"What's wrong, Koto? You've been in a daze since you came back from school with Chiaki."

My heart leapt to my throat. I peeled my gaze from the apron I held, onto the lady hovering by the store entrance. A smile graced my lips.

"It's nothing," I said. "I'll get changed."

Chiaki's grandmother sent me a bewildered look but I was already hopping up the stairs before she could call after me. I entered the petite Japanese-styled living room, letting out a loud breath of relief.

When I opened my eyes, Chiaki's face was inches from mine.

Letting out a scream, I tossed my arms into the air. He leaned away via slow blinks, but he wasn't fazed despite scaring the living daylights out of me.

"Wh-why are you here?" I demanded, drawing my work apron closer to my chest.

"Because," he said, watching me speed around him and further into the room, "I live here."

I made a face. He was right, but...

Despite it already being a couple of days since I started working at Setoguchi Antiques, walking here with Chiaki straight after school was still a little odd. And no matter how many times I'd been here the sheer size of his house continued to amaze me. It was three floors—the bottom being his grandparents' store.

"Chiaki, have you seen my glasses?"

Ambling down the adjacent staircase, gripping the handle as firmly as possible, was Chiaki's grandfather. Although he was old with grey hair, wrinkles and all, he maintained a happy-go-lucky smile on his face at all times. In my opinion, the two shared the most similarities; especially so if Chiaki smiled.

Chiaki stared at him blankly. Then extended a finger. "It's... on your head, Grandpa."

He gasped, patting his balding head at that. "Ah, I didn't even realize it," he cried, slipping it off and resting it on the bridge of his nose. "My memory just keeps getting worse."

Retrieving the newspaper from beneath his arm, he headed to take a seat until he caught sight of me.

"Kotori!" he shouted, mouth upturning higher and revealing a full teeth and gum smile. "You're here early."

I'd thought so from the moment I met them, but Chiaki's grandparents were both as refreshing as the guy himself. They were complete bursts of sunshine.

I couldn't stop myself from laughing. "I came straight from school with Chiaki."

"Is that so?" He gestured behind him, towards the kitchen. "Did you get to eat yet? We have some curry left over from last night—"

I raced to intercept him. "I'm fine, Grandpa."

"Now don't be modest," he said, sternly. "As long as you're working for us, and a good friend of Chiaki's at that, consider this your home too. You don't have to hold back at all."

Warmth seared through me. "I know. That's why I was going to ask Chiaki to feed me before you interrupted us."

"Oh," he chuckled, scratching the back of his head. "Thanks for putting him to work, by the way. He's always been so lazy and hard to motivate."

"Don't mention it, Grandpa," I replied, flexing one arm. "I'll make him work harder than anyone else. He'll pour his blood, sweat and tears into his baking at my club, guaranteed."

From where he was, Chiaki deadpanned. "Stop making promises like I'm not even here."

His grandpa chortled harder. "It really is reassuring having you around, Kotori. I've always wanted Chiaki to have a girlfriend like you."

I gasped, clasping a hand over my cheek. "Grandpa..."

"Maybe one day. Age is only a number when it comes to love. And especially after Chiaki's previous girlfriend—"

"Like I said," Chiaki mumbled, tugging me by the arm and shielding my body with his, "stop pretending I'm not here."

"Understood." His grandpa backed off, still grinning as he turned to go up the stairs. "I'll let you youngsters enjoy yourselves before your shift. I'll be upstairs if you need me."

Chiaki didn't stop his exasperated pouting long after his grandpa disappeared up the steps. I stared at his hand tightly wound around my wrist and blinked.

"Sorry," I said. "Should I not have pledged your blood, sweat and tears?"

"It's not that." He released my arm then pivoted to face me. "You don't have to go along with everything he says. Grandpa likes to run his mouth."

I chuckled. "It's fine. I like your grandpa's sense of humour. Your grandma's nice and sweet, too."

