Love Sometimes Works in Strange Ways IC

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While the others were working on making the foods for their dinner, and desserts of course, Lacey and Cadence had been working on setting the table up enough for all the people they had. Though the two seemed to be in conversation as well when suddenly Cadence began laughing out loud and placing her hands on her hips. "That's insane! Where would you get that idea from? There's no way!" Cadence had said, loud enough for the ones who were cooking dinner to hear her.

Lacey stepped away from a moment, surprised by Cadence's response. "R-really? I would have thought…I mean…you seemed pretty angry with the fact that he was talking kindly to that girl on the phone. I mean, when you called to tell me about the trip…you mostly went on about how annoying Takumi was. I could have sworn you…" But Lacey was cut off, at least what she was saying wasn't able to be heard by everyone else.

"Of course not! There's no way I would ever go out with that idiot! He's just a pain who likes a whole bunch of woman and I need to tame him so he doesn't go leading every girl on and ruining them all." Cadence seemed to be very defensive. And even though Lacey's words couldn't be hear it was quite obvious that Cadence's could be. "And besides, what about you little miss Treasurer. Wanting a treasure for yourself, I see you staring at you know who all the time."

With those words Lacey's face lit up in a blush, she had been staring at Casper the whole time that she had almost dropped a few plates onto the ground instead of seating them on the table where they were supposed to go. "I…I…I…" Lacey poked her index fingers together shyly. "He's…too cute seeing him like that." She stumbled out in a mumble as she looked like she was melting while she thought about Casper. At least even if Cadence was saying a few things out loud, the girl was decent enough to not say the things about Lacey out loud though there was obvious evidence that Lacey was embarrassed about something. The good thing was that they had finally finished setting the table before all of this became to happen or else a plate really would have been dropped by at least one of them.
 
Nori grinned widely as his hair was ruffled, enjoying the sign of affection. He felt a bit guilty at Veronica's frown, not quite sure why. That feeling disappeared as quickly as it with the blonde's confident words. He was quite excited to taste the mixed berries tart, along with whatever delicious food that Takumi, Kaoru, and Casper was making. Tonight's going to be amazing!

He watched silently as Veronica set up the ingredients and did her thing, measuring out ingredients and decorating the countertops with flour. His eyes were full of intrigue and wonder as the blonde did everything so effortlessly. There was a certain grace as she worked around the kitchen. At her request, the white-haired male nodded. "I'd love to!" He exclaimed, happy that there was something he could actually help with.

"For the key lime pie crust, we only need to crush graham crackers and mix it with butter, honey and salt. For the pastry dough, we need to mix all purpose flour, cold butter, egg and sugar before kneading it.."​

The pie crust sounds pretty easy. It doesn't require much work. The dough on the other hand..., Nori frowned slightly as he remembered all of the ingredients for the pastry dough. He had to do his very best! Veronica was counting on him and he'd feel awful if he messed anything up. It seemed like she puts a lot of work into her pastries. He was snapped out of his thoughts when his hands were enveloped in warmth. Silently, he stared at their hands as Veronica explained the secrets to a perfect pastry. At the end of her little speech, Nori met her gaze with a soft smile and a nod. "Okie dokie, Vero-chan~! You can count on me!"

The white-haired teen was determined to have a pie and a tart for dessert. He wasn't going to let anything get in his way. Not even himself and his insecurities. You've got this, Nori. Don't panic, that'll only make it easier to mess up, he encouraged himself. "Which one should we start on first?" He questioned, glancing over to all of the ingredients that were laid out. The pie crust sounds easier and quicker, so maybe we'll get that out of the way first...?

 
"Hmm.. Good question. What do you think we should do first?" Veronica asked with her hands on her hips. It's nice to have someone around who she can talk to while in the kitchen. Back when she's making pastries in the manor, the maids usually avoid the kitchen when she's asking due to their fear of breaking her concentration.

Before Nori could even respond to her question, Veronica dipped her finger in the flour and touched his nose, leaving some white powder on it. "Hehe cute~ Anyway, we should make the pastry dough first since it needs to be chilled."

Smiling so sweetly, Veronica immediately mixed the egg yolk, cold water and vanilla into a bowl before setting it aside. Next, she stir together the flour, sugar and salt, then cuts the butter into the flour mixture until the texture resembles coarse cornmeal. She then add the egg mixture and mixed it with a fork until the dough pulls together.

Smiling at her work, she transferred the dough on the floured counter tops and divided the dough into two, giving half of it to Nori for kneading. "Ready, Nori-kun? Remember, quick, light touches and don't overwork it." she warned, before expertly kneading her dough.
 
