Lizzie

I sneezed, rubbing my nose with my forearm and trying to dust the flour off my hands. I picked up the ball of dough before again, punching my knuckles into it.

"Gently, Liz." Tazi murmured in my ear as he reached over my shoulders and took my hands in his, guiding them. My heart skipped a beat and I smiled.

"Thanks. I don't think I'm very good at this." I laughed.

"Nonsense!" His mother bustled over and peered at the dough. "Everyone is good at baking. Are those cookies almost ready to go in the oven?"

"I'm not sure..." I joked.

Tazi released my hands and nodded to his mother. "Yeah, they'll be ready in a sec." To me, he added, "that's my mom's motto. I'm not too sure that it's true, though."

I giggled and nudged him with my hip. "Oh shush. Now show me how to split this dough, please, dear."

He rolled his eyes, a light dusting of blush on his cheeks. He stepped in beside me and split the ball in two, handing me one and taking the other. "Copy what I do." He instructed.

A few minutes later, the cookies were in the oven and both of us were covered in flour. Tazi's mother had kicked us out of the kitchen, telling us to go clean ourselves up. We traipsed up to our rooms to change, then met back in the front hall.

"Soooo..." Tazi trailed off. He wasn't very good at conversation-making. I scratched my cheek, thinking.

"Oh!" Tazi's eyes lit up and he turned to me. He's so cute when he's excited. "What did you think of the snow yesterday?"

"It was fun! Kind of nice that I actually had a coat for a change." I said, forcing a chuckle.

His eyebrows grew so knitted that I worried they'd never untie themselves. "What do you mean?"

"Well," I explained, "I lived on the streets before, and I was pretty poor. I'd get really cold whenever it snowed, and I could never find somewhere warm in the freezing weather. I always dreaded wintertime."

"Oh..."

"But don't worry." I smiled and hooked my arm through his, planting a peck on his cheek. Right there, in the middle of the hall, which was full of people. Tazi's face flamed and he mumbled incoherent words under his breath.

"I think of something much more interesting when I think of yesterday." I whispered in his ear, "don't you, dear?"

He blinked once, twice, then thrice before finally understanding. "Oh, that! Yeah, how could I forget?"

I shrugged and bumped my hip against his. "I dunno. They're pretty cute, though, am I right?"

"Of course, Liz." He sounded distracted, watching something across the hall.

"Hey, are you even listening to me?" I waved a hand in front of his face.

"What? Oh, uh, yes, of course!" He jumped and looked at me, nodding frantically.

I planted my hands on my hips. "Oh? What did I just say?"

He bit his lip and thought for a moment before his shoulders slumped. "Okay, fine, you're right. I wasn't listening."

I tapped his chest. "I knew it!"

Tazi grabbed my hand. "Whatever. It's been about half an hour. The cookies should be ready!"

"Yes!" I squeezed his hand and started to the kitchen, dragging him along. We burst in, giggling and panting.

"Hey, mom!" Tazi called, trotting over to her. "How are the cookies?"

"Very good! But not for you!" She slapped his hand as he tried to take one.

"What? But we made them!" Tazi whined.

Another boy, one I didn't recognize, chuckled and patted Tazi on the back. "You've changed quite a bit, Taz, but that sure has stayed the same!"

"Colin!" Tazi embraced the other boy, laughing. He tugged me to his side, introducing me. "Colin, this is Lizzie. Lizzie, this is Colin."

Colin smiled and took my hand, "ah, the girl who can't cook!" He pressed a kiss onto the back of my hand and winked. "Charmed."

I blushed and saw, out of the corner of my eye, that Tazi was gritting his teeth.

"C'mon Liz." He took my hand and pulled me up and out of the kitchen.

"What was that about?" I asked as we walked around. "Your friend seems nice."

He folded his arms and shrugged, not saying a word.

I sighed. "We didn't even get any cookies."

Tazi's face finally broke into a grin. "Oh, yes, we did." He reached into his pocket and pulled out a wrapped cookie, still warm. He broke it in half and passed a piece to me.

"What? But... but how?" I accepted it, surprised.

He smirked. "I have my ways."

I rolled my eyes and ate the cookie. "This is actually really good!"

"Yeah." Tazi smiled. "We're a great team."

I chuckled. "Thanks for helping me with that. I can't bake to save my life."

He shrugged. "Of course. Anyone else would've done it." But I could tell that he was pleased.

"But no one could have done it better than you." I flung my arms around his neck and whispered to him. "You're the best."

I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was blushing. "Even better than Colin?" He inquired softly.

I smiled and nodded, my lips brushing his ear as I answered. "Way better."

That's the 22nd! 23 will be published tomorrow! ✵

edit: 22/12/22
hello
this almost made me cry tf
um anyway enjoy, there were literally no edits but I'm tired so whatever