BOUNDARIES

Kween's POV

I honestly didn't know why Fred liked iya-Azeez restaurant so much.I know it was closest to our faculty and the cost of food was pocket friendly but I really didn't like it.It was crowded most times and I won't want to tell him about Dave here.

"Don't you think you are being childish, by making me buy lunch just because I was a minute late? And why do you like this place anyway?" I said, staring at him while he enjoyed his meal of fried rice and beef, with a bottle of Smirnoff ice. I opted for jollof rice, it tasted alot better than the fried.

"You don't reason with rules or principles kweeny." He said, gulping down his drink. "You broke the rule and you have to take the responsibility. Also the price here is pocket friendly."

"I thought you were a gentleman ". I said, rolling my eyes as I saw a guy approaching our table with an unfriendly look. I tried signalling Fred on time but he was too busy fighting with the beef in his hand, with his teeth as his weapon.

"Fred! Fred! Your 3 o'clock." I whispered, gesturing to the strange guy's direction.

"What are you saying?" he asked, confused. I wanted to repeat myself but it was too late. The guy appeared at our table and grabbed Fred by the collar.

"The girl I saw you with this morning at the gate,where is she?" The strange looking guy demanded, still grabbing Fred and choking the life out of him. I launched at him, with both hands but he parried my attack effortlessly and I ended up embracing the floor. How embarrassing. People were watching, but no one dared interrupt the guy.

"What girl are you talking about?" Fred managed to say

"I don't know her name but I saw you with her this morning.She has golden hair. I need her contact or name, she stole something from me".

"Ju...Judi..Judith!" The strange guy loosened his grip on hearing her name. He dragged Fred closer and stared at him in a weird way.

"I want her contact." He demanded again

"I don't have it. Truth be told, if I had all the contacts of girls I've been with or came across, I would have ran out of storage by now."

Fred really needed to learn how to talk to angry people. I always told him he would get beat up one day because of his mouth. I guess, today is that day but I wasn't going to stand idle and watch my friend get beat up without a fight.

"Smart mouth abi?" He said, before slapping Fred across his face. Fred instinctively threw a punch at him but he dodged and landed another blow on Fred's face.

"Leave him alone!" I screamed, dashing towards him with my handbag as a weapon. He avoided me once again but this time, he held onto my left hand,preventing me from crashing onto another table. For a minute, I thought he was saving me but his next action brought me back to a painful reality. He slapped me across the face.

I really couldn't say, if it was because I didn't eat much but I started feeling dizzy almost immediately. Fred caught me almost in time and prevented me from falling, but at no cost this time around.

"I will keep an eye on both of you, you better look for that thief before I hold you both responsible. " he said, before making his exit.

Wait, did he just say 'hold both of you responsible? ' How was I even involved in any of this. I already got more than I bargained for by joining in the fight. Now he was keeping an eye on the both of us?

At this point people were already making rumbling sounds with their tables as they made their way out of the restaurant. No one cared to know how we were faring on the floor instead we were met with disgusted stare, as if we were the thieves in question.

"Are you okay?" Fred asked, helping me up

"Dude, I just got slapped across the face by a guy huge enough to lift us both. Does any of that sound okay to you?"

"I got slapped on the face too, if that would make you feel better. I also got punched." He added, pointing to his bruised chin.

We both started laughing like idiots. His face was badly bruised and it hurt me that we were helpless. Maybe we should try taking some karate class. We grabbed our stuff and made our way out of the restaurant. This would be my last experience at iya-azeez's restaurant before I graduate.

"I'm sorry about earlier ." He said, breaking the silence between us. I looked at him and gave him an encouraging smile.

"It's fine, maybe next time we should make a run for it, instead of fighting." He laughed so hard, I almost thought he was crazy. He stared at me and mouthed a thank You. That made me blushed

"So, you wanted telling me something. It sounded really important over the the Phone."

Well it's now or never. Just act cool and tell him. He's your friend after all, he will support you.

"You remember that hypothetical situation?" I said, not looking at him. He hummed in affirmation.

"That honestly was my situation. I didn't want to tell you because I felt you would tease me to death." I met his gaze and it was unreadable.

"Was that the real reason you didn't tell me? Or was it because you figured I'd be hurt by it?" I guess he wasn't going to make this easy for me. I took a deep breath and prepared for what to say next.

"You are right Fred. I didn't want to hurt you. But not telling you isn't right either. You are my friend and I need your support."

"Alright, fine!" He said, taking me by surprise. "There's this thing called the waiting game. That's what I'm doing right now. You can test the waters however you like Kweeny, but soon, you will go crazy about me." A wide smirk appeared as he finished his last statement.

"In your dreams." I said, rolling my eyes. "So, until then will you help me out with Dave? I have a date with him in two days time"

"Wait, by Dave, do you mean Dave Johnson?" He asked with a hint of surprise.

"You know him?" He gave a sardonic laughter and then looked at me. I hope he has an explanation as to why he laughed at me in such manner.