"I Wouldn't Mind, got it," Cody said scratching his chin as he thought of the song. He'd have to find the sheet music for it, but that wouldn't be too hard these days. By the looks of it, the song help an important value for Cassie, like it was a favorite of someone from her past. "I haven't been in love yet," admitted Cody shrugging his shoulders. "I can't wait till I do though will all I hear about it."

Getting up to help Cassie, Cody helped pull things out of his few cabinets. There wasn't much for her to use with cooking, so he couldn't help but feel guilty. From now on he'd be better at keeping them stocked with all sorts of goods to eat. At this moment they'd have to make do with what he had though. "If you insist," Cody agreed already looking forward to that next time. "After I teach you guitar you can teach me how to cook.


"French?" Cody thought out loud thinking about the meal they were going to create. Every time he pictured French-styled dishes they were complex or made with snails. He doubted that there was even a simple French dish to make, since it was French after all. "Isn't French food the hardest kind to make?"

[It's okay. I took quite a long time to reply too. No worries.]

Cassie cheered happily. "Yay! Thanks, Cody!" She quickly hugged him then drew back, still smiling. Then she gasped. "You haven't been in love? Ever? Not even puppy love?" she asked, looking as if Cody was missing something important.

"Deal," she agreed happily. Cassie smirked a bit at his comment. "Not all French dishes are strange and difficult. In fact, this one is easy. All you need is water, consomme, bread, shredded cheese, and an onion. First, set a pot of boiling water on, then add a block of consomme." She put the block of consomme right next to the stove as the water boiled. "Next... here's a pan! Um... put the butter in the pan and put the pan on medium. Saute the onion, which you should peel and slice into strips." Remembering a tip, she added, "Use a wooden spoon; it helps keep the flavor in." The water had boiled and Cassie, humming, put the consomme in and waited for it to become soup. When it did, she poured it gently into the pan and stirred. "Now, just have to add salt and pepper for some flavor." It was soon done, and Cassie poured the soup into two bowls. Placing the bread on top with the shredded cheese, she moved the soup to the microwave and set the timer for 4 minutes, 30 seconds. "It'll be done soon. Help me set the table?"

Apparently it was shocking not being in love yet, which made Cody kind of depressed about the whole situation. He'd always had been too serious in his past to prove to his father that he was a good soldier. Now that it was over he was letting his real personality out more, and he had yet to experience any kind of love yet. He was always too focused on something before, but when he thought about it he was ready to fall in love. "No," he smiled gently. "I hope that I will soon and that she'll be amazing, you know?"

Cody was amazed at how well Cassie could cook, it made him jealous and in awe of her skills. She must had practiced a lot to get this good. Before he knew it she was already done and he was left there wondering how she did everything so fast. "Uh," Cody said trying to get up to speed again. "Sure, I can help with that."

Rummaging through the cupboards he pulled out dishes and silverware and started to set the table. "It's amazing how you can cook like that," he commented.

At Cody's somewhat awkward expression and answer, Cassie let the shock drop from her face. "You'll never forget your first love. It's just not possible." She smiled a little, taking one of the bowls out of the microwave out and sprinkling some seasonings on top of it. "I hope that you the girl you fall in love with is very lucky, Cody. You're so sweet." Laughing gently a bit, she proceeded to season the other dish and put both on the table.

"Thanks for setting the table, Cody. Now, let's eat, shall we?" Cassie blew on the dish as she dipped her spoon into the soup. "I haven't told you that I wanted to be a cook when I was little, did I? I still do... it's just I'm too scared to go for an interview. I'm scared of rejection." She began to eat the soup and smiled. "It turned out pretty good, better than the last time, at least. Try some; it's not like it's poisoned," she quipped gently.

"Sounds like you've already been in love," Cody blurted out when he saw how she reacted to his comment. He couldn't help it--she just sounded like she was a professional in the subject. "Never mind that I said that," he said attempting to take back the comment. It could be a touchy subject after all.

