༺ M&M's ༻

     Sometimes, last-minute plans end up being the best plans. Even though Eddie and Natalie never made it to the movie — meaning that Megara had to sit through it with Phillip and Ej — she was still having so much fun.

     "One pack of Goobers, one pack of Reese's, and whatever the lady wants," Phillip spoke to the lady behind the register before glancing at Megara, who was right at his side.  "You can pick whatever you want," he pointed to the display of candy next to the cash register.  For it being Valentine's Day, the movie theater was surprisingly not as packed as they thought it would be.  Ej was running late (God knows why), so the two were stalling time in the lobby.

     Megara waved her hand.  "Oh no, I'm good, I was just going to get a small thing of popcorn."

     "Meg, you have to get something.  Otherwise, I will just buy one of everything," Phillip tilted his head, blonde locks swaying over his forehead when he moved.

     She snickered.  "Okay, okay, fine.  I guess just the M&M's."

    "Really?  Just those?"

     She nodded.  "Yes, I can pour some into my popcorn."

     Phillip turned to the lady at the register.  "Okay, a bag of M&M's and popcorn."

     They waited around for a while talking about nothing in particular until Ej finally showed up, and they could all walk into the theater together to be seated.  Megara watched as Phillip handed Ej his pack of Goobers, leaving him with Reese's cups.  So he's a peanut butter lover.

     The movie was just good enough to make Megara forget about everything else going on in her life, which was exactly the kind of break that she needed.  But she did stop at the water fountain as soon as they left the theater.

     "You guys want to go get a coffee?" Ej asked suddenly, to both Phillip and Megara's surprise.

     They slowly glanced at each other before shaking their heads in sync.  The three stood outside, and the sun was setting with every passing minute which meant though it was chilly now, it was about to get even colder.  Megara was still wearing her sweater and skirt combo, but she wasn't sure it would safeguard her into the thick hours of the night.  She was mentally hitting herself for not bringing a thicker jacket, especially because she walked to the movies.  "Um, no."

     "Oh," Ej said, a bit disappointed.  "I was just thinking..."

     "Go get your coffee man," Phillip cut him off.  "It's been a long day, you deserve it.  I'll take Megara for a walk, we can go see the ducks at the pond or something, yeah?" he glanced at her.

     "Sure, that'd be good," she said with a smile.

     While Ej was squinting his eyes in suspicion between the two in front of him, he reluctantly agreed.  "Yeah... okay guys.  Watch out, and don't talk to strangers."

     "Okay, dad," Phillip chuckled.

     Megara nodded.  "I also won't run with scissors or take the tray out of the oven without mitts."

     Ej clicked his tongue.  "Come on, you know what I mean.  Just be careful."

     "Yeah, you too," Megara said before blowing him a quick kiss, pressing her fingers to her lips.  "Gaston."

     Ej grinned as he realized her sarcasm was growing on him again.  Surely he had been friends with her when he was dating Savannah, but they never really got a chance to talk until she started dating Ricky, ironically.  He, for one, was hoping she would end up enjoying a bigger singing role in the show time.

     He walked to the coffee shop in silence, swaying his hands tucked deep into the pockets of his brown coat.  He wasn't sure why, but the entire movie he was too distracted by the idea of a hot mocha — which he surely had Ashlyn to blame for.  He was never much of a coffee person, to begin with, but he needed something to help combat the weather... as well as his broken heart.

     Savannah rubbed her hands on her dusty white apron as she moved light on her feet from counter to counter, using a pink oven mitt to slide a fresh pan of heart-shaped sugar cookies on the rack to be cooled.  She slid the mitt off her hand and waved it over the pan as if it would help the cookies be cooled faster.  As she slapped the mitt on the counter, she moved to the other counter to move a fresh pot of coffee from the machine, switching it with the empty coffee pot that was sitting on top.  The smell of chocolate strung through the air as she worked in complete silence.

     "You're working tonight?" Ej asked, breaking her out of her trance.

     She looked up at him, startled by his sudden appearance.  She suddenly felt a little embarrassed, more than she usually did by the kids from school seeing her in her blue collared uniform.  Her long blonde hair was pulled back into a low bun, but it wasn't secured as neatly as it should have been.  "Um..." Savannah shrugged.  "It's just another day."

     Ej nodded.  "So you didn't make any plans?"

     Savannah squinted her eyes.  "No... no I did not."

