Okay but honestly? Yikes.
TW:::::: I feel like this is something I should have addressed in earlier chapters, but this story contains mild mentions of behaviors associated with Eating Disorders. If this is something that triggers you then I ask you to skip this chapter or be mindful of that as you're reading it.
Breaking Point
Jazmine woke up determined on friday morning.
Determined to make amends, determined to not let this eat at her anymore and most importantly, determined to get a hold of herself again.
Sulking around, being a complete ass to the people she loved the most for no reason, it just wouldn't do. She couldn't shun friends for no good reason and expect everyone to just shrug it off and move on, and if she wasn't willing to blurt out the real reason behind her miserable state just yet, then she'd better at the very least make an effort to feign some normalcy at school.
After all, it was the only place she could do so.
Of course, a big part of her newfound motivation was Peter's doing. Her spirits were admittedly lifted, and she knew it was dumb getting all giddy and happy over a boy, but they had texted each other until she had fallen asleep, a full night's worth of restful sleep. No waking up in the middle of the night, no crying into her pillow and no staring into the darkness letting anxiety assault her mind for hours on end.
Sleep really could do wonders to one's mind, Jazmine had almost forgotten what that felt like.
She did her hair to the best of her abilities, put on some much needed concealer under her eyes, picked out a cute outfit and left the house, waiting for the Freemans by the porch and slapping a smile on her face, trying to think positively and planning her day out in her mind, hoping to avoid any unnecessary trouble.
It was a friday, she looked cute and hadn't met either parent on her way out. This was going to be a good day.
That was what she kept telling herself as she sat down on the backseat of Huey's car, but the atmosphere seemed clearly tense for some reason. She tried not to dwell on it, after all Huey was a tense person and Riley could barely function on mornings, let alone be polite.
"You seem happy," Huey pointed out after she had said good morning and Riley had merely grunted in response. There was something about his tone and Jazmine couldn't quite figure out what exactly it was. His face was as deadpan as always, so she assumed she must be tripping.
"Well I mean, it is a friday," She kept her voice light, but didn't miss the mischievous look Riley had sent her way through the rearview mirror.
"Got sum' planned Jaz?" He had that smirk. A sly smirk that Jazmine knew too well. Nothing good ever came out of that smirk.
"Uh, no?" She shifted uncomfortably, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion. "Why do you ask?" He shrugged, crossing his arms over his chest and closing his eyes.
"No reason," This was weird, but after all, Riley was a weird person in many aspects. She shouldn't let it get to her head. She didn't say anything back either, figuring that since she had been neglecting her friends all week she might as well play nice, even though she didn't think Riley really cared that much.
Either way, she let his oddness slide for now, assuming that she'd find out what he was on about sooner rather than later like always.
She kept that energy all throughout the rest of the day. It was almost as though things were back to how they used to be, or at least how they should be. It was a breath of fresh air, and there was a significant weight being lifted off her shoulder as she walked down the hallways of Wuncler High with a smile on her face. The phrase 'fake it until you make it' had never been so accurate.
And then lunch came, and she realized that the tenseness wasn't reserved to Huey's car.
She sat down at the table with a grin on her face, but that quickly faltered when she caught sight of Cindy's undeniable glare. Assuming that she was still mad about the night before, Jazmine tried to avoid her piercing look.
Caesar had made conversation with her as soon as she sat beside him, which was a relief. She didn't know how to act when people were upset with her, and ignoring it for the time being seemed like the better option.
Neither Huey nor Riley were at the table, which Jazmine didn't know whether it was a bad or a good thing. She was sure they wouldn't be any help in trying to diffuse the tension, but at least Huey offered some kind of reassurance and Riley was a good distraction most of the time.
"So," She said, feeling weirdly nervous as Cindy seemed to make a point of not looking up from her phone. "I was thinking...maybe we could do something today? I'll get off dance earlier and-"
"Wow, you really full of shit huh?" Cindy cut her off mid-sentence, still not looking up from her phone. Jazmine was taken aback, her eyebrows furrowing. Caesar seemed to go stiff beside her but she barely acknowledged it as she noticed the way Cindy's scowl deepened.
"What do you mean?" Jazmine almost cowered under Cindy's gaze as she finally looked at her.
"What the fuck do you think?" Venom dripped from Cindy's voice. "You ditch us all week, act like a whole ass bitch, lie to my fucking face-" Jazmine felt her heart clench. "And still have the nerve to act like we cool," Cindy scoffed, crossing her arms over her chest. "Get the fuck outta here."
"What are you even talking about?!" The sneer on her friend's face made her voice tremble. "When did I lie to you Cindy?!"
"Oh, I don't fucking know Jazmine, maybe when you said you was gonna go home wit' your daddy and we saw you getting a ride from that lil nigga?!"Cindy scoffed humorlessly, shaking her head. "Yeah, sucks to get caught on yo' own bullshit, don't it?"
