"You done, Maj?" Siraj asked his son, walking into the dining room where he was eating breakfast. It was currently Monday, meaning it was the first day of school. Raj had stayed over at Ximena's place the night before, not wanting to make the commute in the morning to help send him off to school. Semaj was excited to be around other children his age. Finally, it was something it had talked about to anyone who would listen.

Semaj nodded his head as he finished chewing on the last of the pancakes Ximena had made for him. Siraj grabbed the empty plate and pulled the chair out for him, helping him down. They walked into the kitchen, where Ximena was washing up the dishes. He handed her the empty plate and grabbed a paper towel, wetting it a little before wiping around Semaj's mouth and his hands that were sticky from the syrup.

Raj grabbed the black panther cup that was filled with orange juice and passed it to him. "Once you done, go grab your stuff so I can help you put them on, okay?" Raj told him; Maj nodded his head, continuing to down the orange juice.

He walked out of the kitchen and walked to the master bedroom to grab his phone from the charger. He had texted Lei once he woke up, asking for her schedule. He knew that Lei didn't have a car, and he wasn't sure if she had a way to get to campus; if she needed a ride, he wanted to make sure he was available to her. Usually, Xahir was the one who dropped her off and picked her up once her classes were finished. Sometimes, he would lend his car to her if he didn't have anything planned for the day.

Lei

first class is at 830, last one is at 3 .. why ? lol

7:13 a.m.

He simply replied with a thumbs-up reaction before exiting his messages as he heard the small pitter-patters of Maj's footsteps running towards the room. He got up from the bed and grinned, seeing that Maj was holding the shoebox in his tiny arms. Over the weekend, Raj splurged on his Maj, letting him pick out his shoes for once. It was humorous to Raj, seeing that his son had picked up on his habits. It took him nearly fifteen minutes to find a pair of shoes that was appealing to him; however, the shoes that he did pick out himself were surprisingly nice to Raj.

He picked up Maj as he ran towards him and sat him down on the bed, sitting the shoebox down. "You gone put shoes on without your clothes?" Raj chuckled, walking out of the room to grab the rest of his stuff. He returned to the room with his clothes draped over his shoulder, Ximena walking in behind him.

"You'll pick him up, right?" Ximena questioned Siraj, sitting on the bed, squeezing lotion into her hand. She heard Siraj hummed, not bothering to look her way. She paused, eyeing him for a brief second before sighing. Last night the two discussed what the future held for them. It wasn't a secret that Ximena was his first love and still had some feelings for her.

It made it no better for Raj, given that the two still messed around from time to time. However, Ximena made it known to him that she wasn't looking to get into a relationship at the moment. Raj could admit that he was a little hurt; she was toying with his emotions, knowing that she was the only girl he ever really loved. Nonetheless, he respected her wishes, not wanting to force what isn't meant to be.

Deep down inside, Raj wanted someone to go home to at the end of the day. He found happiness in all other aspects of his life, except for love. Whenever he did date outside of Ximena, he discovered that the women were usually after what he could offer to them--materialistically. Either that or the fact that some women were too comfortable disrespecting him, whether it was being a little too friendly with other guys or physically putting their hands on him whenever there was a disagreement.

While he did find himself lonely at times in his apartment, he knew eventually he would find someone meant for him.

Once Maj was dressed, Raj got dressed and was out the door within the next fifteen minutes. He followed behind Ximena to the school, deciding it was best for them to go in separate cars since he had somewhere to be once they departed.

Maj held both of his parent's hands as they walked down the hall to his classroom; however, once they reached the door, he let go. His teacher stood at the door with a warm smile on her face, greeting the students along with their parents, putting nametags on them as they walked in. She stooped down to Maj's level and shook his hand, "Good morning! What's your name?" she asked him, holding a colorful clipboard in her hand.

