30th Chapter milestone! 30 chapters in 2 months
Act 3
2 years later
She made love to Huey at their hill.
It was their last visit to Woodcrest together. His final visit before he finishes university and starts travelling the country.
She's so proud of him. Everyone is. But as his girlfriend, his best friend, and his most trusted confidant, she gets to witness him grow as a person firsthand.
It always makes her teary in the eyes when he does something amazing. She's a crybaby. But she's a proud crybaby—Huey at this point had given up with her crying.
They had visited friends and family. Visited celebrations and reconciliations. Tom gave him parting gifts. He even bought Huey a new suit from his favorite tailor. Sarah threw a party for 4, showering the couple with wishes and praise.
Huey is like family now. Her parents just started to accept that one day. It could just be the sign of the times but to Jazmine it left such a pleasant feeling in her heart.
They were holding hands, on their short walk to their owned property. A few years ago, Huey bought their hill, expensive and overpriced plot of land, Huey hates being a landowner. It was completely irrational to buy a secluded outlandish piece of land and yet for the sake of her heart he bought it at a hefty price.
Handholding was a treat, the way his rough skin brushed against her hands. The way his fingers quietly massaged her own and her hand wrapped around his grip like treasure locked within a chest.
Soon enough, as they laid on top of their hill. His hand gripped her wrist, pinning her to the ground amidst the symphony of her giggles. She was pantless. Her socks and shoes thrown to the side as Huey hovered on top of her.
The tight grip of his hand locked her in place. And she holds on for dear life, clinging to him as an anchor as they made love at their hill.
...at the young age of age 22. Tune in at 6 for an exclusive interview with the renowed activist and philantropist, Huey Freeman!
...we will be taking a look at the young men and women of this generation and the amazing effort they've made to tackle some of the most pressing issues of our time... Political leader, climate change activist, and controversial figure Huey Freeman...
OMG! Ladies, I tell you, this man is the most eligible bachelor in the country! The man is absolutely stunning! But has anyone ever seen him smile?! That angry look speaks bad boy but I bet you that every girl here gonna faint when that man makes a smile! Wow! *gasps* Huey Freeman!
Jazmine turns off the T.V. Every single talk show is talking about Huey. She can't help but smile but shake her head at the same time. She really wanted to sit down the couch and relax. To eat her salad and watch a soap opera in peace. But whenever she sees Huey on T.V. it always makes her unbelievably homesick.
Homesick because he used to be with her. Living with him. Watching TV with him. Doing chores with him. Cooking together and showering together. Is it weird to miss doing mundane things with him? She missed doing his laundry and organizing his things. She missed giving him massages and trying to ease his insanely stiff shoulders.
She bought a wall decor piece a few days ago from Etsy. It's a quote she liked that's framed and you hang up on the wall. It says 'Our favorite love story is ours'. She thought it was pretty weird, Huey has been gone for months and yet she still buys cheesy stuff like this. She's half-expecting him to groan in response while he grabs his tools to hang up on the wall. She's half-expecting any response from him. Yet when she hang up on the wall by herself, she didn't hear any scoffs.
Why? Cause he's halfway across the country. Doing speeches, doing protests. Her boyfriend has gone national. Touring whatever place where he is needed. She's proud. Extremely happy and a slight hint of jealous.
Jazmine giggles at the fact that Huey has become her sugar daddy. He sends her money every week and he pays for her tuition and apartment. He is everything that her parents' have expected in her suitor. Dependable, reliable, faithful, and respectable.
The only sad thing is her absence. Her absence. She wants to follow him. Follow him to his speeches and maybe she can be by his side. With her own place at the podium and to share the stage with him. She wants to be in the pictures with him and when the cameras and lights point towards him while he does his speeches, she wants to be inside his spotlight.
She doesn't want to have a speaking role in his speeches. She'll leave that part to him. But she wants Jazmine Dubois to be seen wherever Huey Freeman appears. Is it clingy to wish something like that? Perhaps she is just homesick. Or perhaps the distance between her and Huey is turning her into a crazed fan.
One day she'll do that. It's what he promised of course. She'll have to finish her studies and earn her degree then he'll take her away in a carriage like Prince Charming. They'll travel the world. They'll help the poor and the meek, they'll do charities and raise awareness. They'll save the environment and tear down capitalist empires.
