~Aliyah's POV
I wake up to the sound of Rihanna's ANTI playing way too loud for 10 in the morning, and the smell of fresh pancakes coming from the kitchen. I wince at the loud music piercing my ears so early in the morning, and stretch. After washing my face and brushing my teeth, I make my way downstairs where none other than my crazy roommate is, cooking breakfast.
"Brooke!" I run to her, like a kid to their parents after daycare. She'd been gone for the month, visiting her artist boyfriend in New York. She embraces me in a hug and after letting go, I grab a pancake from the stack she's preparing and take a bite.
I met Brooklyn at the Mindless Behavior going away party, or whatever you want to call it. I was a heartbroken, drunken mess and she was just there for me when I needed someone. We got to know one another and now she's practically my best friend, other than Kaylan, of course. No one tops Kay.
Kaylan's visit ended yesterday night. It was such a great time despite me getting fired from Capitol and her constantly on her phone with Chresanto. I still cannot believe how he thought it was okay to just call and expect everything to be okay! And I can't believe Kaylan just fell for it that easily.
It does makes me wonder if Prodigy and Ray Ray got in contact with Dana and Emerald. That would mean Jacob did not even care to try and regain a connection with me. Which is fine, I'm past him.
"How was New York?" I ask, my mouth half-full.
"It was great. Loud, but great. One of Devin's paintings sold for almost $400." She announces cheerily, flipping a pancake.
"That's insane! Tell him I said congrats."
"Will do. What about you? What's been going on in your world? Any new signings to Capitol?" she places the last pancake atop a stack of six and turns off the stove.
"Uh, I wouldn't really know." I take a plate and grab two more pancakes, and drizzle some blueberry syrup on them.
"What do you mean?"
"I got fired." I say, taking a bite of my breakfast. She laughs, assuming it's a joke, just like I did. It's not until she realizes I'm not laughing with her that she loses it.
"You got FIRED?! What the hell Aliyah?"
"I knooow, I fucked up. I'm looking at Def Jam and Sony later to see if they have any openings." That was a lie, but I didn't want her on my ass all day.
"You better be. I can't believe this shit, dude. I leave for a month, come back and you're all, 'oh I got fired'." She says, mocking me in a squeaky voice. I roll my eyes at her attempt to mother me and go turn on the T.V.
"So what's on the agenda today, Miss Johnson?" Brooklyn asks me. I have no idea what to say. I'm so used to going to Capitol every morning I don't know what I should do today.
"Not really sure. Miss May down the street always said if I need some extra cash on the side, I could take over a shift or two at the grocery mart, so I'm gonna call her today."
Suddenly, we hear a knock on the door. Brooklyn, being closer to the entrance, gets up from her breakfast and goes to answer whoever's there. I leave the T.V on TMZ, only to regret it after reading the headline.
Mindless Behavior splits from Atlantic Records!
"No thank you." I say to myself and pick up the remote to switch the channel. I hear the door close and Brooke return.
"Who was at the door?"
"Some journalist heard you got fired, wanted an exclusive."
"On me?" I scrunch my eyebrows in confusion and take another bite of my breakfast. My phone vibrates next to me and I pick it up to reveal a text from Jayden.
from: jayden❤️
Morning beautiful, how'd you sleep? I can't help but blush.
to: jayden❤️
Morning beautiful right back at ya, and not well to be honest.
"Jayden?" Brooke says, obviously noticing the goofy grin on my face.
"Yeah, nothing major." You could say Jayden Alexander Ross was the right guy at the completely wrong time. I was in love with Jacob, or "Princeton" at the time, but something about Jayden just made me go weak in the knees (other than his gorgeous brown eyes, flawless olive skin complexion, and perfectly sculptured physique.)
I'm not going to blame him for me and "Princeton" not working out, but there were moments that I let my guard down with him and fucked up my relationship. Plus, he had feelings for Yasmine, a.k.a psycho queen bee, a.k.a Jacob's ex-girlfriend.
We found out later via Yasmine that Jayden was addicted to drugs. He was immediately admitted to a rehabilitation center and stayed there for 3 years. Despite all that happened between us, I was there for him during this time and I'll continue to support him, and he's done the same for me. Now he's attending a community college to eventually become a teacher at the same high school we went to. He's really cleaned himself up and I'm proud of him. When the time comes, I wouldn't mind settling down with him.
from: jayden❤️
Is everything alright? He sends.
to: jayden❤️
Not really, got fired from capitol.
"When are you two gonna stop messing around and just be together?" Brooke sighs.
"I've told you over and over again, I'm not looking for a boyfriend. Especially now that I have to go job-searching, I can't get distracted." I inform her.
from: jayden❤️
Are you serious?? Ice cream @ 1, my treat. This may be suspicious, but I promise we're not romantically involved. Whenever either of us have a downfall, we go out for ice cream or pizza to sulk. It's a tradition.
to: jayden❤️
Way to be assertive, lol. alright. I reply.
I check the time on my phone and it reads 10:45, giving me enough time to clean up the place a bit and do my hair. I get up from my spot on the couch and head to the shower, unable to contain the smile forming on my cheeks.
~Kaylan's POV
"So, I got some news."
"What is it?" I've been on the phone with Chresanto since 6 this morning, and the conversation hasn't faded a bit. Hearing his voice makes me desire him so much more than I already do. His smell, the way his eyes seemed to glow when we'd have a conversation, his...everything! I can't help but sigh when thinking about it. I feel like a little schoolgirl.
"You know how we're not at Atlantic no more?"
