December 23rd, 2012
Crystal
I tried for the third time to get in contact with my brother, Trey. I was sick of hearing the same ringing noise in my ear, and if he didn't pick up this time I wasn't gonna try anymore. After the sixth ring, I wasn't surprised that I heard his voice mail. I rolled my eyes and threw the phone down on my bed.
I got up and walked out of my bedroom, and down the hallway and I heard my mother crying in the living room. I didn't really care about my mom, but I wanted to see why she was crying, because she never cried.
"What's your problem?" I inquired at my mom as I walked in front of her.
She looked at me with her green eyes and pointed at the television. I rolled my eyes and turned and saw that the news was on. They were showing a small, house that looked familiar. Around the house was the yellow tape, and there were ambulances and police cars. Then, a Hispanic looking woman dressed in a suit appeared in front of the hospital.
"Hi, I'm Samantha Cruz and I'm here with today's breaking news." She said. "It's been nearly a week since a deadly shootout occured in one of the neighborhoods of East Los Angeles, leaving two people imjured and one person dead. Minutes before police arrived to the scene, there had been complaints from neighbors saying people were shooting at the home. The person who the hospital announced was dead early this morning was indentified at Trey Scott, a gang member who was found with more than six bullets in his body. The other two people who were injured are currently in the hospital for treatment, but does not want to be indentified on the news."
The news hit me so hard I didn't know what to do. My brother was dead, and it was because of a gang shootout. That only meant that he was killed by one of the LM, the gang which Daniel and his brother were in. Tears streamed down my face and I felt myself getting angry.
This was not something that I ever expected to hear.
____________________
December 24th, 2012
Jenny
Today was Christmas Eve, and I was so excited that I was hosting my ball tonight. This wasn't anything new for me; I always held elegant parties in the massive ballroom of my home. I put my long, blonde hair into a ponytail and I left my bedroom, making my way towards the kitchen. I smelled food, and I knew that my Chefs were already cooking food for the ball.
"Goodmorning!" I cheered as I walked into the kitchen.
"Goodmorning." They responded in a low tone.
I looked and saw everything that they were making-Italian food, Mexican food, and even some American food. I was quite pleased. "Keep up the good work." I smiled, then left the kitchen.
I walked down to the ballroom, and walked inside and saw the maids setting the tables up. Some of them were setting up the large, white Christmas tree, also. The rest of the maids were cleaning up the stage, and the pool area outside. Everything seemed to be going just as I wanted it so far, so I guess I didn't have anything to worry about.
I turned around and began to leave the ballroom, but I bumped into my father. "Excuse you, dad." I said as I walked pass him.
"Well, goodmorning, mija!" He exclaimed. "Is everything going the way you want it to?"
"Actually, yes." I turned and smiled at him. "It is. And please don't tell me you're wearing that hidious suit tonight, because I will not claim you."
He was wearing an all dark blue suit, and it was so ugly that I wanted to throw up. If it's one thing I didn't get from my father it was definitely his style. "I think my suit looks pretty good." He smiled.
"No, dad." I shook my head and began making my way upstairs. "Just no."
The door opener and I looked over and saw Nichole coming inside of my home. It wasn't unusual for her to just walk in, because she was so close to me and my family that it didn't really matter.
"Good morning Emilio," She smiled at my dad. "And you, too, Jenny."
"Buenos Días, Nichole." My father smiled. "Jenny says she doesn't like my suit, what do you think?"
"I'm sorry but I have to agree with her." Nichole chuckled. "It's really ugly, and you really shouldn't wear that tonight if you were planning on it."
I laughed. This was why Nichole and I were best friends.
She followed me upstairs and we went into my bedroom. "I brought some dresses over because I didn't know what to wear tonight." She said as she lied the dresses on my bed. "What do you think?"
"Why don't you just pick one of my dresses?"
"That works, too." She shrugged. "You know Riley's coming, too right?"
"Are you sure?" I asked. "Or did he just say he was?"
