Guess who's not dead 🌚. Me!!

I've just been hella busy 😭.

This chapter was supposed to drop yesterday oo 😭. Y'all have Airtel's shitty network to blame for that sha.

Anyways, this chapter is dedicated to ujuritaellianna 😗💞.

Enjoy 🥂✨

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But somewhere within me, I decided I didn't want to be so headstrong anymore.

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~[VICTORIA]~

"You've got to be kidding me." I gaped at Tracy, wide eyed. Really, she just had to be shitting us.

"Nah, you cannot be serious." Even Chris, as daring as he was, was not down for Tracy's preposterous idea.

"Look," her eyes swept across our faces as she sported the most serious expression ever. "That's the only way we can force information out of him."

"Wait oo..." Chris backed up, squinted at the girl. "You're actually serious?"

"Dead serious."

"Ah." Was all Jason could let out in his shocked state, observing his friend like he thought she had completely lost her mind.

"Th-this might be the only way I'll get to see my mother." She struggled, but she couldn't fight the croak in her voice. The strength she was trying so hard to hold on to was already slipping out of her grip. "I have to see my mother."

"This is not a way, Tee." Chris told her frankly. "Kidnapping your father? Ain't no way."

"But-"

"Tracy, no." Chris cut her off with his voice soft yet firm. It was very clear, nothing was going to change his mind.

And to be very honest, nothing was going to change mine either. Kidnap someone's father? The last time I checked, I wasn't Evans.

It was the way she had said it so nonchalantly for me, like she had expected us all to go 'yeah, we've been wondering when you were going to ask.'

She was still staring at us, eyes roaming our faces, carefully studying us and waiting for one of us to somehow give in.

But I guess nobody was ready to be a criminal. Because Chris did not look like he was ready to falter in his stance, and Jason was looking at everything but her face. Me? I was just looking around too, I was sure as hell not going to be the one to break the thick silence that had wrapped around our necks, threatening to choke us.

And that was when I realized that we were the only ones left in there, save for the creepy waiters of course.

So, we were just there, shrinking under Tracy's scrutiny. Except Chris, of course, he looked as calm as ever. Until Tracy's low voice, barely above a whisper, slashed through the heavy silence and had us fixing our gazes on her.

"I'm going home."

"Tee-"

My words went straight back down my throat as she was already well on her way out of there. And honestly, I wasn't even sure what I was about to say.

For a moment, that silence enveloped us again, thicker than before. Perhaps, it was from the heaviness in our chests for our friend.

She had only taken a step out the door when Chris got up and told Jason and I, "I'll go with her to make sure she actually gets home."

I was only able to nod while Jason hummed in response. And then Chris was out the creamery, leaving just Jason and I under that awkward cloud of quietness.

It was weird. So weird.

I needed to get out, breath in some fresh air. And I didn't even realize that I was already moving when I heard his raspy voice inquire from behind.

"Where are you going?"

I spun around, brown met grey, and I for a second, I thought I saw a thunderstorm brewing in his orbs. Like a storm that sent roofs flying and people running for shelter, made kids cry and shriek out of terror.

Trouble. What resided in his eyes was trouble, heightened by fear, a great anxiety that almost had me sobbing and pulling him in my arms to share whatever little joy I had with him.

Maybe, just maybe, it was a premonition I had seen in his eyes; my ownwn future. And-

A huff from him, that's what pulled me back into my normal reasoning. And immediately, I felt like the most stupid person alive.

"Sorry I asked." He looked away, crossed him arms as his gaze burned into where Tracy had just stood up from.

"Um..." I cleared my throat, swallowed. "Outside. I'm going outside."

Silence was the response I got. It's not like I even expected any. So, I was back on my way outside, away from the maddening silence and awkwardness.

The dazzling hue of orange that was spread across the sky was what first caught my attention once my feet hit the granite stones outside. The birds soaring up high were only silhouettes against the setting sun, and within me, I wished I was one of them. To be able to swirl in the sky and feel the wind against my face. To know that even the weight in my chest could not pull be down.

Alas, I could only admire from beneath them, with useless wishes in my head.

Still, in my dazed state, I watched the sky and continued with those wishes I knew would never come true.

Finally, the pain that was beginning to sting my neck compelled me to look down. And that was when my eyes caught it. About quarter a mile away was a bench that faced a lake. Then my feet were already moving toward it, in a few moments, I felt my behind meet with the wooden bench.

I took in a lungful of the cool air and let it out as a long sigh, repeated that again and again and again until my fascination for nature took over from my crashing thoughts.

For a moment, I wished it would remain that way forever. But I was all too away that it was only a few minutes before I would have to lift my behind and go back to facing my reality.

But for now, I just let myself be, breathe, absorb the beauty around me. Until,

Click.

I almost jumped out of my skin at the sound of a camera's shutter. With my eyes wide in panic, I turned only to see Jason slanting his phone in different angles, and then he clicked three more photos.

He tucked his phone away in his jacket and let out a satisfied exhaled. I was still looking. The guy didn't even realize that he had scared me shitless.

Plus, what was he even doing here?

"It's rude."

I backed up, blinked at him. "Huh?"

"You're staring," he briefly glanced at me from the corners of his eyes, "face your front."

