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essaysbyciara · 4 years

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@essaysbyciara x archive/masterlist

Peace, family! First, welcome to this here Tumblr! Secondly, did I say “what up?!” I’ve accumulated a gang of new followers (again, heeyyyyyyyyy!) so I wanted to put together a masterlist of all of my writing stuffs on this here app.

I do chapter fanfic and shorts about love, relationships and the BS that comes with it. I specialize in what the streets have called “smut thoughts”; I don’t write smut but I get somewhat close to the line so if you’re looking for an alternative to smut fic, I might be your girl. I typically write about whatever fine-ass Black man is warming my spirits at the moment. Right now, I’m lusting over Trevante Rhodes, Y’lan Noel, Michael B. Jordan (and Killmonger), Yahya Abdul-Mateen II and Dave East.

Enough with the intros ... below is my stuff. I’ll update with every new work. Peace and blessings.

THY NEIGHBOR [COMPLETE] Trevante Rhodes/Y’lan Noel; Michael B. Jordan, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (recurring)

Thy Neighbor tells the story of two neighbors, Trevante and Ciara, who meet after a moment of tragedy. As their friendship - and maybe more -- blossoms, Ciara wonders if she can keep up with her new love life -- and her vow of celibacy.

[Chapter 1][Chapter 2][Chapter 3][Chapter 4][Chapter 5 + 6][Chapter 7 + 8][Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11][Chapter 12] [Chapters 13 + 14][Chapter 15] [Chapter 16] [Chapter 17][Chapters 18 + 19] [WATTPAD]

THY NEIGHBOR II: LOVIN’ THE CREW [COMPLETE] Trevante Rhodes/Y’lan Noel/Winston Duke; Michael B. Jordan, Yahya Abdul-Mateen II (recurring)

Ciara and Trevante’s journey continues with cameos from her past and maybe her future.

[Prologue] [Chapters 1 + 2] [Chapters 3 + 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapters 7 + 8] [Chapters 9 + 10] [Chapters 11 + 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapters 14 + 15][Chapter 16] [Chapter 17] [Chapter 18] [Chapters 19 + 20] [Chapter 21] [WATTPAD]

IT’S BEEN A LONG TIME [IN PROGRESS] Nebraska “Brasco” Williams (Trevante Rhodes)

It may be time to create some new memories with your old high school crush.

SOUNDTRACK | PART ONE | PART TWO | PART THREE

OLD HABITS DIE HARD [COMPLETE] Yahya Abdul-Mateen II/Dave East

Last summer, you and Dave, a friend of the family and “guy from the neighborhood”, had a sweet-and-sexy fling. Things end abruptly and in the weeks that followed, you would meet Yahya, a civil rights attorney and later your fiance. Now it’s time for him to meet the family and a reunion with Dave looms in the horizon. What could go wrong?

(1) NEW MESSAGE [COMPLETE] Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

“But this one gives a damn about me but doesn’t want to meet me in person because, I think, he doesn’t want anything to do with a woman that looks like me. And it’s all conjecture and it kills me. He doesn’t even know me.”

Part One | Part Two | Part Three | Part Four

LAYTON ROAD: A KILL x READER SERIES [COMPLETE] Erik “Killmonger” Stevens

He’s known to you -- and Instagram -- as ‘Kill’. A double-tap and a DM introduces you to Erik.

SHORTS

YOU AIN’T HER; Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan) | PART TWO | PART THREE

You can tell that Erik loves his girlfriend. But she ain’t here right now. So why do you care?

ME & HIS OLD SCHOOL; Inspired by Big KRIT

The cars swerve slow, swang and crawl. Enough time to peep who’s in the captain’s seat. Enter Justin.

PLAYING GAMES; Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan)

Honestly, you’ve been dreaming for Erik to push all of your buttons.

RED AND GREEN SPRINKLES; Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan)

Erik doesn’t want to be alone on Christmas Eve and he can sense through your tone that you feel the same way.

FRESH MEAT; Erik “Killmonger” Stevens (Michael B. Jordan)

You have a thing for the neighborhood butcher.

THE NERVE; DeCourcy Ward (Aldis Hodge)

You’re in a work meeting. DeCourcy can’t stop texting you. What could go wrong?

ATTENTION WH*RE; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

You and and your husband, Yahya, have a beautiful morning routine.

HAPPINESS OVER EVERYTHING’ (H.O.E); Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

Yahya knows he’s a slide but he’s not having it.

ROOM FOR TWO; Yahya Abdul-Mateen II

Your favorite seat inside of your neighborhood coffee house is taken but you’re not mad at its thief.

#essaysbyciara #masterlist #yahya abdul mateen ii #dave east #trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #winston duke #erik killmonger #erik killmonger fanfiction #michael b jordan

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chaneajoyyy · 4 years

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Y’LAN NOEL FICS

@twistedcharismaaa

-signs of rain, if- @eerythingisshaka

- thy neighbor series (with trevante rhodes)- @essaysbyciara

- sweetner (collegeboi!y’lan), bad religion- @songficsbyrissi

***IF ANYONE WHO WRITES Y’LAN FANFIC OR KNOWS ANYONE WHO DOES ON ALL PLATFORMS HIT ME UP!! I’D LOVE TO READ AND SHARE YOUR WORK!!!***

#the plug #librarian at your service #let’s chat #sip tea #talk fanfiction #y'lan noel #y'lan noel fanfiction

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essaysbyciara · 4 years

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Thy Neighbor II: Lovin’ The Crew [Chapters 19 + 20]

[Prologue] [Chapters 1 + 2] [Chapters 3 + 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapters 7 + 8] [Chapters 9 + 10] [Chapters 11 + 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapters 14 + 15][Chapter 16] [Chapter 17] [Chapter 18]

Warnings: Language, smut thoughts

The madness continues...

CHAPTER NINETEEN

Y'lan's favorite spot inside of this lavish AirBnB just blocks away from Center City is the outdoor patio. Full of lush bushes peppered with flowers of multiple hues and a large table long enough to fit more than twelve disciples, it's job as the bar is doing the trick. The table is way more than a wet bar, stacked with every type of whisky, gin and tequila known to man. It's also the grandest medicine cabinet Y'lan could have in hopes to soothe his raging emotions toward Trevante.

Y'lan always knew Trevante to be a loose cannon when it came to women. He heard some of the stories straight from the horse's mouth, the worst of them coming from both Michael and Yahya, his best friends. But what he's been hearing from -- and about -- Trevante during the early hours of this pre-bachelor party has him on edge.

Trevante just spoke of "sexing down some chick" just weeks ago, describing her as "super thick, nerdy bitch, tight pussy, all that." Y'lan would only know of Ciara's shape, need to wear glasses and disposition toward learning new things. He never got the chance to see if he'd get stuck inside of her love. However, hearing Trevante talked about Ciara -- or who he imagines to be, at least -- this type of way disturbs him beyond belief. The same girl that Trevante spoke of "ending his playboy ways" with is being talked about in a room full of immature frat boys as just another "fuck", as Stephan just called her. A label that Trevante didn't correct but rather laughed at.

Maybe Trevante just wants to impress his friends or he is trying to keep up appearances. Either way, Y'lan wasn't having it. A shot of top shelf whisky is to keep his mind on other things.

"Yo, bro ... we got all night, man." Trevante catches Y'lan just as he pours his next shot. He saw him pour his first two drinks, watching him out on the porch as the rest of his friends cracked jokes and delved in laughter around him. Trevante didn't want to talk about Ciara in this way. She wasn't a "fuck"; she was his girlfriend. While he loves her body, makes her keep her glasses on during sex as a fetish thing and puts her at the top of his "best sex ever" list, he didn't mean to make their love life his boys' business. Trevante reverts to number-eight-on-his-SPR07 line when he's around the fellas. He's grown since then, he thought. But once he saw Y'lan leave the room, he knew he messed up.

Quiet as it's kept, Y'lan is who Trevante wants to be. He admires Y'lan's drive to live life for something greater than himself, volunteering and giving his life to the church. Trevante wasn't a religious person but he would pay attention to how Y'lan would talk about how God helped him get his act together from a life of doing dirt, Ciara catching most of those stains. He felt Y'lan's "stand up" energy and wanted a part. Him checking in on Y'lan is in his way of trying to be better -- and hoping that he didn't turn off the person he hopes can turn into his best friend.

He pours himself a shot as well. "Y'lan, you cool?"

"Yeah. Just a lot going on in there, man. That's all."

"If you're not feeling this, we can always dip out. I don't want you to feel uncomfortable or anything. This really ain't for us anyway. "

Y'lan is taken aback by Trevante's invitation to leave. In one way, he's glad that his friend is aware of what may or may not be a place that he would want to be. On the flipside, he's hurt that his friend is responsible for making him feel uncomfortable in the first place. "Nah, man. I'm good. It's just for today. The wilderness lasted forty days. I'll be solid." Y'lan knocks down another shot. "Let's head out to the day party spot. I'll be cool. I just need to breathe a bit."

---

"I feel like I can breathe up here..." Ciara marvels at the orange, auburn and marigold-hued leaves that fall around her and Winston as they wind around a somewhat busy trailway on a Saturday morning. They make sure to make room for the bicyclists and runners with their strollers as they walk the twisted pathway through trees and rotting cabins. "This reminds me of back home."

"Where's back home for you?"

"Suburban Maryland, toward the mountains. We were like the only Black family there but it was a beautiful place to grow up. What about you, Winston? You've been in New York all of your life?"

"Ehh, it's a long story."

"I got time..."

CHAPTER TWENTY

Raised by a preacher father and a stay-at-home mother who were both full-on fire-and-brimstone, barring secular music and television inside of their house, Winston and his sister, in church six times a week and twice on Sundays, were forbidden to go on class trips or to sleepovers. Feeling trapped, Winston started hanging out with all of the "'Rican and Dominican" kids from the neighborhood. There he met his best friend, Ronald.

Built like a NFL player by tenth grade, Ronald scared everyone except Winston, big and bad just like he was. As much as Winston's parents didn't like his new crew, they knew Ronald's mother from church so they lessened their grip. The two became inseparable, Winston spending weekends at Ronald's house during the summer. He got to watch BET and play XBox for all hours of the day, this little ounce of freedom in a world full of restrictions.

But then one day, he couldn't go over Ronald's house anymore and Winston's dad wouldn't tell him why. Winston would hang outside with Ronald but then his mother would drag him into the house. "I better not catch you hanging out with that boy..." is all his mother could say. Nothing made sense until it did. Ronald's mother found a note written for Winston. Inside were Ronald's feelings for him, feelings that his mother felt "were for girls..."

