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"I'll be the thread that
Holds you together..." Different Way - DJ Snake ft Lauv
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Vina's POV
"Thank you." I say to the cashier as she hands me back my credit card.

"Thank you for shopping at 'Ranelle's Place'. We hope to see you next time." The cashier responds with a practiced smile on her face.

I return the smile and walk out of the shopping complex with my purchases in hand.

"Finally." Aidan groans out once I get into the passenger seat of his white Venza.

Rolling my eyes, I stretch to the backseat and drop the bags.

"Stop being so dramatic, Aidan. I barely spent two hours in there. Besides, you willingly agreed to drive me today."

"And I regret that decision." He replies sharply as he pulls out of the parking lot.

"Stop being so grumpy." I tell him while fishing for my phone in my waist bag.

"I have every right to be grumpy, Davina. Heck, today is a Sunday and I'm meant to be resting not sitting in a parking lot while you shop for Val's day gifts for your friends."

"You knew what you were getting into by agreeing to be my chauffeur." I retort while he shoots me a sharp glance in response.

"But I'm sorry for taking so much time."

"Better. How many things did you buy sef?" He asks peering at the backseat through the rear view mirror.

"I couldn't find the gift I wanted to get for Kiki so, I ordered a charm bracelet for her."

"When will it arrive?"

"On Tuesday. Anyways, I got Tony a chest bag and a Sennheiser headset for Nasir."

"Damn, that headset is quite expensive."

I smile to myself,"I know, I know. But, I got it for him for a reason."

"What reason?" Aidan inquires, casting a glance my way.

"I'm not telling, sweetie." I say, grinning.

He scoffs in mock annoyance as his attention returns to the road.

I will have to discuss my plans with Nasir later, I hope he agrees to it.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Thank you, sir." I say to Mr. Emeka as I alight from the backseat of the Rolls Royce.

I smooth out my skirt once more before heading over to the seniors block, the already wrapped gifts in my bag. Aidan had helped me with it.

I am in school a bit early on this fine Monday morning and as such, only few students are seen loitering around.

Walking over to my seat, I try my hardest to ignore Tiffany and Peter as they smooch thier life away.

Once I shut my locker after arranging my books, Kiki walks into the class. Her chin is held up high as always, her face stoic and lips devoid of traces of a smile but I notice something — she looks lighter and freer.

Her once dark and empty eyes don't look so empty anymore.

Her face lights up in a beautiful smile as she gets to me,"Happy Val's day, Vee."

I smile back at her and hug her lightly when she sits down,"Same to you, Kiki."

"Those two and their excess PDA." Kiki says, referring to Tiffany and Peter who are now snuggling as they look at something on Peter's phone.

"I know right." I chuckle,"You look different today."

"Of course I look different. I changed my hairstyle." She replies, patting down on her golden brown human hair weaves packed up in a messy bun.

I roll my eyes,"Not your hair, Kiki. It is beautiful, by the way, but I'm referring to your aura."

It is now her turn to roll her eyes,"How?"

"I don't know, maybe it's just me."

"It's not just you." I hear her mutter.

"What?"

"Nothing." She says quickly with a smile,"Let's start going to the hall. It's almost time for assembly."

"Okay." I reply with a shrug.

"New set of prefects will soon be chosen o." Kiki tells me as we exit the class.

"I know I won't be chosen. I just came to the school this term."

"Wow."

"What?" I ask.

"I can't believe I've only known you for five weeks, this being the beginning of the sixth week." She lets out with a laugh.

"That's true." I say in amazement.

"Well so far so good, it's been a pleasure knowing you."

"Awwwwwwn." I coo,"That's so sweet, Kiki. I wouldn't say the same about you though. You gave me a tough time being your friend for the first few weeks."

"Nice one, Davina." She replies in monotone.

Naturally, I burst into laughter,"It's not like that na. But you sef you know it's true."

"I guess you are right. Sorry about how I was though but I would say I warmed up to you pretty fast. I mean, I have a pretty hard time letting people in."

"I can relate, baby girl but what can I say, I'm an angel." I say with a spin.

Kiki scoffs.

"Anyway, about the prefectship something. Do you think you will be chosen?"

"Fingers crossed, my dear." She simply replies as the bell for assembly goes off.

Soon, the assembly is over.

We barely exit the hall when Tony walks up to us, a small smile on his lips.

"Happy Valentine's day, ladies."

I giggle while Kiki responds with a same to you.

"How are you doing, Kiki?" He asks with a friendly smile.

"All good. You?" Kiki answer with a very surprising smile on her face.

