Dedicated to graycieglows and damilola_susan. Thanks for the support.

***

"Well, I just told her." Peter said.

I was confused at first but then realization hit me on what he actually meant. Peter just admitted that he liked me. I couldn't believe it. It was so touching.

"Wait, wait, I don't get." I feigned ignorance. "Who's this her you're talking about?"

He chuckled lightly and then a smirk formed on his lips. "Don't pretend like you don't know I'm talking about you."

"Oh." I looked away shyly and rubbed my right eyes with my right fist. This was actually the first time that a guy would tell me that he liked me and not just any random guy, but a guy that I liked as well. So you can imagine how shy the moment made me feel.

"Yeah, I really do like you a lot." He rubbed his palms together. "It has been long coming. I just like the way you talk, walk, smile, even frown, I just..." He scrambled through his words. "And I want us," He pointed at himself and me. "To be like... a thing."

"Like for us to be boyfriend and girlfriend, is that what you mean?" I asked, even when the answer was pretty much obvious.

"Yeah." He smiled, "So Daniella, can you uh..." He scratched the nape of his neck. "Can you do me the honour of being my girlfriend." His voice sounded softer than normal and it made me feel some kind of way. I couldn't put a name on the feeling, but it sure was good. Maybe amazing was a better word.

I smiled sheepishly and smacked his left shoulder. "Can you be less formal Peter? You're making everything awkward."

"I was just joking." He grinned and reached for my right hand. The feel of his hand as it interlocked with mine was warm and I thought his hands were too soft for a guy. "Be my girlfriend Daniella." He said more confidently and less awkwardly.

I looked at our interlocked hands and looked up at him quizzically. "Why are you holding my hand?"

"I don't know." He shrugged, "Maybe by holding your hands, you'd say yes to my request."

I laughed. "And what makes you think so? You think you have any effect on me?"

"Uh-huh, I know I do. I'm sure you like the fact that I'm holding your hands right now."

"You wish!" I rolled my eyes. "In fact, let go off my hand."

"If I do, you'll regret telling me to leave you."

I shook my head. "Peter get over yourself. You need to be humble."

"Tell me you won't regret it."

"I won't. regret. telling. you. to. let. go. off. my. hands. Peter. I won't! Now can you let go?" I tried freeing my hand from his hold but he wasn't willing to let go. The truth was, I liked the fact that Peter was holding my hand, but at the same time, if he did let go, I wouldn't feel anyway. I mean, it was just hand to hand contact, right? There was nothing more to it. Okay that was me just deluding myself. If Peter left my hand, I would bleed and cry internally. Holding hands with one's crush was different from every other random hand to hand contact. This one was more divine. It sent shivers down one's spine.

People walking by started to look at us weirdly, probably wondering why two students, particularly a boy and a girl, would be walking and holding hands by this time of the day in their school uniform.

"See we're getting weird looks from people." I mumbled with gritted teeth.

"Who cares?" Peter said indifferently. "Let them look. What's the worse they can do asides from looking?"

"You happen to be forgetting that we're still in our school uniforms. Some people could be wicked as to report us to the school authority."

He scoffed. "That's if they'd know our names or even recognize our faces."

"Well, that's true sha."

"So you've not answered my question."

"Sorry what question?" I played charade.

He snapped his head at me and narrowed his eyes. "You sha just want me to ask again."

I shrugged my shoulders.

"Can you be my—"

"Hey look!" I pointed at a man who was selling ice cream on a bicycle. "Ice cream! Please buy for me. I'm thirsty for one."

He exhaled deeply and shook his head. "Stop avoiding the question Daniella."

"Ice cream, I need ice cream." I released my hand from his grip and shook his arm. "Buy for me na! See the ice cream man is going away!"

"Eh, Let him go na." He shrugged and his voice sounded ragged and throaty.

"If this ice cream man leaves eh, I won't talk to you again o." I said and he chuckled.

"Okay." He simply said.

I watched as the ice cream man kept moving away. I silently prayed that Peter would just call the ice cream man, but with the look of things, he didn't seem to care about that. He kept walking forward with his hands in his trouser pocket, leaving me few steps behind.

