Jake might have used magic to make that chart for her, but he actually did do her Spanish homework. Megan was seriously jealous as she watched him scribble down answers, barely even glancing at the questions. Why couldn't she be that good at school? Three minutes later, he was done.
"Want to come downstairs with me so I can start dinner?" he asked.
Megan just nodded.
She followed Jake downstairs to the kitchen, history book in hand. He started opening up cabinets and stared, taking stock of what he had to work with. Megan just watched. Finally, he turned to the refrigerator.
"You sure do have a lot of frozen pizza." he said after a minute.
"Yeah, Ben makes them for us a lot." Megan said, coming around to peer over his shoulder. "My parents don't get home early most nights." she added.
"Yeah, I know." Jake nodded.
"Yeah? How?" Megan asked. She didn't remember telling him that.
"I might not come down for dinner, but I do live here." he reminded her.
"Yeah, I guess." Megan mumbled. Suddenly she felt bad that she'd never once asked him if he wanted anything to eat.
"Shouldn't you be doing homework?" he asked suddenly, looking back at her.
"Yeah, maybe." Megan muttered.
She didn't really want to do it, but she'd already agreed to this. At least it was only the twenty fill-in-the blank questions at the end of the chapter she had to worry about. But when she sat down and looked over the questions, she wasn't nearly as confident. This might be a lot harder than she thought.
"So Napoleon was...King of France?" Megan guessed. "From when to when?"
Jake stared at her disbelievingly, pan hovering over the stove.
"Emperor. From 1804 to 1814." he said flatly. Megan wasn't sure she liked the tone.
"Thanks." she said, shrugging. At least that was one answer taken care of.
"Don't you pay attention in class?" Jake asked her, rifling through the pantry.
"Of course I do." she snapped.
Sure, she could probably try to focus a little more, but it wasn't like it really mattered anyway. When Jake just shrugged in that noncommittal way of his, her curiosity got the better of her.
"Why?" she asked slowly. Was it that obvious she didn't know this stuff?
"Well, it's just that we went over this on Monday."
"Oh, I'm sorry. Was that before or after we got to discuss my amazing opinion on the French aristocracy?" Megan asked, eyes flashing. Jake just grinned.
"I forgot about that." he told her.
"Really?" Megan found that hard to believe.
The topic had lasted almost ten minutes, and there'd been a small debate as to whether or not a group of upper class people Megan never met and who'd died a long time ago would really be worth killing. Or would they be as great as Megan? Some idiot suggested that maybe it was all just a misunderstanding. Megan hid her face in her hands – no one was really this stupid, were they? This had to be Jake's fault.
"Guess I wasn't as involved in the discussion as you were." Jake told her. He turned away, but not before Megan saw the look on his face; he was enjoying this.
Megan accidentally let a pathetic sigh slip.
"I can see how class might be a little distracting for you." He tried for sympathetic, but Megan heard him snicker quietly to himself.
"You think?" She tried to hide her annoyance, especially since she had a favor she wanted from him. Hesitantly, she asked, "You think you could tone it down – just a little?"
"Tone what down?" He looked up from whatever he was doing on the stove, confusion all over his face.
"That whole popularity thing?"
"Now why would I do that?" he asked, back to his usual arrogance.
"Because deep down you're really nice?"
Jake actually laughed.
"I mean, you hide it well, I know." Megan told him, rolling her eyes. Realizing that flattery wasn't going to work, she decided to change tactics. "Besides, I'd think my boyfriend wouldn't want me to be so unhappy at school if he could fix it."
She tried to smile innocently, but she wasn't sure she was succeeding. Jake stared at her, clearly unimpressed.
"You shouldn't push your luck – I'm already being a great boyfriend and making you dinner." he told her. "Besides, I can't see how making people like you less is something a good boyfriend would do." When he saw the look on her face, he just grinned.
"Whatever." Megan mumbled. She knew it probably wouldn't work, but she figured it was worth a try.
"So how're those questions coming anyway?"
"Fine." She flipped casually through her book, trying to figure out Napoleon's connection to Italy.
Megan only had six questions left when she noticed that something was starting to smell good.
"What're you making?" she asked.
"Food." Jake told her, not even looking up.
"Oh, you don't say." Why did he always have to be so difficult? "What kind?"
