"By the pricking of my thumbs,
Something wicked this way comes."
                                   —Macbeth

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Aaliyah started asking me plethora of questions almost immediately, but I couldn't focus on any of those as I felt someone sit in the seat next to me. Turning my head to the left, I gave Isaac a death glare, but he returned it with an insincere smile. It was hard to comprehend his reason for acting like this, but I could already tell I didn't like it.

"Girl, will you tell me? Isaac? Anyone?" Aaliyah shouted for the hundredth time, making me wince at all the noise.

"Aaliyah, meet my new main actor for the play, Isaac Williams." I introduced him to her properly, which had her jaw on the ground, for the second time that night.

The other guy who had planted himself beside Aaliyah was curious too, and the surprise and amusement in his eyes were the proof of it. Meanwhile, my stupid best friend started laughing her ass off, making me glower at her but as usual, it was ineffective in toto.

"What the fuck is so funny bitch?" I gritted my teeth in annoyance, feeling the man sitting beside me shake with laughter too.

"I'm.... I'm sorry. It's just... this is gold. I'd never imagined you two to work together, it somehow doesn't match, you know?" She told me sincerely and I nodded my head wordlessly.

It was true that one fleeting look inside our personalities would be a great warning for people to never put us together in the same room, but this John somehow put us together for a whole ass play, and didn't even bat an eyelid about it. Feeling another headache coming my way, I poured myself another glass of the liquor and took a large sip.

"I can't believe you're taking your best friend's side, and making me out to be the bad guy Aaliyah!" Isaac fake exclaimed, his voice turning into a beautiful falsetto while he mimicked a girl's voice.

Did he receive singing lessons?

Deciding not to dwell on it, I shook my head and continued with my drink, while the others laughed again, thoroughly enjoying their time. I felt like the odd one here, with a frown marring my face and already half drunk, while everyone else was much more sober than me and looked happy in each other's company.

"So, I see that you do not like me?" He turned to me and asked me the million dollar question, making me roll my eyes.

"So finally, you can see it. Congratulations!" I replied with fake enthusiasm.

"Well, I will say that the feeling is mutual, but at least, I have the decency to hide my feelings behind a professional mask. Would it cost you a lot to do that?" He taunted me again, and I could feel my patience fleeing away every passing second.

The moment he instigated me, he should have known that hell would break loose.

I turned sharply to meet his eyes, and glared at him. "Decency? Don't you fucking dare teach me what that is, because I won't be using it with you anyway. And I don't give a fuck that you can see everything clearly, because I want you to know how much I detest you. At least that way, you would know your place at work. I'm pretty sure your name has never once associated itself with professionalism, so don't even bother to speak about it."

I was taking deep breaths by the time I finished, my chest heaving. The look in his eyes too, had changed drastically, and it provided me a comfort I never knew I needed. There was a blazing look in his eyes, his mouth set in a thin line, and expression the synonym of stormy.

Knowing that I had hit the nail right on the head, I smirked at him while pin drop silence settled over the table. After a long moment of glaring into each other's soul, I broke the eye contact first, turning to finish the drink in hand.

He didn't utter a single word after that, which made me kind of conscious. He wasn't the type to keep silent but somehow he was, and that didn't settle well with me. But since I was drunk, I didn't think much about it, and continued to talk to Aaliyah. They were the ones who had ruined my night anyway.

As time passed, I felt like my bladder was about to burst, so I got up to go to the bathroom.

"Do you want me to come with you?" Aaliyah asked me with concern, but I dismissed her. "Its fine, don't worry."

I had been so stressed throughout the time this Isaac was here, so this place felt like heaven to me. Here, I couldn't see his face and that thought alone brought me a lot of comfort. As I was about to open the door to the washroom and step out, someone opened it from outside and barged inside.

It all happened so fast that I couldn't process anything unless I felt a strong hand on my neck, holding me not with the intention of killing or hurting me, but with an intention of dominating me.

"You speak so eloquently, don't you Miss Lockewood?
I think we need to do something about this." Came the gruff yet velvety voice of the man who has pledged to plague every second of my life.

And here I thought I could get at least one night of peace. But, cheers to me, I guess.

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