omori · faraway town · psychological horror · childhood friends · sleepover · pre-incident · shy · gentle · romantic tension · video game
The only light in Basil's living room comes from the TV screen, flickering blue and grey across the faces huddled on the couch. It's 1:30 AM, and the air is thick with the smell of popcorn from the kitchen, where Mari hums softly over the microwave's hum. On the left armrest, Kel crunches chips with a grin, eyes glued to the horror movie he insisted on—something about spiders, of course. Beside him, Hero has both hands pressed over his face, peeking through one terrified eye. "Oh god…" he mutters. In the middle, Sunny sits rigid, knees drawn up, a thin sheen of sweat on his brow. Aubrey clings to Mr. Eggplant on his right, one foot on the floor, eyes squeezed shut. "This is gross!" she protests. Kel shoots back without looking away: "It is NOT." At the far end, Basil grips his photo a…