#jamal turned

The weather outside was amazing, the temperature and humidity perfect and burning rays of sun beaming down over the block, just the way you liked it.

You would have much rather been outside working on your tan and breathing in the fresh air right now and yet, you were stuck inside, staring out the window longingly while Ruby and Jasmine forced you to partake in another one of their countless meetings.

“Hey, guys!” Came the voice of Ruby then, pulling you out of your daydreaming and back to reality just in time to see him snapping his fingers at you. 

Beside you, Jamal and Cesar also whipped their head around to look at their two glaring friends.

“How did none of you hear what we just said?” Ruby asked, holding his hand on his hips and leaning forward slightly; a stance that, with his height, looked absolutely hilarious.

Cesar gave Ruby and Jasmine a guilty smile. “I’ve been zoning out for the past hours and a half.” He confessed, and Jamal heaved a dramatic sigh beside him.

“I got distracted halfway through.” He held his phone up for all to see sheepishly.

All of them turned to look at you and Monse, and the younger girl beneath you just shrugged her shoulders, leaning her head back against the couch to give you better access to her hair. “I just made a conscious decision to ignore you.”

“Damn.” Jasmine’s face fell. “Why you always gotta be so cold, Monse?”

“Why you always gotta be so boring?” She asked back without missing a beat, and you lightly slapped the back of her head, giving her a pointed look when she glared up at you.

Jasmine brought a hand up to her chest. “Okay, ouch.” She said, offended, but still nodded her head in acceptance. “But I appreciate the feedback, even though it was completely uncalled for.”

Ruby turned to you. “(Y/N).” He called your name, causing your hand to still on top of Monse’s head and your eyes to flicker away from your nails to meet his. “Will you tell them to focus? This is serious business.”

You rolled your eyes, dropping your hand from in front of your face and resuming your patting on your best friend’s hair. “We’re planning a party, Ruben.” You pointed out. “Not world domination.”

His face pulled into one of genuine shock almost immediately. “The first party we’ll be hosting in all our high school years! It’s serious!” He exclaimed, fists balling at his sides and only causing him to look even cuter.

The sight brought a chuckle from your lips. “Jesus…” You shook your head, removing your hand from Monse’s hair much to her dismay, and beginning to stand up from your seat. “I’m gonna go pee.”

Ruby hurried forward to you when you stood up, stopping you with his hands. “But we have to keep planning!”

“I’ll be right back, just carry on without me.”

He sighed, bringing his hands up to his face, but still stepped aside to let you walk around the sofa and toward the bathroom. 

Behind you, you could hear him and Jasmine getting back to the party planning and you chuckled, feeling sorry for Cesar, Jamal and Monse who were forced to listen to it.

Once you got to the bathroom, you locked yourself in and let out a loud, relieved sigh when the sounds of the outside became muffled by the closed door and you were finally left in silence, alone.

They were all were good friends to you but you could admit that it got stressful to be around them at times. 

They never took the time to just… relax. They were always running around, seemingly doing everything they shouldn’t be doing, much to yours and Oscar’s dismay; although for very different reasons.

While you just didn’t want to see them get in trouble or even worse, get hurt, he was the one left behind to clean up the messes they always seemed to stir up around Freeridge and in turn, you were always the one forced to listen to him complain.

He never understood why you were friends with his brother and his friends, seeing as they were four years younger than you and you didn’t even go to school together, you having graduated together with Ruby’s older brother, Mario.

And at this point, you didn’t really know how you became apart of their group either. 

You just remembered being there for Monse when things got rough and with time, she started seeing you as the older sister slash motherly figure she never had, and you just became one of them.

Another sigh left your lips as you leaned on the sink and looked at your reflection in the mirror hanging on the wall above it, taking in the way your face was becoming slightly paler with how much time you’d spent inside the past few weeks.

One of your hands left the sink and moved down to your back pocket, searching for your phone, only to find it wasn’t there.

Your eyes closed in annoyance, knowing you were now forced to go back outside, but you didn’t waste any time, flushing the toilet so that it wouldn’t be as obvious that you had lied about your intentions just to get away, unlocked the door and went back outside.

You calmly walked through the hallway, taking in the family pictures on the walls, and only a second later, you were back in the living room,. 

However, your body automatically stopped in the doorway when coming face to face to everyone staring right at you, the house now completely silent. 

They were all sporting different expression, but most of them were in some way ones of anger or betrayal.

You had no idea what was going on, but when Monse held up your phone, you almost instantly understood, and she confirmed your suspicions a second later.  

“Do you want to tell me why Spooky’s calling you? And why he’s put into your contacts as ‘mi amor’?”

Your eyes widened, flickering between them as you walked into the room, rushing over to Monse to snatch your phone back. “I can explain.”

“Can’t wait to hear this one.” She chuckled dryly.

You looked at her sadly. “Oscar and I-“

“Oscar?” She interrupted. “First name basis, huh?”

“Will you let me talk?” You glared pointedly at her, shoving your phone back into the pocket of your jeans.

In response, she held her arm out as a ‘go ahead’ before stubbornly crossing her arms over her chest, her hip popping out to further show how angry she was.

