Tumblr's 25 Days of Fanfiction: Day 7.

Ah, yes. The sweetest smell of the season. The warm mixture of apples and cinnamon that melts away all of the frost and ice coating the corners of the world. Decadent, soothing, and delicious. Sweet, yet also spicy. Perfection.

The timer rang, and immediately the eager young boy scampered across the tiled flooring. It was done. Odd was more than grateful Rosa had allowed him to use the kitchen to make one of his most treasured delicacies of the season: apple pie, just like his grandmother Ople use to make. He could already feel himself salivating; as if he were a part of Pavlov's experiments.

Sliding his scrawny hands into the thick, generous oven mitt, he placed a firm grip on the handle of the oven and let the steam rush out; enveloping him in an embrace of desire and comfort. Ecstatically, he pulled out the fragile bakery treat and placed it on the closest counter. He would have to wait for it to cool down before he could indulge; unless of course he wanted to burn his little tongue right off of his mouth. It was agonizing, having to see such a sweltering beauty by it's lonesome, begging for attention. But it would be well worth the wait. He just had to keep reminding himself that.

Briefly, he left the pie's side to go wash up. A delicious pie needed a clean owner; but also, the moments spent walking to and from the bathroom would pass a bit of time. Time for the pie to cool off, so that he could hurry back to his room and stow it away until the proper period came. Lunch time was in a little less than two hours, and today, he would have a beautiful dessert waiting for him after engulfing his seconds of meatballs and gravy.

Perhaps five minutes tops passed, and Odd returned to the empty cafeteria to greet is delicacy. Carefully with a pot holder encased beneath the blazing aluminum, he swooped it into his grasp and walked away, retreating to the dorms. He would have plenty of time to let the swift breeze from his frigid room cool off the sweating entrée, and perhaps maybe even have time to acquire a quick snack before he went to lunch. What's more, Ulrich would be there, and Odd would love more than anything to share the bounties of his sacred family recipes with his best buddy.

The dorms were barren, and Odd was thankful; for he didn't want a simple brush against the shoulder to cause the pie to plummet to the ground. Oh, what a horrendous thought! The boy took extra caution around corners, and especially up stairs, peering in all directions to make sure his steps were planned perfectly and carefully. Maybe he was a jokester and failed to take things seriously ninety percent of the time, but when it came to anything edible, there was no messing around.

Unfortunately, not even the most skeptical and guarded being on Earth could avoid what was to come.

"ODD!" A fiery voice screamed, coiling with anger. A voice that anyone could realize in a heartbeat. A panicked heartbeat, at that. He didn't have time for this today.

"Huh?" he spun around, firmly grasping the baked good in his hands. Sissi stormed up to him, her fists clenched at her sides and her glistening black hair stringing in front of her face.

"What's all this about, huh?" she spat, pulling up the newest edition of the Kadic newsletter and shoving it in his face. She flipped open to the page that declared her the 'biggest jerkface' of Kadic Academy. And what's more, right underneath the title was an image of beef-jerky photoshopped over her face, taking the term 'jerk face' to literal use. "Photo courtesy of Odd Della Robbia?! WELL?"

"Ah, well, uhm…" Odd sneered, swatting the magazine out of his face. "Look, Sissi, you can whine to me later, okay? I don't have time for this."

"Why? What's so important, huh?" She blared at him, clenching her teeth with sheer rage.

"I have something important to do!" He retorted, and immediately walked passed her. The quicker he got back to his dorm the better. Safely escort the pie first, and then deal with Sissi later. Unfortunately, this particular woman didn't plan on waiting.

"Oh, no you don't!" She ordered, grabbing onto the flimsy purple hood of his jacket and yanking him backwards. Of course, he stumbled towards her… along with the pie. Up it went, spiraling into the air, until it plummeted straight onto the dusty hardwood of the dormitory hallway. There was no saving it. Odd watched with absolute horror as the fruits of his labor decayed against the ground. The gentle coating of crisp dough tore open, globs of moist apples and glaze spilling onto the wood. It was if he had just witnessed a murder. He felt his stomach tightening with despair, and he shot Sissi a glare colder than one would think feasible for an adolescent his size. "What, are you mad over some stupid pie?" she bit, stepping backwards as his stared shot into her soul.

