𝐒𝐞𝐧𝐢𝐨𝐫 𝐘𝐞𝐚𝐫
𝐒𝐞𝐩𝐭𝐞𝐦𝐛𝐞𝐫 𝟏𝟗
𝐋𝐨𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 : 𝐀𝐓𝐋 𝐛𝐢𝐚𝐭𝐜𝐡.
𝐓𝐢𝐦𝐞: : 𝟒:𝟎𝟕 𝐩.𝐦.

The rest of that week went really well. The power came back on, Nicky finished getting settled in his room with Onyakapon and signed up for classes to finish with his GED, and  C and you never got caught. Your days were getting better, your stress was more and more relieved, and everything was falling into place. You stopped hearing from Porco. And that next Friday is when everyone returned to school but there wasn't even a point in making students come back. All anyone could talk about was the raging house party that a relative of C's would be throwing. It was the one C's cousin, Sunshine had invited you to.

It was going to be a pool party at the community pool filled with high schoolers, college kids, and everyone in between. Sunshine figured she'd take advantage of the fleeting summer heat as the leaves began to fall from their former branches. So, she rented out the entire pool and sold wristbands for five bucks. And that was to party from 5 to whenever the police showed up. Damn near everybody in and near Atlanta would be there. Your friends have been talking about it all week and already had the designated drivers picked out. Everything seemed to be heading in a drama free direction and you were so excited.

Especially since things have been weird at home. Your dad never found out about the sleepovers and camping, which was great. However he did know about you spending a lot of time with Nicky since you got out. By now you would've thought that your dad would have grown to be more understanding. But no. Same old Detective. For the most part, things were okay but it seemed like every time the two of you were left alone in a room, there was nothing to be said. Not about school or work. Your mom told you to just give him time to come back to his senses. Work has been overwhelming him and the return of your brother kind of added something to his plate. And you would've tried to be understanding up until the mention of your brother. Nicky's return wasn't something he should treat as a burden. Any normal dad would be celebrating while also giving their son advice.

Erwin wasn't a normal dad though.

However, today it didn't matter. After the school day that dragged on, school finally was over.  You, Bryson, and JuJu, were getting ready for the night. You haven't seen or heard from C all day. He wasn't  at school that day, nor did he talk to you a lot. This was fine until it wasn't. Nothing too detrimental happened but you'd be lying if you said you didn't miss him all day. It almost made you sick how much you liked him but you were always a hopeless romantic.

Just as everyone had concluded getting ready, you got a phone call from C.  "Hello ?" you answer, getting into the passenger seat of JuJu's car with a water bottle filled with vodka and pineapple juice.

"What's up, gorgeous ?" he said into the phone.

"Pass the bottle," Bryson whispered from the back seat. You took a sip before doing what he said.

"So now you wanna call me ?" you tease.

C could tell that you were already tipsy. "You know I wanted to call you all day. You on your way ?"

"Yeah."

"Alright well Imma let you get back to everybody. Hit me when you get here."

"Okay. Bye C," you say into the phone before hanging up and your mouth curving into a wide grin.

"Bye C~" Bryson and JuJu coo from their seats. You sucked your teeth and turned up the music playing to avoid conversation. The drive to the party wasn't long at all, less than twenty minutes but more than ten. Just as you said you would, you texted C where you were as soon as you got there. While you were waiting for him to find you, you, JuJu, and Bryson all went through the front gate, paying up five bucks to meet up with your other friends minus your brother and Onyakapon, since it was bound to be police around the area. Nobody wanted to risk anything.

The rest of your friends, however, were all in one section of the pool, taking up some room on a few of the chairs set out. The music was blaring from a DJ who wasn't too far from the snack stand. "Look who finally made it," Ymir exclaimed sarcastically, seeing as how you were always the one to be late to a function.

"We were missing you (y/n)," Mikasa says, giving you a tight squeeze.

"Well I'm here now," you say, stumbling a little since you and JuJu completely demolished the two water bottles of alcohol you had while Bryson remained the designated driver.

"And you're drunk already," Jean laughed taking a sip out of his red solo cup.

"Correction I'm tipsy," you say, plopping onto an empty seat.

"Where's C at ?" JuJu asked.

"We thought he might've came with you," Armin replied.

"He's somewhere around here," Sasha added.

"Who cares ? Jean come swim with me ?" Mikasa pleaded. The alcohol she had was starting to get her social flow going and you loved whenever she got like this. His cheeks flushed a bright color of red as he followed her into the pool, watching her hips move from side to side as she walked. That's when everyone followed, except for you.

