Joel
It was already late into the night. June, having nothing else to do, decided that baking cookies at such an hour was a fantastic idea. Having burnt the hell out of the last batch they attempted to make, they were determined to redeem themselves.

The countertops were decorated messily with every ingredient under the sun you could possibly use to make chocolate chip cookies. Stray bits of cookie dough managed to find themselves in places you'd never expect; baking utensils and tools were thrown about haphazardly. June stood proudly in front of a mixing bowl, using their strong arms to fold freshly cracked eggs into butter and sugar. 

June had tied up their hair, a sight that is rarely seen. A short fluffy ponytail that looked similar to a pink pompom sat behind their head. Their dark eyes brimming with excitement, and a smile rested softly on their features. They very clearly looked content, despite the stress that brimmed beneath their skin whenever they were in the kitchen. Alongside their normal bright outfit, a pink apron was tied around their neck and waist. It's clearly done its job, because various food stains decorate the front. 

Continuing to mix the ingredients together in the bowl, June hummed whichever song was stuck in their head rather loudly. Bouncing around the counters to grab things, and overall having very little care for keeping things clean. June always managed to make a jingling sound when they moved. Their various beaded accessories bumping against each other was, arguably, annoyingly loud. 

The batter that sat in front of them was far from done, but June was confident. What could go wrong?
Andrew
What could go wrong? Well...

Curfew was rapidly approaching. Mel, ever the optimist, had decided to head to the kitchen for a meal, figuring she could prepare and eat something before curfew came - and if not, whatever, it didn't matter anyway. She'd just keep eating after curfew. Or something. Whatever. She didn't know. Or particularly care to *Think* That far.

*Thinking is hard anyway,* She... Thought, throwing the entire line of inquiry out with it. Except the food bit. She wanted food.

She threw open the door to the kitchen, walking in without a care in the world. The first thing she saw was not the imposing figure of June at the counter, but rather the mess they had left behind - specifically a small glob of something Mel couldn't identify on the floor in front of her. Without thinking, she crouched down to the floor, swept it up with her finger, and put it in her mouth.

It tasted a little bit like...

Mel's eyes lit up. She looked up at... June. June!

"JUUUUUNE!!! You're making cookies!! Can I have some? You better not have eaten all of them already, I want some!" She grinned wholeheartedly, standing up and failing to resist the urge to tackle hug June, regardless of what was currently going on.

Which meant that even more utensils and cookie dough would be flying everywhere.

Not that Mel had thought about that before running full speed at June for a hug. Thinking was hard. Mel would rather not.
Joel
June kept humming to themselves, moving through the kitchen with a smooth precision. A type of precision that seems to result in mass amounts of mess. June couldn't be bothered to care, they were having fun! Dumping a cup of flour into the batter, June picked back up their mixing spoon. 

Following their name being yelled, a small blonde figured launched herself into June. They recognized her by her voice immediately, it was Mel! June felt their mouth stretch into a smile, one that made dimples tease their cheeks. 

"MEEEEELLLLL!" June called back in response. Rather excited to see their friend, they dropped the bowl and hugged Mel back. The motion of the bowl so quickly being tossed down managed to knock over a small container of baking powder. It could be cleaned later June thought, they were focused on something more important.

The taller one wrapped their arms around the other, and swung her off the ground and around in one single swoop. June laughed and set Mel back down, letting their arms linger in a hug for a moment before returning their hands to the bowl on the counter. 

"Yes I am!" They tilted their head in a smile, a giggle dancing between their loud voice. 

"Oh! Of course you can have some!" June paused and looked down at the bowl full of half done batter. "When they are done baking though, raw cookie dough makes people sick. I know from experience." They nodded thoughtfully before laughing again. 

Mel really put June in the best mood possible.
Andrew
June put Mel in a great mood, too - and the cookies definitely helped as well. There was something sanguine about Mel when she was with June - a sense that the cheer and optimism were *Real,* Somehow, in a way that they usually weren't. Almost as if...

Right, Mel was still being twirled around in the air. She forced herself to laugh. Not that she wasn't happy, mind, she had just been so absorbed in her own thoughts and feelings that she had neglected to express said thoughts and feelings in a way that June could pick up on and respond to. She didn't want June thinking she *Didn't* Want to be lifted off the ground in a jovial hug.

As she regained her bearings, Mel peered down at the unfinished batter, ignoring the mess she'd made all over the kitchen. It didn't look appetizing, but the little glob she'd swiped off the floor had been sugary-sweet and delicious, so appearances were evidently deceiving. "Awww," She complained, "But it tastes so good!" She sulked for a moment, but only a moment, before going right back to smiling. "So when are the cookies gonna be ready? Can I help? I love baking!"

She did. But she wasn't any good at it. She had turned kitchens into exclusion zones. *And she'd do it again. Learning from your mistakes is for CHUMPS.*
Joel
June continued on with the cookies, the batter coming along rather well despite having a different consistency than they were used too. It wasn't anything *Too* Different so June decided to ignore it. 

Putting the ingredients together in the wrong order wasn't *That* Much of a problem right?

"They'll be ready soon!" June beamed. "And yes of course! Any and all help is appreciated." They sunk into themselves for a moment with an awkward smile, remembering the last time they attempted to bake cookies.

