《Red Ribbon》


 Copyright

    Copyright ? 2024 Bella Rosallini All rights reserved.


    No part of this book may be reproduced, distributed, or transmitted in any form or by any means, including photocopying, recording, or other electronic or mechanical methods, without the prior written permission of the author, except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical reviews or articles.


    NO AI TRAINING: Without in any way limiting the author¡¯s exclusive rights under copyright, any use of this publication to ¡°train¡± generative artificial intelligence (AI) technologies to generate text is expressly prohibited. The author reserves all rights to license uses of this work for generative AI training and development of machine learning language models.The tale has been illicitly lifted; should you spot it on Amazon, report the violation.


    This is a work of fiction. Names, characters, businesses, places, events, and incidents are either the products of the author''s imagination or are used fictitiously. Any resemblance to actual persons, living or dead, or actual events is purely coincidental.


    Cover design and editing by Bella Rosallini

 Chapter One

    The heavy white door slowly sank into its folded hinges as a young teenage girl leaned against it. She locked it behind her, and stood at the end of an L-shaped hallway, a closet door facing her like she was in some sort of duel. Tension filled the air, and she took a deep breath for what was about to come.


    "Natoya? Is that you?"


    The first thing she felt was her feet dragging against the light brown lament flooring. Cheap, for New York City. A replica for every other apartment studio of this parent company.


    "Yes, ma''am..." She replied as she dropped her duffle bag right beside the inside of her door. It pouted against the doorframe, staring up at her with the sad eyes of open pockets. Then, Natoya picked up shoe, lifting it to her hip to untie her laces after such a long day. The plane ride taken all the energy and spirit she had left, down with it. Or maybe she left it back at her dad''s house.


    "Natoya D''Angelos, you put that duffle bag in the closet right now. I know you''ve returned from your fathers'', but his rules and mine are far from similar." Her mother''s words poked her like a stick as they drug her back, four years into the past. Sitting at a dinner table as her parents argued about house rules. Who was right, who was wrong. What was fair and what wasn''t.


    Natoya took a deep breath to compose herself, then set her half-tied shoe on the ground. The lace sprayed across the lament flooring, laying particles of unseen dirt across the spotless floor riddled with lines of fake wood.


    "Mom, I just got back." She sighed, trying not to pick a fight. Her exhale stopped halfway as she leaned down to pick up her bag. And without hesitation, it felt like thousands of tiny ants were crawled through her muscles, forcing them to rebel against her as if she told them recess was over. She dropped the bag, gritting her teeth as her lips tightened in quiet pain. "...I''ll pick it up in a second," she exhaled.


    Her mother didn''t look too happy about that. In fact, she seemed pretty angry. Natoya closed her eyes, and all she could hear was her mother''s energy being directed into the pan of sizzling onions, which popped and hissed.


    "I do not have the patience for games. You will pick that bag up and put it where it belongs." Her mother spoke in a sharp tone, emphasizing every other word as Natoya looked back at her. It almost felt like the knives she was using to cut onion were now being directed at her. And it was taking everything for Natoya not to yell back.


    "Just give me one second." is what she thought she sounded like. But she must have said something incredibly vulgar toward her mother because not two seconds later, did she exploded into a hissy fit about disrespect and how she was always kind to her dad but rude and hateful towards her mother.


    "Dad doesn''t yell at me two seconds after I enter the door!" Natoya finally retorted, her voice raising and lowering as she cried back. With the energy that had been displaced from her trip, it was taking everything in her to not blow up on her mother; she knew that it wouldn''t lead to anything. But for the past ten hours, her entire body had been screaming at her- and now so was her mother.


    "That''s it! Go to your room and think about what you''ve done!"


    "I''ll go back to my room, alright," She shouted, gritting her teeth while she turned to her bedroom. A boiling sensation filled her stomach, as her heart beat rapidly, heat surging upwards to fill her face. It couldn''t be her fault- the fact that she was this annoyed- this angry.


    "What was that?!"


    "As you wish, Your Majesty ~" Natoya shot back at her, doing a curtsy bow as she turned around to look at her, hand on the door handle. She could see her mother''s face growing red with anger, but she didn''t care.


    Yet. A tiny part of her felt like she was acting like some spoiled kid. Maybe hanging out at her dad''s place for the past week did make her more of a brat. Or perhaps it was just the sudden change from being able to chill to being punished for putting a bag in the wrong place.


    "You''re grounded, young lady!"


    Natoya rolled her eyes at her mother''s threat. It wasn''t as if she would let her go outside anyway. New York City was too scary and dangerous for a "little girl" like her. But her dad thought differently. He thought the only way she''d grow into a strong, brave woman was to let her roam alone. That she was old enough- and that the self-defense classes he had her take during the summer would be enough. Countless hours learning how to disarm attackers, slip out of grapples, and use their bodyweight against them.


    And to a degree- Natoya agreed. If she hadn''t had to come back ''home'' today, she would be watching some street fight in an abandoned parking lot, or skateboarding at the park. What she would give to be back home. But she wasn''t. Instead, she was walking into her bedroom, hearing her mother shout at her. Her anger grew slowly as she listened to the footsteps growing closer to the door.


    "If you liked it with your dad so much, why don''t you just stay with him?" The threat was empty. It was always empty. The same threat she used, ever since Natoya was a kid, anytime they got in an argument. With a voice that quavered as she shouted, echoing through the apartment. It felt almost as if the floor itself trembled out of fear like the first time Natoya heard those words herself. But today, four and a half years later, she stood unphased.


    "You know what?" Natoya said tremulously, finally losing her composure. Her stomach was in knots, and she stood up in a fury.


    "What?" Mrs. D''Angelos scowled back at her. Natoya grabbed her duffle bag and a little black school bag hanging from her door handle. She was surprised her mother hadn''t thrown it out yet. She called it the "drama queen bag" as if that wasn''t any more invalidating than it''s purpose. It had everything she needed when she ran away: non-perishable snacks, bottled water, hygiene items, a light blanket, and, most importantly- money.


    "Oh, sure. Run away!" Her mother screamed at the top of her lungs, a stiff composure falling over her already tense body- as if she could fall over and die in that moment. Natoya she shoved past her door, throwing the school bag over her shoulder and gripping her duffle bag with a sort of energy she didn''t know she still had.


    "I will! And I''m never coming back!" Natoya shouted back at her, with a voice that quivered as she did. She stormed out of the bedroom and began heading for the stairs, her sharp exhales and the balled fist an indication for why she couldn''t wait five seconds in an elevator.


    Her feet clambered down on the metal stairs, her schoolbag bouncing up and down, switching between being too high for her shoulders and too low for her back until she finally reached the first floor. She slammed the metal door separating New York City from her mother''s apartment complex. She began walking down the street, filled with anger, frustration, and exhaustion. On a normal occassion, she''d just stop by a friend''s house, stay the night there, and return in the morning. If she was more angry at her than usual, she''d go as far as to stay there for the weekend, but this time was different. This time, she was so stuck up with her attitude that she wanted to do something different, something she could have never expected.


    She wracked her brain for an idea, dancing around the concept of going back to her dad. But she didn''t even know if she had the funds for that. From what she understood, plane tickets were well in the hundreds, not including bus tickets. She continued walking down the street, spotting a tiny gas station on the other side of the road. She might not have enough money, but there was only one way to find out.


    She entered the gas station, pushed open the door, and walked straight to the restroom. There, she pushed the stall door open and locked it behind me. She dropped her duffle bag on the top of the toilet bowl and unzipped the first pocket in her school backpack. Inside was a tiny stuffed animal her dad had given her when he and her mother divorced. It was coated with long, thick fur wrapped around its exterior, and on its back was a tiny, hidden zipper. She pulled open the zipper, revealing a thick wad of cash- the money she had been saving since she was 11 1/2.


    She began to count how much money she had. $25. $50. $100. $250. $257 and some spare change, a ton of quarters. The money comprised everything she had been selling to friends and pawn shops, the gifts she didn''t want, or the toys her mother told her to throw away. The paintings she made or the bets against boys who thought beating a girl in physical activity would be an easy $5. All hidden within the tiny stuffed animal her dad gifted her before he left.


    Her mind was racing, and her thoughts came in bundles, unpackaged like a child anxious to see what they got for Christmas. It was still freezing cold in the middle of winter. She looked down at her watch and saw the time; it was almost 5:00 P.M. She knew the streets would be busy with people walking to and from work or visiting family. She stared at the cash momentarily, considering actually listening to her mother and revisiting her dad. He always said if she ever needed a place to stay, he''d let her for as long as he legally could- but how long would that be? Did it even matter?


    She pulled out her phone and quickly opened Google. "NYC to LA flights." A menu popped up, and she saw a variety of flights ranging from $150 to $300. The only thing that mattered was whether or not she could make it in time. She opened the cheapest one and looked it up online. The only issue that it had was baggage. She looked up to see what the extra fine would be, then sighed a breath of relief as she read that personal items were free. That breath of relief was quickly sucked back into her soul as she noticed that carry-ons were $50. It didn''t matter; she would be fine if it was less than $250.This content has been unlawfully taken from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    She shoved the money back into the stuffed animal and zipped it back up, covering the zipper again with fur. She felt a bit of resistance as the zipper got caught here and there, but nevertheless, she shoved the small toy back into her school backpack and threw it over her shoulder. She bent down and grabbed the duffle bag, her heart racing as she realized what she was about to do.


    She opened the stall door with the words "H + G FOREVER" carved on it and shut it behind me, leaving them forever staring at the brown tile wall. She began walking through the candy aisle, finding a small brown pouch of chocolate candy. She shook her head and left the gas station, almost guilty about not buying anything and wasting the cashier''s time.


    As she walked out of the gas station, sudden winds hit her, almost convincing her to turn around right then and there. Nevertheless, she looked back at her phone to find directions to the airport.


    "Newark Liberty International Airport..." she breathed out, typing in the address while she tried to remember it from the website. It would be an hour''s bus ride from where she was standing, and it would get her there at 5:53¡ªbut it would leave at 5:20. It was about to be 5:06.


    She quickly began speed-walking from the gas station to Pennsylvania Station, where she boarded the 5:20 P.M. bus and stopped at New Ark Airport Railroad Station. She almost didn''t want to leave the warmth the bus offered. Still, she was pushed out, as several others didn''t have the same hesitation. Most people who got off at that station were heading to the airport. She got onto her last train, a brisk drive to the airport.


    After she had climbed out of the bus, she followed a large group of people into the airport until they all split ways, and she was left standing next to a Dunkin Donuts Express. She made eye contact with the worker and quickly looked away to a nearby escalator that would lead to the next floor. "Think of a story... Okay," she thought, taking a deep breath before returning to the cashier and finishing someone''s order.


    "Excuse me..." she spoke. At first, her voice was a small, quiet whisper, but she quickly raised it to grab her attention. "My mom and dad were supposed to buy a ticket, but they both got too busy and forgot about it. I need to board a plane and don''t know where to buy a ticket."


    "Oh, sweetie. Rolland? Rolland, could you come here for a second?" Natoya looked over and took a look at some blond-haired teenager who looked like retail service had sucked the soul out of him. His eyes were lying on top of eye bags, and his hair looked like a 2017 Californian girls'' magazine.


    Rolland explained that she could only pay for tickets online through a credit card. She stared at him wide-eyed. How didn''t she already think of this? She could feel a great sense of fear enter her lungs. Do they even believe her story?


    "Well..." Natoya gulped, took a deep breath, and then looked back at the two. Is there... anything I can do...?" she asked, feeling herself beginning to shake. Rolland looked at the cashier, who looked back sympathetically. I really, really need to get back," she practically whispered, almost forgetting that she was in the middle of an act. I can''t miss school again; my dad will kill me!" she whispered in a partial shout.


    Rolland and the cashier looked at each other for a long moment before Rolland took a deep breath. "Can you cover me for a minute?" He asked. The cashier nodded, and Rolland walked behind the counter and towards me.


    "I''ll take you to the Ticket Counter. We''ll see if we can get you a flight, " he said softly, putting his hand on her shoulder. She nodded briskly and quickly began to follow him through the airport. Her backpack felt like bricks weighing down her shoulders, and her arms were tired of holding her duffle bag all day. She followed closely behind Rolland until they approached a large center with receptionists behind a desk.


    Rolland walked up to them, still dressed in his uniform. The two conversed briefly before Rolland pulled out his wallet and flashed his ID to the receptionist. She turned to her computer and heard clattering sounds against keys on a keyboard. Rolland looked at her and opened the palm of his hand, hiding it from the receptionist. She only noticed this seconds later, trying to figure out what he meant.


    Finally, she realized and dropped her school bag. He looked down at her confusedly as she pulled out the tiny stuffed animal and pulled down the zipper on its back. She then took out the wad of cash and slid it into his hand. He nodded, and she closed the zipper, shoved her stuffed animal into her backpack, and stood back up.


    "Your flight will be at 6:50 P.M. in..." The receptionist broke eye contact with Rolland and turned to her computer screen. "One hour." Rolland nodded and then took her back to the restaurant where he worked. After they left the receptionist''s sight, Rolland gave her the change for the transaction.


    "Thank you so much," she said to him as a breath of relief washed over me.


    "Don''t worry about it," Rolland replied. He looked down at her with almost pity. "I''ll have to walk you to the airplane since it has her name, but you''re on your own after that. Have you done this sort of thing before?"


    "Yeah.." she replied, recalling the last time she had traveled from New York City to Mohave. She knew everything she would have to do; the only thing different this time was that it was a different airport than what she was used to. She''d have to take a bus to her dad''s apartment this time. "My mom and dad divorced four years ago; I''ve just never actually bought the ticket on my own yet."


    "Well, if you want, you can hang out with me and Carol until the plane arrives." She squinted at the name Carol. Perhaps she was the original cashier she was talking to. They continued walking, eventually growing closer to his workplace. Her eyes widened at how many people were surrounding the counter. Rolland quickly sped up into a jog to help the first cashier¡ªor Carol.


    She watched as Rolland and Carol tackled the wave of people they were trying to serve. She leaned against a wall, watching the mob of people standing in a single-file line organized by temporary fences, which immensely helped crowd control. Occasionally, She''d pull out her phone and check her messages. She didn''t expect anything from her mother. Her last message was two weeks ago when she left for her dad''s house. Her dad''s last message was, "Did you get home safe?" she replied, "Yes! Thank you, dad!"


    6:10, the crowd grew heavier with every minute. At 6:20, there was an announcement for an airplane that was about to take off. At 6:30, several people had left, and the hallway they stood in was practically empty.


    At 6:40, Carol handed her a chocolate donut and a small drink. "Have a safe trip, sweetie." She said, brushing her hair out of her face.


    "Thank you!" she said, smiling, but a bit of her heart hurt. She felt herself having grown attached to this lovely lady, and now she would have to leave and probably never see her again.


    At 6:45, Rolland walked over and led her through the hallways to the section where her flight would be. She finished her drink and threw her trash away in a nearby trash can before they entered a large tunnel, where a lady checked her¡ªor technically Rolland''s¡ªticket and ID. That original sad feeling worsened as she concluded that this would be the last time she would ever see Rolland.


    "Good luck, kid. Stay safe." He ruffled her hair and offered her another soft, almost genuine smile.


    "Thank you!" she repeated, her voice almost getting choked up. She knew he noticed but didn''t say anything. It could only make a person wonder¡ªdid he also feel this way? Or was this a regular occurrence?


    She grasped the ticket in her hand, searching for the seat she would have to sit on for the next 6 hours. This was it; there is no turning back now. After four years of saving up money to be able to do this, she wasn''t even sure if she would be sent back to her mother''s house or not. She felt a wave of heat crash onto her face as she began to overthink. She had been on a plane several times a year; why was she only now becoming anxious?


    She first got on a flight to visit her dad on Christmas break. It had been a few weeks since her mother and dad finalized their divorce- her mother regularly degraded her for wanting to visit him after he had left them to live on the other side of the world. On top of being scared that she was on a plane to a place she had never been before, she was conflicted about whether or not she even wanted to visit her dad or stay home. Now, she realized it was the best thing to happen.


    The plane began to shake rapidly, and she looked outside the window to see it slowly rolling down a wide concrete road. She could feel the wind''s resistance against the airplane, and she could see the airport off in the distance, separating roads from the bright blue and cloudy skies of New York City. It took longer than she expected for the airplane to take off, but when it did, it quickly rose from the ground to a slight degree. She felt gravity almost pulling her stomach to the earth and clutched onto her seat as the airplane began to turn into the sky.


    Goodbye, New York City. Hello, it''s a seven-hour flight.


    *************************


    09:58 P.M.


    *************************


    The plane flew over a neighborhood in L.A, rows and rows of buildings neatly organized by roads that converge into larger roads. The airplane slowly lowered until they reached an area full of concrete and parking lots. She grabbed her school bag from under the seat before her and waited for the plane to fully land on the concrete strip.


