Koi got it. No, he really did. It took awhile, but the way this fraternity shit went down was becoming more and more "regular" every day.
There were levels to it, right? When they were with their line, letting niggas torture them with the stupidest shit, that level was called "Embarrass
me in front of a shitload of strangers I'm supposed to call brothers one day." What he was doing with Enzo and Q in his kitchen with plastic grocery
bags full of ice on their burning thighs? This level was called "bonding". According to Enzo, the price of that level was on some "quid pro quo" shit
as Koi supposedly "owed" Q. Big. Well...maybe that wasn't too far from the truth. Q had put his entire neck out for Koi when he could've just
let him get kicked off the line...something that a couple of their "brothers" weren't too upset to see happen. Q had his back without hesitation. And
Koi knew, deep...DEEP down that he should've respected it. With the truth...
Which was why he was explaining to a nigga he'd just met officially a couple of weeks ago how he'd ditched his whole line for his ex. He was
definitely oversharing for letters that weren't even his...yet.
Hold up...And here it was. The judgement. Koi really didn't need it because he didn't need anyone to tell him that letters and a line were
more important than someone his line, including Q, didn't fucking know! Everything with Devyn went so much deeper than that. He'd meant what he told
her in his bedroom on Friendsgiving night. She was everything. And Koi had made the mistake of treating her like she wasn't for far too
long...which was why he was where he was now. Sitting in his kitchen, icing his fucking legs because he pissed off her new...Tre'.
"I know." He started speaking, reading to defend his decision to someone who he really didn't have to explain shit to until...until Q called Devyn's
name. Her whole name. Q's face was confused, a little shocked...and certainly close enough to catch Koi's fist, which had begun balling up as
he looked at Q out of the corner of his eye.
"Yeah...Devyn. You know her?" Koi didn't give a shit about the way Enzo's voice cut through the convo, trying to keep the casual air that Koi wasn't
even trying to fake. Because after a night of his face being pressed into the fucking wood of the court HE PLAYED ON, he wasn't in the most friendly,
understanding, "let's sort this out" mood. Especially if this nigga was yet ANOTHER trifling ass that Devyn had decided to give her time to.
"How?" Koi's jaw clenched, his eyes narrowed as he turned his head, his eyes unblinking as he waited for Q's answer.
Ha! The world was so small. Well, KRU was anyway. Of course Devyn Devereaux and Koi Kidd knew one another. And of course they used to date. Q
never would have put the two of them together if it weren't for Koi saying something about it, but then again...he wasn't the most plugged into school
gossip. He kept up with who was who, but he really ran his own race. Q figured the universe would put whoever he was meant to click with in his
path...and look! He was making new friends with all the popular kids and not even trying!
And he mostly meant Devyn. Koi was a basketball prodigy and all, but Devyn Devereaux was like...an icon in the making. She had IT. Natural
talent, moved real quiet, and did what the other girls weren't doing. She was a piece of work, in the best way. Qunitin's question came as Koi started
to say something else. Then stopped. Koi wasn't expecting Q to know what was up. Which was obvious...as his words came much slower and his sentences
got much shorter. Yeah..Devyn. You know her? Enzo chimed in too, his tone a lot more...relaxed than whatever Koi was doing as he asked if Q
knew Devyn...What was Koi doing? They were all just talking right?
"Uh, yes. She's kind of a big deal. And of course the two of you used to date-," Q shook his head, a chuckle leaving him as he continued,
"Two perfect looking people finding each other? Obviously." It made sense, really. Koi was the HNIC to Devyn's HBIC. Water found it's own level,
right? They - How?
Kidd was tense! Quintin's smile faded as his eyes narrowed and he realized the vibe he was picking up was not at all friendly anymore. Enzo had a look
that told Q to tread carefully, and Koi was quickly turning a shade of red that said he needed to say more and say less at the same damn time.
"Oh...no-" Q looked between Koi and Enzo as he tried to get to the point quickly. "Devyn and I are cool, but we ain't cool like that." Did he really
give off a I'll fuck your ex and laugh about it vibe? That wasn't it.
