I had become this living zombie. Everyone gave me space and sympathy. The guys were all with me. They understood my pain and usually tried to give me sympathy and console me.

Ayisha and I had somehow become friends instead of a couple. She understood and respect my feelings for Jai.

"I should have guessed it." She said to me. "The way you looked at Jai was different." She shook her head. "But I guess Jai was a really good actor. No one would doubt that Jai was a girl."

Only a few people still knew that Jai was a girl. The guys and Ayisha. I asked them to keep it a secret. I did not want to start any nasty rumours. She and I lived in a room for almost three years anyway. So it was not good to give people things to talk about. And they kept their word. They did not tell anyone. That was the least they could do to honour Jai's friendship.

Someone from Gauri's company had come to take care of Jai's dropout formalities at the school. They came to clear out the room as well. I watched as they took away her stuff. It pained more than I had expected. To see her things being taken away was like someone ripping away something important to me.

I finally asked if I can keep something for her memory. They said 'feel free'.

I went through her things.

I finally settled for a t-shit that held her smell the most, and her single photo from her brown notebook.

I watched as they cleared out the room. And when they were done, I felt kind of half-empty like the room now was. The guys came to look at the room and Happy even broke into tears. I was glad he was crying. Because I could not. I was past tears. Now it just hurts deep inside somewhere. And it felt like it was going to last for some time.

Then...

Days went on without Jai. Time was cruel. It just goes on no matter what. So days stretched into weeks and months. Days and months without Jai.

Mom and dad came to visit me one weekend. I ended up telling them about Jai as well. About how she was a girl all along. They understood.

"And I guess I will study business management," I told my parents. "Because if survives all this, she might need my help in running the company. And I don't know how any 18 years old can run a company alone. So I want to be there for her. I want to be there for the people I love in my life. That's what my dream had been. Always." I told mom and dad.

They nodded. They understood me.

I tried to concentrate on my studies to distract myself and keep myself busy so as I don't feel the pain. It was easy to bury myself in my studies. I was doing about 500 maths problems per day now. I mostly refrained from going back to the room. It felt really weird to go to the room which did not have Jai in it. So I mostly stayed in the common room when I was in the hostel. Sometimes I even fell asleep in the common room while studying.

And when sometimes late at night, when I had reached the limit of studying, I lay my head down on the desk. But I could not fall asleep. That is when tears begin to hit again...

I missed her. Really so much... 

I sat looking at the sea on the beach. I was transferred to this beach house that was owned by one of the employees of the company. It was remotely located in Goa. I had no phone or outside contact other than the maid who comes to cook and clean sometimes.

I took the sand in my hand and let it drop through my fingers. I was still wearing my friendship band. It was something I asked for the first thing after waking up from the operation.

My shoulder did not hurt anymore. And I was free to wear girl clothes now. Which I was wearing now. After years of only wearing male clothes, I expected that I would feel uncomfortable in female clothing. But I was surprisingly at home in them. It felt nice to be a girl. It felt pressure-less. Free.

I wrapped my hand around my knees and sat looking at the sea. The waves lashed out to the sand. I tilted my head to my knee. Mostly I am alone like this. There was nothing to keep me busy. And that means nonstop thoughts of a certain person.

I missed him. Really really a lot.

But somehow, the thoughts of him soothed me as well. They felt like my strength to hold up.

"Dude, take a break," Dhruv said dropping to the seat in front of me. "You are going to die like this." Varun joined Dhruv on the hand rest of Dhruv's chair.

I shook my head. "I am fine."

"No. You are not," Varun said. "You are heartbroken. You are in pain. You miss her. Admit it."

I felt annoyed.

"Okay, so that's it. What do you want me to do about that?" I asked. "I can't even see her. Or talk to her. If only I could see her once."

"Then go see her," Varun said.

"I can't do that," I said. "I might be followed."

"There is a way for everything, Veer," Dhruv said. "If there is a will there is a way. We can help you."

