~KUNMI~

I couldn't wipe the huge grin off my face.

It was just there, as if my face had been permanently morphed into that facial expression, a very huge smile and no matter how hard I tried to wipe it off, it just kept going back to that form.

My brain had been wrapped up around two things. Mostly one thing but split into two things.

Adam.

And the kiss or should I say kisses?

I could feel my face getting colored up at the thought and subconsciously, I started tracing my lower lip with my finger. I never knew I had it in me to kiss like that but then, there were lots of things I never thought I could do or be a lot of things until Adam.

Adam, that boy with the golden smile and honey eyes. He invaded my thoughts at any opportunity till he was all I could think about, till he was all I was thinking about.

"Hmm hmm. This one that you're smiling to yourself and touching your lips. Hmm hmm."

That wiped the smile off my face immediately and I tried to keep a blank expression. I've forgotten that Aminah was sitting opposite me and that we were supposed to be in the middle of a conversation.

"See, I thought we were having a conversation but I've been talking to myself since morning."

I stilled my face, stilled my lips that were threatening to stretch into another smile.

"Of course not, I heard everything you've been saying na."

"Really?" She asked, her voice coming out teasingly. "Then what was the last thing I said?"

Ohhh. I pursued my lips, tried to rack my brain of what we've been talking about but the truth was that I've not even been listening at all. I did not even know what we were talking about at all.

"Eeeeh, I'm sorry." I said, trying to sound and look as apologetic as possible. "I'm sorry. I just... I was just..."

"You were just thinking about Adam." She interrupted me in an highly suggestively tone that made me smile, that made me bite my lips to stop the smile from deepening.

"Oh, Ya Allah, look at you. Just because I mentioned Adam's name, you've turned Tomato red and he's not even here." She rattled off teasingly and some of my classmates that were in class turned to look at us, brows raised questioningly.

"So, you guys are like official now?

"Hmmm," I nodded. "I think so."

"Wow, you guys are dating now?" She screamed, exclaimed, shouted that I shot out of my seat in a jiffy and I covered her mouth with my palm but the damage was already done because our classmates heard already. Some looked at us, heads shaking in disappointment because they did not understand why we'd be talking about mundane things like that when our promotional exams were just two weeks away while others looked at us curiously, wondering if I was really dating Adam like the rumors that had been flying around were saying.

Aminah kept mumbling something underneath my palm and instead of letting go, I pressed it tightly against her mouth. That made her to bite me, her teeth sinking deeply into my palm and I let go.

"I was only saying that you owe me a treat."

"A treat?" I repeated dumbly, wondering how the conversation even got to the point of treating each other out.

"Yes, a treat." She beamed in her overly excited Aminah's voice. "You owe me a treat that you guys are now official." She continued and my mouth dropped open. On days like this, I saw Zero difference between Aminah and Sophia. Infact, I was starting to believe they had more similarities than they'd ever realize because of their feud.

"Don't worry, I'll pick a location, you just have to show up with your credit card of course."

She spread her arms akimbo at my bewildered expression and I just shook my head, wondering why and how I ended up with this kind of friends.

We heard the sound of heels walking towards us and we both turned towards the direction. It was Sophia and she was walking towards us, arms tucked in her jacket, a huge smile on her face.

"Were you guys having fun without me? The mother hen of the group?"

That was the first thing she said when she got to us and while I was still trying to regain my composure and act immune to the fact that she just included Aminah on her words, Aminah's expression was priceless, she looked shocked, startled as if the most impossible and unexpected thing just happened to her.

"Anyway, before you reply me, Aminah, can I have a word with you?"

Wow.

Aminah kept blinking repeatedly like a barbie doll, her expression mirroring shock. She was looking at Sophia, as if Sophia just came from outer space, as if she was an alien, as if she wasn't human, that she couldn't possibly be human.

"Why?" She asked, finally finding her voice and shifting slightly on her seat.

"I don't know. Do you want me to drag you since you don't obviously don't want to come?"

Wow.

I tried to keep my chuckle at bay but I failed woefully. Was it possible for Sophia to stop getting weird?

I doubt that. I really doubt it.

Aminah was just sitting down, her face looking like disbelief itself. She was looking at Sophia as if the latter had grown two heads. I would be looking at her too that way if I wasn't starting to get used to Sophia's way.

Which was still unfathomable by the way.

