From: wantsthesky	Date: February 7th, 2011 04:57 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Colby considered it for a moment and then held out her hand. "Alright, you're on."

She grinned and patted her stomach. "Don't let it fool you: I'm like a bottomless pit! Gotta fuel my energy somehow! And I still do little work outs to and stuff to keep in shape."

When Mal swore and then apologized for it, Colby couldn't help but laugh. Really? He was apologizing? That was both funny and kind of sweet. "I have four older brothers, you know. I've heard way worse stuff than that." She shook her head, still grinning. But she wasn't sure how to address or answer the question. It wasn't quite that they let her slip by, she just had her sights set a little higher...

	From: thatryderboy	Date: February 7th, 2011 05:55 pm (UTC)		(Link)

Mal pumped his fist in the air and exclaimed, “Alright!” Taking a big bite of his burrito, he winked at her, “Tough chick”, he declared, after swallowing.

Brazenly looking the girl over, Mal gradually smiled, “Well, angel, if you have to chow down to keep that hot little shape, I say bring on the next course!”

Now, it was Malachi’s turn to blush, “Yeah, well, I’ll bet your brother’s wouldn’t be so happy if they heard me talking to you like that”, he reasoned. Mal knew, there were some girls you could talk to like that and some you couldn’t…hell, there were some girls that talked so nasty that they made him blush.

Sometimes, it was more interesting what people didn’t say, than what they said; Colby completely glossed over the question about sophomore boys. She really didn’t know Mal, “So, no answer about the boys or it’s none of my business? Hey, angel, I can respect that.” He had only been teasing, mostly. Mal didn’t want to pry, if there was something hurtful that came along with the answer.

“Hey, little girl, eat all of your food and I’ll take us somewhere for dessert!”, he teased.

	From: wantsthesky	Date: February 7th, 2011 07:28 pm (UTC)		(Link)

She smirked a little despite her blush, and tried to hide it by taking a bite of her chalupa. "I'm just lucky I have a fast metabolism," she said after eating half the thing in a few bites.

Colby considered that. "Maybe. I mean, their friends and stuff talk like that around me too, but I was friends with some of their friends." She shrugged. "It might just be because you're a guy they don't know who's talking to me."

Of course, bringing up that subject again derailed her completely. She became flustered again and ate the rest of her chalupa to avoid answering, shrugging a shoulder half-heartedly. Truth be told, there were a few boys in her grade who showed interest and asked her out, but none of them were who she was interested in.

"Dessert?" She spoke around her last mouthful before swallowing it. "We could get ice cream?"

	From: thatryderboy	Date: February 7th, 2011 10:46 pm (UTC)		(Link)

“Yeah, same here…”, Malachi winked, stretching to show off his long slender torso, “…I can eat just about anything I want and no tummy!”

Malachi had no doubt that one of her brothers knew of him and his reputation, so he’d better enjoy this time with Colby, because she’d probably be forbidden to see him soon. That would be a shame, because he liked this little cutie, “If you were my little sister, I’d probably hide you away from guys like me”, he chuckled.

“Ice cream it is, angel!”, he agreed, jumping up to refill his large Sierra Mist. When he sat back down, he scooted around and bumped her.

	From: wantsthesky	Date: February 8th, 2011 02:01 am (UTC)		(Link)

Colby grinned back. "It's an awesome gift, right?" She started digging into her taco salad.

She rolled her eyes, smiling slightly. "That never works. Tell someone they can't do something and that just makes them wanna do it more." She took a sip of her Mountain Dew before she went on. "I mean, anything my brothers tried to tell me not to do I went ahead and did anyway."

She beamed and cheered at the confirmation, and when he came back she blushed and nudged him back with her elbow.

	From: thatryderboy	Date: February 8th, 2011 03:27 pm (UTC)		(Link)

“You bet it’s an awesome gift”, he replied, “Especially, since I love to cook.” He gave her a measuring look, Maybe if you’re good, I’ll even cook for you some day”, he gave her a grin and a wink afterwards.

Having already finished his food, Malachi watched, as Colby ate her salad, “you are preaching to the choir, little girl…”, he agreed with her, “…that’s what gets me in so much trouble, people telling me what I can and can not do…”, he shrugged and took a long sip of his large drink, “…it just pisses me off!”

