Not Like Us

By: Sailorjj07

Chapter 7

A/n: What's up fam bam? I've missed yall! So here's a chapter full of lovely goodness for all of us to enjoy.

Disclaimer: I do not own!

"Talking"

'Thinking'

Actions

(Me!)

Riley stared at the invitation in his hand for a very long while. His brain processed the words on the card but for some reason he couldn't seem to get past the images that came along with it.

"How long are you gonna stare at that card?"

Huey plopped down on the couch next to his little brother, watching him with his ever reproachful gaze. Today, though, Huey was giving him looks of sympathy.

"She knows I can't go to this. Why'd she give it to me then?"

"...Why can't you go again?"

Riley knew Huey probably already knew the answer, which increased his frustration even more. If Huey knew why he couldn't go, didn't his girlfriend? Surely she wasn't starting to act like a blonde now.

"Uh...nigga-hatin' mama ring a bell? That broad wouldn't let me get two steps in the door before she'd yank my chain."

"I doubt she'd care about you being there. Robin and the others are going and she's okay with it, right? I highly doubt she hates one minority over all the others."

"You sure bout that? Cause I'm pretty sure her side-hoe is a Mexican, so she'd let Miami go and nobody hate Indians cause they got screwed ova before. And Kiko...well Asians make half the shit she got in her crib, so she gone be hella welcoming ta her."

"And you really think she won't let you in?"

"Absolutely."

Huey nodded quietly, a very thoughtful look on his face. He sat there for a moment, and then stood up from the couch slowly, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder, "You've always acted your color before, what's the point in stopping now?"

Riley could hear the smirk in Huey's voice before he saw it, which meant Huey had the same idea as his brother: Riley was going to sneak into Cindy's party. Damn it, he wasn't gonna miss his girl's b-day for nothing!

With Cindy

"Mom, I'm not budging on this. Riley Freeman is coming to my party and you can't do anything about it." Cindy said, for the final time. She sat on the kitchen counter with her arms crossed, glaring at her mother with all the anger she could muster. The maid, Sophia, laid out a platter of cookies and tea at the table where Cindy's mother sat, pouring herself a cup before shooing the woman away. God, was she insufferable.

"Cindy McPhearson, that...hooligan is not allowed to come and I don't give a damn what you have to say about it. I'm PAYING for this party, so either he doesn't come or you won't have one."

"MOM! You can't do this to me! Riley is an important person and-!"

"Important? Some nigger moves into the neighborhood and he's all of a sudden important? He's ignorant! Probably can't even spell his own damn name! How dare you embarrass me like this?! It was one thing when you and that little heathen played together as children but you will soon be an adult! Drop this childish fantasy that everyone is created equally! Ugh, the Civil Rights movement is what's causing you to act like this!"

Cindy stared at her mother in disbelief. She couldn't believe her mother was saying such racist, crude things to her own daughter.

"Damn Mama, why don't you just go join the KKK already?! Ugh! I HATE YOU!" Cindy stormed off into her room, slamming the door as hard as she could behind her. She heard her mother follow her almost half way up the staircase before her footsteps stopped.

"I do send them money for funding, you know! And watch your mouth!"

Cindy shook her head and tried not to cry. Why didn't her mother understand? Riley really was the most important person to her. He was her boyfriend! She loved him, for goodness sakes! Couldn't her mother just be happy about it?

"Riley...what do I do?" Cindy wondered out loud, clutching her pillow tightly. She had to think of something before her birthday party tomorrow. She just had to.

The Next Day

Cindy checked her reflection one more time, making sure she had secured a bikini in all the right places. Her suit was a navy blue plaid with orange and white stripes. It tied at the nape of her neck in halter that pushed up her girls and showcased them in a lovely manner. The suit had ruffles around the neck and the bottoms were in the same blue plaid with gold circles on the side to hold the small bikini bottom.

Cindy wore a sparkly orange waterproof eye shadow and a navy bracelet on her wrist. Her pure white huge sunglasses accented the look and she made sure her bright orange flip-flops with bling hadn't lost any little crystals.

"Whoa Cindy. You're definitely the birthday girl!" Jasmine smiled at her best friend's reflection. Jasmine's swimsuit was a hot pink strapless tube top with a cute little swim skirt in the same color. She wore several glittered pink bracelets on her wrist, and her curly hair was tied up.

"You don't look too bad yourself, Jazzy!"

Jasmine smiled, but her face darkened a little bit, "I wish Huey could be here to see me though."

"You mean you didn't send him eye candy pics?"

"Well...I don't know that's a little...bad, isn't it? Huey's at work, I don't want to-"

"Oh Jazzy, let me show you how to make him have the best day at work ever." Cindy grabbed Jasmine's cell phone off of the bathroom counter, and immediately turned on the camera. "Now pose for me, hot mama!"

Jasmine giggled and gave her best super model pose, while Cindy took pictures. They ended up talking about 5 different pictures of Jasmine in her suit and Cindy made sure she got her best friend's photos at the best angle.

