Once The Four of Them Meet - an end-of-the-world romance

4 - Bake Sale Frenzy!

I check off another day from my calendar... it's already been a week since college started.

I sit on a stool in the bathroom scrolling through Pinterest, looking for hairstyles for the day. I got up early for that purpose. 

A bubble braid tutorial catches my attention, out of habit, I scroll down to look at the suggestions, and a crown braid gets me. 

Being indecisive, I watch both tutorials and then look at Nevian still sleeping in her bed. Which braid would she like better on me? 

Settling on the bubble braids, I get to work. I look at myself in the mirror, nodding at how it looks. 

Today Nevian and I will be baking and buying goods for the bake sale on Monday. The bake sale was to fundraise money for the D&D (Dungeons and Dragons) Club. 

I saved a bunch of recipes so we were all set to start baking! Oh wait, I check the cabinets quietly making sure we have all the ingredients —shoot we are almost out of sugar. 

Grabbing my purse and red 1460 Doc Martens I head out. I feel a new profound confidence as I walk to the store with the bubble braids, and my favorite shoes on. 

The corner store was more like a full-on grocery for us. The narrow aisles held anything from medicine and skin care to fruits and ingredients. 

Half an hour later I had found everything I needed without buying anything extra. Scratch that- at the front of the purchase line I spot a Reese's stick and not being able to control my Reese's tendencies I add it to my basket. 

Let's see... I restocked on food coloring, sparkly sprinkles, and a bag of sugar, I think as I walk back home with my hands full. 

I enter our small light blue house realizing Nevian is awake and in the bathroom showering (who showers in the morning?). 

I unpack and start setting everything up, removing all the ingredients from the cabinets. I adjust my bubble braids in my camera selfie as I hear the water come off, I hope she thinks they look good on me. 

I scroll through my phone and hear what I guess is her dressing and getting ready. 

"Oh. My. God." Nevian says walking into the kitchen, her hair is lightly dripping and slightly wavy. She wears a Metallica band-t and loose sweatpants. 

"You look amazing..." she tells me walking over with a jaw-dropping expression, to be honest, she looks amazing. 

I look down at my outfit, jhorts, and a random company shirt. "Not really-" I say, trying to deny it while secretly blushing. 

"What are you talking about!? The braids are so cute!" She exclaims, coming over to caress my face, my cheeks puffing out so I look like a kissing fish. 

"Oh well..." I look to the side as she pinches my face, her smile contagious. 

"ANYWAYS" I smile, pushing her away lightly, "We have work to do." 

"NoOoOOoOoOo... more work..." 

"What do you mean 'more work'? Darlin' you were sleeping if you forgot," I scoff at her with a Sawyer-like country accent.

She makes a sulky expression and walks away to start making coffee. 

"So... now we need to find recipes," Nevian remarks as she starts the machine.

"Already done, darling"

I hear a sigh and after a long period of awkward silence, she hands me a coffee. 

"Thanks," I mutter.

Time skip >>>>>>>>>>

"Last one! Drum roll... carrot cake!" I announce, tossing the recipe to Nevian.

We get to work, already finding our rhythm. Music blasts in the background, a calm rock tune. Gorillaz, I'm guessing. Nevian is a big fan of old music, I mostly listen to the radio.

I bob my head to the music, adding the eggs and the milk to the batter as Nevian makes the icing. Surprisingly, we haven't messed up on any of the recipes yet... I'm not going to jinx it though. 

The marbled counter is dusted with flour and dotted with weird sweet substances. The windows let a warm breeze in. My shirt is covered in white powder, probably powdered sugar and flour. 

🎶 "I ain't happy, I'm feeling glad. I got sunshine, in a bag!" Nevian sings as she mixes food coloring into the batter. 

I see her wipe her face, leaving a bit of frosting on her cheek. 

"I'm useless, but not for long. The future is coming on." I add, humming along as I  mix the cake batter with a spatula. I start pouring the batter into a circular pan and remember I forgot to preheat the oven! Frustrated, I set it to 350 degrees, tapping the frame, willing it to heat faster.

"Umm, Athena... I totally don't need some help here!" I hear a voice chirp.

Frosting covers Nevian's hands as she balances the mixing bowl with her leg. 

I let out an exasperated sigh and help her stabilize the bowl and herself by holding her waist in one arm and the bowl in the other. Her waist is small and light and I push her up onto her feet.

"Wanna high five?" she says with a cheeky grin, raising her frosting-covered hands. 

"Y'know what, fine." 

I watch as if in slow motion as her hand moves past my awaiting hand to my face. I stagger backward and then all hell breaks loose. Reaching over materials, I grab some icing and wiggle my finger near her face.

"Try it! Try it!" I tease her. She licks my finger and makes a satisfying face. 

Oh, Eww! I think, taken aback. 

Using the extra seconds, she scoops exactly what is near her hands, and to my luck, it's powdered sugar. She snowballs it to my face and I close my eyes. Light clouds of dust hit my skin softly. 

My energy is wiped out and I take a rest on the ground. The powdered sugar is sweet and I lick a ring near my mouth. 

Nevian comes up to my face laughing hysterically. To make matters worse, she starts tickling me until we are both a heap of laughs. 

We both pause to catch our breath and I feel so happy at this moment. Nevian, almost lying next to me, propped up by her hand as she watches me. 

The sunlight shines through the window directly illuminating Nevian's eyes, her eyes. The blue hues of her grey pupils glow and I feel myself entranced in its' embrace. 

I breathe deeply and observe her beaming at me. My stomach rises up and down as I inhale and exhale. My muscles are relaxed, my arms resting at my sides. 

Nevian falls back and rests next to me, sunlight kissing our skin. I close my eyes and relax.

...

...

...

"DING!!" the oven breaks the silence at 350 degrees. 

"Aww shucks, work."

Welp! I hate when you're all relaxed and then you remember you forgot to do something and you have to get up and do work! Anywayzzz... this is not my best chapter yet, but it is pretty long!

Peace! <3 b00ks0verb0ys