⚠️ Long chapter ahead ⚠️

I entered the classroom and took a seat. I sensed Arushi looking at me, but I ignored her, just like I was doing for the past days.

I hadn't yet forgotten about our fight, and I had confirmed the reason about her outburst that day. I couldn't believe she was feeling insecure about my friendship with Kshitij.

It reminded me of how Suhana was jealous, but Suhana had apologized to me about it. As for Arushi, she was just trying to talk to me and wasn't mentioning the real reason.

Therefore, I also stayed away from her and sat by myself during lectures. Akshay was outstation for the elimination rounds of the national breakdancing competition, but whenever he was in the same lectures as us, he would avoid getting in trouble and would sit with the boys.

He tried to patch up things between me and Arushi, but I failed all of his attempts. Unlike earlier, I paid full attention in my class, and when the bell rang, I left the classroom.

It was lunch break, and I was heading towards the cafeteria as I was craving samosas, but Arushi stopped me.

"Bhoomi, can you please stop acting like I don't exist?" she complained.

I turned my head in other direction. "You are the one who is insecure with me being around you, so why are you putting all blame on me?"

"I am really sorry for my behaviour that day. I have apologized so many times, but you are still being so harsh on me. What should I do to convince you that I am genuinely sorry?"

I gave her a fake smile. "You know what it is."

Her lips turned down. "It is not like that, Bhoomi."

I nodded. "It definitely is. I know you don't like it whenever KD and I are together. I don't know why you would even doubt that, but seriously, I didn't expect it from you. You are the smartest among our group, and yet you thought like that about me?"

Arushi's eyes became glazed. "I am sorry. I thought you liked KD, and he is also very attentive and playful with you. Both of you are dancers, while I am just good at studies. I can only meet him in college, and even after so much time, I still can't believe that he is interested in me. It all feels like a dream."

"Did he say anything to you?" I queried.

"He hasn't said anything directly yet, but he keeps dropping hints. I am afraid that I am not the right person for him. He is too good - why would someone like him even think of me that way?" she mumbled.

I kicked her. She tried to pinch me but stopped as her eyes widened.

"Why wouldn't I like you, Arushi?" KD questioned seriously as he arrived.

Arushi glanced at me and panicked. She was unable to say anything, while KD was staring holes into her. He looked hurt, and I wondered how much of our conversation he had heard.

"Did you hear everything?" I asked him.

"Almost," he replied.

"I guess it is good then," I said. "Why don't both of you solve this yourselves? I don't want to be a third wheel."

"Bhoomi," Arushi called and looked at me for help.

"Aru, I am not that smart, remember?" I taunted.

She pouted. I told Kshitij to take care of her and scolded Arushi for trying to stop me there.

"When you guys are done, we will have a proper talk, okay?" I warned her.

She nodded, and I left towards the cafeteria. Behind me, I heard KD's complaining voice, and when I looked over my shoulder, I saw him holding Arushi's hand, while my best friend was looking at him like a child caught stealing candies.

It made me miss Tejas. He, Hriaan, and Akshay were absent, and when I ate samosas, I got reminded of Hriaan; he loved stealing food.

Jiya, Mahreen, and Suhana had gone to watch the matches, and I didn't want to disturb KD and Arushi, so I was eating by myself.

In the beginning, I hung out with just Aru and Akki, with Jiya entertaining us in-between, but now I had become friends with more people thanks to that cheating blunder with The Emperors.

Even if Mahreen used to pull my cheeks like rubber, I missed her. And Hriaan was always teasing me about my height. Because of missing them, I started missing my friends too. They had also gone for the elimination matches of the national breakdancing competition, and I hadn't even wished them even once.

I called up Vibhan. The phone rang for some time, and he picked up the call.

"Finally remembered us?" he taunted.

"Sorry, Captain," I said.

"What happened? You missing us, or what?"

"A lot. How are you all?"

"We are just like how we were earlier, but you have changed, Bhoomi. Keeping secrets from us now, aren't you? Are we still your friends?" he accused.

"Are you talking about Tejas?"

"No, I am not."

"Then...?"

"Why should I tell you? If you still care about us, then come and talk in person. You aren't even here for your crew. You didn't participate with us, but you could have come to cheer for us. You know how much Mahreen is doing for The Emperors? I am jealous."

I sighed. "I am sorry. When are you guys coming back?"

"The day after tomorrow, and, Bhoomi, stop saying sorry. Remember what I told you. Don't spoil your mood, and take care of yourself. I have to go back for the practice, so I will hang up now. Bye."

"Bye, Vibhan. Tell others I asked about them," I said.

He assured me and cut the call. I wondered what he was talking about if it wasn't about Tejas. While pondering over it, I left to attend the dance classes, and since I had a very short shift at my event management job, I had enough time to rest at the dorms.

