I always had that dream like my daddy before me
So I started writing songs, I started writing stories
Something about that glory just always seemed to bore me
'Cause only those I really love will ever really know me

       The two brothers entered the room and saw Michela eating her croissant and drinking her coffee. Michela smirked at the two.

"What would you two do without me?"

Nicholas rolled his eyes at her.

"Whatever, just finish your breakfast and help,"

Michela chuckled and handed the second croissant to Justin.

"Here, it's good,"

Justin smiled.

"Thanks, Michela,"

Michela nodded.

"Okay, so we have to make apple pie, pizza, tacos, and ice cream,"

Nicholas nodded.

"Yep, get cooking!"

Michela rolled her eyes. She looked at all the recipes and saw that they have to start the ice cream first. Michela showed Justin the recipe and he nodded. Michela smiled,

"Okay chef Justin, we need 2 cups of heavy cream, 1 cup of whole milk, 2/3 cups of sugar, 1/8 teaspoon of fine sea salt, and 6 large egg yolks."

Justin nodded. He took out all of the ingredients, Michela smiled, she took out a small bowl. Michela put the heavy cream, milk, sugar, and salt in the bowl and put it on the stove.

"Okay, that's for five minutes...can you get the yolks separated? I suck at that,"

Justin chuckled and nodded.

"Of course Chef Michela,"

Michela smiled brightly at the name. Justin got the yolks separated. The two stood very close to look at the recipe.

"Alrighty...so we just gotta start whisking the yolks and then whisk about a third of the hot cream onto the yolks, then whisk the yolk mixture back into the pot with the cream..."

Justin nodded. Michela started whisking but was struggling a little bit, being used to whisking more solid objects. Justin smiled,

"Let me help you,"

Michela scrunched up her eyebrows, Justin thought she would say no because whenever she does that, she's about to be stubborn and say no. Michela sighed and nodded. Justin smiled. He walked up closer to Michela, both of their heartbeats quickened at the close proximity, and grabbed both of her arms. One of her arms was holding the pot with the other he started using to whisk more consistently. Justin tried to hide his blush and whispered.

"You have to make sure that you whisk it slower and thoroughly,"

Michela blushed and nodded.

"Got it,"

Justin let go of her and stepped back. He looked at the instructions and nodded.

"Alright, we can pour the cream in, do you want me to mix while you pour?"

Michela nodded and they switched spots. They finished that step and put the pot back on the stove on medium-low heat. Justin smiled and turned to Michela.

"Not bad Chef Michela,"

Michela chuckled.

"Not so bad yourself Chef Justin,"

They both laughed. They made small talk for a few minutes before they saw that the mixture was thick enough. Justin volunteered to strain the mixture through a fine-mesh sieve into a bowl. They covered it and Michela put it in the freezer after setting an alarm for 4 hours. Justin smiled.

"Ice cream basically is done, next up isssss...Apple pie!"

Michela's eyes brightened.

"I LOVE apple pie so much!"

Justin chuckled.

"Me too!"

Michela looked at Justin.

"Have you ever made pie before?"

Justin scratched the back of his head.

"Nope...you?"

Michela laughed and shook her head.

"Nope! This should be interesting,"

Justin laughed and nodded. They looked at the instructions and sighed, knowing that this would be difficult. Michela took out the food processor while Justin took out all of the ingredients. Michela put the flour and butter and put an alarm for thirty minutes. Justin nodded.

"I guess we should plan ahead as to what the next step is,"

Michela smiled and nodded.

"Smart! Yeah,"

Justin and Michela looked at the recipe.

"Well, Chef Michela, I think we need to put the things in the food processor next,"

Michela nodded.

"Yeah, we have to put in the flour, sugar, and salt until all of it is combined...but we also have to add vinegar and also ice water into the....feeding tube? Like 1 teaspoon at a time-"

"Tablespoon,"

Michela looked closer, narrowing her eyes in concentration, Justin smiled. Michela nodded.

"Yeah...1 tablespoon at a time....until the dough starts to be better, moist but not wet and sticky,"

Justin smiled and nodded.

