I was confused.

Staring at the rapidly blinking screen of my laptop, I gulped. The list containing the names of all selected candidates didn't have mine in it. My stomach dropped. With shaky fingers, I typed my roll number in the search bar.

No results found.

"This can't be happening," I mumbled to myself, sounding on the verge of tears. Out of all reasons, a wrong roll number can't be responsible for my failure. In a desperate attempt to confirm what I just saw, I went to the website of my coaching centre, knowing that the names of all selected students who took their classes would be displayed there. They needed to advertise, after all. I scanned the ten names listed on the homepage.

Still no sign of mine.

An eerie numbness took over my senses as the reality hit me. I hadn't been able to crack NEET, hadn't even competed with other applicants.

All because of writing the wrong roll number.

I wanted to slap myself for being so careless. Two years worth of hard work had gone down the drain due to a minor mistake. I thought about my parents' reaction, my gloomy future prospects, the wetness on the corner of my mouth, Radhika's giggles and—

—wait what?

Jolting awake as I heard the firm snap of a camera, I sat up quickly, my back straight as a ramrod.

"You were mumbling in your sleep. I just couldn't not record it!" Radhika's voice, broken by annoying sniggers here and there, cut through the drowsy fog in my mind. It was similar to the cruel crack of a whip on a white pony's back.

Yes, I tended to think of morbid analogies whilst half-asleep.

"What time is it?" I rasped, wincing at the feel of paper-like dryness in my throat.

Moral of the story — do not sleep with your mouth open.

"Quarter to noon," she replied, sitting on the edge of my bed to tie the laces of her sneakers. "You should probably come down within thirty minutes if you actually want food for brunch and not just morsels of stale leftovers."

"Yeah yeah. Get out already." I yawned.

Still laughing to herself, she left the room, slamming the door behind her. I dragged myself out of the bed at a snail's pace, still a bit shaken from the nightmare. Naturally, the first thing I did was to confirm that my NEET roll number was correct.

Paranoid, I know.

A quick bucket bath later, I rushed downstairs to the dining hall, clad in a white shirt with floral patterns and blue denim shorts. Mounting my plate with sandwiches and idli—which was admittedly a bizarre combination—I sat down alone on a table of four.

For a while I was simply focusing on food, trying not to think about the mental imagery my subconscious had displayed to me. All of a sudden, out of nowhere, a heavy glass was slammed next to my plate, making me nearly jump out of my skin. I calmed down moments later when Kian came into view, pulling a chair and sitting across from me.

"Good morning sweet chums!"

"Seriously? Sweet chums? You couldn't think of any other name?" I drawled as another massive yawn escaped from me. "And it's twelve-thirty."

"Good to know that you actually have a sense of time, sleeping ugly," he quipped, noisily sipping his tea.

"Ugly huh?"

"Very."

"Why are you here with me then?"

"I've nothing better to do, you're the only option." He shrugged, a smug smirk surfacing on his recently-shaved face.

"Whoa did you actually just say that? What's up with this whole 'cooler than thou' attitude huh?" I said, laughing a bit myself. There was something about his presence that made my stupid worries dissipate.

Kian shook his head, now grinning widely. "You know I'm just kidding Ash. Besides, even if I had any other option, I'd still totally do you." He gave a cringe-inducing wink at that, one which would make the worst of perverts blush.

My shoulders started vibrating in silent mirth until I couldn't hold in guffaws anymore and was crying with laughter.

"So you...do admit," I began, wiping my eyes, "that I'm your only option?"

"Well duh!" he said, rolling his eyes even as a megawatt smile was plastered on his face. "Didn't you notice that it took me two whole years to kiss you? I really need to up my game."

"Sure thing dude," I played along. "But for now, you're not going anywhere."

"I don't want to go anywhere," he said, winking awfully again.

"Okay this is getting too cheesy. Shut up now," I muttered, trying to get rid of my own grin and taking a sip of tea out of my glass. "Wow this is awesome!"

"Isn't it? It's masala chai." Kian tipped his glass, gulping down the last remnants of his spicy tea. "No offense to Jaspreet chachu, but the tea they serve here is distasteful and overpriced. So I found this tea stall on the beach, five Rupees per cup. From the looks of the picture Rads sent me earlier, I figured you'd appreciate one glass of your own."

"She sent you what?"

He reached for his phone and opened its gallery, showing me my own atrocious photograph. It was a shot of my head resting in a bird's nest for hair, with white drool dripping down my chin and wrinkles of a large frown marring my forehead.

