Good morning, fam and Happy New Month.💞✨😌 Our update is here as usual and it's in a POV I know you have missed so much. So, shall we??🌚😌

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"𝑆ℎ𝑒'𝑠 𝑡𝑤𝑜 𝑡ℎ𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠, 𝑎𝑙𝑙 𝑎𝑡 𝑜𝑛𝑐𝑒.
𝐹𝑖𝑟𝑒 𝑎𝑛𝑑 𝐼𝑐𝑒.
𝐴𝑛𝑑 𝑠ℎ𝑒 𝑡𝑢𝑔𝑠
𝑑𝑎𝑛𝑔𝑒𝑟𝑜𝑢𝑠𝑙𝑦 𝑎𝑡 𝑚𝑦 ℎ𝑒𝑎𝑟𝑡𝑠𝑡𝑟𝑖𝑛𝑔𝑠."

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~𝚂𝚃𝙴𝙵𝙰𝙽 𝙱𝙸𝙱𝙸𝚃𝙰𝚈𝙾 𝙾𝙻𝚄𝚈𝙸𝙳𝙴~

The air-conditioning system in my room was nearly at its highest but it still felt like I was tossed into a boiling room. I craned my neck to the sides, trying to straighten it in the process. I have been seated by my reading table since the moment we got back from church this afternoon, and sincerely, I didn't see myself getting up from this seat anytime soon. I pushed my glasses up to the bridge of my nose, my fingers moving on the touchpad of my laptop, while I tried to navigate my cursor on the screen.

I stopped scrolling and cracked my knuckles, exhaling softly. Where was this damned file anyway? I just needed to go through the notes that I had broken down into smaller and more understandable pieces so that I could revise what was in there. I couldn't for the life of me comprehend what was in my notes. But wait first, why do Cove teachers always do this?

How the fuck will they be giving us complicated notes? I know the efforts I made in reading to understand it before breaking it down into comprehensive pieces on my laptop. Because of this note, I didn't sleep early yesterday and now my eyes were itching so badly. I groaned, taking off my glasses and dropping them on the table, folding my arms around the back of my head and yawning so loudly.

If the only thing I wanted to do was look for the file, I wouldn't be so bothered but I also had to read ahead of the tests that were starting tomorrow. I could have sworn I saved it on my laptop. Why the hell can't I find it? Wait...

Omo, abi the thing don comot my laptop ni?

"God, abeg," I muttered under my breath, burying my head in my palms, a frustrated sigh leaving my lips.

"Bibitayo!" My mom yelled. I didn't move an inch from where I sat because heaven knows I barely have any strength left in me to deal with my mom right now. I was tired. I was drained. I was exhausted and it was all because of these damned mid-term tests.

"Se omo yii o gbomi ni?"

"Bibitayo!" She called out to me, again.

Mom, not now.

"Bibi!"

One...

Two...

Thre__

The door to my room was pushed open abruptly, the sound of her flip-flops hitting the ground echoed in my ears, leaving me so irritated.

"Stefan Bibitayo Oluyide!" She bellowed, her loud voice echoing through the walls of my ears and reverberating across my room.

"Didn't you hear me calling you since morning?" She queried.

"I want you downstairs. In that kitchen. Right now and do NOT test my patience, boy!" She ordered and stormed out of the room, slamming the door shut with a loud bang. With no strength left in me to go against her orders because I knew she would bring the whole house down and slap some senses into me if I wasted one more moment in here. I wore my slides and got off my chair, walking out of my room.

I moved sluggishly, descending the stairs and came across one of our maids that were in the living room, putting everything in place. I averted my gaze from her and sauntered into the kitchen. I sure as hell didn't expect anything to almost hit my face.

It was one of my mom's flip-flops.

Jesus!

"Mommy!" I shouted.

"Don't mommy me! Is it because you are already taller than me? Do you think I can't reprimand you anymore? If you annoy me more than I am already, I'll beat the hell out of you!" She shouted, not moving from where she stood behind the kitchen Island, dressed in one of dad's numerous shirts that looked three times bigger than her, swallowing her small frame.

I swallowed.

"When did that one start?!"

