A/N: I see not everyone wants the Huey/Bi-Harem idea to happen, but that is understandable. We are people, and there for we have a conflict of ideas and interests. I respect that as much as possible because it is something that will far out-live me and my children; if I ever have any.

Also some, if not all, of you have gotten a bit of information confused in the reading of my last A/N. The Huey/Bi-Harem idea is not for this story, but another story I wish to do. If you look on my page in the story section you should find it. So I must continue the REVIEW POLL until next chapter to see what everyone really thinks of the idea.

The vote stands at: Yes- 2, No- 3, and Maybe- 2. So until Next chapter you have time to get your REVIEW VOTES in. So vote people, VOTE!

I DON'T OWN BOONDOCKS!

DON'T FORGET TO REVIEW! IT MEANS A LOT TO ME!


Chapter 8: Granddad's Fight, But Huey's Battle


Watching television was one of the few things that Huey Freeman found normal about his life. He didn't care if his life was normal or not, but even he had to recognize that his life was not a normal one of existence. After all, he was a ten year-old African American domestic terrorist, political radical, martial artist, married man.

As he laid there on the couch watching television, he briefly reflected over that side of his life; his married life. He and Jazmine were… happy, right? Huey had to actually sit up right to seriously think about it. He was at the least contempt with their life, but Jazmine truly happy with it? He knew his ten year-old wife wasn't everything she seemed to be at first impression.

This was what Huey knew to be true. Jazmine was that first impression and much more. She was smart, even intelligent to the point where he had to actually find little things to throw her off. It wasn't that intellect that he didn't like, in fact he loved it, but most of the time it was aimed at the things he did. Slowly, but surely, Jazmine was figuring out what he really did in their library. She had, at first, thought he only read those thick, picture-less books, but after a while she had started piecing together the fact that most of those books were actually colorful ways of terrorism. She had even comforted him just the other day about it and he had to remind her that her bath was going to overflow just to get her to forget it while he came up with a way to cover it up.

Besides the brains, she was cunning. No seriously, Jazmine Elizabeth Dubois-Freeman, was one of the trickiest advertisers he, Huey Percival Freeman, had ever encountered. She was even patient to the point that she'd wait until he felt safe to spring things on him and make to where he just couldn't escape. Like last week when they went clothes shopping because apparently he had agreed to it one day when he was planning how to topple the government. He couldn't believe that she had actually tape-recorded him saying, "Yes Jazmine, now can I be alone with my… books". He had to admit that while it was used against him, he appreciated the cunning of using the recorder she had secretly bought at some point in time.

Huey also had to admit that Jazmine was even less emotional when she found things to be in her control. Like just the other day they had cleaned the house and she found that while she did in fact want it clean, she didn't want to do it. So what did she do? Convince him that if he could clean the house himself, that she could be out doing something constructive instead of with him. He wasn't sure why, but he had agreed to it none the less.

On a side note, he found that very idea to be a bit hurtful. He found that she thought he didn't want her around, and that gave his heart pain. Seriously, she was one of the very few to be able to do that to him, and yet she hurt him the most when it happened. He couldn't believe she would think such a thing. He could honestly admit, to himself and anyone who actually asked, that he loved her unconditionally. She was at the top of his list of people he loved, and that was the way he liked it. Why would she think her being away from him would be a pleasure for him? It was utterly ludicrous! He loved her, and wanted her to be around all the time.

True she was a bit annoying sometimes, but Huey chalked that up to his nature. He was, after all, Huey Freeman. The times he talked to his best friend Caesar, he would label Huey a "world hating pessimist", which was true to a fault. He did dislike a lot of things, not hate per-say, but did find most things distasteful. Though Jazmine was not on that list! She was one of the few things he took great pleasure it loving, and he planned for it to stay that way.

He was getting sidetracked from his original thoughts. He shook his head as he thought over their married life. It was a… contempt one to him, but was it to Jazmine? He knew she loved him, but why did it seem like she was pretending most of the time? It felt like she was actin, and he didn't know about what. Maybe it was just his very vivid, yet surprisingly small, imagination. He'd talk to her about it if it became a real problem.


Huey sighed as he got off the couch. It wasn't that he didn't want to watch TV anymore, but after his thoughts it had suddenly lost its appeal. He walked up the stairs and to his shared master bedroom with Jazmine, who was fast-asleep if he knew her. He didn't want to wake her up, since he had been doing it for a while with his inability to sleep most nights. He didn't even know why he couldn't sleep, but he knew that it was something that had been happening long before he met Jazmine.

Their house was dark. No, not that "it's just light enough to move around" dark either, but the "dark in which a person could be silently standing next to you and you would be none the wiser unless you reached out and touched them" dark. So when he slipped into the room Jazmine didn't even notice him. Huey himself was glad to say that his eyes were just as good in the darkness of their house as they were in the light of day. He was far more thankful for this ability, because right now he was looking into the tear-stained face of his wife.

There she was, lying under the covers, curled up and hugging his pillow as she silently cried to herself. Huey wasn't sure what to do since he had never really had much experience with people's emotions, but for Jazmine; he'd do anything to make her stop, especially since it was real crying and not her whining.

"Jazmine…" Huey whispered out slowly as she jerked up at her name being called. She couldn't see anything around her, but she knew that Huey was somewhere in the room.

"Huey…" She called back and stiffened when she felt a warm hand on her cheek. She relaxed as her mind rationalized that it was Huey's hand. He stroked her cheek gently and she melted into his touch, but then his hand was gone and their bed side lamp was turned on, revealing that he had wiped her tear away instead of just being loving.

"Jazmine, why are crying?" Huey asked as she wasn't sure what emotion was on his face at the moment. He gazed at her with concern filling his maroon eyes to the brim. She tore her gaze away from his eyes and looked to the bed, since she couldn't take that look from him.

"Jazmine…" Huey said as he sat at the edge of the bed and leaned his hand on her thigh, stroking it while still gazing directly at her face.

