ONESHOT
Under the mistletoe
It was that time of year again, the time of year where familys gathered under the chimney enjoying each others company. The time of year when everyone was ten times nicer than before. It was almost Christmas time. Fourteen year-old Jazmine woke up from her peaceful slumber and headed to the other side of her room.
"Just two more days and It's Christmas." She said to herself.
The girl was counting each day that was passing by. She marked an "X" on her calendar and headed downstairs. Jazmine was not the only one who enjoyed Christmas, her parents did as well. Her father wore an ugly Christmas sweater and so did her mother. Jazmine smiled at her parents as she walked into the kitchen where her mother was baking cookies.
"Can I help?" She asked her.
Her mom smiled.
"Of course sweetie." Sarah said as she handed Jazmine an apron.
Oh how she loved Christmas.
But on the other side of the street there was somebody who did not feel the same. He wished Christmas did not exist.
Jesus was not even born on the twenty-fifth so why celebrate.
He thought.
Huey Freeman sat on the couch watching his grandfather and brother. They were looking at the tree they had set up not to long ago, even if Christmas was only in two days.
"All I want for Christmas is a big booty hoe. Grandad you think Santa gon pay what he owe now?"
"Boy, I hope he do and brings me one too." They both snickered as Huey rolled his eyes and got up from the couch.
"Hey McHater, what you want for Christmas?" Riley asked his brother.
"For some peace and quiet." Huey said as he placed his scarf and coat on.
"You going out?" Robert Freeman asked.
Huey nodded and walked out the door.
"Jazmine where you going honey?" Tom asked as he munched on the freshly backed cookie.
"I'm taking some to the Freeman's." She said as she pointed at the zip-lock bag full of chocolate chip cookies.
"I'll be home by dinner." She added.
Her parents knew that when Jazmine went to the Freeman's residence she would stay for hours.
"Ok Pumpkin."
Jazmine walked out her house and made her way across the street. Under her white fur coat and pink scarf she wore a baby pink sweater that had a design of a cute penguin, white skinny jeans, and pink snow boots. Her hair was placed in one single afro puff, she recently started wearing it like this. Jazmine looked her self over in her pocket mirror before knocking on the door. She was greeted by Robert Freeman.
"Hey cutiepie, come in."
She stepped inside.
"I brought cookies over." She said as she handed Robert the zip-lock bag.
"Thank you little baby ."
Jazmine made her way over to the living room. Riley was siting on the couch writing something.
"What you writing?" Jazmine asked the eleven year old boy.
"I'm writen a Christmas letter to that bitch ass Santa Clause. I'm asken him to bring me an Grandad a big booty hoe fo Christmas."
Jazmine shook her head at what he and his grandfather wanted for the holiday.
"What you askin fo Jazzy?" He asked the mulatto girl.
"Nothing really, maybe a new laptop." She told him.
Truthfully Jazmine could care less if her parents bought her a Laptop or even a car. What she truly wanted was to be together with Huey Freeman, but of course when her parents asked her what she wanted she did not tell them this. Jazmine looked around the living room and then back at Riley.
"Where is he?" She asked.
"Out." The boy simply said as he doodled a girl with a big butt on his list.
Jazmine knew where Huey had gone to so she said her farewells and headed up to the hill.
Huey sat in the middle of the snow reading a book. If there was one thing he enjoyed about winter it was definitely the snow, Huey always loved snow since he was a small child. The snow reminded him of his mother. She would always bring him to the park and they would build an amazing snowman. He knew that his father enjoyed it too but not as much as his mother. He could remember every single detail of his mother and father. As he kept thinking his mind wondered to a very dark memory, one he would like to forget. Huey was only five when his father and mother were killed. It was a cold winter day with no snow. His mother was complaining how she wished it would snow all ready while his father listened while carrying Riley in his arms. Huey was holding on tight to his mothers hand. He hated the neighbor hood they were passing in since a lot of crime usually happened there. But his father had told him not to worry since he would never let anything happen to him and Riley. They walked for a while until five people had ambushed them into a corner. Huey was scared but his father stood strong.