He stood there for a moment, clasping his hands together, something he did whenever he was shy. "Tell her your name, baby; it's okay." Ximena gently rubbed his back, assuring him. Raj stood next to her, recording everything; he wanted to make sure he had his first day as a memory to look back on.

"Semaj," Maj finally spoke in a soft, low voice.

"Nice to finally meet you Semaj, your parents have told me a lot about you. My name is Mrs. Bowman. Do you mind if I put this on you? This is to help the other teachers learn your name." she asked for his permission. Maj nodded his head, letting her put the nametag on his shirt.

"Okay, baby, give me a hug." Ximena pouted, bending over holding her arms out. Maj walked into her arms, wrapping his tiny arms around her. "You be a good boy; daddy's going to pick up once school is over, okay?" she kissed him on the cheek a few times.

"See you later, li'l man, love you." Raj kissed his temple, giving him a tight hug. He grabbed his teacher's hand, walking into the classroom, still waving goodbye to his parents. It was a bittersweet moment for the both of them, given that he was always in their presence for the past three and a half years. He was now in someone's else cares, and while it did have them a little anxious, they trusted the school that they put him in since it was in a nice neighborhood.

Ximena and Raj walked out to the parking lot, going their separate ways. As Raj sent the video of Maj to his family group chat, he saw that it was getting close to the time Lei's class started.

Siraj hit the alarm to his car, walking to the front door of Lei's house. As he walked up the driveway, he stared at the two cars parked out front in confusion. He rang the doorbell and waited a few moments until someone opened the door. To his surprise, it wasn't Lei on the other side, instead her friend, Keia.

"Oh shit, welcome back, jitt," he smirked, reaching in to give her a side hug. "What you doing here?" he questioned her, wondering why she was over so early.

"I live here," she told him as he raised his eyebrows in surprise. "Yeah, she's renting the rooms to Joziah and me; we ain't wanna stay on campus. Plus, I think it's best if she has someone staying in the house with her right now," she whispered the last part as he nodded his head in agreement.

"Where she at?"

"In the kitchen, if that Chick-Fil-A for her, you better hurry up, cause she just said she was hungry, and probably boutta make her something to eat before we leave." Keia laughed, walking back up the stairs.

Siraj quickly walked into the kitchen in time to see that Lei was scanning the fridge for something to eat for breakfast. "Good morning," he spoke, startling her. She turned around, closing the fridge door with a confused expression.

"Seriously, Siraj?" Lei slightly groaned, gesturing towards the Chick-Fil-A bag as he handed it to her. "Stop bringing me food; dang, what was the point of me buying groceries if you keep feeding me instead." she tried holding back a laugh.

"Well, damn my bad for wanting to make sure you eat," he rolled his eyes; Lei scoffed and sat the bag down onto the counter before she reached in to hug him.

"Thank you, Siraj, but if I don't ask for it, please don't bring me anything else. Okay?" she said, pulling the food out of the bag.

"Anyways, you need a ride to campus?" he ignored her, knowing that he was going to continue to do it. He leaned onto the island, watching as she took a bite out of the sandwich.

Lei paused, narrowing her eyes at him. She sat the sandwich down on the wrapper, placing both of her hands onto the counter. "I know that's not why you're really here," she said once she was done chewing. Siraj nodded his head, remaining quiet. "I don't need a ride; I'll be riding wit' Keia since she has early classes as well."

"Okay, but do you need a ride home?"

"I--" she started to open her mouth, realizing that Keia did let her know her classes ended a little later than hers. "Maybe," she mumbled, picking up her sandwich again. She took another bite, walking over to the fridge to grab the jug of lemonade. While she did that, Siraj took that opportunity to look over the outfit she was wearing.

"You look pretty," he complimented her; she glanced back at him, now sporting a smile on her face.

"Thank you," she tried to keep herself from blushing so hard. She decided to do a natural beat on her face; she hadn't dressed up or done her makeup since her brother's funeral. She been in the house majority of the summer, so she found it pointless to do either. However, now that she would be back on campus, she wanted to look decent, at least for the first week.

