Author's Notes: *GASP* Another chapter! LOL Yep. You're getting 2 chapters this time because both of the chapters combined is over 5K words. I decided to break them up. As always I owe much thanks to everyone for reading, reviewing and putting me and/or my stories on their alert lists. LO:CI and its characters belong to Dick Wolf and company. I'm just using them in my imagination for a little bit. Any and all mistakes belong to me. Read and enjoy. :o)
Thursday, September 8, 1977
Harpers' Apartment Building
Breakfast time
Rosalie unlocked her apartment door and stepped inside. She found CeCe standing at the stove, wearing one of her old housecoats, scrambling eggs. Derek was seated at the table, already eating. "Morning, Mama," he said with his mouth full. "Derek, swallow your food before you speak, baby," Rosalie said with a frown. "Good morning, Mama," CeCe said softly. "Morning, Pumpkin." She sat down at the empty plate on the table. "You have a good shift, Ma?" Derek asked. She nodded. "It was pretty good. No major problems." He grunted. "I don't understand why you like working with crazy people anyway." She just looked at him. "I'm not even going to dignify that with an answer," she said.
CeCe walked over to the table with the frying pan in her hand, scrapping the eggs onto the plate in front of her mother, who asked, "Did you eat?" CeCe nodded her head. She walked over to the sink to put the pan in it. She was about to turn on the water when Rosalie said, "I'll wash the dishes later. You come over here and get something else to eat before Derek eats everything in sight." CeCe chuckled. She sat down next to her mother, grabbing some toast and bacon, placing them on a napkin.
There was a knock on the door. Derek got up to answer it, but Rosalie snapped her fingers, pointing at his chair. "Sit down and eat. I'll get it," she said, standing up. She opened the door and found Veronica, Debbie and Anna standing there. Veronica frowned when she saw Rosalie, but she quickly pasted a fake smile on her lips. "Good morning, Mrs. Harper," she said in a fake sweet tone. "Good morning, Veronica," Rosalie replied with the same fake sweetness in her voice. "Come on in," she said as she stepped aside.
CeCe looked at the three girls as they entered the apartment. Veronica sneered at her, while Anna and Debbie gave her looks of disdain. Derek saw the dirty looks Veronica and her friends were giving his sister. He laughed softly to himself because he thought it was funny. Rosalie saw the dirty looks, too. She opened her mouth to say something, but changed her mind. "I'll deal with Miss Hot Pants later," she thought. "Mama, I'm going to finish getting ready for school," CeCe said softly. She stood up with her breakfast in hand and walked towards her room. Veronica and Debbie snickered when Anna muttered under her breath, "Damn. She must have got that ugly thing and the rest of her clothes from Goodwill."
Tears welled up in CeCe's eyes at Anna's hurtful words, but she was not going to give them the satisfaction of seeing her cry. "CeCe, hurry up and get dressed so we can leave," Derek said. "I'm gonna catch the bus," she said as she walked into her room and shut the door. "Why you catching the bus when you can ride with me?! Quit being stupid!" "Derek, finish eating and leave your sister alone!" Rosalie said sharply as she closed the door. "Y'all can sit down on the couch," she said to Veronica, Anna and Debbie. They went to the couch while Rosalie went to sit at the table and began to eat.
CeCe was sitting on the edge of her bed, eating her breakfast and wiping away her tears. "God, this day sucks already," she said to herself. "What else is gonna happen?" She finished eating her breakfast, then let out a long and heavy sigh. She wiped the tears from her eyes as she got up and started to get dressed for school.
"Derek, you might want to eat a little faster," Rosalie said, "or you'll be late for school." "I'm hurrying, Ma. I'm hurrying," Derek replied. She had taken about 5 bites of her eggs when there was another knock at the door. She blew out a breath as she got up. "You want me to get that, Mrs. Harper?" Veronica asked. 'No, thank you, Veronica. I got it." She opened the door, surprised to see Bobby standing on her doorstep.
"G-g-good morning, Nurse Harper…I-I-I mean Mrs. Harper," Bobby said. "Good morning, Bobby," Rosalie replied with a smile. "Um, we came by to give CeCe a ride to school." "We? You and your friend Lewis?" He nodded. "Yes, ma'am. H-h-has she left yet?" Rosalie shook her head. "No, she's getting ready now. Come on in." Bobby walked through the door and stood to the side to allow her to close the door. "Hey, Bean," Derek said. "Hey." "Hi, Bobby," Veronica, Anna and Debbie said in unison. He smiled and waved at them.
