[fanfiction] you just keep on trying (until you run out of cake) [1/2]

[kisforkurama]

you just keep on trying (until you run out of cake)

Simon Cowell's New Bakery "One Direction" Going in the Right Direction
By Caroline Flack

LONDON, March 15th - The sign above the door reads "One Direction" in a simple font that seems at odds with the cozy and slightly rustic interior of the shop and is definitely at odds with some of the complex pastries that One Direction serves up. This is no ordinary bakery, as evidenced by the fact that it belongs to Simon Cowell who's most well-known as head of the X-Factor Group.

Sound familiar? It should, the X-Factor Group is the source of all the high-profile eateries everyone's been talking about for the past couple of years. Simon Cowell routinely sweeps through the ranks of up-and-coming people in the food industry to put together groups of brilliant folk to run specialty establishments.

If that alone wasn't enough to prove that this bakery is special, then perhaps the workings of the bakery might. Every day there's a standard menu of breads and other pastries, but there's also a daily menu created by the head pâtissier Niall Horan. Hand-picked by Cowell, Horan is a new face in the pastry world that's dedicated to his art and meticulous to a fault.

"I just want everyone to be happy with our pastries," Horan said, "Sweets are supposed to make you happy, you know, so I work extra-hard to make them good."

It's a good thing he works so hard too, because the primary demographic of One Direction is teenage girls who come for Harry Styles' smile and charm, then stay for the incredible quality of the pastries. Styles is the face of the bakery, all dimpled smiles and easy charm that's devastating when paired with Louis Tomlinson.

"I wanted the bakery to appeal to a younger crowd," Cowell said of his decision to hire Styles and Tomlinson, "and Harry has this edge of danger that's tempered by Louis keeping him in check. It's a brilliant combination."

With a menu full of delicious items and a staff that will charm you into leaving happy even when you don't want to be, One Direction has the whole package. If you're looking to indulge your sweet tooth and looking for a cozy little bakery with a home-grown interior, look no further than One Direction.♚ THE RAMONA @glitter_hippie
so i was just at one direction. harry's hands are seriously like porn. i think i punched lucy like 8 times before we left.
4:58 PM - 20 March 12 via txt · Details

♔ THE LUCY @spibsy
@glitter_hippie i think you actually managed to bruise me, mona.
5:08 PM - 20 March 12 via web · Details
"Good morning!"

Harry grins, waltzing into the little bakery that he calls home. Well, home away from home. His real home is in a little house with his mother and sister, but the bakery is as good as it gets otherwise. Louis looks up from whatever he's doing at the cash register and smiles, which means that the day will be good. Harry's learned that if Louis smiles when the day starts, nothing can go wrong. Or, well. Things can go wrong but it won't really matter at the end of the day.

"Harry," Niall calls from the kitchen, "Come taste this!"

Giving Louis a brilliant smile back, Harry waltzes into the kitchen where Niall is waiting impatiently with a a bit of cake between his fingers. Opening his mouth, Harry waits for Niall to place it on his tongue. He chews carefully, having just got the hang of sorting out what exactly he should say about something to Niall when he's taste-testing. This time it's some sort of poppyseed cake, light and airy but decidedly decadent on the frosting end, which is lemon and bright with the flavor of citrus. He swallows.

"It's good," Harry says, "The lemon accents the cake but doesn't overpower it, and you've kept the citrus fresh."
Niall sighs, "Harry."
"No really! That's what I think," Harry smiles, "I'm not going to tell you it's bad so you can keep it back here and eat it all yourself."

Niall looks like he's about to say something else, but they're interrupted by Zayn bursting into the kitchen by the back door, followed a little less loudly by Liam.

"Vas happenin! I see you started without me."
"That's what happens when we're fifteen minutes late because you weren't done styling your hair yet," Liam rolls his eyes, "What's on the menu for today?"

Niall turns towards them, gesturing towards the sample plates he's set out already. It seems like today is a cake day, from what Harry can tell. There's beautiful little bite-sized cakes (petite fours glacé, which is a name Harry knew anyway), some kind of crazy chocolate cake with pink frosting (Harry's not quite gotten the hang of identifying frostings yet), the poppyseed that Niall made him taste, and one of the funny layer cakes that are more filling than cake. Torte? Torte. Harry pulls a chair over and waits for Niall to tell him what everything is so he can properly tell the customers what the daily specials are.

