The next evening, the last evening of Dynamis, Hassana acted like last night had never happened. She was as sunny and bright as ever.

She didn't want to talk about last night. I didn't want to talk about last night. We both didn't want to talk about last night...

But for purely different reasons.

She had slipped up and allowed me peek into her soul. Now, she wanted to cover up... Me? I just didn't want to talk about my dad. I couldn't handle his betrayal. His greed. I definitely couldn't go back home either.

We had started a routine. Every night, at seven on the dot, I walked to her hostel where she'd be waiting for me, very eagerly, I might add.

The others were fond of her. They didn't mind hanging out with her, and in a way, she brought us together, every night.

She always listened to Dave rant about very, very, irrelevant things, and even pitched in to contribute. Jordan basically saw her as a new pet. He liked to pick her up and pat her hair or carry her on his back, something that Hassana enjoyed as much as he. She was curious with Osahon and because he was the quiet, nice one, he was a walking target for her barrage of questions. To Lola and Haliya, she could talk and talk about hair and make-up and the latest designers. With Kam, they were just two little kids that could talk about any and everything and make, even the stupidest things, a competition.

The funny thing? She respected Asa's quietness. She could be loud and talkative with the others, but with Asa, she was attentive... Almost observant. Almost like she related with her on a different plane. Like she knew something about Asa that we didn't... And the way she looked at her ... The look in her eyes. It was the same look she had in her eyes when she talked about Giwa. Respect. Adoration...

But why?

It was something that could have easily been overlooked, seeing as we always hung out as a group. I'm not sure Asa even noticed. But I noticed. And she knew I noticed.

We were just playing charades and she was playing her part well. Very well.

She suddenly stopped in her tracks. I bumped into her and looked at her, panicking that something was wrong.

She was staring at something... No... Someone.

Ivandor... The guy from the seminar day.

He was walking, intent on getting somewhere, icepack in his hands, but he got distracted by a Fulani peddlar, selling pendants and feminine bracelets.

He was innocently asking for the price of something.

"I don't want you to hate him." Her voice came suddenly, so gentle and still, it tickled my spine and cracked me in half. She wasn't even looking at me anymore. She was still staring at Ivandor, looking like she was lost in thoughts. "Giwa used to hate him, you know?"

"Hassana-"

"He's just misunderstood. He's really nice. He had a lot going on in his head, that's why he reacted that way that first day. Please don't hate him."

I looked at her, for a long time. "You're in love with him."

Her eyes snapped to me. Those eyes like broken windows, "I..." She choked out. "I don't know what you're talking about."

I raised an eyebrow at her. "I think you do."

She avoided my gaze, started playing with her trembling hands.

"Does Giwa know?"

She looked at me alarmed. "No!" She shouted, then caught herself. "I... I mean... I don't know what you're talking about."

I looked at her, the light skin of her cheeks were rose petals. She played with her fingers, refused to look at me.

"I used to love Asa."

That caught at her attention. She looked at me with big, curious eyes. "D... Did Kam know?"

"He did. He knew I liked her first and still went for her."

She gasped, horrified.

I shook my head, laughing. "No, you don't understand. He loved her too. He loved her even more than I ever did. He didn't mind the rumours, the hate he was probably going to get, he just dived in without looking back... That's the kind of person he is."

"B... but you liked her first."

"I did... But I made mistakes. I did a lot of things wrong and I'm reaping the results."

She started breathing heavily, remorse in her eyes and gravity combusted to ashes and lost its meaning.

I sighed. "Love's a dirty game, Hassana. My advice is that you keep your heart to yourself. People do stupid shit for love. I did the stupidest shit for love. Fucked up our entire friendship."

"Amir..." She whispered, tears in her eyes. She blinked, breaking them to pieces and scattering teardrops across her cheeks. "What happened?"

"Shit. Shit happened."

She looked at me like she was seeing a ghost and looked at me with broken promises and unfulfilled wishes... And decided to confide in me.

"Giwa used to hate him. I... I used to tell her that he wasn't a snub, he was really just chill and reserved." She laughed now. A harsh, dry laughter that punched me in the gut. "The first time... The first time I really talked to him... He was drunk. Can you imagine? The only... The only reason he talked to me that night was because he wasn't in his right mind." She whispered quietly, shook her head.

I decided I preferred her sunny personality better. I couldn't. I couldn't deal with this real, honest side of her.

"He fell in love with Giwa. I love Giwa so much, you know. She's my best friend. She accepted me when nobody else would. When Haliya left, Kelechi stopped talking to me and I felt out of place again... Giwa accepted me. She's my friend." She wiped her tears. "She's my friend and he fell for her. And I was so hurt, and so happy for her. At least... At least, I could get to see Ivandor... To even talk to him once in while... Something that wouldn't have been possible if he didn't date her. So, I'm grateful. I'm grateful he fell in love with Giwa." She offered me a broken smile with tears in her eyes and trembling lips.

