If I Could

[aDRUfan4LiFe]

Note: This is my first story, ya'll, and it might not be as great as Carolina_Cutie's lol So when I was brainstorming about a story, I thought about Dru Hill's song 'If I Could'. I thought it would make an interesting story! So this story is loosely based on the song. I hope whoever reads it likes it!

Introduction---
March 2003

Scola, Woody, Jazz, and Sisqo are chilling at Scola's grandma's house in the suburbs of Baltimore. Scola spent his high school years at this house and in the past he had only time to stop thru and visit because of his busy schedule. But now he needed a little peace of mind (and some of grandma's cooking) to prepare for Dru Hill's big tour with Mariah Carey overseas. The others (Jazz, Woody, Nokio, and Sisqo) had been to this house numerous times in high school themselves.
As they sat on Scola's grandma's porch, the cool wind ripped through them as they sat and talked. Across the street was Scola's childhood friend J.J. He was in back of his grandmother's house doing some work when he heard some laughing coming from the direction of Grandma Waller's house. He walked to the front of the house and saw all them laughing.
J.J. said, "What's up ya'll!"
They all stopped in looked in J.J.'s direction. They looked at each other trying to figure out who is that. JJ noticed their silence and proceeded to walk over to them and said, "It's ME JJ!"
"JJ?" They all said at the same time.
They had not seen JJ in about 6 years and he had definitely picked up weight!
"Man you went from a beanpole to a linebacker! I wouldn't have noticed you if I saw you on the street!" Scola said as he stood and gave him some dap. Jazz, Sisqo and Woody then gave him some dap too.
"You missing someone aren't you?" JJ said.
"Yeah he's coming later." Woody said.
"VRROOOOMMMMM!!!"They all looked in the direction of a motorcycle turning the corner and pulling into the driveway of J.J's grandmother's house. The motorcyle was a racing style motorcycle and it was black painted with flames that were red, yellow and orange. The rider was wearing a matching leather jumpsuit and helmet.
Who is that?"Jazz said as they all looked in the motorcycle's direction.
"I don't know!" JJ said as he was staring also. "Ain't no body in my family ride a motorcycle that I know of!"
The person got off the bike and put the kickstand down and took the helmet off. This person had long flowing black hair and brown cocoa skin.
"DDAAAYYYUUUMMM!!!!" Jazz, Woody Scola and Sisqo said at the same time.
"Oh that's Tabby." J J said nonchalantly. " I didn't know SHE rode a bike!"
Sisqo stood up. "For real?" he said as he continued to look across the street.
"I haven't seen her in a minute!" Woody said.
"I know!" Scola said.
"Me either!" Jazz said.
Sisqo yelled across the street. "Yo, Yo Tabby! What's up gurl!"

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When Tabby turned the corner with the bike she saw them sitting on the porch.
"Uggghhh!" She said. "The time when I want to take a vacation them n****s are here!"
As she turned the bike into the driveway of her grandmother's house, she could sense them looking at her. She stepped off the bike and put the kickstand down. As she proceeded walk to the front door she took her helmet off and heard a chorus of "DDAAAYYYUUMMM!" from across the street. Then she heard Sisqo calling her. She was trying to block him out.
"Ole loud mouth self! He need to shut his big mouth up!" She said to herself and a big frown filled her face.
She put her helmet across her face to cover her face from them.
After Sisqo called her and she covered her face with her helmet, he proceeded to go across the street to confront her.
"I don't think you should do that, my brotha." JJ said. "I am thinking that she is still bitter."
Sisqo ignored him and ran accross the street. He got there just as she opened the door to go inside.
"What's up gu--" he did not finish his sentence before she slammed the door in his face!
As Sisqo stood there with a dumb look on his face, the guys across the street busted out with laughter. Sisqo turned back around and ran across the street-embarrassed.
"I told you she is bitter!" JJ said.
"After all these years?" Woody said.
"Umm, I guess she is!" Sisqo said with a smirk on his face.
"Ya'll was cruel to that girl and she hasn't "healed" yet!" JJ said as he was still laughing from the Sisqo incident.
"Yeah, we sure were!" Scola said, as he thought to himself.

"I remember when................."

