How do I keep finding myself in these situations?

Okay, maybe I’ve never been in this particular spot, but you get my point.

Basilisk and I had been walking aimlessly through the streets of Wake, neither of us saying a word. It’s... awkward? No, fuck it, it’s plain weird! Sure, the two of us got along fine enough at the Tidepool, but we aren’t exactly friends! I mean, we barely talk for more than two minutes at a time! What was Ripple thinking when he kicked us out? We don’t have shit to do or talk about!

“This isn’t going anywhere,” Basilisk finally said.

At this moment, I felt his bluntness reassuring. “Yep.” I watched a group of kids run past us, the sun low over the city. “I don’t know what we’re supposed to do. Any ideas?”

“Nope.”

The next ten minutes were spent once more in silence. I racked my brain for conversation topics but came up with nothing. What are we doing? I sighed, swearing under my breath. “We should just go home.” Silence. “Basilisk? Did you hear-”

I turned to my right to see empty air. I turned in a circle, scanning the street and windows for Basilisk. When I couldn’t find him, irritation and anger pulsed in my veins. He just left me? That little fucker! What gives him the balls to just walk away? When I find him, I’m gonna-

“Here.”

I jumped in surprise as a voice came directly behind me. Basilisk was standing there, holding two bulbous shapes speared on pointed sticks. He held one out to me, his face as blank as ever.

Even though he didn’t just leave me, my annoyance hadn’t faded. “Where the fuck did you go?”

“To get these.” He gave the sticks a shake.

“I can see that. Where did you get them?”

“A stand.”

“What stand?”

“The one in over there.”

“Over where?”

“Do you want this or not?”

‘Of course, I don’t want it! That shit looks disgusting!”

“It’s got chocolate in it.”

“Give it here!”

I snatched one of the sticks out of his hand. On the end was a lumpy, grapefruit-sized chunk of something with a mottled purple shell. I stared at it for a few seconds. Basilisk sighed, held up his own, and took a large bite out of the lump. He wagged his snack at me, signaling for me to hurry up.

Annoyed, I chomped down on the strange object, chewing rapidly. I stopped when my tongue registered the taste. “It’s good,” I mumbled with a full mouth.

Basilisk nodded, taking another bite of his lump. “It’s called a Mudball.”

I looked at where I bit out a chunk of the… Mudball. The outer shell was hard, condensed chocolate but wasn’t tough enough to resist being eaten. Inside was a core of fudge with chunks of what I’m guessing was nuts and smaller candies. It wasn’t a lot, but I was surprised by the textures: the brittle shell, crunchy nuts, soft fudge, and chewy candies went well together, and it was pleasantly sweet. I may not have the largest sweet tooth but this hit the mark.

I took another bite, my mood shimmering down. “This is pretty good. Where did you get them?”

“Oh, um,” Basilisk wouldn’t meet my eyes. “A person I know was having a little party and waved me over.”

“When did that happen?” I hadn’t notice anyone, but then again, I didn’t notice when Basilisk had slipped away. Should I be worried about that?

“A couple of minutes ago,” He shrugged. “They were down one of the side roads we passed.”

As he said this, I heard someone yell “Gorsis!” We turned as a female Naiad turned a corner. She spotted us and jogged over. She was wearing a fake crown on her head and several beaded bands on her forearms. “There you are! I thought you were going to join us. And who is this?” The woman looked me over, a pleasant smile on her motherly face. “A friend of yours?” Before we could answer, she took my hand and shook it enthusiastically. “I’m Barra. Nice to meet you.”

“L-Lily.” I stuttered under her energy. “Are you a friend of his?” I pointed back at Basilisk, who was finishing off his Mudball.

“Actually, I’m friends with his brother, but we all know about Gorsis!” Barra wrapped him up in a hug. “How are you?”

Basilisk smiled politely and said, “I’m alright. How have you been?”

Wait, that’s not right… He changed his voice. Instead of the slow, lethargic drawl, Basilisk spoke with a peppier tone that I hadn’t heard before.

Barra let him go and rattled her beads. “Oh, I’m just fine. Why didn’t you join the party? Is something wrong?”

Basilisk chuckled, which didn’t match him at all. “Nothing’s wrong. I’m just out with Lily and didn’t want to leave her.”

“Then bring her along!” She whirled on me, her crown slipping in her hair. “Would you like to join us?”

“Join what?” I’m just going with it now.

Barra beamed and gestured towards the street she had emerged from. “A bunch of us are holding a little celebration before the summer ends. Friends, neighbors, family, everyone in the area! You should come!” She pointed at my half-eaten Mudball. “We have all kinds of food!”

I looked at Basilisk, but he avoided my gaze. He was still smiling, his head slightly tilted, eyes opened a little wider than usual. His tired posture had instantly corrected, straightening and shoulder drew back, the moment Barra had appeared. This is… weirder. “Sure. Sounds fun.”

Barra hopped and began to retrace her steps. “Just come down this road and you’ll run right into it! Hey everyone,” Barra called to someone we couldn’t see. “We have some more faces joining in!” I heard a collective shout of approval as Barra vanished down the street.

O...okay. This is happening. What the fuck is with these Naiads?

“You want to go?” I asked Basilisk as he walked up to me.”

He shrugged, still not looking at my face. “Why not?” His voice had returned to normal, monotonous and all. His posture had returned so that he seemed tired once again, but now his feet were fidgeting against the stones of the street.

“What’s wrong?” Basilisk was acting completely different from how I’ve known him. It just doesn’t seem… right.

How the actual fuck did I get this soft?

“It’s nothing,” he said without energy. “Let’s just go.” Without another word, he followed Barra’s path.

This little shit. I don’t know what’s going on, but I’m getting fed up with him. With a huff, I followed him.