(ð¨ Really long chapter ahead ð¨)
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"Hey, Sandhya. How are you now?" my volleyball team captain, Payal, asked.
"Feeling better. How are you guys?" I smiled at my teammates.
"We are rocking, but we were really worried about you. We got the news too late, so we couldn't visit you in the hospital. We are really sorry," one of my teammates said.
"It is okay, guys. I know how much you care for me." I hugged all of them.
"Let's go, girls. Dean Sharma is waiting for us," Usha Mam informed and patted my back when I greeted her.
"Nice to see you back, Kid. I am really proud of you," she said.
I thanked her and followed her to the Dean's office where rest of the sports teams were gathered. My team took its space beside the Girls badminton team and waited for the Dean to announce the news - he was discussing something with the sports HOD.
Meanwhile, I roamed my eyes around and smiled at Parth who was gossiping with his teammates and pointing in my direction. Then I moved my gaze to his right and grinned when I saw Ved already looking at me with a bright smile.
"Don't move too much," he mouthed.
I gave him an okay sign and elbowed Payal in the stomach when she kept teasing me about Ved and purposely telling rest of the team to join in; they didn't need to be told because they were already doing that.
The room went silent when Dean Sharma got up from his chair and stood in front of his desk to address us.
"Good morning, everyone. I am glad to see all of you here. Since you know that we have already gotten over this year's Inter College Sports Tournament, we have other three major competitions still left. But before that, I have a very good news to share with you," he said.
When others nodded, he continued, "First of all, some of our teams are getting a chance to apply for the nationals, and the few who have shown excellent performance through last three years are already nominated for the task. But apart from that, a few of the players are specially recommended by their coaches to do the national trials too.
"You already know the ones who are going, so I will list down the ones who will join their comrades. The names of the players are Uttam Gargi, Ekta Goel, Rhea Thakur, Kiran Reddy, and Nikhil Avasthi."
"What? I am going for the nationals?" Nikhil exclaimed in shock just like rest of the announced players.
"You deserve it, bro," Ved said and hugged Nikhil to congratulate him.
Soon, Nikhil was buried under the pile of his teammates and members of soccer team. Everyone congratulated the athletes who were going for the national trials, and once the chaos was under control, Dean Sir glanced at me and called for everyone's attention.
"Now that one of the good news is over, let's move on to the next one." He motioned for me to come forward and made me stand beside him.
"How are you, Sandhya?" he asked.
"I am fine, Sir. Thank you for asking."
"Just don't get in any trouble and take care, okay? I will sanction your leave the moment this meeting gets over." He smiled.
"No need to rush, Sir."
"I have to, Sandhya." He darted his eyes around in panic." If Mayank found me delaying and not looking after you, he will wreak havoc. Not to mention Rajeev too."
"That's true though." I smiled sheepishly, and Dean Sir began laughing while shaking his head at the mention of his son's name.
"Okay, everyone. You must have already gotten the news of the incident. That's why, we don't have Ayush with us at the moment as he is recovering. So, let's pray for him to get well soon and return in full health. And we must thank Sandhya for showing great bravery and courage while saving her best friend.
"I hope you all will take an example and remember that no matter how far we go in our lives, what matters the most is what we are from inside and how far we can go for our loved ones."
Dean Sir patted my head and told me to enjoy rest of my day and rest till I got fully well. I nodded, and when the meeting was adjourned, everyone surrounded me and began showering a lot of praises. I knew I had turned into a ripe tomato, but thanks to Ved, I managed not to burst out crying when my fellow players kept talking about Ayush.
"Can you give the girl a moment?" he scolded in a fake angry tone.
"Of course, Ved," Payal teased and high-fived with Parth.
Ved shook his head at them and stood beside me. "I think we are done with the congratulations, so do you mind if she takes her leave? She is already having a hard time standing on her feet."
"I am not," I argued.
Ved shot me a glare, and I shut up before he gave me a lecture in front of everyone. Nikhil agreed with Ved and informed that if I fainted in the college, his parents will grab his neck, so he had to make sure that I was not put under any pressure. Others understood his point and allowed us to take our leave.
"Take care," others said in unison.
"I will. Thank you." I gave them a big smile before exiting with Nikhil in front of me, while Ved and Parth followed behind.
We were heading towards the clerk's office to get my schedule updated when I noticed a familiar image running towards me at bullet speed. I saw another figure running behind him, calling his name to stop him, but the former one didn't stop and collided with me with a huge force.
"My Angel!" Karthik cried and crushed me in his arms.
"Get away from her, idiot. She is already injured," Shreyas reprimanded as he landed himself in front of us.
