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She had brown eyes. The same color as most people's, but there was something notably different about hers. Something mesmerizing about them. She'd heard the words ‘electric', ‘fiery', and even ‘cat-like', but she herself chose to believe it was determination. Her persistence and tenacity that reflected off the brown of her eyes, reminding people of the forest's bear. Showing off fierceness and strength no matter what came her way.

The strange thing about it though was that I never saw it for myself. No matter how many times I looked in the mirror or how on point my make-up game was, I never saw that fierceness I felt. Even now, as I was staring at my reflection in the taxi window, describing all the things I believed about myself, I couldn't see it. Instead, I saw vulnerability. Weakness. Sadness.

I was supposed to be happy. It was my birthday, after all. 23 years old. I just came from a surprise party my friends threw for me where I saw family, co-workers, new faces, old faces and even a few forgotten faces. Although I did find myself looking for one face in particular, when I didn't see him, I forced myself to move on and have a good time anyway. I danced, ate, drank, laughed and made memories. I showed that I didn't need him to be happy...and yet, the sadness in my eyes was more prominent than ever. I had to look away.

I turned to my left to see two girls who looked seconds away from a fight. The one sitting next to the opposite car door was a high yellow color with thick, curly hair that resembled black clouds. Her eyes were brown too, but the playfulness that lied within made them appear brighter than they actually were. She was laughing in an unbecoming manner and talking with her hands so much one might think she was using sign language. She seemed to be provoking the other girl and getting enjoyment out of it. Sadly, this girl was my best friend.

The girl in the middle, facing her, was a darker, richer shade of brown to be envious of and her hair was straight with a side bang. Her eyes were brown as well, but they were hidden behind hazel contacts and irritation. She was clenching her fists and yelling, obviously not in the same playful mood as the girl provoking her. She could be compared to a snake, rattling its tail threateningly and revealing its fangs. Sadly, she was my best friend too.

Francesca Littlejohn and Nichelle Greene. I swear, you couldn't take these two anywhere without them being at each other's throat. Their past lives must've been mortal enemies or something, because it was borderline ridiculous. Their personalities clashed so hard it was a wonder they called each other friends to begin with. Heck, it was a wonder I called them friends. It's not like they were much better individually; if the other wasn't around to pester, they had no problem turning their antics to me. The only difference was that I had no patience for it.

However, even as annoying as they could be, they were still an integral part of my life. I'd known them since we were children in elementary school, and I couldn't imagine sharing an apartment with any other two people. They were the only non-related people I trusted with my life.

"You keep pushing my buttons, Chess, and I'm going to wipe that smile off your face!"

With a grin, Francesca reached over to a button on Nichelle's coat and pushed it. "Like that?"

"You little-" Immediately, her hands were gripping Francesca's collar and she was shaking her violently.

"Still smiling!"

A few screams and a light commotion later, I'd reached my limit. Trust them with my life? Yeah, that is if they weren't too busy being my cause of death.

"Enough already," I finally said, putting a hand on my head. "It's after one in the morning and you two are acting like unruly white children. Can you get it together? You're giving me a headache."

Francesca stopped bustling around and looked over at me apologetically. "I'm sorry, Jacqui."

Nichelle released her collar, but continued to glare at her. "Feel free to take it out on her."

I shook my head and turned back to the window, looking out of it rather than at myself this time. Francesca leaned over Nichelle, much to her obvious chagrin, and tapped my arm. She waited until I turned to her before she spoke. "You don't seem happy anymore. What's wrong?"

"You mean aside from you two?"

"Is it Japheth? You're not upset about him still, are you?"

Nichelle responded before I could, sarcasm dripping off her tongue like venom. "No, she's upset because Ice-T and Coco's newborn baby has more followers on twitter than she probably will in her lifetime."

"Well that's no reason to be upset. Don't worry about it, Jacqui. When you have a baby, I bet it'll be way cuter than theirs."

"You see? You see why I was trying to hurt her?"

I put my hand on my head again. The last thing I wanted to talk about was Japheth, even though he was the main thing on my mind. But at the same time, I really didn't want to listen to these two to go back at it which was inevitable if we didn't talk about something else. I sighed internally as I made my choice. "I'd be lying if I said I wasn't thinking about Jay."

Francesca looked concerned. "It's alright."

"No, it's really not," Nichelle interjected suddenly, rolling her eyes. "There is no good reason for you to still be moping around over him-there wasn't a good reason for you to be doing so in the first place. He was a good-for-nothing arrogant jerk who used his looks to get whatever he wanted. He cheated on you several times and is probably with another female we speak. You couldn't be further from his mind."

"Why don't you just set me on fire, Nichelle? Seriously. You can really watch me hurt that way."

"I said that to say you have no business thinking about him. Especially on your birthday! It was six months ago. He's moved on, and it's about time for you to do the same."

Francesca maintained her concerned look. "For once, I'm going to have to agree with Shelly."

"I told you to stop calling me that." Nichelle pushed her. "And get off me."

"Wait a minute...you two can't find common ground on something as simple as the color of a dress, but can somehow find it concerning my romantic life?"