"Dami lohun, Bibitayo!" She bellowed, her brown eyes which sure looked beautiful at their warmest, were clouded with rage, fury flashing in them.

Omo...

"When I'm talking to you, you DO NOT keep quiet and stare at me like a moron! You use your words and answer me since you have grown wings and started taking me for granted." She uttered, audaciously. Her fury-filled eyes fixated on me.

"Rara ma. Mom, I'm not__" I tried to speak but the same woman, who told me to answer her and stop staring like a moron, cut me off. Her tone hardening, even more.

"I'm not done talking!" She shunned me and I knew I dare not utter one more word. I didn't want to provoke her more than she already was. I tucked my hands into the pocket of my joggers, not having it in me to look her in the eyes anymore.

"Bibitayo, you want to stress me and my God will not allow you. Never! Do you know how worried I was when I was calling you and you didn't answer me? For goodness sake, I was worried about you!" She threw her hands up in the air for emphasis, her voice rising a notch higher than it was already.

"I even thought you had used one of your stupid earbuds and couldn't hear me!"

"What am I even saying? I'm throwing out all the earbuds you have in this house!" She said with a tone of finality.

"Ah, mommy, no o." I whipped my head, meeting her rage-filled eyes. I had spoken before I realized what I just did. Omo, I don die. I swear down, one minute, I was glued to the spot I was standing in and the next I was moving backwards with one hell of a speed as she left where she was, charging towards me with her second flip flops.

"Mommy, please!" I pleaded.

Jesus!

I twirled on my heels and dashed out of the kitchen, bumping into my dad, who was taking long strides towards the kitchen entrance.

"What's going on?" He asked, impatiently. I ran to him, hiding behind his back to protect myself from the wrath of my mom's flip-flops.

"Jay, step out of the way." She uttered, calmly.

"Babe, what's going on?" He asked again, his voice sounding as though he was trying to tread with caution.

"Jay, kuro lona funmi."

"Since you don't want to have sense, Bibitayo, I will teach you sense." She threatened, her tone hard and firm. I could hear her loud and heavy breathing from where I stood.

"Champ, what did you do to your mom?" My dad asked, his voice dangerously calm in a subtle way that told me to choose my next words carefully.

"Can someone just tell me what's wrong? I'm in the dark here! I was hearing your voices from my study. I had to step out to know why your mom sounded so angry. Stefan, what did you do?" I knew shit just got serious the moment he called me by my name.

"She__" I tried to talk.

"You still want to talk, abi!" She yelled.

"Jay, can you imagine what this boy did? This boy thinks that because he's taller than me, he can disrespect me. I was calling this boy to come downstairs and help me out in the kitchen but he didn't answer me. At first, I thought something was wrong and I had to go upstairs to check!" She threw her hands up in the air, fuming.

"Jay! This boy was inside the room, using me to press his laptop. I was still trying to talk to him and he didn't even answer me. The worst of it all, I had ordered him to come down but this boy sat in his room and still kept using me to press his laptop before he reluctantly came downstairs! Me! Me!" She kept on yelling.

My dad slowly turned around and his cold, grey eyes came into view. Eyes that sent chills running down my spine, causing me to gulp audibly. A look of disbelief flashed across his face as he raised one of his brows at me, almost like he didn't want to believe I did that to her.

"Is this true?" He asked me and at that point, I knew I had to watch what I say to prevent his wrath from descending upon me. I could have sworn I felt a drop of sweat trickle down my face, my heart thumping wildly against my chest.

"Dad__"

"Don't say a word. I will deal with you later." He dismissed me and turned to his wife, walking over to where she stood with her flip-flops in her hands, glaring at me.

Jesus Christ...

"Baby," He called gently.

"Jay, leave me alone." She didn't budge, her voice was breaking. He gathered her small frame into his arms and she kept standing on her tip-toes to get a glimpse of my face, still waving her flip-flops in the air.

"Jay, let me teach this boy some sense! Let me go. Oya, I'm not beating him again. I want to talk to him." She tried to coax him into believing her but I knew that if my dad let my mom out of his grip, I was a dead man. No cap.