"Give me ya money!" one of the man demanded as he pointed a gun at his father. Huey will never forget what his father did next. He bent down and handed Riley to him and told him to run to Grandads house. Huey at first was hesitant but his father yelled at him to do so. As he ran he would glance behind him to see if his parents were all right. But the last time he turned he saw his father and his mother both get shot. He wanted to run back and call for help but he could hear his father's last words echo in his ears as he kept running.
Something snapped Huey back to reality.
"Your sweating, are you ok?" Jazmine asked him.
He nodded.
Jazmine Had been his friend for four years, she was pretty much the only friend he had. Huey was not the kind to make friendships but he did enjoy what he had with the young mulatto girl, even though he would never admit it. He used to make her cry all the time but Jazmine can handle the truth now, well at least better than before. She still had her days when she would be a total cry baby.
"What you doing Freeman?" She asked while she poked his cheek.
"Reading." He simply replied.
Lately Jazmine had been touching him a lot and he wondered why. She would touch his arms, face, legs. He thought it was just because she was in a playful mood, but he was wrong. Jazmine wanted to touch him even more than that. She wanted to embrace him in the middle of the night when she could not sleep. She wanted to hug him and smell the cologne he wore. Jazmine knew that she loved the boy and she wanted him to feel the same as her.
"I made cookies and brought them over." Jazmine informed him.
"That's nice." Huey said as he kept reading.
It was quiet until Jazmine spoke again.
"So what do you want to do?" She asked.
"Read." He replied as he flipped the page.
Jazmine pouted.
"Other than read." She said.
Huey sighed, all he wanted was to read in peace.
"Jazmine if you can be quiet for a whole ten minutes I will buy you a Christmas gift."
Jazmine smiled. She wanted to know what he would get her so she could cherish it forever.
"Ok." She agreed.
Huey grabbed his phone and set a timer.
"It will ring when time is up."
Jazmine nodded as Huey pressed the start button and kept reading. A minute had passed and Jazmine was starting to feel bored. So she began to play with the snow for a while, but it did not last long. She then began to count clouds and with out noticing she had drifted away into dreamland.
Huey looked down, since he felt a pressure on his shoulder, and noticed Jazmine was fast asleep on him. He stopped the timer and kept reading.
An hour had passed and Jazmine had finally woken up. She looked around and noticed she was siting in Huey's bed, he still shared a room with his brother. Huey sat at the computer desk checking his email.
"You finally woke up."
"How long have I been sleeping?" Jazmine asked.
"An hour, maybe two."
"Did you carry me?"
He ignored her and she knew it ment that he did.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
"You looked so peaceful." He simply said.
Jazmine shook her head.
"I'm not light like I used to be." She informed him.
"Ok fine Jazmine, next time I will leave you in the snow if that's what you want."
She shook her head furiously.
"No no, It's just I don't want you to break your back as you carry me."
"Jazmine I've lifted weights that are twice your weight." He informed her.
Jazmine had nothing to say after that so she just watched him for a little while.
"What do you want for Christmas?" Huey asked her, breaking the silence that once filled the room.
You
she thought but could not tell him that.
"Whatever you get me is fine, I'm not picky."
Huey shrugged.
"Ok then I'll get you a-"
"DONT TELL ME!" Jazmine shouted, startling the afro wearing boy.
"It needs to be a surprise." She said.
"Ok fine I wont tell you."
Jazmine headed back home, Just in time for dinner.
"What did you cook Mommy?" Jazmine asked her mother.
"I made your favorite."
Jazmine's eyes lit up just like the Christmas tree that was standing in the living room.
"Beef stew!" Jazmine squealed as she hugged her mom.
She loved beef stew in the winter. Sarah smiled at her daughters reaction.
"Here you go." She said as she handed a bowl full to her daughter. Jazmine sat at the table with her father and mother and later on they sang Christmas songs.
Huey sat on his bed and for some reason he kept thinking on what to get for Jazmine. He had decided to be simple and get her a book, so why was he thinking about this? He sighed and got up. Riley was using the computer to listen to Thugnificent and Gangstalicious new song. Even if there were a lot of hints that Gangstalicious was gay he was able to fool the media and his little brother again.
"BOOTY IS BETTER THAN PUSSY, BOOTY IS BETTER THAN PUSSY." Riley sang along to the chorus. Huey shook his head at his brother, he hoped that Riley would get better over time and stop his ghetto ways. Huey walked downstairs and headed to the living room where his grandfather was cooking.
