The Girl With The Blog | ✓

One

I woke up to the smell of burnt pancakes wafting through the house, a far cry from the sweet aroma of a perfectly cooked breakfast. My first instinct was to groan, but before I could even fully rouse myself from sleep, the smoke alarm blared to life. The high-pitched shriek cut through the haze of slumber, jolting me out of bed. My feet hit the floor with a thud as I scrambled into some semblance of wakefulness, mentally preparing to confront whoever had turned our kitchen into a smoky disaster zone.

As I stormed downstairs, the commotion in the kitchen grew louder. I could hear Corey's frantic voice shouting, "Shit Blair's coming!" followed by the clattering of pots and pans.

"Yeah, I'm coming!" I hollered back, my voice tinged with annoyance. "Who the hell woke me up?!"

I rounded the corner into the kitchen and was met with the sight of Colby trying desperately to suppress his laughter, his shoulders shaking as he fought to keep a straight face. The charred remnants of what was supposed to be breakfast lay abandoned in the frying pan, smoke curling up from the blackened surface.

"You," I said, narrowing my eyes at Colby, "better run."

He met my gaze with a defiant grin, clearly unbothered.

"1," I began, my voice rising in mock severity.

"2," I continued, not even bothering to hide the smirk that tugged at my lips.

With a yelp, Colby bolted through the kitchen and into the living room. I didn't hesitate for a second; I took off after him, the chase echoing through the house. I caught up to him in the hallway, tackling him to the ground. We landed in a heap, and I smacked him playfully on the arm.

"Don't ever do that again," I said, laughing as I got up and almost collided with Devyn, who had just come around the corner.

"Oh, sorry Dev," I said, stepping back with a sheepish grin.

"You better be," she replied, her eyes sparkling with mischief. "I got you into this house; I can take you out."

"Oh, please. They all love me," I retorted, nudging Colby, who was now picking himself up from the floor.

"I bet you Colby would love it if you were gone. Then you wouldn't have to smack him all the time," Devyn said with a teasing smile.

"Oh, I don't even smack him that hard, Devyn!" I protested, though I was clearly amused by the whole situation.

Devyn laughed, shaking her head as she rounded the corner and disappeared from view.

I turned back to Colby, who was dusting himself off with a grin. I extended my hand, and he took it, letting me pull him to his feet.

"So, do you know what Sam had in mind for us to do today? I know he wanted to do something, but I wasn't sure what," I asked as we made our way back to the kitchen, the smell of burnt pancakes still lingering in the air.

"I have no idea," Colby replied, rubbing his arm where I'd playfully smacked him. "I'm just hoping it's something indoors. It's way too hot outside."

"I don't care what it is as long as we keep the demons out of it," I said, making a face as I glanced around the mess.

Colby burst into laughter at my comment. "Demons sound like Sam."

"What sounds like Sam?" a blonde head poked into the kitchen. It was Sam himself, looking curious.

"Demons," Colby and I said in unison, unable to hold back our grins.

Sam raised an eyebrow but couldn't help laughing. "I mean... you've got a point," he admitted, his laughter joining ours.

As we all gathered around the mess in the kitchen, the tension of the morning eased into a casual camaraderie. It wasn't long before we began discussing what to do next, the burnt pancakes and the chaos of the morning becoming just another amusing anecdote in our day.