[Chip]
"Giselle! Are you ready to go?" I popped my head through the gap in the door to see that she was engrossed in painting as usual. "Your appointment's in thirty minutes! We better hurry."
Minutes after I arrived at the bakery from school, I was upstairs looking for Giselle. I found her cooped up in the spare room, the smell of acrylic and oil paints slightly overwhelming.
"But Chocolate Chip," she grumbled at her easel. "I want to finish this." Xander's sister fidgeted in the spare wooden chair we had from the kitchen downstairs, now covered in droplets and random splatters of paint.
"Didn't you say you wanted to have your eye checked? Doctor Susan is waiting for you!" I was supposed to take Giselle to the hospital in town to get her condition checked before the surgeon could confirm that an operation could be carried out. Xander was supposed to come with us but the staff meeting he'd been asked to attend meant that he wouldn't have time. Not to mention volleyball practice in the afternoon...
Oh, and the deputy headmaster wanted to speak to him after the meeting. Uwa, Xander's got his hands full.
"Doctor Susan?" Giselle seemed a tad more inclined at her surgeon's name and placed down her brush. "Okay. Where's Xandie?"
"Xandie's still at school. He's really busy today, so let's give him a surprise by picking him up later!" I felt so embarrassed having to say his name in Giselle's special way but it kinda slipped unconsciously. Giselle was very keen on the idea of surprise and cleaned her hands with a rag and stood up immediately, asking if she looked okay.
I helped her with her backpack while she capped her cans of paint. "I'll tie your hair for you later! And good on you for putting on an apron. That way, your dress will remain clean."
"I can tie my hair," Xander sister grinned. "Don't need help."
She received a well-deserved pat on her head before we headed downstairs to get a blueberry muffin for Giselle to munch on while waiting for the bus. Coco and Shea were there to man the bakery while I was away and were sharing their discussion about tomorrow's official launch of savory cupcakes.
"We should have a booth, like outside the bakery. We've got to get the attention of others," Coco suggested as soon as she saw Giselle and I making our way downstairs.
"Beat those shitty competitors of ours!" Shea agreed but for an entirely different reason.
"How about something like a lemonade booth? But instead of lemonade, it's cupcakes!" I suggested while handing Giselle a blueberry muffin. "I have to go. Let's discuss tonight over the phone?"
"Okay. Bye Giselle! See you tomorrow." "See ya! Have fun at the appointment—ow!"
Xander's sister waved back at random, smiling regardless.
*
We were at the bus stop waiting for the bus to the city when Giselle held my arm all of a sudden and squeezed it tightly. I laughed. "What's wrong Giselle?"
She didn't respond at once, and I was beginning to think it might be the nerves. After all, it had been some time since Giselle had to go for an appointment with Doctor Susan, and I wasn't sure if she knew what today was about since Xander said not to tell her. I was afraid that it would scare her as well.
"Do you think I really get to see cupcakes again?"
I turned to her, taken aback by her words. "What do you mean, Giselle?"
"I don't know," she shrugged. "Doctor Susan is going to make me see cupcakes again, right?"
Unable to form a reply, I stared blankly in return. I wonder if Xander knows how strong his sister is? She knew it. All along.
"Chocolate Chip," Giselle squeezed my arm once more. "What's Disneyland?"
"O-oh! Disneyland. Um, it's a theme—"
"Do you think we can go together someday?" She spoke to the ground, kicking the gravel with her right shoe. "Us three."
I reassured her that we would, and that Xander and I would do our best to help her achieve that very dream of going to Disneyland. It made her pause with a frown.
"What if one of a princes fell in love with you?" She considered very seriously, as though trying to recall what someone told her about Disneyland. "Xandie would have to fight. He needs magic spells." I laughed, smoothing the loose strands of hair that had come undone by the wind.
"Xandie has magic spells of his own!" I attempted to explain. "He's very good at what he does."
