Cooking Lessons (Nick)

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick was no good at multi-tasking unless it came to playing the drums. Sam was spewing out instruction after direction after command and he could barely keep up with it. He filled the pot up too much, he didn't put enough salt in the water, he needed to make a salad. Nick just hoped that she liked him a little and that this dinner was going to be delicious.

As he performed his tasks, he caught her checking him out when she was leaning on the counter watching him. Nick wanted some conversation to start up to put a stop to the awkward glances they caught themselves giving each other, but between the cooking and the looking, he couldn't think of anything to talk about. Well, he did have a few things on his mind.

"So... do you live by yourself?" he said as he walked over to help Sam with the salad.

[Sam Ballerino]

"Mhm." She nodded. "I didn't know anyone when I moved here, so it wasn't like I had anybody to move in with. And Dad didn't want to uproot everyone just so I could come here." She shrugged. "I don't mind it, though. I actually kind of like it. It's nice being away from my parents, and being able to do more of what I want and when I want it." Of course, she still got the phone calls, as Nick had already seen; even though she was hours away from him now, her father still had eyes and ears in a lot of aspects of her life.

Sam watched him as he followed her instructions. The look on his face was one of thinly veiled fear, and Sam wondered if it was because of her or because of the food. She smiled reassuringly.

"Calm down, you look like a deer in the headlights. You're doing fine. If I start going too fast for ya, just let me know, ok?" She pulled out a second knife and handed it to him, handle first. "You ready to make a salad?" If he took it, she'd turn back to the cutting board where she was chopping up lettuce. "Here, just cut these up into pieces. Or rip them, whichever you prefer." She handed him a few lettuce leaves to start with, and threw a bunch of already-cut leaves into a large salad bowl.

[Nicolas Constantine]

He took a deep breath and slowed down. Nick took the knife and lettuce from Sam and started cutting them up into pieces that were good size for a salad. He threw them into the same bowl that Sam was.

"So tell me about your family. You seemed to be reluctant towards your father, whys that?" he was referring to the phone call when he arrived.

Nick looked at her and smiled. She seemed so innocent compared to the other girls he had met at school. She was also the one he liked most out of all of them. Nick wondered what kind of boys she had met and how many she liked.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam didn't feel like talking about her father, really. Did she ever? But she didn't want to be rude, either. So she answered selectively.

"I'm an Italian only child, basically," she said, returning his smile. "Ummm..." She wrinkled her nose in thought. "My dad was born in Italy, but my mom was born here. Her grandmother was Italian, though. So I've got a little on both sides, I suppose." She was rambling a little bit, hoping to distract Nick from the topic of her father. But she realized that it had been the focus of his question... She rolled her eyes in a resigned sort of way, handing more lettuce to Nick and moving on to cucumbers.

"My father..." she tried to think of what to say about him. "He's a very... traditional sort of person. You know, 'man of the house' and all that. He rules the house with an iron fist, for the most part, except when my mother puts her foot down. He wanted a boy," she added. A small fun fact about her life. It was a little bit random, but for some odd reason she felt it needed to be said. And then she realized she couldn't remember telling anyone else that before. Normally Sam wasn't comfortable with sharing details of her life like that, with people that she wasn't incredibly close to. But there was something about Nick that made her feel... comfortable. Not even in a romantic sense, like she expected. But wonderfully comfortable.

"Actually-" she began. Actually, he's the one who sent me here, she was about to say. But the pot of water started bubbling, rattling the lid and taking her attention away from the conversation. She dropped the knife and grabbed a potholder, simultaneously lifting the lid and turning down the heat a little bit so the explosive bubbling slowed to a rolling boil. She grabbed the pasta from its package and handed some to Nick.

"Here, watch me first. Just put it in slowly so you don't burn yourself." She slowly slid the handful of uncooked noodles into the water, pressing down so that they softened and bent, allowing her to drop the rest in. She glanced up at him, feeling awkward, and decided to just concentrate on putting the pasta in. It was a safe thing to think about.

[Nicolas Constantine]

It seemed that Nick had hit a subject that Sam was fumbling with. So she was reluctant towards her father. It was good to know, as it gave Nick a bit of insight of what Sam thought, but since it seemed a bit touchy, he decided to steer away from the question he had asked.

"Uh, um..." Nick couldn't think of what to ask her to replace the inquiry that seemed to put Sam in a slump. He didn't like seeing her like this and tried to work out another question that would get her mind off of her home life.

