Hey everybody how's it going? dbthenextgeneration here and this is my first Boondocks fanfic titled Love & Basketball, which is about(you guessed it) love and basketball. This story will have a couple of Ocs in it(I needed them to make the basketball team) but I promise the story primarily features the original Boondocks characters we all know and love. Oh and please note that this fic is in no way related to the film "Love and Basketball" (I just thought the title was fitting lol)
But enough of that, let's just get to the story!
Disclaimer: The Boondocks are awesome, and they also only belong to Aaron McGruder
Ch.1: The Big Shot
"He brings the ball to the top of the key, directing traffic."
Fifteen seconds left, I need to create some space. He thought
He pointed to the spot on the ground next to where a skinny white guy was guarding him. His teammate got the message and quickly moved to block him.
"Jones sets a screen, catching Anderson of guard, Ellison rotates to the ball handler..."
A shorter white guy hastily approached him to make up for his teammates defensive lapse.
They're moving too fast, time to pass.
He cupped the ball in his left and tossed it to the point guard in the corner who quickly threw it back.
"The ball is passed to Williams, who swings it back..."
Five seconds, I need to take it.
He dribbled to the top of three-point arc and took one last desperate shot...
"He takes a threeee..."
And it went in.
"GOOD! ITS OVER! HUEY FREEMAN HITS THE THREE!"
The crowd erupted into a hysterical frenzy, as Huey calmly walked off the court, knowing he'd done his job.
Sixteen year old Huey Freeman sat in the locker room of the Meadow Lark Lemon Arena, quietly collecting his thoughts as his teammates celebrated their latest victory in the YMBQ (Young Mens Basketball Qualifier). Huey had done some growing over the last six years, now standing a respectable 6'1, which contributed to his basketball success, but had more or less maintained his same appearance from his earlier years , still sporting his trademark afro and straightforward attitude. As he studied the overzealous reactions of his teammates to what Huey would call just the end of another game of basketball, he noticed his brother and also teammate, fourteen year old Riley Freeman was uncharacteristically quiet during this moment, but also not so uncharacteristically staring daggers at Huey.
Huey's thoughts were interrupted however as Coach Simms, a short balding black man with glasses, entered the room. He had a look of satisfaction on his face as he raised his hands to quiet the rowdy team.
"Good game gentleman, I'm proud of the all the work and effort you put into this season."
Power forward Ethan Jones, a chubby 6'6 black kid with a buzz cut who Huey (and everyone else), identified as the team's best player, stood up and proposed a toast to the revolutionary.
"Hey coach, show some love fo' our boy Huey!"
Coach Simms gave the boy a warm smile, "E.J.'s right Huey, you really came through for us today."
Huey just nodded calmly, not wanting any extra attention. That was taken care of by his younger brother, who decided it was a fitting time to air his grievance with Huey.
"Yo, nobody even goan talk about how Young Reezy got robbed from his moment?" Riley demanded as he began pointing a finger at the revolutionary. "I wuz OPEN! And Huey's hatin' ass don't pass me the ball."
Huey shook his head. Guess that explained why Riley seemed so pissed off. Honestly Huey had no real interest in the so-called glory and fanfare that came with playing on the Woodcrest Bucks. In fact he probably would of passed his brother the ball but the boy was busy showboating, something a young white teammate with spiky brown hair pointed out.
"Riley you weren't even looking." point guard Micheal Williams chimed in. "It looked like you were posing for some girls in the crowd."
"You see them bitches? They wuz fine as hell. They be eyein' a nigga all game." Riley gloated as he puffed up his chest.
Huey shook his head. Riley's logic never failed to baffle him.
"Man if Huey passed me the ball I wud have made the big shot an be gettin' all up in that pussy, why you gotta hate nigga?"
"Nigga you no you neva had no pussy..." Ethan laughed.
"Shut up!"
"Riley do we need to do this now?" the coach sighed.
Huey began to clench his fists. Usually he would have ignored his siblings outbursts, but he had really gotten irritated with his brother's behavior on the court over the last few games. The cocky attitude and me-first mentality was a poor reflection of the few black players in this league. Huey knew that himself and the few other African-American guys were going to be looked at differently, and but there was no way he was gonna let Riley project them as a stereotype. Before Huey could say anything though, the fro-hawk wearing Jerome Jackson stood up waving his cell phone in the air.
"Hey, I got you Reezy! I got those bitches digits at halftime. You my boy so I'll hook you up."
