"We're changing up the mission." Her predatory gaze never left me. “You can join us for a few minutes right now?” 

I relaxed, figuring that wasn’t much of an ask. “Sure, I’m here anyway.” 

“Perfect.” 

Upon uttering a cheer, Rika yanked me by the arm out of the stairwell and down the halls. Chloe trailed behind us, keeping a respectful distance. Well, less likely out of respect and more likely to avoid being associated with us. I once again passed by the principal's office. If the office staff had any concerns about me being lugged around by Rika, they didn’t do anything about it. 

We ended up barging into the cooking room much to the surprise of myself and the instructor. She took it in stride, however, continuing to knead the flour and transferring it to another of the tables in the center of the room. On the outskirts of the kitchen were ovens and countertops, cluttered under varying degrees of flour and kitchen utensils. 

"Something I can help you with?" she asked. 

"I was hoping you'd let us use this room after-school tomorrow." Rika rubbed the back of her neck. "I know none of us are your students, or in the club, but I promise we'll be careful and not make a mess." 

She flipped the dough and seemed to think about the request. "Why the sudden interest?" 

Rika winked at her. "Love." 

The lady returned the wink with a smile. "Ah, say no more. You all are welcome to it. Just be sure not to get in the way of the club members please." 

"Right. Thank you very much!" Rika replied. "Oh, can we use that whiteboard real quick?" 

"Go right ahead, and good luck." 

After giving the teacher a thumbs-up, Rika marched over to the board and picked up a marker. She brandished it like a sword in our direction. "Take a seat, soldiers. We have much to discuss." 

What kind of roleplay was this right now? And who would go along with it? Chloe exchanged a meek salute with the other girl before sitting at the table. Never mind. Apparently, I was surrounded by people who'd play along. I pulled up a seat to join her. 

"Straighten up or it's back to boot camp for you, private!" Rika barked the order at me. 

"Right, right," I mumbled, making no attempt to improve my posture. 

"Anyhow, this is war. We are fighting on the battlefield of love against an impossible enemy, Ethan's denseness." That earned a chuckle from me and Chloe. "Not even General Amelia or Nora have been able to crack that front. So, here's the plan." 

She furiously scribbled across the board making a quick list and some doodles. Then, she taps the whiteboard with the end of the marker. "Everybody knows the fastest way to a man's heart is through his stomach. So, we'll be foregoing the whole chocolate idea. Instead, we’ll be helping Chloe make cookies to help win him over. Any questions?" 

"Yeah, why do your drawings of cookies look like Pac-Man with fleas?" I asked. 

"That's out of line, private! For mocking the artistic skills of a higher-up, you'll drop and give me twenty." 

I hated whatever this was and wanted it to stop. Please someone make it stop. 

Someone out there must have heard my pleas because the bell rings silencing whatever stupid thing she was going to say next. "Ok, we'll break for now. Remember to meet here tomorrow at three. And Chloe, I'll come over today to help you pick up stuff for the cookies." 

While the pair of them made plans, I decided it was about time to return to the cafeteria and prepare for my next class. “I’ll see you both later.” 

“Thanks for your help,” Chloe said. 

“Yeah, we appreciate it.” Rika pushed down an impish grin. “Even if it’s not much.” 

I chose to only pay attention to Chloe’s comment. "Don't worry about it. I have my own reasons to help you." 

"Oh, do you Mister Dark, Mysterious, and Brooding? Better be careful. Girls go for that kind of thing, you know," she said. 

"First, I was unmanly, and now all the girls want me? You really need to make up your mind." 

A low snicker reached my ears as I left the room, leaving me alone to carry on to history class. 

--- 

"Flour?" Rika called out. 

Chloe held up the bag. "Check." 

"Eggs?" 

"Check." 

"Baking soda?" 

"Check." 

"We're all set, then. All that's left is making the cookies," she said, rolling up her sleeves. 

The three of us stand there, the amicable chatter and laughter of the cooking club members filling the silence. Nobody made a move. Not an egg cracked, not a bowl stirred, not an oven preheated. 

I pinched the bridge of my nose. "Do you guys know how to make cookies?" 

The pair exchanged a glance before shaking their heads. 

"Seriously? Then, why did you settle on cookies?" 

Rika appeared taken aback. "Don't blame me. I thought Ethan or Chloe would know how to make them." 

Damn it. I should have known this plan would derail before getting off the ground. Glancing around it seemed all the members of the club were hard at work, and the teacher did specifically mention not to bother them. I grabbed my phone and searched online for a tutorial on how to make cookies. The first result that popped up was a highly-viewed video, so I clicked it and paused the video. I leaned my phone horizontally against a bowl and scooted back. 

