Aadhya's POV
Boring… boring… BORING.
Three teachers skipped our class in a row. Like wow. I thought only students had the talent of disappearing from responsibilities, but no—teachers are leveling up too. Respect.
Now here we are… rotting in our seats like abandoned furniture.
"Is there some meeting or something?" I asked Dheeraj beside me.
He didn't even look up from his phone. "Yeah. There is," he replied, equally bored.
Oh.
Great.
Even the school has given up on us.
My mind drifted. To Nani… she must've left by now. And those two annoying twins—ugh. Why did they have to remind me of him?
My ex.
He has woken up. He's looking for you.
The words echoed again, making my chest tighten.
God… please don't let him find me.
I swallowed hard, pushing the thought away, but the uneasiness stayed, sitting heavy in my stomach.
KRRRIIINNNGGG—
Lunch bell.
Finally.
I quickly grabbed our lunch bag, almost relieved to escape this suffocating classroom, and walked toward the door—
But stopped.
Because someone was already there.
Blocking it.
Of course.
Vivaan.
I raised an eyebrow. Now what does the King of Jerks want?
"What?" I asked, already annoyed.
"Weren't you going to return the payment?" he said, extending his hand casually like we were discussing pocket money.
Oh.
Shoot.
I forgot.
Out of all the people in this world… why is he the calmest money lender?
I forced a smile, scratching my head awkwardly. "Umm… not yet," I admitted.
Because hello? Where am I supposed to magically get 30,000 rupees from?
"When do you plan to return it?" he asked.
Still calm.
Still composed.
Still blocking my way like a wall.
"I… don't know yet," I said honestly, my voice dropping a little.
Should I ask bhaiyya?
No.
He'll actually kill me.
I felt a small shiver at the thought.
"Tch."
There it is.
His signature sound.
And he still didn't move.
I noticed people watching us now. Of course. Free entertainment.
Then suddenly—
He smiled.
That smile.
The one that screams: his brain is cooking something dangerous.
"If you don't have money…" he started slowly, his eyes dragging over me in a way that made my stomach flip, "you can pay me with something else."
My eyes widened instantly.
"What the—"
I crossed my arms over my chest and stepped back.
Is he insane??
"You don't want to?" he asked, his voice dropping lower—almost teasing, almost dangerous.
My heart started pounding like crazy.
Idiot.
"IN YOUR DREAMS," I shot back immediately.
He laughed.
Others laughed too.
Oh.
So this was entertainment.
My reaction.
Great.
I clenched my jaw, trying to calm my racing heart.
"You won't stop being shameless, you know that, right?" I snapped.
He hummed, completely unbothered.
"Then pay me back with food," he said casually. "Bring me lunch. Like you do for Avi and Dheeraj."
I blinked.
Wait.
That… actually made sense.
No money.
Just food.
Okay… manageable.
"Until when?" I asked cautiously.
"Until graduation."
…
"YOU'RE LUCKY THERE," I shot back immediately.
That's years.
What does he think I am—a lifetime subscription service??
"You owe me 30k," he replied flatly. "And if you hadn't acted reckless, that money wouldn't have ended up with Manik."
Okay.
That hit.
Still annoying though.
"25 rupees per lunch," he added.
I stared at him.
"WHAT??"
"Where do you even get a 25 rupees lunch worth curry and roti?" I snapped, genuinely offended.
This guy throws around lakhs like it's nothing but wants budget meals from me?
Unbelievable.
"150 rupees. Final," I declared, folding my arms. "No more discussions."
He opened his mouth—
I pointed my finger straight at him.
"Don't. You. Dare."
He paused.
Then released a long sigh.
"Starting today," he said, grabbing my lunch bag, "your lunch is mine."
"What the—HEY!"
I pulled it back instantly.
He didn't let go.
"Leave it!"
"Give it."
"No!"
He smacked my hand lightly—just enough to make me loosen my grip.
"Ouch!"
Before I could react, he took the bag, opened it, peeked inside like some food inspector—
Then handed the bag back to me like nothing happened.
I snatched it.
Annoyed. Flustered. Slightly embarrassed.
And turned away.
Better to leave before this idiot says something even worse.
"Idiot… King of jerks," I muttered under my breath, walking out.
But my heart…
Was still beating faster than it should.
I walked toward the stairs, still muttering under my breath about that king of jerks, when I suddenly noticed someone standing there.
Nikansh.
Leaning casually… holding a bag.
I blinked.
Then instantly ran up to him.
