(🚨 Long chapter ahead 🚨)

∆~~~~∆

Black hoodie, check. Black jeans, check. Black cap, check. Black sunglasses, check.

Alright, I was all prepared for my mission. I took a deep breath and checked my appearance in the mirror. After giving myself an approving nod, I got out of my room and joined dad at the dining table for breakfast.

"What's with all black today?" he asked.

"It's the new fashion dad," I replied and dabbed.

"Fashion? You look like a crow," he commented and I did a double dab to annoy him more.

Mom shook her head at me and told me to eat up before I got late for my bus. Dad scolded me when I gobbled down my food but I just gave him a toothy grin in return. Before he could comment more, I grabbed my lunchbox and ran out of the house.

At the bus stop, people eyed me suspiciously and I plugged in my earphones to distract myself. Soon, my bus arrived and I got in. Throughout the ride, I went over my plan and made a mental note to be as unsuspicious as I could be.

After thirty minutes, I reached my stop and got off from the bus. I entered the college gates and surveyed the area. My target wasn't here yet so better get in action now.

×~×

I hid in the shadows as students and teachers swarmed the hallways as soon as the first bell rang. I tapped my fingers on my thigh in anticipation and observed the fellow schoolmates who just went past me.

Heehee. They didn't notice me. Good job, Sandhya. I should thank Shreyas after this. I learnt a lot about being invisible from him. I was waiting for Mahek but when I saw Nikhil enter the hallway, I came out of my hiding spot.

"Holy shit! You scared me!" Mayank shouted.

He put a hand on his heart to show how much scared he got because of me. Rajeev laughed at him and I rolled my eyes when Mayank said I almost gave him a heart attack.

"Why the hell are you dressed like that? And why were you hiding?" Mayank asked.

"I was just practicing my ninja skills."

"Um.... what?"

"Chill, man. Let her do whatever she wants. We should get going before we get late," Rajeev said.

"Oh right. Let's go."

"Don't get in trouble, kid." Rajeev patted my head and left with Mayank.

"Hi Nikhil!" I greeted as I approached him.

I nodded my head at Karthik in acknowledgement but none of them said anything in return.

"So how are your studies going?" I asked and tried to ignore how sleep deprived they looked with baggy eyes and sunken cheeks.

Nikhil seemed to have lost some weight too. He scratched the back of his head and glanced at Karthik who was just staring at me blankly. He almost seemed dead.

"Hello? I am talking to you, Nikhil. Just wanted to know how much syllabus you have covered and if you needed my help with anything or not," I said politely.

Nikhil tried to get away but I grabbed his arm. I was not letting him go away so easily. He would have to answer me this time. I was tired of him running away and leaving me with half answers.

"I came to your house yesterday but you weren't there. I thought maybe a small study session would be good since we haven't done that for so long. But guess what? You weren't there. Where were you?" I asked and waited for his reply.

Nikhil yanked his hand away and stepped a bit closer to me. I didn't step back and stared directly in his eyes.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked through gritted teeth.

"Because I am your friend," I replied.

"Is that the only thing you know how to say?"

"What's wrong in saying the truth?"

"Yeah, right. I forgot who I was talking to. But listen, Sandhya. I am not telling you anything. You think you can take the information out of me to use it against me, don't you?"

I was shocked to see how much he had grown to dislike me.

"I just want to how you are doing."

"And what if I say I am not doing good? What you gonna about that? Do you have a magic wand that you will just wave around and make everything alright?"

"Then tell me what's troubling you, yaar."

"No. You are the last person I want the help from."

"What? Why would you say that? I am not a bad person," I cried.

Nikhil let out a frustrated sigh as he ran a hand on his neck. Hm? Was that a tattoo? I grabbed his collar and pulled him down. My eyes widened at the sight.

What the fuck?!

"Nikhil! You know tattoos are not allowed if you want to join Air Force. Moreover, why would you get a permanent one at that?" I shouted as I checked the tattoo on his neck.

It was of a burning rose with entwined chains running along the stem. The artwork was beautiful but its beauty was going to cost him his career.

Nikhil pushed me away from him and adjusted his shirt. He looked at me like I had committed a crime.

