshine and Share used to go around to Grumpy’s house for sleepovers and game nights when they were in highschool, because he had the house all to himself. He had been living on his own since he hit 16 - his parents packed up their stuff and decided they wanted to travel, so he could make the house his own. And that, he had. Renovating and painting the house made him realise how much he loved making stuff, until that love continued to transpire into machinery and mechanics, which ended him up in the course he was taking, with the job of fixing cars he had at home.

“I haven’t been here for so long,” Good Luck mumbled breathily, ending up at the kitchen. The sink was full of dirty dishes, but there were some cleaned ones - there was an attempt there, at least. Good Luck was relieved that Grumpy didn’t seem to be too stressed to take care of basic tasks, just a little overrun with more than he can handle. After all, growing up a single child and then ending up living alone means you wouldn’t have to focus on more than yourself. Having Dibble rely on him was probably a big change for him.

“Sorry it’s a mess,” Grumpy sighed. “And - sorry for going off at you guys last time.”

Good start.

“It’s no prob, dude,” Good Luck reassured him, leaving the bag on the counter and walking to stand next to his friend. He put an arm on his shoulder and gave him a reassuring smile - realising that his personality also made him a good pick for the first visit. Good Luck was often commended for having an aura that could even calm the rowdiest of people, like Funshine. “I know things aren’t exactly easy right now. We didn’t mean to overwhelm you… we’re just worried, that’s all.”

“I can handle this, though, you guys shouldn’t worry about me like that.”
“It was more… not hearing from you at all,” Good Luck pointed out, keeping his hand on Grumpy’s shoulder. He knew that if Grumpy had to be scolded by any of the four of them, it should probably be him. “You can’t just disappear on us like that. On me. You know how worried I was when I showed up to class and you weren’t there?”
Grumpy looked away and bit his lip, furrowing his brow. “I know.”

“Then why didn’t you say anything?”
“You guys weren’t my first priority,” Grumpy admitted. Hearing it stung Good Luck’s heart, but he knew Grumpy didn’t have bad intentions by it. Dibble was a helpless child - and if everything was the way it sounded, she didn’t have any other options. Grumpy was right to prioritise her safety and wellbeing, but still… He looked away from Grumpy, lowering his hand. A short, awkward silence hung in the air, and it seemed to even get to Grumpy.

“I’m sorry, you know I didn’t mean-”
“I know,” Good Luck cut him off with a weak smile. “It’s okay…I didn’t come here to guilt anything out of you, but if I could just ask one thing… Could you update the group chat every now and again? For our sake.”

Grumpy looked at him with uncertainty, and he continued.

“If you want us not to worry about you… This is the best way to do it.”
Then, he hesitantly nodded, and gave Good Luck a small smile. “I’ll try.” 

Good luck released a breath and laughed a little, relieved that Grumpy was starting to ease up a little. It was in his name, so of course he’s always got to have a more tough exterior, but it was always a special moment when he did soften up and smile like that. It never got old. And it became even more special when Grumpy laughed with him, a weight seemingly lifting off of his shoulders. They weren’t laughing at anything, just for the sake of it, but it seemed to be doing something to help, and that’s all that mattered. 

The sound of the laughter must have alerted Dibble, who was in a different room. She came bouncing through the house and up to them, tilting her head and looking up at them with big, wide eyes, asking, “What’s going on?”
“Nothing, Dibs,” Grumpy assured her, ruffling her hair gently. “This is Good Luck. He’s one of my friends that came to visit.”
“Good Wuck!” She exclaimed with a shrill baby voice. The mispronunciation didn’t bother Good Luck, he just laughed and waved at her from where she was standing. “Hi Dibble.” They chatted for a little bit longer, including Dibble where possible, until Good Luck checked the time and realised he should probably make his way back or he’ll miss the bus. 

“It was nice to meet you, Dibble,” Good Luck said happily, kneeling down and giving her a high five and a wave. He got up and followed Grumpy out to the door.

“Oh, yeah, I’ll try and make notes for you,” Good Luck added quickly before leaving the house. “So you don’t miss anything.”

“Oh? …oh! Right. Class,” Grumpy cleared his throat. “You? Make notes?”

“I’ll try, man! For you!”

Grumpy laughed. “Sure, sure, I’ll be counting on it, ‘kay?”
“For sure.”

They shared a genuine smile, like all of the stress of the past few weeks had never even happened, and Good Luck walked himself out of Grumpy’s garden. He turned back one more time and said, “Don’t forget to update us!” which was followed by a nod and a wave. Walking away from Grumpy’s, he had a much better feeling than the last time he did. His chest felt warm and hopeful, that maybe once everyone had their visits, things could be sorted out and go back to normal. That was all Good Luck asked for.

He caught the bus and rested his head on the window, eyes fluttering shut as he listened to music. It was peaceful and consistent, when he got a notification from the group chat, interrupting his music for a moment. But it didn’t bother him, if anything it made him feel even better as he opened it and was greeted with an adorable picture of Grumpy and Dibble.

[Messenger] “the squad”

Grumpy.: [image]

Grumpy.: Thanks for checking in everyone. Hope to see you soon.

Good Luck smiled at his phone as the bus arrived at the stop near his house. He stepped out with a smile on his face, and he was about to talk up his street when he got another text - not from the group chat this time.

funshine😎: heyyyy u busy?

His heart stopped, and at once a million different scenarios ran through his mind. Did Funshine need to talk? Did he want to have another sleepover? Was he in trouble? Worry creeped back into him, and he wanted to throw his phone and run away from it, just for a little while - he was sick of things happening. He just wanted to feel normal.

Good Lucky🍀: just got back from Grumpy’s so nah, what’s up?

Good Luck breathed and faked his calmness, waiting anxiously for Funshine’s reply.

funshine😎: i need help studying.

funshine😎: and i cant ask cheer

His previous anxiety melted in a minute, but he was half relieved and half annoyed. Normality - that’s all he wanted. And there was no way he would be able to keep his cool around Funshine, not the way he’s been stuck on him recently. But… if he couldn’t ask Cheer, and Grumpy was out of commission, that left…

Good Lucky🍀: i’ll come over i just gotta walk

funshine😎: sweet!!!!!!!!!! ur the best i’ll see u soon 😎😎😎

Good Luck begrudgingly changed his course back towards campus, and within 30 minutes he was at the student accommodation building. He made his way through and up the stairs to the second floor - where Funshine’s dorm was. Number 15, or as Funshine liked to say, “one five”, because it sounded vaguely like his name. 

Good Luck knocked on the door politely and waited for a few moments before turning the doorknob and letting himself in, making a mental note to scold Funshine for leaving his door unlocked like that. He called out to Funshine, and heard him call back in response, “I’m in my room!” But something about the tone of his voice suggested he was carrying a lot of weight on his shoulders, and Good Luck realised that he might have been too harsh on him when he got the text. With Funshine, it was always worse than he let on - and sometimes, he just needed someone. And usually, that someone was him. He couldn’t give up on him.

Good Luck locked the dorm door behind him and made his way through to Funshine’s bedroom, peeking into the room only to be greeted with what he could only describe as a mess.

Funshine had papers scattered all around his room. Pencils, pens and highlighters covered the desk, food wrappers were scattered everywhere as well as empty soda cans and clothes. In the far side of his room sat Funshine at his desk, pulling at his messy hair before he turned and flashed Good Luck a toothy, but very tired, grin.

“Hey, dude!” Funshine chimed gleefully, but that weight was still there. To anyone else, it might not have been detectable, but to Good Luck it was all too clear. He looked Funshine in the eyes and didn’t reply, and Funshine’s face dropped.

“Get out of that chair,” Good Luck began gently, treading carefully as to not step on any of the papers, landing on Funshine’s bed and patting the spot next to him. “Sit with me for a minute.”

Funshine obeyed with his head down, pushing his chair back slightly and walking over to Good Luck with heavy steps. When he collapsed onto the bed, it shook with the impact, catching Good Luck off guard for a moment. Funshine leaned slightly, clasping his hands together in his lap, avoiding looking up at him. Seeing him so close gave Good Luck a chance to observe his state and… he was worn. He couldn’t even hold his own weight, his eyes were dark like he’d been doing nothing but stressing all day. His blinds were shut, too, so he probably hadn’t seen any sunshine that day. All of it made Good Luck’s heart ache.

“How long have you been living like this, dude?” He asked genuinely. “I know you’re messy, but this is bad.”

“I know, I know,” Funshine replied sheepishly, kicking some of the papers on the ground with his foot. “It’s just… exams. I feel like I’m drowning.”

“Why couldn’t you ask Cheer for help?” Good Luck leaned forward, trying to get Funshine to meet his gaze, and he did now - weakly, and shamefully. And then Good Luck realised that there must have been more than he thought to the story. Funshine looked like he was biting his tongue, like he was fighting an inner battle deciding on what to say next, so Good Luck urged him to continue. “I’ll listen.”

“I hate piloting! There, I said it.” Funshine buried his face in his hands and shook his head. Good Luck was stunned into silence. Funshine talked about piloting like it was a dream of his ever since… university applications began. Not before that, like Grumpy with his handiwork, or Share with her love of caring for others. Only when it became an option…

“Wait - hold on. You hate piloting? You’ve been studying it all year, it was your first choice.” 

Funshine took his head out of his hands and wrapped his arms around his body as if he was shielding himself from whatever Good Luck could say next. “I’m…” his voice dropped and turned into a mumble. “Only doing it because Cheer is.” Good Luck said nothing, but looked at him with a gaze full of sympathy, hoping it would come through to him and encourage him to keep going. But Funshine couldn’t hold eye contact with him for more than a second, like he was afraid of Good Luck’s reaction. Afraid of disappointing him, of having to confront this lie he’s been holding onto all year.

“My dad… you know, he’s close with Cheer’s parents. And Cheer’s parents are, like, the coolest, most sophisticated people ever…” Funshine began gently, speaking slowly at first, but getting more comfortable as he continued. “And, because of that, Cheer is as well. She’s so good at everything, they have the most perfect family. I’ve grown up with Cheer, she’s basically a distant sister to me, so… I guess it’s always made me look like a bit of a failure next to her, haha.”

“Funshine, you’re not-”

“No, you don’t have to defend me,” Funshine cut him off. “I know it. Or else, I wouldn’t have copied her in the first place. I thought, maybe I could do the same course as her, and prove that I could be smart too…”

Funshine left a few heartbeats of silence to catch his breath, eyes glossing over. Good Luck could tell that all of this had been bottling up inside of him all year, and as always, he did an incredible job of covering it up. It had always just been Funshine’s personality, to joke around and laze about when it came to school work, but none of them could have been able to tell that he was just not enjoying himself. 

“No matter how hard I try to study, no matter how much I try to listen in class… It never amounts to anything. I always get to the tests, and the assignments, and I have no idea what I’m doing. My notes are covered in stupid doodles, I don’t even consciously do that stuff. I just want to listen. I want to be as good as Cheer is.”

Good Luck nodded along, listening intently. This was Funshine’s moment, he knew better than to butt in. But he wanted him to know he was free to keep going until it was over.

“Go on,” he whispered to Funshine, who looked at him gratefully.

“It’s not like my dad doesn’t care about me. I know he does. Maybe… Maybe I’m trying to impress Cheer’s parents. I don’t know. I mean, they were grateful enough to help me even get in. What good is that if I come and fail? That’s what’s gonna happen, I’m not even gonna make it through first year....” Funshine paused and looked Good Luck dead in the eyes, and it became obvious how close he was to crying. “I’m trying so hard, Good Luck.”

Normally, Good Luck would know what to do in these situations. Words of advice, or a gesture of some kind like a hug, would have been enough. But this wasn’t an easy fix - this was thousands in school debt, hours and hours wasted, years of feeling less than others. His helplessness grew when Funshine continued, very quietly.

“I guess… just consider yourself lucky that you have everything you want,” he said.

The words stung Good Luck. Not in an insulting way, but in desperation - he wished he could give Funshine the life he had. Not having to worry about studying, about what his future has in store, or comparing himself to others… But Funshine didn’t know - was that he didn’t have everything he wanted. Good Luck’s silence must have unsettled Funshine, though, because he sat up and fiddled with his hands awkwardly. “S-sorry, for all of that, ugh… It’s just… I don’t trust this version of myself with anyone else. And I guess it all just spills out-”
“N-no, no, nothing to apologise for,” Good Luck cleared his throat, rubbing Funshine’s arm comfortingly. “It’s just a lot… for you. I can’t believe you’ve had everyone fooled all year.”
“Fooled?”

“Thinking you were enjoying uni.”

“I can’t fool Cheer,” Funshine admitted. “But she doesn’t know I don’t want it. She just knows I’m struggling. She tries to help me, by talking me through the answers… but there’s only so much she can do for an idiot like me.”
“Hey,” Good Luck’s voice softened, but he didn’t know what else to say. He looked around the room - at the trash lying around and then back at Funshine, who just looked at him sheepishly, knowing he was being inspected. He whispered, “I don’t know what to do.”

Then, Good Luck decided. “Survive exams first, then we can work things out, okay?”
Funshine looked at him unsurely, but nodded. “Mm. Okay.”

Good Luck couldn’t take it anymore. That sad, helpless look in Funshine’s eyes. Finally, he leaned over and gave his best friend a hug. He hugged him tightly, wishing it was enough to fix all of the problems and pain he had to go through alone. He felt Funshine hesitate for a second before gripping Good Luck like his life depended on it. And in a way - it did. 

Good Luck was all he had.

Chapter Text

Good Luck checked his phone as he began the walk from campus back home, disappointed by the lack of notifications. He had gone into the uni library today to “study” - but it was really so he would have a chance to see his friends without having to ask. Alas, no one was there, not even Cheer who would normally be studying there in between her classes for the peace and quiet. He sighed and slipped his phone back into his pocket, trying to push away the lingering feeling of sadness blocking his throat as he continued his walk home like it was any other day.

Except, it wasn’t like any other day. It was Good Luck’s birthday.

It wasn’t like him to make a fuss about it, though. In general, he usually wouldn’t be the first one to bring it up (that job would go to Funshine), but this year in particular it seemed to have just gone totally forgotten (aside from Oopsy, of course). With everything that’s been happening, Grumpy and exams - for Funshine especially - the dates had all blended into one. So he couldn’t blame them for forgetting, even if a tiny part of his heart felt broken at the thought of Funshine, in particular forgetting. He sighed it off and continued his walk home, his favourite songs playing in his ear as he did. Good Luck found himself getting lost in the lyrics, when suddenly, a familiar notification sound interrupted the vibe. But Good Luck, caught up in the apprehension of what the message could be, didn’t mind one but as he scrambled to pull his phone out of his pocket.

funshine😎: r u able to come over to my place rq?

Good Luck blinked. And then blinked again. And then furrowed his brow. He tried not to be put off by the randomness of the message, by the fact that it wasn’t followed by any birthday wishes or any additional context. Nope, nothing, just ‘come over’. He even waited a few moments to see if Funshine would start typing another message to clear things up - but nothing. Still, though… Good Luck knew he wasn’t better than agreeing blind. Funshine specifically asked him to come over, and the last time he did that, he was burdened by the weight of a year of lies on his shoulder. Lies that he couldn’t tell anyone else… lies that he trusted Good Luck with. Whatever Funshine needed now, it must have been important enough for him to go directly to Good Luck for it, and he wasn’t going to pass up an opportunity to help Funshine when he needed it. 

He changed his course back to the campus where he just came from, luckily he hadn’t made it far before he got the message from Funshine. He pushed through the gates past the few other students making their way out from their evening classes and made his way towards the student accommodation, the walk familiar to him now. He thought about the first time he walked up those stairs to dorm 15, when Funshine had just started and moved out of his parents home in favour of living closer to the university. But, thinking about it, Good Luck realised Funshine might have just moved in to copy Cheer (who was given a special spot in the dorms due to her parents owning the school and wanting her to be independent after all of her years homeschooling). Had it all been an act, from that very day? He recalled Funshine even applying to the course, eyes shining as he talked about what the course had to offer. How much of that had been fake…?

Good Luck approached Funshine’s door and knocked a few times, taking a step away after and waiting politely. A few moments later, his best friend appeared on the other side, opening it slowly. The room behind him was dark, so dark in fact that he was sure the only light entering it was the light from the door. Good Luck squinted his eyes, trying to get a better look at Funshine on the other side. “Dude, why’s it so-” he began, only to be interrupted by the sudden motion of being jerked forward, Funshine’s hand on Good Luck’s wrist, pulling him more into the room. Before Good Luck had even a chance to react, the lights flicked on and revealed a room full of his friends all waiting with party poppers and party hats on.

“Surprise!!!”

The sounds nearly rocked Good Luck off of his feet, but Funshine still had his hand around his wrist, luckily steadying him. Streamers littered the floor and his friends erupted into laughter, looking at Good Luck’s stunned expression. A smaller, higher-pitched giggle was distinguishable in the crowd, and that made Good Luck realise that even Grumpy was here, with Dibble in his arms. He looked closer and noticed that - although it was a little big on her - she was wearing one of Oopsy’s old sweaters. 

“You good, dude?” Funshine’s voice broke him out of his surprised stillness and he let the corner of his mouth turn upwards sheepishly, looking around at all of his friends. He shrugged, and then laughed a little, and that turned into more laughter.

“I really just thought you guys all forgot…” Good Luck finished, his smile impossible to hide now. The more he looked around, the more he noticed. Balloons blown up around the room, with writing and silly drawings done with permanent markers on them, the handwriting belonging to none other than funshine. There was a table of food and drinks - seemingly Funshine’s dining table that he had moved closer to the lounge for the party. There was also a few wrapped presents on the same table.

“Forgot?!” It was Share who spoke up this time, walking over to Good Luck and fastening her hands on each one of his arms, staring at him intently but with a friendly smile on her face. “How could we forget your birthday? Be serious, Good Luck!”

“Well, with exams, and, uh,” Good Luck nodded over to Grumpy, who seemed to get the idea. “I don’t know, I thought maybe it would have just been lost in the noise-”

“And you were just gonna let us ‘forget’, weren’t you?” Funshine called him out. Good Luck felt the baring gaze from Funshine without even looking up at his face, and he just rubbed the back of his neck nervously, laughing. Funshine seemed not to accept this as an answer, wrapping his arm around Good Luck’s shoulder and pulling him away from Share and into himself roughly. “I’m not letting you get away with this. I can’t believe you’d think I’d forget my best friend’s birthday!”

Good Luck laughed, letting himself be moved with Funshine, his heart singing with pure, genuine happiness for the first time in a while. It was as if the past few weeks of stress and confusion didn’t exist. Not even those few fleet moments of happiness felt as good as this did. Though this moment did have the bonus points of being tucked under Funshine’s arm, warm against his side - but those are just details. 

“Shall we start by spoiling this poor, humble boy to death?” Cheer spoke up above the commotion with a cheeky grin, coming back from her steps towards the table to pick up what was presumably her gift for him. The others agreed and ran to pick up their own gifts, and before Good Luck knew it, he was sitting on Funshine’s couch alongside his friends. There was enough room on the couch for him, Share and Cheer - and Grumpy sat on the armchair across. Funshine sat himself on the arm of the couch right next to Good Luck, so close that he could feel his warmth radiating from his body. He opened the gifts from the others. From Cheer and Grumpy, some practical gifts like a notebook and cologne. Share bought some clothes for him, and Dibble had picked out a little green teddy bear for Good Luck as well. The gifts warmed his heart - they were nothing too special, but he figured that he was hard to get gifts for anyway. Everyone else had distinguishable traits and hobbies that made them a lot easier to buy for, and Good Luck wasn’t afraid to admit that - even he just shrugged his shoulders and said “anything” when people asked what to get him for his birthday.

“My turn!” Funshine ran up to the table and grabbed his gifts. They were small, but plenty, and he came back carrying them with a beaming smile - the kind of smile that makes Funshine’s name make too much sense. Good Luck, distracted by the sight, nearly forgot about the gifts themselves until Funshine settled back on the couch’s arm and placed them in Good Luck’s lap. Funshine nodded at him, eyes shining. “Open them!”

Good Luck started with the two, thinner wrapped presents and peeled them carefully, not knowing what could be inside. He cast a few looks back up at Funshine, whose gaze did not leave Good Luck for even a second to blink, as he opened the gifts. A certain tear in the paper revealed one, and then he excitedly tore at the other two, and revealed two CDs from his favourite singer.

“Are you kidding me?!” Good Luck exclaimed, unable to mask the excitement. He was worried for a moment that he would be showing clear bias towards Funshine’s gifts, but the excitement of it distracted him from that worry fast. 

“I know you don’t have a CD player,” Funshine began, explaining as if he had to justify giving Good Luck the best gifts he had received of the day. “But I know how much you love that guy, and I thought it’d probably be cool for you to have some physical copies.”

“‘Cool’? Funshine, this is-”

“Keep going! You’ve got two more to open before you get all chummy on me.”

Good Luck looked back down at his lap and opened the next. It was still a small box, but it was thicker than the CDs. Unwrapping it revealed brand new wireless earphones, and the sight made Good Luck’s eyes widen. The CDs were probably cheap enough, but this? His suspicions were revealed when he noticed that Funshine hadn’t scratched the price sticker off of the box - $200. Good Luck quickly turned it over, keeping the secret safe in his mind, as he stared up at Funshine to give him a reaction.

“Dude.”

“You were complaining about the ones you use now, remember?” Funshine beamed at him. “The left one’s getting scuffed ‘cus you use them so much. And I know you can’t go a day without your tunes, so it’s been killing me having to wait for your birthday to give you this.”

“Funshine…” Good Luck softened.

“One more! Don’t look at me like that yet.”

“Okay, okay, sheesh,” Good Luck laughed and picked up the last one, fiddling with it in his hands a little, trying to figure out what it could be. It was wrapped the most messily, as if its shape wasn’t solid enough to be wrapped around perfectly. But it definitely wasn’t a box, and as far as boxes go, they could have anything inside of them - so he gave up on guessing and just dug straight in. And what he pulled out was a little bracelet. Clearly handmade, green and yellow colours were threaded through, with a little sun-shaped charm holding the bracelet together. Good Luck knew instantly the implications of the bracelet and he felt his throat choke up with emotion as he turned back to Funshine, who was looking around the room shyly.

“I-it’s a lil’ childish, I know, but I just got this knotting kit from work - you know, I saw it and went, ‘that looks fun’, and I thought it’d be fun to make ones for us, especially with your birthday coming up and-”

“Is this what you’ve been doing instead of studying?” Cheer raised an eyebrow at him, but smiled as if teasing him a little. Good Luck felt his body run cold for a shocking moment, knowing all too much about Funshine’s studying attempts. But as he looked back up at Funshine, he managed to feign humour and shot her a challenging look of his own. Any one of them wouldn’t be able to tell how much Funshine was really struggling, and that’s when Good Luck realised how he had been fooled as well. Had Funshine not told him, he probably wouldn’t have had a second thought at the comment.

Funshine held his arm out and lifted the sleeve of his varsity jacket - revealing a matching bracelet on his wrist. Instead of the sun charm, it was a lucky clover, resembling Good Luck. Good Luck felt like any one of them in the room could have ripped his heart out of his chest and stepped on it repeatedly, and it would have made him hurt less than how he was hurting looking at Funshine’s freckled and sun-tanned arm. It was a good kind of hurt - the kind of hurt that comes from loving something too much for your little heart to contain.

“Cute, right?” Funshine chirped. Good Luck just stared at him for a few moments.

“Am I allowed to get chummy on you now?” He asked jokingly.

Funshine pretended to think, before nodding his head. “Sure.”

Good Luck didn’t waste his time. He got up from the couch and basically tackled Funshine with a hug of his own, feeling Funshine grab onto the couch for support before leaning into the hug and laughing.

“Thanks, bro,” Good Luck said, pulling away and meeting his eyes with gratefulness. Funshine tried to play it cool, shrugging and claiming ‘it was nothing’. But Good Luck could see it on the way the corner of Funshine’s lips betrayed him, trying to smile past the act. He could feel it in the price of the headphones that he failed to hide. $200 was a lot of money - a lot of money Funshine would be wasting on giving up his shifts. 

“Who’s ready for some games?” Cheer declared, bringing Good Luck back to reality, reminding him that it wasn’t just him and Funshine in the room. Funshine cheered and ran over to her to help arrange some of the games they had set up, and Good Luck watched on with a smile, slipping Funshine’s friendship bracelet onto his wrist and fastening it tight.

The group played party games for a few hours. There were some games like Twister and Jenga, as well as some more made-up games like Would You Rather and Truth or Dare. The games included space for Dibble to play, too, so a lot of the questions would end up being stuff like “Would you rather eat 100 sticks of cotton candy, or meet a unicorn in real life?” and other nonsensical children stuff. But Good Luck found it endearing, her child-like innocence warming his heart, and seemingly the rest of the group’s too. Good Luck found himself getting so caught up in the excitement of it all, that the thought of the challenges ahead for her were distant and only occurred in the moments of silence between games and conversations. There was no way Dibble could stay around forever, not with her childcare worker and her friend. Not when she had a legal guardian, or so it seemed. He tried not to think too hard about it. They were working through it slowly, at least Grumpy and Share were since it was their responsibility. Good Luck’s birthday was just a little break, a get away from it all. From Funshine’s studying stress, Dibble’s situation, the looming presence of exams… all of it.

Eventually, it hit 7pm, and Dibble started releasing a few yawns. Grumpy decided it was time for them to head off and they did, everyone sharing hugs before they left. Dibble gave Good Luck an extra squeeze for his birthday and giggled as she waved at him on the way out. He smiled at her as she went, vaguely remembering the days when Oopsy was that big. Grumpy and Share exchanged a few hushed words between them before Grumpy left, and then it was just the four of them left.

“It’s different with her around, huh?” Cheer was the one to mention it, but she smiled and said it lightheartedly, a breath punctuating her thoughts. 

“So’s Grumpy, that’s for sure,” Share added, but she, too, was smiling. “It’s not a bad thing. It’ll just take some getting used to, I think.”

“‘Getting used to’? Like, this is gonna be permanent?” Cheer asked. Share looked like she was about to answer seriously, before Funshine stepped into view and held up his hands, urging them to stop. 

“Guys, c’mon, let’s save this talk for after our little night of paradise, alright? It’s Good Luck’s birthday, let’s celebrate him first, then we can go back to real life.” Funshine shared a look with Good Luck, and he nodded in return, urging Funshine that he had the right idea. But in all honesty, Good Luck didn’t mind what they did, or talked about. He was just happy to be around them. But he figured that wasn’t the same for Funshine, who seemed to be using the night as an escape from everything happening in his own life.

“You’re right, sorry,” Cheer admitted. “It’s just the absence of Grumpy, I think.”

“But we did get to see him today, which is better than nothing,” Funshine pointed out, walking towards the kitchen counter as he talked. “Don’t disregard my efforts to get him to come out in the first place! You know how hard that guy is to convince.”
“Especially when you’re Funshine,” Share added quietly, causing Cheer to giggle and nod beside her. It’s true that Funshine and Grumpy got along the least out of the friendship group - naturally, because they’re polar opposites - and with everything going on with Dibble, it must have taken him some convincing to leave the house. As the night went on, it was becoming increasingly more obvious how much effort Funshine put into organising the party for Good Luck.

“Aaaanyway~” Funshine began, opening the fridge and then casting a quick look up at Cheer, worry in his eyes. “Cheer, how strictly do you follow the school rules?” Cheer seemed thrown off by the question at first, and then she raised an eyebrow, folding her arms.

“Depends.”

“ Will you tell your parents if I bought alcohol for this party? ” Funshine said it quickly, as if he was scared of what the answer would be. Good Luck nearly winced. Funshine was walking on thin ice here - there was a no-alcohol-on-premises rule for the dorms, because of course there was. And here he was, asking the daughter of the three heads-of-the-school if it would be okay to break that rule. Cheer was picky with rules too, she’d follow them to the book. She wouldn’t report her friends unless the situation seriously called for it, in this case she could just tell Funshine off and that would be it. Good Luck braced for the vibe of the party to be soured, until Cheer answered.

“Mm… no. On the condition that you throw out any evidence and… give me some too.”

Funshine smiled and pulled out the packs he had hidden in his fridge, and Share and Good Luck exchanged a confused, surprised look. Thankfully, Share spoke up for him.

“Cheer, that’s… unlike you,” she said uncertainly, smiling.

“I know,” Cheer admitted. “But Funshine’s right. Let’s just have a night to celebrate Good Luck. It won’t hurt, I know we’re all responsible here.”

Share still looked a little uncertain, but settled on the answer, watching on as Funshine came back into the room and placed the cold drinks on the floor in front of them where they were playing games just before. Share and Good Luck slowly sipped on one each as Cheer and Funshine bolted through the bottles. Share had her eye on Cheer, and Good Luck kept his eye on Funshine - and after a while, it became apparent that Funshine was even having more than Cheer. And Good Luck knew why. Tonight is his escape. It seemed that even being sober and surrounded by the energy of his friends wasn’t enough to keep the thoughts of university and exams out of his mind. Good Luck knew what that felt like, not being able to keep certain thoughts out no matter the circumstance. 

But what he couldn’t figure out was why Cheer was having so much as well. Unless it was just study, which would make sense. But she always appeared like she had it all under control, she said she enjoyed studying and was often in the library doing so even if she didn’t have any scheduled classes. She looked fine… but so did Funshine.

“You got any… fours?” Cheer slurred, looking at her hand of cards.

“Go Fish,” Funshine answered, his eyes clearly not focused on his own hand enough to be able to read what numbers he was holding.

“...you sure?” Cheer repeated, leaning forward to try and peek over his cards. “‘Cus it looks like you have just about every possible number in the world.”
Funshine cowered back, holding his cards close to his body. He snickered at her and replied, “Hey. Whose business is it if I’m trying to collect every number?”

“Funshine, you’re not playing properly,” Good Luck gently scolded him, pulling on his hands and revealing Funshine’s hand to him. He noticed a four smack-bang in the middle of Funshine’s very large hand and slides it out, throwing it over to Cheer. Funshine mocks an offended expression and nudges Good Luck’s side, saying, “what was that for? I liked that card…”

“Yeah? Well I like it more ,” Cheer drunkenly teased him. He poked his tongue out at her as if they were kids. It was very clear they had grown up together, even in this drunken state.

“I could tackle you for that card back,” Funshine continued. Share and Good Luck looked at each other, humour mixed with concern in their gazes as they continued the game.

“Let’s not get violent,” Share put her hand on Funshine’s arm, laughing lightly. A little twinge of jealousy hit Good Luck’s heart and he tried his hardest to push it aside, telling it ‘time and place’. He wished he could put a lock on his feelings for just a moment. He wished he could be normal.

“You don’t wanna fight me, bro,” Cheer slurred. “Not after the week I’ve had fighting off vandals at my parents house...”
“Vandals? You’re kidding,” Funshine snorted, laughing a little too loud. It took Funshine a moment to realise that none of the others were laughing, not that he was conscious enough to realise the consequences of that, anyway. Cheer blinked at him once, twice, seemingly trying to process what was going on around her, before she gave up and just took another sip of her drink. But Funshine’s own alcohol-filled brain was processing at his own pace too, and he didn’t let up. “Ooh, if there are people botherin’ you, I’ll have at them. I’ll be all like, ‘that's my sister, bitch’!” He threw his hand of cards all around the room for dramatic effect, and it was at this point that Good Luck knew Funshine had gone beyond his limit. “They won’t know what to do.”

Cards fell from the sky and scattered all along the floor, hitting a few of them gently as they came down. Funshine had this stupid smile on his face, like he had something to be proud of, as he waited for anyone to say anything.

“That’s great, Funshine,” Share said to break the silence and appease him. It seemed to have worked, because he closed his eyes and leaned back against the legs of the couch, lifting his arms above his head, saying, “I know, right?”

Share began picking up the cards that were scattered and Good Luck watched her for a few moments before declaring, “I think the game’s over then?”
“I totally won,” Cheer mumbled under her breath. Hearing this, Funshine shot up again and started poking her playfully. He exclaimed, “I would have won if you didn’t make me throw all my cards away!” and Cheer giggled like she hadn’t just accidentally dropped some private info during a game of Go Fish.

“Time to go home?” Share turned to Cheer with a polite and patient smile on her face, but the question felt more like a request than genuinely asking if Cheer thought it was time to go. Cheer looked at her uncertainty, picking at the threads on the carpet where she sat cross legged like a kid who didn’t want to leave a play-date. Share stood now and gently nudged at Cheer, urging her to do the same. “I think we’ve caused enough commotion for one night.”

“Please, that’s nothin’,” Funshine challenged. “I could go for more. C’mon, the night is still young! We aren’t done celebrating my man Good Luck yet, guys~...” Good Luck nudged Funshine’s side with his foot which caught his attention immediately.

“I think you’re done,” Good Luck mumbled.

“Done with what…?”
“Tonight,” he said, standing up himself. Funshine stayed on the floor, watching Good Luck with intense eyes as he went over and helped Cheer up to her feet as well. 

“I’ll walk Cheer to her dorm and then catch an Uber home, probably,” Share told him, holding her arm around Cheer, whose eyes were fluttering shut even as she stood. “Do you want to come with? I’m happy to cover the cost.” Good Luck thought about it, and realised he should probably say yes - it’d be best to go back home into his own bed and sleep off the night. But he looked out of the corner of his eye and saw Funshine staring at him, and then he looked down at his wrist, where the newly-worn friendship bracelet was. He fiddled with the charm on it as he thought. Funshine had planned the entire party for him, given him the best gifts he could - even going over his own budget for it… And now he was completely and utterly drunk on the floor of his own dorm. His own dorm that wouldn’t be as much of a mess if it wasn’t Good Luck’s birthday. And Good Luck couldn't deny the part of him that was worried for Funshine. He had been trusted with Funshine’s biggest struggles… he was the only one who knew what was going on in Funshine’s mind every time he downed another drink. What kind of friend would he be if he left with Share now, leaving Funshine alone?

“I’ll stay, I think,” Good Luck decided. “Just to keep an eye on him.” 

Share gave him a nod and an understanding look, and then hugged him. “I hope you had a great birthday, at the end of it all.”

“I did, thanks to you guys.” 

They smiled at each other and then Cheer stumbled over and gave Good Luck a hug of her own. She was heavy and sort of flopped onto him, rubbing his back with mumbled, “happy birthday” and “thanks for having me”s. Good Luck nearly found it humorous that even when she was drunk, she was still courteous enough to say thank you. She was raised well.

“Bye, Share,” Funshine called from the floor, giving them a lazy wave. “Bye, freak.”

“See ya, dumbass,” Cheer sneered at Funshine before she left, and they both laughed loosely. Good Luck closed and locked the door behind Share, and suddenly the room went quiet. And heavy. Horribly heavy, as if the alcohol had settled into the air somehow. There was some sort of tension in the room that made Good Luck almost wish he had left, but he tried to ignore it as he went over to Funshine and stood beside his limp, drunk body, still sitting against the couch on the floor.

“You good, bro?” He asked, leaning down to his level.

“I’m great. You?” Funshine chimed. Good Luck shook his head and held out his hand for Funshine to grab. After a few moments of thinking about it, he took it, and Good Luck had to put in a large amount of strength just to help Funshine to his feet. It was as if Funshine had forgotten he had a functioning body, and as Good Luck looked at Funshine’s face, he noticed how pale his skin looked compared to its usual golden sun-tan and the brightness in his cheeks. Worry creeped into Good Luck at the sight of him. He wanted nothing more than to sit Funshine down and talk about everything that was worrying him, figuring out solutions instead of relying on momentary pleasures like the party and the alcohol at it. But he knew it would be no use, not in the state that Funshine was currently in. Trying to talk to him about anything intelligent would be useless.

“Hey, do you need water or anything?” Good Luck asked.

Funshine stared back at him, meeting his eyes now. He silently shook his head.

“...okay. Want to go to bed?”

Funshine stared again. And shook his head again. And then took a heavy step towards Good Luck. Good Luck took the same step back, confused. Then, surprising him, Funshine spoke up again - his voice low, words slurred, as if everything was spilling out of him without a second thought.

“I was thinking,” he began. “You’re my best friend, Good Luck.”

“Mhm…?”

“You’re my best friend,” Funshine got closer to him, and this time, Good Luck didn’t step back. He figured it might turn into a hug, or something like that, like the one that Cheer gave him. Messy and drunk, but he was prepared for it. “Good Luck. I’d do anything for you, y’know?” Funshine takes a few steps closer, and where he’d normally lean in for a hug - he doesn’t. He just takes another step.

