Cupcakes and Rainbows and Love and Friendship! (Jazzy)

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In Bunny's first few weeks at Hammel, she had been too shy to talk to anyone, always ducking her head away from confrontation and trying to make herself as small and unnoticeable as possible.  Only in Home Ec. class did she ever really talk to anyone, and at first barely even happened there.  But slowly, day by day, she became a little tiny bit more comfortable with her new surroundings, until she finally managed to hold a conversation with a classmate.  Jasper, his name was.  He was incredibly sweet and very cute, and Bunny had been meek at first, worried about how he might judge her.  But it soon became apparent that he wasn't going to make her feel bad in any way, so the older boy became her first real friend at Hammel.  And eventually, her best friend!

She knew he had a girlfriend now, and that was okay, because Bunny went through crushes like no one else.  In fact, she squeed hearing about their relationship, and always prodded him for details whenever she had the chance.  Today, she had asked him to come over in order to make said girlfriend some cupcakes.  Because Bunny was a girl, and she knew what girls would like! (Not that he wouldn't, but it was an excuse to bake together at her house without her parents wondering why she was having a boy over)

Bun had printed off the recipe for a very delicious-looking recipe for cupcakes, and was trying her best not to start without him from pure anticipation.  Hopefully the cupcakes would actually get to Alanna and not all get eaten first.  When the doorbell rang, she zoomed as fast as she could to open it.  Her face was slightly rashy from spending too much time in the sun earlier, but she was all smiles at Jasper.  "Are you going to come in before I eat all of the raspberries?" she giggled, ushering him inside.

[Jasper Blackwater]

Jasper had never been too shy to talk to anyone, but he understood the theory and sympathized accordingly. For this reason, more so than any other, he had been drawn instantly to Bunny Bonneville; after all, everyone deserved to have someone to talk to, especially those who found themselves in unusual circumstances beyond their control.

The two had become close in short order, which was no real surprise, based upon their similarly upbeat personalities and a wide variety of shared interests. They were both exceptionally good at baking, for which their classmates were grateful; they both had a soft spot for cute baby animals; they both preferred sedentary activities to sports; and, perhaps most importantly, they both treasured the idea of romance.

Jasper had never felt any romantic feelings for Bunny—she’d always been more like a younger sister to him—but he enjoyed talking about his romantic feelings with her. She’d given him good advice when he’d been nervous about asking Alanna out on a date, and she was always on call to help with gift ideas and surprises. He returned the favor when he could, supplying her with candid details about boys in his grade that made the younger girl go starry-eyed.

She was the first person he’d texted about getting Alanna something nice-just-because. He’d been overcome with romantic fervor lately—he had it real, real bad—and even if his girlfriend didn’t necessarily need two dozen cupcakes, it would give him something to do with his time other than count the hours until her return from summer vacation.

Really, though, who didn’t need two dozen cupcakes? He rang the Bonnevilles’ doorbell, but only after nearly knocking loudly instead and catching his mistake.

He beamed the moment he saw her.

“If you let me come in, I might eat all the raspberries,” he said, but he followed her inside anyhow. He slid his shoes off just inside the door, because he’d always been taught that this was a polite thing to do in a Nice House™, and Bunny’s house was certainly one of those. He was wearing white athletic socks, khaki cargo shorts, and a warm wine-colored t-shirt that had a dime-sized hole in the side stitching. He was thoroughly tanned from the all the Arizona heat he’d been enjoying.

“Did you do anything fun while I was gone?” he asked, in the bright tone of voice he used exclusively when he wanted to trade gossip and stories.

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Unlike her relationship with most boys (most of which didn’t last past a day or two, given her habit of jumping from crush to crush at random), Bunny had been able to quickly grow close to Jasper without feeling like they were going to become a ‘thing’. Don’t get her wrong, she still thought he was super cute, but somehow she managed to put him into her friend category without getting her heart broken first. She was quite appreciative of that.

Bun loved baking with him, though, because unlike most young boys (and people, really) their age, he was actually really good at it! She loved sharing tips with each other and trying out new, fun things. Sometimes the experiments went awry, but that was what made it fun! She’d asked him to be in some of her Youtube baking videos, and those videos were always met with positive comments (not the least of which were some asking if they were dating, which made Bunny giggle).

She’d considered filming today’s project, but decided against it, since these were going to be made for Jasper’s special someone. Nevertheless, she had dressed up for the occasion, with a pale pink apron tied around her light floral dress and her hair tied back out of the way with one of her normal giant bows. “Oh you will now, will you?” she giggled at her friend, pretending to block his way in. “Then maybe I’ll have to stop you!” Like the fragile little girl stood any chance of holding back the much larger boy; he could easily toss her over his shoulder if he wanted to. Not that he would.