I wanted to move, to hug her, to show my support in any way... But I couldn't, because she was made of broken glass and shards of regret.

All that glitter wasn't gold.

I stared at her, shocked out of my mind, almost scared of her, if I'm being honest.

Hassana... This new Hassana was too much to handle. This new Hassana slapped me in the face, punched me in the jaw, kicked me in the gut.

And this... This was barely the surface. I was barely scraping the surface of discovering the real Hassana and I was already losing my mind.

So, I left. I left and started walking towards Ivandor who was leaving the peddler now.

I heard Hassana's alarmed voice, calling me back, begging, even apologizing for saying too much. For revealing too much... But I kept on walking.

I don't want you to hate him. He's really nice, he's just misunderstood... That heartbroken whisper, desperate plea in her eyes, please don't hate him.

She cared so much about him. She cared so much what people had to say about him. She cared about a stranger's opinion about him...

And he probably didn't even realize she existed.

At least, Asa was aware of my existence. At least, she tried to be nice to me in return. At least, when I reached out to befriend her, she reached out and took my hand.

Hassana had it way worse. She was nothing to him.

Nothing.

"Hey." That was my voice... I was talking to him before I realized what I was doing.

He looked at me, partly in confusion, partly in annoyance. "Hey." He folded his arms. "Can I help you?"

He had a bored, uninterested look on his face. Like I was wasting his time.

But, I remembered what he did for Kam.

"I'm Amir, Kam's friend."

His face suddenly brightened. He laughed softly, shaking his head. "Oh! Kam! Yeah, he told me about you."

To say I was shocked would be an understatement. He was smiling now but his shoulders were tensed, an urgency in his body language... Like he needed to go somewhere.

"I just... What you did for Kam... I really appreciate it. He's talking with us now, something we've been begging him to do for over two months."

His smile was intact and I could finally see what Hassana liked about him. Brown skin, hazel eyes, thick brown hair.

He scratched the back of his neck, grinning modestly. "Na, that was nothing. Kam's my gee. Didn't he tell you?"

I shook my head.

He shook his head and laughed again. "Figured. Oh, well, we met last year, during a sports competition. He's a demon on the field."

I laughed now, realizing. Part of the reason Kam's so famous at school, besides his good looks was because he had scored the winning goal against Cristan Prep, our rival school. For ten years, Trinity had lost to Cristan, during football matches. Kam broke the curse and warned himself a seat in the hearts of the teachers and students of Trinity.

That was around the time we started getting closer... Infact, I had no passion for football. The only reason I joined the team was because I wanted to be with Kam. His light... Something I couldn't get enough of. It was something everyone felt when they got to meet him.

I'm guessing Ivandor felt it too.

"Well, I gotta go." He gestured at the icepack in his hands. "I'm sick of watching my friend walking around with a broken nose." With that, he nodded at me, a smile in his eyes and left.

I looked at his receding figure, glad that I had taken the first step gotten to see this side of him.

I turned around, to look for Hassana.

She had disappeared.

__

"You're right. He's nice." I told Hassana as we waited for the others. We were sitting at one of the outdoor restaurants around the large, Olympic sized, outdoor swimming pool. The blue, purple and pink colours in the dark night background gave the entire area a fairytale theme.

Hassana had picked the place.

"Huh?" She feigned ignorance, picking and munching on her suya. "Who's nice?"

I laughed and decided to play along. "No one, Hassana. No one."

She nodded and smiled gratefully. The last thirty minutes never happened. We had erased them. Blotted them out of existense. Wrapped and packaged and buried in the dust.

Dave arrived first.

"Hassana, I swear, you won't believe the latest gist I have for you!"

"Tell MEEE!" She screamed.

And Dave launched into the slightly unbelievable and cringe worthy story about two guys who turned into dogs.

"Guys?" The new voice that belonged to Asa, said now.

We looked up at her as she took her seat, carefully dropping her takeaway nylon on the table in front of her

"Where's Jordan?" She asked. "He was the one that kept disturbing Kam and I to come on time."

"Oh, I sent him to get drinks. Pizza without drinks is no fun. Dave, abi na?"

Dave nodded sagely, bumping fists with her. "It's true. It's true."

Asa rolled her eyes.

"What of Kam?" Hassana perked up, leaning towards her. "Is Kam coming? We need to decide once and for all, who's better at this drinking competition."

Asa held back her laughter. "Yes, he's coming. He's presently using his last cash to get me-"

I saw her coming first. The others did not.

"Hassana Alfa."

Everyone sat up at the cold, authoritative, vaguely familiar voice.

