act i

pg.ii

𝐀 𝐍𝐈𝐆𝐇𝐓 𝐓𝐎 𝐑𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐌𝐁𝐄𝐑

' 𝐢 𝐰𝐢𝐬𝐡 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐰𝐞𝐫𝐞 𝐦𝐲 𝐥𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫
𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐲𝐨𝐮 𝐚𝐜𝐭 𝐬𝐨 𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐫𝐜𝐨𝐯𝐞𝐫 '

_______________

     THREE HOURS, TWO NAPS, & ONE SHOT LATER, the moon was high & the night was young. my sister was asleep & iris was out. carter hadn't come home yet, but that didn't stop my plans from unfolding.

i sat on iri's bedroom floor, rummaging through her large selection of outfits for something special to wear. it's a disco club, meaning people from everywhere was gonna be there. i had to look good. i couldn't look like an amateur.

"oh shit!" i shout in excitement , pulling out the prettiest maroon jumpsuit i'd ever seen.

although my aunt lacked common sense, she sure had a high fashion one. i was bound to get someone's man before the night was over, even though that wasn't the goal. my job tonight was to help get mylene's tape to whoever that dj man is, however i has my own secret agenda.

fun.

    without another minute to spare , i dashed into my bedroom. hurriedly took off my clothes & replaced them with the jumpsuit. i threw on a pair of heels, gold hoop earrings and brushed my hair back into a wavy ponytail, as a few curls hung loosely. for the final touch i add a coat of lip gloss onto my lips, just for the effect.

    in seconds, a knock came from the front door, making my heart jump a bit. i quickly slipped out my bedroom, knowing it was the girls. i grab my clutch off the bathroom sink, then quickly made my way to maya's bedroom. peaking my head in, i see nothing but the moon reflecting on her sleeping body. i smile a bit; the eleven year old was only cute when she was sleep.

    once i finally made my way to the front door, after taking the spare key out the flower pot, i open to reveal two beauties. i smile widely.

"dang!" the three of us exclaimed in unison once we fully saw eachother.

"you like?" i chuckled, showing them different angles of the outfit i 'borrowed'. if iris is to find out i even went near her closet, she'd have a heart attack.

"j, you looking damn good girl!" yolanda shouts, taking me by the hand allowing me to give her the full 360.

"me? look at y'all!" i smirk looking at the two.

"yo, we all look good. let's just take a moment of silence for all of the women who's man is going to be taken by us tonight." regina declares, grabbing both of our hands. the three of us closed our eyes and bowed our heads for a couple of seconds.

".. amen, now let's go have some fun!" i excitedly yell out.

    as soon as the four of us approached the Inferno , the first thing i noticed was the long line of people looping around the block, just waiting to get inside.

"damn.." i murmured. it looked nearly impossible to get inside.

"it'd all good, i know someone." regina whispers as we stood in the line of people.

somehow after we managed to sneak our way to the front, regina flagged down a man who'd just arrived in a fancy car with two chicks in his arms. i didn't pay attention to their conversation, but not too long after the transaction, he let us inside.

    within seconds of walking in, the music playing loudly through the speakers seemed the fill the air as people were dancing, drinking, & socializing. not a single soul wasn't wearing something dazzling. everyone seemed so youthful & innovative.

"hey," regina began putting her arm around both mylene & i's shoulder, "see that dude over there?" she asks , pointing to a tall muscular man in an all white suit who'd already been staring at us. "that's cadillac. he & fat annie own the place."

fat annie. the name sounded oddly familiar, but i don't know how. maybe through conversations in school but i wasn't sure. i'd never heard of cadillac though, never seen him before either, but something about his vibe was off. his cold gaze sent chills down my spine, and u wanted to jump out my skin.

"dance with him & i bet he could get that tape to malibu." yolanda suggests.

    mylene & I still stared at the mysterious man in silence, until he began to rub himself, making the four of us quickly turn around; nearly laughing.
     however not too long after, a man who'd been working with cadillac allowed us to sit in the VIP section with him & a bunch of other men, serving us an abundance of drinks and joints. mylene was talking to cadillac while regina was flirting with some wolf guy. yolanda sat next to me, and was nearly out of it — giggling at the slightest things. i on the other hand was having a unintended staring contest with a stranger.

