july, twenty-twelve.

A LOT OF PEOPLE didn't know just how intelligent Oscar was. I didn't even know until I actually began talking to him. Sure, he was in most of the same AP classes as me, but many kids were just in those classes to fill a quota for the school. Many of them were failing and the school didn't care as long the paper showed kids were actually taking the class.

That's what I had assumed happened with Oscar. He was placed in the classes as per request from the school, not because he genuinely cared enough to be in it.

In the months I had developed a relationship with Oscar, I learned to not assume anything when it came to him.

It's what I had done until the night I let him inside my father's gym and then later when I went to his house. That was the moment I figured out he was nothing of what I thought. He was nothing of what anything thought.

I just hoped the jury was open minded enough to see this, too.

"So, you're saying that your father forced you to date Andre Clemmons, threatening you with your little sister, Joanna Bishop?" Carol questioned.

I looked over at my father and OG Clemmons who were sitting in the back of the room, still glaring at me. I noticed Joanna sitting on the witness bench, tears in her big and bright eyes that resembled those of a googley eyed cartoon character. I gulped before turning back to Carol. "Yes."

"Members of the jury, Delilah never wanted to be with Andre," Carol explained, walking up to the jury box. "It was only of her father's volition and her love of her sister that she was ever with him in the first place. She is simply a selfless girl caught between doing something solely for herself and saving others, much like Oscar."

"Can I say something?" I spoke and everyone's attention to me.

"Of course," Carol nodded.

"I-I love my sister," I began, working up the courage to state my thoughts. "More than I love anything. And when my father gave me that ultimatum I knew from the moment the words left his mouth that I was going to have to pretend to love Andre for the rest of my life and never know what's it would be like to be with someone I actually adored." I looked at Oscar. "That's what I thought until I got with Oscar. He allowed me to not have to pretend to love someone. He showed me the world in a light I had never seen it. And I'm saying all of this because I wanted to apologize to him. I'm sorry, Oscar Diaz, that you had to share me. I really am."

Tears were now brimming his eyes as he gave me smiled. He couldn't talk, but I knew what he was saying. You don't need to apologize.

"But to get to my point," I sighed. "We had to hide our relationship until we couldn't anymore, but I think it's important to point out who we had to hide our relationship from... Andre, my father, the Prophet$. The Santos knew, Oscar knew and they accepted it - they accepted me because they loved me that much. Because they enjoyed my company and because they knew I wasn't the same as who I had been grouped with. And then later, they even accepted my sister and my best friend - three girls from the side of town they despised.

      "But when word got out of our relationship, the ones who were angry weren't the Santos, it wasn't Oscar. It was the people who I grew up with and who were supposed to be my family and love me no matter what. But those were the ones who wanted to hurt me and my sister because we betrayed them. The ones who should really be labeled as heartless gang members are them, not Oscar or his gang. They were able to look past the feud, but Andre and the Prophet$ couldn't. I learned who my real family was the day our secret came out and it wasn't the people from where I grew up. It was the ones across the river who I had been told my entire life were monsters and would kill me at any given moment."

      The real monsters were the ones wearing green.

      "Thank you for telling us that, Delilah," Carol smiled before turning to the Judge. "I have no further questions."

      She went and took her seat next to Oscar as Samuel straightened tie and stood up, sauntering over to me. "So Delilah, are you saying you admit to dating both Oscar and Andre at the same time?"

      "I wouldn't call it dating-"

      "Going on dates, him buying you gifts sounds like dating to me," Samuel interrupted me.

     "But there wasn't love there. Not like how it was with Oscar," I argued, desperate for him to understand.

      "There seemed to be a lot of love on Andre's end."

       "That wasn't love," I shook my head, "That was infatuation. If he really loved me he wouldn't have did what he did."

      "I would like to take a step back and see it from his point of view," Samuel started. "Being in love with a girl for years and when you finally get her you find out she's been with another man the entire time. I'd be heartbroken, too."

       "That's not fair-" I began to cry.

      "You don't think that's fair? You know what I think isn't fair?" he asked, rhetorically.
What's not fair is Andre and everyone else in this world thinking Delilah Bishop is this sweet, innocent girl when in reality she's just a two timing whore."

