Chapter 23

I was sitting on the balcony of our dorm, watching the moving vehicles, thinking about the talk I had with Ananya. I understood why she was acting like this.

She was just jealous like every other girl in the world. But I didn't understand why she would feel this way about me.

I was her best friend after all. If she had told me earlier, I would help her or something.

But that was not the point. The point was if I could stay away from Abhi. I wanted to say no to Ananya because she didn't trust me, her best friend.

So why should I do anything for her and lose my only true friend? But part of me told me I should keep my distance from Abhi.

If she liked him, that was their business and I shouldn't interfere. If Abhi liked her too, then I would be a hurdle to them and I would also be hurt if he drifted away.

I knew he was too important, and I didn't think I could survive without him. But I couldn't grow dependent on Abhi, even if he was my best friend.

After all, best friends don't last forever. It's just a matter of time, then life will drive us apart anyway. So I decided to stay away from him, not for Ananya, but for me.

I want to be the first to back off because if he did the same to me, I know I couldn't handle it. I knew it was selfish, but I wanted to know where I stood.

While I was thinking, I felt someone sit beside me. I turned expecting it to be Ananya, but it wasn't. A girl with whom I had never spoken before sat beside me and gave me a warm smile.

Her name was Nikitha. I smiled back and turned back to watch the vehicles. I thought she was here to clear her head, like me. I didn't want to disturb her.

"Are you okay?" she asked out of the blue.

I looked at her, confused, trying to figure out what she meant.

"I heard you and Ananya fighting," she said, understanding my thoughts.

"Oh... I am okay. We do this all the time. It will blow over," I said with a reassuring smile.

"Good. But don't trust her," she said in a warning tone.

"What do you mean?" I got angry. Who was she to say not to trust my best friend?

"She is the reason for the rumour about you and Abhi. She is been telling everyone that she like him and acting like his best friend.

I don't know what she is thinking, but I don't think she thinks of you as her best friend. I know you are not aware of this, that is why I am giving you a head start."

I looked at her, bewildered. I didn't know how to take this. I didn't even know if I should believe this girl. But something inside me told me it was true.

I felt all the emotions at once. Anger, abandonment, sadness, betrayal... Everything came flooding inside me. I couldn't control it, and it escaped as tears from my eyes.

"Please don't cry. She is not worth it," she said, trying to console me.

"She is the only friend I got," I said in between sobs.

"I know. But if it is any consolation, I will be here for you whenever you need me. I feel like I need to protect you," she said, hugging me.

I didn't say anything back, but she knows I am feeling grateful for her help.

Ananya moved her things to another room. I was all alone but weirdly I didn't feel sad. I only felt betrayed.

I didn't confront her or anything. I just decided to avoid her as much as possible.

For the next two days, I took sick leave, so as not to face the outside world. I continued to avoid Abhi. I didn't want to feel the betrayal of another friend.

I knew he wouldn't do anything like that, but after what Ananya did, I didn't want to take chances. I decided to keep my distance from people in the future.

Niki was a nice and sweet girl. She spent a lot of time with me doing stuff, but she also clearly said she didn't want to cling to me 24/7.

She said she wanted her alone time as well, which was fine with me. Actually, I admired her when she said that. She wanted to be independent as well as make friends.

Unlike me, who stayed brooding in my room just because my best friend spread a rumour about me.

So I decided to face the world with my head held high. Could you blame me? I went to college all alone. I tried my best to avoid Abhi, but it was not as easy like I thought.

He was too persistent. He asked half the student population about me. I saw Ananya with him all the time.

I didn't like that, but I told myself that this was how it had to be from now on.

Finally, the day ended. I was on my way out of college, cheering myself on for successfully avoiding Abhi for the day. Then I heard his voice behind me.

"Aadhi,"

Shit.

I decided to act casual.

"Oh, hey, Abhi," I said, forcing a smile on my face. But my heart was pounding inside like it was going to jump out of my ribcage.

"Where were you? I have been looking for you. You didn't even reply to any of my texts. I heard that you were sick. How are you?" He didn't beat around the bush.

"Yeah, I am fine now. So why were you looking for me?" I asked him, cooly. I only realized my mistake after the words dropped out of my mouth.

He looked at me like he didn't understand what I was saying.

"Did you hit your head or something? When did I look for you for something?"

I bit my lip, not knowing what to say.

"People just don't forget someone who was with them all day every day just because they are avoiding them for two days for God knows what reason," he said with a knowing look.

