"Sorry. Do I know you?"
"Sorry. Do I know you?"
"Sorry. Do I know you?"
The words kept ringing in my ears until they were all I heard.
Had I mistaken someone else for Abhimanyu? Was that even possible knowing how my heart only flutters in his presence. I have never ever felt my heart flutter in that way with anyone else.
He was the only one it beat like that for.
Was a being a fool by trusting my heart instead of my brain.
Maybe.
Maybe I was right.
No. I was definitely right.
That was Abhimanyu Acharya.
There is not fucking way in hell that it was not him.
Those chestnut coloured eyes. That reflected the calmness of a sea before a storm. The almost indistinguishable difference between his eyes. One was as calm and soft as the angel. The other was chaos and confusion. Almost devilish.
His voice started to change. But the way he speaks is exceptionally articulate just like when he was little.
There is no way in hell that I can mistake someone else for Abhimanyu.
I pull onto the tie that suffocated me harshly. Pulling my hair free from the ponytail that held it together.
My airpods blasted all kinds of songs on shuffle. Each song of a different genre and each song filling me with a different emotion as I danced to the beat.
Roohi kept looking at me wildly dancing. For almost two hours after class. But when I didn't stop even after that she left saying. She had better work to do.
That meant trying to find some other guy.
Cause as soon as the girls had thrown themselves on Abhimanyu.
His facial reaction had changed. To something similar to disgust. Almost as if he was repulsed by each and every female in this world.
I noticed the subtle change only because I had seen him smile as a kid. If I hadn't I would have never realised what he hid behind his poker face and kind and gentle facade.
He hid something.
That was for sure.
His forced smile. A smile with immense insincerity. Unlike the Abhi I had known smiled. It seemed as if smiling itself was a huge pain to him.
Something he didn't want to do at all at any cost.
"Hey! What's your name?" Kashi had asked. The supposed 'IT' girl of our grade. While twirling onto the ends of her hair. It was surprising how her actions resembled that of a cheap flirt bag at the age of twelve.
She had tried to hit on bhai when he was walking to class with me. But, my dear bhai had laughed it off. He even went as far as taunting her. He might look all fun and carelessly charismatic. But he was the devil personified. He knew how to seduce and he knew how to crush it.
"I like Older, mature and 'Smart' girls." Bhai had said his hand on my shoulder in a lazy way as he leaned onto me.
"I can be anything you want Atharva." She had said with that same finger twirling her hair.
"Well. You lost the 0.0001 percent chance you had. You can never be older than me. And you said you can be anything I want. When you clearly can't be older than me... shows exactly how utterly stupid you are. And finally. The mature part. I don't like girls who play with their hair every second they talk to any guy and act like shit to everyone else. Have a good day!" He recited his one sided monologue.
Her jaw had hit the floor at that rejection. And had never shown her face to bhai ever again because of the humiliation.
Apparently that didn't humiliate her enough cause that is exactly what she tried with Abhi. And while it was all cringe and low key funny watching her talk like that with bhai.
And his response had been even funnier to witness it live.
But witnessing the same with Abhi filled me with a bundle of useless emotions.
I had felt something clotting my throat the moment Abhimanyu had looked at her with a soft smile to reply to her question.
Was she really that pretty?
"What's your name?" She asked again when he inched a step closer to her. She flushed under the unwavering stare of his eyes.
"Do I know you?" Abhimanyu asked while still standing rooted in his place with that sweet smile.
"No... But you can now." She repeated her eyes turning hazy as her cheeks flushed harder.
His smile was still there the complete angelic look in his eyes. It hurt seeing him smile like that especially after saying "Sorry. Do I now you?"
How could he have done that? I felt the pain in my chest bloom with each passing second he smiled for someone else when he hadn't smiled at me.
Smile? He hadn't even recognised me.
My movements to the beat of the music grew faster at the memory. The rage I felt. Everything I had bottled up inside me grew. With the beat.
"To my princess... Wait for me."
That was one of his notes!
I waited for you. I kept my promise only to realise that it was a forgotten promise.
Even now. Hours after the incident had taken place. I still felt the emotions vividly. I spun on my toes my pace increasing. Till the airpods flew out and I fell on my knees. The silence of the room echoing in me.
Everything went to an abrupt halt.
Silence.
Silence.
Silence.
Then the words he spoke to Kashi returned to me.
"You don't know me right? So, consider this as your first and last warning. Get away from me. I don't appreciate people overstepping my boundaries. You respect mine and I will let you carry on with your disgusting self. Next time you cross my path with that intention. Remember it Will be the last time you walk the halls of this corridor ." He said his tone even.
Cold and most of all the look in his eyes had shifted. Shifted to devilish. Violent and most of all his eyes were... completely black.
As dark as the night sky.
Not a shimmer of light in them.
The atmosphere had frozen over around him. Halted and everyone. Boys and girls who had come to see the new kid. Stood rooted in their places knowing well. Very well. That the cute, hot new kid wasn't the most amiable person.
"Now that you all have been introduced to me. Kindly fuck off. It is too early in the morning for me to be dealing with people." His forced smile returned as he looked at the crowd started clearing around us.
And as people left one by one. Their hearts filled with new found respect or fear for the new kid. I stood there dumbfounded.
Abhi...
As if hearing my inner voice. The voice that called onto him. The voice that needed him to apologise for not recognising me.
He stood there looking into my eyes for a moment and then walked inside the classroom without uttering another word.
How did you change?
How did you turn heartless?
What happened to those soulful eyes?
What happened to the prince I had known?
All I saw in front of me now was...
.
.
.
"A black prince."
Ruthless, merciless and unforgiving.
Under a mask of kindness and responsibility.