"So that's why you're writing about the persecution of sexuality in the early Church, then? Makes sense." Ciara exhales from hearing Winston's story. It was a lot to take in but Winston felt comfortable enough to tell her about it.

"Yeah. I'm passionate about why we do what we do, you know? There's a root to everything. But I didn't mean to make this all sad and stuff, I'm sorry..." Winston laughs to break up his somber tone. Ciara finds it nice to break up her life with some God talk. Outside of school, she doesn't get much of it. She definitely doesn't get it with Trevante.

"No, you're good! I appreciate it. It kinda reinvigorated me to get back to working on my paper, actually. I don't get to have these conversations with other students often because of work and like, all my close people aren't in the church like that, so..."

"I'm always down for meeting over coffee whenever you're free, if you need to keep fleshing things out."

"Man, Winston. I would love that so much..." Ciara pauses to take a look at Winston before he gives a response. His smile says enough.

"We should be getting you back though, I know your girls are probably looking for you..."

"They ain't even thinking about me. They in that house knocking down mimosas like it's a job." Winston and Ciara both laugh as they turn around on the trailway. The closer they get to the house, the louder the sounds of Jodeci are coming from their AirBnB.

I've been watchin' you for so very long tryin' to get my nerve built up to be so strong/ I really want to meet you but I'm kinda scared/ 'cuz you're the kind of lady with so much class...

The crowd at this day party is way too young to know anything about Jodeci. Most of them weren't born when K-Ci, JoJo, Dalvin and DeVante were killin' the streets. But Trevante, Y'lan, Stephan, Michael and the boys make the most of it. And the worst...

"Yo, Stephan is a damn savage," Michael says as he watches his friend's married frat brother flirt with another girl that looks just a shade over 21. Y'lan's been waiting and watching Stephan all night, calling him a "fuck nigga" under his tequila-laced breath. The girl's look of discomfort is clear to everybody else but Stephan.

It's even more clear to Trevante. Stephan wasn't just drunkenly flirting with some random. He grabs the girl's hand and takes her to their VIP section.

"Yo, yo... this is Meganne. She's a Lambda. Ain't think they were still out here looking this fine, shit." Meganne gently smiles to hide her embarrassment. She spotted Trevante and his crew some time ago as she and her girls grooved to another Ma$e song that they were too young to know. After Trevante told her to cool it for the sake of his relationship, she didn't walk by his office like she would always do, hoping to catch his attention.

After talking to her prophytes, she realized that Trevante was in the wrong for how he treated her. She felt strung along, feeling as if Trevante had this "girlfriend" for as long as he was taking her home from work and to lunch everyday. He would be her first "fuck nigga". Too bad he had to be so damn fine.

So as she sits down, she tries not to catch eyes with Trevante. Trevante is staring holes into her and Y'lan notices. He then remembers running into a girl that looked just like Meganne trying to hold back tears as she ran out of his office. Y'lan puts what he thinks is two and two together. He had enough. His fingers -- and the liquor -- went to work.

I ain't trying to win you back, Ciara. So that's not my move. You just need to know how trash this dude is. You deserve better, straight up.

Taglist: @doublesidedscoobysnacks @diva-princess-on-fleek @voyagetoadinas9 @walkrightuptothesun @wvsspoppin @dreamlovealways @rockwit609 @thegayaxeman @joyfulwombatdreamermaker @blackpinup22 @hookedtoherfire @kris-did-it @l-auteuse @styleismyaddiction

#trevante rhodes x fanfiction #trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #winston duke #thy neighbor

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songficsbyrissi · 5 years

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SONGFICS BY RISSI OFFICIAL MASTERLIST

Rissi’s Masterlist (updated: 5/10/23)

T’Challa Udaku x Reader

The Fix *ongoing series*- Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, Part 6

Blindfold

Right By My Side

Got Your Back

Poison

Should’ve Kissed You

Jealous + Jealous (alternate version)

Make A Baby

Halo

Erik Killmonger x Reader

Worry ‘Bout It

Let Em’ Know *ongoing series* - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4 , Part 5, Part 6, Part 7, Part 8, Part 9, Part 10

Nip Tuck

I Wanna Be

Feel Love

Do You Remember *ongoing series* - Part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4

None Of Your Concern

Brown Skin Girl

I Luv Your Girl

You’re Mines Still

T’Challa & Erik collab

Same Girl *one shot*

Freaky Friday (Reader is T’challa’s wife but story focused on T’challa and Erik)

Trevante Rhodes x Reader

Always Be My Baby

Unfaithful

Your Love

Y’lan Noel x Reader

Sweetener

Bad Religion

Oscar “Spooky” Diaz

Ain’t No Way

Lost Ones

This X-Mas

Prompt Requests

Work Out (Spooky x Reader)

Mr. Romantic (Erik x Reader)

Cupcaking (Spooky x Reader)

You Make Me Wanna (T’challa x Reader)

Swiping Right For Mr. Right (Spooky x Reader)

#black panther imagine #black panther fanfiction #black panther fic #t'challa udaku x reader #t'challa smut #t'challa x black reader #erik killmonger x reader #erik stevens x reader #erik killmonger x black reader #erik killmonger smut #Trevante Rhodes x Black Reader #y'lan noel x black reader #trevante rhodes fanfic #y'lan noel fanfiction #oscar diaz x reader #oscar diaz x black! reader #spooky x reader #spooky diaz fanfiction #masterlist

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essaysbyciara · 4 years

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Thy Neighbor II: Lovin’ The Crew [Chapter 18]

[Prologue] [Chapters 1 + 2] [Chapters 3 + 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapters 7 + 8] [Chapters 9 + 10] [Chapters 11 + 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapters 14 + 15][Chapter 16] [Chapters 17]

WHAT? Yes. This story is alive! Well, it’s been alive and kickin’ on Wattpad for the past few weeks but I decided to update the story here since y’all the day ones. Plus I’m building a MASTERLIST of my stuffs so I wanted to have everything together.

CHAPTER EIGHTEEN

"Ci! Girl, the trunk ain't that big..." Ashley steps outside to see Ciara's face showing a joyful kind of surprise as Winston struggles to wipe the smile off of his face. She interrupts their romance-movie gazes at each other, slamming the hard-oak door to the AirBnB behind her causing them both to break their gaze. "Ci, you good...?"

Ciara reluctantly exits her love story. "Ash, yeah ... I'm good. This is Winston. We go to Penn together. We just ran into each other." Winston walks up to shake Ashley's hand, his good boy manners getting the best of him. Ashley wasn't ready for all that politeness but she appreciates Winston's respectful nature.

"Nice to meet you, Ashley, I presume?"

"Good call ... the bottles are in the trunk, right?" Ashley presses Ciara on with a heavy look inside of the trunk. As much as she would love to meet new friends, she relishes her first weekend off in months and doesn't want to stop her fun to be friendly. She grabs the bottles of Hennessey and some cheap box wine and proceeds to walk back into the house, waving bye to Winston with her elbow. He goes back in for more conversation with Ciara.

"You guys are in for some fun, huh?"

"Yep, girl's weekend. I needed a break from my thesis."

"Ah, man. Me too, me too. I didn't want to come up for this planning meeting for my church..."

Winston jumped onto so many committees, he lost count. The more commitments, the more he doesn't have time to toll away at his papers.

"Where do you go?"

"Flower Street Baptist..."

Ciara knows Flower Street to be Y'lan's church and begins to understand how Winston and Y'lan got to know each other. It's another painful reminder that Trevante still doesn't know about her and Y'lan's past. She figures that Y'lan will be with Trevante this weekend and fears the moment Trevante tells all and Y'lan feels pushed to let the cat out of the bag about he and Ciara's last conversation together. It was only days ago that Y'lan confronted Ciara about her relationship with Trevante all the while somewhat confessing to her that he still carried feelings for her. Ciara's chest tenses up at the conversation she must have with Trevante once she gets home but she desires an escape from her emotions and Winston can provide that.

"FSB, yeah. Solid church. Reverend J.B. Jones, yeah ...so what brought you down the road here?"

"There's a trailway up ahead that the lodge owner recommended. I, uh, just needed to clear my head for a minute." Winston wants to escape as well. Boggled down in meetings and planning groups all day, he wants to take his mind off of everything from Flower Street to his thesis. Ciara's been in the recesses of his mind since she messaged him back about the playlist. Ciara didn't know that certain songs on the playlist were for her in mind, soundtracks to the what-ifs only if the Universe got everybody out of the way. But if "Can We Talk?" by Tevin Campbell could be acted out in this moment, why stop it? "I'm actually about to take a walk around real quick if you want me to show you where it is?"

"Oh, man. Yes! Let me just let my girls know. " Ciara jumps ahead of the curve. Winston's heart just jumps. He watches her walk inside of the house, emotions growing from bewildered into excitement. He texts Y'lan the good news.

Hey, man. Guess who I ran into up here?

Y'lan doesn't have much time to respond to Winston once Trevante, Stephan and the rest of Trevante's fraternity brothers barge their way throughout the multi-level rental just outside of Center City. They wanted to be close to Old City -- all the bars and hangout spots -- plus a short Uber ride to the strip club.

As the crowd grows larger, Y'lan's face grows more nervous. Y'lan, unlike his older brothers, didn't do the fraternity thing in college because he was scared by all of the stories he heard. Tre and Michael's fraternity brothers are living up to the hype.

"I can't believe you married her, bruh." Stephan says to Malik, one of the older fraternity brothers. "She was a damn slide..." He's on his third glass of Crown and letting himself get all the way loose. Trevante watches Malik's nostrils flare up and knows it's time to cut this out. "Yo, Stephan. Watch your mouth."

"Whatever, Tre. He knows I'm just playing. Tracee is a sweeeeeeetheart." The laughs and snickers carry throughout the room and Trevante's laugh is a mixture between embarrassment and wince. "Plus, who are you to say shit? You run through bitches like a track meet, Tre!"

Trevante waivers on whether to tell his friends about his new normal; about this girl named Ciara who came into his life after a moment of tragedy and became the woman that he saw himself building a future with. This woman who Y'lan is starting to fall back in love with and who he just learned is up in the Poconos with Winston.

Trevante decides to wait.

