o.V.o
When I walked into the door of my house, Francis stood there with a grimace. "Mon cheri, I'm glad you're doing something other than moping around but…. Do you really intend to cook?" He asked, reluctantly handing me the bag of ingredients.
I could understand his reluctance. When I first moved in with him, he was upset that I wasn't eating. As a compromise, he said he would buy me any ingredients I wanted so I could teach him what I liked to eat. I tried to teach him how to make beef stew just so he would shut up and leave me alone. To say that the cooking ended in complete failure would be an understatement but sufficient to let you get an idea of what happened.
I grabbed the bag of ingredients with a scowl. "Yes, I intend to cook! I'm going somewhere on Saturday and the git asked me to make him some scones for him to try!"
His face lit up at those words. "Ah, so you're actually going somewhere for once?" He asked innocently.
"Yes, I unfortunately am..." I mumbled as I made my way to the kitchen. I put the bag on the counter and pulled out a bowl to mix the ingredients together and a pan to bake them on. I could feel Francis standing in the room with me. "Hey, Frog, if you have nothing better to do…." I mumbled words that even I couldn't understand.
"Hmm? What was that?"
"Could you…. Help me…?" I asked sheepishly.
He chuckled. "Last time I tried, you got threatened to destroy me. You sure you want me to help?"
"Would I even think of asking if I didn't?" I snapped.
He sighed and walked towards me. "If I must, although, I can't believe I'm letting all my culinary talent go to waste on British food."
"Shut it!"
He chuckled. "So, if you're swallowing your pride to ask for my help, he must mean something, non?" He walked to the bag and started pulling out the flour, baking powder, butter, and cream that I had asked for and then some extra things.
"Why did you buy lemons and blueberries?" I asked.
"I figured you were making scones and hoped you would ask for my help to make them taste less bland."
"Shut up!"
He laughed at me then turned the stove on to pre-heat it. "So he means something to you if you didn't shove me out of the kitchen at that."
I could feel my face turn red. I was just embarrassed that I was actually asking for help and it seemed like he was teasing me about it with all of his questions. "Maybe…."
"Is it, maybe, that adorable American?" He went to the fridge and pulled out some eggs and the frozen butter then grabbed some sugar from the pantry.
"… This country is full of Americans…" I tried to pretend I had no idea who he was talking about as he poured the flour, baking powder, sugar and salt into the bowl and mixed them together.
"That Alfred boy. The cute one that hugs you and calls you 'Artie' all the time. The one you curse about every day." He grabbed a second bowl.
"Do I really? I hadn't noticed." I pretended to act indifferent.
He grabbed the second bowl and cracked some eggs in. "Oui, so is it him?" He paused what he was doing and looked at me expectantly as he awaited me to confirm his suspicions.
"…. Maybe…."
"Then I'll make certain that he will enjoy these." He said with a wink as he poured cream into the eggs and began to beat them together.
"Hey, I'm supposed to be cooking! You're only helping!" I protested and grabbed the bowl from him. I began to mix the mixture. He started cutting up the frozen butter into smaller chunks.
When he finished, he poured the chunks into the bowl. "Mix the wet ingredients for me, will you?" I asked as I began to mix the butter in with my hands.
"Sure." When he finished, he waited until I took my hands out of the bowl to add the mixture to the dry mix. I began to beat the mixture together until he stopped me. "You're about to over mix that." He said, taking the bowl away and stopping me from mixing it anymore.
"He can handle it not being perfect…." I mumbled.
"Maybe, but I can't. Just watch." He ordered. I reluctantly obeyed. "Cooking is like making love, you must treat each step kindly or it won't sing as well." He claimed with a smirk.
"Bloody pervert! There is no connection between the two at all!" He laughed and added the blueberries. He grabbed a lemon and gently grated the skin for the zest to put into the batter. I watched in envy. "Where did you learn how to cook?"
"France, of course. That's why my food actually has a decent taste. Get a cutting board and spread some flour on it." I grabbed the board and did as he said. He poured the mixture onto the board and molded it together into a single lump.
He rolled the dough out and took out a large knife. He cut several triangles from the dough. "Put some parchment paper on the pan."
After I put the paper on, he carefully laid the triangles on the pan, making sure they didn't touch, before beating the white of one more egg and lightly spreading it on the triangles. He added a slight bit of zest and sugar to the top and stuck the scones into the oven.
"And now we wait. So, tell me why the sudden trip somewhere? What did he do to get you to agree?"
"…. He wouldn't stop texting me during class until I agreed to hang out with him this Saturday… He had already asked his mum too…." I replied as I took a seat near the stove. He gave me a knowing smile and leaned against the stove. "What?"
"What do you mean 'what'?" He asked innocently.
"What sick things are you thinking of now…?" I asked warily.
"Not a thing, mon cheri. So what do you plan on doing over there?"
"Nothing perverted that I know is going through your mind, wanker. He just asked me to bring some scones and come there myself. I don't know what he has planned yet." We sat in silence for a moment. Something very rare for us. I was getting rather uncomfortable. "Aren't you going to make any perverted come back or something?"
"Non, I proud of you. You're finally opening up to someone." He gave me a hug that made me even more uncomfortable. "Just promise me you'll be okay now."
