To check on Yukta, I went to the hospital where she was admitted. Akshay and Arushi accompanied me, and after getting the information from the receptionist, we moved towards the ward where Yukta was.

Since only one person was allowed to meet her at a time, we waited outside her room. While Akshay and Arushi took seats on the waiting bench, I peeked through the small glass window on the door.

I smiled in relief when I saw Yukta laughing from ear-to-ear, her cheeks resembling fresh strawberries. Beside her, Tejas said something, making Yukta double up in laughter. After a few minutes, Tejas got up from the chair he was sitting on and hugged Yukta. She nodded at him, and I moved away from the door as Tejas made his way outside.

After he opened the door, he walked past me before I could talk to him. Akshay saw Tejas and asked him if Yukta was okay.

"She is all good," Tejas assured.

"Can we meet her right now?" Akshay asked and glanced at me.

Tejas nodded. "Yeah, but she has taken her medicines, so she will fall asleep soon."

Understanding Tejas's point, I entered Yukta's room, and as soon as she saw me, she cleared her throat and tried to hide the big goofy grin on her face.

I reached near her and noticed the huge pile of flowers and nourishments that had arrived for her.

"This is for you," I told her as I placed the fruits on the table. "How are you feeling now? You are all red."

Yukta giggled. "Yaar, Bhoomi, TJ is so nice! I can't believe that he stayed all night to look after me and even cracked jokes to make me feel at ease. Man, I already liked him, but I think I have fallen in love with him now. You know what I mean?"

I nodded at her and chuckled when she kept praising Tejas and fanning over him. I was sure she would publish her personal experience on the WhatsApp group dedicated to Tejas. After she calmed down, she took a deep breath and gave me a huge smile.

"I am well, Bhoomi, and you didn't have to bring the food, you know. There's already a lot ot of it," Yukta said.

"I am glad to hear that. By the way, there's nothing serious, right?"

Yukta bit her lips. "I should have listened to you."

"Just tell me what it is."

"I have kidney stones," Yukta announced.

"What?!" I yelled in shock. "Kidney stones?! That must have been really painful... I should have paid more attention."

"Relax, Bhoomi. You already did enough. It was me who was acting like an idiot and ignored my health. I should thank you for looking after me all this time, and also Tejas for getting me the treatment in such a prestigious hospital."

I agreed. "Yes, if Tejas hadn't taken you to the hospital on time, the situation could have gotten worse. Please, take care of yourself better and not worry others."

Yukta pulled her ears to apologise. "Okay, okay. I am sorry. By the way, can you do me a favor?"

"Yeah, what is it?"

"Can you please find out how much the bill is?" Yukta asked in a low-voice.

I looked at her in confusion. "Why are you whispering? We can ask Tejas directly."

"No! He isn't even letting me talk about it. I am afraid that he will shoulder all the bill himself. I don't want to burden him like this, but... I can't afford it either. My parents have already spent a lot of money to send me to Mumbai, and if they get to know about my surgery, they will have to take a debt or loan. I don't want that..."

"Surgery?" I asked.

Yukta sighed. "Yup. Since I kept ignoring the pain, the situation got worse, and I need a surgery to get the stones removed. I know it will cost a lot of money, but whether it is less or more, I don't want to trouble Tejas as he has already done enough."

I patted her hand. I understood her concern as having a debt was really troublesome. Also, her financial condition was similar to mine. Even though her parents could have supported her, she knew they would not say anything and would suffer while paying back the loans.

"You rest. I will check the bill amount and inform you," I told her.

She thanked me, and I left to do the task. My best friends waited for me to return, and I reached the reception desk. I asked about Yukta's surgery and the final bill amount.

The receptionist smiled in return. "All the bills have already been cleared, ma'am, and the upcoming ones would be taken care of from Tejas Sir's account. Is there anything else you want to know?"

I shook my head. I went back and saw that Yukta had fallen asleep. I decided to let her recover after surgery and then tell her about the bills. After hearing what the receptionist had told me, I looked for Tejas but he was nowhere in sight.

"Where is Tejas?" I asked my friends.

"Can't you live without mentioning him all the time?" Akshay teased.

I rolled my eyes. "I wanted to ask him something."

Before Akshay could comment anything else, Arushi scolded him and told me that Tejas had left to refresh and would return soon. We waited for him, and once he returned, I approached him after telling my friends that I wanted to talk to him in private.

"Tejas, can I ask you something?" I asked, keeping a four-hand distance from him.

He eyed the gap between us with a raised eyebrow and adjusted his bracelet. "What is it?"

"Um... Can you tell me how much the bill is?"

Tejas ran a hand through his hair and slowly looked at me. "How is that any of your concern?"

I judged by the tone of his voice that he was irritated, but Yukta had told me not to mention her name. I wondered how to extract the information from him as he easily got annoyed by anything I did.

