Emperor of Mayhem

12

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The nerves in my stomach were twisted in knots as an uncanny source of euphoria coursed through my veins like liquid gold. My heart was beating so fast, I felt the fervid vibration against my ribcage.

It was like all those days when I would feel like I was about to witness something unusual, something so nerve wracking I would probably never forget it even if I lived for a thousand years before I would die.

There was something about going to the movies alone with Mr Varkov that seemed strange, sorta exciting, but very questionable. I didn't want to get ahead of myself but it almost looked like we were on a date; this was exactly what made it controversial to onlookers.

But I might be overthinking a little bit-you know, misinterpreting the way people kept staring weirdly and suspiciously at us, judgement dancing in their varying eyes as we made it into the lobby of the cinema.

They were obviously wondering; her father? Uncle? Or her lover? And they had probably ruled out father and uncle because there was not a single thing that made us look like we shared the same blood or heritage. I was black, and though his skin was tanned, it was very obvious we came from two opposite sides of the world.

Seriously, human beings were so nosy and full of unnecessary curiosity and it was so annoying and uncomfortable for me right now. I wanted to turn around and leave but Mr Varkov would kill me for wasting his time and gas.

It wasn't as if we were holding hands. Heck, we weren't even walking too close together. If anything, I was falling behind in steps due to how short my legs were compared to his long ones. We were walking many inches apart from each other, but it was still very obvious that we were together.

This spotlight made me regret not grabbing a hooded jacket along. I could have just hugged it tighter to my body now and covered my head with the hood, successfully blocking their judgmental gazes.

"Azania?" I almost bumped into his hard back when he abruptly stopped in the middle of the lobby.

"Yes, Mr Varkov." He turned around to face me, his hand flying up to scratch the back of his head awkwardly.

"How um," he started and paused, his eyes uneasily darting around before falling back on me, confusion sitting in those beautiful orbs of his, "How the hell does this work?"

I raised a brow, fighting a giggle at how helpless he looked with the deep crease on his forehead and the innocent furrow of his brows.

"Have you never been to the movies before, Mr Varkov?" I wanted to laugh so hard but I had to be nice to the man.

"That is a luxury I could never afford," he sighed, "So do we just walk straight in? Where the hell is the screen by the way?" He began to look around. And this time, I couldn't hold it in any longer. I bursted into a feat of laughter, my head thrown backward as I clutched my stomach, wheezing.

"I suppose this is funny," he murmured under his breath, his arms folded across his chest as he looked at me laughing so hard I was close to passing out.

There were more eyes on us now, and I could feel it digging into my skin, the hairs at the nape of my neck rising up.

"Are you done?" He raised a bored brow when I finally toned down the laughter to just soft giggles, "As much as I enjoy watching you laugh I hate these weird people looking at me."