     "Cool, cool..." he rocked back and forth on his feet as Savannah exhaled loudly.  "Oh, um, could I please get a hot mocha with extra chocolate drizzle?"

     Savannah nodded, breaking eye contact to start working on his drink, pulling a dark red mug from the rack behind her.  "Extra chocolate drizzle?  God, Ej, are you feeling okay?"

     Ej rolled his eyes as he sat down on a stool at the counter in front of her.  "Very funny."

     "You want anything else?"

     Ej took his time answering, humming to himself as Savannah stared down into the mug she was pouring for him.  The only sound that could be heard was the clinking of a small spoon against the cup as she stirred.  "Well, what do you have?"

     "I just made a fresh batch of chocolate chip muffins," Savannah glanced over at a tray near the display that she had to clean up now from stacking the muffins into a neat line in the showcase.  "They should still be warm.  The cookies are too, but they need icing."

     "Wow, Sav," Ej said in amazement as she slid the coffee mug over to him.

     "Wait," she instructed, confusing him as she bent down to search for something under the counter, coming back with a large can of whipped cream.  "You can't have a mocha without whipped cream."

     Ej nodded.  "You're right, how crazy was I to think that?"

     Savannah popped the cap off as she spun it upside down and allowed the cream to pile on the coffee.  When she was done with that, she grabbed a nearby bottle of chocolate syrup and also dipped it upside down to pour it over the mountain she just created.  "So?"

     "So what?" Ej had been mesmerized by watching how she worked with ease.

     Savannah chuckled quietly.  "So what else do you want with your coffee?"

     "Um, a muffin would be great," he said.  In truth, he was a little unsure about it as he usually didn't stock up on so much junk food, but he found it hard to say no to her.  She slid one over on a small white plate before returning to cleaning up trays so she could get to icing the cookies.  He took a bite when she had her back turned to him and instantly hummed from the taste.  "Wow, these are so good.  Where did you learn how to bake?  'Cause I know it wasn't here."

     Savannah glanced over her shoulder as she dipped the used tray in the sink and scrubbed it with a blue sponge.  "Don't you know who my best friend is?"

     "You're right, my mistake."

     Savannah laughed.  "Yeah, Strawberry Shortcake has been cooking for me since I've known her and she's definitely taught me a thing or two.  Not complaining though, 'cause I'm grateful for it now.  These tips don't make themselves, you know?"

     Now it was Ej who let out a loud laugh.  "I know you did not just refer to Megara as Strawberry Shortcake."

     Savannah shrugged.  "It was funnier in my head."  As Ej began to pull his wallet out of his coat pocket, Savannah waved her hand at him and shook her head.  "Oh, no.  It's on the house."

     "Why?" he asked confused.

     "Uh, for keeping me company when I'm working Valentine's by myself?" she said, but it sounded more like a question when it came out of her mouth.

     "You don't sound too sure of that."

     Savannah tilted her head and looked at him seriously.  "Just trust me, it's on me."

     As Ej slowly began putting his wallet back, he nodded.  "Okay, well... thank you.  Thanks a lot.  I just couldn't stand to be around so many couples walking around today."

     "Yeah, tell me about it," Savannah motioned to the other couples sitting across the shop.  She huffed, swiping a dark blue cloth across the counters.  One thing about Savannah is that she was really good at picking up after herself.  "They're everywhere."

     Ej agreed with a tired huff.  "I know.  Even when they're not even trying.  I just basically third-wheeled Meg and Lip at the movies."

     Savannah stuttered in her swiping, nearly stopping in her tracks as she wasn't sure she heard Ej correctly.  "I'm sorry, Meg and Lip?  No Ricky?"

     Ej shook his head, quickly swallowing a bite of his muffin to answer her.  "No, he stayed late to run the waltz with Ashlyn per Miss Jenn.  He told her to have fun with us because she didn't have anyone else to spend the afternoon with."

     "Oh, she... didn't tell me."

     "Well, he just sprung it on her today.  Did Meg say he was going to take her anywhere?"

     Savannah slowly shook her head and stuck her bottom lip out.  "Um, no.  Honestly, I think we all forgot it was Valentine's Day.  But I thought Ricky would have done something nice for her."

     Ej sipped on the warm mocha as she talked.  "Mm, well, at least Lip was there for her.  Still is.  They were going to take a walk."