"If you are asking it on behalf of Yukta, then don't bother," Tejas said as if he read my thoughts. "Her health is more important, and you don't need to think about her bills. I am handling everything."

Having nothing to object, I nodded in response.

"Thank you for taking care of Yukta." I smiled.

Tejas kept staring at me blankly for a few seconds before he looked away. "Sure."

I knew he was busy, so I didn't bother him again and left with my friends after checking on Yukta once more.

Since we got a break and still had a few days before we returned to Sarthak's studio, Akshay and I were at Vibhan's garage studio, goofing around with our crew and Ritvik Bhaiyya.

Shlok was trying to come up with a new choreography as they had a dance battle coming up. Meanwhile, Yasir and Pratik were discussing contemporary with Akshay. Pratik was really amazed to see the enthusiasm in Akshay regarding the dance style and his desire to learn more about performing romantic songs.

"Bro, are you sure you are the same Akki who was whining like a baby during the auditions?" Pratik commented.

Instead of kicking Pratik back, Akki had a mysterious smile on his face. He didn't react even when Yasir teased that Akshay might finally have a secret crush. But, the moment my best friend's eyes met mine, he coughed and didn't look at me again.

Alright, my suspicion is halfway confirmed. If not liking, then Akshay surely has developed some interest in Suhana. It is a good thing, I will say. At least, I won't have to worry about my friend all the time even when we grow old.

"Oye, Bhoomi, look at this," Rehman said loudly.

When I graced him with my attention, he showed off the impressive Krumping moves he was learning recently. Vibhan was teaching him the new style since Rehman wanted to showcase it in the dance battle.

As for me, I was lying down on the floor, observing my friends while thinking about what my mother had told me about us not having any savings. She said that a friend of hers was in dire need of money, so she lent her our savings since that friend was also poor like us. Dhara Di backed her claim.

I knew there was something else which both of them were hiding from me, and no matter how much I pressurized them, they weren't going to speak up for the time being. Moreover, my sister's health could have gotten affected. Therefore, I decided to give them some break and investigate as I got time.

Getting tired of the same thoughts swirling in my mind, I checked out the messages of Tejas's fan group on WhatsApp to distract myself. As I had predicted, Yukta had posted about her incident with Tejas, and how he had helped her.

All of the fangirls were expressing their shock and jealousy as they all wanted to experience it too. Among all this, one of the girls posted a query about the hand-made bracelet Tejas was seen wearing nowadays.

Just like I had doubted, others also concluded that the bracelet must have been from none other than Ayzere since the pendant on the bracelet had letter 'A'. Like that, a lot of theories surrounding Ayzere and Tejas popped up, and I kept thinking about my own interactions with him while reading the messages. I was really into reading an interesting theory when my phone was snatched.

Ritvik Bhaiyya pressed his lips into disappointment when he read the messages and locked the phone.

"You surely know how to waste time, Bhoomi," he said flatly.

I sat up, and he gave my phone back. I kept looking at him, and like always kept getting reminded of the old days - the days before my sister got married. Dhara Di and Ritvik Bhaiyya were best friends, and both of them were pros in their dance styles. Even if I was very young at that time, I knew there was a strong connection between them. Our lives could have been a lot different if both of them had gotten married.

Ritvik Bhaiyya could no longer bear my stare and flicked me on the forehead.

"Don't trouble your brain and speak out what's on your mind," Ritvik Bhaiyya said and sat down beside me.

"Why haven't you gotten married yet?" I asked even though I was already aware of the answer.

Ritvik Bhaiyya twisted his lips and took a deep breath before he looked at me earnestly. "I loved only one girl, and I am going to love her only for the rest of my life."

"Why are you torturing yourself like this? You can easily find a nice girl and live a happy married life."

"How can I be happy if 'she' isn't with me?"

A lone tear fell from my eye as I could feel my mentor's pain. He chuckled and wiped the tear.

"Idiot. You are too emotional," he said.

"It is because I love you," I whined and hugged him.

He patted my head. "Yeah, yeah. I am hearing that since you were half my size."

I hugged him tightly, the imaginary scenarios I had built in my childhood flashing in front of my eyes. I had always dreamt of him being a part of my family, but after Dhara Di's marriage, he had distanced himself a lot and only mentored me regarding dance.

Ritvik Bhaiyya told me to stop thinking about past, and I was going to let go of him after a final hug, but Rehman jumped on us suddenly.

"I love you too, Ritvik Bhaiyya," he said. "Stop giving special treatment to Bhoomi only."

I glared at Rehman, but he was unaffected. Soon, other guys also joined the hug, and Akki asked me why I was crying.

"She is a crybaby, that's why," Rehman chirped.

"Or maybe...." Yasir pondered with a mischievous smile, "Bhoomi got rejected by TJ."