Giselle squeezed my hand and laughed—so loud that the people across the street turned to stare. "To make you fall in love with he?"
I felt the heat rise to my cheeks. "M-maybe."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
"Alright Giselle, remember what Doctor Susan said—drink lots of water and remind Chocolate Chip to apply the cream only after you're done with your bath, okay?" Doctor Susan handed the girl a squishy toy bun that smelled like donuts, something like a stress ball. "Since we've changed your bandages, the area around your eyes might get a teeny bit itchy. Try not to scratch it, promise? When it's itchy, just squeeze the bun reeaally hard, okay?"
"Okay, okay," Giselle was squeezing the stress bun to her own delight regardless of whether or not her eyes were itchy. "Thank you Doctor Susan. For the squishy thing." Doctor Susan laughed, turning to me with a smile.
"Her body is doing well to recover for the surgery on Wednesday. Make sure she is well-hydrated until then," she double-checked Giselle's folder on her table. "I will see you both soon!"
"Thank you doctor," I bowed once before taking Giselle's free hand leading her towards the door. "O-oh, and um. On Wednesday, not just us but—"
"Ah, and your husband as well yes?" She finished with a laugh and I couldn't help but blush. "I will let the nurse know. Take care!" We waved back and took our leave, closing the door quietly behind.
Xander's sister tugged on my hand. "I'm hungry."
"What do you feel like eating?" I turned to the girl who was now almost my height, wondering if, for some reason, I looked like her younger brother. O-oh, that would be really weird wouldn't it. We greeted the nurses and doctors at the specialist section goodbye before heading down to the cafe downstairs.
"Japanese curry."
"That's quite a demand you have there," I pointed out with a laugh, and Giselle licked her lips in response. "How about we have omelette rice with Japanese curry in the evening? I'll be sure to put lots of carrots in since you have to be ready for Wednesday."
She made a face, but agreed all the same. "Yay, thanks Chocolate Chip." It was then that I couldn't help but be reminded of the time when she used to express gratitude in a different manner (say thank you!)—somehow lost in the gap of five years. Oh no, I was getting emotional out of nowhere and looking at the cafe's menu.
"We could get something light first. Would you like some mushroom soup? The creamy ones. There's corn as well. It's still a little cold outside so," I tugged at her hand to get her attention. "Giselle, would you like some soup? There's creamy mushroom, corn and um...broccoli, for some reason."
She nodded after a while. "Okay. Yeah, it's cold." We were supposedly in the middle of spring but there had been absolutely no sign of warmth over the past few weeks. "Cream of mushyroom please."
I went up to the counter and ordered a cream of mushroom soup for take out and the lady told me I was lucky since today was the last day of their winter menu.
"O-oh. Really?" I checked the menu again and she was right. There was an end date, and I hadn't even noticed that it was part of the winter menu. "You're right! Thank you."
"Usually we don't sell the variety of soups here—it's only broccoli off-season, so." Did that therefore mean that broccoli was the most popular choice out of the three? Was it alright to have a seasonal menu for the bakery as well? After all, hot pies and cupcakes weren't very appealing on a scorching summer day. Something more light...refreshing...
I paid for Giselle's takeaway soup, wondering if it was somehow possible to have ice-cream cupcakes on a summer menu. Speaking of which, Nguyen and Shin made a summer-themed cupcake. Lemon Meringue...it'll be weird if I took that idea. O-oh, better ask them first.
"Okay Giselle. We're off to collect Xandie from school after we get our soup!"
"Haha, okay," Xander's sister laughed really loudly, and the rest of the cafe turned to stare. "Send Xandie for trash collection!"
!!! Savage!! Part of me remained in shock. B-but she has a point.Thankfully Xander can't read my mind, or I'll be in it for punishment tonight. Phew.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[Xander]
For some odd reason, I've been feeling the urge to sneeze for the past couple of minutes and I was trying hard to resist it. Well, not until sharp eyes of mine spotted a terrible spike from afar.
