Aarohi's POV:

Five days earlier

"So you're going on a date with him?" Aish asks Roshni, while Hanshu looks at them, her eyes glinting in excitement. I follow them, not really into the conversation. We are walking on the college ground, and everybody is in a rush, except for the four of us. College is about to start in ten minutes.

"Oh yeah!" Roshni exclaims. "I mean, he's so cute, I couldn't say no to him, could I?"

"This is amazing!" Hanshu gushes excitedly. "We'll go to my place after college is over, and then we're gonna transform you! And he's gonna be stunned looking at you!"

"Because you would be doing the make up?" Aish teases Hanshu. "I'm pretty sure he'd be wondering why he's taking Grawp on a date."

Hanshu glares at Aish. "Oh c'mon! You guys know I'm brilliant with such things! Not even her parents would be able to recognise her."

"Let's leave her parents out of this", I say, a little coldly. "They probably won't approve of her going on a date with him."

Roshni, Aish and Hanshu look at me weirdly.

"My mom knows", Roshni says, sounding a little hurt and I feel guilty immediately. "She even called Sahil home and spoke politely with him. She approves."

I lower my gaze from her piercing one. "I'm sorry Roshni", I say in a low voice. "I'm really glad that your mom approves."

"It's okay", Roshni says in an offhand manner. "I'm just a little hurt that you would think that I make bad choices when it comes to guys."

My eyes widen. "Oh no! That's not what I meant! I'm so sorry!"

Aish looks at me carefully and says, "What happened at your place yesterday Ro? Did things go well with Mayur and your parents?"

"Oh it was fantastic", I say, sarcasm dripping from every word. "That's exactly why my boyfriend almost broke up with me yesterday, and I locked myself inside my room, and I left home without talking to anybody!" I don't realise that my voice is rising with every word, and Roshni, Hanshu and Aish flinch visibly, but they don't say anything.

I don't think I've ever been this angry before. Never in my life had I imagined my parents not only insulting the one guy who truly likes me for who I am, but also insulting my intelligence. Mayur has been a sweetheart till now. He was still a senior in college when we met, and he had only recently asked me out. We had gone on three dates and he was the perfect gentleman- pulling chairs for me, opening the car door for me, taking interest in all the nerdy and geeky stuff that I am into. I truly like him. Never before has anybody listened to me like that.

Mayur has always been sweet. Even our love story is sweet. I remember the time I ran into him and almost fell over, only to be stopped from hitting the ground by him. He was nice to me, he apologised and even picked up my scattered notes, saw that I was okay, and left.

What is wrong with my parents? Why did they have to go to such extreme levels?! Yes I know he's Dev Raina's son and Dev Raina was mom's ex boyfriend, but Mayur is nothing like Dev. Now, I don't know exactly what happened between mom and Dev, but it can't have been that bad!

And now Mayur is refusing to talk to me. Can you blame him though?! The guy was just insulted by my parents and thrown unceremoniously out of the house! I said sorry a million times to him last night. He said he needed some alone time. He hasn't contacted me since last night.

My life officially sucks. As if being labelled as a freaky nerd in college isn't enough already. As if being bullied by the popular kids isn't enough. As if being called an ugly duckling isn't enough. For once in my life I felt beautiful and pretty around Mayur. He always kept reminding me how attractive I am. For once, I was the one to date a gorgeous guy. Not some guy who had braces and breath issues and was dared to ask me out in tenth grade. Urgh!

People think being the child of a Prince and a successful fashion designer must be like a cakewalk. Well here, in my college, nobody cares. It's one of the topmost colleges in the country and is completely elite- which means you either get in through scholarship, or pay your way in.

Fortunately for me, I got a scholarship. Don't get me wrong, my parents are rich, but I'd rather be on a scholarship. So were Aish, Hanshu and Roshni. That's why we were immediately outcasts. All the others screamed money.

The college of engineering is just a small part (and when I say small, I mean huge in terms of acres) of our massive, prestigious University. Aish and me are studying electrical engineering, while Hanshu and Roshni are studying computer science.

We reach the college premises and walk towards our lockers, and the warning bell rings.

I look at my three best friends who are looking at me as if I'm going to explode any moment. I can't blame them. I had opened my locker pretty furiously and slammed it just as angrily.

"See you guys later", Aish and I bid Hanshu and Roshni goodbye.

Just as we are about to reach our classroom, we are stopped in our tracks by Raveena and her minions- Sakshi and Tanya.

