“Thanks for listening,” I said looking up at AJ.
“It’s no problem. Im sorry about what Carlos did,” he said looking at me sincerely.
“Its not your fault. Oh G-D! Im sorry for dropping my problems on you,” I said, realizing what I did.
“No, no. It’s cool. I liked listening to you,” he assured me.
“Yeah right. Who would want to listen to that?” I asked.
“Me,” he said softly. I looked at him and smiled.
“What the fuck are you doing with my sister?!” Anthony yelled walking up.
AJ and I jumped and looked up at him. We had been sitting on a bench. AJ stood up and so did I.
“We were just talking Ant, calm down,” I said annoyed.
“You dont talk to Ricky or his boys. Got it?” he asked looking at me.
“Excuse me, I dont think you have authority to tell whom I can talk to and whom I cant talk to,” I said, equally angry with him.
“It’s cool, man. See you Melissa,” AJ said and walked off.
“You’re lucky I dont beat his ass right now,” Anthony commented.
“Anthony. You know, Im getting really tired of this whole gang thing. You need to get over it, you have no real reason to not like those guys and the same with them,” I told him matter-of-factly.
“Well, why dont you just go chill with them from now on, because we dont need any traitors in our gang,” he said.
“Anthony. Please,” I begged for him to understand.
“I beat the shit out of Carlos,” he told me as he walked away.
“What did you guys do to him?” I asked.
“We jumped him,” he answered and kept walking.
I ran up to him and stopped him.
“Thank you Anthony,” I said giving my brother a hug.
“I love you Melissa,” he told me.
“Im so lucky to have you for a brother,” I whispered.
“Yeah, I know,” he laughed.
We walked off, towards where everyone was.
“Im going to go home,” I said after a minute of just standing around.
“Bye!” everyone called.
“Who’s going to walk you?” James asked.
“I dont know,” I shrugged.
“She’ll be ok. It’s just up the street,” D said.
“Yeah, bitch, you’d let your sister walk down our street with no one?” Anthony asked.
“No.”
“Ok, then.”
“I’ll be ok,” I assured everyone.
“Bye,” everyone waved.
“Hey, Melissa,” Pete said coming up to me.
“Yeah?” I asked.
“We fucked him up,” he told me with a goofy grin on his face. I smiled and walked off.
I walked by Ricky and his boys and tried to look for AJ without making it too obvious. I saw him standing in a small group, talking. I caught his eye and smiled, “Meet me at my place,” I mouthed.
He turned his head and smiled, I knew he was going to.
I walked all the way to my apartment, without anyone saying anything to me.
“Dad?!” I called. No answer. I walked around looking for Dad, but he wasnt home. Probably out selling drugs somewhere.
“Good,” I said and walked into my room.
“Hey,” AJ said, walking in a few minutes after me. I jumped.
“Damn, you scared me,” I said holding my chest.
“Did I?” he asked smiling.
“Im sorry about my brother,” I said. His smile faded.
“Its ok,” he shrugged.
“No, it’s not. Im tired of this whole gang thing. It’s frustrating,” I sighed.
“Why’s it so frustrating?” he asked smiling.
“Because, if I happen to have a thing for someone in another gang, I cant do anything about it, because I’ll be banned by my brothers and the girls of our gang would jump me, including my own sister,” I said looking up at him.
“So, you have a thing for someone in another gang?” he asked still smiling.
“Maybe,” I shrugged.
“What about your feelings for Carlos?” he asked.
“Huh?” I asked looking up. I walked over and shut my bedroom door.
“Carlos, you obviously had some kind of feelings for him earlier,” AJ stated.
“Yeah, well, he has a way to make you think you have feelings for him,” I said softly.
“So, who is it exactly you have feelings for?” he asked.
“Dont try to act like you dont know,” I said smiling.
“But, I dont,” he said.
“Liar.”
“No way! Really, who is it?”
“You know I like you.”
“You do? But you hardly know me.”
“I dont have to be best friends with you to know I like you.”
“That’s true. So, if you liked me, whyd you go off with Carlos tonight?”
“Because I was facing reality. I know I cant be with you.”
“And why not?”
“You know why.”
He moved closer to me with every word and now he was standing right in front of me. He leaned down and captured my lips with his own.
“I dont know why.” he whispered when we pulled apart.
“Yes, you do.”
He kissed me again, silencing me.
“No, I dont,” he said when we pulled away again.
