So I wrote this long ass author's note and when I went to submit it my login timed out so I had to re-log in and it was gone. GODDAMMIT-I-DON'T-HAVE-TIME-FOR-THIS-SHIT-AHHHHHH!

Okay, gonna try this again...this chapter had to be made into two since this ALONE is over eight thousand words, and I wasn't even halfway through. Uh, I just had a huge brain fart so I forgot what else to write...it's 3 am. Like people have previously asked me, yes. I am indeed nocturnal. Er, thanks to child who is cool, Ryuu Jaganshi, insertpsuedonym, bKatty, JayJai07, DarkPhoenixSaga, deadlyblossom, traban16, and hunniicomb for the reviews! Since I'm super tired and the second part's not finished yet expect it tomorrow or the day after. MAYBE later today. Who knows. My mojo's been slowly returning lately. :/

Thanks for the lovely reviews, and thanks in advance to anyone who still actually READS THIS. lol

Warning: It's 3, and I hate making excuses but uh...the brain's just not there. So the proofreading may be, well, shitty. Whoops?

Disclaimer: I don't own the Boondocks

Luck Be a Lady

"Nervous?"

Jazmine looked up to the blond, who was yelling over the noise of the rest of the bar. The two were sitting at a tall, circular table near the center of the building, waiting for everyone to finish signing up so they could go write their own names, because they were not trying to wait in that long ass line. Jazmine shrugged, giving Arizona, who was drinking a beer, a funny look.

"Kinda! Hey, don't you think drinking might throw off your concentration a bit?" she asked loudly, nursing her own sweet tea in her right hand. Arizona snorted, taking another sip.

"You're so cute when you're being all wimpy!"

Jazmine made a face. Both chairs on either side of them slid from underneath the table and Huey and Caesar each climbed into them with slips of paper in their hands. Arizona nodded towards Huey.

"What number are they to?" she asked. He shrugged.

"Sixty four!"

"Holy crap there's a lot of people here!" Jazmine glanced around, looking nervous. "How many people does this thing go up to, anyway?"

"Someone mentioned one hundred!" Caesar chimed in, looking around as well. The air was smoky and hot, the lights dim. "I can go check!"

"I'll go with you!" Arizona volunteered, sliding down from her stool and still holding her drink. "Find Cherry Anne's hiding ass…" Together, the two of them ventured away from the table. The moment their heads disappeared Huey let out a sigh, giving Jazmine a look.

"Finally." He rolled his eyes. "I've been trying to talk to you forever." He set down his water. "So, about this entire thing-"

"I know, I know." Jazmine sighed. "Don't be intimidated. I'm trying, okay? So I don't wanna hear it."

Huey blinked. "I…was going to discuss Caesar and Cindy's inability to stop arguing and how their fighting is driving me insane, but alright."

"Oh." Jazmine took a sip of her drink through its straw, nodding. "Yeah, I can see that."

"As much as Cindy annoys me, we've got to get them back together." Huey massaged his temples. "And fast."

"I don't know." Jazmine looked reluctant. He glanced at her. "I mean, he did kiss someone else. And he has been acting kind of weird towards her-"

"He did not kiss her." Huey shuddered. "I don't think any man with sense would kiss her if she were the last woman on earth."

"The point though," Jazmine went on, examining her flip flops. "Is that he really hurt her. You don't know her like I do, Huey." She frowned. "She isn't like me. She doesn't bounce."

Huey nearly laughed. "I'm sorry…did you say you bounce?" When Jazmine gave him an offended look it only served to make his struggle to not laugh more difficult. "Jazmine, you're still upset over your goldfish dying when you were fourteen."

"It was an untimely death!" Jazmine defended in a huffy voice. "Fine. Whatever. Either way, Cindy's really bummed. And as…mad as I am at her…" She sighed, shrugging. "I'm worried about her."

"Well, she's not the only one hurting." Huey jabbed his thumb towards the center of the crowd. "He's been pretty down, too."

"I don't know how to fix it." Jazmine shrugged again. "I mean-"

"They're just so-"

"Impossible," they both mumbled in unison. They glanced up at each other. Jazmine smirked. Huey rolled his eyes.

"That wasn't even cute."

"It was." She reached beside her to poke him. "Admit it." When he winced she sat back, frowning. "What's wrong with your arm?"

Huey sighed, annoyed. "It's not my arm. And I…lost a bet." When she burst out laughing he scowled. "How the hell is that funny?"

"Because!" She grinned. "You are always betting people even though you never win!"

"I still…don't see the humor in this situation."

"Sorry." She gestured to his shoulder. "But what does that have to do with you being hurt?"

He cringed. "Well…the loser kind of had to get a tattoo, so-"

"Oh, my god." Jazmine's jaw dropped. Her eyes widened. "You got a tattoo?"

He rolled his eyes. He knew she'd flip out. "Well, yeah-"

"Oh, my god!"

"Oh, come on-"

"That is so-"

"I know you hate them, but-"

"Hot!"

He stopped, blinking at her. She was still staring at him with what he now realized to be an excited expression, her emerald eyes sparkling. He shook his head.

"I'm sorry…I think I heard you wrong-"

"That is so cool!" she squealed, clasping her hands together. He gaped at her. "You know, you're the last person I'd expect to get one, but…that's…kinda…" She let her words trailed off and settled for shaking her head, her cheeks coloring. "Never mind."

"Yeah…" He leaned back, rolling his eyes again. "It's only Riley's name."

Jazmine's smile faltered. "…Suddenly, it's not so hot anymore."

"Exactly."