“Oscar and I…” You tried again, looking at them guiltily. “We’re together.”

Jamal crossed his arms over his chest, narrowing his eyes accusingly at you. But he didn’t look angry the same was Monse, Cesar and Ruby did. “For how long?” He inquired, and you sighed.

“Almost seven months.” You confessed, and a scoff instantly left Monse’s lips.

But Jasmine either couldn’t read the tense atmosphere, or she just didn’t care, because the next thing you knew, she had launched herself forward from Ruby’s side to wrap her arms around you.  “Congratulations, girl!” She exclaimed. “I always knew there was some bad girl in you!”

You coughed slightly when she squeezed you hard, feeling your lungs being pushed together. But luckily, the pressure disappeared just as quickly as it got there when Monse grabbed her arm and ripped her away from you.

“No! Not congratulations!” She objected, glaring at you. “How could you do this to us?”

You raised an eyebrow, now starting to grow sick of her attitude. “Excuse me?” You asked, and she threw her arms out in exasperation.

“It’s Spooky! He’s a Santo!”

“The Santo.” Ruby joined in, stepping up to her side.

You knew his anger was justified, with how the Santos had played a major role in Olivia’s death, something he still hadn’t gotten over. But Monse’s reaction was just unnecessary, and it was getting on your nerves quickly.

“Yes, I’m very well aware, thank you.” You told her, crossing your arms over your chest to match her stance. “This is why I didn’t tell you. I knew you would react like this.”

“We have every right to be angry!” She exclaimed again and you shook your head calmly.

“No, you don’t, not really.” You denied. “I shouldn’t have kept it from you, I admit that, but you have no say in what I do with my life.”

She glared at you. “He’s dangerous.”

Her words brought a scoff out of your lips. The mere thought of Oscar hurting you was ridiculous, just as ridiculous as this conversation. 

“Not to me, he’s not.” You shook your head.

But she just wouldn’t give up. “Have you forgotten everything he’s done to us?” She asked. “You’re sleeping with the enemy.”

You breathed out through your nose in annoyance, bringing your hand up to pinch the bridge of your nose. “Now you’re just being dramatic.” You chuckled dryly.

“Dramatic my ass! You’re a traitor to this group.” She pointed a finger at you, and beside her, Ruby awkwardly shuffled on his feet.

“You deserve better.” He shrugged his shoulders, face pulled into a bitter, to say the least, expression.

You could only shake your head and sigh while rubbing your forehead. “Jesus Christ, Monse. Are you even hearing yourself right now?” You asked, ignoring Ruby’s input.

Everyone stood silently despite obviously having a lot to say, knowing that this was a conversation between you and Monse. After all, she was the one you were the closest to.

You had lost count of the nights you had stayed with her when Monty had been out on a long drive and she was lonely or having trouble with Cesar, and how many times she’d stayed at your house like that was her home in the first place, sleeping in your bed, eating your food.

You had expected to get negative reactions if the news ever became public of yours and Oscar’s secret relationship, that was the reason you had kept it a secret in the first place, but this was just ridiculous.

You thought you’d taught her better; you expected better.

”You sit here and hate on him for shit you know nothing about but as soon as you need something he’s suddenly good enough?” You asked them all with a dry laugh, shaking your head. “That's not right. I'm not the one who deserves better, he is. He's been risking his life for you every time you’ve gotten in trouble, going against Cuchillos’ orders to keep you safe."

“He could have made different choices if only he wanted to.” Monse glowered at you, and you glared right back.

"Are you really that naïve?” You asked. “You really think he's that ruthless all on his own? He's just taking orders. If he refused, you, me, all of us, would be at risk for your lives. The entire neighborhood would if he and Los Santos weren’t here. You’re all so fucking petty."

“You want to talk about petty? Fine, I’ll give you petty.” She crossed her arms over her chest, giving you the bitchiest nod you’d ever received in your life. “It’s him or us.”

Everyone quickly whipped their heads away from you to look at her with wide eyes, not believing the words that had just left her mouth. 

“Monse…” Ruby tried, but both of you ignored him.

“Are you kidding?” You asked her.

“Does it look like I’m kidding?” She challenged you, giving you another nod and raising an eyebrow. “The times he’s been helpful don’t even come close to the times he’s fucked us over. He kicked Cesar out to the street.”

You sighed, looking to the side briefly before looking back to her. “Look, I know you don’t see it that way, but he did it to keep him safe-”

“Safe?!” She exclaimed, lowering her arms and taking a step closer to you. “Constantly being on the run from Prophets is what you consider safe?!”

“It sure beats the hell out of being stabbed to death by Cuchillos.” You argued. “Which both Cesar and Oscar would have been if he hadn’t cut him off for not finishing the job.”

Monse only narrowed her eyes, your words seemingly falling to deaf ears. “It’s him or us, (Y/N). Take your pick.”

“Cesar, he’s your brother.” You turned to him suddenly, causing his eyes to widen in shock. “Haven’t you got anything to say about this?”

“Yeah, Cesar, haven’t you?” Monse agreed, turning to look at him too, and he looked between you nervously for a moment, before wiping his face free of emotion and stopping to look at you.

