[Flashback]

Her life had turned into a living nightmare. Betrayal, lies, heartbreak... was that all that had been left for her? Trust, happiness... did they really forget the way to her house? Was she really too innocent to exist with this world? Smile had forgotten its address and had been replaced by an empty loneliness forever lingering in her deep black eyes. Ajay's words still rang in her ears, crumbling her, striking her, every time she thought about that disturbing day. Aarushi had taken days off from school after her heated argument with Ajay last time; too broken to face him another time, too afraid to get her hopes up again after seeing him. Her parents had been sick worried after witnessing her terrible tears and refusal to talk.

Aarushi even after everything; couldn't bring herself to tell them anything about Ajay or his words. But her hesitation didn't extend to others, modifying their statements to sound more humane, she had let her parents know a few elements. Pramila and Raghvendra apart from consoling their daughter; had been considerably furious and demanded to have a talk with people Aarushi had mentioned.

Scared inviting a few more backslashes, Aarushi had eventually managed to talk her parents out of chiding people, assuring them that it wasn't a big deal and she would be fine in no time. Though she hated herself for still caring for that boy, but still somewhere, she still couldn't believe he had said all those things she had been told.

'Aarushi', Ajay's voice fell upon her ears as she walked through the corridor after her return to school that day. No, she won't turn back; she won't fall for his sweet words yet another time. 'Aarushi', his voice was more hastened and anxious as he halted before her. Aarushi didn't stop or spare a glance at him. He was nothing more than an invisible object for her. 'Aarushi, don't avoid me, please. It's not like what you are thinking, I had wanted to explain it all to you but you were absent these days', he continued desperately matching her pace.

'Will you please listen to me? For this once, please', he said blocking her way. Aarushi finally looked up to meet a pair of anxious and despaired black eyes. 'I had heard all I wanted to hear. Truth and lies, both; there's nothing left. As for you, well, I have really brilliant news to share with you. Just bear with me for another year, I am leaving this school after that. Finally there would be no one annoying the hell out of you', Aarushi said in a calm yet emotionless voice. She walked away leaving a dumbfounded Ajay.

'It's not only you, even I'm leaving after next year', he said staring at the ground below him. Aarushi turned around, thunderstruck. Her words weren't exactly a sham, her parents had previously considered changing schools for higher studies, it was almost certain by now. But hearing same thing from Ajay crashed a heavy stone right through her heart. A year, that's it?

'But that doesn't mean, I'll not clear up my name. Please just this once, listen to me', he said with eyes boring right through her soul, making her enter into an unconditional agreement. 'Just this once', Aarushi said careful to not crack her voice.

'Darsh told you all this nonsense, right? He had been sprouting nonsense about me ever since all these gossips began circulating. It's not only you, but others have also fallen for his trap. He is envious and manipulative, I had told you to avoid it all because people had came to me reporting all kinds of things I never said or did. You were already perturbed and emotionally at unrest by rumors, given the situation it would be no herculean task to manipulate you. Darsh... he... he took advantage of this fact to create ridge between you and me', Ajay said. Aarushi's mind told her to not trust his convincing words, but her heart, gave her no reason to not trust him.

'It wasn't only Darsh, Ajay... Juhi, Divya, Vaani... what about them? What makes you think I should trust your statements in front of all these people?', Aarushi asked impatiently.

'It makes no sense. It really makes no sense. I have no proof except my honest statements and my friends' words. I just know that I would never dream about saying all those things about you, never ever', his words were filled with unconditional resolve. 'If that's so then why didn't you deny your friend when he accused you of spreading false tales about me the other day?', Aarushi shot up.

'Because you blasted on me before I had a chance. Aarushi please... I would never do anything to hurt you intentionally. Trust me, will you?', he pleaded. Aarushi looked away. How can she still trust him? It would be stupidest act to do so after everything. She knows this, still why does she want to do this stupidity? Why does she want to trust his words more than others?

