Hey guys!
It took me a while to get this chap together, sorry :( but finally, here it is!
Enjoy!
The After Party
Caesar had almost forgotten just how quickly shit could hit the fan at Woodcrest.
Almost.
That was the only thing he could think to himself as he felt the weight of Riley's head on his lap, his arm supporting the younger boy so he wouldn't jostle too much over Huey's erratic driving.
"And then they were kissing!" Said boy vented, his grip on the steering wheel far to tight for Caesar's liking. From the moment Huey got to the car, slamming the door like it was nobody's business, he knew that something was wrong. "Nah, like this nigga has been around for like five minutes?! That's some fucking bullshit! I knew I shouldn't have come to this godforsaken party!"
Huey sped through a bump that sent them about a foot in the air, but the driver seemed unbothered. "Huey, I understand that you're upset," Caesar gave Riley a wary look when the boy groaned. "But I kinda wanna get home alive, know what I mean?!" Riley shifted against Caesar in a way that he did not like. "Um...man I think you should-"
"And it wasn't just a fucking peck on the lips either!" He growled. "A full-blown make-out session! They were tonguing each other down! Sweet and innocent my ass!" Caesar was focusing on Riley, whose shoulders were hitching up weirdly, and whose face seemed oddly pale against the moonlight.
"Huey, I think you need to pull over,"
"What if they start dating?!" Caesar was growing tired of the incessant bitching. "Ooh I'll bet money they're gonna start dating. Jazmine being absolutely clueless as she is gonna fall right into his trap. All he wants to do is get in her pants, I can feel it." Caesar's eyes widened when Riley gave an ominous burp, his breathing hitching on his throat. "And when she gets her heart broken for the umpteenth time where's she gonna run to? Not this nigga! No sir, not this time!"
"Huey-"
"I mean, can this night get any worse?!"
"Huey!"
"What?!"
"BLEEEEUGH" The thing that Caesar had been dreading for this whole car ride had happened, right on his feet. The sour stench of booze and stomach acid assaulted his nostrils and he didn't know who exactly to be angry at, Huey, for not giving his rant a fucking rest and pulling over, or for Riley for upchucking on his fresh new kicks.
"AAAH HELL NAH!" He screamed. "This fool done barfed on my Jay's!"
Huey watched the scene through the rearview mirror, his mouth set in a thin line, clenching his jaw to tightly his teeth could break. "No he didn't." He stated coldly.
"He did!"
"He didn't." He repeated. If Caesar had been paying attention he might've seen the slight twitch on his friend's eyes and noticed how his voice was dangerously low, but he was far more preoccupied with the belch and the fresh wave of sick that decorated Dorothy's back seats.
"He did! And he still is! Pullover, what is wrong with you?!" Caesar snapped and felt the car come to a halt on a curb next to the park. He urgently opened the door, hastily leaving the car, feeling his own stomach get queasy. He propped Riley up into a sitting position just in time for another round to make a reappearance. "God, it smells like something straight out of a whiskey bottle," Caesar looked around and frowned when he noticed Huey's absence. Where the hell-
"AAAAARRRRRGH" The sudden yell made Caesar jump and even Riley, who seemed pretty out of it looked up startled before ducking his head back towards the ground. Caesar then saw Huey frantically kicking a tree so hard he was surprised he hadn't injured his foot in the process and flipping off whatever divine force he was cursing at. "FUCK YOU! WHO THE FUCK Y'ALL PLAYING WITH?!"
Caesar sighed, patting Riley's back sympathetically and shaking his head. Damn, it was two in the morning.
Huey urgently needed to work on his anger management issues.
When Huey woke up he had hoped against hope itself that it all had been an oddly realistic nightmare.
But he wasn't a hopeful guy, and he knew his futile attempt at "hoping" was just his mind refusing to accept the truth, because, as he so eagerly liked to make clear for everyone, the truth hurt like a bitch.
Because even if he wouldn't admit to most, seeing Jazmine and that guy (whom Huey didn't even want to dignify with a name) canoodling was a hard fucking pill to swallow, and it stung like a bitch.
It stung because Huey wanted to be in his place. It stung because he had the perfect opportunity and he let it go for seemingly no other reason other than the fact that he was a full-blown punk.
After he had threatened to break his whole leg off on Riley's ass if he didn't get the fuck up to go clean Dorothy before Granddad woke up, he hopped into his bike and headed to Caesar's, avoiding the Dubois' residence like a satanist avoiding church.
