Breathe (Tay K)~COMPLETED

Prolouge 🌺

Ebony Keys 🦋

It was about three o'clock in the afternoon on a hot Texas day when I was playing hopscotch with Zoe and D'Essence. I skipped to the four on the ground, almost losing my balance.

"E, don't fall!" Daddy warned me from the balcony as he opened the apartment door and stepped back inside. I stepped to the side to let Zoe throw her pebble. I didn't understand a lot of things about my living situation back then because I was so young, but I had been living in the same hood all my life. My daddy was taking care of me, my mama was running around in the streets, and all I had besides him were my two best friends, and sometimes the group of boys if they were in a nice mood. Today, they weren't. I sighed in frustration when I felt something hit my back.

"Ziggy, quit hittin' me wit' dem thangs!" Essence sassed, putting a hand on her hip.

"Ian do dat!" I turned around to see the usual group of boys on their bikes, plus one more. I stared at him, then looked up at the apartment beside me. Maybe he was the one that moved next to me? I went back to playing, skipping across the narrow one way street to play with my jump rope. I heard stuff scraping on the sidewalk as I picked it up.

"Hey." I heard a boy voice say, making me turn around quickly.

"Hi." I say shyly.

"Wha's yo name?"

"Ebony. Everybody calls me E." I waited for him to tell me his.

"My name Taymor, everybody calls me Tay. How old you is?" I was usually annoyed by questions, but I was okay with answering his.

"I'm turnin' eight tomorrow, wanna come to my birthday party?" He nodded and smiled.

"C'mon, Tay!"

"Ight!" He looked at me and smiled a little, waving. He ran back to the other side of the street and rode off with TJ, Jermaine, and Ziggy

"E, come on and eat some'." I heard my daddy say. I crossed the street and climbed up the steps, looking back at the group Taymor was in before I shut the door.
*
~5 Years Later~

"Well, ion know what to tell you, Ebony. I gotta work to feed ya." I huffed through the receiver of the house phone. I pushed myself into the corner of the couch and got into my comfortable position.

"So, Imma just be alone?" It wasn't being alone that upset me, it was being alone on my thirteenth birthday that upset me.

"You know, you can spend the night over to D'Essence or Zoe's. But, ian gone be home til it's time for you to be in school in the morning." I sigh, peeping out the window. The streets of the boondocks were bustling since it was usually the time when people get off from work.

"Okay."

"Okay. Sorry baby, happy birthday. Love you."

"Love you, too. Bye." The phone clicked. I put it down and grabbed my own. It wasn't anything fancy, and I was supposed to be getting a new one anyway. My thoughts were cut off by a door opening.

"Tay? Boy, you done lived in the hood long enough to know not to do stuff like that." I stood up.

"My fault, happy birthday, though." He shut the door, reaching in his pocket. He handed me a small box.

"Thank you." I blushed, biting the inside of my lip. I opened it and smiled hard. It was an infinity loop necklace, with a small heart on the corner.

"Lemme put it on." He said, taking it out of the box. I turned around and flipped my braids out of the way as he put it on. I turned around and hugged him. As I stepped back, he held my waist. His face was close to mine, making my face heat up even more. He was looking at my lips, then my eyes, then my lips again. He started moving in closer, making me freak out on the inside.

"T-Tay, what the fu—"

"Shut up." He mumbled, our lips brushing against each other. He pulled me closer and kissed me. When he let go, I stood awkwardly in front of him. He scratched the back of his head, looking around.

"Well, uh—bye." He reached for the door.

"Bye." I waved, kind of in a daze. When the door shut, I smiling like hell. I went into the kitchen to look for something to eat, forgetting the thought of it being my lamest birthday ever. One little thing made it my best. I got my first kiss.
*

All of this happened when Taymor was just Taymor. My skinny, next door neighbor who was always on the block. Back when nobody really paid attention to him, back when he was just another black kid causing chaos in the streets of Texas. Before he was Tay-K.