Author's Note: Hey guys. Yeah...(insert bullshit excuse on why I haven't update for a min..) I know. I honestly wouldn't even be surprised if I lost readers because I have left this story in the back-burner for way too long. I even feel bad. And I am still interested in writing this story, as it is probably my best work.

So today I went to church, and by the grace of God, I gained the strength to complete this chapter in one go. I'm not going to lie, I am quite impressed with myself actually haha. But yeah, I hope you guys will enjoy this chapter! And I will insert the shout-outs tomorrow, seeing as I gained so many feedback on the last chapter and it's 4AM at the moment and I am hella tired guys.

Disclaimer: I don't own Boondocks.

Opposites Attract

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Chapter 9: Changes...

Jazmine DuBois was alot of things, but she was not the pessimistic type. Even when she encounters herself in harsh situations. Well, then again she was never been in one, until now.

She scratched her cheek, sticky from all the crying she'd been doing. She hated hospitals for a reason. There was always bad news when you stepped foot into the establishment. Everything in here screamed death. The lifeless gray walls. The soulless nurses who just want to get their jobs done and leave. She didn't blame them for being this way. They had obviously witnessed deaths and had to turn off their humanity switch, in order to pursue their career in this kind of environment.

My Mom is going to be fine. She will be fine.

She prayed to herself - a positive mind will bring positive outcomes. But she still couldn't help but struggle with keeping a positive head. She had called her Dad and he hasn't picked up. Mind you, she had left him approximately 50 voicemails. She was only able to get through him by text, letting him know the situation. He had the audacity to respond back to the text with an Ok, nothing more.

He could have at least showed that he cared and called back. Geez. This was ridiculous.

Speaking of the devil, he finally graced the waiting room with his presence and not a sign of worry was shown on his face. And something in the pit of her stomach told Jazmine that he didn't care.

"Dad, what the hell happened to you?" she shot up from her seat, anger boiling up.

An eyebrow quirked up as his ears just processed something he never thought he'd hear from Jazmine. "Did you just swear Jazmine?"

From the inside, she was shook. She didn't remember ever disrespecting her father like that. But this was obviously an exception, with how her mother was dying on them. Guilt was immediately replaced by anger with that reminder. "That shouldn't even be your main concern. Mom is sick!"

He averted his eyes from her at that moment. It seemed like he was desperately trying to look at anything, but his daughter. And she noticed that. And she wondered why..."Hm," his stare fell upon a plant that sat at the far corner of the waiting room. "I see..."

Something didn't feel right. He was too calm and collected. "Why aren't you scared Dad? My mother, your wife, is sick. And all you can do is just stand still and keep your calm."

He finally did eye-contact, however it was forced. Another red-flag right there. Their interaction was never forced, it was always a 'go-with-the-flow' thing for the two. Jazmine watched how he was going to respond back. "Jazmine, look sweetie. You look stressed. Why don't you go home and I'll take it from here."

She shook her head, viciously. Tears broke free and cascaded down on her cheeks. "No! I want to know what is going on with Mom, and I know dang well you know. Since you won't tell me, I'll stay right here. Whether you like it or not," she was huffing and puffing, recuperating herself from the all the screaming she'd just done.

There went by his solemn look, and there came a stern one. "Young lady, you are not going to talk to me like that. I am your father, and I demand respect!"

"Does it seriously look I care? My main concern is Mom's safety - she's sick. You wouldn't know because you're never at home to see how weak she gets by day, or how she's losing independence and always having to be with someone for help," she hiccuped, resisting the urge to weep. It finally clicked for her. Flashbacks came to her and she remembered days when her Mom would cry herself to sleep, or how she'd have a secret pile of used tissues that were soaked in blood. And coincidentally, her father just suddenly decided to be absent in the household. "...Unless you already know she was sick."

In a swift of a moment, he slapped her right across the cheek. The sound of the slap echoed through the room. Hospital staff members stopped what they were doing and looked at the scene, shocked.

Suddenly, a dark laugh came right out of her mouth as she softly rubbed her sore cheek. "Wow, you slapped me. So that means I was right. Pathetic." She balled her fists - she felt like a beast, and everyone else in the waiting room currently saw her as one. Individuals exchanged worried looks, some felt compelled to intervene and others just whispered among themselves and continued observing the scene. Jazmine didn't care. If anything, it just made her even more aggravated.