"What's wrong with a tattoo?" Karthik asked.

Wow. He wasn't dead afterall.

He pulled up his right sleeve and showed me his arm filled with numerous tattoos. Then he showed me his other arm. I was awestruck. I had never met anyone with so many tattoos before in my life.

"Nikhil, what are you upto, dude? Does uncle know about it?" I asked in concern.

"I don't care."

"But what about your dream of joining Air Force?"

"If only they accepted what I actually wanted," he mumbled under his breath and balled his fists so much that his knuckles turned white.

"What do you mean?" I asked.

"He meant, stay the fuck away from him," Ved said harshly as he came and stood beside Nikhil. Why did he had to interrupt everytime?

"Nikhil, answer me. Is there a serious problem? You can share it with me," I said in a soft voice.

"No thanks, Sandhya. He has got his friends for that. So, you can just leave. I am sure everyone here would appreciate that," Ved replied.

"I am sure he is capable of answering for himself."

"Shut up, Sandhya. Don't you get tired of all this. Shit man! Ruined my whole mood. I am leaving," Nikhil yelled and marched out.

"Good job," Ved mocked.

I didn't reply as I stared at Nikhil's retreating form. Ved gave me a warning glare and left for the lecture. Damn it! I didn't knew Nikhil would flip on me. But, what did he mean when he said that if only they accepted what he actually wanted? What did he want?

"Why are you so desperate? Do you like him?"

I snapped my eyes at Karthik when he said those words. He was staring at me curiously.

"Who?" I asked.

"Nikhil."

"I am not answering you."

"Oh, so you do like him then. Just don't want to accept it, do you?"

"What if I said no?"

"Then why do you care for him so much?"

"Because he is my friend."

He didn't reply for sometime and just stared at me without blinking.

"That's it?" He tilted his head and looked at me like he was trying to read my thoughts.

I nodded in response and he scratched his chin. After thinking to himself for few minutes, he glanced at me, and pivoted on his heels and left in the opposite direction. I stared at his back as he manouvered through the students.

What was his problem? Why would he resort to drugs when he came from such a well-off family? His father was a successful heart surgeon while his mother was a well known entrepreneur. He had everything that a kid could wish for in today's time, so what was missing?

"Sandhya! Oye! Why are you standing like a statue in the middle of the hallway? Come on, the lecturer hasn't arrived yet," Surbhi shouted and I jogged towards her.

She looked over my appearance and scrunched up her nose. "What's with the outfit?"

"Trying new things," I replied.

She rolled her eyes and shook her head. We both entered the classroom and took our seats. I glanced back and saw that Nikhil wasn't there. Looked like, I pissed him off too much. I sighed and ignored the deathly glares Ved was giving me.

Ayush, as usual was busy ignoring my presence or more specifically, my existence while Parth was smiling goofily at his phone screen. Atleast someone was happy. As for me, I had to focus on my main target, Mahek Rathi.

~×~

"Okay, class. Today, we will be doing some revision. Please open chapter no. 12 and go through the experiment mentioned there," Nair mam announced, and aksed two students to come up and do the experiment.

Since everyone was busy with the show, I observed Mahek from where I sat. She was talking to her lab partner and giggling about something her partner said. Her every moment seemed faked. I so wanted to go up to her and slap her across the face.

Shree turned around in his seat and I quickly averted my gaze from his girlfriend. If he saw me glaring at her, he wouldn't be happy about it.

"Are you trying to copy my brother?" he asked me as he put his phone on silent and began texting Mahek.

"He is the inspiration behind it," I joked.

He took off my cap form my head and put it on his head. He gave me a smirk when he saw my surprised expression. The resemblance was so uncanny. Now that he had cut his hair short and was wearing the cap, he looked carbon copy of Shreyas.

I laughed when he tried to mimic his twin by singing some lines of his song and even played an imaginary guitar. I couldn't control my laughter. I had to clasp my mouth to avoid getting in trouble with Mrs. Nair.

Shree was making really weird faces and I was imagining Shreyas doing that. It was so funny. Shree was back to his jolly self again. I knew he couldn't stay angry for more than a second. He tried to rap but failed in it. My laughter doubled up.

