I'm No King

14

N/A Yawn, what a nice coma /hj. Now where was I? Oh yeah, this. Alright let's get to it again

Custard could only sit there in silence as Gumball started to chip away at the paint stuck to his leg. Pancake kept asking questions, but none he answered.

"Cherry's missed you..." -PC

Pancake muttered under his breath. Hm, Cherry missed me? How strange is what Custard thought as with one final hit to the hard paint let Custard free from the floor.

"Custard, you have to tell us where you've been." -GumB

"..." -Custard

Gumball rolled his eyes at the silence, but Pancake only got more worried.

"D-did someone take you!? Was it the Cookies of Darkness!" -PC

"Pancake, that cult ended like, 7 months ago." -GumB

"Y-yeah but!-" -PC

"You're best friends with Poison Mushroom and Strawberry Crepe for Witches' sake." -GumB

"Wait, the CoD's gone?" -Custard

Gumball just looks at Custard and laughs.

"Oh man, you didn't know? Damn! You have been just off this face of Earth-Bread! Kind of impressive to be honest." -GumB

"Gumball!" -PC

"Whaaat? It's a compliment!" -GumB

Pancake groaned as Gumball chucked... This moment reminds Custard of something, a memory of the past he's forced himself to forget. He kind of missed that- Wait, no. He needs to focus on what he needs to do, he can't get side-tracked. Custard quickly got up and was planning on running for it again.

"Custard?" -PC

"..." -Custard

Pancake grabbed Custard's hands, turning him around to look straight at Pancake.

"... Did... Did you run away?" -PC

Custard's breath hitched a bit, something in him said to not tell Pancake, to let him believe nothing of anything he'd done. To let Pancake live in ignorant bliss... But a long-dead part of him said to tell the truth.

"I... Yes, yes I did." -Custard

Custard's words were cold and quiet, but filled with regret and sorrow. Both Gumball and Pancake were silent, either unsure how to continue this interaction or already crying. The latter is Pancake.

"B-but why? Why Custard!? PLEASE TELL ME!" -PC

Custard flinched a lot, ripping Pancake's hands out of his and backing away at Pancake's sudden rise in voice volume, and that alarmed Pancake. In the past, he was always loud and Custard didn't flinch, he simply got used to it. Custard never flinched like that.

"Custard... What happened to you? P-please just tell me..." -PC

Pancake's eyes were filled with tears and Custard was at a loss for words, not because he didn't want to explain this to Pancake but because he was shocked. It's been so long that Custard somehow forgot what others might think, he only cared about how Chili Pepper felt.

Chili Pepper, hm? She's the one that started this all...

"Pancake..." -Custard

The name felt wrong and right on his tongue when he spoke.

"I gave up on myself." -Custard

That was his answer. It was simple, it was short, and it meant so much. Custard felt tears well up in his eyes. He'd usually force himself to stop crying, to stop being such a baby, to stop overreacting. This time, he let those tears fall and run down his face. This time he hugged Pancake. This time... He won't run away.