The Prince

Part 11

On his first afternoon at the bakery, Noah stepped into the shop, taking a deep breath. He was going to have a hard time working here with the smell of fresh bread and pastry wafting through the air.

"Hey Noah, come through to the back. I'll set you up with a few things and then you can get started." Asuka, a short, slim Japanese woman with a bright, mischievous smile called to him.

"Hi Asuka," he said somewhat shyly.

"Don't be nervous," she laughed. "We'll start you out at the back first and then we can move you to the front if things work out."

"Work out?" he squeaked in surprise.

"Don't worry about that. Here, you're going to be on scullery duty for the rest of the week," she handed him his uniform, hairnet and shoe covers. Going through the rules, she introduced him to the rest of the baking team and left him to stand next to a sink with a mountain of dirty trays, bowls and cutlery.

Rolling up his sleeves and snapping on his gloves, he grimly started scrubbing to try and work his way through the pile. After an hour of scrubbing and rinsing, it felt like his arm was about to fall off and that he'd had the world's toughest workout. Taking a few minutes to rest his aching arm, his head bobbed up when there was a sudden flurry of excitement in the room.

Curious, Noah peaked around a stand of baking trays, but couldn't see much except for a tall guy who had entered the kitchen. Shrugging to himself, he turned back to the job at hand and picked up the brush to get started again.

"What are you doing?"

Noah froze when he heard the voice behind him. That couldn't be right. People sound the same all the time and the kitchen wasn't exactly quiet. Slowly turning around, he could feel the heat rise in his face as he stared into a pair of piercing blue eyes.

Of course, it would be Skye Cook or Dealer, or whatever. Was he cursed to be around this boy for the rest of the year? He felt like sliding down the sink and into a hole in the floor but couldn't because it felt like Skye was boring into his soul, pinning him in place.

"Oh, hi Skye, I only started today. Why are you here?" He looked up at the tall, serious-looking boy, whose expression was unreadable. Damn, even in the ugly-looking overalls and hairnet, he still managed to look good, he thought looking down at his sweaty, frumpy self.

I work here." He stated simply, starting to roll up his sleeve. "Well, see you around," turning, he left to go to the decorations station where bakers made intricate flowers, figurines and other cake decorations.

Noah groaned in embarrassment as he watched Skye leave. This was very awkward for him. He kept running into him for no reason and every time it felt like he came off second best. Turning back to the sink, he purposefully tried to ignore Skye as he continued scrubbing.

After another two hours of working, he felt like he'd finally made a dent in the stack of pans and baking equipment next to him. Stacking the trays on a trolley, he wheeled them away to the back of the kitchen where others were neatly lined up, ready to be used.

For all the chaos in the kitchen, things moved at quite a steady pace. He was itching to see what the other side of the kitchen looked like since he was on the bakery end, which was separated from the other side, with only a swing door leading between the two. Letting his eyes wander over the kitchen, he watched as Skye got up from his station and stretched, heading to the backdoor.

Deciding to follow him on a whim, Noah thought that he needed to get things straight with Skye before he started looking like a stalker. Not that he'd mind stalking Skye, but seriously, as hot as he was, he showed about as much emotion as a goldfish. His intense gaze made you feel like you were falling into the depth of the ocean, with no way to the surface.

"Skye?" He tentatively asked when he saw the other boy's outline leaning against the back wall. When he received no response, he forged ahead.

"I, eh, I thought that I, uh..." he stuttered feeling more intimidated by the stare, even in the dim light he could feel those eyes bore into him.

Skye looked at Noah curiously. He was strange and odd things always seemed to happen when he was around. It didn't seem like there was any malice in him, but the way that he kept turning up at every corner was disconcerting. As if they were being thrown together for some reason.

"The thing is, I, uh, I don't want you to think that I'm stalking you or anything, I just happened to get a job here. I didn't even know that you worked here until this evening," he stumbled while Skye stared at him with his emotionless gaze.

"Do you think that you could say something? He desperately asked. The silence was torture right now and he didn't want to give up his job to save face with one of the most popular guys at school.

"I'm not sure what you want me to say," Skye looked at the consternation on Noah's face, wondering what could have him so worked up now. He seemed to get excited very easily, at least all of their meetings were with him in a panic.

"So are you cool with me working here?"

"I don't care either way."

"Wait, what? You don't?" He was ready to plead his case and beg for mercy for angering one of the gods of school and here he seemed less interested in the conversation than before.

"No." Skye pushed off the wall and moved toward the door.

"Hang on!" Noah called out, suddenly angry. "Are you telling me that this whole evening I've been stressing about you getting the wrong impression and wanting to die on the inside because, well because... And you don't care?" He drifted off, his hands clutched at his sides in anger.

Did he waste a whole evening due to stress and this boy didn't even notice or care? There was cold and heartless, then there was Skye. It made him angry that Skye didn't seem to notice him at all, which he admitted was a dumb thought, but hey, he'll take anything to fuel the flame at the moment.

"What impression is it that I'm getting wrong?" His voice was warm and soft in the evening air, making Noah suddenly feel like telling him all his secrets.

"That I'm st...stalking you." He felt the heat in his face as he said it.

"And, are you stalking me?"

"Of course not! Why would I? You're hot and all, but you've got the personality of a cardboard cut-out," he retorted without thinking, then slapped his hand over his mouth when he realised what he'd said. Everything was quiet for a moment while Skye's eyes pinned him down.

Noah's eyes widened in surprise when Skye broke out in laughter. Slow and quiet at first, he started laughing harder. Noah was mesmerised by how his face lit up when he first started smiling and the sound of his laughter was as comforting as his voice, making you want to join in his merriment. Wiping his eyes, he smiled at Noah.

"What do you say to being friends, Noah?" He held his hand out to the smaller boy, who looked from his face to his hand and back.

"Sure?" He said uncertainly, feeling his hand enveloped in a strong grip.

"Good. Now relax a little, please," he smiled and turned to enter the bakery.

Standing in the dim light in shock, Noah still had no idea what happened. He'd insulted Skye and his only reaction was to laugh. Each meeting with Skye left him more confused than ever. He wondered why he was so serious all the time or detached from everything. It was as if he was cut off from the rest of the world.

With a sigh, he reached for the door. Nothing will come of all this wondering and he still had a shift to finish.