Caesar stretched as he walked out of his room to get ready for school. The last two days of school had been crazy. People were just all in their business every second of the day. As he went to the bathroom to jump in the shower, he heard sniffling.

He had a puzzled looked on his face so decided to knock on the door.

"One second." The person told him from behind the door.

Caesar was confused. It sounded like she was crying and he wanted to find out what was wrong with her.

"Royalty. Are you cry?" He asked.

No response.

He went to knock on the door again when it swung open.

"What's wrong?" Caesar looked at his cousin. She looked tired and her eyes were red. "Did you sleep last night?"

"Yes." She lied and Caesar saw the lie.

"I think you should stay home. You look tired and-"

"Cuz." Royalty cut him off. "I'm good, seriously. I will jump in the shower once you're done, I just need to feel refreshed. I'll be good."

"If you say so." He watched as she walked back to the room she shared with his little sister, worried.

She was so tired, she couldn't even lie to say she wasn't tired. He knew by the look of her face that she was up all night, she has never looked so drained and he had a feeling he knew why.


Last night

"Royalty! Caesar! Come down please." Keisha called them down.

Caesar and Royalty made their way downstairs, confused about what there was to talk about. They knew they wasn't in trouble because she said please. They walked into the living room and saw Keisha and Tony sitting down looking worried.

"Mom, dad. What's wrong?"

"We need to talk to you both." Tony started off so the two teens took a seat. "So, we got a call from the lawyer that is taking your case and the trial is this Saturday."

Their eyes widened. "What?! So soon? Why didn't we find out any sooner?" Royalty began to panic. She wasn't ready. It was all too soon.

"The lawyer wanted the man in jail as quick as she can. He's been living peacefully at home and she wanted him to be in prison where he belongs. They have a strong enough case for it to begin."

"I guess it's time to cancel my Valentine's plans." Caesar said.

Royalty shook her head. "No, you and Cindy can still go out. Don't worry about us."

This time Caesar shook his head. "You must be crazy if you think I'm not going to be by your side in a time like this. I always got you, remember that. Cindy will understand. If anything, she would have been the one to cancel the plans first." Caesar laughed a little.

Royalty let show a tiny smile and gave him a short hug. "Thanks Caes."

"Any time Roy Roy."

They turned back to the adults.

"As we were saying. The trial starts Saturday so tomorrow after school we are going to the DuBois' to discuss the information and go over what you have to say."

"I never thought I would be in court." Royalty thought out loud.

Caesar, being the joker he is, tried to make the situation lighter. "Umm, I kinda did. I mean your temper can be crazy sometimes. I never saw you as the victim."

Royalty gave him a death glare. "You best such your bloodclaut mouth."

Caesar held his hands up in defence and sat back into the chair.

Tony shook his head before turning to Royalty. "Now, we know this may be hard for you but she reassured us that she won't pressure you to go on the stand unless you want to. She knows that Huey and Jazmine are definitely going to take the stand. You don't have to if you don't want to. We could even say that you don't remember."

It was Royalty's turn to shake her head. "Police already took my statement. They know that I remember parts of it... I'll do it."

"Are you sure?" Keisha asked.

"I'm sure auntie Keisha."

"Alright. I think you should get an early night."

"I will. Goodnight." Royalty left the room and walked to her room, now with a lot on her mind.

Caesar turned to his parents. "Do you think she's going to be ok?"

Tony sighed. "If I know anything about my niece is that she's strong but even this can be a lot... watch her tomorrow at school Caesar."

"Yeah I can tell she's hiding how she really feels but I don't want to put too much pressure on her." Keisha agreed. "She's been through a lot and has kept it all in majority of the time. She wants to be the same Royalty that is always smiling but she's drained. Maybe we should let her stay home another week." Keisha turned to her husband.

"Nah. She wouldn't have it." He ran a hand through his dreads that were a few inches longer than Caesar's. "She wanted to go back, to feel as if everything is normal again. That incident in the hallway probably made things worse."

Caesar nodded. "She was telling me and Riley that she felt as if she was being treated like a baby and looked at as weak but we reassured her that we didn't think that. I even reminded her of when we got chased by that dog back in Jamaica. She seemed alright after that but I guess we just gotta wait and see how she carries on."

"I agree. She was always the crazy one." Tony laughed.

"Yeah... I'm going to up to my room. Goodnight."

"Goodnight son."

Caesar went to his room with a lot on his own mind. His friends were about to stand in front of a room full of people and convince them that a man should be jailed because he nearly killed them. There was enough evidence to put him away so he saw no point in the witness and victim's testimony but he guesses that's how court works. He knew he was going to have to look out for Royalty like his father told him to. He just wanted his cousin to be ok.


Caesar was pulled out of his flashback when he heard a knock on his door.

"Come in." He called out as he quickly buttoned up his jeans.

"Sup bro." Melissa, Caesar's little sister, said as she walked into his room.

"Sup sis. Whatchu want?" He asked. She never comes in his room and when she does its usually to tell or ask him something. She softly shut to door and sat on his bed, making him look at her concerned. "You're scaring me, what's wrong?"

Melissa sighed. "Last night... Royalty was crying. Like, she was trying to be quiet but it wasn't working. She sounded like she was scared. At one point it sounded really muffled so I peeped and saw she stuffed her head in the pillow, probably so I didn't hear. I feel stupid because I didn't comfort her but I just wanted to let you know."