"What's up? How are you doing here?" I asked, a little too excited maybe.
He looked at me… then slightly looked away.
I frowned.
Wait.
His ears… were red.
"Are you having fever?" I asked suspiciously, narrowing my eyes.
He coughed lightly. "I thought… we could have lunch together."
He still wasn't looking at me.
Oh.
OHH.
Wow.
Another member joining our food club.
Nice.
I grinned widely. "That's it? Then let's go. They must be waiting."
Before he could say anything, I grabbed his arm and dragged him along.
He didn't resist.
Good.
We reached the store room and went inside.
Avi and Dj were already sitting there.
The moment Avi saw Nikansh—
He froze.
"What is Nik doing here?" he asked, clearly shocked.
"Oh, he wants to have lunch with us, so yeah," I said casually, sitting down like this was the most normal thing ever.
I handed them their lunch boxes.
And then—
Paused.
Mine…
Gone.
That jerk.
Vivaan.
I clicked my tongue softly.
I didn't want to ask them to share. It was barely enough for them anyway.
So I just sat there… watching them.
Like a sad abandoned puppy.
Great.
Suddenly—
A box appeared in front of me.
I looked up.
Nikansh.
"What's this?" I asked, eyeing the box suspiciously.
"Bomb," he replied seriously.
I stared at him.
"Seriously?"
I was about to throw it back at him—
He instantly stopped me. "Look at it."
I opened it slowly.
And—
"WOW."
Cheese dosa.
Actual cheese dosa.
My eyes lit up instantly.
"I thought you must have had South Indian food before… I like it too. I was getting it for myself, so I thought to get one for you as well," he said casually.
Oh my god.
Soulmate behaviour.
"I LOVE South Indian food," I said, already digging in.
Dipping it into sambar…
Taking a bite…
Heaven.
Absolute heaven.
Then I noticed something.
Avi and Dj.
Staring at my food.
Like hungry street dogs.
Why do they look like they have rabies?
"Wow… you're so selfish," Avi said dramatically. "Eating alone, not even offering."
Oh god.
Drama king.
"Okay okay," I said, scooting closer to him. "Here."
I fed him a piece.
Then handed some to Dj too.
And just like that—
We were all eating together.
Sharing.
Laughing.
Normal.
It felt… nice.
"But seriously," I said, turning to Nikansh, "what made you think to join us?"
"Nothing," he shrugged lightly. "If I had stayed in class, nothing would've been left for me."
I snorted. "Yeah, those hungry vultures."
"Exactly."
We laughed.
Then suddenly—
My brain betrayed me.
"Then why did you ban them from the cafeteria?" I asked.
…
Silence.
Oh no.
Filter.
Gone.
Avi and Dj went quiet instantly.
I looked at Nikansh.
He looked back at me.
Calm.
Steady.
"That was actually something Vivaan and I agreed on," he said. "It's better others don't get involved in our fight with Reyansh."
I blinked.
"You mean… you're the ones who banned them?"
"At first, yes," he said. "But when it reached Reyansh… he completely banned Section E from entering the cafeteria."
Oh.
So that's how it escalated.
Of course.
Typical.
I exhaled softly. "Figures."
Then—
"Adi."
Avi's voice.
I looked at him.
"Whose side will you be on… if Reyansh and Vivaan get into trouble again?"
The question hit me harder than expected.
I froze.
Whose side?
Reyansh…
My cousin.
My blood.
But we're not close.
He doesn't even like me.
And Vivaan…
I don't even know what to call that relationship.
Annoyance? Chaos? Trouble?
But what if Reyansh is wrong?
And I support him?
That would be worse.
I hate being wrong.
I hate hurting people.
I hate choosing.
My head started hurting.
I stayed silent.
Then—
"You don't need to dwell on it."
Nikansh's voice cut through my thoughts.
I looked at him.
"The ending is already decided," he said, looking straight into my eyes. "You've been stuck in our mess for a long time now. No matter which side you choose… you'll get hurt."
…
What?
Something about the way he said it…
It didn't feel casual.
It felt… heavy.
Like he knew something I didn't.
Avi looked away.
Dj stayed quiet.
And Nikansh—
Just kept looking at me.
Straight.
Unblinking.
"H-how do you say that?" I asked slowly.
"You're in Section E," he replied. "And Reyansh is your relative. Don't you think you're already stuck in between?"
…
I didn't reply.
But something inside me shifted.
Just a little.
Like a warning I didn't fully understand.
Or maybe…
Didn't want to understand.