"Well…" Jazmine rubbed the back of her neck. "This is weird…"

"For you." Huey's voice took on a mocking mezzo soprano. "Oh, tattoos are so hot! Oh, my gawd-"

"Shut up!" Jazmine laughed, throwing an ice cube at him. "You're not funny!"

"No, but apparently I'm hot."

"Boo! Stop flirtin!" Caesar sat back down, Arizona shaking her head as she also slid into her seat. "Gettin' all cozy and shit…I'm the official cockblocker for the duration of this trip!"

"Ooh. That ain't even cute." Arizona shook her head.

"Oh, yeah." Huey rolled his eyes. "You and Cindy need to get back together quick." He watched Arizona take another sip of her beer and made a face. "You would take advantage of our temporary age increase."

"Hush up, wooly booly." Arizona turned around in her chair, her eyes narrowing. "That is a lot of people."

"Yup." Caesar tapped the table with his fingertips. "Yo yo, check it." The other three leaned towards him. "Arizona and I heard these fine ass girls-"

"They weren't girls." Arizona gave him a look. His brow lifted.

"But they had on dresses! And makeup! T-they had hair!"

"They…weren't girls," Arizona repeated. Caesar grimaced before shaking his head and turning to the other two.

"Right. So we heard some, er…not girls-" Huey snorted. Jazmine covered her mouth with her hand to keep from laughing. "-talking about some undefeated champion who comes to every tournament. She goes by Lady Luck. And I think she really is a girl," he added darkly upon seeing Arizona's shoulders shaking from laughter. She rolled her eyes. Jazmine frowned.

"If she's undefeated-" the other three looked at her. "-then why are we entering? That's like asking them to take our money. And then we'd be even further in the poorhouse!"

"Or," Arizona pointed out with a shrug. "You could try, you know, optimism?"

"She is the optimist." Caesar made a face. "If Jazmine's giving us the red flag then maybe-"

"You're both forgetting," Huey pointed out. "That this isn't even some real casino. This is a bar on the outskirts of Pittsburgh. Their idea of a good player and our idea of a good player-" He gestured to Jazmine. "-could be completely different."

Caesar shrugged. Jazmine shifted nervously.

"I don't know…"

"Who cares?" Arizona gave her a look. "I mean, if you're a beast at card counting and a math prodigy why does it matter?"

"Because she could be a beast at card counting and a math prodigy, too!" Jazmine pointed out. Arizona shrugged.

"Then outsmart her, smarty."

"Easy for you to say," Jazmine snapped before sighing. Arizona gave her a look.

"So, you never mentioned how you learned to count cards." Her voice was casual. Jazmine shrugged.

"I got bored and taught myself one day." When Arizona's eyebrow arched she shrugged again, stirring her lemon around in her tea. "It's not hard, really. It's mainly probability and statistics. The hardest part is keeping track of every card, but even that's not too bad-"

"I'm sorry…" Arizona gawked at her. "Did you say you keep track of every card?"

Jazmine nodded, looking suspicious.

"All…fifty two cards." Arizona's voice was filled with disbelief. Jazmine nodded again, a thoughtful look passing over her features.

"Well, except for when there's six or eight decks involved. Then I guess I keep track of…three hundred and twelve? Or…four hundred and sixteen." She glanced around at everyone's impressed faces. "What?"

"Marry me," Caesar joked, shaking his head. Huey smacked him in the back of it, glaring.

"Get your own math genius."

Jazmine shook her head, staring back down to her drink. Arizona gave her a look before clearing her throat.

"I think we should go all or nothing." Everyone glanced at her. "And I think one of us should play as opposed to five." She nodded to Jazmine. "I think she should play alone."

Jazmine's eyes nearly bulged out of her head. "Wait…what?"

"You know," Huey said thoughtfully, causing Jazmine to give him a horrified look. "That's…not a bad idea."

"Huey!"

"No, think about it." He glanced back towards Jazmine. "I read over the rules while we were at the bar earlier. It's not like casino blackjack where you go to beat the dealer only. You have to beat everyone else. It's why the jackpot's so high. Not only do you get the grand prize but you get the winnings of every other person you get. You win everything."

Jazmine gulped. "And…how much is everything?"

He rolled his eyes. "Enough to make you start hyperventilating like when you won that five hundred dollars from that scratch off Cindy made you buy back in April." Her eyebrow lifted. "The thing is, your counting's foolproof. There's no use in a bunch of us playing when in the end, it's going to come down to you. It's a given."

She bit her lip nervously, staring at everyone's expectant faces. She shrugged, glancing to the floor.

"It's not foolproof." Her voice held a dark, un-Jazmine like tone to it. When everyone gave her surprised looks she shrugged, sighing. "Sorry." She stared down at the floor. "It's just…well, I have lost a game once."

"Yes, I'm aware." Huey snorted. "The one you let me win, right?"

She looked up at him, her eyes narrowed halfheartedly. "No." He blinked back in surprise and she sighed again, resting her chin in her hand. When she didn't bother to add to the one worded statement he rolled his eyes.

"Let me guess." His tone was dry. "Jazmine Dubois Story Time."

"Yeah! I love Jazmine Dubois Story Time!" Caesar punched his fist in the air, accidentally smacking Arizona in the side of the head with his elbow. She shoved him so he flew off the tall stool, hitting the floor and groaning. She calmly looked back up, whistling and examining her nails.

"Okay." Her nearly identical green eyes flickered back towards the mulatto, who was staring down at her friend in concern. Huey looked about as worried as Arizona, which meant he didn't look worried in the slightest. "Carry on."