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Things went rather quickly after that. Casper, silent throughout the entire scene, simply observed. A student council member had come for Cadence to let her know that the club hadn't been registered - wait, seriously? Casper blinked once in confusion. He would have thought that the club would have records. But then again, Cadence seemed to be able to get whatever the heck she wanted from the school .. she probably could have bypassed that. No, Casper then knew that Cadence would definitely have to pay up with the forms. As she chatted with the council member, Casper observed him, who had come so far to remind Cadence of this as if life was held in the balance by it. Dark hair, green eyes. Obviously smaller than Casper, but still decently tall. He seemed very composed, something that Casper usually was not, and he spoke pretty confidently .. some kind of tingling seemed to creep towards Casper's cheeks, but he didn't notice right away.

It was only when they suddenly started to move back towards the villa that Casper snapped from his point of interest. He blinked a couple times and, seeing that he was being left behind, he hurried on behind the others to the villa.

Everything passed with surprising speed after that - Takumi was on the grill, and Nori and Veronica were gushing over making pastries. Casper was still very quiet, feeling his introverted tendencies emerge more strongly with the arrival of this new person. Especially since the person interested Casper. The chatter floated around, until he heard Cadence call his name and he perked up immediately. It was like an instinct to hear Cadence say his name and perk up to it - he'd been around her leadership for such a while, it was habit at this point. She pointed him to go help Takumi and Karou - Karou, that was his name - with the main dishes. Oh. Well, Casper was far more skilled in baking pastries than in cooking, and a reluctant glance back to Veronica and Nori came on. But, he didn't argue. He simply glanced back, nodded his head gently, and went off to where Takumi and this new Karou were talking.

Casper remained lost in his silent bubble. It wasn't until Takumi had asked him to get more onions that he really moved or did anything - he looked up, nodded, and went on his way to find onions. It was a quick find - he set them next to Takumi's work space and stepped back again, really quite unsure of how to help or what to do. He'd just be useful when the others needed him to be useful.

However, the silent Casper would not remain silent for much longer as Takumi stated his name. Casper blinked and looked up at Takumi, who asked him .. what girl he liked. Oh, fantastic, I love questions like this, his thoughts whispered, lined with sarcasm. Of course, Casper's face didn't stay just pink - it bloomed red again in an intense blush. And Takumi had forgotten the girls' names. Wide blue eyes quickly darted to the ground as he softly corrected him, "L-Lacey and Veronica." His head tilted away from Takumi as he fell silent again, trying to find a way to respond to such a straight-forward and .. well, personal question. He could've chosen to not respond at all, but he knew Takumi wouldn't allow that. He'd absolutely bother Casper until he cracked.

" .. Why does it .. matter?" Casper's eyees had moved up to the cutting board on the counter. " .. N-nobody could like my personality. I'm too quiet, I'm not .. well, I'm not manly, or .. or assertive at all." He looked down at himself. He certainly looked the part, that was for sure. " .. Maybe I look like I am, but I'm just .. not. The only reason someone would like me is because I'm decent to look at, and even then, I'm freakishly tall." The last part was said in a much more lackluster, kind of miserable tone. " .. So .. I try not to crush on anyone, really." He did crush, it was true, but it always fluctuated. And he had the feeling every single time that they would eventually get bored of him and not like him anymore. He didn't see himself as throwing a pity party or anything - he just thought it was the truth. He'd avoided that whole other deal with his own, very sad and personal truth. Casper sniffled when he was done speaking, with his nose being cold, and the blush in his cheeks faded away.
 
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"So Casper, who among the girls do you like? Macey or Victoria?" Macy or Victoria? Kaoru didn't recognize those names, but turned to the boy name Casper anyway as they awaited a response. "L-Lacey and Veronica," the boy corrected, Kaoru perking up as he heard Veronica's name. Should have figured Takumi would get those names wrong. So there was a possibility this boy liked her? Kaoru couldn't really say for sure if he did or not. He liked her looks, he knew that, but he hadn't know her long enough to decide if he liked her personality. So far, she seemed really sweet though, and was somehow able to get whatever she wanted out of Kaoru. Is he a possible threat then? Kaoru looked the boy up and down secretively, admiring his good looks. He's actually quite cute. Kaoru fidgeted in his own skin at that thought, feeling a bit awkward. He had only recently come to terms with the fact that he liked guys as well as girls, and he wasn't quite sure how to process those feelings. Should I treat them like girls? Or guys? Or neither? Or both? Do I have to act like a girl? Or maybe I should be really tough... How do I know if I like a guy? Is it the same feeling as liking a girl? What does liking someone even feel like? Kaoru often asked these questions whenever he passed by a boy he thought was cute in the hallway, but he never bothered to figure out the answers. Really, it was quite simple, just treat them the way you treat anyone you like, and be yourself. Of course, Kaoru, while you didn't always know it at first, was quite socially awkward, and wasn't always great when it came to social situations (unless of course it was student council related). He also didn't particularly want to like someone, as he felt it was a waste of time. In the end, when those questions popped up in his head, he quickly shrugged them away.