"And now...we send them." Cindy bundled the group of pictures in Jasmine's cell phone and then sent a text message to Huey. He'd definitely be at work drooling by the end of the day.

"Ooooh let's send some of you to Riley!" Jasmine said, feeling a rush of excitement from sending pictures to her boyfriend. She was sure Huey would like them.

Cindy felt her cheeks start to burn and shook her head, "No, I don't want to. I feel bad, you know? Since my mama said he couldn't come. She hates him."

"Oh Cindy, I doubt that."

"No she does. She called him...the N-Word, Jazzy. And not the nice one with an "a" either."

Jasmine's face filled with horror, "You mean...with an "-er"?! Oh no!"

Cindy nodded, her face filled with an angry glint at her mother's disregard for her feelings. "Anyway, let's go out and mingle. I'm sure everyone's wondering where the birthday girl is."

Jasmine pushed open the changing room door and led Cindy out into the sunlight. Cindy waved as several of her classmates called out "happy birthday" and gave them a soft, gracious smile. Cindy sat down on a beach chair, wishing she could put her sunglass on her face, but finding them pointless.

It was an indoor pool party, after all.

"You're the only person I know who would have a pool party in the middle of the winter."

Cindy kept her gaze forward, but gave Chris a lazy smile anyway, "Well, I always do it big."

"Then why're you dating such a short guy?" Chris' face was slightly turned up by the mention of Cindy's new boyfriend, and she turned to him, her blue eyes flashing in anger, while the rest of her face remained cool, calm, and collected.

"Cause basketball players are better in bed." Cindy smirked at the end of her sentence and watched Chris' face filled up with jealousy. Oh, it felt good to piss people off on her birthday.

"Well if he's so good, where the hell is he? Basketball players must be bad at showing up on time, huh?"

"I'm here, aren't I?"

Chris huffed and stormed off, realizing his mistake. Cindy WAS a basketball player after all. Did he forget that? "It's your damn party, of course you're here!"

"Jus sayin~!"

On the inside, Cindy couldn't help but be a bit upset. Chris had made a point - Riley was late. So late, he wouldn't show up to her party at all.

Cindy rolled onto her back, making sure Chris got the hint. She was done talking.

Jasmine leaned closer to Cindy and tsked softly, "You know, if you just told him up front that you don't want to be with him, I'm sure he'd leave you alone."

"Jazzy, no guy at school messes with you because you have an afro-haired ninja following your every move. It ain't gonna happen. Dude's not intimidated by the fact that I have a boyfriend; that's why he's talkin' shit."

"So...now what?"

"Ugh, I don't know." Cindy rolled back over and sighed loudly, "I really wanted my boo here, ya know?"

"Awwwww, Cin-Cin!"

"Hey yall!" Kiko strolled through the door with a cute, golden monokini, Ed Wuncler holding her tightly around the waist. Kiko kissed Ed on the cheek and gave him a little wave, making her way over to the birthday girl and Jasmine.

"Hey Jazzy! Happy Birthday, Cindy!" Kiko hugged her friend tightly, and then pointed at the table where Ed was sitting, "Eddy and I brought you a gift!"

"Oh, mamasita, don't go tellin' those lies!" Miami and Robin strolled in immediately behind the couple, grinning from ear to ear. They both hugged Cindy, who was looking at them all curiously.

"A gift?"

"Well yeah, you could call it that." Miami looped arms with Cindy and led her to the doors of the pool room. She winked at Robin and Kiko, who made their way over to Cindy's mom and began to chat politely with her.

"The warden's occupied so it's safe for you to go." Miami pulled a key card out of the little pocket on her swimsuit cover. She dangled the card in front of Cindy's face with a Cheshire grin.

"W-What's this for?"

Without answering, Miami handed her the keycard, gave her a slight push in the direction of the staircase and walked away, that smile still on her face.

'Room 301? I guess I'm supposed to go there?'

With a noncommittal shrug, Cindy headed down the hall towards the stairs and made her way to the third floor.

With Riley

Riley had never been so nervous in his life. He ran his hands through his bone straight hair, trying not to freak out. He had planned to get his hair rebraided today, since he wasn't allowed to go to Cindy's birthday party. When Monday came around, he could give Cindy her birthday gift looking fly as hell. Every girl wanted her man to look good, right?

But Miami had called him on three-way with Jalysa and gave him the plan, and then someone called Kiko to ask for the funds to put their plan in action.

So here he was, sitting in a hotel room his friends had paid for, with the perfect view of his girlfriend's expensive ass indoor pool party. Not that he minded watching her walk around in a two-piece, but he was pissed when that bitch Chris walked up and starting talking to her. It made him smile to see that Cindy wasn't paying ole dude any mind, but still... Chris knew they were together.

Riley sat on the bed of his rented room, trying not to get too excited. A part of him was thrilled since he found a way to see Cindy during her birthday party without getting her in trouble. Another part of him, though, was beginning to freak out, from the second he saw Kiko and Ed arrive.

He didn't see Miami and Robin show up, but he knew they were right behind the couple and were bound to arrive at any moment. When they got there, Cindy would get the key and then she'd be right in front of him in that tight ass swimsuit that made her blue eyes stand out and her beautiful curves flaunted every which way.