"Do you know how early it is?" Caesar answered the front door wearing nothing but a pair Simpsons themed boxers, the glare on his bloodshot eyes as apparent as the lines on his face from the pillow.
"It's nine a.m Caesar, it's not that early." Huey rolled his eyes as Caesar narrowed his.
"Well, since I was up until four in the morning trying to clean up your brother's filth off my kicks 'cause your head was too far up you own ass to pull over-"
"Okay, damn!" He put his hands up in mock surrender. "I'm sorry! Get back to bed then, I won't bother you anymore," He snapped, stomping down the driveway and propping his bike up.
"Well, You already have," He heard Caesar sigh heavily behind. "Get your ass back in here." Huey felt his lips curve upwards; that always worked. Caesar shoved him inside the house, sucking his teeth. "Jesus, you're so dramatic, no wonder you and Jazmine-" The boy caught a glimpse of Huey's narrowed eyes "Nevermind." Caesar gave him a wary look as he rolled his eyes. "Go on upstairs, Imma grab me some water," The boy rubbed the sleep off his eyes and Huey headed up the stairs.
If somebody asked Huey to describe Caesar with just one picture, he'd show them a photo of his room. Cluttered and a bit all-over-the-place, but overall an organized mess. one side of the wall was decorated with shelves of his many trophies and medals he had gotten over the years from the sports he played, and the other side with various posters, from Queen and Eazy-E to Kobe Bryant, showing off his most prized possession, his guitar, right in the middle. His second most prized possession, the keyboard, below it.
One couldn't exactly tell exactly if Caesar was a huge jock or a music geek, sometimes a political activist when he was particularly inspired, but one thing he was for sure was an organized mess.
Huey plopped down on his bed and a few minutes later Caesar showed up, wearing a wince and holding a tall glass of cold water in one hand and a few tablets in the other. "You good?" Huey asked as the boy sat down on his desk chair.
Caesar shrugged, as he swallowed the tablets. "Hangover," He gave Huey a look. "And I feel like it's about to get a hell of a lot worse." Huey glared at him and Caesar smirked. "Go on my friend, share your predicament with uncle Ceez,"
"I already have."
"Nah, see, none of what you said made a whole lot of sense to me," He said matter-of-factly. "And even if it did, it's not like I was paying too much attention considering the fact that I had barf running down my trousers-" Caesar stopped, swallowing hard with a grimace and taking a sip of his water. "So, enlighten me."
And so Huey did, telling the events of the part in greater detail, and less anger, than he had the night before.
"Damn," Caesar had said after a moment, scratching the back of his head with a sheepish look. "I don't even know what to say,"
"Whatever it is, it better not be 'I told you so'," Caesar bit his lips, holding back a smirk. Huey groaned, laying down on the bed, glaring up at the ceiling. "Man...it almost feels like she did it out of spite."
"Quit being stupid," Caesar furrowed his eyebrows, incredulously. "This is Jazmine we're talking about, she couldn't be spiteful even if she tried to. Maybe she did it out of frustration, which is understandable after that stunt you pulled," Caesar didn't even acknowledge the glare that was thrown at his direction. "But man, you and I both know you kinda you brought this upon yourself."
"What do you mean?" Huey narrowed his eyes. Caesar shrugged, his eyes glancing to the side.
"What I mean is that you had the better part of the last what-four years? This coulda been done. But you get off on internalizing your shit for some reason," Huey avoided his look, his mouth twisting into a frown. "Well, what you gonna do now?"
"What is there to do?" Huey slumped back. "I lost my shot. Boo-fucking-hoo."
"Huey, it was just. A. Kiss." Caesar enunciated every word, trying to keep his patience. " For the love of God, it's not like they're getting married anytime soon."
"So you think I still gotta chance?"
"of course my dude! But now, you got competition, and that ain't good." Caesar narrowed his eyes, thoughtfully. "Though that may work on your favor...you do work well under pressure." Huey saw Caesar's eyes glint and his mouth turn upwards like it always did when he got one of his brilliant ideas. "but you gotta work now, he's already got an advance."
"Caesar, this isn't a fucking competition and Jazmine is not a trophy to be won."
"I'm not saying that she is!" He put his arms up in mock surrender. "Don't go putting words in my mouth nigga! All I'm saying is that there's no point moping and brooding around when you could do something about it while you got time. Whatever happened to decisive action?" Caesar sighed, shaking his head. "But I think you need to take your mind off of it for a bit, you look about ready to explode."
"I feel about ready to explode," Damn, who knew that catching feelings could be so exhausting?
