It was past eight and me and Danish got out of Whoopee. We had our dinner from Pizza Island at the food court and planned to take a night walk in the park. 

Danish parked his bike and we walked towards the park. Night walk in the park was something I always enjoyed. I used to do it with my dad when he was free, which was rarest of rare. Zinnia and Lily would cringe upon the idea of a night walk whenever I put forth it. They think that it was totally useless. As if they had done it before!

As of now, I was taking small steps towards the fountain with Danish by my side. During the night, the park was usually a bit cold. I let the chill breeze engulf me, making my body shiver and teeth chatter slightly. I pulled the sleeves of my sweatshirt all the way down, hoping the sweater paws would keep me warm. Danish had his hands tucked inside his jeans pockets to keep himself warm. He was wearing a denim jacket after all. 

We walked from the entrance to the fountain in silence. Neither Danish nor me uttered a word all that time. But the silence that we shared wasn't awkward at all.

We were enjoying that moment of silence, the cold breeze, the golden lights from the tall lamp posts showing us our way in the darkness, the full moon that made the night even more beautiful and above all, our presence on each other's sides. 

We stood in front of the fountain and I fished out two coins and held out one to Danish. He looked at me and scoffed before saying, 
"Don't tell me you believe in this, Elka."

"I do," I said, deadpanned.

He averted his gaze from me and looked at the streaming fountain in front of us. 

"You see those coins?" I asked him, catching his attention and pointing to the coins that laid underwater here and there. 

"Those aren't just some coins thrown by some people who blindly believe in something that's unreal for you. Those are hopes and wishes of some people who are in difficult times of their lives, hoping their sufferings would come to an end as they want nothing but to be happy. Those coins hold prayers of many who believe that someday, someone will cast a miracle over them and their life. And is it that bad to have some hopes for your own life?" I said, looking at him.

He looked at me as if he was seeing a halo above my head. He nodded his head before saying, "You're right."

I nodded.

He took the coin from my fingers. 

"Alright then. Wish for some miracle," he said to me and closed his eyes.

I smiled at him before closing my eyes and wished. 

I wished for my phobia not to be true. I didn't want to live alone. I didn't want to live without knowing what love was and how it was to love someone and to be loved by someone. I wanted to live by loving the people who saw my true colors and still chose to be with me. I wanted to spend my life with someone who loves me as much as I love myself. I wished everything would come true to life. 

I opened my eyes and threw the coin into the fountain. I turned my head sideways to see Danish still praying with knitted eyebrows, holding the coin close to his chest. I saw a stream of tears rolling down his taut cheeks that glistened under the full moon. I was taken aback seeing him like this.

He opened his eyes and noticed my stare on him. He quickly wiped the tears away and threw the coin into the fountain. 
He let out a deep breath and smiled at me.

"Let's go?" he asked. 

I was still looking at him with a baffled face. He cried. He literally cried. And that meant he had something going on but still put up a smile on his face. He wore a mask when he was with me.

"Earth to Elka. Let's go," he said, breaking my daze.

I came back from my pool of thoughts and slightly nodded my head. I couldn't help but wonder what happened to him. 

Was he sad all this time? Were all those laughs and smiles a facade to hide the fact that he was hurt? If so, by what? By whom? 

»»---------------------►

He stepped on the brake in front of my house. I got down and took off my helmet before standing beside him.

"Thanks," I said.

"No mention. As I said, we are gonna do this often and that's why I bought you this helmet."

I smiled faintly and looked at the ground under me.

"Ok, then. Bye. See you tomorrow," he said as he started his bike.

"Wait," I said, making him switch off the vehicle. 

"What? Gonna kiss me?" he asked, wriggling his brows.

I chuckled lightly before saying, "Yeah, in your dreams!"

"Not gonna lie, I once dreamt about you." He leaned closer to me before saying, "It was a wet dream."

"Danish!" I cried out. 

He laughed. "Ok, jokes apart. What is it?"

"Uhmm.. see I know that you're hurt because of something. I saw that at the park. So... I just wanna say that if something's disturbing your mind, don't just keep it inside. Don't bottle up your feelings. Let it out. You can talk to anyone. And if you ever want to talk about anything that's bothering you, don't forget, I'm just a call away. No scratch that, a text away. Feel free to talk to me. I'm happy to help you in any way I can," I said, looking at his dark brown eyes. 

I was damn sure about the words that rolled off from my mouth. I wanted to help him. I wanted to help Danish. 

Danish was staring at me, his eyes hooked with mine. I didn't feel that bizarre feeling anymore. That feeling of erratic breathing, heat exuding from my skin and the strong urge to divert my gaze from him. I didn't feel them.

"Thanks, Elka. Thank you for everything. You're making me wonder how a guy cannot not fall for you every single time," he said.

