Chapter Two

Disclaimer: As hard as this is to believe, I don't own Boondocks…Shocker!

"Love is like war: easy to begin but very hard to stop." —H. L. Mencken

Huey

Well, to state the obvious truth, this was actually really awkward.

Cindy was sitting on the couch shooting me death glares and clearing her throat. And Jazmine? Well, the fact that she was Jazmine alone made it a little hard to sit comfortably in awkward silence, which was why I was somewhat relieved that there were a few lingering wedding planners.

"Mane, my name is Se to the motherfucking kawaniqua!" The ghetto girl pounded on the door, "I want a redo, damn it!"

I rolled my eyes at the noise as I looked upstairs. It was a good idea to probably check out the rooms there, especially since there were distractions at the moment. All I needed was a good excuse.

"I have to use the restroom," I looked at the trio on the couch as I held my stomach, "Mexican food doesn't exactly sit well with me and all…"

"Upstairs," Cairo nodded as he looked up at the ceiling with a grimace, "Last door to your left."

I nodded as I hurriedly hopped up the stairs, "Thanks, man."

I made my way up the stairs before passing each room and looking for one, the bedroom. I glanced around the hallway and of course, right next to bathroom, was a huge bedroom covered in pictures of Jazmine and Cairo. I grimaced before stepping inside.

Jackpot.

Now, all I would have to do is find some evidence and get out of here. Then, the case will finally be closed, and everything can go back to normal.

"What are you doing?" A feminine voice sounded form behind me angrily. Great, Cindy had caught me before I could even begin to get any type of investigation done.

"Um," I shrugged as I sat down on the bed, "I honestly have no idea."

Cindy examined me as I took a good look at her. She had definitely become much more girly than the person I knew. Not only was she wearing black heels, she had also opted to put on a purple dress. Her hair hung down her back, and her blue eyes were even standing out thanks to the make-up. Even though I still didn't have feelings for her at all, I had to admit that she looked nice, for a white girl.

"No," She raised her blonde brow, "Why are you here? We haven't even seen or heard from you in seven years. Now, you want to decide to come back when Jazmine gets married? I'm not buying it."

"Cindy, come on," I rolled my eyes as she shot me a glare, "It is not like that. I need the money, and this was just something to help me get by. All of us don't have trust funds from their fathers to get by on, you know."

She jumped back at that. I could still hurt her, and I hadn't even seen her for more than two hours.

"Whatever," She waved a hand at me as she looked into my eyes, studying them, "What made you just loose contact with all of us? I mean I know that Mr. Freeman died and all but still. You could have called or something."

"I do call!" I retorted as I threw up my hands, "Well, Riley."

She laughed a little and looked at me with a toss of her hair and a hand on her hips.

"And when is the last time you talked to Riley?"

I placed a finger on my chin and rubbed it. Actually, when was the last time I talked to Riley?

"Um," I looked up at the ceiling, "Christmas."

She rolled her eyes at me and snorted.

"What?" I gave her a funny look, "It wasn't that long ago."

She tapped her heel, "It's almost May, Huey."

"I was," I scratched the stubble on my chin, "busy."

She shrugged before sitting next to me on the bed and looking at me.

"Look," She said as she softened her tone and fidgeted, "Jazmine is my best friend, and I just want her to be happy. I don't want you to come in here and just fuck up her life."

"I wasn't," I sighed as I buried my face in my hands, "I don't get why you would think that! I would never ever intentionally ruin Jazmine's life."

She looked at me with some sort of sympathetic gaze before putting her hand over mine in a comforting manner. I looked away as she did so, hating that I couldn't hate her for defending Jazmine. She was right after all. I did have a pretty nice habit of ruining Jazmine's life. Even when she was younger, I always picked at her until the tears would erupt. I was always hard on her, and I was always her protector until she moved away. Why should I be surprised that the minute I stopped interacting with her, some other guy filled my spot? And more importantly, why the hell should I care? It's not like it's my problem or anything.

