Anika
"Make sure to study for the exam tomorrow!" Watts hurriedly screeched to us as all the students rushed out of the building. I guess we just wanted to get the hell out of this lecture hall, since we had bearing amounts of stress pressuring us. More like this big ass exam I got for literature tomorrow, which is gonna presumably drop my GPA to a distinctive amount.
I huff to myself as I place my books in my bag. Shaurya and I stand up at the same time as he moves to the side so I can go down the aisle first. But, as soon as I walk by him just by a centimeter or two, he moves directly behind me. And I swear I felt his breath on my hair.
And I also swear I felt my heart skip a beat.
Once we walked out of the lecture hall, Shaurya and I took relieving breaths as he chuckled to himself. "Looks like Satan's Session is over."
"Tell me about it," I breathed out, a huge smile playing on my lips.
We start walking to the cafeteria to have lunch with our friends. We don't exchange words for almost an awkward minute, as we walk shoulder-to-shoulder, side-by-side. I open my mouth to say something but nothing comes out because I literally have no idea what to say to him. My eyes wander over to his face, as he looks to the ground, his lips curled into a tiny smile. His jawline is so sharp that I almost wonder that if I put my fingers across it then I would probably get cut.
The cafeteria comes into our sights in the next few minutes as my ears fill up with the sounds of chattering students and silverware clanking against cups, bowls, or plates. I see Ty and Em huddled by one of the tables, but then I see Shaurya's friends huddled on the opposite side. Shaurya and I both look at each other at the same time, distinguishing the fact that both of our friend groups are on opposites sides, and that we're gonna have to switch.
"Well," Shaurya sighs to himself, his eyes looking at me intently. "Looks like our friends are sitting on opposite sides."
"Yeah," I nod my head. "So we should probably..."
"Yeah," he nods his head back, biting his lip nervously. I smile as he smiles back. "I've been having fun with you, Anika," he compliments. I felt my cheeks blush as I replied, "Me too."
He crosses his arms over his chest. "And you should definitely come to my party this weekend. It'd be fun."
"I'll... I'll think about it," I respond, fidgeting with my fingers. He grins as he starts to walk to the cafeteria. "Bye! Talk to you later!"
"Yup!" I say. And before I know it, he's already by his friends.
Well, that was awkward.
I take a deep breath to myself, feeling my heart beat prominently against my chest. My eyes start to wander towards Em and Ty, who look engaged in a conversation. Part of me wants to go and hang out with them, but the other part of me wants to go with Shaurya's friends and hang out with them.
I know Em and Ty would be hurt if I didn't hang out with them because we've been close friends since the beginning of college. But, on the other hand, Shaurya would be happy if I hung out with him and his friends, since he genuinely wants to get to know me better.
God, this is so difficult. Is this is how it feels like to have multiple friends?
As I continue to contemplate to myself, I lean my body against the pole beside me. I think about how Shaurya's having a beach party this weekend and how he's inviting me. I mean, me, Anika Desai, the girl that never uttered a word to anyone besides Emily Taylors and Tyler Rivera. It's just so hard to believe how one person could twist my life around and confuse me so much about my decisions. Particularly a very handsome guy that walked into my life almost a week ago.
What's also so hard to believe is how I had the guts and courage to talk to a random hot guy like him at that party I went to. I never knew I had that side to me, the side that was so desperate to get out. I danced like I never had, I flirted like I never had, and I socialized like I never had. All due to one guy that came up to me to pay for my drink.
I look down at the ground as I realize what my decision's going to be, who I am going to sit with at lunch. Whatever decision I make, though, someone's not going to be very happy. But, either way, I have to make a decision. I can't just stand here for the entire break.
Before I knew it, my feet starting leading me to the table.
Shaurya
I sit down at the lunch table with Emma and Nathan. They seem to be engrossed in this video Nathan's showing Emma as they yell things such as: "What?! Why would that kid ever hit his mother like that?" Or "Kids these days really have the guts to hit their parents like that" Or "Damn! Chill, bro!"
That last sentence ultimately came out of Nathan's mouth.
I notice that Emma's head is on Nathan's shoulder. Nathan keeps looking towards Emma, smiling at her with love. I just find it so hilarious that they haven't even noticed that I've been sitting there for the past ten seconds.
I clear my throat and Nathan and Emma jump in surprise. Nathan holds his hand against his chest as Emma immediately releases herself from Nathan's shoulder, creating a friendly distance between them.
"Dude," Nathan breathes out. "You scared the living shit out of me."
"Sorry," I chuckle. "What video were you guys watching?"
"This kid was beating up his mother because she wouldn't let him go to this party his friends were hosting," Emma rolls her eyes. "This generation really sucks."
"I agree," Nathan nods his head. He makes eye contact with me as a bright smile appears on his face. I immediately know what he's talking about.