I really needed the ice cream so I swallowed my pride and held Peter's arm. "Wait joor! Okay I'd answer your question, if you buy me ice cream."

He turned to look at me and smiled broadly, the side of his eyes squeezing. "So you really want the ice cream that badly?"

"Yes joor!" I rolled my eyes at him.

"I thought you were just using the ice cream thing to avoid my question."

"He is leaving already o!" I said impatiently, pointing in the ice cream man direction.

"What if I don't have money?"

"I thought you were rich."

"Call the ice cream man before he leaves." He said as he dug his hand in his trouser pocket and took out a wallet.

"Hey ice cream!" I hollered and the ice cream man stopped and rode back to where we were. Peter bought three ice cream cone— one for himself and two for me. I held each of the ice cream cones in both hands and licked the two together, so it wouldn't melt in my hands. It is really good to have a rich guy that likes you. I thought.

"So are you ready to answer my question now?" Peter asked.

"Lemme finish my ice cream na before I start answering questions." I said, licking the ice cream that was rolling down the cone.

He put his whole ice cream cone in his mouth and chewed up before swallowing it. "How is the ice cream though?" He asked. How was he that fast eating an ice cream that was so cold?

"Delicious."

"See her mouth like delicious."

"Whatever. You should thank your stars that you bought the ice cream for me, if not, both of us are over!"

"We both know that's not possible, right? If you decide not to talk to me, I would continue to be in your face and then slowly you'd start missing—"

"Okay enough Peter. Whatever makes you feel yourself this much though. Not like you're even that fine." I smirked and rolled my eyes. "I've seen finer guys, so what's the pride for?"

"Ouch, that bruised my ego. For that," He took one of my ice-cream from me. "I'll take this."

"Give that back! Don't try me."

As I tried getting back my ice-cream from him, he immediately put it in his mouth, chewed up and swallowed it. He swallowed my ice cream! That means, my ice cream was in his stomach!

I was pissed.

He blinked his eyes, smiling at me mischievously and then he shrugged his shoulders.

I glared daggers at him, "You didn't just do that?"

"Do what?" He shrugged, pretending to be clueless about what I was talking of.

"Oh, I'm so not talking to you again." I said, throwing my ice cream on the floor. Then I brushed past him and walked off.

He held my arm, stopping me. "So why are you vexing now? That I took your ice cream?"

I swatted his hand. "You're such an annoying goat! To think you've changed! You're still a disgusting bully! Please just leave me alone, lemme get to my house already."

"Okay I think you're overreacting now." He said, releasing me and I walked away. I knew I was overreacting like he said, but sometimes, girls just want guys to swallow their pride and apologize for what they did, and that was exactly what I wanted Peter to do now.

Peter walked forward and stood in front of me, making me stand to a halt. "You know I really like your face when you're angry. You look so cute." He grinned at me.

"Shut up and step out of my way!" I snarled.

"Don't you think it's just childish you're getting angry over this little thing. Please don't tell me you have anger issues."

"First of all, I do not have anger issues and secondly, do you realize you can lose friends because of your pride?"

"Okay, I'm sorry for taking your ice cream, if that's what you wanna hear."

"You're not even sincere about it." I shook my head and continued walking fast.

He moved abreast me, trying to keep up with my pace. "How do you know I wasn't being sincere?"

I sighed as I rolled my eyes. "You weren't Peter. It was obvious."

"Okay, I'm really sorry." He tried holding my hand but I withdrew it immediately. "I could go on my kneels o."

I stopped and looked at him sneeringly. "You?" I gestured at him, "Kneel down. That's when pig's fly."

He wanted to kneel down for real, but I immediately stopped him only because of the weird looks we might get from passers by. If it weren't for that that, I would have loved him to kneel down for me.

"What did you think you were about to do?" I looked around as I questioned him. "We're close to my house, remember?"

"I just wanted to prove to you that I'm actually being sincere. I'm sorry for offending you." He looked at me with his melting eyes. Peter was sure charming.

