Author's Note:
I hope you enjoy this chapter as much as I enjoyed writing it.
If you feel like sharing any thoughts or favorite moments, I'd love to hear from you in the comments.
Your feedback is always appreciated and helps me learn what you all like and dislike.
Juey: These two are so delusional, lol. All the grown folks keep trying to tell them what's going on. SMH.
I'm glad you enjoyed the Kendrick/Drake reference and Jazmine singing Locked Up! It was super fun to write.
There are also some great stories being published and updated, so go show them some love as well!
Thanks for All Your Support,
-Miss Ace Thank You
Chapter Four
Step Four:
When your ex tries to come back, set the tone.
Let them know you're done with their ass.
For good.
Kicking Huey's ass was her new favorite hobby.
"Riley wasn't lying when he said you were bad at video games." Jazmine gloated as she claimed her prize.
She proudly lifted her bear up near his head, tickling his chin with its snout. "It should not have been that easy to beat you."
Huey didn't bother arguing with her.
Instead, he took the bear and held it over her head, laughing at the fact she couldn't reach it. "Not so cocky now, are we?" He returned it. "You hungry?"
Jazmine nodded. "I'm starving."
"Bet." He pulled out his phone. "Caesar asked if we wanted to come with him and Cindy to grab a bite to eat. I think they're going to Kristy's House of Soul. It's the one decent black restaurant in town that doesn't oversaturate their cooking with salt, sugar, and –"
"Unhealthy junk, I get it." Jazmine playfully collapsed on him, leaning against his right side. "I'd probably eat clay if someone plated it well enough. I'm starving."
"I heard you the first time." He told her. "I'm assuming you're riding with me, since Cindy put all your crap in my car."
"Yes, please." Jazmine placed her bear back into the bag they'd given her at the arcade. "My mom is back in town for a few days, so she has her car back. She was actually supposed to shop with me today, but she's been super busy with work stuff."
"Becoming a judge has taken up a lot of her time." Huey remarked, noting how dejected Jazmine looked. "It's still no excuse for her blowing you off. I'm sorry. I'm sure you were excited to hang out with her today, get some one-on-one time with someone who gets it."
Jazmine nodded. "It's messed up, but what can I do? Tell her that her new job sucks, and she should focus on parenting me? I'm almost grown!"
"Actually, you should." Huey held the door so they could leave the mall. "It's hard to tell someone you love that the things they're doing make you feel like shit, but she's the parent, not you. You shouldn't have to put on a brave face whenever she neglects you for months at a time."
"I'm amazed you're not going into psychology or something." Jazmine hopped into the passenger's seat of his car. "You're good at this stuff."
"Flattery will get you nowhere." He started up the car, covering her with his coat while the vehicle warmed up.
Huey pushed her hands away before she could react, as if he'd known she was about to hand it back over to him.
"When do you plan on talking to her?"
"When I can catch her in person." Jazmine realized her tone wasn't exactly nonchalant and tried again. "We can sit face to face and talk."
"And what if she never comes back home for long enough to talk?" Huey gave her a knowing look. "Then what are you gonna do? Wait until you're forty, depressed, and in denial to tell your parents how they've affected you?"
"Huey, think about it. If I speak up, it'll just make things worst." She sighed. "My dad is taking things hard, and-"
"Your dad is taking things just fine." Huey decided to leave out the fact that he'd actually seen the man out with a woman his age, at the Public Enemy concert, no less. "You're the one who's taking things hard. I'm think it would help if you talked to them."
"And I think it would help if you minded your own business!" She snapped. "I don't want to talk about it anymore. Next topic, please."
Huey turned up the music a little, like he normally did whenever she was really upset.
It was an instrumental he and Riley made once.
Because he and Huey still kept in touch with Quincy Jones, the man had been gracious enough to make some final touches to the things they'd produced.
And ever since she'd heard it in his car freshman year, she'd fallen in love with it.
It was so beautiful that she never got bored of hearing it. She always sung along to the intricate melody, using whatever she felt that day as inspiration to pull from while Huey just sat back and let her.
" I ain't blind, but still ain't see…
Just how much you mean to me."
