A/N: My first attempt at a story. Be as brutal as you want, just let me know what you think, please (:

Rocky Road Fudge

Milk chocolate, plain chocolate, butter, single cream, vanilla extract, chopped walnuts, marshmallows, icing sugar.

Melt chocolate and butter together over bowl of hot water, stir in cream and vanilla.
Remove from heat and stir in walnuts, marshmallows and icing sugar.
Spread in a 20cm square pan (NFNT: remember to line pan with waxed paper) and chill until firm.
Melt plain chocolate and use piping bag to drizzle chocolate over fudge.
Leave to set, and then cut into shapes (NFNT: find the circle cutter. It might look prettier).

Valarie puts down her pen and looks back at the recipe with a critical eye. Her eyes flutter over the cursive lettering briefly before she nods; there was nothing that needed to be changed. Her recipe for Rocky Road Fudge was now a tried and tested recipe and, if she followed her Notes for Next Time, her next batch should easily peel away from the paper, unlike this attempt.

Looking down at the square pieces of fudge, Valarie picks up another piece and turns it over. Using her fingernail she begins to scrape away at the layer of tough white paper and shrieks loudly when her nail catches on the paper.

“Shit, shit, shit!” She shouts as she drops the fudge and quickly brings her nail close to her face to examine it. Her heart flutters with relief, there doesn’t seem to be any cracks in her perfectly manicured nails. She glances down at the offending object and says, “You’re lucky you didn’t chip my nails. I would have burnt your ass if you did.”

Just like people look after their pets, Valarie Stunt looked after her nails as if they were living creatures. She pampered them with the finest varnishes and creams, she treated them to monthly manicures and pedicures, she even talked to her nails when she thought no-one was looking. Although she reminds people that she isn’t crazy, it was obvious to everyone that Valarie loved her nails a little too much. It was one of her many obsessions, her other main obsession being desserts.

Valarie “Cookie” Stunt was the ultimate Dessert Queen.

It had started out when she was a small child. Her mother had bought her a tea cup set when she was three and Valarie would love to host tea parties. She would gather all her dolls around her table and conduct a fancy party consisting of water (in place of tea, her mother would refuse to supply her with the real thing) and cookies. Her tea parties had always been grand affairs, with an assortment of weird and wonderful things: maimed Barbie dolls (courtesy of her brother who had gone through a phase of ripping off her Barbie’s arms and legs), colorful cookies that gave her a sugar rush, stuffed bears in various shapes and sizes and the odd action figure she had stolen from her brother’s toy stash and cross-dressed.

Looking back on the experience, Valarie would often smirk with delight; her tea parties had definitely started her obsession with sweet things. At first it had been the cookies, there were so many that Valarie didn’t know where to start. Chocolate chip cookies, oatmeal cookies, Snickerdoodles – whenever her mother gave her something different, Valarie would grin with excitement. Soon enough, she would branch out into different areas – cakes, pie, scones, cheesecake, and a variety of ice creams – and soon enough, Valarie knew she had discovered heaven. Dessert, no matter what it consisted of, was without a doubt, pure heaven.

It was a miracle she wasn’t overweight.

Thanks to an extremely good metabolism (she thanks her mother nearly every day) and her vigorous exercise of running to school every day because she had woken up late, Valarie had managed to maintain a healthy weight, much to the surprise of all who knew her. Valarie smirks slightly as she thinks about her slender figure and then carefully picks up the forgotten piece of fudge.

“I should throw you in the trash, mister,” she says as she rolls the piece in between her fingers. “But because I like you too much, I’m not gonna do that. I’ll just use the other type of paper next time. Avoid it from sticking to you because we wouldn’t want that to happen again, now would we?”

“Cook, how long have you been talking to that?”

Turning around at the sound of a deep voice, Valarie looks up at the red-headed male and smiles innocently. “Not long, come in quick, I was just about to start my Cookie Monster impression.”

The older male shakes his head and crosses his arms over his large chest. “You’re crazy, y’know that?”

