Cleo De Nile had it all. She had popularity, looks, a very gorgeous and sweet boyfriend that wasn't all too bright, but in reality, were any of the boys at Monster High?

Though as of late, she was feeling weird. Incomplete, almost. Cleo didn't like feeling this way. Being confused was for stupid and ugly monsters, not for a royal Egyptian Princess like herself. Cleo always knew everything, and her own body was betraying her.

That was partially a lie. Cleo knew exactly what was going on, but she was just pretending she didn't. In denial, some may say.

Now, the first time this issue popped up it was easy to disregard it. A one time occurrence - she was sure it was completely natural to think of another boy in passing while her current wolf boyfriend was nipping at her neck.

What she didn't think was natural was for it to happen more than once.

Deuce Gorgon was Monster High's most eligible bachelor at the moment. She recognized him as Clawd, her boyfriend's, little co-captain, and she was also sure that they shared a class together. Honestly, before a certain event, she found him annoying. She and her boyfriend needed to always be in the center of attention (well, mostly her) and sometimes people would stop talking about her to talk about that stupid Greek boy with snakes for hair, just because he was cute and single!

Well, now Cleo could see what their fascination was about, just a tiny bit. Sure, his hands were really warm, and his sculpted muscles were very nice to look at, and that toothy smile was super cute - but she didn't think it warranted the amount of conversation it got over her.

But, maybe the de Nile princess was thinking about him more than usual. He had helped her in a dark situation, to say the least. The lights were out, and all she had to cling to were those comforting words and soft touches of the snake-haired boy.

She knew he had a crush on her. Cleo knew a lot of people had a crush on her, but usually they never did anything about it because she was taken, or she'd tear them up depending on the approach. That wasn't including the strangers that hit on her when she walked around the Maul, but she usually milked their compliments and then turned them down. Hell, she was certain anyone that ever met her had fallen madly in love. Who could blame them? She was perfect.

But Deuce's little crush was ... endeering. She remembered the way he returned with an adorable goody grin as she gave him a smile, and the way she was sure his eyes were fixed on her whenever she sauntered away, swinging her hips a bit more than usual. The mere memory made her heart flutter a little bit.

Back to the matter at hand, that same boy had been sneaking his way into her thoughts recently. But only slightly. Cleo had a boyfriend, after all. She was confident that she was only thinking of him fondly because of their shared experience.

(And so what if she delighted in the fact that Deuce's cheeks turned bright red when she smiled and fluttered her fingers at him during Biteology every morning? That wasn't a big deal.)

Though she had to admit she noticed him around a lot more. Usually Cleo just ignored the commoners around her, save for her friends and boyfriend. But now Deuce would catch her eye as he would walk to his locker. Though of course, she also knew that he was looking back at her as well, and on the occasion their eyes would lock, it triggered a certain weird feeling within her metaphorical gut to see him all flustered and looking away.

She always thought of Deuce as a bit of a bad boy, as his rugged outfit entailed. Cleo could tell a lot about monsters from the way they dressed, and Deuce's chains and piercings told a lot. And normally she wouldn't even like to associate with him. While others found that persona charming, she just found it uncouth to say the least.

Nevertheless, he was full of surprises, and Cleo was indeed caught off guard by how sweet and shy he really was. At least around her. She wondered if that was that interior that made a lot of ghouls fall head over heels for the eligible bachelor. At the very least, she wondered if his behavior was reserved for her. (Deep down, she hoped it was).

But, she had a boyfriend. Cleo De Nile may be a lot of things, but she wasn't a cheater. Clawd was sweet and cute, and she liked him. Yes, he rough-housed a lot and he couldn't remember that she was allergic to nightshades - but he was very kind to her, and the Big Monster On Campus.

But that didn't stop her and Deuce from being friends, of course. The past couple of weeks after their incident together, Cleo found herself drawn to him a lot, and it was easy to hang out with him because he was good friends with her boyfriend. She liked having small talk with him, and she found it adorable how his cheeks would flare up every time she addressed him.

She learned a lot more than she previously knew about him, like how he liked to skateboard, and listen to heavy metal (too punk for her taste), and that he could play the drums. There were closer friends out there for both of them, of course, but Cleo did find herself waving to him in the hall, and smiling at him a lot more. And that was enough.