Her voice was powerful when she started singing, so striking she began to pour her every emotion into her freestyle.
Huey noticed it. His head whipped towards her, but he didn't break the spell, instead he encouraged her to enchant him more. "Keep going, Jazmine. It's raw."
"And now, you're gone,
So far away…."
She could tell he wanted her to keep going, but the lyrics she'd envisioned had disappeared. For a moment, she glanced up at him, and something shifted for a second.
She didn't shy away from it, and neither did he.
"My heart is yours,
So please, just stay…."
They let the music swirl around them until the moment passed, and she'd belted out the final words with a scratchy tone, her soulful vibrato ringing out as the instrumental faded into silence.
"Say it calls your name."
Huey broke the tension first, dapping her up like he did whenever he was in an extremely good mood.
"I won't lie." He bobbed his head to a rap song she didn't know the name of. "I'm impressed." He gripped the steering wheel with a faraway look in his eyes. "Where'd you get all that soul from? I've never heard you sound like that before."
Jazmine couldn't lie. She wasn't sure herself.
"I don't know." She answered honestly. "Something just came over me, I guess."
Huey continued to bop his head before reversing out of the parking lot. "Well, it sounded good." He shrugged. "I should've recorded it. I think that security guard's ears are still bleeding from your previous performance."
"Shut up, Huey!" She laughed, realizing that Vince hadn't lingered in her mind since he'd shown up.
Maybe she'd keep him around.
By the time they made it through the door, the restaurant was packed.
Caesar and Cindy were sitting across from one another, deep in conversation until Jazmine and Huey slid in next to them. Caesar smacked his palm into Huey's, quickly making a show of their infamous handshake.
"It took ya'll a long time to get here." Caesar handed them a menu. "I thought we were gonna have to send out a search party for you two."
Huey could see Jazmine flush pink and decided to save her from herself. "My car took a while to warm up. You know it's old."
"It sure is." Cindy laughed, turning to admire Jazmine's curls again. "Luckily, your raggedy car preserved her hair. So thanks for keeping her cool, I guess"
"If you hadn't abandoned her for your boyfriend, she'd have been warmer." Huey narrowed his eyes. "Surprised you didn't know that, since you seem to know her every need and want."
"Somebody has to point out what she wants." Cindy clapped, nodding happily. "Jazmine would still be suffering from you two's outrageous pranks if I hadn't of stepped in. You and Caesar were always messing with her when we were kids."
"Stop fighting." Caesar smiled at Jazmine when Cindy flipped him the bird. "See, me and Jazmine don't go at each other's necks like this. We have class."
"Whatever." Huey and Cindy grumbled.
"Now, let's focus on what's important here." Jazmine folded her hands solemnly before breaking out into a girly squeal. "My hairrrrr! Not to toot my own horn, but I look good goddamnit."
She really did.
Huey had been struggling to keep his eyes off her all night.
He could only imagine how Vince would react on tomorrow. Even Caesar seemed to be zeroing in on the new look.
"Yesssss!" Cindy shouted, ignoring the angry couple in the background. "That asshole is gonna eat his heart out! Me and Riley are gonna rig some cameras up around school to make sure we get his reaction."
"Cindy, please don't. " Jazmine gasped. "I don't need to see that!"
"Well, I do." Cindy smirked. "I can't wait to show my future godkids the day you put that raggedy ass bastard in his place!"
Jazmine flipped her hair, sighing. "He's going to the NFL." She sighed. "My kids will probably hate me for breaking things off."
"We'll make sure to tell them the truth." Cindy put an arm around her shoulder, mugging the boys. "Ain't that right?"
"Yeah, sure."
"Yup."
"See?" Cindy smiled at her, nodding. "No problem."
"My favorite customers!" Their waitress, Kyla, came to the group's side and lifted Jazmine's arm. "And who is this stunner?"
Caesar playfully flipped his dreads back and grinned at her. "The name's Caesar. Michael Caesar."
"Not you, fool!" Cindy glared at him before turning her attention back to Kyla. "Jazmine decided to change up her look this weekend. Doesn't she look amazing?"