To the hospital staff members relief, the doctor walked into the room and just like that, everyone went back to their business.

The doctor beckoned for Tom to approach, and that was another red-flag to Jazmine. How the heck did the doctor know her father? This wasn't his first visit here, she thought - her suspicion rising high as the sky. "Tom DuBois, may I speak to you privately. It involves your wife, Sara DuBois."

Jazmine grabbed him by the arm, preventing him from moving. "I want to be part of this discussion. I need to know."

Violently, he shook his arm out of her grasp. "You wouldn't understand - you are too young to understand the truth."

For a quick second, she looked at his arm. This force was so foreign, not once has he ever been this brusque with her. What happened to the loving father she grew up with? She wondered if he was ever really like that - this was his true color. Lifting her head up, Jazmine backed away, her stare never leaving from his. "Alright, I accept that. But father, remember whatever is in the dark will come out soon. I will know the truth sooner or later..."

Her words had gotten to him, seeing as he suddenly lost his authoritative stance. He really had a hard time gulping down whatever was stuck in his dry throat, more likely guilt. Jazmine snorted. This man was definitely lying about something. She knew well enough that if he was telling the truth, he'd be confident - not guilty. All the while walking through the corridor, she turned in a way she'd no longer walk backward, and proceeded towards the elevator.

Jazmine pressed the down button, looking down on the floor. She watched her own tears fall. I didn't realize I was crying this whole time, she thought to herself. This wasn't supposed to happen, she couldn't comprehend what she had done for her to deserve this kind of cruelty. The anxiety was too much for her to take, her chest was suddenly aching and she struggled to breathe properly.

The elevator made its presence known with a loud ding, allowing Jazmine some time to collect herself. She couldn't let any by-passers see how much of a mess she was. She'd rather fake it till she reached at least the main hospital floor. Then again, there was no difference - she already exposed her pain to the world.

The door of the elevator slid open, and everything went in slow motion from there.

There was a reason her stomach experienced a tingling sensation - it warned her that she was approaching danger. She didn't pay attention, as you could see she was too preoccupied sobbing.

And now, she had to suffer with the consequence of her negligence -

Which was being in the same elevator as Dewey Johnson.

Jazmine was about to step back from the elevator, but he pulled her in by the grab of her wrist, and covered her mouth. "Scream and I'll kill you." She was losing her mind - her body went on fight or flight mode. In a desperate attempt of fighting against his force, the world made it impossible for her to outrival his strength. She kicked, turned, bit his hand, everything she could think to do at that moment. She screamed to the top of her lungs, praying to God that someone out there would hear her. Dewey, the devil himself, made sure her prayer would go unheard.

He pushed her against the wall, his body on hers. As his left hand was muffling her screams, his right hand lifted her head up high enough to see him. "My my, we got a feisty shawty here. No wonder Huey's so protective of you," he chuckled with malice. "I have a lil' message to give to him and his dumb-ass brotha...and I need your help."

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Her chin resting on the palm of her hand, she watched as the hazy street lights passed by. It was hard to believe that this beautiful world was a cruel-ass place. Countless number of innocent people found themselves in situations they couldn't get out of, all because they were at the wrong place at the wrong time. And it pained Cindy McPhearson to think that it was about to happen to her home-girl.

It was time for her to tell Jazmine the truth about everything. The longer the innocent lamb stayed in the dark, the sooner she'd find herself in a bloody situation. Especially with the bastard of Dewey who was out there, doing God-knows-what. She didn't know how she'd go about it. She didn't know if she should be frank and say 'Hey girl, I fucked ma'self over and ended up being pimped out by Dewey. Oh and I had fucked yo nigga in order to be a certified hoe, and now you bout to be his next target.'

Cindy hit her forehead against the car window, totally against that idea. Nah, that sounded too blunt. The poor girl would cry to death, well it ain't like she didn't do that before. The girl was notoriously known for crying for shitty reasons - hell, the blond still remembered that one time she cried herself to sleep when she thought someone stole one of her stupid Disney books.

The more she thought about Jazmine, the more Cindy wanted to puke. The girl was still a baby, she was not ready for this type of drama. She was trippin hard, and it didn't help that she was 5 minutes away from reaching her best-friend's place. "Huey, can ya stop the car fo' a sec?"