I felt someone burning holes through my skull. I turned my head to my left and saw Mahek fuming with anger. Jealous? She had no right to be. I ignored her for the rest of the class as she continued shooting daggers at me.

The class ended and we all started filing out of the room. Shree hugged Mahek who was throwing tantrums at him for ignoring her during the class.

"Shree! Lecture!" I called him and he left her after planting a kiss on her cheek. Shree jogged towards me and we both went for our next lecture, leaving a very pissed Mahek behind.

After one more lecture which was filled with laughs more than lecturer's talking-thanks to Shree-I got ready to follow my prey. After roaming around for ten minutes, I spotted Mahek entering a classroom and she was with a boy.

I followed them and hid myself behind a cupboard and observed them from a distance. The classroom was empty and in the senior section of the college. What was she doing here?

The guy said something to her and she took out her phone. They were quite busy and discussing something in hushed tones. I wanted to confront her then and there but she wasn't doing anything suspicious.

Then, the guy took out some cash from his wallet and handed her. She jumped in joy and hugged him. The guy glanced around him and left while Mahek counted the money and put it in her bag.

What did she give him exactly? It wasn't what I was thinking it was, right?

She also began to leave but I blocked her way. She jumped back in surprise and ran off. I chased her and caught her before she escaped. She tried to snatch her hand away but I held it in a strong grip.

"There is no use running away, Mahek," I said.

"What do you want, Sandhya?" she yelled.

"Don't raise your voice. I just want to talk about yesterday."

"Yesterday? Oh yeah. How dare you pull that stunt on me?"

She tried to intimidate me. I looked down at her and noticed she was few inches shorter than me. Since she was dressed in a yellow top and light blue mini skirt, she looked like a minion. She only needed a banana and the look would be complete.

Focus, Sandhya. Focus.

"But it was all true, right?" I stated.

"Do you have any proof against me?" She snatched her hand away and crossed her arms across her chest.

"No, I don't. And I don't even need them to prove your wrongdoings."

"Are you threatening me?"

"Why are you cheating on Shree? Don't you have any shame?"

"Why are you getting involved in my personal matter? What I do is none of your concern."

"Shree is my friend and if you hurt him, I will not let you get away with it," I warned.

We were in a staring duel, challenging each other to look away first. She didn't deny that she was cheating on him. What kind of person was she?

"You should know your place, Sandhya."

"Accept the truth already."

"You bitch! How dare you-" She stopped mid-sentence and ducked her head down. When she looked up again, her eyes were full of tears. I watched in shock as tears rolled down her cheeks and she started wailing loudly. I couldn't comprehend what was going on.

"Oye! What the hell are you doing? Why would you start crying so suddenly?" I asked but a figure ran past me in a flash.

"Baby! Why are you crying?" Shree asked and took Mahek in his arms.

When did he arrive? Did Mahek notice him and decided to pull an act? Oh my god! This girl was on a whole another level. I really underestimated her.

Shree asked her again and she pointed a finger at me. He directed his gaze at me and narrowed his eyes.

"What did you say to her?" he asked angrily.

"She blamed me of cheating on you," Mahek cried out.

"Shree listen-"

"What the fuck, Sandhya? Didn't I warn you yesterday? What is your problem with Mahek?" he cut me off.

I glanced at Mahek and she was really outdoing herself this time. I almost clapped for her commendable performance. Shree left Mahek and stood in front of me.

"Speak up, Sandhya. What's your problem?" he boomed.

I stepped back a little. He was really pissed off right now. Behind him, Mahek was smiling like a maniac. Someone just give her a role in a movie already.

"Shree, I am telling you, she isn't a good girl. She is going behind your back with so many guys."

"Why should I believe you? Don't forget you are talking about my girlfriend right now."

"I know but.....damn it! I can't believe I will have to say it myself. I saw her at Ved's hotel last Sunday. She had came with a guy-"

"Baby! She is lying!" Mahek cried and dropped herself on her knees. She covered her face with her hands and then her whole body started shaking.

Was she crying? Again?

Shree's face softened when he saw her state and went beside her. She launched herself in his arms and hid her face in his chest. Shree wrapped his arms around her and patted her back.