@doublesidedscoobysnacks @diva-princess-on-fleek @voyagetoadinas9 @walkrstalkrightuptothesun @wvsspoppin @dreamlovealways @rockwit609 @thegayaxeman @joyfulwombatdreamermaker @blackpinup22 @hookedtoherfire @kris-did-it @l-auteuse @styleismyaddiction

#trevante rhodes x fanfiction #y'lan noel #winston duke #trevante rhodes #thy neighbor

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essaysbyciara · 5 years

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Thy Neighbor II: Lovin’ The Crew [Chapter 16]

[Prologue] [Chapters 1 + 2] [Chapters 3 + 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapters 7 + 8] [Chapters 9 + 10] [Chapters 11 + 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapters 14 + 15]

Only a few chapters left! XOXO, as always!

Warning: this chapter is heavy on the smut thoughts

CHAPTER SIXTEEN

Trevante loves staring at Ciara as she catches the ultimate high from his touch.

Ciara wanted to forget about Y’lan’s question. She wanted to remember who she now belonged to and who was now hers. She answered Trevante’s text by showing up at his door, work clothes still intact. She needed an unwind, an escape. She knew Trevante would give it to her. In unlimited positions.

Trevante watches Ciara bite down on her bottom lip, almost breaking skin. It is the only way to stop herself from moaning Y’lan’s name in the midst of Trevante taking her over the edge.

Trevante isn’t an escape. He is a salve. She still wants Y’lan.

“Why do you have to go away this weekend?” Trevante can’t stop pouting in Ciara’s direction.

“Because I need a retreat from this paper and I need to see my girls. I miss them, Tre.”

“I wanna see my girl though…” Trevante right hand traces up Ciara’s inner thigh. She gives him the space to go back to work and the convulsions grow rapidly. “You’re my girl, right?”

Ciara is too caught up in Trevante’s torture to utter full words. He takes all of what he hears as a “yes.”

Ciara’s lack of a “yes” to Y’lan aches him as he sits on his couch surrounded by silence, thoughts swirling on why he would ask her if she still wanted to be with him. Y’lan thought himself to be over his desire to try again with Ciara. He egged Winston on to send Ciara that message with the playlist, telling him that it would be a safe move. He didn’t realize that an hour after encouraging Winston to shoot his shot, Y’lan would haphazardly shoot his own.

He looks down at his phone to see an email from Ciara. She confirms that her organization secured him staff until Spring Break of next year. That was the purpose for their meeting until Y’lan felt called to confront her about Trevante. She kept her word despite Y’lan always breaking his promises. He drops his phone to his side, exhaling loudly as he closes his eyes, thoughts of Ciara running through his mind. His thoughts go unclean and his coping mechanisms of the past come into play. He stifles himself from saying her name as he hits the sweet spot.

Trevante’s nerves grow as he paces around his kitchen. He doesn’t know how to word all of what he feels. After his conversation with Y’lan, he wants to make things official with Ciara. He can handle her, he thinks, even if Y’lan’s warnings are coming from a good place.

Trevante grabs Ciara’s hand as she walks into his living room, his favorite t-shirt cascading her body in all the right ways. Ciara yelps loudly as Trevante picks her up and sits her on top of his counter. Ciara can’t take anymore from Trevante.

“Tre, I’m gone for three days. Not three months. I’m coming back, I promise.”

Trevante pulls her body closer to him, nearly sliding her off of the counter with all of his force. He kisses Ciara so deep that her body jolts.

“Yo, Tre. Chill.” She reluctantly pushes him away.

“My bad…” Trevante releases Ciara from his hold. She gently tugs on both of his arms so he can come back to her. “Look at you. You don’t want to leave me this weekend either.”

“Heh. Not really.”

“You never answered my question though?”

“Which one, Tre?” Trevante can’t help but fight the disappointment he feels. Ciara’s attentiveness to every detail of Trevante fails to show up in this moment. The one time he would want for her to notice all of his idiosyncrasies, she doesn’t see it. It would have also hidden the fact that Trevante doesn’t know how to word his request.

“You know … about you being my girl.”

Ciara’s mind breaks this moment of joy with thoughts of Y’lan. Y’lan is her past that she so desperately wants to be her present but knows she has no future with. Her future is standing right here, tugging on her body, trying to find the words to tell her how he feels. She senses Trevante’s nervousness. She goes in to ease his mind.

“I’ve been waiting so long for you ask me. I would love to be, Trevante.” Ciara playfully fights off Trevante as he goes to pick her up from his counter. As they barrel over to his couch, she knows she won’t be left in her own mess.

Y’lan cleans up his mess. Just like Mahalia, he awaits a green light to break up Ciara and Trevante. Winston isn’t going to be enough.

#trevante rhodes x fanfiction #trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #fanfic #thy neighbor

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essaysbyciara · 5 years

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Thy Neighbor II: Lovin’ The Crew [Chapter 17]

[Prologue] [Chapters 1 + 2] [Chapters 3 + 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapters 7 + 8] [Chapters 9 + 10] [Chapters 11 + 12] [Chapter 13] [Chapters 14 + 15][Chapter 16]

It’s been a minute, I know. Honestly, I wasn’t quite sure if I could finish this story but I wrote a chapter so I am taking that victory. I sure am.

As always, thank you for all of the love for this and the Yahya story. Peace and love!

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

“Boy you got me head over heeeeelssss…yo, this playlist is hittin’, Sis. Where did you find this?” The brisk October wind creeping through the driver’s side window is keeping Mahalia awake as she drives up I-476, Ashley all but sleep in the back seat and slumped over, holding onto her cell phone for dear life. Even Mahalia’s pitchiness is unable to coax her from her slumber.

“I know, right? One of my classmates sent it to me.” Winston wouldn’t admit to checking his phone every other minute to see if Ciara received his gift. His heart broke when he saw that Ciara left him on read, not the response he hoped to receive. Ciara was in the midst of trying to pull away from Trevante’s grasp for the umpteemth time that morning. She simply forgot to respond. “Yo, Ashley is knocked back there. I got worried for a second that she wouldn’t be able to find a sitter for Saeed.”

“Her Ahki baby daddy finally took him for an entire weekend. Dead beat fuck…” Mahalia doesn’t like any of the men that grace her friends’ lives. That’s why Ciara is choosing to keep the news of her and Trevante’s relationship to herself.

Behave yourself in those mountains

I’m good. You the one that needs to behave, Sir. Have fun at Michael’s party.

Trevante and Michael were able to find a compromise regarding Michael’s bachelor party and the overflow of guests that suddenly wanted to be a part. While the trip to Atlantic City would just be for the bridal party, tomorrow’s party would be for all of Michael’s frat, the smooth brothers of Theta Nu Phi. With Trevante’s fraternity brothers also in tow, the city wouldn’t know what would be hitting them.

Trevante didn’t know what was hitting him as he waited for his one of his line brothers, Stephan, to arrive from Toronto. Stephan and Trevante were two peas in a pod in every conceivable way – especially the bad way. That’s why Stephan’s marriage and two children make Trevante’s singleness seem almost intentional. He was forever going to be alone.

But then came Ciara.

Trevante thinks back to yesterday morning, Ciara telling him that she was down for the ride that would be their relationship. He still cracks a smile at the ideas of what they could do together. He sees her coming down to Texas with him for Thanksgiving. He can see them putting up a Christmas tree in his apartment. He can see Valentine’s Day. A summer engagement. Trevante’s dreams were beyond the limits of his own potential.

A potential that even his sister thought he could never match.

“Tre, you have a what?! I wanna see her!”

Trevante grabs a link to Ciara’s Facebook page and shoots it to his sister during their weekly phone call. He thought about changing his relationship status on Facebook but for some reason, he backed away. He wasn’t quite ready to yell it from the mountaintops. He was barely just coming down from Ciara telling him “yes.”

“Aww, Tre! I like her! She’s cute!”

“Thanks, Sis.”

She passed the sister test.

I”’m lowkey surprised though. She ain’t really your type.”

Trevante has a type and Ciara was never that but Trevante never thought about it … until now. Up until that moment, Trevante didn’t even think twice about Ciara not looking like she goes to the gym eight days a week or could runthe full marathon. But with Trevante all about his image, the idea of dating someone that doesn’t fit that is now starting to cross his mind, even if his sister isn’t talking about her size.

She’s talking about the Bible quotes, the snapshots from church and the social justice memes that littered her page. Ciara was smart, sweet and safe. Ciara was everything she wanted for her brother but thought he’d never go for because like the rest of the world, she believed that Trevante had a type and Ciara was never it.

Trevante doesn’t respond to his sister’s comment once Stephan knocks on the door to his apartment.

“Yo, yo!” Their frat call could be heard all the way to the top floor of his building. He wasn’t expecting to see four of his other frat brothers in tow behind Stephan. Trevante quickly tells his sister that he needs to call her back.

“Yo, Stephan … you brought the damn cavalry to my crib, man?”

“Yeah, man. What? You got some chick up in here? Aww, man … we busted up your whole vibe, man? My bad…”

“Nah, nigga… y’all good, I swear.”

If they still believe that Trevante is up to no good, he wonders what Ciara must feel leaving her man alone for the weekend.

Ciara’s not even thinking about Trevante as she responds to Winston’s text with a thank you and a smile emoji, telling him that she’s been playing the playlist since the morning.

“Ashley, this place is beautiful. Wow.” The AirBnB that Ashley found is surrounded by trees already changing their leaves into their gold and auburn hues. The Jacuzzi tub is all set to be turned on and the cabin-like feel warms their bodies and souls before they could finish exploring the place.

“Ciara, no … you didn’t bring your laptop with you?!” Mahalia says as she swings a small computer bag in Ciara’s direction.

“I couldn’t leave it, I’m sorry. I just…”

“Ciara, girl … no. I’m locking this bitch in the trunk.”

“I wish you would. Let me live, please?! Speaking of the trunk, I left the wine bottles in there. Let me get them.”

Ciara walks outside and notices an entrance to a trailway across the street. As she walks to the trunk, a voice cuts her concentration.

“Ciara! Hey!”

“Winston? Hey! What are you doing up here?”

#trevante rhodes x fanfiction #trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #winston duke #fanfiction #thy neighbor

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Thy Neighbor II: Lovin’ The Crew (Trevante Rhodes x Y’lan Noel x [TOP SECRET] Fanfiction) [Prologue]

Her past. Her present. Her pettiness. Her potential temptation. All standing in front of her door. Ciara is indeed loving the crew.

I couldn’t just leave it be, family. Thy Neighbor is back with a part two! If you haven’t read part one, you can check the #thyneighbor tag or read on Wattpad HERE.

Warnings: Smut thoughts (THANK YOU! to the person that messaged me with that. I love it lol), workplace harassment. As always, there are some Christian elements in this story, so heads up if that isn’t your thing.

