*Jessica's P.O.V. *

"I like him, Mahi, but I'm scared. I guess, I’m not ready to move into any kind of relationship with him." I sighed, rubbing my temples.

We were laying in my dorm room after spending the day under Max's guidance, and I must say, we really had fun together. He drove us here after dining in a fancy restaurant since he wanted to give a special treat to Mahi for making his surprise successful. It's not like Max was happy with my decision of staying here with Mahi, but I wanted to show her the place where I lived. I wanted to spend her last night here, in my room. It was bit uncomfortable as the space on my bed wasn't enough for two people, but we were somehow managing it, putting our legs on each other.

"You don't need to rush into such things, but he deserves a chance and you admitted it yourself," she reminded me in a firm voice.

Yeah, but I'm not 100% sure.

I stared at her. "Are you on his side?"

Mahi rolled her eyes. "Stop being melodramatic. I'm on your side always, no matter what happens, and you already know this." I gave her a sheepish smile, and she continued, "Just look at what he’s done for you, Jazz. He made your birthday so special. He cares for you, he only wants to see you happy. I know, I don't know him too well, and I only met him in person yesterday, but I’ve talked to him on Facebook. Don't forget, actions speak louder than words. The way he looked at you, the way he talks about you, the way his eyes lit up whenever you smiled at him, are enough signs of his feelings towards you. He is smitten with you, so stop being a coward and accept him."

I nodded. "I know, but I can't help it. What if my parents find out about him? Maa would kill me."

"Jazz, you have a year and a half. Take advantage of this time and get to know him better. I’m not saying to jump at him, now." She winked and continued, "All I saying is to give him a chance. If he’s not the one for you, you’ll both know after dating for a few days or months, and you can then move away from each other. But, if after spending time with him, you think he’s the one you want to spend the rest of your life with, then you’ll eventually find a way around your parents."

I stared at her and realised she was right. I was scared because of my parents, but what if it didn't work out? I didn't have to tell them anything, and I wouldn't regret losing a great guy in the future. It was so stupid of us to just start assuming things about the future instead of trying to fix our present. How could they be so sure of what they wanted in the future? We needed to focus on our present and should make it happy.

"Don't worry, we’ll deal with your parents later. Right now, you need to make a decision whether you’re going to give him a chance or not," Mahi added when I remained silent for a few minutes.

"Do you think I should?" I lifted one eyebrow.

Yeah, I asked that question, again.

"It's not what I think. It’s about what you want," Mahi stated and I furrowed my eyebrows.

"Since when did you become so straightforward?"

"You are not the only one who changed," Mahi replied sarcastically, making me chuckle.

"Oh, really?" I said amused.

She cracked a little. "Yup," she said, popping the 'p.'

"I guess I need to know him better. Then I will make a move," I said after a while.

"Nice excuse to delay the decision." Mahi rolled her eyes.

I pressed my lips into a thin line and muttered, "Yeah."

She shook her head. "As you wish."

"Anyway, how's things with you?" I asked searching for a change of topic.

She shrugged. "Nothing special. Just college and stuff. Got this important project, that's why I need to go back. At home, Dad is trying to find a match for me. I got a few proposals, but, luckily, my horoscope didn't match with theirs, so I'm still free."

I groaned, “I don't understand why this astrological compatibility is necessary in our society? I mean, you can't judge the success of a marriage on the basis of horoscope matching.”

“I know. We are not in the days anymore where people relied on pigeons for communication and horoscopes for marriage. Also, just because my parents are happily married, doesn’t mean they can give the credit to their horoscopes.” She threw her hands in the air and added, “But as long as it's in my favour, I don't mind.”

“Thank god, my parents are not that confident about such things. Anyways I just hope you get to complete this course." I reached for her hand and squeezed it.

"Hope for the best." She smiled and a yawn escape from her mouth.

"Let's get some sleep. You need to catch a flight tomorrow," I suggested and she nodded with another yawn.

******

"Anything special today?" I heard Mahi's voice behind me next morning.

I turned from the mirror to face her and found her smirking at me.

"You’re looking hot," she added, giving me a knowing look.

I was wearing a white crop top which revealed a bit of stomach and had paired it with skinny light blue jeans. I also wore a little extra makeup today and had straightened my curly hair, making it longer and shiner.

"I'm going to tell him," I whispered and bit my lip.

"Tell who and what?' She raised her eyebrow but couldn't hide the small smile playing on her lips.

I rolled my eyes. "You know who. Fine, I'm going to confess my feelings to Max and will tell him that I’m ready for a relationship."

"Really?" She jumped from the bed with excitement and crashed into me.

"Easy, Mahi." I chuckled.

"Are you kidding? This is freaking crazy news. I’m so glad you finally got your senses back. I thought you lost them somewhere in downtown Brooklyn," she said, making me frown. "Anyway, why the sudden change?" She placed her hands on her hips, throwing me a questioning look.

"Well, I thought about what you said and I guess I’m being stupid for ignoring his efforts. He deserves a chance. I don't know what will happen in the future, but right now, I want to be with him." I smiled.

"That's my genius bestie," she chirped and patted my back. "I’m going to take a shower. You go and throw the bomb at him."

