Author's Note:

Well, well, well… looks like SOME of you actually enjoyed the last chapter! I mean, THREE whole reviews? Is it my birthday? Y'all had me feeling like Beyoncé dropping a surprise album or something, so naturally, I had to keep my word.

Seriously though, you guys earned it!

Cedmaster3k: Ahhhhh, thank you so much! I'm so happy you enjoyed it! You still owe us that oneshot too! I didn't forget!

Jayjai107: I was laughing writing the Diddy scene too, so I get it! It was a fun to write, so I'm so glad you enjoyed that.

Chel29: *gasps* You're alive?! Lmfao. Thank you. I know life happens, so you're good. I'm glad you were able to finish them and love them. I agree that a playful Huey is a lot of fun to read about, lmfao. It's hard to see in the show, but he's hella funny in the comics.

Also….lmfao. If you wouldn't mind PMing me one day…lmfao. I really wanna know what you thought at the end of the actual games. Spill the tea, sis! (Or whoever else wants to come in and spill.)

Anyway, I hope you enjoy the chaos of this next chapter! Get comfy, grab your popcorn, and as always, feel free to leave me more of that sweet, sweet review goodness.

If I get five reviews by Wednesday evening, I will drop Chapter Eleven that evening and drop Chapter Twelve by Friday.

And if not, Chapter Eleven will definitely be up this Friday.

Enjoy,

Miss Ace Thank You.

P.S. If you see typos, don't judge me… it was a review-induced rush job.

Chapter Ten

Step Ten:
Explore their interests.
It's easy to try to let them immerse themselves into your world.
But before you do, think about it.
Do you even want to be in theirs?

It wasn't like he minded being at the mall.

Yes, he hated the stores, the people, the clothes, the shoes, the amount of time it took Jazmine to browse inanimate objects. . .

But he was far from stupid.

He was well aware of the psychology behind getting the average, everyday person to shop.

That's why he knew that getting someone like Jazmine to spend all their money wasn't hard to do.

And why she barely ever asked him to go unless it was urgent.

So when she'd asked him to tag along and check out the guy she was still interested in (two short days after she'd sworn she would take things slow), he'd begrudgingly agreed, not wanting to spend another day at home watching Granddad act crazy, especially with his wedding fast approaching.

Only now that they were in the food court, not even eating anything, he only had one question.

Why the hell was he here?

Shawn and Jazmine were nauseatingly affectionate for two people who weren't together.

They'd spent three hours sitting in the middle of the arcade just staring at one another, not saying anything.

Nothing.

He could barely focus on his book without Jazmine holding Shawn's hand and then leaning into his side.

Every five seconds, she'd do it again. And when that wasn't enough, she would bat her long eyelashes until Shawn noticed and smiled at her, waiting patiently for her to "casually" rest her hand on his chest again.

Jazmine had laughed at every last one of his dumbass jokes, and had even been impressed by his poor explanation of the socioeconomic structure in America, a structure he'd been explaining to Jazmine since the day she moved to Woodcrest.

But he wasn't mad at it. Nope.

Shawn was only regurgitating information he knew Jazmine wanted to hear.

He doubted he could even spell consumerism.

But what annoyed him even more, aside from the fact that Jazmine hadn't picked up on his BS, was how bright she glowed, just for Shawn.

She looked at him like he was everything to her, like nobody else mattered in that moment but him.

That is, until she noticed Huey's jealous expression and frowned.

He fixed his face quick, giving her a calm, neutral nod, hoping she hadn't thought much of it.

His previous actions had messed things up bad, and no matter what rolled out his mouth, or what he did, he could tell that Jazmine was nervous he would ruin everything all over again.

And if he were being honest, she wasn't the only one that felt that way.

There was something brewing between her and Shawn that was different. Or, at least, for Shawn it was.

He was staring at Jazmine with straight-up adoration, like he wasn't gonna play around when it came to her.

He'd looked at someone like that before, and it hadn't ended well for him.

But Huey could tell that the opposite was true for Jazmine.

Shawn wasn't gonna hurt her. Not anytime soon from where he was sitting.

It would be wrong to ruin that for her, no matter how irritated he was.

After all, he'd brought it on himself.

Jazmine smiled at Shawn, secretly elated he'd agreed to walk her back home so they could spend more time together.

"I'm glad I got to meet your friends." Shawn grinned, pointing at Jazmine's phone with a perplexed expression. "Even if I met most of them on FaceTime."

"I know." Jazmine sighed, thinking back to their conversation. "Spring Break without most of my best friends feels so wrong!" She groaned. "At least Casey will be back home soon. Caesar and Cindy too."

She smiled, texting something back to Casey.

"What about the one with the afro?" Shawn raised a brow, shaking his head. "I've seen dude about three times, and I ain't never seen dude smile! What's up with that? Is ole boy happy about anything?"

"Rarely." Jazmine shrugged. "He smiles sometimes, I guess."

He smiled a lot more than people thought he did, actually.

It never lasted for long. Maybe a second or two if you were lucky, a few seconds more if you were a miracle worker.

It wasn't often, but there were a few times when his demeanor would shift just slightly enough for her to notice he was smiling, even without ever seeing one in his face.

She just…felt it.

The thing about Huey was the more time you spent with someone like him, the more you realized he cared a lot. He just had a weird way of showing it.

