he is Crispian orion

The stranger's eyes flashed with anger, but I didn't back down. I stood my ground, my heart racing with adrenaline.

"Who the fuck are you?" I demanded, my voice loud and clear.

The stranger's expression turned cold, his eyes glinting in the dim light. "That's none of your business," he spat.

I laughed, a harsh, mocking sound. "Oh, I'm shaking with fear. You're so intimidating."

The stranger took a step closer, his face inches from mine. I could feel his warm breath on my skin, making my stomach twist with anxiety.

But I refused to back down. "I'm Pearl Oyekanmi," I said, my voice steady. "And you are...?"

The stranger's eyes seemed to bore into mine, but he didn't respond.

Suddenly, my stomach churned, and I felt a wave of nausea wash over me. I tried to step back, but it was too late.

I vomited all over the stranger's expensive-looking suit.

He stumbled backward, his face twisted in disgust. "You filthy little...!"

I glared at him, my vision blurring. "Fuck you."

And with that, everything went black.

*****

I woke up to the blaring alarm on my bedside table, the bright red numbers reading 5:45. Groggily, I sat up and rubbed my eyes. As my surroundings came into focus, I realized I wasn't in my own room. The unfamiliar ceiling, the strange furniture...it all hit me like a ton of bricks.

Panic set in as I scrambled to remember the events of the previous night. Fragments of memories flashed through my mind: the party, the drinks, the argument with that arrogant stranger...

Oh no, I thought, my heart racing. Where am I? Whose room is this?

I threw off the covers and scrambled out of bed, my mind racing with panic. I had to get back home, and fast. I had sneaked out the previous night without telling anyone, and now my phone was probably blowing up with worried messages.

I frantically searched for my phone, finally finding it on the nightstand. The screen was flooded with messages from the group chat with my friends Nicole, Archer, Josephine, and Caroline.

"Where r u???" Nicole's message read.

" Pearl, answer us!!" Archer chimed in.

"Omg, did u get kidnapped or something?" Josephine joked.

"Guys, let's not jump to conclusions," Caroline cautioned.

I groaned, feeling a wave of guilt wash over me. I was in big trouble. I quickly scanned the room, looking for any clues about where I was or who I was with. That's when I saw him – the stranger from the party – lying on the couch across the room, fast asleep.

I tried to sneak out of the room, hoping to escape without waking the stranger. But as I reached the door, I heard his voice behind me.

"Hey, you're not going anywhere," he said, his tone firm.

I turned to face him, my heart racing. "What do you want?" I asked, trying to keep my voice steady.

"You ruined my suit," he said, his eyes narrowing. "You're going to pay for it."

I rolled my eyes. "Oh, come on. It was an accident."

"An accident that's going to cost you," he said, a sly smile spreading across his face.

I felt a surge of anger, but I knew I had to keep my cool. "Fine," I said, trying to sound calm. "How much do I owe you?

I waited for him to respond, but he just kept staring at me with that infuriating smirk on his face. I felt my anger simmering, but I knew I had to get out of there before things escalated.

"I'll talk to you later," I said curtly, turning to leave.

The stranger didn't respond, but I could feel his eyes on me as I hurried out of the room. I didn't bother to look back, anxious to put as much distance between us as possible.

As I rushed out of the building, I pulled out my phone and began typing out a response to my friends' frantic messages.

"Hey guys, I'm so sorry I didn't respond earlier," I typed. "I had to leave the party early and I just got home. I'll fill you in on everything later, but for now, I just need to get some rest."

I sent the message and then hailed a taxi, anxious to get home and forget the disastrous night. But as I settled into the backseat, I couldn't shake the feeling that my encounter with the stranger was far from over.

As I walked through the quiet streets, I stared ahead, trying to clear my head. The stranger's smirk lingered in my mind, making my skin crawl. I shivered, despite the cool morning air.

I glanced up at my house, knowing I had to sneak back in. My mom would be awake, and I wasn't ready to face her questions.

