I'm gonna go talk to some food about this (Kiara)

[Tanner Larson]

Ah, November. Tanner loved late fall, for the cooler weather meant he could dress more reasonably. During the hot summer months, when his unusually high body temperature was given no respite by the air around him, it was all the boy could do to stop himself from simply melting into the ground. As it was, the dog days of August were usually spent laying in his bed, wearing as little clothing as possible, with the air conditioning unit blasting at full power. But now that the weather had gotten nice and cold, he could actually go out and enjoy himself; he was surely one of the only kids at Hammel wearing shorts and a tee shirt that day, but it was what he was most comfortable in during autumn.

Strolling across campus from his dorm room to one of the academic buildings, he arrived at the home economics classroom to find it empty; Kiara hadn't yet arrived. He loved it when this room was empty, for it meant he could cook in peace and just enjoy his solitude and the sounds and aromas of the dish he was preparing. He was normally a quiet, secluded individual, but he did have his friends, and Kiara was among them. They had decided, after discovering they both enjoyed cooking, to trade recipies that day, and Tanner had come prepared with one of his favorites; his mother's recipe for homemade chocolate fudge brownies, with chocolate chips and walnutes. They were moist, fudgy, and absolutely decadent. Not the most healthy of things, but he figured Kiara would probably have something more savory, so this way they could make a whole meal out of it. And if not, well, two desserts was never a bad thing.

Dropping his backpack on one of the stools surrounding the central table where techniques were taught before the students got working - he always carried his backpack with him, no matter where he was going - he went over to one of the stations and began getting out the supplies he would need. He had long since memorized the recipe - these brownies had always been a favorite of his as a kid - and proceeded to get out some of the ingredients as he waited for Kiara to arrive.

[Deleted]

It has been quite a while since Kiara had last seen Tanner. College proved to consume as much time as expected, yet she had always kept her hope high to be able to maintain a normal social life. Of course it had diminished ever since Hammel had been left behind, and she always had to divide her spare time over those who she wanted to spend time with. Today Tanner was the lucky guy. They were going to teach each other a recipe, yet the blonde wasn’t too sure which once to take with her. Her initial thought had been to make chocolate chip, banana, walnut muffins, but something told her the boy might be making a dessert already, hence the reason she had spent at least an hour going through pasta dishes online. Surely she couldn’t mess up pasta.

After that, Ki had rushed to the store to buy the ingredients. That was why he probably could hear her entering as the plastic bag easily gave her presence away. ”Hey!” She chirped cheerfully upon placing the bag on the station next to his. Wrapping arms around Tanner’s neck, she briefly hugged him close in greeting and then let go. ”Oh, chocolate! I knew you were going to make a dessert!” Clearly excited about that specific ingredient and the fact that she had been right, the blonde began to take all items out of the plastic bag. ”It’s probably safest for me to try and make some pasta. I want to get it perfect before Christmas. You know, to cook for someone.” And to leave a good impression as well.

”Soooo, what’s going to ruin my diet?” Of course Kiara wasn’t on a diet. She just wanted to joke and to figure out what Tanner planned on making.

[Tanner Larson]

It had, indeed, been a long time since Tanner had seen Kiara. Come to think of it, it had been a while since Tanner had seen several of his friends who had graduated the previous school year; having a December birthday meant that he was among the oldest in his class - he would be nineteen half a year by the time he graduated at the end of this school year - and so he found that he related to kids in the next grade up due to his advanced age (not to mention his advanced intellect, though that was another matter entirely). This meant that, unfortunately, what few good friends he had here at Hammel dwindled further when most of them had left last May. Still, it was always nice to see a familiar face, and he did cherish the time he got to spend with those he cared about.

"Hey," he replied with a smile, as he returned the hug, albeit very lightly. He was certainly not the type to engage in much physical contact, being the more introverted type that he was, but he appreciated that most other people did like it, and so he did what he could.

The young man listened to the girl as she told him about which recipe she had brought. "Well, hey, two desserts never hurt anybody," he said with a grin as he got out more of his ingredients. "What kind of pasta are we gonna be making?" Something Kiara had said had not, however fatefully, escaped his attention. "Who are you gonna be cooking for?" It was an innocent enough question, for he figured she was just talking about her family or something.

He laughed at Kiara's joke. "They're double chocolate fudge walnut brownies," he said, grin spreading even wider. "My mom makes them all the time. They're really, really good." He reached over to the oven, turning it onto 350 degrees. "Let's start with mine, since they have to bake for a while, then we can make yours while they're baking. They're really easy, they're just one pot. So we're gonna melt two sticks of margarine - yeah, too - with four squares of baker's chocolate in this pot, then once that's melted we'll add the rest of the ingredients." He got to work doing just that as he went over the instructions.

