(🚨 Long chapter ahead 🚨)

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After the major announcement was made regarding the annual event, everyone from student to faculties was busy in building up their special themed stalls and practicing plays they had written to showcase in front of the esteemed guests.

The time was flying by past - like a blur - and I never knew I could be that much busy in my life. I earlier scolded Ved for not giving me any time but quickly regretted it when I myself couldn't talk to him for more than even a minute amidst the ongoing craziness.

Natural Heater was busy with his own tasks along with the responsibility of looking after the events held by Sports department in partnership with Parth and Payal. Meanwhile, I was running here and there with my costume in one hand to practice my own play, and the other second, I was helping the Videography club in organising the camera set-up in the auditorium - an extra duty thrown on me by none other than Mayank Sharma.

All this while, I was cursing for being overconfident and promising Surbhi that I would participate in everything at the start of our college year. But, there was something good that came out of it. Even though I wasn't with Ved every moment, I got to spend a lot of time with Priyaank since we had a lot of common clubs and activities.

Throughout the whole preparation jargon, I realised that I no longer had any romantic feelings towards him and was able to converse with him normally without making a fool out of myself. Also, earlier I was concerned about him having a girlfriend but that worry was out of the window too.

In addition to that, Rajeev had given me a leave from work and his cousin Dhruv was taking care of all the stuff in the gym. I visited my workplace a few times whenever I got time and was quite surprised to see Dhruv being respectful and not getting on my nerves like he did in the past.

I was happy to see him like that and wondered if he was just keeping a safe distance from me after I beat him to pulp that day.

I also visited Faiyaz, Zoya and Katherine in meantime and we hung out occasionally. Keeping my fights with Shree and his girlfriend aside, everything was going fine. My girl gang was always there for me, Karthik was practicing the hell out while Nikhil, Shreyas and Rashi were helping him with music and make-up part, my parents were happy to see me getting involved in co-curricular activities, I made more friends in the process-

Oh wait! I completely forgot about my childhood ex-best friend!

Surprisingly, Ayush wasn't bothered by my presence and didn't mind whenever I went to check on Ved. He was always there with his best friend, but unlike earlier, he didn't shoot me death glares or told me to bug off from their lives.

What more could I ask for? Even Ved was in a merry mood that his boyfriend- I mean best friend wasn't affected by me - and my existence.

Basically, I was on cloud nine and hopping like a rabbit from one place to another and lending a helping hand to anyone who needed. Rajeev and Mayank were happy to see me like that as they were used to me causing blunders every time and Divya was really glad to get everyone back together.

Just like that, we didn't realise when the time flew by, and today was our first day of the college's annual function. And as Mayank had promised, he indeed brought some renowned personalities to attend the fest and interact with the students.

The main ground was filled with various booths coloured in all possible hues and decorations, and a small stage was set-up in the middle to demonstrate the plays organised by different classes - I felt like I was in a fair and attending my Freshers Welcome Party again but on a larger scale.

(Images are used for representational purposes only.)

I still had time to go and get ready for my play 'Beauty and the Beast', so I went to see Karthik's performance for which he was training for months. And it was awesome! I was waiting in anticipation to see his parents' reaction after he was done, and as I had ninety percent expected, his mother's face was blank while his father was sporting a disinterested look throughout the ceremony; only his sister was excited.

I saw Karthik getting applauded by the guests, but I knew he was expecting his parents to show some appreciation for his art. After he got off the stage, Nikhil congratulated him and told him that he did very well. Karthik thanked him and went backstage to change after watching his parents leave the auditorium without a smile.

I felt really bad for him but decided to give him time to relax and he already had his friends with him, so I didn't worry about him suffering alone. Moreover, Shreyas was also there which meant Karthik would be getting good advice as it is without me interfering unnecessarily.

After stealing a quick glance at my Princess, who was busy hosting the Sports department's booth with his teammates and sporting his original curly hairstyle with confidence, I headed towards my territory where my Belle was waiting for me with a pissed off Mrs. Potts beside her.

