Khadijah had fallen into a routine of some sorts—she was no longer anxious when she found Kevin and Arion waiting for her at the subway in the mornings, nor was she surprised when she found Arion sitting behind her in Mrs. Hu's second period math class. She wasn't surprised to go out with them—with Setty and Blu—to lunch, especially when Kevin often indulged her, buying her whatever food she wanted.
It was actually quite nice.
She was surprised that she'd—somehow—became friends with them. That was the most shocking discovery.
A discovery that had to be hidden at all costs.
Khadijah ducked her head into her hoodie as they walked home. The others were chatting around her, joking and laughing. She didn't feel the need to interject, just smiled when Blu or Arion said something particularly funny or Setty teased Blu for his height. Kevin kept silent usually, letting his lips quirk up a little to show them he was listening.
"Aye, aye! Let's play ball for a bit, one-on-ones," Blu suggested, pointing at the ballpark across the street. Khadijah observed it for a second—her house was still a few blocks down, she could stay and watch for a bit. Arion turned to her, eyes speaking for him, and she nodded wordlessly.
"Aight, you and Setty, I put twenty on Setty," Arion smirked.
"Nah, nah, nah," Blu quickly shook his head making Arion burst out laughing, "lemme play Khadijah, my wife." He dragged the word out.
"I don't play basketball," Khadijah shrugged, "but I put five on Blu, just to make him feel better."
Blu's face lit up, cheesing as he punched Setty repeatedly in the arm.
"See, bro? See? She's warming up to me!"
"Nah, nigga, she's making you feel better about 'yaself, you deaf or something?" Kay chuckled as they proceeded to cross the street. A car next to them skirted quickly to a stop, making Khadijah squeak in surprise. Kay didn't care, though, mugging the driver as he flipped them off. Arion's hand hovered over her back—not quite touching, as he too quirked an eyebrow at the driver, muttering something under his breath as they past.
"Yo, it don't matter, she basically gave me an inch," Blu said, dramatizing as he gazed at Khadijah adoringly.
"And you gon' always take a mile, my nigga," Setty smiled, clapping Blu's back hard, causing him to yelp in pain.
"Alright, bitch, just watch," Blu vowed, pulling off his bag as they paused by a ledge of a planter. Khadijah hopped up onto the ledge, pulling her own backpack off and holding it in her lap securely. They watched as Blu retrieved a basketball from his backpack, and Khadijah rose an eyebrow before deciding it would be better not to ask.
"Alright, alright," Setty drawled, setting his backpack down next to Khadijah, "watch this for me real quick. You gon' lose 'yo five dollars." He chuckled, warning her, and Khadijah laughed.
"I had to motivate him bro, you guys steady on his ass, it's crazy," she shook her head with a smile.
"Ayo! Setty, get the fuck from my wife, man!" Blu whined, dribbling the basketball on the court.
"Chill the fuck out, bruh," Setty mumbled, jogging over to Blu, who waved his free hand around animatedly. Arion leaned against the ledge on her leftside while Kevin was on her right. Kevin pulled a blunt from his bag, wordlessly asking Arion for a lighter, which he provided with ease. Khadijah couldn't help but stare as Kevin sparked up, taking a drag from the blunt, exhaling the smoke into the air. He passed it to Arion, leaning over her, and this time—as Arion put the blunt to his lips, his eyes slid over to hers, making her turn her head away, pretending to focus on the basketball game.
Arion chuckled next to her, taking a hit before passing it back to Kevin.
"Yo, Kay, you going to Zaya's party next week?" Arion asked as he walked Setty dunk on Blu again, shaking his head in amusement.
"Yeah, I might pull up," Kevin shrugged, "if it's ass, I'm leaving though."
Arion nodded and they once again lapsed into silence. Khadijah watched as Setty blocked every shot Blu attempted to make, the shorter man getting more and more agitated as the game dragged on.
"It's okay, Blu! Shake it off," Khadijah shouted out to him, he looked at her, mouth agape before he nodded swiftly—seemingly reenergized and confident in his abilities. Arion and Kay watched him in amusement as he managed to get a bucket after receiving Khadijah's encouragements.
"He is... " Arion trailed off, dragging a hand over his face to stifle his laugh.