"I'm okay; it was just something silly…" Jazmine said slowly as she tried to turn over, but Huey put his hand on her shoulder.

"Jazmine… please…" He said as her eyes widened a bit. He had never sounded so… helpless. She turned back to him, only to see that his eyes were just that; helpless and concerned. She had never known her husband Huey Freeman to be either when it came to… anything!

"It was just… I woke up and saw you were gone, and I started thinking about some things and it made me feel a little… sad." Jazmine said as she looked at the bed beneath her once again. She just couldn't meet his gaze. He was worried over her, and he felt there was nothing he could do, or maybe it was that he didn't know what to do.

"What were you thinking about?" Huey asked as he slipped into bed next to her. He could tell this would take a while, and he wanted to hear every detail, so he had to get comfortable. He sat up against the headboard as Jazmine rested her head on his stomach. He resigned to stroke her hair as a way to make her feel better.

"I was thinking about us. I know this isn't… normal, but I love it. Then I started thinking about you. How you're always up at night… and away from me. It made me think that you didn't want me and that I'm a problem to you…" Jazmine said slowly as Huey could practically feel his heart breaking. It was like he swallowed a baseball.

"Jazmine, why would you think that? You are and will never be a problem. The reason I'm up at night is because I can't sleep. As far back as I can remember, I never could." Huey said as he stroked her hair while she leaned into him more.

"It's just that you always seem to be away from me. I know you don't like me very much, but-" Jazmine was saying before Huey had grabbed her by her shoulders gently and turned her to face him.

"Don't you ever say that again. I love you, Jazmine." Huey said sternly as her eyes widened. He… loved her?

"You love me?" She asked as she thought it aloud.

"Yes, of course I love you, Jazmine. Why do you think I'm here, with you in this bed consoling you?" Huey said she still couldn't get pass the fact that he loved her.

"Then why do you always wanna be away from me, or want me to leave you alone? I love you too, Huey." Jazmine said as he suddenly hugged her close to him. Only in the privacy of their house and bedroom would he do such a thing.

"Jazmine, I will always want you around. It's just that sometimes I need some alone time to get things done. I love having you around. I need you, Jazmine." Huey said, not thinking of his words, but instead doing like those stupid movies and letting his heart speak for him. She hugged him back after getting over her initial shock.

"I'm sorry if I ever made you feel like I didn't want you." Huey said as she sat up right to properly hug him back.

"I love you, Huey Freeman." Jazmine said into his shoulder as he stroked her back.

"I love you too, Jazmine Freeman." Huey replied.

They stayed just like that for a while until Huey yawned. She giggled at him; even when he was being open he just couldn't let it go on. They settled into the covers and laid there with each other; her head on his chest and his arm around her waist as she hugged herself to his body. Huey almost forgot they were still kids the way they just spoke about loving each other, but he knew he meant every word he said. Besides, they were married with no escape, so it was either love or she killed him in his sleep.

"Jazmine, you wouldn't… kill me in my sleep would you?" Huey asked out of the blue as she jumped up to look at him with fear and shock in her perfectly emerald-green eyes.

"What? Huey!" Jazmine yelled in freight of what he was thinking. Well, that was at least not her case…

"Nothing, just go to sleep. Tomorrow you and me will spend the day together, okay?" Huey said as she laid back down on his chest.

"Can we go shopping?" Jazmine asked as he rolled his eyes. What was with her and shopping?

"Anything that makes you happy, Jazmine." Huey said as he closed his eyes. She smiled as she snuggled into him and fell asleep.


Morning:

Huey woke up from what seemed more like a nap than true sleep. He could tell Jazmine was already out of bed since there was no weight on his chest when he sat up. He walked out of the room and down the stairs to see if he could find her. The shower wasn't running, so she wasn't in there, and the TV wasn't on so she wasn't in the living room. He walked behind the stairs and into the downstairs hallway. He looked through the library and his dojo, but she wasn't in there. He looked in the kitchen and dining room, but she wasn't there either. He sighed as he went back upstairs, did his morning hygiene rituals, and got dressed.

He walked back downstairs just in time to see her come in through the front door with a smile on her face as she gazed up at his descent down the stairs.

"Good morning, Huey." Jazmine said with more cheer than he had heard from her in the last few days. Had what those thoughts last night been bothering her longer than last night?

"Hey Jazmine, you ready to go?" He asked as her smile faded just a little. He quirked an eyebrow at the act, since she only did that went she didn't have her way; which was exactly what he was giving her.

"Yeah, but Mr. Freeman wants to come along with us. Something about getting some new shoes, and some clothes for Riley." Jazmine said with just a hint of distain in her voice. Huey didn't even need to know that she was pissed it wouldn't be just the two of them.

"Alright then, but don't worry, this is still our day together." Huey said as he put on his jacket and held hers out as she slipped into it. She giggled girlishly act the act while he gave a small smile.

"You're such a gentleman, Huey." Jazmine said mockingly as he opened the door for her and ushered her out of the house.

"I try…" Huey replied with a smirk replacing his smile. They quickly approached Granddad and Riley's house only to see that the two were already waiting by the car.

"About time you got yo black-ass up! Little Cutie Pie been waiting for yo ass for hours. She even came over here to past the time. And you thought yo little asses was gonna go to the mall without yo Granddaddy. Not when I need a new pair of shoes. Shoot, you tryin' make yo Granddaddy go around her with an old pair of raggedy-ass shoes, huh? No can do." Granddad said as they all got into the car and he had been driving.

It wasn't long before they had reached the mall. It wasn't like the city was that wide anyway. They got out of the car just as quickly as they had gotten in with Jazmine grabbing onto Huey's arm and resting her head on his shoulder. His face heated up for reasons he didn't even know, but he interlaced their fingers together as they walked toward the mall entrance. Jazmine looked back at the car and turned to Huey.

