A/N: So this is the first official new chapter that i'm posting on this site, all previous chapters were on another site and I simply edited them before posting them on here. Full disclosure, I cut some scenes, added some scenes, tried experimenting with Rey's POV... so let me know what you guys think! Happy reading!
You know how everyone has that friend who always wakes up before the others? The early bird, the morning person, Kriya Shekhawat… yeah, Kriya Shekhawat is that friend, and rightfully so as proven by the way she was marching around her room, banging pots and pans together in order to wake up her sleeping friends.
"Rise and shine! Up and at 'em!"
Karan, pillow he wished he could duct tape over his head covering his face, looks up at Taani from the mattress that was so kindly set up for him and Aarav to sleep on.
"Is she seriously banging pots and pans together? Because drummers all around the multiverse are dying. I think I might be next."
Taani groans, glancing at her sister as she groggily manages to say, "Di, I love you more than life itself, but it is way too early in the morning for this."
Aarav, face digging into his pillow, says, without even looking up at the others, "I would just like to point out that I'm here by force. You two idiots actually chose to befriend this."
Kriya grabs a pillow from the bay window and throws it Aarav's face, causing Karan to shift away from him to avoid being collateral damage. Aarav, rather thanking the stars that it wasn't a frying pan, flips her off, as Kriya burns a hole through his skull with her heated eyes.
"Again, chose to befriend this."
"Yeah, and I've been regretting it ever since," groans Karan.
"You and me both honey," Taani calls out. "I feel that on such a personal level, honestly, I really do. But just remember, I have to live with her."
"Okay, drama queens, let go of your inner Karan Johar and get the hell up. Mom wants you all at the breakfast table, she made her world famous 'breakfast of the champions' and -"
Before Kriya could even finish, her cousin, best friend and that other one are out the door and at the dining table. She smacks herself upside the head as realization hits her.
"I really should've just led with that."
Making her way to the dining table, Kriya doesn't even have the time to appreciate her mother's masterpiece as she goes over her debate prep questions. Taani, noticing the lack of food entering her sister's stomach, rips the paper from her hand, ignoring Kriya's pleas and protests.
"Food first, stress later."
"Princess -"
"Di!"
The two girls stare down at each other, daring the other to break first. Kriya eventually sighs and gives in, throwing her arms up in the air as she grabs an aloo paratha. Taani smirks triumphantly at Kriya before looking over her papers. She nods in approval as she sets it aside, directing her attention back towards Kriya.
"Okay, di, listen to me very carefully - the key to this debate is not to attack Rey, even though he totally deserves it. You have to argue with him at every turn and prove him wrong – question all his choices, even if you agree with him. Especially if you agree with them. You can take those opinions and make them sound better in your favor."
"While that may be true," Karan begins to say, his tone sly, "attacking him wouldn't be too bad."
"Not really the right situation. But if she wants to meet him in a dark alley and he goes missing the next day, I wouldn't question it."
"She could 'accidentally' push him down a flight of stairs."
"You kidding me? Boy's the size of an ape, one flight of stairs isn't going to cut it! Jeez Karan, it's like you're not even trying."
"You're the homicidal maniac!"
"The entire football team of Elite Academy would beg to differ."
"Okay, one measly sprained wrist -"
"Three broken wrists, four arms, and two legs. Don't even get me started on the black eyes and busted lips."
As Karan and Taani try to decide who's crazier out of the two – Kriya had obviously tuned them out the moment Taani said something about a dark alley and Rey going missing – Aarav leans in to whisper to Smriti, "So, are you not worried about them turning your daughter into a convict?"
Simmi waves the comment off like it was nothing. "Not in the least. Kriya's way too chicken for that. Those two, on other hand, need to be put under surveillance."
"On it," Swayam replies immediately, catching his mother's drift.
Just then, Taani's phone beeps, and she sees that it's a text from Saara. "Can you please come over right now? I need you," it read. Taani sprang into action, rushing towards her room to grab a chocolate bar from her emergency stash, with Aarav following her, concern evident on his face.
"Is something wrong?"
Taani, whose back was facing towards Aarav, spins around to face him at the sound of his voice.
"Oh, hey. Um, it's just Saara, she wanted me to come over. I should probably go." Taani starts to walk towards the door, when Aarav's voice stops her once again.
"Wait, before you do," Taani freezes on her spot, "I have something to say to you. Many things, actually."
"Aarav, now is not really -"
"I know, I know! This will only take a second, maybe like the rest of my life max."
Taani sighs, folding her arms over her chest. "Proceed."
"Thank you. Look, I know that you think that I haven't been fair to you, and maybe I haven't, but you need to know that despite me not being here with you, it doesn't mean that I'm not here for you. You know that I'll always have your back, no matter what, don't you?"
"I used to. Aarav, you say something, but you mean something else. You said that I'm never going to see you again, that you're never coming back, that you're staying away from me, but whenever I look over my shoulder for help, I see you standing there. You say that you're trying to protect me, but all you're doing is hurting me. I love you, I really do, you're my best-friend and so, so much more! But I can't keep doing this same song and dance with you. I'm sorry."
With that, Taani marches out the door, only to be greeted by Arjun who was bribed with money by his twin to drive Taani to their place. Aarav sadly watches her go, his train of thought broken by the other Shekhawat sister's voice.
"We need to talk."
"Saara!" Taani calls out upon entering her friend's room, only to find her curled up in her beanbag chair. "Hey, sorry for being late, Aarav -"
"Say no more!" Saara sends her friend an understanding glance, making Taani feel guilty for accidentally blurting out to Rey that her sister's more important to her than Saara. She chucks the thought as she sits down cross-legged on the floor – thank god for carpeting – in front of her. Taani then watches as Saara's eyes light up at the sight of the chocolate bar in Taani's hand.
"Is this from your emergency stash?"
"Well, when one's friend sends a text which causes one's stress and anxiety levels to go up by seventy-three percent, one tends to find oneself preparing for the worst."
"Thanks Anya di, although I don't know why you're suddenly possessing my best-friend Taani's body while she's still in her pjs."
