"Why aren't you eating anything, Sandhya?" Divya asked while pointing towards my lunchbox.

"What happened?" Rashi inquired.

"Oye," Surbhi poked me, "say something. What's troubling you?"

"Girls, don't pressurise her; give her some space," Tanya scolded them and glanced at me.

"I am sorry, guys. My mind is not working properly," I sighed.

Tanya gave me a smile in reassurance and told Surbhi to stop sulking. After a small lecture from Tanya, everyone continued eating their lunch, while Surbhi was shooting me death glares for ignoring her.

Of course, she was mad. I had promised that we wouldn't hide anything from each other, but I couldn't blow out Ayush's painful past like that in front of others without his permission.

Even after Nikhil and my parents tried so hard to cheer me up, I felt all my energy being drained out as soon as I stepped inside the college. My eyes were continuously searching for Ved and when they spotted him, I ran away that instant; I didn't know for how longer I would be able to keep my mouth shut.

While thinking about Ayush's confession that day, I closed my tiffin and pushed it aside, mentally apologizing to mom for not eating the food. I thought of excusing myself and retiring to the Drama club to distract myself, but my eyes zeroed in on the white coloured lunch box which slid on the table and stopped right in front of me.

I blinked rapidly and widened my eyes as I saw my utmost favourite dish, Kashi Halwa, staring back at me.

(Kashi Halwa👆)

"Why don't you eat it to check if it is real or not?"

I snapped my head to the right and saw Natural Heater looking back at me with a huge grin on his bright face. He sat down beside me and gave me a spoon.

"You made it?" My eyebrows were touching the sky.

"Yes, my lady." Ved nodded and motioned for me to taste the dish.

"Lucky bitch," Surbhi teased and my girl gang started giggling.

I glanced between Ved and my favourite delicacy. After doing that multiple times and my friends scolding me to stop delaying, I moved my hand and took a spoonful of the dish and put it in my mouth.

Oh my god, it was so yummy!

Just a morsel, and I was in heaven. I slowly munched, enjoying the taste and finally letting the food travel to my stomach.

"How is it?" Ved asked with caution.

"Only Mom knows how to make it the way I like," I confessed. "How did you manage to cook it?"

"I learned from the best." He winked.

Oh, so that's what he was doing yesterday in my kitchen. And Mom and Dad didn't even tell me what the three of them were planning - my parents had become really close to him even though their interactions weren't that much.

"It is really awesome," I complimented.

"Glad you like it." Ved smiled. "Now finish it up."

I nodded and instantly moved the spoon to grab another bite. My heart was doing cartwheels as I moved the morsel in my mouth's direction, but my body froze when my gaze registered Ayush's silhouette in the distance. Soon, his whole body came into view and my hand shook in nervousness when I saw him standing in the corridor with clenched fists and pissed off expression.

I tried to eat, but the way his challenging look was piercing through my soul made me drop down the spoon and glance at Ved with mixed emotions. He furrowed his eyebrows and asked me why I stopped; I was so going to regret my next actions.

"I am not hungry," I murmured.

"What?" Surbhi shouted. "You didn't even eat your lunch, and now, you aren't even eating your favourite dish?"

"We won't let you starve, so you better eat what Ved specially cooked for you," Tanya scolded sternly.

"Yeah, dude. If I was in your place, I would have gobbled that up in one go," Divya said, and Rashi agreed with her.

"I don't feel like eating," I lied and shifted away from Princess as Ayush entered the cafeteria and sat down on his usual table.

"What happened to you suddenly?" Ved accused.

How was I supposed to get out of this? If I eat it then I don't know whether Ayush would explode, and if I don't eat it then I would end up hurting Ved in the process; he took the effort to cook my favourite dish for me.

I would have preferred dying at that moment than being stuck in that situation.

"Are you going to eat or not?" Ved questioned in a cold tone.

"I... I want to, but..." I gulped nervously. "Ved, I... a-am..."

"Why don't you say it directly if you don't like it?" he grunted and grabbed his lunch box.

I moved my hand to stop him, but he snapped up from the chair in a flash and stomped towards the exit. On his way, he dumped the food along with the container in a trash can and vanished from my sight. For a moment, I couldn't believe that I managed to eventually enrage him and insult him too.

"Job well done, Sandhya," Surbhi taunted and got up from her spot.

"What the hell was that?" Rashi expressed her disappointment and followed suit.

"Do you enjoy hurting him every time?" Divya gave up and shook her head at me.

"Girls," Tanya warned and told them to stop blaming me.

"No, Tanya. I have had enough. She won't tell us what's going on with her, so how are we supposed to know? We are not psychic," Surbhi argued and punched me on the shoulder before storming out.

"We are also leaving," Divya informed and left with Rashi.

"You okay?" Tanya put her right palm over my left and squeezed it.

"I don't know," I mumbled and glanced at Ayush.

Brrrinnngg!

