Please excuse ANY grammatical errors.

February 17, 1992

~Joel (JoJo) Hailey's P.O.V~

The guys and I were just hanging at De and Dalvin's house after rehearsal earlier. We were just messin' around like always, laughing at random shit.

"Yeah, I told her ass to she needed to eat more pineapples. You wanna know what she did?" I said to K-Ci, Dalvin, and De.

"What she do?" Dalvin asked.

"The fat bitch ordered a Hawaiian pizza."

"Oh?" De said uninterested.

"Yeah nigga! Come find out she pregnant." I shrugged.

"Damn, another one!?" Dalvin asked.

"Right. JoJo you need to wrap it up. How many kids is that now?" De said to me.

"I only got two kids. Two more on the way." I replied to them.

"She having twins?" K-Ci asked surprised.

"Naww. Man, it's two different women." I said to K-Ci.

"You know, you got some nerve calling her fat. Ain't she carrying yo child though? And, take a look in the mirror man. You ain't all that fit ya damn self." DeVanté said to me.

"Right, and this nigga said only two kids and two on the way like it was nothing. You only twenty years old." Dalvin said shaking his head at me.

"That ain't a lot." I said shrugging. "Gotta do what I gotta do."

"Yeah, but how you know it's yo baby she pregnant with? And you said she been fat, how you know she ain't just overeating. You know you tend to rub off on people." K-Ci laughed.

"That too, bitches always be trying to trap me. I stay strapped though, then check afterwards." De said, making a point.

"Fuck you K-Ci." I laughed. "I'm 110% positive one is mine. A'ight?" I said seriously.

"How, and what about the other one?" Dalvin asked.

"Yo, you know Tashaunda gon' beat yo ass, right?" De said in a serious tone, pointing his crooked finger at me.

"He ain't lying. Tiny was already mad about the first one you had on her. Now, you say TWO more!?" Dalvin said shaking his head in disappointment.

"Don't y'all niggas think I know that!?" I asked getting irritated. She is gon' be mad as hell.

"I mean, do you?" De asked.

"Yeah, we young and in love. She know I ain't really mean for it to happen. Ion know if imma tell her though. I know the baby is mine because I made her take a DNA test. You can do that now, with the baby still in the womb." I replied.

"Boy, y'all all kill me with that in love shit. If y'all was in love, y'all wouldn't be with no other bitches. How you gon' be so in love and cheat on yo woman, ALL THE TIME? Y'all be having some good ones too and fuck it up." De asked looking at all three of us shaking his head in disappointment.

"How I get in this? We talking about him. At least I ain't having kids on Tionne. I only cheat when she leave, but when she comes back, I be faithful again." Dalvin said to De.

"Right." K-Ci agreed with Dalvin. "Besides, it comes with the territory. They be knowing what they getting into." K-Ci said carelessly.

"True, they be knowing from the jump." I nodded in agreement.

"Why you ain't gon' tell her?" De asked looking at me sideways.

"Because, I know she gon' be hurt. What she don't know won't hurt her, right?" I said looking at all three of them.

"Right, sometimes it's best that way." K-Ci said agreeing with me. Yeah, that's my brotha!

"Keeping the cheating from her ain't shit, but a whole ass baby. No, TWO whole babies. You askin' to get fucked up." Dalvin pointed, then continued. "You said you can get DNA test from the womb now? Ain't that harmful to the fetus?"

"Y'all some dumb asses." De said to us.

"Who are you to judge? You used to do the same thang. You still be fuckin' with a whole bunch 'a bitches, to this day." K-Ci asked De.

"The difference is I'm single. I only fucked around in relationships as a young buck, I'm grown now. When I say something I abide by that shit. Y'all niggas on the other hand claiming y'all in love just to give an excuse for y'all fuckin' around. I can't be compared to y'all simple asses." De said shrugging.

"Simps? Says the one who chasing somebody who clearly don't wanna be with you." I said halfway joking, then spoke again answering Dalvin's question. "Getting a DNA test while the baby is in the womb is harmful, but I had to know. I just gotta find out about the other one."

De laughed at me, "Y'all funny, talkin' about chasing. Y'all don't know shit. I ain't gon' say shit else to y'all SIMPS."

"Cool with me. You don't really be saying shit anyways. Most times you talk just to hear yo'self. Me and Dalvin the talkers of this group." K-Ci said laughing.

"Nigga, they asses be talking. They asses be just tryna front in public. They really be thinking JoJo the most quiet and laid back of us all. Y'all got these people fooled." Dalvin laughed with his shoulders moving up and down.

"I am the nicest and laid back of this group. K-Ci talkin' about De be talking just to hear himself. Nigga you be talking all day just to hear yourself. We 'on't even be paying attention to you most of the time. LOUD AS HELL! " I laughed.