You wanted to find some type of snack. It was weird because usually this is something that one would experience after smoking weed, but whenever you were drunk, you had the urge to eat something. You wandered to where you figured the snack stand was. Since everyone was getting their pool games started, it was pretty much no one there. You started to gaze at the snack menu as your phone vibrated in your right hand. It was a message from C, telling you he was coming to find you. You really didn't pay any attention to it as you continued to order some nachos. They didn't compare to Mr.Nelson's but they would suffice. After, you went back to the pool chairs to sit down by yourself.

In no time flat, you found yourself wiping off your hands onto a napkin. Waiting for C, you decided to grab a drink from the snack stand which was some kind of alcohol and fruit punch mix. Debate season was coming up and you knew you would be missing a lot of parties during that time. So now was the time to let loose.

"You look like you're enjoying yourself," a voice said to you. You looked up to meet their eyes and it wasn't C.

It was Porco.

His hair was in the same stupid style and had on the same stupid clothes, that his stupid ass usually wore. He wore stupid sunglasses with stupid thick black frames, making him look like a stupid suburban dad on a stupid fishing trip. "Boy what do you want ?"

Porco pulled one of the neighboring chairs closer to yours, sitting himself onto it. "Why do I always have to want something ?"

"Because that's the type of person you are."

"You've got me so figured out," he answered with sarcasm polluting his tone. "And how well have you figured out your new boyfriend ?"

"He's not my boyfriend," you reply. "But I know him pretty well."

"Not your boyfriend," he reiterated distrustingly. "Alright we'll since you know him so well, did he mention anything about this ?" Porco removed his glasses to show his blackened eye. It was swollen like crazy. "Or what about this ?" Porco then lifted up his hair that was dangling over his face to show a burn mark that was beginning to scab.

"You got into a fight and lost ? What's that gotta do with him ?" Your mind genuinely wasn't connecting the dots. Maybe it was your tipsy mind or maybe you just flat out couldn't see what he was hinting at.

Porco's large hand slammed the seat next to him with frustration that you weren't understanding. You jumped, startled by the subtle noise and movement he made. "It was that fuckin' psycho !" He said at a volume a little lower than a shout. "I'm telling you, he's going to become a problem for you soon."

"You're so fuckin' sad," you said.

"I knew you'd be stupid about this." Porco pulled out his phone and showed you a series of texts. "Here." It was texts from the night C said he had went out to get snacks for the two of you. Surely these had to be fake.. right ? Even if they were real, you weren't going to be so much mad about the fact C beat up Porco. Let's face it Porco deserved whatever beatdown he got. It was just the fact that he lied to your face, and you easily believed him.

"What're we talking about ?" That's when C appeared almost out of thin air.

You got up out of your seat and took C's hand, in hopes to lead him away before anything happens. Porco silently tried to dismiss himself but C was already high and ready for confrontation. "Nice to see you again, Porkchop."

"Porco," your ex corrected C.

"I said that. Seems like we both forgot about last time we had a chat."

Porco gulped before walking away. A smirk then stitched across his face. "I should be going now. But remember what your dad used to say ? History always repeats itself."

With that the blonde boy walked away and C sat in the empty seat Porco left. "What was that all about ?" C asked, looking at you with a small look of concern that he was trying to hide.

"You and Porco fought ?" There was no reason why you would've danced around the question.

But he kinda wished you had. "Oh you found out ?"

"Nigga- C. You didn't have to lie about it."

"I mean I guess."

"Ain't no 'I guess'. I don't like liars," you say as you jokingly turned your back to him.

C thought you were being serious as you tried to conceal a laugh. In all honesty, you found this shit hilarious. Because it was. "(y/n) ? Hello ? Don't turn your back on me."

Suddenly you felt a human's mass dump itself on the seat next to you. C's warm hand lightly guided your chin so that your brown eyes were looking at his golden ones. "There she is. Look I'm sorry and I should've just told you."

"Mhm."

"And look !" C held up his pinky up. "Let's pinky promise. Azula taught me this shit. Apparently it's more serious than signing a contract."

You laugh. "Yeah it is. And it's unforgivable if you break it."

"Then, I pinky promise to never lie to you again."

"That's a pretty big promise to keep. Are you sure you wanna make that ?" You look at him questioningly.

"You see my pinky right ?" C wiggled his pinky.

"Alright." The two of you intertwined your pinkies. "Now you know if you break this, I'll never talk to you again ?"

C laughed nervously, hoping that you were still joking. But you weren't. As childish as it might seem, whenever you made a pinky promise about something, you didn't dare to break it. For instance, when Nicky was away, right before he got transferred from juvenile hall to actual jail, you pinky promised him that you wouldn't stop visiting him. And you did everything in your power to hold true to that promise.