Taglist is below. Message/comment if you would like to be added or removed from the list. Let’s get this journey started! (You’ll figure out who [TOP SECRET] is very soon!)

PROLOGUE

I ain’t trying to win you back, Ciara. So that’s not my move. You just need to know how trash this dude is. You deserve better, straight up.

Y’lan had enough as he witnessed Trevante flirt with another waitress at the bar where he sat with Yahya, Michael and a litany of fraternity brothers. He became enraged watching Trevante put another woman’s number into his phone. It was the fourth of the night and at this point, he blamed it on things beyond the alcohol. Trevante didn’t care about Ciara, he thought. He just wanted to add her to his roster. She was his trophy to be won, waiting for Ciara to finally give him what he wanted. Because the Ciara he knew wouldn’t give in.

Even though he and Ciara failed to speak to each other since the Proverbs event that past summer, Y’lan would often see Ciara at events and other church functions across the city. He struggled to keep his eyes off of her, wanting so desperately to break the wall of ice she built between them. Unfortunately, he knew that he didn’t deserve to hold even a second of conversation with her.

But then one day, she somewhat relented. Ciara saw Y’lan at Archie’s, the hoagie spot near campus. Eating lunch with one of his mentees, Y’lan made a haphazard peace offering and got up to pay for Ciara’s cheesesteak. Y’lan didn’t know that Ciara just got off the phone with Trevante, who tried and failed to start another round of phone sex with her inside of her office. Trevante broke her down enough to have that happen a few times. She felt so damn trashy afterwards. Phone sex inside the office of a Christian non-profit? What special seat in Hell was waiting for her?

But she thought that if she did that enough -- if she gave him a taste of her within her bogus limits -- then he’d hold on for her. She thought she was ready to make things official, to have sex with Trevante. It’d been close to four months since that morning when he kissed her after making her eggs. They were walking sex bombs. She couldn’t take it and she thought he couldn’t too. He couldn’t … but he satisfied his cravings. Gym manager -- and a new girl -- found their way into his apartment even after he and Ciara decided to see where things would go. So as Ciara acted as a girlfriend, Trevante acted non-committed as usual.

So after Y’lan paid for her food, Ciara wanted so bad to go back to what she knew, her way to prove that she was desired and wanted. And since she knew that Y’lan always wanted her that way, she picked him out of the lineup for a potential revenge plot. Nevermind that she still hated his guts.

She asked Y’lan if he was busy that night and he said no, even though he had a work meeting. He waited for this moment to happen and right before his eyes -- the faint smell of beef and lamb surrounding them -- she asked him to come over for dinner. “So they can catch up.”

Y’lan never made it over.

Ciara found herself in Trevante’s bed. She broke down and gave him what he wanted. She didn’t want to lose him. While the sex was almost everything she thought it would to be, she kept her back to him as they slept in his bed. She wouldn’t let Trevante hold her. Ciara left his apartment before Trevante could wake up in the morning and ask for more.

But as Ciara reads Y’lan’s text, telling her that she deserves better, she’s not surprised. No anger courses throughout her body. No desires to “get Trevante back” pop into her mind. She places her phone down next to her laptop and continues to work through her thesis paper. However an unexpected knock at her door changes her escape route from the pain…

Taglist:

@doublesidedscoobysnacks @diva-princess-on-fleek @voyagetoadinas9 @walkrightuptothesun @wvsspoppin @dreamlovealways @rockwit609 @thegayaxeman @joyfulwombatdreamermaker @blackpinup22 @hookedtoherfire

#thy neighbor #Y'Lan Noel #trevante rhodes #trevante rhodes x fanfiction

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Thy Neighbor II: Lovin’ The Crew [Chapters 1 + 2!]

[Prologue]

THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU for all the likes, reads and comments on the prologue! As always, if you would like to be added to the taglist, let me know. I also realized that I messed up tagging for the prologue, so the link is above. Read that first if you haven’t already because explains the jump in time lol

Peace and Love!

Warning: these chapters are somewhat heavy on the smut thoughts lol

CHAPTER ONE

Mahalia knew this day was coming.

“Even though I know you’re upset, I do need deets. Was it good?”

Ciara looks up at Mahalia in disgust. Ciara thought she had things under control, satiating her own desires to keep her from asking Trevante to do it for her. But when he caught an attitude after she turned down a midday office phone sex session, she felt she had no choice but to give in. She wanted to have sex with Trevante anyway, she reasoned with herself. She cried when she got back into her apartment that morning. Not because the sex was so good.

“He’s okay.”

“Just okay?! What?! O-K?!”

“I mean, he did his thing. Nothing I’d write home about, you know what I mean?”

“So you broke your rule for some mediocre dick? I’m outraged for you.”

Mahalia pulls Ciara’s close to her, caressing her head through her jumbo braids. She could tell that Ciara felt terrible for going all the way with Trevante especially since he didn’t deserve it. At least that’s how Mahalia feels. She was so angry when Ciara told her about how Trevante came through for her after she saw Y’lan at the Proverbs event. She quickly thought of Trevante’s move to be “manipulative trash” and that he couldn’t be trusted. She’d say slick words to Trevante whenever they’d all hang out at Ngosi. She even told Ciara that she rather see her back with Y’lan than deal with Trevante. That’s how much she was over him.

“If I cared to be there, I think it would have been better.”

“Don’t make excuses for him, please. He’s wack.”

Ciara needs that second of laughter to erupt from within her in this moment.

“You know just what to say, Sis.”

“Are you okay, Ciara? Seriously. I know how much this celibacy thing means to you.”

“To be honest, I’m pretty numb right now. I knew it was going to happen. But I thought it’d be different than this. I thought I’d at least get an orgasm out of it.”

“Wait. A. Damn. Minute. Trevante ain’t make you…”

“Nah…”

“You got wine in this house, right?”

Mahalia grabs two wine glasses with urgency. They need to drink this all the way off.

“I can’t believe I gave him ‘obligation box’, Mahalia. I thought I was done with that mess.”

“You did. But you don’t have to anymore. You’ve been talking about ending things with Trevante for a minute.”

“Yeah, true. Only because…”

Ciara looks down at her phone to see a text from Trevante.

Can’t wait to get home to you…

Mahalia already knows the deal as Ciara types back…

Can’t wait to see you, love…

CHAPTER TWO

Trevante feels relief once Ciara’s name brightens up his phone screen. HIs text feels like such a Hail Mary after what went down last night and he’s glad that it landed.

Although Trevante was happy that he and Ciara finally took it to the next level, he could tell that something was off about it -- and her. Though he looked forward to the act itself, he mostly couldn’t wait to experience the aftermath of it all; cuddling after the comedown, innocuous conversation as they both reorient themselves, playing with her braids as her head rests on his chest, waking up to her in his bed with the early sunrise peeking through his blinds and onto her skin.

All leading up to another round before work, her begging him not to go. Him kissing the forehead of her drained body before leaving off for the gym. Hell, skipping the gym just to spend more time with her before they would have to go their separate ways. Begging her to call out of work. He dreamt of it all. Ciara earned the fullness of Trevante, not playboy Tre. He wanted the complete moment to be with no one else but her. This could be wife, Trevante thought.

Boy was gone.

But he received a Ciara with a back turned away from him. Who, as he crept behind her, didn’t respond to his arm draping around her waist trying to pull her close. And although Ciara looked, smelled and felt like everything he dreamt, he didn’t get to try the most important sense of them all on her. He could tell that she wasn’t present and accounted for, that it almost felt like she wanted for it to be over. Those noises he heard that one night failed to showed up. He just knew all of what happened last night to be off. And he hated it -- and himself.

He felt like an ass after he caught a slight attitude when Ciara rebuffed his ask for phone sex that previous afternoon. This modus operandi started just weeks after Ciara and Trevante decided to give dating a try. They both couldn’t stand not going home with each other. So one afternoon, in an empty office, Tre started it off and Ciara finished it. And ever since then, when Tre felt the need to get some part of Ciara, he’d give her a call. And she obliged, every time. He’d send her a text after to let her know how amazing she sounded. She would always delete it, racked with immense amounts of guilt.

Ciara never wanted to go there with Trevante but she feared that he would go deal with his desires with other women -- which despite their new hobby, he did. Gym manager was still a frequent guest at Trevante’s apartment on nights that Ciara worked late or had a late class. He even went over to her place, something Trevante hated to do. He still took girls’ numbers and still received an attachment here and there from Alissa. As much as he thought he could handle Ciara’s stipulations, he knew he wouldn’t be able to do so. So with that loophole of them not being exclusive, Trevante took advantage. If an one-off with gym manager was enough to hold him until Ciara gave sex the green light, it was worth it. Enough to keep Ciara around. He didn’t want to lose who he thought could be the one.

As “The One” sits on Trevante’s couch with her laptop perched on top of her thighs, Trevante breaks Ciara’s concentration.

“You hungry?” Trevante says as he hands over his carton of beef lo mein.

“Huh?” Ciara pulls out her earbuds as the smell of hood Chinese food carries in front of her. “My bad, Tre. You want me to try this?”

“No, I want you to eat. You’ve been staring at your laptop since you’ve been here.”

Ciara smirks as she grabs her dinner from Trevante’s hand. Studious Ciara is such a turn-on for Trevante. He desperately wants a redo of last night. “I could use a break.”

“Word?” Trevante sits next to Ciara on the couch, removing her laptop from her body. Trevante lips meet Ciara’s neck, his left hand trying to find its way inside Ciara’s shorts. Ciara pulls away.

“Yo, C .... what’s wrong?” Ciara hesitates to talk about last night but she needs to stand her ground. For once.

“I’m just not in the mood, Tre. This paper is killing me right now. I wasn’t last night, to be honest.”

“Yeah, I could tell. I didn’t make you feel like you had to, right?”

“No, I mean…” Ciara’s dam breaks. “You kinda do everytime you ask me to go there on the phone with you. Like, I can’t always do it.”

Ciara didn’t want to last night until Trevante made his presence felt. Watching baseball games with Ciara became a coping mechanism for Tre, something he picked up after she insisted they’d watch games together when he was thinking about his Dad. When Ciara made an off-joke about Trevante’s favorite team last night, he’d commenced to play fighting with her. She did that on purpose. She wanted to know that Trevante still desired her, that he wasn’t holding her decision to not go there on the phone against her. That turned into kissing which turned into him touching her in ways that only she thought she knew. And at that point, she knew she still had his attention.

Tre feels guilty. “I’m sorry. I don’t want you to feel like you have to do anything with me. We don’t have to go there anymore, you got my word. Scout’s honor.” Trevante throws up the Boy Scouts hand sign and pouts in Ciara’s direction. She playfully tugs on his beard in return.

