I wanted to kill Surbhi because she wouldn't stop laughing and including Parth too in making fun of me. Tanya and Rashi tried to tone down her laughter, but by the second lecture, everyone in college got to know about my embarassing incident.

"Will you just stop now?" I punched my best friend on the shoulder.

"But how could you... wait a minute, let me laugh first," she wiped her tears, "how could you faint though? Bwahahaha..."

"It was good that Ved caught her before she cracked her skull," Divya added, and burst out laughing.

"You saw how she fainted? I thought I was watching a drama," Parth said and high-fived with Surbhi.

"Man, my stomach is aching now." Surbhi clutched her tummy and tried to calm down, but it was not working.

Just one glance at me was enough to get her rolling on the floor. And not just Parth and my girl gang, but Nikhil and Karthik were also poking me since morning, and even Ayush betrayed me too. I was glad to see him smiling, knowing the reason was me, but it was really awkward that he was laughing at how I made a fool out of myself yesterday.

"You okay?" Shreyas asked as he joined us in the corridor.

"You ain't gonna faint again, right?" Shree commented, and Surbhi shot me a mischievous smirk.

I gave Shree a fake glare when everyone began their third round of laughing marathon and didn't stop even when we reached the cafeteria and took our seats. As if they didn't have enough, all of them decided to join tables and torture me with all their jokes.

We were taking a lot of space in the diner, but no one bothered with us. Other students were also enjoying my misery, while I was waiting for the culprit to arrive.

Honestly, I was expecting Ved to express his true feelings and kind of hoping to get a kiss too, but I guess my heart wasn't prepared for the real thing. That's why I blacked out when Ved kissed me for the second time because my slow brain was still trying to register the first one.

I didn't wake up instantly, and my family and friends deemed it better to let me rest instead of waking me up forcefully after making sure that there was nothing serious.

"Ved is here~" Rashi wiggled her eyebrows and smiled at me.

I snapped my eyes at him as he entered the cafeteria with an innocent look - he wasn't even trying to hide that he was blushing and looking like a ripened mango. He made his way in our direction and fist-bumped with guys and greeted the girls. Finally, he thought of gracing me with his attention and scratched his head awkwardly.

"Why don't you sit?" Tanya asked him.

"There isn't enough space..." Karthik said and began making space for his friend.

While everyone else was busy adjusting the chairs and tables, Ved's eyes were glued on me, and I narrowed my eyes when he started walking towards me. I got a feeling that he was upto something, but I kept my emotions under control and let him do whatever he wanted; I wasn't planning on fainting again.

"Excuse me, Surbhi, can you shift a bit?" he asked.

Surbhi nodded and turned her torso to the side, while Divya pulled my chair in her direction so that Ved could move freely. Others stopped moving and observed what Natural Heater was planning to do. I cursed when he accidentally hit me with his elbow and apologized but continued getting in the small space between Surbhi and me.

"What are you doing? You also know you won't fit," I complained.

Ved smirked and winked at his friends. I scrunched my eyebrows when he refused a chair, but my confusion was soon taken care of. Ved took off his bag, and after stretching his arms, he shot me a smile and made himself comfortable on my lap.

"What the... what are you doing?" I squeaked out, feeling overly conscious of our close proximity.

"Sitting." Ved grinned.

"On my lap?"

"Yup."

"Get off. You are heavy, and we are drawing a lot of attention." I wouldn't have minded if we were alone, but at that moment, everyone's eyes were on us.

In a swift motion, Ved kissed my cheek and turned his attention on other students. "Does anyone have any problem if I sit with my girl?"

My girl? Is he trying to kill me here?

Everyone yelled a 'No' in unison and continued watching Ved make me turn the darkest shade of my favourite hue. Surbhi nudged me when Ved wrapped his left arm around my neck and told Shree to click a picture; Shree was already doing that, and his twin brother was smiling like a mother at us.

"My legs hurt," I lied.

"No, they don't. I know you are strong," Ved said.