Moral of the story is, pinky promises aren't something to be played about. To you at least.

After the promise was all said and done, you wanted to swim. After all that's the whole reason you came. Without saying a word, you quickly finished the rest of your drink that made your chest burn a little. Then, you slipped off your coverup revealing your entire bikini set and the amount of body your dad would have a heart attack if he knew you were showing. C was about to have a heart attack seeing your body but for different reason. A little while longer and he would've started drooling. Everything about your body was attractive to him. From, cellulite to different birthmarks, and stretch marks.

You looked back at him, snapping him out of his trance. "Are you coming ?" C's mouth couldn't move fast enough, leaving him not to answer. You cocked your eyebrow. "Okay.. Guess not." You began to walk away and when you did that's when C came to his senses. At least enough to follow you. He draped his long tattooed arm over your shoulder as the two of you walked to the part of the pool your friends were in.

You sat on the side, next to Mikasa. The two of you sat there talking. C, on the other hand, cannonballed into the pool, splashing everyone around him. When he came back up, he shot you a quick wink. You rolled your eyes and continued your conversation but would still steal glimpses of him every chance you got. Something about his tattoos drew you in and it was hard to look away.

However it was hard to hide your staring.

Mikasa nudged you gently. "Wanna make it anymore obvious ?" she laughed.

Your cheeks heated up. "Damn was I really staring that hard ?"

"Yeah. I haven't seen you like this in a while."

"Like what ?"

"All head over heels for a boy. I mean last time was- well you know."

"Maybe it's time I became more.. adventurous," you state, kicking your feet in the water.

"Listen (y/n) I don't want to rain on your parade but please just be careful. I'm sure you know but C has a rep and I don't want him ruining you. He's my friend too but you're like family."

It kind of touched you how Mikasa was so concerned for you. And you'd be lying if you said that you didn't share some of her concerns too. You smile at your black haired friend, "Thanks Mik' I will be. Promise."

You suddenly felt a pair of hands wrap around your legs and pull you, along with Mikasa. Quickly, you found yourself underwater before quickly pushing yourself up. You and Mikasa both caught your breaths and immediately looked around to see who the culprits were, though it was already pretty obvious. But before you could even look for C, he was right in front of you, his arms around your waist. "You're an asshole," you say, punching him in his shoulder. "I could've drowned !" This was a lie. You were just being overdramatic.

"Yeah but did you ?" Your silence was a good enough answer for him. "Thought so."

You wiggled yourself free and pushed him away from you, retreating so that you were standing with your back to the pool wall. You didn't wanna get out since the water was already consuming your body heat, bringing it to an equilibrium with the water's temperature. C swam over to you, with the same snarky smile on his face. You pretended to not see him, by looking at your other friends who were playing water volleyball. "I'm sorry, Princess. Forgive me ?" He laughed in between his words.

"Nope and ain't shit funny."

C sucked his teeth. "Don't be like that. I was just tryna play a little jokey joke." You ignored him. So, he did something he knew would get your attention. C peppered a bunch of kisses onto your face and you still tried desperately to move your face but you melted. 

"Move before I drown you for real this time," you say. 

C groaned loudly. "C'monnnnnn I didn't mean it. How can I make it up to you ?" You shrugged. That's when C heard a small bell ringing. He peered out of the gate surrounding the pool and saw a street vendor, pushing a cart full of fruits. "I'll be right back."

C shot out of the pool and ran to the vendor like a kid running to an ice cream truck. C quickly ordered two big bags of small circular green fruit and it looked like a bag of little limes. When he came back into the pool, he came to the side of the pool you were. "I know you're mad but follow me." He saw that you were tryna decide if you wanted to drag it or not. "Please (y/n)."

You obliged and climbed out of the pool and followed C outside of the gates once more. "Where are we going ?"

"To a top secret spot." C then walked a little past the gate and stopped at a ladder that led up to the roof of the shower locker rooms, that were pretty big considering the community the pool belonged to. 

You looked at him confused. "You not finna have me climb up this are you ?"

"Stop being so difficult," he said sternly. 

You sucked your teeth and climbed up the ladder that was pretty high up. C followed close behind you to make sure you didn't miss a step. When the two of you got up, you took a quick moment to look and see how nice the view was. You could see a park nearby with a bunch of little kids playing cops and robbers, a bunch of trees, a lake off in the distance, and the pink and orange sunset. You were captivated that you didn't even notice C sitting down on the ledge dangling his feet. "Sit down," he says, calling you back to reality. 

You listened and sat next to him, being careful to not sit too far onto the edge. C quickly began to open up the bag of green fruit and hand you one. "What's this ?"