"Yeah, man. Be careful," Ved said in a concerned voice.
"It is okay, guys. He must be really worried; that's why he is reacting like this," I defended and patted Karthik's back in assurance.
He broke the hug and took a good look at me. "I am sorry I wasn't there."
"Relax, bro. Everything is fine now so stop hyperventilating. You are making us worry - what's with those bloodshot eyes?" Nikhil asked.
"He was crying all night when he got the news. He kept blaming me for not informing him earlier because he was out of town for a dancing audition. When he returned to my home to continue working on a new track, one of the maids informed him about what had happened," Shreyas explained.
"That's true," Rashi said as she joined us with our girl gang in tow.
She gave Karthik a tissue from her bag and glanced at Shreyas in worry. "It has started."
"What's started?" Ved asked.
Just as Ved completed his sentence, we heard a loud shrill voice which cut through our eardrums. I twisted my lips in distaste as I recognised the annoying voice, but I was confused when I saw Shreyas and Rashi shaking their heads as if they were already expecting something.
"Stay away from me!" Mahek yelled.
"Mahek, I said I need an explanation!" Shree shouted at her.
I saw Shree following Mahek, with his phone in his hand, while his girlfriend was stomping towards the area in front of the cafeteria where a huge crowd was beginning to gather. I glimpsed at Surbhi and she pursed her lips when Mahek boomed in her shrill voice again.
"What's going on?" I inquired.
"Let's see for ourselves," Tanya said and guided us towards a spot from where we could have a clear picture of what was happening.
"You stay back," Ved advised me and kept me close to him when our troop got merged with rest of the students.
I nodded and let Ved support half of my weight; morning medicines were showing their effect, and I felt my eyes getting droopy. I wanted to just sleep, but when I heard Shree's next words, all of my sleep flew out of the window.
"I am breaking up with you."
"You can't. I am the one who will do it, not you!" Mahek argued.
"What the fuck is wrong with you, Mahek? How can you be so shameless? You were openly cheating on me since the first day, and you still have the audacity to debate?"
"How dare you accuse me? I never cheated on you, got that? You are the one who keeps flirting with every girl in our college."
"Excuse me? I never once paid any girl attention for more than a second ever since I got in a relationship with you. I would have told you to ask the girls themselves, but I don't feel the need to give you my character check." Shree clenched his fists, his right hand crushing his phone on the verge of breaking it.
"Oh, yeah? So that makes you a saint? Come on, give me a break. You also know how much you were begging me to be your girlfriend. I refused you so many times, but you were still stuck to me like a leech."
"What the... you don't have any shame left, do you? Even after I showed you your wrongdoings, you still want to put the blame on me? I really regret not listening to Sandhya and my brother when they were warning me about you."
"Sandhya? I knew you both were having an affair behind my back. You are just using an excuse to break up with me so you can go back to that bitch. But guess what? I ain't breaking up with you. Tell your so-called friend Sandhya and your brother to mind their own business." Mahek crossed her arms across her chest and rolled her eyes when she spotted me.
"Should I kill this bitch right now?" Surbhi growled.
"I will take care of her," Rashi said and moved towards Mahek.
Shreyas followed her and stood beside his brother. When Mahek started badmouthing me again, Rashi took the phone from Shree's hand and started a video. As the video played, Mahek's face paled and she charged towards Rashi to snatch the phone from her.
But before she could do that, Tanya pushed Mahek away and Divya guarded her friend. Rest of us also moved forward, but Ved kept me behind him as he was afraid that Mahek might try to hurt me. Parth, Nikhil and Karthik stood around me while Shreyas and Rashi worked on unveiling Mahek's truth.
"You brought this upon yourself," Rashi seethed and threatened Mahek that she would beat the shit out of her as she had gotten to know that the real culprit who caused a rift between her and Faiyaz was none other than Mahek.
"How dare you harrass my brother?" Shree thundered on Mahek, but I saw his eyes glazed with unshed tears.
"That video is fake - I never went to Shreyas' room," Mahek defended.
"But your face is clearly visible and your voice too," Divya said.
"I know what you guys are doing. You are ganging up on me, aren't you? Do you think I will fall in your trap? You don't know what I am capable of. If you even think of harming me, I will get each one of you inside the jail."
"And how will you do that?" Ved asked coldly.
"I will... I will call the police and file a harrassment case against all of you. Just wait - I will ruin your careers." Mahek took her phone and began dialling a number.
"Why are you taking the efforts, bitch? I already did that," Tanya said and smirked at Mahek's reaction.