"What kind of shitty spike was that?" I said to Nicale after he landed one on the outside. "You arm was a mess. You've got to use it like a whip—wind up, jump, smack."
Nicale shot me a glare, grumbling something rude under his breath before he he gave way for his partner's turn. I picked a ball from the basket and tossed it in his direction. "Practice against the wall. Fifty times." The first year groaned loudly and was probably hiding a middle finger in one of his pockets when I called for Dion's turn.
I was about to pass him a ball for service when I spotted the indoor volleyball coach coming towards us. "Wait," I said to Dion and he nodded quietly.
"Jaxon," Coach Aden came up to me with a firm shake of his head. "I need you to look after this." He jerked a thumb over his shoulder and it was only then that I noticed someone coming up behind him. Oh.
Finn.
"I know it's a bother, especially since you're not supposed to be in charge of indoor but you've got some great reputation over there for some reason. It's like they're all scared of you." Finn rolled his eyes but looked away the moment our gazes met. I laughed.
"Really."
"Yeah. So do me a favour?"
I shrugged. "Okay. You owe me one."
"Thanks man," Coach Aden left the training hall from the direction he came from, giving Finn a random pat on his back as he did. Finn did not look happy.
I turned to him straight away. No point beating around the bush. "What's your problem?"
"Nothing," he lied flat out, avoiding eye contact. "I'm fine."
"I heard from my husband that Evans was mad at you." Finn clicked his tongue. Bingo. He was easy to read anyway. "Haha, that's it? I thought you guys made up."
"Where did you hear all this?" Finn grabbed a ball from the basket and served randomly, without direction. It hit a pillar and bounced off.
I flicked his forehead. "Don't take out your anger on a sport. Your teammates must've been feeling it, that's why Aden doesn't want you there. You're being childish," I pointed out very bluntly, already envisioning the look of horror on Chip's face if he were to hear me say all this. X-Xan! You can't say that, it's so mean...aw.
"I know, okay? Shut up."
I blinked. Wasn't expecting him to actually admit his mistake.
"Not going to. And for that you're getting boxes. Forty." I watched as Finn's jaw dropped like never before. Boxes was short for the training we do to increase jump power before a spike, and for that one had to step onto a chair and step down for it to count as one time. Trains your calves. Also hell.
"Forty? I didn't do anything wrong!" Finn protested and I silenced him with the threat of increasing it to fifty.
He finally shut up.
"Go. Chair's over there. Do some mature reflecting while you're at it. I'm sure you offended some of your teammates with that bitter attitude of yours."
I watched him drag himself to the corner and start on his boxes before turning around with the intent to apologize for the delay—only to see that Dion was all the way at the wall with his partner Nicale, talking to him about something. I blew on my whistle to catch their attention before signing them to gather.
Dinner.
Angel.
Giselle.
...I want to go home.
I laughed out of the blue, realizing that I sounded like a kid myself. Wow, my students must think I'm some creepy shit laughing for no reason. True though, I mean—I'm running short on levels of Chip. Wonder if I can get my fill soon.
Wait. Didn't we just do it in the morning? What the fuck is wrong with my sex drive.
*
(' v ')/ A surprise awaits at the front gate! Was the text I had received from my angel the minute I dismissed the players from practice. I was a bit confused at first (in disbelief, really) when I came to realize that Chip was probably waiting for me at the front gate. Does that mean Giselle's there too?
I had to admit, I was low-key excited. Okay, high-key, whatever. It was tougher than I'd thought it would be, forcing ourselves not to interact at school. Scratch that, it was the hardest shit I've ever endured. Texting didn't cut it at all.
Be right there.
"Sir?"
I turned around. "Yes Nicale." He stared blankly at my phone.
"Why are you smiling at your ph—" Someone spiked a ball into his head, having aimed (but missed) the basket that was just beside him. Nicale stumbled backwards and Dion who was beside me caught him just in time.
