"We know that you and Rob have been really busy working on our new song, and Tae's been really busy, uh… having cramps, and that's why we have elected to cook dinner ourselves tonight. To give you a break."

Jesse stared at T for a moment. "You think I'm going to trust you in the kitchen alone?"

"I won't be alone," said T, "Z is gonna be with me."

"And I seem to remember you said I'm a very good cook," said Z, with a bit of a smug smirk on his face. "Remember last spaghetti night?"

"I know that," said Jesse, "but I also know that T likes to 'experiment' with food."

"I'll be with him," said Z, "I can keep him under control." T scrunched up his face indignantly, a bit insulted at that statement.

Jesse shook his head. "Okay, but I'm staying downstairs to make sure you two don't start a fire." He then turned to the couch. "Tae?"

He went over to nudge Tae-young, who had fallen asleep on the couch. "Tae-baby, you can't be falling asleep if you've got your heating pad running. You're gonna burn yourself."

Tae-young quietly groaned, sat up, and turned the heat down a level, before laying back down. He had started his period that morning, and all day, he'd been curled up on the couch, feeling very moody from his hell-sent cramps.

Jesse shook his head and sat down next to the smaller boy, rubbing his shoulder. "Yeah, I know, you're cranky."

T shrugged and turned to enter the kitchen, with Z following behind him. "Alright," said T, rubbing his hands together, "let's make some magic happen."

"We're going to make something simple," said Z, although by "simple" he meant "comes with instructions". "We're gonna make KD with chopped vegetables and buns with garlic butter." He put some water in a pot to boil.

Once the water was boiling, Z added the macaroni and had T stir it while Z cut up some vegetables. He picked up some carrots, cucumber, and tomatoes to chop; they made lovely sides.

While they were cooking, there came a cry from the other room. Concerned, Z abandoned the vegetables and entered the living room, where he found Tae-young weeping on Robaire's shoulder, while Robaire rubbed his back. Z came to his side. "What's wrong?"

"What do you think?" Robaire turned around. "He's been stuck here for six hours. If his cramps are really as bad as he says they are, I'd prob'ly cry too!"

Z took a seat on the couch and held Tae-young's hand. "It's okay, baby. It's not your fault that your guts decide to torture you once a month."

Tae-young sniffled, and then heaved a sigh of relief. "Okay. Okay, it-it's done now."

"No more cramps?" Robaire let him up a bit.

"Nope," mumbled Tae-young, rubbing his eyes. "Gone until next month."

"Okay, that's good," said Z. "I'm gonna go finish dinner now." He got up from the couch and went back into the kitchen. T was still stirring the macaroni, and seemingly hadn't touched the vegetables. "Is the KD almost done cooking?"

"I think," said T.

"Okay, you mix the milk, butter, and cheese powder. I'm gonna finish the vegetables and the buns." He finished chopping up the vegetables and slathered some bread buns in garlic butter to be warmed in the microwave.

"Why is the macaroni pink?"

The five boys were all gathered in the kitchen, each with a plate of vegetables, garlic buns, and pink macaroni and cheese. Z glared at T. "What did you do?"

"Chill, dude, it's just food colouring." T shrugged. "I thought it'd be more fun like this.

"Oh my god, you guys, quit your complaining. It literally tastes exactly the same as regular mac and cheese."

The guys all looked over at Tae-young, who had dug right in, no questions asked. "I love that," laughed T. "You don't care, you just plow right in."

"Well, yeah, I've had cramps and couldn't eat all day." Tae-young continued to wolf down his food. "I'd eat grass at this point."

The other guys decided they would try it as well, and found that Tae-young was right; there was no difference in taste.

"So?" T gave Jesse a smug look. "Are you gonna trust me to cook alone next time?"

Jesse rolled his eyes. "Fine. But no more food colouring stunts. I'd prefer to eat dinner without questioning if my food is going to give me diarrhoea an hour after it's consumed."