"People don't understand,
memories do."
"Come on, big head. Tell me you were at the game last night, bro." Chris said, sitting in front of me with the biggest smile I had ever seen. He looked like a brown skin version of the Kool Aid man, "oh yeah" face. "It was a big ass fight out in the field and then one popped up in the stands too, son. It was crazzzy."
I laughed, shaking my head. "Yeah, I heard about it but I wasn't there because y'know my dad strict with the curfew." I reminded him.
Chris nodded. "Yeah, yeah." He replied, shooing what I was saying with his hand.
It was senior year, semester two, and everything seemed to be heating up as far as sports and academics. I wasn't a big sports player like Chris was but I definitely came to all of his football games and track meets.
I was "the" best friend; the one that supported everything right and wrong. We were so close that some people thought we were fucking on the low, but he was like a brother to me and I wasn't with that incest shit.
Around this time, everyone was trying to figure out what they were wearing to prom and just who the hell they were going with, what college, how many scholarships can they get, and who's winning prom king and queen. It wasn't to anyone's surprise that I was focused on the very same thing.
I had no worries on my shoulder; I didn't have a sick mother, missing sisters, or anything but the weight of my academic courses to worry about back then and I loved it.
But it was the opposite for Chris.
"So, I don't know if I'm going to prom..." Chris told me, looking down at his fingers as he drummed them repeatedly on my desk.
I looked around at the mostly empty classroom since everyone had went to the lab to finish their assignments but since ours was already done we stayed behind and watched whatever Mr. Parks put on the projector.
I looked back at him and frowned. "Why not?"
"You know my mom trying to pay for my little sister's school and shit so I don't wanna... you know." He told me.
Whenever it came to Chris, he was selfless.
On the outside, you saw a 6'3 muscle head with the body of an NFL quarterback; big and tall. He could probably lift a car with one finger and not even grunt he was so strong. He didn't look like he was still in high school either but for some reason, no one really did anymore. He had a half sleeve up his right forearm and so much hair no one could possibly no what to do with it except throw it in a ponytail or some braids and leave it alone. His appearance was brute and mean.
However, he wasn't his appearance at all. He was a poet, a writer, with plans to take up journalism or psychology in college instead of the football career path that his father had him on. All he cared about was others; he was a protector. That's how we became friends to even begin with.
He was soft and gentle despite his hard exterior, leading to several predictions of who he really was.
He wasn't that pretty boy jock who bullied people, he was the exact opposite.
"Well, you know I can pay for your ticket." I told him with a shrug. "I don't mind."
"Nah, low key wasn't trying to go anyway. It's this lil' event out downtown tonight where everyone sees what it's like to be homeless for a night, y'know? So I'm gonna go and do that." He told me, looking down at his hands.
I nodded, understanding. "Well, you and Joy were my dates... I can't just.. fine. I'm going with you, that's my only option." I said with a shrug. "I'm not going alone."
"But didn't you already get your ticket?" He asked.
I nodded again. "Mhm, I'll give it away." I said before looking back down at my book.
He shook his head. "Nah, this is a big night for you. For everybody. This is like a milestone, something you'll tell your future kids, you know?" He said, shaking his head.
"For some reason, you always think you know what's best for me." I said through a laugh. "I'm going."
"I do and you're not." He said strongly.
He was always like a big brother, telling what to do and what not to do. He was the one encouraging me to stay in school and go to college when all I wanted to do was work in the first place. He wasn't controlling but he really gave the impression that he knew what was good or bad for me, and he was right.
I rolled my eyes. "Fine, whatever."
When prom rolled around, Chris had made me promised that I would go. He knew me too well and figured I would definitely follow him anyway. He was absolutely, positively right. There was no way I could enjoy prom without him.
Joy was going but me and her were never extremely close unless Chris was around, otherwise we had nothing in common except our common interest in Chris. She was also a firm believer that the rumors about Chris and I were true when she shouldn't have.
"You look so pretty!" Joy complimented, smiling brightly as my family took pictures.
Moms, dads, my four other sisters, a couple of aunties and cousins were sprinkled here and there as I walked down the stairs in the long but tight dress. It was burgundy, tight-fitting up top but by the time it reached my knees it spiraled out into a train flowing, gold glitter. My hair was curled perfectly and I would even admit I looked beautiful.
