Mike sunk onto the floor and pulled his knees to his chest, whispering to himself and backing away as deep as he could into the corner of the kitchen.
"Mike?" A worried voice asked. "What is it?"
Footsteps were running all around, and sounds of ringing and coughing filled Mike's ears. It was all so much, he just wanted quiet.
"Mike! Mike, are you okay?!" A new voice asked. Mike could hear the footsteps going over toward him, but all the voices seemed so distant now. Like they were a mile away, and all Mike could hear now was the ringing.
"Hang on," a third voice said comfortingly. A loud bang caused Mike to let out a sob and throw his hands over his ears.
"I got it!" The first voice said, coughing. "I got it."
"Oh come on, you little...MICKY!" The third voice screamed over the sound of the alarm. "HELP ME OUT HERE! I CAN'T REACH!"
Mike only cried. It was so loud. He could still hear the footsteps running around him, the sounds of doors and windows being opened. He could hear talking and someone whispering reassurances to him, he could feel arms wrap around him and pull him into a hug, but he couldn't hear anything over the banging and ringing.
He felt a hand on his foot and opened his eyes to see someone sitting on his knees in front of him. It was hard to make out who though, between the darkness and the smoke, it could've been anyone. Behind the figure, he could see another jumping up and down with a broom in his hands, banging it up against the smoke detector. But it didn't turn off so now there was just this terrifying world of noise, ringing, banging, screaming.
Mike pulled himself further into the corner, turning away from the noises.
"Hey, hey," a voice said, putting his hand on Mike's back. "It's okay. It's gonna be okay."
With one final bang and crash, it was quiet again.
"See, it's gone now," the voice reassured him and a hand began rubbing circles on his back. "There's nothing to worry about now."
"There's always something...something new...something to..." Mike muttered, trying to pull away.
"Easy, you're okay now. Don't worry about it."
It was then that Mike realized the voice seemed closer now. It was so far away just a second ago.
"Are you here...?" He asked, voice breaking slightly.
The sounds of frantic running and the opening doors and windows filled Mike's ears, but he still could hear only the ringing.
"Yeah, I'm right here, Mike."
He could feel someone come and gently take his hands off of his ears. Mike tensed up.
"It's just me, don't worry."
Who? Mike wanted to ask but refrained himself. He could recognize the voice but didn't know who it was.
He opened his eyes and turned to face the figure again. Mike squinted, trying to recognize the face through the smoke.
"Mike, it's Davy," he said and Mike frowned, but didn't say anything.
"You're okay." A new voice said. Mike looked up at Micky, who set the broom down on the ground and walked toward him.
"All the doors and windows are open," Peter declared with a cough, looking at Micky.
"Hi, Mike," he smiled. "I appreciate it...but..."
Mike frowned confused. He was still coming to his senses.
"What?"
Micky sighed and sat down, wrapping his arm around Mike.
"Next time you wanna make something special for one of us, please please say something so we know and can help out if we need to."
Mike groaned and rubbed his forehead.
"Will someone tell me what's going on?"
Davy sighed and gestured to the cake that was sitting on the cooling rack. It was charred and burnt to a crisp, still smoking. Mike looked up at it, able also to see a mess of flour, broken eggs, and even a cracked bowl on the ground.
"What happened?" He asked standing up and staring at the kitchen in horror.
"Don't worry about it, okay?" Micky sighed. "Just a little accident."
"A little?" Mike scoffed. The room was a mess.
"Sorry," Davy said in a whisper. He silently told the other two he could handle it and they both stepped outside.
"Hey, Mike?" Davy called out, turning back to him. "Here, let me help you clean up."
Mike looked at him and didn't speak. Davy sighed, trying to think of a new tactic.
"I'm sorry, Mike, I...only wanted to do something for Peter's birthday," he lied. "I'm sorry I messed up a little."
Mike turned his focus back to the mess and let out a sigh.
"What am I gonna do when the world...?" He whispered to no one in particular.
"About Peter's birthday-?"
"It's his birthday?" Mike snapped out of it, turning to face him.
"Yeah, well...tomorrow it is."
"Oh!" Mike's eyes widened in surprise.
"Yeah," Davy nodded, a little concerned. Mike looked like he was getting overwhelmed.
"Are you alright?" He asked softly, placing his hand on Mike's back.
"It's Peter's birthday..." Mike muttered looking down. He smiled and shook his head. "Time really does fly by fast, doesn't it?"
"Yeah..." Davy said, becoming more worried. "It does."
Mike whispered something he couldn't catch, sinking down onto the floor. Davy sighed and clapped his hands together once to get his attention. Mike looked around wildly for a moment, trying to find the source of the sound before his eyes eventually landed on Davy.
"It's Peter's birthday tomorrow," he explained. "How about we just go and buy a cake or make him something else. How does that sound?"
Mike frowned, confused, but stood up and gave a shaky nod.
"If you wanna make something, I could help you out."
"Make something?" Mike questioned and Davy let out a sigh.
"Yes, Mike, make something for Peter's birthday."
"Oh," Mike said, opening the cabinets. "We should make him a cake. Where's my...?"
"Your bowl?" Davy asked and Mike nodded. "Right there."
He pointed to the mess of broken ceramic and ingredients on the floor.
"What happened?" Mike asked worriedly.
"I already tried to make him a cake earlier," Davy sighed, sticking with his story. "We can make him cookies or brownies or something."
"Who?" Mike asked quietly and Davy tried his best not to get frustrated.
"If you want to bake cookies or something, I or Micky can help you out. Okay?"
"I can do it," Mike said, going back to the cabinet, looking for the bowl again. Davy sighed and rolled his eyes.
"Well, I'll be here just in case," he muttered under his breath as he sat down at the table, watching Mike carefully as he sighed and reluctantly chose a different bowl and began to take out ingredients. After about 10 minutes later, a crash pulled him out of his thoughts. He jumped up from his seat and rushed into the kitchen, carefully trying to avoid the mess.
So this is how we keep losing bowls, Davy thought to himself as he tiptoed around the pieces and found Mike curled up in the corner, very much like how he was not long ago.
"Oh, Mike," he sighed and sat down beside him. "How about this, you go rest and I'll clean all of this up. Then we can go buy a cake for Peter's birthday."
Mike only let out a small whimper and turned his back toward him.
"Mike, it's okay," Davy said softly. "It's okay."
Mike became entirely still moments later, his head pressed up against the cabinets. Davy sighed and began to clean the mess around him, choosing not to wake him up.