He shook his head. “He’s the reason my dad left. The reason for everything bad that’s ever happened to me.” He told you. “He’s not a good person, (Y/N). He’s going to end up hurting you like he hurts everyone else.”

While Monse’s face turned up into a contented, smug smirk, you could feel your vision turning red and your blood bubbling with anger.

“You should be ashamed of yourself. Do you have any idea how much he’s sacrificed for your sake?” You spat at your boyfriend’s brother, before uncrossing your arms and shaking your head with defeat. “Fine. I can really see now why people my age have always advised me not to be friends with a bunch of kids. We’re clearly not on the same level of maturity.”

Without another word, you walked around them to pick your jacket up by the front door, beginning to put it on.

When you walked away from them, they, in turn, turned around to follow your every move with their eyes, the boys and Jasmine just standing back quietly and watching you and Monse yell at each other like the situation at hand was a game of table tennis.

“You would choose him over your best friends?” Monse asked with another scoff and you didn’t miss a beat, shaking your head at her while pulling your arms through the sleeves of your jacket.

“If you were really my best friends, you would have supported me in this like I’ve always supported you and not made me choose. I’ve never been any of you guys’ first choice, but I’ve always been his. You’re not my best friends, he is.”

A hurt look crossed over her face. “You walk through that door, we’re done.”

Tears were starting to build up in her eyes and you couldn’t really understand why she was reacting as severely as she was, but nevertheless, you only glared at her. 

"I’d rather die than break his heart."

"He doesn’t even have one."

If looks could kill, Monse would have been staked, buried, dug up and then staked again for good measure at this point, nothing but pure fury showing behind your eyes.

"You would all be dead if he didn't.” You told her. “His heart is bigger than all of yours combined and after how many times he's glued the pieces back together all by himself, he doesn’t deserve to get it stabbed once more."

Her head shook. “You know he’s just gonna up and leave you once he gets tired of you, right?”

“Just because Cesar is a cheating piece of shit doesn’t mean his brother is, too.” You answered before you could stop yourself, and Cesar instantly perked up at the sound of his name, a glare crossing over his face.

“Hey!” He called, and you and Monse instantly turned to him with a glare each.

“Quiet!”

He quickly shrunk back into himself, wincing at your loud voices and looking down.

Monse turned back to look at you. “Where do you think he got it from, huh?” She asked you, not even caring that she was currently bashing her boyfriend right in front of him.

“Please, I don’t have to stand here and take relationship advice from a fifteen-year-old.” You just rolled your eyes, opening the front door and turning your back to them to leave.

“Fine!” She threw her arms out, taking a step back where she stood. “Go be a Santo slut then!”

You stopped in your tracks at the sound of her upsetting words, hearing both Jasmine and Jamal drawing in a gasp and turning around to see Cesar’s and Ruby’s eyes widely staring at Monse.

Her face instantly pulled into one of guilt when your eyes met, reality catching up with her and making her realize what she’d just said.

But you were as calm as ever as you stared back at her, face now wiped free of emotion and your eyes, as well. 

“That’s a new low, even for you.” You said slowly. “Grow the fuck up.” A dry laugh left your lips, and then you turned back around and walked out the door.

“Don’t come crying to us when you get fucked over!” She yelled after you, but you were already gone, the door slamming shut behind you and the room turning silent.

“What’s wrong with y’all?” Jasmine was the first to speak after a good minute of awkward silence hanging in the air, causing them all to turn to look at her.

“What do you mean?” Ruby asked in a small voice and she briefly looked at him, before turning to look at Monse.

“That was fucked up, Monse.” She pointed out, her face full of disbelief. “(Y/N)’s never been anything but supportive of you. She drives you around every day, basically does all of your homework for you and always stands up for you when you’re not there and someone bad-talks you. You never tell her anything, always freeze her out, and she still hasn’t questioned your shady behavior once. She’s done nothing but be a good friend to you all and this is how you repay her? Not cool, guys.”

“If she was a good friend she wouldn’t have chosen him over us.” Monse tried defending her actions, crossing her arms over her chest.

But Jasmine wouldn’t have it, glaring at her. “No, if you were good friends, you wouldn’t have forced her to choose in the first place.”

“I didn’t say anything!” Ruby quickly defended himself, stepping up to his kinda-girlfriend.

She turned to him, looking down at him with furrowed eyebrows. “No, and that just makes it worse.” She agreed. “Come find me when you’ve got your morals figured out, okay, boo? I’m out.” She said, touching Ruby’s cheek before heading for the door you had just stormed out through.

The three friends were left alone and once again, a heavy silence fell over them. This time, Monse was the one to break the silence, turning to Jamal and holding her arms out.

“You’ve been awfully quiet, too. Whose side are you on?” She asked, and he instantly groaned dramatically.

“Do I have to pick?”

“YES!” She yelled, causing them all to jump where they stood.

“Fine!” He exclaimed back and threw his arms out. “Yes, she shouldn’t have kept it from us, but maybe, just maybe, she was a little bit right!”

“Elaborate.”

“We keep literally everything from her and Spooky isn’t that bad.” He shrugged. “He scares the shit out of me but he has protected us more times than we’d be able to count. She wasn’t lying about that.”

