Chapter 11

"Neal… " She managed to breathe out.

Why? Why the fuck had she got him out of the picture and zeroed in on Swayam? Why?

Of course, it wasn't Swayam… Her heart ached at the realization, but there were larger things to worry about right now in this second.

Neal Sinha, was a classmate, a stalker to be precise.

She had told Rey at the start of the semester, how he had smelled her hair sitting at the bench behind hers. And she had thought Rey had taken care of him.

Finding him standing before her, with that creepy excuse of a smile plastered on his face, for once she felt an urge to run away, to scream.

But she shook that urge off of her. She was Sharon Raiprakash was god's sake! What the hell!

He was forwarding towards her, and she, she just plain wanted him out of sight.

"What the hell are you doing here, Neal? Hasn't Rey told you to stay away from me? Don't you remember being banished from Dazzlers?" She let her cold tone take its place, freezing the guy in his steps for a moment.

"Sharon… Sweetheart, how can you say this? You know I love you, right? And I know you love me too. I have seen you smile at the gifts!" He cooed to her.

"STAY there!" She thundered, "YOU watched me? Stalked me? AGAIN?" She tried to be as aggressive as she could be, and hoping within her heart that somebody heard her shouting, "You need a doctor, Neal!"

"Baby… Please… Last time bhi uss Reyaansh ne mujhe tumse duur kar diya tha. Tumhe bura laga tha naa?" He touched her cheek with his palm, caressing it, while she very visibly flinched away.

She slapped him hard, with all her might.

"I told you to stay away creep!" She screeched, and hurried to get away from him till she had the advantage of the shock he was in.

She tried to flee as fast as she could, but he grabbed her hand fiercely. Twisting it in a manner which made her scream out loud in pain, he inhaled the length of her mahogany hair…

All Sharon's mind was shouting for was Swayam. But her mouth wasn't able to form anything coherent… The pain was so much, she was just praying for it to end.

"You know you almost broke my heart when you didn't show up yesterday…" He groaned in her ears, breathing on her skin disgustingly, "but thank you so much for making it up today… You were looking for me naaa, Sweetie… Lemme reward you."

He slithered down her neck, licking it away. It made her shudder, and she tried her best to wiggle out, punching, kicking, to no avail…

"Come on babes, about time you faced your feelings! You LOVE me soooo much!" He held her hair, as angry tears made out there way, and pushed his lips on to hers, while she struggled to get away.

"Noooooo!" She screamed some more, now praying her knees held on to herself a bit longer.. Praying for the first time in her life, to be rescued.

He bit her lips, making them bleed, as she tried to move away.

*Whaam*

She saw Neal fly away from her, and she landed on to the floor, unable to hold on to what had just happened to her. Unable to even meet the eyes of whomever her savior was.

"Sharon?" She heard a voice. Strange, It was angry. It was cold. Yet, it felt like the warmest she had ever heard it. He had come… He had come to save her.

Of course, she wouldn't see him in the eyes. No. Not anymore.

She had lost the right to meet his eyes.

She heard him gulp, quite audibly… Did she look so disgusting right now?

Swayam saw red.

Nothing else.

The vile creature… How dare he!

All he wanted was to annihilate Neal's existence. Why didn't he know about this? Why had no one told him that Neal thought this about Sharon?

He threw punches at him, making him stagger backwards. Blood oozed out of his forehead. But Swayam just didn't want to stop.

He wouldn't have, had he not felt a piercing shriek from Sharon's mouth…

Weird, he felt something warm flowing away from his back, and pain making its appearance above the adrenaline…

Neal pushed him away, as Swayam realized his back had been stabbed by some guy.

Neal thanked the guy, and fled with him to the rest of his group…

Swayam breathed out ragged breaths, the pain becoming unbearable by the second. He felt consciousness slipping by the second, everything blurring away.

Sharon couldn't believe what had happened a moment ago. She willed herself to wake up. There was no way this all was taking place for real.

Her shaking self came to a halt, as soon as she saw his shirt darkening beyond measure. She ran to him, holding his head in her lap. Patting his face, trying helplessly to not lose him…

"Sharon… Stop crying…" His quivering lips managed to breathe out.

