One week had passed. Shreekant was left alone. He had already got into a second fight with the same bunch of guys taunting him for the same reason once again. It was understandable that no one would want to be friends with him. With all that had happened, people did not feel pleasant about him. The seat beside him during lectures was reserved for the last student to arrive.

That day they had their first lab session. They were to do the experiments in groups of twos. Shreekant was in fact happy to have all the equipment to himself, although some unlucky fellow would have to pair up with him since their class had an even number of students.

Soon the unlucky one appeared.

Dhriti smiled sheepishly. She was intrigued by this boy ever since that incident.

Many eyes were on him that day. But one particular pair, that especially got lost in the crowd, had the most questions. While she sat in a corner on the farther side, Shreekat sat relatively close to the lecture board and in the middle. And so, she would observe him from the back whenever she was bored in class.

However, she was not so interested as to partner with him that day! She was looking around with uncertainty and soon everyone had paired up and she was left without a partner.

After all, she was not very comfortable yet with the other students. She did not belong to the elite club of top rankers. In fact, she got in through pure luck when a seat was emptied out at the last minute. It was a godsend of being at the right place at the right time. It did create a dent in her self esteem whenever she was asked about her rank, although she told the truth and shrugged it off.

Now she had no other choice. She had to work together with the brightest boy who made the dumbest mistake on the very first day. Back then she had bowed her head down and hid her expression that was full of gossip like the rest with raised brows, down-turned lips and her tongue in cheek. But now she was slightly worried. He would not hit her, a girl, would he? She still decided to be careful and not piss him off.

"So, who goes first?" she said, eyeing the microscope. She was trying to sound confident, but her demeanour did not match her stance. Why was she paired with this student out of all?

"You can."

"Okay! Thanks!" She looked at the tissue and adjusted the microscope a little, before sneaking a glance at Shreekant. He was looking into the material. She quickly turned back to the device and looked on at the blurry image for a good two minutes.

"I've seen!" she said and turned to him, only to see him frown at the adjustment screw.

This was it, she thought, and put her hand on the screw. Now she just had to act like the screw 'accidentally' moved and her adjustment was ruined. But before she could, he stopped her, shielding the screw. "What did you see?"

She heard the sarcasm.

How embarrassing to be caught in a lie.

He adjusted the microscope and studied the image. He did not spend even half the time she did.

"Take a look."

With her head down, she took his spot.

Unexpectedly, he repeated to her what the professor had. He directed her where to look and what it was that she saw with such great precision, she was in a trance just following his words. He even added some bits of information about those parts. When they were done, she was in a daze. She blinked and looked around him. The orientation of the image was different from what they had on their books and different from every other sample, so where was his reference?

"What?"

"How?"

"What?"

"How... How did you know what I was looking at?"

He looked at her as if she was the dumbest person to ever walk the earth. "I looked at it before you."

Sure, he did. But still, what kind of memory is that?

"You have a great memory."

Then he showed a small smile. Finally, he got one kind and real compliment without any undertones. "If you don't mind, can we partner up for next sessions as well?"

Dhriti suddenly felt embarrassed.

After a few moments of silence, Shreekant said with his eyes down, "It's okay." After all, this week no one came to team up with him and he very well knew the reason. Everyone knew about the fight. She must be the unlucky one left out and had no choice to pair up with anyone but him.

The session continued on and Shreekant did not hold back in helping her. But seeing her constant discomfort, he decided to follow the teacher's instructions first and keep everything ready.

"Don't worry, you'll get used to these."

That was when Dhriti gathered up her courage. "Then, can I be on the same team as you?

Pleasantly surprised, he said, "Of course." After a pause he said, "Thank you."

"What for?"

"Nobody wants to pair with me."

Oh! Same. Same here, she thought. But she just gave him a nervous little laugh.

With every lab session, they became more comfortable with each other. Sometimes he would make her set the apparatus, and some other times he would ask her to tell him what she understood. Of course not a session went by without him stressing how much more studying she should do.

Soon they ate their lunch together.

Soon after, they sat together during class. Shreekant finally had a friend at college and he sat in the back bench for the first time in his life. Peer pressure, they call it.

∼•∽

Three weeks went by. Then the two families met to decide on the marriage date, preparations, shopping and much more.

Through this time, Lakshya was absent except when he could not avoid it. When he looked at Shreya, if he was sure that no one was watching, he would glare. If there was someone, however, he averted his eyes and showed a little awkwardness.