I tensed. I could never keep that promise, not even for her.
….
I was at home, reading a book when someone knocked on the door. "I got it!" I yelled and made my way to the door. Wynn was on the other side.
"Heya, Kirkland. Can I have my book back yet?" Wynn asked weakly. I was surprised when I saw how dead her eyes looked and how pale she was.
"Wynn? What's wrong?" I asked. I knew she could hear how worried I was.
"Eh? Whatever are you talking about?"
"You look like a banshee's got its grip on you!"
She forced out a hallow laugh. "Just what every girl wants to hear." She joked.
"Come in." I said as I grabbed her right arm.
She flinched in pain. "Could you grab my other arm, if you must grab one? That kinda hurts…"
I let go immediately. "Why would it hurt?"
"No reason….." She averted her eyes and began to chew on her lip ring. "Can I have my book now?"
"Not until you answer my question. What's wrong? What did Collin do to you?"
Tears formed in her eyes but she blinked them back. "Oh, he didn't do anything. We broke up and I guess it's making me a little sad."
I grabbed her arm and pulled up the sleeve. Sure enough, there was heart shaped cut on her arm. "Wynn… You promised me you wouldn't do this anymore!" I heard myself yelling as I went numb.
"Sorry Kirkland, I wasn't really paying attention and things got bad. I'm okay though." She forced a smile on her face.
"This is not 'okay'!"
"Leave it alone…."
"But… he hurt you." My voice softened and she must have heard how hurt I felt.
She shrugged. "So? That's life. You get hurt…"
"You don't have to though... Is there anything I can do?" I looked sadly at the cut.
"Not really…"
Those words stung as if she had slapped me. They made me feel worthless and helpless to the plight of the only person I had ever loved. "If there is anything I can do, just say it." I replied without a pause, so she wouldn't know how much those words had hurt me.
"It was my own fault we broke up anyway. Can I just have my book back?"
I felt weary but forced myself to move. I went inside and silently gave her back her book and led her to the doorway. "Just call if you need anything at all, even it's something as simple as helping you find where the faeries hid your make-up." I tried to joke.
"Thanks." She smiled slightly at my joke then turned to leave but stopped. "Hey Kirkland? Make me a promise?"
"What?"
"No matter what happens, promise me you'll always be okay?"
"Why do I have to promise that?"
"Well, things change a lot throughout life and can hurt even more. I want you to always be okay and never hurt the way I do…"
I stayed silent as she left. I was still standing at the door long after she left. "I can't promise that…." I finally whispered as tears started to slide down my cheeks. "Every day you love someone else, I break that promise…"
…
"I can't promise that…." I choked out in reply after a few moments of silence. The memory stung but I refused to let him see how much I was hurting. Francis seemed to know anyway because he didn't push it and checked on the scones.
Suddenly my phone went off.
"Hey Artie! 'Sup?"
I watched Francis pull out the golden scones from the stove and glared as he gave me a knowing smile. (Nothing…..)
"That's not an answer"
(How so?)
"'Cause"
('Cause' isn't an answer either then)
"Alright, then I won't accept that answer :p"
(….)
"'…' isn't an answer either :p"
(Shut up git…)
"So what are you doing?"
(None of your business!)
"Awww…. =("
(What time should I be at your house Saturday?)
"Um…. How about noon? :D"
(Okay, talk to you later)
"Wait!"
(What?)
"Don't go yet! I'm bored!"
(Alfred, you're ALWAYS bored….)
"So?"
(So maybe I'm busy right now!)
"Awww…. Text me when you're done?"
(Will you leave me alone to finish if I do?)
"Yeah….. maybe…."
(….. Fine…..)
"Yay! Ttyl!"
(…. Whatever….)
I turned to Francis. He was still smiling at me. "What are you smiling about, you wanker?" I growled threateningly.
"Oh, nothing. Who was that?" He innocently asked, although I was sure he already knew.
"Who else would text me?"
"Ah, so it is cute little Alfred! I thought so!" He began to tease.
"Shut up…."
"Non."
"Fuck off!"
He let out a laugh. "Alright. Now, taste this." He handed me one of the scones. I sniffed at it, as if it were poisoned, before taking a small bite.
I was annoyed at the delighted sound I made as the scone seemed to melt in my mouth. I barely had to chew the blueberries and the rest just seemed to disappear as my traitorous hand reached for another. That same hand got a nice smack as well. "Save some for that cutie of yours." Francis joked.
"It's not my fault you put something addictive in these without me knowing…"
"You can have another if you clean up everything then, including washing the dishes."
I looked at the small mess and debated in my head if it was worth it. "Fine…." I relented and quickly washed and cleaned everything. "Scone. Now." I held out my hand for another and he chuckled at me.
"That was quick."
"Yeah yeah, there're scones on the line."
"Alright, but don't blame me if there aren't any more for Alfred." He gave me one more scone before putting them in the freezer to keep them fresh.
I shrugged and went to my room. The next day, when I returned from school, I smelled fresh scones. I walked into the kitchen and found a freshly baked batch on a plate. I grabbed one and studied it. I guess Francis was happy he had found something I would eat without fighting.
I decided to humor him this once and ate a couple.
o.V.o