"I'm going to kill her." I fumed, "do you guys have zero respect for privacy?"

"Oh c'mon! You were looking cute." He glanced down at his phone again, "and a bit disgusting but mostly cute."

I narrowed my eyes at him as one leg swiftly kicked his shin. He did a good job of not wincing but I'm sure I saw his eyes water a bit.

"Radhika also told me that you were mumbling in your sleep," Kian continued, trying to act unaffected. "Don't tell me that you're possessed."

"I'm pretty sure that's not the case," came my cool reply as I took another sip from my glass. "It was just a bad dream."

He straightened up at that, gorgeous brows knitting in concern. "What was it about?"

Looking at him, I smiled sadly and proceeded to narrate whatever I remembered about that nightmare. Not missing out on even a single detail. Kian had shifted closer, soothingly brushing my knuckles with his thumb, as I continued to rattle on. Taking a deep breath after I was finished speaking, I drank the remaining mouthful of my tea.

"Whoa," he finally got out, after a minute of staring at me with wide eyes. "That was so lame."

I choked on my saliva, "what?!"

"I mean," he began, laughing incredulously. "When you said you had a bad dream, I was expecting something along the lines of monsters and dragons and anything but a big, bad, lame result. Goodness you're such a nerd!"

He was right, of course. I'm pretty sure a distant part of my brain knew that. Yet it didn't stop me from angrily pushing back me chair, picking up my empty plate and dumping it in the nearest trashcan with unnecessary force, before stalking out of the dining hall.

Kudos to him for remaining beside me, literally, as I demonstrated my childish tantrum.

"Seriously, can't you handle a joke Ash?" my conscious chided.

"Ashiana I'm sorry, I didn't mean to offend—"

"It is lame," I said, interrupting him. "But it also scares the shit outta me."

It was there. That damned vulnerability. My voice was quivering because of it.

Kian stopped walking, halting me too as he grabbed my upper arm. We were in the middle of an empty hallway which led to the reception. In a familiar movement, he entwined his fingers with mine, instantly calming me down.

"So now that you've agreed, I won't start lying," he muttered, his sharp gaze piercing my own and his knees slightly bent to come at par with my height. "If you think that after all the work you've put in, the hours of studying, revising, practising and a ton of other things, you somehow won't clear the exam, you're stupid."

I released a shaky breath, breaking eye contact and blankly inspecting the white, web-like patterns on his sea green shirt. "But there are others who're much better than me."

"Maybe," he conceded. "But there's no point in thinking about it now. Though I'm confident you'll get in."

I took inhaled deeply and nodded, giving him a loose hug and he swiftly pecked my forehead before pulling away. "C'mon," he murmured. "Aryan just texted me, everyone's waiting in the reception."

                                                                                      {[]}

That afternoon, we set out to explore the city. Chachu insisted that we use hotel cabs. I was about to get in the backseat of a Honda beside Karan but halted when I heard Radhika yelling.

Turning around, I spotted her in a heated shouting match with Vivaan. Well, not exactly a shouting match since she was the one who had raised her voice, Viv looked like he was trying to explain her something. But she didn't listen and rather shoved him aside, stalking towards me.

"Want to talk?" I said automatically once she was close enough, breathing heavily.

"No," she whispered, her voice sounding hoarse.

"Want to shop?" I asked instead. "These wannabe adventurers want to go on a selfie spree at some medieval fort but I'd rather plunge myself into textile bazaars and buy hoards of cheap kurtis for college. What do you say?"

Kian and Aryan, who were silently observing us, flinched when Vivaan slammed the door of the passenger seat after letting himself in. Poor Karan jerked awake from his nap.

Seemingly oblivious to the tense commotion made by the clumsy monkeys, Radhika slowly bobbed her head, offering me a grateful smile.

I smiled back at her before turning towards the boys and briefly telling them about our change of plans. Aryan nodded in understanding, telling me to be at the Gopi lake at five.

Closing the door behind me, Radhika and I walked towards another cab and settled in the backseat. She told the driver our destination and looked out through the tinted windows.

After that, time moved painfully slowly.

One minute passed.

Radhika released a heavy sigh, closing her eyes and massaging her temples.

Two minutes passed.

Leaning back, she typed the passwords on her phone and unlocked it only to lock it with a click. She again unlocked it for a second time and blankly stared at her home screen picture–a selfie where she resembled a professional and Vivaan looked in need of a nose job, as his nostrils practically covered his entire face.

