"You gonna call her or keep staring at her number every five seconds? It's getting weird." Grinning softly, Koi put his phone, face down, on the table
and looked to the side, his eyes narrowing at the little smart mouth next to him. His sister's eyes stayed downcast though, her fingers continuing to
piece together the shoebox diorama of Auschwitz concentration camp for her project on WWI and the Third Reich. Fucking smart ass.... Koi
called himself "helping her", but all that really meant was making sure someone was around to play the part of the caring, supervising, attentive
parent. And all he was doing was "watching"...well, that and cutting out pieces of the "completely way too complicated for a nine-year-old" diorama
for a project that he didn't even fully comprehend. The shit had a thesis. Really? Even if he couldn't handle it, he knew his sister could. Eri was a
damn genius...and she knew it...and King's Prep knew it, which was why she was in the AP program. Whirling Hurricanes or some shit. Hey, he didn't
need to know as he would never see an interest letter for an advanced placement program in his life. He didn't necessarily get the brains in the
family. The talent on the court? That was his...among other things...
"Hey, watch your mouth...little jerk." His arm went around her as she tried to push her self from him, giving up as he nuzzled her head. "And for your
damn information, I'm not staring. I'm checking the time...smart ass." Squeezing her tightly until she squealed, he let her go, laughing as she stuck
her tongue out at him, her attention quickly returning to her work. And as usual, Eri was kind of right. He was staring at his phone. And not at the
digital display of the time, which was passing too quickly for a Friday night. Shit was real quiet that night. And when it got quiet, he started
thinking...that was all. He was just thinking...about Devyn. Not anything serious, though. He just wondered where she was...what she was
doing. Why she hadn't gotten back to him about the weekend and them hanging out. That was it...
"Devyn's a pretty name." The hell? "You should text her...but that's just what I think." Eri's voice broke the silence that had settled quickly, her
eyes still not meeting his as he looked at her. But her lips curved into the smile that told him that she knew. She knew exactly what he was thinking.
She was his sister and even at nine, she knew him the best. Nothing could get past her...especially when her peripheral was all up in his damn
business, her eyes had OF COURSE scoped out the name of the contact that he'd pulled up on the screen of his phone five times in the past hour. But he
couldn't blame Eri for snooping, he'd been weird since he'd made up with Devyn.
"And you need to mind your business..." He said, bumping her with his elbow and causing her hand to knock over a piece of her project, her other hand
flying instinctively back at him as he dodged her, getting out of his chair and walking into the kitchen...his phone in his hands, fingers already
typing a message.
"...And that's why you just got took on the sticks, cuz. Don't act like you can see me in Call of Duty-," she laughed, her victory dance commencing as
she stood to her feet to gloat. Yes, her cousin had just been beat in his third deathmatch and after all the shit he'd talked, she didn't have any
problem rubbing it in. He was one of those that didn't believe in girl gamers and the more she thought about it the more she wished she'd have put
money on each of these games. Ha. He was salty. She sat back down beside him, her smile becoming a smirk. "So has the best two out of three
become a six out of ten?" She was ready to go again. This may not have been her ideal Friday night, but she couldn't deny the fun she was have with
her cousin. He smiled at her tossing the Playstation controller back into her lap.
"Pick 'em up. I haven't even warmed up yet-," he said, not bothering to look away from the 50-inch as he started up another game. She laughed again.
He wasn't warmed up? That was for damn sure. His game was garbage and if he'd drop the little manly man act she might teach him a thing or two without
embarrassing him in the process. But! he wasn't so she would proceed to whoop up on him again. She was about to start shit talking again when
her phone buzzed in her back pocket. Leaning up, she reached for it, pulling it from the pocket and reading the pop-up message on the face.
Well...what did she have here? She smiled seeing that the message was from Koi. Leaving him hanging? Not really. She just hadn't texted. That was on
him. He had invited her out this weekend, not the other way around and she was not about to play the desperate card and be the first to text him.
Besides, she was perfectly fine right here with Carter, handing him his ass in Call of Duty. "You cheesing real hard, Dev. Who you texting-," he
reached for the phone, trying to snatch it but moving too slow as Devyn made a small jump off of the couch.
