Dedicated to funmi_xx. Thank you for checking out my book and adding it to your reading list😇

Damien had never felt so free.

2 months. That's how long he had to put up with her, his infatuation with Aliyah had only led him this far. Sure she was pretty, stylish, classy, everything he'd used to want.

Used to.

The girl he was so madly in love with since SS1 and the girl he dated now were two different people, or at least it seemed like so.

He'd finally called things off and he felt so better.

"So guy for real you don dump her? That hot babe" Charles couldn't believe it.

He didn't reply.

"But wait guy, what exactly happened?" Korede asked.

Damien sighed. He didn't feel like recounting the incident to his friends. They should have known better than to ask him. Surely whoever told them should have at least told the gossip right.

"No dey rush am, calm down..e fit be rumour..." Thomas spoke up, then turning to Damien he bent slightly. "....but guy how far na, yarn us wetin happen, give us the full gist na"

His friends nodded in agreement and he sighed seeing as he had no choice.

"Okay..." He started...

**********

"Babe" he ran up to her during break and wrapped his arm around her waist from behind sniffing deeply with a smile on his face. Aliyah always smelled of vanilla.

"I'm not sure for Hannah, but Bisola's own is true, did you see her legs? Urghh!" Aliyah made a disdainful sound before throwing another popcorn in her mouth. Damien reached into the bag but she slapped his hand away playfully.

"Ow" he laughed.

"Go and buy your own" she rolled her eyes before turning back to Joyce. Damien sent a nod Joyce's way, his lipped pursed. Ever since the fight that got Rachel kicked out, Joyce had been the new member of the 'clique'. He disliked her for so many reasons, a few being that she was fake, unnecessarily rude, total suckup and she always spoke in this horrible accent he knew was just to fit in.

A total bad package.

"Shasha said that Bisola's own is worse" Joyce said swiping up on her Silver cased iPhone X.

Despite being a total pushover, Joyce was lucky that her parents were rich. He felt that was why they  even let her be in the gang in the first place.

"Like Gawwwd..." Aliyah snorted. "...you need to see those huge stretch marks, aunty was busy forming sexy, she doesn't know her body is so ugly...no be only Bikini body, with those her zebra legs...eww" she said with a look of horror.

Damien rolled his eyes. "What are you two gisting about?" He asked.

"nothing serious, we're rating girls from Josh's pool party last week on the group chat" Aliyah replied nonchalantly.

"Oh" he said. He had attended the pool party and it had turned out to be what he'd expected- boring, he went solely because Aliyah was going. Not that he had any beef with Josh or anyone in their friend group, it just wasn't his type of thing. All they did in the so-called party was drink, play loud, obnoxious music and ogle at each others' half naked bodies while bragging about anything and everything.

He should have stayed at home and binged Netflix.

"Which group chat is that, our class own?" He asked again when the girls had continued gisting.

"Not our class own silly...the girls group"

"I see" he replied.

Something he never really understood was his girlfriend's 'clique'. Sure there was nothing wrong with having an exclusive WhatsApp group just for your friends, but theirs was just a hub for gossips and rumours. There wasn't a day that he hung out with his girlfriend without her talking about someone else behind their back with one of her friends either through the phone or in person. Their objects of discussion was anyone and everyone, from random classmates to the girls and guys they deemed ugly and what not. They even gossiped about themselves too.

It was sickening.

But everyone had their flaws right, he put up with hers because he liked her. Plus he wasn't perfect either, so who was he to judge?

"I don't think there's anything wrong with stretch marks though" he added when the girls didn't stop their rambling. Aliyah turned to him in disbelief.

"Are you kidding me?" She asked incredulously, Damien pouted his lips.

"No, I'm serious. I think they are beautiful, afterall it's part of the body. Plus you that is talking..." He said poking her sides playfully "don't you have stretch marks too hmm?"

Aliyah rolled her eyes and hissed "Abeggi...ok I have, but mine aren't as much and I'm fair"

He raised his brows in confusion. "So she shouldn't flaunt hers because she's dark?"

"Exactly...hers aren't pleasant to look at" She retorted and turned back to Joyce. Damien sighed quietly and shook his head but decided to let it go, he didn't want to start any unnecessary quarel.

