The next morning, in the society meeting :-

'What do you mean his name is not on the list?' exclaimed Bani. She was genuinely surprised when she found out that Veer was not getting selected. She thought he was one of the finest dancers she had seen and if she is honest, even these so called 'seniors' knew that he danced much better than most of them.

'He is a nerd Bani, what does he know. Plus, we are cool people, we don't want to associate with someone like that!' reasoned a third-year society member.

'Can this college ever stop seeing people as labels?! The whole system of this is trash. You think someone cannot be nerdy and talented? Or Geeky and sporty? And you have seen him dance, he is great! But no, you have to be stuck up! You know what? I quit! I refuse to be a part of such a vain group. Have fun trying to be cool but just so know cool people don't have to try..'

She threw her badge and started to leave. Many were shocked by her outburst. A girl tried to stop her but Bani flipped her off and left, swinging her bag on her shoulders.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Veeranshu was walking towards the college notice board. It was quite crowded. He made his way to the front with difficulty but before his eyes could land the paper on the board, a hand pulled him out. He turned irritated only to see it was Bani.

'Don't bother', she said and continued to drag him away.

She told him all that happened. She could see Veer was upset with this news but he quickly masked his expressions. Bani held his hand to offer him support and smiled at him. Veer was smitten. Her hands were cotton soft.

B: Leave them all Veer. These people are trash, the whole concept of labelling people is trash! They are vain and haven't really grown up yet.

Veer smiled and said, 'But you didn't have to leave the group Bani, you were already a part'

Bani shrugged and said, 'I'd rather be a lone wolf than be with a bunch of street dogs'.

~~~~~~~~~~~

That day resulted in something beautiful that blossomed over the period of next two months. Veer and Bani became good friends. Veer realized she was not just a brave and pretty face but also had a really soft heart. She was sweet to everyone yet let no one walk over her. The perfect combination of sugar and spice. Bani discovered Veer was not only a great dancer but a good singer and a great sports person. Today, they were out bowling and currently Bani's scores were really getting bowled over by Veer.

B: 'Veer! Seriously though, is there anything that you cannot do?'

V: Haha...come here I will teach you.

He took the ball from her hands.

V: See, this is too heavy for you. It is not about the maximum weight. It is about what you can swing better. Here, try this one.

Veer put a hand at her waist and the other was around her hands. He gently taught her to sway.

'Oh look what the cat dragged in, It is the nerd! And who is....wait Babe, you are here? with him?'

Bani and Veer turned to see Rocky. He was teasing Veer until Bani turned and his mouth fell open. He had never expected her to be with him. You see, Rocky had hots for Bani. She was the person who fit two categories of the hierarchy. She was hot and talented making her the crème of the heartthrob category, the college sweetheart. He wanted to date her for months now but she never paid him attention.

B: That is none of your business Rocky. Get lost!

Bani took the ball and began to sway like Veer thought her. Here, Rocky was talking to Veer slowly.

R: A girl like her will only use you, you fool. You are just a toy for her, or maybe a charity case. She is only with you because she pities you. When in reality she won't touch you with a three meter poll.

Ironically, that very moment before Veer could even retaliate, Bani hugged him tight.

B: Look Veer!..I did it! It worked...

She kissed his cheek and went to try bowling with her newly-learned technique again. Veer gave Rocky a look and Rocky left fuming.

Post their games, they sat down at a cafe for food.

B: Oh V, before I forget ...there is fest coming up..

V: So?

B: So the best dancers from the dance competition get sent to the inter-college competition.

V: And?

B: (rolls her eyes) and my dear slow Veeru, I want us to participate.

V: Why?

B: What why? Live a little! Plus, every year the participants from the dance society win and go to represent the college. Imagine if we win the duet this year and go to represent! Plus, it will help us with the credits.

Somehow Bani convinced him to participate. The next day, they filled out their forms and Bani even made him participate in the boxing match.

V: But Bani?

B: Shut up V!..I can see the bad boys you try to hide behind these loose tshirts. (Pointing out at his muscles) I don't know the reason but I know you can do it.