"Same here." Tony says before turning to face me.

"I got you something, Aphie." He whispers sultrily into my ear,"I'll be waiting for you at our usual spot."

My eyes go wide in excitement,"I'll meet you there, I need to get something from my class first."

"Don't be too long." He says with a wink and walks away but not before waving a goodbye at Kiki.

"Why are you smiling so much?" Kiki asks as we continue with our walk to the class.

"Tony said he got me a gift."

"Ahn lucky you o."

I let out a short peal of laughter,"Abeg. You talked to him."

"Why won't I talk to him? Did I tell you I'm quarrelling with Tony?"

"No na. It's just that you always go mute when Tony and Nasir are there."

I notice her face scrunch up at the mention of Nasir.

"What exactly do you have against Nasir, Kiki?"

She scoffs for like the hundredth time today,"I have nothing against him, Davina. I've told you my only worry concerning him."

"But there's nothing to worry about." I say with a tired sigh.

She just goes silent.

"Kiki — "

"Maybe you are right,Vina." She says cutting me off,"How about you three come over to my house to watch a movie and swim?"

"Are you for reals?" I ask in utter surprise.

She smiles,"Yeah. Inform Nasir, I'll tell Tony."

I give her this why can't you tell Nasir yourself look.

"Baby steps, Davina, baby steps." She answers, causing us both to laugh.

I pick up my bag when we get to the class and turn to leave when Kiki stops me.

"You know we are having Physics next and that man's brain skips at times. You better hurry up, for your own good."

"Sure." I say and blow her a kiss before I leave the class.

I glance at my phone for the time and pick up my pace when I realize I have a little over fifteen minutes to get to the basketball court and back.

"I'm here. Sorry for wasting time." Is what I say as I plop down beside Tony on the bleachers.

"It's okay." He replies with one of his calming smiles which I easily return.

"Open your hand for your gift." Tony continues in a teasing tone.

I roll my eyes but stretch out my hand anyway.

"Close your eyes."

"Ton—"

"Please na."

I let out a hmph before shutting my eyes. I feel him stuff something velvety into my palm.

"You can open your eyes now." He says softly.

My eyes land on Tony's unsure but excited honey brown ones, when I open them. I give him a reassuring smile before looking down at my palm to see a heart shaped case covered in red velvety fur.

In an attempt to lighten his mood, I look up at him and ask,"Is there a ring in here?"

All the uneasiness in his eyes dissipates as he says,"Why don't you find out?"

Smiling, I open the case and my mouth drops open in awe.

It is a gold necklace with a light chain from which hung a heart-shaped pendant carved out of gold and rimmed with tiny diamonds. I feel a tear escape my eye as I look to the middle of the heart to see Aphie engraved on it in a beautiful shade of purple.

I try to talk but words refuse to leave my mouth so I just wrap my arms around Tony's neck. He breathes out a sigh of relief as he wraps his arms around me.

"Thank you so much for the gift, Tony." I manage to mutter as I sink deeper into his warmth.

"You're welcome, Aphie." He responds, burying his face further into the crook of my neck.

Seems like I'm not the only one enjoying this hug, I could literally stay like this forever.

"Me too."

My cheeks flush a bright red when I realize I said my thoughts out.

"You smell just like peaches and vanilla. I guess peaches and vanilla are my new favorite scents. Peachy vanilla." Tony mutters like someone in a daze.

I actually chuckle at this and pull away just enough to be mere metres away from his face.

"I have to go now, Tony. I'm having Physics." I say, my voice barely above a whisper.

He gives a cute frown, unwrapping his arms that are firmly wrapped around my waist,"I understand."

"I'll see you by lunch time, okay?"

He brightens up just a little and nods.

I lean in and peck his cheek lightly,"Thanks again for the beautiful gift."

I place the case into my bag gently when I feel wrapping paper.

"I almost forgot to give you the gift I got for you."

His lips stretch into a full blown smile. I bring out his wrapped gift and hand it over.

"I have to get going now but I hope you will like your gift. It's not as good as yours though." I say, getting on my feet.

"Nonsense." He smiles,"I'm sure I will love it. Thank you for the gift, Aphie."

"You are welcome, sweetie. Bye." I bid him goodbye, scurrying out of the court and straight to my class.

My butt barely connects with the seat when the door opens to reveal Mr. Ajayi, the Physics teacher.

Kiki casts me a you're very lucky glance before getting out her note from her locker. I breathe out in relief as I do same.

"Our topic for today is Waves." Is what Mr. Ajayi says after we greet him.