Valarie shrugs. “So I’ve heard.” Holding up the piece of fudge, she waves it around slightly. “New treat for you, Bryan.”

Bryan narrows his eyes slightly before he moves away from the doorway. Grabbing a stool from the counter, he comes to sit next to her and carefully says, “Name your poison.”

“Rocky road fudge,” Valarie announces proudly. “Just made it.”

“Hmm. Do we have any ice cream to go with it?”

Valarie rolls her eyes. “Is that all you think about?”

“No,” Bryan says slowly as he snatches the fudge from her hand. He pops it into his mouth before he speaks, “First comes women, closely followed by sex, then comes the ice cream and food and booze in general. Learn the rankings, sis.”

Valarie lets out a noise of disgust, “Typical man. Life revolves around food and sex.”

Bryan shakes his head and gets up from his seat, heading towards the freezer. “See, you say that as if it’s a bad thing. I thought you’d realize by now, good food and better sex is all you need in life.”

Valarie rolls her eyes before she begins to place the pieces of Rocky Road into a plastic container. “Y’know, there is more to life than sex and food and booze and parties and everything else you think about.” Turning to look over her shoulder, she narrows her eyes when she sees him pull out a tub of vanilla ice cream. “Some guys know there is more to life and know how to treat a woman right, Bryan.”

“Hey, hey, hey,” Bryan says, coming up to stand next to her. He snatches a couple of pieces of Rocky Road and begins to crush them into the ice cream. “Who says I don’t know how to treat a woman right? I’ll have you know, the women, they don’t complain when they’re with me.”

“Yes, because they’re either a) completely drunk, b) too stoned to care, or c) so air-headed that they find how ice is made fascinating.”

“Hey,” Bryan says, stopping his motions of crushing the Rocky Road to instead stare at his sister. “The women I decide to court are all intelligent, sober, tasteful women, alright?”

Valarie snorts with laughter. “Court?”

Bryan rolls his eyes and reaches for a spoon from the rack hanging above the counter. “Well I can’t exactly say fuck or something, now can I? What example would I be setting?”

“Well, you could easily just call it dating, but then I guess, you don’t date, do you?”

“Mmm, correct,” Bryan mumbles through a mouthful of ice cream. He watches as Valarie continues to place the fudge into the container before he asks, “So, what about you?”

“What about me?”

“We both know that I don’t date and that the C and M word are horrific things, but you…” He trails off and regards his little sister. “How’s Chuck?”

Valarie rolls her eyes and steps away from the counter, plastic container in her hand. “That’s not his name, and you know it.”

“Bud?”

Valarie shakes her head and walks over to the refrigerator, carefully placing the container next to the vanilla and orange cake she made yesterday. “You’re not funny, Bryan.”

“Austin?”

“I’m ignoring you now,” Valarie replies calmly as she walks back towards him and steals his spoon from him.

Bryan chuckles slightly before pushing the bowl of ice cream towards her. He watches as she leans against the counter and begins to eat the dessert. After a moment of silence he gives in and rolls his eyes, “Alright, alright. So, how’s Dick?”

“Bryan!” Valarie shrieks, “Don’t call him that!”

Bryan raises his hands in defense. “Hey, if his parents didn’t want people to make fun of him they shouldn’t have given him such a stupid name.”

Although Valarie narrows her eyes at her brother, she can’t help but silently admit that he was correct. Her boyfriend really had been cursed with a bad name. Robert Richard Lancelot Reynolds III had been graced with a name that allowed people to call him unfortunate nicknames such as Dick, Bertie and well, Lancelot. Luckily, however, said people never had the nerve to say these names to his face – he was, after all, the son of richest and most powerful businessman in town.

Sighing slightly, Valarie places the bowl down onto the counter and turns to look at Bryan. At six foot two and due to the physique he had gained from being a personal trainer, to those who didn’t know Bryan personally, he always came across as the rough, no-nonsense tough guy. Although he was all of these characteristics, Bryan was also sensitive and a good listener. Valarie knew if she needed to talk, he would always be there. Whether she liked it or not.

