
Amani loved playing games, everything was a game to her as most people would say, even the things she took seriously like her education were all just games in her mind; as after all, every good grade, every successful project, every achievement—it was all a victory in her game of life. And tonight, this little encounter with the mysterious masked man, and Jesse, it was just another level in her game of intrigue and excitement.
Her eyes shifted from both boys as she watched their conversations, restricting the urge to smile, because for some reason, she could feel fear tugging at her, she was soon going to hear something that she would not like, was she not?, that was what the fear filled her mind with and she could not understand where it was coming from-no, she could, she just did not want to understand because that would mean having to accept a possibility, a possibility of who the masked man was and Amani did not want to accept such possibility.
“Me? I was merely responding to your message, darling,” He spoke to her in a different tone that he used to speak to the masked man, Amani noted. That was Jesse’s usual tone actually, to most people- always lighthearted, always jest hidden somewhere in his words, it was quite similar to Amani’s tone with people, but of course much much nicer. But moreover that was Jesse’s usual tone, but the way he was speaking to the masked man, truly made the contempt he had for the masked man show itself.
And perhaps in a perfect world, since Amani knew Jesse, since they were friendly with each other- at least in a way fckbodies are, then Amani would have reacted accordingly, how one would be expected to react, she would have joined in on Jesse’s disdain for the masked man, she would have left with Jesse as she was the one who invited him after all or she would simply tried to stop the argument that was entertaining but at the same time irritating her due to how childish it all seemed. But that was what would have happened in a perfect world, this was the real world and in the real world, Amani loved to play games.
So she played, because she was entirely bored of the little prideful cat game of tongues unfolding before her. Truly, Amani would have to give the ‘conversation’, if one could call it that, this; there was some entertainment to it. The cocky banter and attempts at one upping one another’s insult were like watching two peacocks puffing up their feathers in an attempt to seem better and wittier than the other. So sassy, Amani thought, it will be fun to play a little as after all the night was still young.
She reeled in closer to the masked man, after she could not stop her laughter from one of Jesse’s comments, does sleeping with girls that don’t know who you are turn you on? that was actually quite amusing she would say, and Amani could not help but to ask the masked man if she knew him, because he seemed to know her to an extent. But instead of giving her a yes or no response, he had leaned into her ear and told her he could not answer that. Such a cryptic response, she did not know whether to be frustrated or not at the response, because though the answer was quite mysterious she knew what it meant, yes, he did in fact know her and for a second Amani thought of him again, but she shook her head. It could… not… be? No, no could it?
No, Amani decided to go with no, because any other answer than no would have been less than pleasant and the game would have had to stop so soon (then again she was already going to stop the game before Jesse arrived). She leaned in, pressing her lips at him, her eyes closed and her thoughts could not help but to think, would he have kissed like this?, not like she would know, and she hoped that she did not know. She pulled away, a foxy smirk pasted on her face, asking who should she keep entertained, it was more of rhetorical than a true question, she just wanted to see how he would react, and what did he think at this question. He had been quick to respond, telling her that she was supposed to be keeping him entertained as a finger of his reached towards her hair, twirling it. Amani removed the hand from her hair, dropping his hand to his lap as she smirked coyly. “Have I not entertained you enough?” She questioned, another rhetorical question, meant to continue the game. “What if I don’t want to keep entertaining you?” She questioned, whispering to him, “I tend to lose excitement quickly,” She told him, pulling herself away from him.
She had blinked hard, giving the masked man a look when he had called her Jesse’s girl. “I’m nobody’s girl,” Amani responded, raising a brow.
Suddenly, Amani had heard another voice from outside the room,and she arched another brow at that, wondering just what was going on in the party, but it seemed that she was not the only one filled with curiosity for Jesse also turned to the door, and with one last look at her and the masked man he left, but without Amani catching who he also named in his goodbyes, Vince, Vincenzo fcking Parravinco Russo.
Her and him- Vincenzo or the many names she also called him in her head, had once been something, not something like they were in a romantic relationship, but something that signified that they once were what people would consider close. He was the first person, she had become close to in this academy that was not a childhood or high school friend. They had bonded over a variety of things, and when Amani was not with Celestine or Tae, she was usually seen with Vinnie.
But that was before, no longer a now. She did not say anything for quite some time, no, instead she opted for dressing herself first, clothing that was once exposed, putting on all the jewelry she had also removed. Then she turned towards little ol Lex Luther, taking steps, steps closer to him.
She stopped in front of him, not saying anything, letting the silence be suffocating, before she reached out, grasping the edges of his mask. With a swift motion, she tore the mask from his face, revealing the man beneath. For a moment, she simply stared at him, her eyes blazing with an intensity that spoke volumes.
“You knew it was me, didn’t you?” She demanded, her voice laced with anger and accusation. “Does it turn you on,” She began, “To sleep with girls that don’t know who you are?” She said repeating what Jesse had said before he left. “But no, it’s not that, is it? It’s probably just because it’s me that it turns you on so much.” She took another step closer to him, her eyes still as fiery as ever, “You’ve been waiting for this a long time, have you not?” , The words hung heavy in the air, punctuating the tense silence between them. “Well, now that you finally got to do it, how did it feel?” But Amani did not wait for him to respond, no, instead she had struck him across the face with a force that echoed through the room.
“Your pathetic,” She spat out, “But you already knew that. Have you been following me like a lap dog? Hoping to get back into my good graces, to get back to when it was Amani and Vinnie, the good old days innit?” She whispered, “When I would throw you a bone each day, and you would wag your tail at all the bones thrown, because it made you think I truly cared for you, that we could have been more.” She continued, her voice dripped with disdain, “And perhaps, indeed I cared for you, it would have been a tragedy if I left you to be a stray- oh, wait, sorry you are already a stray aren’t you, an orphan, abandoned on the street, eternally and senselessly waiting for someone to return to.” Her tone got lower as she said, “Do you want me to be that person? The person you return to?” And for a moment, an unreadable expression crossed her features, before she shook it off.
@raviola- fren