Saved by the water coming to a boil. Sam stopped thinking and went back to cooking. She lifted the lid and peered inside at the bubbling water and handed Nick some uncooked noodles from the package.

"Here, watch me first. Just put it in slowly so you don't burn yourself."

Nick watched her do it and then followed suit. He then thought of a good question to get her mind off of her family.

"So what do you like to do for fun?"

It was a rather lame question, but it was a safe question, nonetheless. Hopefully it would raise her spirits to the Sam he knew and liked.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam smiled, in secret relief and thanks that Nick had caught on and decided to change the subject. She went back to the salad making, slicing cucumbers and throwing them into the bowl and handing Nick a handful of carrots.

"For fun? Well, I dance. I dance a lot. Been dancing for, oh, about eleven years now. And I'm kind of a bookworm. I'll read just about anything, especially historical fiction. Um... I like blasting music. Singing in the shower kind of stuff." She didn't have a bad voice, but she was definitely better at dancing. "Oh! I almost forgot! There was a big park near my house, before I moved here. It was more like a national park, but I don't think it had the official title... Anyway, there were a bunch of ridiculously tall trees, and a bunch of big hills and stuff. I loved to explore around there and climb everything in sight. That's how these jeans got like this, actually." She looked ruefully down at her legs. "But they're comfortable as all hell, so i keep 'em around for casual occasions. Or if I feel like climbing." She grinned, and then remembered something else that she should be cooking. She put her knife down.

"You keep working on that salad, I'll start the chicken, and the Alfredo sauce. Unless you want to do it? The chicken's not too hard to do, but the sauce'll probably need some help." She started preparing the pots and other necessities.

"So what do you do in your spare time?"

[Nicolas Constantine]

Sam liked to wander when she spoke.

Dancing? Ha, I was right! I bet she's pretty limber...

Nick caught himself staring at her rear as she spoke and was turned away from him. He was still listening as she rambled off topic, but he couldn't help it. He snapped back to reality. She was definitely into different activities than he was, but they could be considered similar as well.

"You keep working on that salad, I'll start the chicken, and the Alfredo sauce. Unless you want to do it? The chicken's not too hard to do, but the sauce'll probably need some help."

"I'm doing well with the salad, so I guess I'll continue with this." Nick said as he cut the veggies.

"So what do you do in your spare time?"

"Me? Well my art is music. I play a ton of instruments, but the one I'm the best at are the drums. Been playing for 12 years. I don't read, but I do listen to a ton of music, and I'm not much of a gamer, but I do occasionally play video games. Oh, I'm also a boxer. I've been doing that for 11 years, and I was one of the best amateur boxers in my home region. Ha, us English start things young."

[Sam Ballerino]

"Fine, lazy bum. Take the easy stuff." She joked as she turned on another burner and placed a few chicken strips into the pan and listening to him as he talked.

"You play guitar? 'Cause if you do I claim payment for the cooking lessons." She eyed him with a mock glare for a short moment before it melted to a grin. "I've always wanted to learn guitar."

And a boxer, too... Well, wasn't that just grand. Eleven years? About as long as she'd been dancing. Enough to rearrange her face pretty well if he wanted to. She was gonna give him a little bit of shit about his English comment, though.

"Not just the English." She laughed. "I've been dancing as long as you've been boxing. So take that." she reached out her fist and playfully punched him on the shoulder, making sure his fingers weren't anywhere near the knife tip he was holding when she did so. What a way that would be to ruin the night...

She poured milk, butter, and a few other ingredients they'd need to make the sauce into another pot, and left it to fend for itself for a few minutes. She started stirring the pasta, then looked at Nick. "Come here, I think we've got enough carrots. Stir the pasta every once in a while, and watch the chicken." She picked up the handle of the chicken pan and shook it gently, letting the pieces slide about. "Make sure it doesn't burn, unless you like it that way. We'll turn 'em over in a few minutes." She went back to working on the Alfredo sauce.

[Nicolas Constantine]

"Umm, so thats all I do now is watch the chicken?"

That didn't seem like the idea of cooking to him. But what did he know, Nick didn't know how to cook at all. He stared at the fillets in the pan, simmering.

"Well, yeah, if you want to learn the guitar I could teach you. I'm not terribly as good as I am on the drums, but I could teach you all I know. Unless there's another instrument that tickles your fancy?"

Nick thought that his father would be a much better teacher, but then that wouldn't be Nick teaching Sam, now would it? And what could be a better way to get to know her then to teach her once or twice a week and hopefully see her at school?