A very weird way of showing it.

"If you say so." Shawn shrugged, playfully brushing his arm against hers. "I guess you'd know better than me since you two are close."

"You'll get used to it." Jazmine smiled. "Trust me."

Shawn nodded.

"So." He popped his lips casually, his attention solely on her."Are you free this Saturday?"

"Yup." Jazmine looked down, thrilled that their hands were intertwined. "I am."

"There's this dope concert I wanna take you to." He held up his phone, watching as her eyes widened, and she nearly forgot to breathe. "I don't know if you know her, but-"

"Mariah." She blinked, fighting the urge to pass out. "You. Got. Me. Tickets?!" She squealed loudly. "To see Mariah Carey? The woman responsible for everything I am?"

He chuckled. "Yeah, I might have hooked you up with some good seats. If you wanna go, that is."

"Yes, yes, yes!" Jazmine hopped up and down, so excited she didn't know what to do. "I'll be there, I promise! I can't wait!"

"Me either." Her murmured, leaning closer, the air between them suddenly different.

"Yeah." She managed, trying to stop herself from flushing red. "Right."

He leaned forward, as if moving in to kiss her, but in a nervous motion, Jazmine quickly darted her head to the side. His lips landed on her cheek, and he smoothly pulled away, not seeming to care that she'd totally ruined everything.

"I….." She stammered, struggling to explain herself.

Thankfully, he shook his head, seeming to understand why she'd done it.

"It's okay." Shawn gave her calm shrug. "I get it. It's still too soon."

But it wasn't okay.

Jazmine was starting to wonder if her love life would ever be okay again.

The boys at the YMCA were getting too good at fighting.

They were so good, in fact, that they'd become tiny vigilantes, terrorizing Woodcrest residents as they happily took justice into their own hands.

He'd been sure to teach them history alongside self-defense, showing them how to calmly de-escalate situations by threatening, and sometimes maneuvering, the delicate art of putting your foot up someone's ass.

And also, just as a preventative measure, he'd shown them how to quickly organize in order to evade law enforcement in cases where they'd excercised self-defense.

That why the Y had called Huey eight times today, offering to pay him quadruple his hourly rate if he kept the kids busy for a few hours.

They couldn't handle them like he could.

As soon as the doors opened, twelve of them showed up. They'd practiced all day on the surface of the waxed basketball court, their bodies drenched with sweat and pure determination.

Huey normally felt relieved, knowing there was a group of kids he'd trained to fight for what they believed in.

Unfortunately, for Tom at least, that meant he was easy prey for paranoid, power hungry elementary school kids.

Elementary schools that had just whooped his ass.

Tom hadn't come close to leaving a mark, not even once.

He was still struggling when Huey finally walked over, giving the boys the signal to release him.

"Chill. He's good." Huey nodded, fighting the urge to laugh when Tom stood to his feet, flinching slightly. "Mr. Dubois, what are you doing here? Is it an emergency?"

"No, not yet, anyway." He held up the book he'd given to Jazmine, glaring at him. "What the hell is this, Huey? Did you give this….dating book to my daughter?! What the hell?!"

"I was doing what you should have been doing." Huey glared back. "As always. Now, if you'll excuse me-"

"We're not finished." Tom said, stepping closer. "She's not talking to her mom, Huey! She's barely even talking to me!"

"That has nothing to do with me." Huey shrugged, slightly impressed by Jazmine's refusal to talk to either one of them, even if it was passive aggressive. "I only encouraged her to get some self-esteem, stand up for herself."

"By disrespecting me and her mother." Tom hissed, not wanting the boys to hear. "I can't believe you encouraged her to do something liked this!"

"Encouraged her to do what?" Huey snapped. "Respect herself? Enforce boundaries every regular teenager her age already has?" Huey shook his head at him. "C'mon, man. Are you that blind? What do you want? For her to stay your little naïve princess all her life?"

"No!" Tom yelled, blinking when a few more kids turned to stare at him. "No." He shook his head, his voice, softer. "But I don't think it's exactly healthy for you to have Jazmine go through this book. You don't even know what she needs!"

"Well, what does she need, ?" Huey narrowed his eyes. "For you and Mrs. Dubois to keep sweeping things under the rug? For you to keep acting like everything's okay when, from where I'm standing, it isn't?"

"Don't do that! You don't get to judge me!" Tom pointed a finger in his face, hysterical. "You're not a parent! You don't know what it's like to raise a kid!"

"But you get to judge me." Huey's voice was calm as Tom wilted under his gaze. "You get to waltz into my job and accuse me of doing something to hurt Jazmine, even when you know that's not what I'm doing."

Tom snorted, lifting the book up higher so he could see it clearly.

"She wrote about the bet, Huey." Tom flipped to another page covered in Jazmine's handwriting. "She wrote about you betting two thousand dollars on her…outings with these other guys, on her moving on without Vince in the picture."

"Because she needs to move on, anyway!" Huey rolled his eyes. "I would've done it for free, and we know this. She knows it too."

"Does she?" Tom asked. "Does she really think you'd do this if money weren't involved?"

Tom's face was so smug that Huey couldn't help but say something back.

"Does Jazmine know you snooped through her things. That you came here to threaten her friend?" Huey asked him. "Or that literally everyone, me included, warned you this would happen if you didn't get real with her for once?"