Five minutes passed.

My fingers twitched, wanting to comfort her but not knowing how. I opened my mouth to say something then closed it when nothing came to mind.

Six minutes passed.

I swear such awkward silences should be illegal.

Seven minutes passed.

Deciding that I've had enough, I quipped, "beautiful day isn't it?"

She slowly looked at the glaring sun outside and then at my animated expression. "Uh huh, sure."

"So..." I tried again, "about what happened earlier..."

"Drop it Ashiana," Radhika interrupted me, "I wasn't kidding when I said I don't want to talk about it, not now at least."

My fake smile dropped. "Right...sorry."

I faced my window, mentally screaming at myself for failing to be a good friend.

Like always.

"You know we can talk about other things," Radhika said after several more moments of uncomfortable silence.

Surprised, I turned towards her. "Like?"

She shrugged, with the hint of a smile dancing on her lips. "How about you tell me whether you and Kian are finally in a relationship or not."

My skin crawled with second-hand embarrassment at her off-hand usage of the "r" word. I hated the fact that my fellow millennials threw around the word "relationship" as if it was nothing but a status symbol. To me, it carried a deeper meaning, directly related to wedding bells and the "m" word, a sacred bond, something that was definitely not on my bucket list for the next ten years.

I was also annoyed that on one hand Radhika refused to open up to me, while on the other hand she expected me to spill my guts out at her prodding.

But a much bigger part of me wanted to address that question, both for her benefit and my own. So I took a deep breath and started talking.

"I don't think so. We haven't discussed it really."

Radhika quirked a brow, an action that instantly reminded me of Kian. "So you're telling me that you kissed him twice without thinking about putting a label to it?"

"That's not exactly...the issue here. You see, ninety percent chances are that we'll be sitting at the opposite ends of the country after my medicine and his engineering entrance results are out. I'm pretty sure he also applied for some sort of space research programme, even though he didn't mention it to me. If my hunch is right and he does want to pursue that field then the best colleges for him are down south. My dream college is AIIMS New Delhi. We might never see each other after a couple of months."

"What about long distance?" Radhika asked softly. "Ever thought about that?"

"Do you honestly think that'll work? Because I don't, it never works."

She remained mum and I continued.

"Radhika, whatever is going on between Kian and me would probably last as long as this trip. And it's like we have a silent agreement to not discuss this right now. We just want to relax and enjoy each other's company right now, just for these ten days. Putting a label on it would make it much harder to move on when our cosy little bubble would burst and leave us exposed to adulthood."

The signal turned green and we started navigating the jam-packed roads due the inner city's dense traffic. Rads looked at me as if expecting more. When I didn't say anything, she frowned, "there's a 'but' in this conversation isn't it?"

For a moment, I was taken aback by her perceptiveness before I schooled my features into a sad smile. "The 'but' is that I like Kian. I like him a lot! And I don't want to choose between him and my dreams. Not again."

As she pondered over my words another face flashed through my mind, conjured by hazy memories. Messy curls, wry grin, stained shirt and the sound of a voice I couldn't remember. His mouth moved silently, giving me an advice I'll never hear again.

A friend I'll never see again.

My phone felt heavy in my pocket, a reminder that I still hadn't read his last message.

Radhika spoke up suddenly, snapping me out of my emotional reverie.

"Well, let's hope you don't have to choose."

"Yeah..." I smiled, for real this time.

"But," she said, tentatively. "What if you have to? What would you choose?"

I met her eyes, which were fixed on me as if she was trying to read the engravings etched on the deep recesses of my being. "I've worked really hard to be a doctor Rads. I'm not giving that up."

                                                                                    {[]}

Weaving through the crowd of mostly female humans, I moved towards the shop which had what I wanted. Radhika was close behind me and our faces were flushed with exertion.

The bazaar was packed with middle-aged women haggling over the prices of various clothes. Everywhere I looked, sarees, kurtis and unstitched pieces of patterned cloth were displayed. Bright pink block patterns over soothing turquoise, twinkling glass stones that moulded into intricate designs, sewn over elaborate dresses and scarves, and miles upon miles of finely woven silk, meant to be wrapped around feminine bodies in over a hundred different ways.

Radhika and I had started salivating the minute we stepped into the chaos.

Two hours later, we were carrying three jute bags each. All of which were filled to the brim with clothes.