"What?" I asked.

"We can help you get out of here without anyone even noticing that you are gone. In a way, they won't see you go." Varun said. "It's something Dhruv and I thought out. And I am sure Happy and Sahil will be more than willing to help you. We can get you out at night. Secretly. No one will know. You won't be travelling by train or bus or any public transport. You know my dad owns a taxi service company, right? I can talk to my dad and get you a car and a driver. They can take you anywhere, by road. The plan is gonna work."

"Well unless Jai is abroad," Dhruv said.

But I was getting excited about this now. I can see her???

"And while you are gone, we are going to make sure that no one knows you are gone. We say you have a fever." Varun said. "We will pretend that you are still in your room."

I nodded. "Thanks, guys," I said. "I can't tell you how much this means to me."

"Well, we were bored by seeing you on the verge of death," Dhruv said. "So we had to do something."

I smiled.

But the problem is that I don't know Jai's location. She could be anywhere. And the even bigger task was to pry out the information from Keerthi ma'am. 

"I know..." I argued to Keerthi ma'am. "But I won't be caught." We were having a strategy meeting in my room. Happy, Varun, Dhruv, Sahil and I. I had put Keerthi ma'am on the loudspeaker.

"We can make sure he is not caught," Dhruv assured her.

"Please. He deserves this after all that they have been through together." Varun argued.

"Please agree madamji. You will if you see our poor Veer right now." Happy said. "The boy is falling apart. You will feel sorry for him." He need not have exaggerated that far. But...

"Okay fine..." Keerthi ma'am finally said. "But I am not telling her location to all of you boys. I am telling only to Veer. And Veer, you are supposed to keep it to yourself."

"Done. More than enough." I said, unable to believe in the luck.

"And I would need all the details of your plan," She said. "To make sure there are no potholes."

"Yes. Okay..." I said. I was feeling like life was coming back to me again. 

"Are we there yet?" I asked the driver impatiently. The first thing I do when I become 18 is to learn how to drive and get my driving license. Because I felt pretty useless right now.

"There are still a few more hours to go, son," The driver said.

"Can you drive any faster?" I asked.

"You don't want to die on the way, do you?" He asked.

"No. But can you drive a little bit faster?" I asked. "So that we can reach, I don't know even a few minutes early?"

"What difference will a few minutes make?"

"You don't understand. I have not seen my girlfriend in two months. I am dying to see her." 

The car stopped in front of a big resort-like house. I jumped out of the car as soon as it stopped. I ran to the front door. It was open. So I ran inside.

"Jai..." I called in loud voice. "Jai..."

Okay, maybe I should try the other name. "Gauri..." I yelled. But she did not come. "Gauri...where are you???"

A middle-aged lady came out from the kitchen. "Madam is outside." She said.

"Outside?" I asked impatient. "Outside as in just outside the house, or she went somewhere..."

"She might be in the garden." The lady said.

"Okay. Thank you..." I hastily told the lady and ran out.

The place was like huge. I could not find her in the immediate vicinity. 

I was at the beach. I think I heard the rumble of a car. So I look back at the house and began to walk back to it. I saw the car. I thought maybe its Keerthi didi. A driver was in the car. I looked around.

"Who came in the car?" I asked the driver.

"A teenage boy." The driver said.

I raised my eyebrow confused. Who?? Then I heard his voice in a distance... Calling my name.

An excitement passed through me. Surely not...

"Jai... Jai, where are you?" I yelled at the top of my voice. "Gauri..."

"Veer..." I heard behind me. I spun around so fast.

It was Veer. Veer was here. He broke into a smile when he saw me. I couldn't move. But there was no need. He ran to me. He lifted me up in a hug of excitement and happiness and swirled me around.

"What are you doing here?" I asked, breathless. I was so so so happy to see him. Only now I realized how much I missed him. 

She was finally in my arms. I was so damn happy. Without waiting to reply to her question, I kissed her. 

