28

True to his word, Kofi stopped making efforts to make Portia notice him and she couldn't help but...miss that, at least she felt that she was worth something, till one day...

"Wait, what?"

"Portia, I'm sorry if I crossed a line, I just..."

"No, no, no, it's okay, you really want to go on a date with me? Why?"

Leslie then said,"Because you are an amazing person Portia, the connection you had with Skylar, how much he loved you, everyone felt, including myself and I just wished you could give me a chance to fill that void within you."

She felt a little insulted then asked,"Did Kofi...Kofi put you up to this, didn't he?"

"What?"

She saw him walk to a girl and...plant a kiss on her nose.😳😮

Portia was immediately filled with a burning sensation and quickly looked away when he looked in her direction, Leslie called for her then she smiled at him and said,"You know what? I'm free, today, right now, as we speak."

"But don't we have classes?"

"Who ever cared about those?"She said, dragging him away.

Kofi looked at her, wondering what she was doing, then just shook his head then said,"Oh and Afi, so when's Auntie Illuma coming to pick you up?"

"Tomorrow afternoon."

"Okay...but do you think you could help me with something before then?"

"Sure cousin, what is it?"

He looked back for a second...

***

Leslie flew above the clouds in his lightning bird form as Portia led the way, he flew ahead then said,"We could really get into trouble for this, where are we going?"

"Stop being such a party pooper, we'll get there soon enough."She said.

They got to a place where Leslie changed back into his human form on contact with the ground, looking around, he saw it was a valley.

The views were beautiful, but he didn't get why she'd leave school and abandon the reason her parents placed her there in the first place to come...here.

He was about to ask when she kissed him and a breeze blew through the trees, gathering up leaves and making a sweet melody.

She slowly pulled back and he knew why she brought them there, for privacy, she then said,"I'll love to give you a chance, and to be your girlfriend."

That was fast, is that how it happened between them, two strangers exchange a kiss then boom, they are dating?

If so, I like it.

Leslie gathered his thoughts then said,"And I'll love to be your boyfriend."

Then, out of nowhere, he swept her off her feet and was about to kiss her again when she said,"Woah, woah, woah, what are you doing? We just met."

"But I thought..."

"Relationships start slow dude, now let's go home before a teacher complains."

She opened a portal which one one half, led to her class, several minutes in the past, and the other to his, also in the preceding time.

He was surprised as she walked through and the moment he did, his watch went back by twenty minutes, like they had never left, which symbiote gave flight, time travel and teleportation together?

***

By the close of the day, Kofi was walking Afi home and Portia was staring at them, just like she'd been doing in different dimensions for the past three hours.

Leslie asked if something was wrong, then she said absent mindedly,"Yeah, yeah, it was nice dating you too."

"Wait, are you breaking up with me?"

"Yeah, me too."

He felt hurt as he left, then she turned back and saw he was gone, where did he go?

She didn't know whether to continue following Kofi or Leslie, she didn't have the time, wait, she did she could just come back.

She continued watching the pair going out the gate.

She went back in time after watching them go into the same house, she had to do something before they went there.

She went to the moment she was ' talking ' to her ' boyfriend ' then said,"Let's go somewhere together."

"But you just broke up with me."

"What? No."

"I just asked you and you said yes...me too."

"Oh that? I thought you meant you liked sushi, I mean, who doesn't like the stuff?"

He blinked twice then asked,"And what about when you said it was nice dating me too?"

"Oh that? It was..."

After thinking for several minutes for some explanation while time was frozen, she got it then came back and said,"...a line from the literature book we were reading in my class, I thought you'd know it."

"I do but...it still hurt."

"Oh stop being such a big baby and come on, and hurry, they're almost there."

"Who?"

"Hm?"

"Who are almost there?"

"...reverse."

Time reversed then she said it again... without the last part.

