Then & Now [OMB || Cesar Diaz]

then - 1

Layla walked around the convenience store, picking out snacks for her and Danna's sleepover. It was the weekend before starting high school, and they wanted to help each other prep as much as possible. Danna's older sister Daniela promised to give them advice about the do's and don't of high school and she was excited to learn from her cause Daniela was very pretty and popular at Freeridge High and she hoped to be the same. A little popularity wouldn't hurt anybody.

While grabbing Hot Cheetos for Danna, cause she knew they were her favorite, she looked over and saw a boy, about seventeen, eighteen, walk up to her. "What's up lil mama?" He told her.

Layla gave him a polite smile but definitely didn't want to be bothered by him. He was wearing a green shirt and had a green bandana tied around his ankle which could only mean one thing; Prophet. "Hi," She timidly responded before moving on. She hoped he'd get the message but instead, he followed closely behind her, making her more uncomfortable.

"You looking fine today? Say, me and my homeboys was gonna hit up a party later, you tryna come by?" He offers.

Layla's eyes widen at his invitation. "Um, no thank you," she shakes her head, grabbing some cookies. "I'm only fifteen anyways," she tells him.

"Damn, you fifteen?" He whistles, eyeing her up and down, making her increasingly uncomfortable. "I️ thought you was my age. It don't matter though, you could be my lil juvie."

"Don't you have baby mama to get back to Darnell?" A new voice said from behind her. Both her and Darnell look behind her to see and cute Hispanic guy about her age.

Wow....

"Mind ya business," Darnell hissed at him.

"Leave the girl alone before I️ text Angie what you're doing. And she won't like that you're flirting with girls younger than her while she's carrying your child," the boy accuses. Layla grimaces and moves away from Darnell, who looks embarrassed and enraged.

"Man fuck you Cesar," He angrily pushes past Cesar while he quietly snickers to himself. "Fuck outta my fucking business man," he mutters as he walks out the store.

Cesar eyes Layla and smiles at her. "You alright?" He asks.

"I'm okay," Layla nodded, not sure how to handle being around a guy this cute. Sure, she's had her fair share of crushes, but he...was something special. Or that's what she thought at least. "Thank you, um..."

"Cesar," He helps her out, giving her that swoon-worthy smile again.

"Cesar," she repeats, smiling back at him. He liked the way her name rolled off her tongue. "I'm Layla," she introduced.

"Pretty name for an even prettier girl," he compliments, making her blush slightly. "You from around here?" He wonders.

She shakes her head. "No, I'm just visiting my friend Danna. I️ live on Clearview," she tells him, making him slightly frown. "What?" She asked.

Cesar shook his head. "Nothing, it's just...that's Prophet territory," he notes. "You going to Freeridge High?" He moves on to his next question.

"I️ am," she tells him. "You?"

"Yeah," he nods. "Looks like we'll be seeing each other then," he tells her. "Can I️ have your number?" He asks, surprising her.

"Really?" She says.

"Oh...was that weird?" He asked, withdrawing a bit. "Sorry, I'll-"

"No, you can have it," she quickly pulls out her phone and hands it to him. He hands her his phone and she saved her number under her name. "I️ was just surprised you wanted my number," she tells him as she hands his phone back to him.

"Is it that hard to believe I️ wanted a cute girl's number?" He charmingly laughs off, making her blush.

"I️ guess not," she shrugged off. Her phone chimes in her hand and she looks down at it to see Danna texting her. "I️ gotta go. My friend's waiting on her Hot Cheetos," she excuses herself.

"See you at school?" Cesar calls out from behind her.

Layla looks back at him as she places her items on the counter. "Text me," she smiles at him before turning back around to pay for her stuff.