Cocoa And Vanilla

Chapter 1

Silence.

It had its pros and cons but silence was key. For me, anyway.
But it was also the same for commotion. Noise was also key in life. You just need an even balance of noise and silence so it wont drive you mad.

I had that balance, at least, for now.

"You have assigned partners for this project," The class groaned and the teacher glared. "Maybe it'll do you good and you all can get laid for once." She snapped.

I subtly rolled my eyes. Why was she such an ass to everyone? "Come on, Mrs. Jester. You know I get laid."

I directed my eyes to the source and found Justin Delarosa, smirking cockily at her. Oh, that's why.

She didn't seemed fazed by his outburst and ignored him. "I'll call names now so move when I call you."

I zoned out and tapped my pencil against my cheek. Did I already finish the current series I was reading? Damn, I have to make a trip to the bookstore soon.

"Destiny Vasten and Justin Delarosa." I met Mrs. Jester's eyes and she returned my gaze with a look of pity.

So that's how it is. I grabbed my book bag and made my way over to Justin and sat in the empty seat beside him. "¿Que pasa, mami? I ain't seen you around here before."

"That's because you don't look." I said quietly, without even sparing him a glance. I flipped to a clean page in my notebook and before I could begin writing ideas, it was snatched from my hand.

He raised his arm way up and a scowl threatened to rise on my features. I was pretty tall for a girl so I was only a little shorter than him. I tried to snatch my pencil out of his hand but he moved it.

"Dude, come on." I mumbled under my breath.

He laughed and he put my pencil back in my awaiting hands. "Aw, I was hoping you'd get angry but you're pretty chill."

I'm pretty chill? I laughed internally. I don't think so.

"Whatever." I mumbled, turning away from him.

After a few moments of silence, which I enjoyed, Justin spoke again. "So what are we going to do?"

I sighed and handed my notebook to him. "You can start by picking a subject from the list I created or you can give me a suggestion."

He read the list and I saw a spark of concentration in his eyes. My lips parted in amazement, stunned that he could do such a thing until I decided to close it.

"I think we should this one," He pointed to the third bullet point and I read the words next to it.

"Sex cells?" I questioned out loud.

"Yeah, I mean, it would be awesome. We could create our own little vid-"

"No." I cut him off, refusing to hear any more.

"Why not?"

I gave him a blank look. "That's disgusting."

He turned away from me pouting and I decided it was my turn to pick. "How about let's do a plant project? We could each grow a plant but in different environments and different portions of sunlight, water, etc."

"That's fine, I guess." He muttered and I managed a smile.

"Great." The bell rung and Mrs. Jester shouted over the bustle of students, hurrying to grab their stuff.

"This project is due in a month. Have it done by then. No exceptions!!!" I ignored her and grabbed my book bag then left, sadly leaving my notebook behind.

The rest of the day went by fast and quietly, except from the usual yells and shouts from Justin's group in the hallway. School was over and I made it to my car without a hitch.

I drove back to my home and burst through the door of my home with a gigantic smile on my face. "I'm home, bitches!!!"

"What the hell did I tell you about coming in my house like that?" My mom said emerging from the kitchen with my father trailing behind her.

"But, mom, you know you will still love me even if I end up breaking a few things."

She turned to my dad and pointed at me. "Get your daughter before I hurt her."

My dad and I laughed as she walked over to the couch and plopped down. "How was school?"

"Ugh, I'm paired up with this boy for this project in science class. He's a little annoying but I think I can manage." He froze and my mother did a soft grunt.

"Cue protective male. In 3...2...1..." My mother said and my father suddenly fired off questions.

"A boy? What boy? What's his name? Can I get my gun?" I turned to my mother with wide eyes.

"How did you do that?" She shrugged.

"Practice?" I puckered my lips knowingly and she winked at me.

"It's your mother's fault. She's always letting guys flirt with her." My dad muttered.

"Ain't my fault that I'm pretty." She crossed her arms over her chest and my dad's attention went back to me.

"Answer my questions."

"Well, his name is Justin Delarosa and he's my partner in my science project. Also, no, you don't need to get the gun. At least, not now..." I muttered the last part under my breath so he wouldn't hear.

"He's Hispanic? His name sounds Hispanic. Is he cute? Tell me the details. You can't leave your mother out." My mom said patting the seat cushion beside her.

"No, I don't want to. You'll see him yourself tomorrow, probably."

"Tomorrow?" They asked at the same time.

"He's coming over to work on the project."

"And you ain't tell nobody? You just decided to invite him over without telling us? Girl, don't be thinking you grown just because you about to go to college. As long as you live under my roof, you have to ask permission. Do you understand?" My mothers southern accent sunk into her words and I nodded.

"Yes, ma." I muttered.

"So we can't work here?" My father looked at my mom and they had a silent conversation.

"I hope you know you're going to clean this house up from top to bottom." She sighed.

"Thank you." I smiled at her and she hummed.

"Whatever." I kissed her cheek and went upstairs to drop off my book bag.

I came back down and grabbed my keys. "I'm going to the bookstore!!! I'll be right back!!!"

I drove over to my favorite bookstore and practically ran in the wonderful place. The smell of books made me feel giddy inside and I greeted the employees.

I scanned the bookshelves and picked out books that appealed to me. My arms were stuffed with books and I decided to walk to a table to sort through them.

A person rounded the bookshelf at the same time I was exiting the column, resulting in us bumping into each other.

"Shit." A few books fell onto the floor and I hurriedly tried to pick them up.

"You're the girl from class..." A familiar voice said.

I quickly looked up and examined the figure. The person was wearing sweatpants and a thin white t-shirt then to top it all off, tousled hair that completed the just-woke-up look.

"Justin?"