Not exactly a crowd outside but we have onlookers now and while I'm wiping my eyes Hernandez turns to me.
"You okay?", he asks and If I'm being honest, I don't know if I am.. I literally don't know how I feel right now.
I shrug and he sighs then shrugs off his jacket. "Keep your damn jacket to yourself", Noah barks as Hernandez pulls his jacket over my shoulders.
My eyes widen when I see he's wearing a short sleeved shirt and there's dark ink trailing up his arms. He has tattoos and we didn't know! Well when he's wearing clothes meant for winter, there's no way we could have found out.
He turns to Noah now, "Shut up".
With anger, Noah rushes forward with a punch but Hernandez dodges quickly. One of the onlookers rush to the house and I know what's coming next.
"Everyone, fight in the porch!", he shouts out and the so not many people on the porch become a very large figure as people pour out from the house to see what ever was unfolding.
"You missed white boy", Hernandez says mockingly and that aggravates Noah even more. He swings another punch and Hernandez isn't as fast as before so it ends up hitting him in the eye.
He staggers back but charges forward swinging a right hook at Noah then jabs him in the stomach. Noah folds and Hernandez gives him an upper cut, sending Noah to the ground. In my life I thought I'd never see a Noah beat down but what'd you know.. life's full of surprises.
The crowd lets out an ooh, with some people wincing at the sight in front of them. I also wince as I watch in shock.
"Don't ever.. play with her feelings again", Hernandez says with a small pant as he squints his left eye.
"Are they fighting for fatty?", someone from the crowd asks and I notice people looking at my direction. Oh no.
Hernandez takes my hand and leads me to his bike while Asher helps Noah up. He hands me the helmet then gets into the bike. I look back at Noah, his eyes were on me as he holds his stomach and winces a bit.
I put the helmet on then get into the bike before wrapping my arms around Hernandez. He starts the bike and we went off, away from the onlooking crowd, away from Noah and away from the party.
**
The bike rolls to a stop and I look up to see a huge white gate. Hernandez presses a button by the wall and it opens revealing a mansion.
He drives in and I'm in shock till he stops his bike. I carefully get down and he does the same helping me take off my helmet.
I look around at the large front yard. There's a fountain with a peacock image at the center and it looks extremely beautiful as the water sparkles due to the night sky and a blue light was beneath, making the water look crystal like.
"Ready whenever you are", Hernandez says and I look at him.
"Huh? Oh uh yeah", I say and he leads me up the stairs to the house. When we get to the huge doors he pushes it open and if I was amazed before I'm in a state of shock now.
The first thing my eyes land on is the huge chandelier hanging up the high ceiling. The long stairs captivates me and I can't help but gawk at the TV, it's humongous. I bet they play golf on it. A few artwork decorated the walls and expensive looking vases stood on equally expensive stools. The couches look like they just moved in and same with every other furniture. They all look shiny and spotlessly clean. I'll give it to the people working on this place cause it just can't be one person.
I finally turn to Hernandez, "This place looks like it's straight out of a Disney princess movie", I say and he chuckles.
First the tattoos and now this huge fine ass looking house. He had a lot under his sleeve.. a lot.
"Um make yourself comfortable", he says with a small shrug. Like the house didn't already tell me that. I mean, nothing screams discomfort here.
"Sure..", I trail moving to sit on the expensive looking white couch. I feel I'm gonna soil it.
"Want something to drink?", he asks.
"Water", I answer and he nods walking away and probably to his kitchen that I could bet a 100 box it'll be as large.
I start to feel hot so I take off his leather jacket and I notice there's no pictures of family on the walls. Does he live here alone?. His bike, his choice of clothes, his tattoos, his house.. would give 'I'm dangerous' if he was staying alone.
Hernandez walks back to me with a glass of water and I take it thanking him. He waves it off and sits next to me. When I drink to my satisfaction I place the glass on the table.
"So..", I trail, "Your house looks nice", I let out and he nods slowly.. as slow as my words came out.
"Thanks, your outfit looks nice", he says complimenting me back.
I look down and my bulging tummy is the first thing I see. Must have gotten bigger after beer pong and that Cheetos.
"Thanks", I nervously say then slowly pull his jacket over my belly. "So uh, do you live alone?", I ask, hoping to distract him from his jacket on top of my stomach.
"Uh no..", he says and I consciously let out a breath, I guess he's not- "But sometimes I do". My eyes widen. Oh my God, who does he share this house with? His other gang members?.
"My dad and his wife usually go on trips", he says and I nod in relief. Well if I had this big house, I should have money to go round the world.
"So um you said his wife, she's not your mum?", I ask and he shakes his head.
"My mum died at child birth", he says and a piece of my heart, from the one that had shattered earlier, breaks again.
"Oh my God I'm so sorry", I say quietly and he nods.
"It's cool", he casually says. I keep fussing over my dad leaving, I never thought there could be something worse.. him literally leaving.
I pick up the glass again, gulping all the water down.
"You okay?", Hernandez asks watching me.
"Oh um yeah, I'm fine", I say with a small feigned smile.
"Okay so, any reasons you didn't want to go home when I asked on the bike earlier?", he asks.
"It's nothing.. I just.. you ever.. never want to go home?", I ask then wonder if I spoke fluently.
"Yeah", he says with a small nod.
"When?", I ask.
"When I'm with you", he says and an involuntary smile appears on my lips.
"Um.. okay", I say looking elsewhere as I fiddle with my fingers.
"So uh, I guess you'll be sleeping over?", he asks and I realize I haven't even thought about that.
"I guess so", I say and the thought of my mum crosses my mind. She must be so worried, maybe I should give her a text?.
"Want a house tour?", Hernandez asks pulling me away from my thoughts and I nod.
"Yes please", I say eagerly and he chuckles getting off the couch.
He stretches out his hand and I take it, getting off the couch as well.
"I'll just..", I trail holding a finger up, "Take these off", I finish, taking my shoes off.
"Okay, ready now?",
"Yeah".
Hernandez takes me to the kitchen first and all I can say is.. I would have definitely won that bet. My mum is gonna fall in love with this kitchen.. oh crap, I haven't texted her.
I'm about to excuse myself to the living room when I spot something seeping out of the cabinet.
"Are those gummy bears?", I ask and Hernandez turns to where I'm pointing at.
"Oh, yeah", he says pulling out the packet. "Want some?". Like he has to ask.
"Yes", I nod and he picks out a bowl then pours the gummy bears into it.
"Bon appetit", he says handing me the bowl and I smile accepting it.
"Thanks", I say, popping a yellow bear into my mouth. At this point, I don't even care if I add a pound.
"Sure Ginger", he says flicking my nose and I giggle.
We walk out of the kitchen and into the living room.
"News flash", he says heading to the stairs, "The stairs are really long".
"Okay", I say, chewing on a gummy bear. Might as well burn a few calories while am at it. I take a step onto the stairs and look up. I gasp when I see how long it is.
Being fat may not be a crime but it is a handful.