I move away from Matsya quickly, my eyes focusing on the city lights. Matsya steps away from me, ensuring the distance between us will never lead to another hug. The wind blows, filling the air with the scent of Matsya's shampoo.
"I think we should go now," I say, awkwardly rubbing the back of my neck. She nods, turning around. Ever since her confession, she's been quieter than usual as if she's stuck on what to think and what not to.
I start to walk, my eyes firmly on Matsya who still stands at the concrete slab which parts her from plummeting to the ground. "Matsya?" I call her name out while still walking. I've tilted my head to look at her and I catch a sight of her eyes widening as a warning.
"Nirvaan!" she calls out, her eyes still widen as she watches me take another step. I turn around just in time, spotting the water. My heart stops completely as if it's frozen in time.
My foot lands in the water first, feeling the frosty chill of the water before the rest of my body is submerged. It's only when my chest is in the water when my foot taps on the floor of the pool and I push myself up.
I start to cough hysterically, shivering as I hear Matsya chuckling. "How did you not see the pool?" she asks, chuckling while I shiver. My eyes adjust to the change of light and I look around, spotting the fact I'm in a small pool. It's a hot tub, round and quite big. Whoever it's for must have been a giant, the water actually manages to by itself up to my chest.
"Why would you have a hot pool here?!" I ask, looking around the pool. There's none other around here, it's the only odd one here. Matsya's laughs haven't still calmed down even after the death glare I give her. Her laugh sounds adorable and after a moment, I roll my eyes instead of glaring.
"You got to admit it's funny. You look so lost," Matsya says. I can barely make out the words she says due to the fact she's laughing so hard. I stand up, my suit sticking to me like an extra skin. Matsya starts to walk over towards me, handing a hand out to me.
I take it and with a grin, I pull it closer to me. Obviously, Matsya doesn't expect it. She's already laughing too hard to doubt me on anything and when she finds herself crashing into my wet chest, she didn't expect it. Her hair whips me in my face causing me to lean back as I inhale a closeup of her perfume.
"Oh shit, you've gotten me wet as well," Matsya sighs, taking her hand out of mine to look over the damage. My suit wasn't wet enough to add any damage to hers and she starts to laugh when she realizes that the only thing I got soaked of hers was her arm.
I step out of the hot pool, my teeth chattering as Matsya chuckles beside me. As I yawn, I lean my hand back in the water and scoop up a handful of water. Matsya stops laughing, watching my actions with a grin. "Try me," she says, laughing.
I throw the water and she moves away quickly, raising an eyebrow. "That's all you have?" she mocks me, biting her lip to contain another set of laughs.
"I w-would be a-able to t-throw better if it wasn't s-so c-cold," I stutter. With a sigh, I drop the next handful of water. "C-can you find me a t-towel?" I ask, watching the water drip off me. I peel off my jacket, the clothing feeling heavy on me.
"As long as you don't strip down to nothing, sure," Matsya comments, eyeing my jacket up. I let it fall to the ground, covering my chest by folding my arms. The white shirt is like glue, it follows each movement of my stomach and chest.
"Where would I even get a towel from?" She adds on, her nose raised at my suit. I shrug, sighing as I sit down on the edge of the tub. "What should I do? Ask random people until I find one?"
"Yeah. J-just say s-something along the l-lines of my r-room ran out of t-towels," I stutter, the cold freezing over my body. I'm still shaking and Matsya looks genuinely concerned.
"They won't believe me. I could call room service instead of asking people," Matsya complains and I raise my eyebrow at her.
"There's no -no o-other op-tion," I comment, my teeth bumping against each other as I speak. Why was I such an idiot? I could have avoided the hot pool but instead I ended up falling into it. "Unless y-you break in a r-room or s-something."
Matsya looks at me with a big grin. It takes me a moment to realize what the smile could possibly mean and by then it was too late. "No," I say. "I d-didn't m-mean t-that."