“Robert is fine,” Valarie says airily. She pauses and then adds, “I think he wants to break up.”

“What makes you say that?” Bryan asks, adopting his ‘I’m-really-caring’ voice. “I thought things were better between you.”

Valarie’s shoulders instantly sag forward and she shrugs slightly. “I thought things were good, too,” she says quietly. Looking down at her nails, she absently picks at the varnish. “He said he wanted to talk tomorrow, before classes started. He said it was important.”

Bryan makes a noise of understanding and carefully reaches out to squeeze her arm. “Don’t jump to conclusions, firecracker.”

Valarie smiles slightly, “I never jump to conclusions.”

“Remember the time you thought I was having an affair with Mrs. Next door neighbor?”

“In my defense, you two were getting very close that…one time I saw you together.”

“Mmm-hmm. And remember the time you thought mom stole your Avoplex?”

“Well she was acting suspicious!” Valarie cries.

Bryan laughs and points his finger at her, “You jump to conclusions, so for once, don’t. Robert probably just wants to ask you something. It’s probably not that serious. Just relax, Cookie.”

“Mmm, easy for you to say,” Valarie mutters. She sighs, annoyed with herself for getting so anxious, and then turns to look at Bryan. He was usually right with his theories; Robert probably just wanted to tell her something that would turn out to be insignificant. There was nothing to worry about. “Okay, I’m gonna go to my room,” Valarie announces before bouncing away from the counter. “Call if you need anything!”

As she walks to her room, Valarie reminds herself to remain calm. She would meet with Robert tomorrow before classes started and everything will turn out okay. So, he said it was important, it probably wasn’t. Robert didn’t know what he was talking about, obviously.

Yeah.

Everything will be fine.

Everything was not fine.

Valarie stares at Robert, her green eyes wide with horror. This…was not happening. “You…Er, wait. What?” She stutters, her heart hammering frantically against her chest. This could not be happening, not again.

His eyes are steady on hers as he looks down at her. He shrugs slightly, as if the conversation was insignificant, and says calmly, “I think we should break up.”

“But…Why?” Valarie nearly shrieks. Quickly she looks around the hallway, as if there was someone else lurking around that could explain to her why her boyfriend was acting strange. Why would Robert want to break up with her? Sure, they had an on-again-off-again relationship, but this time she had thought they would last. This time had been different, right?

Robert sighs and runs a hand through his perfect blond hair. “Because…Because I’m going through a tough time at the moment and–”

“A tough time?” Valarie squeaks in disbelief. “What…What could possibly be happening that you think it’s sane to break up with me? If you’re going through a tough time then, then wouldn’t you need me to help or, or something?”

“Look, Valarie, we’re just not working–”

“No!” Valarie shouts before stabbing her finger into his muscular chest. Although she was slightly shorter than him, Valarie still managed to look intimidating as she snarls, “You said that last time, Robert!”

Calmly, he shrugs, “Well obviously I was right then, too.” Quickly, he looks around the hallway and rolls his eyes when he notices his friends walking towards him. He holds up a finger to them, indicating he will only be one minute. Looking back down at Valarie, he carefully plucks her finger away from him and holds her hand. “Look, Valarie, it’s not working. We had our fun but I think it’s time to move on. I gotta go to class now, but maybe we can still–”

Valarie narrows her eyes at him, “If your next words are ‘be friends’ I’m gonna kill you.”

Robert sighs and takes a step away from her. “Don’t get angry over this, Cook. We’ve tried being together but obviously we don’t work well together. I have to go…”

Valarie watches as he begins to walk towards his friends before she springs into action. There was something wrong with this scene. Sure, they had been here before but…something was different. For once, he didn’t seem so upset about breaking up with her.