"Well." Jazmine swallowed, folding her hands on the table in front of her and staring at them. "When I was fifteen, I lost a blackjack game for the first, and last, time." She paused. "Well, unless you count that one I let Huey win. And if I don't win the one tonight-"

"Okay, we get that." Arizona waved her hand. Jazmine's eyes narrowed. "Proceed, please."

"It had been at one of my parents' fancy lawyer friend's cocktail parties." She made a face. "For some reason people really respected my parents-"

"Though why they'd do such a thing, we'll never know-"

"Whatever, Huey. Anyway, that basically means that sometimes, I had to do really boring things that normal teenagers didn't do. Such as go to charity banquets and…well…cocktail parties. The bad part was that everyone else who was forced to go had to sit there and look dumb while our parents went on "why-my-child-is-better-than-yours" kicks."

"Ew." Arizona shook her head while Caesar flopped back in his chair, glaring daggers at her. "Well, I wouldn't know about that. My mom stole my stereo for drug money and thought my name was Caroline for a good year."

Jazmine frowned. "I…really don't know what to say to that-"

"It happens." Arizona yawned. "So? Cocktail parties, other parents…we're on a tight schedule here, Zebra!"

"What did we say?" Huey asked, his eyes narrowed. Arizona sighed.

"No racial slurs. Fine, I'm sorry-"

"Well," Jazmine went on, choosing to ignore the others. "One night, my parents started going on about me being the best blackjack player in all of Maryland, if not the East Coast…personally, I blame the Henney."

"Ooh, that's my song-"

"No one cares, Ceez."

"And then," Jazmine continued, her eyes darkening. "The host's daughter decided that she wanted to challenge that." Her voice took on an entirely different type of resentment. "Her name was Piper. And she was tall and went to some fancy charter school and had good hair because she was freaking Hispanic-"

"Jazmine." Huey could obviously see a tangent beginning.

"And I bet she just thought she was so amazing with her straight, stupid shiny hair-"

"Jazmine-"

"And the humidity had been really high that day so my hair was puffier than usual and I looked like a cabbage patch kid that got attacked by a wombat and thrown out a car window and she was pretty and she already thought she was better than everybody else and it was so unfair-"

"Jazmine!" Huey rolled his eyes again. "What have we talked about?"

Jazmine sighed. "I don't-"

"What have we talked about?"

"My hair is fine the way it is, despite what others may think," Jazmine droned off, obviously reciting the words from memory. Caesar snorted. "Just because my hair doesn't fit the description of the European standard of beauty doesn't make it inferior to anyone else's nor does it have anything to do with my intellect or inner beauty, which is much more meaningful. In conclusion, my hair is just as good, if not better, than everyone else's."

"Thank you." Satisfied, Huey leaned back. "You can keep going now."

"Okay." Jazmine took another breath. "Well, the only thing I had wanted to challenge was the fact that I'd even had to be there, but when Piper said something it was kind of a done thing. Her parents were excited and my parents were excited…I guess I can't blame them since I'd never lost any card game from Texas Hold'em to Speed. So they were all "How hard would it be to show up a city congresswoman from Delaware's daughter?""

"I'm guessing it was hard, since you lost…ow!"

"At first it wasn't hard," Jazmine said, smiling slightly as Caesar gripped his shin from where she'd kicked him under the table. Huey snorted. "I actually felt confident about the whole thing. Everyone came over to watch. You'd think a bunch of senators and congressmen would have better things to do than watch two teenagers play cards, but whatever-" When everyone stared at her blankly she rolled her eyes. "Okay, okay, sorry. Anyway, we tied the first game, and the second. Then, the third. And…the fourth." She paused, frowning. "The more rounds we'd gone through the more worried I'd gotten. After all, this was my thing. I'd tied, but not time after time after time…I really didn't want to lose."

The other three were staring at her, all of them into the story. Caesar was even holding his breath. The only one who looked remotely bored was Huey, which wasn't out of the ordinary since it was practically his default expression.

"Finally, the seventeenth game came around-"

"Seventeenth?"

"Yes. Seventeen. Now shut up." Caesar clamped his mouth shut. "At that point the entire party seemed to be into the card game and people were yelling about who would win and cheering us on. It was pretty weird that people were making it such a big deal…but what was even weirder was when Piper once again got twenty one…and I got twenty two."

Caesar gasped. Arizona blinked. Huey remained unfazed.

"So, for the first time ever, you busted."

"That's what she said!"

"Ceez, you're an idiot."

"Yeah." Jazmine's shoulders slumped. Huey smirked.

"Did you cry?"

"Shut up!" When he gave her a knowing look her frown deepened. "Maybe. The point is it's a night I've never forgotten. The humiliation, the bitter taste of defeat, the shame and embarrassment-"

"Really, Jazmine?"

"Okay, I'm being dramatic. But for real though, it really, really sucked. And I hate failing at something I'm good at." She squirmed in her chair. "And what if I do lose again? I'll feel horrible."

"Then don't lose." Caesar pat Jazmine's shoulder. "Don't worry about it, Jazzy Fresh. I believe in you."

Huey snorted. "At least someone does…OW!" Jazmine had kicked him underneath the table. "Really, Jazmine?"

"Yes. Really."

"You know I was joking."

"Yeah, but it helped me feel better!"

"Glad to know that my physical pain brings you so much joy."

"Well, this is fun." Arizona took a sip of her beer as Huey and Jazmine glared at each other. "Can't wait to see how you two are acting ten years down the road."

"Yeah, right." Caesar focused on his soda. Everyone glanced at him. "You actin' like they're still gonna be together ten years from now. I mean-" He completely missed the way Arizona's eyebrows lifted and the confused expression that fell over Jazmine's face. "-people don't want the same thing at twenty eight that they wanted at eighteen."