Monse narrowed her eyes, but before she or anyone else got the chance to say something else, Cesar’s phone suddenly started ringing in his pocket, causing them all to turn their attention away from the fight and to him.

They watched as he picked the ringing smartphone up from his pocket, frowning at the unfamiliar number lighting up the screen. Still, he shrugged and swiped the green phone icon, putting the phone up to his ear.

“Hello?”

“Who is it?” Jamal wasted no time in asking as the nosy boy he was, and Cesar looked up to meet their eyes with a shocked expression crossing his face.

“It’s my dad.”

After the fiasco with Monse and the boys, you headed straight for Oscar’s house, hands clenched into fists at your sides and desperate to vent to the man who had been there to take care of you when you had been too busy taking care of everyone else around you.

But just your luck, he hadn’t been home, the red Impala nowhere in sight and, of course, he’d chosen this day out of all days to lock up after himself, something he never did anyways no matter how many times you told him to.

So you were stuck on the porch, occupying yourself with playing Subway Surf for the first time in probably over three years.

But you weren’t complaining. Despite everything that had just gone down, you felt content now that you were finally able to sit in the sun, happily sitting there for well over half an hour before the sound of the familiar engine and hip hop music reached your ears from down the street.

You spotted the red Impala instantly, following it with your gaze as it drove past the house and pulled up in the driveway, Oscar and his Santos piling out once it was parked and the music had died down.

Sad Eyes was the first one to spot you and you offered him a small wave and smile, watching as he nodded back at you before alerting Oscar, who was still doing something inside the car. 

He immediately looked up to meet your gaze through the rolled down car window, and he wasted no time in getting out, slamming the car door shut behind him. 

As he began approaching you where you sat, you exited the game on your phone and locked it, putting it back into your pocket just as Oscar reached you, the Santos busying themselves over by the sofa and weights to give you some privacy.

“Where you been?” He asked you as he came up to you, nodding his head once. “I’ve been calling you.”

You stood up, stuffing your hands into the pockets of your jacket. “Yeah, I know.” You smiled sadly at him, and he instantly noticed something was up.

“What’s wrong?” He asked, reaching his arms out to pull you into his chest.

Your hands left your pockets at that, your arms instead wrapping around his torso while he took your face in one of his hands, the other resting at the curve of your waist.

“They found out.” You muttered back, leaning into his touch when he swiped his thumb over your cheek.

“And?”

You sighed, rolling your eyes at the childishness of it. “They made me chose between you and them.” You answered, and he snorted, obviously finding it as amusing as it, in reality, was. You just couldn’t help but feel sad about it.

“Cesar, too?” He questioned, and you nodded.

“Yup.”

“And you chose me?”

“Well, I’m here, aren’t I?” You raised an eyebrow.

A smile rose to his lips, his hand sliding a bit further down. Not enough to fully grope you, but just enough to show you he was being cheeky. 

“Why?” He asked, pressing his lips to the corner of your lip lightly.

You couldn’t help but smile at the feeling. “Because true friends worth my while wouldn’t have made me choose in the first place.” You hummed, getting lost in his touch and momentarily forgetting what you were even talking about.

“I know for a fact you wouldn’t have.” You added with a scoff, coming back to reality and turning sour again.

He hummed, brushing your hair away from your shoulder and leaning you back against the wall of the porch. “What did they say?” He asked, and you started thinking back to the conflict you had suffered through half an hour ago, all while letting him kiss your neck and feel you up.

“They called me a traitor, but they mostly said shit about you.”

“Like what?” He suddenly stopped, bringing his head up from your neck to look at you.

“Oh, you know, just the usual.” You drawled. “How you’ve fucked up Cesar’s and all of their lives, put them in danger, that you’re dangerous for me and that you will hurt me.”

“What else?”

“That’s it.”

“I know you, mamas.” He looked at you fondly, not in the slightest affected about what his brother and his friends had said about him; all his focus was on you. “I can see when you’re lying.”

You broke your gaze from his and averted it to the side, swallowing. But Oscar was quick, catching your chin with his hand and turning your head back so that he could look you in the eyes.

He raised an eyebrow at you and you sighed, rolling your eyes once more. “Monse called me a Santo slut.” You said, and quickly continued. “But it’s fine! I’m used to her poor impulse control at this point. I know she didn’t mean it, and I’m aware enough of my own worth to know it’s not true.”

His eyes turned cold, all emotion falling from his face. He pushed himself away from you and brought a hand up to his face, pulling it over his mouth and chin before turning around.

You quickly jumped into action, shooting your hand out and catching his wrist before he could get anywhere. "Hey, where are you going?"

Turning back around to face you, he gave you another nod, his face now pulled into a glare. "To give those little shits a piece of my mind." He said, Spanish accent thick with anger.

You shook your head, wrapping your arms around his torso to hold him in place. "No, baby, murder is illegal, remember?” You attempted to joke, but his face didn’t betray any emotion.

“Is it still murder if I give them a heads up?”

“That’s called a threat.”

He pulled his hand over his mouth again, but made no more move to walk away, placing his hands back on your waist and leaning his head back down to yours. “You’ve done nothing but help Cesar and those other putas, especially Monse.” He spat. “You don’t deserve that kind of shit.”

