10 The light after the dark

"Wait a minute" Ryan turned her around and helped her wear his jacket. He then secured the cap around her head and pulled the zip up that came to her chin. They stood close, and he looked at her face with the zipper still in his hand.

He exhaled, and a small puff swirled around her face, tickling her cheeks. He looked away and said, "This…this should do it. Put your hands in the pockets, keep yourself warm."

It had begun to snow, and Ryan walked only in a flimsy shirt and jeans. The top buttons of his shirt were open, and she could see his corded muscles and peeked to get a better look. However, when their eyes met, she said, "But, you will catch a cold."

"I won't. Keep the jacket. I have a wardrobe full of them," Ryan had meant to offer it as help, but Zara felt otherwise, so she said, "Thank you, but I will return it after getting it dry-cleaned."

Ryan looked taken aback, "Really now? The least I expected is a thank you. Why do you think of me as a rich-spoilt brat? What have I done?"

Zara ignored his questions and hurried away, "Because people from the middle class may be working as servants for you. I belong to the same class, Ryan."

Ryan looked dejected, "Not all rich boys are bad."

Zara didn't reply but said instead, "Thank you for walking with me. V's place is just a block away from here. I can manage."

Ryan stepped in front of her, "Promise me that you will get Veronica to drop you to your place."

Zara sighed, "Yes, Ryan."

He insisted, "Promise me, or I will wait for you till you walk out of her door. I'll stand here in this blistering snowfall with no jacket or sweater and catch a cold, and you will be responsible for it."

Zara gave a faint smile and said, "Yes, Ray, now go." Ryan gave an amused smile, "That's more like it." When she turned around, his hand hovered on her head for a minute as he pretended to adjust the jacket and discarded the memory of the attack from her mind.

Zara walked into Veronica's place and closed the door. Ryan looked around and scanned the skies before sitting in a corner as he waited for Zara to finish dinner and walk out.

Veronica exclaimed, "What took you so long, Z?"

Zara began answering but couldn't remember what had happened in the past hour, "I don't know. Maybe, I walked through a different lane."

Veronica, who had been glued to her TV, looked at Zara and shouted, "Oh my God! Whose jacket is that?"

Zara lied, "I…I really don't know." She wasn't sure why she was lying to her best friend but she didn't want her to make any assumptions of her relationship with Ryan because there wasn't any.

Veronica jumped up in excitement, "Wow, were you making out with someone in the dark corners of the lanes? Was it Ryan?"

Zara looked at her, alarmed, "What rubbish, V. Why would he want to be anywhere near me?"

Veronica eyed her suspiciously, "Either you are not telling me everything about your burning desires, or you shoplifted that jacket on the way. That explains why it took you so long."

Zara only shrugged, she was a terrible liar.

Veronica came near her and moved her fingers through the jacket, "This is definitely, Ryan's jacket. That's the smell of his favorite cologne."

Zara looked astonished, "You know what cologne he wears?"

"Let's say, if our university was to set an exam on him, I wouldn't finish second."

Zara unzipped the jacket, but it felt surprisingly warm and soft around her. Though she had decided to discard it, she was freezing and couldn't deny its cosiness as if she was being hugged by Ryan, a thought that alarmed and tingled her senses at the same time. She could feel his embrace though she was positive she had never been hugged by him.

"Forget the jacket, I'm starving, and the sandwiches have gone cold. Let me re-heat them in the microwave." Veronica opened the parcel, but the sandwiches looked like they had been tossed around in a washing machine.

Veronica asked suggestively, "Are you sure you weren't doing anything other than walking? These sandwiches have been brutally murdered."

When Zara didn't reply, Veronica went about salvaging them, and they spent the next hour watching movies. It was Friday night, and as there was no school the following day, the two played scrabble, watched an entire season of Veronica's favorite TV show, and then retired to sleep.

As Zara snuggled in the warm covers of Veronica's bedroom, she saw a figure in the corner. She peered out of the window, but there was no one. Thinking it was a trick of the light, she slowly fell asleep, her dreams filled with images of Ryan and herself making out in a dark corner and smiled.

An hour after she fell asleep, Ryan soundlessly climbed in through the window and looked at her, smiling in her dreams. He chuckled at her thoughts and was overcome with a strong urge to wake her up and make her dreams a reality. He only gazed at her wistfully and gently removed the glasses from her eyes that were sliding down her nose, yet again.

Zara stirred in her sleep and grabbed his hand, "Please don't do this. I don't know anything."

Ryan bent down and sat on his knees beside her. He checked on Veronica, who was snoring, so he gently unclasped his hands from Zara's, "It's okay. Nobody is going to hurt you."

She was asleep, yet she responded, "Will you stay with me till they go away?"

Ryan pushed a stray lock away from her cheeks, "I'll stay with you for eternity."

The answer seemed to relax her, and she let go of his hand. Ryan spent a long time soothing her mind before she began snoring too. He gave a light peck on her forehead before jumping out of the window at the crack of dawn.

As he began walking outside, he saw the boy beast standing in a corner. He covered the distance in three long strides and punched the boy's jaw. The boy ran his hands through his jawline and spat blood and smiled, "Nice to see you too, Ryan or as they say, Ray."

Ryan punched him again, "I can't say that I feel the same, Doug or as they say dog." Doug staggered a bit and leered, "You know, I'm next in line when you fail, right?"

Ryan took the boy's collar in his hands and dragged him further in the corner, "If… I fail. And I won't fail."

Doug laughed sinisterly, his mouth dripping with blood, "Oh, I love to see you squirm. The way you show how you don't care what happens but are so frightened that I will overpower you. All your training goes down the drain when you see her."

Ryan said through gritted teeth, "Do not speak of her, I'm warning you."

Doug continued in the same mocking tone, "The way you struggle to keep your hands off of her is amusing. What do you see in her? I pity you, but then I wouldn't know without seeing it myself, would I? I need to pay her a visit soon. She looks enticing, doesn't she?"

Ryan's face was contorted with fury, and he kept punching Doug even after he was knocked unconscious. He wasn't sure if he was mad with rage or worried sick of the possibility of Doug even nearing Zara. He took a boulder lying around and raised it above his shoulders.

"Do it, will save us all the trouble keeping an eye on him," came a smooth voice from behind Ryan. He turned around to see a girl standing in front of him. Somehow her words put sense in him, and he whirled the boulder away as if it were made of paper. He kicked at Doug's body, lying in a pool of blood, and walked away. The girl flicked a finger, and Doug disappeared.