"Fo real?" Riley asked as his the anger in his face faded away. "Aite we all good coach, my bad."
Huey sighed and remained silent. He still believed his brother was acting foolishly, bet decided not make an issue of it. The last thing he wanted to do was fight with his brother and create a 'nigga moment.'
Coach Simms just shook his head at the boy's ridiculousness, but decided it was best to change the subject.
"Anyway..." he continued. "As I was saying, we've been doing great work so far and we are about to qualify for the league championship."
"That being said, I am asking everyone of you to keep your heads in the game. Enjoy the win today but remember that we got a huge game next week."
'In other words, don't act like a bunch of stupid niggas.' Huey thought. And deep down he knew that his brother would soon find a way to do that as he caught a glimpse of a smirk appearing on the gangsta-wannabes' face.
"Ok men Bucks on three."
The team then huddled in the middle of the locker room as they put there hands began their chant.
"One, two, three..."
"BUCKS!"
Back at the Freeman house Riley was still buzzing about the game, talking about how great his performance was.
"You be seein' me Grandad, I was crossin niggas up hittin jumpshots. Man I know I could go pro, gettin the bitches and the benjamins."
Robert Freeman however, was paying very little attention to his grandson since he was preoccupied with trying to figure out how to work his new cell phone.
"Boy would you shut the hell up, I'm trying to figure out how to work this textin' machine." the old man snapped as fumbled with the phone.
Huey, who had just entered the room with a newspaper tucked under his arm raised an eyebrow at his grandfather's behavior.
"Grandad its called a Sidekick. And why are you still trying to use that thing? You've got arthritis."
"Damnit I know that boy but this cutie pie I met on myspace always wants to talk usin' this thing." Grandad explained as he fumbled with device. "I can't even read this shit, the fuck is a "brb"?"
"It means be right back, man dis old nigga can't even read..." Riley grumbled. Which earned him the privilege of getting the Sidekick tossed at his head. "Ow! Why you gotta throw stuff Grandad!"
Grandad just grunted in response and flopped into his chair, clearly finished with texting.
"Forget this, no bitch is worth all this trouble." the old man grumbled. "Young bitches with they textin and chat rooms, roughin' up an old man's arthritis..." He glanced over at Huey who was reading the paper.
"What's with you boy? You ain't even talk about your game since you got home."
"What's to talk about? You were there, you saw it." Huey answered without looking up.
"Yes I saw it boy, but you ain't even talk about your game winnin shot. That's the sorta thing that would get niggas braggin fo weeks in my day."
"Man Grandad, we don' need to be hearin bout yo wack ass nigga playin' days..." Riley snorted before Grandad slapped in the back of the head. "Ow!"
"We played with fundamentals in my day, not this flouncin criss cross show off bullshit you kids are doin."
"Oh shit that reminds me," Riley began with a glint in his eye, "Grandad I'm goin out to J.J's to celebrate the game."
Huey shook his head, he knew Riley was up to something. Not like it mattered though, Grandad would never let Riley go to one of Jerome's parties. Unless he wanted his grandson coming home wasted or with a kid on the way.
"Boy you no I don't like you going to those parties with all them keg walks and them fast girls."
"Keg stands." Huey corrected his grandfather.
"Naw naw Grandad, its just some guys from the team I ain't gonna cause no trouble."
Usually Grandad would just end the conversation there, but this time he stroked his chin, "Hmm..."
Uh oh. Grandad is hesitating, Huey knew he'd have to say something.
"Grandad I don't think that's a good idea."
"There he go hatin' again." Riley snapped at his brother. "You wrong Huey, the team was throwin this party jus fo you and you go and turn yo back on em. I jus thought one of the Freeman brothas needed to represent."
The old man glared at the revolutionary, "Huey, you fucked up boy. You go to that party Riley, since you seem to appreciate your teammates."
"Yeah thats crackin nigga!"
Of course. Huey thought, extremely annoyed. It looks like Riley had this plan of attack all along. Huey had to give his brother credit, this time he actually thought ahead.
But Huey was still going to kill him.
"But you better be home by ten or you'll be getting an ass whoopin'." Grandad warned as he pointed at his belt.
"I got you Grandad, I got you." Riley said as began to race out the door. "Deuces!"
As soon as I find him I'm gonna kick his ass. Huey swore. But for now, I'll let him think his gonna get away with this.
