Chapter Text
“This is stupid,” Penelope announced.
Sierra barely spared her a glance. “You think everything is stupid.”
“This is especially stupid,” Penelope argued, kicking her heels against the leg of the table she was currently perched on. “Don’t you think this is especially stupid?”
Hermione raised a brow. “How exactly is testing brownie recipes for our bake sale stupid?”
“That’s not the stupid part,” Penelope said. “The fact that we’re having a bake sale is stupid.”
Gladys laughed. “Do you actually want to have to share equipment with the boys? Don’t you want our own balls?”
“That’s just it, though,” Penelope said, and the fact that she didn’t rise to Gladys’ pointedly dangled bait shows the depth of her irritation. “We’re trying to raise money so we don’t have to work with the boys. How is a joint bake sale helping us achieve that?!”
Hermione smiled. “It’s not our fault,” she said mildly, measuring out neat tablespoons of sugar. “It’s school policy.”
“Yeah, unless you wanna wait till next month so we can have our own fundraiser,” Sierra said, stirring a large bowl of cake batter.
Penelope rolled her eyes. “Whatever. Did you hear the news? The fake princess said that if Jones tries to talk to her, she will punch him in the face. The same thing goes for Cooper. Do you believe that?”
"Is Alice threatening to hit Cooper again?"
Everyone glanced up at the sound of FP's voice, its owner trailing after Alice as she entered the room.
When nobody talked, he turned towards her with a boyish grin. “Are you?”
"Always," Alice said with a scoff. "I'd say he deserves it, too."
FP grinned. “Who would have said that the princess had teeth?”
Alice shot him a look but didn’t say anything. Then he added more seriously. “But if he annoys you again, I’ll punch him.”
“Isn’t there a clause in the captaincy code that requires you to defend his honour or at least pretend to?” Sierra asked him with a smile on her lips.
“Oh Sierra, he doesn’t care aha. He would do anything for Alice, even lose his role as captain-“
“Isn't it romantic? The other day I saw him brushing a strand of Alice’s hair behind her ear.” Mary had the heart-eyes while she was talking.
“Ew.”
“Don’t say that Penelope, I found it rather cute.”
“You find everything cute, bloody mary.”
“But you should have seen the look in her eyes. She also blushed and-“
“Can you all stop talking about me and Forsythe Pendleton Second in the third person like we aren’t even here?” Spat a furious Alice. Then she turned towards FP, who had stayed silent while watching the whole exchange with a boyish grin on his face.
Alice saw it and she became angrier. She knew he was wearing that look because he was so proud of himself and she didn’t like being described as a virgin schoolgirl with no experience that blushed in front of FP Jones. “Don’t flatter yourself, Jones. I wasn’t blushing and the two of us aren’t even together.”
For an instant, she fought that she had seen hurt in his face, but that moment didn’t last long since the playboy started to laugh. “Don’t be so dramatic, Smith.”
“Anyway, I don’t believe that the fake princess and the failed playboy are together,” Penelope said while straighten herself up to validate her point. “Plus, didn’t you say that you’ll punch him in the face too? Or was that code for ‘banging him’ like a slut, indeed you used it even for Cooper. Do you open your legs so fast or-“
“Hey. Quit it." FP said gritting his teeth.
He had seen Alice tensed and he knew that if he didn’t intervene there would have been a fight between girls and he didn’t have time for that. He told himself that that was the reason why he had stopped Penelope in the first place, and not because in his mind there were starting to form images of Alice and Hal in a bed while he was kissing his Alice. No, she wasn’t his. And he wasn’t hers.
Yes, he did that only because a fight between girls was annoying. Maybe if he continued to tell himself that, he will start to believe it.
“Jones is right, Penelope. A joke is a joke when it doesn’t last long.” Hermione said with a smile on her lips. “We should go back to our tasking, that is baking.” She added quickly when she saw Penelope and Alice sharing angry looks.
There were a few minutes of silence while the girls turned to their task. FP was watching Alice silently, while she gave him slide glances that didn’t escape to Penelope. Annoyed by them she started to complain again.
“What's he doing here?" she asked Alice while pointing her finger at FP. “The two of you came here together.” She added just to be more bitchy.
Alice rolled her eyes, but before she could have the chance to answer Mary left a giggle causing her to stop from talking.