Caesar sighed and put his arms around his sisters' shoulder. Everyone was concerned about her. "Don't worry about that. I'm glad you told me."

"Do you know what might be wrong with her?" She asked her older brother.

"The trial is this Saturday and we're going through all the information today after school."

"Damn. That must be heavy for her."

"Yeah. She's going to act as if she's fine but I know her." Caesar nodded. "Thanks for that, now go get ready for school."

"Alright. Later Caes."

"Bye Mel."

The Caesar family have always been close so they always looked out for each other, it was how they were raised. Michael always looked out for his little, freshly teen, sister and his cousin. He would fight anyone for them and he hated seeing them sad. He was going to make sure she didn't feel alone or a burden.

"Caesar! Cindy's here!" Royalty called from the bottom of the steps.

"Coming!" He shouted back.

He collected his things, said bye to his family and ran to the car sitting outside.

"Sup baby." Cindy leaned towards him for a kiss which he happily gave.

"Hello sexy." He smirked as he looked at her pink lips, wanting to kiss them again.

"Hey Cin." Royalty grinned as she pushed her face between the two.

Cindy laughed. "Hey Roy Roy."

Caesar kissed his teeth. "Cockblocker."

Royalty stuck out her tongue. "Payback for the cockblock in the nurse's office." She smirked as she sat back into her seat as Cindy drove towards school.

All Caesar could do was shake his head. She seemed better now, after she showered and got ready, but he wasn't going to let that phase him. Royalty thought a little makeup could do the trick but he knows better. He was on her case.


"Jazmine DuBois?"

"Come on Huey."

Jazmine and Huey were doing their rounds of doctor's appointments. They had just come from Huey's check-up and the doctors said he was healing faster than they thought. He still needed to take it easy but he was doing well. He's been meditating more ever since he left the hospital so that could be the reason to why his recovery process was doing as well as it was.

Now was Jazmine's turn. Due to the circumstances of discovery of the pregnancy and her partying days, her appointments were more regular than most to ensure that the baby was growing as they should and healthy.

They walked into the room and Jazmine sat on the bed.

"Hello Jazmine, how you feeling today?" Dr Fox asked her.

"Good. This one has been moving around the past week." Jazmine laughed.

The Dr smiled. "That's good. You're coming up to 19 weeks so they will be moving around a little but once they get a hang of it, it might come more often."

"I guess less sleep for me." Jazmine joked.

"It's ok. You will get some, don't worry too much about it." She pulled out the gel. "Now time for the ultrasound. If you could lay back for me."

Jazmine did as she was told and lifted her top. She reached out for Huey's hand and gave it a squeeze. The medical professional went and turned off the lights so that they could see the scan better on the tv in front of Jazmine.

"Now this may be a little cold." The Dr warned her.

Jazmine shivered as the gel touched her skin. The doctor took the wand and began to move it around Jazmine's stomach, lightly pressing down to get an image. After a few clicks, they heard a heartbeat and their baby's body popped up.

"And here is your healthy baby." Dr Fox smiled at the young couple before going back to click more things.

Jazmine took a deep breath as she looked up at the screen. She felt Huey lift her hand to his lips as he lightly kissed it.

"They're about 6 inches which is good. Average size."

Jazmine looked confused. "How comes they're an average size but my stomach was barely showing."

The doctor took a quick glance at her. "Well, all pregnancies are different. Some people can see from the very beginning, others can go through a whole pregnancy without knowing. All woman are different so their stomach will be too. You don't have to worry, your baby is healthy and developing well." She reassured the young girl.

Jazmine took a deep breath. "Alright. Thank you... I could never imagine finding out I was pregnant the day I gave birth, I would have died. Seriously. Oh I wanna take a video." Jazmine said. Huey placed her phone in her hand and she took a quick video and saved it.

"Strong heartbeat." Huey nodded as he stared up at the screen.

Jazmine smiled and snuck another video of him looking deep at the ultrasound.

The doctor smiled. "That's right. Your little person has a very strong heartbeat which is promising. You can clean yourself up now and I will print the new ultrasound for you."

Jazmine thanked her and wiped the gel off her stomach.

"So everything is good, I will say come back in a month."

Jazmine grinned and nudged Huey. "Just in time for the gender reveal. Cindy is going to come with us and then tell Ming so they can get what we're going to reveal the gender while Royalty is now in charge of decoration."

Huey shook his head. "I still don't understand why we need to have one."

"Huey. Remember it is also my 18th so let me enjoy it while I can. You don't even have to do it for me." She placed a hand on his shoulder and looked him deep in his eyes. "Do it for us."

Huey rolled his eyes but couldn't help but to smirk. "You know it's going to be a boy."

"I know you lying." It was Jazmine's turn to roll her eyes but before she could argue with him, the doctor handed her the ultrasound.

"Here you go. You're all done."

"Thank you so much. Bye." Jazmine smiled as she grabbed Huey's hand and walked out the room. "Look at our baby GIRL." She emphases on the gender as they walked to the door.

Huey snorted. "You are too confident. You have no clue."

Jazmine gasped as she stepped into the car after Huey held the door open. He just started driving Jazmine's car after hours of convincing grandad, Tom and Jazmine that he was fine enough to drive. The seatbelt would cause discomfort every now and then but not anything too drastic so he kept quiet. He walked to the other side and got in so Jazmine could get onto him. "I'll have you know Freeman, I know exactly what I am having since I am the one carrying the baby."