[Deleted]

(((Sorry, boo!)))

Well, it was too late to make two desserts now, especially since Kiara didn’t feel like going to the store again. And she had grown eager to actually give this recipe a go, mainly because all ingredients were stuff she liked to eat. Hopefully Jackson would like it as well – that is if she were to succeed at this. Nicely placed the bought items on one side of the cooking isle, the blonde attempted to make it sound as professional as possible. ”Today I will be serving cannelloni with a fresh cherry tomato sauce, nicely presented with basil and ricotta.” A firm nod followed, confident she had at least made it sound delicious so far.

The next question made her feel less confident though and the darker color settling on her cheeks might have given it away. ”A guy that I like. And I’m sort of planning a surprise for Christmas.” Which Jackson couldn’t know about because she really wanted to be, well, a surprise and his first reaction upon arrival would give away whether he liked it or not. With a sheepish grin, she tucked a blonde strand behind her ear and focused on the ingredients in front of him. That sounded even more delicious than her fantastic pasta description. ”If they’re as good as they sound…” She drifted off, deemed it unnecessary to finish that statement. Instead she moved over, eager to find out how he would make them.

”Anything I could help with?” Kiara asked, feeling rather helpless just standing there. Maybe he needed someone to taste the melted chocolate? She could easily do that.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner was practically drooling just at the name; he could only imagine how good that would taste. He loved Italian food, but didn't have it nearly often enough for his tastes; this was sure to be a treat. "Wow, sounds great," he said, voicing this opinion aloud with a smile. And with brownies for dessert... okay, he was very happy they were doing this.

"Ah," he said almost immediately after Kiara revealed her intentions. He was no good with this sort of thing, but he did sympathize; he knew what it was like to like someone and want to impress them. "Well, consider this a practice round, then," he said with another smile. "I'm sure he'll like it," he added for comfort. He was a bit curious as to who this guy was - was it someone he knew, or someone back home? - but he knew it was none of his business, so he wouldn't ask. At least, he knew he would feel a bit uncomfortable if it was him in her position.

The blonde nodded as his friend asked if she could help. "Yeah, do you wanna measure out two cups of sugar and one cup of flour?" He asked. "They can be in the same bowl. We'll add those after we melt this all up and add the eggs and vanilla." He'd long since memorized the recipe, as he'd watched his mother make them so many times before. The chocolate and butter were well on their way to being melted, and it was definitely starting to smell good. After all, it was chocolate and butter - what could be bad?

"So how have you been?" He asked for conversation as they worked. They didn't see each other quite as often anymore now that she had graduated, so when they hung out they usually had catching up to do. "How's college treating you?"

[Deleted]

Kiara chuckled. ”It’s more like a testing round. I haven’t exactly made it before, so you, my dear Tanner, are going to be a guinea pig.” Or lab rat or however he wanted to call it. Surely the guy would be willing to sacrifice himself for such good cause. And wouldn’t the delicious sounding name make up for the possible prospect of the dish failing? ”Plus, he made lasagna last time. I can’t really allow the dish to end up horrible.” How shameful would it be to not be able to match that as a girl?

As Tanner informed her about what she could help with, Ki quickly washed her hands and went to find a cup while constantly mumbling to herself ”Two sugar, one flour. Two sugar, one flour. Two…” to make sure the brownies wouldn’t end up being a disaster due to her making a mistake. She managed to grab a cup by the time Tanner asked the next question and her gaze drifted over while moving to the flour and sugar. ”Busy. Like, really busy. Overwhelmed, I guess. It’s quite difficult to know what to expect until you find yourself in the middle of it all.” Meeting Jackson had been the plus side of it all.

”How about you? Hammel didn’t become too boring without me?” She chuckled at her own joke while scooping to correct cups into one bowl. Of course it hadn’t. Ki had always made sure to blend in with the walls, to keep herself from being the center of attention. Half probably didn’t know who she was, unless they had wanted to abuse her ability.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner grinned. "Well, if it's half as good as it sounds, I'm sure it'll taste terrific," he said. He didn't mind helping her perfect the recipe: that was, after all, the point of them cooking together. He nodded with understanding as Kiara mentioned that he had cooked for her previously: so they had spent time together. This was certainly very interesting, and he couldn't really help but be curious. They were friends though, right? It wouldn't be terribly weird if he asked who it was, right? After all, Tanner was mostly a homebody except for on Thursday nights, so it was highly unlikely that it would be anyone he knew.