“What are you doing…?” Good Luck mumbled quietly, confused now.

Funshine takes one last step. One that creates mere inches of space between them. They’re so close that Good Luck can smell the alcohol in Funshine’s breath. And it hits him that they’ve never been this close before. Still uncertain and confused, Good Luck met Funshine’s clouded eyes, and admired every speckle of blue in them for the first time ever. There was a heavy silence between them as Funshine infiltrated Good Luck’s personal space, but neither of them moved. Funshine’s eyes flicked down towards Good Luck’s lips, and - wait, this wasn’t happening, was it?

Good Luck tried to recall all of the alcohol he had drunk that night. It was nowhere near enough to make him hallucinate. Or pass out and start dreaming. So why was he…?

Funshine leaned in, and in a panic, Good Luck gently pushed him back. “Funshine-”

Funshine looked back at him with dejected eyes, and he backed up a little bit. His arms dropped at his sides and he had this almost fragile look about him now. Smaller, more emotional, afraid to look Good Luck in the eye. And he felt his stomach drop through the floor. He can’t have ruined his one shot with Funshine… Never in a million years did he think… What was going on? Was this really real? Did he really just ruin years of hoping?

“N-no, wait! I didn’t mean no … You’re drunk , I can’t-”

“I know,” Funshine mumbled.

And before Good Luck had a chance to make things better, or worse, Funshine’s lips collided with his. Funshine had leaned forward into him, lazily and messily crashing into him. It was hardly what you’d expect from a first kiss, and it certainly wasn’t something out of a movie. It was more like Funshine taking the one chance he could before the moment passed. 

But Good Luck didn’t know how he was still breathing. The world seemed to stand still in the few seconds that they were pressed against each other. Moments before, they were so close that Good Luck could smell the alcohol - and he had thought that was monumental. Now, he could taste it. The mix of flavours that he had consumed all night, the toxins making him kiss Good Luck in the first place. He didn’t know what to do. He couldn’t lean into it, he didn’t want to move away from it - his hands held awkwardly at his sides, and he felt his face heating up to feverish levels. His stomach kicked and jumped at his insides and his heart thudded against his chest, threatening to break out of his body at any second. All he could do was focus on the warmth. And then… It was cold.

Funshine sunk down into Good Luck’s shoulder, resting his head there as if it was the only thing keeping his balance. And all Good Luck could do was stand there in silence, processing what had just happened. He didn’t even know how long he’d had a crush on Funshine. Years, now, at least. It started in highschool. It bubbled up and built over time. The past few months had been the worst of it. And now…?

How was he supposed to go on with his life knowing how Funshine’s lips tasted?

“Good Luck…” Funshine mumbled under his breath. The sound of Funshine’s voice and the mention of his name sent fear all throughout Good Luck’s body, and he wondered if Funshine could feel his heart pounding against his head.

“Yeah…?” Good Luck responded, fearing the response.
“I think I’m about to throw up.”

Chapter Text

Good Luck didn’t sleep. I mean, how could he, after the night he had?

He had helped rush Funshine to the bathroom and rubbed his back as he threw up his insides. It wasn’t exactly the kind of thing you’d want to be doing on the night of your birthday, listening to your best friend chuck up his guts after drunkenly performing to their friend group all night. But there he was, making sure Funshine didn’t pass out then and there on the bathroom floor. Good Luck wondered what would have happened if he had left with Share and Cheer. Funshine’s place would probably be even more of a mess…

And they wouldn’t have kissed.

After their trip to the bathroom, Good Luck led a struggling Funshine to his room and into bed. The room was in no better condition than it was the last time he was there, and as he looked at Funshine beside him - struggling to walk or keep his eyes open - he felt his heart sink in his chest. He half-heartedly shook his head and helped Funshine down onto his bed, where he sprawled out lazily and lay still, the only part of him moving was his rising and falling chest. Good Luck stared down at him blankly, watching, waiting for any sort of reaction. Just as Good Luck turned and was about to make his way out of the room, he heard a mumbled “thanks, man” from behind him. He turned around to look at Funshine again, but he hadn’t moved. The only thing that had changed about him was a stupid, weak smile now apparent on his face. And within mere seconds, Funshine entered a deep sleep.

Good Luck couldn’t smile at the sight, not tonight. His stomach churned in a way that made him fear that he’d be the one on the bathroom floor next. But he knew he hadn’t eaten or drank much that night, so he would be fine. It was all in his head. 

But that kiss wasn’t just in his head.

He made his way back towards the lounge and collapsed onto the couch with a sigh, wondering if it was really worth staying. Funshine could have been sick on his own, made his way to his bed on his own, maybe not comfortably - but there was nothing comfortable about being drunk anyway. He could have dealt with it on his own, but now, Good Luck was the one dealing with it.

And was also the only one dealing with the kiss they had shared.

He rubbed his face with a groan, as if trying to fight the constant recurring thoughts about the kiss. He hated Funshine for being able to just pass out and not have to deal with the consequences of his drunken actions. It wasn’t fair. But as Good Luck looked around the darkness of Funshine’s dorm room - still littered with balloons, and confetti, games from earlier, empty bottles… that hatred dissipated, and he was reminded of sober Funshine - the Funshine he loved, the one that planned the party for him in the first place. Good Luck lifted his arm and stared at the friendship bracelet Funshine had made for him. It was like the kind of thing they would give each other as kids, and the more he thought about it, the more he realised that Funshine probably had spent the time making them wishing they were kids again. Sympathy replaced the earlier frustration in his heart, thinking about the version of Funshine that was struggling with uni, lying to his friends to make them not worry about him…

And then he thought about the version of Funshine that kissed him while blackout drunk.

He tossed and turned on the couch for hours, drifting in and out of light sleep frequently, leaving him feeling restless and annoyed. The pit in his stomach made it hard to get comfortable, and the frustration and confusion in his heart made his thoughts loud amongst the silence. Every now and again Good Luck would hear gentle snoring from Funshine’s room and feel the unsettling feelings of confusion bubble up even stronger. The sun came up and Good Luck gave up on trying to sleep - figuring he could just sleep when he got home, anyway, now that it was the weekend. Sleeping in his own bed would probably be more comfortable than Funshine’s couch, anyhow. But as the morning began, Good Luck felt anxiety creep into his stomach. The sun coming up meant Funshine would be awake soon… the alcohol will have worn off, he’ll be fully conscious and aware again… which means they’d probably have to talk about it. About the kiss.

He knew he’d go absolutely nuts laying around and waiting for Funshine to wake up. He could just leave, go for his morning walk back home. But it didn’t feel right. He checked his phone for the time; 6:20am. He twitched his fingers nervously, fiddling with the bracelet again, and then he decided to get up and clean as if it was his only escape. The frustration he felt before had turned completely into nerves now as the situation became more and more real to him. When Funshine woke up, they would have to talk about it as if it happened, as if it wasn’t just a piece of Good Luck’s imagination. What would Funshine say?

Good Luck got up and searched Funshine’s kitchen for a bin bag, collecting all of the empty alcohol bottles and pouring any remains out into the sink before tying the bag and placing it near the door ready to throw out. 

The possibilities of the conversation ahead were truly endless. And even as he cleaned, Good Luck found he couldn’t escape imagining what it could hold. Would Funshine confess his feelings for him, and admit that his drunken self was just doing what he had secretly wanted to do for years? No, don’t be ridiculous, Good Luck. What was more likely was probably Funshine awkwardly admitting that he wasn’t thinking straight and wishing they could just move on from it. And then Good Luck would have to laugh and say something like, “yeah, it was crazy and weird” and act like it wasn’t what he had been wishing on stars for since he was a teenager. Would things be weird between them forever now, thanks to Funshine’s reckless acts? The thought ate him up inside - it’s why he was so careful about his crush in the first place. He would rather take a one-sided secret crush for the rest of his lifetime than risk ruining the friendship he already had with him. After all, that friendship was more important to him than any kiss could be. But it’s not like he could just push aside the romantic attraction - you can best believe that he had tried, but to no avail. Good Luck didn’t mind living the way he was now, secretly wishing for more… but something about having Funshine confirm for him that it would stay that way was terrifying, as if there was a little part of him that always secretly hoped that they could be something more.

And now, that possibility was real. 

Or maybe it wasn’t even. Maybe to Funshine - kissing a friend was perfectly normal. That possibility wasn’t a bad one… but it definitely ruled out any hope of an actual relationship. Good Luck didn’t want his feelings played with… a conversation like that would have to end with the truth.

He found a dustpan and broom and cleaned up any crumbs and confetti on the floor, slipping it into the bin. Then, he dealt with the party food left on the table and left the dishes on the sink. He didn’t want to risk waking up Funshine early, for the sake of his own nerves, and also for Funshine’s well-being, of course. That reason is also why he kept the balloons intact for Funshine to deal with on his own later. He packed away the party games, picking up the last of Funshine’s card display from the night earlier and putting the deck of cards back into its box. He looked at the box in his hands for a while, thinking about the night before again.

What if Funshine decides it’s too awkward and cuts Good Luck out of his life? Just as the horrifying thought had entered his mind, he heard commotion coming from Funshine’s room. Good Luck’s heartbeat quickened in an instant, thudding in his chest so fast that he could feel his entire body’s balance being threatened. He froze and watched as Funshine, very groggily, stumbled out of his room, his eyes squinting in the dark as he looked in.

“Good Luck…?” Funshine mumbled, flicking the light on, surprising even Good Luck now. He just stared back at him speechless, a lump in his throat. “You’re still here?”

Good Luck said nothing, nodding. Funshine yawned and stretched, wincing as he did, “did you guys throw me off of a cliff or something last night?”

“No…?” Good Luck replied, uncertainty making his voice waver. Funshine was already being weirdly normal… but the conversation was far from over yet, he didn’t want to get his hopes up.

“God, ‘cus it feels like it.” Funshine finished stretching and looked around the room with clearer eyes now, widening the more he looked. He turned to Good Luck with a slight smile and asked, “did you clean up?”
“...yeah.”

“Thanks, man… That’s really sweet, you didn’t have to, it’s my mess.”

“Yeah, well you’re a mess,” Good Luck quipped back, immediately regretting it, as if it was meant to be an inner thought rather than actually spoken. But Funshine just laughed a little, rubbing the back of his neck with a smile that beamed even through the hangover. Funshine’s hair was a mess, his skin covered in light sweat... And the sight drove Good Luck crazy. An awkward silence hung in the air, making Good Luck fear the worst, and he dropped the cards on the table and turned to head for the door. “I-I’m gonna go now that you’re awake and… alive, and okay-”
“Wait, Good Luck-” Funshine began, his eyes urgent. And Good Luck’s heart stopped.

This is it, he thought, this is the death of everything I knew before.

He stared back at Funshine, waiting for him to talk again, to bring up the kiss, how he feels about it, how he feels about Good Luck, if he ever wants to do it again, anything - but what came out of him next was a hurried, “I think I’m gonna be sick again. C-can you help, before you go?” Funshine covered his mouth and held his stomach in a hurry, looking at Good Luck with pleading, worried eyes that Good Luck couldn’t say no to - not even in his current frustration. He raced over to Funshine’s side and helped him to the bathroom again - dreading the noises of choking and coughing he had heard last night. And the same feelings of confusion, dread and frustration of the night before creeped into him once again.

–

Good Luck lay on his bed, staring at his phone screen in the dark. He felt groggy and exhausted, despite having a few hours long nap the moment he got home. But most of all, there was this feeling of unmistakable dread weighing his entire body down, making him feel like he could be absorbed by the sheets around him - falling so far into the mattress that he’d never be seen again. Yeah, that sounded like the perfect way to go, actually.

It was only 3pm, but he had felt like he’d had enough of the day by 9am. He’d stayed with Funshine and helped him through his sickness, getting him water and leaving him in bed once again before he left. Thankfully, this time, Funshine was able to properly thank him for helping out. But a ‘thank you’ isn’t what Good Luck wanted to hear, he wanted to know what the hell made Funshine kiss him.

So he left, unsatisfied, and made his way back to his house, his mind reeling with thoughts. His thoughts became so loud that not even his favourite music could drown them out. And as Good Luck walked home, tracing his finger over the price sticker left on the earphones Funshine gave him - he wondered where he really stood in Funshine’s mind after all. All of the thinking had given him a headache, and he thought sleeping for a few hours would clear it up - but, bedridden he remained. 

He stared blankly at the messages on his screen. 

funshine😎: thank u again for staying w me and helping me w my sick
funshine😎: sorry that im a wreck…… and that u even have to take care of me

funshine😎: but i hope u enjoyed the party!!!! and the gifts!!!!! u deserve it man <3

Good Lucky🍀: of course, it’s no problem for me, happy to be there for you

Good Lucky🍀: & of course i loved the gifts. love the music, love the bracelet :)
Good Lucky🍀: that’s all you meant, right?

funshine😎: yeah what else??? 

funshine😎: besides the sick party i organised for you idk ^_^ hehe :P

Good Lucky🍀: yeah. that

Good Lucky🍀: lol 

He groaned. What about the kiss, Funshine? It’s all he wanted to say. But he didn’t want to bring it up - he wasn’t the one who initiated it. And if Funshine wanted to be a dick and just pretend that it didn’t happen, like it definitely seemed, then Good Luck certainly wasn’t going to be the one to bring it up first. He didn’t want to make it obvious that he cared so much. 

But he did care so much. It’s all he could think about. Years and years of build up in his own head, alone, had gotten him to this point. And exams were coming up, and he was worried about Funshine, and he couldn’t just throw away everything in his life in favour of letting his brain rot on thoughts of Funshine. But he had no one to talk to about it. Talking about it would ruin the sacristy of it, would risk his friendship with Funshine - but they’d already kissed, and Funshine seemed perfectly fine just acting like nothing happened, so maybe there was no risk involved in it at all. Funshine was a great liar, which is what Good Luck was learning about him as of late. Maybe if he found out, he would just pretend it wasn’t real!

He hit himself in the head a few times, already sick of hearing his own thoughts, when he decided to open up another chat on his phone. He took a deep breath, knowing that what he was about to do was going to change the dynamic of his friend group forever. But he figured he had no other choice - and if he was sick of Funshine’s lies, he didn’t want to do the same. He had to tell someone about what happened, he had to talk with someone about how he felt, about what he should do - when all of his thoughts conflicted with each other, he knew he would just give himself 24 hour headaches every day from now onwards. There was no getting over a kiss like that, certainly not when the person who kissed him was pretending it didn’t happen.

Good Lucky🍀: heyyy, are you free to hang out by any chance?

Good Lucky🍀: today? as soon as possible maybe?

He waited for a reply, and was relieved by how quick it came through.

Cheer🌺🌈: A little hungover, but I’ve been trying to study through it.

Cheer🌺🌈: I could use a break. I’d love to see you. :) 

Cheer🌺🌈: Are you okay?

Good Lucky🍀: yeah.

Good Lucky🍀: no.

Good Lucky🍀: i dont know.

Cheer🌺🌈: Want to meet at that cafe halfway from here to you?

Good Lucky🍀: ill start walking now, thanks cheer, you’re the best

Cheer🌺🌈: 💕 See you there!

Good Luck got out of bed, put on his jacket and made his way out of the house - giving Oopsy a heads up that he’ll be out for a few hours but back before dinner. He had thought about trying to set up the new earphones Funshine got him, but honestly, anything to do with that guy was making his feelings more complicated, and worsening his headache. So he opted for his old earphones - which made him think about how Funshine remembered Good Luck’s complaining about the slight audio quality difference between the left and right ones. That was something that not even Good Luck focused on a lot of the time - after a while, he just got used to it. But Funshine remembered. Because of course he remembered. He remembered Good Luck’s favourite musician, too. He was always the one to pay special attention to Good Luck. But that’s because they’re best friends. 

But best friends don’t kiss each other when they’re drunk!!!!!
Sick of his own thoughts, he opened up his phone onto the first social media app he could find and scrolled, trying to focus on the posts and memes rather than anything his mind was trying to tell him, until he reached the cafe. He sat at a table outside and waited for Cheer, continuing trying to distract himself - luckily for him, it was doing the best that it could.

“Good Luck, hey!” Cheer said, surprising him. He looked up at her and smiled, relieved by her comforting presence, “Hey Cheer.” She pulled out a chair and sat herself down, placing her handbag on the table in front of him. Then, she stared directly at him, her gaze serious but gentle.

“Now, what’s up?”
“Whoa, straight into it, then?” Good Luck replied nervously, avoiding her gaze. Suddenly, what he was about to tell her became real again. He had been so in-his-own-head about everything, that he totally forgot that telling Cheer would involve… well, telling her. Making it real. Something he had been afraid of for years. He had always been so firm on keeping it to himself… he was ashamed to know how quickly he crumbled after one kiss from Funshine.

“‘Can we hang out ASAP’ speaks urgency to me. Forgive me for being worried, Good Luck, but it’s not like you to need a talk like this.” Good Luck knew she had a point. It seemed to be a common trend in their friend group to feel the need to shoulder all of your responsibilities on your own - despite how close all of them are. Going into adult life had really shifted things for them, not that Good Luck was ever one to need help in the first place. But people like Grumpy, Cheer, and even Funshine now - seem to have taken to adult life very independently.

Good Luck subconsciously began fiddling with the bracelet around his wrist. Cheer looked down at it, and then up at him, and gently urged him forward. “I’m here for you.”

“...I don’t know how to… I mean, I…” Good Luck breathed, and began the leap of faith. He made eye contact with Cheer as he spoke, ensuring he didn’t miss a single detail in her expression. “It’s about Funshine.”

“...what about him?” She asked, but curiously.

“I… I like him…?” Good Luck mumbled. Cheer’s eyes widened, and then she looked away, as if trying to piece together her thoughts. Good Luck’s heart sank, and he immediately threw his hands up in the air, shaking them around and saying, “Actually, it’s super weird, isn’t it? You don’t have to be here, I can go home-”

“No, no, Good Luck,” Cheer replied, her voice light and full of laughter as she reached out and grabbed Good Luck’s wrists, steadying his hands and pulling them down to rest on the table again. Her hands slipped further down to his, and she held him comfortingly, her cheeks bright with humour as she spoke to him. “It’s not weird - I’m sorry, I was just thinking. You two have always been so close, so it sort of makes sense.”

Good Luck cringed a little. “Is it… obvious?”
“Oh, no, ‘course not. You hide it well. At least, from us. I don’t know… you’re always a little more distant than the rest of us, so it’s hard to tell how you feel sometimes.”
“Oh…” Good Luck frowned. “Well, at least it’s not obvious...”

“Definitely not, so you can stop worrying about that,” Cheer smiled at him, rubbing her thumbs along his hands for comfort. “But no, in all honesty, you’ve always sort of been like… his person. I’m not surprised if there’s something more between you two than friendship.”

“That’s the thing,” Good Luck sighed, looking down at the friendship bracelet on his wrist. “I don’t think there is. Or…” He thought about the kiss, but decided against telling her about it. “I don’t know. I’ve spent years trying to push this away, but-”
“Hold on, years?!” Cheer interrupted him. Good Luck nodded silently. “Good Luck… Oh, I wish you were able to talk about it sooner. I’m so sorry.”

“I just… I don’t want to ruin anything. With him, or you, or the group, or… ughh,” he groaned, removing his hands from hers and covering his face instead, dreading the following conversation. “Share.”

“Share?” Cheer tilted her head.

Good Luck looked at her through the gaps of his fingers. “I think she likes him too.”

Cheer looked at him for a few moments, before giggling a little, confusing him. But he waited for her to finish, covering her smile with her hand as she went on. “I wouldn’t worry about her too much, you know.”
“Why?”
“Share… Well, her heart is generous,” Cheer lowered her voice. “She’s always got her eyes on someone. It just happens to be Funshine right now. She’ll change her mind.”
“What do you mean?” Good Luck raised an eyebrow at her, lowering his hands.

“She had a crush on you a few months ago, you know.”

“W-what?! Me?!”
“Why do you think she rushed to get the seat next to you in my car?” Cheer shook her head and rolled her eyes, recalling the memory. 

“S-she doesn’t still have a crush on me, right…?”
“No, no, don’t worry about breaking her lil heart,” Cheer laughed. “You might be right about her liking Funshine, but I have an inkling that she’ll be focusing on someone else very soon. Don’t tell her I said anything, though~”

Good Luck nodded, and then looked back down shamefully at the table.

“Hey, what’s up?” Cheer said gently, tilting her head to try and urge Good Luck to meet her eyes again. He did, but he just sighed, placing his elbow on the table and resting his cheek in his hand. 

“Be honest… what do I do?” He asked.

Cheer looked at him, uncertainty in her eyes. “Honestly? I don’t know.”

Good Luck sighed hopelessly.

“He doesn’t really… talk about himself to anyone but you.”

“Really? But you two grew up together.”

“Yeah, but… I don’t know. It’s probably the big brother in him - even though I feel like I have to be responsible for him more than vice versa,” she sighed. Good Luck knew in his heart that it wasn’t the way Cheer thought it was, and that Funshine actually wanted out more than anything. But it wasn’t his place to bring that up, so he kept it inside. “What I mean is… if you want to know how he feels, you’re probably the only person who’s gonna be able to find out.”

“But I can’t just… tell him how I feel. It’d ruin everything.”

“What would Funshine want you to do, really?” Cheer began, with a sad smile. “Be stuck in this limbo you’ve made for yourself forever, or be honest with him?”

Normally, Good Luck would have believed Funshine to want the truth. But Funshine had

been finicky with the truth himself as of late. Lies to the group about what he wants to do, but tells Good Luck eventually, which did mean that Funshine deserved the same truth that he gave Good Luck. But… that kiss changed everything. If Funshine was pretending it didn’t happen, then he’d be lying again… Eventually, Good Luck just gave up. “I don’t think I know anymore.”

Cheer took his free hand again and comforted him. “Well, I’m thankful that you feel comfortable enough to tell me about all of this. Now you don’t have to figure out the answer on your own, ‘kay?”

They shared a smile.

“And I promise, this secret won’t leave me, okay? Just think of me like… an external part

of your brain.”

“Out of all of the ways for this conversation to get weird, that’s the way it happens?” They

laughed together, and Good Luck felt the thoughts in his head quietening down. He was so worried about what would happen when he told someone… but all of this time, he never knew it could feel so… good. It felt like a weight he didn’t even realise was there had been lifted from his shoulders, like his crush on Funshine had been producing more stress than anything. And as much as he wasn’t a fan of Share’s crush on Funshine… hearing that she even told Cheer about a crush she had on Good Luck - and knowing that nothing had changed in their friend group’s dynamic during that time - relieved his stress ever so slightly. He knew he could count on Cheer to keep it a secret, the same way she had about Share’s crushes in the past. Looking at Cheer now, Good Luck found a whole new appreciation for his friend, thankful that now, after all of this time shouldering it alone, he finally had someone he could share his thoughts with. 

But not all of them. Not about the kiss. Not yet.

Then, he remembered something weird Cheer had said during the game of Go Fish. “Hey, Cheer? Can I ask you something?”
“Go ahead,” she said politely.

“Last night, when you were… you know. You said something about vandals? Is… everything okay?” He watched as Cheer’s expression changed, and she avoided his gaze, nervously laughing. “D-did I really? Ahem, yeah, I don’t know. I wouldn’t trust me when I’m intoxicated like that-”
Riiiing!
In Cheer’s handbag, her phone rang, and she cast Good Luck an apologetic look before pulling it out and answering the call.

“Share! What’s up? I’m with Good Luck. Is speakerphone okay? Cool!”

Cheer held out her phone and clicked speaker, and Share’s voice came through the other end. “Hi Good Luck!”
“Hey,” he replied weakly, with a look up at Cheer, trying to act as if they weren’t just talking about her.

“I’m with Grumpy right now,” Share added. And this time, Cheer looked up at Good Luck and gave him a wink. He recalled what she had said at the end of their conversation about Share and smiled, keeping it in the back of his mind humorously. “We’re talking about some… stuff. And want to keep you guys in the know, or get your thoughts.”

“Even though it’s up to me at the end of the day,” Grumpy’s raspy voice came out of the phone beside Share’s. 

“What stuff? What’s going on?” Cheer questioned them, concern in her voice now, the same concern she had for Good Luck at the beginning of their conversation. He suddenly felt worse for pulling Cheer out only for her to deal with even more of her friends’ problems.

“Some stuff has happened and I’m able to take full custody of Dibble,” Grumpy said. Cheer and Good Luck looked at each other once again with wide, surprised eyes. Good Luck figured he would let Cheer take control of the conversation - since she was a little more responsible and knowledgeable than a boy worrying about his boycrush. As if he didn’t feel bad enough, he was suddenly reminded of how small his own troubles were compared to how big they felt in his chest.

“What?! What about your studies?” Was the first question Cheer asked - because of course it was. But it was a reasonable ask, even Good Luck was wondering. Grumpy and Cheer were the study-obsessed people in their groups, their certificates seemed to be the most important goals in their lives. Watching Grumpy throw that away was unforeseen.

“I have a job already, and I know what I’m doing,” Grumpy’s voice was stubborn, but confident. And also… not wrong. Grumpy had been self taught since he started tinkering with machines. He always talked about how easy the classwork was for him, and that the lessons he dreaded were the ones that the university required he do outside of his main coursework - for writing and comprehension, the class he shared with Good Luck. He continued, “My life is already comfortable. I know I can live off of this. But Dibble’s had it rough, I want to make sure her life is comfortable, too.”

“Are you sure?” Cheer asked. “I could talk with my parents about arranging a year off for you to get settled, and then continue? Maybe online learning?”
“Maybe,” Grumpy decided. “But I’ll think on it. For now, I know what’s important - she can stay with me.”

“Well… it sounds like you’ve already decided,” Cheer settled, but Good Luck could see a smile on her face. “Thanks for the update, guys-”

“You need to convince Grumpy that he must take my help now too!” Share demanded loudly over the phone. “I’m literally studying in this field, I know exactly what she needs, the best things to buy, what you need to do to get foster care clearance, everything!!!”

“ Grumpy…. You can’t seriously be trying to refuse the expert.”

Grumpy released a heavy sigh. “Fine, fine, if you’re gonna make that much of a fuss about it, I’ll take your help. Happy?”
Share’s voice sweetened right up as she said, “Happy! Thanks Cheer~ Bye you two!” 

“Bye Share, I’ll DM you later for more details,” Cheer said finally before ending the call. The silence hung in the air for a few moments, and then Cheer just shrugged and sighed at him with a smile. “Just feels like one thing after the other, doesn’t it?”

“Tell me about it,” Good Luck replied, exasperated, but appreciative that someone else in their group felt the same way. “We still have exams to survive yet.”

“Don’t remind me,” Cheer said, pulling out her phone to check the time. “We still have some time. Want me to get us something from inside? My treat.”
“You really don’t have to-”
“Good Luck, you just poured your heart out to me. I’m gonna reward you somehow.”

“I’m not a dog, Cheer.” But he was laughing, and so was she. She got up and pushed in the chair after her, grabbing her phone as she went. 

“I’ll update Funshine about the Dibble situation, as well. Unless you want to…?”

Good Luck thought about the last messages in his DMs with Funshine and decided against it. He really didn’t want to talk to him right now. He didn’t know if he would know how to be normal, knowing that Funshine was holding off on him so profusely about the kiss. He shook his head at her, and she looked at him understandingly, walking in through the cafe’s doors. Good Luck released a breath and let himself fall into his arms on the table, hiding away from the world. Relieved at the outcome, but feeling just as lost as ever.

–

Exam week crept up on the squad before they could realise it. This resulted in the group chat’s most inactivity of the year - of possibly ever . It was their first time having to really give their all to the school. Tests in highschool were similar, but not as serious as this. Share had a lot of practical work to work towards - and Funshine and Cheer were busy preparing for the same exam. Good Luck could only imagine how that was going. He had been avoiding Funshine for the past week, keeping most interactions and text conversations as short as possible. Funshine kept reaching out, leaving Good Luck with no idea what to do. He didn’t want to entertain Funshine’s lies, he didn’t want to keep getting himself hurt. But he couldn’t talk to Cheer about what to do next, not whilst she was so busy, so he was trying his best just to keep his distance and focus on his own exams.

funshine😎: heyy are you free tonite??? Ik i should be studying buuuttt

funshine😎: i miss my bff a liiiittle more than i want to pass this test

funshine😎: totally ok if not tho

funshine😎: im so lonelyyyy good luck where are you

funshine😎: i got no one to talk to except grumpy T-T

funshine😎: helloooo? :( 

Good Lucky🍀: sorry dude, been studying

funshine😎: but you never study?

Good Luck didn’t know how to respond to that last message. But it seemed to have gotten the idea across, because Funshine didn’t message him for the rest of the night.

It was the first day of the week. Monday - which meant Funshine and Cheer had their first (of many) exams. Good Luck’s weren’t until Wednesday and Friday, which meant he had extra time to “study”. Studying for him entailed reading the same textbooks over and over, as if he hadn’t already retained all of the information on the very first read, and pretending he wasn’t thinking about Funshine in between every two pages. No matter what he did, he couldn’t shake the thoughts. He felt bad for ignoring Funshine, but wondered if Funshine felt bad pretending he hadn’t kissed Good Luck.

But then there was a part of him that worried about him as his best friend, rather than a person with a crush on him. He thought about the distress in Funshine’s eyes when he asked for help, the state of his room and himself when he tried to study. The weight he had been carrying, trying to live up to Cheer and her parents’ expectations, spending a year attending classes for something he didn’t even want to do. But then again, he did lie about it in the first place. Was it a comeuppance? No, Good Luck couldn’t be thinking like that. His love life and Funshine’s personal life were entirely different matters. He could be upset at drunk-kisser Funshine, not at the Funshine that was trying so hard. He wished in his heart that Funshine would be okay today.

But he was also grateful that he didn’t have an exam so early. Sure, thoughts about Funshine hadn’t faded after days and days… but maybe a few extra days would clear his mind before he had to sit the exam, right? Surely.

It was the start of the day, and Good Luck was already thinking way too hard. So, he got ready for his morning walk. He slipped on his shoes, a hoodie, plugged in his old earphones and got walking. There was something in the morning air that helped him wake up every morning, and the walk itself kept his body feeling loose and flexible throughout the day. It was the healthiest part of his routine, and recently it had been a great help in his struggle with his mind. The sun was always just rising, which made for beautiful scenery, even if it was just going down the same few streets every morning. It helped him slow down and appreciate the largeness of the world, and it made his problems feel small - in a good way - for just a short time. But it set him up for the day. He didn’t know how he’d cope if his walk got interrupted or postponed.

But - as if summoned by the peace of the walk - Good Luck looked in the distance and saw a very familiar silhouette jogging his way over to him. And it was just his luck. His heart sped up as stress flooded through his veins, unable to escape the situation, he just stood there and waited.

“Good Luck! I knew I’d find you out here,” a very exasperated Funshine said, running over to him and catching his breath with heavy pants. “Good morning, dude!”
“...’morning,” Good Luck responded flatly. He didn’t know how to act. Was he supposed to lie as well, to match Funshine’s over-the-top casual act? If he acted like he hated him, then maybe it would encourage Funshine to be honest about what happened. Then maybe Good Luck would get the answers he wanted. But maybe he wasn’t ready for those answers.

“Hey, man, seriously. What’s up?” Funshine’s voice softened, and it hurt Good Luck’s heart. Why did he have to be such a good friend? Why did he have to know exactly where Good Luck runs, why did he have to care so much to know when something wasn’t right? Good Luck realised as the conversation continued that he would have no choice but to be honest. “You’ve been acting so… different since your birthday. What happened?”

The question was enough to make Good Luck lose his last bit of self control. He clenched his jaw and looked back at Funshine with real, unadulterated frustration in his eyes. “How do you do that so well?!”
“D-do what?” Funshine was caught off guard, eyes widened with worry. It wasn’t like Good Luck to get angry at him… in all of their years, they’d had small disagreements, but never anything that involved the anger that Good Luck had harboured over the past week.

“Pretend like you don’t remember? ” Good Luck sneered, his fists clenched tight.

“Remember what?” Good Luck would have lost it at this line - if it wasn’t for the genuine fear in Funshine’s voice. He looked at Good Luck like he had genuinely no idea what was going on… he was frightened more than anything. Funshine panicked more in the silence. “ What did I do?”

And then, Good Luck realised.

All of the resentment, the confusion, the frustration… none of it was real. 

Funshine just genuinely did not remember kissing him.

And, suddenly, Good Luck felt like the world’s biggest idiot. Funshine didn’t remember, of course. That’s why he was so good at acting like everything was normal from the second he woke up the next morning. A logical conclusion that Good Luck definitely could have reached on his own, had the problem not been a kiss from his years-long crush. His emotions got in the way, and it seemed he got too in his own head. 

“Good Luck - what did I do? Did I say something? Please, I want to make it up to you,” Funshine’s voice was pleading with him, his eyes wide and completely innocent. Good Luck wanted nothing more than to hit himself in the head, over, and over, and over, until that brain inside of his skull started working properly again. But he couldn’t do that, not right now anyway, he had to fix what he had broken. A little lie couldn’t hurt, not in this specific situation.

“You just…” he began, avoiding Funshine’s gaze. “Threw up all over my shoes.”
There was nothing else he could have thought of in such a short time. And there was nothing except for the kiss that could justify how cold Good Luck had been - but he’d rather be seen as overly-emotional than bring up the kiss now.

“I did?” Funshine raised an eyebrow, but there was still concern there. He had bought it, for sure. Funshine may have been a good liar, but he was just as gullible, especially with the fear of it all - he probably just wanted something, anything, to be the answer, so that he could make up with Good Luck. 

“Yeah,” Good Luck continued, trying to think of ways of making it worse than it seemed. It was okay, to lie a little more, surely. Nothing he made up now could be worse than saying ‘oh you kissed me’. “They were brand new… Special gift from my brother, and you were too drunk to say sorry.”

“Oh… no, no, no, I’m so sorry Good Luck, sooo so sorry,” Funshine dipped his head in shame. “Is there anything I can do? Give me the brand, I can buy you some new ones - let me say sorry to your brother, god I’m such a wreck…”

If he reacts this way to throwing up on shoes, how would he react to the truth? The thought slightly humoured Good Luck, and he was thankful to be rid of the resentment he held before. He shook his head and tried comforting Funshine. “No, you’re fine. It… happens. I got them cleaned, so you’re good.”

Funshine breathed a sigh of relief but still held the regret on his shoulders. “Ugh, I’m so embarrassed. After everything you’ve done for me… and you still stayed after that. I’m so sorry.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m really sorry, too, about how I acted. I should have been more patient with you, especially since I know what you’re going through…” The apology was genuine, and came from the deepest part of Good Luck’s shame for blaming sober-him for something he didn’t even remember drunk-him doing. Then, he realised. “Wait, your exam is soon, isn’t it? What are you doing chasing me around?”
“Ahah,” Funshine breathed, straightening himself up now. “This is more important to me.”

“Dude, you gotta go get ready,” Good Luck replied, but he, too, was smiling. It felt terribly good to be happy with Funshine again, to be around him again, and to be reminded how important he is to him.

“I’m gonna fail anyway,” Funshine said with a laugh. Good Luck knew the weight of the joke, but went along with it anyway. “So we’re good now, yeah?”
“Yeah,” Good Luck smiled, meeting his eyes. Though he knew it wasn’t entirely true… He knew that now that he found out Funshine wasn’t lying, that instead of focusing on the lack of answers, his brain would fixate on how the actual kiss felt and how he wished it did mean something. But, the main thing is that Funshine wasn’t being weird. And Good Luck had no reason to be weird, either. They could go back to normal.

“Okay, good, I’ll go now - but I’ll talk to you later, okay? We have to catch up soon,” Funshine smiled brightly, and all felt right in the world for just a little bit. They separated and Funshine ran back towards the direction of campus, and Good Luck just stood there, watching him go, waving him off as Funshine looked back once more.

I’m such an idiot, is all Good Luck could think before he turned back in the direction of home, the weight of his past few days of ignorance and hatred hanging heavy over his head.

Chapter Text

Ding~!

Good Luck stirred slightly upon his phone buzzing beside him. It was early evening - and as healthy as Good Luck normally was when it came to sleep, the events of recent had sucked the life out of him, more than he had even realised. And after he had finished his own exams, he returned home and passed right out the moment his body hit his mattress - like the exam had marked some kind of end to what felt like an endless few months.

He turned over and lifted his phone above his head, squinting at the screen to read the messages as they came through on his lockscreen.

[Messenger] “the squad”
Cheer🌺🌈: Funshine and I just finished our last exam!!

