Dylan
My previous period was empty so I had decided to come to English Lit. class a bit early.
It didn't hurt to be on time every once in a while, did it?
God, Mira's punctuality was really getting to me.
I'd be lying if I said that I hadn't been awaiting English class just in the hope that I would see Mira.
It was crazy the things she made me feel. For instance this morning when she sat behind me and wrapped her arms around me, my breath hitched. I'd be damned if I say that I didn't like her touch. And the way she smelled was really driving me crazy. One whiff and I knew that she had showered using the luxury soap that I had gifted her and I don't know why it made me so freaking happy.
And to add to my suffering she was wearing a baggy top that showed off her flat belly every time the wind blew.
Yeah yeah, I was certainly out of my mind.
I walked into the class and took my seat, ignoring the awed stares and whispered talks that my early arrival was garnering. As always the girls were batting their eyelashes and the guys were glaring at me.
God, didn't they have other important things to do?
I raised my eyebrow as I saw a girl desperately trying to get my attention and taking pity when I smirked at her, she swooned as if she was gonna faint.
Really?
Because that was creepy. I mean I knew I was hot and drop dead gorgeous and could have any girl within the blink of an eye but I have to admit that it did get a bit tedious with all the chicks falling over you.
They were all the same. The same skimpy clothes, the same false eyelashes and fake crimson smiles, the same makeup coated faces, the same annoying flicking of the hair and the same exaggerated sway of the hips as they walked away in their high heels making such an annoying sound that sometimes I wished to bang my head against the wall.
But Mira was different....unique. She wore decent, elegant clothes and I swear it turned me on. Way way more than any of those scantily dressed chicks ever could.
She had naturally long, dark eyelashes and a real, genuine dimpled smile that had my heart racing every freaking time. It was a shame that she didn't smile much.
She never wore any makeup and why would she when she had that gorgeous flawless, creamy skin. Skin that I longed to touch and she even smelled so good. Unlike the girls I had always known , she didn't smell as if she had been bathed in some artificial perfume. She always smelled so fresh, of meadows, sunshine , perfumed soap and strawberry shampoo.
My head snapped up as Mira entered the room and somehow the whole room went silent, or was it my imagination?
My gaze followed her as she made her way towards me. Taking the seat just next to me she smiled hesitantly at me and I found myself returning the gesture.
Although, I was quite disappointed when she didn't try to make any conversation and buried her head in her copy of Romeo And Juliet. I sighed and looked away flicking through the pages of the damn novel without really taking an interest in it.
Every other second I found my gaze involuntarily straying in her direction and there she sat next to me completely oblivious of the torture she was putting me through, her head still buried in her novel as she pushed her glasses upwards every ten seconds or so.
I had an impression that the glasses weren't for reading but I was too distracted as she bit her lip while she concentrated on her novel. Ironic, I know but I swear the way she bit her lip was such a huge turn on.
I groaned inwardly.
Oh damn, my heart was already running a freaking marathon without having to see her sexy side.
She looked so freaking beautiful with her long, dark hair falling in soft waves around her face, her long, slender fingers holding the book, perfectly shaped brows furrowed in concentration.
And she was still doing that. Chewing her lip.
Get a grip, Dylan. I scolded myself.
Oh my god I really had to stop thinking about her. This was crazy, whatever was happening was so crazy. It was not meant to happen this quick. I mean, I was changing and I was changing fast and this was freaking me out. I had to do something. I just had to.
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Mira
The bell for the end of the last class rang and I ran out as quickly as I could. I wanted to meet up with Dylan and since he had his last class free, I was expecting him to be waiting for me in the parking lot. Hopefully I would get to see his friends too.
Shoving my homework assignments into my folder as I ran towards the parking lot, I thought about what happened in English Lit. today. A small smile crept up onto my cheeks as I thought about the way Dylan was looking at me. It wasn't everyday a guy looked at me admiringly and the way Dylan looked at me , gave me the flutters somewhere down in the pit of my stomach.
I giggled and bit on my lip.
GOD, I WAS TURNING NAUGHTY. BAD BAD MIRA.
When I reached the parking , I stopped abruptly ; shocked by the scene in front of my eyes. Pressed against Dylan's bike was a blond, scantily dressed girl in clothes that revealed more than they covered and she had her arms around Dylan who had his hand on her thigh as they kissed. She was moaning and both seemed quite out of breath. It seemed that they had been kissing for quite some time. I cringed as I saw Dylan's hand sneak upwards on her thigh to which the girl responded by giggling.
Dylan smirked when she tugged at his shirt and pulling her hands away he lifted the girl, wrapping her legs around his waist, before he bent down again to kiss her like there was no tomorrow.
And that's when I heard her speaking. I did not eavesdrop on people. Never. But this time I just could not help myself because the moment I heard the girl saying my name, I knew that whatever conversation she was going to have with Dylan was going to be about me or rather to insult me.
