Samrat remembers finding Saumit on his morning run on the residential quarters' grounds. Instead of exercising, Saumit was simply chatting with his friends in a group. Samrat took hold of Saumit's arm, mentioning Tanvi's name and inquiring about a few things.

Saumit's response was, "who are you to stop me, dude? She wanted to go out with me. Did you check the facts?"

Samrat snorted, realising Saumit was partially right. Tanvi did pretend to want to go out with this shit piece.

"Woh ladki zara pagal hai. Teri shakal bhi thik se na dekha usne, aur yun boldia. Teri akal ka kya hua, hm? Aur usne mana kiya tha na baad mein? Toh fir kyun uske peeche pad raha? Khoobsurat ladki dikhi, uske peeche pad jao, ye air base hai ya apne mohalle ki koi gali?"

"How rude. You think you're mahan because you were on Hawks, par main bhi kam nahi! You don't know, mere kitne logo ke saath connections hai yahan! You will regret laying a hand on me. Haath chodo mera!" Saumit glared at Samrat, who only tightened his grip. The other guys took a step back, shaken. Samrat laughed, thinking everyone in the group was a chicken.

"Abey, haath chudwa bhi nahi sakta! Kaisa namuna hai tu? Tu aur tere chamche!"

Samrat tightened his grip with a laugh. Saumit winced, biwildered as his friends abandoned him. "S-Samrat! I'm telling you again. This is rude, huh?"

"Of course it is rude. Tanvi ko jaise tumne pareshan kiya, that was rude. Waise hi bichari bahut pareshan rehti aajkal."

Samrat tightened his hold on Saumit's wrist further, remembering the day Tanvi cried. Just recalling their recent argument from the previous made him squeeze tighter. Saumit cried out in agony.

"Aah... aah! Aah... If I knew she was your girl... Aaagh! Arey, pehle bolna tha, bhai... Mera haath... ugh..."

Samrat frowned at Saumit. "Meri dost." He corrected Saumit's phrasing, to which Saumit eyed him weirdly. "Huh? Sirf dost? Sirf dost ke liye itna kuch-Ugh!"

"Tujhe kya padi hai?" Samrat squeezed Saumit's wrist on an impulse. A little more pressure - until he heard and felt a crack. Oops, he let the guy go with a sigh. Wasn't on purpose.

"Aah! Aah! Sirf dost keliye meri haddi tod di... Sirf dost! Ugh!" Saumit kept wailing as tears of pain leaked from his eyes. One of his friends returns to console him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders.

Samrat glared at the two, particularly Saumit. "Kyun koi ladka apne dost ki madad nahi kar sakta, kya? Ab galti ki, toh saza bhugatni hai na, Saumit. Abhi sirf haddi hi tooti hai teri. Agar dobara Tanvi ko ya kisi ladki ko pareshan kiya toh... socho kya ho sakta hai."

"Aah! Nahi karunga, baba! Tum jao, please! Subah subah yeh kya ho gaya mere saath! Kiski surat dekhi main?"

Saumit kept whining. Samrat tapped him on the shoulder with a pointed stare.

"Ab pachtawa aaya toh Tanvi se maafi maangle. Aur humari iss choti si mulakaat ko sabse secret rakhna. Samjha?"

Samrat turned his back on Saumit, who cursed under his breath, clutching his broken wrist. Were his fingers too broken? He needed to get it checked.

...

"My God!" Back in the present, in the cafeteria, Farhan lets out a surprised squeal. "Yay! Achha kaam kiya, dost! Aur tujhse main kam kaise expect kar sakta hoon? Ab Saumit Tanvi ko toh kya, kisi ko bhi tang nahi karega! But Tanz ne hume bataya kyun nahi? Chupane ki aadat hogayi kya? But yea, she still can handle Saumit. She's capable, but akele kyun sab jhelna?"

Farhan half speaks to himself and finally looks at Samrat.

"Sach mein, yaar! Maine mazak mein kaha tha. Lekin tune sach mein - I am still shocked and impressed! It is still risky, yaar! Agar woh Saumit ne complaint kar di toh-"

Samrat pats Farhan's shoulder and points for him to sit. "Relax, Farhan. Aisa kuchh nahin karega woh."

Farhan sits in his chair with a smile, eyebrows raised, showing he's further impressed. "Wow! The chill dude Sam is back, huh? I love this..."

Samrat chuckles and finishes sipping his coffee. "Waise maine uski haddi wantedly nahin todi. Jaise ki maine kaha. Maine bas uska hath pakda aur warning diya... Bas."

"Achaa? Achaa? The cool chill dude, my best friend, is truly back! Tune uska haath pakda aur uski haddi toot gayi! That's my best friend! He's super strong. And yeah, maybe Saumit is super weak."

"Haha! Keep your voice down, Farhan! You're getting too excited."

"I am excited, yaar! Tune kam hi aisa kiya! Mujhe laga tha ki Abhimanyu Adhikari ke sath kaam kar kar ke, usko apna role model banakar, tu chalta firta rule book ban gaya. Lekin aisa nahi hai! There is still hope. I am glad! Somewhere deep down you are still you! It is showing, and please, usko pura bahar nikal."

"Haha Farhan! Ab tu band karega? Lunch hour khatam ho rahi hai."

Samrat chides his friend and smiles, genuinely feeling relieved by the time they spent together. Being with Farhan is so calming. There's no denying he's a blessing to his friends and colleagues.

"Waise, Farhan. Maine aisa kiya sirf Tanvi ki madad karne ke liye. Bas."

Samrat gets up from his chair, ready to leave. Farhan raises a brow and holds Samrat's arm.

"Madad? Tune aise kiya sirf uski madad karne ke liye, huh? Sam, sirf wahi reason hai?"

"Tu kehna kya chahta hai, Farhan?" Samrat looks at Farhan with a mild chuckle and then shakes his head. "Anyway, tu jo bhi kehna chahta hai, mujhe usse koi lena dena nahi hai. Mera shift shuru hone wala hai toh... I am going to go see you later. Bye."

Farhan can't stop Samrat from going. Left alone, he heaves a sigh. "Tu maanega nahi na? Tanvi sirf teri dost hai aur tu uski madad kar raha hai! You are so stupid, Sam. Tanvi bhi! You both are idiots! Why do I like to meddle? Why am I your mutual best friend? It hurts, I am frustrated yaar, tum log to chill ho, ugh! I mean, you guys don't understand how I feel!"

Out of frustration, Farhan drinks another coffee to calm himself before attending his shift.

***

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✨🩵TBC✨🩵

📚🌈🩵✨Up next: Samrat visits Tanvi's room with the gang. Later he and Tanvi get into an argument. Sabse worst kism ka Ladka, coming soon!💔❤️‍🩹❤️✨🩵💋

💗😗Quick update because I really wanted to get started with the next track! Stay tuned! V & C! ❤️✨