⚠️ Long chapter ahead ⚠️

The whole week was super busy with dance rehearsals and my college exams starting just before weekends.

After the first college exam was over, my team spent extra time at the studio to polish the loose ends of our choreography, and once Suhana was satisfied with our rehearsals, we left for our homes.

I had applied for leaves because of my exams, so I didn't have to go to my night job, and since the weekend started, I looked forward to go to the dance club Hriaan had helped me join.

As he had promised, he picked me up from the railway station, and on Saturday, I made a decent amount of money. Hriaan was always there to guide me, and after I was done with my share of dance battles, he gave me tips while he dropped me back home.

I appreciated his help, and when Sunday came, I was ready to face some serious and experienced rivals.

On Sunday night, Hriaan and I were at the dance club again. After I marked my attendance, I went to join the dancers' zone, while Hriaan sat in the audience's corner. He was continuously getting calls from his crew, so I didn't disturb him much. I was aware that he was trying to help me even when he was himself busy.

I decided to get him something to eat of his liking once I saved up enough money.

My name was announced, and I was excited as my rival was also a b-girl just like me. I enjoyed the match a lot and won after four rounds. I glanced to check on Hriaan, and he waved his hand at me to signal that he was still there.

A few more matches later, I got a break. I joined Hriaan, and he pointed at the food on the table. Even when I ate, he was still on the call. When my break got over, he told me that he would be heading out to attend a particular call as the music was very loud inside the club.

He assured that he would be back soon, and I also went back for my dance battles once my break was over. One of my matches ended pretty soon, and I was trying my best to win the next one.

My opponent was a b-boy of a younger age than me, but he was damn good. When his part ended, I planned to combine some air flares with elbow spins or head spins followed by some stunts if needed.

My part came, and I was ready to make my entry with a backflip. Adrenaline was rushing like speed cars in my veins, and when I jumped in the air, thinking of doing an amazing landing on my hands, I was caught in the air and rotated upside down.

For a few seconds, I couldn't understand what was happening as everything seemed like a kaleidoscope, but when I landed on my feet, I backed away as soon as I saw Tejas.

"What are you doing here all alone?" he asked.

Shouldn't I be the one asking that?

Behind Tejas, I noticed Akshay looking at me as if he was in a zoo.

"I am not alone," I replied to Tejas. "Hriaan is with me."

Unfortunately, Hriaan was not in sight when Tejas glanced around. I told him that Hriaan was attending a call outside and I couldn't leave my dance battle in the middle, but that made him furious.

"This battle is over," Tejas announced to the MC and other dancers.

"What?" I yelled in shock. "I am not done yet."

Tejas signalled the MC, and the MC announced what Tejas had told him. Other dancers and audience started murmuring about Tejas, and by the way the staff was listening to him, I understood that he was well known here.

"Tejas, I am doing this by my own will. Why are you disturbing me like this?" I complained.

He gave me a flat look, and before I could get away from him, he picked me up by my waist.

"What are you doing?" I yelled in surprise.

"Getting you out of here," he said and started moving towards the exit.

Everyone started pointing at us, and when some people started recording, I covered my face with my hair.

I struggled to get out of Tejas's hold, but he was damn strong. I told Akki to help me, but he just followed us in confusion.

When we came out of the club, Tejas put me on my feet, and as soon as I got the chance, I tried to escape, but Akshay blocked my path.

I saw another opening, so I tried to run from there, but Tejas caught me again. Even if I was actually happy to see him, I had to go back to my dance battle because I had started my work recently. Quitting like this would have gotten me kicked out of the club.

"What's going on?" Hriaan asked as he arrived.

"Hriaan, please help me. Tell Tejas that-" I began, but Tejas interrupted me.

"Bhoomi won't be coming here again," he announced.

Hriaan glanced at me and nodded. "Okay."

I narrowed my eyes at Hriaan. "How can you do this, Hriaan? Why are you agreeing to him so easily? I am an adult. I don't need anyone's permission. Tejas, leave me."

He didn't. His hold on my waist was light, but it was still strong enough to not let me escape.

"Tejas, leave me! You can't force me like this," I yelled.

When I put all of my strength to get away from him, he increased his grip as his gaze turned blazing hot.

"Just because you rejected me doesn't mean that I will sit back and watch you get hurt," Tejas retorted.

