Chapters 19

Harry’s POV

“Where are you?”

“I am okay.”

“I am saying, where are you Harry?”

“I'm spending some time alone, Clarke.”

“Why didn’t you bring your bodyguards with you?”

“Because I wanted to be alone. Now can you please let me be?”

“Just tell me where are you? Just in case,”

She wasn’t in my sight now. Her window was shut down. Felt like my time to go.

“Doesn’t matter, I am heading home,” I informed him on the phone.

“Just please tell me, when you reach there,” his voice was irritated but he was pleading.

“Okay, Mom!” I said as I took one last look to her window. No sign of her.

I started the car and made my way back home.

Sarah’s POV

I was absent for only three days. But the whole campus felt like I haven’t been there for years. I was feeling better. Not that I wasn’t almost limping around the campus, but still I was grateful that I was walking without taking anyone’s hand.

I was wearing the same lavender coloured dress , the one I wore at my first photoshoot with him. Well, it was the last one up till now. I was wearing sneakers instead of heels. Because obviously I couldn’t handle it.

The same vast entrance of the senior block, echoing with chattering of students. And here I was walking alone.

“Hey Sarah!,” the husky voice calling my name made my head turn in his direction. It was Sam. Dressed in a blue oversized hoodie. His hair was pushed back by the band. He jogged slowly towards me.

“Hey!” I was absolutely surprised by his sudden greeting.

“Where were you?”

“I just hurt my foot. So I was not able to walk properly.” I lifted my injured foot unintentionally, while explaining to him the reason for my absence.

“Oh! Are you alright?” his eyes were directed at my feet. A frown rested on his forehead while he expressed his concern.

“Yeah, I am okay now,” I said as I started walking in my limping way.

“You are still hurt? Here give me your bag, I’ll help you,” before he completed his sentence he was already taking my bag’s strap off my shoulder.

“Oh no! It’s okay,” I tried to stop him.

“Oh please, it’s nothing,” he said, as he started walking with me. He was intentionally walking slow to match his pace with me.

“So, you are impressed by that mysterious girl too?”

My confused expression demanded more explanation from him.

“I am talking about the girl seen with Harry Calloway.” his head danced in a strange way.

I choked at the mention of his name.

“Uhh, I don’t understand. What are you saying?” That was true.

“Oh please! I am talking about your outfit. The Internet is hyping about this dress. I have seen girls wearing dresses like this. Like some new fashion. Well, it becomes a trend whatever these celebs chose to wear.”

My dress. Right. Actually it’s the same dress, Sam.

“Yeah! That. I liked it so much.” My nervous chuckle made me more embarrassed.

He stopped to have a look at me properly. Eyeing me from head to toe, he added,

“Yours look too- similar to the original one.”

“Yeah, my friend is a designer so she customised this especially for me,” another lie to make my day full of guilt and embarrassment.

Nice isn’t it.

I had reached my lecture hall. He handed me my bag.

“I’ll go now. See you later,” he said as he started walking backwards.

“Wait. Aren’t you taking the class?”

“I am. But mine is upstairs. I have a different class,” he announced.

“So why did you-,”

“It’s nothing,” he winked at me before he disappeared out of the lecture hall.

The eyes I felt on me made my walk towards my seat in the back, awkward. Samjamin was a heartthrob because of his looks. And what was I? An outcast. I was not supposed to be seen with him. It doesn’t matter how beautiful and captivating the story of Cinderella looks, in reality society cannot bear it. I would have shouted in front of all of them, just to announce that there was nothing going on like that plus I wasn’t interested in him.

But another reason for the stares I was getting was something Sam told me. Yes, my dress. That goddamn dress. No matter how much cursing I would have done to myself wasn’t enough. I was the centre of attention for the whole class. Heads were turning to my direction. And I saw some girls wearing similar kinds of outfits. But none of them were exactly the same. And I was wearing the exact same dress.

I saw Tina looking at me with an amused smirk. She was dressed in red. Of course, she wasn’t following the trend.

She wanted to do something different.

I released a low tone chuckle, remembering Sam’s words.

“What’s that making you so happy?” It was Ginny. Standing as if she was being filmed. Poor girl always misunderstood herself to be the centre of attention.

“That’s none of your concern.” I said trying to keep myself busy by putting things out of my bag.

“Where did you get this dress from?” I heard her sassy tone.

“That’s also not your concern,” this time I didn’t consider it necessary to look at her.

Suddenly, she hit her hand on the desk in front of me. That made me flinch. And I heard the crowd laughing. Lifting my eyes, I saw the whole class looking at me.

“Tell me, you bum,” here it goes. The whole bunch of d**k heads laughing.

“There is no way you can afford such a dress.” It was expensive. She was not wrong. I could only wish to have such delicate material to wear. Looking straight into her eyes, I masked my inner self esteem that she stroked successfully. Giving me another reason to hate this day.

“My boyfriend,” I said as the idea came to mind.

“Huh?”

“I said my boyfriend bought it for me,” lying straight on her face I saw her features shifting. She was not expecting it. But who was? Even I wasn’t. The whole class was silent now.

OKAY EVERYONE GET BACK TO YOUR SEAT.

It was not only me who flinched at the professor's voice, the whole class did. Her jaws were clenching before she turned and got back to her seat. If I could name this day it was all about lying. And I was already feeling nauseous by thinking about the intensity of the lie I had told them. But they don’t care, right?

The lecture ended and I sneaked out of the lecture hall successfully, without anyone noticing it. I was sitting in the library. Resting my back against the book rack. My elbows were resting on my knees. My hands were on my head. For some reason,I was getting the feeling that Tina and her chicks were not going to let it go. And I was right.

“What are you doing here?” I heard her shrill voice.

Lifting my head, I saw her chewing something. I stood up.

“Doing whatever I want,” I arched my brow at her, trying to compose myself. I knew it was happening again and all of my self confidence was running out of the window. The effect she had on me was something I wasn’t able to understand myself. She was always composed. She knew what she was doing. I was sure she never felt a need to think about money and her future. But was this enough? Are these reasons enough to make a human being lose all his strength? I mean there were many people in the world who had everything in their life. Or at least they were more fortunate than me. Sam was. But I didn’t feel like this with him. Weird isn’t it?

“In this campus,” she paused and stepped a bit closer to me. Tilting her head to the side she brought her lips to my ear.

“Nothing goes around without me knowing,” she whispered. Pulling herself back she was now looking in my eyes. Intentionally, I narrowed my gaze at her. Trying to mask my inner nervousness.

“Maybe it gives you an idea about why you should be telling me whatever I ask,” she was smirking. The cruelty in her beautiful eyes managed to mute my sound box. And I felt a cold chill passing through my whole body.