" ...Why does it... matter?" The shy boy quietly answered Takumi question with another. "...N-nobody could like my personality. I'm too quiet, I'm not... well, I'm not manly, or... or assertive at all. .. Maybe I look like I am, but I'm just .. not. The only reason someone would like me is because I'm decent to look at, and even then, I'm freakishly tall. So... I try not to crush on anyone, really." Kaoru felt a little bad for the guy. He could kinda understand that feeling, since his confidence wasn't at it's highest point right now. He had a little bit more than this guy though it seemed. Kaoru wasn't exactly the best motivational speaker, but he try to put his thoughts into words to comfort Casper. "You shouldn't say that. I don't know you very well, but I can already tell you have a lot of great qualities. For one, you're obviously humble. And I find that quiet people are very wise, because they spend time listening instead of talking all the time. When they do have something to say, everyone listens. I don't know about you, but those are some great qualities to look for in a guy." Kaoru shrugged, thinking about Casper's comment on his own masculinity. "And who cares about not being manly? Do you really want to be like Takumi?" Kaoru pointed the spatula in his hand towards the blond haired boy. Once again, it was impossible to tell whether he was complementing or insulting the boy. "As for being tall..." Kaoru looked up at the gentle giant, "At least you can save kittens from trees pretty easily. Girls love stuff like that." ...And me. ​
 
" ...Why does it... matter?" The shy boy quietly answered Takumi question with another. "...N-nobody could like my personality. I'm too quiet, I'm not... well, I'm not manly, or... or assertive at all. .. Maybe I look like I am, but I'm just .. not. The only reason someone would like me is because I'm decent to look at, and even then, I'm freakishly tall. So... I try not to crush on anyone, really."

First of all, Takumi only asked the question because Casper seem to be oblivious to how everyone--particulary Lacey and Veronica's feelings. And somehow Casper didn't seem to be the type of person that would likely reject someone that would confess to him which the blonde knew would happen someday much to Casper's dismay. Everyone else sees Casper as a good person but Takumi thinks the he was rather unfair. Trying to deny and refuse to acknowledge the other ones feeling is rather cold despite the other ones efforts in showing them that they care. But being polite and being kind are two different things.

And what the hell is Kaoru talking about? Finding quiet guys to be wiser than the ones who are vocal? Sure, if you can't say something nice then don't say it at all but Takumi thinks that those things are total bull.

"And who cares about not being manly? Do you really want to be like Takumi?"

Takumi wanted to beat Kaoru up since he took that as an insult. Did he just refer to him as stupid? Takumi sure hoped that he didn't. Kaoru wasn't helping, he was allowing Casper to continue to with his moody personailty.

"Did you kiss your mother with that mouth of yours? What the hell are you going on about? Do you even hear what you are saying?" Takumi was contemplating to just keep quiet about it but he just can't. "Are you a girl? Do you only think about looks? Are looks really that important to you that you have to make a huge deal about it? Sure, I might be one to talk but I do have flaws and I don't make a big deal out them." The blonde said his point.

"Look, if you didn't want me to know, you could have just told me 'it was a secret' or 'to mind my own business' I could have just stopped there. Do you really see me as that awful of a person?" Takumi sighed. Well, it may have been his fault as to why people think that way about him. Not like he really cares anyway. It's their opinion. Not that he has anything to do about it.

"That's insane! Where would you get that idea from? There's no way!"

And speaking of people and their opinions. There was one who has a stronger opinion about him than anyone (the other one is Veronica) else. What the hell is Cadence blabbering with Lacey about that she has to speak so loudly? Well, the upside was the tension around the three of them somehow died. Good.

Takumi began chopping the onions into rings then suddenly end up chopping it a bit forcefully making a small piece of onion fly and somehow hit Takumi's left eye. Oh god, how much it burns.

"Ah! Damn it." Takumi cried out then stupidly rubbed it which made it worst. Tears came flowing down like waterfalls.
 
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In terms of comforting Casper, Kaoru and Takumi played very different roles. Kaoru, the gentle mother, and Takumi, the stern father. Of course, their views on comforting differed. As Kaoru listened to Takumi's blunt, accusing statements, he rolled his eyes. He was about to scold Takumi until they were interrupted by Cadence's loud talking from by the tables. She made it pretty obvious that she wanted Takumi to hear what she was saying, but it made Kaoru all the more sure she was in a state of denial. After a moment of awkward silence from the boys, Takumi went back to chopping onions, and Kaoru pulled Casper aside and spoke softly so the blonde couldn't hear. "Don't mind him. I think that's just his way of being worried about a friend. He has his demons he's dealing with too. We all do." Kaoru turned back towards the food, hearing a cry of pain from the younger boy, "Ah! Damn it." Tamaki rubbed one of his eyes, tears flowing from whatever caused the pain in it. Without thinking, Kaoru went into mother mode, whether he wanted to or not. "Takumi! Are you alright?" Kaoru took a look at his eye, noticing it's red color. "I'm going inside to get a washcloth with some cold water on it. Wait here!" Kaoru ran indoors, running about a bit before finding the kitchen. Much to his delight, Veronica was inside doing some baking with Nori. Unfortunately, he didn't have time to stop and chat with her. "Do either of you know where the washcloths are?" Kaoru asked, simultaneously searching the cupboards.​
 
Nori was slightly taken aback at the question. He wanted to say the pie, but maybe that wasn't the best choice. He really had no clue. He was only there to help. Making decisions does count as helping, but only if you know what you're talking about, he thought. Before he could voice any of his opinions on the matter, he felt a finger brushing against his nose, snapping him out of his thoughts. Blinking owlishly, the young boy was a bit puzzled as to what Veronica was talking about. How was flour on his nose cute? Wiggling it, he nodded at Veronica's choice of pastry, slightly nervous about kneading the dough.

