special chapter dedication to Hanthoniaaa for the voting and Angeliquewritess for her beautiful comment in the previous chapter which absolutely melted my heart. ❤️

045| Not Just Physical Contact

~K O M I S O L A~

I wished I hadn't passed across the teachers' office. If I had not, Miss Eva wouldn't see me and dump this truckload of papers called notes. "Are the books too heavy?" she asked, looking a bit worried. It was probably the expression on my face right now but I wasn't planning on wiping it off. "Let me call someone to help carry it with you."

"No, don't-" I started, protesting against the idea but Miss Eva had already seen someone who was about to leave the teachers' office. "Ameenah, could you help Komisola with the notes?"

Ameenah turned, and to say she looked surprised would be an understatement. She took a step back, pointing to herself with her mouth slightly open. "Me?"

"Is there any other Ameenah in the room with us?" Miss Eva gave her a sweet smile, although both I and Ameenah didn't fail to notice the sarcasm in her tone.

"Oh, o-okay. Sorry, my-my bad." Ameenah was a stuttering mess and it was very amusing to me, seeing the confident Muslim fencer nervous. "Where are the notes?"

On my head, I wanted to reply. But... well, self-control was very important. Was she blind? The notes were in my hands.

"There." Miss Eva pointed at the notes in my hands. Ameenah looked at me and her expression literally went from anxious to... cold.

Her gaze had instantly morphed into a glare and I just watched in silence as she gave me a once-over, regarding me as though I was filth of some sort. "Isn't she already carrying the books?" she said to Miss Eva.

"I think there's an obvious answer to that, Ameenah. You're just required to carry half of the books with her, that way you can share the notes faster," Miss Eva told her.

Ameenah exhaled, a look of irritation on her face as she walked over to where I was and carried half of the books from my hands. "Let's go."

Maybe I should've just stayed in class. I shouldn't have gone to the Hall. Staying in class would have prevented this from happening.

"Can you walk faster?"

"I don't think I walk slow," I muttered. I was just like two steps behind her and I had to keep the distance. "If you want a gala seller or Usain Bolt, just say it."

"That's it. Take the fucking notes and share them yourself." She turned back abruptly, dumping her own share of the notes onto mine and once again, they were piled on my arms.

"Miss Eva said to share the notes, together," I stated.

"I don't care if she said that, Komisola. Take the notes and share them yourself."

"It's just notes, Ameenah. Don't be-" Not a complete sentence but her royal highness, Ameenah was already walking off.

That's it.

"Ameenah!" I shouted. Who did she think she was? A fencer? Fine. Who gave a flying fuck? A star student? I did not care. Right now, we were both students who had simply been given a task to carry out by a teacher. "What exactly is your problem?"

She turned to look at me, and regarded me slowly, eyes moving up and down, scrutinising me with a look of disgust. Then smiling at me, "rest," she said. Dismissed me with a little roll of her eyes and a tired shake of her head.

And just like that, she walked off.

~

Self control really was a beautiful art. But mastering it was tough. Ameenah had managed to leave me raging. While she sat down on the chair, arms folded as she randomly read, I had to share notes to these obnoxious people in our class.

After sharing all the notes, I heaved an angry sigh as I dropped myself unto my seat, absentmindedly giving Hanniel his note. I was practically fuming at this point. "What's wrong with you?" he asked, probably sensing the anger oozing off me.

I spared him a glance and fought the urge to hiss when Ameenah's face intruded my view. "Your best friend is a real... ugh."

"Who's my best friend?"

When Hanniel said that, he'd actually sounded so serious, I turned to look at him and I literally gaped at him. "Excuse me?" I was stunned. Who... who forgets their best friend? "Um... who else would I be talking about?"

Hanniel seemed so... lost. So confused. Until realization took over his expression, and I just watched, still dumbfounded. "Oh! Ameenah?"

"Who else?!" I almost exclaimed. "Who forgets their best friend, Hanniel?" I laughed, the whole thing suddenly hilarious to me. Hanniel raised his hands in surrender, ready to defend himself.

"There's been a lot going on," he said, frowning. "And it's just... complicated? I don't think we're best friends, though. I mean, obviously."

"Good." I simply nodded. "She shouldn't be your best friend. Such a shitty personality she has there."

"Did she offend you?" Hanniel sounded amused. I picked up my novel, skimming through the pages, reading it half-heartedly.

"It's nothing, nevermind. Just... read your notes or something."

Ranting to him about someone who was sitting next to him didn't make any sense to me, so I just decided to let it be and read my novel.

~

I stared at the dark, grey clouds that released a downpour on everyone and everything. Everyone was either outside or inside, having different directions. Some were headed home for the day and some refused to go out of the school. I was in neither category.

Apparently, I didn't have a driver as my former driver was employed for Father and not Mother. I also didn't know my way home, which meant I was stranded.