"Please don't stress yourself out whatever the issue is, Sandhya." Tanya patted my shoulder and left for her class.

I also got up and picked up my bag. I avoided looking at Ved's best friend on my way and sighed dejectedly. My pace was extremely slow, but I managed to get to the Chemistry lab on time. My butt landed on the chair, and I took out my textbooks like a robot.

I began doodling to keep my brain from exploding and avoiding crying in front of my classmates. I knew I acted like a jerk, but I saw no option other than refusing Ved's cooked dish, ending up making him look like a fool. If Ayush hadn't arrived, I wouldn't have wasted my time overthinking and would have ate it in one go.

Why don't you just stop wasting time and talk with Ved? You can even tell Ayush to be there.

What if Ved reacts negatively? You know how protective he is of Ayush, right?

Are you going to sulk like this your whole life, then?

I was doomed - for good.

Splash!

"What the fuck, Mahek?" Shree shouted loud enough to break my train of thoughts.

"Are you okay?" he asked me and picked up my notebook.

"Why are you so worried about this bitch?" Mahek glared at me and threw a chemical potion on one of my rough books.

"Mahek!" Shree yelled and grabbed her wrist. "Don't try my patience."

"It is because of her, isn't it? She definitely provoked you against me again," Mahek accused while pointing towards me.

"What are you taking about?" I questioned.

Shree told me to ignore Mahek, who was continuously blaming me for coming between her and her boyfriend, and because of me only, Shree was planning on breaking up with her. I had already seen them fighting a lot earlier, but it was really absurd to hear Mahek spewing nonsense and ruining my stationery.

"I am sorry," Shree apologized to me and shot his girlfriend a death glare.

"It is okay," I waved him off and put my spoilt notebooks to dry on the window sill.

I could have beaten Mahek to pulp for messing with me unnecessarily, but I had no strength to waste my time on her; she was the least of my concerns at the moment. Shree managed to move Mahek to her original spot and sighed in relief once Nair Mam entered the lab.

Just like the Chemistry class, I spent rest of my lectures zoning out while receiving taunts from my best friends in between. After that cafeteria incident, I didn't see Ved in any of our common lectures and when I asked Nikhil about it, he informed me that Ved was playing basketball non-stop and avoiding talking to anyone.

I felt my heart losing spirit, but I knew that if I went to check on Ved, Ayush would be there and he wouldn't let me near Ved at any cost. I shook my head dejectedly, and after hearing what Nikhil told me, I felt like the biggest criminal in the whole universe. I ran towards the cafeteria and decided to search for the lunch box which Ved had thrown in the dustbin, but unfortunately, the staff had already emptied the bins.

"Hey, Sandhya."

"Hi, guys." I replied to my classmates, Kriya and Bindu, who told me about their plan of going to Ayush's house for the group project.

"Why don't you come to my house instead?" I offered.

"We thought about it, but you and Kriya live really far. So the only option left was Ayush's home," Bindu answered. "You are coming, right?"

I nodded absentmindedly and the girls left after confirming my decision. With a defeated look, I headed towards the parking lot after the last bell rang. I took out my scooter and waited for Nikhil to arrive as he was in a meeting with his Coach.

"Why are you being distant, Sandy Pandy?"

My cheeks heated up when Ved made himself comfortable on the pillion seat and snaked his right arm around my waist. He pulled me flush against his chest and perched his chin on my left shoulder.

"Did I do something?" he asked in a low voice.

"You are too close," I mumbled under my breath and clutched the scooter's handles tightly.

"I don't care," he deadpanned. "I won't leave you until you tell me what happened."

I glanced around to see if Ayush was in sight and moved a bit away from Ved, but he tightened his hold and shook me from side-to-side, asking for an explanation for my behaviour.

"There is nothing serious," I lied.

"You are lying," he pinched my nose, "but I won't be fooled."

"Ved..." I grumbled and sighed in defeat.

Someone kill me this instant! If Ved doesn't leave me within five seconds, I would end up proposing him in the parking lot.

"Looks like you don't want to share it with me." Ved pouted and got up from the seat.

Just when I thought he would hop off and storm out like earlier, he twisted my head towards him with his right hand and gave me a smooch near the corner of my mouth. His lips lingered there for a moment before he moved his head away and jumped off the scooter.

"Just wait for me, Sandy Pandy," he said and ran a hand through his curly hair.

He winked before turning away and skipping in his bike's direction. Soon after, Nikhil also arrived and tilted his head in confusion.

"Why do you look so flushed?" he queried while sitting behind me.

"Nothing." I shook my head vigorously and started my vehicle.

I zoomed out of the college, and after driving only for a few metres, I told Nikhil to drive and took the pillion seat - I would have ended up getting him killed along with me.

Stop thinking about the kiss, idiot. Did you forget about the group project with Ayush? Just make sure he doesn't murder you tomorrow, or else you won't be able to get together with Princess even in your dreams.