11. Gotta Love Them Damn Giraffes

So, the next couple of chapters are going to be the 1989 timeline chapters only as I have just realized that while things were moving pretty quickly in the 2003 parts of the story, the 1989 timeline needs to catch up as you all need to know exactly what's happened between Nikki and Marshall in the past, before they finally go on TV together and do the interview in 2003.

So yeah, I hope you guys don't mind the full flashback chapters, I have no idea which parts of the story you all like more, the present time or the past...

Marshall's P.O.V.

1989

I've been tired as fuck lately cause I had to pick up extra shifts at this restaurant I work part time as a dishwasher. Since Nikki wants to me take her to the damn zoo and shit, still don't know why she wanna do that for. I was too embarrassed to tell her that I ain't got zoo money like that, hell, I barely have fast food joint money and I was kinda hoping she would just wanna go eat somewhere, but nah, she wanna go on an expensive date.

So yeah, imma have to work hard for that, I guess, which ain't easy with my goddamn mother already taking half of my damn paycheck all the time.

I swear, Kim was so much easier to deal with, matter of fact, I ain't even had to take Kim anywhere on a date ever, we always just chilled at the house.

Maybe Nikki is worth it though, I don't know, cause I ain't gonna front she is actually the nicest that any other chick has ever been to me. When she said she was gonna tutor me and help me with my math problem, I thought she was just talking shit, but she was dead ass serious. Every day for the rest of the week she sits with me at the school's library and she's been helping me out with those math problems, and the thing is, something about the way she explains that shit to me, even if she can be kinda bossy sometimes, she does make me get stuff. Kim woulda been told me I'm dumb as fuck if I couldn't understand something, but with Nikki, it's like she's got patience. Who knows, maybe if she continues to tutor my ass I'll be able to finally pass 9th grade for real? I don't fucking know...

DeAngelo has been giving me real hell lately though. I can't stand this motherfucker. I hate that he's bigger than me. I ain't scared of him but I ain't a fool neither, I know he can easily beat my ass if he gets a fucking opportunity, so I've been staying on guard when it comes to him..

Proof's been telling me to stay close to him so if DeAngelo ever tries something we could just jump him together or some shit, but how imma look like hiding behind my dawg like that. Nah, if I do end up facing off with DeAngelo one day, I guess imma just have to face him on my own.

***

And today is Saturday so I wake up bright and early. Couldn't sleep most of the night anyway cause I was nervous for whatever reason.

Kim had sneaked up into my room late at night too, something she ain't done in weeks now and I think it must be cause she's been hearing rumors at school about me and Nikki, so she might be getting a little jealous. Good, about time I gave this fucking girl a taste of her own medicine, and it looks like my plan is working.

Now part of me feels kinda bad that I'm using Nikki like that cause honestly she's a dope ass girl and she don't deserve that shit but fuck it, it ain't like she could ever actually like me for real. I mean, why would she like somebody like me?

I get out of bed, shower and put on some baggy pants and a t-shirt with a baseball hat. I look through my closet for some halfway decent looking shoes but I can't find none. All my shits is all beat up and ugly looking. Damn... I feel real even more fucked up now and part of me just wants to stand Nikki up now and not even go to pick her up cause how imma take her out on a date looking like this?

I shrug and head to the kitchen to pour me and Nate some cereal. I gotta feed my little bro since I know our mother ain't getting up no time soon to do that. Kim neither, she's still asleep in my bed.

Sometime later, while me and Nate are eating and watching some morning cartoons together, there's a knock on the front door.

I go to open it and see that it's Proof.

"Wassup dawg," we dap each other up.

Proof then joins me and Nate and we all watch some more TV until my mother finally gets up and pretends to fuss over me and Nate all of a sudden, putting on this act like she suddenly gives a shit about her children. Eventually she takes Nate back to the kitchen with her announcing she's gonna cook him some proper breakfast as I just roll my eyes at her.

"So, you taking that girl out today?" Proof then suddenly asks me and I just shrug, not wanting to make it a bigger deal than it is.

Proof then looks at me real closely and then he all of a sudden bends down and takes his own sneakers off of his feet and without saying a word shoves them in my hands.

"Fuck you doing?" I frown in confusion, scratching the back of my head.

"Just tired of seeing you walking around in them fucked up ass shoes you always be wearing dawg," shrugs Proof. "And you are supposed to be taking Nikki out today and shit. Can't have you looking like you homeless."

"Shit dawg thanks," I reply, not really knowing what else to even say. Proof sometimes looks after me more than my own family does.

Hours later, I drive myself iver to Nikki's grandparents house and I knock on the door.

This much older black dude opens up and he immediately starts looking me up and down sizing me up.

"You are Debbie's boy, ain't you?" He asks with a slight hostility in his voice. "What you doing here?"

"I'm here to pick up Nikki," I clear my throat, watching the older man give me a hard stare like I just murdered his dog or something.

