I pulled out of the parking lot and started home again, but the atmosphere in the car had completely changed. The tension was gone between us, which I was grateful for. Sure, the answer Asher had given me was pretty vague. But at the same time, it was true. The few times I had hung out with Noah, he had been pushy and made me a bit uncomfortable. It wasn't hard to see why Asher thought he was a bad guy. I didn't really want to see Noah again, anyway.

Asher grabbed my phone and started playing music, singing along quietly under his breath. His voice was rough and deep, sending chills through me. I wished he would sing louder, but I knew he didn't want me to hear him.

It felt good to have fully made up with him after yesterday's fight. Even though I had been angry at him today, I still missed him. It had only been a few weeks since school started, but we were already quick friends. I looked forward to seeing him everyday, and I was glad that our friendship wasn't ruined by the drama of the party and the fight.

By the time we arrived at my house, all the tensions seemed to be released from Asher's shoulders. He had definitely been worried throughout the day. He turned around, catching me staring. He just smiled softly at me before turning and walking into the house, going straight to the kitchen.

I raised my eyebrows and followed him. By the time I reached him, he was frantically opening and closing all the cabinets in the kitchen. The fridge was hanging open, and there were strawberries, whipped cream, and a few other things laid out on the counter.

"What are you doing?" I finally asked him, confused.

He glanced at me quickly before continuing his search through my kitchen. "Where is your mixer?" He muttered.

"Um... bottom drawer, on the left."

He nodded and quickly went to where I pointed, pulling out the large mixer and a few measuring cups. He walked back toward the fridge to grab something else before I grabbed his arm, stopping him.

"Asher, what are you doing?" I asked him again. He smiled, his bright white teeth showing.

"I'm making waffles."

"Waffles?" I asked him, still confused.

"Come on, you should remember this." He looked playfully disappointed.

"What?"

"Third grade? Your mom taught us to make waffles. We did it all the time."

Realization dawned on me, and I smiled even bigger than Asher. We probably looked stupid, just staring at each other with giant smiles in the middle of the kitchen. I felt the familiar pull of nostalgia as more memories of our childhood friendship flooded back. Waffles were the first thing my mom had taught me to make, and Asher always wanted to help. He loved to cover them with globs of chocolate syrup and whipped cream, even in the morning.

"You still remember how to make them?" I asked him. I knew the general steps, but I would need a recipe to know the exact measurements and ingredients.

"Of course." Asher muttered without looking up. He was still struggling to find everything in my unfamiliar kitchen. "You better help me or I won't share."

I quickly sprang into action, grabbing the rest of the ingredients we needed and tossing them on the kitchen island. Asher started measuring the flour and baking powder, while I added sugar and salt. One thing my mom taught us was never to use the box mix. It just wasn't as good.

Surprisingly, Asher remembered the recipe exactly. He laughed at my confusion and helped me measure the correct amounts of each ingredient.

"How in the world do you remember this recipe?" I asked him incredulously.

"Of course I remember it. Your mom's waffles are literally the best thing in the world."

"Yeah, I know, but it's been eight years."

"Nine, actually. And I thought you were good at math." Asher teased me, and I pushed him playfully in response. I added the butter and cracked the eggs while Asher stirred the smooth batter.

"Don't get any shell in it." Asher warned me, making me nervous. I cracked each egg carefully before he inspected them for any shells. I felt nervous with his gaze on me, being careful not to meet his eyes. If I did, I would surely lose focus and mess up the eggs.

When Asher finally gave his approval on the shells, I grabbed the waffle iron from across the kitchen and began heating it up. I wasn't paying any attention to Asher until I heard the crinkle of a bag from across the kitchen. I whipped around to face him. He quickly hid the bag behind his back and smiled guiltily.

"Not again." I groaned, and Asher smirked in response. I walked towards him but he just stepped backwards, keeping the distance between us. We mirrored each others actions, the island separating us.

I peeked into the bowl of batter, and my suspicions were confirmed. Asher had dumped an ungodly amount of chocolate chips in it, filling the whole thing with dark chocolate. I loved chocolate, but Asher liked so much chocolate in his waffles that he basically filled them with diabetes. Besides, I only liked milk chocolate. Asher was the opposite; he loved anything bitter.

"Asher!" I exclaimed, and he laughed out loud. I forgot that I was mad for a second as I watched his head tilt back, the musical laughter spilling from his lips. His eyes closed, his face serene and care-free. He didn't look this happy very often, and I tried to savor it while I could.