"There's four kinds of petite fours glacé today: almond with blueberry glacé, fondant-covered chocolate, rum-coconut with pineapple glacé-although if anyone asks, just say pina colada-and lemon with raspberry glacé. We have the usual petite fours secs."

Zayn and Liam have disappeared, presumably to get ready for the day, and Harry watches as Niall points to the chocolate cake with pink frosting.

"Dark chocolate cake with raspberry frosting and filling. It's the same as the one I made for Valentine's Day, mostly. Tiny tweaks that don't make any difference to anyone but the person baking it. You've already had the poppyseed-but it's poppyseed with lemon frosting-and . . ."

Niall points to the funny layer cake that Harry is still trying to sort out.

"Praline-pumpkin torte with maple whipped cream. We're probably going to run out of this the quickest and please, please, please don't let anyone drink hot chocolate with it if it can be helped."

Harry nods. Sometimes Niall can get a little testy about what people drink with certain items and it's not like Harry ever wants to make Niall more stressed out than he is, so generally Harry tries to make everyone pick the best combination of drink and dessert. Niall seems to relax when he realizes that Harry's not going to sabotage his beautiful torte's complex food chemistry or whatever. Harry's job isn't to understand how the food works, it's to smile at the giggling girls and get them to buy expensive pastries.

With a quick pat of Niall's shoulder, Harry heads back out to the dining area and grabs his uniform. He disappears into the bathroom for a second and emerges, dumping his street clothes in the box they keep hidden in a corner behind the counter. Louis smiles at him again.

"What did you think of Niall's newest baby?"
"It was fine," Harry sighs, "I honestly don't know why he never believes me."
"Harry," Louis shakes his head, "We all work under Simon Cowell, and it's a little stressful for Niall, now that Simon has basically handed off the menu to him. He's not sure if anything is good enough. We just have to be there for him, yeah?"
"I guess," Harry stretches, "Well, it's another day of selling pastries to cute girls."
"Try not to flirt too much," Louis says, "please."
"You know that you're the only one for me, Louis."

With an exaggerated flutter of his eyelashes, Harry smiles at Louis and Louis rolls his eyes at him. It doesn't really matter, though, because Harry knows that Louis loves him.
Reili Yamanaka @flyingthesky
Wait, One Direction is a /bakery/? Wow, I though you guys were talking about a show or something.
5:10 PM - 20 March 12 via web · Details

♔ THE LUCY @spibsy
@flyingthesky dude reili have you not seen the pictures? here: pic.twitter.com/k9Opz4yb
5:15 PM - 20 March 12 via web · Details

Reili Yamanaka @flyingthesky
@spibsy hahahahafuck so when are you and mona going to this bakery next and can I come with you.
5:18 PM - 20 March 12 via web · Details

♔ THE LUCY @spibsy
@flyingthesky oh man, i'll text you next time we're thinking of going. you gotta try their specials.
5:25 PM - 20 March 12 via web · Details
When Simon starts looking for a team for his new bakery, he looks at the graduating class of the pastry school he himself graduated from, stopping by personally in the last weeks of school to look at their work and what they're doing. They're good, which is no surprise, but most of them aren't what Simon wants. These pâtissiers will be good and they will will do great things, but they will likely never grow in the way Simon wants any pâtissier he takes on as an apprentice to. He wants apprentices that he can help shape into better pâtissiers, apprentices who know what they're doing, but have the potential to do so much more.

This is how he finds Niall, who has grand ideas that he achieves nine out of ten times. Niall doesn't always do precisely what he's meant to do, but his teachers speak highly of him anyway and Simon knows what that's like.

Simon watches Niall work, and he can see why his teachers speak highly of him. Niall's meticulous, neat, and his team does what he wants without him having to scream at them. It's impressive, especially for someone so young, and Simon tells him that if he wants to work in the new bakery, he's hired. Niall looks a little dazed, but he accepts and tells Simon that he's bringing his team with him. Simon agrees, because Niall's team is extremely well-oiled and small enough that it's not unmanageable. The other two boys, Zayn and Liam, are quick, efficient, and as meticulous as Niall is. They take food seriously, and Simon likes them as soon as he meets them.

Once Simon has the baking part of the bakery settled, he starts searching for the bakery's face. He wants someone heart-stoppingly gorgeous and charming to sell the pastries so the bakery can cater to a young female audience, and he finds that almost by accident. Louis drops by to bring Zayn a pack of cigarettes, rolling his eyes when he hands them over and half-heartedly scolding Zayn about it. Simon mostly ignores him until Zayn says something and Louis smiles. It's the exact thing that Simon wants, and he stops Louis.

