My mother and sister were surprised because for the first time, I came back home in my full senses. I was also amazed that even after working whole day, I was still active and wasn't fatigued.

The dance battle at Ronit's birthday was still playing in front of my eyes, and I really wished that my friends were also there; they would have enjoyed the show too.

I had to go to work tomorrow, so I had to sleep even if I wanted to stay awake and tell my sister everything that happened at Ronit's birthday.

In the morning, I was running here and there to get ready when Mom announced that she had put all of my clothes to wash, and I could just select some old pairs to wear for the day. I didn't want to. All of my old clothes would have torn off if I had even warmed up in them.

I was arguing with Mom for not asking me before she collected all of my stuff to wash, but she also had no choice. As both of us were working, Mom didn't get time to do household chores daily.

I was struggling to find a decent t-shirt when Dhara Di reminded Mom of a parcel that was delivered for me yesterday. She told me to check the parcel first because she suspected that there were some clothes in it.

The parcel was gift-wrapped, and when I opened it, I was really happy. Kshitij had sent me two new self-designed t-shirts, and I thanked him in my mind for saving me from having a wardrobe malfunction during training.

Mom was curious and suspicious when she heard me yelling KD's name and thanking him. Before she could accuse me, I told her that KD was not my boyfriend, and he was actually interested in someone else.

I didn't understand why my mother looked disappointed alongwith her usual scrutinized expression.

I ignored her as I was getting late and left for my morning job. When I finished my work at the dockyard, I received a WhatsApp notification from my dance training group. I quickly checked it and thanked my stars when I learnt that the dance sessions for the day were cancelled because Suhas Sir was absent due to some personal work.

As I had time after my fast-food restaurant's part-time job, I went to college to catch up on my studies. When I met Arushi, both of us were shocked.

"We are matching, Aru!" I squealed.

"Yeah..." she mumbled.

"This t-shirt looks really really good on you, Aru," I complimented. "White really brings out your dark eyes. You are shining!"

She kept staring at my t-shirt. "Why do you have the same one?" she asked curiously.

"Oh, this," I smiled. "Well, I also didn't expect that-"

"Wow! Look at both of you!" KD yelled as he made his entry. "Just gorgeous!"

KD said that to both me and my friend, but his eyes were stuck on Arushi. I giggled when I saw him wearing the same t-shirt as us, but in black colour. While Arushi was wearing the white shirt, KD and I were wearing black ones.

"Black suits you, Bhoomi," KD commented. "You have tanned a lot though. Don't you use sunscreen?"

I twisted my lips. "Nope."

He shook his head at me. "You should!"

I signalled at him when I noticed Arushi staring at both of us intensely.

"Arushi, thank you for accepting my request. You look lovely," KD said.

Arushi blushed, but her smile wasn't the same like earlier times. I thought she was in a bad mood, so I motioned at KD to follow my lead.

"KD, doesn't Arushi look very beautiful in the t-shirt that you have designed with so much love and hard work?" I said slowly.

KD was not able to hide his proud smile.

"Actually, she looks beautiful in anything she wears," he said shyly.

"Doesn't she?" I poked. "I wish I was also as beautiful as Arushi."

KD kept staring at my best friend, and Arushi was looking at her shoes. I elbowed KD and went to stand on the other side of Arushi.

"We can't leave such a beautiful lady by herself, Bodyguard Number One," I acted.

KD grinned. "Of course, Bodyguard Number Two. We will protect our precious lady at all costs."

Arushi pinched my arm. "Bhoomi, what are you doing?"

I winked at her. "Just enjoy our services, dear lady."

As KD and I were matching in black, we embarrassed Arushi by acting like her bodyguards. I had gone to college for studies, but I ended up goofing around with KD and troubled Arushi a lot.

I was going to leave college after one more hour and was forcefully trying to revise some chapters when my phone rang.

It was an unknown number, so at first, I was suspicious about picking up the call, but after two missed calls, I received the next call.

"Boomer, are you busy?" the caller asked.

I recognised the voice. "Hello, Ronit. I am not busy, but haven't I told you to use my real name?"

"Oh, sorry, but Boomer is stuck in our minds. I called you about your payment. Is this number linked to your bank account? I will send the amount right now," Ronit said.

"There's no need," I replied. "I am not taking any money from you. I will be getting my daily wage for yesterday, and my work wasn't even affected, so please don't worry about it."

"But, Boomer- I mean, Bhoomi Didi, you helped us when you were really busy. I will feel really guilty if I don't pay you back. My birthday and reputation were saved because of you, so please understand my point."

