I headed down to the field during lunch break. I was the only one on it for about fifteen minutes, which was pretty nice. I enjoyed the cool caress of the wind as it rid trees of their last leaves. Although it hadn't full-on started snowing then, heavy clouds dimmed the sunlight.

Unwelcome chatter popped my bubble when people began filling the field.

A few minutes later, the sound of approaching footsteps reached my ears. I left my eyes closed, hoping the person approaching would leave me alone.

Shortly after, the person stopped.

Then, Seth said, "Yo, Angelo, buddy, you sleeping?"

My jaw tightened. What kind of stupid question is that?

I smiled as I opened my eyes. "Sorry, Angelo is asleep right now, but I'm sure if you leave a message, he'll get back to you when he wakes up!"

Seth laughed and sat, slinging his arms around my shoulders. "Good one! By the way, why didn't tell you tell anyone about your plans with the vending machine?"

I stared at him blankly.

After a few moments, he cleared his throat. "So...you're throwing another party?"

I glanced at the arm slung over my shoulder.

He backed away. "Right, sorry. Personal space."

I nodded. "I didn't tell you about my plans because I only came up with them this morning-"

"Yeah, but you could have at least given us a heads up before you announced it in the-"

"-and also because I didn't want to."

An abashed look came onto his face. "Right, no more questions on that subject, got it."

I smirked. "Two hints taken in a day? There's hope for you yet."

"Uh, I'm...honored?"

Only lord knows why!

"Anyways, in response to your other question, I am."

He sucked in a breath. "Wow. Not like that's a terrible idea, but- you do know Dylan is throwing a party as well this Friday?"

"He is? Well, what a coincidence!"

Seth's squinted, then let out a loud gasp. "Wait, you already knew that, didn't you?"

I shrugged. "Maybe."

I stood up and began leaving the field. Seth followed suit.

He said, "Dylan's not going to like that very much."

Stopping in my tracks, I rose an eyebrow at him. "Seth, I got Dylan sent to Prickleberry's office today. I'm pretty sure the fact I'm conflicting with his party isn't going to make him hate me any more than he already does."

Seth opened his mouth to speak, but I beat him to it. "To be honest, you're disturbing me right now. I want to sleep."

Seth's face flushed as he began to back away. "Oh, of course- no, I didn't mean to..."

As the seconds went by, I fought the urge to slam shut his open mouth.

Finally, he said, "Uh, so... I'll be going now."

I nodded. "I'll appreciate it."

"So...bye?"

I scoffed.

. . .

A rich aroma greeted me when I arrived home that day. Without a moment's hesitation, I dropped my bag in the living room and headed to the kitchen.

Opening the door, I said, "Good afternoon, Pierre. What delicious dish are you- lord have mercy!"

Against my expectations, Annie was stirring something in a saucepan. Surprisingly, the kitchen was spotless! The white walls and tiled floor were gleaming, and there were no food stains on the island.

Annie grinned at me. "Oh, welcome home! Please, come in!"

I narrowed my eyes. "Annie, what's going on?"

Furrowing her brow, she chuckled. "Well, I'm cooking."

"I can see that. The question is, why?"

Annie peered into the saucepan. "Well, Pierre has the day off, and you don't want to starve, do you?"

"Trust me-"

"Done!" She switched off the stove and lifted the pan off it. Grabbing a spoon, she walked towards me with a smile on her face. "So, are you going to try it?"

Peering at the creamy looking reddish-brown paste, I shook my head. "No thanks, I'm fine. Sitting on a toilet seat and flushing out my innards isn't how I want to spend this afternoon."

Annie rolled her eyes. "Come on, you know you want to!" She brought the spoon towards my face.

I took a few steps backward. "Tell me, Ann, what does "I'm fine' mean to you?"

My stomach grumbled. Damn it!

Annie grinned. "Sounds like someone didn't eat lunch today."

"I wasn't hungry."

"Well, you must be starving now!"

My stomach gnawed as the rich smell of the sauce drifted into my nose. This is one of Annie's concoctions. I don't want another version of her alcoholic pancakes. Or her blueberry rock muffins that I lost a tooth in!

I grimaced. "I'll rather starve than- oomph!"

After Annie shoved the spoon into my mouth, my tongue caught burned. The heat spread across my mouth, bringing with it drops of sweat that began to run down my face.

"F-fuck! My mouth is on fucking fire!"

Annie gasped, covering her mouth with her free hand. "Oh my goodness, I'm so sorry! I forgot this was fresh off the pan!"