When he said that, I froze up. There was a very sad and unhappy expression on his face, and I started feeling guilty for lying to him. I couldn't bear to look him in the eyes, so I ducked my head.

"You confessed to Shorty?!" Hriaan asked his best friend in surprise.

"Did you really reject TJ?!" Akki asked me in an accusing tone.

When I glanced at him, he was looking at me as if he would murder me.

He won't reveal the truth, right? I need to get away from them asap.

"Please let me go," I requested. "Hriaan, help me. Why aren't you taking my side? You showed me this dance club, so why are you backing out now?"

Hriaan shook his head. "Sorry, Shorty, but I can't help you this time. I don't want to get butchered in a lovers' quarrel. My heart is still trying to proces the shock it just got."

He smirked as he faked crying, and I got scared when I realised that he was teasing me about how he had caught me crying last week.

Seeing no other option, I turned to my best friend.

"Akki, help," I told him.

He narrowed his eyes. "Why did you reject TJ?"

I think he will keep asking me the same thing until he forces me to spit out the truth. I won't fall for it.

"It is none of you concern," I told him.

"What did you say?!" he grumbled.

"You heard what I said," I retorted. "Why should I tell you anything when you yourself didn't say a word about your family shifting to another place?"

Akshay punched me on the back. "How can you blame me like this, idiot? I am not shifting anywhere."

"Lie all you want, but Rahul himself told me about it."

Akki rolled his eyes. "Boom Boom Boomer, have you forgotten that Rahul likes to pull pranks like these? It isn't the first time he has done it. How could you easily fall for it?"

Oh, so Rahul just messed around with me? I will fry him up once I lay my hands on him.

As I had nothing to argue with Akshay, I sighed in defeat, though I was happy to learn that my best friend wasn't going to stop being my neighbour.

I glanced at Tejas, and he loosened his grip on me.

"Akshay, please take Bhoomi home," he said.

I widened my eyes. "Home? So early? I can have at least one match before leaving. I will get kicked out like this."

"Do you want to get beaten to a pulp?" Akki threatened me.

He shot me a knowing look, and I agreed to go with him because I feared him spoiling my plan. I wasn't concerned about Hriaan, but my best friend was very well aware of my true feelings for Tejas, and if I would have pissed off Akshay more, he would have thrashed me up before telling Tejas everything himself.

"Don't overthink," Tejas told me, his anger finally faded out completely.

He left me slowly, and I went with Akshay. He had brought his bike, so after waving goodbye to Hriaan and looking at Tejas sadly, I left with Akshay.

I kept thinking about how Tejas had ended up obstructing me during my work, and I didn't like it, but I also knew why he had done that. He wasn't trying to interfere in my life and bother me because he was mad about the rejection; he was trying to help me like he had always done.

He had told me to not overthink, but that's what I was doing through the whole bike ride to our chawl. I was planning on dashing off once Akshay reached my home, but he changed the route. Instead of our street, he rode towards the market and stopped in front of favourite snack stall.

"You better start speaking now," he threatened and got two cups of tea for us.

"You already heard what happened, so what's the use of wasting time here?" I argued.

"Bhoomi, I am not in the mood of joking right now. TJ confessed to you, and you rejected him? That doesn't even sound like it happened for real. Why did you do that? What are you thinking nowadays?"

I twisted my lips. "I rejected him because I no longer like him."

Akshay showed me his fist. "See this? If you lie once more, I will knock you out in one punch."

I knew it was useless lying to him, but I had no other choice. I had already refused Tejas's confession, so it was the end for everything related to him.

"Akki, I know what you are thinking, but I really don't like Tejas now. What's so difficult to believe in that? Yes, I acted like a crazy fan before, but now I see him just as a fellow dancer. I don't feel anything for him," I said, stressing each word.

"Really? You don't like him anymore? When did it happen? When did you realise that your dance idol, the person you couldn't hear a word against, and the guy on whose mention you got hearts in your eyes, is no longer someone that you like the most and is now just another human?"

He is not just another human. He is Tejas - the best person that I have ever met in my life. Yes, I love my family and friends, but Tejas has a special place in my heart. I rejected him, and even if I have ruined all of my chances of being with him now, he will still be my first love. And, I won't put him in trouble because of my issues.

"Boom Boom Boomer, are you even listening?" Akshay snapped his fingers.