"And what's wrong with me keeping some things away from my kid? I wanted her to have a childhood!" Tom shot back. "I wanted to protect her innocence!"

"You wanted her to be obedient, so you wouldn't have to deal with your ex-wife's mouth." Huey shook his head, disgusted. "Don't get mad at me for undoing your lazy parenting. It would've happened sooner or later. Better now than in college or in some cubicle, somewhere."

"What exactly do you want me to do, Huey?" Tom rolled his eyes. "Crush her? I'm doing the best that I can! She's doing just fine!"

"You're doing the worst that you can." Huey rolled his eyes. "No wonder-"

"No wonder, what?" Tom's head snapped up. "What?"

"Just go home, Mr. Dubois." Huey sighed, motioning to the boys to lock the door behind him as he headed back to the gym. "You can see what she needs for yourself. All you have to do is pay attention."

"But I do pay attention to her!" Tom shouted, even more frustrated. "You don't know! You don't know how much I care about her!"

Huey turned to look at him over his shoulder, observing how defeated Tom looked, how anxious he appeared.

"That's the thing." Huey shrugged, keeping the door cracked so he couldn't come in. "Neither does she."

There were so many flowers in Woodcrest.

Jazmine was sore after working out in yoga, doing some of the more complex stretches with her other yoga instructor, Carly, who was way more intense than Lori had been.

Jazmine had almost walked out today.

The poses had been crazy difficult, and she was completely spent for the evening, ready to crawl under her bed and stay there.

She headed to her car, grateful that nobody could see how ridiculous she looked right now. She felt like she'd been hit by a truck.

And then, as if he'd literally heard exactly what she was thinking, there he was, appearing at the worst time imaginable.

"I know that ain't who I think it is!" She heard Vince yell from behind her, mocking Big Boi's voice perfectly. "You work out now?"

Jazmine was shocked when she turned to glare at him.

Her ex looked good.

Too good.

He had on the Tom Ford cologne that she loved, his hair was freshly cut, and his waves were so perfect Jazmine could swim in them.

He had on a new white tee, her favorite gold cufflink chain, and he was easing towards her like he knew that all those feelings were coming right back, slamming against her better judgement, making her want him all over again.

She tried to resist, refusing to answer him as she tried to get in her car, sighing when he held up his hand.

"Jazmine, please." He crooned, his eyes soft and brown. "I just wanna talk real quick. Aren't we better than this?"

"I don't know." Jazmine shot back. "Ask those other girls you've been with."

Vince froze for a moment, clearly not sure what to say.

"Actually, I'm leaving." She snapped. "This is clearly just some game to you."

"Jaz, no!" He exclaimed, reaching forward. "I swear it's not like that." He sighed, shuffling his feet awkwardly. "I'm not trying to hurt you. I just miss you. And…I still love you."

"Well, that's too bad." Jazmine backed away, one foot already in her car. "I already told you. It's over."

"We can't even be friends?" He asked her.

Jazmine's eyes narrowed. "No."

"And you don't miss me." His voice was oozing with confidence, like he already knew the answer to his question. "Not even a little bit?"

"I don't." Jazmine lied, her eyes on the necklace, on the neck she used to love wrapping her arms around.

She continued to admire him, letting her eyes rove up and down before she caught on to what she was doing and looked away.

She was so pathetic.

Why did she always let him do this to her? Why couldn't she just leave him alone?

"I gotta go." She finished easing into the driver's suit, refusing to give him the satisfaction of seeing how much he'd rattled her. "Please don't do this again."

He backed away, but he held her gaze, opening his mouth to say something again.

"If you're ever down to talk…." Vince nodded, his eyes pleading. "Get some closure…I'm only a phone call away." He told her. "I won't stop trying to earn your forgiveness, Jazmine. Not until you hear me out."

Jazmine slammed her car door shut, not sure if she believed him.

Or if she even should.

Huey groaned once he made it home, surprised when he didn't see Tom's car across the street, but knowing him, he just needed time to lick his wounds.

And apparently, he wasn't the only one.

"Riley?" He stared at his brother, who was crestfallen on the couch, not even playing video games or watching BET.

"Your dumbass book ain't say shit about planning monthaverseries, Huey!" He frowned. "Shanice went off earlier! A nigga ain't know you had to plan shit between dates and anniversaries!"

Fighting the urge to tell him he would know that if he communicated with his girlfriend, Huey sighed and sat on the couch nearby.

"What happened?"

"So check it." Riley sat up. "A nigga gets up and walks a whole ass mile to Shanice's house, right?"

"Shanice lives right down the street, Riley." Huey raised a brow. "About four houses down, to be exact."

"Whatever, nigga!" Riley frowned. "The point is, I got up and fuckin' exerted myself to spend some time with her ass, walkin' outside, takin' time outta my busy day tryna give her ass a kiss n' shit!" He snorted. "Maannn, tell me why this girl swerved me!"

"Swerved you." He repeated, trying to picture whatever the hell that meant.

"Yeah!" Riley shook his head. "Her ass dodged my kiss and straight up asked if I had something for her. So I told her ass tah quit wildin' and kiss me!" He frowned. "Shid, a nigga tried to give her the gift of these lips and shit, but her ass just got even madder about it!"