Riley Sanchez was Nichole's boyfriend for a long time, now. He was a Mexican, with curly hair and hazel eyes just how she liked him. He was a good friend of mines, also.
"He promised me he would." She said. "He's been acting different lately, though."
"How?"
"We haven't really been talking much, and he's been out a lot more." She said. "He said it's 'business stuff.'"
"Business stuff?" I raised an eyebrow. "He's like thirteen years old, Nichole. He's probably cheating on you or something."
"Wow, thanks." She rolled her eyes.
"Seriously, if he doesn't come tonight I would definitely break up with him." I said. "Especially if he says he was busy with his 'business stuff.'"
"Whatever." She laughed.
Maybe Riley was cheating, who knows?
____________________
Aaliyah
I stood on the last step of the staircase and I watched Alfonso and Dalilah attempt to make up a new hand shake. To be honest, I had a feeling that Alfonso liked Dalilah a little bit. I could tell by the way he acted around her, but I never said anything about it. Dalilah had a boyfriend already, and I didn't want to ruin our friendship anyway.
"What time is Daniel coming over?" Dalilah inquired.
"He told me last night he was gonna pick Crystal up, and then he was gonna meet us at the ball." Alfonso responded.
I rolled my eyes, "Does he really have to bring Crystal? Nobody even likes her but him."
"I guess he'll be the only one that talks to her, then." He shrugged as he grabbed his jacket. "I don't really care for her, either. But I'll see y'all in a couple of hours, I'm gonna get ready and come back."
"Bye Alfonso!" Dalilah smiled as he walked out of the door.
"What time is Jake coming?" I asked as I walked into the kitchen.
"He didn't say." She said. "I tried to talk to him today but he didn't answer the phone. He's been kind of distant lately."
"I wonder why." I said. "Maybe something happened at home or something."
"Nah, he would've told me." She shook her head. "Plus, he's barely home anyway. He's always with Alex and Jasper, or me."
"Well, he's probably been hanging out with them a lot more since he wants to avoid Carlos and Daniel on our block." I said. "Don't worry about it. He said he was coming tonight, right?"
"Yeah."
"And Jake always keeps his word." I smiled. "You'll see him, soon."
"You're right." She said. "But, we need to start getting ready. It's almost two o'clock."
I looked at the clock on the wall and saw that she was right. It was a quarter to two and the ball started around seven. "Let's go upstairs and look through my mom's closet. She might have some dresses cause I sure don't, and I know you don't either."
She raised an eyebrow, "How do you know?"
"Since when do you where dresses, Dalilah?" I asked.
"Never." She said. "But, that doesn't mean I don't have any."
"Sure."
We went upstairs and into my mom's bedroom. She was currently at work, but I doubted she cared that we were gonna wear her dresses. My mom didn't really care what I did, if we were being honest here. It wasn't like she was ever home to supervise me anyway.
"I like this one," Dalilah pulled out a long, red, strapless dress with sparkles on the top half. "It would be so cute on you."
"I guess." I shrugged. "She has a purple dress exactly like that one, you should wear it. We'll be twins."
"Let me find it."
As she was looking through the closet, I walked over to my mom's dresser and looked at one of the pictures she had lying on her jewelry box. It was an old picture from 1999, of her on the day she got married to my father. She had on a long, white gown and her silky, black hair was pulled back and a see through viel was covering her face. Next to her was my father, a tall Samoan man with long, curly hair sort of like mines. He was wearing a black suit, and both of them were holding me. I was only a couple of months old at the time.
"How are we gonna wear our hair?" Dalilah asked. "I was thinking about curling mines."
I put the photo down and turned to look at her holding the purple dress, "I was just gonna wash mines and wear it curly."
"You know we don't have the same hair, Aaliyah." She frowned.
"I don't feel like spending hours on my hair." I said. "You know it takes forever to do my hair."
"I guess you're right."
"What are you girls doing?" I heard my mother ask from downstairs.
"We're taking your dresses so we can wear them to the ball tonight!" Dalilah shouted.
