Chapter five~ Three things about you

We shared a drink, that was a first.

But for once I hoped it wouldn't be our last

Cause for a moment, I forgot my dark life.

ππ

April Waje.

To everyone, she's the hottest teen celebrity. Super fashion model, star cover of classy brands and magazines, picture perfect infact, everyone's dream girl.

But to Yara Williams and to anyone else who dared to look past her fame, peachy pearly smiles and perfect model. April Waje was actually the most meanest evil that could be seen in daylight. She could crumble your entire world with her peachy smiles and stab you painfully to your front while complimenting how beautiful your dress looks.

That was April. 

The one beside the light-skinned curly dark haired guy with coffee eyes, smiling like the whole world caught her fancy. Yara quickly retreated her steps backwards as the girl's attention zapped at her.

Not that she was scared of April. No, she wasn't scared of anyone especially people who rolled with Zaria Omah. Thinking of Zaria, she hadn't shown up since the soiree began. 

No one cares though, seeing one devil was actually a workload to her already. Anyway, once, she had made April's life miserable. It wasn't something she was all proud of but she had gotten used to putting up a font that nothing ever moved her.

Especially when April had fought back at her for the first time, when she had seen that April had her demons which she hid perfectly under those pearly white toothy smiles. Images of April occupied her thoughts and the most thought that clouded her reasoning was 'what the hell was delivery guy doing with the witch? '

She rummaged through the clutch purse which she carried around, digging out a mirror from the little bag as she stared at her reflection trying hopelessly to wear a wide smile.

Was it her smiles?

What could even make him seem so fascinated in what the chirpy devil talked about.

Most of all, why was she getting all worked up? 

She sighed, she has been acting weird and weirder each passing minute. One second she was lost staring at the guy with the coffee black eyes and the next minute she was getting pissed off at seeing him with someone else.

There was nothing so special about him.

First of all, he claimed to be a fucking realist with his delusional thinking. Secondly, he seemed so silly to her. Thirdly, she barely knew him. Heck! She didn't even want to. Yet, the tugging at her heart, the pulls and his aura made her think otherwise.

Fuck him!

She rubbed her palms on her temples in a sober manner, she must have gone insane thinking about the delivery boy with the curly hair and coffee eyes. She plunged her hands into the clutch purse again, bringing out the familiar orange bottle which had the pills, Benny must have forgotten to take them along with her earlier today when she got unconscious. Taking a deep breath, she poured a handful of dosage on her palms, raising her hands to her lips to plunge them in just when a hand swatted hers.

"What the hell..." she stopped midway through her sentence, eyeing the guy towering in front of her with a frown.

"You seem to be having the time of your life here?" Yara could feel the sacarsm dripping on the words and of course didn't bother to dignify his question. He sat beside her, picking the pocket mirror from her thighs and staring at himself in mock interest.

"Give it back!" She snapped, causing him to chuckle heartily.

"You shouldn't try to hard to smile, makes you look scary."

"You were the one who insisted that I try smiling." she pointed her index finger at him in accusation.

"The keyword was 'sincere.' " he smirked. 

"Yeah keyword my ass." she muttered causing him to burst out laughing.

"What's funny delivery boy?"

"Don't tell me you actually took my advice to heart?" His voice was laced with humor making her glower the more.

"No fucking way. Besides, they sounded so stupid." she sneered.

"Yeah, as stupid as they were I'm not going to rub it in your face for at least trying." he jabbed as she deepened her frown and letting out a cough.

"Get out!" She muttered in a low groan.

"Doesn't sound like you want me to."

She glanced at him, eyebrows shooting up in a quirky way as her lips twitched, "your more weird than I thought."

"Thanks for the sincere compliments though, it's my pleasure." he replied.

She rolled her eyes, biting her lips in reply, "you're welcome."

"By the way, delivery boy what are you doing here?"

He shrugged, "whatelse if not sitting under the moonlight, making little conversations with the the girl with a closed off aura."

"You don't know me." she mumbled to which he heard.

"Yes, I don't..." he stopped, peeking a glace at the profile. She was right, he didn't know her but somehow, he wished to get to know her for everything she was and she is.

"Stop staring at me like I stole your fucking kidney." she said, flicking out a cigarette from the clutch purse.

