Now Jennie has always been fond of the art of baking, her mother owned her very own bakery in the middle of the very busy Seattle streets, basically Jennie grew up in a bakery, spending most of her times too much icing from wooden spoons, getting her face covered in flour, smelling like freshly baked cinnamon rolls, and being taught all different baking techniques at such a young age.

Despite Jennie’s love for working in a kitchen, Jennie had gone off to work as a photographer for a famous brand in town, being a photographer has been Jennie’s newfound passion, she was starting to think she had wasted her parents’ money for taking up Culinary Arts in college, it was weird for her to end up holding a camera in her hands and taking pictures of models in high quality clothing and expensive items. Nevertheless, Jennie never heard anything from her parents, they surprisingly did not resent her, and instead they supported her.

Luckily Jennie loved her job and her newfound passion, because getting behind the lens of a camera have never felt so perfect for her, because being able to capture every single thing behind the camera gave Jennie a sense of perfection, wherein for even just a second she was able to capture a moment that was perfect in its own way.

But alas even working a job you love, you still get tired.

Jennie was going through a burnout, she had been working nonstop for almost a month now because of the new endorsers of the brand she was working with, apparently their new endorsers were two of the most famous celebrities in the US of A, making everyone go gaga over the new merchandise they were now going to buy, then her boss had decided to do a monthly endorsement and have photoshoots at in different countries; truth be told, Jennie was blessed, she was glad she had a job that paid very well and that she enjoyed, but in a span of a month Jennie has had at least 10 pounding headaches due to jet lags, she has had a cold twice already, she was currently recovering from a fever and was very, very worn out.

Luckily they had packed up the shoot yesterday and her boss had given her a week of rest before they were to shoot for next month’s items. Though Jennie should be catching up on some Z’s and maybe just staying in bed all day watching Netflix or whatever there is on the Lifestyle channel, instead she had decided to bake. This is one thing that is weird about Jennie; she is a stress baker, which means Jennie bakes in order to relieve stress.

“Honey, are you sure you’re going to just…bake all day?” Jennie’s mom asked through the phone

Jennie chuckled as she was batting the eggs and flour for the batter of her cupcakes.

“Yeah, mom. You know I do this every time” Jennie said

“Okay, honey. I’ll call you again tomorrow, don’t tire yourself” Jennie’s mom said, Jennie gave a kiss sound and then her mother proceeded to end the call

After finishing up the batter and popping them in the oven, Jennie was now just waiting for her finished products; she busied herself by cleaning up the mess she made in her kitchen, which wasn’t really that much since Jennie had always been a clean and neat chef. Just as she was about to wash her hands though, there was a sudden knock on the door. Jennie wiped her hands on her apron and went to open the door, only to be surprised as it revealed a tall, foreign looking girl on her doorstep.

“Hello, how can I help you?” Jennie asked

The girl looked down at her and smiled.

“Are you baking?” she asked

“Um, yeah—but wait a sec, who are you?” Jennie said

“Oh, I’m Lisa. I’m your next door neighbor? I’m now certain you don’t remember” Lisa said as she chuckled at the last part

“I’m really sorry, I haven’t been home quite often because of work” Jennie said

“That’s alright, Jennie, but if you’re wondering, we met at the lobby when you first moved in, and I live right next to you” Lisa said as she pointed to her side

“Oh actually now I do remember” Jennie said “Lisa Manoban, right? You manage that café across the street” she added

“Ah you do remember” Lisa said

“Yes, I do. But I’m sorry, did you need help or something?” Jennie asked

“Oh no, I was just wondering if you were baking and by the looks of it, I reckon yeah” Lisa said as she gestured to Jennie’s state

Jennie blushed a bit as she smiled shyly.

“Yeah, I’m sorry I look a bit rattled” Jennie said

“You look beautiful, Jennie” Lisa said

Jennie blushed again.

