kiara pov (bridgerton spoilers ahead)
"food's ready." tobiah says from the kitchen. i pause bridgerton on episode two.
bryan and isaiah stand from the couch. they walk into the kitchen first. i follow behind them with aliana and maliki behind me.
"you threw down today tobiah." bryan says.
"yea yea." tobiah smiles.
i look at the items on the kitchen island. tobiah made chicken wings, collard greens, fried rice, mac and cheese, and cornbread.
"i thought you were italian." isaiah says as his eyes scan each item one by one.
"i am, but you forget i grew up around bryan all my life." tobiah says.
"yea, yea, yea. that's cute and all but can we eat already." aliana asks. she looks down at the food in front of her with hungry eyes.
"yea, ali. you can eat." tobiah laughs.
aliana does a little dance in excitement, then starts shuffling to grab a plate.
i grab a plate and start placing items on it. soon enough, i'm back in the living room watching tv. aliana and maliki join me. isaiah and bryan join after them. tobiah sits in front of me on the floor. i play bridgerton.
spending time with this group of people, actually brightens up my day.
the ringing of the doorbell takes my attention away from the tv. tobiah looks up at me. i pause the show and set my plate beside tobiah's. tobiah stands up and grab his gun from the kitchen. i walk up to the front door. i open it to see samila standing on the other side.
"hey." samila smiles.
"hey mila. what's up?" i ask confused. i step aside to let her in. she slips through the door.
"tobi texted me and told me he made food and that i should come over." samila smiles.
"oh damn. i forgot about that." tobi laughs.
i look at him daringly before turning back to samila. "the food's on the kitchen island." i say.
she smiles excitedly and skips over to the kitchen. i close the front door and go back into the living room. i sit back down on the couch. i grab my food from the coffee table. tobiah walks back into the living room. he places his gun in a holster under the coffee table. samila joins him in the floor. i play bridgerton again.
later, my dad came. he watched episode five of bridgerton with us then went to bed after he finished eating.
isaiah pauses the show.
"why she getting mad at him for? he said he can't have kids." isaiah says.
"zay."
"isaiah, can't and won't mean two different things." samila says.
"he told her he can't. she just took the word the wrong way." maliki says, jumping in.
"don't get involved maliki." aliana says.
"why not? i understand where he's coming from." maliki replies.
"but he said he can't have kids. can't means he's physically unable to have kids. won't means he doesn't want to. so he was in the wrong about it." i explain.
"well i think-" i glare at tobiah before he can finish his sentence. "ok. never mind."
"ki."
"they mean two different things, zay." i say.
"ok. ok." he tosses his hands up in surrender.
we finished watching the rest of the season. maliki and samila went home with two plates of food each while the rest of us stayed.
"today was fun." bryan smiles while eating the rest of the wings.
"it was." tobiah smiles.
"yea. thanks again for cooking tobi." i say smiling up at him.
"of course." he smiles back happily.
"don't forget about tomorrow tobiah." bryan says.
"what's tomorrow?" isaiah asks.
"dobbiamo fare un raid." (we have to go on a raid.) bryan says. i look at him weirdly.
"i didn't know you knew italian." i say.
"non voglio che lei lo sappia." (i don't want her to know about it.) tobiah replies. i look at him awkwardly as he answers back to bryan.
"ok. what the hell y'all talking about?" isaiah asks just as confused as i am. aliana shakes her head as she watches her phone.
"nothing important." tobiah replies.
"ight. well i'm going to bed." aliana says.
"me too, cause y'all niggas tripping." isaiah replies pointing to bryan and tobiah.
ali and isaiah head for the stairs.
"seriously. what were y'all talking about?" i ask.
"nothing important." tobiah repeats.
"ok. im going to bed." i reply. i head for the stairs.
"che diavolo c'è di sbagliato con te? gliel'hai quasi detto." (what the hell is wrong with you? you almost told her.) tobiah continues.
"eh, mi dispiace. starai bene." (well i'm sorry. you'll be ok.) bryan adds.
i shake my head and close my room door.
he's gonna have to teach me italian so i can know what the hell they're talking about all the time.
mikey pov (the next day, February 3, 2023)
"hey mikey." gabrielle says walking up to me with leo.
"hey." i reply.
"i just saw haven. she was looking for you." gabrielle adds.
"really?" i ask.
"yea." leo replies. "why you sound so surprised?"
"i didn't think she'd wanna talk to me after what happened last week." i reply.