"How about this, we play some soccer, you let out some steam, and when you get some peace of mind we think about the next step? Sounds good to you?" Huey nodded, eager to occupy his mind with something that didn't have green eyes and poofy hair.
He appreciated Caesar more than he'd admit. They were best friends for a reason after all. Huey used to think that he was fine on his by himself, that he could handle his own bullshit peacefully, but he had to admit, even the most stubborn people needed friends to fall back on when shit hit the fan.
Caesar stood up, grabbing some clothes from his dresser and headed to the door. Before he left the room though he turned to his friend, who gave him a weird look when he smirked widely. "What?"
"Well...a nigga did tell you so,"
Caesar had just enough time to slam the door shut before the soccer ball Huey had thrown in his direction made direct contact with his face.
"Cindy, you talked and talked and I still fail to understand what the problem is," Jazmine sighed as she detangled her hair. "I mean, what happened sucked but Riley only got into that fight to defend you or whatever," Jazmine was a bit impatient, but she felt that she was in her own right to be. She spent half the night crying over what had happened at her once-perfect birthday party, and the other half stressing over the casting for the ballet performance.
"But dat's the point. I told him before we started dating that I ain't want nun' to change other than the fact that we were now official, now that nigga wanna act like he sum goddamn hero o' sum?"
"Cindy-"
"Like, that nigga know better than errybody else I don't like nobody up in mah business, but he just had to act like the hero, and what happened? He got hurt!" Jazmine stopped what she was doing and gave Cindy a weird look.
"Huh, so that's what it really boils down to."
"Wut?"
"You're not mad that Riley fought for you, you're mad that he got hurt, and now you're blaming yourself," The girl said matter-of-factly, putting her hair up in a slick ponytail. She smirked, watching Cindy's dumbstruck expression through the mirror on her dresser. "Who would've thought...McFearsome got soft!"
"Girl, quit playin' " the blonde snapped, making Jazmine giggle. "Ain't nobody here gettin' soft other than yo' own self!"
"Aww C, I've always been though!" Cindy rolled her eyes, smirking at her friend; "And don't beat yourself up. After all, Riley was the one to whoop some butt yesterday. Sucks that it had to be at my party but oh well...what you gonna do..." She trailed off, finally putting her afro into a neat bun. "And I think you gotta go talk to him about it."
"Yeah whatevah...but anyways, somebody got dirt wit' Peter Pan huh?!" Jazmine went red in the face.
"I didn't get dirty with anyone, Cynthia. Watch yourself," Cindy snickered behind her. "We just kissed."
"Bitch please!" Cindy snorted. "Y'all were making the fuck out. Shit, I ain't even know you had it in ya." Jazmine felt her cheeks get hotter. She didn't know what she was thinking; she was sad, frustrated...angry, he was just there, and the next thing she knew His mouth was on hers. "Shit, you shoulda seen that nigga's face."
"Whose face?" Jazmine scrunched up her eyebrows. She thought they were all alone up until the moment Cindy came barging in screaming about how Riley was a fucking idiot.
"Whose face Jazmine?!" Cindy retorted sarcastically, rolling her eyes. "Damn, he looked ready to barf. Or I dunno have a brain aneurysm or something...all I know is that nigga looked pressed-"
"Cynthia!" Jazmine interrupted, getting frustrated. "Who are you talking about?!"
"Huey nigga, duh!" She huffed, narrowing her eyes and Jazmine's jaw dropped. "What? You gon' tell me you ain't know? And quit calling me 'Cynthia' girl, damn!"
"Huey saw it?!" Jazmine's voice sounded shrill as her eyes widened to the size of saucers. "Oh no,"
"Yeah, he barged in on me when I was lookin' fo' you, and then I asked where yo' ass was at. He looked ready to kill a nigga," Cindy snorted, though she sobered up a bit when she saw the look on Jazmine's face. "Wait...you didn't know?"
"Of course not Cindy! You think I would've done that if I knew?!"
"I dunno!" She threw her hand up in the air. "You were mad at the shit he pulled at the dance floor, maybe it was revenge or sum' "
"Who do you think I am?!" Jazmine shook her head, an incredulous look on her face.
"Sum girl who know how to handle her shit and ain't gon' let no nigga play her like a game!" Jazmine bit her lip, looking away from Cindy. She didn't think he was a player. She knew player, she had been with players and if there was somebody that could as far from that spectrum as possible was Huey. "Shit, that at least served to put his inflated ego in check."
At least she didn't want to believe that.