"You really do, Jazmine. I'm sure Vince is gonna eat his heart out." Kyla smirked, flashing their usual orders around before exchanging a knowing look with Cindy. "You've always been beautiful, but this just took you to a new level. You've got some confidence. It looks good on you."
Huey could see Jazmine absorbing what she said before she snuck a glance back at him, quietly acknowledging that she knew he'd thought it first.
"Okay, so, I've got a Vegan Cobb Salad for Huey, the Turkey Burger Sliders with Sweet Potato Fries for Jazmine, The New Orleans Jambalaya for Cindy, and the Chicken Creole Platter for Caesar with our down home Strawberry Lemonade for everyone except Huey, who will take a water."
"Yup."
"You're the best, Kayla."
"Can't wait for that jambalaya!"
"You really don't find me stunning like Jazmine? That hurts."
The waitress just laughed at them, calling out their orders to the cook in the back.
"So, how's the bet coming?" Cindy glanced over at Jazmine. "Any good prospects that you'll be enamored with by summer vacation?"
"I'm glad you gave me more time, to be honest." Jazmine brought her hands to her chin. " I don't plan on going back to him, but Brandy bringing Vince up earlier almost ruined my mood. Plus, she said something even crazier, you'd never believe what she said. It was just, wild."
He glanced up when she paused, her eyes suddenly lingering on him. She looked so nervous that he wondered…
"What?" He raised a brow. "She thinks I want you because I gave you that book?"
Jazmine nodded. "Yep."
"Book?" Cindy's brow furrowed. "What book?"
"Ah, shit!" Caesar reached across the table to shake Huey's hand. "You, sir, are a saint. You gave Jazmine your guide to dating?"
I did." Huey nodded.
"You…have a guide to dating." Cindy rolled her eyes. "Girl, Vivica Fox already made the perfect plan! Two Can Play at that Game, works! If you stick to it, your boo will be eating out the palm of your hand."
"Right?!" Jazmine nodded her head and playfully leaned against Cindy. "I don't know what his deal is. My girl Viv is alright with me!"
"Anything involving Vivica Fox is strictly prohibited." He informed Cindy. "It's for her own good."
"Who's good?" Cindy hugged her friend and held her in her arms. "Banning someone from a Vivica Fox movie is downright cruel. Did you ban all the classics?"
"Yup." Caesar smirked. "Anyone who's read his book knows you can't watch any black romantic comedies that were popular in the 90s, including one of your favorites, Love and Basketball."
"You're sick." Cindy glared at Huey before turning back to Jazmine. "Please, let me help you. You don't have to suffer because of his weird ass rules. Unless, of course, you just want to."
"It hasn't been that bad, honestly." Jazmine shrugged. "Besides, if it weren't for the book, you and Caesar never would've happened."
"That's not true!" Cindy shot back, her eyes widening when Caesar suddenly looked interested in the dessert section of the menu. "Wait…you really used his book to scoop me?"
"He did, which means you should be thanking me." Huey grabbed a straw once he noticed that Kyla had returned with his water. "Because if Caesar had been left up to his own devices, you two wouldn't have gotten together at all."
"Not true, baby." Caesar grinned, staring her down. "I would've scooped you either way."
"Sure." Cindy knocked on Huey's side of the table to get his attention then glared at him again. "So, what part of the book is she on? Get a makeover for Huey?"
"It's not like that, Cindy." Jazmine surprised all of them when she jumped in to defend him. "The only thing that was outlined in chapter three was confidence, dressing in a way that made me feel good. This change isn't about Huey or Vince. It's about me and what I want."
They all grew quiet, proud of the conviction in Jazmine's voice.
This was the Jazmine Dubois he'd wanted to see. Someone who was confident, assertive, and in control of her actions, not letting Vince or anyone else determine who or what she should be.
"Well damn." Cindy eyed her friend with newfound respect. "Maybe your little book isn't so bad after all. What's next? I wanna be a part of this."
"Perfect." Huey took another sip of water. "Because there's something I need you to help with."
"Sure, just name it! " Cindy let out a rare squeak of excitement, something Huey found especially humorous thanks to her otherwise tough demeanor. "Anything to keep my best friend's momentum going."
