Alice settled into a rhythm.

Mabel measured out ingredients and tossed them in; Ford read the recipe aloud (pausing to balance out Mabel's haphazard method of throwing things into the bowl); and Alice mixed everything into a suitable batter. Two ingredients later, Alice noticed that Ford had rolled up his sleeves to his elbows.

I could get used to that...

She didn't notice him returning the stare until he cleared his throat. Her ogling lasted just a moment too long. Alice cleared her throat, forcing her gaze away and rubbing the back of her neck with her hand.

"Alice?" Ford asked her.

"Yeah?" She replied, her hands suddenly sweaty.

"I just added the first cup of flour," He nodded down at the bowl. You can stir it in now."

"Oh!" She nearly jumped out of her skin, trying to ignore the heat in her face and stirring as Ford added another cup of flour. "Yes, sorry."

"Aww," Mabel suddenly chimed "Look at you two working so well together! It looks like you don't even need me to be perfect!"

Alice glared at Mabel, her face twisting, but Ford didn't seem to register the comment the way Alice did.

"That's not entirely accurate," Ford told the girl, a smile crossing his face. "You're an essential member of our baking trio. After all, who else is creative enough to come up with a unifying theme for all these cupcakes?"

"You're right!" Mabel grinned, ignoring Alice's cookie-burning look. "I haven't even thought about that yet! Hmm..."

Mabel stood on a chair next to Ford to reach the counter, hopping up and sitting at the edge of the counter.

"Lovey-dovey, or lovey-dovey," She pondered. "Gah, I can't decide!"

While Mabel worked it out with her creative genius, Ford scooped out the last cup of flour, wiping the excess back into the bag with his finger.

"Wait, I have a perfect idea-" Mabel grinned, throwing her arms up in triumph and promptly sending Ford's cup of flour flying into Alice's face. Alice coughed, wiping her eyes and sneezing. Flour caked her face, Ford's glasses, along with his nose, cheeks, forehead, and the front of his hair to the point where the color was indistinguishable from his usual grey streak. Mabel, thankfully sitting to the side at her perch, barely missed the explosion of flour, even with the various spots all over her sweater.

"Oop..." Mabel suddenly looked very guilty.

"It's alright dear," Alice muttered, wiping her face with a towel before handing it to Mabel. "Take this and dust off the flour."

Mabel attempted to brush the flour off her sweater as Ford took off his glasses, blowing puffs of white from the lenses and wiping them clean with the hem of his turtle neck. He managed to clear off most of the flour but missed a spot.

"Um, Ford?" Alice said with a sudden smile, trying to stifle her giggle.

"I'm fine-" He said with a shake of his head, replacing the glasses on his face. "I've had many messier adventures in my time than a bit of flour."

"No, it's not that-" Alice chuckled, reaching out and brushing the flour from his hair. He stiffened, his expression uncertain as she made the brief contact. Her fingers only ran through his hair for a second, but it was enough to feel how soft his hair was. Alice couldn't help the smile that tugged at her lips as she drew her hand back. "You had some flour there."

"Did I?" He asked, almost bashful. Mabel stopped dusting herself off, staring between Ford and Alice with such anticipation, that Alice was getting self-conscious under her attention. Ford seemed to notice too, because he took a step back, awkwardly clearing his throat.

"Uh, right-" He composed himself, it seemed like it was easier for him to talk to her without an audience if their conversation had taught her anything. "Flour. Mistake. Let's fix it."

The trio stared over the disaster zone on the counter, and Alice took a deep breath, clapping her hands together.

"The only thing we can do is take an educated guess as to how much flour was added and scale the amounts of the rest of the ingredients to match-" She said matter-of-factly, slipping her hands around the bowl and propping it on her hip.

"I was going to start over," Ford confessed, a sudden smile crossing his face. "But that's a brilliant idea, Alice. Mabel, do you have another bowl for this operation?"

"Good thing I found this mega-bowl for mixing!" Mabel grinned back at Ford. The bowl Mabel presented was more like a tub, but it was clean, and Alice transferred the batter over.

"Good call, Mabel," Alice said with a smile. "Are you secretly a psychic?"

"Nope!" Mabel chimed with exaggerated jazz hands. "It's a little thing I like to call... The Power of Mabel!"

Alice laughed, shaking her head as they began the post-flour mission. Alice measured out the ingredients, four times more, to match the flour that had been dumped into the bowl. It was an inconvenience, but not impossible. As she measured out more sugar, she caught Ford cracking two eggs at a time in each hand.

Show-off.

The kitchen was quiet during the bustle of measuring, adding, and remixing, but after a couple of moments, Mabel sighed.

"What's up, sugar?" Alice asked Mabel, her hands mixing the batter in the bowl.

"I dunno, Alice..." Mabel sighed, clapping flour from her hands. "It feels silly to talk about."

"Nothing is too silly," Ford said, tipping his head to her. "Well- That's a broad statement. But the point is we're willing to listen."

"Well..." Mabel sighed, glancing between them. "Grenda and Marius are throwing this party on Marius' yacht, right?"

Who? "Yeah?" Alice nodded, pretending she knew what the girl was talking about.

"They're really getting into the romance zone!" Mabel explained, her tone serious. "Grenda even told me that they... kisses!"

Ford only gave a mile acknowledgment, so Alice ramped up the reaction. She crossed her arms in front of her, eyes wide. 

"They did not-"

"They did! Can you believe that?" Mabel cried out, throwing her hands, a little more careful than before.

"No way-" Alice said with a shake of her head, Ford lost beside her as he took over mixing. "I can't believe it."

"And I'm really happy for Grenda! I am," Mabel said with a sigh, her hands falling to the counter. "But sometimes... I feel a little- Jealous. Grenda's one of my best friends! I don't get why I can't just be happy for her without feeling this way."

"Everyone feels like that sometimes, Mabel," Alice told her, crossing the counter and patting Mabel's hand. "All you can do is try your best to stay positive for her, even if you're feeling a little bitter inside. And just know, eventually, the feeling will pass. Everyone gets this way, even with friends. It doesn't mean you're a bad friend or anything like that. It means you're human."

Mabel glanced down at her hand, her lips pressed together, "Thank Alice..."

"And anyway," Alice continued with a smile. "If it's about romance? Mabel, you're only a teenager. You might feel like you're watching your friends get married and settle down so quickly, but that doesn't happen until you're much older."

Alice grinned, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You're a wonderful girl; you're smart and pretty, and you can make a mean batch of cupcakes." Alice raised her brow at Mabel. "I know that whoever you end up loving will be so lucky to have you, and that relationship will come your way, in time."

Mabel brightened, her eyes flickering up as she smiled, almost gratefully, before a thoughtful look crossed her face.

"Hmmm..." Mabel mused, her eyes flickering between Alice and Ford. "Getting married... I wonder when someone I know will get married."

She's non-specific, but Ford pointedly coughed into his fist.

"Wait!" Mabel cried out, her moral dilemma suddenly gone. "We need to make these cupcakes extra special before we can bake them!"

"I thought they already were," Ford asked, his eyes wide as he stared at her. "Weren't we going to split these into three parts, add food coloring, and marble them in-"

"No no! That's just special-" Mabel explained, hopping off the counter and brushing herself off. "I'm thinking extra special. I'm thinking- Explosion rocks."

"The candy?" Alice asked, doubt settling in her chest.

"Exactly!" Mabel beamed. "I'm gonna go grab my supply."

And she dashed out the door, footsteps carrying her up the stairs, leaving Alice and Ford in the kitchen.