"You hyping him up too much, Jah," Kay shook his head, a small grin on his face as he took one last hit from the blunt, passing it back to Arion. Khadijah watched out of the corner of her eye as Arion hit the blunt once before crushing it beneath his shoe, ghosting the smoke. She couldn't help but stare in awe—the tricks were cool at least, and Arion did it so effortlessly.
"What? You wanted to take a hit?" Arion asked her, eyes focused on Setty and Blu.
"Nah, it looks cool though—whatever you did," Khadijah shrugged, one hand pulling Setty's bag closer. Blu's bag laid at her feet.
With their eyes red and low, Khadijah can tell they're faded. They speak up more now—laugh easily as Blu misses a shot and boo whenever Blu finally gets a bucket in. Eventually, the game is over and Setty's declared the winner, Khadijah didn't mind much as she pulls a five from her pocket, putting it into Arion's open palm. Setty mushed Blu's head playfully as they walk back to the group, all smiles and laughs as Blu tries to say Setty repeatedly fouled him.
"You see how they do me, ma? Didn't Setty foul me?" Blu whined to her, sulking as Arion dapped up Setty.
"You tried your best," Khadijah settled on saying, a small smile on her lips, because she—quite frankly—didn't have any idea as to what Blu was talking about.
"Thank you baby," Blu sniffled, fake tears on one hundred, making Setty roll his eyes, "aye, who's next though? Who's tryna get smoked?"
"Respectfully, C, you gon' take another L today if you play one of us," Kevin chuckled, dapping up Arion who nodded in agreement.
"Yeah, Jah gon' keep losing more money, feeling bad for your sorry ass," Arion said, making Blu kiss his teeth. He continued dribbling the ball, showing off his skills to Khadijah, who was less than impressed.
As the guys continued to talk about Blu's poor basketball skills, a car rolled up to the park—sleek and expensive. Loud music blasted from the car, the bass rumbling the ground beneath them. Everyone seemed to stop and stare. The conversation quickly died down as the guys eyed the car—playful demeanours disappearing within an instant. She didn't miss the way Blu took a small step to stand in front of her, and the way Arion's body pulled taut, stiffening as he looked over her head.
"Yo! Kay, Arion—y'all niggas riding or what? Too busy playing fucking basketball?" The driver rolled down the window, shouting out at them with a lazy smirk on his face. Khadijah recognized him—just another thug on the block, but she'd never spoken with him before, so she kept her lips shut.
"We coming," Kevin nodded, "yo, Jah, you should go home now." Kevin said to her, face serious. She'd wanted to ask why—to argue with him. Kevin seemed to be the ringleader in situations like these—the decision maker. He carried an air around him that commanded respect—an air that made you defer to him in times like these. Khadijah glanced at every single one of their faces—all serious, no signs of friendliness ad playfulness they displayed just a few minutes before.
The switch was scary.
Even Blu's face had transformed, basketball gripped tightly in his hand.
"Yeah, go, Jah, you live close?" Arion asked her, breaking her train of thought. She looked up at him, glanced at the car again before returning her full attention back to him.
"Yeah, my building is just five minutes down," she said, glancing at the car one more time, "all of you have to go?"
"Yeah, sorry," Arion apologized to her, but his tone was neutral and even, he held out his hand, "give me your phone." She obliged without much complaint, watching as he added himself as a new contact. "Text me as soon as you get home, alright?"
"Alright." She nodded slightly as Kevin, Blu, and Setty grabbed their things quickly and began to walk off towards the car. They hopped in easily, and Arion hesitated—only for a second—following their lead. Khadijah watched them go, the car speeding off once Arion got in—the loud music fading as it raced down the street.
✧
Khadijah propped up her chin in the palm of her hand as she tried to read through her Understanding American Law textbook. It was her first law class, she'd been able to get in on recommendations alone since it was a grade-eleven class, so she had to do good. The readings were crazy, and the case studies were perhaps even worst—she didn't enjoy law, it wasn't her dream.
It was her parent's.
It was either medicine or law, and she'd rather die than spend ten years becoming a doctor and taking all types of crazy sciences. So, she stuck with law—despite her hatred for it.
