Darshan turns and tosses to find a comfortable position to sleep in, but sleep is far away from him. The other three shake their head. Hardik turns on the lights. They stare at him for a minute, who is oblivious of it. He looks around after a minute or two and turns. He sees the three staring at him with a questioning gaze.

Darshan: Kya hua? Soe nahi?

Jyugal: Tu sone de toh soe na! Kab se ghum raha hain aur pura bed hila raha hain.

Darshan feels guilty about disturbing their sleep.

Darshan: Sorry.

Siddharth: Kya problem hain?

Darshan: Kuch nahi.

Jyugal: Darshan, woh thik ho jaaegi.

Hardik: Phir bhi kal tak uska bukhaar nahi utra toh doctor ke paas chale jaaenge.

Darshan nods. They can still see that he's tensed thinking about Jaimi.

Hardik: Darshan, kal Jaimi thik ho gae toh tu usse milega kaise?

Darshan: Matalab?

Siddarth: Tu abhi soega nahi toh kal subah sote rahega!

Jyugal: Woh toh thik ho jaaegi aur saari energy bhi wapas aa jaegi aur tujh mein toh energy hogi hi nahi. Toh usse ladoge kaise?

Darshan: Kuch bhi! Hum dono itna bhi nahi ladte.

Siddharth: Whatever helps you sleep at night! Aur, tu bhi soja aur hume bhi sone de.

Darshan mutters good night before Siddharth switches off the lights. Darshan closes his eyes and tries to sleep. He falls asleep after a few minutes or so.

The next morning comes in rather quickly. Jaimi is up at 5. She looks around to make sense of her surrounding. She takes another Zyrtec tablet and gulps it down with water before laying back down. She goes back to sleep within a few minutes.

The rest of them wake up by 8. They all freshen up. Darshan knocks on the door to Jaimi and Ayesha's room. Ayesha opens it after a minute. The others come out of their room as well.

Darshan: Breakfast?

Ayesha: Mein aati hoon!

Darshan: Jay?

Ayesha: Woh so rahi hain abhi tak. Mein uske liye kuch pack karva dungi.

Darshan slowly nods. They go down to the dining area and have breakfast. They return to their room to pack their belongings. Ayesha wakes Jaimi up and sends her to the bathroom. She freshens up and dresses in a pair of a plain white t-shirt with black skinny jeans. She wore a navy blue jacket and a pair of white Adidas. She grabs her phone and wears her mask before stepping out with her luggage bag.

The two meet up with the others in the parking lot. Darshan, who was leaning against the car, stands up straight. He smiles at Jaimi who gives him a nod.

Jyugal: Jaimi, tum ab thik ho?

Jaimi: Haan.

Ayesha: Aaj ka kya plan hain?

Hardik: Trekking!

He says it excitedly like a little child getting desert.

Siddharth: Chalo sab chalte hain!

They load all their luggage in the minivan with other essentials. Jaimi takes the seat in the back. Darshan sits beside her with Ayesha across from her and Jyugal. Hardik and Siddharth turn their chair sideways and plop down facing the four. Aishwarya and Karishma sit on the seats in front of the two boys and turn them to face the others.

Ayesha: Jay?

Jaimi hums in response.

Ayesha: Breakfast.

Jaimi nods. Ayesha hands her a box that contains two chocolate chip waffles and a small container with maple syrup. She slowly downs the meal and takes another Zyrtec pill. She pulls up her mask. She realizes that Darshan keeps glancing at her every few seconds. She keeps her gaze trained outside. Before she knew it, she falls asleep. Her head falls on Darshan's shoulder. He looks down and smiles at her. He snakes his hand around her shoulder and pulls her a bit closer.

They reach their destination after a tiring journey of 4 hours. They all have a quick meal at a Dhaba before starting their trek. They hike for about 3 hours before deciding to rest. They all sit down on the grass or the rock. Jaimi is carefully observing her surrounding like trying to remember something.