At the workplace, Nishant mentioned that I looked very dull; he was right. My mood had gone through a rollercoaster through the whole day. After meeting Jyoti Aunty in the morning, I was daydreaming about Tejas, but after seeing Ayzere, my mood had become rotten.

Then after talking to Arushi in the college and seeing her insecure about herself, I felt bad, and after talking to Vibhan on the phone, I started feeling guilty.

In all of this, I kept getting reminded of Tejas and how his presence was always reassuring. When I came back to the dorms, I was so much tired from overthinking that I ended up falling asleep earlier than my usual time.

The next day was the same like previous one, minus the surprising visits from Tejas's mother and his foreigner friend. I was at college when I received a mail from my event management company. The mail contained all the details about the new high-profile assignment.

It was a dinner at a client's house, and I found my name in the employees' list going for that event. I nodded to myself as the change in location would help me to get my mind off things that I was busy torturing myself with.

There was no place that didn't remind me of Tejas, and I really felt helpless with how my mind would always connect everything to him.

I have rejected him; I told him to stay away from me; I pushed him away; I am the one who reinforced that I am just his fan; then why do I keep feeling like that I got rejected? like I have committed a huge crime? I hate my heart and now my mind too - they are acting against me.

I read the whole email and replied with my confirmation of availability. Since I had to go for the event, I informed about it in Sarthak's studio and got the permission to leave early.

After attending my dance classes, I left for my workplace. Nishant wasn't assigned the same team as me, so he couldn't accompany me this time.

At the office, whole team was given detailed instructions, and after half an hour, we reached the client's house.

Weirdly, the place seemed familiar to me, and I tried to remember if I had been there for some other event.

The dinner time was approaching, so the work began, and I was placed in the decoration team. It was a change of work for me, and I liked it.

Our client's house was really big, and we were working in the guest's portion. As instructed, the employees were not allowed to enter the family area without permission.

Soon, the decorations were done and dinner was almost ready too. One by one, the guests started pouring in, and when our client arrived, I wanted to run away.

I couldn't believe I was in Jyoti Jaiswal's house again; that's why I felt familiar with the surroundings.

Jyoti Aunty noticed me and smiled. As part of my job, I returned the gesture and continued with my work. After seeing her, my eyes automatically roamed around the house, searching for her son.

Bhoomi, why would he be here? You forgot he is outstation?

Oh, right! It completely slipped my mind. I should be careful. If Jyoti Aunty catches me glancing around her house, she might misunderstand again.

I stopped peeking around and stood aside with my team once all of the dishes were brought. Jyoti Aunty made a toast and requested her guests to start the dinner.

When everyone started eating, she called the head chef and server and instructed them to arrange all the best dishes on a trolley. They followed her request, and once it was done, she looked in my direction.

I saw her talking to the servers' in-charge in a low voice, and while trying to decipher what she was saying, I was summoned in front of her.

"Yes, ma'am, do you need anything?" I asked her.

She nodded. "Please go and serve this dinner to Tejas. My maid will direct you to his room."

What?! Tejas is here? And his mother wants me to go and serve him in his room? Is this some kind of hidden camera prank?

"Bhoomi, you heard what I said?" Jyoti Aunty asked.

"You want me to... go to his room...?" I asked her in disbelief.

She exchanged an amused glance with the head chef and server.

"That's what I said," she confirmed. "Go before the dinner gets cold. I don't want to upset my son."

Like a robot, I nodded and took the trolley with me. A maid directed me towards an in-house lift, and even after reaching outside Tejas's room, it was hard for me to believe what was happening.

"Please go inside now," the maid informed me after opening the door.

I took a deep breath because I totally didn't expect to meet Tejas like this. I reminded myself that I was working at the moment and needed to be professional.

Slowly, I pushed the trolley inside while announcing my presence. Tejas's room was bright, just like him, but I didn't see him anywhere.

While looking for him, my eyes roamed around his whole room, admiring everything as if I was in a museum. I got curious after seeing his childhood picture and almost touched it, but I jumped back in fear when I noticed Tejas coming out of another door in his room.

As he moved towards his bed with slow steps, I saw a bandage wrapped around his right ankle.

He is hurt? When did it happen?

I opened my mouth to ask him, but like a warning signal, the rules echoed in my ears.

Tejas sat down on his bed, and I pulled a poker face when he finally glanced at me.

I waited for him to instruct me, thinking that he was pondering over which meal to eat first, but heat started creeping up my neck as he kept staring at me.

Is he trying to burn me with his gaze? I can't afford to turn red while working. If he isn't saying anything, then I should just serve him and leave soon. Because if I don't, I will end up forgetting all codes of conduct.

"I will serve the dinner now," I announced.

"Sure," he replied. "You always do whatever you want anyways."

I pressed my lips into a thin line and ignored his taunt. I had observed which dishes his mother had liked the most, so I served those first and moved aside.