“Hey, wait, hold up a minute,” Valarie calls, jogging up behind him. She grips onto his sleeve, causing him to turn around. As she looks into his clear blue eyes, Valarie finally understands what is happening. “There’s someone else.”

Her voice is clear and unwavering and there is something unsettling about it. Valarie was usually so emotional and passionate but now…Robert knew he had to tread very carefully with his next words. If he didn’t, she might just explode. “Really Valarie, if I wanted to see other people now, then that would be okay, right?”

“So, there is someone else?” Valarie whispers, her eyes not leaving his face, despite the fact there was now a crowd of his friends gathering behind them.

“Well, no but if I–”

“Who?”

Robert sighs and looks behind him anxiously. Quickly he moves away from her and blurts out, “If there was anyone then it is none of your–”

“You’re unbelievable!” She suddenly shouts, not caring that people were now staring at them. She was used to people staring at her, since she was well known in school for being the loud mouth, popular girl. Valarie shakes her head angrily, her bright red hair falling into her eyes. “I knew you were lying because you’re such a shit liar, y’know that? God, you’re unbelievable! It’s that slut Natasha, isn’t it? She’s the one you want now, instead of me.”

“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Robert mutters before he turns around and begins to walk away, shaking his head.

“Do not walk away from me, Reynolds!” Valarie shouts as she storms up behind him. She places her hands on her hips as she stares at him, now standing next to his best friend, who looked completely amused by her anger. “Cut the crap, Rob, it's Natasha isn’t it? That stupid, slutty, bitchy–”

The sharp shrill of the bell, which alerted everyone to the fact classes were now beginning, also aided in stopping Valarie’s rant against her enemy, Natasha. Robert silently thanks God before he carefully says, “Don’t talk about her like that.” He looks over Valarie before he lowers his voice, “I know you’re a firecracker but you’re acting fucking crazy, Valarie, so just stop it, okay? You’re embarrassing yourself.”

“I don’t care!” Valarie shrieks before she lets out a groan of frustration and she moves closer to him, her voice lowered, “I don’t care because I deserve to know why my boyfriend of nine freakin’ months wants to suddenly dump me for some stupid air-headed bitch!”

“Because I want a change, Valarie!” Robert suddenly snarls, his face close to hers. “There, I said it. I’m tired of you and I need someone else, okay? I need a change because I can’t stand being around you anymore. You bore me. You’re a loud, inconsiderate bitch, okay? Is that a good enough reason?”

“I…” Valarie trails off as she watches Robert growl and walk away, his friends walking closely behind. “Oh,” she mutters quietly to herself before finally looking around the hallway to see the other students littering the hallway, staring at her. Luckily for Valarie, she wasn’t a person who got embarrassed easily. Pushing back her shoulders, Valarie grabs onto the strap of her bag and spins around on her heel.

She was now going to be late to class, which was stupidly on the other side of school. Valarie lets out a groan as thinks of what Bryan told her last night, ‘it’s probably not that serious. Just relax, Cookie.’ Not that serious, my ass, Valarie thinks as she hurries through the mass of late-comers, who were walking so slowly that Valarie had to resist the urge of punching them in the back of their head.

Finally, Valarie makes it to the other side of school, and quickly locates her Pre Calculus class. Swiftly turning the handle and pushing the heavy door, Valarie walks into her class to be greeted by the sight of her teacher, Mr. McGovern, stuffing his face with a large piece of chocolate cake.

Valarie blinks a couple of times before asking, “Is it just me, or is that a piece of cake in your hand?”

Mr. McGovern chuckles loudly and raises his plate higher into the air so that she can see that it really was a piece of cake. “Ah, Valarie, it’s such a shame you’re late to class. My wife gave birth to my son last night, healthy little thing, good set of lungs on him, and I brought in cake to celebrate. Such a shame you’re late, such a shame. It’s all gone!”

Valarie looks at the empty silver plate on his desk and nods her head slightly, not particularly caring that she missed out. On any other day she would be annoyed, cake was one of her favorite desserts, but after her argument with Robert, Valarie was feeling too drained to care.

