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"Hi, yes. My name is Toriana Ibanez, and I rented out a time slot for two-thirty pee-em to four-thirty pee-em for tomorrow. I was just making sure everything was okay with that."

My mom was on the phone with Zoo Miami, making sure our reservation were still being held.

"Okay, perfect. Thank you. Okay, see you tomorrow. You too. Bye-bye." Ending the call, she turned to Kenz and I. "Okay, we're good to go."

I clapped my hands together. "Perfect."

When my mom asked me what I wanted to do for my birthday, I told her I wanted to go to a zoo and interact with the animals. Not just see them in cages, actually pet them, feed them, be in a cage with them, hold them, all of that.

It was a lot of money, but she got it done for me. I was so grateful, and to say I was excited for tomorrow was a complete understatement.

Although I hated zoos, because they kept animals locked away in cages, I felt that maybe visiting one and being able to interact with the animals, inside and outside of the cages, it would make me feel a little better about how they're being treated there.

As a child, I would always see videos and news stories about animals being abused and treated as toys in zoos. Ever since then, I hated zoos.

I used to say I wanted to become president so I could free all the animals from zoos.

"Ma, tell Dri to text Angel and tell him happy birthday."

"Oh his birthday is today, isn't it?"

I nodded. "Mhm."

"And yours is tomorrow. You know your dad and I shared a birthday that was just a day apart too. Isn't that cute, Kenz?"

I rolled my eyes.

"It's adorable." McKenzie cooed, not making the conversation any better.

"Maybe you should just send him a quick happy birthday text." My mom suggested, causing me to quickly shake my head.

"How about I not and we could just say that I did?"

I don't know what it is about Angel, but my mom and McKenzie loved him.

He reached out to me a few days ago to apologize for doing me the way he did, but I didn't give a shit. I didn't care how many roses he got sent to the house or life-sized bears he bought, that didn't make up for my hurt feelings.

My mom had a bear in her room, McKenzie kept two in the guest room with her, and there were another two decorated in the living room.

I wanted to throw them away with the roses, but my mom insisted on keeping them. She was mad that I even threw away the bouquets, but oh well.

Since Amere and McKenzie had become kind of close, and Amere and I had become something like brother and sister, Angel has tried to reach out to me through Amere, McKenzie, and my mom but I wasn't having it.

"Oh yea, and she doesn't even want to go to his party tomorrow." Kenz snitched.

I got something for her snitching ass.

"Why don't you want to go?"

"Why would I go celebrate somebody I'm not longer friends with birthday? It's pointless."

"A lot of your other friends from school will be there like Amere. Will Dayna be there?"

I nodded. "She said she will, but that doesn't mean I want to go. Amere is best friends with Angel, so if I go to hang out with Amere, guess who he's going to be around. The devil."

"Don't say that." My mom slapped my arm. "That boy is not the devil. He's not an angel like his name, but he's not the devil."

Kenz was laughing. "I told her me and her could just be doing our own thing, and that we didn't have to go to be in Angel's face the entire time. In plus, we can't leave Dayna all by herself."

"That's true, Rumi. In plus, won't that boy be there? What's his name? Cedrick?"

McKenzie scrunched up her face in disgust, making me laugh. She liked Cedrick as a person, but she didn't like him for me.

She wanted Angel and I together sooo bad.

"Yea, he said he's going too."

"Okay, see. Go for him."

Kenz shook her head. "No, ma. She can't go be with another boy at Angel's party."

Cedrick was a boy from school that I had gotten cool with. Dayna had actually introduced us to each other.

There was something about him that I really liked, I wasn't too sure what it was yet. All I knew was that there was something about me that he liked, and if he tries to like something about another girl I'm going to slap him and her.

"If I do decide to go, it'll be for every reason but Angel."

My mom and Kenz wore a happy smile. "Okay, well if you decide you want to do anything today, like dinner or a movie, let me know. I'm here all weekend."

"Okay, will do."

My mom exited my room, closing the door behind her.

"Why are you looking at me like that?"

"Nothingggg." Kenz drew out, a smirk still on her face.

Side-eyeing her, I nodded. "Whatever you say, weirdo."

McKenzie's phone started ringing. We both looked at it, seeing "🤤" appear on the screen, a FaceTime call.