"Don't worry about it." Jake told her.
"What?" How could he say that? "I could make you tell me." Megan mumbled to herself.
She didn't think she said it very loud, but he still heard her. He stiffened a little and Megan thought she heard him inhale sharply. But when he spoke, he still had that in-control tone she knew so well.
"But that would ruin the surprise." he told her.
"I hate surprises. Especially from you." she said. He grinned appreciatively.
"Just finish your homework."
"I only have one question left."
"Good. So you'll be done by the time dinner's ready."
As Megan hurried to answer her last question, she heard the front door slam shut.
"...Megan?" Drew called out uncertainly. "Are you...cooking?"
He walked into the room and saw Megan sitting at the kitchen table. There was a moment of confusion on his face as he registered her sitting there. Then his eyes fell on Jake, still in the kitchen and messing with something in a pot.
"Hi, Jake." Drew said, staring.
"Drew!" Jake grinned.
"What're you doing?" Drew asked, still gawking in disbelief.
"Making dinner."
"Yeah, but why?"
"I told Megan I'd cook."
"You lose a bet or something?" Drew asked, like it was the only reason he could think of for why Jake would ever do something like that. Jake stared up at the ceiling, thinking about it for a second.
"Actually, I kind of did."
"Knew it." Drew nodded. "So what'd you make?"
"Chicken Marsala."
So that's what smelled so good. Megan had been watching him out of the corner of her eye, but every time Jake caught her, he stopped and asked for a homework update.
"Where do you keep the plates?" Jake asked Drew.
"Here." Drew said, reaching up into one of the cabinets. A slow grin spread across his face as he handed them to Jake. "So did you make enough for three?"
"Four, actually." Jake said knowingly. "Doesn't Ben get home soon?"
"Yeah, he'll be here probably in the next ten minutes or so." Drew said.
"Finished!" Megan announced.
"Good timing." Jake told her.
Ben got home a few minutes later. If anything, he was even more impressed than Drew had been.
"You made all this by yourself?" he asked.
"Yeah." Jake nodded.
"Well, thank you." Then turning back to Drew he said, "Go set the table."
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Dinner was great. Actually, Megan couldn't remember the last time she'd had a meal this good on a weeknight.
"Where'd you learn to cook like that?" Drew asked, mirroring Megan's own thoughts.
"Well, I've had a lot of practice." Jake shrugged, suddenly modest.
"So is that all it is? Practice?"
Megan knew she should probably wait to ask, but she couldn't help it. She really wanted to know if he'd just made it out of thin air, especially if he was going to give her brothers the impression that he'd slaved over a hot stove all night.
"Of course." Jake told her. "What else would it be?"
"No extra help? No nothing?" she pressed.
"Did you see anyone help me?" he asked, feigning innocence.
"That's not what I meant and you know it." The last thing she needed was to look like a complete idiot. "No cheating or anything?" she asked. Jake had the nerve to look insulted – like that kind of thing would ever be beneath him.
"Can't I just be good at something?" he asked. He did such a good job of looking genuine that Megan almost bought it. But before she could apologize for jumping to conclusions, he shrugged. "...And maybe I cheated a little, if that's what you want to call it."
She knew it! He used magic for everything he did.
"But wouldn't you?" he asked Megan slyly.
Megan's mouth opened and closed as she struggled for something to say.
"What? Like a cookbook or something?" Drew asked.
"More or less." Jake told him.
"It's still cheating." Megan mumbled, not wanting to let it go.
"Well, cheating or not, you can feel free to come over and cook for us any day." Drew grinned.
"You can't just ask him to come cook for us." Ben told him, giving him a look.
"Why not?" Drew shrugged. "He makes way better food than we usually have."
"Yeah, but he's got his own stuff to worry about. No one wants to come over just to cook food for you." As Ben tried to explain, Jake leaned over to Megan.
"And to think you almost wished him away!"
"I did not!" she retorted. "If I recall, it was you who offered to send him away."
"Good thing I didn't – who would appreciate me then?" And before Megan had time to respond, Jake had already turned back to Drew.
"You know, I might take you up on that offer." Jake told him. "That is, if Megan doesn't mind."
Megan couldn't tell if he was setting her up for something or not. But as she thought back over that dinner, she realized she didn't even care.
"Sure." she told them.
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