His nervousness was slowly ebbing away once she began to mix the ingredients and he watched. She had made the dough so quickly. Nori didn't know whether he should be impressed or nervous again. As the dough was split in half, his nervousness spiked high when one was placed in front of him. Ready as I'll ever be, he thought as an answer to the blonde's question. Remembering her tips, different colored eyes watched as Veronica kneaded her half of the dough, trying to get a visual of how it should be done. After a few moments, the white-haired teen turned to his piece and began to knead it as best as he could, eyebrows furrowed and tongue poking out in concentration.

That concentration was broken when Kaoru burst in, startling Nori to the point where he almost screamed. He let out a breath as the brunet began to search through the kitchen. "Eh? Washcloths? Why would Kaoru-senpai need washcloths? Did something happen?" He questioned as he returned to his dough. During his few moments of distraction, he had pressed his fingers too heavily into the dough. Quickly removing his fingers, he was silent as he analzyed the situation. No, no, no, nononono!

Eyes already glossy with unshed tears, Nori turned to face Veronica, sniffling softly. "V-Vero-chan," he began in a shakey tone, poking her in her arm. "Vero-chan, I think I m-messed up the dough." As he began to explain, it got harder to hold back his tears, some rolling down his cheeks. "Kaoru-s-senpai had came in and I got d-distracted—" Sniffle. "—so I ac-accidentally pressed too h-hard." At this point, Nori was actually crying, no longer holding it back. Without warning, he threw himself at Veronica, hugging her as he apologized. "I'm really, really—" Hiccup. "—really sorry, Veronica! I didn't mean to do it, promise! I just—My fingers....UWAAAAH!!"

 
Lacey turned to look over at the grill again, watching the boys talking. Why was Casper getting red in his face and embarrassed? What were they doing, or saying? It looked like they were getting really close? What was going on? Lacey was beginning to get a whole bunch of ideas in her head, fearing the worst for a girl who liked a guy. Does Casper like Takumi? Or, is he falling for Kaoru? Then, Lacey saw that Takumi was crying. Wait crying?! Did Casper just admit his feelings and Takumi was so happy about it!? Were they going to be a couple now? What were they going to do? Were they going to end up kissing? Lacey's face was getting red with embarrassment as she pictured everything she was saying. She didn't want that, she wanted to be with Casper.

"Hey, Lacey, what's are you-." But Cadence stopped talking when she watched Kaoru run into the kitchen. She needed to see what was going on. "I'll be right back." She said and slipped away from the deck and into the kitchen where she ended up seeing a crying fit. "What's going on?" She thought at first it could be something serious, but then Cadence realized that if it was Veronica and Nori, it most likely wasn't anything serious. "If it's something about the dessert, it's okay you two. Don't worry about it. The dessert will be just fine, I bet it will taste great. So, there's no need to worry about it and cry." Cadence went over to hug her two cuties and comfort them. Hopefully they would start to feel better. She had to get back outside to figure out what was going on with Lacey and the fact that Kaoru was in there asking for a washcloth. Why would he need a washcloth? She really needed to figure out what was going on with everyone.
 
As Veronica began kneading her dough, Kaoru came in a rush and asked them about some washcloths. "Washcloths?" she asked, remembering that she saw some of it on the cupboards. She then left her dough for a minute, wiped her floured hands in the apron before handing the said item to Kaoru. "Here you go. May I ask why do you need it, Kaoru-senpai? Did something happen?" so she handed him the towel, their fingers brushed lightly causing shivers and electricity to crawl onto her skin. Just what was that?! Veronica asked herself, her face heating up out of embarrassment and confusion. Why did she feel different when their fingers touched? "I--.. hm.. I'm sorry.. I—"

The sudden poke of a finger on her arm made her snap out of her trance and looked at Nori, worry and concern etched on her face as she saw his glossy eyes. "What's wrong?" she asked, not liking the look on his face. The way Nori explained his mistake and the way he cried in her arms is just enough to shatter her heart.Veronica haven't seen Nori like this before and she didn't know what to do! His is the first time she's in a situation like this. "Uh--.. uhm.. I-It's fine Nori-kun.. Please d-don't cry.. I.. I hate to see you cry.. I-t's my fault you messed up.. I wasn't a good teacher.. I'm.. I'm sorry.." she rambled on, not realizing that she's starting to cry as well. "I'm sorry.. I.. I messed up the dessert.."

