AN: LOL this is a terrible chapter. It's not really relevant to the story at all but I had writers block so i was just sprouting nonsense until I figured out how to come about writing the next chapter. I guess you could just call this a filler chapter, IDK. Honestly don't even rread it unless you're bored (well, more bored than you'd be if you're reading this at all)
CHAPTER 6
"Love, like rain, does not choose the grass on which it falls." – South African proverb
Huey lay in bed, staring at his ceiling. He was trying to sleep but he couldn't help but picture Mọremi in his mind. He'd never met anyone like her. The way she spoke, the way she conducted herself, the things she was passionate about. They inspired him. She was also extremely gorgeous. Huey couldn't help but think about what he'd do if she were in his room right now.
"Pull yourself together, Freeman. That's not how you think about a woman."
The young man sighed, rolling over onto his side and grabbing his phone. He glanced at the time, 01:06. Not being able to sleep, he figured he might as well be productive and started coming up with ideas on how to pitch the union to his school.
After about 20 minutes, he received a notification from Mọremi. He smiled at her name and went into his messages.
M: Hey, Huey. IDK if ur even awake. This is a very random question, but do you know where Tami is? I went to the bathroom and noticed she was missing. My parents are freaking out rn.
Huey got worried. There'd been an increased amount of missing persons cases over the past few years in Woodcrest. He knew Tami left his house after Remi but he'd assumed the two caught up with each other.
H: No, I don't, sorry. Are you sure she's not sleeping somewhere in the house?
M: Yh. Besides, she hates sleeping anywhere that isn't a bed and we checked all the guest rooms.
H: Rooms? Doesn't matter. I'll go and ask Riley. Maybe she mentioned something to him. Don't panic. I'm sure she'll turn up.
M: KK :)
Huey got up from his bed and went to his brother's room. After getting no response from knocking, he opened the door, praying that Riley was decent. When he turned on the lights, Huey's heart skipped a beat.
Riley's bed was empty. Huey walked over to it, feeling the furniture. It was cold, meaning it'd been empty for a long time.
Not knowing what to do, he FaceTimed Mọremi. She picked up instantly, saying, "Is everything okay – wow."
Huey realised he was shirtless and quickly pointed his phone closer towards his face, his skin suddenly adopting a redder flush.
Mọremi giggled at how flustered he was. "Dang, Huey. Giving us a little midnight tease, huh? Very sexy."
He glared at his phone screen but couldn't help the smirk forming on his face. Remembering why he reached out to Mọremi, his mood suddenly shifted.
"Riley's gone, too."
Mọremi's face fell.
"You're kidding. Those two probably sneaked off somewhere. I can't believe my sister is such an idiot."
"Let's not jump to any conclusions, Remi."
"Have you seen the way they look at each other? God, they're probably in some motel or back alley or something. Or what if they went out for a walk? And some random guy sees them and decides to kidnap them? Oh, god, they could be dead! Or badly injured. What if they've taken them for their organs? Or their skin – do you know how expensive melanin is?"
Huey stared blankly at his phone screen as Mọremi rambled. After about a minute of her stumbling over scenario over scenario, she noticed Huey wasn't responding and kept quiet.
The young man shook his head and said, "Remi, don't worry. I promise you, they're fine. Riley has Snapchat, right? We can track him via maps. It won't tell us exactly where he is but it's close enough. And something tells me Tami won't be too far from him. Wanna help me look?"
Remi took a deep breath and nodded. Huey grabbed a sweater from his chair as she sent him her address. In twenty minutes time the two were in Dorothy, cruising along the empty streets.
Mọremi got up Snapmaps and showed Huey where Riley and Tami appeared to be. After studying the location Huey frowned. Noticing his sudden change in mood, Remi asked, "What's wrong?"
