Eternal Sunshine ✓

24. Winter Break: Kitchen vs Room

**please excuse any grammatical errors**

IN THE KITCHEN

"The recipe says we only need 1/2 cup of the olive oil, dumb ass. Not the whole damn bottle."

Malik gave his supposed friend the finger, grabbing a red Solo cup and pouring the oil until about halfway instead of just dousing it directly on the hot pan.

"Are you okay, man? Here, this is what they mean by 1/2 of a cup." Nelson passed the stainless steel measuring cup over to Malik, who looked as lost as ever trying to pull off a decent meal.

Malik took the measuring cup with gratitude. "Alright, alright. Give me some grace, Nelson. This is my first time cooking something other than a sandwich."

Nelson opened the boiling pot of water and picked up the box of spaghetti, giving his friend a look. "So why in the living hell would you volunteer us to cook dinner, huh?"

Malik shrugged. "Man, you know you wanna show off your cooking skills. You're benefiting from this too."

"Nah, Janelle is already well aware of my skills in the kitchen. You, on the other hand, are trying to impress Kennedy with something you aren't good at."

"Man, shut up," Malik said in a low voice, knowing Nelson was correct.

Nelson laughed as he stirred the spaghetti, before setting the wooden spoon down and letting them cook.

Turning to Malik, he asked him with a smirk, "So what's up with you two, either way? Were you able to stop being a pussy and ask her out?"

Still turned toward the pan, Malik's arm reached behind Nelson to grab the garlic and chili to add to the olive oil in the frying pan. He was stalling, trying to get his nosy friend off his back.

"So? You not gonna answer me?"

Malik sighed. "Mind your business, Nelson."

"And what's that?"

"I don't know, maybe think about how you not gonna make us fumble the bag the next game. We made the playoffs but the way you're playing, it's gonna be a short period before we're eliminated."

Nelson just laughed heartily. "Oh, so you're deflecting? I guess you haven't asked her out then."

Malik just threw a piece of garlic at his friend's head, making the guy laugh as if it was funny.

Steven spoke up from the couch. "It's been an hour and y'all aren't even halfway with dinner, stop playing around." This was the first time he was speaking since Nelson and Malik had promised the girls a delicious dinner.

Malik and Nelson gave Steven an angry look. Steven had been putting a damper on the whole group since the drive to the cabin. The tension was palpable between him and Tasha, and although she was trying to be happy so the group could have fun, Steven seemed to be purposely acting like an asshole.

"Maybe if you got up your ass and actually helped us, we would be done by now."

Nelson nodded in agreement. "You've refused to help us put the groceries away or even directing us on where the pots are, so you don't get to talk."

"We get that you're mad at Tasha, seriously we do. But man, it's been over a week and we know you miss her," Malik was whispering, hoping the girls upstairs wouldn't hear them.

"So just get over yourself and stop being so cold to her," Nelson finished.

"She was cold to me!" Steven was on his feet now, whisper-yelling.