"Yeah, no problem," said Cody as he sat across from Cassie. Egarly he picked up a spoon and shoveled the yummy bliss into his mouth. A home-cooked meal. Delicious. He could feel the muscles on his face relax. "You shouldn't be if you can cook this great," exclaimed Cody as be started to scarf down the food at a rapid rate. "You could even try to make your own restaurant. There's a closed building in Mineral Town that used to be one. You could probably open up your own place there."

Putting down her spoon, Cassie sighed. "It was a really long time ago, but yes, I guess you could say I was in love once. But he's gone now, so I have to move on." She laughed a little and looked up, smiling sheepishly. "But you don't really want to hear about it, do you?" She was sure that Cody couldn't be interested in her past. Besides, it was almost a polite way of saying that she wasn't really up for talking about her past, even if it was her own fault in the first place...

Cassie watched the younger boy's facial expression as he practically inhaled the soup. She giggled as he seemed to lose all expression and tension on his face. "Maybe sometime. I'm going to try and get a job at the Sundae Inn first. But since it's closed on Sundays, of all the ironic days, maybe I'll get a job somewhere around here. Then when I have enough experience and enough money to buy a building, I'll move here and start that restaurant." She smiled happily and looked out the window. "That sounds like a good plan."

[Sorry, just been super busy lately.]

"I wouldn't mind listening," admitted Cody to Cassie. "But that is only if you want to tell me--I figure that's sort of a private thing that you might want to save till we are closer friends. It just is something that if it was me, I don't know if I would want to talk about it with someone I've only know for such a short time. The memories would probably make me feel sad, so let's talk about something else for now. Like dinosaurs or animals of non-extinct status." Cody was really direct at changing the topic, even if he didn't really need to be. He just wanted to let Cassie understand that he understood and would be ready to listen to her when she was ready to tell him. There was nothing wrong with that in his mind.

At least the sight of Cody inhaling the delicious soup amused Cassie. Maybe they should just stick to enjoying the meal. "That sounds practical," Cody pointed out to her plan. "It'd be cheaper to buy an old building and with working a job first you have that cushion of cash just in case."

"If you need any help at with anything ask me," suggested Cody as he swallowed another spoonful. "Whether it is finding you a place to work if the Sundae Inn isn't hiring or fixing up the old restaurant to your liking I can help you."

She smiled weakly. "Yeah. That's a story for another time. It's nice to know you wouldn't mind listening." At his change of subject, Cassie burst out laughing, however quiet it was to her. "Well, then, did you ever like dinosaurs when you were little?" she teased gently, still giggling a bit. "Or did you like puppies and kitties more?" Maybe that was mocking him, but it was still going to be funny to see his reaction.

"It's a good plan, for me, at least," she agreed. "Maybe now that I'm sure someone likes my cooking so much, I'll go get a job tomorrow." A determined look spread over her face as she stood. "Yeah! I'm going to do that!" After hearing Cody's next few sentences, her determined expression dropped into a grateful and gentle one. Cassie walked over to Cody and quickly hugged him. "Cody... thanks so much. I know I can talk to you anytime, and mister, expect me to take advantage of that."

[Haha, no problem. And by the way, do you think we should start a new topic? This one's getting long.]

It was nice to talk about Cassie's dreams, because Cody wasn't too sure of his own. He did have a shift at the music store and still was bound to the army, but besides that he really didn't know what he wanted to do once he was done with that. Maybe he'd be like his father and do something like teach at a military school. "You're cooking is really good that I'm surprised that you didn't already have that job," complimented Cody.

Suddenly his digital clock on his stove caught Cody's eyes. "Woah," he said blinking a few times to make sure that his eyes weren't messing with him. Already it was nine at night! "It's gotten so late," he said pointing out the obvious. "Do you want me to walk you home? Yikes---I don't even know if the boats run this late! We were having a good time that I sort of forgot to pay attention to the time." He felt sort of flustered that he hadn't been paying attention to the darkening sky at all. "What if you can't get home?"