[Chris]

Hey, that's good! Keep it coming Tabby sounds tasty... LOL, j/p

[Drulady03]

Good so far. Keep it coming

[CarolinaCutie]

This is real good! Tabby's my kinda girl!!! ;D

[aDRUfan4LiFe]

.....Sisqo used to tease Tabby! He used to sit in the back of the bus and would scream something brutal at her!" Scola said. Something like, "Yo mama let you come out of the house looking like dat? Did she get yo clothes from the dumpsta?" Or when you would ask her a question, she would answer you and when she asked you something, you would ignore her and look the other way like you didn't hear, Jazz said, as he recalled the incidents on the bus.
"Yeah I was kinda cruel." Sisqo said.
"Hey I wasn't on the bus when he said something about clothes coming from a dumpsta! We would have been fighting!" JJ said as he jokingly looked at Sisqo.
"Aww man it wasn't that deep!" Sisqo said as he looked at JJ and he put his hands up as trying to defend hisself.
"You was just as brutal as we were, and you are family!" Jazz said.
"Oh yeah, I kinda was, but she has forgiven me. I wasn't as brutal as ya'll were!" JJ said in defense.
"What! Scola said. "Is this the same man who put eggs in her locker and when she opened it the eggs hit her right in the face!"
"Ummm.....yeah. I forgot about that one." JJ said with a smirk on his face.
"And what about the time you took her science project and you smeared peanut butter all over?" Woody said.
"Oh yeah and the time you put hot sauce in her applesauce that time at lunch?" Jazz said.
"Ok, Ok, I get the picture!" JJ said.
"The only thing I did was take her homework!" Woody said. "I felt kinda bad afterward, being that it was the biggest project of the year."
"Didn't you give it back to her?" Sisqo said to Woody
"No! I just threw it away!" Woody said
"I know I used to grab her hair alot, and ignore her and one time I tripped her up outside at lunch time and she landed in a puddle with water grease and dirt." Jazz said. "Man.......I WAS cruel!"
"But she was so shy, and skinny and wore big bottle cap plastic glasses with tape on the side and it was leanin'" Sisqo said. Everyone started laughing.
"You kinda quiet over there Scola, you haven't fessed up about what you did!" Sisqo said and everyone stared at Scola.
"I aint did nothin, man!" Scola looked at them.
"Awww, now you know you are lying!" JJ said. "You hurt her the most."
"Yeah man, you know she had a crush on you!" Woody said.
"No ya'll n****s did that! Ya'll the ones that wrote her that fake note saying 'I love you Tabby, can I have a chance? and signed my name to it!" Scola said.
Jazz, Sisqo, Woody and JJ started laughing.
"But you just totally embarrassed her and told her, I don't want yo nerdy lookin, non-dressing, skinny lookin a** in front of everyone at lunch that Valentine's Day!" Woody said.
"Oh." Scola said as he recalled the incident.
"That scar runs deep to this day, my man. I see how she treats those dudes she goes out with. She don't take no crap from them. And she sure don't care to much about their feelings. She'll cut them down to size in a heartbeat." JJ said as he recalled some of the incidents in his mind that his cousin Tabby had been through.
"Dang, I feel bad about that!" Scola said. "I guess you don't know how situations affect people until later." Scola said as he buried his face in his hands.
"I guess we all should be sorry!" Sisqo said.
"We didn't mean to hurt her. It was all in fun." Jazz said.
"Ummm hummm." JJ said.
They were all quiet when Scola's grandma called him from inside the house. "RU! RU! come her for a sec!"
"Aight mama, I'm coming!"
Scola went through the front door and went to the living room where is grandma was seated on her favorite Lazy Boy recliner with the remote in her hands.
"I am just letting you all know that I ain't cooking tonight. Ya'll are just gonna have to eat out tonight. But I'll cook ya'll a lil' somethin' tommorrow, okay!"
"It's okay mama." Scola said. "The fellas probably will have a problem though." Scola said with a smile.
"OOOh, they'll get over it!" Grandma said and she smile back at Scola.
Scola turned around and told the fellas that mama wasn't cooking tonight but tomorrow.
"Aww I was looking forward to some of the collard greens!" Sisqo said and he pouted.
"For real!" Woody said.
"Hey my grandma is cooking tonight!" JJ said. "It's just me, Tabby and her, but she cooks for ten!"
"Sounds good to me!" Jazz said as they all proceeded across the street to JJ's grandma's house.