"Wow." Huey just shook his head. "Shocking."

"And you wanna know what her ass said after all that?" Riley seemed to be in disbelief. "This girl tells me 'Riley, you don't think about what I want or what I need because you're still an immature ass baby, only focused on what he wants and what he needs.' " He mocked Shanice's mannerisms, huffing and puffing before continuing on with his rant. "Then her ass stormed off without telling me shit about what she wanted or what she needed, but she's all on Instagram making posts, talkin' bout some ''It's crazy how someone can't bring me chocolates for my three-month anniversary, but it's coo tho.'."

"This may be way off kilter, here." Huey stared at his brother. "But I take it that you haven't called her after discovering what was wrong or gotten her the chocolates and flowers she clearly wants to receive."

"She ain't tell me a goddamn thing about doin' all that!" Riley cried. "What was I supposed to do?"

"I dunno. Fix it?" Huey shrugged. "Take the girl out, have a picnic, something." He rolled his eyes. "You need to show some effort when it comes to this sort of thing. Listening is half the battle. I mean…those Instagram posts are full of instructions, maybe you should start there."

"Start?" His brother sat up, raising a brow. "So what else am I supposed to do, then?"

"I'll make a call." Huey smirked, his phone in his hand. "I know the perfect person to help you out with this."

This…was what she was born to do.

"Okay." She nodded at Shawn, who was sweating as he brought more flowers into the Freeman's backyard. "You handle finishing up the rest of the floral arrangements."

She snapped at Huey, surprised when the lights she was just about to ask for were already being strung up.

"Okay…" She cocked her head to the side, making sure he'd hung them in a straight line. "After you do that, can you grab the chairs and the tables?"

"He already did that, J." Shawn chuckled from behind her. "Dude's been on it."

She paused, turning around. "He did?"

"Yep." Shawn grinned. "He even got the tablecloths."

"The black silk ones?" Jazmine raised a brow, looking down at her checklist. "With the silver 'S' on them?"

"Yep." Shawn was moving fast as well, nearly done with one of the final arrangements. "Is that what he's supposed to have?"

"Um, yeah." She nodded, grabbing some tealights from the packs Shawn brought over. "Did you bring the vases?"

"Yeah." Shawn stood to his feet to pick them up for her. "There are some lighters on the tablecloth. You can use that to for the tea lights once they're in the water."

Jazmine nodded, grinning to herself when she stared at the backyard, which looked completely transformed.

It was beautiful.

"I see how those eyes of yours are sparkling." Shawn murmured, inching closer behind her. "I guess I'll have to make sure to do this for you one day."

"Definitely." She blushed. "Thanks for helping out on such short notice."

"Anytime, beautiful." Shawn smiled, pulling her in for a hug.

She stiffened when she noticed Huey watching them, something in his gaze making her even more skittish than usual.

She was about to say something else to Shawn, but Riley completely ruined the moment, his face wrinkling in disgust when he walked into the backyard.

"What the fuck did you niggas do?" Riley hissed, his jaw dropping at the romantic scene that Huey, Jazmine, and Shawn had worked so hard to create. "This is what you niggas want me to do? Go out sad like a bitchass nigga?"

"Riley, don't you like Shanice?" Huey raised a brow.

"I mean….she's coo."

Their brows all lifted.

"But Riley…" Jazmine breathed incredulously. "Didn't you chase Shanice for the past two years?"

"She wanted a real nigga like me, anyway!" Riley protested. "Her ass was feeling a nigga, ya heard me?"

They all just shook their heads.

"Riley, you do realize that all this comes with being in a relationship, right?" Huey sounded just as exasperated as she was. "I mean…this is Shanice. You're crazy about her."

"Well, ian tryna do all this!" Riley yelled back. "Now her ass is gon' be expecting this shit all the time! Dates and fucking candlelit dinners and shit!" He frowned, staring at the grass. "What else did ya'll do, put some fucking rose petals out and bow tie the motherfucking chairs?"

"No." Jazmine grumbled, hiding the giant ribbons behind her back.

"Aye, dude." Shawn held up his hands. "I get it." He glanced down at Jazmine, his arm around her shoulder. "But the smile she's gon' give you is more than worth it. Trust me, my guy."

"Worth my rep in these streets?" Riley asked him. "Worth my dignity, my badge of honor? Hell no! It's real nigga shit only over here! No matter who I'm seein!"

"Bruh, what rep?" Shawn scoffed. "What streets are you runnin' in Woodcrest?"

Shawn glanced down at Jazmine, but she just shook her head. She didn't know any more than he did about what Riley had going on right now.

Luckily for all of them, the one person that brought Riley back to his senses had walked right through the house and into the backyard.

"Oh, Riley!" Shanice gasped, dressed in a plain t-shirt and jeans. "It's beautiful." She admired the backyard, her hand on her chest as she shook her head. "I'm so happy, baby!" She smiled. "I thought I was gonna have to dump you for playin' with me for a minute!"

"Wait, what?!" Riley's jaw dropped. "You was gon' dump a nigga over this?"

"Over a deliberate lack of effort after I calmly and clearly communicated my wants and needs to you on Instagram?" Shanice gave him a piercing glare. "Hell yeah!"

