"Peter, are those... red tights?"
"Nope."
"Those definitely looked like red tights."
"I... do ballet?"
---
•The sole thing illuminating her path were the wispy rays of moonlight as she tripped over a trashcan and...
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A SMALL YELP ESCAPED HER LIPS as the timer sung out, chiming in sync with the hands of the clock that moved along with the minutes. Wiping her hands on her egg stained apron, Eloquin spun around to the smell of burning brownies.
"Ah, fuck!" She cursed, half of herself trying to stir a pot while the other itching to have a taste of the brownies, which she now realized were quickly going to turn into a crisp. This was her annual, or more like weekly stress bake. Also known as depression baking, depending on how she was feeling.
Finals were creeping up on Eloquin (not really, they were the next day) and a wave of fear, stress and anxiety had washed over her. Eloquin tried not to fall prey to the buzzing in her stomach, but the pressure was too much for the girl to handle. Even Peter; the boy who was oblivious to the world, didn't need his spider senses to tingle to realize something was off with her.
Eloquin reached out and tugged at the cocoa powder on the top shelf, stretching her toes a little higher so she could reach the packet. As her fingers grazed at the plastic, she felt a tingle run through her feet that made her shake a little, and therefore send her arms flying forward. With a crash, the whole mound of cocoa powder fell over her hair in a cloud of dust. Eloquin coughed softly, before striking a finger against her head and holding it to her lips.
"Hmph, at least it still tastes good." She sighed, licking it off with a satisfied grin.
Suddenly, a loud buzz brought Eloquin's antics to a halt. She craned her neck forward to see a bubble pop up on her phone screen, against her vibrant Tony Stark wallpaper. It was a message from Patrice, saying she would be coming over--
"HELLO SEXY!"
Eloquin yelped as she dropped the metal bowl in her hand, the sound of it slamming against her tiled kitchen floor making the figure before her groan in disgust. "Ugh, Ellie! I have sensitive ears!"
The tall girl approached her with a hop in her walk, wrapping her long arms around the small girl and moaning. "Ahhhh, you smell like chocolate."
Eloquin, still in shock, scrambled away from her embrace and grabbed a wooden spoon from the counter, holding it up in defense. "How the hell did you get into my house?"
Patrice sighed, leaning against the counter and lazily flicking away some cocoa powder that had gotten onto her cheek. "I have a spare key, dumbass. You wouldn't think that right after you tell me you have a free day that I would take the first train here?"
The thought itself brought a smile to Eloquin's lips. It reached her eyes, making the corners crinkle like a chip. "Really? For me?"
The taller girl simply nodded, before catching sight of the timer and the empty box of brownie mix. "Depression brownies?" She asked with a squeal, quickly grabbing an apron from the cupboard before grinning. "This is exactly what I needed!" She said. Patrice snatched the mixing bowl from ELoquin's hands and immediately got to work, throwing in random puffs of flour and icing sugar and licking the spoon every few ingredients to check her progress. And also cringing every time.