"Huh?" Jazmine glanced over at Huey. "What's he talking about?"

Huey's eyes narrowed. "Caesar, shut up."

"What?" Caesar was so busy stirring his straw he didn't notice the death glare he was receiving, nor did he see the hurt flash in the mulatto's eyes. "Ain't you the one that said you might not even want her tomorrow- OW!"

"What the hell is your problem?"

"My bad, man…I won't even thinkin'." Caesar rubbed the sore spot on his head where Huey had hit him and glanced back towards the others. "I was just running my-"

"Wait." Jazmine slowly looked back at Huey, her eyes narrowed. "Was he talking about me?"

"Oh, shit." Arizona suddenly became fascinated with her beer while Huey continued to glare at his best friend. When no one said anything Jazmine shook her head, shrugging.

"Oh, so it's okay to tell everyone else how we're not gonna last but you can't tell me-"

"I didn't say that!"

"Then what did you say?"

Huey rolled his eyes, obviously not taking the situation as seriously as the girl sitting beside him. "I merely stated," he replied evenly. "That people change."

Jazmine blinked at him, her expression flat.

"People…change."

Huey nodded. Before Jazmine could say anything else Caesar sat up, trying to do damage control.

"He ain't mean it in no mean way, forreal!" He waved his hands. "We was just talkin' bout how relationships that don't have any future goals in common don't be lasting and-"

"Oh, so we don't have any of those, do we?"

Huey sighed, shaking his head. The severity of the situation was finally catching up to him.

"Something tells me you just made it worse, man."

"Okay." Jazmine covered her face with her hands. "I've had a pretty bad day. I'm already not in a good mood. So, we should all just stop talking-"

"Why you trippin?" Caesar shrugged. Jazmine lifted her head. "He was just being-"

"Don't-" Huey said, but Caesar went on.

"-Realistic."

Huey smacked his palm over his forehead. Arizona glanced at them all with curiosity. Jazmine blinked at Caesar, her expression unreadable.

Little did Caesar seem to know, despite the fact that they'd been around each other long enough for this type of thing to be evident by now, there were very few things that Jazmine hated. One of those very things was when people tried to talk to her about being "realistic" and thought that it would help her feel better about a negative situation. Nine times out of ten, realism only served to make her feel worse.

That was why it didn't come to Huey's surprise when Jazmine pushed her chair back, stood to her feet, grabbed her iced tea…

…And promptly flung it so that the brown liquid and ice cubes were splashing the dreadhead right in the face. He yelped, his chair falling backwards as he tried to move. The girl angrily slammed the glass down on the tabletop while Arizona burst out laughing. Huey shook his head as Jazmine turned to face him.

"Something tells me you're mad." His voice was filled with sarcasm.

"Really?" Caesar shook his t shirt, which was now soaked through. "You think?" He gave Jazmine a look. "What the hell?"

"You shut up." Jazmine held up a hand towards him before letting her narrowed green eyes shoot back to Huey's face. "And you-" His eyebrows rose as she pointed her index finger towards him. "Don't talk to me." She spun around, storming away. "Since we're sooo doomed it shouldn't be very hard to do anyway!"

"Oh, come on, Jazmine!" When she only disappeared into the smoke filled crowd in response he wheeled around, glaring daggers at his best friend. "What possessed you to even bring that up, man?" Huey threw up his hands. "Now she's mad at me for something you blew out of proportion-"

"Damn! I said my bad-" Caesar started before letting out another groan; Huey had picked up his own glass of water and threw it at his best friend, taking the lemon and bonking him in the nose with it.

"It is your bad." He rolled his eyes. "And now I have to go do damage control and…why do I even bother telling you anything?"

Arizona shook her head, sipping delicately at her beer as the livid Huey and dripping Caesar glared at each other.

"Well." She swallowed, letting out a tiny burp. "Glad to see how things are working for you all."

"Man, can you shut yo banjo up, son?"

"It ain't a banjo, it's a guitar." Brandon rolled his eyes from where he was sitting on Jazmine's trunk, strumming away and not paying the least bit of attention to the cornrowed boy who was texting and making faces towards the musician. Ray, who was sitting beside him with a scowl on his face, shook his head.

"I can't believe I chickened out."

"I can." Riley cackled from Jazmine's front seat. "You bout as soft as da Pillsbury doughboy."

"Man, who asked you?"

"Nigga, who is you talkin to?"

"Ray, shut up." Brandon gave his best friend, who was staring at him in surprise, a dirty look. "You know goodness well if his brother was out here you wouldn't be talkin' to him that way."

"Shoot." Ray squared his shoulders, sitting up straighter. "I ain't scared of him!"

"Yeah, okay." Brandon shook his head, resuming his playing. "Shit. I am."

"What ya'll scared of his wack ass fo?" Riley glanced up from his phone, making a face. "His bitch-made self ain't gon do nothin'!"

"Wow. So much trash talk." Brandon shook his head. "Fine. When you both get your asses whooped into next month, don't say I ain't warn ya."

"And can I ask you why you suddenly defendin' him?" Ray asked, his eyes narrowing. Brandon shrugged.

"I ain't defendin' nobody. I'm simply telling it like it is." Brandon rolled his eyes as Ray frowned. "Look, I'm sorry if you're being a hater because Jazmine's got a boyfriend, but-"

"I ain't hatin'!"

"Oh, shit!" Riley burst out laughing. "You like Jazzy?"

"No." When Brandon snorted Ray elbowed him. "I simply think that he is too mean for her."

"Ooh. Because you know him so well."

"Okay, you know what?" Ray glared at him. "Sorry if you've got an attitude cause you saw your no good ex and all, but-"

"Whoa." Brandon stopped playing, holding up a hand. "What does Isabella have to do with anything?"