Even if Cadence tried to calm her down when she came in, Veronica just can't. She felt like she disappointed everyone, especially Nori. She promised him a perfect dessert and now, everything's ruined! She was a disappointment, a failure and a crybaby. "I.. I'm really sorry.." she sobbed, trying to wipe all her falling tears, but failed miserably "I'm sorry I disappointed everyone.. I.. I'm not worthy to make d-d-desserts anymore.." she wailed, crying hysterically and unable to calm herself down.
 
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Casper didn't expect reactions to his statement. In fact, he was hoping that everyone would just accept it and stay quiet. He was always uncomfortable talking about his problems, his insecurities, to other people. Maybe it wasn't even a good idea in the first place to say that stuff in front of Takumi .. Karou seemed trustworthy, to some extent, at least, but Takumi was so unpredictable. It made him uncomfortable sometimes.

In any case, it was Karou that spoke up first. His words were not what Casper expected - Karou seemed like the type to be a little more rigid with how he went about things, but that assumption was shattered when he spoke to Casper. He sounded tender and encouraging, and Casper's surprise threatened to show on his face, but he managed to push it down. He glanced over to Karou as he spoke, feeling that weird curiosity start to bloom again. The tingle returned to his cheeks. Perhaps his face was getting a little pinker .. he didn't quite know, but the embarrassment came quickly after. He was nice. He was actually really kind about it, and Casper wished that he could've said thank you straight - but, he only let a silly little grin come to his face and looked away at the last part. That was a funny thought, Casper saving kittens from trees. In his mind, a voice whispered, Thank you. It means a lot. He wished he could've said it out loud. Maybe later, he'd be able to.

However, Takumi seemed to want to put in his two cents as well, and it wasn't nearly as sweet and encouraging. At all. Takumi seemed to think that scolding was the best way to solve things, and Casper found himself correcting how Takumi took his words in his mind. No, I don't care about looks. Everyone else does. That's the problem. And I doubt you would have just let it go. Casper simply stared at the counter, shying away, in a sense, even as these thoughts bitterly spoke in his mind. There was no anger in Casper's heart. There was only anger deep down, and a simple thing like this couldn't release it. Once Takumi finished his spiel, he went back to chopping onions, while Casper kept his eyes on the counter, silent.

Casper felt a hand on his arm soon after, and was pulled aside by Karou, away from Takumi. The physical contact felt a little weird for a moment, but the tingling in his cheeks did intensify a bit. Karou then quietly explained to Casper how Takumi is probably battling his own demons, and it's his way of expressing concern for his friends - and, yes, that felt like it made sense. Takumi never seemed the type to give advice the way Karou did, and Takumi always acted so 'there's nothing wrong' - there must have been something there. Casper took this in and nodded in acknowledgement, but then, a cry from behind them made Karou's attention pull straight to Takumi. He'd gotten something in his eye, it seemed. Casper felt a pang of worry, his breath catching, but Karou seemed even more concerned - as if a mother hen, he flocked to Takumi and rushed to get him a towel. Yeah, onion in his eye. Casper wasn't sure of what to do quite yet.

The boy decided, as Takumi wasn't working at that very moment, to go check up on Veronica and Nori. Chances were, they were everywhere at once and needed some organizing. Casper, assuming Karou had the Takumi situation under control, slipped out of the kitchen area and went to the baking area, where he thought they'd be -

What he came into was a room with a crying Nori, and a close-to-crying Veronica.

Immediately, as if an instinct had sprung up in his mind, he felt his breath catch in worry again and he went over to them. "N-Nori! Veronica, you guys!" Casper, with his height, gave up on bending over to try to hug them and just went on one knee, pulling both of them into an arm each and hugging them. "Hey, hey, hey .. " In times of emotional need, Casper strongly empathized with many people. He didn't know why they were upset, but they needed comfort. "It's okay .. " He gently pulled them back so that he could look at their faces. "What happened?" Casper's tone was worried to all hell, but if it had to do with the baking, he most likely could've helped fix it. His mother and he did run a bakery, and he considered himself pretty talented with pastry-making, so he was ready to put out his expertise to help calm his two good friends down.

In the rush of the ordeal, he'd forgotten about his previous feelings, when he had spoken of his insecurities. They didn't matter in that moment, and so were pushed to the back of his mind for later.
 
It appears as if everyone had left Takumi to take care of his problem on his own. Typical. Well, not that he'd blamed them. They were probably thinking that if they would help him he'd just act cool and tell them he's fine and that he can do it--which was true. He had dealt with this situation a couple of times now but he was always told that he shouldn't panic and calmly do first aid on himself before anything else, which he did. Although it was a bit of a struggle since it was difficult to see properly with nonstop tears pouring out. Kaoru may have had the good idea in getting a washcloth but he was taking too damn long! How long does it take to find a damn washcloth? If he was calm and composed enough he would have thought of his handkerchief--that would have save them alot of time... By... Like alot. And Casper only ran away. Well, that was how he thought Casper was doing. The big baby.

