Nicky's POV

I was looking for Nicky in the classroom as in Chemistry lab, ma'am was asking for her and she wasn't around.

"M...Micky, w...where are y...you?" I called out.

"Ni...Nicky, here we are," a number of male voices replied.

"W...where is M...Micky?" I asked them.

"Look at his trembling legs," Deepak jeered.

"I think he'll faint soon with terror," Sharad laughed.

All the other members of Sharad's gang laughed and I was cornered by them.

"P...please l...let me go," I pleaded.

"We will, bro," Deepak put a hand on his shoulder, "Just speak Micky's full name without stammering."

"M...Man."

"M...Mansi."

"Mansi Mish...sh...sh..."

They showed me an inverted thumb, "We said to speak her full name. How can you dream her making your girlfriend when you can't properly even speak her name? Not that she's much of a catch either. She just has booksmarts, but her screw here," Deepak said, pointing at the side of his forehead, "has lost somewhere. She's so despo for getting a boyfriend that she's trying her pathetic flirting skills on this loser."

"Y..you," I punched Deepak in the face. It's not that I have stammering issue since I began speaking nor I used to be so timid. But ever since that scary serial killer killed my parents in front of me, I developed an unknown fear that he's out there to kill me even though he was given capital punishment by the court. Any violence or aggressive behaviour triggers panic attacks. My adopted father is making me work on these issues by encouraging me to take small-small steps but with his scant income, he cannot afford treatment at a well-known psychiatric faculty.

Now, that I've punched Deepak, I started hyperventilating. I could not sense my own body. Everything is growing dark around me. I see someone charging towards me with closed fist, but I didn't feel anything on my face. I could feel a shoe on my belly, but I was feeling no pain. I couldn't sense anything until I heard Micky's voice.

"You dare touch him again, and I swear this is your last day in the school compound. Look at him, you have beaten him so much,"Micky was close to tears.

Despite trying my best, I couldn't get up. Now all the pain came rushing in my body. My body was broken. I was broken. I felt like the protagonist in the movie Lovely bones who can only see things but not do anything. The only difference was that she was dead and stuck in afterlife whereas I was alive by medical standards.

"Micky, are you so despo to be in a relationship, you don't even realise he's using you? He likes only Simran, it's you who are playing the fool here."

"Seriously, Simran just studies in the same IIT JEE coaching we do," Micky attempted to reason.

"Have you even noticed Simran? She's so driven and ambitious. She is the coaching topper despite coming from a poor village background. Whereas you are just an aimless spoilt kid. Simran is Nicky's type, not you. But you are so desparate..."

"I'm not desperate for anyone. Who said I love Nicky? It's just that I pity him? Why would I get into a relationship with someone like him when I can marry an ambitious, good looking person who can at least stand for himself."

That's it. I must be dreaming all this. There's no way Micky would speak about me like that. But little did I know, the worse was yet to come. Deepak and gang would punish me in a more disgusting way for raising my hand on them and Micky...well Micky.