"You two can be civil?" Jazmine laughed at the exchange, lighting up when she noticed their food on the way. "I'm shocked."
"Whatever, Huey knows he loves me!"
It was true. Even though he didn't always love Cindy, or agree with the girl's values, he'd come to accept her ways as a general, but still likeable annoyance in his life.
As far as white people went, he supposed she wasn't that bad.
"Thanks, Kyla." He pushed the chicken-filled plate over to Caesar, shaking his head as he dug right in. "You know, you could wait for the rest of us to get our food."
"I'm sorry, but…I'm hungry!" Caesar shrugged, watching as Jazmine and Cindy laughed and began digging into their plates as well. "Some of us didn't get free meals from Lori earlier."
Jazmine and Cindy slammed their faces into their hands, fighting not to cackle too loudly.
"Alright, damn." He picked at his salad with his fork, still embarrassed by how badly the date had gone. "Point taken."
"Back to the topic at hand…" Cindy did some odd dance with Jazmine. "What's the next part of the process?"
He couldn't resist the urge to mess with them and decided to keep it short and simple. "Roleplay."
He wasn't disappointed.
Cindy, Caesar, and Jazmine all choked on their food, beating their chests in an attempt to clear them.
"We're still minors, Huey!" Caesar gasped in mock-shock. "I cannot believe you have such a dirty, dirty mind!"
"Not cool, Huey." Jazmine shook her head, taking a bite out of her sweet potato fry. "I almost passed out!"
"Boy, don't do that ever again!" Cindy was still trying to regain her composure. "See, that's why Huey is your friend. He's forever messing with somebody."
He couldn't deny it. He loved harassing his friends from time to time.
"It's all love." He took a bite of his salad, enjoying the flavors on his tongue before smirking at all of them. "Now Cindy, for this exercise, I want you to pretend to be Vince-"
"Why do I have to be Vince?" Cindy grumbled before he could finish. "Why can't Caesar do it?"
"You and Vince aren't that different." Huey shrugged, dodging a fry Cindy threw at him.
"Seriously though, you've seen a lot of this, so you'll be better at it than Caesar." Huey took another bite of his salad. "I want you to pretend to be Vince after seeing Jazmine at school tomorrow. Act like you're trying to win her back."
"Guys, can we not?" Jazmine slouched in her seat and tilted her head downwards. "Vince isn't even gonna do anything tomorrow."
The rest of them knew better, so Caesar gestured to Cindy to get started.
She didn't disappoint.
Cindy cleared her throat, coughing loudly. "Wow, Jazmine."
They all laughed aloud when she grabbed Jazmine's hand and gazed deep into her eyes, her smooth voice dropping to a lower timbre. "I like the look. It suits you."
Jazmine stared back, her face aghast.
"So what's up? I ain't seen you walking through the school. You hiding from me, now?"
Jazmine looked like she would pass out, but Huey refused to let her back out now. "Go on, answer him."
"I-" She paused and took a deep breath, taking her wrist out of Cindy's grasp. "It's like I told you the last time. I'm done. I've been taking some time for me for a change, something you wouldn't understand."
"I do though, Jaz." Cindy played the role of Vince so well that Huey was beginning to wonder if a part of Cindy wanted her for herself. "I want you back. I want us back, Jazmine. I love you. I love you with everything in me, girl."
"You don't mean that." Jazmine didn't sound so sure.
"Yes, I do." Cindy kept going, her voice so persuasive even Caesar seemed sure she loved her.
"We've been doing this for so long that I take you for granted sometimes, but I swear, I swear on my granny's grave that I won't rest until you see how much I still care." Cindy leaned closer, gazing into her eyes. "You're the one for me, the mother of my kids, my wifey, my baby, my girl for life, my-"
"You're laying it on too thick." Huey found himself cutting in before she could finish her speech. "Pull it back some."
"Whatever, Freeman." Cindy stayed in character, glaring up at Jazmine with a furious, betrayed look. "Is that what this is about? You're with him now?"