Takumi was about to head back in to the kitchen when suddenly the blonde girl--who was with him earlier came into the scene. Apparently, Takumi had invited her to join them for dinner without anyones knowledge. And of course, the girl accepted the invitation without regards to what his companions would say--except for Takumi.

"Ah! What with the water works? Being clumsy again, I see?" she said jokingly but in a loving way. She skimmed her surroundings (specifically the work area) and found a wash blow with ice water (the one they used to blanch the vegetables with) and dipped her hands in taking a handful of water and splashed it onto Takumi's face--naturally Takumi would be mad but it was first aid procedure--before she tenderly rubbed his eyes. Takumi looks as if he was really grateful for her help. He would have done it alone but sometimes he didn't mind people giving him a helping hand when he needs it. She then proceed to dip her scarf into the blow and she coated it with the cooling water. "There is a lounge chair over there." she pointed out to the male blonde. "Let's go."

Takumi did not argue and just went along with her. She then sat down on the lounge chair and told Takumi to lay his head on her lap which he did. The blonde girl then place her wet scarf onto the blonde boy's eyes, sighing in relief when the damp cloth started to cool his eyes.

"Where are your 'friends'?" she questioned as she began to stroke his hair. "Shouldn't they be the ones to help you instead of me?" she said jokingly.

"Who knows. They're probably inside. There was crying. Probably the little one." Takumi answered. He was actually concern of what was happening inside too but he also has his own worries to deal with. And besides, everyone else was there, no need for him to be there to make things worst.

"Sounds as if you're a bit lonely there." she wittingly replied.

"I am not." he quickly replied. Okay. So he was a little bit but he really didn't care.

"If you say so. Don't worry. I'm still here for you." she said reassuring the blonde model.

"Thanks." Takumi replied. They stayed at the lounge chair for awhile and decided to wait for the others to come back out from the kitchen before doing anything else.
 
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Cadence was worried that her talk wasn't helping Nori or Veronica calm down but luckily Casper had come into the kitchen. If anyone could help calm those two down, it would be Casper. Plus, it was probably nice to get a hug from him considering his tall stature. Though, if Lacey saw this she would probably freak out even more than she already was and believe that all the other members were trying to seduce Casper.

Cadence figured she needed to get back outside to see how Lacey was doing and Takumi was by himself cooking. She let Casper deal with the crying and headed back outside. Though Cadence really didn't like the sight she saw when she came out back to the deck, finding Takumi on the lounge chair, resting his head on that dumb blonde girl from before who had winked to Cadence. What the hell was she doing there? She wasn't allowed to be there! Cadence could feel her face heating up, anger filling her body and perhaps there was something more than that there as she watched the girl smiling at Takumi who seemed to be enjoying it quite a bit. Instead of checking on Lacey Cadence was too focused on Takumi and the blonde girl. Cadence began to stomp over to him on the lounge. "What are you doing Takumi! You're going to burn all the food!" She looked over at the girl, then at Takumi. She seemed quite angry…or rather jealous. She was using the food as an excuse.

Lacey was business still thinking up things that were making her breakdown. "C-Casper…" She whispered, "Don't fall for their seductive tricks." She was losing it, so she began to run inside to be alone for a bit since there were still people outside but she heard a commotion in the kitchen and went to take a peak, seeing that Casper was hugging Veronica and Nori. GASP!! Everyone's seducing Casper!! They all love him because he's such an amazing guy!! At least, that everything she was thinking in her head. She turned herself away and began running to another part of the house to be alone, not wanting to see anymore of everyone else getting hugs and emotional talks with Casper except for her. She wanted a hug for him, he probably didn't like her at all then if he hugged everyone but her. Of course, the girl was still coming to conclusions in her head that didn't make any sense at all.
 
"If it's something about the dessert, it's okay you two. Don't worry about it. The dessert will be just fine, I bet it will taste great. So, there's no need to worry about it and cry."​

Nori wasn't bawling as hard as he was before, but tears still rolled down his cheeks and, now, he was stuck with the hiccups and sniffling. He was just an absolute mess as he stayed in Veronica's arms, still disappointed in himself for his mistake. Cadence had happened to walk in on them and immediately comforted them. Her reassuring words made him smile softly as he begun to wipe the tear tracks from his cheeks. Cadence is right! Maybe...we can make something else just as good as the tart? I bet there's another dessert we can make, he thought in a positive way, done with his bout of negativity. That was until Veronica started bawling herself.