"So..." I trail off. "Are you guys... a thing?"
Emma's face turns red as she immediately starts to splutter, "Wh-what? No! I mean..." she chuckles to herself, looking down at the ground. "We're just fr-friends. R-right, Nathan?"
Nathan raises his eyebrows at her as he whispers to her, "Babe, it's okay." Babe?
Emma looks at me in question, but then she takes a deep breath to herself. "Okay. Fine."
Nathan looks towards me as he clears his throat. He awkwardly fidgets with his lunch, squeezing his water bottle indefinitely. "Okay, well... I asked out Emma while you were in literature."
"Wow..." I take a deep breath, a smile placed on my lips. "I'm proud of you guys!"
"Thanks, bro." We do our 'bro handshake' as Emma smiles, wrapping her hands around Nathan's biceps. "Yup, and I said yes." She grins at him willingly as he pecks her cheek with a light kiss.
Alrighty then...
For the next few minutes of awkwardness, or even third wheeling with the couple right in front of me, I jab my sandwich into my mouth, incredibly wishing to myself that I had a girlfriend. Every single year of college I had at least one girlfriend, but I started my senior year breaking up with one and I am now dealing with it single handedly.
Literally.
I huff to myself, but I suddenly feel a tap on my shoulder. I turn around and make eye contact with Anika.
Her hypnotizing brown eyes look at me apologetically, as if she's sorry for ever grabbing my attention. Her lips are curled into a frown as she whispers to me, "Hey. I, um..." she clears her throat. "Do you guys mind if I have lunch with... you guys?" she nervously asks.
Oh, God! Thank you, Anika! You are literally a lifesaver! Like, third wheeling sucks, man! God bless you!
"O-of course," I stumble over my words. Mainly because Anika is looking at me with desperateness in her eyes, as they look at me with such intensity that makes my insides burn with attraction.
I move over to the left so she can sit next to me on the right. From the corner of my eye, I see her pull her hair back as she manages to grab her lunch out from her bag. I look straight ahead and see Nathan and Emma looking at me confusingly, mostly because a very attractive Indian girl is sitting right next to me.
They already know who they are, since they've already met her and her friends, but they are probably surprised because, well, she reached out to me this time.
"So, Anika..." I clear my throat, pointing towards Nathan and Emma, who are clung to each other as if they're magnets. "This is Nathan and Emma, you already know them."
"Yeah, I do," she smiles at them. They smile back as Emma scoots closer towards Nathan. And I swear I saw Nathan's cheeks turn into a pink rouge-like color.
"Are you guys..." Anika trails off, deciding whether or not she should finish asking her question. Nathan and Emma look at each other in confusion as I blurt out, "Yeah. They are." Nathan looks at me with widen eyes as I wave him off.
"That's nice," she grins, pulling a few strands of hair behind her ear. She drinks from her cup. "I'm glad you guys are together."
"Thank you," Emma beams at her as Nathan wraps his arm around her. "You know what?" she asks.
"What?" Anika and I question at the same time.
"You guys should... you know," Emma tilts her head a little to the right as she studies the both of us. A mischievous smile is on her face as she looks at me. Oh, God.
"Oh!" Anika squeaks, chuckling to herself. I find myself looking at her admiringly as she stumbles over her words. "We're... we're friends. J-just friends." She looks at me as she seeks for agreement from me. "Right?"
"Y-yeah," I nod my head. "Just... friends."
Emma looks at us back and forth as she places her chin on her hand, which her elbow is propped against the table. "Really?" she questions. "You guys are just so cute together! Might as well take it a step further."
"Yeah, but..." Anika trails off. "I'm personally not ready for a relationship right now, so... yup," she mumbles into her cup.
"Alright, um, Emma, can we talk about something else?" I desperately ask. Emma sighs to herself and nods her head in defeat. "Okay, fine," she mutters.
Nathan looks at me in confusion as I shrug. He then clears his throat. "So, a quick change of topic would be nice..." he chuckles to himself. "So... you're hosting a party Saturday night, right?" he looks over at me in desperation.
"Yup!" I exclaim, looking over at Anika. "It'll be great, you know? Hanging out with friends, socializing, drinking, eating, partying," I explain. "Y'all should come!"
"You know I definitely am," Nathan raises his eyebrows, leaning across the table to smack my shoulder in a friendly-dude way. "Babe, you should come too," he looks over at Emma. She thinks for a little and asks me, "What time does it start?"
"Saturday at 6. We're gonna be watching the sun set and possibly watch a movie under the stars. It'll be worth it," I grin.
Ever since freshman year of college I've been known as the guy who hosts the most bomb ass parties ever. I remember the first party I hosted was in my house which approximately 1,000 people showed up.
Yeah. I know.
And cleaning up the house afterwards was a disaster.
