˗ˏˋ༻ʚKrystian's Povɞ༺ˎˊ˗

My phone wouldn’t stop ringing as I stepped into the inner segment of Groovy Lit, still in my school uniform. I had no idea why she kept calling, but now wasn’t the time to find out. I slid the phone into my pocket and let it vibrate while I scanned the room.

Damian spotted me before I could even wave. He sat upright, smiling slightly as he pushed his phone aside. "How have you been, Krystian?"

I slid into the seat across from him and placed my phone on the table, screen down. Whatever Delphine needed could wait. It felt urgent, sure—but she’d been the one who pushed me into this meeting in the first place.

"You didn’t bother to change out of your uniform," he noted.

"Came straight from school." I leaned forward, lacing my fingers together. "It was best not to keep you waiting."

Damian exhaled and eased back into his seat. "It’s not like I don’t want to help, but I’m trying not to invite drama. Especially not the kind that ends with my mum being embarrassed in public."

"You’re not doing it for him. You’re doing it for his sister."

"Try telling that to his temper."

He gave me a look, and a second later, we were laughing. Tension eased just a bit.

"Still, I’m curious." Damian leaned forward. "Why are you even helping him? Never thought you two were tight. Or is this about a girl?"

"A girl?" I repeated, unable to stop my grin. "See, Romeo and I were just . . . short-term friends if that makes sense. You transferred to Greenville High back when I was in JSS3, right? So you probably didn’t even catch that phase. Either way, I’m not doing this for him. I already know he won’t be grateful about it."

"So, a girl."

"How’s Nsikan?" I asked, deflecting quickly.

"That’s a subject change if I’ve ever heard one." He smirked.

Looking away, still smiling, I gave in. "There’s this new girl at school. She’s got a million things weighing her down, but somehow she still wants to save everyone else. I’m just . . . trying to help her do that."

My phone lit up again: The New Girl. The vibrations hummed through the table, catching Damian’s attention.

"Is she the one calling?"

I nodded, confused. "She’s been calling since I got here."

Damian gestured. "Don’t keep her waiting. Not like I’ve got anywhere else to be."

His voice was laced with sarcasm, but the kind that said he didn’t actually mind, so I reached for the phone.

"What kept you?!" Her voice nearly blew out my eardrum.

"I was busy," I said, shooting Damian a look as he tried not to laugh. "What’s up?"

"Everything's up!" She practically screamed.

"Aren't you at the dorm?" I needed to ask cause I pitied her teammates based on her yelling.

"Track field."

That had me frowning. It was late. She should be resting. Ore had said practice ended a while ago when I'd called earlier. "You’re still out there? Delphine, come on, you need some rest—"

"I would've if you'd told me Hymn had a brother!"

"You’ve met Praise?"

"So it’s true?! Why didn’t you tell me?!"

"You never asked. Plus, he’s from a different school and doesn’t even live with Hymn. Didn’t think it was important."

"Don’t be sarcastic with me."

"I’m really not." I rubbed my temple and sighed. Damian chuckled for the first time, making me groan.

"Why is everyone warning me to stay away from him?"

"What?"

"That model wannabe and even Ore. I get why the other girl might say that since it looks like Praise is flirting with me, but—"

"Wait. Praise is flirting with you?" That was the only part my brain decided to cling to. "Why?"

"How should I know?! I’m equally confused. The girl who's clearly into him is prettier than me, but he keeps looking my way." I hated the current way I was feeling; I knew better than to let that get to me. "Ore isn't helping matters either. She indirectly revealed that Hymn and Praise are brothers and—"

"This isn’t something we should be talking about on the phone."

"I need to know, Krystian! We won’t see each other until Wednesday, and it’s driving me insane."

"Isn’t your airtime running?"

"Let me worry about that."

I exhaled. "Tomorrow."

"What?"

"I’ll tell you tomorrow. In person."

"How are you going to—"

"I’ll figure something out." Maybe it was serious, or maybe I just needed another excuse to see her.

"How am I supposed to sleep tonight with all this?!"

"Want me to send you a picture of me?" I grinned. There was a few seconds of silence before a nervous scoff escaped from her lips.

"Bye, Krystian." The line went dead, but the smile stayed on my face. I looked up at Damian and saw a small smile on his face.

"You are in too deep."

"Look who’s talking." I leaned back. "So, about Romeo’s sister—"

"I’ll talk to my mum. You’ll get your feedback soon." I nodded silently as I looked around for a worker so I could finally place an order. I wasn’t Romeo’s biggest fan, but this wasn’t about him.

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

Stepping out of the shower, I tugged on a pair of grey joggers and threw a towel over my head. My phone, still charging on my desk, lit up occasionally, indicating I had new messages. I tried to clear my head as I roam my room, but I couldn't. Delphine’s words echoed in my head, and so did my irritation at Praise.

She said she wasn’t as pretty as the other girl she'd described. If only she knew that being pretty wasn’t what made someone worth liking.

"What’s wrong with me?" I muttered, slipping into a white shirt.

Knock, knock.

I frowned and went to open the door. Toyosi stood there, hair in her signature two-bun style, grinning like she always did.

"Hey," she chirped.

I stepped aside to let her in, ignoring the unease tightening in my stomach. This used to feel normal. But after seeing her that night in that club, dressed like someone I didn’t recognize—it didn’t.