"Okay, Anya di is not – wait, what?!" Taani practically screeches as she looks down at her attire. "Are you telling me that I've been in my 'My Little Pony' pj set this whole time?" Saara looks at her sympathetically, causing Taani to groan. "I was in such a hurry to get here, I just threw on my hoodie and a pair of flats and left."
Saara bites her lip in guilt, guilt over the fact that she'd burst out to Sharon that she'd pick Kriya over Taani. Lost in her thoughts, it took Taani screaming in her ear to bring her back down to Earth.
"You want to tell me what that text was about?"
"Yeah, right after my ears stop ringing!"
"Jwalu, you're stalling."
Saara lets out a defeated sigh. "I know."
Taani scoots closer to Saara, holding onto her hands, looking her right in her troubled eyes. "What's wrong honey?"
"Something happened between me and Rey." If it were any normal person, they wouldn't have heard what Saara said due to the fact that her voice was at the lowest of low volumes, but Taani with her bat hearing was a whole other story.
"Happened in what sense? Like in an awkward ruin-your-friendship kind of sense, or in an I'm-totally-gonna'-have-to-kick-his-ass kind of sense?"
"Little bit of both. I don't know what happened; one minute we were arguing, and the next he just grabbed my face real close."
"How close?"
"I could smell the sour cream and onion chips in his breath."
"Well on the bright side, Nisha will end him so -"
"Taani!"
"Right, not the point. So, what happened after that?"
"Well, things got really awkward."
"How awkward?"
"Like worse than Nil and Simmi level awkward."
"Yikes! What are you going to do now?"
"Well, on the bright side, I was already pissed at him, but now I can't even glare at him without remembering that awkward moment."
Taani assesses the situation for a moment, before finally asking, "Okay, tell me this – have you ever thought about something potentially happening with Rey?"
Saara looks at Taani as if she had just declared that pink is her new favorite color - which would never happen because Taani gave a speech about everything wrong with the color pink in the second grade.
"No, of course not! I mean, it's Rey. Rey whose underwear I stole from ages right when I started walking to right when I started going to school. Rey whose underwear I proudly hung on a stick and called the 'flag of filth' as I ran around all over his house."
Taani bursts out laughing, so hard that she was practically in tears as that image ran through her brain. "Oh my god, please tell me you pictures of that!"
"Better – I have videos."
"Girl, yes!"
After their laughter has died down, Taani softly says, "Look, you can be as mad at him as you want to, in fact, I encourage your rage. But this awkwardness that's there, that you need to talk about. Clear the air, and then go back to wanting to strangle him."
"You're right, thanks Taanu." Saara smiles at her, but jumps back when she hears Nicki Minaj's 'Superbass' blasting at full volume.
"Sorry," Taani says meekly, pulling her phone out of the pocket of her hoodie, "it's my alarm."
"You wake up at eight every morning? I mean, I know you love to sleep in as much as I do but -"
"Yeah, this one of the thirty alarms I have set on my phone." Saara widens her eyes in disbelief.
"God, you are worse than Sharon di and Vrushika."
"We can talk about my slightly unhealthy compulsive tendencies later. Think there's enough time for me to go back home and change?"
"Not at all." Saara gets up, pulling Taani up along with her. "I probably have something for you though. I mean, we are the same size."
"Not true, you have bigger boobs."
"You have longer legs."
"That's true."
"You're already wearing your flats, so let me just find something Taani-esque in my closet."
"That is next to impossible."
"Challenge accepted!" With that, Saara tosses items out of her closet one by one, having Taani run, duck and scream as she does.
"You're crazy!"
"Only for you – ah ha!" Taani doesn't even get a chance to inspect her outfit before Saara shoves her into the bathroom to change.
"You want to talk?" Aarav asks, raising an eyebrow.
"I've been wanting to talk since the night of the fresher's party, but someone – you – keeps dodging my calls, and now you're here in person and I'm not giving you a choice."
Aarav lets out a tired sigh. "That's fair. Hit me."
"Believe me, I just might." Kriya gives him a blinding smile. "So, I know that we're not the best of friends -"
"You hate my guts. I literally saw you nodding in agreement with Ruhi as she went on this tangent about how I was the reason for everything to ever go wrong in Taani's life."
"Crazy bitch or not, girl made some great points."
Aarav simply rolls his eyes, expecting no less from Kriya. "So why are you trying to talk me out of what I'm doing? I thought you'd be throwing a parade!"
"Same." Kriya's playful demeanor suddenly takes a serious turn. "But you're hurting Taani, and I can't stand seeing my sister hurt."
"You think that I want to hurt her?"
Kriya smacks him on the chest, as if he said something crazy and offensive. "Of course not! Look, you might be a terrible influence on her and her life, but at the end of the day, you love her more than any of us. I admit that maybe I think you not being a part of her life is a good thing because she's safe... but she's not happy, Aarav. So prove me, and Ruhi and Taani's dad wrong. Prove us all wrong instead of just running away like a coward!"
"Kriya, me shutting her out is the best thing to ever happen to her! Her dad was her only family, and I took that away from her. Ruhi was her best-friend, heck she was my best-friend! And I took that away from her too. She has all of you, she doesn't need me to be happy. I'm just one person -"
"You're not!" Kriya yells at him, sighing exasperatedly. "Not to her at least. Yeah, she has all of us, but without you, none of that means anything to her. We all have a piece of her heart, you have the entire goddamn thing, Aarav, don't you get that? You took away her dad, and you took away Ruhi, but that gave her us. You gave her us. You gave her happiness."
"I also gave her sadness, and grief, and tears – god, so many tears! Kriya, don't try to convince me to come back, it's not happening." Aarav brushes past her as he walks away.
Needless to say, the car ride to the college was an awkward one. So awkward that Karan actually tried to jump out by their third stop light.
Arriving at college, Karan was the first one out of the car, making a run for his class, causing Kriya and Aarav to roll their eyes. They weren't that bad… were they?
Just then, Arjun's bright red car screeches to a halt in front of them, as Arjun, Taani and Saara all get out of the car.
Narrowing his eyes at Aarav, Arjun dramatically says, "Trying to steal my job, eh Saxena? Don't worry, your sister will hear of this!"
Aarav snorts, biting back a smile. "You're such a dork."
"Yeah, but I'm a lovable dork."