Hardik: Jaimi, tum yaha pehle kabhi aae ho?

Jaimi: Haan. 

Siddharth: Kab?

Jaimi: School time. It's been long!

Darshan: Tumhari favorite jagah iss area mein kaunsi hain?

Jaimi: The top. 

Ayesha: Bahot waqt ho gaya waha gae. 

Jaimi: 7 saal!

Karishma: Itni hi yaad aati hain toh chali aati sab ke saamne dikhane ki kya zaroorat hain?

Jaimi: Where I go, where I don't, and what I say has nothing to do with you, Ms. Sharma. Kindly keep your opinions to yourself unless I ask for them!

Karishma scowls. 

Karishma: Tum bhul gae ho ke mein kaun hoon? 

Jaimi: How can I forget that you are a bloody actress? Like, everything about you seems like you're acting and totally fake!

Aishwarya gasps in surprise. 

Karishma: I will complain to Bhai!

Jaimi: Be my guest, Ms. Sharma! I value my self-respect more than you. 

Jaimi points towards the distance between Karishma and Darshan that she has been trying to close with her brow. Jaimi gets up and walks away to attend a call. 

Hardik: Jaimi kaunsi jagah ki baat kar rahi thi?

Ayesha: Hum uppar tak trek karenge toh forest ke uss paar ek lake hain. 

Aishwarya: Tum gae ho waha?

Ayesha: Haan! Hum jab school mein the tab month ke last weekend pe school se bhaag ke yaha aa jaate the. It's very beautiful and calming!

Hardik: Hum bhi chalte hain! 

Siddharth: Raat ko waha camping karenge. 

They all agree. Hardik is quickly up on his feet. 

Hardik: Mein Jaimi ko bata ke aata hoon. Hum bhi nikalte hain!

They all smile except Karishma and Aishwarya seeing his excitement. He runs up to Jaimi. He waits patiently as Jaimi chats on the phone. 

The others turn at the sound of a car. Ayesha's eyes widen seeing the person who stepped out of it. She unconsciously starts moving towards him without thinking. He meets her halfway and embraces her in a hug. She smiles and looks up at him. The others are studying the scene carefully and are almost amazed.

Vikraant: Ayesha?

Ayesha: Vikraant? 

Vikraant/Ayesha: What're you doing here?

Ayesha: Work. And, you?

Vikraant: Kaam se aaya tha aur pata laga ki tum bhi yahi ho, so milne aa gaya.

Ayesha: Tumhe kaise pata chala mere baare mein?

Vikram: That would be me!

He gives Ayesha a wide grin. Karishma walks up to him and clings to his arm. He looks down at her before focusing his attention on Vikraant and Ayesha. 

Vikraant: How are you?

Ayesha: I'm fine! How are you?

Vikraant: Fine. 

On the other hand, Jaimi turns to see Hardik behind her. She steps back a little. 

Hardik: Hum sab tum jo jagah ke baare mein keh rahi thi wahi jaa rahe hain!

Jaimi: Oh. 

Hardik: Let's go!

Jaimi: Woh sab? 

Hardik: The oldies will join soon!

Jaimi chuckles at his statement.

Vikraant looks down at Ayesha who is about two steps away from him.  

Vikraant: Julie?

His voice cracks and he sounds vulnerable. He looks down at her with pleading eyes that hold hope. Ayesha presses her lips together and shakes her head.

Jaimi faintly hears the name, Julie, and she freezes. She shakes her head and tries to look past Hardik. She only sees the others standing in a circle. She closes her eyes and sighs. Hardik and her start their trek. 

Ayesha holds Vikraant by his arm and pulls him away from everyone towards the car. 

Ayesha: Vikraant, you can't!

Vikraant: I just want to see her once. Even from a distance.

Ayesha: She's not ready for it.

Vikraant: It's been too long, Ayesha! I can't wait anymore.

Ayesha: You know better, Vikraant. 

Vikraant stays still for a second before nodding.