"Who da hell's Isabella?" Riley's nose wrinkled. "She sound like a broad on tha real."

"She is, on da real." Ray shook his head, ignoring Brandon's dirty look. "That or Brandon's a sucker-"

"Whatever." Brandon hopped down off the back of the car, shaking his head and glancing around. His eyebrow lifted. "Where's…Cindy?"

"Huh? Oh, I aunno." Riley waved his hand. Ray shrugged.

"Ain't she in tha tournament?"

"No." Brandon smirked. "And neither are you, punk."

"Shut up!"

"I'm right here." Cindy suddenly walked up, dropping a six pack of beer on the ground beside the vehicle and grabbing a bottle, hopping up and sitting in the spot Brandon just vacated. He gave her a funny look.

"How did you get those?"

"Uh, I bought them?" Cindy uncapped it, leaning back and taking a swig. "Jazmine and I never got rid of our fake IDs. I wanted a beer. Or two." She glanced down to the case. "Or…six."

"Ooh! Nigga you gon share?" Riley asked, suddenly bolting up. Unlike before he was completely into the conversation. Cindy snorted, taking another sip.

"No."

"Man, yo punk self!" Riley spun around angrily, sitting back against the seat. "Dat's why Ceez don' like yo ass now."

Cindy's eyes narrowed.

"Say one more word to me, Riley." There was nothing humorous about her tone. Riley shrugged, breaking out his phone again.

"Dat's. Why. He. Don'. Like. You. No. Mo…aye!" Riley jumped back and Ray grabbed Cindy around her waist as she leaped up to tackle him, her beer bottle raised over her head. The liquid splattered out of the open hole, splashing over the car. Brandon shook his head.

"Another reason for Jazmine to be angry at you."

"I don't care!" Cindy yelled, struggling against Ray. "Let me go! I'm so sick of his smart ass-"

"Damn, nigga!" Riley hopped out the car, nearly snarling at her. "Maybe if you won' so damn psycho he wouldn't have been tryna get away from yo ass…yo!" He had to duck as Cindy hurled the now empty glass bottle at his head. It shattered on the concrete a few feet behind him and he straightened again, glaring. Brandon grabbed Cindy' collar, dragging her away from Ray and pulling her aside.

"Cool off."

"Tell that one-"

"Cool. Off." He gave her a look. "That was pretty psychotic, Cindy."

"Whatever." Cindy folded her arms over her chest, ignoring Riley's yelling at her that came from the other end of the parking lot. "I don't care."

"Okay." Brandon shrugged. "Why not?"

"Because!" Cindy turned away from him, glowering. "I don't gotta tell you nothin'. You don't know me."

"Uh…okay." Brandon started to step past her. "You have fun with that, then-"

"Okay, wait." Cindy rolled her eyes, grabbing the back of his shirt. "Fine. My bad." She let him go when he turned around to give her an expectant look. "I'm just…mad."

"Obviously." When she glared at him in response he shrugged again. "Go on."

"Okay." Cindy shrugged as well, staring at the ground. She was aware of everyone's eyes on her and felt her face grow hot. "I guess…I don't know how to express my feelings or whatever."

"Obviously!" Riley and Ray shouted in unison across the space. Cindy wheeled around, her fists clenched.

"Shut the fuck up!"

"Okay, don't worry about them." Brandon steered her back around to face him. "I understand your boyfriend's here and he broke up with you and it sucks, but you can't go flying off the handle or whatever-"

"It ain' a good look, nigga!" Riley yelled.

Cindy started to turn back around but Brandon shook his head.

"Ignore him." He sighed. "You're cool. Okay? You're cool and you're funny when you're not trying to murder people or fight your best friend in a parking lot. And people have problems. But you can't let them get you to the point where you're about to-"

"Cut a bitch!"

"Thank you, Riley." Brandon shook his head again. Cindy still had her arms folded over her chest. "I don't really know you or whatever, but you seem too nice to be acting like such a-"

"Nutcase?"

"Hoodrat?"

"A nutcase and ahoodrat?"

"Can both of you shut up? Damn." Brandon shook his head. Cindy sighed.

"I'm…sorry." She grimaced, as if she were washing her mouth out with soap. She sighed, shrugging and turning away. "Whatever. This is stupid." She turned on her heel, heading back across the street. Brandon shook his head and sighed. He glanced towards Riley, who had taken it upon himself to take a beer and lean back on Jazmine's trunk. He rolled his eyes.

"Great job." His voice was dry. "Really."

Riley shrugged, taking a swallow of his beer.

"If she come back an she ain' actin' no better, we gon have ta shoot dat ho."

"Is that your solution for everything?" Brandon asked. "Shooting it?"

Riley paused before nodding. "Yurp."

Brandon sighed again before shrugging, going over and grabbing a beer of his own. He leaned against the car beside Ray, uncapping his beer and staring up at the night sky.

"I'll be so glad when they're done in there." He shook his head. "Because if they don't finish soon, we just might all kill each other."

"Nah." Riley snorted. "Dat's a lot of work."

"True." Ray nodded in agreement. There was a pause.

"But…seriously. If she come back an she ain' acting no better, we gon have ta shoot dat ho."

'Don't screw up. Don't screw up.'

