"𝘞𝘩𝘢𝘵 𝘪𝘴 𝘺𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘮𝘰𝘵𝘪𝘷𝘦 𝘸𝘪𝘵𝘩 𝘮𝘦?"
Tink - Motives
~
It had been a few weeks since the fight, Huey had since finished his punishment as had Kiren, however the latter had yet to return to school. It was only two months until summer break, meaning two months until Riley and Deja became second years and two months until Huey and Tahiry started high school. The kids had been overall trying to enjoy their middle school time until they had to leave, and as for Huey and Kiren? Well, the former was actually doing rather well, when Carrie found out what happened, she had suggested counselling for the boys, at first, the boys weren't for it, but after doing it for two weeks, Huey realized that it was actually... helping him. He hadn't realized how many internal issues he had until he was forced to face them.
Now onto Kiren. The boy hadn't come to school for a while, most people thought he probably moved, and as much as she didn't want to feel this way, Tahiry was slightly worried. Sure, what he did was terrible and she wasn't planning on forgiving him, but she couldn't help it. Other than that, school had been going smoothly for the kids, despite the rather bumpy first few weeks, it was all going good. It was yet another Monday, and the Freemans were getting ready for school.
Huey woke up a little later, the sleeping hitting extra nice that day, and greeted Carrie upon seeing her in the hallway "mornin' auntie"
"Mornin' Huey- Goddam! Now what happened to your voice?"
Huey yawned a little "huh?" he then paused, his voice sounded much deeper. Sure, he wasn't exactly Bruce Wayne levels of deep, but it certainly wasn't as high as it was yesterday.
"Puberty startin' to stick her ugly ass head in huh?" Carrie snickered "now we just gotta wait for the growth spurt"
Huey shrugged at that, being reminded by his own body that he was growing up wasn't exactly the wake up call he expected, damn, he really wasn't a kid anymore. Not only that, but his birthday was in a few weeks too, he was finally turning fifteen. Thinking of what was to come, Huey went down to get himself some breakfast after preparing himself for the day, there he met Riley, who was eating some Cookie Crisp cereal and watching TV.
"Hey Riley" he greeted, bringing his cup of tea and cookies over to near where he was sitting.
"Damn nigga, yo voice got deep!" he snickered "ol' Vegeta soundin' ass, at least girls like that"
"Shut up Riley" his older brother scoffed, trying to finish his breakfast. they had some time before school started, so they didn't have to rush that morning. When they finished, they washed their individual plates before grabbing their school things.
Huey looked back when they reached the door "we goin' auntie"
"Okay! Stay safe y'all!"
When the two left, they walked in relative silence. The brother's never really conversed much, having two different personalities and interests, they didn't have much too talk about. The silence was quickly broken when Riley's phone went off, he checked, a subtle smile growing on his face.
Catching this, Huey raised a brow "who's that?"
"Tima, she's asking how my morning's going"
"She always checkin' on yo ass, surprised she cares about a nigga like you"
Riley rolled his eyes "she wanna see me do better, that's all, she just wanna make sure Ion like, start wylin' out and join a gang or some shit"
"Sure, that's why you gigglin' like school girl"
Riley huffed, now why did everyone think he liked her? Yeah, the two had become surprisingly close the last few weeks, arguably closer than him and Deja, but that was simply because Fatima was really nice to him, and he was going to gravitate towards people who were nice to him. He wasn't going to pretend he didn't find her cute, but maybe he wasn't crushing on her, did anyone ever think of that? No, so there.
Still, he couldn't lie, her checking up on him did make him feel all happy and shit.
When the two arrived at school, they soon parted ways, with Huey going to meet Tahiry, Hiro and Caesar in the library and Riley going to sit with the other Renegades. The morning went smoothly, and thus, classes started.
However, Riley couldn't help but notice the absence of Deja, she usually sat with them, but lately she seemed to integrate back into her old group with Cairo and such. Riley didn't want to admit it, he started thinking their friendship was already starting to drift, they didn't dislike each other, they just weren't talking much anymore. He wasn't exactly sure why, but Deja just didn't want to be around him as much anymore.