"Wassup, shawty?"

Kenz got comfortable on my pillow. "Hey, Mere. What's up?"

"Y'all got somethin' goin' tonight?"

I quickly nodded my head as Kenz peeped up at me from over the phone. I wanted her to lie and say that we did so he wouldn't offer whatever they had on the table.

I knew it had something to do with him and Angel. It always does.

When there's Amere, there's Angel. When there's Angel, there's Amere.

"Nope, we don't have any plans."

I made a mental note to slap her as soon as the call ended.

"Aight coo'. Me and Angel goin' to the movies tonight for his birthday if y'all wanna tag along."

"Sounds like a plan. Text me the details."

"Aight, shawty. Tell Dri I said wassup, I know her bald headed ass back there somewhere."

"Shut up!" I yelled from the other side of the room, laughing at the asshole on the phone.

Kenz and Amere shared goodbyes and as soon as she hung up the call, I was jumping across the room to get to her. Grabbing her by her legs, I dragged her off the bed as fast and hard as I could making her hit the ground hella hard and hella loud.

"Cut it out!" My mom yelled from her room down the hallway.

"Damn, strong ass bitch." Kenz panted, making us laugh.

I threw a pillow at her. "Why would you do that? I nodded which meant tell him that we have plans so he won't give us any."

"You need to get out of the house and have fun. It's your 16th birthday weekend, and you'd rather spend it in the house?"

"Yes."

"No." This time Kenz threw a pillow at me. "If you and Angel were still friends, you wouldn't care about going out tonight. You would want to go, right?"

"Right, but we're not friends so-"

"So nothing. Don't let the fact that you guys aren't friends anymore stop you from going places that you get invited to. Whether it's by him or Amere, and whether or not it's for his birthday, I'm sure he wouldn't let Amere invite us if Angel didn't want you there."

I shook my head. "It's not about Angel wanting me there or not. I don't want to be around the asshole. I'd rather be with Cedrick."

"For one, we're not talking about Cedrick right now. And for two, you have to let that hurt go, sis. Show him you don't give a fuck about him, show him that you're good without him. The fact that it bothers you so much is making me think that maybe there were some underlying feelings for him."

"That's not even it. It's just the fact that I truly thought we were friends and then he just completely cuts me off when I don't want to be more than friends with him. Like, him and Dayna were the first two people I met on my first day at a new school in a new state, but it was something about him that was so intriguing. The way he talked to me- the way I felt around him, just... I don't know."

Kenz placed her hand on mine. "I think I get it. You moved here so last minute after a traumatic experience and felt some kind of attachment to Angel as a male, especially after what happened with your dad. He filled some kind of void?"

"Hm." I raised my eyebrows. "I never really looked at it that way. But, it sounds so right. I just thought... I don't know what I thought. I didn't know the real reason why I was so upset with him for cutting me off like that, but maybe you're right."

Maybe there's a lot more to it than what I thought.

"We can pass as brotha' and sista' foreal." Amere chuckled, pulling me into a side hug.

Hugging him back, I shook my head. "I'm way too fine to be your sister. Maybe cousin, long lost cousin."

"Damn, you doin' me bad." He laughed. "I look betta' than yo' gobble neck ass."

I swung at him. "You play too much."

"Bae, so you just gon' stand there and let her swing at me like that?" Mere joked with Kenz, his hand over his heart as if his feelings were really hurt.

Kenz laughed. "It's her over anybody. She swing, I'ma have to swing with her."

"Go best friend, that's my best friend head ass." He scrunched up his face, making me and Kenz bust out laughing. "My nigga gon' be here soon and we'a beat both of y'all ass so I ain't even worried 'bout that."

I cocked one of my eyebrows. "Angel won't do anything."

"There he go right there. I'ma let him know you said that." Mere ran off towards Angel, pointing his finger at me like a kid.

Amere came back over with Angel. "Tell him what you just told me."

"You're an idiot." I rolled my eyes, laughing at Amere.

He shook his head at me. "Na, that ain't what you said." He then looked back at Angel. "That ain't what she said, bruh. She scared now that you here."

"Scared of what?" I asked.

"Scared of who?" Kenz pushed her neck out.