Though one day, near the end of the scaremester, her midterm project in Home Ick was to successfully bake one of the chosen recipes. Cleo had gotten stuck with a triple-layer scaryberry cake. The problem? Cleo was absolutely awful at baking. Normally she could go and make one of her servants do it, but part of the task was to actually make it in class in front of the teacher.

Luckily, she had all week. Unluckily, she wasn't getting any better. It was only the first day and she managed to burn whatever she made into a crisp; additionally, it hadn't set well so it just looked like an ashy lumpy soup. And it was quite embarrassing.

As the bell rang to indicate the class end, she took her creation in the cake container to throw away. Cleo was wondering if she had any amulets that would let her breeze past the assignment, walking down the hall, when she bumped into a rock-solid chest and she dropped what she was holding onto the floor.

"Hey, watch where you're-!" the insult began out of her mouth at the same time the familiar voice called out, "Oh gods, I'm so sorry!" She noticed the assailant was none other than Deuce Gorgon himself.

Cleo didn't apologize, but she just sighed, "Oh, it's fine." she murmured, as Deuce's face burned bright red with was she assumed was embarrassment, "Oh, here, let me get it-" he said in relation to her burnt 'cake" on the floor.

She felt her own cheeks burned as he assessed the container, picking it up from the floor, "Uh, here's your... lumpy rock back?" he offered it to her and Cleo snatched it back quickly.

"It's supposed to be a cake." she mumbled, pressing it against her chest, "I may be skilled in a lot of areas, but baking is not one of them. And the midterm ends by this week."

She so wished she could see those eyes of his as his expression changed to one of what she could discern was thoughtfulness.

"Oh," he said, and rubbed the back of his neck shyly, "Uhm, you know, I could help you out - if you want."

Cleo peered at him curiously.

"I-I mean, I know a little bit about baking, so ... I could help teach it to you." Deuce continued shyly, "That is, if you want."

Cleo smiled charmingly at him, clasping her hands together and tucking the container under her arm, "Oh, you'd do that?" She beamed brightly, noticing the way he was a little too fixated on her grin, "Thank you, Deuce! I'll reserve the Home Ick classroom after school." she said, already taking charge.

She then placed a delicate hand on his shoulder, ignoring the shockwaves that went through her arm from feeling how well-sculpted he was, "I'll see you then, after practice." Cleo left without letting him get a word out, mostly because he seemed like on the verge of fainting by her proximity.

Cleo was glad to have some help, since her options were to fail the class or used a cursed amulet and risk getting fleas in her bed or something. And yeah, Deuce was really sweet to offer help and she liked being near him, so it all worked out.

So after cheerleader practice, when the boys were coming in for casketball, she met Clawd as they were exiting the gym.

"Hey babe." The werewolf pressed a quick kiss to her lips, which she accepted, "You gonna need a ride today?"

"No," She hummed in reply, slinging her cheer bag over her shoulder, "I'm staying late, Deuce is going to help me with my Home Ick midterm."

Clawd looked a little unsure, and for the usually cheerful guy that was a bit odd, but he quickly recovered as he kissed her cheek instead, "Okay, have fun!" he smiled. That was as expected, Clawd never really got jealous (mainly to her annoyance, he was too nice).

The mummy returned to the ghoul's locker room to change back into casual (well, casual for Cleo) clothes, and brushed out her hair while she mused to herself.

She felt oddly nervous, but she didn't know why. Cleo de Nile didn't get nervous! And Deuce was just a friend. She pretended that calmed her nerves as she reapplied some powder to her face and lipstick.

The mummy put her bag back into her locker, and made her way to the Home Ick classroom, unlocked just for them, so she could start setting up. She figured Deuce wouldn't be in for another twenty minutes or so, since he also had casketball practice, so she had time. Just before she could go on her phone and waste her time, he entered the classroom while there were still about fifteen minutes left of practice, a bit sweaty but dressed in his regular outfit.

Cleo glanced at him curiously, a glimmer of a smile threatening her painted lips, "You're... early." she commented, tucking her phone away, and raising a brow.

The tips of Deuce's ears turned pink, "Ah, I got Clawd to let me out early. I didn't want to ... keep you waiting..."

She felt her own heart twist in her chest, as she struggled to hide the way his sweetness made her want to smile widely, "That's thoughtful of you." Cleo said, because it was, "But I didn't set up, so-"

"That's okay. I can help you." He offered her a shy grin, one she was grateful to drink up with her eyes. "Do you have the recipe?"

