Never Let Me Go

The morning sun was brutal, its rays stabbing through the slits of her blinds. Shivani groaned, turning over with a dry mouth and a pounding in her head so loud it could have been mistaken for construction work. Her skull throbbed with each beat of her heart, and the metallic taste in her mouth made her wince. She didn't remember falling asleep. In fact, she didn't remember much after the drink Chelsea had handed her with that devilish grin.

Did she dance on a table? Kiss someone? Cry? She couldn't remember. Her mind was a kaleidoscope. She could recall flashes of strobe lights, blaring music, a laughter that wasn't hers. But beyond that... a blank, messy, and unsettling void.

She sat up, cringing at the way the room tilted for a second. Her dress from the party was neatly folded on the ottoman near her bed. She blinked. She couldn't have done that in her state. Besides, she always left her clothes in a trail from the door to her bed when she got tired and dealt with it the next day. But now everything was already... tidy.

Panic gnawed at her chest. How did she get home last night? Did she even return on time? Her mom is probably gonna kill her if she found out.

She squinted at her phone and realized she was late. School started in fifteen minutes.

Fuck.

"Okay," she muttered to herself, stumbling into her bathroom. "You just need to look alive. Be upright. Blink occasionally."

Quickly changing into uniform while gargling Listerine, she decided there was no time to shower. She tiptoed out of her room, trying not to make a sound. He hair was still tangled and she smelled funny. Little did she realize that her eyeliner had migrated down her cheeks like a sad raccoon. But she had no other choice but to make do with face wipes (that barely removed the liner residue), deodorant and a messy ponytail.

Her parents were in the kitchen. She could hear the clink of teacups and murmurs of morning news. She quickly grabbed the first shoes she could find, threw it on, and snatched a slice of toast, slathering it hastily with butter. No eye contact, no lingering, just smooth getaway.

Almost.

"Off to school?" her mother called. "Aren't you late?"

"Yeah! Big quiz! Super important!" Shivani yelled over her shoulder, mouth full of dry bread, bolting out the door. "Had to revise all morning!"

She didn't need them to find out she was hungover on a Tuesday morning. That would launch a full-blown family intervention, complete with spiritual lectures and guilt-laden WhatsApp forwards.

The air outside slapped her face awake. Birds chirped too loudly. The sky was too blue. The world felt too bright, too loud. The car ride was silent. Her driver, Dev Uncle, tried to make conversation, but she could only nod and squint at the road. She looked like a Victorian ghost.

By the time she slid into her first class, she realized that she wasn't the only corpse walking.

The classroom looked like a battlefield in the aftermath of war. Blair was half-asleep in her seat, Chelsea wore sunglasses indoors, and even Laurie, the queen of morning, looked like she'd been hit by a truck.

Blair turned around slowly when she spotted Shivani. "Oh my God, Sleeping Beauty lives."

"That makes the two of us." Shivani collapsed into her seat. "I can't feel my face."

"Because you died last night," Blair said. "You were gone. Like, could barely walk. I thought we'd have to carry you out. Which we did."

Shivani's eyes widened. "What? I don't remember anything after the drink Chelsea gave me."

Chelsea, still wearing her sunglasses, raised her hand sheepishly. "Okay but to be fair, it was barely spiked."

"You spiked my drink?" Shivani hissed.

"Only with fun," Chelsea mumbled, shrugging.

Blair leaned in, her voice lowering to a whisper. "Lucien drove you home."

Shivani froze mid-breath. "What?" she croaked.

Blair nodded. "You could barely walk, and he, like a total gentleman, took your keys, helped you to his car, snuck you inside, and tucked you in."

"Tucked me in?" Shivani squeaked, her cheeks flushing crimson.

Blair gave a dreamy sigh. "Honestly, it was very swoon-worthy. You were passed out, and he was you knight. It was like watching a movie. And then he went out of his way and dropped me home."

Shivani's stomach did a dangerous little flip. Lucien was in her room last night. He had 'tucked' her in bed, whatever that meant, since she wasn't awake to witness it. But Blair was there too. So there isn't much to it. Her breath still hitched. Her brain conjured an image of him as a tall, serious, brooding main character. Perhaps moonlight brushing the curves of his frame as he gently pulled a blanket over her. Had he seen the books scattered on her floor? The Hagrid plushie still on her chair? The vision board with his quote from last year's debate taped to it?

Kill me now. But the flutter in her chest said otherwise.

"I hope I didn't do anything odd. Did I?"

"Define odd," Laurie teased. Shivani gave her a look of pure dread.

Laurie chuckled. "Relax. You mostly just danced. A lot. Like, a lot."

Shivani let out a sigh of relief until Laurie added, casually, "Oh, and you and Blair kissed."

She bolted upright. "We what?"

Laurie just grinned, stretching her legs out. "Yeah. Middle of the dance floor. It was a big moment. Got you a lot of cheers."

I kissed Blair? she thought, panic rising.

She had never kissed before. That makes it her first kiss. She had dreamed of having a magical first kiss, under the stars perhaps, candles lit, maybe some soft music. Not in the middle of a sweaty and drunken crowd. And not with Blair, who is her best friend, and is bold and beautiful, and who probably hadn't even thought twice about it. And not one she doesn't even remember.

Shivani felt a swirl of emotions knotting up in her chest as the class started and the teacher explained about something so couldn't concentrate on. The hangover, the party, everything else was long forgotten. She was shocked, and embarrassed. She looked across at Blair who was nodding at the teacher. It was better to have Blair as her first kiss than a creepy dude trying to take advantage of her. But she didn't want it this way. And worst of all she didn't remember much from last night.

Was it supposed to feel like this? she wondered miserably.

She dropped her head onto the desk with a groan. "I'm never drinking again," she muttered.

Laurie just laughed.

The classroom's temperature had dropped when Archie walked in, looking terrifyingly elegant as usual. As if the side effects of yesterday's party couldn't touch him. He greeted the teacher with a nonchalant "morning," and while he was late he didn't face any consequences. He was able to charm everyone.

As usual, he smiled at Shivani when their eyes met, or rather when he caught her staring blankly at him. This time there was a flicker of recognition and split-second pause from his side. But Shivani was over it. She didn't care anymore. She looked away, without a smile or acknowledgment in return.

"God, he's like if Mr. Darcy and Aaron Taylor-Johnson had a baby," Chelsea whispered beside her.

No, his charm isn't working anymore. He is old news to her.

She gazed out the window, a sense of emptiness settling over her.

°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･°❀⋆.ೃ࿔*:･

A/N : Will this be the moment everything changes?