    The plane finally contacted the ground, a slight jump as it slowed more and more to a halt. She stood up and followed the people out of the airplane and into Terminal 5. From there on, she briefly walked to LAX-T5-II, where she would board the bus at 10:08 P.M. She could feel herself growing increasingly tired, starting to go on autopilot, just following the instructions on her phone, which was slowly running out of battery. The bus reached Union Station FlyAway, and she walked for three minutes until she reached the Metro D-Line. That bus would take her to Pershing Square, where she would get off and breathe in the downtown L.A. air. She sat behind two men who looked like bikers. They spoke in low voices about a street fight happening tomorrow evening. She tuned in to listen to what they were saying.


    She got off the bus and looked around. Across the street from her was a Walgreens, and she continued to head down that direction for another 13 minutes. She memorized the street name where her dad''s apartment complex would be and quickly realized she knew the area.


    She walked down the street for 13 minutes until she reached her mental landmark¡ªBrownstone. From here on, she would turn the corner and walk down San Pedro St. Finally, she was here in the middle of the night.


    The building started as a store, but the Tailor Loft''s apartment complex was directly above it. You could push out brown brick walls and red framed windows to bring polluted air into your industrial-style apartment, which almost looked like an unfinished construction site. To the right was a sketchy store that I, herself, never entered. It was boarded with wood with the decal "Sale" written on the windows and a little white sign that said "WE are O P E N."


    She opened the door leading into the apartment complex and began climbing up the stairs, clutching her school bag and duffle bag. She climbed up the first, second, third, and fourth flights of stairs until she finally reached the floor her dad lived on. She walked through the long, deserted hallway and finally reached her dad''s unit, knocking on the door.


    "I''ll be there in a minute!" she heard his voice call from the other side of the apartment. She wondered what was going through his head. Maybe he was expecting someone? A girl he met at a coffee shop? A repair worker to fix the broken knob on his door? Girl Scout cookies?


    He opened the door and stood in confusion, startled, as he stared at me, his 14-year-old daughter, whom he thought had left his house almost twenty hours ago. Perhaps she was the last person he expected to see at 11:08 P.M.

 Chapter Two

    A ray of sunlight shined into the room, creating a highlighted box on the concrete floor that looked like the carpet had been ripped out of it. One of the closet doors hung ajar, its hinges clinging to the door and wall like a child of two divorced parents. How familiar.


    Natoya stretched and looked around her bedroom. Her back didn''t feel any better than yesterday, either because it still hadn''t recovered from the 20-hour back-to-back trip, or because she had spent the entire night sleeping on the floor. But man, that was the best sleep of her life.


    It almost felt unreal that she had actually returned to her mother''s house 18 hours ago. Instead, it felt like she had just had an incredibly tiresome basketball game that lasted all day yesterday.


    She picked herself up from the floor and zipped open her duffel bag. She hadn''t unpacked since last night. In fact, Natoya didn''t do anything other than collapse on the same cot she had been sleeping on ever since winter break started. Her dad, on the other hand, was fast at work with his lawyer, trying to figure out how to become the custodial parent within this week. He was scheduling an emergency meeting with him, her mother, and the court to change the custodial order¡ªor whatever it''s called.


    She grabbed a ranger-rolled sweatshirt and shorts, undergarments, and her toiletries bag, then walked over to the bathroom. She took a quick shower, changed into her new clothes, and wrapped her old ones in the rough white hotel towels she had used to dry herself off. Then, she tossed both into a laundry hamper.


    She stepped out of her bedroom and heard her dad on the phone with her mother. "It''s not a construction site. It is a two-bedroom apartment that follows all terms within the order," she heard him say in a stern tone.


    Her dad''s unit was a two-bedroom, two-bathroom apartment that looked like it had been designed by a freshman architecture major, and though it could all easily be covered up with some nice decor¡ªher dad wasn''t one to spend a lot of time in furniture stores. The apartment did look like an unfinished construction site. It did have terrible placement for the bathrooms, and it did look like something from the Industrial Revolution, but it felt more like home to her than her mother''s neat complex that looked more like a house tour than an actual living space.


    She slowly walked over to his room and knocked on his door, poking her head through the door.


    "Dad?" she asked, waiting for a response from him.


    "One moment..." he said to his lawyer before he turned to face her. "Yes, sweetie?" he asked in a soft and gentle voice, the complete opposite of the stern, formal speech he used in front of his lawyer and her mother.


    "Is it okay if I go to the park?" she asked, offering him a soft, almost awkward smile. Her dad didn''t hesitate as he read her body language and face. He looked way more stressed out than she did, but for some reason, his entire face relaxed as she side-stepped into his room.


    "Yes, of course. Stay safe, watch the roads," he said, pausing with every indent in his voice.


    "Thanks, Dad," she said, backing out of his room for him to continue talking on the phone. She could hear her mother yelling on the other side of the phone and tried to block it out as she grabbed a pair of her earbuds and plugged them into her ears. She grabbed her phone, opened her music app, and began playing loud music to block out the argument that she knew was about to take place. She then walked to her closet and cautiously opened the door, careful not to break it off of the hinges that were holding on for dear life. Inside the closet was her oasis, everything she had brought from her mother''s house whenever she was sent to her dad''s place for the holidays, weekends, or just whenever she was mad. The basketball her dad had gifted her when she joined her middle school''s basketball team. The skateboard her dad had bought her after she started taking self-defense classes. Boxing gloves, a portable painting set, and a small jewelry box that had tiny trinkets she had been collecting.


    She grabbed her basketball and skateboard and began walking out of the apartment, shutting her bedroom door behind her. She took one last look into her dad''s apartment, the sounds of him on the phone with his lawyer filling her ears. She felt a heavy breath escape her lungs, and her eyelids slowly closed. Then, she turned around, locking the apartment door behind her. Please don''t fall off when I come back...


    The walk to the closest park with a basketball court was¡ªeerie to say the least. It was 9 minutes away from Tailor Lofts, and since it was so early in the morning, traffic was terrible. The more she walked, the more her heart began to beat faster. She could feel the excitement burning in her chest, bubbling and sizzling like water in a pot.


    When she finally approached the basketball court, she felt right at home. The fence that she had to pull herself through was green, along with the basketball court itself. It actually almost looked newly refurbished. Probably less than a few months ago, if not that week. Graffiti was on the walls surrounding the building. Trash was littered across the back of it, but she didn''t care. She dribbled her ball and began to shoot hoops¡ªgrowing cautious as she felt as if she were being watched. She stopped shooting her ball and turned to her right. She looked at a young boy, roughly around the same age as her, smiling. The first thing she noticed was his curly brown hair swiftly moving in the wind, and his tank top following like a flag. He looked relatively lean when it came to muscle; she assumed he had the same muscle mass as her.


    "Yo, yo, yo, what''s up?" he called out as he walked over. He was wearing all loose clothing and what looked like Jordans. But everything tied back to the smile on his face. In a world where all the color looked like it had been sucked out around him, he almost seemed to... glow?


    "Hey," she replied and turned towards him while dribbling her ball.


    "You from ''round here? I don''t think I''ve seen you before." His voice was... gentle? Comforting? She couldn''t describe the word for it¡ªfriendly! He looked like the embodiment of the word "hug."


    "No, I actually literally just moved down here," she replied, motioning that she was about to bounce the ball at him. He seemed to pick up on her body language, and when she threw the ball at the ground in his direction, he caught it and dribbled it a few times.


    "Name''s Andre," he began, introducing himself. His smile almost faded for a moment as he looked around. "You know, this here isn''t the greatest place. Lotta fights, lots of vandalism..." Andre began, then shot the ball back at her rather slowly. She smiled and caught it swiftly."Yeah, I bet it does. I actually lived near a place just like this back in my old city." She felt compelled to tell him that she used to live in NYC, but at the same time, she didn''t want him to assume she was just some city girl who didn''t know bad neighborhoods."Really? So, this area isn''t too new to you?" he asked, motioning for her to shoot the ball back at him."It actually feels just like home," she replied with a tiny bit of a laugh, then quickly shot the ball into his hands. He caught it, and she noticed him almost looking impressed."I take it you used to play basketball in your old city?" He smiled, and she could see a glint of light in his eyes.


    "Only a little bit," she replied with a bit of a misleading tone. "You?" she asked sarcastically, motioning to his basketball jersey.


    "Oh yeah, only a little bit." He replied and then shot the ball into the basket from the three-point line that she had only just now noticed he had crossed.


    She grabbed the ball as it bounced on the concrete, jumping up to do a half-layup before letting Andre have the ball. He and she continued dribbling and shooting the ball while somewhat talking with one another. She learned that he had lived here for the past ~3 years and that he had three siblings. She only remembered one of their names¡ª Iren. She sounded like a girl she used to know. He had previously come here from Florida but had to move after his mom got sick. She learned that she was living with her dad, and after a bit of avoiding the question, she finally gave in and told him that she had moved here from New York City.


    "New York? You play pretty well for a city girl."


    "At least my people aren''t known for wrestling alligators!"


    She also learned that he was attending the same high school as her, was also 14, and was a month younger than her.


    "A whole month. You''re basically an old lady," Andre laughed as he shot the ball into the basket.


    "And you''re basically a baby," she playfully punched his shoulder, then ran to grab the ball. She swiftly tried to dunk it into the basket but failed terribly as she wasn''t able to jump high enough.


    She looked at Andre in embarrassment, but he didn''t seem to notice. Instead, he had taken an interest in the streets a bit away from them. She held onto the basketball and gazed in the same direction, trying to figure out what he was looking at.


    "Think he''s gonna come over here?" Andre asked. She looked at him confused, and he put his hand on her shoulder, leaning in to try and position her in a direction where she could see a black-haired boy wearing a black leather jacket and ripped jeans.


    "You''ve been here longer, what do you think?" she asked, looking a bit worried as she stared at the boy who was walking into the park¡ª he hadn''t seemed to notice her or Andre just yet. She pushed the ball into Andre''s hands, taking a few steps back while she waited cautiously to see if the boy was actually going to join them in the park.


    When he did, he looked surprised and hesitated in his walk over to them. Andre and she continued their game of basketball so as not to make it awkward, though she couldn''t stop glancing over every now and then to see how close he was.


    "Yo, what''s up, dude?" she heard Andre ask as she missed another shot, feeling as if she had an audience, which only made her more nervous.


    The boy approaching them had dark black hair. His eyes looked like a dark shade of gray. He had somewhat darker skin than her, but lighter skin than Andre, and his face barely had any marks on it. His leather jacket was a little bit too big for him, and he looked like he was trying to dress like he was for the streets.


    "Sup. Mind if I join?" He asked. The way he spoke sounded like he grew up in the streets, but the words he chose to use and the way he used them made her feel underdressed. He made her feel like she had to wear a gown and high heels.


    "Yeah, no problem. I''m Andre, by the way." He sort of jogged over, shaking his hand. Andre looked as if he had just received a massage or like he was relaxing in some spa. His shoulders were dropped, and his hand looked sluggish. On the other hand, the other boy looked tense and cautious. His eyes contacted hers, and she could feel his negative energy transfer over."Jess. Nice to meet you." Even his name sounded formal. Maybe it was just the punctual way he said it. He made a smooth motion for Andre to toss the ball. When Andre had, the two boys had already approached the free-throw line, which Jess tossed the ball into."Hey, I''m Natoya," she said after re-running the line through her head, trying to find a way to formally introduce herself to Jess."Pleasure to meet you, Natoya." He said gracefully¡ª almost as if he was about to bow. Her eyes sort of widened in surprise, and she smiled softly at him, then motioned for him to toss her the ball. She then dribbled the ball, shot, and missed, growing red with embarrassment as she felt even more like she had an audience watching her."No big deal, no big deal," Andre said as if he were an auctioneer trying to get bids. But it was almost comforting. He caught the ball mid-fall and dribbled it once before he followed through with his movements and jumped up, shooting the orange ball into the net."Good shot," she said quietly as she wasn''t entirely sure if she was even confident enough to say anything."Here, try again," Jess said as he caught the ball, tossing it back to her. She quickly caught it and tossed it back into the hoop, this time making it through.She and Andre continued their conversation, now with Jess joining them. She learned that Jess had also been living in the neighborhood for the past 3 years and that he wasn''t specifically from this area, but he lived in the city."Oh, for real? Which neighborhood?" Andre said, sounding as if he was excited to have met a guy who had been in the area for around the same time as him.If you spot this narrative on Amazon, know that it has been stolen. Report the violation.


    "Just north of here," Jess replied, not really answering directly. Which made sense¡ª he didn''t want to tell them the exact place he lived.


    "North? Little Tokyo?" Andre asked. A small part of her was impressed at his internal compass. She looked at Jess as he shot the basketball into the hoop, waiting for his answer.


    "Something like that," he replied, tossing the ball into the basket. He seemed to be done with this conversation. Andre, however, seemed more persistent and continued asking more detailed questions, which Jess was dancing around.


    "What did you say your name was again?" Andre suddenly asked, his eyebrows narrowed. She couldn''t necessarily understand why.


    "Jess."


    "No, your last name?" Andre asked, grabbing the basketball as it began bouncing out of their range.


    "What? Are you going to try and find my social media? If you wanted my phone number, you could''ve just asked," Jess replied sarcastically.


    "Really, man? But for real, what''s your last name?"


    "Nonyabuiz."


    "Nonya... Buiz?" she mumbled in confusion. "Is that Eur¡ª"


    "Non-ya-business," Jess stared at Andre as he sarcastically answered his question.


    "Tell ya my name if you tell me yours?" Andre was persistent¡ªshe''d give him that. But so was Jess, who seemed determined not to give them any personal information.


    "Man, I don''t give a dog''s ass about your name," Jess scoffed, slapping the basketball out of Andre''s hands. He turned around and shot the ball into the basket, missing. It bounced down the court.


    She could feel the basketball court growing with tension. Andre then grabbed the ball from Jess and went for a layup in another attempt to shoot. He made it in the hoop."That''s a good shot, Andre," Jess said, taking the ball and going for a layup as well, making it into the hoop. She smiled and watched as the two boys played basketball. Though, she couldn''t help but notice that Andre was getting more and more competitive as time went on."The first one to twenty points wins!" she then shouted, teasing them with competition. And with that, Jess dribbled and shot at the hoop, trying to score his first shot. It spun in the basket, almost as if it were deciding whether or not it wanted to give him the point, then fell through the net.


    Andre ran up for a 3-pointer and scored successfully without a miss. He had now gained a lead of 3-1 on the scoreboard.


    "You''re a good shooter, Andre," Jess shouted from the other side of the court. He then shot and scored, bringing the points up to 3-2.


    "Thanks, Jess," Andre replied before dribbling the ball and making another layup. He scored two more points, making the score 5-2 in his favor. A group of a few girls passed by, cheering for the boys as they passed.


    "Don''t worry, Jess. You can catch up," Andre shouted in encouragement.


    The ball bounced off the rim and slowly slid towards her as she backed off the court. She leaned down and took the ball, swiftly passing it to Jess. Jess then tried a layup and scored. The score was now 5-4, with Andre in the lead.


    The score was close, with Jess and Andre each trying their hardest to beat each other. Eventually, the group of girls that passed by came back with a much larger group of students, all cheering and holding up their phones to record the game.


    "Woah," Jess said, growing distracted as the crowd got bigger, and Andre became more determined than ever to win for the people who were watching. He dribbled and then made a layup successfully, the score now being 9-5. She swiftly stood up and made her way out of the cameras. The game quickly became a contest of skill between Andre and Jess, but as time went on, it became a battle of mental endurance and stamina. Jess tried to keep on shooting but missed most of his shots due to an exhausted mental state. Andre would then make some more layups, shooting, and scoring, and the entire crowd would erupt with a loud cheer, some people even yelling out, "Andre for varsity!" Andre would score more and more layups as Jess continued to miss most of his shots.


    She rolled her eyes at the attention Andre seemed to be getting and instead focused her energy on Jess. "Come on, Jess! You got this!" she shouted from the sidelines, which¡ªto her surprise¡ªcaused more people to start chanting his name.


    Minutes passed, and points went up. The game was drawing to a close, and it was apparent that Andre was the victor. Andre looked at the crowd that was watching and raised his hands in victory over the cheers that slowly began to die down. When they had, Andre turned to Jess and smiled, patting him on the back.


    "You tried your best, man."


    "I''m exhausted. That was a hell of a game, Andre," Jess breathed out while she approached from the sidelines. Jess sat on the basketball court floor, his elbows on his knees as sweat began to fall down his neck and back. He tried to catch his breath and keep composure.


    Andre jogged to his bag, causing her to grow impressed with his endurance. She watched as he swiftly grabbed a large bottle of water from it and jogged back to Jess, handing it to him. Jess quickly took the bottle of water and began chugging it, calming down after he had a good amount of water. She looked at Andre, who quickly looked over to the street as if to look at something.


