Things were moving too fast; Shivaay was all set to go to Mumbai for his first musical fest. He had no idea how he got into this so quickly, but he knew it was too far for him. It felt weird when everything fell into place. People started to see him as an independent singer, all thanks to the girl who stood by his side. He could see his life heading in the right direction after she entered his life. She came into his life when he felt on the verge of disappearing in this busy world. It felt like absolute magic.

"Did you pack? And I also made hotel bookings for you! Call me, okay, if you need anything," she said, peeping inside his room while he was packing his bags. He passed a warm smile at her, then realized that she was staying here.

"What? Aren't you coming with me?" he asked, almost jerking and confusing her.

"No, I only booked tickets for you! I never thought I would be accompanying you," she said, looking at him. He was shocked; how could he overcome it without her by his side? This musical event was significant to him, and he couldn't completely understand the happenings.

"Honey, yeah!!!" he exclaimed, and she continued looking at him, shocked.

"You know what happened to me last night because of that shameless woman," he continued.

"Shivaay, please call her by her name. She has a name, right?" she replied in her cold tone. She had talked to him like that before, but now, why was she stopping him from disgracing her? She was the same person who betrayed him.

"Ragini. I am sorry! I can clearly see you're not willing to come with me," he concluded. Her facial expression changed, and she held his palms.

"I have my classes, Shivaay! And Mumbai is far away! How can I come with you?" she asked. What did she mean? Was he a stranger to her? He's her boyfriend. And why was she feeling like this about traveling with him?

"With whom else can you travel if you can't accompany me?" he asked, seeking answers. But she couldn't say anything but continued looking at him. After a minute, she held his palms and made him sit on the bed and sat next to him facing her.

"Look, Shivaay! I don't know why you're failing to see it, but whatever happened between us shouldn't have happened so soon. I just wanted to slow down the process," she finally said. What the hell was she speaking about? Was she talking about last night? Did those things happen without her consent? Did he force her to do that? She was into it; she never showed any sort of disagreement on her face.

"You mean I forced you to do this?" he asked her. She couldn't reply anything to him but seemed stunned hearing his words.

"How did you say that?" she asked him after a huge pause.

All she wanted to say was she was scared after whatever happened and constantly feeling guilty for deceiving her parents. The things she faced during that time were terrifying. She didn't have any idea about physical intimacy, and neither was she prepared for this kind of encounter in her life. He never forced her into this, but she couldn't stop herself. The way he asked her to take the pill to avoid pregnancies made her think a little more. She was definitely not prepared for these kinds of things in her life after being raised as a kid for 18 years and left alone to explore the world. Tears welled up in her eyes when she realized he didn't understand any of that, but she didn't let it down.

"I never meant it like that! It's just I wanted to slow down the process," she paced herself and said it to him.

"And you think by not accompanying me to Mumbai will achieve that?" he asked her. She still couldn't understand why he was connecting these two issues into the same line.

"Shivaay, you said I could become pregnant after last night," she said without looking at his face because if she looked at his face, she might break down. He heaved out a deep breath from his lungs; she heard that but didn't raise her head to look at him. And she was still weak for the fact that he was failing to understand while she could understand his every move. No, Anika! Stop expecting!

"Oh, that's what the issue!" he asked in a calm tone. She didn't reply; she knew if she spoke anything, she would break down, and she didn't want that to happen.

"I can understand." Did he?

"I am really sorry for that! I should have thought about your perspective! Don't worry, Ani. Nothing will happen; you had your pill, right? Tell me when did you get your last periods?" he asked the most unexpected question. It was not about getting pregnant or not; it's about her having no idea about it. She was a child till last night who had no idea about the effects and outcomes of physical intimacy.

"I am just a week away!" she even answered his question.

"You had your pill; it works for 99.9%, and I will definitely make sure that it won't repeat. I promise. It's just I am not prepared," he said, caressing her cheek and making her look at him. She managed herself while then.

"Is this what's stopping you from coming with me?" he asked her, looking into her eyes. There are many reasons; she needs to get permission from her warden, and also from either one of her parents to go to a different city. Even though they are not alone, she couldn't lie to them anymore. And the probability of getting permitted was just less than 1%.

"I promise I will be in my limits; please come with me! I will lose my mind without you!" he requested her, holding her palms tighter. She couldn't say no to him. She agreed to accompany him even if she had to lie again.

Shivaay and Anika landed in Mumbai, and they had their bookings in the hotel where Anika asked for an extra room, and it wasn't available during that moment. Shivaay overheard the conversation but opted to stay away from it as he didn't want to make her feel guilty again by asking for the reason. Even he was still guilty when she opened up her fears to him, but he made up his mind to prove to her that their relationship did not depend on physical intimacy.

"Are we taking a taxi to the hotel?" he asked in confusion.

"Kiran would be picking us up from here! I tried to deny a lot, but..." she said with a smile.

