*NOT EDITED*

°°°°°

I was fixated in that position, staring at the spot he just left without blinking. I was in a daze. Yes, he had always been straight forward, but never had he been so raw and aggressive with his emotions.

❦︎

~[JASON]~

We were finally done with the remaining two shoots. Chris made us use witches and demons as inspiration for the last two shoots… after using God as inspiration for the first one. In his words, we had to touch other aspects of supernaturalism, whether positive or negative. He was hands down the most confusing person I knew.

Chris and Victoria were talking about something I could not hear since I was helping Jude with editing and they were seated on the couch all the way at the other end of the room. Meanwhile, Jemima was creepily staring at everyone and I did my best to ignore her eyes, not wanting to meet them. Something about that girl freaked me out. If it was the way she stared or randomly smiled, I didn’t know. I just knew she made me uncomfortable.

“Jay!” Chris hollered. I turned to look at him, he had a grin on his face. “You're a bad host, you could at least get us snacks or something.”

“You know your way around this house, please, don’t disturb me.” I warned, turned back to focus on the editing with Jude.

I heard Chris snicker, followed by footsteps which made me know he had just gone up to the kitchen.

Jude coughed beside me, massaged his throat and looked at me. “I need some water, please.”

I nodded tiredly, sighed and got up, went up the stairs into the kitchen. Chris was standing before the counter, pouring some apple juice into four glasses and I knew mine was the one missing, we were five people in total. He was just petty like that.

He looked up, smirked smugly at me, his eyes glinted with mischief. “I could tell you liked our choice of a model.”

I grimaced, eyeing him warily. “What do you mean?”

“Don’t give me that crap, Jay.” He chuckled, capping the box of juice. “You were shamelessly ogling at her. We all saw it, bro.”

“I was only thinking of poses and lighting placements.” I deadpanned, although, I was lying... and I hated that fact. “I don’t even like her.”

“That’s what you think.” He shrugged, looking so sure of his conclusion. “You're angry at her, yes. But you have no legible reason to despise her… come to think of it, the reason you're angry at her is not even her fault to begin with.”

I squinted, took two steps closer to him. “And for what reason do you think I don’t like her? You know nothing about how I feel or what goes on in my head, so don’t go around drawing conclusions based on nothing.” the harsh tone my voice came out with was not my intention, I didn't even understand why I switched to defense mode.

He raised his hand in the air, shaking his head. “I’m not ‘bout to pick a fight here, man. I agree, I know nothing, but I see things. I hear what people say and I know how they make you feel because I'm human like you too, and I'm your friend, your companion, so maybe you should try sharing things if you don’t want me drawing conclusions. You're my bro and I won’t see you suffering and just turn a blind eye to it. Whether you like it or not, I’ll interfere.”

He panted subtly when he finished talking, his brown eyes intense. That flame I saw in his eyes once in a while was there, burning as he stared into my soul. “I'm here for you, we’re all here for you. And you need to get that into your thick skull.” He grabbed the tray containing drinks and walked down the stairs, into my room.

I was fixated in that position, staring at the spot he just left without blinking. I was in a daze. Yes, he had always been straight forward, but never had he been so raw and aggressive with his emotions.

                                 °°°°°

                                                       ~[VICTORIA]~

Chris had gone to get us drinks, pausing our conversation about sports. I utilized the opportunity to check my phone, pulling it out of my blazer that I had finally changed into. I frowned, suspiciously staring at my phone when I saw twelve missed calls from an unknown number.

I dialed the number, pressed the phone against my ear. I tapped my feet, waiting for the owner of the number to pick up. They took the call, I was about to speak but the person beat me to it.

“Bubbles, I thought we were going to practice our presentation today?”

My eyes widened, jaws slacked. I had totally forgotten about that.

“Del, I'm so sorry, I forgot.” I apologized, trying as much as possible to convey my sorriness through my voice. “Chris asked to help him with something and I agreed without thinking much of it… I'm so sorry.”

I heard him sigh before he said, “It’s fine. I was worried about you though; you weren’t picking up.” He truly sounded worried and I smiled.

“I wasn’t near my phone. Sorry for making you worry like that.”

“Enough with the apologies, Bubbles.” He chuckled. “Just make sure you call me once you're home safe so I can be rest assured.”

“Okay. Thanks, Del. I’ll call you later.”

“Alright, later.”

He dropped the call and I sighed, thankful that he was understanding enough not to get upset at me.

