17

Hypothesis; once you dance to his tune, there's no stopping.

Was I offended that Daniel put me on egg-cracking duty? Yes. Was I supposed to be offended by it? Probably not. But ever since he'd corrected Mr Albert about me being his girlfriend, I guess I was a little on edge.

Scratch that. I was very on edge.

In just fifteen minutes, I'd spilled some eggs, torn a packet of sugar right in half and tripped on absolutely nothing, twice. And it was all because of Daniel. How could he work so calmly after what Mr Albert had said? Was my presence not affecting him the way his was affecting me? Was I going nuts? I was probably going nuts.

What would Noah do?

I jumped back when Daniel turned to the side to look at mey form which had previously been peering at what he was doing like some freak. He whipped out a smile and went back to stirring. "Could you pass the flour please?"

Shaking my head, I pinched my lips together and passed him the flour, receiving a "thank you," in reply.

Maybe I was reading too much into this. Maybe, the little time I had to seduce him was telling on me. That would explain the erratic heartbeats and cold sweat on my forehead at least, but the electricity remained a mystery.

My hands still tingled where he'd held me and a deep dark tiny part of me wanted to hug him again. Would it be considered weird if I wrapped my arms around his waist. Shit. Now I couldn't stop thinking about wrapping my arms around him. Maybe I needed therapy.

"Noah?"

I blinked, throat drier than the Sahara. At first, my words sounded croaky when I tried to speak so I cleared my throat and tried again. "Yes?"

His brows furrowed in concern and he stepped towards me, placing the back of his hand to my forehead. "Are you okay?"

I licked my lips and stepped out of his touch. Not even slightly, I thought but my lips said an entirely different thing with a forced smile. "Yhup. Peachy."

While I was lost in my thoughts, Daniel had already popped the cake into the oven, washed his hands, and dropped his apron into a bundle on the counter. Apparently, I was being more delusional than I thought. I needed water and air.

He stepped forward again and I, wanting out of this madness, stepped back. Or at least, I tried to. My behind met the edge of the island. Now, trapped between Daniel and the island, I lifted my eyes to meet his. My breath caught immediately.

"Is something wrong? Did you hit your head when you tripped?" The concern in his eyes irked me to the bone, shaking my restraints until the walls threatened to fall with a crack.

I shifted my gaze to the spot between his eyes then shut mine tightly. Get it together. "I'm fine. I just need water."

That seemed to do the trick. With my eyes still shut tight, I felt Daniel move away. His presence was immediately replaced by cold. I opened my eyes and rubbed my forearms, watching him rush to the fridge to grab a bottle of water.

Daniel was back in a flash, handing me the bottle. I took it from him, uttering a small "thanks" and then cracking it open to take a swig. All the while, I could feel his hit gaze on me. So even when I brought down the bottle and closed the lid, I averted my gaze from him to the two pans in the oven.

"How long's that going to take?" I motioned towards the baking cakes with my bottle, hoping he'd take the bait and stop staring.

His gaze followed mine and he lifted a single shoulder in a half shrug. "Thirty-five minutes tops. We should probably check on the guys so they don't end up taping Tae to a wall." He snorted and I chuckled stiffly.

After taking off the apron and washing my hands, I let him lead me to the living room, glad that he'd stopped trying to pulverize me with his eyes.

Tae wasn't taped to a wall when we entered the living room, but he was being chased by Jase with a ribbon in his hand. Asides that minor casualty, the place was pretty much set. They'd done a decent job of decorating the living room with balloons and ribbons.

Daniel took one look at the scene and smiled. "Asher's going to love this."

Tae jumped over the armchair and landed into the seat with a pout while Jase swore at him. "Tell Jase that orange shouldn't be among the decorations. Asher hates orange things."

"He won't notice it if it's in that small corner over there," Jase hissed, pointing sharply at one corner of the ceiling which was bare but hidden. The two stared from me to Daniel and back when Daniel just shrugged.

"Er. Maybe we should cover it. Jase could be right," I caved.

Tae huffed, but threw the ribbon at Jase anyway. The latter grinned in victory, sending me a dashing smile in appreciation before getting to work.

Hyun materialized from the other door in the corner. "There's no glue in Daniel's room," he announced. After a beat, he continued. "I should probably go get some from the store."

Before anyone could stop him or say anything, he was already bounding out the door and shutting it behind him. I chuckled and settled down on the sofa while Daniel sat next to me.