Of course not in comparison to Joy who wore blue, her dress tight from top to bottom in its strapless yet badazzling state. In the back her back was clearly revealed and you would have thought the front was taped on or something. Her hair was also curled but her face, her face was something to look at. Even without makeup she was beautiful but with it, it was enhanced. Her light skin glew severely from the highlight, her lipstick up to her eyebrows were all perfect yet we stood in awe of each other.
Chris was there, smiling in his casual clothes as he took pictures of us both. We both knew he was only there to make sure we went.
After a couple more pictures, we left out and went to our limo that our parents had pitched in and got together. We got inside and Chris waved at us from the outside.
"I'll see y'all tomorrow!" He told us.
We nodded, low key upset with him because he was ditching us for a charity event that we usually all did together. But, we had no choice. What he said just went like that.
Getting to the plaza where the prom was wasn't a big trip, it just seemed long because neither of us talked to each other.
Joy wasn't my friend to say the least but when we did have conversations they were light and cool. She would always pretend that she was my friend when really she probably saw me as competition. She never made that obvious if she did feel that way but I wasn't complaining.
If anyone knew me and Chris then they knew that what we had wasn't... romantic. It was a friendship that many believed couldn't happen between boys and girls. I had always chose to believe otherwise though, and so did Chris.
"You ready?" Joy asked, once the car came to a stop.
I have a closed mouth smile and nodded, allowing her to get out first. I knocked on the window separating us from the driver.
"Can you stay out here? I need to make an important stop." I told him.
After he gave me a nod, I got out and walked inside beside Joy.
The party was already lit.
It was Joy's idea to come around thirty minutes late so that everyone who was nobody could be there first and they didn't have to wait for the doors to unlock. I just went along with it because I didn't care to stay that long anyway.
Everyone smiled and greeted us as we walked up to the principal and two random teachers I no longer had classes with before giving them out tickets and walking inside.
I said hey to a few people, ate something from the buffet, then I was out. I took the elevator back down to front and jumped right back into the limo. Like I said, there was no way I was staying at this prom without my best friend.
Chris had made the mistake of giving me his location weeks ago. I had been plotting up everything to this very moment. I wiped my face of all my makeup and tied my hair up in a ponytail before grabbing the duffle I had hid off to the side. I quickly changed into the saggy, old clothes before the car came to the stop. After stuffing my dress and shoes back into the bag, I smiled and slipped my last thirty dollars through the window as a tip.
"Thank you!" I said before grabbing my bag and leaving.
I looked around but no one was there so I started walking up the street as if I knew where I was going. I saw no one or no sign at all of the big ass Chris. He had played me.
I sighed dramatically and leaned up against a liquor store, grabbing my bag and unzipping it to get my phone from inside. As soon as I got my phone out, my bag was yanked out of my hand aggressively. I looked shocked as he continued running up the street.
"Hey! Someone stop him!" I yelled, but no one cared. Only a few people stopped to even look.
I lived in New York, the worse place to be lost and poor. People walked up and down the street as if nothing happened or as if nothing was happening. And maybe, to them nothing was happening at all.
"I knew your ass was gon' pop up, that's why I gave you the wrong damn location." I heard from beside me not even a few minutes later.
I turned around and smiled innocently at Chris. "You think you know me, huh?"
"You here, huh?" He shot back quickly with a laugh. "What did I tell you?"
"Mhm yeah, and I went! Gave my ticket so it wasn't wasted or anything." I told him, showing him my phone. "But because yo' ass gave me the wrong location, my dress and shit was sto—"
"Oh, word? How'd that happen?" He asked, squinting down at me with his hands behind his back. I rolled my eyes knowing he was right again. "Do you know poor women are the most targeted victim in New York? And you come out a limo dressed like that? This is why I didn't want you or Joy to come."
"I know, I know. I just didn't want you out here by yourself." I told him.
Chris rolled his eyes. "Mhm, I bet." He said before pulling the pink Nike bag from behind his back.
"Oh my god, you got it!" I exclaimed.
"Mhm, you know it's my favorite." He chuckled, mocking words I had said to him once before. "Go home, Taylor."
I frowned up at him. "Fine. I'll go. Please be safe out here."
"Me? Be safe? My big ass? Niggas that fuck with me are the ones in danger." He joked with a big toothy smile.
I rolled my eyes, still looking serious. "Promise?"
"Promise, yo. I know you and Joy wouldn't want anything bad to happen to me."
I smirked and nodded. And maybe it was probably me who was the worrier. Everyone else knew he would be okay but me? I never wanted anything bad to happen to him.
So why did it have to happen that way?