[Messenger] “the squad”

funshine😎: 😎😎😎😎😎😎😎😎

[Messenger] “the squad”
share bear💜🩵: omg!! congrats you guys!!!! (˶ˆᗜˆ˵)

[Messenger] “the squad”

Grumpy.: Good work.👍

Good Luck breathed, feeling relieved on Funshine’s behalf. Out of all of the group, Funshine and Cheer were the ones with the most exams - much to Funshine’s dismay - but it was over. Funshine could finally rest. And then, at some point, him and Good Luck would probably have to figure out a solution to his whole… dislike of piloting. You can only put up an expensive act like that for so long. Good Luck didn’t want to think about how bad things would get if they didn’t figure something out. Or, worse, if Funshine had kept it all to himself after all.

Pushing the thought out of his mind, he unlocked his phone and typed a message of his own.

Good Lucky🍀: great stuff!! so proud :)

funshine😎: thank u thank u it was such hard work but u know im smart like that

Funshine😎: oh and cheer too i guess

Funshine😎: :P

Cheer🌺🌈:🙄

Good Luck couldn’t resist smiling at the phone, despite knowing Funshine was blatantly lying.

Cheer🌺🌈: Aaaanyways, assuming we’re all free, who’s on for some drinks tonight?

Cheer🌺🌈: My treat! To celebrate. Usual place~

share bear💜🩵: you know i’m in!!! ♡

share bear💜🩵: grumpy?

Grumpy.: Not sure. Hands kind of full at home.

Grumpy.: Besides, I didn’t do my exams. This is about you guys.

funshine😎: cmon grumpster at least get some hot chocolates for you and dibs

Grumpy.: …

Grumpy.: Alright. We’ll come.

share bear💜🩵: yay!!!!! ! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

funshine😎: good luckkkkkkk????

He felt his heart quicken at being called out directly by Funshine. It was normal, Funshine always paid close attention to him. But after everything, the stress of exams, his birthday… Now that he felt like he could relax, it seemed his body decided it was prime time to start freaking out over the little things again. Great. 

Good Lucky🍀: of course im coming

Funshine😎: good :3

Cheer🌺🌈: See you guys in an hour or so~!

Good Luck closed his phone and let it rest on his rising and falling chest, feeling the weariness left by his nap catch up to him. But he couldn’t sleep now… He had plans. He wanted to see Funshine.

—

He was the last one to arrive. Unfortunately for him, he had drifted into a light sleep shortly after putting the phone back down again. He hadn’t truly realised how much of a physical toll the stress of the past few weeks had on him. But his brain must have booked the appointment subconsciously, because he woke up just in time to fumble his socks and shoes on and make it to his friends. Last, still, but he wasn’t late enough for Funshine to hold it against him.

“There he is!” 

It was Funshine, of course, who noticed him first. He had his head poking out of the group as if he was looking out for Good Luck - or maybe that was part of his imagination - and his smile beamed brightly over everyone else’s heads. He lifted his arm and waved over at him, and Good Luck gave him a small wave back, shy as the rest of the group's attention turned over to him as he approached their table. An empty chair - right next to Funshine - as always. Funshine pulled the chair out for him as he neared, and he nodded his head in thanks, sitting comfortably next to his best friend.

“How are you?” It was Funshine who spoke first, wearing a smile that seemed hard to contain. Funshine looked the best he had in a while, glowing even, and Good Luck knew instantly it was because the worst of school was over. They still had lots to figure out regarding his situation, but they could start doing that now. It was like Good Luck had said, “just survive exams”. He had done just that.

“I’m good, but how are you ?” Good Luck responded. “Feeling good that it's over?”

“You know it, dude,” Funshine breathed. “It was really hard. ” He winked at Good Luck like it was a joke. It wasn’t, but it certainly came off that way, because the rest of the group’s giggles came expectantly after. Good Luck shook his head and avoided looking at Funshine, a smile tugging at the corner of his lips despite it all.

“So, what are you having to get over it?” Cheer asked him with an eyebrow raised, sliding a menu over to the pair, face up on the ‘drinks’ part of the menu. Numerous fancy wines, ciders, cocktails and the like littered the page. Good Luck never understood what any of it meant and would settle for something like an apple cider, which had a familiar taste to him, on the rare occasion that he would even get something light to drink. He looked over at the menu himself, leaning into Funshine to get a better look, figuring that it was a celebration so it wouldn’t hurt to get something. But suddenly, Funshine shook his head and nudged the menu closer to Good Luck, bowing his head shyly as he declared, “Nah, I think I’ll… avoid the drinks for a little while.” Good Luck looked up at him and met his eyes for a moment, and then they both looked away, recalling what happened last time Funshine drank too much. Except, well, the two of them were recalling different things. Funshine, a lie, and Good Luck, a kiss. But he figured, either way, it was probably a good call. 

It was also good to see, though. Despite the last time they celebrated together being on Good Luck’s birthday, there was this heavy air around Funshine and all of the drinking he was doing that made it all too clear that he wasn’t just doing it for fun, and to escape in a way. Sure, the stress was probably all still there - about lying to everyone, feeling like a failure in a course he didn’t even want to do, but without exams it was probably a lot lighter on his shoulders. And he hoped the promise to help Funshine figure out what to do was still in his head, reassuring him that same way.

“Suit yourself,” Cheer said in a pleased tone, smiling at him with some sort of pride. “Does everyone know what they want? I can go up and order for us.”

“Hot chocs for me and Dibble,” Grumpy began, the mere prospect of the drink making Dibble release an excited squeal. The group laughed a little at her excitement and Cheer turned to look at Funshine as she began typing the list away on her phone.

“Same for me,” Funshine admitted. Good Luck cast him a look and Funshine turned to smile at him, shrugging, “It’s getting chilly! You can’t deny a boy his warm drink.”

“Three hot chocolates…” Cheer mumbled, half to herself, before looking up at Good Luck now, waiting for him to put in his order.

“I’m gonna feel weird ordering an actual drink now…” He laughed, rubbing the back of his neck nervously as he lifted the menu up and scanned its contents properly. He did want to get something nice for himself, after everything. As much as he felt bad for Cheer paying for all of them - he was sure she could afford it. Her family, running the whole university, were very wealthy after all. She lived a very comfortable life, so this wouldn’t dent her in the slightest. But he still made a mental note somewhere in his mind to pay her back for this one day regardless. Good Luck continued scanning… he wasn’t feeling a comfortable drink, he didn’t want something simple like a soda either - so he settled on something a little more special, pleasing the part of his soul that called for a sweet treat after the mess of a few months he had. “Just the apple cider, please.”

“Oh, perfect,” Cheer breathed. “Now I won’t feel bad ordering a wine.”
“Me too, please, Cheer,” Share chimed, raising her hand politely, flashing Cheer a grin. Cheer wrote everything down and returned the smile, throwing the table a thumbs up and excusing herself to go and order for everyone. Within the next 5 minutes, everyone's drinks came out and were dispersed to their owners. Dibble immediately drank the entire thing, and Grumpy told her she would have to have water for the rest of the night - Funshine then did the same, and, the thorn in Grumpy’s side he always was, decided to pester him as well. This got a stir out of Dibble, and the two caused a riot, which ended in Grumpy getting up to go and order more. Cheer got up first and stopped him though, putting a hand on his shoulder and gently nudging him back into his seat, laughing at the group and ordering two more for the troublemakers. Good Luck watched Funshine with admiration as he continued to interact with Dibble, pretending to steal her drink when it arrived at the table, giving it back with a laugh. There was something about Funshine that made him so good at interacting with kids - he was always the same with Oopsy growing up as well, better than Good Luck ever felt as a big brother to him. He figured it must have been because Funshine had Birthday to mirror from, and he was a good brother, too. Good Luck was the eldest, so he had to figure that out on his own. And his family was always a little more strict than Funshine’s was. That was something Good Luck envied from him. Every time he went over to Funshine’s place, his family made him feel like he was a part of it the moment he walked in through the door. Good Luck remembered the family trip that Funshine had invited him to in 9th grade. It was just a two-night stay at a caravan park in the hills, and it was just him, Funshine, Birthday - and their dad, Friend. But the entire trip was filled with fun, and warmth…

“You good, dude?” 

Funshine’s voice brought Good Luck back to reality and he blinked with wide eyes before realizing he had just zoned out staring at Funshine in front of the entire table. He looked around and realised that all of the others were having their own conversations, so he was safe - that is, until he noticed Cheer catch a sneaky glance in his direction mid-conversation with Share. He nearly shivered at the knowing in her eyes and he grabbed his drink and took a sip, trying to brush it off. “Yeah, sorry, I was just thinking about something.” Funshine looked like he was about to ask what until Dibble tugged on his sleeve, trying to get his attention, and she turned over to him with a smile and a charming, “What’s up, Dibs?” that made Good Luck’s chest ache again.

“Share, how’d your exam go, by the way?” Grumpy asked her from across the table. Share blinked a few times and her cheeks flushed ever so slightly when she responded, her smile bright and genuine. 

“Wonderful! I’m confident that I did my best. I guess I’ve been extra motivated ever since

Dibble entered our lives,” she giggled, looking over at the young girl, who was quietly playing on Funshine’s phone now. She must have been asking if he had any games on his phone, because of course Grumpy wouldn’t, and of course Funshine would. “What about you, Good Luck? We haven’t asked about yours yet!”

“O-oh, mine?” Good Luck looked over at Share, as if surprised at the inclusion. She smiled sweetly and expectantly at him, and soon, everyone on the table was looking at him. He wanted to shrink against the sudden attention, but remained as cool as possible. “It was easy, they always are.”

“I don’t know how you do it,” Cheer sighed, resting her hand on her cheek. “I feel like I don’t

know anything if I don’t spend all of my time studying before an exam.”

“You know, he actually studied this time?” Funshine spoke for him this time, nudging Good Luck’s side. “He had to blow me off ‘cus of how much studying he was doing.” Good Luck wanted to cringe into himself for real now, recalling how the studying he was even doing, and lied about doing in the first place, was purely to hide from Funshine and all of the stress he was (unknowingly) causing him. He looked away from Funshine and right at Cheer, who met his eyes knowingly this time. As scary as it was, having someone in the group secretly know everything - it offered him a sense of comfort in moments like this that he didn’t have before. Cheer was the one thing keeping Good Luck from totally withdrawing from the group in embarrassment right now.

“Hopefully it turns out to be a good grade, then. Back to Grumpy for a sec, since we’re on the topic of school,” Cheer filled in for him, giving him a smile that said more than she did verbally. Good Luck looked at her and hoped his gratitude showed in his shy eyes before she continued. “What are the plans for you and Dibble next year? Got any clue yet?”

“Well, Dibble will be 6 next year, so I’m thinking it’s about time she starts school herself,” Grumpy looked down at Dibble, who was playing away on Funshine’s phone, totally unaware of the conversation going on around her. “As for me, I’m… still thinking about it.”
“If you want to go back to uni, you know we can talk to my parents-”
“I don’t know if I want to,” Grumpy said shortly. 

“But that course was perfect for you.”

“That’s the thing,” Grumpy said, “I feel like I already know… enough. To work. I don’t know.”

As Grumpy and Cheer talked, Good Luck cast a side-glance at Funshine and realised just how quietly and intently he was listening to the conversation. There was an almost intense look in his eyes - like he was thinking about something strongly. Good Luck could only have guessed it being one thing: his own situation. If Grumpy was able to drop out just like that, could he? Something like that. The only difference was, Grumpy was right. He had a lot of job knowledge that could carry him for a long time. Funshine didn’t have that. He couldn’t even consistently show up to his part-time job. Good Luck began to ponder as well.

“Maybe it’s a bit soon after exams to be thinking this hard about stuff like this,” Share interrupted awkwardly, placing a hand gently on Cheer’s arm, settling her down. “Cheer, why don’t you tell the group about… you know…?”
“Oh! Right. Duh,” Cheer laughed to herself, pushing her chair back and standing up, getting the whole table’s attention. “Aside from the celebratory drinks, of course, the reason I brought you all here today is…”

Good Luck’s heart stopped. What on earth could Cheer be talking about? His anxiety spiked with the unrealistic situation that was Cheer spilling Good Luck’s secret all over the table, ruining his relationship with Funshine, making fun of him for his stupid crush…

“To announce our vacation~!” 

The table went quiet, the boys casting confused looks at one another, meanwhile Share jumped a little in her seat, her excitement hard to contain. So hard, even, that she was unable to contain it any longer, and stood up with Cheer, holding out her phone to a picture of a lovely vacation home and showing the table.

“Cheer and I organised a few nights stay up in the hills! Of course, you’re not obligated to come if you don’t want to… but we have booked it for all five - well, six now - of us.”

“It’s for the week before exam results are announced. I don’t know about you guys, but I know I’ll be antsy all week. So Share suggested we plan something for the group so we can actually enjoy our time off before then. What do you think?”

“That… sounds… awesome!” Funshine jumped up now, clearly affected by the girls’ infectious energy. His own burst surprised Dibble beside him, who had finally torn her eyes away from whatever mobile game she was playing on his phone. “Not that I’m worried about my results-”, liar, “-but I am so in! Can I take a closer look?”
Share nodded and handed him the phone, and he zoomed in on the place, gasping in surprise as he did. He leaned over and showed Good Luck the phone as well, where he realised the same thing - “Good Luck, this is the place my dad took us years ago! Remember?”
“‘Remember?’ Of course I do,” Good Luck smiled now, surprised at the coincidence. He had just been thinking about it, too. It would be nice to relive some old memories, and to get away for a little while, with the whole group. Maybe it would give him a sense of normality again, like he could forget the past few weeks and just enjoy being with his friends, and his best friend. “I’m in.”
“Grumpy?” Cheer asked, turning to face an uncertain blue-haired boy. He looked to the group, and then to Dibble, who looked up at him with wide, expectant eyes. Then he turned back to Cheer again.
“Do we even have a big enough car to get up there?”
“Already thought of that,” Share interrupted. “I know where we can hire a bigger one!”

“Is it safe?”
“The place has five star reviews,” Cheer countered him this time, pulling up a website on her phone and sliding it across the table towards Grumpy. “Promise, Grumpy, we’ve thought of everything. It would be good for her! Since it’s in a caravan park, there’s playgrounds and all sorts for her to play on.”
“Hmm…” Grumpy considered for a minute, and then agreed, still a little uncertain but satisfied with the information the girls must have given him. He turned to Dibble and asked, “How do you feel about a little holiday, Dibble?”
“Yay! A holiday!!” Dibble exclaimed excitedly, an innocent squeak in her voice. The group laughed as the three standing sat back in their chairs, and the discussion came alive again, with conversations about what to pack and what they could do on the trip. They talked and talked, and then the question about the house’s bedroom situation came up.

“Oh, three bedrooms! Two queen beds and one set of single beds. I thought that one could go to Grumpy, and me and Share could take one of the queens. You and Good Luck could take the other. I hope that’s okay?” Cheer informed them. Funshine nodded, satisfied with the answer, and he turned and gave Good Luck a friendly smile. “Looks like we’re sharing this time.”

Good Luck swallowed the nervousness clogging up his throat as he responded with “Yep.” It was no different to the last time they were there. Except, last time, he and Funshine were given the single beds. It was like Grumpy to need his own bed, and they probably would have preferred Dibble to have her own space to be comfortable as well. It would have been weird if he and Funshine were the ones sleeping in separate beds in the group, when Cheer and Share could. So why would him and Funshine sharing a bed be any different?

“It’s settled then,” Cheer clapped her hands together, drawing the table’ s whole attention back to her again. “I’ll get my parents to drop me off at the car and, from there, I’ll drive and pick everyone up. Have your essentials packed and we can shove everything in the back. Sound good?” The table erupted into satisfied agreements, and there was a slight buzzing in the air that made Good Luck - as nervous as he was - feel excited for it, too. The past few weeks had all been about counting down the dreaded days until exams, and now, they actually had something to look forward to. He cast a look at Funshine, who was practically glowing. He wondered about how Funshine must be thinking. If his exam had gone as terrible as Good Luck could guess, a distraction leading up to the results would probably be good for him. And what better of a distraction than hanging out with the people he always skipped work to make time for? If they could just have a week of fun, where nothing goes wrong… it might help him feel a little better. A little more in control of his life. And then he could figure out where to go from there. 

The group agreed to see each other then, and slowly dispersed. But in the midst of everyone saying their goodbyes, Good Luck pulled Funshine aside and lowered his voice. “You all good? Like, really?”

“Really, Good Luck,” Funshine smiled, putting an arm on Good Luck’s shoulder to comfort him - as if he was the one that needed comforting. “Don’t… worry about me too much.”

“How can I not?” Good Luck sighed. “With everything that’s going on, and-”

“Let’s just focus on the trip for now… I need that.” Funshine kept his voice low, casting an unfamiliar look at the rest of the group and then straightening himself up. This time he raised his voice the way he normally did, pushing aside the conversation with a, “Woo! Let’s get hyped!” that left Good Luck unsatisfied. He knew why he was pushing it away, because they were still with the group - but they would be for the whole week too. He probably wouldn’t have another chance to see how he’s actually doing. He lightly shook his head and joined the rest of the group with him, saying their goodbyes. Cheer offered to drive him home but he politely declined, not wanting to make her and Funshine go out of their way when they could otherwise just go straight to their dorms. So, he walked in the peacefulness of the evening. The sun was going down, casting a soft glow on the houses in the street. Cars went past, the sound distant to him as he listened to his favourite music - with the headphones Funshine got him for his birthday. For a moment, things felt okay. It was chilly, and every breeze reminded him that it was getting closer to winter - and the fact made him kind of wish he took Cheer up on her offer. But being in this moment, alone and comfortable, made him feel it was worth something. He could finally bask in the peace that he craved for so long.

Good Luck kept walking towards his house and, as he approached it, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He pulled it out with one hand, fiddling with the keys to the front door in the other, but absentmindedly - as all of his focus was on the notification he got.

[Messenger] 

funshine😎: thx for checking up on me :”)

funshine😎: sorry if it sounded like i was blowing you off………im not good at um

funshine😎: being cared for like that??

funshine😎: idk that probably sounds really pathetic HAHA UM yeah. i just wanted to make sure you know that i appreciate it. and i dont mean to be so bad at telling the truth

In the midst of reading the notifications, Good Luck fumbled and dropped the keys on the floor. He groaned in frustration and leaned down to pick them back up, dropping something else in the process…

Thump!

Good Luck froze in fear and braced himself as he looked down where the noise was. There, his phone lay - face down on the stone ground. He quickly leaned over and picked it up, turning it over to see the damage… And, lucky enough, it was still functional. It just had a few cracks running through the screen. He sighed, half in relief and the other half in frustration, as he muttered to himself, “Just my luck…” and let himself through the front door. He said hi to his brother, on the couch playing video games, as he went through to his room. He rushed to his bed and collapsed onto it, looking up at his now-cracked phone, running his fingers along the cracks - which caused it to light up to the homescreen again. It showcased Funshine’s notifications and, despite everything, Good Luck smiled. He wrote a reply.

Good Lucky🍀: so… how * are* you?? 

funshine😎: ………… ok. i think

funshine😎: hard part’s over. fun now!!!!

Good Lucky🍀: not totally over. still waiting on results…

funshine😎: fun!!!!

funshine😎: now!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Good Lucky🍀: hahaha okay. fun now!!!

funshine😎: !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

He giggled at his phone screen. Then, with a soft sadness, realised that this was probably the best opportunity he had to talk to Funshine about this stuff before the trip. But, guiltily, he didn’t want to ruin the mood. Seeing Funshine be honest and genuinely happy with him after everything felt like a rarity, one he couldn’t take for granted. Maybe… maybe it could wait. Until after the trip.

funshine😎: i sent my bro a msg about the park we’re going to

Good Lucky🍀: we should take pictures for him. i wonder if anything’s changed?

funshine😎: hopefully not the water park………….

Good Lucky🍀: water park?! Funshine it’s gonna be like 15 degrees

funshine😎: u dont know me if u think 15 degrees is gonna stop me from going on that waterslide

Good Lucky🍀: it’ll probably be closed dude

funshine😎: don’t crush my dreams like that bro :( </3

Good Lucky🍀: sorry.

Good Lucky🍀: i’ll go on it with you.

funshine😎: :o

funshine😎: now my dreams are being crushed even more WHAT IF IT * IS* CLOSED

Good Lucky🍀: we’ll break in

funshine😎: bro……….

funshine😎: ur a dream

They texted for a while. The entire drive back to their dorms, Funshine was sitting on his phone texting Good Luck. And during his walk to the dorm. And through his dorm into his bedroom. Good Luck could tell because there were moments where the messages came through a little slower, like he was trying to function in real life as well as text him. 

Good Luck felt so happy to be talking to Funshine like this again. University life had really kicked both of them as hard as it could. They still talked, hung out and gamed - but usually only on weekends. Funshine always tried to make the time but he still had to work, and study twice as hard as everyone else to remember the bare minimum of what they went over in class, so Good Luck felt guilty ever asking first to hang out - so he let the opportunities come to him instead. He was left feeling pretty lonely a lot of the time because of it.. So he usually just hung out with his brother or indulged in some hobbies.

funshine😎: wyd rn :p 

Good Lucky🍀: literally nothing

Good Lucky🍀: except talking to you

funshine😎: no way…. me too………….

funshine😎: do u wanna call ?

His heart stopped. It wasn’t a rare question. It didn’t even mean anything special. But… with everything that’s happened… how much Good Luck’s feelings for Funshine had escalated in the past year, especially with the kiss… It felt… different. It felt like something to worry about. But his fingers worked faster than his brain did, and he had already written a response before he fully processed it.

Good Lucky🍀: yeah im down :) 

And not even a second later, the phone lit up with an incoming call. The option to accept or decline gave Good Luck a little too much time to second guess himself, a knot forming in his stomach, but he accepted - knowing it would be weird if otherwise.

“‘Sup, dude! How are you~” Funshine’s voice rang through the phone, full of warmth as always, making Good Luck struggle even more. But he swallowed his nerves and pushed through, trying to remind himself that this call was like every other call they’d shared - between best friends. Nothing more. Nothing weird.

“You’re saying that like we didn’t just hang out today, or talk for the past hour,” Good Luck laughed. Funshine’s laugh rang out on the other end of the line, and he added, “We probably could have just hung out tonight, hey?”
“Yeah…” Good Luck mumbled in response. It would have been nice, but the thought of hanging out with Funshine alone just reminded him of his party. If he was freaking out this much at the prospect of a friendly phone call, there’s no way he could survive being in the same proximity of him and just him. Not right now. But he would have to on the trip. There were a few moments of silence that hung in the air, making Good Luck feel suddenly small and pathetic, like all of the confidence he had over text shrivelled up the second Funshine could actually hear him think.

“You wanna game or something?” Funshine finally asked.

“I’m so tired, dude,” Good Luck admitted with a sigh.

“It’s only like, 7. How are you tired already??”
“I dunno. I keep randomly taking naps. I think I’ve just been sleeping terribly.”

“Any reason why?” The genuine care in Funshine’s voice made Good Luck wish he could reach through the phone and grab him, shaking him silly, telling him that the reason is because of him. Because most nights, Good Luck couldn’t sleep thinking about him, and the kiss they shared, and it got worse after he pulled the all nighter right after they kissed. In every single way, Funshine was making his life so much harder, without even knowing it. He looked over at the phone again and noticed the cracks - caused by Good Luck’s inattention to everything else in the world besides Funshine.

“Just exam stress, probably.”

“You’ve been so stressed about these exams, dude. Studying so much, losing sleep…” Funshine’s voice trailed off. Good Luck wished he could physically read his expressions, every gap of silence killed him a little more inside. “Is this what… it’s supposed to feel like? Uni?” Good Luck thought for a moment, and supposed that some part of Funshine was right. Everyone in their group was fighting the same.

“I guess,” Good Luck shrugged.

“I miss highschool.”

Funshine’s voice came out small this time, and the sadness in his voice wrecked Good Luck to his core. He remembered how happy Funshine sounded before and how much Good Luck wanted to protect that. He wanted to hit himself over the head for even bringing up exams again. 

“We can still game. Like. Some other way,” he said, trying to cover up the previous conversation.

“What on earth does that mean?” Funshine nearly laughed. Good Luck blushed and was thankful they were streets away from each other so he couldn’t see.

“I mean like. I don’t know. ‘Would You Rather’ or something like that.” So lame.

“Ooooh, I gotcha, I gotcha,” he could hear Funshine’s smile through the phone. “You go first.”

Good Luck was thankful that his stupid plan worked and indulged Funshine for a while. They played, and then they got distracted by off topic conversations, and eventually gave into just talking. But over time, even Funshine’s voice dropped a little with exhaustion, and it became gentle enough to lull Good Luck to sleep.

“Good Luck? You still there?” Funshine’s tired voice called through the phone. But Good Luck was out cold - still fully dressed and laying on top of the covers. He didn’t reply, of course, but his gentle snoring sounded a moment later, and gave Funshine an indication of what he was dealing with. He laughed very lightly back.

“Okay. Goodnight, dude,” was the last thing Funshine said as Good Luck’s soft snores echoed through the phone once again.

Funshine didn’t end the call.

Chapter Text

[Messenger] “the squad”

share bear💜🩵: we’re here !!! ♡

Good Luck was ready to go when he got the message around lunch time from Share and heard the car pull into the driveway. He was the last person to get picked up but probably the first to be ready - he had been sitting around in the lounge room all morning with his suitcase waiting for them, scrolling on his phone to pass the time. Oopsy had come out and sat beside him on the couch for company, playing video games on his iPad quietly and occasionally tapping his brother’s shoulder to show him something he thought was cool. But now, the time had come to leave. He pat Oopsy’s head and gave him a quick hug before wheeling his suitcase out of the front door and hearing it lock behind him. Then, he saw the car.

It was massive - more on the long side. They had hired a bigger car with three sets of seats, and a big enough boot to fit their luggage, because with Dibble involved they wouldn’t have had enough room in either Cheer nor Grumpy’s cars (not that Grumpy wants to say out loud that his car isn’t fit for this job). Good Luck waved over at them and walked up to the car, opening the middle door to his seat - but when he looked inside he noticed how cramped it was. 

Share, Grumpy and Dibble were taking up the entire seat furthest at the back. Cheer sat in the front, driving of course, with an empty seat beside her - and Funshine, in the middle, cramped up against a bunch of extra bags of luggage and groceries. Funshine flashed him a smile and made an attempt to make extra room, but Cheer suggested from in front of them, “Good Luck, why don’t you sit up here with me? It might be a bit less squishy…”

Good Luck turned and met her eyes and saw that they were apologetic, leaving him with no choice but to agree and sit with her. But it was probably the smarter decision, as much as Good Luck would have secretly wanted to be squished up against Funshine for a few hour long roadtrip (and Cheer also knew that), it probably wouldn’t have been very comfortable. He shrugged at Funshine and closed the door, sitting next to Cheer in the front with his suitcase in between his legs. When he managed to fit his own belongings in the front with no issues, he realised he probably had some of the smallest amount of belongings, too. He had just packed clothes and toiletries, there wasn’t much else he figured he would need. The only other person who probably didn’t pack to be overly prepared was Funshine. He had a habit of being the opposite, especially because he always left jobs like that until the absolute last minute. Good Luck nearly smiled to himself at the stupid thought of Funshine rushing to pack everything in the morning.

He buckled his seatbelt in, and then the journey began.

Good Luck rested his elbow against the door and held his cheek in his hand, watching as the city slowly began to fade behind them, replaced with trees and grass plains. He thought about the place they were going to, and how familiar it was to him. It was a group of vacation homes nearby a caravan park, so the facilities were open to the vacation home occupants too. Hence the waterpark Funshine mentioned. They also had playgrounds and cafes. He remembered being young and politely declining breakfast from Funshine’s dad - but he insisted and bought him a matching plate of pancakes. He remembered feeling so thankful, and so happy with Funshine’s family… 

Suddenly, Good Luck felt a kick from the back of his seat and whipped his head around to meet Funshine’s scheming grin with a look of “wtf man” of his own.

“Let’s game,” was all Funshine said.

“What?” Good Luck responded, already sick of his antics.

“You know. Let’s play ‘Would You Rather’ or something. Or will I bore you to sleep again?”

Good Luck felt his face heat up and turned away from Funshine immediately. He remembered the other night when they called. He didn’t remember at what point it was, but he had definitely drifted off and woken up in the early hours of the morning to a phone battery of 5% and uncomfortable sweat from not changing out of his clothes. Funshine had sent him a message saying goodnight before it hit 12. He didn’t even remember how long he was talking to him for, but he figured Funshine must have just ended the call after Good Luck fell asleep. Still embarrassed, Good Luck mumbled, “Let’s just play ‘I-Spy’ or something.”

“Oooh! I-Spy! I-Spy!” Dibble said from the back of the car, clapping her hands. 

“Good idea man,” Funshine affirmed, turning his head around to look at Dibble. “Wanna play, too?” Dibble nodded her head excitedly but then turned to Grumpy with wide eyes and an almost nervous expression, and said gently, “Is it ok if I play?”

Grumpy blinked at her a few times and then smiled, a little confused, and pat her gently on the head. “Of course it’s okay, kid. You don’t have to ask for something like that.” Dibble’s eyes began to shine and she kicked her feet a little bit, starting the game. Funshine and Grumpy shared a look before playing along with her. And then the entire car joined in.

It passed the time for about an hour, until Dibble got tired and opted for games on Grumpy’s phone instead. The car was quiet aside from the songs playing from the car radio (and the sounds from Grumpy’s phone). Everyone was either on their phones, or looking out of the window and thinking. Good Luck was one of the thinkers, settling his arm against the window as he did before. He was listening to the music for a while until he got lost in his own thoughts again. Thoughts about anything - the scenery, university, Funshine… Until Funshine’s very own voice sounded from behind him, breaking the comfortable silence in the car.

“No way! Cheer, turn it up! This is Good Luck’s favourite band!” He said excitedly, putting his hands on the shoulders of Good Luck’s chair and pulling himself forward until Good Luck could nearly feel his breath on the back of his neck. Even without Funshine entering Good Luck’s proximity, he felt his heart skip a beat at the mere mention of his name. And as he thought more on it, it only got worse. He was sure he had heard songs played earlier that Funshine had sung absentmindedly before, or mentioned he liked in passing, and yet he said nothing… but only now that it was Good Luck’s favourite band, he decided to make a fuss about it.

“Hahah, yeah,” Cheer grinned, keeping her eyes locked on the quiet road ahead of them as she turned the volume up a little louder. “I made this playlist during the week. I tried to make sure it fit everyone’s tastes.”

“Well, good work,” Funshine complimented her, leaning back in his seat, humming along to the song as it played. One of Good Luck’s favourites from the band, too. He wanted to tear his heart out of his chest to stop it from aching at the attention Funshine paid to him. It was gestures like that one that made Good Luck fall so hard for him in the first place. Who’s great idea was it to give a quiet boy-loving boy a very beautiful best friend who spoke up for him and paid close attention to him, the way no one else would? He wondered how teenage-him even managed a week without getting an instant crush on him. He could hardly even remember what his life was like when his feelings for Funshine were only platonic. 

No wonder Share has a crush on him.

He looked to the side at Cheer, who was still focusing on the road, but smiling to herself as she listened to the music - probably pleased that her planning had made someone happy. He thought, selfishly, about what Cheer had said about Share’s feelings for Funshine, and how they’d probably fade… like her crush on him had (which he couldn’t imagine. Why would someone have a crush on plain old Good Luck, after all?). But then he shifted his focus back to Cheer, and how good of a friend she was. She had planned the entire trip just for them, and even went the extra length to carefully think of room arrangements and the playlist for the roadtrip. Despite Cheer only coming into the group very recently, thanks to her connection with Funshine, she fit in perfectly and considered everyone else before herself. That was something her and Funshine had in common. He was thankful that, despite Funshine hating it, they were taking the same course. Because it meant that even when he felt like no one was looking out for him, Cheer probably was - but in her own way. 

But what Good Luck failed to notice as well, was the look Cheer cast over at him every time Funshine mentioned Good Luck’s name, or interacted with him. She was looking out for the both of them, too.

After a heap of Dibble’s occasional “are we there yet?”s, houses came into view, and they entered the neighbourhood of the place they would be staying at. Thankful to see houses again after a while, everyone in the car perked up a little bit, and started talking about their opinions of the houses - which they’d live in, and etcetera. Until they finally arrived at the one they would be living at for a few nights. Cheer parked in the driveway and the group slowly trickled out of the car one-by-one, and Good Luck just stared towards the house in front of them.

It was beautiful. Sleek and modern, the weather probably not doing it the justice it would otherwise have if it was glowing in the summer sun - but the winter clouds gave it an oddly calming, comfortable kind of ambience. It was a lot bigger than the one he and Funshine had stayed in all those years ago, and he figured it would have something to do with the fact that Cheer was a lot more wealthy than Funshine’s single dad was. As if on cue, Funshine stepped beside him, their shoulders brushing as they looked at the house together.

“Looks nicer than the one we had,” he remarked, as if reading Good Luck’s mind.

“Mm,” he agreed quietly. 

Cheer walked around from the driver’s seat, swinging the keys on her finger absentmindedly as she joined the two of them. “What do you think?” She asked with a smile. “Should we start unloading everything?”

“Sounds good!” Funshine chirped, going back to the open car door he slid out of and starting to unload the luggage. Everyone had a suitcase or bag of their own, but there were extra bags for groceries and some of Cheer’s emergency packing, that Good Luck and Funshine offered to help carry - since they were bringing the smallest loads of everyone. They followed Cheer through the front door, fascinated by the cleanliness and sleekness of the inside. The wooden tiles were freshly polished, and the lights inside were warm - a lot of the light inside of the house coming from the windows that gave them a beautiful view of the plains and the hills around them. They walked through to the kitchen, which was basically just a part of the large open living area - the only thing separating them was the kitchen counter and the stools beside it. Even when preparing meals, you would have the choice of looking out of a window at the view, or right at the TV and your friends on the couch. Good Luck felt a feeling of satisfaction fill his heart at the mere idea of it. 

This trip was going to be perfect.

He and Funshine settled the extra bags on the kitchen counter for Cheer to sort through on her own (she insisted, and Funshine reassured Good Luck that it was for the best. She was a bit of a “control freak” - his words - when it came to her plans), and then they made their way to their room. It was the furthest away from the other two bedrooms - on the other side of the living room, away from the bathroom as well - and they figured that it must have been what the house considered the “main” bedroom. The boys shared a look before wheeling their suitcases into the bedroom, and Good Luck could feel his heart thumping uncomfortably in his chest as he stood beside Funshine at the queen-sized bed in the room as Funshine flicked the lights on. 

“Sweet,” Funshine said cooly, making his way around the room. He pushed his suitcase onto the floor lazily and immediately flopped onto the bed with his arms out, staring at the ceiling, before turning to Good Luck and saying, “we’re gonna sleep good tonight.” He didn’t know what to say in response, but thankfully for him, Funshine had already been distracted by something else in the corner of the room. He got up in an instant and rushed back over to the side of the room, where there was a wardrobe and another door - a sliding door. He slid it open and stepped in, exclaiming in awe, and then stepping back out to look at Good Luck again. “We’ve got our own personal bathroom in here, dude!”

“Really?” Good Luck actually smiled a little and walked over to check, thankful for the luxury. It was seriously their own personal bathroom. A shower, toilet and sink all fit in a little room. He was pleased at it for a moment, until the realisation set in at just how close and personal it would feel showering in there when Funshine was merely a wall away. 

Stop being weird. Good Luck wanted to hit himself in the head until the thoughts went away.

Funshine, completely unaware of the war happening inside of Good Luck’s head, strolled back over to his suitcase and unzipped it open, checking through what he packed. Then he looked over his shoulder at Good Luck, which made Good Luck realise he was staring, and he said, “You know, I didn’t pack this suitcase until this morning.”

He wanted to laugh, but held it back.

“Hopefully I don’t have to borrow some of your clothes again,” Funshine then said jokingly, still sorting through to see what he had packed, as if he wasn’t even sure of what he grabbed. Good Luck felt his skin crawling, like every single thing Funshine was doing was overstimulating him. Teasing him in the car, pointing out his favourite band, and that… hell, Funshine existing near him was starting to overwhelm him. 

This trip was going to be a struggle.

