Rystelle

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A big smile broke over Sophia's face at Tim's answer. She agreed: that did sound good! Next time she knew to make him pancakes instead of waffles. Nice fluffy pancakes with strawberries and whipped cream! When Tim returned the question Sophia immediately replied, "Crawfish! Spicy boiled crawfish with the works! Red potatoes, corn on the cob, carrots, mushrooms, onions, garlic, sausage. And jalapenoes! Yum!" Sophia's mouth was watering just thinking of the spicy goodness. It made her want some right at that moment. She might have been small, but when it came to crawfish Sophia could really put it away! For some reason Sophia found herself excitedly flapping her hands as she exasperatedly declared, "Oooh! I can't stand it. I wish I had some crawfish right now! Ok, ok. Next question! Do you like to read?"

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Sophia couldn't help but giggle. Tim's face had been contorted into a look of deep concentration for so long that she realized that he was probably over analyzing things. To think that he was thinking so hard about what his favorite color might be. It was too cute and Sophia couldn't stop another giggle from escaping her as Tim finally decided he liked blue. "Blue is nice," Sophia said with a wide, friendly grin. "I like blue oceans and the blue sky. So! Next question. What's your favorite food? It can be a breakfast dish, lunch, dinner, or dessert." This one was probably a harder question, as Sophia herself really loved a wide variety of food. Still, if Sophia knew what Tim liked best she could cook it for him some time.

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It was a simple question, but it was a start. Sophia considered Tim's question for a moment. She liked a lot of colors really. Red, green, blue, purple, and black. But if she had to pick a favorite... "I like black," Sophia finally said. "The color goes with everything. How about you, Tim? What's your favorite color?"

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Realization hit Sophia and she declared with wide-eyes, "You're right!" They had been so busy trying to distract themselves from one horrible event or another that they hadn't done too much talking. "I feel like an idiot," she said, smacking her forehead with the palm of her hand. Then she grinned and said, "Alright then. Time for an in-depth conversation! How about we take turns asking questions about likes and dislikes and go from there?" It was a good place to start she figured. It would let them get to know each other better, compare their similarities and differences, give them something to talk about. Sophia wanted to learn more about Tim, strengthen their friendship. "How about you ask me something first?"

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Tim's words made Sophia extremely happy. She was glad that he enjoyed her cooking, but even more she was glad he enjoyed spending time with her. Sophia set her plate down for the moment and turned on the couch to face Tim, crossing her legs Indian style. They could talk for a while, she figured, and then get back to their food. "I'm glad you like it," she stated happily. "I like cooking, and it makes me really happy when people enjoy the food I make. And I'm really, really glad you like spending time with me. Honestly, I thought the first day was going to turn out to be such an utter disaster that you'd never want to speak to me again." Sophia was really glad that it hadn't. "And to be frank," Sophia continued, "I'd rather spend today with you than with my family. I love them and all, but some of them pry into my life too much." She grimaced at the thought of being pestered with questions concerning her non-existent love life. Then she smiled again and said, "Anyway, I don't have to worry about that tonight, so that's nice. Is there anything in particular you want to do after we finish eating? Games, a movie, talk?"

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"Sounds good to me," Sophia agreed. She set her plate down on the coffee table before making them both a glass of hot apple cider. With everything in its place they settled down on the couch. Sophia turned on the tv and flipped it to a channel with an old movie playing. She didn't like football and she didn't think Tim might either. Soon they were comfortable and enjoying their Thanksgiving dinner. Sophia felt really happy and relaxed. She didn't have to deal with her family asking her personal questions she didn't want to answer. She didn't have to deal with ex-boyfriends and fake friends. She didn't have to deal with weird tunnels that led to nightmare worlds. It was just her and Tim on Thanksgiving night, eating dinner and watching TV with a companionable silence set over them. Sophia didn't think she could ask for anything else. "Thanks for helping me with dinner," Sophia finally said, turning to smile at Tim. "I know it's not a traditional Thanksgiving dinner--steak instead of turkey and all that--but I hope you like it."

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"It's alright," Sophia reassured him, giving him a smile. "So long as you like it, that's what matters." She held the spoon out for Tim, thinking that he might take it from her. But instead Tim just leaned forward and ate it directly off the spoon as she held it out. Sophia managed not to be flustered, and she waited for Tim's response. "Well?" She asked hopefully. After a moment Tim straightened up with a surprised look on his face and said, "That's good. Like, really good." Sophia couldn't help but beam widely. She was always really happy when people enjoyed her cooking. "Great!" She exclaimed excitedly. "Let's make our plates then. Take however much of whatever you want." Sophia handed Tim a plate, fork, and knife. All the dishes already had their own serving utensils. "Shall we sit on the couch or at the table, Tim?" Sophia asked as she started to make her plate.

