Chocolate allergy?!

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"Hey, guys!"

"Nicole?"

"No, it's Michelle Obama."

Sam snickered.

"Of course, it's Nicole! What is wrong with you people?" She made her way towards the kitchen and immediately started to prepare the food she brought.

"Did something happen...?" Jamie quietly asked.

I sighed. "I wish I knew."

---

"So, have you guys decided when to start?" Nicole asked as she consumed the pasta.

"Not yet," I replied.

Nicole and I sat on one side of the table while Sam, Jamie, and Francine sat across us- with Francine in between the boys. The atmosphere was as silent as a graveyard - save the sounds of chewing and swallowing. No one talked for a good thirty minutes and concentrated on dining. Nicole had ordered pasta, two boxes of macaroni and cheese pizza, garlic bread, Pepsi bottles, and finally chocolate bars.

That too - Dairy Milk Silk!

"Why did you bring the chocolate bar, Nic? I don't eat chocolates, remember?"

Samuel and Jamie widened their eyes in shock.

"You do not like chocolate?! How have you lived, woman?!"

I defended myself, seeing their over-dramatic selves. "It's not like I hate it, it's that I have an allergy to chocolate," I whispered the last statement.

Francine stared at me for a couple of seconds.

"Say what?"

"Wow, you learned something staying with me."

"Don't change the subject, chocolate allergy? Is that even a thing?"

"Yes, it is. Even if it's rare to find, chocolate allergies are a thing. Whenever I eat chocolate, my body has a serious allergic reaction called anaphylaxis- which is well, life-threatening if not treated. Vomiting, wheezing, stomach cramps, shortness of breath are a few symptoms."

Jamie smiled. "You could be one hell of a doctor if you weren't working at a restaurant."

Nicole shrugged. "Her dad wanted her to-" She paused, sending me a quick glare. "-but someone loved her laziness more than productivity. She never made it into med-school."

The chocolate bars -as I later found out- was especially for Samuel Maxwell as he had a thing for chocolates. He requested Nicole to bring a couple of bars while bringing the food.

"Jeez, thank you for telling this story to them, Nicole Anderson."

"Your most welcome, darling. So, anyone wants a cup of tea?" Nicole asked, faking her best British accent.

"I'd love to have one, miss." Samuel winked.

Nicole blushed. "Coming right up."

"What was that all about?" Jamie inquired, furrowing his eyebrows in confusion.

"Something I've yet to figure out."

---

"We start in a week, then. You bring your belongings and settle down as soon as you can, Charlie."

Francine smiled. "I will, Princess ."

"Good, we'll see you then."

They walked out of the apartment - finally- and now I had a moment for myself. In just about a week, my life had transformed from being a simple cook in an ordinary restaurant to the Crowned Princess of Titania. I didn't know exactly how to feel. On one side, I felt glad because Francine would pay for my dad's chemo bills and he would soon be out of the hospital but on the other hand, fear spiraled in the pit of my stomach - reminding me each second that I had to pretend to be someone else for a whole year.

Well, wait - less than a year, now.

Still, the effect would remain the same. Nicole sounded more excited than I was, though. The mere thought about meeting Sam almost every day perhaps brought butterflies in her stomach. There were certain changes that I had noticed.

She was happier.

She giggled more.

She blushed - like literally, she turned into a tomato whenever Sam flirted with her.

"Someone seems happy. What's the matter?" I asked her as soon as she plopped down on the couch beside me.

"Ah...nothing in particular."

"You can stop faking the accent - it sounds horrible on you." I lied.

It sounded great.

"I know it sounds great. You just want me to stop because you know you can never beat me at this."

Okay, she had weird assumptions sometimes.

"I will neither confirm nor deny that statement."

"I knew it!" She exclaimed, jumping on the couch. "I knew that you felt insecure! I knew you had insecurities. Finally, the great tomboy of 2020 - Charlie Robinson has revealed she has insecurities!"

Cue the maniac laughter.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa hold up woman! Where did this come from?"

"From where it always comes."

I raised an eyebrow and waited patiently for her to elaborate.

"Me of course, dumbo!"

"What are you-wait! Don't change the subject! This was not how the conversation was supposed to go! You have a lot of answering to do!"

I stood up, trying to keep my balance on a now-bouncy couch. Nicole hadn't stopped her jumping and now she was both jumping and dancing - sometimes twerking.

"Nothing ever goes as planned, Charlie. You should *pant* know that by now. The philosophy aside, what do you *pant* wanna know?" She panted, catching her breath from all the weird dancing that she did. Thank the lords, we never went to a dance club together - or else, I would never ever want to be seen with her in public.

"What is going on between you and Sam?"

She quickly replied - too quickly. "N-nothing! Why'd you ask?"

"You guys keep on flirting! The winks, the weird-everything that you guys do is so...ugh..cheesy! I hate it!"

She smirked. "You'll have it someday and then the cheesiness wouldn't sound so...' ugh'. You'll see."

Suddenly, a memory with my dad flashed in front of my eyes.

"Did you, by any chance, talk to my dad?"

"Nope. Why?"

Because he said the exact words.

"Nothing."

She seemed to have quickly dropped the topic. "Besides, it's just flirting. None of us aren't looking for a serious relationship now."

"You guys had the talk?"

"Yeah." She waved her cellphone in front of my eyes. "On text."

"Where was I when all of this was going on?" I sighed. I had no idea what was going on in my best friend's life.

"Perhaps in Neverland, my friend."