. ⋆ ⭑✧*:･ﾟ

Cora was too busy talking to Lola, she didn't see Monse approaching the group. "You little bitch! Monse caught Cesar off, to say the least. Cora and Lola were sitting on the same couch as earlier, conversing about starting school the next day. Cesar was skateboarding around, and everybody else was just scattered around the yard. It was evening already, and it was definitely cooler outside than inside.

"Ow," Cesar fell to the floor, putting his arms in front of his face to protect himself as Monse threw punches. The men laughed.

"Damn, that hyna's wild. Must be a freak on all fours," more of them laughed in their deep voices. They intimated Cora, but she tried not to show that.

"I fought for you. I had your back. For what? For you to impress your puto friends and humiliate me?" Cora stood up as Monse poured out her heart. Cora's mouth gapped open, although she didn't know what she could say at this point. She wanted to protect Cesar, but she knew Cesar was supposed to be proving himself to his brother and the rest of the gang.

 "Tell your bitch to keep that bark down."

"Hermanito, you better back up before you get smacked up," Spooky chimed in.

"Shut up, puto!" Monse yelled at him, not stopping or slowing her punches.

"Monse!" Cora was relieved to hear such a familiar voice. Jamal and Ruby broke through the small crowd, Andres following close behind, and pulled Monse off Cesar as the men standing around started to bark, mimicking Monse. Andres and Cora were only able to share a look for merely three seconds before Monse started kicking and Lola called Cora over, breaking the two's gaze.

"No! Monse." Ruby said. "This is why we didn't wanna tell you! 

"'Cause you're going crazy!" Jamal filled in.

" Crazy?" Monse broke out of their hold. Andres stood in between Ruby and Jamal. "I'm crazy?"

"Calm down. Breathe," Ruby suggested as he and Jamal took steps toward Monse. Andres might've still been new, but he knew when Monse was mad that she shouldn't be messed with.

"Don't you patronize me!" she pushed Jamal, taking the three boys by surprise. "I don't need you. Any of you. I was trying to keep our crew together, but since I'm the only one who cares, you're all dead to me. I'll survive on my own," she sent Andres one last glare before leaving the three boys standing there, confused and alone as ever.

 ⋆ ⋅ ☆

"All we were trying to do was be good friends and now we're not friends," Ruby said. He'd invited Jamal and Andres over to his house, so they were currently watching Monse and Jasmine, of all people, hang out in the yard across from his.

"Yo, bitches be bonkers," was all Jamal had to say.

Andres couldn't find the words to speak up. It had been a short time that he'd been friends with Monse, and still a short time that he'd been going without seeing Cora, but besides his mother and sister, those two were the important girls of his life. Now he felt like he lost them both.

"No, we're looking hard," Ruby decided. "This is how you pull in the honey's."

"No, we pull in the honey's by finding the RollerWorld money," Jamal said. "This is lame. This ain't even real," Jamal held up the covered drink in his hand.

"You know what's not real? RollerWorld. There's no money buried in our neighbourhood."

"It is real. You just aren't a believer. You don't even believe in the Yeti," Jamal retorted. Andres was too sad and confused to ask what RollerWorld was. He only looked down at his sneakers, not saying anything.

"Oh, my God," they whispered.

"Hey," Andres looked up upon hearing Monse's voice.

"Hey," Jamal and Ruby said at the same time. The three then turned to Andres.

"Hey," Andres gulped.

"So I'm cool if you're cool," Monse said.

"I'm cool," Jamal and Ruby decided. 

"And you?"

Andres stared at the girl, his lips slowly curling up. "I'm cool."

"Cool," Monse smiled. "What's in the sacks?"

"Forties," Ruby said.

"Gatorade," Jamal said at the same time.

Andres chuckled, looking down at his shoes again as he shook his head. He was happy to see when he looked up that Monse was laughing too. "I'll see you tomorrow?" she asked. The boys nodded.

 ⋆ ⋅ ☆

"It's my job to worry. Especially since it's the first time I'm leaving you alone without a sitter," Monse was on the phone with her dad, his voice filling up the room.

"Dad, I'm good. And not hiring Mrs Ruiz will save us a lot of money."

" Don't you worry about that," Monse's dad said.

"I have to. Saving money means you don't have to go on long hauls as much, which means you don't have to leave as much, which means no more Mrs Ruiz," Monse smiled, setting her phone down, changing her shirt.

"Remind me not to challenge you in the future. You always win."

"I'm inside now. Door is locked. You saw it's double bolted. You saw it's double chained. So, get some rest and I'll call you when I wake up, okay?" Monse said.

"Okay. Love you, baby," Monse's dad was always sad to leave his little girl, but he did what he had too. Besides, Monse was older now and she understood.