"Okayyy." That was Aminah and she stood up quietly. I watched as the two girls walk out of the class, side by side, the two of them fitting together. They'd be better off as friends. I wondered if it was possible for them to ever truly become friends, to put everything aside and just see the friendship they could share.

I knew Sophia said she was going to apologize, that she was going to try to let go of everything, her unrequited feelings towards Kunle, her dislike for Aminah but even at that, I still don't know why but I kept thinking that there was something missing.

Something very important.

Someone landed on the seat Aminah just stood up from and I jumped back on my chair, in fright but it was only Ezekiel. I exhaled and I hissed underneath my breath.

What's this one looking for again?

The boy in question just moved even closer and he leaned his hands on the desk between us. My eyebrows automatically raised questioningly at him.

"So, pretty girl, tell me, what's the secret behind the glow up these days?"

I hissed underneath my breath at his words but that did not stop my left hand from subconsciously raising up to touch my cheek, as if to feel the supposed glow he was talking about.

"I know..." He continued, leaning even closer on the table. "It's that pretty boy, abi? Don't worry, you can tell me, your secret is safe with me."

"Ezekiel." I started, intending to sound firm but my voice just came out teasingly. "Please, get lost."

"I want to glow up too," He said, his voice sounding jovial, yet somber as if he was actually serious but I highly doubted that. It was impossible for Ezekiel to be serious for even a split second. "But Fay won't even look at me." He concluded, his voice now sounding total somber and he wasn't even looking at me again, he was looking behind me and I followed his eyes, he was staring straight ahead at Fay, the ego oyinbo of the set, the one who was more popular for her extremely flawless and fair skin. There was no doubt about the fact that Ezekiel has an hopeless crush on the girl and that she wasn't even looking at him at all.

I've always thought it was just an hopeless crush but looking at him staring at her with that kind of intensity in his eyes, I could tell that someone was hopelessly in love.

"But you know what?" He shouted out of nowhere, shocking me even more than earlier and I shook my head, mentally seeing reasons why Fay wasn't looking at him. "We meuvve. We what? We meuve" Then, he sashayed away from me, more like cat walked in a feminine manner and he even held his right hand up as if he was holding a bag.

I'd feel sorry for Fay if she should look at him at all.

After he left, I tried to focus on reading my literature but my thoughts kept straying off and off, to one particular direction though.

Adam.

He was holed up in the Art Studio as usual and I was starting to wonder if there was something else attached to it and why they were hell bent on overworking him.

Feeling incredibly bored of sitting alone, I decided to go and seek him out only to stop in my tracks when I got to the hallway.

It was Aminah.

She was walking towards our class as if in a trance, a daze. She looked completely discombobulated, as if she was in a totally different realm as she walked towards me, eyes fixed on me but I was sure she couldn't even see me at all. I wondered what she and Sophia must have talked about that had rendered her like that or what Sophia had done or said to her.

She got to me and was about to walk pass me, completely oblivious to the fact that someone was even there beside her when I grabbed her elbow and I successfully stopped here from walking away. That did the trick because she blinked repeatedly and that jolted her out of her reverie.

"Oh, Kunmi, it's you."

Of course, it's me.

"What did you guys talk about? Did Sophia... Did she apologize?"

"Apologize?" She echoed dumbly before a ghost of a smile touched her lips and she snapped completely out of her trance. "It'd have been way better if she had just apologised. God! That girl!" She shuddered involuntarily and her deepened into a full blown one. "I can't even start to fathom her deal again. That girl, are you sure she's normal?"

I relaxed visibly at her tone, knowing fully well from the way she was talking that whatever conversation they had had gone well. That was all I needed and I just hoped things were going to stay that way.

"Sophia, I'm still not sure about her because one moment, she's acting like a psycho and the next moment, she's all smiles and warmth. I don't know... I just don't know."

"I think she's a good person." I started to say and that jerked Aminah's face up. She stared at me pointedly for a split second before she started nodding and she muttered, more to herself than to me 'Yeah, I think so too.'

'But she's going through a lot, she's going through so much. I think that's messing up with her head and affecting her moods. You just need to try to understand her more."

"But what exactly is she going through? She's always so laid back and calm and collected as if nothing in this world could faze her."