I slipped back into my room through the window, trying not to make any noise. I closed the window behind me and took a deep breath, relieved to have made it back without being caught.

I then opened my bedroom door and stepped out into the hallway, making my way downstairs to the kitchen. The smell of cooking food wafted up, making my stomach growl with hunger.

As I entered the kitchen, I spotted my mom busy at the stove. I headed straight for the cabinet, wincing as the bright light exacerbated my pounding headache. I popped a couple of pain relievers into my mouth, washing them down with a glass of water.

My mom looked at me, her eyes searching for something. She seemed like she wanted to say something, but the words never came. Instead, her expression turned to one of worry and concern, etched deeply on her face.

I trudged back upstairs to get dressed for school. I changed into another oversized shirt and a pair of worn jeans, styling my long, curly hair into a messy bob. My hair was a bit of a standout in our community, where most West African girls had shorter, more manageable locks. But I loved my hair, and I took my time detangling the knots.

Once I was dressed, I headed back downstairs to the kitchen, where my mom had laid out a simple breakfast of toast and tea. I sat down at the table, pouring myself a cup of steaming hot tea and taking a bite of the crispy toast. The silence between us was still palpable, but I was determined to make the most of our quiet morning together.

But she didn't say anything. She just kept looking at me with that distant gaze, the same one she'd had since the divorce. It was like a wall had been built between us, and I didn't know how to tear it down.

The silence between us was awkward, and I looked away, trying to break the tension. My mom went back to cooking, her movements mechanical, while I stood there, feeling the weight of her unspoken words.

As I finished my breakfast, my mom spoke up, "I'll drive you to school today."

I nodded, grabbing my backpack and following her out to the car. We drove in silence, the only sound being the hum of the engine and the soft music playing on the radio.

As we pulled up to the school, I turned to wave at my mom, but she just gave me a brief smile and said, "Take care."

I felt a pang of disappointment, but I pushed it aside and took the money she handed me. "For lunch," she said, her eyes already on the road ahead.

I nodded, getting out of the car and watching as she drove away, headed for work

As I walked towards the school entrance, I spotted my friends, Caroline, Archer, Josephine, and Niko, waiting for me by the gate. They all turned to me with curious expressions.

"Hey, where were you last night?" Caroline asked, raising an eyebrow.

Archer chimed in, "Yeah, we were worried sick about you .

I hesitated, unsure of how much to reveal. But before I could say anything, Josephine jumped in.

"Guys, guys, let's not bombard her. She's clearly exhausted. We can ask her later."

The others nodded in agreement, and we all headed into school together, chatting about our weekends. As we walked, Nicole fell into step beside me.

"Hey, you okay?" she asked quietly. "You look a bit rough around the edges."

I smiled weakly. "Just didn't get much sleep, that's all."

We stood chatting in the hallway, catching up n each other's mornings, when the bell rang, signaling the start of first period.

"I've got Brown for first period," I said, shouldering my backpack.

"Ugh, I've got math," Nicole replied, making a face.

The others shared their own class schedules, and we all wished each other luck before heading off to our respective classes.

The morning flew by in a whirlwind of classes and note-taking. In Brown's class, we discussed an upcoming project, and I was excited to get started.

As the lunch bell rang, I packed up my things and headed to the cafeteria to meet up with my friends.

"Hey, guys!" I said, spotting Nicole, Caroline, Archer, and Josephine already seated at a table.

We spent the next few minutes swapping stories about our morning classes.

"How was math?" I asked Nicole.

She rolled her eyes. "As painful as expected."

Caroline chuckled. "At least you didn't have to deal with Mrs. Johnson's pop quiz."

We all commiserated about our least favorite classes before turning our attention to the lunch menu.

"What's everyone getting?" Archer asked, scanning the options.