"Babe, come now. Leave him. Come with me." He tried cajoling her, and it worked like magic. She went quiet in his arms and stopped struggling to get out of his grip. He pulled her into the kitchen, closing the door behind them.

I released a breath I didn't know I was holding. I felt so bad. So, so bad because I didn't mean to ignore her. It wasn't my intention. My mom was a very fragile person and the littlest things hurt her so much. I didn't mean to ignore her. I...I just...God! Fuck!

The door creaked and my dad stepped out, barely sparing so much as a glance in my direction. I needed no one to tell me how angry and disappointed he was.

"Go and apologize to your mom and when you are done, come and drop your gadgets and car keys in my study." He said coldly and walked past me. I stood there, dazed with no words to say.

Car keys and gadgets bawo?

"Dad__"

"DO NOT GET ME MAD, SON." He warned, his strident voice booming across the room and I gulped, nodding my head. I watched his figure as he ascended the stairs so quickly before turning around and heading into the kitchen.

•••••

I was awfully slow.

The distance from the living room to the kitchen was a stone throw but I was reluctant to get into that kitchen because I knew it wouldn't cost my mom anything to finish what she started. I needed no Shaman to spell it out to me how mad she was at me.

I stepped into the kitchen, closing the door behind me. My eyes darted over to her small frame that was standing beside the food processor and trying to regulate it to how she wanted what she wanted to blend to turn out. I swallowed the spit that was starting to build up in my mouth, approaching her slowly and cracking my knuckles. I took occasional deep breaths to calm my heart that pounded erratically against my chest.

"Mommy..." I called, keeping my voice soft and persuading. She didn't even move from where she stood, not uttering a word in the least. I knew I was done for. Because an angry mom I could take but my mom not speaking to me could make me want to run mad. I HATED it whenever my mom tried to use the silent treatment on me.

"Stefan, leave me alone." She dismissed me and my eyes widened on cue. My mom hasn't called me by my first name in ages. She preferred calling me by my middle name. No, she loved it. I didn't want her to call me Stefan. It sounded so weird coming from her. I wanted her to call me by the name she loves so much.

"Go to your room. I will call you when dinner is ready." She croaked, and God, my heart broke. What the fuck did I do? I pranced forward, grabbing her hands gently, so she could look at me but she didn't budge.

"Mom, I am so sorry. I wasn't ignoring you, I swear. I would never do that to you. Mom, I love you and I respect you so much. I can never, never disrespect you. Mom, I was just so stressed out the other time. I think I lost one of my school files but that is not an excuse to act that way." I apologized, desperate for her to spare me even one glance but she didn't. She was so determined to ignore me and by the cold look in her eyes, it seemed like there was nothing that could deter her.

"Mom, please. Just look at me. Mom, I am sorry. I didn't mean to ignore you. God! Mom, please." I pleaded, my voice reeking with so much desperation.

"Mom, I am so sorry." I was starting to tear up, so badly. I didn't mean to hurt her. I just wanted my mom back.

"Mom, I love you and I would never disrespect you." I continued, seeking her forgiveness.

"You love me more than you love horror movies?" She asked, and I chuckled, the tears I was holding back, dropped, trickling down my face.

"More than I love horror movies. They've got nothing on you, mom. I love you." I croaked, and she burst into soft giggles, pulling me into her warm embrace. A soft sigh left my lips as I wrapped my arms around her.

"So, you love me like this, eh?" She pulled away slightly but I still had my arms around her. She wiggled her brows at me and I chuckled.

"And there they are, my favourite people in the world." My dad's baritone voice interrupted our moment and mom rolled her eyes as he sauntered over to us, patting me on the shoulder and dropping a soft kiss on her lips. When did he even get in here? God, dad.

"I'm sorry, Dad." I apologized and he chuckled, spreading out his arm for a side hug, which I stepped into gladly.

"I'm still confiscating your gadgets," He threatened me, a certain lightness hanging in his tone. I groaned.

"Oh please, stop threatening the boy." Mom snorted, earning a loud guffaw from him.

"Now, let's make dinner," Dad spoke up, flexing his muscles. Mom squealed and I shook my head at the duo, thoroughly amused.

