She wasn’t going to lie, she felt kind of bad, Ardelia knew she had a habit of taking things to heart and she also knew her defences usually went on the offensive instead. It was obvious as soon as she stepped into the kitchen that Beth had gone all out, this wasn’t just dinner, this was an event. Nobody had ever cooked for the brunette before, even growing up the only thing they’d eaten ‘round a table was ramen noodles. And that was usually when the TV was on the fritz. This was, well, as her eyes scanned everything in the kitchen the only thing she could think was that she had seriously underestimated the lengths Beth was going to, what, impress her?<br/><br/>That was lunacy.<br/><br/>Why would Beth need to impress her?<br/><br/>Because she’d already realised that Beth needed to create the aura of perfection, wasn’t that one of the reasons she found her so fascinating? The other woman hid behind perfection like a defence, everything she did, said, wore it was a shield. One that made Ardy both stunned and more than a little jealous; Beth was the type of person that people gravitated towards. The type people looked at and aspired to be.<br/><br/>And she was what? The perfect poster-child for why you should stay in high school?<br/><br/>It had taken a while for her to see that Beth didn’t resonate the perfection though, it wasn’t accidental, it was layers, something to disguise behind. Since that point she had endeavoured to see what was beneath the façade, though she wasn’t entirely sure whether it was to make herself feel better or to see whether she could show the other woman that perfection wasn’t always needed. Then again the brunette hadn’t ever achieved perfection so perhaps she wasn’t an expert. Part of her severely hoped the fiancé was at least ugly, one woman couldn’t have everything, it was unfair.<br/><br/>The change in her friend in the kitchen was almost instant, she suited the kitchen, something she almost said aloud before she bit it back realising it made her sound like a chauvinistic male. But she wasn’t male, so she made the observation anyways. A joke to break the tension that she was feeling from showing up here looking like she’d fallen out of bed, having clearly missed the entire tone of the evening.<br/><br/>“I’m not going to be that girl that eats without everybody” she laughed, “besides once I start there’s no way I’d leave you guys yours.” As if to note how hungry she was though she did pinch something long and crunchy from one of the salad plates. Seafood Beth had said; well the only fish Ardy usually ate came in the shape of fingers and covered in breadcrumbs, but whatever was cooking smelt amazing.<br/><br/>“I feel really underdressed here” she confessed, watching Beth check the food. Perhaps a little too closely when she bent over to check something in the oven. “I honestly thought it was going to be pizza or something. I didn’t know you were making a banquet.” The light teasing was expected, Beth might hide behind perfection, Ardy hid behind humour. The most uncomfortable she was the more inappropriate said humour became.<br/><br/><em>Yikes</em>, perhaps she was part chauvinistic male after all. Still, at least the boobs let her get away with it lest somebody suspect.<br/><br/>“I could run home and put something prettier on, since we have some time?”