AAOOOSC! Wheatie Bits!

E. 9. "Nolan's Birthday Crash" (4/6)

At Carter's kitchen...

Nolan is standing behind a granite-topped island, staring at a typed piece of paper.

"'Gluten and Dairy-Free Raspberry Chocolate Cake,'" he reads from the paper's title.

"That's right." Carter, who is now wearing an apron over his T-shirt, halts next to him with a silver bowl in his hands. "And I got the ingredients right here." He places the bowl down on the surface.

Nolan turns to his right, catching sight of the neatly-lined ingredients on the surface. "Alright..." He peers at the goalie. "...show me the steps, masterchef."
After the cake is placed in the oven, Carter and Nolan stand in front of the island, staring at the lit-up oven.

"And then we wait." Carter crosses his arms and leans against the island's edge.

Nolan turns to him with knitted eyebrows. "The oven won't smoke?"

"Nope." He whirls to him. "It has a timer."

Nolan slowly turns away from him with pursed lips. "Yes, of course," he murmurs.

"Did you see me use any gluten or dairy ingredients in the recipe?" Carter asks him with his head craned away from him, loudly and proudly.

"Nope." Nolan whirls back to him. "You used flax milk and dairy-free butter and almond flour."

Carter swings his head back at him. "That's right! And now for the frosting." He pushes himself away from the island.

Nolan's eyes light up at the thought of the rich, creamy topping. "Frosting?"

"Of course!" Carter twirls around to face him, his apron oscillating to his movements. "What's a cake without frosting?" He flicks his mitten-covered hand at him with a scoff. "That'd be a loaf!"

Later...

The most glorious gluten-free, dairy-free cake is displayed on a cake stand. It is perfectly round, craftily bedaubed with thick, rich chocolate frosting and topped with fresh, red raspberries in a circular pattern.

Nolan is gazing down at it, completely starstruck. "Ohhh!" He clasps his hands against his chest. "It's so gorgeous!"

Carter holds a cake knife and a cake server in the air. "The taste is even better." He carves out a piece and serves it perfectly on a plate. He then hands it to him.

Nolan takes the place and grabs a fork from the island. He cuts into the piece and pops it into his mouth.

His eyes immediately widen in awe at the sweet, moist sensation arousing in his mouth with the melodies of the fruity raspberries mixed with the rich, creamy chocolate.

Nolan swallows, focusing on the lingering sweetness left on his tongue. "It's...so...good..." He peers at Carter with wonder. "It's like real cake. I haven't been able to enjoy something like this in forever!"

"See?" A smug smile forms on his face. "And you didn't trust me!" He nudges him playfully.

Nolan takes another bite from the cake, experiencing more of the wonderful flavours mingling in his mouth. "Mmm, wow..."

He places the plate down and twirls to Carter, grasping onto the edges of the island behind him. He gazes at him with a soft, grateful expression. "I never knew I'd be saying this, but thank you, Carter. I couldn't have asked for something better."

Carter grins at him with his hands in his jeans' pockets. "Not a problem. But you can thank me by doing your half of the deal now."

"Okay." Nolan straightens up and crosses his arms. "When do I spend a day with you?"

"Today." He holds his beam.

Nolan has a skeptical expression. "Today...?"

He takes a quick glance at his smartwatch. "Yup, the nineteenth, since it's past midnight."

Nolan gawks at him in an offended manner. "But that's my golden birthday!"

He prances up to him. "You get to spend your golden birthday with me!" He halts next to him with an excited expression.

"What?" Nolan scrunches his eyebrows at him with a stern expression. "No! I wanna spend it with my family and friends!"

He knits his eyebrows at him, offended. "What, I'm not your friend?"

Nolan holds his hands out at him. "You're my teammate for Canada and the Flyers. Just an acquaintance."

"Not even this cake makes me your friend?" His eyes slowly land down at the perfect cake.

Nolan gazes down at it as well. "It's just a cake. A great cake." He pauses, processing the predicament he is in. "But I already had it planned out." He then lets out a huff, mentally accepting his half of the deal. "Fine, what are we gonna be doing on my birthday?" He flatly gazes back at him.

"It's a surprise." Carter plays a smirk on his face with raised eyebrows.

"Surprise?" Nolan gives him a look of disgust. "You don't know what to do, do you?"

He throws his hands out at him. "No, I do! I just don't want to ruin your birthday surprise!" He cracks a big grin before swinging his hands behind his back.

Nolan huffs again, begrudgingly believing his answer. "Fine, I guess." He picks up his place and takes another bite from the slice. "Fabulous cake, though." He places the plate back down. "Can I have the recipe?"

"Sure!" Carter swipes the paper from the surface and holds it out at him.

Nolan takes it. "Thanks." He folds it neatly and slips it into his pants' pocket. He begins to step away from him. "I should be going now—"

"Whoa, whoa, whoa, whoa—" Carter slides up into his path, facing him. "—you're not going anywhere. It's still today."

Nolan freezes, gaping at him. He then flicks his eyes to the left, catching sight of the time on the microwave. To his dismay, the green digital lights are displaying 12:29 a.m.

"Okay." He turns back to him. "So what do we do?" He crosses his arms.

"Sleep." Carter breezes by him. "It's past twelve—that's late." He rounds the island.

He follows him with his eyes. "But I didn't even bring—"

"Don't worry, make yourself comfortable," Carter shouts, not bothering to look at him. He then disappears around the bend of the kitchen and through its archway.

Nolan stands still, all alone in the dimly lit kitchen. He then slowly makes his way around the island, toward the row of counter stools and sits down on the nearest one.

He folds his arms on the table and peers up with a scowl. Where are Claguer and Shmooker gonna think I'm at? I hope they are okay... This is gonna be the worst birthday ever. His eyes drift downward, landing on the glorious cake. But the cake is so good...

The heaviness of fatigue suddenly begins to weigh on him, causing his eyes to flutter. I think I should go to bed... He then drops his head into his arms and stays still.

Footsteps slowly approach him as a figure makes his way to him. He then halts next to him with his eyes on him.

"Now I know his weakness is sweets," Carter says insidiously with a smirk.