Till Dawn (HS)

xi*

"Mom, I can't make all of that in just two days," Clara sifted her hand through her hair as she held her phone between her shoulder and ear. Her hands were kneading the cookie dough she had just made, the scent of sugar and cinnamon thick in her kitchen.

"Sure you can! You work at a restaurant for goodness sake," her mother's overly cheery voice caused her to roll her eyes. I don't actually cook there anymore, she wanted to tell her but her pride stopped the words from leaving her lips.

"Why can't you make some stuff, too?"

"Oh come on, we all know you're the best chef in the family."

"True," Clara's ego spoke for her and she nodded to herself. "Alright, fine. But the cheesecake is all on you." Her mother made a blueberry cheesecake every year for Christmas- a weird but special tradition in her family- and the sweet, rich taste was already taunting Clara's tongue as she thought about it. The holidays truly were her favorite time of the year, and this time around was no exception, despite the hell she had gone through during the month. It had started with her brother nearly getting a concussion, and now it was ending with Clara in the kitchen doing the thing she loved the most, while the very man who had caused her month to start off poorly, was on her mind.

Today was the day of their date which wasn't a date.

"Do you want to hang out?" Harry had mumbled against her mouth the other night. She had given him a ride home after their short shower together, but his leaving was prolonged as they ended up making out in her car for a good ten minutes, parked in front of his house which was illuminated inside. Des was obviously still up, but that didn't seem to deter Harry as he had reached for her waist across the center console and attached his addictive lips to hers the minute she had stopped the car by the curb.

"We just did 'hang out'." She had laughed softly and placed a feathery kiss to the corner of his soft and swollen lips.

"Yeah I know, but we can hang out again sometime. I mean, actually hang out." He seemed to have lost his confidence as he continued to speak, realizing what it was he was asking of her. Clara pulled away to leave a few inches of space between them.

"You mean a date?"

"No!" Harry shook his head quickly. "No... Just hang out."

"Right," she nodded skeptically, a knowing smile on her lips. A date (or not a date) would be good for her, she had thought. Clara needed to spend time with Harry in a setting other than her bed or shower so she could think properly and clarify what exactly it was that she felt for him. She didn't want to make the mistake of labeling it as something it wasn't.

Clara dipped her slender finger into the cookie dough she had just finished and set it aside while the oven heated up. She tasted the sweet mixture and nearly moaned- there was no doubt in her mind that Harry would love the cookies. They were her special recipe which everyone in her family devoured within seconds whenever she baked them. Maybe it was too soon and too much to buy Harry a Christmas present, but a tray of cookies would surely be appreciated by him and his dad.

Just as the oven rang out a ding, signalling that the snicker doodles had been cooked to what Clara perceived as perfection, a knock came to the front door. She grabbed the oven mitt and pulled out the tray before hurrying to the door. When she opened it, her breath lodged in her throat as she stared into a pair of soft, brown eyes.

"Hey," she croaked, offering an uneasy smile. Liam clasped his hands behind his back, holding a small wrapped box. He was one of the last people she wanted to see. The last time she had been with Liam, was when his lips were forced against hers and the weight of her realization was heavy on her chest. He appeared the same as that night, and every other time she had spent with him, with his simple smile and tuft of gelled hair, except there was a certain depth to his brown eyes that caught her interest for a brief moment.