[aDRUfan4LiFe]

Meanwhile Tabby had just gotten out of the shower and heard JJ talking to her grandmother. She went into her room (while she visited)and tied her hair back into a ponytail and put on her snoopy pj's and her fluffy snoopy slippers. Just as her stepped out the door of her room she heard laughter coming from the kitchen.
"Oh heck No!" she said as she heard Sisqo's voice.
"Mannnn!" she said as she proceeded to the kitchen.
Every one looked her way when she came into the kitchen.
"Snoopy looks dayum good on you!" Sisqo said as he looked her up and down.
"He He He! and the jokes never stop." Tabby said sarcastically.
"Yo you didn't have to slam that door in my face ma!" Sisqo said.
"Whatever." Tabby mumbled as she heaped some Mac and cheese on her plate.
Tabby was the last one who fixed her plate and the others were already seated at wood dining room table which seated 8. She proceeded to reach for a tray so that she could eat in the family room when grandma Rowe looked her way.
"Tabby put that tray back and sit at this table. There is enough room for you." grandma said.
"I am alright G-Ma." Tabby said.
Grandma gave her a cutting look and Tabby put the tray back and sat at the table in between grandma and JJ.
The table was silent when grandma broke the silence.
"I am so happy for you guys! Ya'll some big stars!" she said with a grin on her face.
"Thanks G-Ma." Sisqo said as he was chowing down on grandma's baked chicken.
"I know it's a lot of hard work!" grandma said.
"It sure is G-Ma." Jazz said.
"Ya'll are the bomb!" JJ said.
"Hmmmph"! Tabby said as she looked down at her plate and picked at her food. She looked up just in time to see Scola staring at her. She quickly turned away and stared back at her food.
"You aight ova there mami?" Scola said as he continued to look at Tabby.
"Na I ain't alright!" Tabby shouted to everyone's shock and amazement.
"Oh there you go!" JJ said.
"What's wrong honey?" grandma said to Tabby.
"Them n****s did not EVER apologize for the cruel things they did to me in High school!" Grandma looked at Tabby in amazement.
"Sorry G-Ma, I had to get it out." Tabby said.
"Man go ahead with that nonsense! That was over 6 years ago!" JJ said.
"JJ Shut up! you were not the butt of jokes! I had to deal with all their crap and yo sorry self was involved too!" Tabby said.
"So what ya'll gotta say fo ya selves?" Tabby said.
Jazz, Woody, Sisqo and Scola were so silent you could hear a pin drop. All you could hear from them was the sound of them eating their food.
"See G-Ma! They are a bunch of knuckheads who don't give a dayum about anyone ones feelings but their own! Not one of them opened their mouths to apologize!" Tabby said. Scola opened his mouth but nothing came out.
"I am sorry G-Ma, I am taking my food into the family room." Tabby said as she got her plate and proceeded into the family room.
"What is wrong with you all?" grandma said as she stared them down with cold stares. I" know ya'll know better than that!"
"Sorry!" Jazz, Sisqo and Woody said with regret in their eyes.
"I tried but nothing came out!" Scola said.
They were about finished their food and the put their plate and utensils in the sink. Jazz, Scola, Woody, and Sisqo all sensed the tension and proceeded to leave when grandma said:
"Ya'll know that you are welcome to visit me, but until you all apologize, from you heart, to Tabby, DON'T step across the threshold of the house. Ya hear me?"
"Yes G-Ma!" They all said.
"I love you all and much luck to you! If I don't see ya'll for a while! I hope that will NOT be the case!" grandma said.
"It will be resolved soon Scola said as he, Jazz, Woody, and Sisqo gave grandma a hug and went out the front door.
As they left Tabby dashed out of the family room, dropped her utensils and plate in the sink, dashed back to her room and shut the door. She did not come out until the next day. Grandma just shook her head when she saw Tabby and turned around and slapped JJ upside his head.
"What did I do this time G-Ma?" JJ said as he rubbed his head.
"You know what you did!!------------"and grandma continued to get on JJ until he left and went to bed.

[aDRUfan4LiFe]

**Sorry, I could not think of any brutal pranks! I never had any tricks played on me!**