"Glad you two worked that out." Huey bagged up the rest of the supplies, motioning to Shawn and Jazmine to follow him. "We're gone. Enjoy ya'll's monthaversary dinner. Ms. Ebony will be out with ya'll's food in a minute."

He paused, gazing at Shanice for a minute.

"It's not too late to run, y'know."

Shanice just laughed.

"Huey you're so crazy."

Huey shrugged, glancing back at Jazmine and Shawn before easing into the house.

"I tried."

Jazmine couldn't help but feel uncomfortable now that they were sitting inside.

Being with Huey and Shawn at the same time was awkward, even when they were only watching Shanice and Riley enjoy their date.

Shawn was the first to break the silence, clearing his throat before motioning over to Huey.

"Don't take this the wrong way…" Shawn started. "But you're into all all that black power stuff right?"

"I guess you can say that." Huey nodded. "Why?"

"Because Angela Davis is supposed to be a panelist at this thing a couple hours away." Shawn smiled down at Jazmine. "I figured you'd enjoy it. I have a couple tickets on hand, if you want them."

"Hey!" Jazmine pouted. "What about me?"

"I didn't forget you, girl." Shawn grinned. "Since I have work tomorrow, you can just go with Huey. I'm sure he wouldn't mind…"

Oh, no.

The last time she'd been in the car with Huey, she'd felt things…things she definitely should not have been feeling.

But if she got defensive and turned him down now, Shawn would definitely know that something was up.

"I don't mind." She smiled sweetly, gesturing towards Huey. "What time does it start?"

Huey glanced down at his phone, going over the ticket information. "Not until 4:00 pm. We can leave in the afternoon. Head over to Gainesville."

She nodded, snuggling into Shawn as he dapped Huey up. "Sounds good."

She stared back at her friend, studying his face for any signs of discomfort. When she found none, she turned back to Shawn, nodding at him.

"I guess we'd better head back." She frowned, noticing her dad's car in the driveway. "My dad'll be looking for me."

"Sure thing." Shawn smiled. "See you around, Huey."

He took her hand, steering her away towards the Freeman's front door.

It was wrong of her, but Jazmine felt her heart skip a beat when she turned back to wave goodbye and caught Huey staring.

She quickly turned away, trying to convince herself that she hadn't seen it, that it hadn't meant anything.

Even when they both knew that it did.

She could see why Huey was excited.

They were in the company of historical figures, figures who she hadn't realized were barely the same ages as her grandparents, which was insane to her!

It hadn't been a century since they'd existed, and now that they were standing in front of her and not in Huey's giant history book, she was finding it hard to believe they were so much younger than she thought.

They'd been through a lot in a short period of time.

"All the living members of the Black Panther Party are here." Huey announced again, as if he couldn't believe it himself. "These people changed the course of history, Jazmine! Do you understand the magnitude of all this?"

"Yes, Huey." Jazmine yawned. "We are amongst living legends. Powerful changemakers. The literal banes of your entire existence."

He glared at her. "Not funny."

"Who's laughing?" She snorted, only glancing up when Angela Davis looked up and stared in their direction.

She whispered something to the guy sitting next to her, and Jazmine watched in disbelief as she and the entire panel moved from where they were sitting and made their way over to them.

They both blinked, suddenly speechless as they stood up to greet them.

Huey opened his mouth, prepped to say something, but to Jazmine's surprise, Huey was totally starstruck.

Elaine Brown was standing next to Angela Davis, along with someone who Jazmine vaguely recognized as Bobby Seale, someone who Huey muttered about on and off again, saying the overall history of the Black Panther Party was complicated.

She wondered where the rest of the men were, and then her heart sank to her stomach once she realized why they weren't here.

They were dead.

Jazmine had always wondered what would happen to Huey if he actually went down the revolutionary route.

Sure, they'd joked about it a lot in their friend group.

They teased him about how the FBI would come for him all the time, how his phones were tapped, how his antenna was always up.

But seeing the surviving original members, who'd been twice Huey's age when they'd started with way more manpower was, well…..

Sobering.

"It's good to see some young folks around here." Bobby smiled at Angela, slowly walking up to extend his hand to Huey. "I'm-"

"Bobby Seale." Huey snapped to his senses, taking his hand and shaking it. "It's an honor."

But Jazmine couldn't hold it in, she was too curious, too emotional…..

Too blunt.

"How'd the rest of you die?" Jazmine blurted, unable to stop the words from rushing out of her thoughts and into her mouth.

"Jazmine!" Huey turned to her. "I've told you this a million times! How can you not know this by now?"

"It's okay." Angela smiled. "It's a good thing to get answers straight from the source." She stared at Huey. "Especially if she's asking for the reason I think she is…Huey Freeman."

"You…" His eyes widened. "You….know who I am?"

"You thought the FBI stopped at investigating you these past few years?" Elaine Brown seemed to scan the entire room without even looking away from them. "You're a martyr-like disaster waiting to happen. They're scared shitless you're going to resurrect what we started all over again."

Huey nodded, that stoic look on his face, and Jazmine could tell he was really considering what she was saying, considering the path that he wanted to take.

"What happened to us is simple." Angela's voice suddenly seemed to boom all around them. "The government didn't like the changes we were making in our community, they didn't like that we met fire with fire. And they certainly did not like that we were all about empowering our youth, setting up them up for real success by providing children with free lunch programs and focusing our initiatives on providing proper resources for black youth, particularly black males in our community, by stressing the importance of having black male mentorship from the Black Panther Party."

