Well damn, it's been a while.

I'm not gonna dump my excuses at you cause I'm not here for that lol. Enjoy the chap!

Walking The Fine Line

Huey was somewhat used to watch from the sidelines.

Of course, whenever he felt tempted he could shout and make himself heard pretty easily, but he found that it was hardly ever necessary, and only the more time-consuming and strenuous. Quietly observing things proved to be much more effective whenever he wanted to get information anyway.

A person's behavior could be much telling than their words. This proved to be particularly true for Jazmine, who had spent the last week trying to convince everyone, herself included, that everything was perfectly fine.

"But forreal tho, what's up her ass?" It was a testament to how off her behaviour had been for the past few days how even a painfully unobservant person such as Riley could see that there was something wrong.

Huey didn't know how or when had Jazmine become the main topic of the conversation over the lunch table, but he kept himself quiet. True to his word, he hadn't said a word of what had happened to anyone else, but understandably, the group was growing suspicious.

"Aunno, but she needa get that shit checked quick," Cindy sucked her teeth, scowling at her pizza. "Bitch snapped at me fo' no reason! No joke I was about to jump on that ass if she ain't mah homegirl. That's sum fucked up shit!."

"It really is though," Caesar scratched the back of his head with a frown on his face. "This isn't like her at all. None of this. She hasn't eaten lunch with us since the start of the week...there's something really weird going on." He looked over at Huey who maintained his usual deadpan expression throughout the conversation.

"Maybe it's sum to do with her folks?" Riley chimed in and Huey felt his whole body stiffen. It wouldn't be unreasonable for Riley to have overheard their conversation at some point in time, but if it had happened, why didn't he nag Huey about it like he usually did? "I mean, they always out here screamin' and shit...them niggas need to get laid, that's wassup."

"Tom's limp dick probably ain't doin' it no mo'," Cindy said, snickering.

Caesar let out a stream of air through his nose, holding back a grin. "Has it ever?"

"Y'all really ain't got nothing better to do than talk about a couple's sex life huh?" Huey rolled his eyes, shaking his head and feeling incredibly annoyed at the accuracy of their mockery. "Honestly…"

"Uh, first of all, we ain't talking about no sex life," Said Cindy through a mouthful. "We talkin' 'bout a lack of it."

Huey narrowed his eyes at the white girl with a mix disgust and vexation. "Your stupidity never ceases to astound me."

"Shit, did I lie tho?" Huey grunted in irritation, but didn't say anything. "Why you so pressed anyway? Ain't like we're talking 'bout your lack of a sex life," Huey's eyebrow twitched as he felt his face grow hot. "Or your limp dick," Riley burst out laughing, giving his girlfriend a high-five.

Huey gritted his teeth, shooting a glare at Caesar who was trying his damndest to suppress a laugh behind his hand. "McPhearson I fucking swear to God-"

"Nigga prolly know something and ain't sharing," Riley said after he had calmed down, crossing his arms over his chest and smirking at the look his brother gave him.

"Why the hell would I?"

"Uh, I dunno nigga, maybe she talked about it when y'all had that sleepover," Huey felt incredibly inclined to slap that sly smile off of Riley's lips, and he very well would have if he wasn't suddenly under Caesar's scrutinizing stare.

"Sleepover?!" Caesar furrowed his eyebrows. "Do tell."

"It wasn't an actual sleepover," Huey quickly corrected. "She forgot her keys at the dance studio on Saturday and her parents weren't home, that was it." He repeated the lie they had told his grandad with ease, trying to ignore the heat that was rising from his chest and trying to act as nonchalant as always. "Riley's just talking out of his ass, nothing unusual about that."

"I'm the one talking out of my ass?!" Riley scoffed loudly. "Forreal nigga? Then why the fuck was they lights on and shit huh? Explain that!"

"I don't know! It ain't my house!"

"You and Jazmine can't lie to save your own sorry asses and y'all know it!"

"I'm not lying!" Huey's voice was strained, a clear sign that he very much was lying. "That's what she told me! Why don't you ask her instead of being on my ass about it?"

"You're full of shit!" It was Caesar's turn to accuse the poor boy. Huey groaned in frustration, pinching the bridge of his nose and getting almost inclined to tell the true turn of events that led to Jazmine sleeping on his bed, but felt a painful surge of guilt just by thinking about it. If Jazmine hadn't told them herself, he had no place doing so. "Damn you really gon' sit here and lie through your teeth huh? It ain't a good look on you Huey,"

He sighed heavily, turning his eyes to the ceiling and wondering why he couldn't have just one quiet and calm lunch for once. "Whatever. Don't believe me. I don't really give a fuck." He grabbed his empty tray and stood up. "I highly advise you three to start worrying about your own asses, especially you Riley. After all, you really need it."

"Watchu mean?" Riley's eyes widened as Cindy furrowed her eyebrows. It was Huey's turn to smirk, but instead he just shrugged and ignored Riley's death glare.