'I don't know if I should', she said, not meeting his eyes. What followed were moments of silence; Silence of their internal battles, silence of their doubt, hurt and resolve.

'I am sorry', Ajay broke the quietude. Aarushi turned her head towards him. Tears were streaking down his pretty face; his eyes were bloodshot and teary, bearing nothing else but a transparent mirror into his soul and an undeniable certificate for his every word.

'I am sorry, I said I would never hurt you, but maybe somehow I ended up hurting you unintentionally. But trust me, I didn't say nor did anything that you suspect me of. Please, believe me, Aarushi. I can never do anything that would damage you, please', Ajay's voice cracked as more tears flowed down his cheeks. In all her years as his classmate, never once had she seen him being a crying mess. He was always shining like sunshine or being too careless to care about things going around him. It was unlike Ajay Sanghvi to be so miserable, to be so vulnerable.

'I trust you, I really do', Aarushi said. She knew where the words came from. It wasn't her mind that spoke in that moment, it was her heart; it was the depth of her soul that overpowered her logistics and debates. Every tear that fell from his eye seizure a wound inside her heart, criticizing her, chastising her for being the reason behind his woe. She wanted to extend a hand and wipe away the teardrops, too precious and heart wrenching to be wasted like that; she wanted to tell him that even if the whole world disagrees, she'll still choose to trust him, she'll still choose to stand by him, she'll still choose to be with him in his loneliness, sadness or happiness; but she had no right. She had no right to tell him these things, she had no right to call him hers; she had no right to feel overwhelmed for him.

Ajay wiped his tears, struggling to smile a weak smile. Aarushi had loads to tell him, loads to talk to him, but she couldn't bring herself to say anything. She stared back, with aching eyes and screaming heart. They walked back to their class, no one daring to utter a single word.

'Aarushi', Ajay stopped her from returning back to her seat. 'You said Juhi told you something about me?', he said frowning slightly.

'She heard what Darsh said about you, maybe she too had heard something similar in past. She didn't tell me to trust Darsh's words, but she didn't deny it also. She is my friend, so I have reasons to trust her judgment', Aarushi stated honestly.

'See, I know she is your friend and you will believe her. It might be a bit hurtful, but... can you stay away from her?', Ajay said. Aarushi was fairly taken aback by sudden unexpected words. Juhi was her friend, why would she stay away from her? Apart from it, why would he tell her to do so?

'I am not saying to severe your relations. It's just that, can you not trust her every word? I... I don't know... it's just that, it's not the first time I have heard her name pop up in something false related to me. And after what has happened these few days, I really don't want to create anymore misunderstandings between us which are bound to arise if you hear something like this again that too from your friend. So can you not believe her every word?', Ajay said. From his perspective, it was reasonable to be concerned, but for Aarushi it was a matter of friendship.

'I cannot stay away from her, she is my friend. But for other things, I'll talk to her, rest assured; I won't believe any words blindly without verifying. I'm sorry for my former attitude', Aarushi said. Ever since he had cleared things, guilt of accusing him without full verification was gnawing Aarushi. Insulting him front of whole school when he was not even at fault, was definitely unforgivable, maybe he would never be able to forgive her.

'You don't need to, I don't blame you for anything', Ajay said grinning his dimpled smile before walking back to the other end of class. Aarushi stared at his retreating figure, with mixed feelings of admiration and awe. After everything, he can still manage to smile that carefree smile, he can still manage to relieve her from every worry, surging a whole new feel of hope and joy inside her.

'I don't know if it's reasonable, or debatable. For the first time, my logics seemed to reach a dead end. Maybe it's just an infatuation of my teenage heart, but I never thought I would admit this. Maybe, I do like you. I like you more than I know. But these feelings scare me; you are like a star, so near yet so far. But still the thought of loosing this star, loosing these feelings scares me. I want to like you, but I don't even know if I am worthy of liking you', Aarushi thought. Finally she had mustered up courage to face her own feelings, but she knew they were like a venomous beauty. Alluring and magical from afar but stinging and deadly if neared; she wanted to be close to him because of her feelings but someday, it would be these feelings that would take him away from her, and leave her with nothing but broken shards of appealing illusions.