“We can make it work,” he whispered.
“We’d be sacrificing a lot,” I told him
“We’ll make it worth it,” he said.
“How?” I asked.
“Well, just look at you. You’re gorgeous, number one. Number two, you’re smart. You dont act like all the other girls do. You have common sense. I can be good to you. I may be in a gang Melissa, but I’ll do my best to make you happy,” he said.
“Do you honestly feel that way?” I asked.
“Honestly,” he answered.
AJ and I ended up falling asleep together on my bed, we did nothing sexual, except kiss.
“Oh my G-D!” I heard Alana shreik. I jumped up, AJ right after me.
“Oh my G-D! AJ we fell asleep, get up,” I said jumping out of bed. Alana stared at us shocked.
“We didnt do anything. Get in here,” I said ushering her in. I shut and locked the door.
“What happened?” Anthony pounded on the door.
“Nothing!” Alana and I called.
“Anthony would kill you if he saw this!”she scolded me.
“We didnt do anything!” I promised.
“Now, how do we get him out?” I asked looking at Alana.
“I swear, Melissa. If you werent my sister, Id beat your ass,” she said glaring at me.
“Oh, it’s not like Ive never came in with you and Pete sleeping,” I said.
“Pete’s from our gang,” she then glared at AJ.
“Stop, Alana, please. Just help us,” I begged.
“Fine. Anthony, James and Robert are going to bed soon. Dad’s still not home. I’ll go check in about ten minutes to see if they’re sleeping and then you can take him out there. What were you doing?” she asked, sounding a little curious.
“Just talking,” I answered.
“Oh.Carlos came back to the park,” she told me.
“What?” I asked shocked.
“Yeah, he started talking shit and the boys beat his ass again,” she laughed.
“Oh,” I said looking down.
“Im sorry Melissa. I wont tell anyone AJ was in here,” she said looking at me. I looked up and smiled, “Thanks.”
“Yeah, thanks,” AJ whispered.
“If you werent cute and my sister didnt like you though, I would have my brothers in here in a heartbeat,” she said smiling.
“I feel pretty,” he joked. We all laughed.
After about ten minutes, AJ and I snuck to the door so he could leave.
“I’ll walk you downstairs,” I whispered to him.
We walked out of the apartment and down the hall, hand in hand.
“AJ!” Rock bellowed from Ricky’s apartment. We both jumped and broke apart. We turned around and Rock was walking towards us.
“Is that why you get pissed when we talk about her?” Rock asked.
“You guys talk about me?” I asked, suddenly self-consious.
“Yeah, we talk about how we want to get with you and how fine you are,” Rock said grinning.
“Excuse me?” I asked.
“Man, Rock. Not a word man. Please,” AJ begged.
I guess we’re both risking something. His boys would beat his ass if they knew he was ‘with’ someone from Anthony’s gang.
“What do I get out of it?” Rock asked, grinning.
“Man, what do you want?” AJ asked.
“A night with your girl,” he said looking at me. My eyes got wide and I looked at AJ. AJ looked at me, he looked kinda scared. I thought about what they would do to me and AJ if they found out we were an ‘us’. They’d probably kill AJ for betraying the gang and I would get my ass beat.
“One night?” I whispered.
“One night,” Rock repeated.
“What will I have to do?” I asked, knowing something sexual was on his mind.
“Anything I want,” he said smiling.
I looked at AJ. He looked pissed.
“Come on, walk me downstairs,” AJ said.
I turned and AJ and I walked off, down the stairs.
“Have you ever seen the movie indecent proposal?” AJ asked.
“Yeah,” I nodded.
“Look what happened to them,” AJ whispered.
I know we barely know each other, but there’s something special about AJ and I. It was like we were meant to be together. I would do anything to be with him. The way my feelings are now, I would do anything. Maybe it’s just lust or something, but I like the way it makes me feel, and Im not going to let anything get in the way of that.
“What are you thinking?” I asked once we reached the bottom of the stairs.
“Well, I was thinking, if you dont do it, Rock would go and tell Ricky everything, your brother and his gang would find out. Even if we just call it quits right now, we were in your apartment and Rock saw us come out. Even though we didnt do anything, that doesnt mean that they wont believe that. I would get my ass beat, bad for that. You would get jumped by the girls in your gang and it all would be a mess. Besides, I dont want to call it quits,” he said looking in my eyes.
“I dont either, I will do it. For our safety and for us. I wish our groups werent rivals,” I whispered.