I sink deeper into my seat as he goes on with his teaching.

An excruciating forty minutes later, the class is finally over and it is time for double period of English.

"What did he get for you?" Kiki whispers.

I smiled,"I'll show you later."

She nods as we both get out our English notes.

"Happy Valentine's day, everyone." Mrs. Henshaw wishes us with a lovely smile.

"Same to you, ma." We chorus back with smiles of our own.

"We won't be learning today." She announces,"I mean, you guys just wrote your test so there's need to relax small."

We love you, ma rings out from various mouths as I chuckle at our happiness from not learning.

"I love you too, my dears." Mrs. Henshaw says, blowing kisses at us,"I'll just share your test scripts to you guys. Then, we will spend the rest of the periods discussing about the day of love."

We whole heartedly agree to her idea. She hands the scripts to the nerdy looking guy, who is our class prefect and is named Thomas, to share to us.

I smile a little when I get mine and see that I scored 27 over 30 on the test.

"What did you get, Kiki?"

"26 and a half." She simply replies,"You?"

"27."

She gives me a thumbs up and keeps her script in her locker.

Soon, everyone gett thier scripts and settles down for our class discussion on Valentine's day.

The periods go by and we have two more classes before it is finally break time.

"Uhm . . . Kiki, I'll be back. I need to see Nasir." I say already getting up.

She waves me away without even looking up from her phone.

The hallway is a bit rowdy as I make my way to SS2 C, Nasir's class. Their door opens up to reveal a class in disarray.

Students are just all over the place, chattering so loudly that no one takes cognizance of me as I walk in. Except, a few students that are closer to the door, who just glance my way and go back to what they were doing.

My eyes rake through the students and I finally spot Nasir at the last seat in the middle row. On his desk, sits a girl in long, blonde braids packed up in a ponytail. From this faraway, I can tell they are shamelessly flirting with each other.

Nasir hasn't seen me yet so, I make my way over to him. The seductive smirk on his face grows as he listens to whatever she is saying.

My eyes double in size when I get closer and see that the girl's skirt is hitched way up her thigh, just a little more and her panties will be on full display. Even her shirt is buttoned way down to show breasts that threaten to spill out of her bra.

Nasir finally looks up to see me standing before him. His eyes widen for a moment before he quickly masks his shock with a smile.

I don't return his smile but instead pull my lips into a thin line.

"Hey, Davina. Meet my friend, Diana." He says smoothly, gesturing to the blondie sitting comfortably on his desk,"Diana, Vina."

So this is the Diana Mustapha . . . shocker.

I force a smile her way,"Hey, Diana."

Her feline-like eyes regard me with disdain before she directs her attention back to Nasir, a sensual smile gracing her full lips.

She hops down from the desk and adjusts her skirt before doing up her buttons so that it is just her cleavage on display, no longer the bra.

I watch on in annoyance as Nasir's eyes follows her every movement.

"I will see you later, Nas." Diana purrs out whilst running her hand over his chest.

Nas? The fuck?

"Yeah. See you later, Diana." Nasir lets out softly as she retrieves her hand from his chest.

A self-satisfied smirk rests on her lips as she glares at me one more time before gyrating her hips out of the class.

My mouth drops open a little as my brain tries to process what just happened.

Wow . . . is all my brain can muster after a while.

"I need to talk to you."

"Uhm, okay. Sit then." He says while patting the seat beside him.

"No, outside." I state, walking out of the class before he can even reply.

Leaning on the railing, I breathe in deeply, trying to clear my head.

Why exactly am I feeling someway because Nasir is with another girl?

I breathe in sharply when I feel his presence beside me.

"Are you jealous, Davina?" Nasir asks calmly and that has me whipping my head in his direction.

I gaze at him incredulously before bursting out in laughter like a maniac.

Seconds later, my face morphs into a neutral state,"Me? Jealous? You wish, Nasir."

"Then, what's up?" He asks, running a hand through his curls.

"What is up, Nasir, is that I don't appreciate your little girlfriend being rude and glaring daggers at me."

It is now his turn to laugh, like one who has lost his marbles, while I seethe in rage.

"It's not funny, Nasir."

"Sorry, sorry." He says, calming down,"But Diana is not my girlfriend."

"Yeah, right." I say with a roll of my eyes.

"Davina — "

"I absolutely do not care." I cut in,"I only came here to discuss something important with you."

The last statement barely escapes my lips when the shrill sound of the bell is heard.

"I guess we will talk later." I state, staring intently at Nasir who wears an impassive expression.

"Yeah. I have a free period before lunch, you?"

