Eh, not much to say before this chapter like I have been in the previous chapters. I think I'm just gonna upload chapters back to back regardless of reviews, follows, or favorites. They're welcomed immensely but I have so many ideas for chapters and I know I'm just gonna forget. So, enjoy \(^o^)/

Chapter 4: I'm Right Here

After everyone finished eating breakfast, Olivia gathered up the dishes and carted them to the sink. Laney moved to help her mom before she got shooed away. Her mom was giving her a look that said 'Get away from this sink and go talk to our guests.' The thing is, Elaine didn't want to talk. She talked more than she was comfortable with within the past hour, and it was enough for her.

Olivia wasn't having it and simply stared at her daughter very hard. Finally, after a few silent moments, Laney groaned before turning around to face the Freemans with a strained smile on her face. "This afternoon has been fun, hasn't it?"

"I did enjoy myself baby girl. The food was excellent. I could almost go home and go to sleep." Granddad was rubbing his stomach with a content smile on his face. Elaine laughed at him to pretend like her face was burning from his compliment. Riley was face down on the island and a small, miserable grumble came from him.

"I feel like… I'm finna die, bruh." Riley's head shot up from the table as realization dawned on him. "Oh shit! What time it is?" Huey glanced at the clock that was ticking above the kitchen sink.

"1:56."

Riley hopped off the bar stool so quick his hat flew off. It was then that Elaine saw how messy his braids were. He had so many fly aways and he had at least an inch of new growth. She cringed as she watched him pick up his hat, slap it back on his head, and sprint towards the door. "Aye! Thanks fo the food Laney! Real good but I really gotta go!" The last of his sentence was barely heard before the door slammed shut. Elaine blinked and looked at Huey for an explanation.

"He has to be at the park to supposedly show some guy who was talking about him some "respect." He put up in the in air quotations making her laugh. Her laugh this time was light and feathery, so to speak. Huey couldn't quite describe it; it wasn't deep and loud but it also wasn't shy and quiet, either. He leaned back in the chair and rested his chin on his fist, trying to accurately describe her laugh.

Her smile was nice, too…

"Huey?" No response. He did smell something sweet.

"Uh… Huueeey." His eyes focused on Elaine who's face that was awfully close to his. They blinked at each other before she backed up. "I uh… um sorry. You were kind of spaced out." He looked around the kitchen and noticed that Granddad and Laney's mom were gone.

"Where did my granddad go?" Huey got up from his stool and walked towards the door. It occurred to him that the house had gotten evilly dark. He looked out the window's front door and saw the angry storm clouds forming, blocking out all the sun.

"He left not too long ago. Something about having to go put Dorothy in the garage… whoever that is." As she spoke, a rumble of thunder shook the house. She flinched. Then, the first piece of hail knocked against the window followed by a heavy shower. She stepped closer to him in order to look out the window for a better view, or so he thought. "You can stay here until… that stops. Unless you want to take your chances."

Huey was about to respond with his catchy "I'll risk it" until lightning struck a tree across the street, slitting it down the middle. He pursed his lips and stepped back from the window. "I'll stay here." Elaine grabbed the remote off the window seal and slowly let the curtains down.

"Good idea. Come on, we can go to the living room." She marched off to her left and Huey followed. Just like the rest of the house, he observed, the living room was nice too. They sat down on the couch that wasn't near the window, and they were relatively close together, Elaine's knee brushing against his thigh. Laney grabbed the tv remote to see what the news had to say about the unruly weather outside. Currently, a radar of the east coast was on the screen. The state of Maryland was highlighted in red.

"This storm is going to rock the entire east coast, ladies and gentlemen." He ran his hand over an area was was green, orange, yellow and red. "The chance of hurricane formation is highly plausible, so we suggest you stay close to a tv, a radio, or a phone to receive weather updates. If your power goes out, be prepared to take cover and-" The power to the tv was suddenly cut, followed shortly by the rest of the electricity in the house. Elaine huffed and threw the remote back onto the table. Another rumble of thunder sounded and shook the house consistently for over a minute. The hairs on her arms stood up and she gripped the pillow cushions. Huey, being his observant self, noticed her movements and frowned.