"Go ahead and play a few practice rounds-," she said, ignoring his question. "You need them-," she finished, smirking as she walked out of his room
sending a quick reply to Koi.
Quote:
Never that kid. Wassup?
I'm taking my time.
I'm doing it right.
Self-Love. Self-Care. Selfish.
Koi was head deep in the fridge when his phone vibrated in the back pocket of his jeans, his face set in an annoyed frown from meeting an empty
fucking ice chest. Looked like Ipo, their family's housekeeper and the only reason why child services didn't stay calling their house, hadn't thought
to do a food run before she left for the evening. Not surprising though, as Koi was rarely in the house on a Friday night and Eri was usually at some
sleepover or posted up at her nanny's place. There was usually no one to buy for. But with Eri's project and Koi's unusually empty night, sustenance
would be needed and Koi's growling stomach was saying that it would be needed "soon". He'd order Cuban (Eri loved plantains) and they'd keep working
on the project and maybe watch a movie or something...something Pixar. That would fill up the rest of the night. Not like it was really "empty". There
was shit to do. There was always shit to do. Derrick had hit him up a couple of hours earlier, talking about some massive party at the skate park. Koi
had wanted to go, but he had...other things to do. Eri needed him and he didn't mind holding off his night and being with her. He would've stopped
time for that kid. That wasn't all, though. Eri wasn't the only reason. He kind of wanted his evening free just in case...he might have had something
to fill it? Okay, fuck being discrete. He was keeping it open for Devyn. He could admit that, though! He was standing by, giving her the chance to
finally pick up her phone and drop him a text...although she'd clearly told him to do just that the day they'd made up. And he still hadn't, waving at
her in the hallways during school hours, saying a couple of words and playing it "cool" while he played the cellphone waiting game the rest of the
time. And she'd clearly won that with his hurried text message. But the good thing was that she didn't hesitate to send one back...
Koi smiled softly as he entered his password on his phone and read her message. Never that. Yeah, she'd been holding out, just waiting on him
to drop the first line. Well-fuckin'-played. As he typed back, he heard his sister calling him from the dining room where they'd been working
on her project.
"Hold up, Eri..." He called back to her, his fingers still moving as he leaned against the refrigerator door, a little smirk on his lips.
Quote:
waitin' on you. thought you said you'd pencil me in, hips
It didn't take long for her to get a message back, making it to her bedroom as her phone vibrated in her hand with a new message. Why the hell did she
fucking smile every time she got a text from him? She probably should have been upset with him it'd been a couple days with no word from him, save for
a few friendly ones in the hallway. Never anything about his weekend plans and if he wasn't bringing it up, then she wasn't either. If he wanted her
attention he was going to have to work for it. She'd given it to him once before and that had ended badly, now Koi was on probation and he was only
rewarded for good behavior. Behavior he was exhibiting now that he'd finally texted her. Took him long enough though. She couldn't pretend she hadn't
made sure she had been near her phone for the last few days just in case he finally found the nerve to text.
She pushed her door up, picking up her laptop before making herself comfortable on top of her sheets, her body resting on her stomach as she finally
looked at her phone. Watin' on you. Good start. She felt her lips pull at the corners as her smile grew at his message. She had definitely
cleared her weekend for the sole purpose of getting a little time in with Koi. She actually had some party at a skate park or something that she'd
been invited to. She was skipping it in case something came up.
Quote:
I would have but I didn't have anything to pencil in. Someone didn't text me
I'm taking my time.
I'm doing it right.
Self-Love. Self-Care. Selfish.
Looked like Devyn was holding Koi good on his promise to hit her up when he finally made solid plans for the weekend. Well...that was new. The whole
"girl waiting HIM out" thing? That rarely happened...scratch that. That never happened. Any girl that he dropped his number and a promise to
hit up later usually didn't wait until later. Call it the power of the "D" or just his attraction to overly anxious females, but they always hit him
up first. A call, a text, a facebook message (they requested friendship first, not him), that's just how things went. "Went" being the operative word
in that statement as Devyn had just broken through all that shit. Then again, Devyn was different, so it shouldn't have been a surprise when she
operated outside of the norm. The entire situation was "out of the norm" for Koi, to begin with. Meeting some girl and wanting to punch her dead in
her fucking face, then wanting to smash her less than a day later and then...back to pissed as fuck at her again! Now they were throwing friendship in
the mix? Yeah, they'd be married by next week and divorced by next month, the rate they were going.
