Stealing Hearts

"How's Chloe been?"

Eleanor looked up from the cookie mixture that she had been working on for the past half an hour. She glanced at George roguishly, thinking that him asking her another question was only a way of distracting her so he could steal even more raw dough from the plastic cooking bowl. But the serious line around his mouth informed her that this time he was not aiming to be a cookie dough thief.

"She's been alright, why?" Eleanor asked sending him a curious look as she dumped chocolate chips into the dough, enough to be able to produce a heart attack.

"She looked a little tense last night," George said in thought as he pulled himself up to sit on the kitchen counter so that he could watch his girlfriend bake.

"Tense?" Eleanor questioned off handishly as she glanced at her recipe book again for advice on what temperature was best for the perfect cookies.

"Yeah she kept fiddling with the salt packets and I swear by the end of the night there weren't any left."

George was prevented from carrying on as the sharp slap of the wooden cooking spoon coming in contact with the kitchen counter top echoed around the room. Eleanor's eyes burned as she shot George a glare.

This was a sensitive topic for both of them, and it was the only one that was capable of producing an argument between the two.

"George we've been over this a million times since Chloe moved in here. She's been to a doctor and they said if she takes her meds she'll be fine," Eleanor snapped at George, sick and tiered of this always being on his mind.

"But does she take her meds?" George questioned with some anger, but making sure he didn't raise his voice, as this would only provoke Eleanor.

"George she's 18, she's an adult. She can look after herself now," Eleanor said agitatedly now waving the cooking spoon in George's face, some small bits of dough flying off and landing on the thin material of his skinny jeans, which left little to the imagination.

"I know I know El, I'm just worried about you, that's all," George said softly, not daring to look Eleanor in the eyes as he flicked the bits of dough of the dark blue trouser fabric.

Eleanor's stance softened at once and she placed the cooking spoon gently back down on the counter top, before leaning in and connecting her lips with George's. He relaxed almost immediately, knowing that for once he had said the right thing at the right time.

"I just get a bad feeling with you having to live with her all the time," George whispered after having pulled away from Eleanor rather unwillingly. He pushed a stray piece of dark brown hair behind her ears, his hand rested on the side of her cheek.

She nuzzled into his hand and placed her hand reassuringly on his knee.

"I know you do baby, and it's cute that you worry about me like this, but there's no need, honestly. She's okay now."

"Who's okay now?" Mark asked suddenly bursting into the kitchen and taking the scene in front of him in with wide eyes. "Woah sorry I didn’t mean to interrupt guys."

Eleanor laughed and said that it didn't matter; whereas the glare that George shot Mark told a different story.

"You're making cookies?" Mark squealed excitedly as he made a beeline for the kitchen bowl that contained the holy cookie mix. He was about to plunge his hand in and prise some of the raw dough away form the main mass, when the sharp impact of a wooden spoon on the upper side of his hand caused him to draw his thieving hand away from the cookie dough with a girlie shriek and hold it close to his chest.

"What was that for?" Mark moaned at Eleanor who was wielding the spoon like a Japanese samurai would a sword.

"There's going to be none left if you boys keep doing that!" She shrieked and waving the spoon at both of the males occupying the kitchen, who then decided that retreat was the best form of defence.

Twenty minutes later the steaming cookies were on a tray in the tiny living room of Chloe and Eleanor's apartment. Mark and George had eagerly anticipated the arrival of the delicious smelling treats, and so the minute Eleanor had placed the tray onto the table, the boys dived onto the cookies. She however slapped their hands back.

"We need to wait for everyone else to come!" She chided them with a laugh.

Both of the boys huffed and sulked until the door of the apartment flew open, revealing Dan and Emily walking in with identical smiles on their faces, Dan's arm firmly around Emily's waist.

"Oh my god what have you done with your hair?" Eleanor shrieked at her friend in shock.

Emily grinned sheepishly at Eleanor, and ran a hand through her hair that now lacked several inches.

"I wanted something different," she said with a laugh. "Does it look bad?"

"No not at all it's just… so short!" Eleanor said with mock protest, but a smile was on her face.

Emily's long blonde hair was now considerably shorted and reached just past her shoulder, after years of dedication to her long hair the change was a welcome diversity for Emily, but despite the initial shock Eleanor soon recovered and twenty minutes later Sam, Jack and Laura arrived, bringing the company of friends together.

When Eleanor had turned back to face Mark and George there were far less cookies on than she had originally placed on the tray, and a tell tail sign of crumbs lined the corners of both boys mouths, who grinned sheepishly under the accusing smiles of Eleanor and Emily.

"Are there even any left?" Jack asked from the other side of the room as he was helping Laura out of her coat.

"If you don't hurry no," Emily said, snapping up a cookie for herself before George could demolish any more.

"Hey Chloe, it's good to see you," Laura said with a smile to Chloe, who was huddled into an armchair as far as was humanely possible.

Chloe had been watching the interactions between the people around her with curiosity. How they could be so open with one another remained a total mystery to her. She could never be as frank with people as Eleanor was. She could never be as confident as Emily was and she certainly couldn't be as joyful as Laura.

There were certain things that Chloe just was not capable of doing.

She so badly wished that she could tell everyone here what only Eleanor knew. However Chloe did not know that George had been informed of her situation. He had managed to wring the answer from a very distressed Eleanor only six months ago when things had hit an all time low and he thought it best to leave Chloe in ignorance of his possibly destructive knowledge.

Chloe sighed, but smiled up at Laura who was still waiting for a response.

"It's wonderful to see you too Laura."

From out of the corner of her eyes she watched George pull Eleanor onto his lap and place a kiss on her neck. She watched Eleanor lace her fingers with George's and rest her head against his shoulder.

The unexplainable sensation took over Chloe again, causing her fists to bunch up and a muscle to jump in her cheek.

She knew what she had to do.