I stared at the Mirror long and hard. Hoping that miraculously the image in it would shift from pale, bloodshot ghost with dirty, matted hair to a decent, presentable girl who had her first day in college as a Senior.

"Tough luck." I mumbled under my breath and grabbed the hairbrush on the dresser. I yanked it brutally through my tangled tresses, knowing that it hurt me a lot but not caring a single a bit. Pain was a part of my daily routine. Try as a I might, it didn't escape me. I had endured so much of it that, I was immune now, this small pain of my roots being pulled harshly didn't faze me anymore.

I thought back to the time my tresses were silky and long. A year ago. And how he used to run his long fingers through them. The way he used to fan them out purposefully on the pillow of his bed whenever he hovered on top of me. So close, that I could....

I shut my eyes, as my brain travelled down the all too known path. The path of memories. The distant, painful memories that killed me every second of the day.

I thanked the heavens when my phone rang on the dresser and effectively distracted me from the painful path my mind had taken. I glanced at the caller ID and frowned.

Alya.

"Hello" I spoke tentatively wondering why she had called as early as 5:00 am. As far as I knew none of them woke up that early. Especially him. I smiled fondly as I remembered the way I had once woken him early and the way he had snapped at me.

"I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!" Alya screeched from the other end and I pulled my phone away from my ear, wondering what had gotten into her. As far as I remembered, there was no reason for her to be apologetic.

"What happened?" I said cautiously.

"I know I was supposed to be at your place right now. It's just that-"

"Wait. What?" Alya at my place? That too early in the morning? I checked the wall clock in my room, wondering if I was still asleep and dreaming.

"Nandini! You don't remember!"

I racked my brains really hard to understand what Alya was talking about and then it struck me. Alya and Mukti had made this stupid plan to give me a makeover the first day before college because apparently according to Mukti, these days I looked like I lived in a cemetery. They didn't even bother to hear my protests before they were off to shop for me. Knowing the kind of stuff they both wore, I knew that I wasn't going to wear anything they bought. But after all, they were HIS friends. Stubborn as hell.

"I don't need it Alya." I sighed.

"Yes you do! And I'm so sorry for being late. I just-''

''Alya, Alya chill please. It's not a big deal I'll manage."

"Nandini." Alya spoke in a petulant voice and I could almost imagine her pouting at the other end at her plans going kaput. But I wasn't having it. After the hell of a summer, I had been through, dressing up and make-up was the last thing on my mind. Why should I dress up myself if there was no one to tell me how beautiful I looked?

''Alya" I said back, in a stern voice. I was sure that Alya knew that this was the last thing I was interested in but she won't give up. They had been doing this all summer. Apparently all this was a part of what Mukti called the "New Us Mission". It consisted of many things, shopping like crazy, dressing up, partying like hell had broken loose and getting hangovers that killed you. That's what I had seen them all do for two whole months and I had realized that this was the Fab5 way of dealing with stress, tragedy and grief. They believed in avoiding rather than fighting. Partying rather than mourning. They called it 'moving on' but I knew the truth. I knew how they cried quietly in the dark corners of their sprawling mansions, after the high of alcohol wore off and reality hit them smack in their face. In that aspect we were same. We all mourned at night, knowing that the sun will rise again and it would be another day without two people that haunted our dreams.

"Nandini are you there?'' Alya asked and I got a start. Zoning out was something that I had been doing a lot lately and that was something that I was trying to work on.

"I'm sorry. Did you say something?''

"It's okay Nandini. It's all okay. Everything will be just fine. " It didn't take me long to understand that Alya was no longer just talking about the fact that I had zoned out. For Alya had said it in that voice, that particular voice which I had been used to hearing the entire summer. It was the voice laced with pity, grief and sympathy and the desire to console the other person when you knew you were hurting just as much. I hated that voice. And I also hated the speech that always followed any sentence spoken in that voice.

"Look Nandini. I know that it is hard. It's difficult for all of us but you need to understand that if Man-''

"Alya I need to go!" I cut her off before she could say that name, "Chachi is calling me!" I faked a panicked voice, hoping it would do the trick.