"Love you, too," she said before hanging up. She barely had time to change her shirt when someone knocked at the door. "Andres, you okay?" she pulled him inside.

"Yeah," he shuddered, the zipper on his sweater swinging back and forth. "I just," he looked into Monse's eyes. "I don't know."

Monse raised her eyebrow. "You don't know why you came over?"

"Well, I mean, I wanted to make sure you were okay," he admitted. "After everything that's been happening lately."

Monse laughed, eyes trailing to the floor briefly. "Don't be asking me. I'm fine."

"Are you sure?" Andres raised his eyebrows.

Monse nodded. "Positive." There was another knock on the door. Monse held up her finger. "Hang on, let me get this." she swung the door open. "Oh my God, Cora?"

Cora stood there in her sweats and a tank top, looking up at the curly haired girl. "Hey, Monse," Cora said with a sheepish smile. "How ya doing?"

Andres craned his neck over Monse's shoulder. "Cora!"

Cora's smile grew ten times. "Andres Hernandez! I've missed you!"

"Come on inside," Monse stepped aside and waved Cora in. "What's going on?" she asked as Cora and Andres shared a quick hug.

"Monse, everything's been happening too fast," Cora held onto Andres's arm and leaned her head on his shoulder just like they used to walk in the hallways in middle school. She raised her head. "Let's start with the obvious, I know you and Cesar didn't sleep together."

Monse's jaw dropped. "So you believe me?"

"I believe both of you," Cora corrected. "I haven't been dating Cesar for too long, but we were thrown into this life together. I trust him with my life."

Monse nodded. "What happened?"

Cora looked up at Andres. "I got jumped in."

Andres's eyes widened. "Cora, you're not even a Santos!"

Cora nodded, eyes trailing to the floor briefly. "No, but our ancestors were best friends. My dad wanted Lola and me to be part of this from the beginning. The day after I was jumped, Cesar was."

"I can't believe it," Monse whispered.

"He told everyone you slept together to impress me," Cora blurted.

"What?" Monse asked.

Andres licked his lips. "I can't believe him."

"Well, that and, to impress Oscar," Cora looked directly at Monse, knowing that Monse knew how much Oscar's approval meant to Cesar.

Monse nodded. "Yeah, but it's still wrong," Andres said.

"I can't speak for Cesar, but I know he's sorry," Cora said. "I know he wants to apologize to Monse but he just hasn't had the chance to. Maybe tomorrow, at school, he'll have a shot."

"Why don't you guys walk with me, Jamal and Ruby tomorrow?" Monse asked.

"Me too?" Andres asked, laying his index finger on his heart.

Monse sighed. "Yes, we're friends now. This is what friends do."

Andres smiled, looking back and forth between Cora and Monse. "I'm down."

Cora smiled too, but it wasn't nearly as big as Andres's. "Cesar and I might be able to, but don't get disappointed if we can't." she pointedly said, trying to stay serious even though Monse and Andres had begun jumping up and down in excitement. They were hit with deja vu, remembering when Monse and Andres were at the graduation dance in the spring, excited to go into the new year.

 ⋆ ⋅ ☆

"He's not coming with us."

"And why would you want him to? Monse? Monse!" Monse ignored the boys, starting to walk across the street without them, not caring if they were following her or not.

"See, bitches be bonkers," Jamal repeated to Ruby as they followed Monse across the street to Cesar's house. Jamal and Ruby, along with Andres, decided to wait with Monse for a moment.

Cora and Cesar stepped out, hand in hand, their sneakers barely making any noise as they stepped onto the concrete. Cesar stepped to the side, letting Cora walk in front of him. The two weren't exactly smiling, they were more tired than anything, but they both managed to put on a smile for the four kids waiting for them. Nobody said anything, they just started walking together.

"I can't keep a secret," Jamal spoke up. "It's gonna make me implode. I don't know why anybody keeps secrets."

"There's something you guys should know," Cesar said, looking at the girl he'd intertwined his hand with. But before he could explain anything, gunshots went off.

"44!" Ruby, Jamal, Monse and Cesar said in unison. Andres and Cora chuckled at their inside joke. An impala pulled up on the street by them, almost instantly killing the mood.

"Cesar," Oscar stepped out of the driver's seat.

"Cora," Adam stepped out of the passenger's seat. Cora and Cesar shared a quick look before walking towards the car, Cora jumping in before Cesar. They didn't look back at their friends as they drove away.

"What do you think he was going to say?" Jamal asked.

"I don't know. But we need to save Cesar." Monse said.

⋆ ⋅ ☆

[ NOTE i would die for them ]

CHAPTER NINE
1,791 words

PUBLISHED october 31, 2018
[ happy halloween! ]
EDITED february 20, 2020