Page 20 of Baking Battles

He needs a plan of action, and the only thing he can think of is finding Alima and dragging her off in a corner and begging for help. Advice. What to do. Anything.

The doors to Studio B have barely closed before he is shoved violently against the back wall, only to have a firm grip placed on his arm and his whole body dragged off towards the deserted area behind the monitors.

“You have a fucking nerve.” Isolde almost shrieks in his face.

“What?” Mattias shrieks back. Yeah, because he is smooth. Really smooth.

“You can’t treat people like that,” Isolde screeches in his face, her mouth spitting saliva in little angry bursts with every word she spits out. “Christopher is crushed. You bloody crushed him. He doesn’t deserve that. He may be a wanker at the best of times, but he truly doesn’t deserve being chucked out in the middle of the night and having his heart stomped all over.”

Thank God Isolde has to breathe, because it gives Mattias a chance to speak.

“I did not chuck him out, I begged him to stay!”

That’s the truth, even Mattias remembers that.

“He’s not built for messing around with. He’s the most loyal wonderful friend I have ever had, and I will fucking protect him until the very bloody bitter end if someone tries to hurt him, and all he has done is try to get to know you, and you are behaving like you just don’t fucking care.”

She has to stop to breathe and Mattias is honestly lost. Again.

“Please tell me what is going on Isolde. I’m completely lost here.”

Well he is, and he’s not. But it’s not like he is going to stand here and tell a perfect stranger that he got kissed last night. And that he liked it. And that he needs to see Christopher and figure out exactly what this means.

“Christopher has been in love with you since he was like fifteen, or something. He has had a crush on you for years to the point of it being pathetic. He got over you, finally, and he has been happy. Really happy, until you pop up and weasel your way back into his life and he loses the plot. He turned up on my doorstep absolutely distraught last night, because you treat him like shit and pretend you don’t remember him. Can you get it through that thick skull of yours how fucking hurtful that is to another human being?”

“Stop!!” Mattias almost shouts. “I don’t remember him from years ago, well I kind of knew Danijel hung around with this crew of really cool blokes, but they were all way older than me and we never really spoke back then. I was just a friend of Danijel’s sister, and no, I don’t fucking remember him. What am I supposed to remember?”

“Oh, just forget it.” Isolde snarls and shoves him violently in the chest. “Christopher deserves better than you. Just stay away from him and do your fucking job before I get you disqualified for some tiny whiny technicality that you will never ever be able to prove. I’m still the judge here and Christopher may think the sun shines out of your arse, but I see you, Mattias Strømme. I can see right through you.”

She waggles her finger as she takes a few steps backwards, making Mattias swallow air and he’s no doubt soaked the armpits of the shirt he is wearing. And has probably pissed his pants as well, because right now his body is a mess. His body doesn’t do anything he asks it to do these days. Like behave normally. Not sweat like a furry monkey in tropical heat, and definitely not get all worked up and terrified about seeing Christopher again.

Isolde Arild obviously hates him, and now he has to go and convince her that his Dronning Maud Chocolate fromage dessert, is the height of Christmas sophistication. After he has found Christopher. And Alima. And got a hug from Caroline. Because right now he feels like he is about to burst into tears.

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