Jamal's POV

"Honestly Mateo, school was dead without you. No one to make fun of me for having my nose inside a book through out exam. Only Vanessa made fun of me and it wasn't fum without you." Somadina ranted and Mateo tried not to laugh so hard. Vanessa jabbed her boyfriends side for the comment he made.

"Oww, babe. I was joking, I was only joking. You are fun." He clutched his side, indirectly apologizing to her and everyone laughed, even Mateo who suffered the consequences of immense pain at his side.

Easter break had already started and we took that opportunity to have an hang out because it's been a while and we really needed to bond, especially after what happened with Mateo. Now, we were seated under a shed, outside Cold stone, taking ice-cream to help us cool from the hot April weather.

"Well, I'm actually very glad to be back. It's been one hell of a month, staying confined inside that house. I was getting pretty tired of it. Thankfully Skye came by occasionally." He looked at Skye as he said that and Skye in turn looked away shyly. This didn't go unnoticed to me.

I didn't miss the looks Mateo has been dishing Skye all day and I certainly didn't miss the fact that my sister was going over to spend more time in his house often this days. She hasn't told me anything and neither has Mateo, both of them trying to avoid the topic. But every one could literally feel and see the sparks between them.

"So, are you guys..." Vanessa motioned between both of them and did a finger gesture that suggested if they were together.

"What... No." Both of them quickly denied and the rest of let out a scoff at the same time like it was planned.

"You guys are talking as if the rest of us a blind or something." I chipped, taking a spoon of my Ice-cream.

"Ikr! I can't ignore the sparks flying around abeg. I've been noticing the looks you have been dishing each other, the secret hand holding and stuff." Elyon wiggled her brows goofily and I chuckled, throwing his hand over the back of her chair.

"Okay, fine." Skye stopped the teasing. Then she looked at Mateo as if asking for a go ahead. "We are kinda getting there..." She started and Mateo assisted.

"We are not official yet." He clarified and Skye nodded. "We just want to take things slow." He added.

"Well, me I'm just glad everyone is booed up." Vanessa said and everyone laughed.

"Okay y'all. Let's talk about prefect positions. I'm anticipating like mad." I quipped and everyone got interested in that topic immediately.

"Head boy." Elyon dished.

"Hands down, my baby." Vanessa gave Somadina a side hug and everyone agreed with the pick except Somadina himself, like always.

"I've always told you guys that I might end up becoming the time keeper." He said, giving a nonchalant shrug and I groaned.

"Sometimes, I think he actually knows he's winning that post. He's just trying to feign ignorance so that we can stroke his ego." Elyon leaned in to whisper in my ear and I chuckled.

Pretty true.

"Guy! Use your head." Mateo reached over to smack Soma on his head.

"You are the most brilliant guy in the school and its always the brilliant ones that get the head boy post." Skye chipped in and I nodded in agreement

"I'm pretty sure there was nothing stopping you from bagging that post since SS1. School just to follow protocol." I stated and everyone nodded in agreement.

"Okay, yes. I appreciate you guys for the high praise. It really does a number on my ego..." Soma started.

"Told yah." Elyon whispered to me again and I had to laugh at her accuracy.

"But, most of the head boys were both brilliant and had the charisma for leadership. I only have brains and brains won't lead an entire student body." He explained and everyone saw his point.

Valid point.

"You make a pretty good point, but the chances of you winning are very high. This is game of appointment. The student body isn't voting." Vanessa said, trying to assure him.

"Exactly. I might be new to this but I have an idea how it goes now. The teachers have picked their potential prefects. Your name is among the list of potential head boy. You are definitely bagging that post because from what I know, you are even teachers' favourite." Elyon explained and Somadina quirked his head left and right in thought before nodding in agreement.

"My girl friend has spoken, please. Words of wisdom." I hyped, looking at Elyon who rolled her eyes at me, that beautiful smile of hers playing on her lips.

"Abeg, no dey whine me." She leaned closer to me and I gladly kept my arms around her, drawing her close.

"Okay. Head Girl post." Soma supplied and everyone sighed because they knew what it meant.

"This one will be a battle. Skye and Tolani." Elyon said and I looked at my sister who hissed.

"Abeg, I'm bagging that post whether the bitch likes it not." Skye said with so much confidence and we hooted for her. She flipped her hair and had a look of confidence on her face.

"That bitch has got nothing on me." She added and we hooted again. I didn't miss the look Mateo was giving her, his bottom lips between his teeth as he gave her a once over.

Baba is whipped!

"Well, that bitch is making her way here." Vanessa announced and everyone began to look to their side to see where the the demon's spawn was approaching from.

