Before I start writing ts, chill on me because I don't write at all. My old fic was a ambition project i started as a kid and wrote sum bs. Although it was bad at first, I got better and tried to make it good then wrote myself into some more bs so I just felt like doing the full reset. I got ideas on the other story but idek if I should continue fr. This one is gonna have more foundation because I somewhat know the basics now but shi still might be fries. I'm just winging it now but yall ain't here for me. Enjoy
BTW ' means the oc's thoughts
________
"Yo Jay, bring some woods before you pull up, gang. I ain't got no more."
The voice blasted through Jay's phone speaker, nearly drowned out by the bass-heavy music rattling in the background.
"Aight, for sure. Might take a minute though. I gotta finish this parallel quest first," Jay replied, eyes glued to the TV.
"Bruh, that old-ass game? How you not max level already? And ain't that offline mode?"
"Chill, chill. I made a new save. I'm tryna unlock all the transformations for every race. It ain't gon' take me long, mud. I'm finna leave right now, no bullshit."
"Aight, nigga, hurry up though. Ciara and her friends on the way, bruh. They all some fine shit too."
A second voice jumped onto the call, instantly getting Jay's attention.
"Bet. I'm leaving right now. I'll let y'all know when I'm outside."
The call ended.
Jay leaned back in his chair, a grin slowly spreading across his face.
Tonight was shaping up to be legendary.
Maximum Prestige 3-man already set up.
All the girls fine.
No work tomorrow.
And everybody planned on getting absolutely fried.
"Yeah," he muttered to himself. "This finna be a movie."
The young man sitting in front of the television
was Jay—an eighteen-year-old stoner who spent most of his time either working shifts at the dollar store or grinding video games. Today happened to be one of his rare days off, and he'd spent almost the entire afternoon locked in his room playing Xenoverse 2.
His room looked exactly how you'd expect.
Game cases scattered across a dresser.
A half-empty bag of chips on the floor.
Clothes draped over a chair that hadn't served its original purpose in months.
The faint smell of weed lingered in the air despite his best efforts to hide it from his family.
On the TV, his character finally landed the finishing blow.
"Let's go!"
The quest complete screen flashed across the monitor.
Jay immediately saved the game and put his PlayStation—affectionately named El Cinco—into rest mode.
"Finally, I can get some play," he said, standing up. "Been waiting on an opportunity like this."
A concerning thought crossed his mind.
"She better not be ugly though."
Jay physically shuddered.
His imagination instantly betrayed him with the image of a four-hundred-pound Smough lookalike trying to flirt with him.
"Nah. Hell nah."
He shook the thought away.
"No negative energy."
Leaving his room, he headed for the kitchen. The refrigerator light illuminated the dark room as he grabbed a bottle of water. He twisted the cap open and took a long drink.
Cold.
Refreshing.
Exactly what he needed.
After chugging half the bottle, he snatched his keys from the counter and headed out the door.
The mission had officially begun.
First stop: the gas station.
Because no woods meant no smoke session.
And no smoke session meant somebody was definitely gonna be mad.
A few minutes later, Jay pulled into the familiar convenience store parking lot.
Luckily, he'd been coming here long enough to know most of the workers.
Technically, he was only eighteen.
Technically, he shouldn't have been buying Backwoods.
But the employees knew him, and after a year of random conversations and late-night snack runs, nobody really gave him trouble.
The bell above the door jingled as he walked inside.
"Can I get a pack of grape Backwoods and fifteen on pump three?"
The cashier looked up.
"Alright, my friend."
He reached beneath the counter.
"And can I also see your ID?"
Jay froze.
His soul nearly left his body.
"..."
The cashier stared at him with a completely straight face.
Then burst out laughing.
"Pfffft! I'm just joking with you, man. Go ahead and tap right here."
Jay immediately exhaled.
"Hell nah, bro. I thought I was cooked."
The cashier continued laughing while Jay paid.
"Appreciate it, man."
"Have a good night, my friend."
"You too."
Still recovering from the heart attack he'd almost experienced, Jay walked back to his car.