"You're an genius," Matsya says, her smile becoming larger as she leans over to give my frozen cheek a peck. As quickly as the moment comes, she starts to quickly walk towards the exit. I watch her walk past me, my hand rising to my cheek.
The skin of my cheek feels cold and I could have imagine that the whole kiss on the cheek thing is an illusion. But I saw her move closer to me, the scent of her perfume and the way she moved quickly to leave. What was even the point of the peck?
It's probably some friendly thing that she does. Probably. I shouldn't over think it. The edge of the pool digs into my thighs, soaking the clothing of my pants even more. The weight of my shirt does nothing to protect myself from the harsh wind anymore, it instead dampens my skin.
While I wait for Matsya, I should just take it off and let it soak the floor instead of me. I unbutton my shirt, laying it on the floor as I let my eyes shut for a moment. After this event, I'm going straight home and sleeping. My bones already feel exhausted and if I look to the sky, I can see the night slipping away.
It's when my eyes are almost calling sleep when I hear a familiar click of heels. I look up to see Matsya, spotting her red heels then to trail it up her legs to meet her eyes. Beside her, she holds a towel which she lazily tosses to my chest.
"I managed to break into an empty hotel room on my first time. I have either really good luck or today is a good day," she explains, sitting beside me. I've sunken from the edge of the hot tub to leaning against the edge, sitting beside my soaked shirt.
"Or tonight. The night is almost over anyways," I point out, my eyes looking at the night sky. It's only a few more moments until it's completely over. The whole idea fills me with dread for a strange reason as if the whole idea of parting away from Matsya is a bad thing.
I first dry off my chest, quickly taking my shirt to put it back on my chest. When I'm done with the towel, I hear some buzzes of a phone. Matsya holds a phone that looks like it came out of nowhere and she frowns at the screen.
The name Amir flashes on the screen twice before she turns off the screen. Matsya turns to look at me and I pretend to be playing with the white towel's fraying threads. "We should go," Matsya says, standing up. I nod, wondering about the phone call instead of the journey to go home.
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"Nirvaan," Matsya says, a tug on my shirt awakening me. I open my eyes to find a pair of dark brown eyes peering into mine. A yawn escapes my lips and I lean into the car's seat. I watch Matsya, trying to look for something on her face which shows that today or tonight has happen.
Tonight feels surreal as if it never happened. Every single event seemed to be so strange and weird to be shared with a complete stranger. Matsya wasn't exactly a stranger but from the way I knew her, she was. But now, it seems as if I know her better.
No. Better isn't the word for it. It's as if I understand her now and in a way, she understands me as well. I carry on my search, only spotting a slightly smeared lipstick (most likely from the sprinklers) and eyebags (which are understandable).
I lean over, spotting my apartment from the window. I told Matsya where my address is before falling completely asleep. Oh God, what if I snored? In front of Matsya? My cheeks fume red. "Did I snore?" I ask, looking at Matsya with a raised eyebrow.
"It sounded like a moose yawning and you looked simular to a lion about to eat something," Matsya describes, shuddering ever few moment to add impact. When my eyebrows raise and my cheeks turn even redder, Matsya begins to laugh. "I'm kidding."
"Thank God," I state, looking at my apartment again. Something is wrong. There's something out of place but I can't seem to put my finger on it. The balcony, my room and everything is there . . . It's just that the lights are on.
"Matsya?" I ask, my eyes still firmly placed on my apartment. She looks at me with a smile and traces my glance to look at the apartment herself. "I think someone is in my house."
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WOOOOO I JUST CLIFFHANGED ALL OF YOU.
how was the chapter? Better than the last chapter fifteen?
Do you guys like Matsya?
Anyways, who's invloved in Pakistani media? I'm actually kind of excited for Janaan. Zindigi Kitni Haseen hai confused me tbh, the trailer was everywhere and was basically just a bunch of clips shoved together.
Vote?
- Maya