“Appreciate you, Tre.” Ciara plugs her headphones back in and burns away on her laptop. Trevante trades looks at her with stares at the playoff baseball game on his television screen. He kisses her forehead before he goes to bed, leaving her in his living room to type until her heart’s content. Later waking up for a glass of water, he finds Ciara curled up on his couch, laptop staring at her sleeping body. He grabs a blanket to shield her from his apartment frigid air conditioning unit. He doesn’t coaxed her into sleeping in his bed. That she-belongs-inside-my-apartment thing rears its beautiful head.

taglist: @doublesidedscoobysnacks @diva-princess-on-fleek @voyagetoadinas9 @walkrightuptothesun @wvsspoppin @dreamlovealways @rockwit609 @thegayaxeman @joyfulwombatdreamermaker @blackpinup22 @hookedtoherfire @kris-did-it @l-auteuse @styleismyaddiction

#thy neighbor #trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #fanfiction #trevante rhodes x fanfiction

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Thy Neighbor II: Lovin’ The Crew [Chapter 13]

[Prologue] [Chapters 1 + 2] [Chapters 3 + 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapters 7 + 8] [Chapters 9 + 10] [Chapters 11 + 12]

Hey, loves! Apologize for the delinquency. I’ve been going through the going through for the past few weeks but I’m going to try my best to get the rest of this story out to you lovely people. And part II of my Yahya story is coming soon too. I just ... prayers and positive energy, y’all, if you got some left over for me.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN

“Michter’s Toasted Finished. For the gentleman.”

Y’lan feels totally underdressed at Porter’s Whisky House, Trevante fitting in more with the suited and booted types that sit here as Y’lan awaits his arrival. $18 a glass whisky feels like $800 on his non-profit salary but you only live once, Y’lan following Trevante’s personal creed.

Trevante walks into Porter’s still trying to shake off his encounter with Meganne. Although he’s peeved about her phone antics, he’s even more mad that some of his fraternity brothers invited Meganne and her barely-able-to-drink-legally friends to Atlantic City with them. Trevante vows to cut the party trip down from 15 to seven or eight by any means necessary.

He orders a St. George Baller straight, imploring the bartender to put Y’lan’s drinks onto his tab. After they tap glasses, Trevante pulls out his phone to take notes on their plans for Michael’s last night as a free man.

“You cool with the strip club, Y’lan?”

“Y’all can go, I’m out. Not my speed.”

“Live, fam!” Trevante says, knocking back his St. George a lot faster than intended.

“Nah, fam. I’m good…” Y’lan says through a laugh. “Just make that the last move on the night so I can duck out before y’all go, that’s all.”

“Man, you got mad principle about you. I respect it.” Trevante raises his glass to signal for another drink. “You got me thinking about a lot of things, man.”

“Surprised you’re even listening, to be honest.”

“Yeah, that’s wild. That whole securing my future thing, retiring, getting out the game, finding the one. Growing up, all that. That’s also what I wanted to talk to you about. I think I found her.”

“It ain’t the gym manager girl, right?”

“Fuck no.”

Y’lan laughs as he finishes the rest of his drink before ordering his next round.

“You met her already.”

“I have? Who you talking about?” Y’lan braces for the one answer he doesn’t want to hear. His chest grows hot on top of the whisky chasing down his sternum.

“Ciara, man. Yeah. We’ve been kicking it for a few months. I think I’m ready to grab shorty up for the long run.”

Y’lan readjusts his shoulders to a heat of the whisky and his emotions now sending the same gesture throughout his body. He can’t bare to ask if Ciara and Trevante made long run moves and he hopes Trevante doesn’t divulge like he does with all of his sex partners. Y’lan decides to play nice even though his jealousy fights to be shown.

“Word? How you pull that off?”

“Honestly, I’m not sure. I lowkey don’t deserve a girl like this.”

Y’lan agrees.

“She ended up being there for me when my Pops died and I guess that what’s started it. She’s completely different than any other girl I’ve dated, bruh. She’s about her business, man. You know she’s in school for a Master’s?”

Y’lan remembers that fateful day when he met her on Penn’s campus, when their love story started and ended because Y’lan couldn’t fully produced his love. He listened to her talk about his academic dreams for hours, watched her write her terms papers, hoping for a moment when she’d need a break only so he could break her off.

“You can handle a girl like her? You ready for all that?”

“That’s why I wanted to ask you, Y’lan…”

In this moment, Y’lan believes Trevante is going to confront him about his history with Ciara. She did the righteous thing and told Trevante about their past. He’s hoping Trevante isn’t angry and that this doesn’t end their friendship. But he understands especially if Ciara told Trevante that Y’lan was the man that caused her some of her worst pain. This conversation doesn’t feel as if it’s going in that direction. Clearly Trevante doesn’t know. Ciara hasn’t fessed up yet.

“You think I’m ready for all this? I mean, I trust you and Michael a lot with this type of shit.”

Y’lan doesn’t want to kill Trevante’s dreams. He does want to kill Ciara’s chances at being hurt. “You know, man. I don’t know. You fuck up with a girl like that…”

Trevante throws back the rest of his whisky. “Shit. I know, man. Then I gotta start fighting off niggas like you.”

@doublesidedscoobysnacks @diva-princess-on-fleek @voyagetoadinas9 @walkrightuptothesun @wvsspoppin @dreamlovealways @rockwit609 @thegayaxeman @joyfulwombatdreamermaker @blackpinup22 @hookedtoherfire @kris-did-it @l-auteuse @styleismyaddiction

#trevante rhodes x fanfiction #trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #fanfic #thy neighbor

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Thy Neighbor II: Lovin’ The Crew [Chapters 11 + 12]

[Prologue] [Chapters 1 + 2] [Chapters 3 + 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapters 7 + 8] [Chapters 9 + 10]

Man, we’re eight chapters away from the end of this story. Ugh. Let’s see who gets on y’all nerves this week LMAOOO.

OH! I started a Yahya Abdul-Mateen II x Reader story called (1) New Message. Check it out if you haven’t done so already!

As always, thank youuuuuuuuuuuuu for the likes, comments and love. Taglist is still open! Peace & (most importantly) Love!

CHAPTER ELEVEN

“It’s okay, Jasmine...” Ciara finds herself Monday morning in the bathroom stall at Proverbs’ Camden location rubbing the back of a seven-year-old girl puking up a liquid Ciara can’t quite figure out. When Ciara signed up to volunteer at Proverbs, she expected to peer into the eyes of Y’lan, not the contents of a toilet. But as the only woman volunteering that morning, she bides her time inside the restroom with little Jasmine as she tosses up her little life.

Ciara went to church on Sunday slightly hungover with thighs that ached to the delight of Trevante. Even as she started to reconcile her decision to break her rule to have sex with Trevante, she found herself always reminded in church about being “in the world, not of the world” and how we all need to “stand firm”, a sermon series in Ephesians convicting her as if she was up for capital murder.

Ciara’s decision to not have sex wasn’t a biblical one. It wasn’t because the Church told her to keep her legs closed or because as a Christian, she is to save herself for marriage. She found all of these rules to be antiquated and patriarchal. Ciara chose to be celibate to prevent the heartache of sleeping with someone who would leave her, to not end up like she did after her ex-boyfriend left her: waxing her rejection away with as much sex as she could. As soon as she knew her man to be committed, she’d be down to consummate their love but Trevante hadn’t make them official, so Ciara jumped the gun. So she wouldn’t get left.

So when she saw that phone call grace Trevante’s phone, she wanted so bad to throw the phone at Trevante and walk out. But she didn’t want him to then call that girl back and leave Ciara out in the cold. So her heart -- and her nether regions -- made an executive decision to make Trevante stay. Whoever “Meganne Thee Intern” was would have to wait for her turn.

CIara wishes it is someone else’s turn to coddle Jasmine inside of the bathroom. When she thinks Jasmine has no more puke left to give, she picks her up and carries her outside of the bathroom. To her delight, Y’lan is standing right outside waiting for them both to exit.

“Yo, Ciara … I really appreciate you right now.”

“Oh, I know...is her Mom on the way to get her or something?”

“Her Aunt is coming. She ain’t happy but the girl ain’t going to school like this…”

Ciara cradles Jasmine’s head as she looks into Y’lan eyes, causing him to match her glance. They exhale to break their trance.

“Do you have clothes for accidents? I want to get her in a new shirt,” Ciara says, wiping Jasmine’s eyes to stop her from using her stained shirt.

“Yeah. There’s a closet down the hall before the steps, to your left. I’m sure you can find something for her.”

Ciara consoles Jasmine as she walks down the hallway. Y’lan stares at Ciara as she carries her patient, adoring her care of Jasmine in that moment. He’s happy the church ladies chose to take this Monday off.

Y’lan walks into the kitchen just as Winston finishes prepping the after school snacks for later. Winston was caught by surprise when he walked into Proverbs to see Ciara sitting at the table with some of the children, helping them try to finish their math homework before heading off to school. Winston didn’t want his car ride with Ciara to end, the both of them waxing off about their favorite rap albums and college courses.

He found himself enraptured in Ciara as she talked about her research paper, falling in love with her enthusiasm toward her project. He picked her brain to know the best place to grab a bite of Carribean food in the city, she picked his brain about Harlem, New York, the city he lived in before moving to Philadelphia. The conversation felt so natural, as if they met in another lifetime. He couldn’t help but think about who she was dating and what a lucky guy he must be.

And how it was that guy’s loss and Winston’s gain to be able to drive Ciara home that night.

Winston and Y’lan quit their small talk when Ciara walks into the kitchen.

“Hey, Y’lan. I just gave Jasmine to her Aunt, so we’re good. There anything else you want me to do before I head out?”

“No, Ciara. You did enough today. I appreciate you. See you on Thursday at U City?”

“Yep! I think I might have some really good news for you. See you then. Winston, so good to see you! I’ll see you later!”

Ciara waves at them both. Winston follows her graceful exit with a stare which Y’lan mirrors until he notices Winston’s unbreakable gaze. He laughs and throws a bag of Goldfish snacks at Winston, causing Winston to quit following Ciara with his eyes.

“My bad, man…,” Winston says to Y’lan breaking his stare with a laugh.

“No, it’s cool. I just ain’t ever seen you like that.”

“There ain’t drool on my shirt, right?” Winston looks down at the blue cotton fabric draping his broad chest. .

Y’lan laughs uncontrollably.

“Nah, you good King. She’s bad, bruh. Y’all have classes together?”