    "We should play basketball more often, man," Jess said, looking up at Andre, who laughed and glanced over at Natoya. She looked back with a raised eyebrow.


    "Yeah, for sure," Andre began, throwing the ball at her. "You too, Nat."


    She smiled, catching the ball and dribbling it a few times.


    She looked at Andre with a soft smile.


    "Natoya is a pretty name, by the way."


    She quickly looked back over at Jess, feeling her face grow red once more¡ªthis time it wasn''t from embarrassment, though she wished it were.


    "Thank you. Jess is a... handsome name too."


    As she looked at Jess, she began to notice smaller features within him too. His hair looked like it had been straightened and groomed. He had a pretty clean face and no signs of any imperfections. His eyebrows were actually well-maintained, and he wore pretty nice clothes.


    "...Natoya?" Andre asked, his voice in the form of a question, but it ended with a low note.


    "Yeah?" she asked, looking at him. He had a confused look on his face and was looking between her and Jess as if they were from a different planet.


    "Your ball?" Andre asked, motioning for her to catch the basketball he was holding. She quickly caught it as he threw it at her, looking back at him with an even more confused look. "You two want to continue our little game?"


    "Yeah,"


    "Sure," Natoya and Jess said roughly around the same time. She dribbled the ball as they went closer to the basket and shot it into the hoop. "So, which schools are you guys attending?"


    "Ugh. I got transferred to Metropolitan High School," Andre replied as if even saying the name was causing him pain. It sounded familiar, but she couldn''t remember whether that was the school she would be attending this semester, or whether it was just some school she had ahead of back in New York."Is it not a good school?" she asked, squinting her eyes a little bit and looking over at Andre as he shot a fastball into the hoop.


    "Are you kidding me? I have to take pre-algebra this year. Mr. Mornthorn teaches pre-algebra. Last year, almost the entire 8th-grade class failed because he had the most monotone voice ever. And they had him at 8:30 in the morning."


    "No wonder his name is Mornthorn," she joked with a bit of a smile. "What about you, Jess? What school are you attending?"Jess laughed. "It''s called Oxford Academy. My friends just call it Hell High.""Sounds prestigious¡ªhow is your family paying for that?" she asked, impressed by his ability to get into what sounded like such a good school.


    Jess hesitated for a second. "...Scholarships, local funding. Stuff like that." Jess''s voice trailed off as he took the basketball and shot it into the hoop. But the more she and Andre spoke to him, the more she felt like he wasn''t just some neighborhood kid who lived a few miles away. In fact, she was starting to doubt that he even lived in downtown LA. She looked over at Andre, who looked suspicious of Jess as well.


    "You must be pretty smart," she said, smiling at Jess as she took the ball and shot it into the basket. Jess didn''t really respond to it.


    "The only thing that makes you successful in your education is your desire to be successful. Seek out opportunities and study hard, and you''ll find yourself successful."


    "And have money," Andre added, looking back at her with a look of ''get a load of this guy''. She rolled her eyes at both of them, then tilted her head to Andre."Or just have parents that force you to do well in school," she scoffed, thinking back to her time in New York City. Her mother used to punish her with every B she got until her dad found out, and the two had a huge argument.She remembered that night in great detail.She had just gotten home from school. It was an exhausting day. She got a C on a test, and she walked into the apartment, hearing yelling¡ªwhich at this point was just background noise. She took her shoes off and set her backpack down, and she saw her dad motioning at her, saying something about the fact that she didn''t enjoy her mother''s lifestyle either.That dinner, it was revealed that she had gotten a B on her test, and the table exploded with yelling after her mother scolded her and told her to go to her room while her mother thought of a punishment. The last thing she could remember was her dad shouting profanities and leaving.


    That same week her mother and dad were constantly gone, and she was generally home alone with a babysitter who seemed just as uncomfortable and conflicted. For the next three years, instead of feeling like she was home any time she visited her dad for the weekends or holidays, she felt more like a houseguest, or a mailman, going from one house to the next and listening to her mother talk trash about her dad, and vice versa.


    She was broken out of her thoughts as Jess shot the basketball into the basket, swiftly catching it as it fell out of the net. He handed it to her."Yeah, I suppose that would be a bit of a factor," Andre laughed, watching Jess shoot the ball into the basket.


    Natoya then lifted her arm into the air to move her flannel out of the way as she checked the time. It was 6:32, and the group of them had spent quite a lot of time at the park together.


    "Nice watch," Andre nodded, tilting his head to look at it.


    "May I?" Jess asked, throwing the ball to Andre as he walked over to her side. She stretched out her arm in his direction, and he began to examine the watch. He almost seemed impressed.


    "It''s a few years old," she awkwardly laughed. "My dad got it for me at ten years old so I would know when he was coming to pick me up.""From school?" Andre asked, jumping up to throw a basketball into the hoop. He made a silent ''Yes'' with the last letter spelled out as he made the shot, running to grab the ball before it bounced too far away.


    "Aha. Sometimes," she laughed.


    "It''s 3 hours off," Jess said, checking his phone and cross-matching it with the watch. She looked at it confused, then remembered she had only recently moved from NYC to LA. Jess placed his hand a little above her waist and moved her to the other side of him so he could easily redo the time on the watch, setting it to 3:32 p.m. instead. "There you go."


    "Thank you," she smiled, feeling herself become embarrassed and a little bit flustered after having been moved and having the wrong time on her watch. She looked at Andre, who looked like he was paying attention to someone from across the street. She looked over in their direction. They must''ve noticed, because not two minutes later, they were quickly walking away from the two teenagers who were staring in their direction.


    "Anyways," Jess said, snapping both of our attention toward him. "It was a pleasure meeting both of you. I''d better get back."


    "Nice meeting you as well," she replied with a smile, directing her comment to both Jess and Andre while she put her hands into her pockets.


    "You too," Andre said, looking at Natoya, then Jess, then back at Natoya. "So... You think you''re going to stay around this part of LA?"


    "Most likely. I hope so," she laughed.


    "Mind if I get your phone number...?" he asked with a small tint of awkwardness.


    "Oh! Yeah, sure!" she said. She walked over to him, motioned for him to give her his phone, and he pulled it out of his back pocket, turning it on.


    "Uh... You know what, do you have a piece of paper?" he asked, looking over at her.


    "No..." she said with slight hesitation. "I don''t... Do you have a pen?" she asked, suddenly coming up with an idea.


    "Here," Jess said, walking over to her and handing her a ballpoint pen. She took it and quickly wrote her phone number on Andre''s arm, turning back to Jess as if to ask if he wanted her phone number too.


    When he nodded, she motioned for his arm and began to write her phone number on it.


    "I''ll see you guys later then!" she smiled at both of them.


    "See ya."


    "Cya."


    Jess turned to walk out the way he came. She expected Andre to do the same; however, instead, he began walking in the same direction her apartment was in. She followed shortly behind him until he noticed she was walking in the same direction.


    "Oh. You live this way?" Andre and she asked almost at the exact same time. They both laughed while slowly passing a hotel.


    "Yeah. Tailor Lofts or something like that," she replied, waiting for the intersection to let them cross.


    "Harlington''s Apartments," Andre said. "It''s a bit of a walk from here, actually."


    "Is it?"


    Andre and she continued walking down the street, stopping at every intersection as they waited to be able to cross. He told her about various things in the city, about the crime rate in downtown LA, about how LA had one of the highest ''child exploitation'' rates in the US.


    They passed by a big, dark red brick building where a homeless man was sitting on a stool, next to a cooler with a bag tied around its handles, until they reached another intersection leading down San Pedro¡ªthe direction she was heading to¡ªand Sixth Street, the way she assumed Andre was heading.


    "Hey. Stay safe, Natoya," Andre said, patting her on the shoulder. The sign across the street began flashing a white man walking, and she quickly crossed the intersection, continuing to walk down San Pedro.


    "You too!" she waved before she quickly walked across the street.


    She passed several guys leaning against a wall to a Hope Row resource center. She passed several tents camping out next to a brown building, then she passed a creepy building board that said "FIRST YOU WATCH IT. THEN YOU DIE."


    Relief filled her lungs as she saw a banner saying TAILOR LOFTS. She relaxed a bit and quickened her pace before she crossed the street and entered the building. It had been a long time since she had this much excitement in her life. And now that she finally had the taste of freedom, she wasn''t sure she''d ever let it go.

 Chapter Three

    Traffic roared on the main road, like a lion with a throat problem. It was four in the afternoon, and the door to Tailor Lofts shut flush against against it''s furry rim, creating an air resistant seal.. well. As close to one as you''d get with it''s great quality. People pushed each other on the sidewalk, talking and gossiping like teenaged girls while Andre turned around to continue walking down the road.


    He had followed Natoya from afar, and now that he knew she had gotten back safely, he crossed the road to make his way back to Harlingtons'' apartments. He pulled out his phone and earbuds, and began to play some music on an app on his phone, but that couldn''t stop him from thinking about the ''what ifs'' that could have happened if he didn''t make sure she got home safe. On one hand, he felt like a creep. On the other hand, if something had gone wrong, he would''ve been there to help.


    Just last week, another girl, the same age as Andre and Natoya, had her poster put up in the nearby Walmart''s billboard. "MISSING". Just one of the thousands of other teenagers that were kidnapped while walking alone. Andre knew it could happen to anyone, and his mother always told him that it''s better to waste time in your day making sure someone got home safely, than to waste sleep without knowing.


    After a few minutes, he entered his apartment complex- Hariltons'' Apartments. Best rat problem in all of downtown LA. If by ''best'' you mean ''greatest''. But the rent was cheap, and most of the studio apartments had a functioning bathroom. Andre climbed up the stairs to get to his floor where his very own rodent-infested apartment was waiting for him to struggle against the door, a one vs. one battle, his patience vs. it''s rusty keys. He took a step back to regain his composure, he couldn''t help but wonder if Natoya had noticed him and just kept her mouth shut. Did she think he was a creep? He should''ve just asked to walk her home. Finally, he managed to unlock the door, quietly shutting it behind him.


    The sound of soft footsteps echoed through the small bachelor studio ''apartment''. Trash that had softly fell to the ground was quietly picked up and placed back into the trash can, only to fall back onto the hardwood floors.


    "Andy?" His mother asked, her back was to him and she was stirring some pot. The entire studio smelt like mac n cheese, and Dominic and Mileva were patiently waiting at the little fold-out table they called a dining table. "Well you''re home late!" She laughed.


    Andre did spent quite a bit of time at the park, longer than he usually did. Then again, he was hanging out with Jess Severen and a pretty girl. A small smile crossed his face as he thought back to the moment.


    Now that he was home, he couldn''t help but remember everything about her, still fresh in his mind. He and Natoya had so many common interests, basketball, movies... They both moved a lot of different places, they both barely felt like they could settle in their lives. His heart beat faster just thinking about the cute little black strands of hair that fell infront of her face. But worst of all, he couldn''t stop thinking about the moment he first saw her.


    I walked through the gate of the old park, barely anyone ever came here anymore because there had just been a massive shooting in the area. They used to have so many festivals here, and now it was like... well... an empty park.


    I became sentimental as I looked around the area, preparing myself to suddenly get hit by the nostolgia of playing basketball with my friends till dusk, or the lot of us running out of the park since we had ditched school, and an officer was just about to walk into the park. But instead, I was hit with a very different feeling.


    Standing in the middle of the basketball court was the most beautiful girl I think I had ever seen in my entire life. The sun radiated off of her jet-black hair, turning it into a crispy dark brown. Like a chocolate bar, except it wasn''t... you know. Melting in the sunlight. She looked timeless, but when she turned around and made eye contact with me...


    "I- uh..." He didn''t make eye contact with her, "I was out with someone." He kept his gaze away, and knew he messed up when he could feel heat slowly creeping up his ears, and across his cheeks.


    "Oh," Andre looked up to see his mother with a big smile on her face, and a similar blush on her cheeks matching his, "oh my! Someone special?" She asked in a teasing tone.


    "N-no! She''s just a friend! Really!" His eyes widened and he froze as he realized he just confessed to hanging out with a girl. The scoreboard was now two to zero, and he wasn''t on the winning side.


    I should have known I was done for the second I even laid my eyes on her, but those brown eyes- not the kind that almost every other girl had here in LA. No, hers were ... beautiful. Like she had looked into the Trinity College Library for too long and encompassed it''s colors. Standing in front of all of the graffiti and trash, it was like looking at a renaissance painting among modern art. And I don''t mean good modern art. More like, stacked pieces of toilet paper, or a single red line on a blank canvas. That type of ''art''.Stolen from its rightful place, this narrative is not meant to be on Amazon; report any sightings.


    "Uh huh?" The grin on her face only widened as his entire face grew to a brighter, hotter red. "Are you sure? You seem awfully red for just a friend."


    "Y-yeah." He laughed nervously, "Just- just a friend. Definitely not- no- no- NOT a crush." He was really selling himself there.


    "Yo, yo, yo, what''s up?" I said that. God that was stupid. Why did I say that? Once in a lifetime type of girl and I said ''yo yo yo, what''s up''.


    The giggle that escapes her smile was followed by a knowing smile. "Oh really? Not even the teensiest bit of a crush?" His mother knew exactly what this girl was, but to spare him from dying of a heatstroke, she turning around to place a paper bowl of mac n cheese in front of his little siblings, Dominic and Mileva who giggled at how red Andre was.


    He tried to force a chuckle, "N-no no, really." The red only grew deeper, the blush going down his neck now. "S-she''s just- she''s just a- a friend. An-and- and nothing more. Just- just friends." He stuttered. He was stuttering. That''s even more embarrassing than his mom asking about a girl.


    "Hey," She said. Sung? Doesn''t matter, she needs to become a voice artist. A singer. Was that honey? God what is wrong with me I should not be talking to this chick. No, she isn''t just a chick, she''s a lady. Oh god I''m turning into a literal simp.


    "Well, maybe one day I''ll get to meet this... ''friend''." She replied with playful air quotes.


    "W-well- I mean- I- she''s- well...." He scratched his head, "She- she''s really nice. You''d- really- you''d- probably like her."


    "Not as much as Andy likes her~" Mileva teased, causing Andre to suddenly take a sharp breath. He was trying very hard to stop thinking about the first time he saw her. The first time he met her, but god, that was hard. He thought of the little details that made him fall for her, things like her laugh, or the way she smiled.


    "Oh don''t worry Andre, I know you''re mature enough to make the right decisions when meeting people." His mother stood up and ruffled his hair before heading back to the kitchen to make Andre a bowl of mac n cheese as well.


    "So? Tell me about her?" She softly smiled after placing the bowl infront of him, on the table.


    "Yeahhh! Is she preettyy?" Mileva, his little sister, teased alongside their mom.


    Andre''s mother was very understanding. He could never understand how, with everything she had gone through. "Thanks mom." He chuckled, before realizing what they asked, his eyes grew wide as he looked up at them, "W-well- she- she- she''s really nice! And- she''s reaaally- she''s- she looks- she- she''s very attractive!" He blushed, suddenly covering his face as he realized how obvious he sounded, which made the red flush even more.


    "Sounds like more than a friend to me!" Dominic mocked while kicking his feet while he sat in the chair.


    "Oh Dominic, be nice to your brother!" His mother chuckled, now sitting on a bean bag near the three of them.


    "She''s not! Really!" He kept trying to convince himself as the red on his face grew deeper,


    The three laughed before his mother straightened up. "Now don''t you two mock him too much, here in a few years you guys are going to be in the same boat. Maybe this mystery girl will also be sitting here eating dinner with us~"


    "But mom!" Mileva complained, "You always say that!" The little girl pouted, and even though he didn''t want it to continue, Andre couldn''t help but chuckle at her complaint, but the thought of his little sister with some high schooler... Or even a middle schooler- gross. Andre looked over at his mom who was about to stand up to do the dishes.


    "It''s okay mom, I''ll do them." Andre then said, helping his mom back on the bean bag before he walked over to the sink to clean out the pot of mac n cheese.


    "Thank you so much, Andre." His mother said sweetly, then looked at Dominic and Mileva. "Now, remember you both have school in the morning, so you can''t stay up too late."


    Mileva pouted, "But mom, pleaaaseeee!" She whined.


    "Mom is right, don''t you have that spelling test today?" Andre said in response to her whining. "You''ve got school tomorrow! Better get some sleep!" Dominic didn''t care anymore and flopped down in bed, too tired to put up any resistance.


    Mileva pouted even more before she quickly ran to the bathroom to get ready for bed. His mother yawned and looked back over at Andre.


    "Now that they''re gone... Tell me, what''s she like?" His mother spoke in a soft whisper as Andre did the dishes, as to not let Mileva or Dominic hear.


    Andre closed his eyes for a second before he released a long breath. "She has this..." He was at a loss for words, he wanted to describe her, but how do you describe what made someone so special? He thought of all of their special moments together, all of the times his heart had fluttered when she spoke gently to him, she was an angel, a bright, shining light. ".. Aura. She''s so kind, and her eyes, mom."


