(022 - Lies and Deceit)

So, the last chapter caused a whole lot of uproar🤣. I really didn't expect anything less sha. But the major reaction was coming from how Semeeha would react to Gigi picking Kizito. Some #Semito shippers are fighting hard for their girl.

But take it from me, trust me as per the writer, the last thing Semeeha needs right now is a boyfriend. I won't say more than that, but it's the honest truth. Too bad, she doesn't realize it.

Let's dive in sha😌.

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𝐇𝐈𝐋𝐀𝐑𝐘
(Hilary Idara Eghosa)

I screamed.

But my scream was drowned by the humongous shrieks that rang out from every part of the circle. Dawn was screaming beside me, clapping as loud as ever and I knew right then that I wasn't the only one completely shocked and awestruck by Gigi's choice. Even TK stared back at Gigi like she had grown a pair of horns.

"She didn't just pick Kizito," Semeeha muttered beside me. I turned to look at her, seeing her eyes widen in shock. But her own looked like a different kind of shock.

"She did!" I answered, my voice coming out in an involuntary squeal. Semeeha didn't say anything after that. She just went completely silent, staring at where Gigi was standing in the middle of the circle.

I looked back just in time to see some guys bringing a confused-looking Kizito to the circle. They must have stood up to fetch him as soon as Gigi made her choice. Almost everyone was on their feet, cheering and hooting as the hunk made his way to the middle, where Gigi was, looking quite lost. TK waved his hand around to calm down the hyper crowd.

"What's going on?" Kizito asked, looking between TK and Gigi who were the only ones standing in the middle. Gigi looked at TK as if to tell him that he should tell Kizito.

"Well," TK started. "Star girl here has been dared to kiss any guy around this yard for twenty seconds, and she picked you." He said. Kizito immediately turned to look at Gigi, surprise evident on his face. I kept watching them with keen interest and so did everyone.

"What..." He breathed out, trailing off after. Gigi shrugged, a small smile tugged at the corners of her lips.

"It's okay if you don't want to." She told him. Her voice was almost in a whisper but loud enough for every one of us to hear.

The entire circle was graveyard silent, every single pair of eyes on the duo in the middle. Everyone was eager to hear if Kizito was going to go through with it or not. But none of them were as eager as I was. I wanted to know if my best friend would go through the dare, and honestly, I wanted him to go through it.

I wanted to see this!

"Do you think he will go through it?" Dawn whispered, asking me and I turned to her. "I kinda want him to go through with it." She confessed and I chuckled slightly.

"Me too," I answered. I heard a sharp intake of breath to my left, but before I could pay any attention to it, I saw Kizito's expression change.

It literally shifted from that of surprise he had on before, his lips quirking in a smirk, his eyes settling solely on Gigi. He looked like he was in a zone, giving her a thorough once-over. His gaze was droppy, sexy droppy, his countenance exuding a whole lot of heat. Right there and then, I knew he had made his decision.

"I'm down for it." He simply said and that was enough to throw the circle into a frenzy again. Even me, I nearly leaped from my mat, screaming like a lunatic. I saw Gigi's smile stretch further, her eyes on Kizito. And then, I felt it.

The Chemistry between them. It was OOZING.

"Okay, I've set the time," TK said, tapping away on his phone before looking up at the duo. "I'll count down now. Five. Four. Three. Two. One. Go!"

Gigi made the first move.

She moved closer to Kizito till she was touching bodies with him. She didn't immediately kiss him though, she looked at him as if silently asking him if he was okay with all of this. I saw Kizito nod slightly, a small smile quirking at the corner of his lips. I trained my eyes on them, watched as Gigi closed the tiny gap left between them and pressed her lips to Kizito's.

OH. MY. GOD.

I drowned out the screams, cheers, and hoots that followed this action, even Dawn's hysteric shrieks that kept ringing in my head and focused on the two people causing all these commotions. Gigi and Kizito. My mouth hung open in total stupefaction as I watched every single detail.

Not weird at all.

