Angad was seated at the dining table in the dining space when he saw his mother walk in with her Yoga mat in hand. She closed the door behind her and then paused in surprise, not expecting to see her son up at this hour. She surveyed his posture and demeanour. He was clearly peppy and wide awake. 

"You seem to be in a good mood today," she remarked, "And why are you up so early?" 

"Good morning to you too. I made french toast," Angad raising his glass to her. 

She seemed even more surprised to see a plateful of food in front of him and some in the pan. Despite being a good cook Angad rarely entered the kitchen.

"Did something happen last night?" she asked as she sat down opposite him with a plate, a knife and an apple. 

Angad took a second to relive the kiss he had shared with Meera. The cold, night breeze, the feel of her soft lips, the brush of her hair. He almost had to shake his head to bring himself back from that moment. 

"It was a successful party, that's all. Very fun," he answered finally with a grin.

She gave him a knowing smile and sliced the apple into quarters before taking a bite. 

Before either of them could say a word, a sleepy Yug emerged from the guest bedroom yawning. His hair spread limply over half his face and his shirt hung low around his neck. 

"Good morning," he mumbled sleepily. 

"Good morning Yug," Kirti aunty said without missing a beat. 

"Oh sorry, I forgot to tell you Yug was sleeping over. As usual, he went a little overboard last night," Angad explained.

"With the amount of noise you made after you got in last night it would be hard not knowing." 

"Sorry about that," he apologized as Yug stumbled back into the dining area. 

"Did we run out of my coffee?" Yug asked, his eyes half-closed. 

"Yes. I forgot to buy some more. There is still the regular kind of coffee," Kirti aunty said. 

"I don't know why you even like that stuff. It tastes like acid," Angad shook his head. 

Yug was too hungover to reply sassily. 

"There's some french toast in the pan if you want," Angad called after him. 

They ate in silence for a few minutes with only the sounds of Yug cluttering about in the kitchen in the background. He finally emerged with a plate of Angad's french toast and some coffee and sat next to Angad on the table. 

"How's the new semester going?" Kirti aunty asked once Yug had gulped down most of his beverage. 

"Wonderful," Angad said at the same time Yug said, "Normal."

"Really? Wonderful? I've never seen you this optimistic about your academics ever," she said with a raised eyebrow. 

"That's because it isn't about his academics," Yug mumbled through a mouthful of French toast. 

"What is it about?" she asked inquisitively. 

"Making the most of our last year in college," Angad cut in hastily before Yug could say anything that would make his mother grill him. 

"Cut the crap, man," Yug interjected, "you guys are totally salivating after Elvis. I might've been drunk but not enough to not notice the very obvious--" 

"Yug!" Angad cut him off and stared with wide eyes. 

"Elvis?" Kirti aunty's brows knit together in confusion. 

"Her name is Meera," Angad said immediately.

She clocked the smile that made its way to her son's lips as the name left his mouth. 

"Meera, huh? Pretty name." 

"She's even prettier. The name suits her though. She seems soft and nice but she is actually very candid and unapologetic. Not to mention that she sings like an angel."

"See? Whipped." Yug quipped, pointing his knife in Angad's direction. 

Kirti aunty let out a little laugh as Angad whacked Yug and he cried out in pain. She looked after them as they bickered about how hard Angad had hit him. She was glad to see her boy happy and lovestruck. 

***

Monday afternoon Angad waited impatiently for Meera to show up for the society auditions. For a good minute or so he thought she wasn't going to turn up. Maybe she felt embarrassed about what had happened and had decided to keep her distance. Maybe she was regretting it enough to change colleges. 

If that was the case then he would seek her out and demand she audition. But that did not seem likely. Besides, she didn't seem like the type who would cower away from a situation like this. 

He had spent the weekend talking about her to his mother who had listened patiently. He had asked for her advice on how to actually ask her out. He had been with other girls but the whole dating thing was new to him. He realized that for Meera he was willing to try it. 

That was when he saw the very girl occupying his thoughts walk onto the stage. He perked up and grinned at her. 

She did not look his way. 

She really was embarrassed about what took place on Friday, he decided. Which was understandable. 

"Hey! Elvis! Didn't think you were coming. We thought we had scared you off," Yug called out to her. 

"It's gonna take a lot more to scare me," she said, upbeat. 

Angad tried to catch her eye but she deliberately avoided his gaze. 

"Well, we would love to hear you sing something but you don't strictly have to. You are in." Siddharth said and an unfamiliar sting jolted Angad when she smiled at Siddharth. 

When she still did not look at him, Angad decided to take matters into his own hands. 

"I think she should sing," he declared. 

Meera finally met his eye. He grinned at her, his mission accomplished. He would not let her ignore him this way after the mind-blowing kiss they'd shared. 