"Next one please"

"Okay let's see...oh yeah see this one." The dark girl replied swiping up.

"Read it" Aliyah said.

"Someone said...oh my gosh hahaha..." Joyce laughed before continuing.  "The person said Omo that Peace girl from B class no get joy, who invited her sef, see as she dey shake her head like agama lizard dey form say she dey dance, she reminds me of that new girl wey dey A class wey bin dey form dance crew with P.G at Grace's party, Iforma abi na Ifeyinwa"

"Ifechi" Aliyah corrected.

Damien's ear perked up immediately.

"Yeah I think she's the one"

"I hate that girl ehhn, Gawwd!!" Aliyah groaned, Damien shifted uncomfortably beside her, his grip on her waist loosening.

"Me too" Joyce nodded.

"She's just so....urgh!"

"She's not even that fine"

"Omo, and she acts as if she's all that, always walking and feeling herself like what I don't know"

"She's too proud abeg"

"That's not true!" Damien spoke up and paused when he realised what he'd just done. Aliyah turned to him again. "Huh?"

He cleared his throat. "I mean, what you said about her being proud...she's not proud"

"And why would you know that?" She stared at him suspiciously, Damien straightened himself nervously.

"Well....we used to be friends, remember? Used to be o, I don't talk to her anymore" he said to appease her, Aliyah turned and hissed, folding her arms and tapping her feet on the ground. He tried to hug her again but she shifted her shoulders pushing him away, Joyce looked at them blankly.

"Thank your stars you said 'used to be'..." She finally replied and allowed him to hold her again.

"Cece continue"

Joyce hummed in response and moved to the next one.

"Oh this one is about..Ifechi a..gaaain" she drawled looking at Damien, the fair boy frowned back at her.

"Skip it." He said.

"Why? Read it joor" Aliyah shot back, Joyce glanced at Aliyah and back at him before shrugging.

"I don't like that girl one bit. Did you see how she was defending Ayomide that day in B class, I'm sure she's also like her that's why she was helping her, Ashawos of the same pimp"  she read from her phone, lowering the device to peer at them when she was done.

Aliyah burst out laughing. "Ashawos of the same pimp, that one is funny.." she turned and started playing with his shirt but Damien wasn't paying attention to Aliyah or her fingers, his focus was on something or rather someone.

"...babe" Aliyah tapped him when he hadn't responded. She looked up and found him glaring at Joyce. "Babe what happened?"

"I'm going" he said and grabbed her hand.

"Eh Going where? Why?" She asked in wonder.

Damien sighed angrily. "Away from this place, I don't like what you people are doing."

"Ah ah, what are we doing na..." She said feigning ignorance. "...is it not just gisting?"

"About other people? Come on dear..I've told you to stop this habit of saying bad stuff about people behind their back" he said calmly, holding her as he spoke, Joyce looked at the ceiling and back at her phone pretending not to be interested in their conversation.

Aliyah's lips morphed into a scowl.

"Is it me that wrote it?"

"No"

"Good so?"

"But you're reading it."

"Ehen?"

"You're partaking in the idle discussion"

"So you're calling me a gossip?"

Damien sighed. "No, no...I'm just saying, it's time for break and we should be hanging out and chilling, not talking about stuff like this. I mean how jobless could one be to actually take out time to read bad things about people who are just trying to live life?"

Her frown increased.

"So you're calling me jobless too?"

"What...no.." Damien started in a frenzy. He had said the last part to insult Joyce who did the actual reading, but how could he forget that his girlfriend was part of geng so she was bound to feel attacked too.

"I'm just saying we have better things to do so let's go" he urged and tried to drag her with him as he walked but Aliyah stayed rooted to the spot

"It's her right?"

He paused and turned "what?"

"It's her. You're saying this because of her" she repeated.

"Who?" Damien asked even though he knew.

"Ifechi!" Aliyah said her name with much venom. Her outburst grabbed the attention of a few passers-by and Joyce turned to her sharply. Damien looked around before coming closer to her, trying to calm her down.