"I was being friendly and you had to romanticize it," I said blankly. 

He chuckled and shook his head before saying, "Th-that's not what I-"

"Chill. I was just joking," I cut him off.

I stood for a few more seconds near him. 

"Ok, then. I'll go now," I said, taking slow steps backwards. 

"Yeah, bye," he said, starting his bike.

"Bye." I smiled at him.

He waved at me one last time and took off.
I turned around and walked towards my house. As I was about to ring the doorbell, Lily and Zinnia opened the door yelling in unison, "Spill, bitch!"

»»---------------------►

It was Monday. Exams were coming up next month and that was why we had continuous classes for the last two weeks. It was mandatory for our college as they said they would be able to prepare students for the exams. 

As if! 

We would be having classes for this week and next week would be study holidays. And then, exams. 

There were still 2 more hours for the college day to end but my classes were over for today so me and Amy went to the ground. There were only students from my class and a few others from other classes and another few who bunked.

"Do you have water?" I asked after a few minutes of settling down on the steps of the ground. 

Amy nodded her head and took out her flask. Before handing it to me, she shook it. 

"I'm sorry, it's finished. I'll get you," she said as she raised from her place. 

"No, I'll go get it. You stay here," I said, taking the flask from her and standing up.

I walked towards the filter near the ground and waited for the water to be filled. As I was waiting, I heard footsteps that came to a halt right behind me. I smiled knowing who the person was. So instead of closing the lid, I kept the flask open and turned around forcefully. But as I turned around my face fell. It wasn't Danish. 

It was Grayson. 

The water spilled all over his blue tee. I quickly took a few steps back, just to hit my back on the filter. 

"Oh, Elka. Look what you've done, baby girl. You made me wet!" he said with an evil smirk. 

I always despised that smirk. I always despised him. 

"Expect something like this when you are standing right behind someone. And don't call me that," I said, folding my arms. 

"Who will not freeze at their spot when they see that ass of yours, babygirl?" he said, emphasizing 'baby girl' just to get under my skin.

I rolled my eyes at him and said, "Move aside. I got better things to do rather than watching your drama."

"Better things? Like what? Seducing that new guy?" he asked, making me stunned.

"What?"

"What was his name? Oh yes, Danish! He's your boy right now?"

"A dog is barking for no reason. Maybe it needs a leash or else someone is gonna beat it to death."

He chuckled and said, "I saw the way you dressed up at his party. Like a slut. Such a whore!"

"Was that meant to hurt me? If so, better luck next time. Anything and everything that rolls off your mouth is just another speck of dust under my shoe, Grayson. I thought you knew that because the whole campus knows that. They know how much Elka Alastair abhors the biggest fuckboy of St. Peter's. Maybe they're laughing at you behind your back. So instead of standing there and drooling over my ass, get a life prick!"

Grayson clenched his jaw and fists as he was boiling with anger. He asked for this. 

"You bi-"

"What's going on here?"

I looked to my side and saw Danish standing there frowning, his bag slinging on a side while he held a book in his hand. I assumed that he must be coming from the library. 

I shook my head before saying, "Nothing." 

"Oh, you're that transfer guy, right?" asked Grayson.

"Jesus, why's everyone calling me that? I have a name, dude. It's Danish for fuck's sake."

"I don't give a fuck," Grayson retorted. 

"Yeah, you don't give a fuck about my name but you give a fuck when it comes to free alcohol, right? Remember the party? My party?" Danish asked with a face that clearly shows contempt. 

Why does Grayson have to live like this? The door to the rooftop is open. Feel free to use it!

"Who the fuck you think you are? Her saviour?" Grayson asked.

"You mean Elka's saviour?" Danish laughed. 
"Dude, I know as a matter of fact that she doesn't need a fucking saviour to kick your balls. She can do that herself and she will if you don't back off right now. So what's your call? Want your nuts to be cracked?"

I let out a chuckle hearing Danish. 

Oh God, this guy!

Grayson eyed Danish up and down and then looked at me. 

"What do you see in this guy?" he asked.

I walked towards Danish and intervened with his hands and said, "My type of perfection."

With that, we walked away from that dickhead. 

A small smile was plastered on my lips and Danish was looking at me from the side while we were walking to the ground. Sensing the stare, I turned my head towards him and asked, "What?"

"Your type of perfection?" he asked with his brow arching. 

I looked straight before saying, "Shut up! I just wanted to annoy him more. Don't take it seriously."

Danish laughed hearing my response. "If you say so," he said, shrugging his shoulders. 

We went towards the ground steps, where Amy was. But when we went there, Amy wasn't alone. Ash was sitting next to her, animatedly talking something while Amy just sat there smiling and fiddling. 

