way out of your league

Switched identities

Joy's POV

I sometimes wonder if my happiness with Hansel is a mirage or maybe i'm dreaming.It's funny how you find something so wonderful even without searching for it as it is in my case.And with all the drama in my friends relationship,I'm so grateful we've kept ours drama free.I know i've been pissed for a while now with how Hansel's parent seem to think all black girls are loud, sassy,rude and just swears a lot.I know i'm loud,sassy but i'm not rude and I swear a little,ok maybe a lot but not all black girls are like that and I feel it's wrong to place all black girls in that category without getting to know them. cathy and Nat are also black girls but they really hate using swear words.And Nat is just not a loud person,that why I insist that Hansel make them understand that fact.

Natalie came over to visit and i'm shocked to hear how her dinner with Nathan's family went.I knew they are racist,snubs and basically rude people but doing that infront of guests and slapping your son, that's just taking it to another level.I wish I was there to witness it but its better I wasn't cause I won't be able to keep my loud mouth shut like Natalie did."So Nathan asked for a paternity test to prove Mr Johnson was really his dad"Natalie said "Are you joking" I asked "i'm not,actually they are dropping their samples today" she replied "This is serious, I get why his parents are pissed though,he crossed the line but I don't blame him cause he was pushed to cross that line" I said "I told him everything he said could have been avoided and I feel he needs to apologize to his mum which I told him and to his sister again" Natalie said sighing "I knew that would be the narrative his parents would bring up about me especially after everything that happened to him at that party,I just knew it and i'm tired" Natalie said with her voice breaking while I hug her.

"She is right here mom maybe you should see her first and trust me Joy is a wonderful person and I love her.please be nice" Hansel said as he walked towards us.Turning the phone to face Natalie and I,we said "Hello Mr and Mrs James" "Hello girls,how are you doing" "I'm fine" I said "i'm ok,you look lovely Mrs James,I think you could even pass for Hansel's sister"Natalie replied "Oh stop being silly,i'm old and the wrinkles are beginning to show" "No you are not" the both of us said laughing "I tell her that everyday but she still won't believe me" Mr James said "Its his job to make me feel good about myself so I sometimes doubt if he is being frank or just flattering me" Mrs James replied "so what are you all doing in two weeks time " Mr James asked "I can't think of anything now" remembering what I was cooking which might be getting burnt I said "s**t" but Natalie quickly intervened saying "i'll take care of it so relax" and then she walked away "So I would like to have you guys around,I would like to meet all of Hansel's friends,he talks so much about them" Mr James said while Mrs James still had a frown on her face "what do you think about it honey" Mr James asked as Natalie walked back in and said "The food is all set" "I wanted to spend time with Hansel and his lovely girlfriend but I guess that's ok too" Mrs James said smiling and I was so happy "Its nice meeting you girls,have a lovely day" Mr James said and Hansel took the phone as he walked away I heard his mum say "she is such a lovely girl,I love her already" and I smiled.

I Turned only to hear Natalie say "why can't Nathan's parents be like that" I felt sorry for Natalie, she deserved the best."Hey Nat,I heard of the family disaster or was it dinner"Hansel said walking over to hug Natalie "You are good for him Natalie, don't let anyone make you feel less and that guy loves you a lot,you are everything to him"he concluded with Natalie sighing "I just get tired sometimes" she said,to lift the mood I said "so we are all going to Hansel's home in two weeks time,we need to inform the others especially Andre,what's he up to this days" "he has just been chilling with his girlfriend and work has been keeping him busy but he talks to the guys frequently and his girlfriend is cool" Hansel replied

"Apparently the guys have met her,so Its time we meet her too so we better inform him early so they have no excuse" Natalie said "What about Julia,it been two weeks since the drama,is it ok to inform her" I asked "I think we should inform Cathy and Judah first" Natalie said.I was so excited to see Hansel's parents.I was raised by a single mum who got pregnant at seventeen, my dad obviously was a deadbeat so I guess I am excited to know they liked me already but I still hoped this visit would be drama free.Natalie was riding with Nathan, I was with Hansel,Andre was with his girlfriend, Cathy had no option but to join Judah and Julia said she won't be able to make it cause she was sick.We got to Hansel's home and Natalie said "I'm so excited to meet your parents Hansel,they are so nice" smiling Hansel hugged her while I laughed but I noticed Nathan had a frown on his face.As we walked in, with Natalie and I beside Hansel laughing,his mum walked toward saying "You are such an adorable couple,baby your elder sister is upstairs" "Mum!not in front of my girlfriend"Hansel replied rushing upstairs turning to Natalie and I she said "He used to love it when I call him that when he was little and now it freaks him out" while we laughed,she quickly pulled Natalie in for a hug and said "I am so happy to meet you Joy,you are just the kind of girl I want for my son,it would be an amazing weekend" shocking the both of us,Natalie recovered first and quickly said "No Mrs James, I'm not her,I not ... Oh my God!she left! what just happened, we need to correct this fast" Natalie said turning to me but I couldn't stop the tears.

