𝐓𝐇𝐄 𝐓𝐑𝐈𝐏 || 𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐥𝐲 𝟐𝟎𝟎𝟎𝐬 '

𝐂𝐎𝐍𝐅𝐄𝐒𝐒𝐈𝐎𝐍𝐒 𝐍' 𝐅𝐎𝐑𝐆𝐈𝐕𝐄𝐍𝐄𝐒𝐒

LOS ANGELES, CALIFORNIA
October 17, 2002

Aryah was zoned out, washing all the dishes that was left in the sink while everyone was dispersed around the house doing their own thing. She didn't mind it. She was the neat freak of the bunch and always found herself cleaning up any little mess she could find.

She couldn't help but mentally sigh as she thought about the race that was gonna be taking place tomorrow night. The trip was starting to feel less of a vacation and more of a thriller-action movie that nobody asked to be apart of.

It was like every time they would have some sort of fun, something else would pop up to ruin it. She just hoped that after tomorrow, they could enjoy their last few days here in California without anymore disruptions before heading back to Atlanta early Monday morning.

"Aryah?" She was startled by Jaylen's voice while washing the last few plates.

Ari looked over her shoulder seeing Jaylen combing out his freshly washed hair with an afro pick. "Yeah what's up?" She asked blandly before looking back at the sink.

They hadn't spoken much since they got into that pointless ass argument. They said a few words to each other at the beach the other day, and the boys were out all day yesterday and this afternoon getting their cars ready for this big race. So this was really the first time in a minute since they've been alone in the same room.

"Can you braid my hair when you're done?" Jaylen asked, a little hesitant that she would say no.

She was the only one in the house who knew how to braid hair besides Shawnna. But he decided to ask Ari to do it, hoping that this may finally break the ice between them.

"Uh, yeah sure. Just give me a minute." She glanced back at him with a close lipped smile.

Jaylen nodded and walked out of the kitchen, waiting for her in the living room. Aryah finished off what was left and dried her hands before running upstairs to get a comb and some hair products.

When she came back downstairs, Jaylen peeled his eyes away from the TV, snickering at Aryah's facial expression. "I think they're about to fuck again." She stated, referring to Jamie and Silk.

"That's another reason why I'm even down here. Nigga kicked me out the room again." Jaylen shook his head.

Aryah giggled, plopping down on the couch and sitting all the products next to her. She grabbed one of the pillows and placed it on the floor between her feet before Jaylen got up from the couch and sat down on it in between her legs.

There was a comfortable silence as MTV Cribs played on the screen in front of them. Aryah began combing his hair and kept going even when it wasn't tangled anymore. This wasn't the first time she did his hair. She knew he loved the feeling of someone playing in his hair when his braids were out, so she gently continued for a few moments before starting to part his hair.

"You ready for tomorrow?" Aryah decided to break the silence between them.

Jaylen tilted his head a little to the left as she began the first braid. "Nope." He sighed lightly. "But Silk ain't really give us a choice, so it is what it is. All I know is that his ass better win 'cause none of us can do this shit like he can."