Shit, he caught me. What do I do? What do I do?

Before I could open my mouth, he cut me off, saying, "Don't tell me some bullshit reasons." His piercing gaze dared me to lie to him.

I just stood silently, fidgeting. I know I couldn't lie to him but I didn't know if I should tell him the truth.

"What's wrong, Aadhi?" he asked in a concerned tone.

I sighed in defeat. I didn't think I could hide, but I decided to leave out some things.

I just told him that Ananya was jealous and that is why she didn't hang out with us. I left out the part that she liked him, and the rumour.

"That's it?" he said, chuckling like it was nothing at all. Maybe because I left out the important part.

"It's nothing, Aadhi. It happens all the time in all relationships, and friendship is not exceptional," he said, trying to explain it to me as if I didn't know.

"Let me handle Ananya. She will understand. But you... Please don't be like this. I don't want to lose you, okay?" he said with an expectant look.

I nodded okay, smiling half-heartedly. But at the same time, I was happy to know that I meant something to Abhi.

He called us both and tried to reconcile us. We did, but I knew it wasn't real. She only did it for Abhi. She was glaring at me all the while when he was not looking.

After that, we started hanging out together like before. I tried to talk to her, thinking after all that she was still my friend, but she didn't budge. So I acted accordingly for her in front of Abhi just for his sake.

Abhi started giving more attention to Ananya from that day on. At first, I thought it was only because he didn't want to see me hurt.

I was happy to see them together. Ananya took advantage of Abhi's attention and did everything in her power to provoke me.

I thought it was childish and I didn't give it a second thought at first. But as the days went by, it didn't sit well with me.

I started feeling left out, and I didn't like that. I tried to avoid it with all my heart, but I couldn't avoid feeling jealous as the days went by.

Nikita didn't interfere in this, nor did she say anything. I know she didn't like that I was hanging with them.

For some reason, I knew she didn't like either of them. She didn't say anything and kept her distance, but that didn't change the way she acted around me.

We still became good friends. I appreciated that she only gave advice when I asked her.

One day when I was on my way to my room, I heard two of my classmates talking.

I heard them saying that Abhi and Ananya were in a relationship, and they were just using me as an excuse. I kind of believed it, because they had been leaving me out lately.

Maybe she confessed to him, and he said yes. But why didn't they tell me?

I had been with them all day. I would have supported them. The fact that they were keeping it a secret angered me.

I know it was absurd to believe a stranger's gossip, but that didn't stop me from getting angry. If they were in a relationship, who was I to get in the way?

Let them be happy without my interference, I thought. I decided to completely stay away from them.

The next day, I didn't bother to stay with them, and I didn't bother to hide from them either. When Abhi tried to approach me, I gave him the cold shoulder.

He had been nagging me the whole day, asking what was wrong, but I didn't say a word. He only knew that I was angry at something.

In the evening, when I was walking to my dorm, Abhi came running toward me, calling my name. I knew he would catch up to me, and I didn't turn around to look at him.

He grabbed my arm to make me stop and forced me to look at him. I still didn't look him in the eyes.

"Why the hell are you behaving like this?" He was angry now.

"Why not? It's not like I am your priority nowadays. I didn't ask you anything when you were fondling with her," I said with the same anger in my voice.

He stood silent and looked confused.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" I asked, not able to contain my anger.

"I don't understand what you are saying," he said, still confused.

"I know you and Ananya got into a relationship. She told me before that she likes you and I can see that you like her too, but my question is: why didn't you tell me?

Do I really mean nothing to you?" I said, expressing all my frustration.

"Who told you all this?" he asked me with a dangerous look. "Who told you? Did I tell you? Or is it Ananya?" He was on the verge of yelling.

That got me. I realized my mistake. I was doing the same thing that Ananya did to me. I was irked just because she believed in some rumour, and I was repeating the same mistake.

"Who told you?" This time he really did yell.

"I heard two of our classmates talking," I said in a feeble tone, hoping that he wouldn't hear anything and leave this matter. But unfortunately, he heard me.

"Oh, so you will believe some strangers talking badly about your best friends. At least you should have asked us if that was true before you act." He looked vexed.

"I didn't think you would act this cheap. You know what? I don't want a friend like you. Just don't talk to me ever," he said in a disgusted tone and walked away without looking back.

Tears started rolling out of my eyes when he said those words. I didn't realize it could hurt so much. I didn't know that Abhi walking away from me would break me this much.

Oh God, what have I done?