The pressure of giving a good performance was building up immensely with each passing day. My biggest worry was not to fall sick or get into an accident. Thus, even though I was working really hard on my dance routines, I was vigilant to keep my health in check.

Unlike me, Akshay was in a beast mode all day. I had to drag him out of the garage during lunch breaks. If I hadn't been there, he would have been dead by now.

The official date for the auditions were announced, and we had only a week left till that anticipated day.

Just like our previous fifteen days, we practiced till 1 a.m yesterday and woke up around 6 a.m. to prepare for college. No matter how much I wanted to pursue dancing as my career, my mother never let me discard my studies altogether.

Since I was really busy with my crew and mentor, I didn't get a chance to check my favourite dancer's Instagram page at all. The only thing I did on coming back home was to sleep to get my energy back. Also, whenever Akshay spotted me doing some timepass, he would confiscate my mobile phone and scold me to focus on perfecting my dance skills.

My patience was tested, so today, I took out my phone and decided to binge watch all the videos posted by Tejas. Fortunately, TJ hadn't forgotten his audience and had posted a few short dance choreographies with his friends.

By the time I reached college, I was in a really happy mood. Watching Tejas dance always gave me a new kind of hope and inspiration. As usual, Akshay was shaking his head at me for ignoring him and asking Arushi about the assignments.

On our way to our first lecture, we spotted a little crowd in the main ground near the first years' building, and I was going to ignore it as we were getting late for our class. But, on hearing Tejas' name, my feet automatically moved in the crowd's direction, and I planted myself firmly on the spot beside my fellow students.

I smiled when I saw Tejas, Hriaan, and Kshitij give a group performance, while Mahreen Zaid, one of their friends, made a video for them. Meanwhile, Suhana Pirthani, who was also a dancer, scolded the guys to improvise.

She joined them in the second part of the song, and she was awesome. Seeing her perform was a treat to the eyes, and even though I was enjoying their dance, I wondered why TJ and his friends were putting a free show so early in the morning.

"They are filming a promotional video," Akshay said.

"Wow. They are not leaving any stone unturned for this promotion, so imagine what they will do at the auditions," I said.

Akshay nodded, and when Suhana's solo performance ended, we heard some guys swoon over her. Suhana wasn't just a great dancer, she was gorgeous and carried herself like a queen. She thanked her admirers, and Mahreen showed her the video she had recorded.

Tejas, Hriaan, and Kshitij also watched the video and nodded in approval.

"How about we try Kshitij's choreo?" Hriaan asked his friends.

"Let's go," Tejas replied.

"Hey, TJ, why are you guys participating when you were approached by Sarthak Pawar himself for his dream project?" one of the students asked.

TJ smiled in amusement. "Guys, don't believe in rumours, okay?"

"Come on, you can tell us the truth."

Tejas shook his head and glanced at his friends. He turned back to the crowd and shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, I won't lie that Sarthak didn't contact me directly, but guess what? I like to play fairly," he said. "I am also a participant just like other dancers."

The students nodded and said that they would cheer for him. Tejas smiled at them, and soon the guys were dancing again.

"Bhoomi, let's go," Akshay said.

"Just five more minutes," I pleaded.

"Fine."

A few minutes later, Tejas and his crew were back to filming another short video, and as usual I was lost in enjoying their performance, but Jiya arrived suddenly and broke my happy bubble by her impromptu question.

"Tejas, who was the girl in your latest video? Are you guys dating?" Jiya asked.

Tejas ignored Jiya's question, but the crowd had heard her. Instantly, TJ was bombarded with questions regarding his latest video, and I looked at them in confusion.

Which video are they talking about?

I took out my phone and checked my browser history. My eyes scanned the screen in rapid speed. My gaze stopped at a particular video in which Tejas had shared the stage with a dancer and her name was something like Ayzere Barat.

"That's sounds like a Kazakh name," Arushi said.

"Tejas, are you really dating Ayzere?" one of the girls asked and pouted.

"She is amazing," one of the guys said.

"Please tell us," another girl said.

Tejas didn't answer. Jiya narrowed her eyes at him and crossed her arms across her chest.

"The audience wants to know, TJ," Jiya teased. "Spill the tea already."