"I think we can do this,"

Michela shoved him,

"This is only the crust dummy, we still got the filling and MAKING of the crust to do,"

Justin smirked.

"I'm optimistic,"

Michela shrugged.

"Yeah, I can see that,"

They took the flour and butter out of the freezer and put everything in the processor. They started it up and followed the instructions. Justin looked at it and nodded.

"I think that might be it?"

Michela nodded.

"Alright...who's gonna touch it?"

They made eye-contact and immediately did rock, paper, or scissors to see who will do it. Michela yelled out in victory when she won. Justin sighed and nodded.

"Fine, I lost."

He reached into the processor and touched the dough and immediately retracted his hand in disgust.

"Ew, not ready,"

Michela burst into laughter, she stopped when she saw Justin's mischievous glint in his eyes.

"Justin...what....what are you doing?"

Justin, after starting the processor again, was walking closer to Michela. That was when Michela realized what he was doing.

"NO!"

She started running around the table with Justin running after her. He finally got her and wiped his doughy hand on her arm.

"EWWWW! Justinnnnn,"

Justin laughed as Michela pouted and glared.

"Meanie,"

Justin smiled and wiped his hand on a paper towel and gave it to her and she grabbed it and cleaned her arm. They went back and saw that the dough was ready. Michela smiled hugely.

"YES! My favorite part is next!"

Justin laughed as he poured some flour onto the counter. The two got one ball and started flattening them out. Michela had the rolling pin and pointed it at Justin.

"So, Mister Belasco, what are your thoughts on this proposal?"

Justin chuckled.

"I think it is great! I'm very happy for my older brother, I know they will be so happy together,"

Michela's eyes softened and she smiled.

"What do you think about us being manual slaves?"

Justin laughed,

"Oh, it is SO not fair! To think that Nicholas would have the money to hire some help."

Michela nodded and continued the joke.

"I know right?! But NOOO he gotta be cheap and hire us for free, we are too nice to him Justin,"

Justin and Michela burst into laughter. They finally had to dough great. They finished up the dough and finished doing the next step. Michela smiled after taking out the pie bottom crust.

"Okay, now onto the filling!"

Justin said he would do it because he has some experience with tossing things because he has made the salad a lot of times. So, in a large bowl, he tossed apple slices with lemon juice, sugar, flour, cinnamon, vanilla, and salt. Michela watched in awe as Justin tossed everything until they were well combined. Michela helped him transfer everything in the pie crust dish and put butter on it. Michela cringed when she realized that the next step was assembling the pie. Michela looked at Justin.

"Okay Chef Justin, show off your artistic abilities right now, it's your time to shine,"

Justin smiled.

"As you wish Chef Michela,"

They laughed again. Michela preheated the oven and got the baking sheet on the middle rack and lightly greased a pie dish with Pam. Justin got to work on making the pie more:

Roll out the second disc of dough into a 12" circle and drape over apple filling, trim edges to 1", tuck overhang up and over itself, and crimp edges. Brush with egg wash and make six 2" slots in the center. Sprinkle with coarse sugar.

When he was done, Michela smiled in awe.

"Okay, that was talent!"

Justin smiled and nodded.

"Okay, so into the oven this masterpiece goes?"

Michela smiled and nodded.

"Yep!"

They set it in for 20 minutes and started to clean up the place just a smidge. After 20 minutes, they reduced the heat and put it in for 30 more minutes so they could see if it was golden brown. Justin looked at Michela.

"So, how is that speech coming along?"

Michela's eyes immediately shone and Justin's eyes softened.

"Oh, it is amazing! It is embarrassing for both of them and I love it so much! It is not anywhere near the wedding speech but it is perfect!"

Justin smirked.

"What's the most embarrassing thing you are going to say?"

Michela smirked

"Both of them have had dreams of the other,"

Justin's eyes widened and he burst into laughter.

"What's the weirdest thing you heard them say?"

Michela smiled.

"You look amazing in a chicken outfit,"

The two burst into laughter, they laughed so hard that they had to take a minute to breathe. Justin smiled.