"Sorry, Angel." He smirked at me, knowing full well I would be too preoccupied with this new nickname to remember him ruining the batter with the bitter dark chocolate. He was right. The nickname took me by surprise. He called me Liv sometimes, but everyone did that. Angel was different, and I hated to admit that it made my heart flutter a bit.

I didn't even realize I was blushing until he smirked even more. "You look cute when you do that."

I blushed even more and pushed him away. He was just messing with me to distract me from the dark chocolate fiasco.

"You ruined the batter!" I complained, slowly dragging a spoon through it. Every inch was filled with chocolate. I pulled the empty bag out of his hands and saw the label. 85% cacao. Disgusting.

"It's better this way, I promise." Asher insisted.

"No way. 85% cacao is like eating dirt."

Asher rolled his eyes and stood next to me, spooning the batter into the waffle iron. I sat down, refusing to help.

"I can't believe you did this to me. They would have been so good." I whined.

He gave me a disparaging look. "Just wait, you will like them. Don't knock it till you've tried it."

I raised my eyebrows. "I tried them every time you did this in New York, and it was always awful."

"I'm pretty sure your taste buds have changed." Asher mused as he opened the machine and flipped the finished waffle onto a clean plate. I had to admit the smell made my mouth water. The waffle looked perfectly crispy and golden brown, with the chocolate melted inside.

Asher quickly made another one, putting it on the same plate. He then grabbed the whipped cream and squirted a generous portion on each waffle. I watched him carefully slice the strawberries and lay them out on the side of the plate. He grabbed the chocolate sauce, drizzling it over the finished product despite my protests.

"Isn't there enough chocolate?" I muttered under my breath. He heard me, a fake shocked expression on his face. I laughed at his exaggerated gasp as he put his hand over his mouth dramatically.

"There can never be enough chocolate." He stated definitively, sliding the plate of sugary goodness over to the other side of the island, where there bar stools for us to sit. I grabbed two forks and knives and sat down next to Asher. He immediately dug in, stuffing a giant piece of the chocolatey waffle into his mouth. The whipped cream smeared all over his mouth, and I laughed at his messy state.

"You've got something right there." I giggled, pointing to a glob whipped cream left on his lower lip.

He darted his tongue out to get it, missing by a long shot.

"No, there. No, to the left a little. I mean the right. No..." I tried to guide him, but he couldn't seem to wipe it off.

"Ugh, here." I murmured, reaching out to get it myself. I brushed the pad of my thumb across his full lower lip, removing the mess. His eyes stayed locked on mine the whole time, and I felt my heart rate increase dramatically. I quickly removed my hand and looked down. His hand drifted to his lip, tracing the area where my thumb had been. He smiled softly to himself before grabbing another huge forkful of the sweet food.

He ate in silence for a few minutes before he seemed to realize something.

"You haven't tried it yet." He said accusingly.

I shrugged. He glowered at me and cut a bite of waffle, holding his fork out to me. I tried to grab the fork from him, but he wouldn't let go. Instead, he held it up to my mouth and waited for me to bite it. I blushed as he fed me the bite, avoiding his eyes yet again. They always made me feel even more nervous.

I chewed the waffle slowly, savoring it. I could feel Asher's gaze waiting to see my reaction, and my lips turned up involuntarily. I hated to admit it, but the waffle was delicious. The bitter chocolate kept it from being overly sweet, and it was cooked to perfection.

Asher noticed my small smile and grinned winningly.

"I knew it!" He exclaimed.

I shook my head, pretending that I didn't like it, but Asher didn't believe me. He was too observant for that.

"Okay, you're right. They're really good." I looked over at him, but his attention was elsewhere. He was staring down at his phone, a tense expression replacing his carefree one. His jaw clenched and he ran a hand through his hair before sighing deeply.

"Asher?"

His head snapped up. He met my confused eyes and abruptly stood up, dropping his fork on the still-full plate. "I have to go."

"What? Where?" I asked him, but he ignored me as he quickly walked out of the kitchen. His mood swings seriously gave me whiplash. He had just been joking around with me, and now his face was hard and cold. I ran after him but I wasn't able to keep up with his long strides. By the time I reached the door, he was already gone.

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thank you all so much for being patient with the uploads! I'm really sorry I couldn't update twice this week (and I won't be able to next week either), but I just have so much going on with AP exams! Thank you all for being understanding. Next update will be Sunday, May 19.