Eve lets out a nervous breath before knocking on the door. A few seconds later, an older woman with her same complexion opened the door.

"Eve!" The woman greeted warmly, opening the screen door. "Oh my god, look at you! You look so grown up and beautiful. But what did you do to your hair?" She asked, reaching out and touching her straightened hair. "You're hair wasn't this straight before," she points out. "Oooh, but it is long."

"It's nice to see you too Miss Jen. And I️ relaxed it," She simply said. "Um, is Kayla home?" She asked.

"Yeah! Yeah, come in," the older woman steps aside and let's her through. "Kayla! You won't believe who's here," Kayla's mom laughed.

Eve figured around nervously as she waited for her old best friend to come down the stairs. Kayla came down the stairs, confused at first but once she saw Eve, crosses her arms and glared at her.

"Hey..." Eve said.

"What you doing here?" Kayla demanded to know.

Eve sighed before answering. "I️ need your help," she tells her. "Look, I️ got invited to a party at my school and-"

"No," Kayla says.

"But-"

"Girl, I️ got other shit to worry about then you and your private school friends," Kayla hissed before turning around.

Eve runs up the stairs and stops her. "Kayla, please!" She pleaded. "For four long years, I've busted my ass at that school to get into college, and to work and watch my siblings at the same time, okay? I️ never once went to a party, or hung out with friends cause I've been to busy trying to graduate and keep my siblings together," she tells her. "For once, I️ would like to go out. Feel like a normal teen."

"I'm sorry we fell off, I️ really am. I️ never meant to ditch you but everything started piling on top of me-"

"Fine."

"...and the pressure became too-Wait what?" Eve stutters.

Kayla sighs and rolls her eyes. "Stop crying. I'll help you," she agrees. "What do you need?" She asks.

"Someone to watch Eva and Eddie for four hours while I'm gone,"

"And how much are you paying?" Kayla wonders.

Eve sighed. "I'll pay you $80 for the whole night," she offers.

Kayla raised an eyebrow I'm surprised. "I️ would've done it for less," she said. "Who are you trying to see tonight girl?" Eve blushed and Kayla gasped. "Wait! You are trying to see someone? Who?"

"A really cute football player I️ had to help tutor," she tells her with a slight smile.

"You like him!" Kayla points accusingly are her, making her blush. "Is he white?"

"Kayla..."

Kayla shakes her head at her. "Mmm....shoulda known," she jokes. "What are you gonna wear?" She asks.

Eve goes completely blank. Shit, it's been years since she's gone shopping. Most things were thrifted and old, definitely not party appropriate. "Uh..."

"Damn girl, don't you own a dress?" Kayla asks. Eve shakes her head. Kayla sighs and waves her up the stairs. "Let's see if I got something for you," she said. Eve reluctantly follows her up the stairs and enters her bedroom to find Kayla rummaging through her closet.

Kayla made Eve try on five different dresses before settling on a little black dress and a pair of black heels to match that Kayla swore made her look like Halle Berry. "You've always been so tall and lanky so, it works," she smiles.

"Thanks?" Eve scoffs off.

"How you doing your hair and make up?" Kayla asked.

Eve looked at her with wide eyed confusion. "Um...."

Kayla rolled her eyes. "What have you been doing all this time?" She sassed as she brought out her make up.

"Studying!" Eve quickly said. "Or working! I️ never had time for anything else."

"Yeah I️ remember before my mom took her new job as a secretary for this law office, she used to help watch Evan and Eric," Kayla said as she attempted to do a half up, half down style on her. "When did you relax your hair?" She asked. "And why? You already had the prettiest curls. Not that straight hair doesn't look good on you too."

Eve sighed. "I️ mean I️ don't have the money to get it braided and I️ guess I️ was just trying to fit in at my new school and relaxers are only five dollars so..."

"I️ guess you got everything what you wanted huh?" Kayla said sourly as she went to fix her makeup.

"Not everything," Eve frowned. Her life was still a mess. She still had to find a new job since she wasn't getting paid by Zach anymore. She had to save up to get an apartment and hopefully move her siblings with her while she went to college. She still had a lot to do.

Kayla saw the somber look on her face as sighed she worked on her face. "Girl you know I'm giving you a hard time cause I'm still salty you left me for them white folks," she teased, making Eve smile a bit. "I'll be over at your house in a couple of minutes. Now, you go have fun and next time I️ see you, you better have a big diamond on your finger and tell me that that white boy you like proposed," she jokes, making Eve laugh.

