I want to dedicate this chapter to lovetori_xo . This girl has legit made me cry with her book "Those Little Things" and trust me when I say, I've never cried for a book before. Mehn, Tori ehn, you are Gold, shey you hear me. YOU ARE GOLD!!

Update sha, so that I don't kill you in your sleep 😎.

Now! Let's Dive Deep

↭Elyon↭

"I seriously can't believe I was paired with Tolani as my roommate." I stated distastefully, the mere thought of it making me cringe in disapproval. Jamal just sat beside me, resting his arm of the table and supporting his chin with his fist. He didn't say anything in return, rather he just stared at me with a small smile tugging at the side of his lips.

Yes, we were able to ballot which school we would share rooms with but we don't get to pick our roommates. We were supposed to be four in one room; Two from Limelight and Two from Crescent High. I got Kunmi and Aminah from Crescent High which was very okay because I've started to get to know them and they were really cool but then Tolani and I were the ones from Limelight. It was annoying, especially when Skye and Vanessa got to room with Sophia Williams. They were still in their room, probably gisting off with Sophia.

Why didn't I get so lucky?  I groaned inwardly in frustration.

It wasn't dinner time yet so students were still roaming around the premises. I was seated with Jamal under a pavelon with two iron chairs and a ceramic table located at a corner of the big courtyard of the hotel, ranting continuously on how much I didn't like Tolani being my roommate and he just sat there, staring at me like the way I stare at cake. 

"Are you seriously not going to say anything?" I asked with a raised eye brow and he chortled, leaning away from the table he was resting on to lean his back again the iron headrest of the chair.

"What do you expect me to say?" He asked with a shrug and I scoffed, rolling my eyes at him.

Boys can be so clueless sometimes.

"Anything!" I snapped at him, nudging him by his side with my elbow. He immediately shot his hands up in a mock surrender.

"Okay," He started. "You look really beautiful this evening, babe." Was what he said, his lips stretched in a grin. My mouth hung open in surprise, obviously not expecting him to say that.

I was claded in a simple flowery off-shoulder gown that was a little above my knee and flip flops with my braids pulled up in an high pony tail. I looked good but I wasn't expecting him to say it in this context.

"Are you kidding me!" I exclaimed dramatically and Jamal laughed, throwing his head back.

"You asked me to say anything." He defended and I scoffed at him again.

"I meant about the issue at hand." I smacked him on his hand and he winced, rubbing the spot I had hit him.

"Elyon, there is honestly no issue here." He started, his tone serious this time and I listened to him. "Do what you do best when it comes to handling Tolani and that is ignoring her." He told me and I hissed.

"It's hard to ignore someone you'd spend an entire week with in the same room. Especially when the person is your class mate and you might have to talk to her to get information and what not." I explained to him, my voice calm.

Talking to Tolani wasn't something I wanted to do, especially after the stunt she had pulled last week when I met her outside the male lavatory with Jamal. I was certain that she had seen me coming which was why she hugged Jamal. I wanted to believe that I wasn't just being paranoid and that my mind wasn't playing tricks on me. I hated her anywhere near my Jamal.

"Skye's room isn't so far from yours," Jamal's voice cut me out of my reverie and I turned to face him. "So if you need any information, you can go to her." He paused for a while, watching me steadily.

"Besides, you are mature enough to know when Tolani is trying to pull one over on you, or does something really stupid. I trust that you can handle her, just don't beat her up this time." He smirked at me and I threw my head back, a groan escaping from my lips as I remembered that incident in SS2

"Don't remind me of that day. It's not one of my proudest moments, I swear." I stated and Jamal laughed. I soon joined in.

"I meant what I said earlier though." He said when his laughter subsided, his voice going a notch deeper as he leaned closer to me. My lips automatically stretched in a smile as I reached my hand to his face and removed something rather invisible from his brows.

"You've said a lot of things tonight, Jamal." I told him with a pout. "You need to be specific." I added, cocking my head at him and he chuckled.

"You look really beautiful this evening." His eyes slowly went down my body, the tip of his tongue sweeping his bottom lip torturously. That simple gesture made me feel hot all over and my skin began to sprout goosebumps.

The effect he has on me...

"You are such a tease, Jamal." I told him, my hand skimming across his face to rest on his chin, my fingers playing with his beards. He squeezed up his face in a mock frown, his gaze unwavering from mine.

"Yet, you are the one wearing that dress."

