56°/ The Downfall of a Man....

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Hello, hello!

The reads of this book have been going up so fast, thank you all for reading this book!❤️

And I think you will love this chapter 😌❤️ {Song for the chapter is Untold Truth by BTS, I listened to it while writing and it went so well. Don't forget to check out the Media above, it inspired me in a way for a scene in this chapter too!}

Carry on.....














~ACHA~






It was not easy to drive while Dabeluchi sat there, right next to me.

I simply couldn't concentrate.

The night was still young. It was barely a few minutes into six, and the skies were starting to darken and traffic was not being so friendly with us, as we tried to navigate our way through and get to her Dance Class in time for her shoot.

Over and Over, I had adjusted the hoodie of my brown trench coat, and looked to the rear view mirror to ensure there were no stains on the clean white turtle neck I wore inside - an action that had subconsciously grown on me overtime with practice, but all the same, I couldn't fail to notice that Dabeluchi seemed oddly quiet.

She looked worried actually. Of course, she was worried, we were late. She should have been very worried.

It made me worried too.

I couldn't help it; Everything about her affected me so much. Way more than I knew it should have. She tied me down with every emotion she felt, and made me feel it too. If she was happy, I was happy, and if she wasn't - like now - it affected me as well.

I wanted to calm her down, and no matter how much I assured her we would make it, she was still very disturbed. There was nothing more I could do, and no matter what I said, it wasn't changing the fact that we were stuck in this uncooperative traffic, with a line of unmoving cars ahead of us.

So, I extended a hand to Dabeluchi.

She didn't notice, so she didn't take my hand.

She was still busy staring ahead, afar off into the traffic as though she could in some way, use telepathy to coin things to go her way.

So, I made the move and grabbed gently onto her hand, took it softly in mine, and said nothing more as I held her.

Even merely touching her hand had an effect on me.

Holding her felt unreal. Like I was holding a goddess, and not a human being. That feeling you get when you touch a celebrity - you know they're human, but it still feels unreal, like in some way, they maybe are not. Our hands fit into each other so perfectly, it was Art. And just by touching the girl, I felt a rush. A rush of something that felt like electricity, but cooled like waves of chill. 

It wasn't normal to feel this way by just touching a human being.

What on Earth is this girl doing to me?

How does a human being make you so shamelessly and hopelessly obsessed?

"Aurora," I called her, but goodness, her mind was far gone.

She didn't respond, and I didn't call her a second time. I let her live to her fullest in her world of oblivion. I mean, it gave me time to worship everything that defined her.

She was so beautiful.

I had noticed the hair do earlier this morning when I brought her back, but I was too into making sure she was okay, than fully appreciating it. It was the first time since we met that I had seen her on weaves, and I wondered when she had the chance to get it done - Maybe while she was out with her friends last night. She looked nice on weaves. She looks nice in anything, basically.

She also wore a dress this evening - one out of the few I had bought for her, it was a slightly colourful short flay dress that had sunflowers of different shades of the colours of the rainbow designed all over it. Seeing her wear a dress was new too.

Although, her hair was a bit messy. I could tell she hadn't brushed it, and it made me chuckle. That one wasn't new at all.

I didn't mind anyway. I mean, I had always loved that raw, untouched beauty Dabeluchi had. Before I met her, I had never been much into girls who didn't prep themselves well - Mostly, because personally, I always have been someone to take critical care of myself, and ensure that everything about myself was touched up in one way or the other.

But Dabeluchi didn't even do as little as apply powder; It was rare. Even in this period of the year we were in that Harmattan was close by, she didn't even bother with lip balms and didn't care if her lips or feet looked chapped. She didn't even brush her hair at all.... But then, it still shocked me beyond words how someone could be so compelling without trying. Dabeluchi made looking raw be the most beautiful thing in the world.

Her lips were moving now, and I stared, mesmerized and-

"I said the line is moving, why are you ignoring me?" 

I read her lips and was instantly slapped out of my reverie and back into reality.