Finally working up the courage to just go ahead and ask, the blonde turned away from his pot, the contents of which he was currently stirring with a wooden spoon. "So, who is he, then?" He asked, a bit quietly. "If you don't mind saying, that is," he added, turning back towards his pot to find that the chocolate and butter were melted and well-blended. "No pressure, of course."

Turning his attention briefly off that subject, the boy shrugged his shoulders as he cracked two eggs into the chocolate mixture. "Too boring? Never," he said with a smile. Hell, there were certainly people around here who could keep it interesting. "College sure sounds stressful, though," he added as he mixed the eggs in. "How are classes going?"

[Deleted]

Who was he? Kiara wanted to express her excitement during the reply, but instead settled for a soft smile and a loving tone of voice while revealing the guy’s identity. ”His name is Jackson. Jackson Haynes. We met a couple of months ago. He’s very… sweet.” She had to ponder about one word to describe him; otherwise she would babble on about what he was like during the next half hour or so. She gave him a cheeky grin. ”How are you and your crushes?” If he had any to begin with.

Chuckling, Ki carried the bowl to his station and let him deal with it once his mixture was ready. ”Classes are quite hectic. I mean, it’s a good thing that I’ve always managed to make a certain schedule to keep up with classes and assignments. That helps. Compared to how lost others are.” Sometimes she felt bad for them, but yeah. At one point they would manage and get a grasp on their study process.

”What are you going to do next year?” She asked, moving back to her previous spot to gather anything that was filthy so far in order to carry it to the sink. ”Do you want to go to college or uni? Do you already know what major you would pick?” Or would he rather work?

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner listened with interest as Kiara explained who this boy was. He definitely didn't know him, and hadn't even heard of him, but again this was likely just because of Tanner's virtual lack of a real social life. "Ah, cool," he said, nodding his head as he poured a few drops of vanilla extract into the mixture and stirred it in with a wooden spoon. "Who, me??" He asked, half-facetiously, as Kiara asked about his own crushes. "What crushes?" He added with a wink as he took the flour and sugar from the other blonde and dumped it unceremoniously into the pot. He wasn't really sure he had any crushes. Well, there was Robbie, whom he'd just seen for the first time in several months. He couldn't say he wasn't interested in the weather manipulator, but it was far from a crush. Then there was Ethan, whom he'd met at the House one evening; he had a feeling he would be seeing the older boy again, but that wasn't really a crush either. The only crush he'd ever had, as far as he could remember, was on Mason, and that hadn't exactly ended well. He'd gotten a few great performances out of it, but it was something he'd rather not repeat anytime soon. So, no crushes for Tanner.

Tanner thought for a moment. "I'll probably go to a university somewhere," he replied at length. He wasn't sure where, though; he had applied to several places and was waiting to hear back. Truth be told, he was pretty sure he could get into a better school that the University of Vermont - not that it was a bad school, but he could see himself going Ivy League - but that would mean leaving Pilot Ridge, which was nearly the only place he really knew, and was where all his friends were. He wasn't sure how he would feel about that. "Probably something with math," he added regarding his major; his father was an engineer, and he supposed he could see himself going that route.

"Okay, this is ready to go in the oven," he said, grabbing the 9x13 pan and pouring the batter in. "Lick the spoon?" He offered, gesturing towards Kiara with the wooden spoon, which was still coated in the thick, chocolate batter. "Oh, before I forget," he said, grabbing a fistful of chocolate chips and throwing them on top along with several walnut pieces he had purchased at the store.

[Deleted]

Kiara grinned widely at his response. She had so often been the victim of this retort that she opted to turn the roles for once. ”What crushes? You have a lot then?” Because, hey, the blonde couldn’t be specific if he didn’t share any details. Of course she was fooling around. It probably was the lamest joke as well, especially since she never found it too funny when family pulled it on her, but still. Perhaps Tanner had a different sense of humor. Eyes followed his hand as he stirred the batter, in the meanwhile listening to his explanation. ”Somewhere? Do you want to leave Vermont?” Part of her sounded somewhat sad, mainly because he was a good friend and she couldn’t really imagine losing contact with him, yet that was what she feared.

As the batter appeared to be ready to go in the oven, Kiara eagerly plucked the wooden spoon out of his hand, not even sure where to start. Sides or middle? But then Tanner betrayed where the chocolate chips stood and she wasn’t ashamed to take some as well and to sprinkle them over the spoon. And in the empty bowl where batter coated the sides. Yay for having a great metabolism! Picking up the bowl, she wrapped an arm around it and held it against her chest while dragging a finger along the plastic to make it visible while the digit itself got hidden underneath a wave of chocolate batter. Oh goody!

