Tejas and Ayzere left our practice room after some time. While everyone got back to their training, my mind was building up doubts. I shook my head as my thinking was going into overdrive.

Why are you worried, Bhoomi? Don't forget that you are just Tejas' fan. Even if he and you are in the same team right now, it doesn't mean that you will stay with him forever. If you continue wasting time on someone else's love life, then you can happily say goodbye to your mental peace. Just forget about it.

I sighed as my heart and brain kept playing tug of war. I reminded myself to focus on only training, but Tejas' face kept flashing in front of my eyes. I knew I needed to get my feelings sorted.

I was thankful that Yukta was there to indulge me in useless talks. If it wasn't for her, I would have just wondered about Tejas and Ayzere's relationship only.

I, Yukta, and my team members discussed about the dance style we would prefer for our evaluation. Most of us wanted to perform hip-hop, but Yukta was hell-bent on doing classical. I had no problem with either genres, so I enjoyed watching my teammates argue.

"Guys, everyone is doing only hip-hop nowadays," Yukta complained.

"So what? That's what's trendy, you know. Everyone will get bored with classical," one of our members, Omkar said.

I narrowed my eyes. "I don't think classical is boring."

"That's exactly what I am saying," Yukta agreed. "We should do something different!"

Omkar, and the rest of four members i.e. Michael, Falguni, Manoj, and Gaurav weren't convinced.

"Guys, we have TJ as our team leader. We will kill it if we do hip-hop. Other teams mostly have contemporary dancers; we can use this chance to display a power-packed performance. You know we guys can handle the stunts," Michael said.

"Stunts?" I asked. "I don't think we should rely on that."

Everyone except Yukta shook their heads in disapproval. While I had nothing against including stunts, our members suggested doing ninety percent of our performance with acrobatics and gymnastics.

Before, I was just enjoying the argument, but this time, I was in a heated conversation with Omkar and Falguni, who kept saying that I was scared of doing the stunts. On the other hand, Yukta was on the verge of strangling Manoj, Michael and Gaurav.

"Bhoomi?"

I was about to yell a curse word at Omkar when a guy arrived in our room and called for me. He told me that I was called in by Sarthak Pawar.

My teammates looked at me in confusion, and I also shared the same expression as them. They told me to hurry up as it could have been something important as I was called by Sarthak himself.

I went to Sarthak's cabin and knocked on the door. When I was allowed to come inside, I greeted Sarthak sir, who smiled widely at me. I glanced around the spacious room and noticed Tejas and Ayzere sitting across from Sarthak.

I stood at a distance. "You called for me, Sir?" I asked.

Sarthak nodded and told me to come forward. I moved closer to his desk, and Sarthak pointed his thumb at me while looking at Ayzere.

"I was talking about her," Sarthak said happily.

Ayzere gave a short nod, while I looked on cluelessly. I glanced at Tejas, and he was busy juggling paperweight in his hand. While I was trying to read his mind, Sarthak called my name.

"Bhoomi, show Ayzere around," Sarthak said.

"Me?" I asked.

Sarthak nodded, and I looked at Ayzere. She got up from her seat, and once she came in front of me, I noticed the significant height difference. She was the same height as TJ - she intimidated me a bit.

Ayzere motioned towards the door. "Let's start."

Before we left, Tejas shot up from his seat and patted Ayzere's back. "Enjoy the tour. I will be waiting in the practice room."

TJ zoomed out without a glance at me; I masked my sadness as I exited Sarthak's cabin. Ayzere followed behind, and I showed her around. Everyone was really excited to meet Ayzere; she was overjoyed when she met her friends Suhana Pirthani and Kshitij Dogra, who were training in their room.

When Akshay saw me with Ayzere, he widened his eyes. We talked through our expressions, and Akshay signalled me that we would discuss the matter later. After half an hour, Ayzere and I came back to my training room.

"Did you enjoy?" TJ asked Ayzere as soon as we entered.

Ayzere nodded enthusiastically and started conversing with TJ. I felt like a third wheel, so I excused myself. As soon as I reached my team, they pulled me in for investigation.

