Falling in Reverse

CHAPTER 5

"You i***t, you put in way too much rice krispies!" Wyatt growled, snatching the cardboard box of cereal away from the girl who turned into a cooking nightmare. He decided to throw on something casual that evening, because in the span of twenty minutes, his clothes were stained with various condiments.

"It's fine!" She jeered, rapidly stirring the gruesome mess she made in the pot.

They had decided to cook something simple— a rice krispies snack. But Stacey had made the whole process much more complicated than it should have been by convincing Wyatt that she was a great cook and she knew the "right way" of making rice krispies.

"Look at that crap, it looks disgusting!" He cried, pointing at the bubbling pot of mess. "I told you that we had to use the microwave, not the pot! Look how gross it looks now!"

"Shut up!" She snapped, dangerously waving the metal spoon around. "Like you could make it any better!"

"A blind man could make it better than you make it," he flatly stated. He grabbed the utensil that was used as a weapon away from her. "Throw this batch out, it's already hard burnt, and inedible."

"I can't," she refused. "I only bought one cereal box; we can't make it over. Just use these, they're not that bad!"

"Yeah, they're not that bad if you're planning to use them as murder weapons. They're as hard as rocks." He proved his point by banging a big piece on the counter.

"Then you make it!" She conceded, dramatically waving her hands upwards. "I think I have a cake mix somewhere, let's see how well you can cook." she challenged, going over the wooden cupboard and taking out a chocolate cake mix.

"Cake and rice krispies are completely different deserts!" Wyatt protested. "Cakes are much harder to make than rice krispies, how is this a fair challenge at all?"

"Chickening out?" A sarcastic, humored expression possessed her face.

"Give this to me," he snapped. Wyatt took the cake mix off the counter and started to read the instructions. Stacey hovered over him, trying to take a peek at the back of the box. She grinned when she saw that making a cake was much more complicated than she thought it would be. She acknowledged the fact that making a cake taste good was miles harder than simply making rice krispies, but his negativity got on her nerves. He had no right to complain about her cooking, especially when he was a crappy one himself.

Wyatt caught Stacey looking intently at the back of the box with him, and he shooed her away.

"Go away, go read some algebra books," he ordered her. He pushed her out of the kitchen. "I'll tell you when I'm done."

"You don't read algebra. You solve it," she harshly corrected him. She left the small kitchen that was connected to her living room. Before she absorbed herself in equations she shouted at him, "You better make it mouthwatering, Wyatt Griffin or I'll kick you."

His reply was brief.

"Don't worry about it, pigtails."

*

It wasn't the annoying that it wasn't Wyatt's signal that had attracted Stacey to walk into the kitchen. It was the smell wafting through her entire apartment— a warm, chocolate of perfection.

"Hiya." He greeted her, as she entered the kitchen. He gave her a crooked grin. "I was just about to call you, I'm done."

Her eyes darted from his conceited face to the beautiful brown cake on the kitchen counter. It was cooling off, but Stacey could basically feel the delicious smell enveloping her. She took a deep breath.

She had thought up of numerous insults directed towards his cake while she was in her room, but looking at the cake made them all disappear. Stacey's bottom lip jutted out.

"Finally," she blurted out. She tried her best to hide the nervous emotions that emit out of her body.

"There was enough mix to make two, you can eat one and we can bring the other one to class," he told her. He noticed her carefully hidden nervous emotions through her silence simpered. "Looks delicious, doesn't it?"

"It's just cake," she stated. She ignored his coy grin as she cut herself a piece and popped it into her mouth.

The chocolate dessert literally melted into her mouth. It was fluffy, light, and absolutely delicious; a little piece of heaven. The texture and flavor was perfect too— not too sweet bitter. She couldn't hide her crestfallen face.

"You cheated," she concluded. The delicious flavor rapidly spread throughout her mouth.

"It's that good?" He tossed her a face of victory.

"It's just cake, all it takes it following the right directions. Anyone could make it without ease," she informed him. She got annoyed by the cocky grin that was plastered on his face.

"Yeah, I thought so too, until I saw your cooking. Then I thought, wow, even with following the directions accurately, people can still manage to mess up food so badly." He grimaced when she kicked his knee. "But seriously, how do you live by yourself? What do you eat? And don't say your own cooking because if that was true, you might have died from food poisoning by now."

She hit him on the head with a wooden spoon, angered by the insult, but answered him anyways.

