Dance for you || Spencer James

I

"What's with the hug? You okay?" Lisa asks her daughter, noticing the small smile on Kalani's face. "It's just... you guys are never here, and I'm happy you are here," Kalani says, her voice tinged with a hint of longing.

"Honey, we've been over this... my job and your father's job require a lot of time," Lisa responds, attempting to reassure her daughter. Kalani rolls her eyes discreetly, feeling frustrated that her mother doesn't seem to understand her perspective. They've had this conversation many times before, and Kalani still struggles to comprehend why her parents can't prioritize spending time at home.

"I know, I'm just saying it seems like you two are never home anymore. You're always at work," Kalani explains, crossing her arms defensively.

"I don't understand why you're so upset about this, Kalani. Anthony and I both have important jobs that require a lot of our time. Our careers have to take priority sometimes," Lisa says, trying to rationalize their busy schedules to her daughter.

"It feels like you care more about your jobs than you do me," Kalani says, frustration evident in her voice as she expresses her feelings to her mother.

"You're in high school, stop being so childish," Lisa retorts, her attention focused on preparing dinner. "Childish?! Seriously?!" Kalani's frustration escalates, her voice rising in volume, causing Lisa to stop what she's doing and turn to her daughter. "I don't know who you're getting loud with, but it ain't me. Watch it," Lisa scolds, her tone firm as she addresses Kalani's outburst.

Kalani glares at her mother, feeling unheard and dismissed. "Can you at least try to see it from my point of view? You guys are never home, and when I express my feelings, you make it seem like I'm the crazy one. You called me childish because I wanted to be with my parents," Kalani says, disbelief coloring her words.

"Anything, get your daughter before I hurt her," Lisa says, turning away from Kalani. Anthony, Kalani's father, interjects without even looking away from the TV. "Kalani, don't start with this again," he says, his attention still fixed on the screen.

"Are you serious, Dad? You're not even paying attention either!" Kalani's frustration reaches a boiling point, causing Lisa to bang on the table, startling Kalani into silence. The tension in the room .

"I don't know what your problem is, but you need to act like a damn adult. We aren't always gonna be here!" Lisa yells, her frustration boiling over as she confronts Kalani. Kalani, used to the absence of her parents and the arguments when they were around, clenches her fists in frustration. "Then what's the point of coming home?" she retorts before storming off to her room and slamming the door shut.

"Don't slam my damn door!" Lisa's voice echoes from downstairs, but Kalani ignores it, seething with anger and disappointment. She sinks onto her bed, the weight of the tension in the air pressing down on her.

"It's gonna be a long night" kalani thinks as she sighs.

As Kalani sits on her bed, her thoughts swirl with frustration and hurt. She feels like she's trapped in a cycle of arguments and misunderstandings with her parents, unable to bridge the gap between their busy lives and her longing for their presence and understanding.

Looking around her room, Kalani feels a sense of isolation creeping in. The walls seem to close in on her, suffocating her with the weight of unspoken words and unresolved feelings. She longs for a sense of connection and belonging, but it feels out of reach in this moment of conflict.

....

The next morning kalani was slow to get up. The argument with her parents last night really exhausted her. As she walks through the halls she sees students looking at their phone and laughing making her confused. She then comes across Olivia who has a worried expression on her face. "Hey what's up?" Kalani asks as Olivia looks up from her phone. "Are you seeing this it's going viral" Olivia says as she shows kalani her phone to see a gif of Spencer fumbling the ball from the last game. "Oh boy I know he's pissed" kalani says as the gif loops.

"Yeah can't imagine how he feels right now" Olivia says putting her phone. "This has to be Asher's doing. Such a hating ass person" kalani mumbles as she shakes her head. "Let's head to class before we're late" Olivia advises as they began walking to their class.

...
After school Layla invited her two partners kalani and Olivia to work on an English assignment. " just like old times, right?" Layla askes the three as they walk. "Uh right Yeah. So why exactly did Ms. Bench put us together? I mean I get Olivia but..." kalani trails off causing Olivia to nudge her. "Beats me. When I tried talking to her about it, she just said partner assignments are final." Layla answers choosing to ignore the last part of what kalani said. "Lucky us." Olivia adds in with a tight smile."Hey, let's try and make the best of it. I mean I know it's homework but who knows it might be fun" layla says as they arrive at a cafe.

...
"Why is this so hard?" It's one simple question. Who was Shakespeare? I mean, seriously, there's, like, a hundred conspiracy theories about who this guy really was." Layla says looking at her paper. "Well, name aside, who he was comes through in his work, which is why I'm trying to focus on that, so Look, I know I-" Olivia says but gets cut off by a certain someone.

"Hey ladies" Asher greets making the girls look up.
"Hey, babe." Layla greets back. "Uh, what are you guys doing here?" Olivia asks awkwardly. "Talk about awkward" kalani mumbles to herself as she watches Olivia. "J.J and I are also working on the English thing, so I figured 5 brains are better than three." Asher says taking his book at off his shoulder. "Uh, make that 4 brains. The Shakespeare dude's not really my thing. But hey, food's on me." JJ says as he takes his seat next to kalani who scoots over.

...

"All right, I'm ready to clean out the system and then hit round two. Who wants more food?" J.J asks standing up. "You know, you don't need to announce every time, you need to drop a deuce." Asher jokes. "Why don't I get the food and you go take care of that Does anyone want anything?" Layla asks as everyone shakes their head. "No, I'm good." Kalani responds. "Yeah, I'll get a drink." Olivia responds."A peach and ginger iced tea with two splashes of soda water. Of course I remember your go-to. Why would I forget?" Layla says before getting up.

As she walks away Olivia turns to Asher. "I know what you're doing." Olivia whispers while learning over the table. "Trying not to fail English?" Asher questions. "This isn't funny. I already agreed to keep our stupid hookup a secret. OK, your perfect boyfriend cover stays intact. Happy?" Olivia says frowning.

"Hold up yall hooked up?" Kalami asks making Olivia look at her. "This isn't about covering my ass. It's about not destroying the lives of the 3 people I care about the most. Layla would be devastated, and Jordan would hate me for involving you." Asher responds as kalani rolls her eyes. "Could've fooled me" kalani mumbles making Asher glare at her.

"Look im gonna tell her alright just not now" Asher says as kalani crosses her arms. " even if Layla isn't my friend right now that doesn't mean I'm not gonna tell her about her cheating ass boyfriend" kalani says making Olivia look at her panicked. "Let me say something...I'll tell her" Asher says as kalani leans back in her chair. "Fine but if you don't best believe I will. That ain't right you both know that and so do I" kalani says as the two look and sigh.

Finally updated!

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