Belonging to Lust

“Do you really mean it this time?” Alan tentatively asked Zaiyia, his eyes questionable of her sudden compliance to hear him out. After all this time she wouldn’t take the time to hear him out while always swearing she’d help him get Alice back. Why should he believe her promises now after she failed him?

“I swear on my mother’s life I’m here to listen to you spill your guts out.” Zaiyia vowed to him, biting back the fact that Yovela was a renowned absentee when it came to the parenting department. One minute the woman was there playing her part well in public, but when it was just the two of them, she was gone like a thief in the night leaving her only child alone in the company of whomever she was sleeping with at the time. For once, Yovela made the splendid choice in Heath before deciding to ghost Zaiyia.

Of course, Alan didn’t really know about all this drama. He was already as hypersensitive as anyone could be right now. At least that’s what Zaiyia thought before he stepped forward to meet her at the front of the empty class they decided to hash things out within. There was a dopey satiated smile on his face that could make anyone feel like his superhero, his eyes were practically sparkled with child-like hope once again. But Zaiyia couldn’t let him come any closer without sweetening the deal on her end, and so she held up a hand to stop him. “Ah ah! I have one small condition to make first.”

Alan’s smile instantly cracked then dropped out of existence from his once beaming face. He knew this was too good to be true! Of course, Zaiyia was about to demand something impossible of him! “What is it?”

“You can’t follow Chasity around like some stalker! In fact, you can’t stalk any of my friends, you hear me? NONE of them!” Zaiyia pressed him firmly, her brown eyes like ensnaring traps, locking his and hers. “You have to leave them alone no matter what. If you have any issues, you take them up with me from now on, and only me.”

Feeling like they already had this conversation a billion times before, Alan groaned with annoyance. “Then what the hell am I supposed to do if I need you and you can’t be reached? Like when you went on vacation that one time!”

“That situation will NOT happen again, so you don’t have to fret over it.” Zaiyia swore to him with honesty because this isn't just about being there for Alan. It meant being there for Alice too who pretty much admitted she was still in love with her ex. Hooking them back up together was the best for both worlds. “I’m here now. Nothing's gonna stand in my way when it comes to helping you this time, Alan.”

“You got a deal.” Alan accepted with a sigh, combing his fingers through his short cropped hair. “As long as you keep to your side of the bargain, I’ll leave everyone alone and only come to you.”

“Oh, I will. And I’ll start as soon as I…” Zaiyia nodded before lifting her hand to almost press her thumb and index finger together. “...ask for one more teeny tiny favor.”

“Oh, c’mon!” Alan complained, rolling his eyes. With a reluctant sigh, he crossed his arms over his chest and grumbled. “What is it now?”

“Yo, unwad your panties, okay? I ain’t gonna ask you for too damn much.” Zaiyia ordered him before disclosing her next request. “You HAVE to keep your ass away from me while we’re in school.”

“WHAT!?” Alan exclaimed, finding this to be an unthinkable request to make. “Why!?”

Zaiyia could see that Alan was two seconds from having a temper tantrum, and honestly, she didn’t want to deal with it. Silencing him with a hand suspended in the air threatening to slap him, she warned him. “Boy, if you don’t shut your fucking mouth! Try, for once, to step out of your bitch feelings so you can listen to what I have to fucking say and take it heart, or I ain’t gonna help you get Alice back!”

“Fuck fuck fuck! Fine!” Alan relented after pacing in place and trying to grab onto the short amounts of hair on his head. Holding his hands up in the air in surrender, he yielded. “Fine, I’ll listen! Go on.”

“You do remember that the entire school practically bullied me for supposedly ‘stealing’ you from Alice not too long ago, right?” Zaiyia had to ask him first, not sure if this self-centered idiot was ever mentally present for all that past drama when it went down. If not, this was gonna be a PAIN to explain.

“You did kinda steal me from Alice…” Alan grumbled beneath his breath as he turned away, not expecting to be heard.

But Zaiyia heard, and she wasn’t happy with what her ears picked up. “I’m sorry, what the fuck did you just say?”

Spinning back around, a startled Alan threw up his hands in surrender again and immediately retreated from her arm’s reach where it was much safer. “Nothing! Nothing, I didn’t say anything, I swear!”

Glaring murderously at him for only a moment, Zaiyia proceeded onward with her explanation because they didn’t have time to fight considering it was lunchtime. “As I was saying, I got bullied because YOU decided to be a selfish horny dickhead and tried to hook up with me after breaking Alice’s heart. I literally just got freed from that shit, and I’m talking recently!”

Struggling to say the right things since Zaiyia almost caught him whispering underneath his breath, Alan paused, reviewing his response over and over before asking her. “What does that all have to do with me?”

Not believing how stupid of a fool Alan actually was, Zaiyia rolled her eyes hard before breaking it down for him. “YOU are the reason I got bullied to begin with, you fucking dumbass!”

Seeing that he was making her angry all over again, Alan held up his hands for the third time now and backed up as he contritely told her. “Look, I’m sorry, okay? I just…I’m having a hard time getting all this.”

“Jesus Christ!” Zaiyia snapped, having to turn around so she wouldn’t be able to look at him as she worked on calming herself back down. Taking deep breaths, she revolved back around when she was ready to pick up where she left off with the footballer who appeared very repentant for upsetting her once again. “Alan, I need you to stay the fuck away from me during school so I don’t get bullied again, okay? If you want, you can blow my phone up with book-long text messages instead or phone calls after school. BUT you cannot be seen publicly with me ever again in life until you and Alice finally get back together! Can you agree to this?”

Alan doesn’t respond, his eyes lowering to the ground instead. He clearly was going thoroughly over everything she said which she appreciated. All she wanted was for him to HEAR her and so she was willing to wait patiently for him to make his decision on what he wanted to do.

Sadly, the clock was ticking down fast. Lunch would soon be over and so therefore this entire conversation.

Needing to speed things up a bit due to limited time, Zaiyia softly asked Alan. “Is Alice really worth getting back together with?”

“What do you mean?” Alan demanded of Zaiyia, frowning in outrage that she could even ask such a question when the answer was obvious! “Of course she’s worth it! She’s worth everything to me!”

“Well, is she worth staying away from me and my friends during school?” Zaiyia inquired, taking a step closer to him. “Even when you desperately need to talk to someone?”

“Hell yeah, she is!” Alan answered back rapidly, not missing a beat as he too stepped forward.

“Then we have a deal.” Zaiyia announced, and because they were in close proximity now, she offered out her hand to seal the deal. “Congratulations, you just recruited the only person, that I know at least, who’s gonna get you and Alice back together.”

Alan looked down at Zaiyia’s extended hand, wavering on accepting the deal. Lifting his eyes to her, his brows furrowed together when he asked with fear lacing his voice. “What makes you think I’ll believe that this time will be any different than before?”

Shrugging, Zaiyia countered back. “Let me ask you this…what do you have to lose here?”

Nothing. Alan had literally nothing to lose taking Zaiyia up on her deal other than another potential failure. BUT Alan had everything to lose if he didn’t take it, that was with absolute certainty. Slapping their hands together, Alan stared down at her and replied. “You got a deal!”