Let me tell you something about Raveena Oberoi. She's as beautiful as they come. And she doesn't even have to try. But her heart is made of thorns. And she doesn't have a brain. And she's definitely loaded. She is the Royalty, not just of this college, but of this entire University. She is her daddy's little princess- she drives a Lamborghini for Christ's sake, wears clothes that her mother sends her from Los Angeles, and gets her assignments done from nerds like us. Just not me.

And her faithful followers are just mini versions of her. Think Mean Girls- Raveena is Regina, smart, yes, just not that smart, but definitely evil; Sakshi is Gretchen just with actual brains, and Tanya is a perfect Karen duplicate from her head to her toenails. She can't tell the difference between an X and a Y axis.

I made the mistake of running into her highness on the first day of college and making her fall smack down on her ass. I did apologise, and it was a bit funny, until she got up and slapped me and pushed me down, which resulted in my glasses getting misplaced and my vision getting compromised. I'm like Velma from Scooby Doo if I lose my glasses. However, a minute later, I was helped on my feet and my glasses were kindly shoved on my nose by Aish. We instantly became friends.

Normally, I stand up to Raveena and her gulaab gang- well not just normally, I do that every single day. But it gets tiring because no matter how many witty comebacks you throw at her or how many times you remind her that she's one inch shorter than you are even with those heels and that you can take her down, she always makes you feel small. And the worst part is, everybody joins her in laughing at me. And not just at me, but at my best friends as well. Every single time. Either they really want to appease her in anyway, or they really do look down upon me and my friends- just because we are scholarship students.

And the worst part is, only the four of us in our engineering college are scholarship students. We are pretty much targeted every single day.

Some of them pity us but don't do anything to stop the constant bullying and dauntless taunting. Not even the Head of the Engineering College, let alone Dean of the University is willing to do anything. Raveena's parents probably have their pockets filled.

My parents know nothing of this because I like to fight my own battles.

So, when I see Raveena and Stupid A and Stupid B standing in front of me and Aish, I safely assume that they're not here to give us chocolates.

Although I'd kill for a chocolate right now. I'm really hungry and I haven't had breakfast.

"Excuse me", Aish says, knowing fully well that she wasn't going to be excused anyway. There is only one thing you need to know about Aishath- she's like a combination of Mother Teresa and Cameron Diaz in Charlie's Angels. She's the kindest, smartest and most practical person you can ever meet. But she's got this wild streak in her. I definitely know she has connections with the Italian mafia. Just kidding. But yeah, she can be really scary even though she's just five feet five inches tall.

Roshni is the girl every parent wishes for, and she also happens to be the girl every boy's parents would wish for. She's the perfect child. She's equally kind, but she's extremely sentimental. Well, not extremely, but let's just say that if your grandfather's second cousin's wife's uncle had a cat, and if that cat couldn't walk, then Roshni's lachrymose glands would get to work. Well, you get my point.

And then there's Hanshu. Hanshita is a combination of Shanaya Singhania in Student of the Year and Naina Talwar in Yeh Jawaani Hai Deewani. Basically, she will party the night before an exam and still ace the subject. And she is more dramatic than the daughter-in-law who wailed because her mother-in-law dropped an antique spoon, gifted to her by her grandmother, during some pooja. Basically, I wonder why she is studying engineering when she has a natural talent as a dramatist.

Anyway, back to the five feet seven inches barbie doll standing in front of me. Even with her Ralph and Russo heels, I tower on her. But I must admit, she isn't plastic in her looks. She is, in every way, as beautiful as a Princess. Which makes me even crankier, because if she were plastic, I could have made fun of her fake boobs or something.

Damn life is unfair.

Raveena smirks at me, clearly ignoring Aish. "What?" I snap. My quota of patience for the day is waning, and I am very disinterested in having a show down with the Beauty Queen right now. Atleast I can go to class and immerse myself in maths.

"Oh look, the Ugly Duckling's got a mouth on her", Raveena teases me, and I roll my eyes.

"Atleast I don't have somebody else's mouth on me all the frigging time", I retort. "What do you want, Raveena? I'm very busy right now, and I have to get to class."

Raveena laughs. "It's like you have no social life."

I put a hand on my heart, shocked. "Oh my God, you don't say!" I exclaim sarcastically. "Okay now, bbye. Go get a pedicure or something."

