AKA

1.

It's the 2nd week of summer and tonight there's a party. Specifically an "aka" party. This is the day where we all come together. Anyone within like 3 hours of this area (who is apart of an aka group) will be there. This will be my fifth year so I will know pretty much everyone. Sometimes there are new faces, but most of the time it's the same groups. I mean...nothing has changed for us, I was the last one to join, and it's been the 6 of us ever since we graduated a year ago.

It's currently 11 pm and I was sitting in my car waiting for Vee to come out of her house. My music was quite loud and I was focusing on loading my vape with cbd oil.

The passenger door opened and Vee plopped into the seat. "Luci Luci!" She said holding her hands out to grab the items in my hand. I handed them to her and put the car in drive.

"Vee." I said rolling the windows down slightly.

"I'm loud?" she asked smelling the collar of her shirt, I could definitely tell she had just smoked. I smiled slightly tapping my hand on my left leg that was folded in my seat.

"Just a lil.." I glanced at her from the corner of my eye. She was taking a drag from my vape.

Smoke filled the air as she spoke, "...Mars?" She had a slight smirk on her face.

I shook my head slightly, "No..Adonis?"

Her face screwed up, "Nope."

I laughed over the music, "Exactly!"

After some time we pulled up at Skinny's house, I felt slightly awkward.

"It's fine Lu, it happens all the time." Vee was giving me a comforting look. I shook my head and looked foward out of the windshield. I heard the back door open and shut, and I watched Skinny lay down across the back row.

"Skins." Vee breathed out putting her hand behind my seat.

"Vendetta." Skinny gave her hand a slap. I didn't say anything, I just began to drive.

We had been driving for a while and I, still, had yet to speak. All of a sudden, Skinny reached foward and paused the music. While resting her head on my seat she grabbed a strand of my hair. "Stop being distant Luci Lu.." 

I just continued driving. "I'm not." I tapped my finger on the steering wheel.

"You are." Vee said while leaning toward my seat.

"You'd only be acting like this if you want to do it again..which isn't a problem.." Skinny had a soft tone as if she didn't want to offend me.

I glanced at her slightly. "No it's just weird..is it not?" I looked toward the both of them quickly.

"You were under the influence!" Vee said in a matter of factly tone. Letting out a deep breath, I tried to release some of the tension in my muscles. "Besides, it was fun." Skinny then kissed her fingers and put it on my cheek. I smiled to myself as the music began to play again.

We had finally arrived and we were sitting in the car smoking. I looked around at the people in the area and saw a few familiar faces, Just not the ones I was looking for. Suddenly there was a knock on the passenger window. Standing there was Shank, Mars and Adonis. I took the key out of the ignition and put them into my cross body bag along with my phone, vape, Juul and pills. The pills weren't drugs..they were for something else.

I grabbed my black jacket as well. The three of us hopped out of the car and I made sure to lock the doors before closing mine. I stepped around the front of the car while sliding my jacket around my body, adjusting my chains after. I gave the three of them a nod, my eyes lingering on Mars a little longer, He stared down at me with a cigarette hanging from his lips. I knew he was tall but at night he always looks taller.

Before I knew it Shanks arm was around me. He was like a big brother to me so I didn't mind. He ruffled my hair slightly "I got a new board yesterday!" he said pulling out his phone.

I waited to respond because I knew he was searching for a picture. "That shit's sick bro!" I said with a genuine grin across my lips. Shank and I bonded over the fact that we both liked to skate from the first day we met. It's always been this way. As we were walking, we held a conversation as a group until we finally got to the warehouse like building. Although Mars never spoke.

We could hear music coming from inside and you could smell every kind of smoke in the air. Being here never gets old. There was a skate section, an area with couches, a general area just to stand around or dance and a bar to eat or drink. I could tell a few people were already high, but it was just getting started. I made my way to the couch area with Vee and Skinny.  They sat on the ends so I had no choice but to sit in the middle. The area was occupied with people on every couch and some on the floor.

"Look who it is!!" a voice yelled. Looking up I identified where it was coming from. It was Viper, That was his nickname because he had green eyes and snake bite piercings. "It's Charlie's angels, or maybe I should say Mars!" We all laughed at his remark that he said pretty often because of the fact that my name was Luci and it was 3 of us.

Another guy named Spike added a comment, "No seriously, why is your name Luci?" Everyone has a backstory to their name but I really didn't know mine, I didn't make it up. 

I opened my mouth slightly until Mars showed up out of nowhere. He was standing behind the couch, his hands lightly playing with my hair. "Because, she's the 6th member of our group, and she was born on the 6th day of the 6th month..So this is Lucifer aka Luci." I looked at him in shock. How did I not think of this.

"That's fucking sick man!" Viper said while pointing at Mars. A few other people spoke saying things like, "Best one yet." or "She's literally the devil." I laughed to myself.

"Why didn't you put that much thought into my name!" Vee said turning toward Mars.

"I made hers up in like a minute Vee, it took a whole day to think of yours." Her entire nickname was Vee for Vendetta, like the movie. This is because she used to frequently wear a mask and she was actually a master at the piano. I don't know why she doesn't play anymore.

Skinny (skins) nickname came from the fact that she was..skinny, and she had a lot of tattoos. I know Shanks is because he got stabbed, which is how he met Mars. Adonis is simply because he's so fucking handsome and he is desired by every girl. However, I don't know about Mars.

Mars spoke again, but he was now leaning with his elbows on the couch, His face close to mine. "And you put me through hell.." He trailed off. I stared back at him looking into his eyes. Is he serious? Is this a joke? Why isn't he laughing? So many thoughts went through my head.

He just kept staring, examining every detail of my face. I did the same, my eyes trailing down to his lips, they looked so soft and pink. Looking back up I could see that his eyes looked different, they weren't his usual tired eyes. I stared deeply but I couldn't figure out what It was. He let out a deep breath which snapped me back to reality so I put some distance between us.

He quickly put a cigarette between his lips and ran his fingers through his hair. Focusing on his hand instead of his eyes I noticed the black finger nail polish. I've painted them for him before. He grabbed the lighter out of his pocket, turned around and headed for the door.

I turned back to the group and surprisingly no one was paying attention, I looked to my side and noticed that Vee and Skinny were now on the floor next to my feet. leaning foward, I attempted to focus on the conversation being had.

As if to comfort me, Vee rested her arm on my leg. She leaned her head back on the couch looking up at me, "Okay?" she asked. I Gave her a nod and pulled one of the curls on her head. She scrunched up her nose and went back to her original position. Turning my head to Skinny she gave me a wink and I smiled.

I stared at nothing specific while everyone chatted. I couldn't help but think about him. I know I said nothing changed, but something has. It was Mars, but maybe it was me too. Either way, I was confused.

•••

How are we feeling? This structure may seem kind of confusing but trust me..It'll get better I promise!!

-SUSU