Love Stems From Hate?

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
Makenna shrugged. "Think what you will. I am the best. No denying it." She stated, taking the first bite of her cone.

"A really long time." She admitted with a small sigh. She's cooked a few times since Highschool but not as much as she would have liked to.

---

Hayden caught the towel and dried off his hands before laying it on the counter.

"You are welcome friend." He said with a glint in his eyes before yawning and looking the time. "Yeah I believe I'm just a little bit tired" he said with a small laugh.

@ Beautiful Misery

Alex just waved her off, letting her think as she pleased, but he knew the truth. "Okay, you can think that if you want." This was probably one of the few times where he was letting his guard down around her. He was usually all about business but not now. "Why don't you cook when we get home then?" Alex offered with a slight grin.

--

"Speaking of which, I wonder where our parents went." It really was getting late and it sort of worried her that they weren't back. She was starting to even get tired herself, but she wouldn't admit that.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
"I will. And what I think is right." She added, always having to have the last word. She just couldn't help herself.

Hearing him offering to let her cook, her lips turned up to a smile. "Okay. I will. Now it isn't going to be as good as your chefs but I'll be damned if I don't make you love it." She spoke confidently as they pulled up to his place. Once they were out and inside, her icecream eaten by now, she headed for her room? She was staying her for a while so she could call hers. Right? "I'll be back. I'm pretty sure these clothes cost more than my life. I am not going to risk getting them dirty." She state before disappearing and returning in an old oversized t shirt of her own and old sweatpants. "Might as well be comfortable as I show you my talent." She smirked, cracking her knuckles for dramatic effect.

---

Hayden raised an eyebrow, seeing she had a bit of a worried look on he face.

"I'm sure they're fine. They'll be back eventually. Dad stayed gone a lot when it was just me, him and my mom." He stated. "Guess he's pulling your mother into it now." He joked softly as he yawned. "Okay I can obviously tell you are tired but don't want to sleep just yet. Any ideas on how to entertain ourselves?" He asked. "I suggested the awesome, completely awesome movie. Your turn"

@ Beautiful Misery

He took the smile on her face as a challenge accepted as he finished off the cone. Raising an eyebrow, Alex wondered if she could really cook, considering that she probably hadn't made anything since high school. All he really asked of her was that she didn't burn down his penthouse. Returning back, he went into his room to change into something that was more comfortable as she had. "Right, let's call it that. I will just sit here and silently watch then since I'm the judge and all." Leaning against the counter, Alex gave her a smirk that wondered if she would really be able to pull it off.

--

She really wasn't used to her mother being out and about so late, especially since she was pretty strict on times. "Your dad is being a horrible influence on my mother." Violet joked with a slight smile but it really did concern her. Looking around the kitchen, she knew that there was nothing that could be of use. "I don't know. Wanna play cards or something?" She offered with a slight shrug of the shoulders. "We could bet stuff."

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
Makenna rolled her eyes.

"Don't doubt be Copeland." She warned with narrowed eyes, though if you looked closely you could see a grin threatening her lips.

Looking around, she searched for the cutting board, once she found it she sat it on the cabinet.

She then grabbed a slightly large pot and filled with water and sprinkled salt into it before turning on the heat.

Meanwhile she began pulling out different ingredients and slicing and chopping them before turning away and adding linguini pasta to the now boiling water.

Reaching up she grabbed some Cajun seasoning and a bowl before tossing some chicken and the season in it. After it was coated she placed it in a skillet with butter and began sautéing it. When the chicken looked almost done she added the bell peppers, mushrooms, ect ect. After a few more minutes she lowered the heat and added heavy cream before stirring it and sprinkling basil, lemon pepper, salt, garlic powder, and pepper.

Before long she drained the pasta and added the sauce.

She did this all with such ease, it didn't seem like she hadn't cooked in heaven knows how long. She didn't even speak, too caught up, even happy, in what she was doing.

---

"He wasn't too great with my mom either." He mumbled shrugging a bit. He soon returned the smile to his face though and nodded.

"I'm not great at cards but yeah let's do that. Maybe I'll luck up and wipe the floor with you." He smirked.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
(I thought I posted before but apperently it didn't go through!)