Aish sniggers next to me. Raveena's eyes flash to Aish for a second before she looks at me again. Sakshi honestly looks slightly amused while Tanya looks dumb. I really wonder why Sakshi is even with Raveena.

"Before I permit you to leave", Raveena begins, in a soprano, and I wince a little.

"Yes, your highness?" I ask, sardonically.

"I want you to know that I'm keeping an eye on you", she continues, ignoring me. "I want you to stay away from my boyfriend."

"How cliché", I yawn. "For the record, I've never even spoken to Raunak in my entire life."

"Raunak?" Raveena questions and then laughs. "No, not Raunak. Karthik. Karthik Pratap. I dumped Raunak long back."

"Didn't she just dump him yesterday?" Tanya asks Sakshi and Sakshi just shushes her.

I grit my teeth in irritation. The bell rings and I grab Aish's hand, and push Raveena out of my way, and we hurry inside the classroom. I don't even bother looking back to see if Raveena has fallen or not. Thankfully our professor hasn't arrived yet.

I look around and groan. There are only two seats available- one beside Raunak, Raveena's ex, and one beside Karthik, Raveena's present. I plead Aish to sit next to Karthik as I plop down next to Raunak. This is exactly why I always make it a point to come to class early.

I glance at Aish and see Karthik looking at me. Once he catches my eye, he smirks. I glare at him and pointedly look away from him.

Arrgh. Karthik Pratap. I hate that guy with each and every cell inside my body.

Karthik and I were friends since childhood. Best friends, actually. We used to play together, have our meals together, our families used to go for outings together, we used to even study together.

But that was before high school ended. After high school, Karthik and I got into different junior colleges, and we didn't spend as much time together as we used to before.

Simply because Karthik transformed into a pighead. He suddenly became a lot popular, had tonnes of friends, had six girlfriends in two years, and forgot me.

During the earlier months, we met frequently, but then he became so busy, that whenever I used to ask him whether he could hang out with me, he gave me hundreds of excuses. During our family weekly get together however, he used to act all normal, with not even a trace of apology on his perfect face. I was tired of his on and off, capricious behaviour.

When I finally had enough, I had approached him determinedly, just before my higher secondary education board exams. He was sitting on his bike with a bunch of guy  and girl friends, and there was a girl on his lap. Seeing that girl clinging to him like a creeper to a plant, made me see red. He was supposed to be my best friend!

I remember that day even now.

"Karthik", I said. "What are you doing here?"

I had asked Karthik if he could hang out and he had said he was busy with studies. I wasn't stupid. I knew his normal hang out place. I went there. I was deeply hurt to see that my suspicions were right. Karthik had blown me off and lied to me.

He looked at me, surprised to see me. It didn't take a genius to figure out that he hadn't even noticed me before I called his name. He was so engrossed in his new girlfriend. It really hurt.

He flashed me a look which clearly said, "Not now."

But I wasn't going anywhere.

"Euw Karthik", the girl had said. "Why is she talking to you? Do you know her?"

He had just stayed silent, and was drawing circles on the girl's back, as if soothing her, his eyes neither meeting mine nor hers.

"Answer her Karthik", I said, clenching my hands.

He looked at me, his eyes pleading, but I was as intransigent as a chewing gum stuck to a tar road.

"No", he said, his eyes closed and it hurt me. It hurt me so bad that he would choose these popular kids, these kids who were superficial, over someone he had been best friends with for more than ten years. Just to seem cool.

I closed my eyes as I didn't want to cry. Not in front of him. Not in a million years. I didn't want him to see how much his words had affected me.

"Go away", the girl said. "Choo." It was as if she was talking to somebody beneath her.
And Karthik wasn't even saying anything as the others were laughing.

It really hurt me. I had lost my best friend that day.

I turned around and ran, as fast as my legs could carry.

I could hear Karthik approaching me, calling my name, asking me to wait.

But he had betrayed me. I wasn't going to wait for him to give me some sorry ass apology, especially not when he didn't mean it. I hired a cab and the next minute, was out of his sight.

I didn't answer any of his calls, didn't reply to any of his texts, didn't even acknowledge his presence during our family gatherings. I pretty much kept to myself.

For me, betrayal is the last straw in any relationship. I don't give people second chances to hurt me again.

Karthik has tried his best to talk to me, but I wouldn't. I was really glad that junior college was over. The ordeal was terrible, especially the last months. My happiness was short lived when I realised that Karthik was in my college, and that he too, had opted for electrical engineering.