I shot a glare in the general direction of the players fooling around at the back of the court, calling them out. "Whose terrible aim was that?" A couple of them pointed at one of the boys. "You? Alright you'll be spiking bottles for the rest of next week until you get all six in one shot. No games for you." I glanced at my phone again to see that five minutes had passed. "The rest of you get your asses out of the gym after the nets are kept."
"Yes sir..."
I turned to Nicale. "You okay? Is your vision blurry?"
"I-I-I'm fucking fine as fuck," he lost his ability to English when he finally identified the one who caught him from falling, pulling away at once with a face redder than when I gave them five rounds around the entire school. "I'm okay. I'm okay," he repeated. "I swear."
"Alright, alright," all I wanted for him was to calm the fuck down because his rambling might have been an after-effect of the hit. "Are you sure you don't feel nauseous? Do you need to sit down."
His partner was a step ahead of me and I had to force myself to keep a straight-ass face. Listen Xander, your reputation as fierce is at stake. "Does it hurt here?" Dion asked while patting Nicale's head and I was like: okay, stop.
"Dion, I uh, think Nicale is having a hard time breathing when you do that," I tried to phrase in a subtle manner but the boy who got hit in the head by a fucking serve did not appreciate my good intentions. Sigh.
Nicale grabbed his backpack and was out of the door in mere seconds before I could ask if he needed medical attention again, leaving me with Dion who (for some reason) reassured that it wasn't something that required much concern but ran off after the kid anyway. Right, they were all kids. Right. I have to constantly remind myself that I was in no way more mature than them when I was in high school.
Thankfully, it was Coach Aden's turn to lock up today which meant that I didn't need to stay till half past seven in the evening. I grabbed my duffel bag immediately and made my way to the front gate of the school, keeping my eye out for a certain fluffy bunny. Naturally, I spotted him a mile away (A/N: obvious exaggeration by Xandie unless he's an actual wolf and can literally sniff le bunny a mile away =v=), hiding at a blind spot past the front gate looking very excitable. Giselle was laughing. For all I knew, she was very amused because all she wanted to do was to give me the best jumpscare.
I felt bad that their efforts had gone to waste since I unintentionally found them out. Chip hadn't noticed that his backpack was poking out behind the fence they were trying to hide behind. Terrible ninjas.
I evaluated my options; one of them being to pretend as though I hadn't seen them and also feign surprise when they execute said jumpscare (A/N: Flight School readers, this is what Luka would do for Io since excitable Io is always cute and precious and should be treasured at all times huhuhue), but I went with something else in the end. Returning the scare.
What?
I can't help it, it's in my nature!
I went round the back and took a detour down the side gate to come up behind the pair, still peering past the fence.
"He should be here anytime soon," I heard my angel whisper to Giselle when I was a mere couple of steps away, sneaking up behind them. "I saw him just a while ago..."
"Who?" I spoke beside Chip's ear and he jumped like never before. Giselle squealed and laughed loudly like she usually did. I joined in.
"UwaAa!" It was the funniest sound I had ever heard my husband make. His tone had gone haywire and for a moment there, I thought he squeaked. "W-what? Xan? Where did you—I thought I..." He paused all of a sudden, as though finally coming to terms with the sequence of events before attempting to punch my shoulder. "You're so mean! At least let me try...for once."
I was about to go in for a quick cuddle when several teachers began to exit from the front gate, staring at us strangely. Chip froze for a moment, probably having similar thoughts as mine before begrudgingly proposing that we go home. "I'll...I'll get you next time," he promised himself, and I could tell he was looking forward till then. Haha, so cute.
*
"What's for dinner?" I asked as soon as we boarded the bus and found seats at the very back.
Giselle raised a bag of groceries. "Omelette rice with curry!" The sound of it triggered a growl from my empty stomach. My husband poked it.
