~*Sugar, Spice, and Everything Nice*~
Summary: Touko wants to make cookies to give N for when she confesses to him. One problem: She doesn't know how to bake. Or cook. And to top her inexperience, she has never set foot inside a kitchen. Ever. (Birthday present for my friend Pikachaaaa!)
A/N: Well. I've been feeling guilty because I can't write anything for my main stories at the moment. :( I'm very very busy and I wish I could write more...but as of now, I can't. I apologize. I hope this oneshot is a little peace offering to those who want me to update the other fanfictions. ^0^ This is just a little something I threw together in about thirty minutes between classes, so I'm sorry for any mistakes. I might rewrite this eventually though.
Anyway, this is a oneshot for my friend Pikachaaaa! Hope you enjoy it. :)
Enjoy~
Peaking around the corner, Touko bit her lip. There he was, in his splendid and amazing glory. N, the most intriguing boy in school. Now, notice that he wasn't the most popular, just the most important to the girl who looked at him longingly, as she hugged her trigonometry book to her chest. This book was concealing what was truly being hidden within the folds of her arms, which was-in this case-a cookbook.
One for beginners of course, seeing that she had never cooked or baked in her life. Not even once. But that wasn't going to stop her. No, she had had a lightbulb go off in her mind and she was going to do something spectacular. She was going to confess to N. But here was the catch: She would do it with baking. Not just tell him up front. She was going to make cookies and write her feelings down in the sugary sweet confectionery icing.
Pale eyes met hers, and she blinked as she and N stared at one another.
Eeeep! she yelped in her mind, and bolted down the hall, almost dropping both her books. That was close! Slowing to a stop, she sighed, and glanced over her shoulder. The idea that he might suddenly jump up and run after her, confessing his love for her couldn't leave her head. But that was just a silly notion she should put out of her mind; Leaf had told her so.
"...Touko!" someone called, and the young girl jumped, dropping both her books onto the floor, allowing them to slide a couple feet. A tall brunette tapped a science book against her shoulder as she looked at Touko from a few steps away. "What are you doing? I've been calling out to you for a while now," said the girl, and Touko scrambled to pick up her books before the girl could see.
"S-sorry Leaf!" she said, but was too slow.
"What. Is. This?" Leaf asked, picking up the dark blue book and holding it between her index finger and thumb.
"Waaah!" Touko shrieked, and snatched it away. "Don't look at that."
"Please tell me you aren't-" Leaf started, but Touko held a hand up.
"Don't say it!" she said, her face turning red. "I know what I'm doing!"
"Actually, I don't think you do..." said Leaf, crossing her arms. "First off, I've known you since forever, and not once have you been allowed into your own kitchen. Not even the school will allow you to take home economics."
Touko's face burned as she listened to her friend. "Does that really matter?"
"Yes, because if you are the way you are with cooking as you are with everything else, then you take about...let's see...forever to actually do something right."
Touko bit her lip, "But...this is something I have to do."
"Why?" Leaf inquired, looking a little surprised, and Touko suddenly realized she hadn't told her friend of her plan to confess to N. Leaf had known that Touko was smitten with the young man, but she didn't know anything besides that. Swallowing, Touko opened her cookbook and fingered the pages before finally turning it to the correct one.
Looking away, she held up the opened book for Leaf to see. "Snickerdoodle...cookies...?" Leaf read off. "What's this? Can't you just buy some?"
Touko shook her head. "These aren't going to be for me..." she trailed off.
It took a second, but Leaf's eyebrows raised up. "You're not serious?!" she exclaimed, and Touko put a finger to her lips.
"Shhh! I don't want anyone else to know!"
Leaf pulled Touko down the hall by her uniform's tie. "Come with me," she said. "School is over anyway, so we might as well get this over with."
"Get what over with?" Touko questioned, her eyes blinking quickly as they made their way outside.
"Are you sure you want to do this?" Leaf finally asked as they approached the school's gate.
"Yes!" Touko said immediately.
With a sigh that held the world on her shoulders Leaf gave Touko an exhausted look. "You better be glad I'm your friend," she said, before waving for Touko to come along after her.
"Eh..? Okay.." Touko said, and glanced over her shoulder. Looked like she would have to get all her belongings later.
Green Residence
"EHHHHH?" Touko exclaimed as Leaf shoved her into the kitchen of the Green residence. Sparkling pots hanging from a rack above their heads and a spotless sink greeted her. She felt so shocked to finally be standing in a kitchen that Leaf had to shake her before she came out of her stupor.
"Come on, we've got to get to work," the taller brunette said.
"Work? What work?" Touko asked blankly.
Leaf pushed Touko towards the stove. "Cooking lessons."
1 Week Later
"Owwwwww!" Touko yelped.
"Stop touching things that are hot!" Leaf snapped. "We haven't even been practicing cooking for a week and all you've learned to do is drop the wrong pots and pans I've told you to get out, and touch everything that is put on medium heat!" Leaf growled.
"I sowwwyyyy!" Touko blubbered.
"Now look," Leaf said, "if we can't even get the basics down, then how are we going to get your cookies made? School will be ending in about two weeks. Do you think you will see N after that?"
