Nobody's Business (BOOK ONE)

Chapter 10

Keenan sits on the metal bleachers to the sides of the basket balls courts, writing down new lyrics in his phone. Cordell and Shaun invited him to play ball with them but ever since this morning he's had an inspiration to write down some new song possibilities, so he decided to tag along with his friends just to get out the house for the day.

This nice weather won't last much longer, tomorrow will already be September 6th and before he knows it that cool October breeze will be blowing through the streets and all the leaves will fall to the ground. There will be no more humid days like this for a while so Keenan wants to enjoy it.

He stares down at his phone, racking his brain to come up with a chorus for his new song. As he dwells on what would sound good with his first verse, he hears a familiar laugh a few feet away. He looks up to see Malcolm, Ty and Sevyn walking through the gates of the park and coming towards the basketball courts. He smiles, delighted at the sight of his girlfriend. Sevyn steps onto the court wearing blue basketball shorts, a black t-shirt and a pair of Nikes, her hair is pulled up in a ponytail and held back with a grey headband. He loves how laid back Sevyn is. She doesn't stress over things like her nails and hair, mostly because she can't afford to be bothered with that kind of stuff since she's on the Volleyball team. He also likes the fact that Sevyn can either be the sweetest person around or his thug princess when she needs to. Sometimes she's just one of the guys and sometimes she's one of the baddest chicks. Keenan wouldn't have it any other way.

"Why are you staring so hard?" Keenan blinks, not realizing he had been staring at her since she showed up. She climbs up the bleaches and stands in front of him with her hands on her hips.

"Sorry," he tells her, then notices other boys in the park staring at her. He protectively wraps his arms around her waist, warning other brothers to back off. "What happened to you last night? We were talkin and I asked you a question, next think I know I hear the dial tone in my ear." Keenan questions.

Sevyn chuckles, "My bad, I was out with Monica and Aubrey all day so I was tired when I got home."

"Aubrey? Whatchu hanging with Aubrey for?" Keenan's eyebrows scrunch together as he wait for an answer.

Sevyn sighs and crosses her arms, "What's your deal with Aubrey? Y'all act like one another doesn't exist when the other is present. Do you know her or something?"

"Nah but I know her type. In class she's always acting like she's clueless when she knows what's going on. She's one of them girls that likes to stir up drama. Stay away from her." He orders, annoyance growing stronger the more he thinks about her.

Sevyn's brown eyes narrow and she cocks her hip to one side, laughing dryly. "I don't know what you think this is but I can chill with anyone I want to. Our relationship isn't a dictatorship." She declares, raising an eyebrow at him to express her irritation. Keenan rolls his eyes and leans back on the bleachers, setting his phone down next to him. Sevyn stares at him for a minute and sighs, "Look, I like Aubrey. She's a nice person to hang out with. I don't need you controlling who I want to befriend. Alright?"

Keenan looks at the headstrong girl staring at him, feeling his self giving into her intense gaze. He smirks, "Alright I can respect that. If you wanna be friends with her go again, but don't expect me to try and be her bestie or nothing."

"Of course not," Sevyn says, placing her hands on his knees and leaning forward. He pecks her on the lips just as his phone goes off. He glances at the number and winces internally, quickly grabbing his phone before Sevyn can see the number.

On the court, Ty calls Sevyn's name. "Sevyn, you playing or what?"

She looks over her shoulder at him, "I'm coming!" She shouts in response then turns back to Keenan. She glances at his phone still ringing in his hand, "Answer that." She tells him before hopping down off the bleachers and joining the basketball game.

Keenan watches her go before answer his phone, "What?"

"Don't curse at me. We need to talk." The caller snaps at him with twice as much attitude.

Keenan shakes his head, "Nah, we good." He ends the call before blocking the number. Guilt raging through his body as he watches Sevyn run up and down the court.

Keenan loves Sevyn more than he loves anything. She holds him down and sets him straight when he's acting up. He sees Sevyn as his other half because she stands by him no matter what. She makes sure these girls are clear that he belongs to her and he does the same in return, kissing on her whenever other dudes even glance in her direction.