She made sure to ' bump into ' Kofi and his new bimbo then said,"Oh Kofi, what a small world, I mean, I was just taking a stroll with my new boyfriend when I bumped into you, so I see you meant what you said."

"...uuuh, yeah."

"Well look at me, I'm moving on too, I'm so grown now, anyway I'll like you to meet Leslie."

"I know him, he's one of the people that kidnapped you."

"...reverse."

"...anyway, who is this beauti...girl?"

"She's my..."

"Eeek! Leslie, I just got the greatest idea! Why don't we go on a double date?"

"Sure."Leslie said.

"Wait, what? No, no..."Kofi began, Afi being too shocked to speak.

"Oh I know the perfect place, a new restaurant that just opened up, oh and Kofi, bring your best clothes, it would be a five star one."Portia said.

Kofi frowned because he knew she knew his whole wardrobe, was she just trying to embarrass him?

Well his cousin was leaving the next day and they hadn't even set the date yet, besides, he wasn't going on a date with his cousin, ever, with her, fine, but not with her.

Kofi went home, stressed out and a little bit angry...at Portia, what was she doing?

"Kofi?"

He looked at Afi as she said,"Remember you said you needed my help?"

"Oh yeah, right, so should we go now?"

She nodded.

They went to a shelter where donations were being made and Kofi took a box of donations he had gotten from his neighbourhood, with Afi carrying the other.

They deposited them by the rest of the boxes and one of the organisers, who was a young girl about Kofi's age, said,"Well what do you know, you actually got them."

"What can I say, I never break a promise."

"Like the promise you kept last time?"She asked, with a wink.

She walked away, leaving Afi's jaw on the floor, then she said,"She obviously likes you."

"What? Vulpine? No."

"Yes she does and you like her back, you were flirting."

"That was just a statement."

"A statement of love."

"You are delusional, you really need help."

"My moments of sanity come once in a while and in this one, I can see the signs."

"Ignoring you."

"But you can't ignore the signs!"

Kofi rolled his eyes and went on to where the handouts were being made.

Portia on the other hand, was at the gate of the mansion and was about to take Leslie in to meet Skylar's family when Leslie pulled back his hand from her grip.

"What is it? Don't worry, they'll love you, those eagles are a bunch of softies."

"That's not it...do you really like me?"

"Of course I do, I like everyone."

"But that's the thing, is there anything special about your feelings for me?"

"Don't be a Silly Billy, of course there is."

"But, I've seen the way you look at Kofi, with jealousy and regret, I don't want to be used as a pawn just for you to mess with him."

She looked at him for a few seconds then smiled and said,"I would never do that to..."

"To?"

She took a deep breath then said,"I'm sorry, I'm really sorry."

"I knew it."

"Leslie please."

"Portia, I don't get it, why are you doing this to yourself."

"I didn't mean to hurt you, I..."

"... don't care about myself, it's you, when are you going to realize it's not everything that plays the way you want it to? You had your chance with Kofi, but you rejected him."

"What?"

"Everyone knows Portia, now he has moved on, why can't you?"

"It's just...~sigh~I just want my life to be the way it was with Skylar."

"How?"

"Like a dream, he was the man of my dreams, but now he's gone and I couldn't help but blame Kofi, now, I lost him too."

"You aren't blaming Kofi, you are blaming yourself, just move on."

"I can't, I..."

"Portia, just forget that damned bastard!"

She slapped him across the face when she had had enough with her eyes glowing black.

He fell backwards from the impact and knew his jaw had been severely damaged.

He looked at her as she slowly advanced to him, with the grass wilting wherever she passed, then he was lifted into the air by a force he couldn't identify as she said in a low tone,"If you ever speak of Skylar like that again, or at all, I will find you and make sure you are the fatherless bastard damned to h*ll."

She then dropped him on his back and he looked at her as she passed through the gates, with ice creeping on his hands.

He zapped electricity through it to break free, then left, occasionally looking back at where she was.