"Sorry." I chuckled, and rotated the wheel to get back on the road that was now steady, although slow.

I was driving, and I felt that she was staring at me all the while.

If only I could tell what she was thinking.

Most of the ride, she had seemed bothered, and although I knew it was because we were slacking in time, I also felt that there was something else on her mind.

But each time I asked, she denied it.

We got to the Tsoede Arts Building - The building where Yukerya had rented Dance Studio in, and as I parked outside so me and Dabi could go in, I laughed a bit to myself, remembering the first time I had gotten here, how scared I was of staining my all white outfit because of the dust in the place, and how horrifyingly ugly and dilapidated that building looked - I had legit wondered how possible it was for human beings to even dare inhabit such a filth.

And even after three months after showing my face in here, I could conclude one thing....

The building was still ugly as fuck.

But, oh well, I guess if there is something I have learnt so far, is what to never judge a book by it's cover. The building was ugly, but the people were nice, and may I say, they had started to grow in on me, the same way I knew they were growing on Dabeluchi.

"Here," I smiled warmly as I extended a hand to help Dabi come down from the car.

"Thank you,"  She took it, giggling softly as she blushed and it was the most adorable thing ever.

Made me want to hold her and protect her all the days of my life.

Her mood seemed to have switched quite fast. All through the ride, she was quiet, and coming here, it almost seemed like a burden had been lifted off her shoulders.

However, I spoke too soon.

Because it seemed the moment she realized how happy she was, she shut down again.

"Something on your mind?" 

I chipped in that question to start up a conversation while holding her hand and helping her up the crooked stairway.

"Just one thing." She answered.

I was both shocked and excited to get an answer out of her.

"Really?" I looked to her, "Share?"

She surprised me even more by doing so.

"I just want to know..." She hesitated for a moment to watch her step, and I carefully helped her, and she asked, "How dangerous is it to get in trouble with Kaniru George and his gang?"

The question took me so off-guard.

"Excuse me?" I frowned in confusion.

"JJ is your friend, isn't he?" She looked at me, an innocent and slightly eager look in her eyes as though she really wanted to find something out.

I wasn't sure why that was of interest to her, but I gave her an answer.

"He hasn't spoken to us for a while now," I answered her.

I honestly wasn't sure if JJ saw me and Sean as his friends, at this point. Since that misunderstanding he had with Sean, the day that Kaniru had passed out that awful threat, he had not uttered a word to us. If I said I wasn't disappointed, I'd be a liar.

"I'm not sure," I rephrased my answer to Dabeluchi.

"Oh," She had said, stayed quiet for a few seconds, "I thought he was your friend, so I thought that maybe you may have, through him, known some things about Kaniru and co."

What the fuck?

"Dabi, I'm not friends with those boys." I made her understand that, "And why would you want to find out things about Kaniru and his boys?"

I was so lost.

Did she know something about Sean? Was that what has been on her mind? Was this what this was all about? Was that why she was asking strange questions about Kaniru and his boys?

"I am not sure why you would want to know anything about them, but so far I know, getting into trouble with them is not quite something to look forward to," I answered Dabi.

"Do you think they are capable of taking a life?" She asked again.

"Dabi." I had a mental gasp, "What's going on?"

I was indeed puzzled.

"I just want to know." She only said.

"Does this have anything to do with Sean?" I had to ask at this point.

She whipped her head so fast to me, and looked at me like I spoke Korean - Complete and utter, almost shameful confusion.

I guessed whatever reason she was asking these questions had not a single thing to do with Sean.

"Sean?" She said his name, "What's up with Sean and Kaniru?"

"It's a long story," I told her.

"And you won't tell me?" She quizzed.

"It's a really long story," I genuinely told her, "Sean just has scored to settle with them, that's all."

Dabeluchi looked a bit pissed, as though she wasn't happy that I didn't give her full details?

But come on, would I start that kind of long story here?

And hey, if I were to be fair, there was a LOT she owed to tell me.

A part of me softened up however not long after, when I realized that she was just honestly probably going through a lot, and didn't mean to be so easily triggered.

