cake
summary; she'd never tasted anything so sweet
Her breath came out in weak little pants as she tore down another corner. Behind her she could still hear the jeers and taunts from the group that were chasing her. Again.
"Don't worry sweetie, it's just a phase. They'll get bored of teasing you soon." - she scowled as she remembered her mothers empty words. In one way she had been right, they had gotten bored of teasing her, now they had upgraded to chasing her. Sometimes they would even throw things.
She gasped as she stumbled over her own two feet.
Their jeers were getting louder now, they weren't too far behind. Biting her bottom lip, she looked around her desperately. She had run into an unfamiliar area. Most of the stores were boarded up with faded CLOSED signs emblazoned over their old doors.
Apart from one.
"Exceed Cafe - exceedingly good food, exceedingly good prices!"
The logo was three cats - one black, one blue, one white - smiling cutely with the blue cat in the middle holding a tray of baked goods.
The sounds of footsteps and loud laughter got louder and she made her decision.
A bell tinkled overhead as she pushed open the door to the derelict cafe and shut it quickly behind her.
It was dark inside and apparently deserted.
She could hear the muffled sounds of angry shouting and ducked into the shadows as the group chasing her suddenly ran past.
Only after the last boy dashed past the cafe did she dare to let out her breath.
"Oi."
She nearly bit her tongue as she jumped, startled by the deep voice that called out through the darkness.
"Can I help you?"
The voice belonged to someone tall. Very tall. He was leaning against the counter with a small frown on his face.
Nervously, she stepped forward, "I…I…uh…a cake," she stammered quietly as she approached him.
He had piercings, so many piercings. Some lined his eyebrows, some curved round his ears, another two sat on his nose and one even nestled itself into the dent on his chin.
His hair was long, black and pulled back into a loose ponytail.
He had muscles. Not the weak barely there muscles the boys in her class bragged about after gym sessions each week. He had actual muscles that tensed and twitched against the fabric of his - too tight - shirt.
"Which one," he was very blunt and spoke as if she had interrupted him doing something very important. He gestured to the glass display of sweet pastries and she nodded before pretending to look.
She wasn't hungry, she wanted to go home, but leaving the cafe wasn't an option just yet.
Her eyes drifted over sweet pies and chocolate drenched eclairs, glazed donuts, sprinkled donuts, soft looking baguettes, dark brownies that look like they would ooze for days and giant perfectly rounded cookies.
Her sweet tooth began to throb slightly as she reached the cakes. Moist spongecakes, glistening chocolate gateaux's, white cream looking cakes and…
"I'll have the red velvet please," she said, staring in awe at the dark red and white cake that sat proudly in the centre of the display.
He grunted as he crouched down and slipped the cake out, "take a seat then."
Obediently she hopped onto one of the stools by the counter and watched as he brought the knife down on the cake.
"Not too much please," she said.
He simply grunted in reply and continued to cut.
"Here" he dropped the plate in front of her - the slice was huge - and nodded, "eat it."
"Thanks," she mumbled quietly, picking up the fork he handed to her and scooping a section off.
Tentatively she shoved the piece into her mouth and bit down. She couldn't stop the moan of joy from slipping out as she swallowed the cake.
She'd never tasted anything so sweet.
She scooped another piece off the cake and eagerly bit down, smiling as she tasted explosion of flavours in her mouth. There was cocoa, vanilla, and something so sweet she couldn't put her finger on it.
She scooped some of the perfectly white icing off the back of the cake and mixed it with her next bite, positively salivating as the stark difference between the richness of the red sponge and the soft white frosting.
Before she knew it, her plate was empty and she was seriously considering licking the crumbs off it.
"That was amazing," she gushed, turning back to the man who had stood leaning against the counter as she ate.
He smirked, "thanks."
His smirk caught her off guard. It wasn't quite a smile, but it seemed to light up his face all the same.
"How much do I owe you?" she asked, hopping off the stool, but he just waved a hand.
"First one's on the house," he said flippantly before disappearing into the back.
She paused for a moment before uttering a quiet word of thanks and exiting the cafe.
.
.
.
She came again the next day.