Giwa Falade was here...

And she was with Ivandor.

I noticed Asa freeze over at her voice, her presence, and remembered the time in Offshore when she got a letter, an actual letter, from Giwa. I chuckled at the memory.

Offshore held some of our best and worst memories as a gang.

"GIWA FALADE!" Dave shouted, laughing, as if he was hailing and admonishing her at the same time.

Giwa turned and stared at him, a small smile on her lips.

Hassana looked like she was about to combust from excitement. "Ouuuu! Giwa! You're here!" She was bouncing on her seat, a smile, pulling up her lips. "And you came with Ivandor too!"

I stared at her. Her smiling face, her overactive demeanor and decided she must be a sad, sad girl.

Asa was locking Giwa in a cold, wary gaze.

Giwa glanced at her, held her gaze, unflinching. "Hello, Asachi."

Asa paused, as if shocked Giwa had acknowledged her... And worse, was smiling at her.

It threw Asa off course, but she recovered quickly, a sincere, relieved smile on her face, that tasted like forgiveness and new beginnings. "Hey, Giwa."

"No way you're about to act as if the rest of us don't exist." Dave shot, mock angrily at her.

Giwa looked taken aback.

Hassana launched into accusatory mode, feigning mock attack at Asa, for trying to steal Giwa from her. Everyone laughed at her antics.

In the end, the others showed up with Kelechi, Haliya's friend from Castron. Haliya had supposedly 'saved' her from Jordan's clutches.

Hassana was able to convince Giwa and Ivandor to stick around and everyone sat back and enjoyed pizza and drinks as we bantered back and forth and chatted into the night. The pool area, gave off fairytale vibes, with cool afrobeats, sifting through the air. It almost felt magical.

I sat back and watched the smiling faces of my friends and Hassana's friends.

Hassana, snuggled up against me, almost like she was about to fall asleep and still trying to convince Ivandor and I that icecream was created by God. I placed my arm around her, in a protective gesture, adjusting my jacket on her as it kept slipping off, while she kept snuggling closer, burrowing into my arm, my chest. Kam and Asa gisted with Giwa, Jordan, guffawed with Dave, Haliya and Kelechi, watched on, with amused smiles, as laughter punctuated the air.

I had never felt more happier. More peaceful. I decided, maybe these little things... These moments right here, with the ones I love, should last forever.

__

As we walked back to our dorms, way past midnight, Hassana clung to me and didn't let go.

She was tucked under my arm, hands, latched around my arm, like her life depended on it, body, pressed close to mine. While I was used to her, being clingy with an almost obsessive need for human contact, this felt different... Almost desperate.

"Amir."

I almost didn't catch het voice. It was different. Softer.

"I'm happy... I'm happy I met you. And your friends... Especially you." She gave me that heartbreak smile again, with trembling lips. "You almost... You almost make me wish I didn't have to leave." She had looked away now and was staring emptily at the space in front of her.

The look in her eyes... The look in her eyes sent a shiver down my spine.

"But I have to. I have to leave. I have to go."

I gulped, panic sliced at my heart. "Hassana-"

"I'll never see you again." She shook her head, looked up at me. "Dynamis will be over by tomorrow, and I'll never see you again... I'm happy I met someone like you. I'm so happy."

She looked like she was about to cry but she smiled at me, big and happy. Ruffled my hair. "Bye!"

She walked ahead with the girls and I stood, watching her, a giant foreboding, curdling in my stomach.

I didn't turn around, until they rounded the corner, my heart wouldn't stop beating out of control, almost like I was about to have another panic attack.

I caught up with the guys easily, Kam was laughing and talking with Ivandor, Jordan and Dave were arguing over something mundane and I was alone with my thoughts, her face, her words.

I'm so happy.

At least, she was happy.

I didn't understand why I felt like this. Like something wasn't quite right with how she left.

"Amir!" I whipped around, only to see Hassana, quickly approaching me, racing towards me.

She didn't stop or reduce in velocity, even when she got closer and I stood, shocked out of her mind, when...

She lurched into me, pressed a quick kiss to my lips. I tasted strawberries for just a second and she pulled back, turned and ran away.

I will never see her again.

A/n

Tori, did you see wat I did there? These Little Things?? 🤭🤭😌 I said, no how no how, I must add it in this chapter.

Anyhooo, y'alls, pls pls pls, go to NGCS, I left a message there and it's important it gets read. Homegirl entered the wattys and I need your support and cooperation 🥺🥺❤️

Also, there's an Epilogue after this chapter. So, stay tuned. Hassana decided she wanted to spend the entire day before her birthday with Amir... And we all know wat happened on her birthday.💔 Tori and I are wrapping this thing up with a bang💥 anticipate 🥺