"he's not a player," she stated simply. Cindy huffed, shrugging at the girl.
"whatevah you say Jaz. I thought that he played you like fucking GTA, but what do I know?" Jazmine let out a breath, feeling her chest tighten slightly. "Besides, ain't it almost time fo' you to get to yo' class?"
"Yeah, we better get going if we're gonna walk." Jazmine grabbed her stuff and left the room. Jazmine opened the door and shivered slightly as the chilly fall wind stung her skin, covering her in goosebumps, and she realized she left with her leotard exposed. "Dang..."
"I'll get your coat," Cindy sighs, already making her way up the stairs. "Damn, always forgetting yo' shit..." Jazmine chuckles at the girl as she waited outside, hugging her body against the cold.
"Ayo! Jaz!" she heard a familiar voice from the house across the street and turned as Riley approached her. She grimaced when she took a proper look at his face and saw a blackened eye and a weird bump around his temple. "Yo, I was finna talk to you,"
"Are you alright?" She asked, taking his slightly fuzzy chin into her hand and examining his face. "sheesh..." He huffed, holding her arm away from her with a scowl on his face.
"Gurl, 'Course I am! Shit, dis ain't nothing." Jazmine shrugged, retrieving her hand. She looked back at the house nervously, just waiting for the moment Cindy would show up again.
She'd really rather not take any more stress from these two.
"Gurl, I just wanted to apologize." Jazmine gave him a weird look. "I mean, you kno' nun of dat shit was my fault, but I felt kinda bad. You been talking 'bout dis party since we kids so...sorry o' whatevah..." He looked at her sheepishly and she shook her head, her mouth forming a grin.
"What is it with you and your brother apologizing all of a sudden?" She muttered. "It's okay Riley, I don't blame you. He's an idiot, you just did what you had to do."
"Aight, see, that's why I likes ya," Jazmine giggled, rolling her eyes. "But f'real tho, you kno 'bout Cindy? She been ghosting since yesterday..." He scratched his braids and Jazmine felt her heart palpitating and she tried not to look inside her house as best as she could, but her face gave it away.
"Uh...Cindy? Um, well..." Riley narrowed his eyes as they heard heavy footsteps trudge down the stairs. "...She's here?"
Cindy glared at the boy in front of her, threw Jazmine the jacket and shoved both of them out of her way, stomping down the street. "C!" Riley yelled running beside her. "Wut's wrong witchu?"
"What's wrong with me?! The fuck's wrong wit' you?!" Jazmine sighed, following the both of them defeatedly.
This was gonna be a hell of a long walk...
In truth, Jazmine used to not even like ballet all that much.
She was forced into it by her mother before she was old enough to make her own decisions, something about it building character and discipline. Jazmine hated it.
She was too klutzy and hyperactive to actually be good at it when she was little, and between the teacher's incessant scolding and the mockery of the other girls, ballet had become only a nuisance, another thing that she had to do because her overbearing parents didn't give her free will.
That all changed pretty quickly after they moved to Woodcrest and she was enrolled into Woodcrest Center of The Performing Arts.
It was definitely a lot smaller than the old dance school she used to attend back in Boston, and she was wary when she went to her first class, but the teacher opened her mouth, Jazmine's perception on ballet changed completely.
Mrs. Janette had immediately taken a liking to her, and instead of berating her for her antics, she pushed her to do better, and incorporate her energy into her dancing. Jazmine suddenly started looking forward to her classes and stuff she'd never think she'd get excited about such as finally getting to use pointe shoes and managing to do double pirouettes.
Ballet was both her safe haven and her own personal hell. Yes, she knew she was good...
But was she good enough?
"Hey girl," Jade sat beside her as Jazmine put on her pointe shoes before class started. Her face seemed almost worried and Jazmine knew why, but she offered a small smile. "How you've been? Yesterday was crazy..."
"I'm okay honestly...What's a party without some drama right?" Jade snorted, nodding as she slipped on her own shoes.
"You're not wrong. good music, easily accessible booze if you have your ways and a fight to top it all off? What more can a teenager want?" Jazmine nodded, wrapping the ribbon around her ankle. "So...have you sorted your things out with Huey?" Jazmine sighed, biting her lip and shaking her head. She felt a weird, almost guilty feeling in the pit of her stomach when his name was mentioned.
"Nope...And it's actually a whole lot worse than I first imagined..." Jade knitted her eyebrows together. "Well...right before the fight broke out Huey and I were talking...He apologized and everything, but then he was just about to say something before everything hit the fan..."
