For Aaryan it was a strange and completely abnormal thing to happen. Not only did he lose a precious little flower, but he also presented himself as a clown in front of a gorgeous girl whom he was now meant to see every day.
The actual thing attacking him was how he should rebuild the broken image. While thinking about this crucial thing he never realized when he bumped his head into the wall of his house
Here it was again. There was no possibility of Aaryan going inside from the door, but the wall was easy, and he was a professional in a jumping-out-of-the-wall-and-run thing, so he put his foot at a hole on the wall, he dug months ago and placed the hand over the wall. Lifting his body, Aaryan moved his other leg up. Just when he was about to jump in the house, a voice said, "Get out," and for a reason, this voice belonged to his dear father. Aaryan just had to try a little hard so that he wouldn't be homeless for the night. "Baba, I just went for a walk," he excused while sounding genuine because it was normal to have a walk in the middle of the night, right? "You can go on a walk for the rest of your life" Saying those words he hit Aaryan's leg with a stick, and it fell back. The other attack was on hand, and in a flash Aaryan dropped down "Baba" he called yet there was no reply for him "Dada, please let me in. Where will I even go?" And the silence was the only thing he felt.
Defeated by his father, Aaryan turned.
His feet stopped at a large mansion. As he knocked, a guard opened the door and saluted him. "How are you doing, Roger?" He asked the guard "Fine, Adrian, What's up with the midnight visit?" He asked in a friendly voice. "Just had a meeting with Raheel," Said Aaryan, hiding his anxiety behind a nervous smile. "Thrown by your Dad again?" The guard moved aside, giving him space, and Aaryan rolled his eyes. "That's not true," he ignored whatever Roger said next and just walked forward. Moving straight, he passed through a pool glittering with the shine of light above. The mansion itself stood grandly, with towering pillars at the entrance, large windows covering all the walls, and lush greenery gardens all around the building. Inside, there were winding corridors, spacious rooms adorned with lavish furnishings, and two grand staircases leading to the second floor.
Aaryan took the stairs up and, ignoring all the richness around him, he walked to a room. Just like the other parts of the house, this room had every type of luxury it could hold.
Seated on the bed was his friend. Aaryan planned to play some type of prank as a greeting, but the other guy seemed to be in deep thinking. Aaryan just walked and gave him a good hit over the head as a greeting "Adrian!" he cried and Aaryan laughed. The boy had deep black eyes with the hair dyed blue. His clothes fitted tightly around his body, showing the six packs "How did you guess it's me?" Aaryan asked as he took a seat on the bed. "There is no one in this world who greets me like this other than you, Bro," The guy said, rolling his eyes. "Damn, Ray. I must change my methods," and he laughed when his friend didn't. "You are crazy" he said randomly, and Aaryan laughed again. This friend of his was good with humor but not for Aaryan, yet he had to laugh because, "So, Ray, can I crash in here for the night?" He asked slowly, knowing the usual reply. "It's all yours, Bro, stay as long as you want," Raheel said in a boring tone, and he was satisfied with the answer
"What were you thinking about?" Asked Aaryan, "About Taha" Upon hearing his answer, Aaryan went silent. "I don't know what happened to him," Raheel complained, and Aaryan still did not say anything because he didn't want to make any assumptions about him before talking to him. "Why did he suddenly decide to leave ART?" Raheel asked, annoyed. Aaryan had been friends with Taha longer than he was with Raheel. The three of them had been in a music band that they named after the first letters of their names. Aaryan was the guitarist, Raheel, was a drummer, and Taha the most wretched of all of them was the soul of their band as he was the main vocalist, but last week, for an anonymous reason, Taha said that he wanted to part ways as a member of the band, and then he suddenly disappeared. No matter how much they tried, the two of them were unable to contact him. "Let's not talk about him," Aaryan found himself saying. "How the heck are we supposed to ignore it? Our band is incomplete without Taha. Bro, a guitarist, and drummer aren't enough to run it." He yelled in frustration running a hand through his azure hair. "What can we even do?" Asked Aaryan. "I don't know, Akhi, go to his house and fetch him or something." Aaryan had tried it. He went to his home and called all of his friends but there was no clue of Taha "He is not home"
"Then where the hell is he?"
"In a week, we will know. You know the university is starting, and he would never skip classes." At least that was what he wanted to believe. "What if he did not come to university– No, this isn't even a problem, but what the hell would we do if he refuses to stay in the band?" Raheel was yelling and again Aaryan did not want to say anything against Taha before he meet him because Taha was not only a friend but a supporter as well
"Let's skip it for now," he said and Raheel started for a moment, shrugged his shoulders, and agreed with a nod.