"How was you day? Did, um. Did the deputy headmaster say anything?"
I shook my head. "Nothing much. Kinda repeated what he said in the morning after I explained to him what might have happened. He appreciates that we're respecting the complaint, but if that's the case, I don't really want you to be helping out as substitute anymore. I mean, if that's how they're going to treat you."
"Well whatever it is," Chip casually dismissed the latter part of my reasoning by poking my elbow. "I want to compliment you today for apologizing first. I've never seen you do that before. It was very, um, unlike you to give in," he laughed and I pinched his nose.
"I can be nice if I want to. But that's only because of you."
"Okay, okay...just keep it up, alright? You can tell the disciplines mistress and deputy headmaster were letting up a bit after you apologized. It's kind of a thing, you know—I-I mean, if you went on arguing over who was wrong, the problem will never be solved and everyone will hold a grudge in the end."
Giselle was nodding away, swinging her legs until she accidentally hit the plastic under her seat with a disturbing clang. Heads turned. Chip placed his hands on her knee and quietly told her to stop swinging her legs. "You can swing them when we're home. While having curry!"
She stopped immediately.
"Alright, I'll take the compliment," I said as soon as my angel turned back to me with a smile. It was sunshine. "Do I get a reward in return? I mean," I held up my hands once he began to frown, "it would be a great encouragement."
"Nu."
We spent the rest of the bus ride bargaining over the reward I so deserved and whether or not Chip should continue being a substitute for Mrs. Harry. He also said something about him having more on his hands at the bakery, now that there were competitors around and business running low.
"I have some new ideas, so," he said as we walked up the hill together after alighting the bus, sounding confident. "I'll do my best with the others! I-it's our bakery after all." Sweet fucking angels how do you not see this level of cute? How could anyone hurt this roll of fluff? Okay, names are getting weirder every passing second, Xander stop.
The three of us were walking with Giselle in the middle (because she kept swinging her plastic bag and we already lost a potato so Chip said that we should walk on both sides so that she wouldn't get bored and start swinging it again) and approaching our lane when we noticed a woman not far away, heading in the same direction as us.
At first, I couldn't recognize her. Me being...well, me, unimportant names and faces went flying out of the window as soon as people said them—so naturally, I didn't really react then. It was only when I could start to feel an intense stare on our backs that I decided to meet her eyes with a 'what the fuck you lookin' at'.
By this point, Chip had already noticed my strayed attention and had followed my gaze to look at the woman too. She however, for some reason, merely looked me in the eye and waved back with a smile.
"Do I know you?" I said aloud, and my husband turned to me with a look of disbelief. As though he was saying: I just complimented you minutes ago and you're looking for trouble again? I mean, I couldn't help it. It was in my nature.
"Hello! You're Xander, right?" I felt as though she was drawing closer and did not like it. "I'm Rachel, remember? Your new neighbor. A few weeks back I shared some goodies with you. The cupcakes." Oh, right. The ones Berry sniffed and ran away.
I merely nodded in response, not wanting to speak to her any longer. Chip on the other hand, was too polite to ignore her.
"Welcome to the neighbor hood, Rachel! How do you like it so far? I-I mean, if you do, that is. Um—"
"Is he your brother?" New-neighbor-Rachel apparently had zero manners because she totally just interrupted someone who was trying to talk to her and ignored them all at one fucking go. "That's so cute! I just came back from visiting my brother too. Ah, that must be your sister then."
Brother? Like, in what heaven and hell do we actually look alike??
I laughed dryly. "No, he's my husband."
"Oh...sorry, what?"
"Remember? I told you the moment we met." My patience was running thin and Rachel did not look like she was getting me at all. Chip looked a tad bit confused and fairly traumatized.
Our new neighbor was good at playing ignorant. "Oh, you meant, like...brother-in-law? Unless you're married because that's not possible because according to the bible, it's against God's will and, well, it is also illegal. I'm quite sure you agree," she laughed hesitantly and Giselle the queen beat her to it.