Cindy's accusatory tone cut through Jazmine like the sharpest knife as her mind went a thousand miles per second. She blinked rapidly at Cindy, trying to make sense of what she was trying to get at, and why she was so angry in the first place. Jazmine hadn't lied to her, nor had she done anything wrong and this shouldn't be happening!
"My dad was going to pick me up," She said quickly, her voice sounding desperate. "I met Peter by accident and he offered me a ride!"
"Cut the bullshit! Just admit you ditched your friends to go hop on that dick like sum' hoe!" Cindy said, loudly enough for people in nearby tables to turn their heads with interest.
"Oh my God Cindy! Shut up!" Jazmine felt her cheeks grow hot, very aware of the onlookers trying to listen in to their conversation. She couldn't handle this. She couldn't handle confrontation, especially being cornered like that in front of so many people and Cindy knew that better than anyone else so why was she doing this?! Why now?!
"Cindy, quit that shit," Caesar demanded, glaring at the blond. "You're not funny."
"I ain't tryna be funny, I'm just telling the truth," She spat at him. "That's prolly why she was acting all sneaky anyway!" She turned her attention back to Jazmine as the mulatto could hear blood pounding inside her ears. "You think that shit's aight Jazmine?! Was it fucking worth it?!"
"No it's not!" Jazmine said, her voice both shrill and forceful as she gripped the seat of her chair. "And even if it was, what's it to you?!"
"Jazmine-" Caesar tried to get a hold of her arm but the girl ripped it from his grasp, growing more agitated by the second.
"No! How many times have you done this exact same thing to me Cindy?!" Everyone seemed taken aback by Jazmine's sudden outburst, but the redness of Cindy's face could be seen from a mile away, though her glare only got more intense. "Why is it okay when you do it?! And I can't even say anything about it because then I'm 'whiny' or this and that!"
"Shut up-"
"We barely even hung out last year because you were with that stupid Brandon Woods and you wanna point fingers at me?!" It felt like that a month's worth of built-up frustration was just pouring out of her and Jazmine could do nothing but let it go. "That is rich coming from you-"
"Shut the fuck up Jazmine!" Cindy all but screamed, her blue eyes bulging. Jazmine noticed that she had hit a nerve, but at this point couldn't bring herself to care. "You don't know shit about anything so shut up!"
"You don't either!" All of the cafeteria seemed to watch the scene between the two best friends unfold, but Jazmine's mind was so clouded with pent-up emotion that she could pay them no mind. Her hands visibly shook as she pointed a finger right at Cindy's face. "The sun doesn't shine out of your ass! You're not the only one with problems, and if you had even bothered to actually talk to me instead of assuming shit, you would know! Fuck you Cindy!"
Jazmine breathed heavily, barely acknowledging the fact that for the once, Cindy was left silent. With shaky hands, she grabbed her bag and stood up, shoving Caesar aside when he tried to stop her.
Her mind was reeling, the weight of hundreds of eyes directed at her as she made a beeline towards the exit door almost crushing her on the spot. Her own eyes stung as her face burned from the inside and she could almost hear her heart pounding inside her ears.
This shouldn't have happened. She should have been the bigger person and let Cindy talk out of her ass like she always did. She shouldn't even have sat with them at all. It felt as though she couldn't do the right thing even if she tried.
She stumbled inside the closest bathroom she could find and threw some water on her face, feeling sick despite the almost painful rumble on her stomach because of course she had left the lunch she was actually planning on eating there at the table.
She locked herself inside a stall with full intention of staying there until the lunch period was over, already feeling the gossip being spread throughout the nosy teenagers of Wuncler High. Even something as petty as this could become big news if people were bored enough and even though Jazmine had never been the main topic of gossip herself, Cindy always was.
What if it reached Peter?
What if it reached Huey?
But Huey was with them yesterday, surely he had seen it too? Did he think the same as Cindy? That Jazmine had stood them up to screw a guy? No, Huey being as smart as he was wouldn't think that of her.
It didn't even matter. He wouldn't do anything about it, he had enough sense. Cindy was angry and she wanted Jazmine to be angry too. She wanted a reaction and Jazmine simply gave that to her in a silver platter.
She couldn't have helped herself even if she had tried. Jazmine, the girl who never raised her voice, who always thought before speaking, who always took other people's feelings into consideration had just lashed out on her best friend in front of the whole school. Sure, Cindy had started it, but the guilt gnawing at her chest was unbearable. She was supposed to be fixing things, but everything seemed to go from bad to worse so quickly that Jazmine was left dizzy.
The bell signalling the end of the lunch period rang, but she had no intention of moving from that spot.
"What the fuck is your problem?!" Caesar growled after Jazmine's retreating back disappeared from his sight.
"My problem?! What the fuck is her problem!" Cindy barked back. "She said fuck you right to my face! Who the hell does that?!"
"You deserved it," Caesar retorted ignoring Cindy's huff. "What you did was completely uncalled for." He glared at all the people who were shamelessly staring at them, waiting for another blowout from the notorious Cindy McPhearson, but hell would freeze over before he gave it to them, so instead he bit his tongue, breathing heavily and narrowed his eyes at Cindy.