"I dunno," He answered the girl. "Ask him." He turned on his heel and walked out of the cafeteria before Cindy could start nagging his brother about it and felt absolutely no remorse over the fact that he also left Caesar there to witness one of Cindy's notorious bitch-fits.

This whole conversation had left him feeling rather uncomfortable. Lying wasn't something he did often, mostly because he was never bothered enough to do so, but lying on another person's behalf was a completely different thing. He just hoped they would drop the matter entirely soon, or at the very least not read too deep into it.

He figured Jazmine still needed time to mull things over and try to access the situation calmly, which admittedly wasn't her forté, but he could see why she wouldn't want to just blurt it out like that to the others.

Pushing these thoughts to the back of his head, he made his way to African-American Studies, a class that he hated with a passion. He felt like he was losing brain cells with every minute he spent inside that classroom instead of actually learning anything, which wasn't surprising considering that he probably knew more about the subject than the teacher.

The white men's distorted version of events and how they were displayed as facts was sickening to him, so he hardly ever paid attention. It's not like he could even get anything less than a B+ even if he tried. He had to keep reminding himself that it was an easy class that would look good for college, but even that motivation could be quickly diminished whenever Mrs. Wright opened her mouth.

He wasn't a big fan of her either.

He took his usual spot by the window just as the bell rang and sighed, leaning his head against the wall. That conversation had made him weary and he felt very tempted to put his headphones on and sleep for the remained of the period, but soon he shut off that idea. As good of a student as he was, he wasn't above snoozing in class, and he probably would have if this teacher wasn't constantly on his ass about every other thing. Ironic how the African American Studies teacher purposefully picked on the only nigga in class. Either way, he had a history of getting into shit with this woman and he really wasn't in the mood for that.

The late bell rang as he retrieved a pen from his pencil case and started doodling on his notebook instead of copying the notes that were written on the board. He had picked up this habit from Riley, and even though he had to admit he was nowhere near his brother when it came to artistic skills, it was still quite relaxing.

He barely acknowledged the sound of some late comer entering the room before his bad mood became completely sour. Jade handed the disgruntled teacher a tardiness slip and with that shit-eating smirk strutted towards Huey's table. He held back a groan, looking around the class and realizing with a sinking feeling that the seat beside his was the only one vacant. Why did it always have to be her?

"Good morning," She said sweetly and Huey allowed himself to roll his eyes and focused back on his ammature drawing. Thankfully she immediately started taking notes, not bothering Huey any further, which was a new thing.

For some reason he felt himself glancing towards her paper. Her handwriting was neat and small like his own, but he also noticed the different colored pens and post-its she would stick to the pages every now and again like Jazmine. He didn't see the point in such frivolities.

Why did he even cared anyway? He sighed at himself and closed his notebook, already bored with the doodling. He didn't know how a person who had the attention span of a Betta fish like Riley could stand to do this for hours on end. He resorted to look out the window, his head resting lazily on the palm of his hand as he watched brown and orange leaves fly with the autumn breeze.

Hel felt somewhat restless. He wanted to be out there, feeling the chilly weather against his face and not here, stuck in this stuffy classroom with a bunch of people he either hated or didn't give a fuck about and having to listen to his teacher shitting out of her mouth.

Sunday had been nice, despite the circumstances. Walking around in the peacefulness of dawn had been nice, sitting in the park had been nice and Jazmine - well, she was always nice, even when she wasn't trying to be. Huey felt almost guilty because she had been miserable, and he knew none of that would have happened if she wasn't so damn sad, but she had smiled, and she had made him smile. Almost.

Why the fuck did his mind always go back to her?

"Mr. Freeman?" The teacher cut his train of thought abruptly and if she wasn't such a bitch he might've been thankful. "Are you paying any attention?"

A very big part of him wanted to simply say no, but he just shrugged, not having the mental disposition to get into a row and risk a detention for absolutely no good reason. The woman threw him a dirty look and he narrowed his eyes back in the same intensity.

"As I was saying," She continued and Huey was just about to tune her out again when he actually groaned at her next statement. "This project will be done in pairs and the presentation will be on the first week of November. It will account for half of your grade for this trimester, so I'm expecting some effort," He had no idea why the hell she threw him a look, but he also had no idea what she was talking about.

His answer was on the whiteboard and he almost grinned to himself. Him and whoever would have to do a detailed presentation on a black personality through history, he could literally do that in his sleep. He knew he'd probably end up doing most of the work, but if he picked someone who wasn't a complete idiot it wouldn't be too troublesome.

"So, I've already devised the pairs-"

"What? We don't even get to choose our partner?" A guy that sat behind Huey complained loudly. "Why?"

"Well, Thomas," She said sharply, glaring at the interruption. "I want to encourage partnership, and since I know you will most likely choose someone whom you're already acquainted with, I chose the duos. Now, I'm going to list the pairs and I do not appreciate being interrupted!"

