This chapter was inspired by AllyKittyCat22 's speak now head cannon 🤭
Speak Now stood in the kitchen, surrounded by a mess of measuring cups, crumpled napkins, and smudged recipe pages. The aged cookbook in her hand had once been bright and crisp, but now its corners were soft with years of spills and smears. The book was open to a recipe titled "The Ultimate Mac 'n Cheese," and as she scanned the ingredient list, her mind raced with possibilities. Would it be better with a hint of smoked paprika? Maybe a dash of cayenne for a kick? She was so lost in her musings that she barely registered the faint crackling noise behind her.
The kitchen hummed with the soft thrum of the refrigerator and the distant chirp of birds outside the window. The late afternoon sun poured through the curtains, casting golden patterns across the cluttered counter. Speak Now's gaze drifted as she turned a page, fingers leaving light smudges of flour on the delicate paper. The scent of cheddar and gouda filled her mind's eye, and she imagined the creamy pull of cheese stretching from fork to mouth.
But the bacon in the pan was demanding attention she didn't know she needed to give. It started with subtle pops, like the fizz of soda bubbles breaking the surface. Then came the sharper hisses as tiny droplets of grease jumped to freedom, speckling the stove with faint, sizzling splatters. Unnoticed by her, the flame beneath the pan was set high, licking the edges of the cast iron and turning the strips of bacon from pink to brown—and then past brown to a deep, perilous black.
A bead of condensation rolled down the iced tea glass nearby, pooling at its base and dripping onto the counter in steady intervals. Speak Now absentmindedly licked her lips, tasting salt from the flour on her fingertips. It wasn't until the subtle smell of smoke became more of a bold, intrusive presence that she wrinkled her nose, brow furrowing slightly. The shift from the warm, pleasant aroma of cooking bacon to the acrid bite of burning meat was sharp, a jab that finally pulled her from her reverie.
Before she could process, the smoke alarm erupted in a high-pitched wail, startling her so badly that the old cookbook slipped from her hand and crashed to the floor. The pages fluttered and crumpled on impact, the text now upside down and irrelevant in the moment of panic. She spun around, eyes wide and heart thudding as she took in the sight of the pan on the stove. Angry smoke billowed upward, twisting like dark ribbons, and the once-proud strips of bacon were now curled and charred, their edges smoking.
"Not again," she whispered, voice trembling as she reached for the stove knob and twisted it to 'off.' The sizzle faded to a disgruntled murmur, and she grabbed a dish towel, waving it frantically beneath the smoke detector until its screeching relented. The silence that followed felt heavy, punctuated by the soft ticking of the cooling stovetop.
The kitchen bore the marks of her chaotic cooking process: a spill of shredded cheese here, a smudge of butter on the handle of a drawer, and now the lingering, acrid scent of nearly ruined bacon. Speak Now leaned against the counter, chest rising and falling as she caught her breath. For a moment, she stared at the blackened strips in the pan, feeling the weight of both relief and disappointment. "WHO SET THE FIRE ALARM OFF?" called an angry Red. "Not me!" Speak now replied. "Then what happened in here?" Red stepped into the kitchen, her arms crossed and an incredulous expression on her face. She took in the scene—the smoky haze, the charred bacon, and the disheveled countertops—and raised an eyebrow.
"Just a little culinary mishap," Speak Now said, trying to sound casual but failing to hide the hint of embarrassment creeping into her voice. She gestured toward the cookbook, its pages fluttering like a wounded bird on the floor. "I got a bit carried away thinking about the recipe."
"Carried away? More like a five-alarm fire," Red teased, a half-smile threatening to break through her mock annoyance. She stepped closer, examining the disaster area. "You were trying to make what? The Ultimate Mac 'n Cheese? More like the Ultimate Smoke Alarm."
"Okay, okay! I'll admit, my bacon skills might need some work," Speak Now said, chuckling despite herself. "But I had a vision! The perfect blend of cheeses, a hint of smoked paprika—"
"Too much dreaming, not enough cooking. Maybe we should work on the.. skills a little before you do this so you don't burn down the house yeah?"
"Okay... sorry I'll just let folklore cook.."