"The hell you is. Did you not just hear how you was talking? Sounded like a whole idiot- stupid as hell just a couple minutes ago." De said facing me. "But he telling the truth about us not listening to you K-Ci." He then turned to K-Ci.

"Of course I heard myself, that don't mean shit. Like I said I'm still the chillest one." I told them, lightly beating on my chest.

"I'm not about to argue with y'all uglasses." Dalvin laughed.

"Ugly? You must be talking about these niggas 'cause K-Ci the best lookin' one of the group. Then y'all claim I talk too loud and too much. I asked the mirror the other day. The mirror answered back-" K-Ci got cut off by De.

"The mirror said 'nigga not you' with yo uglass!" De said cracking up.

"Nahh- nahhhh, the mirror ain't even speak. As soon as he asked that question the mirror broke into tiny lil pieces." Dalvin said crackin' on K-Ci.

"Whateva." K-Ci said waving his hand.

"Anyways..." I said trailing off, wanting to change the subject.

Tia walked pass us, but didn't notice because she had headphone on, singing lowly, looking down, bobbing her head to whatever was playing in her ears. She walked into my favorite room in the house; the kitchen.

"Yo!" Dalvin yelled to her, as she walked back with her fruit bouquet that the softest nigga of the group brought for her.

Tia looked up and took her headphones off her ears. "Hey, y'all." She waved at us awkwardly.

"My bad about yesterday. I was just just messin' around with ya. It wasn't my place to play around like that with you when I don't know you all that well." K-Ci spoke up.

"Yeah, I was just playing too. I ain't mean no harm." I said.

"Donald told me last night y'all was just jiving, I'm happy I'm hearing it from you all though. I appreciate the apology. Thanks." She smiled. She does have a pretty smile, though.

"Donald? This the second time I heard you say that." I asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Don't ask." De said squinting at Tia, and she just smirked at him.

"Mmhm, that's what I said." She said to me but looking at De with a 'now what, nigga' expression.

"You don't even let us call you that." K-Ci added.

"You damn right. I bet' not ever hear it either." De said in a low voice.

"I'm not understanding. She can but we can't? That's a double standard." Dalvin said speaking to De.

"Double standard is always in action, no matter what. The difference is I can beat y'all asses." De warned pointing at us.

"Oooo, I'm shaking in my boots." Dalvin pretended to quiver.

"Them things you call feet sure do look like boots." K-Ci laughed pointing at Dalvin's uncovered feet.

"I really thought this nigga had on shoes all this time! Look like bear claws. I think we found the real Sasquatch. How does Tionne sleep in the bed with them things?" I said laughing at what Dalvin call feet.

"No wonder I saw them scratches on the foot of yo bed. Them long ass toenails." De joked.

"Any woman would kill to feel these toes. Remember, I'm Mr. Dalvin." Dalvin cockily shrugged. When he said that I saw Tia's face scrunch up in disgust.

"Look at her face!" K-Ci pointed to Tia in amusement.

"Why you makin' that face for?" Dalvin asked turning to Tia.

"Those things are ugly. If you were to go to the salon, the Asian nail technicians would be talking smack about you in their native tongue. You won't know what they're saying but you'd feel offended." Tia laughed pointing at his feet. Dalvin scrunched his toes up and hid them.

"Whatever, my toes look fly." Dalvin replied to her.

"Oh yeah? Then why you hidin' them?" I pointed to his feet laughing.

"I'm sorry though about yesterday. I was just tryna look out for my brother." Dalvin said to Tia. "I should have been apologized, when I caught y'all doing whatever the hell y'all was doin' last night."

"Bring it on back. What was y'all doin' last night?" K-Ci asked, knowing Dalvin meant Tia and De.

De looked at Dalvin shaking his head, then turning to me and K-Ci. "Not that it's none of y'all niggas business, but we ain't did shit. The end."

"Why you lookin' at me for? I ain't said shit." I spoke up to De.

De pointed at me. "I saw curiosity written all over yo face. I'm shuttin' that shit down before you start."

"Thank you, Dalvin." Tia nodded, referring to his apology. "I'll see y'all another time." Tia said with a smile, waving, walking to the back.

February 18, 1992

~Tia's P.O.V~

"Why you leaving so early?" DeVanté asked me.

"Early? I said two to three days. It's day two." I said to him.

"You know black people be runnin' on CP time. Technically it isn't day two, because you said that at night. It's only noon."

"DeVanté?" I said turning to him.

"What's up?" He asked.

"Do me a favor?"

"What it do?"

"ZIP IT." I laughed.

"Make sure you get your vibra- make sure you check the drawers for the rest of yo stuff." DeVanté reminded me.

I turned around, "Wait, what were you about to say before that?" I said turning my head to the side.