"It's her sister, she's sick." Aminah visibly paled, her colors draining right off as if something invisible was draining it. "She's really sick. Cancer. I don't know what..." She staggered then, staggered with so much force as if something had pushed her and I had to grab her by her elbow because she would have fallen down if I did not. She looked shocked, numbed and utterly shattered by the news. Her lips quivered and I could have sworn that I saw tears pooled in her eyes before she pulled away from me and she shrugged my hand off gently, tiredly as if the news had not only devastated her, it had also drained all her energy away.

"Aminah, what's wrong? What..."

"I'm sorry... I just... I need to use the toilet."
She said, trying to put on a fake bravado but failing woefully because her lips quivered even more. I tried to grab her elbow again but she slipped away and I watched, utterly stupefied as she walked away as if there was no ounce of strength left in her that she even had to lean against the wall for support.

Can someone tell me what just happened please?

*********

I was trying to read but I was failing miserably because the honey eyed boy sitting beside me wouldn't stop staring at me.

I've tried different sitting positions and postures, tried to cover my face with the book I was reading, tried to lay my head on the reading table but he just wasn't the one to give up. I tried to concentrate on the words in my book, The disadvantages of Richard constitution but I was failing miserably especially when that pretty boy was looking at me as if I was the only in the room.

Finally, I gave up and I put my book down only to be taken aback by the look in his eyes. He looked so satiated, too satiated that it was almost unnerving.

"Adam, if you keep looking at me like that, we won't get any reading done."

He shrugged nonchalantly and a lazy, almost smug smile crossed his lips.

"I don't know. It's not my fault that I can't keep my eyes off you."

Heat crept up to my face, threatened to turn my my entire face red. The things this boy says with a straight face ehn.

"Shouldn't you be on the football field by now? I thought you guys have a match."

"Sadly," He replied, before jumping to his feet while I remained on mine. His eyebrows raised at that and he just kept staring at me quizzically, as if waiting for me to say or do something, something I had totally no idea of.

"Are you not coming?"

"Coming ke? I'm not playing."

He chuckled. "Of course, you're not playing. You just have to come and cheer me up."

I looked away from his probably gaze to my Government notebook that had been a useless thing to bring to the library because I did not even read nor understand anything in it, all thanks to the pretty boy that decided to tag along.

"I don't even know how to cheer or anything like that, I'd rather stay back and read." I muttered but he heard anyway because his facial expression became akin to that of shock and he sat down again, dragging his chair closer to me in the process.

"Those are girlfriend's duties, Kunmi. Trust me, I'm going to play better knowing that you're bleachers and cheering for him."

I opened my mouth to talk but I only ended up closing it, unable to articulate what was going on in my mind. To say I was stunned would be an understatement, I was beyond flabbergasted. How could he even say things like that with a straight face? And especially when people were... Oh God! I looked around to confirm my worst fears, the students sitting near us were indeed looking at us, their faces mirroring pity for frolicking around when it was just days to exams while some girls' eyes were just fixated on me, doing nothing to hide the repulsion and hatred in them because I was apparently dating their pretty boy.

I ignored them.

"Adam," I whispered conspiratively, moving closer and leaning towards his ears so he'd be the only one to hear me. "Stop saying things like boyfriends and girlfriends, especially not in public, it makes me..."

"Why should I stop? That's who I am, your boyfriend."

Oh God!

I had no idea that being someone's boyfriend or girlfriend was something to say with so much pride as if it was akin to winning an Oscar or an Emmy award.

Eventually, I carved in and I decided to follow him to the football field. My hand found his naturally and I intertwined them when we got to the tiled road that led to football field. We were almost at the field when we ran into Rahmon. He was walking towards the main school area when he saw us and I watched as he fixed his eyes on our intertwined hands before he smiled smugly. I cringed, the thoughts of that day came flooding back and I don't know when I subconsciously leaned against Adam just as he walked past us.

"Are you okay?" He asked, turning sideways to look at me, his forehead creased with worry.

"Yes, I'm okay." I tried to sound casual as possible but his forehead creased even more and he glanced briefly at Rahmon's retreating back before he looked at me again.

"You know, you can tell me anything, right?"

"Of course," I replied, tightening my fingers around him even more.

When we got to the field, the bleachers were already filled up with energised students ready to scream their heads off. It took a while before we located Aminah. She was sitting beside Tolase, Sophia and Gab and holding up a huge placard that says in capital letters 'SS2 BOYS ALL THE WAYS.' I smiled before we started walking towards where they sat.