      Yells and screams came from the crowd, some defending me and some not so much. I began to cry even more.

      "What the fuck!" Oscar's voice boomed as he shot up from his seat, his hands still handcuffed in front of him.

      "Fuck off!" Dominique yelled from the witness bench as Joanna criticized angrily, "Are you fucking serious?"

      "Objection!" Carol's voice called out.

       "Order in the court! Order in the court!" Judge Julie yelled over everyone as she banged her gavel. "Everyone sit down and shut up now! Especially you Mr. Diaz. Get back in your seat, everybody!"

       The commotion died down as everyone listened to the Judge, taking their seats and settling again, mumbling their last comments under their breath. The bailiff passed me tissue and I took it, wiping the tears from my cheeks.

      "Objection. That was entirely uncalled for," Carol stated.

      "Sustained and I completely agree," Judge Julie said. "Apologize to this young girl right now Daniels."

      I could tell he wanted to roll his eyes, but he know better, so he turned to me begrudgingly. "I apologize Ms. Bishop."

      "Thanks," I sniffled, still dabbing at my cheeks.

      "We're going to take a thirty minute recess," Judge Julie ordered. "Please let the jury know what the next topic we will be visiting after is, Mr. Daniels."

      "Yes, your honor," Samuel nodded. He flipped through his notes quickly and stopped when he found the page. He glanced over it for a few seconds before looking back up at the jury. "I will be questioning Delilah about the AP Macroeconomics trip she and Oscar first got together on."

       "Very well," Judge Julie approved. "Everyone who plans on coming back, be back in thirty minutes. Nothing more or less. Court dismissed."

      She brought her gavel down on the sound block , the loud sound echoing throughout the court room.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

(a tale of mixed cultures.)

august, twenty-eleven.

      "HEY GIRLS!" a squeaky voice woke the Joanna and I from our slumber. I peeked my eyes open to see a woman that wasn't Trinity standing in the doorway. This one was much skinnier and her hair was in large feed-in braids. "It's time for school!"

      After flashing a big smile, she walked away, leaving our previously closed door open.

      "Who is that bitch?!" Joanna shrieked angrily from above me.

      "I do not know," I groaned, rolling onto my back and closing my eyes for just a few more seconds.

      I heard Joanna jump down from the top bunk and exit the room, angrily grumbling to herself. A few moments after she left I sighed and sat up, swinging my feet off the side of my bed and braced myself for the long day ahead of me.

      "I need you to close the gym again tonight," my dad said as he sat at the table counting stacks of money like he usually did.

     "Okay," I nodded, shoveling a spoonful of fruit loops into my mouth.

      "Hired a new guy yesterday," he informed me. "A good kid and hard worker."

      "What's his name?" I asked.

      "Marcus."

      "Marcus Jamenson?" Joanna chimed in.

      "Yes," he answered, shortly. Joanna frowned and looked back down at her plate.

      "Do you know him?" I questioned her.

      "Yeah, he's in some of my classes," she said, picking at her piece of toast.

      "Is he nice?"

      "He's quiet."

      "Well, I can't wait to meet him," I smiled.

      "Of course you can't."

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

one hour later.

       "HI, DELILAH!"

      "Hi, Elise!" I smiled, giving a wave as I passed by her in the hallway.

      "Delilah!" Jared, a sophomore, hollered at me from his position against the lockers.

      "Hey!" I smiled and waved back.

      More people said hello and good morning to me as I made my way to class. I greeted them all with a smile before turning into my AP Macroeconomics class, which was already almost full. I walked up to my seat next to Dominique and spotted Oscar sitting in the back.

      He smiled and waved at me and I waved at him before sitting down in my seat. I pulled my books out and Dominique looked over at me.

      "When did you both become besties?" she questioned, resting her head upon her hand.

      "He's not my bestie," I rolled my eyes, looking over at her. "Just my friend. You're my bestie."

      "As long as we're still on the same page," she smiled, opening her textbook.

      I rolled my eyes and flipped open my yellow notebook to a clean page. I looked at the board and saw the words FIELD TRIP RULES written largely in black chalk. I copied it down on the top of my page and began doodling around it until the bell rung and Mr. Davidson stood from his desk at the front of the classroom.

