Aaliyah had spent the days leading up to her first day back grounded.
When she arrived home past her curfew her mother had assumed the worst. That she had been whoring around and drinking and taking drugs.
That's sort of what happened but it wasn't as bad as it seemed.
Aaliyah wasn't a whore, but she was a flirt.
That's why her mom thought the worst of Aaliyah. Because she didn't want her to make the same mistakes she did as a teen.
Her mother had a reputation at school but when she met her soulmate that all changed.
She started to control her sex drive a little more and didn't want to make any more mistakes.
Aaliyah was happy that she could finally leave the house, even if it was only for school.
She had hoped that her mother would give her more freedom because of how unhappy she was at home, but the only thing she would let her do was have friends come over instead of going to there's.
Baby steps, kinda?
When Aaliyah arrived at school she felt comfortable again.
She wanted to avoid a lot of people but she didn't want that to ruin her day. The first person she saw was Rue.
She was talking to a guy her age and pulled his arm, dragging him towards Aaliyah.
She could tell that the guy didn't want to come with her but Rue looked extremely determined for him to go with her.
Rue smiled at the girl "Hey, Lee, this is Elliot." Aaliyah smiled at the boy and put her hand out for him to shake.
"Nice to Meet you, Elliot. I'm Aaliyah, but you can call me Lee."
Elliot shook her hand and laughed nervously "I know who you are."
Aaliyah smirked "Do I have a reputation or something?" Elliot laughed quietly "Not a bad one if that's what you think."
Rue looked at the boy with a confused expression "Why are you being weird?"
Elliot furrowed his eyebrows and scratched his neck "Im not being weird." Rue was adamant "Yes, you are."
Aaliyah looked between the two confused and she decided to interrupt them "So, Rue, how did you meet Elliot?"
Rue hesitated "O-On New Year's." Aaliyah smirked "Did you hook up or?" The shook her head "No."
Aaliyah nodded slowly expecting a longer story but Rue had finished her sentence.
Aaliyah clasped her hands together "Okay, well, it was nice to meet you, Elliot. I'm gonna head to class. I'll see you guys soon."
Aaliyah walked away from the pair as they bickered quietly and headed to class.
The truth is Elliot had the biggest crush on Aaliyah. Like most boys at that school. But Elliot didn't actually expect her to have a conversation with him.
That's why he was so nervous when they actually spoke for the first time. He hadn't prepared in his head what he was going to say to the girl.
When the girl was out of sight Elliot shook his head and sighed at Rue "Why would you do that to me, Rue?"
The girl frowned "What are you talking about? That went extremely well. At least she knows your name now."
Elliot's eyes widened "Yeah, but she probably thinks I'm a nervous wreck. Don't throw me into the deep-end like that ever again, okay?"
The put her hands up in surrender "Okay."
The two walked away side by side changing the subject.
Aaliyah turned around the corner and she saw Jack standing by his locker and immediately caught eye contact with her. The girl put on a fake smile but internally she was freaking out.
She knew that the two were going to have a conversation about the New Year's party and she was hoping it wouldn't be today.
Jack walked over to Aaliyah with a confident smile "Hey, Lee. Haven't heard from you in a while. Is everything okay?"
Aaliyah nodded "Yeah, I'm sorry. I thought it would be better to talk in person rather than on the phone, you know?"
The boy quickly agreed "Yeah, totally. I just wanted to let you know that I had fun that night. Did you?"
Aaliyah looked down nervously "I did, really. I just wanted to tell you that I might need to give myself some more space if that's okay with you. I'm just in a place right now where being on my own is the best option for me."
Jack licked his lips "Umm, yeah, okay. I was kinda hoping I could take you out but, hey it's whatever. If you need me for anything, I'll be there, okay?"
Aaliyah gave Jack a hug and smiled genuinely "Thank you so much, Jack. I'm so happy you understand."
Jack watched the girl walk away and he sighed in frustration.
"Shit."