Clementine couldn't remember a time where she'd slept so poorly. Each morning was the start of a new day of filming and each day could have very well been her last day on the show. A week into filming, and the stress was getting to her. Whenever she did fall asleep, her dreams were filled with melted baked alaska, crumbling cookies, and self-saucing cakes that refused to self-sauce.

On the morning of the semifinals, she awoke to a knock on her door. A sliver of wan light peeked through the curtains of her room in the chateau's west tower. She knew if she threw back the curtains she would see the green expanse of the chateau lawn dotted with white tents. She also knew she would see the sun had yet to rise.

It was Adam on the other side the door. Again. He was making a habit of bringing her down to the kitchens to help him practice his Showcase Bakes at ridiculous hours.

"I don't want any cookies, or meringues or sponge cake. It's..." she glanced at the clock on her night stand. "5:30 in the morning."

"What about pain au chocolate?"

Clementine was about to close the door when she paused. Chocolate croissants were truly her favorite part about France. With an exaggerated roll of her head she stepped into the hall. "Fine," she said as she followed him down a stone staircase towards the kitchen. "How did you say you got the owners of the chateau to agree to this?"

Adam smiled at her over his shoulder. "I agreed to do the desserts for their niece's wedding next summer — and anything I make in the morning gets put on the day's room service menu."

As Clementine watched Adam skip steps two at a time, she wondered how she had ever mistaken his passion for arrogance. From the first episode, the producers, Brie most of all, seemed to think they had chemistry and they'd been placed at stations near each other since. Everything about the competition was more difficult than either of them had expected. With the added pressure of being judged, and with the challenge of dodging cameras and sound equipment as they baked, recipes became twice as difficult, but a little less so with someone watching your back.

Backup. That's what Adam had become for her, and she for him.

Now they were two of the remaining four contestants. Rose, the 18-year-old, Louise, Adam and herself had traded positions at the top for each of the nine episodes leading up to the semifinals. Adam's early morning practice runs were his way of dealing with the stress and Clementine simply enjoyed the chance to bake without a camera in her face.

The tall kitchen already smelled of buttery croissants; Adam pulled a tray of them from the warm oven. Clementine grabbed one and after juggling the scalding pastry between her hands, broke it open to see inside. "You over-rolled this," she said. "The butter is fully incorporated into the dough. You need it between the folds to get those fluffy layers."

"I'm trying," Adam said, running a hand through his straight, dark hair. "It's just not turning out right."

"Your butter needs to be colder."

Adam sighed. "I don't think I have time to try another batch."

"Our call time is seven," she said before she took a bite of the pastry. "Woah! Cayenne pepper in the chocolate?"

"Too spicy?" Adam asked, arms folded across his chest.

"No way. You got it just right. The heat is perfect." She took another bite. "How do you even come up with this stuff?"

It was Adam's turn to shrug. "Everything's better with spice."

Clementine smiled. "I actually think we agree on that."

Adam tilted his back to laugh heartily. "I think that's the first time."

"And whose fault is that?" she teased, jabbing the half-eaten croissant at him.

Adam spread his arms wide. "What do you mean? We are both at fault when it comes to playing nice."

"Maybe," Clementine said as she found a plate and filled it with cayenne croissants to take back to her room. "You're the only person I've ever met who is almost as competitive as me."

"The cutthroat atmosphere at L'Académie de la Pâtisserie didn't help," Adam said as he turned off the oven and began to break down his setup in the kitchen.

"No. No it didn't," Clementine replied with a laugh. "The chefs pitted us against each other in everything."

"I always wondered if we would have been friends if we hadn't been competing for the same internships, the same jobs, the same spot at the top of our class."

Clementine smiled as she grabbed a wet cloth to help him wipe down the butcher's block countertops of the chateau kitchen. "So does that mean you wish we'd been friends?"

Adam looked over his shoulder from where he returned stoneware jars of flour and sugar to the pantry. He gave her a half smile that thinned the perfectly arched bow of his lips. "Maybe. Do you?"

"Maybe."

They finished cleaning the kitchen, and Adam returned Clementine to the tower with enough croissants to make her sick. "Who do you think is going home today?" he asked when they stopped at her door.

"I really don't know," she replied. "I never know. Everyday on this show could be anyone's last."

Adam's gaze fell to the floor. "I think it's going to be me. Candy is my Achilles heel."

"I'm sure you're better than you think." Clementine placed a reassuring hand on his arm. He wore a periwinkle, cashmere sweater, and after admiring the softness of it, she realized her hand was resting on hardened muscle.

"I'm really not, but I'm fine with not going into the finale."

"What?" Clementine sputtered, removing her hand so she wasn't so distracted by the more appealing features of Adam's physique. "You're not giving up are you?"

"No," he replied. "But I really don't want it to be me and you at the end."

"You don't think you can beat me?"

"No," Adam said with a firm shake of his head. "Well maybe, but I don't care. I just... I like you, Clem. And I feel like we kind of got here together, you know? I don't want to end it against each other." He took a step closer.

Clementine's brain glitched. Like? LIKE? He liked her, but in what way? Why did she even care? Her stomach gave a funny sort of turn at the thought of suffering Adam Li.

And then he leaned in. As in a lead up to a kiss sort of lean. Eyes fluttering shut, lips parting, Clementine gripped the plate of croissants tighter as she braced herself for a kiss she was suddenly realizing she wanted.

And then she heard the sound of her doorknob. Upon opening her eyes she found Adam reached around her stiffened form to open her door for her. His brow was furrowed and he watched her questioningly.

Clementine Bell wanted to kiss Adam Li, but apparently all she could do was stare at him as she came to this shocking realization.

"Promise me," Adam said. "If I don't make it to the finale, you'll choose me as your sous chef for the final challenge?"

"Sure," Clementine sputtered as she took an awkward step back into her room.

Adam gave her a smile that made her feel like he could read her thoughts, how she thought he'd meant to kiss her. How she wanted to kiss him. His smile widened and her panic deepened.

"Hey," he said before she could shut her door. "Good luck today."

"Good luck to you too," she said too hurriedly before shutting the door between them with unnecessary force.

"Insufferable," she muttered as she shuffled back to bed and tore into another croissant.

THANK YOU FOR READING! Hopefully you're enjoying this if you've made it this far! Please, if you're enjoying this story, click the star to share your love! This is my entry for Target's #onceuponnow contest so if you see any errors, don't hesitate to point them out so I can fix them for future readers!i