I parked my car in the parking lot and stepped out, Arnav and his friend's cars weren't there yet and I wondered how different today was going to be, it was like starting school all over again, this time without Arnav, it felt strange that him and me were now going to be strangers, it even sounded weird, and as much as I was the one who wanted it, I now wondered if I had asked for the right thing.

"Someone looks confused." Stella said as she stepped out of her car which I hadn't even realized that had arrived and been parked too, I was that lost.

"Nothing much, just some curious thoughts, what class do you have first?" I asked as we both headed off the parking lot.

"History, you?"

"Same, Ryle will also be there." I winked at her.

"Shut up, we're just friends, don't act like I have a crush on him or he had a crush on me." She giggled as she blushed a bit at the same time.

"Well, who knows." I giggled as we both walked inside the class and settled down in our respective places.

Stella kept on talking to me about random things and all I could think of was Arnav, I dint even know why I was thinking about him in the first place, I guess I had made the wrong decision when I agreed to be his fake girlfriend, if I never did I wouldn't have seen him in a different way and then maybe I wouldn't feel this way.

"Ryle!" Stella said as she stood up in shock, I looked at her and then at Ryle who had just walked inside the class, his face covered in fresh bruises and some blood dripping out of his bruises.

"What the hell happened to you?" I asked as Stella and I both rushed towards him.

"Can we do something to stop the bleeding first?" He sounded furious, Stella nodded as she pulled him out of the class while I rushed to get my bag, I had some band aids that could help, I got my bag and then followed the outside.

Stella was cleaning his wounds with a wet handkerchief while Ryle sat there looking like he was planning someone's murder in his head.

After Stella was done cleaning the wounds, I put on the band aid and his face seriously looked terrible, he was covered with three band aids, one on his temple, one on the cheek and the last one on the chin.

"Will you explain now?" Stella asked.

"I picked up a fight with the bad boys, so this had to happen." Ryle said casually.

"What do you mean you picked up a fight? Why would you just randomly pick up a fight with the guys you were telling me to stay away from Ryle?" I asked as I looked at him in shock.

"I saw Stella with Arnav outside school earlier this morning, and I don't know what happened to me, I just wanted to beat the shit out of him, he's been trying to flirt with her since the first day she joined school." Ryle explained.

I looked at Stella in surprise wondering what she was doing with Arnav outside school while Stella looked at Ryle in shock wondering what was wrong with him, well if I was at her place, I would have reacted the same way.

"So you basically picked up a fight with Arnav just because you saw me with him, why would you do that?" Stella asked still looking at him in shock.

"Because I like you!" Ryle said angrily and then suddenly calmed down, his moods dropped from a hundred degree to twenty degree in a matter of seconds.

"Shit, did I say it out loud?" He looked at Stella who was blushing like no one's business, I turned around to walk away not wanting to be the third wheel clearly.

"Khushi!" Ryle called out from behind, I turned around and looked at him.

"Do you like him? I mean Arnav? I need an honest answer please." He asked

I looked at him in confusion, honestly this time I dint have any answer regarding what I felt towards Arnav but on a serious note, I couldn't like a bad boy could I?

"No Ryle, I don't." I said seriously and I could see the expressions on Stella's face, it was like she was disappointed to know that I dint like Arnav, it was like she wanted me to like him.

"Great then, because tonight we're having a huge fight and I might just kill him." Ryle said angrily.

"What?" I looked at him in shock, so did Stella.

"Yes, the fight was left incomplete because someone called the cops, so we managed to escape, but tonight we're meeting at some place and fighting in real." Ryle said proudly like he was doing something big.

"Are you out of your mind or something?" Stella asked as she looked at him angrily.

"Exactly, you know them better than anyone else Ryle, you're all alone and they're four of them, you might get killed." I said looking at him worriedly, he was the first friend I had made here and I dint want to lose him, I dint want him to fight Arnav and risk his life for something stupid.

"This has to end for once and for all, I'm tired of the bad boys, let them learn their lesson." Ryle said.

"Are you the same guy who was warning me to stay away from them? And now you're the one messing up with them? What's wrong with you Ryle?" I asked angrily.

"You wouldn't understand." Ryle said as he stood up and walked away leaving me and Stella furious.

There was no way in hell that Ryle could win this fight, he was just a normal guy like everyone in the school, and Arnav and his gang were the bad boys, they were used to this kind of things, they could easily win the fight and I was worried they might even go to the extent to kill him, I was literally terrified.

This wasn't the normal kind of high school experience I thought I was going to have after we shifted here.

There was no way I was going to let the fight between Arnav and Ryle happen, and if for that I had to talk to Arnav I would, because I couldn't let Ryle risk his life because of such stupidity, he was my friend and I cared for him!

*****

I dint see Arnav in any of the classes until lunch time when I headed to the canteen, him and his friends were sited in their usual table discussing something when I passed by.

"I swear, if you don't, I'll kill him! He's becoming too much now." I heard Aaron say.

"You would have killed him last time you had the chance, that guy would never change." Ree said.

"That time the situation wasn't right, but tonight I swear he's going to die." Arnav said angrily and I was so terrified, weren't school fights supposed to end with some injuries only?

Why was everything about this school so different, why were this bad boys up to killing Ryle? Why did Arnav sound so angry about him, what had he done? I was so sure the anger was only about the fight they had earlier today, it was something more, something I didn't know.