My mom walked up the stairs and came into the room. "Which ones are you wearing?"
We showed her the dresses and she nodded. "Well, you better start getting ready now."
"We are." I walked out of her room and down the hallway to my bedroom. I jumped into my bed and got comfortable under the covers. "Dalilah, you can take a shower and get ready first. It won't take me that long to get ready."
"Lucky you," she rolled her eyes and lied the dresses on the end of my bed. "That's why I'm gonna look better than me."
"Well, they do say the longer it takes you to get ready, the uglier you are." I smirked.
She flipped me off and walked into the hallway. It was always funny messing with Dalilah.
While she was getting ready, I just lied in bed and thought about tonight. I was pretty excited, but only to see my cousin and to hang out with my friends. And for the food, too. I could tell tonight was gonna be a great night; I wasn't gonna let anyone ruin it for me, not even Crystal.
After Dalilah was finished with her shower, I took mines and washed my hair. Afterwards, I did my hair and got dressed. I walked into the bedroom and Dalilah was working on curling her blue and black hair. I put on a few accessories such as a necklace and some earrings, then a bit of lip gloss and sat down on the bed. My mother came into the room with a long, black gown on and her hair was pulled into a high ponytail. She had on gold and black heels, and a gold necklace to match.
"How do I look?" She asked.
"Well, with those heels on you're not a midget anymore." Dalilah laughed.
It was true. My mom was barely over five feet and three inches tall, so people always picked on her for that. But, it wasn't like Dalilah and I were any taller than her. I was 5'2 and Dalilah was 5'4.
"Do you wanna get hit, mija?" My mother growled.
"You look good, mom." I smiled.
"Good." She said. "I'm gonna go call Carlos, I'll be back."
Around six thirty, everyone was officially ready. Alfonso had came back dressed in a black suit, and his long hair was slicked back. The only person we were waiting for now was Jake, and I hoped that he would come soon because the limo Jenny was sending to pick us up was coming really soon.
"Hey Alfonso!" My mother cheered as she walked down the stairs. "I talked to your mother the other day. Are you still in trouble?"
"Yeah, but don't tell her I'm going to the ball." Alfonso chuckled. "She thinks I'm sleeping."
My mom shook her head and we all went outside. Just as I closed the door the limo had pulled up behind my mom's car and the driver got out. "Hey!" I heard someone shout.
I looked over and saw Jake walking towards us. He had on a black suit, also. "Jake!" Dalilah squealed as she jumped into his arms. "I'm so glad you're here. You were about to get left!"
"Come on, guys!" My mother shouted. "We're gonna be late."
"Hey, Jake." I smiled as I walked down the stairs. I climbed into the car next to Alfonso and sat back.
Everyone else got in the car and the driver shut the door. On the way to the ball, everyone talked except Jake. He just sat quietly by Dalilah, looking out of the window. I didn't question him, though. He seemed as if he didn't want to be bothered.
When we got to Jenny's mansion, the gates opened and the driver drove inside and around the big, sparkly fountain. The mansion looked so much different, but I guess it was because I hadn't been here in a long time. The driver got out and opened the door for us, and we all climbed out.
The front doors were open, and standing bedside them were one of her maids. She greeted us kindly and we walked inside, going straight to the ballroom. We walked inside and of course, the place was packed. Everything was perfect, though. There were nice white tables and chairs set up, long tables with all kinds of food and drinks set up, and nice music was playing. There was also a humongous white Christmas tree up, too, which made things even better.
"This place is doped out!" Dalilah exclaimed. "You think so, Jake?"
"Sure," He shrugged.
"It's about time!" Nichole exclaimed as she walked towards us with Jenny on her said. "We were waiting for you!"
"Hey, Nichole!" I smiled. "Hey cousin."
"Hey!" They both squealed as they gave me a tight hug.
"Oh, you forgot all about us." I heard Alfonso say.