After a while Raheel spoke again as his voice was now excited "Hey, have you heard Mary Christopher's new song?" Raheel asked, not catching much of his attention. Mary was a famous singer, especially in their hometown, Hawthorne, as she was born there. Aaryan was never a fan of hers. He didn't used to listen to her songs but Raheel was obsessed with her music. "Nah," he replied as usual, and Raheel frowned. "Let me play it for you." Before he could stop him or find a reason to say no, Raheel played the song.
It wasn't like Aaryan hadn't listened to Mary before, but it felt different as if it was the first time he had listened to a song because it was painful. The music melted in his ear finding the heart as the target
'These walls all around me, they are making me go crazy. I want to break them and set me free but every time I try they fall upon me'
Her voice was the most peaceful sound ever to touch her ears. It was melodic and sweet, and he found a similarity in this voice. He couldn't help himself but drove near the screen, and the next words unknowingly attacked his heart 'I would hate to say it, but I need help. I might not now make it coz I have been in hell. Come to me. Save me from this misery, take me to the fantasy. Just come to me coz I need help. Coz I need help'
The moment Aaryan laid his eyes on the screen they widened. He saw the girl who had the prettiest eyes and most beautiful hair, singing this song. He moved back instantly, in shock. Noticing him, Raheel stopped the music and shifted his attention to Aaryan.
"What happened?"
"I met Mary Christopher today." he answered abruptly. "What the heck did you just say?" Raheel screamed his words out, not believing anything he just said, and Aaryan was unable to speak. "She lives in San Diego, Bro. What the hell would she be doing in Los Angeles?" Aaryan nodded, and now he was ignoring him on purpose because Raheel was dying of curiosity, he was begging for his words to be true "Tell me!" He yelled, and Aaryan kept on playing, "Adrian! Tell me, did you see Mary? Mary Christopher? How did you see her? Where did you meet her? How does she look in real life?" So many questions to answer. "Yeah" was the only thing he said as an answer, "Adrian!" Raheel jumped off the bed and was standing in front of him now. "Yeah," he repeated, and Raheel was about to throw his iPhone at his face when Aaryan spoke, "She is extremely beautiful," but that made Raheel an extra level of furious "What the hell, Bro?" He scowled. "Exactly, Bro, and you know she was trying to flirt with me, but I turned her down," Aaryan said casually, not sure what the hell was he trying to do. Raheel laughed out loud. He placed a hefty punch over his shoulder, causing Aaryan to tremble while sitting. "What?" Aaryan asked, puzzled because he didn't even remember lying. "Couldn't you come up with something more controversial to believe?" He was still cracking so hard. "I swear, Bro, I hardly ran away from her." Aaryan engulfed his breath and laughed with a smirk. "Okay, let's say I believe you." Aaryan spotted danger in that sentence. "If what you are saying is true then ask Mary to join ART. I am sure she would agree in the second if she was flirting with you, Akhi" He was in danger once again. Aaryan knew he shouldn't have lied in the first place, but his brain told him to just say it, and he was totally doomed now because he said "Okay," while knowing nothing in the name of okay in his mind. Raheel stopped laughing "Are you serious? Did you meet Mary?" He appeared to be believing his lie now
"I swear." At least he wasn't lying this time, and he pinched somewhere over his neck, making his words more believable. Raheel dropped back to the bed. He ran a hand through his hair, and squeezed the earrings over his earlobe tight "No way" he whispered "We are neighbors now, she shifted in the house next to mine" Raheel stared at him with intensity, wanting to ask every single detail of meeting "Is she like the rumors?" he asked the first question. Aaryan would have known something about the rumors if he had been a little interested in anything about Mary before. "Rumors?" he asked. "Is she a sociopath?" Aaryan laughed at his words "Sociopath?"
"Yes, you know what? She just leaves her concert, the moment she is done performing, she never had a fan sign in her career or any contact with fans, and the girl doesn't even attend any shows, Bro. Everyone says it, even her most crazy fans say that Mary is a sociopath." This information was a little hard to digest because Mary did not appear like a sociopath. Even though there was something strange about her, but Aaryan knew it was just her abnormal beauty.
"Nope, she isn't" He confirmed with a grin. Raheel looked like he had nothing to ask yet so many things to say at the same time. Aaryan didn't give much attention to his friend and said "Can you play the song again?" He pointed at his phone "I need help?" Raheel asked, confused. Aaryan nodded and then he played the song. It felt the same as the first time, there was a pain in words, pain in her voice. "This song feels real," he said, sounding sad. Raheel looked at him, puzzled for a different reason now. "What do you mean by that?" He asked, "Her words are real." Raheel stopped being confused and looked at him in annoyance. "What do you mean real? Are you trying to say that The Mary Christopher needs help?" Aaryan nodded his head up and down "Bro, what are you, living in fantasy or something? She is Mary Christopher!" Raheel exclaimed
"I am a writer and I know the difference when words are gathered randomly and when they are your feelings" Aaryan was staring at the space on the floor while his friend had now gotten silent