"Huey?" Cindy looked at me, her eyes surprisingly a little damp, "I know that you don't think that you can't count on anyone for anything after the incident with Mr. Freeman."

"…."

"But," She took a deep breath, "You can. It's alright to miss him, and it's alright to open up and tell people how you feel."

"Yeah," I shook my head at her words, "So they can walk all over me. He was old, and he died. It wasn't like it was any big deal. People die every day."

She shook her head again, her blonde hair getting in her face as she did so.

"Still so heartless."

I nodded, acknowledging her words.

"True."

Then, there was silence. It was a little hard to talk to her, I guess. I had always spent more time hating her than I had getting to know her. Our friendship was based on a hatred that we never really meant but always understood. In a way, it was a hate-love sort of thing. I always cared about Cindy, as a friend, and we always bickered or whatever. But I did have to admit that if there was any person on Earth I knew I might be able to count on, it was her.

Jazmine

I wondered what was taking them so long. It did not take long for people to use the restroom, and even if it did, it didn't take almost an hour to do all of that. Plus, Huey hates anything fattening, greasy, or filled with meat, so I'm pretty sure that he never ate Mexican food in the first place.

And Cindy disappeared not too long ago too. Actually, it's been about thirty minutes since I've seen her too, and as much as I appreciated the alone time with Cairo, I was honestly starting to wonder why Cindy and Huey both just left at the same exact time. Was something up with them?

Maybe it's wasn't just purely coincidental that both Huey and Cindy popped up at the same time, and Huey just so happened to be here. Maybe they planned it so that they could spend all their time together. It's possible. I mean Cindy could have seen Huey while she was playing basketball for the NBA, he could have somehow fallen for her, and they might have wanted to keep it a secret and all. I nod. That makes sense. I think it does, anyways.

The silence isn't even awkward between Cairo and I. Not that it's really silent. A lot of the wedding planners are a little upset that they didn't get the job; they decided to stay outside, and set stuff on fire?

"Babe," I looked over at Cairo with wide eyes, "Tell me they are not outside with torches!"

"Let me get the phone," He groaned as they started banging on the door, "These people are nuts!"

"My name be Say to the motherfucking can- neek- qua!" The ghetto girl screamed in the window as she swerved her neck in true ghetto form, "You better open this door! Mane, you missing out! I can get you some weave, my cousin Reshahyaya, she be a wedding singer! Bitch! I'm from the south side! You better open this goddamn door!"

I looked at Cairo, "I'll go get Huey's mace."

"That would be the smart thing to do."

I hopped up the stairs, immediately noting the sounds of voices. I didn't really have a problem with the fact that Huey and Cindy were talking, but I did have a problem with where they were talking- in me and Cairo's bedroom. Seriously, what the hell was going on? I swung open the door with a deep frown on my face.

"What are you guys doing?" I folded my arms across my chest before I realized that Cindy and Huey hadn't been doing anything at all. Cindy was halfway across the room, glaring at Huey. Huey was rolling his eyes at the thought of even being near Cindy in that way, and I was blushing from embarrassment. We all stood there for a moment, rubbing our arms awkwardly before Cindy looked at me, then, at Huey, her voice hard.

"Nothing," She shrugged as she smiled at me, "Just talking to Huey, making sure we still have that understanding."

Ah, the understanding. I remembered that from our younger days too. Cindy and Huey always made sure that they had that much, especially when they were fighting- and that was all the time. I shuddered at the thought.

"Well," Cindy shrugged effortlessly, "I'm going back downstairs. My business here is done."

I smiled at her before shaking my head, playfully swatting her, "Be good!"

She laughed at me as she grabbed the glass bottle filled with a brownish liquid before smirking, "I'm always well behaved."

"Right," I grinned at her, "Because you and Caesar always behave."

Huey started choking as Cindy and I exchanged a look.

"What?" Huey was all of a sudden interested instead of bored, "When did you and Caesar end up together? What happened to Riley?"

Cindy rolled her eyes at Huey, giving him a look.