"Why are you cooking Grandad?" Huey asked.
"Boy Christmas is in a day and you know the party is going to be here this year."
Last years party was at the Dubois's residence. Huey sighed, he hated parties.
Grandad kept cooking while Huey walked into the living room hoping the TV would make him forget about Christmas, but every channel he turned to was playing some sort of Christmas movie, even the Sci-Fi network.
The twenty fourth was finally here and Jazmine was running down the stairs to greet her parents. Sarah was cleaning while Tom was reading the newspaper on the couch.
"Mommy Daddy! It's Christmas Eve!"
Her parents smiled at the excited teen.
"It sure is." They both said.
Jazmine had made up her mind, she was going to tell Huey how she felt about him but she was scared he would not feel the same as her. She hoped her confession would not ruin her friendship. She was planing to tell him at the party, She knew that Huey would want to isolate himself from everyone. And knowing everyone they would all be busy drinking and having a good time that they wont pay much attention to Huey and her. Thinking about him made her smile even more. She adored him so much, even if sometimes he could be a jerk to her, but she did not care If he was a mean person because she knew that there was a sweet and kind side to him. She has seen it a few times during her friendship with the boy but she wishes she could see it everyday.
Meanwhile Huey found his way downtown where all the small shops were at. They had decorated the place to look like a winter wonderland and Huey wanted to get home as soon as possible. But he couldn't go home until he found the perfect gift for Jasmine. He had passed the book store on his way to the shops but he wanted to give her something special, he didn't know why but he felt like he wanted to make the girl smile and cherish his gift forever. He walked in a few shops Jazmine would shop at but nothing looked like a special gift to him. He wanted something that Jazmine would look at everyday and think Huey gave me this. He wanted something that she could show off to her friends. But what could he get her. As he walked he noticed a small shop on the corner, they sold a bunch of vintage things. Huey was about to leave but then he saw it, the perfect gift for Jazmine.
"How much for this?" Huey asked as he pointed at the object. The owner looked at it and spoke.
"It's thirty five dollars but since you are cute I'll make you pay thirty." Huey frowned at the way older woman but paid anyway. The woman smiled and asked him if he wanted her to wrap it up for him.
"Yes." He said.
"Is it for a girlfriend?"
Huey choked on his own spit.
"Are you ok?" The woman asked.
Huey coughed for a second until he nodded.
"No it's for a friend." He informed her.
The woman nodded as she finished wrapping the gift and placed it in a bag.
"Come again, ok?" She said as she handed the bag to Huey.
Huey just shrugged and left the store and headed back home.
Jazmine was also trying to figure out what Huey wanted for Christmas. She knew he did not celebrate it and he could care less if she gave him a gift or not, but she wanted to get him something. She did not want to get him a book since he had so many anyways.
"Did you find something for him sweetie?"
She was at the mall shopping with her mother at the moment.
Jazmine shook her head.
"No, not yet." She said in a disappointed tone.
Sarah rubbed her daughter's back.
"Something will come up soon." She assured her.
Jazmine nodded and they kept looking around. Her mother was right, after about another ten minutes of walking into shops Jazmine found the perfect gift. She had walked into a new store named African Nation. They sold things that were only made in Africa. Jazmine found this perfect bracelet made out of leather. The shop keeper told her that the bracelet was made by a Nigerian boy named Kalei. She said his name means Happiness and he wanted to make everyone happy, that was his dream. Jazmine was so intrigued by the story behind the bracelet that instead of buying one she bought two, one for her and one for him. Jazmine said her thanks to the African woman and left the store.
She had finally got home and she was helping her mother wrap the presents they had bought today. Each year The Dubois and Freeman's exchanged gifts. Jazmine wrapped up Riley's gift, they had got him a shirt with the Jordan's logo on it and a black hat that had the Nike's logo on it. For Mr. Freeman they had gotten him an expensive wine bottle, so he could drink it with his next date. Usually Jazmine would give Huey just a card since she knew he hated this holiday just like he hated thanksgiving. But this time he is going to love it. Jazmine was hopping that tomorrows events will make him love Christmas like she did, especially after she confesses. She smiled at the thought of him.
"I can't wait till tomorrow."
It was finally Christmas and Jazmine was running down the hallway shouting.