"It's not your fault, Vero-chan!" Honestly, I secretly blame Kaoru-senpai for it. "You were a really good teacher! I-I'm the one who messed up the dessert, not you. So, p-please don't cry 'ca-cause I'll...I'll start crying again!" Nori begged the older girl, but it was too late. Like mini waterfalls, new tears were making new tracks upon his cheeks. Veronica's next words only served to fuel his crying. "You're the worthiest of them all to make desserts! You didn't disappoint anyone," he reassured the blonde. It seemed as if there wasn't any sign of her calming down, which meant that there wasn't going to be any sign of Nori calming down either. That's when Casper decided to join the party as well. The only two that wasn't there was Takumi and Lacey.

Nori let himself be pulled from Veronica and into one of Casper's arms, resting his head on the older boy's shoulder. The white-haired teen wiped at his face when Casper pulled them back so he could look at their faces. Their tomato red and wet faces. Well, that's how Nori's was. Hearing the dark-haired male's worried tone only brought on a new set of tears. He felt bad for worrying Casper because he was crying over something trivial. But it's not! Veronica and I were very excited for that tart! "I messed up the dough for the tart—" Hiccup. "—an-and I made Vero-chan cry!" Nori confessed to the gentle giant, sniffling. "I'm the worst person ever, Casper!"

 
OH. MY. GOD.

THE FOOD!!!!!!!!!

By the mention of burn possibly getting burn Takumi immediately sat up and rush over (lightning speed) towards the grilling station. And sadly enough all the barbecue got burned into black of nothingness. ALL. OF. THEM. Which made Takumi sad. Poor barbecues. They never had a chance. Takumi took a second to mourn their inevitable deaths before taking them off the grill and starting a new set again (minus the shrimps. God those were some good damn shrimps).

Meanwhile...

The 'dumb' blonde girl, who Cadence referred was starring up at a very annoyed Cadence (since she was still sitting down on the lounge) which was quite interesting to look at. In contrast to Cadences' fumming face, the blonde responded with a nonchalant smile.

"Hello. I take it that you're Cadence? Nice to finally put a face to the name. May I help you with something?" the blonde girl asked in a monotonous tone. Talking as if she had done nothing wrong--which is technically true. Since it was only the two of them it didn't hurt to socialize a bit. Getting to know who were the people Takumi been socializing with.
 
Casper just came in and his voice was laced with so much concern when he tried to comfort them, that Veronica felt even worse. Not only did she mess up the dessert and broke her promise to Nori, but she also got everyone worried about her. "I-I'm.. so-sorry.." she hiccuped, her face red from crying and some loose strands of hair now sticking to her face.

As Casper hugged them and Nori cried once again, Veronica decided that she should just grow up and stop being so immature. She's just making the problem even worse, and she didn't like everyone to worry about her. "N-Nori.." she called out, finally wiping the tears off of her cheeks and slowly calming down. "Y-You're not the w-worst.. I'll just.. m-m-make something else.. I'm sorry I tried to make a tart and got you excited.." she mumbled, now feeling ashamed of what just happened. She shouldn't have cried at such a trivial mistake, especially that she's older than Nori. How can she be so childish? Now, everyone will think she's a crybaby.
 
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Cadence stared at the girl, listening to what she was saying, it was just annoying Cadence more. What did she think this was? Some resort she could just lay around at and act like she owned the place? "Yes, I'm Cadence. Club president, of the club Takumi is in. It seems he's mentioned something about it or me." She said. What was this girl trying to do? So, what? She was like Takumi's girlfriend or had a serious thing for him? Whatever it was, why would she be bugging Cadence with a dumb question and she should know that she shouldn't be there?

"I'm sorry, but you really can't be here...Miss...well, I don't know your name. Sorry, Takumi have never said anything about you." She was trying to make it like Takumi didn't care about the girl very much considering he didn't say anything. "This is a private villa, only members of the club or students of the school who have certain permission can stay here. I'm, unfortunately, going to have to ask you to leave. I would let you stay, but I have to follow the rules given to me in order to let all the members enjoy this trip and spend it here. You wouldn't want all of the members getting in trouble, like Takumi, for something as silly as that, would you?" Good old Cadence trying to twist everything to get her way and using Takumi as bait just like she had used Veronica on Kaoru. She just really hoped the girl would go away and they could enjoy their trip without some stranger ruining everything.

Cadence continued to stare at the girl, what was so interesting about her anyway? What did Takumi have a fetish for blonde-girls. Cadence might have to hide Veronica away from him if that was the case. Though, Cadence had black...wait, why would she be worried about that. There was no sense in thinking about what color hair she had. So what if he liked blonde better than black haired girls. It didn't matter to Cadence at all. That was right, it didn't matter. At least that's what Cadence was telling herself.

Meanwhile, Lacey was in another room in the house, trying to calm herself down from her own thoughts. They couldn't be true, none of her friends were like that...well, expect maybe Takumi. He might really try and seduce someone, he seemed like he would be good at it. Maybe that's what he was doing to Cadence in secret and that was why she seemed so upset with him all the time. Of course, Lacey again was just making ideas in her head and she had no clue what was really going on between anyone in the club except that they were all at least friends.
 