“We have some seminarian classes together. I have to be careful, man. I feel like she catches me looking at her all the time.”

“Yeah, she’s good for that…”

“Hey, man. If you staking claim on that, I’ll bow out.” Winston’s shot confidence causes him to believe that his tall and soft body with a bespeckled visage can’t compete with a former football player like Y’lan.

“Real talk, Winston...she and I had a thing about a year or so ago.”

Winston’s heart catches another dagger. He knows the rules.

“My bad, man. Ain’t mean to…”

“Nah, bruh. You’re good. We’re adults. It didn’t work out, it wasn’t her fault. She caught me when I was out here tripping. I thought she’d kill me when I first told her what happened. I’m surprised she’s even volunteering. The non-profit she works for is helping us find staff.”

“Maybe she’s plotting your murder, eh? But nah, she seems like a good girl.”

“Yep, she is…”

Y’lan continues packing lunches until he catches Winston’s mood turn from jubilant to desolate.

“Winston, you aight?”

“Stuff like this makes me realize that I’m so scared to date. I keep getting scared about relationships, man. Like I don’t want to meet a woman and punk out or think it’s going to fail.”

“Yo, man. I think you’re being too hard on yourself. You’ve been doing the work to get yourself right since the divorce. If you think you’re ready to step out there, you should do it.”

“Wild thing is that I did with Ciara, man, and failed.” Winston shakes his head.

“What you mean?” Y’lan grows more inquisitive.

“I asked her out like months ago, worked up the nerve and everything. And she turned me down.”

“Word? I mean, she met you through me at the time when she and I were beefing real heavy.”

“Maybe but she told me she was dating somebody, so...” Winston goes back to packing lunches leaving Y’lan’s mind to go back to that moment inside of U City Coffee when Trevante offered to take Ciara home and it made his senses go off.

“She’s dating not married, man.” Y’lan says to reassure Winston. And himself.

“You’re right, bruh. So are you telling me to stay close?”

Y’lan inadvertently juices up Winston, turning him into the competition. But now he’s even more sure that Trevante’s been in a race too and he needs just one opportunity to find out for sure.

CHAPTER TWELVE

“Hey, man. I can’t wait for this launch event in March,” Y’lan says as he steps away from the conference room table and closer to Trevante.

Y’lan and Trevante couldn’t be anymore different. Trevante’s tailored suits and crisp ties make Y’lan’s polo shirts and jeans look juvenile. Y’lan’s wild but kept hair towers over Trevante’s crisp fade, waves distinguishable from a mile away. They both play match with the beard, keeping it lined and tight.

Y’lan reformed choir boy antics don’t compare to “Playboy Tre”, what Y’lan calls Trevante. He grimaces at the “war stories” he hears from Trevante, only because he used to be worse. Even though he tries to caution Trevante to get it together, he doubts that he ever listens, watching Trevante put new numbers into his phone like they could win the lottery. He hoped that his talks about futures and wives and happy ever afters would get to Trevante. He just wasn’t expecting Ciara to be the result.

Y’lan knows he has to ask Trevante if he and Ciara are together for sanity’s sake. But he also feels that it is not his job to inquire. If anyone needs to fess up, it would be Ciara to Trevante. She owes Trevante at least the courtesy to know that she’s working with a man who once dreamed to sex her and would have if Ciara wasn’t so upright.

After hearing Winston’s desires for Ciara’s attention, Y’lan quickly concedes his participation in the sweepstakes game to win Ciara. As much as he wants Ciara, their history is too messy and complicated. Y’lan did her dirty, he has no right to believe that Ciara would be interested in rekindling their flame even if they let their embers burn at the coffee shop and with intermittent stares at Proverbs the other morning. He knows that feeling will pass. Ciara will wake up, smell his coffee, and go back to hating his guts.

Therefore, Ciara is fair game to Winston.

But not Trevante.

“I’ll meet you at the whiskey bar on 2nd St. in about an hour, fam. I gotta send some final emails.”

“Bet, see you there.” Y’lan daps Trevante and walks out of Trevante’s office, almost walking into Meganne, who was turning into Trevante’s office to hand him one of his email marketing reports.

After sleeping with Ciara, Trevante noticed two missed calls and multiple texts from Meganne, some with attachments he was happy Ciara wasn’t awake to see. He knows he must tell Meganne to chill out, hopefully as pain free as possible. But as it always is with Trevante, telling a hopeful woman “no” never ends well.

“Hey, Meganne, you have a second?”

Meganne hasn’t mentioned her text and phone attack on Trevante. He thinks that she’s too embarrassed or too drunk to remember.

“Sure!” Meganne sits down on the chair in front of Trevante’s desk.

“When did you put your number in my phone?”

“Oh! Yeah … when we were at the bar the other night. I thought it would make things easier. If you needed to reach me or whatever.”

“You should’ve asked me first.”

Meganne feels rejection in the air. She fights to not inhale.

“I’m sorry, Trevante. I figured you wanted it after the other night.”

“What happened the other night?” Trevante is clueless as to what he did.

“One of your friends asked us if we wanted to go to Atlantic City with you guys. I figured you needed it to plan and everything.”

Trevante and Y’lan already let their friends know about the trip to Atlantic City for Michael’s bachelor party. What started as a trip for five -- Michael, Yahya, Trevante, Y’lan and Michael’s cousin, Sterling -- is turning into a 15-man trip with both Trevante and Michael’s fraternity brothers in attendance. There isn’t an expectation of women being present. Especially not the 21-year-old intern and her friends.

“It’s a guys trip, Meganne. My bad. I wish he told you.”

“Oh, it’s okay! You still have my number though if you want to link up.”

“I can’t, Meganne. You gotta stop sending me pictures too. My girl don’t like that at all.”

Meganne’s enthusiasm turns into mush.

“Oh, you have a girlfriend? I’m sorry, Tre. I didn’t mean to violate.”

“It’s cool, you didn’t know.”

Meganne catches her embarrassment enough to walk out of Trevante’s office. Trevante doesn’t regret using Ciara as an excuse to get out of this mess. Even if Ciara isn’t his girl yet.

That’s what he hopes to talk to Y’lan about.

#trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #winston duke #thy neighbor #trevante rhodes x fanfiction #fanfic

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essaysbyciara · 5 years

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Thy Neighbor (Chapters 18 + 19) (Final Chapters!)

[Chapter 1][Chapter 2][Chapter 3][Chapter 4][Chapter 5 + 6][Chapter 7 + 8][Chapter 9] [Chapter 10] [Chapter 11][Chapter 12] [Chapters 13 + 14][Chapter 15] [Chapter 16] [Chapter 17]

We’re at the end of Thy Neighbor. This was the first fanfiction I’ve written in full since I was like a smooth 17 years old LOL. I appreciate everyone who read one chapter or all 19. I will clean this up and post on Wattpad in the near future for all my Wattpad folk. Once again, THANK YOU for all the likes, comments, follows and messages. This was fun!

Ciara wakes up to the smell of turkey bacon. Inside of Trevante’s apartment.

Trying to reposition herself, she gently tugs on the blanket that covers her body. The sunlight almost blinds her. She finds her glasses on top of the coffee table, folded and at arms’ reach. She peeks under the covers for good measure. Her clothes are still intact, crop top hoodie and black tights. Crisis averted.

Ciara peeks over the couch. There stands Trevante’s shirtless frame standing over the stove, his black du-rag keeping his waves tight. His black basketball shorts barely hang on to his waist, the drawstring holding on for dear life.

“Good morning, “ Ciara says, her light steps preventing her from somewhat startling Trevante. The size of his body hides his slight fright once he hears her voice.

“Morning. My bad if I woke you up.”

“No, you’re fine. I must’ve been super tired last night to fall asleep over here.”

Expensive wine will knock a girl out. After two slices of pizza and two innings of baseball, Ciara’s head landed on Trevante’s left shoulder. He didn’t want to wake her. As her body cuddled into his side, he kept watching the game. He then got up to grab her a blanket. Walking into his room with a woman sleeping on his couch was new for him. He just knew that he wasn’t sending Ciara back to her apartment. He liked her inside of his apartment too much.

“It’s all good. You snore though.”

“I sure do. So what?” Ciara laughs as she sits on one of his bar stools next to the kitchen island.

“You sleep hard too because I definitely left to go the gym this morning and I did not wake you up.”

“Like I said, I must’ve been really tired.”

Watching Trevante in all his glory sends Ciara’s mind into overdrive. Such a mood, she wants to add to the ambiance. “You mind if I put a record on?” she asks. Trevante obliges. His heart does triplets when she presses play on his vinyl record player. “Oops” by Ella Fitzgerald and Louis Armstrong fills the air.

“So what are you getting into today?” Trevante asks as he grabs the eggs from the fridge.

“I have a ton of homework to catch up on. Probably start outlining my thesis. Laundry. You?”

“Me and some of my dudes are going to the Phillies-Braves game.” Ciara’s blind encouragement to watch a baseball game last night pushed Trevante to hit up his friends in the group chat to plan a hangout at the ballpark. Trevante hadn’t been to a baseball game since high school. With his father. Ciara pushed him through just her presence to make that next step toward healing. “But can we hang out later? I actually want to bounce some of the work I’m doing with Proverbs off of you.”

In this moment, Ciara wants to think about Y’lan. She doesn’t care to do so.

“Sounds good. But listen, you’re a terrible host. You haven’t asked me how I like my eggs.”

“My bad, my bad. How you like ‘em? Scrambled, runny, sunny side up, what?”

“Yoked cooked all the way through but barely.”

Ciara watches Trevante crack her egg on the frying pan until she receives a text from Mahalia. She feels bad for leaving Ciara hanging last night.

Hey, girl. I’m so sorryyyyyyy. You saw Y’lan?! What? I’m coming over today.

Hey, Sis. Sure did. But something else happened last night too. I’ll tell you when you get here.

Oh LAWD 😁. I’ll be there around 12.

Bet. See you soon, Sis. Love you.

“Okay, I don’t think you know what you’re doing…” Ciara cracks on Trevante’s egg making skills. She walks up to him, nudging him with her hip to move over so she can make her eggs just the way she likes him. He hands over the spatula playfully.

“So show me…” Trevante slides behind Ciara, wrapping his colossal arms around her waist. As the heat grows between her back and his chest, she feels something else in the late stages of growing behind her too. Trevante’s shorts add an extra layer of friction between him and her tights. Ciara lets off a sigh punctuated by her biting her lower lip. Trevante then nuzzles his lips next to the right side of her neck.

