Dancing in the Shadows - II

"God I am so exhausted and parched. I need something to drink before I pass out due to dehydration" Sarah exclaimed before slumping into the barstool beside me. Jason followed behind planting a small kiss on her temple and asking her what drink he should buy for her. Sarah noticed Justin for the first time then. She instantly squealed in joy and wrapped him in a big hug. Seriously, have I mentioned my doubts about the girl being bipolar? Oh well, I am saying it again. She was whimpering in tiredness one minute and now she was excited and cheerful like she was on drugs jumping on Justin and cajoling him to dance with her. Justin laughed at her antics and was trying his best to avoid her though she couldn't move him an inch how much she tried. It was like a Chihuahua pulling on a Yak. The sight earned an eye-roll from Kyle and bouts of laughter from the remaining of us.

"Come on Sarah. Let the man be at peace with his girlfriend. I will join you" Kyle said trying to pry her hands away from Justin. "Ew! Get away from me, Kyle! I don't want to dance with you. I want to dance with Justin. Get your dirty hands off me" she slurred and thrashed, her reactions pretty much explaining that she was drunk. "Watch it, Kyle. That's my girl and don't you dare overstep your boundaries" Jason false-threatened Kyle playing the overprotective boyfriend part, which both knew was an act. But it humoured Sarah and she started cooing and slung on her boyfriend's arms with an "Oh baby! I love you."

"Calm down tiger. I have already set my eyes on something more beautiful" Kyle countered steering his eyes in the opposite direction. We followed his line of sight to locate a red-headed girl at a distance. "Damn! She is hot!" Jason voiced our thoughts which drove Sarah to punch his arm. He recovered quickly as he corrected, "Not as hot as you babe". But the damage had already been done. Sarah was huffing and puffing as she stormed out in the other direction with Jason running after her to make up. Justin shook his head at that with a laugh. "Those two are an odd pair and never cease to amaze me" he finished with a chuckle.

I let my eyes wander back around the room as the soft chuckle was eliciting an unwanted reaction in me. I saw Kyle already making his way toward the redhead. The girl was dressed in a black cropped tank top and a black leather jacket with torn black jeans and black combat boots. Her attire was borderline gothic, but it looked more sexy than scary on her. The girl was beautiful, and anyone could see that.

By now Kyle was already at her table and striking up a conversation with her making a sly smile creep up on the girl's face. It was not like Kyle to approach a random girl in a club. He never did one-night stands. It proves my point as I had seen him date only two girls in all the years that I have known him. The last relationship lasted for three years before the girl left him for another guy. She even moved out of the country after her marriage. I honestly liked Tracy a lot. Never did I imagine they would break up. It was a shock to all of us when Kyle announced that they had broken up and she was moving to Australia. We did not see that coming. After being heartbroken for six months Kyle had finally decided it was high time, he moved on from her and do something useful with his life. He had moved in with Jason again and kept himself busy with work and friends. Soon he had returned to his cheery old self but he hadn't started dating again.

"Looks like someone is going to get lucky tonight," Justin said from beside me looking at Kyle and the redhead in the distance. True to his words they were engaged in a deep conversation both laughing and having a good time. I noticed Kyle whispering something in her ear which made her blush a little and swat his arms. "Hmm. It appears that way. Although it's not like Kyle to go home with a girl he met for the first time in a club" I said taking a sip of my drink. The taste instantly made me scrunch my nose in disgust. What the hell did I order? It tasted so vile. Oh right. That's Sarah's drink. How the hell does she even drink something like that? It's so strong and bitter and it left an uneasy burn as it traveled down my throat. Justin chuckled at my grimace and zipped his lips when I shot him a glare.

"You never know. People change," he said turning his eyes towards Kyle again, still smiling. "I guess so" I offered, and we were back to the awkward silence, the only sounds to be heard were of the booming music around us. I was never a big fan of heavy metal and the ground-breaking music was making my temples throb indicating a headache making its way soon.

"Have you?" Justin asked voice laced with hope. His eyes were glowering at the glass of whiskey in his hand adamantly refusing to meet mine. I turned towards him with a jolt the moment I heard him. I couldn’t do anything but look at him with a gaping mouth. No words came out as I was looking at him stupidly unable to form a coherent answer. What happened to 'respecting-my-decision-and- we-can't-force-love' and all that shit he was saying a while ago? Was he the same person or did someone spike his drink just now? I couldn’t help myself from questioning. 'Oh, God! This is bad. I am not ready for this' I thought to myself.

"Just checking. Looks like you still haven't" he answered his own question with a grim tone. He pressed his lips together grimly, downed his drink in one go and ordered another. By now Jason and Sarah had made up and had returned to us. Sarah was demanding that we do shots. Kyle and the red-headed beauty were nowhere to be seen. Wow, that was fast. People sure as hell are surprising me recently. I looked at my current group of friends. This was supposed to be a fun night, right? I was planning to let loose and thoroughly enjoy myself. At least that was what Sarah wanted me to do. Whereas I wanted to gawk all night at a hotshot young entrepreneur online.