"What chu mean? I just said make sure you check the draws for yo stuff." He smoothly let out.

"Hmm, really?" I said to him, but I'll just leave it alone.

"Yeah. Anyways, let me help you." He said grabbing my folded up bottoms and placing them in my suitcase. I had just washed my dirty clothes.

"Thanks."

"You know, imma miss you being around here and fucking around with you all the time?" De said to me.

"Really? I thought you said you'd be coming around my hotel?" I asked.

"Oh, I am. You better know it. It just ain't the same though." He shrugged.

"Yeah, we're basically in arms reach right now. We'll be fine." I told him.

It'll also be less drama that I have to see. I mean everyone is on good terms now, but how long will that last. Besides, if they were to argue I wouldn't have to be around to hear it. Of course I'll hear about it through DeVanté most likely.

"Right, but now you'll be a whole drive away." De said grabbing some more of my bottoms and placing them in my suitcase. "Not to mention yo bomb cooking."

"I cook in my hotel. I always make sure to get one that includes a kitchen. It's a must." I told him, placing my dresses and shirts into the suitcase.

"A must, huh? You must really enjoy it. What age did you start cooking?" He asked.

"I was young when I made my first meal alone." I replied.

"Oh yeah? What happened and who taught you?"

"My older male cousins and brother were playing upstairs, and it was breakfast time. My aunt showed me what to do by doing it once, then left me in the kitchen alone to make the rest of the meal. I made homemade french toast, eggs, bacon and sausage." I reminisced, with a smile.

"Yo, that's crazy as hell. My mama wouldn't even trust me in the kitchen alone at my big ol' age. I thought you ain't eat red meat?" He said laughing.

"I don't, but as a young child I did. Even then I HATED sausage with a passion. Made me want to regurgitate." I made a choking gesture.

"Your taste buds are horrible. You don't like shit. You said pancakes, eggs, sausage, waffles, premade french toast- basically the whole breakfast menu. What else don't you like?" He asked shaking his head.

"Some chocolate, it's starting to tastes different. The ones on the fruit bouquet you got were fine. Other times chocolate tastes just like what's in it; copper." I quivered.

"Copper? They put copper in chocolate? That's what pennies are made of." DeVanté said cocking his head to the side.

"Yes, you are correct. America really don't care what they give us though. They put some of anything in everything. America is a quantity over quality land." I shrugged.

"It's a fuckin' shame." DeVanté said about to zip my suitcase up.

"Hold up," I said stopping him and walking to the nightstand. I opened it and grabbed my small box. "Can you open it back up please?"

When he saw me grab my box he went from his resting face to a suddenly amused expression. "A'ight." He flipped the top back.

"Why are you so amused alll of a sudden?" I asked, looking at him strangely.

"Nah... It's nothing, I was just thinking of something that happened a while back." He said, his smirk getting... smirkier? I know that isn't a word but bear with me.

"What is it? I want to laugh too..." I trailed off.

"Trust me, you don't." DeVanté closed my suitcase, and zipped it up. "Come on. You ready?" He asked.

"Mmhm," I said with squinted eyes.

"Yo, why you looking at me like that? Did I do some'?" DeVanté chuckled.

"No reason," my voice held skeptical tone. "We can go."

"Stop with the voice, a'ight?" He said pulling the suitcase off the bed and sitting it on the floor.

"What voice?" I'm the QUEEN of playing dumb.

"You know what I'm talkin' about." He pointed.

"No, I really don't." I said grabbing my purse/backpack walking in front of him.

"A'ight," he said letting it go.

We put on our winter cover-up, we headed downstairs to the car, and he put my suitcase in the trunk. I got in the car, and started it. It's still winter, and has to warm up.

"I forgot how heavy this shit was." He said closing the trunk door, then getting inside the car.

I turned to him then spoke. "My bad for not reminding you."

"Naww, you good. You know I ain't ever saw you in no sweats. Everytime I see you yo usually dressed up to the nines." He said looking down at my gear.

"Yeah, I-"

"Not that you don't look good. You still look dope, it's just an observation." He quickly let out.

I gave him a look, he alread knows how I feel getting cut off in the middle of speaking.

"I'm sorry, but now you know how I feel when you call me Donald in front of people. That shit ain't cool, I told you that is secrecy." He pointed.

"It don't be on purpose, sometimes..." I trailed off, looking at him from the corner of my eyes with a nervous smile on my face.

"Not yesterday, you had the guys questioning it and shit. Thinking they can do that shit, which ain't ha'ening. Them niggas can dead that thought." He said with his voice slightly raising.

"I'm sorry, I won't do it on purpose. Unless you piss me off." I smirked.

"Same goes for you." He shrugged pulling off.