I sighed. "Unfortunately, I didn't get the chance to even confess."

"You are still young, girl. Why are you making it look like as if he is the only guy in the world?" Shlok complained. "And even if you get the chance to confess, you will get rejected, so don't waste your time."

I really felt like murdering all of them, except Ritvik Bhaiyya of course. Akshay told them about me getting scolded everyday by Tejas, and all of them burst out laughing like hyenas.

"Bhoomi, don't worry. When the time comes, we will find a suitable boy for you," Rehman said like a mature person which he surely wasn't.

I let the guys roast me because I was going to take revenge soon. As soon as we broke the hug, I kicked each one of them and pulled their ears like rubber. They tried to save themselves but it was of no use.

They begged for help when Jiya and Arushi arrived, but the girls refused and enjoyed the show. While Jiya got busy with Shlok to discuss the soundtracks, Arushi scolded me and Akshay for lagging behind in our studies.

"Both of you come and meet me in the library first thing in the morning, okay?" Arushi commanded.

Akki and I nodded. Both of us were trying to ignore our assignments, pushing to do them at the last moment. Our academic careers were totally dependent on Arushi. She let us off the hook for the day being, and Ritvik Bhaiyya lectured us to learn something from Arushi.

My ears were already filled with Tejas's scoldings, so I wasn't much affected. Surprisingly, Akshay had a determined expression on his face and asked Arushi if he could start his assignments in the night.

Arushi was happy to hear that, but I was confused. Since when did Akki start taking his studies so seriously?

Unfortunately, I wasn't motivated by my best friend. I enjoyed my free time and practiced some Krumping with Rehman.

As promised to Arushi, after reaching college the next morning, I set my target on library. My mind was set on only that, so I didn't notice Kshitij when he waved his hand at me to get my attention. I got aware of him only when he stopped me and asked why I was walking like a bulldozer.

"Can't waste time talking, KD. If I don't reach on time, Arushi will have my head for lunch," I said.

"I also want to talk about the same stuff, Bhoomi..." Kshitij said as if he was talking to a kid.

I squinted my eyes. "What?"

KD showed me the book in his hands, and after I read its title, I remembered everything.

"Let's go then," I said.

Kshitij joined me, and once we reached the library, I took him to the spot where Arushi usually sat. She was missing at the moment though.

I searched for her and noticed her curly hair. She was dressed up in her favourite yellow kurti, so it was easy to identify her.

KD followed me, and I tapped Arushi's shoulder as she was busy checking out a book. She hadn't noticed us standing behind her.

After registering my tap, Arushi slowly closed the book and turned around, her spectacles making her big dark eyes appear more bigger and shinier.

She was going to say something but stopped when she noticed Kshitij standing beside me. He was already popular and well known, so Arushi didn't need his introduction, but since KD was meeting her for the first time, I took on the job to introduce my best friend.

"Kshitij, this is my best friend, Arushi. She is a topper and a famous book reviewer on Instagram," I said proudly, making Arushi blush.

She fake-glared at me and looked at KD. "Hello, Kshitij. Nice to meet you."

She extended her right hand forward for a hand-shake, but Kshitij didn't return the gesture. Her hand was hanging in the air, and she looked at me in confusion when Kshitij didn't react. He was standing like a statue, not blinking at all.

"KD, what are you doing?" I complained and nudged him with my elbow. "Didn't you say you wanted to meet your favourite book reviewer? Why are you embarrassing my best friend like this?"

Arushi is already an introvert and avoids other boys - except our friends - like plague. And now if Kshitij keeps acting like an idiot, she will surely think that he is being rude.

Arushi started moving her hand back, but after receiving a smack from me on his back, Kshitij instantly grabbed Arushi's hand, and my eyes widened like saucers when I saw his lips turn up into a smile that I had never seen before.

"Hi, Arushi. I am glad I got to meet you," KD said, his voice getting smoother with each syllable.

While Arushi was acting her usual self, Kshitij seemed to have transformed into a completely different person. His eyes were stuck on my best friend like glue, and the moment they started talking about books, my existence was vanished for KD; he didn't even look at me once even when I left to do my assignments.

What was that just now? I feel like I was watching a movie. How did Kshitij's aura change so suddenly? He is already pale, but now he is shining like marble. I am happy that Arushi got to meet a book enthusiast like her, but how dare KD ignore me like that after I helped him?

I looked at the two bookworms. My already shocked heart received another shock when I saw a faint smile on my friend's face. She was already beautiful, but that small curl of her lips seemed to have added more beauty to her.

Okay, I will keep KD alive since Arushi seems to be enjoying his company. And as for me, let's focus on my assignments because I don't want to be the only one to fail my semesters. Ganapati Bappa, why didn't you make me smarter?