Shortly after, Cheer had called them back out to go over meals. For dinner, because the road had been long, they were just going to organise some soup and 2-minute-noodles for the group to divide amongst themselves depending on how peckish they felt. Cheer insisted she sort it out on her own, but Share convinced her to accept her help with at least one of the two meals. Funshine tried to offer his help but to no avail, Cheer telling him he would just get in the way because he opts for ordering food more than making it and Funshine failing to convince her otherwise. He sat dejectedly back on the couch next to Good Luck, who was texting Oopsy updates about the trip. Funshine, nosy as ever, leaned over his shoulder and said, “Tell him I said hi.”

The meals were distributed. Good Luck had enough nerves in his stomach already so he settled for soup. Cheer offered bread but he politely declined, just wanting to get through the first night so that the rest were easier. When Cheer suggested they put on a movie, he was relieved, and thought that maybe it would be able to get his mind off of things. Watching movies with his friends was always fun, especially if it was a bad movie, resulting in more giggles and stupid commentary from the group than actually paying attention to it. And to Good Luck’s delight, they chose a fairly recent movie - PG, for Dibble - that bombed in reviews, which meant it would be an easy watch. That’s what he thought, until everyone had to squeeze together on the couch - resulting in Funshine’s side being pressed up against his. This normally wouldn’t be too much of an issue, Funshine was a naturally touchy person as it was, but it felt like another thing to add to the list that had been building up throughout the day. Every interaction with Funshine was proving his fears more, that he wouldn’t be able to survive alone with him in his current state. He dreaded going to bed, being stuck with him all night.

He needed to be normal for just a few days. That was it. Why was he so incapable of that?

Eventually, the dreaded ending of the movie came, and the credits began to roll. The sun had set now, making the rooms in the house dark and ambient. Dibble released a few yawns, struggling to keep her eyes open - her yawning becoming contagious to the rest of the group, too. Even Good Luck was starting to feel exhausted, and he wasn’t sure he was genuinely tired, tranced by the darkness of the house, or just worn from feeling so tensed up around Funshine all of the time. He missed the days where his crush was secondary, and he was able to be around him like a normal friend could. But so much had happened during that time…

Funshine shifted beside him, raising his arms above his head and stretching as the group discussed their opinions of the movie. But Good Luck wasn’t with them. He was stuck in his own head, every single movement beside him making him more sensitive than the last. The warmth of Funshine beside him was so distracting, and so strong, he felt like he could do without the extra layers he was wearing for the winter chill.

“I kind of liked it.” Funshine’s voice sounded beside him. 

“Really?” Cheer looked at him with teasing disbelief.

“Yeah. In an, uh, ironic way. Duh.”

The group laughed. Good Luck was too focused on keeping himself alive.

“Alright, I don’t know about you guys-” Grumpy announced, a yawn interrupting him. “But I am ready to clock out for the night. And I don’t know how much longer Dibble can stay awake.”

“I was thinking the same thing,” Share agreed with a light giggle.

“Yep. Time for sleep,” Funshine agreed last, putting his hand on Good Luck’s shoulder and using him to push himself up off of the couch. Good Luck just stared back at him, still stuck in his own head, until Funshine held out his hand for Good Luck to grab onto and do the same with. He blinked a few times, and suddenly the world became a little real again, and he took Funshine’s hand quickly and pulled himself up. Funshine flashed him a smile and then turned back to the conversation, and Good Luck couldn’t take his eyes off of him. It killed him that Funshine was his best friend. That he had to be the closest one to him. He didn’t deserve that. Not when he was being so weird about it.

He excused himself and made his way to their bedroom first, specifically to their personal bathroom, and splashed his face with water from the sink - trying to kick himself out of it. He was so excited for this trip with his friends, Funshine included. He couldn’t let his stupid crush be the only thing he thought about. He was better than that.

After staring his own wet face down in the mirror for a while he walked back into the bedroom tiredly, wiping his face with a towel, when Funshine came in and shut the door after him.

“You good, dude?” He asked genuinely. Good Luck nodded quietly, relief settling in his stomach when the mere appearance of Funshine didn’t set his body into panic mode immediately. Maybe he had just needed a breather. “You were super quiet during the movie.”

And there it is. That special attention that Funshine paid to him. Every time he thought he was going to be okay, Funshine did something to pull him right back around his finger again. And the worst part is that he had no idea what he was doing.

“Just tired,” Good Luck lied. Or, half lied. He was tired, but that was probably also Funshine’s fault. He placed the towel neatly on the bed and wandered over to his own suitcase, pulling out an extra thin but warm blanket he packed just in case the bed’s quilt didn’t suffice. If they got too warm, they could always just take it off, so he figured he would get it out now. He turned around back to the bed and was not ready for what was happening behind him.

Funshine had pulled his sleeping clothes from his own suitcase and put them on the bed, and was now lifting his shirt over his head like it was nothing and throwing it messily onto the floor. He stopped when he saw Good Luck looking in his direction, and he smiled, asking, “No way, you brought a blanket? Smart, dude.”

But Good Luck didn’t even register what he said until moments later when he had fully processed that Funshine was just undressing in the same room as him like it was no big deal. Good Luck’s eyes scanned his whole body - it wasn’t like he had never seen Funshine shirtless. He swam shirtless, he literally showered in his house weeks before, hell, sometimes in summer he just hung out shirtless to keep cool. But that wasn’t something Good Luck could ever muster the strength to do himself. He wasn’t insecure , he thought… it just felt weird. Maybe it’s because it was Funshine who would see him. Maybe it’s because he couldn’t compare to Funshine. Funshine had beautiful sun-tanned skin, covered in moles and freckles, and despite not working out, he was just built well. And to top it all off? He looked down his arm and noticed he was still wearing the friendship bracelet he had made to match with Good Luck. Good Luck was wearing his, too, under his sleeves. It felt ironic in the most gut wrenching way. He didn’t deserve to wear something like that, not when he was gawking at his so-called best friend’s body the way that he was. He felt his face heat up and whipped back around to the suitcase to look for his own PJs, finding any excuse to hide his face that he could. “Uh, yeah. I get kind of cold at night.”

“Really?” Funshine continued, a casual tone to his voice as if he wasn’t currently taking his pants off right behind the guy that’s had a crush on him for years. Good Luck could hear the sounds of his clothes from behind him and guessed based on that when it was a good idea to turn around. Not that Funshine seemed to care either way, though. He just kept talking. “I think I’m like warm blooded or something. I sweat so much no matter what season it is.”

“Humans are warm blooded,” Good Luck corrected him.

“Oh,” Funshine said dully. “Then, I have to be hot blooded or something.”

A joke Good Luck would normally laugh at, if he wasn’t struggling. But he mustered a smile at least, trying his hardest to make sure things didn’t become obviously weird between them. He threw the blanket over the bed, not bothering to straighten it up, and then he took his clothes and went to the bathroom to change. He shut the door behind him and then hit his head against the wall, shutting his eyes as if that would erase all of the regret and shame he had. Hiding in the bathroom to change after Funshine just did it so nonchalantly… There's absolutely no way he didn’t look weird now. Deciding to just live with his mistakes, he got changed anyway and entered the room again. Funshine was already sitting up in the bed under the covers, scrolling on his phone like he had no cares in the world. Good Luck felt selfish thinking that. He knew Funshine was struggling, too - but not in this exact moment. And not for reasons as stupid as this.

He walked over to his suitcase and placed his clothes folded neatly on top of it, ready for the morning, and then looked to Funshine’s which was already a mess. His day clothes were just thrown on top like a second thought, and he made a mental note to clean them up for Funshine at some point before their whole room turned, too.

Good Luck turned on the lamp and off the main lights and climbed in beside Funshine, trying to completely ignore all of his feelings as a last attempt to be normal about the sleeping arrangements. He thought about how it would be if he was sharing with literally anyone else. Maybe a little awkward, he wasn’t as close with any of them as he was with Funshine. But he could be comfortable with Grumpy. And he knew Cheer would do everything to make sure he felt comfortable. Especially because Cheer already knew about everything, she would probably have been his second choice. But that would have left Funshine and Share… 

“Ahh, this is nice, isn’t it?” Before Good Luck even had a chance to get settled, Funshine had leaned over and draped his arms lazily on top of Good Luck, purposefully infiltrating his personal space and struggling to suppress his laughs.

“H-hey, what gives?” Was all Good Luck could muster up, struggling against him a little bit, smiling too. But Funshine didn’t let up, he just scooted even closer to Good Luck, cuddling him and patting his head.

“Cuddling with my best friend… Isn’t this the best vacation ever?”

Good Luck was laughing with him now, his fears forgotten for just a moment as Funshine squeezed him closer. He pretended to fight back more, which only caused Funshine to continue to joke, saying stuff like, “Wow, this bed is so comfy.” Good Luck gave up protesting after a while, but Funshine didn’t move after they stopped laughing. He just released a relieved, happy sigh and continued to hold onto Good Luck. They were quiet and breathless for a few heartbeats, and when Funshine still didn’t move away, Good Luck mumbled shyly, “You can let go of me now, Funshine.”

No answer.

More silence. Funshine’s breathing turned gentle and slow, and then after a while, he snored. And Good Luck just stared blankly at the ceiling in disbelief.

There is no actual way he fell asleep that fast.

Funshine remained draped over Good Luck, his head resting on the pillow right beside him, their faces so close that their hair tangled together. Only a few minutes after Funshine fell asleep did the weight and warmth of his body start feeling real to Good Luck. But he didn’t feel as weird or frustrated about it as he had been all day… instead, it just felt… nice. Nice to be so close to him, to feel his breath on his skin, to know that he’s there. Maybe it was different because he wasn’t so stressed about his own reactions, or because it was just them in the room… but he liked it. 

Not that he could let Funshine know that.

God, it’s hot in here… Good Luck thought, realising that he was definitely in for a warm night if Funshine wasn’t joking about sweating no matter the weather. He thought about the blanket and tried his hardest to kick it off, messing up the sheets in the meantime and giving up after not too long, too afraid to actually move and disturb Funshine. 

Just my luck, huh? Was the last thing Good Luck heard in his head before he decided to just remain still and close his eyes, trying to ignore how antsy and restless his body felt. He focused on Funshine’s breathing and, after some time, finally drifted into a light sleep.

–

Funshine woke slowly, squinting his eyes against the light coming through the curtains of the room. His body felt heavy and warm, and as he blinked the sleep out of his eyes, he realised that he felt well rested for once. It would be one of the best sleeps he had in months, aside from the other night when he called Good Luck before bed. It must have just been the feeling of satisfaction he had after spending time with his best friend. There was a saying, about going to sleep angry or sad, making you sleep worse… and when you’re left alone with your thoughts right before bed, and those thoughts are loud and uncontrollable and rapid… it’s hard not to.

He sat up in bed and stretched with a yawn, reaching his hand up his shirt and lazily scratching an itch on his chest as he looked around the room and became readjusted to his surroundings. And as he did, he realised there was something important missing in his room… the space next to his bed was empty. It was neatly made, to the best of his ability, but Good Luck was nowhere to be seen. He panicked for a moment, reaching over to check his phone for any message, any indication that something was wrong, or he had done something to make Good Luck want to avoid him - but nothing. Except for the time being 7:27am. 7 was when Good Luck normally woke up, and he usually went on a run in the morning, which was more than Funshine could ever do (he was surprised he even woke up that early). 

What kind of weirdo goes on morning runs on vacations? Funshine thought affectionately, settling his phone down on the bed, comforted by knowing that Good Luck was probably okay. He looked around the room again and noticed that his previously messy piles of clothes were now neatly folded and placed on top of his open suitcase, the same way Good Luck’s were. He smiled and fell backwards into bed again, resting his head on the pillow and snuggling up against the warm sheets again. It was too cold and too early to be out of bed anyway. He hogged the sheets now that it was just him, pulling Good Luck’s side closer to him until he felt like he was surrounded by the softness of a cloud. He breathed in, relaxed and satisfied, and caught a whiff of Good Luck’s familiar smell from the blankets. It surprised him for a moment, and made him miss the presence of him - despite him probably not being as far away as he felt - he found himself weirdly attracted to the scent. Like it was a sense of comfort and familiarity that he needed to hold onto. Funshine closed his eyes and tried to sleep again, but the aching in his heart didn’t go away the more he could smell Good Luck’s distant cologne, and he started feeling weird, so he gave up and got out of bed anyway. 

He grabbed the neatly folded pile of clothes and got himself changed, pausing for a bit to fiddle with his friendship bracelet before he decided which jacket to put on over it. He went with his usual letterman from their university - it was red with yellow accents, matching his blonde hair, like it was made for him. The irony of it was lost to him as he wore it proudly out of their room, wandering into the living space to see if anyone else was awake, or to make breakfast. Whichever came first.

But, not to his surprise at all, Cheer was the only other one awake. She was sitting on the couch with her head tilted, typing away on her phone with a soft, happy energy about her. Which could only mean one thing - she was talking to someone interesting. Without thinking of the consequences, and just wanting to mess with his sister, Funshine snuck up behind her and snatched the phone from her hands - surprising her with a gasp. Immediately her previous soft expression folded and she creased her eyebrows angrily, getting out of her comfortable spot on the couch instantly.

“Who are you talkin’ to~?” Funshine chimed, turning his back to face her and having a look at her phone. The messages were sweet and loving, but to an extent he had never seen her give to her friends, so he figured he must have struck gold. Cheer obviously had a secret love interest she wasn’t telling anyone about! Perfect teasing material (but he wouldn’t tell anyone else)! He clicked on the profile of the message recipients and then felt his entire body run dry.

Robbie.

“Hey, give that back-” Cheer began angrily, her efforts falling short when she noticed that it was already too late. Funshine had seen all that he needed to see. Anger began to bubble in his throat, and he found it hard to control himself, turning to face her now.

“The fuck?” He began, meeting her wide eyes. “ Robbie? The Bad Crowd girl who keeps vandalising your house ?”

“No, it’s not like that-”

“Cheer, you know she’s bad news! You can’t be this stupid. Tell me it’s a joke.”
“Funshine, listen to me. She’s not like that-”

“I don’t want to hear anything except ‘it’s a joke’.”

“Funshine, seriously- ” 

“You don’t think I’m serious?!” This time, he really raised his voice. “I’ve seen what they’ve done to your house! To the school! I know your parents, they don’t mess around when it comes to this stuff. Do they know you’re sitting here sending a student they expelled cute messages and heart emojis? Huh?”

Cheer looked away, silent.

“Good people don’t smash windows and leave threatening letters in your mailbox, Cheer. I can’t believe I have to be the one talking this kind of sense into you!”
“You wouldn’t if you’d just listen to me for a second!”
The door to the house opened and, sweating lightly from the run but rugged up in a big puffy jacket, came Good Luck. He stared with wide eyes at the two of them arguing, but he didn’t say anything, as if he didn’t want to make anything worse. 

“What’s with the noise?” Grumpy mumbled angrily, blinking his eyes as he walked down the hallway into the living room. “You’ve woken Dibble up. What’s going on?”
“Nothing,” Cheer pressed desperately, holding out her hands to urge people to stop and stay back to calm down. Funshine still stood facing her, her phone fastened in his hand, unmoving. Share emerged from her room as well now, eyes wide and afraid at the energy in the room.

“Cheer is talking to the girl from the Bad Crowd - you know - the group of students who got expelled for bad behaviour?!” Funshine finally burst, unable to keep it a secret from everyone else. Cheer was messaging a dangerous person, it wasn’t the kind of thing that should have been kept a secret. He needed his friends to back him up, to tell Cheer she was making a huge mistake, and putting herself in danger.

“ What?” Grumpy’s disbelief and anger seeped through his single word, and Funshine felt relief that Grumpy was on his side for once. Grumpy was always the most reasonable of all of them. If he was upset, surely Cheer would understand and stop.

“Hey, we don’t know what for,” Share said gently, walking into the room now, trying to keep the peace. She put her hand on Funshine’s arm softly to calm him, but it did nothing. “We can’t be telling her off if we don’t know the whole story-”
“Enough! Just stop it,” Cheer finally said, clearly trying to keep herself composed, but the shine glossing over her eyes betrayed her. Funshine felt his heart break at the sight of it, but knew his anger was necessary to stop this from happening to her even worse by Robbie, or anyone else involved with her. “Let’s just go out. I don’t want to ruin our plans. Please.”

The group exchanged looks with each other, but Funshine looked over to Good Luck - who stood in silence at the open front door staring back at him. It wasn’t often Funshine raised his voice in anger like that - he didn’t like that he had - but he hoped his best friend at least understood what it was for.

– 

The group had plans to go hiking that day. They still did, but it definitely turned out different to how Cheer had imagined when she planned it out. 

Funshine trailed silently at the back of the group, kicking stones occasionally as he went. Grumpy and Share were playfully swinging Dibble by the arms as she walked, her giggles erupting in the quiet of the rest of the group. After a while, Grumpy and Share started quietly talking to Cheer, and Good Luck turned a little to see Funshine look up at them, and look away once he had been caught. Feeling sorry for him, Good Luck slowed his pace a bit to catch up to Funshine, who looked a little surprised that he even wanted to talk to him. And Good Luck was a little surprised, too, at how easy it was to disregard his own feelings for Funshine when something bad happened to him. It was like that was the only way for him to be normal around Funshine. But what would he rather, right? A terrible life for Funshine just so he could talk to him, or a crush that was just a him-issue?

He didn’t know how to start. Luckily, Funshine started for him.

“Thanks for folding my clothes.”

Good Luck just looked directly at him. “Dude.”
“What?” Funshine said sheepishly.

“What was that all about?” Good Luck continued. As they started talking, their steps started becoming even slower, separating them from the group even more. Good Luck wasn’t sure if he had done that subconsciously, or if that was Funshine’s doing, but either way it was probably for the best.

“You get where I’m coming from, don’t you?” Funshine began, truth seeping in every word he spoke. Finally. “Those people are dangerous. We heard all about it when they got expelled, but… Cheer probably hasn’t talked about what they’re actually doing now.”

“...not directly to me, no. I tried asking her about it when-” when he had met up with her to tell her about his crush on him. “Um. After my birthday. Because she said something about it while she was drunk. They’re vandalising something?”

“ Her home. And the school. She doesn’t live at home with her parents but she does stay with them sometimes, and visits every second day. Those people seriously stalked her to her house and have been damaging it. It started with letters, then graffiti, and now actual damage…”

Good Luck looked to the side at Funshine, and saw that he wasn’t angry anymore. He was frustrated at the situation, sure, but that wasn’t how he was acting about it anymore. He was just… worried. His shoulders drooped and his eyes flicked around their surroundings as they talked, as if even now, just talking about it, he was looking out for any danger. He was scared.

“I just…” his voice was soft. “I don’t want her to get hurt. She can’t be messing with people like that.” Good Luck said nothing, as he usually did, waiting to be sure that Funshine actually got everything out of his system before he provided his own, less important, input. And as Funshine had the space to collect his thoughts, he continued again. “And she kept it a secret, too. What if something happened to her, and I wasn’t there to protect her, you know? I just can’t believe she would keep that from me.”

“...maybe because she thought you’d react like that?” Good Luck pointed out, trying not to

offend him but to point it out. It seemed to get through to him, because he thought on it for a while, and then released a defeated sigh.

“I just want her to be safe. That’s it.”
“You should be telling her that,” he pointed out, nodding at the rest of the group way ahead of them. They were reaching one of the hiking peaks, where they could stop and have a bit of a breather. The hike had been pretty easy thus far, they were about halfway to the very peak and after they reached it, they could go back home and relax, which Good Luck could bet everyone in the group was craving after such an explosive morning. Funshine chuckled lightly beside him, and they turned to look at each other as they walked.

“You’re right, Good Luck. You always are,” Funshine said fondly. “You’re like… The only person who can bring me to my senses. How do you do that?”
Good Luck didn’t know how to respond to that, so he thought about it. He didn’t feel like it was a compliment he deserved. “It’s… mostly you, dude. You do the talking. I just listen. I think…” he began, and figured out as he went how to carefully word it, to get his feelings across but also not to hurt Funshine’s, “This is just what happens when you’re honest with yourself.”

Funshine pursed his lips and looked down at the ground again. This time, it was him who didn’t know what to say. But after a while, he just said a genuine and soft, “Thanks”. They reached a peak where they could rest and drink up. Cheer was carrying one backpack for them full of water and any other emergency supplies, as she always wanted to be prepared, so the group gathered around her once she set the backpack down and started handing water to everyone. When Funshine approached her she paused for a moment and held the bottle up for him, looking away, but instead of grabbing the bottle, he put his hand over hers and just asked if they could talk for a bit. She looked up at him, surprised by his gentleness, a flicker of hope in her eyes as she nodded. Good Luck found a flat rock to settle on and sat down, resting his elbows on his knees and breathing a sigh as he watched Funshine and Cheer go to the edge of the clearing and look out over the view as they talked. Good Luck would have liked to enjoy the view if he wasn’t so worried about Funshine, but figured Funshine was just part of the view.

He thought as he watched them talk. It looked like it was going well, and relief settled in his stomach. He didn’t want anything else to mess up on the trip - especially not for those two.

After a while they set off for the rest of the uphill journey. And then they reached it, took some group photos, and traveled back down. Everyone was in a bit of a better mood by that point, but Cheer and Funshine stuck to each other’s hips the entire way down, talking as if it was the first honest conversation they had in a while. Good Luck figured there was probably a lot to unpack, if Cheer really was involved with a Bad Crowd member. Her parents would be so unhappy, but he couldn’t pretend like he knew the whole story either, especially not if Cheer kept everything so secret. Including the vandalism at all. She must have been so embarrassed that she let it slip while she was drunk, that would have been why she blew him off when he tried asking about it. She was so good at acting like everything was okay. She wondered if that just ran in the family - but also thought about how he knew the least about her compared to their other friends in the group, considering they had all grown up together. He made a mental note to thank Cheer sometime for everything she did for everyone.

Nothing eventful happened the rest of the way down. Good Luck spent a lot of the walk on his own, keeping an eye on Cheer and Funshine and making sure Funshine kept his cool. Which he did. But with Funshine distracted, Good Luck let himself drift from the group again, trailing behind them, left alone with his thoughts.

–

The rest of the day had gone smoothly. Funshine and Cheer had made up and talked, and were getting along by the end of the day. They had made dinner together for the group, and everyone settled together to watch movies on the couch again. When bed time came, Good Luck felt a little less anxious - sure of himself after he was able to help Funshine, and comfortable sleeping with him. Although they did sleep facing the opposite direction this time, which disappointed Good Luck as much as it had also pleased him. He was thankful for the normality. Normality had become so scarce to him that he realised that he had to be thankful for it at every opportunity it came by him.

The next day they opted in for video games and board games day. Cheer had brought her Switch and the many games with it, so they were able to play some group classics by taking turns and sharing remotes - Mario Kart, Smash, Mario Party… Dibble wasn’t very good at a lot of the games, but everyone else was very good at convincing her otherwise. And she was so well behaved that they knew she wouldn’t do more than pout and laugh a little if she realised she had lost at any games. At one point, when they switched over into boardgames to give their eyes a break from the screens, Cheer tried to bring out her UNO cards. Share and Good Luck had exchanged a look between each other, a look that said a thousand words about their last UNO experience at Good Luck’s birthday party. They had laughed and said, “maybe soon”. 

Eventually they pulled out The Game of Life. Grumpy helped Dibble, and Cheer and Share took turns between one peg. But as they were playing, Good Luck suddenly felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, and he pulled it out to check. 

His exam results were out.

He was in no real rush to find out what his marks were, but out of pure curiosity, he took a peek. He had nearly a perfect score. Which was how it was usually, so he wasn’t surprised or delighted or anything. His first thought… was Funshine. Good Luck guessed it made sense that different subjects would have been marked at different times, but he wondered if this was still a bit earlier than they thought. They were going off of last year’s times. Were they just quicker at marking this time? When would Funshine get his results if so? Good Luck decided he couldn’t tell them he got his results.
“Good Luck, it’s your turn,” Share said sweetly, breaking him out of his thoughts. Good Luck blinked at her a few times and then nodded, mumbling “yeah, okay” and putting his phone on the ground beside him. What he failed to notice was the curious look Funshine had, as if he had been keeping a close eye on Good Luck that whole time, wondering what could have been on his phone. Then, Funshine perked up a little, noticing something.

“Whoa, dude, did you crack your phone?” He asked, pointing at it. Good Luck, who was mid dice roll, looked over at him and then at his phone and replied, “Oh, yeah. Not long ago.”

“Damn, how?” 

Good Luck wished he wasn’t so curious all of the time, but figured this one would be easy enough to cover up. Deciding that his own lies were probably excusable, he said, “It just fell out of my pocket at home.” When the real truth was all too revealing.

They continued playing for a while. Dibble started to finally understand the rules and was making more decisions on her own, much to Grumpy’s dismay when those decisions set her back further in the game. But they just giggled and encouraged her anyway. It wasn’t until the late evening, towards the end of the game, when Share’s phone let off a ding in her own skirt pocket. Good Luck immediately directed his attention towards her, just in case his fears were true - and within seconds they were confirmed.

“I got my exam results…?” She said uncertainly, looking up at Cheer.

“Already?” Cheer responded, checking her own phone. “I haven’t got mine.”

Good Luck changed his attention towards Funshine, who was already staring at him - his face cold. Funshine looked deep into Good Luck’s eyes, and then down at Good Luck’s phone, as if asking without words if the notification earlier was for the same reason. Good Luck understood it all too clearly, and nodded his head somberly, not taking his eyes off of Funshine as he looked back to the rest of the group.

“I got 92%!” Share exclaimed with excitement, leaning into Cheer who shook her shoulders and congratulated her. Good Luck watched as the switch in Funshine’s brain turned back on, and the colour came back to his face as he congratulated Share as well. It was as if that small interaction he and Funshine had didn’t even happen at all - that’s how good he was at pretending. He resisted the urge to shake his head at the sight and instead feigned a smile for Share, genuinely impressed by her score, and realising it was similar to his. If Cheer was to get the same, which she probably would, that would leave Funshine with whatever he got…

“Well, maybe Funshine and I will just have to keep an eye on our phones,” Cheer announced, putting her phone back into her own pocket. Funshine shrugged casually and then rubbed his stomach, declaring, “I’m hungry.”

“Oh, I can cook-” Cheer began, but Funshine got up from where he was sitting and put his hands on her shoulders, interrupting her.

“I have an idea! Why don’t we all cook it together?”
“That’ll make the kitchen so cramped,” Cheer pointed out.

“Well, yeah, but it’ll be fuuunnn,” Funshine dragged out, walking over to the kitchen and pulling out a pair of tongs. “We should make it a challenge. Instead of using our hands, we have to use tongs for every part of the process.”

“Okay, that’s just stupid,” Grumpy remarked, folding his arms.

“Come on, you guys. Aren’t we supposed to be making core memories on this trip?” 

The group went quiet for a bit and then turned to Cheer, who shrugged and just said “what the heck, let’s do it”. It was a mess of a time, but a successful mess. One that even Good Luck found himself laughing at. Funshine spent a lot of time recording for memories. They ended up making home-made pizzas, so it was easy enough when it came to the toppings, but scary when they had to lift the pan for each pizza into the oven using tongs only. Every time someone would start to reach with their hand Funshine would yell at them to remind them - “no hands!” It did make for a memorable night, and the pizzas came out perfectly considering. But even so, Good Luck could feel that Funshine was forcing it a bit at times. He had ulterior motives.

So, when they were getting ready for bed, and it was just the two of them - Good Luck made sure to ask if Funshine was okay. And he was met with the usual “yeah”. He just stared at him, raising an eyebrow, but Funshine didn’t budge. Good Luck wasn’t totally satisfied but didn’t want to push him too hard, so they just talked about anything instead. They lay in bed, under the covers, with their heads on the pillows, but facing each other as they talked. About random dreams they had the night before, about the hike, what they’d do tomorrow, their memories from this same park before… And then they fell asleep.

But it wasn’t long until Good Luck found himself blinking awake again. He felt disoriented and tired, and it was still dark, so too early for the sun to be up. But he was awake. He sat up in bed and checked the time on his phone - 1:40am.

After confirming the time, he heard splutters and coughing from the bathroom next to him, and that’s when he realised that Funshine was missing from the bed. With worry crawling under his skin, he got up out of bed, shivered against the cold but pushed it aside, and walked to the bathroom. Good Luck figured that he had seen Funshine throw up enough recently that his stomach would have some strength against it, but he still hated to see Funshine in any sort of pain. He slid the door open and saw Funshine, knees on the floor, leaning over the toilet seat. His head whipped around when the door opened, and he met Good Luck’s eyes with a shameful expression. The first thing he said, very weakly, was, “I’m sorry I woke you up.” He couldn’t say much more after that until another wave came over him and he leaned over again, and Good Luck rushed to his side, putting a hand on his back for comfort as what appeared to be the last of it washed over him. 

“Are you okay? Was it something you ate?” Good Luck asked him quietly, rubbing his back now as Funshine shut his eyes and winced, still getting over the pain of it.

“N-no…” He groaned, holding an arm around his stomach as he leant up to flush it all down, and then sat back on his knees again. He looked at Good Luck, and then scooted back so that he could lean up against the wall of the bathroom, sitting with his legs up and burying his face in them. There was silence now, apart from Funshine’s occasional sniff, the violence of his sickness affecting him still. Good Luck wondered what could have made him so sick, dragging himself across the floor now to sit next to Funshine, pressing his side against his on purpose to remind him that he was there. The contact brought Funshine out of hiding for a moment, and when he met Good Luck’s eyes, he decided he had to be honest this time.

“It’s just nerves.”

“About what?” Good Luck questioned him softly. “The results?”

Funshine nodded silently.

“...I never thought you were a nervous-sick kind of person,” Good Luck admitted.

“Yeah, well, I don’t really get nervous that much, I guess.”

“Hmm, yeah,” Good Luck agreed. “You’re really brave.”
“You think I’m brave?” Funshine perked up a little this time, still weak from the sickness, his eyes half-lidded out of exhaustion and his voice slow and quiet, as if he was worried he would be sick again if he spoke too loudly. “Even after seeing me throw up my guts like that…?”

“You’re the bravest person I know, dude, don’t even joke,” Good Luck nudged him very gently to get the point across, careful not to hurt him. He looked at his pale face, chest aching at the sight, but he wanted to at least do what he could. “You’re always giving us advice on how to be confident. You’re not afraid of confrontation. Hell, you won that skateboarding competition in 9th grade. Those slopes were steep.”

Funshine smiled weakly and laughed. “Anyone could do that.”
“I can’t.”
They were silent. The room was so quiet that Good Luck wondered if Funshine could hear every beat of his heart, or feel it against him.

“...you got your results, didn’t you?”
Good Luck released a defeated breath. This was an honest conversation. “...yeah.”

“What did you get?”

He looked at Funshine, pleading with him that he didn’t have to tell him. But Funshine just stared at him until he answered. “...95%.” 

Funshine groaned and buried his face back into his knees again. Good Luck knew it wasn’t an attack against him, more an attack against himself for his own abilities, but he still felt responsible. Then he heard Funshine mumble into himself. “At least you studied this time.”
That hurt. He didn’t have the heart to tell Funshine he hardly did. He just lied to get away from him, and any attempts to study were defeated by thoughts of him. It also hurt that the implications were right… it wasn’t really fair that Good Luck could go without studying and get a score that good, when it didn’t matter to him as much as Funshine’s mattered to him. And he made an attempt, at least. He wished he could give his skills to Funshine.

“...how do you feel now?” He asked after some more silence.

“I don’t think I have anything else to throw up…” Funshine admitted with a weak smile. “I’m tired.”

“You wanna go back to bed?”

“I’m tired of everything , Good Luck.”

Good Luck’s heart sank. “...oh.”
“...but I would love to go to sleep.”

“I’ll help you up.”

Good Luck hooked Funshine’s arm around his and helped pull him up, despite the slight size difference between them. Funshine was weak and almost limp, taking small steps out of the bathroom and back to bed, where Good Luck held onto him until he was sure Funshine could settle on his own, sitting up against the bedframe with the blanket pooled around his crossed legs. Good Luck turned the bathroom lights off and settled back into bed beside him.

“Good?” He asked.

“Mm,” Funshine responded.

“Hey,” Good Luck began tenderly, resting a hand on Funshine’s leg through the sheets. They met eyes in the faint darkness, and they were warm. “Don’t forget my promise. Once things calm down, I’ll help you figure out what to do. Okay? And who knows - maybe you did better than you think.”

The corner of Funshine’s lips curled upwards just slightly, and he nodded. Good Luck returned the smile, and they both settled down to sleep again. Funshine kept his back turned, but Good Luck made sure he was facing Funshine this time, as if somehow keeping his eye on him would protect him from feeling like this again.

– 

In the morning, Good Luck didn’t feel the need to go for a run. It wasn’t typically on his agenda when he was on vacation, especially not in a neighbourhood he wasn’t familiar with, but he had to do it the morning before just to breathe air that wasn’t full of Funshine after the night he had. Still, he woke up at 7am, per every day, and just went on his phone for a while. He did a bit of research about their university, if there were any other courses that might be good for Funshine, so that he could have something to focus on until they have a chance to talk about it for real.

It wasn’t until about 8am when Funshine started to stir beside him, and Good Luck put his phone away and lay quietly, facing the other direction and pretending to still be asleep. He felt Funshine move over and sit on the edge of the bed, and then reach over for his phone. And everything went silent. For a little too long. So, Good Luck decided it was time to get out of bed as well. He fake-stirred beside Funshine and then stretched, getting up and looking over to see Funshine hunched over, staring at his phone blankly.

“You okay?” Was the first thing he said to him, as he dragged himself across to Funshine and sat beside him, throwing his legs over the edge of the bed and looking over his shoulder at Funshine’s phone. Funshine said nothing, didn’t move, as he tilted it more in Good Luck’s direction so that he could see what was on it.

23%. 

It was a clear fail.

Good Luck’s own shoulders sank this time, too. He didn’t know what to do. What to say. He didn’t think anything he said would have done anything to help him. This was exactly what he was dreading, and it was real. And worse? It was during the week they were supposed to have to get away from it all, spend time together, before the results were announced. Funshine stayed unmoving beside him, before turning off his phone and burying his head in his hands silently. 

“What do I do?” He mumbled. Good Luck felt his heart break with him.

“...do you want to stay here?” He didn’t know what to do either, what would comfort him.

“...I want to go home.”
Good Luck left the room alone and closed the door quietly behind him, walking out to greet the rest of the group who was already awake and in the lounge. They were congratulating Cheer, probably on her results - which would have swept Funshine’s clean. He resisted the urge to cringe at the sight, knowing how much Funshine was suffering in their room, how he was up in the middle of the night being sick over it. Dibble noticed him walking into the room and called out his name, causing the others to turn their attention towards him as well. Cheer’s smile was wide and her eyes shone, but it dropped ever so slightly when she saw the expression on his face, and that Funshine was missing from his side. She got up and walked over to him, maintaining a soft and welcoming smile.

“Uh, morning, Cheer,” Good Luck began awkwardly, wishing there was a way to say what he was about without upsetting anyone. But part of him knew he had to put Funshine’s feelings first in this situation. He was the only one who could. “Funshine threw up all night… He’s not feeling great, I was thinking maybe we could get like… an Uber back or something? I can pay, but-”

“No, no, it’s okay,” Cheer said, a hint of knowing behind her voice that she kept hidden from the others in the group. “We… can go home tonight instead. If you think he can hold out for today?”

Good Luck, stunned by how quickly Cheer was willing to change the holiday she planned, nodded in agreement and turned to make his way back to their room.

Chapter Text

It had been a day since the group arrived home from their vacation. The car ride home had been quiet - no one was quite sure what to do or say. Occasionally, Dibble would lean forward in her car seat and tap Funshine and ask him to play, but he would fake a smile at her and say, “not right now” and Grumpy kept her distracted with the games on his phone until they got dropped off.

Good Luck was the first to go. He looked regretfully back at the car before he left. Eventually it was just Cheer and Funshine - she had dropped him off and then had plans to go back home to get her parents to help her drop the rental back. She had offered for him to come as well but he declined, quietly carrying his stuff back to his dorm and shutting the door after himself. He hadn’t left his room again that day. Or the day after that.

For a while he had been answering his messages. Not ones from the group chat - only DMs, but it was very clear he wasn’t his usual self, despite how much it sounded like he was forcing everyone to believe he was ok, just tired and sick from the trip. But after a while, the minutes between his responses grew, and even after that, there was nothing. Good Luck tried to convince himself that it was probably just him sleeping it off to calm his own nerves, until he got a message from Cheer on Friday.

[Messenger]

Cheer🌺🌈: Have you been getting responses from Funshine?

Cheer🌺🌈: I haven’t. I’m worried.

