Jake and Roxy were out on a hiking trip. Something about one last hike of the summer. Dirk was taking the GRE test for graduate school and had been studying non-stop all summer. He passed up a lot of summer activities for it. He wasn't the type of person that was okay with making mistakes. He wanted to take this test ONCE and get a good enough score that he would never have to worry about the test again. The guy had had a hard time sleeping lately (everyone noticed the bags under his eyes). He also had been pretty anxious, not that anyone could tell. He tried very hard to stay calm in front of them, not wanting to let any of them know that he was feeling psychologically fragile and stressed the fuck out over this stupid test. He was the confident one, although now that he and Jake had been living together for a couple of years, Jake knew this wasn't exactly true. Dirk was actually pretty self-conscious, he set impossibly high expectations for himself and often stressed himself out over his own standards. Which is why, Jake requested that Jane make something for Dirk and stay with him until Jake got home today. Giving her a spare key and a rough timeline of how long Dirk would be out.

Jane was, of course, happy to help. Jake was practically a brother to her and Dirk, while aloof was really nice when he let his guard down. So, with Jake and her girlfriend Roxy out of on their adventure (Jane wasn't much of an outdoorsy type). She got to work a making a nice meal that could easily reheat, just in case Dirk was longer than she expected. And made a nice batch of car-bomb cupcakes, because sweets and alcohol were a nice mix, whether it be for celebration or consolation, she hoped it would put a smile on his face.

About an hour later, Jane was frosting the cupcakes, when she heard the door click open. Dirk sauntered in, not noticing her. He made a beeline for the couch in the living room, of which she had a clear view from the kitchen; and promptly flopped face first onto it, groaning. She watched for a few moments, unsure of whether or not she should speak up and announce her presence. Dirk, rolled over, so he was on his back, forearm slung over his face, shielding his eyes from any observations that could have been made in that moment.

His scores weren't horrible, well, verbal wasn't horrible, math sucked. He was trying to get into an English program though, so who cared about math. Still, his verbal score was only mildly good and he kind of panicked during the essay writing, nerves got to him. He wasted half the time for the first essay staring at the screen because his thoughts were a chaotic mess. He hoped he had saved it during the second essay though, maybe he could salvage enough to just say "fuck it" and deal with the scores. He really didn't want to have to take that fucking five hour test again. No food, no water, they check you like you're going to smuggle a goddamn bomb into the testing center. Not to mention the $200 dollar fee every time you take the test. He sighed, caught between the allure of resignation and the anxiety of loosening his own rigid ideals for himself. He spent all summer studying, gave up a fucking lot and he only scored in the fucking 80th percentile on his verbal scores. Mid self-admonishment he heard shuffling and promptly and alertly sat up to see Jane. "What are you doing here?"

"Jake asked me to make you something."

Goddamn it, Jake. He was so convinced that Dirk would get high scores. Fuck. Dirk flopped back down, not wanting to face the reality of his friends, the people who always believed in him, called him smart, and viewed achievement as a given in anything he did. Well, now he just felt like a failure.

"I take it didn't go so well?"

"It went well enough, but hardly a hole in one. I'm going to have to talk to my professor and get a read on where to go from here. I might have to take it again." While he was talking Jane came over, sitting on the arm of the couch.

She could tell what Dirk needed was a distraction. He was a hard guy to read, but he kind of reminded her of her uncle. Someone who never lets others know what's bother them; someone that will ruminate on their perceived mistakes and regrets, beating themselves up over every single mistake; no matter how insignificant. "C'mon, I made cupcakes."

"Cool, what kind?"

"Car-bomb, there's beer in the cake and in the frosting. Their good, I promise." Dirk nodded, he was starving…and actually really thirsty too. He grabbed some water from the sink and took a bite of a cupcake. It was easily the best damned cupcake he had ever tasted! Even better than those awesome orangecicle cupcake she made for his birthday last year. He promptly shoved the rest in his mouth (did he forget to mention he hasn't eaten all day?), loving the taste of chocolate with than soft burn from the beer down his throat.

"I also made chili, want some?"

"Yes, you know I fucking love your chili." Thankfully the chili was still plenty warm. She portioned out two bowls for them and grabbed the fritos to go with it. The two sat at a little table in the breakfast nook area. Jane tried to steer clear of the test during their conversation, if Dirk's mind was what she thought it was, any mention of it would cause him to start turning it over in his mind again. Instead, they talked about Gravity Falls. They may be college students, but that show was fantastic. The new episode was on tonight and they busily chatted about their expectation based on the trailer. "Oh, it's coming on in five minutes!" Dirk said as he checked the clock.

The two quickly dropped off their dishes in the sink. Grabbing another two cupcakes a piece the rushed into the living room where they excitedly watched the events unfold. Laughing and talking in between commercials about what they thought so far. Afterwards, they chatted for a little bit, talking about Bill cipher and asshole unicorns. Dirk ran and grabbed, yet another cupcake, as Jane changed it to Real Housewives of New York. "You actually watch that crap?" Asked Dirk upon his return.

"It's a guilty pleasure." Appreciating everything she had done for him, Dirk opted not to complain. Instead settling in. He was really tired though, the stress that had built up over the summer finally leaving him. He couldn't do anything for sure until he saw his writing scores. All he could do was relax. After the show, Jane switched it to the news, Dirk asleep on her shoulder. She smiled to herself. She loved helping her friends, and she whole-heartedly felt like she and Dirk had bonded today. The feeling of warmth spreading through her chest. She finally felt like she understood him a little better. She thought her read on him was pretty accurate tonight.

When Jake and Roxy finally arrived home at around midnight they found their significant others asleep on the couch next to each other. The hikers eagerly whipped out their phones, taking a dozen or so pictures before gently waking them. Roxy, pulling out the sofa, so the two girls could crash there tonight, and Jake ushering Dirk to bed.

Notes: So Dirk is basically me (I'm sure you guys could have guessed). Took the GRE today, I got 159 on my verbal (151 on my quantitive, but shhh). I freaking hate standardized tests.