The reason he got upset when she told him she was hanging with Aubrey is because he doesn't like Aubrey. She's been vying for his attention ever since she got here and then acts like she can't stand him when other people are around. She's asked him on multiple occasions to meet her in the stairwell or outside of school so they can talk but he's been ignoring her like he's deaf an blind.

The only reason he won't tell Sevyn about Aubrey making passes at him is because then he would have to tell on his self. He only gave Sevyn the half baked version of what went down in Florida. Renovating the house and chilling with his cousins isn't the only things he got into. And if Sevyn really finds out what happened, he's afraid that he'll lose her forever.

He wants Sevyn and nobody else by his side when he makes it as a big time rapper. But if Aubrey comes between them and screw shit up, his future with Sevyn will go down the toilet. Aubrey ain't nothing but a trouble maker.


"Are you sure you're ok?" Sevyn asks him later on when she's done playing basket ball.

"Yeah I'm fine." He replies, holding her hand tightly in his. She stands in between his legs as he sits on the bleacher, squinting up at him. She stares at him quizzically and he smiles. "You know I love you right?"

Sevyn's hears the sincerity in his voice and smiles. "I love you too Keenan." She reassure him, sitting down in his lap and wrapping her arms around his shoulder. Keenan holds her tightly in his arms and rest his head on her shoulder, breathing in the sweet scent of her lotion. He closes his eyes and savers the feel of her in his arms.

"Well ain't that the cutest shit I've seen all day." They hear Shaun say as the boys climb up on the bleachers. Keenan looks up at his boys who are smiling at him goofily.

"Y'all need some girlfriends, damn. Always up in our business." Sevyn tells them, glaring at Malcolm as he takes a sip from her water bottle.

"I got a girlfriend. Her name is Robyn Fenty aka Rihanna. But she wants to keep our relationship on the low." Shaun tells them, his smile is so bright you'd think he was telling the truth.

"Yeah right, more like your little hoe Janelle. I heard you smashed her the other night." Corey says, raising an eyebrow.

Everyone looks at Shaun and he sucks his teeth, "Gahdamn females just stay runnin they mouths. What happened to never kissing and telling?"

"That died a long time ago." Malcolm replies. "Example A." He points at Sevyn and Keenan. "They be all over the school in each others mouths."

Keenan chuckles, "Ain't my fault she can't get enough."

Sevyn slaps him in the chest, "Whatever. So Corey, I heard someone got a little crush on you." Corey gives her a questioning look and she smiles. "Aubrey."

"Aubrey?" Corey, Ty and Keenan say at the same time, mirroring each others facial expressions.

Sevyn nods, "Yeah, yall were vibin at Dunkin Donuts the other day. You should take homegirl on a date and get acquainted."

"Back off, she's mine." Ty says, glaring at Corey. "Just cuz you got tiger eyes don't mean you can go around seducing every female in town nigga."

"Every female? He never seduced me and we've been friends for the longest." Sevyn says.

Corey flashes a smile, "Cuz you got Keenan over here tryin to murder any nigga that glance at you. But trust, if he wasn't in the picture I'd be all up in that."

"Nooooo, nope nope. Y'all forgetting that's our sister?" Malcolm shouts out.

"I'm not gonna lie, Sevyn grew up and got some curves on her. You lucky we so close girl." Shaun says taking her in.

Sevyn shifts uncomfortably in Keenan's lap. She's never heard her brothers friends talk about her like this and it feels awkward. She's known them all for so long that the fact that they've been checking her out makes her feel pretty self conscious suddenly. She has walked around in t-shirts and booty shorts around them, never realizing that they might be attracted to her.

"Alright y'all, chill." Keenan says, his voice anything but playful or light as his grip on his girl tightens.

Shaun laughs, "I'm playing though. I'd never move in on Sevyn like that."

"Better not." Ty says.

Sevyn rolls her eyes, desperate for a topic change. "So you and Aubrey though." She looks at Corey.

