•͟U͟N͟D͟E͟R͟S͟T͟A͟N͟D͟ ͟c͟a͟r͟t͟i͟u͟z͟i͟•͟

XX

"What do you mean 'why were you apologizing?' Symere?" he asked, his tone shifting towards a more somber one, "There are so many reasons I should be sorry."

I looked down at the ground, twiddling my hands with one another, "Really?"

"YES, REALLY!!" Jordan shouted while shaking my shoulders lighty, "I'm so so so so so sorry for how I treated you that one night, and I'm so sorry for saying those things. It wasn't the right thing to do to someone who was as eager as you were to be friends with the poor kid from North Carolina on the first day of school. It was something that I would and should never do to someone that I, uhhhhhh, hmmmm,"

Jordan stuttered for a brief moment, as I looked towards him, listening, "am really good friends with."

I looked up towards him, with tears about to come out of my eyes; once again, I was about to cry because of Jordan, but this time, it wasn't because of my shock towards him, but rather my love for him. Jordan blushed, and opened his arms outwards toward me. "Come here, Sy." he instructed me.

I ran into his arms so hard, that my miniature ass almost knocked him right the fuck over. He squeezed me tightly, like I was some sort of small stuffed animal, and squeezed him back, as if he was a big, albeit skinny, teddy bear.

"I missed you so, so, so much, Carti," I whispered into his ear, about to cry once again, "I-I lo-," and before I could finish telling him what I was about to say, the excruciating bell rang once again. Jordan released me from his tight embrace, and ruffled my dreads like he always used to. It made me laugh for whatever reason, and I jumped to try and reach his, but I couldn't get them.

Jordan laughed at my attempts, "You better be at the football game tonight or I will deadass find you, kidnap you, and bring you there myself." he proclaimed.

"No need to worry about that," I told him, beginning to walk towards class with Jordan, "I'll already be there anyways. The most difficult thing to do is to find me there."

Jordan laughed his sexy little laugh again, "Ayo, I'll talk to you later though, lil' vert, I gotta get to Psychology." He dapped me up, and I waved goodbye to him.

"Damn," I thought, "I haven't been called that in awhile. Definitely never by Jordan; only ever by Rakim." I brushed the thought off as me not remembering things as they were, and my already exhausted brain mixing people, places, and phrases up.

The rest of the day moved by slowly, with me not really paying much attention throughout either of my classes. I was excited at the prospect of what was gonna go down tonight both on and off the field. From what I had heard, this party that everyone was going to was supposed to be wild as hell; it was the rich folks up in North Marietta throwing it, so there was gonna be nice cars, a big ass house, and plenty of booze and weed. It was exactly what I needed.

The constant idea that I could relieve most of my stress in less than 22 hours distracted me from the fact that everyone kept staring at me and whispering rumors at the same time. Either that, or random ass people I didn't even know would come up to me and give me half-assed "apologies" saying things about how "nobody deserves to be treated that way" or "they are homophobic bigots" or "I bet they listen to post-2005 Eminem in their free time". Yeah, yeah, we've all heard the stereotypical stories on Reddit about the LGBTQIA+ kids being bullied for who they are THOUSANDS of times; there is literally no need to reiterate it.

Fourth period was dismissed, and my mind was set on taking the Legend home at top speed, leaving a bit for Mama, throwing on some wild Lithia Springs homecoming merchandise, going to a hopefully wild football game, and getting blackout shit-faced at some random rich white person's house tonight. Except, no, as soon as I walked out of my classroom door, I was met with Montero.

"Hey baby, how are you?" I asked him, giving him a warm hug.

"Ohhhhhh you know meeeee Symereeeeee," he giggled, "just checking up to see how my favorite person isssssssss."

"Awwwwwwww, your favorite person is doing fineeeeee. What about my favorite person?"

"He's standing right in front of you, but that's kinda it."

I laughed at Monty's remarks, and walked past him, jingling my car keys to signify that I had to leave. He followed me outside, stopping me to ask me a question.

"Just to clarify," Montero asked, "you are going to the football game, right?" I smiled, "Of course; nothing's changed since I told you earlier in the week."

"Alright, sounds good. Do you need a ride up to Marietta tonight?" he asked.

I thought about it for a minute, considering the fact that driving home under the influence may not be the smartest choice in the world.

"Yeah, that probably wouldn't be the worst idea." I replied, to which Monty smiled, and remarked, "Ok, sounds good; I'll see you then." He then walked off towards Nayvadius' Grand Cherokee, to get a ride with him and Summer. Ever since he had become a full-time resident of Georgia again, his license was still registered to his address in Birmingham, making it not work. Montero felt no need in getting his license until he had to go to college, so he essentially relied on the good-wills and agendas of other people, a lifestyle I managed to find both incredibly interesting and inspiring in a sense.

I rushed across the parking lot, back towards the Legend when it hit me: if I was getting a ride from Montero and Nayvadius' "crew", there was no point in taking the Legend tonight. I caught this just in time, as Rakim climbed into the driver's side door of the ASAP.

"Ayo Rakim!" I shouted at him. He looked up from the steering wheel where his phone rested, and towards me. "What is is, my child?" he asked.

"So to make a long story short, I'm getting a ride to this party in Marietta tonight after the game, and I'm not gonna be in a position to where I could come pick the Legend up later, so do you think I could obtain a ride from you to the homecoming game?" I both explained and requested.

"Yes, you may get a ride from your father and I, as we will be attending the same event." Amala shouted from the other side of ASAP. I laughed and nodded my head. Rakim smiled at both of us, and approached me.

"Please tell me you're alright after today." he sympathetically told me.

"Don't worry about me, I'm fine, Rakim."

"You know I'll never stop worrying about you; I took on the task of raising you for a reason."

"Nah, for real, I'm fine though, thanks for checking though."

Rakim tilted his head, as if he was asking "You're sure?", to which I nodded my head. He lightly chuckled, "6:00, no exceptions or we're leaving you."

I nodded, hopping in the Legend, and driving out of the parking lot alongside ASAP and the 4Runner, excited for what tonight might hold, and my newly repaired friendship with the one I love.