Song of the chapter is Lucky Strike by Troye Sivan

-40-
-Ahaan Jaiswal-
-Present-

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Delmore's Local Library
11 December, 2019
5:00 pm

" Tell him to chill, he's so upright." Zoya pleaded to Veronica.

" Ahaan chill out. " Veronica said, turning her attention from me to Zoya. " Zoya, pay attention."

I smirked while Zoya pouted.

" Okay before I forget," Himanshu began with a serious look on his face. "I have something that's been bugging me."

" Is it something related to the assignment?" I asked.

" No, it's uh..." He sighed, rubbing his knuckles, "It's related to Alishka."

" To Alishka?" Veronica asked, tilting her head.

" Yeah. Well, I was going through the events of the past few days and I realised we've overlooked something very big." He said , his muscles tensed.

" What exactly?"

" For starters," he mumbled,
" There are two killers involved in her murder."

" The two initals in the cabin." Veronica added, as realisation dawned on her. I sucked a deep breath.

" Two?" Zoya asked, her voice quivering. " You mean, we're dealing with two psychopaths here?"

Himanshu nodded.

" Oh dear god." Zoya muttered under her breath.

" And...after Siya's confession the other day," Himanshu began quietly, looking around to check if anyone was in hearshot. " We might have a prime lead in this."

" Who?" I asked nervously.

" Nikhil Sharma."

Vomit resolved in my mouth and went up to my throat , it's putrid taste settling on the back of my tongue. I gulped it down with a grimace.

" How do we know this?" Zoya asked.

" The initals....N.S.....Nikhil Sharma." Veronica said and breathed heavily. " My god, how did I not think of this before?"

" Yeah... but the initials alone don't prove anything." I said , putting my glasses back on. " We don't have any concrete proof as to whether he's doing all of this."

" Yeah, exactly." Himanshu nodded. " We need more proof regarding this. But this can't be just a coincidence that his initials would just be written in blood on the cabin walls. He is hiding something, that's for sure."

" Should we go back to the cabin then? Maybe see if we can gather more proof?" Zoya asked, looking back and forth between Veronica and Himanshu.

" We could do that." Veronica said and nodded. " Let's just finish this and get going, what say?"

" Yeah, okay." I said and we all went back to finishing our assignments.

I tried to focus my attention on the tick-tock of the library's clock, the soft sound coming from the ceiling fans above, the jingle jangle of the door bell everytime a person comes in. I tried to focus my attention on anything but Alishka.

But then again all my tries went in vain.

I looked up from my assignment after completion to see the others already packing their belongings. I quickly adjusted my glasses in the brim of nose and gathered my books and stuffed them inside my little brown duffel bag.

Together we proceeded to walk out of the library when I suddenly remembered that I had accidentally borrowed a book from the library for the English essay which I had to return today. " Guys, go ahead. I just need to return this book. I'll be with you in a minute."

They nodded and proceeded to walk out while I stalked my way towards the front desk. The lady who usually sat at the front desk wasn't there.

I pressed my body on the edge of the desk, standing on my tip toes to see if there was anyone behind the desk. When I didn't see anyone, I sighed and looked behind.

A tired sigh pushed past my lips as I rang the brass bell sitting atop the front desk, when suddenly a hand rested on my shoulder. I turned around.

It was Daniel Fernandez.

He smiled brightly and walked past me and went and stood behind the desk. I looked at him , my breath hitched in my throat, surprised.

" You work here?"

He tilted his head, looking like a piece of art. His black shirt is unbuttoned on the top, creating a V-shape neck line that showed his toned chest. My heart leaped for him; I could feel it thumping away in my chest, creating a pleasant outburst inside me.

" Yeah, I didn't have anything to do in my free time so I took a part time shift." He said, smiling slightly. " Plus, I get to be around so many books so that's a plus point."

I smiled.

" So you here for your English essay?" He asked, tapping the desk with his fingers, a smile evident on his face.

" Kind of. " I said and handed him the book. " I needed to return this."

He took the book from my hand, his fingers softly grazing against mine as he does that, and checked it off in the register.

" Just out of curiosity, do you read poems?" He asked, handing me my library card.

" Uh...not much. Why?"

" Nothing. Just wanted to recommend some classics that you might like. " He said, putting the cap of the blue pen.

" Oh...uh." I mumbled, chewing the insides of my cheeks. I needed to say something flirty. This was my time to shine. Okay, here it goes, " Well, maybe I wouldn't mind getting into poetry after all."

Ew.

He laughed slightly. " Yeah?Well...then maybe you should read this." He said and took out a book from the desk underneath handed it to me. I checked the cover.

It was titled, ' The Raven by Edgar Allen Poe '.