While the blonde sucked it off her finger, blue optics rested on Tanner, realizing just how greedy she was being. ”Wha som?” Ki asked while still removing the coating from her index finger. This was the best day of her life. ”This is delicious!” She managed while wiping at her mouth, knowing some was deemed to be spilled at one point.

And that’s when a little mischievous grin appeared. Without too much of a warning, Kiara dipped her finger in again and reached forward to drag a short line across Tanner’s cheek. Chemistry reaction! Interest claimed her features as she inspected the thin spot of chocolate batter as miniscule bubbles appeared, only to run down and along his jaw line a split second later.

”This… is awesome!” She exclaimed.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner's eyes went wide as Kiara stated her assumption that he had multiple crushes. "Who, me??" He repeated, this time more incredulously. He laughed in spite of himself, though, shaking his head. "Nah, that's not my style," he replied demurely with a shrug of his shoulders. Honestly, he'd only had one or two crushes his whole life, and they were very brief and, well, shallow in the literal sense of the word. Nothing deep or love-dovey, that was for sure.

The blonde could almost hear a trace of remorse in Kiara's voice as she asked if his intentions were to leave Vermont. "Well... I don't know," he waffled with yet another shrug. He just wasn't sure he could see himself staying here for college when there were just better options elsewhere. "I'll have to see where I get accepted," he added at length, figuring that was good enough to avoid the subject, which frankly he didn't like thinking too much about.

The young man chuckled as the other blonde took the wooden spoon from his hand, adding chocolate chips to it as well as to the bowl. Girls sure liked chocolate. He took a moment to open the oven door and put the brownie pan in before closing it shut again. Returning to their work station, the boy watched as Kiara dipped her finger into the bowl, brought it up to her mouth, and...

hoo, boy.

That was some mighty fine suction. He subconsciously licked his lips as he watched her do this, eyes glazing over as though his mind wasn't entirely in the present. He looked away quickly as Kiara's eyes met his own, taking a moment to find himself before answering. "Uh yeah, sure," he said, a sheepish grin appearing on his face as he quickly and unceremoniously dipped his finger in and licked it off. "Heh... that's good."

Tanner blinked as Kiara brought her finger to his own face, running it down his cheek and leaving behind a line of brownie batter. "Hey," he cried facetiously. Her reaction to the batter's melting was priceless. "Are you experimenting with my skin now?" He gave a warm, handsome smile: he really liked her and was happy his friend had found someone she cared about. Lord knew he didn't know much about that, but it must have been nice.

That said, if he could never watch his mother making this brownie recipe again, Tanner was going to kill her.

[Deleted]

Kiara still felt sad because Tanner’s reply confirmed that he wanted to leave Vermont. Why else would he go and apply at other universities? With a small huff at herself, trying to keep the disappointment hidden, seeing she should be happy and encourage his dreams, she ended up focusing on the chocolate batter instead. Girls did like chocolate, yes, and being somewhat emotional at this point made her more willing to clean out the bowl and to lick the spoon clean.

Being as angelic as she was, the blonde was completely oblivious to the sexual load all of this could have. Innocence practically radiated off her features as she looked over at him upon removing the finger from her mouth. Dude, Tanner really had to learn how to enjoy this. Then again, the quick dip meant more was left for her. At least if she wouldn’t spill half of it on his face because this was truly intriguing. ”Yes.” She replied matter-of-factly to his question before shooting a bright smile to mirror his.

”Are you really that hot?” You know, as in his skin due to his ability. Perhaps Ki should have opted to use ‘warm’ instead and to specify what she was referring to, but the fear of him misinterpreting it didn’t even occur. She was just too pure to think as far. And almost as if to get another confirmation, another thin line of brownie batter followed as a clean finger caught the melted chocolate before it could stain his clothes. Sweet!

”This is very… interesting.” Kiara concluded. ”Can I bake an omelet on you?” Joke, except not really. She was genuinely wondering about it now.

[Tanner Larson]

If Tanner's admission that he was considering leaving the area for college - a fact he'd assumed was fairly predictable - bothered Kiara, he certainly didn't notice it. Perhaps it was because he was oblivious, or maybe she was just good at hiding her feelings. It obviously wasn't his intention to upset her, though.