Jase, finally done with the decorations, clapped his hands together to get our attentions. "Now that we're done, I'm going to have something to eat before I die." But as he hurried to the kitchen, Tae ran after him, yelling.

"Wait for me!"

That left Daniel and I. Alone. In silence. And the worst part was the fact that his eyes were on me. Racking my brain for anything I could do to pass the time, I opened my mouth and readied myself for the consequences of whatever would follow.

"Why don't we play twenty questions while we wait for the cake."

At that moment it seemed like a good idea. I'd get to know more about him and if he asked anything I didn't want to tell, I could just throw in some animosity. It was a fail-proof plan.

I straightened my posture and ran my tongue over my lips, narrowing my eyes at him. "I'll go easy on you."

Daniel chuckled, leaning back into the seat. "Okay then, shoot."

"What else do you like doing?" I inquired with a lifted brow. Maybe I could get something out of this game that would give me an upper hand over him. Finally be rid of Chanelle and all her shenanigans. "Asides basketball."

He thought for a moment, sitting back up and rubbing the back of his neck. "I like baking... But I doubt it's a hobby. More like a skill my mom taught me."

I couldn't help but smile. "You're such a mommy's boy."

"Proudly. She's all I have," he replied, but there was no sadness in his tone. Infact, he had this wide smile plastered across his lips. However, the smile faltered when he said, "My dad died when I was six."

A painful pang crossed my heart, making my breathing cease for a second. Moisture gathered in my eyes and my throat thickened. Maybe because his story was like mine and I could understand him better to an extent. And not just on the Chanelle level. Suddenly, everything felt wrong.

Possessed by an invisible force, I reached forward and touched his arm, making his gaze lick onto mine. "Hey. If it's any comfort, my dad died two years ago so."

If he wasn't sad before, he sure was now. His eyes darkened with emotion. "I'm sorry. He's the reason why you love chocolate coffee, isn't he?"

So much for being anonymous.

I sighed. "Yeah." I didn't like talking about my dad because each time, I'd get more emotional than the last. I sucked terribly at mourning. All the actresses made it look so easy when it was the direct opposite in real life. There was no passing day where I wouldn't remember my dad and even though I tried to suppress it, it still hurt.

"How come you haven't mentioned your mom?" asked Daniel in a soft tone.

Like I'd been shoved back to reality, I removed my hand from his arm and held it with the other looking away. My mother was a worse topic for me than my dad. He was gone, but she was still here. It's always easier to mourn someone when they're gone. The hard part is mourning people who are still alive simply because they represent a hope you can't reach.

"It's my turn, Daniel." The bite in my tone shocked even me but I didn't let Daniel see it. I wiped the sweat that was beginning to form on my forehead and turned to him. "For how long have you been playing basketball?"

"Since seventh grade," he replied in a flat tone, gaze still trained on mine. "My turn. How come you haven't mentioned your mom?"

I mentally groaned, cursing myself for suggesting this game and wondering why he was being so pushy about it. Breaking the staring contest that had ensued between us, I stood up. "We should probably check on that cake."

The mixed smell of strawberry and lemon had begun wafting in the air. My nose could tell the cake was ready, which meant this conversation was over.

But as I made to step forward, Daniel grabbed my wrist and spun my back around. His standing form towered above me and his gaze pinned me to the spot, spine straight as a pencil. I swallowed.

"You shouldn't shut out how you feel," he began, but my exaggerated fake chuckle cut him off.

"Don't tell me what to do," I sneered, lifting my index finger to poke his unsurprisingly impressive torso. Electricity bubbled between us but I ignored it and stepped closer. By now, we were only a few centimeters apart and I could see him clearly. Every single part of his face was more accentuated, more beautiful. More dangerous. "If you want to know about my mom then you'd be happy to know that she's fine. She found a way to cope with her fucked up life and left me to discover my own escape. But guess what? I found it, and I've embraced not giving a shit because that's exactly what I should be doing."

My breathing was erratic, each one heavier than the last and my chest was on fire. My index finger was still poking Daniel's torso and even though  I wanted nothing more than to run away right then, I wasn't a chicken.

So I stared him dead in the eye, basking in the shock and pity they held when I said, "now can we please check on the cake?"

Neither of us moved for the next minute and I wondered where the guys had gone. If they'd heard my outburst. If I even cared at this point.

I stepped away from Daniel and briskly walked into the kitchen.