Red Roses ~Marcus Lopez Arguello

11~ Care

Kings Dominion, 6 pm

The sizzling of the masa on the pan is the only thing heard in her dorm, the smell, radiating throughout the room. She stood in her kitchen, her radio blasting as she cooked food.

A knock on her door catches her attention, and she takes off the unfilled gordita from the stove, and onto a plate. "Going."

She opens the door to be met with Marcus, no longer in his school uniform and now in a pair of black plaid pjs and a black short sleeve. She takes notice of the Converse she gave him, peaking its way through the baggy pants. He looks the girl up and down, taking note of her gray sweats, and tight gray long-sleeve.

She leans on the doorway, "Hey Argüello, what's up?"

He takes in the scent of her apartment, his stomach grumbling. "I was gonna ask if you could maybe help me with the lab work?" He opens his notebook, filled with the assignment from today. "I tried to go over it by myself but I-"

She laughs lightly, cutting him off. "Yeah, I'll help you." She walks back into her room, and he walks in after, closing the door. "Just give me a sec here." She walks back towards the kitchen as he takes in the smell of her room. He follows her and watches as she cuts open the gordita. He looks at her curiously, watching as she fills it. "What happened?" She asks the boy.

"Nothing just- what is that?" He scratches his ear, pointing to the food in her hand.

"It's a Gordita." He still has no clue what she's talking about. "Just, here. Take a bite." She hands him one and he takes a bite. "Is it good? It's my first time making them without my mom's help-"

"They're fucking delicious Delgado." He takes another bite as she laughs at his reaction.

"I'm glad. Are you gonna want another?" He just stares at her, frozen. She smiles back at him as she puts another one on the stove. "What?" She just giggles.

He just watches over her features, noticing how gentle her laugh sounded. It was different from the others, not those soft ones she always gives. And her smile was genuine, not like that of her drunken state or her little smirks. "You-laughed."

She rolls her eyes as she flips over the food. "Oh my god."

"There it is again!" He points at her, jumping off the counter.

"I can laugh Argüello."

"I know but it's just- it was unexpected." He stands right next to her, leaning one arm against the counter.

She looks over before pushing his head away with her hand. "Just- cállate and eat your food." He laughs and goes to sit down at the table, and she walks behind him, putting a plate down in front of him.

He looks up, smiling at her, before digging in. She goes back to the kitchen, finishing the last one up before walking to sit down with him, drinks and her plate in hand. "Jesus fuck Scarlett-" He mumbles before swallowing his bite. "Please cook for me every day." He begs, taking another bite.

"Sure." She takes a bite of her food nonchalantly as he perks up.

"Seriously?" He asks, mouth full of food.

She just grows nervous, scared that she was too forward. "Yeah. I-I mean, doesn't hurt anybody. Plus, it's good to have a home cooked meal. Better than whatever the hell they feed you in the cafeteria, right?" She looks away. He takes a sip of his drink, looking at Scarlett. He notices her nervousness. "So uhm, whenever you want, you can come over, you know, to have some food." It sounded more like a question.