The Boy I wasn't supposed to love.

If I had known loving Chuks would ruin everything, I would have stopped smiling at him the first day we met. But I didn't. Back in JSS1, he was just the quiet boy who sat beside me because our class teacher said we talked too much when we were apart. "Amaka, sit with Chuks. Maybe he'll calm you down." Instead, I calmed him. Or at least, I thought I did. He wasn't loud. He wasn't dramatic. He wasn't like the other boys who tried too hard to be noticed. Chuks just... stayed. Steady. Close. Constant. By SS2, everyone had already given us a ship name. "See husband and wife," they would tease whenever we walked to the school gate together. I would roll my eyes. Chuks would just smile. That small smile. The one I never paid attention to. Until everything changed. It started the day Emeka noticed me. He was a senior. SS3. Tall. Confident. The kind of boy girls whispered about in the hallway. When he asked for my number, my heart nearly jumped out of my chest. I ran straight to Chuks after school. "You won't believe what just happened!" I squealed, grabbing his arm. He looked down at where my fingers wrapped around him, then back at my face. "What?" "Emeka asked for my number!" There was a pause. Just a small one. But now, when I think about it, it was loud. "Oh," he said finally. Just oh. Not congratulations. Not wow. Not anything. Just oh. I laughed nervously. "Say something!" He adjusted his backpack on his shoulder. "If you like him, give it to him." If you like him. Not if he likes you. Not he's not good enough. Not be careful. Just that. And I don't know why, but for the first time in years... Chuks felt far away. For years, he had been there to warn me. "Stay away from him." "Joy is going to invite you to her party. Don't go. You know she's trouble." "Don't make friends with that girl. She'll drag you into nonsense." "Stop chatting with boys and read your books. You need to work on your grades, remember?" Chuks always had something to say. Always. So I don't know what I was expecting him to say about Emeka... but it wasn't that. I was still thinking about it when he suddenly cleared his throat. "Amaka, I need to check on something for my mum. See you tomorrow." And just like that, he walked away. No waiting. No teasing. No "let me escort you." We always walked home together. Even if he had an errand, he would drag me along. "Escort me," he would say. But today? Today was different. I stood there, watching his back as he disappeared past the school gate. Is he sick? Or did I just say something I wasn't supposed to? I told myself I was overthinking it. Chuks was probably just tired. Or stressed. Or actually running an errand for his mum like he said. Still, when I got home that evening, I threw my bag on the bed and reached for my phone. Me: Did you get home safe? The message delivered almost immediately. I waited. Normally, he would reply in seconds. Sometimes before I even locked my screen. Five minutes passed. Then ten. My chest felt tight for no reason. Finally, my phone buzzed. Chuks: Yeah. That was it. Yeah. No "you?" No nickname. No teasing emoji. Just yeah. I stared at the screen. Me: Are you okay? This time, the reply took longer. Chuks: I'm fine. But something about it didn't feel fine. Chuks never said "I'm fine." He would say, "Why are you stressing me?" Or "Of course I'm fine, drama queen." Or even send a voice note. But this? This felt like a door closing. I typed and deleted three different messages before finally sending: Did I do something? The typing dots appeared. Disappeared. Appeared again. Then finally- Chuks: No. You didn't. Another lie. Because if I didn't... Why did it feel like I had? I bid him good night and went to sleep after plugging in my phone. The next morning, I saw him before he saw me. He was standing near the assembly ground with his friends, laughing. Laughing. Like nothing had happened. Like he hadn't replied me with one-word messages the night before. For a second, I felt relieved. Maybe I really had overthought everything. Maybe he was fine. "Chuks!" I called, walking toward him. He turned. And for a split second - just one - something flickered in his eyes. Then it was gone. "Morning," he said. Normal voice. Calm. Easy. I smiled. "You didn't wait for me today." "You came late," he shrugged. That wasn't true. I was early. But I let it slide. During assembly, he stood beside me like always. When a teacher walked past, he subtly pulled me away, Like always. When someone tried to squeeze between us, he moved closer. Like always. Everything looked the same. But it didn't feel the same. Because when I texted him in-between classes- Are we okay? He replied five minutes later. We're fine. We. Not "we're good, dummy." Not "why won't we be?" Just we're fine. And for the first time since JSS1... Being beside Chuks felt like standing next to a stranger wearing his face. By lunch break, I was mentally exhausted. Not from classes. From Chuks. From the way he stood close but felt far. From the way he talked to everyone else normally... except me. We were sitting under our usual mango tree when it happened. "Ah ah!" Kunle's loud voice cut through the air. "See husband and wife o!" The boys around him laughed. "Amaka, when is the wedding?" someone added. I rolled my eyes automatically. "You people should rest." Normally, this is where Chuks would say something sarcastic. Or pull me closer just to annoy them. Or reply, "Better start saving for aso-ebi." Today? He laughed. But not with me. "At least find her real husband first," he said casually. The laughter got louder. My smile froze. Real husband? Since when did he talk like that? Kunle smirked. "So you're not the one again?" Chuks shrugged. "Abeg, I'm not disturbing myself. She has options." Options. The word hit harder than it should have. Because suddenly, I felt like I was standing alone. I forced a laugh. "You people are mad." But something inside me had shifted. For years, he never denied it. Never. He would act irritated, yes. But deny it like that? Publicly? I glanced at him. He wasn't looking at me. He was staring straight ahead. Jaw tight. Like he was holding something in. And I didn't know what scared me more- The fact that he sounded serious... Or the fact that it hurt. I laughed with them. I had to. Because if I didn't, they would see it. The c***k. The shift. The way one careless sentence could make years of friendship feel fragile. "At least find her real husband first." Real husband. I kept hearing it in my head long after the laughter faded. When the bell rang and everyone started heading back to class, Chuks picked up his bag without looking at me. "Let's go," he said. Same voice. Same tone. Different distance. As we walked, our shoulders brushed like they always did. But he didn't lean into it. He didn't slow down for me. He didn't say anything. And for the first time since JSS1... I wasn't sure where I stood with the boy who had always stood beside me. Maybe I was overthinking. Maybe I was being dramatic. Or maybe... Something between us had finally started breaking.