The darkened theatre hall was full of urgent whispers, alarmed voices and hurried scuffling of feet. Sameera, holding Danielle's hand ran out of the green room, the light from the torch in Sameera's phone lighting their way. Once entering the hall, Danielle could see the chaotic confusion going about around the room.

Then, Mrs. Kashyap's shrill, loud voice pierced through the chaos. "Everybody calm down!"

Immediately, like a spell being cast, all the confused noises stopped.

She continued, "It's common here in Cherapunjee for the lights to go out now and again. No need to act like we have been locked inside the room with a killer on the loose."

All the eyes in the room moved and stopped on one single person, their mutual target- Danielle. Even in the dark, Danielle could see the hatred and contempt shining brightly in everyone's eyes. In a desperate attempt to find comfort, she started searching for Xavier.

But he was nowhere to be seen. And neither was Ryan. They had left.

"Alright!" This time it was Sameera's loud commanding voice. All the eyes shifted from Danielle and focused on Sameera. She heaved a sigh.

Letting go of Danielle's hand, Sameera walked forward, towards the mass of students. "If you don't stop treating Danielle the way you do," Sameera said, her hands crossed over her chest, now standing in front of the students, "I will have you all suspended for bullying."

Her assessing gaze swept over the students, who were now, looking down at their feet. "Am I understood?" Sameera asked, daring someone to disobey her. Everyone nodded, hastily.

"That's good." Sameera nodded. With a last glance at the mass of the students, she walked back to Danielle. Putting her hand on Danielle's shoulder, softly, she asked, "Are you alright?"

Danielle laughed, ruefully. "As good as I can be." Then, gesturing at the students, who were looking curiously at Danielle and Sameera, she said, "They hate me, don't they?"

Sameera smiled, sadly. "I won't sugarcoat it. But I don't think they hate you, I feel like they are scared and confused. And since Joanna has said that you killed her sister, they found an easy target to assault."

"Are they always going to be scared of me?" Danielle stole another glance at the students.

"No." Sameera shook her head. "Once they find out you're innocent, they will stop being scared of you."

"What if that never happens?" Sameera furrowed at Danielle's question. "What if I am never proven innocent?"

Sameera shook her head, vigorously. Her hands cradled Danielle's face. "You will be proven innocent. I promise."

Danielle removed Sameera's hands from her cheeks, half-heartedly. "Don't promise something you can't keep."

Sameera began to speak, her eyes brimming with sadness and hurt, "Don't say that. I know--"

Sameera was cut off by the sound of the door opening. Both of them turned around simultaneously to see Xavier and Ryan standing in the doorway. As soon as they stepped foot in the room, the murmurs resumed. But with one glance from Xavier, everyone went back to being silent.

"What's going on?" Xavier asked. Then, pointing at Sameera, he asked, "What are you doing here?"

Sameera raised an eyebrow at him. "I don't think I owe you any explanation."

Xavier looked a bit, taken aback but quickly, composed himself. "Right. Of course." He nodded.

An awkward silence enveloped the room as no one knew what to say anymore. The hushed murmurs resumed. Danielle sat down on the stage with her knees drawn to her chest. She encircled her hands around her legs and rested her cheek on her knees.

Danielle heard Sameera sigh, followed by her footsteps fading away. Moments later, another pair of footsteps were heard coming her way. She didn't look up to see who it was. She already knew. The person sat beside her. 

For a long time, Xavier and Danielle sat beside each other in the dark, silently, enveloped in each other's presence. Shocking her, Xavier scooted closer to her; their arms touching, knees bumping into each other. But Danielle didn't move. Instead, she lifted her right knee and put it over his left. 

A soft laugh escaped Xavier's lips as he lifted his knee and put it over Danielle's. Immediately, Danielle pulled her knee from under his and put it back on his knee. All the while, none of the two looked at each other. Their heads turned away from each other, soft smiles graced their lips. 