"Yikes..."
"And well, between all that madness I found Peter, and he took me away from that mess because I was like freaking out. And..."
"And?"
"Well...we kinda kissed..." Jazmine ignored the girl's slight gasp. "And apparently Huey saw it."
"...Damn," was all Jade said. Jazmine nodded dejectedly. "Well...maybe that's not so bad..." Jazmine gave her a weird look as she stretched out her legs into a split.
"What do you mean?" She asked, doing the same. Jade shrugged, not looking Jazmine in the eyes.
"I'm just saying...I dunno, I just don't think you're a good match, I'm just saying." She said nonchalantly.
"What do you mean, though?" Jazmine repeated herself, but just then Mrs. Janette cleared her throat, making everyone go silent.
"Good afternoon class!" Jazmine knew that the class wasn't silent because they were particularly disciplined, everyone was just really hellbent on knowing what the casting would be for the performance. The woman had been teasing them for weeks, it was absolute madness. "Mrs. DuBois! Glad to see you here with us today, we've missed you yesterday."
Jazmine offered a sheepish look at the woman. "I'm sorry Mrs. Janette." The woman nodded, setting her things with an unnerving smile that had everyone on the edge. Jazmine felt her heart quicken but tried to act nonchalant as she warmed her ankle.
"Well class, I'm sure all of you are very excited for today," Her blues eyes seemed to pierce into each and every one of her students. Jazmine could tell she was having too much fun with this. "Before we start today, there are a few things I'd like to say." This had to classify as some sort of psychological torture. She looked at Jade, who was biting her lip so hard she was sure it would bleed sometime soon.
"So," The woman went on calmly, as if this was any other boring day where they were just working on flexibility. "As you all know I've been dedicating the last few weeks to studying you all thoroughly, and I think I'm finally comfortable with my decision." Everyone seemed to stop breathing for a moment.
"As you all know, this year won't be like our usual performances, and I'm not saying that they aren't important, because they are but this year...we mean business. Literally." Mrs. Janette had ditched the cheeky smirk by that point, her face taking a very serious as she straightened her composure. "We'll have to show Mr. Wuncler that his funding wasn't in vain. This performance could take this company, our company, to the next level."
"Now, I need you to keep one thing in mind: There is nothing personal about the choices I've made. I've worked with most of you for years. Of course, we did welcome a new addition," She quickly glanced at Jade. "But if I didn't think that you've all got what it takes to take dance professionally, you wouldn't be in the advanced placement, to begin with. Are we all clear?" The class nodded in agreement.
It was true. They had class six days a week, three hours a day. It was an exhausting routine, that led to many missed parties, lack of free time and stress over unfinished homework, but to them it was all worth it. The company was the best one in the area, having a big name even outside the Woodcrest and they were the ones who represented it.
"I don't wanna see no tears. We're not a big class, and you've known for weeks what the deal is going to be. There'll only be one sugar-plum fairy, only one nutcracker, etcetera etcetera. And of course, I've said this a hundred times and will say it a hundred more if necessary: Ballet is a group effort. The Corps de Ballet is what makes this show so magical." She smiled confidently at her young pupils. Well, if anything, Jazmine had to admit: The woman sure knew her way with words.
"So….You're planning to tell us anytime soon or…?" Elliot, one of few male dancers, asked with his hand raised. Mrs. Janette smiled at the boy and nodded.
"Don't be impatient Mr. Lewis." She glanced at Jazmine briefly. "You will know when it's time."
When Riley asked Cindy out, he knew what he was signing up for.
He'd always known she was a strong-headed, stubborn ass bitch who don't take shit from anybody, and if she didn't like something she'd be sure to let you know. That was why Riley liked her so much, that girl was ruthless.
And it was that same endearment that kept Riley from taking his shit and leaving Cindy bitching by her own damn self in the middle of the restaurant.
They've always fought since they were kids. Their whole relationship started with a mutual animosity to begin with, so obviously he wasn't enough of a fool to think that it would be any different now that they were together.
He just didn't think their first fight as a couple would be over something that, in his mind, was just so damn stupid.
He sighed, trying to keep himself from rolling his eyes because he just knew how much Cindy hated hat shit and instead glanced at the counter, noticing how Mr. Caesar's focus which had surely been on them suddenly turned to the counter he was wiping. Riley narrowed his eyes, that old nigga was almost as nosey as his son. At least the place had been pretty empty.
