Fated Love (BWWM)

present day - 8

Jackson tapped on the steering wheel against the beat of a Meek Mill song while Aaliyah rapped along to some of the lyrics. They spent almost two hours at the rink and skating burned more energy then they thought.

While on the hunt of food and passing by a nearby park, Aaliyah noticed something and gasped. "Puppies!" She exclaimed, pointing out her window. "Oh my gosh, they're having a pet adoption! We need to go," she urged.

"We need to go?" Jackson laughed, repeating her words.

"Yes Jack! This is serious!" She tells him as he looks for a U-turn so they could go back to the park and so Aaliyah could stop looking at Jack like she wanted to knock his head off. Once they parked and arrived, Aaliyah ran ahead towards one of the puppy play pins and started fooling around with the creatures, bringing a smile to her face.

Jackson pulled out his phone from his pocket and opened the camera app to document the entire thing. "Aaliyah," he called out, shifting her attention from the Maltese puppy in her hands to him. "I️ don't know who's cuter right now," he said for the sake of the camera. Aaliyah simply smiled into the camera before bringing the squirming puppy to her face, snuggling it.

"You two are so cute," a girl said from behind them. Jackson stopped the video and turned around to see a animal shelter volunteer smiling back at them. "Y'all looking to raise a dog together?" She asked, looking between them both.

"Oh no we're not dating-"

"We're not looking for a dog-"

They both stopped when they realized they were simultaneously speaking over each other. "We're just looking," Aaliyah finally said to her.

"You seem pretty attached to that one," the teenaged volunteer pointed out. "They're only twenty-five to adopt plus free vaccinations when you get them today," she pitched.

Aaliyah looked at the little pure white fluff all with a frown. "I️ wish I️ could," she said in a baby voice to the puppy. "But my mom wouldn't like it if I️ just sprung a puppy on her, you know?" She said.

"Totally understandable," the girl nodded. "Oh well, enjoy the rest of your day," she waved off.

Aaliyah sadly put the little guy down on the ground with the rest of his siblings. "Bye baby," she muttered lowly before standing up and walking away with Jackson. "Where to next?" She asked.

"I'm thinking about beating your ass in skeeball," Jackson challenged as they got into the car.

Aaliyah laughed in excitement. "You're so on!" She tells him.

                                      * * * *

Aaliyah filmed Jackson as he shot baskets after basket at the basketball game. "He's gonna break the high score!" She narrates as the points went up. High score was 85 and he was on 79. 80. 81. 82.

There were a few seconds left, and finally he passed the 85 mark and the buzzer stopped at 87. "Woo!" She cheered as she posted the video to Snapchat. "Wow. Is there a sport you're not good at?" She wondered.

Jackson looked up in thought. "Nope, pretty good at all of them," he gloated, making her laugh as they went to try their luck at one of those ball drop games. "You wanna go first or..." he offered as he casually leaned against the machine.

Aaliyah nodded and moved forward. She swiped the game card and randomly pressed the button, the ball falling straight into the 500 ticket jackpot. Aaliyah squealed in excitement while Jackson's jaw dropped in disbelief. "Ha ha!" She laughed in his face.