My Savior - Suntan

Chapter Thirteen

That morning, Kel woke up to the sound of fabric. He squinted his eyes, letting them adjust to the faint light coming through the blinds, until he was met with the sight of Sunny. He was getting dressed, already having his pants on, though he didn't have a shirt on. He was rummaging through a pile of clothes on his chair, seemingly trying to find it and Kel knew better than to say anything. He continued to pretend that he was asleep, watching Sunny and wishing that Hero hadn't had interrupted their picnic the other day. I really need to ask him, God, I hate myself. Kel shifted, pretending to only just wake up, yawning and sitting up.

"Morning," Sunny whispered to Kel, sitting back down next to him, though this time fully dressed, "I wasn't expecting you to be awake for at least another hour."

"Yeah, well, you know me," Kel grinned, wrapping his arm around Sunny, "full of surprises."

Sunny blushed slightly, only just now noticing that Kel was still wearing the bracelet he had given him a few days ago. Sunny was secretly very happy that Kel was still wearing the bracelet, even if it was out of pity for the pathetic boy who sat beside him. Sunny still wore his as well, though it always seemed to fall further down his arm since they were so thin.

"How about I make breakfast?" Kel suggested, leaping to his feet, "I help Hero all the time, I've got this."

Not even fifteen minutes later, he and Sunny were downstairs as Kel fanned the smoke alarm.

"I didn't completely burn the toast, it's edible at least," Kel yelled to Sunny over the sound of the beeping.

Sunny was staring up at him with his hands over his ears. He didn't want to offend Kel by saying that he didn't want any breakfast, in fact, he wasn't that hungry at all, despite the fact that he had barely eaten anything in the past few days, despite Kel's coaxing.

"Alright, Sunshine," Kel said, finally managing to stop the beeping, "breakfast time!"

The two sat at the table, Kel lathering butter and jam on his toast, eating it despite the slightly charred taste it left in his mouth, while Sunny sat and nibbled at the edges of his toast, barely touching it. Kel noticed, of course, and he decided to bring up a topic that he had thought about the past few days.

"Hey, Sun?" Kel asked, looking over the table at the pale boy who was still taking small bites of the burnt toast, "do you have trouble eating,"

Sunny nodded quietly, not really wanting to admit that ever since Mari's death four years ago he had barely eaten a thing.

"Do you think that... perhaps, you have an eating disorder?"

Sunny stopped after hearing the last few words that left Kel's lips. He had thought himself that he had an eating disorder, though he never once wanted to admit it to himself. He shook his head. Kel sat back in his chair and swung on it slightly.

"You sure? 'Cause every time we eat anything, you barely touch it.." Kel said, trying again to approach the topic, despite it being uncomfortable for both of them.

Sunny nodded this time, though he didn't know what answer he was giving Kel. Do I have an eating disorder? Sunny thought to himself as he stared blankly at the burnt toast sat plainly on the plate before him, seeing where he had nibbled at the edges to try and eat something because Kel made it out of the goodness of his heart. I don't know what to do anymore. I don't want Kel to worry about me anymore, I do want to be a burden.

"I'm... just going to sleep in today.."

Kel watched Sunny's retreating back, watching as the lithe silhouette of him clung to the rail for dear life as he shuffled up the steps, then he heard the door close. Right then and there, he decided that he was going to visit Hero for some tips on how to get Sunny to eat something and tips on... other things. He got up, called to Sunny that he was going to visit Hero for a few hours, then locked the door behind him.

He spent much longer than necessary as he dragged his feet. He felt anxious about leaving Sunny alone for so long, since the last time he did that he locked himself in his house and thought about doing God knows what. He knocked on the front door, calling out his arrival to the residence of the house, telling his mom that he wasn't staying and that he was only visiting Hero for a few hours. Kel knew he would be going back to college soon, since he had managed to overcome whatever feelings he had towards Sunny and what he had done and was prepared to leave again.

"Hey, Kel," Hero said, smiling to his brother, though he seemed nervous for seeing him there, "Why're you here?"

"Nothing bad, I just came to visit you for some advice," Kel explained, listening to Hero sigh with relief.

"I think Sunny has an eating disorder," Kel started bluntly, sitting on his own bed and facing Hero seriously, "but I don't know how to help him! I mean, I could do anything really, but I want to help him get a better relationship with food."

"Don't tell me you tried to cook for him today and this is what brought this on," Hero groaned, face-palming.

"Listen, I was trying to be nice! And I've been wondering it for ages!" Kel retorted, defending himself.

"Right, well anyway, if you're trying to help Sunny eat more, you should give him smaller, more manageable portions," Hero started, before grinning at Kel in a good-natured way, "and also feed him something that isn't completely charred."

"I'm getting better! He tried to eat some of it but every time I watched him bite into it, it made me wince."

Hero sighed, what was be going to do with this boy?

Kel spent the next few hours there, exchanging advice with Hero and talking with him, asking him how home life was.

"I should get going, Sunny'll be wondering where I've gone," Kel joked at the door, but you could see the anxiety in his eyes.

"See you later, Kel," Hero said, pressing a bag with some food in it into his hand, "and make sure you give that to Sunny."

"Will do!" Kel called, already darting away, "See you!"

Hero watched as Kel ran back to Sunny's, smiling to himself. He really does love him.

(Author's note: Sorry if this seems rushed or bad compared to the other chapters! I am currently exhausted and have been in a bit of a depressive spell recently - but I promise to have the next chapter out on time and that it'll [hopefully] be better quality! Thanks for reading!)