ZOEY AKILA bennet !
sugarhill, kennedy heights hs
featuring; @itszoeyb .

"I'LL BE HOME by ten. love you too." zoey lightly smiled before ending the call, then sent her dad her location after swiping out of facetime. as the message finally went through, she let out a sigh, then opened her camera app and ran her hands through the ends of her hair.

she finally felt pretty, a feeling that had been absent for a while. for the first time in a long time, she actually felt good about how she looked. she began to eat, slowly realizing that she was on her own now—she couldn't rely on anyone to save her.

the thought of disappointing her mom was the sole force that kept her going. zoey was known for her resilience, and even though she had been struggling for the past few months, she was gonna try to at least pick herself back up on her own

her dad had dropped her off at the school and then called her back within minutes, as for some reason, caleb wasn't coming to pick her up anymore. zoey literally suffered from nightmares about the time caleb asked her out; he had been nothing short of strange.

even though she considered herself a little weird, she hadn't realized just how odd he truly was.

zoey reached into her purse to locate her mini perfume and give herself a spritz of body mist before entering the school. as she rummaged through her purse, a crumpled paper fell out alongside her perfume.

she furrowed her eyebrows, bending down to retrieve both items.

opening the paper, she quickly realized it what it was, confused by how it had ended up in her purse.

after briefly considering, zoey crumpled the paper and tucked it back into her purse, unwilling to throw it away. she sprayed a few mists of the vanilla-scented mist before pausing, lost in thought.

zoey's legs ached from the standing in place, prompting her to opt for a brisk entrance as she tugged on the front door.

upon stepping into the school, the quiet ambience from the outside gradually gave way to the increase of music emanating from the gymnasium.

sensing her own unease, zoey paused and released a shaky breath before mustering the courage to open the door. an unfamiliar sense of anxiousness washed over her, a feeling she couldn't quite place and one that only served to heighten her apprehension.

with a dismissive gesture, she wiped her sweaty palms and then ventured into the gym. once inside, she scanned the area in search of caleb, but he was conspicuously absent. frowning slightly, zoey continued forward, making a effort to navigate the space in her high heels.

while she walked she took note of how well the gym was decorated. the dim, enchanting ambiance within the gym was brought to life by the decorations adorning the space. delicate strands of twinkling fairy lights cast a warm, inviting glow while intricately designed paper lanterns swayed gently overhead.

the air was filled with soft, melodic tunes that echoed off the walls, creating an atmosphere of delight and anticipation for the homecoming celebrations.

as zoey made her way into the illuminated gymnasium, she remained oblivious to the fact that she had become the center of attention the instant she crossed the threshold.

unbeknownst to her, ddot's gaze fell upon her, and he found himself completely strung by her presence. it was a moment he had never experienced before, observing zoey in a different light that left him awestruck.

lost in the midst of the setting, ddot's attention was drawn to zoey as she emerged into the spotlight of the dark blue lighting. the illumination played upon her dark skin, casting a mesmerizing radiance that seemed to make her glow from within.

he couldn't tear his eyes away, mesmerized by her and seemingly unaware of anything else in the room.

despite the presence of another girl by his side, ddot's focus remained solely on zoey as he traced her every movement with his gaze. it was as if time had come to a standstill for him, and in that fleeting moment, nothing else mattered.

the world around him faded into insignificance as he found himself spellbound by the sight of zoey's entrance. it was a moment of pure fascination and wonder, one that etched itself deep within his memory, he felt like he was never gonna forget this night.

ddot observed as zoey picked up a paper plate and started serving herself, which filled him with a sense of pride. it was rare to see zoey eating willingly, so witnessing her take food on her own accord made him feel something he always used to felt with zoey.

"ddot! damn nigga wait the fuck up." marie slapped his cheek to refocus him, to which rot responded with a scrunched-up face and a retort of, "fuck up." marie rolled her eyes in response, returning to her phone.

meanwhile, notti sat with a hand on his cheek, idly toying with his food. "this boring as fuck, i should've asked somebody out for this." he groaned.

dd, who had been closely observing his surroundings, narrowed his eyes when he spotted a figure with a hairstyle reminiscent of zoey's. "hollup hollup, ain't that zoeyyy?" he remarked, pointing in her direction.