Gigi touched her right hand to Kizito's face, kissing him slowly. Kizito who had early had his hands hanging on either side of him, seemed to be getting quite into the kiss as well, bringing both of his hands to rest on her exposed back, pulling her closer to him to crush every bit of space between them.

Med oo!

If anything, Kizito seemed more into the kiss than Gigi was. His hands didn't stay in one place as if they couldn't decide where exactly to hold her. They just kept alternating between the small of her back, to her waist, then to cup either side of her face... and then back to the small of her back again. He angled her head to the side as if he wanted to kiss her better... deeper.

He looked like he couldn't get enough. And neither could she. They were so caught up in their own world, drowning out the hypes everyone was singing. It was like nothing else mattered, just the two of them.

It has been more than twenty seconds. Everyone was enjoying the moment too to even notice.

"I think I just got pregnant watching them kiss." Dawn rapped out beside me and I burst out, laughing at her statement.

"What the hell, Dawn!" I shrieked.

"Time up o!" TK started shouting, clapping his hands together to alert them back from whatever land they had transcended to. Some people went for him immediately, telling him not to stop them. But Gigi and Kizito were already pulling away, more or less.

It looked like Gigi was the one pulling away from the kiss but Kizito didn't want to let her go. His hands were still wrapped around her waist, his now opened eyes on her. He looked like Moses when he descended from the mountain of transfiguration in the book of Exodus. Kizito was glowing!

Gigi leaned in again but not to kiss him. She whispered something in his ears, pulled away, and walked back to her mat. Kizito watched her till she got to her mat, that smirk returned to his lips before he finally walked out of the circle, followed by cheers and applause.

"That was intense," I muttered, blinking.

"Tell me about it!" Dawn chipped, so much excitement evident in her voice. "There is so much chemistry between them to give me a heart attack." I laughed again, wondering where Dawn was getting all her expressions from.

She was whispering to me so Sochima wouldn't hear her crazy side.

"Heart attack?" I had to ask, laughter in my voice.

"Yes naw. And I'll die a happy woman." She said with all seriousness and I couldn't help but laugh again.

"But honestly though." She continued and I looked at her, my laughter subsiding. "I don't know what's going on between them. I really didn't see this coming at all."

"Neither did I. I didn't see it coming." I chipped and she hummed.

"But whatever it is or it's going to be, I'm all for it. I am seriously shipping Gigi and Kizito." She said and I smiled, nodding and agreeing with her.

It was somewhat shocking, seeing Kizito in this light though. Gigi was daring and I knew she could try anything, but as far as I knew, she has not been involved with anyone romantically, or at least in Crestview. And the fact that she confirmed that she was not that way with Simi definitely crosses him out.

It's was the same thing with Kizito. He was majorly conservative when it came to his love life, or anything romantic for that matter. For as long as I have known him, he hasn't been with any girl intimately. He had tendencies, given his reputation and popularity, but he was mostly focused on class, sports, and we, his friends.

But seeing the both of them this way, in front of the whole class, or at least the majority of it, was new. Good new anyway. If they were going to explore it, I wanted to see how they would.

"I'm going to the bathroom." Semeeha suddenly spoke for the first time, after what seemed like hours.

Dawn and I turned to her, wondering why she had been silent this whole time. But before I could speak, or ask her why she has been so quiet, she stood up and walked out of the circle, leaving Dawn and me even more confused.

"That was weird," I muttered.

"She was quiet all through," Dawn stated, not sounding remotely as confused as I was, causing me to turn to her. She was staring in the direction Semeeha had disappeared to.

"I really hope it's not because of what I think it is." She muttered, but I heard her. My brows furrowed in more confusion.

"What are you talking about?" I asked her. Dawn opened her mouth to answer but was cut off when we realized that the game was still on. Affiong was the one who had spinned the bottle, and it had landed on Beauty, again.

What does this girl want to do again that we haven't seen? I thought to myself.

I knew without any doubts that she was going to pick dare. Beauty Idoma wasn't scared of doing anything, no matter how explicit or sleazy it was. She thought it gained her rep with the guys, she just didn't know what kind of rep. I could bet a million bucks that she was going to choose dare again. That was what everyone wanted to see anyway.