"Mhm!" She took a folded out piece of paper from where she tucked it in the chest area under her blue straps. As she unfolded it she didn't notice how flustered Deuce got seeing her dig around in the fabric covering her chest area.

"There." Once unfolded, it read all the steps and ingredients in Cleo's fancy calligraphy font. She handed it over to Deuce, who took it with red cheeks, reading it over.

"I think this is easy enough." He commented, to which Cleo scowled.

"Obviously not," she remarked haughtily, "It's impossible! Who would do this for fun?" Cleo leaned forward on the counter dramatically.

Deuce glanced over to her, "Don't worry. We'll get through this step by step. It'll turn out good." he reassured her with another goofy lopsided grin. Cleo was sure that smile had healing powers as she perked back up.

She really found that being with Deuce was easy. Cleo normally held herself to a high standard; since she really was better than everybody, she had to. But around the snake-haired boy, she seemed to show cracks of just joking around with him.

Like when Deuce wanted to see if he could throw in the scary-berries from three feet away into the bowl, and he ended up accidentally knocking the batter bowl over so he had to glide on the floor to catch it - but then ended up having the carton of berries fall on his head. Cleo had snorted in laughter - snorted!

She had immediately covered her mouth afterward, stifling more giggles, but Deuce had looked at her in awe and said, "You have a cute laugh." and Cleo felt like the compliment meant more than it really should have.

It was just so fun with be with him, and he was surprisingly a good baker as well. He did a lot of the work, which kind of went against the goal of them being together so that Cleo could learn. But she could worry about that later.

The cake went in the oven and it was timed for a couple of minutes since it was so small. Cleo had no complaints just lounging around the classroom and talking with Deuce.

"I am just not cut out for making food and working-" Cleo was saying, lounging on the seats with her legs crossed and her phone on her lap while Deuce sat against the table on the floor, "-And I don't understand why I have to learn! When I get married, I'll have many servants." she sighed and looked at her nails with boredom, "But Mrs. Kindergrubber never takes that as an excuse."

"Servants?" Deuce echoed in amusement. She so wished she could see his eyes to know exactly the expression he was making, "I don't know if Clawd would pay for them."

"And who told you I'd marry him?" She replied, peering at him from under her lashes as she placed her chin in her palm.

Deuce looked at her, "Would you?"

She felt her bottom lip catch in between her teeth, her pupils shifting to the side.

"I don't know." she answered honestly. A life bound to Clawd didn't seem appealing to her, but she was only still in high school.

The silence that ensued after was interrupted by a ping with the timer going off. Cleo didn't know what she'd call the tension between them during that time, but she was a little glad to be out of it. Her face was uncomfortably warm as she got up to take it out.

It already looked tasty, but they had to let it cool before they frosted it. The mood resumed as playful as they did so.

Soon, it was finished, and not looking like a soggy rock like it did when Cleo baked it in Home Ick that morning.

Deuce dug a spoon into it, and held it out, "You want the first bite?" He asked, a tiny smile on his face. In response, Cleo leaned forward, taking the spoon into her mouth without her eyes never leaving his. (Or at least, what was behind his glasses.) She could see his grip tighten on the end of the spoon as she ran her tongue against the curve of the inside, taking every last dollop of whipped topping.

The taste was incredible, sweet and tart and baked to perfection. Deuce was a miracle worker.

She could feel his eyes trail her movements as she brought a perfectly manicured nail to the corner of her mouth, to clean up whatever frosting had smeared.

"It's delicious." Cleo finally remarked, unnaturally low, "You did amazing."

She could see him blush lightly, "Well, we both did it."

The mummy sighed, glancing at the cake, "Oh, I appreciate it Deuce, but you did most of it." she said, "I won't be able to recreate this on the spot."

The gorgon paused, before he smiled at her, "Hey, then think of it as a practice run." He said, "I can teach you again, maybe tomorrow, but I'll guide you through it."

Cleo must have looked at him weirdly because then Deuce got all flustered, "Oh, I-I mean, if you want. I know this sort of thing can be - boring..."

The mummy offered him her own smile in return, "No, I had a lot of fun today, Deuce." she clasped a hand on her hip, and held the other out, "It's a date, then."

Deuce grinned, making her tummy do unfair flips again.

"A date."

He enclosed her own smaller digits in his, shaking it once and then letting go. His palms were a bit sweaty, but she found that she didn't mind in that instance. It was cute with him.