Let Them Eat Cake

Colorful, multilayered squares and round morsels topped with cream stared back at Haru. He would have been burning holes in his plate otherwise. Yet, they were not really all that special for him to be so fixated on them. He simply wanted to avoid the glares of judgment from his two friends sitting across from him.

“Are you going to eat that, or did you just come here to embarrass us?” Daichi spoke up.

Haru quickly stabbed at a piece closest to him with his fork and gobbled it, feeling a creamy tang hit his tongue before the bitter taste of coffee sank in.

Tiramisu…, he quietly memorized, the flavors and textures rolling in his mouth.

Forcing down that heavy glob, he took a sip of water before moving on to a bright orange square, tartness being the main player of this sample.

He looked over to his friends, whose plates contained a more modest number of pieces. Unlike him, they hadn’t set out to sample the entire bar, nor endure a test of conflicting flavors linked together by utter sweetness.

“Never took you for someone that really held onto secret cravings,” Koichi commented, gingerly nibbling on a cream puff. The way that girls would go wild if done so on their cheek.

“Did you even grab any cream breads or custard buns in the cafeteria? I don’t recall.” For a stereotypical jock, Daichi annoyingly had a sharp memory for certain things.

Haru sighed and took a deep breath. He had some explaining to do.

“I-I was just curious. Been checking this place out for some time, but I could never get the urge to go through with it.”

“Yeah, yeah. We get it. Anyone that’s maidenless wouldn’t be caught dead in such a place. At least, we’re all suffering together with you. Plus, you’re paying.” Koichi sat back and laughed, flipping his hair back to lighten the mood. He was never the type to let societal barriers stop him.

“Well, I, for one, feel off coming here. Every girl in the damn place is staring at us.” Daichi squirmed in his seat.

If the flowery décor and pastel walls weren’t any indication, the constant glances from girls around the nearby tables was enough to make the all-male party feel out of place.

Rarely would a guy venture into a cake buffet restaurant unless he was accompanied by a girl on a date, so the fact that this party of three showed up had sparked some curious glances.

Despite this, Haru had no choice but to drag his friends to suffer with him after he eyed the flyer in the classroom. That was the best way to quickly get the taste testing over and done with.

“I know! How about we feed each other some cake?” Koichi suggested, cozying up to Haru and offering him a forkful. “Let’s make them question which one is the third wheel?”

“Ah, the BL approach. That might scare half and entice the others. Sure, I’ll bite.” Haru chomped on the cake and gave his best impression of lovey-dovey eyes.

“Or how about a threesome?” Koichi added.

And then, the two of them each turned to Daichi with a morsel extended toward him, starry-eyed. The pressure finally getting to him, Daichi slammed his head on the table, ending their charade.

Somehow, that impact scared away the once-curious stares.

“Well, that’s one way to do it,” Haru laughed.

He went back to his plate, piled high with stacks and stacks of sugary treats, intent on rectifying his mistake from the night before. He wouldn’t let Grace feel such disappointment again. He would literally swallow any criticism Koichi and Daichi might have towards him. Even in such an awkward place, they played along for his sake.

“Thanks guys, for joining on a whim.”

“What are buds for? Though… aren’t you packing in a bit much?” Daichi pointed at Haru’s plate, which had more than the other two combined. “Are you going to be okay after this?”

“Sure, sure. I’ll be juuuust fine!”

Haru wasn’t exactly fine. He could feel a headache encroaching from the sweetness. Due to his disinterest in sugary snacks, the sudden gorging was like a dam bursting of saccharine right into the veins. He was left with a huge craving for salt to balance it.

A set of footsteps approaching distracted him from his self-torture.

“Huh? Higashi-san, isn’t that you? What are you doing here?”

Ah, shit. Not the salt I was hoping for…

Haru looked up to see a girl with medium cut hair, in their school’s uniform, a look of bemusement on her face. He scrounged up his memory, playing darts of familiarity.

“Eh… Kato-san, was it? Is it wrong for me to have a sweet tooth? I bet you’re going to tease me like these guys for being a weirdo that has secret hobbies.”

Kasumi Kato, a random girl that sat a few seats away from him in class. Haru couldn’t recall anything noteworthy about her. She was just another face among a sea of people.

“Actually, Megu-, one of my friends, happened to be drooling over the, ahem, closeness of you three. When we noticed our school uniforms were the same, I was elected to check you out.”

“Ah, too bad. Me and the guys are close, but not that close. Felt like just messing with the crowd.”

“It’s just surprising to see you so unguarded. Carefree, even. You always seem to have an air of some rich kid that was bored of others. I guess that I find it amusing that you have some human qualities to you,” Kasumi said, giggling.

“I-, guess I can’t argue about that. I get school over and done with, keep my mouth shut – all for the sake of an image for the parents. I’ll do my typical guy stuff unseen, thank you.”

“Typical guy stuff, as in, cleaning out the buffet line?”

“Hey, I’m a growing boy. Leave me be.”

With a smile, Kasumi waved before returning to her table, where Haru noticed that it was the same group of girls that had left behind the flyer. He should have expected that. But before he could dwell on it, Daichi elbowed him in the ribs.

“Yo, yo, yo. What the hell was that? Let’s go, man! Feeling some sparks!”

“Are you kidding me?” Haru said as he stabbed at more cake. “She’s probably hiding how disgusted she is with how much of a pig I am. She doesn’t interest me anyways.”

“Typical Harucchi. Can’t see beyond his flat, 2D existences.”

“I’ll flatten your face! Or rather, you can forget about me footing the bill.”

#####

“And? What happened after that?” Grace stared at Haru with sparkles literally streaming from her eyes.

“Nothing. We just finished up and left. I was food coma-ing so hard that I fell asleep right after I got home.”

“Boooo.” The sparkles faded along with her curiosity.

Grace puffed up her cheeks in the cutest of ways. Then, she took a bite of cake. Her expression melted as she placed a hand against her cheek. She was in heaven from the sweetness. Rainbows formed an arc on top of her head.

All that torture had paid off. Grace was inhaling treat after treat, placed in front of her by a simple wave of the hand by Haru. He was glad to see her happy once again.

Except…

“Why are you wearing black today?”

Haru had a sinking feeling that he wasn’t quite forgiven yet. Grace’s colorful ensemble was nowhere to be seen, replaced by an all-black dress. Her skin seemed paler than usual, especially against the classy table on top of a grassy hill where they both sat. He refused to believe it was the lighting.

Haru’s gaze dropped down to the cup of tea placed before him. The steam looked like toxins in his eyes. He had an inkling that Grace was still mad at him for the terrible crepe before.

“Go ahead, drink up.”

Haru cursed silently. Story time and cakes hadn’t managed to divert her offering. Not wanting to be any more suspicious, he sucked it up and took a sip. The taste of green tea hit his tongue and nothing else. It was probably-

“Ugh!”

“Haru? What’s wrong?” Grace asked, an innocent smile on her face.

He was about to point an accusatory finger at her, but his vision started blacking out before he could.

His eyes opened to find himself pointing right up at the ceiling.

“That witch! She poisoned me!”

Or so he thought.

In the next moment, his stomach churned sharply. He made a mad dash for the bathroom. After the first round of purging had completed, he felt like an idiot.

Grace had not been at fault. Nothing in a dream could cause him to react like so.

Too much sugar!

He really, really hated sweets. How could he go so far for an imaginary person? It was silly, destructive even.

He sighed. And then, his stomach churned again.

He wouldn’t be getting much sleep that night.