Vikraant: I should get going.

Ayesha nods her head and hugs him. She rubs his back before they pull away. Vikraant leaves with Vikram, who gives Ayesha a friendly side hug before leaving. The others are staring at Ayesha with a questioning look as she walks back towards them. 

Siddharth: Tum Raja Vikraant Singh ko jaanti ho?

Ayesha: Rajkumar Vikraant Singh! Childhood friends hain aur school bhi saath mein. 

Aishwarya: Jaimi ko bulaya hota. 

Ayesha: Woh baad me mil legi.

Darshan: Ayesha, toh tum woh dusri rajkumari ke bhi baare mein jaanti hogi?

Ayesha reluctantly nods and starts walking in the direction of Jaimi and Hardik. 

Aishwarya: Waha princesses bhi hain? How many?

Ayesha: Two! Kiara and another one. 

Darshan: Yeh dusri princess ki kya mystery hain?

Aishwarya: Usne kuch ilegal kiya tha aur undercover ho gae kya?

Ayesha: Nahi. Kuch reasons ki wajah se uska naam publicly nahi announce kiya gaya hain!

Karishma: I don't understand ki uss ladki ke piche sab pagal kyu hain? Apni life jee rahi hogi kahi waise bhi ameer khaandaan ki bigadi hue shehzadi hogi!

Ayesha: Do you have a habit of commenting on conversations you're not included in?

The others are left stunned at Ayesha's outburst. 

Karishma: Excuse me? Tum apne aap ko kya samjhti ho? Darling, stay within your limit! What are you a secretary? You and that arm candy of his need to be put in your place. 

Ayesha raises her brow. 

Darshan: Karishma!

Ayesha:  You know what you're right!

Karishma crosses her arms and smirks. 

Ayesha: The same assistants who graduated from Harvard Business School! And may I also add, your IQ is about high as the size of my shoe considering the fact you like to comment on others' live especially those who you don't know. So there you are, darling!

Karishma: How dare you?

Ayesha: Don't waste your energy! The trek is long. 

Ayesha puts in her AirPods and moves forward. The trek takes about three hours. They reach the top by 6:30 in the evening. They cross the forest and see the magnificent lake. They move towards it and stumble upon Hardik and Jaimi who are fast asleep on the grass a few feet away from each other. 

Siddharth wakes Hardik up while Ayesha stands by the lake. She looks at it and sees her reflection in it. She feels a sharp pain in her heart as memories flood back. She presses her lips together and moves back to where Jaimi is. She sees creases on Jaimi's forehead as usual. She gently taps Jaimi a few times and she stirs awake. The two join the others. 

They set up 4 tents closer to the woods. They light a little fire and cook Maggi over it for dinner. They all have Maggi for dinner while watching the sunset. They sit around the fire and chat for two-three hours.

Hardik: Mein sone jaa raha hoon!

Siddharth: Mein bhi aa raha hoon!

Hardik and Siddharth take a tent. 

Jyugal: Darshan, tu mere saath. 

Darshan nods. The two go to their tent. Ayesha and Jaimi share a tent. Aishwarya and Karishma are left with no choice but to share a tent. They all get into the tent and sleep on the foldable foam squares. They cover themselves with a blanket and let sleep take over. 

Around 1 in the morning, Jaimi jolts up. Her chest heaving up and down rapidly. Her hand goes straight to her head out of reflex as she feels liquid running down it. She uses both her hands and runs them through her hair. She brings them in front of her eyes to see them covered in sweat. She looks around to make sense of her surroundings and tries to catch her breath.

On the other hand, Darshan wakes up feeling a sharp pain in his chest. He slowly sits up and turns on the flashlight of his phone. He gulps down a bottle of water. 

Once Jaimi has calmed down she steps outside of her tent and goes to where the fire is going on. She adds a few more woods to the dying fire to keep it going. 

Darshan numbly steps out of his tent. He looks around and sees Jaimi sitting by the fire. 

**********