Anika
"Please open up your textbooks to page 499 and answer the following questions at the bottom. I expect for each and every one of you to reply to these questions in a skillful manner, writing at least 3-4 sentences per each question. Failure to properly answer these questions will result in an as a 0 for a quiz grade." As Professor Watts annoyingly explains the assignment at the end of our class, I sigh to myself, exasperatedly opening the textbook. After going to Shaurya's party a couple of days ago, I never felt the need to procrastinate.
And now it is Monday, and I want to die.
From the corner of my eye, I notice Shaurya grudgingly opening his textbook as well. Before there was a chair in between us, but after you know what happened at his party, we are sitting together now because we are...
dating.
Once we flipped to our pages and I observe everyone typing rapidly into their laptops to answer their questions digitally and submit it to Watts online, I notice Shaurya's hand slowly moving to mine's. My right hand lays on the keyboard, and once his hand reaches mine, his fingers intertwine with my fingers, spreading warmth and love inside my body. Flashbacks from our kiss fill in my mind, causing a smile to spread on my lips. I turn to Shaurya as I see that he is grinning as well, giving me a reassuring look.
Once literature had finished and we successfully turned in our assignment, Shaurya and I left the lecture hall to go to the courtyard to eat lunch with our friends. I feel like, since Shaurya and I are now dating, that our friend groups finally got along with each other, and I am mainly coming to that realization because I am now seeing them eating together at our table, laughing and seeming very involved in a conversation with each other.
"Do you see that?" Shaurya leans in, whispering in my ear. I nod my head, smiling. "I guess they're finally getting along with each other now."
Shaurya grabs my hand and lurches me forward, as I yelp, giggling to myself. Once we reach the table, our friends hoot and holler at us. "Looks like Couple Number Two is here," Ty grins. He seems to be seated across Em, who is seated next to Emma, who is seated next to Nathan, whom she seems to be cuddling with in a very... well, let's just say in a very inappropriate manner.
"Hey, guys," Shaurya flashes his melt-worthy smile, as he continues to hold onto my hand. We sit together, right in front of Emma and Nathan. Ty is right next to me and whispers in my ear, "Have you guys done the deed yet?" I stomp on his foot as he whimpers. "Ouchie!" I roll my eyes, grinning. "No we have not."
Ty pouts and pulls out a burrito he got from Chipotle. "If you have a boyfriend, then when can I get one?"
I sigh. "Look, you're gonna find the perfect person when it's time. Don't fret about it too much."
"Easy for you to say," he scrunches his nose. "You're dating the hottest, smartest, and richest guy on campus." He's not lying, though.
I roll my eyes, completing ignoring Ty's comment. Then, I feel someone's hand place very softly on my thigh, grasping it in a way that makes butterflies swirl in my stomach. I look down and see Shaurya's large hand placed on the inner part of my thigh, his fingers grazing against my skin. My heart rate fastens, licking my lips, and I turn my head towards Shaurya. There's a playful grin growing on his lips, and looks at me seconds later. Then, he leans in and whispers in my ear, "Have you thought of an answer yet?"
"For what?" I whisper, still in his amorous stance.
He sighs, "For us running away." I take a deep breath and shake my head. "Shaurya, it's still a no."
"Why?" he whispers. "I'm not gonna do it if you're not gonna join me as well."
"Then that's even more perfect," I cross my arms over my chest. "Because I'm not gonna allow you to go."
"Why is that?" he furrows his brows.
"Well, because you have a life here and I'm not gonna let you ruin that just because you simply feel like you don't belong here. No one belongs anywhere, we just simply are where we're supposed to be."
He opens his mouth to say something, but closes it afterwards. Then, couple of seconds later, Shaurya takes a deep breath. "I guess you're right."
Wait... is he serious?
"Wait... what?" I gasp in shock. "You agree with me?"
"I mean... yeah," he mutters. "When you explain it like that, then I guess I can understand your point of view from there. And you honestly are right; I shouldn't run away from my problems like a coward." He contemplates to himself, and nods his head. "I need to face them."
"Wh-what do you mean?"
His hand tightens his grip on my thigh, looking down at the ground. "I have made a decision last night that... that I need to meet my father and confront him."
A blank face appears on me, then I look at him confusingly. Shaurya takes a deep breath. "To elaborate, I think I should meet him, talk to him maturely, and tell him that I don't want to become a businessman and that I want to be an artist, because I've always wanted to be one. And if he doesn't approve of that then... that's his own problem," he mutters.