"How would you feel about selling pastries?"
Louis shrugs, "I've never done it before. Why?"
"Because I want you to charm girls into buying One Direction's pastries."

Louis laughs, bright and addictive, and tells Simon that if he wants someone to charm the girls into buying pastries, then he wants Harry Styles and not Louis. Simon raises an eyebrow and asks Louis if this Harry would be willing to make an appearance. Louis shrugs, pulls out his phone and calls Harry.

Harry Styles walks into the bakery ten minutes later, lit by late afternoon sun and looking like something out of a teenage girl's wildest daydreams. At that moment, Simon knows exactly why Louis said that he wanted Harry. He says so and Harry laughs, his eyes creasing when he smiles like Simon's in on the joke too, and it's blinding. Simon hires him on the spot and then, for good measure, hires Louis too.

The first year in the bakery is the particular brand of crazy that seems to plague any new business in the beginning. There's the obvious awkwardness of the staff trying to settle into their roles, although this is eased by the fact that most of them are already friends, and the inevitable (though accidental) kitchen fire(s). There are supply mishaps, stress breakdowns, rushes of people after the bakery is covered in some fancy magazine, moments where the staff is frustrated with each other. There is the way that Simon demands only the best from them, the slow process of teaching Harry what to say when people ask what the pastries taste like, the incident with Harry and the girl that needs to be hushed up and that no one is allowed to talk about anymore. There are all those things, but there are littler things too. There's the way Harry feels the need to flirt with all of them, the way that Simon is always watching them, the way that only Niall seems to notice the way that Harry looks at Louis, and the way that only Louis seems to notice the way that Niall looks at Harry. There's the way that Simon notices how his team is, perhaps, a little too fond of each other-something that could prove to be a problem somewhere along the line.

Still, it's not all bad. Louis and Harry are beautiful, and the girls flock to the little bakery in the hundreds just to catch a glimpse of them. Niall's pastries are actually delicious, and being under Simon's watchful eye proves to be the extra push he needs to go from amazing to extraordinary basically overnight. Zayn and Liam are brilliant too, perfectly replicating Niall's recipes and making sure they're always well-stocked. They all work well together and after a year of watching the boys like hawks, Simon decides that they'll be okay if he doesn't watch them so closely. He's done as much as he can for them and coddling won't make them grow into the amazing bakery he knows that they'll become.

"You've done well," Simon tells them a couple of days before the bakery's first anniversary, "I have no doubts that I'll see great things coming out of you boys in the coming year."
Reili Yamanaka @flyingthesky
I just ordered red velvet. What the fuck is this bakery doing to me.
1:30 PM - 13 April 12 via Twidroyd for Android · Details

Reili Yamanaka @flyingthesky
Oh my god, this shit is orgasmic.
1:31 PM - 13 April 12 via Twidroyd for Android · Details

Reili Yamanaka @flyingthesky
What the fuck, Niall Horan. You're not allowed to take my least favorite food and make it the best thing I have ever tasted.
1:32 PM - 13 April 12 via Twidroyd for Android · Details

Reili Yamanaka @flyingthesky
That's not how life works.
1:33 PM - 13 April 12 via Twidroyd for Android · Details
Liam is sitting at a table with Niall, listening to him explain what he wants to do the next day and taking careful note of ingredients they'll need so he can call their suppliers and actually get Niall everything he needs. Sometimes, Louis thinks as he sweeps up the seating area, he's not sure if Niall or Liam is actually head pâtissier. Niall is in charge according to everyone else, but everyone on the staff knows that the bakery just would not run if they didn't have Liam. He and Zayn are both underappreciated.

Louis suspects that's because people rarely see Liam and Zayn unless they're bringing out pastries to the front and they don't wear nametags anyway. For all the press cares, they're just Niall's underlings and Louis knows that's not true at all. Zayn's been his friend since they were both in secondary school, and Louis knows that he's not just Niall's underling. Zayn is the one that takes Niall outside for breaks, tells him that he's doing fine, and generally just keeps Niall from breaking down. If anything Zayn is Liam's underling, but Louis knows better than to say that where Liam can hear. Liam is the one who gently tells Niall what he can and can't make, because sometimes Niall's ideas are a little too far-fetched and Liam has a better grasp of what Niall is and isn't capable of than anyone else. He's also slightly terrifying when he sets his mind to it.