We started our play, and I promise it was not intentional, but I ended up calling Shree as Baldy on the stage. I quickly rectified my mistake but Shree took his revenge when we were dancing by spinning me around so fast that I almost stumbled. I wanted to hit him, but I controlled myself and enjoyed seeing Mahek rolling her eyes as if I was actually planning on marrying her boyfriend.

I sighed in relief once we were done and spotted Mom and Dad in the crowd. I jumped down the stage and hugged them. Dad patted my back proudly and told me that I was killing the Beast avatar. Mom clicked a few pics of us and then I went to get myself changed.

Since I was done with one of my responsibilities for the day, I took my parents for a tour and introduced them to my friends whom they had never met before. Dad was beaming like his scooter's headlight when he met Ved and his team. I tried to stop him but he was having his own fan moment, so I let him be, and on the way, we met Nikhil's mom and dad too.

Now that the old generation was united, I was allowed to roam free and not disturb them as they enjoyed themselves. I went beside Ved who was instantly involved in a conversation with a small group of girls from another college. They were asking him about the activities arranged in his stall and requesting him to show them a demo.

Honestly, I wouldn't have minded, but they only had to shoot the basketball in a ring to score points and then they would get a soft toy. There were other sports too, but they were glued to Ved like honeybees. I didn't notice when Nikhil came in front of me and hit me with a volleyball.

"You trying to bury the poor girls alive by your stare?" he teased.

"I might do that if they don't get away from Ved within five seconds," I grumbled.

"What?" Nikhil widened his eyes.

"What?" I shrugged my shoulders.

I ignored Nikhil's curious looks and threatened him not to say anything or I would crack his bones without thinking. Nikhil shook his head and went back to his team after throwing me a teasing look. I sighed deeply and pursed my lips as I let my inner voice guide me about what I was supposed to do when it came to Ved.

I knew I liked him, and I was also sure that he also did but to be on the safer side, I was taking my time to properly sort out my feelings. Ved was a tough guy from outside but he was really sensitive too. I was worried that if I told him about my true feelings, what his reaction would be.

I knew I was having all these weird doubts but I had to make sure that it didn't affect Ved negatively. He had already suffered a lot - thanks to me - so I didn't want him to deal with me if we weren't on the same page.

I took my time to observe him and decided to grab some ice cream from a stall to calm down my overworking nerves. For the last few weeks, a lot of times I thought of talking to him and confessing but my low self-esteem would always kick in at the wrong time and then I would drop the plan altogether.

I didn't realise confessing our true feelings was so hard (；一_一)

I went to sit on the edge of the stage which was vacant at the moment as all of the students were having a break. I placed two of my ice cream tubs on the side and began eating the strawberry flavour. I relaxed instantly as the cold dessert traveled from my mouth and landed in my stomach - it was delicious!

I ended up emptying the tub within minutes and then moved to the chocolate flavour which suffered the same fate as the earlier one. Then, it was time for my favourite butterscotch. I was almost done with it when I noticed a familiar flop of dark brown curly hair enter my vision and settle in front of me.

"Again enjoying alone," Ved complained and eyed my ice cream tub.

"I am not going to share." I shot him a fake glare.

Ved crossed his arms on my thighs and moved his head forward. "That's butterscotch, Sandy Pandy; you have to share."

He was so close!

Somehow, I managed to keep my heart rate under check and moved the ice cream tub towards Ved, who instead of taking it told me to feed him myself. I blinked rapidly and told my brain to give me a signal, but that useless organ moved my right hand on its own and put the spoon in Ved's mouth.

"Wow, it is really tasty," Ved commented. "Commerce guys did a nice job in making it."

While he was busy complimenting the sweet snack, I observed how his eyes twinkled and his lips curled up in a gorgeous smile as he talked about how he would visit all the food stalls later and try everything before they ran out of stock.

I moved my gaze to his hair which was covering his head like a thick canopy and some loose strands were falling over his forehead like Maggie noodles. I couldn't control the temptation and moved my left hand to stroke his hair and feel the texture which reminded me of my childhood days.