I shrugged. "I'm thinking pizza. How about you guys?"We grabbed our lunches and headed to our table, chatting and laughing. Just as we sat down, the queen bees walked into the cafeteria, turning heads as they made their way to their usual table.

They were the popular girls, known for their impeccable style and razor-sharp wit. Today, they were all wearing pink, from their dresses to their shoes, and the effect was dazzling.

"Wow, look at them," Nicole whispered, nodding toward the queen bees. "They're totally rocking that pink theme."

Josephine leaned in, a conspiratorial look on her face. "You guys, I have some juicy gossip. I found out something last night at the party."

Nicole raised an eyebrow. "What is it?"

Josephine paused for dramatic effect. "I saw Crispian carrying a girl out of the party, but I was too drunk to see who it was clearly."

Caroline's eyes widened. "Who do you think it was?"

Josephine shook her head. "I'm positive it wasn't Tiffany. But here's the thing - I think Tiffany has a major crush on Crispian, and that's why she's been spreading rumors that they're dating."

The others nodded thoughtfully, processing the new information.

Archer spoke up, "But we have seen them together, Josephine. Like, multiple times. They do seem pretty close."

Josephine nodded, "I know, I've seen them together too. But that's exactly what Tiffany wants us to think. I'm telling you, she's been trying to make it seem like they're a couple to make herself look more popular or something."

Nicole frowned, "That's kind of mean, don't you think? If Tiffany really does have a crush on Crispian, why would she spread rumors about them dating?"

Caroline said, "Maybe Crispian is cheating on Tiffany."

Josephine's eyes widened. "That's a pretty serious accusation, Caroline."

Nicole leaned in, intrigued. "Do you think that's really possible?"

Archer shook his head. "I don't know, guys. We don't have any proof. We shouldn't jump to conclusions."

Josephine nodded in agreement. "Yeah, that's true. Crispian doesn't really flirt with anyone. He's actually pretty cold and distant to everyone except Tiffany."

Nicole frowned. "That's true. I've never seen him talk to anyone else in school except Tiffany."

Caroline looked thoughtful. "Hmm, maybe I was wrong then. Maybe he's not cheating on Tiffany after all."

Archer spoke up, "Yeah, let's not jump to conclusions. We don't know what's really going on between Crispian and Tiffany."

I said, "You guys have been saying a lot of things about Crispian since yesterday, but I haven't seen him. I just got here yesterday, remember?"

Archer said, "He was at the party yesterday, didn't you see him?"

I laughed. "Guys, I was so drunk, I can barely remember anything from last night."

Nicole giggled. "Yeah, you were pretty out of it."

I continued, "And even if I did see him, I wouldn't have known it was him. Nobody showed me what he looks like or introduced us."

As we finished talking, I said, "Can I say something?" But before I could continue, I looked up and saw him walking toward us.

"Look, look who's coming!" someone exclaimed.

The cafeteria erupted into a chorus of squeals and whispers. The girls around me started fawning over him, shouting out compliments.

"Oh my god, he's so hot!"

"I love your hair!"

"Can you touch me?" someone asked, pretending to faint.

I rolled my eyes at the dramatic display, but then my gaze met his. Our eyes locked, and I felt a jolt of recognition.

It was him. The stranger I had vomited on yesterday. The one who had asked me to pay for his ruined suit. The one whose bed I had slept in last night.

My face burned with embarrassment as our eyes held for a moment. I quickly looked away, trying to play it cool, but I could feel my heart racing.

I quickly muttered, "Excuse me, I need to use the bathroom," and made a hasty exit, trying to escape the awkwardness.

As I hurried away, I could feel his eyes following me everywhere, boring into my skin. I didn't dare look back, fearing I'd catch him staring at me again.

I pushed open the bathroom door and slipped inside, letting out a sigh of relief. I leaned against the sink, trying to calm my racing heart.

Why did I have to run into him again? And why did he have to be so... captivating?.

Nicole nodded sympathetically. "Well, if you need anyone to talk to, I'm here for you