“Tre, hold up…” Trevante begrudgingly but lovingly lets go. Ciara feels relieved even though that’s not the type of relief she wants right now. “Where are your plates?”

Trevante points to his left cabinet as he sits down at his island to hide what’s going on beneath those basketball shorts. As Ciara sets a plate of turkey bacon, toast and eggs in front of Trevante, he grabs her wrist in the same sweet way he did in the hallway last night. He pulls Ciara in between his legs for a kiss. Subconsciously, she grabs for the string on his basketball shorts. Looks like they’re skipping the friends part.

Chapter 19

Ciara sits in front of her laptop, two versions of the Bible to the right of her and her tattered notebook on her lap. Awaiting Mahalia’s arrival, her nineties R&B playlist serenades her from her headphones, Aaliyah’s “If Your Girl Only Knew” next up on the queue. As Mint Condition’s “So Fine” plays, she thinks back to her morning. That breakfast, the jazz. The way he held her, the way that kiss felt. The restraint it took for the both of them to not walk into his bedroom or take it to his couch. Or skip a trip to find Ciara sitting on top of his island. As good as it felt, Ciara couldn’t fight her worry. She needs to hold on to what she knows, she thinks. Even if it’s Tre.

As the song changes, she receives a text from Trevante.

Can’t wait to see you later 😏

She then hears a knock at her door.

“Hey, Ma…” Standing at Ciara’s door was a king of a man, 6’5 with the cutest gap in his teeth.

“Hey, I’m sorry. I’m looking for Trevante’s apartment.”

Ciara’s soul smolders once she hears his accent. “No worries. Next door.”

Ciara goes to close her door reluctantly until this behemoth of a mystery man stops her. “Hey, do you go to Penn’s School of Divinity?” Ciara is puzzled by how he would know -- and how she didn’t notice this man on campus sooner -- until she realizes that she’s wearing her hooded sweatshirt from school.

“Yeah! Theological Studies program. Going for my Masters. You go there too?”

“I’m starting my PhD at the Religious Studies program.”

“Really?! Which focus?”

“Ancient Judaism with a focus on early Christianity.”

“That’s awesome. They are doing a symposium on “The Way” in the Fall. Was lucky to get in it.”

“I’m actually the T.A. for that class. With Shrinkleman, right?”

“Yep! Cool, we’ll I’ll…”

“Hey, Winston. I thought I heard you out…” Y’lan walks out of Trevante’s apartment and into a conversation between Winston, his friend from church, and the girl he let get away. The same girl who kept it cute last night but was trying her best not to hate his very existence. Ciara’s chest grows hot and not just because she’s laying eyes on Y’lan. She realizes that Trevante and Y’lan know each other. Her worlds didn’t need to collide like this.

“Yeah, man. Knocked on the wrong door. It’s cool though.” Winston smiles at Ciara. Ciara returns the gesture. With a sprinkle of petty in Y’lan’s direction.

“Y’all ready to go?” Trevante walks out of his apartment with Yahya in tow. Yahya catches eyes with Ciara and quickly disengages, embarrassed by the other night. “Hey, Ci. What you doing out here?”

“Your friend knocked on my door by mistake. It’s all good though.”

“Oh shoot, this is Y’lan. The connect at Proverbs I was telling you about. Did y’all meet last night? I know you went up to their event.” Y’lan cuts off Ciara before she can answer.

“Yeah, we met last night. It’s good to see you again.”

“Same.” Not really.

Her past. Her present. Her pettiness. Her potential temptation. All standing in front of her door. Ciara is indeed loving the crew.

End of Thy Neighbor.

taglist: @hookedtoherfire @blackpinup22 @voyagetoadinas9

#trevante rhodes x fanfiction #trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #fanfic #thy neighbor

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essaysbyciara · 5 years

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Thy Neighbor II: Lovin’ The Crew [Chapters 14 + 15]

[Prologue] [Chapters 1 + 2] [Chapters 3 + 4] [Chapter 5] [Chapter 6] [Chapters 7 + 8] [Chapters 9 + 10] [Chapters 11 + 12] [Chapter 13]

Peace, family!

Heads up: these chapters are somewhat long. Winston finally gets some attention! As always, thank you for the reads, likes, comments, messages and positive energy. Definitely wrapping this thing on up soon and that damn Yahya story too lol.

Peace and love!

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

Hey, Ciara. It’s Winston…

She knows who you are already…

Hey, Ciara! Thinking about our car ride the other night, just wanted to …

Sounds like you’re asking her out again…

Hey, Ci!

Ci?!

Hey! Made a playlist of those songs we talked about the other night. Wanted to share. Praying for you during this midterm season.

Of course I’ll say I’m praying for her. That’s safe.

All Winston knows since his divorce is playing it safe.

Married at 24, he didn’t know much of anything else. Freshly married, Winston was on his way to finishing his Masters and thinking about his Doctorate. His wife was on her way to medical school with the goal of becoming a research pathologist. In fact, they pathed their entire lives. Degrees by 27. One child by 30, another by 32 and a move to the West Coast. They both wanted the sun that avoided them since birth.

But in the midst of following the game plan, they forgot about their true dreams. Medical school was the dream of her parents; she wanted to study music and dramatic arts, having done a play or two in college. He wanted to travel around the world as a missionary. They both felt tied down by the dreams of other people. They wanted off the path they created for themselves.

So they went rogue. She quit medical school and enrolled at Tisch School of the Arts. He started applying to missions and was accepted to travel to East Africa, to learn from the Ethopian Orthodox community. They were happy, their dreams were no longer deferred but as Winston planned his trip, he wanted his wife to join alongside him. Why do this alone? But that would stop her dream and with both of them unable to compromise, Winston left her to go fulfill what he felt was the mission of his life.

Skype and texts could only do so much. She fell in love with a fellow student. He started an emotional affair with another missionary. Winston was warned of such a thing before he left, thinking he’d never fall for that type. When he found himself upset that his missionary “friend” didn’t text him “good morning”, he knew himself to be caught up.

But when Winston returned home, he killed his affair. She hadn’t. He saw the Facebook messages, found some of her distraction’s clothes inside of their house. A condom in the trash can. He was done.

He blamed himself for pushing an agenda to be free, to break from the plan they had for themselves. He quit missionary work and enrolled back into NYU to finish his Masters. She, however, continued in the arts program and right next to her lover. She wouldn’t concede. Her dream was worth it. So Winston thought the marriage wasn’t worth it and he filed for divorce.

Since then, he’s dated but failed, always attracted to women who would fit inside of this perfect picture of his life. Medical students, PhD students; he tried to find someone that could replace his ex-wife. But then he had fears of his future wife living out her dreams only to find something -- and someone --- better. He felt disposable, like once she would find something new and better, she’d leave.

Ciara fits the narrative with her dreams of a Doctorate and her determination to change the world. However there is something about her dreams of finding the freedom in her faith, for pushing individuality, for being her despite the culture’s insistence that her freebird self was the problem that attracted him to her even more. She thinks about shaking the tables. She isn’t about straight and narrow, she is about doing what her heart feels is right. And she found peace in her heart within her studies, something Winston wish he felt.

And her hips swayed like the ocean when she walked, which Winston felt crash into his body every time he caught a glimpse of her walking throughout campus. Ciara stoked this lustful fire inside of Winston that he hadn’t felt in years. At first he believed all of his feelings to be wrong, writing Matthew 15:19 inside of his journal when some nights were rougher than others.

Winston saved all of his cursing for when Ciara left his car, letting out moan-laced expletives as he watched her walk up the steps into her apartment building. He wanted her in all the right and wrong ways, readjusting himself in the driver’s seat to allow some room for the growth he couldn’t control.

But after a cold shower and his bedtime devotional, his nerves -- and body parts -- calmed down. He gave himself some grace and prayed that night to not let those emotions motivate his actions. He’s seen many of his friends use the opportunity for sex as a reason to act like “good guys.”

Y’lan’s story was warning enough.

But to Winston, she’s unattainable. When he heard Y’lan say that he dated Ciara, he figured himself to be out of the game. Guys like Y’lan are cool and of the culture. They don’t look like church boys. They have one foot in the church and one in the streets. Winston was, in all ways, a nerd. A Bible-reading, Jesus-loving nerd. Ciara doesn’t go for those, he thought.

Sitting in U City Coffee, awaiting Y’lan’s arrival, Ciara doesn’t know what to think anymore. Her ice coffee dilutes as she ignores her caffeinated pick me up by scrolling through Trevante’s instagram to see if she can find “Meganne The Intern”. Ever since that night, Ciara can’t help but think that Trevante is continuing to sex another woman into a mess just like her.

Puzzle pieces start to come together in her mind: no wonder Tre held out for so long, becoming super affectionate and protective once they started having sex. She always knew deep-down that Trevante wouldn’t be able to handle her celibacy. Naivete increases thinking that a man who couldn’t keep his apartment empty if his life depended on it would be able to do such a thing for little ol’ her.

“Hey, Ciara. Sorry I’m late.” Ciara breaks her search to look up at Y’lan almost out of breath in her sight.

“Hey! It’s okay. You breathing hard like you ran here.”

“Yeah, my bad. Just played a quick pick up game with some kids. They damn near ran me off the court. I lost track of time.” Y’lan’s body ripples under his grey Nike sweatsuit. He’s not dressed for a meeting and Ciara’s growing sexual angst does not care one bit.

As Ciara walks up to the counter to buy a bottle of water for Y’lan, Y’lan works through his plot to confront Ciara about Trevante. Y’lan’s anger seethed from his pores listening to Trevante talk about Ciara as his future, as a woman that he’d want to settle down with. There is nothing settling about Trevante, Y’lan realizes. Having seen Tre at his worst at bars and hangouts, he knows him to be far from ready. Ciara would be up against the worst of them with Trevante. Y’lan doesn’t want her to get hurt. Again.

Ciara comes back with her aqueous libation for Y’lan. Sitting down in front of her laptop, she looks down to see a message from Winston. Her curiosity overflows until Y’lan breaks her concentration with a question.

“Before we get to this, can I ask you a question?”

Ciara knows exactly what’s about to happen.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

She knew this day was coming. Ciara stops mid-sip, her chest growing hotter by the millisecond. Dreading what’s about to happen, she feels the mercy in Y’lan asking about it first.

“What’s up, Y’lan?”

“So what’s up with you and Trevante?”

Ciara becomes unnerved at the lightweight aggressive way Y’lan asks his question. Y’lan didn’t enter the conversation gracefully and Ciara can tell that he has no plans on letting up. She adjusts her body in her chair, tilting her head to the left as her eyes squint toward Y’lan, trying to make sense of his tone.