A hesitant arm wrapped around Danielle's shoulder. The unexpected touch stiffened her. Inhaling sharply, she turned to look at Xavier. His head was turned away from her, eyes fixated somewhere in the dark. Danielle smiled. She leaned and rested her head on his shoulder. The tension that had coiled around Xavier's body dissipated as her head laid on his shoulder. Xavier's hand around Danielle's shoulder nudged her closer to him. As the distance between them reduced, she wrapped her hands around his torso.

They sat in silence, in the dark with soft, happy smiles on their lips.

Finally, Danielle spoke up, "I am sorry about earlier." She hesitated and then, added, "I shouldn't have brought that up."

Xavier sighed. The hand on her shoulder moved up to her hair. Threading his fingers in her hair, he slowly ran his hands through them. Danielle hummed in pleasure and closed her eyes. 

"You don't have to apologise," Xavier said, running his fingers through her hair. "I shouldn't have reacted the way I did."

Opening her eyes, she peered up at his face from her position on his shoulder. He was looking in front of him, a distant gaze in his eyes. "But I shouldn't have said the thing I said. I blamed you while you have been trying to help him."

Xavier chuckled. "I get it. It's alright. But let me tell you something. Yes, Arianna and I dated but we never liked each other. She wanted to make someone jealous and I needed to get over someone. So, we decided to help each other. It was a show, nothing was real. But I do- did care about her a lot."

Danielle felt a pang of jealousy. He liked someone. But at the same time, another, quite bizarre thought came to her mind: who was this person who didn't like the school's golden boy back? Because every girl she knew was throwing themselves at Xavier, except Rayana, of course. She had an overwhelming desire to know who this person was. 

But this time, she restrained herself. Instead, she asked, "Are you over that person yet?"

Xavier shook his head. "She is quite enchanting. It turns out that it is quite difficult to get over her."

A sour taste filled Danielle's mouth. Her jealousy was so strong that she could practically taste it. She wanted to pull away from her and put at least, six feet between them. A little part of her felt miserable but the majority part of her felt betrayed. Why? She didn't know.

Forcing herself to stay in place, she changed the subject. "Where were you?"

"Ryan and I had gone to meet my mom. Well, I only went to meet my mom while he waited outside," answered Xavier. "But you know Ryan, instead of waiting he wandered off somewhere." 

Both Danielle and Xavier laughed as they imagined an impatient Ryan walking away to wander around the school campus.

"My mom isn't too happy about me helping you," Xavier added. "Nor is my sister, for that matter."

"I don't blame them, though," Danielle replied, truthfully. "You are literally hanging out with a murderer."

"You're not a murderer!" Xavier shot back, immediately.

"Will I be able to prove that?" Danielle whispered. The fear crawled back in her.

"We will prove your innocence. Alright?" Xavier grasped Danielle's chin, softly and lifted her face. Danielle's look at Xavier's intense yet promising gaze. She nodded.

Cupping her face in his hand, Xavier pressed a soft kiss on her forehead. A wave of warmth flooded Danielle. The feeling of his lips on her skin lingered even after he had pulled away. This simple yet ardent gesture of affection unlocked something within her.

With a choked sob, she fell apart in his arms.

But he didn't let her go. Instead, Xavier wrapped his arms around her and pulled her towards him. Danielle's face was pressed against his chest as she cried. Hot, sorrowful tears ran down her cheeks.

"I didn't kill Arianna," she choked out. "I never killed her."

"I know." Xavier pressed a kiss on her hair.

"I don't want to be termed a murderer, Xavier," Danielle said, urgently, her hands clutching his collars as she looked up at him from her slumped position. Tears ran down her red cheeks as her red-rimmed eyes stared at him, desperately. "I would never murder anyone."

Xavier wrapped his arms around her and pulled her on his lap, clutching her tightly. "You won't. I promise I will prove your innocence. I will be there to save you even when you have given up on yourself."

Danielle clung to his shoulders, shedding tears as she poured her heart out while sitting on his lap in a dimly lit corner of the theatre.

SANNAYA!

it has been ages since i published a chapter. my life had been a whirlwind, to sum it up. some bad things along with a lot of chaos had drained me off my energy and hence, i couldn't find the motivation to right. but now, i am back!

do let me know think! also, do vote!