"We're in a few classes together and I did the promo shoots for her show...which nobody was doing by the way. All of her shit is...fucking art. She's
brilliant-," Q was trying to cut the tension and it seemed to be working. Maybe he should throw in a joke?
Yeah, so maybe Koi was coming on a bit...strong? Was that the word? Intimidating? He was getting warmer... Asshole-ish? Yeah,
probably. Especially over someone that wasn't his...Devyn. She wasn't with him anymore. It shouldn't have mattered who Quinton was to her.
All of that should've made perfect sense...to someone who wasn't Koi. Because lately, when it came to Devyn, absolutely nothing made sense. Not the
feeling in his chest whenever someone said her name. Not the way he always felt like he was missing something even though he'd always "testicles,
spectacles, wallet, watch" himself to death before he left the dorm. And not his anger any time another nigga said her name. Fuck. He'd even
caught himself getting in his feelings that time he'd found out Enzo'd hung out with her and Minna without him.
Of course it was without him.
It was always without Koi now. Her life was moving in ways that he didn't even get because he was on the outside looking in. Even that moment at her
aftershow part had felt odd. Like everyone in the room belonged there except for him. And he hated that shit... He hated the feeling that her life was
going on, getting better and it was because it was without him. Sometimes, he wanted to take it back. He wanted to take back the moment
they'd last hung out and he'd denied her...him. At the time, it seemed like a pretty fucking smart thing to do. He'd listened to Zori. He'd made the
decision for the long game, not the short term. Whatever... That fucking decision had had him up close and personal with the basketball court
he played on (he was never going to get the smell of floor shine out of his fucking nose) and Devyn farther away from him than she was before. And it
was stupid as shit! Because now the only thing he wanted was her in his bed, playing with his curls the way she always did. Her little laugh tickling
his ears the way it always did. Her voice telling him that everything would be okay...
Devyn and I are cool, but we ain't cool like that.
Of course they weren't. Koi was being an ass...and he was deep in feelings that weren't his to have anymore since he was without Devyn because of
HIMSELF. Yeah, it was his fault. And whether Q was in a class with her or in her guts every night, that wasn't anyone's fault but his own...which made
him feel even stupider as he felt the tension leave his jaw, his fists relaxing as...
So what the hell was she doing dating you?
"Hold the fuck up- excuse me?" Koi's face scrunched up at the disbelief of how fucking blunt Q's ass had been.
"She was dating me because these nuts, my nigga. What type of fucking question..." Koi spat as his lip curled up, grumbling to himself as he adjusted
the bag on his right thigh.
Mannnnnn...Enzo had no patience for this shit. It was too early, he was running on exactly ZERO hours of sleep, and he did NOT have the energy to
explain to Koi how it was not this nigga's fault if Dev gave him ass. He also knew he wouldn't have time to get it out before Koi was on top of this
kid. Things just seemed to be taking a sharp left real fast and Enzo was just hoping that he wouldn't have to do anything about that because it was
looking real 50/50 that he was going to try to help in any way, shape, or form.
And right now, Q was on his own. Enzo had tried to give him a look that said be careful, but he missed it, going on about how Dev was "kind of a big
deal" (whatever the fuck that meant) and how obvious it should have been that she and Koi had a thing (Enzo guessed). In all honesty, it wasn't
sounding too much like Q was anything more than a fan, which seemed strange, but Enzo could see that he guessed. Minna hyped Devyn up, but that was
her homegirl. Maybe Q knew her work. He obviously knew about her show since he was so quick to put two and two together and figure out who Koi was
with.
Whatever the case, he still had to answer Koi's not so friendly question of 'how' he knew Devyn. And Koi's 'how' was warning him not to be slow about
making shit plain. Something seemed to click for Q because Enzo could see him reassess his situation before finally...Oh, no...Good. Praise
God. Enzo wasn't going to have to watch these niggas scrap and Koi wouldn't be taking White Jared's spot in the rotation for kitchen clean up. He and
Devyn were cool, but they weren't cool like that.
And Enzo was right. Q and Devyn shared a major. And a vision at one point, as Q had taken some pictures for her show. He was a fan...and a comedian.
