Chapter 93 - Cheers!

'Why in the world would people think Xavier and I could possibly be dating?'

'That's crazy!' Madeline thought. 

It didn't make any sense. 

Xavier would agree with her on this. 

Why ever would--

This was preposterous! 

Yes, Madeline admitted she found Xavier good looking. Extremely good looking, actually. 

And on top of that, he was a really, really sweet and caring person.

Madeline stared into the distance, nearly burning the cupcakes she was supposed to be watching over. 

"Madeline? Madeline!"

"Earth to Madeline," Indiana said, waving her hand in front of Madeline's face to get her attention.

"Madeline? Are you there?" She asked, looking behind her to see if Briar had returned. 

She had gone to fetch some missing ingredients for their breakfast, leaving Indiana and Madeline to bake the cupcakes.

Funnily enough, Madeline was horrible at baking and great at cooking, whilst Indiana was great at baking and horrible at cooking.

A perfect match. 

Madeline blinked, seeing Indiana look at her worrily. 

"What is it?"

"You spaced out for a bit."

"Ah."

Madeline turned to look at the cupcakes, which were still baking in the oven.

'Oh phew, the cupcakes are still baking.'

'Briar would've been upset if I'd burnt them, thank god I didn't.'

Well, it wasn't just her in charge of watching over the cupcakes. 

"You alright?" Indiana questioned.

Nodding, Madeline assured Indiana she was perfectly alright, saying she was simply sleepy. 

Right, back to Madeline simping, no, thinking about Xavier.

Xavier… She was skeptical at first of werewolves existing, and scared as well, but Xavier was there for her every step of the way. 

She could spend hours thanking Xavier for everything he'd done. 

The reason she was still here was also him. 

He'd saved her life…

What, twice?

Knowing Xavier, he probably blamed himself for everything she had been through, including the times she had nearly lost her life albeit there were things that he couldn't control. 

Madeline hoped he knew it wasn't any of his fault. 

"The cupcakes are done!" Indiana exclaimed happily. 

A grin formed on Madeline's face as she watched Indiana pull out two trays of steaming, delicious-looking cupcakes.

"They look amazing," Madeline praised, looking hungrily at them. 

Just as Madeline reached for a cupcake, Indiana slapped her hand. 

"Don't. They're still hot, remember?" 

"Then how can you—"

Madeline paused. 

"Right, never mind about that," she nodded, completely forgetting the fact Indiana, like Briar and Xavier, was a werewolf. 

Unlike Madeline, they wouldn't have to use any mittens to fetch trays, they could use their hands without having to worry about burning themselves. 

'I just wanted a cupcake,' Madeline said, pouting. 

She was getting hungry. 

"Hmm, where's Briar gone? She hasn't returned."

Indiana furrowed her brows. 

"You're not the only one wondering that."

"Moving on, we've gotten the cupcakes done, drinks nearly done, what are we missing…"

"Me, you're missing me," Briar said, startling the two of them. 

"Briar, you're back!" Madeline exclaimed. 

"Course I am. Took me a while but… I'm back."

"Oh, and I brought drinks!" Briar announced, just as Indiana was about to ask her if she'd returned with anything. 

She had found a bottle of wine that paired amazingly with the white chocolate cupcakes they'd made. 

Ice wine. 

Briar had snagged a bottle of ice wine from a cabinet in the breakfast room. All she needed was to look at the right place to find the right loot. That was how she returned victorious. 

And by returning victorious… A bottle of ice wine in hand.

"Yay!"

Briar smiled, "Let's get breakfast started, shall we?" 

"Agreed," Indiana nodded before reaching for the trays of cupcakes. 

Madeline helped Indiana hold one of the trays now that they had cooled and weren't as hot as they were before. 

They moved their breakfast to a table, Briar bringing a large bottle and a couple of glasses for her, Indiana and Madeline. 

"There," Indiana said, grinning proudly at what they'd made themselves. 

All it took was about an hour of work and fun and now, bam! 

Breakfast was ready. 

"Cheers," Madeline said, clinking glasses with Briar and Indiana. 

She hadn't expected to have so much fun with Briar and Indiana. 

For a moment, she thought she'd have to fake a smile or something. 

Besides, there was no one in Eudora other than the two girls and Emilio. And, when push comes to shove, Madeline would pick Briar and Indiana over Emilio any day.

'Hmm, that's cruel. I haven't gotten to know Emilio yet and I've never given him a shot either.' 

'Speaking of that, I should probably give him a chance. After the hunt, of course. Not now.'

'After this, it's a chill day with Lily.' 

Madeline took a sip of her ice wine, savouring it. 

She continued to enjoy her breakfast with Briar and Indiana, devouring the cupcakes Indiana had made on her own - with a tad bit of help from her rookie assistant, Madeline. 

"Yum," Madeline said after she bit into a white chocolate cupcake.

"We should totally do this again sometime," she said, to which both Briar and Indiana agreed. 

"Definitely," Indiana commented.

"That goes without saying," Briar agreed, nodding. 

"Refill?" Briar went on to ask Indiana, lifting the bottle of ice wine.

"Mhm," Indiana answered, holding her glass out. 

Whilst eating, Madeline realized that Emilio had nothing to eat and that he was probably starving by now, so she decided to save a few of the cupcakes they had made for him when she went to visit him. 

She knew exactly where he was - Xavier had told her where - so she could visit him if she wanted to.

It was like getting the chance to see an animal in a cage, the animal being Emilio and the cage being the room he was confined to which was reminiscent of the cave he was stuck in for many, many years. 

Madeline deliberated over this. 

Was this the smartest decision, visiting Emilio? 

Would he attempt to hurt her if she came anywhere near him?