We can't

13

Irene laughed at Jackson's face, the girls laughing with her as she heard Wendy call out "We totally won that." Yeri grabbed Bambam's phone turning to the live "So Irene just broke Jack..." she said laughing as they high fived. The boys shook their heads at the girls snatching the live back, hell breaking loose seconds later. "No I want a re match." Shouted Jackson, "You finally recovered babe?" Irene asked laughing as the girls high fived her again. Wendy recovering spoke "As a reward...you boys need to get in the kitchen and cook. Cause I'm starving." She said sheepishly as Jackson wrapped an arm around her. "Awwww is my sister hungry....right boys let's get it....into the kitchen, chop chop, get your asses moving." He called as the girls laughed. Yeri stood on the other side "I thought you wanted a rematch Jack?" "Yeah oh well your hunger is more important, can't have you starving." He smiled at them as he put an arm around Yeri. Irene sat with the other two girls, her eyes over flowing with love as she watched him look after her girls. Jackson felt eyes on him, turning into Irene's awaiting glance as he offered her a smile, her heart melting as the girls pulled him back into a conversation. The boys walked into the kitchen confident, Irene full of laughter as were the girls as they wipped out aprons and hats, taking her phone she snapped a group photo of them secretly and then an individual one of Jackson, he caught her, before he began posing for her. She laughed as she uploaded them to her Instagram story, with the caption 'they call themselves the professionals, let's hope they don't end up poisoning us.' Jackson snatched the phone of her, glaring at her. "We aren't gonna poison you guys." Irene looked at him in disbelief as she shook her head walking off. Jackson's phone suddenly rang as he signalled for the boys to continue, the girls pointed a room for Jackson to have his conversation away from the noise, Irene watching, her eyes following him as he walked past, seeing the tension in his features as he looked at the caller ID. She felt something unsettling in the atmosphere, her heart pounding in restlessness. She quickly averted her mind by watching the boys prepare to cook, her head once in awhile turning to the room he was in.

The boys were a walking disaster. Pans hitting surfaces to hard, as Irene jumped, the girls laughing at how uneven the vegetables that they were chopping were. They laughed at how Bambam danced around the kitchen into the other boys who shoved him out the way laughing themselves. The girls making sarcastic comments were directed into the living room away from the boys who wanted them out. Mark rubbed his forehead. "Maybe Irene is right, we are gonna end up poisoning them." He sighed poking what they had placed in the pan, watching in horror as it turned black. He quickly placed something else on the stove as Irene walked in to get a glass of water, her face struggling to contain the amusement. "Do you guys need help?" "No!" They replied at once causing her to jolt as she took a step back holding her hands up in mock surrender. "Okay....I believe you." She said rolling her eyes. She walked out a second later, the boys sighing, releasing a breath they didn't know they were holding. It quickly went however as Irene dipped her head back in. "Oh and Mark...take it off the stove it's catching fire." His eyes widened as the boys turned, Jinyoung ran up to it, blowing on it as he dumped it in the sink, turning the tap on in a rushed movement, styling the whole situation out as he stood hiding the pan from Irene who wore a smug smile. "Looks like we should order out." She said, Youngjae agreed as the boys whacked him. Bambam walked up to Irene "get Jack. This is his forte." She nodded, saluting to him as they laughed before she walked out. She walked past the girls, entering her room hearing the frustrated voice of Jackson who seemed to be screaming to the other end, her eye brows furrowed in confusion as she heard "I'm not yours. I never was. Leave me alone and stay out of my life." Her heart suddenly constricted, her eyebrows furrowing in confusion as she tried to listen to the conversation, ignoring her conscious that told her not to invade his privacy. " I don't care. You had your chance. I'm not in love with you." She heard, her ears blocking everything else as she brought herself to knock on the door, she opened it seconds later, watching as Jackson turned to her eyes widening , as he rushed the end of the call hanging up as though he had been caught. They stood staring at each other for a minute. "Who was that?" She asked. "It sounded important. You didn't have to end it." He offered her a smile, a smile she could tell was forced. "It was work....don't worry about it, they just can't handle some stuff." She nodded, her eyes casting to the side, as she watched him lie to her, her mind plotting against him; as her heart tried to be rational towards him. Bias! Her mind shouted back, as an internal conflict begun. He walked up to her, his fingers brushing under her chin, pulling her gaze up to his. "Everything okay?" He asked, her heart telling her mind to register the sincerity in his eyes. She nodded at him, her voice betraying her as she felt him take a step forward, his arms wrapping around her waist. "Bam's calling you. They are about to destroy my kitchen Wang." She said finally, desperate to get his hands away. She heard him chuckle as he kissed her forehead, her eyes closing at the touch as he looked down at her "I'll save it don't worry." He walked past her, their hands slipping apart as Irene remained facing the wall. He kissed the side of her head. "I'll go and check what's going on." She nodded, wearing a tight smile as he smiled brightly at her. She refused to turn until she heard the door shut.  She let out the breath she had been holding her eyes lining with tears as she tried to work out what was happening. Her mind doing a full one eighty as it ran through possible scenarios. Her brain telling her every five seconds "We can't." She managed to steady herself after five minutes, her mood dropping as she walked out the door moments later, sitting with the girls, as she snuggled up to Wendy and Suelgi who immediately picked up on her mood. They looked at each other, as they watched Irene lean her head on Wendy's shoulder.
Irene turned watching Jackson in the kitchen as he took control of the fiasco that was occurring. She wanted to smile, and her heart was, but it wasn't reaching her face nor her eyes. His eyes moved to hers as she ripped away from him seconds after, his eyes tensing as he watched her snuggle up to Wendy more, the boys tapping his shoulder getting him to hurry up as his eyes moved back and forth from what he was doing to her.