Just as fascinated as Huey and the rest of the audience, Jazmine leaned forward, resting her hand in her cheek as she took it all in.

"You've got to understand." Elaine stood next to Bobby. "We were young, black, and taking names, taking chances by any means necessary. And the fact that the majority of the leaders in this movement were young black men? They hated that."

Each one of them seemed to know when the other person was done speaking automatically, jumping in the minute someone stopped talking.

"Because we were organized, authentically and unapologetically black, members of the Black Panther Party were hunted, murdered and tortured by government officials professing themselves to act in the best interest of this country and its citizens." Bobby said, his head held high. "They developed a program to destroy us from the inside. They called it COINTELPRO, also known as-"

"The Counter Intelligence Program." Huey spoke up from his seat. "It was used as a tool to infiltrate organized civil rights movements, successfully dismantling programs from within by causing discourse between members, illegally targeting protestors, and pinning notable leaders with fraudulent charges, ultimately leading to the assassination of leaders like Martin Luther King, Malcolm X, Huey P. Newton, and many more."

It all sounded too familiar, like something she'd heard a billion times before. But seeing them here, the mix of pride and sorrow etched in their faces made it feel all the more real.

"So William…" Jazmine snapped. "William O'Neal. He was working with the FBI?"

"Him and several others." Elaine smirked. "But Huey had his ways of sniffing most of them out before it got to that point."

Jazmine couldn't help but look at over at her friend Huey, who was thankfully still alive, sitting right next to her. "I get what you mean."

"I'm sure." Elaine chuckled, along with the rest of the audience.

"This." Angela Davis spoke up. "Is why we need to continue to advocate for change by any means necessary. Our youth are interested in hearing these stories, learning about them, and at every turn, these stories are being erased from the school system or heavily watered down, not providing the context needed for the upcoming generations to be aware of the very systems developed to destroy them."

"But today." Bobby folded his arms, not seeming a day over sixty as he looked directly at Huey. "I am reminded of an old friend in a new one." He nodded, almost a show of burgeoning respect. "Huey Percival Freeman, I see our spirit in you." He continued, all the Black Panthers, living and dead seeming to surround them in that moment. "Whatever you need, we're with you, young brotha."

The audience murmured amongst themselves, their eyes wandering over to where they were sitting.

Huey nodded back, clearly touched by his words. "Thank you." He murmured quietly. "I learned from the best."

The members nodded, going back to take their seats, but Jazmine kept her eyes on Huey, not wanting to forget the look on his face for as long as she lived.

They were finally back in the car after a long talk with the Black Panthers, and nearly five hours later they were back on the road, heading back to Woodcrest.

"Okay." Jazmine gripped his arm, even more excited than he was. "Your heroes basically passed the torch to you back there! Stop acting all stoic and dish, Huey! How do you feel?"

How did he feel?

He'd never given much thought to his revolutionary persona before. He'd taken it seriously, sure, but he'd never given much thought to what it would look like as an adult.

To be honest, he'd always figured he'd move to Canada and live an America-free life when the time came.

"Eh." He shrugged.

"Eh?" Jazmine looked at him. "Eh?! Huey, you have posters of them on your wall!"

"We really need to revisit your Black History lessons." Huey raised a brow. "I have Malcolm X and Che Guavas up there. No Bobby Seale, or Angela Davis, or…"

"Huey, I just don't get you!" She exclaimed. "Do you ever get excited about anything?"

He decided against telling her he'd been excited to spend time with her today.

"It's not that I'm not honored." He shrugged. "It just has me thinking."

"About what?" Jazmine raised a brow. "Haven't you always wanted to change the world? Make it a better place for the culture or whatever?"

"Of course." Huey nodded. "It's just, I'm not so sure I'm willing to die for it."

Jazmine paused for a second, glancing out of the window. He was about to turn on some music, but to his surprise, she turned back to look at him, her eyes incredibly damp.

"I was thinking about what would happen." Her voice shook lightly, as if she'd burst at any moment if she kept talking. "Y'know…if you…if you went off and…."

"Started up a movement so powerful they'd assassinate me?" Huey finished her sentence for her.

"Yeah." Jazmine nodded. "That."

He didn't try to pacify her, knowing her well enough to know that wasn't what she needed.

"I don't know." He finally admitted. "What do you think?" He asked her.

"Of what?"

"Of me potentially getting assassinated for continuing the movement." He said. "How would you feel if that happened?" He asked her, his eyes still on the road.

"I'd be pissed."

Her answer was so swift he turned his head to gape at her for a minute.

"I know it's selfish, but I'd hate knowing you died for something that's barely gonna change. I'd hate you for dying even if things did change for the better." She admitted, her eyes watering. "I…I can't imagine life without you, Huey. I'd be proud, and I'd eventually come to terms with it if I had to…but you'd better not ever put me in a position to have to do something like that. Because I just can't lose you, I can't, okay?"

"Jazmine-" He started, but she cut him off, holding out her hand.

"I'm serious, Huey!" She shook her head. "Did you hear what they said back there?! They sicked the FBI on them! They had people cozy up to them, random informants that are probably still around to this day, probably in that room watching them, watching us!"