"Same." I respond,"Get me from my class."

That being said, I walk away, to my class, without a backward glance at him.

I am surprised to still see the class in slight disarray when I enter.

"Why is Miss Ekakitie not here?" I ask Kiki when I sit down.

"She said we could rest for today."

"Thank God, two free periods for us." I mutter with a stifled yawn.

"Are you tired?" Kiki inquires, looking up from her phone.

"Kind of."

"Sleep na."

"I will but please I want you to tell them about the get-together at your place during lunch."

She sighs in resignation,"Fine, but you have to tell Nasir before lunch."

"Sure thing." I respond before resting my head on my desk and drifting off into a rather peaceful sleep.

Probably close to an hour later, I feel a light continuous tapping on my shoulder. I wipe my face before sitting up.

"He is here." Kiki says, jutting her chin towards the class door.

I follow her direction and my tired eyes land on Nasir who gestures for me to come.

Nodding in response, I grab my bag and turn to Kiki,"We will meet you and Tony at lunch."

"Okay." She replies.

Nasir is resting his back on the railing when I come out. I yawn a little and scratch my eyes tiredly as I beckon on him to fall into step with me.

"You look cute when you're sleepy." He says, chuckling.

I simply roll my eyes and stay silent.

Moments later, he asks,"Where exactly are we headed?"

"The garden." I reply in monotone.

"Davina." He calls out, using his hand to stop me from walking.

I glare at him lightly before pulling my hand away from his grasp.

A wave of anger passes through his eyes before he sighs softly,"Are you angry at me, Davina?"

"No." I answer, staring deep into his hazel eyes.

"Then, why are you behaving this way?"

"I'm not your girlfriend or anything but why the hell was she sitting on your desk half naked?" I shoot back, getting agitated.

"So, that's the problem?" He asks with a calmness that irks me down to my bone marrow.

I don't respond to his question but instead, I give him a really stern glare that screams so that's not enough of a problem?

"Well, that's just how Diana is. There's nothing between us."

"And she called you Nas. Like the actual fuck?" I say, throwing my arms in the air.

He lets out an exasperated sigh,"She has always called me that ever since we became friends. I don't get why you are sounding like a jealous girlfriend!"

I bite down on the insides of my mouth . . . hard before speaking to him,"Wow, me? A jealous girlfriend."

His jaw tightens as he painfully tugs at his hair.

I exhale deeply to calm myself,"You know what? It's okay, it's fine. Let's never speak of this again and forgive me for acting like a jealous girlfriend."

And for feeling used. I complete in my mind.

He shrugs nonchalantly,"It's okay."

I force out a big smile,"Do forgive me, Nasir."

He smiles a little,"It's really okay."

"Good." I say, still wearing an irritating excuse of a smile as I tug him to walk with me.

We stroll in silence till we get to the garden and have our seats on the stone benches, Nasir sitting opposite me.

"What do you want to talk to me about?" He asks, starting off the conversation.

"One second." I say searching through my bag for his wrapped gift.

I bring it out and place it on the table, pushing it towards him,"I got you a Valentine's day gift — "

"But — " He starts but gets cut off by me.

"Not as anything, Nasir but as my friend. I got gifts for Kiki and Tony too. Before I say anything more, open the gift."

I watch his eyes widen when he tears a bit at the wrapping paper to reveal the original packaging of the headset.

"Why this?" He asks, looking puzzled.

I smile a little and intertwine my fingers,"I would love it if you pursued your singing talent."

He instantly becomes uncomfortable at the mention of his vocals.

"I know you feel uneasy about the whole thing, Nasir but I think it's best if you continue to sing and write songs. It's obvious you don't want people to know you sing so I have an idea if you are willing to listen."

This has to be the most nervous I have seen Nasir because he keeps staring everywhere but my face.

"I don't know about this, Davina." He says finally.

I keep quiet waiting for him to continue and he does.

"I mean, my father will kill — sorry — get really angry at me if he finds out about this."

"But he won't. I already thought about this, that's why you will be an anonymous singer. You won't ever have to show your face on camera.

"And, luckily your singing voice is different from your speaking voice so when you make rounds on the internet, your father will never know it's you." I say with a small smile.

"Where do I even start from?" He asks incredulously,"I'm not even that good."

"Don't even start, Nasir. I'm thinking you will make a YouTube and Instagram account where you sing covers of songs and the ones you created. Trust me, in no time you would gather enough fans and you could start getting deals."

"Wow." Nasir finally breathes out with a smile on his face,"You really thought this through."