    His mothers'' breath caught in her throat at the look of pure emotion the shone in his eyes. She gently ran her fingers across the sides of his face while he spoke. "That''s wonderful, sweetheart."


    He smiled back up to her and sharply exhaled. "It''s too soon to know anything, though."


    "Well, don''t stay up too late thinking about her," She teased him one last time before turning around and getting Mileva ready for bed. His mother and his two little siblings all got comfortable in the bed, and the little lamp on the nightstand flicked off.


    Andre often went to sleep on the sofa on the opposite side of the bed. He was the largest out of his siblings, and it would be far too uncomfortable for him to join them on the bed. But it was the least he could do, despite all the bug bites he had gotten from sleeping on the couch, when he looked over and saw all three of them laying in their bed, his heart felt the warmest it ever had. Even as he turned off the light and went to sleep on the couch, he couldn''t help but feel content, and happy that the people he loved so dearly were safe and sound.


    He rested his head against his arm, and closed his eyes to fall asleep.

 Chapter Four

    The sun had barely risen into the sky when an alarm clock dramatically rang through the tiny apartment room Natoya had finely decorated to her standard. It had been two weeks after Natoya''s father had won the custody battle. Now, instead of being able to spend the entire day at the park, talking to her newfound friends Jess and Andre, she''d have to instead sit through eight hours of boring lectures.


    She looked down at her watch to check the time¡ª7:30 AM. She hung her head and took a deep breath before quickly shooting up and walking to the bathroom beside her room. For the first time, she didn''t have to remove her shampoo and conditioner from her toiletry bag. She changed into the clothes she had set aside for this morning. She took a shower, sped up while she stomped down the stairs, and quickly opened the door to enter L.A.


    The streets were as busy as she expected, and the wind was brisk and sweet. It carried a small cloud of cigarette smoke a few blocks down until it finally dispersed. she speed-walked down the street, trying not to get trampled by the stampede of people going to, and from work. Then, she boarded the 18 Commerce CTR, looking for a place to sit.


    Opposite where she was standing, holding onto the rail of the bus was a light brown, curly-haired boy holding the hand of two little versions of himself, one a boy and the other a little girl.


    "... Andre?" she asked softly as the bus quickly took off, and gravity pushed her into an unsuspecting man who looked quite startled- then angry.


    "Yo. Leave the girl alone; she didn''t mean to." She felt Andre grab her hand and pull her away from the man. He stared at her menacingly before he turned away again.


    "You alright?" Andre asked, looking down at her with a soft smile.


    "Yeah, yeah, I''m good." She laughed, and then for a moment, she caught the eye of a little boy staring at her, almost as if he was copying the man she had bumped into.


    "Oh, yeah. Natoya, this is Dominic and Mileva, Dominic, Mileva- Natoya."


    "Andy talks about you a l-"


    "Alright then-" Andre covered Mileva''s mouth and she looked at him with a playful smile. He returned the smile, almost looking flustered. His broad, green eyes stared into her brown, and it almost looked like the two colors were mixing- like a jungle or forest.


    "Don''t mind her.." Andre slightly laughed to ease the awkwardness.


    The bus ride took another 4 minutes, stopping roughly 5 times, though she wasn''t counting.


    "So... she gotta drop them off, but they can walk the rest if you''d like?"


    "Is it far?" she asked with a slight concern.


    "Oh, no, not at all. She normally walks there anyway." Andre laughed; it was almost contagious, and she caught myself smiling at his laugh and his kindness. She could feel myself growing increasingly grateful that she had him here to help me.


    Andre and she walked down the street, Andre was holding both of his little sibling''s hands. We passed a fast food place with cars lining up its entire drive-through, it almost looked new, as if it had been torn down and rebuilt only last year. We passed a bus barn, with a parking lot filled with buses of all different conditions. she followed Andre into a red brick building with a banner titled "ENROLLING NOW!" right below it was a phone number to what she assumed to be the elementary school his little siblings would be attending. "MONARCH FAMILY LEARNING COMPLEX" with a bit of design, four puzzle pieces with stickmen drawn inside them.


    I watched as Andre dropped his siblings off and began to follow him down 7th Street. she couldn''t resist watching him as they passed the elementary school.


    "What''s wrong?""Aha." Andre laughed and shook his head. He looked forward, focused on road they began to walk down. "They just grow up really quickly.""How old are they- if you don''t mind her asking?"


    "Yeah, no problem. Dominic''s the middle child. He''s..." Andre hung his head back as he did the mental math. "Eleven-years-old. Mileva is just a few years younger than him, at seven."


    "And you''re fifteen."


    "It''s sort of a long story,"


    "I''m not judging, don''t worry." As they walked down, she offered him a soft smile and placed her hand on his shoulder blade. Banners lined the street post and graffiti lined the walls of nearby buildings as they approached Roosevelt High School.


    "This way," Andre led her down a separate street, and a chain fence separated them from what she figured was the high school she was soon to attend. The wall was covered by green plastic, and a sign attached to it by plastic strips warned anyone who did not have the administration''s approval before entering the school''s grounds.


    "W-What are you doing?" she stuttered as he put his foot onto the fence.


    "Jumping it, c''mon." My eyes widened as he began to climb over the fence. Andre looked back at her as a car passed and offered his hand to help her up. She looked between him and the fence, then took his hand and quickly climbed over the fence alongside him.


    We walked past a shed and entered the concrete building, where several kids were being dropped off by their parents early. she looked at her watch; it was 7:50 a.m.


    "I would take that off if she were you," Andre warned, motioning to the watch. she looked back at its silver plate and didn''t need further explanation. This didn''t seem like the school that would help against thievery, especially if one wasn''t smart enough to dress appropriately. she slid the watch off and was about to put it in her backpack before Andre motioned for her to stop.


    "I''ll give it back to you after class, a''ight? It''s safe with me. Trust me."


    His words hit her like a truck, and she couldn''t help but feel myself be pursuaded. she softly nodded and handed her watch to him, looking him in the eyes as she did. she don''t even know how she was trusting him this much. That was her dad''s watch- he could steal it and never give it back, and it would be all her fault.


    Andre tucked the watch into his backpack. she studied him to ensure it wasn''t put in a place that would break. He then offered her a soft smile and began to walk her into the main building.


    I was hit with the smell of perfume and cologn.


    "Bless you," Andre said as she suddenly sneezed. she covered her nose to try to stop, but it only made her sneeze again. "Bless you," Andre said with a bit of a laugh."Thank you," she laughed. Andre motioned for her to follow him, and they approached a receptionist lady standing behind a glass.She looked old. And not the type of old that you see in movies. She had wrinkly white hair and didn''t even know hair could be wrinkly. Her face looked like a paper that had been folded infinity too many times, and she had glasses that didn''t fit her face in any way-shape or form. But it wasn''t her looks that made her ugly..."What." She said in an annoyed tone. "Don''t you got somewhere to be?""She''s new. She doesn''t have a class schedule." The older lady rolled her eyes and began flipping through files. Andre looked at her with pity, then looked back at the lady.


    "Name and grade?"


    "Natoya Los. Tenth." The lady shuffled even more through the papers, letting out a huge sigh as she continued growing more dramatically. Then, she must''ve found something because she pulled out a file and began pulling papers out of it, stringing them along the already-messy desk.


    "Here."


    "Is that all she needs?" Andre asked."Ugh. Yes, now get out."Andre took the paper and handed it to me. It was ugly cyan paper with the school''s logo stamped in the back. The tables were lined with Monday through Friday and periods 1 through 6, with a lunch period in the middle. The design was terrible, as the background for the lunch column was black with black letters, and she could barely see what time it was.


    "11:14 to 11:44." Andre suddenly said out of nowhere. "Don''t worry, it''s easy to memorize."


    "Says you." she laughed, then looked at her schedule. My smile faded into a frown as she saw the words printed on the first column. "Algebra, 8:30-9:15."


    "What''s wrong..?" Andre asked as they began walking down the hallway.


    "What did you say that one guy''s name was? The one that almost failed an entire class because he had a monotone voice?""Mr. Mornthorn- do you have him?" she looked up at Andre to see a smile slowly grow on his face. she slowly nodded which only made him smile more. "At 8:30?""Yep..."


    "You loser."


    "Don''t you have him too?" Andre was still smiling, even though they would both suffer in his class. In fact, this seemed to make him even happier.


    "Well, at least she can show you to your first class," Andre said optimistically.


    "Woo hoo." she said in an exhausted tone.


    Andre and she walked into room 110, seeing a few other students scattering around as they struggled to find a seat. she followed directly behind Andre as he walked to the last aisle in the back with two open seats.


    "Welcome, " said a voice as he entered the class, two kids shoving past each other as they entered not two seconds later. "If you are on this list, this is your class. Please find a seat."


    He was another old man. His eyes had bags under them, and his glasses constantly drooped down his face. His desk was very messy and covered with school supplies. Then, he began reading names off the list.


    "Adam Amber."


    "Here." There was a long pause as he looked around the room, then back at his list and checked it off.


    "Orion Burnest."


    "Here."


    The list went on and on. She let out a silent sigh as she waited for her name. But it never came. She looked back at her schedule and was in the right class. Even if she wasn''t, there was no way he was teaching two courses at the same time.


    "Andre Vincent."


    "Here."


    "Do she have everyone...?" There was a bit of silence, and she raised her hand to speak. He slowly looked over at her and blinked.


    "No sir." He studied her for a long moment, and she looked at Andre nervously before looking back at him.


    "Are you the new student?"


    "Yes sir."If you stumble upon this tale on Amazon, it''s taken without the author''s consent. Report it.


    "Welcome to Roosevelt High School... Make yourself at home."


    He went back to his clipboard and appeared to be writing something. She lowered her hand and looked at Andre in embarrassment.


    "Today they will be covering functions. What are functions? Kaitlyn."


    Everyone in the class looked at a blonde-haired girl who almost looked like she had shrunk in her seat. she almost felt comfort because she wasn''t sure how to answer. Andre leaned over and whispered into the boy''s ear beside him, who leaned forward and whispered into Kaitlyn''s ear.


    "It''s when a number is paired with another number in a range," Kaitlyn replied quietly. She watched as Andre dug his hand into his forehead and slid it through his curly brown hair. She then caught him looking at her, offering a split-second smile before he looked back at the board.


    "Almost. A function takes an input, and gives an output. We will explore how to graph, analyze, and create different types of funcitons."


    After Mr. Mornthorn''s class was finally over, she felt like a part of her life had been sucked out of me. Mixing stuff she didn''t understand with a monotone voice at 8:30 in the morning was precisely how Andre had described it- gruesome. she was starting to understand why the previous class had failed.


    The rest of the classes weren''t bad. she grew fond of Mrs. Kresh, who taught the English class. The unit was on proper essay writing, something the class had apparently done during the first week of the year. However, too many kids weren''t submitting proper essays.


    "Alright, that''s the end of our lecture today. Please note that tomorrow''s assignment will follow the proper essay format. She wants five pages of double-spaced words, 12 point font, Times New Roman."


    A loud groan was heard across the class, and she picked up her backpack to look at her schedule for her next class.


    "Hey,"I looked up and saw a blonde haired boy with brown eyes staring down at me.


    "Hello.." she said, and side-stepped to walk past him.


    "Not so fast, you''re the new girl, right?"


    I stared at him for a long moment before rolling my eyes. She wasn''t fond of the boys back at her old school who forced girls to do what they wanted, and she wasn''t about to go down that rabbit hole again. She shoved past him and continued on with her day. She heard him yelling behind me.


    I walked to her next class, History. I''d quickly walk up to the second floor and navigate for the history class. Finding the classroom would take her quite a while, as the public school was large and crowded. I''d soon figure out the reason why¡ªthe classroom number 215 was, for some reason, between 201 and 205.


    I entered the classroom and looked around at the 20 kids staring back at me. She made eye contact with Andre, who motioned for her to sit beside him. She quickly shuffled past a few desks, setting her school bag between her and him.


    The teacher looked to be in her 40s. She began the lesson as some students continued entering the classroom. I took her books out and listened to the lecture.


    After a few more hours and a few more classes, Lunch had begun. She found Andre heading down the opposite side of the hallway from me, and he gave her a look that said everything she needed to know. We were both hungry.


    I was never a fan of school lunches, but they did have an athletic period, and she was going to make sure that didn''t mess her up. Andre and she stood in a line as kids came and left with lunches. she stood in between him and another random kid.


    "How''s your first day been so far?"


    "Boring."


    "Kids here being alright?"


    "The majority are, there are a few that are stuck up."


    I glanced back at Andre, who looked almost as if he was sort of annoyed, but the look quickly left his face. We slowly made our way to the front of the line, and in front of them were the cafeteria ladies, filling the trays with a slice of pizza, a small carton of milk, and some brown beans.


    "This school''s got some pretty rough food." she heard Andre sigh behind me. she laughed as she waited for him to take the lead on where to sit.


    "So.. Natoya?"


    "Yeah, what''s up?" she asked.


    "I was wondering if you wanted to, y''know, get together sometime to study?"


    I looked down at the cafeteria food and noticed a small worm slowly leaving the beans. She pushed the tray aside. "Yeah, sure, after school, you and she can grab some pizza or something," she said with a bit of a laugh. Andre looked at her plate, and he must''ve noticed the worm because he, too, pushed the tray away.


    "And maybe you could give her a bit of a tour," I''d laugh, thinking back to how she was almost late for her history class due to it''s strange placement.


    "Deal." He stuck out his hand and she shook it. The rest of lunch was relatively chill, they spent most of it on our phones and then walked together to our next class, biology. There, she focused on the lesson and followed along with her notes. Andre seemed rather bored, and compulsively threw tiny bits of paper here and there across the room. Our teacher was an older man who believed in note-taking and quizzes rather than hands-on learning. She struggled to stay focused in her remaining classes as the day ended, until finally, it was time for athletics.


    Andre and she walked outside the school to the field house, where a large group of students were walking. When they arrived, he seemed to be conversing with the P.E. teacher, who looked at her and walked over. She showed her into a separate room, where she looked through a few boxes and gave her a medium-sized T-shirt and shorts with the school logo and "ATHLETICS" written on them. She took them and quickly ran to the locker room to change.


    The P.E. teacher seemed to also be relatively new to the school this year, as she was taking the class a lot more seriously than some of the other students might like. The first part of the class was a separate boy and girl workout, where they lifted weights and did cardio. Then, halfway through the class, the teacher let them have some fun with a game: dodgeball.


    Andre and she were on opposite teams, which sparked a bit of competition between me, though she could see it in his eyes. He wanted his team to win. The game went on for a few minutes, she threw a ball at a girl and got her out, he threw a ball at a boy on her team and got him out. she shot a ball at a guy on his team and another guy on her team threw a ball at a blonde haired boy that she slowly began to recognize as the boy from her English class. He made eye contact with her and she dodged the ball he threw in her direction.


    Then, she made eye contact with Andre, and instantly threw a sharp ball at him. Andre ducked and smiled. "Whoo! Hot shot Natoya!" He laughed as he picked up a nearby ball.


    "Just for you!" I''d shout back and grab another ball, throwing it at another kid. she narrowly dodged another ball as it was shot directly at her head.


    I heard Andre laugh and looked over at him just in time to see him rewinding a ball to throw at an unsuspecting sophomore. she laughed as the boy buckled back and slowly got off the court.


    People on her side were slowly getting out, which took a toll as they also struggled to get people on Andre''s side out. she upped her game and quickly began throwing balls, grabbing them from the floor, and tossing them at other kids. This must''ve caught the attention of the blond boy, as he suddenly threw a nasty headshot at her from the other side of the court.


    The ball slammed against her head, and she stumbled back. For a moment, all of her senses felt disoriented. Then, she heard the P.E. coach blow a whistle. she shook her head, got onto her hands and knees, and felt a hand grab her arm to help her up.


    "Natoya... Are you good?" Andre asked. She looked at him, blinking a few times as she tried to refocus her vision.


    "Yeah.. she guess karma''s a bitch, huh?" I''d laugh, trying to grab her head. "I''m good."


    "Hey," she heard Andre speak. His voice had changed from his usual soft tone to a stern, vexed tone. It reminded her of how her father spoke between her mother and me: "Watch out who you''re throwin'' those balls at."


    "Shut up Vincent."


    "Yo. Back off, " another boy said, joining her and Andre. She looked over at him. He had dark brown skin that matched his eyes and curly black hair.


    "Yeah, shut up, Boyle." A girl chirped in. She looked between the three, then focused on Andre as she steadied herself.


    "Whatever... It was just a joke, pushover.."


    I grabbed Andre as he suddenly looked like he was about to rush over at the blond-haired boy. Boyle. "Those assholes. Are you alright?"


    I nodded and massaged her temples with her thumbs. "I''m good, don''t worry about it." I''d softly punch his shoulder and then walk to the locker room, splitting ways with Andre and his friends as the girls walked into the girls'' locker room and the boys'' other.