They both let go and Jenny looked over at Alfonso. "Alfonso, I haven't seen you in forever!" Jenny smiled as she gave him a hug. "Oh my gosh, I didn't even know you were coming."
"Surprise." He smiled.
"Nichole, this is one of my old friends, Alfonso." Alfonso and Nichole shook hands.
"Nice to meet you, I'm Nichole." Nichole smiled and looked at Jake and Dalilah. "And, your names?"
"Jake," Nichole and Jake shook hands, also. "And, this is my girlfriend, Dalilah."
"Hey!" Dalilah gave Nichole a hug.
"The place looks really nice, Jenny." My mom said.
"I know." She said. "I have the best maids, ever. Isn't Daniel coming, too?"
"He's supposed to be coming with Carlos." Dalilah said. "He's bringing his rotten girlfriend, too."
"You mean Crystal?" Jenny asked. "Hes still dating her?"
"Yes, unfortunately." I rolled my eyes.
"Whoever this chick is, she better not start with any of us because I'll punch her in the face." Nichole said.
We all laughed. In my mind, I kind of hoped Crystal would start something so Nichole would punch her in the face. That would make the party even better for me.
"Let's walk around and talk for a minute." Jenny said to me.
I followed her and we began walking around the ballroom. "Why do I feel like you're about to ask me about Daniel?"
"Because I am!" She exclaimed. "What's up? Don't you still like him?"
"Does it matter?" I asked.
"It does to me." She said. "You need to get Crystal out of the picture, Aaliyah."
"He always gets back with her, so I'm not gonna waste my time anymore." I shrugged. "If we were supposed to be together, we would've been together by now but we're not."
"Everyone knows that he likes you." She said. "Even I know, and I'm barely around you guys. One day, you too will be together and I just know that."
"Yeah, right." I rolled my eyes.
"Watch." She smirked.
Maybe she was right. And even if she was, I didn't care. Whatever happens, happens. All I know is I wasn't gonna chase Daniel anymore.
And, I seriously meant that.
____________________
Daniel
It was the evening of Christmas Eve and I was sitting on my bed trying to decide which shoes I was gonna wear to Jenny's ball. I guess that I was excited to go; It was always cool going to parties with my friends, especially Alfonso because he always knew how to have fun.
I finally just threw some shoes on, then got up and combed my hair and grabbed my phone. I was about to go to Crystal's house and pick her up for the ball. Hopefully she was ready. I tried to call her earlier so I could remind her but she didn't pick up. She never responded to my text messages either, which was odd.
I walked out of my house and began making my way down the block. It was pretty dark outside, so people were starting to party around the neighborhood and drink.
When I arrived at Crystal's house, I knocked on the door and stepped back. I heard footsteps, and I knew it was probably Crystal herself since her mother never answered the door. The door opened, and Crystal looked at me. I smiled and as I began to talk, but she screamed at me.
"Get the hell away from me!" She barked. "Go!"
"What? What's wrong?" I asked.
"You killed my brother, asshole!" She yelled as tears spurred out of her eyes. "I hate you, Daniel! It's so over!"
"What are you talking about, Crystal?"
"Don't act stupid." She snarled and folded her arms. "You killed my brother! You and Carlos shot him up and now he's dead!"
She must have been talking about the shootout from the night Carlos went to go get Dalilah. I saw on the news that one of the guys was dead, but I never knew that it was Crystal's brother.
My eyes widened, "Your brother is in the Rock Gang?"
She slammed the door in my face.
I had no idea that her brother was in my rivalry gang. But, she knew, and I thought that was quite disrespectful that she didn't tell me. I wonder how many other people knew about this. I shook my head and turned around so I could make my way back to my street. Part of me was angry that she didn't tell me about that, and the other part of me felt kind of bad for her. And although she just broke up with me, for some reason I didn't feel sad like I always did. I actually felt better.
I walked back to my street and went all the way down to Carlos' house. He was the one that was taking me to the ball, since Jenny invited him, too. The rest of the gang decided to stay at home to keep an eye on things. The holidays was usually when things popped off, so you never knew what could happen. Especially around here.