Harry's sitting on the counter, legs swinging idly as he eats the last piece of the lemon poppyseed cake straight off the cake platter. Louis rolls his eyes, because it's a pretty common sight to see Harry eating instead of helping clean up. He's careful never to eat everything, though, because at least some of it goes to Niall. Louis tosses a rag at him, careful not to make Harry drop anything, and tries to still be angry when Harry catches it easily and looks up. He raises an eyebrow at Louis, lips quirking up, and it's hard to be anything but in love.

"You're supposed to be helping me clean up," Louis says instead of I love you, "not eating cake, wanker."
"I'm almost done," Harry replies easily, "Niall said I could have it."

Sometimes, Louis wonders if Harry knows about the way Niall looks at him when Harry's out charming the girls. He suspects not, given the way Harry is with everyone and given that Harry devotes his attention to whoever he's with (even when it's just a giggling schoolgirl). It's not that Louis doesn't know that, and it's not like Louis takes the easy flirtation seriously, but he worries about Niall sometimes. Some days, he wants to hug Niall close and tell him that Harry is unobtainable, someone sent from Heaven to torment everyone he comes in contact with, because Niall looks at Harry like Harry is the sun and moon and Louis understands that.

He has a long-standing crush on Harry that's only bearable because he's carried it with him since he was fifteen and it suddenly hit him that this boy, this beautiful boy that was his best friend, was the person he loved most in the entire world. It hit him like a train wreck, and when he finally pulled himself from the wreckage, he resolved to not fuck up his friendship with Harry.

It's not that Harry isn't into boys. Louis knows this, because he's seem Harry tipsy and in the lap of another boy. It's not really that Harry likes one or the other better, Louis is sure. It's more that Harry just likes people, regardless of gender (or anything else, really). The thing is that he doesn't settle down. This isn't something that Louis knows for certain, it's just something that he's observed over the years.

Since Harry started dating, he's held onto girlfriends (to Louis' knowledge Harry's never had a guy for more than sloppy makeouts and maybe a quick tumble) for maybe a month or two at the most. He doesn't know how to keep them, Louis thinks, because he doesn't know how to explain that the flirting is just second nature. It's what he does and he can't stop it, which makes just about every relationship of his crash and burn in the same way. He's a serial dater not because he wants to be, Louis thinks, but because no one sticks around for long enough to love him for what he is.

That's the real reason Louis doesn't tell Niall that it's hopeless. Some part of him, however small, wants Harry to see what's right in front of him and finally date someone who loves him for who he is.

Harry hops down from the counter, taking the rag Louis tossed at him and beginning to wipe down the display case and the counter. Niall looks up, eyes fixed on the way Harry's bent over for a moment, before he looks back over at Liam and starts talking to him again. Harry is oblivious, like he's always been oblivious to the way so many people would bend over backwards for a second glance from him, and Louis looks down at the floor he's sweeping.

Harry's going to break everyone's heart one day.
i like potatoes @wolfiepoo
I CAN'T DECIDE WHAT I LIKE MORE, THIS CAKE OR HARRY STYLES BEING TWENTY FEET AWAY FROM ME.
2:00 PM - 21 April 12 via web · Details

Erin @ihopathogens
@wolfiepoo the answer is always harry styles, bro.
2:10 PM - 21 April 12 via web · Details

i like potatoes @wolfiepoo
@ihopathogens oh true.
2:15 PM - 21 April 12 via web · Details
Harry doesn't remember when he started liking Louis as more than a friend. He supposes it hit right around when he was making out with this girl and the sudden thought that Louis could probably kiss better than the girl crossed his mind. He hadn't thought a lot about it then, but later, in the privacy of his own bedroom, Harry had sat and thought it though. He wasn't sure if thinking about Louis kissing him was the product of him being gay, or just curious. Or maybe just into Louis.

He thought about asking Louis to kiss him, but decided that was probably not the best idea in the world because that wouldn't tell him if he was attracted to Louis or just boys in general. So, Harry did the only thing he could think of in order to test out what he liked: he got smashed and made out with a boy. Or twelve.

The thing was, though, that Harry just didn't like the boys he made out with. They were attractive, yes, but they weren't the kind of people Harry could fall in love with, which was maybe saying something because Harry fell in love with almost anyone. He was easy-going and prone to loving too much, but he didn't always act on it. The boys that Harry made out with were the wrong kind, Harry thought.