     "Right now?" Savannah asked, and he answered with another nod.  "Oh.  Well... good for her, I guess."

     "God, I can't remember the last time I came to this park," Megara took a deep breath.  "I think it was with my mom.  But I must've been in elementary school then."

     Phillip listened to her as she spoke.  "I can't really remember when you were that young, but I imagine you were very cute."

     Megara beamed.  "Cute and tiny.  Rita used to call me her Polly Pocket.  God, that feels like a million years ago."

     "Do you... see your mom often?" he quietly asked.

     Megara shook her head, watching her feet as she walked over cold grass and pebbles.  The ground was wet as if it had rained, but she gathered it must've been from the sprinkler system or from the ducks waddling in and out of the pond.  "I'd, um, prefer not to talk about her if that's okay."

     Phillip nodded quickly.  "Yeah, of course.  Sorry, that was kinda dumb of me."

     A small chuckle passed Megara's lips.  "It's okay, there's just nothing else I could really say about her."

     "Well... you like to bake, don't you?" he piped up, turning to look at her, which in turn made Megara look right back at him.  She slowly nodded.  

     "How did you gather that?"

     He lazily shrugged.  "A lot of baking metaphors.  You also always smell like cookies."

     Megara had to laugh at that, even though she didn't want to.  "Stop, do I really?"

     "Kind of," Phillip admitted.  "It's cute though.  It's like I'm walking around with an air refresher."

     "Hmm..." Megara hummed.  Was she allowed to accept compliments from people who knew that she technically had a boyfriend?  "I'm going to choose to ignore that because I don't know what to say to that."

     Phillip laughed.  "You don't have to say anything.  Tell me more about baking."

     "I've been doing it by myself forever," Megara admitted with a tiny sigh.  "My dad's not really that good at cooking — he'd rather order out.  He's been that way forever and I'm sorry, there are just so many Big Macs a girl can eat.  So I started learning how to cook.  But baking.  Baking is much more relaxing.  And rewarding, in my opinion.  Also, becoming a vegetarian was one of my New Year's resolutions."

     "That's amazing.  I should really try that, but every time I've tried to cook it's been a disaster," Phillip said, followed by a laugh.

     "Maybe you just haven't had the right teacher," Megara nudged his arm with her elbow, clutching onto the handles of her tote bag to prevent herself from further touching him.  He didn't seem to mind, as he even flashed her a heartwarming grin.  She smiled at her shoes as they continued walking, never mind the silence that followed them.  The air was getting cool, but the grass smelled of fresh rain and Megara swore she could see fireflies in the distance.  For a last-minute plan, it was shaping up to be one of the happier memories she had made in recent years.

     Megara was nearly home — swinging her tote bag from side to side, letting it swish against the fabric of her long skirt — so deep in thought that she missed the sound of a skateboard flying over cracks in the pavement near her.

     "Hey, you're home," Ricky's voice crept up, startling her.

     Megara spun on her heel to face him, Ricky slowing down on his skateboard as he neared her so he could better talk to her.  She relaxed once she saw his face.  "Oh, it's just you.  What are you doing out?"

     "I could ask you the same thing," Ricky sternly tilted his head.  Megara didn't say anything, only holding eye contact with him as he took calm steps toward her.  "How was it?" he surprised her by asking in a cool tone.

     "Um, it was fine," Megara nodded, drifting her gaze to avoid his eyes.

     "Just fine?" Ricky questioned.

     Megara bit her lip, raising her head and eyes.  It was then that he realized just how happy she looked.  "Yeah, it was really good."

     "Did he make any moves on my girl?" Ricky asked.  "Let me know in case I need to beat him up tomorrow," he then furrowed his brows and lowered his chin, acting tough.  It was an act he didn't do often, but he knew how much it bothered Megara.

     Megara remained serious as she stared at him.  "You... you vex me."

     Ricky rose a single finger to his ear.  "What was that?  You... you love me?"

     "I am praying for the next girl you lay your eyes on," Megara said earnestly as Ricky then cracked a wide grin, totally satisfied with his bothering her.

     "And with that, I bid you goodnight and farewell," Ricky said, clutching his skateboard in his hands as he continued walking past her.

     Megara watched him with close eyes, not a single move he made as he walked away went unseen by her.  She was thinking maybe he was just joking, just retiring early.  Instead, the longer he walked, the more she found words leaping up her throat.  "He didn't make any moves."

