Riya

My fingers hovered over Abhay's Instagram profile, which had popped up in my suggestion. Before hesitating for a second, I tapped on his ID.

His Instagram was...intriguing. There were lots of blacks, greys, and greens. His captions were extremely vague, sometimes just an emoji.

"Riya." Ruhi's voice jolted me out of my stalking. A sense of shame engulfed me. I was a masochist, wasn't I? Stalking the ID of a guy who insulted me quite frequently.

"Yeah?"

"I'm getting off to buy some snacks. You want something?" she asked, opening her seatbelt. The car had stopped, but I didn't notice.

We were driving to Xavier's for the dreaded match, all three of us wearing Xavier's jersey because we had a friend who insisted on it. It was a truth universally acknowledged that it was terribly tricky to say no to Sia Oberoi. I sometimes pitied Rudra.

"Umm...anything works for me," I replied as she opened the door and got off. She was the one driving us there because Sia and I sucked at it. At least I did. Sia learned how to drive and then promptly forgot how to drive.

"I'm going to the washroom," Sia announced.

"Should I come with you?" I asked.

"Nope, it's fine."

Then they were off. I was alone in the car, the AC making me a bit nauseous. I was dreading seeing Arjun. What was I even gonna say?

Hey, I'm sorry my brother and his psycho friend beat you up for no reason at all.

My eyes went back to my phone and scrolled through Abhay's profile again. His profile seemed random, and he posted once in a while, but somehow they seemed intentional. Even the picture of a rock had an artistic touch to it.

My fingers hovered over his most recent picture which he posted last week. It was a picture of a cracked ceramic vase or something similar. His caption read, fix, or forget? That was the only picture of pottery he ever posted.

Was he talking about my bowl? Was it from the day we fought? I was again thinking too much, and making a mountain out of molehil.

Did his friends know about his art? I opened the comments to check.

Bro, you good? Midlife crisis already? A laugh escaped me at the comment. It was Dhruv.

Someone had replied to Dhruv's comment. Man's trying to be deep. Just say you broke something and move on.

Yeah, they definitely didn't know.

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At the game, the crowd buzzed with energy. As I sat down, I could feel the vibrations on the benches. I was never going to get used to this.

"I already love this," Sia states, overjoyed with energy. Sia, Rudra, Ruhi, and I were sitting together.

"Crowd's crazy when it's Mount Mary VS Xavier," Rudra replied, munching on the popcorn. For once, he wore some casual jeans and a t-shirt, his hair a bit longer now. He was planning on growing it, and Sia was loving it.

"I feel like I'm betraying my college," I said, gesturing to my Xavier's jersey. I wondered how Dhruv was going to react after seeing this. How would Abhay?

"It's just college football," Ruhi replied coolly. She still wore her sunglasses with her sleek straight, middle-parted hair.

I groaned and Sia passed me the bucket of popcorn, which was already half empty. "Don't worry. I'll protect you from Mount Mary players." She chuckled as I passed the bucket of popcorn back to her, and Rudra snatched it from her hand.

"It's already half empty." He sighed.

"It's half full, my lord. Look at the positive side. Geez! Rudra, negative much?" Sia replied.

My focus was violently snatched by the crowd screaming, and I looked straight to find Mount Mary players running on the ground. My eyes found Abhay too soon for my liking. It was harder not to. He had a calm gait as if he was going for a walk in his garden.

Abhay stood near the goalpost, calm and collected, while his team stretched around him. Even from here, I could see his smirk, the one that made my blood boil. He radiated confidence as if the game had already been won.

The referee blew the whistle, and the game began. The opposing team, Xavier, charged forward aggressively, with Arjun at the center of every play. He was fast, sharp, and clearly the star of their team.

Abhay didn't move much. He stood rooted, watching. His body language was confident, and his commands brief. And when the ball came his way, he moved with the kind of precision that made it look effortless.

He stopped a goal so cleanly that I almost gasped.

I realized one thing, he was one calculative player.