•••••

I took a long sip from the carton of Chivita in my hands, plopping down on my chair to continue what I was doing earlier. It was probably hunger that was making me feel so frustrated the other time. This time around, I was feeling much lighter and more energetic to start again. But then, before I could open my laptop, my phone sounded with a soft ding and I picked it up to check the message that just entered. I unlocked my phone and went straight to my Whatsapp to check the message. My brows furrowed, tugging up as I saw the message from an unknown number.

+2347019577813

𝐷𝑖𝑎𝑛𝑎, 𝑖𝑠 𝑡ℎ𝑎𝑡 𝑦𝑜𝑢?

My brows snapped together in confusion and I began typing.

Typing it out just wouldn't do justice. I wanted you guys to have a pictorial representation of their chats.🌚🖤

What the hell?!

How did she even get my number? I blocked her off after she ended things with me, back then. Wait, I don't understand. What does she still want from me again? Shattering my heart wasn't enough, she just had to come back to try to ruin everything, when things were starting to go smoothly. Nah, get behind me, Satan! I hissed, and dropped my phone on my reading table, brushing my fingers over my hair.

My phone sounded with a ding, again. And this time, all I wanted to do was throw the phone at the wall. I picked up the phone, unlocked it with my fingerprint and hoped to give her a piece of my mind, but the message that popped up on the screen of my phone had my anger dissolving into a puddle like it was never there in the first place.

Reina💞

Video call?

5:25pm

Are you busy?

7:25pm

Me.

I'm calling.
7:25pm.

She was still online and was typing, but I didn't waste one more second before putting a call through to her. While it was ringing, I sprang up from where I sat, dashing over to the mirror to check out myself if I looked out of place. But, it's like this shirt is dull. I frowned at my grey sleeveless shirt, debating whether I should change it or not.

Should I apply my sporting wave cream?

Should__

She picked up, and I nearly toppled over my feet, trying to get on the bed. It wasn't until I got on the bed that I realized I still had my slides on. I hissed and kicked them off my feet. The network glitched a little, rendering the screen of my phone dark. My screen brightened abruptly, her face coming into view.

God...

That was the first word that left my mouth. Her doe brown eyes were locked with mine in a soft stare, the light and warmth it held, tugging at my heartstrings, dangerously. She had a soft smile dancing on her full baby-pink lips, blinking her lashes as she peered at me, her eyes appearing as though they were going to close on their own accord. She looked tired but was still gorgeous as hell.

It felt like I hadn't seen her in years, almost as if I was seeing her for the first time. I don't think I could ever get used to seeing her. It feels like something new for me, anytime I set my eyes on her, knocking every ounce of breath out of my lungs and on G, I loved that feeling. She had her hair braided in natural cornrows, the tip dropping past her shoulders. This was the first time I was seeing her on cornrows, and boy did she look breathtaking.

The only thing akin to jewellery that she had on was the tiny gold stud on her nose. She wasn't even wearing earrings!

And she was...fuck! One of her shoulders was bare, showcasing her flawless brown skin. I could make out the other strap of the pink top she was wearing but the other one was falling off. I knew I couldn't allow my gaze to move downwards because the thought of her not wearing anything underneath her tank top...was messing with my senses so badly. I was struggling so hard not to think about it and I was failing miserably at it. I was struggling so hard not to allow my thoughts to stray to that dangerous, dangerous place.

I have never had to struggle with my self-restraint this badly. It has never gotten to this extent. I was so screwed. So fucked.

"Stefan?" She called me, her voice thick with this compelling allure that drew me into a trance and yanked me out of my reverie at the same time. I moved my eyes away from her collarbones, my head shooting up to meet her face that had worry imprinted on it.

"Are you alright? You zoned out." She asked, one of her brows tugged up at me, questioningly. I nodded, and my lips stretched in a wide grin that had her giggling so softly like a small child.

"How are you, Reina?" I asked, and that was all it took for her to dive into everything that happened to her that day, explaining everything to me in detail and God, watching someone talk and rant about the smallest things has never looked so appealing, so satisfying and made my pulse race, hard. It made me question myself, and how much control she had over me.

•••••

At this point, I give up. I give up trying to read. I give up on school entirely because my brain wasn't even braining any longer. It was hot, and steaming and needed to even breathe. I could feel the smoke emitting out of my head, plunging me into a massive brain exhaustion.