"Woah! Lord knows what else you're carrying into that little bag."

She shrugged, lips twitching in amusement as she stretched out the stick to him, "want some?"

"No, I don't smoke." he declined.

"Cool." she took a long drag, puffing it into the air causing it to form think waves of curly white smokes to which Toby let out a cough. She glanced at him.

"My bad." there was a hint of amusement in her little excuse of an apology which he kinda ignored, still recovering from the air puff of smokes.

"Do you drink too?" She asked, he snapped his head at her, eyes widening in surprise.

"Don't tell me you also have a drink in your clutch purse?"

This time, a small smile crept up her lips and quickly vanished as soon as it came "Nope."

"And you just smiled now," he pointed out as she rolled her eyes.

"I didn't. Now tell me if you want a drink or not? I'm not always this generous "

He grinned, "I don't drink too.

She was about to say something else when someone's peachy tone interrupted.

"Hey Toby! I've been looking for you almost everywhere, gosh this house is so huge!" The chripy tone gushed in awe and relief as she got closer to the duo.

"Hey April." Toby waved at her, sending her a warm smile 

"Hey to you too, just don't leave me alone next time. Gosh I can't seem to find my way around this house." she scolded in a childlike tone still gushing at how big the house was.

"I'm sorry about that..."

"Yeah, it's alright. I'm about to leave already so...." she turned her attention to Yara.

"Hey look who we have here!" April squealed, taking a long look at Yara who puffed her cigarettes into the air with a bored expression.

"You two know each other?" Toby asked.

"No."

"Yes." the both said in unison causing him to knit his brows in confusion. April smiled widely, facing Yara with a mock disbelief expression.

"C'mon who doesn't know me? You're joking right, not knowing who April waje is?" She asked in her overly excited tone yet the way she had spelt out her name in that sentence had a notch of pride swirling around it.

"I'm not interested in knowing whosoever you are." Yara shot back, narrowing her eyes at the girl who held her peachy smile intact, drawing closer to her.

"You're not interested or you're scared of knowing me huh?" She asked smiling widely that anyone who saw them would think they were best of friends who just saw each other, while one tried doing the recalls the other racked her head as a way of helping out.

"No! It's because you're totally insignificant to me." Yara maintained, glaring outrightly at the girl with the unwavering smiles.

Toby glanced at both of them in utter confusion, okay! He knew this was beyond what he never knew but then could someone explain why April still kept her smile like their little chat was the most interesting thing that had today.

"Oh my gosh! Is That April waje!!" Someone gasped in amazement, hurrying up to meet with April and one minute, it was just an individual, the next minute it got the place swarming with fans gushing and cooeing at her.

"Don't tell me, it's really you!?"

"God, I'm a fan of yours can you please sign me an autograph "

"Can i take a picture with you"

"Oh my gosh this is so surreal"

"She's really beautiful in person...."

April's smile seemed to grow wider as she took a pen from one of her said fans, scribbling her signature on the girls outstretched arms and taking a picture with others while her manager tried wading off the crowd. She turned her attention back to Yara.

"So much for being so insignificant. See you around soon." she said, strutting away on her heels with a throwaway compliment on how sophisticated the mansion looked.

•••

"That sure wasn't what I thought it was?" Toby breathed out once April was gone, taking a swig from his bottle.

"You don't even know anything."

"Oh yeah, how about we start from me knowing what your name is?" He asked seemingly taking a new interest in her 

She jerked up, suddenly conscious of her atmosphere. Her eyes widening in alarm as she stared down at her feet rubbing against each other with a certain uneasiness. not daring to give him a reply, she bit hard on her lips.

He chuckled, noticing her demeanour. She couldn't possibly seem uncomfortable by that simple question.

Could she?

"No need to tell me your name..I already know three things about you." he said, letting his eyes hover around her gaze which was now filled with raw curiosity.

"What are they?"

He gazed at her for a split second, curving his lips into a lopsided smile, "sad smiles, mirrors and drugs"

"What?!" She asked in astonishment which only caused him to grin.

"And your name- " he continued,

"Tequila." He gave her a smile, taking a swig of the alcohol beside her, slunged his bags over his shoulders, and walked into the dark. Not for once looking back at the befuddled girl with the expression of someone who had seen a lunatic.