I raced to the fridge and yanked it open, wrapping my fingers around the first carton of milk I saw.

"Angelo, do not drink from the carton!"

Like hell I won't!

After drinking almost half of the carton, I closed it and put it back in the fridge.

Annie glared at me.

Wiping my mouth, I walked past her into the dining room. "Instead of glaring at me, how about you get me some spaghetti with that sauce?"

"Excuse me? Get it yourself!"

Settling down at the dining table, I shrugged. "You just set my mouth on fire, so you owe me one. Besides, look at it this way, this shows I like the sauce."

And I did. Although the heat overshadowed it for a while, the sauce had a rich mixture of flavors in it.

Annie brightened. "Hmm, I guess you're right. Wait here."

After a few minutes of bustling around in the kitchen, she came back with a plateful of my request.

Setting it in front of me, she smirked. "Enjoy."

I nodded.

She sat at the other end of the table, mumbling, "And he says you don't know how to cook!"

I took a forkful, savoring the taste. "I have to hand it to you, Ann, this is the first thing you've made that I haven't choked on."

Annie furrowed her brow. "Uh...thank you?"

"No need to thank me, I'm just stating a fact! By the way, where did you learn to make this?"

"I found the recipe online. But enough about the sauce, how was school?"

"I assume you want to find out if I apologized to everyone. I did."

She smiled. "And? How did they take it?"

I smirked. "Rather well!"

"Great! How about Aimee?"

I stiffened. "Not quite as well. But then again, I wasn't in the best of moods either when I found out she's dating Dylan."

Annie's eyes widened. "She's dating that prick? Are you kidding me? No way!"

"Believe me, she is!"

"But-Something like that can't continue!"

Yes!

"For once, I can one hundred percent say I agree with you." My elation lasted for a moment, after which reality crashed down on me. "Sadly, there's nothing we can do about it. I just have to live with it and hope I don't have to see Dylan's face much."

After a brief moment of silence, Annie said, "Well, maybe you don't have to..."

I narrowed my eyes. "What exactly are you getting at?"

"Listen, I'm going for dinner at a fancy restaurant on Friday. Why don't you come along and bring Aimee with you?"

I sighed. "I doubt Aimee will agree to come if I invite her."

Annie scoffed. "Well, duh! That's why you're going to tell her I'm inviting her."

I paused for a moment, reviewing Annie's words in my head.

After a while, I said, "Even if she does agree, what am I supposed to do there? Seduce her into leaving Dylan?"

Annie rolled her eyes. "Of course not, I'm not encouraging you to become a home breaker! I just want to give you and Aimee a nice night together to help mend your relationship. Who knows, she might even listen to what you have to say-"

Max walked into the room, looking disheveled in a rumpled pair of shorts and a jumper. Yawning, he rubbed at his eyes before they focused on me. "Oh, hey, Angelo."

"Hey. Off day today?"

Scratching his messy hair, he nodded. "Yep. Not feeling a one hundred percent."

"Clearly. You're never one to sleep in, much less skip out on work."

He smiled. "Actually, I woke up by eight today, but I crashed again around noon." His eyes drifted down to my plate. "So, what'd you think of the sauce?"

I shrugged. "Surprisingly, it's pretty good."

He chuckled. "Ah, there's no reason for you to sound so-"

Annie walked over to him. "Hey, can you come to help me check for my phone? I think it's somewhere in the living room."

Max groaned. "Now? But I'm starving!"

Ushering him out of the room, she said, "Stop being so dramatic, your stomach can survive a few more minutes. Besides, I'll whip you up some more of my special sauce if you do!"

He rose an eyebrow. "No offense, Ann, but I wouldn't consider adding a quantity of salt to my recipe-"

"Max!"

I furrowed my brow. Why does it matter if she copied Max's recipe-

I set down my fork. "Ann, you didn't make this, did you?"

Glaring at him, Annie pinched Max's arm. "Jeez, you don't know how to take a hint, do you? So much for twin connection!"

He grinned sheepishly. "Uh...sorry?"

I laughed. "Max, you have nothing to apologize for! Ann should be the one apologizing."

Looking at me, Annie crossed her arms. "In my defense... any master chef would agree that adding salt is a very integral part of- oh, who am I kidding!" Drawing out the chair closest to her, she slumped on it. "Go on, let the taunting begin."

I grinned. "Well, at least you aren't 'salty' about it! Give me a minute to cook up some of my jabs!"

Annie groaned, dropping her face on the table.