Laughing quietly at the stupidity of his own thoughts, he started to text her back...and then deleted it...and then started again. And then deleted
that shit. With a sigh, he lowered the phone and smirked at himself. Tongue-tied. Devyn had him tongue-tied as hell. What next? What the hell should
he say? Should he just go ahead and try to chill with her? Nah, he was with baby sis tonight. That was a no-go. But what if she was doing something
the next day and...yeaaaah. He was doing too fucking much. Chuckling quietly again, he bit his lip as he typed.
Quote:
what happened to taking initiative? lucky i was the bold one and went ahead and broke the silence
Yeah, he liked that. His words definitely made it seem less...anxious. Made him seem less ready to hear from her and more...curious as to what she was
up to on a Friday night. The way it should've been. Again, he entered text into the waiting text box and pressed send.
Quote:
what you gettin' into this weekend? i'm sure all of your other plans fell through. right?
Hell yeah she was holding him on his promise. All a man had was his word and if he couldn't keep that what kind of man was he really? Besides, she was
never one to make the first move. Ever. If he was interested, he would do what he'd said and text her; if he wasn't, fine. But after two days had gone
by without hearing from him, she was beginning to think that he thought it over and really didn't want to chill with her. She could understand that.
They hadn't exactly been "buddy-buddy" since they'd met but, after he apologized for his party, they had been pretty...friendly. They were
becoming friends and that was...that was alright she guessed. She liked him well enough and she saw no issue with getting to know him, in fact, maybe
she was even a little...excited to.
She took the time to open her laptop, pulling up her Twitter and her Facebook to check her vitals as she waited semi-patiently for him to respond. Why
was she so anxious? He was just a boy and they were just texting. She'd done this a million times before...But never with someone she fought, almost
fucked, and gave the silent treatment all in the span of a week. Never with Koi. He was different and she kind of didn't know how to feel about him.
She couldn't really describe what she was feeling...
Her thoughts paused as her phone vibrated again, signaling his response. She giggled,as she read the pop up. Lucky he was the bold one huh? He was
cute. Too cute, as she didn't know how to respond to that. Damn it! She looked away from the phone, her mind wandering as she tried to think up the
perfect response to his text...but it wouldn't come. She bit herlip her fingers hovering over the face of her phone as she willed them to type
something...anything! Ugh, this was taking too long. She needed to-oh! Her phone vibrated again, another pop up message covering the first. Her plans
fell through? Ha. No way she was telling him her schedule was clear.
Quote:
Okay Mr. "Bold One" lol. And why would you think my plans fell through? I'm actually pretty busy...I could probably fit you in somewhere though
She contemplated adding a wink to the end of it but decided against it. Hitting send before she could rethink it.
I'm taking my time.
I'm doing it right.
Self-Love. Self-Care. Selfish.
"Koi! You're gluing that in the wrong place!" With a heavy, exasperated sigh, Eri snatched the piece of whatever the fuck was in his hand out of it
and hovered over her shoebox like a mother lion protecting its young. It was that serious? Yeah, apparently it was...to Eri. She got crazy
scary about her school work, especially projects like the one they were working on together. The word "together" was a joke as everything Koi did or
moved became an assault on his fingers and another outburst from Eri. Even though it annoyed the shit out of him when she popped his fingers with pens
and fussed about crap that he could've cared less about, he couldn't help but love the little scamp...and her massive ass brain. Even as he mouthed
"what the fuck" and smirked at her, picking up one of her colored pencils from the table and spinning it between his fingers.
"I heard that..." Eri muttered, her face two inches from her project. After what seemed like forever, his cellphone that was lying face down on the
table vibrated, a grin immediately breaking on his face as he reached for it. "Finally. She texts you back. Now you can stop crapping up my diorama."
Smiling even harder, even though he was trying to hide it, he leaned back in his chair and kicked his feet up on the side of the chair where Eri sat,
her brow furrowing in annoyance even though she STILL wouldn't look away from her work. She was right though. Finally. A text back from Devyn. It
seemed like it took her forever to respond to what he'd said. Probably because she wasn't playing that day in the classroom, the two of them talking.