I settled down in my usual place with my plate but neither did Ryle nor did Stella join me for lunch today, Arnav and Aaron passed by my table twice and like Arnav had promised me, we were actually strangers, he dint even look at me, he acted like I dint exist at all.

I finished my lunch and walked out of the canteen where I saw Arnav talking with a boy, I stood the for a moment and just then the boy walked away, I figured it was the best chance to talk to him so I walked towards him and stopped right in front of him, he looked at me in surprise.

"You couldn't stay away from me even for half a day love?" He smirked.

"Cut the crap short, let's me talk about the main thing, whatever fight you have planned with Ryle tonight isn't happening." I said.

"And who are you to decide that?"

"I am Ryle's friend and I care about him, you know it Arnav, he's the one who would get hurt, I mean look at you, you both fought in the morning and you don't even have a scratch while he's covered in bruises, I know he's being stupid that's why I'm talking to you, please just let it be."

"No matter what you say, the fight will happen love."

"Fine then, if not that can you try not to kill him at least?" I looked at him hopefully.

"Why would I do that now? When I have the perfect chance to kill him, why do you think I wouldn't do that and end this damn mess for once and for all?"

"Are you insane or what? This is real life, it isn't like a movie or something, you can't just kill someone!" I shouted at him angrily.

"Then you're most welcome to watch me kill him tonight love and no one can stop me from doing that."

"Please don't Arnav, he's my only friend, if you don't pity him then pity me, do it for me please." I begged him.

"You're not that important to me that for you I would actually not kill him, it's not even about importance, even if my own family member told me not to kill him, I still would no one can stop me from killing him tonight."

"Why so much anger on him Arnav, I'm sure it's not only because he picked up a fight with you tonight, there must be a reason, tell me why?" I asked him curiously.

"You're no one to me Khushi, seriously why do you even think I would tell you anything?" He laughed, and that laugh irritated the hell out of me.

"Fine, I'll find a way to stop your fight then, I was right when I made the decision of being strangers with you because honestly a guy like you can't be friends with me." I said angrily "Who told you I wanted to be friends with you Love?" He smirked once again!

God! What was with this guy and his PHD in being so irritating, I dint care what he wanted to be or what he dint want to be, I was just so done with him. I turned around to walk away, seriously this guys were impossible, why was he so up to killing Ryle? What was he even going to gain from it?

If in the morning I was second thinking my decision of being strangers with him, right now, at this very moment I was so damn sure I had taken the right decision, yes maybe Arnav had another side to him, but he was always going to be a bad boy.

*****

The whole school was almost empty, the news about the fight had spread in school like fire everyone was eager for tonight to watch the grand fight apart from me, I was so worried I dint even want to leave school.

Maybe this kind of things might have been normal for the students here but for me they never were, a life meant more than just wasting it for a random fight, and for them killing each other sounded so normal, me even if I'd see an accident I would have fainted, I was that weak.

I sat all alone in the empty class trying to figure out what to do or how to stop Ryle from fighting because clearly Arnav wasn't going to listen to me.

The door of the classroom opened and a few boys walked inside talking about something and laughing, I stood up and decided to head out, it was obviously uncomfortable to sit in a classroom full of boys I dint know.

I walked towards the door and opened it when someone held it from behind, I turned around and saw this strange looking guy holding it.

"What's the hurry, now that you're here why not spend some time with us." He winked at me."Let me go!" I said feeling disgusted and a bit worried, I tried to open the door but he wouldn't let me and soon all the other boys came along.

"I will complain to the principal, I said let me go!" I shouted at the top of my voice and instead of letting me go, they just laughed at me on my face.

"No doubt Arnav is all nuts about you, you're so hot you could make any guy go weak on his knees." One of the guys said.

"Oh come on dude, that guy isn't nuts about her, he was just flirting around, do you think we would be doing this to her if she was Arnav's interested, we definitely don't want to die an early death. The other one said.

"Yeah, that guys hasn't been interested that way in a girl since whatever happened last time." another one said and can you imagine how stupid I was, in this situation where I was surrounded by guys harassing me, I was thinking about what they had just said about Arnav. He had once been interested in a girl, but who was she? And what happened? I already had a million questions.

"But you're right, she is hot." One of them said as he came so close to me, I was scared as hell."I tried to run away but he got hold of my hand and pushed me to the wall, he pressed me there as the others joined him.

"Please let me go." I literally begged, as tears started rolling down my eyes, I was scared, not even scared I was terrified.

"I'll let you go on once condition, if I get a kiss." He smirked and just the door opened, all the guys looked towards that direction and I immediately kicked him hard as I ran towards the door while they followed me trying to get hold of me, I ran out of the door and bumped into Arnav, and I swear I had never been so glad to bump into him as much as I was today.

Too much of mixed feelings in day isn't it? Firstly the confusion about wanting and not wanting to be strangers with him, and then being so sure that, that's what I wanted and now being glad that he was here.

He looked at me with a smirk but dint say anything and just then his eyes fell on all those boys who had followed me out there, he looked at me once again and right at that time a tear dropped down my eyes, I saw him clench his fists tight as he turned to look at all of the furiously.

I dint know what was going to happen, but I knew it was going to be terrible.