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𝗥𝗜𝗦𝗞

CHAPTER SIX
my house of stone, your ivy grows,
and now I'm covered in you

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IMESSAGE GROUP CHAT

roomies (ft. the squatters)
mj 💋 [ mary jane ]
luna 🌙 [ luna ]
noah 🦈 [ foolish ]
rae ☀️ [ rae ]
josh ✌🏻 [ ellum ]
miyoung 🙂 [ miyoung ]
sykkuno 🌱 [ sykkuno ]
leslie 🎶 [ leslie ]
tina 🥕 [ tina ]

leslie 🎶
is anybody else
STARVING

rae ☀️
yes.

miyoung 🙂
me!

tina 🥕
I'm absolutely
RAVENOUS

luna 🌙
yeah I could eat

leslie 🎶
you guys wanna
order something?
it can be on me :D

mj 💋
or I can just
make dinner 🤪

rae ☀️
wait
mj fr

luna 🌙
:O MJ DINNER?
I LOVE MJ DINNER

tina 🥕
mj.
I could kiss you
I would eat any
food you put in
front of me

leslie 🎶
mj don't feel
pressured to cook
for all of us!

mj 💋
no it's fine
seriously
I love to cook

josh ✌🏻
LET HER COOK
🗣️🗣️🗣️

miyoung 🙂
ellum is back
on his misogyny
arc #classic

josh ✌🏻
WAIT
NO
I DIDN'T MEAN
IT LIKE THAT

luna 🌙

yeah sure man

noah 🦈
why are you
screenshotting
emotes to use in
text messages
loser

luna 🌙
shut the fuck up
loser
you aren't even HERE
rn why are you in
this group chat

noah 🦈
I'm basically a roomie
at this point I stay in
this group chat
you gonna yell at
sykkuno too?

luna 🌙
no sykkuno does
no wrong

sykkuno 🌱
huh

luna 🌙
don't worry about
it sykk we love you

sykkuno 🌱
wait I want a
home-cooked
mj meal

mj 💋
then fly to la
homie where
you at

miyoung 🙂
ellum
I can't believe you
would just tell mj
to go back to the
kitchen like that
that's crazy

rae ☀️
mj this guy
bothering you?

josh ✌🏻
MJANE
NO
I DIDN'T
STOP

luna 🌙
ooh . . .

tina 🥕
wait actually
mj do you want
to cook

mj 💋
yeah 🫶🏻
you guys have
been so nice to
let me stay here
let me make you
food!!!!!
it'll be done before
leslie's board game
stream I promise

luna 🌙
mj is a very good
cook
trust

rae ☀️
OKAY :D

mj 💋
rae gave me
permission so
I'm doing it

leslie 🎶
WE LOVE YOU
MJ
YOU'RE INCREDIBLE

＊*•♥̩͙•̩̩͙*˚˚*•♥̩͙•̩̩͙*˚＊＊*•̩̩͙♥̩͙•̩̩͙*˚˚*•̩̩͙♥•̩̩͙*˚＊

REAL LIFE

MARY JANE TRULY believed that cooking was one of her love languages.

Growing up, her mom and dad had taught her and her little sister Sadie to cook. Their parents made it a point to have the two of them sit in the kitchen and watch as they cooked, and although Mary Jane complained about that more often than not, she was very grateful now that they did that. Cooking followed her up throughout her entire life, and it was especially helpful when she moved to North Carolina with Luna and traveled about by herself for her different jobs.

It was no secret she enjoyed cooking for other people. When Karl, Nolan, and Noah lived right next to her and Luna, Mary Jane would often cook enough for all of them and just run it over to them. This specific situation was no exception. She wasn't exactly lying when she said she wanted to express her gratitude for all of the Roomies letting her stay at the house, considering it was her first time actually staying with them. Besides that, she could feel the little buds of friendship between them starting to bloom, and she liked making her friends food.