She then proceeded to list the names, and Huey could clearly hear a few groans and sighs. It was rather annoying, but he didn't really care too much. He wasn't 'acquainted' with anyone in the class, he would just have to hope he wasn't stuck with a huge dumbass, and hope to God his partner wouldn't be-

"Huey, you'll be working with Jade."

He heard himself groaning loudly before squinting his eyes shut, as if he had dozed off and it was all a nightmare. Of course. Of fucking course. Why the fuck was he even surprised? By now he was pretty damn sure that some superior being was actively trying to make his life miserable anyway.

Jade sneered at him, immediately shooting her hand up in the air. At least she looked as displeased as he felt.

The teacher sighed. "Yes?"

"Mrs. Wright, I'd like to work alone please."

"I'm afraid that's not possible."

"Well, I don't want to work with him!" Huey rolled his eyes so hard he was sure they'd pop out of his skull. The teacher gave them a bored look and his scowl deepened.

"There's no switching partners,"

"Sure is funny how you decided to put the only two black people in the class to work together," Huey voiced at last. The teacher narrowed her eyes, clearly disconcerted and the class fell into a heavy silence.

"Mr. Freeman," Her voice was clearly a pitch higher than it usually was. "I simply put the two best students in this class together. I'm sure you can provide us with some good-" She swallowed. "Perspective."

"Perspective?" Huey almost laughed. "Are you serious?!"

"Yes, Mr. Freeman. Not everything is about race." Jade and Huey shared an incredulous look that for once wasn't hostile towards each other.

"Not everything is about race?! Oh, I'm sorry, I thought this was African-American studies!" Jade's tone, though it lacked Huey's composure, was still very much sarcastic. "Do you even know what class you're teaching?!"

Mrs. Wright took a deep breath, pinching the bridge of her nose impatiently. "Would you two like to sort out your differences outside? Or maybe go straight to the counselor and stop disturbing my class?" She said pointedly and Huey pursed his lip. Even though he very much wanted to up and leave, he would not have any patience to explain to the equally ignorant counselor why what their teacher was saying was complete and utter bullshit.

The thought of spending the rest of the month on this damn project with her of all people made his head ache with frustration. This had to be some fucked up joke, and he wouldn't be too surprised if she had something to do with it, despite her alleged annoyance.

"My house after school," He said after the third-period bell rung. "We're starting this as soon as possible." She raised an eyebrow a him, scoffing as she put away her material.

"Uh, no?"

He felt his eye twitch in annoyance. "Why not?"

"Because I have shit to do, unlike yourself."

"The sooner we start the sooner we can get this done," He said, decidedly ignoring her last statement.

"And the sooner you can get rid of me?" There it was again, that goddamn smirk. Huey scowled, hating how it felt like she could read him easily and how she was seemingly enjoying his discomfort.

He grunted. "Pretty much, yeah."

"Hm," She narrowed her eyes and Huey narrowed his back. "Do you hate me, Huey?" Her lower lip jutted out in some sort of mock pout.

Huey rolled his eyes. "You're ridiculous."

"Yeah, I don't think too highly of you either, but that doesn't really matter now." She stood up, throwing her backpack over her shoulder. "I'll ask Jazmine to send you my number, but I'm telling you right now, I'm only free on weekends."

Huey sighed heavily. He wasn't a big weekend enthusiast like most people his age, but he couldn't picture himself spending any of his free time with her. Or any time at all really. "Seriously?"

"Some of us are busy, Huey. Get used to it." She retorted. "Now can I go? Or you still wanna bitch about it?"

The girl didn't wait for an answer as she walked her way out of the room, leaving a disgruntled Huey behind.

That girl ticked him off so much that he could not stand it. He couldn't even understand why exactly he found her so off-putting. Sure, she talked out of her ass like it was nobody's business, but it's not like this was unusual in a high school environment.

He didn't let his paranoid side manifest itself too much nowadays, but there was definitely something up with her.

And well, if he was stuck with her then he might as well find out what.

Caesar was on a quest.

Everyone was acting funny, nobody was telling him shit and despite his usually calm nature, he was getting pretty damn annoyed.

It wasn't even about curiosity and nosiness anymore, he was starting to get genuinely concerned. Jazmine seemed to have turned into another person entirely, Riley had started walking the hall with a wariness that he had never seen before and even Cindy and Huey were being shady as fuck.

Caesar, as the unofficial mediator of the crew, had to get to the bottom of this, and when he saw a very familiar head of puffy strawberry-blond hair sitting under a tree on the school's playground he planned on doing just that.

She had her eyes closed, and if he couldn't hear the loud music playing on her headphones from where he was standing he'd think she had dozed off. The glasses that she only ever wore when she absolutely had to were askew, and when Caesar nudged her with his foot they fell on the grass. Her eyes shot open and she smiled when she saw him. It was refreshing, though he could see it clearly didn't meet her eyes. "Oh, hey Ceez,"

"What's the word Jaz?" He grinned at her.