Cindy was sitting at the back, but she could see Huey roll his eyes, as he yielded and turned into Timid Deer Lane. "What is it this time? We already wasted time finding you and getting you ready."

He didn't lie, he wasted so much time looking for the blond girl right after their phone call. The only reason he was able to find her was due to Riley - he was the one that found her by the dumpster in some alley and guided her to a nearby McDonalds, just so Huey would be able to come get her. It didn't help that they also had to bring her home, so that she could take a shower and get changed. The girl stank, real bad. It wasn't surprising, seeing as she was hiding from Dewey in some lost dumpster - for a week straight.

"I need a hit, a I'm stressed as fuck bout all of this drama," Cindy admitted - usually she would be too proud to admit her feelings, but this moment would be an exception for her.

"Nah nigga, don't stop the car. Bitch, just smoke while he driving. It ain't like you never done that before," Riley cut in the conversation as he went through the compartment and pulled out a rolled blunt and a lighter. "She think she slick, we know you buying time."

He threw the items over to the blond, and she caught it with ease. "Well, it ain't every day that you gotta tell yo best-friend that she about to be fresh meat."

"So? At least the bitch will be safe-ouch, what da fuck was that for?!" Riley rubbed the top of his head, glaring to the driver. If looks could kill, Huey would be dead at this moment.

"Don't call her a bitch," Huey said, defending Jazmine - which earned shocked expressions from the other two. "Don't get any funny ideas, just because I defended her doesn't mean anything."

Riley turned to Cindy, trying to muffle his laughter. "C-Merph, did we say anything?"

"Nope nigga, we didn't. The boy done exposed himself," she laughed - only because she was smoking in the goodness of this blunt, enjoying the high.

She didn't approve the fact that he was getting soft for the girl. He was probably getting closer to Jazmine, as a friend. It couldn't be more than that. The boy had never taken a liking to a girl. In fact, Cindy was sure she was his first, believe it or not. His main focus was grindin for that paper, nothing much nothing more.

Huey was clearly annoyed, if him holding the bridge of his nose wasn't a dead giveaway. "Look, let's focus on the fact that we're at our destination."

"Oh shit, already?" Cindy perked up, looking out at the window. She didn't realize that they had reached Jazmine's place that quick. It was too bad, because she was just getting comfortable and maintaining her stress level at a 0.

Observing her house from the window, Riley whistled, quite impressed at the kind of neighborhood she lived in. "Damn, her fam must be loaded if they got a crib like that."

That was the thing Cindy never understood when it came to her best friend, the innocent lamb got it easy when it came to life. She didn't have to stress about cash, nor anything of that sort. And yet, she'd sometimes complain about her family and how her life was too peaceful. Trust, after, she gonna wish her life was still peaceful.

"Yup. She blessed aye," she mumbled, probing for her phone. "Look yall, I'm gonna call Jazz and let her know we comin through. I don't want her fam to see us and freak out."

Her fam were not exactly big in letting their daughter hang out with boys, especially ones like Huey and Riley. It was just that they looked quite intimidating and it didn't help that they were former gang-members. With them tattoos and muscles, her father would immediately disapprove of them, and the trio didn't need that kind of drama right now. Hence, Cindy was thinking of hitting her up just so she could find an excuse to come see them.

As she was about to call Jazz, she received a text from the said girl - apparently it was 15 mins ago. 'Cin, I'm inside the house now. No one is at home right now.'

Cindy bit the inside of her cheek, carefully re-reading the text. Something didn't sit right with the message. It was completely different from the previous texts she'd received - they'd all clearly show how stressed her best-friend was when it came to her disappearance and all of a sudden, the girl was cool and demanded that she'd come through. "'Parrently, Jazz is alone at her place. It's safe for yall to come in," she unbuckled her seat-belt and got out of the car with a slam of the door.

Exchanging dubious looks, the Freeman brothers followed suit and left for Jazmine's place. They were all going to reach for the front door, but it creaked open. "Yo, something ain't feeling right. How da fuck is the door open?" Riley mentioned, carefully scanning the surroundings. His hand slowly itched for the gun that sat in his pocket.

Huey did the same, never thinking he'd have to use it in this kind of area. Then again, they were dealing with a crisis here. "Keep an eye out, alright?"

