DragonEmperor999 asked for this one. Here you go, Amigo! Enjoy! :)

Vampirina belongs to Disney. Miranda belongs to newbienovelistRD, who kindly gave me permission to use her. :) I only own Jason.

Good Friends Are Like A Good Recipe

Chef Remy was known for his amazing recipes and outstanding food and he was also known for being an upbeat skeleton monster, one who helped Vampirina, Poppy, and Bridget with homework and provided them with healthy after-school snacks and even going to the girls' school to help Bridget when she had been bullied by some older kids who thought scaring her was funny.

Today, however, found the lovable skeleton chef sitting on a stool by the counter, looking very depressed. Oxana had noticed that the chef looked down and kindly gave him the day off, hoping that the resident chef just needed some time to himself.

Vampirina was worried when she had gone to greet her favorite chef and noticed how sad he looked. She had hugged him, to which he had returned the hug and smiled, but she could tell it wasn't his usual, cheerful smile. She fell into thought as she wondered what could have made Remy so sad.

When she headed out to get the mail, she spotted two figures coming towards her house and she brightened up. "Miranda! Jason!" She cried out, racing over to them.

"Vee!" Jason called out with a smile as he kneeled down, catching the young vampire when she glomped him. Returning the hug, the boy pulled Miranda into the hug too, making her laugh as she joined the group hug.

"Hey, Vee!" She said to the vampire that she sometimes babysat. "What's up?"

"Well, I think Remy is upset about something," Vampirina said.

"What do you mean?" Jason asked.

"Well...he looks depressed, and not in a good way," the young vampire said. "He looks like...like someone told him that he's not a good cook."

Miranda blinked. "But he's a great cook!" She said firmly. "He knows how to make some of the best dishes, both human and monster."

Jason looked thoughtful. "Did he have an argument with someone?" He asked.

"Not that I know of," Vampirina said.

"Hmm," the boy hummed thoughtfully before nodding. "Why don't we go ask him?"

"But discreetly," Miranda said. "We don't want to add more to his already-hurt feelings."

Agreeing, they headed in, going to greet the chef. "Hi, Remy," Miranda said. "How are you doing?"

He sighed. "I'm alright, chere," he said, but his voice sounded so downcast that the human girl grew worried. Jason took a deep breath and had an idea.

"Can we help you make lunch?" He asked, hoping that the offer for help would perhaps make the skeleton perk up.

"No, thank you," Remy said. "Mrs. Hauntley gave me the day off, but there are sandwiches in the fridge."

Now both humans and the young vampire were worried and Vampirina took a deep breath. "Remy, if you ever want to talk to us, we're here for you," she said.

"Yeah," Miranda said, smiling gently. "We'll listen."

"You can always talk to us," Jason said.

"Merci, my friends, but I am alright," Remy said with a sad smile before he left the kitchen, leaving the three worried people behind.

"Okay, something's really up," Miranda said. "I've never seen him this sad before."

"And sadness isn't good for anyone, human or monster," Jason said.

"Usually monsters do like gloom, but not like that," Vampirina said. "What can we do to cheer him up?"

They all fell into thought before Miranda perked up. "I know!" She said. "We could do something for him."

"Like what?" The young vampire asked.

Jason perked up. "Maybe we could bake him something," he said. "He's a chef and a baker, right?"

"He does do a mean pizza and the cream horns he made last week were monsterously good, no joke," Miranda said.

Vampirina smiled as she caught on. "What could we bake him?" She asked. "A cake? Some cookies?"

"Cookies," Jason repeated with a nod. "Miranda, do you remember those cookies you and I made a while back with our moms watching us?"

"Oh, yeah!" She said. "The Treasure Cookies."

"Treasure cookies?" Vampirina asked.

"They're cookies that have chocolate chips, white chocolate chips, and peanut butter chips in them," Miranda explained. "They're really good."

Jason nodded. "Why don't we make those for Remy?" He said.

Vampirina grinned. "Okay, but first, we need aprons," she said and spun around the two. A moment later, both were wearing chef aprons and chef hats while the small vampire also donned on an apron and chef hat. "Okay, let's do it!" She cheered.

Finding all the ingredients, the three got to work and it wasn't long before the aroma of fresh-baked cookies filled the kitchen and traveled through the rest of the house. Miranda breathed in the aroma and smiled. "Mmm! Just the way I remember them," she said.

"Me too," Jason said with a grin.

Vampirina tasted one of the cookies and grinned. "These are yummy!" She said happily.

Before long, the cookies were all baked and had cooled off a bit before Miranda put some on a plate and Jason poured a glass of milk. "Okay, where is Remy's room?" Miranda asked.

