Warning: contains black panther spoilers.

I was happy to say that the movie was amazing. Mimi chatted nonstop afterward, about the technology, the costumes.

Everything was even made better because Isaac never let go of my hand.

"My favourite character was Mbaku, hands down." Tolu said, hands in his pocket.

"Mine was definitely Killmonger."

"Yeah we could tell by the way you were screaming like a banshee when he took of his shirt." Isaac snickered.

I rolled my eyes. "He died anyway."

Mimi gave me a dirty look and huffed. I simply chuckled.

We all walked together, chatting about the movie. I never once felt left out. At some point, I even forgot that I wasn't from that country. Their slangs and behaviour felt natural to me.

Isaac suggested him and I have dinner together to close the evening and of course I accepted. Free food plus amazing company was a definite yes.

He drove us to a restaurant called Genesis a short distance from Spar. It had ceiling-high glass windows all round such that you could see everyone inside from outside. We sat by the window. And he left momentarily to get our food.

He returned with two trays of steaming jollof rice and bottled waters. I felt my mouth water at the sight.

"Did you have fun at the cinema?" Isaac asked.

"Yeah I did. It was amazing." I said, nodding eagerly.

"I'm glad." He said with a genuine smile, his eyes crinkling at the corners. It caused me to smile too.

We ate with slight conversation. I felt completely at ease.

We were in the middle of an argument on whether Killmonger should've died or not when a shadow fell over us.

"Isaac?" A feminine voice asked, causing me to look up.

A fair-skinned beauty graced my eyes, accompanied with one of the darkest boys I've ever seen in my life.

"Hey, Mercy. Meet Mavis." Isaac introduced with a warm smile.

"Great to meet you, Mavis." She said warmly. "This is Kesiena." She said, gesturing to the dark boy.

He nodded at us both.

"Mercy and I are family friends," Isaac explained to which I nodded.

"It's been what? Three years? Fancy seeing you here." Mercy said, chuckling. "How's Dami? Are you still together?"

I felt a frown grace my features. Surely it wasn't my friend who'd helped me get ready for my date.

Isaac shifted uncomfortably. "No, we broke up last year."

"Oh I'm sorry, didn't know. Anyways enjoy your dinner. Was nice meeting you, Mavis. I hope we'll see sometime soon." Mercy said before exiting with Kesiena.

"Dami?" I asked.

"We used to date in SS1 and SS2. We broke up when she cheated on me with my cousin." Isaac explained. He seemed over it.

"Oh. I had no idea." I said, feeling foolish. Of course I was the only one who didn't know I was actually going on a date with my friend's ex.

"It's not important. I thought you knew already, considering how close you guys seem to be. I was wrong apparently." He said.

"Yeah, that's okay." I said, suddenly losing my appetite. Something didn't sit well with me. Why didn't Dami mention this earlier?

"You seem upset." Isaac said pointedly.

"Well I'm a bit uncomfortable knowing you're her ex. I really enjoyed today, but I also feel awkward because she never even mentioned this remotely." I replied honestly.

"I totally understand that you're bothered. But it doesn't change anything for me. Dami and I happened long before we met, so it doesn't affect whatever's happening with us now." He said, looking at me intently.

I nodded, feeling reassured. But not so much about Dami.

When Isaac dropped me off, I felt giddy and relaxed. He left me with a soft kiss on the cheek and said he was looking forward to seeing me in school the next Monday.

I rushed upstairs to my room and nearly dialled Dami but then reckoned she might not be so happy for me. I sighed, calling Faith.

"Hi boo. What's up." Faith answered.

"Isaac just dropped me off." I replied, allowing the excitement to seep through the phone.

"Awesome! How was it?" She enquired, sounding notably more excited.

"The movie was amazing. We had dinner and he kissed my cheek when he dropped me off." I said.

"Sick! I'm so jealous." She joked, sounding genuinely happy for me.

"Thanks! How did your day go?" I asked her.

"It was nice. I went to church and hung out with my family afterward.

Faith's family were devoted Christians and I respected them for it. Their passion for their beliefs always impressed me.

"Sounds like fun."

"Not nearly as fun as yours. I'm so happy for you. By the way, did you know he was Dami's ex?" She asked.

"No, I found out by accident during dinner." I said, hating the insecure tone my voice took on. Dami was obviously cooler and prettier than me. And by the looks of things, more confident. How could I even begin to match his experience with her, not to mention surpass. I was horribly inexperienced.

"Shit. I just realised she never mentioned it. Thought I'd say. You walking in the dark isn't very nice."

"Thanks Faith."

"Anytime. Hey I gotta go, its time for our night prayers, but we'll see in school on Monday and talk more, yeah?" She said.

"Of course, have a good night!" I said lightly.

"You too babe." She replied before disconnecting the call.

I briefly thought about all the possible reasons why Dami must've kept her history with Isaac a secret, but I kept drawing up a blank. To worsen it, I had no idea how to handle the situation.

My phone's ringtone interrupted my line of thought. It was Dami calling.

"Hey," I answered weakly.

"Hey, girl. You sound upset. Did the date not go well?" She answered. Did I sense a bit of eagerness at that last part or was it imagined?

"It was amazing. I had lots of fun."

"Glad to hear that. I was beginning to worry considering you never called to gush about it. Also Mimi can be an A-class asshole, especially to other girls." Dami said.

"She was pretty nice. We had fun together teasing the guys."

"Really?" She asked, sounding surprised.

"Yeah. We all hit it off. And Isaac was really sweet and thoughtful. We never ran out of things to talk about and we had dinner after the movie." I said, wondering why I was telling her all that. It was then I realised I was goading her.

She was quiet for moment before replying. "I'm happy to hear that."

Could've fooled me. I thought pettily. I was itching to ask her about it but my timid personality wouldn't allow me face the confrontation that might ensue.

"Yeah. I really enjoyed myself. What did you do today?" I asked, forcing myself to change the topic.

"Oh, nothing much. I washed my clothes and read some books. Nothing interesting." She said.

The significant drop of excitement in her voice was obvious and I wondered if I should have laid off the mushy stuff. She seemed upset.

"You don't sound so good. Is everything okay?" I asked, leaving her an opportunity to come clean about it and alleviate my worries.

She paused for a moment, causing my heart to skip a beat. "Yes everything is great. I'm glad you had fun." She replied, causing my heart to plummet down to my stomach.

"Thanks." I replied.

"I'm really tired right now. We'll talk on Monday?" She said, yawning. I rolled my eyes at the fakeness.

"Sure thing. Sleep well." I said.

"You too baby girl." She said lastly before ending the call.

I went to bed with butterflies in my stomach, obviously from the memories of my time with Isaac, and a nagging feeling in my gut from Dami's secrecy, wondering what she was hiding.

--

A/N

Yikes I've been MIA. So that happened. Tell me what you think. I apologise for mistakes, this isn't edited.

Exams are near so I won't have much time to write so updates might be extremely infrequent. College is a bitch, I'm sorry.

What'd you think about Dami being Isaac's ex? Were you expecting that?

Did Mavis react well to it?

What's gonna happen on Monday?

Please vote and leave a comment. Much love.

-Rhys.