''You know that brown girl, Mira?'' She spoke loud enough for me to hear. I do not know whether or not she was aware of my presence.
I saw a confused look flash across Dylan's eyes. A worried one, like he was concerned for me. Even he knew that a girl who did not know me and still talked about me was something to be surprised about. Even though I was an Indian and usually stood out(which I hated) nobody seemed to pay any attention to me which according to me was a very good thing since I never liked unnecessary attention. Back home I was always one of those very few girls who like to keep their heads down and mind their own business. The ones who had no friends because they were considered too 'plain' and 'boring' to be with.
''What about her?'' Dylan asked, his voice neutral now which was a bit surprising since only less than a minute ago he looked almost worried. Almost.
The Blonde Girl giggled as if he had cracked the funniest joke in the world.(Since I did not know her name I decided to call her that.)
''What about her?'' She asked incredulously.'' You seriously do not know?'' She asked with wide eyes.
Dylan just stood there silently awaiting her answer. I could see he was getting impatient now.
The Blonde Girl realized this pretty quickly that she wasn't getting an response out of him anytime soon, so apparently she decided to elaborate.
'' Y'know, this morning during the Chemistry class, she somehow managed to crack a question given to us by Mr. Brown. Beginner's luck, I'd say but I don't know what that old man saw in her that he praised her so much. Everyone in that class has been talking about her since then because apparently the assignment that was assigned was real difficult and she was the only one to solve it fully. Such a bitch, that Mira. Thinks she can outshine me. I never knew she could stoop so low to belittle me.'' She huffed. Seeing that Dylan was still not responding she changed tactics. '' And I have heard that you and your friends have been seen with her a lot recently.'' She added in a much too jealous voice which she tried to cover up with a fake smile that ultimately caused her to speak as if she was constipated.
I grimaced. Oh, so she was jealous? Like jealous of me?
WELL...NOW THAT'S NEW.
Why the hell was she jealous of me though? She didn't even know me. Hell she wasn't even in the same class as me.
''Yeah so?'' I heard Dylan mumble annoyed.
'' Well, I hope there isn't anything going on between you two. Because that bitch sure as hell does not deserve you.'' She spoke, her words laced with pure and absolute loathing.
''Yeah, she does not. I am not interested in her though, Its her tuitions that I care about. I am just gonna take her help. She's not even my type. She is a Plain Jane and I am the most popular guy of the college. Do you really think that I am ever gonna be interested in a stupid, arrogant, Miss-know-it-all? No way.''He shrugged.
''And have you seen her clothes?'' She continued menacingly.''So boring and old-fashioned. As if they have been borrowed from her great-great grandma.''
AT LEAST THEY MANAGE TO COVER MY BODY. THATS WHAT CLOTHES ARE FOR. I thought. I seriously wanted to strangle her right now. I have always hated the people who talk behind my back. What's the use to backbite when you don't have the courage to say it to the person's face.
IN MY RULE BOOK, THAT'S BASICALLY COWARDICE.
''Yeah. Its true. She's such a dork. But it is not her fault. She is poor and I pity her. I do and that is the reason I never say this to her.''
It was like I had been slapped. Right across the face.
I hated him. In that moment I hated his eyes full of pity and his face that was contorted in an expression of extreme pity. I hated that my heart felt so broken, so left alone when I heard those words coming out of his mouth. I wanted to forget and I hated how my heart clenched painfully at the sight before me. I don't know why but I did not like him getting all romantic with a girl. I mean, I was not his girlfriend, nor was he romantically inclined towards me. But still it hurt. It hurt that the one guy I thought was starting to care for me was not actually interested in me at all. It hurt that the one guy I thought saw me different than other guys was in fact not different at all. He was just using me until he needed my help, just like all the people that I had met before. After that, he would be on his own way and me on my own.
''Shit.'' I cursed and covered my eyes before turning around and running away as fast as I could.
I could not bear the sight before my eyes. I could not bear the fact that Dylan despite his good-natured behaviour towards me, never considered me as anything more than a tutor. Everything he did for me was....was o-out of pity?
PITY? I. DID. NOT. NEED. ANYBODY'S. PITY.
How dare he pity me?
The hurt I felt was suddenly replaced by anger. I ran and ran and ran until I reached the Scott Estate, not even stopping once. At that particular moment, I realized that however handsome Dylan's face may be, he had hurt me immensely and I did not want to see him ever again.
Tonight I was going to leave. I did not want to tutor him. I did not want any money, I'd rather die starving. I was tired of being used and I certainly could never live in his house. I loved my self-respect more than anything else in the world and I'd rather freeze to death in this unfamiliar country than staying in his house, when I knew that all of Dylan's generosity was a result of his pity for me.