"can i help you?" i finally ask, irritated. the unknown boy was attractive by all means. he looked younger than the guys who surrounded us, which caught me by surprise. he'd been staring at me ever since we'd sat in the section, and only me.

out of all the girls here;
so i assumed something was wrong.

     he laughed, along with the guy beside him, making me feel even more confused. i look beside me at yolanda incase i needed backup, but she was too deep into mylene & cadillacs conversation to even notice me.

"what's your name?" he finally spoke. i furrow my eyebrows, out of surprise.

"why?" i tilt my head. he kept that same dopey grin before speaking.

"i'm lorenzo." he leans across the table to shake my hand. i hesitate for a second. the encounter was so random & unexpected, but i eventually shook his hand.

"lauren." i lie, forcing a smile. once he let go of my hand, he sat back, keeping his eyes on me the whole time.

"that's not your name." he surmised. suddenly i wasn't sure if it was the shots i'd taken setting in, or the smoke from the blunt being passed around, but i had an eerie feeling.

"oh really?" i question, looking around. i didn't know wether to be afraid or not, because how could he possibly know that.

maybe I'm just out of it.

"lets go." mylene's voice suddenly fills my ears, but rengina, yolanda & i barely budged. i didn't even realize she was up until,

"let's go!" she demands sternly. this time, the three of us quickly stood up, following her lead as we left the section. only once did i look back and that was to quickly gulp down the rest of my alcohol & stuff a loose baggy of marijuana into my bra.

the four of us began to walk out onto the dance floor, being swarmed by people from left to right. everything seemed to move so fast. he's the greatest dancer by sister sledge began to play, and suddenly that he became a she as i began to move slightly to the beat.

"yo! this right here is the joint!!" i shouted over the music, giggling as I clap my hands together loudly.

everybody on the floor was dancing in sync, rhythm flowing through us all as the disco ball spun above us.
before i knew it i was having too much fun, not paying any attention to my surrounds, then someone spoke to me.

"i don't believe we got the chance to finish speaking." i look to my side , seeing Lorenzo dancing beside me. rolling my eyes I almost want to ignore him, but I couldn't.

"what do you want from me? i'm not fucking you if that's what you're trying to do." i warned, "i do not get down like that."

"all i want is a name to go with that pretty face." he winks, making me laugh in disbelief.

he definitely wasn't what I meant by stealing someone's man. he was handsome and all, but for some reason I couldn't get myself to go through with it.

in fact, no one here had what I was looking for.

"i told you my name back there, didn't you hear?" i stuck my untruthful answer , but i knew he wasn't falling for it. he had to know something.

"that wasn't your name girl. i'm not that naive." i glanced at him with a smirk, still not letting up.

    while in the mist of dancing , across the floor i spot a familiar boy, being dragged along with someone i didn't recognize. knowing it couldn't possibly be who i thought, i shook it off, spinning around.

"out of all the girls here, why you taking the time to talk to me?" i ask out of pure curiosity. lorenzo looked at me for a moment. not once did we stop dancing.

"you're the baddest in this joint. need i say more?" i smile, feeling my cheeks burn a bit at the compliment.

    right then, misty holloway's far far away record by kali pokussa began to play, & suddenly everyone attention gravitated to the center of the dance floor, including mine. a boy, walked slowly toward a girl — who i later realized was mylene. quickly rubbing my eyes i do a double-take, making sure my vision wasn't fooling me.

"zeke?" i stammered, lowly, in shock.

he's really here.

i smile big, and my heart began to do that racing thing, that feeling like it was going 100 miles per hour and could jump out my chest any minute. my insides were warm, yet i had goosebumps. he wore a suite i'd never seen him in before — he looked so good.

i couldn't stop smiling as i watched him, that is until i came to the cruel realization of why he was here, and what he was doing.

it's for her.

he's here for mylene.

the thought was cold. the tingly feeling was replaced with a knot, and my smile faded. i suddenly didn't feel good, and wanted to go home.

