A mundane, lifeless school week had finally passed. My father called the mundane days some of the most fortunate, but I'd disagree.

I needed a pick-me-up. An activity to do other than mindlessly scrolling on my phone. So, here I was, covered in flour, drenched in vanilla extract, and looking like a complete moron in my apron and chef's hat.

Was the chef's hat really necessary? No, but it did give me a good giggle.

I also wasn't the best baker. It didn't matter, though.

Golden rule number four: If you could clean it up before mom comes home, there's no harm done.

I poured my mixture into the cupcake pan. It slowly filled up, and my gaze was entirely focused on it. So much so, I didn't even notice him come in.

Varun cleared his throat, "So, baker Ahuja's back?"

Light teasing felt odd at the moment. I stayed silent for a moment.

He spoke again, "Ah... still avoiding me, I see," his dark voice rasped.

My eyes shot up and met his. He raised his eyebrows, challenging my stance.

Since the day of Varun and I's last conversation, I had reflected on his words. I felt like I couldn't stay mad at him. Maybe, he really did just want me to have some peace of mind. Why would he ever promote something that could harm me?

"I wasn't avoiding you," I lied.

He furrowed his eyebrows and walked towards me, "Really?"

"Mhm," I said.

He was hovering over me. His fresh scent was overtaking my senses.

He hummed, "Doesn't sound really convincing."

I shrugged my shoulders, and snapped out of his trance. There was thick tension in the air, which made my breathing thick and my stomach flutter in anxiety. I wasn't sure why it was there, though.

I took a step back, holding my pan, and Varun stood there. The oven was preheated. I opened it slowly and cautiously. I placed the pan on the counter and I swung the oven door open.

Varun sighed and said, "I never asked you to fucking bring him back to your life. I- I just thought maybe you'd feel be—"

I pulled out the oven's rack with my bare hand, sizzling my hand. "Fuck!" I yelled.

I held my burnt hand with the other one, and backed away.

"Tara!" Varun exclaimed, "Oh my god."

He ran up to me and grabbed my burnt hand. I winced in pain and also felt an abundance of embarrassment. When he started talking about Ezra again, it was as if my mind completely went blank.

He pressed his soft lips up to my hand. "Shh, it'll be okay," he whispered.

My heart was pounding. I was overheating, but I wasn't sure why.

He urged me over to the sink, still holding my hand. He kept his hand underneath mine while running some cold water. Cold water soothed the pain.

After a minute, I released my hand from the water, and I felt Varun's worrisome glare on me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

I scoffed, "Other than the morbid levels of embarrassment, yeah," I said.

Varun chuckled, "Don't be embarrassed," he said.

I wasn't convinced.

"I mean, you saw me with that buzzcut," Varun said, mildly cringing.

Now, I was completely convinced.

As I attempted to contain my laughter, I felt air swell in my cheeks. I found myself laughing as I fell short. Man, if you saw the buzzcut, you'd agree that it was horrendous.

Varun rolled his eyes, "Okay, okay," he took a step back, "No more recalling it."

I agreed, nodding my head, still muffling my laughter.

He smiled, silence filling the room.

"About what I said earlier," Varun said, his tone becoming more serious, "I'm sorry."

My eyes scanned the floor. "No," my voice croaked, "I should apologize. I might've lashed out at you a bit too hard."

He slowly, but cautiously nodded.

"Forget that douche; you were the one who had it right all along," he said.

I pressed my lips together and stood on my tippy toes, and back down.

"So, we're good now?" Varun asked.

I nodded, "We're good."

***

Ten minutes had passed and my cupcakes were finally done. Varun refused to let me get them out myself, so he did the honors.

I wasn't sure where Ajit was, but wherever he was, I was secretly wishing he'd take longer there.

Varun placed the hot pan on the counter to let the cupcakes cool down.

I watched him, entirely amused, "Wow, so you're my personal assistant now, aren't you?" I joked.

He chuckled, "Well, it's better than your personal escort now, isn't it?"

I laughed at the flashback to our earlier conversation and our vulgar words. He began laughing too at how absurd our conversations were becoming.

The joy was cut short, when we noticed Ajit standing at the doorway of the kitchen.

Ajit's face took on a nasty scowl. He met eyes with Varun, staring daggers into his soul and then into mine.

"What the hell are you two laughing about?" he snapped.

My cheeks flushed, as I scrambled to look anywhere, but into Ajit's eyes. I looked over to Varun who also had a faint pink on his cheeks. Oh god, he was embarrassed too.

Escorts. How would I explain this simple, completely meaningless, yet incredibly dirty joke I had with my brother's best friend. Ajit would definitely take it the wrong way, too.

Ajit barely blinked, and if he did, it was very brief because I missed it.

I was hoping Varun would take this one. Looking at him, though, it didn't seem like that would be the case. I tore my eyes away from Varun.

I wanted to look over at Varun, again, but I was also incredibly scared to. Why though? It's not like we were doing anything wrong. Why did Ajit have this toxic effect on us?

I snuck a glance towards Varun, despite Ajit's unwavering stare. Varun gave me a small close-lipped smile, nodding slightly. He was signaling me to tell my brother about our "harmless joke."

I felt confusion wash over me. Had Varun not been here the past eight years? Did he not know what this simple joke between "friends" could entail?

I swung my head back towards Ajit. His eyes were practically going to explode.

"Uh, nothing," I said. Telling Ajit would not be the right course of action to take.

Man, that joke really was nothing. This was all getting blown out of proportion.

Ajit shook his head and scoffed viscously, "It didn't sound like nothing."

I swallowed hard, feeling like I was about to shatter like glass if I stayed here a couple more seconds. Did he hear the joke or was he referring to our laughter?

"Bro, it's not that deep; it was one of those that you had to be there for, to understand," Varun explained.

Ajit lifted a brow, digging for more details.

Varun shook his head and looked at the roof, "About her cupcakes," he lied.

Ajit paused and then met Varun's relaxed and comical demeanor. Ajit broke his hard demeanor and cracked a smile.

He even chuckled ever so slightly, "Of course," he said, "My bad."

I wanted to silently thank Varun, but it would be best not to at the moment. He lied to his best friend for me.

Both boys made their way up to Ajit's room, and I stood in the kitchen. My shoulders loosened. I guess I hadn't been the only one that was still super distraught after the whole dad thing. Ajit was clearly on high alert all the time.