We had to leave for the Gopi lake in fifteen minutes but I first wanted to buy a cotton scarf for ma that had caught my eye.

Pointing to a navy-blue dupatta from the shopkeeper's collection, I yelled over the surrounding noise, "how much for that?"

He pulled it out from a makeshift shelf behind him and spread it out in front of me before answering me in a resolute tone, "four hundred."

I narrowed my eyes infinitesimally. Did he think I was stupid? I may be young but I knew the rates. Besides, no one could defeat me at bargaining.

Game on!

"I'm not giving more than a hundred rupees for this."

He physically backed away a little, probably shocked at my counter offer, and spluttered, "okay, I'll take three hundred and fifty but nothing less than that."

"Nope, hundred."

"Two seventy five," he relented.

"One fifty then! Not a single penny more."

"Two hundred madam, last price," he pleaded.

I grinned. "Deal."

After paying him the final amount, we made our way towards the parking, feeling exhausted but elated. We threw our bags in the boot of the cab as the driver held it open before taking our seats again.

The silence was no longer uncomfortable during the twenty minute journey to the lake. Radhika had her eyes closed and earphones in while I was texting my mother, telling her about my purchases.

The others were already waiting outside the gates of the complex by the time we arrived there. I could sense Radhika beside me growing increasingly tense with each step forward and even from a distance of fifteen metres, Vivaan seemed to stiffen suddenly, his expression growing stonier with each second.

"Hey," I cleared my throat once I was beside Kian, trying to ignore the nasty, seething glares being exchanged by Vivaan and Rads. "How was the fort?"

Karan replied, with his eyes fixed on the warring couple, "boring. It was a total waste of time. They've built government offices in the castle can you believe it? And the museum it had was no good either."

"Poor you!" I mocked, as Aryan came running towards us, waving six tickets in his hand.

"Can we go eat something first?" Aryan panted, handing out everyone their ticket. "I'm starving."

We all agreed to that and entered the Gopi talav complex. It was an artificially constructed historical lake which had been recently renovated by the State's government, making it one of the best tourist spots in the city.

There was a collective gasp from our group as the lake came into view, surrounded by stone steps. There were balconies looking over the serene water, as the lights installed gave it a colourful glow. However, our hungry stomachs didn't leave much room for any more admiring thoughts as we hurried towards the food zone.

The second we entered the food court, Radhika grabbed Vivaan's arm and pulled him to a table in the corner, quietly muttering, "we need to talk."

Our eyes followed them until they settled down, not trying to stop them. The four of us soon found another table to use, one which was located at the opposite end than that of Radhika's. Quickly placing our orders, we fell into easy conversation about the boys' useless journey to the Surat castle. None of us mentioned anything about the strange behaviour of the love birds.

Splitting up after we were done eating, we decided to meet up in the parking lot at nine. Vivaan and Radhika quietly slipped away to the Diamond zone, hopefully to further talk things out. The rest of us made our way towards the history zone.

Aryan kept up light chatter as the four of us strolled through the platform, observing different motifs arranged around us that displayed various themes of Indian, specifically Gujarati, history. "Local legend says that this is where Lord Krishna rescued many Gopis, hence giving its name to this lake. But according to historical accounts, it was actually built by a merchant named Malik Gopi in the sixteenth century."

"How come you know all that? I thought you hated history?" Karan remarked, looking at him curiously.

"Well..." he trailed off, a hint of pink appearing on his face. "Alia loves the subject...so I thought I should start paying attention to it."

Karan looked positively amused at his admission. "I thought you hated her habit of 'babbling' random facts?"

"He told you that?" I questioned Karan, butting into the conversation. "My my Aryan, I think Alia should know about your aversion to her 'babbling'."

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Kian trying to hold in his chuckles. I ended up doing the same when Aryan's ears turned completely red.

"Okay cut it out," he snapped, still blushing. "And if you tell her anything Ash, then I'll poison your stash of Kit Kats."

His threat rang on empty ears as we laughed loudly. Karan patted his back while shaking his head patronisingly, "you're more whipped than cake mix."

Aryan gave in and let out a small smile once we resumed walking, rolling his eyes occasionally as we continued to tease him for another twenty minutes. Bored of that part of the complex, Aryan and Karan decided to go zip lining. I was about to follow them, just to watch because I wasn't particularly fond of hanging in midair, when Kian pulled me towards the opposite direction.

"Where are we going?" I quizzed as he turned left and walked to some sort of ticket counter, with me trying to keep up.

