The Rebound Agreement ✔

fifteen

[unedited;
please vote and leave me a comment or two as you read!]

He's just my brother's friend that I coincidentally hang out with frequently in date-like settings because of an agreement we made.

At least that's what I keep telling myself. And it seems to be working, for the most part, at least.

I've learned a few things so far on this breakfast date. One is that mornings do nothing to weaken Liam's general energetic moods. The second is that Liam is very passionate about his breakfast foods.

"Princess, you may be the fairest maiden in all the land, but you're still wrong. Pancakes are inferior to waffles." He declares with a jab in my direction of his fork to add emphasis.

I roll my eyes. "But waffles are basically the same thing as pancakes. They're just like the plaid version."

"Exactly," he says as if I have been agreeing with him this whole time. "Waffles are plaid and pancakes are always boring old circles. Therefore, waffles are better."

I put my fork down on the table. "They are not," I counter. "Waffles are the thing that always have to be the same boring shape. You can make pancakes into Mickey Mouse ears or hearts or letters, and you can't do that with waffles." With my fork, I swirl the whipped cream around on my plate next to the half eaten stack of pancakes as I wait for what he will say next.

"Who wants Mickey Mouse shaped breakfast food anyways," he guffaws. "Especially when pancakes are so thick and dense. Waffles are fluffy little clouds of yumminess. They're just way better."

"I want Mickey Mouse shaped breakfast food!" I declare as I put my elbows on the table and rest my chin on top of my fists defiantly. "And pancakes fill you up better."

"They make you feel like you've got a sixty pound weight in your gut after eating one," he announces as he rests his elbows on the table and his cheeks on his hands, copying me.

I ignore his previous dramatic statement and frown. "I don't understand why you care so much about waffles."

"Because they're better. I know this because my seniority makes me wiser than you," he declares as he leans closer, jabbing his finger at me.

"You're only a year older than me," I point out.

"Actually, I'm not even a year older than you. My birthday's in May, so I'm pretty sure that makes me three months older than you."

"You're not helping your argument," I point out softly.

Liam offers a little shrug. "True."

Neither of us say anything, and all of a sudden I realize how our heads are less than a foot away and how that's way too close for my comfort. Liam shifts his head resting on his hands, his brown eyes studying me. My gaze briefly drops to his lips before rapidly returning to meet his gaze once I realize where my thoughts are going.

This realization is enough to wake me from my stupor, and I spring up before anything can happen, straightening up to sit tall in my chair.

Liam notices my strange bumbling actions, and raises an eyebrow, his lips turning up slightly on the left side. Luckily for me, he refrains from commenting. After a couple of seconds, he sits up, too.

He takes another bite of his waffles and finishes chewing before putting his fork down on the table and continuing our argument. "Katie, I don't think you understand. Pancakes can't even begin to compete with waffles because they don't have built in syrup catchers."