"Twelve o'clock. I said twelve o'clock." Mateo whispered and everyone looked towards that direction.

Surely, Tolani was cat walking her way towards us, wearing a pretty short leather skirt and tubes, sun shades hanging in her hair. She definitely turned heads as she walked. Mostly because her cloths were pretty revealing.

Remind me why I actually liked this girl in the first place?

"Is this babe a monitoring spirit?" Somadina whispered just as Tolani got to us and of course, he said it loud enough for her to hear. Tolani rolled her eyes.

"I heard that, nerd." She said, shifting her weight on one leg. Somadina shrugged and smirked.

"At least I know I'm hundred times smarter than your ass." He replied nonchalantly and everyone of us made a sound. Tolani rolled her eyes again, mustering up a very fake smile.

"I just saw you guys from afar and decided to drop by and say hi." She said, all preppy and I scoffed.

"Why? We are not even friends." Elyon stated and Tolani looked at her, her lips upturned in a disgusted manner.

"What do you want, Tolani?" I asked her, taking Elyon's hand in mine, making sure Tolani doesn't miss this gesture. "As you can clearly see, you are definitely not welcomed here." Tolani let out an exaggerated sigh and a smirk spread across her lips.

"I just want the both of you..." She gestured between Elyon and I and I grimaced. "To know that the battle isn't over." She stated and Elyon looked at me with a raised eyebrow.

"Are you really going to exhibit your childishness here, Tolani." Skye spoke and Tolani gave her a look before looking back at Elyon and I, mostly at Elyon.

"Just because I'm letting you off the hook on this one doesn't mean it's." She leaned closer to Elyon. "I know Jamal way better than you do, and I know how to satisfy him." She bragged and I felt anger well up in my chest.

"Tolani, fuck off." I growled out.

"No babe. I've got this." Elyon patted my hand and stood up to look at Tolani. Tolani smirked and folded her hand across her chest. Elyon shook her head.

"The fact that you decided to walk all the way from wherever you were to come here and tell me the shit you just sputtered from your mouth just shows how insecure you are, Tolani." Elyon stated and I smirked, looking at Tolani's fallen expression. Snickers filled the table but it seemed like Elyon wasn't even done.

"Honestly, I don't even hate you right now. The only thing I feel for you is pity. I pity you, Tolani. But by God, the next time you walk up to my boyfriend and I and you sputter such nonsense from your mouth," Elyon moved closer to Tolani who in turn veered backwards.

"I promise you, I'd mop the floor with your face." The entire table began to hoot as Elyon sat back down and leaned into me. Tolani's expression was priceless. She was boiling.

"You will regret this." Tolani said through gritted teeth but Elyon waved her hands at her dismissively, turning to face me, a smile playing on her face.

"Enjoy this while it lasts." Tolani said again looking directly at me and an idea came to my mind.

"Oh, I intend to enjoy this forever." I said, a smirk playing on my lips as I looked at Elyon who had a confused look on her face. Leaning closer to her, I winked.

"Trust me." I whispered before pressing my lips against hers, emitting more hoots from the guys and even close by standers.

Elyon smiled against my lips before parting her lips to kiss me back. I lifted her chin to tilt her head sideways, deepening the kiss, slipping my tongue between her lips. I was beginning to get carried away just by kissing, forgetting that we just wanted to put up a show for Tolani.

"Oya! E don do na! Don't make all of single people be feeling jealous." Someone shouted from the by standers and everyone erupted in laughter. I pulled away from Elyon slightly, chuckling. She was also chuckling, her pupils looking dilated. I looked over her shoulder to a fuming Tolani.

I even thought she would have gone.

"Does that look like a relationship that would break anytime soon?" I asked her but she didn't give any reply as expected.

"No, it doesn't. Hit us with all you've got, Tolani. We'll still come back strong." I concluded, lacing my fingers between Elyon's. Tolani let out a shriek and stomped away, almost tripping on her shoes.

"That was quite a show you guys put up. I'm not big on PDA. How do you guys do it." Vanessa asked. I looked at Elyon as she chuckled, shaking her head.

"We are not big on PDA as well. We just needed to get the bitch off our back." Elyon said and I whistled.

"Language, babe." I chided in a teasing manner and she shrugged with a smirk.

"I can't help myself when it has to do with her." She replied and I smiled.

"Alright. What were we talking about before demon's spawn showed up?" Mateo asked.

"Prefect positions. Elyon, you know your name is up for chapel prefect." Skye said.

"I still don't know how my name entered. I'm a new student. I don't even want. It would have been way better if my name didn't enter sef." She said.

"Sport! Its been Jamal and Mateo." Somadina said and I looked at Mateo. He had a conflicting look on his face. He wanted to say something but was obviously having an hard time doing that.

