“If I went to the zoo tomorrow and stole a tiger...do you think anyone would notice?” Tinsley blinked very slowly from her seated position beside Austin and set her gaze over to the person next her.

“Yes, Alan.” She rose her eyebrow with a nod. “I think many people would notice.”

“Well what if I put a life sized stuffed tiger in it’s place?” His eyes were wide with curiosity as he looked over at her. “You still think people would notice?”

It made her smile how much Alan's child like features would light up and match her own at most times. “Is he serious?”

“ You know I think he is.” Austin laughed as he leaned forward and flicked Alan on the nose.

He flinched back and then bared his teeth at Austin. “I want a fucking tiger!”

“You are a fucking tiger, Alan!” He replied back in the same tone. “And watch your fucking mouth around Tinsley! She doesn’t like the word fuck!”

“You just said fuck like 3 times, man. I’m sure it doesn’t bother her that bad.” Alan took a swig off his beer and then sat it down, turning his body all the way towards Tinsley. “Tinsley, say ‘fuck.’” She scrunched her nose and leaned back more into Austin. “Bitch.”

“Dude, what the fuck man?!” Austin yelled slamming his beer down on the table and glaring at Alan. While Tinsley stared with a shocked face.

“No! Wait, no.” Alan leaned forward and cupped Tinsleys face. “I meant like say ‘bitch’ not you’re a bitch, Tinsley. You’re just a precious little babydoll.”

“Now say you’re sorry to her.” Austin continued to glare.

“You say you’re sorry, you’re the one that yelled fuck again.” This is what Tinsley was starting to get used to. Whenever she hung out with Austin and his friends she expected nasty words and bickering. But Austin himself was nothing like she has expected.

________________________________________________________________________
Tinsley groaned and rolled over to look at the clock as soft knocking woke her from her deep slumber. It was 2:36 in the morning. She huffed and got out of bed, twisting her hair on the way to the door so at least the person on the other side of the door didn't have to see a rats nest.

She swung open her door and squinted at the person on the other side, and it was exactly who she was expecting. “It’s early.”

He grinned and nodded, tilting his head slowly to the side as he ran his eyes over her. He always had to allow himself to take a good look at her when ever he was first seeing her for the day. He noticed her hair was always curly and pulled away from her face in some way. He could read her. She had to wear it like that because she felt like the hairstyle was a part of her or something. It was like Michael Jackson with the tape on his fingers or the fact that some women felt completely naked unless they had lipstick on. Tinsley didn't feel like Tinsley if her hair wasn't curly.

“I know.” He whispered softer than he had intended to, “Put a jacket on, pretty, it’s cold outside.”

“Then why are we going outside?” She pouted and rubbed her eyes like a child would. “Im so tired I’m willing to let you come in and cuddle in my bed with me.”

He smiled as he walked around her into her hotel room and just when she had though she had easily won, he took her jacket off of the hook by the door. “As wonderful as it sounds to be warm and holding you in bed, I can always do that later. Right now I kind of just need to see your smile.” After he said that she noticed he wasn’t exactly normal Austin. He seemed a bit down and that had never really been the case when it came to him. “I can’t see it in the dark.”

“Okay.” She whispered back, complying with him as he held out her jacket for her to shrug into. She held his hand as they walked down the hall into the elevator. Austin had snuck them out of the back of the hotel because he was smart enough to know that the front door probably wasn’t a good idea.He was quite as they began walking down the sidewalk, hand in hand. Tinsley looked up at him and frowned. “Are you okay, Austin?”

“What is Denika to you really?” He had seemed to completely ignore her question and unknowingly moved on to a very touchy subject for her.

“You’d think it’s weird.” She whispered, sighing and shaking her head.

“Just tell me, please.” He said it in a desperate voice. “I just want to fill my mind with things about you, I don’t want these other thoughts consuming me anymore.”

She wanted to help him and Tinsley just wasn’t as selfish as she would have liked to be. Others pain came before hers. “She’s my mom.”

Austins whole face seemed to scrunch as he looked down at her. “Tinsley… yo-”

“Yes. I am very aware that I am white.” She squeezed his hand in an irritated manner. “I realized that when I was about 5 and I chose to Ignore it.”

“Okay.” He whispered picking up on how her voice changed with the subject. “You don’t have to talk about this anymore if you don’t want to.”

“I was adopted when I was 2 months old into a black family.” She admitted and shrugged, it wasn’t the black family thing that bugged her. Who really cared? This family took her in and cared for her when her biological family didn’t care to. But that was just it. It made her think about her biological parents and then she ended up thinking about them more than she wanted to. “I have a black mom, a black dad, they had 3 children together before they adopted me.”

“Tell me about them.” She smiled, no one ever wanted to discuss into her adoptive family past finding out that they were just that. It’s not that they wanted to hide it, but Denika knew how much the Biological parent questions bugged Tinsley.

“Amiyah. She’s the oldest and she looks just like our dad, his names Jalen. She’s actually a lawyer down in Texas. Rue is the second oldest and she’s still in college, I actually don’t talk to her nearly as much as I want.”

“And what about the third one?” He questioned. He never had siblings, being an only child he actually really enjoyed hearing about other peoples brothers and sisters.

“Then theirs Rome.” Austin noticed how different it was than when she spoke about her sisters. “He’s sort of my lifeline. He’s a spitting image of Denika and whenever I can’t find my mom, Rome always ends up being there right when I need him.” She smiled and looked up at Austin. “I think it’s because he reminds me so much of Denika and it's comforting because I love her so much.”

“So you were raised in a black household?” He grinned down at her as she nodded. “You’re just so sweet though, I mean you have a little bit of an attitude, but not nearly as much as I now expect.”

“I actually used to be really bad, but I had good reason.” She replied, “But the problem was fixed and Denika helped straighten me up by pushing me to do things she knew that I would enjoy and would keep my head on straight.”

“But you said you’ve never been drunk or anything!” He rose his eyebrow at her.

“I haven’t!” She countered back, sticking her tongue out at him as he tried to catch her in a lie. “I Just used to have a really bad attitude.”

“Well I’d like to hear about that sometime.” He laughed, having trouble imagining Tinsley being ‘bad’ in anyway.

“Since I told you something personal about me. Do I get to learn something personal about you?” She gave him a close lipped, curious smile as she looked up at him with her big eyes.

He smiled and let go of her hand, wrapping his arm around her waist and pulling her into him. “Ill make you a deal.” He rubbed her back. “For everyday we see each other, we will tell each other something about ourselves.”

“Deal.” She held her hand out for him to shake. Austin took it but instead of shaking it he pulled her toward him more and leaned down giving her a peck on the mouth. “So what’s your self confession for the day?”

“Hmmm.” He hummed as he thought of what it could be. “You know id rather start out with the least personal ones first.”

“A little unfair considering I just told you the most personal thing about me but…” She paused and smiled up at him again. “I’ll take it.”

“Sometimes I just feel alone y’know?” He says so soft she fought to hear it all. “It’s like...I’m surrounded by all these people who think they know me and want me in all these different way. I do what I do to make others happy, but I just want to find something that saves me from being lonely.”

“I can fix that.” Tinsley replied back, running her hand down his arm until their fingers locked together. “I can help you not feel alone.”