Chapter 6 ~Lovely~

Perry never said he liked her...

That was what Ariana kept telling herself, but she knew it was not true, he didn't have to say it, even though she was naive, it still was obvious, it was obvious how his eyes lit up when she smiled at him, how he came to life when they talked heartily that evening, how his muscles now tensed when he saw her , Ariana stood watching him, with the mysterious girl, who wasn't so mysterious anymore, she had learnt from Efe that the girl was called Dianne, the girl had her arms wrapped around Perry, and she looked at Ariana, a brow raised.

Ariana didn't know how she felt at the moment, she didn't know what to make out of everything that was happening.

She quickened her pace as she walked away from them, it definitely was a bad idea going out, Ida had told her not to, but she had been adamant, insisting she wanted to go out, wanted to see Perry and maybe talk to him.

She went straight to bed, covering her whole body with a blanket, soon she drifted off to sleep...

It had been two days, since she last saw him, Perry, she made herself believe she had gotten over him, he didn't like her after all, school was soon reopening, it was her last year in junior high and she knew she had to work hard that year, she was not going to allow anything bring her down or make her stall, not even her little crush on Perry.

"What did you say you need again?" Her mother asked her as they entered the town's bookshop, varieties of school stationeries were displayed, books, school bags, and others, the place looked colourful with all the goods arranged on shelves.

"Stationeries and a new bag" She said, her eyes landed on a particular bag, then, she made up her mind, she pointed at the black bag, with thin straps and designs on it.

It was plain, yet beautiful, it reminded her of herself, how plain she was yet beautiful and unique.

"I want that one" She said, showing her mother the bag, her mother nodded.

They bought other necessary things for school before leaving the shop.

Ida stayed home, she had decided to prepare some meal before her aunty and cousin came back. Lately, she had noticed how Ariana was reserved, she didn't even hear her soft laughter anymore, and she was always zoning out, never paying attention, a sad look was always etched on her face, and it dampened Ida's spirit to see her adorable cousin in that manner. She knew it was because of Perry, she had talked to him the previous night, he wanted to know how Ariana was doing, Ida had told him how sad she was.

Now she didn't know how to make her cousin happy, she had no idea on what to do, what could she possibly do.

How could she probably bring herself to tell Ariana that that girl was Perry's fiancé, and that Perry was in an arranged marriage, a marriage against his own will.....

"We are back" Ariana's mother announced as they entered the Kitchen, Ida beamed at them, her smile faltered a bit when she saw that look on Ariana's face, it was there again.

"Dede, are you okay, it seems lately you are distant, is it school, don't worry about it okay? we all know how brilliant you are and ....."

"Mum" Ariana whined dropping the things they had bought from the book shop on the kitchen counter, she sighed deeply before looking at her mother, the woman's face looked tired, a trace of worry on her face, the woman studied her daughter, the young lady was trying hard to hold tears from spilling.

"I'm fine, I've just been..... tired lately" Ariana said to her mother. The woman sighed nodding in understanding, Ariana left the kitchen muttering an excuse. She felt exhausted, she wondered, it seemed lately, she was always feeling exhausted .... too exhausted, drained of energy to do anything, even her smile was always weak, it was as if she was loosing herself gradually, all her strength draining away slowly from her, and it frightened her, she was much afraid to admit to herself, that she knew the cause , she refused to admit to herself that she needed someone in her life, and that the ache she felt sometimes in her chest was just an ache and nothing else. She refused to admit to herself that she needed someone in her life now to survive, it was no longer her alone.

And with every refusal, a dull unpleasant ache took over her, it gripped at her chest, shortening her breath, causing an endless hole in her chest, making her heart yearn even more.

She laid on her bed, drawing herself together, into a ball.. soon her eyelids dropped on their own accord and she fell into a deep slumber...

"You know, no matter what you do Perry , we are still going to get married" She said, a smile on her lips, the smile made Perry sick, he looked down at her with his most deadly glare, his hands dropped from the rail to his side.

" Keep on dreaming Dianne, keep on" He said in a low voice, he saw fear in her eyes as he stormed off from the balcony, even his room couldn't give him the comfort he needed, there was only one place he wanted to be, one person he wanted to be with...

It just annoyed him much, how unlucky could he get, he wondered how he ended in this kind of mess, of course it was his parents, heartless, money - seeking beings. It was never in him to be rude, especially to Dianne, he once had liked her, but now he wondered what he saw in her.

Ever since, the marriage was announced, she behaved differently, almost like his sister; snobbish. The way she behaved around him, like she owned him, he definitely had to do something about it before it was too late...

"Aria" It felt like she was dreaming, maybe she was, but the second time,her eyes flew open as they landed on Ida's face hovering over hers.

Her cousin sighed before sitting at the edge of the bed, Ariana slowly sat up yawning loudly, she felt dizzy and extremely tired from sleeping too much. She groaned as a wave of dizziness hit her, she turned to her cousin frowning deeply at her, wondering why she woke her up from her sleep, her heart was pounding hard and too fast, like she had ran a marathon.

"Why did you wake me up from my sleep?" She asked.

" Because you've been sleeping for hours, and if I let you continue, you'll just wake up in the middle of the night tossing in bed and disturbing my sleep" Ida explained calmly, she watched as her cousin watched her with a frown, Ariana slowly shook her head getting out of bed.

"Oh and by the way, Perry is waiting for you" with that Ida left the room, leaving Ariana to digest the new information, a smile formed on her lips as she entered the bathroom.

Checking herself out again in the mirror, she left the room, on her way out she saw Ida and Efe in the living room watching a movie.

The cold air hit her as she stepped out of her apartment, it made her shiver a bit with excitement, it made her feel refreshed.

As she stepped out of the compound, she saw Perry at the usual spot, she walked slowly towards him as her heart beat faster.

"Hi" She finally said when she reached him.

He turned around abruptly, looking at her so intently. He couldn't say anything at all as he looked at her, and he fought so hard to control his self.

"Aria" He acknowledged her, smiling at her.

"How are you?" He asked her as she stood by him, she nodded slowly turning to look up at him.

"I am good, and I'm guessing you are" She said

"No" It came as a whisper as his façade weared off, leaving a broken boy. Ariana closed up tbe space between them caressing his face.

"Tell me" She said softly, he knew exactly what she meant, so he told her everything, how he felt and how lost he was, she listened quietly her heart going out for him.

When he was done, they stood there in a comfortable silence, holding each other's hand.

Finally, Ariana turned to him, he also turned to her looking down at her, with a step closer, his lips landed on hers, and they kissed, they kissed like their lives depended on it, her arms wrapped tightly around his next, and his wrapped around her small waist pulling her even closer.

"Aria" He whispered when they had stopped, her head rested against his chest, she let her arms drop from around his neck as she looked up at him.

"I need you in my life no matter what" He confessed.

"I need you too, I need you so much" She said with so much emotions, it made his heart swell with love for her, he cupped her face kissing her again.

In each other's arms, they felt secured, ready to face anything thing that came their way.

That night, something was born, love so strong, a bond so strong , only God could make such a bond....