The Baker & The Bear #3

"Brianna, this is amazing! I love you!"

Gigi jumped to wrap her arms around her neck, overexcited, before planting a big and cream-filled kiss on her cheek. Brianna giggled, wiping off the cream with a fakely offended expression. It smelled lemony and sweet, just like Gigi had wanted.

"Come on, let's take a picture!"

It was hard to stop jumping and dancing even for a second in the crowded pub to snap a picture, unless you were Gigi. Brianna hugged her friend from behind and smiled wide, like half a dozen friends who also froze into sexy, cute, or funny poses around them for the shot. A brief flash, then everyone was back to partying like crazy. The music was blasting through the speakers, some new hype rock group that everyone had heard over the radio a few times before. The place was so crowded it was hard to dance without bumping into someone, yet they were all having an amazing time. Somebody brought over a new round of pints, and Brianna took hers, excited about the combo of her cake with foamy ale.

"Best birthday ever!" Gigi screamed, pointing at the ceiling, before trying to chug hers down.

Brianna grimaced and reached her arm over to take the drink from her before an accident happened. With her petite and skinny frame, there was no way Gigi could afford to drink another pint. Her parents were going to be furious if she got too drunk... so Brianna did her best as the reasonable friend with a much better alcohol tolerance: she confiscated it. Luckily, her friend was already too drunk to be offended; Gigi resumed dancing in her cute tight dress that she had fought her dad to be allowed to wear. After all, one wouldn't celebrate her eighteenth birthday twice. Brianna chuckled, watching the party demon getting crazy excited. Unlike Gigi, she could easily drink a couple pints without feeling anything; that was one of the upsides of having a bigger-than-the-norm body, and having been trained by her entire family, who were fine with letting her taste alcohol when she was underage. Even now, Brianna was loosely monitoring all of their female friends' safety while having her own fun, which was easier when she was towering over them all. Thankfully, Gigi's birthday party was a success: they had managed to invite pretty much all of her close friends, and her friends had brought some friends of their own, making the party even livelier and look fuller. The bar had agreed to save most of its space for them, so all the staff were dedicated to serving pints and sodas to those who were underage. They were barely keeping up with all the thirsty teenagers, but she could see the boss was just happy to let Gigi and all the local kids have a good time. The only troublemakers, a couple of boys who had insisted on being served beers without providing an ID, had been escorted out without a blink. She didn't think Gigi had even noticed at all. And as long as Gigi was having fun, that was all that mattered. Brianna couldn't help but feel proud and relieved that all those hours carefully planning the surprise party had paid off. A tight coalition between Gigi's family, their friends, and the local patrons had been made so that the party could be prepared without the star having the smallest clue with, naturally, Brianna at the helm. Seeing all the food platters full and quickly depleted, their friends having a great time, and the table covered in presents for Gigi made her feel it had been all worth it, even waking up at 4:00 that morning to bake her cake before school. After all, this was their last year they'd be together this often; next year, Brianna would start training as an apprentice patissiere, while Gigi was going to university for a management program. It was the first time they wouldn't be going to school together, having lunch together, and going home together. As someone who had never been separated from her best friend for more than a week during summer, it was a bit worrisome for Brianna. Thus, she'd poured all of her heart into Gigi's birthday party, as if to promise her their bond wouldn't be weakened by such a thing.

Right now though, Gigi was probably far from thinking about all that, from the way she was bouncing all over the room. It made Brianna laugh, and as their friends were partying with the birthday girl, she chose that moment to grab a break from the craziness. She gestured for a friend to watch Gigi for her, and then made her escape out of the bar to catch some fresh air.

