~ Splenda & FooFliDay ~

~¤°*°*°*°¤~

I was having a wonderful day. It was Friday. A beautiful day figuratively and literally speaking. It was sunny outside, and the end of the week. It also happened to be troublemaker free. There had not been any sign of Theo in Home Ec. I should have been upset, given the fact that he was my partner, but I wasn't in the slightest. It had a lot to do with the fact that it was just a lesson with no cooking or a test involved this time, so we wouldn't have had to work together anyway.

My spirits were also soaring because the day was almost over. Tonight, I can just chill with my friends and not even give my Home Ec partner a second thought.

"Sugar!"

Just like that, those little soaring spirits lost their wings. They flailed all the way down until, finally, they crashed and died a bitter death.

"I would appreciate it immensely if you would not call me by that name," I addressed the boy leaning against the locker beside mine. It's certainly better than Dollface, but I would never admit that to him.

"I'm sure you would," he said, giving me a cheeky grin.

It was almost cute, but more annoying than anything. I bit back a smirk and retort, which would have been so good. Instead I gave him a curious look. He obviously wanted something. Why else would he be talking to me?

He rolled his eyes, clearly disappointed in my lack of response. "Can I borrow your notes from Home Ec?"

I laughed. "You skipped class and now you want to copy my notes?" Even as I asked that, I opened my binder and pulled them out.

"For your information, I had a dentist appointment."

I didn't buy that and he knew it.

"Do I have to go get the note from my parents to prove it? Cordier has it." He started to leave.

"No, Theo," I sighed, tugging on his jacket to stop him. I gave him the notes when he turned around.

"Thanks. I'll get them back to you asap," he said, skimming the pages before pocketing them.

"Don't worry about it," I responded, closing my locker. Asking to borrow my notes after having a legitimate reason for missing class showed that he actually did take it seriously. He earned some my respect for that reason. "There's no rush," I smiled genuinely.

After I spoke, he lifted his head back up and stared at me. It was a look that made me feel like he could see right through me. I tried to think of something I could do or say to get him to stop. He opened his mouth to say something.

"Hey, girlfriend!"

...Girlfriend?

Theo's eyes flashed with annoyance as Becky, a girl I barely knew, draped her arm over my shoulder like we were best friends. I fleetingly wondered what he would have said if we had not been interrupted.

"Hi, Becky," I smiled at her, despite how awkward I felt by her overly familiar gesture. "What's up?"

"Could you take this Mr. Sanders? I was supposed to do it earlier, but I forgot and I can't get another tardy. Please, please, please?" She held out a small stack of stapled papers and pouted in my face.

"Of course. It's no problem," I said, holding my smile and biting my tongue. Mr. Sanders' classroom was in the opposite direction of my last period. I would be at least ten minutes late and my English teacher wasn't too fond of latecomers.

"Unbelievable," I heard Theo mutter but I ignored him.

"Great! Thank you so much. I owe you," she said in one breath, backing away quickly as the last warning bell rang.

My upturned mouth dropped into a frown and I sighed after she turned her back. I forgot Theo was still there, watching it all, including my change in attitude. He shook his head at me.

"What?" I asked, acting oblivious.

"You just can't say no to people, can you?"

"I don't know what you're talking about. I'm rarely late to class, so one time isn't a big deal. And she did say please," I stopped talking when he suddenly took a step closer.

"So that's all it takes? 'Please.'"

"I never said that..."

"I bet," he took another threatening step, "you have never said the word no."

I crossed my arms, feeling defensive. "I can say no, Theo."

"Then prove it," he smirked with a dangerous glint in his eyes.

"What?"

I gasped, shocked when he suddenly pushed me against the lockers. There wasn't enough force behind it to hurt when my back met the cold metal, but I was rattled by it. I flinched as he closed the space between us, caging me in with his arms on either side of my head.

Theo's expression was serious, more so than I had seen from him since we met. He was determined as he leaned in further and softly spoke my name. "Abigail."

The sweet scent of his breath fanned across my face. It conflicted with the bitter, but not unpleasant, leather smell of his jacket. The combination was intoxicating and so very Theo. My heart started racing as I realized how dangerous he was to me. In so many ways. I tried to concentrate on breathing normally, which altogether stopped when he glanced at my lips.

"Can I kiss you?" Up close, his eyes were brighter than I once thought. They were blue with sparks of gunmetal grey. And they were focused solely on me. "Please?"

After the words sunk in, my own eyes widened. He... He's mocking me. I was too stunned to reply as the seconds ticked by on the clock above us.

"That's what I thought." He closed the space between us. My breath caught in my throat when I thought he was going to follow through with it. His cheek brushed mine as he shifted to my ear. "You were right," he whispered hotly. "Sugar isn't a good name for you. You're more like Splenda, anyway."

Artificial. Fake.

He lifted his palm and slammed it back against the lockers, jolting me. With a final disdained look, he shoved off the metal and left. His long strides had him out of sight before I broke down.

I slid to the floor in a moment of weakness. Tears fell from my eyes beyond my control. I was stupid; Thinking that for even a second he might not be so bad. What I hated most...

He's right. I can't say no.

With that thought, I composed myself. I knew he was right, and it was okay. I was the way I was for my family, and for the bakery. They were more important than what a boy thought of me. He just struck me by surprise, that was all. I knew I could say no if the situation demanded it. I knew he wouldn't kiss me. I wiped the tears away. I took my time walking to Mr. Sanders class and then to my own.

The day was almost over.

¤°*°*°*°¤

"It. Is. Time. For. FooFliDay!"