That was what she was thinking the entire time she was playing, from when the tournament started and she easily beat her first opponent, to ten rounds later when she was demolishing some old man and claiming his money as her own. She tuned out the loud cheering that seemed to make the entire bar shake, the heavy cigarette smoke, the dozens of pairs of eyes that were focused on her. She forced herself to focus on the cards and the cards only, refusing to lose. No way was she going to embarrass herself or lose this for everyone else…

And then, she was winning her tenth hand. The entire bar seemed to erupt as everyone began cheering. Jazmine couldn't help but grin as her opponent swore, rising to his feet and disappearing in the crowd. Behind her, Arizona and Ray, who had ventured in to cheer her on, high fived while Caesar grabbed her shoulders, shaking her.

"Do you know how much you've gotten so far?" The prospect of winning big money had erased his anger with her a good seven rounds before.

"No, but I know I'm gonna throw up if you don't stop shaking me!" The adrenaline of the tournament had made her forget about being mad at him as well. She shook herself out of his grasp and looked around, frowning. "Who's still in?"

"Who the hell cares?" Arizona laughed. "That's at least five grand just right there! That's not even counting the jackpot!"

"Okay, Jazzy fresh." Caesar leaned over her shoulder, staring through the crowd. "Now, I peeped out that Lady Luck chick a few rounds ago?" He let out a low whistle. "She's good."

"Well, Jazmine's better, so Lady Luck can suck on that!" Arizona shot back, grinning.

"I don't know," a sudden voice behind them let out. The four of them looked up to see a big, tall, older white man with a grey beard and a motorcycle jacket. Ray gulped. Caesar blinked. "Lady Luck's undefeated. And this bar's been having these blackjack tournaments for a good couple years now."

"Doesn't mean times don't change." Jazmine lifted her chin, trying to keep the confidence in her voice. The man shrugged.

"You gotta point, little Muppet baby." He snorted. "But I'm not sure this is one of those times."

Jazmine's brow wrinkled. "…Did you just call me a little Muppet baby?"

"Well I don't know your name."

"And that was the first thing that came into your mind?"

The man paused, then offered her another shrug. "Well, I mean…the hair sort of-"

Jazmine slapped her palm over her face. "Oh, my god."

"Who is this Lady Luck chick, anyways?" Arizona craned her neck to see over the crowd. "I wanna get a good look at her." She suddenly paused, making a face. "Where's Huey?"

Caesar rolled his eyes. "He went to the store to get Miss attitude over here a maybe-if-she-stuffs-her-face-with-junk-she'll-forget-to-be-mad snack." He frowned himself, waving his hand towards Jazmine, who sat up upon being reminded of him.

"Well…" She scratched her arm. "Not that I'd forgive him, cause I wouldn't-" Caesar rolled his eyes; anyone who knew her knew that she'd probably forgotten she was even angry with him until the subject was brought up. "-but…do you think he's getting donuts?"

"Jazzy-"

"I love donuts!"

"I'll get him when the time comes." Caesar shook his head. "You worry about winning. There's only two rounds left, and you need to pass this one to get to the final one."

"But no pressure," Arizona added quickly, shooting Caesar a glare.

"You know," Ray said, his voice filled with wonder as he watched a group of loser contestants stalk towards the bar to drown their sorrows. "I think I know why a bar holds blackjack tournaments now."

"Aren't you smart."Arizona rolled her eyes, snapping her fingers towards a familiar, spiky haired girl. "Aye yo Eden! Get Jazzy a beer!"

"What?" Jazmine shook her head. "Oh, no. That's okay…"

"Relax." Arizona grinned. "I'm holding it for you for when you win."

"If I win."

"Oh, you will."

"GIMME YO MONEY NUCKAH!" A sudden yell came from another table, where an old man was cackling and diving across the middle to gather the bills in his arms. "AHH MONEY MONEY MONEY-"

People in here were fucking insane. Jazmine shook her head, taking a deep breath and cracking her knuckles as another opponent, another man with greasy black hair and dark eyes, sat in front of her. He gave her a glance over, as if deciding whether she was worth being worried about or not, and smirked.

"This," he mumbled. "Should be easy."

Jazmine's eyes narrowed. Behind her, Arizona sucked her teeth. Caesar's hands were on her shoulders, squeezing them reassuringly.

"You got this, Jazzy!" he yelled as the bar workers got into place at each of the dwindling tables, shuffling the decks. The woman who stood at their table shot Caesar a look.

"Bag back, cheater!"

"Damn!" He threw up his hands, taking a giant step back. "My b!"

The "dealers" all glanced towards the center of the bar, where the bar owner was standing. He waited for all of them to give him thumbs up before nodding and grinning. He cupped his hands around his mouth and lifted his head.

"And…go!"

The game didn't even last more than thirty seconds. The man went first, stopping at eighteen, while Jazmine herself landed twenty one and grinned as he groaned, slamming his fists on the table.

"Goddammit!"

"Ooh." Eden stopped beside Jazmine, handing Arizona a couple of beers while the man continued cursing. Even the dealer was laughing. "So you mad, b?"

"You go, girl!" Ray held up his hand for a high five and Jazmine slowly gave him one, laughing.

"Did you really just say that?"

"Oh, my god." Cherry Anne came up, her hand on her forehead. "We are about to be a good fifteen grand richer. Holy crap."

"Not until she beats the final person." Arizona craned her neck, trying to see over the crowd. "I'm trying to find the person but it's hard to see anybody for real-"

"It's alright." Cherry Anne elbowed her cousin, nodding towards a bar employee who had jumped on the bar counter, waving his arms like a beacon. When a grand total of no one paid attention and chose to kept talking he stuck his fingers in his mouth, letting out a high pitched whistle that caused people to groan and cover their ears. The six of them stared at him along with everyone else as he began to shout.

"Alright, alright!" the bartender yelled over the noise, hopping on one of the tables to be heard. "And we're down to our final five! We've got-" he glanced at the signup sheet in his hand, which they'd been going by to keep track of everyone. "Melvin Brooks!"