"No." He voiced out and everyone had their attention to him. "It's just going to be Jamal. I'm not going for Sports, or any post for that matter." He said and I immediately knew why.

Hopefully, it doesn't get ugly.

"Why? Is it because of what happened?" Vanessa asked. "Mateo, you shouldn't let that get to you." She added.

"It's not just about that." He said and silence fell on the table as we got ready to listen to whatever he wanted to say. I looked at Skye and saw she was just as confused as the rest of them. So what Mateo was about to say, he hasn't told her yet. I specifically told him not to tell her when he was telling me.

Big mistake.

"Mateo, what's going on?" She whispered to him but loud enough for everyone to hear.

"I'm leaving." He whispered, barely audible that I almost didn't hear it.

"Leaving? How?" Elyon asked, confusing dripping from her tone. Mateo sighed and looked at Skye.

"My Dad thinks it would help me if I leave the country for a while. Get professional help." He revealed and the table was dead silent.

"I feel it's a great idea. We already have everything set for me. I'm leaving next weekend." He added. No one spoke for a while, everyone was awestruck and surprised. I watched as Skye removed her hand from Mateo's and cupped her face.

"Wow." Somadina broke the silence.

"Why didn't you tell us earlier?" Elyon asked and Mateo looked at me.

"I didn't know how to." He lamented and sighed. "It was very hard for me to accept it, but it seems like the only best option for me." He replied and everyone let out a sigh.

"I knew about it." I confessed and everyone turned to look at me, a shocked expression on their faces. I couldn't look at Skye but I knew she was glaring daggers at me.

"You knew?!" She yelled and I had to look at her.

"Skye, it's not as bad as it seems." I told her and she scoffed, not saying anything after that.

"Skye, we'll figure this out. Calm down." Elyon assured before facing Mateo. "How long are you going to be there for?" She asked and he shrugged.

"I'm not sure. It depends on the improvement in my health. So I can't say for a fact." Mateo replied, stealing glances at Skye who had not said anything for a while now.

"So you won't be with us for third term and possibly for SS3?" Vanessa lamented and Mateo nodded.

"Mehn, I'd miss you. Who will insult me for reading too much?" Somadina let out a fake sob and got a smack from Vanessa.

"I'm sad." Elyon stated. "But I'm happy you are making this move to get better." She added and Mateo smiled at her in appreciation, stealing another glance at Skye before looking at me for help. I gestured for him to give her some space for a while.

"Let's go watch our movie." Soma announced and we all stood up to move to the cinema.

****

Mateo's POV

The ride home was filled with awkward silence. Skye hasn't spoken to me since I dropped the bomb about me moving out of the country on her. She didn't take it very well and it left me wishing that I had told her earlier. I had many opportunities to tell her but I was looking for the right moment.

And what I thought was the right moment turned out to be the worst moment.

I packed in front of her house and turned off the ignition. I turned to look at her but she had her face to the window and I sighed. I ran my fingers through my hair in frustration and looked at her again.

"Skye..." I started but she faced me abruptly, shutting me up.

"When were you planning to tell me?" She asked me and I sighed again.

"I was going to tell..." I started again but she interrupted.

"When were you going to tell me?" She asked again, searching my eyes. The answer to that question was unknown so I didn't say anything. I just looked away but that alone spoke volumes. I heard her scoff.

"Of course." She muttered before picking her bag and making a move to get out of the car. I immediately grasped her hand to stop her from going.

"Please, don't go." I pleaded with her, my eyes begging her. Her eyes were already glassy with tears and my heart broke into a million pieces.

"Why shouldn't I go?" She asked me, sniffing after. "You clearly don't want me to be part of your life, that's why you never agreed to us being official. This was why you never agreed to us being official."

"Of course not. Skye, please look at me." I pleaded with her and she looked at me. " I never wanted to agree with my Dad because of you. I couldn't bring myself to leave you."

"That's not the point, Mateo!" She exclaimed.

"I am so happy you have an opportunity to go outside the country and get the professional health care service that you deserve. I wouldn't want it any other way. It would be selfish of me not to be happy for you." She paused, sniffing again.

"But, my issue is why you didn't carry me along till last minute." She chocked out and I looked away, feeling ashamed. "Is that how important I am to you?"

"I didn't want to hurt you." I told her and she sighed.

"You are hurting me already. That hurt you were trying to avoid is what I'm feeling right now, Mateo." She picked her bag suddenly and jumped out of the car.

No, no, no. I'm not going to loose her. I said to myself as I darted after her, dashing to her front to block her from going through the gate.