"what happened last week?" leo asks suspiciously.
"haven came over to tell me she wanted to be with me for real and i agreed."
"mikey." gabrielle groans.
"wait, just wait." i pause and take a deep breath. "we kissed, then kiara came." gabrielle looks at me confused. "she wanted to talk. i told her it wasn't really a good time, then haven popped in front of the door. kiara looked really upset with me but she didn't say anything. haven told her we were dating. i said it was true and she left." i explain.
"mikey. what the hell are you doing with them?" leo asks.
"i don't know man. it's like ever since kiara and i broke up my mind has been shattered." i groan.
"pick up those damn pieces and come to your senses. i know you know exactly who you want. i know that you know that i know who you want. you just don't want to hurt either of them. news flash mike, one of them will get hurt. you need to do it soon before you get in too deep." gabrielle says.
"gab." leo looks at her with a shocked expression on his face.
"what?" she looks at him innocently. "i'm nice but i'm also blunt. you don't like me for my quietness." she shrugs.
leo smiles defeatedly. gabrielle walks away.
"she is right though mike. you know who you want. you just need to go ahead and tell them who that is." leo says. he nods at me slightly before following gabrielle.
i sigh and turn back to my locker. i grab a book out of it and close it. i turn around to find haven standing in front of me. she looks down at the ground.
"haven. i didn't know you were waiting for me." i say. i adjust my bag strap on my shoulder.
"yea, i uh-i wanted to talk." she says.
"talk about what?" i ask.
"us and what's going on here." she replies.
"what's up?" i ask.
"i just wanted to know where your heads at after kiara showed up to your house the other day." she says.
"honestly, my mind was all over the place." i reply.
"ok. if you need me i'll be home after school. you can stop by and maybe we can talk." she suggests.
"yea. yea for sure. i'll stop by." i nod my head.
"ok. i'll see you later." she smiles weakly and turns to walk down the hall.
i turn and walk in the other direction toward mr. hopkins class. i walk into his room. he looks up from his computer at me.
"hey mr.-"
"i need help." i admitted. "i have no idea what i'm doing here. both girls like me. both girls have been hurt before. how the hell do i tell the one i don't like that i don't like her without her getting pissed at me?" i rant.
"depends on who you're telling. haven would be sad but she'd understand if you want kiara. kiara would either be pissed or nonchalant and cry after you leave." mr. hopkins says.
"i don't know how to break it to her though." i groan.
"who are you choosing?" mr. hoping asks. he squints his eyes at me waiting for an answer.
"i'm not telling anyone until tomorrow." i say.
"so does that mean you're telling them today?"
"yea. i am." i reply.
"let me know how everything goes." mr. hopkins says.
"i will." i nod. gabrielle, leo and zeke walk into the classroom with tom.
"you need to talk to tom." gabrielle says.
"no i don't." i shrug.
"yea, you do. you haven't said a word to him in days." gabrielle says in a duh tone.
"that doesn't mean anything." i sigh.
"yea. it does. he's dating your sister, so what? it's not like he's gonna fuck her over and you know it." gabrielle takes a step closer to me.
"she has a point man." zeke adds.
"why didn't you tell me tom?" i question with a sigh.
"i didn't want you to get the wrong idea, mike. i actually like samila." tom pleads.
"that may be true but how do i know that?"
"'cause you know me mike. i wouldn't do anything to purposely hurt her or you." tom says. i look away with a devious smirk.
"ok. prove to me you're not just using my sister." i state.
"how would i do that?" he asks in confusion.
"i don't know but you'd better figure it out." i shrug. i slide into my desk right as the bell rings for class. i drop my bag to the floor beside my desk. tom looks at me defeatedly. i shrug again and grab my phone from my pocket.
(later that day)
this decision wasn't easy, but once i really thought it through, i knew exactly who i wanted. i knew there was only one real answer to the question people have been asking me for so long. i just didn't want to admit it. i didn't want to believe what i was feeling was true, but it is.
i hate that i have to disappoint one of them but i don't have any other choice. it's the right decision to make. it's the only decision to make. now i just have to tell her the truth.
i walk up to the front door to her house. i raise my hand to knock on the door. i hesitate for a moment before knocking softly three times. i wait patiently for her to open the door.
wondering what she's gonna say wanders into my mind. questioning if she has questions. my mind is ablaze in madness and confusion.
her front door opens. she smiles when she sees it's me on the other side. i smile back unable to hide it.
