#etoilesweek

Backpacks were really the best — she no longer had to worry about not having the ingredients she might need, ever. Chayanne was more than happy to help her, supplying her with some milk and raspberries, — and only a few minutes later her beautiful berry cake was ready and done.

“Hey guys!” she smiled as she turned to face Étoiles and Phil (who were busy arguing about something with Tallulah), “Snack time!”

Phil’s face lit up the moment he saw the cake, “Aw man, Niki! How the fuck do you always manage to have the best pastries?”

Phil took the cake out of Niki’s hands and got to slicing it. Niki turned to look at Étoiles… who only glanced at the thing before turning to talk to Pomme. Niki frowned and opened her mouth to invite the two to join in, but was interrupted by Étoiles: “Alright, guys, thank you so much, but Pomme and I gotta go.”

“No problem, mate,” Philza replied, his mouth already stuffed. Niki meekly echoed the sentiment and watched the French warp away, feeling only so slightly disappointed.

The Purgatory desert was finally settling down after the fight, and it was finally possible to see further than a meter from you. Niki couldn’t be more grateful for that — going through sand with a giant cake in your arms was much easier when you could see where you stepped.

The Greens were in much better spirits than she anticipated, joking around and babbling about something she couldn’t quite understand. She shouted a “hey there” just before approaching them: “Hey guys.” she smiled from above the cake, “Not sure how welcome it is, but, um– I just wanted to give you something. Kind of like a consolation prize.”

“Oh my God,” Bagi exhaled. “Holy shit.”

The Greens gathered around her, marveling at the cake. Niki allowed herself to bask in attention for a bit before glancing at Étoiles — the person she really wanted to surprise with it.

Much to her dismay, he didn’t look too excited, keeping himself busy checking something in his inventory even as everyone else started taking slices. “Étoiles, do you want a slice?” she decided to ask.

Étoiles turned to look at her and looked at the cake with barely hidden surprise. “Uhm. Nah, thanks,” he gave her a crooked smile before turning away again.

Niki considered burrowing her head in the sand and screaming.

Okay.

She knew what he liked (fish, avocado, avocado toast, chia seeds). She knew (now) that he wasn’t really into the sweet stuff. That was fine — not every pastry had to be tooth-rotting. She could make apple pies. She could make potato pies. She was the genius baker, and she could find something that Étoiles would love sooner or later.

She felt sweat gathering at the back of her neck as she watched her friends gather round Sunny’s birthday table and grab stuff from the plates she and Chayanne had prepared for the occasion. She watched Étoiles completely ignore everything.

“Okay, I am going insane,” she declared and got up from her seat. Chayanne stopped chewing as he watched her walk up to Étoiles and tap him on the shoulder. He turned around. “I can’t live like this anymore.”

“Same, man,” Étoiles replied before blinking and adding, “Wait, what?”

“Do you hate me?”

Étoiles blinked again, “No? Why? Do you think I’m a hateful person?”

“You have literally not eaten anything made by me. Not once.”

Étoiles blinked for the third time and looked behind Niki’s back at the table. He then looked back at her. “These are all high GI.”

It was Niki’s turn to blink. “What?”

“Glycemic index,” Étoiles explained, “Niki, I have diabetes.”

…oh.

Oh.

Niki suddenly felt very, very stupid. “Oh my God–”

“Do you think I should white rice? Should I eat potato chips?” Étoiles suddenly had a shit-eating grin on his face. “Do you want me to eat poison and die? Is it because you hate me?”

“No, I—” Niki felt laughter bottle up in her throat and she covered her mouth with her hand, “I’m–”

“What are you, Poison-chu? You want me to poison myself?”

“Shut up—”

“Oh, it’s because you hate me—”