Francesca gave a half shrug as she sat back up. "Well she was right about Japheth; he wasn't a good boyfriend to you. You forgave him every time you found him with another girl and he repaid you with more cheating."

"And let's not forget the ultimate slap in the face: he had the nerve to dump you. Not the other way around like it should've been."

"Right. I'm not trying to be mean, but I do think it's time for you to move on. There are plenty of other fish in the sea. Literally and figuratively."

A frustrated sound escaped my mouth. "Move on, move on, move on. That's what you guys keep saying. But if I could've done that, don't you think I would've been did it? You think I want Jay on my mind twenty out of twenty-four hours in the day? It's not easy." I looked away for fear that they would see vulnerability in my eyes rather than fierceness. "I know he wasn't perfect, but he was mine. We had history...and we had a future."

They remained silent and when I glanced back up, I caught them sharing an uncertain look. Maybe I had one too many drinks. Maybe I didn't have enough. Regardless, all I wanted to do at that moment was crawl underneath my covers and melt away into a deep sleep. I didn't want to talk about Japheth anymore. I didn't want to think about him moving on. I didn't want to see that sadness in my eyes anymore. I was done with this conversation and I was even more done with this day.

"You know what? I'd rather you two argue." With a wave of my hand, I dismissed any further discussion.

.

.

I wasted no time getting out of my dress and putting pajamas on in its stead. I was so ready to end this day, it was wonder I didn't just fall asleep in the taxi. Actually it wasn't a wonder. Knowing those two buffoons, they would've tried to carry me in, but got tired halfway through the job and left me in the middle of the kitchen floor. There was also a potential of a drawn on mustache and beard being on my face, curtesy of Francesca. I know these things from experience. So no, it wasn't a wonder.

I was at my dresser, tying my hair up when Nichelle walked in. She had a bad habit of doing that and not knocking. I waited for her to say what she wanted, but instead of speaking, she just handed me a picture. I watched her as she leaned against the dresser, and then looked at the picture.

It was of some model-looking white man with light brown hair and even lighter brown eyes. He was shirtless, revealing a long torso of abs, and muscular arms. He was wearing nothing but black swimming trunks, and a small towel hung from around his neck. Though he wasn't smiling, there was a devilish look in his eyes as if he knew something the cameraman didn't. After a minute, I looked back at Nichelle with a questioning expression. "Okay?"

She just stared at me. "Well what do you think?"

"I think I'm wondering why you handed this to me."

"What if I told you that you could go out with him?"

Did she really come in here to waste my time? I shot her a look. "I'd say whoop-dee-doo and go to bed."

"Seriously."

"What part of that did not sound serious to you?"

She rolled her eyes and pointed to the picture. "Look at him. What would you say if he asked you out on a date for a week straight?"

"I'd say no thank you and then go to bed."

Now she was beginning to look irritated. "Why?"

"Because one, I'm not ready to date again and two, I want to go to bed."

She sighed impatiently. "Well what about just hanging out?"

"If I wanted to hang out, I'd grab you or Chess, and you see I barely do that as it is."

I handed the picture back to her which she reluctantly took while muttering something under her breath. I didn't know what her problem was, but she needed to take it to her own room. I was about to go to sleep to stop thinking about Japheth and my feelings-the last thing I wanted to talk about was a date. I'd just made my way over to my bed when Francesca appeared in my doorway.

"Here I am!"

Nichelle grimaced. "Must you be so loud and unnecessary?"

"Must you be so...quiet and necessary?"

"Okay." I held up my hand, putting a stop to this before it even had the chance to get started. "This little gathering in my room was nice for all of the ten seconds it lasted, but as you can see, I'm ready to go to bed now. So thank you again for the party, and I'll see you two tomorrow."

Like she didn't hear a word I said, Francesca looked at the picture in Nichelle's hand and stamped her foot. "Oh no! Shelly, I asked you not to tell her without me."

Nichelle just shook her head. "You can tell her again tomorrow."

"Let's try this again. Don't let the door hit you two on your way out."

Once again, they both ignored me.

"No, I wanted to tell her with you." Francesca pouted and turned to me. "Well did you like it at least?"

"Like what? What is it that you're talking about that won't let you leave my room?"

"The gift."

"What gift?"

"Chess, just wait-" Nichelle started, but Francesca kept talking.

"Ryan. The male escort we hired for you."






Chapter End Notes:

Japheth: http://worldofmodels.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/02/1888761_649641005100295_2143906591_n.jpg

Ryan: http://lipnglow.com/onewebstatic/84fc83a3c4-lipnglow-Beauty-Mariano-Mariano%20Di%20Vaio%202.jpg

What do you think? I've been playing around with the idea for a few days and I decided to give it a whirl. The title is subject to change though because I haven't decided if I like it or not yet...







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Disclaimer: All publicly recognizable characters, settings, etc. are the property of their respective owners. The original characters and plot are the property of the author. The author is in no way associated with the owners, creators, or producers of any media franchise. No copyright infringement is intended.