"feast your eyes on these two young doves. the very definition of pure , sweet love!" the dj shouted through his mic. i just stood, and watched as ezekiel too her hand in his as the two began to dance in perfect harmony.

neither of them seemed to notice anyone of us surrounding them, which made me feel strangely.. okay. deep inside i hated it, but what could i do besides watch and hope that soon it'd be over?
mylene would never be my first choice for ezekiel, if anyone were to be of my choosing. she never did right by him, all the times he's tried with her only to get nowhere;

but who am i to talk?

had i had the opportunity he'd given me back then, i probably wouldn't take it now. the fact that he loved me first was the only thing that kept me sane. we were different, ezekiel & i knew that — but we never spoke on it, we just knew not to.

i just hope she knows she's lucky.

"dance with me?" i ask lorenzo out of impulse. something shifted in me, and for some reason i couldn't let him slip through my fingers.

lorenzo didn't say anything, he only grabbed my hands and began to dance with me. though he had me physically, with every spin, dip & turn, my eyes landed on mylene & ezekiel. jealous wasn't even the word to describe the feeling i felt.

    then the music switches, once again causing the crowd to divide; exposing a man dancing toward ezekiel & mylene. the two stood still, watching the man intently, as did the rest of the crowd.

"this some sort of dance off?" i think aloud.

"cadillac wins this competition every week, he will not let some boy come in and steal his shine." lorenzo answers, "he's serenading his girl." he shrugs nonchalantly.

"his girl?"

"whose the lucky lady gonna be tonight!? losers need not to apply cause cadillac's just too fly!" malibu rhymed once again.

cadillac sweeps in and takes mylene as everyone dances around them in a furry mess. somehow, i lose track of them all, and i'm surrounded by lorenzo and a bunch of other people I don't know in a dancing furry.
lights were flickering and everyone seemed to be moving faster and faster.

"what the hell?" i mumbled under my breath, quickly walking off to the side of the dancefloor, lorenzo following closely behind.

"what's wrong?" he sounded somewhat concerned. i looker out at the busy crowd of scrambling people, my vision blurring for a second. my body felt like it was moving slowly, and it was hot.

"you want to get out of here? i don't live too far away." his voice shook me out of my deep thoughts as I realize i never even answered him the first time.

i look up at him , wondering if i had the word fool plastered across my forehead.

"i don't know you to be going to your place." i state , looking back at the crowd before us. he began to laugh.

"you're definitely not like most girls." i didn't say anything, i didn't feel the need to. at the moment, the only thing i was worried about was where regina & yolanda were.

"can i atleast get your number , you can't just come in here looking all fine and not give me the time of day." he interrupts my thoughts once again, taking a pin from his suit shirt pocket. i sigh internally, not wanting to be rude.

"give me your number & i'll call you." i lie, flashing a fake smile. by the look on his face I could tell he knew what i was doing , but that didn't stop him from writing it down on a random napkin nearby and giving it to me. i place it in my clutch where it could remain safe.

before another word could leave either one of our mouths, the sound of gunshots were fired from all over the place. everyone ducks quickly , including me, somehow breaking one of iris's heels in the process.

"man!" i exclaim, taking the time to take off the shoe while everyone was leaving in a panic. once i'd managed to unstrap and take off the heel, i glance around me to see no familiarity — lorenzo was gone.

"gina? yolanda!?" i call out worried , searching through the crowd on my hands & knees. "mylene?" i began to fill slightly panicked, have they left me?

but — right then , like a dream, a hand extended out to me. i looked up at the person , relieved.

"i got you." ezekiel states , pulling me up by my hands. i almost cry just knowing he and the girls were safe, and that they waited for me. blood covered the dancefloor as did broken glass and smoke, but i tried my best not to project my fear.

we all made it out the club safe & without a scratch. yolanda & regina went home, while ezekiel, mylene & i walked toward her place together. we all walked in a slow, bitter silence ; each of us trying to piece together what happened.