Rosalie rolled her eyes as she walked towards CeCe's door. "I've had enough of the Miss Goody Two Shoes act from all three of them," she thought to herself as she knocked and said, "CeCe, you've got company." "Okay, Mama. I'll be out in a minute," she replied. Rosalie walked back to the table. "Bobby, would you like to have something to eat?" she asked. "No, thank you. I ate already." Out of the corner of his eye, Bobby noticed Anna and Debbie looking him up and down with smiles on their faces. The unwanted attention made him feel self conscious and fidgety.
"What are you looking at?" Veronica whispered. "You think Bobby got a big thing?" Debbie asked. Veronica's eyes widen in surprise. She leaned forward slightly to look at his private area. "Maybe. He looks a little bigger than Derek." "He looks bigger than Tank," Anna said. "You think he'll let me see it?" "You want to have sex with him?" Debbie asked. Anna nodded her head. "All the girls are crazy about Bobby. I want to know if his thing is the reason why." "Oh God!" Bobby thought to himself as he overheard the girls' hushed conversation about the size of his private parts. He reached up and massaged the back of his neck. He could feel his ears turn red. He wanted to be anywhere but in that apartment at the moment.
Bobby's prayers were answered when CeCe's bedroom door opened. She came out wearing a loose fitting light blue tunic with ¾ sleeves that had daisies embroidered on the end of the sleeves and dark denim jeans; her satchel slung across her neck. A big smile spread all over her face when she saw Bobby. He smiled too as she walked towards him. "Hey, Bobby! What are you doing here?" CeCe said. He replied, "Lewis got the car today. You wanna ride with us?" Before she could open her mouth, Derek said, "CeCe's riding with me."
CeCe pressed her lips together as she looked down at the ground and moved her satchel strap up and down. Derek walked up behind her, staring at Bobby over her head. His jaw twitched as he made a fist. Bobby stared back at him, his eyes narrowed and hands balled up into fists. Veronica and her friends, along with Rosalie, watched with fascination as the boys looked ready to fight over CeCe.
CeCe looked at her mother, tears threatening to spill down her cheeks. She said, "Mama, I'm gonna ride with Bobby. Okay?" Rosalie nodded, replying, "Okay." Derek turned his head to look at her. "Mama!" he said in protest. She pointed at the bathroom door and said, "Go brush your teeth, then get ready to leave for school." He let out a huffy breath as he walked away mumbling. CeCe put her hand in the middle of Bobby's chest. He immediately relaxed, looking down at her. "Let's go," she said softly. He nodded as he turned to open the door. "See ya later, Mama," CeCe said. "Bye, sweetie," Rosalie replied. "See ya, Mrs. Harper," Bobby said. "Bye, Bobby."
When they reached the first floor, Bobby grabbed CeCe's arm, pulling her to the side. "Why were you crying?" he asked. She shook her head. "I wasn't crying," she answered. He cocked his head to the side as he folded his arms across his chest. Then he lightly tapped the tip of her nose with his index finger. "Your nose is red," he said. CeCe held her head down, shaking it. "You wouldn't understand," she said. "Try me." She looked up at him with a small smile. "Maybe I'll tell you later."
Bobby just looked at her. He shrugged nonchalantly and said, "Whatever." He leaned down and kissed her cheek. "You look very pretty today." He walked off and went to hold the door open for her. CeCe was shocked. All she could do was remain silent and blush as she walked out of her building.
Thursday, September 8, 1977
Hudson-Brooklyn High School
Lunchtime
"What's wrong with you?" Veronica asked Derek. They were leaning against the wall near his locker. He was quiet, a foul expression on his face. She turned her whole body towards him, her hands on her hips. "What the hell is wrong with you?!" she snapped. "Ain't nothing wrong with me!" he snapped back. "Don't cop a attitude with me, Derek Harper! I'm not the one who told your sister she could ride with Bobby Goren." He made a face at her. "Shut up, Ronnie!" "Don't tell me to shut up! I don't see what difference it makes anyway. If CeCe wants to hang out with Bobby, then let her." "I told you I'm not gonna let her hang out with him."
Veronica threw her hands up in frustration. "You know what? You're stupid and getting on my nerves! I'll see you later." Derek watched her as she stormed off in the direction of the school entrance. He rolled his eyes and let out a heavy sigh. "Damn! You and Ronnie fighting again?" Tank said as he walked up the hall. He took Veronica's place on the wall beside Derek. He chuckled. "She's being stupid today." "Oh."