"Shh..It's okay, Oya I'm sorry" he apologized quietly just to let things die down.

but Aliyah wasn't having any of it.

"It's because of her, that ugly, dumb bitch!" She screamed. He tightened his fists with his jaw clenched as she continued to rain more insults "I knew it! I knew that you always liked her, that's why you're always defending her. You didn't want Joyce to stop because you hated what we were saying, you told her to stop because she mentioned her name not because you actually cared! Come on...deny it na you're stupidly in love with that classless, godforsaken slut!" 

He suddenly lost it.

"Stop! For Goodness sake just stop! Stop saying all these nonsense! where is all these coming from Aliyah?...Why do you hate her so much, why are you always saying bad stuff about her? She's not ugly, she's not classless and she's not dumb and she's definitely not a slut, you of all people know that. She's gorgeous and brilliant and...."

"....Wowwww, wow..." Aliyah interrupted clapping menacingly. Damien looked around and sighed, the numbers of onlookers was increasing slowly. "Wow Damien, so it has gotten to this"

"You know what, let's just...let's just go elsewhere and talk" he said pulling her but she pushed him off and took two steps back folding her arms, a deep frown still on her face.

"Leave me alone!" She started sobbing

"Aliyah....Aliyah please" he begged quietly not wanting to gather any more attention, what if a teacher passed, what would he say? how would explain what was happening to whoever it was?

"You're tripping for this girl." she accused him still sobbing  "you're a simp!"

"I'm not a simp!" He muttered quietly already conscious of the growing spectators.

"Yes you are!" She fired back enraged. "See the way you're foolishly defending her"

"Because you're saying things that are not true about her!"

"Then If you like her so much why don't you date her!" Aliyah fired back.

Damien was shocked. He stood silent gaping at her. Aliyah didn't look like she regretted anything she said, she wasn't one to back down. Despite the number of students that had formed around them, he saw from her face that she was ready to continue, waiting for him to say the next thing so that she could retort. It was through this simple observation that the realisation dawned on him.

And so he laughed, it was a low, mirthless chuckle. 

Aliyah was right, he liked Ifechi, why wouldn't he? She was prettier and smarter, didn't choose friends based on stupid criteria, she didn't nag a lot nor was she a backbiter. He knew she would rather spend her time reading and doing something much more important than reading a bunch of stupid comments about people's bodies and dance steps.

Ifechi was better.

How could he have been so blind and foolish?

He started softly "You know what? You're right..."

She looked up.

"...you're right.." Damien repeated. "I'm done"

"What?" She asked.

Damien raised both hands.

"I'm done, it's over, I'm breaking up with you"

"You're what??! Breaking up with me ...for who ...her?" Aliyah looked at him incredulously, shock clearly written all over her face, the small crowd that were busy murmuring around them had grown silent. Among them was Rachel who was on her way to the tuck shop but stopped to witness the incident.

"You said I should date her didn't you" he raised his brows, Aliyah couldn't believe her ears.

She scoffed. "So what you're just going to leave me?

"Yup, you heard me, Goodbye!" he said and walked off.

"Wha...wait, come back!" Aliyah yelled.

He simply waved his hand at them without turning back.

"Guyyyyy!" Charles was the first to speak after he'd finished.

"I'm tired" Damien said and stood up before they could ask him more questions. He left the class immediately and went in search of someone.

Her.

He had no plan whatsoever, he didn't even know what he would say if he saw her but he knew he had to speak with her.

**********

"If I were you, I would say no" Ella told her. Ifechi groaned.

Ever since the news spread that Damien and Aliyah had broke up the previous day, her friends wouldn't let her rest.

Sure she heard that she was the sole or at least the main reason for the breakup, Ifechi didn't understand why everyone seemed obsessed with whether Damien would ask her out or not.

She really wasn't interested any longer.

Or was she?

"I'm just saying" the headgirl shrugged as they got closer to the computer lab which was their destination. "If a guy I liked dumped another girl and came to ask me out immediately, I would say no..."

"Why" Ifechi asked.

Emmanuella shrugged. "I just feel it'll be too easy, like make him suffer a little na, do small iyanga"

Ifechi shook her head but she was smiling. She didn't see the sense in that, if you liked someone, why make them wait long and torture them with waiting.

