|ANURAG|

I pounded the punching bag continuously, my ears were ringing slightly as sweat poured down my body and face. It was almost 7 in the morning I had been at it for nearly two hours. I stopped when I heard the front door click open. My hands shook slightly, I closed my eyes briefly and tried to catch my breath.

"Hey, Anurag! I bought you some breakfast." I grunted when I heard Aarav's loud voice. I gulped some water and grabbed the towel to wipe my face. I sighed and left the room to find Aarav arranging a few dishes on the dining table. I grabbed another shirt from the couch and threw the old one in the laundry basket.

I frowned and grabbed the glass of protein shake from the table. I gulped it down while Aarav passed me a light, protein-packed breakfast plate. Mom had sent breakfast for us. She and Dad had called us this morning and wished us for our match.

I shook my head and continued drinking my protein shake. "Come on you need to eat." I took a few bites of the egg whites while Aarav served himself some orange juice. We continued to munch silently on our breakfast.

Our qualifying match was in a few hours. I was doing fine with handling the stress of it but then yesterday, Amit Sir told me that I would be playing the match against Raj Patel. That news ruined the composture that I had been maintaining for the past few days.

Everything that I had done to keep myself calm over the past few days flew out of the window. The past two days since I had known that my match was against him simmered the anger within me. I probably would have been calm if I hadn't met him a couple of days ago when all of us were called in for a briefing.

I will be professional but I knew for a fact that Raj will try to play dirty at every step of the way. Only if all these rules weren't there I would break his face. He knew things about my asshole of a birth father and never left a chance to taunt me and use my past against me.

If Aarav hadn't been there that day I probably would have been disqualified from the qualifying match.

"I know what you are thinking and trust me Anurag as much as I would like to beat Raj it's not worth it. We have worked so hard to come this far let's not let some stupid man who chatters bullshit ruin all of it for us." Aarav tilted his head waiting for me to respond.

I closed my eyes and gripped the fork tightly, nails digging into my palms. I nodded and gulped down some water.

"No, I want you to say it. Tell me that you are not going to let your anger control you." I swallowed a piece of chicken and sighed.

"Fine, I won't let my anger control me," I muttered, he gave a satisfied nod and we continued eating.

My phone vibrated, I grabbed it to find a text message from Priyanka.

"Hey, good morning! Did you know that you look irresistible when the sun's rays touch your face? How do I know that? Good question! Look at the image attached below."

I scrolled down to find a picture of me where I was slightly smiling as the sun rays touched my face creating a halo sort of effect. My lips tilted slightly and my thoughts slowed down.

"Good morning! When did you click this picture?"

I sent her a quick text and waited for her reply. I took a few bites and my phone pinged.

"Well, when we stopped to have breakfast on our Mysore date ;)."

I shook my head when I remembered how she tried to click my pictures but I moved or pushed the camera away.

"You are sneaky." I sent her a quick reply.

"I know!!! 😂" I chuckled at her reply. I sighed and looked at her chat waiting for her to finish typing. I had not met her since the salsa dance class. She was busy with work and I was swamped with practice. Besides I did not want to worry her. We did speak for a few minutes every day before going to bed.

"What time is your match today?" I glanced at Aarav who wiggled his brows, I flipped him off and sent Priyanka a quick reply. Aarav's match was before mine.

We texted for a few more minutes before ending our chat. "So what did my future sister-in-law say that has got you all smiling," Aarav smirked and grabbed my plate before walking towards the kitchen.

"Shut up Aarav!" I muttered and frowned. Did he say future sister-in-law? I shook my head and decided to focus on the match. I will punch him later.

We spoke about strategies for an hour before Aarav went to his flat to get ready. Aarav's match was scheduled at 11.30 am after which my match would take place.

We decided to meet at the parking lot at 9 am sharp. I took a quick shower and then packed my bag with a few essentials. I rubbed the towel against my hair when the doorbell rang. I frowned and threw the towel on the bed before walking towards the main door. Aarav never rang the bell until I had asked him not to disturb me. I opened the door to find Priyanka. She waved her hands at me and grinned widely.

"Hey," I whispered and raised my brows. She walked passed me towards the living room, I shut the door behind her.

She stood near the couch and smiled at me. "I was hoping to catch you before you left for your match." She smiled and walked towards me. She stood on her toes and placed her hands on my chest for support. My hands automatically went around her waist.

She kissed my cheek softly and wrapped her arms around my neck. "All the best." She whispered and glanced at me. Her eyes gleamed with happiness and pride. I smiled at her softly and brushed my fingers against her cheek.

"Thank you," I whispered. I cupped her cheek and leaned forward until our breaths mingled. She brushed her nose lightly against mine and whispered "Go on! Why did you stop?" I smiled and pressed my lips softly against hers. At that moment all my worries flew out of the window. I knew that everything would be alright. I felt a surge of strength and calmness pass through my veins.

She sighed and ran her fingers through my hair. I pulled her closer and moved my lips slowly along with her, it felt like she was pouring everything into the kiss. I opened my mouth and our tongues tangled. She moaned lightly and held on to me tightly. We pulled away after a few seconds and she panted against my lips. I tucked her hair behind her ear and kissed her cheek softly. She chuckled and hugged me.

"I want you to remember that everything is going to be okay and you are going to play an amazing game." She whispered as I buried my face in her neck, taking in her scent which acted as a balm to my nerves.

"Are you listening Anurag?" She whispered. I hummed and nodded.

"Good! Please be calm and everything will fall in place." I pulled away to look at her.

