Quantum Potente

14. Banter in the Hallway

Music Recommendation: 'Havana' by Camilla Cabello (feat. Young Thug)

Rian was quite pissed at his sister's accusations and was currently returning from his detour to the Freaky Woods. He was crossing the girl's dormitory, when he saw a petite figure moving back and forth in the hallway of his sister's dorm. It didn't take him a second to recognize the person as she was the reason of his headache.

He made his way towards Shakti, who abruptly stopped moving, with her back in his direction. Rian's eyes scanned Shakti's small frame from the back and fisted his palms, making his veins pop out. He ran his hand through his hair, making it tousled. He took stealthy steps in her direction, moving at the precision of a leopard.

He felt Shakti stiffen up when he stood exactly behind her, his tall stature towering above her. He looked down at her soft and fluffy hair, which was almost as dark as his. It was messy but so touchable that he had to resist the urge to touch it. His eyes had a range of emotions in his eyes, each fighting for more prominence.

'Get a grip, Rian Peterson.'

Suddenly, Shakti took a swift turn and raised her knee to knock him on his groin. But Rian was faster. He quickly grabbed her thigh in his right hand and circled his left arm around her waist, to feel how petite she was. Shakti's eyes widened and threatened to pop out, which made him amused. Her cheeks were adorned with a faint pinkish hue. Thanks to his hearing abilities, he could feel her thudding heartbeat, which rang as a melody in his ears.

They both stared at each other for a moment when they realized their scandalous. Rian quickly let her go and took a step back while Shakti took another step back. She started to brush her clothing to get off some invisible dirt off her body. She looked up and gave him a hard stare.

Rian was irked at Shakti's behavior and gave her a death stare. "I will not try to take offense at that.", he said in a deep voice.

"No, I want you to take offense. Why did you hold me, in such a manner? Don't you know that you should not touch a woman without her permission?", Shakti said in a heated tone.

"Don't flatter yourself thinking that I am interested in touching you. I have touched more beautiful girls, in better ways. I will definitely not allow you to kick me there.", he said with a look of boredom, but his eyes had a twinkle of faint amusement. But something deep and dark was buried deep somewhere in the depths of their eyes, which none of them noticed.

Shakti gave a glare and said, "Do I look like I care about how many girls you have slept with? And why am I not surprised at your words? You don't seem like a committed man to me anyway."

"Why do I need to be committed? Commitment is for those who cling to false hope, with no future or guarantee.", Rian said in a serious tone, his thoughts drifted off to the past. An image of a smiling, and innocent girl floated in front of his eyes, which intensified the dull ache in his heart to a considerable degree.

"While you give in to the desires of your body and get intimate with girls you would never commit to, I tend to stay away from men, even if I crave physical proximity. It doesn't hurt to follow my technique. It saves you from any possible future troubles. Not that I care if you don't, as it is not my problem. But you can try listening to your brain over heart in such situations. Heart often misleads us.", Shakti said in a nonchalant tone with a scoff.

An amused chuckle left Rian's throat. "For that, I need a heart first, which I, with complete honesty, don't have.", he said in a dry tone. If only it were true, then he wouldn't have to feel the constant ache and regret of her death.

"I don't believe it, Peterson. You are alive as your heart is beating. And you are still feeling all the emotions because of the same reason. If you didn't have one, you wouldn't be standing in front of me.", Shakti said in a matter-of-fact tone.