"What? I’m not going to leave you here alone. We’re going together. I’ll wait for you. Go get ready."

"Jazz. . ."

I cut her off, "No need to argue. We’re going to his home, I’ve already told him, so please hurry up."

She sighed, "I don't want to be a third wheel."

"You’re not. You’re a part of me and I need you there," I replied and hugged her.

She hugged me back. "I’m happy our relationship is still the same. "

"It will always be. " I pinched her nose.

"Give me ten minutes." She kissed my cheek and rushed to the bathroom.

I chuckled and pulled out my phone. There were a few notifications from Facebook and I decided to check them. As soon as I opened the application, my eyes widened to see the 358 notifications, 52 unread messages and 105 friend requests.

What the hell? I tried to remember the last time I checked the site. It was. . umm . . . maybe a month ago? Yeah..  I wasn't a fan of social networking sites and I liked to keep a low profile, but it didn't mean I didn't use Facebook. Back home, I used to check it once a day, but here, I had so many other things on my mind that I hardly got time for it.

I scrunched my eyebrows and accepted few requests from the people I knew and ignored the rest. After that, I went to check the notifications and my jaw dropped when a relationship request poked out. Why the hell had Max sent that? I checked his profile and stared in shock at his relationship status:

In a relationship with Jessica Kapoor.

Thank God Facebook had some decency and the ludicrous status needed my permission before showing up on my profile. What's wrong with Max? Wasn't he aware that kind of news travelled very fast? My brother was in my friend list. I would be so dead if he caught this. And not just my brother. I had a good number of cousins in my list as well.

I would be screwed!

But that wasn't all! I swiped my finger over the touchscreen to check the latest notifications. My body froze when I saw myself tagged in several pictures by Kyle, I immediately clicked on it. I sighed in relief when I saw they were party pictures. I didn't know when he’d taken those pictures, but I was glad he did. It was a great memory. There was one of our whole group, right when they’d yelled surprise at me. I pressed next and grinned, enjoying the memories. There was only one picture left, but before I could click on next, I heard Mahi's voice.

"Why are you smiling?" She frowned, coming out of the bathroom.

"Kyle uploaded the birthday pics. I was just checking them." I smiled. "I'm glad he didn't take any inappropriate photos of me and Max. Roy is in my list and I don't want any trouble," I said, unlocking my phone again, but shut it when I heard a gasp.

"What?" I lifted my face and met with her guilty expressions.

"I uploaded a selfie," she stuttered.

"So?"

It's not a big deal.

"It was the three of us. You, me, and Max," she whispered and swallowed hard, giving me an apologetic look.

I rolled my eyes. "He is not that narrow minded, Mahi. We were just hanging out. What's the big deal? It's not like we were doing something in that picture, right?"

"Yeah, you were just laughing and he was looking at you instead of the camera," she pointed out.

"And what were you doing?"

"I was holding the phone, remember?" She crossed her arms.

I shrugged. "No because you took at least 100 pictures of us."

"It's not my fault if I want to make this trip memorable." She stomped her feet like a kid.

"I know." I smiled and added, "At least show me the pic."

She rolled her eyes. "I tagged you, too. See for yourself."

"Fine."

I unlocked my phone again and the picture Kyle uploaded came into the view. There was only one photo left so I decided to see that first. I pressed my thumb over the next option and waited for the picture.

My eyes widened when I saw it. My knees weakened and my hands trembled so hard that I almost lost my balance.

Mahi reached towards me quickly and grabbed my shoulder. "Are you okay? What happened?" Her tone was filled with concern.

I couldn't find my voice, so I pointed at the phone and her eyebrows furrowed in confusion. She looked at my phone and took it from my grasp. Her face went blank when she saw the photo.

It was a picture from my birthday party. Max was holding me around waist and his lips were pressed against my cheeks. My eyes were closed and I was smiling, looking like a girl lost in her own bubble of love.

I remembered it clearly: after cutting the cake, I offered him the first share. He opened his mouth and, when I put it in his mouth, he licked my fingers. I gasped and playfully punched his arm. He chuckled and pulled me towards him, ignoring the audience. After that, he leaned closer and just when I thought he was going to kiss me in front of everyone, I felt his soft lips on my right cheek. I closed my eyes and smiled, realising how deeply he cared for my feelings.

It was a perfect moment, but I wasn't aware someone had captured it on camera. It's not like I minded. No, I was actually happy because it was a wonderful moment, but how could they upload it on Facebook? What if my parents found out about it? The thought alone was enough to make me shiver.

"Relax." I felt Mahi's arm around my shoulder, snapping me out of my thoughts.

"Mahi... I can't. It's... " I trailed off. I didn't need to explain anything about the situation. She was already aware of it. "This is scary... really scary."

"Talk to Kyle and tell him to remove it," she said and handed me the phone.

I sat on the bed and pulled out my hair in frustration. "What if someone from my family has already seen it?" I choked out.

"Stop freaking out, Jazz. Just tell him to delete it. Don't waste time," she said furiously.

I nodded and unlocked the phone, opening the contact list, but before I could dial his number, my fears became reality as my phone started ringing:

Home calling...

********

Oopsss... a major twist... what will happen now?

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