"Well, we should go hide in the basement. But I need my phone from my room..." She looked at the staircase with a look of hesitation and made no move to go upstairs. Huey could see the small bubble of fear in her eyes. 'She must be scared of the storm…' He stood up and moved towards the stairs.

"Wait, where are you going?"

"Which room is yours?" Huey was already heading up the stairs. Laney jumped up but almost crumbled when lightning lit up the room.

"T-the one with the EJ on the door. All the way in the back." After that, she dived back onto the couch and put her head under a pillow. Huey hurried up the stairs into the room at the far end of the hall with EJ on the door. The room was dark but he could make out a queen sized bed and a dresser. On a night stand near her bed, her phone was glowing which made it easier for him to find it.

He appeared back downstairs and saw Elaine hiding underneath one of the couch pillows. "Elaine." One of her eyes could be seen after he called her name. "We can go in the basement now." She jumped up quicker than what Huey thought she could. The next boom of thunder caused her to squeak like a scared mouse and run to Huey, getting her foot caught on a blanket that fell off the couch, she began to fall. He stepped forward and caught her before she could hit the ground, wrapping his arms around her waist. Huey could visibly see and feel how bad Laney was shaking as she wrapped her arms around his neck.

It wasn't long after that he caught her that he felt something wet against his neck and heard a sniffle. "I-I'm sorry, it's just…" The small girl's voice cracked and Huey felt his heart clench. Without letting her go, he bent down slightly and hooked his arm beneath her legs, holding her in his arms close to her. Elaine's head remained in the crook of his neck sniffling.

"Shh, you're okay. See… I got you." He looked around and spotted a door that he assumed led to the basement. He soon discovered he was right as his feet touched carpeted stairs but it was pitch black and he couldn't see. Sighing deeply in his chest, he moved Laney around in his arms so he could grab her phone and turn on the flash light. The basement was set up similar to the living room with an equally large tv and plush couches. He set her down on one of the couches and moved to find something that could provide additional light.

"H-huey, where are you? I can't see. Don't l-leave me." Elaine spoke and he could hear the panic in her voice. Her breathing was getting quicker and Huey knew she was having a panic attack. Abandoning his search for more light, he went back to the couch and sat beside her.

"I'm right here. I'm not going anywhere. I would never leave you." The words he said held multiple meanings but all he wanted to do right now was calm her down. Elaine's small soft but calloused, shaking hands grabbed his shirt roughly and slowly started moving up to his face where she ran her thumbs over his lips, cheeks, nose, and eyelids. Her fingers eventually weaved their way into his afro, feeling the tightly wound curls of his hair. Huey had to hold back a groan in pleasure as she massaged his scald and tugged on his hair.

Elaine's breathing had calmed down significantly now that she confirmed for herself that he was actually there, not some made up response in her mind. Ignoring all previous moments of embarrassment in her mind, she leaned into Huey, burying her face in his neck and inhaling. 'He smells good…'

Huey sighed in relief that she seemed to be okay now. The way she felt him up wasn't in a sexual way; he just didn't understand why she did it. Maybe it was for closure; maybe she had to make sure it was actually him. Whatever it was, he was simply glad she was no longer hyperventilating.

He wrapped his arm around her waist once again to give her another level of security and comfort. It was then Huey almost forgot that it was even storming outside. The sounds outside had gotten worse. He decided he should try to distract Laney until the storm passed.

"What's your favorite color?" There was silence for a long time and Huey thought she had fallen asleep.

"Most shades of purple." Elaine's voice was small. "I don't like the shades that are really light and almost look like pink. Pink is a stereotypical color associated with all girls."

Huey didn't expect so many words to come out of her on a simple question. He smiled a little. He had smiled more today than he had in 4 years. "What's your favorite animal?"

"Giraffes make me happy."

"What's your favorite movie?"

"Pitch Perfect."

Their question banter went back and forth for a long period of time. Huey used this as a quick way to get to know her. They both seemed to enjoy themselves, small laughs from Elaine and an occasional deep chuckle from Huey. Laney didn't think much about why he was asking her all these random questions but she was grateful for them. One last question came from him that caused her to think before answering.

