In One PIECE (Completed)

Another Hug

"Bella, we need to talk oh after class." Ada reminded Bella as they submitted their basic Design assignments in the lecturer's office.

Bella became thoughtful and responded with a knowing tone, "Okay, no problem." In her heart, she hoped the thing they had to talk about was not Femi's wahala again.

After the class, Ada walked Bella to the ceramic chairs designed under the tree. As they sat, Ada looked at Bella with serious eyes and began, "Bella, I have something very important to tell you. Please just listen to me and don't judge me based on what you hear."

"it's Okay. You can tell me anything." Bella replied earnestly. Ada sucked a breath in and started talking, " you see, it's about me and Femi." Bella nodded cautiously "O-k-a-y",

"um so the other day, he asked me to come to school because he wanted to give me my birthday present."

"Uh-hmm," Bella nodded.

"uhm, please don't judge me with what I'm about to tell you." She pleaded, eyes sad. Bella smiled tightly and urged her to go on.

"well, we went upstairs to where the studio was. We stayed and talked for a while then later we went downstairs because we didn't want many eyes on us. So he told me about his fiancée and that I should stop texting him because his fiancée goes through his phone and the time I texted him, he just didn't bother to open it so as not to cause trouble from his fiancée." Ada's eyes grew distant while Bella kept silent and listened.

"So we got to that place where the staircase ends. Nobody was there. He held me close. And so I asked him to give me the birthday present he promised me. But he told me that his gift was a hug. I was skeptical at first since I knew what that hug could mean. But I've been thinking about the way his arms felt and I just...I just couldn't refuse."

Bella saw red. Bella could see the whole scene playing out in her mind. Wherever it was going, it was not going to be good. "and did you hug him?" she asked carefully.

"Yes, we hugged."

"Ada!"

"I know. I'm sorry but at that point, there was nothing I could do. We both wanted to be in each other's arms."

Bella threw her arms, tired, "Ada you could have just told him that since he had a fiancée you didn't want to hug him. Why would he even ask to hug you in the first place? And in that dark place."

Ada turned her eyes to Bella with difficulty, "wait. I haven't told you everything yet. So we hugged and we remained like that for a long time. Like he held me so close that I couldn't think. I would have stayed like that but I pulled away for the sake of both of us. He still held me, and his face came so close to mine, that if he moved a little more, we could have kissed..." Bella drew abated breath and asked frantically, "and did you kiss him?"

"no" a breath of relief passed from Bella's lips. Her head had been raging but now all she could think was Thank you lord. Thank God she didn't kiss him.

Ada continued, "he asked me if I wanted him to kiss me. I said no. then he said he won't kiss me because he respected my decision and that he didn't want to complicate things. So we left one another's embrace and that was all." She turned to see Bella's reaction.

But Bella was fuming inside. "I'm glad that you did not kiss him. it would have turned into an awful thing by now. You would have gotten into a relationship with a man that already has a woman."

"I know." Ada sighed and looked away. She wondered what she was thinking. All the time, Bella had been warning her. She truly didn't want to get involved with him again.

Bella held her arm and drew her closer, "don't worry. Things like this happen. Now maybe its best you avoid him and make sure things like this don't happen again."

"I can't avoid him na. It would make it very visible and everybody will begin to question things. I'll just greet him like a normal classmate and act as if nothing happened."

"Okay, fine. As far as nothing happens. You also have to pray to God to help you sort out your feelings and make sure nothing like happens. You cant lead him on. Right now, he may be thinking hard about you and that is bad for him. it could lead to something else. You've got to ask God for grace and forgiveness."

"I know. I'll do something about it. I'm sure he too will do the right thing." Ada smiled slowly at Bella. Bella tapped her friend's shoulders and let out a prayer to God silently that happened nothing to her.

"I've got to tell you something." She said, gaining Ada's attention. "I liked a boy too in high school. I told you before. I knew I couldn't go into a relationship because it was the last thing I wanted. I didn't tell him and instead, I prayed for it to go. I was kind of a proud person. I had a reputation to uphold so I didn't want to let it get in the way. I also didn't want the school or my parents to find out about it. I told no one. Sometime when you feel something for someone, you gotta give it time and let it wait out. See if its really real before you start jumping into relationships."

"I don't want a relationship either. You and I are different people Bella. I'll surely tell someone what I feel about them. But don't worry. Nothing will happen." She smiled re-assuredly. Bella nodded. She knew everything would be alright. Ada was not really naïve.

"let's go abeg. Its almost getting dark." Bella packed her things and stood up. Ada followed and they both walked out of the enclosure to the gate.

They talked about lots of things on their way. But one thing lingered on Bella's mind. She was going to watch Femi and see the kind of person he was. She didn't trust him and she promised herself that if he tried anything funny with Ada, she would rip him raw.

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This is sort of a real-life perspective so please inform me if there are any corrections to be made. Thank you. Some of you may not understand that I'm mixing pidgin and English together. I'll do a glossary later to help you understand.