"Shree baby... believe me. I am not like that. Just think, no? Why would I even cheat on you? I love you. I don't know why Sandhya would blame me? I never did any wrong to her," she said and glanced at me.

"Tell me, Sandhya. Do you hate me?" she asked me with so much sorrow in her voice that I almost hugged her in consolation.

No, Sandhya. Don't let her fool you.

"I don't hate you," I replied.

"Then why would you accuse me of something so low?"

I sighed but didn't reply. If I said something, she would bring up the proof topic again. Shit yaar. Why would Shree come here when I was about to pressurize her into speaking up the truth herself?

Mahek pulled Shree closer and whispered something in his ear. His eyes widened and he looked at me in shock. He nodded his head to whatever Mahek was telling him and got up. He helped her stand up, came towards me and looked at me in confusion.

"Do you like me, Sandhya?"

W-What?!

I just stared at him, unable to form any reply. That was just out of the blue. What kind of question was that? Why was it even a question? Why would he ask me something so absurd? It felt like my brain had stopped functioning. It was a dead line before it got back in action.

"What?!"

"Yeah. I understand if you have feelings for me, but that in no way gives you any right to put false accusations on Mahek out of jealousy."

My jaw was touching the ground now. I liked Shree? Someone kill me already.

"Of course not!"

"Then why are you so hellbent on ruining our relationship?" he shouted.

Because I don't want you to get your heart broken, you jerk. Was that too much to ask for?

"I didn't know you were so desperate, Sandhya." I heard Ved's mocking voice as he sauntered towards us.

"Now that you aren't getting any attention from Nikhil, you attack Shree?" he accused and stood directly in front of me.

"As for the hotel incident, there was no girl named Mahek that came that day. I confirmed it with my manager," he informed.

"What? Are you sure?" I asked in disbelief.

He nodded his head and put his hands in his pockets. He gave me a long look before he spoke up. "Why are you after Mahek? Have you lost all shame?"

I gritted my teeth and glared at him. He smirked when I tore my gaze away and looked down. How was I supposed to respond? He just said he confirmed that Mahek wasn't at the hotel. And I didn't have any evidence for other incidents too. Fuck. My plan completely backfired.

"So tell us Sandhya. Why are you dead set on proving Mahek guilty?" he asked as he revolved around me.

"Come on, speak up. Every other time you can't keep your trap shut so what's the problem now?" he continued.

"I.... I don't want to see Shree hurt," I replied.

"Oh! Is that so?"

"Yes."

"Why?" Ved came in front and stared at me.

"He is my-"

"No, save it. I am tired of hearing that shit. You heard that, Shree? She said she doesn't want to see you hurt."

I noticed Shree getting uncomfortable as he stared at me with a strange look. Mahek came and hugged him from the side, and he wrapped his arms around her protectively.

"I am sorry, Baby," he said and kissed the top of her head.

"Shree, take Mahek with you," Ved told him and Shree followed his advice.

I just stared as the couple walked away and vanished from my view. I turned back to Ved and he was already staring daggers at me. I also returned the look. Why did he had to intervene?

"You went out of your limits, Sandhya. How could you blame an innocent girl like Mahek?"

"She is not innocent."

"Not again."

"Even if no one believes me, I believe myself."

"Wow! What a great line," he mocked.

I decided to ignore him and started walking away. I didn't want to deal with him. My head had started aching and I needed to take some rest and reflect on today's events. I needed to find why my plan failed.

Just as I took two steps, Ved grabbed my shoulders and halted me. He pulled me back and bent down to stare directly in my eyes.

"Why are you doing all of this?" he asked.

"I am not obliged to answer you."

His grip ony shoulders tightened as he narrowed his eyes and spoke. "You are not satisfied with Nikhil, so you are going after Shree now?"

"Think whatever you want, Ved."

"Take it as a warning, Sandy Pandy. Don't mess around with my friends."

"I am not afraid of you."

"We will see about that," he said and left my shoulders.

I avoided wincing in front of him. I wasn't going to show him that his grip hurt me. I wouldn't let him get that satisfaction. I stormed out of there and cursed him for ruining everything. He had to come between my plans every damn time.

Fuck this shit.