"hey mikey." she smiles wider.
"hey." i smile wider at her.
"uh-what's up?" she asks.
"i um-i came to tell you the truth." i say.
"you made your decision?" she asks. i nod my head in response. "well, what was it?"
"i'm sorry, but it's kiara. it's always been kiara. i'm sorry i brought you into my shit, haven. you don't deserve this. you deserve so much better." i sigh.
she looks at me utterly and completely hurt.
"i put myself out there to you. i told you what i wanted. matter of fact, i showed you i wanted you. now you're choosing her over me?"
"it's nothing against you and you did nothing wrong. i promise. this was me and my inability to make up my mind about someone, but you said it yourself. you said there had to be more to our break up and you were right." i grab her hand, trying to comfort her in the best way i can think of.
she yanks her hand away from mine. "i shouldn't have even gotten involved with you." she sighs.
"i'm sorry haven." i sigh.
"i wish you the best of luck mikey, but i have to go. goodbye." she turns away from me. she takes a step inside. she wipes her face. she looks at me once more as she closes the front door. as soon as the door closes, i hear soft sobs on the other end. i groan and turn to walk back to my car. i unlock the doors and hop inside. i look at her house once more before pulling off down the road.
kiara pov
"no fucking way!" isaiah yells. i smile.
"for real man! it was crazy. he windmill dunked on his head, then he walked over him. no tech or nothing." joseph exclaims.
"you guys are so dorky." aliana smiles.
"no we're not." isaiah stank faces her.
"yea you are. you still watch pretty little liars." aliana smiles sarcastically at him. he rolls his eyes.
"pretty little liars is not dorky. tell her maliki." isaiah snarls.
"i'm not getting involved." maliki says throwing his hands up in surrender.
i smile. my phone rings. i press the green button with a sigh.
"yes uriah?" i answer.
"i heard tobi cooked the other day. what he make?" uriah asks from the other end of the phone.
"he made a lot, why?" i glance at aliana. she watches me as i respond to uriah.
"isaiah told me he made collard greens." uriah says, anger radiating in his voice.
"yea, so?"
"he made them without me! how could he do such a thing!" uriah complains.
"uriah, he can make some more later or sum'." i reply rolling my eyes.
"when i see him i'm gonna-"
"how about you tell tobiah and stop wasting my time." i groan.
he gasps exasperatedly. "you're just like him."
the doorbell rings, catching my attention.
"delete my number nigga." i smile and hang up the phone.
i stand up from the couch and walk to the door. i open it to find mikey on the other side. a shocked expression is painted on my face. he looks at me hopefully with a shy smile.
"m-mikey. what are you doing here?" i stutter as i speak.
"i came to see you." he smiles. he takes a step closer to me. i take a small step back.
"why?" i ask. he looks down at my feet, noticing my preferred distance from him.
"i wanted to tell you the truth." he says. he takes another step forward and grabs both my hands in his. "i came to tell you it's you. it's you and it will always be you." he smiles.
"what about haven? i thought you were dating her." i reply in complete confusion.
"i'm in love with you. i'm in love with you and she couldn't change that. she never will. no one ever will." he says. he pulls me closer by my arms.
"mikey." i breathe.
"i choose you and i'll choose you over and over. i'll keep choosing you because i love you and i'm in love with you, and that's never gonna change."
he smiles at me. he grabs me by my waist and pulls me closer. he breathes heavily against my lips before kissing me softly. the moment our lips touch, he pulls me closer, if that's possible. i sigh and give in to the kiss, smiling as our lips move in sync. i toss my arms around his neck. he leans forward, making me lean back as he kisses me passionately. he pulls away slowly leaving faint kisses on my lips.
"please give me another chance. please tell me we're gonna be ok." he says. he leans his forehead on mine.
"i'm in love with you too and i'm sorry." i smile.
"you have nothing to be sorry for." he says.
"i'm sorry for not telling you the truth sooner. i'm sorry i hid it from you. you didn't deserve that." i reply.
"i forgive you, and i'm sorry for not being decisive with my choice. i love you." he smiles and kisses me again. he pulls me close once again making our bodies press firmly into each other.
"finally." i hear from behind me. mikey and i pull away. aliana folds her arms with a smile. i smile and look away from her.
"yea. finally." mikey smiles down at me.
"awe, you guys are so cute." aliana beams at us.
♕⚤♔
~TT