(043 - Machiavellian.)

Another shout-out to the second position of the quiz we had last week Friday Goldastar . Well done babe. Also, a shout out to chiomachris. You guys should check out her book "Perspective". Y'all will certainly enjoy it.

And yeah, I wanted to say this. I told you guys that if you want to join the group chat for my book, y'all should send me a dm so I can send the link. I meant a Wattpad DM o. I thought what I meant was clear enough, but someone went on my message board and started asking for my WhatsApp number so that she can send me a dm there and I'll send her the link. What kind of Israelite Journey is that 😂💔?

Please enter my Wattpad dm for the link. The same goes for you guys that have been asking me the send the link on my Message Board. Wattpad doesn't allow any link on message boards except book links. Enter my DM, or else I won't reply you.

And yeah, Ghostreaders I see you o💀. I've never seen some of you vote or comment on this book, but you are majorly the ones demanding for the group link. Issorite. If you are not active here, I don't expect you to be active on the group chat either, so if I air your DM... pele.

I'm talking too much. Let's see what sister Semeeha has up her sleeves now💀.

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𝐒𝐄𝐌𝐄𝐄𝐇𝐀
(Semeeha Iris Malik)

"You sure took your sweet time to get here,"

Those were the words Kizito welcomed me with as soon as I walked through the barbed wire gates of the American Football stadium.

It's been twenty minutes since Lase rang the bell for break, so technically, I was twenty minutes later than the time Kizito asked us to meet. I'm pretty certain he had gotten here within five minutes after the bell went off, but here I was, strolling in twenty minutes after like I had the luxury of time.

It was intentional, anyway.

I got here late on purpose because I wanted to spite him.

The last thing I wanted was for him to know that I care. I needed to show that I really didn't give a fück if they wanted to speak to me or not, if he wanted to speak to me or not. I don't want them thinking I was desperate for their attention... or for his.

But It was hard.

It was really hard trying to pretend, especially with him standing just a distance away.

But I still maintained the act like it was nothing, holding my head up high as I took my time to walk up to him, trying my best to exude a demeanor of nonchalance.

"You are also taking your sweet time to walk," He said again, referring to how unnecessarily slow I was walking. If he knew I was doing it on purpose, he didn't say anything about that.

Still, I wasn't deterred.

Instead, I let my face scrunch up in a little frown.

"Don't rush me," I told him, my voice coming out harsher than I intended. "You are the one that called me out, not the other way around so if I decide to take my time, you will have to be patient," I stated matter-of-factly,

Kizito looked on like I had not just raised my voice at him, folding his hands across his chest.

"Except you want me to turn around and go back to class," I added in an afterthought. "I really have something better to do than to be here with you, so you should count yourself lucky that I decided to make out time to be here," I said.

It was a big lie. Possibly the biggest lie I have ever told. I wanted to be here with him, in the same space, standing close to each other, breathing in the same air with him. But he doesn't know that. And I don't want him to know that either... not yet at least.

So instead, I resolved to get on his nerves. Trying to get some sort of reaction from him.

Anger, maybe. Or at least frustration.

Something... Anything that would show that he's just as affected by our fallout as I was.

But rather than get offended as I expected, Kizito looked...amused.

Even with the distance between us, I couldn't help but notice the slight twitching of his lips, tugging up a bit into something between a smirk and a smile while he kept his eyes trained on me, watching me take so long to walk up to him.

That simple, seemingly harmless, and innocent gesture from him froze me on the spot.

I legit stopped walking.

Here I was, intentionally trying to rile him up by first coming late, then walking annoyingly slow, then being rude to him. I was expecting him to get frustrated at my lack of enthusiasm and nonchalance, was trying to get a reaction from him, a reaction that would put me in the position to hijack the situation on ground and use it.

But instead, he was smiling at me.

A simple smile that shut my entire system down. Including my mind. I forgot everything I wanted to say. Everything I had already rehearsed to say to him disappeared into smoke.

