We'll Get There {AntiAverage} (ABANDONED)

5: JBM

1367 words

I yawned from my spot at the counter, stretching my back like a cat and continuing to eat Lucky Charms straight from the box. Maybe it was strange, but I had to be ready to go at any moment. Crime never sleeps, as many know, and it also doesn't wait for you to empty a bowl and scrape your soggy leftovers into the bin.

I heard footsteps from the stairs, and soon Henrik appeared, his hair a mess and his eyes bleary. He pulled one of the eight different cereal boxes off of the shelf, because even the house seemed to know that we all had varying taste, and stepped over to a cabinet.

"Top of the Morning.", I jokingly greeted, looking up at him. He grunted in response, grabbing a bowl and sitting down a few chairs away from me. "You look like shit.", I said, locking my phone and setting it down to examine him further.

"Vas up late.", he half-explained, filling the bowl with dry cereal.

"Why don't you just eat out of the box if you're going to eat it dry?", I asked, something akin to exasperation in my voice. He always did this, and even though I couldn't place why it frustrated me so much, it did.

Schneep stared at me with a deadpan expression, clearly unimpressed with my attempts at a conversation. "I, unlike you and ze majority of zis household, vish to retain some of my dignity. Besides, if I vash ze dish, it is of no concern to you vhat I do vith it."

I scoffed, "Dignity? You're eating Raisin Bran with your fingers, the bowl isn't going to save you."

Schneep simply sighed a long-suffered sigh, rolling his eyes. "Zis is vhy I stay in my room."

I chuckled through some half-chewed marshmallows, waiting until I swallowed to say, "Might be a wise decision."

There was a somewhat awkward pause, during which I took the time to notice the sparse ring of cereal outside of the doctor's bowl. Dignity my ass.

"So... any idea why Chase was in such a hurry to get out of here this morning?", I asked, reaching fairly far into the box to retrieve some Lucky Charms. Had I eaten that much? Damn superhero metabolism...

Schneep furrowed his eyebrows, looking up from his food, "No... I suppose zat's vhy I saw Marvin in his room. Probably didn't vant to leave Anti alone."

I rolled my eyes. Of course he'd had to have someone babysit Anti.

Everyone had been treating the eldest ego like he was a child, and I, personally, thought he was laying it on a little thick. I mean, Anti had manipulated them so often before all of this, was it really insane to think that he was doing it now?

The image of Anti, chained in the corner and nearly in tears came to my head, but I shook it away. He was just... good. That had to be it.

"Hm. Guess we'll find out when he gets back.", the tone change in my voice was noticeable, judging by Schneeplestein's unimpressed expression returning. I turned to my phone, uncaring of the other man's scolding eyes. If he chose to blindly trust the demon, then so be it.

Schneep shrugged, climbing off of his seat with his now-empty bowl, and the box of Raisin Bran, and making his way back upstairs. I scoffed, sweeping up the left-behind ring a cereal with my hand and dumping it in the bin.

Not long after, Marvin and Anti took his place. I did a two-finger salute, glancing up from my phone to look specifically at
Marvin, " 'lo."

The magician nodded in my direction, grabbing some Cheerios, two bowls, and milk. Anti waved shyly, and it grated on my nerves. Yeah, sure, play the damsel in distress.

"Hey, Anti, could you grab a couple spoons? If you want yours with milk, that is.", Marvin requested, closing the refrigerator door with his foot and moving to set his collection on the countertop. Anti nodded, then hesitated, glancing around the array of shelves and cabinets that surrounded him.

"They're in the drawer to the right of the stove.", Marvin informed, pouring some milk into a bowl.

Anti nodded, opening said drawer and pulling two spoons out. He handed them to Marvin, who set them in each bowl. When had he filled the other one with... right. Magician. He then filled them with cereal by a simple swish of his hand.

Show off.

He handed one to Anti, who seemed hesitant to take it. "Don't worry about it, it's just from here to the living room.", Marvin assured him, carrying both of the bowls with one hand. Anti nodded, swallowing thickly, and took the offered dish.

They both walked over to the couch, Anti much more slowly than Marvin. He held the dish firmly with both hands, paling when the liquid inside neared the upper edge.

He misjudged his distance from the counter and hit it with his side, which made him wince and stumble foreword. In slow motion, it seemed, I saw the bowl leave his hands as his grip loosened with surprise.

The porcelain shattered upon contact with the ground, and the noise sounded like a jet engine taking off in the quiet of the morning. I wouldn't be surprised if someone upstairs had woken up. Anti stared in horror at the mess for a second, milk and Cheerios splattered all over the kitchen and living room floor, before his eyes started to water. His breath started to quicken, and he looked up at Marvin, who's face stated that he'd had a long day already.

"I'm sorry- I- I didn't mean tø- I'll c- I'll clean it up-", he stuttered, feverishly looking around; likely for a rag or something similar. His hands were shaking.

"Anti, it's okay. It happens. I'm not mad.", Marvin's expression immediately shifted, and he walked towards the eldest ego slowly, with his hands up. I looked between them like I was watching a tennis match. What... exactly was the appropriate thing to do in this situation? "Anti, you're safe. You're okay."

"I-I didn't- I-I-it wøn't hæ-happen-", the glitchy ego lived up to that description, voice distorted in his panic. Marvin carefully took a step closer, reaching a hand out towards him. This was a mistake, it seemed, as Anti flinched away with a yelp. More than just his hands were trembling now, and I was almost surprised he wasn't swaying.

He grabbed the counter with a white-knuckled grip, so hard that I think I might've actually heard the fake marble crack, and carefully slid to the ground. He was now nearing hyperventilation territory, pulling his legs into his chest and resting his forehead on his knees. He still had a firm grip on the edge of the counter, and in the other hand he held a fistful of hair.

I looked at Marvin for assistance, because even if I didn't like the guy this seemed so... real. Marvin hesitantly sat a few feet away from him, "Anti, you're okay. You're at home, you're safe. You aren't in danger. Die isn't here. No-one's going to hurt you."

"Ch-Chase.", the glitchy ego whimpered, refusing to look up to say it.

"You want me to call Chase?", Marvin confirmed, already pulling up the father's number on his phone. Anti simply nodded, and I could hear him sniffling.

There were four rings before it was answered.

Marvin held it to his ear to briefly explain the situation, before handing the phone to Anti. He released the counter to take it, cradling the device against his head like it would break with the slightest bit of force.

Silence filled the room, during which no-one dared to move, save for Marvin waving his wrist in the direction of the mess. It evaporated, Cheerios and all. He could've put the bowl back together if he cared enough, but it seems he wasn't attached to that one, so, off into nothingness it went. Or maybe it was the trash can... I should ask one of these days.