Let Me Be The One // Benny Rodriguez // COMPLETED

Chapter #6 // Besties

Opal's POV

It's about a month or two into the school year and honestly, it's terrible. People are treating me like crap just because I'm with Benny. Like, go pick on someone else man!

Besides, he's had the option of choosing you since he started school but did he? Nope! So get lost and stop breathing the same air as my baby, please and thank you.

We're sitting at my dining room table when Rebel walks in.

"Alright Rodriguez, listen up!" Is what we're greeted to, followed by the door closing rather loudly.

"Well yes ma'am." Benny says, putting his drink down.

"Not all relationships last forever. And as much as it breaks MY heart to say this, you and Opal will break up at least once, and I think we all know it. But I will chop your balls off if you hurt her, got it?" Rebel's about to preach. Get comfortable.

"Yes-" she cuts him off.

"Shut up I wasn't done."

"Fine fine." Benny leans back in his chair.

"But WHILE you are broken up, if you decide to go and pick up some little hoe, you better BLEACH yo dang-a-lang before it goes ANYWHERE near Opal, do you understand me?"

Whatever remains of Benny's drink that was in his mouth at the moment, probably just came out his nose. I was laughing my butt off but Benny's over there gasping for air.

It's honestly sad 😂

"Answer me!" Rebel pointed her finger at him.

"Okay, yes, I hear you." He manages to say while catching his breath.

I honestly thought it was a good way to start off the school day. Laughter. It puts us all in a good mood.

"Hey, can I chill here today? I'm skipping." Rebel asks.

"Sorry, Mom and Timmy will be here." I say, putting my Dunkin Donuts trash in the trash can.

"Ah dang it." She mumbles.

"Why are you skipping?" I ask.

"School is stupid. I'd rather be doing ANYTHING than going to school."

"Even YeahYeah?" Benny smirks. I honestly thought he was all goody goody.

The slightest tint of blush brushes against Rebel's cheeks, and for a split second, you could see a smile.

At that moment, Phillips and Jolie enter the house.

"Ready?" They ask.

Benny and I nod, get our stuff, and say our goodbyes to Rebel.

On the way to school, I could sense something. About Jolie. I look over and she's hugging her chest, holding her workbook close to her. I whisper to Benny that I'm gonna talk to her, and him and Phillips speed up.

"Hey, what's wrong?" I ask.

She looks at me, smiling and biting her lower lip.

"Everyone calls him by his last name, but he told me his first name." She smiled.

Phillips doesn't tell ANYBODY his first name. Jolie must be special. He's told me before he doesn't mind people knowing, but he's used to Phillips since it's what Benny called him during their feud.

"What is ittttt?" I beg.

"Jonah." She smiled, a little bigger than before.

"Jonah Phillips." I repeated.

A/N - If he has a specific first name, I've never heard it.

She seemed to melt at the sound of his name. And honestly, it kinda rolled off my tongue with ease.

"And he has an older brother named Jonas." She continued. "He's super sweet."

"Jonas and Jonah. That must've been planned." I laughed.

"He said that even if he'd been a girl, his parents still would've named him Jonah." She smiled, and each time, it seemed to get bigger.

"That's neat," I smiled, "but why are you so happy?" I playfully gasped. "Did you-!" She cuts me off.

"No! We did not do that. And we won't. He's saving himself. And that's good, because as much as I want to, my parents would kill me."

I smirked.

"You basically just admitted you wanted to have-" she put her hand over my mouth as fast as she could.

"Shushhhh!" She whisper-shouted. I laughed lightly, and nodded.

Benny's POV

I don't know what the girls are talking about behind me, but every time I hear her laugh... my heart melts.

"So..." I hear Phillips say. I turn my head and look at him.

"I know we agreed not to talk about it, but I'm holding it all on my shoulders. I really just wanna get it off." He says. And I know what he's talking about, too.

"Go ahead." I say, looking back ahead of me.

"I'm sorry, Benny, I really am, I didn't know how much it would hurt you and your family..."

Phillips' uncle had been the one to smuggle the drugs into Dad's bag.

"The damage has been done, Phillips. I'm your friend, we're good, but I really don't like talking about it." I say.

"I just want you to know you can trust me... and I doubt you will, but you can call me Jonah." He says.

He's never told anybody his first name. Only people he really trusts and cares about. Now I feel bad for treating him like crap, seeing how much he cares about me, and knows how bad I was hurt.

I go to say something, but I hesitate. Phillips and I were close as kids, and when his uncle did that... I kinda pushed him away. And I feel bad... honestly, I do.

"Would you like to go with us to get him next month." I look at him. I feel so bad, I need to make him see I'm not mad at him anymore. He apologizes so much, for something that he couldn't control, and I pushed him out of my life like I'd just caught him cheating on me.

No I'm not gay, it was a figure of speech.

He looks at me, smiles slightly, and nods.

"I'd like that."