“Me too. We’ll make it work. You’re too good to let go,” he said smiling.
“Kiss me,” I said.
He leaned over and pressed his lips to mine. This kiss was like a promising kiss. We were one and that’s how we’ll remain.
“Good night angel,” he said kissing me one last time.
“Good-night,” I said and watched him walk out of the building.
I walked back upstairs where Rock was leaning up against a wall, smiling.
“What are you smiling about?” I asked.
“You know what Im smiling about,” he laughed.
“What night?” I asked.
“Tomorrow night. Im gonna need more time than what is left of tonight,” he smiled.
“Right,” I said.
I took a deep breath and walked off. I hate him.
*The Next Day*
“Every now and then I get a little bit terrified of something something. Turn around, wide eyed, every now and then I fall apart and I need you more than ever,” I said as I poured my cereal into a bowl.
“What the hell are you singing?” James asked walking in.
“Nothing,” I said and sat down.
Alana walked in after him and sat down at the table next to me.
She looked at me, “We need to talk.”
“Ok, what about?” I asked.
“We’ll talk later.”
“Ok.”
I finished my cereal and walked down the hall to the bathroom. Someone was in there. I knocked on the door.
“What?!” I heard Anthony yell.
“Hurry up! I need a shower too!” I yelled.
He didnt respond. I walked to my room and opened the closet, looking for something to wear.
“Ok, can I talk to you now?” Alana asked.
“Yeah, sure, what’s up?” I asked.
“Ok, um, I was supposed to have my period, like two weeks ago. And uh, it’s still not here, should I be worried?” she asked.
“Have you slept with anyone?” I asked. My sister and I dont talk about that kind of stuff, but she knows Im not a virgin and I know she’s not.
“Uh, yeah. Pete,” she answered.
“Well, then, yeah. Id be a little worried,” I replied.
“Should I take a pregnancy test?” she asked.
“Well, when was the last time you and Pete had sex?” I asked.
“The last time?” she asked.
“Yeah.”
“Thursday night.”
“Ok, uh, when did you last have your period?”
“A month and a half ago.”
“Well, yeah, I’ll go with you to the store to get the pregnancy test and everything. But, dont start worrying until you know for sure.”
“Ok, thanks Melissa.”
“You’re welcome.”
“Oh, and please dont tell anyone.”
“Well, you have one of my secrets, I’ll have one of yours.”
“Ok.”
“Im out of the shower,” Anthony said walking by our room.
“Ok,” I said.
I grabbed my tight dark blue Tommy Hilfiger boot-leg jeans and a yellow Tommy shirt. I walked to the bathroom and took a quick shower.
When I got out and got dressed and everything, I went back to my room, where Alana was laying across her bed, listening to music.
“Wanna do my hair?” I asked her.
“Yeah, how do you want me to do it?” she asked.
“The cute braids,” I answered.
She began to take tiny sections of my hair and braiding it back, half way, leaving the rest to hang down. She did all the way across my head, which took quite a long time. (Think Pretty Fly For A White Guy video, the girl’s hair...)
“Thanks,” I said as she finished blow drying the rest.
“You’re welcome. I wish I hadnt already taken a shower,” she told me.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I like your hair and I want mine to be like that too,” she replied.
“Well, go wet your hair and I’ll do your hair,” I told her.
“We’re going out, you two coming?” Robert asked coming into the room.
“Yeah, I’ll go. You can do my hair tomorrow Melissa,” she told me.
“Ok, Im staying,” I replied.
“Bye,” they said and they left.
After a few minutes, I walked out of my apartment and down the stairs.
“I just saw your brothers leave and I was coming to see you,” AJ said coming into the building as I was leaving.
“Yeah, where are you going?” he asked.
“I dont know. Just around,” I answered.
“Well, come on, let’s go to my place. We’ll be ‘safe’ there,” he suggested.
“Ok,” I agreed. Our hands automatically came together and we started walking down the street. AJ didnt live too far from my apartment, about a block maybe.
We walked into his building and up to the 5th floor, where his apartment was.
“Alex are you back already?” a short woman asked appearing.
“Yeah Mom,” he answered.
“Who’s this?” she asked smiling at me.
“This is Melissa, Melissa, this is my mom,” AJ introduced.
“Nice to meet you,” I said brightly.
“Aww, she’s pretty,” she commented. I blusehd.