I sighed and started my rambling. "You must be thinking that it is not believable, and I am an idiot for refusing Tejas, but I did what I felt right. What's the use of lying to him and misleading him when I don't like him anymore? I mean, it is actually nice that he ended up liking me, but I don't want to give him false hopes. You also ended up falling for Suhana when you hated anything romantic. Did I blame you then? What's wrong if I-"

"Fine. Stop it," Akshay interrupted me. "You don't need to explain yourself so much. I know you are lying, so there is no need to act in front of me. I won't blame you for what you did, but I am worried that you will regret your decision. You are not being honest with even me."

I had no strength left to lie anymore, so I just drank my tea, and Akshay dropped me home.

I was worried that Akshay and Hriaan got to know about what happened between me and Tejas, and others were going to find out soon too. I wondered how many times I was going to repeat the same lies again.

And more than that, I was concerned about losing my job at the dance club. I never expected to encounter Tejas there and Hriaan to betray me.

I messaged Hriaan about my concern, and he told me that he agreed with Tejas. He had helped me because of my financial situation, but after seeing Tejas being serious about my health, he also felt it best that I needed to avoid straining myself physically. He also adviced me to cut down on my part-time jobs and wanted to know what the actual matter was.

I refused to do so and stopped chatting with him. Unfortunately, when I went to the dance club the next day, the manager informed me that I was no longer allowed to participate in dance battles, and I got my salary along with the donation and bonus.

I was annoyed that Tejas took that decision for me, but I couldn't even get mad at him. He was very concerned and was just worried about me hurting myself physically.

Why didn't I get a bigger and stronger body? I should have eaten more food in my childhood when my mother used to force me. Now I am stuck with this short skeleton and non-existent muscles.

Eknath Uncle called me and told me that for the time being, he wouldn't be able to give me any job related to events. If I wanted, I could do work-at-home jobs like papad making, creating bindis, paper bags, etc.

Did Hriaan interfere in this and suggested Eknath Uncle about it?

I thanked Eknath Uncle for his help and told him that I was not interested in the jobs he suggested because they didn't pay much and I didn't have time to stay at home.

The final day of team evaluations was approaching fast, so I put all of my attention on it and my exams.

After a week of exhausting rehearsals, the dooms day arrived, and it was a complete chaos because girls and boys were fighting each other like cats and dogs.

And when the evaluation results were announced, it ensued another round of rivalry because the boys won by just one point. I wasn't interested, but I was dragged along by my fellow pissed off female trainees to Sarthak's cabin to protest about the results.

I actually ended up dozing off in Sarthak's office while the girls chewed his head for a good amount of time before they were convinced that the results were not biased, and they challenged the boys that they would win next time with huge margin.

My exams were over, and soon, the next lineup of the training program was announced, and to test my patience, the universe again played with me, and I ended up in Tejas's team alongwith Yukta, Jolina, Michael, Akshay, and another good performer named Pritesh.

In total, we were seven in the team, and since Tejas was our team leader, I reminded myself to keep my act together.

After the teams were announced and practice rooms were alloted, Tejas held a meeting and expressed his vision of our performance and what he expected from all of us. Everyone had worked with each other, so there was no issue about teamwork, but Tejas announced that he would be unavailable for three days as he was going for the qualifying rounds of the National breakdancing competition.

In his absence, he appointed Pritesh as the temporary leader and ended the meeting. The practice was going to start from the next day, so everyone was excused. One by one, our teammates began leaving, and I also started leaving after glancing at Tejas, who was busy having a chat with Pritesh.

I had just taken a few steps when Tejas called me, and I turned around to face him.

I hope my sadness isn't clearly visible on my face. If Tejas points it out, I will just say that I am tired. Why is he leaving again? I won't be able to see him for three days.

"Will you be able to manage the practice with your schedule?" Tejas asked me.

"I will manage," I replied.

He smiled. "I will be away for three days, so take care of yourself."

I kept staring at his smile. He waved his hand in front of my face and reminded me that I was leaving.

I nodded and said a quick bye to him. I didn't want to leave, but I had to catch my train. My event management job was going to commence after two days, so I decided to rest as much as I could.

The next day, I finished my morning shifts and went to Sarthak's studio. I didn't get time to go to college, so KD gave me the details of our next semester. Akshay would have done that, but like Tejas, he had to also go for the qualifying rounds of National breakdancing competition, and he had left early in the morning with our crew.

Since Tejas was absent, Pritesh took charge as our team leader. He was good at handling us, but somehow, I didn't feel good to be around him.