Several hours have passed and Huey had returned to reading the paper on the couch, while Grandad was upstairs.
Initially, Huey's plan was to go after Riley and break up that ridiculous party his idiot teammates were distracting themselves with. But that plan was ultimately put on hiatus after Huey realized that he had no clue where Jerome lived. So he decided he might as well enjoy the peace and quiet in the house while he waits for Riley to come home and face his death...
Ding dong
Damn.
Ding dong
"Boy, you better answer that damn door!"
Huey begrudgingly rose from the couch. Was a little bit of quiet time too much to ask?
He approached the front door and pulled it open and was greeted by two familiar faces, Jazmine and Tom Dubois.
"Hi Huey!"
"Hey Jazmine." Huey responded. "Mr. Dubois."
"Huey! The hero!" Tom greeted enthusiastically. "That was an incredible shot you made, you really turned the Bucks around."
"Yep." Huey acknowledged, his face remaining expressionless. Tom smiled, looking a bit uncomfortable. Huey surmised that he expected a more dramatic response, something everyone else seemed to want from him as well.
"You need something?"
"Uh yes actually," Tom answered as he rubbed the back of his neck. "Robert called me over to help him give his myspace page a makeover." He held up a camera for Huey to see.
"Ugh. Whatever, he's up in his room." That old man just can't stay away from the web. The boy thought
Tom nodded and made his way upstairs while Jazmine followed Huey into the living room and sat next to him on the couch. Jazmine, like Huey, was growing up. In the last five years she had gotten taller and stood at 5'4(though she looked like a dwarf compared to Huey). She also still maintained her cheering disposition and her slight naivety from childhood.
The biggest change Jazmine had adopted thought the years was that hair was now straight(well mostly straight, there were still some loose curls). The girl had tried to straighten her hair for years, and had finally found a combination of hair-care products that helped her tame her frizz long enough to use her hair straightener successfully.
Everyone seemed to love Jazmine's new look, well everyone except Huey. The first time he saw the new-Jazmine and she asked him what he thought of it, he said it was "a disgrace to her African heritage." This of course made Jazmine cry, which caused Huey to rethink his stance, and say "I guess its okay to express your white side, as long as you always remember that you're really black." To this day Jazmine could stil not figure out what caused Huey to change his mind, since he was never one to compromise his beliefs, no matter who's feelings were hurt.
But then again, they were best friends, and why let a hairstyle choice change that?
"I loved your game Huey, it was so awesome!" Jazmine said as she scooted closer to the boy. "Cindy and Caesar had fun too. Caesar called your winning shot one of the great moments in the history of Woodcrest black men."
"Well I guess its a blessing to be mentioned with the one other black man honored in Woodcrest." Huey replied sarcastically.
"Who's the other guy?"
"The guy who opened that fried chicken place."
Jazmine giggled, though she really had no idea if Huey was joking or being serious. But she abandoned those thoughts when she remembered what she wanted to ask him.
"Did it feel amazing?"
"Huh?" Huey responded as he looked up from the paper, raising a trademark eyebrow.
"What do you mean "huh"?" Jazmine questioned with excitement in her voice. "The shot Huey! Wasn't it just incredible to be a hero for your teammates and all the people cheering for you?"
Huey shrugged his shoulders, "Eh."
"EH? Is that it?" Jazmine asked.
"Yep." Huey said simply as he returned to reading. "Heroes are people that do things like aid the Haiti earthquake victims, not a niggas who can shoot basketballs."
Jazmine frowned at him, "You cannot enjoy anything can you Huey Freeman?"
"I could enjoy reading the paper if you stopped bothering me."
Jazmine sighed, Huey was definitely insisting on being himself today. She could deal with that, she did really enjoy the time spent with the boy, but she was really getting bored watching Huey read. Jazmine then decided to start poking Huey in his side to pester him.
"Lets go do something Huey."
"We are doing something."
"No your reading the paper and I'm watching you read the paper."
"Yes, thats doing something."
"But I'm boooooored." the mulatto whined. "Lets play a game!"
Huey sighed as he looked up from his paper, "Ok Jazmine we'll play a game."
"Really?"
"Its called "The Quiet Game", I'll start." Huey said simply as he returned to his reading.
Jazmine looked devastated. "Aw, come on Huey."
"You just lost ten points."
"Hey, thats not fair..."
"That's another ten points."
"But your talking..."
"Questioning me costs you twenty points."
"Your a meanie."