"Bird's nest is back." I chuckled and ran my hand through his hair.

I didn't realise that I did that for quite a good amount of time before Ved grabbed my hand and told me to stop messing his hairstyle. I snapped my eyes back on his face and saw his cheeks flushed like the strawberry ice cream I was eating a few moments ago.

"Sorry," I blurted out quickly as I remembered that Ved didn't like anyone touching his hair without permission.

Ved didn't say anything and told me to feed him the remaining dessert in return for playing with his hair. To avoid further embarrassment, I completed the ordeal, making Ved grin like a five-year old, and my inner voice urging me to tell him whatever was going on in my mind.

"Oops! Got to go; my break time is over," Ved said and left before I could get my senses back.

"Did you just freeze on the spot?" Someone waved his/her hand in front of my face.

I turned my head really slowly and saw Sahil looking at me with concern mixed with some curiosity. I took a few seconds to let the things settle in and then hopped off the stage. I greeted him and thanked him for coming to my college fest.

He nodded and told me to accompany him as he had come alone. I agreed as I didn't have any remaining work for another half an hour and took my friend to show him the various delicacies and artworks prepared by my talented batchmates.

Sahil bought a few items and then asked me to take him to where Ved was. Without thinking much, I directed him to the stall where Ved's team was having a competition among themselves. When I announced Sahil's presence, I thought that Ved would be happy to see his friend but that didn't happen.

Even for just a second, I saw Princess' face contort in anger which he quickly masked with a blank expression. Sahil and Ved shook their hands and talked to each other formally. I wasn't sure what happened between them but both of them were giving off cold vibes - as if they would murder each other any moment.

It was fucking weird!

"Your stall seems to be a lot popular," Sahil commented.

"Of course it would be," Nikhil replied in a clipped tone.

Sahil rolled his eyes and turned towards me. "Let's go, Sandhya. I don't want to keep Ved busy, and as it is we have a lot of stuff still left to explore."

"Okay." I answered nonchalantly.

I started moving forward when Sahil grabbed my right hand and clasped it in his own. I quirked up an eyebrow in confusion and tried to get my hand out of his grip, but Sahil tightened his hold and gave me a smile.

"Do you mind?" he questioned.

Did I really mind? I kind of did, but it wasn't the first time we were holding hands - it wasn't a big deal.

I shook my head and waved at Ved who was was looking at me with mixed emotions. Sahil tugged my hand and motioned for me that we should get going. I nodded, and after shooting a last glance at Ved, I went with Sahil.

I was trying to concentrate on what Sahil was saying, but I kept turning my head back; I was suddenly feeling really sad. On our way, I spotted an ice-cream booth which had restocked its items. I removed my hand from Sahil's hold and entered the booth.

I bought four butterscotch flavoured tubs and headed towards Ved. Sahil asked me why I was going back but I ignored him and reached the Sports department's stall and saw Ved looking at new guests with disinterest.

I reached him and moved the ice-creams towards him. "Surprise!"

Ved glanced at the tubs and me, his eyes darting between the two in rapid motion. He only took them when I confirmed it countless times that I actually bought it for him. Even after getting his favourite ice- cream, he didn't say anything and kept staring at me.

"Where is mine?" Nikhil complained.

"Buy it yourself." I gave him a tight-lipped smile.

"You have become biased."

I teased him, and after checking that Ved was still alive, I returned back to Sahil who was waiting for me in the distance.

"Let's go," I said.

He gave me a curt nod and matched steps with me. I noticed that he wasn't talking that much and was only replying in mono-syllables, indicating that his mood was spoilt - no surprise in that.

He was my friend but sometimes I never understood his mood swings. I decided to ignore that and smiled as I kept replaying the earlier incident in my mind.

Would I like to make Ved smile like that every day? Yes, I would. Would I like to see him happy every time? Of course, I would.

It is decided then. I am going to confess to Ved once the college fest gets over - I have already delayed enough; I don't feel the need to waste more time.