POLLUTED

27. Hand in hand

He offered me a drink which I politely declined. I took watermelon smoothie and he took kiwi juice. It's been a while since we arrived and his arm is still linked with mine. We didn't talk much but we seem pretty comfortable with the brooding silence between us. I usually can't tolerate silence from another person especially in this kind of setting. I make an excuse to leave the place as soon as they brace me with silence. But oddly our silence feels comfortable.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, we are asked to take our seats on the tables. There's a small stage set up at the front which I'm imagining is where the host will talk. Randhir pulls out my chair for me and sits beside me. There's only two of us at our table. We are asked to order food and I go for chicken salad. I don't want to eat anything heavy here. He orders fish cutlet.

Dinner goes smoothly while the piano is being played in one corner. Everybody's enjoying their food and chatting with their partners. Halfway in to the food Prof. Stephen arrives. I panic because nobody's standing up...isn't that disrepectful? Randhir takes hold of my elbow before I stand up and says-

"Don't. That's not how it works here. He's guest of honor. He'll speak while we have dinner and we can ask questions if we want while staying at our place"

"That's weird " I mutter.

"I know "- he takes a sip of his water.
 
Prof. Stephen takes over the stage and introduces himself. He makes a few jokes here and there. Prof. Pradhan is with him on the stage. They are both seated. Everyone's seated and listening keenly to the talk. Mr Stephen speaks about the current international political scenarios and how it may affect the future course of action. He also gives a sneak peak about how the dynamics of terrorism has changed in the past few years. This whole situation feels too orchestrated for me. Like it's so artificial. A real discussion shouldn't be like this. But this is a private dinner so I guess this is normal for them. Mr Stephen patiently answers all the questions asked by Dr pradhan. The talk comes to an end and so does our dinner. Prof Stephen leaves shortly after.

Regardless I felt good hearing him talk right in front of me. I'm glad Randhir chose me today. This talk was worth it. Soon it's announced that the real party is about to begin. Apparently the pub is right upstairs. So the messy part begins now. I'm nervous about going up. I have never shown this side of myn not even in front of my own classmates. I don't know how this is going to turn out. And also I have a feeling that they've planned something there...probably to humiliate us.

I sign and try to get up..that's when I feel a hand on my thigh. His hand. I jerk my head up to his side. He's looking at the other side as if he didn't just put his hand there. I try to get up again, that's when he increases pressure of his hold and squeezes my thigh. When I try to remove his hand away, he rises his hand further up my thigh. I gasp at the sensation. I don't know how to react. The warmth of his hand is seeping through the fabric onto my skin.

"Stay seated. Don't move. Just relax" he says through gritted teeth while taking a sip of his water.

"Take your hand off" I whisper yell at him. Still trying to look as calm as possible.

"We'll not be going upstairs " he says completely ignoring what I said.

"Why?"

"Because we're going to escape this shit show in a few minutes and leave this place"

I'm dumbfounded by his answer.

"How are we going to escape exactly?"

"Just follow my lead and we'll be okay"

I don't know what to say to that. Do I even want to escape? It seems like I don't have much of a choice. We stay seated while most of the crowd disappears to the corridor moving upstairs. Soon we're the only ones seated. Randhir suddenly removes his hand and stands up. The place where his hand rested feels cold now without his warmth. He takes my elbow and drag me towards a guy who's talking to the manager. He addresses the guy saying-

"Rakesh, we're leaving. Since you're the incharge of transport facilities I'm informing you"

The said guy rakesh opens his mouth in question but closes it soon enough understanding who's talking to him.

"But well it's my responsibility to make sure everyone reaches college safely. And moreover how will you even go...you don't even find cabs in this area" he finishes.

"I know. That is why I'm informing you. I have some urgent work to do and since she's my partner I'll drop her off at her house. It's on me. And about the vehicle,  my car is outside. We will be fine. Good night rakesh" he didn't even wait for rakesh to reply before rushing me out of the building.

As soon as we are out, I take a deep breath and turn towards him-

"What was all that?" I ask.

"What? I just saved you from that shit show they're gonna put up there. Common...now our time begins" he smirks at me and takes hold of my hand.

I'm feeling so many emotions right now. The moment he took my hand, there was a slightest flutter in my heart. His eyes so bright like the midnight sky...the moonlight illuminating his features..the faintest smile on his face makes me want to smile back and run away with him...for eternity. I'm shocked at myself that I'm not scared/shocked/angry at his unpredictable behavior. Maybe I'm going crazy.

When something so beautiful begins
The sky lights up
The air feels oh so pure
And the earth feels so so soft

*uff I'm so excited!!🙈🙈 please vote and comment lovelies😚*

⚠️Guys, also as you can see this story is marked mature for a reason. It is going to contain mature content in the future. I'm warning you before hand if you feel uncomfortable with such !!⚠️