It's not the life that Jazmine dreamed of, it's not the subarban house with a white picket fence and she might never convince Huey to try out that kind of life. But dreaming about fairy tales are for little girls. And as an adult, she dreams of making a change in the world. She dreams of helping people and saving animals. She can't help but feel inspired by Huey, there's just so much to do in the world. And she dreams of tagging along by his side, whether they travel on a rusted old minivan or on a million dollar private jet, she'll follow him wherever he goes.
That's their plan anyways. But for now they're separated. She wants to be veterinarian, she changed her business degree to study what she loved all her life. She loves animals and saving animals and taking care of animals. It's absolutely wonderful for her and she loves every single second of her classes. She's a vegan to save the animals for Christ's sake!
She was already done her first year of classes when Huey finished his degree. She insisted of just dropping out and following him. She doesn't care if she's a university dropout but Huey strongly objected to the idea. And if she had told her parents about her plan, they would've agreed with Huey as well.
So she's at an awkward situation in her life. She'll do her work. Finish vet school. And cheer him on whenever he shows up on TV. She'll video chat him 3 times a day and wear all his clothes that he left behind. She'll curl her hair just as he likes it, she'll read a book like he suggests she does, and she'll be a good long-distance girlfriend. How hard could it be?
"Pretty easy! Easy indeed!" Jazmine says to herself.
She's wearing pajama shorts and a plain white T-shirt. She eyes herself up and down in the mirror as she puts a pair of sunglasses on and a cowboy hat.
She has the apartment all to herself. She's been wanting to do this ever since she finally got a place of her own. She can dance all night. She can play with stuffed animals and watch romance movies till 3 in the morning. She's unstoppable and there's no mom, no dad, and no Huey that can stop her.
"The name's... Prairie Queen... I'm the local sheriff round' these parts... partner... Reach for the sky!"
Jazmine holds up a finger gun at one of her stuffed animals. A mini cowboy hat is on top the stuffed bunny's head.
"You run along now boy! I am the law! You best be turning away before I count to 3! 3... 2... *gasps* He has a gun! POW! POW! POW!"
Jazmine spins and skips around her apartment as she battles her imaginary foe. She's at a heated shootout with the famous bandit 'Red Rabbit'
"Gah! Out of bullets! Just kidding! I have a second gun! POW!" Jazmine switches to her left hand as a finger gun instead.
Being alone does have its advantages. She's taking solitary with a stride. One time, she had a 4 hour dance session as she danced around in her socks to all of her favorite songs. It looked like she had ran through a rainstorm by the time Huey had a video chat with her.
She can go on and on about how sad she is and how she misses Huey but there's really no use to being gloomy all day. She's gonna make do with her situation because there's a light at the end of the tunnel. She only needs to finish 2 more years to get a degree. All this for a piece of paper but she'll try her best not to be miserable.
She gets ready to go to school. It may come as a surprise to strangers but she never had a lot of friends growing up. She was a biracial girl in an all-white school and while she was never really bullied for her hair or her skin, it still left an insecurity that held her back from making a lot of friends.
But over the years she's gotten more comfortable. She's learned to move away from her shell and meet like-minded people. She has her own little veterinarian group and a clique of girls that she can hang out with during classes. There's Jillian, Miho, and Sara without the H! And a little more surprising is Michael Caesar.
He isn't a girl but he's inside the friend group. He isn't studying in the same courses as her but he still hangs out after classes. He's in the group because of a tragedy really. Ever since Riley returned from his escapade, Cindy broke it off after a few more months and left Caesar for Riley.
Those two are literal carbon copies of each other. Both making the most brash and wildly irresponsible decisions that's more insane than the last. Caesar was more or less the 2 year long rebound and the absolute rashness of Cindy and Riley's love-hate relationship is a dumpster fire that Jazmine has no business in wanting to touch.
Caesar is of course absolutely furious and understandibly in immense heartbreak. So much so that he ditched everything in Woodcrest and began his studies in DC. Hoping to do something more in his life and improving himself for the better.
He told Jazmine that it's what guys do when facing a breakup. They either start working out or find one night stands after a breakup. Guys would get this massive reality check that they aren't enough to date a girl and that they start improving themselves for a future date. Either that or they find a coping mechanism and they get drunk or go on Tinder all day to find a new rebound.