Living in a streamer house meant there weren't a lot of groceries around for her to work with, but she wasn't going to complain. She found enough stuff to make pasta for everyone, which was easy enough. Mary Jane stood at the stove, her hand on her hip as she stirred the sauce around. There was nobody else in the kitchen, just her, so she had her headphones in. She absentmindedly hummed along to The Alchemy as she cooked, narrowing her focus into the dish she was making.

Ellum then walked into the doorway of the kitchen, glancing up from his phone for a second away from his game, only for a small smile to appear on his face at the sight of her. Her hair was tied back with a claw clip, she was wearing an oversized t-shirt and a pair of jean shorts with socks that had ruffles at the top, and her lips were void of any red lipstick today, but she still managed to look positively radiant. Which wasn't hard, because she always looked good — especially to him. Now, Ellum would be lying if he said he hadn't been looking at Mary Jane more closely the past two days, because the truth was, he had. Seeing her absolutely glow up on that stage and just talking with her at the coffee shop had ignited a strange feeling in his stomach, one that he hadn't felt in quite some time.

Mary Jane was . . . intriguing. She had caught his attention after Risk was released, although he knew of her before then because of Luna. He had seen her on Luna's streams and seen interactions with everyone on social media. Mary Jane was known for not holding back, basically being no man's peace judging the way she dealt with her friends, but she kept it real and expressed nothing but pure confidence. Yet, even though Ellum was the kind of person that Mary Jane would absolutely yell at due to his cluelessness, she had been nothing short of sweet to him. It was a nice contrast from what he usually dealt with (all jokes, he loved his friends.)

Ellum snapped himself out of it, moving up to the island where the stove was and sitting at one of the stools. "Ello, MJane."

Mary Jane heard a noise and glanced up, only to see Ellum had appeared in front of her. She hadn't even heard him come into the kitchen whatsoever — obviously, she was way too into The Alchemy. Mary Jane paused stirring for a second, taking her headphones out of her ears. Her heart stuttered in her chest at the sight of him in a tank top, his elbows resting on the counter. Oh, Jesus Christ. It was like he was trying to murder her.

"Oh, hey," Mary Jane greeted, trying to keep the shakiness out of her voice. She took her headphones out of her ears, fishing her phone out of her pocket and leaving both in a pile on the counter. At least it gave her a reason to look away from his ridiculous arms. "What's up?"

"I was just wandering around and ended up at the kitchen," Ellum admitted. Lies — he went to the kitchen because he knew that she would be there. "You're actually making dinner?"

Mary Jane raised her eyebrows, offering a teasing smile to him. "Well, I've got to at least try and get you to eat something besides bread."

His cheeks flushed a light shade of red. "You know about that?"

"Well, you haven't exactly made it a secret. You also told me yesterday at the coffee place that bread was one of your favorite snacks." She then gestured to the sauce she was making and the boiling pasta. "So, here I am. Giving you more carbs, just . . . in a different form."

Ellum settled back in the chair, placing his phone on the counter. "Have you ever eaten raw pasta before?"

Mary Jane picked up the spoon again, continuing to stir the sauce. "Okay, one, the way you say pasta is kind of funny. And two, I mean, yeah. Not on a regular basis." Her eyes then narrowed at him. "Is that, like, a regular occurrence for you?"

He paused for a second. " . . . No comment."

Her mouth dropped open, and she let out a small laugh. "Oh my God, it is! Ellum, please." She started to laugh more at how he began to laugh with her. "Everything that I've learned about you . . . you are such an intriguing and entertaining individual."

Ellum nodded to her. "Thank you so much."

She shook her head. "Has anyone ever told you that you remind them of a golden retriever? Because, if not, I want to be the first."

He shrugged. "Maybe once or twice. But since it's coming from you, I'm a little more inclined to believe it." Ellum then hesitated for a second. "It's a good thing, right?"

Mary Jane's smile widened slightly. "One hundred percent a good thing."

He grinned back at her, making butterflies erupt in her stomach. Mary Jane did her very best to try and control the blush on her face, but she was sure it was no use anyways. She diverted her attention back to the pasta, which was now done cooking. As she grabbed the pot of water and noodles and brought it over to the sink, straining them. While she did so, she thought for a second. Conversation felt really . . . easy between them now. Mary Jane actually wasn't stumbling over her words at a high amount, even though it was probably bound to happen. She wasn't overly nervous like she had been the past couple of days. Who knew that she actually just had to hang out with him in order to do that?