"Jazmine, I am sure a lot of women have been wrong about their babies' gender even though they are the ones that are carrying." Huey smirked.

Jazmine crossed her arms and held her head up high. "I'll have you know, my mother knew she was having a girl while daddy thought I was a boy."

Mentioning her mother made Jazmine go silent right after the sentence. Huey saw this and sighed.

"Has she contacted you?" He asked. She shook her head. "Have you contacted her?" She shook her head. "Do you want to?" She shrugged.

Jazmine rubbed a hand across her stomach so Huey reached over to hold her hand while the other one was used to drive. "It's just... she's my mom you know. She's been through pregnancy, she's supposed to be teaching me everything but I am learning everything as I go along. The baby isn't even here yet! Now the trial is coming up and I don't know where she's at. It's just pissing me off." Jazmine's temper began to rise.

Huey felt her body begin to heat up and knew he had to say something to calm her down. "Jazmine. Breath. Its ok. You still have me and everyone else, you don't need to worry about not having someone there for you. Whether she's there or not shouldn't matter ok. We got this." He kissed her knuckles without taking his eyes off the road.

Jazmine softly smiled. "You know I am loving these hand kisses you've started to do."

Huey shrugged. "I'll keep that in mind."

They rode in silence since school wasn't far from the doctors so there was no use getting comfortable.

"Yay. Back to my favourite place." Jazmine said sarcastically as they pulled up to the school. She looked down at her stomach and placed a hand on it. "Now if you could just let mommy get through the day, that would be good."


Riley was sitting in his Spanish class, actually paying attention. His middle name was Escobar, much to everyone's surprise and for some reason, he manged to pick up the language quicker than he thought, making Royalty joke saying it was fate.

Speaking of Royalty...

Riley looked at her. She was two seats away from him so if he wanted to talk to her, he could but at the moment, he couldn't. She was sleeping. Royalty enjoyed Spanish as much as Riley did so this was a lesson she never slept it. Other lessons she would but for this, she wouldn't. All morning she was acting off but he hadn't had the chance to talk to her about it. It was very strange.

"Señorita Caeasr." Royalty slowly woke up from her sleep, taking a deep breath and stretching as she did so. "Atención, por favor."

"Lo siento." She apologised in Spanish.

"Gracias." The teacher said before she went back to teaching the class.

Riley took a few glances at Royalty and saw her eyes were bloodshot red. He has never seen her look so drained and it was honestly scary. He pulled out his phone and began to text the only person who could help him.

Riley: Ay nigga.

Caesar: Whatchu want negro? I'm in class.

Riley rolled his eyes.

Riley: You know I don't care about that shit.

Caesar: You never answered my question.

Riley: Ite ite damn... what up with Royalty? She sleeping in Spanish and you and I both know she never sleeps in this lesson. Plus, her eyes red as fuck.

Caesar: Mel told me she was up all night, even crying. Since hearing about the trial being moved to this weekend, she's been acting funny.

Riley: Damn it's that bad?

Caesar: Yup. Just keep an eye on her but don't overcrowd her. She won't like it.

Riley: Yeah I know.

He put his phone away and looked over at Royalty who was now staring into space. He hoped this doesn't last long.


Kick.

Kick.

'Ouch.' Jazmine silently hissed as she shifted in her seat. The baby has been very active lately it was unbelievable. When the doctor said soon, she didn't think this soon and this painful. 'What happened to getting mommy through the day lil baby?'

She received a kick in response but only this time, it was right on her bladder.

'Yup. I gotta pee now.' She sighed and raised her hand.

"Yes Jazmine." The teacher turned to her.

"May I go to the bathroom please?" Jazmine asked politely.

"No." She turned back to her marking while the class started to look at the twos exchange.

Jazmine looked at her strange.

'Did this bitch tell me no? Fuck this.'

Jazmine stood up and collected her things.

"And where do you think you're going?" She questioned.

"To the bathroom."

"But I didn't give you permission."

Jazmine stopped and looked the teacher dead in her eyes, giving her a glare that she had learned from Huey. Hers wasn't as nearly as scary as Huey's but it could still cause people to shift uncomfortably. "As a woman, I am very disappointed in you. You should know better."

"Jazmine DuBois, sit back down this instance." The teacher demanded.

Jazmine slightly turned her head sideways and made sure her large lips showed exactly what she was going to say next.

"No."

"Ohhhhhh." The whole class said as they watched Jazmine strut at the door.

"If you don't sit down this instant, I will give you a deten-"

Slam.

With her head held high, Jazmine walked straight out the class room, slamming the door behind her.

She let out a single laugh. "She must be smoking crack if she thinks I'm going to stay there while he kicks me." As she reached the bathroom, she gasped once she realised what she said. "Ugh. Stupid Huey. Making me say he instead of she." She held her stomach and looked down at it. "Let's not tell daddy about that little slip up shall we."

She used the bathroom and walked out, now wondering what to do since she had 15 minutes until class was over and she was not going to go back to that woman. Sighing, she decided to walk and wait for Huey so they could go to lunch. She was glad for that doctor's appointment, it meant she had half a day of school.