Tejas thought for a moment, shooting a fake glare at Jiya. After making us wait for what felt like eternity, Tejas smirked and put up his hands in surrender.

"Why don't you ask Ayzere instead? Let me also know what she says," TJ said.

"Ohhhhhhhh!" the crowd erupted.

"Did you hear him? He didn't deny it," the girls discussed.

"I was going to confess to him," one of the girl said dejectedly.

"But Ayzere and TJ looked so hot in that video. I totally ship them," another student said.

Hearing them made my senses numb. Tejas didn't give a direct reply to Jiya's query, and I didn't know why I was feeling like the world had ended on seeing Tejas being mysterious about Ayzere Barat.

Akshay showed me the Google search results about Ayzere, and I was a little shocked to see that she was one of the upcoming top B-girls from her country. She excelled in ballet too.

"Looks like Ayzere was here specially for Tejas," Akshay said.

"How do you know that?" Arushi asked.

Akshay showed us Ayzere's Twitter, and she had posted a few tweets regarding her visit to India to meet her special friend and her experience in our country. Unlike Tejas, she had shared a lot of pics on her SNS and tagged TJ with a lot of cute captions.

Are they really dating?

Feeling my heart drop as I saw Ayzere's lovely pics with Tejas, I shot an accusatory glance at Jiya.

Why did she had to ask TJ if he was dating his new dance partner or not? Even after watching their dance video, I never suspected it, but now that Jiya has asked him, I can't stop thinking about it.

Jiya noticed me staring at her and winked at me. I narrowed my eyes, and she wrapped her left arm around my shoulders once she came beside me.

"Why did you ask him that?" I accused.

Jiya popped her bubblegum. "For your sake, what else?"

"For my sake?"

"Of course."

I shook my head at her. "What's that got to do with me? I don't care about his dating life. I only like him as a dancer."

"Oh really? Then why do you look so heartbroken?"

"I don't!"

"Yes, you do," Akshay and Arushi said in unison.

Jiya pulled her mobile's front camera in front of me, and I sighed as I noticed the dull expression on my face. I seemed like I was attending my own funeral.

"Come on, Bhoomi, we are you friends. We know you have a crush on Tejas," Jiya said.

"And we also know that you are not going to confess to him - atleast not in this lifetime," Arushi said, and I punched her in the stomach.

"Are you going to sulk like this forever?" Akshay complained. "Who knows if he already has a girlfriend? I don't want to see you sad like this over a guy."

"You are also a guy," I said.

"But hey, you don't see me dating and stuff," Akshay defended.

"They could be friends too," I pondered.

"And they could be a couple too. There's 50-50 chance," Arushi said.

On noticing me slump my shoulders to the level of the ground, Jiya squeezed me tightly and ruffled my hair.

"Cheer up, little one. Isn't it better to know the love life of your love interest instead of torturing yourself with your unrequited feelings?" Jiya asked. "If he has a girlfriend, you can move on."

"You are right. As it is, no matter if I confess or not, Tejas will never notice me," I said.

Instantly, I received three loud smacks on my back, followed by scoldings from my friends.

"Gotta do something about your inferiority complex," Jiya said.

"Tejas is also a human being," Akshay said.

"Why don't you focus on your studies first? We missed our first lecture," Arushi grumbled.

We decided to go to our relaxation spot till the bell for our next lecture rang. My friends got busy discussing other stuff, but my needle was still stuck to Jiya and Tejas' earlier conversation and what the other students said.

"Tejas, who was the girl in your latest video? Are you guys dating?"

"She is amazing."

"But Ayzere and TJ looked so hot in that video. I totally ship them."

"Looks like Ayzere was here specially for Tejas."

"Why don't you ask Ayzere instead? Let me also know what she says."

I dug my nails into my palms and reminded myself that Tejas was my role model.

His personal life shouldn't be affecting me that much, and even though I might have feelings for him, it was really idiotic of me to even imagine him and me being together. Not to forget, there were other girls too who liked him just like I did. I wasn't anyone special.

I needed to concentrate solely on my auditions, and getting a chance to share the stage with TJ was enough.

Practice, practice, and practice. That's it.