“I know. Come on Melissa,” AJ said, tugging me towards his room.
He shut and locked the door.
“My mom will gush about you all day now,” he laughed.
“She seems really nice,” I commented.
“She is. But, I guess I have to say that, she’s my mom,” he shrugged.
“Nice room,” I said sarcastically as I looked around the messy room. Clothes were all over the floor, the bed was unmade, magazines were everywhere. Your typical guy room.
“I try,” he laughed. I smiled and cleared a space on his bed for me.
“Alex, honey,” his mother knocked on the door.
“What Mom?” he asked.
“Ricky’s here,” she said.
“Fuck,” he said looking at me.
“What do I do?” I whispered.
“Uh, uh, here, go out on the fire escape steps,” he said opening his window. I crawled out the window and stood on the wire square where the stairs turned to continue going up the building.
“Hey man,” I heard AJ say.
“Hey, what did Anthony’s sister want yesterday?” he asked.
“She didnt say anything?”
“No, why?”
“I just wanted to know. What are you doing today?”
“Nothing man, just chilling.”
“You coming out with the boys tonight?”
“Oh, I dont know. Maybe.”
“Rock aint going out with us tonight.”
“Oh, why?”
“He said something about taking care of business.”
I winced, I knew exactly what he was talking about.
“Oh, I dont know man. My mom wants me to chill around here for awhile.”
“I swear you’re such a momma’s boy.”
“Yeah, whatever man.”
“Well, I’ll see you later.”
“See ya man. Come by my place before you leave tonight.”
“Ok, see ya man.”
AJ appeared from the window.
“Come on,” he said.
I climbed in the window and sat on the bed.
“So, Rock has some business to take care of?” AJ asked.
I looked up at him and took a deep breath.
“That being you?” AJ asked.
“Yeah,” I whispered.
“I cant believe Im doing this,” he said.
“Me either,” I said looking into his eyes. AJ sat down on the bed next to me.
“I cant wait until high school is over with,” he whispered.
“Why?” I asked.
“Because I can leave this place. I hate being in a gang,” he said softly.
“You do?” I asked.
“Yeah, man. It’s so stupid. Ricky and the boys are always running around looking for trouble and it’s just hard to be normal. I mean, Im always in a fight, I have to wonder if my boys will get mad at me if I do this. It’s hard,” he said.
“Yeah, I know,” I said looking into my lap.
“As soon as we’re 18, we’re out of here,” AJ told me.
“You’d take me with you?” I asked smiling.
“If you’ll let me,” he said.
“Of course I would. I want to get out of here as much as you do,” I said.
“How old are you?” he asked.
“17, you?” I asked.
“17,” he said.
“Ive got nine more months of 17,” I told him.
“Me too,” he said.
“January?” I asked.
“Yeah,” he smiled.
“AJ, honey. Rock’s here,” my mother called outside my door.
“Damn,” he muttered.
“Should I?” I asked looking away.
“No, just stay here,” he said getting up. He unlocked the door and the huge bulky, Rock walked in.
“Oh, hey baby,” he said grinning.
I glared at him.
“Rock,” AJ warned.
He laughed, “Right man.”
“What’d you want?” AJ asked.
“I just wanted to make sure your girl had talked to you about our plans tonight,” he said smiling.
“Hey man, what about Chelsea?” AJ asked.
“What about her?” Rock asked confused.
“She’s your girlfriend,” AJ pointed out.
“No, she’s not,” Rock said looking at us like we were stupid.
“That bitch fought her because of you,” AJ said pointing at me.
“She fought you?” Rock asked shocked.
“Yeah, stupid bitch stratched my face,” I said rolling my eyes.
“Damn,” he laughed.
“That aint funny. She came in the store the other day and said, ‘I would fight you again, but Rock told me not to’,” I mocked her.
“I gotta go,” Rock said walked out of the room.
I gave AJ a strange look and sighed.
“I dont want to do this,” I said.
“I know, Im so sorry baby,” he said pulling me into his arms.
“What’d you call me?” I asked.
“Baby, is that bad?” he asked, a worried look casting over his face.
“No, I like it. But, only when you say it,” I said smiling.
He leaned down and pressed his lips to mine.
“Ok, baby,” he laughed. I looked up at him and smiled. Maybe this all would be worth it.
Chapter Two
Chapter Four
Just Another Love Story Index
AJ Fanfiction Index
BSB Fanfiction Index
Backstreet Island