There were a few cheers from the crowd as a tall, lanky man walked up, waving sheepishly.

"Aiden Blackburn!"

The shouting for her was even louder; a curly haired guy ran up, grinning.

"Blake King!"

"YEAHH!" A burly man with a long gray ponytail ran towards the bar, pumping his chest. "I'm the best! GET SOME."

"Oh, my god." Eden blinked, shaking her head. "Some people just don't need to open their mouths."

"True!" Caesar, Arizona and Ray echoed in unison. Jazmine started to say something but was interrupted by the barman's yelling.

"Gracie Stewart!"

"That's you!" Caesar yanked her up from her chair, shoving her towards the bar. She stumbled, regaining her balance and shooting him a glare over her shoulder. The shouting for her seemed to be even louder than it had been for the others, the whooping and clapping making her smile as she joined the other players underneath where the shouting employee was standing. There seemed to be a shift in the energy of the crowd as he straightened. Everyone quieted down without being prompted when he began to speak again.

"And last, but not least." He paused, taking a deep breath. "Pittsburgh's own returning, undefeated champion-"

"Wooo!"

"I LOVE YOU!"

"Shut up! Damn!" The man rolled his eyes, having to yell even louder to be heard over the foot stomping and yelling that was already blasting through the place. "Our fifth and final contestant, known by us old timers as Lady Luck-"

"LADY LUCK! LADY LUCK!" Everyone began chanting and banging their palms on the tables, making drum roll sounds. Jazmine shrugged towards Caesar, who was giving her a confused look, as the noise stopped. The barman grinned.

"Piper Levine!"

"WHAT THE F-"

Luckily, the shocked mulatto's words were drowned out by the ear splitting shrieks as a tall Hispanic girl came through the parting crowd, walking as if she were on some kind of runway. Jazmine shook her head before rolling her eyes.

Of all the odds…this kind of bullcrap would happen to her. She would be the girl to meet up with the same girl who had beat her back when she was fifteen in a completely different state.

Maybe Huey was right when he said the universe hated them all…

Piper finally came to stop beside her, too absorbed into the insane cheering she was receiving to bother observing her other competitors. When she finally took the time to glance around her eyes fell on Jazmine and they narrowed, then widened.

"You?" She looked around as if someone was playing a practical joke before bursting into laughter. "I'm competing against you? Again?"

"You remember me?" Jazmine couldn't help but be surprised. Piper snorted, wiping the corner of her eye with a perfectly manicured nail.

"Please." Her gaze flickered over her rival. "No one could forget that hair."

Jazmine's eyes narrowed.

"And what brings you to these parts?" Piper put a hand on her hip, shrugging. "This is my territory. And I would hate for you to have to lose to me again."

What a freaking…"Your territory? You're from Delaware."

"I go to Pitt." Her nose wrinkled as she glanced at Jazmine again, her eyes falling on her nametag. "Gracie?" She shook her head. "Fake ID?"

Jazmine shrugged. "Yeah, because you're totally over twenty one."

Piper shrugged, her glossy hair falling over her shoulders, which only made her hate the girl more. "Remember that number, alright?" She leaned forward, giving Jazmine a smug look. "We're playing to get to twenty one, not twenty two." She straightened again. "I'm not sure if you remembered that last time?"

Jazmine's fist clenched. She took a deep breath to calm her nerves.

"The only thing you're going to need to remember," she said coldly, making the girl blink in surprise. "is your real name." She couldn't help but smirk at the girl's expression. "Because when I'm done with you there's going to be a new Lady Luck."

"Dayum." The boy Melvin, who had heard her remark, snickered. "She told you!"

"It's been said before." Piper shrugged again, grinning back at her opponent. "We'll see." The barman gestured for them to all prepare for the final round and she cracked her knuckles while Jazmine frowned nervously. "We'll see."

The only reason he wasn't in the bar the moment the tournament started was because he spotted Cindy sitting on the curb on the side of the road, a beer in one hand and a scowl etched onto her face. He'd noticed that, glanced towards Riley, Ray and Brandon, and shook his head.

When anything concerned his friends, it never took rocket science to figure out things.

"Let me guess." His tone was filled with boredom as he walked over to the angry blond, who didn't even look his way. "Riley said something ignorant. You got an attitude. An attempted murder ensued."

"Where you been, nigga?" Riley shouted. Huey sighed again.

"You know you saw my ass walk across the street to the store! Donut run," he said to Cindy, who still hadn't acknowledged his existence. "Sadly." He shrugged. "I'm surprised you didn't all kill each other before I got back-"

"Whatever." Cindy glared at him. He looked unfazed.

"If you stare hard enough, maybe I'll catch on fire." When Cindy merely intensified her glare in response he snorted. "Cute. Really cute."

"Shut up, Huey." Cindy shook her head, looking away again. Her voice was surprisingly quiet. He rolled his eyes.

"Fine." He waved his keys towards her, starting across the parking lot to the bar. "Goodbye-"

"Okay okay, stop." He ceased his walking and Cindy sighed, resting her chin on her knees and setting down her drink. "I'm…sorry. I guess."

Huey rolled his eyes. "If it weren't for the fact that you're all down and out from your breakup I wouldn't feel any sympathy."

"Huey Freeman feeling sympathy?" Cindy rolled her own blue eyes. "That'll be the day."

"Like it'll be the day Cindy McPhearson learns to use some judgment?" When she glowered at him he shrugged, turning towards her. "I understand how you feel. Believe me, I do. Surprisingly." He shook his head. "I know it sucks feeling that way, but you can't just make rash decisions. They hurt other people."