'Even the thought of loosing you faints half of me, extinguishing all the lamps of liveliness and joy. I cannot afford it, even if it is because of my own feelings. Maybe this all is just an infatuation and eventually I'll get over it, maybe it would just be one of my stories of an unrequited teenage crush', Aarushi thought with a sad yet satisfied smile creeping on her face.

[Flashback ends]

His longing gaze lingered over to Aarushi as he sipped the contents of his coffee cup with a downcast yet complacent and reassured smile.

'You like her right?', Harshita's sound startled Sarthak as she joined him at the counter stirring her chocolate milk. 'Why do you say so?'

'If a person is sharp enough, he can tell that from one look at your face whenever you are with her. It's like an open secret', Harshita said hunching her shoulder. 'How long did you know?', Sarthak asked neither refuting nor explaining.

'I had that hunch for some time. Your attitude towards her had always been careful and tender; it's kind of special, something that you will do for a person who's more than a friend', Harshita said, expecting him to jump into various explanations and refusals. Surprisingly, he did neither and instead laughed a quiet chuckle.

'You are quite observant, in that case it makes no sense to refuse your assumption', he said with a smile. Harshita was at awe by his straight acceptance. It was rare for Sarthak to be so genuine about his true feelings. 'So do you plan to tell her?', Harshita asked. She couldn't help feeling sorry for him. Sarthak would be dream guy for any girl, but unfortunately, the girl he had fallen for had long fallen for someone else. And according to her understanding of Aarushi, she won't even give him a chance in front of Ajay, and that meant plain rejection for Sarthak.

'No', Sarthak said plaintively and Harshita breathed a sigh of relief. 'I never intended to confess, I know she doesn't reciprocate and views me like a good friend, and I am contended with our current relationship', he said. Harshita stared at him with an inscrutable expression.

'So do you want to share? Your story?', she said. Sarthak waited a few moments before agreeing to tell her. 'Actually I have always admired her resilience and ever fighting spirit. Over the time, I began liking her as I got to spend more time with her. But somewhere I knew she would never see me as something more. Later on, when she refused every proposal and confession, I won't deny, I had felt a little hopeful, that maybe over the course of time she would give me a chance. You and Anjali used to mention someone called AJ and his mere mention would make Aarushi blush and starry eyed, initially I was confounded but when no one with an explainable identity showed up, I took it as a fantasy creature made by you guys or one of her books' mythical character. On the day of orientation, when Aarushi introduced us to Viraj and others, I felt there was something off between her and Ajay. And sure enough, when I went to call her back for departure that day, I saw her crying. It was quite astonishing to see the girl who always had that cheerful smile shed tears for someone she had met just a few moments ago. When on the day of votes, she still agreed to accompany Ajay instead of me; I was somewhat dejected, that even after making her cry on the very first meeting she would still choose him. Circumstantially, I ended up having a heated confrontation with Ajay and his exaggerated response strengthened my assumptions. I noticed the look in Aarushi's eyes as she talked to him or about him, it was different, it was the look she never had before except the times when you mentioned AJ. So putting two and two together, I finally managed to discover the identity of mysterious AJ who had her heart even before I met her.'

'Unquestionably, I don't like Ajay as much. He is quite immature and cheeky. Initially, it was heartbreaking to realize that she likes someone as crude as him who didn't seem to bat an eyelid at her affection. Why not me? Why does she need to waste her affection over someone who doesn't even care? Why does he get all I want without even trying? These were my immediate thoughts. Gradually, I indeed got an answer to every question. At the end, it all comes down to her happiness. A happiness which she found only with Ajay and no one else could fill in that space for her; and as long as she was happy, it doesn't matter if she is with me or someone else. I am satisfied to see her smile and laugh every day, even if it is with someone undeserving as Ajay.'