He didn't answer, just simply handed some bills to the lady operating the counter who gave him two tokens. That was when my eyes landed on the board beside us.

"We're going boating?"

"No," he turned around, handing me a token. "We're going paddling."

An excited smile appeared on my face and I quickly grabbed the life jackets the lady had held out. We speed walked to the yellow paddle boat which was parked on the outline of the lake and Kian got in first.

It bobbed precariously when I stepped after him, tightly clutching his fingers. When both my feet were safely resting on its wobbly surface, Kian let go of my hand and settled on the left plastic seat, with me sitting on its twin on the right.

We paddled in amicable silence, occasionally throwing pieces of bread crumbs at the ducks. The sky was dominated by a soft hue of blue, streaked with the setting sun's orange beams. The overwhelming heat which had marked the majority of the day's temperature had finally broken as calming breeze, along with our boat, created light ripples in the otherwise still water.

Kian ended the quiet. "Why was Rads upset? Did she tell you anything?"

I shook my head. "She has been acting weird all year you know? Crying in washrooms, hiding stuff from me and Vivaan too I guess, getting worked up over small things." Shifting the handle and steering our boat away from another, I continued, "I have no idea what to do."

"Sometimes," Kian began slowly, absently running his hands through the water, "we need to let people figure out their lives on their own." He sounded distant, forlorn, as if he was speaking from experience.

Maybe, I realised, he was.

"Isn't Kanishk acting strange too these days?" I asked gently.

Kian let out a hollow laugh at my words. "Strange?" he rasped, "that is a huge understatement. He's been regularly drinking his weight every day since the past nine months. And I've stopped trying to help him."

It was true. Recently, whenever I saw Kian's brother, he was either nursing a bottle or scowling at me whilst walking on tipsy legs. But I had assumed that it was a phase.

"Why though? He was in business school right? What went wrong?"

Kian shrugged. "He won't tell me anything. And my parents stopped asking after the first time, which is infuriating because he might divulge whatever the problem is if they act interested, but they don't."

He moved the handle and turned our boat towards the makeshift dock, paddling furiously, as if trying to channel his emotions in that exercise. I remained tight-lipped, knowing that he wasn't done talking. He slowed down after a while.

"Have I ever told you about my sister?"

That caught my attention. "You have a sister?"

"Had," he corrected me, his voice devoid of emotion. "She was my twin. While I was born healthy, she had a hole in her heart, one that proved to be fatal. She died when we were seven months old."

"I'm sorry...I didn't know," was all I managed to say, though he didn't pay heed to my words.

"I don't remember her, at all. Neither does Kanishk. After all, he was about two and a half years old when that happened. No one grieved her apart from my parents, and they're still grieving."

If I wasn't wrong, he sounded bitter. Though instead of focusing on that, I couldn't help but think about why he had never talked about this before, neither with me nor Karan. Had he bottled this for months? Years maybe? Did anyone in his previous school know? A pang went through my chest when I thought about him alone even while surrounded by people.

"Earlier, till I was fourteen I believe and Kanishk hadn't gone to college, him and I were like partners, always there for each other. Since in the process of mourning for my sister, a pure soul I never got to know or love, my parents forgot about their two other sons." He sucked in a shaky breath, absently staring at a pair of ducks fighting over a small piece of bread. "As I grew up I kind of started...blaming myself. My parents already had a son, they didn't need another, and it was a daughter that would've completed their family. I started thinking that if I was the one who had passed away, instead of their daughter, then my mom and papa would've moved on quickly."

"Kian no, that's not—"

"—true I know." He sighed, paddling faster along with me. We were a few metres away from the dock where all the boats were kept. "But a nine year old me didn't know any better. I was a self destructive kid, one who had been called to the principal's office more times than the entire student body combined. Teachers hated me for answering back, the older kids loved thrashing me for ripping their notebooks, ones which had elaborate diagrams of naked women, I myself was quite a bit of a bully and punching noses was my speciality."

Strangely enough, there was a tinge of nostalgia as he narrated his past deeds, as if he was amused by his antics as a young boy.

"My brother, on the other hand, was the star of the school and perhaps the only reason why I hadn't been kicked out for everything I did. It was, after all, the most prestigious boys' academy of Dehra Dun. The last thing they needed was a runt running around and ruining its reputation," he added bitterly.