"Yo!" Cindy snapped. "You listening to what I'm saying nigga?" Riley looked back at her. He was pretty used to her icy glare, but admittedly, it never got any less unnerving.
"Gurl I been listenin' fo' the past two hours!" Riley retorted. "And I still can't figure out why you so pressed."
"Is you dumb boy?"
"Dis conversation is!" He retorted, feeling his own temper rising. "I forreal don't know why you still on my ass over this! If anything I thought you'd be fucking happy or sum' shit."
"Happy for what Riley?" She snorted humorlessly. "What? You wanted me to swoon over my hero or sum' sappy shit like dat?" Riley allowed himself to roll his eyes then and he didn't even give a fuck at Cindy's low growl as he did so.
"No gurl! I just thought you'd be happy to know your nigga got your back!"
"I got my own back, thank you,"
"Shit, the fuck you wanted me to do Cindy?" It was his turn to snap. "Just stand there and let that nigga talk to you like you some random broad?! Gurl, fuck outta here. Somebody disrespecting you, they disrespecting me too and that's it."
"Riley-"
"And if the fact that I care about you and ain't gon' let no lame ass nigga treat you any type of way is so horrible then we don't need to do dis shit." He blurted out before he could stop himself. Of course, he didn't mean any of that but this whole conversation was frustrating.
"What do you mean?" She asked after a beat of silence. Her voice sounded unnervingly quiet and Riley noticed the strength with which her jaw was set.
"I mean that I ain't the bad guy here, but you keep acting like I am." He sighed, scratching the back of his braids. "We're out here havin' dis stupid ass fight ovah nuthing." Riley felt like there was something she wasn't telling him, she wouldn't be tripping so damn hard for no reason.
"Yo, look who it is!" They heard a very familiar voice and Riley groaned out loud as he saw his brother and Caesar carrying a soccer ball in their hands, positively the last two people he wanted to see today, walk in the restaurant. "Fucking Mike Tyson himself!"
"What is y'all doin' here?"
"Nigga my dad owns this place, what do you think?" Caesar rolled his eyes. "What are you doing in here...or better yet, how was your cleanup?" He smirked narrowing his eyes at Riley. If looks could kill Caesar would've dropped dead right then and there.
"What?" Cindy raised her eyebrows. "What y'all talkin' 'bout?"
"It's a funny story," Huey said, though there was no hint of humor on his voice. "See, what happened was-"
"Nuthing!" Riley snipped quickly. "I uh...I spilled something in the back of Granddad's car on the way back home yesterday,"
"He spilled something alright-" Caesar started chuckling, but stopped when he saw the dangerous look he was throwing between them and Cindy. "A drink." Riley visibly relaxed, ignoring as best as he could Cindy's scrutinizing look.
"Just 'cuz you daddy owns this place don't mean nobody invited y'all to sit here," Cindy mumbled as Caesar sat next to her and Huey next to Riley. If anything, he was glad to be able to end this conversation, at least for now.
"Damn, no love today!" Caesar said, but sat down on the table beside them anyway, Huey following suit. "I would ask what's wrong with y'all but I guess it ain't my business."
"Well that's a first." Huey quipped.
"Shut up," Caesar rolled his eyes, pulling his phone and charger from his back pocket and connecting it to the power plug next to his seat.
"So, how was the rest of the party for y'all," Riley saw the silent exchange between Cindy and Huey with a raised eyebrow. The only person who could match Huey's glare was Cindy, and the staredown between them seemed intense.
"What y'all-"
"Yo," Caesar interrupted him. It would've annoyed Riley if he suddenly didn't look so alarmed. "Hold the fuck up."
"What? What is it?" Huey started, seemingly glad to dodge the subject. Caesar's mouth was agape as he stared at his phone. He looked at Riley, eyes wide, and cracked a grin.
"Nigga when the hell were you planning to tell us you're famous now?"
"The fuck is yo' goofy ass talking 'bout?" Riley's patience, which Cindy had been testing for the last three hours, was already wearing thin.
"You don't know?" Caesar looked at Cindy and then at Huey, all of whom gave him the same look. "None of you do?"
"Know what nigga?!" Riley snapped, reaching for Caesar's phone and snatching it from his hand. He ignored the boy's complaints as he focused on the screen in front of him.
It was a video on twitter, and at first Riley didn't know what it was about but when he saw a very familiar head of cornrows everything made sense.
The exchange between Brandon and himself couldn't be heard over the sound of the still oblivious crowd, but Riley had to admit, whoever had recorded them made an impressive job at it. "Damn," Riley uttered as he saw the first jab he delivered. Huey got closer to him, focusing on the video himself before shaking his head disapprovingly.