Poof. Gone.

And I couldn't still move.

What the fück?

What is this sorcery?

"Fine," I didn't hear him but I saw his mouth move, mouthing that word. Then he started walking. Towards me.

My eyes widened.

What is he doing? Where is he coming to?

I couldn't voice out my thoughts as well. My mouth was suddenly sealed shut, unable to produce any sound from them. It almost felt like there was an invisible finger holding my lips together because I couldn't open my mouth. I could only stand still and watch silently as Kizito made his way to me.

And in less than five strides, he was standing right in front of me.

Dear God. My breath caught in my throat.

Kizito was now standing just a few inches away from me. I had to crane my neck up to get a better look at him, gulping inaudibly as soon as my eyes met his piercing ones. He held my gaze, bobbing his head a bit to the side as he stared down at me.

Staring at me like he was looking deep into my soul.

I took in a breath, but that was another mistake I made.

The rousing scent of his cologne hit me hard like a truck. I tried so hard to keep my eyes from fluttering close and tried to stop myself from inhaling the intoxicating scent. But it was everywhere, emitting from him in a bizarre amount of waves.

I couldn't help myself. I just had to inhale again, biting the insides of my cheek to stop myself from sighing out loud like I was high.

But truth be told, I was high. High on Kizito Alade-Martins.

Kizito was oblivious to the effect of his closeness to me, the effect of his eyes on me. His eye was simple, his gaze innocent, yet they were enough to set my body on fire. How can he not see how much I was quivering beneath his stare? How can he not know what he's doing to me?

Or maybe he was seeing it.

Maybe he knew what he was doing to me but was trying to act ignorant.

It's a possibility, right?

"And now, you are not going to talk," He spoke, his voice cutting through my thoughts. I blinked, trying to clear my hazy mind and get my lips to say something.

Anything.

I needed to get my mind working again.

"W-What are you d-doing?" I asked him, mentally cursing myself for sounding just as disoriented as I looked. If Kizito noticed, he wasn't showing it. Instead, he looked more confused by my question.

"What am I doing?" He sounded just as confused.

"Why are you standing so close to me!" My voice was clearer now but for reasons I couldn't place, my tone was harsh and I sounded irritated. It was as if I was disgusted at the idea of having Kizito stand close to me.

That must have been the same interpretation in his mind because he looked taken aback by my outburst.

"What do you mean? I can't stand close to you anymore?" He looked and sounded appalled, a little humorless laughter in his voice as he spoke.

"Just move away," I told him, averting my gaze from his.

"Semeeha-" He still moved closer to me like he had not heard my request. That caused my head to jerk up and my heart to pick up at an abnormal speed in that same instant.

"I said you should fücking back off, Kizito! Jesus!" I snapped, cutting him off harshly. My voice echoed through the quiet stadium, shocking both Kizito and myself.

Kizito was dumbfounded, his eyebrows quirked upwards with surprise marred across his face, his mouth hanging open slightly. He kept staring at me, looking at me like he was seeing someone different, someone, that wasn't me.

Then he chuckled humorlessly, shock still evident, shaking his head as he muttered a barely audible Wow before he slowly began to back up, creating an ample amount of space between us just like I wanted. I exhaled, folding my hands across my chest as I averted my gaze from his again.

I didn't mean to yell at him like that. God knows I didn't. But if he had even the tiniest idea of what his closeness does to me, he'd be doing us both a favor by staying at least five hundred feet away from me.

Bullshit.

It won't work still. Because I know myself.

At the end of the day, I'd still be the one to close up the gap because I cannot bear losing Kizito. I cannot stay away from him. I can handle staying away from Dawn, and even Hilary, but never Kizito.

Else, I'd lose my mind.

"I shouldn't have yelled," I whispered.