"Yeah, sorry to hear that by the way." I feel bad that their journey has already come to an end. It was cool to see them on T.V and hear their music on the radio. I mean, it wasn't worth cutting me off for four years in my opinion, but hey. You gotta do what you gotta do to make it, right? I'm just glad he didn't forget about me.
"It's cool. Anyway, the place we were livin' at is Atlantic property, so they gave us the boot. We goin' back to Cali tomorrow afternoon." My mouth involuntarily drops open. They're going home!
"Wow, that's great! I mean, not the fact that you got kicked out." I hear him giggle on the other line, making me blush once again. Gosh, this is so childish.
"Yeah, but I want to see you. Don't you live in William Heights?"
"Yes...in Florida, why?"
"Look out your window." Oh my God. I jump out of my bed and look out my window, only to find no one's there.
"HA! GOT EM'!" He laughs hard, making me mad. "That wasn't funny!"I whine as he continues to crack himself up.
"Okay, I'm sorry baby. But I'm honestly on my way. Be by the door in 5 minutes?" My heartbeat speeds up in excitement
"No." I pout, still angry at his stupid joke. And for emphasis, I hang up. I know he'll call back.
When he doesn't, I begin to worry. What if he got angry?
The doorbell interrupts my thoughts.
I run to my dresser and look at my reflection in the mirror. My hair is a messy ponytail, and I'm in sweatpants and an old t-shirt.
"Damn it." I whisper to myself as I spray a bit of perfume on. Better than nothing.
I open the door, and there he is, his duffel bags in his hands and his suitcases in the ground.
The room is completely silent as he walks in with his things. We make eye contact for the first time in what seems like centuries. I don't know if I should be calm and collected, or go jump into his arms and tell him how much I missed him and how bad I ached for him was while he was away.
"Hey..." He finally speaks, breaking the silence. Without thinking, I ran to him, tackling us both to the ground.
"Oh my God, I love you so much Kaylan." He smiles as we engage in a kiss that I've longed for. I can't help but tear up at how he pleads for me, the reassurance that this was as hard for him as it was for me is satisfying.
"I love you, Chres. I missed you so much." I don't bother breaking the embrace we share, even if it's on the carpeted floor and my hair is getting messy. All I want is him. I inhale deeply, taking in his scent. It's different, but I like it. He flips us over so I'm on top.
A single tear streams down his left cheek, and I wipe it away before bending down to gently lock my lips with his, wanting to cherish this moment. Our kiss deepens with each passing second, making up for lost time.
I hear my phone vibrate, and ignore it easily. If anything, it's probably my cousin asking me to keep the door unlocked for her because she's going to be out all night. I just want to get started making up for lost time with this boy.
~Jacob's POV
As soon as we land, the plane's bombarded with papparazzi nearly toppling over other passengers and families waiting for their loved ones. I keep my face down and walk quickly, headphones in to avoid hearing anything upsetting. The boys & I agreed to go straight to our families and leave, but we lost Roc before even getting on the plane. There's a mixture of paparazzi and fans, but even with Kanye West blasting in my ears, I can still hear perfectly clear the childish squeal of none other than,
"Stacey!" I forget about everything around me and we run into each other, me hugging her so tight she starts gasping for air. Not far behind comes my dad and his wife, Janelle. After a short greeting we hurry and throw my things in the car so we can leave.
"How's my boy been?! We haven't heard from you in a while." Dad exclaims as we pull out of the airport lot. A huge swarm of fans are bombarding the exit, making it almost impossible to leave. I slump down in my seat and ram my brain for an answer that doesn't make me sound too conceited.
"Uh, I've been good. Busy mostly but, that's obviously a thing of the past."
"Awh, don't say that son. You guys can still-"
"Sure, is Al at the house?" I didn't really mean to be rude, but ever since I heard about us moving back to L.A, all I want to do is see Al. Not just because he made the best steak quesadillas I've ever had, but he was a real companion, and sometimes father-figure for Stacey and I when Dad was away on business trips. It wasn't really until Aliyah moved in when Al began to take it easier on us.
Aliyah. I roll my eyes involuntarily. I can't help but pray I don't run into her during my time here. Does she even live in L.A anymore?
"He's on vacation for a while," He answers.
We get to the house, and I rush out of the car, wanting nothing more than to jump into my old bed and sleep for hours. I even forget all of my bags that were in the car.
I wait at the door for everyone to get out. "Hurry," I urge my dad so he can unlock the door. Soon enough, he does, and I run down to the basement and swing the door open. To my surprise, it's not the way I left it.
The walls are a light pink, and there's a new bed in the spot my old one was in. Posters of teen heartthrobs are scattered across the walls, and a makeup desk with a mirror stand in the corner where my stereo used to be.
They gave Janelle's daughter my old room.
I run back up the stairs, shocked. "Dad! What happened to my room?!" He looks back at me and sighs. "Please don't do this already, Jacob. You just got back five minutes ago, I don't think your old room should be at the top of your list of concerns." Janelle looks at us, wanting to join the conversation.
No, Janelle. Stay hushed.
"Well, it is! That's the second time you've done this! Do you enjoy giving my rooms away? Does that bring you happiness?!" Stacey laughs at my outbursts. Now irritated, I go into the kitchen and fish around in the cabinets before finding a box of Lucky Charms. I grab it and walk back into the family room.
"Jake, just chill okay? Four years later and you're still a brat, huh?"
"Of course, that's the way you raised me pops." I sarcastically grin, plopping on the couch, ready to relax for the next couple of days.
(a/n)
i hate self-promo but i've been thinking about entering my other story, "superpower" in the wattys so i'd really appreciate if you guys could check it out and give some feedback? love you all sm.
xo, diamond❤️