Welcome to Heaven | ✓

03: Apple Pie

He swerved around to shield himself from me, but it was too late. I'd recognize that face I'd been stalking anywhere. It was him. Koyuki Tamura.

He hadn't disappeared. He merely entered this room to bake.

Animated stars filled my eyes, that I knew. My once gaping look was morphed into a wide smile. That rumour was true after all...! He really did bake! The reason he left the club so late and took his sweet time afterward was so that he could shake off any lingering students in this school to bake!

"Tamura!" I cried, my voice muffled by the glass. "It's me, Kotori Teruhashi! Let me inside!"

Regardless of my shouts, Koyuki didn't address me. He set the bowl of batter he was mixing onto the counter with his head hung low.

"Tamura," I called out anyway, assured it was because he couldn't hear me. I raised my voice to an even higher decibel. "What are you baking? Is it a cake?"

No response came from the guy, and I was starting to lose my patience. I retreated from the window and rapped my knuckles against the glass. Still nothing. Dropping my fist, I puffed my cheeks. Was he ignoring me? As if I'd let that happen!

Placing my hands at my mouth, I sucked in a large breath before screaming, "KOYUKI TAMURA! PLEASE LET ME INSIDE THE HOME ECONOMICS ROOM—"

Before the final words could even leave my mouth, the door to the room yanked open.

Koyuki stood at the entrance, face flushed from exasperation. He seized me by the arm and tugged me inside before I could come to terms with his strength.

I stumbled a bit but regained my balance before I could wipe out on the linoleum. But just as I regained my balance, Koyuki infiltrated my vicinity, nostrils flaring, teeth clenched from insurmountable rage.

"Stop shouting my name so loud! Do you want to get us in trouble?"

For a moment, I couldn't surface any words. Sure he was handsome, but getting handsome people mad was never a pretty sight. And for as long as I knew the guy, I'd never thought it was even possible for him to raise his voice this loud.

Fuming under his breath, Koyuki continued to hover over me at his height, not allowing his malice to falter at all. I swallowed hard, mute.

Clicking his tongue, he backed away then went to shut the door.

"I should've expected you'd follow me here," he grumbled to himself, using the back of his hand to brush his blond hair from his eyes. "I wasn't being careful enough."

My lips slowly met in the form of a frown. But before I could fall into a pool of guilt for ever stumbling upon him here, a sweet scent reached my nose. I inhaled dreamily and glanced over to the source—the bowl of batter.

My feet were already leading me toward it before I could stop them. The batter was creamy and smelt so sweet with the lingering warmth of cinnamon. Apples were sprawled in a separate bowl on the counter, cinnamon, butter, brown and white sugar alike lying around as well. And in the electric mixer, beating at a low rhythm was a white mixture—whipped cream that wasn't quite stiff. Unflattened dough and small aluminum tins were evident as well off to the left where the oven was already switched on to preheat.

I had only lost sight of him maybe ten or fifteen minutes ago and he had already worked this fast? While I went home early these last couple days, don't tell me he spent his time prepping this all?

"Apple pie?" I guessed, bringing my nose even closer to the batter. I could already feel myself begin to drool. "It smells so good..."

I was seized by the arm and tugged back before any of my saliva could dare drop inside. I found myself face to face with Koyuki once again, who clearly wasn't impressed.