“Um…do you want to come in? I was baking up some cupcakes, maybe you want some?” Jennie asked shyly, her hand tugging on her floured up apron

“I’d like that” Lisa said, Jennie the stepped aside to let Lisa in

Lisa took a look at the interior of Jennie’s unit, and just as all the other units, it had the usual white walls but Jennie’s walls were filled with framed photographs, some of buildings, different architectural structures, nature, dogs, cats, there was one frame where a girl with heart shaped lips and a girl with chipmunk-like cheeks were hugging each other while they were laughing candidly with the view of the Eiffel Tower behind them, another photograph were of an older couple, the woman looked much like an older Jennie while the man had a few features that resembled Jennie, and another picture was actually of Lisa, but she had her back turned and she was wearing that old Band shirt she had in college, and she was actually walking towards her unit that time but Jennie seemed to have captured her walking by the hallway, there was a huge window at the end of the hallway and the sun was shining so brightly and it looked like it was shining on Lisa, and Jennie mayhaps just took the greatest photo of Lisa that she’s ever seen. Though Lisa simply looked like a silhouette, the rays of the sun danced beautifully on Lisa’s skin and gave her color. It was a candid shot and Lisa loved every single thing about it.

“You took a picture of me” Lisa pointed out

Jennie looked confused as she looked at what Lisa was looking at.

“Oh that was you?” Jennie asked, surprised

“Yeah. I know that hideous shirt” Lisa joked

Jennie chuckled as she ran her hand across the photograph.

“I had just moved in back then and I saw someone walking the hallway and the sun just lit up against her so I fumbled with my camera and clicked hundreds of times until I got the perfect shot” Jennie explained

“It’s really good. You’re really good” Lisa said, Jennie blushed

“Sorry for unexpectedly taking a photo of you without permission” Jennie said

“That’s okay. I love it” Lisa said

Suddenly there was a loud buzzing sound.

“The cupcakes are ready” Jennie said as she ran to the kitchen, Lisa then followed suit

Jennie wore some mittens and slowly took the tray of cupcakes and placed them on the countertop, Lisa approached her and sat on the stool nearby, Jennie then carefully plated the cupcakes and served it to Lisa.

“Be careful, they’re still a bit hot, let it cool down for a sec” Jennie said

“Aren’t you gonna eat?” Lisa asked

“Are you gonna laugh if I tell you that I’m not really a sweets person?” Jennie said

“But you made like 2 dozens of these” Lisa said

“I usually drive them off to my mom’s bakery that’s 3 blocks away from here” Jennie explained

“Oh I see, are you sure I can have these then?” Lisa asked

“Of course” Jennie said

Lisa then grabbed a cupcake and bit into it, immediately the flavors burst into making Lisa’s eyes widen at how soft, warm, and delicious it was, Lisa took quick bites and finished the whole thing in less than a minute, making Jennie chuckle at her.

“You like it?” Jennie asked

“Are you kidding me? I love it” Lisa said as she grabbed another cupcake

“I’m actually a stress baker so I think I’m gonna be baking for the whole week, you can hang out here and eat some if you want” Jennie informed her

“Really? Like…everyday?” Lisa asked

“Well not necessarily everyday because I only have a week off, but after this week ends, I’ll knock on your door if I feel like baking up something” Jennie said

“That would be totally awesome!” Lisa exclaimed with a huge toothy grin

…

The next day Jennie had baked some cookies and Lisa was on her doorstep the moment the oven dinged. Lisa was doing a really great job devouring everything too, often times making a mess, cookie crumbs getting all over , resulting to Jennie wiping off the mess, then Lisa would blush then just grin at her and would continue to eat.

The 3^rd day Jennie baked macarons which was Lisa’s favorite by far, she especially loved the different colors and begged Jennie to take pictures of it, Jennie ended up grabbing her camera and snapping shots of the macarons and candid shots of Lisa. Some shots were of Lisa giggling as she held a macaron in her hand and was looking directly at Jennie, other shots were of Lisa’s delighted face after eating every macaron on the countertop.

