A/N: I hope you enjoy! Dedicated to sidehoeniall for the lovely cover she made :)

Chapter 15: Sweet as a Caramel (Lottie)

My fingers curled into fists as that...woman strutted out like she owned the place. I took a deep, calming breath and closed my eyes, my mind whirring. Who did she think she was, coming in here and insulting Ben?

I felt my anger building up once again at the memory, and I squeezed my eyelids shut so as to banish the image of his stone-cold expression and emotionless voice. I hoped I'd never have to hear such a detached and heart-breaking sound ever again.

I'd never been mean to someone before - at least not intentionally. It didn't feel right to make somebody feel bad, but now, defending Ben? Well, I'd never felt so good in my life as when I told that woman off.

It was exhilarating - I didn't believe I could ever do something like that. But since it was Ben whom she was berating, I couldn't help myself. Nobody, nobody was allowed to say such horrid things to him. That was where I drew the line.

And, I'll admit, seeing that shocked and impressed expression on his face was worth a million of 'Mrs Wellington's' disdainful looks.

When I had calmed down enough to open my eyes, I noticed Ben's gaze fixated on me. I smiled sheepishly and scratched the back of my head, my cheeks flushing. I realised I'd probably made a fool out of myself in front of him.

"I'm sorry you had to see that," I said softly. "I didn't meant to lose my temper. But I'm not sorry for doing it."

Ben cleared his throat. "Don't be sorry. It was fucking awesome."

"Yeah?"

He cleared his throat again. "You shouldn't be embarrassed, you kind of needed that."

Okay, now I was confused. "Needed what?"

Ben was quiet, thinking about it. "You need to be well-rounded," he said finally. "It can't be healthy to be smiling every minute of the day."

"So I should take breaks every hour to shout at nasty old battle-axes?" I teased, but I knew he was being serious. I wasn't sure if it was out of concern for my emotional well-being or annoyance at my supposedly stagnant character, but he was serious about me needing time to not be such a pushover.

"If it comes to that," he said, an almost invisible smile tugging at the corners of his lips. My eyes shined at the sight, because even such a faint amusement made my heart beat wildly.

I paused. And then I said, "I don't smile all the time."

Ben raised his eyebrows. "Yes. You do."

"I actually don't," I argued. I couldn't help but grin at the conversation we were having.

"You're smiling right now!"

I laughed. "That's because you're so funny."

"What was so funny?" he said, outraged.

"Your face," I said automatically. I closed my eyes slightly and shook my head at my stupid response.

Ben stopped, his mouth half-open. His expression flattened. "I see the appeal," he said, unimpressed.

I laughed again. It was really hard to show emotions other than joy around him, because that was what I felt around him! "It's your fault," I told him. "I can't stop smiling when you're around."

"Because I'm just so funny," he said, rolling his eyes. He was annoyed, I could tell.

My eyebrows furrowed; I didn't mean to bother him or make it seem like he was a joke. I just...didn't know how to be calm around him. I liked him. At least as a friend. I didn't know him well enough to fancy him, but I liked him well enough to want the feeling reciprocated. "No," I said slowly. "Because..." I stopped speaking, because I realised I didn't know how to explain.

He raised his eyebrows, as though prompting me on.

I cleared my throat and looked at my hands resting on the counter.

"So am I just your personal puppet show?" He spoke lightly, trying to seem casual, but I noticed the way his chest seemed to puff up in attempt to realign his bruised ego.

Just like with Mrs Wellington, I felt my blood rush to my ears. I blinked furiously, the same sensation that was what gave me the courage to defend Ben cropping up again, this time against his own self-destructive behaviour. "No!" I said adamantly. "Is it that hard for you to see that I smile around you maybe because I'm happy to see you?"

He stared at me blankly. I almost groaned, because he was so hard to read. I almost never knew what he was feeling, and he definitely wasn't the type to speak his feelings.