Shreya was dumbfounded. Not when he glared, but in the other case. From an outsider's perspective, she was sure that he looked like a shy man welcoming marriage. Shreya sighed silently, but she was happy to see him. When he glared, she gave him a smile and looked away.

Once the priest set the wedding date according to their horoscopes, there was a festive rush. They had two months until the wedding day.

"You two. Go out every weekend from now on!" Amulya announced to the stunned couple in the middle of the hallway.

Lakshya knew exactly what his mother was doing. So she was sharp enough to doubt him, he thought. Lately, he put a special ringtone for Moksha's calls. It was not even a beep, just plane silence. Yet his mother must have known somehow that he was still hanging out with Moksha.

"That's inappropriate!" Shekhar said.

Suddenly put on the spot, Amulya turned to Lakshman.

Lakshman walked to Shekhar as he casually laughed. "It is not that inappropriate. Now-a-days, children date for years before they commit. More importantly... It will help them bond..."

Shekhar's face betrayed his feelings as he smiled stiffly.

After some more talking, he conceded. He would allow the couple to go out together, but only if there was someone with them.

Lakshya's parents looked at each other, then at Lalitha. Lalitha's face was pleasant yet expressionless.

"That's great! It will be a double date, then," Lata chimed as she winked at her brother.

"What about Akshitha?" Lakshya asked.

Lata punched him one and glared at him. "Did you just call my daughter an extra?"

They all laughed it off and the weekly dates were set. The contrast between the two families was very clear. Lakshya's side were jovial and fun loving, while Shreya's side of the family barely cracked a joke.

Shreya was lost in her thoughts until she felt Lakshya's glare.

A smile came to her lips. Their family was definitely a breath of fresh air in her life. But that did not mean she would be a part of them. She still remembered how Lata treated her during their first meeting. It was clear she looked down on her for whatever reason. Then there was her betrothed who was always mad at her. Going out with them might give her a headache.

Nevertheless, she looked forward to their meetings.

∼•∽

For the first weekend, Lakshya said he had a hectic week and that he badly needed a rest.

On the second weekend, Lakshya's schoolmate was getting married. He sent over the wedding invitation. It was his excuse. Shreya did not know if he actually attended though.

When the third weekend rolled around, Shreya did not have the heart to ask if they were going to meet. She said she had some research to do for an upcoming experimentation. She had a lot to study.

Fourth weekend, Shreya contacted him first as always and told him that her study had to be prolonged and that she was sorry. The apology was perfunctory.

∼•∽

One late afternoon Shreya clocked out of work early and took a walk nearby. There was one month left until the marriage and half of her mind was always occupied with those thoughts. It was a little exciting, a little intimidating, and a little overwhelming.

Her phone broke her train of thought.

"Hello?" It was an unknown number. She could not even guess who it might be, she had no plans that evening.

"Shreya! It's me, Lata."

Shreya was quite surprised. She could not bring herself to say anything into the phone. She could not understand her really. She made her feel self conscious every time. Her eyes always seemed to assess her. But she had also sent her cookies the other day...

"Hello? I am Lakshya's sister."

"Shreya?"

"Yes?" She finally answered, feeling guilty for not saving the number.

"Is everything okay?"

"Yeah." She nodded, once again falling into her previous thoughts. She could not lie to herself. She was truly intimidated by both the siblings. Lakshya's sharp glare and Lata's behaviour with her were equally suffocating. Her voice definitely trembled just before.

"Shall we meet up sometime?"

"That... May I know why?" Shreya could not help it. First brother, then sister, to tell her what? But she was cut off by Lata's overbearing voice.

"What do you mean? Just let's meet right now!"

Shreya was confused.

"Actually, I should head home soon."

"Come on! I'll tell uncle! You're going to be my sister-in-law soon anyway!"

Shreya was stunned. How did Lata know? She could have had other time-bound things. But before she could refute, Lata spoke again, "It's fine!" her pitch raised, "I don't need you to talk to my dad. Where do you want to meet up?"

"Let's see... How about a snack at Tummy Yummy? Rajat just came home. We'll be there soon."

"Okay..."

She soon hailed a cab. She could come back before the driver came to pick her up. She was already engaged and she was just meeting her future sister-in-law, yet she felt the need to obtain her father's permission, which she suppressed heavily throughout the journey.

Just as she got out, she met Lata, her husband and the small girl. "Shreya!" Lata smiled at her brightly and took her in for a hug.