@ Beautiful Misery

(The same happens to me! Mibbaaaa >.< )

Leaning back in the seat, he watched as she moved about the kitchen with ease, slowly getting back into cooking. He could see that she was enjoying it as she started to even zone him out. It was nice to see that she enjoyed doing something. Maybe should could become a chef for a living. Alex thought that it was refreshing to see her so relaxed as opposed to the stress she had been under. "You know, I could see if my chef could teach you new skills." He said as he leaned forward, seeing her draining the pasta with a lovely aroma. As much as he hated to admit it, he could feel his taste buds starting to water just from the smell. Now if tasted as good...

--

She really hadn't meant to make a comment like that, just thinking of it as a joke. Although, Violet was relieved to see that he hadn't taken it to heart. "Sure, you can think that but we'll see when we start the game." She grinned before running up to get the cards. Going inside of her room, she opened one of the drawers, grabbing it before realizing how dusty they were. It had been such a long time since she last played cards with someone. "Okay, pick your poison." She asked, meaning what game to play.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
Makenna grabbed two plates, splitting the meal between the two of them though giving Alex a bit more than her, she was still trying to get her appetite back. "Um yeah that would be cool." She said with a shrug. She seemed cool and collected however she was beaming with excitement about learning from an actual chef. She had never learned professionally.

Smiling at her creation she grabbed a fork and handed it to him before watching, waiting. "Tell me what ya think." She grinned, though she tried to mask how anxious she was to know what he thought.

---

"Okay. I must admit I've never really played a cards." He sighed softly.

"So you are probably about to laugh at how bad I am." He shrugged with a small chuckle. "Pick my poison for me. I'm scared." He joked.

@ Beautiful Misery

Although she played it off like she was cool, Alex was sure that she would have taken the opportunity in a heartbeat. Her performance in the kitchen was enough to let anyone know that. "This tastes.. horrible." He replied without even taking a forkful of the pasta before giving a chuckle. Waving her off, he actually placed the pasta into his mouth trying it. The taste was vibrant in his mouth and made him pause for a moment. "Makenna, you really shouldn't be working for me if you cook this well." He admitted placing the fork down to take a drink of water.

--

It was her turn to give the shocked expression since she had never met a person who didn't play cards. "Okay, so that should be a crime. Everyone plays cards!" She started to become animated as she shuffled before starting to deal. "How about.. we play Blackjack? It's really easy. You just have to add up things and I know that you're good at Math."

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
Makenna rolled her eyes when he said it was horrible. He hadn't even tasted it yet. "Just try it already!" She pressured, becoming more anxious by the second.

When he finally decided I take a bite, she waited. And waited. And waited a bit more before he finally spoke again.

"Wait? You actually like it?" She asked, not sure if she believed him or not.

---

He laughed at her shocked expression. It was probably similar to his earlier when she said she hadn't seen Lord of the Rings.

Hayden shrugged. "Sounds good to be" he grinned.

"Hey. You don't know be that well. I could be terrible at math for all you know." He teased with a knowing look. "Alright let's play. So you just add like it's that easy?" He asked her.

@ Beautiful Misery

Alex looked over at her not sure of how he could make it more clear to her that it was good. She was probably just shocked that he actually enjoyed it but the real question was how did a person not enjoy it. "Yes. Yes, Makenna." He gave a nod before twirling a forkful of pasta and holding it out to her. "You try it."

--

She rolled her eyes knowing that he was practically good at all of his academic classes,"Yeah, yeah. Sure." Makenna decided that she would be the dealer and passed him two cards before giving herself two cards. "Basically. Each card is their number value, face cards are worth ten, and ace's are either one or eleven. We have to get the closest to twenty-one as possible."

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
Makenna looked at him uncertainly before taking the fork and eating the bite. Her eyes widened a bit and she smiled.

"I mean I guess it tastes okay" she shrugged though she really was proud of herself, she just didn't want to brag. Even if she seemed like someone who would brag, she hated it. It was the one thing that truest got under her skin.

---

Hayden nodded at Violet, though he sure he probably wouldn't be great at this even if it was easy. He was bad luck when it came to games.

"Wait. So you can choice what the Ace is valued as? How is that fair to the other cards who are stuck with whatever number??" He asked in a joking tone though he sounded completely serious.

@ Beautiful Misery

There was no point in being modest over a meal like this, especially since she was confident in her food during the car ride. It was a complete attitude change with the product actually before them. "You think that this just tastes.. okay?" He raised an eyebrow at Makenna thinking that her taste buds must really be screwed up. It was probably all that hatred for strawberry ice cream.