"Joy I'm sorry,I really did not expect this to happened, I promise its a harmless misunderstanding, I promise it would be corrected, please stop crying" Natalie said.Andre walked in and when he saw me crying he asked "what the f**k is going on,why is Joy crying" "Its a misunderstanding, Mrs James thinks i'm Joy and I don't remember doing anything to give her that notion" Natalie said "This is just messed up,we are going to correct it at dinner Joy,calm down"Andre said "I guess I know how you felt when Andre kept saying he loves me when you had a thing for him,life is a b***h right" I replied walking away from the both of them towards the help who was there to show us our rooms while Andre's girlfriend was shocked."You know this is nothing like that, the two circumstances are different, you have to remember Hansel loves you and this is all a misunderstanding,ok let's just walk over to Mrs James and correct it" Natalie said but the help stopped and turning to Natalie she said "This is Hansel's room,the next room is for his sister but since she is staying in a hotel for the night Mr Nathan was assigned that,the two guest rooms are for Mr Andre and Judah.I was told you guys were going to couple up so it was fine" At this point I was fuming,turning to Natalie I said "All that is left is for Hansel to say he loves you and it would be peachy" entering into Hansel's room,I slammed the door."f**k!This is so messed up"I said frustrated,"Now Natalie would be mad at me,Andre too,this weekend is a disaster".Few minutes later Hansel walked in "Hey babe,what's going on you look like someone who has been crying" "This weekend is a disaster, and now I made Natalie and Andre angry,I know they wouldn't want to talk to me,plus your mum is making a mistake..." I said but Hansel quickly cut in as the help told us dinner is ready "My mum already loves you just fix things with Natalie and Andre already,I love you and I hate seeing you like this" "but your mum thinks i'm someone else" I said "Don't be silly,she loves you,go patch things up with Natalie and Andre,i'll be waiting for you" he said.

Walking to Natalie's room I knocked and Nathan opened the door while being in a tiny short "Ewww Nathan,put on some clothes" I said "Natty loves the view" he replied "Natalie can we talk" I asked "okay" she replied walking out of her room "i'm sorry about what I said and how I acted,I was frustrated with the situation,i'm really sorry,I can't stand you mad at me or sad cause of me" I said and we hugged.I also apologized to Andre and his girlfriend,hugging me Andre said "We would clear this up". Getting to the dinning table with Hansel, I noticed Natalie sitting close to Nathan with an empty chair beside her unsure of what to do Mrs James pulled hansel to sit at Natalie right while she was uncomfortable as I walked to Hansel he got up and pulled the chair by his right for me while Natalie was at his left. Hansel turned to Natalie and whispered hope you girls are cool now and she nodded.I noticed Mrs James smiling, I decided telling her in private would be better. After dinner, Andre cleared his throat but I shook my head, I also wanted to discuss this with my boyfriend first,so he backed down.Mr and Mrs James kept focusing on Natalie and asking her questions "why all this questions to her, Joy is here or isn't she welcomed" Hansel asked "ofcourse she is,we would leave your precious Joy to you" Mrs james said while Nathan frowned again looking between Natalie and Mrs James "Why all this questions to my girl... " Nathan said but I cut him off "please Nathan shut the f**k up for now please" I said with my voice breaking,I looked at Mr and Mrs James to see their disapproval with my choice of word "s**t" I said quietly but somehow they heard "Language" Mrs James said and I couldn't take it anymore.I got up from the table excusing my self while Natalie and cathy followed.After a while in our room I looked up to see Hansel at the door and he said "What the f**k is going on,I need answers fast" I couldn't explain so Natalie did."please I would like to talk to my girlfriend alone,I hope its ok"Hansel said to Natalie and Catherine who gave a nod leaving the room."Why didn't you tell me about this earlier, you didn't have to bear this,you think i'm ok with it"he asked "I tried telling you but you didn't understand I couldn't understand it too" I screamed frustrated "So when she said she loved joy she was referring to Nat,f**k!! this is messed up and needs to be corrected fast,i'm sorry babe" he said pulling me into his arms and kissing me.I felt relaxed "i'll talk to them first thing in the morning, I promise" he said "let's shower together" he begged,"No that would only leads to s*x,not at your parents place" I said besides we had pressing issues and I was exhausted.

The next morning we were getting ready to go discuss with Hansel's parents when we heard his mum scream "why the hell are you kissing my son's girlfriend and Joy why are coming out of his room this early" she asked "Why the f**k is she calling you Joy,what is going on" Nathan asked "I demand an explanation" Mrs James said "I am not Joy and i'm not dating your son" Natalie said "Mum that not my girlfriend, that's not Joy,This is joy" Hansel said wrapping his hands around my waist "No,This is your girlfriend" Mrs James said pointing to Natalie "I like her already, she is so innocent and lovely" she concluded hurting me "well I love this lady over here and you have to deal with it,please she is wonderful give her a chance" hansel said "You had to pick the girl that swears a lot" Mr James said "You know I swear a lot too, f**k this mum,you are hurting my girlfriend and trust me when my child arrives I won't want you near him or her if you keep this up"Hansel said shocking everyone more especially me "She is pregnant,we are going to be grand parents" his mum said excited,great another misunderstanding.

"No i'm not pregnant Mrs James,I know i'm not the ideal girl you want for your son but I really do love him and I just wish you would give me a chance and get to know me" I said "babe you don't have to do this" Hansel said "They would come around" "I think I have to,I am really happy to see that Hansel came from a stable home with two loving parents something I never had but I wished I did and that's what I want for my kids also.Someone who understands the importance of family is exactly who I want as the father of my kids,i'm sorry I swear a lot and I would try to reduce it so please would you give me a chance" I said scared of her response. Hansel's hands tightened around me and I held on to him.

"Ok,i'm sorry for the misunderstanding and I know you were hurt could we start over" Mrs James said and I nodded with the tears spilling "Young lady,get pregnant and i'll forgive" Mr James said laughing."That can be arranged dad" Hansel sad "No,its girls time,oh i'm sorry Natalie for making you uncomfortable, please carry on with your man, Joy let's go make breakfast together" Mrs James said and I laughed, I guess my amazing weekend was back on track,but we all paused when we heard Judah and Cathy quarrelling.Yea they are at it again.