Shreya was stiff. Was this the same woman she knew? How did she turn so friendly? While they did see each other a lot during the engagement, they did not speak to each other much.

The baby, Akshita, who had taken quite a liking to Shreya, looked at her with a silly smile. "Mama, Papa, Ashi." She pointed to her parents one by one and then to herself. Then she pointed to Shreya and put her brain to a lot of work.

"Sheya," she said finally.

Shreya smiled. "She's really cute!" She gently shook the baby's hand. Of course it was not the first time she was meeting the little girl, but she had not really had the time to interact with her.

"She's a hell raiser at home. Let's go."

Shreya soon got used to this persona of Lata. She asked through their meal, "So, what did you call me about?"

"Come on! Can I not?" Lata smiled.

Shreya felt uncomfortable and even absurd that Lata was really treating her like a future sister-in-law.

Then something that was weighing down on her mind, for a few months now, came to the forefront. Before she could stop to think or maybe gather the right words, she blurted, "Lakshya has a girlfriend."

Shreya then cautiously looked over at Rajat. He was arguing with Akshita about the place being Tummy Yummy and not Yummy Tummy.

"Don't mind him. Let's talk. He had one. What did that brat say to you?"

"He... He had asked me to cancel... He is very serious about her..."

She nodded. "Then I will say, thank you for not cancelling."

"I told him I can't... But now I wonder..." Shreya touched the ring he had put on her finger. It was beautiful.

"Shreya, there's no need to change anything! I guessed he'd do something so I wanted to warn you beforehand. But I'm quite late it seems. At home mom and dad think he has already broken up with Moksha." Lata widened her eyes suddenly, seemingly guilty. "I mean his so-called girlfriend."

Lata moved her eyes around and sighed a few times before she said, "I don't know how to put this but, don't take whatever he said to heart."

"Does he... really have a girlfriend?"

Lata was at a loss. She slowly said, "He did. He did, but... I'll be honest, I did like her at one time but then, not so much."

Shreya chuckled. So that's this woman's deal. No wonder they were siblings, both were as selfish as one could get. One second later, she sorted out her thoughts. She could not direct her anger for one person at others.

"And also... sorry about our first meeting. I just wanted you to back out. I know whoever will be in your place will have some problems. After all, he was dead set on that girl.

"But when I heard that you agreed, I thought it was better this way. Moksha is a nice girl, but she is not ready and that itself made my parents, and now perhaps me too, think she's not the best girl."

Shreya had more questions about the relationship between Lakshya and Moksha. But she felt it would be too invasive.

"I understand."

"If he does anything stupid, just call me. You have my number. Please don't ever hesitate." Lata held Shreya's hands until she saw her nod.

Shreya did not dilly-dally after that. She insisted on paying part of the bill and quickly left the restaurant for TIFR. She then got off and went to the car which was already waiting to pick her up.

At home, it didn't seem like she had to explain anything.

∼•∽

Another weekend came. Shreya did not take the initiative to ask if they could plan something on that Friday night. She knew what would come out of that. It was useless.

The next morning though, she was in for a surprise.

There was a text from Lakshya: Akshitha wants to go to the mountains and seas. My sister decided to take her to this trek nearby.

Mountains and seas? Shreya smiled as she felt how there was a subtle mockery of the little girl in his text.

The next second, he sent her the location.

Then came another message: They are going to meet us directly at the trek. If you want to join, be there by 9.

There was obvious alienation from him, but she was too happy to reply. To be with the person with whom you are going to spend the rest of your life with, with whom you don't yet know enough about, the thought of whose one single touch of your ring finger will make you hide your smile... of course, Shreya was nervous.

She ran to get the newspaper and navigated to the Astrotalk.

I'll be there, she sent as she brisked into her room to get ready. She started out in 25 minutes in a blue top paired with jeans. According to the horoscope she just read, blue was to bring her luck that day.

It was quite a drive and she had to be on time. Sharp at 9, Shreya stepped out of the car at the foot of a small hill.

Lakshya arrived soon after. They glanced at each other. She smiled at him and was about to greet him. But he looked away without acknowledging her smile right at that moment and Shreya had to hold her tongue.

She was slightly disappointed, but waiting for the others with him felt good. Shreya had a soft smile as she lingered around near Lakshya. She knew she was in love with him.

Lakshya started to get annoyed. Ten minutes passed by and his sister was ignoring his texts. He decided to call her. "Where are you?"

"Oh, we just reached the top!"