They were the kind of people that disrespected women and Harry found them attractive, sure, but he wasn't going to date any of them. Which, you know, he really should have expected because the only kind of boys that will make out with you drunk but not sober are arseholes anyway. It also doesn't tell him whether or not he's gay or just into Louis, but Harry figures it doesn't matter that much. He can deal with just liking people, it's not a big deal in the end.

Besides, it isn't like he's going to act on his feelings for Louis any time soon. Louis seems to like him well enough, but Harry's not willing to throw away his best friend on a whim. He needs time to see if it'll last, because Harry is notoriously bad at making things work and Louis is too important to screw up.

So when Simon asks him to charm girls into buying pastries, Harry almost says no. He almost says no, because he's worked in bakeries (well, a bakery) before, yeah, but this is different and he almost says no because it's really sure to be a bad idea. Then he sees Liam touch Zayn's shoulder, leaning in to whisper something to him, and Harry says yes because, well. He knows Zayn and Liam, and he knows that they wouldn't let him screw anything up. Besides, Louis got him a job, and it'd be a little rude to turn that down.

When Simon asks Louis to charm girls too, something in Harry sinks deep because Louis says yes, and just like that Harry's signed himself up to be in the exact position he's been trying to avoid for the past few years. He doesn't show his fear, though, because he's not entirely sure he's capable of that anymore. Instead, he smiles at Louis, flutters his eyelashes, and says that it's what he's always wanted. The words are not a lie, although Harry pronounces them like they are.

He can see the way Louis takes it like a joke, and he doesn't bother to correct it. That'll be easier than screwing everything up. Out of the corner of his eye, Harry sees Liam raise an eyebrow, but he doesn't say anything. He wouldn't anyway, Harry thinks, but he's always been good at reading between the lines and Harry's half expecting Liam to pull him aside and give him a talk about his feelings at some point, but Liam does nothing.

Harry is grateful for that.
Erin @ihopathogens
one direction why you gotta be so far away.
2:37 PM - 21 April 12 via web · Details

Erin @ihopathogens
i have a craving for your croissants. and louis' face.
2:38 PM - 21 April 12 via web · Details
Liam is The Sensible One.

When people (meaning Harry, Louis, Zayn or Niall) say it, the capitals are clearly audible because Liam is actually the only one with any sense on the bakery staff. Simon found that out pretty soon after he hired them and had taken Liam aside and told him that he needed to make sure Niall never got in over his head. Liam had smiled very politely at Simon and told him that Niall probably wouldn't have made it through culinary school without Liam. It's true.

Niall is fantastic and he has amazing ideas, but he doesn't have a lick of sense sometimes, and Liam generally spends at least an hour with him every night discussing what they can and can't pull off. He's the only one with a real handle on what their finances are like (though that's actually taken care of by a older man who Simon trusted and has come in every week, Liam keeps the books day-to-day to make sure they aren't going to bankrupt themselves unexpectedly a la Lady Gaga), and none of the others are kidding when they say that the bakery would not run with Liam. He knows that.

He also knows that, eventually, all the tension between them is going to snap and they will end up better for it, but because Liam is The Sensible One he sees no need to rush it. Zayn wraps his arms around Liam's waist and rests his chin on Liam's shoulder.

"Hey," Liam says, stirring the pasta in front of him slowly, "It's almost done."
"You always were better at cooking than baking," Zayn says.
"I guess," Liam smiles, "but I'd rather be working with you than at some fancy, high-class restaurant."

It's the truth and though they don't talk about it often, they both know that the choice wasn't just for Zayn. There were a combination of factors involved in why Liam chose to focus on baking instead of going on to be some five-star chef. Zayn just happens to be a large part of the reason why Liam went, because they had realized that there really wasn't any point in pretending they weren't madly in love and it wasn't like Liam wasn't good at baking. It was something that required precision and exactness, which Liam loves, so the shift was easy.

Shutting the heat off, Liam nudges Zayn, who lets go easily and ladles some of the pasta water into the egg yolks Liam set out earlier. He's stirring while Liam dumps the pasta into the pan that's been quietly sizzling away. He stirs, and Zayn slowly pours the egg yolk mixture onto the pasta. They've done this so many times it's easy and familiar the way dancing around each other in the bakery is. They fit together, and Liam knows that perhaps he should want to keep it that way, but he doesn't. He never did, which is why they chose Niall to begin with.

