HUMBLE.

VII. Down

Jade

I've been ducking and dodging Eli for like a week. Dry ass speaking to Zion and Kenyon. I've been making curfew and everything. Taking a shower around the same time everybody else was just to avoid him. I never put this much effort in avoiding someone in all my life. I was running late on my shower tonight because of midterms and getting ready for Thanksgiving break. It was 12:19am and I snuck out of my room to head down to the showers.

I dodged Gina and made my way through the workout room spotting Eli lifting weights. "Shit!" I cursed myself. I should've waited until the morning. I managed to sneak past unnoticed and began my shower trying to quickly get it done so I could bounce.

"Jade?" I heard from behind me. I didn't answer I kept cleaning my body biting my lip. He sighed, "Don't be like that, man. What's really the issue?"

I shook my head trying to find my voice. I inhaled to speak, but no words came out. "Shit," I hissed at myself. Oh shit, there goes my voice.

"Nothin'" I answered. I knew and he knew I was lyin'.

He sighed hard, "I'm sorry for puttin' you out on front street about how you could sing. I didn't know you were that secretive about it. I'm not used to it."

Low-key I could understand where he was comin' from on that. He's not used to shy people. I just thought that since I never told him who I was he would get the hint.

"You good. I overreacted," I shrugged to myself and turned off the shower. When I did that, I realized it was dead silence. He wasn't showering. He was just wanting to talk to me?

I quickly dressed myself and wanted to do a full sprint back to my room. I knew I wouldn't get far seeing that this man runs for a living as a running back. I walked with my head low until I bumped into something that I knew wasn't supposed to be there.

Eli lifted my chin and smiled in my face. Damn this boy was fine. I never looked at him in that way since I knew his situation with Fallon, but fuck her. She gotta man. He deserves better than that hoe.

"For real, I apologize for that. I should've came to you privately once I figured it out," he smiled.

I couldn't help to smile back. His was just that contagious. "I said you good too, Eli. Goodnight," I tried walking away. He held on to my arm until we ended up locking fingers. I instantly blushed. We didn't say a word as we walked out of the gym and through the halls.

Pulling him behind me, we made our way back to my room. I realized I left my key trying to sneak out, so I knocked. Sapphire peeked through the door before opening.

She had her hands on her hips, "What's the smile?"

I shrugged and tilted my head sideways so she could see her brother still behind me. "Well OK," she smirked and slammed the door in my face. This bitch.

"Sapphire really?" I groaned.

"The only way to get in is if you sing, bihh. Let these people know who H-Tahn is," she yelled behind the door.

"It's one in the morning, Fire. Open the damn door before Gina come this way," Eli came up beside me.

"Get to singin' Jade! I'm not lettin' you in!" She yelled.

"Childish," both of us said in sync. He looked at me and smirked.

"Looks like I'm sleepin' in the hallway tonight," I slid down the wall to the floor. This was not the first time Sapphire has done this and I'm sure it won't be the last.

He sat across from me, "All we gotta do is sing one song."

I groaned, "I don't want to. I wanna give my pillow the best head ever and get ready to go home and see my sister."

"One last song. Then you don't have to sing anymore. We can go back to how it was before we met up in the showers," Eli shrugged. If he was really trying to make me feel better about this, he was wrong. Who ever said I wanted to stop singing with him?

"Whatchu wanna sing?" I sighed. I honestly wasn't in the mood to really sing.

Elias

"I been checkin' out Kehlani. I like that joint wit her and BJ the Chicago Kid," I shrugged.

"Down for You?" she raised a brow with a widening smile spreading across her face.

I nodded, "You her; I'm him."

She hummed the opening tapping her foot to find the beat while her eyes were shut tight not wanting to look at me.

"Best friends and lovers
Can't seem to draw the line between each other
What is defined means nothing to a brother
You just don't give a damn, that's why I think I love ya
It's not fair, how easy I melt when you play with my hair
I ain't going nowhere, it's not right
I can't sleep without you anymore at night time
Not in this lifetime," people were starting to come out of their rooms to see what was going on. We were pretty much waking up the whole building singing at one in the morning.

"Love ain't never been so close, but so far away
Like your mind is telling you to just back off
And your heart says just stay
What's a love that doesn't keep you up all night and all day
If it's not too late, yeah you realise it one day
We can go to the movies boy, maybe we could hang out boy
Whatever you wanna do, cause I'm down for it
I'm down for you," she opened her eyes and gasped looking at everybody watching her sing. I grabbed her hands and made her look at me while I sing.

"One day we're lovers, next day we're friends
Don't know where it begins or it ends
But let me tell you one thing going through a nigga's head
Most niggas just scared
It feels too good to be true
Every time I'm with you
I'm ignoring what I'm next to," she smiled at me and I could see her confidence come back.

"Cause love ain't never been so close, but so far away
It's like my mind is telling me to just back off
And my heart says just stay
Tell me what's a love that doesn't keep you up all night and all day
And if it's not too late, maybe I realize it one day
We can go to the movies girl, maybe we could hang out girl
Whatever you wanna do, cause I'm down for it
I'm down for you"

"Babe I'm down for you
(Are you down for me)
I'm down for you
I'm down for you

She kept lookin' in my eyes as we caught onto one another's pitch to harmonize, "Love ain't never been so close, but so far away
Like your mind is telling you to just back off
And your heart says just stay
What's a love that doesn't keep you up all night and all day
If it's not too late, yeah you realise it one day
We can go to the movies boy (girl), maybe we could hang out boy (girl)
Whatever you wanna do, cause I'm down for it
I'm down for you"

"And when I'm ready baby
Maybe it won't be too late, maybe it will
Maybe one day you find some guy
That won't treat you like I will
Better choose up, better hurry up
Time keeps ticking, but you're my lover."

We ended the song and I nodded at how shy she was. She covered her freckled cheeks that were about as red as my basketball shorts. It was cute as hell.

"Baby!" Sapphire got on the floor with Jade huggin' on her. "I knew you could do it."

She giggled still not findin' words to come out. It was cute. I wanted to stay to talk to her, but I really needed to get to bed before these finals kick my ass. I got to my door and was tapped on the shoulder.

"So you wit the quiet church mouse?" Dorian asked me.

I laughed to myself and faced him, "Don't concern you if I am."

He rubbed at his chin, "Ask her how my son doin'." With that, he walked away to wherever he was goin' wasn't to his room which was all the way in the senior dorms.

His son? She got a child with this clown? I made my way to my bed and Zion was nowhere to be found. Sapphire set us up. I lied in my bed looking up at the ceiling. I know Jade don't have no son with dude, he look like the type to lie on his dick just to get a rise out of me. Then again, why am I thinking about it this hard? Not like we're together or anything.