𝔹𝕖𝕤𝕥 𝕗𝕠𝕣 𝕐𝕠𝕦//_[𝐁𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐂𝐡𝐚𝐧]

23: ᴛʜᴇ ᴘᴀʀᴛʏ ᴘᴛ 1

Please vote and comment. 
Slang:
Jonsa: Beggar (joon-sah)

Long chapter.

______________________________________________________________
Leon:
Ine coming tonight. 9:04a.m.

Raine:
They say they were opening the foodstores today! Could you get some stuff for tonight? 9:46a.m.
______________________________________________________________

That's the first thing Althea sees as she checks her phone. Of course there's a message from her father that she responds to but those two took center stage. She chose to message Leon first since she was worried about him to which he responded he had a headache. Was it COVID? Did she need to quarantine? 

But all he says is that he overworked himself in the gym. After that, Althea felt...relieved. 

But is it because he's not sick? Or....because he's not coming?

Judging how her heart felt lighter upon seeing the message automatically points to the latter and she feels bitter. When did it get like this? When did they get back to this point in their relationship? She was so sure they were past this era. 

~*~

"Fatass..."

She attended a predominantly White school. The tuition was high and most of the students had wealthy families who were foreigners that moved here. At the time her color and body type was considered foreign to them in the early grades. Where she was dark-skinned and hefty, other girls were bright and thin. She was different than what they were used to and was bullied because of it. 

"Leave her bey!" A young Leon shouts. 

She was being cornered by a group of kids who always picked on her weight. Leon was short and skinny at that time but he still stood in front of her with a defiant look.

"What's a lil bitch nigga like you gonna do if we don't?" A tall boy taunts.  

"I-I'll..."

Althea could only watch horrified as the kids jumped Leon. Kicking his ribs, bruising his face and hurting him while she was forced to bear witness from the other kids subduing her. Each time she'd ask him why he intervened knowing the result but he always said:

"Cus I care bout you. Youse my friend." 

But she knew it was more than that. 

Leon wasn't special. He was small and thin, his grades were below average and he didn't excel in anything. His parents often stated he wouldn't amount to much and made comparisons to others.

"Why youne studying? Ya ass finna be a jonsa with these grades! Looka Brian! He has a 3.7 GPA!"

"Can't you be good at anything? Looka Jamal! He's captain of the Basketball team!"

"Stop playing games! This all you good for?!"

She heard those words at progress report and could only imagine how he was treated at home. She understood family giving you a hard time since Lucas always teased her about her muffin top and jiggly arms. 

She could see how Leon's self-confidence took a hit. So she knew that jumping in to protect her wasn't only because he cared, but also for him to have something. For him to feel worthwhile when he already felt useless. She'd always encourage him and he always appreciated her kind words. He was grateful to her and she knew that.