"I told y'all I wasn't gon' let that shit slide!" Cindy crossed her arms over her chest and scowled at Caesar, as though challenging him, but he wasn't going to give her the satisfaction.
"One thing is calling her out, another is making this whole fucking scene over something you know is bullshit!" He tried his damndest to keep his voice levelled. "That was low, Cindy."
"I said what I said! You gon' have her back like you always do so it don't even matter!"
"Yeah, that's exactly what the fuck I'm gonna do!" He said, standing up roughly and grabbing his stuff.
"Where you going?" Caesar narrowed his eyes at her as something flashed through her features so quickly that he thought he might have imagined it, especially considering he had never seen the girl show any sign of guilty or shame. The crimson climbing up from her neck to her face was undeniable though, but Caesar was too pissed at her to actually care.
"I'm gonna do some damage control," He sighed heavily and turned on his heel, glaring at all the people watching him as though he had something to do with anything.
Him and Cindy were friends, technically, and he had grown used to her bullshit over the years, but Jazmine was one of his best friends and he had to draw the line.
He made his way out of the cafeteria and tried to look for Jazmine through the crowd of students in the hallway, but she had already disappeared. He let out a heavy breath, feeling resigned, and made his way towards his locker with a scowl on his face that could match Huey's.
"What happened to you?" As if on cue, he heard the deadpan voice of his friend behind him as he forcefully grabbed books from his locker and turned to see Huey and Riley with identically raised eyebrows.
"Man," He sucked his teeth, slamming his locker shut. "Cindy went all bitch-mode in the middle of the cafeteria,"
"Yo nigga, watch yo' mouth when talking 'bout my girl!" Riley said, puffing up his chest as Caesar could only roll his eyes.
"Your girl just yelled in front of half the school that Jazmine went, and I quote, 'Hop on some dick', so maybe you should be telling her that," Caesar responded angrily.
"You bettah- wait what?!" Riley's chest deflated as his eyes widened slightly. Huey seemed to mimic the same expression, though his stronger eyebrows knitted together and Caesar drew out a breath.
"What do you mean?"
"She went off on Jazmine outta nowhere because of yesterday, and then Jazmine snapped too...basically, they gave every single nosy nigga in there a show."
"Jazmine snapped?" Huey repeated in disbelief. Caesar couldn't blame him, he watched the whole thing and was still having a hard time wrapping his head around what happened.
"Dude," Caesar shook his head. "It was messy. Everyone saw and now I'm trying to figure out where the hell Jazmine ran off to."
"But why?!" Riley asked. "What the fuck happened?"
"I don't even-" He rubbed an aggravated hand over his brow bone. "It was all so fucking quick. Cindy just started talking her shit and Jaz wasn't taking none of that, believe it or not. At least she said it like it is but damn, it was fucked up."
"Damn..." Riley ran a hand through his braids. "I'm gonna go check in on C," And with that he quickly made his way towards the cafeteria.
"You'd better be glad you weren't there to see that shit unfold," He told Huey with a sigh. "Like, I don't even care where the fuck she went with that dude, she's already going through so much shit that this was the last thing she needed right now."
Huey raised an eyebrow at him, his face blank but Caesar could see the curiosity behind his eyes. "Did she tell you something?"
"Kinda...she was very vague and I didn't wanna press her or anything," He said. "She just told me she's really stressed about everything and like fair enough I guess but...I think something's really off and she's not telling us…" Caesar put emphasis on 'us', and if he had any doubt before that Huey was hiding something, the half-assed shrug and the way he avoided his eyes were his confirmation.
"Yeah. Weird." He tried not to scoff at his friend's pathetic attempt to keep his cool, but Caesar could read Huey like the back of his own hand.
And Riley was right, Huey couldn't lie to save his own ass.
For the first time in all of his school career, Huey was actually looking forward to PE.
Not the class specifically, after all if African-American Studies was his most hated subject then PE came in close second, but it was the only class he shared with Jazmine.
People had already started to talk about what had happened at lunch and Huey was apprehensive. Some were saying that Cindy caught Jazmine fucking her boyfriend, others confidently stated that Jazmine had bitch-slapped Cindy across her face, and while Huey obviously knew for a fact that this was all bullshit (considering the fact that Jazmine wouldn't be caught dead fighting anyone and Cindy's boyfriend slept on the room across from his) he wanted to hear it from the source, and most importantly, make sure she was alright.
He was almost taken aback at how blank her expression was when he entered the gym, half expecting her to be a mess, and while he felt somewhat relieved, her pursed lips and stoic expression set off more alarms than red-rimmed eyes. Without thinking about it, he went to sit besides her by the bleachers and immediately felt her tense up at his arrival.
"Hey,"
"Hi." Her voice sounded robotic and stiff. It was very clear she was trying to feign nonchalance as she leaned back on her arms, but she probably wasn't even realizing how much her legs were bouncing.
Suddenly, Huey didn't know what to do. Did he try to get an explanation to what had happened? Should he even say anything? It's not like it really was his business anyway. He opened his mouth to speak, but she cut him off before he got the chance.