“Okay, angel, I’ll let you pick…Baskin Robbins, Haagen-Dazs Ice Cream Parlor, Creole Creamery or The New Orleans Ice Cream Company…what’s your pleasure?” He leaned in close, “I promise to have you home before you turn into a pumpkin.”

	From: wantsthesky	Date: February 9th, 2011 04:33 pm (UTC)		(Link)

"Ooh!" Colby perked up. Cooking was almost a mystery to her, growing up with a single father of five kids and a job... Ian had had no time to cook for the kids, not that he would have been able to even if he did. The only one in her family who could cook without risking burning down the building was Malcolm, and all he cooked were simple things just for himself. "What kind of food?!"

She tried to eat her salad quickly without stuffing her face in it. "That sounds like some guys I know," she smiled, thinking of some certain family members.

She chewed thoughtfully as she tried to pick a place. "Mm... Either Creole Creamery or The New Orleans Ice Cream Company, Baskin Robbins and Hagen-Dazs are everywhere." She rolled her eyes and nudged him a little, blushing just slightly. She was starting to understand it was just his personality, and that helped her with the flirting.

	From: thatryderboy	Date: February 9th, 2011 11:56 pm (UTC)		(Link)

“What kind of food?!”, Malachi asked, incredulously, “I cook all kinds of food, little girl!” He clicked off on his fingers what he was saying, “Down home Country cookin’, Chinese, Indian, Mexican, Italian, Greek, French, Thai, Barbeque…whatever your little heart desires!”

Wiggling his eyebrows, Mal teased, “It does? How many guys do you know, naughty girl?!” Colby was fun to tease; it made him wish he’d had a little sister. Of course, he wasn’t thinking of Colby as his sister…that would be sick.

“Okay, let’s hit the Creole Creamery”, Mal decided, “Then I can drive you back and you can wonder…”, he used a high girlish voice, “…will he kiss me or won’t he?” He was teasing Colby and it was fun, but in reality, he sure wouldn’t mind kissing the cute little sophomore.

	From: wantsthesky	Date: February 10th, 2011 01:13 am (UTC)		(Link)

That caught her interest. "Really? Where'd you learn to cook all that stuff?" She thought maybe she should look into learning how to cook at least a little. She loved pizza and things like that, but sometimes it was nice to sit at home and eat something real.

She flushed a little at his tease, the connotations of her comment just dawned on her. "I just meant my brothers and some friends!"

Her already red cheeks got redder yet again that day. It was a wonder her face hadn't caught on fire yet. "That's not how I sound," she tried to say as snarkily as she could.

	From: thatryderboy	Date: February 10th, 2011 02:24 am (UTC)		(Link)

“My mom and my Uncle Julien taught me from when I was young”, he shrugged with a proud smile. “I love cooking, it takes me to another place.”

“MmmmmHmmmm”, Malachi teasingly gave her a skeptical look. He wouldn’t keep up the messing with her long, but he wasn’t ready to give it up just yet.

Okay, he had better review that decision about the teasing. Poor Colby looked like her head was going to explode; her face was crimson red. He slipped one long arm around her shoulder and gave her a one-armed hug, “I know, baby, I’m just playing…”, he gave her his best puppy dog eyes, “…forgive me?”

	From: wantsthesky	Date: February 12th, 2011 02:16 am (UTC)		(Link)

"That's so cool," she said, only slightly enviously. "My family lives on take out and stuff, we only eat home cooked meals whenever we go over to either of my grandparents' houses."

She blushed more. "It's true! I grew up with my brothers and all their friends, I've always been surrounded by guys."

Colby dropped her eyes to the floor, trying to force down her blush. "Okay..."

	From: thatryderboy	Date: February 12th, 2011 07:16 am (UTC)		(Link)

When Colby forgave him, Mal kissed her on the cheek and cooed, “You’re a sweetheart, Colby.” He gathered up his trash on his tray and asked, “Are you about ready? The Creole Creamery is waiting for us, angel!”

He looked at the clock behind the counter in Taco Bell; he didn’t want to be too late bringing Colby back to CCI. The last thing he needed was Pendragon on his case about him contributing to the delinquency of a minor or some shit like that.