Elaine's apartment

[Elaine Escalona]

Elaine made a whimpering sound as Mark came closer with his fat eyebrows. Then, she pretended to bite him, chomping her teeth a few times before announcing, "I am a piranha. They live in the Amazon!" It was a quote from Finding Nemo when Darla was at the dentist's office. Elaine was a Disney movies fanatic and had every DVD that ever came out.

She stuck out her bottom lip in a pout even though Mark's cool hands were soothing against her hot skin. Of course it would be Mark to turn the tables and suddenly be "normal" so that Elaine looked like a crazy old bat. He was the one that brought up French fish anyway!"

"Pancakes? I can do that!" she said excitedly. Elaine never used the pre-mix to make pancakes. She made them from scratch, which she found much more fun and the outcome was always way fluffier than what you get from a box.

"You must hate taking baths, then," she muttered, moving past Mark and towards the kitchen to start cooking. Once all the ingredients were laid out on the counter, she paused as a feeling of déjà vu rushed over her, causing her to smile to herself.

[Mark Daniels]

When Elaine chomped her chompers at him, he backed away quickly. "Ugh Darla, you creepy child. That fish died because of you have you no shame?" he pouted his lips before moving his arms around her waist once again.

He then lowered his eyebrow when she pouted her lips. "I know, I know... Sometimes you let your imagination get the best of you." he said, talking to her as if he "sympathized" her rather insane state. "We all go a little mad sometimes." He was quoting Psycho, of course — and how ironic was that?

When Elaine agreed to making pancakes, he gave her a beaming smile. Lezbehonest, the girl could cook. However, he wasn't taking her with him for that reason.

Mark then shifted his eyes up when Elaine moved past him and out of his grip. He smiled nonetheless because he loved how she escaped him — if that made sense. "I'm your..." Mark looked at her then up and down, "Not so little hamburger helper." he chuckled before looking to the ingredients and asking, "What do you need help with?" he asked.

[Elaine Escalona]

Even at the age of 22—now an adult and also past the age of legal drinking—Elaine still got butterflies whenever Mark touched her. She felt like she was thirteen again, liking a guy for the first time and just the mere sight of him made her heart run a marathon. "Would you still love me if I had the whole braces-around-the-whole-head thing going on?" she asked curiously.

In the kitchen, Elaine had already brought out two bowls to mix the dry and wet ingredients separately. "Well, you can add the vinegar to the milk and make buttermilk since I don't have any, and I'll add the sugar to the flour," she explained, placing a measuring cup in front of Mark so he wouldn't overdo the vinegar and make some nasty ratchet pancakes.

With her back turned to him, she washed her hands in the sink, but didn't dry her hands on a paper towel. Slowly, she inched over to Mark and then pretended to sneeze, flicking all of the water on her hands on to his face. "Oh dear, I'm terribly sorry!" she apologized, but her grin said otherwise.

[Mark Daniels]

Mark looked to Elaine rather perplexed with his head tilted to the side. He looked as if he were in deep thought; debating whether or not he would find that attractive. His hand went under his chin as he looked up in his best thinking pose. "No." he said finally after a long silence. "I'd love you even more. Can you imagine how beautiful your teeth would look after all that metal ware up on you?" he asked her with a gleeful smile before tapping her nose.

"Aye aye, captain!" he saluted her quickly before he poured the milk inside of the bowl. He took the measuring up and looked to her before smiling closed and pouring the amount of vinegar required. Mark then poured it on the milk before setting aside the measuring cup.

Well wasn't this nice? Mark felt all warm inside because he was cooking with Elaine and he could get used to that. He can imagine them fixing a car together - doing just about everything together. Of course he'd give her the space she needed if she ever asked him to. Mark didn't want to become so overwhelming.

Mark brought the measuring cup to the sink. "When we find out the gender of the baby we should start decorating the nur-" he paused immediately when she sneezed and he found himself sprayed by what he didn't know if it was snot or water.

"You're not a sorry, you're grinning!" Mark accused before pointing at her then taking some of the flour on his damp finger and smearing it on her cheek before moving away and saying, "How." as if he were greeting her in some Native American language. He chuckled all too satisfied before moving to paint another one from her forehead down to the tip of her button nose.

