Vanilla And Cocoa

Chapter 6 "Morning Meetings"

I woke up with a throbbing pain in my cheek and my knuckles. Flashbacks from the previous night plagued me before I could even open my eyes and I groaned.

So many bad decisions.

But then, I remembered Cameron and I buried my face into my pillow. I guess that was alright way to end a shitty night.

When I got home, my mom was concerned at first then pissed. I managed to remind her that all of the chicks were very, very rich and could probably ruin our lives with a snap of their fingers so 'hunting them down one by one' was not a good idea.

I slowly sat up, ignoring the subtle throbbing in my head. I was barely buzzed last night so I didn't really have a hangover.

"Destiny!!!" I winced at my mom's loud voice and got up.

"I'm coming!" I yelled back.

I jogged down the stairs and my mom stood by the door with her arms crossed. "It's for you."

I furrowed my eyes in confusion and opened the door. Justin stood there disheveled with a little girl perched on his hip and I cleared my throat of uncertainty. "What are you doing here?"

"I, uh, I just- I wanted to apologize for my behavior last night and I'm sorry that Zay-" I stopped him right there.

"It doesn't matter. How the hell did you find out where I live?"

The little girl started to squirm and he whispered something to her in spanish. He grimaced at the sunlight burning into his eyes and gave me an apologetic look. "There's a lot you can do when you're rich."

"Right..." He squeezed his eyes shut in pain and even my mom looked concerned. "Are you okay? Do you need something to drink because you look like you're about to fall over?"

"I'll be fine. I just need to lie down when we get home." He whispered.

I looked back at my mom and she sighed, beckoning them in. "No, just come in for a minute."

He looked like he was about to protest but I gave him a look and he stepped inside. He followed me into the living room and he set the little girl on the couch beside him. "Do you need me to get you an aspirin?"

He shook his head and lowered his head. "I took one on the way over."

I stared at him in disbelief. "You took an aspirin and drove over here with a kid in the car with you?"

He scratched his nape nervously. "Not one of my proud moments."

This guy was insane. I looked at the little girl and squatted in front of her. "What's your name, sweetheart?"

She tried to hide her face behind Justin's arm but he placed a comforting hand on her head.

"Merissa." She mumbled. My mouth popped open as I remembered Justin apologizing to her last night in the state he was in.

Justin noticed my facial expression change and he frowned. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing." I said quickly and stood up. "I'm going to get you both some water."

I walked into the kitchen and grabbed two water bottles. There's definitely more than what meets the eye when it comes to Justin. My mom eyed me from the table and I sighed. "What?"

"Who the hell is sitting in my living room?"

"One of my classmates and, I'm guessing, his little sister or kid." I explained.

"Something's not right about that boy." She muttered.

"I know but it's not my business." I agreed, grip tightening on the bottles.

She held my gaze for a moment before her lips quirked up into a smile. "You're way too kindhearted to just 'mind your business' when someone is suffering."

I let out a breath and left the kitchen, leaving the comment lingering the air. She was right but she didn't need me to tell her that.

I walked over the couch and handed them their water. I saw that Merissa was struggling with hers so I opened it for her. "Thank you."

"No problem." I smiled at her and I saw that a tiny smile appeared on her face.

I sat on the opposite couch and turned my attention to Justin. "What are you really here for? If you wanted to apologize you could've waited until Monday. What is it?"

Justin's eyes nervously met my eyes before he pulled something out his pocket. My eyes widened as I stared at the wad of cash outstretched to me. "You took care of me last night so here's your payment."

I let out a laugh of disbelief and moved my eyes away from the sum of cash. "You really are crazy."

"So, I've been told." He said dryly.

"I'm not taking your cash, Justin. Did you really think I had an initiative for helping you?" I wouldn't be lying if I said the assumption didn't stung a bit.

"It wouldn't be the first time." He spoke coldly and I drew back in surprise.

The Justin that was sitting in front of me was not the happy-go-lucky one I saw in the hallways at school. No, this one is somebody that only a select few see, the one who appeared behind closed doors. This was just a vacant broken boy who had been used so many times that he had closed off his heart off to anyone else except those he loved.

"It's called kindness, Justin. I don't know if it's hard for you to believe but I did it out of the good of my heart because I wasn't going to leave you passed out on the balcony covered in your own vomit," I ranted. "I don't want your money, Justin."

Merissa stayed quiet, toying with the hem of her shirt. Justin slowly lowered his hand and stuffed his money back in his pocket. "Okay."

He gulped down some of the water from the bottle and I watched quietly. "Why do you have those bandages on your face?"

I suddenly remembered my face was even hurting until Justin brought it up. "Oh, I got in a fight last night."

"With who?"

"Ashley and her possé." I answered with a sigh.

"I thought you were supposed to working with her on that project."

"Yeah, well, things change." I shrugged.

His shoulders deflated and he put his head in his hands. "It was about me, wasn't it?"

I snorted. "Not really but you were involved somewhat. Don't worry about it."

He hummed and I noticed that his eyelids started to droop. "Is the drowsiness kicking in?"

He tried to keep his eyes open and managed to smile at me lazily. "Yeah, a little."

"Stay here for a bit then. You can't drive like that, anyway." I offered.

He looked stricken and stared at me for a moment. "How are you being so nice? You barely know us."

"Yeah, you seem like a total-" I glanced at Merissa and changed my wording. "-butt sometimes and you're cocky. Although, I can see you have good intentions."

"You have a good heart." He mumbled, gazing at me through his dark eyelashes.

I straightened my back and raised my hand in a mock salute, smiling at them both. "I try my best."

---------

And this was the start of a beautiful friendship.

Merissa's back! Who else missed the little bundle of sunshine?! I did.

If you're wondering why there is such a lack of Spanish, it's because in this book Justin and Merissa only speak it when they have really intense emotions. So, they revert to their native language when they're really mad, happy, sad, etc.