To hell with it! I am getting drunk tonight. No more thinking about guys, past or present whatsoever I told myself firmly. I slammed my hands on my thighs and told Sarah "Let's do it!" "Yay! Come on boys! Let's get drunk" she yelled and made her way to the bar. She came back with a tray filled with shot glasses and we started downing it like we had been deprived of water. I didn't know how many of those shots I had, and my head was starting to spin a little. Sarah had passed out cold and was lying on Jason's shoulders. Jason seemed to be a little bit drunk too which left only Justin who seemed to be in pretty good shape. Come to think of it he had only two drinks so far and that's why he was still sober. Looking at Jason, Sarah, and me planning to get ourselves drunk and Kyle fleeing with his gothic girlfriend of the night, he had taken it upon himself to be the designated driver. How sweet of him I thought to myself and giggled at my thoughts. Wow, that must be the alcohol talking and I must be drunk off my ass if I was giggling.

"Come on Aadhira. I think Jason and Sarah are completely gone. And from the looks of it, you will be too in a few minutes. So, let's get you guys back safe and sound while I still can," Justin said getting up and pulling me with him. I stumbled and held on to his arms for support, lest I would be kissing the floor right now falling face first. He steadied me and after making sure I could walk without faceplanting, he shook Jason and Sarah to get up and follow him out of the club.

We made our way out and the silence outside the club contradictory to the blaring music inside was a major relief.

The cool night air was inviting and much better than the suffocating atmosphere inside the club. We started walking towards Justin's car when I heard someone screaming in pain in the nearby alley. Without considering the consequences, I acted upon instinct and made my way to the alley. I peeked in to see what the commotion was all about. Three guys were ganging up on a single guy. One of them even had a steel bar of some sort in his hand. That looked like a freaking baseball bat made from steel. It could cause some serious brain damage if someone decides to take a strike at your skull.

Before I could get the image of a man playing baseball with a human head out of my mind, the first two started attacking the guy dressed in black who seemed to be their target for tonight. One of them held the guy back and the other one landed a solid punch to his guts. The guy grunted in pain and from where I was standing, I couldn't see the guy's face who was held captive. The third guy with the steel bar approached them intending to land a blow to the one being held back.

"Hey! Back off!" I yelled surprising myself where that sudden bravery came from, and the guy with the steel bar turned to me now with deadly eyes. Uh-Oh, not a smart move. I backed against the wall and closed my eyes waiting for the blow which never came. I opened my eyes to see what was happening. The guy who was approaching me had stumbled when he missed, and Justin had used that opportunity to trip his leg and land a solid right hook to his face. The guy howled in pain on getting a sucker punch. By now the captive had used the distraction to attack the other two guys, catching the one who was holding him back in a headlock. He pushed him to the ground after a swift kick. Ignoring his grunts, he started kicking him in the gut without stopping even though the guy was moaning in pain clutching his stomach on the ground. The first guy had recovered by then and tried to capture the black-clothed guy from behind. But to everyone’s surprise, he had spun around swiftly like a true martial arts pro and caught the guy by his shirt. He smacked his attacker’s head repeatedly on the wall resulting in a sickening crack resounding in that empty alley before the guy fell to his feet in a heap.

As I continued to see the fight, the way the black-clothed guy was attacking the other three looked murderous rather than self-defense which made me doubt if I had done wrong by trying to help him. The black-clothed guy turned to the one with the steel bar and started walking toward him with a predatory aura. He snatched the steel bar from the thug who was attacking him before bringing it back to strike a blow. "No" I shouted in horror hoping to make him stop but it was too late. The steel bar had already contacted the guy on the ground, and he passed out in an instant. Their other accomplice was running in the opposite direction feeling grateful for his life being spared.

When he realized, they are not going to come back for him again, the black-clothed guy slowly turned around and made his way in our direction to walk out of the alley. He was wiping blood from his nose. I could see his lip busted with a bit of blood dribbling from the corners of his mouth. An angry bruise was forming below his right eye. The more he tried to wipe the blood from his face the messier it became as his bloodied knuckles were leaving a red trail that he tried to wipe off.

The moment he came out of the dark alley towards the streetlights, his face became more visible to me. I squinted to get a clear view of the man’s face. I felt myself freeze in horror on seeing him and the air inside me left with a stuttered whoosh as I gasped. I was not expecting to see someone from my past at this point. Most definitely not under such circumstances surrounded by blood and fainted men. I did not know how long I stood there rooted to the ground in shock. Finally, I managed to shake off the horror gripping me and mumbled the guy's name amidst the cold shivers running through my body which most definitely was not due to the dropping temperature of the night.

"Rishi"