"i'll walk you up." ezekiel states as we approached the steps that lead to mylene's apartment. i didn't feel like playing third wheel, especially with them, so i sat down on the stoop without saying a word.

after five minutes had gone by, I was convinced he had forgotten about me. eithet that or those two were up to no good, which made me sick to my stomach to even think about.

i sigh softly to myself, standing up & preparing myself to leave and go on home. hopefully iris wasn't back, and hopefully carter didn't notice i was gone. i could only imagine the lecture if i am to get caught sneaking in with a broken heel, alcohol on my breath, a weed bag in my bra and an outfit that didn't belong to me.

"mylene!" i hear ezekiel cry out, startling me. looking above myself in confusion, i see a puffy eyed , red faced zeke stomping down the steps. it threw me off guard, and i expected for him to atleast elaborate a little. instead, he just walks past me as if i weren't even there, throwing down a record that landed near my bare foot.

i stood for a second before , picking it up & dusting off the light dirt off the nearly destroyed cover. the paper was so damaged, i'm surprised the vinyl was still in tact.

MISTY HOLLOWAYS
FAR FAR AWAY

her song.. the dots take a minute to connect, but eventually they do. letting out a deep sigh of fustration, i quickly began to follow after the boy.

"zeke!" i shout, receiving no answer. "wait up." i demand, picking up the pace, but it made no difference.

"ezekiel!!" i yell out , louder than the last time. finally he stops & turns around , allowing me to catch up to him. once i did, i tried to speak without sounding out of breath, but i was. "what's wrong?"

"she don't love me, aight! so fuck it. fuck her!" he screams, tears streaming down those lovely brown eyes. i stood there , utterly speechless. i didn't know how to handle it. it was as if my mind was going two miles per hour.

"why don't you just go home like the rest of them?" he snarls, sniffling. had i believed he wasn't just speaking out of anger, my feelings would've been hurt. he stood, waiting for my response, but i couldn't think of one at the moment.

"because .." i began to step closer to him. "I want to be with you.." i confess, hoping he understood the context of what I was trying to say. he never took us eyes off mine, as i hand the record over to him. ezekiel took it, gazing at the cover.

"you really love her huh?" it hurt me to say it, but it was the truth — that's what i thought atleast. last time i saw ezekiel shed a tear was when i came to him, crying over my brother getting locked up.

we were 13.

now here we were, once again. this time the both of us with a broken heart.
his eyes go from the cover of the vinyl, to me, almost with no emotion but i read through that.

"nah." he denies, once again dropping the record and walking away. i suck my teeth, not knowing what the next move should be.

"dammit figuero." whispering to myself , i began following his steps & making sure to collect the record as well.

before either of us knew it , zeke led me to where rara , dizzie & boo were spray painting on top of a large rock like a canvas. i sat silently, taking my hair out of the tight ponytail to be free as the boys asked zeke several questions, meanwhile he was drowning his sorrows in a large 40 oz beer.

"i'll never be good enough. i'll probably just end up working at some supermarket my whole life!" he cursed. the brothers looked between eachother , somewhat concerned.

"can you fill us in on anything about les inferno? the shooting ?" boo asks in an annoyed tone. i was too busy adjusting my now wild curls.

"my fucking heart got shot out!" ezekiel screamed out after steadily chugging some of the 40 in his hand — i paid him no mind.

"j, can you please fill us in on les inferno cause zeke over there's going through a crisis." boo turned to me. i stopped playing with my hair to entertain the boy with all the questions.

"well boo let's start by saying, shit was-" i began, but was unexpectedly cut off by the sound of someone's loud voice above us.

"yo wordsmith!" a boy in a red leather jacket called out. all four boys & i remained silent as the stranger slid down the rock in the smoothest way we've ever seen. "that was some wild wild wild west shit back there." he stated , receiving confused looks from almost everyone.

"who the fuck is this dude?" boo asks the question i'm sure all of us were wondering. the boy barely glanced at him, focusing mainly on zeke.

"this mother fucker with the fake karate shit." ezekiel drones, still the rest of us sat confused & looking blankly at the boy in leather.

he's actually kind of cute.

the stranger stooped down till he was eye level with zeke.