"I didn't do anything."
"I know."
The silence that permeated between them once again was cut by the teacher, loudly blowing her whistle and ordering everyone to run laps, an activity that Huey would rather not do, but he felt so out of place that he didn't even find it in himself to complain.
"Mrs Flowers, I don't feel very well," Jazmine spoke up just as Huey descended the bleachers. The middle aged woman rolled her eyes, raising an eyebrow at the girl who shrunk under her scrutinizing gaze.
"What is it this time?"
"I've got uh..." Jazmine blushed. "Cramps." The way she feigned pain and slumped her shoulders in order to look hunched over made Huey almost laugh.
"Like last week?" Said Mrs. Flowers, shaking her head. "Jazmine, unless you want to get a detention for slacking off I'd advise you to run these laps." Jazmine looked like she wanted to argue, but instead just groaned, slowly descending from the bleachers with a very prominent scowl on her face.
"You gotta start coming up with different excuses," Huey teased as they started running, slowing himself down so the both of them were at the same pace.
"Shut up," She said dismissively, already sounding slightly out of breath.
"I'm just saying," He smirked. "You can only have so many periods a month."
"Oh? Didn't know you had an uterus,"
"You're not funny," He said despite the stream of air that left his nose.
"Neither are you," She offered him a small smirk and started running with more speed, putting some space between them. Huey let her go before picking up his own pace and focusing on the laps instead.
He wished they could be doing this outside. He was already growing sick of the activity by the tenth lap around the gym, not from exertion, but from how hot and stuffy the place was and how heavily it smelt of B.O.
And maybe if they were outside Jazmine's attempts to avoid him wouldn't be too noticeable.
Running at least gave him a distraction. Focus on your breathing, mind your legs, don't hunch over, don't think about yesterday.
Don't look at her.
And for a good thirty minutes of mindless running, he didn't.
Until he couldn't help doing so, and he was forced to stop running.
Jazmine was never known for her athleticism, but the way her body heaved with every labored breath as she curved in on herself, propping her arms on shaky knees was definitely worrying.
For a moment he thought it was an act to get her way out of track, but it was really pointless since the period was almost over and Jazmine really wasn't that good of an actress. Everyone else didn't seem to notice though, and maybe he was overreacting as he often did, but he felt himself approaching her nonetheless. "Jazmine?"
She looked up at him and Huey felt his eyebrows lift. Her face, which had been previously red from either anger or embarrassment, was now stripped of all color, and she was definitely too sweaty for someone who had been hardly running for half an hour. Her eyes seemed to glaze over as they slowly focused on his face. "Are you alright?"
She gulped, and Huey instinctively took a step backwards thinking she might get sick. Instead of hurling on the gym's ground though, she straightened up on swaying feet, shuddered, and shook her head with a grimace.
"I-" She licked her dry, white lips. "I don't feel so good..." She swayed again and Huey, feeling rather alarmed, took a hold of her upper arm in an attempt of steadying her on her feet, noticing how cold and clammy she felt.
"What's wrong?!" She leaned heavily on him, as though he was the only thing keeping her from falling face first on the hard concrete. He realized he probably was.
"I-I don't-" She never got to finish her sentence as her jaw went slack and her eyelids drooped shut. her head lolled forward like a rag doll and just like that, her legs seemed to have given up completely, Huey catching her just before she collapsed on the ground.
"Shit!" He tried to lay her down as gently as he could before kneeling beside her and immediately checking her pulse. "Jazmine!" He lightly tapped her face in an attempt to make the unresponsive girl come to as the cold feeling of dread travelled around his entire body. Whatever he had been expecting, it definitely wasn't this.
Huey was so shocked that he didn't even notice the people surrounding them until one of them asked if she was okay. "What the fuck do you think?" He snapped, not even looking up to see who he had told off. Jazmine's eyes fluttered open just as the teacher broke her way through the crowd. She swallowed heavily, looking at Huey through heavy lids.
"What-"
"What happened Freeman?" Mrs. Flowers crouched down beside him, worriedly looking at Jazmine and sighing with relief when she saw her open eyes. "How are you feeling Jazmine?"
"Why am I on the ground?" She asked not taking her eyes off Huey, her voice sounding faint and weak.
"What do you mean?" Huey was still feeling agitated and rather shaky. "You fainted!"
"I did?" He nodded, his eyes widening in confusion. "Oh." She shut her eyes for a moment with a wince. "I feel really dizzy," Her voice sounded less shaky but Huey's heart was still palpitating. "And kinda queasy…"
"Everyone back off!" The teacher commanded the other students. "Class dismissed!" With some muttering the class loudly made their way to the locker rooms while Jazmine struggled slightly to sit up. Huey was relieved to see the color slowly creeping back on her pasty face, but she still looked far too weak for his liking. "Lay down until the nurse gets here, we don't know what's wrong with you. Speaking of which, can you go get her Freeman?"
Huey gave Jazmine a look, not wanting to leave her side anytime soon after what had just happened, but nodded with a sigh, quickly making his way to the nurse's office and trying to calm himself down.