He heard something slide into the door and then a soft BEEP! as Cindy turned the handle and opened the door. He watched her as she stepped into the room, lock the door and immediately come around the corner, her eyes widening considerably.

"Reezy? You're here?!" Cindy dropped down onto the bed beside him, hugging him around his middle before he could respond to her. "What the hell are you doin' here?"

Riley smiled and all the nervousness seemed to flutter away. Cindy was so accepting of him; it made him comfortable.

"I ain't wanna get you in trouble with your Ma, so I wasn't gonna come, but then Miami called..."

"Miami? What'd she want?"

"She was tryna see if I had a plan to sneak into your party. Which is hard to do at an indoor pool party, I'm jus sayin." Riley shrugged as Cindy took his hands in hers.

"Ey but you here, ain't you?" Cindy tried to stamp down the wide smile spreading across her face, but she just couldn't control it. Riley was here! She had been so bummed out when she thought he wouldn't come, but here he was, right in front of her.

"Yeah, yeah, I'm here." Riley found Cindy's smile was contagious and the next thing he knew, his smile was almost as big as her's.

"Soo...Is that mine?" Cindy was looking around Riley to the small box sitting on the bed behind him.

Riley blinked and turned around to see what she was talking about. He sighed loudly, wanting to smack himself in the head as she grabbed the box and gave it a little shake. "Yeah, it's your birthday present."

Cindy lifted an eyebrow at the slight sound of nervousness in his voice. She pulled the ribbon off of the velveteen box and opened it wide, surprised to see an adorable outline of a basketball, made up of tiny diamonds. The charm hung on a silver chain and clasped together in the back.

"Oh Reezy...Where'd you get the money for this?"

Riley frowned, definitely not expecting those words to come out of her mouth, "Whatchu mean? Does it matter where I got the money from? Damn, Milky, why can't you just say 'thank you' like a normal person?"

"I...Riley, it's absolutely beautiful, thank you." Cindy smiled and kissed Riley's cheek tenderly, with a warm smile on her face.

"White gurls are so damn ungrateful, I swear."

"Hey, I said thank you all ready!" Cindy pouted, removing the necklace from the tiny box and handing it to Riley, "Can you put it on for me?"

"Right now?"

"Yeah...I wanna wear it right now."

Riley shrugged as Cindy turned her back to him and balled up her hair, holding it out of the way so that he could fasten the necklace.

Riley slowly put the necklace around her neck and did the clasp, his brow furrowed as he tried to be as gentle as possible, "Really, Reezy, thanks. This necklace is so pretty."

"Y-you're welcome." Riley replied softly from behind her.

Cindy gingerly touched the necklace around her neck as her heart warmed significantly from this small gesture. Truly, her new necklace was the best gift she had received in her entire life. She felt the little necklace and the pressure that it left on her skin, swearing to herself that she would never, ever in her life forget this moment.

"Cindy?"

Riley placed his hands on Cindy's shoulders, and turned her body so that she could face him. To both of their surprise, there were tears streaming down Cindy's pretty face.

"Baby, what's wrong? You can't cry on your birthday!"

Cindy sniffed as tears continued to pave a liquid trail down her face, touching a hand to her face to confirm that she, indeed, was crying.

"Ooh Riley...Today sucks. My birthday is good and bad."

"What? Why? White gurl, you not making sense."

Cindy sighed as she leaned her head against Riley's chest, sighing wearily as he put his arms around her shoulders. "I mean, you can't come downstairs."

"So what? I'm here, ain't I?"

"Yeah, but I can't run downstairs and show off my new present. I can't spend my birthday with my best friends and with my boo. How does that even make sense?"

"Bae, you know you're Ma ain't good with me. And I don't too much like her neither. But today is your day. Be happy, boo. So we can't be together in the next 20 minutes? And? Yo my gurl today, tomorrow and yesterday, so why it matter if we can be together right this second?"

"But it won't be my birthday tomorrow."

Riley stroked her blonde locks with a smile, before pressing a kiss on the top of her head.

"You so damn spoiled. That's why I'm here now. If you want, we can go do something together tomorrow or afta-skool." Cindy nodded as Riley wiped a few tears off her face. When he realized she had make-up on, he got up to hand her a tissue. "Now, get yo fine ass back downstairs before someone beside me start to miss you."

Cindy nodded again, and wiped her face, dabbing at her eyes to clean as much smeared make-up as she could. "Are you gonna leave?"

"Well yeah, ain't no other reason for me to be here."

Cindy stood up and walked over to Riley, who was sitting on the edge of the room's dresser. She stepped between his legs and smiled widely at him, "You betta take me somewhere badass for my birthday too!"

"Yeah, yeah," Riley replied, nonchalantly, that goofy grin back on his face. Cindy leaned forward for a kiss, as Riley wrapped his arms around her waist. Their lips met in a warm, comforting embrace and Cindy felt her heart explode in happiness.

She would have to reconsider which gift would receive the "best birthday present ever" title.

End Chapter 7