"I won't let that stop me if I do it." Huey didn't look at her. "People need a change."

"A change, Huey." She didn't look at him, either. "Not a martyr." She sighed. "I mean, you hate this country. You really wanna die for them to treat black people a little bit better and lull them into another false reality?"

A curve formed at the bottom of his lips. "You wanna get into false realities?"

"No!" She shouted. "I wanna get into you not dying!"

"Well, I'm not." He turned left, merging onto the highway. "So can you please stop worrying, woman?"

He was grateful that there was a stop sign up ahead, because there was something in her eyes that nearly took his breath away, something vulnerable, something real.

"I can't do that, Huey." She breathed, staring up into his eyes. "Not now, not ever."

He leaned forward, his lips brushing against her cheek.

"Then, I just won't die, then." He said, noticing the shaky breath she took, the way her lips parted, the way his eyes were glued on hers.

Knowing better than to take advantage, he finally pulled away, nodding at her.

She didn't say anything, and neither did he.

He just turned up the music, staying quiet as he drove them both home.

When they finally pulled into the driveway, Huey sighed, about to clear the air when….

"I'm hungry!" Caesar exclaimed from behind them.

Jazmine turned to stare out the window, shaking her head at their friend.

"Seriously, did your Stepgranny cook yet? Because…" Caesar rolled up beside them, his focus suddenly shifting towards Jazmine. "Um, Jazmine? Are you good? Your face is red."

"Yeah." Jazmine nodded , getting out of the car to reach over and hug Cindy. "Allergies."

"My poor baby." Cindy frowned, hugging her back. "We can talk about it while we make a plan to free Diddy from racial profiling. This country hates black billionaires."

"No!" They all exclaimed, frowning back at her.

"Well, damn!" Cindy rolled her eyes. "Excuse an honorary soul sista for trying!"

"Bye, Cindy." Huey turned on his heel. "Jazmine-"

"No." She held up her hand, barely even looking at him. "It's cool, really."

He nodded. "Okay."

"Ummm….okay?" Cindy stared at her. "What was all that about?"

Jazmine kept walking, not wanting to give her too big of a reaction.

"Nothing." She lied, more to herself than to Cindy at this point. "Just a little argument. We disagreed on something in the car."

Cindy just shook her head.

"Girl please, forget his aggravating ass!"

She sighed.

If only she could.

Seeing Mariah Carey in person had her so giddy she was floating on cloud nine.

She'd already broken the news to Isaiah and Grady, telling them she'd honestly developed strong feelings for someone else, and she hoped they would find someone as wonderful as they were.

Because it really wasn't personal.

Just looking at Shawn sent her heart into overdrive, almost making her forget about Vince and Huey.

Almost.

Shawn was clearly the full package. He'd dropped everything to spend time with her nearly the entire week.

He'd swooped in to help her and Huey with Riley's date and had actually encouraged her to spend time with her male friend with no complaints.

He'd never given her an inkling he didn't trust her, that he didn't want her.

But boy had those other two.

So maybe if she tried, if she devoted all her energy to moving on, without thinking of Vince or that more-than-friendly kiss on the cheek from Huey, she could have something worth stressing over.

Something that didn't hurt.

"Now, she's quiet." Shawn observed. "All that screaming in the concert must have you on vocal rest or something."

"Shut up." Jazmine gave him a playful grin as she gently jabbed his side. "I was just hyping my girl up! Adding in my whistle register to get the crowd pumped."

"Okay then, MC. Jr!" Shawn laughed as she belted out an awful whistle note, mimicking Mariah's infamous arm movements at the mic. "I see you!"

She laughed, her breath catching in her throat as he stepped closer.

"I had a good time, tonight." He said, inching closer as they moved towards his car.

"Me too." Jazmine blushed, finding herself leaning forward at the same time as him, standing perfectly still until he leaned forward and gave her a peck on the lips.

When he pulled away, she was on her tiptoes pulling him back to her, kissing him with everything she had until she gasped, and they finally broke apart.

She tried to hold it together, but it was already too late. Her cheeks were wet with tears, streaming down her face.

"What's wrong?" Vince looked horrified. "Are you okay?"

It wasn't.

It was anything but good.

"Y-yeah." She sniffled, trying to tell him that she was fine, that she'd enjoyed every second of that kiss. That she wanted many more kisses in the very near future. "It's not you! I….I just got sad out of nowhere and I-"

"Hey." Shawn smiled, placing a sweet hand on her shoulder that she didn't deserve. "It's clear that you're not ready for anything serious just yet. We don't have to rush, okay?"

She nodded, something about his words calming her down.

"Okay." She said, relaxing slightly as she eased into his car.

He grinned, easily changing the subject by switching on some Mariah Carey to cheer her up.

"Now, let's jam out to ya girl." He chuckled when she burst into laughter, relieved by the sudden shift in mood. "I wanna hear those whistle notes real quick!"

He couldn't keep doing this.

Because he wasn't sure how much more of this he could take.

"Huey, seriously!" Jazmine groaned next to him on the porch. "What do I do?" She asked again. "Shawn kissed me, and I burst out crying! Your book is saying to move on, but I can't choose between Vince and Shawn, and….what?" She blinked. "Why are you looking at me like that?"