They hadn't chased her this time, but they stole her bus pass. Walking down the high road and watching them snigger and laugh as she dejectedly stomped past the bus stop wasn't high on her list of things she was eager to do, so she opted to take the scenic route.
The overhead bell tinkled loudly, announcing her arrival into the dark and empty cafe.
She settled herself onto the stool and waited for him to emerge from the back with his frown on his face.
"Oh, you again."
"Hello," she smiled politely, "one red velvet please."
He grunted as he cut her slice and handed it to her.
"Thank you."
Almost immediately her mouth exploded with the mix of sweetness and flavours and she tried to still her moan.
"Do you make everything yourself?" she asked once she had finished.
"Some of them."
"Did you make this one?"
"Yeah."
"It's very nice."
"Thanks."
He wasn't one for small talk, but that didn't bother her. She found she enjoyed their silences and didn't find them uncomfortable in the slightest.
"How much do I owe you?"
Once again, he picked up her plate and waved an airy hand, "don't worry about it."
She frowned as she watched him disappear into the back.
"Thanks…"
.
.
.
The next time she came was two days later.
She'd been running again and was out of breath by the time she dived in through the door and slammed it shut behind her.
Almost as soon as the door closed, the group dashed past the cafe.
She'd almost been too slow.
"You alright?"
She nodded, breathless as she collapsed into her stool and rested her head on the counter.
Wordlessly he cut her a slice of red velvet cake and watched patiently as she slowly gulped it down.
"Thank you," she muttered, laying down her fork. Her legs still ached and her heart beat was beating too fast for her liking.
"Those your friends out there?"
She glared up at him, "what do you think?"
He shrugged, "if you're getting bullied, you should do something about it."
"I'm not being bullied!"
"Then why do you keep hiding in my cafe?"
"I won't then."
She picked up her bag and left, taking care to bang the door as she left.
.
.
.
"I'm not hiding," she said loudly as she closed the door the next time she came.
He rose a disbelieving eyebrow and pointedly watched as the group of bullies ran past.
"I'm not hiding," she said louder this time.
"Whatever you say," he muttered, dropping her red velvet cake in front of her.
.
.
.
The next time she planned on going, she decided against it.
She'd been there more times than she could count. She knew his name now. He was called Gajeel and he was 21. His uncle owned the cafe and had him work in it in return for him mooching off of him. He didn't mind, he liked baking - he waggled a knife at her a threatened to slice off all her hair if she ever dared to tell anyone -and spent most of the day trying out new recipes. He lived in the city and played the guitar. He called her a "shrimp" or sometimes a "smurf" and once or twice "pint size elf". He never charged her, no matter how much she begged.
She liked him.
He was 6 years older than her and rude and obnoxious and sarcastic and he licked the spoons he used to mix his ingredients.
And she liked him.
She liked the way he cared for her in his own little way. He let her take sanctuary in his cafe without charging her a penny, he listened to her rant and moan about the kids in her class, he even helped her study for a test once or twice.
She'd spent her high school life wondering when she was going to finally develop a crush on someone, and she ended getting one on the rude 21 year old she sat with for an hour after school.
It made her want to scream.
So she decided not to go to the cafe for a while.
They chased her again, chucking pencils and rulers and erasers as they ran.
She ran right past the cafe.
They caught up to her within two minutes.
She winced as they laughed and jeered and tugged at her weird hair colour. She bit her lip as they mocked her underdeveloped chest and short height. She choked back tears as they called her names, horrible horrible names she'd done nothing to deserve.
"Oi, oi, leave her before I call the police."
The group of bullies dispersed almost immediately.
She closed her eyes and turned away from him, refusing to look.
"Oi."
She shook her head.
"Oi."
She shook it harder, trying to fight the tears.
"You're stubborn," he grumbled.
She felt his arm drape around her shoulder and she leaned in. He smelt nice.
"Why didn't you come today?"
She shrugged.
"Don't do that. You're small and weak and a target for bullies."
She frowned.
"So you need to stay by my side until you can take care of yourself."
She smiled, "sure."
in the process of transferring a few fics I wrote on tumblr onto ffnet for the day I inevitably leave tumblr - just transferring the ones I like (so not that many then lol)
mostly gajevy, some dragonslayer siblings and tps