"People change, Huey. I thought you of all people would be happy that Riley and I were broken up. Besides, he's the one who did it. I don't know why you're so shocked. We haven't been together for about three years."

He coughed again as he fell over on the bed.

Cindy patted him on the back before walking out of the room, "You should really have more than one word conversations with your brother. You might know a little more."

He looked at me as I looked away nervously, "You knew about this?"

I rolled my eyes at him and moved my own shoulders upward, "You're the only one who didn't."

He looked down at the bed again, "Oh."

I looked at him. He was definitely older. He looked the same but his body had altered a little, become a little less boyish. His muscles were tensing through the tight shirt he had on. He had also grown a goatee. I had to admit that it was kind of nice on him, though, but then again, everything did. Why did this have to be so awkward?

"So," I mustered enough courage to ask the question that I had been thinking since I saw him, "What are you doing?"

"Um," He glanced over at me and wrinkled his nose, "I don't know?"

I rolled my eyes at his answer before rewording my question, "No, I mean why are you here in New York, as a wedding planner?"

He sat up at that note. For a moment, he looked almost ten again. I frowned. Ten year old Huey had been angry, mean, nothing at all like the somewhat less robotic version of him that I had come to love. Now, it seemed like he had reverted back to that cold form of himself that I had warmed up over the years. I immediately felt a little guilty. It's not like I tried to call him when he pushed me away, but it's not like he ever did that either. Maybe, we were both guilty.

"Things happened," His voice lowered an octave, "I needed the money, okay? It's not a big deal."

I looked down before opening my mouth, "Don't take this the wrong way."

He made a face as I spoke the words, "I probably will."

"But are you gay?"

"No," He groaned as he stood up all of a sudden, "Why would you even think that?"

I looked at the back of his shirt, "Maybe because the back of your super tight shirt has pink flowers with Hueylicious on it? Seriously, is that why you're so upset about Caesar and Cindy? Do you like him or something? Because, if you're gay, I'm behind you. There is no reason to-"

"Jazmine!" He shouted, causing me to jump, "I am not gay."

I rolled my eyes. It was clear that he was but whatever. I had enough on my plate.

"So why did you just stop talking to all of us?" I prodded a little, "You just left and lost all our numbers?"

He looked at me in the eyes, "Stop trying to figure out what happened. It's not important."

"I just," I looked away from him, the tears threatening to fall were sucked back in, "I want to understand the logic."

"You're getting married," He rolled his eyes and snorted, "There is no logic."

I rolled my eyes at him, "So! I don't get what that has to do with you just dropping all your friends like we're nobody! We were worried, Huey. I was worried."

"I'm fine," Huey narrowed his own eyes, "I've always been fine. You know that."

I lowered my head before lifting it, ready to drop the subject, "Whatever, I'm through."

"Good," Huey laid back on the bed as we both stared at the ceiling fan, watching it spin.

"Great," I rolled my own two eyes before doing the same.

"Shouldn't you get back downstairs," Huey's voice was quiet but audible as he spoke the words, "I'm sure your fiancé is getting worried."

"I've only been up here for a little while," I told him evenly, "He'll be fine."

"I don't know," Huey said in a warning tone, like he knew everything that would happen, "I mean if I were your fiancé, and some other guy was in our bedroom. I would have an issue with it."

Wow, maybe he was right. The bedroom was a significant piece of land in the household. It was sacred, and I had allowed some other guy inside of it. I felt like Eve in the Garden of Eden. Intuition was trying to I thought about this for a moment before waving it away, "Cairo is not you."

He laughed, surprisingly, "You and I agree on that much."

"What," A gruff voice sounded from behind me as I turned to face Cairo, who clearly wasn't too fond of the scene in front of him, "is going on?"

We looked up at him, but Huey was the first to answer him, "Talking, unfortunately. How do you deal?"

Cairo looked at me as his anger faded, "Hey, you can always pretend that you're listening."

"You pretend that you listen to me?"

"Yes!" Huey smirked at me, "All the time, I bet."