However, it did mean she was one step closer to the meeting with their lawyer. She couldn't believe the trial was this weekend, it was so soon. She was nervous, feeling as if she was going to mess everything up. It shouldn't be that hard, all she had to do is say what she remembered. It was traumatising to relive but she needed to do it. That man nearly killed her family within a matter of seconds, it was frightening. She wished they didn't have to go through court, it seemed like a straight forward case, why was they needed?

"Hey Jazzy."

Jazmine's thoughts were interrupted by a very annoying voice from an even more annoying person.

"Trevor what the fuck do you want with me?"

"I wanna check up on you and the baby." He smiled.

Jazmine rolled her eyes. "Me and Huey's baby is fine thank you very much." She sat down on a couch they had not far from where Huey's class room was. There was 5 minutes left.

"That's good. Do you know what you're having?" He asked.

'What is he playing at?' She was very confused.

"No. Like I said earlier, what the fuck do you want?" Jazmine wondered.

He sat down on the couch and Jazmine scooted away a little. He was too close. "I just wanted to see how you after the little cafeteria scene."

"You enjoyed that tray being thrown at your throat, did you?"

"No! My throat has been killing me ever since. I just thought you had forgotten about me so I wanted people to put our names in their mouths again. It sounded so good." He sighed blissfully.

Jazmine looked at him with disgust. "You make me sick. All I hear is 'I wanted', you're beginning to sound like a narcissistic Trevor."

When he heard his name, he leaned closer to Jazmine and took a deep breath, taking in her perfume. "Hm. I love it when you say my name. It would sound so much better if you moaned it."

The bell rung before Jazmine could force herself to vomit all over him so she chose to jump up and run towards Huey's class room door instead. Students started to pile out their class rooms and Trevor disappeared into the crowd, which she was glad to see.

"Jazzy, you ok?" Huey asked once he saw her.

She threw a smile on her face, the last thing she wanted was Huey worrying about Trevor's weird ass knowing Huey would further injure himself to protect her and the baby. However, if Trevor tried something again, she will snitch. "Yeah why wouldn't I be?" She reached out to grab a hold of his hand. "Come on, we're having lunch in Mr Williams classroom."

They walked hand and hand to their English teacher's classroom where everyone already was with their food laid out on the desk.

"Mom and dad finally decided to join us." Cindy joked.

"Don't ever call me that Cynthia." Huey told her coldly. It sounded weird.

"And don't call me Cynthia, dad." She smirked at his annoyed look.

"Can you not bully my husband please Cindy." Jazmine frowned.

"Whatever. He's an easy target."

Mr Williams walked in after taking a quick bathroom break.

"I see the whole gang is here now."

"Yup. Where you find one, you find the rest." Hiro smiled as he stole some of Riley's chips.

"Ay! Who the fuck you think this is to be stealing another niggas chips! Gang ass bitch." Riley cursed while everyone just laughed at him.

Mr Williams couldn't help but laugh himself. "Always a treat to be in the presence of Riley Freeman."

Riley smirked. "See this nigga knows."

"So how you feeling Jazmine?" Mr Williams asked her. As one of the few black teachers, he made it the upmost importance to take time to know the minorities of the school, especially the black children. He knew the statistics were low of the number of black teachers a black child would have throughout their years of education so he made the effort to getting to know every single one. Huey was one he never met before, he was beyond his years and to see him having a child was definitely a shook but he knew he could do it despite the stereotypes.

Jazmine grinned and placed a hand on her stomach. "Everything is good thank you asking Mr Williams. Going to find out the gender next month." Jazmine gasped. "You should come! It's going to be fun and you can bring your family too. You've really helped us in these past two years and always looked out for us so I would like you to come.

The teacher couldn't help but shake his head. "I guess I can't say no to that."

"Great!"

"Well, I think it's time to pick out baby names." Ming suggested as she pulled out a piece of paper and pens. She did headers, one for boys' names and one for girls' names. "I'll start. For a boy, Kai and for a girl, Kyra."

"Where did you find them names?" Jazmine asked.

Ming shrugged. "I just like name started with K's so I heard these two and thought it sounded nice."

"My turn." Caesar took the paper. "Leon for a boy and Crystal for a girl's name."

"I am not naming my daughter after a champagne." Huey told him.

"I wasn't even thinking about Crystal like the champagne. Your mind just nasty."

"Whatever."

"I think," Hiro took the paper. "Robin with a 'i' for a boy or Robyn with a 'y' for a girl. Unisex names are the way to go. Like Riley's name."

"Hey! Riley is a real niggas name just as much as Reezy is. Get off my dick today man." Mr WIlliams couldn't help but to laugh at Riley's antics, he was funny without even trying. "Anyway, it's time for uncle Reezy to lay down some names. For a nigga, we gonna name him Wayne so I can call him Weezy and for a girl. Ion know Monica."

Huey shook his head. Why his brother even bothered putting in his two cents was beyond him.

Riley passed the paper to Royalty who sighed. "Boy, Joseph. Girl, Aaliyah like Jazmine's middle name." She said with the least enthusiasm and pushed the paper towards Cindy.

"You ok girl?" Cindy asked and Royalty nodded in response.

"Yeah just a little headache."

"Do you need-" Caesar started but his cousin cut him off.

"I'm good. Come on, you still need to write down your name Cin."

"Alright... for my nephew, Jayden and for my niece, Rose."

Cindy passed the paper to the parents.