“What now?” She asked Mary. The redhead looked at Hermione and then back to the blondie. She looked embarrassed and she was red in the face like a child who was caught by her parents doing something that she shouldn’t have to.
“Well?”
“Emh. Hermione and I were saying that it could be cute if the two of you wear the same t-shirt during the day of the competition so you won’t look only like the captains but also like a coup-“
“Ok, stop it. Now!”
Mary stopped mid-sentence. She looked at the person who had talked with curiosity. It was the first time she had said anything since Alice and FP had arrived.
Everyone turned around looking aghast.
Penelope had the mouth open like a fish, FP was looking everywhere but at the person who had talked (or more screamed at them), while Alice shot her a wild look.
Everyone was looking at Gladys with astonishment, but the brunette didn’t seem to care.
“Alice, just answer Penelope’s question. Why is the captain of the enemy team here?” She asked, forcing a fake smile on her lips.
Before the blonde could reply, FP intervened.
“Girls, if there is a problem I can go...”
He really didn’t want Alice and Gladys to have a fight because of him. Even though he had had only a kiss with Gladys, he knew how bitchy she could be if she wanted to and he didn’t want Alice to be mad, because then she would also be mad at him.
“No,” said both Hermione and Mary in unison looking at a scowling Penelope and then at a jealousy Gladys.
“He can stay, there are no problems, aren’t there, chicas?” She asked them.
“I don’t have any problem,” admitted Sierra.
“Neither do I,” said Mary while looking for new recipes.
“No,” Penelope shot back, before looking at Alice. “There won’t be any problem until she will tell us why Jones is here.”
Gladys being annoyed by this whole exchanged and not wanting to see those two -“we are not together” – acting like a married couple, left the room without looking back.
Nobody tried to stop her since they noticed how Alice’s body went from being tense to relaxed.
"Someone has no faith in our baking skills," Alice replied after she recollected her thoughts, rolling her eyes at FP’s cheeky grin. " I told him that we may not be bakers like him or as good as him but at least no one on this team has ever given anyone food poisoning."
“I wasn’t the one who did that,” argued FP.
"Your player, your responsibility," Alice pointed out, crossing her arms over her front.
FP held his hands up. "Hey, I told you long ago. I completely and unequivocally absolve responsibility for anything and everything Tom does off the pitch."
Alice shook her head, lips pursed. "Yeah, tell that to Sierra."
Behind her, Sierra winced, one hand rubbing absently over her middle in memory.
FP glanced at the other girl. "Well, to be fair, he says it was probably the weed that gave everyone problems. Not the actual brownie part of it."
"Good to know," Alice said shortly, picking up a brownie from the small tray sitting on the counter. "Here's your sample, Jones. Goodbye."
He eyed the treat, amusement flashing across his face. "What, not gonna describe the dish to me before I taste, Smith?"
She levelled a flat look at him. "A square, baked, chocolate dessert. They may include nuts, frosting, cream cheese, chocolate chips, or other ingredients." She raised a brow, waving the brownie in a half-hearted circle. "Bon appétit."
He moved a step closer and leaned in, a wolfish smirk curving across his lips. "You gonna feed it to me, Smith?"
Alice’s cheeks instantly coloured with a distinct pink hue, and before he could blink, she shoved the brownie at his chest. He scrambled to catch it, only just barely avoiding ending up with frosting smeared all over his shirt.
"You wish, Jones," she snapped, striding past him and her staring teammates for the door. "Hurry up, we still have to settle the price and do other Captain things. I won’t spend a second longer with you than I absolutely have to."
FP shrugged towards her gaping teammates, completely unrepentant, and made a show of taking a big bite out of the brownie as he ambled unhurriedly towards the exit. The action made Hermione and Sierra giggled.
As soon as he stepped out of the room, he was yanked sharply to the side and pressed into the nearest set of lockers. He barely managed to swallow his mouthful of cake before a set of warm lips were hard on his, fingers curling into the dark curls on the back of his head as a small body pressed up flush along his.
He was already grinning by the time they broke apart, though it was more goofy than triumphant.
"Asshole," Alice muttered, her blunt nails scraping along his scalp. She paused, her tongue darting out to run along her bottom lip. “Huh. That’s... actually not too sweet. I kinda like it!”
“Yes, it is,” FP said, pulling her closer with a wide grin. “Here, I think you need one more taste.”