While he was teaching us some new stuff, I noticed him getting too much cozy with Yukta. I didn't like how he was being extra touchy with her, but since she was also giving him attention, I stopped thinking about it.

Maybe because my love life is not going well, I am unnecessarily seeing problems in others' love lives.

During break, Jolina and I were returning from the washroom, and she mentioned about what was going on between Yukta and Pritesh. She also said that she didn't feel much comfortable around Pritesh and didn't like that Yukta was being lovey-dovey with him.

I told her to ignore them because we didn't need to interfere, but while I myself said that, I got a very dirty feeling in my guts when we crossed the lobby where the resting rooms were located.

I strained my ears when I heard a voice similar to Yukta's, and along with that, I heard a male voice too. I exchanged glances with Jolina, and she nodded in response. We quickly went towards the room from where we heard the noise.

This time, we confirmed that Yukta was not alone in that room, and she didn't sound okay. I knocked on the door loudly and called for my friend. There was no response from inside, and Jolina and I knocked more loudly. Suddenly, the door opened, and we looked at Pritesh in confusion. Behind him, Yukta adjusted her clothes with face all red.

"What are you doing here?" I asked Pritesh.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Nothing. Just helping Yukta."

"What kind of help?" Jolina interrogated.

Pritesh smirked. "Why don't you ask Yukta herself?"

He glanced at Yukta, and she came towards us. I was worried for her, but when she smiled and told us that she was having a stomachache and had asked Pritesh to bring her some medicine, I was relieved. Still, I didn't feel like she was telling the truth.

Pritesh patted Yukta's back, and after telling her to rest more if needed, he reminded Jolina and me that our break was getting over soon and left.

Yukta told us that she would be back after an hour and closed the door. Jolina and I discussed about what we had just witnessed, but we couldn't force Yukta to tell us what was going on. We let the matter go and focused on our dance classes.

The rest of the day went by normally. The next day was Wednesday, and I had to attend my lectures, so I couldn't go to my dockyard job. After attending two lectures and ignoring Arushi, I was back at Sarthak's studio.

The moment I stepped inside my team's practice room, I saw Pritesh yelling at Jolina. I was late, so I didn't know what had happened, but I clearly didn't like the way Pritesh was talking to Jolina.

I asked Michael about it, and he told me that Jolina was busy chatting on her phone and wasn't paying attention, so Pritesh got angry. I understood that, but Pritesh didn't need to be so much harsh.

If Tejas was here, he would have handled the situation far better. My other teammates had the same thoughts as mine, but since it was a matter of just two more days, we tried to go with the flow.

When the day ended, Jolina left instantly as she was still mad at Pritesh for the morning incident. As for Yukta, she and I left for the locker rooms before leaving.

While I was having a shower, Yukta announced from outside that she had to leave urgently. She sounded serious, so I didn't hold her back. When I was done changing, I also carried on my way, but while passing the resting rooms, I heard a low-toned shrill scream.

I quickly realised that it was Yukta's voice. I remembered how I and Jolina had found Yukta with Pritesh, so I decided to ignore this time also, but I started feeling anxious as soon as I stepped away from that room.

I placed my ear on the door and heard Pritesh's voice. Again, the door was locked, and by the noise coming from inside, I was sure that something bad was going on.

I knocked on the door, but it was useless. I glanced around me and spotted Danny ambling towards the boys' locker room.

"Danny!" I yelled.

He snapped his head in my direction, and I waved at him to come quickly. He was beside me in a flash and asked me why I was panicking. I told him what I feared, and he also furrowed his eyebrows when he heard the noises inside.

The door was locked, so he told me to stand back and kicked the door open. As soon as the door was opened, Pritesh came forward and looked at Danny in surprise.

"What happened?" he asked us.

"You tell us what's going on here," Danny told him.

I looked around the room and saw Yukta on the bed. She didn't look well, so I tried to approach her, but Pritesh stopped me.

"Is it again you, Bhoomi?" he complained. "Are you really that naive?"

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"What were you exactly doing, man?" Danny asked Pritesh and glanced at Yukta.

Pritesh smirked. "Come on, Danny. Do I really need to tell you also what two adults could be doing alone in a room? And, Bhoomi, don't you have any other work? That day, I didn't say anything when you disturbed me and Yukta, but I won't let it slide this time."