I heard claps from behind me. I felt a sense of bewilderment.
I was sure.
Sure that I was alone.
Sure that I was... the only one in the school dance studio.
"Amara! That was amazing!" A boy with glasses... a small cute smile. And a look of pure admiration walked up to me.
"Th...Thank you." I said. Almost unsure.
"You looked like a doll while dancing you know." He said his smile turned a little weird for a second. Making me uncomfortable.
"Umm. Thanks, Actually... I am not sure who you are... Are we classmates?" I asked hesitantly. The aura around us shifted. Making me feel my heart tremble.
What was this?
Was I just overthinking?
"Oh no! We are not classmates. I am actually from section 'B'. Aman Gulhati! Pleased to finally meet you in person." He reached his hand out waiting for me to take it into my hands.
But even as I looked at the outstretched hand in front of me. Knowing exactly how disrespectful it was to not respond.
My body didn't move.
It just didn't.
His words kept ringing in my ears.
Finally meet you in person?
The heck was I?
I was certainly not a celebrity and neither was I a big shot in school like my brother and his two best friends. People knew me but I avoided them because I had always sensed unpleasantness from people.
I had these gut feeling that told me to avoid people. Maa called it antisocial behaviour and papa after maa's repeated requests got me a therapist to teach me social behaviour.
The therapist herself left just a few weeks later saying that I knew social behaviour. It is just that I was hypersensitive to the aura a person had when they spoke to me.
She called it knowing the difference between a positively re-enforced or negatively re-enforced stimuli to my atmosphere.
And right now. As this Aman guy stood in front of me. Every thing in me screamed 'Danger'.
It screamed to run far far away from him.
"Oh... sorry if I made you uncomfortable." He said as if sensing my predicament. And then slowly pulled his away from me. And stood there looking at me.
The look in his eyes indecipherable.
"Aman..."
I hear another voice call out softly. The voice that gave me peace.
Calm and serenity.
"Abhimanyu... what are you doing here?" Aman asked anger flashed in his eyes for a second before it disappeared.
I felt the uneasiness return. Looking at his reaction.
"You asked me to wait for you in the library for the assignment an hour ago. You still didn't come. So, I came to find you.." He said his eyes flickered between me and Aman.
A look of displeasure filled them.
"Did I disturb you both?" He asked finally but the frigidness in this voice was apparent. Almost as clear as the shining sun in the broad daylight.
"No!" I say almost instantaneously. I look a him and my eyes begged. Begged to help me out of the awkward situation.
"Oh... then what are you both doing here? It is almost 5pm." He asked crossing his arms around his chest the bag hung on a single shoulder as he glared at Aman.
"See, Abhimanyu the thing is. While I was on my way to the library I saw Amara dancing. She was doing it with such passion, grace, elegance and vigour that I did not realise when time passed by as I kept looking at her. It was hypnotising. And when she was done I couldn't help but share my admiration with her personally."
He explained... and then moved towards the door of the dance studio.
"Shall we go now?" He asked Abhimanyu whose face had gone cold again.
"Aman. Can you head out without me? We can start the assignment tomorrow." He said and Aman just nodded before walking away.
Now it was only us both in the dance studio. I couldn't utter a single word. I knew I would've able to bare it if he refused to recognise me again.
"So, Amara what was that about?" He asked inching closer to me. Until we were only inches apart.
I couldn't help but laugh in disbelief and raise an eyebrow at him.
"Sorry, Now you know me huh?!" I ask sarcasm lacing my voice almost as think as venom but the smile on my face was the only thing he was looking at.
"How can I not know you, Princess?" Abhimanyu asked a small gentle genuine smile on his face. Unlike the one he had shown everyone throughout the day.
It was the innocent and pure smile that he had when he was 7.
My heart melted.
How could it not when he still called me his princess?
"You remember now?" I asked a sense of happiness filling me up.
"Had I ever forgotten to remember now?" He asked again the small smile on his face grew with each passing second.
"You are late."
"I know."
"You made me wait."
"I know."
"You kept your promise."
"I always will keep my promises to you."
And the initial hurt I had felt when he didn't recognise me was now filled with the surreal feeling. A feeling that I had never felt before. It was so overwhelming and overpowering.
"Will you dance with me?"
He asked. Randomly. Out of context.
"Why?!" I asked still confused at the sudden change in his demeanour.
"Aman got to watch you dance first." His jaw ticked and eye twitched.
I laughed and patted his shoulder.
"He wasn't the first to watch me dance Abhi! That would be my Bhai. He is the one who is tortured to watch me dance."
"It doesn't matter who got to watch you dance first, princess."
He said placidly and pushed back the loose strand of hair that fell on my face.
" I only know that you owe me your first dance."
"Do I?!" I asked smugly while turning away and walking away pretending to pack my things up to leave.
I felt a tight yet gentle grip on my wrist. Before I was turned back to face Abhimanyu. He had a teasing smile of his own on his face.
"To my princess, Promise that you will be my first for everything. I promise the same as well!"
He quotes his tiny note word to word looking deep into my eyes. The look in his eyes said that he couldn't look away from me even if god himself forced him to do so.
Reading the note was a different story. Hearing him make the promise with his words felt other worldly. I felt my cheeks heat up under the scrutiny of his look.
"So, Princess will you dance with me?"
"I will my prince."
(Unedited: Prone to typos and errors)
Author's Note::
Thank you guys for 10k views and almost 1k votes! Thank you for loving this book so much and wanting regular updates.
I really try to update as much as possible with long chapters. But I am restricted to my responsibilities as a student. Who needs to study for exams.
I will update the next chapter on 30th December.
Hope you like this chapter!
Love Lily ❤️