"IT'S CHRISTMAS!WAKE UP GUYS IT'S CHRISTMAS!" Jazmine shouted as she banged on her parents bedroom door. Her dad opened the door and smiled.
"We will be down in a minute." He said as he closed the door while rubbing his eyes sleepily.
Jazmine walked down stairs and waited in front of the tree. Today was the day. She began to feel nervous but it went away as soon as her parents walked downstairs.
Tom filmed his only daughter while she opened her gifts. She had got a new phone, lap top, clothes, a fifty dollar gift-card to her favorite boutique and two pairs of shoes.
"Thank you." She said as she kissed both her parents and hugged them.
Riley tore his gifts up. Grandad had given him a PlayStation three and a few games to go with it. In return Riley was going to hook up Grandad with one of his home girls momma. He had showed Grandad the picture of the lady and he was exited since he was going to get a big booty hoe. Huey sat on the couch and watched Riley as he tryed to hook up the PlayStation.
"Here you go boy." Robert said as he handed his oldest grandson a gift.
"Grandad why you buy me something?"
"Hush boy, before I take it back."
Huey sighed but did not insist anymore. He opened it and saw that Grandad had given him a photo album.
"It was your mother's, she was going to pass it down to you and your brother when you both were older. But after their deaths I felt like there was not a perfect moment to give it to you. But now you have grown up and matured."
Riley was now siting next to Huey. Huey opened the album and the first picture He saw was a picture of His mother pregnant with him.
"Is that mom?"" Riley asked.
"It sure is." Grandad answered.
Riley did not remember his parents like Huey did. Huey kept on flipping pages until there was a picture of all four of them sitting on a couch. Riley was a new born and was being held by his mother while Huey was sitting on his father's lap smiling at the camera. After they got killed he stopped smiling, he wondered what was the point on smiling if they lived in a world like this. But then he met Jazmine and slowly he started to feel whole again. Huey closed the album, since they were done looking at it, and walked upstairs.
It was finally time to head over to the Freeman's and Jazmine was checking herself out in the mirror one last time. She wanted to make sure everything was perfect since today was a special day for her. Jazmine wore a burgundy red dress that reached to her knees, burgundy stockings, and her new burgundy boots with a little bit of heels. Her hair was curled, It had taken her more to curl it than it would if she flat ironed it. But she knew Huey hated her hair straight. He liked it natural but did not mind it when she curled it. She had placed a little bit of white eye shadow and a bit of mascara on herself. To finish it off she had placed a nice soft pink gloss on her lips. Jazmine finally walked downstairs but not before grabbing Huey's gift.
When they arrived at their neighbors house they were greeted by the whole neighborhood.
"Hey there little yella baby, and hello white lovely goddess." Jazmine rolled her eyes at Uncle Ruckus, no relation. Sarah just waved a simple wave as she placed the gifts on the counter. Riley was playing a basketball game with Cindy on the PlayStation while thugnifecent watched. Jazmine headed straight to Huey's bedroom. She knocked and waited for him to answer. When he did she walked in with a bright smile plastered on her face.
"Merry Christmas Huey." The girl said.
Huey nodded and kept reading. Jazmine watched him and she felt it again. It felt like if she opened her mouth all the butterflies in her stomach would fly out, so she kept quiet. Huey closed his book since he could not concentrate, the music was too loud.
"You want to go out for a walk?" Huey asked.
Jazmine simply nodded and got up to put her white coat back on. Huey also grabbed a coat from his closet and they both walked downstairs and out the door, nobody noticed them leave. They walked for a while heading no where in particular.
Why don't you tell him? Come on open your mouth. Say something!
Jazmine thought.
"Hu-ey." His name came out a bit shakey. He turned his attention to her.
"Yes?" He asked.
How can he be so calm. I'm freaking out and he's calm!
"H-H-Here." Jazmine managed to say as she handed Huey his gift.
She had not wrapped it up or anything.
"It was made by an African boy named Kalei." She said with a relaxed voice. She explained to him what the African woman had told her. Huey placed it on his wrist.
"It's nice." He said and Jazmine knew that he loved it by the way he kept staring at it.
"Here." Huey said as he handed Jazmine her gift. They had stopped walking. Jazmine stared at the neatly wrapped paper and she kinda felt bad unwrapping it, but she got over it quickly. When she opened it she noticed it was a wooden box with a dove engraved on it.
