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Hampton University, Virginia
Scream by Michael Jackson
Thurs. Sept. 23rd, 12:13AM
"You Make Me Wanna Scream"

Sometimes you just have to scream. Regardless of what the situation is, screaming seemed to be the only logical reason at times. However, this situation was far worse. Screaming was not the solution. It wasn't even a thought. The only thing running through their minds was the correct way to handle the problem. The only way to handle it.

The night started off like any other. People on campus were partying their asses off, getting drunk and smoking weed. It wasn't called Thirsty Thursday for no reason. But like any other Thirsty Thursday, Shai and Dess were not participating. It was never a day they cared for since neither of them drank or smoked. So, tonight they went out. Walked around the city, got something to eat, shopped, and chilled like how they did before.

Everything seemed to have gone back to normal. They weren't fussing, attention was being given, and they were happy. However, happiness never stuck around. With recent events, it was an emotion that Shai couldn't seem to even express any longer. Why? The answer ready to reveal itself any second.

"You're spoiled," Shai said, shutting the car door after him. He turned to face Dess, a wide grin on her face while she hugged her new Build-A-Bear child. Their baby named Nadia Desdemona Carter.

"You don't even care, do you?" He asked jokingly. Dess shook her head then started laughing. She knew she was going to get her way regardless of who it was. Shai. Stephen. Tatum. Her grandparents. It didn't matter. It was always her way.

"Not at all. You love me either way." She stood on her tippy toes for a kiss. Shai pecking her lips, making her smile.

"Mhm, my room tonight?" He asked, despite knowing the answer.

"Of course. I live there at this point," Dess truthfully said. Shai didn't deny either. It was her room just as much as it was his. She already had two drawers filled with a few of her clothes, some jewelry, and shoes. She rarely had to bring stuff over when she came since it was already there.

Shai made sure the car was locked then they both walked to his building, Dess holding onto his bicep. Shai swiped them inside, the lobby of the dorm quiet since there was no RA on duty. That was the best thing about coming back so late. No need to sign in when you could walk on through. It was that simple. As they headed through the double doors and down the hall, they both heard music playing.

It wasn't unusual to hear during this time. The music was a clear indication to other residents that the boys had company over and were doing their thing. It was their form of a hotel Do Not Disturb sign put on a door handle. No one bothered the ones with the music playing. Not even the RA's. That was a major problem. The music got louder as they started to make it to Shai's room. They heard some muffled yelling too. To Shai, it sounded like there were more people there than just Elijah and his girlfriend. How it usually was.

Shai freed one of his hands and pulled out his key. Before he opened the door, Dess touched his arm and made him glance back. Worry was expressed on her face. She had gotten this odd feeling the closer they got to his door. It was as if a dark shadow was cast over them and it was unsettling for her.

"You alright?" Shai asked.

"Maybe we should go to my room," Dess suggested. Shai squinted his eyes at her and the switch up she had. Seconds ago, she was down to be here. Now, she wanted to go. That caused Shai to look back at his door.

"Nah." He kept it short and sweet.

Opening the door, the scene inside his room was far from what Shai was expecting. Trap music played and close to ten random people were chilling in their living area. Shai stepped inside, looking around in bewilderment. Because of the music, Shai couldn't hear the prayer Dess was muttering to herself behind him. She had a feeling shit was about go down, which why she wanted to go to her room. But it was too late.

Shai stepped in further, still looking around at this mini party happening in his room. Of course, he knew Elijah was the culprit of it happening. That was nothing new. But this was extreme and unacceptable. Shai was not about to deal with it. He knew rooming with Elijah would eventually get to him. It finally did.

Shai placed the bags on the floor and searched the many heads in the room. A few sitting on the couch, smoking and drinking. He noticed their smoked detector was covered with a hanger and plastic bag. A violation. There were more girls than dudes, Shai knowing what the vibe was. A couple sitting together and kissing. He heard moaning and figured someone was fucking in the bathroom. Out of all the faces he saw, only one stuck out to him the most.