[Elaine Escalona]

Elaine giggled when Mark stopped his sentence abruptly due to her "sneeze." She wasn't sure if he knew that it was just water, but it would be even more hilarious if he didn't. She gasped when he started to draw on her face with flour, but okay, she deserved it. "I will wear these markings of flour with honor!" she announced dramatically.

"'Kay, just wondering about the braces 'cause I'm actually gonna get all dem wires and shizz installed later today," Elaine said, nodding as if she were very proud of it. She wondered how people who actually did wear those kinds of braces kissed. Or maybe that was why they didn't kiss. Wait, why was she thinking about kissing! She blushed again and mentally changed the subject by focusing on her mixing the flour and sugar.

"Yeah, that sounds really nice—decorating the nursery, I mean," Elaine quickly corrected herself, even though Mark had no idea what she was thinking about. "I know we'll love our baby unconditionally no matter what the gender is, but be honest, which would you prefer?" She wasn't sure herself if she wanted a boy or a girl because a boy would be a nice big brother and protect his little sister, but would be awfully rowdy. On the other hand, a girl would be sweet and beautiful, but oh so very expensive as she grows up. What a dilemma.

[Mark Daniels]

Mark laughed before gently bumping her with his hip. He then looked to the bowl of vinegar and milk. The combination sounded icky but he knew that it would make buttermilk. "So what do I do with this ratchet ass milk?" he asked her.

"You mean you're getting braces?" he asked her surprised but not displeased. He could imagine what happened with kissing and braces but he didn't think Elaine wanted to kiss him. They said kissing felt really good with braces. Yes.

He then pursed his lips together tightly as he thought for a second. "Honestly?" Mark said, "I don't have a preference! I'd love a boy as much as I would love a girl." he nodded with a closed smile. Mark smiled brightly, he leaned forward close to her before looking down at the flour and sugar.

Mark grabbed a towel and gently wiped the flour off of Elaine's face. He smiled closed as he removed it while looking to her eyes endearingly. Even if he had no idea that he was gazing.

[Elaine Escalona]

Elaine looked over Mark's shoulder at the concoction he made. The milk had curdled nicely, even though it was rather gross to think that they were actually just making spoiled milk. "Well, I'll give you 20 bucks to drink it," she said, smiling and raising her eyebrows up and down as if it were the best deal in the world. "20 bucks," she singsonged.

At first, she was confused as to why Mark was asking her if she was really getting braces. What, were her pearly whites not straight enough? Then, she remembered that she was making jokes about it earlier and he must've taken it seriously. "Yeah, and not just braces. I'm getting the whole head gear thing that comes with it!" Elaine made a circle around her head with her index finger to demonstrate just how big the apparatus would be. "I'll be the sexiest thing since sliced bread!" she exclaimed, placing her hands on her hips in a sassy manner.

She closed her eyes as Mark wiped away the flour on her face, but couldn't help taking a peek at his face as he did so. She must've eaten a batch of caterpillars last night, because the butterflies were starting to flutter again. Elaine had never had a guy (other than her father, but that's different) look at her the way Mark was looking at her right now.

'Why is he staring at me like that? Wow, his skin is so clear, though. His eyes are like a chocolate labrador and whoa, his face is really close to mine...' She was having a full on conversation with herself and she silently thanked God that no one else could hear it.

[Mark Daniels]

Mark looked to Elaine as if she was just the silliest thing in the universe. He half opened his eyes as he looked to her and said, "Nuh-uh." he shook his head before 'tsk tsk'ing. "Twenty bucks is not worth a big tummy ache unless you're willing to take care of me and nurse me back to health." he pouted his lips only slightly before grinning.

With a roll to his eyes Mark smacked his lips. It wouldn't bother him if she got braces in fact, it was really nothing for him to be bothered about. Although he had to admit her smile was one of the loveliest thing to grace this planet. "Oh yeah, super sexy." he said in a sarcastic tone before wrinkling his nose and shaking his head. Mark was joking, of course.