Caesar chose to stop being lazy and start his education. He wants to be a gym teacher or a community leader. Something along those lines. He likes sports and he might like to be a youth camp counselor or something like that, but he's still unsure of course. Jazmine thinks that what he's doing is great. She hasn't really experienced a breakup before and she has no plans to go down that road but she can atleast relate to helping others and working around the community.
Jazmine arrives at the university. In the lecture hall, she spots her friends at their usual spots. Jillian, Miho, and Sara without the H! Caesar is at his own class, probably attending some sort of teaching class, Jazmine is actually unsure what he does. But right now she's in molecular biology. It's pretty fun. It's a deep dive about cells and organic systems. It's much less boring than crunching numbers all day in accounting class!
Jillian is from Ghana, she moved to America a year ago to pursue a new life in America. Jazmine thinks it's pretty sad that she immigrated all by herself. All her family is still living back home in Ghana. She's just this sweet and polite African girl that's still struggling to learn English and Jazmine is all for it with showing her the ropes. She loves cooking food for the entire group and sharing her family recipes about authentic African food.
Miho is from Japan and she's absolutely brilliant. She's a really smart girl and she's obsessed with teaching everyone Japanese. She's proud of her culture and religiously tries everyone to educate people on Japan. She despises anime and weird weeaboo stuff in America because she believes it's misrepresenting true Japanese culture. She tries her best to show people things such as Shinto beliefs and Kanji-writings which she believes is more representative.
Sara without the H is much like Cindy in a way. Blonde, rich, but she has the best smile between the four of them. She loves dressing up and everyday is a surprise because she has unbelievable amount of courage with her fashion sense. One day she would be wearing rags and hobo jackets like she picked it from a dumpster and one day she would be wearing the most goth-like outfit that Jazmine has ever seen. She adores high fashion and dressing up and has a dream of entering fashion shows and walking down the runway with her and her dog dressed up.
"Hey."
"Excuse me? Do I know you?" Jazmine asks.
A boy is sitting at her spot. His skin is dark black but his teeth is a pearly white. For a moment, it caught Jazmine off guard as she glances at his eyes. Deep blue? That's pretty rare for someone of African origin.
"I um... sorry am I sitting in your spot?" The boy apologizes.
Jillian speaks up. "Jazmine! He's my cousin! Say hi!"
"Oh! Hi there! What's your name?"
"Adrian."
"I'm Jazmine nice to meet you!" She gives him a wide smile.
He returns the smile back. "Nice to meet you! I'm Jillian's cousin. I'm from Ghana."
"That's neat! So you're studying biology?"
"Yup! I want to earn my doctor's degree!"
"Nice." She nods. She's quite intimidated with the classes that doctors have to go through. She can tell that Adrian is quite ambitious. "I don't mind if you sit in my spot. Don't worry!"
"Thanks." He says back.
They nod as the professor begins his lecture. Going on and on about amino acids and proteins while Jazmine and her friends sit together taking notes. The boy beside her is very astute. And she learns during the class that it's his first day in university and managed to sign up for biology class in the middle of the term. Jillian is very proud of her cousin, ambition is something that runs in her family which is something that Huey would respect if he was here.
Perhaps she can introduce Huey to all her friends. As far as they know she's this ex-fundraiser who ran one of the biggest charities in the city a few years ago. But whenever she tries to describe Huey to her friends they think that she's just joking or they think he isn't real.
It might have to do with how her eyes turn dreamy or how she can't speak a sentence about Huey before she starts blushing uncontrollably. Something about the way she describes Huey seems too good to be true to her girls but she swears she'll prove them wrong someday when Huey finally finds the freetime to visit her again.
But alas, she's stuck in bio class. She and Miho can share notes with Adrian and then they'll all go out for lunch with Caesar. Sara knows this really cool Turkish place that has a lot of vegan-friendly options.
Jazmine may be a thousand miles away from Huey and a hundred miles away from her hometown but she's nonetheless happy. She's the only vegan in the group so she appreciates how welcoming everyone is. She was welcomed in the group and so she'll welcome Adrian. That's just how it is and when she smiles, it's a bright and joyful smile. Because so far she's living in bliss.
"Sup Jazmine."
"Hey Caesar."
"Wow... so your breakfast club added one more person huh?"
"Yeah! Meet Adrian! He's Jillian's cous' from Ghana!"