Shamar sat on the couch with a girl sitting on his lap. He caressed her thigh while the chick passed a blunt back and forth with other people. Knowing that Shamar was in his space pissed Shai off. But he ignored him since this wasn't about him. Shai continued walking up, no one even noticing him. He approached where the speaker was then pressed the pause button. That caught everyone's attention.

Shai turned around and noticed they were staring at him. He caught Elijah's red eyes, peeking from around the girl straddling him. "It's time to wrap this up y'all. Sorry," Shai told them all. A few groans came from folks. There were laughs and teeth being sucked. But no one moved.

"Come on, Shai. We're trying to have fun dawg, so turn the music back on." Elijah slurred his words. His people agreeing. They wanted to keep partying, drinking and smoking like how they were. Shai was ready to go to bed and lay up with his girl. He didn't want to deal with any of this.

Though everyone was being difficult, Shai was still being nice. Something people seemed to always take for granted. "Nah, it's twelve in the morning dawg. Y'all can continue this some other time but not right now. Let's wrap it up," he repeated more sternly this time but still nicely.

This time around he noticed a couple people moving, rising off legs that they were sitting on and leaning off the wall. It was mainly the girls though. It seemed as though they listened better than the dudes. Shai was alright with that. Around here if the women left outta an event first, dudes followed right behind them.

Elijah suck his teeth after the girl that was sitting on him got up. He stood to his feet then walked over to Shai and the speaker. They stared each other down then Elijah reached towards the speaker and pressed the play button. The trap music started playing again and Elijah began dancing.

"Come on, y'all! We ain't done!" He yelled at his friends.

It didn't seem like anyone was feeling it anymore. Some of the girls still searching for their things as they got ready to go. Shai shook his head then paused the music once again. Elijah pausing his dancing and giving him an annoyed look.

"Come on now, Elijah." Shai tried to keep calm but you could hear the irritation in his tone. He really was not trying to go at it with Elijah.

"Dawg, we're trying to party and you're being a buzzkill. Take ya girl and go in your room like you always do. Shoo nigga." Elijah waved him away, his hand accidentally hitting Shai's shoulder.

Just from a small touch that set Shai off. He smacked Elijah's hand away causing Elijah to buck up at him. Shai was nowhere near fazed and wasn't going to retaliate either. He saw Elijah's bloodshot red eyes and smelled the liquor on his breath. He knew he was intoxicated and wasn't in the right state of mind. Any other time, Shai would get buck back with him but he didn't think this time was fair. Beating a dudes ass that was high wasn't right. He had morals still.

"Don't put your hands on me," Elijah pointed his finger at Shai while he gave his warning.

Shai moved his hand away again. "Listen Elijah, chill out." He told him.

"Don't touch me!" Elijah slurred his words again. Their back and forth cause Shamar to get up and walk over.

By now, a couple of students were heading out. Dess watched each and every one that left, she recognized a few girls from the cheerleading team. Freshmen who didn't know any better. She was going to have a talk with them later. Once Shamar was near, he held his hand out in between them, pushing Elijah back from Shai. He was finding this funny. Shai could tell by the smirk on his face and the chuckle coming from him.

"Aye, chill man. Chill," Shamar said in between his laughs while he kept pushing Elijah away. "You're too high dawg, so chill."

"Nah, I'm tryna party!" Elijah yelled. "Play that music nigga!"

Shamar continued laughing then finally turned to face Shai. "Aye, man let us play the music and chill. We ain't hurting nobody." He said.

"Nah, this my space as much as it's Elijah. Y'all had y'all fun now it's time to dip. I'm trying to be respectful." Shai informed him. He didn't want to talk to Shamar but he was the only person sober here.

Shamed suck his teeth, throwing his arms up. "Like I said no one is being hurt dawg. We can turn the music down so you and pretty girl over there can get ya shit rocked though," he joked, pointing over at Dess. Of course, he noticed her and had to acknowledge her presence. It was becoming a routine for him now.

