"Oh, cool!" Darrell replied.

"Let's take a break, then." Evan said.

"I wanna head outside and investigate some squeaking I heard earlier." he told them.

"See ya, Darrell!" he finished, before dashing out of the room.

"...." Darrell was silent for a moment, before chuckling.

"I like him." he told Ashleigh.

"Seems pretty cool." he said.

Darrell thought for a moment.

"Ahhhhh..." he stammered.

"Hm." he mumbled.

"Maybe I've seen her in passing..." he said.

"Not sure if I've... MET-met her, I guess." he went on.

"Anyway, you said coffee!" he then exclaimed.

"I am ALL for that right now!"

Ash turned to Darrell when they came downstairs.

"Yo." he greeted him.

"Hey." Darrell replied.

"I'm makin' breakfast for everyone. Won't be done for a while." Ash then said.

"...you cook?" Darrell asked,

Ash just laughed in response.

"I think she's working on something." Ash responded.

"If I recall, she said she had a burst of inspiration, and wanted to get it worked out." he told her.

"But she IS coming down for breakfast." he then assured her.

"I remember her saying she REALLY wanted to be here for it... when she heard that it'd be ME doing it." he chuckled.

"...." Darrell was silent as this exchange happened, and appeared a bit confused.

Probably because he didn't truly KNOW who Casey was.

Darrell accepted the mug before going to put some sugar in the coffee within.

"Yeah." Ash replied.

"Well, mostly." he said.

"It's not 100% set yet, but it should be fine to taste." he told her.

"Just grab one of the little spoons and let him try it." he continued.

"Darrell, you have a fave topping for waffles?" he then asked.

"Uh... yeah, blueberries." Darrell replied.

"Then you'll LOVE the blueberries I have." Ash said confidently.

Darrell accepted the spoon and placed it in his mouth.

"...aaaand.." Ashleigh heard Ash mumbled under his breath, though Darrell couldn't hear it. That's when Darrell recoiled a little, almost as though his tastebuds had been assaulted.

"...but..." Ash mumbled further, as Darrell's expression changed to genuine surprise.

"...followed by..." Ash continued to mutter, not even looking ANYWHERE in Darrell's direction, completely focused on the meal prep.

"...and then..." he went on, with Darrell's mouth started to curl up into a smile.

"...ended with." Ash finished, as Darrell's eyes seemed to light up with sparkles.

"Holy CRAP, this is UNREAL!" he exclaimed, his tone overtly joyous.

Ash just laughed.

"Whenever someone new orders it at the restaurant, some of the guys bet newbies I can't do it." he told her.

"So far they've hustled 22 people." he chuckled.

"As for me, personally? I stopped counting somewhere around 70." he added.

"Everyone reacts like this?" Darrell asked.

"99.9% of people do." Ash confirmed.

Darrell blinked a couple of times.

"..r-really?" he asked.

Ash just turned to him and winked, before going back to work.

"....." Darrell was then silent, before taking a drink of coffee.

"Oh, wow." he said.

"This stuff is really good." he commented.

"Some of the best in this house." Ash confirmed.

Darrell's heart seemed to sink from that, and he acquired a frightened look.

"Relax, kid, she's kidding." he said.

"Mostly." he then said further.

"Sort of." he clarified.

"Kind of." he changed.

"Just keep your trap shut about it." he then added in a seeming 180.

"......" Darrell was silent, before gulping.

"R-right." he replied, scared to death of making a poor first impression on someone here.

"I... I see..." Darrell responded.

"Relax. It's cool." Ash said.

They then heard some heavy footsteps upstairs, and they sounded like they were making their way downstairs.

"Ah." Ash muttered.

"Seems Kitt's up." he commented.

"Kitt?" Darrell asked.

"Our residential 4-legged feline." Ash elaborated.

Darrell still looked confused, unsure as to how to equate 'cat' to those heavy footsteps.