"They're at Ed Wuncler's place…"
The car pulled up outside a large house. The flashy cars, broken windows and the alcohol bottles and bullet casings littering the front lawn were clear indication of who owned the place. Ed Wuncler III. He now lived on his own with Gin Rummy, his best friend, although Huey suspected they were more than this. The pair still had their psychotic tendencies however, after being threatened by Riley, they'd become more 'politically correct' and also refrained from referring to stuff as "nigga technology".
Mọremi scrunched her nose in disgust as she and Huey exited the car. "This is how people of Woodcrest look after their homes?" she asked, after stepping in some broken glass.
"Nah, it's how the privileged neglect the community."
Huey pressed the doorbell, surprised if anyone could hear it over the loud music blasting through the walls of the giant property. While they waited, he noted Remi shivering and took off his jumper. She raised an eyebrow but smiled when he offered it to her, saying a silent thank you whilst they waited. The loud music stopped playing, suggesting someone had heard the bell ring. Finally, the door opened, revealing a shirtless Gin.
Gin still wore his signature cornrows, South Korea flag still tied in its usual style. He had blood shot eyes and reeked of alcohol. Huey and Mọremi glanced at each other, starting to second guess their decision of coming to the Wuncler-Rummy residence.
"Man, what the hell you want? Coming here at these hours – oh. Hey there, cutie."
Mọremi made a face of disgust as the older man started looking her up and down. Huey stepped in front of her, blocking her from the intoxicated blonde.
"Is Riley here?"
"Why you want to know?"
"'Cause it's the middle of the night and he's missing."
"Well, do you think he's here?"
"Gin, quite playing with me."
"I'm just saying. I don't know why you need to know. After all, there are known knowns, and known unknowns, but there's also unknown unknowns…things that we don't know we don't know."
Mọremi rolled her eyes and walked past Huey, pushing Gin out of the way and stepping into the rowdy residence. Huey followed her, ignoring the protesting Gin.
As they walked about the house, they saw a naked Ed on the floor, passed out in some vomit. The two quickly looked away. Mọremi stepped closer to Huey, whispering in his ear, "Who the fuck are these people and why is my sister with them?"
"The chucky doll looking guy is Ed, grandson of the man that basically owns the city. And Gin is his boyfriend, not sure if it's a romantic or platonic relationship. Riley used to sneak out to hang with them when we were much younger. Then he and Cindy started to hang out at Ed's place since I didn't like her. Now he comes here to say hi and sometimes try to get some weed since it's prohibited at home. I don't know why he's here at this hour though. Especially with your sister."
The lights were off upstairs, so the pair walked along the downstairs corridor, going past some rooms. Some light was visible at then end of the corridor from underneath a door. They both headed for the door, flinging it open and both stopping dead in their tracks once they saw inside.
Riley, shirtless, lay beside Tami on a bed, the two wrapped in each other's arms, sleeping. Huey and Mọremi both smirked. They couldn't lie, the pair were adorable. However, the heart attack they'd given everyone wasn't forgotten and Huey and Remi walked over to the side of the bed, looked each other in the eye, and pushed their siblings off of the bed.
Tami and Riley woke with a start, screaming as they flew off the bed. Tami rubbed her back, squinting up at her sister due to the light.
"What's your problem, sis? Dang!"
"Yeah," Riley spoke up. "Why y'all gotta be so violent?"
Huey and Mọremi simultaneously folded their arms and raised a brow.
"Don't you 'what's your problem' me! It's the middle of the night, Tami! And you and Booboo the fool here decided to sneak off to some random white dude's house to fuck!"
"Oh my God, Remi! Who said anything about sex? We were just hanging out! It'll take more for cutie over here to get in my pants."
Riley smirked. "I'm working on it."
Huey rolled his eyes.
"Tami. You and Riley are acting really irresponsible. I expected better of you girl, damn. You shouldn't run off like that. Your parents are worried sick. Y'all are about to be in hella trouble. And Riley, for God's sake put on a damn shirt!"