Anyway, my father had to attend a business meeting in Chicago so he and my mother just went along, so I was pretty much parentless in Oakland. Yet, the 'wild side' of me pursued the thought of hosting the wildest party ever. Due to my father, I was able to make many friends in college and get a whole bunch of people to come to my huge house for the party.
Another party I hosted was laser tagging. Yes, I know it sounds very childish, but we all ended up having fun anyways. And at the time, I was dating Lexie so we shared our first kiss there when we were hiding from our 'enemies.'
Before I used to admire our first kiss, but now I just try not to throw up and get an epileptic seizure whenever I think about it.
I ended up hosting about fifteen out of fifteen successful parties. This one's going to be a tad bit different, though, because I will be single for once and Anika may or may not be coming as well...
"Okay," Emma shrugs, pulling her blonde hair back. "I'll come. But just a warning, I burn up very quickly." I note her warning as I also note that she's whiter than the color white itself.
"Same, babe," Nathan frowns. "You guys are lucky, though," he looks towards us. "Indian people don't burn that easily."
"Well, I guess it's just something us brown folks were blessed with," I curl my lip upwards as I look at Anika, who has a tiny mischievous smile growing on her lips.
"Well, lucky you," Emma huffs, crossing her arms over her chest. "But we'll still come, though. Just with ten thousand tons of sunblock on us," she mutters to herself.
"Great," I smile. Nathan looks over at Anika. "What about you? Are you coming?"
"I mean..." she mutters. "I don't know."
"C'mon!" Emma exclaims. "It's college! And college parties are uh-may-zing!"
"Uh..." Anika mutters again.
"Look, it's gonna be fun," Nathan reassures her. "Just come along! And Shaurya's parties are always the best." We both grin at each other.
"C'mon!" I yelp. "Bring out your inner partier!" I exclaim.
She looks at me with a smirk planted on her lips. After a couple of moments later, she eventually nods her head. All three of us cheer as we get confusing looks from people around us. We burst into laughter as Anika silently laughs along.
"I'm so glad you decided to come," I tell her. "It'll be worth it. Trust me," I whisper to her. Nathan and Emma seem to be engaged in a conversation, so it's just me and her talking.
"I know," she groans. "But you know why I'm hesitating to come."
Her dad. I sigh to myself, leaning towards her. "Just lie to him. Like, just tell him you're going to study at someone else's house."
"Shaurya, he literally has a location tracking device on my phone," she interjects.
I furrow my brows at her. "Why the hell does he have a location tracking device on your phone? You're an adult!"
She shrugs. "That's just how my dad is," she mumbles, stuffing her burrito into her mouth.
"Look, it'll be okay," I try to reassure her.
"But the thing is," she begins, "my dad comes home at seven. So it'll be perfect. I'll just tell him that I need to study at my friend's house for a project, and I can... just not bring my phone. I mean, it's not like I'm gonna need it, right?"
"No, I don't think you'll need it," I answer her. "And if you need to call anyone, you can just use my phone."
"Okay," she nods her head. "I'll just do that. Thank you."
"No problem," I wave her off. "And you can bring your friends as well. Emily and Tyler."
Her face reddens as she starts to splutter. "Y-yeah. I'll ask them if they want to come."
"Good," I smile at her. She smiles back.
I take a deep breath as I continue to eat my sandwich. And for the rest of our lunch time, Anika and I talk about how much we hate literature while Nathan and Emma converse amongst themselves.
Part of me is extremely excited for this party. It's gonna be outdoors, specifically on the beach, and I am thinking there will be a whole lot more people because it's senior year of college, when people have more intentions to go to parties. It's actually going to be wonderful, I know it, since Anika is now coming as well.
But the other part of me is extremely nervous about it because anything can happen. Since Lexie is my ex now, I don't want her to come there with her boyfriend and cause chaos, due to the fact that it is open invite.
I first wanted this party to be small and close friends only because I was trying to get Nathan and Emma together. But things just spiraled out of control, so it is now open invite and I'm pretty sure thousands of people are showing up. And Nathan and Emma are one step ahead of me, since they are already dating.
I take a deep breath. It's only Thursday, so I guess I'll find out Saturday at 6 how things are going to unravel to be like. But, somehow, I still find this gutty feeling that something is going to go wrong.
Very, very wrong.
*
A/N:
Oooh, foreshadowing...
So looks like Anika is going to come to Shaurya's beach party, which was originally intended to get Nathan and Emma together, but looks like that's already accomplished.
Also, I am going to keep my chapters a little bit shorter because I've noticed that it takes TEN WHOLE MINUTES to complete ONE gosh darn chapter! So, yup, I am definitely going to shorten my chapters up, lol.
Anyway, stay tuned for the next chapter as we see how Shaurya's going to handle his party and how Anika is going to handle her overprotective father.
-Ru <3