"It's not just a pie, Sissi. It's an old family recipe that I only get my hands on once a year when I go visit my family in Italy. For once, my Grandma e-mailed me the secret and Rosa let me use the kitchen. So I just spent my entire day slaving over this so it would be ready by lunch, and I could share it with my friends, but no. You just had to yank on my hood, and make me drop it. So now, this is all I have," he complained as he jabbed his pointer finger towards the ground. He stuffed his hands in his pockets and pouted, turning away from her to resume is stride down the hall. "It's things like this that make you such a jerkface, Sissi."

Sissi looked at him, the anger slipping away what she had done. She sighed, folding her arms. "Odd, wait," she plead. Naturally, he glanced over his shoulder, to see what else she could possibly want. "I… I'll help you make a new one."

"Wha?" His thin, blonde eyebrows spiked upwards on his forehead. Was… was Sissi offering to help him with something? Was this a dream? "You… you'll what?"

She let her arms fall to her side, before nervously biting her lip. "I'm sorry. I'll help you make a new one."

He was skeptical. What was the catch? "There's not enough time to get it done before lunch," he put simply, his voice lacking emotion.

"Then I guess we'll have to hurry." Her lips twitched into a slight smile. Friendly, almost. A smile Odd had never seen before. Actually, she wasn't so bad looking when she gave off a vibe of actual friendship, rather than hatred.

The two got to work straight away. Only an hour until students began piling into their seats for lunch; but that didn't mean they had a full sixty minutes to work. In fact, perhaps thirty tops; as Rosa would soon need the kitchen to herself to prepare the stews of the day. They had half an hour to get the pie at least inside the oven. So, there was no time to waste.

As quickly as she could, Sissi rounded up every apple in the kitchen and sliced them up, while Odd keenly waited by her side with an empty bowl. It became a game, in fact; she would aim each chunk of fruit into the basket as if it were a round of basketball. Eventually, though, it became a matter of seeing who could successfully shoot a piece of apple into the others mouth.

Time was being wasted, though; and they quickly realized that. The crust still needed to be made. Sissi gave an earnest attempt, but immediately the bag of flour exploded in her face, coating her with the white powdery substance as if she were a Geisha. Odd had his fun with the rest, spinning the circle of dough in the air as he had so become accustomed to from all the times he made pizzas back home.

Delicately, the two grabbed opposite sides of the frail sheet of dough and gently rested it inside of a fresh aluminum pan. They crimped the edges, producing a cosmetically pleasing appearance that would only add to the already imminent perfection. The glimmering, glazed brew of apples, cinnamon and other fine ingredients eagerly slid out of the bowl and toppled into the bed, settling across the container. The final task was covering up the mixture with the remaining piece of uncooked crust, which was quickly done. Just as they sealed the treasure, the timer went off on the oven; signaling that it had preheated and was ready to cook. Perfect.

"Yeah!" Odd yipped, running over to the oven and graciously opening the door for Sissi, who was ready to slide it inside. Thirty minutes down, and the pie was cooking rapidly. Satisfied with their labor, the two adolescents exchanged a high five. Immediately after though, they took a step back from one another at the contact. As if they were nervous, perhaps. "You know…" Odd started, rubbing the back of his neck with apprehension. "You're not such a jerkface after all, I guess."

Sissi gave another one of those slight, warm smiles; and Odd returned the gesture. She turned around, squatting slightly as she peered through the window that unveiled the swiftly rising delicacy. Even from the other side, she could smell the saccharinity of the golden apples. As golden as the sun, in fact. As golden as the light that illuminated the depths of the oven.

"I never thought I'd be saying this about a pie, but, it is pretty beautiful," she complimented amongst a slight chuckle

"Uh-huh," the blonde sheepishly stated in agreement, before realizing that it wasn't even the pie his gaze was locked on.