It Wasn't That Way

Chapter 2

A few days later, Eiw's mother went out of town, which meant that Eiw was going to sleep over at Cake's for the next few nights. Eiw probably would've slept over even if his mother was home, but since she wasn't, Cake felt a little extra responsible.

As the youngest child in his family, Eiw was very attached to his mom and was doted on by his much older siblings. He used to be really close to his father, but he'd skipped town when Eiw was just a kid after divorcing his mom.

Since then, Eiw's mom had been stretched thin between taking care of all of her children and minding her shop. Eiw's older brother and sister tried to be there for him whenever they could be, but they were often busy at college. Cake had naturally stepped in and taken responsibility for Eiw. Cake enjoyed looking after him, it was his pleasure, and it made him feel needed in a way nothing else did.

Cake and Eiw met up after school at the bus stop, and Eiw interrupted Cake while he whined about not getting to see Eiw all day to point out the dark clouds gathering above them.

Cake brushed it off, promising Eiw that it wouldn't rain. Thunder rumbled ominously, but from what Cake could tell, it sounded distant. And then, halfway through the bus ride, the clouds broke and proved him wrong.

By the time they made it to their stop, rain poured in hot, humid sheets, soaking everything in its wake. And Eiw, Cake's favorite klutz, stepped right into a puddle and cried out in dismay when mud splattered all over his white school socks and dirtied his shins.

Cake shook his head at Eiw in an affectionate reprimand, and knelt to clean him up. Cake would never do something like this for anyone else, but Eiw's cute round face and innocent, dewy eyes had always stoked Cake's protective instincts. He grabbed Eiw's hand and led him through the rain with instructions to hold Cake's book bag over his head for protection.

They ran hand in hand all the way back to Cake's, and finally crossed the threshold, soaked to the bone and dripping all over the floor.

"I knew I should've made you take an umbrella!" Cake's mother fretted at them as soon as they stepped inside.

Cake's mom was a tall, willowy woman with a stern face. She stood at her prep station, rolling pin poised mid-air. Flour was streaked across her apron and the strong smell of melting sugar permeated from the oven behind her.

If they'd been dry, Cake would've begged for a bite of whatever she was baking, but his clothes stuck to him uncomfortably and he was getting cold. She shooed them off to take showers lest they get sick and hurried off to make them something warm to drink.

Cake knew he would be fine, but the way Eiw huddled in on himself as he shook violently made Cake frown. Eiw had always had more of a delicate constitution than Cake. Where Cake was built sturdy like a tree, Eiw was more of a flower; slight and pretty, but prone to wilting.

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The next morning, Cake's suspicions were confirmed when he was roused into wakefulness by his mother instead of Eiw. The world filtered into focus and two things were apparent: one, Eiw had slept straight through the alarm he set last night, which he never did, and two, the poor kid was burning up.

Cake touched the back of his hand to Eiw's forehead and cheek, unsurprised to find that Eiw was clammy and feverish.

Cake smiled to himself, there was no way he was letting Eiw go anywhere when he was this sick. He went downstairs and told his mom about Eiw's fever and lied about having a headache so that he could stay home with Eiw to make sure he felt better.

He went back to his room and cuddled Eiw close even though his temperature was making him feel hot.

It wasn't rare, but Cake loved when he and Eiw spent time alone together like this. He just wished it were under different circumstances. If Eiw weren't such a goody-goody, maybe they could've skipped class one day and hung out at their secret spot near the canal that ran in front of their houses. Or, they could've gone to Uncle Oh's, the man who ran the convenience store nearby who sold the best candy.

Cake snuggled Eiw until he fell back asleep. Cake dozed as well, but Eiw's fever kept climbing and wouldn't break. Poor Eiw, he was burning up and was sweating bullets as his body tried to fight off his fever.

Cake put a hand under Eiw's head and carefully lifted him off of his arm, grimacing when their skin unstuck from each other.

He tiptoed out of the room and brought up a basin of water and washcloths. He dipped a soft cloth into the water and wrung it out. Gently, Cake wiped the sweat from Eiw's face and arms, taking care not to wake him.

This wasn't the first time that Cake had taken care of Eiw when he was sick. He had had seen Eiw at all points of his life and knew that he would see him through the rest. Cake was always by Eiw's side no matter what, and Eiw always stayed by his.

Nursing Eiw now brought back memories of last year when Eiw had come down with a stomach bug. He'd been unable to stop vomiting and Cake had rubbed his back and held his bucket.

Cake and Eiw had never been self conscious about bodily functions, they didn't have any secrets, and they didn't have any personal space.

A lot of people didn't understand the bond he shared with Eiw. He knew that people had looked at them sideways more than once, thinking it weird that he was this affectionate and loving with his best friend, but Cake didn't care.

Eiw was closer to him than any other person in his life, and Cake put him above all else. He'd never known any other way.

Cake's friends used to tease him about their relationship, but they knew better now. Bullies picked fights with him if they ever witnessed Cake babying Eiw, but beyond punching the bullies to shut them up, Cake didn't concern himself with other people's opinions. The fact of the matter was that Cake just didn't see what they saw.

It wasn't that way.

In fact, if anyone bothered to ask before they just went straight to making fun, Cake would tell them that his bond with Eiw went deeper than anything romantic or sexual.

They were each other's person.

They were best friends. Two halves of a whole. The constants upon which they could both rely.

They were the person in each other's life that would always be there no matter what. The person that provided unconditional love, even more so than the other's own mother. Someone who would be there with you when the rest of the world fell away. The person who held you and you held in return.

That was what Cake and Eiw had shared from the moment they'd been born. It was as natural and easy as breathing.

Cake finished sponging Eiw down with water to keep him cool, and Eiw clung to him all day and night, needier than usual because he was sick. Cake didn't care that others might've found it strange, because he found it endearing. This was just how they were, intimate in ways that no one else could hope to understand.

Cake never wanted it to change.