"Where's your girlfriend, man?" Carlos asked as he stood in front of his truck. "I thought she was coming."
"She just dumped me, man." I shrugged. "But, I don't even care. She disrespected me."
"How?"
"She ain't tell me her brother was in the Rock Gang." I said. "He was the one that got killed the other night?"
"What?!" Carlos' eyes widened. "You're kidding me, man. You didn't tell her nothing, did you?"
"Barely." I shook my head. "The only thing I told her was the weapons we used. If she told Trey anything it would probably have been about Aaliyah, but I never talked about her because Crystal apparently hates her."
"No worries." Carlos smiled. "Just get in the car so we can go."
I got in the passenger and shut the door then put my seat belt on. Carlos got in also, and soon enough he pulled off.
"Aaliyah's already at the ball." Carlos said then looked at me. He smirked, and I knew what he was thinking.
"So?" I smiled.
"Come on, man." He said. "You're single now, and she is, too. Don't you think it would be a good idea to hook up with her?"
I wasn't gonna lie, I wouldn't mind hooking up with Aaliyah and I actually wanted to. But, how would I look hours after a break up jumping to her? She would probably think I'm a player, if she doesn't already.
"It's possible." I said.
"I'm sure it is."
When we got to Jenny's mansion, the place was packed. Carlos parked his truck behind the three limos that were parked by the fountain. When I got out of the truck, I looked up at the mansion in amazement. It was still beautiful like how I remembered it from years ago. I heard the loud music blasting and I could tell that people were having a good time. I couldn't wait to get in there.
The Mexican woman standing at the door who I guessed was probably a maid, greeted us and Carlos and I walked inside of the mansion. We went into the ballroom and my mouth dropped.
The place was so doped out that I was in shock. I had never seen a party that had so much food, fancy tables, and that big Christmas tree Jenny had up was a great look, too. There were definitely more than a hundred people here, all dressed elegantly in expensive dresses and suits.
"Daniel!" I heard someone shout. "Carlos!"
I looked over and saw Jenny running towards us. "I missed you guys!" She gave us both big hugs and I smiled.
"I know right." I said.
"How are you?" Carlos asked. "Are you okay?"
"I'm fine." She smiled. "What about you?"
"We're good." I nodded.
"Great." She said. "Everyone is already here, but I don't know where they are"
"Here I am," I heard a Mexican girl with long black and blonde hair say as she walked towards me. "Hey, I'm Nichole."
"I'm Daniel." I smiled. "Nice to meet you."
"And, you must be Carlos?" Nichole smiled at my brother.
"Yes, how do you know about me?" He asked.
"You're one of the most popular people in El Sereno." She said. "I've been dying to meet you. My parents used to work for you, but we moved to Beverly Hills a couple of years ago."
"Oh, okay then." Carlos grinned. "Nice to meet you, Chola."
"Do you know where Aaliyah is?" I asked her.
"She's somewhere in here with Alfonso." Nichole shrugged. "I'm not sure."
"Alright."
I left Nichole, Jenny, and my brother to go look for Aaliyah. My heart was beating super fast as I did. I guessed that I was excited to see her.
"Daniel!" I heard someone shout.
I turned and saw Alfonso and Aaliyah walking towards me. She was dressed in a red, strapless, sparkly dress which was glittery on the top half. Her hair was curled up, so I guessed she had washed it. Alfonso was wearing an expensive looking suit, and his hair was slicked back like mines.
"What's up?" I smiled as I gave him dap.
"What's up with you?" He asked me. "I heard about your break up with Crystal."
"What? How'd you know about that?" I inquired. "That happened not even an hour ago."
"It's all over twitter," He smirked and flashed me his phone. "You don't seem very upset, though."
"I'm not." I shrugged. "I'll tell you what's up later."
"Cool." He nodded as he began to walk off. "See y'all later."
"Hey there." I smiled at Aaliyah.
"Hey, Daniel." She smiled back. "You look nice."