He couldn't remember much of the fight itself...hell he was hammered, the only reminders were the abused skin on his knuckles and the dull ache on the side of his head that almost made his eyes water when he woke up.
And of course...Huey made sure to remind him in his own way.
The video stopped right at the moment his brother yanked him away, and Riley was glad, he really didn't want to watch himself get punched by that dunce. But then something else caught his attention and his own eyes widened.
50k views
"Bruh, what the hell?!" Caesar grabbed his phone again, looking disgruntled. "Fifty thousand views?"
"Shit's going viral!" Caesar handed the phone to Cindy. "That girl Lindsay posted it to her account, and you know she's got some clout."
"Lemme see dis shit again," Cindy handed the phone back to Riley, who promptly ignore the sour look on her face.
"I must say, I'm kinda impressed, his ass was like twice your size?" Caesar chuckled and Riley rolled his eyes, skimming through the replies. "Shit didn't seem to go down that hard when y'all was at it yesterday."
"Yes it did," Huey stated, closing his eyes with a slight huff.
"Nigga please. I'm just a few inches shorter than him."
"Ha!" Caesar audibly laughed. "Boy that dude's taller than me! You? Like five-seven on a good day." Riley glared for what seemed like the umpteenth time at Caesar. "With your timbs on."
"Whatevah nigga!" He handed the phone back to Caesar. "At least I got that clout!" He gave Cindy a cocky grin.
"Your phone must be blowing up, how the hell you ain't seen it yet?"
Riley shrugged. "I just left it at home, you know, wasn't really planning on coming all the way up here," His eyes never left his girlfriend's, who stared at him with the same intensity.
"Then why did you? Ain't nobody asked you to come."
"Yeah, I don't really feel like sticking around for this..." Huey deadpanned and made his way to the bathroom.
Riley felt his nostrils flare, his scowl matching his brother's perfectly. He sucked his teeth, already done with the bullshit. He was just about to give the girl a piece of his mind, which, in retrospect, would have probably earned him a fresh ass-whooping right then and there but just then he saw Jazmine outside the window of the restaurant, running down the street and making a beeline to the front door.
Cindy's expression softened instantly as she saw her friend. Jazmine looked like a soda can somebody had just shaken up and was about to explode. "Girl." Cindy stood up and Riley raised an eyebrow at the sudden smile that decorated the girl's face. "Shut the fuck up,"
"YEES!" Jazmine screeched so loudly that Riley was sure his ears were going to bleed at any second. The mulatto jumped on Cindy's arms, who easily held the smaller girl up. "I GOT IT! I GOT THE-"
"Michael!" Mr. Caesar emerged from the kitchen, a very rare stern look his face. Caesar audibly gulped, offering his father a sheepish look.
"Um...hi Pops…"
"What da hell is all that screaming boy?!" He crossed his bulky arms over his chest. "You trynna scare customers away?"
"Dad, ain't nobody here other than us!"
"Don't talk back to me boy!" He held up the spatula he held very menacingly. Caesar groaned, knowing fully well that his father, while very calm and chill most times, was still a Jamaican dad who wouldn't refrain from beating his ass in the middle of the restaurant if he just felt like it.
"It was my fault, Mr. Caesar," Jazmine spoke up, letting go of Cindy to offer the man an apologetic look. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean to be this loud," Riley highly doubted that, as he still felt his ears ringing. Suddenly, Mr. Caesar smiled and nodded at the girl.
"Oh, it's aight Lil Baby, today is a slow day anyway. Y'all go back to having your fun." Caesar's mouth was agape as his father retreated back to the kitchen.
"This nigga…" Caesar rolled his eyes with a huff. "Whatever…"
"Sorry Ceez, I didn't mean for that to happen…"
"It's aight," Caesar shrugged. "He's been on edge lately, I don't even know why…" He looked at Jazmine again, a similar smirk as that of his father's decorating his face. "But what got you so buzzed girl?"
"Eep!" Jazmine squeaked, bouncing on the balls of her feet. "Remember the ballet thing I told you guys about?! That special part?"
"How can we not? Yo' ass ain't shut up about it fo' weeks." Riley grumbled. Jazmine giggled, seemingly bursting with excitement.
"I got it!" She was clearly restraining herself from screaming again. "I'm the Sugar-Plum Freaking Fairy!"
"That's awesome Jaz!" Caesar stood up himself, hugging the girl tightly "Congrats! See I told you, you better quit doubting yourself girl!"