His voice came out throaty and husky, the sound of it doing things to my body, amazing things. His eyes scanned me again, his gaze resting on a particular spot. I followed his gaze and it was on my thigh that was exposed due to the fact that my dress had hiked up. I looked up and saw that his eyes were back on me, his gaze more intense than before.

Wow...

"It's like you intentionally dress this way knowing how much I literally fawn over those legs." He let out a strained groan like he was in torture and I laughed heartily. That's how much Jamal had a leg fetish.

And I loved it.

"Not that I'm complaining any way though." He clarified with a smirk. "I just don't want other guys staring at you." His eyes surveyed the now scanty premises and I followed his gaze. There were only two people in the courtyard now apart from us and they were at another end of the compound.

"Now you sound incredibly jealous." I smirked back at him and he shrugged nonchalantly.

"Of course! They should keep their eyes away from my girlfriend!" He literally screamed that and I squeaked in embarrassment, lunging forward to cover his mouth with my hand.

"Jamal!" I chided between laughter, removing my hand from his mouth. I had legit jumped on the chair while trying to cover his mouth with my hands and my right knee was resting in between Jamal's parted thighs while my other leg dangled from the edge of the chair.

"What?" He said between chuckles, after successfully taking my hand away from his mouth and held unto it.

"Do you know how hard it is for me not to touch them right now?" His voice was teasing but there was some sort of strained undertone that made it obvious that he was being really serious.

Feeling extremely bold all of a sudden, I moved closer to him, my right leg still folded between his  so that I was practically kneeling in the chair just few breaths away from him. Because of my position, I was a bit taller now but all Jamal needed was to tilt his chin up just a bit to look at me. And that was what he was doing, he eyes unwavering from mine, holding intense emotions that made my breath seize for a nanosecond.

If this is how Love is always going to feel like then I want it to go on like this forever.

"I'm not going to stop you if you want to-" my voice trailed off because I knew he understood what I meant. I heard his sharp breath intake as he searched my eyes, trying to see if  I was being serious or not.

"El..." He muttered softly, sitting up so that our body was pressed together. 

"Yeah?" I leaned closer, brushing my nose with is, literarily breathing the same air now. We had our privacy because our spot was rather secluded so we didn't have to worry about someone seeing us or something. Jamal watched me just for a second before he tilted his chin up slightly again, his soft lips pressing against mine.

Did my heart just pick up a beat?

I hummed in utter bliss as he moved his lips slowly against mine, painfully slow but I liked it. I can never forget how good he was at this, how skilled he was. My right palm rested against his face as I arched my back, kissing him back with equal intensity. Soft bites on my lips that nearly drove me over the edge and I moaned softly.

The way he teases me ...

Yet he keeps calling me a tease...

His hand left where it gripped the edge of the chair and tentatively trailed up my leg, causing me to gasp, pulling away from the kiss. I could literally hear our hearts beating fast simultaneously, fearing that it would burst out any second. I looked at him through my lashes, watching his dilated pupils watch me intensely, his fingers still skimming softly on my skin.

Oh my God...

"You are killing me, El." He muttered, his voice breathy. I let out a breathy laughter in response, my hand resting on his shoulder. His expression immediately turned from intense to playful.

"Oh, now you are laughing at me." He raised his brows in question and I quickly shook my head, pressing my lips together to keep the laughter. He let out a dramatic gasp and that was all it took for me to burst out, laughing. Suddenly he lunged at me, his fingers at my sides, tickling the hell out of me.

"J-Jamal...please...stop-" I pleaded between laughter but he didn't even pay me any heed. He was being merciless and I was going to die laughing like a mad woman.

"Shebi you want to laugh? I'll make you laugh taya." Jamal said and continued with his assault. I burst into another round of laugh, still pleading for him to stop.

Gosh, this is torture.

I was finally saved when his phone began to ring. He stopped and smirked at me.

"Who ever is calling me must really love you." He said and I chuckled, at the same time trying to catch my breath.

"You are so brutal." I told him, taking few calming breaths and he looked at me raise eyebrow before picking up his phone which had started ringing again. He looked at the caller and his playful look turned into a slight frown. My own smile in turn wiped from my face.

"Who is it?" I asked him and he looked at me briefly before looking back to his phone.

"My mum," was his simple reply and I began to wonder why he had frowned in the first place if it was his mum that had called him. "Excuse me please." He stood up and walked a little distance away from me. My frown deepened.

What's going on?

He began to speak to the caller and from the way he was talking, I knew that he was actually speaking to his mum but that made me even confused. I strained my ear to listen but could hear barely anything. Just breaks and breaks in his sentences.