Just as he opens up his mouth to speak though, Nikki suddenly appears from behind his back and she wiggles her way past him and outside to the front porch of the house.

"I'll be back home soon grandpa," she says, kissing his cheek.

I pick up on a certain awkwardness between the two of them and remember her mentioning to me once during one of those days we were studying together at the library that she's not very close to her old folks cause she ain't grew up around them, and she has only moved here to Detroit to stay with them cause her parents had died and she ain't had nobody else to take her in.

Don't really know why but it sorta made me feel closer to her at that moment.

"Hey," Nikki then says to me shyly, looking up at me. She's wearing some sort of a yellow dress and heels, and she looks really nice.

"Yo," I awkwardly say, shoving my hands in my pockets, I guess I should tell her she looks pretty but I have this lump in my throat.

"Nikki, where are you going with this kid anyway?" Her grandfather suddenly pipes up behind us and Nikki rolls her eyes.

"He's taking me to the zoo, grandpa, I'll be back soon, I promise," she then smiles.

"Yeah, you make sure you be back soon," the old man grumbles, shuffling his way back inside the house slowly, mumbling to himself that he can't believe his own granddaughter is going out with some white guy and how Nikki's parents apparently ain't teach her anything.

Surprisingly enough though, this kind of breaks the akward tension between Nikki and I and we both kind of chuckle.

"You do know that people are going to react to us like this a lot if we continue hanging out?" She points out to me.

"I guess," I shrug. "But I don't really care, do you?"

"No," she replies softly, making me kind of secretly sigh in relief.

"Shit, let's go then," I shrug again and lead her to my car, placing my palm at the small of her back.

The whole drive to the zoo we just spend time getting to know each other better, I guess. We talk about our families and Nikki opens up to me that her parents didn't die in a car crash like she's been telling people but they were drug dealers, well, her father was, and that they had both does because of that. She actually sheds a couple of tears telling me that and I ain't gonna lie, I ain't expect to hear no heavy shit like but I feel for her. She's actually been through somw things and here I always thought that she's had it easy back in New York.

I tell her about my own mother too, even if that shit is embarrassing as fuck.

Somehow, the conversation leads to Kim as well and Nikki frowns at me when she finds out my mother is actually fostering Kim.

"Wait, so like... you two actually live together? Kim is your forster sister, Marshall?! You used to date your sister" She asks me, scrunching up her face in disgust. "Ew..."

"What?" I frown at her as I continue to drive. "It ain't like we are actually related."

"Still though, it's weird," she continues to make that grossed out face. "That must be some white people shit for real, dating y'all siblings and all," she nudges me in my ribs then as I narrow my eyes at her.

"I see you got jokes."

"This isn't even no joke, Marshall. Like, you are seriously living with your ex. That certainly does complicate things. A lot," she sighs, suddenly turning serious.

I can see where she is coming from, especially considering the fact that Kim had literally came into my room last night, and that's a normal thing for us.

But obviously I ain't gonna tell her that now.

"You ain't got nothing to worry about Nikki," I shrug. "Kim and I, we are done."

"So you keep saying," she replies with uncertainty in her voice, and I immediately feel bad.

I pull over the car right in front of the zoo grounds as we have finally reached our destination and I pause for a second and look at her.

"Nikki, you are the dopest chick I've ever went out with, aight?" I ask, still feeling super nervous around her for whatever fucked up ass reason.

"Oh, I know," she replies back, kind of arrogant like as she giggles and flips her long hair off of her shoulders then exits the car.

I chuckle, shake my head to myself and follow behind her.

We walk around the zoo and look at all kinds of animals. Nikki apparently has a thing for big cats. Lions, tigers, panters, all of those things. She says she finds them elegant and mysterious or however way she described it.

Me, I could give a fuck less about any of them wild ass animals to be honest. I'd rather just know about her.

So I just keep on asking her questions. She tell me she wants to be an actress when she grows up. At first I'm thinking to myself, that's just like any other chick I know. All of them bitches want to be either an actress or a model or some shit. But then the more Nikki talks about it, the more I see that she actually is passionate about it. She's got self-doubts though. She don't think she would make it cause that's what people have been telling her all her life. Something about the shade of her skin preventing her from ever being picked to be the leading lady. Which sounds so dumb to me, who gives a fuck about any of that if she really is talented? Motherfuckers are just stupid sometimes...

"And you know what, I want to apologize to you actually, Marshall," Nikki suddenly adds then. "Bwcause you know what? I have misjudged you too, just like people always misjudge me. Because of the color of your skin, I just knew you couldn't rap, but you actually can. And I just know that you'll make it one day."

"Yo for real?" I frown, not really believing she could possibly mean it cause I don't even believe that shit sometimes. I mean, I know I'm good at what I do, but at the same time I'm not sure. Kim always says that I ain't never gonna amount to shit. She says I ain't never gonna be more than a damn hamburger flipper, she says it's the best I could ever hope for in life.