He kissed me. I wrapped my hand around his neck and kissed him back, intensely. I was so much dying for this. I missed him so much.

We kissed for a long time. We couldn't stop. I let her down on the ground and, my hand wrapped around her waist tightly, as I pulled her close to me; deepening the kiss.

My insides erupted in fireworks. Even when this was not our first kiss... this felt like the first one. And I did not want this to end ever. I had so many questions for him. How did he find me? How come he is here? How were the others? How was school? But those could wait. Everything could wait. 

I pressed my forehead to Jai's when we were done kissing. I could not keep a smile away from me. She was smiling too. Then I began to notice things about her. Her hair was a slight bit longer. Not a lot. But it was a bit of an awkward length now. And she was wearing girl clothes. A pair of denim shorts and a white top.

"You are wearing girl clothes," I stated. Just a statement.

"Yeah." She said, breathless. Her hand was still wrapped around my neck.

He moved back and looked at me. "Should I call you Jai or Gauri now?" He asked.

"Doesn't matter," I shook my head. It never mattered. Jai and Gauri were the same person. Always. "Call whatever you want to call." I went to kiss him again. I placed my hand on his jaw and neck and kissed him. He kissed me back at once. And we were kissing again.

And we could not stop once again... I didn't want this to stop either. 

After a while, I stopped kissing and hugged him instead. I pressed my head to Veer's chest and stood there. And he tilted his head to the top of my head.

"I missed you." He said.

"I missed you too," I said. I looked up at him. "How did you come here?"

He smiled. "With sheer determination and a lot of help." He said. "Long story. I'll tell you but... let me take a proper look at you first. Make sure you are okay."

"I am okay. I am fine. The wound is all healed." I pointed at my shoulder. The scar is kind of still there though. But it's under the top. So he can't see anyway. So we just looked at each other for a minute. Studying each other.

Veer looked a bit tired. Like a bit less handsome. As if he was not eating well or sleeping well for a few days. I guess I was the reason. 

She looked amazing as always. Healthy enough. That was good. There was enough colour on her cheeks, and she looked in good condition. And she looked pretty as always. Aaaannd...chest was no longer bound. I guess it will stay like that now.

And she was still wearing our friendship band. I liked that. Because I was still wearing mine too. 

The silence was getting weird now. "Okay, how is everyone?" I asked without able to hold back anymore. "How is Happy? And Varun and Dhruv and Sahil...? And Ayisha?"

"They are good." He said. Then he hesitated. "They know you are a girl now."

That came unexpectedly. "Huh?" I asked. Crap... Now they know I have lied to them as well?? I did lie to them. Betrayed them.

"Hey... They are totally cool." Veer said. "I told them you had no choice. They understand."

"They do?" I asked with doubt.

"Yeah." He said. "They helped me come here. They still like you."

Oh, thank god. I was scared.

Veer came closer and touched my cheek. "It's weird seeing you like this."

"Like what?"

"Like a girl."

"My hair is still short." I pointed out.

"Yeah. But you totally look like a girl now." He said.

"You have seen me as a girl before." I pointed out.

"Yeah. But this is different. That felt temporary. Like we had stepped into a dream. This feels permanent. This feels real. And I know this is going to stay this way from now on. So...yeah, it's slightly weird. But it's a good weird though. I like you as a girl." He put his hand to my neck. It tingled where he touched.

If we keep looking at each other we would start kissing again. And that is going too much. "Eh...Why are we standing outside?" I asked. "Come on in..." He nodded and we walked into the house. 

I stood in the washroom of the beach house and took a long breath. I was feeling okay after two months that felt like years. When I walked out, Gauri was in the kitchen instructing the lady about something to make. I walked to her and stood near her. I did not want to be away from her for even a second. She smiled at me. 

"Go watch some TV or something," I said to Veer. "I will come in a sec." Since Veer was here, I wanted to tell the maid to make some more food.

