In Love With Deceit

1 x Juli x Fall From Grace

"I'm just saying. It could be good for us." Mercy says shuffling through the things in her locker.

"No way. There is no way I'm getting outed as being a hoe. That's literally all that's gonna happen." I respond while putting my books away.

"Naw. I promise you. It's gonna be low-key. I swear," Mercy whines while fixing her hair in her locker mirror.

"That actually sounds so sketchy. And you know that we don't need to be having no babies." I assert before shutting my locker to face her.

You see, my name is Juli Willows (pronounced like the month), and I am considered a good girl at my school. I've only slept with one guy, and despite my non-virgin status, people still looked at me as if I had some dignity. People didn't have the insight to my business and I wanted to keep it that way.

My half-sister Mercy on the other hand, doesn't seem to agree. With our father being our connecting role, and she being raised with him, and her three brothers, her view on sex and relationships is a bit different than mine. Because she was daddy's baby girl (I'm older by a couple of weeks), everyone knows that she's untouchable. Metaphorically anyway. Her body count, which is how many people she's slept with, is completely unknown to me. But that's something I'm completely okay with. We may be sisters, but we don't need to share everything.

"Would you rather I go with Jessica?" She threatened.

This caused me to roll my eyes and huff. She knew that Jessica was my break-even point because the girl always irked my last nerve. She, along with her little pack-rat friends, have been my sworn mortal enemies since the fourth grade. Now that we've grown up, and they've shown out, things between me and those girls have become even worse.

"You know that I would die if you ever really associated with those girls," I retorted and made eye contact with her.

"Then come with me. It's a double date. Hakeem is really fun and you know he's the cutest guy on the football team," Mercy teased.

The mention of one of the cutest guys in school caused me to go red in the cheeks and look down and rub my shoe into the ground. Despite my worry about being known as a 'get around girl' Hakeem Winston was the guy to make it so. But his smile has always given me butterflies, and I've been dreaming about going on a date with him for as long as I can remember. Meeting her eyes, I stuck out my pinky for a promise.

"As long as you let me wear that cute skirt your mom bought you, I'm in," I say, which causes Mercy to squeal and shower me with appreciation.

"Thank you so much Juli. I swear you won't regret it. And for sure you can wear that skirt. You can have anything out of my closet for the next month," Mercy says before throwing her arms around me, "You're the best sister ever."

Inwardly, I sigh. Deep down, I know that messing with Hakeem isn't a good idea. From the stories I've heard, he's known as a heartbreaker. I don't want to be next in line. However, I'd rather swallow my pride and risk my reputation than let my sister be taken advantage of. I manage to hug her back.

Suddenly, Mercy pulled back and instantly began smoothing out her outfit with a worried expression on her face as she looked past me. I furred by eyebrows and began to turn around to see what had spooked her when she forcefully grabbed me by the shoulders to keep me facing her.

"Don't look!" She screeched.

I scrunched my face, "Why not?"

"Cause Justin and Hakeem are coming down the hallway towards us right now." She fretted.

Immediately, my eyes widened in fear. Glancing down at my beat-up sneakers, I bite my lip and adjust the shoulder strap of my backpack. Turning to lean against the rugged row of lockers to facing the ever-moving crowd in the hallway. In the short distance, I could hear their deep voices ring out. High-fiving the guys worthy enough, flashing their swoon-inducing grins at every girl in their view. It made me nervous, and my body's response was to sweat. Placing my palms flat on the lockers, I attempt to cool my body down.