Huge thanks to: kahillkid5, Volcanic Lily, LuLuLucian444 and Emily Starlight. Muchos gracias! XD
Extreme AmIan fluff ahead. You have been warned. – AngelicSpring.
DISCLAIMER: We still DO NOT own the 39 Clues.
Begin.
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VINEGAR (noun): It is a liquid substance consisting mainly of acetic acid and water, the acetic acid being produced through the fermentation of ethanol by acetic acid bacteria.
Branch Clue: Madrigal
"Daniel Arthur Cahill!"
Dan flinched. Okay, so maybe he could annoy the freak out of Ian Kabra, but apparently, he went a bit too far. "Yes, future brother-in-law?"
Ian let out an exasperated breath, trying his best not to smack Dan with the freaking spatula. "Would you mind very much to tell me what exactly did you put in the batter?" he asked through gritted teeth, glaring at the bowl of the supposed batter which looked oddly... slushy.
Uh-oh. Should've known he would've seen that one coming. Dan slowly inched his way back towards the door to salvation. "I don't know," he said a little too quickly. "My hand slipped. It wasn't my fault. The vinegar bottle was tipped by the soul of the mysterious ninja –"
"Who died because he was bitten by a cobra," Ian interrupted sharply. "Yes, I know that story all too well. And if you even have an inkling of a –" Ian stopped abruptly, only realizing what Dan told him. "You put in what?" he yelled, his voice carrying through the walls of the entire Cahill mansion.
Like a flash, Ian had the younger boy cornered on the wall. "Did you know exactly what kind of pure torture I had to go through just to put in together all those ingredients to make a decent cake batter?" he asked in a low voice, deadly and menacing. "And now, you've ruined it. With just a slip of the bottle of that godforsaken vinegar?"
Dan Cahill is no idiot and he knows when Ian's voice is all calm and quiet like that, he means business. A not so pretty business. "I volunteer myself to go to the cake shop and buy the most expensive cake there is."
"Do you know exactly for whom this birthday cake is?" Ian asked, his tone still dangerously calm with a creeping edge. His grip on the younger boy's arm tightened considerably.
"Amy?" Dan squeaked back.
"Right answer." Ian's glare intensified by a great deal of magnitude. "And what kind of hints were she dropping recently about what would be the best birthday gift ever?"
Dan had to think about that. "That... she wants a homemade cake which is not expensively bought, but made with hard work and that disgusting thing the two of you have which you call love?" he said quickly, leaving him breathless after that outburst.
Ian rolled his eyes. "Do you get the point now?"
"That we're dead?" Dan asked in a little voice.
"We? Who said anything about we?" Ian smirked evilly, the kind of sneer he puts when he is thinking of something highly diabolical. "Try 'you're dead' instead."
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"I can't believe you actually took my hints, Mr. Thick-and-Dense," Amy said, looking unbelievingly at the cake in front of her.
Ian rolled his eyes for the second time that day. "Yes. Well, this is the part where you declare in front of everybody that you have the most amazing, loving and caring boyfriend in the whole world." He snaked his arm around her waist.
Amy leant against him and continued with her elated grinning. "Everybody knows already. And thank you." She looked up at him.
Ian nodded, clearly satisfied, and kissed the top of her head. "You're very welcome. Shall we eat?"
Amy looked at the emerald green frostings that decorated the white fondant of the cake. "Are you sure that's every bit as edible as how amazingly you've decorated it?"
"Pretty sure," he replied exasperatedly. He took a huge slice out of his masterpiece and put a forkful in his mouth. "See? Safe."
Amy pursed her lips, quite unsure. "Before I take the risky bite, have you seen where my brother is?"
Ian smiled slowly. "Thought you'd never ask."
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"I seriously hate my life right now," Dan groaned.
Natalie just continued flipping through the latest fashion magazine with her ankles crossed elegantly. "As you should. I would have hated mine right about now because of the mere fact that I have to spend my afternoon with you, but seeing you suffer... Well, that's a completely different story now, isn't it?"
Dan glared at her, gripping the cursed bottle tightly. "I should just pour all this vinegar on your diva head."
"Let's see you try, shall we?" Natalie replied, not slightly bothered by his threat. "Remember though, I get to pour another couple of bottle of those things you call vinegar on the floor for you to clean up."
"Your brother sure knows how to punish people," he grumbled under his breath, returning back to his punishment.
"Doesn't he?" she murmured absently, scowling at the hideous couture on the page she was in.
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Characters: Dan C., Ian K., Amy C., Natalie K.,
Author: AngelicSpring
Next: Gold, a Tomas clue, by FascinatingRhythm
Be the person who will look back on the past and say, 'Yeah. I wouldn't change a thing.'
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