8/19 Instance: Not as Expected

[tears~fall~like~glass]

timeline: day after Bowled Over


Hope: Hope had made so many boxes of brownies over the summer that she had decided to branch out. She studied her recipe for funfetti brownies. Ok, simple enough. She cracked the eggs and got to mixing.

Johnny: Johnny stepped into the kitchen and froze in the doorway. Shit. He'd been putting off the whole 'talking to Hope' thing, and he really didn't have any desire to have a conversation with her now. Maybe he could just slip back out...

Hope: Hope didn't have to look up. She didn't have to hear him. She knew it was him. Panicking, she fumbled for words or a hello or anything. What came out was "Can you hand me the milk?" She wanted to smack her forehead.

Johnny: He had been in the process of turning to leave the kitchen and cringed, inwardly cursing, at the question. Heaving a sigh, he went to fetch the milk from the fridge, holding it out in offering with a mumble of, "Here."

Hope: She took it from him and set it down. "Johnny...." She started, not sure where to go next.

Johnny: Johnny stared down at the floor, shifting uncomfortably. He decided to just throw it out there. "Jess told me."

Hope: Hope shifted a bit. "She wasn't supposed to..."

Johnny: "She tried to avoid telling me. I forced it."

Hope: "I'm sure some part of you should be flattered." She told him as she measured. "It knew it had to get rid of you."

Johnny: "Not exactly how I thought of it, but yeah... I guess..." Johnny shrugged.

Hope: She started mixing again, unable to look at him. "I'm sorry for what happened."

Johnny: "Me too," he muttered, finally moving to get a mug from the cabinet and start the kettle.

Hope: "I need to apologize to Sue too..." She sighed. What a mess.

Johnny: "Probably a good idea. Things didn't go well."

Hope: "That was the intention." She poured her batter into the pan. "It's so hard to explain... and I don't even remember everything. Jess had to tell me parts of it." She set the pan in the oven and finally looked at him. "But I am sorry."

Johnny: "I am too," Johnny sighed. This was actually going better than he'd thought it was. "It was shitty of me."

Hope: "I don't blame you... you didn't know. And I didn't want you to know. I was worried about the wrong things. I get that now. And the next time I have a crazy psychopath in my head I know to get help sooner." She smirked a bit.

Johnny: "So..." he smirked as well, "Then, what are you doing about the one in your head now?"

Hope: "Hey!" She tossed some flour at him.

Johnny: Johnny gave her the best offended look he could muster.

Hope: "You're lucky you're cute." She informed him as she reached for a box of brownie box.

Johnny: "It has served me fairly well," he nodded sagely.

Hope: "Some of us have to rely on our brains." She read the directions, pouring the mix into the bowl.

Johnny: "I would think you aren't included in that group."

Hope: "I think my Halo recored verses yours speaks otherwise."

Johnny: "Pffft."

Hope: "It's ok to not be awesome at everything." She patted his shoulder... with a floury hand.

Johnny: Johnny watched the flour fly around like dust and frowned a bit, "I suppose."

Hope: "It's ok. I can kick your ass at Halo later if you want."

Johnny: "As long as you bring the brownies."

Hope: "I make no promises that these get baked." In fact she planned on eating it just as batter.

Johnny: "In that case..." he reached over and stuck his finger in the batter after he was finished making his tea. He considered the batter for a moment, and then he flicked it at her.

Hope: "Hey! You are wasting my precious!" She wiped it from her face then licked it from her finger. This was so hard and so easy all at the same time. She reminded herself that they weren't together. Shaking a little, she took a spoonful of the batter and ate it. She was going to need a truckload of this stuff.

Johnny: Johnny eyed her a bit as she licked her finger and shook his head, going to wash his hands, "You shouldn't eat things with raw egg in it."

Hope: "I can heal." She took another mouthful. How much longer could she hold out?

Johnny: "If there's a healer around."

Hope: "Plenty to choose from here." Looking down at the bowl helped somewhat, but how many bowls of brownie batter had she eaten over him? She should try and count sometime. "Though I should try using yours to bake with."

Johnny: "I imagine there's a lot of potential for char..."

Hope: "Something better to focus on." She blurted out as she poured the batter into a pan. She could do this... right? It'd be a few minutes of not having to think about him directly too. It was worth it.

Johnny: At that, he decided to focus on cooling his tea enough to drink and took a sip.

Hope: Hope set the pan on the stove and concentrated on heating just the brownie pan. And it worked. For a few minutes she didn't think about Johnny, but the moment he reentered her brain she burnt the brownies. "I hate it when you get to be right."

Johnny: Johnny grinned smugly over the edge of his mug.

Hope: Hope had to start cleaning up so she didn't have to look at him. She didn't trust herself to look at him.

Johnny: "Right... So... Halo later, right?"

Hope: "Right... and the non burnt blondies."

Johnny: "Awesome..." he placed his mug in the sink, fidgeting a bit before offering, "Well, I suppose I'll see you later..."

Hope: "Yeah." She smiled weakly. "See you later."