"A quenepa. You've never had one ?" You shook your head no. "Oh well they're these fruits and you bite the green part off and eat the inside. I used to have them all the time in the Dominican Republic."

"You used to be in DR ?" you asked, starting to open the green fruit. 

"My mom was from there so we'd visit a lot. Sometimes for months when my dad was away."

"I had no clue you were Dominican. I just thought you were.."

"White ?"

"Yeah."

"Yeah that's thanks to my dad. Y'know for a whole five years my family used to call me blanquito," he laughed munching on the green fruit. 

"My mom's from DR too."

"Oh yeah ? You ever been ?"

"A few times when I was little but now we don't go."

"Why not ?" 

"Everyone's always so busy. But I know there's this old ass picture of my mom holding me as a baby and rinsing my hair in this river near her sister's house."

"When I have kids, they gon' spend all they summers in DR. Ion care what they got going on," C said, putting the fruit's empty green shells into a separate plastic bag. 

"What if they got a little girlfriend or boyfriend ?"

"What's that gotta do wit me ?" The two of you laughed and from there, C continued to tell you all types of stories about how life was in the Dominican Republic. He briefly mentioned how he probably would've enjoyed it if his dad were there with him and his mom but he didn't let that stop him from having fun. C used to chase the neighbor's chickens, recruit random neighborhood kids to form a little bicycle gang, climb roofs and local mountains, and steal quenepas from people's trees. Truly living his childhood to the fullest. At least in the span of the months he was there. 

But not every DR trip was a vacation and he knew that then, same way he knows that now. Only reason why'd they go so much for months at a time was because his mother would get so depressed and unmotivated when his father went to jail all those times. She needed a support system and her family in DR had no problem giving it to her, even though they hated the circumstances. That still didn't stop them from talking behind her back though. 

As soon as C began to realize the reason behind all those trips, he started building a temporary but sure resentment towards the country. He thought of it as just a crutch and not like home, and he hated feeling like he needed help. He especially hated feeling helpless and sometimes his family in DR made him feel that way. That's part of the reason he's so independent now.  

Soon enough, C didn't wanna go back. He would beg and plead his mom to just stay home and he'd take care of everything. And even though a kid in elementary school shouldn't be assuming that responsibility, his mom knew there was no talking him out of it. So she listened. However, he doesn't feel like that anymore. In fact, now that he's older he wishes that he could scrap the money together to take Azula and DJ but he knew it probably wouldn't be possible for a while. 

The two of you were talking for so long that you guys didn't even notice the sun had went down until you both were at the bottom of the fruit bag. C offered to share the second bag with you but you insisted that he saved them for Azula, DJ, and his abuela, whenever he got the chance to visit her. You and C both began to leave the rooftop and go back to the pool, where your friends were waiting, tired and ready to go home. 

"And where the hell ya'll been at ?" JuJu scolded the both of you. 

"Nunya," you respond. "Ya'll ready ?"

And since everyone was, the thoughts and questions about where you and C snuck off to pretty much disappeared. Everyone piled into their cars, having the sober person drive and pulled up to your house. Only the girls and Bryson and JuJu came inside though, since you guys were going to have a sleepover. 

Everyone showered and fell asleep pretty quickly. That is except for you, which was fine since you didn't have work in the morning. You were flipping through channels on your tv to find something still playing cartoons this late at night when you heard small bangs on your window. Cautiously, you went to check what it was and turns out it was C in your yard, throwing pebbles at your window. You sighed of relief that it wasn't some animal trying to break into your bedroom. "One day you're gonna break my damn window."

"Then maybe you should've answered your phone," he smiled. 

"I ain't see it. Anyways.. what'd ya want ?"

"Turns out Azula and DJ don't like quenepas. Weird right ?"

"So.."

"So, here," he said pulling the bag from behind his back. C held up the bag dangling it. "I mean you don't have to take em' I just thought you'd want the rest."

"What about you and your abuela ?"

"She can't really do solid foods rn but ! I bought some seeds to plant a tree so when she gets better, they'll be ready." He said the last part like he didn't even believe what he was saying. You didn't question him about it though-maybe he'd tell you more some other time. 

"Since when were you a gardener ?" you tease. 

"I'm not ! Imma have the rugrats help me" he chuckled. 

"Alright. I'll take them," you say.

With that, C tossed the bag up far enough to hit your balcony and said goodnight, before leaving. You took the fruits into the room and shut the balcony doors behind you. Then, you took five of the green fruits for the night and put the rest in your fridge for your mom to find. Needless to say, after eating the little green fruit from the islands, you fell fast asleep and dreamt of how much you wanted to visit the island from whence they came.