"That's true," Taani reminds them.
"Eh, it's debatable," says Saara.
"I can think of forty reasons why it's not, oh dear twin sister of mine." Arjun then tilts his head, and asks, "Also, why is Karan running away?"
"Run after him and find out," Saara deadpans, as Taani lightly elbows her in the side.
"Well clearly, he had the right idea." Arjun walks off to catch up with Karan.
Once he's out of earshot, Saara asks, "Are we sure we love him to pieces?"
"Yes!" they all shout back in her face.
"Guys, breath mints, honestly." They all roll their eyes as Saara pulls a box of mints out of her purse, but take one regardless.
"It's not our fault you have a sensitive nose – and are these chocolate covered mints?" The girls all stare at Aarav, as if to say 'what else did you expect, regular mints?' causing him to shake his head.
Just then, they all hear the booming sound of a bouncing basket-ball, causing them to turn their heads in the direction of the basket-ball court. Lo and behold, it's Reyaansh Singhania, angrily slamming his basket-ball on the ground, and against the net, and against the fence surrounding the court.
"That is not proper basket-ball etiquette," quips Taani.
"Sorry Miss State Champion, some of us like to play basket-ball for fun," retorts Aarav.
"I play for fun."
"Mmhm, and I like my mom's cooking -"
"I'm telling auntie you said that!"
"Whatever. I'm gonna' just peace out and see what's up with the Hulk over there."
Watching Aarav's retreating form, Saara has a strange look on her face. Noticing her friends' concerned glances she explains, "Sorry, it's just that whenever Aarav's around, Rey somehow turns into a genius."
"I can't imagine how that's hard to do," drawls Kriya, earning disapproving glares from Taani and Saara.
"I didn't mean it like that. Aarav just has this way of talking some sense into Rey that apparently no one else, not even his own twin sister, can manage to do."
"I'm sorry, are you seriously talking about dumb and dumber over there?" Taani and Saara simply roll their eyes at their friend as they drag her to APS.
Meanwhile, dumb and dumber were having a conversation of their own.
"What did the basket-ball ever do to you?" Rey spins around when he hears Aarav's voice, a bright, wide smile adorning his face.
"Hey there stranger!"
"Hey yourself. Want to tell me why you're so intent on murdering that poor, innocent basket-ball?"
"In my defense, you don't know whether or not the basket-ball's a cold-blooded crimminal."
"Rey!" Rey sighs at the tone of his friend's voice, caving as he runs his fingers through his hair, sliding down against the fence and sitting down. Aarav takes a seat beside him, throwing an arm over his neck as Rey leans on his shoulder.
Rey hates relying on people for anything, especially Aarav. Ever since they were little, Rey has treated Aarav like a younger brother, one that he never wants to let down, to show his weaknesses in front of. But somewhere along the line, Aarav turned out to be his biggest support system, and the only one who could possibly make him see reason, despite his general denseness.
"I suppose you've heard of the tragedy that was Rose Day 2016 of St. Louis College."
"From three different people; Karan called, Nisha texted, and Taani ranted to my face."
Rey snorts. "Let me guess, Nisha, albeit pissed, defended me regardless, while the other two compared me to some sort of incarnation of the devil himself. Am I right?"
"Well, Taani now likes to refer to you as Voldemort, so yeah, that's about it."
"Who?"
Aarav looks genuinely upset and offended by this. "Why do I associate myself with you?"
"Because of that one time when we were toddlers and Saara and Nisha ganged up on you after you accidentally drowned their mascot, King Arthur the aardvark, and I was totally your savior."
"Pretty sure you drowned Arthur, blamed it on me, and then felt bad and decided to push them on the ground before they jumped me," Aarav points out.
"I mean, I felt bad."
"Just like you felt bad about what you did to Kriya."
Rey groans, wincing as he remarks, "Damn, walked right into that one."
"Talk to me Aansh!" Rey smiles at Aarav's use of his childhood nickname. Everyone who knows him knows him as Rey, but only Aarav calls him Aansh. Reason being, Aarav had trouble with the letter r as a kid, so Rey being Rey tells Aarav to call him Aansh, and ever since then, the name stuck, and Aarav was the only one allowed to use it.
"What I did to Kriya was wrong. She didn't deserve that, no one deserves to be publicly humiliated like that. I was being a complete and utter piece of shit all because I couldn't stand the fact that she'd slapped me in in front of everyone for something I didn't even do."
"And you realized this…" Aarav trails off for Rey to finish.
"I realized it when Kriya danced with me a second time. She had this look in her eye, like she was afraid of me, and she quite literally ran away from me. That's when I was hit by the freight train of realization that I behaved like a monster."
"I wouldn't call you a monster, " Aarav is quick to cut in. "An idiotic ape, maybe. But a monster? No. You make mistakes and behave like a child, but at the end of the day, you make things right, and that's just who you are. So go make things right with Kriya."
"Because I totally deserve her forgiveness," Rey snipes, rolling his eyes.
"Hey, I never said anything about her forgiving you. Believe me, if anyone knows how to hold a grudge, it's Kriya. But that doesn't mean that you shouldn't at least try."
Rey sighs in defeat. "You're right, you always are. I may not deserve her forgiveness, but she deserves my sincerest apologies."
"Well if it makes you feel any better, out of the two us, you definitely have a better chance of getting into Kriya Shekhawat's good books."
"Does Kriya not like you?"
"Not particularly, no."
"But you're so awesome!"
"Yeah, but she thinks I'm a bad influence on Taani."
Rey snorts. "I have a feeling that Taani's not the good girl her big sister and everyone else thinks she is."
"She's really not, but how'd you know?"
"Because yesterday she was violent, raging. Don't get me wrong, Saara was too, but in a different way. Taani looked like she was about to murder me, and I wouldn't put it past her. She's a wild card, you don't know when she'll snap or strike in true Taani Shekhawat fashion."
"Did she really punch the wall in?"
"Better it than my face."
"Wall hater."
The two burst out laughing as they get up.
"Don't you have class?" asks Rey, raising an eyebrow.
"My first class is at ten, you just missed yours." Rey's widen so much that they look as if they were about to bulge out of their sockets. He runs towards his class, while yelling, "Shit, shit, shit, fucking shit!" as Aarav continues to cackle in the background before heading towards his car.