"We have already filed an FIR against you, and since you are not a minor, you won't be getting any way out of this. And do you really think we don't know anything about your other antics?" Shreyas narrowed his eyes at Mahek.
"You can't do that. Who will believe you? You are a guy!"
I rolled my eyes at Mahek's comment and facepalmed when she continued yelling at my friends that she wouldn't allow them to put false charges on her. Divya gave me Shree's phone to check the video, and my blood boiled as the scene unfolded in front of me.
In the video, Shreyas could be seen working on his PC when he hears a knock on his door. He opened the door and refused Mahek to enter by saying that his brother was not at home, so she should either leave or do something else for the time being. He clearly told her not to disturb him, but Mahek continued whining and pushed him inside the room.
When Shreyas warned her about the consequences of her actions, she boldly told him that she was interested in him and just wanted to have a nice time till Shree returned. Even after Shreyas refused her multiple times, she didn't budge and tried to get Shreyas involved in sexual activity against his consent.
Few minutes later, Karthik and Rashi arrived and Mahek left as if she didn't try to assault Shreyas just a moment ago. The video ended after two minutes, and I gave the phone back to Divya. Ved sighed heavily and asked Shreyas if he was okay after that incident.
"Don't worry. I was fortunate that I had already installed hidden CCTV cameras in my studio in fear of getting my equipment and work stollen, or else no one would have ever believed that Mahek harrassed me," Shreyas said.
"Still have anything to say in your defense, Miss Rathi?" Tanya taunted.
"Please, Mahek. Don't make matters worse for you. Just accept your mistakes and leave me alone; I no longer want to be with you," Shree pleaded, his voice getting hoarse.
"You shut up, asshole. It is all because of you. Your friends are directly framing me and still you are doing nothing? I knew that you were not worth my time," Mahek seethed and slapped Shree out of the blue.
Did she actually slap Shree when she was at fault?
In place of hitting her back, Shree controlled his anger and in a calm voice, told Mahek to leave. But the fake doll was interested in garnering the attention and putting up a show. She started pointing fingers at us and recounting Shree's earlier days.
Seeing that she was not getting the point, I headed in Shree's direction and stood between him and his girlfriend. He ducked his head when he saw me, but I told him that he wasn't the one who was supposed to feel shameful. I felt really bad as a tear rolled down his cheek and another one was on the way.
"Sorry, Shree," I wiped the tear with my thumb, "I will have to break my promise."
Before he could respond, I turned on my heels and smacked Mahek across the face. I didn't realise how much force I had applied until the sound of my palm connecting with Mahek's cheek resonated throughout the premise, and she stumbled backwards.
For a minute, everyone went silent, and when I moved my hand to hit Mahek again, she cried loudly. I warned her that I would not hold back from burying her alive in the ground if she thought that she would easily get her ass saved. She didn't utter a single word and caressed her cheek while looking at other students for sympathy - no one was interested.
When she realised that the tables had turned against her, she dashed out of there and didn't look back even once. The crowd soon dispersed but the whispers didn't. Shree broke down crying, and Shreyas hugged his brother in consolation. Ved and Nikhil told other students to carry on, while Karthik, Parth and my girl gang were cursing Mahek.
"I think we should give some time to Shree," Ved said.
Everyone agreed and let Shree leave for his home. Shreyas accompanied his brother and told us that he would give us updates about his condition. When they left, Surbhi suggested that I should also leave, but I didn't want to return to home so soon. Thus, after a lot of efforts, I managed to make my friends go to their lectures, while I left to sleep in the library after updating my schedule in the clerk's office.
The librarian let me sleep in a private cabin and told me to inform her if I needed anything. After a nice nap of three hours, I woke up and decided to watch a movie before leaving. I searched through the list on the PC and settled on Inception.
I had just started the movie when I heard the door of my cabin opening up. I noticed Ved entering like a thief, his pace slow and eyes fixed on me. I furrowed my eyebrows, and he stopped in his tracks. I moved my gaze back on the movie and saw him heading towards me. In a slow motion, he slid the chair beside me and plopped down in it.
I didn't disturb him, but I couldn't ignore the tension in his body language. In my peripheral vision, I saw him shift in his seat continuously and steal glances at me. I lightly shook my head and patted his left knee.
"It is okay, Ved. You don't have to think too much about it."
After I said that, his body relaxed, and he shifted closer. He entwined his left arm with my right one and laid down his head on my shoulder. After a minute, he closed his eyes, and I smiled as I heard his soft snoring. I ducked my head to get a glimpse at his face - he looked so cute while sleeping.
Come back soon, Ayush. Both of your best friends are waiting for their Yellow Ranger to return.