HER SAFE PLACE

Hug

"You!" I exclaimed as soon as I opened the door... because the person standing there was none other than that cockroach...

"What are you doing here?" I asked without letting him in.

He slowly started stepping towards me, making me retreat, and said, "I'm here because Arun called me," then went inside.

Huh, what the hell!! Arun couldn't find anyone else but this cockroach, seriously.... I went inside and saw that cockroach and Arun hugging each other.

I interrupted them, asking Arun, "Couldn't you find anyone else?" and eyed the cockroach.

"Well, you know how my friends and cousins are, and I know you wouldn't be comfortable with them, so I called him," Arun explained.

"Who told you I'd be comfortable with him?" I asked. "I know Rocky and his nature; he wouldn't make a girl uncomfortable, and besides, he's a good dancer, as you saw at the bachelor's party, so he could easily learn the steps," Arun reasoned.

"Well, he's right; he is indeed a good dancer, but that doesn't mean I'd be comfortable with him," I thought.

I was about to speak when the cockroach asked, "Arun, would you like to tell me what's happening and why you called me so urgently?"

"Well, you have to dance with Shivangi," Arun said, bursting him into laughter.

Arun and I exchanged confused looks, and the cockroach sat on the nearby couch, still laughing. Between his laughs, he said, "I didn't know you cracked such good jokes.

Seriously, is this guy for real? We both gave him serious looks, and he stopped laughing, asking, "You're not joking?"

" Do you really think I'd call you for a joke?" Arun clarified.

"Why do you think I'd dance with this girl?" the cockroach said, pointing at me from head to toe.

"I have a name," I said. "So do I," he replied, and I kept quiet because I always refer to him as cockroach and not by his name, so I couldn't argue about it...

"Well, Shivangi and I have prepared a dance performance for Jennifer and Aditya, but yesterday I twisted my ankle, so now I can't dance, and someone will have to take my place. We can't just drop this dance because we've been planning it for days, and it's been Jenny's wish since teenagehood that someone performs at her wedding, portraying her love story, so we have to fulfill it. You're a good dancer, and you can learn the steps easily, and besides, I know you won't make Shivangi uncomfortable in any way, which I can't assure with my friends or cousins, so that's why I called you. Please help me," Arun explained to the cockroach.

I thought he would refuse, but his response shocked me.

"Okay, tell me what I have to do," the cockroach said.

I was staring at that cockroach as if I saw a ghost  when Arun called my name and asked me to show him the dance video.

I showed him the video, and he watched it seriously. Once it ended, we both got up to practice. He struggled a bit at first, but he quickly caught on to every step, and we began practicing together.

Honestly, it would be unfair to say he made me uncomfortable. While dancing, he maintained a safe distance and barely touched me, which actually put me at ease. Maybe he's not as bad as I thought.

We practiced throughout the day, and surprisingly, that cockroach picked up everything quite fast.

Impressive!

We wrapped up practice because it was already 6 pm, and we had to head to the Sangeet. As I was about to leave, Arun declared, "Rocky will drop you," in a tone that allowed no argument. I sighed and agreed.