God, abeg.

Nobody told us that mid-term tests were going to choke like this. There was nothing anyone could tell me. I was so convinced that these teachers abhorred a beef against us because I couldn't understand how they could sit down and come up with test questions that were like a standard mock exam. I grabbed my head with my palms and groaned, shutting my textbook and pushing it aside.

"Bruh, I can't come and die. Na SS3 I dey, I no kill person. Life no suppose hard like this." Abasi complained bitterly and I spared him a glance from where I was slouched, lazily. My eyes darted to the seat in front of him, zeroing in on Jeremy, who had his head buried in his textbook, his hands moving swiftly on the rough sheet he was solving an equation on.

Trying to figure out the brown-skinned boy was a lost cause, which I gave up on a long time ago. I didn't understand how this guy was still sane enough to work on equations after two different papers today.

"I'm not going to be surprised, whenever Jeremy collapses due to exhaustion." Like he read my mind, Abasi spoke up, his voice holding a hint of taunt in it, in a bid to get a reaction out of Jeremy and as always, he fell right into the trap.

"You want to be a baller and you don't want to read. At this rate, I wouldn't be surprised if you turnout to be a mechanic," Jeremy wasn't even done and I was laughing my ass off, where I sat, wheezing in between.

"Some of us just have a life outside of reading comics and following girls." Jeremy snickered, eliciting a loud guffaw from me. Abasi threw me a stink eye in the process.

"The fact that Mrs Badru is still coming with another question paper. I'm done with Blue Cove, abeg. I don't even know why we can't lock that door and prevent her from coming in." The light-skinned boy spoke with a grimace. The irritation in his voice was no way near being subtle.

"Lazy ass," Jeremy mumbled under his breath. An action which earned him a head smack from the boy behind him. I rolled my eyes at the duo, sinking into my seat as my eyes scoured the noisy classroom. It's the way we have another paper in less than an hour and my classmates were chilling for me, though.

But then, could I really fault them? That was probably one of the ways they were holding onto their sanity right now. I brought the tip of my fingers to my forehead, giving it a gentle massage as my wandering eyes strayed to her seat. Yeah, for the umpteenth time today.

How she stood out with everything she does was baffling or maybe it's just the silly obsession I had with her that has me noticing the tiniest detail about her. I could be in a room filled with thousands of people and she would be the first person I automatically notice. The first few times I stared at her today, she didn't notice because she was trying to read and now, I could only hope she didn't catch me staring at her.

Again.

That would be downright creepy.

I was worried. Worried about this feeling that always had my heart beating twice as hard and my pulse racing twice as hard. This warm, fuzzy feeling that whenever she locked eyes with me, it always feels like I could finally breathe seamlessly and get on with my day without difficulties. This feeling that left my skin burning without being set on fire under her soft, warm gaze.

It was so scary. I was falling hard and fast and the scariest part of it all was the little to no control I had over how I felt. I didn't know how to stop. I had no idea how to put my feelings on hold. She had so much control over me without the slightest inkling and the fact that she probably would never see me more than a friend stung so badly. The thought of it made me feel like I couldn't breathe.

How she manages to creep into my thoughts, day in, and day out, was disturbing. I was so addicted to everything about her, down to her presence that just lit up everything around me. A feeling that made me not want to be separated from her, for even a second. And like she could sense my eyes on her, her head shot up from her book and she held my gaze, my breath hitching softly as a smile crept onto her face. An act that brightened the entire room without having to bat so much as an eyelid.

It was enough.

It was enough to make the bad day I was having to dissipate into nothingness and crumble into dust. At that point, it was as though it was just the two of us in this class. She brought her hand up and waved at me. I felt my lips slowly stretching to the back of my head, convincing me how much I looked like a creep.

She was so beautiful that it hurts to even look at her for so long. Heck, it felt like my feelings for her intensified with each passing second and when she averted her gaze to her book, my face fell and my mood dropped down to zero.

I wanted her to keep looking at me and not stop.

"She fine die, abi?"

Jeremy's teasing voice crept up behind me, penetrating my thoughts and drawing me out half-mindedly.