••••

It was two in the night or rather mid morning but the summary was that everywhere was so dead silent and covered in a cloud of thick darkness and asides the noise of creepy insects and whatever flew at night, there was the desperate knock hitting the windows of Yara.

She tossed around, hoping that the noise wasn't at her windows Untill the whisper-yells of a desperate cry, she jolted from her sleep in alarm.

"Yara, Yara open up...it's me, Tola." the knock came again persistently, her eyes flew open at the realisation that Tola was outside her windows by this time of the night. She quickly got up from bed, pulling the glassy windows open.

"Tola what's wrong? Why are you here by this time?"

"Shhhh....try not to wake everyone up." Tola hissed, using her palms to place over Yara's lips.

"Fine.what's up with you?" Curiosity and worry laced in her tone as she stared at tola in confusion.

"I need some money." Tola stated.

"You got some today, remember? "

"It wasn't enough."

"Tola you got some more a day before today from your boss." Yara reminded.

"It still wasn't enough."

"Tola what is.." the remaining words came under muffled breaths with tola pressing her palm over Yara's mouth to stop her from screaming.

"Stop nagging me alright....I just need some money, I need to travel somewhere."

Yara eyed her suspiciously "where are you going?"

"Somewhere!" The latter replied in benign irritation.

"Shouldn't I know at least? Just tell me what is going on?" Yara probed, hands flying over her head in despair.

"It's non of your business Yara...just lend me some money, i'll pay you back." she maintained stubbornly. Yara let out a sigh of resignation, she of course knew that no matter how much you try to let out an information from Tola, if she's determined not to let you access that,then you never will know.

"Okay, how much do you need?"

"A million naira." Tola shrugged causing yara to burst out into a humorless laughter.

"Abi you're joking?" She asked the girl who stared at her with a dead silent look..yara immediately stopped laughing, noticing how serious tola sounded.

"I don't have that kind of money with me." she stated.

"Give me anything you have yara, anything." she replied, darting her eyes around in desperation.

Yara snatched her phone from the reading table where it laid, thumping her fingers into her keypad, soon Tola's phone was chiming with notifications. She pulled the phone out of her black hoodie, a smile gracing her lips as she raised her head to Yara's.

"Thanks girl."

"That's all I got " Yara stared at her with her lips in between her teeth.

Tola smiled again, crossing her legs through the windows, "no problem and I promise i'll pay you back."

"Tola," yara called behind her hesitantly.

"Yea?"

"Be careful."

She smiled, "sure...goodnight." and with that she retreated into the thick atmosphere of massive darkness which blended with her hoodie. Yara stared at her retreating figure until she was out of sight.

Just then, the lights of her room came on followed by a sacarstic clap, she snapped her face to the door to see her mother narrowing her gaze at her still clapping.

"Such bad influences we have there, don't we?" Mrs dera asked, glaring at her daughter.

"You don't know anything about Tola." she defended.

Mrs dera scoffed, "I might as well call the cops on her and tell them that their culprit is running away."

Yara's eyes flew open in suprise, "how do you know that?" The woman shrugged in reply.

"I don't know but why else would she be running away by this time of the night."

Yara sighed in relief, it couldn't be that bad for Tola, could it?

"My only prayer is for God to dispel all bad influences in your life like the Tola girl."

"Mother..." she sighed, paused in between with a deep frown before climbing her bed and drawing the blankets over her, "you should go now, I want to get some sleep."

Her mother scoffed, "of course you should. Besides, you have school tomorrow, try waking up on time."

The door closed behind her still with the lights on. She muttered profanities, dragging her feets lazily from the bed to turn of the light. Then tossing herself back onto her bed, she let her mind wander around. She thought about Tola, what Tola must have been up too, her mum who acted like she was filth, her estranged dad who she hadn't seen for months, her school and the horrible things that happened to her but most of all she thought about the lean boy with the light skin and curly dark hair and coffee eyes.

As much as she felt so relieved talking to him, it was sublime, it made her feel a kind of special 

It was beautiful

but then, she feared.

She feared he may run away especially when he finds out what a horrible person she is.

She didn't want him to get to close yet she found herself wanting to get closer to him... 

It was scary.

Very scary.