She had a full schedule and plans...from the look of it. And even though he was joking about being penciled in, maybe that was what was up. What
seemed like a second at King's Prep and this girl already had a motherfucking life. Koi couldn't hate, though. But he wouldn't lie that his mind
wasn't asking questions about the social life that didn't really involve him.
Biting his lip, his eyes narrowed as thoughts of what she was doing tonight and who she was doing it with flooded his mind.
Quote:
Fit me in? It's like that? OK I see you. Don't get too busy bc Saturday's mine. Put my name down...in ink.
"So we doing this or are you too chicken shit to go again?" The smile on Devyn's lips slipped as her cousin's voice broke the silence that had settled
around her. Her face turned immediately to him as he continued, "Or does your boyfriend have other plans for you?" He smirked a little as Devyn mocked
him, a few "ha ha"s fell from her lips. He wasn't funny and Koi wasn't her boyfriend...yet. And why had he just barged into her space like this? Sure,
this was more his house than it was hers but there still had to be some type of boundaries between rooms around here...she thought that was what doors
were for.
"First of all, you can't talk shit like that when you're losing, C-," she smirked as he rolled his eyes but, she continued, "Secondly, you don't
knock? I could've been changing or something, kid. And third, he's not my boyfriend-," she corrected, "Just a kid I know." Devyn sat up pulling her
legs underneath her as she turned to face the door where her cousin stood. He threw his hands up in mock surrender but, still crossed the threshold of
her room without invitaiton. She was peeved a little, but it wasn't a big deal. She needed something to take her mind off of waiting for Koi's reply
anyway, her cousin and his shit talk would be a good reprieve.
"Just a kid you know, huh?" He took a seat in the chair at her desk, his elbows resting on his knees, as he leaned into the conversation he was
starting. "Is it who I hear it is?" What? Who he heard it was?...It couldn't be because...who would talk about it? About her? She couldn't imagine
'why her name would be in anyone's mouth outside of the team and Koi and, sure, maybe a couple of his friends that had seen them together. Who else
cared who she was...or maybe they cared, not because of who she was but, because of who he was...
"Well that depends on who you hear it is-," she said, her head cocking in a curious confusion as to how she would be the talk of anything.
"I hear you and Koi Kidd got...friendly at one of his parties-," he said carefully, his word choice obviously dissected and inspected before
he spoke. She opened her mouth to answer him but, her phone buzzed against her laptop before she could speak. He'd texted back. She unsuccessfully
tried to quell the smile that came to her lips as she read the message...He was claiming her entire Saturday? And he was bold, not even bothering to
ask exactly what she was doing Saturday but, just taking it. Ha. She liked that. Her fingers began texting a reply, her response coming to her almost
immediately.
Quote:
Doesn't sound like I have too much of a choice lol. I better be getting into some shit if I clear my Saturday for you...
What kind of shit would be nice to know, but something told her she wasn't going to find out until tomorrow. Maybe he-- "He's not good for you, Dev-,"
her thoughts were interrupted by her cousin's voice. She had low key forgotten he was even here but, that definitely brought him back into focus. What
did that mean?
I'm taking my time.
I'm doing it right.
Self-Love. Self-Care. Selfish.
The phone buzzed before the screen could even go dark again, signaling another message from Devyn, this one coming a bit sooner than the last one. Koi
couldn't help but snatch the phone from the table a bit more quickly than he'd truly meant to. Unlocking it, he read her message and smiled, his
fingers hovering over the screen as he thought about his reply. Looked like Dev was okay with getting her schedule hijacked on Saturday and really, he
felt good about it. If she wasn't lying, and her calendar was all busied up like she'd said it was, she was real ready to make some time in it for
him. That was cool, though. He liked it. He couldn't help the puff in his chest when he read that she was actually considering giving him her
Saturday. After all of his bad behavior, she was letting him have another go at it. It meaning her time, which was just as good because at the moment,
that was all he was asking for. Just a little bit of her time to show her that maybe...he wasn't all bad. That maybe there was something else outside
of the asshole that everyone else knew; the one that he'd shown her the first day he'd met her. And maybe...he needed to show himself that side too.