"She's so beautiful," I answered, absentmindedly, with an involuntary sigh. I blinked, snapping out of my dazed state. I looked over my shoulder and whirled around in my seat, shooting him a disgruntled look.

"What did you do that for?" I raised a brow at him and he shrugged casually, wiggling his eyebrows at me.

"You should have seen the look on your face. It was frame-worthy. I haven't seen that look on your face in a very long time." Jeremy spoke with the ghost of a smile toying on his lips. He had fascination and amusement flickering his dark brown eyes as he took me in, his gaze unwavering.

"Ahn ahn, Williams Shakespeare wey dey quote "Shall I Compare Thee To A Summer's Day? Have you considered that maybe, just maybe, poetry might just be your calling." I scowled at him, my voice hard, leaving me unsure on how I was getting so defensive. Jeremy raised his hands in the air, in a mock surrender.

"My friends are falling in love. I'm falling into trouble. Isn't that perfect?" Abasi wiped a fake tear off his face and I snorted. I couldn't comprehend how Abasi's brain works at times. He acted like a child that just started walking, most of the time.

"Bobo, no dey cut through corners. Admit it, you are whipped." Abasi teased, sticking out his tongue at me.

"I don't___"

Jeremy shook his head as I tried to speak, countering me before I could utter one word.

"Please, don't say you don't like her. Don't disrespect us like that." Jeremy said sternly.

"Do we look like fools?" Abasi frowned at me, raising his brows and I exhaled.

"You should tell her that you like her. Trust me, you don't want to waste your time debating whether you want to tell her or not," Abasi said with a light smile on his lips. Jeremy's eyes lingered on me for a second before he looked away, turning to his book. Abasi patted me on the shoulder and picked up one of his comics to keep himself busy.

She was my friend and I couldn't put her through hell because of the mere unrequited feelings I had for her. She had enough on her plate and dumping this one on the ones she had on her just describes me as a selfish friend. I should never inconvenience her that way. If it were so clear that she felt the same way about me, then I wouldn't hesitate and I would give it a shot but she doesn't, which makes everything so hard.

I couldn't do what they were asking me to do. I could never put her in that kind of a tight spot. And right there, where I sat, my thoughts wandered to the event at the school's parking lot the other day, my hold tightening on my textbook on impulse. The thought of his hands wrapped around her waist aggravated me, messed with my head and wanted to drive me nuts.

There was a particular way he stared at me. His gaze was so cold, threatening and unnerving, his hands not leaving her waist like he was...like he was trying to stake a claim on her. I hated it. I hated how it disturbed me so much that day. I had driven home like a maniac that day, my senses running haywire.

Who was he?

What was he doing in our school?

Why was he holding her like that and why did she let him hold her like that?! I'm convinced. I don't like him. He's an ass. God, it was like I was finally losing it.

I should have allowed her to explain what was going on. Instead, I was forming hard guy. She could have shed more light on it. She could have cleared things up but I didn't allow her. Now, my imagination wouldn't stop running wild and I had no control over it. Was that how he always held her? Why didn't she do anything? Does she like him?

Should I ask her?

"Stefan, Geez! You'll ruin that Book!" Jeremy snapped and I exhaled, dropping the textbook on the table with a loud thud that attracted several eyes to me. Jeremy's eyes beheld mine and I looked away from him, dropping my head into my palms. I only had two questions niggling at me throughout the day.

Who was that guy and why the hell was he holding her that way?

A/N

Hehehehe 😂😂😂

I'm just going to say one thing. Nigerian moms are always going to be Nigerian moms.😂🤝

Abeg, wahala tie wetin again? Yes, e be tie durag con wear koko shoe join.🌚🌚 So, Stefan said he has unrequited feelings for his 'friend' hehe😂 should we tell him?😌😌

And as per Stefan's request, Demilade should rest.😂🤝

So, you guys have gotten into his head to know how he feels about that incident. And frankly, he's not so excited.😌 I had so much fun while writing this chapter, so let me know what you think about it.

Do not forget to vote, comment and share. The next update might come by the weekend but it might be early too.

Adiós ✨

Love, Didi.♥️