"Damn," Sia said, munching on popcorn. "That was impressive."

"We're here for my team." Rudra fired back.

"Well, your team doesn't have that guy," she said, pointing at Abhay.

"Who? Abhay?" He asked, and I flinched at his name. Obviously, Ruhi noticed that.

I didn't respond, but my heart was beating faster, and it wasn't because of the crowd.

The game shifted. Abhay's team tightened their grip on the field, cutting off Xavier's. The crowd groaned every time Dhruv took the ball, and I couldn't help but feel a flicker of pride. For Dhruv, not Abhay. Definitely not him.

When Mount Mary scored their first goal, the cheers were deafening. I pretended not to notice Abhay looking in our direction. Was he looking at me? No, that would be ridiculous.

Wouldn't it?

By halftime, the score was 3-0. Xavier's team was visibly rattled. Arjun was yelling orders no one seemed to hear. On the other hand, Mount Mary thrived under Abhay's calm leadership. Even Dhruv, who usually let his emotions run wild, was steady and composed.

Abhay was doing that. I hated that.

When the final whistle blew, I couldn't say I was relieved. Mount Mary had crushed Xavier, 4-0, and the air crackled with victory. Dhruv ran to Abhay, tackling him in celebration, but my focus was elsewhere.

Arjun stood at the edge of the field, visibly exhausted, his frustration evident. Something inside me twisted, seeing him like that. As the crowd celebrated, we decided to head down toward the field, the stadium lights casting sharp shadows on the grass. It was going to be dark soon.

The crowd had begun to scatter, their cheers fading into chatter as the players left the field. Arjun stood near the sidelines, hands on his hips, his jersey damp with sweat and frustration. He was talking to a teammate, though his distracted gaze made it clear his mind was elsewhere.

"Hey, Arjun!" Sia's bright voice cut through the noise. She waved enthusiastically, dragging me towards me.

"Sia," Arjun greeted, managing a tired smile despite the weight of the game hanging on his shoulders. "Didn't think you'd come for this massacre."

"Massacre? No way," Sia replied, her voice warm and teasing. "You played great, even if Mount Mary brought a whole CISF team as a defense."

Arjun huffed out a soft laugh, shaking his head. "Yeah, well, CISF teams don't usually leave you with a 4-0 loss."

Rudra crossed his arms, eyeing Arjun. "Hey, don't knock yourself down so hard, man. You didn't trip over the ball this time, so that's progress."

"Thanks for the vote of confidence," Arjun deadpanned, but there was a flicker of humor in his eyes. "Where would I be without Rudra Chauhan's world-renowned pep talks?"

"Not losing 4-0, that's for sure," Rudra smirked, ignoring Sia's punch to his shoulder.

Ruhi adjusted her sunglasses, her voice as smooth and deliberate as ever. "Mount Mary's defense was sharp today, but you'll learn from it. Next time, you'll be better prepared."

Arjun's lips quirked upward at her calm reassurance, though his shoulders still carried the weight of disappointment. "Appreciate the optimism, Ruhi. What about you, Riya?" He turned to me, his gaze sharp, glancing at the jersey I wore. "Not going to give me a lecture for losing?"

I blinked, caught off guard. "No, of course not. You did your best."

Arjun chuckled, tilting his head slightly. "That's unusually kind of you. You're not sick, are you?"

Nope just embarrassed about what you had to go through because of me.

"She's saving her snark for someone else," Rudra quipped, nudging me with his elbow. "Probably the guy who scored on you twice."

Sia burst out laughing, and even Arjun's lips twitched. "Such a pleasure you are to be around."

Before I could add anything, a familiar prickle ran down my spine. My gaze shifted, almost instinctively, to the far side of the field. And there he was.

Abhay stood with his team celebrating around him, but his focus wasn't on them. His dark eyes locked with mine, sharp and unwavering. My breath hitched.

He wasn't smirking, wasn't laughing. He just stared like he could see straight through me. What did he see? A girl with a savior complex trying to survive? It was humiliating.