He sighed, trying to find the right words to say what he was going to say, to piss her off all over again.

"Huey what is it?" She glanced up, surprised by his sudden change in mood. "Is it something I said?"

"Yeah." He nodded. "It is."

Jazmine didn't say anything as he took a breath, finally meeting her nervous gaze.

"This isn't just about Vince and Shawn, Jazmine." He told her, hating to admit what he was about to say. "Your dad was right, earlier. You don't need this. Especially with me helping you."

"My dad?" She stared up at him, confused. "What does he have to do with this?"

"He came by my job earlier this week and said this book thing was pushing it." Huey told her. "And don't be mad at him, either. Because this once, he's right."

"Right about what?" Jazmine shook her head. "Huey, what are you saying?"

"I'm saying that you haven't really gotten over anything, Jazmine." Huey shook his head. "You're not ready to be dating." He continued, trying to be as tactful as he could. "All you've been doing is emotionally bleeding over everyone, including me."

Jazmine stood to her feet, her eyes glistening. "Huey-"

"No." He held up a hand. "I've been pretending not to see what's happening, pretending like I don't see you looking at me the way you used to when you moved here."

"I'm not looking at you like anything, and you know it!" Jazmine's eyes began to narrow, but he could see her cheeks flushing, see her eyes shifting wildly as she tried to deny it.

He kept his voice calm, still talking.

"You are looking at me that way, and you know it." He said, his voice gentle, trying to show her he wasn't angry. "If it helps, I don't think it means anything. You're just emotional right now." He nodded. "Your parents got divorced, then you and Vince broke up, and right after that, I made this bet with Cindy, and we've been spening way more time together. I think you want love so bad, it has you making up some fairytale between us…"

"Huey, stop."

"And you think I'm your knight in shining armor-"

"Huey….stop!"

"But I'm not." He kept going. "I'm not the one you want or need at the end of the day."

Her voice was quiet, but it was jam-packed with anger.

"We're really doing this right now?" Jazmine stood to her feet, glaring down at him from his spot on the steps. "Huey, I'm not the only one who's been blurring the lines here!"

"I was just joking on the hill!" He shot back.

"And what about in Chicago?" She put her hands on her hip. "You're gonna tell me you weren't checking me out?"

"In overpriced clothes at the mall?" He snorted. "I was checking out exploitive labor and capitalism. That had nothing to do with you."

"I never said which time." Jazmine smirked, standing taller with every word.

He just stared at her, not sure what to see about her flipping the script on him.

"And what about that kiss on the cheek?" Jazmine's voice broke, her eyes searching his for answers. "I guess that was all on me too, huh? I'm the only one muddying things up with my emotions? You're not doing it too?"

"That's not what I said." He held her gaze, no matter how much it was hurting her. "I'm just saying you should think logically." He said, trying to stay calm before they both flew out of control. "The next step is closure. If you wanna talk it out with Vince? Fine. You wanna be with Shawn? Great. But-"

"You wanna make it clear that you're not an option." Jazmine sneered before storming off, already halfway down his driveway. "Got it. Thanks so much for the talk, friend."

"Jazmine…."

"For the record." She paused, glancing over her shoulder. "You were never on my radar, Huey." She shook her head, tears in her eyes. "And thank God that I'm not, because you would hurt me bad if I ever gave you the chance. I just know it."

He knew she didn't mean it, but it still hurt all the same.

"Maybe you'd make a great revolutionary after all." She stayed still, her eyes still trained on him. "You're gonna be just like your idol, aren't you? Pushing me away? Telling me I can love whoever I want? But instead-"

"Jazmine, you need to go." He shook his head, trying to keep his temper down. "If I was never on your radar, you need to start act like it and go home with all that."

Her eyes nearly bucked out of her head, but she whirled around anyway, not saying anything as she headed across the street and marched inside, slamming the door behind her.

He sighed, watching her house from his seat on the steps.

He'd probably done the right thing.

It just didn't feel like it.

Not yet.

Well…..

At least someone wasn't mad at her.

She was relieved to see that Shawn replied to her last text as she scrolled through the many messages on her phone, including one from , approving her for an emergency session on tomorrow.

What Huey had accused her of hurt, but now that she'd had time to think about it, he wasn't necessarily wrong.

She had been treating him like a replacement boyfriend, hanging out with him, singing in the car with him, and rushing to his side whenever he appeared like they were anything more than good friends.

And with the news of her mother's marriage still fresh in her mind, along with her dating woes with Vince, here she was doing it again.

She sighed, lying in bed to think about what had happened, praying for answers from the big guy upstairs, maybe even a word from Vivica Fox herself.

Instead, her thoughts were interrupted by another loud ping, another message she hadn't expected to receive, not tonight anyway.

She glanced down, her eyes widening at the message from Vince:

Jazmine, I know I messed up, but I t want us to at least talk things through.
You're my first love, girl. And you know you're my only love.
I don't want us to stay on bad terms.
So, please. No games this time.
Can we talk?
-VinceShe sighed, unsure of what to say.

So she turned out the light instead, deciding she'd answer him in the morning.

Maybe she'd have the right answer by then.

Thanks for reading.

P.S. – Huey P. Newton and the Black Panthers had DRAMA. Seriously. Read about it!

I hope you enjoyed it!