Amere and Angel laughed, waving us off. We moved up a few spots in the ticket line since we were all here now.

"We'ca talk?" Angel asked me, gently grabbing my hand.

I nodded. "I was actually going to ask you that."

"Hea'." Angel handed Amere a $50 bill. "Pay for mine and Dri ticket."

Amere nodded while McKenzie grinned at me as Angel and I walked off to the side of the movie theater building.

"I been tryin' to tell you that I'm sorry, on the real. I ain't mean to hurt ya feelings but at the time mine was low key hurt, and I was just bein' selfish."

"I get that. I was just pretty upset about the whole thing. At first it was because I thought we were better than not being able to actually talk things out, but I got over it. And then you cut me off as if I didn't mean anything to you. Like, that really hurt my feelings."

He reached for my hand. "I know ma and I'm sorry bout that. I mean that wit' everything in me, I really am sorry. A nigga was really feelin' you so I felt like you rejected me and I ain't know how to put my pride aside afta' that."

I sighed, not sure if I wanted to say what was really on my mind or not. I could make this more than what it seems to be by telling him the truth about why I felt the way I felt, or I could just say everything's okay and go about our night.

"I forgive you."

"Aight coo'. So we good?"

"Mhm."

Angel side-eyed me. "Ya look like you got somethin' else you wanna say."

Without saying anything, I stared down at my fingers.

"C'mon and tell me. We talkin' so now is the time ta' tell me how you really feelin'. I wanna know."

"I don't want it to like creep you out or-"

"I wanna know, Audri."

I sighed. "Okay. Well, you don't know this but the reason for my mom and I moving to Miami is because my dad passed away in April. According to my mom, she wanted a new scenery so we moved here where my mom's sister and my dad's brother live. I was leaving my best friend and a lot of memories back home in Vegas, on top of the fact that I had just lost my dad, so I was really skeptical about meeting new people, making new friends, and new memories.

But then, I met you. And Dayna. But it's something about you that really intrigued me, and I have no idea what it is. I don't know if it's the sense of security I tend to feel around you or how much you make me laugh, but there's something about you that draws me to you. Not having my dad anymore, I didn't expect to ever feel completely safe around anyone the way I did with him, but you make me feel that way.

And I hope you don't take this the wrong way, but you filled a void that I didn't really know was missing. Then for you to cut me off so easily, and for you to not be around, to know I couldn't pick up the phone and text you or call you, or hang out with you, it really hurt me. It's just so weird to me because we've only known each other for a few months, but I feel like I've known you forever to the point where you've managed to mean something to me. I just felt like you cutting me off without an explanation the way you did just showed that I didn't mean as much to you as you did to me. Which is understandable because like I said we just-"

Angel interrupted me. "It ain't creepy at all. That shit make me feel good as fuck hearin' that I mean somethin' to you cause I thought I ain't mean nothin' to you. I feel honored ta' be honest witcha." He chuckled. "But I guess we was both feelin' the same way, but ain't tell each otha'. I can't compare me not doin well wit' rejection to you lookin' at me as fillin' a void fa' ya pops, but I can say that you do mean somethin' to me.

The way you had me thinkin' bout you afta' we first met, I knew I had to have you in my life some kinda way. You say it's weird cause we ain't known each otha' that long, but it feel like you known me fa'eva; I feel that same exact way."

I hadn't realized I was getting emotional until Angel used his thumbs to wipe away the tears that fell. I wasn't sure why I was crying, but it felt kind of good to talk to him and let it out.

"You ain't gotta cry, ma. I'm hea' now." He said slightly above a whisper, placing his forehead against mine. "I'm sorry again."

"I forgive you."

Pulling away from me, he stared into my eyes as I stared back into his. In my mind, I imagined a kiss about to take place, but I was hoping it didn't because I didn't want to ruin the moment and have to break the news that I was talking to someone.

Even though I'm sure the word was getting around school, if he didn't bring it up then I wasn't going to mention it either.

Don't get me wrong, it felt good to open up to Angel about all of this and to clear the air and be friends again, but I do really like Cedrick.

I was extremely relieved when he pulled me in for a hug. One, because, as I said, I didn't want to ruin the moment. But mainly because I missed his hugs, and I really needed one right now.

"Happy birthday, Angel."

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