"You shouldn't be out in the rain, Grey eyes." I heard Hanniel comment, and caught a whiff of his minty scent as he came nearer. "You might catch a cold. Reminds me of when we first met."

Flashbacks.

From bumping into each other to him coming up to me in the rain.

They seemed like memories.

"I'm not exactly in the rain, Hanniel. There's a covering over our head?" I gestured towards the extended roof cover and we both looked up. Crestview High looked like a school that came right out of dramas. It was incredulously vast on land.

"People are going home, why haven't you zoomed off like you always did every time school's closed?" Hanniel asked.

"Maybe because I don't have a driver anymore?" I responded.

"You don't? Why?"

"I moved, Hanniel. Mother and Father are divorced now."

I hadn't thought of someone, especially Hanniel knowing about everything that had been happening to me recently, but I guess he did deserve to know.

Hanniel gaped at me, his mouth literally wide open in shock. "Divorced?" he repeated, sounding a tad bit too dumbfounded.

"Mother, Davies and I are no longer in Ethereal Estate though. We're currently living in an area I have no idea about, and I don't know my way home."

Hanniel looked even more speechless after everything I'd just said. "You were living in Ethereal Estate? I live there. But that's not the important thing, at the moment. Can't you call your brother or mum to come pick you up? Who dropped you off this morning?"

"Mother might be busy, and I don't want Davies to come here. He's way too infamous in this school."

"I think, as long as he doesn't step out of the car, you two will be fine," Hanniel said. "Or I could always drop you off."

I let out a small laugh. "Okay, first of all, I don't see a car."

Hanniel shrugged. "My driver's coming. If not my driver, my mum. I don't know honestly, I can always find my way back home."

"Yeah sure, but no thanks-" I was saying but my speech was cut off when an all too familiar voice called my name, sending all sorts of chills through my body. My stomach didn't go easy on me.

"Komisola."

What the hell was Davies doing here?

"Davies!" I exclaimed and literally ran over to the car where he called me from. "Put your head back in the car. What the fuck are you doing here?"

"Mum asked me to come pick you up. I'm sure you don't know your way back."

He wasn't supposed to be here now. I hoped no one saw him, especially our classmates. I didn't want him here. I wonder how he wasn't ashamed.

"Who's that guy you were standing with by the way? He doesn't like a junior from my time."

A junior from my time, I wanted to mock him. Sounding so stupid. He thought he was worthy enough to be called a senior. "Because he isn't," I told him.

"Then who he is? Are you dating him?" Davies released a tiny smirk, almost sounding like he was teasing me. Scratch that, he was.

"Yes." I have no idea what just got into me. "He's my boyfriend."

Davies' tiny smirk slowly dropped, a look of astonishment now on his face. He regained his composure however with a shake of his head and continued. "Well then," he said. "I'd like to see him."

I sighed. "Can we just go home?"

"No, I want to speak to him. You're lying."

"Do I have to prove it?"

He nodded. I rolled my eyes and walked back to where Hanniel was. I had no idea why but I just wanted to do this. I wanted Davies to know I was completely fine without him. I was very happy without him. And I guess I wanted to prove to myself, that I had no fear of men whatsoever.

On reaching where Hanniel stood, watching and observing us silently, he froze as I wrapped my arms around his neck. I wasn't even kidding. His body went rigid in my arms wrapped around it.

"What are you doing?" he panicked. "Everyone's looking."

"Just hug me back. That's my brother in the car over there."

Hanniel didn't say anything for a while, and I waited patiently, starting to get frustrated, for him to hug me back. When he finally did, it was slowly and gently. His arms hugging my waist in a delicate way, like he was afraid of hugging me tightly. "You're so stiff, do better," I remarked.

"Why are we doing this?" he asked.

"I don't know. But right now, my brother thinks you are my boyfriend and I'd like him to think so. Maybe he'll stay away from me."

"Scary," Hanniel muttered. "He's so focused on us. We don't have to hug for long."

I detached myself from him. "Sure. Okay. Bye, Hanniel."

I was suddenly giving one-word replies while trying to calm myself down. I felt something when I hugged but I was too afraid to admit it. Almost like my stomach was doing back flips. For someone who hated physical contact with the opposite gender, I was feeling the exact way I'd felt when Hanniel hugged me because I'd come to pay him a surprise visit in the health bay after the conference.

It felt wrong... all of this felt wrong. But so right.

Hanniel was gazing into my soul and I was trying to act like I was perfectly fine. I was fine. I am fine.

I shook my head in dismissal and tried not to think about it. Not to dwell on it so much. "Bye, Komisola."

I bit my lower lip as I looked down and went back to my bro- to Davies.

"You just don't want me to talk to him."

I ignored him, and tried not to become a thinking mess where I sat in the car.

Ugh.

a/n: I don't even have much to say. my friend said Hanniel gives her a flower after it rains vibe and I totally agree.🩶

hope you liked this chapter? i want to see your comments and don't forget to vote and share. engage loveliess.

byee <333