"I can help myself now, so you can leave. Thank you for your service," Tejas said.

He is telling me to leave already? I wanted to stay a bit longer.

"Do you need anything else? If you want, I can bring in more dishes," I suggested.

He shook his head. "No need."

I sighed and looked at his room's door. I couldn't go against the orders, so I told him to enjoy his meal and started leaving.

I was about to exit the room when Tejas's voice made me halt.

"Aren't you even going to ask me how I am?" he asked in a hurtful voice.

I turned around and glanced at his bandaged ankle. If I could, I would have healed him instantly.

"I hope you get well soon," I said.

He gave no reaction. As if he didn't hear anything, he continued eating. I was already feeling really bad for my behaviour towards him, but after seeing him so hurt like this, my guilt made me feel like the worst person alive.

I felt tears stung my eyes, so I quickly left his room and went downstairs. I excused myself and washed my face in the washroom. I was at Tejas's house and still I couldn't talk to him properly.

The dinner was over after half an hour, and while some guests started leaving, others stayed back for chit-chatting. Our work was done, so my team began wrapping things up.

Twenty minutes later, everyone was ready to leave. Jyoti Aunty appreciated our work and thanked our supervisor and team leaders for managing the event and how the guests praised everything.

When we exited the house, I tried to check if Tejas had come downstairs. Unfortunately, he hadn't, and I had to give up on seeing him again. All of the employees were dropped at the railway station, and my colleague Sarika was with me to alight the same train.

While she was mentioning about the latest event we managed, I was thinking of Tejas's injury. I realised that he had returned a day earlier from the breakdancing competition because he got hurt.

I remembered Ayzere mentioning about going to meet him, so I wondered where she was. My mind was jumping from one doubt to another, so I tried to concentrate on what Sarika was saying.

When I reached home, my whole family was asleep except my mother. She was calculating our monthly expenses, so I joined her.

"Maa, I won't be coming home this weekend," I informed her.

"Why?" she asked curiously.

"I missed some dance classes today, so I will catch up on it during weekends. Staying at the dorms is saving a lot of my time, and I am able to attend college regularly too. I will try to come home next week."

She sighed. "If staying there is beneficial for you, then okay. Did you get any calls from Shailesh again?"

I nodded. "He had called some days back. I am tired of being afraid now. Why are we so helpless? No matter how much we earn, it is not enough. For how long will we suffer like this?"

Mom caressed my back. "It will be over soon, beta. Don't worry."

I looked at her in confusion. "Soon? Maa, even if we work our whole lives, we won't be able to get rid of Shailesh. And if we take loans to pay him off, we will still be in debt."

"You don't worry so much, okay? I am still here. Don't think about that jerk and sleep."

I laid down my head in her lap, and she patted my shoulder.

I was still confused about why she seemed so calm regarding the biggest problem of our lives. Then again, I remembered that she was my mother; as long as she was by my side, I didn't need to worry so much.

In the morning, I woke up and left for my job. As expected, Tejas had taken a leave, and Akshay was continuously taunting me about how I had failed all of my plans of leaving the training program.

For a whole week, I got my ears damaged by him. On Friday, we were given an assignment by our dance teacher. We had to prepare a small routine with the same song given to everyone. The weekends were free, so some trainees stayed back in the night.

I also had the same plan, so after finishing my work at my night job, I was returning to the studio with Nishant.

On our way, we noticed some drunkards, so Nishant told me to be careful. I observed how those drunk men were happily singing while trying to keep their balance. It wasn't the first time I had seen drunk people, but this time, I was fascinated by how much carefree they looked.

"Is alcohol really that good?" I asked Nishant.

He pursed his lips. "I am not a drunkard, Bhoomi."

"I am just asking in general. Look at them. Does alcohol really help in any way? Why do they like drinking it?"

"Well, some drink it out of habit, while others use it as a means to cope up with their problems. It makes the mind numb, you know."

"How does drinking help in coping up with problems? It only increases them," I argued.

He shrugged his shoulders. "Everyone has their own choice and free will, Bhoomi. And now that you have asked me so many questions, can I ask you something?"

I told him to go ahead.

"Why did you reject TJ?" he asked curiously.

I slumped down my shoulders. "You are also asking me that? Why don't you guys just accept it?"

"Because you are doing a really bad job of making us believe that. Just look at yourself; you are worse than those drunkards."

I waved him off. "Some dreams look good as dreams only. My life is not a fairytale, and I don't want to drag Tejas into my mess."

"You are lying," he accused. "I know why you are running away from TJ. It is because of the classic inferiority complex, isn't it?"

I looked at him angrily. "I don't have inferiority complex."

"Okay, fine, but can you please honestly tell me that if TJ was in your place and vice-versa, would you have abandoned him?" he argued. "Wouldn't you have tried to help him in every way possible? Bhoomi, you are not just hurting yourself by lying but TJ also. Any idiot can also tell that you like him. What's exactly the problem? You even told him to not come with us that day when he wasn't even disturbing you."