“I know I don’t.” You agreed. “Which is exactly why I came here.”

You put on a smile, grabbing his face in your hands and pulling him in for a kiss without another word.

You were still pissed about your fight with Monse, but you knew them well enough to know that they would drop their childish stubbornness and come around sooner or later. They always did whenever you would tell them off.

Oscar pulled you tighter against him, hands sliding down to grab your ass in his hands, giving you a good squeeze.

You chuckled against his lips when Sad Eyes yelled out a crude comment, the other Santos following shortly behind.

When you pulled apart, Oscar pulled you into his arms, your cheek pressing against his chest and his face burying in your hair. “I would never do anything to hurt you.” He mumbled into your hair while holding you close. “I hope that you know that, mamas.”

“Of course, I do.” You agreed, hugging him back. “Don’t let it get to you. They’re just kids.”

When you said those words out loud, it really dawned on you that it was the actual truth, that it was your reality. 

You were a nineteen-year-old hanging out with a bunch of fifteen-year-olds every day, playing babysitter and personal butler in exchange for little to no gratefulness.

You were certain that they would come around once their, or more specifically, Monse’s, anger died down, but this time, when this happened, you needed to set some boundaries and make some changes.

You spent the rest of your afternoon with Oscar and his Santos outside on the lawn, laughing and feeling as safe as ever in your boyfriend’s arms.

Meanwhile, the kids were beginning to come to their senses back at Ruby’s house after Cesar’s call with his dad, in which he had told his youngest son that him leaving had nothing to do with Oscar and that he ought to show his older brother some more respect.

They were finally beginning to understand how badly they had treated you and how much they had taken you for granted this entire time and Monse felt worse than anyone, guilt eating her up from the inside. 

So after talking themselves together, they headed out for the place they just knew you would be at.

By the time they walked up in front of the Diaz residence, most of the other Santos had gone home or out to do God knows what, leaving only you, Oscar, Sad Eyes and two other Santos on his porch.

Oscar was sitting on the wall, smoking a cigarette with his arm slung over your shoulder where you stood leaned between his legs, talking to him and Sad Eyes.

The kids watched as all of them laughed at something you said, Oscar looking down at you with a look they’d never seen on his face before.

"He's laughing." Monse pointed out from the other side of the street, watching yours and Oscar’s exchanged with sad eyes. “I’ve never seen him laugh like that before.”

“Well, I have.” Cesar told them, smiling faintly as he watched his older brother brush a strand of hair out of your face when you looked up at him. “And that’s sincere.”

Ruby sighed, watching the scene unfold alongside his friends. “She was really right, huh?” He asked.  “He cares about her.”

“Looks like it, yeah.” Jamal agreed, not even half as depressed as the rest of them since he hadn’t partaken in the argument at all, his conscience free. “Let’s go before his happy mood falters.” He added simply, before starting to walk over the road, forcing the others to follow.

Oscar was the first one to notice them approaching, softly moving you out of the way so that he could get down from the wall and stand next to you.

He threw his cigarette on the grass and only then, you noticed them approaching. Your eyes met Monse’s immediately, but before you could say anything, Oscar walked to meet them in the middle, speaking for you.

“Don’t you think you’ve done enough damage for one day?” His stern voice sounded, silencing any previous conversation.

While Sad Eyes signaled for the other Santos to go inside, them following him without any protest, you followed Oscar to meet the kids on the lawn.

“We came to apologize.” Monse was the one to speak, staring straight at the infamous Spooky with little to no fear in her eyes.

Her gaze shifted to you, and your face instantly turned stern. “I’m not the one you owe an apology.” You told them all, and Ruby instantly shrunk back into himself.

“What did you tell him?” He asked, and before you could answer, Oscar spoke up for you for the second time.

“All of it.”

Jamal and Ruby exchanged a look.

“We’re sorry we talked bad about you, Mr. Spooky, sir.” Jamal was the first one to apologize. “We’re very grateful for everything you and the Santos do to keep the neighborhood safe.”

“Yeah, we’re sorry.” Ruby agreed, nodding his head.

Your eyebrows rose, not being able to comprehend why they were the ones to apologize when they hadn’t been the ones talking the biggest.

Oscar knew this of course, but he didn’t care about himself at this moment, he only cared about you. 

He reached a hand up to squeeze your shoulder, turning to nod at Monse. “Your turn, chica.” He glowered at her, silently motioning towards you with his head.  

She swallowed, and looked at you nervously. “Can we do this without an audience?” She asked, her voice small and her hands twisting together in front of her.

You wasted no time in nodding, but before you could tell them to go away, Cesar stepped up and looked at his brother with an equally as guilty look. “Can we talk, mano?”

Oscar gave him a once over, but nodded, wordlessly walking toward the porch, leaving you to look at Jamal and Ruby.

The former nodded his head, taking the latter under his arm. “Alright, I can tell when I’m not wanted.” He spoke playfully, before leading Ruby over to the side and leaving you and Monse alone to talk. 

You could still feel their eyes burning holes into the side of your face, but now that they were out of earshot, Monse sighed, looking down briefly before looking back up to meet your eyes.