I looked around the large space that Jason had converted to a room, wishing I could do the same but there was a pool right in the middle of my own basement.

My eyes met with those of Jemima’s and I smiled at her. She did not return it, instead, she seemed to be looking at me like she could not see me. I concluded that she was just staring into space but ditched that thought when she gave me a once over, slowly taking me in from head to toe. Her face still held no expression as she stared at me for a while longer before she looked away.

What just happened? I asked myself, blinking rapidly. Had I done something to her? Had I said something that upset her?

I shrugged, deciding not to stress too much over it. If she has a problem, she should come out clean.

I looked up when I heard footsteps, Chris walking in with a tray of drinks in his hands. He had a slight frown on his face but it morphed into a grin when he saw that I was looking at him.

“Am I really that irresistible?” he cocked a brow at me as he handed me a glass of apple juice.

I snorted, shaking my head. “Get over yourself, child.”

“Y'all can come get your drinks yourself, I ain’t no waiter.” He yelled, looking between Jemima and Jude.

Jude pouted at Chris, walking over to us with Jemima behind him.

“I asked Jason for some water and he's taking forever to return.” He complained, picking up a glass. “I really want water.”

“Maybe you should just get it yourself.” Chris suggested, chuckled. “Or your throat would be parched like that for a while.”

“I’ll just make do with this.” Jude said before he downed the entire cup of juice in one gulp. With a frown he said, “Makes no difference.”

“Told you to get your thing yourself.” Chris’ chest puffed in pride, simply because he was right about that little thing.

I glanced at my phone and I almost cried. It was 6:50pm? We had spent that much time?

“Uh… what's this address? I need to call my dad to pick me up.” I asked, looking at Chris.

“Oh, I can drop you off.” He said, getting up. “Let’s go.”

“I can just call my dad, there’s no need.” I shook my head.

“It’s the least I could do after helping us out, especially with nothing in it for you.” He insisted, grinning. “Now, let’s go.”

“And pardon our bad manners, we didn’t even say thanks.” Jude smiled, embarrassed. “Thank you.”

“You're welcome.” I responded. “I’ll be on my way now. Goodnight.”

“Goodnight.” He waved as Chris and I walked towards the door.

We walked out the room, into the kitchen. But Jason who was supposed to be getting water for Jude was not even there. I noticed the concerned frown on Chris’ face as we left the kitchen which meant he was thinking the same thing I was.

                                  °°°°°

I felt a tap on my shoulder and then a gentle shake. My eyes fluttered open as and I stirred in the car seat, they went wide when I realized I had slept off in Chris’ car on the way. I could only remember telling him my address.

“I'm sorry.” I said, my voice groggy.

“It’s fine, it’s obvious you're tired.” He gave a gentle smile. “Modeling’s not easy.” He added and I laughed.

“How did you get past the estate security though? They're pretty tight.”

“Your dad called your phone just at the right time, so he spoke to them.” He looked away, pointed at the front door. “He’s really worried.”

I followed his line of vision to see Dad standing in front of the door, still in his suit.

“Goodnight.” I said as I opened the door.

“Goodnight.” He responded just before I hopped out and shut the door.

Dad was already making his way to me and ran towards him. He spread his arms and I ran into them, letting his warmth and scent comfort me. I snuggled into his chest, gripping his torso tightly.

“I was worried, I thought you were at Fiona’s.” he spoke into my hair, I felt his chin move against my scalp.

“I'm sorry.” I apologized to someone for the second time today. “Plans changed, I had to help some people.”

“Just make sure to call me next time.” He pulled out of the hug, cradled my face. “You don’t want your old man having a heart attack, do you?”

I laughed, shaking my head. “You're not old, Dad.”

“I know but… just don’t leave me worried like that again. I was scared, Vicky.” He ruffled my afro and smiled.

“I won’t do that again, I promise. Just got carried away.”

“Good.” He swung his arm across my shoulder, leading me into the house. “I’ll order pizza, we’re both too tired to make dinner.”

I looked up at him, beaming. "Good idea.”

•
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A/N

Oya, what are you thinking?

Nothing much even happened in this chapter. But still, theories?

There are lots of hints y'all aren't noticing and I'm just waiting for when everything would hit y'all like a bomb, I no go follow una blow sha😌.

This is it, guys. Y'all won't be hearing from me until the 13th of March. Unless, I decide to be spontaneous sha.

Anyways, in the mean time, share this book, recommend, show love.

Love you,
Stay safe. 😗💕