"HAAA-," Enzo yelled, not even able to catch himself before he enjoyed a hearty laugh at Koi's expense.
"This nigga Q said 'what was she doing with you?'-" Koi cut his eyes at Enzo telling him he could shut the fuck up. He was sure if Koi'd been able to
move fast enough he would've caught a shot to the arm, but he couldn't so Enzo was going to keep laughing.
"Don't get mad at me because your light skinned ass was in your feelings just then-," he chuckled again settling and readjusting the ice on his
thighs. "You wouldn't be so worried about Dev smashing other dudes if you'd stop running in her raw." An overshare for mixed company? Definitely. But
true and honestly, Enzo still wasn't over how irresponsible that Christmas shit had been. Convincing Koi to get tested shouldn't have been as hard as
it was either. Ugh. He had a dumbass for a friend...well a brother now, he guessed...Although if that was the case, Koi wasn't the dumbest of them.
Enzo sighed, "Well y'all. I'm trying to get at least two hours before this 8am-," Enzo shifted his ice pack to the floor, getting his mind right to
stand. "The two of you seem like you need to get the bylaws together for the Dev Devereaux fan club anyway."
That's what everything between he and Devyn had been reduced to. Him, in his fucking feelings and her...shit. Devyn moving on. Not even a
little bit concerned about they way he quietly (and sometimes not so quietly) went through a whole range of emotions before he settled on the reality
of it all. And that reality was that he needed to stuff this "light skinned shit" way down deep, get his head together, stop complicating shit for his
line...and move the fuck on too.
"Whatever Enzo..." Koi growled, even more annoyed with the throbbing in his legs that that stupid bag of ice wasn't doing shit to alleviate. Because
if it wasn't for their exhaustion and HIS, he would have had more than enough of a good reason to punch Enzo in his hamhock of a fucking arm.
Especially after his next words...
You wouldn't be so worried about Dev smashing other dudes if you'd stop running in her raw...
Koi's head snapped up as Q's not silent enough "oooooh" made his eyes narrow as he cut them at Enzo in a silent "be careful". Yeah, okay. Koi got it.
He was being stupid. Every time he and Devyn had slept together after they reunited in his mother's bathroom (he still regretted nothing), they'd been
going at it without protection. He got how irresponsible it was and he knew they couldn't keep depending on Plan B's to keep their stupid asses out of
trouble when he got a little too "lost in the sauce". BUT...he just...he couldn't think about Dev like that. It'd never been like that with them. When
they were together...it was JUST them. No matter what had or hadn't happened in high school, he'd fall back into the routine of them every time.
But this was different...wasn't it? It wasn't just THEM anymore. It was Devyn and TREE (fuck that nigga's name) now. Another nigga moved in when Koi
moved himself out and he couldn't blame anyone BUT himself. Long game or not, the shit was ghetto. Knowing that the same nigga who had the piney fresh
smell of a freshly scrubbed floor in Koi's nose was the one that Devyn had chosen? It just... Koi couldn't think about it too long without falling in
the same light skinned feelings Enzo had accused him of. The truth was...Enzo was right. Koi couldn't deny it. He didn't know what was going on with
Devyn and...him and he heard the rumors about how that nigga ran through females on the regular. That meant exactly what Enzo said it meant.
Devyn's looking out for Devyn now. You gotta look out for you.
With a warning glare thrown at Q as he opened his mouth to ask questions about sex that didn't have a DAMN thing to do with him, Koi heard Enzo shift,
his plastic bag plopping to the floor as he stretched, claiming he needed to get some sleep before the 8am class Koi TOLD him not to register for.
"Good idea. Your mouth was getting fuckin' reckless." Koi snipped and Enzo sucked his teeth in return as he walked slowly out of the kitchen and into
his bedroom, falling into his bed without closing the door.
"I guess I better get you a pillow or something since your ass ain't moving anytime soon..." Koi said to Q, struggling to his feet before pulling Q up
after him.
"...and...good looking out tonight." Koi clapped Q gently on the shoulder, directing him to the couch that would be his bed for the night.
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