Lei looked at the time on the clock, seeing that it was time for her to head out the door. As if she read her mind, Keia walked into the kitchen with her keys in hand along with her backpack hanging off of her shoulder. "You ready, boo?" she asked her, chewing on gum.

"Yes, ma'am," Lei quickly downed the lemonade she had poured into the cup before putting the jug back into the fridge. She grabbed a bottle of water and grabbed her bag resting on the chair at the island. Siraj followed both of the girls out of the kitchen, flicking the light off behind him.

"Where's Jojo?" he looked towards the stairs, realizing Joziah still hadn't come downstairs yet.

"He still sleep; his classes don't start until later," Keia told him, unlocking the doors to her car. She got into the driver's seat as Lei threw her bag onto the floor of the passenger's side. She turned to face Raj, extending her free arm out.

"Thank you again; I'll see you later. Have a good day," she smiled as the two of them hugged.

"You too," he grinned, walking off to his car.

Lei got into the car, instantly reaching for the seatbelt. As Keia drove off down the street, she glanced over at Lei with a smirk on her face. Lei could feel the intense stare she was getting, but she tried to ignore it, already aware of what was going through her friend's mind. "Bitch I know you feel me staring at you," Keia said, reaching to turn the knob for the A/C.

"I do, but I'm not going to give you that satisfaction. We're just friends, Keia." Lei shook her head, immediately wanting to shut down the idea that her friend had.

"Yeah, but it's still sweet of him that he's really trying. He paid for groceries, bringing you food, offering to pick you up. He really cares about you," Keia poked her bottom lip out, finding it cute that Siraj was keeping good on his promise. Before she returned to Daytona, Lei had filled her in on what had happened.

She felt terrible that she wasn't there to console her friend during her time of grieving physically; she tried to be there as much as she could through text and calls. She was happy that Siraj had finally come around, especially when Lei had voiced her concerns and hurt over it when he hadn't reached out to her a month after the funeral.

Keia would check-in and occasionally ask her if Raj had reached out to her, and by then, Lei seemed to become detached from the situation overall.

"I know, and I appreciate him for it, but I just don't want him to feel obligated to do that stuff unless I ask him, of course. It just feels weird that one minute we weren't talking and the next, he's going out of his way to do all these things." Lei crumbled up the wrapper and stuffed it into the Chick-Fil-A bag as she finally finished the sandwich.

She reached into the bag and grabbed the hash browns. "You want these? That sandwich filled me up," she offered, holding them out. Keia nodded her head and grabbed them out of hand before she starting to eat them.

"I hear what you're saying, and I think you should talk to him about it, you know, to let him know it feels weird. I'm sure he'll understand," Keia said, stuffing the hash browns in her mouth.

Lei yawned as she stepped out of her last class building; she rubbed her arms covered in goosebumps as the classroom that she was in was extremely cold. About ten minutes before her class ended, she received a text from Raj letting her know that he was outside.

Her first day back on campus went smoothly, except some of her friends constantly going up to her, expressing their condolences for her loss. Although she appreciated the gesture, she hated the amount of attention that she was still receiving despite her brother passing two months ago.

She especially hated the expression of pity on their faces; it made her uncomfortable, to say the least, as she wasn't looking for anyone's sympathy.

Lei walked towards the west wing of the parking lot where Raj told her he had parked. She spotted his car parked right along the sidewalk, making her slightly laugh. She grabbed the handle to the passenger's door and pulled, but the door didn't budge as it was still locked.

Raj looked up from his phone, seeing that Lei was standing outside of the car. She got into the car as he unlocked the doors; she set her bag down on the floor, shutting the door.

"Lei!" Maj exclaimed from the backseat, causing Lei to snap her head in his direction. A huge smile forming on her face, reaching back to grab his hand.