Eight minutes later, he pulled into the driveway of his homie Kristen's house.
The two-story suburban home sat quietly beneath the glow of streetlights.
Kristen's parents happened to be out of town for the week.
Which, in young-adult terms, translated directly to:
Party house.
Jay climbed the front steps and knocked twice.
A moment later, the door swung open.
It wasn't Kristen.
It was Jacob.
"Yoooo, Jacob! What's good, bro?"
Jay greeted him with a dap.
"Chillin'. Tryna get fried. You brought the woods, right?"
"Hell yeah. You know I wouldn't disappoint during a time of need, gang."
"Good man."
Jacob stepped aside and let him in.
The familiar smell of air freshener, snacks, and teenage bad decisions filled the house.
As they walked toward the living room, Jay started laughing.
"Bro, when I was buying the woods, the nigga at the register asked for my ID looking serious as hell."
Jacob immediately started laughing.
"Nahhh."
"Whole time he was trolling. I thought my life was over."
"Aww hell nah. That had to be Muhammad doing that dumb-ass shit."
"That's exactly who it was!"
Both of them cracked up.
"That nigga be trolling way too much."
Their laughter carried into the living room where Kristen sat on the couch scrolling through YouTube.
The glow from the TV reflected off his face.
"Aye Jacob," Kristen said without looking up, "you gotta hurry up and roll up. They already about to be here."
Then he noticed Jay.
"What's good my nig."
They exchanged daps.
"Cooling."
The three started talking trash and roasting each other to kill time while they waited for the girls to arrive.
"Aye Jay, remember when you got cooked in front of the whole school trying to hoop in those fake Jordans?" Kristen asked.
Jay immediately pointed at him.
"Don't start, nigga. You was the one wearing that dusty-ass Naruto headband every day freshman year."
Jacob nearly choked laughing.
"Nahhh, he really used to wear that shit!"
"It was hard back then!" Kristen defended himself.
"It was never hard," Jay and Jacob said at the same time.
The living room erupted into laughter.
Moments like this were normal for them. They had been practically inseparable since high school. If one of them got embarrassed, the other two were going to make sure nobody ever forgot it.
Just as Jacob finished rolling up, headlights flashed through the front window.
"Oop. Showtime," Kristen said, sitting up.
Everyone glanced toward the driveway.
A car door shut.
Then another.
Then another.
Jay stood up.
"Aight, let me get the door."
He walked over and opened it.
Three girls stood on the porch.
"Hey, how y'all doing? Come in."
Jay stepped aside with a smile.
"We doing good. How about y'all?" the first girl replied, speaking for the group.
"We cooling."
The other girls greeted everyone as they stepped inside.
Jay's eyes nearly widened.
Yo... these girls actually fire.
He managed to keep a straight face, but internally he was celebrating.
This nigga actually pulled through.
The girls were all attractive in different ways. One had long curls framing her face. Another had an effortless confidence about her that immediately drew attention. The third carried herself with a laid-back energy that made her easy to notice without even trying.
How are all of them bad? Not even one miss?
Jay felt like he had won the lottery.
Even better, the energy didn't feel awkward.
The girls seemed comfortable from the start, laughing at jokes and making eye contact instead of standing around looking bored.
Oh yeah... this might actually be a good night.
At first, everybody stayed grouped together.
The conversation started with basic introductions.
Where they were from.
How they knew each other.
School stories.
Music.
Random social media drama.
The usual stuff.
The awkwardness that normally came with meeting new people slowly disappeared.
A joke turned into another joke.
One story turned into five more.
Soon enough, everyone was talking like they'd known each other longer than thirty minutes.
The atmosphere in the house became noticeably warmer.
Music played from the TV.
The smell of fresh smoke drifted through the living room.
Laughter bounced off the walls every few minutes.
Eventually, people naturally started gravitating toward whoever they clicked with most.
Nobody announced it.
It just happened.
One conversation became two.
Then three.
And before long, everyone had settled into their own little section of the room.