I sighed. "Can't you do something else instead of paying me? I really don't want anything from you, but I guess you won't let this matter slide so easily. Don't mention money though."

There was some chattering, and after a few minutes, I heard Ronit's clear voice again.

"I am giving a small treat to the whole crew right now, so can you please join us then?" he asked hopefully.

"You aren't tricking me?" I questioned.

"I promise it is just a treat. Please come. Varun and others are also waiting for you. You aren't even taking the payment, so please come and have a party with us."

"Okay," I replied. "Where do I need to come?"

"At the studio."

"What? You mean The Emperors' dance studio?"

"Yup! Come fast, okay? I will be waiting!"

Ronit hung up the call, and I kept repeating our conversation to myself. He had called me to have a party at The Emperors' studio. I debated if I should go or not, but when I remembered that I was worrying unnecessarily, I took an early leave from college and went to The Emperors' dance studio.

Ronit had sent me the address; he didn't need to as I already knew about it thanks to my craze fan era.

I didn't know why but my heartbeat started accelerating the moment I stepped in front of the huge building accommodating the dance studio. I kept staring at it as if it was a world wonder.

I entered the building and read the address. The studio was located on the fifth floor, and after checking in with the reception, I took a lift. There were a lot of offices of various fields in the premise, and the lift stopped on every floor. Thanks to it, I got a glimpse of how every floor looked like.

When the lift opened at the fifth floor, my eyes widened like saucers. The whole floor belonged to The Emperors, and the lift directly opened in their lobby. I quickly stepped out as I was wasting other people's time.

Wow, this looks so much better in real.

The whole lobby was lit with soft lights, and the color combination of red, black, and white was very well balanced. As I walked along, I noticed various frames of The Emperors hanging on the wall, displaying their multiple victories. I took my time to observe each frame, remembering that I had watched almost all of their matches on YouTube.

There was a reception desk here also, so I gave my details and was told to make myself comfortable on the sofa while the receptionist informed Ronit about my arrival.

The sofa was really cozy, and I really wanted to just sleep on it. I observed my surroundings once more, still not believing that I was actually in The Emperors' dance studio.

"Oh, wow, I never thought Boomer would come here himself."

I snapped my head to my right when I heard a male voice. One of the members of Tejas's crew, Joy, was coming towards me alongwith a few teammates. By their appearance, it was clear that they were practicing just now.

"Hello," I greeted.

Joy smiled. "Are you here to meet TJ and Hriaan? They haven't returned yet."

I shook my head. "I am here to meet Ronit. He had called me."

"I didn't know that brat knew you personally. Well, he will be here soon. The juniors are having a blast right now."

I guess Ronit and his friends didn't tell Joy and other seniors about that dance battle in his birthday. If he had, he would have gotten beaten up by now.

I just smiled in return and got confused when Joy and other guys kept staring at me.

"Is there anything else you want to ask?" I questioned.

"Actually, yes," Joy replied. "We all wanted to know if you are going to participate in the national level breakdancing competition this year with your crew."

I sighed. "Unfortunately not. I don't have time."

"Really? It would have been fun though."

"Bhoomi Didi!" Ronit screamed as he came running towards us.

I looked at him in horror as his whole face was covered in cake. Behind him, his friends chased him, while Joy and other guys looked at the youngsters in disappointment.

"Enjoy all you want, kids, because once the Devil returns, you will be going through hell," Joy reminded them.

I felt goosebumps all over my body as everyone's faces lost color after what Joy said. As if they were talking through telepathy, everyone nodded at each other. Joy and other senior members left to continue with their training, and Ronit took me along with him to his practice room.

The dance studio was huge, and there were multiple practice rooms apart from a game area and snack point. On my way to the juniors' room, I noticed a big cabin with a nameplate titled Tejas Jaiswal, and opposite it, there was another cabin belonging to Hriaan. On both cabins' door, Captain and Vice-captain was written respectively, and I wondered how the inside of those cabins looked like.

"Boomer is here!" Ronit yelled to his friends.

He closed the door behind us to avoid his seniors overhearing us, and my eyes started hurting at the sight of all the mess the boys had created.

"Bhoomi Didi, please make yourself comfortable," Varun said and pointed at a bean bag.

I scrunched my face when I saw that bean bag covered in all kinds of confetti and empty fast food boxes. Varun instantly cleared the space, and I masked my real expression and plastered a smile on my face.