The air was cold outside, as expected for December. It was a nice contrast from the craziness inside, and Brianna took a deep breath in, happy to leave the chaos behind. She hadn't realized how loud it was inside until she got out. Now, her ears were ringing a bit. She took another sip of the beer stolen from Gigi; the bar owner knew her well enough, she was probably allowed to take it outside. She glanced around. The bar was located a bit outside of the city center to not inconvenience the neighbors, close to the forest, actually. Her house was less than a ten-minute walk away, so that was also a good thing if someone needed to sleep over for any reason. A few steps away from her, a trio of boys had gone out to smoke, but they were more busy joking around than smoking, giving each other elbow nudges and laughing a bit louder than they usually would because of the booze. One of the guys in particular seemed to keep glancing in Brianna's way. He was taller than her, quite a rarity, and muscular too. Brianna didn't particularly care for muscular boys, but she knew getting attention from some better-looking guys was supposed to be even more flattering. She had begun to get attention from guys after her sixteenth birthday, so she had passed the stage of being shy and confused about it. Her femininity had bloomed late and unexpectedly; in fact, quite precisely when she didn't care anymore. She'd began working out as Gigi had insisted every girl in town was supposed to be (she still wasn't sure why, but she'd taken a liking to the feeling of accomplishment after lifting heavy weights and losing her weight in sweat anyway), leaving her with a toned body, and her chest that had always been flat had suddenly decided to grow three bra sizes bigger in just a few months. In the same way, she had grown so fed up of trying to tame her impossible curls that she'd asked one of her sisters to cut her hair short, and it had turned out it suited her unexpectedly well. Upon the change, Gigi had launched herself a quest to help the "new Brianna" glow up, and dragged her to an unfathomable number of shops to find a style that suited her better than jumpsuits. Brianna had no idea what the "new" her was supposed to be about, but she hadn't given up on the jumpsuits; she loved jumpsuits. They were comfortable, had lots of pockets, and fitted any season as long as you picked the right top to go with it. She had short and long ones, in various colors, for all occasions. Her favorite were the black ones that could be paired with anything, and for Gigi's birthday tonight, she had paired it with a sparkly crop top and big black earrings. Even better, she could wear flats with it; why bother with heels when she was already over six feet tall?

"Hey, you're Brianna, right?"

The boy had somehow gotten away from his friends, all smirking behind him, to get close to her. She noticed he was holding his cigarette away from her so the smoke wouldn't blow in her direction. That made Brianna answer instead of replying with just a cold nod.

"Yeah. And you are...?"

"Ah, I'm Noah. A friend of Jackson's cousin. I just tagged along, to be honest. But that's one cool party! My buddies were telling me you pretty much organized it?"

"I'm Giselle's best friend."

"Oh, that explains it. Well, she's lucky to have a good friend like you. I heard it's super hard to get those canapé things before they run out!"

"I'm close with the baker." Brianna smiled.

She had smiled without thinking while reminiscing how she didn't have to argue for the baker to help. She and Anthony were quite close now, since he'd trained her a bunch; they had made those canapés together. Noah's expression lightened at her smile, making her realize maybe he wasn't just fooling around to impress his buddies.

"Well, they're really good." He chuckled, "Uh... Do you want a smoke?"

"No thanks, I don't smoke," she refused politely.

"Oh."

To her surprise, he casually stepped on his unfinished cigarette, and picked it up to throw it in the nearby bin. He was scoring points effortlessly.

"So you're not from here?" she asked, a bit more comfortable.

"Nope, but I will be soon," he answered with a smile. "I'm starting an internship here next year. I'm visiting my cousin to get more familiar with the area. I'm happy to see there are some cool people around!"

"Cool people?" She raised an eyebrow.

"I think you look cool." He shrugged, "I was expecting a boring little city, but you're more stylish than most girls I know."

Stylish? That was the first time she'd heard that term used for her. She had only thrown together earrings she liked with a top that seemed to fit the occasion... Perhaps her short curls gave her an edgy look? While she pondered, she noticed Noah's eyes glancing at her feet. She smiled.

"I'm not wearing heels," she answered his silent question, amused.

"Damn! I was wondering... You're crazy tall for a girl! Can I ask how tall?"

"I'm not sure, last time I checked I was just a bit over six feet."

"You're definitely taller than that, I'm six feet."

Unlike a lot of boys whose insecurity showed when Brianna's size was brought up, Noah seemed genuinely amazed.

"You're a shifter?"

"Werebear. You?"

"Damn, a werebear! That's even cooler. Sadly, I'm a boring human..."

"Nothing wrong with that." Brianna chuckled.

Just as she finished laughing, her smile perished from her lips. Noah didn't notice, but her eyes had shifted from him to another silhouette a few steps behind. For a second, she thought she was mistaken, but no. As he walked closer to her and the bar, she definitely recognized him. Noah noticed, too, and glanced back. Tom seemed as confused to see her as she was, his eyes growing bigger and bigger until he faced her.

"... Bree?" he uttered, still looking like he couldn't recognize her.

"Nobody calls me Bree anymore," she replied, more coldly than she'd meant to. "It's Brianna now."

"Oh... Well, wow. You've... grown up."

She nodded, as she wasn't sure if that was a compliment. Maybe, from the way he kept staring at her three-years-older self with confusion. Unlike her, Tom hadn't changed that much. He'd grown his hair a bit longer, perhaps, but he was 21 when she'd last seen him, and boys didn't change that much in three years. At least, to her, it felt like he hadn't changed much. Which was all the more of a heartache.