She shrugged, pausing the music and taking off her earbuds and placing the glasses back in their usual position. "Just chilling. I got a free period now. You?"

"Same. Can I join you?" She scooched to the side and patted the grass beside her. Caesar sat down with a slight huff and watched as she rolled the earplugs around her phone and put them in her pocket. You didn't even have to know Jazmine personally to know there was something really off about her. There were dark rings around her eyes, which seemed dull and without the same vibrancy as always. She was always high maintenance with her hair, but lately it seemed she couldn't be bothered with anything that took more effort than a bun or a ponytail. Her whole complexion seemed overall crestfallen, even if she tried to deny it.

Caesar's stomach dropped slightly as he thought about it. For as long as he'd known her she had always been a breath of fresh air from Huey's constant negativity and moodiness. He was his homie, but the nigga really could be depressing, especially back then. Jazmine, on the other hand, had always tried to stay positive about things, sometimes just to spite Huey. Her bubbly and extroverted nature had always been refreshing, which was why seeing her like this was so concerning.

"Did you really have a free period or are you just skipping?" She asked him with a knowing look and he just shrugged, leaning back on the tree with a smirk.

"You know me too well,"

"Michael Caesar-"

"Michael Caesar!" He said in a mock high pitched voice that made her giggle. "Girl, chill. We were silent reading anyway, no harm done." She sucked her teeth, but didn't say anything else. He felt like these few words were the only one they had shared that week, which was weird considering the fact that they had always been the more talkative of the crew. "So...You good?"

She gave him a weird look. "You saw me this morning?"

"No Jaz, I mean…" He sighed, looking at heard. "Actually. Like are you good good."

She paused for a minute with her lips pursed and then tried to offer a smile, but it looked more like a grimace than anything. "I'm fine Ceez."

He rolled his eyes. "Yeah that's a whole lotta bull and you know it,"

"Caesar…"

"Why didn't you show up at lunch?" He asked, knowing that she'd try to stir the topic away from herself in the blink of an eye.

"I just wasn't hungry?"

"You haven't shown up the whole week!"

"Maybe I haven't been hungry!" She was starting to get agitated, he could tell.

"Jaz, look, I don't wanna pry," He started, slower than before. "But girl I've known long enough to know when something's up. You've been acting off...for a while now that I think about it. I care about you, and I'm worried. Don't go feeding me all that 'I'm fine' bullshit cuz that ain't gon' cut it."

Her eyebrows were furrowed and her face looked slightly pink after his rant. He had a feeling he was just going to shut him off like she had been doing lately, but her frown deepened and she heaved out a breath, closing her eyes. It looked like she was about to cry, which wouldn't be alarming any other day, but right then and there he felt his heart quicken.

"It's just...too much," She said in a feeble voice. She wasn't crying, though she very much looked like she wanted to. Caesar moved closer to her so she wouldn't avoid his eyes.

"What is?"

"Just...everything," She covered her face with her hands and breathed out loudly, like there was something weighing down on her.

"You're gonna have to be a bit more specific." He heard her groan but wasn't sure if it was directed at him or...Everything, apparently. she started fidgeting her fingers, a quirk that she had since they were kids.

"Everything," She repeated. "Ballet is kicking my ass, school too, my parents are…" She trailed off, biting her bottom lip.

"You need to take a chill pill," He said softly. "School started a little over a month ago, how can it be beating your ass? And weren't you all excited about your ballet thing?"

"Yes but...It's just…" She articulated with her hands trying to articulate what couldn't be put into words and Caesar could get that. He tried to always keep an upbeat vibe and not let his own internal issues show too much, but he knew bitterly well what that was like. He sighed, pulling her into a one-arm embrace and trying to provide as much comfort as he could.

"I know," He said softly, letting her head lean on his shoulder as she breathed deeply. "But just try to breath okay? Everything will get sorted out, and if it doesn't you know where to fall back on. We're your friends, Jaz, we just tryna make sure you doing okay."

"I know…" Her voice sounded so small that Caesar remembered a time when this comforting thing used to be a routine, the only difference was that then it was over more trivial matters like whatever mean thing Huey had said to her or why her parents didn't let her have a sleepover. Growing up was some tough shit. "I'm sorry for ghosting you guys...I'm just really stressed I guess. Overwhelmed."

"You're good, just take your time. Though I would advise you to sort out whatever went on between you and Cindy. Girl looked ready to swing on that ass," Jazmine breathed out a laugh and nodded.

"I guess I was a little rude," She muttered. "Eh, she'll live. A taste of her own medicine might be good every once in a while."

"Damn, look at you!" Caesar chuckled. Eventually they started talking about other things, Caesar updating her on whatever uneventful thing had happened that week. They listened to some music on her earbuds and he felt his spirits lift a little. It wasn't much, but it was still progress.

Since it was the last period they started to walk towards the direction of the parking lot as the bell rang, waiting by Huey's car. It didn't take more than five minutes for Huey to show up, and he gave them a weird look as he walked up to them.