      "Good morning everyone," he greeted, walking out from behind desk. "Since we leave for our trip in two days I figured now would be a great time to go over more about it and the rules we've set in place to make sure everyone has a fun and safe learning experience." He leaned back on the desk and crossed his arms as he continued. "As you all know, we'll be going to Las Vegas to study the way tourist cities affect the country's economy. We'll be taking a school bus there and staying at a hotel a little outside of the city. Now, this stuff is important, so write it down."

      I uncapped my pen and readied my hand on the paper, ready to scribble down his words. Dominique looked down and snorted. "Seriously?"

      "He said it was important," I whispered back at her.

      She rolled her eyes as Mr. Davidson began to list things. "Bring sun screen, refillable water bottles, comfortable clothes and shoes because we'll be doing a lot of walking. We will be visiting a few places you can buy things from and the food isn't covered in the fee you all paid, so bring money for food. Enough for three meals for three days." I rushed to write all his words down, only able to get the main points. "Now, what not to bring: alcohol, drugs or any other paraphernalia. Talking to you, Gardell."

      Dominique put her hands up in a 'what the hell?' manner as the rest of the class chuckled, including me. Mr. Davidson didn't pay her any attention, though, as he continued to list things. "Absolutely no weapons: knives, guns, pepperspray, not even a box cutter."

      In the middle of writing one of the words Dominique reached over and yanked my pen out of my hand, throwing it down on the floor. My mouth opened offendedly as I turned to her. "Rude."

      She ignored me, staring ahead at the teacher. "We'll meet at four outside the front of the school. No more than two bags per person. Any questions?"

      The rest of the class was filled with everyone's questions about the itinerary and clarification on the do's and don't's. Forty minutes later and the bell was ringing to go to the next class. I packed everything up and Dominique and I continued to our next class that we also shared.

      In the middle of complaining to Dominique about her throwing my pen, Daisy, one of the girls from the student council ran up beside me.

      "Delilah!" she exclaimed as she began walking by my side. "I've been looking for you. Student council really needs the Homecoming theme idea soon. We want to start planning while you're away on your trip so you can come back and okay everything. The quicker we start, the quicker we finish."

       "Daisy, I'm so sorry," I apologized as I kept walking. "I've been having a hard time coming up with something, but I'll get you the idea by tomorrow's meeting. I promise."

      "No worries," she smiled. "I know you'll come through, Delilah. You always do."

      "Thanks, Daisy," I smiled.

       "No probs. See you tomorrow."

      She turned around began heading the other way as Dominique and I continued down our path.

       "You ever realize you're both named after flowers?" Dominique questioned. "Does that make you like... related in some way?" I didn't even answer her as I rolled my eyes and quickened my pace to walk away from her. She ran after me. "Wait! Don't leave me! Delilah... Delilah!"

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

after school.

THE WALK TO MY DAD'S GYM was quiet since Joanna ditched school early, leaving me to walk the entire way by myself. I spent the entire time trying to think of an idea, but nothing was coming to me. I entered the front doors of the gym defeated. As soon as I pushed the doors open the sound of repeated hitting and grunts filled my ears as well as the smell of sweat that filled my nose.

I headed straight for the front desk, walking behind it. I went to put my backpack down, but a guy I didn't expect to see standing in my usual spot startled me.

"Oh my God," I gasped, covering my mouth in surprise.

"Are you okay?" the guy asked.

"Yeah, sorry. Didn't expect to see you there," I laughed at myself, setting my backpack down. "You must be Marcus," I extended my hand, "I'm-"

"Delilah Bishop," he finished, shaking my head before dropping his grasp. He gave me a small smile. "I know who you are. I'm sure everyone at Freeridge High does."

"Well, it's still nice to meet you," I smiled. "My dad has never actually hired anyone before, so consider yourself special."

"Thanks," he chuckled.

Marcus was a pretty average height, only a little taller than me. He had black hair cut into a fade and a bare face with a little stubble he was starting to grow. He was wearing jeans, Jordans and a large sports sweatshirt with a black cap turned backwards. He wasn't bad looking.

"How long have you been here?" I asked, sitting on the stool behind the desk.

"Since school ended."

"How did you get here so fast?"

"I drove."

Duh, Delilah. Just because you can't drive doesn't mean others can't.