"You wanna go first?" Jazmine asked and Huey just shrugged so she went first. "I like the name Aiden and Jade."

"I can never imagine calling my son Aiden." Huey shook his head.

"Then why don't you suggest some names Mr." Jazmine pushed the paper in front of him.

Huey sighed but wrote down the names that were in his head. "Malcom and Mzia."

"Ohh where did you find that name?" Jazmine asked curiously, she has never heard of that name before but now, she would keep that in mind.

He shrugged. "I don't even know myself."

"Well I actually like it... would you like to write down some names?" Jazmine asked her teacher.

He shook his head. "Nah, this is your moment, I'm just here."

"Alright. So for girls we have: Mzia, Jade, Rose, Aaliyah, Monica, Robyn, Crystal and Kyra. For a boy: Malcom, Aiden, Jayden, Joseph, Robin, Leon and Kai." Jazmine looked over the list again and grinned. "These are pretty good name."

"Yeah so which ever ones you don't use, I shall use myself." Cindy joked.

"I hear that." Ming agreed.

Jazmine sighed happily. "This is so crazy. I'm really having a baby. Ugh, can they come now?!"

Huey's eyes slightly widened at that. "Slow down there Jazmine."

Their friends laughed. "Damn Mariah. I have never seen the nigga so scared before."

"I'm not scared..."

Mr Williams decided to step in. "It's ok if he is Riley. Having a baby is not easy. My wife and I just had our little girl and she's a handful already at only 6 months but don't let that scare you. Once you hold her... your heart will feel whole."

Huey listened to what the older male had to say. He didn't have much role models in his life. Grandad was... well, grandad. He slept with multiple women, even if he did treat the right. Everyone says that if it wasn't for Royalty coming into Riley's life so early, he would be following the old man's footsteps. Then there was Tom. Not much of a role model to him per say but he's been around and the man was scared of a lot of things. Mostly, being analy raped in prison. Huey had no time for him and therefore left him with two men who had the potential of being role models to a certain degree.

"Can we see her? I remember you showed us when she was born." Ming asked.

He instantly lit up. "Sure." He pulled out his phone and showed them his lock screen. "This was only taken last week."

"Awww she's adorable." Jazmine began to tear up. "I hope our baby is that cute."

"Girrrrlll. I was ready to push your ass off that seat. Of course they are so hopefully they don't look like McHater." Cindy joked.

"You always getting onto my man." Caesar shook his head.

"Like I said, it's fun."

"Whatever you say... its just," He preteneded to tear up. "Where is all my attention?"

Cindy rolled her eyes but gave him a kiss on the cheek. "If you stop acting like a baby, I will show you attention, ok?"

"Ok."

Hiro began to act like he was sick while Riley just said what was on everyone's mind. "Eww, niggas didn't need to know that. We already got one baby on the way, let's not make it two."

"I hate to be that person but speaking about later... how you all feeling about the trial being this weekend?" Ming asked and slowly, the mood began to drop.

Caesar and Riley shared a quick glance as they looked at Royalty's face become even more drained, while Huey noticed Jazmine's had did the same.

"So the man is finally going to go to jail for what he did to you four."

"I hope so." Jazmine said.

"We know he is Jazzy. You just got to go in with your head held high and everything will run smoothing. We're all going to be there every step of the way so you don't have to worry about feeling alone." Hiro tried to reassure her.

"And you don't have to do it if you don't want to. I'm sure my statement as the driver should be good enough."

"And mine since I was awake for everything." Riley said. "That goes for you too Royalty."

Hearing her name made her sit up and look around. "Huh?"

"You two shouldn't put so much pressure on yourselves. Everything will be fine, don't stress yourself too much. It's not good for either of you." Hiro told the two girls.

Jazmine sighed. "Yeah... dad said we got a pretty good lawyer so I trust him. He wouldn't get someone who didn't know what they were doing."

Little did they know, Mr Williams knew just who their lawyer was and he knew she was going to do well.

They decided to put that conversation to rest for now, not wanting to dwell on it too much. Despite all the all the reassurance from each other, they were still as nervous as the next person but showing their support for one another was important right now.


After school at the DuBois residence.

Tom was waiting around for the children and carers to come nervously. He wanted to make sure everything was nice and presentable. It had been a very long time since he had visitors so he wanted to make sure everything was right and one was very important to him.

Ding dong.

Tom speed walked towards the door, stopped, took a deep breath and then opened the door.

"Mr DuBois." She greeted as she stepped inside with a briefcase of case files.

"Miss Campbell."

He shut the door and they walked to the living room.

"Is anyone here yet?" She asked.

"No."

She sighed, dropping her briefcase. "Ok. Good."

Tom confidently pulled her into a passionate kiss with their lips locked deeply together. After a minute, they pulled away.

"Welcome to my house." He smiled.

She looked around. "You're staying in this big house by yourself?"

He nodded sadly. "I'm not sad about Sarah being gone, I just miss my baby girl."

"Doesn't she live across the street?"

"Yeah but she's not here. She's taken more things over there but her room still looks the same mostly. I just miss coming home to the only person I would be happy to come home to." He told her. He really did miss Jazmine but she was growing up and needed to have her own space and make her own decisions. She had a good head on her shoulders so all she could do was trust her. She was about to be a mother and felt that staying with the baby's father AKA boyfriend AKA Huey.