"What do you think about when you're alone?"

Elaine released a huff of breath followed by a laugh. "What do I think about when I'm alone? Well, I think about… how I can improve my serve, increase my batting average, and how I can become less inverted. I never really liked talking to people but, you know, you gotta do it in sports. Every time I got the opportunity, though, I stayed the hell away from people." Huey raised an eyebrow that couldn't be seen in the dark at her explanation.

"Inverted? You don't appear to be completely shy."

"Okay, I'm partially shy then. I know how to communicate with people, Huey. I just don't like to all the time. I'd rather stay in my room and figure out if Donald Trump is the next incarnation of Ronald Reagan, known as the devil in the flesh. Or dissect the reasons why Booker T. Washington's Atlanta Compromise literally couldn't work but had the potential to improve the lives of blacks in the early 20th century."

All the worlds that flowed from Elaine's mouth surprised Huey. He didn't realize she had such strong opinions of their black history like he did. It pleased him immensely that someone else on his intellectual level agreed that Ronald Reagan was indeed the devil. New doors had been opened and now he definitely would look at her in a different light. "I'm not sure of what to say." Huey managed to speak.

"Eh, I wasn't expecting you to have much of an opinion. Most people don't." She shrugged against him.

"Trust and believe I have an opinion, Elaine; I have an opinion on what you just said and more. I was just a little… shocked that you had the same thoughts as myself."

"Oh my God, really?" She reached around for her phone and unlocked it. The light blinded the both of them for a moment and she looked at his face to see if he was serious.

Huey saw that her eyes sparkled and the smile on her face was damn near contagious. Huey nodded and couldn't hold back the smile on his lips when he saw her bounce on the couch in excitement. "That makes me so happy to hear, Huey! Oh, okay so I've been wanting to ask if you were named after Huey P. Newton. I didn't want to just assume but I also didn't have the courage to ask." Laney was scrolling through internet, looking for something.

Huey hadn't noticed the sweet smelling perfume that radiated off of Elaine when he carried her down the stairs. But now that she was snuggled against his side, he could smell the perfume and something she put in her hair. 'Maybe it's her shampoo or something…'

"Yeah, I was told I was named after him. I never knew the exact reason why though. Your mom sure knew why." Elaine smiled down at her phone while she read a current weather report.

"I think it's kind of cool that we were named after people who worked closely together for sure a big cause, ya know." Huey 'hmm' in agreement and looked down at her phone. The weather app informed them that the severe aspect of the storm was rolling out but heavy rain and scattered storms would be present until early the next morning.

"You wanna try and head upstairs now? When I went to get your phone, I think your mom was calling but I didn't answer it in time. I couldn't call back either before your phone lost service." She gasped and quickly dialed her mom's number to see if she gets an answer.

"Thank you for telling me Huey. She's probably worried sick." The phone rang three times before she got an answer. "Ma? Yeah, I'm fine. No, I'm not alone," she said as she looked at Huey in the dark with a smile. "Huey's here with me. I had another panic attack but… he helped me. Don't worry ma, you didn't even know this storm was gonna happen. I'm just glad he was here." She grabbed hold of his hand and squeezed in a silent thanks. Huey squeezed back. He knew how bad panic attacks could be, even if he didn't have them himself. A nasty feeling appeared in his stomach when he thought about what would have happened if he did leave with Granddad did.

"Okay, I'll see you when you get here. Love you too." Elaine hung up and got up off the couch. "Let's go upstairs now." She had yet to let go of his hand and he didn't want her to.

They made their way upstairs and Elaine realized how late it actually was. She turned around to face Huey; more like looking up at him. "My mom is gonna be home soon so you don't have to stay. I… really REALLY appreciate the way you helped me. It's been awhile since I've had an attack that bad…" She looked at their joined hands and smiled. "I want to repay you somehow."

"That won't be necessary Elaine." He looked down at her with a calm expression on his face. He didn't want her to feel indebted to him.