It couldn't be anything too serious. she would be fine and there was no reason for him to be that worried. That was what he told himself, but he felt a nauseating wave of anxiety because what if she wasn't alright?! There so many serious medical issues that could lead to fainting and Jazmine never took proper care of herself and what if there was something up with her brain or her heart or-
He had to stop his fervent train of thought as he reached the nurse's office, taking a deep breath before entering.
"Well Jazmine, your blood pressure is a bit lower than normal, but you seem otherwise fine," Jazmine nodded despite not really taking in what the nurse was saying as the woman removed the inflatable cuff from around her upper arm. "Your temperature is also on the lower side. How are you feeling?"
"Uh…" Jazmine had to strain her mind to come up with an answer. Her head was foggy and it felt like she was trying to talk through a mouthful of cotton. "I feel...shaky?" That seemed to be a good enough answer, because the nurse nodded, writing something down on a clipboard Jazmine didn't notice she had grabbed.
"I see...What did you have for lunch?" Jazmine blinked, trying to recall what she had eaten for lunch before realizing that she hadn't eaten anything.
"I didn't have anything," When the nurse raised an eyebrow she cleared her throat. "I got...caught up."
"Well, what did you have for breakfast then?" Despite feeling very cold, her cheeks heated up as she avoided the woman's eyes with a shrug.
"...Nothing…" Jazmine shrunk under her scrutinizing gaze, feeling all the more uncomfortable. The nurse sighed, shaking her head and walking towards the cupboard inside her office.
"It's no wonder you fainted, your blood sugar must be on the ground," She tutted, grabbing a box of orange juice and a bag of saltine crackers. "Here, you'll feel better." Jazmine nodded, taking the snacks and thanking the nurse despite still feeling slightly sick to her stomach.
As soon as she the sweet taste of artificial orange came in contact with her dry mouth she felt herself perk up a bit and she almost hummed in relief as she slowly felt the lightheadedness lift. "This isn't healthy, you can't go so long without eating anything!"
"I know," She said, feeling inexplicably embarrassed. "I was just in a rush this morning and...at lunch I had to deal with some...stuff."
"Stuff?" The nurse offered him a disbelieving look while Jazmine nodded rather uncertainly. The woman narrowed her eyes as she quickly scribbled something down on the clipboard while Jazmine ate her saltines in an effort to occupy herself. "Do you feel okay enough to stand up?"
Jazmine assessed herself before replying. "Yeah, I'm fine."
"Okay then, I'd like to take your weight if that's okay with you," She said softly, but Jazmine paused for a moment, furrowing her eyebrows and subcounsciously hardening her grip on the juice box.
"Why?"
"Just to have it on record," The nurse said nonchalantly while still scribbling on that damn clipboard and why the hell was she writing so much anyway? "Jazmine?"
"Oh," She realized her silence had been longer than would be considered appropriate. "Yeah sure," The woman nodded, smiling at her and Jazmine tried to ignore how condescending it looked. Jazmine continued munching on her saltines as slowly as she could without looking suspicious.
She took her sneakers off and tried not to grimace as she walked towards the scale, unable to remember the last time she had weighted herself. it was something she didn't like doing at all, not in the presence of others and particularly not under the nurse's scrutinizing gaze knowing she would write down whatever the scale said. Knowing that it would be on record.
She shuddered despite the heat that had consumed her body suddenly and for a moment thought she might pass out again. Instead she tried to focus her attention on literally anything else as the scale beeped under her feet.
"130.2 pounds," The nurse muttered and the sound of her pen scratching paper made Jazmine close her eyes to prevent her from breaking that clipboard in half. She also felt the need to take Jazmine's height and the girl wasn't at all pleased to find out she stood at a mere 5 feet 4 inches.
The whole thing must have taken less than five minutes, but by the time Jazmine was finally allowed to lay back down on the stretcher she was feeling inexplicably exhausted and the nurse announcing she was going to call her parents to pick her up did nothing to improve her mood.
"Oh, please don't!" She pleaded quickly, taking the nurse aback. "There's no need, I'm fine!"
"I can't keep you here Jazmine, I'm sorry," She said, not sounding apologetic at all. "You need to get home, eat something and rest."
"But they're probably at work anyway!" The woman stood up, sighing with her mouth set in a thin line.
"We'll see about that," And she stalked off, leaving an unreasonably anxious Jazmine behind.
She groaned to herself, shifting on the stretcher and trying to suppress the urge to cry. Why was this happening to her? Why now? Why couldn't she just have at least a semblance of peace without some unnatural force messing things up?
She didn't want to face her parents if she could help it. She didn't want to get a lecture, didn't want to have any more attention drawn to her than she already had.
The ticking of the clock resounded through the small office and the smell of antiseptic and bleach wafting from the bedding was making her nauseous. She wanted to run. Out of this office, this school. Run to a place where everything was okay again and the last weeks were nothing more than a product of her mind.
Huey was used to being the one leaving people on read, not the other way around.