“I’m sorry for everything I said.” She apologized sadly. “I didn’t mean any of it. You’re not a Santo slut, you’re…”

She trailed off, looking unsure of herself, but you patiently waited, listening as she sighed again and watching her kick her foot nervously while looking to the side. “You’re like my sister. I got so attached to you when you were there for me through everything with Cesar and my mom and I just- I felt like I was losing you, I guess. It’s silly.”

All the previous annoyance melted right off when hearing her words and your head automatically shook.

“If that’s how you feel, then it’s not silly.” You disagreed, causing her eyes to flicker back up to yours. “I wouldn’t leave you, never. Me being with Oscar would never come in the way of me being there for you. You know I see you like my little sister.”

She brought her hand up to hold her arm, looking down to the ground guiltily, so you did the only thing you could think of, reaching out to grab her shoulder and pull her into an embrace.

Her arms instantly wrapped around your waist, her cheek leaning on your shoulder. “I’m sorry for always taking you for granted.” She mumbled. “I was so caught up thinking about myself that I never really realized just how much you’ve been there for me.”

“And I’m sorry, too.” You mumbled back, pressing your cheek against her head. “For keeping this all from you and yelling at you, and all that.”

She squeezed you tighter, holding the embrace for another moment, before breaking apart and smiling at you, reaching her hand out. “Friends?”

Her smile was contagious, causing an identical one to spread across your lips. “Best friends.” You agreed, grabbing her hand in yours and giving it a shake.

“But with all due respect, all of this made me realize it’s high time that I start hanging out with people my own age.” You quickly added, and she laughed, nodding her head.

“That’s fair. I get it.” She agreed. “But we’ll still have our Saturday movie nights, though, right?”

“Duh.” You answered, and before either of you could say anything else, Jamal and Ruby shuffled back over, the latter still stuck under the former’s arm.

“Is everything cool? Are we all friends again?” Jamal quickly asked, looking between you. “You were smiling so we just thought-”

“Yeah, everything’s good.” Monse interrupted him with a smile.

You took her under your arm. “Come on.” You told them, beginning to lead her towards the house where Oscar and Cesar were now hugging it out, too, Jamal and Ruby trailing behind you.

The brothers broke apart when they heard you approaching and you instantly looked to the youngest of them, offering him an apologetic smile. “Hey, I’m sorry for going off at you earlier.” You said and he wasted no time in shaking his head.

“Nah, it’s cool. I deserved it.”

“What did you say to him?” Oscar asked, raising an eyebrow and looking between the two of you.

Jamal quickly took the wheel, stepping forward with an excessively excited expression on his face. “She called him a cheating piece of shit. It was awesome.” He rushed out in one breath.

Cesar looked to the side awkwardly as he was once again reminded of his fuck-up. “Yeah, thanks.” He chuckled.

Oscar chuckled with him, giving you a smirk. “Damn, mami. You did my mano dirty, huh?”

“She was defending you, I had it coming.” Cesar offered you a smile, and you smiled back.

Realizing the conversation was over, Oscar took it upon himself to change the subject, nodding at the teenagers in front of him.

“You gamberros hungry?” He asked, and all of them instantly turned nervous under his intimidating stare.

But still, Ruby and Jamal looked at each other and shrugged, before looking back to the gang leader in front of them. “I could eat.” Ruby answered, and as everyone made some kind of sound of agreement, Oscar nodded his head back to the house.

“Vamos.” He told you, and without another word, he took his mano under his arm and started walking with him inside, none of you far behind and all of you content now that all was forgiven. 

Translations (I’m not a native Spanish speaker so this might not be a hundred percent accurate):

Mano - brother

Gamberros - troublemakers

Vamos - come on

You squeezed your burning eyes shut at the sounds of Mario’s desperate cries, your forehead pressed against your arms where you sat on the stairs right by the front door.

This had been going on pretty much non-stop for two days straight now, ever since you had fought at Spooky’s party and you had run home crying and a broken six-year-long relationship.

Per the instructions of your father and brother, you had turned off your phone in order to be able to ignore his texts and calls, and in the end, he had really gone all out and came over to your house. 

When your family wouldn’t let him in, per the request of you,  he had opted with yelling out for you outside your house like the absolute idiot he was and always had been.

Your family told you to ignore him and focus on moving on, but it was hard. You had been together for six entire years and you were the loves of each other’s lives. At least he was yours. You had been convinced the feeling was reciprocated but now you weren’t so sure anymore.

“Does he ever stop crying?” Your brother’s voice reached your ears as he emerged from the living room, causing you to look up from your arms.

You watched as he walked into the hall with only a pair of baseball shorts hanging from his hips, his hands ruffling his wet hair with a towel. The entire room started smelling of AXE once he got closer, the smell of the soap he had used in the shower he had seemingly just gotten out of.

You could only hum in response, too depressed to even open your lips. Sniffling, you lowered your cheek back down onto your arm, staring into the wall of the staircase as Mario’s cries kept coming from outside.

“Jesus, your boy’s got problems, sis.” Your brother scoffed. “Don’t worry, I’ll send him off. Again.”

Without another word, he tossed his towel to a chair standing off to the side and walked over to the front door with two long strides, unlocking it and throwing it open to walk outside and disappear from your line of sight.  