I barely registered that we had reached the dock and had to get out. Kian's shocking revelations had left me tongue-tied. He got out first, followed by me. I didn't let go of his hand even after I stepped out, offering him the emotional support he needed. He gave me a tiny smile and together, we walked towards a bench, settling down. His thumb lightly traced the outline of my fingernails as he finished his story.

"It was Kanishk who made me want to change. When my mother sentenced me to bed without dinner, it was him who sneaked buttered chapattis and curd into my room. When my father demanded that I better my grades without bothering to clear my doubts, it was my brother, a boy only two years my senior, who sat me down and made me memorise tables. I changed not out of concern for my parents' reputation but because I wanted to make my big bro proud."

"You have made him proud Kian. I'm sure of it."

"Have I? I don't know...but I'm certain that I've let him down. He's the one who lost right now and I have no clue how to help him. I've tried asking so many times but even when he's completely smashed and shitfaced, he won't tell me anything." For a guy only eighteen, Kian looked so much older. I could see exhaustion hidden on his handsome features, his usually straight posture sagging a little. "I haven't had a proper conversation with him since the past month. My parents have already given up on him without even trying. They've given up on both of us I guess. And I just want him to be happy again."

I didn't know what to say to that. My own family was so close knit that at times it was impossible to untangle my thoughts from that of my parents', if that made any sense. To imagine four people living within the confines of four walls and yet remaining so distant from each other was beyond my mind's capacity. Yet, this boy beside me had been living that life for how long I didn't know. Perhaps that was why he found refuge in the stars. They were light-years away and still close to his heart, just like his family.

The thought made me shift in my place and wrap my arms him, giving him the warmest hug I could manage. He welcomed the contact and buried his face in my hair, breathing in deeply.

"Why didn't you ever say something before?" I murmured, my mouth a hair's breath away from the shell of his ear, and felt him slightly shiver against me.

"It never came up," he said, pulling away to scan my face. "And to be honest, it doesn't bother me. I've sorta learned to live with it."

I realised I was practically on his lap and people were watching. Moving away completely, I took his hand again and stood up, pulling him with me. "Well, I'll make sure that you and your brother become bffs again if that's the last thing I do."

A light laugh escaped from his lips at my declaration. He sounded cheerful again.

                                                                                    {[]}

Kian and I were the last ones to arrive at the Maison hotel. The rest of them had taken the other cab home. The ride back was filled with more tales of his shenanigans in Dehra Dun. How he used to bunk school to hang out in the mountains, how he had released a frog from the biology lab into the canteen and created havoc during lunch, how he had stolen his third grade's report card from the drawer of his class teacher so that she had nothing to give to his parents in the PTM and many, many more such incidents.

By the time we finally stepped out the car, my stomach was in stitches from the constant laughter that his stories had caused. He was also grinning; all sorts of tiredness that was present on his face earlier had vanished.

He followed me to my room even though his own was on the opposite side of the floor. When I pointed this out he simply shrugged and said, "just let me play the gentleman this once and escort you to your door."

I couldn't say I was against that myself idea so I didn't argue further.

As we moved nearer to the door, loud voices reached our ears, coming from my room. Frowning, I rushed over and frantically searched for my card in my cross-bag.

"YOU DON'T GET TO DICTATE MY LIFE, DID YOU HEAR THAT VIVAAN?"

"AND YOU DON'T HAVE TO BE A BITCH ABOUT EVERYTHING, STOP OVERREACTING!"

"HOW DARE YOU?

Something heavy hit the door from the inside, as if someone had chucked a stone against it. Vivaan's outraged voice followed the loud 'bump'.

"ARE YOU FREAKIN CRAZY?! THAT COULD'VE HIT ME!"

I finally found the key and swiped it over the lock, pushing the door open. In a split second, I saw a metal cup zooming towards me and ducked reflexively.

Only for it to hit Kian on the forehead and knock him out cold.

                                                                                    {[]}

Hello awesome peeps!!

5300 words approx

This was long overdue, I know. Really, really sorry.

Shout out to the lovely reluctantbibliophile for designing the beautiful cover above and for being the best birthday twin a girl could ask for. I had originally planned to release this on our birthday but...well, laziness trapped me, yet again xD

Thank you so much love! ♥♥

Also, this isn't the last late update. Even though I want to finish this book as soon as possible, I can't make it my priority at the moment. I'll complete it, certainly, but it may take longer than planned. You see, it's class twelfth for me this year and my workload and drastically increased. Hope you guys understand. Again, I'm sorry in advance.

Anywho, if you all liked this chapter then please, 

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