𝐊𝐇𝐀𝐃𝐈𝐉𝐀𝐇'𝐒 𝐇𝐄𝐀𝐑𝐓 / 𝐃𝐎𝐔𝐆𝐈𝐄 𝐁

𝐂𝐇𝐀𝐏𝐓𝐄𝐑 𝟐: 𝐅𝐔𝐂𝐊 𝐀𝐑𝐎𝐔𝐍𝐃 𝐀𝐍𝐃 𝐅𝐈𝐍𝐃 𝐎𝐔𝐓.

"People just be changing their names to anything, huh?" Khadijah wondered aloud. "Like, what do people even call you? As far as I'm concerned, your names are Arion and Kevin." She shrugged, holding the strap of her backpack tightly. 

Kevin kissed his teeth.

"Chill with our govs," Arion chuckled, "call me Dougie."

"I'm Kay." Kevin said plainly, as if he couldn't really care less about the whole conversation.

"Well, Dougie and Kay, I would appreciate it if you kept yourselves away from me, my mama is freaking out at home—she said you're bad news—hoodlums now." Khadijah retorted. The sound of the train rolling in prevented them from responding to her. It took a minute for the doors to open and all the people on the platform flooded the cars. Khadijah squeezed in amongst the people, standing in the middle, pressed up against everyone on all sides. A board chest rested against her back, and she glanced back at the person to find Arion standing directly behind her, looking over her head at something in the distance.

"Seriously, Arion... " Khadijah mumbled as she reached up to hold the subway handle, trying but failing to grab it. She froze when she felt Arion bend down behind her slightly, pressing his mouth against her ear.

"Can I hold you? Or else, you gon' fall like a tumbleweed and I'on wanna deal with that right now," he whispered to her and Khadijah rolled her eyes before sighing, giving him a curt nod. She prayed no one around recognized her as Arion's arm slid around her waist, holding her against his body as the train began to move. She only had to survive a ten-minute subway ride before they disembarked, with their school being a two-minute walk away. They were silent, leaning against each other for support as Arion held one hand over his hand, grabbing the safety handle that Khadijah failed to reach. She could see Kevin sitting down three seats away from them, wired earbuds in his ears as he leaned his head back against the window.

The ride was silent and eventually, people filtered out of the car, leaving for school or work Khadijah presumed, but the subway car just filled back up just as quick with more students; more people she recognized from their school making her groan lowly in her throat.

More people like James and his dumbass friend group.

Her body tensed automatically, bowing her head, twisting, so she faced sideways—shoulder brushing Arion's chest, watching James and his group approach them before sitting to the left side of the car, parallel to Kevin who eyed them openly before continuing to stare straight ahead blankly.

"You scared of him?" Arion asked her, chin damn near touching her head as he whispered to her.

"No," she murmured, eyes shifting back and forth to the rambunctious group of so-called gangbangers and the window of the subway, "I'm not scared. I just hate feeling powerless. It's like seven of them and one of me—I can't win against them, and he knows it."

"He ain't nobody forreal, you don't ever have to feel powerless against him," above her, Arion shook his head, "where 'yo friends at anyway? They just leave you to deal with him?"