"You shouldn't get tired so soon, Sandhya," Ayush said and began laughing.

"I will get back at you later," I threatened him.

"What's your answer then?" Ved asked.

"What answer?" I questioned back.

He gave me a knowing look. "Do I need to confess again? I don't have any problem if you promise that you won't black out like you did yesterday."

Just when he said that, my gaze shifted to his lips. I tried to avert my eyes, but it felt like I wasn't able to control my own body. Slowly, I saw Ved inching closer, and my heartbeat skyrocketed when he went close to my right ear and whispered in a low voice.

"If you won't stop acting ignorant, I will kiss you in front of everyone."

Was that a threat or wish fulfillment?

"Can you give me some time?" I said in a low voice.

"Why do you need time?" Surbhi complained, and Divya agreed.

"You need to think about it?" Ved asked calmly, but I didn't miss the hint of nervousness in his voice.

"Just a little... Please."

"What is wrong with you? Why would you-"

Ved stopped Surbhi from going into the rampage mode. He patted my head and kissed my temple. "It is okay. I won't rush you; I get it if you need some time to think over it."

I thanked him for his understanding, and he got up from my lap. My girl gang looked at me in accusation, but it was Shreyas who was shooting me death glares. Soon, the bell rang and we got up for lectures. I made my way to the Science club, but Shreyas stopped me in the corridor and took me to the library.

"What's going on?" he asked.

I was good at lying, but I knew it was of no use in front of him.

"I just need some time to get my feelings sorted," I said.

"Excuse me? Even after so long you still need to do that? Do you have any idea how long I was waiting for this day to come and now you are saying that you need more time?" he almost yelled.

"Why were you waiting?"

He pinched his nose bridge and shook his head. "Why am I your friend again?"

"Isn't that too harsh to say?" Rajeev commented as he stood beside us.

I pouted and hugged him. Mayank also arrived and told Shreyas not to be so harsh on me. He hugged me and my friend apologized for bursting out on me. When he explained the reason behind his behaviour, I blinked rapidly.

"I wanted you and Ved to end up together even after seeing you both fight all day; you could say it was one of my wishes as a hopeless romantic." Shreyas shrugged.

Romantic and him? Who would say that when he always acted like an assassin on a secret mission?

"Did someone say something to you?" Mayank asked me.

Instantly, Sahil's face flashed in front of my eyes, and his words rang in my ears.

What if you are just imagining it?

I get it that you might be infatuated with him, but love?

"No." I shook my head.

Rajeev narrowed his eyes a bit but didn't pressurise me to tell them what was bothering me. I also knew I was getting insecure and even after assuring myself that I shouldn't let anyone else's thoughts affect me, I couldn't help remembering those things said by Sahil. Maybe I was putting too much thought into it because it was said by one of my friends - I wouldn't have spared it a second if the same things were said by some stranger.

"No worries," Rajeev said. "I know Ved won't beat you up for having some second thoughts; it is okay."

"I think it will be better to clear out your mind, and then take the next step. You must also be aware that to build a strong relationship, the foundations need to be solid too. If you let even one insecurity creep in, you will have to put thousand times more effort to root it out later," Mayank said.

Shreyas understood his point, and Rajeev assured me that no one was going to cut my throat if I was asking for a bit more time - it was better to be late than sorry.

"I am sorry," Shreyas said and hugged me.

"I know you just want the best for me." I smiled.

After having an emotional moment in the library, and fortunately not getting scolded by the librarian, I was able to concentrate in my classes and volleyball practice. I was happy to have understanding friends, but my fear was proven right when my girl gang followed me to home and locked ourselves in my room.

"You better explain yourself this instant," Surbhi threatened.

"Bro, relax," Tanya said, but my bestie was hellbent on having my head for dinner.

"Didn't you say that we won't have any secrets among us? So what's troubling you?" Rashi asked.

While Tanya, Rashi and Surbhi were arguing with each other over whether to force out the information from me, Divya was quietly observing me. After I freshened up and joined the girls again, she was done with her calculations and had turned into a detective.