He was now in Geography, which had soon became his favorite lesson, the teacher, Mr. Greenman, had moved him beside Fatima because he believed she was a good influence on him, and he liked the change. He actually paid attention and did work when she was there, and she didn't even force him to, he just felt compelled to. She saw the best in him for whatever reason, and he didn't want to disappoint her.
"So, that's the difference between the biome's, or at least, between that and the Amazon Rainforest"
"Fo' real? Shit easy as hell, I'm on my Steve Irwin shit!"
She let off a giggle at that, which did nothing but fuel his ego. She actually didn't mind Riley's crude and abrasive personality, she just hated when it got in the way of his school work and such, she was a cool mix between laid back and cool, but serious when need be.
And she got a cute ass laugh.
How could he forget? She had a cute- hold up! Nah! He wasn't catching feelings, hell no, he rebuked it.
Quit cappin' nigga, you like her, you liiiike heeeeeer!
This conscience nigga was getting on his nerves.
"Riley? Is everything okay?"
He looked over to see her looking at him with a confused expression.
Damn, those eyes...
Yeah, those- NO! "Oh, it's all good Tima, just got a lil' lost in my thoughts and shit, it ain't nun', don't worry"
"Lost in yo thoughts? Not you turning into Huey" she giggled, before the teacher handed them another work sheet "let's finish this now, aight?"
"Fo' sho', let's do it"
For the rest of the lesson, the two worked diligently on their work, not noticing a pair of eyes burning through their skulls. When the lesson was over, the two left, Riley had English whilst Fatima had Math, so the two were forced to separate, but before so she approached him and tugged at his shirt "hey, Riley?"
"Sup Tima?"
"I was wondering if you wanted to go to the store later today, Kumal put be on buying duty for the plan on Kiren, but Ion really wanna go alone seein' how people been movin' lately, and Emily can't go, so..."
It's a date nigga! You better drown her in that Reezy charm!
No, it wasn't a date, they were just going to buy stuff "sure, but I ain't payin' fo' shit"
Wow, classy.
Luckily, Fatima didn't actually mind this, she laughed "don't worry Riley, I got money, we'll meet at the gates, 'kay?"
"Sure, see ya after"
The two then split up, leaving someone to walk out slowly after them, none other than Deja Norwood. Out of all of their friends, she was the one who noticed how quickly Fatima and Riley were becoming close, and she found it weird. She was the first one to befriend him, but now he wanted to be besties with the nerd. Deja didn't hate her, but she wasn't going to pretend this situation didn't make her unhappy.
Yeah, she was going to be open about it, Deja Norwood was jealous as hell. Not in a "the boy I like likes another girl" way, but in a more "my friend is slowly slipping out of my grasp and my old friends are boring as shit" kind of way. The way he looked at her was so... she wasn't surprised he would rather be around his new crush than her, but it still hurt, like damn, he didn't even want to let her know he had a crush? Were they not as close as she thought?
She didn't want to sour her mood even more, so she tried to shake it off, but the thought was still in the back of her mind.
~
"Huh?"
Huey was sat back in the library with his small friend group, but something was different. When recess first started, he checked his locker and saw... a letter. It was written on pretty peach parchment and signed with "S.I", he had a suspicion as to what it was, but he wanted to consult with the other three.
"Really?" Caesar said with a smirk "nah, no way, I know my loner best friend didn't get a love letter!"
"Aw, that's so cute!" Tahiry giggled "I'm surprised it took this long, considering how many girls have been looking at you"
Many? Multiple girls liked him? Huey looked at the letter "I wonder what it says- hey!"
Before he could even finish, Hiro grabbed the letter "Toooooo Huey, hey, you don't know me but I know you, I've been watching you for some time and I have decided that I like you, I think your smart, mature, and really, really cute! I love your hair, your personality, and how you stand up for what's right, I hope one day I'll develop the bravery to finally confess to you in person, but until then just know that there's someone in this world who really cares for you, despite never actually meeting you, looooove, your secret admirer!"
"Aaaaw, that's adorable!" Tahiry squealed, making Huey feel rather embarrassed, of course his friends, the one time he expected them to be serious, were making fun of him.