Shai glanced back at Dess, noticing her clinging to the wall with her child and looking around. He could see how concerned she looked and understood why. There was a possibility that something will go down. That was just how things were now. Shai look back at Shamar and saw the stupid smile on his face. He desperately wanted to punch him but kept his hands by his side. His fist balled though.

"She looks a little worried," Shamar continued since he didn't receive a response.

"Shamar, let's keep shit cordial right now," Shai warned.

"I'm keeping shit cordial fam." Shamar started laughing, glancing back at Elijah. "We tryna chill and you're doing too much foreal. Chill out."

"No. Get out." Shai told him.

"Nah, we staying." Shamar pressed the play button on the speaker. The music started up again.

Shai paused it again.

Shamar un-paused it.

Once more, Shai paused it and Shamar un-paused it. Shai was over it now. He kept the music playing, Elijah dancing again and others going back to doing what they were doing. Even the two folks in the bathroom having sex came out to be apart of everything now. Shai looked behind the speaker for the plug. He wasn't trying to do the back and forth with Shamar any longer.

He was trying to be nice but people didn't know how to take that. So, he had to be an asshole. He didn't care anyway. Shai reached for the plug to the speaker then pulled it out. He was done.

"Everyone get the fuck out or we're all going to have a fucking issue!" Shai yelled once he turned to face everyone else. His yelling caught a few people off guard, including Dess. She turned to see the boys face to face and stood up straight. Shai and Shamar in the same space. All hell was going to break loose. She knew that.

Everyone got up, muttering under their breath, and gathered their things. They moved slowly, yes, but all Shai cared about was them leaving. How fast or how slow they did it didn't matter. Shamar noticed folks getting their stuff together and was now annoyed that their party was over. Elijah was fussing too and was trying to get his friends to stay, begging them.

"You like pissing people off, huh?" Shamar asked Shai. Now, he was about to stir things up.

"Ain't no one doing anything on purpose. I asked you nicely to dip and you didn't listen. I'm tired of being nice to niggas. Simple as that." Shai shrugged.

"Here we go again with Shai trying to act tough." Shamar scoffed. "You don't get enough of pretending? That shit draining me just from watching it."

"I don't give a fuck, Shamar. I really fucking don't. Talk ya shit out there." Shai pointed at the door that was just shut after three people left.

"Talk ya shit out there," Shamar mocked. But it wasn't much of mocking since they talked the same way. Shai was unbothered by the action.

"You still acting hard as fuck for no reason dawg. Nigga, be yourself!" Shamar emphasized, trying to push his buttons.

"Nigga get out!" Shai shouted back.

His patience was wearing thin with Shamar. There was only so much a person could handle. And Shai already couldn't handle a lot, which is why he stayed away from drama. It was too much for him to handle. He got overwhelmed. He shut down. He'll cry. He'll even allow you to walk all over him just to avoid an issue with you. But this situation was different.

Since Shamar came around, he's been nothing but a problem to Shai. He tried to let it pass, he did. But it was hard when a person who clearly didn't give a damn kept bothering you. Even if he attempted to ignore him or attempted to keep the peace, Shamar stirred things up for his own entertainment. It was so aggravating because Shai knew it wasn't going to stop unless he went to extreme measures.

He was going to do exactly that.

"Yo, calm the fuck down with all that shit nigga. You doing too fucking much over something stupid. Fuck outta here," Shamar waved him off. His hand right in Shai's face, a pet peeve of his.

Shai moved his hand away, glaring at him. "Keep your hand out my face, Mar. I'm not even fucking around anymore."

"You always have a nasty ass attitude and that shit annoying. Grow the-"

"Shut the fuck up!" Shai snapped, tired of hearing Shamar's voice. It only angered him more and made it hard for him to control himself. He was on the verge of putting his hands on Shamar once last time to show him who he was messing with. Was it the right choice? No. But at this point there was no way anyone could talk him out of lashing out.

It was going to happen.

"Watch ya fucking mouth!" Shamar snapped back, taking a step closer to Shai and getting in his personal space.