"Dat's gay," Riley stated.
"Boy shut up!" She hopped towards the boy and gave him a sloppy kiss on the cheek, who promptly pulled away, cursing under his breath and wiping his cheek roughly. "This is awesome! The best birthday present ever." She clapped to herself, sitting on the seat next to Riley.
"Congratulations," Jazmine seemed to stiffen in her seat at the deep voice that came from behind. Riley turned around, slightly startled himself.
"Um, thanks Huey."
"Damn, why you creeping up on niggas?" He looked at his brother and his eyebrows knitted together in confusion.
Riley noticed the slight twitch on his brother's face, and how his eyebrows seemed more arched than normal, which at first didn't faze him- Huey's default facial expressions were either scowling or scowling hard, but then he noticed just how flustered everyone around the tables seemed and just how dense the air felt all of a sudden.
"Yo," He started carefully, confusion etched on his face. "Am I missing something here?"
Jazmine(19:40): So r we just not gonna talk about what happened or…
Huey held his breath for a second too long as he read the text message that had just popped up on his phone. Damn, he had just spent the last thirty minutes under the shower trying to get her out of his mind at least for the remainder of the night, but it seemed like he couldn't escape it.
He couldn't escape her.
Huey(19:41): What is there to talk about?
Jazmine(19:41): Huey…
Jazmine(19:41): Ur not stupid
Jazmine(19:41): Don't act like it.
Ouch.
He sighed, frowning at the quick pace in which his heart was beating.
Huey(19:42): I don't know what you mean?
Jazmine(19:42): :/
Jazmine(19:42): k then, if that's what u wanna do…
Jazmine(19:42): I just don't want things between us to be weird….
Huey(19:42): Why would they be?
He knew that by this point he was just being petty, but he wanted to see what she had to say about it. The awkwardness between them had been so contagious that the group didn't even hang around the restaurant for a while like they usually did.
And maybe it was his fault, maybe he had made it abundantly clear that he was uncomfortable, so what? It's not like people didn't know why.
It's not like she didn't know why.
Jazmine(19:42): That's what I'm trying to figure out!
Jazmine(19:42): Not to mention the fact that u never told me what you wanted to say at the party!
Huey(19:43): Just forget about it.
Huey(19:43): It's not important.
Jazmine(19:43): Oh yeah, of course not
Jazmine(19:43): Whatever Huey…
Jazmine(19:43): I'm just trying to clear out things between us
He suddenly felt very guilty. He knew how Jazmine got whenever she thought somebody was mad at her, and while yes, he was still pretty pissed, he couldn't say he was necessarily angry at her. If anything, he was angry at himself and his tremendous lack of courage and self-confidence, or maybe at the absurd timing of things, that simply didn't allow him to say what needed to be said.
And whatever it was, certainly wasn't something that should be discussed over text messages.
Huey(19:43): There's nothing to clear out.
Huey(19:43): We're fine.
Jazmine(19:43): If you think so…
Huey(19:43): I know so.
He just needed time to digest everything and think things through. Seeing Jazmine at Rasta's was a mistake, and in retrospect, it could have been completely avoidable. They knew what time she got off ballet, they had seen Cindy and Riley there, it just made sense that she'd show up soon or later.
But unfortunately it seemed that when it came to her, he could easily forget what the word sense meant.
Jazmine(19:44): Kay then...
Jazmine(19:44): I just wanna make sure
Jazmine(19:44): I don't want anything on our way
Jazmine(19:44): U know you're my best friend...
He audibly groaned. Why did she have to be like this?
Huey(19:44): Yes, I'm aware.
Huey(19:44): We're good.
Huey(19:44): Goodnight Jazmine.
Oh, to be young and in Love….
Jazmine(19:45): Night-Night :)
Jazmine(19:45): Luv u
Jazmine(19:45): No matter what!
Yeah, fuck that.
I know, it's kinda iffy...I was kinda struggling to get it together, but oh well, I promise I'll do better!
In other news, a very exciting thing happened since the last update! We were at 800 something views and as of right now we're almost at 1.3k! Idk if this actually means anything, but it sure does for me! That's crazy!
A BIG thank you to everyone who's coming back for more, you don't know how much it makes me happy! As always, if you like this fic PLEEEEASE make sure to review and fav it!
By the way, I think that chapters from here on out will be a bit longer. I'll try to post weekly, but don't hold me to it lol
Hope you're all enjoying the fic so far!
XOXO
-Agatha