Niall is attractive, and Liam knows that one day, Niall will see what they want him to. It isn't going to happen immediately, but one day. Liam will wait as long as he needs to, hold onto Zayn as his own for as long as it takes for someone else to want to come and stay. Zayn kisses his cheek, handing him the plates, and Liam smiles when he takes them.

"I love you," he says, apropos of nothing.
"I know," Zayn grins and then sighs, "Do you think any of them are going to come around soon?"
"Louis, maybe," Liam shrugs, handing Zayn his plate, "Niall is a little caught up in Harry and Harry's a little caught up in Louis."
Zayn takes the plate, leaning against the counter, "Should I start flirting with Louis?"
"I think you'd have an easier time of it than I would," Liam says as he plates his own dinner, "Don't overdo it, though."
"Of course not," Zayn laughs, like it's a very funny joke, "I want to date him, not scare him off."

Rolling his eyes, Liam knows this is why they work so well together. They're comfortable around each other and even when they're mad at each other, they still kiss goodnight. It's rituals, little things, that tie them together and make them stronger, and Liam wouldn't trade it for anything. He knows they could be flashier about their relationship, make it more obvious that they're together, but Liam doesn't feel any need to announce it to the world. They're fine like this, quiet and sure of themselves.

Liam smiles, remembering that Simon hadn't suspected at all until Liam had told him, in the interest of full disclosure. Simon is fine with it, as long as they aren't fucking on the food prep tables or anything, because it doesn't really matter to him if they're dating. They bake excellent pastries, it's irrelevant if they're gay. It's mostly for that reason that Liam is glad Simon picked them and not anyone else.
Perri @medusacascade22
oh my god i am currently watching a caps game and eating the cake @flyingthesky got me.
7:00 PM - 5 May 12 via web · Details

Perri @medusacascade22
i understand what you're all talking about now. you go for harry style's face and stay for the pastries.
7:01 PM - 5 May 12 via web · Details

Reili Yamanaka @flyingthesky
@medusacascade22 I TOLD YOU PERRI. DID I NOT TELL YOU THAT /I ORDERED THE RED VELVET/.
7:20 PM - 5 May 12 via web · Details
Zayn comes into the bakery almost on time, for once. Liam trails behind him like usual, and he's about to make the usual declaration of his presence when he notices that Niall is talking to someone on the phone. Harry's sitting in a chair and waiting for his daily lecture on the special menus, leg swinging and the tip of his shoe brushing along the floor. Walking over, Zayn points to Niall.

"Who's Niall talking to?"
"Simon," Harry says, shrugging, "He wanted to talk about publicity or something."
"As if we don't have enough publicity," Liam rolls his eyes, grabbing the recipes for the day, "We need more staff if we want to keep everything running smoothly."

Liam walks by Zayn, and Zayn gives him a quick kiss before setting about his day. As much as he loves the fact that they're a tiny staff, Zayn has to admit that an extra pair of hands would probably be useful. They're the slightest bit short-staffed, and while it hasn't really posed a problem yet, Zayn thinks their popularity is expanding faster than Simon (or anyone) really anticipated. The holes in their staff start appearing whenever one of them is sick, and Louis isn't exactly the best at baking, but he's passable enough that sometimes when they're really swamped, Zayn or Liam will pull him into the back and give him something easy to make. Like bread, because it's pretty hard to screw that up.

Glancing over at Niall, Zayn thinks that Niall is almost done with his conversation so he doesn't pay any more attention to it. Instead, he starts looking over the recipes for the daily specials and memorizing them so he won't fuck anything up. Then Zayn lets the rest of the day pass the usual way. Well, not precisely.

He watches Louis in a way he usually doesn't, looking for opportunities to flirt a little and taking them when the mood strikes him. Liam raises an eyebrow once or twice, but Zayn just gives him a smile, and Liam goes back to what he was doing. Some of the girls in the front are whispering excitedly whenever Zayn smiles at Louis or claps his shoulder. They probably think it's for show and Zayn isn't going to tell them it isn't when they're so clearly getting what they came for. He can see the question in Louis' eyes, though, and returns it with an easy smile that probably doesn't answer the question.

The day goes by, and then there are no more customers and it's just the five of them cleaning up and getting ready for tomorrow. Well, Louis and Zayn are cleaning up. Liam, Niall, and Harry are brainstorming over the publicity stunt that Simon is making them do. Rather, Harry is coming up with ludicrous ideas, Niall is experimenting with a new batter and agreeing with Harry at random intervals, and Liam looks like he wants to kill them both. Zayn walks past Liam on the way to the dishwasher and kisses his cheek. He's half paying attention to their conversation when something Harry says makes him turn around.