Saara and Karan plop down in the canteen in front of their friends with identical frowns on their faces.
"Okay, you two looking Siamese twins means something is really wrong," remarks Nisha.
Kriya, Taani and Arjun who were there for the disaster that was APS, try hard not to laugh at their friends' dilemma.
"So, for our next project," Saara begins to explain, "everyone's favourite Jolly Red Tyrant assigned us a social scientist, because we couldn't choose one in time, and his name is Sigmund Freud, the psychologist with the dumbest, most useless theories on the planet, which we found out about because of our research period today."
"Other social scientists, better ones, took the basis of his work, ignored all the other crap he spat out, and made it better," Karan continues to say, "so we wanted to change our social scientist and maybe do one of the other ones, so in turn, Professor Ananya flipped the fuck out -"
"- and started lecturing us on being mature adults while she was the one yelling at us in front of the entire class for asking a simple question."
"We requested – note, not demanded, requested – to change our social scientist, and instead of calmly telling us flat out no -"
"- she blew a gasket!"
The others tried to hide their smiles – Arjun and Nisha by drinking coffee, Kriya by eating a sandwich, and Taani by slowly eating her Greek yogurt – as they watched Saara and Karan finish each other's sentences while they ranted, something they hadn't seen in a while.
"Guys, thoughts?" they say, still frustrated and not noticing how in sync they were.
"Vrushi and I chose Karl Marx, because we're smart like that, so can't relate," says Nisha.
"Where is Vrushika anyway?" Kriya wonders out loud.
"Speak of the devil and the devil is here!" They're all startled to see Vrushika sit down in front of them with a bright smile on her face.
"Someone's happy this mor – wait, is that a new haircut?" asks Saara, noticing that her cousin's long locks had been replaced by a long bob.
"Right, you and Arjun didn't get a chance to see it because I left early to study for our first Economics quiz, which I totally aced by the way, hence the smile."
"When exactly did you have time to get a haircut?" asks Kriya.
"Last night – Sharon di did it for me."
"Why the sudden change?" asks Arjun, crossing his arms over his chest as he looks at his cousin suspiciously.
"Why the sudden influx of questions?" Nisha retorts, seeing Vrushika fidget nervously.
Taani, also noticing Vrushika's nervousness, making a mental note to talk to her about it later, adds, "Yeah guys, it's just a haircut. So she wanted a change, we never interrogated Nisha when she got hot pink streaks in her hair, no matter how thin they may have been."
"Exactly! And wow, would you look at the time – we've got Economics, let's go!" Nisha grabs Arjun by the arm as Taani pushes Kriya and Saara out the door before any of them could further question Vrushika, who lets out a breath of relief.
Karan on the other hand, chuckles as he watches the others leave – some forcibly – shaking his head as he turns to Vrushika and asks, "Shall we head to Business Management?"
"Gladly," sighs Vrushika, as they both get up and head out of the canteen…
Where Vrushika bumps into Swayam.
"Hi!" they both say at the same time.
Karan simply looks back and forth between the two of them before telling Vrushika that he'll see her in class and heading off.
Swayam and Vrushika stay silent for the longest time… and the lack of students in the hallway wasn't exactly helping! Swayam decides to break the awkward silence by saying, "Nice hair."
Vrushika blushes, unconsciously tugging on her hair, suddenly wishing her long hair was there to hide her slightly pink cheeks. "You think?"
Swayam reaches for Vrushika's hand, removing it from her hair as he tucks said hair behind her ear. "Yeah, I do."
He then proceeds to ruin the moment by asking, "But why the sudden change?"
Vrushika groans in frustration. "God! Why does everyone keep asking me that?"
Swayam raises his hands in the air, as if to surrender. "Just curious."
"Yeah, well curiosity killed the cat."
"Did wonders for Nancy Drew."
Vrushika sighs as she tries to brush past Swayam, but he was having none of that as he steps back in front of her, stopping her from leaving.
"Swayam -"
"No, do not 'Swayam' me right now. I need to know if you're okay, and it's not because of the hair – okay maybe it's because of the hair – but it's also because of how your mood was last night."
"What are you talking about? I was fine last night."
"Not for the second half! Something set you off, you were… distant, nervous, uncomfortable even."
"I was just tired -"
"You were certainly not tired! I know when you're tired – it's when your eyes are half open and you start to stumble and you have this peaceful smile on your face. You were feeling weird because you were fidgeting and you were jumpy and you kept a three feet distance from everyone around you."
He was right. As usual, Swayam was right about everything, but Vrushika was not in the mood for Swayam to analyze every little thing she did and uncover the mystery behind her past.
"I have to get to class. See you later." Vrushika walks away as fast as her legs would take her, but Swayam makes no attempt to stop her. She will most definitely be seeing him later.
Unbeknownst to Swayam and Vrushika, a certain Rai Prakash sibling had witnessed the entire exchange, and had decided to go straight to the root of the problem – Shivam Dutta.
Finding Shivam had been a piece of cake – they had Business Management together – but before Shivam could step foot in class, Sharon grabbed him by the arm and dragged him away.
Shivam widens his eyes in shock as he tries to break free out of Sharon's clutches. "Sharon?! God, what the hell is wrong with you? Wait, don't answer that. Just let me go so I can get back to class."
"Boy please. You and I both know that we could pass this class in our sleep. Now keep your mouth shut and just follow me, mainly because you have no choice."
Shivam ignores her, screaming at the top of his lungs, flailing his arms and legs around like a crazy person. "Kidnapper! Does no one see this mad woman kidnapping me in order to give me the most torturous death known to humankind?"
"Oh my god, shut up!" But Shivam wouldn't stop, which left Sharon with only one option: clamping his mouth shut with the palm of her hand as she shoved him into the supply closet. Once they're inside, she removes her hand from his mouth and locks the door.
"Well this brings back memories," remarks Shivam. Sharon ignores him, pretending as if that comment didn't affect her at all, in any way possible, nope.
"What did you say to my cousin?"
"You have a lot of those, you've got to be more specific."
"Vrushika! What did you say to Vrushika last night?"