But she surprised me... and everyone in the circle.

"Truth,"

Oh wow! Someone wants to turn a new live.

"That's shocking," Dawn commented beside me and I chuckled, agreeing with her. As I watched Affiong in the middle, thinking of what question to ask Beauty, I heard Dawn mutter on how Semeeha was taking so long in the bathroom and if she went there to give birth.

"Oh, I have a question." Affiong hummed, a sinister smile playing on her lips and I began to wonder what was going on in her head, what question she wanted to act. All I knew was that it would spark drama.

"Bring it," Beauty replied, a sardonic smile of her own playing on her lips. I knew right there and then that the both of them must have connived about something. What it was I had absolutely no idea.

"Why do I feel these two have something up their sleeves?" Dawn asked and I hummed, thankful that I wasn't the only one who noticed. And for some reason, I had a bad feeling about it. I tried to shake the feeling off.

"When was your last hook up and who was it with?" Affiong asked Beauty. That question stirred up a reaction of interest from the circle.

Even though I was also somewhat interested to know the answer as well, I knew the question wasn't a difficult one for Beauty. So, what caught me was the way she was taking her time to answer, that same sardonic smile playing on her lips, her eyes roaming around the circle as if looking for something...

Or someone.

"Why is she wasting time? Who is she using to do shakara." Someone sassed to my left, but I didn't have the liberty to look at who it was that made that statement, not when Beauty had finally found who she was looking for.

Her eyes had settled on Jidenna, while Jidenna, on the other hand, looked completely uneasy. I frowned.

Why?

Before I could think of anything else, Tekena stood up and started clapping.

"I think that's enough spin the bottle for the night..." He started to say, but was cut off when everyone else didn't agree with him, telling him that they wanted to continue the game.

Dawn was saying something but I didn't pay attention, mostly thinking of why Tekena suddenly wanted to stop the game. And why Beauty was looking at Jidenna, who wouldn't stop fidgeting for God knows what reason. But it seemed like I was the only one who noticed this.

Why was I the only one that was noticing all of these?

"Why do you want us to stop, Tekena?" Beauty taunted maliciously, that sly smile still stretched at the corners of her lips. Her question had stopped everyone from talking, every single person now focused on her.

"Shut the fuck up and get lost, Beauty!" TK spat out all of a sudden, shocking every single in the circle, including me. "No one is ready for your clout chasing."

Cloutchasing? Am I the only confused one?

"What are they talking about?" Dawn asked confusion written all over her face, clearly equal to mine. "Are we still playing spin the bottle or this is something else?" She asked again and all I could do was shrug.

This was clearly something else.

"Oh, now I'm clout chasing?" Beauty asked, sarcasm dripping from her tone before she scoffed out a peal of laughter. "Or you are just trying to cover up for your friend," she nodded towards Jidenna and my eyes shifted to him again, frown creased across my forehead.

Jidenna now looked like he was about to piss himself.

Everyone was now watching the unfolding drama with rapt attention, wondering what was going on. Beauty wasn't done talking. In fact, she started looking around the circle again like she was back to looking for something. She kept looking... till her eyes met mine... and her lips stretched further in a rather cynical grin.

"I'm sure Hilary would like to know that her ex-boyfriend isn't exactly a saint either. It will be nice to know that she wasn't the only one messing around."

What in the...

Her words sent my entire system into overdrive, ringing in my ears like an alarm. Several thoughts wouldn't stop coming to my mind, several interpretations to what she had just said. And I hope - no - I prayed that what she just said didn't mean what I think it meant.

"Hilary..." Dawn started to say but I shut every other thing that came out of her mouth, my eyes alternating between Beauty, Jidenna, and Tekena.

Three of them knew something I didn't.

I stood up, walking to meet them in the middle, feeling everyone's eyes on me.