He tried to talk to me during the first semester, but I wouldn't budge. Then he had taken to tormenting me just like the rest. Not exactly tormenting per se, but yeah, definitely taunting.

Seeing his smirk makes me want to hit him so bad. Asshole. What does he think of himself?

So what if is he is smart, funny, witty and undeniably good looking? So what if he is the most popular guy in the entire University? So what if he is considered to be a sex God and girls fawn over him like crazy?

He's still a stupid pighead.

Fortunately the professor enters and starts teaching maths, and I smile in peace. Maths has always driven away all the negative thoughts from my head. We have a surprise test and the professor has given us an hour and a half to solve it. The lecture is usually of three hours.

Once we start solving problems, I feel somebody nudge me and say "Psst! Nerd!"

I turn to my side and see Raunak looking at me. Rather at my answer sheet. I know he wants to know how I am solving the sums.

Just to humour him, I say, "Yeah?"

"What's the answer for the third one?"

He's still stuck on the third question? I finished that like an hour ago. We just have half an hour left now.

"I'll tell you if you tell me my name", I smile widely and he blinks for a second, and then smiles sheepishly and turns red and says, "Einsteinette?"

I roll my eyes. There's no more originality left in this world.

"Good try, but no", I respond and get back to my problem.

"C'mon please", he begs in a whisper. "I'll pay you!"

I snort loudly, and look ahead in panic to see that the professor's attention is in his mobile phone. Thank God.

I look at Raunak, but my line of vision catches somebody else looking at me, beyond Raunak. I see Karthik looking at me, slightly amused. I resist the urge to stick my tongue out just like old times; I just roll my eyes and focus on Raunak again.

"I will tell you if you tell me why you broke up with Raveena", I grin wickedly.

You should know exactly how to play your cards.

He flushes, and I swear I've never seen anybody go that red before.

He seems to be in some sort of a mental dilemma. He looks at me and whispers, "I will tell you but in exchange you have to give me all the answers. And you have to keep this to yourself." He then looks horrified and mutters, "You know what? Forget it. I don't wanna tell you. I'll just ask somebody else for the answers."

I laugh silently. It seems to be a huge deal for him. "Alright, don't get your panties in a twist", I murmur and his eyes go wide and he turns even more red. He's like a glowing beacon.

And then suddenly I know. It's not that hard to figure out, really. "She had issues with your size, didn't she?" I whisper and he looks at me frantically and says, "Shut up! Not so loud! Who told you?"

Mwahahaha. I'm pure evil. But I'm not that bad.

"Relax", I say, feeling a little sympathetic towards him. "I won't tell a soul. And here. You can copy my answers. Just do it in a way that the teacher won't know. I'm done with all the problems."

I discreetly shift my sheet towards him and he looks at me gratefully and whispers, "Thanks Aarohi."

My eyes widen in surprise. "You knew my name?"

He grins a little sheepishly again. "It's hard to forget the name of the person your ex girlfriend continuously picked on. You're a cool girl. Really." He gives me a genuine smile and I smile back at him, a little stunned.

What just happened? Come to think of it, Raunak had never teased or bullied me or even laughed at me. Poor guy. He seems nice.

Again my eyes fall on Karthik, who is staring at me again, however, frowning this time. Oh for crying out loud! Look somewhere else, pighead!

I mouth "What?" at him and his frown just deepens.

Pighead.

Soon, the test and the lecture is over. At the end of the lecture, Raunak takes my number and tells me that we should hang out sometime. It's all very weird. Aish looks at me and Raunak, unable to believe her eyes. Raunak even smiles at Aish, who looks shocked, and bids us goodbye.

Aish and I head towards the cafeteria for lunch and my phone vibrates. It's a message from Mayur. My heartbeats increase and my palms feel clammy.

Meet me outside your college premises now.

I show Aish the text. She nods her head in understanding and I sprint towards the college grounds, excited to see Mayur. He has never met me in college before. I really hope things would be okay between us now.

"Hey", he smiles brightly, as I approach him. He is leaning on his shiny Volvo and he wraps me in a hug.

"Aarohi", he tells me as soon as he lets me go. "I'm sorry. I'm sorry I didn't reply and I'm sorry if I hurt you before. I'm really sorry. Your parents behaviour was not justified, but it's okay. I want a new start for us."