"Wow, I'm..." I slightly smile. "I'm proud of you for making this wise decision."
"I know, me too," he chuckles. "And the other thing I want to talk to him about is the divorce and make sure he's making the right decision about this. I have already talked to my mom and she seems pretty adamant on getting divorced to my father, but I need to know what he's thinking because if I don't then I will be living in confusion my entire life," he sighs. "I guess that's also a reason I've been wanting to run away, my parents getting a divorce. They are going to go to court in a few days to finalize the divorce, and from there it's my decision to either stay here with my father or move to Seattle with my mom, or run away to Seattle right now."
"I guess you're right about that," I explain. "You have every right feeling that way, feeling as if running away from your problems would make things better. Trust me, I feel the same way sometimes when I reminisce about my mom or think about the horrible things my father has done to me. But at the same time, you have to be strong enough to not do those actions, because honestly they're just going to bring more problems."
"Yeah, exactly," he finishes off. "So I've made my decision: I am not going to run away. Instead, I will handle this maturely by talking to my father, making sure he knows what I'm feeling, and if he doesn't understand then that's perfectly okay."
I nod my head, then I go to lean on his shoulder. "I'm so proud of you," I whisper, placing a soft kiss on his cheek.
As we lay in each other's arms for a few minutes, Shaurya looks a little uneasy under my touch, and I start to get a little suspicious. I clear my throat. "Is everything alright?"
"Yeah, everything's fine," he mutters. "I just... okay." He turns towards me, his facial expressions turning very serious. "I was wondering if you... if you wanted to come with me."
"Come with you... where?" I croak.
He takes a few moments to himself to think. "To come with me to meet my father. Because I want you to meet him. If I'm gonna show my true self to him, then I should obviously show my girlfriend to him."
There's that word again... girlfriend.
But that's not the only thing that excited me the most. He wants me to... come meet his father? The one person he's afraid of, doing everything for his own benefit? There's no possible way this is occurring.
"I..." I take a deep breath, fidgeting to myself. Shaurya's kind and pleasant eyes look at me uneasily, as if he's dying to get an answer from me. I sigh. "Of course I would love to come with you. But what if he doesn't like me?"
"I'm pretty sure he will like you," he immediately reassures me. "Why wouldn't he?"
"Yeah, I guess you're right," I chuckle. "But I feel so bad, at the same time."
He looks at me confusingly. "Why do you feel bad?"
Leaning against Shaurya, I mumble, "Because my father didn't have a really good start with you."
Shaurya sighs, wrapping his arms around me. "It's okay, baby. I know your father is overprotective of you, and that's perfectly fine. He will come around one day."
"Hopefully," I whisper against his chest. I think of nothing else afterwards as I hold onto Shaurya, closing my eyes and let myself melt into him.
Shaurya
The day had flown by very fast. After we ate lunch together, Anika and I walked together hand in hand, conversing with each other about how busy and stressful our school lives are going. Anika sighed, looking at me confusingly. "So, when exactly am I gonna meet your father?"
I contemplate for a second. "Tonight, mostly."
"Tonight?" she raises her eyebrows. "Are you sure?"
"Yeah," I immediately nod my head. I grab onto her shoulders, pulling her close to me. Her face is inches from mine as I lightly grab her chin, her face looking up at mine's. A slow smile grows on my lips as her soft eyes look at me with concern. "I want this to happen as soon as possible. I don't think I can wait any longer."
Anika thinks to herself and wraps her arms around my neck. "Me neither, Shaurya. I want us to be official official now, you know? If our parents can't handle us, then that's their own problem. I just hope your father approves of us because I am feeling a little less confident about us because of my father."
"Hey, baby, I told you it's okay," I reassure her with a bright smile. "He will come around."
"I sure hope so," she adds. There is a slight pause as I hold onto her tightly. "We should probably get going. I will pick you up around 7 o' clock, so make sure to be ready," I wink. "Wait, do you think your father will be home by then? I don't want him coming early like last time."
"Yeah, he's definitely not coming home early," she chuckles. "He has a busy day today, so in fact, he'll be coming home late."
"Okay, that's good. That means we'll have plenty of time together." I lean forward and place a soft kiss on her lips. It's obviously not as intimate as the kiss we shared, but this one was soft, sweet, and pleasant.
Anika releases from me, placing her soft hands on my broad shoulders. "I hope we do," she whispers. Then, she says, "I'll see you tonight."
"See you tonight," I say back, watching her walk away.
*
A/N:
And that's chapter 25! Hope you guys like it <3
- Ru <3