The other two nodded, as they all barged into the house and were going to scout the whole place. Cindy could feel the hairs at the back of her neck straightening up, as she noticed all the lights were on. It wasn't like her family to do so. Even the TV in the living room was on, and the family rarely used it. Something was up. Suddenly feeling cold, Cindy rubbed her own arm, her fingers brushing against the goosebumps.

From the corner of her eye, she saw the flight of stairs that'd lead them upstairs. Her gut sensed something would be up there. "Let's go upstairs."

The Freeman brothers didn't have be told twice. They all dashed out of the living room and kitchen area, climbing their way up the flight of stairs. From the corner of Huey's eye, he saw a door wide open. "Hey, what's that room over there?" he pointed towards the aforementioned room, and that moment Cindy just knew Jazmine was there.

In fact, the girl pushed past the boys and ran to that room - Jazmine's room to be exact. Adrenaline pumped through her veins, as her heart was beating erratically, practically trying to break free from her rib cage. God, let it be that she's safe, Cindy thought - she wouldn't forgive herself if Dewey did end up killing her. If Jazmine was dead, then Cindy might as well be dead too - she was like a little sister to her, her other half.

Sending another silent prayer to God, Cindy came in the room and froze to the sight. "Jazmine!"

Jazmine lied on her bed, tied up against her will. Tears endlessly streaming, her eyes light up with life as she watched Cindy rushing over to her side. It broke her heart to see her friend like this. Bags sat under her eyes, which were practically dry from all the crying. Her disheveled curls hung over her perspired face, as her hands were tied to the head of the bed and her feet were tied together. She couldn't even express her distress with that duct-tape over her mouth. Cindy went for her hands, attempting to untie them.

The boys finally came in and didn't waste time to rush over to her aid. Riley went to untie her feet, as for Huey, he delicately held her face. The more he observed her up-close, the more he wanted to fucking kill Dewey and get this over with. She literally did nothing to get herself into this mess, why the hell would he involved her into this war? "This is going to hurt, okay?"

Tears still falling, Jazmine snorted and slowly nodded. Without a warning, he ripped the duct-tape off her mouth. "Owwwwww!" she cried out in pain, attempting to wipe away the snot and tears. "D-Dewey s-s-said t-"

He threw the duct-tape to the side, "Shh, take deep breaths. You're alive and that's all that matters."

"B-but Dewey said that you guys have three weeks to hand over what is his," she hiccuped. "W-what did he mean by that?"

Huey opened his mouth to give an explanation, but Cindy beat him to it. "...He means me Jazmine."

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"Aye faggot."

Huey slapped the fool upside the head, "What is it Riley? Can't you see I'm trying to think."

The boys had gotten back to the car, while the girls stayed inside Jazmine's house to pack their things and talk among themselves. They wouldn't be dumb enough to leave them alone, without having to scout the area for any nasty surprises. You never know with how villainous that bastard Dewey was. In this case, Huey would have rushed the girls to leave, but this alone time might'd been used for Cindy to finally have a talk with Mariah Carey about everything. So he let them be for now.

He'd taken advantage of this time to smoke and think through. It was definitely needed after a crazy day they just had. "Seriously, what is it?"

Riley took a moment to light his cig and smoked, smoke ever so coolly leaving his lips. "Be honest, you feelin' Mariah Carey?"

"...Well, I don't mind her music, per se."

Riley burst into a fit of laughter, "Nigga, you know I mean Jazmine. Stop playin'."

There was a moment of silence - a comfortable one. Huey was lost in his thoughts, his eyes absentmindedly looking to the window. Did he like Jazmine? Hm, he couldn't say anything yet since he'd only known her for almost 2 weeks. He couldn't deny that there was something that had drawn him to her. He couldn't pinpoint what it was exactly. Either way, he was never going to admit that to anyone. He didn't have time for that, it'd just add more problems to this mix of drama. "She's annoying, naive, and a big cry-baby. Why did you ask?"

The youngest Freeman scrutinized. "Ya sure? It seemed like the two of you got real close, real fast too."

"Yes, we did get closer," Huey admitted, "but not in that way."

"Whatever ya say man. The way you was talkin to her back there showed that you care a little too much about her. That's yo business with her."

Huey nodded, "Exactly, glad you can understand."

"...Dat ass phat tho!"

Huey deadpanned, taking rather a long drag of his cigarette. "What are we gonna do about Dewey? This can't keep going on, the man will keep making threats until he kills one of us."