"Right," I dragged out, feeling stupid. "My sister knows you. She said you're in her class."

"Yeah, Joanna. Been in my classes since we were in first grade," he said. "She's cool."

"Yeah, she is," I smiled. "So, tell me about yourself. I feel like I should know more about the guy I'm going to be spending so much time working with."

"There's really nothing to tell," he shrugged. "I'm pretty boring."

In the minutes I spent talking to Marcus, I could tell there was something different about him than any other guy on this side of town. He was more... reserved and soft spoken. I knew he wasn't a Prophet which made me wonder why my dad would hire him. He usually didn't trust outsiders. I wondered what it was about Marcus that got him on my Dad's good side.

"Oh, come on!" I said. "There's got to be something about you you can tell me. What about your parents? What do they do?"

A pained expression entered his face and that's when I knew I said something I shouldn't have.

"They're dead," he forced out. "I live with my grandparents."

"I-I'm sorry," I stuttered, genuinely regretting my badgering.

"It's okay. It's not your fault they died."

I wondered whose fault it was.

But I didn't ask. I had already brought back enough haunting memories for the boy.

So, I changed the subject. I told him everything he needed to know about the job like the daily protocols and about the regulars that were always in here. I taught him the proper way to clean stuff and how to lock up during closing.

The conversation quickly got less sad and awkward and I was even able to get some laughs out of him which I was fairly proud of. He got comfortable enough with me to start asking me questions about myself like what I wanted to do after school. I asked him the same kinds of things and learned he wanted to study computer science and that his favorite color was blue and that he had a dog named Caliber.

Joanna didn't lie, he was quiet. But I figured that was only because he didn't really have anyone to talk to. From what he revealed to me he didn't have many friends. He just went to school and went back home. I was glad he decided to work and get out of his little bubble. He was a kind guy who deserved better.

After everyone left, I let him do the lockdown himself as I sat back at the counter, looking at my notebook with scribbled out ideas on it or notes in parenthesis that shot them down.

-M̶a̶s̶q̶u̶e̶r̶a̶d̶e̶
- N̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶u̶n̶d̶e̶r̶ ̶t̶h̶e̶ ̶s̶t̶a̶r̶s̶
- L̶u̶a̶u̶
- A̶ ̶n̶i̶g̶h̶t̶ ̶i̶n̶ ̶H̶o̶l̶l̶y̶w̶o̶o̶d̶

The crossed out words practically haunted me in my sleep and I wished I could just come up with an idea that got circled instead of a line put through them. Marcus walked up beside me and looked at the paper.

"What's that?" he asked, handing the keys back to me.

I grabbed them, putting them in my bag before turning back to the notebook. "Ideas for Homecoming. They all suck, though."

"I like them," he shrugged.

"They're all too basic," I shook my head. "I'm just not original enough for this."

"Sure you are," he assured me. "You're Delilah Bishop. You can do anything."

This reputation I seem to have earned for myself was starting to bite me in the butt. I couldn't do anything and it surprised me that they even thought I could when I couldn't even come up with a theme for a stupid high school dance.

"You got any ideas?" I asked, hoping maybe his mind was more creative than mine.

"Las Vegas theme?" he offered. "Have slot machines and poker matches?"

"The school doesn't have a budget for that," I sighed. "Besides, that's kind of supporting betting between students which they're highly against. It'd get slammed down instantly."

"Okay," he dragged out. "Winter wonderland?"

"Did that two years ago."

"What about a character themed party? Everyone comes dressed up as their favorite characters?"

"Too much work," I shook my head. "No one would do it. People wanna just slip on a dress and go party. Coming up with costumes is too much energy for something that's not Halloween."

"That's it!" he exclaimed, pointing at me. "Picture it," he held his arms up and I looked as his hands punctuated each of his following words dramatically like he could picture it now, "A Halloween themed Homecoming. It's in October so people would already have costumes. It's like double the fun of Halloween. A costume contest. All that. I think they'd love it."

"Hm," I thought about it, tapping my pen on my chin. "Maybe, but don't you think that's too much Halloween for one month? You know people are going to be throwing costume parties on their own all month and a Homecoming along with actual Halloween seems like overkill."

"Yeah," he slouched, all of his excitement gone. "You're right."

