Stay Inside (by my Side) : Gream/DreamNotFound

11. Pine

"Dude, this has raw egg in it!" he laughed.

Clay swatted George away. "Whatever, I just want to taste it!"

He licked a spot on the spatula as George cringed. Clay chewed a little and nodded his head, smiling with content.

"Try it," he said, offering the spatula to George.

"God, no," George said, leaning away from the brown mass dripping off the utensil.

"George, it's fine," Clay giggled, pushing the spatula at him.

Finally giving in, George licked the side of the utensil, swishing the batter around his mouth. It tasted like cool melted chocolate, but pockets of powder still fell onto his tongue.

"You have to mix it more," he said, pushing the spatula away.

Clay huffed and cleaned the batter off onto the side of the bowl before going in for more mixing. George just watched, flicking his eyes from the bowl to Clay's arms, where groups of muscles tensed as he vigorously mixed the mass.

When he was done, Clay attempted to get the batter off the spatula without getting his hands dirty, so he lightly banged the utensil on the side of the bowl. When nothing happened, he hit it a little harder, and then harder yet. On the last smack, the mass finally gave out, but in the wrong direction, and  several drops of brownie batter catapulted off the plastic.

Clay bounced back in surprise as if he got shot. A few drops landed on his face, the others scattering over the countertop.

George laughed loudly as Clay regained his composure and wiped his face.

"That scared me," Clay gasped, mid-wheeze.

The comment made George laugh even harder, and he gripped the counter for stability.

"Hey," Clay chuckled, picking the spatula up again, "don't be rude."

He swung the spatula in George's direction, causing more batter to splatter over the man.

George yelped and leapt back, feeling the cold drops on his skin.

"Dream!" he screeched, and his friend laughed evilly.

The rest of the baking process went pretty smoothly, and the batter was poured and shoved into the oven without a hitch. By the time the brownies were baking, the dough had expanded and was ready to be kneaded.

Clay and George washed their hands in the sink, pushing and kicking each other out of the way with hushed giggles.

They turned the dough out of the bowl and Clay gave it a slap, which echoed louder than expected and made both of them sputter in laughter.

George kneaded and spread the dough as Clay sprinkled pinches of flour over the surface. They found a good rhythm and slaved away, chatting and laughing.

Absentmindedly, Clay dusted more flour over the dough, not realizing that George had already finished kneading and shaping it.

"Dude, I just-" George huffed.

"Sorry!" Clay grinned apologetically as George clicked his tongue. He watched as his friend re-mixed the dough, and his grin shrank into a mischievous smirk.

He threw another handful of flour onto the dough and watched as George groaned in distress.

"Oh my God, stop," he said, "you're so annoying."

Clay just pursed his lips and stood back, but not for long before quickly grabbing another pinch and tossing it over the bread.

George's distress only fueled Clay's desire to annoy the hell out of his friend.