in my heart // n.h a.u

part five

Val is looking in one of the kitchen cupboards, trying to find the  microwave jug she'd only put away the day before. She knows she put it  in this cupboard in particular, but she is certain that it has since  grown legs and walked away. "Bloody hell, where is it?" she grumbles to  herself, sifting around a few bits and pieces she doesn't even remember  buying. Probably Christmas or birthday gifts, she thinks.

"Still  can't find it?" Briar asks from the other side of the bench, where she's  been sitting since the second Val announced it was time for some  Christmas baking.

"Nope." Val shakes her head, pulling back from  the cupboard and frowning to herself. "While I search, can you measure  out the chocolate melts for me?" she asks Briar, then sits back on her  heels as she tries to contemplate whether she put it in a different  cupboard. Val's looking in the one next to it when she realises there's  been zero noise from Briar — she's definitely not measuring the  chocolate chips like she was asked. "Briar, can you—" Val pauses the  second she stands back up, giving up on the microwavable bowl, and sees  the reason why. "Wait, are you seriously eating them right now?"

Briar  stops what she's doing, mouth snapping shut. "No," she tries to say,  but the drool that dribbles from her mouth says otherwise.

Val  frowns, standing back as she places her hips on her hands. "When I asked  you to help me with this baking thing, I expected you to actually help  me, Briar," she begins to tell her honestly, not, y'know, watch me do  everything as you pick at the food."

"I don't know how to bake,"  Briar replies with a shrug, popping a few more chocolate chips in her  mouth. "I mean, I know how to bake under my eyes when doing my makeup  and I know how to, well, get baked, but not, like, actually bake food."

Val  blinks a few times, staring at her best friend, but then eventually  sighs. She's impossible when it comes to baking, almost as impossible as  Niall. Almost, though, because no one is as impossible and useless in  the kitchen than Niall. She swears, if she had to hear him call specific  baking terms wrong one more time when she helped him with the cookies,  she was going to scream. But Val did kind of scream anyway afterwards,  after she left his flat and returned to hers, staring at her couch far  longer than she's willing to admit to anyone.

"Here, just — yeah,  put those chocolate chips, or what's left of them—" Val narrows her eyes  towards Briar, who only gives her the cheesiest smile in return "—into  this bowl here," she says, grabbing a bowl from the opposite bench and  sitting it in front of Briar. It's not the microwave jug she originally  wanted, but it'll still do the job just fine. "Measure out whatever's on  the recipe here," she adds, passing over the recipe book her grandma  got her the year before because she was constantly calling her up and  asking for all her favourite recipes as a child.

Briar does as  she's told, though Val spots her sneaking a few extra pieces out of the  corner of her eyes. Niall also liked to do that when they were baking  together; Val swatted his hand away a few times, but in the end she  stopped because there was a glint of cheekiness in his eyes whenever  he'd glance her way to see if she was watching. She pretended she wasn't  just to see those bright blue eyes and smile she doesn't think she'll  ever forget.

Val takes the bowl from Briar, not trusting her to  melt the chocolate in the microwave. She didn't trust Niall either, but  he still tried to take control and do it himself. Val gave into him,  which only ended in him burning yet another batch of chocolate and  frowning as he returned to following Val's instructions and letting her  do the harder bits of the recipe.

"You're thinking about him  again, aren't you?" Briar asks after a while, stirring a batter that she  doesn't even remember what's for. All she knows is Val told her to  stir.