"Thank you," I whispered and kissed her forehead. She closed her eyes briefly and entwined our fingers together. My phone buzzed snapping us both out of our bubble. It was Aarav, he was waiting for me in the basement.

"I have to go," I said and pocketed my phone. Priyanka smiled and kissed my knuckles. I pulled her in a brief hug after which she passed me my bag and pulled me towards the door.

"Since when did Anurag Khatri become so needy?" She asked while I rolled my eyes.

"I guess since a storm called Priyanka entered my life and made everything a bit chaotic." I chuckled when she gasped at my reply and pinched my arm.

"Shut up! I did not make it chaotic, I made it memorable. " I smiled and shook my head. I pulled her out of the apartment and locked the door behind her.

"We shall continue this discussion later," I said, she laughed and nodded.

"Deal. Good luck!" She whispered and kissed my cheek one last time before entering the elevator. She pressed the basement, we reached it within a few seconds. She walked with me towards the car and had a short conversation with Aarav wishing him luck as well.

"Okay, then I'll leave now. Do well Khatri boys. Bye." She smiled and me and nodded before moving towards the exit. I sighed and sat in the car.

"Are you ready?" Aarav asked, I sighed and nodded.

"Let's go," I said, he nodded and drove towards the Sports Center. I prayed to Ma and sought her blessings and presence today. I imagined her saying everything would be alright and that she would always be by our side.

***

The boxing ring was prepared and the judges were seated. The matches had already begun and the players were selected for the first few categories. It was Aarav's turn now. He and Dhruv were both competing in the light-heavyweight category.

This will probably be a hard match to watch and support as Aarav and Dhruv were both equally good. But unfortunately only one of them can qualify for the Olympics. Dhruv is a great friend and an amazing player but I'm slightly going to be biased here, I want Aarav to win. If I had my way I would select both of them but the rules don't work that way.

I patted Aarav's shoulder and passed him the gloves. He wrapped the bands around his hands and then wore them. He put on his mouthguard and smiled at me.

"Good luck." I wished Aarav and patted his arm. He nodded and pulled me in for a hug. I smiled and patted his back. He walked towards the ring where Amit Sir stood and listened intensely to what Amit Sir was telling him. Dhruv passed by me and nodded. I patted his back and wished him luck.

Yash, Vikram, and I sat down to watch the match. "This is going to be a bit hard to watch," Yash muttered, I nodded.

"Why does only one person have to be there in each category? Why not more?" Vikarm muttered.

"Well, those are the rules whether we like it or not doesn't matter," I replied, Yash and Vikram nodded with a glum look on their faces.

The match began, Dhruv and Aarav circled each other for a few seconds and then began throwing light jabs at each other. I leaned forward and rested my arms against my knees.

I watched as a minute passed and yet none had scored. The first round was for only three minutes. A few more seconds passed and now they threw aggressive punches at each other. I took a deep breath and watched as Aarav blocked his face when Dhruv went in for a hard jab on his face.

Within a split second everything changed and Aarav threw a direct punch on Dhruv's left side scoring a point. I clapped and waited. They exchanged a few more jabs after which Dhruv scored one and Aarav scored two leading with one point. At the end of round one Aarav scored 10 and Dhruv scored 9. Aarav won the first round.

The next round continued and this time the two were not soft with each other. They threw aggressive jabs and punches at each other. I tapped my leg and watched as Dhruv threw some powerful punches towards Aarav easily scoring the points. As anticipated the second round was won by Dhruv.

I sprinted towards the ring and passed the water bottle to Aarav. He drank the water and looked at me silently asking me how he was performing.

"I think you can do much better," I said, Aarav swallowed some more water and sighed before putting the mouth guard on, he nodded and stood up. I grabbed the water bottle from him and went back to the stands to watch the game.

The last round started. Both the players were aggressive. The scores were almost neck to neck. I stood up and walked closer to the ring. I watched as Aarav threw the last knockout punch and the round ended. We waited for the scores. I folded my hands and tapped my feet. The referee lifted Aarav's head in the air. I cheered loudly and clapped my hands.

Dhruv seemed disappointed but he pulled Aarav into a tight hug and celebrated his win. Aarav was officially entering the Olympics and representing our country. Amit Sir nodded and slapped his back proudly.

He walked towards me and I pulled him into a tight hug. "Well done Aarav! Congratulations!" He chuckled and held me. We pulled apart and smiled at each other.

"Ma would have been so proud." He chuckled and wiped his eyes. I patted his cheek and hugged him again. I proudly watched as everyone congratulated Aarav.

The ring was cleared and everyone prepared for the next weight category qualifying round. We were given a break for an hour. I sat on the bench and took deep breaths. I needed to focus. Aarav sat next to me and did not say anything. I watched as Raj entered the room, he smirked at me and sat on the other end.

"Don't let him affect you. He is just another player." Aarav said and patted my arms. I nodded and got ready for the match. This was it! I had worked for this my entire life. I was not going down without a fight. I will channel the right emotions. Anger wasn't the only driving emotion.

**************************************
A/N: Kind of a cliffhanger. I'm super excited for the next chapter. Are you guys as excited as I am?

I particularly enjoyed writing the moment between Anurag and Priyanka. Aarav is going to the Olymics!!!

I truly apologise that I didn't update for so long. Work took up most of my time and when I was not working I wa sleeping. These were the two things that I literally did, I barely went out of the house. It was sort of a mix of everything.

Rest assured I shall update more regularly.

Hope you guys liked this chapter! If you did please do vote and comment! I would love to know what you guys think!

P.s. Also is it just me or us anyone else out there who has on and off crush on someone lol. Just curious to know or is it more like it's stagnant and then it becomes active again hahaha.