The purity of his adoration left Harshita speechless. She was condoled with misery for harsh reality. Someone like him, deserved all the worldly love, but destiny had granted him nothing but a broken heart. It wasn't his fault to like someone, but it was destiny's fault to make him like someone who had already lost her affection to someone else.

'I hope you'll find someone to love you the way Aarushi loves Ajay', Harshita said with a small smile.

'This is the first time I am seeing someone get wished for eternal love by using his love rival's name as a comparison. I really don't know if you are blessing me or cursing me', Sarthak said pretentiously.

'Of course it's a blessing idiot!', she said slapping his arm playfully. 'In that case, I wish the same for you', Sarthak chuckled. 'Cheers to that', Harshita said clinking her cup with his.

It had been a couple of days since Aarushi had her unofficial date. Their exams had ended at a peaceful note and Aarushi was back to take her vacant charge of project. Ajay had been missing almost every time she was at NTI, and consequently, she hadn't got a chance to see him after her birthday. Hardik had relayed his reason for absenteeism, informing them about the Inter- Galaxy and Astronomical workshop being hosted by their college for students interested in pursuing a job in space research and technology. The workshop even granted additional advantage to outstanding pupils in the form of guidance and recommendation for future job applications. Ajay had, of course, signed up for such a great opportunity.

Aarushi on the other hand, after consistent persuasion from her friends, had finally decided to make a confession on his birthday three days later. According to Anjali, it was supposed to be an inevitable success, but Aarushi couldn't be more skeptical. Considering her previous years' record, every time she had thought something to be flawlessly successful it had turned into a complete disaster.

The memory of her confession four years back was still afresh in her mind; if it again turned out to be like that, Aarushi was tentative whether she was ready for another staggering blow.

She was examining the errors in recently collected data when Ajay walked in. The bright smile vanished from her face as she closely examined his expression. Brows knitted together in some hesitant angst and eyes speaking nothing but words of cryptic confusion and regret.

'What's wrong?', Aarushi asked, her voice lined with concern. His eyes momentarily flashed to her reflecting a shade of ineffable angst and dismay. 'Nothing to concern you', Ajay replied without turning to meet her eyes. The bitterness of his voice stung her gravely.

Before Aarushi can speak anything further he strode away to Viraj and others leaving her dumbfounded and shocked.

'What's got into him?', she thought scurrying behind him.

'I won't be coming over for next few days; can you take care of leftover work?', she heard Ajay tell Garvit as she stopped beside him. Garvit nodded looking as bemused as her over the rigidity of his sound.

'Where are you going?', Aarushi tried another time, clearly fretting over his weird attitude. 'I told you, it doesn't concern you, will you give it a break now?', annoyance of his voice immediately drove Aarushi to silence. No matter how much she asks, he won't spill a word right now. Ajay bristled out of the room without another word.

'What's wrong with him?', Aarushi wondered aloud. 'It must be something related to course, don't worry, he would be back to normal in few days', Viraj spoke up. Aarushi nodded reluctantly.

'He is already edgy, I don't know if it would be right to make a confession... Should I rethink my decision? No, no, Aarushi; you can't do that unless you want to wait for another four years. But his moods are so very unpredictable... If something unfortunate happens, would I still be able to like him the way I did all these years?', Aarushi thought anxiously. It wasn't easy for her to make a decision another time; another failure would slash her heart in thousand pieces.

Amongst the prevalent thoughts of uncertainty,one thing she was definite about was that she cannot let this chance go. Nomatter what lies at the concluding end, she still cannot give up after allthese years.

A/N:

So here I am back with another chapter after a long unannounced break. Life had been quite hectic for past few months that I never got a chance to upload, extremely sorry for long absence!! 

Hopefully you'll shower your love and reads on this new part. Do leave some comments I'll be glad to read them all!