"I always buy food," she shrugged. She cut herself another slice of cake. "Or sometimes Vinz comes over and makes me something."

"What?" Wyatt asked in disbelief, a feeling of jealousy rising up his throat.

"What, what?" She was oblivious to his disapproving face.

"Why would symmetry come make you anything? Coming into a girl's apartment with the excuse of cooking, don't you think that's a bit fishy? I didn't expect symmetry to be that type of guy, he should be taught a lesson on manners," he scorned.

"You have issues," Stacey determined. She continued to eat her cake.

"And you have no shame, why are you allowing a guy come over to your apartment? Don't you know what happens when a girl and a guy are alone in a room together?" He asked her.

"Why are you lecturing me like you're my dad?" She snarled. "And if you haven't noticed Mr. Genius, we are alone together right now too. Is something happening? No."

Wyatt grunted at her logical point, leaning towards the kitchen counter. He stayed quiet, which gave the thought that had been bugging him for the past week a chance to escape

"Anyways," he started, breaking the thin layer of silence that had fallen. "How come you've been ignoring me this past week?" He finally mustered the question out. His eyes darted to the chocolate cake in front of him.

She curiously glanced at him, tapping the counter with her fingers lightly.

"I don't know. Isn't that what you want?" She murmured despondently.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm uncool," she admitted and shrugged her shoulders. Her face did not look sad at all; just the same emotionless expression it usually had.

Wyatt's face merely crumpled into further confusion.

She continued. "I have the uncanny ability to blend well against a white wall, why would you want to associate yourself with me? You don't have to go out of your way to talk to me."

Wyatt's face was stunned for a minute, before a wide grin spread over his face.

"Wow, are you actually caring about me?"

"Don't get carried away," she quickly dismissed. "I'm just saying don't pity me, I'm content with my life the way it is right now. I don't need your sympathy or friendship, so you drop the act."

"You don't get carried away," he told her. "I'm a selfish guy, why would I care about you in the least? I'm talking to you for my own benefits— I have fun when I'm with you."

A slight smile threatened to c***k her hesitant mask.

"Besides, you're my wifey, of course I'm obliged to talk to you."

The girl choked on the third piece of chocolate cake she was munching on. When the coughing didn't reside, he poured her a glass of milk. She chugged it down, giving him an intense glare.

"What?" She wiped her mouth away from a potential milk mustache. She ignored the light brain freeze she obtained from the cold drink.

"You heard me pigtails, you're my wifey. It makes sense— we slept together on the same bed, went to each other's houses, had a (flour) baby together, and now even cooked to

He smiled broadly, not minding the disgusted face she had on. "So now I forbid you from allowing symmetry into your apartment, it's a right I have as your husband."

"f**k off Wyatt Griffin," she answered. Her face twisted into disgust at his teasing. "I spare you one remotely caring statement, and you give me this shit."

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I say something to upset my wifey?" He continued to tease her with a drawl to his words. She was really fun to torture.

"Leave!" She exploded. He stood there, limp, as she tried to shove him out of the kitchen door. His impish grin broadened.

"Look, we're even having our first real fight. Aren't we so cute?"

"OUT!" She commanded, shoving him harder towards the door. He stood there with a stupid, lazy expression on his face, as she started to unlock the locks to the outer door. She opened it, and pushed him out.

"Not even a goodbye kiss?" He pouted.

Her face scrunched up into a ball of disgust, and promptly shut the door on his face. Her heart thumped loudly, not due to romantic inclinations— God, no— but because of burning embarrassment. She hated how easily he was able to get on her nerves; she was usually a calm, collected person. Well, in her opinion anyways.

Marry? Wife? She scoffed at his propositions. Desire for such things did not define her, and never will. In fact, she despised the idea of such intense, unnecessary commitment.

Everything had a time limit, and when that time limit came, feelings would expire; and God, when said feelings expired, the remaining pieces of emotions left behind hurt. It was crazy, continuously jabbing the heart with spikes of betrayal, regret, and denial. It was like poison; it consumed your every being before ultimately crushing you down. She unfortunately found this out from personal experience.

She didn't mind having the pain known at such an early age though; it saved her from future heartbreaks. She had iced up her heart, and no one was going to dare creep in. She had neutral feelings about this knowledge; being this way. Nothing was ever going to change that.

Yet, as she heard the soft, velvety peal of laughter escape from his lips down the hall through her closed apartment doors, she couldn't help but feel a strange unrest creep into heart.