"Yeah." I laugh,"It has been at the back of my mind since that day you took me out for lunch."

He gives me a cheeky smile,"So, I'll put on a mask or something when making my videos or will I stay in a dark room?"

"Whichever is fine. Do you have a name?" I ask, feeling excited.

"Not exactly." He frowns slightly.

"Well . . ." I drawl out,"I have a name. How does Ethereal Barz sound?"

"Actually, it's perfect!" He exclaims in excitement.

I give a mock bow,"I had originally thought of Ethereal Artiste but it sounded kind of feminine. Then, I was like Barz but it seemed too strong. So, I went with Ethereal Barz."

He chuckles,"Ethereal Barz is just right as per it sounds both mysterious and masculine."

"Yeah." I reply just as the distant sound of the bell is heard.

"Thanks alot for the gift and suggestion, Vina. I'm really touched." The small heartfelt smile that graces his lips when he says this, lets me know he is being genuine.

"You are welcome." I tell him.

"I will have to drop this in my class first before we go for lunch."

"There's no problem. I need to drop my bag too." I say, already standing up when it hits me that I forgot to mention Kiki's get-together to him.

"One more thing." I start as we walk out of the garden,"Kiki is inviting you, well not just you, but myself and Tony too, to her house to watch a movie and swim."

Nasir blinks several times in complete shock,"Tell me you are joking. Doesn't the girl in question hate me?"

"Haba nau, it hasn't reached hate but she's not your biggest fan."

"Same thing."

I give an eye roll,"Anyway, she decided to let everything go and try out this group friendship."

"Nawa. Just like that?"

"I explained to her that it's somehow that I'm friends with her and friends with you guys but both parties don't talk to each other."

He nods in agreement,"It's true sha. Which day and time is the something happening?"

"Well, she didn't give me that information. She'll probably tell us herself." I say with a shrug.

"Okay. I'll see you after dropping the gift."

I give him a thumbs up as he walks ahead to his class and I into mine.

Only Tiffany and Peter are in class as I walk in. I drop my bag and turn to them.

"Won't you guys go for lunch?"

Tiffany giggles like a child before speaking in her really high pitched voice,"We will go later, VeeVee."

Tiffany is the kind of person that gives nicknames to everyone. It doeen't really matter how close you are to her.

I just chuckle,"Don't make babies when I leave biko."

Peter's throaty laughter and Tiffany's squeaky one comes after my statement.

Nasir is walking down as the class door close behind me. We move side-by-side and in silence to the cafeteria.

He opts to have just salad and chicken while I go for an apple and a bottle of water.

"Why aren't you eating?" He asks with raised brows.

"I have swimming practice later." I say, rinsing the apple in the sink at the cafeteria.

"Oh." He responds as we go over to our usual table where Kiki and Tony are already seated.

For the first time since I have known Kiki, her face isn't stuffed in her phone as she eats her meal. To say I am surprised would be an understatement. As we get closer, she even laughs at something Tony said.

"You guys had me worried with the time you were wasting." Kiki attacks us as soon as I sit beside her with Nasir opposite me and beside Tony.

"Sorry o. We had to go back to the class to drop our things." I apologize.

"Yeah, our apologies." This is from Nasir.

"Tony." I wave and smile to the boy who is scooping a spoonful of jollof rice into his mouth.

He waves back as Nasir gives him a playful punch to the shoulder.

"Why aren't you eating, Aphie?" Tony asks after chewing his food.

"I have swimming practice."

"You could have at least eaten small food na." He presses on.

"I'm okay with this." I smile, taking a bite from the apple.

Kiki noisily clears her throat which has us turning to her,"Will you guys be able to make it to my house on Sunday for a movie and a swim?"

I smile real big,"Absolutely."

"Sure thing." Says Tony.

We wait for Nasir's response as he meticulously chews on a piece of chicken.

"Nasir?" Kiki calls,"Will you be able to make it?"

He puts a spoonful of salad in his mouth and swallows first before speaking,"That depends on the time."

Kiki pauses in thought,"Say as from one."

He smiles now,"I'll be there with Davina. Right?"

I nod,"Of course."

We discuss happily with each other till the bell goes off signifying that we have to return to class.

This may just be the beginning of a beautiful group friendship.

A/N

Hi, loves😊✨

How was the chapter?

Nasir and Davina's quarrel?

Kiki's change in attitude?

I want to post Xander's face claim, so here it is below 👇





This book will be a year old by May 5th so kindly help me to get it to 1k reads before then.

Word Count: 4670 words

Love,
Riri🌹