"Downstairs," Vampirina said and they headed down into the basement, coming up to Remy's room. Knocking but receiving no response, the young vampire opened the door to find Remy not in his room. "Okay, he's not here," she said.

"Then we can leave these in here to surprise him," Jason said.

They set the milk and cookies on the dresser and headed out, deciding to put the rest of the cookies in the cookie jar. After that, Jason initiated a tickle fight and began tickling Vampirina, who laughed as she couldn't escape the boy and Miranda laughed before jumping in to help Jason before he turned the tables on her and tickled her too, making both girls laugh.

Downstairs, Chef Remy returned from the closet he had been sitting in, sighing deeply. The reason for his depression was that he had been thinking about how he didn't have someone special in his life. Even when he was going to culinary school, he hadn't met a special girl monster. Most of them hardly noticed him because he had been rather shy, though had gained more confidence as he grew older and learned to make fine food which his customers loved. The Hauntleys and their friends, including the guests who came to stay at the Scare B&B, enjoyed his cooking, but...he did feel a bit lonely. Sighing again, he went to his room, a delicious aroma stopping him short and he saw the milk and cookies on the dresser. Curious, he picked them up, noticing a note beside them.

Remy,

We made these for you. We hope you like them.

Your friends,

Vampirina, Miranda, and Jason

Smiling, he tried one of the cookies, perking up as it tasted good. Eating them with vigor, he smiled once he had finished. "I must thank them for such a thoughtful gesture," he said to himself and headed upstairs.

He spotted Miranda in the kitchen and her eyes were closed. "One, two, three, four, five...," he heard her counting slowly, to which he realized the girl was no doubt playing hide-and-seek with Jason and Vampirina. Sneaking up behind her, he waited a moment before reaching out and tickling her sides.

Miranda let out a squeal as her counting was interrupted and she turned to face her tickler, finding a smiling Chef Remy behind her and he hugged her, now tickling her stomach. "Cootchie, cootchie, coo!" He cooed in her ear.

"EEEK! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" She laughed, squirming to get away. "REMY! AHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"

"Nope," he said with a smile. "You're not escaping me that easily before I properly thank you."

Miranda's laughter drew Jason and Vampirina out of hiding and they giggled at seeing Remy tickling the teeanger before Jason let out a shout of surprise as something wiggled into his shoulder blades, making him fall to the floor and squirm around. Vampirina was suddenly in the same predicament as something was tickling her stomach. Through their laughter, they saw it was two skeleton hands, to which Remy chuckled as he helped Miranda stay upright as she caught her breath.

After a bit, Vampirina and Jason felt the two skeleton hands stop tickling them and return back to Remy, who smiled and helped them up. "I got the cookies," he said. "Thank you."

They grinned. "You're welcome, Remy," Miranda said, glad that the cookies had cheered up their friend.

"We were hoping they would cheer you up," Jason said.

"Cause we didn't like seeing you so sad," Vampirina said.

The skeleton smiled and pulled all three of them into a hug. "Thank you, my friends," he said before looking somber. "I was feeling depressed earlier."

They were quiet for a moment. "Did someone say something bad about you?" Miranda asked, feeling protectiveness take over. If someone was saying nasty things to her favorite skeleton, she was going to knock the bullies into next week.

Remy shook his head. "Non," he replied. "I was just feeling lonely and wondering if...well, if I'll find someone special, like how you and Jason have each other, Miranda."

Jason blinked as he realized it. "Wait...you don't have a girlfriend?" He asked.

The skeleton shook his head. "No," he said. "I was rather shy when I was younger, so...I didn't attract any girls."

Vampirina looked a bit sad. "I wish they did," she said, not liking how her favorite chef was feeling lonely.

"Yeah, cause they're missing out on knowing a totally cool skeleton who is an awesome chef and baker," Miranda said with a smile before hugging the chef. "Don't worry, Remy. There's someone out their for you."

He smiled. "You think so?" He asked, eyes widening a moment later when she gave him a friendly kiss on the cheek and smiled at him.

"I know so," she said.

"I agree with her," Jason said, smiling at his girlfriend. Her loyalty and thoughtfulness were some of the things he loved about her.

Vampirina giggled and hugged Remy. "And you're never alone when you've got us for friends, Remy," she said.

The skeleton smiled again. "This is true," he said, hugging them. "Thank you. I am a lucky monster to have you three in my life."

Miranda smiled. "Good friends are like a good recipe, Remy," she said. "They always cheer you up."

The three hugged him again, making the skeleton smile and return the hugs. Perhaps someday, he'd find someone special.

But until then, he was happy to have three good friends who stuck by him no matter what.

Well, this one took off on me. :)

Please leave a review, but no flames!

GoldGuardian2418