"So, how do you feel after spending time with Ayzere alone?" Yukta asked.

"We weren't alone," I gave a flat reply.

Seeing no enthusiastic reaction from me, my team gave up on extracting information. They adviced me to work on my social skills - honestly, Ayzere was the last person I wanted to associate with at that moment.

She was already popular, highly skilled, and influential that almost everyone in our studio knew her already. And, as for Tejas, he seemed to be a totally different person in Ayzere's presence.

"Hey, since Ayzere is here, why don't we get her to show us her skills?" Gaurav suggested.

Falguni agreed. "Yup. We should take this chance. It will highly help us in our upcoming evaluation. Let's go."

Before my mind could process what my teammates were saying, they surrounded Ayzere and started requesting like kindergarteners. Tejas told them to keep some distance, but Ayzere was enjoying their enthusiasm. I joined my members as I was also curious to see Ayzere live-in-action.

Ayzere agreed instantly, making my team squeal in joy. She winked at Tejas and then looked at me.

"Umm... Bhoomi... Can you please help me with the music?" Ayzere asked, her blue eyes shining like diamonds.

"Okay," I said.

I went to the sound system, and asked Ayzere which soundtrack she wanted; she gave me her phone to attach to the speakers. While she warmed up, surrounded by my team already cheering for her, I tried to get the speakers working.

I furrowed my eyebrows when I couldn't start the music. After unplugging the laptop from the speakers and connecting Ayzere's phone, the speakers had stopped functioning. I struggled for a bit, trying to remember what I had leaned about wires in the morning.

"Why can't I do such a simple thing?" I groaned.

"Are you done, Bhoomi?" Yukta asked.

"Yeah, give me a minute!" I replied without looking at Yukta.

The wires were really trying my patience. No matter how many times I connected and disconnected the phone and speakers, nothing seemed to work. I scratched my head, and when I was going to try again, the wires were taken from my hands.

"Move," TJ said.

I told him that I would do it, but he just moved the speakers and sighed. I moved ahead and pursed my lips when I saw that the main plug had loosened up from the socket.

Within seconds, TJ was done with starting the sound system and back at his spot. I returned beside my team in embarrassment. I didn't want to imagine what TJ must have been thinking about my inefficiency.

When Ayzere gave the signal, music was started, and as she progressed, my eyes were going to pop out of my skull. Seeing a professional b-girl perform just a few metres away from me was surreal.

(Ayzere's demo👆)

My eyes were stuck on Ayzere even after she finished and giggled as my team showered her with praises. Soon, requests for a duo performance resonated, and I was still stuck to my spot when Tejas and Ayzere took the stage.

"OMG, I think I am going to have a heart attack!" Yukta fangirled.

I am also going to have a heart attack - but of a different kind altogether.

Even though earlier, I was whining about TJ and Ayzere stuck to each other like magnets, at the moment, I couldn't take my eyes off of them. Their chemistry was off the charts.

(Tejas and Ayzere's duo👆)

The way Ayzere and TJ looked at each other during the performance and the way Tejas caught her and assured her as she lost her footing one time, each one of their moves was connected to each other by an invisible thread.

My ears rang with cheers as the duo performance ended, and Ayzere hugged TJ. My team requested Ayzere to teach them a few stuff, and Tejas looked at us in frustration.

"Guys, I think she would prefer to rest now," TJ scolded.

"Aw, are you worried about me, TJ?" Ayzere teased.

TJ shook his head in amusement, while everyone laughed. I notched down my jealousy a bit when I saw Ayzere grant my teammates' request. No matter how much I didn't want to associate with Ayzere, I had also become her fan after seeing her kill it on the stage. In my mind, I wanted to learn from her too.

"Okay, first of all, I want to know if there are any b-boys and b-girls here?" Ayzere asked.

Michael, Manoj, and Gaurav raised their hands proudly, whereas I felt a huge wave of inferiority complex wash over me.

I won't raise my hand. What if I make a fool out of myself?