"Of course, Marshall. I believe in you. Don't you believe in yourself?" Nikki asks me seriously and I just shrug it off.

"I guess so," I reply, not really wanting to dwell much on it. I'm used to not getting my hopes up for nothing.

Just then, Nikki suddenly pulls my arm.

"Ooooooh let's go there," she starts pulling me towards the enclave we've walked past before and I've done my best to distract her that time, but now apparently I had slipped up and she noticed it.

I stare at the sign that says 'Giraffes' on it.

Ah, for fuck's sake...

"Fuck you wanna go there for? Them shits are ugly as fuck to look at," I protest angrily.

"What?! Giraffes are so cute, what's wrong with you, Marshall. And I've never seen one in person before, common!!" She insists.

Next thing I know, Nikki drags me inside and I'm left standing staring up at a pair of nasty looking beasts with long ass necks chewing on some grass, looking evil as fuck and like they would rather be chewing on human flesh.

Creepy looking motherfuckers...

"Awe, they are cute, don't you think?" Nikki coos, walking closer to the cage while I just continue to stand as far away as I possibly could from it, thinking to myself something must be wrong with this girl for real if she thinks these things are cute.

"Marshall?" Nikki turns and looks at me over her shoulder. "Aren't you gonna come closer?"

"Nah, I'm fine right where I'm at. Knock yourself out, sweetheart," I reply through a clenched jaw, watching the giraffes for any sudden movements. I swear they are up to something!

"Um, what's wrong with you boy?" Nikki frowns, looking from me to the damn giraffes and back.

"Aight nothing wrong with me girl, the fuck yo?" I reply, still not taking my eyes off of the beasts.

"Oh my God!!" She suddenly starts laughing. "Are you like... are you scared of them, Marshall?!"

"What?! Fuck no!! Who's fucking scared?!" I say back quickly. Way too quickly. And way too defensively I guess cause she frowns.

"Marshall, I dare you to come over here and pet one right now!!" She narrows her eyes at me.

"Pet it?!" I damn near yell at her, I can just feel both of my palms start to sweat as my skin is crawling at the mere thought. "Nikki, we ain't supposed to pet them, do you not see that sign right there?" I quickly recover as I point with my finger right quick. "It says to NOT try to pet the animals!"

"Um... since when do you follow the rules, white boy?" Nikki then smirks.

I open my mouth to say some slick shit back to her then but nothing comes out. Truth is, I am scared to death of them shits!! Damn!! Something about them just creeps me the hell out, it's something about their necks, I guess.

Truth he told, I don't like horses neither. If a horse ever dissed me I won't even say nothing back...

Just then, one of the giraffes suddenly inclines it's small horned head towards Nikki, bending that long ugly neck.

I move on instinct then and I rush towards the girl and snatch her the fuck up, pushing her behind me.

"What the fuck, Marshall?!" Nikki laughs, and I feel like the dumbest motherfucker alive.

Of course the damn giraffe wasn't trying to harm her, I don't think it's even aware of neither one of us.

Or maybe it's just pretending to be unaware, who the fuck knows...

"Aight, that's enough," I state firmly and drag Nikki outside by her hand, doing my best to cover up how stupid I actually feel at this moment.

I really am a fucking moron, ain't I?!

"Oh Marshall," Nikki says looking up at me through her long lashes, she sounds almost like she pities me now or some shit.

Great... way to fucking go dawg.

"You really ARE afraid of giraffes, aren't you?" She giggles.

"Yeah," I huff, shoving my hands in my pockets once again. "Go ahead and laugh at me," I shrug.

"I'm not going to laugh at you," Nikki then replies, but I can just see the corners of her lips twitching, fighting a smile. "I just um... I've never met anybody that was scared of giraffes before, it's definitely um... strange..." she fights the laughter that's about to erupt in her throat again and I clench my jaw.

"You know what, forget it, Nikki," I suddenly blurt out, and I swear I'm about to walk away and leave her ass right there cause no bitch dares to laugh at me ever. Fuck her!!

Just then, she grabs my arm and she stands on her tippy toes, planting a kiss against the side of my jaw.

I blink a few times just staring at her and Nikki then places one of her palms agaisnt my cheek, and she lifts herself up on her toes again, brushing her lips against mines.

She leans back and looks at me through her lashes again.

"Fuck was that for?" I frown, doing my hardest not to blush like a lame ass motherfucker.

"For facing your fears," she giggles. "Marshall, you are clearly scared of giraffes for whatever reason, but you was like... trying to protect me from one, I think that's so cute..."

"Get the fuck outta here," I grumble like an old ass man, rolling my eyes.

But there's this weird ass fuzzy feeling spreading all over my chest. Fuck is this girl doing to me yo?!