"Come over here." 

They walked over to stand around the table, some knowing what personal space is, and others ignorant about the topic. It didn’t take a genius to figure out which one was which. 

Rika. 

Her breath tickled my ear, forcing an involuntary shiver from me. I shifted away and hoped neither of them noticed how red my face became. "Back up, idiot." 

She pouted. "But then I can't see it." 

"You sure you're not the one who needs glasses?" I sighed. "Chloe, are you ok if I move it closer to Rika?" 

"That's fine with me," she replied. 

I pushed the phone closer to Rika who yipped in excitement. She could be such a brat when she wanted to be. 

We watch through the video, occasionally pausing it or going back to review a certain step. The instructor did a good job explaining each aspect of making them from scratch, leading me to believe it might be possible for us to make something halfway decent. 

"You guys ready?" Rika went to roll up her sleeves again, but since they were already rolled up, it just left her miming the action. 

Chloe laughed at her, and I couldn't help but join in too. Her glare made it funnier. "You guys are jerks! Let's just get the batter ready." 

Ok, clearly, she was going to be next to useless at this. I went over to the corner where all our supplies were gathered and preheated the oven to 375°. "You skipped a bunch of steps there. We need to start with mixing the sugars." 

"I knew that. Had to make sure you were paying attention." 

This first step proved to be rather simple. I entrusted the task to Chloe, knowing she'd take care to measure out the appropriate amounts of each. I headed over to the microwave with a stick of butter. I put it on top of a dish and stuck it in the microwave for a few seconds to soften it up. 

"Hey, what should I be doing?" the other girl asked me, a bounce in her step. 

I took the dish out once the microwave dinged, careful not to burn myself. "Go watch the oven. Make sure it doesn't explode or something." 

"That's not a real job. Give me something to do!" 

"Fine, go see if you can crack two eggs into that bowl over there without getting any shells mixed in." 

"Roger that." She went to complete the task I gave her. 

Finishing mashing the butter into smaller globs, I checked Chloe's progress. Looked like she pretty much had gotten it stirred over there. Walking over to her, I placed the bowl down. Although she was still busy at work, I couldn't help notice the splotch of batter on her cheek. 

"Chloe, you got something on your face." 

She dabbed at her left cheek with her sleeve. "Did I get it?" 

"No, it's on the other side. And use a napkin, or you're going to get your sleeve all dirty." 

She snatched up a napkin and tried to wipe away the smudge; however, the girl kept going around the batter, either too high or too low. I tried to demonstrate on my own face where it rested, but it didn’t seem to help. Eventually, I felt like I should ask if she needs help. 

"Chloe, you mind if I get it?" 

She flushed but nodded. "Go ahead." 

I wiped it off, and Chloe took a step backward, her face even redder than previously. The girl stared at the napkin to see the smudge I wiped away. She unclenched her fists and steps back in front of her mixing bowl. "Thank you." 

I was about to respond when a pair of arms was thrown over me, and I was forcibly pulled next to Chloe. Our shoulders bump, and that was when Rika's head pops up in between both of ours. "What's going on over here? Lots of fidgeting and touching, eh~?" 

"Don't phrase it like that, you weirdo!" I said, shrugging her off and flicking the goop at her. 

The moment it hit her sweatshirt was when I knew I screwed up. She launched at me, giggling, and wiped whatever the hell was all over her fingers on my cheeks. I placed my hand on her shoulder, pinning down her silky, brunette hair with my palm, and pushed her back, desperately trying to keep her at an arm's length. "Knock it off before someone gets hurt." 

Encouraged by Chloe giggling in the background, she grinned wildly and struggled harder. "Nope!" 

"Um..." We immediately broke off wrestling when a group of club members approached us. "We're going to have to ask you to leave if you keep doing stuff like that." 

I scratched my cheek, inadvertently spreading the mess further. "Sorry about that. We got carried away." 

"Yeah, you're telling me." The speaker grumbled before returning with her posse to continue their prior activities. 

Damn, this turned out to be a lot more troublesome than I thought it would be. 

LonMair399

Sorry, for the wait. This was a long chapter for me to write, and I had a lot to consider after being offered a contract for this novel. In the end, though, I decided I didn't want to monetize my work if it meant that people could only read it if they paid. I have however launched a Patreon. There's absolutely no pressure to join, but if you are willing, and have the means, please consider supporting me! I think I've made the tiers affordable and with good rewards. Once again, thank  you everybody for your continued support!