"I left my purse in the car." She said as Huey nodded and grabbed the keys from Granddad. Huey and Jazmine walked back as Granddad and Riley went on without them. Huey opened the car as Jazmine reached in the back seat and grabbed her pink purse and put it on her arm.

"You did that on purpose." Huey stated as she gave him an innocent look. Anyone else would have thought it true innocence, but he was Huey and he had come to know his wife.

"No I didn't… Um… Huey." Jazmine said as she looked up at the bent handicap parking sign that Granddad was parked in front of.

"What is it, Jazmine?" Huey asked as he gazed up at it as well. Someone had to have repeatedly rammed their car into the sign to make it as it was.

"Umm… I don't remember, but I know it was something important that Daddy told me once." She replied as she tried to remember what it was that her father had told her about the particular space Mr. Freeman was parked in.

Oh well… it'd come to her sooner or later. So with a shrug from both, her and Huey walked on and entered the mall.

She wrapped her right arm around his left and leaned her head onto his shoulder as he interlaced their fingers together. Huey opened the double doors as they walked up to them and the mall was revealed to them. It was no different than a normal mall; stores, food court, and lots of ignorant self-absorbed people; the last thought being Huey's own.

"So where do we go to first, Jazmine?" Huey asked calmly as Jazmine looked around excitedly. There were so many different stores to choice from.

"Hmm… How about that one?" She asked as she pointed to a shop, and that was how it began.

They went from store to shop, section to section upon hour after hour; buying just about anything and almost everything Jazmine wanted. Everything was peace… well, up until they went to the center of the mall; where Riley and Granddad were…

"Why can't I have some?" Riley yelled as Granddad licked his ice-cream cone.

"Because, you made me miss out on my favorite sale! I had to buy these shoes at full-price thanks to yo little black ass!" Granddad replied as he got in Riley's face.

"But I had to pee! You can't blame me; that's a natural bodily function!" Riley shouted back as Granddad glared at him.

"Well next time I'm beat you so bad that you'll never have to pee again! How 'bout that?" Granddad shouted as he bought Riley an ice-cream cone.

"I'm cool with it." Riley said as he ate his ice-cream. Besides, Granddad was old and practically senile, like he'd ever remember that anyway.

"Huey, you ready to go?" Granddad asked as he raised a brow at not being able to see Huey's face, or his afro for that matter.

The boy's entire top-half was lost behind the many bags, boxes, and clothes he was carrying with perfect balance. Jazmine came up beside him, holding only her purse as she giggled and twirled happily. And he always thought that Huey wouldn't be whipped. Shoot, every damn man was whipped when it came to marriage!

"We're ready, Mr. Freeman… Oh wait, there is this one shop that sells this cute little-"

"Jazmine!" Huey exclaimed as she looked at him and then to Granddad.

"We're ready, Mr. Freeman." Jazmine said quickly as Granddad and Riley both raised the famous Freeman brow. Well damn, maybe Huey wasn't completely whipped after all…

Jazmine saw them raise their eyebrows like Huey always did. She wondered if it was a family think, or if they were trained to do that. She'd have to ask Huey later.


They all walked out of the mall… well, after Granddad put on his new shoes, even though Huey told him it wasn't such a good idea.

"Listen up, y'all; I'm about to sing the New Shoes song." Granddad said as he stopped. Huey and Riley rolled their eyes as Jazmine giggled at him.

"New Shoes, new shoes, new shoes! Boy, Nike make some good shoes." Granddad sang and danced as he pointed to his shoes.

Then out of nowhere, a beat-up, worn-out, and just plain eye-sore of a pick-up truck came out. Huey and everyone else's eyes widened when they realized it was headed straight for them. Huey, after dropping everything, put Jazmine behind him as Riley moved in front of Granddad while the old man moved in front of Jazmine and behind Huey. Just when it was about to crash into the concrete poles that were in front of them, it slammed on brakes and slid to a stop. Then it turned around and moved over to the right, backing up directly into… Granddad's car!

The truck slammed into Granddad's car, Dorothy, with full force. Each member of the Freeman family, even Jazmine, was screaming for however it was in the truck to stop.

"Whoa man, what the hell!" Huey yelled as the truck moved forward in another attempt to back up.

"Oh hell no, nigga stop!" Riley screamed out as the truck once again slammed into Dorothy.

"Stop doing that you crazy son of a bitch!" Granddad yelled as they watched the man move forward once more.

"What the heck is wrong with you?" Jazmine screamed as the man got out of his truck finally, though her eyes widened when she saw who it was.

"Who in the hell parked in my space? That's like calling 1-800-Collect-An-Ass-Kickin'! And no, that ain't no toll-free call, nigga!" The ornery old man with the sunglasses exclaimed as he got in Granddad's face.

"You jackass, you hit my car! Are you blind?" Granddad replied as he got back in the man's face.

"Yes I am! So?" The older man replied as Granddad and the others did a double-take.

"Wait… you're blind?" Granddad asked as he adjusted his glasses.

"Yes! Blind! You got a problem, nigga?" The man said loudly as white people began coming out of the mall to see what was going on.

"You could have killed somebody!" Jazmine yelled as she stood beside Huey.

"Ahh, I'd be doing them a favor. Getting run over by me is as close to an honorable death as some of these people are gonna get." The man said as he chuckled a bit, "Some days, I'm quite the humanitarian. I think I hit a wheelchair on the way over. Heh, ha…"

"If you're blind, then why the hell are you driving?" Huey asked as the man ignored him.

Granddad turned to his car as he stopped glaring at the older man.

"Oh, look what you did to Dorothy." Granddad said in sadness, but then turned and continued to glare at the man, "You better have insurance!"

"Nigga, you better have insurance! Ass-whoopin' insurance! And you about to pay a deductible!" The crazy old blind man said as he got in Granddad's face once again.

Jazmine wasn't sure how much longer this would last, but as soon as the blind man said that Huey's face fell, and Riley's face lit up with both anger and excitement.

"What's wrong? What is it?" Jazmine asked as they both turned to her.