"Why the hell would he ask me something like that?" Jazmine exclaimed. "Huey and I are just friends!"
"Don't try to turn this around on me!" Cindy leaned forward, ignoring the worry in Jazmine's eyes. "You want him. That's why you'd rather parade around town with him instead of me!"
"No!"
"No?"
"Isn't that what I said?" Jazmine snorted, leaning right back in Cindy's face. "You say you're taking me for granted, but it took me leaving school for a week and a haircut for you to even acknowledge that! And if Huey hanging out with me pissed you off, then prepare for a lifetime of hurt, bucko! There's a lot more where that came from!"
Huey leaned forward with Caesar, enraptured by Jazmine's performance as she emptied her purse, full of numbers scrawled onto napkins, receipt papers, and the photo of some guy, who apparently, really wanted her to call him.
Jazmine scrawled through the messages on her phone, pointing towards the messages. "And that's not all! So keep Huey's name out of this. He's the least of your worries."
"Boo, I was just jealous." Cindy reached over and placed an arm around her shoulder. "You know how I get. It's what we do."
"Well, I'm not doing this anymore." Jazmine shook her head. "I'm done."
"But-"
Jazmine exploded, shocking the entire restaurant into silence. "I said that I'm done, so drop it, Vince!"
They all leapt back, suddenly realizing that maybe the roleplay idea had gone too far.
Jazmine rushed past Cindy, tears streaming down her face as she swung open the doors of the restaurant.
"Jazmine, wait." Cindy called after her, obviously surprised when Huey held up his hand.
"I got it." He found himself saying.
He kept walking until he was met with the cold air in the parking lot. Huey glanced over at Jazmine, who had crawled into the backseat of his car.
Instead of yelling at her for doing it, he crawled in next to her and hit the remote start button, relieved when the heat kicked in up front.
She tried to cover her face from him so he couldn't see her tears, but he pulled her hands away.
"You don't have to do that." He eased her into his chest, letting her cry until she relaxed, the sniffling coming to a stand still
"Huey?" She murmured after a while, still dabbing at a few stray tears. He kept his hands wrapped firmly around her waist, staring down at her. "Promise me this won't change, even when you're at college next year."
He didn't hesitate.
"I promise."
Returning to school after a week off sucked.
Jon the bright side, Jazmine had gotten to drive her mother's car to school, which was a fair tradeoff to her leaving again for work, and convenient, since she'd chosen to wear her beautiful high heeled boots to school with her green corduroy mini skirt set.
She hadn't seen Vince yet, but Riley's girlfriend, Shanice was front and center, completely enamored with her new look.
"Jazzy?!" She flew out of the younger Freeman brother's arms and began to inspect her closely. "You look good as hell!" She spun her around. "Girl, this is your best plan yet! Vince is running back the second he sees you!"
Riley smirked at her behind his girlfriend's back.
Jazmine just rolled her eyes.
"Believe it or not." Jazmine began to put the combination in her locker, jiggling the handle around until it finally popped open. "This new look of mine has been a long time coming."
Shanice leaned on Riley and grinned. "Well, I love it, sis. Really. You look even more beautiful than you usually do. You deserve to be with someone who appreciates that, like how my man appreciates me."
"Ya heard that?" Riley grinned, kissing Shanice as if they hadn't been making out a whole minute ago. "Young Reezy takes care of his girl, ya dig?"
"Not really." Jazmine snorted, grabbing her English book out of the shelf at the top. "You sure he didn't trick you into being with him? You don't feel funny? Been taking anything different, lately?"
"You sound just like my hating ass brother." Riley spun around with Shanice, who shook her head and laughed before giving a small wave to Jazmine. "Hang out with him less. You don't need his bad attitude to ruin yo clean ass look, girl!"
"Boy, bye!" Jazmine called after him before heading off to class. "Shanice, please keep him outta trouble!"
The rest of the day had gone pretty good.
Her teachers had complimented her on her new look with some reasonable suspicion, but since she could've easily gotten better on the weekend, and some girls in school had shown a teacher an Instagram Reel of her getting her hair done on a Sunday, they'd had no choice but to let it go.