Luckily, Kristen's massive sectional couch had more than enough space.
Jacob occupied one side.
Kristen claimed another.
Jay found himself relaxing on the far end while talking to a light-skinned girl with a pretty smile and a calm personality.
She was the type who didn't have to constantly be the center of attention.
She just carried herself naturally.
The more they talked, the easier the conversation became.
Jay wasn't exactly inexperienced around women, despite what his friends liked to joke about.
He knew how to talk.
The problem was most of his situations never made it past the talking stage.
Still, that experience helped him stay relaxed.
"So what you do when you ain't outside?" she asked.
"Mostly work and play the game."
She laughed.
"You look like somebody that play the game all day."
"Damn. It's that obvious?"
"A little bit."
"Nah, that's crazy."
She laughed again.
Jay considered that a good sign.
As the night continued, the conversation flowed effortlessly.
People were telling stories.
Arguing about music.
Making fun of each other's playlists.
Passing the blunt around.
The vibe was exactly what everyone had hoped for.
Every once in a while, though, Jay noticed something.
The girl he'd been talking to would glance down at her phone whenever it buzzed.
A few times she quickly responded to a text before putting it away.
Jay didn't think much of it at first.
Eventually he asked.
"Everything good?"
She nodded.
"Yeah. Just my parents checking on me."
"Ah, gotcha."
That seemed reasonable enough.
He wasn't the type to press somebody over something small.
So he shrugged it off and kept the conversation moving.
Still, every now and then, he couldn't help but notice her phone lighting up again.
And again.
And again.
At the time, Jay figured it was nothing.
But somewhere in the back of his mind, a small feeling lingered.
Something about it felt... off.
Not enough to ruin the night.
Just enough to notice.
Because of the positive energy around him, Jay eventually calmed down. The anxiety that had been bouncing around in his head all night slowly faded into the background.
Instead, he focused on the girl sitting beside him and the fact that the conversation had been going surprisingly well.
She laughed at his jokes.
She kept touching his arm when she talked.
Every sign seemed to be pointing in the right direction.
Maybe tonight really is my night, Jay thought.
The group sat around the living room talking, joking, and scrolling through songs to play next. The atmosphere was relaxed.
But after a couple more minutes, the lightskin girl's phone buzzed again.
Jay noticed her eyes immediately dart toward the screen.
Her smile disappeared.
For a split second she looked genuinely nervous.
She quickly locked the phone and slipped it into her pocket.
Jay narrowed his eyes.
That's weird.
Before he could think about it any longer, the phone buzzed again.
This time she looked even more uneasy.
In the middle of Jay's sentence, she abruptly cut him off.
"Sorry, but where's your restroom?" she asked.
Her voice wasn't loud, but it wasn't exactly quiet either. Everyone in the room heard her.
Jay pointed down the hallway.
"It's through that hallway over there. Second door on the left."
"Thank you."
She immediately stood up.
Then one of the other girls got up too.
"Wait, I gotta go too. Let me come with you."
The third girl followed right behind her.
"Me too."
The three girls quickly headed down the hallway together.
The room suddenly felt a lot emptier.
Jay watched them disappear around the corner.
What the fuck is going on with them?
The moment they were gone, the remaining trio looked at each other.
For a second nobody spoke.
Then Kristen broke the silence.
"I know girls go to the bathroom together and all that," she said, raising an eyebrow, "but all three of them? At the same time?"
"Yeah, what the hell was that?" Jacob added.
Jay leaned back on the couch.
"I don't know."
He hesitated.
Then he sighed.
"But I ain't got a good feeling."
The other two looked at him.
"What you mean?" Kristen asked.
Jay rubbed the back of his neck.
"My girl been checking her phone all night."
"So?"
"She kept saying it was her parents texting her."
"And?"
Jay looked away.
"I could tell it wasn't."
"NIGGA WHAT?!"
Both Jacob and Kristen practically yelled at the same time.
Jay jumped.
"What?!"
Jacob stood halfway up from the couch.
"Why didn't you say that earlier?"
