Chapter 10

A/N: Now, let us all take some time to honour my wonderful readers shall we?

I love every one of you who commented on the previous chapter, I mean there's not one page I've seen with so many profanities :3 And henceforth, I shall award Paynewrcked for the BEST reaction to the previous chapter. Hehe, this chapter is just for Charlie.

Chapter 10: That B*tch.

Chip's POV

She was quick, however, to respond when Xander walked through the door of the classroom, a stack of boxes in his arms.

Flinging the recipe back at me, Vicky sashayed over to the tall figure. “Hey Xander! So I’ve got this brilliant idea—“

Watching the pair interact, I bit my lip—forcing down the horrible feeling in my stomach.

What’s going on?

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

I hate to admit it, but Xander and Vicky were having a great time together. They laughed and worked well—unlike him and I. I mixed the buttercream miserably, folding in the soft peaks, then proceeding to spread it over the fluffy cake.

I popped the icing into the piping bag and squeezed it gently, lacerating the dessert in floral vectors. The chocolate-coated strawberries didn’t look so appetising anymore.

“Hey Xander,” Vicky cooed, “Try this cream. Do you think it’s okay?” I heard her say sweetly, running her finger in the bowl of cream (NEVER. Ever. Do that. Rose would kill me if I did that in the Bakery) and brought it closer to Xander’s unsuspecting lips.

Without hesitation, she shoved her finger in his mouth just when he opened it to protest (I assume). She then proceeded to wriggle it around in his mouth, and I could not find anything appealing about that—so I looked away.

“Isn’t it sweet~?” Vicky smiled attractively.

Xander looked like he was seriously considering the taste. “Yeah it is,” He agreed. “Too sweet for my personal taste actually.” He added nonchalantly.

I let a laugh slip from my lips, but quickly covered it with a cough, earning a death glare from Vicky.

“W-well, we could always add more…more…” She trailed away, as if unsure.

“Hey Chip,” Xander’s voice sounded to my left, and I turned my head in surprise. “Any ideas?”

My grip on the piping bag tightened and I fidgeted uncomfortably under Xander’s hard gaze and Vicky’s hateful one.

“Um…you could add some lemon zest. Or some cream cheese…” I said, ensuring my gaze was anywhere but on Xander..

“Thanks lil’ guy,” Xander smiled in return (my cheeks heated a little) and went to the ingredient cupboard.

When I dared a glance at Vicky, she was staring at me, as if trying to dissect me into tiny pieces. Her eyes narrowed and she mouthed something unexpected:

Back off.

I gulped, and quickly went back to decorating my Fraisier—a slight tremble in my hands.

Uwah, that was scary. A-anyway…It’s not as if there’s any competition in the first place. I mean—Xander’s as straight as a rolling pin.

“Fifteen more minutes, guys! Gotta wrap up soon ‘kay—don’t forget to clean your ovens!” Mrs Harry announced.

Vicky turned back to her cake, her perfect pin-straight blonde hair whipping around like a fountain.

I completed the piping in less than 5 minutes, finishing it off with a dust of icing sugar. I stepped back to look at the final product.

It wasn’t exactly like Giselle’s birthday cake—the shape was a heart, instead of a regular, circular one. The lacing was less elaborate, as I was working towards a simpler, sweeter design.

Smiling to myself, I felt humbly satisfied with my work, and I used the remaining 10 minutes to wash the baking tools, humming a forgotten tune.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

To be honest, I was kinda excited when Mrs Harry came round to grade our cakes. Guess I was pretty proud of my work…maybe I should suggest more designs for our customers to choose from.

My mind began to wander off, but was soon brought back when Mrs Harry turned to Xander and Vicky’s station counter.

I couldn’t quite see their finished product because Xander was standing in front of it, but I’m sure it was great.

“Looks wonderful,” Our teacher complimented, then spooned a mouthful of a slice, savouring the taste like an expert.

“Mm, I like the cream cheese. It was a good idea—“ She wrote several comments on her handy clipboard while speaking to Xander and Vicky in a warm tone. “The design is great, and the ingredients used were just right! I’m very impressed that you both were able to pull off such a high level cake without a recipe!”

I could see that Mrs Harry was really pleased, and I breathed an internal sigh of relief. Phew, at least Xander did well.

Next up was me.

I straightened up and stood obediently in front of my hard work, silently hoping for a word of praise.

But when Mrs Harry padded over to my station next, she wasn’t smiling.

Not even a nod.

She simply stared at my Fraisier, mouth shaped into a tiny ‘o’. Her eyes narrowed, and her gaze darted towards her clipboard—as if checking something.

I felt my chest clench and a strange anxiety grip my thoughts.

I began to panic.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

Xander’s POV

I expected Mrs Harry to be raving over Chip’s work like she usually did—but when I heard nothing behind me, curiosity willed my head to turn.

Fucking shit.

On the counter of his (our) station, was…our cake. Not exactly OUR cake, it was Vicky’s “brilliant” idea. Chip’s cake looked exactly like ours. Or should I say OUR cake looked exactly like his.

