Heaven.

THIRTY-FIVE

School had finally let out and my brain felt like mashed potatoes after sitting through back-to-back lectures. I was ready to see the vibes with the crew, especially since Jasmine was coming along. I've never hung out with her so this my first time, as well as my friends. I believe everyone deserves fresh starts and this a perfect way to see if you're really messy or just a chill girl.

Zianna had texted the group chat about hanging out after school and almost everyone was down. Myles claimed he was busy yesterday, but now here he was suddenly free. All niggas do is lie, it's sickening.

My mom dropped me and Zi off to the wing place, I really think this could be our new hangout spot. The vibes were there and you can tell they were getting ready to keep adding new stuff. Okayyyyy check them out.

We walked in and saw Jasmine blankly staring at her phone, shawty def got RBF but when she's talking to you, it's definitely a different vibe. "Heyyy, dang you lowkey beat us here." I said  sliding into a seat with Zianna following close behind. 

"Y'all said 4:30, so here I am boo!" Jasmine said, cracking a smile. "Punctual queen I respect it," Zi chimed in digging through her bag for her lip gloss. A few minutes later Quincy strolled in, wearing his usual chill-but-fresh fit. He gave a quick dap to Myles, who had just walked in behind him. Myles immediately started on his antics grabbing one of Jasmine's fries like he owned them.

"Uh hello? Did I invite you to my plate?" Jasmine shot him a look but there was a playful tone to her voice. "Nah but these look too good to pass up," Myles smirked as he popped the fry into his mouth. I side-eyed him but said nothing. I wasn't blind he was definitely feeling her. Jasmine for her part, didn't seem mad about it either.

The vibe started settling in. Zianna was telling us about some wild TikTok drama, Myles and Jasmine were having a mini roast battle, and Quincy was scrolling through the menu, pretending he wasn't going to get the same thing as last time. About twenty minutes later, Lia finally walked in, looking a little frazzled but smiling when she saw us.

"Sorry y'all. Mom life is no joke," she said sliding into the seat next to Quincy. "Girl it's fine. We saved you a spot," I said giving her a quick side hug. As the night went on, the laughter got louder, the jokes got bolder, and once again the vibes were immaculate even with being Jasmine.

Just as we were finishing up eating, Jasmine peeps the door open and rolls her eyes. I turn around being the only one who caught her and notice Maya walk alone, she doesn't have friends so she walked in alone obviously.

She glances at my table but walks up to the front placing an order. The group notices her at the counter and Myles mutters "You gotta be kidding..." while Zi just stares with a straight face and then looks away aggravated. Q is shaking his head slightly and Lia just looks confused like we gatekept the place from her. 

Well... that was nice while it lasted I guess. Maya pays for her food and moves to the pick-up area, but her eyes linger on our group just a little too long. It's enough to make Jasmine roll her eyes again, this time not bothering to hide it.

"Y'all really acting like we gatekept the wings from her huh?" Lia whispers finally breaking the awkward silence. "It's not about wings," Zianna mutters taking a sip of her drink. "It's about her showing up here of all places. Coincidence? Doubt it." Zi's got a point lowkey.

I shift in my seat trying to figure out if I should say something to diffuse the situation or just let it play out. Maya's presence alone seems to be enough to send Jasmine into overdrive but I don't know if it's worth stirring the pot when things were finally feeling normal for once. Maya grabs her food, glances back one last time, and then heads for the door without saying a word. The tension lingers even after she's gone, like a cloud we can't shake off.

"Zi literally took the words out of my mouth. That's just a crazy coincidence.." Jasmine says bothered. "Well on the bright side she didn't say anything to us. She got her food and dipped." I say enlightening the mood. "Yeah but she was staring." Myles points out while Zi shakes her head in agreeing. 

"Okay but what Heaven is saying is that she didn't. So let's just go back to having fun." Lia backs me up. "Yeah brush it off." Quincy states while eating a fry. Thank y'all for having my back.

Everyone else eventually brushed it off and continued talking. As the conversation picked back up, I couldn't help but wonder was Maya really just here for wings or was there something else going on? Either way, I had a feeling this wasn't the last time she'd cross paths with us.