Riley sucked on his teeth, "Can't believe we actin' like pussies over that fake-ass nigga. I say we just kill the faggot and move da fuck on with our lives. I mean, we both know he ain't shit, it's all bluff. We used to work for him, so you know I'm speakin facts."

Huey, shrugged. He tapped the bud of the cigarette outside of the car window, then proceeded to smoke. "I guess."

"If anything, Cairo was supposed to be the leader." Riley meant every word of it. He wouldn't have cared about being a leader in the first place, if they had elected the right one.

The car grew quiet to the mention of his name. Huey continuously looked out to the window, his mind driving through memory lane. Back when the two were active gang-members, Cairo used to be one of their crew members who'd always have their backs. Everybody in the block respected him for his heart of gold - despite his fast ability to adapt, it seemed like the gang lifestyle wasn't cut out for him. Just by how he'd eliminate his enemies - he'd always have to leave a rose on their corpses and do a quick prayer, to show them some form of respect. Admirable, yet deadly.

"I do miss him," Huey confessed, with a soft puff of the smoke. "Can't believe he died. I never thought he'd go so early."

Hurt flashed in his red-wine eyes for a sec, "Yeah, same dawg. We haven't been to church for years and I lost belief in God, but he taught us to have faith-."

"- in order to survive," the oldest Freeman concluded his sentence. "Yeah, I remember him saying that."

"...Huey, do you have faith in us?"

With an eyebrow lifted up, Huey gave his brother a look. He never knew he'd be this deep - the last time they had this talk about beliefs and religion was when they were 8, and that was when they'd attend their church every Sunday with Aunt Cookie. He sighed, taking yet another long drag. "You may not believe it, but I do - or else, I wouldn't have pulled that murder stunt to get out of that life and start anew. I believe we were meant for better. I believe in second chances. I believe in redemption."

"Aye, that's what's up! Remember what Aunt Cookie would say?" Riley asked, smiling nostalgically.

Imagining himself as Aunt Cookie, Huey coughed out the fume, and cleared his throat. "Let us not weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up."

Riley almost choked on himself as he struggled to breathe out the smoke. "My nigga, ya got her voice down and er'thing. Holy shit!" he clapped his hands, dying of laughter. "She'd always use that verse. Growing up, I always wondered if she knew other verses. I don't give a fuck what people be saying, that's the only one she know from the bible!"

"Galatians 6:9?"

"Yeah, that one man," Riley laughed. "Not gonna lie, talking bout her makes me realize how much I miss her."

Huey lowered his head for a minute. Their Aunt died at a hit-and-run. He could still remember how angry he was, particularly at the system for not doing anything about it. They had called the cops, but the minute they knew the call was for an African-American woman in an area mainly populated by black people, they took hours getting there when it was already too late.

"Yeah," he agreed. He hadn't realize the amount of deaths there'd been in their circle. Family members, friends - and those were good people, their hearts were made of gold. He turned to look at Riley. He couldn't take it anymore - he'd never be able to live anymore if he lose his only family. Would it be selfish for him to want his baby brother to remain by his side till the end of time, knowing anything could happen to one of them? "Riley, remember when you said you'd live forever?"

Riley shook his head with a laugh. "Yooo I was crazy then, how da fuck did I say that I'd slap God and stay alive fo'eva? I remember, but I was a youngin then."

Huey smirked, "Want to make it a promise, where we'd live forever and not let anything get in the way of that?"

"Aight, fo'sho," they shared a dap - only for their brotherly moment to be interrupted by a couple loud slams.

Both of the brothers turned to see both of the girls, all packed and ready to go. Something seemed off about the girls, the fact that they were sitting way far from each other confirmed it. Jazmine was so engrossed in her phone, while Cindy was just looking out at the window. 'Did something happen in the house?' Huey decided to not think too much about it, it was their business.

"You guys are good?" he asked, as he threw his cigarette out of the window, then started the car. From the rear view mirror, the girls both nodded then resumed to their activities.

"Alright, because too much has happened for us to not do anything. Riley and I decided that the both of you are going to live with us temporarily. Until we got this situation figured it out. So there's gonna be some changes..."

Author's Note: *yawn* Hey y'all. I'm just gonna go to bed before I die at work tomorrow morning. Goodnight you guys and you'll see shout-outs tomorrow, I promise. I just need sleep xox.