"Babe," Cairo looked at me with a fake smile on his face, "I do listen to you."

"Right," I looked at Huey as he blinked, "Can I use the mace?"

Huey walked downstairs, "Nah, I've got this."

As soon as Huey was out of earshot, Cairo started questioning me.

"What was that all about?" He asked me as he slammed his palm against the door as his eyes darkened again.

"We were just talking," I sat on the bed, "I don't see what the big deal is."

He frowned as he looked at me, "It is a big deal. It's a very big deal. You had another guy in our bedroom, and that's not even what bothers me! Jazmine, are you still in love with him or something?"

"Why would you think that?" I asked him as I stood up abruptly, tugging the ends of my dress downwards, "I'm marrying you! Huey and I grew up together."

"Really," Cairo looked at me, "Care to explain the fact that you used to love him?"

I was going to kill Cindy.

"I was seventeen, Cairo," I whispered so that Huey and Cindy wouldn't hear, "I barely knew what love was. It meant nothing to me, Cairo."

He studied my face, "Why don't I believe that?"

I threw up my own two hands, "I don't know! I love you. You're the only one who's sitting here overreacting and acting jealous or whatever! I don't understand why you're being so goddamn sensitive about this!"

I was starting to cry just as he pulled me into his arms, "I'm sorry, Jazmine. It's just that I'm so scared of losing you to any guy, even a gay one. The thought of you not loving me scares me, a lot."

I nodded, not being able to say much else, "No, it's my fault. I shouldn't have been in here with him."

Cairo looked at me and sighed, "No, it's my fault. He's your friend, and you haven't seen him in a long time. Cindy told me about how his Granddad died and all. I shouldn't have overreacted. I know you're a great friend. You were probably just concerned. It's okay."

"Well," I looked up at him with a small smile on my face, "Does this mean that we should make up?"

He started smiling then, pulling me even closer, "And how do we do that, Miss Dubois?"

"Well," I gave him an innocent look, "I was hoping that my teacher would kind of walk me through it."

"I think you should take a nap," He winked at me, "without clothes."

I gasped mockingly, "That's so naughty!"

"Shhh!" Cairo grinned at me while I laughed at his silly behavior, "I'm not telling anybody."

I smiled before kissing his lips, "Uh-huh."

"Jazmine, Cairo!" Cindy called from downstairs, "The punk ass police force is finally here."

"Man!" I rolled my eyes, "I swear!"

"It's alright, baby!" Cairo grinned at me, "After we get married, I'm all yours."

"Yeah," I looked downstairs, "if we ever get there."

Huey

I had finally returned from Cairo Washington's house with little evidence. Unfortunately, the police decided to question us about the identities of two of the alleged wedding planners. Two of them were notorious criminals, known for prostitution and high risk robberies. By the time I was finished answering all of their question, it was about three o'clock in the morning, and I had until five o'clock to get a little rest. I sighed. Being a detective at the moment sucked ass.

"Hey," A guy with pink heart and a feminine walk waved at me, "Love that shirt. Call me."

I would kill Mr. Gris at work tomorrow, but for now, I would at least get a little sleep. I walked towards the apartment, slightly aware of the owner singing his heart out with Celine Dion in Spanish.

"Cada noche en mis sueñ te veo, te sientoAsi es que yo se que tu seguiras!" The Mr. Sanchez sang his heart out as I rolled my eyes. He was off pitch, and he just sucked.

I ignored him as I took my set of keys and climbed up the stairs. My blue door awaited me, and I sighed as I took out my key before pushing it open, my eyebrow raised. This is where I was staying? I frowned again as I looked at the place. There was Chinese food everywhere, junk thrown around like Riley's half of the old room, and music playing- good music. As a matter of fact, the music was making up for the fact that the entire apartment was a complete mess. But who in the hell was I sharing a room with?

"You must be Huey," A boy with slanted eyes and a black headphones set emerged from a door, "I'm Hiro. Hiro Otonomo."