“Oh,” she says, her voice soft. “Congratulations, Sir. Sorry I’m late, I, er…”

“Couldn’t run fast enough this time?”

Valarie smiles slightly, her exhaustion from her fight with Robert showing. “Something like that.”

“Yes, well, go sit down now.” He turns towards the class, noticing that most people had finished their cake already and were now chatting animatedly between themselves. “Okay, okay, enough chitter-chatter, let’s begin.” Putting down his plate, he notices that Valarie is still standing at the front of the class, staring at the empty plate. “Is something wrong, Valarie?”

“Huh?” Valarie looks up and quickly shakes her head. “Er, no, no, everything’s fine. I’ll just go…sit down.”

Ducking her head, Valarie walks down the series of desks towards the back, to her usual seat. She stops instantly when she notices a small slice of cake resting on her desk. Frowning, she slips into her seat and turns to her left, noticing that her friend was sitting at her desk painting her nails. “Hey, Avery,” Valarie says quietly, indicating to the plate. “Did you save this for me?”

Glancing up, Avery looks at the piece of cake and frowns before shaking her head. “No,” she says slowly. She shrugs and looks down at her nails again. “I would never willingly add to your addiction, Cook. All that sugar is unhealthy. Ask Tilly.”

Turning to her right, Valarie glances back at Tilly, who was doodling over her notepad. “Tilly,” Valarie calls. “Did you save this for me?”

“Hmm?” Tilly looks up from her notepad and swipes a strand of blond hair away from her face. She looks at the piece of cake, as if trying to remember if she placed it on Valarie’s desk. Finally, she shakes her head and then squeaks, “Oh!” She waves her hand dismissively. “That guy put it there for you. It was the last piece, too. I guess he knew how much you liked cake.”

“What guy?” Valarie looks around the class, her interest suddenly heightened. A guy saved her the last piece of cake? Although it was a small gesture, it was something she really needed at this moment. Due to her obsession with dessert, for someone to save her a piece of cake, it was a big deal. Valarie suddenly grins; this was a distraction she definitely needed after her breakup with Robert.

Valarie turns to Tilly and whispers, “Which guy?”

Tilly shrugs and without looking up from her notepad, she points to the row behind her. “That English guy,” she mutters. “Y’know, Parker’s friend.”

Valarie frowns, she knew who Parker was, but who did he hang out with again? Turning around, Valarie scans the last row of desks and as expected she sees Parker, his eyes closed, his white blond hair falling over his face. Glancing to his left, Valarie sees the top of Megan’s mousy brown head, her hand moving frantically over her notepad. Megan was the only person Valarie knew that willingly stuck by Parker, even though he treated women like crap. Valarie’s eyes flutter to Megan’s left and suddenly she notices someone else.

The English guy.

Had he always been there? Valarie thinks as, for the first time, she takes in his black hair and tanned skin. Surely she would have noticed him before…right? Valarie frowns at him, trying to remember if she had spoken to him before. When she can’t remember, Valarie huffs slightly and turns around to face the front of class. She watches as Mr. McGovern’s hair bounces as he talks animatedly and then she turns back again, her eyes focused on his bored expression.

Why would he want to save her the last piece of cake if she had never met him before? Did he know how much the gesture meant to her? To someone who lived on dessert, it was clearly a caring sign but maybe she was taking this the wrong way. He didn’t look very caring. Maybe he didn’t want his piece and just dumped it onto an empty desk, which just happened to be hers. Valarie bites her lip, it seemed a likely explanation.

Then why is it that she couldn’t get over it?

Turning around in her seat again, Valarie continues to watch Mr. McGovern. She would talk to the English guy after class Valarie decides as she reaches into her bag and pulls out her notepad and pen. Flipping it open, she begins to tap the end of her pen against the paper, absently wondering how she had not noticed such a good looking guy until now.

She really was crazy.

I'd love to know what you thought so drop me a review, please. Cheers :D