If only she could talk to me....

I don't know what moved me to, but I was compelled to hug Dabeluchi.

I don't know what pushed me, but I just hugged her. And she stayed there in my arms, like all her worries were suddenly gone and she found peace in me, and I didn't let her go for a long, long time.

"How's your Mum?" I asked after I had let her go.

We were so close to the Dance Studio, and I could tell because I felt the ground beneath me rumbling with the bass of a song I couldn't clearly hear, that I knew was coming from a short distance away.

"You talked to your Mum, didn't you?" I asked Dabi.

"Yeah..." She answered me.

"And if I asked you to tell me something else, would you be honest with me?" I further inquired.

She was quiet for a moment, and then afterwards, she answered in a softer tone.

"Yes."

Good.

"Tell me about Nancy," I asked politely.

Dabeluchi completely acted like nobody was talking to her.

She just walked straight forward, eyes ahead, and the blankest look in her eyes, staring far ahead at something with a void, vague look in her eyes.

It was like she was a ghost.

Or a robot.

She just completely shut her batteries down.

"Dabi?" I called her.

Like a light bulb, she flicked and turned to me. 

"Why aren't you saying anything, Marc?" She asked me, with wide attentive eyes that showed eagerness to hear me out.

Bloody hell?

"I did,"  I looked at Dabeluchi, appalled, "I asked about Nancy."

Her mood quickly turned sour.

She visibly stiffened.

"Who told you about her?"  

I was confused, because after what my Mum told me, I was expecting Dabi to act oblivious to the name, Nancy.

"My Mum overheard your conversation over the phone," I didn't lie to her, "She was a bit worried that-"

"Your Mum should not be worried about a terrible woman like Delilah."

The F-?

"I don't know how much she may have told you about her," Dabi continued, swallowed hard like this topic was too much for her, "But, Delilah is not a good person."

"I wasn't asking about-"

I could barely finish that sentence, and the door was slamming open in our faces as a bunch of boys and girls from Dance Class were pulling me and Dabeluchi into the class, in hyper and exaggerated welcomes and excitement, throwing us without warning into a Hall full of standing cameras and cast equipment.

"Woah," I was a bit taken back by the everything around me and Dabeluchi - the maddening rush of excitement that the entire class was filled with, the many, very many camera stands that were mounted at so many corners of the Hall, the Lights - New L.E.D lights that illuminated a stunning purple and blue lightening around the place, and the loud, sweetly deafening sound of Love Nwantiti Remix that blared out so loudly from the loud speakers and shook the ground beneath me.

Shockingly, the music, no matter how loud it was, did not swallow the screams and applause that the entire class was exploding with on our entrance, and although I had been originally taken aback, I easily blended in in seconds, and since I had already learned everyone's names so easily, with Dabeluchi's hands secured in mine, I exchanged pleasantries with Emeka and the afro pop dancers, Precious Osas and the other mad break dance machines, Yusra and the ballet girls, Eghe and Abby and their group of hip hop stars, and virtually, the entire population of the class that all accepted me in so easily, from the first day I had walked in here.

These people were obsessed with me and Dabeluchi, and I mean, OBSESSED!

Their energy was mind-blowing, and I had never seen anything like it before. Not even in Castron High. I knew Lagos people were mad, but these guys? Nah, these guys raised the bar.

And it melted my heart to see that Dabeluchi, the one girl who I knew hated attention more than anything, did not even look the least bit disturbed by the crowd surrounding her. 

There was something so pure and beautiful about how happy she always was, being here. It was immeasurable. It made me happy too.

"PENGEST COUPLE IN LEKKI!"

Naomi, Dabi's little statured friend was jumping out of a crowd of people who more or less would have looked like giants close to her, and running towards us like a little smurf to throw herself into us, in a big, welcoming hug.

"Oh my God! I am so happy you guys made it!"  She was holding onto me and Dabi with those tiny hands of hers, "And, Dabi! We were just about to start shooting!"