"W-What did you say?" I stuttered out, keeping my eyes on Beauty, whose cynical grin didn't waver for once. She was enjoying this, but I didn't care. I didn't care that we were feeding the entire circle the drama they wanted. I just wanted to know what all this was about and how I was part of this.

At that point, Jidenna stood up and came to the middle as well, wearing a completely different expression, flattering stance completely gone. He now had a nonchalant look on his face, a trifling stance.

"Are you seriously going to listen to this clout chaser?" He was talking to me, rolling his eyes and scoffing out a burst of mocking laughter.

Beauty's smirk turned upside down and contorted into an irritated grimace. She wasn't the only one irritated, I was. It wasn't the laughter that even irritated me, it was the fact that he was trying so hard to act like nothing was up, because of our classmates that were here, watching the drama unfold.

It disgusted me.

"I rather listen to what she has to say than to hear you speak!" I snapped back at him, shutting him up.

Gasps and mutters rang out across the circle, everyone surprised at my outburst. Jidenna looked surprised and like clockwork, he was back to his fidgety self, looking uneasy. Tekena was the only one that didn't look shaken, but his eyes were a black hole. He looked at Beauty, cocking his head to the side.

"Say what you have to say and fuck off Beauty." He said a completely impassive expression that seemed to shock Beauty. But she recovered fast and folded her hand across her chest.

"Fine." She spat, turning to me. "My last hook-up was exactly a month ago and it was with Jidenna." My breath caught in my throat, just as the circle went graveyard silent at that revelation.

W-What...

One month ago.

She said it was exactly one month ago. But we were still officially together one month ago.

"You guys were still very much together then." Beauty confirmed, smiling in utmost satisfaction when she saw my reaction.

One Month Ago.

That was after Henry died, after his burial even. I was still grieving one month ago. I was still trying to contact Jidenna one month ago. Jidenna didn't answer any of my calls one month ago. He ghosted me one month ago. That was the same Jidenna that Beauty was talking about.

The same Jidenna she's saying she hooked up with.

It can't be. I looked at Jidenna who had suddenly begun to avoid my eyes.

"Jidenna, tell me you didn't..." I trailed off when he rose his head up and his eyes met mine. His eyes told me everything I needed to know.

I suddenly couldn't breathe.

Jidenna cheated on me.

"Hilary..." He started to say but I could hear him. I didn't want to hear him.

He cheated on me...

At that point, liked the gang-up was planned, most of the guys began to insult Beauty, calling her a clout chaser, cloutina, and that she should go and sit down. Soon, everyone had ganged up against her and the rather embarrassed girl had to leave the floor, leaving just me, Jidenna, and Tekena in the middle.

But I knew, I knew Beauty was not lying, not with the way Jidenna was acting, she wasn't. They had hooked up a month ago... when Jidenna and I were still together and most especially, around the time I needed him more than ever.

Dawn was suddenly behind me, telling me that we needed to leave. I let her pull me away from the rowdy circle, wanting nothing more than to get away from there...

Away from Jidenna Okojie.

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"Where is Semeeha for God's sake!" Dawn muttered to herself, frustration mixed with irritation evident in her face and her tone as she tried Semeeha's number one more time while stealing glances at me repeatedly.

I just sat on the floor of the empty hallway, hugging my knees to my chest, and stared at the white wall ahead of me. Several thoughts were flying through my head but the only question I could keep asking was Why.

Why did he do this to me? Why would he hurt me like this? Just when I thought he couldn't hurt me more than he already did.

God, this is painful!

I heaved out a deep sigh, throwing my head back against the wall behind me as I fought back the tears that were beginning to well up in my eyes, even though I changed within myself repeatedly that I wasn't going to cry.

Jidenna was actually the one who cheated on me, after making everyone think that I was the cheater. It was him all along.

It was Him.

The mare thought of it, the images that began to conjure in my mind, images of Jidenna and Beauty going at it, while I was crying somewhere in my room, grieving, trying his number repeatedly, made me want to throw up.

The thought of it hurt every fiber of my being.

"Hilary," Dawn's voice jerked me out of my thoughts and I looked to see that she was now kneeling in front of me, holding my hands in