I stood in front of them with Danish beside me. Ash raised his head to see me standing with my arms across my chest. 

"Hey Elka, how you doing? It feels like years since we saw each other right?" he asked.

"Nah, I don't feel anything," I said.

Amy and Danish pursed their lips. They didn't want the head of the soccer team to look like a fool. 

"Cold as always, Ms. Tsundere!" Ash exclaimed. "Well, you guys are dating?" he asked, pointing at me and Danish. 

We kept silent. 

He then turned his head towards Danish and said, "If you are then man, you are the luckiest!"

Danish looked at me from the corner of his eyes while I also did the same.

"So, you guys boyfriend-girlfriend?" he asked again.

"What if we are? Gonna fix our wedding date?" I asked as I couldn't control anymore of his blabbering. 

Ash's smile fell. 

"I was just asking, Elka."

"Did you give up soccer and become a matchmaker? Well then, congrats! We will pay you a visit when the time comes. For the time being, leave us alone," I said and sat next to Amy. 

"Geez, what's wrong with her?" I heard Ash asking Amy to which Amy shook her head and mumbled 'I don't know'.

Danish came and sat next to me while I was drinking water. 

"You don't like him, right?" he whispered to me.

I closed the flask and looked at him.

"Move," I said.

"What?" he asked, his eyebrows furrowing. 

"I said move," I repeated, my voice stable.

Danish sighed and moved away from me. I dragged myself and sat near him. He looked at me with his mouth apart. 

"I don't want him to hear me talking about him," I said.

He let out a small chuckle before saying, "I thought you were angry at me for asking that."

I smiled and shook my head. 

"I don't like him."

Danish nodded his head. 

"What happened between you and that guy? That Dickson," he asked, killing the silence.

I laughed. 

"You mean Grayson?"

Danish smiled and nodded his head before saying, "Any difference?"

I shook my head.

"He's not even worth talking about."

"Oh, come on. I want to know why he's pesky around you."

I looked at Danish and sighed. 

"Well, this happened about three months after I came here. One of my cousins graduated from here. So when I told her that I was joining St. Peter's, she warned me about Grayson. When she was a third year, Grayson was a second. And he already got the tagline as the biggest fuckboy of St. Peter's. She said that Grayson usually allures virgin girls, so that he can later brag about how he became that girl's first and how bad she was and all to his uniform friends. Can you imagine how disgusting it is? Is he even a human?" I asked Danish. 

Danish looked at me and then his feet and nodded his head.

"Then?" he asked. 

"And then one day, I went to a party. It was just me because it was a party thrown by one of my classmates so Zinnia and Lily didn't come. And I was playing truth or dare, with seniors and most of them were Grayson's friends, cliché, I know. And when it was my turn I chose dare and they asked me to show them the most awkward sex position I had done."

"What?" Danish asked. 

"Yeah, they did."

"God, and then?"

"And then what? I said I had never done any kind of position because I never had sex. And they were all like, 'Oh my God, you're a virgin?'", I said, imitating those girls who were like having their last seven minutes of life when they heard I was spotless. 

Danish chuckled seeing me mocking them. 

"But I didn't give a fuck and I just got out from there. But little did I know, there was Grayson all that time, watching me. So when he heard I was a virgin, ta-da, he wrote my name in his 'to-do list'."

"Then?"

"Two days or three days later, I don't remember exactly, Grayson asked me out in front of the whole campus. And I turned him down. Everyone was like gaping at me and a surprised Grayson which also made a monkey out of him. He didn't expect a normal girl like me to turn him down. He was furious that he challenged me in front of so many people that I'll spread my legs for him one day. I laughed at him and walked away as I know that shit ain't gonna happen. So from then on, Grayson was like hell bent on getting me under his sheets. But his spunk is not gonna pay off as he challenged me, Elka Alastair. And his days in college are gonna get over in a few more days. So, that motherfucker whoreson is gonna live with the shame of not getting me while I'm gonna pretend that I haven't met a prick shit like him," I concluded. 

"Wow," Danish said. 

"What?" I asked, perplexed. 

"Only you, Elka, only you," he said.

I laughed and said, "So yeah, that's the story. Ever since that incident, I have become popular in this college."

Danish nodded his head. 

"So you hate playboys that much?" he asked.

"So. Fucking. Much," I said, enunciating the words. 

He just nodded his head, looking at his feet.

Sensing something was off I asked him, "What happened? Why are you moody all of a sudden?" 

"Huh?" He took his eyes from his feet and looked at me. "Nothing."

"Ok."

Even if it seemed like I brushed it off, I didn't buy what he said. I felt like Danish was hiding something from me.

Is he?

Taking a hold of the present day
Pushing it all, pushing it all, pushing it

Taking control of my destiny
Making it fine, making it fine, making it