Frankly, the fact that she radiated innocence was exactly what made her licking her finger so positively alluring. He would swear on his life he had never thought of Kiara in that way before - never in a million years, they were just friends - but what guy could possibly resist the sight of a beautiful woman running her tongue over her own finger? As far as he was concerned, it would be weird if he wasn't turned on.

You just keep telling yourself that, Tanner.

When Kiara asked if he was hot, a hand instinctively found the back of his neck; his signature bashful pose. Actually, now that he thought about it he did feel a bit warmer than usual, and that was on top of his unnaturally high body temperature; perhaps it was just because they were standing near an oven and kitchens were usually pretty warm, but suffice it to say he was definitely feeling hot. "My skin? Heh, I guess. Just comes with the territory," he replied at length.

And then, of course Kiara had to put her finger back on his face, because he wasn't feeling bothered enough already. His eyes came to rest on Kiara's face as she seemed to study him. There were a lot of guys who would take the opportunity to kiss her now, but Tanner wasn't like that. Besides, they were just friends, though he couldn't help but wonder what it would be like. That was a normal thing to think about, right? "Thanks..." he replied vacantly, forgetting for a few moments to blink. Her next question snapped him out of this trance. "Uh, I think I'd just end up with egg on my face," he replied with a bit of a laugh. "Umm, why don't we maybe get started on your dish?" He asked, and if his voice was a bit higher than usual, he would have to be forgiven.

(("Egg on your face" is a popular American expression that means to embarrass yourself in front of someone else. Yay for double meanings! I'm so clever.))

[Deleted]

It didn’t even dawn upon the blonde just how inappropriate that question might have been since she wasn’t even aware about the connotation, mainly because she didn’t acknowledge the sexual UNDERTONE to the way she ate the chocolate batter out of the bowl. So when Tanner replied, Kiara nodded understandingly and gave a smile that obvious read: that makes sense. Because, hey, they were in a kitchen after all. ”I’m okay with this warmth.” She concluded. ”It can almost compare to my fleece blanket.” Which she cherished so much.

While giving his cheek an extra poke before withdrawing her finger again, eyes travelled to meet his and she gave him a sheepish smile. Her thoughts didn’t even drift as far as considering the option of being kissed. They were just friends and she felt comfortable enough to allow him in her personal bubble. Plus, it made it so much easier to inspect the tiny bubbles. She didn’t retreat for that reason, yet did create more distance again at the next reply. ”Hey now!” The blonde replied. ”I’m not that clumsy. I’m-“ But she cut herself short upon spotting the expression on his face, able to tell that’s not how he had meant it. This was amusing to him? Pft. ”I… took that too literally, mh?” A goofy grin settled down for a second, and then she was grateful for the change of topic.

”Oh, right! Even though I’m sure I might not be hungry anymore after this.” Lifting the bowl an inch higher to indicate that was what she was talking about. Anyhow, Tanner’s idea was good. So she moved to grab a pan, filling it with warm water to make it boil faster, and then she put that on the fire.

”Do you want to slice the tomatoes and onions?” He didn’t wear any make-up. The line of eyeliner was incredibly thin (not even sure why she had put it on), but she was not going to risk it. Besides, it would be entertaining on her part for once.

[Tanner Larson]

Tanner smiled. "Me too," he breathed. And he was; sure, he was feeling a bit uncomfortable at that very moment, but he had a feeling it would pass. All guys were secretly interested in their female friends, right? Crushes were totally normal, right? Right. So this was really just a slight, brief deviation from their typical friendship and was clearly nothing to worry about. The idea of snuggling under a fleece blanket certainly sounded tempting, though. Except Tanner would probably overheat under a blanket; he usually just slept lying on top of his sheets so he wouldn't wake up covered in sweat.

Tanner couldn't help but chuckle as he watched Kiara realize the folly of her thinking. "No worries," he replied; it had been sort of an esoteric joke, and really it only made sense if one knew what the blonde boy had been thinking about at that exact moment. Trying to kiss his friend surely would havel eft him feeling embarrassed and, more likely than not, rejected. "Tomatoes and onions," the boy repeated aloud, searching for a knife and cutting board on which to chop them. "But if I start crying like a baby, I'm blaming you," he added with a laugh as he got to work cleaning the vegetables and then, eventually, cutting them up.

"So, do you have any plans for the holidays?" He asked as he continued with his assignment; he figured this was probably a good way to change the subject away from a situation that was making him a bit uncomfortable, and since Christmas was approaching quite rapidly, he was curious. "Do you get any time off between semesters?" Hammel, as she knew, gave the students the week between Christmas and New Year's Day off, which was always appreciated.