" 𝟎𝟐✩

THE PRESENT

AUGUST 15TH

ⁿᵒʷ ᵖˡᵃʸⁱⁿᵍ

"ᵗʰⁱʳˢᵗʸ" ᵇʸ ᵖᵃʳᵗʸⁿᵉˣᵗᵈᵒᵒʳ

"ⁿᵉᵉᵈ ᵗᵒ ᵍᵉᵗ ⁱᵗ ʷʰⁱˡᵉ ⁱᵗ,ˢ ʰᵒᵗ ᶜᵃᵘˢᵉ ⁱ,ᵐ ᶜᵒˡᵈ ᵃᵗ ᵗⁱᵐᵉˢ

ᶜᵒⁿˢᵗᵃⁿᵗˡʸ ᵗᵒ ᵏⁿᵒʷ ⁱᶠ ʸᵒᵘ ˢᵗⁱˡˡ ʰᵃᵛᵉ ᵃ ʰᵉᵃʳᵗ"

HARLEM NEW YORK

ᵇʳᵒʷⁿ ʳᵉˢⁱᵈᵉⁿᶜᵉ

⁶:³⁰ᵃᵐ

ⁱᵗ ʰᵃᵈ ᵇᵉᵉⁿ 2 months since the situation with Makayla and Isaiah had unfolded, and Makayla had been replaying the scene in her head ever since.

Makayla hadn't saw Isaiah since that night. She told him to leave a couple times, but that's about it. Dontae on the other hand was mad at Isaiah at first, but he told Makayla that isaiah was family and he couldn't just unfriend him like that.

And Kayla tried to understand, but is it really that hard to let go of a friend that did family wrong? Family was supposed to be your main priority ..right? She just couldn't move past it no matter how hard she tried.

So ever since Dontae had chose his friendship over Makayla she hadn't spoken to him in weeks since the incident.

But Dontae missed his sister dearly so he tried everything to make it up to Kayla, but the answer would be the same everytime.

"Unfriend him then we can talk Dontae."

is what Makayla would say everytime Dontae tried to atleast conversation with her. He even brought the girl food and snacks, and Makayla loved those the most in the world.

Dontae and Makayla were all eachother had and he was considering unfriending Isaiah just to get that bond back with his sister, but he just couldn't.

And of course Isaiah apologized many times, he even came to the home with all sorts of gifts probably over 30 times apologizing. So Dontae really thought it was sincere.

But of course Makayla wasn't buying it, and she wouldn't forgive him even if he bought her 100 puppies. Some things just couldn't be forgiven, and that was one.

Makayla hadn't been the same since that night unfolded. She would usually be cheerful and you wouldn't usually see the girl upset. But now her heart was ice cold and her eyes were emotionless.

Dontae missed his sister dearly and she has opened up a bit, but Dontae could always tell there's still hurt in Makayla deep down. But atleast Makayla was finally talking to him now.

But today they had school, and Makayla was dreading it. And since she has no parents she could just stay home, but Dontae was her legal guardian and he made her go to school.

* RING RING RING *

Makayla's alarm clock rung loudly. She quickly turned her head to her alarm as she cut it off. It was too early.

Today would be the first time Makayla would see Isaiah in 2 months—And she was not looking forward to it.

Isaiah had come over many times to try and apologize, but Makayla was locked in her room and he couldn't get in.

She sat there as she stared off into space. She really didn't wanna get up, but of course Dontae would make her.

Makayla was slowly drifting off until her room door was slowly opened before she saw Dontae standing there with a glass of orange juice in his hand.

Makayla glanced at her brother with a very apparent mug on her face. It was too early for this shit.

Dontae just walked in before sitting the glass of orange juice on Kayla's beside table before he looked at her.

"Goodmorning, you got an hour before we leave for school Kayla." Dontae said as Makayla just blinked at him—She then turned her head slowly nodding before yawning and stretching.

Dontae then went over to her window as he stood there before opening her curtains. The sun wasn't fully up yet since it was only 6am, but it wouldn't hurt to get some light in the room.

Kayla had blackout curtains. She claimed she loved the dark (js like me fr) and she didn't like the sunlight—But Dontae didn't care he was bright, bubbly, and easy to get along with. The complete opposite of Makayla.

Makayla then got out of her bed before she put her slippers on and walked to her bathroom.

"Let me know when you ready Kay." Dontae said before he left so Makayla could get ready for school.

Makayla then threw her head back groaning before she cut on the shower. She really was dreading school today—She was thinking about playing sick, but Dontae already knew what it was and he wasn't stupid ...unfortunately.

Makayla then got undressed before she grabbed her phone and played her shower playlist. She then made sure the temperature was right before hopping into the shower.

Makayla hopped out the shower about 30 minutes later. She then put her slippers back on before going over to the sink.

Makayla stood infront of the sink before she looked up at herself. She did look good tho, her lashes was done and her hair and nails were too.