They all exchanged greetings and they carpool on Caesar's ride. He's always had a knack with fixing cars alongside his soccer obsession. Or is it called football in Jamaica? Either way he always rattles off soccer facts and recent scores to everyone in the backseat. All the girls don't really understand what he's talking about half the time, but to Jazmine and Jillian's surprise, Adrian and Caesar are going along well when they start discussing sports during the ride.
Jazmine likes this group. Everyone has their own little quirks and taste. She likes to surround herself with fun and interesting people. That's more or less how she became best friends with Cindy when she was 12. Miho is this really intellegient zenful girl and Sara without the H is this fashionista dog person and she absolutely adores them for it. They're a band of misfits and as the retired big-shot fundraiser with a mysterious celebrity boyfriend she fits exaclty in.
After singing in the car and blasting music through the ceiling they finally arrive at the Turkish place and order lunch. All the food is just different variations of bread stuffed with whatever toppings and spreads. The stuffed flatbreads look amazing while everyone else ordered meat kebabs.
The way they pan fry the bread and the smell of chopped veggies fill the air smelled delicious and when Jazmine takes a bite she savors the unique blend of cumin and paprika. The olives were really delicious and the spiciness is just the right amount.
Caesar laughs as he observes Jazmine's dining etiquette. "Napkin?"
Jazmine laughs as well, the contents of her flatbread is spilling out to her plate. "Yeah. Thanks!"
Caesar hates discussing about the breakup with Cindy. He's happy with the time they spent but he was really planning to date for love. He's like Jazmine in a way, he's not really dating to have sex or to have a relationship to avoid relationship. He was geniunely dating Cindy in hopes to marry her someday.
Jazmine never really saw that 'marriage' connection between the two of them, it was actually quite a surprise when he confessed that secret but she can tell that sweet and nice guys like him would be inclined into that sort of thing.
She still feels sad for Caesar but deep down she knows her best friend isn't someone who'd settle down. Cindy can't even stay in place for 5 minutes, let alone the rest of her life with a partner. Jazmine had hope that Cindy might've changed from that habit but considering Cindy and Riley are off in some Bonnie and Clyde adventure somewhere in the country disapproves of any hope she had.
"Hey Jazz. Guess what?" Caesar teases.
"What?"
"I got a date with Jill tomorrow!"
"What?!" "WHAT!?" "WHAAAT?!" All the girls scream in surprise.
"Yeah! It's true!" Jillian blushes. "Michael! You're supposed to keep it a secret!"
Jazmine smiles. She feels like a teen again, like she's a high school freshman with her teenage group of friends. Caesar has that goofy smile on his face like he's going on his first ever date with a girl and Jillian is this giggling blushing mess who can't keep a straight face.
Miho laughs. "Idiots!"
Sara without the H shouts "Adorable! When's the date?! Where will you guys go? Omg can I tag along? It's going to be fun!"
Jillian and Caesar shake their heads and shut their mouths. It's a secret after all. The group can do nothing but smile and congratulate. The chemistry between them was unbearable to watch and everyone was silently begging for them to hook up already.
Adrian politely smiles and eats his meal. "I have no idea what's going on..." It's literally his first day meeting these people, which prompts a giggle from Jazmine.
Jazmine replies. "Jill's your cousin! You didn't know?"
"She never mentioned!"
Jillian blushes and covers her face. "Guys... please! It's just a date! This is so embarassing!"
Adrian turns to Jazmine. "Are you single?"
...
...
...
Miho speaks up. "She has this imaginary boyfriend that she always brags about."
Jazmine puts her hand up defensively. "That's not true! I mean- it's true! But he's real!"
Jillian laughs. "If he's real then how come we never seen him in person?"
"We're long distance!" Jazmine turns to Caesar to ask for backup. "Uhh umm. Yeah! It's true!"
Miho shakes her head. "Michael-kun how much did she bribe you?"
She cuts everyone off and turns her attention to the question. "I'm taken. His name is Huey."
Jillian scoffs at her cousin. "Find someone you like already Adrian? Unbelievable..."
He chuckles. "That's alright Jazmine. Sorry for being so blunt, I just had to ask."
She takes no offense. He seems like a nice guy after all. "It's okay. Thanks for asking though."
"I'd like to meet him someday. Not sure what these people are talking about... I'm so confused and out of my element..."
"Ignore them. Even if I show pictures, they don't think my boyfriend is real, it's an inside joke of ours."
"That's quite odd." He comments.
"We're long distance."