    ***


    "I wasn''t going to throw a ball at you, but it was self defense."


    "It was not self-defense!" she shouted playfully as she leaned into Andre. He scoffed and put his arm over her shoulder, and she felt her heart skip a beat.


    "Look her in the eyes and tell her you weren''t going to throw that ball in her face."


    I looked Andre in the eyes, and she couldn''t help but feel a smile grow on her lips. He rolled his eyes and shook his head as they stopped beside his little brother and sisters'' elementary school. Andre went inside and picked up his little siblings. She waited outside, looking around the area as groups passed by. She could feel myself growing anxious as some older boys walking home from school stared in her direction.


    "Alright, let''s go home." Andre tapped on her shoulder and she quickly followed him and his little siblings to the bus route.


    "Andy says you come from France," Mileva said as she let go of Andre''s hand and grabbed mine instead. She looked up at Andre, who shrugged and continued walking.


    "That''s right."


    "Was it cold there?"


    "Sort of."


    "Was it smelly?"


    "... Sort of."


    "Did you like it there?"


    "... Sort of..."


    "Why did you come here instead?""I wanted to live with her dad.""Why did you want to live with your dad?"


    "All right." Andre quickly interrupted before looking back at his little sister. She giggled and let go of her hand to catch up to her older brother. she smiled at their unique bond. It was something she had always wanted: a little sister or brother to hang out with. On one hand, she felt myself jealous, but on the other hand, she was grateful that her parents didn''t decide to bring another child into the world.


    Andre, Mileva, Dominic, and she all boarded the bus that drove them back into downtown L.A. she noticed that he held a sturdy stance so as not to get knocked over by the bus since he wasn''t able to hold onto anything. she offered to take Mileva''s hand. She seemed content with this and held onto her hand as she held onto the bus rail."Thanks," she read on Andre''s lips as the bus took off. He held onto the railing as well. she looked out the window, mesmerized by the view of the train''s reflections over a river, but it left as quickly as it came."Want her to walk you home after she drop these two off?" Andre said, breaking her focus on the window,


    "I''d like that," she replied with a soft smile.


    The train ride back was surprisingly peaceful. Instead of getting off at her stop, she watched Andre for the rest of the ride so that she would know when they were getting off.


    After another ~ five minutes, the bus stopped, and she followed Andre onto the sidewalk, where he waited for everyone else to leave before he, I, and his two little siblings walked across the street.


    His apartment building didn''t look bad at all. It had a large sign that said "HUNTINGTON APTS " across the side of the building, and its walls were dark or dirty beige brown. she followed Andre into the building and up the stairs until they reached his apartment.


    "Just wait out here a moment," Andre said, and she softly nodded. She caught a small glimpse of his apartment. It was, to say the least, cluttered and almost reminded her of her dad''s house. Papers and cardboard boxes lay astray across the dirty kitchen, and trash almost fell out of the trash can. She quickly looked away so as not to embarrass him.


    I waited outside his apartment briefly until things finally settled down. she heard footsteps before Andre left, closing and locking the door behind him. she looked up at him, almost admiring the freckles over his nose bridge. Andre had very roughed-up eyebrows. He never actually fixed them up, but they were very full. His curls looked similar to those of an ocean''s wave, except darker and brown.


    "Ready to go?" His eyes met mine, and she was able to get a closer look at them. They were green¡ªan algae green¡ªand they merged into a brown¡ªnot a brown similar to his hair, more like a dark aburn brown.


    "Yeah," she replied with a bit of a smile. she followed Andre down the stairs and through the front door until he and she started to make our way down the familiar street to the bus stop. When they reached the intersection, they crossed and continued walking to her house.


    "So, it''s you, your little brother and sister and...?"


    "My mom." Andre replied, looking down at her as she tried to make conversation.


    "Dad?"


    "Nope." Andre''s voice lowered as he answered, and she nodded, putting the pieces together. His father must''ve left when he was younger. "He comes and goes every now and then."


    "Do you visit him on the holidays or.." Andre laughed at this statement and shook his head.


    "No, he never wanted anything to do with us."


    "I''m sorry." she said softly, looking up at Andre who moved her to the other side of the street as they crossed.


    "What about you?"


    "Pretty similar, actually. My mom and dad got divorced when she was ten, she lived with her mom up until now."


    "What happened?" Andre asked curiously.


    "I ran away..." she explained to Andre the story behind why she had run away, including the coming back to her mom''s house, the yelling, the plane ticket, and the friendly people she met along the way.


    "Doesn''t sound like it was unfamiliar territory." Andre said as they turned the corner.


    "No, not at all. she always ran away from her."


    "Do you normally take to running away from your problems?" Andre teased, lightly pushing her towards a building.


    "Do you normally take to..."


    "Uh huh?"


    I rolled her eyes as Andre confronted her bluff, and looked up at the large apartment building in front of us.


    "Well, she guess I''ll see you at school tomorrow," she said, unlocking her arm with Andre while she backed into the door to her apartment complex.


    "I''ll see you then," Andre replied softly. she smiled and walked into the complex, sprinting up the stairs to her room.


    I thought about the day''s events until supper, texting Andre and Jess back and forth while she changed, showered, and ate supper.


    So, this is what freedom tastes like?

 Chapter Five

    Author''s Note:


    Trigger Warnings: Alcohol, underage drinking, hazy or disorienting experiences, potential sexual harassment


    ...


    Tailor Apartments sat silently as the front door swiftly shut and locked behind Mr. Los. Natoya had just had an exhausting day at school. Now, she woke up at 6:40 PM to the sound of a text on her phone.


    She rubbed her eyes aggressively, stretched, and grabbed her phone. Several notifications under the name "Andre J" filled her lock screen. She yawned and unlocked her phone before reading them.


    Today 6:42 PM


    "Hey Nat, are you going to the party tn?"


    She paused, trying to think of how to respond to the text. Andre never mentioned going to a party himself, but there was talk amongst the school about some family¡ªthe Drakes¡ªwho were planning on going on vacation. Their son, Marco, was planning on hosting a party at their house while they were gone.


    "Drake''s party?"


    Read 7:38


    "Yeah, down on Beacon Ave."


    "Are you going?"


    Read 7:39


    "Hell yeah, I''m going."


    "Could you send me the address?"


    Read 7:40


    "Do you have a car?"


    "No..."


    Read 7:40


    "I''ll walk you there, and we can take the bus."


    "It''s like an hour otherwise."


    "Tailor Lofts, right?"


    "Yeah, text me when you get here."


    Read 7:41


    She slid out of her bed and walked out of her bedroom, peeking into her dad''s across the hallway. "Dad...?" she asked, pushing the door further while looking around the room. It was empty. An eerie feeling washed over her, and she looked through the entire apartment, filled with drop-pin silence. There was no noise; everything was silent. Her dad must''ve left for work¡ªsupposedly after a sudden dispatch call. She walked back to her room, waiting for the text. After ten minutes, she made sure her phone was charged enough and just climbed downstairs, waiting outside the apartment building to try and see a familiar face.


    "Natoya?" she heard from a few feet away.


    "Andre!" She smiled, quickly walking over to him. He took her hand and moved her onto the other side of the sidewalk, not facing incoming traffic.


    "So... The Drakes?"


    "Rich snobs. Their son Marco goes to Westlake?"


    "Are they rich snobs by rumor or...?"


    "Oh, no." Andre laughed. "I played basketball against him once. He threw a fit and told his daddy when he lost."


    "Think he''s actually smart enough to attend Westlake?" she asked, looking up at Andre with a raised eyebrow. At the same time, they slowly approached the bus stop.


    "Oh, yeah, definitely," Andre replied sarcastically before climbing onto the bus. Andre pulled her to a specific open seat, then stood before her, holding the rail while she sat on the seat next to where he stood. They didn''t talk; instead, he looked alert and paid attention to everyone on the bus, even the people behind him, until they finally got off at Wilshire/Union.


    "Anything else I should know about them?" she asked after they had gotten off. Andre walked her down the street in the house''s direction.


    "Marco isn''t going to vouch for anyone, so if cops pull up, run."


    "Think the cops will show up?"


    "Either the cops will or Mr. and Mrs. Drake." Andre laughed before checking his phone.


    The house the couple lived at wasn''t what she expected. She looked at Andre with a confused expression as she stared at its Victorian style. Andre didn''t seem as confused, but he looked down and read her expression.


    "It''s his aunt and uncle''s. He''s not a sharp tool, but he''s not the dullest. His father would probably cut him off if the house they lived in got trashed by many teenagers," Andre said. She nodded. It did make sense.


    833 Beacon Ave was a Victorian-style house. Its paint job looked like a painting company instructed its workers to take their smoke breaks in the white section of the store. The paint itself didn''t complement the house at all; instead, it made it look...


    "...Sketchy," she said, her pitch high as she glanced over at Andre with a bit of a worried and cautious look.


    Andre looked down at her, his amused look turning into a sudden realization. "If you don''t want to go, I can take you back home."


    "No! No, it''s okay," she said softly, looking back at the house blasting loud music. Andre nodded, and she latched her arm around his as they walked inside.


    The place was filled with a variety of different odors: alcohol, cigarettes, vapes. Lights were going wild with a variety of different colors, and everyone was dancing. It was packed full of people aged between 16 and 20, and it surprisingly made her feel excluded. The bass from the music thumped in her chest, and the air was thick with excitement and anticipation.


    Andre pulled me through the wave of people. She kept a close hold on him while they walked through the crowd. She could feel her heart skipping beats while she walked through the crowd, her eyes widening at all the teenagers dancing and drinking.


    "Easy, easy, don''t worry," Andre leaned down and whispered into her ear.


    "Okay," she said, looking back up at Andre as she tried to calm down. She began studying her surroundings, trying to recognize any faces in the old Victorian house, and then she saw the same black-haired, grey-eyed boy from the park.


    "Is that... Jess?" she asked Andre, unsure of herself. He looked in the direction she was pointing at and suddenly started smiling.


    "Jess! Yo!" His voice deepened; she could only assume it was to make himself sound cooler.


    Jess looked like he was in the middle of a conversation with another dark-haired boy. The boy in question had his hair slicked back, quite the opposite of Jess'' hair, which seemed to be creating waves due to the room''s humidity. The boy looked in Andre''s direction, then swiftly turned away from Jess, who began to walk over.


    "Natoya, Andre," he greeted them with a dry smile as he walked over. Jess put his hands in his pockets, and she looked at Andre, who had an off-putting look on his face.


    "Yeah, didn''t know you were coming to the party," Andre said with uncertainty.


    "I guess we got lucky to find each other," He replied, his voice copying the same tone as Natoya glanced over Jess. He didn''t seem as amused. He then offered Natoya an open palm. "Well, I was about to join the crowd. Would you like to join?"


    "How generous," she replied before taking it. Andre and Natoya exchanged looks of curiosity, and Andre backed up to look for the guy Jess had just been talking to.


    "So, Andre brought you here tonight?" Jess asked as they joined the crowd. The dance floor was in the living room and was full of teenagers grinding on each other and making out anywhere they could.


    "Yeah, I thought it would be pretty fun," Natoya smiled. She knew her face was growing red with embarrassment as Jess and she joined them and just danced instead of doing anything provocative.


    "I take it you don''t know the Drakes too well?" Jess asked, taking her hand and twirling me as the music began to slow.


    "No... I know of them."


    "Try not to," Jess said in a tone of warning. She looked at him in confusion, but before he could answer her confused look, Andre joined them with red Solo cups. He handed both Jess and me one, and she could feel the anxiety slowly growing within me.


    Natoya had never drunk before. Her father probably wouldn''t care if she did, but her mother would kill her. She wouldn''t have let me so much as stick a foot out the door to be able to even get a mile within alcohol. She looked at the solo cup Andre had handed me and then back up at them. "Have either of you ever drunk before?"This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "Pfft." Andre scoffed before taking a swig of the alcohol and chugging down a red solo cup. She smiled at his recklessness and looked at Jess, who had a look of... disgust? She couldn''t quite read it through his poker face.


    "No... I''ve never touched alcohol or any other substance," Jess replied bluntly. She breathed a silent breath of relief as he revealed that to us. Thank God she wasn''t the only one. "Is it beer?"


    "I''d be surprised if it wasn''t. Bottoms up," Andre was the first to take a sip, and after noticing our hesitation, he slightly lowered his cup. She hesitated before following in his footsteps. It tasted bitter, like garbage water, and she forced herself to try and give them a smile as her eye twitched.


    "Not how I expected it to taste," she laughed after swallowing the beer. She was doing everything she could to keep her face from looking sour. Jess smelled the contents of his cup and then took a sip.


    "Ah... Not what I expected either..." He swallowed, then immediately gagged. "Ah hell, that''s bitter as fuck." Jess scowled, and she giggled at his reaction. She took another sip of the beer; the fiery liquid burned its way down her throat, leaving an almost tingling sensation as it left. She couldn''t help but wonder if it would "numb her worries and troubles," as everyone around me had described it.


    "This is pretty good. How can you hate something so delicious?" Andre asked, looking over at me while she finished her cup. She looked around for wherever Andre had gotten it from. He must''ve noticed because seconds after, he was pushing through the crowd to get another round of drinks before returning to us. "Jess, you barely even finished your cup."


    "I''m taking my time with it," Jess replied, taking Andre''s second cup. Andre didn''t seem that amused but continued chugging his cup after offering me one after Natoya finished the first solo cup. It tasted bad, but it made me feel a lot less anxious being surrounded by these other kids.


    Andre seemed to be having the time of his life. He weighed more tall than Jess and me, so it was no surprise that he wasn''t getting as drunk. Nevertheless, she walked towards him to try and get him to slow down, but as she reached her arm out, she realized he was a bit further than she originally thought. The dimly lit room was messing with her vision.


    "Nat, are you good?" Jess asked, quickly grabbing her shoulder before she fell forward.


    "Yeah, I''m fine," she replied with a smile.


    "Cheers," Andre said after grabbing another can, handing it to her, and clinking the cans together.


    "Cheers," she replied, raising the can up.


    The boys and she began walking out of the living room, where the blasting music gave her a massive headache. Andre seemed to have a similar issue as he held onto his head.


    "Sit down, Nat," Andre said when she realized most of her weight had been concentrated on leaning against him. She felt herself growing nauseous and suddenly... sad? Angry? She gripped her drink and took another swig as Andre sat beside her. Jess was standing up, though a huge light was blocking him from her vision.


    She began talking with Andy. He was a friendly face within a crowd of strangers. She finished the second drink she had in her hand, and the room felt like it was becoming louder. It couldn''t have been that bad. Andre had already finished his fourth, and he looked fine. After a few seconds, he turned to look at another girl who had joined the couch they were sitting on.


    "You''re... very pretty, y''know." Andre began flirting with another girl, and she turned her attention to Jess. His face looked like a hazy concept art piece, and she took another sip of her drink. Unless she didn''t. Her mouth felt dry, but her throat felt... not dry.


    "Natoya..." Jess was saying something, but she was focused on the laughter surrounding her. The raucous conversations and the two people wildly making out beside her.


    "Hey, girl~," Andi said in front of her. He looked older. She squinted, trying to figure out why he looked so different.


    "...Hey?" she asked in a three-dimensional voice. Randi kept talking and felt her back suddenly grow colder, as if the wind was rising from it.


    "...somewhere?" was the last thing she heard before she suddenly felt herself leaning back onto the couch or grabbing something.


    "Uh," she began before she felt a sudden pressure on her wrist, hand, or arm. One of those three things, or maybe all of them.


    "Hey!" she heard a voice shout from behind her. She let go of whatever she was holding onto and grasped her head as she suddenly felt a sudden headache. "...Interested."


    A body got thrown across the floor, and she felt pressure on her arm again, even though it felt like it had never left. She struggled to grasp everything around her before everything went black.


    The light became a fixture only known to man, and she was back on the couch, unsure if what had just happened even happened. Maybe it was a dream. Maybe she was just thinking about it happening. She was zoning out, then zoning back in.


    The night passed by in a blur. One moment, Randrew was being shoved toward a girl to try flirting with her; another, Jess and a different girl were chatting. She stumbled through a wave of people like a warrior on a battlefield. She leaned against a wall as gravity seemed to pull her in that direction. Then, she walked into the kitchen and opened the fridge door.


    She found herself a snack, humming slightly as she tried to open the wrapping. Did it have wrapping? Was it a snack? She dropped it in her confusion.


    "First time..." she heard Jess say, and she looked up from the snack in a bubble of confusion. His mouth was moving, but words weren''t coming out. And if they were, music was absorbing them. But she could see Jess with his black curls and blue eyes.


    "Yeah..." Her words tunneled down a drain, and her mouth moved, but she wasn''t sure what was coming from it.


    "Daniel..." Jess said. She looked at him, confused.