Perhaps it was because she wasn't used to any of this.

"I sha know if it's me, I'll say yes" Rachel said, Emmanuella rolled her eyes and hissed. Ifechi seemed irritated at her actions. Why did everyone around her seem to hate Rachel? Sure she used to be friends with Grace and co, but she wasn't mean or rude anymore, at least to her.

"I'm also just saying..." Rachel continued, oblivious to the glare the head girl sent her way. "If I was Ifechi and Damien asked me out today, I'll say yes sharp sharp, so that it'll pepper Aliyah..." Rachel said and this time Ifechi took sides with the latter.

"Can you imagine?" Emmanuella said.

Ifechi shook her head at Rachel. "I can't believe you're saying this"

"What, its true! I'm sure if it were Aliyah she'd do the same thing to hurt you"

"Well I'm not Aliyah!" Ifechi fired back but in a whisper as the Computer teacher had walked into the lab.

"Just stay away from them, both of them" Ella whispered some minutes later while the teacher was talking. Ifechi nodded.

"And especially him, Damien I mean, avoid him wellas, just incase"

And she did just that.

It was weird seeing him after school, without Aliyah clinging by side as usual. He was faced down, staring at something she soon figured out to be government textbook. He looked up and their gazes met, his eyes lit up upon seeing her, but Ifechi immediately glanced away and walked briskly towards the gate.

The next day she did almost the same thing. This time he was with friends and when they sighted her coming from the physics lab, they urged him to go. She tensed up when she saw him headed in her direction and went back up pretending like she'd forgotten something.

But of course Damien knew it was an act

He wasn't stupid, he could sense she was avoiding him. For three days straight she didn't make eye contact with him, even when they were standing less than five feet away from each other on the field during sports period on Friday. She would see him coming and immediately change direction or start a conversation with someone just before they brushed past each other.

He was fed up.

So he cornered her that Saturday afternoon.

"You're avoiding me"

Ifechi shrieked in horror at the sudden voice, but she turned and sighed when she saw who it was.

"You scared me" she said avoiding his statement.

They had just started extra lessons. She stayed past the closing time while he had waited at the entrance of the class building where she was inevitably going to pass. They ended up being the among last people to leave.

Ifechi regretted staying back to study longer.

"You're avoiding me" he repeated.

She raised her brows. "No I'm not"

He peered at her  "You don't have to lie"

She sighed "urghh, okay yes fine, I'm avoiding you....so?"

"Why?"

"Hmm, I dunno...maybe because we're not supposed to be talking to each other remember?" She sassed folding her arms.

Damien gave a mirthless chuckle. "Right...Ifechi, I'm done with her"

"I know"

"Okay, so why won't you talk to me then?"

"I don't want to." She said plainly earning a surprised look from him.

"Really?"

She scoffed "Yes Damien. Just because you dumped your girlfriend doesn't mean you can just come back and expect me to start talking to you as if everything is fine when it isn't." Ifechi said, her lips twitching, it was hard being sassy to him when he looked so handsome, especially in those loosely fitted trousers with white shirt and blue jac.....

Focus Ifechi! You're supposed to be angry remember?

She shook her head and looked down, just as he had begun talking.

"I'm sorry... Okay? Please..I am, I just really want to..."

"Fix things? Not this time guy... please just spare me the time" she turned to leave.

"Hey don't leave! I'm trying to make things right..."

"And I said I don't want!..." She said sharply and paused realising how loud she was becoming. She sighed and said in a lower voice "I know you're just trying to be nice, but I have a choice Damien and you don't get to choose when I want to talk to you."

He had no words left to say.

And so she left.

A/n
Damien 0: Ifechi 1😂💔
Now we know why exactly they broke up.

What are your thoughts though? Was this breakup unnecessary or was it long overdue even?

By the way, just wanted to mention that stretch marks are normal and natural, they're not a thing of shame. If anyone's making you feel that way, ignore them! You're God's beautiful creature and those 'zebra lines' are beautiful strokes on your skin.

As usual pls vote and comment ❣️

God bless you ❣️