"It's-" Huey said with an annoyed tone.

"It's-" Riley said in an excited tone.

"A nigga moment" They said in unison as their expressions were completely opposite.

"A what?" Jazmine asked as the world around them froze.

"Watch closely, Jazmine, because you're about to experience a "nigga moment". Webster defines the "nigga moment" as a moment when ignorance overwhelms the mind of an otherwise logical Negro male. Causing him to act in an illogical, self-destructive manner… i.e.; like a nigga." Huey said as he gestured to the frozen Granddad and old blind man.

"Every nigga moment begins, with the nigga. Without that key element, all you have is peace and quiet." Riley explained as he gestured to the blind old man.

"If Nigga Moments had their own category, they'd be the third leading killer of black men; behind pork chops and F.E.M.A. It's a fact." Huey stated scholarly with his arms behind his back as they all turned to Granddad and the old man.

"And just like that" Huey said as he snapped his fingers, "Granddad was trapped in a "nigga moment". Right now he can either; (a) walk away and let insurance handle the damages done to the car, or (b) fight with a dumb, crazy, blind nigga. Let's see which one he chooses…" Huey finished as he snapped his fingers again, returning the world to normal.

"Ha, ha! That's right; I backed into yo car nigga! What you gonna do? What you gonna do?" Stinkmeaner said as he got in Granddad's face even more than before. Granddad looked about ready to snap, but to Huey's surprise he was holding it in quite well.

"Oh hell no! Granddad, let's whop this nigga's ass right now!" Riley said as he advanced on the blind man, but Huey pulled him back and away.

"Bitch-ass, faggot-ass, punk-ass, pussy-ass, bitch-ass, Nigga! You wanna do something, bitch-ass, nigga?" The old blind man said as Huey and Riley only watched in shock as the man insulted Granddad. Now even Huey and Jazmine would have kicked his blind-ass after that.

"Hold up." The man said as he sniffed the air, "I smell new shoes!" He exclaimed with a smirk as Granddad's and everyone around expressions turned to horror as the blind man stepped on Granddad's new sneakers.

"Oh, not the shoes!" Riley said as he dropped to his knees in horror.

"I've said it before; expensive sneakers are like a $150 land mines. Step on one and boom! A perfectly rational black man can explode." Huey said as Jazmine hid behind him again. Even she knew stepping on someone's new shoes constituted an ass-kicking like no other.

"Yeah! They ain't new anymore are they, nigga?" The blind man said as the crowd encouraged Granddad. Granddad looked to Huey, and he could see that Huey was telling him to walk away, or beat the man black and blue. Something inside him snapped and made him choose the second option.

Granddad threw a punch at the blind man with all his might. That was when the unexpected happened; the dumb crazy blind nigga… dodged! Granddad lost his balance and went down like a sack of bricks, and before anything could be said the blind nigga raised his cane and gave a battle cry as he struck Granddad in his knee; the bad knee to. The blind man was about to do it again, but Huey had seen enough. Before anyone knew it, Huey had grabbed Granddad's abandoned cane and made it to the two, defending Granddad from the blind nigga's second strike.

"This fight is over." Huey said firmly as the man moved his cane.

The blind man walked away and got into his truck. He started it up and drove right next to them, saying only one think as he looked at them… well he would have been looking at them if he wasn't blind.

"Stinkmeaner" The man said before driving off, running over at least three people before he was out of the parking lot.


Later, on the Road in the Car:

Eye of the Tiger was playing on the radio… well, that was before Granddad shut it off.

"I hate this damn song." Granddad muttered as he cut off the radio and glared out at the road in front of him. Riley, sitting opposite of Jazmine, was still laughing about what happened. He got out of his seat and leaned in between Huey and Granddad with a smirk on his face.

"I can't believe you got your ass kicked by a blind man, Granddad!"

"My knee went out! You know I got a bad knee!" Granddad defended, but that didn't stop his pride from taking a hit as Riley gave him a look.

"Bad knee? That nigga had bad eyes! He couldn't see, Granddad. He beat you like a piñata!" Riley said with his smirk growing as Granddad growled, but then sighed.

"Nah…"

"Heh, heh. Yo Huey, Jazmine! We could rent Granddad for Mexican birthday parties! We could call him "Senior Piñata"! Ha, ha, ha! Hola, Senior Piñata!" Riley said as he continued laughing at his own jokes. Huey and Jazmine didn't laugh, but that was because they were pitying Granddad right then.

"Stop it, boy- stop it! Dammit, where's my belt?" Granddad said as they pulled into the driveway and went into the house.

"Whew, whew" Riley said as he tried to stop laughing long enough to make some more jokes, "I must be blind too, because I sure didn't see that ass whoopin' coming'! Ha, ha, ha!" Riley said as Granddad turned to him.

"Boy-" Granddad gritted out as Huey turned to his younger brother.

"Riley" Huey said in warning.

"Yo, how bad you got to telegraph yo punches for a blind nigga to see you coming', Granddad?"

"Riley, the man obviously had a heightened sense of hearing!" Huey defended as Granddad walked past them both.

"Oh I thought Granddad had a heightened sense of falling." Riley said as Granddad turned back to him.

"Now that's enough! Now you just stop laughing at yo Granddaddy! It ain't that funny, what's wrong with you?" Granddad said firmly as Riley turned to Huey and nudged him.

"Yo, Granddad had "hit me" written on his forehead in Braille." Riley said as he laughed at his own joke. Huey had to stop himself from chuckled at it as Granddad glared down at Riley.

"I said, that's enough!" Granddad shouted as Riley gave him a look.

"What you go do? Beat me? Maybe I should get a blindfold first." Riley said as he covered his eyes and chuckled, "OK, I'm ready. Ha, ha, ha, ha. Wait, maybe he go fall on me." Riley said as he fell to his knees laughing.

"Riley, stop!" Huey said as he saw Granddad's face turn red. Riley fell over completely as he continued laughing. This was just too good to pass up!