    "Daniel?" she asked, grabbing a hand on the fridge. Jess just laughed in response, and suddenly, she realized she wasn''t holding the fridge. Instead, it was another solo cup.


    Jess asked a question, and she obliged. He offered his hand and took her phone out. He said something, but she couldn''t really understand it. He then offered her phone back, and at the bottom was a message, but she could not read the blurry words¡ªtheir bright lights hurt her eyes.


    "Awww. You''re so sweet," she replied before standing up. Gravity felt like it was making her fly as she did so. Vertigo was hitting her like a boat. What felt like hours of talk later, Jess began leading her out to the living room. He was saying something, and she could hear it despite the music. "...Westlake." She had heard of that place before. An apartment building?


    "What family?" she said randomly as she picked out pieces of the conversation here and there.


    "The Severens."


    "Oh," she replied.


    Jess reached out to her shoulder, but she felt no weight on it. She looked in his direction and saw him pulling on her hoodie string, exposing her neck to the hot and humid air around her. She realized how close he was to her¡ªthey were practically nose-to-nose.


    She felt herself pull back¡ªor maybe she was falling backward. Or maybe he had pushed her back. Nevertheless, she was heading in a direction opposite from him. He moved his hand to her back and ensured she didn''t fall over.


    Jess was so nice and sweet. He kept her from falling over. She was saying something to him¡ªsomething she couldn''t coherently understand. "...So?" was the last thing she remembered saying. Instead of holding his arm to steady herself, she felt her throat go from feeling dry to more alcohol.


    "...Answer."


    "Popcorn?"


    "POLICE!"


    She was shoved to the ground by a variety of different teenagers running in opposite directions. Jess''s friends grabbed him by the arm, and he gave her a swift peace sign.


    "Daniel!" one of them shouted as she tried to stand up. Everyone around her was springing in opposite directions. They looked like they were running through walls and into doors. The reality of the situation suddenly hit her¡ªred and blue lights were flashing from the windows.


    "Nat! Come on!" Andre shouted, and his arm was thrown over her shoulder. She struggled to climb the stairs, and her weight was suddenly shifted to a different part of her body.


    "You''re still drunk¡ª"


    "We can just run..."


    Their voices merged as she suddenly felt her weight being lifted from the ground. Bodies hit the floor, but she could still hear a door lock. They were in a bathroom, and then there was a skylight. She grabbed its frame and was pushed onto the roof. She sprawled across the shingles and saw Andre suddenly standing near her. Then, she felt a warm hand on her face.


    "...Dilated."


    "Shit." She felt like she was about to throw up as Jess grabbed her hand and pulled her up. She stood up confidently. She thought for a solid minute that she was holding her own before she realized that Jess still had his arm wrapped around her. Or maybe he had just done that at that moment.


    "Jesus Christ." That''s his last name? No idea. The only thing she knew was that in one second, she was on the roof, facing a ladder, and in front of a building. Jess suddenly grabbed her and pulled her to his side, and now she was by a car.


    The boys dragged her across the parking lot behind a few houses until they finally approached a property containing a huge white building¡ªa perfume store. She looked at Jess and Andre as they pulled all of them inside.


    "Just act cool," Jess whispered in their ears¡ªright before they were suddenly ambushed by the potent smells of various perfumes. She coughed and staggered a bit as she walked inside.


    Jess grabbed a perfume off the shelf and sprayed it on one of the test papers. He brought it to her nose, and her eyes widened as she breathed in the scent.


    "How''s that?" he asked after she had taken a whiff of it.


    "Daniella would..." Andre replied. His expression stiffened as he returned the test sample, grabbing another one off the shelf. The two were talking. It bored her to death. She looked around, and her eyes focused on one shelf, which she continued to stare at until she was pulled again.


    Then, they approached the cashier and checked out their bought item. The three left the store after Jess handed her the little bag. Suddenly, they were in an entirely different location. She looked back, and they had only passed a single building.


    "Last time I joined you two at a party," Jess said with a bit of a chuckle.


    "What time is it?" Andre asked, looking over at Jess before he grabbed her to make sure she didn''t continue falling over. She felt her arm raise, and Jess looked at the time.


    "9:21. I''m surprised..." God, this was boring.


    "A guy?"


    "Guy...?" she asked. The night seemed like a blur. The streets right now were hazy on their own.


    "What''d he look like?" Jess asked. She couldn''t read his tone. She looked up at him, and his eyebrows were furrowed¡ªin confusion? She looked at his entire face and reached out to touch his hair.


    "Awhh. Your curls are gone," she frowned, looking at the wavy pattern in his hair.


    "What?" She wracked her brain, trying to remember his features.


    "And your eyes are gone?" she almost asked before looking at Andre. "His colors are gone."


    "What were you guys talking about?" Andre asked, suddenly amused for some reason.


    "Some lake out west. And... serpents?" Andre looked at her in confusion as she discussed her and Jess''s conversation. "No, no, no... It was like¡ªa job... with a family of... serpents...?"


    "Severens?" Jess spoke out of nowhere.


    "That''s it."


    "What did you say his name was again?" Jess asked. She stared at the concrete, feeling a headache slowly rising.


    "Ohh..." she replied, suddenly grabbing onto Andre''s jacket as she felt the alcohol slowly traveling up her stomach.


    "...Minch?" Jess''s interrogation seemed less like he was interested and more like... well, she didn''t know. But his voice was definitely changing. The two boys continued asking questions, but she could feel herself growing colder. Her saliva tasted weird, and it started to feel like...


    "Nat¡ª" Jess pulled her away from Andre and toward the road, where she suddenly revolted against tonight''s drinks. She felt the back of her neck become exposed to the chilly air of L.A. as the boys held her back from falling forward.


    "What did you..." Andre asked, and she tried to hear the rest of his question but just shook her head in confusion¡ªor maybe the world was spinning. She felt her back leaning against a pole, and suddenly, both boys stared down at her.


    "Naty, look at me. What..." His words trailed on, but she stared into a streetlight, unable to focus on what Jess was asking. She felt gravity pulling her down, and not two seconds later, she was suddenly caught by one of the boys.


    The last thing she heard before everything went black was Jess''s voice. The last thing she felt was Andre grabbing onto her. Her hearing slowly gave out like a TV''s volume going down, and her vision quickly blacked out.

 Chapter Six

    "I don''t think anyone is here." Keys jinged and Natoya held her breath as she saw the shadow of a head lower to the ground. Not a single thought flooded her mind as she watched a lady hold her hair that hovered inches above the ground, protecting it from the bacteria that hadn''t been swept or mopped in decades. They surveyed the stall she was in before she could hear the sound of footsteps leaving the area, like she had just evaded the antagonist in a video game.


    She softly exhaled, and relaxed as she stayed crouching on the toilet, her feet on the seat, balancing on their weight as she waited a few more minutes. Eventually, getting bored she scrolled on her phone and patiently waited for the sound of the tardy bell.


    But once the sound filled her ears- the sound that signaled everyone in the halls that they were late for class, she made a break for it.


    Natoya climbed off the toilet and slowly peeked through the gaps within the crack of the stall. Once she knew it was safe, she pulled the door open and started the next step in her escape plan. She had never done anything like this before. She''d be shamed and shunned by her mother if she did- she didn''t know if she''d make it through the school year at the catholic school her mother forced her to attend. But today was a great day to be a woman. Stepping out of class with her backpack to use ''feminine products''. Her classmates might''ve made fun of her that day, but they wouldn''t joke for much longer after they realized how much of an advantage she had over her male counterparts, who didn''t have any reason to bring a bag to the bathroom.


    Her heart was racing as she reached for the door. An underfunded door, one that she knew didn''t have an alarm because it was held open by a tiny little pebble. If it wasn''t, it would lock and one of the janitors would have to come to open it again. It was the complete opposite from her old school. It didn''t have large, blocky walls and big windows with tiny balconies. Big and wooden [medieval?] doors with black nails. Cast iron chandaliers hanging oh so far from eachother. No, this school had chain fences lined with graffiti. G''s and S''s and other letters, and weirdly placed palm trees. Rubbish all over the ground- cardboard, trash bags. But it wasn''t ''fake'' like Natoya''s old school. It wasn''t overprotective like her mother. The only thing that held her back was a little back fence which she threw herself over, held up by two metal fence posts with dents and names carved in them.


    What was she thinking? Natoya wasn''t one to skip school. At her old catholic school she didn''t dare, lest they beat her with the wooden sticks, like they''ve done for generations. But the other day Jess had told her that he didn''t have class- some school holiday. And she- for some reason- told him she did too.


    She wasn''t thinking about what would happen once she got home, once her father found out. She wasn''t thinking about Andre or how confused he''d be when she didn''t show up for class... And besides, her father generally ignored the calls from school unless it was ''important''. His general rule of thumb was as long as she didn''t get hurt, he didn''t care.


    "Don''t pick up any boys." He''d joke whenever she left in the morning. And in que, Natoya would roll her eyes and laugh at his comment. Maybe some sassy comeback. But a small part of her was hoping to bump into a certain someone she had met a little bit ago.


    The dark haired boy who was into Bella Rosallini- her books- not the author. But Natoya wouldn''t be too judgemental if he did like the author that way. Bella- from the restricted knowledge Natoya knew about her, was an ellegant young lady from a wealthy family. And she was intelligent, but anybody would know that if they read her books. Dillegent words used to describe a single sentence, inked into paper like a kiss onto skin. Rosallini wrote about her adventures in the world, despite her young age, and Natoya was jealous of her for that.


    Throughout her childhood Natoya''s parents both joked she wasn''t allowed to have a boyfriend until she was 30. At a young age, like any other child, she didn''t resist this idea too much. But she was [age] now. She was practically an adult... And most of her classmates had boyfriends and girlfriends. Almost all of them except Andre... But his mother was like her father- from what she understood. Natoya liked Andre''s mother, she met her once or twice. She was a very fragile, yet traditional and almost strict woman. And Andre abided by her rules.


    "Gotta set an example for the littles."


    "The littles?"


    "Mileva and Dominic."


    And it wasn''t like Andre couldn''t get a girlfriend. He was part of the school''s basketball and football team... He was handsome and funny and kind. He had the softest curls that hung right over his face, and the prettiest hazel eyes. He looked like his mother in that sense. A strong yet fragile lady. But you could tell his father was white from the way his siblings looked. Mileva must''ve had the most of his genes- she had lighter skin, and far lighter hair- blonde. Her eyes were blue and the only way you could really tell she was related to the rest of the family was the line of freckles she had across her face. It must be a family thing- Andre, Dominic, and their mother had them too. Mileva also had her mother''s temper. One time their mother scolded Andre for not going to practice one day because it was going to pay for his college tuition. And then the next Mileva was scolding him for something else- Natoya couldn''t remember. It also wasn''t like he didn''t want a girlfriend. He had his eyes on one girl but after being turned down he respected her space and left her alone. Natoya respected that. It made her self-concious sometimes. If a guy like him was rejected so easily... would she also be rejected?


    He laughed when she brought it up. "Why do you care?" He''d ask. "You''re pretty, cool, funny-"


    Or did he say "You''re pretty cool, funny-"... She couldn''t really remember. She was lost in her own train of thought, only hearing the last words Andre had said. "A guy would be stupid to turn you down." The statement made her blush, and she thought about it for days... but on the other hand Andre never mentioned any guy who might''ve had a crush on her... At first she was kind of hoping for one of those teenage love stories, the new girl comes into town and the jock from the high school falls for her or something clich¨¦. Andre laughed at the idea, and in truth she realized it was stupid. But as she entered the library she felt the same need for validation peeking it''s way into her heart.


    She swiped up on the app, closing it out in her phone as she opened the door. It was a safety app Andre had her download, and told the police your location if anything ever happened if you pressed a button. It would call them and have you put in a pin once you were safe. Andre loved to talk about safety. Natoya saw it as lame sometimes- until she realized he wasn''t doing it because he was cautious. He was doing it for her, because she caught a look on his phone and he didn''t have any of the safety precautions he had her download.


    "Natoya? Again? You might as well get a job here at this rate." The librarian, Paul laughed.


    "What can I say? It''s a nice library." She laughed as a greeting to his original response. She glanced around the area- Jess wasn''t here, not yet. She wasn''t surprised. He said he''d be there at noon, family business to deal with in the morning.


    "I''m starting to think you''re not coming here for the books." Paul''s voice was low, low enough that only she was able to hear as his head made a motion to a random, dark-haired boy standing across the library, reading a page in a book he had just pulled out from the bookshelves. It wasn''t Jess, but her heart skipped a beat thinking it was.


    Natoya didn''t have a quirky response. Instead she could feel her face grow red.


    "What?" She said, her voice sharp before she quickly softened it. Her eyes were wide and she awkwardly laughed- a denial of his words.


    "Calm down, calm down. I''m joking." Paul laughed, causing Natoya to laugh as well but not as loud. An awkward chuckle. A paranoid chuckle. Who heard him say that? Who heard her say that. Is she going to be looked down on? Judged? Her face was growing hotter by the minute. "Go have fun."


    "Yeah, yeah." She rolled her eyes and wandered off to a separate section. How embarrassing would it be if she went to the same section. She''d look desperate. She wasn''t desperate, though. She didn''t even care. But what if he thought she didn''t want to talk to him? She hated the way she was acting, and just opened a book that she already read and pushed the thought to the back of her mind, where it only grew... What was she doing here. She felt so stupid. Skipping school to go to a library? He probably wasn''t even here. He probably was also in school. That would be her excuse if her dad caught her. She felt overwhelmed and went to the library... She was still learning. Or maybe thought it was a half-day... Or maybe her dad would understand.. Or maybe-


    "Avoiding me now?" She heard a voice speak up from beside her, and she quickly looked up, maybe a bit too quick, to meet his gaze. Her heart practically skipped a beat as she made eye-contact with him.The tale has been stolen; if detected on Amazon, report the violation.


    "Oh. Hi Santiago."


    "It was Natoya, right?"


    "Yeah." Santiago was a boy from her english class. A louder boy who thought he was funny but disrespected the teacher and got into several near-fight experiences with Andre because of how much shit he''d talk. He was athletic-ish but wasn''t on any sports teams. He was an only child, and acted like it. "What are you doing out of class?"


    "Uh..." Her mind filled with thoughts as she tried to come up with an excuse, none of the things she had just thought of felt like the correct thing to say.


    "Relax, I''m just joking." He said, and playfully acted like he was going to punch her shoulder, barely making contact. She felt uncomfortable, and just awkwardly laughed in response. "Are you studying for the final?"


    "... The one that''s three months away?" Natoya replied, sheepishly and with an awkward smile.


    "Oh, yeah I guess it is."


    "Are... you here studying for it?" She felt bad for wondering if he followed her here. Did he even know where she lived? Most likely not. In fact he probably just came here on his own.


    "Yeah, no." He laughed, his left hand finding it''s way to the back of his neck, and up his brown hair.


    "Oh... Okay."


    The conversation continued for a few minutes, An awkward few minute. Andre normally delt with Santiago, at first he let Natoya deal with him but after a while they realized it was more efficient for Andre to just step in. At school Santiago was different from how he is now. He''d ''fake'' punch her, leaving an inch or two of space between his fist and his crooked aim, which annoyed the hell out of Andre, and is generally where he''d step in. Other occassions he''d make fun of what she was wearing, backing it up by some sort of half-induced compliment.


    Now he was just awkward.


    "Well. I gotta get going."


    "Okay.. See you."


    "Yeah, see you in class." And he wandered off. Natoya waited for him to leave before she finally sighed and glanced back at the book she was holding, putting it back on the shelf before she''d look for something else to read.


    "Anyway." His voice spoke up again, Natoya figured he''d turned around and she resisted the urge to slouch her shoulders in annoyance as she heard the start of a continued conversation. and she looked up, respectfully only to realize the single word she had dreaded a second ago was connected a completely different person.


    "Hey." She said, her voice a lot quieter as her eyes met Jess. She swallowed her words as they made eye contact, and everything seemed like it went faster as they spoke. Her heart felt like it was going faster.


    "That sounded... Interesting."


    "Did it?" Natoya scoffed as she joined Jess with the same book from the last week. It was a story about the murders of the Cartier family, a book she was suprisingly interested in. They originally started sitting at a random desk, but eventually moved to sitting against the wall in a random corner, with the book on Natoya''s lap to make it easier to flip the page.


    She was enjoying the time they were spending with each other, the random pause in the book where she''d hold onto the last word she''d read and bring up some random point about the book, or the discussions they''d have after reading for a few hours. She''d seen Jess a few times in the past week, and their schedules seemed to be roughly the same, and she and him almost always saw each other during the week at this library.


    Eventually they started talking about their personal life, how things were going. Jess was always pretty secluded about his personal life. She didn''t know too much about the city, not enough to know any school names. But he seemed to know the area pretty well, he recognized her high school.


    "What school do you go to?" Natoya asked as they moved on from the conversation about Santiago.


