Like a Stream [TIWPOR/MARKFORD]

14: 'I'll never get together with him.'

Yo ended up not telling Por anything after that big teaser. Because he vomited all the way down the mountain. Por rubbed his back, torn between feeling pissed and worried. When they arrived at the rest area for lunch, Por took him to the toilet to freshen up.

"How's he?" Asked Gun as they're waiting outside the toilet.

"Looks bad."

Gun sighed, taking out the legendary inhaler from his mother. "Here, give him this."

Por nodded.

"What's wrong?" Gun noticed the frown on his face when he came back out.

"Well, Yo said he wants to talk. But see his state now? It doesn't seem possible."

"Really? What is it about?*

"About Tiwson, he said..."

"Oh..." Gun murmured. "That means it's cancelled...?"

Yo rushed out with face pale as zombie, startling both of them. "No! I'm alright now!" shouted him, even while clinging to the toilet door for support. "Gun, gather everyone. We need to have the talk now."

Several minutes later, the Chinzillas were all seated under a pavilion separated from the main area. Everyone avoids each other's gaze, fidgeting and just doing anything else but talk. Where's the talk? What's the talk about? How did it come to this?

Por kept looking at Yo to demand an explanation but the boy wouldn't notice him. Instead, he spoke to Gun. "Hey, where are they?"

"Tinn is taking him here. Don't worry."

Tinn? Taking who?

Phat fixed his glasses, a bit hesitant to voice out his thoughts, but he always felt better to get it off his chest. "He c-can't be running away, right?"

Win snorted out loud. "He better not, or he'd face me for sure."

"Oii!" Gun exhaled. "He won't."

"We don't know that." Yo said.

"We're on a freaking mountain. Where can he go?"

Yo frowned, suddenly feeling suspicious. "Wait, are you defending him?"

Gun swallowed, "W-What are you talking about?"

"Are you secretly helping Ai'Tiw??"

Huh? Por was severely confused. Figured he has to intervene. "Wait, guys! What is going on?! What about Tiw?? Are we waiting for him? What for?"

Everyone shuts up at that, exchanging guilty glances until Phat pulls on Yo's sleeve. "I think we should tell him already..."

Yo and Gun frowned at each other as if contemplating who should speak up. As they were hesitating, Sound came to save the day again. "Here's the thing, Por." All eyes are on him. "We had a big, dumb plan."

"Ai'Souuund," Win whined.

"Okay, it's not dumb."

"What is it??"

"We were talking about the girls that like Tiw before and how it upsets you. Yeah, don't even lie. You didn't come for moo kratha because of that."

Por pouted, because it's not true. He was just a little full that day. He didn't go home to cry, like, at all.

Yo turned Por around to face him, taking over from there. "You know, it's not like we hate Ai'Tiw. But if what he isn't doing makes you sad, then we can't just sit back and watch."

"Yeah, so we just tried to... distance you guys a liiiittle bit and makes him realize he is missing out." Phat continued.

"But I see nothing has changed. Especially last night." Yo suddenly turned to Gun. "'Cuz you're helping him out, right??"

"W-What?"

"You keep saying leave it to me, leave it to me. But the next thing we see, Tiw is back on pestering Por again! What's your deal??" Gun was taken aback, so Yo went on. "Right now, Tinn must be hiding somewhere with Tiw. Can you stop defending outsiders and help your friends for once?"

That pushed the wrong button and the usually neutral Gun snapped. "What did you say...?"

Sound and Win got between them. A rare sight for Win to be intervening fights instead of being in one - but anyway, Gun's face was scary as he stepped forward. "How am I not helping you guys? What have I not done enough??"

Por and Phat panicked, unsure of what to do since they'd get smashed in between if not careful.

"Is ruining our plans behind our backs called helping?!"

"Calm down, Yo!" Sound said. "That's not his intention!"

Yo glared at Sound. "So you know??" Sound sighed, realizing his mistake. At that confirmation, Yo turned to the guilty-looking Win. "You too??"

Everyone knows Sound and Win don't have secrets with each other. "I'm sorry."

"How could you do that??" Yo pushed Win until he stepped backwards. "I trusted you the most!"

"I said I'm sorry!"

"Why? Why didn't you tell us?"

"I was about to! But you went crazy and accused everyone first!"

Yo was angry, the angriest Por had ever seen. He doesn't really get what was going on still. But he gets that they're fighting for his sake. Por hates fights. Especially hate it when he is the cause. Yo grabbed Win's collar and they looked like they're about to throw punches at each other. Not these two. Not Yo trying to hit Win who saved him from bullies once. Por can't bear to his friends on each other's throat.

"Stop it!"

Por screamed two, three times until they heard him and stopped. Until they paid attention to him, the subject of their fights. "I don't get it, guys! How long, how many years have we been friends?? Why is it so easy to make us fight?!" Win and Yo's clutch on each other's clothes loosened. Por huffed. "Is it worth it? What's so big of a deal that you guys need to hurt each other for??"

Gun, after cooling down a bit, patted Por on the back. "Por, don't blame them... we're just worried about you. Yo is right. It's my fault. I'm wrong for not telling them what I know and..."

"No, Gun. I'm not blaming you. Not Yo, not Win, or Sound and Phat. None of you are wrong. I am!" His friends gasped at that but he allowed no argument. "I am the problem, aren't I?? Because of me, my indecisiveness, you guys have to go through all this trouble...!"

Sound protested, "It's not like that, Por-"

"No, I get it! I get it! You guys don't have to do anything anymore! If it makes you all fight, then I don't want anything! I don't want Tiw. I don't want to be with him. I'll never get together with him. I just want us all to stay the same. I just want us to be happy like we used to be..." but Por couldn't continue as he heard his own voice breaking.

"Por...!" Gun begged.

He tuned out everything, turned to leave just to run into someone else coming in. Por was blurting sorry but it hangs in the air. Tiw looks down at him with a blank expression. How long had he been here? Did he hear everything? Does he... hate Por now?

Por bit his lip, swallowing the tears and ran off because he can't bear it if Tiw leaves him first.

"Por!"

"Ai'Por!"

"Wait!"

"Where are you going??"

"Por, wait!"

The more they shouted his name, the faster he brought his little feet to run. Aimlessly, with water pooling in his eyes and blurring his sight.

...

Disaster, disaster~
I just love to stir up trouble