"Naked server night," Harry says, an unholy glint in his eyes, "I bet I could sell us out of everything if I was naked under my apron."
Liam winces, "I'm pretty sure we'd get arrested for that, and I really doubt Simon would be pleased about bailing us out of jail."
"We could always ask him," Louis shrugs, leaning against the doorway between the kitchen and the serving area, "if he okays it, I'm all for it."
"Yes!"

Harry grins, taking Louis' hands and spinning him around. Liam is still wincing, and Niall appears to be ignoring them in favor of mixing his batter intently. Zayn sighs and walks over to Liam, touching their foreheads together. Letting go of Louis, Harry skitters over to the phone and quickly punches some numbers.

"Simon! Simon, remember how you wanted us to hold a publicity event? Okay, we wanted to run this by you: naked server night."
"Hey," Zayn whispers to Liam, "Simon probably won't say yes. Even if he does, what harm is it going to do? You know how Harry loves being naked."
"If we're doing this," Liam frowns, "I am telling Simon I want at least two new staff members. Simon will let me have them. He knows I'm the only sane one."
"Uh-huh," Harry says into the phone, twirling the cord around his fingers, "Yeah, no. No, of course. Liam'll look into it and if it's not, we'll get back to you. Okay. Okay, bye Simon!"

Zayn knew what Harry was going to say before he even finished hanging up the phone. Knowing, Zayn held Liam close so he couldn't attempt to murder Harry. They really couldn't afford to lose Harry at a time like this, and as much as Zayn knew that Liam probably wouldn't kill Harry, he couldn't guarantee that Liam wouldn't seriously try to hurt the other boy. As much as Liam is the only sensible one, Zayn is the only one who managed to stay calm when things got heated.

"So," Harry grins, "Simon said as long as there's no rules against it and the fans are for it, he'll greenlight a Naked Server Night."
"Simon," Liam says evenly, "does not pay me nearly enough for this."
♔ THE LUCY @spibsy
oh my god. this is not happening.
5:20 PM - 12 May 12 via web · Details

One Direction Bakery @1Dbakery
[H] Hi guys! Would you be interested in a Naked Server Night?

Retweeted by ♔ THE LUCY

Reili Yamanaka @flyingthesky
@spibsy WHAT.
5:21 PM - 12 May 12 via TweetDeck · Details

Reili Yamanaka @flyingthesky
@spibsy I. I can't. You don't. Lucy, I. /okay then, one direction/.
5:22 PM - 12 May 12 via TweetDeck · Details

Her name is Yoshimi. (
kisforkurama) wrote in
bakeryboys,
2012-05-12 5:30:00

Naked Server Night, you guys.

We are either the worst fandom ever, or the best fandom ever. I mean, on one hand we're a fandom for a bakery. On the other hand, this is a thing that happened:
One Direction Bakery @1Dbakery
[H] Hi guys! Would you be interested in a Naked Server Night?
Do we know exactly what a Naked Server Night is yet? Nope. Do we even care? Probably not, because it's the boys, and them in conjunction with the word naked is always appreciated. Are we surprised that such a thing was apparently Harry's idea? Not at all*.

So are you excited for the mysterious Naked Server Night? Are you thinking this is some cruel joke? Do you wonder who lets Harry speak ever or why they gave him access to the twitter account? Have some appropriate reaction .gifs to use down below?

Chat it up in the comments!

* If you are surprised by this, it's possible you a) are new here or b) thought the tag doesn't he own a shirt? was about someone else. It's not, the fact of the matter is that Harry doesn't like clothing and would probably walk around naked all the time if he could.

Tags: !news shit, best fandom and worst fandom, naked server night???, doesn't he own a shirt?, twitter go boom
i like potatoes @wolfiepoo
I AM GOING TO DIE AAAAAAA WHY ARE YOU EVEN PEOPLE
6:01 PM - 12 May 12 via web · Details

i like potatoes @wolfiepoo
SERIOUSLY WHO EVEN DOES THAT
6:02 PM - 12 May 12 via web · Details

i like potatoes @wolfiepoo
oh my god, i'm fangirling about a bakery
6:03 PM - 12 May 12 via web · Details
Niall doesn't really want to hire anyone new, but he understands why they have to do it. Well, part of it was that Liam had called Simon up once he finally figured out that they could, in fact, have a naked server night. He had been deadly calm, and told Simon that they needed at least two new staff members because Liam said so. Simon okayed it, and told Liam that Niall could pick them out.