"I mean it's only fair. Everybody else did too. I think I speak for everyone when I say we would like to hear her sing " he continued.

"Angad, c'mon. We all heard her sing on Friday." Siddharth argued on her behalf. 

That annoyed Angad more than most things Siddharth had done that day. Before he could say anything else, Meera spoke up from the stage. 

"It's okay Siddharth. I actually insist. It's only fair." she said in an arched tone, quoting his words back at him. 

He realized how much he was enjoying their banter and winked at her. She narrowed her eyes at that and he had to look away so as not to burst into laughter.

"I think I am going to sing 'I knew you were trouble' by Taylor Swift," she said. 

He gave her an appreciative glance. She was using her audition song as a comeback. Clever. 

Her sweet voice filled the air with Taylor Swift lyrics.

"I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

Flew me to places I'd never been'

Till you put me down, oh

I knew you were trouble when you walked in

So shame on me now

Flew me to places I'd never been, yeah

Now I'm lyin' on the cold hard ground

Oh, oh yeah

Trouble, trouble, trouble

Oh, oh

Trouble, trouble, trouble..."

Everyone was spellbound while she sang and it took a second for everybody to snap out and applaud her. 

"That was amazing, Elvis!" Yug cheered. 

A fitting finale to the year's auditions. Angad stood up and announced the end.

"Alright, that about wraps up our audition. Thank you, everyone, for coming. We will be putting up the final list by tomorrow so check back in." 

He then noticed Meera descending the stage seemingly intent on running away. Oh no, he would not let that happen. 

"Meera, can I talk to you for a minute?" he said without pausing.

Her cheeks turned crimson with embarrassment as everyone turned to stare at her. She quickly ran down the stage towards him. Angad had to struggle to keep his amusement in check once again.

"That was not nice," she said once she got near him. 

He patted the seat next to him but to his surprise, she didn't sit down. 

"No, we are not sitting here, walk with me," she said and started walking away. 

He immediately got up and jogged after her. Trust this girl he had met two days ago to keep him on his toes. 

"Hey, I was just teasing Meera," he tried to calm her obvious temper. 

"I wasn't amused," she raised an eyebrow.

"In that case, I apologize," he said sincerely to appease any sour feelings. He truly was only kidding around with her.

"It's alright. I actually did want to talk to you," she said with a sigh.

"Yeah, me too," he said and when she still did not stop he caught ahold of her hand to still her.  "Slow down, Ice Queen. You seemed friendlier on Friday."

She immediately pulled her hand away from him and then seemed to consider something for a moment. 

"About that, I just wanted to apologize for the drunken mess you had to encounter on Friday. I can assure you it won't happen again," she said finally. 

So he was right and she was embarrassed. 

"Don't apologize, I have no complaints," he said holding his hands up. He wanted her to know she didn't have anything to be embarrassed by. Hoping that his answer had reassured her enough he got to the point. 

 "When are you free? I would like to take you on a proper date. When you're not drunk."

"Angad, no," she said, softly. 

"What?" he asked, confused by her response. 

"I don't think that would be a good idea," she said.

"Why not?" 

"I am not looking to date right now."

"And may I ask why that is?" he asked, incredulously.

"I just don't think it's the best idea for us to go out," she answered a little impatiently. 

This seemed inconsistent with what had passed between them. She had kissed him and now that he was asking her out she was rejecting him with a vague response? Isn't that what women wanted? 

"What about Friday? You seemed to think I was really nice back then," he asked.

"That was a drunken mistake, I am sorry you were on the receiving end of that," she coloured crimson again.

That annoyed Angad. The callous way with which she was brushing him off. 

He was Angad Mehra. Lead singer of Red Wagon, voted the hottest man at Maurya by a landslide. He wasn't above admitting that he was a catch. He resented her response. 

"Then I guess you aren't sorry I stopped the mistake from moving any further since you seemed pretty eager to--" 

She cut him off sternly, "Yes, I am very grateful for that."

"Then I take it you aren't interested in me," he said finally. 

He didn't want her to think he would pester her or pursue her in any way after she had clearly said no. It wasn't like she was the only woman around. There were many others. The difference was that they all actually wanted him.  

"No," she said with finality. 

"Message received," was all he said and turned to leave. 

"I guess it really was a drunken mistake," he thought to himself as he walked away. 

He had spent the weekend thinking about the kiss and he might have even built the idea of her up in his mind. It wasn't meant to be. 

He spent the rest of the day spaced out in class and left early to hit the gym.

He even declined when Yug asked him if he wanted to come to Sudama's for tea. 

A/N 

Bonus chapter in honour of being featured by @StoriesUndiscovered 

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