Now, she was easing her way into history class, her final period before lunch. She eased into the seat next to Huey's, watching him read something he'd hidden in his binder.
"Hey." She smirked, holding up the plastic points card from their day at the arcade. "Still researching ways to beat me?"
He didn't look up at first.
"Ha-ha." He tapped his pen on his binder, rolling his eyes at her. "So you beat me once, big whoop, it's not like-"
He lifted his head, and sat up straight, suddenly seeming to drink her in.
The entire class was watching the exchange for some reason, and Jazmine shifted, a little uncomfortable with all the attention.
"What?" She breathed, realizing she'd been doing this a lot more with him lately, losing her breath. "Is it too much? Do you think I should change?"
"N-n-no." Huey stammered. He seemed just as uncomfortable as she did, the way his head snapped back to his book before slowly turning back to gaze at her again. "You look good. I'm just not used to you…well….y'know."
"Being a girl?" She smirked, plopping into her seat as a few classmates chuckled.
She flipped her hair, laughing. "I'm still the same old Jazmine. You don't have to be so weird about it."
Deep down, she was excited.
If Huey couldn't even resist checking her out, then that meant Vince would have a heart attack.
She couldn't wait for lunch, now.
Vince wouldn't know what hit him.
He was completely dreading lunch.
Jazmine's new look was a little too amazing. There was no way Vince would see her looking like that without trying his damndest to get her back, and he couldn't say he blamed him.
She looked incredible.
The girl was somehow even better looking than she'd been yesterday, and he'd been struggling then.
Her lips were stained with a color that brought out her eyes, her makeup made her look a lot less like the adorable childhood friend he'd come to know and more like a straight up model.
Then, there was her outfit, the all green outfit with the high-heeled brown boots, somehow driving him crazy despite being classy and school-appropriate.
Still, it was hard to face the facts, and the fact was this: Jazmine had blossomed into one of the finest girls in Woodcrest overnight.
While he had no intentions of taking advantage, there was no way in hell he could be around her, not without at least enjoying the view.
Especially the way she was filling out that skirt.
"No!" He thought to himself, tearing his eyes away. "Jazmine is a friend. Friends don't do this. You're supposed to be helping her, not ogling her."
She leaned over, about to bend over and grab her pencil from the floor.
"I got it." He tossed it over to her before she made his feelings worst, barely looking at her before returning to the book he could no longer focus on.
"Are you mad at me?" He heard Jazmine ask him, her voice sweet and sad. "You've barely said two words to me since class started."
He kept his eyes on the book, not wanting to embarrass himself in front of his friend.
Looking at her as anything more than that felt wrong.
He didn't want her to pick up on that and lose her nerve. She deserved to express herself without feeling judged.
He shrugged. "No, I'm not."
She paused, the pencil scratching against her loose-leaf paper before she spoke again. "Is it about last night? Look, I'm sorry I cried like that. The back and forth exercise you had me do with Cindy was intense. I couldn't help it. I won't do it again. I promise."
He sighed loudly, hoping that by some miracle she would take a hint and drop it.
"Huey? Are you seriously not gonna say anything?"
Of course, she didn't.
"Stop nagging me, woman! I'm busy, not mad." He forced himself to shrug again. "But I will get irritated if you don't calm down. You've been crying since the day I met you. It doesn't bother me."
"My bad." She went back to writing, the hurt in her voice making him feel guilty. "I'm sorry."
"Stop apologizing." It wasn't her fault that puberty had done its job. He sighed, glancing at her. "I promised you yesterday nothing would change, and I meant it."
"I'm glad." She smiled softly before going back to annotating something in her book.
He did the same, picking up a blue highlighter and marking a passage that was interesting to him.
She looked at him again, her kindness making him feel worst. "Thanks again for everything, Huey. I wouldn't be this calm and collected without all your help. You really are the best."
Huey forced yet another nod as he stared at the curls cascading around her face.
He hoped Jazmine knew what she was doing.
Because there was no way Vince would let her stay single without a fight.
If he did, he was even dumber than he thought.
Everyone in the cafeteria was waiting.
They could see the lunch ladies huddled together in the corner, whispering about Vince's potential reaction to Jazmine's new look.