But he refused to move. He stayed near me. "I'll wait here." He said.

"No. Go..." I said.

"I don't want to be away from you for even a second." He said as he moved his finger over my finger. My insides clenched as I felt unable to resist my desires. He stepped closer to me. The maid was in the kitchen. So I grabbed Veer's hand and ran to my bedroom. 

Once the door closed we were kissing again. And laughing... 

I pushed him to the bed and got on top of him, "You didn't tell me how you got here." I reminded him.

"You didn't tell me how you got shot." He said, breathless. "I want to hear that story first. Because thank god the shooter missed the target. Or else..."

"He didn't exactly miss the target," I said. "I just got lucky."

"What?" Veer asked.

After the operation and during recovery, the blurry parts had become clear in my head and I remembered everything.

I sat up and Veer sat up facing me.

"There was a 100 rupees note on the ground. On the road. I bent to pick it up." I said to Veer. "So the bullet that was supposed to go here." I touched over my heart, "went here." I touched a few centimetres above on my shoulder, above my scar. "The shooter did not miss the target. I moved."

Thank god she moved... I could not even imagine if the bullet had hit over her heart.

"It still feels kind of weird," Gauri said, her hands wrapping around herself. "I mean, it's like I got soo so lucky... It's like some divine intervention or something. Like god was protecting me or something...." Then her face went a bit careful, "Or my parents... Like they were protecting me."

I smiled and took her hand in mine. "Maybe they were."

"Doesn't make sense. They are dead." She said.

"It doesn't have to make sense," I said. "Your parents were definitely protecting you. Or I was... Or Keerthi ma'am, and all those people in your company who are supporting you. Happy, Varun, Dhruv, Sahil... Everyone who loves you. Our feelings for you WERE protecting you. God would not have taken you away from all of us." I trailed my hand along her hand.   

I liked what he said. I liked the idea of my parents and all the people around me protecting me.

"You are not alone, Gauri..." Veer told me. "You never were. We are all here for you."

My eyes started to well up.

For the past 3 years, I had always thought of myself as alone. That I have got no one. But I guess there are people for me. Veer, who loves me more than anything. Keerthi didi, who is doing everything in her capability to help me. The guys back in school who forgave me despite my lies. I do have people.

"Hey..." Veer touched my cheeks. "Why are you crying?"

I shrugged. "I guess, I have to survive this till the end. I have to for all the people who are with me. I have to live."

"Of course, you have to." He moved his thumb over my cheek.

"No. I mean, I don't want to just live through this till I am 18. I have to make sure that I stay safe. That I can live freely till I am old or a grandma or something. I have to eliminate the root cause of the problem. I have to take him down." I was determined.

"Your uncle?" Veer asked.

I nodded. "We could not find much evidence that dad's accident was not an accident. But I was 'shot'. Being 'shot' cannot be covered as an accident. We have to prove he did it. That he hired the professional assassin." For that, we have to find that professional assassin. It's going to be a long tedious job. But I have to do it. I am not going to step into that company without getting my uncle arrested.

"Veer..." I called. 

"Hm?" I asked her.

"You know that I can't be in contact with you for my safety reason, right?" She asked. I nodded. I knew. I knew we have to separate again. That this time we have together now is just for some hours. It made me feel uneasy and pained. But... I have to deal with it.

"Your safety is more important than anything," I said. "I can deal with not seeing you for a few months."

"Maybe it's going to take more than a few months." She told. "I have to take uncle down. One way or another. I am going to try my best. I have to make sure that he is gone and there is no threat to my life again."

"Do that," I said. "I want you to do that. I want you to make sure any motherfucking bastard who is trying to kill you is behind the bars. So you do that."

I liked that I had his support. I nodded. "It may take time."

"Doesn't matter." He said. "Just that...when you are done dealing with all this shit, come find me. Promise you will?"

"Of course," I said. "I promise."

He smiled and we hugged. 

One Year and a Few Months Later...