* * * *

Three busses and a short walk later, Eve was kinda grateful she was wearing combat boots instead of heels like Kayla wanted her to. As she walked through the expensive neighborhood, she looked for the address Zach had given her earlier but it didn't take long as she soon spotted a huge home overflowing with teenagers.

She walks towards the house and nervously enters through the front door. She walks through the sea of people, everyone soon noticing her. She looks around, trying to find Zach, seeing as he's the only person she really knows and came for, but couldn't see him anywhere. She eventually finds the kitchen where a couple of members of the football were and sees Zach's cousin Asher drinking and laughing with some of them. She breathes in before approaching him, lightly tapping him on the shoulder. "Hey-"

"Wait, wait, wait, am I️ super drunk or is this really Eve?" Asher bops her nose, making her smile a bit. "Hey cutie."

"It's really me Asher," Eve grins.

"I️ didn't know you were secretly a party girl," Asher teased.

"Not usually, this is my first party," she tells him. "Probably my last too..."

"What? No way, you're going to college! It's like the number #1 place to party," he reminds her. "Where are you going again?"

"I-" Before she could finish that, Zach walks in to the kitchen with Maddy by his side, smiling and greeting everyone, before stopping short when he went to say hi to Asher, realizing she was standing next to him. "Eve...hey," he said breathlessly.

"Hi," she smiles shyly.

"She looks great doesn't she? I️ barely recognized her myself," Asher compliments, making Maddy roll her eyes.

"She's always been beautiful," Zach says, making her blush.

Maddy looks between the two boys drooling over Eve and groans. "Come on Zach! I️ wanna get drunk," she pulls him away, leaving her with Asher.

Eve frowns as he leaves and Asher notices the look on her face. "Hey, come on now," he tries to cheer her up. "Turn that frown upside down. You came here to have fun didn't you?" He asked. She quietly nods her head and he grabs a red solo cup and hands it to her. "Then fun, we shall have," he smirks.

"I've never drank before," she tells him, nervously taking the cup from him.

"There's a first time for everything," Asher replies, taking her hands and leading her over to the spike punch they had.

After two spiked punches, Asher and Eve were dancing against each other to Montell Jordan's This Is How We Do It, to everyone else's surprise. The school's first black valedictorian and best wide receiver dancing together was a sight they never thought they'd see.

Zach carefully watches from a distance as he stood next to Maddy, who was drunkenly talking to her girlfriends. Zach himself wasn't drunk, seeing as he drove and his parents always warned him against driving drunk after a couple of high schoolers from the next town over died due to a drunk driving incident.

Tipsy, Eve wraps an arm around Asher's broad shoulders, throwing her head back and laughing. Zach tried to watch closely, annoyed that she was with Asher. Asher's never paid attention to her so what gives?

Asher leans in a bit, but Eve dodges his lips. She then lets him go and excuses herself, but Asher catches her wrist and pulls her back, wrapping an arm around her waist. Eve now looks extremely uncomfortable, pushing at his chest, but probably due to the alcohol, couldn't.

Zach immediately hops off the counter and makes his way towards them, pushing past a couple of people to reach them. "Asher, let me go-"

"Stop being such a prude Eve. Relax," Asher talks over her.

"Ash stop!" Zach forcefully steps between them, shoving Eve behind her. "Can't you see she's uncomfortable?" He shoves him away.

Asher drunkenly laughs at him. "Calm down Zach, we're just having fun," he tells him.

"Didn't seem like it."

Asher scoffs. "Why don't you mind your own business man?" He scolds. "You had your chance with her, alright? You blew it," He taunts, further pissing him off.

"Zach, just leave it alone," Eve says from behind him, making him turn to look at her. "I'll just go..."

"You need a ride?" He asks her.

"I'll give her the ride of her life," Asher says annoyingly from behind him, making a couple of people around them laugh.

Eve rolls her eyes and walks off. A couple of people "Oooh's" as she walks away. "You being an asshole Ash!" Zach yells at him before following after Eve out the door.

A couple of tears fall from Eve's eyes as she sniffles and wipes her face. She couldn't believe for a second she thought this night was gonna go smoothly. Of course some assholes had to ruin it for her.

"Eve! Wait up!" A voice says from behind her. She continued walking until Zach's hurried footsteps started getting louder and closer until he stopped in front of her. "Hey, hey, hey! It's not safe for you to be walking drunk and alone like this!" He warns her.

"Now you care about me?" She snaps.

"I've always cared about you, since the first day you smacked me and put me in my place," he tells her, making her scoff and look away from him. "No one's ever done that before?"

"Done what? Hit you?"