"Riya?" Ruhi's voice jolted me back to the moment.

"Uh, yeah?" I said quickly, my eyes snapping back to Arjun, who was now watching me with a faint frown.

"You okay?" Ruhi asked, her brows raised.

"Fine," I mumbled, forcing a smile. "Let's go."

As we turned to leave, Rudra leaned toward me, his tone low and conspiratorial. "You don't have to worry. Dhruv has yet to see your jersey."

Oh right! Dhruv. I was not looking forward to that.

As we walked away, I glanced back one last time. Abhay was still watching. This time, his lips curved into the faintest smirk, like he knew what was going on in my mind.

"Riya." Dhurv's voice screamed, and I braced myself for his questions.

"You guys go ahead. I'll meet you at the gate." I said to the frown faces.

"Nope," Sia said with a finality.

"Sia, please."

After a few more rounds of pleading, they agreed to go ahead, but not before Sia threw a dagger with her eyes at Dhruv's approaching figure.

"What are you wearing?" Dhruv gritted out.

"Congratulations on the win," I said, ignoring his question.

"Thanks, I thought at least my sister would support me by not wearing the jersey of my rivals and flaunting it on my face." Sarcasm dripped from his voice, and it pissed me off.

"Not everything revolves around you. I was just here to cheer for a friend."

"So now you're choosing a guy you met a few days ago over your brother?" He shouted.

"Like you choose your friend over the company of the entire family?" The words were out before I could stop them, and his eyes hardened. Of course, he would never take any words against his precious friend.

"That friend had been there for me more than you have ever been. Watch your tone." My nose tingled at his words. I haven't been there for him? "And stop doing shit like this to piss me off."

"Stop screaming at me. Not everything I do revolves around you." I tried not to shout back at him as my heart slowly broke into a million pieces again. "I'm finally not flying all over your head. Why don't you go back to your world and continue to pretend I don't exist."

"Is this what this is all about? What childish behavior is it?" His voice was getting louder.

"Dhruv," Abhay's calm voice cut through our argument. "Stop screaming at her."

He listened. Dhruv listened. His hands clenched into fists.

He listened to him, not me when I was telling him to stop.

"I am your elder brother, Riya. I will always be with you and protect you." A nine-year-old Dhruv had said that.

Guess the promises also fade away like old memories as we grow older.

"Riya-" Dhruv started, but I cut him off.

"Fuck.Off." I gritted out and started walking away before they could see my lips tremble.

"Did she just curse at me?" I heard the shock in Dhruv's voice, but I was past the point of caring.

As my feet instinctively took me to Sia and Ruhi, I took a deep breath to calm myself down. I was not going to have a breakdown in front of hundreds of students.

Rudra and Arjun were not there.

"What did he say?" Sia asked in her no-nonsense voice.

"I don't wanna talk about it right now," I said as I stopped in front of them.

"Would it feel better if I go and hit him?" It was Ruhi who spoke and for a second it made me forget what a shitty convo I just had.

"No, but it would help if I could vent out later."

"Fine. Stay at my place. Your parents are also out of town, so it's better." Sia said, typing away on her phone. Probably telling her mother about us staying over. "Mom said you can stay till your parents come back." What?

"I just asked for today."

"Nope. already decided." Ruhi said, holding my hand. A warmth spread through me and my eyes teared up. Where would I have been without them?

"She's crying! I'm going to kill that clown." Sia said marching in Dhruv's direction but I held her hands.

"Stop. I'm fine. Let's go." I sighed. "Angie has organized a party. I don't want to go." I groaned.

"Then don't." was Ruhi's cool reply.

"I have promised her I'll be there. I'll go show my face and then come back, then we can have our sleepover. She wants me to make some more friends."

"I like her. She's good." Ruhi stated. Angie was more than good. She was everything I wasn't and a savior at college.

"Fine. I'll drop you. But I'll choose what you're wearing." Sia said, and I groaned, reveling in the respite of worrying about the dress instead of my fallen relationship with my brother. 

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