"No, you shouldn't have," He agreed, his voice more controlled than I expected. "And though I shouldn't be surprised, I'm still trying to wrap my head around the fact that you did," He added, peering down at me with a confused mixed with hurt expression creased across his face.

I exhaled, looking away from him briefly before looking back.

"I didn't mean to yell," I said under my breath.

"Then why did you?" He asked me, folding his hands across his chest again. That simple action caused his defined muscles to bulge, almost ripping through the thin material of his white school uniform shirt. I couldn't stop my eyes from following the movement.

It was then I noticed that for the first time in a very long while, Kizito didn't have his varsity jacket on.

It made him look different. Hotter.

"What's going on with you, Semeeha?" His voice tore through my lewd thoughts. I focused my mind back on him, on what he said. I could hear the concern sipping through his tone like he was worried about me.

Or it could be that he wasn't, perhaps, grasping the reason why I acted the way I did.

His next statement proved that it was the latter.

"You have been acting so strange lately," He said to me, causing a frown to crease over my forehead because I could sense the accusatory undertone in his voice. "Hilary said you exchanged seats. Not just that, you haven't been speaking to any of us for more than a week. And now, you just woke up this morning and left the group chat without so much as an explanation?"

And we are back here again.

"Wait, so this is why you wanted to talk to me?" I asked, looking at him incredulously. "You called me out here to scold me for not speaking to you guys when it's the other way round?" I scoffed out a humorless laugh. "You guys have been ignoring me all week, giving me attitude for days now, yet I'm still the one at fault because I decided to leave the group chat."

"The girls decided to stay away from you because they needed the space, especially Dawn," Kizito tried to explain, picking his words one by one as if they'd have some sort of effect on me and make me see reasons.

They didn't.

Or rather, I allowed myself not to see the glaring reasons.

"You said some really insensitive things to her, Semeeha. Triggering words that you cannot take back." He went on despite my silence, trying to get me to understand why they were keeping their distance from me. "Hilary was there and she witnessed it all. They are completely justified for wanting to keep their distance."

There it is. The perfect slate.

"And are you?" I asked, mimicking his stance by folding my hand over my chest. My question must have confused him because he stared back at me, his right eyebrow quirked in question.

"Sorry?"

"Are you, Kizito Alade-Martins, justified for keeping your distance away from me?" I asked, keeping my eyes trained on his boldly.

He didn't reply, staring back at me quizzically and I almost smiled, knowing that I had him right where I wanted him. But I didn't, trying to keep my face as stoic as I could.

I went on when he still didn't speak.

"Even though there was absolutely nothing wrong in what I said, I can still try to understand why Hilary and Dawn are staying away. But you," I paused, shaking my head as a sound of disbelief escaped my lips. "I can't seem to understand why you stayed away from me. You weren't there and you don't know the full story, yet you stayed away!" I snapped.

"I don't have to know the full story-" He began.

"Oh, so you are taking sides now, aren't you?" I cut him off.

"I am not taking sides, Semeeha. I'm trying to do what is right.-" He wanted to defend himself but I wasn't going to easily let him.

"Right for who? For me or for them?" I cut him off again, asking him. He didn't answer me, taking deep breaths as if to calm himself. "Because you weren't thinking of doing the right thing this past week when you segregated me and left me all on my own. All of you!"

"Fine! I'm sorry!" He shouted. I felt my lips twitch in a small smile but quickly collected myself before he could see it. "But what was I supposed to do?" He sounded frustrated like someone caught between the devil and the deep blue sea.

"I don't know, stay with me?" I replied in a tone that said the answer was obvious. "You should have stayed with me, or at least, heard my side of the story, giving me a benefit of the doubt instead of constantly and repeatedly picking their sides over mine.-

I literally didn't exist to you this past week, Kizito. It took me leaving the group to actually get your attention. Is that how far apart you and I have drifted?" I let my voice quiver slightly and blinked repeatedly so that my eyes would water.

That did the trick.

I saw his demeanor falter right in front of me and it gave me some Joy.

