Afternoon came and went in a hazy blur. I woke up briefly and noticed that Fukase had left a bottle of aspirin on my nightstand along with a neatly penned note and a glass of water.

I took one aspirin tablet to dull the throbbing in my head and tried to read Fukase's note. Something about staying in the cabin for a few days and a... a study? Why was there a study in a cabin in the middle of nowhere? I ended up dozing off in the middle of reading, and before I knew it, the next morning had arrived.

I awoke to the dawn sun's red rays streaming through my window—it was becoming a trend, I couldn't help but notice.

I trudged downstairs, still covered in a lethargic haze from sleep, to see Fukase already cooking breakfast for the two of us. The cabin seemed much brighter and alive than it had last night. It took me a moment to notice the reason why.

Fukase had cleaned up the place. Like, a lot.

The curtains had been properly dusted, letting daylight stream into the room much clearer; he had cleaned off most surfaces, too. The cedarwood table looked perfectly maintained—polished, even.

He must've spent the entire day yesterday cleaning, I thought. Well, it's not like he had much else to do. I felt a bit guilty about him working hard all day while I slept, but I decided not to think about it too hard.

"Good morning," Fukase said when he finally noticed me at the foot of the stairs. "You're awake early today."

"Good morning to you too." I crossed the dining area to where he was in the kitchen to see what he was making.

Pancakes.

It was all I could do to stop myself from hugging him right then and there. I hadn't had pancakes in what seemed like forever—

"I was going to surprise you," Fukase said, pouting slightly. "Well, cat's outta the bag now. Can you get syrup from the cabinet over there? It's on the right."

I grabbed the maple syrup and set the table with giddy excitement. What did I do to deserve this? I wondered as happiness bubbled in my chest. And also, why were pancake ingredients just lying around in this cabin, anyway? I resolved to ask Fukase about it later, not wanting to dim the mood.

A few moments later, he set a stack of steaming pancakes in front of me. I poured a generous amount of syrup on top and downed the whole stack within minutes. I grinned and finally looked up to thank Fukase when I noticed him staring at me.

Oh no, did he think my smile looked weird? Or, heaven forbid, was there food stuck between my teeth?

"Is something wrong?" I asked tentatively.

"Huh? No, of course not." He cleared his throat. "It's just... I'm glad that you can still smile in a situation like this."

Oh. So that's what it was.

"I mean, before, you seemed really anxious about our... predicament. So I'm glad you're doing okay," he continued.

"Yeah," I agreed. "I'm okay."

Fukase cleared our dishes and took them to the sink, so I stood up to follow him and help.

"It's okay Oliver, I'll do it."

"Don't be ridiculous." I nudged him out of the way to make space for myself at the sink. "I rested all day yesterday, so you don't have to worry about me." He looked like he wanted to object, but didn't say anything. I smiled triumphantly.

Suddenly, I had an idea. "By the way," I said, "I was thinking. Let's go for a walk or something. Explore the area, maybe, and see if anyone's around."

He stopped and turned to me with an unreadable expression that shifted to discomfort. He looked like he was stifling the urge to sigh. "No offense, Oliver... but that's a terrible idea."

My smile dropped. "Why not... why can't we go?"

He averted his eyes. "I mean, we have no idea where we are. It's probably better to stay where we are and wait for help to arrive. If we move around too much, then they might not be able to find us—"

"Who might not be able to find us?" He flinched. "There's no one here. We'd might as well take a look around, understand the lay of the land, you know? And what if civilization is closer than we think? What if we could get off this island right now? Are you really willing to give that up?"

Fukase switched off the faucet wordlessly. How typical.

"You think I can't do it. That's it, right?"

"No, that's not what I—"

"Look, I'm sorry for getting us lost. I get that it's my fault we're in this mess in the first place, but that doesn't mean I'm not gonna try and get us out of it! There has to be something we can do rather than just staying here like sitting ducks!"

I stormed off to my room.

And immediately regretted it.

Fukase probably thought of me as some petulant, capricious child now—great, just what I needed. Right when I wanted him to start trusting me, I ruined things.

How typical.

I sighed and punched one of my pillows halfheartedly. I knew that our situation was my fault in the first place, so now, more than ever, I needed to take responsibility.

I padded down the hallway to the staircase, trying to silence my footsteps as much as possible. Fukase had left the kitchen and was probably in the study, so I didn't have to worry about avoiding him as I made my way to the front door.