"Granddad, Rodney King just called" Riley began as he had to breath from laughing too much, "and said, "Damn, I thought I got my ass whooped" a-ha, ha, ha!" Riley said as he stopped his jokes and continued laughing his ass off while Huey kicked him.


Later, That Same Night:

Huey found himself awake, but not in his bed with Jazmine like he had fallen asleep in. No, he was dressed as a samurai and was in the middle of a damn bamboo-forest. He sighed as he began to walk through it, until he heard a noise. It was small, but still noticeable. Someone was running through the forest like they were stalking prey, yet for some reason Huey knew there were no real animals in the forest.

He unsheathed his katana with an audible click, and in the same second cut away the few trees between him and-

"The blind samurai…" Huey said as he prepared himself for battle.

The blind samurai made only a twitch with his ear as he charged at Huey with his sword having been drawn faster than Huey saw. As the two battled, Huey could not find one weakness to the man. Right when Huey had given up hope, the man cut his legs. Huey then realized; this wasn't just any swordsman. This was-

"The blind nigga samurai." Huey said as he coughed up blood.

"What's good nigga? What's really good?" The swordsmen said as he brought down his sword to pierce Huey's heart.

Thankfully that was when Huey woke up. Panting, and wide eyed as his body dripped in a cold sweat. The only thing Huey could really say was-

"Niggas…"

"Huey" Jazmine said as she woke up with a yawn and clutched to him as her eyes fluttered open, "What's wrong? Have a bad dream?"

"Yeah, something like that…" Huey muttered as he threw back the covers.

"I'm going downstairs for a bit Jazmine. Go back to sleep." Huey said as he buttoned up his shirt, which he didn't remember unbuttoning and slipped on his house-slippers. He walked out of the room without so much as a glance back at Jazmine.

If he had looked back he would have saw the look of loneliness and hurt in her eyes as she clutched his pillow like she did him. He was doing it again, even after everything he had said. He was leaving her… all alone… in the dark…

"Huey…" Jazmine cried out quietly as she cried into his pillow.


With Huey:

Huey had in fact gone downstairs, only to find his Granddad sitting on his couch and watching TV while trying to clean his shoe off with Huey's shoe polish.

"Granddad, what the hell are you doing here at…" Huey said as he looked at the TV, "three o'clock in the morning?" Huey finished as Granddad gave him an annoyed look, which Huey returned with a glare.

"I needed your shoe polish, and Riley's making jokes in his sleep." Granddad said as Huey sighed and sat beside him on the couch.

The TV was on Channel 3 Late Night News as a newscaster came on reporting the local news.

"There has been a case of the blind beating the dumb. Mall security cameras caught this earlier." The man said as they showed Granddad's little spat with the blind man. Granddad looked to Huey as Huey shrugged in return.

"It's just local news." Huey offered as Granddad grunted and switched the channel.

"CNN has now confirmed that it was this gentleman, Robert Jebediah Freeman, who was beat up earlier today by a slightly older, significantly blinder man. The police aren't pressing charges against Mr. Freeman. They say that ass-whoopin' was punishment enough. We here at CNN agree. In other news-" Granddad had changed the channel as Huey spoke.

"Granddad, I don't think you should be watching this anymore." Huey said as Granddad sighed, but before he could change it a news report about his embarrassment came on… in Spanish!

Huey took the remote from his Granddad and cut the television off as he gave him a pitying look.

"Granddad, you gotta ask yourself; would have really felt better had you beaten up a blind old man in the street. It was a nigga moment, Granddad. You gotta let it go." Huey said in his best attempt to get Granddad to forget about it all.

That was, until his phone rang. Now only a very few people knew his and Jazmine's phone number and those were; Granddad and Riley, Traban, R. Kelly, and Jazmine's parents and family. He was damn sure all of them knew not to call at 3 a.m. in the morning, because he had cursed them all out at one point or another for doing it. Huey decided to let the answering machine get it instead.

"Hello you've reached the residence of Huey and Jazmine Freeman." Huey's voice said on the answering machine.

"If this is the FBI or any other form of government agency that has been tasked to call me in an attempt to get me to stop speaking the truth, hang up now." Huey's voice said as Jazmine's came on after him, "If this is my parents, family, friends or someone giving me a pony, please call back because we're not in right now." Jazmine's voice ended with a giggle.

"Hello, Robert, pick up the phone. Pick up the phone, I know you in there hiding at yo coon grandson and his little mulatto. I saw you on the news getting your black ass whooped by that blind, old monkey. That's what they shouldn't let niggas go shopping. Call me back." Ruckus's voice said from the machine. Huey looked at his Granddad.

"You gave that man our number?" Huey asked in a low and threatening voice as Granddad shrugged.

"It seemed like a good idea. You know, a just in case I wasn't here thing." Granddad said as he got up and walked to the front door.

"Don't you walk away from this answerin' machine." Ruckus's voice said as Granddad and Huey turned back to look at the thing.

Shaking his head, Granddad walked out of the house and Huey locked the door behind him.

Huey didn't even feel like being downstairs anymore. He walked back upstairs and into his and Jazmine's room. He got back under his covers and put his arms around his wife, who wasn't even facing him. Though, what surprised him was the fact she shrugged his arms off of her and scooted over to the other end of the bed.

Huey stared at her with a mixture of confusion and a bit of hurt, but shrugged it off as her just being the unpredictable Jazmine that he married without choice. He wrapped the covers around himself and turned from her. For some reason, he felt cold inside…


The Next Day:

"Granddad, just let it die. I promise you nobody's gonna call you a punk." Huey said as he stepped out of Granddad and Riley's house, trying to stop Granddad.

"I will." Riley stated plainly as Huey sighed.

"Well, Riley will." Huey said as Granddad turned from him, got in his car, and drove away.

"Granddad!" Huey called after him, but it was too late; the man was gone.