" It's one of his best work." He said, admiring the book in my hand. " It tells the narrative of raven's mysterious visit to a distraught lover, tracing the man's slow descent into madness. It's one of my absolute favourites."

I nodded, swallowing the lump forming in my throat. " Okay then, I'll be sure to read it."

" Don't forget to tell me what you thought of it once you're finished." He said, smilingly as I put the book inside my duffel bag.

" Will do!"

I smiled slightly at him, wanting to get out of there, but my feet refused to follow my command.
" Okay then, I'll see you around."

I turned with all my might when I heard him calling behind me, "Hey Ahaan!"

I turned. " Yeah?"

" I was...uh...kinda wondering...if maybe we... could hang out some time. Like...you know grab a snack or something." He said, red blossoming in his cheeks. " Only if you want to though!" He quickly added.

My mind raced. My pulses fluttered. I blinked vigorously.

" Uh... I don't understand...."

" Ahaan." He said , leaning closer towards the desk, lessening the gap between us. " I think...you do understand."

I gulped nodding and took a step back. With his face so closed to mine, I didn't know if I could control my hormones that much.

" You think people don't know, but the truth is, I do. I've known since the second I met you. And I've been crushing on you pretty much the entire time." He said.

I opened my mouth to speak, but nothing came out of it. I couldn't do this. I certainly couldn't confirm his suspicion. " Care to fill me in on what you know about me?

" I know that you're gay." Daniel said , nonchalantly. " I'm assuming no one around here knows, maybe Zoya does, but I don't know about the rest."

" How......?" I couldn't even finish the question.

" I'm not as clueless as I look like." He said, putting his hands in his pockets.

I never got the clueless vibe from him, but the fact that he could piece all of this together after only knowing me for a little while was amazing.

In a terrifying sort of way.

" I wanted to ask you out for a while now but I never got the chance." He said, without even waiting for a response from me.
" If you say no, that's completely fine. We don't have to make anything official. I just thought maybe we could do something together."

Unsure of what to say, I continued looking at him nervously. I fidgeted with my fingers. My mind raced through a million thoughts at once.

This could possibly be my life's worst mistake or the best decision. Was I ready to risk the possibility?

" Yeah...sure, okay. I'll go on a date with you."

It just came out. Before I could comprehend, I was saying those words. I cursed myself as he smiled widely at me.

" Okay cool. Are you free on Saturday?" He asked.

" Yeah, I think so." I said, not thinking twice.

" Okay then, I'll pick you up after school on Saturday." He said enthusiastically. Honestly, seeing him so excited made my heart beat louder and faster.

" Okay great! I'll see you then! " I said and turned on my heels to stalk out of the library.

And all the while, that stupid smile never left my lips....

_______________

The Wentworth forest which loomed large and wide behind the school building , was a lot more scarier at night. Dusk had settled in a while ago, and the sky was now turning from blue to pitch black. The wind whistled through the branches of the large canopy of trees hovering above us.

We stalked our way through the fallen logs and branches, towards where Veronica and Himanshu had earlier found the cabin. As they led the way, with me and Zoya trailing behind them, I could only hear the faint rustling of the leaves and the sound of our footsteps echoing ominously against the leaves underneath.

" This place gives me the creeps." Zoya mumbled , looking around. " Are we sure we are going the right way?"

" Yeah, we are." Himanshu said, not pausing to look back at us. "Just a few more steps and we'll be there."

" If this killer wanted to be invisible and not get caught, then why would he hide such an incriminating evidence out in the open?" I asked and then added," I just don't understand."

" Because you never search for something in a place that you think wouldn't be good enough to hide." Veronica said, flashing her phone's flashlight at the pathway ahead. " Just like you, the police would never think that the killer would hide in such an open place like this. That would be too easy."

" And so, he does exactly the opposite. He hides in plain sight." Himanshu finished.

I sucked a deep breath and gulped. Trying to focus on not letting the bugs eat me to death, I breathed heavily and kept walking.

After covering almost a hundred steps, we were standing in front of the infamous cabin. It stood there, in all it's lost glory, it's rusty wooden walls decaying and the smell of gore filling up it's ambience.

" Jesus Christ, what the fuck is this?" Zoya muttered, taking a step forward towards the cabin door. Just as she did that, the door creaked and we all immediately staggered back. My heart raced within my chest, pumping with all it's might.

" Who is it?!" Zoya shouted.

" Zoya! What the fuck are you doing? Why did you scream-"

Before I could finish my question, the door of the cabin creaked open wide. And someone walked out of the door with slow footsteps and stood on the porch steps.

For a minute I couldn't comprehend what I was seeing.

" Saina?"