"So sweet of her," Shivaay said but eventually chuckled as a return.

"Her? Kiran is a guy! Kiran is a unisex name!" Anika chuckled, creating an unknown feeling in his heart. Is Kiran a guy? Why didn't she mention anything about it?

"Oh. I actually. Didn't know anything about it!" he replied, and then Anika looked past him and waved her hand to Kiran. He felt so weird when they hugged each other as soon as they met; even though it was a casual hug, he was not comfortable with it.

"This is Shivaay! My friend!" Anika introduced him. He didn't expect her to introduce him as her friend

*****

"Honey! Why did you introduce me as a friend to Kiran? Are you feeling embarrassed?" he asked straightforwardly. She forgot to breathe for a while, and the reason behind introducing him as her friend was that she didn't want to publicize the relationship and invite people's opinions on it. As far as her friend circle in her animation class was concerned, they would be very keen to know about her private life once they learned about her relationship. Shivaay questioned her like that because he felt insecure.

"What?" she almost whispered. She couldn't take the other word.

"I am just asking, don't take it to heart! I am a drop-out from college and also a struggling singer. It's okay to feel embarrassed; I can understand!" he said and took his clothes, moving towards the washroom before she could process. Her heart trembled when he asked that. She never thought introducing him as her friend would create insecurities in his heart. Tears filled her eyes when she kept him in her mind first, and he was thinking like this. But she waited; she needed answers to her questions.

After half an hour, he emerged from the washroom, wrapping a towel around his waist. But she was in the same place where he left her last, on the bed, immersed in a pool of guilt. She didn't wait a moment to walk towards him and confront him for his words.

"Shivaay, what made you think like that?" she asked him directly. But he continued combing his hair, looking at the mirror, ignoring her.

"Well, I asked you something," holding his hand, she made him look at her.

"Don't know! I felt like history is repeating," he said without looking at her, but his eyes welled up. More than his words, she couldn't withstand his tears. She hugged him instantly, but he didn't hug her back.

"Listen to me, carefully. You're important to me, and you will always stay in the first rank of my priority list. Moreover, I love you with all my heart! Isn't that enough to wipe off the dirt of your past in your life? I am not Ragini, but I am your honey! Please keep that in mind. And about Kiran, he must have understood by now when I said I would be sharing the room with you rather than sharing the room with his grandmother," she said and heard him chuckling back. He hugged her tightly, and she could smell his soap when he held her tight and kissed her. She couldn't resist but kiss him back. He felt his hands inside her top and unhooking her inner garments inside.

"Oops, sorry!" he said, breaking the kiss. But at this particular moment when he felt his insecurities having some impact on his confidence, she couldn't let him down. Smiling at him, she kissed him back, nodding to all his requests. She still didn't come out of fear, but wiping off his fears was important.

***

"Listen! You really don't have to think about the music fests. I know it's new, but think of it as a new chapter, Shivaay! You should welcome your new chapter with a smiley face, okay? Not with this tensed face," she said to him when they wrapped themselves under the sheet naked. Her head was on his one arm, and his arm wrapped her close to him naked.

"If you're there, I will sort this out. Remember our first meet," he asked her, kissing her forehead, and wondered how she made him like a new person after having an emotional breakdown due to his overthinking.

"Yes, Long Island iced tea. I still think about getting accidentally drunk, nothing else," she said, turning around and wrapping her hand around him.

"Hey, that Long Island iced tea brought us together; I am forever thankful for that," he said, looking down at her face.

"That's true! But I am never going to have that drink ever in my life! Ugh, I hate alcohol, and I hate it more when you drink that! Please stop drinking even a little, please stop it, I request you," she said while cupping his face, pouting sadly at him. Even if the whole world goes upside down, he thought giving up alcohol from his life will never happen, but now, looking at her cute face and her expectation, he thought giving up alcohol from his life was worth it. All he wanted was this beautiful face there with him every moment.

"You don't need to request! You said, I do. That's simple. I am breaking up with alcohol," he said in a single go. Her eyes widened in shock, and she sat up, holding the sheet on her chest, covering it.

"I am serious," he said, looking at her lying in the bed.

"You're giving up consuming alcohol for me?" she asked him for confirmation.

"I think I said that!" he smiled at her reaction, and he started loving her reaction more. And the excitement shone in her brown eyelids. After seeing that, he thought it was his best decision ever in his life.

"God promise?" she asked, forwarding her hand to him.

"Honey promise!" he held her palm and pulled her to the bed, hovering over her but eventually went on the surprise when she kissed him and initiated it, which told him that she was happy with his decision, and he was ready to give up everything for her. In these 3 months of a relationship, she already became his addiction, which he never wanted to overcome and never wanted to face that ever in his life.

"You have no idea how happy I am right now?" she said in between.

"Even I am happy looking at you!" he replied and held her tight to his chest.

****************