"...I am listening to you, ma..."

"...No I haven't-" he paused at that moment, looking back at me for a brief second. "- I haven't taken my drug because I haven't eaten." I heard that one loud and clear and my eyes widened.

Jamal has started taking his pills again? Since when?  I asked myself, looking back at him.

"Mo ti gbo, I've heard you mummy. No! I..." I didn't hear him again but I needed no soothsayer to tell me that his mum was scolding him for something and if aunt Zaria was scolding him, then it was something serious.

Why didn't he tell me anything?  I stood up from the chair, my arm folded across my chest, waiting for him to finish his phone call.

"I love you mum. Good night." I heard him conclude before he hung up. He turned to face me, shoving his phone into his pocket.

"Since when have you been taking pills?" I asked immediately, my eyes fixated on him. He mustered a smile that didn't reach his eyes. I noticed.

"I-I've been having symptoms of Malaria for days now. I am just..." He kept explaining something that made absolutely no sense, scratching the back of his neck repeatedly, a gesture I was already familiar with as something he did when he was nervous.

When he was lying.

"Are you lying to me right now, Jamal?" I asked incredulously and that made him keep quiet. He stared back at me, his eyes saying it all, giving him away.

He's really lying to me. I scoffed.

"Elyon," he moved closer to me, stretching his hand to touch me but I quickly moved away from his grasp, holding my hand up to stop him from moving any closer.

I seriously can't believe he lied to my face. I loved Jamal to bits but it was painful, annoying and frustrating even that lately, he has been hiding things from me. It was more painful because this was a first. Jamal had promised to never hide anything from, even way before we became official. We promised to always be open and honest to each other.

But now, this?

I didn't like it one bit.

"Why are you taking your meds all of a sudden?" I asked him, trying to let my voice remain as calm as possible, giving him the go ahead to open up to me.

He didn't.

He just stared at me, so many emotions sweeping across his face.

"Jamal." I called to him softly and he hung his head, looking down, away from me. At that moment, an alarm went off, signaling the time for dinner. Soon, students began to troop out of their rooms. We still remained in our secluded spot, now staring at each other .

He still won't talk to me.

When did all these start?

"It's fine." I muttered to myself, nodding slowly. I took a deep breath, looking at Jamal one more time before I turned and began to walk away.

"Elyon, it's not like that. It really isn't a big deal, I swear." He called to me, his voice pleading and I stopped short, turning to look at him.

"Really?" I asked, sarcasm dripping from my voice. He didn't say anything, just watched me.

"Anything that made you lie to my face is a big deal, Jamal." I told him, trying to make my voice as calm as possible, trying to be as patient with him as I could.

"I wasn't deaf to that phone call and I am certainly smart enough to put two and two together. There is something going on, it regards to your health but you don't want to tell me what it is." I stated matter-of-factly. He licked his lips, looking away from me for a briefest second before looking back, his gaze resting on mine, holding remorse.

"You don't want to tell me yet, it's okay. But don't fucking lie to me." I simply said and he paused his lips, his gaze still unwavering.

"When you are ready to actually talk to me, then come find me." I muttered before walking away, not waiting for him to speak.

↭↭↭↭

It was day two of The Olympia which was kicking off with the Academic session of competition. After dinner last night, every scholar representing the school had gathered at a corner for one last revision. Because Jamal wasn't representing in the Academics category, he wasn't there and I didn't see him till we all retired back to our rooms.

Are you not the one that told him not to talk to you till he's ready to tell you what's going on? My subconscious had mocked me when I wouldn't stop thinking about him during revision.

Skye had noticed my aloofness but didn't mention anything about it till we were on our way back to the rooms.

"I noticed you didn't speak to Jamal through out dinner." She pointed out and I sighed. "Is there anything wrong? You two were fine before dinner."

I turned to her, hoping in my heart that if I asked her what's going on, she would at least tell me.

"When did Jamal start taking his meds again?" I asked her, knocking the air right out her. I noticed the way she paled then I knew it was something really serious.

If it's this serious, why is Jamal keeping it away from me?

"H-How did you k-know?" She asked, stuttering  and I rolled my eyes.

Shey, I am daft ni abi I'm oblivious?

"You guys must think I'm really daft not to notice these little things that you have been trying to hide from me. Your brother," I drawled emphatically, " lied to my face that he was having malaria symptoms that's why he's taking drugs when it's obviously more than that."