"We should get Nicholas in a chicken outfit now,"

Michela fluid her arms widely

"I KNOW RIGHT?!"

They laughed again. They checked on the pie and it smelled amazing.

"Oh my god...do we actually have to give this to Ash and Nickey?"

Justin shook his head in amusement.

"Sadly, we do,"

Michela pouted.

"Finneeee...okay, the pie is done!"

They looked at the time and saw that it was around 3. Michela looked at Justin.

"We deserve a lunch break first!"

Justin nodded and smiled.

"Why yes, yes we do,"

They made sure that everything was fine to be left and they searched for some food. They found some chicken and sat down to eat it. Justin and Michela sat and ate in comfortable silence. Michela looked at Justin.

"Do you think the food will taste good?"

Justin nodded.

"I really hope so, otherwise this was useless,"

Michela chuckled.

"I wouldn't say completellyyy worthless,"

Justin tilted his head in confusion,

"How so?"

Michela smirked.

"We got to spend time together, so we could laugh at Nickey and Ash,"

Justin's heart beat faster when she said that they got to spend more time together. He nodded and smiled.

"Yeah, it was fun finding out that Ash had a dream where Nicholas was in a chicken outfit."

They both laughed again. Michela looked at the time and smiled.

"TACO TIME!!"

Justin chuckled and nodded.

"Taco time!"

They got up and went to the recipe Michela's eyes widened and smiled.

"Oh my god...this looks so good,"

Justin laughed.

"I think that's the point,"

Michela shoved him playfully.

"Shut up jerk,"

Michela put olive oil in a saucepan and put it over medium-low heat. When it was hot, she added the onion and green bell pepper and left it for about five minutes. Justin added the garlic and they left it for 3 minutes. They took turns stirring the water, black beans, rice, cumin, salt, and paprika with the onion mixture. While Justin was stirring, Michela added a bay leaf. When it was boiling, they covered the saucepan with a lid and put the heat to low. Justin smirked.

"Okay, so we have fifty-five minutes for that, let's start on the mango sauce."

Michela nodded.

"Yeah,"

Michela mixed the mango, red bell pepper, green onion, cilantro, jalapeno pepper, lime juice, and olive oil in a large bowl. However, she sneezed and received a 'bless you' from Justin. Michela nodded her thanks and smiled. Justin looked and saw that they were mixed evenly and put the mixture in the fridge. Justin brought out the skillet and put it over medium-high heat.

"Yeah...maybe you should do the stirring,"

Justin chuckled and nodded.

"Sure,"

Justin cooked and stirred the beef with chili powder, cumin, garlic powder, onion powder, red pepper flakes, oregano, and paprika in the hot skillet for 6 minutes and, with Michela's help, drained and discarded the grease. Justin smiled and nodded.

"Awesome, Tacos are done!"

Michela smiled and nodded.

"Damn they smell gooood,"

Justin nodded,

"And we have enough time to make the pizza!"

Michela nodded and saw how late it was getting. It was now 5.

"Okay, let's see what we got here."

Justin and Michela looked at the recipe , finally used to being close to each other and how fast their heartbeats get. They nodded. Michela smiled.

"Now this, should be fun,"

Justin laughed and nodded.

"Yeah,"

They put warm water in a large bowl, they both took turns sprinkling in yeast like the salt meme, both laughing while they did that. Michela sat on the counter for the five minutes they had to wait while Justin found that amusing. They watched as the yeast began to foam. Justin mixed in the flour, salt, sugar, and olive oil for a minute. They don't have an actual mixer in the house so they had to stir it themselves. Michela tilted her head to the side and furrowed her eyebrows.

"How do we do the next one?"

Justin smirked,

"Watch and learn, Chef Michela,"

Justin stuck his hand in the dough and started kneading the dough. Michela laughed.

"Don't you get tired?"

Justin smirked.

"Which is why I have you to help me when I get tired,"

Michela's eyes sparkled and chuckled.

"Fair,"

Justin got tired after five minutes and Michela hopped off the counter and took his place, she wrinkled her nose when she felt the dough surround her arms. Justin laughed but could not help but stare like Michela was at him. Michela looked at him.