"stop pointing, dd," jahzara sighed, sounding like a disappointed mother as she lowered his hand. "who's zoey?" the girl who had been connected to ddot for the duration of the event turned to see where dd was indicating.

in an attempt to divert her attention, ddot turned to the girl, saying, "ma you think you can get me a bottle of water from over there?" and accompanied his request with a charming smile.

the oblivious brown-skinned girl readily agreed, saying, "sure, i'll go get it." before slipping off her chair and making her way to the small freezer.

"fuckin finally my arm hurts like hell. she was dead holding on to me for life like she was gon die." ddot exaggerated, though he was being so deadass. ever since they laid eyes on each other, she hadn't let go of his arm.

"why do you keep mentioning zoey?" marie slams her phone onto the table, wearing an angry expression. "why you so pissed?" dd reacts with a puzzled expression to her attitude.

marie looks around for someone to speak up in her defense, but they all just stare at her. "jahzara you not gonna say anything? typa friend are you?" she rolls her eyes.

at this point, jahzara reaches her limit. she usually avoids getting angry quickly and lets marie push her around, but she's had enough of it. she no longer cares if she loses marie; it seems like zoey is living peacefully without her.

"not your friend anymore. zoey didn't even do anything to you personally, and you tried to jump her. your honestly one of the worst people i've ever  met. so not i'm not gonna say anything." jahzara finally claps back, the last part directed straight at marie.

marie stands up, abruptly picks up her phone. "you bitch." she mumbles to herself. "and you're a horrible cousin, darrian," marie says before walking away.

dd congratulated jahzara with a high five and a kiss on the lips. "my baby got the rat awayyy. mwahh, i love you," he expressed affectionately, planting kisses all over her face, prompting ddot to feel physically uncomfortable to the point that he gags.

"nigga no way you gaggin that's how you used to act with zoey." notti teased him with a chuckle, causing ddot to roll his eyes.

"so you not gon speak to her or none of that shit?" notti inquired nosily, leading ddot to click his tongue in response. he wasn't sure if he wanted to maintain the facade of being still mad at her when all he really wanted to do was hug her.

notti groaned, "nigga stop this dumbass front, everybody know you want ha back so just make it happen."

notti left the ddot with his thoughts alone to use the bathroom, and as the gym's lights dimmed, "share my world" by Mary J. Blige began to play. ddot sat there, reflecting on the thoughts that had been weighing on his mind for weeks.

in his heart, he had already forgiven her, but he couldn't understand why he was waiting. he hesitated to re-enter her life after saying hurtful things, fearing that she might now hate him or want nothing to do with him.

these thoughts were the only things holding him back from approaching her and talking to her. even if he did approach her, what would he say? what if she had moved on and found a new partner? how could he go back to her with her after ignoring her for so long?

"ddot, she doesn't hate you. just go talk to her—she loves you," jahzara's soft voice broke his thoughts, snapping him out of his trance and immediately clarifying his intentions.

dd nodded slowly, "word. smoke a blunt before tho, ya ass cannot talk to her sober." dd approached jahzara from behind, resting his head on her shoulder, "don't listen to him. it'll be worse if your not sober. but go! she's getting up right now!" jahzara whispered yelled.

awkwardly, the boy rose to his feet, grabbed his phone, and slipped it into his pocket. ddot moved slowly, seemingly in sync with zoey as she prepared to leave. his plan was to discreetly follow her outside for a private conversation.

as zoey gathered her things and focused intently on her phone as if she had suddenly somewhere urgent to be, a piece of paper slipped from her small purse without her notice.

ddot halted to retrieve the crumpled paper and discreetly stashed it in his amiri jeans pocket, all the while continuing to shadow soey without drawing attention to himself.

he navigated through the crowd, but once he reached the front door, zoey had seemingly vanished without a trace.

there was something in ddot's head that told him to take out the paper he just picked up but he didn't wanna be invasive. "whatever" he mumbled to himself, opening the folded paper. ddot's heart dropped when he even read the first sentence.