(Luna did know that. She told Mary Jane that would happen. Mary Jane just did not listen to her . . . she was stubborn to her core).

"Ellum!" Rae practically screeched from somewhere in the house.

Mary Jane jumped slightly at the sound, not expecting that whatsoever. "Jesus, what the fuck?"

"I'm in the game, where are you?"

"Sorry," he called back. He had gotten so distracted by the girl in the kitchen that he forgot he promised Rae he would play a game with her. "I'm talking to MJane. I forgot I was playing with you."

"You have ten seconds," Rae threatened.

"I'm logging on!"

Mary Jane tilted her head at him. "I've noticed something. Well, so . . . all of them just yell at you? For fun? All the time?"

Ellum shrugged. "Yeah, pretty much."

"And that doesn't bother you?"

"No, not really. It's just our friendship."

Mary Jane's eyes trailed across his face. Maybe it didn't bother him, but it bothered her. She knew that they were just joking around all of the time, and if Ellum had an actual problem with it he would say something, but watching him just screamed at over and over again made her heart hurt. To be fair, she did the same thing with Karl, Nolan, and Noah, but she had already checked with them that they were fine with her being sarcastic and abrasive. Yet, this big stupid pathetic crush she had on Ellum was making her see some things in a different light.

"I won't yell at you," Mary Jane told him. "Promise."

Ellum blinked at her. "From what I've heard, you yell at everyone."

"I mean, maybe, but everyone does not include you, starting now."

He sat up a little straighter. "You don't have to do that. It's fine, really."

"I'm doing it because I want to." She gave him a tiny smile. "Don't worry about it."

Their eyes locked from across the counter. Mary Jane felt the entire world freeze around her. It was like everything else was going in slow motion, and it was the two of them in the middle of it all, stuck in a trance and hyperaware. She kind of felt like she was floating outside her body — which was strange, because she had never felt that for anyone else. Mary Jane swore her heart was about to leap out of her chest and run straight at him, but she couldn't seem to care at the moment.

Well. She was just so, so fucked.

Leslie then walked into the room. "Hey, you two."

The moment shattered. Mary Jane blinked, snapping herself out of it. She turned her head, watching as Leslie placed a bunch of board games that they had on the kitchen counter. Samson, an editor who worked for both Rae and Leslie, followed after them with some camera equipment.

Leslie glanced in between them, taking in the silence. "What?"

"Nothing," Mary Jane answered quickly. She picked up the strained noodles and added them to the sauce, just to give her hands something to do after whatever the hell that was. "Hi, Leslie. You excited for your game night stream?"

"Not as excited as I am for this pasta you made," Leslie replied. "It smells so good, MJ."

"Oh, thank you. I tried my best."

"So, Meena, Blau, and Peter should be here soon. MJ, you're joining us, right?"

Mary Jane paused in shock. "Am I?"

"I know I didn't ask you, but you totally should. Luna will be there as well! Come on, it'll be fun!"

Ellum nodded at her. "It would be fun if you were there."

Mary Jane looked in between the two of them. Leslie was giving her honest-to-God puppy dog eyes, and Ellum was looking at her so hopefully it made her heart hurt. She really had no choice but to give in.

"Fine," Mary Jane agreed, making Leslie shout in excitement. "Let me just go put on the tiniest bit of makeup to feel better about myself. Help yourself to some pasta, it's done now."

"Don't mind if I do," Leslie stated. "Thank you, MJ, you're the best."

Mary Jane giggled a little at her, grabbing her phone and headphones and leaving the kitchen to go get ready. She was blissfully unaware to the way Ellum's eyes were following her — instead, she was trying to calm down how fast her heart was racing.

-ˏˋ ✩✩✩ ˊˎ-

when he's a yapper and she's a listener ☹️

ellum is slowly becoming one of my favorite streamers like man what a guy (foolish will always be #1 dw)