Is this a practice room or a garbage truck? Ugh, I can't bear this. Did Ronit call me here to show this mess?

"Didi, what would you like to eat? We have all kinds of snacks here," Varun asked.

"Just give me a cold drink," I replied.

"Just a cold drink? You can't do this. You have to eat something else too."

Varun and Sam placed a bunch of fast food items in front of me, and to make them happy, I ate a slice of pizza and drank some cola.

I had already eaten lunch, so I wasn't much hungry. The kids forced me, so I ate a burger, and told them that I didn't have any more space in my stomach.

They didn't pressurise me, but after eating like pigs, they decided to dance. But thanks to all the mess they had created, there was not even an inch of clean floor left.

"We should clean this up," Ijaz suggested.

Ronit waved his hand in dismissal. "TJ Bhaiyya is not here, so we can do it later. Let's go to the mega practice room, what say?"

Suddenly, all of the boys' eyes sparked with mischief and joy. They opened their room's door and glanced around the passage.

"The way is clear," Sam said. "Let's go, guys."

"Bhoomi Didi, you have come here for the first time, right? Let us give you a tour," Varun said.

I refused and told them to not cause any trouble, but the kids were high on dopamine. They took me along with them and showed every dance room. In one of them, their seniors were practicing really hard under Joy's supervision, and after passing Tejas's and Hriaan's cabins, we all reached a room with huge white doors. It had a digital and biometric lock on it.

"Shit, it is locked. We aren't even allowed to enter it yet," Ijaz said sadly.

"Why not?" I asked curiously.

"The Devil- I mean, TJ Bhaiyya usually creates new choreographies here, and only Hriaan Bhaiyya, Joy Bhaiyya, and other seniors are allowed to enter. Most of the things that happen inside are confidential, so new trainees like us are yet to receive permission. I really want to go inside though."

Other boys nodded and expressed their wish to see the mysterious room for once. I told them to not get sad over such a small thing, and we could go to another room or return to their room.

With a sad face, everyone moved to another room, but as soon as the party music started, all of them forgot about what they were sulking about. I also joined them when Ronit requested me, and we were doing random moves.

Suddenly, Sam and Varun started mimicking a couple doing waltz, while Ronit and Ijaz were having a competition about who could do most number of head spins.

I was enjoying the crazy party and laughed when Varun twirled as Sam held his index finger. But just as the point came where Sam had to catch Varun in his arms, Sam got distracted and dropped Varun on the floor. I instantly went to help Varun get up and was going to scold Sam but stopped when I saw his pale face.

"Oh, fuck! The Devil is here..." Sam mumbled as if he saw a ghost.

Devil?

Before I could even react, other boys replicated Sam's expression, and I wondered why the merry mood turned so chilly in a second.

When I turned around to look at the door, my heart skipped a huge beat when I noticed Tejas stomp towards us. And, he didn't look pleased at all.

His eyes were narrowed and stuck on his trainees. Behind him, Hriaan trudged slowly with a pissed off expression.

"Why is the captain here so soon?" Ronit whispered.

"Wasn't he going to return two days later? I am scared, man," Varun said.

"We are dead," Sam said defeatedly.

"He knows," Ijaz said.

I got confused about what Ijaz meant, but when I realised what he was saying, I stepped back.

Fuck. I am sure Tejas is here after he got to know about what happened in Ronit's birthday party. I shouldn't have come here. He looks like he will burn the whole place down. I wanted to see him but not like this.

I glanced at Hriaan, and he was glaring at me.

"I will kill you, Shorty," he mouthed.

I signalled at him for help, but he shook his head. I glanced at Tejas, and he was still staring at the boys with blazing gaze.

"I want to talk to my team," Tejas said in a cold tone.

The boys started looking at each other nervously, and when they looked at me, I just saw some poor puppies that were asking me to save them.

How will I? If not earlier, Tejas will surely butcher me this time. I took part from The Emperors' side without his notice, and I am sure he is damn annoyed because of it. But how did he get to know?

Bhoomi, think about it later. The boys will get grilled, so just apologize to Tejas to save everyone's asses.

I felt my anxiety shooting up, but I fisted my hands in determination. The boys weren't the only culprits; I was a part of the plan too.

"Tejas, I am-" I began, but Tejas interrupted me.

"I said I want to talk to my team," he stressed his words but didn't look at me.

I understood what he meant; he didn't want me there. I looked at the kids in guilt as they were going to have to bear the brunt by themselves. As I was leaving the room, I tried to talk to Hriaan, but he looked at me as if I had stolen his kidney.