"Dipped," Caesar explained with a shrug.

"I didn't!"

"She didn't." He nodded slowly, glancing at Jazmine with a raised eyebrow. She seemed somewhat uncomfortable under his gaze and Caesar Wondered what was going on between the two.

"Anyway," Jazmine spoke up before Huey could say anything. "I'm not riding back with you guys today, just wanted to let you know."

"Why?" Huey asked.

"We need to be at the studio earlier, so I'm going with Jade." At the mention of the girl's name Huey grimaced. Jazmine rolled her eyes dramatically and narrowed her eyes. "What's it now?"

"Nothing?"

"You kinda look like someone just took a shit on your sneakers," Caesar commented, earning an annoyed glance from Huey. "Just saying."

He shrugged, leaning on his car and shoving his hands down his pocket. "I'm stuck doing a project with her. For a month. So yeah, basically the same thing."

"Damn, tough shit." Caesar said sympathetically. He wasn't a fan of that girl at all, especially after that shit she tried to pull a few weeks back.

"Well…" Jazmine said after a beat of silence. "Maybe that's a good thing?" Caesar scoffed loudly while Huey furrowed his eyebrows. Jazmine looked mildly irritated, though she was expecting this type of response. "I'm serious!" She pressed on. "I really wish you and Jade could be friends."

The boys shared a look as if questioning Jazmine's sanity. "Psh, yeah. Because that's likely." Caesar said. He could not see why a person like Jazmine held a person like Jade to such high esteem, but then again, she hadn't seen what they had, and Caesar very much doubted that Jade told her about hers and Huey's little altercation.

"I'm just saying," She went on. "You two actually have a lot in common."

Huey raised an eyebrow. "What could we possibly have in common?" His scowl quickly turned into a sneer. "And if you say something about us being black I swear to-"

"Oh my God Huey, No!" She sounded exasperated, shaking her head at him. "Why would you even say that?"

"Well, what do you mean then?"

"Well for starters she's like, a real smartass just like you," She said, her tone sounding rather snippy. "And she's quite political too, her deep-seeded hatred towards the white men is almost as great as yours. Sometimes I feel like I'm talking to you honestly, though she does talk more in length about the misogynistic aspect of it all."

"Are we...talking about the same person?" Huey asked with a raised eyebrow, and Caesar couldn't help but agree. He'd never take the ballet-dancing, shit-talking Jade as someone 'political'. He had simply assumed she was another one of those blissfully ignorant black people, too stuck inside their own bubble to fully comprehend what racism, systematically, was.

Jazmine rolled her eyes. "That's another thing, you two are so quick to judge," He couldn't argue with that. "You know each other for little over a month and already think you got everything about the other figured out."

"To be fair though," Caesar came to his friend's defense. "She really doesn't make a good case for herself."

"Well, Huey's not exactly welcoming either, is he?"

"Well uh…" Caesar looked between Jazmine and Huey trying to come up with a good retort but again, he couldn't argue with that. "...Touché, I guess."

She turned her attention back to Huey who looked rather dumbfounded under his stoic expression. "What? Don't act so surprised, you two are not the only politicized people in all of Woodcrest," She shook her head. "Did you think we only talked about make-up, boys and dance?"

She was only half-joking, and when Huey shrugged his shoulders to confirm her accusation Caesar saw something cross her face so quickly he thought he might have imagined it. Annoyance, vexation, he couldn't say exactly, but she sighed heavily, looking almost tired.

"You can be so…" They waited for her to finish, but she didn't.

"What?"

"Nevermind!" She said pointedly and Caesar was slightly taken aback. Cindy didn't lie when she said Jazmine was snappy. "Bye, see you guys later." She turned on her heel and Caesar furrowed his eyebrows, holding her wrist before she could take off.

"Yo, where you going?"

"I have to meet Jade at her car," She said, though she was glaring at Huey. "Talk about tutus and whatnot," Caesar let go of her wrist sensing the danger and she turned rather roughly, walking to the other side of the parking lot.

"Damn, congratulations Huey!" Caesar said frustratingly. "Just when I got her talking again you had to go and piss her off,"

"I didn't do shit!" Caesar rolled his eyes and huffed, opening the front door as they saw Riley approaching.

"For such a smart nigga you can be a real idiot sometimes."

McFearsome (21:10): Bishhh

McFearsome (21:10): where u at

McFearsome (21:10): come to rasta's when ur done

McFearsome (21:10): we all out here

Jazmine smiled slightly at the picture Cindy sent her. A selfie with her, Caesar, Riley and even Huey, though the latter maintained his serious expression unlike the rest. Jazmine considered briefly the suggestion as she sipped the cold water from her water bottle as she levelled her breathing. It seemed nice, and she really should make up for not hanging out with them in a while, but she really was not feeling it.