Chiaki's face fell.

"What?" I said.

He mussed his bangs. "They only met you a while ago and yet they're so fond of you already. They didn't even warm up to Haya that easily."

"I guess I'm the type people can't help but like."

"I know. It's unfair."

Seeing his frown, I teased, "Aw, am I possibly stealing your grandparents' affection from you?"

"It's the other way around."

I fluttered my eyelashes. His grandparents... were stealing my affection? What did that...

Silence passed over, allowing my thoughts to roam.

"...especially after Chiaki's previous girlfriend—"

His grandpa's words hit me like a brick.

I snagged his sleeve, eyes bulging to the point of saucers.

"G-g-girlfriend—"

His eyebrows furrowed together. "Teru?"

"You—" I clasped his arm tighter and forced him to look at me. "Y-you have experience?"

He cocked his head to the side. "With what?"

"Girls! Your grandpa just said you have an ex-girlfriend!"

I didn't even care that I was screaming. I was too shocked to use my indoor voice.

He veered his gaze. "That..."

"Who is she? Someone I know?"

"That..."

"Wait, does Koyuki know? Does Koyuki have experience, too? Wait, I guess considering our age going out with one or two people isn't strange. Has Koyuki gone out with one or two people? Three? Four?"

"Teru, it's not like that." He tried to brush me off, but I wasn't budging. "The only reason I dated Shi is because—"

"Her name's 'Shi'?" I squealed. "So cute!"

He was completely through with me.

"Sorry," I whispered, albeit beaming. "Please continue."

He sighed, this time nudging me off entirely. "It doesn't even matter who I dated before. Right now, the only one I care about is..."

As his words trailed off, his eyes fell to mine, softened considerably. Puzzled, I stared at him, trying to make sense of his strange look.

"Chiaki?"

He stuffed my work apron into my face. Gaping, I peeled it off. But he was already heading into the kitchen.

"You're fine with curry, right?"

Maybe it was a tough topic for him. Either way, trying to imagine Chiaki being lovey-dovey with a girl was close to impossible. Which made me wonder what kind of person his ex-girlfriend even was. Learning how he behaved in a relationship was intriguing in its own right. But it wasn't like I could outright ask him.

Nudging the notions aside, I cast my apron onto the nearby table and pursued him. I helped him prepare our dishes and warm it up. We sat at the main table and ate in silence, which didn't help lessen my travelling thoughts.

"Are you... still thinking about this morning?"

I flinched, much more violently than I wanted. Knowing he'd hit the bullseye, he frowned and dropped his spoon onto his empty plate. He ate fast.

"Sure Ko was angry... but once you explained the situation to him he even agreed that this development was inevitable. Haya's stage-fright may be an issue... but we'll figure it out. Mr. Hana even said we're clear to make the club official as long as we find a fifth member."

"That's true, but..."

"You don't think we have a shot?"

"Of course I do!" I said with a sudden burst of enthusiasm. I slapped the table. "You, Koyuki and Hayate are awesome! You'd beat those elitist buttheads, easy!"

Chiaki's lips quirked up softly. "You're always praising us, Teru."

"But of course! I love you all so much! You're my pride!"

Chiaki's smile broadened. He rested his chin against his palm, then stared at me with an endearing twinkle in his green eyes.

"Let me guess," he eventually said, in such a gentle voice I barely heard him. "The reason you're so down—it's because you're feeling self-conscious, right?"

My shoulders stiffened. "I— uh—" I snapped out of my daze, my cheeks burning. I gripped the top of my head. "How do you know? Did you read my mind?"

"Even if I could... I wouldn't need to. You're an open book, Teru."

I hung my head. He was right. I was terribly revealing. It was why people could never trust me with secrets.

My hands fell to my sides. I awkwardly twiddled my thumbs. "I... owe you guys a lot for helping me get this far. But, I haven't made much improvement with my baking. I got us into this, and I know it's too late to regret that, but it was really brash of me."