I look at him, and smile widely. I am so glad he wants to put all of this behind him. "I want a new start for us too, Mayur."

He hugs me tightly once again, lifting me off my feet. "I'm so happy babe. I'll pick you up tomorrow morning. Pack your bags tonight and tomorrow-"

"Hold on", I interrupt him, astonished. "What do you mean, pack your bags tonight? Where are we going?"

"Goa", he says, as if it was clearly implied earlier.

"Goa?" I repeat stupidly. "Why are we going to Goa?"

"For our fresh new start!" He replies, smiling widely. "I want us to spend some quality time together in Goa and get this relationship back on track."

I look at him in shock. "But Mayur- my parents would never allow me! And what about college? Moreover, I don't have enough money to-"

"Shhh", Mayur cuts off my rant. "Babe it's all gonna be okay. Listen to me. You are an adult now. You shouldn't let your parents control your life. Tell your parents that you are having a sleepover at one of your friend's place. Then sneak out and meet me. By tomorrow evening, we'll be in Goa having fun. C'mon babe! I'm not even asking you to spend anything! Just live your life a little! With me. Please?" He gives me a puppy-eyed dog look and I blush.

Mom ran off with dad on an impromptu visit to Karwar to meet Riddhi maasi (aunt) without informing Naanu (grandpa) and Naani (grandma). Why shouldn't I?

Screw rationality, I want to do this too!

I look at my boyfriend who is looking at me with hopeful eyes. "Alright!" I smile and he hugs me again and pecks my cheek and I blush.

He tells me he will contact me about the time when he would pick me up, and leaves. I'm dancing in my head with giddiness.

I'm going to Goa! I cannot believe this!!

I suddenly feel alive.

On my way back inside the premises, I run into Karthik. I blame my scattered thoughts and day dreams.

I ignore him. I'm not going to let anybody spoil my perfect mood. I'm going to Goa with my boyfriend!! I can barely contain myself.

As I am walking ahead, Karthik calls out. "Seriously?"

I turn around and see him looking at me, a little annoyed. "What?" I snap.

"The Volvo dude? Seriously?" He says. "I thought you had better sense than that."

"Like when I was your friend?", I say and he immediately shuts up. "It's none of your business anyway."

He looks highly frustrated for some reason. "Listen Lizzie, I know that guy and he isn't-"

"Don't call me that!" I almost yell. "You have no right to call me that!"

I turn around and leave, not bothering to listen to him.

How dare he? How dare he call me that after so many years?

Karthik and I had watched Pride and Prejudice together in school, and I had always wished for a Mr. Darcy. So in the end, Karthik had ended up calling me "Lizzie". I had loved that nickname.

He's such a pighead. God I couldn't hate him more.

My phone vibrates again. Another message from Mayur.

Today night at nine thirty outside your house. I'll pick you up. Tell your parents that you are sleeping at one of your friend's place and that she is picking you up. Meet me around the corner of your street. Don't be late. I can't wait babe. See you.

And that's how, ladies and gentleman, I found myself being ushered inside Mayur's apartment to rest for the night before our journey to Goa the next day.

~*~*~
"So let me get this straight", Karthik says. "You left for Goa because you wanted to get a fresh start with your boyfriend? Even after dating him for less than a month and knowing absolutely nothing about him?"

I nod my head, slightly ashamed. I told Karthik the story till now, just keeping out the part about him, and Raveena and her idiots, and Raunak. Just everything pertaining to Mayur.

"How stupid are you?" He asks me, fiercely. "For somebody who got admission through scholarship, you are pretty dumb."

I glare at him. "Hey!"

"I'm not wrong Aarohi", he replies calmly. "If I was wrong, I wouldn't be here."

"Don't get so cocky", I snap.

He sighs, and then exclaims a little. "Wait! The night that you spent with him- he didn't try anything with you, did he?"

"God no!" I almost yell. "We both went to bed early. Separate beds. I insisted on sleeping separately. Everything was okay. He was a perfect gentleman and he made me breakfast."

Karthik heaves a sigh of relief. "That's good to know. Or else..."

I glare at him. "Why does my virginity concern you anyway? So what if I slept with him?"

Karthik goes still for a minute and then starts laughing. "Sure nerd. Whatever floats your boat."

I bite back my retort because he is right. I forget that he knows me. He knows I wouldn't just sleep around.

I continue my story.

"So then the next morning, Mayur and I are at one of his friend's house...."