His hand presses down harder on her mouth and her eyes widen. He subtly shakes his head as she struggles to take a deep breath. His cologne overwhelms her senses and she is beginning to get heady.
She thinks she might finally be somewhere close to understanding his appeal.
--
It all started, as these things often do, with a kiss.
A kiss that throws the entire social dynamics of an otherwise very organised, very well defined St. Louis High. The geeks fear the jocks, the cheer squad dictate the trends that the debate club blindly follow and the rebels fit in by going against the tide, as expected. As for the anti-socials, they were free to do what they did best and just keep to themselves. It was sickeningly predictable and she would have laughed at the stereotypes if she wasn't soo disgusted by it all.
When she had gotten up that morning and crossed out another day from her countdown until graduation ( her escape from this tormenting fishbowl), she had no idea just how drastically everything was about to change.
--
Desperate times called for desperate measures.
At least that is what he keeps telling himself. Besides it wasn't the first time he would talk to her or anything. They'd been in school together since KG, there had been plenty of times they had interacted. There was nothing strange about this, nothing weird or out of ordinary. And this was part of her job profile after all. This is how she earned some extra cash at school. Granted he had never been a fan of her trade nor had ever needed to utilize her skills himself before, but he had heard from reliable sources that she was good, darn good at what she did.
He's always thought himself above such ploys. Mocked those that came to her but these were, like he reminded himself, desperate times. After all, it wasn't everyday that Reyaansh Singhania lost his prom date to a stammering brainiac. And if he didn't act fast, act now he'd lose all his respect too.
After spending all these years as the school's reigning heartthrob, he refused to spend the last few weeks as it's laughing stock. And if that meant, enlisting the help of the school's official heartbreaker, so be it.
--
She looks at him in disbelief. He had got to be kidding her. During all her time behind these gates, she had worked hard to build a name for herself, a reputation that defies the norms. She had painstakingly ensured that no one messed with it. There was a reason they called her the Ice Queen after all. But at this very moment, she feels a sudden rush of anger take over her body. And she's afraid she's going to start yelling like a banshee and blow that very reputation to shreds.
If she doesn't end up killing him first.
--
He acts on impulse. And two seconds later they find themselves closed in the janitor's closet. She rips her hand out of his grip as if his touch burns. He blisters. It's like he's got rabies or something. Pushing his own sentiments aside, he raises his hands apologetically even as she turns around to look for the light switch. The sudden burst blinds him and he moves with a start and promptly bangs into her. The following ten minutes are spent rubbing his throbbing head, fighting the urge to covers his ears and trying to get a word in as she gets head first into her tirade. Gradually, as the minutes pass, her volume increases and his patience runs thin until finally it runs out and left with no choice, he pulls her to him and pushes his hand against her mouth. He hopes to quieten her but yelps back in surprise instead when she bites him. Hard.
And that is when he loses it and words come cascading out of his mouth like a waterfall with no rhyme, reason, filters, pauses or breaks.
Once he's finished, the silence feels heavy and deafening. She looks at him shocked while he rubs the back of his neck consciously and avoids her eyes. And then the silence is broken with peals of laughter that catch him off guard, forcing him to look up.
Kria Ghai, the Ice Queen, professional breakup artist of St. Louis High and heartbreaker extraordinaire was shaking in front of him. Holding on to her stomach as she struggled to breathe between bouts of laughter. Once she's finished, she looks up at him beaming with a grin splitting her face and tears streaming down her eyes.
He feels his breath catch and his heart skip a beat.
--
She agrees to his plan once she calms down with a simple Yes, meet me in the library right after chemistry lab on Thursday, 5th Aisle on the left from the stairs'. Then she turns around and leaves him alone to figure out if he feels relieved or unnerved by what just happened.
--
He spends the rest of the day observing her. The first time she notices it, she arches an eyebrow at him and he smirks back. After that she recedes into her shell and goes back to pretending like he doesn't exist. He continues to watch her unperturbed and if she notices, she doesn't let on. But he's keen enough to notices the sudden tension in her back and the subtle way she starts tapping her fingers on her desk after three periods.
--
When he spends most of the night tossing and turning in bed, more shaken by her actions and reactions than the supposed betrayal and kick to his reputation - he realises he has a bigger problem on his hand. One very different from the one he had stumbled upon after school hours yesterday.
It had to be a very bad joke. The heartthrob couldn't possibly be attracted to the heartbreaker. But he couldn't get her out of his head. And he'd never been one to back down from a challenge nor deny himself what he desired. It's what made him THE Reyaansh Singhania. He knew she had a reputation that almost envied his. That she was just as headstrong, stubborn, determined. But it was also clear he had found his match in Kria Ghai.
Come tomorrow, she wouldn't know what hit her. After all, they didn't call him the most lethal charmer around for nothing!
--
He was everywhere. And she had no idea why. Wherever she turned, wherever she went, he'd just BE there. It was like she couldn't escape him. Emotions warred inside her. If she called him out on it, it would mean admitting that she noticed him, that he affected her. If she didn't, she was sure she would break into two if he so much as touched her. That was how taut she had been for two days now.
She jumped back with a start as he snuck up behind her. She turned around to finally let him have it just in time to see him put on the lab coat he had picked up. Even though she couldn't see it, she knew he was smirking. 40 minutes more, she promised herself. And then she would meet him in library and put an end to this charade. All the preparations had been done. She'd made sure the right ears heard the news and the right eyes would be there to see the drama unfold.
--
It is only when he pushes her against the shelf with his body while holding both her hands in his that she realises this whole plan might not be one of the wisest she came up with after all.
It had seemed easy enough when he had suggested it. It would be the most lucrative breakup in St. Louis's history. And it would restore his reputation. A win-win situation for both of them. All she had to do was let the whole school think even the heartbreaker couldn't resist him. And that's it.
Only now, as he placed one of her hands on his waist and picked up a book effectively hiding them from the eyes they knew were peeping at them from across the aisle, she wasn't sure it was as clear-cut as that after all.
When she opened her mouth to protest at his proximity, to ask him to move back, she suddenly finds his palm on her lips yet again. This was fast turning into a habit.
--
She should have known it would happen like this. Of course it would, high school cliches, best laid plans and all that. Maybe, there always had been some truth to all the hype around the school's heartthrob but she had been too sure, too blind, to ever give it a thought.
She's still considering the possibilities when Rey pulls her closer, breaking her out of her reverie. He tilts his head at her in question. She just shakes hers and she smiles up at her prom date. High school wasn't so bad after all, she concludes.
--
It all ends, as these things often tend to, with a kiss. A true love's kiss, she corrects in her head and smirks.
--
Thanks for reading. I hope you like it.
Book Talk
Anupamaa
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