Before he could respond, I furiously waved.

"I-I'm not saying we're doomed to lose or anything. I still have lots of time to practice. But... I guess I'm scared. I want to beat them but I still have a long way to go. It's not only the Cooking Club we have to face in a month's time but countless of other schools and amazing bakers as well. And I... Compared to you all, I'm so untalented. I'll be nothing but baggage..."

I wasn't stupid. I realized that much. Still, finding the courage to overcome these negative thoughts in this situation was impossible.

Heat spread across my skin like a wildfire. Chiaki's silence was especially hard to swallow. What kind of club president was as whiny as me? He should be the one complaining about being forced into this competition.

"Sorry—"

"Strawberry tart."

Chiaki's interjection stunned me into silence. I whipped my neck up. He was blinking lethargically, proof of his exhaustion.

I opened and closed my mouth in bewilderment. "Strawberry... tart?"

But he didn't give an answer. Instead, he hauled himself to his feet, rubbing at his eyelids as he headed in the direction of the kitchen. He yanked open the fridge and unloaded a plate covered in plastic wrap.

Soon enough, he returned to the living room, fork in hand. Rather than take his previous seat, he instead flopped down in beside me. Then extended the plate.

Beneath the plastic wrap was a small tart. Recognizing the strawberries was easy. They were poking out and about it after all. However, the tart itself was a lot darker than I was used to seeing. More splayed out and everywhere as well.

"Strawberry... tart," Chiaki mumbled, bashfully. "For Teru."

My heart thumped in my chest. "Me...?"

He made this... for me?

"You like strawberries... so I wanted to make a dessert with them. But I kept messing up," he said, timidly scratching his arm. "Warm desserts... are very difficult..."

All the pieces crashed into me in an instant.

"Don't tell me the dessert you've been working so hard on these last couple of days without rest... The one you told me was a secret..."

Even without finishing, I already knew the answer.

Chiaki—the guy who only cared for cold desserts and baked solely for them—worked so hard to bake a warm dessert. Not only that, it wasn't for himself. Rather...

I received it from him. Fork included. I was overwhelmed by so many emotions I couldn't even find my voice.

Lifting the plastic wrap from the tart, I set the plate onto my lap. I stuck the fork inside the tart. Then, grinning like an idiot, I lifted a spoonful into my mouth.

Tears instantly streamed down my face.

Chiaki lurched up in alarm. "T-Teru? Why are you crying?"

Although I attempted to suppress them, it was a struggle. Not when my mouth was scorching like a blazing wildfire.

"I-It's so sp-spicy," I rasped, fanning my mouth and throbbing tongue. "Wh-wh-why—"

Chiaki's reaction was delayed. He sat back down and slowly fluttered his eyelids. "Because... I added hot sauce."

Hot— Although I wanted to do a double take, I was seriously dying from the pain. He must've dumped the whole bottle into the batter. That was the only explanation.

"Wh-wh—" I was stammering uncontrollably. "Wh-why would you d-do th-that?"

He innocently cocked his head to the side. "To bring out the flavour?"

I couldn't bother making anymore small talk. I clambered onto all fours before bolting toward the kitchen. Scrambling to open the refrigerator was the difficult part. Then, lifting a half-empty milk carton, I downed its contents within seconds. The pain in my mouth resided before long, and I found myself panting for air after finishing it. When I turned around to look at the living room, Chiaki was still seated. Cross-legged and as dreary as ever. But his pout was plain as day.

"Was it that disgusting?"

I flinched with my entire body. My first instinct was to refute—tell him it was delicious and that I appreciate all the effort he put into making me a dessert. But the words didn't surface as easily as I would've liked.

His head dropped further. "It's so bad you can't even find the words, huh."

I jumped to his side in a heartbeat. On my hands and knees, I peered up at his face. "That's not it! It just—it surprised me, is all. I didn't expect a strawberry tart to taste so... spicy."