[Sorry, work. It sucks! D8 Anyway, we can start another topic soon based on Cassie's reaction. ]

Cody was easily complimenting her cooking, which caused Cassie to blush a little. "Well, I just don't think I'm ready for everyone to taste my cooking yet. It's too nerve-wracking for me. But of course," she smiled at Cody, "I know you'd be honest in a kind way, even if it was horrible."

Following Cody's gaze, Cassie's eyes widened and she squeaked. "Oh, no! The last boat ran at 8..." She sighed. "I guess I should go rent a room for the night? I mean, if I could..." She bit her lip and looked out the window. It was darker than she expected. It's what she gets for going to visit in the middle of winter, and not to mention she stayed pretty late. "I've overstayed my welcome, haven't I? I could just take the long way home..."

It was dark out, pretty cold too. There wasn't a guarantee that Ruby would be downstairs to offer her a room at this hour. "You can stay here!" blurted out Cody without thinking too much about how it sounded. Sure they both were young adults, but yet they were still like kids. A sleepover in other words. Now that he thought about it a rosy tint came to his cheeks.

"I mean you could crash here if you wanted," he stammered now suddenly nervous. "It's not like it's that big of a deal--my couch is a pull out so I could sleep there and you could use my bed, since it isn't lumpy like the couch."

Upon hearing Cody's offer, Cassie couldn't help but flush the tiniest bit of red. She looked down at her hands and bit her lip. "I couldn't... I mean, I'd feel bad making you sleep on the couch. After all, this is where you live. But if you insist that I stay here, I can take the floor..." The black-haired girl paused. "So I wouldn't be a bother, you know?" After all, she had stayed far longer than she'd expected. She'd feel bad, after intruding on her friend's home for so long, and then having him sleep on the couch.

But... he had offered. Oh, Cassie was so darn wishy-washy! She pulled a slightly sad face, but shook it off as she waited for Cody's reply.

[Sorry. It's short, but I have school. D:]

"Don't worry about it," shrugged Cody insisting that Cassie couldn't sleep on the floor. "I'm a soldier after all, and we sleep on the cold ground all the time. A couch is practically paradise to me and it's a pull out, so it is even better." He wasn't going to let her sleep on the floor that easily. He was way too stubborn when it came to things like this.

Already we got out the extra blankets for himself and threw them on the couch. "There is a bathroom to the right of my bedroom," Cody pointed out. "Just in case you want to wash up or something. I might have an extra toothbrush in the third drawer by the sink if you want, okay I might have like five because I like to buy them in stock."

He laughed, "It's kind of pathetic--it's just like my dad would do. He'd always complain on how it was cheaper, but I think he was worried that my younger brother might have used them for art projects or would stick them in the toilet."

[No worries. Work and school have been sucking away all my free time.]

[School is killing my time. Urgh, sorry that this is so late.]

Cassie giggled. "Why don't we draw straws, or flip a coin? We're not going to be getting any sleep if we keep arguing like this," she laughed quietly, smiling slyly. She noticed that he was being particularly stubborn about this, and figured that it was his upbringing as a soldier. She still couldn't get over the fact that he was in the military; he just didn't seem like the type to fight and injure other people.

What she didn't notice was her own face, and that she was staring out into space. Cody's voice shook her out of her thoughts, directing her to where the bathroom was, and informing her about the extra toothbrushes in the drawers. His laugh made her smile widely, and gently, more than she had in a long time. "Your family sounds like a group of... interesting people." She smiled, remembering her own family. "I remember that I used several things for art projects, and my careta- my parents," she cut herself off, "got so mad at me. I was grounded for weeks."

"My family is like a very conservative man married a hippie," laughed Cody. His mother was so free spirited; it was a wonder how she ended up with his dad. One thing was certain, he had a good life though. "I'm more like my dad than my brother, but I'm not as serious all the time."

There was just no end to it, so Cody couldn't help but cave into her request. Digging into his pants pocket he unearthed a single coin (one of the only few that he had to his name at the moment). Flipping it between his fingers he looked up at Cassie to ask. "Heads or tails? Winner gets to pick who sleeps where."

[You can say that. Why did I decide to be in Academic Decathlon? D8)