𝚙𝚕𝚎𝚊𝚜𝚎 𝚍𝚘𝚗'𝚝 𝚐𝚘 𝚐𝚒𝚛𝚕 // 𝚓𝚘𝚎𝚢 𝚖𝚌𝚒𝚗𝚝𝚢𝚛𝚎

i. ws to cm, 1989

Catholic Memorial School, 1989.

“Thank you for coming with me; I promised my brother that I would see him after we got to Roxbury Latin School,” Jessica said as the car came to a stop in front of CM.

“It's fine,” Evan murmured, chuckling, “since you didn't even give us a choice, Jess.”

Or perhaps you simply can't say no to her. Kidding! Kayanna reflected on her friends' conversation and mentally chuckled.

“That's true, babe.” Jessica laughed and stepped out of the car as her driver opened the door for the three of them.

Evan and Jessica are friends Kayanna met at two different schools when they were all freshmen: Jessica at Winsor School may come from a wealthy family, but she's a nice person; they met at a drama club audition. Evan at Latin School, like Kayanna, can only attend because of scholarships; they met in the writing club and became friends. And the rest is history; they are now seniors, looking forward to their future.

“Are we having lunch with Jesse's teammates again?” Evan asked quietly to Kayanna as they stood in front of one of the school's buildings, Jessica standing far away, looking excited.

After their activity at RLS, they went straight to CM to pick up Jesse, Jessica's older brother, so they could all have lunch together with his basketball teammates, especially Aaron, Jessica's boyfriend, which is why she's overjoyed. It's the only reason they're at CM instead of their favorite diner in Roxbury.

This is also McIntyre's school, though.

“Yep, looks like it… Don't worry, it'll be fun, hopefully, except for the flirtatious parts of the lunch conversation.” Kayanna shrugged, mentally shaking her head at the thought of that person, then looked around the school until she heard her friend yell.

“Jesse! Aaron! Here!” Jessica exclaimed as her brother and his teammates exited the building, but she was more excited to see his boyfriend.

“Say hello to your crush,” Evan said quietly, then mockingly added, “Isn't that your crush, Kay?”

“How many times do I have to tell you that I don't have a crush on that man?” She sighed deeply, annoyed not with him but with the fact that her friends believe she likes Jessica's brother, which is not true.

“Chill girl,” he whistled, tipped his chin and pointed to the building. “I was referring to the man who just walked out of the building, Miss Kayanna Knight.”

Perplexed, she looked up at him, and his gaze shifted from the building to her, then back to the building, prompting her to look in the same direction he was. Curiosity drove her to look in that direction, and boy did she wish she hadn't because her eyes met the gaze of one and only Joe McIntyre, the youngest member of NKOTB, who made it his mission to always get on her nerves and compete against her in every arcade game they played since the time they met.

What is he doing here? Isn't he supposed to be with her sister and mother in Kansas?

“Joseph!” exclaimed Evan.

When Joe grinned and waved, she quickly averted her gaze, then turned her head in disbelief to her friend. “Are you serious?”