It Wasn't That Way

Chapter 5

It wasn't until Cake saw Eiw crying in his sister's arms that he decided to take matters into his own hands.

P'Rin had gone to bed early that night and Cake felt like getting some fresh air. He pushed open the doors to his mother's shop and paused mid-stride.

Eiw and his sister sat by the canal that ran in front of their house hugging each other. And that was normal, that was cute. But all the way from his front stoop, Cake saw tears coursing down Eiw's face. They splashed down his cheeks, and left streaks all over his shirt.

Cake had known that something was wrong! He just hadn't known what. He'd never not known everything about Eiw, and to be in the dark about something that was making Eiw this upset was unsettling.

Cake and Eiw slept over at each other's places more often than not, but it had been a week and a half since their last sleepover. Cake couldn't remember the last time they'd ever gone that long.

He couldn't believe that he'd let it go that long.

He kicked himself for not rectifying this sooner. Now here Eiw was, crying about something and Cake had no idea what it was. He needed to make sure Eiw was okay.

He let himself into Eiw's room and flipped through a comic while he waited for Eiw to come upstairs. He came in a few minutes later, surprised to see Cake.

Eiw looked more fragile than usual. He was hunched into himself and walked into his room in a slump. His expression was watery and he filled the room with a listless wave of melancholy. He looked tired and thin; wrung out.

Cake was always trying to get him to eat more, he never ate enough. If they'd been hanging out all the time, like they did before — the way they were supposed to — Cake would've nagged him until he ate, no matter how much Eiw didn't want to.

Eiw's face was drawn and the skin under his eyes looked tacky from the salt from his tears.

Cake hated seeing Eiw upset and hated that he had been crying. Cake had never been able to handle Eiw's tears.

He had memories going back as early as four of feeling so sad whenever he saw Eiw cry. Even back then, he'd done whatever it took to bring Eiw's smile back to his face. Eiw's tears were his weakness, the one thing in the world that brought him to heel.

"Oh. Cake." Eiw said in monotone, closing the door.

"Where have you been? I've been waiting for you for hours." Cake lied.

He didn't know why he said that, maybe some part of him wanted to make Eiw feel bad just a tiny bit. Cake missed Eiw, and he wanted to spend time with him. He didn't like all of this "space" between them. It was petty, but Eiw shouldn't have blown him off in the first place. Sure Cake had been busy, but he still wanted to spend the snatches of time he had left with Eiw. It was weird because Eiw didn't even have anything else going on and he still preferred to be by himself. He used to want Cake around more than this.

But Cake supposed that was no longer true, because when he told Eiw that he was spending the night, Eiw protested and tried to get him to leave.

Cake wasn't used to being chased away by Eiw. If anything, Eiw had always clung to him, too needy and too timid to let go.

Cake wasn't used to feeling feeling spurned. He was a friendly and cheerful kid, and he made friends wherever he went. He didn't know how to move through life when he didn't feel happy. Eiw knew that about him. And right now, he felt rejected and confused. He never expected to feel that way, especially not with Eiw.

"You haven't spent time with me lately." Cake said. "How come you haven't been hanging out at my place as much?" He shifted around on the bed, uncomfortable that his usual upbeat manner had deserted him.