Sugar (Harry Styles)

5.

That afternoon after the bakery closed Daphne stayed behind to make a small batch off cupcakes. She had received a list from Mrs. Potts of a group of people in Holmes Chapel that needed a smile. Harry was curious to what Daphne was up to and decided to stay behind, his arms resting on the counter as he studied Daphne as she mixed the cake batter in her own large bowl that was cuddled under her arm and against her chest. 

“So you plan on delivering cupcakes? That’s it?” Harry asked as he ran his fingers through his hair as Daphne stirred.

“Well yes, each one is going to have a little note on it and a cupcake inside.” Daphne said in a dreamy voice as she stirred.

“What’s that supposed to do?” Harry was new to this whole marketing idea. When you lived in a town this small it was either go to the chain market for baked goods or his Bakery. There was really no need to pay money for marketing, but he agreed to entertain this idea in hopes it would prolong the life of the shop.

“It’s going to put a smile on their face,” Daphne swooned, “And when people smile it means they’re happy.” She looked over at Harry who was eyeing the way she stirred the batter. “When people are happy they’ll think back to the thing that caused it, which will be the cupcakes.”

“And they’ll come back,” Harry finished.

“Right!” She said back happily as she set the bowl down on the counter and pulled the cupcake tray in front of her. They were all lined with pink paper thanks to Harry. She slowly began to pour the batter into each cup, filling it about 2/3 of the way before moving onto the next.

“What flavor will they be?” Harry mused as he watched the batter fall like a fountain into each cup, resting as if it had found its home.

“Chocolate cake with a marshmallow frosting and graham cracker sprinkles.” Daphne replied as she checked each of the cupcakes for equal filling.

“You’re talking dirty to me, Daphne!” Harry teased as he watched the girl carefully put the cakes into the oven and moved to work on the frosting.

Daphne couldn’t help but smirk at him and handed him her bowl, “Can you wash this for me?” She asked with a big pair of puppy dog eyes. Harry didn’t need to be asked twice and moved quickly to the sink to wash the bowl, careful to watch his still fresh burn.

“So Daph,” Harry called over the rushing water in the sink. “Why did you move here to Holmes Chapel? Did you not like it in Runcorn?”

Daphne was silent at first when Harry asked her why she moved to Holmes Chapel. She couldn’t quite tell him that it was his advert that made her want to move, and she sure hell couldn’t tell him the whole truth about her life. At this point in her life she had become great at story fabrication and was able to convince people of almost anything. It was one of the few perks of being as pretty and charming as she was.

“Oh it wasn’t that I didn’t like Runcorn. I love being near the water, it has a way of calming me when life gets too crazy.” She began as she separated the eggs, whites into one large bowl and the yolks into another.

“I just have always moved around a lot. I’ve lived all over England. I go back and forth between living in large towns and small villages. It was time to move somewhere quieter, some place quaint.” She looked over at Harry who was drying off her bowl and set it back down on the island in the middle of the kitchen where she was working.

“Holmes Chapel was a good choice then. It’s quite bland, nothing too exciting happens here.” Harry said as he rested his upper body against the island, watching as she went on to make the frosting.