Derek's mood improved as he looked at Tank out of the corner of his eye. "You want to meet CeCe?" he asked. Tank shrugged and said, "Yeah, I guess." Derek clapped him on the shoulder. "Come on. Let's go to her locker." He smiled to himself while him and Tank walked down the hall. "Hmm. CeCe will forget all about Bobby once Tank starts hanging out with her," he thought.
CeCe had just closed her locker door. She was about to head to the cafeteria when she heard Derek call her name. She sighed as she turned around to see him and some guy walking towards her. "That's your sister?" Tank asked. "Yep," Derek replied. "Man! She's fine and cute!" When they reached CeCe, Tank invaded her personal space right away. "I'm Thomas, but everybody calls me Tank," he said, looking her up and down lasciviously.
Derek grabbed his shoulder, pulling him away from CeCe a little bit. "Easy, Tank. That's my sister." Tank worked his shoulder out of his grasp. "Relax, man. I'm introducing myself," he said. CeCe took a tiny step back. Tank's invasion of her space and the looks he had been giving her made her feel very uncomfortable. "CeCe, this is Tank. He plays football," Derek said. "Hi, Tank. I'm CeCe," she said. Tank invaded her space again. This time he put his hand on her hip, sliding it upwards under her tunic.
CeCe stepped back to avoid Tank's wandering hand. Derek smacked his shoulder. "Cool it, man," he said. Tank laughed. He said, "I'm being my natural charming friendly self." "I know you are, but you gotta tone it down for a minute." CeCe was starting to feel scared; not knowing whether Tank would try to touch her again and if Derek would do anything to protect her.
Tank invaded CeCe's space yet again. He put his hand on her hip, squeezing as he held onto her. "How about you and me have lunch together?" he asked. "I-I've got lunch plans already," CeCe said quietly, turning her body to loosen his grip on her. He put both of his hands up and shrugged. "So? Break them. Me and you need to get to know each other." "What's up, Derek? What's up, Tank?" Bobby said as he walked up to the group. He put himself between Tank and CeCe. "Not much, Bean," Tank replied. "Just trying to get CeCe to have lunch with me." "Oh. Well, me and CeCe are gonna rehearse our Romeo and Juliet lines during lunch." Derek sneered at Bobby, who ignored the look. "That's cool," Tank said. "I'll get with her another time." "Shit!" Derek thought as he saw the opportunity for keeping Bobby and CeCe apart dissolve.
Bobby turned to CeCe and said, "Let's go." She nodded, quickly turning on her heel to walk beside him. As they got closer to the lunchroom, she said, "Thank you." Bobby gave her a lopsided smile. "You're welcome."
Thursday, September 8, 1977
Hudson-Brooklyn High School
Boys' Locker Room
Derek was still in a foul mood after practice was over. Taking a shower didn't help either. He was still mad. He was mad at Rosalie for letting CeCe ride with Bobby instead of him. He was mad at Veronica for not taking his side in keeping Bobby away from CeCe. He was mad at CeCe for choosing Bobby over him. He was especially mad at Bobby for going after CeCe. Looking across the locker room and seeing Bobby made Derek's blood boil.
"Smug jackass!" Derek thought. He shut his locker door with a bang, then walked across the room. Bobby had barely finished pulling his t-shirt over his head when Derek came up behind him, giving him a hard shove. The other players in the surrounding area quickly scattered out of the way. "What the hell is wrong with you!?" Bobby said as he spun around to face Derek.
Derek gave Bobby another hard shove. He walked up to him, jabbing his finger in his face. "You stay away from CeCe," he said in a low menacing voice. "I haven't done anything to CeCe!" Another shove. "I'm giving you the opportunity to stop yourself before you hurt her!" Bobby closed the distance between him and Derek with one step. He jabbed him in the shoulder and said, "Hurt her?! I think somebody better look at themselves before they accuse me of anything!"
Derek shoved Bobby again, knocking him into the lockers. "I'm telling you right now, Bean! If you touch my sister again, I'll kill you!" he said forcefully. Bobby's mouth dropped open slightly. "I haven't touched CeCe. I haven't done anything to her!" "Yes, you have! I know you have! You're just like your brother! Have sex with a girl, then leave her alone and pregnant!" Bobby jabbed his finger in Derek's face this time. "I haven't done anything to CeCe! I'm not like Frankie! I'm nothing like that!"
Derek gave Bobby another shove. Bobby planted his feet firmly on the ground and balled up his fists. "I suggest you keep your hands to yourself," he said slowly. Derek laughed. He said, "you know what? Fuck you!" before swinging his fist.