He shakes his head, "I dunno, she still seems a little suspicious to me. I'm gonna have to wait and observe her a little more."

Keenan fights the smile that wants to appear on his lips. If only they knew what kind of person Aubrey really was. He checks the time on his phone, 3:30. "Yo lets head out. I'm hungry."

"Burger king?" Sevyn asks hopefully and everyone groans as they stand up. Sevyn is trying to eat all the junk food she can before Volleyball starts up next week. The group heads out the park and towards the car that Ty borrowed from their mom. They pack their six bodies into the five seats, hoping they don't get pulled over for Sevyn sitting on Keenan's lap.


When they return home, their dads car is parked in the drive way. Sevyn hops out the car and hurries into the house, bursting into the living room. Her dad is sitting on the couch, watching CSI with a bag of chips in his lap.

"You're back." Sevyn says.

"Well I do live here." Her father jokes, looking at his daughter. "Where did y'all go?"

"Basketball courts with Shaun and them." Ty replies, pushing Sevyn farther into the house so he and Ty can get in.

Sevyn stares at her father, looking for any signs of an argument with their mother earlier. "Where did you go?"

"Your mom and I had a conference to attend to about my job. It lasted longer than I hoped for." He says, muttering something under his breath that couldn't be heard by his kids. Jared turns his attention back to the tv screen that's showing a bloody body in an office building.

Sevyn is about to question their father some more when Malcolm puts a hand on her shoulder and leans close to her ear, "It was a dream Sevyn. The argument didn't happen so let it go." He whispers before disappearing into the kitchen with Ty. Sevyn sighs and runs her fingers through her hair in defeat.

She turns and bounds up the stairs to go call Monica and tell her about the awkward moment at the basket ball courts. She's walks pass her parents room and glances inside to see her mother sitting criss crossed on the bed. "Hey mommy," she says, walking inside the room. Her mother looks up from the tablet in her lap as Sevyn sits across from her.

"Hey mama, what's going on?" She asks, tapping something on the scream.

"Nothin, I've been playing love doctor with Corey and Aubrey." Sevyn replies, eyeing her mother the same way she eyed her dad. Her eyes search for any signs of stress or strain on her mothers face but sees nothing.

"Aubrey, who's Aubrey?" Christine asks.

"A new girl at school, she's from Florida so Money and I took her around town." Sevyn explains.

"Oh, then of course she like Corey. He's a piece of eye candy for all the girls out here. Why don't you date him or Shaun instead of Keenan?"

Sevyn gives her mother the evil eye. She's never been fond of Keenan and has always liked Corey because she was friends with his mother before she ran away with a drug lord. "So how did your meeting go? Dad told me that's where y'all went." Sevyn says, trying to change the topic.

"It was fine I guess. Long, boring, lots of tension. Man I hate weekend meetings." Christine sighs, typing something up on her tablet.

"And how are you and dad doing relationship wise?" Sevyn blurts out before she can stop it. Even though Malcolm told her to let it go, she can't. She needs to know if she's really going crazy or if what she heard between her parents was real.

Christine stops typing and looks up at Sevyn, raising a perfectly shaped eyebrow quizzically. "Are you being nosey?"

"No! I was just wondering how you guys were doing. Keenan asked about you and I thought I'd keep him updated." She lies, knowing damn well Keenan didn't ask that.

"Well you can tell Keenan we're doing fine. We've just been so caught up with work its taking a toll on both of us, wearing us out every day." Her mother reassure. Sevyn nods her head, genuinely understanding where her mother is coming from. Her dad works at the airport giving people rental cars and sometimes leaves early in the morning and comes home late. Her mother is a secretary at travel agency and has loads of paper work to bring home.

Sevyn's mom pulls a pencil out of her kinky curly hair that she's been wearing natural for 9 years now and scribbles something down on a sticky note then looks back up at Sevyn. "Do me a favor and make me a sandwich please. I'm starving." She says.

Sevyn chuckles and rises from the bed, "Alright, don't work yourself to death."

Her mother grins and shrugs, "No promises."

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