"Like who?" She practically snarled. "You?"

"Please." His expression was flat. "I am pretty sure if it came down to saving either you or a Slurpee from a burning building, the Slurpee would be coming with me."

Cindy shook her head, crossing her arms over her chest and looking away again. Ray let out a low whistle.

"I don't know if you wanna deal with her right now, man-"

"Shut up." Huey gave him a look of disdain. "Can you go somewhere?"

Ray rolled his eyes, sliding off Jazmine's car to head inside the bar. "Well forget ya'll then! Ima go cheer on Jazzy." The others watched him disappear inside before focusing on Huey and Cindy, who were glaring at each other. Huey sighed for probably the fiftieth time that day.

"Does she know?" Neither one of them had to guess about who they were now talking about. Cindy glanced at him.

"Know what?"

"Know what you did."

The blond snorted. "And what was that, again?"

"Don't play stupid." Huey's eyes narrowed. "You left Ceez and I on purpose. There was no point in going earlier other than you not wanting to at least be civil for a week-"

"Who cares?" Cindy threw up her hands. "She's already mad at me!"

"Can you really blame her?"

Cindy sighed. "I wasn't trying to. You can stop acting like you care now. You don't know how I feel." She looked as if she were fighting back tears. Cindy never cried. "I feel like this entire thing's my fault."

"Well-"

"Shut up!" He didn't say anything else. "Huey, I messed up me and Jazmine's friendship. And I ruined me and Caesar's relationship. I was so insecure and then in the end it made him not even want me anymore. So yeah, I know my decisions have hurt other people. I know I'm good at screwing up! I don't need you reminding me that." She was getting angry. "I don't need you making me feel crappy and even more guilty about something you don't-"

"I don't what? Understand?" He rolled his eyes. "You don't know what I understand, Cindy. You're not the first person who's been through this kind of thing."

"Right." Her tone was dry. "I'm sure it was so upsetting dumping Maya, wasn't it?"

"That's not what I'm talking about." He snorted, shaking his head and continuing on his way. "I don't even expect you to know."

"Wait." Her eyes narrowed. "You're not talking about what I think you're talking about."

"What else would I be talking about?" This was so annoying. He just felt going inside already. He saw Cindy give him a confused look. He sighed. "Caesar…kind of brought it up earlier."

Her jaw dropped. The anger that had been on her face moments ago vanished. It was that easy. "No."

"Yeah."

It was ridiculous how they'd somehow ended up on this subject, especially with Cindy of all people. But when she continued to look reluctant about him being able to relate he sighed.

"It sucks, knowing that your feelings ruined a relationship." He shrugged. "It sucks even more knowing that every day you denied your feelings someone else got hurt for it." He watched Cindy inhale sharply. "So you can cut the "No one understands me" crap. I'm not buying it." He shrugged again. "And even if I did, even if anyone else did, so what? In the end, what is feeling sorry or guilty going to do for anyone?" Cindy opened her mouth but he held up a hand, cutting her off. "Do something about it. Be the bigger person and tell him how you're feeling. He'll listen. But if he listens, you have to be willing to listen too."

Cindy hugged herself, frowning. "I don't even know if…I don't even know if I want him back."

Huey looked bored. "Then you'd better figure it out. Damn, I ain't your therapist." He started for his car again but Cindy's voice stopped him.

"How did you get over it?" When he glanced over his shoulder to give her a confused look she shrugged. "The guilt. How'd you make it go away?"

He snorted. "I did something about it." When Cindy's frown deepened in response he jabbed his thumb towards the building. "And I've made a lot of donut runs."

Cindy blinked before slowly smiling. Huey shook his head, walking across the parking lot. Cindy took a step forward, calling after him.

"Hey, Huey!"

He stopped, giving her a reluctant look. She shrugged, nodding.

"Thanks."

He blinked at her. She smiled back. Then, he snorted, turning on his heel again.

"This is not Seventh Heaven." Cindy couldn't help but smirk as he strode towards the front door, mumbling. "Ain't got time for this bullshit…"

He really, really needed some new friends.

The five of them sat down at the center table, casting each other dirty looks. The champion, Piper, gave everyone a cold smile.

"You betta do the damn thang!" Jazmine heard Caesar yell, laughing. Arizona shoved through the crowd a moment later, plucking Caesar in the forehead and glancing down the table to Jazmine, who was watching the dealer shuffle.

"I don't care how you win," she said, snorting and tossing her hair. "As long you win."

"Beating that "Lady Luck" chick's gonna be hard as shit, though." Eden shook her head, her voice low. "That girl had one entire table out in fifteen seconds flat. She got blackjack on all three hands she split."

"Maybe tonight'll be the night they get a new Lady Luck," Ray said, casting a look towards Jazmine, who wasn't focusing on anything else but the cards. Cherry Anne glanced Piper's way, noticing how she seemed to be doing the same thing.

"Maybe."

"Is everyone ready?" the dealer asked over the cheering. Everyone nodded and he began shuffling the cards."Alright. Let's do this!"

"Good luck." Piper sat up, placing her hands neatly in her lap. She locked eyes with Jazmine form across the table and under her breath she mumbled, "You're gonna need it."

Jazmine ignored her, staring towards the dealer.

It was just probability and ratios. It was just probability and ratios…

'Don't screw up.'

Oh, god. This was going to suck.

Thanks for reading! And, as usual, please make my life feel worthwhile by reviewing! I need SOMEONE to help me feel worth something. Heaven knows my mother doesn't.

...Bad joke. SUCH a bad joke. I'm kidding. Seriously though ya'll, thank you. :)
*Goes to sleep before she can make more not funnies*

-Kelsey