     Ricky stopped, turning his body around halfway.  "What?"

     "Um, he didn't make any moves on me, so... so you don't really have anything to worry about," Megara continued.  Word vomit wasn't usually her niche, but now that she started, she couldn't find it in her to stop.  Ricky fully turned around and started walking back to her.  "He is super respectful."

     "Really?" Ricky asked, his eyes darkening as he spoke to her.  "Nothing at all?"

     Megara quietly nodded.  She tried to look as serious as she could, but she knew she looked shaky and unsure.  "Nothing."

     "He didn't even touch you?  Reach for your hand, put a hand on your back, nothing at all?  Not even an arm around you in the movie theater?"

     She slowly shook her head.  "Uh..." she thought for a long moment.  "No.  Is that bad?  Is he being incredibly respectful or is it like... do you think he doesn't like me?"

     "He's crazy," Ricky scoffed.  "Any guy would be lucky to go out with you," he stated simply, but with his words, he shifted Megara's thought process.

     Megara found herself smiling at not only what he said, but the assertiveness that he said it with.  "Thank you, Bowen."  He nodded.  When they found themselves standing around for a long quiet moment afterward, Megara realized she didn't want the night to end just yet.  "Do you want to come inside for a while?"

     Ricky tilted his head.  "Meg, I hate to do this to you, but I haven't eaten dinner."

     Almost instantly she was laughing.  "Perfect.  I have this pasta recipe I wanna try," she motioned towards the door, and this time he did not wait at all to be further invited inside.

     After quickly converging everything for the pasta, and now waiting for it to finish baking in the oven, Ricky was in disbelief at how quickly she assembled it all.  "That's it?"

     "Well, I'm in the mood to bake cookies," she said as she flipped her braid over her shoulder.  Tote bag, their shoes, and Megara's chunky sweater were long discarded in the doorway and on the coat rack.  "But only a couple.  Could you check the tablet for a small recipe?"

     "I already know the drill," Ricky insisted, heading over to the counter where she kept her tablet.  "The last thing you were looking at... peanut butter balls," he read from the iPad.

     Megara shook her head.  "Not in the mood.  Just going to make some regular trusty M&M cookies, that's what I really want."

     Ricky nodded.  "Aye, aye, captain.  Right on it, ma'am."

     It was quiet for a good minute as Ricky concentrated really hard on flipping through the digital pages of notes Megara had made for her experiments in the kitchen.  "Hey, Rick?  Would you say I'm a good teacher?"

     "Mhm.  Taught me everything I know," he replied without leaving the tablet alone.

     Megara clicked her tongue.  "I'm being serious, Bowen."

     Finally, he broke away, dark eyes landing on her instantly.  "I am being serious.  I know you overwork yourself coming up with plans and schemes and any little way you could make someone's day different.  And you're probably just talking about cooking, which in that case, you never fail to amaze me.  But in every way I can think of, you are teaching me how to be a better person.  And it all starts with how I boil the water, right?"

     "I just... want to make sure I'm doing everything I can to help you out," Megara swallowed the lump in her throat, ignoring Ricky's dry attempt to make her laugh.  She was too far stuck in her own thoughts to catch it anyway.

     Ricky drifted away from the counter where he stood, making his way to where Megara distanced herself at the end of the island.  It was just yesterday she was warming leftovers to make quick burritos to feed him, and now she stood giving him lessons.  "Meg, you're doing everything and more.  It's my turn now," his hand found itself gently resting over her hip as her arms lay still at her side.  He didn't move her at all, instead stepped closer to her as if she was pulling him towards her purposely.

     Something felt off in her gut like the guilt was suddenly sinking in for using Ricky the way that she was.  It surely didn't help that he was so close to her so suddenly, outreaching his hand to cradle her.  Unfortunately for her, he always seemed to know what she needed, and more often than not, the comfort she needed came in the form of himself.

     "Okay..." Megara nodded.  "I guess."

     Ricky could see the look of unsureness in her eyes.  He wasn't sure there was much more that he could say at that moment to change the course of where her thoughts were currently going, and he knew better than most how much of a buzzkill overthinking was.  Still, he thought he better try.  Just tell her how you feel, it's so easy.  What's the opposite of word vomit?  Being closed off, he supposed.  Ricky then looked as deep as he could into her eyes as he said, "You deserve to be happy, more than anyone I know do you deserve your happy ending."