"I don't want to talk to you," I told him and called Yukta. "Yukta, are you okay? Please tell us what happened."

Yukta got up from the bed and came towards us. She glanced at Pritesh, and after a few seconds, she smiled at me.

"Bhoomi, come on, yaar. Don't make me embarrassed like this. You even called Danny here," Yukta said.

Danny and I exchanged glances, and Pritesh side-hugged Yukta.

"You heard her," Pritesh told us. "Can we get some privacy now?"

I kept looking at Yukta in disbelief; I really didn't think that she was being honest. Danny nudged me and told me we should leave. He apologized for disturbing Pritesh, and we left from there.

"That was weird," Danny commented.

"I don't believe Yukta was telling the truth," I said.

Danny pursed his lips. "Actually, I also didn't get good vibes back there, but we can't do anything if Yukta has no problem. Both are adults, so..."

I agreed with him. He told me to not worry about it, and I thanked him for helping me. He went back to boys' locker room, while I exited the studio.

I was excited for the next day because Tejas and Akki were going to return, though I wasn't sure about the timing. If I had known, I would have atleast prepared my reaction. I didn't want Tejas to catch me waiting for him.

After my shift at the fast-food restaurant, I reached Sarthak's studio on time. Pritesh was going to show us the rough choreographies for the two dance styles he had chosen. I was ready with my notepad, and he called Jolina to be his partner.

Jolina didn't look like she wanted to, but she still joined him. Fortunately, nothing bad happened, and after giving a few more demos, Pritesh told us to practice in pairs.

He, as expected, paired up with Yukta. As for me and Jolina, we only had Michael, so we practiced in turns. When my part came, I danced with Michael, and he was busy making fun of me by reminding me of our old team.

We were laughing about a funny memory, when we noticed Pritesh yanking Yukta towards him forcefully. She was trying to get away from him, but he held her tightly and started shouting curse words at her.

Seeing that, Michael told Pritesh to stay away from Yukta and not abuse her, but Pritesh reminded him that he was the team leader and started dragging Yukta outside of our practice room.

I blocked his path and told him to leave Yukta that instant.

"What's your problem, Bhoomi?" Pritesh glared at me.

"Currently, you," I retorted. "Leave Yukta's hand, or I will punch you."

He rolled his eyes and left Yukta's hand. Yukta instantly hid behind Michael and started crying. Pritesh looked at her angrily and stepped towards her, but I grabbed his arm, and Jolina stood between him and Yukta.

"All of you are ganging up on me?" Pritesh huffed.

When I warned him to behave himself, he stepped closer and looked down at me with a nasty expression.

"I get it now," he gave me a glance over. "You are jealous of Yukta, aren't you? You are not getting any attention from me, so you are trying to get between me and her every chance you see. Well, if you are that much desperate, I can do you a favour too. I know you are in the bottom ranks, so I will help you."

"Pritesh, don't talk nonsense," Michael warned.

Pritesh ignored him and provoked me. "So, Bhoomi, wanna take the chance? You are not my type, but I can help you climb up the ranks if you want."

I fisted my hands when Pritesh smiled cynically. He raised his right hand towards my face, and I was ready to kick him, but before his fingers could touch me, I noticed Tejas arrive in my peripheral vision. And in a split-second, Tejas's right fist moved like a bullet train and smashed Pritesh square in the face.

A loud cracking voice pierced my eardrums, and like a blur, Pritesh's head swiveled to the right on its axis, and he crumbled on the floor. He was knocked out in just one punch.

That was awesome!

I looked at Tejas, who was towering over Pritesh. His back was towards me, and after he had arrived, all of my feelings were mixed together. I quickly glanced in the mirror and freaked out when I saw my face turning bright red.

"Are you okay, Boom Boom Boomer?" Akki asked me.

I nodded at him, and he pointed at my cheeks. I slapped his arm and told myself to keep calm.

Slowly, Tejas turned around, and my heart picked up pace when I saw him. The anger left his face, and his expressions softened.

I want to hug him. I wish I could hug him.

I opened my mouth to thank Tejas, but my words got stuck in my throat when he moved forward and wrapped his arms around me. He hugged me tightly, and it was enough for my brain and heart to give up simultaneously.

And when Tejas caressed my back, my knees starting losing strength too.

"Are you okay, Hamster?" he asked.

No, I am not. I am going to reincarnate as a tomato plant soon.