I ran up the stairs to my room ignoring Rebecca's concerned expression. I could not bother and certainly did not care to know whether Dylan was home yet. Only after I had reached my room and slammed the door shut, did I stop to catch my breath. I proceeded to pack my bags thereafter, throwing all my stuff into my bags, not that there was much anyway.
I fell back on my bed exhausted and a sob escaped my lips involuntarily.
Guess, I was not going to get a nice, happy life anytime soon.
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Dylan
''Dude, are you alright? You look preoccupied. '' Ash asked concerned.
We were sitting in my basement which was more like a bachelor pad with Xbox games, punching bags and all that guy stuff. There were bean bags which were currently occupied by Ash, Dennis, Chase and Jayden; there was also a love seat , on which I was sitting. This place was one of our favorite hangout places where we guys really talked, poured out our feelings, yeah I know it sounds girly if put that way, but it is not really.
The guys had arrived a couple of hours ago but it was the first time that we weren't having any fun; the first time that we were all in one place , sitting together yet no word was being said. It was weird yet comforting at the same time. These guys were like brothers to me and knew me since I was 10 , so anything that was going inside my mind, they had to know it somehow. I don't know how that works but every time I was upset, they knew it.
''Yeah, I am fine.'' I muttered irritatedly as I drew in a long puff of smoke from my cigarette.
''No. No Dylan, you are not fine. Why the hell would you start smoking again after four years and that too after what you had promised us?'' Dennis almost shouted.
''Please Dylan, tell us what's bothering you.'' Chase pleaded
''It's my life guys, so just bugger off. I don't need you to tell me what to do and what not to do.'' I snapped at him ignoring his hurt expression as I ran my fingers through my hair.
How could I tell Mira that I was not kissing that girl willingly? Would she even believe me, given the reputation that I had?
I did not have the courage to face her. How could I tell her that it was all due to a stupid dare and a certain protective instinct towards her that I was forced to kiss that girl.
That blonde and her brother Andrew were part of some dangerous gang and that the girl was obsessed with me was a subject of common knowledge. Everyone knew that. Everyone except Mira.
I never really paid attention to that until today. Andrew was really protective of his sister. They were twins afterall, yet they were completely different from each other. While Andrew was ruthless, atrocious and cruel, his sister( I really need to remember her name) was calculative, malicious and cunning.
But when it came to me, she always seemed to be at a loss for plans to get me. So she did the only thing she could, asked Andrew to threaten me but hell if I was scared.
He used to threaten me, or at least tried to threaten me saying that he was gonna beat me up or that he was gonna get me abducted and shit like that. But I never really bothered about his hollow threats because I knew that the puny coward wouldn't even last a second against me. And apparently, he knew that too because he never tried to take me on physically ever. Hell, the guy couldn't even look me in the eye when he tried to threaten me.
But today, when he approached me, there was a new kind of a determination in his eyes. I was standing in the parking area waiting for Mira and he came, his cronies at his heels. This time he had his sister accompanying him too who by the looks of it seemed as if she would swoon and fall, right where she was standing.
He came up to me, trying to act all intimidating and ruthless as he was usually with other students. For the sake of his sister, I guess. He still wasn't meeting my eyes though.
He dared me to kiss his sister and I was like, what the fuck? What kind of a brother does that?
Initially I refused saying that I wasn't going to kiss some girl just because I was dared to do so and that I sure as hell didn't care for her kisses.
But that bastard, threatened me saying that he was going to hurt Mira if I refused. Talk about sheer cowardice. Now, I sure did not care if they hurt me because I knew they couldn't. But wherever Mira was concerned, I naturally became overly cautious. I guess I just felt fiercely protective of her. And I knew that she was unaware of this mess making her an easy target.
And to tell the truth, she was kinda innocent. Moreover, the fact that she was new in this country certainly did not increase her chances of not being attacked.
So I played along, didn't want to take any risk especially not at the cost of Mira's safety. I thought what would a single kiss do? I had kissed hundreds of chicas before, why would this be any different. I just had to kiss her once, that was all. No big deal. And besides I was ensuring Mira's safety.
God, the things I did for her.
So I just went and kissed her but as soon as our lips met a wave of guilt took over me. I felt so so guilty as if I was cheating on Mira which was ridiculous because we weren't even together.
This girl was freaking getting to my head. I mean I couldn't even kiss another girl without feeling guilty for no reason. How pathetic was that?
And whatever the blondie said, I just played along. At that time, I had no idea Mira was standing there.
But how in the world was I supposed to break this to her?
I hadn't seen Mira for the whole day even though I knew that she was home. When I was kissing that blondie, I felt like crap. She wasn't even ready to come outta her room, let alone talk to me. I was literally screwed up.
I had not seen her since then and I was worried sick. I had this sort of a gut feeling that whatever I had done was not going to yield any positive results. But one thing was certain that Mira liked me. To what extent? I did not know. But I had to sort this shit out.
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