Touko blanched. "No..." she said in shock, then looked at Leaf with teary eyes. "Help meeee!"
Leaf pushed Touko off of her and faced the counter. "Come on. Today we are going to learn how to make plain dough. Just dough. No baking."
Touko nodded. "I got it!"
Five Days Later
Leaf deadpanned as Touko marveled at the oven. "How do I turn this on?" she questioned, pushing and turning knobs.
"I guess it's true what the say," Leaf muttered, glancing at Touko's trig book. "The smartest people have no common sense."
"What?" Touko asked. "N-nothing!" Leaf smiled, waving a had back in forth. "Let me show you how to turn that on."
Yet Another Five Days Later
"We have two days until school ends," Leaf said, and Touko gripped the cookbook in her hands. "It's basically now or never. Maybe you could just make the cookies and hope that your confession shocks him so much that forgets to eat them."
"Am I that bad at making food?" Touko asked, making a sour expression.
Leaf looked anywhere but Touko's face. "Erm...well...you're better than when we started..."
Touko's head hung as she sighed. Looked like she wouldn't be able to give N the cookies after all... "Thanks for all the help Leaf," Touko said, closing the cookbook and giving her a forced smile. "I'm going home now. I've got some tests to study for tomorrow. Bye bye."
Before Leaf could say a word, Touko had exited the house and dashed to her own home.
12:00 a.m. , Last Day Of School
Touko hugged her pillow tightly as she stared at the electronic numbers on her bedside clock. After today she wouldn't see N anymore... Not once. He was going to be in her classes next year, right? She wondered.
There was always...next year...right?
Shoving her face into her pillow she let out a silent groan, and tossed and turned. Her mind was torn in two; she didn't know what she wanted. Arguing for what seemed like forever, she finally sat up in bed, and looked across the room at her door. Enough was enough. Leaping from bed, Touko snatched something off her desk and catapulted herself down the stairs and into the kitchen of her own house.
She ignored the fact that she had never been allowed in there, and began searching for any available ingredient that she could. Tossing them all on the table, she began pouring, mixing and punching the dough she was making before rolling it into little balls and dropping them onto a cookie sheet and putting it in the oven.
Since she had no idea how to turn on the timer, she decided to watch them until they looked like they were done...or how they looked when they were store bought. Staring intently, she waited...and waited..and waited...
Beginning Of School, 8:00 a. m.
Clutching the box to her chest, she dashed down the halls, searching for the door to her first class. Shoving it open with the flat of her palm, she panted, scanning the room.
There was a flash of green.
"N!" she called out, her heart beating wildly.
He looked over at her and she swallowed thickly. "Can you come outside for a minute?" she blurted out.
He seemed a little surprised, but masked it before walking over to her. "Of course," he told her, and followed the girl outside.
"Uhh...umm..." she mumbled as N looked at her, with his hands in his pockets.
"What are-?" N began, but Touko shoved the box up towards his face.
"HERE!" she said. "Take these!"
He blinked, but after a moment, took the white cake box from her hands, and opened it. Touko squeezed her eyes shut as silence ensued.
"Touko.." N began again, but Touko looked up at him, her eyes wide.
"I like you!" she said. "Please! Just...tell me what you think after you eat one of the cookies.
N looked at the oddly spotted cookies in the box that read: I like you N.
"They were the only cookies that I didn't burn..." Touko muttered, and N looked at her before she blushed. "N-nothing!"
He glanced back down, and spoke. "I'm not going to eat one."
Touko froze. She felt her heart sinking to her feet; how could he said it like that?
She had always seen him as a nice boy. He'd never hurt anyone's feelings before... until now.
"I'm going to eat three," he said, and set the box on the ground before retrieving three of the cookies.
He held them in his hands, allowing the frosting side to be visible to Touko.
The ones he'd picked read: I like you.
Touko's chest filled with air she'd been refusing to breathe, and she swallowed.
Could it...?
Could it be...?
She looked at N whose face was hidden by his bangs at he ate the second cookie, then the third. "N..?" she began, and stepped forward so she could see his face better. It was very pink. She gasped. "N?!"
He looked away. "Don't..." he said, putting a hand to cover his eyes. "It's kinda embarrassing."
"What...?" Touko murmured. "Do you...?"
There was silence for a minute. N lowered his hand a bit so she could see his eyes as they stared at each other. "Yeah..."
Both looked away, faces turning ever redder.
From the shadows, a sigh leaked out. Leaf rubbed her forehead. "Those two dense knuckleheads..." she murmured, shaking her head. "I'm just glad he could choke down her cookies. That was pepper she rolled the cookies in, not sugar. Oh Touko..." With a smile, Leaf put her hands on her hips as she watched the embarrassed duo who kept glancing at each other when they thought the other wasn't looking.
"Good luck you idiots," she said, and walked back into school as the teacher called roll and realized that two young kids were not present.
Ha...how was that? "Okay"...maybe? I don't feel like I wrote this very well...but...oh well. :/ Hopefully this didn't suck.
Anywho, tell me what you thought! Especially Pikachaaaa!
~Misty/Ms. Ketchum