"Wait! One sec, Nandini!"

"What?" I said, already dreading what she had to say.

"Meet me 10 minutes before your lectures start in the ladies room okay?''

I groaned, "Alya please."

"No, no. I won't do anything to your hair or makeup, I promise. I just need to talk to you."

I frowned. Something told me that this wasn't going to go good. I hesitated before answering.

"It's really important." She said and I gave in.

"Okay. I'll see you there."

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Welcome to S.P.A.C.E or the place that I proudly called, "The hell where I had once found my heaven." It was back to being hell, because my angel had already left it and the only reason I was back here was....
Okay, I didn't have a concrete reason. This fact reminded me of the irreparable mess that my life had become and it tightened my resolve of trying to fix the broken pieces of my life again.

The scars will always be there. But I'll try to be whole again. For me. For him.

I will find a reason to come here everyday, I resolved to myself before pulling up the strap of my bag and walking in through the grand iron doors, with my head held high, just like I had done, one precise year ago.

I wasn't immune to the whispers that followed me. They were like bees that started buzzing the moment I walked past them. They talked and stared. They gasped and wondered. After all, they all knew about that dreadful accident that had snatched away the Rockstar, the life of S.P.A.C.E and the ringleader of FaB5 from this world. And me, I was what he had left behind. The closest and most precious person to him. I chuckled to myself, they all must be wondering how I was still alive but then, he was a fighter and so am I.

None of them dared to approach me even though I heard their whispers. Such was his terror that they won't dare mess with me regardless of him being there or not. So I ignored them all and let the comments fly over my ears.

I checked my phone and saw that I had a text from Alya.

*R u coming?*

*Yes* I responded back and quickly walked through the sprawling lobby and up the second flight of stairs that led to the ladies room. I pushed open the door tentatively and before I could register anything a mass of curls flew towards me and pulled me in a bear hug.

"I missed you." Mukti sang in my ear while crushing my bones in the process.

"Mukti, we met 2 days ago." I managed to chock out.

"Liar." Alya chirped from her perch on the sink. "You haven't seen us the entire last week."

"Yes." Mukti said releasing me, "And at that time, you only met Alya. Not me." She pouted.

I stared at both of them strangely. Since when had they both become so clingy? Oh yes, over last summer when they both couldn't stop obsessing over me and had taken to treating me like a porcelain doll that might break any second. Considering the track record I had had with the females of Fab5 over the course of the past one year, this sudden burst of affection and attention had left me in a tizzy. I knew that they meant well and that they had my best interests at heart and just wished to support me during this tough time but still, I found it weird as hell.

" I'm sorry Mukti-" I started to apologize before she cut me off.

"It's okay!" She said. "I can understand." She flashed me a sympathetic smile and I turned my face away. Not today.

"Mukti, we aren't here for that." Alya spoke while rummaging in her bag.

"Oh yes. Let's cut to the chase shall we?" Mukti said putting on a cheerful smile.

Gladly. I thought in my head but just nodded in response.

A beat of silence passed in which Mukti and Alya stared at each other and I could almost see the unspoken communication that passed between them. Something was up. And the way the air shifted from uncomfortable to tensed, I was sure it wasn't something that I would like. I could feel a rock settle in the pit of my stomach in the time that they both took to say something and my previous doubt changed to confirmation. It was about him.

Putting on my bravest face and my strongest voice I prompted. "Guys?"

I wish I was prepared for what they had in store.

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Author's Note:

Okay so here it is! Its my first KY2 fanfiction and I had the utmost fun penning this down. I hope you guys like it. Its also a cliffhanger! Beware! I love putting cliffhangers and having the audience guess what I have in store. So tell me what you think...what do Mukti and Alya have in store for Nandini?

And don't forget to check out Ariana Grande's One Last Time that has inspired the title!

Comment below and tell me your thoughts :) And don't forget to vote!

Ciao!

Love,

P.S