Sensibilities | Deetranada AU

hindrance

A Few Days Later

Dee and Key near the school and its packed courtyard. She tenses, slowing down, Key's rambling turning into a fog. He continues walking, unaware of her lagging behind. 'Dee!', a voice yells. She snaps out of it, forcing a smile for Latto, Peach and Mani. 'Hey', she starts. 'What y'all doing out here?' 'Been waiting on y'all slow walking asses,' she jokes back. They laugh, starting toward the crowded courtyard.

As they reach the outskirts, Nova joins them, his normally unrelenting stare replaced with a softer one. 'Hey Dee', he says with a smile. 'Hey', she offers, looking away. Dude up to something.

The crowd starts to funnel into the building and she takes a deep breath, pushes and shoves coming from behind her. She starts to panic, looking for Key and not finding him. She feels a taller presence move behind her, taking the brunt of the overeager students. She doesn't turn to look at him, his cologne giving him away. Mmhhm, he smells sooo good--no stop Dee.

They finally enter the building, the others waiting for her and Nova. She mumbles thanks and tries to get away. 'Anytime', he says, a smile forming again. They form a mass in the middle of the hallway, multiple conversations happening at once. In the middle of Peach's story, she hears snickering just out of earshot. She cuts her eyes and sees a group of boys making it obvious that she's the topic of discussion. She tries to tune them out, ignoring their loud laughter followed by whispers.

'Do it, do it',  one says loudly. She grits her teeth, balling her fists as she hears his excited footsteps approach her. She feels a brush on her shoulder. Just ignore it. She turns around anyway. 'What?', she says, her brows furrowed. The boy chuckles before starting. 'Aye man chill, just wanted to know like, do you gotta dick too or just a dick?' She takes a deep breath, trying to calm herself down. 'Cause like, if it's both, I'm tryna see, pause.' She opens her mouth to verbally assault him but someone beats her to it.

'Watch your fucking mouth', Nova yells, stepping between her and the boy. 'I'on't need you to-' she's cut off. 'Chill man, we just tryna get a peek too. Don't be stingy', the boy replies. His friends laugh hysterically. 'Bitch!' Dee yells. She tries to sidestep Nova but Mani and JI pull her back, holding her against the wall. A small crowd starts to form and conversations die down quickly.

'Say it again and I'll let her beat the dog shit out of you', Nova says, his eyes fiery and jawline set. The boy laughs but quickly stops when Nova gets in his face, towering over him by at least a foot. He tosses his bag to the side, the crowd splitting to avoid getting hit. 'Or I'll handle it for both of us.' The boy's eyes flicker with fear for a second. He chuckles nervously, 'Take a joke man'. He quickly walks away, his friends already paces away.

Dee stares at Nova, finally starting to calm down. What the hell just happened. When he picks up his bag and turns to her, his face still hardened, she speaks. 'You ain't have to do that'. 'Ain't nobody messing with you, except me.' He smiles, she doesn't. 'Are you serious?' She replies, storming away.

He turns to his friends, confused. JI shrugs, just as confused as he is. The girls shake their head, clearly disappointed. 'You better go apologize to that girl 'fore I bust you open', Latto exclaims. He doesn't move, opening his mouth to protest. 'Now fool!', she says, pushing him in her direction.

He approaches her quickly. 'Hey, can we talk?' She rolls her eyes, stopping in the middle of the hallway.' 'About what man', she responds. 'Us'. 'Ain't no us', she says unconvincingly, her stony expression cracking slightly. 'Just come with me', and he starts off. She hesitates, looking back to see Latto and Peach motioning for her to follow him. She sighs, picking up the pace and following him.