She was the dragon in my fairytale, except for one thing. I didn't want her slayed.

"Don't you dare talk to him, alright? I don't trust him, Nitu, and you can do way better. I mean, so what if he is nice to you? People pretend to change, but they don't, really. It is always about winning the girl and never about keeping her." She ranted, her eyes crinkling as she frowned into the air.

I laughed at her.

"Ammu, he is just a friend! He just asked me if I wanted to watch that new movie. Stop acting like he asked me to jump into his bed." I shook my head in bemusement.

"Just a friend? You do realise that I have read every book you have, right? We both know what 'just a friend' ends up in. Also, movies? Isn't that code for 'let's make out in that corner while the movie runs in the background'? Really, are you that naïve?" She growled, frustration evident on her face.

I stared at her, disgusted.

"No! That is not what movies mean! For heaven's sake, stop with that gutter-talk. And I never told him I would go, I just said that I would let him know. Will you relax?" I spoke slowly, almost condescending.

Ammu, or Amudha, was my best friend. She was the one who decided that, too. Barely over her lisp, she had walked up to me in first grade, linked her hands in mine, and glared at the boy who was pulling my pigtails.

"Get away from her, she is my best friend!" She had ordered that boy, who had scurried away from confrontation.

She had then turned to meet my worshipping face, smiled and introduced herself more calmly, firmly declaring us best friends forever.

Only I could make a best friend even before finding out her name.

"Oh, hi Nitu! I was looking for you everywhere!" Daksh called out while running up to me, snapping me out of my daze. Turning to my companion, his face lit up. "Hello to you too, Amudha. Have I earned the right to call you Ammu yet?"

The dragon huffed, but there were no flames, just playfulness.

"Not yet, Daksh. I really doubt you will get there any time soon." She sniffed, her nose turned up, a hint of a smile teasing around her lips. He looked at her with twinkling eyes that knew she was just pretending.

My heart sank.

Daksh was the one guy I had always liked, and the only guy who seemed to like Ammu more than me. While the rest ran away, scared of her, he approached her with a carefree smile, treating her insults like they were the world's greatest compliments.

And it was obvious to me that Ammu liked him too. Her snubs were less barbed and more friendly, and she smiled softly, something that used to be meant for me alone.

"What is it about, Dokki?" I reminded him gently, a bittersweet smile on my face.

Pouting dramatically at Ammu, he let out a fake sniff or two, before turning to me with a smile, adjusting his blue backpack.

"That new movie? I want to go. Why don't you join me? Hell, even Amudha should come, but only if she lets me call her Ammu. I mean, I deserve that privilege guys!" He declared, throwing his arms over both of us, effectively coming between the two of us.

I tilted my face towards him smiling, ignoring the way his watch dug into my bones, while Ammu laughed at his audacity before shrugging him off. Pointedly, she walked around him to stand on my other side, like a cub hiding behind a bush in nervousness.

I smiled at that thought. A dragon feeling jittery.

"Your stakes are too high. I would rather not. Nitu will come though." She declared casually, nodding at him.

I gaped at her, feeling very much like a fish taken out of water. Reading the incredulity in my eyes, she hurriedly shooed him away before I could blurt anything out.

"Go on, book the tickets. I hear it is very popular. You don't want to miss the show, do you? Try for Saturday and pick her up from my house." She told him, her hand waving him away royally. I just nodded, my eyes still on her.

The second we were alone, I pounced on her.

"Did you not forbid me from going to that movie with that other guy? What are you doing, my bipolar friend?" I enunciated my words with rapid jabs at her shoulder, my eyebrows skyrocketing.

"I didn't trust that guy, but Dokki is fine." She said it like it was normal, almost offhandedly.

"Dokki? I thought you only called him Daksh? And why won't you come along, if you trust him so?" I narrowed my eyes, yanking her till she was stuck exactly in front of me, her eyes mere centimeters from mine.

"He doesn't have to know, does he? And why would I come along to your date? I don't want to be a third wheel!" She declared.

"Since when do you send me on dates so willingly, and why would I date him? The two of you clearly like each other! He is the only other person you smile at sweetly. He makes it a point to talk to you, no matter what. If anything, I am the interloper!" I exclaimed, almost deafening her.

She shushed me, her eyes darting around to make sure nobody heard me.

"You idiot! Is that what you think? Sheesh. I am nice to a lot of people, you know. Just not to the guys who hit on you. Those fellows just wanted a good time and a few kisses. If they truly cared for you, they wouldn't have minded a few sharp looks. If a guy tries to steal you away from a friend, it is only because he knows that a good friend would never approve of his intentions." She shook her head in wonderment, her curls flouncing around her.

"But- okay, I can accept that those guys were not worth it, but Dokki really likes you! He compliments you, teases you, and keeps asking you to let him call you nicknames!" I threw my hands in the air, my mind listing all those reasons I had decided to let my crush die down.

"Remember when you once told him that you found guitars cool? I saw him two days later, enrolling for a guitar class. I had gone there to pick my cousin up, and I knew right away. He liked you." She gazed off into a distance, smiling.

"That was two years ago!" I let out, my lungs feeling numb. Suddenly, everything else muted, and all I saw was a boy with a blue backpack, talking to someone on his phone, smiling like he had won a lottery. His watch caught a beam of light, and glared into my eyes.

"I caught him in the library once, reading a book you wouldn't stop talking about, even though I knew he had a test to prepare for. He wore red shirts for an entire week after he found out that it is your favourite colour." She added, grinning mischievously.

"I don't like red. I actually hate it." I said, confused.

"I know. I lied to him." She shrugged, still grinning.

Shaking my head, I gave in to the smile I had been holding in.

"What do we do now?" I asked my dragon.

"We prepare you for your date while discussing about mine. What do you think about that guy over there? No, not him....." She went on, pointing at random people.

She was my dragon, except I didn't want a prince who would slay her. I wanted someone who would win her over.

Like he did.