--

"Maybe the person who created the game was bias towards the ace cards, I don't know." She gave a shrug. He would be the one to question something like that even though it was a bit of a joke. "Okay, so do you want to hit or stay? Hit, meaning, do you want another card? Stay, meaning, you don't want another card." She explained as she silently waited for him to pick something.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
Sure Makenna had been overly confident in her skills in the cat, but that was only joking around. She always knew she was a decent cool but honestly she didn't believe Alex would have actually liked her food.

"It's good alright." She finally said with a small smile that she tried to keep hidden. She then grabbed her own plate of food and at down beside him, beginning to eat. It actually was really, really good.

---

Hayden nodded. "Well that still is not fair to all the other cards."

He had ended up with a 5 and a 3 at the moment.

"Um.. Hit," he finally said. However after getting another card he sat his things face down. "We need some music." He said randomly.

@ Beautiful Misery

Alex gave her a light nudge as she finally came to terms with her own cooking, accepting that it was good. "Finally, you admit it. Now, we can enjoy your food," He continued to eat, enjoying every single bite. It was actually saddening to see the spaghetti go, cleaning off his plate. "I bet people would line up for this food," Alex commented, allowing his business side to take over.

--

She placed down another card for herself before passing a card over to him. The dealer had no idea what cards he or she had until the player finally decided to stay. "Music? Um, I could play some on my phone but you already know that I only listen to metal and punk rock.." Violet offered with a slight shrug, waiting for his next verdict.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
Makenna smirked softly at his nudged and continued eating but couldn't finish it all.

"Here." She said scrapping the rest of her food onto his plate and going to wash the plate. Hearing him say something about people lining up for her food caused her to roll her eyes.

"My food isn't bad but I highly doubt many people would line up for it." She said with a shrug. "My skills, though good, aren't very broad." She admitted as she began washing off her plate and fork and such. She then went on to cleaning up her mess.

---

Hayden eyed her.

"Hmm.. I totally took you for a classical music lover though." He teased before smiling. "Actually your music taste isn't that bad. I actually listen to some of it myself." He admitted with a nod.

"Hit."

@ Beautiful Misery

As she took his plate, Alex wondered what she was going to do before seeing her scrape the rest of the food onto his. How could she have not finished that was beyond him. "Okay, you're doing the modesty thing again, Makenna. I have an eye for potential when it comes to business. I thought you would have figured this out by now," He lightly teased before going back to eat another forkful of the pasta. Alex could have even thought about expanding her business internationally within a blink of an eye. "Which is why I said that I could set something up with my chef."

--

Violet just rolled her eyes at him since classical was definitely near the bottom of her list. Something about the genre just completely bored her to death. "Alright, then. You asked for it." She pulled her phone out of her pocket, scrolling to one of her softer playlists. Once she was finished, she slid another card over to his, placing down another card beside her anonymous cards.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
Makenna laughed softly. It was true though. He had good eyes on business, look where he was now.

"You would actually set up a business and I be the chef? I thought handing out business deals wasn't till at least the second date." She joked with an eyeroll, one not a date and two she couldn't believe he was serious. Why would he do that for her anyways?

---

Hearing a song by Falling in Reverse come on, Hayden grinned. "Great music taste so far" he spoke as he looked at his cards.

"Stay"

@ Beautiful Misery

Alex chuckled since he never handed out business deal even if this was the second date. He wouldn't waste his money on things that he knew would never make it but this.. this he saw potential in. "Of course. Why is that so surprising? We already went through how great your cooking is. Why don't you make something you love doing into a business?" That was what he had done and now he could barely stay away from his thriving business.

--

She merely just shook her head at him before seeing that he had finally decided to stay,"Alright, what's your total?" The music really set the mood for the atmosphere and made her increasingly in a better mood.

@ XxLithiumWingsxX
Makenna let a chuckle leave her lips and with a close enough look you saw doubt creep on her face.

"That would be amazing. But I mean. I don't think I'm deserving of a business." She said honestly.

"With the way I cook aside, it's just not a good a idea right now. Hell I don't even have my own place to stay yet and I won't let you help me forever. I can't accept this from you. It's too much. " she spoke before putting her clean dish where it should be. She hated depending on someone, which is slightly ironic due to her previous way to earn money. She had always been independent and right now it felt like Alex could boost her life in the right direction(he was already doing a damn good job about it) and she didn't like knowing her life was in someone else's hands.

"I think I'm going to go to bed." She spoke before walking down to her room before he had the chance to speak.

---

Hayden watched her. He noticed how her stress seemed to melt away as the music played. She seemed happier.

"19"