I stepped on the bus while dragging my suitcase behind me. It took me few blinks for my part and few winks from Vidushi's part to realise that all the seats in our mini bus were already taken and the only one which remained to accommodate me was next to Randhir (oh how predictable my life was). I huffed in irritation(fake of course) and squeezed my body through the congested seats whilst stepping on Parth's protruded feet, making him yelp horrendously; banging my head against Vidushi's while ducking Aryan's bag which was hanging from the bunker; elbowing Sanaya while she was applying lipstick(which did NOT give me a good reaction from her though. She looked like Joker with that smeared lipstick then). Seriously, Father could have at least arranged a bigger bus for us since it was evident that I that the muscly jocks of our school would gobble up most of the space. When I reached my destination, I noticed that Randhir had already occupied the window seat-that brat! I huffed, pushing my bag on the bunker and slammed my bums on the seat next to him. All those time, he didn't even look up for once. He had his earphones plugged in and was busy looking outside. He seemed to be in a daze with his eyebrows crooked. I was instantly curious of what he was thinking so deeply that he even missed the commotion around him a while before. Was he tensed for the championship? Well then at least I wouldn't be the only one stressing amidst the overly calm and composed group.

I shook my head and darted my gaze towards the new person who climbed the bus just then. Mr Mehra walked in with his heavy protuberant belly while balancing his bag on his shoulder and the huge pile of papers in his hands. He had a scowl on his face and it completely interpreted that he wasn't really excited for tagging along with us.

"Here are your do's and don'ts including the instruction slips.. though I know y'all won't even bother to read them but still the person who feels even a tad bit compassionate towards your school, do read it until we reach St Peter's .." He slammed the slips on Parth's hand and moved over to plant his bum on the seat next to the driver. I immediately scooted up and grabbed two sheets from Parth's hand. Aryan scoffed at that and pushed Tanya from his seat to get up. Nonetheless, he grabbed his sheet too. I looked over at Tanya who seemed to be highly tormented by Aryan. Oh poor girl! What could she even do when Aryan was such a jackass?

"Here.." I placed one sheet on Randhir's lap, who still was sitting in the same position. What was wrong with him? Getting no response from him, I sighed and tugged at his earphones which flung away from his ears with a jolt. He was immediately brought back to the earth by that. As he gazed at me, I heard him gasp finding my face so close to him.

"What?" He spat as if I had killed his pet rabbit or something. Randhir with a pet rabbit―the thought had me go rofl in my mind.

"Read that.." I pursed my lips and pointed towards the sheet on his lap and started reading mine.

The driver started the bus and soon we were on our most awaited journey to St. Peter's.

So the whole sheet rambled about how we were supposed to behave ourselves during our one week long stay there. Woah, it even stated our living arrangements. Basically there were separate dorms for boys and girls and we were to accommodate there. The main championship would begin the day after and there was some welcome party or something that evening. All the groups were to be present there and the teachers in charge too. I wondered if Vidushi was talking about that party but the mention of the party to be held in the school campus, cleared my doubt. That would have been safer and tolerable . I thought and moved my gaze over to Randhir who was still reading the sheet.

"Do you know anything about a certain party at someone's house in the school we're going to?" I quirked a question and he instantly jolted his lashes up.

"Yes I might have heard.." He said and moved his gaze down to the sheet again.

"So are you like going to attend that?" I asked him as I scrounged through my sling bag for my headphones.

"Maybe.. " He sighed putting the sheet inside his bag and plugging on the earphone again.

"What's wrong?" I instantly shot seeing him so low all of a sudden. Why the heck was he behaving so weird then after acting like a jerkish flirt back there?

"Nothing.." He shrugged and half smiled at my scowling face.

"No seriously Randhir.. You have got to get out of this shell of yours okay? These sudden mood swings of yours aren't really helping the situation. We have a goddamned championship, we have worked so hard for, ahead and I am not gonna tolerate these nonsensical mood swings of yours there.." I bellowed and thumped my palm on his forearm.

"Woah. Hold on there tiger.. It hurt.." He flinched away from me while leaning against  the window and rubbed his forearm where I hit him, pretending to be in pain.