"Hi to you too, Jarod," I said after my friend barged into the house. I wasted no time changing into my pajamas when I got home and I hadn't moved from the couch since then. My favorite cooking show Bitchin' Kitchen was on. Nadia G was my soul sister, and she always made the best looking food. The series never failed to make me laugh. I was even donning my Rock Your Kitchen black and pink tank top.

"I bring food!" He sat down beside me after putting the paper bag on the coffee table. "Well, half of the food. Yvee better bring the rest of it," he grumbled, still sour about the bet.

He argued that he won because he was able to lift the bag of flour, but Yvette said she won since he technically didn't lift a full bag. She also said it didn't count anyway because he dumped it all out. I settled the argument by telling them they both lost and had to each pay for half of our food. I couldn't take sides, so I thought it would be the lesser of two evils.

"Don't worry," I pet his shoulder then rested my head on it. "I'm going to cook you guys an amazing meal next week."

"Really?" He asked, full of hope, laying his head on top of mine. He sniffled dramatically, but his facade was ruined when he laughed at a joke on TV.

"Oh, my goodness. Just admit you love this show."

"Never!" He laughed again when the singing began.

I was obsessed with cooking shows. So naturally, I subjected my friends to them as well. Yvee was easily bored, but she and I both loved watching Jarod drool over the meals. He claimed he didn't  like the shows either. They not-so-secretly loved Bitchin' Kitchen though.

"You don't think she's hot?" I asked him, trying to get him to admit to liking anything about the series.

"I just lost my appetite."

"What?! She's gorgeous!" I poked him in the ribs.

After yelping in pain, he said, "Yes, but she reminds me too much of you. That's like saying my sister is hot. Come on, Abs. Don't be gross."

I laughed so hard I shook the couch. "You are too sweet, Jarod."

"I know. It's the all-you-can-eat buffet, also known as Stressed. All those sweets make me sweet."

I lifted my head and pinched his cheek. "You're just adorable."

"We discussed this already. I am masculine and manly."

"No, dear. That would be Hans," Yvee sighed dreamily as she fell down beside us. Her eyes were glued to the TV as the guy flexed. I sat up and moved my head to her shoulder. "This show has everything..."

"What are you, a ninja?" Jarod asked her because we didn't hear her come in. Jumping up in front of our line of sight, he blocked the view. He flexed as hard as he could.

"Careful there, you might burst some blood vessels. Also. You look constipated..."

I laughed again. "You know where the bathroom is, Jarod."

He grumbled again, grabbing his clothes. "I am only going in there to change into my pjs."

"Take your time! And use air freshener," Yvee said, already in her comfy sweats. "It is so fun to tease him."

"We should get that poor boy some guy friends. His masculinity really is in danger around us," I noted with a grin.

She giggled. "Hey, maybe Theo Keller will be his bestest friend."

"We shall not speak of that name," I said solemnly. I was already over what happened with him earlier. Meaning, I wasn't sad or upset anymore. Just indifferent. And maybe a little bitter...

"Ah, yes. Thou foul creature's name will nay be uttered in thine presence," she agreed in her best attempt at Ye Olde English.

"I am not foul, nor am I a creature. I'm human and I showered this morning," Jarod added, rejoining us and once again stopping in front of the television. "FooFliDay will now commense!" He announced at the top of his lungs and struck a superhero pose with his hands on his hips. The Batman onsie with a cape just added to the effect.

"You just like saying FooFliDay," I stated, getting up to stretch and set up for the movie.

"It is a fun word," Yvette defended. "FooFliDay."

Since we all agreed that Food Flicks Friday was a mouthful, Jarod decided we needed to make up a word for it. We had also been half-asleep after staying up all night watching a trilogy. Ah, that was a good FooFliDay...

I cleared off the coffee table and set out all of the food. Yvee brought pizza, while Jarod supplied the tacos. I provided the buttered popcorn and drinks. We each chose a movie, though we usually only managed to make it through two most of the time because we always passed out. Our method to decide which movies would be first and second was Rock, Paper, Scissors. This time, it came down to me and Jarod. I definitely wasn't going to let him win with a scary movie.

"Yes!" Me and my action movie won.

"You two just hate sci-fi..." Yvee muttered with a pout, tossing her dvd by the player with the others.

"Lies," we responded together. She always said that when she was last, no matter the genre of her movie.

We all shared a smile.

Which led to a pillow fight...with couch cushions.

~¤°*°*°*°¤~

Eli & Theo: Why didn't we get invited to FooFliDay?!

Author: I'm sorry, Eli. *hugs* Maybe next time!

Theo: Hey! What about me?

Eli: *snuggles against Author's shoulder* Dude. You made a girl cry.

Theo: Oh, come on. That was a great line! I want to go to FooFliDay too. *whines*

Author: How about we have a pillow fight?

Eli: Excellent idea, Author.

Theo: Yeah. That might make me feel better! *grins*

Author: *picks up a firm pillow and throws it roughly at Theo, knocking him down*

Eli: *picks up a firm mattress and throws it on top of Theo as he tries to recover, knocking him down again*

Author: May he rest in peace.

Eli: We were even polite enough to provide the mattress. His rest will be peaceful, I'm sure!

Author: Um...I think that would only apply if he were on top of the mattress. Not buried beneath it...

Eli: It all depends on how you look at it! If you look at him upside down, he's on the mattress.

Author: ...Nope. He's still being crushed.

Eli: Yeah. *chuckles* So is there any leftover pizza?

A/N: Omg, I feel so rusty! This is the first chapter I've written completely from scratch in a long while. Too much editing and revising!!!

Happy FooFliDay, Sweeties!

¤°* Have a Pop Rockin' Day *°¤