"now what did I do? i got you in, i got malibu, who's dead, to play the record which in fact is that last record he'll ever play while motherfuckers shooting from both sides while your stupid ass was trying to get the record off the turn tables all for a bitch who thinks she's better than you." he testified. normally i would've spoken up, but i subtly found myself agreeing with the strange boy.

"aye, don't call her a bitch!" zeke shouts, struggling to stand, only to be pushed back down by the guy.

"you got the gift but you look like a bitch crying over a bitch! i just don't understand all the crying and moaning over a female." he professes.

who exactly is this?

he intrigued me. the way he thought, how he spoke his mind so bluntly and just didn't care whether you asked for it or not. i'd never seen him before, but something about his presence seemed strangely familiar. perhaps i'd seen him before and just didn't know it.

"you don't know.. you don't know-" ezekiel stuttered & stammered.

"i don't know what!? you're not about to say love are you?" the boy questions, towering over ezekiel.

"and what if I did?" zeke challenges.

i glanced at both he and zeke , wondering where the conversation was heading and why it was going in that direction. since when did he and zeke know eachother, and how did he even find us. i had so many questions for them both.

"then i'd say you're fucking right! i don't understand anything about love!" the boy backed away from ezekiel, yelling out. i stared at the stranger for a couple seconds , feeling a sort of connection toward him, although I didn't know him at all.

"yo, who the fuck is this dude?" boo's voice interrupts my thoughts. the kid looked over at boo, and began walking toward him.

"who the fuck you getting loud with shortstop?" he questioned , roughly pushing boo back. i furrow my eyebrows.

"aye! ain't no need for all that." i noted, catching his attention. he quickly turns toward me.

"and who the fuck was talking to you?" it took me a moment to realize who he was talking to.

     i gasp in dismay, wondering if he meant to tell me that. his ruthlessness made me want to slap him, yet it was something. regardless , i was definitely not about to let him talk to me any kind of way.

"oo.." i hear rara mumble under his breath. he knew my mouth was about to go 100 miles per hour, and get real reckless.

"and who the entire fuck do you think you're talking too? coming up here like you that nigga. boy who even are you!?" i challenge. "i don't care who you are or what you think you're running but this ain't that. i ain't the one and we definitely ain't the two." i folded my arms, hoping he'd say something slick just so i could chuck a heel at him. he scoffed, smiling a bit & licking his lips.

"aye man, y'all better get your bitch." he snarls, pointing at me. that was it. i took one of iris's shoes and threw it across the rock, only missing him by an inch because he quickly ducked as it flew over his head.

"hey hey! we're all cool, we're all cool." dizzie stood in front of the boy, knowing i wouldn't hit him if he were right there. the boy glared at me for a moment before turning to diz.

"give me this." he demands , snatching the spray paint out of dizzies hand and proceeding to shake it. "i write , maybe you've seen me up." he says, beginning to spray his name on the rock. 

it didn't take him long. after he finished, the three boys began to gasp in pure shock. i only rolled my eyes, glancing over at a quiet zeke who sat and stared at the bottle in his hands.

"you're shaolin fantastic!?" the brothers say in unison.

"the lady killing romantic." he looked at me, causing me to scoff in disbelief.

"no way! zeke is this really him!?" rara gleams with excitement.

"i don't know , i just met the dude."

"man, just look at his shoes." dizzie began, before going on & on about how much he was a fan and how he painted as well. the entire conversation was a blur to me.

"yo, where's the record?" the leather boy looks to ezekiel once again. zeke rolled his eyes with annoyance.

"you seriously like misty holloway that much!?"

"just give me the fucking record!" shaolin screams loud enough for all of the bronx to hear. tonight must've been the night for screaming.

"fine! go fetch!" ezekiel took the record from beside us and threw it to the top the rock, and sure enough the estranged boy went running after it. "what do you need it for anyways!?" he called up to the him. shaolin looked at the record, then back at us.

"the get down." he simply replied. all of us exchanged blank stares in hopes atleast one of us knew what he was taking about, but none of us did.

"whats the get down ?" zeke finally asks. an astonished look formed on the boys face as he stared at us in disbelief.