"Make a lasting first impression on me," he tells her. "Now, come on, let me drop you off."

"What about Maddy?" She asks him, making him stop in his tracks. "You know, your girlfriend?"

"Trust me, she'll be fine," Zach says. "She'll end up crashing as Asher's. She told her parents she was at her best friends house for the night. She's fine," he assures her. "Come on."

He leads her back to his car and helps her get in before getting in himself, starting the car, starting the twenty minutes drive to her house. She lays her head against the window as soft R&B plays through the radio. "I️ was having so much fun," she said softly.

"I'm glad you were," he replies.

"I️ was hoping to have fun with you," she admits. "I️ hate the people you hang with," she says truthfully. Zach was quiet for a moment as she kept his eyes on the road. "I️ think we should go back to being strangers," she suddenly suggests

Zach shakes his head. "I'm not...I️ can't do that," he tells her.

"Why not?" She demands to know.

"Because, I️ don't want to let you go," he tells her. She doesn't react to his confession, instead, still looking out the window. "I️ already...care about you too much," he says quietly.

"Well stop," she demands.

"Why?" Zach looks at her in disbelief.

"Because, we're not perfect for each other," she tells him.

Zach scoffs. "Jesus, how fucking drunk are you?" He snaps.

Eve looks over at him now, annoyed. "You're not stupid Zach, so don't even pretend," she starts to cry once again. "Don't pretend that you're with Maddy because you like her and not because you feel like that's who everyone wants you to be with," she points out. "Don't pretend that people don't look at us crazy when we're together, or-or that I'm not good enough for you just cause I'm...black," she starts to full on sob now.

Zach quickly pulls over and stops the car, almost afraid to look at her. Because he knew if he did, he'd probably also breakdown. "Eve, it's me that's not good enough to be with you," he says in a steady voice, making her look over at him, sniffling. "You're literally the most hardworking, selfless, smartest and not to mention gorgeous girl I've ever met," he admits. "And I'd be an idiot not to love you."

Eve almost sobbed at his confession. "You don't love me," she denies. "You love what I️'ve done for you-"

She was cut off mid sentence by his lips on hers, at first catching her off guard, before kissing back with the same passion he was giving her. He pulls away and looks at her, hands coming up to wipe away the tears staining her cheeks. "Does that prove it?" He asked her, breathless. Unable to speak, she nods her head instead, leaning back in again for another kiss. And another. And another, until suddenly, she ends up on top of him, straddling him as their mouths moving in sync as they try to pull each other impossibly closer. It wasn't until her back accidentally hits the steering wheel, making the horn go off that they snap out of it. They both then look at each other and laugh.

"I️ should really get home," she tells him.

"Do you really have to?" Zach whispers, hand running up her thigh. "We could go to my house."

"I️ don't have time. I️ have an old friend of mine watching my siblings and it's getting really late," she sighs, hating the fact that she has to be responsible again, her one and only reckless high school night coming to an end.

She moves back into her seat as Zach starts to drive again. She looked out the window, deep in thought, wondering if what just happened was real or not. But he snakes his hand to lace it through hers and that's how she knew it wasn't fake.

When they finally arrive in front of her home, he gets out to walk her to the door. "Thanks for everything," she smiles at him.

"I️ think I'm the one who should be thanking you," he said. "Goodnight genius," he presses a kiss on her forehead.

But before he could leave, the front door opens, revealing a very worried Kayla with Eva in her arms. "Eve! Oh my god, I️ have been worried SICK! You didn't leave me a number to call in case anything happened," Kayla freaked.

"Cause usually nothing happens...what's wrong?" She asked, confused.

"What's wrong is that it's 1 AM and Eric still ain't home!" Kayla exclaimed. "You said he was gonna be back home "soon". That was four hours ago!"

"What the hell?" Eve gasped. "He would never stay out this late," she quickly ran inside to use the phone. She pressed a few numbers on the keypad before holding the phone up to her ear, waiting. When nobody picked up, she tried again. "Curtis' mom isn't picking up," she cursed. "Uh...Zach," she looks over at him, can you bring me Eric's friend's house. He lives like two streets from here."

"Of course," he nods.

"Okay...Kayla, stay here a little longer?" She asks.

"I'll tell my mom," she says before shutting the door behind her.

____________________________

Yes I'm writing an epilogue but when I️ finish the 90's. I'm not writing a sequel cause I️ don't wanna drag this story out longer than I️ have too tbh. I️ have stories I️ wanna write so if y'all support those 🥰 I️ would highlyyyy appreciate it