"You could have mentioned how hard this could be,"

Justin laughed again.

"Now, where is the fun in that?"

Michela stuck her tongue out at him while Justin laughed again. She finished and washed her hands. Justin spread a thin layer of olive oil over the inside of a large bowl and placed the dough in the bowl, making sure that it was covered with olive oil. He set it aside to rise. He turned to Michela and smirked.

"Well, that was fun,"

Michela rolled her eyes at him. They had some more food while they waited for the dough to rise. After the dough has risen, they had to somehow divide it in half, which they just guessed by tugging at both sides until they separated. They put it in the fridge for around 30 minutes. Michela preheated the oven to 475 degrees Fahrenheit. They removed the dough and Michela and Justin enjoyed covering their hands in flour. Michela smirked.

"My favorite part!"

Justin laughed. The two got their own part of the dough and started flattening it on the counter full of flour. Justin had the greatest idea ever. He looked up and saw the look of concentration Michela had on her face: tongue sticking out slightly to the left and eyebrows furrowed. Justin smirked and grabbed some flour.

"Hey, Chef,"

Michela looked at him and shrieked when he threw the flour at her.

"JUSTIN!"

Justin started laughing. Michela glared and got a handful of flour and threw it in his face. He coughed out some flour and glared at her.

"Oh, it is SO on!"

Justin and Michela commenced in a flour fight. This was not a big deal because they were done with it and they just finished the dough so they only had to wait for the oven to be done preheating. Michela started running around again with Justin chasing her. They were laughing and smiling. Michela felt herself being lifted up and gasped in shock. The next thing she knew, she was slung over Justin's shoulder.

"HEY! Unfair!!"

Justin smirked.

"I don't know...seems pretty fair to me!"

Michela smirked and grabbed some leftover dough. She slapped it onto his hair.

"HEY!"

Michela laughed and landed on her feet as Justin was wiping the dough out of his hair. Justin looked at Michela.

"Oh, you are going to get it!"

He threw the dough at her and it landed on her arm. Michela quickly wiped it out. They were probably going to continue but they heard the ding that signified that the oven was ready. Michela smirked in victory.

"I win"

Justin rolled his eyes.

"Alright, alright,"

Michela smirked and hopped onto the counter as Justin put the pizza in. Michela smiled.

"So what do I get for winning?"

Justin looked up. He walked closer to her.

"Well, what do you want?"

They were really close together and made eye contact. The two felt their heart rate increase as always, but going faster than usual. Michela shrugged, trying hard to ignore the feeling.

"What can you offer?"

Justin wishes he could say what he wanted to say...but he couldn't.

"Hmmm...I can give you a brownie,"

Michela's eyes brightened and nodded.

"Yes! Brownie,"

Justin laughed and Michela hopped off the counter and the two went to the cabinet. Justin handed her a brownie and held up his own.

"To us and our amazing chef skills,"

Michela laughed and clinked his brownie with hers.

"To us!"

They took a bite and nodded in content. Michela looked at the kitchen.

"Do we have to clean up all of the flour?"

Justin then realized how messy the floor and counter was because of the flour war they held. Justin shrugged.

"We could tell Nicholas that him cleaning up after us is our payment,"

Michela smiled hugely.

"I like the way you think Belasco,"

Justin smiled.

"Of course,"

They looked at the time and saw that it was 8:50,

"We should assemble everything!"

Justin nodded, agreeing with her. And so, they took out all of the food that they prepared and laid it out on the counter. It looked very perfect and satisfying. Michela smiled.

"We did a great job,"

Justin nodded.

"Yeah, we really did,"

They marveled at their work. Justin saw that they had to put the bag of flour away. Michela nodded to him and the two went to the flour and Justin grabbed it. However, his hands were slippery and it slipped. Michela and Justin coughed as all of the flour was now covering them. Michela turned around to glare at him but when the two saw the other, they burst into laughter.

"Okay, now we really got our presentation down,"

Justin laughed and nodded.

"Yeah, Ashley will be so impressed,"

They laughed more.