Yori shifted the weight of her shoulder bag, pausing in front of Cross Confections. Although she'd often visited the bakery in the past, she hadn't been able to find the time since Yuki had begun working there, and she wanted to surprise her friend. School had let out for the day not long ago, though Yori had lingered in the library to study, giving Yuki plenty of time to get settled in whatever was her normal routine. Reaching out, Yori's slim fingers closed around the handle of the door as she pulled it open, breathing in air heavily scented with the smells of baking sweets. She inhaled deeply, enjoying the perfume before stepping inside.

And immediately wanted to step back out.

By the counter at the far end of the shop, Yuki had apparently tripped over her own feet, something not uncommon at school, and a slender blonde boy had caught her easily with an outstretched arm, barely rescuing her from a very intimate introduction with the floor. He shook his head, saying, "Be careful, princess. A face as lovely as yours must not be harmed."

Another boy, this one slightly shorter than the first, with stylishly tousled blonde hair, smirked, "It's alright if she falls, Takuma. Since I'm her knight I'll protect her with my own body to cushion her fall."

"Shut up and get back to work!" a third, silver haired boy in an apron snapped, cuffing the second on the back of the head. This one she recognized as Zero Kiryuu, Yuki's friend since middle school.

"Ow! Hey, watch it! You'll mess up my hair!" he glared.

"Are you alright, Yuki?" Zero asked, extricating her from the blondes.

The girl laughed, nodding happily, "I didn't fall, so I'm fine!"

"Good," he responded, obviously relieved, and as he headed back into the kitchen, Yori caught a small smile floating at the corner of his mouth. That was certainly interesting…

Staring at the scene before her, Yori wasn't sure if she should walk back out or not. It was apparent that she had just stepped into an entirely different dimension. A different dimension inhabited by blonde perverts, a klutzy waitress, and a gangster baker. It really was probably best if she left now…

"Yori-chan!" Yuki exclaimed in sudden excitement, face lighting with joy. Well, so much for a quiet escape…

"Hello, Yuki-chan," she greeted her best friend warmly. "I came to see how you were doing. I'm sorry I couldn't stop by before."

"I'm glad you could come!"

"Me, too," Yori smiled, but was suddenly cut off as the shorter blond closed in on her, catching her hand in one of his and bringing it to his lips flirtatiously.

"This afternoon is most exquisite, for such a beautiful ray of sunshine to have wandered into our humble shop. Would you care to take a seat? I'll bring you a menu right away. Today's specialty is my heart," he smiled at her devilishly.

What. The. Heck.

Yori stared back at him impassively, giving off all the expression of a stone. Then, slowly, one eyebrow raised, and she regarded him with what he could only perceive as disdain. At a loss, he released her hand, taken aback by her lack of any normal reaction. Just who was this girl?

"Aidou-senpai, you don't need to be in host mode," Yuki rolled her eyes, "this is Yori-chan. She's my friend. And these are my coworkers, Aidou-senpai, Ichijou-senpai, Shiki-senpai, and you already know Zero."

As Yuki gestured to each, Yori took a note of their names. Shiki was completely asleep at the cash register. It was a lucky thing that the shop wasn't busy at this hour

"I feel inclined to say something when I meet a beautiful woman," Aidou tried again.

"I appreciate the offer, but I'm afraid I really can't have the special," Yori replied evenly, "Seeing as how you already gave your heart away to the first hundred girls who stepped in the door, there can't be anything left. That must be why your lines weren't particularly heartfelt."

Aidou looked like he'd just been slapped in the face, and Ichijou laughed in the background, coughing in an attempt to cover it up. Yuki attempted to salvage the situation, steering her friend to a table, "Well, just sit down and look at the menu. The strawberry and chocolate cakes are especially delicious!"

Yori sat obediently, flipping open the menu and perusing the selection. Over its top, she watched Aidou retreat to the back of the shop, shoulders slightly slumped in defeat. She couldn't really feel bad for him. To use such cheesy lines…who would ever think he was serious? She shook her head, returning to the menu. The chocolate really did look delicious, and she ordered it from Yuki a moment later.

"Open wide," Ichijou declared, putting a piece of pocky in the sleeping cashier's mouth.

A moment later, Shiki came to life, yawning and asking, "What'd I miss?"

To be honest, he looked rather familiar, as did the other two. After a moment, she remembered the new magazine all the girls were carrying around, and pegged this Shiki as Senri Shiki. He was quite popular, though tended to remain outside the social circles at school. The taller blonde, too, she recognized as Takuma Ichijou, son of the superintendent of the schools and extremely popular among the girls. And last… When she fished the name out of her memory, vague though it was, she nearly made a face. Hanabusa Aidou, or "Idol-senpai," of course. She should have known. The most flirtatious and absurdly popular boy at her school. She'd certainly never paid an iota of attention to him. She was fairly sure that he didn't have more than a single brain cell living under that hair. Meeting him today only proved her theory more correct.

"So how did your studying go, Yori-chan?" Yuki asked, interrupting her thoughts.