Worry sank deep in Good Luck’s stomach when he got the notifications, as if hearing it from someone else confirmed his fears for him. He didn’t hesitate for a second before he typed out a response, figuring that any second he delayed would just cause his mind to race further.

Good Lucky🍀: i was for a while but i haven’t since last night.

Good Lucky🍀: have you tried checking his dorm?

Cheer🌺🌈: He won’t answer me anymore.

Cheer🌺🌈: I know he’s in there. But I don’t think I’m the person he wants to see right now.

Cheer🌺🌈: I thought it might have been about the exams… but this feels serious. Did he mention anything to you? Is he upset with me?

Good Luck knew all too well what it was. 

He had figured that maybe Funshine just needed the time, because that was always Good Luck’s go-to way of dealing with anything. But he made sure that he had full contact with Funshine throughout the few days, and made himself fully available, just in case he felt he needed the company. But Funshine had even grown distant to him in the day and a bit they were apart, and his silence seemed to be worrying more than just him now.

Good Luck didn’t have it in him to expose Funshine’s secret to Cheer. He wouldn’t want that to happen to him, so he kept it close to his chest. But he wanted to comfort Cheer as much. He wished it didn’t involve her as much as it did - but it was her fault that Funshine was even doing the course in the first place. It was her that he was comparing himself to, she got a much better score than him. Even though she hadn’t told him that, he probably didn’t need the confirmation to be sure. 

Good Lucky🍀: no. but it’s not you, i think. he seemed happy after the hike.

Good Lucky🍀: he might just be really sick still. it was pretty bad that night.

Good Lucky🍀: i can go and check on him. he might answer me because i’ve seen him sick

Good Lucky🍀: and you know how he is about making sure people only see him when he’s okay

Cheer🌺🌈: Yeah. You might be right.

Cheer🌺🌈: Sorry, I’m just worried. He’s never been like this before. 

Cheer🌺🌈: Even when he’s been sick in the past, he still texted. I don’t know…

Good Lucky🍀: i’ll update you. try not to worry too much
Cheer🌺🌈: …I’ll try.

Cheer🌺🌈: I know he’ll be in good hands.

Good Luck reacted to her last message with a heart, packed a backpack full of essentials and set out to go for a walk to the campus. Truthfully, he wasn’t sure how much luck he would have. If Cheer was sure he was in there and just choosing not to answer her, then maybe he had some hope. And there was some truth behind his choice words to her. Funshine had directly said to Good Luck before that he was the only person he showed that side of him to… and it was hard to forget the look on his face after he saw the exam results for real. It had probably just all crashed down on him, as if he wasn’t able to run away and distract himself from the reality of it with drinks or games with his friends anymore. Because now he would have to retake the exam, or worse, the whole year. Which means he would have to tell the group, Cheer, and his parents. 

And he would have to go through the same course material he already hated again.

And spend more money for the course. 

And make an impression on Cheer’s impressive parents. 

And feel like a failure next to his own sister.

Thinking about it, Good Luck realised that if he was in Funshine’s shoes, he would probably be doing the exact same thing. The only difference is that when Good Luck spent time being sad alone, it felt productive, and usually helped him. It didn’t seem to work that way for Funshine.

And his thoughts were further confirmed when he finally arrived at the campus, walked up the stairs to Funshine’s dorm, and knocked on the door. He knocked silently, waited, and then tried again - but this time, he called out to him “It’s me, Funshine”, letting him know that it was him that was waiting at the door, rather than Cheer or anyone else. He leant his ear closer, trying to listen carefully for any sign of life inside of the apartment when finally, slowly, he heard some heavy footsteps headed closer towards the door. And a tiny part of him felt relieved that his deepest, darkest fears were denied. All he wanted was to see his face now, no matter how upset or sick he looked.

Finally, the door opened. And he saw him.

Funshine’s shoulders sagged and a dirty, sweaty shirt covering his top. His eyes were dark and his hair was messy, and it was the absolute worst Good Luck had ever seen him look. Despite this, he could have sworn he saw the tiniest spark of happiness in his eyes as he perked up at the sight of Good Luck at the door. Funshine feigned a weak smile at him and just said, “‘Sup?”

“Why haven’t you been responding to my messages?” Good Luck asked him.

“Oh… Ugh, sorry, I guess I didn’t see them. Or I fell asleep. Or something.”
“...can I come in?”
Funshine bit his lip and looked away. “Okay.”

He stepped aside and let Good Luck walk in slowly, shutting the door behind him as Good Luck observed the state of the dorm. It was as messy as always, but the lights were off and the windows were shut. The same way they were the last time Good Luck had to check on him when he was studying. It felt like the only time the place looked presentable and alive was for his birthday, when anyone else came to see it. Good Luck’s feet instinctively lead him to Funshine’s bedroom, which was still in as bad of a state as it looked the last time he saw it. Except instead of study sheets and papers, everything had been scrunched up, a lot thrown in the bin and some thrown around the room, as if discarded in frustration. He saw a few half-finished cups of water on his desk and one or two empty packets of food, but not as much as he would have hoped to see, considering Funshine had probably been hiding away in his room that entire time - and there was no mess in the kitchen.

Funshine stood, head bowed shamefully, at the doorframe as Good Luck wandered through and settled on Funshine’s bed. It wasn’t made, and the sheets and pillows were bunched up messily. But he figured it would be the most comfortable spot in the whole dorm.

“You wanna… sit?” Good Luck asked, as if Funshine was the guest in his own home. He still avoided eye-contact with him and held his head low, embarrassed and tired, but he made his way over to Good Luck on his bed and sat down beside him, their knees touching slightly. A silence hung in the air, but it was full of understanding, as if the both of them were pondering what the right thing to say next was. 

“So what’s-” “I got fir-”

They had both spoken at the same time.

“...you go,” Good Luck affirmed, needing confirmation of what he thought he had heard.

“...I got fired.”

“Oh…” He responded, keeping his eyes on Funshine’s face, savouring any second where Funshine could build up the strength to look at him. “When?”
“This morning,” Funshine confirmed. “I… no-showed, er, a lot. It was about time, really.”

Good Luck instinctively wanted to scold him, the way he always would when Funshine talked about getting a shift covered or just straight up skipping it for a chance to hang out with him instead. He wanted to say “dude, I told you”, but given the situation, found it inappropriate. Getting fired was probably just the cherry on top of Funshine’s lovely cake of recent life. No wonder he wasn’t taking care of himself.

“Fuck, dude…” was what Good Luck settled on saying.

“It was my fault. Truthfully,” Funshine continued, admitting liability for once. “Everything has been. Maybe I wasn’t locked in at uni because I wasn’t taking my meds.”

Good Luck froze in surprise and stared at him, and upon his reaction, Funshine met his expression and read it, shutting his eyes moments later in shame as he continued with, “Right. Another thing I lied about.”
“How long have you not been taking them?”
“Since like, forever, dude. I was getting migraines and it was, like, turning me into something I didn’t like. But maybe that was the reason I should have been taking them. This…? Me? It’s… not good enough. It wasn’t enough.”

“You always had them in your bag. I’ve seen you spend money on them.”

“...I never used them. I only went and bought more when anyone asked about it.”

“Funshine…” Good Luck wanted to be frustrated, for his sake, but he couldn’t. He just felt sad. Sad that he had felt the need to lie, that something like this had translated into the self-hatred he was displaying now. Good Luck thought on it for a moment, tension and sadness hung in the air, but he thought more on what he had said. “You know… Medication wouldn’t have changed your opinion of the course.”

“...right, but maybe I wouldn’t have flunked it as bad as I did,” he groaned, burying his face in his hands, running his fingers through his messy blonde hair in frustration. “I don’t know. I should be grateful. Cheer’s parents let me in despite my shitty high school scores. I should have just taken the pills and did the work.”

“And became a pilot?”
“Yeah.”

“And hated it?”
“...yeah.” Funshine decided. “I couldn’t be as smart as Cheer. But maybe I could have celebrated with her, if anything. I let her down. I ruined her holiday.”

“You were sick, ” Good Luck corrected him, reaching over and grabbing his arm gently, trying to bring Funshine’s attention out of his own head and back onto him. Funshine finally looked up and deeply into Good Luck’s eyes, and he had a clear view of the stress and exhaustion hiding in Funshine’s rich blue, the way his eyes glassed over and his cheeks were stained already, wiped messily as if it was a last ditch attempt to hide his tears from Good Luck. Typical of him. Funshine stared at him silently, his eyes scanning Good Luck’s, before he squinted to keep any threatening tears in and said, “I don’t know what to do.” He turned his full body away from Good Luck this time, staring at the carpet of his bedroom floor, letting his legs dangle over the edge of the bed. He repeated, more quietly, as if realising it himself - “I don’t know what to do…”

Good Luck, with his hand still on Funshine’s arm, gave it a gentle squeeze. 

“What do you want to do?” He asked.

Funshine looked at Good Luck from the side, his expression new, as if the question was something he hadn’t even considered. He thought for a minute, and looked down at Good Luck’s hand on his arm, noticing the way their matching friendship bracelet snuck loosely out of the edge of Good Luck’s sleeve. Then, surprisingly, he dipped his head and laughed very lightly. Good Luck wasn’t sure whether to be relieved or disturbed, but still enjoyed the sound while it lasted.

“I don’t know.” Funshine finally admitted. “It didn’t matter to me. But… right now… I just want to stay here. Forever.”

“Here?” Good Luck asked. “In your bedroom?”
“With you,” he said breathily, looking up at him with a weak (but genuine this time) smile, resisting the urge to laugh at Good Luck’s question. Good Luck nearly blushed, feeling the stupidity of it settling in, as well as reacting to the way Funshine had corrected him. His heart stopped for a few heartbeats and he almost forgot how to breathe, and then he had a moment of realization, as if he had forgotten - oh yeah, I have a crush on this guy. That realization was made worse when Funshine didn’t stop there.

“I don’t know. Maybe it’s stupid. But when you’re here… things feel like… they’ll be okay. Like, these past few days have been… miserable, to say the least. I felt like my life ended. I couldn’t really… imagine myself doing anything except crying in my room, heh,” he paused. “But when you’re here… I can imagine myself doing anything with you . ” 

Good Luck fought very hard to swallow his heart in his throat. He wanted nothing more to reach over and hug Funshine so tightly, the way he used to - before his party, before exams, before the holiday. But he just couldn’t bring himself to. Funshine deserved more than a hug from someone like him, acting as his best friend but crushing on him the whole while. He feared making it weird more than anything else in the world. So, he settled for scooching a little closer, so that their sides were touching again.

“Hey, I’ll stay here as long as you need,” he finally said, smiling at him. They shared a tender look, forgetting for a moment about everything going wrong in his life, until Good Luck felt a light buzzing from his pocket and reached out his phone to see more notifications from Cheer, checking up on how things were going. Then, he decided he wasn’t done, and added to Funshine - “But you should come out and meet with the others, at some point. They’re worried.”

“Don’t tell me that,” Funshine groaned, running his hands over his face. “I don’t want them to worry about me. I did this to myself.”

“They’re your friends, Funshine,” Good Luck did scold him this time, looking at him with a stern and serious expression. “ I'm worried about you.”

“Yeah but you’re… different.” Good Luck fought the creeping blush on his cheeks, knowing Funshine didn’t mean anything in particular by it. “You get this sort of stuff from me.”

“Still, we can organise a lunch or something,” He replied quickly, trying to brush off his horribly-timed feelings and keep them focused. “I know you’re not feeling great. But it might be worse because you’re not leaving your room? Or eating?”
“You… noticed?” Funshine’s eyes sparkled with an odd mix of surprise and guilt. Then, he raised an eyebrow and smiled, and for once during the whole conversation, he finally looked like his usual self again. Good Luck felt relieved, and braced himself for whatever stupid thing Funshine was going to add next. “You just can’t let me wallow in my self pity quietly, can you? Rude.”

“ You are actively harming yourself,” Good Luck poked him in the side seriously, shaking his head. But Funshine laughed and held his hands up defensively, waving them to get Good Luck to calm down, reassuring him that it was just a joke and that he would start taking his advice more often. The air in the room was light and, for a moment, Good Luck understood what Funshine meant about everything feeling okay when they were together. The room was still dark and Funshine’s neglect hung in the dusty air, but seeing Funshine laugh and smile like that, made him forget the circumstances of everything else. They were interrupted by a catchy and familiar birthday-song jingle ringing through Funshine’s phone, which was sitting alone on his bedside table, and he knew that would have been a phone call from his brother. Funshine stopped laughing and the both of them stared silently at it, Good Luck expecting him to go and pick it up, urging him to when Funshine didn’t immediately rush to it. 

“Hello?” Funshine answered, after being physically pushed to reach for the phone.

Good Luck listened quietly to the conversation, the silence in the room elevating the volume on the phone.

“What’s going on, bro? We heard exam results are going out. Got yours?” Birthday’s strong and friendly voice came through on the other line. Good Luck realised that it had been a while since he had heard the familiar voice, and the realisation at just how much had changed since uni started settling in. Funshine and Cheer were both given exclusive access to their dorms due to their connections with the founders of the school, so Funshine had no troubles moving out of his parents house. But Birthday and their dad, Friend, still lived together in his family home a bit further out from campus. It was always in Funshine’s best interest to move closer to the university, and he had made out that he was excited for the independence - but the more Good Luck saw Funshine failing to take care of himself, the more he realised just how much he probably needed his brother and father there to check up on him.

“Nooope,” Funshine lied, pursing his lips and making an active effort to look away from Good Luck as he did. Lying sounded so natural in Funshine’s voice by this point, and he started to wonder just how much he had fallen for before. 

“Awh man, tough,” Birthday responded, totally buying it. Funshine avoided Good Luck’s eyes for the entire rest of the call, despite Good Luck’s attempts at getting his attention so that he could pull a ‘wtf’ expression at him. “Alright. Just wanted to check in. Update me when they are, yeah? Maybe you, me and dad could get together and celebrate. I could pick you up.”
“Sounds good! Really good,” Funshine agreed, guilt plastered on his face, not that Birthday would have been able to hear or see it.

“Miss you, bro! Take care of yourself. I’ll talk to you soon.”
“You too. Seeya.” And Funshine was the one to hang up. He had waited a few heartbeats before he returned eye contact with Good Luck though, and he almost looked like was bracing himself for the impact of Good Luck’s scolding. Which he of course did - now that the tone was a little lighter than before.

“Dude.” It was stern, and enough to make Funshine crumble.

“What?” Funshine responded nervously, ducking his head under his shoulders. But no matter how many times he went over it in his head, Good Luck couldn’t figure out the right thing to say. He just shook his head in disappointment, and Funshine poked him playfully, trying to feign innocence that he knew he couldn’t. They talked for a little while longer until Good Luck decided that the conversation had come to a neat close, and he was pleased to see Funshine looking better than he was when he arrived.

“Alright, I’m glad you’re alive. That’s the main thing,” he said, picking up his backpack from the floor and fastening the strap over his shoulder. He stood up to go when Funshine grabbed his arm and stopped him, looking up at him with desperate, pleading eyes.

“Stay? Sleepover? We could sleep in my bed.”
Selfishly, and guiltily, Good Luck wanted to say yes to that - as much as it weirded him out. 

“I didn’t bring anything for sleeping,” he replied. But the look on Funshine’s eyes tempted him, and he folded a lot quicker than he would have liked to admit. “But I can stay for longer.”

He had ended up staying the night.

–

A lunch was planned for 12 on Sunday. Right in the middle of the day, at one of their favourite cafes nearest to campus (one that gave them special student discounts, which added bonus points). And despite it being the heart of winter, it was bright outside, and the wind stilled, making the air a very comfortable temperature for jeans and a hoodie. 

Good Luck strolled happily out of his front hard and onto the street, headphones in and favourite playlist on shuffle. Despite his life being as chaotic as it was, he was in a pleasant mood, and he knew spending time with Funshine was behind it. They had agreed that they would focus on getting Funshine in his right mind again. A week where nothing happens, where he can hang out with his friends and get over the shock of the results, clear his head and keep himself in a good mood before him and Good Luck could sit down and consider Funshine’s options for the future. Good Luck still wrote down notes and researched in his free time - other unis, other courses, part time jobs, anything he could think of. Since his mind was occupied with it most of the time, not that he had anything else important to think about, he always kept note of things he wanted to make sure he brought to the conversation. Even comforting phrases and encouragement he thought of, he noted down, just in case he had a chance to use them.

He pulled up his current notes and scrolled through them, thinking even harder, hoping to use the cool air and his good mood to be productive and put any more of that energy towards the future conversation. But he was surprisingly interrupted when he saw a person standing in front of his path and stopped quickly just before he ran into them.

“Heya~” 

He looked up and met Funshine’s bright grin. His hair was still messy, but it looked less like bed-head and more his usual scruffiness that made him so endearing. His skin was glowing again, despite the lack of real sunshine outside, and he stood at his usual height once again. Definitely better than he was when Good Luck went to check up on him initially.

“Fancy seeing you here,” he quipped in response, taking out his headphones with a confused look on his face. For Funshine to have caught up to him before he reached the campus, he definitely would have gone out of his way and backtracked. It definitely wouldn’t be a coincidence, the cafe was in the other direction, and it wasn’t like Funshine would get lost.

“Thought I’d walk with ya,” he said casually. “If that’s ok?”
“Duh,” Good Luck smiled. Things felt normal. “Not walking with Cheer?”

“Nah, she’s not even at her dorm. I think she stopped at home.”

“Oooh.” He nodded. “Is everything okay?”

“As far as I know.” Funshine lifted his arms up and held them over his head, stretching as he walked. He had a red bomber jacket over the top of a jersey-styled t-shirt, and those stupid sunglasses he always insisted on wearing. Although, despite the clouds, the sun was still trying to shine bright white through them, so he figured they might have been less stupid today. And they were cute on him, anyway. Good Luck envied how little Funshine had to try to look like the most attractive guy on earth, though. It physically pained him.

“It’s hard to believe you look so good after Friday,” Good Luck said without thinking, immediately regretting it when Funshine, who didn’t change his position, just turned a little to look at him with an eyebrow raised and a grin on his face.

“You think I look good?” He teased.

“ Healthy, ” Good Luck corrected, looking away as casually as he could muster, knowing that is indeed what he meant to say. “Like you didn’t spend days in your room starving yourself.”

“Well, since you forced me to eat breakfast, I have been eating,” he turned back to look at the path in front of them. “I reckon it was the dose of Good Luck. Just what the doctor ordered.”

“That’s stupid,” Good Luck retorted, stifling a laugh.

“But you did help, though.”

“I’m glad.”

They talked the whole way to the cafe, walking past the student accommodation as they went, which made Good Luck consciously thankful that Funshine spent the extra time to walk out with him. Otherwise he would have just been talking to an imaginary Funshine in his head, and his notes app, about more stressful topics. Talking lightly with his best friend, like they had nothing to worry about, was exactly the kind of thing he needed to add onto his morning to make it just perfect. 

They arrived and saw their friends sitting at the usual table. Grumpy, Dibble (sitting on her knees on her chair to match the others’ height), and Share. They were looking at the kids menu and discussing how the only other time they had seen the kids menu was when Funshine had insisted on chicken nuggets the first time they went, and didn’t look up until they saw the two boys approach the table and take their seats next to each other.

“Hi you two!” Share said cheerfully, giving them a wide smile but fastening her eyes on Funshine specifically. The sight of it reminded Good Luck of his jealousy, denting the good mood he had carefully formulated across the morning. “How are you, Funshine?”
“Gooood,” Funshine chimed, not lifting his eyes away from the menu in front of him. Good Luck hoped that was a sign that his appetite was starting to come back. He had admitted to Good Luck that night that he stayed over that he had two reasons for not eating; 1) fear of throwing up more, and 2) feeling like he didn’t deserve to. It took Good Luck a while to combat the second reason, and he stuck around in the morning to make sure Funshine wasn’t sick after a bowl of cereal. It seemed to have been getting better since then. 

“And you, Good Luck?” Surprisingly, Share asked him too. But the more Good Luck thought on it - the less surprising it was. Share was really the most kind and gentle soul within the group. It wasn’t like her to exclude people she didn’t have a crush on. Pushing aside his stupid jealousy-induced thoughts, he looked up directly at his friend and nodded, replying, “I’m good too. Relaxed.”

“Good for you,” Grumpy retorted from the other side of the table, his gaze hard and stern as always, but there was a smile on his face and a hint of joking in his voice. “Can’t say the same for my household.”

“You act like it wasn’t your choice to become a single dad,” Funshine joked.

“It wasn’t, ” Grumpy poked back, then added in a softer voice, “Until I signed the papers.”

The four of them laughed and Dibble joined in a moment later, not having any idea what she was really laughing about. It was sweet. The air was light and the atmosphere in the cafe was as comforting as ever. Good Luck recalled all of the lunches the five of them had in between classes, when they all had enough to treat themselves to it. Good Luck leaned over Funshine's menu and asked if he was gonna get his usual or something else, and when he got no response, he looked up and noticed Funshine had gone stiff, staring off into the distance. The corner of his brows creased and he frowned slightly, a tense expression in his eyes. It wasn’t until Good Luck followed his eyes that he noticed exactly why he had reacted that way.

Cheer approached the table, but beside her was someone unfamiliar by looks, but familiar by reputation. Cheer had her arm interlocked with hers and was almost pulling her along with her, running to catch up to the table and breathing heavily as she got to them, smiling as she greeted them like there was nothing out of the ordinary going on.

“Hey, guys! Sorry I’m late, I-” she breathed, and then pulled the person beside her closer to the group, as if presenting her to them. “I wanted to bring Robbie. So you could meet her!”
“Hi…” Robbie mumbled awkwardly, looking around and meeting their gazes. She got to Funshine’s and looked away immediately, probably feeling the hostility of his look from the table length away. She looked almost embarrassed and ashamed to be there, like Cheer had truly dragged her along. Good Luck almost felt bad for her. But as he took her in, he noticed more about her appearance - she had shoulder length purple hair with streaks of lighter dye, the back pulled up into a spiky ponytail on the top of her head. Her face had noticeable marks of vitiligo, decorating her skin with lighter streaks that gave her a unique appearance - light amounts of purple and black makeup, especially around her eyes, were adorned. And her outfit was exactly what you’d expect - a black jacket and gloves over a purple top. Despite her harsh looking exterior, something about the way she held herself now, the guilt in her expression and the awkwardness in her greeting, made her significantly less scary than the rumours of her had. Standing in front of them, beside the daughter of the heads-of-school and well performing student, was one that was expelled along with her gang for bad behaviour. What chain of events could have possibly led to this conclusion?
“Oh, nice to meet you, Robbie!” Share greeted Robbie courteously, because of course she did. She pulled out the empty chair beside her and invited Robbie to sit next to her and in front of Funshine, who had hardly blinked the entire time. It became increasingly obvious that Funshine was making her nervous when she sat down and tried to look anywhere else but in front of her. Cheer sat beside her, in front of Good Luck, and they looked at the menu. Cheer looked up at Good Luck and met his eyes, and he could see through her mask quickly - the way she looked at him was with nerves, as she darted her eyes from Funshine back to him, as if trying to talk to him about how Funshine was acting. Good Luck just shrugged and gave her an apologetic look. Funshine wasn’t acting out as he had on the vacation, but it was still very obvious he wasn’t pleased by her sudden arrival. 

“What do you want, Robbie?” Cheer asked sweetly, scooching her chair over a little to sit closer to her. She looked over Robbie’s shoulder at her menu and waited expectantly for an answer, but it was clear she hadn’t decided yet. So she looked over the menu in a hurry, and responded, “The… barbeque burger looks good.”
“Ooh, that’s Funshine’s usual!” Cheer exclaimed with a forced sense of fascination, looking over at Funshine now. “She must have good taste.”

Good Luck wanted to curl into himself at the sight of it.

“I was thinking of ordering something else today,” Funshine said shortly, looking back down at the menu. “Good Luck, wanna go halves in one of those wood-burned pizzas?”

Blinking in surprise at being dragged into this, Good Luck looked around and then down at the menu and agreed without even processing anything. “Y-yeah, sure.”

There was silence and quiet discussion amongst them as they decided what to order. Funshine decided on a flavour of pizza for them to order and Good Luck decided he would just eat whatever Funshine wanted, caring more about him getting a proper meal inside of his body than anything. After a while, Cheer noted down what everyone was ordering and offered to go up, when Robbie stopped her and - awkwardly, but very kindly - offered to order for them. Cheer was taken aback, especially considering it was always her job to organise the order, but she nodded and seated herself back down, giving Robbie her phone with the list of orders on it. When Robbie left earshot of the table, Funshine began.

“Would have been nice if you had, I dunno, told us we’d be housing seven today?”

“I didn’t want you to back out,” Cheer admitted shamefully, dipping her head and putting her hands on her lap apologetically. “I really wanted to see you today. But I also wanted everyone to see her for what she is. Outside of those rumours.”
“I know we sorted it all out, but really Cheer?”
“She wanted to meet you guys, too. I talk about you all of the time.”
“Does she think she can just join the group like this?”
“Give her a chance! For me.”

“I-” Funshine was going to start up again, but Robbie came back, smiling kindly to them. Although it definitely didn’t look natural on her face, Good Luck could tell that she was trying her best. He couldn’t detect any hints of badness in her… but had definitely heard the rumours. She was associated with bad people, regardless of how good she might have seemed now. He could still see Funshine fuming a bit beside him and realised that it must have been a bit more frustrating from his side. He wasn’t sure what the two of them had discussed on the hike, but if it was anything like before, Funshine was probably upset that this surprise arrangement was, well, a surprise. Especially on what was supposed to be a lunch to get him out of the house. And he recalled how worried he was, specifically for Cheer’s safety, when he found out she was getting involved with someone like Robbie. It probably wasn’t easy for his temper to see Cheer wrapped around her, staring up at her like she had the most potential and kindness in the world. 

Funshine bit his lip and sat back in his chair, curling his hands into fists and setting them on his lap. The conversations continued around the table. Everyone, except for Funshine and Good Luck, seemed to be making an effort to include Robbie in the conversation. Even Dibble was enamoured by her.

“So, what do you do, Robbie?” It was Share making the most effort. Probably out of either her love for Cheer, or the good in her heart, but she was very good at making it look natural. Even Robbie seemed to be comforted whenever it was Share who spoke. She was probably the least intimidating out of everyone on the table, aside from Dibble.

“Uhh, just part time work,” Robbie rubbed the back of her neck. 

“What kind of work?” This time Funshine interjected. He had an edge to his voice that sounded like he wanted to say more, to really test her, but he was biting his tongue. He seemed to be torn between his appreciation for Cheer and his protectiveness over her.

“Um. Just at the supermarket.”

Funshine settled back down again, but he didn’t seem satisfied by the vagueness of the answer - his hands fiddling angrily at his sides under the table until suddenly - as Robbie began to talk to the others again - Good Luck felt Funshine’s warm hand over the top of his on his leg and he froze. Funshine gave his hand a squeeze, like he needed someone else to feel the anger he was keeping inside of his body to calm down. He probably thought of it as nothing more than that, but Good Luck was frozen stiff, and had no idea what to do. But as he turned to look at Funshine, who only looked at him from the side, he saw his features soften just slightly and his shoulders relax. He figured he didn’t have to do anything, except for enjoy the feeling of Funshine’s hand squeezing his. Even if he was being used as a human stressball.

But even by now, Cheer was keeping a close eye on Funshine. As nervous as she seemed, she did seem to be increasingly annoyed by Funshine’s reluctance to give Robbie a chance. Good Luck figured it was fair enough, especially if they had come to some sort of agreement before. He was torn between them, but figured that if he had to focus on anyone, it had to be Funshine. The others seemed to be enjoying Robbie’s company the more they talked to her, and as much as Good Luck wanted to as well (not that he would have much to add), he tried to keep his eye on Funshine. Eventually everyone got their meals.

Funshine ended up eating most of the pizza. Which Good Luck figured was a good thing, and was happy to cover the cost of it. He could just snack on something more when he got home anyway. Robbie didn’t eat much of hers, probably due to her own nerves, and opted to take it in a carry-away box. Cheer didn’t get through hers either and did the same. But Good Luck noticed her eyeing Funshine, who was eyeing Robbie, and realised that they were probably just at their wits end. Cheer and Robbie were the first ones to leave, Cheer sending Robbie a sneaky message under the table so that they could both agree it was time to go.

“We’re gonna head off, now,” Cheer announced, standing up out of her chair. “Gotta do some shopping for my parents and then drop Robbie back off at her apartment.”
Funshine narrowed his eyes. Robbie stood up after Cheer and followed her.

“Oh, Cheer, I’ll send you the money for lunch-” Share began, but this time it was Robbie who spoke up. Not very confidently, but still interrupting Share with a wave of her hands. 

“Don’t worry, it’s on me today,” she said, smiling at them. This seemed to please the group, and everyone (except Funshine) waved them off. Everyone waited until the two of them were far enough before they said a single word.

“She seems… nice,” Share mentioned, resting her head on her hand as she looked around at the rest of the group for their opinions. She did seem honest in hers.

“I don’t trust her,” Funshine shot out. Clearly. 

“Give her a chance, Funshine,” Grumpy said shortly, getting up out of his own chair and pulling Dibble’s out for her. “Maybe things have changed. We should trust Cheer’s intuition.” Funshine was definitely about to say something back but this time Good Luck grabbed his hand and shot him a warning glare. It wasn’t worth starting more arguments over. Especially not when he had already talked it over with Cheer before. Funshine was surprised by the sudden contact but gave in after a few seconds of consideration, and Good Luck breathed in relief, letting go of him. They got up and said goodbye to the rest of the group, walking back the way they came towards the campus. 

“You good?” Good Luck asked when they were finally alone.

“Yeah. Whatever.” Funshine brushed it off. “It looks like just a me-issue. I’ll get over it.”

“If you say so.”

They continued walking towards the campus. There was a quiet, comfortable silence between them for a minute, until Funshine randomly grabbed Good Luck’s free hand and held onto it again. Good Luck stopped walking and looked at him, stunned.

“What?” Funshine replied with a smile that made Good Luck want to melt into the pavement. “It’s nice. Keeps me calm.”
“...if you say so.” Good Luck repeated, letting Funshine entwine his fingers with Good Luck’s. They kept walking, but Funshine was skipping a little and waving their joined arms about like a giddy child. Good Luck tried his best to keep his cool, keeping his hot face hidden until he got used to the contact. They got to the student accommodation but Funshine kept walking past it, leading Good Luck with him.

“Aren’t you going home?” He asked, stopping them as they neared the exit to campus. Their hands remained connected, and Funshine looked at him sheepishly, rubbing the back of his neck with his free hand and giving Good Luck another look he couldn’t resist.

“I was wondering if you’d have me over…? Just… uh,” he said. “So I don’t wallow in self pity again?”

“Funshine…” Good Luck found himself shaking his head, but he was smiling, and after a few moments of pretending to consider the answer, he said, “Sure.” Funshine smiled at him, the kind of smile that made him think that if Funshine was a dog, his tail would be wagging right now. Good Luck just laughed and they continued walking home.

Once they got there, Oopsy greeted them at the door with a toothy grin, surprised and delighted at the sight of Funshine as well. He asked if they could play with him and Good Luck ruffled his hair and said “maybe in a bit” before they made their way straight up to Good Luck’s room to settle down for a bit. Good Luck began pulling out the mattress from under his bed that he usually used to house Funshine for the night, but Funshine stopped him.

“Don’t worry, I don’t mind sleeping together,” he said, moving the mattress back under with his foot. Good Luck didn’t argue. Because why would he? It was a dream come true.

So, they took off their shoes and sat on his bed. Funshine sat cross legged, leaning up against the bedframe as he watched Good Luck scoot onto the bed himself, careful not to get too close. They talked about anything. Until Funshine’s phone rang.

“Cheer? What’s up?” He answered, sharing a confused and concerned look with Good Luck as he held out the phone in front of them, putting it on speakerphone.

“Um, it happened again.”

“What?”
“My house. It’s pretty bad this time.”
“What?!” Funshine emphasised. “Where are you? Are you home? Are you safe?” He began to panic, and through the worry, Good Luck felt a deep admiration seeing Funshine worry so much about Cheer's safety. Despite their differences, and how much they teased each other, it was clear that the two of them cared about each other a lot. Good Luck had seen Cheer be stubborn in sticking to her plans before, but he recalled how quickly she cancelled the trip and changed her plans just because Funshine was sick.

“I-I’m fine, just a bit shaken,” Cheer admitted, and it showed in her voice. “I am home. I’m fine. It’s fine. I just, my parents aren’t home yet - I don’t want them to freak out, I called you first, I-”

“Did Robbie do this? What’s the odds she comes out today with you, and your house is targeted the same day, huh?”
“It wasn’t me.” Robbie’s voice sounded from the phone this time, surprising both Good Luck and Funshine. Good Luck had his eyes fixed on Funshine to read his reactions.

“Oh, you’re still conveniently here?” Funshine scoffed, making no effort to hide his true feelings this time. Good Luck watched as he rolled his eyes and he leaned over and tapped his leg lightly, scolding him for being impolite, as if it would change anything about the situation.

“Funshine-” Cheer tried to warn him, too, with her weak voice. But this time, it was Robbie who spoke over him, her voice sure and heated - much different to the awkward and kind version of Robbie they had just had lunch with. Her tone seemed to take both of them back, even Funshine’s stone-cold expression faltering.

“It wasn’t me! I’m telling you.”

“ Prove it. ”

“ Funshine,” Cheer spoke up again, this time a little stronger, as if Robbie’s confidence was rubbing off on her even in her shaken state. “This happened while we were out for lunch. Otherwise my parents would have been home.”

“So?” Funshine began. Good Luck could tell by the attitude in his voice that he still wasn’t buying what Robbie was saying. “She could have been a distraction. To get you away from it.”

“This isn’t some TV show! You think it would require a master plan to vandalise some house?!” Robbie was getting just as upset as Funshine was, now. “They wouldn’t have cared if anyone was home or not.”

“Okay fine, whatever,” Funshine finally gave up, but then he perked up after a few seconds. “This is still Bad Crowd work, though. Isn’t it?” The other end of the phone was quiet for a few moments, and this time, Funshine actually looked up and met Good Luck’s eyes - which hadn’t moved from Funshine nearly the entire time. Typical of him, but this time it was mostly out of concern. After a few moments that felt like more, Robbie spoke again with a sigh.

“...yeah. I know who did this. And where they are now.”

“You do?” Cheer’s voice, genuinely surprised.

“I… yeah. Sorry I didn’t say it before. I… They know where I am too, and if they knew I ratted them out…”

“So you are liable somehow,” Funshine concluded, almost triumphantly. Then, he sat up on the bed and moved over to the edge, threw his legs over and stood up as if he was getting ready to leave. “Cheer, I’ll come down. It’s probably still not safe for you to be there, and-”

“My parents are here, i-it’s okay. Just stay home. I’ll talk to you later.” Before Funshine had a chance to respond, Cheer hung up with a beep, leaving Funshine standing at the edge of Good Luck’s bed with a bewildered, almost offended look on his face. He stood there and stared at the phone silently for a moment, pursing his lips and furrowing his eyebrows.

“You wanna go…?” Good Luck asked, looking up at him from the bed. Funshine still stayed silent for a few moments, tapping into his phone and typing out a message before he thought of responding to Good Luck. Then, he just sighed, and his shoulders sank with exhaustion. He let himself fall back onto the bed, the impact making him and Good Luck bounce a little.

“...nah,” he finally said, waving his phone a little bit before lifting his legs back on the bed and tucking them under himself. “I sent her a message. If her parents are there, they won’t let this slide. You know how Tenderheart is.” He threw his phone onto the other side of the bed and then himself backwards, causing the bed to rock again, and he put his hands behind his head. He stared up at the ceiling as he spoke. Good Luck couldn’t take his eyes off of the way Funshine’s messy hair littered delicately across his cheek. “I just don’t get why she’s choosing to associate with one of those guys. You know?” This time, Funshine turned his head to look at Good Luck directly, waiting for his input. But he didn’t know the war Good Luck was having in his head, to keep focused on the (very serious) matter at hand, or be distracted by the way Funshine looked laying down next to him on his bed.

“Yeah. Well. She didn’t know Robbie was lying to her.”

“Now she does,” he turned back to the ceiling, a very slight curve in his cheek. But it didn’t last long. Moments later it shifted into a frown, and his eyes drooped. “I just hope that if I couldn’t talk sense into her, then her parents can.”

“Mm,” Good Luck agreed.

There was silence between them as they both pondered the situation their friend was in. But, after about 30 seconds, Funshine suddenly sat back up again and looked over at his phone, previously messily discarded, and now closer to Good Luck’s side of the bed.