The spoon in their hand moved steady, only breaking to pour in more ingredients. At last, June dumped in an unholy amount of chocolate chips and folded them in. They lifted the spoon, and grabbed a bit of the dough off the tip. They put the dough in their mouth and realized it tasted surprisingly good. They closed their eyes in excitement and smiled, June was optimistic that this batch would go better. 

"Got any ideas on what else we could add before I start putting them on the sheet?" June looked towards Mel, a smile remaining on their features. Behind them, sat an already prepared cookie sheet. June turned towards it after washing their hands and began lining it with parchment. 

They awaited any and all suggestions from the other with open ears.
Andrew
Mel didn't know much of anything about June's baking proficiency, or lack thereof, so she just assumed they must be good at it. They're great at lots of things! Still, June almost seemed to shrink for a moment when Mel offered to help...

No, that wouldn't do. Mel would have to do something about that.

But not before she'd stolen a little bit of dough off the spoon too. She snatched a small bit with her fingertip, just as with the dough she'd found on the floor. It was amazing. She was right - June *Was* Good at baking!

*What else they could add?* Mel hadn't thought, let alone about that. She looked at June. She hadn't actually known June for very long, but... Well. June. Colorful, sickly sweet June. Like those... "Gummy worms!" Mel smiled like a goof. "Let's put gummy worms in!"

Right, those. She'd actually wanted to eat them on their own, but this was also good. Plus, she figured June would like the idea! That alone was exciting!
Joel
June finished lining the tray with parchment, and brushed their hands together with accomplishment. Mel's suggestion made June light up. They turned towards her, their eyes practically brimming with sparkles. Their smile was even wider than before, if that was even possible. 

"Thats a fantastic idea!" June walked over to the side of the kitchen Mel was on, and placed the bowl down in front of her. "Why did *I* Think of this?" June giggled. 

They looked around the kitchen for a moment, before finally finding what they were looking for. A rather large bag of colourful gummy worms. June ripped open the bag with one sure movement, and popped one in their mouth. The flavours were sweet and fruity, familiar as well. 

"Yep! These are good." June laughed. They had no doubt they were good, instead they just wanted an excuse to eat a gummy worm. Walking back over to Mel, they slid the now opened bag towards the bowl. "You should put them in, since it was your idea!" 

June gave Mel a smile, reassurance that it was indeed a good idea.

Feeling excitement bubble in their chest, they found themselves staring at Mel with fondness. They hadn't known each other for very long but June already knew that they were going to be best friends. Just then, something pulled June out of their daze.

"Fuck!" Hands to their cheeks, they called out. "I didn't preheat the oven-" They rushed over to the other side of the kitchen in a rather dramatic panic, their long legs carried them quickly. With the push of one button, the problem was solved.

June sighed in relief, then placed their hands on their hips with a proud smile. "Crisis averted."
Andrew
Mel beamed. June was happy, so Mel was happy. It was a good dynamic - simple, uncomplicated. When they were happy, they could just be happy together, and let their worries drift away on the wind. There were no questions to ask, no ifs and no buts, just a smile on each of their faces as they went about their lives side by side.

Boy, they sure were close for having known one another... A month? A month and a half? Something like that. It felt like more than that. Had it really only been a month?

It felt like they'd been friends forever.

Mel had been ignoring it until now, or simply hadn't noticed, but not only did she have butterflies in her stomach, but they appeared to have expanded their reach to her throat. She didn't feel great - though she loved every moment she spent with June, she was apparently also quite nervous about it. She was more open with June than with anyone. What if June saw what she was really like, and didn't like that version of Mel as much? What would happen then?

Mel *Knew* She hated thinking. With no regard for an excuse, she grabbed a gummy worm and tossed it in her mouth, pushing the mean thoughts back down in her stomach with it. After that, she dumped a good two-thirds of the gummy worms into the bowl and mixed them in, leaving the rest to share between the two of them while they waited for the cookies.

Suddenly, her attention was pulled to June by a loud expletive from their general direction. She wasn't actually used to June swearing - June didn't seem like the type - so hearing it was unexpected. 

It was not, however, unwelcome. Hearing June swear and seeing them panicking just reaffirmed what Mel already knew.

*They were going to be best friends.*

"We still have to make, like. What's the word?" *Portions de pâte,* She thought, unable to translate it. She did her best, still. "Umm... Potions! We have to make potions of the dough before it can go in the oven, right? So there's still time."
Joel
June walked back to their spot and leaned on the counter, resting their head on their hands while Mel finished the dough. Rather content, until something pulled their interest. They raised their head, and tilted it at Mel.

"Potions?" June paused, very confused. "What do you mean?" June felt bad for not understanding, but having a language barrier between the both of them was bound to make an interaction like this happen eventually.

They leaned over, and grabbed some of the extra gummy worms out of the bag and put them in their mouth. They looked at the bag and then the dough. They thought about what Mel said, and pursed their lips in thought. 

"You mean like, uhh." June paused once more, turning over thoughts in their busy brain. "Do we have to add more stuff to them?" 

June demonstrated with their hands, gesturing towards the other ingredients on the counter before looking up at Mel for reassurance. Their dark eyes met theirs, a soft blue. June realized how pretty her eyes were. Blinking for a minute, they couldn't put together the proper words. 

They turned their gaze elsewhere and let out a small giggle, it was almost embarrassment but definitely not awkward. "Sorry if I don't understand certain things, English isn't my first language."