NIHARIKA
Slowly she starts adapting with life here. It's a little difficult at first, be it the language or people or food or studies, but Niharika thinks, she can manage it. She always does, she's resilient. It always feels impossible at first, but once into it you just have to go through it, that's how life works. People are much stronger than they think they are.
And ofcourse no more clubbing. She's had her lesson. It's been almost two weeks but thinking about it still makes her ears go red.
Sonakshi is not embarrassed at all of what she did at the club partly because she doesn't even remember anything and partly maybe because she's used to such incidents. Niharika on the other hand is dying of second hand embarassment till date.
And one thing is bugging her ,he hasn't called yet. Not that she's waiting or something...he has a nice voice though, her brain supplies unhelpfully. And flashes of that day emerges in her mind.
Flashback
Niharika feels like she's in trance. Intoxicated maybe, but she didn't drink, she doesn't drink. But she feels a little high and the guy on the stage with his deep soothing voice isn't helping at all.
Rex, apparently that's what his name is. Girls are swooning over him. Niharika can't blame them. But there's this itch in her heart. Men with good looks are dangerous. It's a trap. Honey trap. Niharika knows better than to fall for it.
Niharika doesn't like men like that, men like them are shallow. They think they have it all because of looks, so they don't bother investing deep into feelings. Why putting effort when you have people falling for you left and right.
Niharika is busy disliking this guy with all her heart. She hates how much she likes his voice. She hates how much she wants someone to sing for her, like that. She hates how sometimes she feels desperate for someone to love her , for someone to look at her, for someone to notice her, to keep her in their thoughts. It makes her pathetic. She hates feeling this way.
He's smiling, receiving tips occasionally. But he looks sad, he even sings sad... Niharika waves these thoughts away quickly as they come.
She's pulled out of her trance as she notices Sonakshi, her gait unsteady, clearly drunk. But that's not what got her attention, why is Sonakshi trying to climb on the stage?
A sudden surge of panic runs through her. She instinctually follows in her direction to stop whatever disaster is impending. But it's too late. Sonakshi is already on the stage. People are so heavily drunk that nobody gives a damn to her.
Niharika climbs up quickly following her. By this time that guy finally notices the commotion. He stops singing. Everything after that happens so quickly that Niharika doesn't have a sane recollection of events.
It's briefly like this:
That guy turns around and Sonakshi is all over him, she mutters something incoherent and then pukes on his shirt. Everyone gasps. As the music has stopped people are finally starting to notice. Niharika regrets all life decisions but pulls her off anyways. Then before her logical reasoning of time and place comes into play she's undressing the guy. Fingers fiddling with the buttons of his white satin shirt.
That guy is apparently too stunned to speak at the turn of events. He holds her wrist midway through the stripping agenda. She looks up, something overpowers her, determination. As embarrassed as she is, she has to finish what she started.
"Let me! I'll return after washing. Sorry on my friend's behalf, as you can see she's not in her senses." Words coming out of her mouth in a haste.
He doesn't reply but withdraws his hands. She quickly strips him off then. And suddenly realisation hits, they are on stage, in a nightclub full of people, staring at them. She stiffens, being the centre of attention is definitely not something she was up for. She wants to scream and run away but her feet disobey. She gulps, visibly panicking.
Suddenly two hands are on her shoulders, making her snap out of panic. She looks up meeting two honey coloured eyes staring in her soul. And she relaxes in his hold.
Just in time, security comes up, urging them to get down. She turns around watching Sonakshi being dragged down the stage, she follows. So does he.
Before taking the stairs down the stage , she turns around one more time. Hands working faster than brain as she fishes out a pen( yes she always carries a pen with her, it's part of her existence) from the back pocket of her jeans.
"Wait!" She calls after him, he stops in his way to the stairs leading to backstage in the opposite direction. She quickly closes the few steps of distance between them. Grabs his palm and writes down her number.
"Call me and collect this!" She points at the shirt still in her grip.
He just stares, like she's speaking alien. Niharika feels a little offended doing all the talking by herself. 'Whatever' she turns around and leaves without a second glance.
**** End of flashback****
Maybe it's because he doesn't want to wear something that's been puked on, according to Sonakshi. Well she has to agree on this, well it's just a shirt right? What's the big deal! He can just buy a new one.
But she finds herself going to the club to enquire about him only to find out that he's on leave.
Seems like he doesn't want it afterall.
'So do I just get rid of it?' What a hassle, she even washed it that night because Sonakshi was drunk and overnight it'd be stained.
She's coming back to the dorm somewhat disappointed. But she stops by the corridor near the tv room. The door was slightly open and a known melody coming from the tv.
This song! It's the song he was singing. Why does she have to remember? A small irritating voice inside her head tuts.
She barges into the tv room and startles everyone.
"Sorry! I just wanna know what's this song called, the one that was just playing!" She points on the tv screen.
"You know about "the rising star"?" They ask somewhat surprised.
"I'm sorry...what? Rising star? Is that the name?"
"No, it's the name of the show, the song is called " the dead star", it's ironical haha," someone explains.
" Oh!" She exclaims, finally looking at the screen, but it is commercial break now.
"And who's the singer?" She asks, simply curious.
"He's called Rex, you probably won't know him, he's not famous yet," one of the native girls say assuming her ignorance about their music culture.
"Rex? It's his own song?" 'why do you care?' that same voice tells her. But she ignores it, she just wants to know okay? There's no other reason.
"Yeah.... he's a contestant in the show, do you know him?"
"No..er...I guess I gotta go now," she abruptly finishes and comes out of the room.
Hands automatically reaching her phone to search about "the rising star".
So that's why he's nowhere to be found. She can finally make two plus two four.
'Well good for him I guess, he won't be needing this shirt anymore.' She can't help the bitterness.
For the next few days she's definitely not doing any research on 'rising star' and most definitely not on that obnoxious good for nothing guy. She definitely doesn't know his real name is Kang Jun hao, he is a couple of months younger than her, and he has some 120k followers on instagram. And most definitely she's not one of them.
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