meant to be | j. parker¹

TWENTY-ONE

"Not cool, Jordan," Liv scolded watching him decline Simone's phone call. "Yeah, well, it was Simone," Jordan sighed.

"Oh, good!" Aaliyah gasped faking enthusiasm. "We were hoping it was the mother of your unborn child that you were ignoring."

"Look, her ultrasound is at the same time as the South Crenshaw rematch, okay? I can't go. I don't want her to feel like I'm bailing," Jordan said placing his attention towards the tv. "Right. So ghosting her felt like the better solution," Liv shot back looking down at her phone and declining Asher's phone call.

"Am I the only one who answers their phone around here?" Aaliyah scoffed crossing her arms across her chest. "Since when do you ignore Asher?" Jordan asked.

"Since we sort of..." she trailed off. "Okay. Yeah. Don't need to hear details, thank you," Jordan sighed rolling his eyes. "Uh, no. We just kissed, and we were fully sober. I don't know. I-I really do like him...Sorry, Li...Is this—"

"I already talked to Asher about this. It's cool. Just, uh, keep the details to a minimum, yeah?" she mumbled, avoiding her sister's eyes that were burning into the side of her head. "So are we allowed to talk about their situation in front of you or not...because I'm kind of curious," Jordan wondered awaiting her answer. "Of course. Don't feel like you can't talk to me because it's Asher. I'm in a relationship and I'm extremely happy," she responded.

"Okay, I guess I'm just hesitant to go there with him. I don't know why," Liv continued. "Only, Liv, uh, the last time you guys got together, you were in a bad place. Maybe you just don't want to be reminded of your addiction," Jordan told her while the third sibling remained quiet, sitting between the two and staring off into space. "Yeah, it's not exactly something you forget. Every day, I make an active choice to stay sober," Liv sighed.

"Okay. But do you need yet another reminder?" Jordan asked her. "Reminder of what?" Laura asked walking into the house with groceries in hand. "Hi, mom," the three siblings greeted.

"Son," Laura said harshly snapping her fingers. "Grocery duties."

"I definitely felt that chill," Aaliyah said turning around to look at him. "Yeah. I think she's still upset I went to dad about the pregnancy first. Hence the freezing out," Jordan said.

"Well, now you know how Simone feels," Liv retorted.

✯✯✯

"What are you doing out here? Why aren't you enjoying this weird eating contest the guys are doing?" Aaliyah asked walking up to the cafe and spotting Liv outside by herself. "The cameras were kind of throwing me off. I just needed some space. But, your boyfriend's in there and he's dressed like a boxer," Liv replied chuckling slightly. "Of course, he is. Um, I'll be inside. You have fun out here," she hummed, walking away and entering the cafe spotting her boyfriend dressed exactly how Liv described.

"Hello, girlfriend," JJ greeted pulling her in for a hug and kissing her softly. "You've done a lot of crazy shit in the years we've been friends...So, I guess, I can't be too surprised when you dress like this," she giggled tugging on the silk material of his robe. "Okay, but do I look hot?" he asked bringing a hand down to her backside and squeezing it softly earning an obnoxious groan from Jordan who had turned his head at the worst possible moment. "You always look hot. Especially when you're not wearing a shirt," she responded detaching his hand from her ass and moving it to her hip instead.

"Are you hungry? I could order more wings. I know, they're your favorite," he suggested pinching her cheeks. "Actually, wings are your favorite," Asher corrected butting in on their conversation. Looking at the entrance Aaliyah immediately widened her eyes spotting the familiar face from the combine and one face that wasn't exactly too familiar. "Oh, look, it's that one guy who plays for South Crenshaw and some other dude," she pointed out, gaining the attention of Spencer who was right next to JJ and Asher.

"Hey, Spence. Who was that guy?" Aaliyah asked once the conversation between him and the two boys ended. "That's Darnell—"

"Oh! The one your dad brought in from Nevada," she exclaimed cutting him off.

"I guess," Spencer scoffed rolling his eyes at the thought of both his dad and Darnell.

✯✯✯

"Ladies and gentlemen. Welcome to the Beverly High crosstown scrimmage 7-on-7 scrimmage with South Crenshaw."

"Honey, shouldn't you be down there cheering?" Laura asked watching Aaliyah trudging up the bleacher steps with popcorn in her hand and plop down beside Liv. "Nope. Apparently, they're using this scrimmage to give JV a chance to cheer. But, whatever I don't care," Aaliyah responded shrugging her shoulders.

"You know, Jordan wasn't picking dad over you, right? I think he was just more scared of disappointing you," Liv told their mom wrapping an arm around her after watching Jordan make a phone call from the field. "Maybe he was right to go to his dad. Under my watch, he crashed your sister's car, almost got arrested for fighting, and got a girl pregnant," Laura sighed.

"None of that was your fault, mom. And hey, for all we know, the baby isn't even his," Aaliyah piped up stuffing her face with popcorn.

"Aaliyah!"

After the strange game, the two sisters witnessed Beverly High forfeiting the game and Spencer and Darnell apparently making peace on the field. Aaliyah and Liv waited outside of the locker room, both waiting for two separate boys. "I was starting to think you might sleep in there," Liv said watching Asher walkout. "Is JJ still in there?" Aaliyah asked feeling the tension radiating off of the two. "He's showering. I'm sure you know how long he takes," Asher chuckled.

"I'm just gonna...wait over here," she mumbled standing a short distance from the two. "Sorry. I was showering," JJ exhaled running over to the girl and shaking his wet hair out, sort of resembling a dog. "You're like a golden retriever," she mumbled wiping the water off of her face.

"Thank you?" he said confused at her statement. "What's going on with Olivia and Asher? They together yet?"

"Liv told me they kissed. But, I don't think they're official. So, no double dates just yet," she teasingly told him walking over to his car. "Double dates? That might be weird," he hummed slipping a hand underneath her shirt and gently rubbing her side.

"I mean...probably," she sighed.

2x06