CHECKMATE

Chapter 8

Three months into their rigorous practice and the lead dancer Rohan ended by fracturing his left leg during a hiking expedition.

"Please," pleaded Anjali giving Pratap a beseeching look. "Rohan can help backstage, I need you...I mean... you're help..." She corrected immediately.
"Anjali I don't know to dance, I can't do it." He replied controlling his frustration.

That was the first time she had ever heard her name from his lips. It sounded lovely but she continued to plead with him.

"Pratap, there is nothing in the world that a human being can't do." Said Anjali firmly holding Pratap by his arm turning him to face her.

She was visibly angry with him and he in turn was pale with her pleading. He didn't utter a word but continued listening to her.

"I'll mentor you, I won't let you be embarrassed. I assure you that I will not get annoyed with you if you make a mistake nor will I leave your side. I need you, the team needs you on stage. I would never have asked you to do this if Rohan hadn't fractured his leg." Anjali paused for a breath searching Pratap's passive expressions for a hint of compassion for her, but found none. He continued looking into the distance without batting an eyelid.

Anjali slumped on the ground close to his feet. Taken aback he immediately bend down and held her by her shoulders asking, "Do you find me insensitive?"

Her vision blurred with the tears that seemed to overwhelm her. She removed the glasses and continued looking into Pratap's eyes. She had never noticed that both his eyes were of different colour, one hazel and the other grey.

"Anjali," he said her name once more and was enough to set her heart racing. "Help me,"

She tried to blink her tears but they simply rolled down her cheeks making him shudder.

"You are crying!" he gasped in disbelief.

This was the first time he had made a girl cry. The guilt was overpowering him to take a logical decision. In a split second he said, "I'll dance,"

Anjali wiped the tears away from her cheeks and wore her glasses once more. She smiled at him saying, "Don't fret, I'll help you." 

Once more you have let her take advantage of you Pratap, he thought with a sigh. I just hope you won't hurt me...but I seriously can't tell you that I have a crush on you...

Thanks a lot Pratap, thought Anjali smiling to herself, I never thought that my tears could melt you. If you really have a crush on me, why don't you confess it? What are you waiting for?

"Shall we begin?" asked Pratap knocking her into the real world.

The practice began and Anjali soon realized that Pratap was too rigid. He was like a bamboo, unable to bend nor twist. It was tough but she had promised not to give up. After all Pratap had agreed to dance only because of her tears.

Pratap just detested his fate, he hated to dance and on top of that he kept falling harder for Anjali. The dance was only breaking the wall he tried to build between them. Just like she had promised, Anjali made sure that Pratap wasn't too traumatized with the dance. She made sure that she took the lead, guiding his steps that she had reduced to a considerable rate.

Everytime they came close, both Anjali and Pratap seemed to lose sense of their surroundings. To Anjali, Pratap was no less than a hero who had swept her off her feet. Comfort washed over her everytime Pratap held her close or smiled at her while managing to dance.
Initially Pratap was extremely hesitant to come closer to Anjali. The entire episode with Urmika had left him heartbroken and he knew that he couldn't trust any girl ever. The wound though stale still hurt him whenever he looked at Anjali. He couldn't find the strength to fight against his fear and break the invisible barrier between them. Managing to convince himself that this was just a dance, he strived hard to do all that he had to. Yet he made sure that the space between them wasn't misunderstood nor seemed awkward to them.