I understand that you want a more detailed rephrasing of the text. Here's a more detailed version:

an instinct nagged at ddot's mind, telling him to retrieve the crumpled paper in his pocket. despite his internal hesitations, he couldn't shake the feeling that he needed to see what was written.

"fuck it." he mumbled to himself as he unfolded the paper, dreading what he might find. woth each passing second, his heart sank deeper as he read the first sentence.

i know that you've made it clear you don't want to have any contact with me, and i
understand why.

in that instant, everything seemed to come to a halt as ddot read through every sentence on the paper he held in his hands. each word seemed to pierce through him, sparking a large wave of emotions.

as he absorbed the words, he couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of regret for the pain he had caused zoey. memories of them together, intermingled with the echoes of their once joyful laughter, flooded his mind.

with each sentence, a palpable lump formed in ddot's throat, making it increasingly difficult for him to even draw a breath. the raw emotions emanating from the words on the paper weighed heavily on him, stirring a deep sense of introspection and remorse.

it was as if every letter etched onto the page served was meant to hurt him from the way everything was written out—he felt like he just killed someone.

as he continued to read, a flood of memories cascaded through his mind like a rushing river, carrying him back to the moments that had led to this painful revelation. the silence that enveloped him was deafening, and in the midst of it, he grappled with the realization of how much he had hurt zoey.

"fuck," he murmured to himself in a low voice, grappling with the thoughts swirling in his mind. should he just go back to her, talk it all out or should he afford himself the time to formulate a response that could measure up to the depth of hers?

the inner turmoil set his mind adrift in a sea of uncertainty, each option with its own set of consequences.

it felt like walking on a tightrope between impulsively reaching out and patiently waiting for the right moment.

his heart tugged him to zoey, urging him to bridge the emotional chasm that had emerged between them, while his rational mind advocated for a cautious approach, mindful of the need for a considered response that could carry the weight of their future.

and despite his efforts to be leave her alone, to utter harsh words, and to feign indifference, her unwavering love and compassion always managed to pierce through his façade, leaving him astounded by the depth of her feelings.

the enduring echo of her "i love you"s swirled in his mind, casting doubt on the genuineness of his own intentions.

maybe if zoey's feelings hadn't yet been tainted by the hurt and animosity that had festered within him. the ambiguity of the situation ignited a flicker of hope within him, a fragile ember that dared to imagine the prospect of salvaging what remained of their connection.

ddot decided to shove the letter back into his pocket, opening the gym door and began looking for zoey. the hallways were oddly empty and quiet, he was expecting a couple people to be making out somewhere or some smoking a blunt.

it was weirdly quite.

exiting the front doors of the school, ddot glanced around, navigating the school grounds for any sign of zoey. he had a gut feeling that strongly suggested that she was here somewhere.

as he made his way through outside of the, ddot's ears caught the sound of heavy breathing and muffled cries, causing him to halt in his tracks. instead of rushing, he moved carefully towards the back of the school where the noise seemed to originate.

outside, the absence of lighting led him to retrieve his phone. toggling the brightness to its lowest setting, he aimed to avoid drawing unnecessary attention to his actions.

upon hearing the whimpering, a furrow creased ddot's brow, a concerned expression overtaking his features. proceeding with caution, he reached for the gun tucked into his waistband, placing his hands on it.

"please—i didn't do anything to you." a trembling voice uttered, causing something in ddot to snap. despite the passage of time, he swiftly recognized the voice was from zoey.

reacting without hesitation, ddot swiftly drew his gun and positioned himself in front of zoey. however, as he confronted the figure before him, it became evident that it was caleb, wearing a ski mask to conceal his identity.

ddot demanded, but caleb remained silent, choosing to raise his hands in response. unperturbed by caleb's gesture, ddot switched the safety on his weapon and aimed it directly at caleb's face, pressing for an explanation with an uncompromising tone.

ddot repeated himself, his impatience evident. cleb, sensing ddot's resolve, swallowed hard and attempted to push ddot aside, but his efforts merely resulted in ddot delivering a forceful punch to his face while still holding the gun.

with tears in her eyes, zoey watched the altercation unfold, struggling to comprehend the situation beyond recalling caleb's words—telling her that she was going to die.