Shivam furrows his eyebrows, wondering what Sharon could possibly be talking about, until realization hits him. "Is this about me suggesting that she has feelings for Swayam? Because she totally does."
"Oh my god, you see it too?"
"They don't do much to hide it."
"I mean, Swayam I can see, but I haven't really noticed Vrushika express anything that would insinuate that she had romantic feelings for Swayam."
"Other way around for me – Vrushika looks at him as if he brought the entire solar system to her feet. Swayam looks about the same to me."
"Wait, Swayam said Vrushika started acting strange after you guys danced together. Is that all you said to her?"
"Yeah."
Sharon racks her brain as to why Vrushika was behaving so strangely, and Shivam's revelation had just made things even more confusing for her. Shivam, noticing Sharon biting her lip as she stares at her feet, immediately understands that she's thinking. And being Shivam, he decides to disrupt her process.
"Did you think that I said something to upset her?"
Sharon looks up at him, mildly annoyed that he'd ruined her concentration. "Well, yeah! She only became upset after dancing with you, so obviously that's where my mind is going to wander off to."
"Obviously."
"Okay, I can do without you and your general sass and snark routine. Door's right in front of you, I'm sure you know how to unlock it, uh buh bye!" Shivam shuts his eyes in order to calm down before unlocking the door and marching out of the supply closet in a huff, leaving Sharon in there to wonder what the hell was wrong with her cousin.
Rey's POV
It was time for the moment of truth, to see who's best to lead St. Louis's student body for the next three – or four in Kriya's case – years.
Fuck me.
I look over to Kriya, who, in true Kriya fashion, was jumpy, jittery, bouncing on her heels as she paced back and forth, probably going over potential debate topics and arguments in her head like the perfectionist she is, taking a five second water break every now and then. I on the other hand, kept walking around in a circle with my hands behind my head as I took deep breaths in and out in order to stay calm and focused.
Except I wasn't. I couldn't think about the debate when Kriya's deer-caught-in-headlights face from last night kept appearing in my head – god, it was stamped in my brain like a permanent tattoo. I had to apologize before I went crazy and had a mental breakdown, especially with the debate about to start. I tried to walk towards Kriya, except her fifty bodyguards were surrounding her, as half of them sent me death glares, and the other half disapproving glances.
I'm conflicted as to which is worse.
I ended up having help in the form of Swayam and Shivam spotting Sharon and Vrushika respectively, and walking over to talk to them. Then there was Vicky, stealing Neha away from the rest of them so they could have all of five minutes to be together before anyone notices.
Honestly, are they even trying?
Nisha and Aashi were craving food, as they usually do at 2:43 PM, and Arjun and Bharat followed to help them the carry the copious amount of food that they would end up getting. All I had to worry about now were… Taani, Saara and Karan. The worst of the worst.
Mental breakdown it is!
Okay, no, I can do this. I'll just make up an excuse to get Kriya away from them. I take a deep breath as I make my way towards them, sparking Taani, Saara and Karan into defense mode – and rightfully so, as much as I want to roll my eyes at their dramatics.
"Um, RDX sir wanted to go over some rules and regulations of the debate with us in his office," I tell Kriya. Her friends look at me suspiciously, but Kriya simply starts walking onward without exchanging so much as a hello – as expected – while I proceed to trail behind her.
Halfway there, I call out, "Wait!"
Kriya turns around to face me.
"What?"
"I lied. RDX sir doesn't really need to see us, I just needed an excuse to talk to you."
"To talk to me?" asks Kriya, eyebrows raised and arms folded over her chest - which I'd learned was a defence mechanism.
"Yes, to apologize – hey is that the ring Swayam got you for Raksha Bandhan last year?"
Kriya looks confused, taken aback by my question as she squints her eyes at me. "What - yeah, why?"
"I just don't think I've ever seen you wear it is all. I thought you didn't like it."
"I'm not much of jewelry person, as you can probably tell, but this ring's an exception. I keep it in my bag for good luck, but once in a blue moon, I'll decide to put it on for that little bit of extra luck."
"So what I'm hearing is, you like it?"
"I love it to pieces, yes, why?"
"Because I helped pick it out."
"You did not!"
"I swear on Footloose I did."
"Ooo, swearing on Footloose? Must be serious."
We both start to laugh - a clear ice breaker. Wait, why did we need an icebreaker again?
"We were talking about something else, weren't we?" I ask her.
"Yeah, you were about to apologize to me," she tells me as I groan.
"Honestly, fuck me and my short attention span."
"Hey, Saara has a pretty short attention span too."
"Yeah, except hers is worse because she's not aware of it, unlike myself – and I'm getting off topic again, I am so sorry."
"Please tell me that's not your big apology."
"It's not, I promise. Look, I'm not the best with apologies. I can't do big heartfelt apologies like Swayam, and I can't do little things to show you how sorry I am like Saara. But I can tell you that I know what I did wrong, I know that what I did was so wrong on so many levels and that if I didn't apologize to you I would lose my mind. You didn't deserve what I did to you, it was cruel to not only humiliate you in public, but to also be so physically rough with you. I should've just let it go after you slapped me, I knew why you slapped me and it was accident, but I lost it like the idiot I am and also, is your arm okay, because again, physically rough."
"Rey, I'm absolutely fine, physically, and now emotionally and mentally," Kriya assures me, "thank you."
"Not gonna' tell me to say it like I mean it?" I jokingly ask, referring to what Kriya had said to me the first time we met.
"You did mean it," is all she says, a slight smile appearing on her face, before walking away.
Alright, I apologized. So why the hell is Kriya Shekhawat still in my head?
Narrator's POV
It was time for the debate. Rey and Kriya were both on stage in the auditorium, confident smiles on their faces – although they were dying on the inside – standing behind their podiums, notes in front of them, and bottles of water at their feet.
"Alright!" Principal Shenoy's voice booms into his mic. "Welcome to the St. Louis college General Secretary election of 2016. Our candidates are, Reyaansh Singhania – second year student, member of the Dazzlers dance team, and quite possibly the most helpful person at this college – and Kriya Shekhawat – first year student, leader of the Weaklings, a dance team that she herself founded, and already top of her class, as she has always been ever since she first started school.