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As Sophia started to season the steaks she asked, "Could you husk the corn and peel the potatoes? Just put them all together in that bowl on the table and I'll sort them out later." Tim let out a resounding, "Uh..." Realization struck her and Sophia giggled a bit. "Alright," she said, smiling at him. "Give me a moment and I'll show you." Sophia washed her hands and showed Tim how to break the stem off of the corn cob and then peel off the husk. "Make sure to get off as much of the hair as possible," she instructed him, referring to the thin golden strands that surrounded the cob. She tossed the remains of the husk into the nearby trashcan and put the first corn cob in the bowl. There were four in total and so only three remained. Next Sophia grabbed one of half a dozen large potatoes and the peeler and showed Tim how to peel them so he would only take off the skin and not the meat of the potato. "You gotta get the bad spots out," she said as she used the end of the peeler to dig out a bruised spot on the potato. "Ready to try your hand at it?" Tim nodded and Sophia handed the unfinished potato and peeler over to Tim. She finished seasoning the steak and set it aside to absorb the seasoning and oil. Then she started preparing the ingredients for the cranberry sauce and set that to simmering. Once Tim was done with the potatoes and corn she smiled at him and said, "Thanks, Tim. I can take the rest from here. Go on and relax." Sophia took the now peeled potatoes and cut them up into little chunks and tossed them in a pot with some water. They went on to cook, and so did the corn in another pot. When those were nearly done Sophia took off the cranberry sauce and put it in a dish, then started to cook the gravy and steaks. The potatoes were the last thing to be finished and she drained them, tossed them in a standing mixer with butter, salt and pepper, and milk and mixed it all up. Sophia grabbed a spoon, scooped up a bit of the mashed potatoes, and tried it. "Hm," she mused to herself. Grabbing a fresh spoon, Sophia scooped up some more of the mashed potatoes and called to Tim, "Hey, Tim. Come try the potatoes and tell me if you think it needs some more of something."

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When Tim came out of his bedroom Sophia tried to keep her expression even. Still she couldn't help but stumble over her words as she said, "It's... uh, it's ok. It's not like it was intentional. I actually tried to text you to let you know I was here, but you left your phone on the coffee table." She picked it up, stood up, and handed the phone to Tim. "Come on," she told him, turning toward the front door. "Lets get going." Tim put on his socks and shoes real quick, then they locked the apartment behind them and were on their way. Once in the car Sophia had Tim hold the pies her mom had baked so they wouldn't get damaged. "My mom made those for us," she explained. "Lemon meringue and a cream pie with fruit 'n nuts 'n stuff. Both really good." Once they were at the apartment Sophia put the pies on the kitchen table. She told Tim to make himself comfortable, to put on TV or a movie or whatever he wanted. She asked if he had eaten yet, and when he revealed that he hadn't she made them a simple lunch with sandwiches and chips and put on a pot of coffee to brew. They relaxed for a bit and it was comfortable except for the bit of awkward silence that remained between them. It wasn't too bad, but Sophia made sure to keep some distance from Tim while sitting on the couch. Eventually it was time to start preparing dinner. Sophia had decided to make homemade mashed potatoes with gravy, homemade cranberry sauce, corn on the cob, and steak. Not your traditional Thanksgiving dinner, but with just the two of them Sophia didn't see the need to bake a huge turkey. "Mind giving me some help in the kitchen, Tim?" Sophia asked as she pulled out everything that was needed for dinner.

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Sophia quickly whipped her head around to face the other side of the living room. Her entire face was flushed crimson. This was why she had tried to text Tim to let her know she was here. This was the exact scenario she had been trying to avoid. There was enough awkward moments between them. They didn't need more. And yet they found themselves in them all the time. It was like Sophia and Tim were magnets for awkward and strange things. "G-good morning," Sophia eventually managed to choke out. "Um... I brought... I brought your jeans back. Washed. Like promised." She picked them up off the coffee table and held them out for Tim, reaching backward over her shoulder so that he could grab them without them having to look at each other. After a moment she felt Tim grab the jeans and she let go of them, letting him take them. "Thanks," he said, his voice still soft. "I'm gonna... um, yeah, I'm gonna go get dressed now." Tim made a mad dash for his room, leaving Sophia alone in the living room again. She raised a hand to her mouth, her face still flushed. Sophia had looked away quickly, but she had still managed to catch full sight of Tim's face without his hair in the way, noticed his lithe figure. Sophia realized she liked it. Liked seeing all of Tim's face with his hair slicked back, liked his tall, slim figure. She also liked that his hands that were larger than hers but still fit with hers perfectly; his smile when she could manage to get one from him; just being around him in general. And to be honest, she had liked sleeping next to him the other night. His was a warm and soothing presence, even though at times he was goofy and awkward. Or maybe because of that too. Suddenly Sophia started to lightly slap both of her cheeks with her hands, and then pulled at them. "Get it together, Sophia," she quietly mumbled to herself. "Get it together before you make a fool of yourself." Tim was her friend. A new friend. Not that she hadn't already known him for a long time. They had just never talked before. Yet here she was already developing a crush on him. She prodded her cheeks some more, rubbed her face in her hands, and ran her hands through her hair. She had to get it together. Keep cool. You couldn't just suddenly tell someone you had only recently befriended that you like liked them. Especially not someone like Tim. That would be like jumping off a cliff in the Grand Canyon when you're trying to learn how to walk. After a while Sophia managed to compose herself, and all she could do was wait for Tim to come out.