According to Shanice, it was all everyone had been talking about in class, and even though she knew she looked good, Jazmine felt nervous.
Cindy liked her arm with hers, assuring her with a slight nod of approval. "I'm gonna ask you this one more time. Are you sure you want to go through with this?"
She was. Jazmine owed it to herself to stick it to Vince once and for all. He needed to see that his opinion wouldn't stop her from being who she wanted to be moving forward. "Yeah."
"Then, let's go!" Cindy snapped, eliciting a laugh from Jazmine as they moved towards the glassy entrance. "Strut your stuff, Naomi Campbell!"
The entire student body froze when she approached the doorway, causing Jazmine to freeze as well. "I don't know, Cindy." She whispered. "Maybe I shouldn't do this today. It might not be right."
"I'm not letting you chicken out!" Cindy hissed as she shoved her through the door. "Go!"
She stumbled through the door, her eyes roaming the tables as she tried to remember where she was headed.
Jazmine could hear the whispers, the laughter from the other kids nearby making her want to hide even more.
Instead of running away, she lifted her head, focusing on the familiar afro of her friend.
"Well, look who it is!" Caesar grinned, admiring her look from head to toe. "You got that shit on, Jazmine! It suits you."
"It does." Cindy pecked him on the lips. "And that walk of yours was lethal. If I hadn't known you since we were ten, I would not have known you were nervous. Honest."
Jazmine grinned, relieved that nothing had happened. "Thanks."
Caesar frowned at Huey and whacked him. He jolted, frowning before glancing up at Jazmine. "I already told her she looked nice! Hit me again, and I'll be telling her that at your funeral."
They all winced, easing away from him.
"Um, okay?" Jazmine glanced over at Caesar, who seemed just as confused as she was.
He shrugged his shoulders at her, his way of saying, 'I have no clue what's wrong with Huey, today, either.'
She motioned towards the salad bar, one of the perks of going to a school like Wuncler High. "I'm going to grab something to eat. Watch my stuff."
"Okay." Cindy placed her hands on her bag before turning to say something to Caesar. "We'll be here."
She focused on her feet. Heel to toe, she reminded herself as she clicked her way to the front of the line.
"My flawless Jazmine flower." Ms. Paula smiled. "We missed you last week!"
"I missed you too, Ms. Paula." Jazmine grinned, lifting her salad. "That's why I'll have to eat this until you're cooking later on. Mrs. Williams doesn't cook like you do."
They both stared as the woman slammed a sludge like substance onto Riley's tray.
"Man, I ain't ever skipping to go to the junior lunch period, again!" He told Shanice, who laughed aloud. "This sum ole bullshit! He ain't even-"
Suddenly, everyone's eyes fell on her. She didn't have to guess why. She could feel him.
"Jazmine." Vince looked like the boy she'd fallen in love with again. She'd wanted him to look at her like that for so long. "Wow….you look…you…your hair…it's-"
She grabbed her receipt from Ms. Paula and shrugged him off. "Yeah, I cut it."
She could see Vince's eyes triple in size once she walked past him and headed back to her seat. He tugged at his varsity jacket while she set down her food, seeming to be lost for words for a change.
"You look good." He said simply, his arms at his side as the murmuring in the cafeteria came to a screeching halt.
Jazmine lifted her fork and took a bite of her salad, genuinely enjoying the Italian dressing over her the medley of pecans, apples, and vegetables with a little feta cheese sprinkled in.
Combined with the grilled chicken at the salad bar, she may as well have had a chef prepare it, a realization that made it easy for her to ignore Vince 's comments.
"Jazmine, I'm sorry, okay?" He leaned over until she had no choice but to look at him.
To her surprise, Vince was crying.
She'd never seen him do that during their other breakups.
"I know you have no reason to believe me, but I swear that if you give me another chance, things will be different." Vince gripped her hands, trying to pull her closer. " You're the love of my life, and I know that deep down, you still think I'm the love of yours."
"You don't know what I think, Vince." She snatched her hands away and took another bite of her salad. "You just know that I came in with a new haircut and a cute outfit. That's where it ends."
