THE RAVENS

twenty four

- aliyah -

The next day at school, I walked past Xavier in the halls. His head was down and his demeanour was nothing but emotionless. I found it rather annoying. He had this continuous attitude of impassiveness and being distant, and I just wanted him to stop. I wanted to him to know that I can trust him and he can trust me.

"Xavier, " I state as I grab his arm, his eyes locked with mine and soon everyone that walked by began to murmur and whisper,

"She came back to school? I thought she died or something."

"Who cares? She's kinda hot."

"Tyler, your such a perv! And Xavier is the hot one!"

Xavier sighed, his fists clenched as his eyebrows furrowed, he was annoyed and frustrated, he didn't want to keep up with everyone else's bullshit right now.

Soon, Xavier grabbed my hand, holding it tightly but not to tight that it hurt. His quick actions startled me as we walked out the doors of Vixton High.
Xavier then released his hand from mine and then lit a cigarette as he stood against the brick wall, exhaling smoke.

He looked super attractive right now, but I shouldn't be thinking of that. I should be thinking about the messed up Father he has. And I mean really messed up.

"So...what do you need to talk about now?" Hs asked, as he exhaled smoke.

"Its about Axel---"

"Didn't I tell you to stay away from him? He's not a good guy, Aliyah--"

"Xavier, just listen to me!" I yelled, Xavier sighed as he ran his hand through his hair, he then threw his cigarette on the floor before stepping on it.

"Okay, Jones. What did he tell you?"

"Its about your Dad and my Dad."

____________

It was last period, English.

I jotted down some last notes for our essay about Martin Luther King Jr. until the bell rang.

As I picked up my books I glanced up in front of me and saw Jessica standing along with her posse. They walked towards me in an orderly fashion, their hair all in curls and their outfits all basic but cute. Not going to lie, Jessica was gorgeous but her attitude and personality wasn't.

That's why I kept my distance.

But in her little posse, I didn't see Cassidy anywhere, knowing that she was pregnant, I assumed that she was being homeschooled until she's due.

"Hey, Jessica. You need anything?" I asked as I held my books in my arms, a fake smile plastered on my face to match my voice.

Because this girl needs a taste of her own medicine.

Jessica lightly chuckled, her eyes staring down at mine,

"I've been needing to talk to you alone, Aliyah." Jessica states before she tells her friends that they should go.
As all of her friends walk away and it's just me and Jessica, she pulls my arm outside to the hallway and sighs,

"I know you know that Cassidy is pregnant." She bluntly states. Her eyes filled with no emotion. As if she's been talking about the topic of the conversation so much that she's just tired of it.

"Yeah, I know. How is she doing, anyway?" I asked.

"She's fine, but listen, you cannot going around telling everyone that Cassidy is pregnant. She's my best friend and if she's known as a slut or a whore or any other promiscuous word that anyone could ever say, it'll ruin my reputation." Jessica says, her eyes dead serious.