Especially not by Jazmine.
Which was why he didn't know what to expect when he crossed the street to the Dubois' residence after school. He was under the pretext of dropping off her backpack that she had forgotten, which was partially true, but he felt like he needed to see her with his own two eyes to be relieved of that worry that was gnawing at his chest since gym class.
he was just about to knock on the front door when it was yanked open by a flustered looking Tom and Huey stopped himself just in time to prevent socking the man in the face by accident. "Oh! Hello, Huey!" Looking at his welcoming smile was harder than he had anticipated, but Huey assumed it was because he hadn't seen the man since Jazmine's revelation.
He tried not to let his face show just how uncomfortable he felt and cleared his throat. "Hi, Tom,"
"Long time no see huh?" Huey nodded. "What brings you here?"
"Uh, Jazmine forgot her backpack," He felt the need to show him the teal bag he had been holding. "I thought I'd drop it off," Tom nodded, sighing at the mention of his daughter's name.
"That's nice of you. Can you believe I had to pick her up because she had the bright idea to not eat anything all day?!" Huey furrowed his eyebrows slightly. No, he really couldn't actually, and that must have shown because Tom nodded in agreement even though Huey hadn't said anything. "Exactly! This girl, I swear to God…" He glanced at his watch and let out an aggravated breath. "I'm late for work, but make yourself at home Huey, I think Jazmine's in the basement," Tom patted Huey on the back and unlocked his car, waving as he got in.
Huey offered an awkward wave before entering the house and closing the door behind him. It had been a minute since he'd been there. He made his way towards the basement, knocking first before opening the door when he didn't get an answer. "Jazmine?" He called out as he descended the stairs, hearing heavy breathing and a weird 'thunk' of something hard hitting concrete.
"Jazmine?" He repeated, his eyebrows knitting together as he hopped down the last few steps but then paused on his track when he saw her.
Jazmine hadn't even taken notice of his presence as she danced with her back turned towards him, headphones blasting some classical music so loudly that Huey could hear from where he was standing. He had seen her dancing multiple times, so her expertise wasn't something shocking, but he had never seen her like this before.
Huey was used to the extravagant costumes, the dramatic make-up and the stage lights, watching her perform from a distance and only being able to discern her from the other dances mostly because of the tone of her skin. She had never looked so raw, her elegant moves never so sharp and Huey was close enough to see the small beads of sweat that trickled down her heated face.
Huey tried to swallow against the dryness that had formed inside his mouth when he took in her skin-tight leotard and the way it hugged her body with every intricate move Jazmine performed but how could anyone stretch their legs that far?
He directed his attention somewhere else and landed on her feet. From the stage, Jazmine really did make it look effortless, like she was weightless, seamlessly floating about like an actual fairy. Up-close Huey could the veins under the skin that wasn't covered by the point shoes pulsating and the muscles strain against her weight. He could see her calf contract each time she got up and then her thighs every time she landed. It wasn't as graceful as seeing it up on the stage, but Huey was never one to care much about grace. He was slightly mesmerized and intrigued, because how could her movements be so precise and yet hold so much passion behind them.
His musing didn't last long at all though, because as soon as Jazmine focused her attention onto the wall-length mirror and finally noticed his presence behind her, she let out a loud shriek, jumping and saving herself from falling on her ass by gripping the bar behind her.
She turned fully to him, her eyes wide. "Oh my God Huey!" She gasped, clutching her chest as though she was about to go into cardiac arrest. "What are you doing here?!"
"I -uh- Your dad let me in!" He blurted out, feeling the need to clarify that he hadn't broken in. His cheeks heated up, and her startled expression soon turned into mild annoyance. "I came by to bring your backpack," She nodded, her tense shoulder relaxing slightly. Jazmine looked so cross that it almost seemed unnatural, but she offered him a tight smile that Huey just knew was forced.
"Thanks," She took the bag from his hands and tossed it at the sofa. Her eyes narrowed at him and Huey felt uncomfortably scrutinized. "How long were you standing there for, creep?" For a moment Huey's stomach twisted in embarrassment, because silently lurking on the corner of a basement and watching someone dance without their consent could definitely be classified as "creepy" but Huey picked up on her teasing tone, thankfully, and shrugged.
"I just got here," He said, even though it wasn't a whole truth. Either way, she seemed to accept that answer. "I called you out but I don't think you heard me,"
"Yeah, I was pretty...focused," She said in a shrug, trying to tighten the bun that had come loose. Her expression seemed rather uncomfortable and Huey decided that he should definitely leave now that he had done what he had come to do, even though he didn't want to. He wished she hadn't seen him if only to keep watching her dancing like that. "I need a shower," She sighed, breaking the awkward silence that permeated between them. "If you wanna wait for me upstairs that's fine."
"Yeah, that's fine." He was glad she hadn't asked him to leave, though he didn't really expect her to. Huey nodded, making his way out of the basement as Jazmine gathered her things and tried his damndest to erase the scene he had just witnessed.
