Chapter 19- 12 am

Later that night, Tanvi was in the prayer room. She looked slowly around at all the portraits of Krishna and Shiva. Her heart felt prayers for her little sister's safety made their way through the window, and up to the sky which shimmered like glitter from the stars which were sprinkled carelessly by the creator himself.

…

Back inside the white jeep.

You would have never heard of such a friendship. Started off as two strangers who needed each other for their own benefits. Now they were best friends who knew each other more than they knew themselves within the span of just three days. They connected with ease and were perfectly comfortable with the company they had been gifted.

After 15 hours of exhausting travelling, they reached hotel Grand Hyatt Denver, Colorado. It was the most deluxe structure they had ever seen, home to celebrities and stars. One look at Archie, and they were offered in by a waiter who very politely introduced them to the room they were to spend the night in.

As it was past 10 pm by the time and their legs couldn't tolerate holding them any longer, Archie and Augustin passed out on the couch with their luggage's laying around on the floor.

~

Augustin woke up in two hours into his nap with his foot on Archie's face. He couldn't help but laugh and feel grateful for the pure friendship he had received with her.

"Your feet stink." Archie groans while throwing his foot to the other side of the couch.

"What's the time?"

"I'm not sure." Augustin says, bringing up his left hand to look at the watch.

He jumps up in shock and runs to the bathroom

"What..." Archie questions, getting worried

"It's past 12 in the afternoon." Augustin says, shoving tooth paste inside his mouth, hardly able to speak.

"12 in the afternoon!" Archie yells as she runs towards the windows to open the blinds.

She stares coldly outside the window, painfully watching the sleeping city. The sky still dark, just the occasional noise of cars passing by.

Archie's silence confuses Augustin who approaches her from behind.

"Augustin, my friend."

"Yes…?"

"Look outside."

"I am."

"What do you see."

"The city. Are you blind?"

"What's the sky like?"

"Dark-.. Oh."

"12 in the afternoon or 12 in the morning?" Archie screams before turning to Augustin and punching him in the stomach.

The two laugh uncontrollably, unable to look each other in the eye in fears of dying without breath.

"You know what? I'm not tired anymore. Let's go clubbing!" Augustin says before jumping on top of the couch and dancing.

"Clubbing? No way! Father will kill me."

"Your father isn't even here now, watching you get drunk."

"But…"

"And it's not as if you do eveeeerything with your father's permission. For example, running away" Augustin murmurs, walking into the kitchen.

"I heard that."

Augustin opens the pantries and examines the food, throwing it behind him after losing interest. Archie follows behind him and walks to the fridge. She stares at the bottles of alcohol in confusion when Augustin approaches from the corner.

A few minutes of silence, Archie could feel Augustin's smile growing through the corner of her eyes.

"Time to get predrunk!" he yells, still not taking his eyes off the bottles.

~

The hotel room was ruined. Archie and Augustin were a little too drunk, rummaging through their suitcase and throwing their belongings all around them. Every second later, they turn the music louder and louder until they could no longer hear themselves. Taking selfies and recording stupid things they were doing, tripping, stuffing their mouth with food, screaming lyrics, you name it.

Finally, after half an hour of pure madness, the two calm down and sit back to back on the couch.

"I love you"

"I love you too."

~

1 am in the morning, Archie and Augustin somehow found their way into a bar, their legs nearly giving up on them and eventually falling onto each other.

"May I have your ID please?"

"No, hehe." Archie giggles before pushing the big man out of her way and entering.

For some reason, maybe because he just couldn't bother, the guard didn't chase her, but instead, allowed the two to pass without verification.

The music was loud but not as loud as it was in the hotel. People were out of control, throwing up everywhere and screaming. Two minutes in, Archie and Augustin had lost each other but their minds were off the charts to ever have wondered what was happening. The spinning colours of the disco balls were blinding to Archie's eyes so she decides to make her way to the bar and sit on top of the long stools.

"A shot of your strongest…"

The bartender waits patiently for her to complete her sentence. But the truth was that she doesn't know either. She's never been to a club nor the bar and because of this, she only had little knowledge of what was available."

"Strongest…"

"I get it ma'am" The waiter says, giving up before handing her a shot of apparently their strongest beverage .

Just as Archie takes the shot, she feels someone sit beside her. Even in this pig sty of a bar, his strong, manly scent made its way into Archie's notice that she almost completely sobers up.

Unable to keep herself from seeing who it was coming from, she slowly turns her head to face him.

Opal green eyes, the most perfect jawline she had ever seen, definitely 6 foot, such luscious lips and hair so feathered, she could almost see the softness.

One glance at him and Archie's soul left her body. The chaos occurring behind her became slow motion. Her heart beating out of her chest, she attempts to clench it. She had never experienced such a feeling and she was starting to worry at the rate of heart. She couldn't seem to comprehend or define her emotions. All she knew was that it felt amazing… to say the least. 'Is this what death feels like?' Thinking that she was overley intoxicated.

The man slowly turns his head to face her, looking at her the same way she did. It was enough for Archie's heart to nearly explodes to confetti and fireworks onto her hands.

Who was this beauty of a man?