"My bro's a lady's man, I gotta wipe a tear, hold up, I'm feelin' all types of emotional right now" Caesar dramatically sniffled.
Huey snatched the letter from Hiro "give it here...!"
"Who do you think it is? I'm thinkin' Zonnique-"
"Puh-lease, she thinks this dude weird as hell, if she liked him I would certainly know" she shrugged, then leaning back "Ion think it's the cheerleaders, they have mad confidence, if they liked him they'd just tell him, so it gotta be someone who ain't all that abrasive..."
"Maybe it's that debate club girl, Anais? Huey seem like her type-"
"Y'all are assuming it's a female, what if some poor dude is just too afraid to come out?"
"Y'all the mystery gang now?" Huey mumbled "all up in my business..."
"We just trynna help Huey! We can be like a team- or the Huey's Secret Crush Brigade!" Tahiry suggested with a snicker.
"And our goal? To find his secret admirer duh!"
Huey couldn't hide his flush, he wasn't in the mood for romance in his life, and a secret admirer? This was so embarrassing, it was flattering to know that girls found him attractive, but when someone was putting letters in your locker and you had no idea who they were, he felt like he had the right to be a little over it. Whoever this was knew a surprising amount about him, consider they had never met before, it was actually sort of weird.
Now his friends were making fun of him, just great.
"Oooooh, now I really wanna know she is! I wonder if she's pretty" Tahiry pondered, getting a snicker out of Caesar.
"She prolly musty, Huey seem like he attracts musty types"
"Fuck you Caesar"
With a bit of laughter, the other three decided to drop the topic, slowly easing into a different topic as he placed the letter messily into his pocket, just when he thought it was all good, now he had some secret admirer drama to deal with.
Hey, at least he wasn't getting jumped this time around.
~
School was over, and as promised, Fatima was waiting at the gates for Riley, she was beyond grateful that he actually wanted to go with her, with the recent reports of girls being attacked, she started feeling way too afraid of going anywhere alone, so having someone like Riley around made her feel safe. Soon, Riley came jogging towards her, making her smile.
"Sup Tima, sorry for bein' a lil' late, Mrs. Lorta was on my ass"
Fatima let off an amused scoff "it's all good Riley, let's go, better to get this over and done with"
When she said that, the two began walking side by side to the store. Riley couldn't contain his slight nerves, he and Fatima had never actually spent any time together after school, so he wanted to give off a good impression. He didn't want her thinking he was some sort of bad boy after school.
Damn, she got you being an upstanding citizen? Nigga, face it, you like her cute ass!
Riley sighed, the more he thought about it, maybe his conscience was right, maybe he did like her- No! The fuck kinda hood nigga fell in love? He was not gonna end up like Kiren's pathetic ass! So, regardless of the butterflies that began fluttering in his stomach when she did that giggle of hers, he knew for certain he didn't like her like that.
Aight bet, so how would you feel if she started fuckin' wit' someone else?
. . .
Riley didn't need to answer this, for they both reached the store by the time it sunk in, they walked in, before looking around for a bit "Kumal said to simply buy anything that that could cause a mess, I'm gonna get some slime and baby powder first"
He snickered "I say we should get sum' to throw on his ass like... anythin' from the women's hygene section-"
"Oh hell nah!" she laughed "you not gon' go there, bring yo ass back here boy!"
"Why, you think I'm scared of some damn Tampons? Or, you ain't want me to see watchu be buyin'?"
"If you keep talkin', YOU gon' be buyin' all this"
"Aight aight, I ain't say all that now"
The two shared a laugh with each other, before continuing their little shopping spree. It was funny, they hadn't done anything over the top, but Riley was having fun, which was probably the first time he felt this way without doing something against the rules or illegal. They then went up to the counter, and Fatima then payed for everything they bought, it was a good thing they mostly bought gag products, it made everything cheaper.