"Attempting to insult me costs you thirty points."
Before Jazmine could find a way to lose more points, her cell phone started to ring. She checked the caller id and saw that it was none other than her perky, blond best friend Cindy McPhearson.
"Hey Cindy!"
"Hey girl! What you up to right now?"
"Taking phone calls costs fifty points." Huey said loudly.
Jazmine stuck her tongue at the boy before answering Cindy. "Just hanging out with Huey at his house."
"Well isn't that surprising, you just looooove being around that boy." Cindy teased.
Jazmine began to blush heavily as she glanced up at Huey, hoping he didn't hear what was said. Huey just raised an eyebrow at her and resumed his reading.
"Never mind that Cindy, what are you doing right now? I can barely hear you."
"Just hanging with Ceez at this crackin' party!" the blond replied cheerfully. "I'm surprised you didn't know, it's at the house of one of the guy's on the basketball team."
"Really? I didn't no there was a party today..."
This caught Huey's attention, "Wait, what party?"
"Just a party Cindy's at thrown by one of your teammates." Jazmine informed him.
I've got you now Riley. He thought "Ask her where it is."
Jazmine gave the revolutionary a puzzled look but obliged, "Hey Cindy where are you?"
"Um the party is like two blocks away from the park."
"Its two blocks away from the park Huey." Jazmine relayed.
Huey nodded and rose from the couch. "Perfect."
Jazmine had no idea what was going through Huey's head, but decided it would be fun to find out."Hey Cin I'll call you back."
"Aite girl but try to get down here, its CRAZY!"
Jazmine hung up the phone and followed Huey to the doorway, where he was putting on his coat.
"Where are you going?" she asked.
"To stop the party."
"Oooooh can I go?"
"No." Huey said flatly.
"B-but why?"
"Because this isn't a game Jazmine I need to keep those idiots from doing something stupid."
Huey realized his tone may have been a bit harsh when he saw tears begin to well-up in the mulatto's eyes, he knew what was coming next.
"Wait Jazmine don't..."
"Waaaaaaah!" the girl bawled. "M-m-my best friend doesn't want to spend time with m-m-meeeeee!"
If there was one thing in the world that Huey really hated, (and there were plenty of things he hated) it was the sound of Jazmine crying. It just made him feel bad to see Jazmine so upset, and that in turn made him feel even worse since he was allowing her emotions to affect him. Huey decided it was best just to relent.
"Ok, ok damnit! You can come!" Huey submitted as he covered his ears "Just stop crying!"
"R-r-really?" Jazmine sniffled. Huey nodded as he uncovered this ears.
"Yes, just no more waterworks."
"Yay!" Jazmine cheered. "We're going on an adventure!"
Huey sighed, the girl could be so childish sometimes. But she at least stopped crying, and he honestly liked the idea of hanging out with Jazmine for a little while.
But he wasn't about to let her know that.
Huey made his way upstairs to his Grandad's room in order to inform him that he and Jazmine were going out.
"Grandad me and Jazmine are-" the boy began but stopped suddenly when he saw what was going on the room "God Grandad, what the fuck?"
Granadad was streched out on his bed, wearing what looked like a speedo, and had his backside facing Tom who was quickly snapping pictures.
"What the hell you want boy? I'm working on my myspace portfolio."
"Ugh, nothing! Me and Jazmine are going out, we'll be back later." Huey as he quickly made his way out of the room, covering his eyes. "Damn!"
"This is gonna really knock the socks off those ladies Robert. Now just make love to the camera..." Tom instructed as he took more pictures, not even noticing Huey coming in the room.
"Calm yo ass down Tom, don't start gayin this up." Grandad snapped as he began to pose again "Now hurry the hell up, I wanna post these quick so I can get sum tonight!"
As Huey made his way to the staircase (and trying to repress what just happened), he suddenly got a weird feeling and decided to head to his room. When he got there Huey headed towards the closet and rummaged through it until he found what he was looking for; his katana.
For some reason, he felt like he was gonna need it.
How was it? Not the best fic I know but I promise it gets better!
The next chapter's gonna shed some light on some the stuff introduced in this chapter, like how the bball team came to be, how Huey and Riley got involved, and why Huey's so nuts about stopping the party. Oh and of course a little HueyxJazmine romance thrown in as well ; )
I have really high hopes for this story so if you enjoyed it please throw a review my way!
Up next, Ch. 2: Makin' the Team