"So," I looked at him, "Japenese, Viatnemese, Chinese, Asian…"

"Japenese," He rolled his eyes at me, "I wasn't born there though, so it isn't my native homeland."

I nodded. That made sense, seeing as though he was playing Nina Simone at the moment. I looked around at the room. Hiro was clearly into music. There were records everywhere I looked, along with an old booth made for gigs at a party. A Japanese DJ? Well, I was in New York. I might as well take comfort in the fact that some people actually know what good music is.

"Well," I gestured towards all the equipment around the room, "I take it that you're a DJ."

Hiro laughed goodnaturedly, "No, I'm an exotic stripper like you are."

"What?" I felt really queasy all of a sudden, "You're a what?"

"Calm down man," Hiro laughed before handing me a cup of water, "I'm not an exotic stripper. I'm a detective for Mr. Gris. He put me here."

I raised an eyebrow, "Really?"

He pulled out a shiny badge and a certificate, "Cross my heart and hope to listen to Miley Cyrus."

I laughed, "Your funeral, man."

"You know," Hiro propped his feet up as I walked towards my own room with a scowl on my face, "I heard you were psycho, but I think you might be alright."

"Thanks," I slammed the door shut before opening it again and stepping out into the narrow hallway, "Wait, where is my room?"

"Across the hall!" He chuckled as I opened it and then wrinkled my nose. It would have been ten year old Jazmine's dream room. It was not only pink but covered in ponies of different pastel colors, seemingly flying around the room. I groaned as I noticed the room had my name written all over it, in pink and purple letters. I wanted to throw up.

"How are you liking your new room?" Hiro laughed.

"Good night!" I yelled out as I turned out the lights. Nothing in the world can be worst than this, except maybe being locked in a room with Gangstalicious.

Jazmine

The only thing I could think about was everything, and that was bad, considering it was about three o'clock in the morning. I definitely loved Cairo. There was absolutely no doubt in my mind about that, but I also fell for Huey. I know that fatal attractions are just that- fatal, but there's not denying that I'm still having so many feelings for him that I just can't seem to understand them.

I want to get over it. Cairo doesn't deserve this. He is a good man, a loving man, and any girl would be very lucky to have him. The way he treats me is phenomenal, but does it matter when the feelings I have outweigh the logical way of thinking?

I doubt it.

My best move is to stay with Cairo. Huey and I will never, ever work out. We can just be friends, and I can live happily ever after with Cairo because that's how it's meant to be. I should have known better then, thinking that by some miracle I could just make Huey love me. It wasn't bound to happen. It wasn't written in the stars. We were only destined to end, and I had already moved forward.

"Hey," A voice interrupted my thoughts.

"Hey, Cindy," I lifted my head from the couch and scooted over, "What's up?"

"He didn't put you on the couch did you," Cindy looked worried.

"No, Cindy," I gave her a small smile, "I was thinking about some things was all."

"Huey?"

"No."

Cindy shot me a knowing look.

"Yes."

"I mean," Cindy sighed as she sat back down on the couch, "That was years ago. You don't feel that way anymore."

I shrugged as I looked at her, "I just think that he's gorgeous. Is that wrong? I mean am I being unfaithful to Cairo by thinking about another man in that way?"

"It's like when our parents used to dream about Halle Berry and Denzel Washington," Cindy smiled dreamily, "They just wanted them, but they wouldn't just leave them for another person. They knew where they heart belonged."

That made a little sense, "Okay, so what do you think I should do?"

"I can't really," Cindy looked at me, "You should know what you want to do. I can't stop you from making your own decisions, Jazmine, but either way it goes, you're going to have to face the consequences of your actions."

"Great," I sighed as I looked out of the big window next to me, "Life just got ten times harder."

Cindy frowned as we sat there, "Do you still love him?"

"I don't think I do," I shrugged, "I don't think I ever did. I mean I liked him a lot, but I'm not sure if I ever really experienced love with him."

"Are you sure you weren't just running from love?" Cindy looked at me as I shot her a glance.

"Whose side are you on?"