She really wants to propose to him one day. She's so sick and tired of having to call him a boyfriend anymore. She wants to call him fiance.
Never in her wildest dreams would Huey propose to her. It's basically a universal truth of the whole entire universe that Huey Freeman would never bend a knee to anyone and even less so to ask her hand for marriage. She's never really brought up the issue of marriage for the reason that she'll get a really grumpy answer from him and prompt to him a rant about stupid marriage customs.
Jazmine knows him too well. She can tell Huey wants to marry her someday, but Huey is a complicated man and he'd rather jump into a pit of snakes than pop the question. He would probably make excuses like how weddings are all for show and a massive plea for attention. And probably mention how people get married for tax deducts and cruise ship discounts.
Yes, Jazmine fully knows that a marriage certificate doesn't verify their relationship. She fully knows that they don't need to prove their bond to anyone other than themselves. But who can blame a girl for wanting to change her title from a 'Ms.' to a 'Mrs.'?
'Oh he's my boyfriend.' 'Oh, we're dating.' 'Oh we're in a long distance relationship.' She wants to be engaged, for goodness sake!
That's why she bought a ring.
The boy is usually the one to propose. But their relationship isn't some cookie-cutter office romance like one of the sitcoms she's been watching. It's unconventional for the girl to bend the knee and propose but if he's not gonna do it then she will.
They've been dating for over 4 years now, that's more than the adequate time for most relationships nowadays. There's people who get married within a year!
She thinks they're ready. The only problem is Jazmine is picky about the right situation. He rarely visits and she wants the moment to be special. She's had the ring for 6 months now and most days it's collecting cobwebs inside one of her makeup bags. Huey hates beauty products as if he's allergic to them, something about child labor being used to get ingredients in makeup so it's the perfect spot to hide something like a wedding ring.
The ring isn't really that extravagant. It's just a 500 hundred dollar gold ring that looks really shiny to the eye. She dreams of getting a diamond ring from Huey, she doesn't have expensive tastes but she really wants a gem for some reason. She never told a single soul about wanting a diamond ring but if Huey went to the jeweler and bought her a diamond then she'd be the happiest girl in the entire history of the human race, ever.
She gets back home with a goofy smile on her face. Today has been pretty fun for her. She hangout with her friends afterschool, she did a little shopping, and she can just sit all day on the couch and eat leftovers.
She can probably eat dinner on the couch. Jazmine is an adult now and she can do whatever she wants. She even had a massive binge session a few months ago, she ordered a large veggie pizza and a huge jug of orange juice and she watched episodes of her favorite TV show until it was 4 in the morning. There was no Huey to stop her and it was absolutely glorious.
Before Jazmine could make such plans again, she's interrupted by knocking on the door, followed by the sound of it opening.
"Can I come in?" Caesar asks. Jazmine replies with a brief approval.
"So..." Caesar enters the apartment, even as a tall and fit man, Caesar can be really sheepish and awkward at times.
"What is it? What brings you to Chateau De Freeman-Dubois?"
"I need your help... for my date."
"Your date?"
"My date with Jill."
"Why the heck do you need me? You got this Caesar! Just be yourself!"
"I'm really damn nervous Jaz... I need some tips."
"Okay I'll help. But if you don't mind me asking, why do you need tips? I thought you've done this before?"
Caesar physically cringes. "Cindy... was my first ever girlfriend... I- I don't know how to treat nice girls like Jill... she's just so damn different from everyone else..."
"Aww... that's so sweet." Jazmine smiles.
"I just don't want to mess it up okay? Cindy was like this gangster bad girl but... Jill is special okay? She's sweet, polite, and she giggles alot. How the hell do I impress her?"
"Just be yourself. I promise you. It'll be alright. You smile a lot and maintain eye contact. That's it okay? Nothing too complicated."
"You sure?"
"Sure! Now can you leave my apartment? Geez Caez, you should've just given me a call."
"Sorry... I was just about to go to my date but I thought I'd stop by..."
Jazmine yells. "Your date is tonight?!"
"What?"
She jokes. "Go! What the heck Caesar! What are you waiting for! Go get em tiger! You don't keep a girl waiting!"
He laughs back. "Alright, alright... I'm going. Thanks for the tip Jaz! Have a good night!"
"Good night Caez."
You got a guy called 'A Pimp Named Slickback' but have you heard of 'Sara without the H'