"Are you kidding!"

"No. We were worried Akshitha might not bear the sun if we started late. So we started early. It's nice and cold at the top."

"Are you really there?" His doubt had a reason. After all, the night before, his sister had cryptically inquired about him and Moksha. He told her not to poke her nose into his personal matters. In fact, he had plans with Moksha, but here he was now. All because of his sister's stubborn insistence.

"Of course! Come fast! We can hang out here." The call ended.

Although Lakshya was sceptical, to save his own embarrassment, courtesy to his sister, he relayed Lata's nonsense verbatim to Shreya.

"Shall we start then?" Shreya asked softly.

"Sure. I'll get going." Lakshya took off instantly as if she were the plague.

Shreya sighed and paced up to catch up. When she did, however, Lakshya blatantly said, "Climb on your own! The trail is clear!"

Shreya was thoroughly disappointed and even felt upset with him this time. "I didn't even say a word!" she retaliated. Lakshya gave her no response and she was not surprised.

She waited until Lakshya was sufficiently away when she slowly started dragging herself up the steep.

Fifteen minutes into the trek, Shreya was tired. Perhaps because she was disheartened, she felt her fatigue multiply. She decided to sit down for a while with her head in her hands.

She had brought her bottle of water and she drank a sip. Then she slowly stood up, still pressing at her forehead.

She climbed up a little more and sat down once again.

Her eyes watered. Maybe it was the free breeze through the trees, maybe it was the loneliness, or maybe it was her exhaustion. Either way, she cried for a little while and slowly drifted off to sleep.

∼•∽

Lakshya stopped to take some water at the halfway point.

He put his hand to a tree and he took a deep breath. The smell of green was all too familiar to him. He had been trekking since he was in school, and his solo treks started when he entered college. Nature just had its way to help him whenever he was overwhelmed.

As he closed the bottle cap, he suddenly remembered this wasn't trekking solo this time. His sister stood him up, but... he whipped his head and looked downhill. He could not see anyone.

He took out his phone as he wondered if he should check on Shreya, but the next second, he dismissed that thought.

He waited a couple more minutes and turned around. God forbid he gave her any wrong signal. He would not do anything against what he hoped, that they would just live their own lives not interrupting the other's. It was better that he not show his concern. It was even better if you could not be concerned at all.

∼•∽

Shreya's sleep was disturbed when a yellow leaf softly landed on ankle, grazing her arm.

She was never a deep sleeper and her disorientation did not last more than a few seconds.

Checking the time, she realised she napped for half an hour.

She drank some more water and slowly ascended stopping every few metres. When she reached the half-point, she could not believe her eyes, which started to tear up again!

All of the hard work felt as if it went to waste. She only climbed half of the hill after all the struggle?

She wiped off her tears, set some music on her phone, emptied the water bottle and left it on the side of the trail. That metal bottle was her favourite but she could not add on its weight. She had not seen a single soul other than Lakshya on her way. The chance that the bottle would be stolen is very less. Even if she had to permanently part with it, it still seemed like a better decision than to carry it.

She started climbing faster this time. She did feel dizzy here and there but it was manageable.

∼•∽

Lakshya reached the top and sure enough his sister was not there. He called her up. "Where are you?" He just wanted to give her a piece of his mind.

"You reached the top?"

"Where are you!"

"Fine. I lied." Lata said when Lakshya's voice became furious. "How are you getting along with her?" she slowly asked.

Lakshya hung up.

When Shreya would ask about them, he could not even lie about it. There was only one way down. How embarrassing would that be? At that thought, he once again looked around. She was nowhere.

"What a snail," he muttered. Or, would she have turned around and left midway? Whatever the case, the trail was very safe and he was sure that nothing bad could happen.

He walked around clicking some pictures and finally sat down at the view point. Towards the back side of it, there was a food court with all types of food. He was hungry after the trek.

Overlooking the valley and a few villages below, he started thinking whether he should order first, or wait for Shreya.

One of the shopkeepers approached him and asked if he would like something. Lakshya checked the time and it was a whole two hours since he reached the view point.

He unlocked his phone to call her, but then decided to take a few steps down and see if he could find her. If she was here and everything was fine, he would silently get back and wait at the view point.

As he climbed down, however, she was not in sight. By this time, she should have already reached the top, no matter how slow she was. He knew her a little by now. He was not completely sure, but he felt she would not leave without a word. Moreover, she would not give up a chance to be around him, given how she'd tried to meet him during the previous weekends. He continued to walk down, just a couple more steps and he'd call her to confirm.