Moving on to the debate itself, here is how things will work – I will pose a question for one of the two candidates, and then ask the other to give their rebuttal. Also, if one candidate is unable to answer a question, then the other candidate is free to answer. Let's begin with Reyaansh – what do you think is the biggest problem right now with this college?"
"Only one problem?" The crowd laughs as Kriya bites back a smile.
"Go crazy Mr. Singhania, point out all the flaws of this flawless institution."
Rey tries to keep a straight face at his principal's sass – it was so wrong, yet so right. "Well firstly, let's talk renovations and funding. The basket-ball team, both girls and boys, have been wanting their nets to be replaced for the longest time. The girl's field hockey team deserves more funding because they are working just as hard as the boys, yet their equipment and uniforms aren't as up to date as they boys' are. The chairs in the canteen are falling apart, and despite the fact that our canteen has the coolest design and sitting on pipes is great, but there are only so many pipes, and so many students. Also, the pre-med students have been asking for a more hands-on learning experience, and rightfully so."
Principal Shenoy looks pleasantly surprised by Rey's answer and his ideas. He then turns to Kriya and says, "Rebuttal?"
Kriya, unlike Principal Shenoy and rest of the student body, was not impressed. "What about the biggest problem at this college right now? What about the Dazzlers versus the Weaklings? Any bright ideas on how to improve that, Mr. Singhania?"
Oh crap, is what everyone, including faculty members, have playing in their heads on a loop. Sharon looks ready to either murder Kriya – for putting her on the spot like that – or hug her – for helping Rey because her statement could work in his favor as well since it seems like a personal attack.
Rey is at a loss for words. "Well, I – um…"
"Miss Shekhawat," Principal Shenoy cuts in, "why don't you tell us your thoughts on the subject?"
Kriya ignores the sound of her friends groaning and slapping their foreheads – she knew what she was doing. "Well, I for one think that this is the biggest problem at our college for a number of reasons. Actually, only two reasons. One, segregating students based on economic and social status is not only ethically and morally incorrect, but also an inconvenience to both groups of students. The dazzlers will grow to develop a superiority complex and expect everything to be handed to them a silver platter because they are rich, and when their safety blanket of money is pulled from underneath them, they aren't going to be prepared for what comes after. Weaklings on the other hand, will grow to feel worthless and less than, just because they don't have as much money as those around them. They will forever be afraid of chasing after success because they will never have enough faith in themselves and their own skills.
Two, no one student should have that much power and the ability to dictate what others can and can't do. This divide was created by one student, and one student only, and this student thinks that just because they have gotten away with creating this divide, they can get away with controlling the lives of all their fellow students. So, students of St. Louis, I ask you, what really is your biggest concern – the fact that our sports teams aren't getting what they want, or the fact that we have been under the thumb of one student for far too long, and that we deserve better?"
Before Principal Shenoy could say anything, Rey beats him to it. "Are you making light of the importance of students getting what they deserve, such as new equipment, support from the board, and the educational experience of a lifetime?"
Kriya scoffs, shaking her head in disbelief. "All I'm saying is, we should be looking at the bigger picture. The mental health and future of the entire student body is surely more important than a few groups of students and new furniture."
Rey smirks right when he hears the two magic words: more important. "Miss Shekhawat, are you implying that one problem is more important than another?" Rey mentally gives himself a hi-5 as he sees Kriya's eyes widen in realization. "As the general secretary, all problems should be seen as equal. No problem is too big, just as no problem is too small. And are you aware of the importance of the new sports equipment and chairs? I mentioned those issues because of safety reasons, and the equality you seem to be so keen on preaching about.
The nets are flimsy, practically breaking apart. The teams can't even use them because of safety precautions. What are they supposed to do? Not practice for the entire season? The chairs are the same story. They can't handle people's weight, the material has been causing scrapes and bruises and cuts for weeks now. What are people supposed to do, sit on the floor – which is very clean – but come on! And finally, this college wants the best for all its students, as do I, which is why I feel we should be listening to what the pre-med students need and start paying more attention to them. Your problem, on the other hand, seems more personal if anything."
"So my wanting equality for all students is suddenly 'personal,' is that what you're trying to say? Are you agreeing with the fact that those of us who are considered as weaklings don't deserve the right to be treated as equals and be given the same opportunities that the dazzlers are given? Or is it simply that you are conflicted between doing the right thing, and your own selfish feelings?"
"Miss Shekhawat, I would just like to remind you to remain calm and not attack me with your outlandish behaviour."
"Mr. Singhania, I can assure you that I am perfectly calm, and I am most certainly not trying to attack you, nor is my behaviour outlandish."
"That death glare you're sending my way proves otherwise."
"You still haven't answered any of my questions -"
"Deflecting -"
"If anyone's been deflecting, it's you."
Principal Shenoy looked like he was going to have a heart attack.
Taani and Saara glance at each other knowingly. This is exactly what they'd known was going to happen. As smart they're trying to make themselves sound, Taani and Saara know that the two idiots they've grown to love and cherish don't know what the hell they're doing – that's why they keep trying to shift the spotlight onto the other person. Sure they believe all that stuff that they're talking about, but Kriya doesn't want to admit that Rey's right and she doesn't think that all the funding issues are important – heck, she didn't even know about them! And Rey certainly doesn't want to admit that he's too afraid of losing Sharon to take a stand, or that he's beyond guilty about how selfish he's being in caring more about his friend than his peers.
Saara gives Taani a nod, and she knows exactly what to do. Taani raises her hand up in the air with a bright smile, as if she wasn't going to unleash hell on Earth, and calls out, "Hi, excuse me, Principal Shenoy?"
Principal Shenoy was no fool. He knew that look, it's the same look he's gotten from Sharon Rai Prakash – the devil herself – on many occasions when she's wanted something. Yet, he simply says, "Yes?"
"Is it time for the student body to get to ask some questions? Because I know that I have a lot. May I?" Taani gestures to let the principal know that she wanted to take his place on the podium, which he happily granted her.
"Be my guest, Miss Shekhawat." Principal Shenoy's done his research – he knows how to not tick off Sharon Rai Prakash and Taani Shekhawat, the two most dangerous young women that he has come across. Mafia's got nothing on those two.