Not that it was anything shocking or even new to him, he had seen Jazmine in dance attire multiple times, she had performed splits and done all sorts of tricks when she wanted to show off, but somehow, it felt different. Different in a way that made his palms sweaty and his stomach nauseous because damn.
Jazmine had absolutely no business looking this good without even trying.
Huey scratched his afro with a sigh as he entered Jazmine's room. Caesar was right, he had to do something about this stupid "feelings" thing and he had to do it quick.
He sat down on Jazmine's bed and cursed out loud when he realized his ass had unceremoniously landed on something hard. Quickly, he stood up again only to find an open journal with its pages slightly crumpled but otherwise fine and wondered how he did not see it before. He blamed Jazmine for clouding his mind, even if unknowingly.
He immediately recognized the book as a gift from himself to her on her thirteenth birthday that he had no idea she still kept. Admittedly, he hadn't put too much thought into it at the time. Diaries were the type of girly thing that Jazmine would have appreciated back then and the fact that it was still in pristine condition three years later made him feel almost guilty for not having given her something more meaningful.
The back of the pink hardcover still had the 'Happy Birthday' he had scribbled moments before her party and he felt himself grimace as he reminisced. He had had his first real kiss that day, which had been very unpleasant to say the least, especially considering it hadn't been with the girl he wanted.
Shoving that memory to the back of his mind where it belonged, he started mindlessly paging through the book before he realized what he was doing.
Quickly, he set it aside on her bedside table, berating himself for the shameless invasion of privacy. He wouldn't want people going through his journals, what right he had to go through hers?
He sat back down, trying not to let his curiosity get the better of him and looking anywhere but the journal, but it seemed to be taunting him.
Well, it was laying right there. If there was anything that was strictly private or debauched in any way Jazmine wouldn't just leave it out in the open. Everything in her room was meticulously organized but only this little thing was out of place?
It was almost asking to be read.
A very big part of him said that this rationalization was stupid, but the little devil on his shoulder spoke louder, and before he could get too guilty, the journal was in his hands again.
As he imagined, there was nothing particularly interesting. The first few pages had some sketches, a few random school notes here and there, some poetry which surprisingly wasn't half bad, and that was pretty much it. he went through the blank pages in the middle and almost closed the journal again, thinking there was nothing more to see.
Until he reached something weird.
It was a bunch of numbers, scribbled messily around the page and Huey noticed that for the first time the date was also recorded. This particular page was from September the 25th, but Huey had no time to decipher what any of that actually meant because he heard footsteps coming from the hallway. He had just enough time to quickly hide the journal under the pillow he was leaning on before Jazmine entered the room, her previous attire being replaced by a baggy hoodie and sweats, a towel draped around her shoulders as her hair dripped, her ringlets reaching down to her lower back in its wet state.
He hoped his face didn't betray just how guilty he suddenly felt, but Jazmine seemed to either not notice or care because the next thing he knew she was throwing herself at the other side of the bed, the mattress bouncing under him.
" 'M dad didn't let me go to ballet today," She said with a genuine pout of her face. A pout Huey knew too well.
"So Tom does have some sense huh?" She glowered at him and he shrugged. "Did you actually expect to go do your dance thing after dropping dead for thirty seconds?"
"I didn't drop dead, Drama King," She rolled her eyes, sitting up on the bed. "It was just a spell or something...happens to everyone,"
"Never happened to me...but that might just be because I actually eat meals like a normal person," Huey said pointedly, but soon wished he hadn't when Jazmine briefly stiffened beside him. "What's up with that anyway?"
"Dad told you," She stated and he nodded. "Whatever it is you want to say can you please don't? I'm really not in the mood for another lecture," Huey shrugged, biting his tongue only for her sake.
"Are you okay though? How are you feeling?"
"I'm absolutely fine," She answered rather curtly and Huey raised an eyebrow at her. "These past few weeks have been absolutely craptastic, this was just the icing on the cake," She rubbed her eyes with a heavy sigh. "What a freaking day…"
Huey didn't know what to say to that, especially because Jazmine decided to scooch closer to him and lean her head against his shoulders and he stiffened, very aware of the little book he was trying to hide. "I was actually looking forward to today you know. It's all Cindy's fault anyway,"
Huey tried to not make his sigh of relief too noticeable. "How so?"
"Well, if she hadn't gone all 'McFearsome' on me I wouldn't have forgotten to eat lunch, everything would be fine and I'd happily be making my way to ballet at this moment," She crossed her arms over her chest. "It was horrible Huey, I'm never talking to her ever again."
"I'm not gonna hold my breath on that one,"
"I'm serious!" She threw her hands up in the air. "She called me a hoe in front of the whole school! Friends don't do that, I am done with her." Huey found that very hard to believe. Cindy had done Jazmine dirty more times than Huey could count over the years and yet Jazmine never went longer than a few days without speaking to her, always going back on her word and forgiving the girl even though, in Huey's opinion, she didn't deserve it most times. "What even happened yesterday anyway? How did she see us?" She looked at him and Huey twisted his face for a moment.