Embarassed and slightly vexed, I turned to the lake. I had wanted it to be just me here. And now, I had to deal with Jason with his cloud of awkwardness. I could help shifting tensely on the bench from time to time.

The silence had gotten weirder, and I was beginning to consider just leaving when he let out that,

"We could be civilized, you know?"

Again, I blinked at him and let out a confused, "huh?"

He sighed in frustration, maybe impatience too. "We don't have to be so..." he stopped to think for a moment, and then he completed, "weird."

I eyed him, let him know that, "I'm not weird."

He pinched his nose, let out a low groan. "That's not what I mean, Kanayo." He breathed. "I mean, we could reduce the glaring at each other a little."

I almost laughed. Actually, I chuckled in his face. Because was he kidding me?

"I don't glare at you." I told the boy the fact. "You're the one that looks at me like I murdered you in your previous life."

"What I'm saying is, we could call a truce or something." He proposed. And then shocked me when he added, "you wouldn't have to be this uncomfortable around me all the time."

"This is suspicious." I said in all honesty as I eyed the him. "You have a motive, don't you?"

Either that or he had miraculously pooped out whatever crawled up his ass and died.

"Kanayo, I've got no motive." He exhaled, ran his fingers through his dark brown curls.

And I just sat there, at loss for words. And there was a little part of me that suspected that it was a dream, it had to be.

Because why was Jason Ugonna not scowling at me? I was so used to it, I expected to see a frown anytime my eyes met his.

But this boy, out of the blue, was asking for a truce?

"So, what do you say?" He stunned me even more as he extended his hand. Jason Ugonna was actually offering me a handshake. "Truce?"

I couldn't help it, I scanned his hand with close attention. For all I knew, something might zap me as soon as I accepted the handshake.

Then I peered at him with squinted eyes, searching for a falter in his expression. But he still looked serious as ever, patiently awaiting my response.

So, with a small sigh, I took a leap of faith. Taking taking his hand, I responded, "truce."

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~[JASON]~

Imagine this: an afro haired girl seated on a bench near a lake, watching the sunset. With butterflies she may not have been aware were twirling in her hair.

Just visualize the glow of the golden rays on her dark skin, her satisfied smile from the calmness of nature.

I couldn't resist, I had clicked a photo of the sight. And then another, and another, until I lost count. All the while, she didn't even notice.

Scrolling through them now, I couldn't even make up a reason why I had offered her a truce.

Maybe I was just simply tired of my pettiness. Or it was that strong force that compelled me to do so, I didn't know.

Have you ever felt a pull so strong that your feet begin to move on their own accord? Your brain is giving a command, but your body does the exact opposite.

That's what happened. One second, I was making for my car, and the next, I was strolling towards the bench she was seated on.

Why? Even I do not have the answer to that. I have heard people talk about the force of nature, so maybe that was what pulled me toward the lake.

But when her calm aura surrounded me, enveloped me and had warmth seeping into my chest, I liked it, craved more. And despite myself, I agreed that at that very moment, something about her presence soothed me.

Perhaps, it was her alluring elegance, or her citrus scent that always had me taking lungful breaths, I didn't know. But somewhere within me, I decided I didn't want to be so headstrong anymore.

Then I shocked both myself and her when I proposed a truce, even offered a handshake.

It was expected, the way she was investigating my outstretched hand like it was a UFO that had just crashed to the ground. If I were her, I would be suspicious of me too.

And Lord, when her long, slim fingers wrapped around mine...

I felt those stupid tinkles again, and even that weird shiver in my spine. They even intensified when she looked at me with her eyes with swirls of honey, and with her silvery voice, she said, "truce."

Thank God for the horn that blared from behind us. I may have been lost in her eyes for eternity.

She looked away first, to glance at whoever was horning. And then, she told me, "it's my dad, I've gotta go."

I couldn't even speak. I just knew that if I had attempted, then I would have produced an embarrassing croak, or even a squeak. So, I nodded, let go of her hand.

And I watched her take her elegant strides to the car. Even when the black Audi zoomed into the street, I was still looking.

And I was left there, with her citrus scent still in the air, and that soothing warmth in my chest. I didn't want to move, I stayed to absorb the remnants of whatever was left of her in that place.

It was weird that I was doing that. So, so weird.

But do you know what was even weirder?

I liked it.

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A/N

The pressure is getting worser 🙂.

Did these kids just call a truce? Abi eyes dey pain me ni?

So, thoughts? Do you think this little truce will get them anywhere? 👀

Jsyk, I still ship Victoria and Fidel 😌. Ship them too for clear skin 😗✨.

It's Tracy's POV next sha. And all I can say it omohhhh 😂💔. It is well oo.

But y'all will have to give me time sha. I've got a lot on my plate right now. Biko, understand 😗. Either that or I put this book on hold 💁🏿‍♀️.

Andddddd! If you want to see a glimpse of the future of these kids, check out The Lost Ones by Purple_Deeza . Issa collab, y'all 😌✨. But if I catch any of you eyeing Tobi or Cheta ehn 🧙🏿‍♀️.

Be like say I don dey talk too much 😂💔. Abeg, I dey go.

Stay safe 💕✨
Love ya! 😗❤️