"ddot—" zoey mumbled, attempting to pry his arm away from caleb. "calm down, relax," she urged, struggling to separate him from the prone figure of caleb. despite her efforts, ddot remained unyielding, as if compelled to continue even after caleb had been given up.

zoey released a trembling breath, her fear mounting as she witnessed ddot's uncharacteristic behavior. while she was apprehensive about his actions and the potential consequences, she was determined not to allow him to cross a dangerous threshold that could result in taking someone's life.

"ddot, just leave him, please." zoey whispered wearily, clutching onto his arm.

in that instant, ddot seemed to come to his senses, releasing caleb's unconscious form. standing up, he gazed down at caleb, who lay in a pool of his own blood.

zoey covered her mouth, feeling nauseous at the gruesome sight. ddot, however, paid no attention to her as he swiftly turned to look at zoey. she appeared injured, sporting a scar on her collarbone that he was certain had not been there when she entered the gym.

"shit are you okay? did i hurt you? did he hit you?" ddot bombarded her with questions, frantically adjusting her hair while zoey shook her head, wiping away tears streaming down her cheeks.

"i'm okay." she nodded, though she was keenly aware of the falsehood in her words. every horrific detail flooded back to her, the menacing threat to her life from caleb.

she had placed her trust in someone, only to find herself in this terrifying predicament. if it weren't for ddot, she might have been in caleb's place now.

ddot observed zoey's silent figure, gazing into her eyes, which appeared dark and lifeless. the vibrant spark that once ignited them had vanished; he recalled the radiance they held when they first met.

now, they seemed to have dimmed and lost their vitality, as if her very soul had been drained from within.

"you ain't gon tell me what happened?" ddot's voice was gentle, wanting to the events that had led to whatever just happened. he had been alarmed by her teary demeanor and was eager to know the truth.

"oh," zoey mumbled softly, avoiding ddot's gaze. "i don't know—he just started forcing that i do something for him and his brother, threatening to kill both me and you if i didn't." zoey's voice faltered as she spoke.

it didn't take long for ddot to grasp caleb's intentions, and a look of confusion furrowed his brow. "he was tryna get you to line me?"

zoey finally lifted her gaze to meet ddot's eyes, even though the dim lighting made it difficult to see each other clearly. with a slight shrug, she softly muttered, "i really don't know, but i'm okay now. thank you."

as zoey attempted to take a step away, ddot's grip tightened around her wrist, gently but firmly turning her to face the wall. his gaze bore into her, he cleared his throat. "i wanted to talk to you." he sighed, hoping that zoey would listen.

"ddot, i don't think it's healthy for us to be friends anymore. i'm really grateful for you helping me, and i do love you a lot. but deep down you don't forgive me for what i did and i know you don't. i've come to terms with it. so, thank you." she concluded, her voice laced with a soft, bittersweet smile."

he had hoped for a chance to hold her, to feel her warmth and reassurance. but now, he was left with an empty space where he had anticipated a tender moment.

as ddot watched zoey's retreating figure, a mixture of confusion and hurt washed over him. he couldn't understand how she could just walk away from what they had built together. it felt like a sudden and unexpected rupture from their relationship, leaving him feeling lost and disoriented.

"fuck." they both whispered under their breath, the weight of their shared disappointment hanging heavily in the air. but in that moment, they were oblivious to each other's words, lost in their own thoughts and emotions.

ddot leaned his head against the school wall, trying to process the whirlwind of emotions swirling inside him. meanwhile, zoey continued walking, tears streaming down her face, her heart heavy with the weight of their unresolved feelings.

F SPEAKS 🌝

NOTE — IM STANDIN ON BUSINESS, SHE STANDIN ON BUSINESS HAHAHH 😂😂😂. anyways guys this was a bit dramatic and all over the place um but yeah! the book is completed. JOKING! but fr it's gonna end soon but yk uhm 💔💔. leave thoughtsss. fia loves u 💞💞.