I felt bad because I was shooting down all of his ideas when he was nice enough to try to help me. It's just, none of our ideas combined were working. Everything was either too expensive for the budget we had, would never get approved by the school or the students wouldn't enjoy or put enough energy into to make it successful. I was head of the council, I knew the kinds of people that went to my school and I knew what they would and wouldn't put their energy into.

Then, it hit me.

What if we threw something that they didn't have to put their energy into at all?

"I got it!" I yelled, slightly startling the kid. I hopped off my stool as I walked around the counter and in front of him.

"Whatchu got?" he asked, leaning forward.

"Most of these ideas the students wouldn't even put their energy into going along with the theme," I began, using my hands for exaggeration. "But, what if we did something where they didn't have to put their energy into the theme because the theme was them?"

He looked at me lost. "I don't understand."

"A Tale of Mixed Cultures," I presented the name, dramatically. "Our school has so many different kinds of cultures within the students who go there. We make the dance centered around them. From the decorations to the food. We play all kinds of music: salsa, bachata, rap, hip hop, Indian music, Asian music, Arabic music. I don't really know their different genres of music, but I'll do all the research before I add anything to the playlist. My point is, people come as themselves and they enjoy their own cultures as well as others. It's perfect!"

"What about the White people?" he asked.

"Oh yeah," I remembered. "We'll get some fries and play some pop music and call it a day for them." Marcus began laughing and I continued smiling. "Laugh all you want, it's a good idea is it not?"

"It's a great idea," he nodded.

"Well, then it's done," I smiled, relieved this pressure was off my shoulders. "I'll present it tomorrow."

"You're good at this," he recognized.

"Thanks for helping me get there," I smiled.

I liked Marcus. A lot. He had great energy, which was hard to find in this city. I could see myself hanging around him a lot. My father hiring him could be the best thing he's ever done.

─── ･ ｡ﾟ☆: *.☽ .* :☆ﾟ. ───

even later that night.

MARCUS OFFERED TO GIVE me a ride home which I gladly accepted. Since the school trip was coming up so quickly I decided to start packing as soon as I got home. I didn't want to save anything for last minute and forget something I needed.

I was in the middle of planning out outfits when Joanna walked inside, her body wrapped in a towel and her hair wet.

"Hello," I smiled, folding a pair of pants.

"Hey," she said slowly, her eyes landing on my suitcase as she dried off her hair with another towel. "What you packing for? You running off with your cholo prince?"

I glared at her. "No. I'm packing for a trip for school."

"Oh," she said, dabbing her curls. "Will he be there?"

I huffed and turned to her. "What is with this vendetta you have against the guy? He's done nothing to you or anyone over here."

"The people he runs with have."

"He's a good guy," I defended. "Just trying to make it and take care of his loved ones like we all are. Why does that make him the bad person?"

"That's just the way it is."

"Really?" I asked, skeptically. "Or is it just the way Dad told you it is?"

"You taking his side over your own blood now?"

"I'm not taking sides," I sighed. "I'm just trying to see where both are coming from. It's called looking at things objectively."

"That objective point of view is going to get you in trouble."

The truth was I was already in trouble. From the moment I saw Oscar running down the alley to when I helped him to when I crossed the river for him. At this point, however, the trouble I had gotten myself in had been minimal.

A run in with some Santos and disapproval from the ones closest to me. It wasn't nearly as bad as what was to come. The kind of trouble Joanna was talking about was something I hadn't even imagined could happen so early in Oscar and I's friendship.

It was the kind of trouble that put a moving target on my head and included countless dead bodies covering the smoking and chaotic streets of Freeridge. It was the kind of trouble that ended in regret, several near death experiences, funerals and jail time.

All because I fell in love with a boy who lived ten minutes away.

⋇⋆✦⋆⋇ author's note ⋇⋆✦⋆⋇

joanna really not fuckin with oscar at the moment. who's ready for sis to transfer to team oscar because i know i am.

what trouble do u think is gonna happen in the future bc of delilah and oscar's decision to pursue a relationship?

do u think delilah's homecoming thing is a good one? do u think it'll work out well?

also, sorry for the slow chapter but next chapter is the beginning of the school trip so things will start picking up soon :)