“I should probably stay up in case she texts,” he began. “But I just want to sleep. I’m so tired of shit going wrong.”

“It’s still so early, dude.”

“I haven’t had a good sleep in ages . Let me have one nice thing, Good Luck.” But Funshine was smiling at him, the corner of his mouth turned up like he was teasing. It was nice to see, even in the midst of all of the chaos happening, and all of Funshine’s anger - that he still felt okay enough around Good Luck to crack a joke or a few, while still being honest and genuine. Something that he couldn’t be with a lot of the others. The secrets that he shared with Good Luck only. His.

“Okay, okay,” Good Luck laughed. “Ah, shoot, you didn’t bring anything to sleep in, did you?”

“Meh, whatever,” Funshine replied, moving up to the head of the bed and burying himself comfortably under the thick quilt. “I’ll sleep in this and just steal some of your clothes in the morning.”

Good Luck felt his heart skip a beat. He didn’t argue.

“Man, I can’t believe you got to sleep in this comfy bed every single time I stayed over, and I had to sleep on the floor.” Funshine closed his eyes instantly, getting comfortable in the bed and burying the back of his head in the pillow under him.

“Don’t say it like that, or I’ll start feeling bad,” Good Luck retorted back, and Funshine started laughing too, turning over to his side and looking up at Good Luck with half-lidded and tired eyes as he rested on the pillow. He looked at Good Luck with a smile, scanning him up and down for a few heartbeats, making Good Luck’s own stop again. Tension hung in the air and he felt goosebumps trickle up his arms under his jacket.

“This is what I mean,” Funshine finally said, his voice already heavy. “Everything is going wrong, but I still feel like I can smile around you.” Good Luck wanted to say something back. Something that communicated that he felt the same way… but he didn’t. He felt more than that. So he bit his tongue, and kept his feelings hidden deep in his chest.

“...shut up, dude.”

“You love it.”

Fuuuuck.

“Do you need some help getting to sleep?” Good Luck responded, picking up one unoccupied pillow and covering Funshine’s face with it softly, pretending to smother him. Funshine gasped in surprise and his giggles turned into laughter as he fought the pillow off. Eventually, they quietened down, though. Good Luck turned off the lights and scrolled mindlessly on his phone, sitting against the bed-head as he watched Funshine fall asleep beside him. Once he had, though, Good Luck found it hard to keep his eyes off of him. The rise and fall of his chest, the way all of his features softened in the peace of sleep… It was good to see him comfortable and resting, after everything. He had seen him violently sick, angry, and at the end of his rope - but he hadn’t actually had any time to appreciate him in a moment of peace. Good, he thought, he deserves it.

After a while of keeping an eye on him (or failing to keep his eyes off of him, more like), Good Luck found sleep enticing to him, even despite the growing hunger in his stomach at the idea of dinner. He figured it wouldn’t hurt to lay beside Funshine, just for a little bit, and to join his moment of peace. So, he slipped fully under his blanket and rested his head on his pillow, still facing Funshine. It was the closest his face had been to Funshine’s since the kiss on his birthday. The kiss that very well could have never even happened - so much was going on that it seemed so far away now, and it certainly didn’t exist to Funshine. Maybe Good Luck had imagined it, considering it was in his thoughts every day. 

Thinking about it, Good Luck failed to catch himself before his mind started drifting into sleep. And, after not very long, he had crashed.

–

The police had caught the culprits.

Between the two of them, no one had seen the messages until Funshine’s waking up at 6am. Definitely earlier than what he was used to, but not a surprise considering he had fallen asleep before even eating dinner. Funshine, though, had slept through the whole night. Good Luck had drifted in and out of uncomfortable, anxious sleep the entire night, and just happened to not check his phone during any of those intervals, desperate to cling onto the sleep he could.

6:34PM

[Messenger] 

Cheer🌺🌈: We’ve called the police.

Cheer🌺🌈: My parents aren’t happy. Obviously.

Cheer🌺🌈: About. Um. The house.

Cheer🌺🌈: And Robbie.

Cheer🌺🌈: So you were right.

Cheer🌺🌈: I guess I didn’t say what happened.

Cheer🌺🌈: Broken windows, more this time. Graffiti like before. My room is trashed. Some stuff is stolen.

Cheer🌺🌈: …TV’s broke.

6:56PM

[Messenger] 

Cheer🌺🌈: We’re just laying everything out for the police. Slow updates.

7:40PM

[Messenger] 

Cheer🌺🌈: I know you’re mad. But you need to know.

Cheer🌺🌈: Robbie has told them * everything* she knows.

Cheer🌺🌈: She’s even admitted to being a part of the… graffiti, at least.

Cheer🌺🌈: But the other people involved are her old friends, Bluster and Malcolm. They made her do a lot of it. 

Cheer🌺🌈: She apologised. A * lot *.

Cheer🌺🌈: She’s not that bad.

Cheer🌺🌈: She said she used to be, but she doesn’t want to be anymore.

8:24PM

[Messenger] 

Cheer🌺🌈: Police are already onto them.

Cheer🌺🌈: Robbie’s been fined. For the graffiti. But.

Cheer🌺🌈: Yeah.

8:38PM

[Messenger] 

Cheer🌺🌈: Funshine? :(

8:50PM

[Messenger] 

Cheer🌺🌈: I’m sorry if you’re mad at me.

Cheer🌺🌈: But you really have to trust me. 

Cheer🌺🌈: Robbie is good.

9:43PM

[Messenger] 

Cheer🌺🌈: Could you at least reply?

Cheer🌺🌈: I know you’re not happy. But I don’t want us to be like this.

10:54PM

[Messenger] 

[message deleted]

1:24AM

[Messenger] 

Cheer🌺🌈: They’ve been caught!

Cheer🌺🌈: Lots of police stuff to do now.

Cheer🌺🌈: Probably nothing you need updates for.

Cheer🌺🌈: I’m ok. We’re insured so repairs won’t be an issue.

1:46AM

[Messenger] 

Cheer🌺🌈: Goodnight.

Cheer🌺🌈: I’ll talk to you tomorrow.

As anyone could imagine, Funshine sat up in a panic upon reading the messages. Good Luck checked his phone and even saw notifications from her.

8:40PM

[Messenger] 

Cheer🌺🌈: Hey, Good Luck?
Cheer🌺🌈: Are you able to get a hold of Funshine right now?
Cheer🌺🌈: I think he’s mad at me.

He realised that Cheer probably didn’t even know that Funshine had stayed over at his place. He had been so silent on the call and Funshine didn’t bring him up at all, so it wasn’t like it was obvious. But he let Funshine handle that, listening intently as his phone buzzed, waiting for Cheer to pick up the call - but she didn’t. He then sent her replies, but didn’t get any back, figuring that she must have still been asleep after what would have been a stressful night. So, they instead made plans to go directly to her place after breakfast to make sure she was okay and do anything they might need help with, any errands they couldn’t or moving out broken furniture. 

Good Luck was checking the weather on his phone when Funshine opened the wardrobe door and started going through his clothes. He looked at him from across the room and cleared his throat, looking at him with an eyebrow raised. “What do you think you’re doing?”
“Pickin’ an outfit to wear, duh,” Funshine responded as if it was the most casual thing in the world. “Man you do not wear much colour, do you?” Good Luck just shook his head and sighed, unbothered until Funshine started pulling out the drawers inside of the wardrobe. He started from the bottom, probably looking for pants, but Good Luck decided he had to stop him before he got to the undergarments, so he got up in a hurry and grabbed Funshine’s arm.

“I’ll pick for you, just chill.”
Funshine raised an eyebrow at him, smiling. “Okay.”

Good Luck averted his gaze when Funshine got comfortably dressed in front of him.

And then fumbled trying to get dressed himself.

The two of them walked out of Good Luck’s room at about 6:30, and Funshine was bunched up in warm, puffy jackets and long jeans, prepared for the cold and windy morning. Good Luck had offered it to him, deciding that he would be okay enough with his own light plaid jacket.They would catch the bus to Cheer’s place - since it was too long of a walk away from both Good Luck’s house and the campus itself. Luckily, Good Luck was experienced catching the bus, so he had all of the routes and times memorised for them. They would have to leave at 7:20 to get to the bus stop by 7:25, ready for a 7:30 departure and an arrival at around 8. But for now, breakfast.

They went down stairs quietly, worried that they would wake anyone else in the house, surprised when Good Luck’s mother was already in the kitchen making herself a coffee. She was dressed smartly ready for work, her handbag on the kitchen counter, already prepared for a quick departure. She would normally leave 15 minutes from now, before Good Luck usually got up for his run, so it was rare for them to catch each other in the morning. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of them, but she smiled, stirring sugar into her mug.

“Morning, boys,” she said softly.

Funshine dipped his head politely but quietly, unsure of how to act around her. Because she was working most of the time, and Good Luck’s dad was away for months at a time for his own job, Funshine never really spent much time around Good Luck’s family aside from his brother. So it was kind of cute to see him get shy around her, as she was the only person to invoke that in him.

“Hi, mom,” Good Luck replied.

“You’re up early.”

“Yeah, we, uh, slept early.” Good Luck silently signaled for Funshine to sit on one of the stools at the kitchen counter as he got some cereal out of the pantry for them, standing on his toes to reach the boxes from the top shelf, picking one he was sure Funshine liked.

“So I heard.”

“Heard?” Good Luck whipped his head back around to look at her, pulling the box of cereal down along with him.

“Yeah. When dinner was ready, I got your brother to go up and ask if you guys wanted any. But he said you were both asleep when he checked.”
Oh. Good Luck swallowed and tried to nod nonchalantly, slowly putting the box of cereal on the counter in front of Funshine and making his way into the cupboard to grab the bowls. So Oopsy saw us sleeping together.

“Big day?” She asked in between her sips of her coffee.

“Yeah, just… a lot going on in our group,” Good Luck replied awkwardly, grabbing milk from the fridge and preparing the cereal for Funshine. He looked at Funshine for just a moment, to see if he was fazed by anything they were talking about, but he was just sitting and politely waiting for Good Luck to finish pouring the milk - his eyes locked in on the cereal like he was a big cat hunting for prey. Of course Funshine wouldn’t care about it, he was so normal about everything they did.

“Well, I’ll be off,” his mom began, setting her mug down on the sink and grabbing her bag. “It was nice to catch you guys. Always good to see you, Funshine.”
“Likewise,” Funshine replied innocently, smiling at her. The rattling of her keys became distant as she instinctively locked the door after her, and drove off to work. The boys finished their cereal just in time to leave for the bus, only delayed by Funshine asking for more after he quickly finished his first bowl, and they made it just in time. They sat close together, sharing a bus seat, sides pressed up against each other so that their shoulders were touching. Good Luck found himself looking out the window in a desperate attempt to distract himself, his attention caught when he saw Funshine pull out his phone and check for any messages from Cheer. Nothing yet. He sighed, defeated, and put his phone back in his pocket, noticing Good Luck looking at him and giving him a slight smile. Good Luck returned it and they continued the rest of the trip in comfortable silence.

Finally, it was their stop, right by Cheer’s house - so they didn’t have far to walk. They thanked the bus driver and hopped off, watching as it drove away before walking down a few houses and seeing Cheer’s, stopping in their tracks at the mailbox.

There was a little bit of caution tape, and a lot of broken class. The sides of the house were covered in wet, black spray paint, and the lawn had clearly been driven on - probably by the police when they arrived (because they only had room for two cars in the driveway). The sight unsettled the both of them, but probably Funshine even more. This home had been Cheer’s since she was adopted. That was when she was just a young girl. And she and Funshine had met then, because of their parents’ close relationship. Funshine would have spent a lot of his childhood in this home as well, and to see it smashed up and vandalised probably would have hurt him. Good Luck could see it in the way he tensed up, and he nudged his side softly, reminding him that he was there too and bringing him back to reality. Funshine flashed him a thankful look and they walked down the driveway, growing curious about the absence of Cheer’s car. Only her parents remained at the end of the driveway. But as they approached the house, they noticed a dark figure there already, scrubbing at the wall.

“Robbie?” Funshine was the first to point her out, his voice laced with confusion. The sound of his voice must have been Robbie’s first indication that anyone else was there, because she jumped and clutched her chest before she turned to face them. “What are you doing here?”
“I’ve been here all night?” Robbie replied, still catching her breath.

“Oh, really?” Funshine then half mumbled to himself, “Cheer didn’t tell me that.”
“What are you doing here?” Robbie turned the question on them, looking between them.

“We came to see if everyone was okay. And to help. Where’s Cheer’s car?”
“You just missed them,” Robbie’s voice softened, as if the need to be defenseless was lessening the more she talked to them. “Cheer and her parents are off to the station. They asked me to stay behind just in case - ‘cus we don’t know who else Bluster and Malcolm are involved with.”

This time, Funshine fully mumbled under his breath, “You?” and Good Luck resisted the urge to hit him, not wanting to bring any extra attention to him saying anything at all. Instead, he decided to just talk over him, finally speaking up. “What are you doing?”
“Oh, I’m just… trying to clean up,” she said, almost shamefully.

“Really?”
“Yeah. This one wasn’t… er… me. But, I’m still responsible in some way.” She paused, and Good Luck could see clear regret in her eyes. “They only asked me to keep watch. I thought it would be nice for them to come back to at least some of the damage gone. Especially now that the police said they were done with everything here.” 

The two of them looked at her hand, dirty and wet and holding a soggy towel that was already covered in paint remnants. And then they looked down at the bucket full of soapy water, and then at each other, and Good Luck could see it - a spark of compassion and understanding finally hidden within Funshine’s previously distrusting gaze. And he stared at it, until Funshine admitted defeat. He closed his eyes, took a deep breath, and then turned to face Robbie - who was staring on silently with an eyebrow raised.

“Can we help?”
And they did. Robbie went inside to get some more towels for them, Funshine having to bite his tongue to resist saying something quippy like “I know where the towels are, this is basically my second home”. But he was well behaved. They all shared from the same bucket, but helped wipe the graffiti from the wall in record time. Then they carried the TV out, safely removed any broken glass (with gloves), tidied up Cheer’s room, and went back to working on the graffiti on the front side of the house. The wind began to pick up, and as they were scrubbing away at the paint, Good Luck felt a sudden chill, shivering and holding his arms until the gust of wind went away. Funshine immediately noticed, looking down at him and asking, “Are you okay?”
“Yeah, it’s just cold.”

“Take my jacket,” Funshine decided, dropping his towel in the bucket for a moment and taking the jacket off, walking closer to Good Luck to put it on him.

“No, dude, I’ll be okay-”

“I’m hot blooded, bro. Remember? Besides, it’s technically yours.”
Good Luck breathed in defeat and put his arms through the sleeves, guided by Funshine, who didn’t move away until he was satisfied and the jacket was on.

“All better,” he said proudly, going back to his post and squeezing the soaked up water out of the towel he dropped earlier. 

Good Luck felt embarrassed to have Funshine fuss over him like that, but in another way, it made him feel… good. He realised that he probably didn’t even need the jacket, considering Funshine’s actions alone were enough to raise his entire body temperature a good 10 degrees. His mind clouded with thoughts, and his scrubbing got lazy - but not even moments after that, Funshine was fussing over him again, leaning over him and policing how he was scrubbing.

“You’re not pushing hard enough,” he announced.

“Bro, stop-”
“Here.” Funshine leant fully over him now, and he could feel him, all of him, pressed up against his back as he reached over and pushed Good Luck’s hand further into the wall, moving it like he was teaching a toddler how to wipe a wall. Good Luck felt frozen again, his mind clouding even more, leaving him with nothing to do or say but to watch as Funshine taught him how to do what he was doing perfectly 10 minutes ago. After a few wipes, he let go, and Good Luck kept wiping at that intensity. Funshine nodded approvingly at him. He felt embarrassed again.

“I have to ask,” Robbie began, her eyes glued to them, entire body standing facing them as if she had been watching the entire time. “Are you two, like, together?”
Good Luck had never felt all of the blood in his body run so cold, so fast, in his whole life.

“Like a couple?” Funshine clarified.

“Yeah.”
Funshine looked at Good Luck with a smile, as if holding back laughter, and then back at Robbie. And Good Luck knew it was over for him. This was the first time anyone, aside from himself or Cheer, had talked about them in that kind of way. It was Funshine’s first time hearing it, too. They had joked around, but they were clear jokes - this was someone who didn’t know them very well genuinely asking. Good Luck knew there was absolutely no way out of this without having his entire day ruined. He braced himself for whatever Funshine’s answer was gonna be.

“Nahhh,” he grinned. A stupid, oblivious grin that made Good Luck want to rip his own insides out. Then, he pat Good Luck’s back roughly, the way friends do - friends, which is what they were, not a couple - and went over to grab his own towel again.

“Oh, ‘cus you act like it,” Robbie concluded.

And that was the end of that conversation. 

Good Luck couldn’t bring himself to say another word while they cleaned. Funshine and Robbie did end up sharing some words that turned into conversations - and Good Luck did still find himself watching over Funshine, as if he was a dog that could bite at any moment. But he still remained well behaved. And after a while, the two shared a laugh, and started getting along. 

A while later, they heard a car pulling up in the driveway, and saw Cheer’s car filled with her family inside of it. Good Luck watched Cheer’s face light up as she saw the three of them, no less them repairing the damages to the house. But she seemed mostly relieved to see Funshine, and Good Luck recalled her several messages to him overnight. She had probably been too distracted to check her own phone in the morning, too stressed about everything, tired from lack of sleep. She pulled up and parked the car, and the family came out one by one. But it was Tenderheart who approached them first - whilst his partners Wish and Bedtime followed slower with Cheer - his aura intimidating as ever. But he smiled at them, and nodded his head in Funshine’s direction.

“Thank you for helping,” he said genuinely, his deep voice rumbling in his throat.

“It was Robbie’s idea, actually,” Funshine corrected him, nodding over at Robbie, who had become the same shy and awkward girl they had met at the lunch suddenly, looking shyly at Tenderheart as if looking for his approval. Good Luck waited in apprehension for Tenderheart to give it, and he did, giving her a nod of her own. Her eyes sparkled a little, but she tried to brush it off, probably to seem less desperate than she was. 

He looked back over to Cheer, who was watching them from a distance, but still nodding along as if she was listening to her other parents talking to her. He met her eyes and realised suddenly that her relationship with Robbie would be her own internal battle, the same way Good Luck’s with Funshine was. And Cheer seemed to realise that, too, as their eye contact said a thousand words between them whilst saying nothing out loud.

He turned back to look at Funshine out of the corner of his eye, and tried not to think about Robbie’s question too hard.

Once Wish had noticed that they were all cleaning up the mess she hurried them inside, thanking them endlessly and offering them anything they could need - a blanket for the cold, some tea or something to eat (which Funshine happily accepted, clearly not full from his two bowls of cereal that morning). They sat around in the living room on the couch, an empty space where the TV used to be, as they talked and discussed everything that had happened.

“Have you told my dad?” Funshine asked, his mouth still full of warm toast with jam, prepared expertly by Bedtime (his “specialty). 

“No, not yet,” Tenderheart admitted. “But I might, now that it’s all over.”
“He complains about being out of the loop so much just because he lives so far away, so you better.” And Tenderheart let out a hearty chuckle. Despite everything, the state of the house, and how tired (almost) everyone was - the atmosphere was calm, and everyone seemed to be happy. Half of it must have been the relief that they were finally caught, Good Luck thought, looking at Robbie now - who was sitting close to Cheer on the other side of the long couch, smiling. If her life was anything like the rumours made it sound, then she was probably just happy to be in a place with such positive energy, and people who cared about her, too.

They stayed around for lunch. And then helped them move a new TV into the living room. And by about 4pm, Good Luck and Funshine decided it was time to head off. They caught the next bus to the university campus, where Good Luck figured he would be happy walking home from.

“You alright to go home?” He asked Funshine, looking up at the tall student accommodation building in front of them, with the endless windows that housed so many students…

Funshine laughed. “God, no. My place is a mess and I don’t know how to take care of myself.”
“Just sleep for the night and worry about it in the morning.”

“You don’t have to tell me twice,” Funshine said, stretching his back out. “I feel gross from all that lifting. And from being awake since 6, probably.”

“Don’t ruin your sleep schedule.” Good Luck smiled at him.

“No promises.”

And they parted.

– 

[Messenger] “the squad”

funshine😎: ouhghghghgh you guysgvsssssssss

funshine😎: im sooooooooooooooooooooooooooo sickkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

funshine😎: :((((((((((((((((

share bear💜🩵: oh no! are you ok funshine? (๑-﹏-๑)
funshine😎: noooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

funshine😎: im sooooooooo sickkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkkk

Grumpy.: Boo hoo.

funshine😎: hey

funshine😎: be nice im sick

Good Luck groggily checked his phone. It was 8:28 - which meant he had totally missed his morning run and messed up his own sleep schedule. Great. He decided he felt comfortable blaming the night before for that and begrudgingly sat up in bed, stretching, yawning, adjusting his eyes, and deciding he was finally ready to face the day. He looked at the notifications on his phone as they kept coming through.

[Messenger] “the squad”

share bear💜🩵: what kind of sick ?

funshine😎: i got a major cold for real

Cheer🌺🌈: You weren’t wearing a jacket yesterday. Probably checks out.

funshine😎: that was charitable of me

funshine😎: u wouldn’t understand.

He’s talking about me, Good Luck realised, remembering how Funshine had insisted on giving Good Luck his warmer jacket back. He must have just braved the cold for the rest of the day, because Good Luck was watching him the whole while and didn’t notice a shiver on him at all.

[Messenger] “the squad”

share bear💜🩵: do you want me to come over and look after you? ♡

Good Luck felt a pit in his stomach and decided that maybe sleeping and hiding away from the world wasn’t such a bad idea after all. He fell back into his bed and stared blankly at the ceiling for a moment, closing his eyes and wishing that would erase all of his jealousy, when a few minutes later, his phone buzzed. He opened his eyes in surprise and sat back up, reading the notifications on his phone - and the one that he had special notifications on for.

[Messenger] “the squad”

funshine😎: naww it’s ok thx share tho

funshine😎: ive got my own personal care taker that ik will do anything to help poor old me

[Messenger] 

funshine😎: heyyyyyy

Good Luck rolled his eyes, but couldn’t deny the slight feeling of satisfaction he got when Funshine turned her down for him. He felt mean about it. Share was the loveliest person he knew. But for once in his life - he was someone else’s first choice. He didn’t want to lose that. He replied instantly.

Good Lucky🍀: yeah ill come over whatev

Funshine’s response came as immediately as his own went.

funshine😎: YIPPEE YAY!!!!

funshine😎: thx bestest ever!!!!!

–

Good Luck arrived promptly at Funshine’s. Knocked on the door and then realised it was already unlocked - as always, careless Funshine - and let himself in.

“Your front door was unlocked, dude,” Good Luck scolded him, making his way straight to Funshine’s room, knowing that is exactly where he would be. It was still trashed, the way it was before, but it wasn’t like he could do anything about it now. He was in bed, shivering, despite the mountains of blankets on top of him.

“I know, I unlocked it when I got up earlier, ‘cus I didn’t want to have to get up when you got here.”

“You’re so lazy.”
“Excuse me,” Funshine feigned offense, coughs spluttering up. “I’m sick.”

“I’m sick of you being sick,” Good Luck retorted back, sitting on the edge of his bed, looking down at him with sympathy despite his attitude. It was kind of his fault that he got sick, after all. “Anything you need?”

“A new body,” Funshine croaked, the sickness clear as day on his face now. In between nearly every word was a disgusting sniff, and if he breathed too hard he broke out into coughs. Good Luck remembered that he had said yesterday that he already felt gross, the worst of it must have developed overnight.

“Anything obtainable?”

“Water…” He mumbled, as if he hadn’t had water in days. 

“Okay. I can do that.”

Good Luck went to the kitchen, got him a glass of water, and then came back. Funshine drank it up like he was parched, and then put the glass on his bedside table. And then Good Luck noticed that the usual tell-tale signs of a cold were nowhere to be seen. No pain killers, tissues, nothing.

“Have you taken anything?” He asked.

“I don’t have anything.”

“Do you have tissues?”
“No…” he mumbled sadly. “I’ve just been wiping my nose on this extra blanket.”

“Dude.” Good Luck stood up. “Gross. That should have been the first thing you asked me to get you.”
“Don’t leave yet… You just got here.”
“You’re gonna be complaining the whole time if I don’t get this stuff for you.”

“There’s paper towel in the cupboard somewhere. In the kitchen. Lemme use that as tissues for a while and then you can go.”

Good Luck just stared down at him, not sure what to say. And then he decided that he would just do as he says. That was the whole reason he went in the first place, anyway. But what frustrated him was Funshine’s desperate need to keep Good Luck around. He could just go to the nearest convenience store - there was one not far from campus, because of course they’d keep one close for the students. He would be gone for 20 minutes max, he had no idea why Funshine was acting like he was gonna die if Good Luck left his dorm.

Pushing aside the bubbling frustration that only threatened to grow more as his search was increasingly unsuccessful, he eventually found an almost-done roll of paper towel and brought it back into Funshine’s room. 

“Thanks, bro,” Funshine breathed, taking one and immediately blowing his nose into it. Good Luck was put off by it but then began debating in his head if it was better or worse than watching him violently throw up into a toilet bowl - three times. And decided that this was probably better. So he put up with it.

“You good?”

“For a bit.”

Funshine looked around for a place he could put his “tissue” which prompted Good Luck to look around for his bin. It was still totally full of torn up and crumpled pieces of paper, but he still picked it up and brought it over for Funshine.

“Thanks,” Funshine said, in an extremely nasally voice.

Good Luck put it down next to him and looked around the room, realising how much of a mess it still was. Then, he just shook his head.

“Do you still need me?” Not that he was planning on leaving, but he didn’t want to awkwardly hover around him.

“For company.”

He sighed, and hung around at the door for a little while, leaning on the door frame and checking his phone for any notifications he missed.

[Messenger] “the squad”

Cheer🌺🌈: Sending good health!! ❤️

Grumpy.: Rest up. Get well soon.

share bear💜🩵: hope you feel better funshine!!! ⸜(｡˃ ᵕ ˂ )⸝♡

As oddly frustrated as Good Luck felt, he had to face the fact that Funshine had chosen him over Share. Share who was probably, realistically, way more qualified to look after him while he was sick. And would have been way nicer about it. He loved feeling chosen, but he definitely wasn’t doing anything to deserve it. So, he decided, he would help clean Funshine’s room before he went and bought him the supplies he needed to get better. 

He started with the paper on the floor. Easy enough to take to the kitchen bin in a few trips, and then the floor was walkable again. The pens and highlighters used to take notes were scattered on the desk, some had rolled off and fallen behind it. He picked those up and put them back in his open pencil case. Then he tackled the rest of the stuff on his desk, and bedside table - empty bottles, cans, and packets for food, not that there were many. And slowly, as Good Luck placed things like his laptop and chair back where they belonged, it started to look like the bedroom of a functioning adult again. Unfortunately, that functioning adult was still in bed scrolling reels on his phone as he watched his best friend do all of the cleaning. Still, with his congested voice, he said thank you.

“Someone had to do it,” Good Luck bit back.

“You’re so feisty today,” Funshine finally said. Because of course he would call it out.

“...sorry.”
“...I hope I didn’t inconvenience you. By making you come out here.”

The sincerity in Funshine’s voice shocked him, and he paused where he was standing to look over at him again, seeing the regret in his sick and glassy eyes. And then Good Luck realised he was probably going too far. He didn’t know why he got so frustrated with Funshine sometimes. Maybe it was because he woke up and got hit with jealousy from Share. Maybe it’s because of the question Robbie asked the day before. Maybe it’s because Good Luck couldn’t be normal about anything. 

“No, no… I just… Missed my run this morning. I guess I’m kind of grumpy because of it.”

“You woke up late?” Funshine asked.

“Yeah.” Good Luck leant down and picked up some clothes from the floor, deciding that all of them are probably dirty and needed a clean. As he was going through them, he found his own clothes - the ones that he had lent Funshine months ago. And then he realised that Funshine was still wearing the clothes he borrowed from yesterday. He must have gotten back into his dorm and passed out immediately again.

“That’s unlike you.”

“I know,” he mumbled, half ignoring him as he sorted through more clothes, his mind stuck on other things. Funshine went quieter after that, and Good Luck figured he must have just opened his phone up again, but when he glanced over - he was just staring at the ceiling, silent aside from the occasional sniff. Good Luck took the pile of clothes and put them on the couch to deal with later, and then walked back into Funshine’s room, where he suddenly said after a while, “It might be the sickness talking, but… I think I want to take a year off. Get away from school.”
“Really?” Good Luck replied, finally locked into the conversation. “Are you sure?”
“I think,” Funshine mumbled, turning over to look at Good Luck with sleepy eyes, fighting to keep them open with every passing second. There was an unfamiliar look in Funshine’s eyes that Good Luck couldn’t place, or make out well enough, and he figured it must have just been the sickness. 

“Maybe think about it a bit more,” Good Luck advised him, wondering what Cheer would say if she was the one he was having this conversation with. “It’s a big commitment. To drop out this early.”

“I know, I know,” Funshine mumbled, waving his hand at Good Luck lazily, as if brushing off his concerns. It quickly went tucked back under the covers again, his shivers slowly starting to ease as his body began to drift into a light nap. Before he did, though, he mumbled, “I don’t know. I just want to be with you.” Leaving Good Luck to wonder what he meant.

Frustration bubbled up inside of him again. But this time, he couldn’t ignore it. He didn’t know what he was more mad at - Funshine, for saying stuff like that - or himself, for not being normal about it. He needed to get away from him. And he figured that now would be the most perfect opportunity to. No awkwardness, no feelings hurt, and no whining - he would go to the convenience store, buy everything he needed, drop it off and leave. Just say he needed to do something at home, or run an errand he forgot about, or something. The more he thought about things, the more energy he felt tingling through his body, and he realised how much he was struggling to cope without having his morning run. It used to be a walk, but it had evolved into a run over the past few months. Running must have been what kept his head clear on most days. Yeah. That was probably it. It wasn’t anything else.

He took Funshine’s spare keys and left the place, locking it behind him, and he walked to the store. He walked quickly, like he was on a time limit, but it was really just a limit of his own. He felt like he was going to explode if he didn’t get the energy out of him, if he wasn’t taunted by the fact he would have to see Funshine’s face again before he left. He grabbed electrolytes, pain killers, tissues and throat lozenges and then made his way back to the dorm. He dropped the bag gently at Funshine’s bedside - hoping, praying he didn’t wake him - and then turned to leave, shutting his bedroom door gently behind him as he did. He locked the front door from the inside and left without looking back, typing out a message for Funshine to read if he woke up.

Good Lucky🍀: i got you what you need. its in the bag by ur bedside

Good Lucky🍀: if u need anything else ask cheer maybe if shes here. she’s close

Good Lucky🍀: i gotta go run an errand.

Not exactly a lie. He didn’t have to run an errand, but he did have to run. He started the second he left campus. He ran for the beach. It was a 50 or so minute walk, but much less of a run, one straight road all the way to it. That was one of the appeals of their university, that it was so close to the coast side, but for them, it was just what they were used to.

As he ran, thoughts also ran through his head. Thoughts about Funshine. And him. And how he was going to ruin everything if he kept things the way they were. How could Good Luck risk a friendship as special as theirs? With his stupid feelings that he tried so hard to push away, but never could? Didn’t try hard enough, he thought bitterly, running until he finally saw the horizon line where the ocean met the sky. It was windier by the coast. It was windier this entire side of the state, but it was especially right along the beachside. Nothing to block it from coming in. And it hit so much worse with the winter chill.

Good Luck didn’t pack heat for this. This beach run was a completely unexpected detour, but he figured it didn’t matter. He was running fast enough that his own body would be creating enough heat to keep him warm the entire way. He took a minute to breathe, though, as he crossed the roads and made it to the foreshore. He walked through the greenery, fiddling with his hands, flexing his fingers as if it would help push the angry energy out of his body. And once he finally made it to the sand, he ran.

It wasn’t conventional. The sand kicked under him and made it hard to keep his pace, but he was grateful for the forceful wind on his face, the chill in the air and the burning in his throat reminding him that he was alive. He was away from Funshine. Which is where he should always be. The closer he got to Funshine, the worse things became. He got frustrated, and slept less, talked less, got angry at Share for nothing, and risked ruining a perfect friendship. Years and years of memories, at school, with their friends, and their families… all of that could be ruined if Good Luck slipped up. And he had realised that having Funshine in his life was more important than kissing him. He could live with doing it once. That should have been it. He should have kept withdrawing, he shouldn’t have given in so easily when he saw his stupid face that morning on the run -

“Good Luck!”

His name sounded in the distance behind him and he turned around, slowing his run to a jog and then to a slow walk as he squinted and immediately recognised Funshine in the distance, still wearing Good Luck’s light gray shirt and loose jeans. He waved in his direction as he ran to catch up with him, and Good Luck immediately turned and walked towards him, too, tensing up.

“What are you doing? ” He said harshly. “You’re so sick, don’t tell me you ran here-”

“I didn’t want to be alone.” Funshine cut him off, and the vulnerability in his voice made both of them stop and stare at each other in surprise. Funshine was still catching his breath, Good Luck’s own breaths sounding small in comparison, his stamina clearly better after all of his fitness. Funshine cleared his throat and added, awkwardly, “I, uh. I saw you leave. And the message. You sounded mad, I-I got scared, I don’t know- I don’t want to make you mad, it’s just, you’re so important to me Good Luck.”
Don’t, he thought. He bit his tongue. Don’t say that.

“Just tell me if you’re mad,” Funshine pleaded, a sadness in his bright blue eyes. “You know how worried I was last time. If I did something, tell me.”

“You didn’t.” It came out more forceful than he intended.

“Good Luck, I… I’m not stupid. There’s something wrong and you’re not telling me.”
“There isn’t.”
“Please…” Funshine stood now, his breath fully caught, but his shoulders sank. He looked frail, pathetic even, shivering in the cold and sniffing every two seconds. “I… I didn’t want to stand earlier. But I just got out of bed and chased after you like it was the last time I’d ever see you.” Good Luck’s eyes widened, and then the sadness in Funshine’s eyes got replaced with fear. “I-I know that’s probably not… I know, that’s weird, right? God, I- I don’t know how to…” He made a noise that was something between a laugh and a scoff, and then he bit his lip, carefully choosing his next words, but they all tumbled out one after the other, like he hadn’t rehearsed any of this or even meant to say it at all. “I… Good Luck, I love you, dude. Like, stupidly. Like, put-me-down stupidly.”

Good Luck stared at him. He didn’t move. His expression didn’t change. And every second of his silence made Funshine spill more.

“I’m sorry, I know, it’s so stupid. I’m so stupid. I don’t know what’s wrong with me. I shouldn’t - you probably - I don’t know. I just like you a lot. I don’t want to be the thing that fucks us up. It’s probably too late for that now, though, I-I’m sorry. Just. Fuck, Good Luck.”

Silence.

“Look - I… I get it, if you hate me now - it’s weird. I’m weird. It’s… god, fuck , it’s cold…” he held himself now, shivering, looking somehow more pathetic and small the more he talked. The more he fumbled over his words and struggled. Good Luck noticed the friendship bracelet he was still wearing, clearly visible around his wrist. “Maybe it’d be for the best if I froze and died out here, huh? Haha…”

Nothing.

“You… you keep telling me to be honest. I thought… shit, you could hate me for it. You probably do… But I can’t… stop feeling this way. It’s been driving me crazy. I… I’m sorry. I don’t know why I said it, I-”

“What are you saying?”
Good Luck’s first words. The only four words he could think of. He was stunned. And he had no idea how to feel. Or what to think. He needed Funshine to tell him.

“I don’t know. I don’t know! I just…” He paused, and then met Good Luck’s eyes. But the expression that followed wasn’t what you’d expect. It wasn’t short of desperation. “I want to kiss you so bad.”

Don’t. Do. This. Not now.

“B-but I’m sick, so.”

Good Luck didn’t know what it was. But those few words - stuttered, frail, so stupid -… Like the only reason he couldn’t kiss Good Luck is because he’s sick. Not because Good Luck didn’t feel the same way. Just because he’s sick. 

“I don’t care.”

“W-what…?” 

And there it was. That same pathetic, sad look that drunk-kisser Funshine had given him that night. That dejected look, and what followed was the exact same thought. The fear in Good Luck’s heart that he had messed up his one chance with Funshine. Which, back then, wasn’t even a chance at all. It was nothing. But this was something. This was real life Funshine, spilling his heart out, coughing his lungs out on the beach and shivering like a chihuahua because he wanted to be with him. 

