This chapter is dedicated to Chinenye222

Sorry for not updating sooner.

Rumours began to fly that Ifechi and Damien were dating.

With her increasing popularity and his already established fame, and the number of times they made appearances together, even the Juniors said stuff.

She half liked the rumours, half didn't, because a part of her was scared, insecure, worried about breaking her friend's heart.

She couldn't explain the relief she felt after an encounter with Damilola that Tuesday afternoon.

"Do you like my cousin?" She blurted, ifechi was taken aback, not by the question, but by the revelation of the relationship between the two.

Damien and Damilola were cousins? And she had been thinking all these while that they were dating or at least exes.

If they were dating, how do you think she will allow you to be so close to her boyfriend? Her subconscious mocked. She ignored the feeling of stupidity that ate at her gut and replied.

"I don't know"

Dami's eyes grew thinner and her inquisitive look turned into a glare.

"What do you mean you don't know, or are you playing with his feelings" her voice was calm, but Ifechi knew she was just holding back from lashing out at her reply.

"No no I'm not, I'm just...." She exhaled. Should she tell Dami? Could she trust her? Deciding to, she finished. "I am very insecure"

Dami's expression showed her surprise.

"You, insecure?"

"Uh-hmm" Ifechi bit her lips and nodded.

"But...why?"

Ifechi told her everything, how she felt plain compared to the other girls in their set that flocked around him, how she thought he was too "cool" and "rich" for her. She always felt like an outcast among his group of friends, and she partly dreaded going to the game room where they flocked for fear that she would be humiliated. It wasn't Damien's fault, she was sure, it was just the feeling of subpar that ate her up and even though her reasons were vain and pathetic, she knew it was the truth.

When she was done Dami looked at her from a whole new perspective. How could Ifechi, the prettiest, confident and the most smartest girl she had ever seen in their school feel like she wasn't enough for the dofus she called her cousin, it was too hard to believe.

At this point, she felt sorry for the poor girl and it wasn't like her to give assurances but she did anyway.

"I don't think you need to worry about not being good enough for my cousin. He likes you, very much"

Ifechi's eyes lightened "he does?"

"Yes na, or you think he will spend his hard earned pocket money to get you stuff if he didn't"

Ifechi frowned. Dami rephrased he statement.

"Ok that one is not true, he's an MMS, he will spend on anybody he feels like spending on, that's why all these gold diggers are attracted to him"

"Did you just call your cousin a Mugu money spender?" Ifechi asked on the verge of laughter.

Damilola rolled her eyes "duh! It's the truth" and then her serious face was back on.

"Don't ever think you're not enough for someone, it creates room for disrespect and settling, if you like my cousin and he likes you back, let no feeling of insecurity be in your way. Be confident on the inside just as you are on the outside"

With that she turned to leave, and Ifechi smiled at her retreating figure.

**********

It was funny how in a space of days, your entire mind could be reformed.

Ifechi thought about this as she did her homework that afternoon. How did she go from being that uptight girl that did not have times for boys and was only focused on her studies to an obsessed teenager in just a week?

Her homework though in front of her, was not her priority. She kept thinking about a certain someone whom– even though her mind had warned her not to–  couldn't get out her head.

"Ifechi stop thinking about him na" she scolded herself when her thoughts were getting too much.

"Who?" A voice asked.

"Damien na!"

"Who is Damien?"

Wait! That wasn't her subconscious talking? Had she said that out loud? Turning to look over to whom had spoken, she wasn't prepared for what she saw.

"Amanda!!!!" She shrieked jumping off the bed to hug the figure at the door.

Her sister laughed at her frenzy and engulfed her in a warm hug in one arm, her suitcase was in the other.

Ifechi couldn't believe her eyes. Her elder sister was back, it had been almost a year since they'd last seen, she didn't even come back for Easter.

"Wait what are you...why... what are you doing at home?" She asked at once.

Amanda schooled at the University of Lagos, that was miles away. Ifechi thought it was surprising that her parents even let her go there in the first place. Due to the distance, she barely came home, until after she would graduate which was going to be in 2 years time.

"Didn't you hear of the strike?"

"Oh" Ifechi rolled her eyes. ASUU was known for going on strikes whenever their demands weren't fulfilled by the federal government. She didn't blame them though, how could you expect lecturers to teach on an empty stomach, the corrupt government could do better at paying their salaries.

What she hated was the fact that it mostly affected the poor students in federal universities, as state and private universities weren't included in the strike.

After they had gisted for a while and Ifechi had begun snacking on the goodies, Amanda brought back from Lagos, her big sis inquired.

"So who's Damien?"

Ifechi almost choked on the cookies she was chewing.