Farrah wrapped her arms around Tom's shoulder and gave him a light kiss. "It's ok. She will always be your baby girl no matter where she moves to."

Tom smiled and went in for another kiss but the doorbell rang.

"I guess everyone is coming now." He sighed making her giggle. As he went towards the door, she doubled checked that she still looked professional.

Tom opened the door and in barged Robert Freeman.

"Dammit Tom! Got an old man standing outside forever." He said as he walked towards the living room. "Where them damn kids? I ain't got all day to be speak to an uppity, white, ugly lawyer ma- helllooo cutie pie." He stopped mid sentence once his eyes rested on the tall, dark, beauty standing in front of him. He instantly went into his 'pimp mode' and looked at her through the top of his glasses. "The name is Robert Jedediah Freeman and you are?"

She smiled as she shook his hand. "I am the uppity, white, ugly lawyer you were talking about. The name is Farrah Campbell, I will be taking your grandchildren's case."

"Never mind them damn kids, you single?"

She couldn't help but to laugh at that. She took a quick look at Tom before smirking. "Well I'm kinda seeing someone."

Ding dong.

He reached for her hand again and gave it a soft kiss. "Well I guess he isn't treating your right if it's kinda. Hit me up when you throw that sucker away."

"I'm keep that in mind Mr Freeman."

"No, please, call me Robert."

"Ok Robert."

Tom walked in with the Caesar's. "Robert can you please leave Farrah alone?"

"Shut up Tom. You can't see I'm putting in work. Damn." Robert turned to Farrah. "He just fresh out of divorce so he acting more of a tight ass around here. Don't worry about him."

Before anyone could say anything, the door opened and in walked the teenagers.

"Hey daddy." Jazmine smiled as she gave her dad a hug and kiss on the cheek.

"Hey sweetie. I guess we can get started now that everyone is here." Tom announced as they all took seats around the room, with Tom and Farrah in the centre. "Would you like me to-"

"I got this don't worry." She smiled at him. Huey noticed that there was more to the smile but decided to say nothing since it was none of his business. All he cared about was if she was as good as Tom said she was. "Hello, my name is Miss Farrah Campbell and I will be taking your case." She sat down and opened her bag to get the files out.

"What's your ratio?" Huey asked.

"Huey." Jazmine warned him.

"24 to 2 but who's counting right."

"In all the years you been a lawyer?"

"In the past 18 months actually."

"How long have you been a lawyer?" Huey continued to shoot questions and everyone let him, knowing if Jazmine couldn't stop him, no one could.

"Coming up to 12 years."

"University."

"Howard. Top of the class."

"Blue live matter?"

"I never understood it."

Huey nodded. "Proceed."

Farrah smirked. "You're a quick one. Thinking about being a lawyer."

"One that defends the right of black men and women who are being treated unfair by the white man."

Farrah nodded and looked at Robert. "You got a smart grandson."

"He ain't that smart for getting cutie pie pregnant."

Everyone couldn't help but to laugh while Huey just rolled his eyes. "We're over this now grandad."

"No because you're still in my damn house eating up all my food and electricity."

Huey took a deep breath but didn't say anything to allow the lawyer to do her work.

"Ok, well, let's start with the basics." She pulled out a mug shot of the man that caused the crash and they heard Jazmine and Royalty gasp.

"What's wrong?" Tony asked his niece.

"That's- he-" She took a deep breath. "Me and Riley were leaving the park one day when he came up to us and called us hoodlings."

Jazmine felt sick. "And that's the same one that pulled me and Huey over for no reason. I was so scared. He was also racist and threw accusations towards us."

Farrah nodded as she wrote down what she was hearing as they told them about how he harassed them. "This could help. The police officer, Sam Logan, was 4 times over the drinking limit the time the crash accorded. He has a history of being a drunk and even had a domestic call once last month against his wife but no charges were pressed."

"You can use that as a violent and reckless streak." Huey observed.

"Exactly. Now I must warn you, I am about to show you some pictures that you might find disturbing. Are you sure you want to see it?" She warned.

"We're going to see it Saturday, might as well see it now." Riley said.

She sighed. "Ok." She pulled out the pictures and with the help of Tom, laid it out.

The whole room were silent.

There were pictures of the road where the tire marks were. The officer's car whose air bag was out and front was completely crushed. Then there was Huey's car and everyone felt uneasy.

The car was how they remembered it being left, upside down. Glass were everywhere. The driver's side was completely caved in. That's where Huey and Royalty were sitting. Then, they saw the inside and it made everything even worse. Blood, their blood, was all over the seats and steering wheel. They had no idea how it all got there but it did. Huey wasn't even sure if he wanted the car back.

Jazmine held onto her stomach tightly. She could have lost her baby that day but Huey put his arm out for her which meant her injuries weren't as bad. She wouldn't even have known of their existence if- no, no more if. They were here and safe.

"It really is a miracle." She said.

"We thank God everyday." Keisha said tearfully.

"Amen." Everyone agreed.

"I'm going to put this away now." Farrah collected all the pictures and put it away. "Now we're going to go over your statements and I'm going to ask you questions that the defence may use just so you're prepared. Is that ok?"

The four teens nodded and for the next 2 hours, they went through how the trial would work. It was hard but they got through it because of the support they had around them. Their aunt and uncle, their grandfather and their friends that are more like siblings now. They were all sitting here for hours just to make sure they were alright. They were family. They were there for each other, blood or not.