This time, he wanted it to be on his terms. He wanted to do what he had done the last time they had kissed - forgotten about it.

“I don’t care that you’re sick, ” he corrected himself, stepping towards Funshine and grabbing his cheeks, pulling him in for a kiss that had built up in his head for years. This wasn’t like the birthday kiss - this was, put frankly, everything he had wanted and more. His lips were cold when they collided, his cheeks even colder, but being near him made him warm. Uncomfortably warm. And it only got warmer. But the taste was sickening… literally. He wasn’t sure what made him feel worse - kissing Funshine’s sick mouth, or knowing that by doing so, he was actively destroying what he had sworn to protect. Their friendship.

In the last few seconds of the kiss, sure that it was the last, Good Luck pressed against him harder. And for a moment, he felt like his soul was trying to leave his body, to run to Funshine’s for safety. But he didn’t let it. Before he felt like his heart was about to jump out of his chest, he pulled away, still holding Funshine’s (now warm) cheeks. Funshine stared at him, amazed, scanning his face for any kind of reaction. And doing the same made Good Luck’s heart ache, and his eyes began to water.

“Go home, Funshine,” he said, removing his hands from Funshine and turning away from him, feeling the cold wind hit him all at once, reminding him that the world was still around them. He held himself as he walked, his soul hoping that maybe, just maybe - Funshine would run after him again. But his brain told him to keep walking, and to not look back.

Chapter Text

Good Luck got sick very quickly.

He wanted to blame it on going out in the cold. On cleaning Cheer’s house. On anything - anything but kissing his sick friend on the lips. He hardly even remembered what went on in his head before he did it, only that he knew he couldn’t look Funshine in the eyes for a long time now. So, instead of going straight home, he went to the last place Funshine would expect him to go.

Share’s house.

Grumpy would have been his second choice, had he not been busy already, and Good Luck didn’t want to risk getting poor Dibble sick. Cheer he knew Funshine would go straight to, and she lived too close to him as it was. So Share was the last option. She had offered to look after Funshine when he was sick - but he wasn’t sure if that would extend to him as well, seeing as he wasn’t the guy that she had a crush on. Anymore, at least.

By the time Good Luck knocked on her door, he was already starting to feel weary. He had asked if he could crash for a bit and she welcomed him politely. She could tell there was a certain air hanging around Good Luck, one that said that something was wrong, but she didn’t push or pry. That was another thing that made Good Luck choose to go to Share rather than Cheer. Cheer knew what was going on in Good Luck’s mind. She probably would have prodded him until he got answers - not that it was a bad trait of hers, but because it involved her brother as well, which meant she wouldn’t have been easy to keep in the dark. Share was very patient, and it helped that they were the least close in the whole group, despite having a lot in common. He felt comfortable in her home.

So comfortable, in fact, that the second Share offered him the couch to rest on, he had passed out for a few hours. When he woke up, he felt groggy, sore, sick - and worst of all, selfish. 

Good Luck blinked and rubbed his eyes, sitting up against the arm of the couch now, leaning into the soft pillows surrounding him. What he noticed as well was the new addition of a blanket covering him that definitely wasn’t there before he fell asleep. The heating was on and kept the room at a comfortable temperature, if not for his own rising body temperature. He sniffed once, twice, a third time - and swallowed, and realised with frustration that Funshine’s sickness must have spread to him too. 

“Oh, you’re up!”

Share’s cheery but gentle voice rang from behind the couch and he perked up at the sound of it, looking over in her direction. She faced him with the same caring, approachable smile that she had when he opened the door. Questions very clearly painted on her face, but questions she would wait for the opportunity to ask. He looked down at the blanket again, feeling a warmth of newfound appreciation for his friend pool in his chest.

“Yeah,” he replied groggily, giving her a weak smile. “Thank you. For the blanket.”
“It’s nothing,” she said kindly, making her way towards him and sitting at the end of the couch where his feet were. “You were shivering, even while you were asleep.”

“Ugh,” Good Luck groaned and rubbed his face with his palms. “Yeah. I don’t feel good.”
“You don’t sound or look good,” Share observed. Then, she covered her mouth in surprise, and shook her hands around nervously, saying, “I mean, sickness wise. You don’t look well. That came out so wrong!”
“It’s okay.” Good Luck laughed, and she laughed, too. “I know what you meant.” She got up and walked over to him, pressing the back of her hand on his forehead, moving his fringe out of the way as she did. Good Luck looked up at her focused face and noticed how her soft purple hair fell delicately across her cheeks, and her eyelashes fluttered with every blink. He wasn’t attracted to her, but it was no joke how pretty she was. He thought for a second about how she probably would have been doing the same to Funshine, had he accepted her help instead of asking for Good Luck’s…

But he asked for Good Luck’s help. 

Which, in a weird way, meant Good Luck won. He felt selfish again.

“You’re flaring up, that’s for sure.” Share’s voice knocked him out of his thoughts, and he struggled to look at her in the face after thinking ill about her. “Did you get sick from Funshine?” Good Luck’s entire body froze. She could tell, too. She took a step back and released his forehead, putting her arms on her hips and looking at him with a faintly cross look. “ Good Luck ! You should have been looking out for yourself as well. That’s a no brainer when you’re taking care of someone who’s sick. Here, I’ll get you some medicine, and a cup of tea. Is that okay?”

He nodded his head, not looking up at her until she had her back turned and was leaving the room. He heard her rustling about in the distance, the sink running as she washed her hands, cupboards opening and closing as she prepared his tea.

Good Luck gripped the blanket, fiddling with it anxiously as he thought over in his head about how she scolded him for not looking out for himself. But he was. He kissed Funshine on his own terms. Their friendship was doomed by his feelings from the start. Even if Funshine actually liked him, he had no idea what he was getting himself into. How much the feelings were ruining. How much more they would ruin if Good Luck stayed around and confessed his own love, too. He was looking out for himself. And for Funshine. Right? Every thought frustrated him more, and he felt himself heating up even more, gripping the blanket as if it could absorb his feelings.
A few minutes later, Share strolled back into the lounge with some medicine and a steaming cup of tea, and she leaned down to settle it on the coffee table beside him, but stopped in her tracks when Good Luck suddenly blurted out, without thinking, “We kissed.”

Share didn’t respond for a moment. She didn’t place his mug on the table. She just sort of… hovered, looking at him. After a few heartbeats Good Luck swallowed the nervousness in his throat and met eyes with her, expecting to be met with rage - only to be met with understanding and empathy. He didn’t untense, waiting for her to change her mind, but only grew more confused when her first response was.

“Is that it?”

“...what do you mean?” Good Luck mumbled quietly. 

“Is that what’s got you all upset?” She said, her voice softening. Instead of placing the tea on the table, she instead only placed down the medicine, and handed him the mug directly. Their hands met for a moment when she passed the mug, and he could feel how warm and soft she was. Like her entire physical presence was made to comfort him in this moment. She took her seat at the end of Good Luck’s legs again, putting her hands politely in her lap and looking at him expectantly. “I could feel it from you the second you showed up at my house. I mean, me? The first person you came to? Something had to be wrong, even if I couldn’t feel it.”

“I…” Good Luck blushed a little, embarrassed at being read so easily. “I don’t mean to be so distant. Especially not to you. It’s just…”
“Just what?”
“...I thought you’d be… so mad.”

“Me? Mad?” Share tilted her head, not a hint of understanding in her gaze. “Why?”

“Because… Don’t you like him?”

“ Funshine? ” Share giggled, catching Good Luck even more off guard. After a moment, she tucked her hair behind her ear, and looked away. “Sure, he’s cute. But… I have my eye on someone else.” She turned to look at him and put a hand on his knee, leaning in with a smile, her eyelids curved up. “So you don’t need to worry about that.”

So, Cheer was right.

“Why aren’t you with him right now, then?”
The question threw him off a bit. Probably because he wasn’t expecting much else from telling Share that he had kissed Funshine than a “get out of my house I don’t want to be friends with you anymore”. But he realised this whole time, he was probably thinking all of the wrong things about her. He had been nothing but selfish, storming off to her house on a random day, asking to stay and invade her space and time, falling asleep on her couch immediately, and now making her wait over him and take care of his sickness. And yet, she still approached him with kindness, patience and understanding. He knew his friends cared about him just as much, but knew it wouldn’t have been as easy for them to drop everything to help him out on such short (if any) notice. He had definitely been taking Share for granted.

“I had to get away from him, or it’d ruin our friendship,” he finally decided. That was the intention, anyway. Right? He found himself second guessing him the more Share talked to him. He was so sure in the moment that kissing Funshine and running away was the right thing to do. It was what Funshine had done when he was drunk. And then Funshine forgot about it. So maybe if he had done the same, he could have forgotten about it? They could kiss, distance themselves, get over it, and then be friends again. Or something.

“What do you mean?” This time it was her asking.

“I…” He started talking before he had even thought of an answer. So he stopped. And thought. And looked at Share, and looked away. Bit his lip, fiddled with the blanket. Because every passing second made him become more unsure of himself. “I could barely function around him, Share. I’ve liked him for so long, but recently it’s been… bad. Like, I’d get frustrated. At him. At myself. I don’t know... It was ruining us.”
“And you think… hiding here will fix it?” She said it gently and kindly, as if trying her hardest to sound genuine rather than condescending. But just talking to Share made him nervous now. She was so sure of herself, taking care of him. It made him feel small. Like he was just a child she was sitting for - talking about a stupid preschool crush, when she was out here being an adult with a job. 

“...Yeah.”

“...who kissed who?”
He looked away and blushed, trying to ignore the skip in his heart at the question, pushing aside any ounce of hope he had left. “...I kissed him.”
“Right.”
“...but he asked for it.”
“Okay.”
Good Luck felt uneasy, but realised that Share was probably doing the right thing. She was breaking it down for him. Helping him figure it out. She must have noticed how unsure he was, and her caring instincts kicked in. She probably had so much practice breaking down big problems into smaller ones for the kids. 

“From where I’m standing,” she began slowly. “You’re the only one letting it ruin your friendship. Because him asking for it clearly means he wants you, too. The same way you do.”

“...” Good Luck swallowed. Silence hung in the air. But it wasn’t uncomfortable, at least not between them. Good Luck’s uneasiness grew, but it was entirely internal, focused on his deal with Funshine. Half of him felt like he made a mistake, leaving so quickly. Or even by kissing him in the first place. But he ran through the other options - turning him down would have ruined their friendship. Kissing him and staying would have ruined their friendship. Kissing him and leaving meant they could take a break from each other, forget about it like the last one, even if it meant wrecking the friendship for a little bit… It was the least amount of change. 

Right?

Share opened her mouth again to say something, but her phone interrupted her, the ding surprising both of them and ruining the quiet air of their comfortable conversation. She held up a finger to tell him to hold that thought and opened her phone.

“It’s Funshine,” she breathed. Good Luck perked up a little and scooted closer to her, trying hard to make sure he didn’t breathe his sickness onto her,  and she turned her phone in his direction as well.

[Messenger] “the squad”

Funshine😎: hey gang anyone know where good luck is rn?

Good Luck looked at Share from the side and met eyes with her. They didn’t say anything to each other, but Good Luck watched her as she typed slowly, hesitating before hitting send on her message as if waiting for him to interject. But he didn’t. He didn’t know what he would even say in this situation. He wasn’t really sure of anything anymore.

share bear💜🩵: i know. he’s safe

Funshine’s response came instantly, as if he hadn’t even closed his phone.

Funshine😎: where is he????

Share typed slowly again. This time, waiting until Good Luck had any reaction at what she had typed. He just quietly nodded.

share bear💜🩵: i’ll let you know eventually

Funshine didn’t reply. But Cheer did.

Cheer🌺🌈: What’s going on???

Good Luck covered Share’s phone with his hand and pushed it down, indicating to her without words that they shouldn’t say any more than that. She got the idea and turned it off, putting it gently onto the coffee table and then sitting back up straight. Good Luck threw his head back and covered his face with his hands, groaning before burying his head into his knees. He sniffled.

“I hate being this much of a nuisance.” 

Share gently hit his side, causing him to look up at her now. Out of the entire conversation they had, and how difficult Good Luck was being, it was only now that her voice hinted at any sort of frustration. But it was out of kindness. “Don’t say that about yourself. You’ve never been a nuisance in all of the years I’ve known you.”
“I just showed up at your house, slept on your couch and now I’m dumping all of this on you.”

“You’re troubled, ” she corrected him, placing her hands on his cheeks and holding his face, forcing him to look her in the eyes. “I want to be here for you.”

That struck his heart. He immediately felt a pain in his chest that he couldn’t quite explain, and he felt his eyes glossing up. Funshine always made him feel seen, he appreciated Cheer’s willingness to listen to his troubles, and he had plenty of bad days with solutions created by Grumpy, but it wasn’t often that he was affirmed that he wasn’t as much trouble as he thought. That he didn’t need to be so quiet, to talk about himself, and get involved - because people did want to be around him. It felt different coming from Funshine, it always did. Because they were best friends. And despite that, every action Funshine did towards him left him asking more questions. But from Share, a friend he didn’t have as strong of a connection with, someone who had been brutally honest with him in the most caring way despite the trouble he caused her… It pained him. In a good way.

He chuckled, trying to cover up the emotion. “You’re gonna get sick too if you aren’t careful.”
“Eh,” Share shrugged, letting go of his face now. “You’d be amazed at how much tolerance I build up by being at the daycare! So many kids come in coughing and sneezing.”

He laughed, and she laughed. And then his mind trailed back to the matter at hand. Growing curious now, he pulled his own phone out of his pocket - which he had silenced on the walk to Share’s house immediately after getting one message from Funshine. He hadn’t even read what it was. He just saw his name and immediately decided it wasn’t worth it, muting his chat. He saw multiple unread messages from him but decided against checking it. He had made the choice to leave, he had to stick with it if their friendship was ever to go back to the way it was before. But he did notice another notification from a short while ago that wasn’t from Funshine, but probably related.

[messenger]

Oopsy⭐: Hey where are you?

Definitely related.

Of course Funshine would have gone to his house to look for him. He realised he probably made the right call hiding out at Share’s instead. He imagined Funshine wandering around, eventually going to his house, giving up and writing in the group chat instead… he felt bad, especially knowing how sick he was, and that he definitely wasn’t dressed for the weather. He was probably gonna get even more sick. And it would be his fault. But he did leave him everything he would need, and Funshine did get him sick as a thanks - so he figured it was probably fair.

“Do you wanna talk more?” Share asked kindly, leaning over and looking at his face. Good Luck quickly typed a short “don’t worry I’m fine” message to his brother to calm him, and then looked back at Share with a smile.

“Only if you talk too.”

–

[Messenger] “the squad”

share bear💜🩵: i’ll let you know eventually

Funshine stared at the message on the screen. He was warm from running, his temperature changing so rapidly that it was probably freaking out his already sick body - but upon seeing Share’s responses, he truly felt the coldness of the wind around him. It was like all of the blood had drained from his body in an instant. He felt his throat tickle and then coughed, and coughed harder, his lungs straining as he did, and then he just backed up against the nearest wall and slid down onto the ground. He dropped his phone carelessly onto the concrete beside him and rubbed his hands over his face, through his hair, and finally settling them on his cold cheeks, staring blankly at the ground in front of him. He bit his lip. He swore he could still taste him.

It was so bad that Good Luck had gone to Share. 

It was no secret now that they were together. Funshine knew he wasn’t the smartest, but he definitely wasn’t stupid enough to think otherwise after she was the only one who knew where he was. But Funshine knew better than to rock up at Share’s house to surprise the both of them. Good Luck told him to go home, and proceeded to ignore every single message he sent him. He didn’t even respond to his own brother, who grew worried when Funshine appeared sick and breathless at his doorstep asking if Good Luck was home. It was very clear that Good Luck wanted nothing to do with him right now.

Then why did he kiss me?!
Funshine picked up his phone and held it in the air, ready to throw it with full force onto the road nearby, watch a car run it over and destroy his pathetic attempts at contacting his best friend. But then he realised that would be stupid. More stupid than telling him he wanted to kiss him.

But why did he, if he hates me so much?
He wished he was smarter. He wished he didn’t even chase Good Luck. But then, he realised, this probably would have happened anyway. For a reason Funshine couldn’t quite place, Good Luck hated him and wanted to get away from him. That’s why he left his dorm in the first place. That’s why he went to the beach. So why couldn’t he have just respected his wishes and left it at that? Why couldn’t he have just been comfortable with letting Good Luck go?

Because I love him.

Funshine lowered his arm and let it hit the floor. The cold air filled his lungs and he had a coughing fit again, his coughs almost turning into laughs as he felt the phlegm fill up his throat. He was so stupid. He couldn’t do anything right.

Failed his job. Failed school. Failed his family. Failed his best friend. If only he wasn’t so full of emotion, if only he had taken those damn pills, focused on school like a good kid - instead of catching feelings for his best friend, ditching work… He didn’t know what to do now. He felt a familiar sense of hopelessness and sadness, one that had made him reach out to Good Luck in the past - but that was out of the question now. There was only one other person he could think of that would deal with his bullshit right now.

So, he went to her. And as he stood, nervously on his feet, knocking on her dorm door - he feared the conversation ahead of him.

The door was answered quickly. Cheer basically threw the door open, a concerned look in her eyes, but she didn’t look surprised to see him - Funshine’s thoughts being confirmed by the very first thing she said to him. “What did you do?”
She let him inside and watched him as he walked over to her couch and sat carefully on it, worried that any sudden movement or panic would freak her out as well. His leg bounced nervously and he fiddled with his hands, avoiding her gaze as she walked over and sat on the couch chair nearest to him, staring at him. “I saw the group chat. What happened?”
“We, uh, maybe, uh…” Funshine’s eyes darted around the room, everywhere but at Cheer. “We… uh…. might have kissed.”

“...you and Good Luck?”

He nodded silently, looking up at her now. He didn’t know what he expected her to do, but it was definitely a lot more than she was doing. She just stared at him, waiting for more context. But she didn’t seem surprised, almost like she expected this to happen. But not in the way that it did. After a few moments, he couldn’t resist the cough building up in his throat anymore. It broke the silence, at least.

“Where is he now?” She asked.

“At Share’s, I think.”
“Why is he not with you?” Cheer pressed, holding intense eye contact with him.

“‘Cus I think he hates me…?”
“Wh-” Cheer looked genuinely confused now. “What could you have done to make him hate you?”

“I don’t know, Cheer!” Funshine burst out, his own confusion and frustration evident. But he wasn’t frustrated at Good Luck. Whatever he did to make Good Luck hate him, it was probably fair enough. It wouldn’t have been the first time. But even without alcohol, he still found some way to mess up the one piece of stability in his life. It was typical. “I thought we were cool! But-”
“But then you kissed?”
“Not even! He wasn’t happy with me ever since I asked him to help me earlier ‘cus I was sick. I don’t know. We were fine before today. I don’t know what changed.”
“Wait, so when did you kiss? Why?”
“...” He suddenly felt a light blush creeping up on his cheeks. He felt embarrassed. He didn’t really want to admit to Cheer that he had stupidly poured his heart out after chasing him all the way to the beach. It was stupid and cliche and way too openly emotional for him to admit to anyone else. He sighed. “...he left. And sent me a message that felt kind of angry. So… I chased him. And found him and, well, we kissed.”

“And now he’s avoiding you?” 

“I guess.”
Cheer let out a heavy sigh that sunk onto Funshine’s shoulders - reminding him of the nuisance he was becoming. It wasn’t an unfamiliar situation, for Cheer to be frustrated with him - but for Good Luck, and probably Share, too? (Grumpy was usually more frustrated with Funshine than happy with him, it was banter, he was used to that). It killed him. He cast short glances over at Cheer as she pinched the bridge of her nose.

“You couldn’t have just waited until after this party,” she breathed, half joking, half frustrated. Funshine perked up a little bit, relieved for a different topic of conversation, even if just for a moment. “You got the clearance?”

“After so much convincing,” she replied. “You know how tough my parents are to convince for stuff like that.”
“When is it?” 

“This Friday. Town hall. Open invitation for all students.”

“Woah. Sick.”
“Yeah, well, now our group’s gonna be split for it,” she shook her head. “Dammit, Funshine…”
Funshine felt his heart sink into his stomach. He wanted to point out that it wasn’t his choice, really, it was Good Luck that kissed him - but he still didn’t know why. And he wouldn’t have said it in the first place if he felt he was going to lose any chance of ever saying it if he didn’t. He had done something to upset Good Luck… it was probably his fault. In some way. He hung his head and mumbled nasally, “I’m sorry.”
Cheer seemed to suddenly realise the weight of her words and she started shaking her head again, getting up and moving closer to him. She knelt down in front of him so that she could look up and meet his sad face, and she looked at him with regret, as if she hadn’t meant to be so harsh. He couldn’t figure out why Cheer was specifically blaming him, but figured it was fair enough.

“No, no, just…” She sighed, and patted his knee, getting him to look down at her. “I’m gonna get you a jacket and a blanket, for starters. Then let’s figure this out.”

Chapter Text

Surprisingly, Good Luck stayed the night at Share’s house. She had offered for him to stay on the pullout bed that was a part of the couch, and he agreed, sending Oopsy a message to not expect him home but telling him where he was as well. 

He was feeling a bit better already thanks to Share’s remedies, as much as he could tell his cold had only just begun, his heart at least felt a little more at ease. He figured that it was worth spending time with her while he could, and it was only fair considering he had basically forced himself on her in the first place. They stayed up chatting, learning more about each other, and after a while Share started yawning and went to bed for the night. The lightness in Good Luck’s chest only lasted for a little while after she went to her own room, and then his reality crashed down on him again. He thought for a long time before he eventually went to sleep.

He woke earlier than Share and offered to leave her house before she had to. She fussed over him like a mother to her child, sending him home with throat lozenges and painkillers, though he was sure he probably had some at home. He thanked her with a grateful heart and made his way back home, back to the familiarity of his own bed, and he collapsed on top of it.  He instinctively opened his phone and scrolled through messenger, seeing Funshine’s chat still lit up with unread notifications. Good Luck itched to click them. But he remembered Share’s words, as she encouraged him to take the time that he needed, reassuring him that she would ensure Funshine got the idea to leave him alone for a while if he hadn’t already. But the messages kept coming through, as if he knew it wouldn’t get through to him, but wanted to try anyway. To show that he wanted to.

And Good Luck wanted to talk to him, too. But he didn’t want to ruin things. Their friendship was special. He wanted more - of course he did. He thought about how kissing Funshine for real felt. He wanted more of it. But he also just wanted… normality. It was something he had wished for every single week. No more getting frustrated at himself for freezing up around Funshine, analysing his every move, struggling to hang out in their group of friends…

Maybe he was the problem.

Then, a message in the group chat. When the last thing had been Cheer’s question. This one was longer, and covered up the previous day as if nothing had happened. Grumpy probably had been too busy to see it, or maybe asked someone in private. Grumpy was always the best at reading the room, anyway, and if Good Luck was appearing unreachable to the others then he probably would have reached out to Funshine at least. The thought of being talked about by Funshine sent a shiver down his spine, and he tried to push away the flicker of satisfaction it gave him by opening the message in the group chat.

[Messenger] “the squad”

Cheer🌺🌈: Hey guys! I’ll send out an announcement to others later, but you guys get it first.

Cheer🌺🌈: EOSY party at Town Hall this Friday, 4PM!
Cheer🌺🌈: The rest of our year is invited too. Alcohol will be served. Food will be provided.

Cheer🌺🌈: (It took a lot of convincing my parents, but I thought we could make it extra nice since our holiday got cut short)

Cheer🌺🌈: See you guys there!

Good Luck’s eyes widened at the invitation. Town Hall was a crazy big deal, but it was probably nothing to Cheer’s rich family. And having alcohol served probably explained having it further from campus, and Cheer needing to convince her parents. He thought about it, and it sounded fun - going with all of his friends, celebrating the end of the school year, maybe drinking a little bit… but the excitement stopped when he realised that Funshine would probably be there. And things would be different.

He knew he wanted to talk to Funshine again. He wanted to make things normal. But he hadn’t actually thought about how yet. He figured a week or a month might be a good enough amount of time for them to spend apart - sure, it would mean that the group couldn’t hang out for a little while. But surely they could... without Good Luck. It wouldn’t make much of a difference anyway… he figured that he would probably skip out on the party, so he didn’t ruin things. 

Suddenly, ruining his train of thought, Oopsy burst into the room with tears in his eyes. Good Luck quickly sat up on his bed, disregarding his phone for a moment and opening his arms for Oopsy.

“Hey, what’s wrong?” He asked, worried. Oopsy just melted into him, crying softly into his shoulder, letting himself be held by his older brother. Good Luck rubbed his back and waited for him to catch his breath.

“My grades… They’re so bad,” he sniffed. “Mom wasn’t happy. I can’t do anything right!”
“Hey, breathe, you’re okay in here,” Good Luck hugged him tighter. Oopsy took his advice, and they sat in quiet for a few minutes as Good Luck comforted him until his tears began to flow slower now, a small sniff once every few seconds, but he could breathe at least now. Good Luck put his hands on Oopsy’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes until he felt okay enough to talk.

“...I can’t pay attention in class. All I can focus on is drawing. So my grades are bad. It’s bad enough that they came out later, because I always hand in my work late…”
“Oopsy…” Good Luck mumbled sadly. He thought a little about the familiarity of the scene and realised that Funshine had said something similar to him regarding uni. He had always had trouble in school as well, the same way that Oopsy was having trouble now. It wasn’t until later into high school that his family had enough to get him tested for ADHD and further get the pills for him. The pills he didn’t even take. He thought sadly about the promise he made to Funshine, to help him figure things out during the break… and then he remembered what Funshine had said to him. His solution was taking the year off. Spending more time with Good Luck. He had ruined that. Good Luck had ruined that.

He tried to push that aside and make a new promise, one that he thought he had a better chance of keeping, of not messing up - “It’ll be okay. We’ll figure something out.” He hugged his brother tightly, hoping that would be enough to comfort him, while he thought more about what he had said and how familiar it struck him. Funshine specifically mentioned doodling in his books and Good Luck remembered checking over at his side of the desk in highschool, math especially, to see him doodling some new character he created or drafting comic pages instead of paying attention. But the shine in Funshine’s eyes when he showed Good Luck made it hard for him to ever tell him to stop and pay attention instead. It was clear he had such a passion for art - but ever since uni, that passion had been destroyed. Probably because he had forced himself into a course he didn’t want to do, and wasn’t able to keep up.

He didn’t want Oopsy to share the same fate.

Good Luck thought for a second, and a lightbulb lit in his mind, only to be shattered seconds after. He thought that it might be valuable for his brother to talk to Funshine about it, to share experiences and maybe get some advice. If only Good Luck was talking to Funshine.

After a little while, Oopsy calmed down, and Good Luck suggested to him that they play some video games together to forget about it, which he agreed to with a small smile. He ran off to his room to set up his console and Good Luck got ready to follow him when he got another notification from his phone - a chat he hadn’t silenced, because it was hardly ever used.

[Messenger]
share bear💜🩵: hey good luck!! ꉂ(˵˃ ᗜ ˂˵)

share bear💜🩵: are you coming to Cheer’s party ? ♡ you could use it i think!

share bear💜🩵: and i need someone to go with since Grumpy isn’t coming (╥﹏╥)

Good Luck parked himself back on the side of his bed and swiped open his phone, staring at the chat for a moment. He didn’t really want to go. He had already decided he would skip out on it, figuring that the group would probably be better off without him around to make things weird, like he already had with Funshine. And if Funshine was there, it would probably turn out worse.

Good Lucky🍀: you aren’t going with Cheer?

share bear💜🩵: noo, she already has a plus one…

share bear💜🩵: c’mon!! it’s the least you could do after crashing out at my place (..◜ᴗ◝..)

He sighed, and figured that if that was how she felt about it, then he would have no choice than to accept her invitation. He thought that, at least, it felt good knowing that someone wanted him to be there. Maybe it would be good to have some time to celebrate, since so much of it had been ruined by Funshine. And even if he was there… he was probably going with Cheer. But as long as Good Luck had Share with him, then he could probably just cling to her for the whole night, right? And Cheer would probably understand from a glimpse. 

He hit his forehead with his fist a few times, telling himself to knock off all of the overthinking - it was what was ruining everything. His friendship with Funshine, and further, the stability of the whole group. Share was right. He did need this. A night to just have fun, no more thinking. He would survive, Funshine or no Funshine.

Good Lucky🍀: when you put it like that, I can’t say no hahah

Good Luck turned off his phone and left it in his bedroom, leaving behind all of the thoughts and worries, as he followed Oopsy’s trail further into the house.

–

It was Friday 3:15pm, and Good Luck had just finished getting himself ready for the party. He had decided to just go in something casual but nice - a jacket over a hoodie, familiar jeans and sneakers, nothing fancy but not draggy, knowing he wanted to look decent for his friends and peers. Especially when Cheer had put so much effort into planning something for the university.

He brushed through his hair and clipped his earrings in, sprayed himself with his nicest cologne, and then stared at himself in the mirror. The longer he stared, the worse he felt. It didn’t matter how nice he tried to look, just seeing himself in his own skin made him uncomfortable. Thankfully the majority of his cold had gone, it was only a small one, but the occasional sniffle remained. Feeling miserable for himself and only being able to sleep through the day definitely helped give his body the rest it needed to recover. 

The thought of potentially seeing Funshine that night deeply unsettled him.

Missing him deeply unsettled him.

Cutting Funshine off was his decision. But so was kissing him. Which meant that going to the party and seeing him would be his decision, too, even if he was bribed into it by Share. But maybe things would be okay. Maybe Funshine would have got the idea - that Good Luck didn’t want anything to change. That he just wanted things to be normal, their friendship to remain special. They could pretend it never happened. Good Luck could go back to suppressing the feelings. That way, he wouldn’t be making a big deal, or dragging his friends into his mess. Good Luck could go back to being the person in the group that never had any issues and could be there for the others.

He was knocked out of his thoughts when his notification sound rang from his phone, and he blinked before reaching into his pocket to check. It was Share letting him know that she was on her way. Share’s mom, Harmony, was driving the two of them to the party. Good Luck suggested that he could just get an uber and meet her there, but the both of them had insisted, and as much as Good Luck didn’t want them to make a big fuss over him, he couldn’t turn them down. It turned out that Share got her persistent kindness from her mother after all. So, once they arrived, he waved goodbye to his brother on the way out and hopped into the backseat of their car.

“Thank you again for picking me up, miss,” Good Luck thanked her politely, giving her a shy smile from the backseat. Share’s mother, Harmony, made eye contact with him through the rear view mirror, but Good Luck could see her cheeks glowing with a smile even from where he was sitting.

“It’s really no problem, darling!” She beamed back. “I couldn’t let one of my daughter’s friends waste money on a ride to this party, let alone her date!”

Good Luck looked to the other front seat where Share was, and she had turned to meet his eyes with an apologetic, almost embarrassed, look. She shrugged and tried to politely correct her mom as the volume of the radio started to creep up. But anything they had said after that wasn’t heard by the boy, who had already turned his attention to the outside of the window, wanting to avoid the awkwardness as well as being lost in his own thoughts. Would anyone else consider them going as dates…? And by ‘anyone else’, he clearly only had one person in mind whose opinion of that would matter to him. But if it were true, it would force his and Funshine’s relationship to stay platonic, right? Then nothing would change. But… deep in his heart, he knew that he wouldn’t be satisfied with anyone else as his date. Not that this party even required dates in the first place.

Cutting off Funshine clearly did not help how much he was occupying his thoughts.

The rest of the car ride involved small talk between the three of them, which Good Luck didn’t mind. He was used to small talk, considering how little he talked about himself and his feelings, it always kept things at a comfortable distance, and it gave him the opportunity to ask more about the other. But the more he talked, the more he felt energy slowly disappear from his body. He didn’t know how long he was gonna last at the party, and even before he got there he was already starting to regret agreeing to come when the only person he really wanted to see was Share. Harmony and Share’s conversation regarding who else they knew was going to the party only made his worries grow more.

After a long 10 more minutes of Good Luck anxiously tapping his foot, they arrived at the town hall. He thanked Harmony once again as him and Share hopped out of the car, waving her off. Once he had a moment to breathe the cool afternoon air, he looked to his side at Share and noticed how pretty she looked in her outfit. A flowy purple dress going down to her knees, some short heeled boots and a few pretty bracelets adorned around her wrists. Her wavy hair was half tied up, resting over her shoulders, and he noticed a little bit of makeup that helped her face glow as she smiled kindly at him. He wondered if the person she mentioned being interested in was going to be at this party too, or if she just looked this pretty all of the time.

“You ready?” She asked him, looking at him with gentle and understanding eyes, as if she knew the answer would be-

“Not really.”

“It’ll be fine, Good Luck. Remember, it’s just a night of fun!” Share said, wrapping herself around his arm reassuringly. “You need it. Forget about everything and just mingle. Have some food, dance a bit, I’ll be there with you!”

Good Luck met her eyes and gave her a half-arsed smile, deciding that there was no way out of it now. He had agreed to come for Share’s sake, he just had a quota he needed to fulfill - being there. Maybe he would leave early, if he could slip away from her at some point, but he had to at least try. He had already stolen so much of her effort and time, dumping so much on her, becoming a burden to her… he couldn’t act selfish now.

So, they went in, passing a few members of the student council on the way in, saying casual hellos and observing the state of the massive hall. There were quite a few people there already, standing in familiar friend groups, taking turns going towards the snack tables and buying themselves drinks from the bar. There were signs up celebrating the students on a year of hard work, balloons and streamers, as well as some coloured lights. The vibes in the room were light and fun already, despite the doors opening not too long ago. 

“This place looks so nice,” Share voiced his thoughts out loud beside him. “Cheer really outdid herself!”
“Yeah,” Good Luck agreed, unable to hide the way the corner of his mouth upturned in a smile at the thought of it. Cheer did always exceed at planning and leading things, it was no wonder she was able to plan something as big and spectacular as this, especially with how much extra time she dedicated to organising the student council. Comes with being the daughter of the school founders, he supposed. He looked around the crowd, trying to scan for her. “Speaking of, is she here yet?”
“Hmm, I don’t see her,” Share mimicked him, squinting her eyes against the crowd. “It’s not like her to be late to something she planned. Even if this isn’t technically late, I suppose.” Worry began to prickle under Good Luck’s skin, seemingly felt immediately by Share beside him, ever the empath. She quickly composed herself and wore her usual reassuring smile, dragging Good Luck towards the bar to look at their options. “I’m sure she’ll be here soon,” she said, pointing at the menu board behind the bar. “Do you want something to drink? I can cover for you!”

Good Luck responded with his usual answer of, “No, it’s okay,” but looked at the menu anyway, casting a few looks at the entrance anxiously as he and Share had a look. Share spoke her thoughts out loud beside him, but he knew she would settle on something classy like a wine, it was what she and Cheer always drank together. And would probably drink together once she got there. Which made Good Luck recall back to her texts… mentioning how Cheer already had a plus one. He decided to focus on the best option, which would be that the plus one would be Robbie. He was sure that after the whole fiasco, Robbie helping out would mean she was at least allowed to attend this party, right…? Even if she was expelled from the university…?

But Good Luck’s spark of hope didn’t last long, because a few moments later, Cheer finally walked in. And the person trailing behind her was definitely not Robbie. It was the all too familiar sun-tanned skin, bright blonde hair, and stupidly cheesy grin of Funshine himself. And Good Luck instantly realised that he was definitely not as prepared to see him again as he thought he would be. The last time he saw him they had just kissed. What was he supposed to do with that?!

Good Luck didn’t realise he was staring until Funshine’s eyes met his, and he felt his entire body run cold, turning his head back around towards the bar fast enough to give him whiplash. 

“Good Luck, are you okay?” Share looked up at him and then past his head, lighting up when she saw Cheer and Funshine walk through the door. She looked back to Good Luck with a smile that instantly faded when she realised the gravity of the situation. They met eyes, and he hoped that his own would silently communicate how he was feeling to her. And, thankfully, they did.

“Hey, do you wanna grab a bite? I can go and meet up with them.”

He nodded quickly at her and she let go of his arm and slipped away, leaving a cold empty space beside him. But Funshine had already spotted him, so if he wanted to move, he had to do it quickly. Good Luck cautiously moved through the crowd and towards one of the furthest snack tables, accidentally bumping into a tall, strong body the moment he tried to catch a glimpse back at Funshine as he walked.