    "Other side of town." Jess replied, just as closeted about his home life. He never really went into heavy detail. In fact the only thing Natoya really knew about him was that he lived with his parents, went to a different school, and was an only child. They actually had a lot in common in that sense. His parents were overprotective, her mother was too. His parents never wanted another child and... well. For lack of better term, 15 years ago Natoya''s parents didn''t even mean to have a child. "But you go to Monarch?"


    Natoya was a bit embarrassed by the answer ''yes'' so she just shrugged and nodded. It was underfunded but.. it''s all her dad could really afford.


    "I heard it''s a good school." Natoya scoffed at the response.


    "They must''ve lied to you," She joked.


    "You''d differ?"


    "It''s definitely spending it''s funding in places other than chairs."


    Natoya liked how smart Jess was. He used bigger words, more precise words. Suprisingly it didn''t remind her too much of her mother, who''s words were laced in hatred and cold. His didn''t have much emotion attatched to them, but they were used almost seemlessly. Like they were supposed to be there. But Jess was mysterious- and Natoya really liked that about him. Maybe more than she thought she did.


    [transition]


    "Did you see that post about [skate park]?"


    "No, what was it?"


    "Some party going on there or something." Jess laughed.


    "Are you going?" She asked with a little smile. Jess didn''t talk too much about anything personal, anytime he did it was like a reward.


    "Thinking about it... What about you?"


    She hesitated before she''d consider answering it. "I might." She was mulling it over. [more detailed words ending with some last idea]. She had already skipped school... Her father would probably kill her twice if he found out. But she was practically an adult. Why didn''t he understand that?


    ......


    8:52 p.m.


    ......


    Natoya slipped through the crack in the door, closing it slowly, and as quietly as she could before she started quietly walking to her room. It was the first room in the apartment, right next to the door... But not close enough.


    "Natoya?" Shit.


    "Hey daddy." Natoya replied as she turned the knob on the door.


    "You''re back late." Natoya''s dad spoke in a lower voice than usual, he had walked over to her and leaned against the archway of the hallway seperating her room and the bathroom from the living room, kitchen, and his room. His arms were crossed, and he was a very dimly lit sillouette leaning against the wall.


    "Yeah, I got caught up at the library."


    "I''d assume because you would''ve had plenty of time spent at the library."


    "What do you mean?" Her heart dropped, and she could feel it in her throat as he gave her a certain look. He knew. The two stared at eachother, determining who was going to make the first move. "...I''m sorry... Dad."


    "I''m very disappointed in you, Natoya."


    Her voice grew quieter as she spoke. "I''m sorry dad."


    "Did you think you''d get away with it? Did you think I wouldn''t get a call from your high school and they wouldn''t tell me you were missing?" Natoya stood silently, guiltly looking up at him. "What were you thinking?"


    "It''s just the new school." She began festering a lie. "I just got so stressed out with everything-" Her words bubbled out as she watched her dad become more and more disappointed in her. Not because he thought she was getting stressed out. Because he knew she wasn''t. She knew this school was too easy for her. She came from one of the best private schools in New York, and now went down to this raggedy high school that probably was closer to the worst school in [city] than the best ranking in New York.


    He put his hand to cover his mouth and she wanted to cry at how composed his disappointment was. After a moment, a speechless moment between them he finally spoke. "Do you have any idea..." How much money he put into her staying here? Into how stressed out he was about his missing daughter? The part that hurt the most was she knew she had made a stupid decision. And he knew she knew she made a horrible decision. His words never ended, and he looked away, gathering his thoughts before he made eye contact with her again. "Was this about a boy?"


    The sudden change of questioning shocked her. And she hesitated before she''d shake her head. That was her first mistake. A pause before a nonvocal answer.


    "Your mother and I have told you over, and over again that you can''t have a boyfriend until you''re eighteen."


    "It''s not over a boy!" She fumbled, noticing her red, hot face of embarrassment. "I just went to the library." She said, quieter.


    "I understand you''re turning into a young woman now. And you''re going through a lot of-"


    "Dad!" She was dreading where this conversation was going. She thought the day would never come. She ''flowered'' into a young lady several years ago.


    "We need to talk." Natoya knew what this talk was going to be about. She felt her face grow hot as she thought about it. It wasn''t just any talk.


    "I already know, dad." Her voice was sharp yet sheepish. She averted her gaze, looking anywhere but his face. Natoya had gone to Christian schools her entire childhood, and some time in the 7th grade she and her entire class had been taken one of the auditormiams to be given a speech about ''purity''. That was the only talk she had about such a thing. And that was all the information she needed. She didn''t care about their metophores about being a flower, or being degraded over time. She thought it was ridiculous and stupid and at first she and her classmates were terrified, but eventually all of them got more comfortable with the idea of boyfriends. Of course- there were no boys at her school... but.


    "Natoya."


    "I know dad!" She then shouted, and quickly opened her door, shutting it behind as she leaned against it. Her heart was beating fast. She knew he''d enter the room and make a huge deal about it. But he was the last person she wanted to talk to about this. Her father would make a whole big deal about it. Talking about boyfriends, and dating, and mens intentions. Her father, unlike her mother, wasn''t Christian. Or at least he wasn''t to as much of an extent as her mother. He never made her go to church, or enforce his music on her. He cared about what she wore but not enough to do anything about it. "Please dad?" was all it really took to be able to walk out of the house in jeans and a small t-shirt. "Everyone will make fun of me if I wear that." was another legendary line.


    She heard him sigh, the sound of silent contemplation before his footsteps left the hallway.


    She might''ve won this time. But it was only a matter of time before he''d bring it up again.

 Chapter Seven

    Andre held onto the hand of his little brother and sister as they drove on the train. The next stop was where he and Natoya saw eachother every morning. At 7:34 AM before school. But this time Andre wasn''t paying attention.


    He was scrolling through an app, scoffing as he looked at a highlight for later. Apparently there was going to be some sort of party at the nearby skate park. Andre wasn''t much into skating... But... it had free food. Hot dogs. He wondered how much of a good idea it would be to sneak some back home. Claim it was lunch food or something. It would have to be after basketball practice.


    "... Andre?" He looked up to find the face of the soft tone that called his name as the bus quickly took off, and met the eyes of Natoya. He was about to say something before she was shoved into an unsuspecting man who looked quite startled- then angry.


    "Yo. Leave the girl alone, she didn''t mean to." He quickly reached out, grabbing onto Natoya''s hand after he released Dominic, and pulled her over to him. The man, at first, shuffled in their direction, but turned back around. He probably didn''t want to start drama on a bus just because of a girl''s clumbsiness. The second he turned around Andre glanced over at Natoya. "You alright?"


    "Yeah, yeah I''m good." She laughed, and he could feel his face grow ever-so-slightly red. He didn''t mean to, but she had the nicest laugh he ever heard. He caught himself zoning out as they broke eye contact, and he followed her gaze to meet Dominic''s, staring at her.


    "Oh, yeah. Natoya, this is Dominic and Mileva, Dominic, Mileva- Natoya." She never really formally met his siblings. The past week his mother was taking them to school. But now with her new job, it was resigned to Andre.


    "Andy talks about you a l-"


    "Alright then-" Andre quickly covered Mileva''s mouth, and he gave Dominic a cold look as he giggled, only making him more happy. Then he shook his head and looked back at Natoya, who was giving her a playful smile. He returned the smile, trying his best not to look as flustered as he felt. "Don''t mind her.." Andre slightly laughed to ease the awkwardness.


    "Kids, am I right." Natoya replied, and Andre shook his head again. He knew Natoya was an only child. She didn''t even know any of her cousins. She was bewildered anytime he spoke about his experiences with his little siblings.


    "Your mom lets them do that?" She''d ask with a shocked face. "I mean. He was eight at the time."


    "So... I gotta drop them off, but we can walk the rest of the way if you''d like?"


    "Is it far?" Natoya asked, her voice lightly filled with concern.


    "Oh, no not at all. I normally walk there anyway." Andre laughed, which caused her to smile. Natoya had a very angelic smile. It was very practiced yet it almost seemed natural. She seemed like a very angelic girl, but that could just be the catholic school she used to go to prior to moving to [town].


    When the bus finally stopped, Andre took both of his siblings hands and motioned for Natoya to follow him. They walked past a fast-food place, cars lining it''s entire drive-through. Most likely some of his classmates were in those cars, impatient with their parents who didn''t want to make breakfast. They passed by the bus barn, the one with a parking lot filled with buses of all sorts of conditions. In [town] the [other high school] would donate their old buses to Monarch High School. It was those buses they used on their trips to different sporting and academic events.


    Natoya followed Andre and his family to a red brick building, where she waited outside. He quickly brought his siblings inside, and followed their standard procedure for checking the children in. He didn''t want to leave her alone outside for too long, she was new to the area. And she looked new to the area. All sorts of people preyed on those types of teenagers.


    "Bye!"


    "I''ll pick you up soon, alright?" Andre replied, waving at his little siblings as he walked both of them to their classes, and rushed back outside to meet back with Natoya. She was leaning against the wall, right next to a banner titled "ENROLLING NOW!" with a phone number to the elementary school his little siblings would be attending. "MONARCH FAMILY LEARNING COMPLEX" with a little design, four puzzle pieces with stickmen drawn inside of them.


    He sighed, followed with an awkward laugh as she followed him down 7th Street. He wanted to look back at the elementary school. Soon it wouldn''t be an elementary school he was dropping them off at. Soon his little brother would be enrolled in the same middle school he attended, using the homework he stored in milk crates to cheat on the assignments that never changed because of how little the teachers get paid to care.


    "What''s wrong?"


    "Aha." Andre laughed and shook his head. He looked forward, focused on the road we began to walk down. "They just grow up quickly."


    "How old are they- if you don''t mind me asking?"


    "Yeah, no problem. Dominic''s the middle child. He''s..." Andre hung his head back as he did the mental math.. He was five when Dominic was born, and seven when Mileva was born. Their birthdays had passed. So they were... "[age ¨C 5]-years-old. Mileva is just a few years younger than him, at [age ¨C 7]."


    "And you''re [age]."


    "It''s sort of a long story." But it really wasn''t. His mother imigrated to the United States with her father, and he was born on American soil. His father left, but came back nine months before Dominic was born, just to leave again after. The same thing happened with Mileva, except this time his promises became bigger, and his manipulation stronger, and he, Dominic and his mother all moved to [state] where he left, again, after learning Mileva was going to be born.


    "I''m not judging, don''t worry." Natoya said, and he could tell she meant it. Most people did. He felt the hair on his arms stand up as he placed a comforting hand on his shoulder while they walk through.


    "Yeah, yeah. sure." He replied, ruffling her hair before she pushed his hand away, and the two laughed and continued to talk while they passed the banners that lined the street post and graffiti lined the walls of nearby buildings. Clear cut signs that they were getting closer to Monarch High School.


    "This way," Andre pulled her down a separate street, and a chain fence separated them from the high school they were going to attend. The fence was covered by some green plastic, and a sign attached to the fence with some plastic strips wrote a warning to anyone who did not have the approval of the administration before they entered the school''s grounds.


    "W-What are you doing?" She stuttered as he put his foot onto a gap in the fence.


    "Jumping it, c''mon." He chuckled at her widened eyes as she climbed over the fence. He balanced himself in the middle, and offered his hand to help her up. She hesitantly looked inbetween him and the fence, then took his hand and quickly climbed over the fence alongside him.


    They walked past a shed right before they''d be able to entered the concrete building where several kids were being dropped off by their parents early. Natoya looked looked her watch, the one her father gave her, and he hesitated.


    "I would take that off if I were you," Andre warned, motioning to the watch. She looked back at its silver plate and didn''t need further explanation why. This wasn''t the type of school that would help against thievery, especially if one wasn''t smart enough to dress appropriately. Naotya nodded and slid the watch off. Andre stopped her as she was about to drop it in her backpack. "I''ll give it back to you after class, a''ight? It''s safe with me. Trust."


    Natoya was hesitant, but Andre would hate for someone to see this exchange and target her. They didn''t have a lot of classes together. And her last class was with a certain individual Andre couldn''t stand. He was known to be a kleptomaniac, and a sneaky one at that. But after s econd, she softly nodded, and took a deep breath as she gave it to him. He handled it with the same amount of care she gave it to him in, and softly put it in his backpack, in a place it wouldn''t get damaged. He tried offering her a reassuring smile, and she seemed to be a bit more confident in him as the two walked into the building.


    They were hit with the sharp smell of perfume and cologne. As expected, Natoya sneezed in response.


    "Bless you," Andre chuckled, and Natoya covered her nose to try and get herself to stop, however, it only made her sneeze again. "Bless you," Andre repeated with a bit of a laugh.


    "Thank you," She laughed before following her through the hallway to their first class.


    He kept himself from laughing as he thought about her first day. He was the first person she saw, and she must''ve found comfort in that but was clearly apprehensive. She was disoriented, and he took the initiative to bring her to the receptionist lady that stood behind the glass. After an frustrating explanation of the situation, the lady finally budged and shuffled through the papers, letting out a huge sigh as she continued growing more and more dramatic. Then, she must''ve found something because she pulled out a file and began pulling papers out of it, stringing them along the already messy desk.


    "Here."


    "Is that all she needs?" Andre had asked as she handed him the ugly cyan paper with the school''s logo stamped on the back. Tables lined with Monday-Friday, and periods 1-6 with a lunch period in the middle. The design was terrible as the background for the lunch column had a black background with black letters


    He remembered when her smile slowly faded as she looked at the words on the first column for first period.


    "What''s wrong"


    "What did you say that one guy''s name was? The one that almost failed an entire class because he had a monotone voice?"


    "Mr. Mornthorn- do you have him?" Andre smiled as he thought back to the way she slowly nodded, and tilted her head in an exasperated way. "At 8:30?"This content has been misappropriated from Royal Road; report any instances of this story if found elsewhere.


    "Yep..."


    "Loser."


    "Don''t you have him too?"


    "Well, at least I can show you to your first class," Andre had said optimistically.


    "Woo hoo," She replied in the same exhausted tone he had when he first had Mr. Mornthorn.


    "What are you smiling about?" Natoya asked, and he glanced over with a small smile. "You hate this class."


    "The only thing better than getting to watch all the transfer students die out in Mornthorn''s class, is watching you die out in his class." He said, a cocky undertone. At the beginning of the semester they made a bet as to who would last longer in the class. Natoya, was of course, winning that bet. But he''d never let her know that.


    "Did you see that thing going on at [skatepark]?"


    "Yeah, I did." Andre replied as he pulled out his chair. "Are you considering going?"


    Natoya blushed as she sat in her seat, slightly scooting closer to Andre after they were both settled, so nobody else could hear her. "That guy I was telling you about is going there."


    Andre raised a brow. Natoya had told him about some guy she was trying to be friends with every day she went to the library. Andre himself never cared for books, so he never considered going with her, and even if he did he wouldn''t. Natoya didn''t talk a lot about the guys she was interested in. Mostly because she had her eyes set on whoever this mystery guy was. And Andre figured that''s what she liked about him. The mystery.


    "Welcome." Said a voice as he entered the class, two kids shoving past each other as they entered not two seconds later. "Please find a seat."


    Andre couldn''t help but feel a bit jealous as she talked to him about the guy. Not in a feelings sort of way, like he liked her. That''d be insane. No. But he couldn''t really figure out why he was jealous. And he didn''t really want to find out either.


    The teacher, an old man with heavy bags under his eyes and glasses that constantly drooped down his face began reading a list of names off his very messy desk covered with school supplies.


    "Adam Amber."


    "Here." There was a long pause as he looked around the room, then back at his list and checked it off.


    "Jess?"


    "Yeah, I know..." Natoya was blushing as Andre looked at her apprehensively. He knew a Jess a while back. Arrogant bastard he was.


    "Orion Burnest."


    "Here."


    But Natoya seemed to like this guy. He apparently was ''attractive'' or at least Natoya tried to defend her claim on it. Something about grey hair, and dark eyes... or the other way around... most definitely the other way around.


    "Andre Vincent." He cringed as he heard the last name. It wasn''t his mothers. He sighed and glanced at the teacher.


    "Here."


    "Do I have everyone...?" There was a bit of silence, and Natoya was about to raise her hand as the teacher made eye contact with Andre. His eyes slowly blinking expectedly.


    "No sir." Andre said, probably the hundreth time this semester. "Natoya D''Angelos."


    "The new student?"


    "Yes sir."


    "Welcome to Monarch High School... Make yourself at home."


    It was the same script over and over, drawing attention to Natoya over and over. The two waited a minute before they went back to their conversation.


    "You don''t look like the type of girl who likes to skate."


    "Oh shut up." Natoya scoffed, and leaned back on her seat to pout. Andre scoffed.


    "I''m joking, I''m joking."