"I didn't think—"
"Exactly!" Jacob interrupted. "You didn't think!"
Kristen threw his hands up.
"Bro, that's like the biggest red flag possible."
Jay suddenly felt stupid.
"I mean, maybe it's nothing."
"Maybe?" Kristen repeated.
Jacob shook his head.
"Nah. Hell nah."
He started pacing.
"Bro, you know that could be a setu—"
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
The sound of violent knocking exploded through the house.
The entire room froze.
Nobody moved.
Nobody breathed.
Another round of pounding hit the door.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Jay felt his stomach drop.
His heartbeat instantly sped up.
The three friends slowly turned and stared at each other.
A terrible feeling settled over the room.
Jacob swallowed hard.
Kristen's face had gone pale.
Jay felt every alarm bell in his body screaming.
Nobody wanted to answer the door.
Nobody even wanted to get close to it.
"Jacob," Kristen finally said.
"What?"
"You brought these girls here."
Jacob stared at him.
"So?"
"So you answer the damn door."
"What?!"
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
The knocking got louder.
More aggressive.
Whoever was outside clearly wasn't planning to leave.
Jacob cursed under his breath.
"Man..."
Slowly, he got up from the couch.
Every step toward the door felt heavier than the last.
The knocking continued.
BANG!
BANG!
BANG!
Jay's heart was beating so hard he could hear it in his ears.
Jacob reached the door.
He hesitated.
Then unlocked it.
The moment he pulled it open, his blood turned cold.
A gun barrel was staring directly into his face.
Standing outside were four men dressed entirely in black.
Black hoodies.
Black pants.
Black gloves.
Ski masks covering every inch of their faces.
Each one armed.
"Let us in, lil nigga."
Jacob immediately stepped aside.
He didn't even think.
The second he moved, one of them swung the rifle.
CRACK!
The stock smashed across his face.
Jacob dropped to the floor instantly.
Blood splattered onto the hardwood.
Jay and Kristen both flinched.
"Jacob!"
He groaned and curled up on the ground.
The four men stormed inside.
One quickly shut the door behind them.
Another scanned the room with his weapon.
The leader pointed his rifle around the living room.
"Which one of you bitches own this house?"
"M-me."
Kristen's voice shook violently.
"I own it."
His hands were already raised.
"Just don't hurt us. I'll tell you where everything is."
The man nodded slowly.
"Aw yeah."
His eyes moved around the room.
Big television.
Expensive furniture.
Designer decorations.
"Y'all got money in this bitch."
He pointed the rifle at his chest.
"Show us where everything at."
"Okay."
"Now."
Kristen nodded rapidly.
"Okay."
"Or I'll kill all three of you lil niggas."
A second robber stepped forward.
Unlike the others, he looked eager.
Almost excited.
His rifle had a drum magazine attached.
Even through the ski mask, there was something unsettling about him.
Something reckless.
Something dangerous.
The sight alone sent chills through Jay.
Kristen too.
Two of the robbers ordered Kristen upstairs.
He obeyed immediately.
The three disappeared toward the second floor.
Leaving Jay and Jacob downstairs with the remaining gunmen.
Jacob was sitting against the wall now.
Blood poured steadily from his nose.
His eyes looked unfocused.
Dazed.
Jay kept glancing over at him.
Finally, he worked up enough courage to speak.
"My friend's nose is bleeding really bad."
One of the robbers looked over.
"So?"
"Can I at least get him a tissue?"
The robber laughed.
A cold, humorless laugh.
"Man, you better use that nigga shirt to clean it up."
The other robber chuckled.
Jay quickly nodded.
"Okay."
He carefully grabbed part of Jacob's shirt and pressed it against his nose.
His hands were shaking.
His entire body was shaking.
A rifle with a drum magazine was pointed directly at him.
Another man stood nearby with a modified handgun in his hand.
Jay kept his eyes down.
Didn't make any sudden movements.
Didn't say anything unnecessary.
Because at that moment, one thing was painfully clear.
The wrong move could get somebody killed.