"Hey! Wait, Please." I pleaded again, going ahead to place my hands on either side of her arm. Thankfully, she didn't pull away but just sniffed, shifting her weight on one leg.

"I was honestly going to tell you but I really didn't know why." I told her and she looked at me. "I knew the news would hurt you and that's the last thing I wanted."

"So you were just going to leave without telling me?" She asked me and I sighed, shaking my head.

"I'd never do that to you, to us." I assured her and she nodded, looking down. I pulled her closer to me and wrapped my hand around her waist.

"I'm so sorry. I should have told you." I whispered to her and she sniffed again, tears dropping in beads from her eyes. I sighed, hating it that I was making her cry again.

"As much as I am happy that you will get the adequate health care you need," she paused, looking at me through teary eyes.

"I don't know if I can handle that news. I am not sure I can deal with the fact that you are leaving me." She said and pulled her closer to me till there was no space between us.

"I'm not leaving you, Skye." I told her, assured her. I had made that decision. I wasn't going to allow distance tear us apart even before we started.

"How can you be so sure? You don't know when you we coming back.".

"But I know I'm not staying there forever." I replied her but she shook her head in doubt. I moved my hand from her waist to her face and made her look at me.

"Hey, we will make it work. We will find a way." I told her, looking straight into her eyes. "I'm not giving up on us. I just need you to trust me and have faith in us." I said, my voice pleading.

I couldn't do this without her. I needed her to believe this could work. Believe that I'd be back for her.

"I don't know. I would feel like I'm holding you down." She muttered but I shook my head.

"You will never hold me back, Skye." I promised but she still looked uncertain. I sighed, moving my hand back to her waist.

"Okay, let's make a deal." I smiled, trying to ease her and her lips twitched a bit.

"What deal?" She asked.

"Give me till later this year and next year. If I don't come back, you can forget about me, move on from me." I started and she grimaced.

"That's rather impossible because I've been trying for years now and yet, here we are." She said and I chuckled.

"Okay, point taken. But let me finish." I said and she nodded.

"If I come back between this year and next, we'll make us official." I told her and she worked her head left and right.

"What if you don't come back?" She asked me and I smiled.

"Why not think about the positive for now." I whispered to her.

"This is going to be so hard." Skye whined, finally wrapping her hands around my neck and I sighed, leaning into her touch.

"I know. It's very scary." I told her, letting out my fear. "But, we'll make it work." I assured her.

"Together." She nodded and I smiled at her new found confidence. I leaned my head in, brushing the tip of my nose against hers before pressing my lips against hers.

Being with Skye for this short time has taught me a lot of things. The importance of friendship, family, love. I can't believe I missed out on this redemption for a long time, looking at the wrong places.

It cost me almost my life to know my redemption has always been around me all these while.

I parted my lips and slipped my tongue between her lips and she let out a moan, her fingers playing with the hair at the back of my neck. I tilted my head to deepen the kiss, pulling against her soft bottom lip with my teeth, tugging and nibbling earning a gasp from her.

I would be hard letting this go for a long time.

But I'd definitely come back for her. For us.

I love her that much.

We came up for air, pulling away slightly. Skye rested her head against the hallow of my neck, her heavy breathing tickling my skin. My left hand drew circles on her back, my right playing with her soft hair.

She rose her head up and brushed her cheeks with mine before looking at me. Her eyes definitely mirrored mine. They were filled with love, passion, so much intensity. I mustered up a small smile as my fingers traced her lips, causing her to giggle. I looked at her with so much admiration.

"I love you, Skye." I told her and she smiled.

"Don't say it like that." She muttered and I frowned.

"Say it like what?" I asked.

"Say it like it's good bye." She replied. I sighed and pulled her face in, planting a feathery kiss on her forehead.

"No. There is no good bye." I whispered to her, pulling her in for a hug. She wrapped her hands around my middle and snuggled into me. I placed another small kiss on the crown of her head.

"Only, See you soon."

A/N

Mateo is leaving!! 😪😪😪😫😫
I cannur deal with that. Honestly, it's paining me more than its paining Skye sef. He was my favourite!

We have one more chapter to go before we move into the Sequel. "STILLING THE STORM." Who is excited for another round of Drama. You can even see that Tolani as promised us drama. Don't worry, it won't just be her. You'll meet the new character soon.

Little announcement, if you haven't checked out the reformed Building Bridges on Pabpub, then you are making me sad oo. For anyone that doesn't know, Building Bridges is now on Pabpub and it's free (for now 😎). Trust me it is way different and better than the Wattpad version.

You don't want to miss it.

The link is in my profile, please check it out.

Question: One more chance, who do you think the new Character will be?