the art of falling for you (bxb)

three - friendship

"What is up with you now, bitch?" Hendrix snarked, not taking her eyes off the screen for a second.

That's another thing that always happened. Hendrix and Jem were best friends, I mean they do live together, but they were awful to one another. They were both as good as blood to me, but they acted more like siblings than I did with Sach.

"I want to go out. You're all so boring." Jem complained, sighing in a way that was dramatic enough to give Hendrix a run for her money.

Aaliyah was the oldest by two years but Jem was the oldest out of the three of us, and tended to show it the least. Hendrix was calmer around Ali, undeniably sweetened by Ali's unnaturally quiet persona, but Jem never really dimmed down. They were a Literature student, which meant that they spent many nights at Student Bars arguing with the general population about Politics and why Shakespeare was a 'fake ass bitch'. They weren't the best when it came to accounting and business stuff, but if I ever needed a contract checking they'd make American English their bitch.

"I could go out, to be honest." Ali spoke up for the first time. She twirled her finger around one of Hendrix' braids before checking her own hijab. She's gone with a light pink color today, matching Hendrix. Her next words are directed at her girlfriend, making Hendrix smile at her. "It's been a while since we've gone to a bar, sweetheart."

"I vote no." Sacha raised his hand, "Are you really going to leave me here because Jem can't go a day without drinking?" He looked at us expectantly.

"Yes." Hendrix said without hesitating while I nodded my head. "Why should we suffer just because you're not twenty one?"

"Because I-"

"Let's go." Jem jumped up, cutting Sacha off and running a hand through their hair as they grabbed their jacket. Hendrix followed suit, pulling Ali up with her as I sent a sheepish smile to my brother.

"You can invite the boys over to ours?" I offered as an alternative, knowing I'd made the right choice when his eyes lit up. "Just don't touch my shit."

Sacha just grinned cheekily, trailing behind us as we locked up Hendrix and Jem's apartment.

Even though it was late, later than our usual going out time, the street lights lit up the sidewalk. New York City always looked so alive at night, it was one of the reasons why I loved it so much. Back in the Country, where I grew up, the night was always eerily quiet. I never liked how silent the world was during the night, having never been a person who found sanctuary in the quietness.

The moment the bar became visible in our general vicinity, Hendrix took off in a sprint, singing some stupid song at the top of her lungs as Ali just rolled her eyes and headed after her. Jem wasn't far behind them as I just shook my head, not surprised by her at all. Hendrix was one in a million, and her personality basically screamed major crackhead energy. If I didn't know her well enough by now, I'm sure I'd be convinced that she was either on hard drugs or clinically insane.

Or both.

She was honestly the best person I knew. Optimistic in a way that I could never be but with just enough pessimism to be realistic. Fiercely loyal and confident - the best type of person to be around on a bad day. She might take digs at people and joke around, but we all knew it was just her way of loving us.

I went into the bar, and headed over to an empty booth, setting out to locate my friends.

I found Hendrix first. She practically skipped away to the patio, hand-in-hand with Aaliyah, and right past Jem, who caught my eye whilst they stood at the bar.

They smirked at me, gesturing to the arrays of liqueur and I just shook my head, knowing that even if I didn't want to drink, Jem would've bought me something.