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Sparklez knocked on Scott’s door. He recoiled as the sound of coughing came from inside the house. “Scott?” Sparklez called out concerned for the other Starborn, when he got no reply, he entered the house. “Scott! Are you alri-“Sparklez got cut off by the sound of something wet hitting a metal surface. The noise sounded like it came from Scott’s bedroom. He called out once more before walking over to where he believed Scott was.
Scott was sitting on his knees in front of a bucket which was beside his fireplace. One of his hands was grabbing on to the bucket so hard his hand had begun to turn white, the other hand rested on the ground. His head was hanging over the bucket with his purple hair blocking his face. Beside him was a purple rag the was seemingly wet like someone had used it to wipe their tears.
He grabbed the rag and used It to wipe his face and took a deep breath. He raised his head, so his hair fell out of his face. Scott’s cheeks were stained with dry tears. “Scott?” Sparklez called out to him and continued to walk over “Spark-“Scott began but stopped and hung is head over the bucket again so the coughing continued.
The coughs sounded very painful and were louder than before. Sparklez walked over and sat beside Scott. Suddenly there was a loud noise of something wet hitting the bucket. “Are you alright Scott?” Sparklez asked once the coughing had calmed down.
Scott sniffled and grabbed the rag once again wiping his eyes and mouth. “I’m sorry, I’ll be fine. I must have eaten something bad” he said trying to smile but stopped suddenly and began coughing again. Sparklez gently rubbed his hand on Scott’s back.
“What did you eat today?” Sparklez asked gently like if he spoke any louder Scott would break. Scott sat there for a minute, trying to remember what he had eaten that day, while Sparklez got nervous from the silence. Scott opened his mouth to speak but was cut off by coughing again, at this point there was nothing left in his stomach.
“I think I’ve had carrots and some bread today” Scott says but it sounds more like a question than a statement. He had no idea what he ate that day, but he obviously ate something. Sparklez eyes twitched slightly in concern. How does he not know what he ate that day?
“Here” Sparklez began as he reached into his inventory for something “Someone gave me too much food. You should have some” he said holding a few pieces of steak towards Scott, who very slowly took them. Scott looked to the ground and began to eat, if he didn’t eat that would be rude. If he was rude would Sparklez leave him? This would just give the other more reason to leave him. Would they replace him with Sparklez?
Scott was taken out of his thoughts by the feeling of stomach acid in his throat. He coughed again in the bucket. His stomach was twisting into nots as his body rejected the food. This is how it always ended, Scott leaning over a bucket coughing and throwing up what little he ate that day. Sparklez looked shocked for a second then his eyes softened. As much as he was worried for the other Starborne, he had to remain calm to help Scott stay calm. He rubbed Scott’s back to try and soothe him.
Scott’s eyes began to sting as tears began to blur his vision. The coughing stopped and was replaced with quiet sniffles. He tried to stop, If Sparklez saw him crying would he leave? Probably, would Sparklez tell the others? Would they think he’s weird and get him to-
Scott was startled out of his spiraling by Sparklez calling out to him “Scott? Are you ok? Why are you crying?” he said. Scott grabbed the rag and wiped his eyes. He tried to stop the sniffling and looked up at Sparklez. The tears felt like they were clinging to his face as his vision began blurry again.
“I’m- I’m sorry” Scott quickly said trying to harshly wipe the now flowing tears off his face and hide his face from Sparklez. His face hurt from the wiping. Soon, a cold pair of hands gently grabbed Scott’s face and forced him to look up. Sparklez sat there with worry in his eyes.
“Why are you sorry Scott? You did nothing wrong” Sparklez responded and gently wiped Scott’s tears. Scott sat there shocked for a second. Why wasn’t he leaving? The two Starbornes just sat in silence for a minute as Scott tried to stop his tears.
“Because I couldn’t e- eat the food you gave me and- and I should have told you that I would be alright and not taken the food because I knew this would hap- happen” Scott cried out tripping over his words. He looked to the ground in shame, unable to look Sparklez in the eyes. He was most probably going to yell. Scott just barely looked up and saw Sparklez begin to open his mouth. Scott squeezed his eyes shut and prepared to be yelled at.
“It’s ok that you could eat the food” Sparklez began in a quiet voice “and what did you mean by you knew this would happen” He didn’t force Scott to look up at him because he was obviously scared. There was no way Sparklez couldn’t see the shivers that made Scott’s entire body shake and his even shakier breathing.
“e- every time I eat, I- just feel-“ Scott began struggling to get the words out of his mouth “Real- really sick and I ju- just start coughing and sometime I throw it up.” The last part comes out of Scott’s mouth fast but not without a struggle. It feels like honey is stuck in his throat and slowing down his words. “I hate it, I just want to eat but I can’t” Scott cries out and starts to scratch at his neck.
Sparklez is obviously trying to say something because Scott can hear his voice but not the words. The world starts to become quieter as the thoughts in his head become louder. Why did you tell him? You’re just going to cause such a problem. He going to leave because your being such an attention seeker, then what is he going to do? He’s most probably going to tell the others then they will leave you. Everyone’s going to leave you. Why couldn’t you just stay quiet and deny it like normal? You messed everything up. This is all your fault.
Scott didn’t know when it felt like he couldn’t feel anything anymore. How long had passed? His hands were no longer at his neck but instead they were being held by someone else. His neck stung slightly from his nails scratching at it, in some sick way, he loved it. That pain meant that he had been punished for what he did wrong. Since he had been punished, he felt better. Soon the sound of a voice cut through the silence.
“Can you hear me, Scott?” The voice called out. The worry was evident in their -no, his- voice as they used their thumbs the rub the back of Scott’s hands. Who was this? Why were they being so kind? Who was he- Scott’s heart stopped for a second as he recognized the voice. That was Sparklez’s voice. Sparklez gently squeezed Scott’s hands and Scott squeezed back.
Sparklez slowly hugged Scott so the smaller Starborn could get away if he wanted. All Scott could see was Sparklez’s cape -which looked like the night sky only the stars were red- and his shoulder. “The others won’t leave you Scott. I promise. They care about you too much to leave you” Sparklez began. Scott stopped for a second, were did that come from? He thought until he realized that he must have said something when stuck in his own head. “I promise that I will never leave you and that I’ll help you eat again.” Sparklez finished and held Scott slightly tighter.
Scott mumbled a quiet thank you as he hugged Sparklez back. “of course, Starborne have to look out for each other” He responded before continuing to rub Scott’s back.