She dropped on my bed. "Your parents should leave romance for we the young ones na. Saw them hugging and kissing downstairs—my God."

"You could literally have any guy you want, Toyosi." I moved to my desk, grabbing some books and my laptop. "Done your assignment?"

She nodded. "Not in the mood for Mr. Focados’ punishment."

We both sat in silence for a moment, but it wasn’t a peaceful one. Her fingers twisted together. She could feel it, too.

"Are you—?"

"Where were you Friday night?" I didn’t mean to sound harsh. But I needed to know. Needed her to say something that made sense. There were reasons I hadn’t let Delphine corner Toyosi with questions that night at the club. It wasn’t about shielding her—I wasn’t trying to play the loyal best friend card. I just needed to hear it from Toyosi herself. Her why. Her version. Any excuse, really—anything that could scrub out the picture now stuck in my head: her, under those lights, in that outfit, in a world that didn’t fit the version of her I thought I knew.

She gave a small laugh. "I told you—I was sick. We’ve been through this. Not like you missed me. I heard Delphine was there."

"I went to your house." I watched her face tighten. "The keepers said you weren’t home."

Her lips parted. Eyes darted around the room. Looking for an escape.

"I really was sick. I told them to say I wasn’t home whenever a visitor showed up, that’s all."

I let out a bitter laugh and stared at my bed. "So I’m a visitor now."

"I didn’t mean it like that, Krystian—"

She trailed off, caught in my disappointment.

"I could bribe you with something," she joked weakly. "So you could stop being mad at me."

"I’m over it," I said it bluntly. That was the truth. I wasn’t angry anymore—I was just done.

She stood, hesitant. "Maybe I should go watch TV downstairs; let you work on your assignment."

"That’s probably best."

There was nothing else I could do—no crack left in her walls to slip through. If she wouldn’t let me in, how was I supposed to help her? Toyosi didn’t lack anything. Sure, her parents were divorced, but they made sure she never lacked a thing. That was what made it worse. This wasn’t about survival. It wasn’t desperation. If anything, it felt like a thrill to her—some reckless game she didn’t care if she lost. And that . . . that made me feel sick.

She lingered near the door but left quietly. I fell back onto my bed, pressing my hands to my temples. The headache was already knocking.

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

I stepped out of the car just in time for three juniors to bump into me. Usually, I’d give them some firm words, maybe a warning, but not today.

"Which line sounds better?" Hymn pulled a folded paper from his pocket. "‘I might feel blue because of you, but my wishes came true the moment I saw you.’ Or, ‘Knowing you was a dream I didn’t know could come true.’"

"Morning to you too," I replied dryly as we walked toward the building. "Writing a new song?"

Hymn nodded with a sigh before placing the paper back into his pocket. "This one's somehow difficult."

"Why?"

"Because . . ."

I stopped and waited for Hymn to continue but was instead met with nothing.

"Well, I know nothing about music," I offered, "but the first line is wordy. Go with the second."

"Ore said the first had more depth."

I stopped at the staircase, giving him a long look. "Are you writing this for her?"

"W-what?" Hymn choked, before clearing his throat. "No, why would you think that?"

He walked off quickly, and I followed. Our class was half-empty, the early alarm not yet rung. Kim waved at me, and I returned it with a wink. Toyosi wasn’t in yet, which gave me a rare moment of opportunity.

"Toyosi—"

"Why do you think I’m writing this for Toyosi?!" Hymn barked, too quick.

I blinked at him.

"I thought you . . . never mind. What were you going to say?"

Shaking my head at my best buddy's obvious feelings for Toyosi, I decided to just let out my thoughts. "Don’t you think she’s . . . changed?"

"Changed how?"

I watched him look back at his lyrics. How was I to put it without revealing much to Hymn? It was annoying I was keeping this much from him as well, but it wasn't like I had a choice.

"Most nights, she’s not home."

His gaze flicked up. "She was home yesterday."

"What about Friday night?"

"Didn’t check." He scratched out the second line, choosing the first. "I don’t like you gossiping about her."

"Dude, I'm not gossiping about her." My phone buzzed in my pocket. Hymn glanced at me, brows slightly raised, but I didn’t say anything. I slipped the phone out, trying to act like it was nothing. Damian’s message lit up the screen. I read it once—twice. Then, without thinking, my eyes shifted to the back of the class. Romeo was there, quiet as always, staring out the window like the world outside made more sense than the one we were stuck in.

𝚂𝚙𝚘𝚔𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚖𝚢 𝚖𝚞𝚖, 𝚊𝚗𝚍 𝚜𝚑𝚎'𝚍 𝚕𝚘𝚟𝚎 𝚝𝚘 𝚑𝚎𝚕𝚙.

˗ˏˋ༻ʚ♡︎ɞ༺ˎˊ˗

Wow, we're at chapter 40.

Hey everyone, it's Eddy again. Yeah I know, my updates are slower than necessary, but I'm trying my best to drop in an update now and then.

Anyways, what do you think about this chapter and our munchkin Damian who made a guest appearance?

If you don't know much about him, then you are free to check out Mix and Max.

That's it for today's chapter, yeah I know, it's short. Hopefully, next chapter will be longer.

Adios 😘