Not long after, as the foliage cleared out of his view little by little, he saw her struggling with every step and taking a pause. He ran down to check on her without much thought.

"Shreya? Here, have some water." He instinctively offered her the water he still had. He was not new to trekking and had some experience with people who didn't have enough stamina. He should have brought another bottle when he was at the top just before, he thought.

Shreya did not take the water. Her arms were that heavy. Instead she said, "How much more should I walk?"

"A little more. But it is steeper." Lakshya's obedience was a surprise to himself. He suddenly did not want to mock or taunt her at all.

She sighed and started taking small steps. "You can go." She just wanted to take another nap.

Lakshya once again held out the bottle for her. She ignored him.

"Fine!" He brisked a few steps forward and then maintained the pace as her. Did she even have the right to be mad at him?

Shreya looked up desolately. She felt even more upset as she continued on slowly. As he said, the higher they climbed, the steeper it got. Shreya found it more and more difficult even if she balanced herself to shift her weight forward.

Lakshya noticed her trudge since he was there to mainly keep an eye out for her. He rolled his eyes before turning around and extended his arm to pull her up, silently, stubbornly. Only, Shreya did not take it. She looked at it for a moment. The last time he touched her was when he put on the ring. When he had delivered sweets after that, he took off his hand at lightning speed just as she had held the bag. How hypocritical, she thought. She even flicked his hand off. "I'm fine."

She moved to the side and found a tree with soft bark. She held it and pulled herself up.

After a few drills of that, she had enough. It was too much work. She put her bare hands on the soil and made her way up slowly. Lakshya walked beside her, shaking his head constantly, occasionally snorting and rolling his eyes. This was not the first time he was experiencing the angry side of her. At least the situation at the moment was better than their argument in the restaurant regarding Moksha.

When they finally reached the top, Shreya dusted off her hands as she said, "They must have waited for a long time." It was nearing lunch time.

"She lied. They didn't come."

Shreya was puzzled. Did that mean his sister helped her? She did not question it. After all, the meeting and Yummy Tummy cemented some facts and Shreya felt hopeful having Lata help her like this.

As the two walked on, she felt more and more dehydrated by the minute.

"Can I have some water?" She glanced at the bottle in Lakshya's hand.

He gave it to her saying, "So I should bear to be ignored by you, but I should do what you want, huh?"

Shreya stopped opening the cap. "I can just buy one," she said looking at the shops nearby.

Lakshya pushed it back to her. Remembering how she struggled on the trek, Lakshya kept his temper in check. He low-key admired her will to get to the top by herself. That was how true adventurists and survivalists are. "It was a joke. Let's have something and go down."

At the mention of going down, Shreya's eyes were filled with unease.

Lakshya let out a laugh. It was not to mock her. It was a genuine chuckle and he stopped himself soon after. "Let's go down before it gets dark. Until then you can relax."

Shreya felt a little shy and looked away. Her eyes landed on the vast green landscape below that occupied half of her view. The other half was bright blue sunny sky.

For lunch Shreya sat facing the view and Lakshya sat facing her. It was the first time Lakshya was eating with Shreya. He felt a little uncomfortable thinking about Moksha. He looked at Shreya who was studying the menu. It was just like having lunch with a new friend he made on a trek, he told himself.

"Some items will take even an hour. The main restaurant is at the bottom."

Shreya was stunned. "They climb all the way up to deliver?"

"No, they have a rope and pulley system behind," he explained. "I'll show you later."

Lakshya asked the waiter what they could get at the earliest and the two chose from the list the waiter gave.

Shreya was done eating after her first serving.

"That's it? After a full-fledged trek?"

"I'm full."

He did not question her, but he let his eyes roll.

They walked around for a bit and Lakshya showed her the crude rope system and told her he had been there many times before and currently it was an off season, or there would be more people around.

Shreya listened with all her attention. Somewhere in her heart, their differences disappeared. He was just as talkative and comfortable as during their first meeting when he had sat on the sofa beside her in her room and made her laugh.

∼•∽

A/N:
The next I will be seeing you is after my visa interview. Wish me luck, friends. It is more important now than ever. I want to come back to you all with a good news. If you've noticed, it's quite a long chapter this time, almost reaching the length of two chapters. I am just trying to bribe you for your blessings you know ;)

Thanks for reading and as always, see you on the 21st of next month.
Take care until then!