Mark finished taking the flour off her face with a smile on his own. He kept gazing at her for a while. She seemed so full of thought and he began to wonder if she was feeling the same warm, fluttering butterflies he was feeling inside of his stomach. If she could only feel his heart beating and maybe touch his sweaty palms. It was as if the ground was shaking almost.

Just overwhelming feelings and it wasn't even the matter that they had created a child one day before this. It was just - indescribable.

Preparing on to take a risk, Mark leaned forward. His chest touched her shoulder as he moved his head so that his lips were on the same level as hers. His heart continued to beat faster and faster that he felt his chest about to explode but -

His cell phone rang.

Mark cleared his throat, backing away and reaching into his pocket. "Ma', what's up?" he answered with a giddy tone.

[Elaine Escalona]

Elaine laughed when Mark refused the offer. She wanted to see just how daring (or dumb) he was, but if he really did try to drink the spoiled milk, she would stop him right away and say that it was for the pancakes rather than admit that she didn't want him to get sick. "Aw, man. Now I'm the mommy to two babies?" she pretended to groan before patting his cheek. "And what a big baby, too!" Elaine leaned forward to bump their foreheads.

She smiled big to show off her almost perfectly straight teeth. Her canines were a little higher than they should be and her bottom row of teeth grew straight, but slightly overlapped each other, if that made sense. Nevertheless, her chompers were white as (clean) snow and there was not a cavity to be found. "What about you? Did you ever get braces? I'd like to see a picture of that," Elaine teased him.

In the midst of her conversation with herself, she stopped her thoughts as soon as she realized that not only was Mark's face close to hers, but it was actually getting closer. 'Oh my God,' her inner teenager squealed. Elaine closed her eyes as she anticipated the moment, which was ruined by Mark's phone. It startled her, making her realize that her eyes were closed. Oh, she must've looked so dumb thinking that he was going to kiss her!

Elaine quickly turned her attention to the neglected ingredients on the counter, trying to get her brain to focus on the recipe. She cracked the eggs into a bowl before beating them. At the bakery, they taught her not to use the eggs straight from the fridge, but to rather let them sit out for a bit first. Finally, she combined all three bowls into one big one and mixed thoroughly, glancing up at Mark every now and then.

[Mark Daniels]

Mark cracked a smile when he realized that Elaine would have actually allowed him to kiss her. He glanced to her before looking forward. "...That's great... Uh, me? Well, I've had a pretty interesting morning." he looked to Elaine and winked.

"What was so interesting about it?" he repeated Miranda's question with this foolish grin on his face that couldn't be wiped out. "I'd have to kill you if I told you." he joked but it was evident that his mom found it funny because she was laughing. "I think Elaine should tell you." he said with a coy look on his face before turning to Elaine and smiling.

Miranda could be heard gushing about Elaine before he put the phone on speaker.

"...say 'hi' to Elaine for me!" she chimed.

Mark then smiled to the side and said, "She can hear you, mom."

"Oh I just hate it when he puts me on speaker. My voice sounds so blarg. Elaine, sweetie, how are you are you still as pretty?"

[Elaine Escalona]

Elaine gave Mark a puzzled look, even as he smiled to her. She wasn't the overbearing jealous type of girl, but that didn't mean she wasn't curious about who had called him. When he suggested that Elaine speak to the caller, she was caught by surprise because she and Mark had very few mutual friends. 'Me?' she mouthed, pointing to herself.

She eyed the phone in his hand when it suddenly began to project a voice that was rather familiar. Oh! It was his mother. Well, she certainly had uncanny timing. Elaine had been excited to share the news with Mark's family, but now that the moment was here she was feeling a bit nervous.

"Thank you," Elaine replied, not intentionally ignoring the second question, but there was just no way to answer it without sounding a little conceited. "I'm doing quite well. How are you, Mrs. Daniels? And Mr. Daniels?" She was always awkward with parents and sometimes went a little overboard with the whole proper manners thing.

[Mark Daniels]

While his mother and Elaine chatted, Mark continued on making pancakes. He looked to her and asked her, "Am I doing it right?" as he continued to beat the mixture of ingredients.