What more could she ask for? Except she didn't think she looked good.

Makayla was never insecure about her looks, she actually thought she was really pretty. But ever since Isaiah cheated on her she would always  question herself

"Was I not good enough?"

"Was I not pretty enough?"

"Am I not worth loving?"

She couldn't stop replaying the night in her head no matter how hard she tried—But she damn sure was gonna let Isaiah know she was good without him.

That she didn't need him.

KNOCK KNOCK KNOCK

"Makayla come eat ya breakfast, school start in 30." Dontae said knocking hard on the door as Makayla groaned loudly. Could she brush her teeth in peace?

"I'm almost done go away Dontae." Makayla said rolling her eyes as Dontae stopped knocking. He then looked to the ground before walking off and going back to the kitchen.

Of course Dontae knew Makayla didn't mean to sound rude—but he also knew that Makayla was still holding a small grudge against him. He couldn't be mad at anybody but himself—He just wanted his sister back.

Makayla then walked out the bathroom before going over to her chair where her outfit was laid out from the night before.

She picked up the outfit as she started getting dressed. Makayla then went over to her vanity as she took her bonnet off examining her hair.

Since Makayla didn't have a mother figure to do her hair or an actual hair dresser—she started doing her own hair so she wouldn't have to wait for somebody else to do it.

But this time Makayla didn't have her hair done. She was going natural for atleast a week, she wanted to give her hair some time to breathe.

And she rolled it up before she went to sleep, so her curls will be good when she woke up.

(Her hair & outfit)

Makayla then unrolled her hair before she sat the rolls down onto her vanity—She then grabbed her lip liner and started outlining her lips. Kayla then grabbed her clear lipgloss before putting it on.

She was now ready as she stood up going over to her closet and grabbing a jacket—It was almost autumn and the weather was being bipolar. So she was just gonna grab a jacket incase.

"Makayla come eat!" Dontae yelled from downstairs as Makayla rolled her eyes before spraying some perfume.

She then sat it down as she grabbed her purse and bookbag before she headed downstairs.

"About time, now you got 10 minutes to eat and ya food bout cold." Dontae said pointing to the microwave as Makayla just brushed him off—It was too early and she really wasn't in the mood.

"Ima start da car." Dontae said as he grabbed his car keys and went outside. Makayla just sat her bookbag down before she sat down on the barstool and started eating.

Dontae made her some egg and toast along with a few strawberries. He would have made her something bigger—but Dontae had to force Makayla to eat because she wouldn't leave her room for days—So he gave her something small and filling enough.

Makayla was in the middle of eating as Dontae came back in the house. He grabbed his and her bookbag as he loaded them in the car.

Kayla was watching her brother as she was eating. She did feel bad how she treated him—but then she remembered how he wouldn't unfriend Isaiah. She was supposed to be his sister after all.

Makayla then hopped off the barstool as she put her plate in the sink. She then grabbed her purse and headed outside where her brother was.

Dontae already had the door open for Makayla, so she had her hand on the door before she got inside the car and closed the door.

Dontae watched his sister before he then quickly pulled off heading to school.

* AT SCHOOL *

Dontae quickly parked the car as him and Makayla got out—And as soon as she got out she started walking—so Dontae had to grab her arm like a badass kid in Walmart.

"Unt unt makayla, you not wondering off." Dontae said as Makayla immediately smacked her lips. She was just going to go quickly look for her schedual.

"Bro let go of me, I'm going to look for my schedule dude." Makayla said as Dontae then slowly let her arm go.

Makayla rolled her eyes as she then walked into the school, Dontae just trailing after her.

Makayla made it to the doors of the entrance as she walked in with a few students—Dontae immediately losing her—And he knew Makayla had it planned.

"Fuck." Dontae said annoyed. He didn't even know why he left her in the first place. He should've already knew she wanted to get away from him.

Makayla on the other hand was pissed off already. She didn't wanna be there especially because she was gonna have to see a face she didn't wanna see.

She almost immediately headed to the office so she could get her schedule and get it over with.

Makayla walked into the office as there were about 5 other students in line waiting for their schedules—And as soon as she walked in there, all heads turned to her.

Makayla just cursed in her head. They always used to do this last year. Stare at her for no reason, they would continue to stare even when Makayla stared back. It was weird

"Omg hi Makayla!"

"I didn't even recognize you!"

"Hi Kayla."

Makayla heard all at once from 3 different students. But she didn't pay them any mind.

They were all fake

Makayla just looked at each one of them individually as she continued waiting for her schedule—She couldn't wait to get out of this fake ass school with all these fake ass kids.

Almost everybody in Makayla's grade felt bad for her. And Makayla definitely didn't want any pity.

She hated that

Nobody actually wanted to be her friend, they just felt bad for her because of her brother. Yeah, he was the most popular so that made her popular—And because of her looks, the kids didn't seem to really give a fuck about anything else.