"She wanted to meet you at the studio because she knew you wouldn't say no to her face so we went there and well, we saw you and him...you know,"
"There is no 'You know'!" The force in her voice took Huey aback as she raised her head once again, throwing him a sharp look. "I literally just got a ride from him! Why is everyone acting like this is such a big deal?!"
"It isn't!" Huey shot back quickly. "I'm not acting like anything!"
"Then why does your face look like that?!" Huey subconsciously shielded his heating face with his hands, not knowing what Jazmine meant by "that", but knowing he wasn't doing a very good job at masking whatever emotion he was still trying to figure out.
"Like what?"
"Like-" Jazmine paused, shifting in her position and arching her spine as she felt something hard poke her back and Huey immediately knew he was busted. She reached behind her, right under the pillow he had been leaning on and retrieving her diary.
She frowned, knitting her eyebrows together and widening her eyes slightly. Huey could clearly see the color rushing to her cheeks as she stared at the thing with trepidation.
An unbearable silence fell inside the room, and just as Huey though he might suffocate, her steely gaze turned onto him. "You didn't read it." It wasn't a question, it was a statement. Huey gulped, feeling rather tempted to jump off the window and make a run to his house, regretting even coming here in the first place.
"I-um…" Her eyes were wide, nostrils flaring and Huey knew he couldn't lie to her face. He didn't even know it was really something he wanted to do. Feeling shame creep up to his face he sighed, nodding. "I did..."
She held her ice cold gaze on his face for a moment before closing her eyes, forcefully climbing out of the bed, letting the wet towel fall off from her shoulder and walking towards her bookshelf. Huey watched her tense shoulders hitch up and the grip on the journal tightening.
He tried to think critically. He had fucked up. He had to assess the situation, own up to his shit and apologize to her. He cleared his throat, but Jazmine didn't turn to him. "Jazmine-"
"Why would you do that?!" She finally turned to him, and the look she threw his way made his stomach jolt in a way that left him nauseated. Jazmine had never looked so menacing, so fucked off.
"I don't...I mean it was just laying there and-"
"You felt entitled to just go through my shit?!"
"It's not like that!" He said, even though it pretty much had been. "Look, I didn't-"
"No, it's exactly like that Huey!" She yelled. "Because you, and Cindy and everyone are always up in my business and I'm so sick of it-"
"Can you calm down and stop being dramatic?!" He stood up from the bed, not liking the way she looked down at him. They were on opposite sides of the room, separated by Jazmine's queen size bed which he thought was just as well. Jazmine really did look like she might hit him. "It's really not that serious,"
"Dramatic?!" She scoffed incredulously. "I'm being dramatic?!"
"You're always being dramatic," He shot back in the same intensity, feeling frustration climb up his throat. "Maybe if you didn't throw a huge fit over every other thing and dealt with your shit like a normal person we wouldn't feel the need to be up in your business," His tongue worked quicker than his mind, but the words had barely left his mouth before he started regretting them.
Jazmine didn't say anything, she didn't have to. The way she flinched at his words told him enough. Huey felt ten all over again, not thinking before speaking, saying stuff he knew would hurt Jazmine just because he was childish and immature, but unlike then, he got no satisfaction from seeing her eyes water.
"Jazmine…" She shook her head, looking away from Huey and wiping her face from unshed tears. "I didn't mean-"
"Yes you did," Her voice was so cold and soft in contrast to what it had sounded previously that Huey had to strain his ears to hear it. "Get out."
"But-" Huey's reflexes reacted before he could wrap his head around the fact that Jazmine had actually thrown the journal at him, ducking his head just in time to prevent it from coming in contact with his face. "What the fuck Jazmine?!"
"Leave!" She growled at him, her emerald eyes ablaze in a way Huey had never seen before. "I don't want- Just get out, Huey!" Huey hesitated for a moment, eyes wide as he didn't recognize the person in front of him. This wasn't the Jazmine he knew.
He walked out of the room slowly, flinching as the door slammed behind him. He carried himself heavily to the front door, not knowing what to make of the situation. He had seen Jazmine angry a number of times before, but never like this. Never so heatedly frustrated.
He wasn't used to not understanding things, but he couldn't phantom why Jazmine would react in such a way. It was only a journal, there wasn't anything relevant in it and there was absolutely no reason for her to throw the damn thing at him.
He stumbled inside his own house, feeling both agitated and drained. Riley and Granddad were watching the Real Housewives of Wherever the Hell and he was thankful for being able to slip past them unnoticed, quickly making his way up to his bedroom, locking the door and throwing himself at his bed.
He glared at the ceiling, scowling as he replayed the argument in his head. Jazmine had changed. Something in her had changed, and Huey didn't like it at all.
Hmmm okay this isn't my favorite thing but oh well you know...
Anyway, if you liked this chapter please please pleaseeee Review and Favorite the story! I want your feedback, you don't know just how much it is necessary and appreciated!
Also, the BIGGEST shoutout to LovinHueyFreeman, Schweetpea1870 and taydo-the-potato for being the absolute BEST and giving me so much support! Love you guys!