"You are afraid of this relationship," she announced loud and clear.

"What?!" others exclaimed in unison.

Divya pondered for a bit while swirling in my chair and decided to explain herself, but my phone rang, and she said that she would wait till my call got over. I sighed when I saw Sahil's name flash on the lock screen. I picked up the call, and after asking me about my well being, he informed me that I was invited for his elder sister's engagement; he had forgotten to inform me about the same when he had visited me.

I cut the call after few minutes and turned to my girl gang. "Got one more party to attend."

"We don't care, okay?" Surbhi retorted and told Divya to say whatever she wanted to say earlier.

"You are worrying that you and Ved might not last long even if you do get together. Since you guys banter a lot, it is quite understandable if you have those doubts, but I know there is something else which is eating your mind. Is it related to your fear of getting dumped and not matching upto Ved's expectations?" Divya said.

"You got some stuff right, but apart from being scared, I am overwhelmed too. You guys know that I actually fainted after hearing Ved confess that he loved me, and I am still not able to get over it. It feels like a beautiful dream which will pop the moment I agree. Like the destination is right in front of my eyes, but I am a little afraid of taking the last step. What if everything goes wrong, and I end up hurting Ved? You know how much troubles I cause..."
I said.

When I saw my friends thinking over it, I decided to pour out whatever was going on in my stupid mind. "You know, I never thought that I would end up liking Ved out of all people in this Universe; we were always at each other's throats, so it kinda feels unreal that both of us feel the same now, and that feeling is really awesome.

"But... how am I supposed to phrase it...? Yeah, got it. Imagine what if I am just asleep and all of this is a dream? What if I had hit my head some day and a parallel reality was created as a result where everything is good, but the actual world is different?"

Just as I completed my theory, Tanya threw a pillow on my face. Surbhi smacked me behind the head, and Rashi pursed her lips in lack of any reply. Divya rolled her eyes and got up from my study chair. She stood like ACP Pradyuman (the head detective from the Indian show CID) and then snapped her eyes at my laptop.

"What movies did you watch recently?" she asked and opened my PC.

"Ummm... Inception," I counted on my fingers, "Interstellar, Lucy, Doctor Strange, Time Travel..."

"Knew it," Surbhi said. "I will have to talk to your Science club manager. What the fuck are you guys researching on nowadays?"

I gave her a sheepish smile, and she wrapped an arm around my shoulders. "No matter which dimension or galaxy you go, Sandhya, everywhere you will find me, and I will kill you in each one of your realities if you continue with this nonsense."

Tanya, Rashi and Divya laughed as Surbhi came up with ideas of murdering me in different ways. After a few moments, Tanya calmed down and gave me an assuring smile.

"We won't force our views on you; we know how much peer pressure sucks. So, take all the time you want, and we will always be here to clear out your doubts. And in case you are still not sure, let me tell you that Ved really loves you, so there's no need to feel insecure.

"But, don't let anyone else's opinion alter your judgement. In the end, do what you feel right because if you aren't true to yourself then you won't be able to fully express your love too," she said.

"Thank you." I hugged her.

"Dumbo." Surbhi punched me on the back but joined the hug.

"We love you," Rashi said.

"Yup." Divya grinned.

We hugged each other, and after informing Mom that the girls were staying over, Rashi and Divya began watching the sci-fi movies they were cursing a moment ago, while Tanya and Surbhi helped me in picking up some traditional clothes to wear for Sahil's sister's engagement.

"Don't faint in his party too," Surbhi joked.

"Yeah. Ved won't like it, and the poor guy would suffer unnecessarily," Tanya added.

I ignored their teasing, happy to have them by my side. While choosing the dress, I kept thinking about Ved and felt the clouds blocking my mind clearing up. Tanya said that I could use the party as an excuse to unwind and get a better understanding of what I wanted.

Everything looked to be going in the right direction: my heart and mind were finally getting on the same path, my feelings for Ved were strengthening, and I felt confident in myself and my decisions.

You can do it, Sandhya.