"Why? You comforted me with such… tenderness when you didn't have to. I was literally clinging to you for the past 4 hours. I know that had to be uncomfortable and a little unsettling." Laney frowned and switched her weight from each foot.

"I didn't- It wasn't-" Huey sighed and rubbed the back of his head. He could feel his face heating up at what he was about to say. He felt it was needed so she wouldn't feel the insistent need to pay him back. "I choose to alleviate your pain the best way I thought. I'll be honest; I'm not used to showing that kind of affection for anyone, but I did it for you." Elaine's eyes had widened and she was also blushing at his words.

"But…" She tried to get out but Huey shook his head.

"No. If anything, you already paid me back. I am a man after all. I like the touch of a woman just as much as the next." He mumbled the last sentence and looked away towards the door to avoid any look that she might give him.

"Y-You're right. That makes sense." Laney slowly let go of his hand and put her hands behind her back. Huey immediately missed the feeling of her hand then put both his hands in his pockets. "But… do you think that we could still be… ya know… friends?"

He looked down at her with a little bit of surprise written on his face. She saw the look and panicked. "I-I mean, if you don't want to thats alright too. I was just asking."

"I don't mind. We'd probably get along pretty well." A smile blossomed across her face at his words and he couldn't stop his lips from turning up into a small one. The front door clicked. They both turned their attention to it as Laney's mom and dad walked in underneath a large umbrella.

"Hey ma, hey dad." She smiled at them.

"Oh Laney, baby." Olivia rushed over and wrapped her arms tightly around Elaine. "Baby I'm so sorry for leaving. I didn't even think to check the weather and I understand if you're mad at me cause I'd be mad at me too and-" Elaine tapped her mom's arm to let her know she couldn't breathe, let alone try to speak. Olivia let up on her grip. While both of the women talked, James, Elaine's father walked over to Huey.

"You must be Huey." James reached out and shook his hand. Huey observed the man, who was taller than him by a few inches and had rich dark brown skin that was as smooth as leather. Huey also noticed where Elaine received her hazel eye color. "I personally want to thank you for being here with her in a dire time of need. Who knows what could have happened if she was alone."

"No need to thank me, Mr. Jackson. It was actually a coincidence that I remained here when the storm began. But," Huey looked over at Elaine who was chattering with her mother about what happened. "I'm glad I did."

James noticed the way Huey looked at his little girl. Working in criminal justice, he figure out how to read people. Huey appeared to be silent most of the times and his facial expressions and looks spoke more than he did. The look James saw now was of relief and joy, not excessive but happy enough. Huey then proceeded over to the door.

"Thanks for the breakfast from earlier Elaine. I'm gonna go see if Granddad and Riley made it into the house safely. I guess I'll see you at school on Monday. Thank you for allowing me into your home, Mr. and Mrs. Jackson."

"It was a pleasure, Huey. Laney has told me you won't allow her to pay you back for what you did today so I will. No buts about it." Olivia smiled at Huey in a way that threatened him to argue. He nodded. Elaine had grabbed the umbrella from her dad's hands and walked over to Huey, handing it to him.

"It's still raining and you don't want to get your fro wet. Would hate for it to tangle." She smiled at him and he rolled his eyes but accepted the umbrella anyways and eased out the door. "I'll see you on Monday!" He glanced back one more time and she waved at him.

Huey smiled down at his feet and kept walking towards his house.

~~OoO~~

The weekend had flowed by quickly after departing from the Jackson house. Cindy's mom picked Riley up and took him to her house before the storm fully hit. Granddad was already hunkered down in the basement of the house. Even though Huey appeared to not care about his family on some occasions, they were all he had left and he couldn't help the sigh of relief that left him.

Debris was everywhere from people's houses. They weren't destroyed but sidings and tiles were flown everywhere. Pieces of trees littered sideways, streets, and lawns. Hail had cracked the windshields of cars left on the street and dented them. At least no one was dead.

Sunday was spent cleaning up. Huey and Riley got into a fight because Riley didn't want to clean up. This dispute ended with Riley in the front yard with a black eye and a trash bag, picking up branches and other things that didn't belong. The DuBois' came the same day to help. Surprisingly, their house hadn't been touched. Like, at all. Jazmine worked with Huey in the backyard with her doing most of the talking and Huey grunting to make it seem like he was listening.