Averting my gaze from his to the ground, I wrapped my hands around my body and squeezed my eyes tightly, trying to force out tears from my lacrimal gland, quaking my shoulders lightly in a bid to give off that I was really upset.

I needed Kizito on my side. I needed him to be on my side for once and I'm going to do anything to sell it, even if it meant twisting this whole situation in my favor and acting the victim.

And from my peripheral vision, I saw the way his shoulders slump in dejection, a deep sigh escaping his lips.

It was working.

"No," He whispered as he slowly walked towards me, gradually closing up the distance between us. He was delicately taking his steps towards me as if to give me enough opportunity to tell him to stay away.

But not this time. Not when I was this close to getting exactly what I wanted.

"Semeeha," He whispered again when he got close to me, his voice soft and hypnotic, like he was trying to cajole me to raise my head and look at him. But I didn't. I kept my gaze fixated on anywhere but his eyes, letting out soft, faux sniffles.

Kizito sighed again, muttering a small come here before closing the remaining distance between us by pulling me in and wrapping his hands around me in a hug.

Sold!

I had to stop myself from squealing in delight, burying my face in his chest and drowning all my senses in his exhilarating scent. I wrapped my hands around his middle, sighing in contentment at the feel of his strong arms wrapped around my body. It was meant to be an innocent hug, a hug to soothe me, but instead, they were making me think things.

Unholy Things.

I bet Gigi Esho has gotten the raw feel of his hands on her, bringing her undiluted pleasure in ways I cannot begin to imagine. It made me wonder what kind of skills he could do with those strong arms of his except being able to throw a football with them.

Soon, Semeeha. You'll find out soon. Just be patient.

That time will come.

"I'm so sorry, Semeeha,"

He mumbled against my head, bringing me out of my risqué thoughts. His deep voice caused his chest to vibrate against my face, eliciting a deep humming sound from me as I buried my face further into his chest if that was even possible.

When he buried his fingers into my braids, I had to stop myself from moaning out loud at the feel of his fingertips on my scalp, absentmindedly running through my braids.

Was he doing this on purpose? He has got to be doing this on purpose.

Right?

But watching him, it looked like he didn't know what he was doing.

"You know we are not drifting away, right?" He asked me, oblivious to the havoc he was reeking on my very soul. When I realized he was pulling away, I quickly went back into character.

"Then why does it seem like it?" I asked, pulling the sides of my lips together into a pout, scrunching my face up to imitate a sad expression. Kizito was still buying it because of how his shoulder slumped even further.

"I'm sorry," He whispered again, apologizing for the umpteenth time.

When his eyes dropped from mine to the floor briefly, I knew he was beginning to feel guilty. In fact, his expression said it all. This was the point where I was supposed to stop speaking.

But I still kept speaking.

"This isn't the first time, Kizito," I said, causing his eyes to drag back to mine wordlessly. "I know I said I'd be understanding with how your attention is divided now, but the truth is that it's hard for me to understand it feels like I'm the only one getting left out."

"It's not like that-" He began to explain himself again but I scoffed, cutting him off.

"Then, it's like what?" I queried him, unwrapping my arms from around him to fold across my chest, trying to sell my points as best as I could. "Because if you are not with your girlfriend," I tried my best not to cringe as I said that. "You spend your time with either Hilary or Dawn. Never me!" I beat my chest in emphasis, my voice coming out hoarse and pained.

Exactly how I intended.

There was a moment of silence after what I said. Kizito didn't say anything back, staring right at me intently like he was trying to digest my words. I held his gaze, catching the mild look of hurt in his eyes that made my breath hang in my throat.

He's hurt by what I said?

Maybe I should have stopped.

But then, there was no way I could have made my point clear without saying all that I said.

"Semeeha," He called my name gently, his voice coming out hushed, deep, and strong. Almost fruity. He might not have meant it to come out that way but that was the way it sounded to my