I sighed and looked away when the door opened. For the first time in my life, I had to force the welcoming smile onto my face when I greeted the customer. "Hello!" I said to the man.

He smirked slowly at me, and my smile faltered at the sight. I was used to these kinds of customers, but that didn't mean I enjoyed serving them. "Hey," he replied.

Ben looked at the guy and immediately scowled. I wasn't sure what was going on, but he moved around the counter until he was standing beside me.

Even though it was against the rules for him to do that, for some reason it soothed me, and my smile became more cheerful. "Is there anything in particular you'd like to have?" I asked.

The man's smirk widened. I had to stop myself from cringing. "Food or otherwise?" he asked in a suggestive tone.

I bit my lip hard, because suddenly I found him hilarious. His hair had too much gel, I could smell his cologne three feet away, and I could literally feel the desperation oozing out of him. "Let's start with food," I said, the laugh clear in my voice.

I saw Ben look down at me, wondering why I sounded like I wanted to start guffawing. The man, meanwhile, pouted slightly, and his ridiculousness almost made me lose it. "I'd like a dozen dulce de leche cupcakes," he said glumly.

I nodded, trying to keep a straight face. I trotted over to the back room to grab a to-go box, and Ben followed me.

"Why are you flirting with that guy?" he asked gruffly.

I glanced at him while I ruffled through a cabinet. "I'm not flirting," I said, amused. "I'm trying not to laugh at him."

He leant against the cabinet I was kneeling in front of, and he crossed his arms. "Just like with me, huh?"

"No," I corrected, rolling my eyes at his inability to believe that I wanted to be his friend. "With you, it's different."

"How different?" he pushed.

"You know, I've never heard you talk so much without pushing you," I said, and stood up. I smiled at him, and he looked away.

"Shut it," he grumbled, and I giggled.

I patted his shoulder and started to walk back to the shop. "Don't worry, Benny. I laugh at you because I'm just really happy. I want to laugh at that guy because he looks slimy."

He didn't reply, but I knew he heard me. I knelt in front of the counter where the guy was waiting impatiently. I swept twelve cupcakes into the box I'd found and stood up.

"Twenty-four pounds, please," I said, laying the box on top of the counter.

The man slapped some notes into my hand and grabbed the box, quickly rushing away. As soon as he exited, I started laughing loudly. Poor guy was embarrassed at his horrible flirting attempts.

"Don't be rude," I heard, and tried to kerb my giggles as I grinned up at Ben. I felt my face flush with embarrassment when I looked at his handsome face, realising that I'd told him twice that he made me happy.

I was shameless. Ginny would sort-of be proud.

"I wasn't being mean," I said, and then realised that it was a little mean to laugh at guys who weren't very good at flirting. "Okay, I was being mean," I admitted.

Ben let out a deep breath. "Man, I've seen you angry, annoyed, and happy all in the space of ten minutes. It's like Armageddon."

"Because you've seen all of that, that automatically means we're best friends."

He looked taken aback. "Whoa, who the hell said anything about being friends? We're not friends."

"Best friends," I corrected. "And I said it. Just now. We're best friends."

"No, shut up, get away from me," he said, walking backwards with his hands up as if to defend himself from me.

"Come on, best friend!" I said, clasping my hands together. "Say it, come on."

"You're the Antichrist," he snapped, and whirled around to stomp away.

"Okay, bye, best friend!" The door slammed shut behind him, and I started laughing. I felt light, and I knew my eyes were twinkling.

It was weird. I mean, before it was easy to smile and stuff, but every time I did, I would think of my mum and feel myself deflate. But around Ben, the joy just surfaced and shone out and I couldn't hide it because I didn't really want to.

Okay. I take it back, I didn't like Ben as a friend. I kind of, sort of...fancied him. Okay, I admit it. He was rude and cold, but I still couldn't help from blushing and smiling and laughing in his presence.

Maybe I was a masochist.