"Like studying," she chuckled. "Pretty boring, really. How has work been for you today?"

"Pretty slow. But, today is Wednesday. It's usually slow at this time."

"Is it always like this here?" Yori indicated the three workers crowded around the cash register.

"Yep, pretty much!" Yuki laughed. "Oh, I nearly forgot. Did you want some water?"

"Sure," Yori nodded, and the other girl ran back to the kitchen.

A moment later, Zero emerged from the kitchen with a freshly made chocolate cake. As he set it down in front of her, his face grew thoughtful for a moment, and then he commented with feigned casualness, "Hey, Aidou, isn't this the girl who, every quarter, beats you out of first place in English and history by one point?"

Aidou blinked, eyes shooting across to her in surprise. Yori barely controlled her face, trying not to let her shock show. This arrogant playboy was actually smart? She didn't believe it. So far, she hadn't seen him display a shred of intelligence.

"Looks like you'll never be first across the board," Zero remarked with apparent satisfaction, and Yori's eyebrows slipped up a notch.

First place in every subject? The words didn't seem to add up in her brain, no matter which way she tried to fit them together. If he was, in actuality, in possession of a functioning brain, then wouldn't he know better than to spout off lines out of some Shakespeare parody? She gave a mental shrug. What did it matter, anyway? It wasn't as if this knowledge was going to change her perception of him any. As far as she was concerned, he was still an idiot.

"And here's your water, Yori-chan!" Yuki announced as she skipped out of the door to the kitchen.

Yori saw what was coming an instant before it did. Yuki's shoe caught against the floor, and a moment later Yuki was saved from hitting the ground once again by Ichijou's ready arm. The glass of water, on the other hand, met a different fate, soaring across the room to splash over Aidou, who stood there for a moment with simmering rage.

"My clothes are soaked!" he exploded childishly, glowering openly at the abashed Yuki.

"Hehe, sorry about that Aidou-senpai. …It's just water," she rubbed the back of her head, glancing at him apologetically.

"My clothes are completely drenched!" he repeated, albeit with different vocabulary. Okay, Yori made note, so he did know his synonyms.

"If only he would melt," Zero muttered under his breath, to which Yuki hissed, "Zero!" and smacked him hard on the arm. Yori swiftly hid a smile. He lifted his eyes to the ceiling, then barked callously, "Get a towel," and returned to his lair, otherwise known as the kitchen.

With both his attire and pride soggy, Aidou sullenly marched himself back to find said towel and dry himself off. Yuki brought Yori another glass of water, and settled down with her while she ate. The chocolate cake was just as heavenly as Yuki had promised, and Yori made sure to eat it with dainty bites in order to savor every mouthful. Zero was certainly skilled when it came to baking, even if he wouldn't be caught dead eating his own creations.

"What year are you in school, Yori-chan?" Ichijou asked curiously.

"I'm a junior, the same as Yuki," she replied, feeling much more at ease with this blonde haired employee.

"No wonder I don't know you," he pondered this for a moment, then, "You must be very bright, though, to outrank Hanabusa in some subjects. School has always been his strong point."

The school exams at the end of each quarter were a time of stress for most of the students. Yori had never really been concerned with them, but Yuki certainly scrambled to study for the tests every quarter without fail. While grades were generally independently ranked, the top ten students in each subject were posted, encompassing all grades, and Yori strove to place on this list each quarter. She had never really paid much attention to the other names there, only scanned until she found her own name, which generally wasn't difficult since she was first or second in nearly every subject. But she could scarcely believe that "Idol-senpai" of all people was the one to outrank her so often.

"You should come here more often," Ichijou suggested, "That way Yuki won't be quite so outnumbered by guys."

"I'll definitely try to. I meant to come here before this…," she trailed off. There had been the quarterly exams, and then relatives had come by. All in all, the timing had just been bad.

"You came now, though," Yuki grinned. "Do you like the cake?"

"It's delicious," Yori made no attempt to hide her pleasure with the dessert, finishing it off with one last tiny bite.

"You make it look delicious," Ichijou winked, clearly teasing, and then made his way back behind the counter.

"Well, I can't really stay long," Yori made a face, "My parents are expecting me back for dinner. But, the cake here is amazing. I'll definitely drop by again."

"Try the strawberry next time," Yuki tapped the picture on the menu. "It's really good, too."

"I will," she promised, handing over the money for her cake. "See you at school tomorrow, Yuki-chan!"

"See you!" Yuki bid her friend farewell.

Yori gave a brief wave to the two visible boys in the back, exiting the shop and heading down the street towards her house. Actually, she planned to go back tomorrow. She certainly couldn't leave her best friend in the hands of so many popular boys! Of course, Yuki would be well protected by Zero… She covered her smile with a hand. It definitely seemed like there was a little spark there! She would have to watch to see how that played out. Switching her shoulder bag to her other shoulder, she crossed the street and disappeared from view of the shop.


AN: So I decided to write another chapter just for fun. Idk if this will have more or not, tthere's no real plot. Just cake shop drabble. Anyway, as always, review! Hope you enjoyed the chap!