"Aw!" I touched my chest. "You're so adorable. How could I not forgive you?"

He chuckled. "Thanks. So... now that we're close to your house, aren't you going to give me an answer?"

"Oh yeah, uh..." I bit my left middle fingernail shyly. "Yes, I would be your girlfriend."

"Aw!" He grinned from ear to ear and held both of my hands with his. "You're serious, right? We're now official?" He sounded excited.

"Uh, yeah." I said, giggling.

He squealed like a girl and I cocked one of my brows at him. "Are you okay, Peter?" I asked.

He composed himself. "Oh yeah, I am. I'm just... I don't know, excited. I was so scared you were going to turn me down. I didn't think..."

Whatever he said next, my brain didn't record it. All I did was just stare at him dreamily. He was so cute. And seeing him this excited made my heart melt.

I jolted out of my reverie when I noticed Peter was already leaning over his head to kiss me. I cleared my throat and turned my head away.

"I'm so sorry." He blushed and scratched the nape of his neck sheepishly. "I thought you wanted..."

"Peter?" I hushed him as he was about rambling.

"Huh?"

"Bye. See you in school tomorrow." I said and walked off. When I got to my house gate, I turned back and saw Peter still standing where I left him. He was looking and smiling toothily at me. I shook my head and smiled before opening the gate and entering into the house.

"Where are you coming from?" Aunty Caro asked the instant I greeted her in the living room. She was lying down in the three-seater sofa, watching TV.

"From school." I said nervously, fiddling with my fingers. I was already cooking up lies in my head to tell her in case she asked for the reason why I stayed long in school.

She sat up on the sofa and glared at me. "Ara o digi? Is something wrong with you? What time do you usually close from school?"

"Three thirty ma. But today, our class was uh... our class was on duty, so we had to sweep the whole school before leaving. That's why I came late."

She looked at me skeptically. "Have you started going to a boy's house?"

"No o!" I immediately answered, shaking my head.

"Hmm... If I found out you're lying to me, you wouldn't like what I'd do to you. Go get dressed and wash all those plate in the kitchen." That said, she went back to lying down and watching TV.

I heaved a sigh of relief and walked away quickly to my room. I was so exhausted. I took off my shoes and socks and tossed them one side for washing later in the evening. Before long, I was already dressed up in a casual house wear and I immediately went into the kitchen to first of all do the dishes before eating.

"Hey Daniella," Annabelle said as she walked into my room. I was having dinner. "Uh, sorry when you're done eating, come upstairs to Amanda and I's room. We want to give you something."

"What's that?" I asked.

"You'd find out when you come to our room." That said, she walked out of my room.

Ever since the day uncle Henry flogged me mercilessly for burning the food that was for his visitors, Amanda and Annabelle had been acting nice towards me. It wasn't even surprising on Annabelle's part, but for Amanda, it was weird and awkward. Up until that day, I never knew there was anything called nice in Amanda's body composition.

Once done eating, I went to their room and the bed and floor was scattered with many clothes. Although, I had seen their room before, I had never entered. Today was my first time.

"Okay Daniella we've noticed that most of your clothes are either so old fashioned, or they're just worn out. So we've decided to give you some of our clothes that we're no longer wearing." Amanda said. "Are you interested?"

"Of course I'm interested, thanks." I smiled.

"So the clothes on the floor and the bed are the clothes we're no longer wearing. You can choose anyone you like. Or you can even take everything if you want to." Amanda said, gesturing at the clothes.

"Maybe I'd just take everything to my room now. Then later I'd choose the ones I want to keep." I said.

"That's fine." Amanda shrugged.

"Ehhe Daniella," Annabelle spoke up, "There's this boy in your class that I've been crushing on. He's fair and very cute. I think his name is Peter. How does he do in class? Is he intelligent? I want to know."

I almost fainted when I heard her mention Peter.

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I'm so sorry for the late update. I was stuck with writer's block. I'm sure it's obvious. Anyways how was this chapter? Please vote and comment! Thanks.