"Hi, big boy! I missed you!" Lei cheesed, rubbing his hand with her thumb.

"Just got him from school," Raj told her, shifting the gears into drive. Lei gasped dramatically, staring at Maj with her mouth agape.

"You're in school now? Aww, did you like it? You're getting so big, stop growing up on me, pooh." Lei pouted, tickling him as he started giggling.

"I always be your baby Lei Lei," Maj called her by his nickname for her.

"You're always going to be my baby? Are you sure? You can be my big boy too," Lei chuckled, letting go of his hand, turning around to put her seatbelt on.

"How was your day?" Raj asked her, sitting his phone down in the cupholder.

"It was straight; I'm sleepy." she yawned again, slouching down in the seat to get a little more comfortable.

"You hungry?"

"No sir," she quickly answered him, not wanting him to spend money on her again. Raj remained quiet, focusing on the road. Lei peeked over at him, noticing the jaded expression on his face. His energy seemed off, which was indifferent for her to see. "You okay, Raj?"

"Yeah, why?"

Lei shrugged, still studying him closely. "Just checking," she mumbled. Shortly after, she said that Raj stomped onto the brakes as a car swerved into his lane, causing him almost to hit the car. Without a second thought, Lei grabbed Raj's arm as they both jerked forward.

Lei went into a panic attack as the memories of that night rushed to her.

Soleil jogged down the stairs and met her brother Xahir and his friends who were waiting in the living room. "Okay, I'm ready—" She was interrupted by Xahir immediately shaking his head and humming. Soleil stared at him with a confused look, holding her hands out by her side. "What?"

"No, ma'am, go put a jacket on." Xahir shooed her, continuing to shake his head. Soleil sucked her teeth and started groaning, throwing her head back. "Nope, I don't want to hear that shit; I don't need niggas looking at you in that way."

"Well Zah, I can't help having big titties—"

"Bruh, quit talkin' to me like I'm one of your friends. Either you go put on a jacket, or you stay in tonight. Your choice," Xahir shrugged, relaxing back in the recliner chair. Soleil sucked her teeth again and rolled her eyes, turning around to walk back up the stairs. "What was that?" Xahir raised an eyebrow, hearing her mumble something as she walked away.

"I said I shouldn't have to police what I wear because niggas can't control their hormones and be creeps!" Soleil repeated herself, walking back down the steps. Xahir sighed and glanced over at his baby sister.

"You know what? You right, at least grab a jacket still; you know your anemic ass be cold at night." Xahir rolled his eyes, getting up from the chair. Soleil smiled and jogged up the stairs to grab a jacket, as the rest of the guys all got up as well and started to head out the front door.

Soleil grabbed her leather jacket and her keys from off the dresser. She locked up the house and began walking towards her brother's car. She stopped once she seen the majority of his friends were occupying all of the seats; she placed one of her hands on her hips and looked at Xahir.

"Now, where am I supposed to sit at Xahir?" she asked him; he glanced over his friend in the front seat and mugged him, shoving him.

"Nigga get out—"

"It's cool, Zah, she can ride wit' me," Siraj told him. Xahir eyed him suspiciously, then looked over at Soleil before focusing his attention back on him. He waved him off, indicating it was okay with him.

Soleil followed Siraj to his car and started to get in the front passenger seat until Blue stopped her. "You can ride in the front," he said, nodding his head towards Xahir's car. Lei glared at him and playfully shoved him out of her way, walking to her brother's car.

Once she got settled in, he pulled off down the street, heading towards the interstate. Lei connected her phone to the Bluetooth, playing Lil Durk throughout the speakers.

They were invited to a party by another close friend of theirs. Lei started to stay home so she could study, but instead was convinced by her brother to go since she practically had been drowned in schoolwork; plus, they hadn't hung out for the past couple of weeks due to Lei's busy schedule and Xahir constantly working.

Though Xahir knew his sister liked to party, he admired that she always put her work over having fun when it came down to it.