Huey sighed once again as he went back into the house. Riley was listening to music and Jazmine was reading, though Huey knew she was only doing so to have an excuse not to talk, or even look at him. He couldn't figure out for the life of him what he had done to make her so… angry.

When they went to bed they were just fine. She was even happier than usual since they had done all that shopping. He woke up from his nightmare about the bling nigga, who he learned was actually named Stinkmeaner. He went down stairs and when he came back up she was avoiding him in their bed. Then when they woke up she was… quiet.

Now you may not know Jazmine, but even you know that a quiet Jazmine is not a normal Jazmine. Hell, she wasn't even wearing her ring!

Wait… why and how the hell did he notice that? Oh well, the point was that she was pissed, or hurt about something and she wasn't telling him. Now Jazmine would normally scream at the top of her lungs when she was pissed off, so whatever was bothering her was deeper than just anger.

"Jazmine, are you okay?" Huey asked as he sat beside her, though that wasn't for long as she moved to the opposite end of the couch.

"Jazmine" Huey called, trying to get her attention as she merely ignored him and turned a page.

Okay, now he was starting to get mad his-damn-self. He got up and took the book from Jazmine. The first thing he noticed that she really wasn't wearing her ring, and she normally went to bed with the thing on. The second was that her eyes were red and puffy, but still glaring heatedly at him. The third and last thing was that she was frowning, and Jazmine Elizabeth Dubois-Freeman almost never frowned.

"Jazmine…" Huey said quietly as she continued to glare at him.

"What?" she snapped as he shook his head to get free of his thoughts and hurt.

"What's wrong with you? You were just fine yesterday, but now you've been crying and have an attitude. Tell me what's wrong." Huey said firmly as her face softened in surprise, but then it hardened even more as she got over it.

"Nothing, I'm just fine, and I don't need you to worry about me." She said as Huey narrowed his eyes.

"Bull shit. Jazmine, just tell me what's wrong. I'm… I'm worried about you." Huey said, deciding to show a rare moment of vulnerability.

"I said I'm fine! And if you really want to know what's wrong, then go look in a mirror!" Jazmine said as she snatched her book back, after getting up, and walked out the door, slamming it. Well, that's what he got for being compassionate…

Huey and Riley stared at it for the longest of times, but then Riley turned to him with a look.

"Damn, what'd you do to piss her off? You always fucking shit up, huh Huey?" Riley said as he turned from the door and walked away, but not before Huey smacked him in the back of his head.


They both went back into the living room. Riley began watching TV as Huey paced the floor looking at his watch.

"I can't believe Granddad went back to fight that man." Huey commented as he glanced at his watch. Riley called him over to the TV to see someone get hit with a chair. After watching it Huey turned to him.

"Hey, you ever noticed whenever someone throws a chair… a brawl shoots off?" Riley asked as Huey gave him a look.

"Aren't you worried about Granddad?" Huey asked as Riley paused, looking at him blankly.

"Look. You wanna see it again?" Riley asked, using the TiVo to show Huey the chair brawl scene again, "Hey look, see? I bet you don't even have to hit nobody with the chair, and niggas would still start wilding out." Riley said as Huey rolled his eyes and sighed.

Huey and Riley quieted when they heard the front door open. Huey rushed to it, hoping it was Jazmine, but was only slightly disappointed that it was Granddad; uninjured.

"Well, you don't look hurt." Huey commented as Granddad didn't even glance at him as he walked into the house.

"Two weeks" Granddad stated simply as Huey and Riley blinked.

"Good for you." Riley as he rubbed his palms together, "Alright, a rematch in two weeks! Maybe we can make money off this; "The Slugfest in Woodcrest" yeah!" Riley said as he ran off to begin his promoting.

Huey only lowered his head. If his dream was anything to go by, then Granddad was gonna get his ass kicked, and badly at that. Granddad knelt down to get eye-level with Huey as he placed a hand on his grandson's shoulder.

"You don't understand, boy. I have to do this." Granddad said as Huey sighed deeply. Well if he was gonna do it anyway, Huey had better train him and the first step of that was to know his opponent.

"Follow me" Huey said as they went into the living room and Huey put in a DVD.

"I want you to see what you're up against." Huey said as he pressed play to start the DVD. The movie, which Granddad had started to enjoy, turned bloody as a Japanese man came on and began massacring everyone.

"Oh, shit…" Granddad muttered as the man began dodging swords.

"Remember the way he dodged your punch? Your enemy is the Zatoichi, the blind swordsman. His ears give him more information than all your senses put together." Huey said as the blind swordsman jumped onto the blade of an enemy.

"If you underestimate him" Huey said as the blind man raised his sword high and came down with it swiftly, leaving no mark of his strike as he jumped off the sword, "he will kill you." Huey finished as the head of the enemy came off and blood came out like a fountain. The head rolled off the man and the blind samurai stabbed into it just as Huey paused the DVD.

Huey looked over to Granddad and saw that the man was sweating out of fear.

"You must train." Huey stated simply.

"I won't fail you. I'm not afraid." Granddad said as Huey smirked inwardly; perfect chance for a Star Wars reference.

"Oh you will be, you will be."

He knew this would be a challenge for his Granddad, but Huey was determined to see him through it.

If only to keep his mind off of Jazmine…


A Week and a Half Later:

Huey and Ruckus watched as Granddad went through his kata. It was… piss-poor for them to say the least. They both could see that Granddad was horrible at it, but they had agreed that he at least remembered the forms of his karate. Even though Huey and Ruckus were instructing him, neither of the two made any attempt to show off what they knew themselves. Between martial artists as highly skilled as themselves it was like a waiting game; whoever showed their skills first lost. Huey knew Ruckus had some form of martial arts mastered, but he couldn't tell what. Ruckus knew the little nigga was skilled at Kung-Fu, but what style he didn't know. So that was their game to play; to watch and wait for the other to slip up, and show their moves.

