THERES NO BETTER TIME THAN NOW, YOU GOTTA STAY READY
______ die with you.
|MIDDLE SCHOOL|
BLAKE TOOK IN A DEEP BREATH as he stared down at the two small paper tickets in his hand. They were tickets to go see some popular boy band perform later on today.
Don't be confused, he wasn't a fan of them or anything of the sort, he didn't even know their stage name and could care less about it. The only reason he had stolen the tickets from some random man on the street was because he knew Kenji listened to their music.
Not only that but he's moving across town tomorrow and knowing how evil his dad is, this would be his last chance to ever see the girl again.
Shaking his head, Blake felt a pain in his chest when he thought about it. He felt lost, confused, and hurt. What would he do without her?
Still, he simply shook his head and ridded those thoughts from his mind. There wasn't anything he could do about it anyway, this was always just going to be his life. His normal.
Clearing his throat, he looked at himself in the mirror with a sigh "Ken would you like to-" He paused, scrunching his eyebrows together
"That def ain't it." He mumbled, releasing a hard breath before trying again "Peach I got these tickets to a concert and was wondering if you wanna-"
He pulled his head back disgustingly at his tone, mentally and physically cringing "Damn. Corny as shit, Ion even talk like that."
Groaning, Blake stood up straight with his head held high, imagining it was Kenji in front of him and not his bathroom mirror. Who knew practicing how to ask a girl out could be so hard?
"Peach I want you to come with me to this con-" He immediately paused when his voice cracked, eyes widening in distress "Man hell naw..."
He dragged a hand down his face in agitation, cursing the consequences that came from being a teenage boy going through puberty before deciding to just wing it and go with whatever he thinks of first while silently praying his voice wouldn't crack when he asked.
"Fuck it." Blake mumbled, smacking his lips and exiting the bathroom
He jogged down the stairs, snatching his house keys off the table. As he was about to walk out the door, his dad appeared with raised eyebrows and a beer in hand.
"Where you going?"
"Out with Kenji." He simply answered, keeping his eyes trained on the floor.
"Mm." Antonio hummed menacingly, taking a sip from the Corona Extra can "Be back before twelve." The man walked past his son and up the stairs, purposely bumping into his shoulders as a warning.
Blake stood there for a few extra seconds, releasing a breath he didn't even know he was holding. His body shivered in fear yet he refused to let that encounter ruin his mood.
Walking out of the front door, he trotted over into Kenji's yard. The closer he got, the more his nerves grew, making him an anxious mess by the time he was finally standing on her porch.
Blake knocked once then twice before the door opened, he raised an eyebrow at the smaller boy questioningly.
Santana's goofy smile dropped into an irritated frown when he recognized who stood in front of him. He quickly tried to close the door but Blake caught it and pushed it open while raising an eyebrow.
"Fuck out the way."
"No. Bitch ass nigga! You trynna take my woman!" Santana protested, trying to throw a punch at Blake but because he can't fight, he ended up missing and hitting the wall instead
Blake shook his head, watching as the boy curled his hand in pain "Now what did we learn?"
"Suck my dick." Santana mumbled, "I think my wrist broke... this shit hurt."
Shrugging, Blake stuffed his hands in his hoodie pockets "Ion give a fuck. Where your girl at?"
"In her room..." He winced out, lips twisting in agony as his hand throbbed
"All you need is an ice pack. You be ight' in about two hours, toughen up lil gang."
Santana smacked his lips together, sassily rolling his eyes "Yeah okay nigga."
Blake chuckled before jogging up the stairs, glancing over at the row of framed family pictures that lined the wooden rails.
He frowned, thinking of how his family could never in any lifetime be as close as Kenji's family. They don't even have photos together and the ones they did have years ago, his dad had set on fire out of anger.
In thought, Blake failed to notice Kenji coming out of her room as he bumped into her but before she could fall, his hand struck out and grabbed her waist.
"Damn, my fault. Ian see you."
Kenji giggled, "It's alright! What are you doing here?"
The boy gulped, quickly letting her go as he hands began to get sweaty with anxiousness "I came to talk to you about something."
"Is it about you leaving? I already know what you finna say because-"
"No. It's not about that." He slowly blinked at her, "Well, it kinda is but not really."
She hummed, twisting her lips "Oh okay."
"I wanted to know if you trynna come with me to this concert... I leave tomorrow so I wanted to just-" He paused, breathing in "Ya know..."
"Yes." She giggled, suddenly rushing into a hug, squeezing him tightly
For a second, it didn't register in Blake's head that she had hugged him as he simply stood there but he quickly moved to awkwardly pat her back.
He sighed, trying to relax in her hold but he couldn't hide his uncomfortableness. He hated physical touch but most times he tolerated it for the sake of Kenji's feelings.
Pulling back, Kenji grabbed his hand and dragged him down the stairs "Come on!"
Blake shook his head, allowing her to lead him into the living room where Eddie sat with a beer in hand while watching some football game
"Get your suck ass off the field man!" The older man screamed angrily at the TV
Kenji rolled her eyes playfully, "Dad." She interrupted, making him turn towards her "Can I hang out with Siah? I'll be back before it gets really dark."
Eddie glanced over, raising an eyebrow at the two "Oh shit. My bad baby. I ain't know ya'll was right there." He gave an apologetic smile
"So can I?"
"Yeah. Have fun and be safe." Eddie nodded, "Oh Blake, I'm glad you came over. I wanted to talk to you."
"Sir?" The fourteen year old cleared his throat, cringing when his voice cracked
"Kenji told me that you'll be moving tomorrow and I wanted to say thank you."