Warm air greeted my skin as I shouldered the wooden door open. It was our second day on the island—nature looked as bright as ever. Brightness in nature could mean beauty just as much as it meant danger.

Twigs and fallen leaves crunched under my sneakers as I moved ahead. To ensure that I didn't get lost (again), I made mounds of green leaves next to a yakusugi trunk every few meters and hoped it would be enough so that I could make my way back.

This area of the forest was dense, much denser than it was when we were hiking before. The sun was heavily blocked by the canopy and the forest floor was doused in a verdant, mossy green. The breeze that was once welcoming and warm had turned balmy and sticky; even the birds were quiet and lethargic here.

This is impossible, I thought, I'm not getting anywhere.

Just as the thought crossed my mind, a shimmer of gold flashed up ahead. I stayed perfectly still and watched—it was the person who had led us to the waterfall.

This time, I knew better than to chase after them. This time, I'd make them come to me.

Or so I thought, until I heard a voice from behind me.

"Ollie, is that you?" I turned around and she came bounding towards me. "Ohmygosh, it is! It's been forever!" She wrapped her arms around my neck in an embrace, but I was in too much shock to react. "You look so different now! See, I told you that you'd be taller than me when we got older."

It took me another moment to find my voice. "Rin. What are you doing here?"

Rin, my childhood friend from London, was here in Japan. As far as I knew, she had no reason to be here, so why...?

"Nothing important! Just here on vacation. What about you?"

"I'm...on vacation too. Sort of. It's a long story."

"What a coincidence." She nodded and I was thankful that she decided not to question anything. In any case, someone else should be here too.

"By the way," I started again, "Where's Len?"

"Oh, he just had some... stuff to take care of. We can go meet him soon, though, if you'd like! We should totally catch up sometime, since we're all here." Her eyes sparkled brightly even though there wasn't much light. She had always been like this, charismatic and shimmering and at the front of everyone's mind.

"Yeah. That would be fun." My mind had gone blank. There was more I wanted to say, I was sure of it, but all I could think was wow. After four years, I get to see Rin's smile once again. How bitterly nostalgic.

"I assume you're staying in the cabin, right? We're not too far from it."

"Yeah, that's right."

"Great! I'll tell Len you're here and we can come visit!" There was a beat of silence. "Hey, shouldn't you seem a bit happier to see me?" She pinched and pulled my cheeks painfully.

"Ow ow ow! Yesh, I'm berry haffy to shee you!" I mumbled.

She giggled and tousled my hair, just like she used to when she had a height advantage over me. "That's more like it. I'll see you soon, so take care, Ollie."

~~~

Back at the cabin, Fukase's mind was in turmoil.

He had finally gotten Oliver to lighten up again. Over the past two days, Fukase had learned of Oliver's tendency to blame himself—and that was the last thing he wanted Oliver to do.

So Fukase did the only thing he knew to do in this situation—he left Oliver alone.

And decided to bake cupcakes.

Sweets would make him feel better, right? Fukase tried not to doubt himself too much as he made his way from the study back to the kitchen. There were plenty of ingredients, no doubt left oh-so-thoughtfully by Len and Rin, so Fukase was able to keep himself busy for the rest of the afternoon.

He baked batch after batch; chocolate, vanilla, and red velvet, until the cabin thoroughly smelled of chocolate and sugar. It was enough to feed a starving village for a month. The idea of sharing the cupcakes with Len and Rin briefly flitted across Fukase's mind, but he pushed it away and went to check on Oliver instead.

Fukase knocked on Oliver's door lightly. "Um, hey, Oliver? I know you're upset with me." He sighed and sat down by the door. "I didn't mean to imply that you're incapable or whatever. You're one of the most capable people I know. And honestly, I really..." he paused, searching for the right word. "I really admire you for that."

No response. The air was as still and silent as ever.

"It's okay if you're upset with me," Fukase tried again, with increasing desperation. "Please say something. I'll make it up to you..." he trailed off, his voice hardly above a whisper.

A few moments passed. Then minutes. Fukase tugged at the overgrown curls that curtained his forehead and stood up to leave. "I made cupcakes for you, by the way. They're downstairs, if you want."

Silence again.

Unease ate at Fukase's mind. Something seemed off—Oliver wasn't the type to hold a grudge like this.

He gingerly tried the doorknob. It was unlocked.

Fukase pushed the door open and peered in, dread flooding through his veins.

Oliver was gone. 

A/N:

What's this? An actual uploading schedule? YES!!!

Have a great weekend everyone! Catch ya on the flip side~

~Stargazer