But of course she didn’t actually try to stop him, unless pouncing him with a hug once he was inside counted as stopping. “I missed you!” she chirped, batting her eyelashes up at him. It was refreshing, how relaxed Bunny felt around the older boy. Even her parents liked him, and that was unusual. “Hmmm…” She pondered his question, tapping a finger against her chin. “Not a lot, just did a lot of baking. Oh! And my parents and I went to the zoo!” It was a small trip, considering Bunny had traveled to much further places before during summer vacation, but now that her lupus was a bit more unstable and unpredictable, they didn’t want to go too far.

“What about you? How was Arizona?” she asked while wandering back towards the kitchen. She nabbed another berry from the bowl she had set out in preparation. “Was it like, super hot down there? You look so tan!” Bun smiled and poked his arm. “I wish my skin would do that instead of get all rashy.” She spoke brightly, but it was something that she envied.

[Jasper Blackwater]

Jasper grinned at Bunny’s playful attempt to block his way inside. He scooped her tiny frame into a warm, gentle hug.

“I missed you too,” he said. He took a step back, then, and smiled so that his cheeks dimpled. She looked especially happy, and that made him happy, because he could tell the difference between her smile on a good day and her smile when she was in pain. “Your dress is nice! And so is your apron—aw, man, I want a cute apron, too.” It was difficult to find aprons he liked that he could tie comfortably—most of them said things like ‘Grill Superhero’ or ‘World’s Greatest Grandpa,’ and while he could appreciate the sentiment, that wasn’t really his style.

He listened with bright-eyed enthusiasm as she began to detail all the fun things she’d done while he’d been out-of-state. He was particularly excited about the zoo. In point of fact, Jasper Blackwater was never not excited about the zoo.

“Ooh!” he said. “Did you get to stay for a while? Have you seen the black bears? I got to see them last time I went, and it was awesome.”

He trailed after her into the kitchen, still grinning and thinking about bears. She took a raspberry from the bowl, and so did he; just one, though, and he had the good grace to look guilty about it while he chewed.

“Well, I didn’t get to go to the zoo,” he said, teasing her, “but I got to see most of my family. Brandon had a baseball game, so we went to that, and the high was, like, 110 degrees, and I spent the night at Uncle Frank’s for a couple of nights, and he bought me a bottle of rum so I could make the rum recipes in the Barefoot Contessa cookbook Alanna got me for my birthday. I had to put it in a water bottle so I could bring it on the plane, though.”

He giggled nervously, but there was a mischievous glint in his eye, too. It softened a moment later, as she lamented her inability to stay out in the sun for long. He offered a sympathetic smile.

“Have you been well lately?” he asked her, with heartfelt concern.

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Jasper’s hugs were basically the best thing in the world. They were big and warm and she felt all smothered and tiny and giggled with glee into her friend’s shoulder. She was so lucky to have Jazzy – she didn’t even mind that nothing romantic had happened between them, because he was like the older brother she’d never had.

“Thank you!” she beamed, looking down and smoothing down her skirt. “I don’t remember where I got it, but I bet I could make you one!” Bunny looked up at him again, eyes shining with excitement. “You could pick what kind of fabric you’d like and I can sew one right up!” She would just need to take some measurements and get a pattern, it should be pretty simple. And she wouldn’t expect anything in return, because Jas was a close enough friend that she was happy to do such a thing just for the heck of it. She could even make a video tutorial!

Bunny nodded happily as she headed towards the kitchen. “Yeah! Bears look so big and cuddly… But I’m sure they’re really scary when there isn’t a glass between us and them,” she giggled nervously. “So you can be my bear instead!” She looked up and smiled, giving him another side hug. “I really like the fennec foxes… They’re soooo cute.” But then again, anything cute and small with big ears was bound to draw her attention for ages.

She gasped in mock anger as he ‘stole’ a raspberry. “I’m going to turn my back and those will all be gone, won’t they?” Bun teased gently. Oh well, there were more where they came from if absolutely necessary.

Bun perched on a stool and listened with rapt attention as Jasper spoke about his own vacation. “That sounds like a lot of fun too!” she gushed. “I haven’t been to a baseball game in ages.” She used to see them occasionally, back in Seattle. Her eyes widened at the mention of rum. “Jasper, you’re so naughty!” she giggled, covering her mouth with her hands. Whenever she thought of rum, all she thought about were drunken pirates and stuff. “You’re gonna get tipsy!” Obviously, she hadn’t used the stuff in her recipes before, so she didn’t quite know how it worked.

She pulled out the paper for the recipe and handed it over – picture included – to her friend. “I’ve been pretty good,” Bunny replied honestly. “My joints get achy sometimes and I have this annoying rash that comes and goes, but otherwise I think I’m starting to get adjusted to my medicines.” She smiled despite her words and pointed to the picture. “Don’t those look amazing? I think Alanna will love them.”