Caught in between them, Noah let out a little cough, and turned to Tom.

"Hi, man. I'm Noah."

"Oh, nice to meet you. Tom."

"What are you doing here?" Brianna asked.

"Oh, uh... I just came back to town, and Dad told me everyone was at the party, so..."

Right. Almost all the local population in their age range was currently busy partying inside, including probably Tom's friends. However, Tom's eyes only lingered a couple seconds on the door, before they went back to Brianna. After some hesitation, he turned to Noah.

"Sorry, uh... Noah. You mind giving us a minute?"

"Sure."

Brianna was a bit annoyed to see Noah go. She kind of needed somebody else with her to face Tom; she didn't know he was back. His father had mentioned they'd made up a few months ago, but she didn't think he'd actually come back. And she wasn't ready at all.

"It's good to see you," he said, with a smile.

His smile surprised her as much as his light-hearted voice.

"Really? I'm surprised you even remember me."

There. Her cold, sharp tone. She hated to be the sour, still sullen one, but she hadn't had time to prepare herself, and being defensive was her only option right now. Plus, the feelings were still raw. She thought she'd forgotten, but she'd been wrong. It was still there, just left at that.

Tom's expression seemed confused for a few seconds. She realized he was genuinely confused by her attitude.

"Why wouldn't I remember you?" he asked, nervous now.

"I don't know. We weren't friends. I was... Right. One of your dad's customers, and a bit more than an acquaintance. I don't think I'd remember a mere acquaintance after three years."

She saw the exact moment that the memory hit him. His jaw dropped, just as he was probably rewinding the scene in his mind. It hit her too. Had he really forgotten? Was the first, biggest heartbreak of her life that insignificant to him? What a fool she was...

"Bree... Brianna, I'm sorry," he said. "At that time, I was... I'm sorry. I didn't realize I'd been that mean to you... Well, maybe that's not true, I know I was mean at the time. I always regretted it, but it's been so long since..."

"So you think you didn't have to apologize?" She scoffed.

"No, no, that's not what I mean! But... it's been a while, and my dad told me a lot about you, and you were doing well, so I just thought you'd gotten over it. I didn't think I was still that jerk in your mind. I didn't realize. You're right, I should apologize for that time. I'm really sorry."

Brianna sighed. She hated to be that person, resentful and sullen. She hated when her female friends went seemingly crazy over boys, so why was she acting like that? She forced herself to uncross her arms, and nodded, although she couldn't look in Tom's gentle eyes.

"That's fine," she said. "You were right, we weren't that close for me to stand out. It was just me being childish."

Me acting out my feelings for you, like an idiot, she thought. It hurt to realize how insignificant her crush and heartbreak had been, but it also strangely gave her a sense of closure that she could finally admit it. At least, she felt like a bigger person from graduating from those negative feelings. She didn't want to be that resentful person.

"So you really forgive me?" he asked, sounding hopeful. "We're good?"

"Yeah, we're good. … You should go inside. I think your friends were at the bar near the pool table."

"Okay. Uh... You're not coming?"

"No, I'm good."

He seemed to hesitate again. Brianna repressed an annoyed sigh. Couldn't he just go already?

"Brianna?"

"What?"

"... Can we try to be friends?"

This time, she turned to him, genuinely surprised.

"I mean it," Tom said. "It's not out of guilt or anything, I just... I'm sorry I couldn't be your friend before. I regret being that jerk at all, really. I already made up with my dad, you already know. But I'd like it if you and I could become friends."

"... I-I'll think about it."

She regretted that stupid answer already.

"Thanks." He smiled, "... Your glass is empty. Should I get you a pint?"

Brianna hesitated, for a second, but then smiled.

"I'm good, thanks. I think Noah wanted to buy me one."

Noah popped his head out of his group of friends close to having heard his name. Tom seemed a bit disappointed, but didn't insist.

"Oh, okay. See you inside then!"

Brianna let him go, and finally let herself sigh, while Noah walked over.

"I'm buying you a pint?" He chuckled.

"Sorry, that was lame," she said. "I shouldn't have made that up."

"No, no, I'm totally happy with that! I was planning a strategy to fight that guy if I had to. I'm more brawn than brains. … An ex?"

"Worse. First crush and first rejection."

"Ouch. No wonder you need a pint. Come on, I'm ready to buy you two to keep that idiot away!"

Brianna followed him inside, laughing and a lot more light-hearted.

At least for now.

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*Author note: Thank you for reading!! ^^