"K, then it's settled." I responded, nodding my head in agreement.

"Yo, you are really something else..." He said taking a glance at me then back at the road.

"What do you mean?"

"You're- you. I don't know, just different from what I'm used to." He shrugged.

"You're not going to elaborate?" I asked.

"Uhh... In words?" He asked.

"Nahhh, in numerals. Yes, words!" I chuckled.

"Okay." He took a deep breath, then exhaled. "I DON'T KNOW." He let out. "Like I said you're just you."

"Okay," we sat in silence for a while, and I was deep in thought. "DeVanté?"

"What's good?"

"Did you by any chance go through my things?" I said turning back to face him.

"What stuff?"

"Anything that belongs to me."

"Uhh, nahh..." He shook his head, gripping the steering wheel tighter, with a raised brow.

"You're whole reaction just gave me my answer." I chuckled.

"What you mean?" He asked glancing at me from the corner of his eyes.

"You did. Although, I don't know what. Hopefully nothing too personal?"

"Mm-mm," he mumbled turning on the radio. I just squinted my eyes at him.

"You know you aren't a very good liar?" I folded my arms.

"Oh, I'm a good liar. I'm a popstar, that's what I do baby." He laughed.

"So, you admit that you're lying?" I pointed.

"Nahh, I ain't say all that." He shrugged.

"Was it anything PERSONAL?" I asked him with a raised eyebrow.

"Well, it all depends on what's personal and what ain't." He smirked.

"ANYTHING." I said with string emphasis.

"Is vibrating sage personal for you?" He laughed.

I gasped, widened my eyes, and dropped my jaw. I lightly hit his arm, not hard enough to make him lose control of the car. "You did! I can't believe you right now." I folded my arms and sunk down into the seat.

"Ouuuchh, I'm driving! Don't worry, everybody do it. Your secret is SAFE with me. Trust me." He shrugged. "You good."

I just shook my head at him, still embarrassed. After a while we made it to the hotel I'd be staying. This one was a bit closer to DeVanté's house than the last hotel. We got out the car. I was still silent from embarrassment, but Donald was trying to stifle his laugh.

"Stop it." I whined.

"Nahh, I can't." He said between laughter.

"How long have you known?" I asked.

"It don't matter, just know I know." He said as we both stepped out of the car.

"But, it does!"

"Nope, you see how embarrassed you are right now. Knowing would only make you feel worse." He grabbed my suitcase.

He does have a point, but that sounds like he knew for a while. "It's a massager!" I quickly said.

"Yeah, we both know that. Just not the usual massager. That ones for a certain body part. The part of the body where there's a heartbeat but not a heart." He chuckled.

"Ugghhh..." I lowly groaned.

DeVanté pulled the strings of his hoodie to tighten it around his face, before entry. Then pulled the hood of his coat up. I did the same, then we approached the front desk. This was a nice looking hotel.

"Hi, how may I help you?" The male clerk asked.

"My name is Tia~Nakia and I have reservations for a room." I said politely.

He typed away on his computer, then looked up. "Oh! Here's your card." He said lowering his voice, noticing who I was. "I'm so sorry, miss. Are there any name you'd want to put on the guest list?"

"Yeah," DeVanté lifted his head.

His eyes widened even more, but he he kept his cool. "Under what name, sir?"

"Earle Degrate." DeVanté responded.

"Yes sir." He handed me the key/card, then typed down DeVanté's name.

"Oh, could you add another name?" I asked.

"Yes ma'am."

"Amaru Shakur." I said lowly.

"Okay, done." He finished typing.

"Thank you." I said nodding.

"No problem, thank you." He said to us.

DeVanté and I headed to my floor through the elevator, which is the part I hate most. There were a few people in there with us, but our heads stayed down, and covered. When we stopped at mines, we got out and headed to my door.

"This is nice." DeVanté said once we entered the hotel room. "You know, I ain't ever been to this hotel."

"You can leave it at the door." I told him referring to my suitcase. I pulled out my black UV light.

"What you doing?" DeVanté asked me.

"Trying to make sure everything is clean, especially checking for bb's Help me look around." I told him, heading to the bedroom first to look around.

"What the hell are bb's?" He asked in a whisper.

"Bedbugs." I whispered back.

"Oh, that makes sense." He whispered, in a spying position. "Why the hell are we whispering? And me squatting? Them bugs can't hear us."

"Because you were!" I said speaking normally.

"Well, let's get to looking." He said.

We lifted up the bed, between the sheets, couches, wood, basically everywhere. There was a little something in the bathroom. It was a cum stain on the shower wall. When DeVanté saw it all he did was laugh. The problem was nothing a can of bleach can't fix, because I was going to clean regardless of what I found. We ended up going to the store and back for some things.

Word Count: 3,760

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