Tami and Riley pouted. Riley grabbed his shirt and put it on. The group of teens walked towards the entrance of the house, the older siblings calling the younger ones all types of dumb on the way. They'd reached the front room when a loud banging was heard from the door. Ed was still passed out and Gin was nowhere to be seen, so Huey decided he'd open the door since they were heading out anyway.
Huey opened the front door and was met with a chorus of shouts and protests.
"Huey, where the hell is that no good misfit?"
"Where is that idiot of a little girl?"
"Weytin dey this stupid pickin?"
Huey stared at the angry faces of Grandad and Mọremi's parents. He glanced back at Remi, who giggled as she saw Riley and Tami shrink back in fear. Tami walked out with her head held low, her mother slapping the back of her head as she passed.
Grandad stepped into the house, taking off his belt as he did so. Riley's eyes became as wide as saucers. He hadn't received a beaten in years and wasn't about to get one now. He took off running, Grandad following swiftly behind, yelling, "Boy, you better be a man and take this woopin'", all the while.
Mọremi walked up to Huey, amused at how her sister was getting grilled outside.
"Thanks for the help, Huey. Obviously, our siblings are demons."
"Does your sister always sneak off with boys she likes?"
"I don't think she's ever liked someone."
The pair stood in silence, the sound of Tami being told off and Riley running from Grandad filling the background. Huey couldn't help but stare at Remi. His jumper looked nice on her. She was wearing a tracksuit that hugged her figure and her hair was in two neat braids. He was certain she was the most beautiful girl he'd ever met.
"Remi?"
The girl looked up. "Yes?"
Huey placed his hands in his pockets. "Have you ever had a boyfriend?"
The girl started to look nervous, shifting from foot to foot.
"Um, no, actually. I don't think anyone's even liked me like that. I'm too confident for them, I guess. But my type wasn't back home. I'd never met anyone I liked until I met-"
She suddenly stopped, brown eyes darting quickly to the floor. Huey stood directly in front of her, placing his hand under her chin and tilting her head up, forcing her to look him in the eyes.
"Until you met who?"
The chocolate girl's eyes bore into Huey's very soul. He couldn't help but stare at her round lips.
"God, they look so kissable…"
Mọremi smiled, slightly. She was about to respond to Huey's question when something caught her attention in the corner of her eyes. She turned her face and suddenly screamed, causing Huey to look in the direction she was staring at and making a sound of disgust, too.
Mọremi's family came running in, shock horror written all over their faces.
Ed Wuncler III was standing in front of everyone, as naked as a new-born, nonchalantly drinking from a bottle of beer.
He finished off the bottle and stared at the disgusted individuals. He raised an eyebrow and after a moment of awkward silence he finally spoke.
"Man…what the fuck y'all looking at?"
Tami's parents covered her eyes with her hands. Huey and Mọremi rolled their eyes and turned to leave when Riley entered the room.
"Ew, man put some clothes on! Ain't nobody wanna to see your nuts dangling in the wind!"
After an annoyed Gin came and convinced Ed to leave, apologising to the disgruntled house guests, everyone finally went to leave. Tami whispered something in Riley's ear, causing him to smirk. Her father wasn't too impressed and quickly barged in between them, causing Tami to pout.
Finally, Huey was in the backseat of Dorothy, thinking to himself as Grandad lectured Riley about the dangers of sneaking off in the middle of the night.
Huey's thoughts raced in his head as he replayed the short moment he had had with Mọremi. He was almost fairly certain she was going to say until she'd met someone like Huey. The possibility of Remi being romantically interested in him excited him. He couldn't believe he felt this way about someone he barely knew. Love wasn't something on Huey's radar. Sometimes he wasn't sure if he'd ever find love, thinking it was a problem for 30-year-old Huey to worry about. But Remi had him whipped. When he'd started the school year, he hadn't imagined he'd meet a girl like Mọremi. His dream girl.
Later that night, it rained. As the older Freeman brother lay in bed, listening to the rain falling on the roof, he started envisioning Mọremi in his mind. And even as his eyes closed, he still saw her.