The more she sees me probably means the more she'd think of me...

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam giggled a little bit at his confusion. "Well, you don't just stare at it. Look." She picked up a big fork that was sitting next to the stove, and poked the pieces a few times. "You just gotta make sure they don't stick to the bottom of the pan, or burn. Just check 'em every couple minutes, and meanwhile, stir the pasta." She grinned. "Can you do it?" She said, raising an eyebrow at him; challenging him. He can play all sorts of instruments, and be badass at boxing - but could he cook?

Sam bit her lip, trying to hide her excitement as he offered to teach her. Adding an instrument to her list of abilities would be amazingly fun; plus she'd get to spend some more time with Nick. Which, so far, she definitely enjoyed doing.

"Well, what else can you play? I'd like to know what my options are." She smirked at him playfully.

[Nicolas Constantine]

Oh no. Did she really just ask that question to Nick?

Nick's smile went from ear to ear in an evil grin. All the instruments he knew how to play? That was a lot and hopefully he wouldn't slack off from his cooking duties while going down the list.

"Lets see... Your options... There's of course the guitar and the drums, which you already know I play, but otherwise there's..," Nick took a deep breath, "... the double bass, the bass guitar, classical guitar, piano, keyboard, synthesizer, cello, violin, viola, saxophone, clarinet, trumpet, and of course, the harmonica!"

Nick did some fake panting after he was done. And smiled brightly at Sam to see her response.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam just stared, slack-jawed, as Nick went through the awfully long list. And suddenly she felt very inadequate. Yeah, she could dance, and... well, dance. Though, she did have a lot of experience with a lot of different styles... which made her feel somewhat better.

After a minute she realized she wasn't watching the sauce. "Shit shit shit!" She started stirring again. Not too badly burnt... still definitely edible. She added more milk, still shaking her head in disbelief.

"Man... how do you have time to do all of that? I thought just doing dance and my Aikido training was a whole lot... but wow. You must never sleep, huh?" Sam smiled. She definitely envied him, but she didn't envy the long hours of practice he must have put into learning all of those instruments.

[Nicolas Constantine]

"Eh, well its not as time consuming as you'd think..." Nick began to explain as he peered over the top of the lid to see if the sauce was done for.

"I've been doing it for so long, any musical instrument is basically second nature to me. I learned tons of music theories when I was young and my mind clicked. Probably due to my father's influence on me, musically."

Yeah, Nick knew it was impressive, so he gave a know-it-all smirk to Sam, half to impress and half to show off.

"And you never mentioned Aikido before."

Nick wondered how experienced of a fighter she was, especially because of the type of school they attended.

[Sam Ballerino]

Sam stuck her tongue out at him when he smirked at her, but she nodded in understanding. "Yeah, I suppose that's what dancing's like for me," she replied. "I've done it for so long, and all the basics are the same, so every time I start learning a new style it's really just building on most of the skills I already have."

She wrinkled her nose, however, when he mentioned Aikido. "Yeah, it's not my favorite thing in the world. I've only been doing it for three years. My dad thought it would be... a good idea for me." A good punishment... Though that was really just an excuse for him. He'd been wanting her to have a less "sissy" activity for years. The fact that she began ditching school for her dance classes was just a convenient opportunity.

She looked over at the chicken, and handed Nick a pair of tongs. "We should probably turn the chicken over so it cooks evenly. Here, you can do it. I'll drain the pasta." She turned the heat off under the fettucine and took it to the sink where the sieve was waiting, and poured it in. As she tipped the pot over, she realized that it probably sounded like she was trying to avoid the topic. And, to her surprise, she actually wasn't. As little as she knew him, she felt very close and open, and able to share a lot more with him than she normally would, considering how long she'd known him.

She took a breath. "I started ditching school so I could take more dance classes. My dad didn't think that was such a good idea, and so Aikido was my punishment."

[Nicolas Constantine]

Nick took the tongs Sam handed him and gripped the chicken and flipped the fillets in the pan.

This isn't so hard.

Sam seemed to really being opening up to Nick. He knew this because she had just met him and she was already taking to him likes shes known him for ages. Nick wondered if it were just him or she was open with most people she just met. He doubted she was open otherwise, but he hoped it was him.

"I started ditching school so I could take more dance classes. My dad didn't think that was such a good idea, and so Aikido was my punishment."

"Your punishment? Ha, is your father in the military?" Nick said jokingly.