“Ow- s-sorry,” he mumbled awkwardly, dipping his head in embarrassment.

“Hey, you’re all good, bro. Oh, wait - Good Luck!” The voice was strong and confident, and it took Good Luck a moment before he recognised it as Superstar - one of Funshine’s distant friends through his old sporting commitments at high school. He was always one of the most popular students, with so many friends and so many talents, so he always felt way too out of Good Luck’s league to be talking to, despite Funshine’s efforts to bring Good Luck along to games and practice sessions for fun. But, to Good Luck’s surprise, his presence must have left some sort of impression on him to be recognised like this. “How you been?”

“O-oh, good, yeah! And you…?” Good Luck stumbled, honestly star struck, and already overwhelmed by the stress of the party to be able to compose himself.

“Yeah, uni’s been great! I definitely miss the old team, though. You’re not with Funshine tonight?”
“...uh, I’m actually here with someone else, Share?”

“Ooh, I know her! She’s lovely. Are you two…?”

“Well, um-”

“Good Luck! There you are!” Cheer’s voice rang in his ear, and he realised it was too late to run. He saw her approaching him with her arms held open, giving him a big squeeze and then stepping away to look at him with a smile. “I’m so glad you could make it!”

“Thanks, Cheer,” he replied shyly, lowering his head to avoid eye contact with her and instead looking at Share, who apologised with her eyes as she came over to the group with Funshine at her side. Thankfully, though, Superstar stepped in before Funshine had a chance to approach Good Luck.

“Funshine!” Superstar exclaimed happily, hitting Funshine’s side. Funshine laughed and gave him a short, manly hug, and the two began to talk, Funshine’s voice loud and warm, but so distant. Cheer continued talking beside Good Luck, and Share had joined the conversation. But Good Luck couldn’t focus on her, not with Funshine so close - and throwing a quick glance in Funshine’s direction informed Good Luck that Funshine had his eyes glued onto him, even whilst catching up with his former teammate. His skin began to crawl, and suddenly the noise in the room was too much for him. His chest felt tight and he felt his whole body rush with warmth, and in a split second decision, he leaned weakly into Share and told her, “I’m going to the bathroom, I’ll be back.” Without waiting for an answer in return, he made his way across the room towards the bathrooms, slamming into the door to open it and rushing to the sinks where he splashed the cold running water onto his face. After a few splashes and some dripping wet strands of hair, he took a deep breath and slowly met his own eyes in the mirror.

What am I doing?

Coming here was a mistake, clearly. There was no way he could logically avoid Funshine without making things worse. And he couldn’t face him, either, that fact was becoming more apparent the closer they got to each other. That would only make things worse, too. He could hide out the night in the bathroom, surely. Maybe Share wouldn’t mind.

He thought back to Share, and her kindness, and her advice. He thought about what she had said about their friendship, about who was ruining it and why… It was Good Luck. Every decision he made to try and make things better, to make himself seem like less of a burden, to make people worry about him less and keep things the same they always were… backfired. Horribly. And made things more different, made him more of a burden, and ruined everything.

Funshine was the one that said he wanted to kiss him.

So why couldn’t Good Luck let that just be true? Why did he have to worry so much about everything being such a big deal? Why did he cling so hard onto normality?

He spent the next few minutes cursing himself out, and he didn’t realise until he was done how intently he had been staring at himself in the mirror, trying to dissect his brain and figure out what part of him made him think any of this was right. He wanted Funshine from the very beginning, and when it came to actually getting him, he couldn’t believe that he was wanted. And this was the mess it had created. His friends were weird, he was weird, everything was weird. It was the furthest from normality that it could have been. This was supposed to be his night of fun and normalcy - and not even 30 minutes into the party, he was already disgusted by his own reflection in the mirror. 

The door opened beside him and the last person he wanted to see at that moment walked in.

“Good Luck?”

His blue eyes met Good Luck’s and he knew it was over.

“Are you okay?”
Good Luck said nothing. He stared at him for a moment - he wasn’t sure why - and then he tore himself away from his gaze. He looked back at himself in the mirror and administered all of the strength left in his overstimulated body to respond with, “Yeah.”

“...Okay.”
Tension hung in the air. Tension like Good Luck had never, ever felt before - definitely not with his best friend of all people. He wanted to leave and escape, but that was the reason he had come into the bathroom in the first place. Curse Funshine’s curiosity, curse his caring nature, curse his love for Good Luck. He hoped that Funshine was satisfied and would leave, but shortly after he hesitantly continued, as if not wanting to leave Good Luck again.

“...so, you came with Share?”
“...” Good Luck remained unmoving, apart from his eyes, which turned to look at Funshine as he awkwardly spoke.

“You two aren’t… like…?”
“No,” he answered forcefully. He was a bit sick of people assuming so. And he didn’t want to admit the reason why he was so sick of it, because the reason why was in the room with him. It frustrated him and he began to lose himself again, his emotions taking over. “Why would you even think that?”

“I dunno, man, you two have just been close since- and we- I don’t know.”

“...”

“...Look, I just want to talk to you about-”
“God dammit, Funshine!” Good Luck groaned, totally losing his cool, even causing Funshine to flinch in defense. He had completely lost his composure at this point, and the realisation that everything was his fault and that he did want Funshine still was not helping. “I just want things to feel normal. Just for one night. I don’t want to keep… thinking. Or talking. I’m sick of this voice in my head! Just let me have one normal night.”

Funshine stared at him with wide eyes, unsure of what to say. “...okay.”

“...”

“...”

Good Luck watched as Funshine swallowed nervously and asked, “Can I… be a part of that?”

“If I want to feel normal, no,” Good Luck retorted, splashing his face with water one last time before pushing past Funshine and out of the bathroom, leaving him in there alone. He didn’t know what he was doing, but before he knew it, he had ended up in front of the bar and was ordering a drink. Nothing flashy or tasteful - just whatever he knew had a good amount of alcohol in it. 

They were told to drink responsibly, especially considering it was kind of a school event, but Good Luck was desperate for something that could make him stop thinking. Something that would distract him from the overbearing guilt and self pity he was feeling for ruining his own relationship with his best friend. He couldn’t bear the embarrassment. He didn’t know what he would do if he let his anger at himself build up any longer, but he knew it would hurt somebody. It would hurt Funshine. Hell, he probably already had - in the bathroom, even before that when they kissed, and Good Luck ghosted him. Fuck, what was he thinking? Another drink in, and he realised that Funshine was still watching him from across the hall, keeping his back glued to the wall, trying to avoid meeting eyes with him. Probably out of fear of upsetting him. God, what an idiot, Good Luck cursed himself the more drinks he downed. Funshine was never the one upsetting him. It was himself all along. But he was just so afraid of admitting that he was the problem, the thing ruining things, that he decided to blame it all on Funshine. On how much Funshine cared, and wanted to be around him, his desperation for their connection - the connection that Good Luck just tore away from him when he needed it most. He wanted to never cause trouble for his friends, but he was the trouble. Funshine deserved better than him. Maybe that was it. 

Another drink in, and Good Luck felt his control slipping. The thoughts began to come in less coherently, and slowly but surely his wish had come true. Less thinking, but the emotions were still there, and when Share finally found him an hour later, he stumbled into her with teary eyes.

“There you are! You had me worried sick! I got caught up in a conversation and- Good Luck, are you alright?” Her voice was thick with concern as he leaned into her.

“I’m thirsty,” he groaned.

“I’m sure we could get you some water from the cooler-”

“Noo, from the bar.”

“Do you want bottled water? It would be costly…”

“No, I mean, let’s get a drink. On me. Mm, Cheer, too. Where’s she…?”

“I think she’s checking stuff over with the student council. Really, Good Luck, are you okay?”
“I,” Good Luck breathed heavily. “I’m okay. I want to do something for you, since you’ve done so much for me. Let me get you a drink. And then me another one.” 

Share narrowed her eyes at Good Luck and then grabbed his chin gently, steadying him so that she could get a good look at the state he was in. He was sweating a little bit and his eyes were already drooping with tiredness, as well as glistening with barely contained and unexplainable tears. After a few heartbeats she shook her head and stared at him with concern. “Have you been at the bar? How many have you had? It’s not even 7 o’clock.”

“Not that many, Share, I swear,” he lifted his arm to pull Share’s hand away from his face dismissively. “Don’t worry about me. I don’t want anyone to worry about me. I’m sick of people worrying about me. I’m fine, I’m always fine.” Three drinks in and Good Luck was already having trouble separating his thoughts from his throat, and the second he opened his mouth they spilled, and there was nothing the last remaining bits of his consciousness could do to stop himself.

“Sorry, I’m back!” Cheer came prancing over to the two of them, grinning and standing confidently. “Was just checking numbers. What’s going on?”
“Good Luck is drunk already,” Share said shortly, turning to face her. The grin on Cheer’s face faded immediately to concern, as a single of her eyebrows raised.

“That’s unlike you, Good Luck,” she said, with a layer of understanding laced in her voice. She and Share met eyes for a moment and seemed to come to the same conclusion, because seconds later they were looking around the room again. “Where’s Funshine?”

“Don’t,” Good Luck pleaded drunkenly, leaning into Cheer and grabbing onto her arm for stability. He didn’t want to make a fuss. That was always his priority - to remain as camouflage as possible, to stay unproblematic, unbothered and casual. But with his logical brain out of the question, Good Luck quickly learned what type of drunk he was. “Don’t bring him over here.”

“Why not?” Cheer asked, flicking her gaze between Share and Good Luck. She had a look like she knew something more than she was letting on, but it didn’t get through to him. Instead, he was too distraught at the thought of having to be around Funshine again. Last time he saw Funshine he was still watching him from across the room, but Good Luck had stopped looking for him after a while.

“I…” Good Luck’s voice was heavy as he struggled to come up with an answer. His mind was foggy and his heart was too sore. “Doesn’t matter. Just - come on, I can get you guys wine.”

Good Luck turned in the direction of the bar but stopped when he realised the girls weren’t following him. Cheer pinched the bridge of her nose and mumbled under her breath, “Why can’t any of the things I plan go right for us?” before chirping up and walking beside Good Luck, putting her hand on his back and walking him in a different direction with Share at her side, talking quietly to her.

“It’s really okay, Cheer. I made him come here, I should look after him.”

“You didn’t make him drink, though. You shouldn’t have to spend tonight babysitting him.”
“Come on, that’s not nice…”

“Share, when he wakes up, if he gets told he was fussed over all night - he’ll feel like shit.”

Cheer’s words were enough to bring Good Luck’s full attention to the conversation and he gently nudged Cheer off of him, feigning composure as he stood tall and met eyes with her. “I don’t need anyone to look after me. I’m fine. I’m not even that drunk. I can still walk.”

Share and Cheer exchanged questionable glances, but Good Luck didn’t wait around for an answer from them. Taking the outcome of the night in his hands, he marched back towards the bar and ordered another. And another. And everything after that, except for being helped into a car by Cheer and someone else he couldn’t make out, was a blur.

–

Good Luck woke up the next day with a painful ringing in his head. The last time he had drank that much was in highschool, just to see how it would feel. And even then he remained responsible and never let himself drink more than Funshine did. 

As much as Good Luck had previously craved a night without thoughts - he never wanted to lose control of himself like that again. The furthest back he remembered was telling the girls not to worry about him, but it was still far too open than he ever wanted to be in public. 

He squinted his eyes open but quickly covered them with his palms again, rubbing his eyes harshly as if that would help the aching pain in his head any. To no one's surprise, it did nothing. He groaned softly and lowered his hands, blinking slowly at the ceiling when he realised… he wasn’t at home. He looked down at his blanket and realised it wasn’t his own, and then to his side and realised he wasn’t in his room - he was in somebody’s lounge. And that somebody was…

“Good Luck? Are you up yet?”
Funshine.

Good Luck’s heart started to race, but he knew there was no way out. He could pretend to sleep… forever. Or until Funshine had to leave. But he knew what Funshine was like. He wouldn’t leave his dorm until he had answers now. Not that he had anywhere to be - school was over and he was fired from his job. Good Luck might as well grow old and die in this very spot. He threw his arm over his eyes, shielding it from whatever was coming, and let out a frustrated mumble of a “yes”. At the sound of it, Funshine appeared at the foot of the couch, looking down at him with a barely readable, almost sad expression, which Good Luck could only peer at through the nook of his arm before hiding again.

“How do you feel?” was Funshine’s next question. The way he spoke was cautious, gentle, and filled with so much warmth - but not his usual warmth. Not the warmth of the sun, more like the purposeful warmth of a single match, being careful not to ignite a stick of dynamite. And Good Luck was that dynamite.

But he was too tired to fight. He felt sick, sore, and miserable. Avoiding Funshine had only landed Good Luck right in the middle of his dorm with the world’s worst hangover. Clearly that wasn’t the solution to this problem. Which meant there was only one thing left… talking to him. He begrudgingly began to sit up, shielding his eyes against the dim light in the room. Any amount of light felt overbearing to him right now - but at least the light through the window could help him see Funshine better. Now, he looked up at him with squinted eyes, and didn’t let his eyes move.

“Why am I here?” He asked groggily. Funshine blinked a few times and then looked almost disappointed, as if he was hoping Good Luck would have something better to say to him. 

“...Cheer drove us here. She left the party early to make sure you got home safe. She was exhausted and, well, I was worried about you… so… I suggested you stay here tonight.”

Good Luck was thankful for his soberness, because he had to bite back the urge to tell him how selfish it was of him to assume Good Luck wouldn’t have rathered sleeping in his own bed. But in some ways, it was fair enough… he had probably ruined Cheer’s night, for one. And Share?

“Did Share get home okay?” Was Good Luck’s next genuine worry. Funshine just nodded, and he relaxed for a moment, only to fall back into the side of the couch, burying his hands in his face and groaning with frustration. “I ruined everything last night.”
“I’ve never seen you drink like that, dude,” Funshine said gently, sitting down on the other end of the couch so that they were level, but not too close, as if scared he would ignite him. “You… okay?”

“What do you think?” Good Luck retorted back. 

“I-I don’t know, it just felt right to say…” Funshine looked away dejectedly, and in the quiet atmosphere of Funshine’s familiar dorm, Good Luck finally felt truly sober, enough to realise that wasn’t fair of him.

“...sorry,” he apologised heavily, knowing that word alone wouldn’t be able to fix everything he had ruined. “I… this is all my fault. Everything.”

Funshine didn’t skip a beat. “Yeah. You can’t just kiss me and disappear like that.”
Frustration bubbled up inside of Good Luck again, but this time he knew in his heart it was at being rightfully called out. Still, he retorted back, “You can’t just say you want to kiss me out of nowhere!’
“It didn’t feel out of nowhere to me!” Funshine stood his ground this time. “I asked for you to take care of me and you just left like I did something wrong. I thought we were getting closer but… you felt so far away, too. And then you left… Like, it really felt like the only chance I would ever have to say that to you.”

“So you genuinely don’t know what happened on my birthday?” 

“...what?” Funshine froze.

“You kissed me. You were drunk and you kissed me. And then you forgot about it,” Good Luck said seriously, feeling his shoulders lighten the more he talked. Turns out there were good things to come out of kissing your best friend - having nothing to lose. He saw the colour drain from Funshine’s body at the news, and he stared, stunned. “And me? I had to deal with that for weeks. Weeks, Funshine! Do you know how long I’ve liked you? And then you just-”

“So I wasn’t sick on your shoes?”
“No!”

“...so you lied to me?”
Good Luck opened his mouth to speak, his goodness telling him to hesitate, but his aching heart telling him to go for the throat. “Like you can say anything about lying.”

“Alright,” Funshine stood up now and turned towards the door, holding his hands up in defense. But he himself looked like he was bubbling with frustration, too. The sight of it unsettled Good Luck and put him back in his place. Who was he to be angry at Funshine? He could have just said no to the kiss. Instead, he decided to ruin his life. “If you want me gone, I’ll go. I should have taken the hint days ago.”

“No, wait-” Good Luck had no time to think. He let go of the thoughts in his mind and just let himself react how he wanted. And it was a mere second ago that he was sitting comfortably on the couch, draped in a blanket only Funshine could have caringly put there - now, he was off of the couch, leaning over the coffee table with a firm grasp on Funshine’s arm. The action surprised the both of them, and when they met wide eyes, instead of fury - there was a softness there. Funshine’s eyes glowed with some kind of hope and amazement. And for the first time in a while, Funshine’s genuinely desperate soul managed to speak to the longing that Good Luck had tried to push away. Good Luck maintained his grip on Funshine’s arm as they stared, breathing, waiting for the other to do anything, wanting to stay in this moment forever. After some time, Funshine opened his mouth to speak, when a ring at the door made the both of them jump out of their skin. Funshine shared a silent apologetic look with Good Luck until he let go, and walked over to answer the door.

“Surprise!”

Good Luck’s jaw fell open, and he could visibly see Funshine tense up as well. There, at the door, was none other than Funshine’s father, Friend, and his brother, Birthday. They stood there with beaming eyes and wide smiles, absolutely no idea of the tension behind the door they just walked up to.

“How you been, boy?” Funshine’s dad wrapped Funshine in a headlock, messing up his hair playfully. Funshine forced laughter, casting an awkward look at Good Luck. It was then that they realised that Good Luck was there as well, and as soon as their eyes fell on him, Good Luck became embarrassed. If he looked as bad as he felt, he was in no position to be in front of Funshine’s entire family right now.

“Good Luck! We haven’t seen you in so long, you’re so grown!” Friend exclaimed, letting go of Funshine, who added curtly, “You saw him at high school graduation a year ago.”

“Well, I haven’t seen as much of him as I used to, or you for that matter,” his dad responded, letting himself into the dorm. 

“You been taking care of yourself?” Birthday’s first spoken words. Normally he was full of more energy as well, it was no joke that the three of them were related, but he had been unusually calm after the initial ‘surprise’. Birthday peered into the dimly lit dorm behind the door and Funshine took no time hesitating before he stood in front of his brother, obstructing his view, trying to hide the evidence of his mental state. The kitchen was a mess and there were stuff left in the lounge that shouldn’t be there (one of those things being Good Luck), and god forbid they got a glimpse into Funshine’s mess of a bedroom (despite Good Luck’s efforts to clean it up previously, the distance between them put Funshine in a similar spot as before). 

“Yeah, yeah,” Funshine lied, brushing past the topic. “What- what are you guys doing here?”

“We wanted to treat you out for some lunch,” Birthday tilted his head, letting his shoulder-length hair drape over his shoulder. “To see you, and to celebrate exams being over. Good Luck can come, too.”

“O-oh,” Funshine looked over his shoulder back at Good Luck, who just stared back, unsure of what to do. Their timing couldn’t have been any worse. They almost, almost got somewhere. They had a choice now - sit awkwardly together and pretend everything was okay in front of his parents, or let Good Luck leave and mess everything up again. But as Good Luck looked, really looked at Funshine’s expression - he saw a plea. The same plea he saw on the beach. Please don’t leave me again.

“We’ll pay, don’t worry!” Friend beamed. 

Soon, they were in the car and on their way to lunch.

Funshine and Good Luck were in the back seats of the family car. It wasn’t a big car, since it was mostly just used for the family of three when they were growing up - but it was just enough to fit the four of them. Just. There was a sliver of air in between where Funshine and Good Luck were sitting, and every bump in the road made Good Luck’s heart spike. They both looked out of their respective windows, tension still hanging in the air between them. Good Luck trying not to think too hard, and Funshine biting his lip, holding back all of the things he wanted to say. Thankfully, the radio was playing, and Funshine’s family wasn’t trying to pry too much out of them yet. Instead Friend and Birthday were talking about the scenery, as it was pretty far from where they lived. But soon enough, the impending doom of the lunch ahead of them became real, and they were hopping out of the car. Funshine and Good Luck walked side by side, careful not to accidentally bump or touch each other as they squeezed through the cafe’s doors after the other two. They found a seat by a window where the sun was shining through, despite the chill in the air, and they sat down - Good Luck and Funshine remaining side by side. Unmoving, afraid, and longing.

“What would you boys like?” Friend asked them, holding up a menu in front of him that Birthday was looking over at as well, deciding. The question had caught the both of them off guard, as if they were thinking too loudly about other things to remember the situation they were in. Instinctively, Good Luck and Funshine looked to each other, and even a mere glimpse into the other’s eyes spoke of the tension hanging between them, so strongly that neither of them could maintain eye contact for long. Funshine scratched at his neck and Good Luck’s foot tapped against the floor.

“Errr,” Funshine began hesitantly, scanning the menu for the very first thing that appealed to him. “I’ll just have a club sandwich.”

“Good Luck?” His father then asked, turning to the green haired boy.

“Um, I’m fine with just an iced mocha or something, if that’s okay,” he replied politely, smiling kindly at Funshine’s family, trying his best to maintain his impression on them despite how unsettled he felt. 

“You’re not hungry? You sure?”
“I’m sure,” he nodded, ignoring the sting in his stomach. He hadn’t eaten dinner before he left for the party, thinking he would be fed there. The idiot he was - he drank that much alcohol on an empty stomach, wondering how he didn’t end the night covered in his own sick. So, saying he wasn’t hungry was a blatant lie. He figured Funshine would pick up on it, but then realised Funshine was also actively lying to them about much more important things than whether or not he had eaten breakfast.

“I’ll go order, I’ll be back boys,” Funshine’s dad got up and brought the menus with him, walking a short distance away to the counter and ordering for everyone. Birthday turned to the two of them, resting his head on his hand and giving them a friendly smile.

“So, how are things?” He asked.

Very terrible. Good Luck thought silently, waiting for another one of Funshine’s lies to spill out.

“Good,” was all Funshine said in response, pouring himself a glass of water from the jug provided on the table. But Good Luck noticed the shift in Birthday’s expression, the way one of his eyebrows slightly raised, and he tilted his head the slightest way, as if trying to inspect Funshine closer. Birthday had always been a good brother to him. It was probably way too obvious to him now that he could visibly see Funshine that he was being distant on purpose. 

“That’s it?” He added, putting pressure onto him.

“Yeah, I guess,” Funshine mumbled, taking a nervous sip of his water. Every second that passed created more tension in the room, and it made Good Luck’s skin crawl. Birthday’s eyes shot in Good Luck’s direction and they met for a moment, as if he was asking for the truth. Good Luck couldn’t react, but his gaze alone must have exposed Funshine enough, because moments later Birthday released a sigh and leaned back in his chair, lifting his hands over his head and behind his neck, feigning relaxation as he asked. “So, Good Luck, how did your exams go?”
Funshine, mid sip, stopped and resisted a cough. 

“...surprisingly well, yeah.”

“What’d you get?”

“95%, I think.”

“Nice, nice - that means exams results are out for everyone now, yeah?”

Funshine shot Good Luck a warning glance, but what he failed to realise was that the jig was already far from up. Now would be the best and only time for him to come clean. He had to, if he was going to do something else next year - or, worse, drop out entirely unexpectedly. How was he going to explain that to his family, if he kept lying about his results? Good Luck didn’t want to have to be the one to do it… but if Funshine wouldn’t, someone had to. He had to start being honest. With everyone. And that started here.

“Yeah, they are.”

“Ooh, Funshine’s must have come out late, then. Right, bro?”

“...right.” He was not happy. But not in an angry way… more of an exhausted way. Like he, too, knew that he had no other choice than to be honest now.

“So, what’d you get?”

“...23%...” Funshine barely mumbled it under his breath, but it was enough for Birthday to

make out. His eyes widened and his previously relaxed posture dropped, but he didn’t react, until Funshine continued. “And… I found out the day after Good Luck did. Before you called me about it.”

“What?” And now Birthday didn’t look pleased. Funshine flinched, but stared at the floor dejectedly, as if he expected this coming when he told them his exam scores. His dad came over shortly after and pulled out his chair, sitting down and asking what was going on. Good Luck also braced himself for what would come next - the disapproval that Funshine feared, what caused him to lie in the first place.

“Funshine lied about not getting his exam scores.”

They froze. That was what he was mad at? Not the results themselves? Good Luck turned to his side and saw the same surprise reflected on Funshine’s gaze, too.

“What?” Friend stressed, worry in his eyes. “Why?”
“B-because my scores sucked? I thought you’d be so disappointed…” Funshine’s voice was small, and a pang of sadness tugged at Good Luck’s heart at the sound of it. 

“Funshine, buddy,” Friend shook his head lightly, looking at him sincerely. “Bad scores can be worked out. What worries us is the fact that you felt like you had to lie to us.”

Funshine’s eyes glistened over, and he lowered his head, choking up a little. “It’s just… I was the first one of our family to actually go to university. I didn’t want to mess it up but I…I….” He sniffed, tugging at the fabric of his jeans to keep himself composed.

“Did you just struggle with the work? Is the medication helping?” Birthday interjected. 

Good Luck felt his heart stop at the same time as Funshine’s. Despite everything that happened between them, Good Luck still cared about Funshine’s problems as if they were his own. And being at the table with his family recontextualised a lot of things for him. This was stuff that Funshine couldn’t even tell his family, or his other friends - but every topic that got brought up, Good Luck already knew the answers to. That was shared between them. He had wanted to keep that friendship pure and true, destroying it instead by trying to ignore the desire that both of them had for each other.

Suddenly overcome with a powerful urge, Good Luck reached for one of Funshine’s hands on his thigh and held it gently, feeling his fist relax the slightest at the touch. Funshine didn’t turn to look at him, but Good Luck saw the way Funshine’s breath faltered for a second, and he breathed his next reply, one that Good Luck wondered if he would have had the strength to say without his reassurance.

“…I haven’t been taking them.”

“Funshine…” His dad mumbled sadly.

“And I got fired from my job. So even if I had been, I wouldn’t be able to afford any more.”

“You got fired?” Birthday asked, but it went ignored as Funshine continued to spill.

“And if you don’t hate me already, you’ll hate me when I say this: I want to drop out. I never wanted to do piloting.I…” he breathed, and avoided eye contact with them. “I only did it because Cheer was. I’m sorry.”

His family was quiet, and in the quiet, Funshine gained the courage to look at them in the eyes, but not without the tears clouding his own. Good Luck waited for something to happen to kill the aching silence in the group, the only sounds to be heard was the ambience from the rest of the cafe - no one around them aware of the burden being shouldered on this table. After what felt like minutes, Birthday finally spoke up.

“Funshine, if you want to drop out, we’ll support you. You should know this.” He reached over the table and put his hand on Funshine’s arm, squeezing it lightly, maintaining eye contact. “But don’t ever feel like you have to lie to us. Ever. We’re your family. Sure, you’re the first person out of us to go to uni, but don’t you think that makes us want to help you succeed? You can’t do that when you’re… like this.”

Funshine let out a breath that he seemed to have been holding the entire time, and his shoulders sagged with it, like all of the energy had been drained out of him. “And now I’m dropping out. I’ve failed.”

“You haven’t failed. You’re still a kid,” Birthday said kindly. “You can always go back in the future. Or not. It’s whatever.”

“Exactly,” his father affirmed, nodding beside him and letting go of Funshine’s arm. Funshine sniffled beside him a few times, doing the last containing of his tears, before he finally smiled at them. The first genuine, stress-free smile Good Luck had seen on his face in a long time.

“So, what’s the plan for next year, then?” Birthday continued, his genuine concern and curiosity for his brother clear as day. He had been the one asking all of the important questions from the start. He was good.

“I-I don’t know yet… I’ll probably need some… help… figuring that out,” Funshine admitted bashfully, and the sight of him admitting his need for help made Good Luck’s heart feel light. But moments later he was caught off guard by Funshine turning to look in his direction with a smile, and a certain look in his eye that Good Luck couldn’t quite place. “I just want to focus on what’s important to me for a while.”

They met eyes for just a second, but in that moment Good Luck felt peace. Like he was meant to be here, with him. After everything they had done to each other… Maybe there was hope for them, after all.

The rest of lunch was familiar and perfect. The heavy tension in the air littered away, and though Funshine and Good Luck were still a bit weird with each other - avoiding talking to each other or looking at each other, but still enjoying the environment of the lunch - things felt better than they did before. It wasn’t until Funshine’s family dropped the two of them back at the student accommodation building that the tension from earlier slipped back in, and away from the peaceful bubble of familiarity, the both of them had remembered where they left off earlier that day. There was tension in the air again, but this time it wasn’t filled with anger, it was just… awkward. And something more.

Funshine spoke first. Gently, and carefully, like he was scared he would mess things up again. “Do… you want to come back in?”
Good Luck from a few hours ago would have said no. But his gut assured him that the answer was- “...okay. Yeah.”

Thankfully it wasn’t a far walk up the stairs to get to Funshine’s dorm. But it felt so. They walked side by side, but both were focusing more on not bumping into each other than actually walking. It wasn’t until they got to Funshine’s door, and he fiddled, getting it open, that he spoke again. “You know, that was torture.”

“What?”
“Lunch.” He pushed open the door and stepped in, turning back to look at Good Luck to make sure he was coming in.

“What about it?” Good Luck asked, standing at the doorway, afraid of the answer - unsure if it was a good idea to follow him in after all.

“Having to act like you didn’t just literally save my life,” Funshine said softly, and Good Luck’s body relaxed. In fact, it nearly melted with relief. He took slow steps into the dorm after Funshine, past him and back onto the couch. Funshine shut the door after him and leaned against it, folding his arms and staring at Good Luck with an achingly nostalgic smirk. “And trying to cover up how much I want you.”

“Shut up,” Good Luck blushed, grabbing a couch cushion and launching it directly at Funshine’s body. He cowered and tried to block it with his arms, laughing, failing as it hit him and then the floor. Good Luck stifled a laugh, looking up at him with a smile he didn’t even intend to slip out. Funshine looked at him and sighed.
“I missed this. Being able to talk to you.”

“Me too.”

“...I still want to kiss you,” he admitted quietly, and Good Luck froze.

“You can’t just say stuff like that.”

“What, you want me to lie to you?”

Good Luck breathed and avoided his gaze. This was his chance. “...me too.” 

He flicked back to Funshine’s direction when he heard movement and noticed him very carefully walking towards the couch, sitting on the other end next to Good Luck, still a distance away but close enough that he was worried Funshine would be able to hear his heartbeat. He scanned every one of Funshine’s movements as he gripped the edge of the couch nervously, biting his lip as he built up the courage to say something. It lightened Good Luck’s heart to see Funshine act so nervous and boyish, despite everything. Even though they had kissed before, and very obviously shared mutual feelings, here he was fidgeting with himself and planning out what to say in his head. After a while, he finally breathed and turned in Good Luck’s direction.

“Can I?”
Good Luck began to have genuine worries that his heart would stop then and there. As he stared into Funshine’s eyes, he slowly lost a grip on his brain, and his struggling heart finally took over. No more overthinking. No more denying himself of what he wanted out of fear. No more overcomplicating things, playing mind games with poor Funshine, enough of it. There was only one answer to this question, and he knew he didn’t want to say anything else.

“...yeah.”

He blinked, and Funshine inched closer on the couch, still carefully scanning Good Luck to make sure that was really what he wanted. And when they were a breath away from each other, he stopped, waiting for additional confirmation - the memories of the last kiss fresh on his mind. But Good Luck was sure this time. It was what he had wanted the whole time. He nodded slowly, and saw a sparkle in Funshine’s eyes before he leaned in and their lips softly collided. It wasn’t their first kiss - far from it - but there was something magical about it this time. The way Funshine leaned into him, the gentleness of the kiss, the faint taste of their cafe lunch, and the quiet of Funshine’s dorm - it was unlike any of the others. It was exactly what he had wanted… the whole time.

Funshine slowly withdrew from Good Luck, blinking slowly and adjusting to the new world view he had just been given. And just when Good Luck thought it was over, he leaned in again, very slowly, carefully, making sure he wasn’t overstepping - and Good Luck let him. Because it was what he wanted. Except this time, Funshine pushed in a little more, like he was unafraid now, getting a feel for what he was like, and wanting more. Good Luck found himself leaning back into the edge of the couch, and Funshine’s body hovered over him. They were so close, and so warm, and it was everything Good Luck wanted. 

But as Funshine kissed him, he realised he didn’t deserve this. He didn’t deserve Funshine’s kindness, his softness, his love. Not after all of the trouble he caused him. Who was to say that Good Luck wouldn’t withdraw the second the haze of the moment ended, and his mind was back in control?

Good Luck withdrew from the kiss for a moment and lowered his head into Funshine’s shoulder, mumbling a very breathy “sorry”. He let himself rest there, feeling the way Funshine’s body rose and fell with each heavy breath, like he had prioritised kissing Good Luck over filling his lungs with air. Being so close to him felt so good, but what had he done to earn it?

Was it just his luck?
Getting Funshine here was like scoring on his tests. He didn’t have to study. He didn’t work for it. And he got it. It wasn’t fair that Funshine was giving Good Luck everything he had, because that’s all he ever did, and all Good Luck ever did was push him away for that. 

“You’re good, it’s okay, are you okay?” Funshine responded casually, breathing softly.

“No, Funshine, I’m sorry for - everything,” Good Luck pulled away from his shoulder, staring into him with worried eyes. “I don’t - why do you even like me? After everything I put you through?”

“Stop it,” Funshine grabbed Good Luck’s face, his grip strong but harmless. “Why do you like me after everything I’ve put you through?! We aren’t perfect. I’m far from it, dude. Just… I want you to be my best friend. Forever.”

“...That’s what I want, too,” Good Luck admitted sadly. “That’s why I… stopped talking to you. I thought things would go back to normal. Now look at us.”
“Now look at us indeed,” Funshine repeated with a toothy grin. “Is this bad?”
“I just don’t want things to change. Too much.”

“I get it.” Funshine pulled back and sat up, letting Good Luck do the same. They stared at each other as they figured out where to go next. Then Funshine lifted up his hand in between them and waited with anticipation. Good Luck looked down at Funshine’s hand, back up at him, and then at his hand again - pressing his palm against his and letting their fingers wrap on top of each other. Funshine, ever the first speaker, opened his mouth. “Is this ‘too much’?”

Good Luck smiled defeatedly. “No. It’s just… going to take me some time before this feels ‘normal’. I guess. I-I mean, if you- I don’t know if you wanted-”
“I do, I do,” Funshine began to laugh, letting himself fall towards Good Luck, gently letting his forehead rest on Good Luck’s as he laughed softly. Good Luck laughed with him, and it was like the past few months of frustration and pain never even happened. Like maybe things would be normal, after a little while. “But I don’t want things to change either. I mean, with how we are. I just can’t ignore how much I want to kiss you sometimes.”
“Stop it,” Good Luck mumbled bashfully, pushing him away jokingly with his free hand.

“Is it a crime? Arrest me if so.”

“This is what I mean… this will just take a while before I’m used to it.”
“Why? Cuz you’re so easily flustered by me?” Funshine teased him with a disgustingly proud look on his face. It was annoying, but it was Funshine. And Good Luck had become accustomed to feeling relieved any time he saw a glimpse of Funshine’s true, stress-free personality.

“I wouldn’t say it like that but… I definitely spent way too long obsessing over less. And… I still don’t think I really deserve this.”
Funshine’s eyebrows furrowed and he squeezed Good Luck’s hand a little tighter, but he still looked at him reassuringly, and gently - like he didn’t want to break the atmosphere in the air by being any more serious. “We’ll… work on that. Okay? Let’s just take this slow.”
Good Luck’s heart warmed. “That would be perfect.”

“Just tell me if I’m going too fast. I think I’m just like that.”
“Noted.”
“...but I have to know absolutely everything you’ve ever thought about me.” Funshine’s eyes shone like an excited child, and Good Luck groaned and fell back into the couch, resting his head on the arm of it and covering his face with his palms.

“This is my life now, isn’t it?” He mumbled under his hands, but truthfully, he was smiling. Or struggling not to. He didn’t remove his hands from his face until he felt Funshine’s entire body weight shift onto him, and saw him laying on top of him, resting his chin on Good Luck’s chest and staring up at him expectantly and sweetly in a way Good Luck couldn’t resist. Funshine had always been touchy, and as much as Good Luck joked, he was kind of excited for him to get worse.

“Forgive me for being curious!” 

They shared a laugh and the rest of the afternoon blended into long, heartful conversations in the quiet of Funshine’s lounge. So many secrets and worries were lifted off of their chests as they spoke quietly, so close together that Good Luck felt his soul might merge with Funshine’s. It was everything he had wanted and more. And as they talked… Good Luck realised that hardly anything had really changed at all. Aside from the closeness, they still talked the same, and acted the same… just a little more open now. 

And as stupid as that made him feel, he was happy. Funshine was happy. And they didn’t know if they would ever leave that moment together.