"Hmm?" She replied feigning ignorance.

"Who's doing that one with you, better start talking o" her sister eyed her with a mocking smile.

Deciding it was futile to deny it, Ifechi told her everything, from how they met to how she felt about him to the rumours flying around school.

"Eh-hen! So my baby sister now has a boyfriend, you've grown up o" she teased.

Ifechi rolled her eyes. "He's not my boyfriend"

Yet. Her subconscious mockingly added.

"Look at you.." her sister scoffed. ".... I thought you used to form serious girl before, remember when you told mummy you didn't see yourself marrying until 30 because you had better things to do."

Ifechi threw back her head in laughter. She was only 6 when she had made such a statement. Her mother forbade such for her daughter but did not scold her much because she knew the small, ambitious child said it with good intentions.

"I hope this boy sef is fine o, this one you're falling for him like this" She teased.

"See for yourself" Ifechi told her shoving her phone with Damien's picture on the screen.

And she did see for herself, the next day when she came to Ifechi's school to pick her. The duo came out minutes after the bell was rung and Ifechi led the oblivious boy to her.

"Hi, I'm Damien" Damien had said, but she didn't need the introduction because the blushing mess which was her younger sister spoke volumes.

She admitted that he was fine, even looked better than the pics that Ifechi had shown her, but she hoped that this little crush of hers would not turn into something crazy and damage her.

"Remember, don't do anything stupid all in the name of love" she said, when they were gisting later that evening.

"Stupid ke? Like what?" Ifechi said with eyebrows furrowed.

"Don't give your body to any boy, don't sleep with him, infact don't even kiss him!" She warned.

"Haaa! Big sis...."

"I'm serious o!"

"...it hasn't reached that level na........" Ifechi said then with a mischievous smirk added "...not yet"

Amanda smiled and shook her head.

...
Club weeks was coming up in mid November and Ifechi was chosen to lead her club.

"Why me?" She asked Damien after clubs period was over on Monday.

"We think you're a good fit. You're smart, creative and most importantly beautiful" he added the last part with a wink and she rolled her eyes playfully.

"You've come again" she said, but she didn't hesitate afterwards. Doing the project would make her spend more time with Damien, and who would miss out a chance to spend with the guy they liked?

Definitely not her!

After some researches, she came up with a project idea for Jets club.

They were in the physics lab during a free period. She worked on the prototype of the machine they intended to build while Damien kept her company. The lab matron, who looked like she'd rather be anywhere but in a school, eyed them suspiciously before exiting the lab and leaving them all alone.

"So do you have a boyfriend?" He said out of the blue. He loved how taken aback she seemed by the question, signaling that she didn't, but he knew that as well.

"No...um..no" she stuttered.

"Why?"

She dropped the screw in her hand. "I don't want to..."

Lies! Her conscience pricked.

"...plus, no guy has ever asked me out." She added stealing a glance at him from the side.

"How come?" He asked genuinely surprised. There were only two reasons he could think of as to why such a pretty girl could have never been asked out, if she had a protective and scary brother/ guy friend who secretly liked her and scared others guys away, or if she was a psychiatric patient.

Ifechi didn't seem like she had any of the two.

"The guys in your former school blind die!"

She laughed. "I went to an all girls school silly" she added with an eye roll.

"No wonder!" He added dramatically earning a few giggles for her.

"Oya keep quiet, I'm trying to concentrate"

"Am I distracting you?" He suddenly got serious. She wanted to roll her eyes and jeer at him but he began to inch closer, a few meters away from her.

"What are you doing?"

"Coming close to you" he said with a smirk, loving the effect he had on her.

His bluntness took her unawares, with a nervous stance, she stuttered. "Wh-why"

They were interrupted by a loud banging on the door. A classmate of theirs, a boy in B class poked his head in.

"We are having physics now and we are using this lab, carry your properties elsewhere"

Ifechi was more grateful than she was disappointed. A part of her wanted to see what would have happened if they were not interrupted, but the other quickly packed her belongings, which were just a pencil and a jotter and left immediately leaving the machine parts and the equipment in the lab. It was safe there.

Later that afternoon, she caught a glimpse of Damien under the shade that the tall almond tree near the field provided and her heart began to beat rapidly upon remembering the events of that morning.

They were so close...

But he wasn't alone, she caught another figure standing close to him and it seemed like they were in a serious conversation. It took her squinting to see that it was Aliyah, that very fair skin and big butt could not be mistaken for another person.

What were Aliyah and Damien doing together at such an exclusive place? What could they even be discussing?

Refusing to pay them any attention, she let them be and went back to class after deciding that it was probably a mere conversation and nothing more.

Right?

A/n
Things are about to get annoying, buckle up!