Blake rubbed the back of his neck confusingly, "For what?"
"For being a friend to my daughter when all the other kids teased and bullied her." Eddie smiled, "I've looked at you as a son for years now and you'll always have a spot at my house."
"Awww, how sweet." Kenji gushed
Blake's cheeks went red as he struggled to find words "Uh- I- Thanks Mr. Carson..."
"And don't listen to shit your father says. You a good kid. You gone make it outta Brooklyn and be way better than he ever could be."
"I appreciate it." He simply stated, feeling his palms get sweaty "Ion know what to say for real."
Eddie chuckled at his awkwardness before waving them off "That's alright. Now gone on." He propped his feet up along the couch, putting his focus back on the TV
The two children quickly scurried outside, of course with Blake being dragged by Kenji.
"So, where is it?" Kenji asked
"Huh? What you mean?"
"The concert... where is it?" She repeated, scrunching her eyebrows
"Oh shit- my bad. It's at Central."
She gasped, beaming up at him "Central? I've always wanted to go there! Who's performing?"
"Some wack ass band. I forgot they name but you know em." He shrugged carelessly, "Music better not be ass."
"I like to think I have good taste." Kenji laughed
Blake scoffed quietly, stuffing his hands in his pockets, "I guess."
xxx
"You not hungry?"
Blake shrugged, taking a small bite of his pizza slice "Not really." He rubbed up and down his arm boredly
The two were at a diner. Kenji had dramatically expressed how hungry she was so Blake took her to the nearest place they could eat at while also being able to get to the concert on time.
Kenji hummed, "So, what high school are you going to? Maybe we'll see eachother again."
"Ion know. It depends on what school is closest."
She sighed, sadly kicking her legs back and forth "I'm gonna miss you so much."
"You'll be ight." Blake waved her off, not entertaining her sadness and over dramatic ways "You actin' like I'm finna die."
"I'm not. It just sucks that I won't be able to see my best friend anymore. You won't miss me?"
"Not even a little bit."
A deep frown formed onto Kenji's face at his nonchalant attitude and hurtful words but it quickly disappeared once she saw the corners of his lips quirk up into a smirk
"I'm just playing, crybaby." He teased, wrapping his arms around her neck and bringing her into a side hug "I bet I'll miss you more."
Kenji shrugged him off, rolling her eyes "I'm this close to unfriending you."
Blake scoffed, sliding out of the booth and standing to his feet with a stretch "You ready to go?"
"Yes."
They walked out of the diner, too caught up in random conversation to even realize just how close they had gotten to Central gates.
"We're sold out."
Blake looked up, raising an eyebrow at the security guard standing in front of him "What?"
"Sold out." The man repeated with an annoyed tone
"Fuck you mean ya'll sold out? I already got tickets." By the tone of his voice, anyone could tell that Blake was quickly getting angry
"Ian repeating myself again, Kid."
Kenji's eyes widened, she glanced up at Blake and it was like a fuse exploded in his head. She quickly dragged him away by the forearm as he began to curse profanities in both English and Spanish.
"The fuck, gone call me a kid? I can get his fucking head blown off with just one call. Ni siquiera es un verdadero guardia de seguridad, es tan grande como la mierda!"
"Okay um- wow. Let's just relax a bit." Kenji chuckled, pushing him towards the other side of the street
"Matter fact, where my phone at? On God I'm finna call my brother to handle that." Blake muttered, pulling out his phone only for Kenji to snatch it
"Please calm down. It's not that serious, we can always do something else... like go to a movie."
"Man fuck no." Blake cursed, "I planned today specifically for you. I don't give a fuck about seeing five boys sing and dance on a stage but you do. That shit not fair to you cause I already got the fucking tickets, fuck is he talkin' bout."
Kenji grabbed his hand, "I really appreciate it but it's okay, honestly."
"Nah cause inna sense they playing in your face and you know ion let nobody play with you. Fuck what you saying."
Blake glanced around, biting his lip as he was thinking of ways to watch the concert while Kenji spoke but everything was going in one ear and quite literally out the other.
His eyes twinkled when he spotted a hill that was a little far from Central but high enough to be in perfect view of the event.
"Come on." He mumbled
xxx
"Where are we going?"
Silence.
"Are you gonna push me off? I always knew you were planning to kill me one day!" Kenji cried out, walking alongside the boy
Blake raised an eyebrow, "Unfortunately today won't be that day." He frowned, sarcasm laced in his tone
His ears perked up when he heard an incredibly loud beat blasting from Central's stage and shortly after the sound of soft singing.
The two children eventually got up the hill good enough to see the concert, only with Blake walking a little faster when he heard the music and Kenji struggling to keep up because she was so tired.
Kenji's eyes widened once she recognized the song, she almost screamed as she jumped up and down excitedly "Oh my God!"
Blake smirked, leaning against the only tree that stood tall on the hill with a small smirk on his face. He knew he did good.
"Prettymuch! That's Prettymuch!" She fan-girled, smiling as wide as ever
they say time is money
you know I'm still young
gonna spend all mine on you
She glanced over at Blake, immediately rushing to engulf him in a tight hug. He hummed, awkwardly wrapping his arms around her.
"Thank you, thank you so much." She mumbled, face nestled in his neck
"It's nothin'." He blushed a light beet-red across his face, I'll do anything to see you smile
I WROTE A MILLION RHYMES DESCRIBING YOUR STAR POWER AND AFTER TWENTY-FOUR BARS, YOU GET TWENTY-FOUR HOURS
AUTHORS NOTES %
Ion really got shit to say Ngl ð life just be lifin' like