Koi (BWWM)

Morals

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Dinner with Leon's parents and siblings wasn't awkward for anyone but her. It was as if she was forgotten as the family joked around and did that annoying thing people did when they had inside jokes. A part of her was bothered that she was kind of being ignored, while another part of her was just glad there was no attention on her.

She just sat there through most of the dinner, playing with her shrimp scampi and drinking too much soda, not contributing at all. Leon's father, Joseph, had taken them all out to a Italian restaurant downtown. It wasn't too fancy considering none of them were dressed for anything too special, but the prices of the plates were still a bit too pricey for her blood.

She just wanted to get through the night, get it over with, and end it with her insides being poked and prodded by her boyfriend. She didn't want to think about how she had lost control of herself with Nolan earlier that night or entertain the hissing thoughts telling her that the boy had rejected her.

There was no way that was true.

She also wanted to be free of Leon's parents, but mostly his mother and the older woman's act of passively aggressively ignoring her. Everyone had greeted her once she had met back up with Leon after her 'bathroom stop' besides Mai. She had pretended to suddenly fuss over her youngest son's coat.

"So, Kiara," Mai suddenly addressed her out of the blue. The teen girl's attention snapped up to the woman instantly, head rising so fast she nearly hurt herself.

"U-uh, yes ma'am?" She asked, straightening in her seat. The woman had pointed out her habit of slouching more than enough times in the year and a half they've known each other. The men continued to talk about college football, but she had noticed that Leon glanced their way. His brows furrowed briefly, but he said nothing.

"What are your plans again, for after graduation I mean?" The woman questioned. Kiara thought of the unfilled out college applications littering her desk in her bedroom. "What school are you going to? Leon is going to Virginia Tech." Kiara gritted her teeth, she already knew what school Leon was going too. "Your pretty face can only get you so far. You have to have plans as a young woman. You can't be one of those women who just tags along on a man's coat tails for a free ride." She laughed with her words, as if it had been a harmless joke. It was anything but harmless.

The men were quiet now, obviously aware of the conversation.

Kiara forced a smile, keeping calm. She didn't want to lose Leon because she ended up getting into a screaming match with his mother. "Yeah...I've sent in a few applications so far." She lied.

She knew Mai thought of her as some kind of gold digger. Even though their family wasn't exactly rich, they were wealthy enough to afford to send their son's to a private academy (one she had gotten into because of a grant), and send their sons to college even if they hadn't gotten scholarships. But Mai was clearly convinced her sons were going to go big places and do big things, and that they didn't need to carry girls like Kiara around on their backs.

It pissed her off. She hated feeling not good enough or less then. She hated feeling like she didn't deserve Leon because it was true. Still, she wasn't willing to let go. Kiara shared the same faith in Leon as his mother did. He was going to go big places and do big things, and if she ever wanted a shot at doing the same she knew she would have to hang on to him.

Besides, she loved him. Despite how it seemed with her faithfulness or lack thereof, she loved him. She had fallen in love with him. It was the first and only time she had ever fallen in love and the feeling was amazing. Kiara didn't have too many close people, let alone ones that she loved. She had no plans of letting him go.