The murmuring ramped up again as Vince flew to the other end, gently tugging at her wrist.
"No it isn't, Jazmine." He told her, looking deep into her eyes. "I'm sorry about flirting with other girls, I'm sorry for not paying you enough attention, and I'm sorry for not trusting your judgement, for taking you for granted. I was stupid not to see how lucky I am to have a beautiful, loyal, intelligent woman by my side, but if you would just agree to go out with me, you'd see that I've changed."
"I-"
"Please…." He swallowed, tears coming down his cheeks before he dropped to his knees. "What do you want? I'll give you anything if you come back to me."
"No, please. Just stop!"
"Fine. You want me to beg? I'm begging."
"Boooooooooo!" She could hear Riley in the background. "Get yo weakass up, nigga!"
" I'll go to counseling. I'll call you after every class. I'll take you wherever you want to go." He held up his phone. "I even got tickets to Mariah Carey's concert in two weeks. Your favorite singer since you were little."
"Vince, really, I don't think-"
"I love you, Jazmine. I really, truly, love you." He told her with such earnesty Jazmine felt her breath catch in her throat.
As if sensing his pleas were working, he stood up and then sat in the chair, scooting closer to her. "You're gonna tell me you don't feel it? That the feelings are gone?"
They weren't.
No matter how hard she tried, she still loved Vince.
She was starting to think she always would. She sucked in a breath and gazed into his eyes, searching them to see if he was being honest.
Surprisingly, she could see the love in them clear as day. Jazmine leaned forward, her lips inches away from his, before leaning back, her eyes hard as she noted the arrogant gleam in his eyes.
After everything that they'd gone through, not seeing her or talking to her for a week, all he cared about was getting with her because he could. He didn't care about her, not how he should have.
"I'm done." She went back to her salad, a peace filling her that she couldn't explain. "You haven't changed, Vince. You never will. So just leave me alone."
"Jazmine-"
"Leave me alone!" She tossed her fork down, exasperated. "You had your chance. You've had way too many chances, now that I think of it!"
She wiped at her face, shaking her head. "You and those crocodile tears you conjured up can pack it up and perform for the next girl."
"That's not, I-"
It felt good to see him struggling.
It was time to go in for the kill.
"I'm serious Vince. It's over for good. This makeover is about me. From here on out, everything I do is for me. There's no us anymore. This breakup is final."
"Jazmine, wait!" Vince was starting up with the tears again. Jazmine wasn't moved. "I love you!"
Jazmine looked over to Cindy, Caesar, and Huey, who were just as surprised by how calmly she'd rejected Vince as she was.
The rest of the students had started speaking louder, talking amongst themselves while Jazmine shook her head and laughed. "You know what's crazy? I love you too."
She picked up her things, smoothly placing the lid on her salad so she could enjoy it in her mother's car.
"But that doesn't change anything for me." Jazmine stood in front of him. Strong, angry, and done. "It's over, and I'd appreciate it if you left me alone for a while.. So please, you've done enough. Leave me alone."
One of Vince's friends stepped in, gently nodding at Jazmine.
"Aye, dude." Nelson told him, lightly pulling him by his varsity jacket. "Let it go. She said she's done, man."
To her surprise, Vince shook his head, lightly trembling. "But I still-"
"I know, dude." He shook his head, dragging Vince away from her. "But she's made it clear she's done this time. You're making a scene. Let's go."
Somehow, she kept her balance long enough to watch Nelson drag Vince away from until they made it back to his friend's table.
She sucked in a breath when her ex pulled his hoodie over his eyes, hurt by the fact that his tears were real.
Jazmine looked back over her table, back to Huey, who nodded at her with an expression that matched his weird mood.
She nodded back before turning on her heel to leave.
It was time to focus on herself for a change.
Thanks again for reading!
I hope you're enjoying it! What has been your favorite part so far?
P.S. - One of you is from the Russian Federation, and someone else is reading in China, which is fascinating.
Shoutout to the UK, Denmark, and the Phillipines as well. You guys are the first ones to read, and I appreciate you all!-Miss Ace Thank You