The 4^th day was a chocolate fun day for Lisa who loved chocolates so much, Jennie had made chocolate mousse, chocolate cinnamon rolls, brownies and she had even whipped up a chocolate milkshake for Lisa exclusively. Lisa had successfully convinced Jennie to try what she had made, and only then did Jennie actually didn’t mind the sweetness of it all.

The 5^th day was more of a homey and laidback sort of day, Jennie baked croissants and made two glasses of vanilla ice cream and chocolate ice cream. Jennie had decided to bring Lisa out at her patio so they could have a breath of fresh air, luckily they weren’t literally facing the city, instead they were up high where they faced a small park down below, the city a bit farther from view, it was quiet yet it was comfortable, and Jennie had her camera with her at all times, capturing every moment she had with Lisa. They then talked about random stuff, including a few personal stories and funny jokes, all the while Jennie would hold her camera down to personally see through her eyes the way Lisa spoke with such joy and passion. It sparked something in Jennie that day.

The 6^th day was crazy fun, Jennie was planning on making homemade pizza and Lisa had come over early and she had given her the opportunity to pick out her toppings. It was crazy because Lisa insisted on putting marshmallows and chocolate as her toppings, nevertheless Lisa ate it all, getting marshmallows and chocolates stuck in between in her teeth, of course Jennie took a picture of it. Lisa looked like a 5 year old on Christmas morning, bonus because she was wearing this thick red sweater that was a size bigger than her usual size. That day Lisa had harbored Jennie’s camera and had started taking pictures of Jennie as well; every single picture looked pretty good to Jennie, she especially loved the one shot where Lisa had placed the camera on the shelf and had it timed down to 10, capturing a shot of Jennie looking happily at Lisa who was laughing so much because of the unhealthy amount of chocolate she had stuck in her teeth.

The 7^th day was a bit sad for Lisa because Jennie would be going back to work and was going to be busy, so Jennie decided to make Lisa red velvet and carrot mini cakes, a strawberry milkshake and strawberries dipped in chocolate. Lisa was more quiet and often let Jennie talk about her work and how growing up was. Lisa listened intently and would often get lost in the moment as she’d look at Jennie, and then she’d realize how crazy it sounds when she’d tell herself that she might be falling for the photographer.

“Hey, are you still listening?” Jennie asked as she giggled

“Yeah of course” Lisa said as she straightened up and crossed her legs, she then rested her head against the headrest of Jennie’s couch

“Are you tired?” Jennie asked as she tucked a stray hair behind Lisa’s ears

“No, I’m really enjoying your stories, Jennie” Lisa said “I’m just a bit sad that we won’t be like this anymore because you’re gonna be busy” she added

Jennie smiled at her.

“Don’t be silly, Lisa. We live next to each other, I usually come home at 8, I can hang out at your place sometime if you’d like. We can catch up on How to Get Away with Murder” Jennie suggested

“Really?” Lisa asked

“Yeah, if that’s okay with you” Jennie said “What time do you usually get off work?” she added

“I finish up at around 7:30” Lisa said

“How about I’ll pick you up tomorrow and we can have dinner then we can hang out at your place” Jennie said

“I would actually like that” Lisa said with a smile

“Would it also be okay if we do that…exclusively?” Jennie asked, she had started fidgeting with her hands and Lisa noticed

Lisa sat up straight as she scooted closer to Jennie, moving her arm around the headrest behind Jennie, Lisa then carefully took Jennie’s left hand as she played with it for a bit.

“Like…dating exclusively kind of thing?” Lisa asked

“Yes” Jennie said, her eyes meeting Lisa’s brown orbs

“I would love that” Lisa said

“C-Cool” Jennie stuttered, making Lisa chuckle

“I’m glad I’m dating someone who can satisfy my sweet tooth cravings” Lisa said

“I knew you were just using me for my awesome baking skills” Jennie said dramatically

Lisa laughed hysterically as she tickled Jennie against her, making the older girl snuggle closer to the taller one, after the laughing session, they ended up laying down on the couch with Jennie in Lisa’s arms and the conversations of Gordon Ramsay cursing at whoever cooked something raw fading in the background.