And that was why Makayla stayed to herself, she couldn't find a genuine friend in the school for nothing—Everytime a girl would try to be her friend it was just to get to her brother because they were scared of rejection—It happened way too many times, and that was back when Makayla was vulnerable.

She had just lost her parents and she needed people to rely on. But of course nobody was ever actually genuine. That's why it's just her and her brother.

Well she had Isaiah, until he decided to cheat on her. Her brother was also in a gang and Makayla didn't want anything to do with that—He was a bad ass teenager before their parents died—but Dontae knew he had to change for the better. For Makayla

Dontae wouldn't leave it though no matter how hard Makayla tried to get him to. She was terrified when he told her. She knew how it ended in the movies.

But Dontae seemed truly happy to be in it, so Makayla had no choice but to accept it. She couldn't do anything about it anyways.

"Excuse me ma'am." The office lady said awkwardly as Makayla stared off into space—She was too deep in her thoughts and forgot she was even in a room full of people.

Makayla quickly got out of her head at the sound of the woman's voice, as she then looked at the office lady before clearing her throat.

"Uh..Makayla brown." Makayla told the office lady as she started typing. Makayla just silently cursed herself in her head. Talk about embarrassing.

"Here you go." The office lady said as she then handed Makayla her schedule. Makayla gave her a small thank you as she then took it—Makayla started looking at the schedule before walking out the office going straight to where her locker was located.

Makayla walked infront of her new locker as she attempted to open it. She would usually struggle with the lockers, but she would always get them open eventually.

Makayla sat her bookbag down because of how frustrated she was getting. Class already had started and Makayla was late on the first day.

Her stupid locker wasn't opening either, so now she was even more pissed off.

Makayla then hit the locker out of anger before she laid her head down on it. She was fed up at this point.

But what she didn't know was that there was a lightskin boy who was just looking at her like she was crazy. If she needed help all she could've did was asked.

The boy cleared his throat slightly as Makayla immediately looked up. And damn did she like the sight.

"..you need some help?" The boy asked Makayla as she sighed inaudibly—That was very embarrassing, especially because the boy was cute.

"Yes please." Makayla said softly before she backed up a bit letting the boy unlock her locker for her.

Makayla's locker then opened as she quickly thanked the boy.

"It's ma first day here, you new too?" The boy asked Makayla as she internally smacked herself on the forehead—She wasn't new and she couldn't even open the locker. That was even more embarrassing.

"Yeah." Makayla nodded as the boy slightly laughed. And his laugh was heavenly, Makayla could never get tired of hearing it.

"Ma name notti." The boy told her as Makayla slightly smiled before she started putting her stuff in the locker.

"Makayla." Makayla said not looking at him, she was still embarrassed a bit. But notti could tell.

Notti was about to speak before 2 more boys came up behind him, one had an attitude, but the other was perfectly fine.

"Nah cuz this dumbass school don't have vending machines ina hallway?" Somebody said causing Makayla to turn her head along with notti.

"dd bro chill." One lightskin boy said laughing causing the other one to shake his head.

Makayla decided to mind her business, she just wanted to get to class. One boy was cool, but three? Yeah no.

Notti then went up to the boys as he helped the one named dd with his locker aswell—which was located right next to Makayla's.

Makayla just hurriedly closed her locker as she headed to her classroom. She was 20 minutes late.

Notti then turned his head after he unlocked dd's locker to see that the girl was gone. She did leave pretty quickly so he was a tad bit confused as to why he didn't see.

"Whatchu lookin at?" dd asked his brother before he tried to look. Notti just shook his head.

"Cmon let's go to class." Notti said as he then left with ddot. dd was a senior—he didn't have the same classes with everybody else. And that pissed him off, especially because it was a new school.

But he did have one friend besides ddot in the school, and they were in the same grade. So he wouldn't be completely alone.

dd was still putting his stuff in his locker before his shoulder was tapped causing him to turn his head confused.

"Yo bro." dd said with a big smirk dabbing up the person who tapped him as they did the same.

"It's been mad long." Dontae said as dd nodded his head agreeing. He hadn't saw Dontae since June, and it was now August.

"Where you been?" dd asked as Dontae just sighed shaking his head. He didn't wanna burden anybody with his problems.

"Just been in the house more." Dontae said as dd hummed showing he was listening.

"By the way, we havin a party Saturday, you comin?" Dd asked Dontae as he nodded his head slowly. Dontae wasn't sure why he agreed, he really didn't wanna leave Kayla by herself. But he deserved some fun.

"Ima be there" Dontae said as dd said okay before they hugged. Dontae then said his goodbyes before he headed to class.

(AN: hey my boo's !!!! I had a lot of fun writing this chapter and it's around 2880 words 😫, my hands hurt. But lmk how yall liked this chapter my lovessss. Mwah ! 💋)