“We’ve been kicking it for a minute. What’s good?” Ciara matches his energy and Y’lan feels the shift.

“Hey, I’m not trying to hem you up. I’m sorry if I came off that way. I just went to go see him a few days ago and he told me about y’all, that’s all.”

Ciara wonders if Y’lan told Trevante about their past. She suddenly feels every pipe within her burst. “Word? Cool.”

Ciara’s pretend nonchalance bothers Y’lan. Maybe she doesn’t care that Y’lan cares. Maybe Trevante found out in between then and now so her inaction to gain a reaction is valid. He decides to go for round two. He needs to know for sure.

“Does he know about us?”

“No disrespect, Y’lan, but you should be the last person to be checking me about what I do.”

Y’lan nods his head to fight the anger growing inside of him. “I’m not trying to be disrespectful, Ci. I promise you. I just … you do know that’s my friend, right? When we linked up to talk about it, it didn’t seem like he knew. And I didn’t want to be the one to tell him because, real talk, that ain’t my job.”

“I agree with you.” Maybe Ciara is done putting up a fight, he thinks. “I’ll tell him.”

“Bet, cool. Like I said, I ain’t mean to make it this big. I just...”

“Does it bother you, Y’lan?”

Y’lan’s mind claims that he’s protecting Ciara from inevitable heartbreak. Y’lan heart knows that he wishes he and Ciara could try once more to get it right. As the battle rages on between his heart and mind, Ciara’s pettiness rages inside of her body. Whatever emotions she possesses about her past with Y’lan are ready to be unleashed. She’s waiting for Y’lan to say just the right words.

“That y’all are together? Nah, not really.”

“You sure? Don’t lie to me.”

“I’m not lying to you, Ci.”

“I mean, you did lie to my fucking face for a smooth year so I don’t know…”

Y’lan walked himself right into that response. He braces for the rest of what Ciara has coming his way.

“Yo, Ci. Don’t do that. I told you…”

“Told me what? You didn’t tell me anything. I found out after the fact that you didn’t want me. You showed me, you couldn’t tell me.”

“How can you say that I didn’t want you?”

“You left!” Ciara’s tears puddle inside of her eyes as she tries to hold back the scream that undercurrents her words. She exhales, closing her laptop with swift aggression. Y’lan’s body sinks into his chair, his mind taking a few more seconds to ponder what to say next.

“I know I can never really earn your trust after that, I know. I’m sorry. You met the worse iteration of me. I’m now a better person.”

“You know, I hate that shit. Why did I have to be a casualty of your growth as a person? I didn’t sign up to be a “lesson learned”, Y’lan. I wanted to be yours.”

“Do you still want to be?”

Ciara and Y’lan both pause at the question that escapes Y’lan’s lips before it could be stopped.

“Y’lan, I can’t… I’m not doing this with you.” Ciara shoves her laptop into her bag. Shuffling to find her keys, she looks down at her phone to see a text from Trevante.

Can I see you tonight before you leave for your trip?

Y’lan has his answer.

#trevante rhodes x fanfiction #trevante rhodes #y'lan noel #winston duke #thy neighbor #fanfic

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essaysbyciara · 5 years

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Thy Neighbor II: Lovin’ The Crew [Chapter 5!]

[Prologue] [Chapters 1 + 2] [Chapters 3 + 4]

Hey, faves! Thank you again for all of the love. If you missed chapters 3 + 4 and the reveal of [Top Secret], click above to read. Peace & Love! - Ci

CHAPTER FIVE

U City Coffee is located on 3902 Walnut Street. What feels like such an innocuous address turns into something deeper when Y’lan realizes that U City Coffee used be Commonwealth Coffee, the place where he’d meet Ciara every morning for caffeinated libations when things were beautiful between them. He wonders whether she chose this place on purpose to spite him-- or if God orchestrated this to be the place for their first conversation in order for Y’lan to feel some conviction about what happened. Truth be told, he’s tired of all that. Meeting with Ciara feels like redemption. Finally.

The black wooden high table that Ciara and Y’lan would meet each other every morning was gone, replaced with long granite tables for more a communal feel. Y’lan orders his latte -- and what he hopes is still Ciara’s usual of vanilla ice coffee with two extra pumps -- and awaits her arrival.

When Ciara finally released herself from her embarrassment-laden stupor, she noticed Trevante’s text. Though she so desperately wanted to see him, work comes first. For the first time since they began dating, Ciara finds a backbone. A backbone named Y’lan.

Ciara didn’t realize that she offered to meet Y’lan at their old watering hole until she hops off the trolley in front of the coffee shop. She swears to herself that it isn’t intentional. Her spirit is telling her otherwise. Ciara’s revengeful tick is alive and real.

As she walks in, she gives a quick hug to Ms. Velma, the owner of the coffee house. A barrel of a Polish woman, she’d always let Ciara stay an hour or two after closing to work on her schoolwork in exchange for Ciara spending twenty minutes or so of those after hours reading to Velma’s granddaughter, to hold her attention as Velma cleaned up. Ms. Velma always joked that she wanted “big curly haired babies with sunkissed skin” for her nephew. Ciara and him went on a date at Velma’s behest but it didn’t quite work out. Ms. Velma blamed her nephew for that.

Y’lan watches Ciara as she navigates the maze of tables to find him. He’s still not over her walk. Lighting crashes from her hips everytime she takes a step. Y’lan will forever love watching it.

As Ciara approaches their table, Y’lan stands up as if to hug her. Feeling as if he hasn’t earned back that privilege, he pulls out her chair like a gentleman. Ciara smiles in return.

“Thank you, Y’lan, for meeting on super short notice. I didn’t know if I’d be able to anytime this week.”

“No, this was perfect. Tomorrow is an office day at Proverbs so I don’t have to be in really early.”

“What time do you usually have to be there?”

“Me? Four.”

“Sheesh. Wow. You hate mornings.”

Y’lan trails off as he hears Ciara reminisce about how cranky he could be in the morning. He couldn’t believe Ciara remembers his early mornings attitudes. Ciara can’t either. She thought she purged enough of Y’lan from her memory. Sitting in this coffeehouse is triggering a lot of thoughts and they’re not all clean, at least for Ciara.

Y’lan still carries his football player build -- with some subtle softness added to his midsection. The mix of caramel and chocolate that is his skin, his bright teeth -- Y’lan did not play fair.

“Vanilla ice coffee, still?” Y’lan slides over Ciara’s drink, hoping to get it right.

“Yep! You got the two extra pumps, right?” Y’lan nods in approval as he grabs his notebook. Ciara grabs her laptop from her bag. That Wu-Tang Clan sticker Y’lan got her for her birthday is still on it. Y’lan notices it and fails to contain his smile.

“So what’s going on at Proverbs? How can we help?”

“Midterms are killing us. We lose commitments from volunteers all the time. I think because we’re across the river, students don’t always want to travel that early. And we’re in Camden, so you already know the deal.”

“Midterms are killing us too. But we do work with a seminary in Cherry Hill. Let me reach out to them to see if they’re interested.”

“Ciara, you’re saving my life right now. You have no idea.”

Ciara loves what she hears.

“Whoa, let me get your some bodies first….” Ciara says through a laugh, “... before you etch that in stone.”

“Appreciate you for even trying.”

“Of course! In the meantime, I’m a part of a listserv. Let me give you the email address so you can post your need. You might be able to find some help in the meantime.”

As Ciara goes to grab Y’lan notebook and pen to write down that email address, she notices that Y’lan isn’t wearing a wedding band. Why would Y’lan take his band off before meeting up with her? As Ciara writes down the email, he notices that Ciara hasn’t yet apologized for last night. Why is she acting as if she didn’t ask him to come over?

“Thanks, Ciara. This could stop the older ladies from my church from volunteering their daughters to come work…”

“I’m sure your wife doesn’t like that, huh?”

Y’lan remembers that Ciara thinks he’s married. Y’lan had no strength left to correct her assumption after their conversation at Proverbs. He feels like it’s now is the time to correct the record.

“Ciara, I’m not married. I never got married. She broke off our engagement because I was too much a damn mess to get married to anyone.”

Ciara’s back taps her chair. She feels foolish for insinuating that Y’lan is married plus stupid for letting her assumption turn her into such an emotional mess, a mess that crawled into Trevante’s arms that night. That now feels bittersweet since her and Trevante were on the verge of being together.

“I’m sorry, Y’lan.”

“Don’t be. If I owe an apology to anyone, it’s you.” Y’lan continues tapping into his confessing spirit. “I wasn’t honest with you about where I was in my life. When we met, I was in a relationship with my high school sweetheart, I should say. And instead of being honest with either of you, I tried to play both of you. And I lost both of you.”

Ciara uses her ice coffee to cool down the heat suddenly rising inside of her chest. For Y’lan to confirm her suspicion that she was not the only one sends Ciara’s emotions into a tailspin. But oddly, she feels relieved to know the truth. No more guesses, no more expecting the worst, no more racking her brain about who she needs to kill. Her target is sitting right in front of her. But in a moment where she could -- and should -- let him have it, she decides to impart some grace.

“I appreciate your apology, Y’lan. Truly. It takes a lot to admit that.”

“I was wrong to disappear on you too. I was too embarrassed to say anything. As soon as I left, me and her got engaged but it didn’t last. She saw right through my bullshit.”

“Y’lan, man. We have more coffee dates. You don’t have to spill all of your tea at once.”

“We do?”

A smile graces Y’lan’s face at the thought of spending more time with Ciara. Ciara realizes what she said and instantly has regrets. She doesn’t want for Y’lan to think that they can start all over. She still has to process what she’s heard first. But as Y’lan cracks that smile that she fell in love with, she couldn’t help thinking back to those mornings in Commonwealth, at that high table, when Y’lan would smile at her and her body would feel every emotion known to creation. She’s feeling those things right now -- especially since Y’lan isn’t going home to a wife.

It leads her to look into his eyes. He matches her energy, staring through her soul. Silence engulfs them as the flood of curiosity and lust Y’lan first felt when he met her at that speaker series two years ago suddenly overpowers his being. He thought he lost her for good but now she’s sitting right here, forgiving --- and attainable.

As for Ciara, what she always felt after Y’lan would leave her house, feelings full of sensual angst that she would exorcise from her body with the help of some batteries, hits her like a ton of cinderblocks.

They simultaneously inhaled the energy from two years ago. They wonder who would exhale first.

Ciara exhales once she notices Trevante walking toward their table.

#trevante rhodes #trevante rhodes x fanfiction #y'lan noel #thy neighbor #fanfic

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