"Please shut up, Nishant. My head is aching," I complained.

"Sure," he said sarcastically. "You can shut me up, but how will you shut up your heart?"

I gave up. Till afternoon, Akki was taunting me, but now Nishant had joined the bandwagon too. He left towards the railway station, while I went inside the studio.

After trying to not overthink about what Nishant had said, I slept and started my dance assignment after getting ready in the morning. I listened to the song given by our mentor and found some references.

I tried a few variations and recorded some rough choreographies. Other trainees were doing the same, so during the lunch break, all of us helped each other, and by evening, I finalised one of the routines I had choreographed.

I was rehearsing in one of the practice rooms, and I got so immersed in my dance session that I even forgot about the time. If my friend Falguni hadn't come to ask me for dinner, I would have ended up dancing non-stop.

During dinner, everyone was talking about the top performers of the program, and as expected, the topic of Tejas came up.

I acted like I was not affected, but I kept hearing every word said about him, and it was all praises. Everyone was worried about his injury and wanted to meet him soon.

After dinner, I went back to practice because I was getting distracted again. I started the recording and began dancing once the music started. After two minutes, I stopped and facepalmed when I checked my recording.

I had ended up doing a freestyle. I tried again, and once more, I ended up doing a completely different routine. I was not following my finalised choreography at all. Like this, I rehearsed a few more times and ended up doing totally different kinds of routines each time.

What the fuck is wrong with me? I can't even dance to my own choreography?

In frustration, I kept practicing and ended up dancing the whole night. I was able to stop only when I crashed into the floor as my legs finally gave up. And even after using the night, I still didn't manage to practice the original routine I had created.

Because of it, my irritation rose even more, and I left for my home instantly. I was hungry and eating fast-food was spoiling my mood even more.

When I reached my home, I threw my bag aside and spread myself on the floor like a starfish. I was damn tired, and my stomach was growling like a tiger.

"Maa, give me some food!" I yelled. "I am too tired to take a shower, so just splash some water on my face."

I closed my eyes and waited for my mother to come and put some food in my mouth.

When I didn't taste anything for what felt like an eternity, I opened my eyes and looked to my left. Dad was staring at me blankly.

"Oh, hi, Dad, didn't notice you there," I said.

"Nice to see you too, Bhoomi," he replied and pressed his lips into a thin line.

"Where's Mom? Didn't she hear me calling her?" I complained.

As soon as I said that, my mother's face appeared in my vision.

"When will you stop embarrassing me?" she grumbled. "Get up and freshen up this instant. We have guests at our home, and look at you lying on the floor like a frog."

Guests? What guests?

I turned my head in every angle and rolled my eyes when I spotted Akshay.

"Since when Akki is a guest, Maa?" I laughed.

Mom glared at me and motioned towards her left. I followed her direction, and my eyes almost popped out when I noticed Hriaan and Tejas sitting on the chairs.

Just as my gaze landed on the guys, Hriaan burst out laughing. As for Tejas, he was looking at me as if he was watching an antique artefact.

"Will you get up now?" Mom scolded.

I got up from the floor and stared at the guys in disbelief.

"Why are you both here?" I asked Tejas and Hriaan.

Before I could get a reply, I got a hit behind my head. Mom pushed me towards the bathroom, and on the way, I noticed my reflection in the cupboard's mirror.

Even though I felt very embarrassed after seeing my messed up hair and ragged clothes, I knew that I couldn't go back in time and avoid making a fool out of myself.

Why are Hriaan and Tejas here? Did Akki bring them here? Wasn't Tejas hurt?

I freshened up and got out of the bathroom. I spotted Vibhan in the kitchen, and he was helping Mom in preparing snacks.

I tried to steal some of it, but Vibhan scolded me and told me to go out and entertain the guests. I got confused about what was going on, but if I hadn't listened to him, I wouldn't have gotten anything to eat.

Mom gave me a small dish with some biscuits and namkeen and warned me to behave myself. I nodded and sat down in a corner, while Dad chatted with the boys.

While I was eating my breakfast, I stole glances at Tejas as doubts bubbled inside my mind.

I tried to get Akki's attention, but Tejas caught me signalling my best friend.

"Do you need anything?" Tejas asked me.

I shook my head. I didn't know why, but his stare seemed more intense than other times. I covered my head with my hoodie because blushing in front of my father wasn't going to bring good news for me.

I checked if Tejas was still looking at me, and he turned his head away right at that moment. I squinted at his ears, but before I could confirm my doubt, he pulled his bandana over his ears.

He glanced at me and smirked.

"I am still faster," he teased.

Sure, he is. But I am curious about his sudden visit to my home. I need to know what's going on.