~~~~~~~~~~~

Bani encouraged Veer. They spent the next few weeks practicing their dance. Veer would also practise his boxing moves and Bani was very supportive. She googled diet for athletes and cut down her own junk food consumption to support Veer on his healthy diet. She would stand on the sides for hours cheering him on while he practiced his boxing moves.

B: Veer, after this match ladkiyon ki line lg jayegi tumhare liye, tb mujhe mt bhool jana..

V: Tum bhoolne wali cheez nahi ho sweetheart..

B: Kya kaha?

V: Uh..sorry if it offended you..

B: No! Actually I quite liked it..

Bani and Veer grew quite close in the span of these weeks as they spent most of their times together. Bani found Veer lives in a small rented apartment as it was cheap. Veer said he couldn't afford much but it never bothered Bani. She didn't stop being around him or changed her behaviour towards him. This meant so much to Veer. Their friendship was catching more and more eye balls in the college. While many remained indifferent, a lot people strongly felt Veer didn't deserve Bani's friendship. But their disapproval hardly meant anything to them.

~~~~~~~~~~~

On the day of the competition, Veer and Bani came wearing matching outfits. Bani wore a black skater dreas while Veer wore a black, loose shirt and pants. People were shocked to see them participate. While many had checked the participant list and knew they had enrolled, most didn't think they would turn up.

The real shocker happened when Veer actually opened his shirt and changed into a tight, button down shirt. It was satin and see-through. Even Bani hadn't seen his abs like this before and was shocked. She didn't understand why he wore those lose clothes and wore big glasses, he was so hot without them. Not that she didn't like him with them but without them, he just looked heavenly. They wouldn't have labelled him nerd had that seen him like this on his first day.

B: Phata poster nikla hero, tum to bohot hot nikle jaan-e-man...ab to pakka bhool jaoge mujhe..

She teased. Veer ruffled her hair and whispered 'no chance'. A few seniors came to her and spoke rudely. Veer gave them a glare and pulled Bani away.

V: Don't listen to them and don't reply also.. we don't want to waste our energy. Concentrate on the dance and our performance will be an answer to them.

Soon, the competition began. The theme was love. There were many beautiful dance performances. Bani felt nervous and held Veer's hand. His calmness helped her calm down her nerves.

Announcer: 'Up next, we have the two very talented people from our own dance society, Sakshi Sudhan and Tarun Raheja!'

The two got on stage and were very confident. They performed gracefully and everyone was in awe of their performance.

Announcer: 'Up next we have Veeranshu Singhania and Bani Sharma, Our college's unusual couple! The nerd and the college sweetheart'

B: What the hell!

V: Shh...no attention...let our dance talk.

B: Hello everyone, since our theme is love, we wanted to show a very different part of it. Not going the traditional romantic route, we have taken on the dark side of it and it is based on the theme of 'Porphyria's lover'.

Their dance began on the song 'aye dil hai mushkil', they danced gracefully. Veer showed the part of the obsessive lover beautifully while Bani played the part of the distressed girl. On the onset of third stanza, Veer wrapped Bani's hair around her neck, depicting killing her and danced with the body. She laid limp in his arms as if she was dead. They ended the dance when Veer sunk to the floor, a 'dead' Bani's head on his shoulders and he looked at the audience crazily before looking at her. The curtains drew.

Veer and Bani were busy staring at each other, their chests heaving as they both gazed at each other. Soon, as if like magnets, they pulled each other even closer and smashed their lips together.

~~~~~~~~~~~

To be continued

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For those of you who don't know, 'Porphyria's lover' is a poem by Robert Browning where a psycho lover killed his beloved so that no one can take her away from him. Vani danced on a dark theme of love inspired by this story because they wanted to do something different than what others were doing.

xoxo