Broken Thrones - a dystopian MCYT story

9: Grian

Guess who's writing this in the chapter before because I have no wifi but want to write angst

Me.

:D

We arrive back at the flat a while later. Not just because of waiting for BigB, but because of how long it takes to climb the stairs with my injuries. We decide it's still better than the chance of the lift breaking on the way up, especially after 3 whole uses in one day.

Mumbo's there as we reach the door, immediately noticing my face.

'It's better than it looks.' I say.

'What... happened?'

'Grian forgot how to walk down stairs.' Scar explains. I glare at him.

'Someone initiated a competition where I fell down the stairs.'

'You could've chosen the lift.'

I don't question him on that, collapsing in the living room. Mumbo follows.

'You're bleeding.' He comments. I wipe it off again, just as Scar returns with all the medical stuff I'll need, sitting next to me

'Just stay still...' I wince as he dabs at my cuts.

'If Grian fell down the stairs... what took so long?' Me and Scar look at each other.

'Someone recognised Scar. We didn't want him to follow us inside.'

'Someone random?'

'No. BigB. Who works with Ren.' By this point, Scar's happy with my face and steps back.

'Tell me if it hurts.' I give a grateful smile, feeling the plaster.

'Thanks.' I glance over as Jellie enters, giving a hopeful meow. She jumps up between me and Scar, demanding affection we both instantly give. I laugh.  'Priority 1 - Jellie.'

'Absolutely.' Scar grins back. 'The greatest cat of all time... aren't you Jellie?' She purrs, collapsing on his lap and letting him stroke her tummy.

'What do we do about... BigB knowing?'

'What?' Scar looks up, hilariously distracted. Jellie protests her lack of attention instantly. 

'BigB. Hotguy.'

'Oh. I don't know... see if Ren does anything?' I notice one hand reach towards his pocket.

'Scar?'

'Yeah?'

'What's in your pocket?'

'Oh uhh... cat treats.' He proves it isn't a lie instantly, pulling out a packet, but I know it's not the only thing. I don't question further, more focussed on Jellie.

'We're out of cookies too.' Mumbo adds.

'What?! We literally baked them... not long ago.' I've already forgotten how long it's been. It feels like forever, and only yesterday, that everything started. And somehow it's this news that makes Scar more upset.

'Hey, we can bake some more cookies, Scar. This isn't the end of the world.'

'Can we bake a cake?' He murmurs back. I frown.

'A cake? Why would you want...'

'We've made a lot of cookies. And I've got a recipe.'

'Sure. As long as it's as good as the cookies are, I'm happy.' I follow Scar and Jellie through to the kitchen, before he runs off to his room. I dump the stuff on the surface in random cupboards, and by the time he returns with a torn sheet of paper decorated. As he puts it down I read.

CUB'S JELLIE-APPROVED, SCAR-SAFE CAKE RECIPE

There's a cartoon picture of Jellie's face next to it. Scar just stares at the general recipe for a second with a small smile. I let him.

'He gave you a recipe?'

'I gave him a hat. We swapped valued items before we split. To remember each other. I... never baked it because... he was the best at making it. We always ate it when-' He cuts himself short. 'When we had time.'

I don't question.

'Alright... what's the first step?'

'Butter and sugar...' He grabs it, measuring precisely. I notice him following the recipe perfectly, sometimes laughing at little inside jokes I don't understand left in it too. Soon we have what looks like a decent cake mix.

'We need to see if Jellie approves.' I point out, just before he sticks it in the oven.

'I'll check if we've missed anything.' Decides Scar too, letting me take the dish. Jellie's been watching us, and sniffs at the cake. When she tries to eat it, I know we've done it right.

'Jellie approved, just like Cub promised.' I grin. Scar's stuck on the last ingredient, but sees me staring at puts the recipe down.

'We've got everything.' I oven the cake, giving another smile as I close the door.

'How long?'

'18.5 minutes.'

'It's that precise?'

'Of course!' I set the timer, and leave the cake to cook.

'Now we just wait.'

Scar nods. It's then I notice he's fighting tears again.

'I'm fine.' He snuffles. 'I'm completely fine it's... stupid.'

'Scar, come on.' I give him a hug. 'What's wrong?'

'It's stupid.'

'I'm sure it's not.'

'It's- I'm scared the cake isn't going to be as good as the ones he made. And then... then I started to think of all the stuff we can't do... and I'm never going to eat the perfect cake he makes again... or... or...'

'It's ok.'

'It's just a stupid cake anyway.'

'It's not a stupid cake, Scar. It's going to be nice.' I read the recipe again over his shoulder.

Ingredients:

-Butter

-Sugar

-Eggs

-Flour

-baking powder

-vex magic (ESSENTIAL!)

'Vex magic...?' I frown. Scar breaks out of the hug, snatching the recipe.

'Little... reference... thing.' 

'...and I feel vexed...' I remember too. 'The... the line you said at the end of the... thing.'

'It's nothing.' Scar insists. He isn't looking at me. 'Stop... thinking about it.'

'Scar?'

'Please.'

I sigh.

'Alright... how's the cake doing?'

'We should start making icing.' I frown at Scar's continued ignorance of what I found. He isn't even looking at me, finding icing sugar and everything we'll need,

'We don't have to talk about it if you don't want to.' But it's still going in the back of my mind. The government is a con, and I feel vexed. Something someone told me that I can't quite get to...

The oven timer beeps. Scar runs over, turning it off, opening the door. The smell of cake doubles. 

'That's a good cake.' But Scar doesn't reply, leaving it to cool for 9 minutes exactly.

'It's not going to be quite as good.' Is all he says. 'We kept it in too long.'

'Don't be ridiculous... It smells delicious.' But even as I compliment him on the cake, the questions he avoided still stick in my mind. Something happened with him and Cub he's not telling me. Something worse that Hotguy.

And for the first time in my life I almost feel scared of him.

Next chapter.

:)