"Are you serious? All these while, I thought we were late," I chortled, nudged Dabi, "See? You were worried for nothing." The girl just smiled and shook her head, and I could tell she was relieved.

We didn't have much time to talk anyway.

Yukerya appeared in no time. 

"ALRIGHT! ALRIGHT! PLACES, EVERYONE! WE START SHOOTING IN FIVE!" The woman was clapping and instructing her students to order, and everyone, in a bubble of jumpiness, ran to set themselves in places.

The class was a bit rowdy as some of the girls and boys whom I supposed were shooting first were coming out from the other side of the Hall, all wearing matching tracksuits, and grouping themselves into a waiting area for their turn to shoot .

The place was so noisy. It was a mad house, basically.

"MARCUS!" Yukerya had called out to me above the noise, startling me for a moment, "I'M SO HAPPY YOU MADE IT TODAY!" She flashed me a big welcoming grin and a wide thumbs up from her distance, and then, looked to Dabi by my side, signalling to her, "COME ON IN, DABI! YOU NEED TO CHANGE OUTFITS, YOU AND YOUR GROUP ARE UP FIRST!"

Dabi nodded to her, a slightly nervous look in her eyes, as she turned to me, shouting above Love Nwantiti and the noise all over the place, "Wish me luck, Marc!"

"You definitely won't need it," I assured her, gently squeezed her hand to let her know she's got this. 

Dabeluchi definitely got this. The girl was a masterpiece of Dance. I had never in my life seen a better dancer. She didn't need luck. She single-handedly choreographed her whole group's dance, and I was more than certain that she was going to go up there, and destroy this dance shoot without mercy, own it like she ought to. I trusted her.

"Thank you," Dabi was grateful for my kind words, and there was appreciation in her eyes.

Eghe and Yusra, Dabi's excited dance partners were pulling her backstage, and in no time, the girls were done with their outfit changes and were jumping into the center of the shoot, having the entire class shake and rumble with mighty applauses, chants, and screams on their entry, and unlike the two girls with Dabi who stuck their tongues out and gave crazy hand gestures with their fingers to appreciate the eager and excited, Dabi was rather shy the whole time, blushing on all the love and attention, and waving to everyone softly as she walked in with them.

I was suddenly nervous for Dabeluchi, which was normal. I knew she was going to kill it, yet, I couldn't help but feel that thrill and slight nervousness as she positioned herself there, in the middle of Eghe and Yusra as their lead dancer in front of all those cameras, waiting for the beat to drop so they could burst right into action.

And, then, the beat dropped.

And so did my heart.

I saw a totally different Dabeluchi.

"My God." I was in complete awe of the girl.

I had seen her dance so many times. So many times that I had lost count, but each time, I saw her dance again, it was like a refreshing, new feeling. It felt newer, it hit more different.

The beat playing was foreign, it wasn't a song, it was just an afro pop mix sound that dropped with vibes and energy, and Dabeluchi made sure to give into that energy for all that it was worth.

It was so fascinating to watch her dance. It was a thrill, getting stunned every second by something new she did, a new unexpected move she made, and every mind-blowing form she composed her body to literally dissect every part of the beat she danced to, and moving her body in ways that were just unfathomable to me. 

Dabeluchi danced like she was telling a story, keeping you guessing and excited to see what she would do next. It was something I couldn't explain. The other two girls were good, but what made me puzzled was how they danced the exact same moves Dabi danced in sync, but still, did not do it the way Dabi did it. Dabi made it look so good in a way that was almost creepy to watch, and somewhat unconventional, but fascinatingly and addictively pleasing to the eyes.

This girl was talented. So damn talented, and it was too much for words to explain. I knew every one else could agree with that too, for one all the guys who had gathered around me when the shoot had started were all psyched by the performance, and Dabeluchi's talent was being singled out the most.



{A/N; Video above - Zoom in for better view and Imagine the girl in the middle is Dabi😌❤️ From the first day I set my eyes on that girl, she gave me dancing Dabi vibes, so you'll be seeing her a lot oo

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