𝘢𝘯𝘥 𝘐 𝘭𝘰𝘷𝘦 𝘩𝘦𝘳 • 𝘣𝘦𝘯 𝘣𝘢𝘳𝘯𝘦𝘴 [✔]

chapter twenty.

"Hey, sorry I couldn't stay. My niece kept texting me about her recital."

Ben heard the voice of his friend through his phone. He was currently in his LA apartment going over his script Edward had given him when he got a phone call.

"It's okay. Did she have a good recital?" He asked, putting down his script and getting up from his couch to get a drink from his kitchen. He quickly learned he needed to stock up on groceries when he saw his almost empty fridge.

"Yeah, she kept telling me she was nervous about falling, but she didn't. So, how did the dinner go?"

"Great. Met more people, and you'll never guess who was there," Ben grinned.

"Andrew Garfield?"

"No. Sorry to disappoint. Claudia!"

Ben heard Lucy drop something. He wasn't sure what happened, he knew Lucy was a clumsy person so the possibilities were endless. Lucy finally responded back to Ben.

"I'm convinced the universe wants you two together. It's not a coincidence that you nerds keep bumping into each other," she said. "did you talk to her?"

"Yeah, and i might have messed up. I referred to you as my date. I should not be allowed to talk ever again. I think that upset her." Ben continued.

Lucy sighed disappointedly. "I agree with you not talking ever again. What else did your mouth say, Mr. English degree?"

(:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅[̲̅:♡:]̲̅:̲̅:̲̅:̲̅)

Janis kept baking. Cakes, muffins, cupcakes, cookies. Claudia didn't know the reason why, but she didn't question her mom, mostly because her mom's baking was to die for. Claudia could smell the baked goods from her room. That's when she decided to take a peek in the kitchen. She found Janis dancing to The Ronettes while mixing batter.

"It's not my birthday or yours, and i have no idea when Edward or Layna's birthday is . . . is there a bake sale going on?" Claudia questioned the older woman.

Janis continued mixing. "No bake sale. But something very big is happening today. Take a guess, John Keating."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Claudia climbed on to the counter beside her mom. "let's see, did you get promoted at work?" Janis shook her head no. "Okay, I know for sure I didn't get promoted, so maybe Edward?"

"You're shit at guessing," Janis said.

"I thought they were pretty good guesses!"

Janis stopped mixing and placed her hands on her hips. "I would've guessed like Paul McCartney or Robert Plant visiting."

"As if! I'm more of a George Harrison and Bonham type," Janis replied. "maybe you can invite your cute english loving british man."

"I don't think he'll be interested," Claudia looked down at the ground with a frown. "plus i think he'll be busy doing actor stuff. He's a busy man. Busy with stuff."

Janis understood what Claudia meant. She was told everything about Ben by her daughter from how they both enjoyed books to his date failing to show up to dinner. Claudia thought it was stupid to feel sad since she barely met Ben, but Janis told her it wasn't stupid to feel sad ever. So Janis made a a chocolate cake for her daughter in hope to lift her spirits. (An: spirits lifted) (pls tell me u gets this reference)

Hearing Claudia talk about Ben reminded Janis of her the man she thought was the love of her life, Claudia's dad. Janis' mom swore they were soulmates, but the relationship didn't last long. Janis was happy for once and ended up raising a baby girl with her friend while trying to manage her own life.

An: y'all the place i applied to is so cute and it's an outdoor restaurant but omg i felt so awkward going up to this girl just to ask for the manager 😭✋🏼 also this was meant to be up sooner but i was watching shameless oops