She felt a smile escape her lips as soon as she heard his voice. A bit of her sane self came back to her. And she searched his pockets for his phone.

Rey was tired. Very very tired.

The arrangements had been done. And he was happy, finally Kria would be happy, and hopefully, would be his by the end of this day.

Swayam's tone played on his phone, and he wondered what he wanted at the moment, he was almost ready for his performance, which was in a few minutes. Maybe Swayam wanted him backstage as soon as possible.

He stiffened as soon he heard Sharon's quivering voice on the other end, and his mind worked overtime to stop everything from falling apart.

He ran, towards the classroom that Sharon was in, calling Vicky to join him.

The sight of the classroom made him swallow bile suddenly arising in his mouth. He was laying there unconscious, in her lap, while she was frantically stopping blood covering him. Rey had never seen Sharon like that. Weak. Frail.

"Sharon, help karo. Uthao Swayam ko!" Vicky stepped forward, taking Swayam by his shoulders.

Reyaansh Singhania just wanted to know one thing at that moment. Only one thing.

"Which way?" He blurted harshly.

She moved her shaking hands in the direction in the way Neal had went. Crying like a frightened child now.

And he left. For the first time in life, allotting Vicky a responsibility, knowing full well that this time, he won't disappoint.

Kria stared at herself in the mirror… Hmmmm… She never thought red would suit her.

Yet it did. He had asked her to meet after their dance in the second building's shed for answers.

She smiled, making her way to backstage now. She was sure he would be there. Waiting for her, with those hazel piercing eyes, which almost were a permanent home to her now.

She reached, and to her surprise, he wasn't there.

And almost as if to elevate her surprise, her phone rang.

"Kria… Kisi ne Swayam ko bahot maara… Mai hospital mei hu uske saath! Kria?" It was Neha's voice on the other hand, and she sounded as strained as possible.

"Neha? Neha kya hua usse? Kisne kiya yeh? NEHA?" Kria shouted, gathering attention to herself… Her mind was becoming numb by the minute, fear replacing everything else…

"Swayam ka operation chal raha hai Kria… Please yahaan aa jaao.. Please, jaldi!" Neha managed to speak, in between the sobs she was taking.

Kria felt everything freeze around her. He was that hurt? Who in the bloody hell did it?

Rey… She had to find him now. He would help. Of course, he would! He was Rey after all!

And therefore, she ran as if her own life depended on it, to find the one who she knew would make everything alright, like always.

Her feet were aching now… She had circled the whole building and couldn't find him. A strange fear was grappling her, as she made her way out of the first building into the second.

She finally heard some noises from the stairs, and increased her pace.

Only to be stopped in her tracks. "How dare you!" He was holding a guy by his neck, with blood spilled all over his shirt and hands, the guy's blood most probably. And of the few other guys who lay there motionless. "Tere jaisa ghatiya insaan ek dazzler ke sapne bhi kaise dekhta hai!" And before her very eyes, he beat the already half-dead guy senseless.

There, for a moment, Kria saw her whole world shatter.

She saw what her eyes had turned blind to for a few days.

She saw what was so obvious, that she felt like the dumbest being alive.

She saw Reyaansh Singhania. King of the Dazzlers.

Tears gushed out as she ran away. How stupid had she been?

It was all a sheer play for him… Of course it was! He was Rey, after all!

He had been playing with her all along, like a toy…

He never did plan on coming for the dance, right?

After all, he was too busy in this sadistic cleaning up of 'garbage'!

Poor Swayam…

She had to be there. As soon as possible. Everything else, even her own feelings right now, came second.

He rushed after cleaning up. He knew he was too late for the dance now. Ohh how he wished and prayed for her to be atleast there.

But she wasn't. Nobody could tell where she had gone…

He sighed, only if for once she had listened to him and went to the shed.

He made his way there, hoping against hope.

Fear and anticipation mingling in his body, making his feet and palms go cold.

The flowers wilted in the room, thorns being the only things retaining their shape. As he sunk his head low, melting into the ground, waiting for an eternity before finally realizing,

She wasn't going to come…