He happily walks off – who are we kidding, the man skips – the podium, letting Taani take his place, cue cards and all.
"Alright guys! So first off, I have a question for you Mr. Singhania. I love how you've talked about our sports teams and the pre-med students, truly moving. But what about the others?"
Rey looks genuinely confused. "Um, the business students have no complaints, the social science majors love what they're learning, and the dancers have a wonderful studio equipped with surround sound speakers."
"Yes, but what about the art students?"
"What are you talking about? The drama students were provided with new lighting equipment just last week."
Hook, line, and sinker, thinks Taani, shaking her head.
"Mr. Singhania, I'm talking about the other art students. Painters, sculptors, filmmakers, photographers, musicians… heck, even the writers can't catch a break here! St. Louis has promised each of these different groups of students the education of a lifetime and instead, they've all been grouped together under one program, with one instructor, little to no material, and worst of all, no opportunities. Not a single one of them has been able to learn or pursue what they've come here to do. So I'm asking you, Mr. Reyaansh Singhania, what are you going to do about it?"
Rey looked at Taani as if she were speaking Chinese. This was news to him, news he was not prepared to hear, much less speak about.
"I… I don't know." Both Taani and Rey could practically hear Kriya smirking, causing Taani to snap her head towards her, wiping her cousin's smirk right off her face.
"I have questions for you as well Miss Shekhawat. You keep talking about the divide that Miss Sharon Rai Prakash has created," Sharon raises an eyebrow at Taani mentioning her name - it was a bold move, one which Sharon was clearly impressed by, "yet I'm not hearing anything about a solution. Yes, you have stood up to her, and you're going against her by creating your own dance team, but what has that done? Has what you've done, changed anything, anything at all? No, no it hasn't. All it's done is aggravate Miss Rai Prakash, and create a bigger divide. So in the end Miss Shekhawat, despite what you might believe, you haven't stopped this divide – you've contributed to it."
Taani could hear the 'Ooos' and the cries of 'damn' and 'oh snap.' Special shout out to Sharon screeching and snorting "You go Glenn Coco!" But Taani ignored them all as she continued. There was a lot more where that came from!
"Look at you two. Both of you have so much passion and love dedicated towards this college, and you could've made great general secretaries, really. There was just one thing stopping you – an ego the size of Sharon's Rai Prakash's heels."
As if one cue, Sharon throws a heel at Taani, which she catches with ease, proceeding to hold it up as a visual reference.
"Poor Principal Shenoy could barely get through one question, let alone the six other that he had prepared for you!"
Principal Shenoy's snores are heard from the back of the auditorium.
"The two of you have made a joke of this election, and what's worse, is that neither one of you even wants this. If you did, then honestly answer me this – if it ever came down to your dance team or duties as a general secretary, what would you choose?"
Rey and Kriya glance at each other and sigh. They can't lie, they really can't.
"Dance."
"And there you have it. The reality that would become the fate of the college if either of these two ever became our general secretary. And, this is not me saying that they wouldn't do a good job – they most certainly would. But do they care about their duties as much as their dance? Not in this lifetime. Now, if anyone has any further questions, I'm sure Rey and Kriya would be more than happy to stay here and answer them. Thank you for your time, you've been a wonderful audience!"
If Taani could drop the mic, she most certainly would, but instead, she walks off stage and down the aisle going down the middle of the auditorium, as people clap and cheer - with Sharon getting her heel thrown back at her, which she struggles to catch, but she can't even be mad. If this election had taught her anything, it was that Taani Shekhawat can fuck up your day like no other, even if you're family.
After that mess of an election, both Rey and Kriya needed a breather - which they found in the form of Aarav and Karan respectively.
Aarav and Karan were simply trying to watch the entire series of Brooklyn Nine-Nine for the hundredth time, ketchup chips and all, when both their phones rang. They glance at each other warily as they see the names that show up, sighing as they answer their phones.
"Hey Aansh, what's up?" says Aarav, just Karan says, "Hey Kriya!"
"The election," both Rey and Kriya say.
Aarav and Karan turn to look at each other strangely, covering their phones with their hands.
"Did she just say the election?" Aarav whispers.
"Yeah, Rey too?"
"Uh huh. Weird right?"
"Freaky is more like it."
"Like you and Saara are any better."
"You and Taani are the worst."
"Dude, shut the fuck up," is the last thing Aarav says before they get back to their respective phone conversations.
"You were saying, Aansh?"
"What about the election Kriya?"
"The election was a disaster man! Taani made sure that neither I, nor Kriya, would be gaining the title of General Secretary any time soon."
"Oh, yeah, I forgot to mention – Taani's a savage! Did she do a mic drop?"
"No, really? Thanks for the fyi buddy."
Kriya, on the other hand, had a different focal point. "I am never speaking to Taani again!"
"Girl, that is like a day in Shekhawat sister time and you know it."
"Shut up Karan."
Aarav and Karan look at each other again, placing their phones case-side up on their chests.
"Is Kriya mad at Taani?"
"Uh huh. Is Rey annoyed by you?"
"Yup."
"Again, freaky," Karan says, before they get back to their respective friends.
"Anyway," Rey continues, not even noticing that his friend had just ignored five minutes of their conversation, "Kriya -"
"Did you apologize to her?"
"Of course I apologized to her. She forgave me too!"
That was exact time Karan decided to scream at the top of his lungs, "WHAT DO YOU MEAN YOU FORGAVE HIM?!"
Aarav, who had fallen onto the floor, looks up at his friend and hisses, "Karan, what the hell?!"
Karan, ignoring Kriya's complaints about shattered eardrums – like she's one to talk – demands, "Did Rey just say that Kriya forgave him?"
Aarav rolls his eyes. "Dude, is that why you're freaking out?"
"No, it's clearly because I just realized that I just sex with that girl from last week on your bed and flipped the mattress over instead of changing the sheets."
Aarav's eyes widen in alarm. "Wait, what -" He doesn't get to finish due to his cousin Alya barging into his room, hands on her hips and murder in her eyes.
"Aarav Saxena, what the hell is going on here?! I have a test to study for!" She tries to look menacing, but the girl was wearing sparkly PJs and bunny slippers, honestly, all she was missing was a tiara.