"Yours!" She shouted as she threw up her hands, "I just want you to be happy, not freaking out at your wedding because you have feelings for some other guy!"

"Things are so complicated, Cindy" I buried my face in my hands, "I hate that I feel this way. I'm could be starting a family soon. What if I ruin it like my parents did?"

"Jazmine," Cindy put an arm around my shoulder, "You're not like them. You'll do fine. You always do."

"But we were kids then," I let out a breath, "That was a long time ago. It's not like the old days, when I could just count on everybody else. I'm almost an adult now. I have to act independently."

"You're not alone," Cindy shook her head before pressing her lips together, "I'm here for you. You know that."

But she shouldn't have to be all the time.

"I know that, Cindy," I pulled away from her, "But I can't keep doing this to you all the time."

"Well," Cindy looked at me, "Who do you want to choose?"

"Cairo."

"Why?"

I looked down at the swirly print on the couch, the reds and greens and oranges playing together.

"He's more stable, more-"

"Predictable, less likely to leave you."

"That's not what I said."

Cindy smiled before leaning back and grinning, "I don't think you have to."

I leaned back on the other side of the couch, "I don't think so either."

"Is this what you want?" Cindy asked me.

"Yeah," I nodded, "Cairo is what I want. Huey is just a little crush, nothing big."

Cindy looked skeptical, but I wasn't going to say anything more about it.

She snorted and rolled over. I guess she was on mute too, or maybe she was tired of talking and not being heard. Too bad I really wanted to listen to her for once.

I rolled over to get some rest. I had quite a few restraining orders to fill out in the morning, and I didn't feel like climbing up the stairs to do it. I just wanted some sleep.

Huey

"Beep!"

"What the hell?" I rolled out of bed just in time to see the alarm clock hop off the dresser and neigh like a true pony. Didn't I just get in the bed?

I sighed as I got ready for work. Nothing was worth this case, but I knew that after this case, I could open my own private firm and use the information I uncovered to work as a true revolutionary. Most times, I hated the undercover positions gave me, but this took the cake. I couldn't wait for work.

2 hours and a flirting secretary later…

"What in the hell, ?" I looked at him as he laughed.

"I see Jazmine took note of the arrangement s with the shirt," He frowned, "You still love her."

"What?" I jumped back from him, appalled, "No! I don't."

"I think you are," He nodded before settling in a big chair," It's okay. She is a beautiful and incredible woman. It's easy to see why you would fall for a woman like you."

He actually sounded like he was the one who had a crush on her, not me.

"And my room!" I threw up my hands, "Why is that filled with ponies?"

"Some family used to live there and they had a little girl," Mr. Gris shrugged, "Detective Otonomo got their first."

I sighed before taking a seat.

"I'm going to ask you one more time," Mr. Gris leaned forward in his seat, "Are you sure you can handle this?"

"I've handle much worst," I leaned forward in my seat, turning to face his gaze, "I don't think this would stop me."

Mr. Gris nodded before speaking, his words surprisingly comforting.

"You can do it, kid," He nodded before getting up, "You've got the drive, the power, the charisma even. You are a piece of work, Freeman, and I know that you can do this. Between me and you, you are one of the best. I believe you can handle this."

"Um," I grimaced, "Thank you?"

He smiled at me, "No problem."

And with that he was gone.

Jazmine would not be a distraction. I would do whatever I had to do to make sure that she wasn't. No, it wouldn't be easy, but it definitely would be hard if I just sat there and let myself worry to death or something because she was in front of me. The only thing I had to focus on was this case. As soon as it was over, I would never have to deal with anyone from the past ever again. But something deep down tugged me. It was probably warning me that I was wrong. But I was probably too stubborn to listen to it anyways.

To be honest, things would have gone a lot smoother if I had.

Chapter two!

Sorry it took so long! I accidentally deleted this and had to rewrite it!

Shoutouts to:

Paige1292, MissG2020, MzMinni3, ShellieB, Youngkong313, inadey, and Cruella De'Chelle.