By the time we had made it back, it was fifteen minutes past midnight with half of campus sinking into a peaceful slumber.
"Thank you so much for this, Akwasi." Princess turned to me once we'd reached the entrance of her hall. "I really appreciate it. You're the only person who's managed to get me out of my room since..." remorse touched her features.
"Hey, hey, don't think about it ok." I set a comforting hand on her shoulder. "Everything that happened with Boris that night was an accident. You were just a victim of circumstances; it wasn't your fault. Very soon, Ethan will get over it and everything will be back to normal, you'll see. Just continue being yourself and do what makes you happy."
Nodding, her lips slowly crawled into a grateful smile. "Thanks. You're a good friend."
"As always," I shrugged, feeling a bit bashful. "Hope that smile means I'll see you at practice tomorrow?"
"Definitely." A solid nod came with the reply.
"Great," my grin expanded. "Well...umm goodnight."
"Night." Princess stepped back, climbing up the stairs to the tinted glass doors. Casting me one last smile and a wave, she slipped past the boundaries and I heaved out a breath.
"Long night," I mumbled, digging into my pocket for my phone. Whilst my WhatsApp messages took their time popping up, my legs began their regular trek back to my hall of residence. Glancing down at my screen, I noticed Akunna's name at the top of the list and I quickly tapped his chat.
Hey man!
Where are u?
Deon's here and he brought a box of instant noodles. Check it out😋
Two pics and a fifteen second video followed the message, the first one being a medium sized box of Indomie instant noodles. The second picture showed a steamy pot of bright yellow noodles topped with onion rings, fat sausage links and sliced boiled eggs.
My stomach rumbled at the sight and I chastised myself for craving food at this time of the night, when I'd already had a tall glass of fruity milkshake with incredibly tart bread. I seriously needed to watch my diet if I wanted to maintain my spot in the regional line up.
But the video that played after the picture assured me that I wouldn't have to worry about my diet, because Akunna and Deon noisily slurped all the noodles straight from the pot.
"Ah." I came to a halt, gaping at my phone in amusement. Akunna purposely brought the device to his mouth as he sucked in a long curly strip.
"Mmm, you're definitely missing out buddy," he managed to say before biting into a sausage link and making loud chewing sounds. Deon joined in, stuffing his face with the eggs.
"Dummies," I shook my head with a laugh. By this time, I was pretty sure they had both passed out on the floor beside the noodle pot, snoring their hearts away.
"Akwasi!"
My attention veered in the direction of the call, to find Princess jogging towards me. "Hey," I moved closer, pushing my phone into my back pocket. "Did you forget something with me or..."
"Oh no, no, I didn't," Princess said through a few pants. "I was just climbing up the stairs to my room when I spotted this on the noticeboard." She held out a familiar red flyer.
"Oh yeah, the Twilight Valentine dance. It's on Monday right?"
"Yeah," Princess nodded. "And I was wondering... if umm...if you had a date."
Awkward pause.
"Uhh..." I lifted a hand to scratch my head. "At the moment no, but I-"
"Oh please, come with me to the dance," she begged. "Everyone in Penfield is going to be there and I don't want to go alone."
"Uuhh..." my feet shuffled backwards, anxiety wafting in my system. "I... don't think that's a good idea, Princess."
"Oh Akwasi," she whined.
"No, no think about it. Everyone in Penfield is going to be there and this includes Ethan. I don't want him thinking that we're-"
"We're not going us a couple," she pressed on, "just as friends, please. Ethan will definitely be there with a girl on his arm and I just...I don't want to appear there without anyone."
"I...I dunno, Princess," a rugged breath seeped past my nostrils as I took another step away from her but she closed it in a second.
"Pleeease Akwasi," her warm hands encased mine. "I really need you to do me this favour," she paused. "Earlier, you said I should be myself and do what makes me happy. Well, having you come with me to the dance will make me happy."
Oh no no, my subconscious chimed, she's using your words against you. Bro, you have to shut this down now. Just say no.
My eyes met hers, drowning in their honestly and fragility. She was desperate for this. Saying no would break her. It would push her back into the horrid state I had found her in. But this time, I would be the cause, not Ethan. I would be the one to blame for picking her up and dropping her again, and because I couldn't let that happen, a soft, reluctant "ok" left my mouth and a high pitch squeal soon followed.
"Eee! Thank you so much, Akwasi!" She let go of my hands to wrap me in a tight hug. "Thank you! Thank you! Thank you!"
"Ok ok," I chuckled lightly, trying to wiggle my way out of her grasp. "That's enough. I feel like I'm going to burst any moment from now."
"Oh sorry." She pulled back, grinning like she'd just made it to heaven. "But seriously, you have no idea how happy you've just made me, I'm beyond grateful. Thank you!" She squeezed me in another quick hug then took off the way she came. "See you at practice tomorrow!"
"Sure." I waved back.
Well, so much for asking Shola to the dance! my subconscious snapped in a malicious tone. I hope Akunna murders you when he finds out that you broke your promise.
Oh crap, I thought, running a hand through my hair. I completely forgot about that promise I'd made to Akunna to ask Shola out to the dance. Now that it was too late to change anything, there was only one thing I could do.
"Keep it all to yourself," I murmured under my breath as I continued my trek back to the hall. "Don't mention anything about the dance to Akunna."
Tsk, this is not going to end well, my subconscious remarked.