Friday

"Happy Valentine's day Huey." Jazmine kissed Huey in front of their lockers.

"You already told me that this morning."

She rolled her eyes. "You know this is one of my favourite holidays. It's so romantic!"

"I don't need a day to show I love you Jazmine." He told her seriously.

"Aww you're so cute. Did you get me anything?"

"No."

Jazmine raised an eyebrow. "But it's our first Valentine's together."

"I know."

Before she could ask him anything else, the rest of their friends came over, all coupled up.

"First Valentines were all taken by each other." Hiro smirked.

"Yup. Have you guys exchanged presents yet?" Jazmine asked, lowkey hinting to Huey.

"Nope." They answered.

"But you got them something. Right?"

They all shrugged.

Ming shook her head. "You guys are terrible."

The bell rang for lesson.

"Well I guess we best get moving." Caesar grinned as if he didn't notice his girlfriends side eye and walked away with the boys.

The girls stood there and crossed their arms.

"You know they got us something right." Royalty said.

"Yup. I tried looking everywhere in Huey's room but couldn't find nothing. He knows how to hide things good."

"I did the same thing to Hiro. Nothing."

Cindy nodded. "Well I guess they ain't getting shit till we get shit."

"Agreed." They all nodded before going to their own lessons.


The rest of the day went on with everyone witnessing other couples and even friends, gifting each other gifts trying to show off to the school even though no one cared.

Jazmine was in the car fidgety, wondering if Huey really didn't get her something. He wasn't a gift person but he would always get her at least one thing for her birthday or Christmas secretly because she enjoyed holidays so much. It was their first Valentines together so how comes he didn't want to do anything for it? She knew is sounded selfish but she just wanted to dress up and feel cute again. Hospital trips and a growing stomach was not something she imaged but this was her reality.

Everyone decided to meet up at the Freeman's to hang out for a while before going home since tomorrow was the big trial they couldn't stop think about. Little did the girls know, the boys actually had something up their sleeves.

"So. This was a fun Valentines day." Ming stated as they sat down in the living room.

"Yup." The boys replied.

They all sat in silence for a minute before the girls grew tired of it.

"Alright, fuck this!" Cindy stood up and faced Caesar. "I know you're hiding something. You best tell me or all of this, is not getting touched by you for a very long time." She indicated to her body.

"That's nasty C-Murph." Riley commented.

"Shut up because if you don't spill it then you won't get none from me." Royalty smirked as she watched his face drop.

"Serious?"

"Dead ass."

Hiro laughed so Ming stopped up. "I don't know why your ass laughing because you're in the same boat."

"Damn..."

Jazmine turned to Huey. "So what's it gonna be?"

Huey raised an eyebrow. "Me too?"

She crossed her arms across her stomach. "Yup."

Huey looked at Jazmine. They haven't been intimate in a very long time because of his injury but he was not about to be withheld from it as soon as he healed.

The boys all exchanged a 'are we really going to give in? Yes we are' look, sighed and made their way to somewhere in the house. The girls took the opportunity to run to Cindy's car to get something themselves. They hide their stuff and sat down as if they were waiting the whole time.

That's when their boyfriends came back out.

"Awwwwww!"

There they were with red and pink bags that had a heart shape balloon attached to it. They walked up to their girlfriends and gave them a kiss before handing them their presents.

"Happy Valentines Day." They told their girls.

"See I knew you got me something." Jazmine kissed Huey a few more time before turning back to everyone opening their things.

Cindy went first. "Daaammnn baby!" Caesar had gotten Cindy a watch, some new grey Jordan's and a lingerie set from Savage X Fenty. "How did you know I wanted this?"

Caesar smirked. "I saw you add to your Wishlist and you and the girls talk about it all the time."

Next was Ming. She also got Savage X Fenty lingerie, 3 different bucket hats which she said she wanted to start wearing and a teddy bear that had the words 'push me' on the paw. "Huh?" She squeezed it and instantly teared up. It was a voice recording of her grandfather on her mother's side that passed away a few months ago. It was him saying how proud he was of her and how much he loved her in her language. "Aww Hiro, I love it." She gave him a kiss.

Royalty took a deep breath and opened her bag. "Nigggaaaa!" She looked at Riley in disbelief while he smirked. She pulled out a collage of small paintings from moments her and Riley had together. "Did you do this?"

"Of course Angel."

She shook her head. "You're getting even more better, I can't believe it. When you retire from ball, you ass best become a painter." She then pulled out the other two presents, a pair of Vans and her own lingerie by Rihanna. "Thank you Reezy." The two shared a kiss.

"I'm so nervous!" Jazmine admitted and Huey just shook his head.

"Jazmine just open it."

She rolled her eyes. "Fine." She got her own Savage X Fenty set which was also in her Wishlist. She guessed all the boys raided their phones to find what to get them. That's when she saw the next items and began to tear up. "Aww Hueyyy." She pulled out a teddy bear that had the most recent ultrasound on the stomach, a few unisex baby clothes and a hoodie that made Jazmine's tears drop. It was a picture of Huey and Jazmine on the front all dressed up for one of the dates they went on. It wasn't something Huey would wear but he knew Jazmine loved them type of things. He would do anything for her and seeing her smile was the best gift he could get.

She gave him a kiss. "I love you Huey."

"I love you too Jazmine."