"I'm blind and I know they don't look alike. You must be blinder than me," holy fucking shit...I mean, she'd get away for saying that because of her condition but honestly that was savage as fuck. "And what you mean can't marry? Husband means married. I'm autistic and I know that."
I covered her mouth before she could spill more savagery and burn in that body of hers than I would ever have in mine. "Sorry. She can be rude sometimes."
"But I'm not saying you don't deserve it," I added with a shrug as we came to a stop outside our gate. "Bye." I know I was pretty cool and calm on the outside but inside, I was on fire.
GISELLE, I HAVE RAISED YOU WELL!
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
[After dinner]
What comes after dinner, you ask?
"W-wait, Xan—ah!" Dessert of course. "We're in the living room," Chip whispered-shouted in protest as he attempted to pry my roaming hands off his body. It was ten in the evening and quite frankly the start of sexy time. Don't get me wrong, I know it's kinda early but the earlier sexy time starts, the more I get. Logic.
"You said it's alright as long as it's past ten," I reasoned, watching as my husband tried to get my hands away. It was pretty amusing. "And you've had your pudding an hour ago."
"I-I," was all he managed to come up with, "I have one more in the fridge a-and I'm going to get it now." He tried to get up but I pulled him back on the couch, switching off the T.V while I was at it. "Why did you turn it off?" Chip scrambled for the remote. "I-it's way too quiet without it on."
"Yeah but I can't hear your moans over the noise, can I?"
My angel literally froze on the spot; then doubled onto the couch with his face in his hands. Ears red. "W-whawhaaat?" Yay, an opening to get on top of him. Naturally, my rational mind was like: dude you're in the living room, but instincts fucked all that shit up, so. And adding to that was the excuse that Giselle was taking a shower upstairs. Woohoo.
"I was thinking about you all day."
"U-um, okay I know that. I-I mean, I was, too, of course, but it's not like I can say it asdjhiqwipu help," his speech was reduced to a pile of mush and he was trying hard not to look at the thing in my pants (which was obviously hard by this point I mean, come on). "And I'm still not used to doing it with the lights on, by the way. S-so."
I shrugged, laughing beside his ear. "There's always a first." I leaned in for a kiss, deep—
"Chocolaaaate Chiiiip," what the fuck, "remind to apply the cream after you're done with your bath, okay? Said Doctor Susan." Giselle was standing by the stairs, head turned towards the general direction of the couch. Aka, our direction. It was as though she already knew we would be there.
God dammit Giselle, I take back what I said. I haven't raised you well enough.
"Uwa! Gi-Giselle? I, um, I'll be there in a minute, I'm so sorry I forgot," my husband scrambled upright, straightened out his clothes and was a bright pink by the time he collected himself. "We we we weren't, um, doing anything! Xandie just wanted to, um, he wanted dessert!"
My sister smirked. I swear, she did.
"Don't worry," she laughed. "I didn't see a thing."
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
A/N: :> see what I did there? HUHUHUEHUEHUE okay so, you must be wondering: why doesn't Rachel do anything about Chip (aka curse him in the face when they met on the way home)? Well, Rachel hasn't actually seen Chip for a really long time since they were in elementary school, and it was only through Trudy that she knew about Baked Love and decided to come to the neighbour hood to compete.
Her religious belief kinda leads her to think that her 'gift' for baking was entrusted to her by God, and that she should, therefore, excel in it regardless of who she is going up against because she has God on her side. It's a very staunch and slightly misinterpreted version of Christianity, I think. It's only because there are (actually) people like that who exist that sometimes amaze me as well o.o I do think that one has the right to believe in whatever they wish to believe, though.
The thing is: while looking upwards to a religious figure, we tend to forget what truly matters—
The humans around us.
We forget to look left and right.
-Cuppiecake.