Gauhar's POV
"So we meet again."
My tumultuous thoughts came to a standstill as I heard the familiar voice again. My head whipped in the direction of his voice, trying to discern his figure in the darkness.
I felt my heartbeat escalate as I watched him approach me, the lights along the edges of the path partially highlighting his face, making his jaw and cheekbones stand out in contrast. The rain was pelting upon us and his white shirt had soaked through, exposing his lightly tanned skin and -
I quickly focussed on the grey cobblestones underneath my shoes, feeling the blood rush into my face making my ears warm.
I saw the polished black shoes appear in my vision before I heard his voice which was considerably closer to me now.
The storm of feelings within me had grown stronger, I knew that I felt happy he was here. I also knew that I shouldn't be happy to see him again. And most importantly, I struggled to understand why this man who's name I didn't know incited these feelings within me.
"Tell me honestly." I began, looking up at him "you're stalking me aren't you?"
He chuckled, shaking his head. Pushing the hair that had come onto his face back, he sat down beside me. I couldn't help but notice that he looked better with his hair all messy and untamed, much better than the slicked back hairstyle that he always had. I liked it better this way.
No, I wasn't supposed to like anything about him, I barely knew him for god's sake. What was wrong with me? I was never like this, it was like there was some sort of glitch in my wiring.
Bracing his elbows on his knees, he turned his face towards me "It really does seem that way doesn't it?"
I leaned back against the stair behind me. Bracing my weight on my hands at my sides, I raised an eyebrow at him "You didn't answer my question. Should I take your non answer as an acceptance of your crime?"
"Following a person, watching or spying on them or forcing contact with the victim through any other means, the effect of which behaviour is to curtail the victim's freedom leaving them feeling that they constantly have to be careful. When carried out repeatedly so as to amount to a course of conduct, it may then cause significant alarm, harassment or distress to the victim."
"Excuse me, what?" I asked, bewildered. Had he hurt himself on the head by some chance?
His eyes, which I noticed (only because of the forced proximity) were a strange shade of brown which nearly looked golden in the dark, were twinkling at me as if he was enjoying some joke "that dearest lady is the way stalking has been described by the law."
The smugness on his face irked me, it made me want to show him that I was a lawyer (albeit one that hadn't graduated yet) myself.
"I'm aware of that" I sniffed haughtily "Under the The Protection of Freedoms Act 2012 there is no strict legal definition of 'stalking', section 2A (3) of the PHA 1997 has described what behaviour might possibly be described as stalking."
I rattled out without effort, feeling proud that I had almost everything I'd studied at the tip of my tongue. The exhausting all nigthers did pay off after all, although I would never subject anyone, not even my worst enemy to that sort of hell.
I think he saw the challenging glint in my eyes because he shook his head with a wide smile decorating his face, it looked like he was enjoying my hostility, which puzzled me even more. He was strange.
Very strange. And maybe a little bit interesting as well.
"Bingo! Looks like you've managed to state all the intricate details correctly." His tone made it seem like something distasteful, which irritated me.
"Not unlike you." I countered "who brings in legal definitions in the middle of normal conversations anyway? Don't tell me, are you by any chance a sociopath?" I looked at him in mock horror.
"If I agreed to that, wouldn't that just make me a fake? I've rarely heard a sociopath accept outright that he is one."
I hummed in thought, biting my lip I counted on my fingers "you are a smooth talker, you are pretty charming." Noticing the pleased expression on his face I quickly added "don't be too happy, this isn't a praise."
He nodded solemnly, barely managing to hide his smile.
Shaking my head I continued "you seem like a great liar."
"Comes with the profession." He chimed, making me roll my eyes.
"And yes the biggest and most obvious characteristic, you are a lawyer. According to a study, a great chunk of lawyers are clinically diagnosed sociopaths."
I chose to ignore the fact that I was studying to be one myself, making me wonder what that told me about myself.
He looked ahead at the trees moving in strong winds as if contemplating what I had just said, the rain making his hair fall onto his face again.
"Well maybe I am a sociopath then, but all facts clearly show that I am not a stalker."
"It is a possibility I can't rule out since you haven't presented a strong case yet." I gave him a testing look.
He sat up straight looking up at the sky, not flinching even when the cold drops fell on his face "Well whenever we've met it has been a coincidence, and the last time we met was because you had ruined my clothes so it rules out the forcing contact part." He turned to face me "and I hope my presence doesn't incite any feelings of alarm in you."
He actually looked worried as I chewed my bottom lip and looked him up and down pretending to think intently "yeah I guess you don't quite meet the criteria to be classified as a stalker."
The bright smile that appeared on his face forced me to blink twice before I regained my bearings and gave him a heartfelt smile of my own.
"Don't you think it's funny though?" He mused.
"What is?"
He leaned forward, reducing the distance between us, his golden eyes boring into me, causing my breath to catch in my throat "that we keep meeting this way, doesn't it seem like God is giving us a sign here?"
Although…no, because his words caused a flutter in my stomach I had to think of something to curb whatever was forming over here between us.
"Do you know Newton's law of gravitation?" I asked, the randomness of the question making him furrow his brows.
"Nope, never paid attention during physics classes in high school." He said kicking a rock and watching it jump down the stairs.
Breathing in the refreshing smell of wet earth and petrichor I started to explain "So it says that every particle has a tendency to attract other particles towards itself-"
"It appears that it's working too well between us then " he cut in with a grin earning an annoyed glare from me.
Ignoring him I continued "but you know what happens when particles get too close to each other? They collide and are destroyed."
With bated breath I searched his face, trying to understand what he was thinking. But I failed, his lips were set in a straight line, his eyes giving no hint as to what was going on in his head.
He opened his mouth, as if to say something but he closed it causing a wave of disappointment to wash over me. It was strange how one minute he was open and playful and incredibly easy to read and another minute he flushed all expression away from his face, closing up and making you feel like you had committed some grave error.
In this case though I was aware that I was right, and also that we weren't going to meet again. The silence on his end made me feel uncomfortable, and I couldn't bring myself to get up and walk away, so when he asked me why I was there, I couldn't stop myself from answering him and telling him everything that had happened.
The way he looked at me made me feel exposed, the warmth and concern in his eyes seemed absurd to me. And maybe I was overreacting, but I couldn't stop myself, because now that I told him about the things bothering me I felt uncomfortable.
Because I was vulnerable. And I had no place to hide from his piercing yet soft gaze.
I didn't want to show any weakness in front of this man who always appeared to be so utterly confident, I didn't want to appear weak in front of someone who had continually helped me without asking me anything in return.
I hated that.
I hated that I always let him do things for me and I couldn't do anything in return, he seemed so self-assured that I 'knew' that he wouldn't require my help even if I would offer assistance and that fact made me feel even more inadequate.
"What's up lil fang? Why so silent? Did I scare you by any chance? Or did my mere presence make you speechless?" his voice had gotten a lot closer than before, when I looked at my side I found him sitting beside me, the falling rain not seeming to affect him in the slightest.
I raised an incredulous eyebrow at his words, what did he just say?
I moved away from him sliding towards the edge of the stair, hoping to put as much distance between us as possible. But as soon as he slid closer to me again, I realised that I had cornered myself and I had nowhere to escape except to ignore his presence beside me.
I turned myself towards him, looking into his eyes "Who do you think you are?" I ground out through my teeth, hating the compassion that shone in his eyes "why did you come here, why are you always around me when I need help? I find it irritating, in fact I hate it."
I felt my breath hitch as I realised what I had just said, regretting it instantly. But the damage had already been wrought.