    From what Andre knew, Jess liked books and was very analytical. Andre knew Natoya liked fantasy and poems. Jess seemed to like... historical fiction. At some point Natoya droped the information that he was reading some book about some family and Andre was able to make fun of it for ten minutes until he couldn''t think of anything else to say. Natoya was smiling the entire time but acted like she was so defensive about this random guy she barely knew.


    Over the past few weeks she started talking more and more about how she felt about him. Andre could tell she wanted to talk about it, but only did so anytime he talked about a girl he liked. To save herself the embarrassment of looking obsessive. So he told her old stories, from middle school, and eventually tried to ask out a girl he was apprehensive about whether or not he liked her. She turned him down, which Andre could understand.


    Her name was Jona, she liked chess. She didn''t like sports. She did everything she could to get out of the games they were forced to play in PE. She, of course, could''ve turned him down because he put her on the spot. She was one of the shy girls in the class, but he did everything he could to make sure she didn''t feel like he was being invasive.


    At some point later in the week some guy was making her uncomfortable. Andre waited until Natoya gave him the thumbsup to defend Jona, and that was the last interaction they had, by then Andre didn''t really care for her anymore. Sometimes he forgot he ever even ''liked'' her.


    After that class was over the two went their separate ways to their other classes. Any class they''d meet up again Jess was mentioned, Andre almost felt like he was in a three way relationship with how much he was learning about this dude he didn''t even know. Lucky guy.


    The rest of the school day drained Andre. He rubbed his eyes and layed his head on the desk and counted the clock down until the end of the day, where he''d spend the athletic period and an hour in basketball practice until he and Natoya would get to leave. Usually he''d pick up his little siblings, but today he''d walk Natoya home after she waited for him to get out of practice. He''d approach her after changing in the locker room, and she''d be leaning against a wall, in the shade, on her phone.


    "Ready?"


    "Let''s go."


    They''d get up and start heading back to her apartment complex, talking about the day. Jess. And...


    "I wasn''t going to throw a ball at you, but it was self-defense."


    "It was not self-defense!" Natoya shouted back playfully as she leaned into Andre. He scoffed and put his arm over her shoulder, trapping her for a moment before she yanked back to get released from his hold.


    "Look me in the eyes and tell me you weren''t going to throw that ball in my face." He said, a smile painted across his face as she looked him in the eyes, and smiled back. Then, Natoya rolled her eyes, shaking her head as they continued walking through the street. Andre couldn''t lie. When he first met Natoya he thought that she had a thing for him. Turned out she was just naturally flirty. He didn''t mind too much, and the two continued having their friendship. He didn''t really know how he felt about her romantically. He felt bad sometimes about originally thinking she was trying to make a move on him, and he could apologize but he didn''t want to make it awkward.


    "Anyway." She said, pushing him into a building as he scoffed. "Do you at least want to check out that skate park?"


    "Do you want to check out the skate park?" He asked sarcastically. He knew her answer. Of course she''d want to check out the skate park. He''d shake his head and sigh. "Alright, let''s go. Text your dad or something."


    "Oh, shut up!" He''d raise his hands defensively in the air as Natoya scolded him with just a look.


    "I''m just sayin''." He''d reply, narrowly dodging another shove she''d throw into him. He enjoyed the little interactions they had. His favorite so far was when his little sister was interrogating her about living in france. She heard her accent, and automatically assumed she lived in france.


    "Did you like it there?"


    "... Sort of..."


    "Why did you come here instead?"


    "I wanted to live with my dad."


    "Why did you want to live with your dad?"


    "Alllright." Andre had inturrupted, his little sister giggling as he gave Natoya an apologetic look but she just looked entertained. She loved his little siblings. Originally he''d walk with them infront, not to far and close enough for him to do something if anything happened, while blocking the street from Natoya. Over time things started to get more personal. She talked about her home situation, her mom and dad, how they got divorced when she was younger, around ten or eleven. He spoke briefly about his father and she dropped the bomb that she ran away from home.


    "Doesn''t sound like it was unfamiliar territory," He''d say after she talked about the story of why she ran away. Her argument with her mother, buying a plane ticket, the entire trip back.


    "No, not at all. I always ran away from her. It''s just this time I went across the US."


    "Do you normally take to running away from your problems?" He teased.


    "Do you normally take to..."


    "Uh huh?"


    "What are you smiling about?"


    Andre looked down to see Natoya, with the same smile on her face. "I can''t believe I''m going with you to a skatepark to flirt with-"


    "Oh shut up!"


    The two continued walking down the street until they finally got to that skatepark Natoya wanted to go to so badly. He''d been here before with Dominic. Cheap place with barely anything interesting. They passed a variety of different places, most Natoya hadn''t seen yet. A drive-in restaurant, a drive in movie theatre, a historical, little white house that was now used as a museum. An expensive black car, sitting right outside a supermarket, with a man in a black suit opening the door for a teenager with black hair, formal attire, and a bulky backpack.


    "I''ll text you when I need you."


    "Yes sir."


    Andre hated those snobish teenagers that ruined the city they lived in. Especially one particular family, but he never really paid too much attention to them. His mother knew them, though, and she was terrified of them. Andre never knew why. Even his own fragile mother could probably beat up one of their scrawny little kids... But then would come the law... That was probably why. He and Natoya would laugh about these teenagers. Their superior private schools and accelerated course work. The way their parents would pay to put them through college and to buy their degree. How they''d never actually have to work a hard day in their life.


    "Wanna grab a drink?"


    He hesitated before he answered, looking at the car. "Yeah." He replied to break the silence that was about to begin. "Sure."


    The two approached the light, and pressed the button to cross. Once cleared, they crossed the street and started walking towards the building


    [idk some way they meet Jess]


    "Oh. Andre, this is Jess." Natoya said, very briefly as her face had a very faint glow of red.


    "Andre, nice to meet you." Andre offered his hand to shake but Jess seemed reluculant.


    "You too." He said, no longer visiblly hesitating before he shook Andre''s hand. Andre didn''t like this guy. He had bad vibes about him. The way he looked at him. It was like a threat. He was probably overanalyzing it.


    [scene later]


    "We could..." Natoya began, feeling her throat go dry as she spoke, and made a motion to the shopping cart they were aproaching.


    "Steal it?" Jess asked with a hesitant laugh.


    "Not steal." Andre added. "I''m sure they wouldn''t mind if we borrowed it."


    "They''re like, $300." Jess replied.


    Andre looked around, observing the area. There were very few cars, and the workers had already gathered up most of the carts. It was just this lone, forgotten one, like a sheep in wolves territory.


    "We look suspicious standing out here, doing nothing."


    "Okay, let''s go." Natoya quickly pushed the cart towards the street, Andre and Jess exchanged nervous glances before Andre''s broke into a smile and followed her.


    "Hurry up! Let''s go!" He said, goofing off as he helped push the cart faster past the parking lot.


    Jess scoffed, and shook his head before he followed after them, grabbing one of the sides and running along with both of them. The sun was starting to go down... Surely they just looked like a bunch of teenagers goofing off.


    "We gotta avoid the main roads." Jess concluded, pushing the cart into Andre as they took a sharp turn away from the main road.


    "Slow down!" Natoya said as she sprinted alongside them. Andre laughed and pushed against the cart to slow it down.


    "Hop on!" He laughed, and Natoya smiled, hesitantly before she jumped onto the cart.


    Adrenaline was pumping through their veins as Andre and Jess pushed the cart down the street, approaching a long, drawn out hill that would lead them right to the skate park. As if they were all suddenly telepathic, Jess and Andre both stepped onto the chassis of the cart, Jess clutching onto the sides as Natoya held him down, and Andre onto the pack, holding onto the handles as they careened down the hill, hurtling at a speeds all of them were far too uncomfortable with.

 Chapter Eight

    For the past couple of days, everybody had been squirming about the weekend. Some party or what not. Natoya Jean D''Angelos was standing on the bus, holding onto one of the rails beside a seat containing Andre''s little siblings.


    "They say it''s happening down South Avenue." A deep, lowered voice spoke from behind Andre. Natoya looked in that direction, but it was clear the people speaking were hidden behind Andre. Natoya had heard the two words over and over again, so often in school and more so by the late night calls her father had with his partner. Less now that his funeral was in three weeks.


    "Aint no way. If it was actually happening ''round South Avenue, the cops would''a shown up by now." A different voice spoke, Andre leaned a bit onto the pole as he stared out the window his little siblings sat next to. Natoya grew a bit hasty as she heard that. The cops would''ve shown up by now? She couldn''t help but wonder if her father was actually in that mess.


    From what Natoya understood, South Avenue was some sort of underground fighting club by, you guessed it, South Avenue. But nobody knew how to get in- at least nobody she heard talking about it. And anytime the police did show up, nobody was there, no signs of anything.


    "I ain''t tellin you lies, Markus, rumor has it..."


    Natoya had been eavesdropping on the pair''s conversation since she had first gotten on the bus with Andre and his siblings, though the details were hard to hear between his two younger siblings crying about wanting to get home. She continued looking in the direction of the voices before suddenly making eye contact with Andre.


    "Do you want to study for the exam on Friday at your house today?" She asked smoothly, as if she was looking in his direction to ask him in the first place.


    "Can''t today. I got something to do after I drop these two off." Andre said as the tires rumbled over a pothole, causing the entire bus to bounce up and down


    "Mama says she don''t want you to do that no more." Mileva said, looking up at Andre.


    "Ma knows what I''m doin'' kiddo."


    "What are you doing?" Natoya teased with a soft smile as she focused her attention on Andre.


    "~Non ya." Andre teased back as the bus halted to a stop. Natoya rolled her eyes and used the handrail to avoid the force of gravity which forced everyone to lean forward as the bus halted. Andre helped his little siblings stand up before the group of teenagers made their way to the middle exit.


    "Them street fighters better play it safe. Cops aren''t the only ones snif..." was the last thing Natoya heard before helping Mileva hop off the bus. She took Dominic''s hand, and formed a chain as they walked down the broken sidewalk.


    "I wonder what that was all about.." Natoya pondered, looking around LA''s busy streets, before she tilted her head to look at Andre.


    "What?" He asked, glancing back at her.


    "Whatever is happening at South Avenue or whatever they said." She said as they walked down the sidewalk.


    "Don''t listen to them, it''s just talk, nothing is actually happening down there." Andre said, pulling Dominic between him, Mileva and Natoya as he switched sides of the street. Natoya shrugged it off as the conversation came to an end. "What are you planning on doing this weekend?"


    "Dunno. Maybe adventure a bit around town." Natoya replied.


    "Don''t do it alone. I could join you if you''d like?"


    "Thought you said you had stuff to do this weekend?" Natoya replied snarkly.


    Andre smirked and shook his head. "Nothing so important it''ll take all weekend."


    "Then you should have no problem telling me?"


    "You''re not gonna let this go, are ya?"


    "Nope!"


    The two laughed as they continued down the road, that they originally took to get to the bus in the morning. Natoya was holding Mileva on her shoulders after Mileva continued crying about how her feet hurt.


    "How are you feeling about the exam?" Natoya asked, struggling to keep her head up against the weight Mileva set on it.


    "I don''t know, I honestly don''t really care what I''ll get on it."


    "You know, it''s not too late to do something about your grade in the class."


    Andre''s sigh turned into a soft chuckle. "Yeah, I guess you''re right."This narrative has been purloined without the author''s approval. Report any appearances on Amazon.


    "... So...?" He rolled his eyes and glanced at Natoya as she looked at him with a little smirk.


    "Fine, but we''re studying at your house."


    The rest of the walk was just light teasing, and playing with Dominic and Mileva when she finally woke up from her nap until they climbed up the stairs to Andre''s apartment.


    "Mama!" Mileva cheered as she rushed inside and hugged her mom. Andre motioned for Natoya to step inside, which she did hesitantly with a slight wave to Mrs. Jacques.


    Andre had a different last name from Mrs. Jacques and the rest of his family. His name was Andre Vincent, after his father, whom- from what Natoya knew- was a giant dick. But he was the reason Andre lived in America, so she was at least thankful for that.


    "Bonjour, Madame Jacques. Comment vous allez?" Natoya greeted in french. Mrs. Jacques barely spoke English, and sometimes Natoya would practice with her. She never had a teacher to teach her English, and so she knew basic words but not enough to hold a good conversation. Thankfully, they both knew French, and that was how they communicated.


    [rewrite as Natoya spends time with Andre''s family instead of going to her own dad''s house because of chapter 11]


    ...


    6:32 pm.


    ...


    Natoya continued walking down the street to South Avenue before sighing. She was here, but had no idea where any street fight was supposed to take place. Standing across the street, she recognized a figure. Black hair,blue jeans, and a black biker jacket.


    "Jess?" She asked after crossing the street. He looked up, his head rotating 30 degrees every second as he scanned the area before he finally laid eyes on her.


    "Hey?" He asked in a confused, wavering tone. "What are you doing here?"


    Natoya scratched her chin and sort of laughed before crossing her arms.


    "I uh. Heard some sort of fight was going to happen here. Probably just a rumor though..." She sighed and turned around to look into a gated fence where a few men were climbing down a ladder.


    "You heard about it to."


    Natoya quickly turned her attention back to Jess after he spoke.


    "Is it real..?" She asked before Jess looked both ways down the street, and pulled her into the gated alleyway.


    "Are you a narc?"


    "What?"


    "Are you going to tell anyone if it is real?"


    "No?"


    "Follow me."


    He pulled her down the alleyway,before climbing down the same ladder the shady men had climbed down. Natoya hesitated, her father never told her not to follow shady men down a ladder in a gated alleyway- but common sense would suggest otherwise.


    None-the-less, by the time she had reached the bottom of the ladder, she quickly realized this was a sewer system, and her nose was the price to pay for it. Jess,looked like he was trying not to laugh as he pulled the hoodie he had hiding underneath his jacket, over his head,then began leading the way down another hallway before they finally reached a random door.


    No bouncers, no nothing, just a hallway full of what seemed to be smoke. The further she followed, the more she could hear cheering with the sudden osund of a bell.


    "Three..! Two...! One..!" Cheering errupted through the door as they entered an arena of people circling a chained gate where one man was laying on the ground, another with his hands in the air, being cheered on.


    South Avenue.


    "For our next opponent- ''The Olympian'' Chandler!"


    People began cheering and clapping as the two entered the gated area. It slowly stopped as the two walked up and shook eachothers hands before bakcing up into their corners where the cheering began again.


    "Have you ever been to...one of these?" Natoya asked, looking up at Jess who apparently couldn''t hear them.


    Both men started to warm up, with Chandler fixing his shoe while The Lion waited. Then, they backed up again and began the fight, keeping their hands up.


    Several punches were thrown with The Lion keeping a defensive, agile stance until he suddenly started throwing hard punches at Chandler''s face. The cheering grew louder with a sudden "ooo" echoing through the audience after the first blood was drawn.


    Chandler began backing up, causing the Lion to lose his balance and take a couple of hits to the back of the head before slamming Chandler into the gate fence, causing both of them to lose their balance again.


    Jess grabbed the back of Natoya''s shirt and pulled her back as the two collapsed onto the fence. She felt her heart skip a beat, like the adrenaline pumping through her veins missed a beat as the fence buckled, dragging towards where she would''ve been standing.


    The Lion got the upper hand, falling ontop of Chandler- or forcing him to the ground, he started throwing punches at him as he tried to pin him on the floor, but Chandler managed to stand up, both of them backing away.


    Natoya was able to get a bit closer to the fence, but the view was still a bit blurry and it was hard to recognize the two figures. They got closer to eachother again, with Chandler trying to egg The Lion on with a relatively weak defense, when his head was suddenly grabed, and he received a face full of a punch. He backed up,retreating into a corner as The Lion stood his ground, and when he re-entered the fight, his entire face was drenched in his own red blood.


    The entire crowd cheered, and it was clear Chandler was being a bit more hesitant. He threw a weak punch, which was sort of countered by a missed punch. He aimed for The Lion''s lower chest area, ducking with his head so he wouldn''t get punched in the face again, which was met with a charged punch to his shoulder area.


    Chandler backed up again, but was met with a series of punches from The Lion, which he couldn''t block. He continiously tried to punch The Lion, barely any of which connected, and the ones that did just smeared his chest area with Chandler''s own blood from a probably broken noes and bloodied eye. Chandler tried to strike again, but The Lion socked him in the jaw, revealing more and more blood across his bashed in face.Chandler tried to kick him in the side, which only allowed The Lion to hit him again in the side of hisface.


    Eventualy, Chandler managed to back The Lion into the corner, slamming punch after punch into his lowered defense until The Lion was able to push him out of the fance, the shadows revealing a bit of blood spilled furhter on his face, whether it was his own or Chandler''s was something nobdoy would quite be able to know.


    They continued to dance around the gate, and by the time Natoya was able to see Chandler again,a good majority of his face was a dark red bloodied red,


    Then, Natoya made eye contact with The Lion. She paused for a moment- and so did he as they made direct eye contact.


    "Andre..."