While I was busy self-talking, Yukta nudged me. She told me to join the boys as I was getting a good chance. She reminded me that I had to improve. After seeing Yukta's confidence in me, I reminded myself of my resolve.

I slowly raised my hand, and Ayzere shot up her eyebrows in surprise. "Wow, Bhoomi, I never thought you would have been a b-girl too."

I gave her a small smile. Ayzere returned the gesture. "Come on, I will teach you guys some stuff."

I, Manoj, Gaurav, and Michael joined Ayzere, and I observed her like a hawk. She was a brilliant teacher and kind enough to explain complex moves multiple times. After she was done, she told us to give her a demo.

"I want to see how my students perform," Ayzere said.

One by one, the b-boys performed, and our training room was filled with laughter and joy. Our excitement was doubled when Tejas and Ayzere danced with my b-boy teammates. Soon, my turn came, and I inhaled a lot of oxygen.

"You ready, Bhoomi?" Ayzere asked.

"Yes," I replied, and touched the stage with respect.

"Cue the music. Start!"

I prayed to Lord Shiva, and smiled to myself as I noticed everyone's eyes on me.

The first beat dropped, and I replayed Ayzere's teachings in my mind as I progressed. Sharp moves, smooth transitions, clean isolations, and treating the rhythm as another part of my body; I put my all in the dance act.

(Bhoomi's performance👆)

I felt another level of happiness when I realised that I wasn't stopped mid-way by Tejas. My confidence was boosted, and I finished my performance with full energy.

"That was awesome, Bhoomi! You killed it!" Yukta hugged me.

"Seriously, Bhoomi, you were amazing." Manoj joined the hug.

"That was great!" Falguni, Gaurav, and Michael agreed.

I thanked my teammates and glanced at Ayzere and Tejas. While TJ was staring blankly, Ayzere's expressions were hard to decipher.

"What do you think, Ayzere?" I asked hopefully. "How did I do?"

I crossed my fingers in anticipation. I saw Ayzere's eyes blink slowly; she glanced at TJ, and for some time, she kept staring at him. I was going to ask her again, but she snapped her head back at me and stuck her hair behind her ear.

"Ummm... Bhoomi, right?" Ayzere smiled.

I nodded, and Ayzere gave me a thumbs-up. "You were good."

"Really?" I asked in surprise. I thought that she was going to point out mistakes. When Ayzere didn't add anything else, I looked at Tejas in anticipation.

I am sure he will comment this time.

TJ looked like he was in meditation. I thought I was imagining it: his eyes were dilating and shifting focus continuously. I started feeling self-conscious when Tejas just kept staring.

Ayzere nudged Tejas, and he slowly moved his eyes away from me.

"I think it is enough for today. Everyone, go back to your training," Tejas ordered.

Everyone whined but obeyed after receiving a warning glare from TJ. When I saw Tejas walking away, I moved in his direction, but Ayzere grabbed Tejas' arm and started talking to him.

When she noticed me approaching them, she shot me a small smile. "I will borrow your team leader for a minute."

Before I could respond, Ayzere dragged TJ to another corner, and I was left alone.

Am I time traveling? Why is the same thing happening to me again and again? Does Tejas really have nothing to say to me about my performance? I am afraid he feels that I am a burden for our team. Should I talk to him about it?

As I wondered about that, Suhana and Kshitij arrived in our room. They went directly to TJ and Ayzere. While Ayzere was busy mingling with Suhana and KD, TJ looked disinterested - it felt like his mind was somewhere else.

Suddenly, TJ snapped his eyes in my direction, and I automatically smiled in response. He removed his gaze when Yukta disturbed me. She told me that she had given in and agreed with other team members - we decided to go with hip-hop for our evaluation performance.

I was still not sure about that choice but decided to go with the flow. Today, I saw why Ayzere was so popular and respected by other dancers. Thus, instead of feeling jealous like an idiot, I told myself to see the bigger picture.

As a fan, I should be happy for my idol if he has someone he loves... Hm, damn, it does feel weird somehow.

Ganpati Bappa, please do something about this stupid heart of mine.