"I think it's you who looks pretty cool." I said. "I've never seen you wear a dress like that before."
"Well, I had to get fancy."
"You look good, though." I smiled. "Let's sit down or something?"
"Sure."
We sat down at a nearby table and began to talk.
"I saw Crystal talking mad crap about you on twitter." She said. "Alfonso showed me. What did you do to her?"
"I didn't do anything." I said. "Her brother was the one who got killed in the shootout that night."
Her eyes widened, "Her brother is in the Rock Gang?"
"Apparently." I shook my head. "She never even told me."
"Wow." She rolled her eyes. "She should've told you. Who knows what she was planning to do, Daniel? You didn't tell her anything, did you?"
"Nothing major." I said. "But, it's over now. I'm glad, too. I'm not even upset like how I thought I would be. I actually didn't feel anything."
"That's good I guess." She said.
"Attention everyone!" I heard Jenny yell.
I looked over and saw Jenny standing on stage with the microphone in her hand. "I'm about to get our DJ to start playing some slow songs, so if you don't have a partner you better grab one and get in the mood!" She looked directly at me, and I knew what she was thinking. She saw me sitting here with Aaliyah. She was doing this on purpose.
Last Christimas I gave you my heart, by Wham began playing and Jenny smirked at me then walked off of the stage.
"Um..do you wanna dance?" I asked as I looked at Aaliyah.
She looked at me and smiled, "I don't know how to dance."
"Well, let's go outside where nobody can see us and I'll teach you."
"Sure." She said.
We got up, and I grabbed her hand and led her outside to the balcony. The area was decorated so nicely with colorful lights, even the palm trees were nicely lit.
"I know you don't really wanna dance." She said.
"How'd you figure?"
"You don't dance, Daniel." She smirked. "You must forget that I know everything about you. Why'd you bring me out here?"
"Well, I wanted to dance a little bit." I smiled. "But, I just wanted to be alone with you."
"Well, let's sit down and talk then."
We went and sat down on the pool chairs. "I've been denying something for a long time. Well, I haven't been denying it but I just kept pushing it away because of Crystal."
"Like what?"
"I like you." I said. "I mean, I really like you. And now that Crystal and I are done for good I thought you might have wanted to know."
She didn't say anything.
"I know you might think I'm just saying that because everytime we break up I come running to you, but I swear it's not even like that." I said. "I've been liking you for as long as you've been liking me. I think you're beautiful, funny, smart, cool....you're just everything! And, I know that I've been being a jerk ever since I got with her, but I promise I'll change that if you just give me a chance."
She squinted her eyes at me, "What are you saying, Daniel?"
"I'm saying that you should be my girlfriend." I smiled.
"Why should I, Daniel?" She asked. "I mean, what just made you decide that you wanted me to be your girlfriend. You just got out of a breakup less than two hours ago!"
"I just told you that I like you." I said. "Aaliyah, I wouldn't lie to you about how I feel about you. You can even ask Alfonso, he knows that I like you. And, I'm sure he told you. I'm sure Dalilah told you! Everyone knows how I feel about you, and that's why Crystal never liked you. She knew I had feelings for you, and that's why she always treated you the way she did!"
"I do like you, Daniel." She said. "But, I don't wanna deal with your drama anymore."
"You won't have to." I grabbed her hand. "Just give me a chance, come on."
She sat there in silence for a couple of seconds, then she sighed and looked at me. "I guess, but—"
I cut her off by smashing my lips onto hers and I felt fireworks going off in my chest. I let go and she looked at me; Her face began turning red and I knew my face probably looked the same. "Um...I didn't expect that."
I smiled, "Me either."
"Aren't you so happy that you wanna tell the world?" I heard Jenny say.
I turned around and saw Jenny standing in front of the door with Alfonso, Dalilah, and Nichole. "You were spying on me!" I exclaimed.
"Yep." Alfonso laughed. "I got everything on video. It's going on twitter and I'm tagging Crystal in it."