"Aminah is just too extra."

"I kuku love her like that."

We soon got to where they sat and that was only when Adam let go of my hands. I missed him holding them instantly.

"Why are you guys always holding hands? Adam, no one is going to steal Kunmi away if you should let go of her hand for a second."

"Well, I'm not taking any chances."

Gab made a face filled with longing while Sophia looked disgust with the corners of her lips twitching up, Aminah just looked deeply satiated and intensely energised to start screaming her head off once the match starts.

The three of them looked like one hell of a clique.

The match soon started and while I thought I was going to get bored because I understood next to nothing about football and I wasn't even a fan of the sport at all, what happened was the contrary because I found myself getting strangely energised and following Adam's movement on the field.

When Kunle scored a goal, the first goal of the game actually, Aminah flew right off her seat, screaming as if her life depended on it and waving the placard like a maniac.

I did it first. I chuckled, then Gab, then Sophia who was trying to stop herself by biting her lips but was failing miserably.

"God! I wish we had cheerleading team in our school. I'd be among, no doubt."

"No doubt about that, no one has your energy in the whole of this school." Gab replied cheekily, her eyes aglow with an excitement that shocked me and it seemed like I wasn't the only shocked one because the smile disappeared from Aminah's face for a nanosecond before coming back, fully and brighter.

I thought Gab never liked Aminah, that she even disliked her more than Sophia does but looking at them like this, Gab smiling at Aminah, Sophia trying to keep herself from smiling, Tolase focusing her whole attention on the field, everything seemed fine, everyone seemed to genuinely like each other and I hoped things were going to remain this way forever.

It shouldn't be too much to hope for that, right?

**********
~ADAM~

"How does it feel to be someone's boyfriend?" Kunle asked out of the blues and I don't know when I hissed underneath my breath at the irrationality of his question. We were in the locker, changing back into our school uniforms after the match which we won by a narrow shot.

"Is that even supposed to be a question?"

"I'm supposed to be the one asking you that." He replied and that made me to turn back so I'd be able to see his face. He was done changing into school uniform and he was just leaning against his locker, eyes fixed on me.

"Are you even making sense to yourself right now?"

"Of course I am. You're the one walking around the school with your face like this," He put his two index fingers on either side of his lips, dragging them upwards till they were imitating an insanely petulant smile. I cringed and I focused more on getting the top off my body.

"No way. There's no way in the world I'd look like something like that."

"I thought so too until you became someone's boyfriend."

Oh God! And why is he making it sound equivalent to winning an Oscar?

"Well, I have to go oo. Girlfriend's boyfriend." He muttered more to himself than to me before walking away.

I should be the only one in the locker but when I turned back, I saw another guy leaning against the locker beside me. I eyed him suspiciously before I averted my gaze from him.

"So, I heard that you're dating that girl." He started and my blood froze, started turning into ice but I said nothing, ignoring him instead. I knew if I continued ignoring him, he'd just shut up and walk away.

But the fucker had no intention of walking away.

"I mean, why would you even want to date someone like her when you have girls like..."

My jaws clenched, fist tightened and the intensity of rage I felt at that moment was so powerful that my pulse spiked and my heartbeats increased.

Take a deep breath.

"Rahmon," I growled rather than said, my voice sounding dangerous low. I remembered how her countenance changed earlier when we saw him and I was sure that there was something I wasn't aware off. This idiot should start wishing it's not what I'm thinking. "Just. Fuck. Off."

The guy in question only smiled smugly at my words, undeterred by the fact that I was lucid with anger and that my face had contorted into this deadly frown that sickened even me.

"But in the end, you're just a hot blooded male and which right thinking male wouldn't want a taste of all that ass and b..."

The next thing I knew was that he was flying across the room with so much force that he bounced against the opposite locker before falling limply on the floor.

Adam ehn 😪😪😪

And Rahmon, seriously, y'all will be surprised by the next chapter and I'll soon post an excerpt of it on my IG page, the earlier someone guess the answer, the earlier I'll update the next chapter so if you're not following _ririwrites yet 🙄🙄🙄, you're on your own oo.

Y'all should remember Ezekiel in your prayers. That boy is too senseless for his own good.

Anyway, see you guys soon, hopefully 😍😍😍

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