"I know you might be upset-"

"I am upset!" I snapped back at her and she rose her hand in surrender. We had already gotten to the balcony. It was late so no one was in sight.

"Fine, you are upset and it's understandable. But, you really can't know what is going on because-"

"Because it's none of my business." I finished for her and she pouted.

"You know that's not what I meant." She muttered softly. "Elyon, you have helped Jamal in the past. You are basically family but this particular issue, it's quite sensitive and you can't help. Please understand."

"I'm not asking to help!" I snapped again. I took a few calming breaths before speaking again, my eyes glistened in unshed tears. "I... I just want to be carried along. I feel left out. It's a new feeling and I don't like it at all." I said softly and Skye cooed, drawing me close for a hug.

"Please be patient. The last thing Jamal needs right now is for you to be pissed at him." She said and I sniffed.

"Worry doesn't look good on you." A voice jerked me out of my reverie as my bed dipped like someone had sat on it.  I turned my head to see Kunmi watching me through her doe eyes, which I found adorable by the way. I mustered a small smile.

"I'm not worrying." I told, legit lying through my teeth. She smirked at me.

"If you say so." She shrugged, getting up from the bed and smoothened her school uniform skirt. "And, don't worry. We'll take it easy on you guys during the competition." She added with a sassy smirk. I doubled up in laughter.

"Yo! It's on baby girl!" I told her and she laughed as well.

"Kunmi, do you know where my phone is?" Aminah asked from her side of the large room and we both turned to look at her, confusion evident on our faces.

"I can't seem to fond it anywhere." She added, standing straight up and looking at us, panic written all over her face.

"Aminah, you are charging right there." Kunmi pointed to the charging point by Aminah's bed. Aminah followed her hand and saw that her phone was just few feet away from her.

"Oh! Right. I knew that." She flashed us a nervous smile before going over to take her phone then excusing herself to leave the room. I frowned.

I've been noticing her since we came yesterday. She wasn't chatty like Kunmi and she basically kept to herself all through. The irony was that Kunmi told me she was a very chirpy and bubbly person on a normal day. She seemed absent minded also. Yesterday when I had gotten back from revision, she was looking for her bonnet...

That was legit on her head already.

Strange right?

You know what's stranger? The fact that I'm really drawn to her. If this absent minded, quiet Aminah wasn't the real her then I wanted to get to know the real her.

"I love your uniform by the way." Kunmi told me and I turned to look at her.

"Not as much as I love yours. It fits you perfectly." I was serious. Kunmi was slaying her school uniform. The way her skirt showed off her flawless legs, I was low-key jealous sha.

"Stop lying to her, uniforms like that don't fit fat people." Tolani said as she sashayed out of the bathroom where she had spent hours doing God knows what. I grimaced while Kunmi crossed her hand over her chest.

"Only your own insecurities can make you body shame someone that's obviously way hotter than you." Was Kunmi's simple reply. I gasped, throwing my hand to my mouth to stifle the laugh that was about to come out. Tolani's expression was priceless as hell.

"I didn't ask for your opinion." Tolani spat out.

"Neither did I ask for yours in the first place, love." Kunmi flashed her a sweet smile. Tolani eyed the both of us, hissed and walked back into the bathroom. I looked at Kunmi in awe.

"Cat can scratch! I like you." I told her, trading high fives with her. She chuckled.

"People like her need to be put in their place as often as possible." She stated and I nodded. Finally someone else to help me treat Tolani's fuck up.

An Alarm went off, signaling Breakfast time. Sophia, Skye, Gabriella and Vanessa came to join us and together we went to the dinning hall. Just as we were making our way towards the hall, something clicked in my mind.

Or rather, someone.

Khalil.

A/N

Khalil?

Please who knows what that means because I don't. I'm legit confused as to why Elyon is thinking about Khalil.🤔

Do you guys think Elyon overreacted with Jamal? I mean, she is really desperate to know what's going on with him. The same Jamal that wouldn't think twice before spilling his deepest darkest thoughts to Elyon is now keeping things from her. Not only that, he lied too.

The issue with Khalil must be a really serious one for Jamal not to have told Elyon by now. We haven't even heard quarter of it.

I hope this chapter wasn't tacky. Interesting things will definitely start next chapter.

Who likes how Kunmi replied Tolani 🤣. Our Baby Kay is growing. What is wrong with Aminah tho? I don't know, ask Riri 😎😎😎.

Don't forget to vote and comment. Thank y'all for the 2k reads in the space of one month and a week. ❤️❤️❤️