"I'm stupendous! Better than ever and Mr. Daniels is also good, he thanks you for asking." In the background, Tyrone hollered a quick thank you.

Mark hummed 'Beez In The Trap' because he thought it was funny how it sounded when someone hummed it. It wasn't even the type of song one would hum to and it sounded pressed along the lips.

"What was that you needed to tell me? Is everything okay? Is Mark bothering you again?" She remembered that her son was always beating on poor Elaine. To Miranda she was always innocent whenever they called each other name and thought her son was the son of the devil because she could never think of Elaine picking a fight.

[Elaine Escalona]

Elaine was one of those people who paced back and forth as they talked on the phone. She was already in the living room when Mark asked her about the batter. Since there wasn't anything to do but mix, she nodded her head without coming to check, hoping that he couldn't mess up the one job he was assigned to.

"That's good to hear," Elaine smiled. She was glad that they were doing well, but then again who would wish for otherwise, right? She laughed when Mark's father yelled from wherever he was so that the phone could pick it up. They were so silly and there was no doubt that Mark was their biological son.

She was back in the kitchen now, taking a seat on one of the wooden stools on the other side of the counter top where Mark stood. Her eyebrows drooped and her eyes narrowed as if she were verbally saying, "Really, Mark?" at his choice of songs. Oh well, at least he was keeping himself busy.

"Um... Actually I wanted to request a restraining order on him because he won't leave me alone. I was thinking a 200 square feet radius should do the trick," Elaine said thoughtfully with a finger on her chin. "I'm just kidding, Mrs. Daniels! Um... Well... How should I say this? We—Mark and I have... good news if you know what I mean..." She looked up at Mark and shrugged as if that was the best she could do.

[Mark Daniels]

Without a care, Mark continued to sing. He even shook his hips as if he had a Nicki Minaj ass but he really had nothing to shake. Oopsie! He continued a mixing before he heard Elaine speak of some restraining order and then laughed before rolling his eyes. "This news brings us together even more than ever." he hollered before going back to minding his own business.

Miranda gasped, "Elaine are you... Are you... Preg-neet?" she asked not really sounding bothered or worried more like a squeal.

Mark made a 'pffing' sound with his lips before looking to the phone and then to Elaine.

"When did you find out? How far along are you? Dios mio, I am going to be a grandmother... TYRONE! We are going to be grandparents!" she was screaming and she was excited that she couldn't very much do but not hide it all.

"I knew those two had something. Always!" Yes, Tyrone always knew there was some kind of tension between Mark and Elaine he just didn't know that it was actually 'sexual'.

Mark laughed before looking to Elaine, "They sound so excited. Imagine when-" he stopped himself there because he didn't want to say, 'we get married'. What if that day never came? What if they separated after the baby was born? It would break his heart but that was life, right? Not many people stayed together for so long. He frowned slightly at the thought.

[Elaine Escalona]

Elaine giggled as Mark shook his groove thang, or at least tried to. He was certainly something else. Quietly, she moved to get a shallow frying pan for the pancakes with one hand and held the phone to her ear with the other. All the ingredients should've mixed well by now and so it was time to start cooking!

Once again, she blushed when Miranda guessed correctly what she was trying to say. It wasn't news to Elaine, obviously, but every time someone mentioned the baby, she immediately thought of sex. Perhaps because she believed it was supposed to be an intimate act between two people, but a pregnancy was like telling the world that you "got some" with, basically, a megaphone.

However, with Mark and his parents' such positive reactions, Elaine couldn't help but smile and feel a bit of a confidence boost. "I'm three months. We both found out today," she said, looking up at Mark. This morning would always be like an inside joke to them because of how crazy it was.

"When...?" she repeated in a questioning tone. Why didn't he finish his sentence? "Cat got your tongue?" she joked. Marriage was very much in Elaine and Mark's future. Not only did she want to stay together for the baby, but wasn't it every girl's dream to marry their best friend? Besides, Mark was a steal! Handsome, funny, and smart all in one, what more could she ask for?