Apart from the difference between Chip’s intricate, beautiful piping and our clumsy, awkward one, the colour, design, shape, was similar almost to an extent where it could have been considered as a duplicate.

When I first saw his Fraisier, I already knew it wasn’t him. I don’t even know how I knew that. I just knew it.

Chip would never stoop to such a low level.

His face had worry written all over it, and anyone could clearly see that he was in distress. He was biting his lip—just like he did when he was nervous or afraid.

Mrs Harry was silent for a moment, as she looked over to our counter with the cake in the middle.

Vicky was the first to break the ice.

“Hey!” She practically pounced on Chip’s table, exclaiming loud enough so that several heads turned out way.

What the hell is this bitch doing?!

“Xander, look!” Vicky pointed eagerly at Chip’s perfect work, raising her voice in agitation. “Chip’s cake looks exactly like ours!” She gasped in an exaggerated manner.

My angel’s lips parted slightly in shock and hurt, and his eyes lost focus for a moment.

Shit. Shit. Shit. Fucking shit.

I felt my fists clench involuntarily, and I had to restrain myself from grabbing the hell out of her. There’s no way Chip can prove himself. Where the fuck is evidence when you need it?

“Vicky, enough.” Mrs Harry interrupted sternly, but then she turned to Chip and her expression changed to one of pure disappointment.

“I’m very disappointed in you, young man…”

I couldn’t hear the rest of her sentence. All I could think about was the look on Chip’s precious face.

“Huh? That guy copied their idea?”

“I’m pretty sure he did—look at his cake. It’s practically a duplicate!”

“And I thought he was good at Home Economics.”

“Guess he’s just a good-for-nothing after all.”

Chip swallowed hard, crystal blue eyes only showing pain and nothing else. What confused me, however, was the fact that I could almost practically feel his pain—as if it were mine.

“I-I’m really sorry…I didn’t mean to…” His voice was really soft, just like a feather, and his head lowered just as though he was guilty of a crime.

Guilty of a crime he obviously did not do.

“Mrs Harry, you can’t just let him go like that—“ Icky Vicky said, a look of disbelief on her face. “He copied our idea! Isn’t that right Xander?”

The bitch looked at me with something she called ‘puppy eyes’. Dunno. They looked like fish eyes to me.

Basically, she tried to put herself in the state of a victim. Which she definitely was not.

I knew that Vicky had a thing for me since the first day I entered Rivendell. From the way she clung to me at the after-party of my match and her fucking annoying batting of eyelashes, it was almost conspicuous.

“Whatever,” I said, pretending to be uninterested in the matter.

My partner looked shocked at my reaction, and quickly recovered herself by pouting. “But just look at it! Our original idea was stolen!”

I raised my eyebrow at her, as if doubtful, and shrugged. “Doesn’t look like that to me at all.”

Vicky’s eyes narrowed, and her little bird brain was probably having a hard time processing the information clearly laid out before her.

I wasn’t on her side.

Just then, Chip’s soft voice piped up, almost as though forced.

“I-I…I’m so sorry, please excuse me Mrs Harry,” I could hear the tremble in his tone and my heart wrenched painfully.

My angel stumbled out of the Home Economics room and into the hallway.

Vicky was back to being annoying. “Hmph, how dare he, act all sad and pitiful when he was the one stealing our recipe.”

“Why don’t you be my partner next time, Xander?” She added for an extra measure.

I wondered if Vicky even understood me the whole month I was here at Rivendell.

She placed her fingers lightly on my upper arm, drawing circles in a stupid manner. “So…what do you—“

“Are you fucking done?” My tone came out venomous—even I was surprised. I had never felt such an intense rage in a long time.

In a swift movement, I took the bowl full of unused flour on our counter and did just what I had been longing to do.

I dumped it on the bitch.

And walked out of class.

(A/N: #BAWS)

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

The first thing I did was obvious—search for Chip. I didn’t want to see him crying again, it was the worst experience ever.

I tried the nearest washrooms, then the rooftop, front and back gates. The harsh realisation that I knew so little about Chip hit me hard.

The oak tree we slept under in the afternoon had got to be my last bet. I was already half-hearted, about to give up and just walk out of school—when I saw him curled up in a ball under the usual spot, head in his arms and legs pulled to his chest.

“Chip…?”

He raised his head, and I saw his tear-stained face.

My knuckles blanched from the pressure I exerted on my fists. I’ll fucking kill that bitch next time.

Chip stood up hastily, and began to stumble over his words. “I-I’m really sorry, I didn’t mean to—to co…copy…or s-steal Vicky’s idea…or anything…”

I was suddenly overcome by this strong impulse to touch him.

In the heat of the moment, I brought his small frame towards me, entangling my fingers in his honey blonde hair and pulling him into my chest.

*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*

A/N: D'AWWWW. Cuteness overload. Xander's change in attitude towards Chip is so adorbs ^-^ I ship them so much.

Vote if you think Xander was BAWS.

Valentine's special is something to look forward to! >:D

-Cupcake