(That really means Niall is going to narrow down the candidates and Liam is going to pick the final people out of that pool, but he supposes that Simon knows that. Niall is only the head pâtissier because he's the one who comes up with the menu now. Liam is still the one who makes everything run.)

So, Niall gets why they're hiring new people. He's not even opposed to it, it's more that Niall is losing his day off to the hiring process and he's kind of miffed about it. It doesn't even matter that all he was going to do on his day off was test new recipes anyway, it's the principle of the thing! Also he was going to miss cartoons, which. Interviewing a bunch of people was not worth that at all.

Liam is there with him, though, and they're both pretty agreed that all the applicants that they decided to actually bring in for an interview are decent and all, but none of them really shines. They bake well, but that's not the point, because they have to mesh with the team too. None of the applicants are very interesting on paper, and Niall doesn't have very high hopes. The first four candidates are technically the best of the bunch, but they're all just totally wrong for the team and Niall doesn't even have to say anything to Liam, because Liam just says coolly: we'll be in touch.

There are eight candidates total, and Niall has pretty much resigned himself to the fact that the next candidate is going to be terrible too when a young man with quiffed hair and overly large glasses walks in. He's a little older than them-but all of the candidates are-and he's wearing the kind of sweaters Niall's mother sometimes buys him for Christmas. It's a little bit oversized, covering his hands, and Niall likes him on sight. He kind of wants to hire him right then, because there's just no possible way that someone wearing a sweater like that won't fit in with them, but Niall knows that Liam won't let him. He's very into doing things "properly."

What that means is that they have to actually interview all the applicants and Niall knows better than to try and get Liam to change his plans, because he just looks at you until you start apologizing for things you didn't even do. It's like his superpower or something.

The guy's name is Aiden, and on his copy of Aiden's application, Niall writes cool sweater and also I want to hire him and then, smaller, under that: but not because of his sweater. He knows that Liam will know that's not true, but Niall feels like he should at least make an effort to be a Responsible Adult. He doesn't really want to be, but he tries not to embarrass Liam most of the time, because Liam is really too good for their little bakery. Liam could be working anywhere he wants, could have his own place, and instead he's cleaning up Niall's mess and making sure Niall doesn't crash and burn.

Niall isn't quite sure why Liam does it, but on the whole he doesn't mind because if this is where Liam wants to be, then Niall thinks that's a choice he can make for himself and it's not really Niall's place to say anything about it.

They finish up their interview with Aiden and the next guy is someone unmemorable and bland who seems like he needs a personality infusion, and by then even Liam looks a little forlorn about their prospects. Neither of them are looking forward to the last candidate, and Niall is pleasantly surprised when it's a genuinely likable and cool guy named Matt who's, like. Perfect. It's actually really clear that he's perfect, because even Liam seems to like him and Liam is very critical of people so it's a pretty big deal if Liam likes him.

When the interview is over, Liam smiles and says we'll be in touch and Niall can tell that Matt knows it's pretty much in the bag for him. Liam turns to Niall when it's just the two of them again and Niall slumps down in his chair.

"Matt for sure, and I really liked Aiden. The others were . . ."
Liam snorts, "Too normal?"
"Yeah," Niall sighs, "a bit."
"So I'm probably going to wait a day before calling them and telling them that they're hired. They can start working next week after you train them on Monday."
Niall looks over at Liam, "Why do I have to train them? I don't know how to train them."
"Just pretend that they're Harry," Liam shrugs, "and tell them where everything is, show them our day-to-day recipes, and tell them how the daily specials work. It's really simple, Niall. I have faith that you'll do fine at it."

Liam stands, stretching out, and Niall watches him, contemplating how he's supposed to train new bakers when he didn't even have to teach Harry anything but how things tasted. Harry is a disaster in the kitchen, according to Louis, so Niall had just said "and don't touch anything in here" with a general wave around the kitchen area to which Harry nodded. They haven't had a Harry-started kitchen disaster yet, so Niall considers that a successful training.

"Hey, Liam," Niall says suddenly, "why do you work here?"

Turning to look at Niall, Liam doesn't answer immediately, just looks at Niall as if he's trying to suss out the underlying meaning of the question Niall's just asked.

"Because you asked," he says finally.

part 1 | masterpost | part 2

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