When they both left the store, Riley offered to walk her home, which made her smirk "aw, look at you bein' all chivalrous Riley"
He then rolled his eyes "aye, like you said, niggas been movin' weird lately, I wanna keep yo ass safe and shit, you my friend"
"Aw, thank you"
The two walked together down the street, they were simply conversing about anything that popped into their minds. As they walked, Riley's mind was racing, although he had been in denial for the past few weeks, he was starting to believe he really did like Fatima, she was just doing something to him, and he was starting to dislike it. Riley Freeman had no crush, and she wasn't going to change anything, no matter how pretty and sweet she was.
Eventually, they made it to her place, and she turned around "Riley... seriously, thanks for walking home with me, it means a lot to me..."
"It's cool-"
"No, for real, everyone's been calling me paranoid, but it's been real iffy in these streets lately, thank you loads" she then gave him a quick hug, something that he wasn't expected, before pulling away and walking to her door "bye"
When she entered the house, Riley stepped back. He could have sworn his heart skipped a beat, bro, she hugged him. What was he supposed to do, should he have hugged her back? He probably should have, that was so awkward, he really messed that up. He stood still, trying to settle his pulse before walking away from the house.
He really couldn't deny it now, he caught feelings.
"This some ol' bullshit man"
~
Deja sat in her room, sulking. Riley hadn't met up with her today, and when she asked around, she found out it was because he went shopping with Fatima. He couldn't even let her know he wasn't coming? She had to and find Cairo, who was doing regular boring nigga shit with Dousey and the other boys, she eventually got sick of it and went home.
This was so annoying, how many times was he going to blow her off? Friends don't do that, sure, she admitted to being a little distant lately, but maybe if he cared enough to actually check up on her and ask how she was doing maybe she wouldn't have been distant in the first place!
Deja sighed, her emotions had been so weird lately, but that didn't take from the fact that Riley completely abandoning her for someone else was upsetting. Sure, he clearly liked her, go and get your girl, but don't just toss your first friend away like some trash because you want some chick.
She wasn't sure what to do, her relationships were slowly breaking apart, and it wasn't like she was a third year that could start over in high school, she still had two more years to go before she could do that, she couldn't afford to lose all of her status now. She needed to do something to get it all back, but she had no idea what to do.
Sabotage Riley and Tima girl, that's what started this.
No, Deja wasn't going to even think of that, she was happy for Riley and hoped he succeeded in his romantic exploits, just because she wanted her friend back didn't mean she was gonna stoop that low, that was scraping Kiren levels of corny. Still, she couldn't help but harp on the fact that it all got worse when everyone started noticing Riley's crush.
It was funny, everyone seemed to know he liked her but the two of them, it was some real Tahiry type shit. All bias aside, she found it cute and surprisingly endearing. She then frowned, maybe it was the fact that Riley was getting crushes now, Cairo and the rest were all going to high school now, and everything was shifting. She wouldn't be able to walk to school with Tahiry in a few months, because she'd be a high schooler, everyone was already growing up and she hated it. Why was Riley falling for someone? Why did Huey's voice get deeper? All it did was remind her of the fact that she couldn't stay a young middle school kid forever.
Deja always hated the idea of growing up, because it always looked terrible, all grown ups looked stressed and tired, so she liked having to be a kid, it was fun and carefree, but now things were changing, even Granny's was starting to get visibly older, it was all stressing her out way more than she thought it would be.
She had been able to hide the feeling, but when Riley decided to do the ultimate puberty thing by having a whole crush, that was when it all sort of hit her, she was going to grow up eventually, and soon she'd be dealing with icky feelings and growing pains and periods and all the nasty shit Tahiry complained about once a month.
Deja then sighed, maybe she was overreacting, maybe she wasn't, either way, she was tired, so she soon laid back and closed her eyes. Maybe it was time for a nap.
~
And that was it! Thank you for all the support on this fic, we're already at 400 reads, almost half of 1000! Do u know how crazy that is??? I'm incredibly grateful!
Now that all the jumping and fighting is out of the way, the next few chapters will be a lot more mellow, as I've wanted to flesh out certain relationships and characters for a while (hence why this chapter was rather Riley-centric), so even tho nothing too dramatic will be happening I hope you still enjoy :)
See ya next chapter!