"My previous batches were very plain, but since I wanted Teru to enjoy it and I didn't have anything else, I..."

My heart squeezed unintentionally. I took his hands in mine. "I know. You worked so hard for me. That makes me happy. But it just wasn't—"

"—delicious."

I recoiled. Partly because I couldn't disagree but also because of the brilliant smile that had seized hold of the bottom half of his face. Chiaki's eyes met mine as he produced a half-hearted laugh.

"Even though it's disgusting, you still tried to cheer me up."

Stunned—and a tad flustered—I sputtered, "You... knew it was disgusting? And you still let me eat it?"

He freed one of his hands and apologetically ruffled my hair. "Sorry. You were being negative so I wanted to show you firsthand what happens whenever I try to make anything other than frozen desserts. As you can see, I'm not good at it at all. I'm not... awesome at all."

My eyes widened. He leaned into my shoulder, sheepishly fixing his gaze to the floor.

"Teru... you're always thinking of others. You want others to think your desserts are delicious. But I've... never thought like that. I've only ever baked for myself. And yet you still praise me... and call me talented or amazing even though I'm not close to that at all. But even if I'm not great at it—even if I can't help you as much as Ko can—I want to keep baking with you. That's why... I have to practice, too. We can't lose. If we lose... you'll start thinking that your dream is stupid and try to give up again. And I... don't want that more than anything. Because... when it comes to baking, you're happiest. And I want you to be happy."

His head collapsed on my shoulder. My heart leapt to my throat in surprise. Then, soft breathing filled the air. I turned, taking in his relaxed facial muscles, closed eyelids and flattened lips.

He'd fallen asleep.

My lips curved up unintentionally.

Jeez. How could someone be that sweet and adorable?

"Thank you for working him so hard, Koto."

I jerked my neck in the direction of the voice. Chiaki's grandmother ascended the last step of the staircase then sauntered over with the gentlest smile on her face. I instinctively moved but she waved for me to keep still. Chiaki's head slid and fell ear-first onto my lap. He was out like a light.

"He hasn't slept a wink these last few days," she said, plopping onto the adjacent couch. "Holed himself up in the kitchen, baking and baking. He wasted so much ingredients and time. All for what?"

I tittered lightly. "A spicy strawberry tart."

She shook her head, albeit amused. "That boy is so bad at expressing himself. If only his baking wasn't an extension of that."

I threaded my fingers through his soft hair, admiring his side profile. I giggled. "You may be right. But even though I forced him into my club and into this stupid competition, he still has my back. They all do. I can't believe how blessed I am."

The wrinkles beside her eyes crinkled. "Is that so?"

Even if Chiaki was roundabout and awkward, and had the strange misconception that hot sauce added flavour to desserts, he meant well. He noticed the things that I was blind to, and reminded me of my strength.

I may be untalented and flawed. But they were too.

We were in this together.

Chiaki's grandmother chortled loudly. "Must be nice being young. All this sweet talk is hurting my teeth."

She hoisted herself to standing.

"Now, then. I guess there's only one thing left to do."

Her choice of words puzzled me.

I watched as she approached and sat adjacent to me. She dug into her apron's pocket and surfaced a permanent marker.

A devious smirk morphed her mouth.

"For falling asleep before his shift and emptying the entire fridge and cupboards, I think a punishment is in order. What do you say we scribble at least one thing on his face?"

I couldn't contain a snort. "You're so devious, Grandma."

"Consider it payback," she cackled. "You can go first, Koto."

She slipped the marker between my fingers before I could refuse. Truthfully, it would've been better if I did. Having it in hand and witnessing Chiaki's defenceless features in all its glory made it difficult to resist.

Caving, I bent over and jotted onto his cheek.

'Thank you for the dessert. I'll do my best too.

Also, no more hot sauce.

—your favourite goofball Kotori (o^▽^o)/'