She was achy and sore and so tired. Her mood also wasn't the best, the measurements she had to take earlier today for the costume triggered something deep inside that made her just want to curl up into a ball and hide. The thought of food really wasn't appealing and she didn't want to lash out at anyone or have to keep up appearance to stop them from prying.

Jazzy D. (21:10): Uhh, idk Cin

Jazzy D. (21:10): Im ded

Jazzy D. (21:10): Not feeling it today

McFearsome (21:10): We just around the corner tho

McFearsome (21:10): Dont be like dat

Jazmine sighed, recognizing Cindy's impatient tone through the phone.

Jazzy D. (21:11): My dad is picking me up anyway

Jazzy D. (21:11): U know how he is

McFearsome (21:10): Tell that old nigga to chill tf out

Jazzy D. (21:11): As if

McFearsome (21:11): Bitch

McFearsome (21:11): Just comethru

McFearsome (21:11): Damn

She usually had the patience to deal with Cindy's insistence, but not today. As if on cue, Mrs. Janette called her back into the room.

Jazzy D. (21:11): Gotta go

Jazzy D. (21:11): talk to u later

And she locked her phone before Cindy had a chance to reply. The last twenty minutes of rehearsal just left her more frustrated than before. They had reached the part of the duo where Elliot had to prop Jazmine up and she had to stay on a pose. It was only a second, but it seemed like a second too long.

She didn't know if she was jumping at him wrong or if he wasn't supporting her properly, but by the third time her body made direct contact with the hardwood floor, Mrs. Janette called it a day.

"You okay?" Elliot asked as they grabbed their bags on the locker room. "That last one was a pretty bad fall,"

Jazmine shrugged, ignoring the pulsating pain on the knee that had taken the brunt of it. "I'm fine, don't worry about it."

He offered a sheepish look. "I'm sorry, this thing is harder than it looks."

"It's alright, I'm probably going about it wrong anyway," She sighed, zipping up her jacket. "But we'll get there."

"Hopefully," He grabbed his bag and the two of them made their way out of the studio. "Need a ride today?"

"I'm good, dad's picking me up. Thanks though."

"No problem," He grinned at her as he made his way to his own car. "See you tomorrow then,"

"See ya!" Jazmine waved at him and sat by the bench in front of the studio. Her dad was probably still at home, and it wouldn't kill her to go to Rasta's see the rest of the crew, but if she had to admit, she was rather embarrassed.

Of course, she was very aware of the fact that she wasn't herself lately, and it was weird because she couldn't remember a time where she had been so constantly frustrated and sad and miserable. It seemed to be eating at her, and she began avoiding her friends because she wouldn't be able to live with herself if she hurt the people she loved the most for no apparent reason.

She just wanted have this sorted out quickly. She couldn't stand that limbo between her parents, how she was afraid of how Tom would react, she just wished her mother could bite the bullet already and get this over with. It was weighing on her and taking her focus from other things. She was tired of thinking and overthinking about it.

"Well look who it is!" She heard a familiar voice and almost jumped out of her skin. "What you doing here Jazzy?" She turned to see Peter approaching her with an easy smile on his face. She was slightly startled, if not flustered, to seeing him there. Five hours of dancing would put anybody in a state after all.

"Hey, Pete!" She tried to sound as normal as possible, which was harder than she had anticipated. "I just got off dance. What are you doing here?"

"I was hitting the gym and stopped by Rasta's to grab something to eat," Jazmine just now noticed the basketball shorts and tank top under his jacket, but she tried not to let her eyes linger on his body for too long. She had to admit though, he did look good. "I saw your friends there by the way."

"Oh," Jazmine sighed inwardly. "They wanted me to meet up with them but I didn't really feel like it."

"Huh," They stayed in silence for a moment, Peter crumpling the receipt of the restaurant in his hands. "So uh...How about I give you a ride home?"

"...why?" It was so out of the blue that it was the only thing that Jazmine could come up with, though she felt like kicking herself as soon as the word had left her mouth. Peter went slightly red, shrugging and clearing his throat.

"Uh, well it's pretty late. I don't really feel comfortable with just leaving you here by yourself," He tried to explain himself quickly, sounding almost worried.

"Don't worry about that Pete. I mean, it's out your way, isn't it? Don't you live just a few blocks from here?" She said. "You don't need to."

"But...can I though? It's really no problem, my tank is full and...I dunno, I haven't really seen you around school all week, maybe we could just talk for a bit?" Jazmine furrowed her eyebrows for a moment, considering it. She didn't really feel too comfortable with the fact that she was all sweaty and definitely not cute at all right now, and her and Peter were kind of a thing. But then again, she didn't want to wait fifteen minutes in the cold until her dad got there and have to hear his boring rant on whatever was bugging him that day. Riding with Peter sounded a lot more appealing.

"Well if you say so...sure, why not?" He grinned at her and she smiled back, very aware of the way the hairs that had slipped of her bun seemed to be defying gravity. She tried not to care too much about as they made their way to his car, and with the small talk he was providing it was really rather easy.