Huey and Jazmine had gotten absolutely nowhere in the last two days. In fact, Huey had been put through one of the most dreaded things man could while in any relationship; the sleeping on the couch. The very night he come home Jazmine had been standing at the bedroom door with his blanket and a pillow. He asked why the pillow wasn't the one he normally slept with, but got no answer as the bedroom door was slammed in his face and locked. He found that the couch was very uncomfortable and cold to sleep on… if it wasn't where you wanted to be…

Huey shook his head of his thoughts as he focused on Granddad's training. He raised Granddad's leg to kicking height and then had the man move through stamina exercises.

"Ah, between me and you, your grand-daddy shouldn't be too worried. Everybody knows niggas can't fight." Ruckus said as Huey gaze him a sharp look from the corner of his eye. Did this nigga just say what Huey thought he did?

"I'm sorry?" Huey said as a means of making the man repeat his words. Huey must have heard him wrong.

"You heard me, nigga, niggas can't fight. They don't possess the strength of character or the mental quickness to be a great fighter. That's why all the best fighters in the world have always been a white man. Jack Demson, Rocky Machiano, Sylvester Stallone. And don't forget Ralph Machino. Name me one great, black, heavyweight fighter. Go ahead, I dare you, name one." Ruckus ranted as Huey moved Granddad onto other tasks. Ignoring the ignorant-ass self-hater was the best thing to do.

"See there ya can't do it. Oh what, what, what? Oh, you gonna pull Ali out yo ass? That what you thinking 'bout? Mohammed Ali? Well if that nigga so tough, then why he didn't go to Vietnam? I'll tell you why; 'cause he was scared, that's why. Shoot, no Vietnamese ever called me a nigga. I called him a nigga eight times before I ate breakfast, now what he gonna do?" Ruckus said as Huey thought it best to simply walk away, "Wait, I'll make it nine; nigga!"


Three Days Later:

Huey had Tom to come help Granddad train in the sword arts. Tom at first, was very honored that he was helping, but then realized slowly dawned on him that he was meant to get his ass kicked.

"I don't see why I'm blind-folded" Tom said as Huey sighed.

"Because, the enemy cannot see." Huey explained as Riley and Ruckus gave Tom a look.

"But you see, the thing is; I don't have super hearing, so I don't get why I am-" Tom was saying until Huey grew tired of the man.

"Fight!" Huey said as Granddad started beating the crap out of Tom. The only real reason Huey had even called Tom to help was so that he could talk to the man about Jazmine.

"Jean-Claude Van Damme is the greatest martial artist in the world. He killed a man with his butt-cheek power! Steven Seagal, David Carradine, Chuck Norris; shoot! Walker Texas Ranger? Now that's a karate man right there!" Ruckus said as Granddad was beating Tom until the broomstick Granddad was using broke on Tom's back, since the poor guy went into the fetal position.

After everyone had left, Huey picked Tom up and the two began walking.

"Tom, what's wrong with Jazmine." Huey asked, not caring to be polite or even somewhat civil at the moment.

"Jazmine? Oh, yeah… I heard her tell Sarah about a little spat you two had. Sleeping on the couch, huh?" Tom said with a chuckled as Huey gave him a sharp look.

"Sorry… Any who, don't worry about it, she'll forgive you in time-"

"But I didn't do anything." Huey said firmly as Tom chuckled again.

"So you think, but with women; not doing anything is just as bad as doing something." Tom said as Huey froze in confusion.

"What the hell does that even mean?" Huey shouted after Tom, who had disappeared into the neighborhood.


Later That Day:

Granddad was going down the street flowing through his kata with some practiced ease. Huey and Ruckus right behind him nodding in approval. It was right when Granddad got to the tree in his front yard that Huey told him to practice his kicks.

Granddad kicked the tree… and nothing happened at all. Not even a shake.

"What was that, an exhibition? You need emotional content." Huey said as Granddad did it once more, but only a single leaf fell from the tree as he grasped his leg in pain.

"Dammit, boy!" Granddad shouted out as he rolled around on the ground, clutching at his leg for dear life.

"Everyone knows niggas climb trees not kick 'em." Ruckus said as he began laughing at Robert's pain while Huey only shook his head.


Later that Night:

Huey and Jazmine were sitting down having dinner. The only reason for her even eating with him at a table was because he was the one that could actually cook. She ate in silence, which was really starting to get to him. Ever since that night she had barely said two words to him, and he was starting to lose his mind.

"So… um… Granddad's training is coming along well." Huey said as she didn't even look up from her food while she ate.

"Your dad helped…" Huey said as he was ignored once again.

"Riley started taking bets and even hired a street team to promote the fight." Huey baited and was rewarded with silence yet again.

"The fight's tomorrow night… Are you going?" Huey asked as Jazmine got up from her chair and placed her empty plate in the dish-washer.

She walked altogether as Huey turned to face her retreating form.

"Can I at least sleep in the bed again-"

"No!" She yelled as he heard the bedroom door slam shut.

He sighed as he folded his arms and placed his head into them.


The Next Night:

The fight had a huge turnout. It seemed like watching niggas act stupid was quickly becoming America's favorite past time. But, that was the difference between public nigga moments and private ones. A private nigga moment shames only you, but a public nigga moment shames your entire race.

Huey stood alongside Granddad with Tom and Ruckus there as morale support for the man. Stinkmeaner stood opposite of him as he and Granddad stared off at each other.

"Oh, this is it. I'm gonna kick some ass now." Granddad said to himself as Huey sighed deeply.

"Granddad, the only way to win is not to fight." Huey said as Granddad scoffed.

"That's right, Robert. Nobody's gonna call you a "fruity-boy" or a "pansy-pants" if you don't do this." Tom added as Riley scoffed.

"I will." Riley stated as Tom looked down at him.

"Right, well… Riley will." Tom said as Riley began the match.

Granddad and Stinkmeaner moved in toward each other as Stinkmeaner began another tirade of insults.

