Abhay

There was always a constant fucking ringing in my ears. Not tinnitus. It was a constant reminder of the shitty things I had done and the people I had hurt. Mira, my brother, my father, and the people I surrounded myself with.

As the lone tear fell down her eyes, I realized hers was not a name I wanted to add to that list.

My feet were frozen on the ground while she walked out of the locker room in a hurry. There was a sinking feeling in my stomach, and I did not like that. I did not like to see her cry. It made me want to punch someone. Punch who — her? Me?

There was an urgency to do something. But what?

My feet moved on its own before I could think. Before she could go farther away, out of my reach, My right hand held her wrist and pulled her back in. Warmth spread through my palms.

The force landed her straight into my chest. Her face collided with my chest, and I was engulfed with the sweet smell of...chocolates.

I looked down to see her tear-soaked eyes widen in surprise. Her tears continued on their course. She wasn't the only surprised person.

"What...are...you doing?" She asked. Her voice was choked up from the crying. How much she had cried in just a minute?

"Take deep breaths," I said. Her wrist was still in my hand when she tried pulling it back. I held her other hand and put it down.

"What..let me go, you jerk. Wasn't insulting me enough?" She screamed. Her loud voice bounced off the walls of the empty locker room, and my eyes went to the door.

"If you want the whole team to hear, keep shouting." That shut her up. Her lips quivered, and another round of drops traveled down her cheeks. Her breathing was erratic as she struggled to keep her voice calm.

"I..I'll kill you, you jerk." Yeah right.

"Riya," I called her name, and she froze. "Breath in."

Her lips quivered again as she looked down and tried breathing again. In and out. Her forehead was too close to my collarbone.

She snatched her hand back when she calmed down. I forced myself to let go of her wrists and stepped back. The sudden loss of warmth shook me for a second. My palms tingled from the warmth of her hands, and I closed them to get rid of it. I bet they would've smelled like chocolates if I checked.

She wiped her eyes carefully, but her kajal was all messed up already.

"What is wrong with you?" She gritted, still rattled.

"My whole team is outside. I don't want them to associate you with me." She looked as if I slapped her.

I gritted my teeth.

"You were the one who dragged me inside."

"What was that about being a fly?" I asked. I had a feeling it was something someone had said to her. Probably that piece of shit she called her brother. That guy riveled me in shittiness. Probably the reason why we were friends.

"None of your business." she snapped. Her hands reached out to her pockets and pulled out a handkerchief with shaky hands as if they could keep her from falling apart. She tried wiping her kajal off.

"You need help?"

If looks could kill, I would've been under the ground. A smile tugged my lips— at least she wasn't crying anymore.

I didn't regret beating that guy. He already had a hoard of girls flocking behind him for his attention. I didn't want her to be part of that. I didn't want her to be a part of any flock.

She was better roaming around the campus behind us, scolding us and throwing daggers with her eyes.

Her reaction was something else. Something else was bothering her. I wanted to know.

"Riya?" Dhruv came inside the locker room.

"I can not do this again." She mumbled and walked past him as if he didn't exist.

"Oye!" he shouted after her.

"Leave her alone."

"What happened?" he asked, coming closer.

The warmth was disappearing from my palms, and for some reason, it made me angry.

"I don't know." I lied.

"So she was here for no reason?"

He was getting on my nerves. "She was looking for you," I said, walking towards the shower.

...

Riya

"You don't have class today?" Angie asked, looking at me. I was back in the cafe.

"Not going," I said, giving the change back to the student.

"Is everything okay?" The genuineness in her voice made me want to weep. My shoulders dropped.

"Hey Sam, handle the counter for a while," she called out. There weren't many students around.

"Why?" Sam peeked out from the back.

"Girl stuff." She held my hand and dragged me to the table in the corner, to Abhay's table.

I gritted my teeth, remembering his clenched fist. How dare he be disgusted after being the one to hold my hand? Did I ask him to do that? No. He calmed me down and then insulted me. Didn't want me to be associated with me? What was that supposed to mean? Was I that ugly?

A migraine was creeping up my head, thinking about his hot and cold attitude. One moment, he was a guy who was teaching you pottery and the next day he would call you ugly.

"You're making weird faces," Angie said, sitting down.

"Why are men so weird?"

"At this point, I'm not sure." She looked at the wall for a second. "Did Dhruv do something again?" Right. Dhruv.

"When does he not do anything?" She waited for a beat for me to elaborate. "He beat up a guy I went on a date with."

She cringed. "Wow. dumbass."

"I know, right?"

"Who was the guy?" She asked.

"Arjun. From Xavier's." I waited for her a beat.

"The captain?" She narrowed her eyes.

"Yes."

She took a deep breath. "Damn! You're dating some big shot."

"I'm not dating him. It was just one date set up by my best friend."

"If you say so," she said, thinking. "Did you text him?"

"No. How could I? It's embarrassing."

"Yeah, but still. Text him at least." I nodded. "So, you fought with Dhruv?" she asked.

No. I fought with Abhay. But for some reason, I didn't want anyone to know about it.

"Kind of," I said.

"Want me to kill him?" She asked.

I furrowed my eyebrows, "Didn't you like him?"

Before she could reply, the bell on the door chimed. "Speak of the devil."

I turned to see Dhruv coming towards us with a determined face. I did not want to do this again. I was calm but not really in the mood to have this conversation.

"Can we talk?" He asked.

"No."

"Riya."

"Didn't you hear what she said? Leave her alone." Angie gritted out.

"She can speak for herself," Dhruv replied.

"She just did, dickhead."

"Ms. Anjita Sharma, stop talking."

I looked at them and wondered, how did he know her full name? She never introduced herself as Anjita. It was always Angie.

Was I this blind?

I missed the old me. The one who used to know everything and call out people around her on their bullshit. I felt like I was slowly losing her.

They looked at each other for a beat, having a conversation I was not privy to. The conversation that the old me might've questioned.

"I'll leave you two to talk." Angie stood up.

Dhruv sat down, and I waited for him to speak. We needed to talk about the things that were piling up. But that day was not today. I was drained.

"I want to apologize." He said, and my eyes widened. "I acted irrationally."

"Well, that's putting it mildly."

"You can date anyone but him." He said with finality and that pissed me off.

"What if I liked him?"

"Then find someone else." The tone of his voice didn't change.

So he could control my life, but I couldn't ask him not to throw his life away in his stupid fights.

This was it. Maybe we will never be able to get back to where we were. People did say that some relationships drift apart. Maybe that's what was happening here.

"Is that all?" I asked, getting up from my chair. He clenched his jaws, and I waited for a second if he decided to speak. But he didn't. 

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