ｃ ａ ｓ ｐ ｅ ｒ ．
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Casper watched as a new stream of tears began down Nori's cheeks, and he suddenly felt worse. Perhaps he should have said that in a calmer tone. A lot of what came out of Casper's mouth was what he ended up regretting, thinking he could have said better or not said at all. Nori, in a trembling, stuttering voice stated what he had done, ending with calling himself the worst person ever. Oh .. oh no .. A sharp, intrusive pang of sadness hit Casper. No, he didn't want Nori of all people to think of himself like that. The poor kid was the only one to have a wholly innocent, lively atmosphere. Casper always had a certain connection with Nori, always felt protective over him, like an older brother. And now, especially now, the feelings came front and center.

Veronica shakily admitted an apology, and Casper quite nearly retorted for her to stop with it. Veronica was too sweet in Casper's eyes to have to suffer for what was only a small mistake. Redoing dough wasn't too much of an issue, or even fixing dough that was said to be ruined. They were both very sensitive people, he was aware. Knowing them, he didn't blame them that the whole ordeal had compounded.

Casper sucked in a breath and released it, saying softly, "Both of you .. " He glanced between the two as he gathered his encouraging words, trying to get out of his worried state to be the voice of comfort in this situation, " .. It's not the end of the world .. o-okay?" He offered both of them a soft, small smile with those words. To try to awkwardly express his affection better, he took his hands off of their arms and hesitantly placed them on both of their heads, patting them very lightly. " .. You're both the light and spirit of this group." His hands moved back to their shoulders, and he stood himself back up. Dang, both of them really were short in comparison. "With you two working together .. well .. " His cheeks reddened a bit and he shrugged, continuing shyly, " - i-it's a cheesy way of saying it, but you guys can do a lot of cool stuff." His words were genuine - with both being such lights in the group's antics, they really did have a lot of potential.

Casper, after his little cliche speech, let go of them and let his eyes drop to the ground, saying in a bit of a shier voice, "And, um .. I can help you out, if you'd like. I'm pretty decent with pastry .. stuff." He hated making a big deal of his abilities - confidence was in short supply for the kid. If they needed him, they needed him. If not, it was fine. In fact, he felt a small, lingering feeling in his stomach that he couldn't decipher too clearly in the moment. A curiosity. A worry .. whatever it was, it would most likely have to wait until he was done getting Nori's and Veronica's spirits back up and back to doing what they enjoyed.
 
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"I'm sorry," although she wasn't all that sorry, "but Takumi was the one who invited me. So technically he gave me permission to be here." she reprimanded Cadence for telling her that she wasn't (at all) welcome in the villa. "Shouldn't you be telling that to him and not me?" the blonde wasn't going to let Cadence tell her what to do.

The blonde didn't want to be rude but from the way Cadence was treating her she had no choice but to stand up for herself. "I'll only leave when Takumi tells me to leave." she then stood up as tell as Cadence but the difference was she had bigger boobs than the other had.

"So should we ask Takumi if I should stay or not? But I should be fair and warn you, if you make me leave, I can't assure you that Takumi would stay here." she warned Cadence. Apparently, like Cadence, she wasn't the type of person that take no for an answer.
 
Cadence almost began to glare at the girl, but was hiding it very well. "I'm sorry, but Takumi isn't allowed to give you permission." She stated, "He is not a ranking member in the club that can choose that and since I am not the owner of this private villa and neither is he, I cannot let you just stay here." She wasn't letting the girl get her way, especially with her trying to use Takumi just like she had. Why? Takumi didn't matter to her; she didn't care what he did.

"I don't care if Takumi leaves with you or not, then that's his loss. This is a club trip and if he leaves, then I suppose he doesn't want to be in the club." She started to walk over to Takumi who was redoing the food. "Takumi, your girlfriend can't stay here. She's not allowed and just because you invite her does not mean she actually gets permission to stay here. I have to follow rules given to me in order for everyone to stay at this villa and this is one of them, she cannot stay at here. If that means you are going with her then very well, you don't seem to care about being in this club or trip very much anyway and this trip is to enjoy the company of the club members, not have relations with your woman. You don't have to cook anymore; I can handle it just fine. Go ahead and enjoy your time with your girlfriend." Of course Cadence was angry, the girl was making her that way and her anger was rubbing off that was putting it towards Takumi as well. So what? She could take Takumi for all Cadence cared but that woman was not staying at the villa. Though, for a moment her anger faltered and as she looked only at Takumi, her eyes showed that she didn't want him to go anywhere. She wanted him to stay with her…er them at the villa and not go with the other girl.

Meanwhile, Lacey was still in another room alone, trying to calm herself down but her thoughts were still scattered. She knew that Casper was a nice guy and he was probably just trying to help everyone but it still hurt to see him spending time with others than her. She guessed it would almost be jealousy though she also loved her friends that it hurt to think that too. She needed to forget about it all and just calm down but it wasn't working. She wanted to be around Casper and get closer to him too!
 
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