"You scared? Yeah, you scared ain't you, bitch nigga?" Stinkmeaner said as he began sniffing the air, "I can smell the bitch in ya. Oh yeah, that's vintage bitch."

"You must have Alzheimer's, old man. You already forgot that ass whuppin'." Stinkmeaner said as Granddad narrowed his eyes and moved in as the blind Stinkmeaner moved away. Stinkmeaner began swinging about… well… blindly, "Uh oh... I hear you coming!"

As Huey watched Stinkmeaner move blindly around the ring, he had come to a terrifying realization: Stinkmeaner wasn't a trained swordsman, and the nigga didn't have super hearing either. He was just a blind old man who had gotten lucky once, because when Granddad had thrown the punch at Stinkmeaner at the mall, he had nudged Stinkmeaner's cane as he stepped up, alerting the blind man to the punch.

"Granddad, wait! No! Stop!" Huey shouted out to no avail as Granddad was far too enraged to stop.

Then Granddad had finally enough. He began his assault, which began with blocking Stinkmeaner's blind and wild strikes, but then he threw a punch which connected to Stinkmeaner's chin. Granddad beat Stinkmeaner with his cane for a bit before that became boring. The blind man, who unable to defend himself due to the agility and strength Granddad now had, was hit with a vicious kick to the side, and then an unforgiving uppercut to his chin. Though Granddad didn't stop there, no, he punched the older man in his gut; making him keel over as he kneed the man in the chin with such force it lifted him off his feet. Granddad didn't let up as he kicked Stinkmeaner in the face with a roundhouse.

Stinkmeaner, mere inches from unconsciousness, was barely on his feet as he struggled to not look like a bitch in front of the people. If only he could see, then he would have known that it was far too late for that. The people around looked on as Huey shook his head. Granddad geared back his fist for the finisher and somewhere out in the crowd an old man's voice cried out.

"Finish him!"

As Granddad let his fist fly Huey could think only one think.

"You know, we could all be reading a book right now." Huey said aloud to Tom, who only nodded as he watched the extremely one-sided fight with wide eyes.

Granddad's fist impacted into Stinkmeaner's face with the sound of teeth and bones being either knocked out of place, or just plain knocked out altogether. Stinkmeaner went down with a sickening crash as everyone realized too later that the fight wasn't as fun or funny as it should have been. They all reminded quiet, only muttering and whispers were heard, as the official nurse of Stinkmeaner came out and checked him. Though she relieved and eternally happy, she still put on a somewhat sad face as she made the gesture to tell everyone else that Colonel H. Stinkmeaner was dead.

"Dang, Granddad! You ain't have to kill him!" Riley said as the rest of the crowd was stunned into silence while Ruckus walked up to Granddad.

"Congratulations Robert, I told you a nigga that black couldn't fight." Ruckus said as Huey shook his head and walked away.

As he walked away Huey could hear faint sounds of people screaming for their money back, a chair being thrown, and then fighting. After that it was only police sirens and the like.


While Huey was walking home, he came to another realization: Jazmine was afraid of the dark. How did he come to this? He remembered her tear stained face the very morning after Granddad's first fight. He also remembered that she had kept his pillow. She was using it to delude herself that even though she was mad at him, he was still there. She had held in her fear for so long that somehow she began to resent him for leaving her in bed every single night he couldn't sleep. She was mad and hurt, because he left her… in the dark… all alone with nothing but the bed sheets and his pillow to comfort her through her fear.

So he ran. Yes, Huey Freeman ran nearly a mile to get back to his home and not once did he stop or slow down. Jazmine was at home, in bed, in the darkness of their room and he was determined to never let that happen again. So he ran, and got to the front door of his house in less than 10 minutes. He banged on the front door like a crazy man, and when Jazmine finally opened it he did the one thing she least expected.

He hugged her, with all his love and might, he hugged her. He hugged her as close to himself as humanly possible and she was as confused as she could be.

"I'm sorry…" Huey muttered into her shoulder, but she heard him all the same, "I'm sorry I didn't see it before. I'm sorry I didn't understand, and I'm sorry for being an idiot."

"Huey what are-" She was cut off by him pressing her even closer.

"You were afraid of the dark." Huey stated as she tensed up in his arms. How did he know?

"You were afraid, and almost every night, I'd leave you alone in the dark. I'm so sorry, Jazmine." Huey said as she relaxed.

"I did it again that night, even after I made it seem like I understood, but I didn't. I made you think I did, and you winded up hating me because it seemed like I was messing with your fears." Huey said as he held her out at arm's length.

"But, I wasn't. I had no clue." Huey said as he gazed deeply into her eyes. She gazed into his and saw that there was so much emotion in them that it made her feel horrible for having been mad at him like she was.

"Please, Jazmine let me make it up to you. I promise, I won't ever leave you in the dark again." Huey said as he cupped her hand in both of his. She looked from her hand to those swirling maroon eyes of his and just couldn't find it in her being to say no, so she nodded and he resumed hugging the life out of her.

They stayed like that; hugging in the open doorway for over five minutes until Huey led her up to the bedroom. He told her to wait for him as he took and shower and got dressed for bed. He walked back into the room in his boxers and a t-shirt as she laid on top the covers in her long night-gown. He crawled onto the bed and right up to her as he took her hand in his own.

"Are you still afraid of the dark, Jazmine?" Huey asked as she shook her head and moved into him.

"Not as long as you're here with me, Huey…" She said as he nodded and clicked off their bedside lamp.

The room was pitch-black as Huey and she moved under the covers. He heard her whimper a few times, but wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her into him. She relaxed and snuggled into him, laying her head on his chest as he stroked her hair.

Yup, he was the light of her very dark life, and she knew it was the same for him...


So that's the end of hapter 8! I'd just like to apologize to everyone reading this for not finishing it sooner. I had a powerful mind-block, but I got through it.

Also, there's a POLL up on my page, so I'd like it if you guys went and voted on it.

Until Next Time, See Ya!

-T.K.