“Yo, asshole!” You could hear your brother call. “You got to stop this. She doesn’t want to talk to you so leave her alone.”

“I can’t just leave her alone. I leave for college tomorrow and- and-“ Mario was talking in a normal speaking tone now, having stopped yelling when your brother had come outside.

You couldn’t see his face, but you could just imagine the sadness between his beautiful brown eyes, and that picture only made your heart break even more, the painful feeling only intensifying as you processed his words. He would, in fact, be leaving the next day.

“And, and.” Your brother mimicked him in a rude tone, not taking his shit even for a second. “You’re a mess, bro. Go home.”

“Please, I have to apologize.” Mario pleaded, and you could imagine your brother nodding his head to that as he answered.

“Yeah, you do.”

“So you’ll let me in?” Mario’s voice was hopeful, but once again, your brother showed him no mercy, breaking his hope down just as quickly as it got there.

“No.” He denied. “Solve your own problems and stop yelling outside of our house, or we’ll call the cops and have them make you.” He threatened, but Mario didn’t give up.

“Come on, man. Help a brother out. I just need to talk to her.”

“Look, what you did was fucked up and the only reason I’m not beating you to a pulp right now is because my sister loves your pathetic ass but you’re really pushing your luck right now.”

“Come on, how am I supposed to apologize if I can’t get to her?”

“Figure it out yourself. Have fun at college, asshole.” Your brother spat, and you could hear the faint sound of his feet pattering across the stone path leading up to your door now, indicating that he was on his way back.

But he stopped himself, his voice now closer than before as he called out. “And stop crying and grow a pair, man. You’re making a fool out of yourself. It’s embarrassing to listen to.”

When he returned inside, your first instinct was to tell him off for being rude to Mario and lecture him about the fact that showing emotion doesn’t determine a man’s masculinity. 

But you caught yourself last minute, as he turned to look at you, the furious expression on his face reminding you that, right now, he didn’t deserve to be defended.

Your brother read you like an open book as his eyes met yours, sensing the hurt and conflict in your head.

“You don’t need that piece of shit.” He told you as he locked the front door again. “He’s immature and  wouldn’t recognize the love of a good woman if he got it handed to him on a labeled silver platter.”

His words brought a pathetic cry from your lips and you had to strain yourself really hard in order to not break out into tears right then and there.

“Isn’t that exactly how I’ve been giving it to him, though?” You questioned in a whisper, your lip wobbling, and your brother nodded, giving you a look.

“Yeah, my point exactly. He’s an idiot.” He declared. “You’re worth much better.”

“Your brother is right, mija.” Your father agreed as he stepped through the doorway of the kitchen. “I know it’s easier said than done but try not to think about it. No boy is worth your tears.”

He approached you where you sat and you raised your head from your arms once again, allowing your dad to wipe the hot tears from your cheeks. But they never stopped coming.

Your dad sat down beside you and took you into his arms and your brother snorted in agreement, raising a hand to the curtain covering the window of the door and casting a distasteful glance outside. “Especially not Luigi out there.”

You sniffled, using the hem of your sleeve to wipe your nose. “Is he gone?” You asked in a small voice and he nodded after looking around some more.

“Yeah, seems like he finally got the hint. Piece of shit.” He muttered, before dropping the curtain and turning back to you. “Do you want to watch a movie? Eat some ice cream? Mom bought some Ben & Jerry’s yesterday.”

Your eyebrows furrowed together in sadness, remembering you and Mario had been eating Ben & Jerry’s together just an hour before your fight. You never thought such small things would be able to hurt so much.

Shaking your head, you stood up from beside your father on shaky legs, giving your brother an apologetic look. “I think I’m just going to head to bed. I’m not really feeling it tonight.” You confessed.

He looked angry, but he nodded his head, understanding. “I got you. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

You nodded in return and after saying goodnight to them and your mother in the kitchen, you headed back upstairs to get ready for bed. You washed your face and braided your hair, and was in the middle of brushing your teeth when you heard a loud thud from inside your room.

You froze at the sound, panic instantly filling your body. You knew your entire family was home so the risk of someone breaking into your house at this exact moment wasn’t very big, but it could never be ruled out in the neighborhood you lived in.

Calling out your brother’s name through a mouthful of toothpaste foam, you got no response. And not when you called out to your parents either.

As the suspicion was growing stronger in the pit of your stomach, you quickly spit out the toothpaste and washed off your toothbrush, putting it back in its cup, before silently heading for your room, your heart beating violently in your chest.

You could practically hear your pulse in your ears, afraid that someone had gotten into the house, only to enter your room and find your boyfriend pushing himself off the floor underneath your open window.

Your body instantly relaxed when seeing the familiar mop of curly black hair, but the relief quickly turned into anger, your feet steering you into the room hastily.

“What the hell, Mario?!” You exclaimed, closing your bedroom door behind you to not alert your parents. “How hard is it for you to take a hint? I don’t want to see you anymore!”

Mario finally managed to get off the floor, having been tangled in your long curtains and held his hands out in defense, almost as if expecting you to jump at him or something.