Just so he could see if it even existed.
"You don't have to sit here with me, Koi. I'm completely capable of doing my project by myself..." Turning to his sister's soft voice, he stopped
typing, placing his phone back on the table top and leaned towards her, his forehead pressing against her hair. She still didn't meet his eye, her
hands still busying themselves with her work. He didn't turn her towards him. He only watched her work, his head still leaning against hers.
"You already know I'm not leavin' your lil' ass here in this house." He said, poking her in her side as she continued to ignore him. Scooting closer
to her, he pulled her into himself, cradling her against his chest. Finally she gave up the fight and let herself be held, looking up at his face as
she fell against his chest. "Tonight's you and me, babe. You want me to put the phone down? I'll put the shit down..." Without a second's hesitation,
he would've taken that phone, gone upstairs and chucked it on his bed without a second glance if it meant letting his little sister know how important
she was. That task was Koi's and Koi's alone as neither of the parents had done a very good job of it...pretty much her entire life. But the avoidance
and the selfishness hadn't exactly started with Eri. Even so, Koi didn't want that childhood for her...especially when he hadn't wanted it for
himself.
"No. Dude. Talk to her." Eri pushed away from him, picked up his phone from the table and thrust it towards him, her face set in the "no discussion"
expression she used when she refused anything but "her way". "I want you to. I mean-" She paused, a little smile forming as she picked up her glue gun
and started on her project again. "It isn't everyday that a girl makes you as jumpy as you are now."
"I'm not jumpy...jerk." He said, kissing her on her cheek as he leaned back in his seat, finishing his message to Devyn. Whether Eri was letting him
have his fun with Devyn or not, he wasn't leaving her side.
Quote:
Yeah. You forgot who ure talkin' to. I'll use this Sat. to remind you. You in?
"What do you mean he's "not good" for me?" Setting her phone to the side she allowed her eyes to find his, her curious gaze asking the question her
lips just had. She would admit, as it had already been proven, she didn't know much about Koi. Just that he was a good kisser and he smoked with the
best of them. She hadn't really heard anything from her firiends about him, outside of how cute he was, which she obviously knew. She hadn't noticed
before but, no one had told her things about him. Who was he? Where was he from? What did he like to do? Well, she kind of knew what he liked
to do but, outside of ragers and getting high what was he interested in? She didn't know any of these things...Hmm. She hadn't done her homework...and
if she had to be honest, it was making her nervous about Saturday.
Was it too soon for the two of them to be out together...alone? He could be a serial killer or a rapist or something and she would have no idea...no.
No, she was being paranoid. Devyn was pretty sure he wasn't a murderer, he was too chill. So what was her cousin talking about? How was he not good
for her? He seemed like an okay kid... "I mean just what I said, Dev. You're too good for him and I really don't think you two should be mixing it
up-," he was blunt, his eyes never leaving hers as he told her the truth. She needed more than that to cut a dude off though. Koi was...growing on
her. She was beginning to like him and outside of the team, he was her only friend...acquaintance...sparring partner? She didn't know what they were
but, she did know she wanted to see eventually. She wasn't about to let him go on just her cousin's word.
"That's it? I can't get specifics?" she asked, leaning into the conversation, hoping he'd give her something more. Carter seemed to know a lot more
than he was telling and she was desperate to know what was so wrong with Koi Kidd.
"I mean...-," he paused, a sigh leaving his lips as he leaned back in the chair. "There's nothing specific to tell. He's just...an asshole. He's into
a lot of shady shit, he doesn't give a shit about anyone but himself, and I don't like him." Hm. Well...if Carter couldn't come harder than "he's an
asshole" it seemed she was going to have to find out about him for herself. She sighed, looking away from her cousin but, he continued, "I'm not
telling you what to do, Devyn. I'm just saying you can do better than slacker ass Koi Kidd."
As Carter said his name, her phone vibrated, signaling another message from Koi. A confirmation. Was she in?...Yeah. If Carter wasn't going to tell
her what was wrong with him, she was going to find out for herself.
Quote:
Yeah, I'm in. What time?
I'm taking my time.
I'm doing it right.
Self-Love. Self-Care. Selfish.
![[*]](images/davis/default_icon.gif){kind=icon}
