The Rivals (Rewriting)

Shot-17

There were many things that I wanted to change about that situation but weirdly enough, Rishabh Singh Rathore being in my room in the middle of the night wasn't one of those things. I knew I'd be slapping myself for this in the future but him just being there, sitting on my bed beside me, caring for the wound on my arm made me feel things that I didn't know I could feel.

But I wasn't going to cloud my mind with that superficial warmth. Things had been hard for me and I didn't want to complicate my situation anymore. I had to be mature. I wouldn't allow my mind to fall for those petty weird feelings.

"I should get going..." To my relief, I felt him stand up and my eyes followed his movement from the bedside to the table.

"It's already late and you should sleep. Maybe get your head and erm... body straight before the practice begins tomorrow." I hummed as he scribbled something quickly on that school group photo and stood up abruptly from the chair.

"Wait...how do you suppose I get out of this house?" His confused tone  made me chuckle.

"I don't know. Maybe ask you genius brain to forge another ridiculous plan of getting out just as it did while you were getting in. Now that you've already broken the one ladder, climb down the wall like a spider for all I care. " He squinted his eyes with a hint of disapproval at my jest before throwing the picture on my lap.

"A present for you." He added before haughtily strutting right out of my door. I could barely stand up from the bed to stop him before he had vanished amidst the darkness outside my room.  

I scrambled to run behind him in a jiffy and caught hold of his tee-shirt in the nick of time before he could step further down the stairs.

"WHAT ARE YOU DOING?" I whisper-yelled as he jerked his head back.

"My poor back would very much prefer it if we now go out through the front door rather than climb twenty feet down the window." He whispered back as I stood a step above him in the pitch-dark stairs. The light out of my room remained restricted to the upper landing and all I could see was the faint glow of the porch light through the main door a few feet below us.

"I don't give a damn about your back. Who asked you to break into my house at the middle of the night with your damn back? Do you even know how loud your damn elf-feet sound banging on the floor right now?" I tried to keep my whispers as low as possible but that guy was just getting on my nerves with his absurd ideas.

"I asked you to suggest me any other way but you had to go all Sanvi and insult my genius mind. And elf-feet? My feet are perfectly shaped!" He sounded really offended. Well, I was going for offence.

"Okay okay okay.. Our whispers might just wake them up now. Come with me, I'll sneak you out the kitchen door. And step where I step. Not an inch away from that. Ours is an old house, if you haven't noticed, Mr. Bigshot."

"You know. Bossy Sanvi isn't really a good look on you.."

"How can you say that when we can barely see each other's faces in this darkness?" I enquired restlessly.

"Exactly. How am I supposed to know where you step on, Miss Genius?" His words dripping with sarcasm made me scoff at my own idea.

Ridiculous.

"Ugh. Let me get the flashlight. Stand here. Don't move!" I walked back to my room and fetched it out before joining him in the middle of the stairs.

"Stay behind me..." I whispered and held his right arm, guiding him through my very squeaky house. I was cautious not to knock onto any of the furniture laid haphazardly throughout the rooms.