"Shut up and tell me" I gritted my teeth and swatted him again. No seriously, the boy was as hard as rocket science , to understand.  Even rocket science wasn't that much complicated.

"What do you want to hear?" He quirked an eyebrow of his.

"That what I asked. What's bothering you?" I twisted my lips at his questioning expression.

"Can I kiss you?"

"No answer me first.." I shot back at his question without even realising what he had blurted out.

I stiffened as I gazed at his smug face. What on the heaven's name did he say?

"Uh what?" I was totally flabbergasted and anyone could have had comprehended that from the tone of my voice.

"That what I asked.." He was by then smirking at me.

"Can I kiss you?" He batted his eyelashes at me and pulled his lips out in a kissy pout. I kept looking at him weirdly. Was he secretly smoking pot or something? That was the first thing that came in my mind then.

"Eh?" I stuttered and backed my body away from him.

"Come on Sanyukta.. We kind of did it once already and I know, deep down, we both know that we would like to repeat that again..We were several times halfway from ift.." He whispered huskily while bending towards my slanted body. His face was too close to mine for my comfort and it was surely producing ripples all the way through my veins. His strong musky cologne hit my nostrils. My eyes rolled down the perfect contours of his face, the sharp jawline, down his neck and landed on the open beeping cellphone on his lap.

"No.." And just like that, my mouth thought to ruin the moment.

"No?" He moved away from my face with a hurt expression.

NO! Nah! Nada! What the hell was wrong with me?

"I mean your phone is beeping.." I was by then hyperventilating inside. The words sort of came out in a panicky way.
With a 'really-now?' expression, he snorted. I looked away from him though I still managed to keep him in my view through the corner of my eyes.

He didn't say anything but frowned as soon as he gazed at the flashing message in his cell. His jaw clenched all of a sudden and he looked very angry. I wondered what had happened to him all of a sudden. What did the message read?

"Randhir are you alright?" I placed my palm on his shoulder. He flinched at my touch and stared at me with bloodshot eyes.

"What the heck do you want Sanyukta? Huh? Can't you just leave me alone for a second? Stop taking interest on everything I do!" He screamed all of a sudden making me jump from my seat. His tone was menacing and I freaking didn't know why my eyes clouded the instant he voiced those. Everyone looked back at us from their seats and seemed to be as shocked as me. I blinked a few times to sip the situation in. Randhir had never used that tone with me since the party night and had we been on our regular forms, I would have retorted back equally.
But the brawl between us no longer existed, as far as I believed. Hell! He was being all flirty for the past few months with me which had fucked up my mind so much that I, Sanyukta Aggarwal started to day dream about us being together at a particular stage.

I opened my mouth to speak but closed it the next second. I was beyond stunned to react at his sudden outburst. He was glaring outside the window, still huffing in annoyance as the bus roared through the road, setting a dumbfounded silence inside. Everyone was too baffled to say anything and immediately turned their attention to what they were doing, though Vidushi was looking like she wanted to kick him for shouting like that.

I closed my eyes and let my expressions seep the embarrasment in. I waited for him to come up with an apology or any sort of sign of him being sorry but he sat there, right next to me, all rigid and still huffing in annoyance, clutching his phone. You're so stupid to think that he would be apologetic for his behavior. What was I to him? My mind poked out and I felt a tug in my heart. But I surely knew one thing that it wasn't my curiosity which had fumed him. He already looked enough troubled since the start of the journey and the incoming text in his phone right at that moment was the only thing that broke his dam of control. What was he even hiding?
The next thing I noticed was Vidushi towering over my frame. She glared murderously at Randhir and tugged at my forearm, silently asking me to get up from my seat. I shook my head at her, throwing her a 'dont-screw-anything-now' glare. She just rolled her eyes and opened her mouth to speak. I immediately closed my eyes thinking about the consequences.

"She was just concerned about you okay? She cares for you and if you still are being a jackass to her then just fuck off.." She bellowed which made Randhir shoot his head towards her. He looked baffled, seriously and that erupted a giggle from my throat. No Sanyukta don't laugh! Laughed my subconscious. Ironic eh?

Randhir looked too shocked to reply.

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐

TBC

P.S- The Season-1 Randhir was definitely a piece worth of drooling 😍😍😍😘😘😘