"you don't know what the get down is ? you're a natural and you don't know who grandmaster flash is!?" he started. i looked at all the boys, lost now more than ever. "wow.. okay, if y'all want to go to the flyest underground party in the bronx , then follow me.. you decide." and with that being said , he disappeared off the rock, leaving the five of us not much time to think it through.

    the five of us look amongst eachother as if we were communicating telepathically.

"you down?" ezekiel asks me specifically. i hesitate. i didn't know who this boy was or what he was talking about.

    by now iris is home, probably wondering where i'm at if she even cared enough to check in my room. her heels were broken so I have no shoes. i wasn't sure of what the get down was, and i should probably go home before anymore trouble is to transpire.. but then again.. fuck that.

but then, i thought of my little sister. i cant have her alone like that, she might get one of them night terrors she used to or something. she was my responsibility.

"usually i'd be down, but I think I gotta go home. maya's probably alone. Sorry." i place my hand on his shoulder, smiling. "but have fun for me though. smoke a fat one." i laugh. he smiled for the first time since the encounter with myléne, and hugged me tightly. i hugged him back, but only for a second before letting go.

"i'll see you tomorrow." he states. i only nod in return, watching the boys as the jump of the rock and follow the shaolin boy to lord knows where. i wanted to go, i was curious as to what place we were talking about, but i had enough action tonight. it was late.

     i slowly crept back in my apartment building. hoping and praying no one was home yet, because the last thing I wanted was to explain where i was , what i was doing and who i was with. i wasn't in my right state of mind at the time and that required way too much thinking. now that i was finally alone, it were as if everything was setting in. the night kept replaying over and over — the shoot out, mylene & zeke, the get down... mylene & zeke...

    i tiptoed through the doorway, entering the dark apartment. cautiously, i try my best to silently make it past the living room , being aware that if I made any noise it'd ruin this whole thing for me.

i was doing fine until,

Clack!

    my metal key drops onto the wooden floor, creating an unnecessary loud noise throughout the living room. usually i'd run off and leave it , but I needed all evidence erased, so I quickly got on my knees and searched for the small metal.

    without warning, the kitchen light cuts on, making my heart beat begin to race. i kept my head down, praying whoever it was didn't see me beside the couch.

"june?" my brothers voice relieved me from my fears, yet i was still shook out of mind. "why are you on this floor? and what are you wearing?"

    i remained still for a few more seconds, until i came to the conclusion i had been caught. i stood up slowly, stumbling as i struggled to face him.

"hey man.." i smiled nervously, waving. he bit into his apple, staring at me intently with an odd expression.

"where you been?" carter interrogated. i roll my eyes. i was anything but afraid of carter, however i hated being talked to like a child. since i had no father, carter always tried to fill that void for me, as if he even knew what having one was like. his father was some boy who knocked up mom when she was 16, mine however was dead last i heard. maya's was nowhere to be found.

all we had was carter.

there was a thin line between brother carter & father carter. sometimes he was cool & sometimes he was a complete drag. i adored him regardless. we were only three years apart in age, making him only eighteen. he was young, but due to the circumstances had to mature at an early age — & for him, i'm forever grateful. sometimes i feel like i owe him.

"out. why are you eating in the dark?" i place my arms on my hips. carter shrugged as i walk into the kitchen, sitting down across from him.

"who's outfit?"

"iris's." i look down at the sparkly gear. "i broke a heel of hers , and threw the other. i'm surprised this came back in one piece." i nonchalantly replay. carter began to chuckle loudly, his eyes shifting from me to the back of my head.

"she's gonna be pissed girl." he laughed loudly, making me almost laugh also.

"you think she'll notice?" i whisper, leaning toward him. carter continued to laugh harder , until i heard someone else speak.

"i notice everything." iris startled me so bad i nearly jumped up from the table. i felt set up, he had to have known she was right there as he contoured to laugh hysterically.

"fuck." i grown under my breath, knowing what would come next was either one of two things;

a punishment
or a cruel cursing out.

either way it went, this night was not gonna go out without a bang.

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