"Bandana, I need your notes." Manjot asked his girlfriend as they both sat down in the cafeteria.

"Organic or inorganic?" Bandana asked taking a sip of her cappuccino. Mandy scratched the back of his head.

"Uhh...I need both." Mandy said embarrassingly. Bandana rolled her eyes.

"Who tells you to go off to sleep during chemistry lectures?" Bandana asked.

"I'm sorry...Abhishek kept me awake last night!" Mandy explained.

"For what joy, may I ask?" Bandana's eyebrows rose.

"He wanted to apologise to Sameeksha for some stupidity of his and she wasn't listening." Mandy rolled his eyes this time.

"Oh." Bandana said.

"Why that tone?" Mandy asked.

"I don't know, I thought maybe with the abolishment of Section 377..." Bandana controlled her laughter. Mandy glared at her.

"Really?!" Mandy exasperated.

"I was just kidding." Bandana chuckled.

"You better be." Mandy replied. Bandana rose her eyebrows.

"Or else what?" Bandana challenged.

"Or else I'll show you how straight I am. Meet me tonight." Mandy gritted his teeth. Bandana felt turned on by him.

"We shall talk tonight then, baby." Bandana said standing up slowly and walking away making sure Mandy got an eyeful of her back.

•••••••••••••••••

*A few hours later in college*

Sameeksha was reading the newspaper. The front page of all the newspapers in town boasted of Natasha Dalal's sudden disappearance. She felt a chill run down her spine recalling that night. What must have happened to her?

She was lost in deep thought when she felt a pair of masculine arms snake around her waist. A second later, warm breath trickled down her neck and shoulders.

"Abhi, get off me, you creep!" Sam yanked Abhishek off herself.

"Wow. So much for a loving girlfriend." Abhishek Sharma sarcastically smiled. Sameeksha ignored him.

"Show me what are you so engrossed in reading." Abhishek snatched the newspaper from Sam's hands. He read the title and gave the newspaper back to Sam.

"This's too depressing." He said grabbing her hand and pulling her out of the college. As they were walking out of the college gates, they saw a rich couple walking into the premises. The man, about fifty or so, was neatly dressed in a suit. The woman, maybe in her late forties, was clad in some expensive designer outfit. Her sunglasses shined as the sun's rays fell on them.

"Aren't they Natasha's parents?" Sameeksha asked Abhishek as they came out of the gates.

"You're right, I've seen them with her once before." Abhishek replied.

"Oh god." Sameeksha shuddered as it again reminded her of that night. She started trembling. Her legs felt wobbly and she could no longer walk properly.

"Abhishek stop. I-I can't walk further. My legs feel like jelly." Sameeksha swayed almost losing her balance. Abhishek caught her by her shoulders.

"Hey, okay listen I'm going to pick you up. Don't shriek." He said and without giving any further notice he picked her up in his arms, bridal style. He walked towards his car with her in his arms.

He gently placed her inside the car on the passenger seat and himself got into the driver's seat. He pulled up the black sunlight shielders of the windows of the car. Now they were separated from the rest of the world.

Abhishek cupped Sam's face and stared deep into her eyes.

"What's wrong baby?" He kissed her. Tears fell down her cheeks as she kissed him back. He hugged her tightly.

"I-I don't know...I'm just scared..." She cried in his arms.

"Shh, baby girl. You have nothing to worry about. Devaki is there. Her father is there. Plus you haven't done anything wrong. You just happened to be there at the crime scene before the crime took place. It's purely coincidental. You'll be alright, I promise." Abhishek calmed her down.

"Things can go wrong anytime." She whispered.

"Don't be pessimistic. Think positive. I'm always here for you." He rubbed her back.

"I hope you're right." Sam replied.
    
                               ••••••••

Devaki and Karan were engrossed in talking about Public Interest Litigation (PIL) as a part of their assignment when they noticed Natasha's parents entering the principal's cabin. Devaki furrowed her eyebrows.

"Shh.." Devaki pulled Karan aside so that they could hear what was going on. They hid behind the window to the corridor and tried to hear what they were talking inside.

"We both are very distraught after our daughter's disappearance." Natasha's dad began. His burly hands curled around his wife's waist as she shed a few tears remembering her lost child. Devaki observed them carefully.

She noticed the man's neck. They were at an appropriate distance to have a clear view of the couple. Natasha's father had a tattoo on the nape of neck. It was right where the backbone met the skull.

"1996" Devaki breathed. Karan looked at her. He understood what she meant because he had noticed it too.

"...I can understand Mr.&Mrs. Dalal and that's exactly why I've called you." Karan and Devaki heard Mrs. Falero say.

"We need to find her as soon as possible. A lot of things are pending." Her father said. The mother became still and stared into space.

Something struck Karan and he pulled out his phone from the pocket. He started recording the scene. Devaki looked at him amazingly. He winked.

"...Yes and that's exactly why I will set up a team amongst the students without the Police's acknowledgment to find out about the disappearance of your daughter." Mrs. Falero said.

Devaki gasped.

"What the hell is she saying?!" Devaki whispered loudly. Mrs. Falero's eyes turned sharply towards the window.

Karan, being the more alert of the two, pulled Devaki down. They quietly crawled away and pulled inside a janitor's closet. They heard footsteps and Karan's body pushed Devaki further inside. A splinter pierced her cheek and she was about to yelp when Karan quickly placed his lips over hers to prevent her from making noise. This caught Devaki by surprise and she took a moment or two to comprehend the situation.

When they heard the footsteps and voices fade away, Karan pulled away from Devaki and both of them gasped for air.

"Thank you." Devaki said smiling.

"Nah, give me a proper kiss as a thank you." Karan demanded.

"Shut up." Devaki hit his bicep playfully and stepped out of the closet.

"We have to talk to everyone about this." Karan said.

                                  ••••••

Hola peeps!

I'm finally back. Cheers!

I'll try to update whenever I can.

Just don't leave me alone with Natasha Dalal and keep reading.

Save the author for kidnapping Natasha Dalal.

By the way, who do you think is behind Natasha's disappearance?

Should I answer that?

No.

BWHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHHAHAHAHAA.

I'm cruel.

I'll let the curiosity kill you.

Loads of creepy love,

Your one and only serial chiller,

AT❤️

PS: I would like to thank Devakibb and bandana_j for encouraging me to write this. Only after I read their updates did I feel that I should also update.

thisis_sam thankyou for inspiring me to leave my maths book and give up on life. Love you.