"Blame Karan."
Karan glares at Aarav before sheepishly glancing at Alya. "Sorry Alya, that was me."
Alya smiles at him, sighing as she begins to say that it's fine when Aarav cuts in. "I never complain about you and your band practicing until three in the fucking morning."
"Because that's band practice, it's necessary."
"Cabir getting so wasted that he was burping the alphabet as Mukti played around with the sparkly pink dance ribbon from when you were five, is necessary?"
"It was a music video!" Alya protests in defence, mentally reminding herself to kick friends' asses the next time that she saw them.
"Sure it was."
"Shut up Aarav," is all Alya says before heading back to her room, and Karan snorts. Aarav rolls his eyes, shaking his head as he gets back on the bed, getting back to Rey, much like Karan gets back to Kriya.
"Aarav, was that noise? It sounded like that screaming goat video."
Aarav tries his best not burst out laughing, keeping his composure as he says, "Nothing, it was nothing. So, Kriya forgave you?"
"Yeah, we had a moment, but now we hate each other again."
"Wait, what?"
Meanwhile, Karan was just as confused as Aarav. "Wait, why do you hate each other again?"
"Um, hello? Were you not there for the debate?"
"Kriya, it was just a friendly debate."
"Excuse you, there was nothing just or friendly about it. He was completely wrong and overdramatic."
"She was verbally attacking me and making things personal like the immature brat she is."
"But maybe it was my fault too," they both say at once.
"Explain, please," pleads Aarav.
"Totally not following this," Karan informs her.
Aarav hears Rey sigh on the other end before he goes on to explain. "Some part of me kind of wanted to argue with Kriya." His voice is guilty, like that time he ate the chocolates that Bharat had bought for Aashi, or when he scratched her car.
Man has he done a lot of things to his twin sister!
"You wanted to argue with her?" Aarav asks, his tone skeptical.
"Yeah. I don't know what it is, but whenever I get the opportunity, I want to argue with Kriya. I want to start shit, fight back, bicker like my parents do every single time they play Scrabble. Something about her gets me pumped up, excited – she gets my adrenaline rushing every time she has that fiery look in her eye like she's about to conquer the world… and I just want to stop her at every turn."
Oh boy, thinks Aarav, turning his head towards Karan, who looked like he needed the help of the entire Elite Academy faculty to figure out what the hell Kriya was going on about.
"So you wanted to argue with him?"
"It's really weird and stupid, but when it comes to Rey, my usual competitive drive skyrockets! Every time he speaks, I just want to fight back, push back – make his head explode with my general awesomeness. His twinkly eyes, those furrowed eyebrows – that goddamn smirk on his face! All of that makes me want to question him at every turn, keep him on his toes, catch him off guard – god, I don't know."
Karan and Aarav nod at each other knowingly. This was not a problem for them.
"You know what Aansh? I've got this test to study for, I'll talk to you later. Also, you're insane, bye!"
"Kriya, I need to hang up before Saara finds a way to strangle through my computer for not helping her with our assignment. Bye, I think you need to see a therapist, see you tomorrow!"
They hang up their phones before Rey or Kriya could get a word in.
"I'll text Saara," says Karan.
"I'll text Taani."
But before either of them can send their texts, they groan as realization smacks them upside the head as if it were possessed by Nisha Sen herself.
"I'll text Saara," says Aarav.
"And I'll text Taani."
Who says boys aren't smart and considerate?
Taani and Saara were sitting on Saara's bed, belting out Moana's flawless solo, when both their phones beep.
"It's Aarav," says Saara, looking confused. Sure she and Aarav are friends, but not texting with actual words friends. Memes, gifs, maybe even emojis? Sure! Actual words? Not since two months ago when he had questions about their chemistry final.
"I've got Karan," says Taani, furrowing her eyebrows in confusion, wondering as to when she'd even given Karan her number.
Probably when he needed someone to bail him out of a problem, and she was drunk enough to say yes.
"Did he tell you to talk to Kriya?" asks Saara.
"No, he's telling me to talk to Rey. I'm sorry, did he suddenly forget that where I had punched the wall in was a mere millimetre away from Rey's ear?"
"Well, Rey and I still need to talk, clear the air… maybe punch him in the face? I think that's why Karan wants you to talk to him. Well, that, or he wants to watch you beat the crap out of it – don't do it honey, please."
"I won't beat him up… berate him, totally! But physically hurt him? Haven't decided yet. Anyway, it's probably best if you talk to di. I don't think she's going to be talking to me any time soon."
"She'll get over it." Saara gives Taani an assuring smile as she puts her arm around her. "You did the right thing, like you always. She'll understand, eventually."
"Yeah, well right now she's still icing me out."
"Wanna' hide out here for the weekend?"
"I do, but it's probably best if I go home and face the music." Taani gets up, already out the door, popping her head back in to say, "Our boys are smart. Not the most considerate, but smart." Saara chuckles, nodding her head as she watches Taani leave.
The weekend was a mess. Kriya was still icy, Taani and Saara had yet to talk to Rey and Kriya, Saara and Rey still hadn't talked things over, and no one knew what was wrong with Vrushika.
Monday hit, and it was time to hear the results of the election. Everyone had gathered in the auditorium, as Principal Shenoy prepared for the shitstorm that was about to hit when he announced the winner.
"Alright. The teachers and I, along with the rest of the faculty, have counted all the votes. Now, this result may come as a shock to some of you, so I request that you please remain calm. And the winner is…"
A/N: I'm sorry, that was cruel... but hello, suspense! Also, I highkey want to just have Saara narrate this entire story because I love writing in her point of view, so much, you don't even know. Oh, and in case anyone's wondering, this story is almost halfway done, I'm so emotional right now, it's like watching my child go off to college.
Musical Inspiration: Smile by The Royal Concept, Can't Let Go from The Next Step (seriously, go watch The Next Step), Ghost by Halsey (okay, Halsey and Melanie Martinez are my new obsessions), Just The Girl by The Click Five (literally the anthem for Sharon and Shivam), Give it Up by Liz Gillies and Ariana Grande (literally my fucking everything), and Most Girls by Hailee Steinfeld