That was Shai's breaking point. It usually always started off with a shove. A warning, but Shai was tired of giving warnings when Shamar was taking them. His fist had been balled up by his side for a few minutes now. Shai threw the first punch, a direct lethal hit right to Shamar's jaw. It caught him off guard but he was still able to swing back. His mistake was him lowering his head to avoid being hit again in the face as he got himself together. That meant nothing to Shai.

He kept swinging, punching Shamar sides since his head was down. He dodged a couple punches Shamar sent his way, nonetheless, he stood strong and took the hits made to his stomach. With his head still down, Shamar got closer to Shai then wrapped his arms around him in an attempt to get him on the floor but that backfired. Shai stayed on his feet and they backed up into the wall, putting a hole in it.

You'd expect someone to intervene but no one did. Well, Dess attempted to. She found herslef having to steady back up since she was afraid of getting hit. Elijah and two of his friends that stayed around watched from a distance. No one stopping anything. Punches weren't being thrown anymore now. Shai managed to grab Shamar from behind and slammed him on the floor. He had power over him now and that was the scary part.

What happens when a person filled with years of untreated anger reaches their breaking point? Do you allow them to deal with such anger in a violent manner? Do you talk to them? Do you stop the anger from coming out? Or do you allow them to handle their business in the way they see fit? Because the way he wanted to handle it was deadly.

Now over Shamar, Shai didn't think to stop. He couldn't. It was as if, actually, there was no if. An evil spirit that's been lingering around Shai finally came out. This spirit was the same one which surrounded his father all those years back. This spirit meant nothing but harm to those that messed with its companion. This spirit seeks not just a simple bloody nose or bloody mouth treatment but a deadly one.

Shamar was defenseless. He was no longer swinging due to his defeat already. If he could call mercy he would, but he didn't because Shai wasn't allowing him to. No, Shai was not letting up. His evil spirit had him now and he was doing what they were saying.

One hand gripped Shamar's hair in order to hold his head up straight. Easy access. His other hand, Shai's powerful dominant right hand, continued punching Shamar in the face. One intense punch after the next. One connected punch after the next. He had the control. He took the opportunity. He was not backing down.

He was not done. Because of his advantage that led to Elijah and the other two dudes jumping in. They attempted to pull Shai off but he wasn't having it. He even stopped hitting Shamar to push Elijah off him, the young man losing his balance and falling to the floor. The other two tried as well but got the same thing. Shai was no finished.

It was scary how he went right back to punching Shamar in the face repeatedly. Ignoring the blood leaking from his mouth and nose. Ignoring the struggle for Shamar to keep his eyes open. Ignoring the struggle to breathe. His life seemed to flash right before his eyes and Shai refused to stop. No one could stop him either. Not Elijah. Not the two boys. Not even Dess. She stood there, watching everything happen, frightened out of her mind. It was terrifying watching the love of your life actively, dangerously, and willingly harm another with no intent to stop. He wanted to kill him.

That was obvious.

But there was someone who could stop it. Dess was too busy watching what was going on that she didn't notice that Hampton police were barging in. A noise complaint. That's why they were here. Three officers, big muscle men, ran over to Shai and treated him like a threat. One grabbed him from beyond, forcefully pulling him off Shamar, and detaining him. Another officer was by Shamar's side, checking his pulse and seeing if would respond. He didn't. The last officer yelled at Elijah and the boys to exit the room immediately. He turned in Dess direction, yelling at her as well to leave. She hated being yelled at but did what she was told.

Her eyes stayed on Shai while she walked backwards to the door, her back hitting the wall before she finally exited. She overheard the officer by Shamar's side telling the officer yelling at her to call the ambulance. That's how bad it was. Meanwhile, the officer with Shai cuffed him and was now escorting him out of the room. The eyes of a person can tell you a lot. If their face or body language didn't say something then their eyes will.

When Shai and Dess made eye contact when he exited the room, she saw nothing. No regret. No sadness. No happiness. Nothing. He was emotionless. She didn't want to say it but the feeling was there.

She was scared.

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