That's what she liked about Peter, despite not knowing him for long. He was easy to talk to, unlike most of her friends. They had a lot of common interests and both liked to talk a lot, but he always seemed eager to listen to what she had to say. It was a nice change of pace.

He opened the door for her and she felt her cheeks redden for some ungodly reason as she sat down on the passenger's seat, trying to hide that fact by texting her father that Elliot was driving her home. It was a little white lie but she wasn't too worried about that. She shut off her phone before he had a chance to answer her, but he knew he'd be okay with it. "Don't mind the mess, I'm basically a chauffeur to a bunch of kids so…" Jazmine breathed out a laugh and told him it was fine. The car wasn't even that messy anyway. There were a few stray toys and she did notice the booster seat in the back, but she only thought that it was kind of sweet.

Peter pulled off the parking lot and put on some indie music that Jazmine liked. he was just about to ask who the singer was when he spoke up. "So...what's been going on with you these past few days?" She was so tired of the same question that she almost groaned aloud.

She shrugged in response, not wanting to go on a rant like she had done earlier but also not feeling like keeping up an act. "How was your trip to your dad's?" He gave her a sideways look and sucked his teeth, but not in an annoyed way.

"I see you trying to deflect the question, but aight, I won't pry." He said, and she couldn't be more thankful for that. "It was fine. Same old boring thing. I mostly babysat anyway."

"Tell me about your siblings," She said, genuinely curious. They talked a lot but never really about their lives outside of school. Jazmine was feeling him, but she realized he barely knew him at all on a personal level.

"They are the worst," He rolled his eyes, but there was an amused grin on his face. "First there's the twins, Olivia and Lucas. They just turned thirteen last month so I have to deal with a whole lot of tween bullshit with them as you can imagine," Jazmine giggled at that. "Then there's Liliana who's five and little Delilah who's just about one. She's only my half-sister though."

"Wow, that's a lot,"

"Yep," He said with an airy laugh. "Their main purpose is to annoy the shit out of me on the daily. Lily is sweet enough though, and I don't really get to see Delilah too often anyway. The twins are going through that shitty phase of just being assholes for no reason so you can imagine how fun it is to be around them," Sarcasm dripped on his voice and it made Jazmine chuckle.

"I'm sure you're a great brother though." He shrugged with a sigh.

"I guess? Not like I really have a choice anyway. My parents worked a lot when I was a kid so I always had to look out for them, especially now that we only live with my mom. I love them and all but it can be annoying as hell sometimes."

"I imagine," She hadn't taken him for the babysitter type, but it did explain a lot now that she thought about. He was always sweet and gentle, probably traits he had acquired from having to deal with kids for all of his life. "You did sound pretty annoyed on that phone call," She teased and he let out a laugh.

"Road trips with them are an actual nightmare." He rolled his eyes at nothing in particular and stopped at a red light. They were silent for a moment as Jazmine started wondering. She hadn't even realized where she was looking at before he turned to her with a curious smirk on his face. "What is it?"

"Uh, it's nothing," Her face felt hot and she avoided his gaze. "Can I...Can I ask a weird question?" He furrowed his eyebrows slightly but nodded.

"Go ahead,"

"How was it?" Ver voice was small and carefully, mostly because she knew it was a sensitive topic. "When your parents split up?" She didn't even know why she was asking such a question, and when she saw his shoulder tense up slightly when the light turned green she regretted immediately. "I'm sorry! I don't know why I even asked that you don't need to answer if-"

"Chill Jaz," He said with a grin. "It's fine. It doesn't bother me."

"...Okay then," She still felt slightly embarrassed, but still looked at him eagerly. He cleared his throat, seemingly putting his thoughts in order.

"It was...weird. It still kinda is honestly. I was really angry for a while...not even sad, just angry at everything. I knew it was bound to happen sooner or later, but it didn't make the situation any less shitty. But well, now that they're really not together anymore it kinda feels better in a way?"

"Better?"

"Yeah I mean, everyone's happier right? There's not nearly as much fighting as there used to be. The kids are still taking their time to adjust to everything and I can't really blame them for that, but things are a lot more...functional I guess."

"I see," She said with a soft sigh. He looked at her briefly with a frown before focusing his attention back on the road.

"Where's this coming from though?"

"My mom's cheating on my dad," She blurted out before she could really think about it And she didn't know why she had done it. She tried to rationalize with herself that Peter didn't know her parents or their marital struggles that seemed to be public knowledge around Woodcrest, but she could still feel regret climbing up on her chest with every second that passed. "And I kinda...I saw it." His eyes widened slightly as he nodded.

"Wow. Damn," He said softly. Jazmine felt mortified. Why would she even say that? She hadn't shared it even with her best friends, and here she was, dumping her problems on a person she barely knew, and person that she liked. "So...When you said you weren't feeling too hot on Sunday-"

"Yeah," She answered before he finished his question. Feeling her heart quicken and her stomach clench, she looked out the window in an attempt to play off her shame. She heard a sigh and with a sinking feeling realized Peter had parked near the basketball court next to her neighborhood. "What are you doing?"