Huey's train of though ran along the lines of thinking about Elaine and her panic attack last evening. He was aware that they just met but he really couldn't figure her out. She didn't just fit into one category of people. She had many dimensions and he bet there were even more, and Huey was interested in finding out if it was true.

On another level, it bothered him personally that he took interest in a girl when he had nothing but women throwing themselves at him even since he hit puberty. Maybe it was that factor that attracted him. And it appeared to be mutual. It was simply too early to tell.

Jazmine had stopped talking once she finally saw that Huey wasn't listening to a word she was saying. She puffed her cheeks out and threw one last stick into her bag and left.

When the evening came, Huey sat in the living room with Granddad and Riley jotting notes down from his US Government book. Riley was watching something on BET and had neglected to do his homework, thinking there would be no school on Monday. Granddad's phone rang and he answered, putting it on speaker.

'Hello. This is a call from J. Edgar Hoover High School. We wanted to inform you that school will be in session tomorrow morning at 7:30AM.'

"Oh, that's some old BULLSHIT!" Riley jumped up from the couch and threw the remote at the floor. "What the hell they mean we got school!? This entire damn city got fucked UP, and you tellin' my black ass we gotta go?!"

'We hope to see you bright and early. Goodbye.' The phone hung up on its own.

"You better get to working, Riley." Huey commented, never looking up from his book.

"Don't tell me what to do nigaa. I don't take orders from nobody!" Riley mumbled and cussed under his breath and made his way upstairs to his room to start his homework. Huey got to the bottom of his notebook page before feeling his phone vibrate in his back pocket. He scribbled down what was left and double checked his notes and closed both books. He then reached into his back pocket and saw that a number he didn't know texted him.

310-555-0000: Hey this is Laney. I hope this is your number cause that'd be just weird.

Huey raised an eyebrow at the text and went to respond. He remained thinking. 'How did she get my number?'

Huey: Yeah… this is my number. How'd you even get it?

It didn't take long for her to respond. And in that time, he had entered her contact in his phone.

Laney: Don't worry about all that. Is the school open tomorrow? Ya know, cause we had a big ass storm yesterday

Huey: Unfortunately, yes.

The bubbles that signified that she was typing showed up and disappeared a few times until her message sent.

Laney: Fuck. There's a bus right? If so, where is the pick up and what time?

Huey: The bus picks up at 6:45 at the end of the street with the bus stop booth… thing.

Laney: God why? T.T What is wrong with this state? It better end at like 3

Huey: 2:30 if that makes you happy

Laney: Good good, I can deal with that ~(^_^)~

Huey and Laney texted back and forth well into the night. Neither of them paid any attention to the time and he didn't come to his senses until he heard Granddad snoring in the recliner next to him. He looked at the clock on his phone. 10:46.

Laney: I know it's late but thanks for not dubbing me on this school night. I think you're nice than you give yourself credit for ;)

A small smile bloomed across Huey's lips and he thought about what he was going to say. It was true, in a sense, that he had becoming a nicer person. He assessed himself years ago and decided he spent too much of his time brooding on what could happen, but wouldn't. He was still easily irritable and he still held a look on his face that made people stay away. He was nicer though.

Huey: You might be right about that… You should go to sleep and be prepared for the new trial before you at 5 in the morning

A few houses down the street, Elaine smiled at her phone as Huey tried to coax her to sleep. She was snuggled underneath her fluffy purple comforter trying not to fall asleep. Since he encouraged her sleep, she didn't feel bad for just wanting to pass out.

Laney: You right you right. Goodnight then. I'll see you in the morning Mr. Newton

Huey: Goodnight, Ms. Brown

They both smiled at their phones; Elaine giving a full out face splitting smile and Huey's smile making his wine red eyes spark a little.

Elaine didn't know about Huey but she felt tomorrow was going to be an excellent day.

A/N: Yeaaah, so let me know via private message what you think Elaine should encounter on her first day at a new high school

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