She felt a kick and giggled. "We love you too baby. Don't think we've forgotten about you." She then turned to the girls. "Or any of you."

They then took out the boys presents and handed it to them.

"So if we never got your sum you wouldn't have gotten us sum?" Caesar questioned.

"Noo. We would have but just know that's the only present you'll be getting for a very long time." Cindy grinned.

Hiro shook his head. "Girls are evil."

"Only because you make us." Ming smirked.

Caesar went first and opened his bag. Cindy got him a beat pad, tickets to an upcoming Popcaan concert and some games. Everything was what he was trying to save up to get but of course Cindy had to spoil him.

Hiro received a new turntable after his one broke only last week with better things on it, games and some graphic t-shirt he had his eyes on that Ming knew he wanted.

Riley was very excited for his things. She got him some fire Jordan's, three different durags that matched her bonnets and an appointment for them to get grills. When asked how she managed to get the grills, she zipped her lips shut, telling him it was a secret and all paid for.

Huey was harder to get so Jazmine settled on getting him trainers, books she knew he didn't have by raiding his room to see what books he did have to then order ones based on all different black history and even some on law in America and how it effects black people. He knew he would appreciate it as a head start for when he starts college, especially with a baby on the way. He wanted to spend as much time as he could at home to watch his son or daughter grow. The other thing she got him was a silver chain because she always pictured him looking sexy with one on so he put in on for her straight after.

"Now that the gift is exchanged, let's all go get ready." Hiro smiled.

The girls were confused.

"Ready? Ready for what?" Ming questioned.

"For our joint dates of course. We can't go out tomorrow so we're going today." Caesar explained.

"You didn't have to." Cindy told them.

"Ay yall need to stop complaining like you weren't all on our dicks about 'forgetting' today. Shitt." Riley kissed is teeth which caused Royalty to kiss her own and then shove him.

"Eediot."

"Where we going to go?" Jazmine asked.

"Out." Huey answered.

"What do we wear?" Cindy asked.

Caesar smirked. "For you, my love, have to wear something baby blue. Ming, you have purple. Royalty you have red and Jazmine got pick."

"Hehe. Gay ass nigga." Riley mumbled but Huey heard and slapped him.

"What you waiting for? Let's go!" Hiro dragged Ming to stand. "See you guys later."

That left Huey, Riley and Jazmine alone.

Jazmine was still confused. "Huey, what's going on?"

He shrugged and made his way upstairs. "I suggest you start getting ready, we leave in an hour and a half."

She gasped, collected her things and ran up the stairs. "That nowhere near enough time Huey!"

Riley shook his head as he made his own way upstairs. "Women."


It was now evening and everyone has met up for their joint Valentines dinner and they were all looking amazing.

What the girls didn't know was that the boys were matching in colour which they all thought was very sweet.

Royalty had on a red satin skirt that had a matching lace, trim, thin strapped, crop top and then put on some black, open toe heels. Riley matched with his own black sneakers and black jeans with a red shirt that he had the top buttons undone. Cindy wore a baby blue sequin dress with white heels. Caesar wore a baby blue, polo neck jumper, denim jeans and jacket with white trainers to match Cindy. Ming decided on a purple latex dress with black heels. Hiro matched with a long sleeved, purple shirt with a black t-shirt underneath, black jeans and purple trainers. Jazmine had an off shoulder, long sleeved dress with white open toe shoes. Huey wore white jeans with a pink polo to match Jazmine and had on the chain she just got him to add a little more to the outfit.

They took endless pictures and plastered it all over social media and people were already calling them squad and relationship goals but they didn't care. Their love for each other was real and this was only a small portion of that love. They didn't post it for others to legitimise their love, they just did so.

"We all look amazing." Royalty complemented.

"See I knew we chose the right colours." Hiro smirked.

"Yeah, especially Jazmine. You've haven't stopped glowing!" Ming said excitedly.

Jazmine grinned and rubbed her stomach softly. "Thank you guys but we all equally look good."

"I just wanna know how you're walking in them damn heels." Cindy wondered.

Huey shook his head. "I tried to tell her to wear flats."

"I was not going to wear flats on such a nice night out. I will be fine, I'm not that big."

"Yet." Riley coughed out which got him a punch from Huey. "Ow! Damn nigga..."

"Let's just go inside." Caesar said and they all did just that.

As they walked in, she looked at Huey who looked good in pink and the chain she got him.

"I knew that chain would look good on you. Even the colour. I guess you best get used to it since that would be the colour you will be wearing at the baby shower." She smirked.

Huey rolled his eyes but smirked back. "I thought you was going to make me wear that stupid 'baby shower/baby daddy, shirt?"

She gasped. "Shit, you just reminded me to order it. Thanks baby." She gave him a kiss on the cheek.

Huey sighed. 'Why did I remind her?'

The group of friends walked in happy and relaxed. For the first time this week, they felt stress free and could finally feel themselves since the year started. They still had a long way ahead of them with graduation and a baby coming up but they knew they could do it.

Together, they could do anything.


A little Valentines thing there. I hope you enjoyed it. It was hard to think of presents they could get each other because what even is Valentines?

Chel29: They never can and I think we all wished Huey could do worse lool.

crazymancody985: Thanks! And I think a lot of people want it to be a girl but I guess we gotta wait and see.

While you're here you might as well go and read Gangster Love too.

Until next time

-TBG