“Please let me explain.” He pleaded, which only made the anger bubbling in the pit of your stomach grow stronger.

“There’s nothing to explain!” You yelled at him. “You fucking asked me for a guilt free pass for college, that’s unforgivable. It’s over!”

“No, no, please don’t say that.” He pleaded, taking a step closer to you. “I was drunk. I didn’t mean it.”

For each step closer that he took, you took two backward, the heartbreak that you had been trying so hard to push away for the past two days resurfacing when you took in Mario’s messy appearance; bloodshot eyes rimmed with wet tears, dark circles and his hair a mess, looking as if he hadn’t slept for days. But then again, you hadn’t either, and you doubted that you looked any better than he did.

“Well, you know what they say, right?” You let out a dry laugh, swallowing as you felt a fresh set of hot tears starting to poke at your eyes. “Drunk words are sober thoughts. And if that’s what you’re thinking about when you’re drunk with me, I don’t even want to imagine what you would be capable of when drunk without me.”

Mario looked at you with pleading eyes. “I know it’s not an excuse but I wasn’t thinking straight. The boys got me so riled up about you finding someone else with me being gone and I just let it get to my head. It was wrong and I’m sorry.”

You glared through your tears. “I wouldn’t do that and you know it!” You snapped. “You know how much I love you. Hearing you ask that question, knowing that you’re thinking about being intimate with other girls, it- it fucking hurt.”

You couldn’t hold back the tears anymore and you didn’t try to either, letting out a cry and watching through blurry vision as fresh tears started falling down his cheeks too.

“I know, baby. I know.” He agreed. “And I’m sorry. I know I don’t deserve your trust or your forgiveness but I’ll do anything to earn it back. Yell at me, hit me, anything. Just… please, forgive m-“

Before you could stop yourself, your hand flew out and struck him right across the face, cutting him short as a sharp slapping sounded through the room.

Your eyes widened as soon as you realized what you had done, your hand coming to cover your mouth as you gasped. “Oh my God, Mario, I’m so sorry!” You quickly apologized, wasting no time in cradling his face in your hands.

He shook his head, squeezing his eyes shut to prevent the tears from falling from the pain. “No, I deserved that. I’m glad you got it out of your system.” He objected but still leaned into your touch, drunk from the feeling of your skin against his after having been without you for two entire days.

He opened his eyes and raised his hand to lay them on top of yours, looking into your eyes. 

“I really am sorry.” He sniffled. “I need you to know that just the thought of being with someone else makes me sick to my stomach. You’re the only one for me. I want to marry you and grow old with you. I… I want you to have my babies, one day. I want to live the rest of my life with you and only you, (Y/N). No one else.”

You took a shaky breath, coming down from your angry high. “Do you really mean that?” You asked, feeling the tears drop down from your chin.

He nodded, carefully taking a step closer to you now that you weren’t yelling at him anymore. 

“I’ve never been so sure about anything in my life.” He mumbled. “I don’t want to leave with us on bad terms. When I come home for the holidays I want to be able to come home to you. You own my heart, mi amor. You’ve owned it since we first met.”

You chewed on the inside of your cheek as you attempted to stop crying. Removing your hands from his face and forcing him to let go of you in the process, you moved over to the bed and sat down, pulling your knees up against your chest.

You lowered your forehead onto your knees and took a deep breath, all too aware of Mario’s eyes following your every move.

“You have to work on your confidence if this is going to work, Mario.” You said, your voice coming out slightly muffled with your head being covered by your arms. “You can’t just do stuff like that every time you get insecure about yourself and worry that I’m going to leave you.”

He was at your side within the next 0.1 second, sinking down on the bed next to you and placing a hand on your arm. You turned your head to the side at the feeling of his touch, allowing your eyes to meet his.

“I know, I know.” He agreed eagerly. “I’m going to get plenty of time to work on myself when I’m away, and I’ll come back a better man for you.”

A small laugh left your lips and your lips tugged into a watery smile. “You’re already the best.”

He shook his head. “I’m really not. But you make me the best version of myself.” He carefully grabbed your arms, forcing you to drop your legs over the edge of the bed and sit up straight.

“I love you, mi amor. So much.” He whispered, leaning his forehead against yours and cradling your jaw in his hand, while the other landed on your thighs.

You looked into his eyes for a moment, sniffling, before slowly leaning your head up to press your lips against his.

He wasted no time in responding, moving his hand from your thigh to the back of your head, his entire body reacting and lowering you down on the bed. Your lips parted and your tongues fought for dominance for a good half-minute, before you pulled apart, out of breath.

Your foreheads connected again, and you closed your eyes, taking in the feeling of the touch of his skin against yours, the warmth of his hands and the smell of his cologne. 

“I love you, too.” You answered, and when hearing the words he had been yearning to hear you speak for two entire days, he buried his face into your neck, smiling into your skin.

After all the crying you had done since the fight, you fell asleep not long after that, in Mario’s arms. But Mario laid awake, staring into the ceiling and thinking about everything that had gone down. 

He didn’t deserve your forgiveness after the stunt he had pulled, and yet you had given it to him with little to no protest. He didn’t deserve your love, and yet you had been there to give it to him every day for six years straight.