"My dad cheated on my mom too," He said out of nowhere and her own eyes widened slightly at that revelation.

"Pete…"

"It's a difficult thing to talk about...Brings back some bad memories…" He frowned, staring at the panel with a dark look Jazmine wasn't used to seeing on his face. She wanted to tell him that he didn't need to and she tried to push back the sudden urge to hug him because that'd be weird, but her eyes lingered on his face and she listened intently to what he had to say.

"I...it was so fucking weird. I couldn't even look at him for the longest time. In my mind, he had basically destroyed our family and I couldn't shake that off. I mean...they had been together for damn near twenty years and he just pulls some shit like that? All I could think about was that all the times he didn't come home because of "work" and I was stuck taking care of his kids he was off fucking some girl…" He took a deep breath, rolling his eyes at himself.

"For a good three months I cut him off completely. Wouldn't answer his calls, wouldn't go visit him and it fucking sucked because we used to be close y'know? But still, I couldn't shake off the fact that he had hurt every person that I loved the most just because of some pussy. That he had hurt me because of some pussy." He went on and Jazmine found herself relating to him. She still couldn't be in the same room as her mother without feeling incredibly uncomfortable. She didn't even think they had talked at all that week without her father present.

"...what changed?" She asked carefully. He looked up, shrugging.

"I dunno...I think I realized that I couldn't just resent him my whole life? I mean, I still gotta set an example right? Wallowing in my own pity wasn't doing good for anybody, especially myself, and well...if my mom, who was the person most affected by all of this could find it in her heart to forgive him, why shouldn't I?" Jazmine nodded, slightly impressed and slightly jealous at his level of emotional control.

"Like, as much as I wanted to hate him, I still love him. At the end of the day he's still my dad, right? He fucked up majorly of course, and there's nothing he, or I, or anyone else can do to change that...But then again, Delilah wouldn't be here if he hadn't, and I love her just as much as Olivia, Lucas and Lily...so that's kinda bittersweet I guess? Ugh, I don't know if I'm making any sense-"

"You are," Jazmine reassured, putting a hesitant hand on his shoulder. He smiled at her softly, and there was a funny feeling at the pit of her stomach when he did so. He rested his hand atop of hers and caressed his thumb over her skin. His hand was soft, she noticed. Soft and warm, or maybe she only thought so because hers were always freezing. Either way, she didn't want him to stop.

"I don't even know I'm telling you all this, guess I got kinda carried away..." He said, sighing. "I feel weird as fuck now. I just want you to know that I kinda understand what you're going through, and you can talk to me. I know I don't know you like that but...I want to. A lot actually." She felt her breath get caught on her throat at the revelation.

"I'm glad you did," And it was true. She never really had anyone to relate to before. Her problems had always seemed too trivial or too unimportant or too dramatic for her friends, even if they didn't say so (most of the time) And now, here he was. Someone who didn't make her feel less-than. Someone who made her feel valid. Someone who understood.

"I wish I could go about this as maturely as you did though," She admitted. He shook his head, looking at her dead in the eyes.

"You go about it whatever way feels best for you." He said with a rather serious tone. "Everyone copes differently. Also, I had almost two years to deal with this and there's still a lot of bottled up shit. You're allowed to feel all of this that you're feeling, no one's judging you for that. At least I'm not, for all it's worth."

"It's worth a lot," He let out a stream of breath through his nose and grinned at her softly. "Thank you. I really needed that."

"I needed that too," He said. "Talk about it. Guess we both helped each other in a way huh?"

"Definitely," They shared a smile and Peter retrieved the hand that was still resting on hers. "Peter," He was just about to turn on the ignition when he turned to her again and before she could really think about what she was doing, her lips were on his.

For a moment he was taken aback, but then they were in synch. He turned his body towards her, cupping her face with his warm hand and caressing her cheek while she wrapped her arms over his neck. It was a complete contrast from the kiss they had shared on her birthday, where she was angry and sad and touch-starved, kissing him just to get Huey off her mind. Kissing him while wishing Huey was in his place.

This one was soft and comforting. There was a shared bittersweet melancholy between the two and Jazmine, at that moment, wouldn't trade Peter for anyone else. He was gentle and delicate, as if she was so precious that he was afraid she would break under his touch. His mouth tasted like the strawberry bubblegum he always offered her.

She could get used to that pretty quickly. She could get used to him pretty quickly.

All y'all Juey enthusiast are gonna beat my ass, I can feel it

Anywho, next update soon-ish? Hopefully sooner than this. Don't worry, I'm not sleeping on this fic, I've just been going thru sum shit.

Hope you guys liked it! If you did please REVIEW & FAVORITE the story! It really means a lot, and makes me motivated to continue writing!

Thank you for reading this fic!

XOXO

-Agatha