I sadly left the room, but after the door closed, I tried to hear what was going inside.

"It is soundproof, so you will hardly hear anything," Joy informed as he arrived.

"Joy, please help them. I will take the responsibility," I said.

"What's done is done," Joy said as if he was acting in a movie. "I had already told the boys to keep their acts straight, but they took advantage of my leniency. Now they will have to bear the consequences."

"What will happen to them?" I asked in terror.

"We will know soon, but I am actually amazed by your confidence though. That five-to-smoke was amazing, man. If you were actually a b-boy, I would have liked to have you in our crew."

"Are you serious? I am worried here, and you are talking about that dance battle? By the way, how did you guys discover about it? I am sure Ronit and others wouldn't have mentioned it."

"Oh, I thought you would have known," Joy said in disbelief.

He fished out his phone and was scrolling through his Instagram when the practice room's door opened and Tejas came out.

Joy shot me a curious look when Tejas stopped in front of us. Behind him, Hriaan also came out and patted Joy's shoulder.

"Joy, I want to have a talk with you," Hriaan said.

Joy nodded, and both guys left, leaving me alone with Tejas.

He hadn't looked at me even once since he arrived. I was getting worried about his reaction. I actually predicted what was going to happen, but I was still not prepared for it.

Tejas was already not happy because of Boomer, but this time, I ended up faking being a part of The Emperors. I was sure Tejas wasn't going to spare me now. I thought of running away after apologizing. That was the best tactic to save myself.

"Meet me in my cabin," Tejas told me and walked away.

I looked at his retreating back, contemplating whether I should just escape or face The Emperors' captain.

I glanced inside the practice room. The boys were standing in their spots, their heads hung low. I felt really bad for them. Ronit noticed me looking at them, and I knew they were not okay, but he still signalled me that he and his friends were fine.

The boys are young, but I am an adult. I should be responsible for my actions. I will try to handle this situation as best as I can.

I wasn't ready, but I steeled myself and went to Tejas's cabin. I stood outside the closed door, my hand shaking as I knocked on the door.

I wished for that door to remain closed, but Hriaan opened the door from outside and pushed me inside.

"Hriaan, why you-"

He smirked. "Don't even think about escaping. Now you will know what hell feels like."

With an evil grin, he closed the door really slowly and vanished from my sight.

Behind me, I heard some shuffling. I turned around and noticed Tejas searching for something behind his table. I was so scared that I didn't even get time to check out his cabin.

Is he taking out a gun?

I placed myself close to the door. I decided that if I saw any weapon in Tejas's hands, I would either fall down on the floor or break out of the door.

Tejas was busy opening and shutting the drawers while mumbling to himself. After a few minutes, I saw him nod to himself and stand straight. Unlike I had imagined, I saw nothing dangerous in his hands.

When he snapped his head in my direction, I ducked my head.

Okay, let's start now.

"Tejas, I am really sorry. I take the full responsibility. Please spare the kids. I should have known better. I promise I won't repeat the same mistake. I shouldn't have come here too, and I am again really-"

"Come here," he said.

I shook my head. "Please scold me all you want, but don't kill me."

"Why are you looking at the floor if you are talking to me?" he asked.

I gulped nervously and looked at him. He was holding a first-aid box in his hands; I quirked my eyebrows in confusion.

He waved his hand at me. "Come closer."

I took two steps towards him, and he rolled his eyes.

"Closer," he repeated.

This time, I took four steps towards him, but he got annoyed. I was actually surprised that he hadn't beaten me up yet.

"I am okay here," I told him as I didn't want to increase the distance between me and the door.

Tejas pinched his nose bridge and looked at me seriously.

"You are going to stand there only?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Fine. Do what you want, but don't complain later then," he said.

Complain?

In a split-second, Tejas covered the distance between us, and before I could move, he wrapped his right arm around my waist and pulled me towards him.

Everything turned blurry, and my face smacked on his chest.

My nose hurts, but it feels so warm... It is rainy season, so why do I feel so hot suddenly?

"Why do you make me repeat the same thing so many times?" Tejas scolded and helped me steady myself.

He sat down on his table's edge and placed the first-aid box beside him. He roamed his eyes all over me.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

What?! Why is he asking me that? Isn't he supposed to murder me? And wait a minute! He is close... very close...

I automatically stepped back, but he pulled me forward again.

"Stay here only," he warned.

What is going on? Is this a dream? Didn't Hriaan say that I was going to experience hell? What is this then?