It was late, almost eleven P.M., but this reading was due for tomorrow, and she'd been so caught up trying to understand math that she hadn't given herself much time to read.
Still, her eyes were drooping steadily and every word she read seemed to blend into itself—becoming a blob of ink that she couldn't decipher. Her phone sat off to the side, face down, to prevent her from reaching out and distracting herself with it. She just had twelve pages to read and then she could sleep. Hell, she'd barely even eaten at dinner—just shovelled her food down her throat before running off to do schoolwork. Her mother hadn't said much, just asked where she was off to in a hurry before leaving her to study—going to call one of her friends to chat.
Khadijah's hand was slipping, arm giving out when her phone vibrated violently, shaking the table it seemed as she jolted awake.
She groaned, stretching her arm out to grab her phone, looking at the blurry screen with tired eyes.
DOUGZ
yo, come outside
Now, she was wide awake.
KHADIJAH
its almost 11?? i cant come out rn
my moms here and im studying
DOUGZ
just come outside bruh
it'll be quick
She bit her lip nervously. Her parents were heavy sleepers—she wouldn't get caught if it was just for a few minutes.
Khadijah glanced back down at her law textbook. She'd rather be with Arion than studying boring ass law right now. She sighed, standing up from her desk. She creeped to her door, peering out into the apartment first to confirm her mother was truly asleep—a tell-tale snore echoed from the back bedroom and she smiled.
She was quiet as she made her way to the front door, looking through the peep-hole seeing Arion standing there, scrolling on his phone. She unlocked the door, unlatching it as quietly as possible before she opened it finally. Arion's head tilted up, raising an eyebrow at her.
"What is it?" Khadijah spoke softly, the door clicking shut behind her.
"You never texted me—" Arion told her, eyes darting across her body from head to toe, "yo, you wear this type of shit outside?" He asked her and Khadijah glanced down at her appearance. She wore a simple light grey pajamas set consisting of shorts and a button-up longsleeve shirt with her white fuzzy slippers on her feet. She didn't find anything wrong with it. She furrowed her brows, crossing her arms over her chest—okay, maybe, she did fill it out a little better than she did last year, but was it really that big of a deal?
"I was inside my room, studying," Khadijah emphasized, meeting Arion's eyes—he looked more faded than earlier, eyes half-lidded as he stared at her, "you came here because I forgot to text you?" She asked incredously.
"Nah, you don't understand," Arion shook his head, "that shit scared me when you never texted me. Kay told me you probably forgot but I had to check on you—to make sure."
"I'm sorry," Khadijah apologized, arms dropping once she realized how sincere Arion was, "I was studying and I just lost track of time."
"Nah, you good," he grinned at her before his face fell once he heard shuffling coming from the other end of the hall, "take 'ya ass inside 'fore niggas start coming down here, like bro—you not even dressed forreal." Arion sighed.
"Boy, I was in my house," Khadijah rolled her eyes, "but whatever. Text me when you get home, okay? Have a good night." She said curtly, spinning around and opening her door. She heard Arion inhale sharply behind her, humming lowly in his throat—she took it as an agreement so she just walked inside, quietly closing the door. Khadijah looked through the peephole again, seeing Arion stand there for a minute, looking off to the side in the direction of the shuffling. She locked the door, latched it, before she glanced again. This time, Arion looked at her—almost sensing her behind the door, nodding as he slipped his phone into his pocket, starting to walk off.
Khadijah sighed, double-checking to make sure she locked the door securely, heading back to her room. She spent another fifteen minutes sitting at her desk and attempting to read her law textbook before she shut it harshly out of frustration. She flopped down into her bed, crawlling beneath the covers, her phone laying next to her. It didn't take her less than two minutes to drift off before her phone buzzed again, startling her awake. She fumbled around, picking it up, reading the text that came through.
DOUGZ
im home ma
KHADIJAH
ok goodnight
DOUGZ
liked a message
She set her phone back down with a sigh, cuddling into her pillow before a singular thought crossed her mind: how did he know where she lived?
✧
ngl i hate having to pace a story properly. like i have all these notes on all the shit i wanna write but i gotta build the relationship first... also, updates might be slow bc school is kicking my ass as per usual so pls have faith in mee.
- 𝐂.