PANIC | Jiper

Chapter Two

TW: Weight issues, not excessive.

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Jentzen pulled into his driveway, parking the car. He hopped out and waited until Piper had exited to lock it.

"Hey, umm, I already texted Liana and she said she was fine with you coming over. She's not home right now, she's out hanging with Jade," Jentzen said nervously.

"Did you tell her about..." she trailed off, "the incident?"

He shook his head. "I figure you wouldn't want her to know."

She nodded, relieved. "Thank you. I just...I'm kinda embarrassed, you know? That I just broke down like that."

"Hey," he said seriously, blocking the front door and facing her, placing his hands on her shoulders, "you have nothing to be embarrassed about. You've been going through a lot lately, and it's okay if it gets a bit much sometimes. Besides, you're the strongest person I know. If anyone can get through this, it's you."

Piper blushed and looked away. "Thanks, but you really don't need to say all those things to make me feel better."

Jentzen smiled cheekily at her. "I know. But I want to."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled. "You know, you might want to stop blocking the door."

"And why would I do that?" he teased.

She shoved him out of the way, running towards the door. He laughed, and shoved her back, away from the door. They started wrestling, each of them trying to get to the door. Piper pushed Jentzen to the ground, but he dragged her down with him, and they ended up next to each other on the ground, laughing.

"Because," Piper said in between breaths, "otherwise you'll end up right here."

"What, next to you? That doesn't sound too bad," he teased.

She blushed, before hitting his chest. He grinned and jumped up, reaching a hand down to help her. She took it, and he dragged her up, before opening the door.

"Hungry?" he asked.

She shook her head. "I had lunch with the squad before..."

He smiled. "Well, how much did you have?"

She gave him a strange look. "Enough."

He shrugged. "Well, I haven't eaten, so I'm making food. If you still want some, go ahead."

Jentzen knew that Piper ate too little. He knew that she was insecure about her weight, and that she compared herself to Emily and Elliana too much. Which means that she ate less than she should in an attempt to fit in more. He wasn't going to force her to eat more, but he was giving her the option. If she was hungry and felt comfortable, she could. If not, he would just have to be patient.

"I am not hungry," Piper said defensively.

Jentzen raised his hands in a calming motion. "And that's okay. But you are going to have to help me make the food, because I've been living off UberEats for the past year. I'm pretty much hopeless at cooking."

She raised her eyebrows. "And boiling pasta is that hard?"

He nodded. "Yep.

Piper rolled her eyes, smiling. "Fine. I'll boil the pasta if you cut the veggies."

Jentzen looked affronted. "Veggies? Who needs veggies?"

She gave him a look. "It's called being healthy."

He shook his head. "Well, let's just hope I don't die eating them," he said.

She rolled her eyes but smiled. "Just cut them, please. It's not that hard - use a knife."

Jentzen frowned. "And you're not worried that I'll go rogue and stab you?"

Piper snorted. "Oh please. You love me too much for that."

Her eyes widened and she realised what she said. "I mean-"

He shook his head, smiling awkwardly. "It's okay, I understood what you meant."

There was an awkward silence and Jentzen cleared his throat. They avoided eye contact as Piper grabbed a pot from the cupboard and Jentzen grabbed a chopping board. They moved around the kitchen in perfect harmony, as if they had done this many times. They handed each other ingredients like they could anticipate what the other needed. They worked quietly, but it was a comfortable silence, and the awkwardness of the previous moment quickly disappeared.

The pasta took 10 minutes to boil, and Piper somehow had managed to find some pre-made tomato sauce in one of the cupboards. Jentzen hadn't even opened that cupboard before. The vegetables were quickly chopped, and they set the table together. Jentzen insisted on getting a plate for Piper, even though she kept saying that she wasn't hungry.

"Just in case," he said. "Who knows? Maybe the food will look so good that you just have to eat some."

She glared at him, but after five minutes of sitting and watching him eat, she sighed and went up to get a portion. A tiny, minuscule portion that was probably still bigger than the salad she got at the cafe. Jentzen sighed, and got up. He grabbed the spoon from her and put more food in her plate. Just enough so that she might actually not go hungry all day.

She protested and tried to push him away, but he stood his ground. "Piper," he said sternly, "you do know you need food to survive? And not just rabbit-food sized portions."

"Rabbit-food sized portions?" she asked raising her eyebrows. "What does that even mean?"

He shrugged. "It sounded good in theory."

She rolled her eyes, but smiled and hit him in the chest. He grinned, before playfully shoving her shoulder.

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