"Open it." Huey said.
Jazmine did as she was told and when she opened it the beat to Silent night began to play. She looked inside and saw a silver necklace with the initials "JD."
Jazmine began to cry.
"Why are you crying?" Huey asked her looking at the girl like she was crazy.
"It's beautiful Huey." Jazmine said as she wiped her face.
"I love it." She added.
Huey grabbed the necklace and clasped it around Jazmines neck while silent night still played.
"You can close the box you know?" He said.
Jazmine closed it and looked down at her new necklace. She loved her gift so much. She was not nervous anymore, not after these two beautiful gifts.
"Huey, ever since I met you I felt like I had finally found a place where I belong. I never had friends and most of the kids at my school bullied me because of my hair. Not even my parents knew what to do with me. But then you moved here and you though me to be proud of my heritage. You showed me that my hair is beautiful in its natural state and you showed me what it's like to have a best friend. Honestly if I would have never met you Id probably be dead by now. I have made a few friends since then but none are like you. If you asked me to jump off a bridge I would in a heartbeat, because I know there's a good reason for it."
Huey stared at her with a straight face but inside he was feeling nervous.
"Not only have I realized what an amazing person and friend you are I've also realized how much I care about you."
At this point Huey's nervousness was showing.
Jazmine continued.
"I want to stay with you forever, I never want to be apart. I feel like I would die if anything ever happened to you. I love you Huey Freeman. I love you so much."
Huey stared at her in shock. A moment of silence passed them and so did a gust of wind.
"Say something." Jazmine demanded as she played with her necklace.
"...Wow..." Huey said.
"Is that all? 'Wow' is all you can say?" She said.
She was starting to get mad since he was not giving her an answer.
If he's going to reject me he better get it over with.
She thought.
Him not giving her an answer was killing her. Here she was pouring her heart out and all he could say was a simple ''Wow.''
Jazmine began to walk away.
"Where you going?" Huey asked.
"I'm heading back to the party, I'm sure they noticed we are gone."
Both Huey and her knew that they had not realized it. But Jazmine needed an excuse to walk away.
Huey grabbed her arm.
"I thought you said you wanted to be by my side and never leave." He said while raising an eyebrow. Jazmine blushed.
How could he say that with a straight face.
"Please Huey don't toy with me. If you are going to reject me do it now, so I can mend my broken heart and then we can be friends again."
Huey let go of Jazmine and began to speak.
"When I met you I was going trough a dark and rough time. Not only had I lost my parents I was also losing my home and friend. When I arrived here I hated it and when I met you I hated it even more."
Jazmine looked teary-eyed but she did not cry. Huey kept speaking.
"You looked so happy around me and to be honest I was envious of you. You had a mother and father that loved you very much, and the only person I had left was Grandad and Riley. I tried to make you as miserable as me, I wanted to make you sad and enjoyed seeing you cry. But then I realized I enjoyed seeing you happy more than sad. I never wanted to see you cry because of me again, unless they were tears of joy. Every time I saw you smile a little part of me would heal. I did not feel alone anymore because I had you."
Jazmine was now shocked. She thought Huey was going to just reject her plain and simple but he was opening up to her.
"Jazmine I feel the same, I never want you to leave me. I want you by my side. I love you."
Jazmine was now crying. Jazmine loved Huey and Huey loved Jazmine. She was so happy. She leaped into his arms and he embraced her.
Huey and Jazmine were now back at the party and like they had predicted no body noticed their absence. But it did not matter because they had each other. All the gifts she had received today were nothing compared to this. She had found the only man she would ever love and he had found the same. Nothing bothered them if they had one another. Jazmine pointed upwards and Huey looked to what she was pointing at.
"It's a Mistletoe." Jazmine said.
"I see it." He simply said.
"Kiss me you idiot." She giggled and Huey smirked.
They shared their first kiss under the mistletoe.
"Merry Christmas Huey."
"Merry Christmas Jazmine."
Christmas is not so bad after all.
Huey thought as he kissed Jazmine a second time.
AN: So this was my Christmas oneshot. Merry Christmas everyone and a happy New Year. I wish you all the best and I hope 2015 will be better than 2014.
Love
-Cutechibilolita