I was walking to my class with Amanda. She lived on our floor and we had a class in the same building. I met her due to Riddhima who’d once invited her to our apartment to wait since she’d forgotten her key inside the apartment and had to wait for her flat mate to get back from class to let her in.

Currently, she was blabbering on about some hot guy she saw the other day coming out of our building. I wish I could tell her I wasn’t really interested in hearing about boys but not wanting to be rude, I let her be.

Thinking I saw a familiar face ahead, I glanced in the direction again. I tried to recall but I couldn’t. Then, he smirked when his eyes fell on me. Now that… that I remembered. Kripa’s brother. Cousin. Whatever.

Amanda suddenly squealed grabbing my elbow. I flinched turning to her, “OMG. That’s him! He’s walking over here. Quick, how do I look?”

I tried to follow her gaze and imagine my surprise when it stopped at him. I questioned her taste in guys. “Him?” I said almost with veiled disgust. It made me want t scowl. Out of all the guys at this university, she had to develop a crush on him.

Before she replied, I heard another voice as he’d walked up to us, “Hey, towel girl. Right?”

I faked ignorance, “Sorry, do I know you?”

He rolled his eyes though that smirk remained. “Maybe it’s time I visit you again when you’re just in a towel. That should ring a bell or two, hmm?”

I glared at him, shocked. How could he even say that so carelessly? That too loud enough. People walking by were giving loks, having heard it and some even snickered.

Amanda gasped as well and questioned accusingly, “Something I need to know?”

What? She was going to fall for this and what he was implying? Whatever. I decided to ignore it. “I’m getting late. I’ll see you later, Ams.” I walked around him, made at him. I just hated him. I may not know him personally but these two encounters were enough. This was one guy I know I will be steering clear from. He had the looks and guys who know they do are always arrogant, cocky, and assholes - from my experience.

A hand slumped around my shoulder, “Oh, come on, sweat pea. Don’t be like this now.” His voice spoke in my ear.

I stopped walking at once, elbowing his side. He hunched over looking startled. Well, what did he expected touching me like we were best friends? For a close second there, his side was flushed against mines. The chill in my tone would scare even me as I warned, “Three things: don’t fucking touch me, don’t eve call me that ever again…”

Three things I had come to hate.

1. People whom I didn’t approve of touching me, getting in my personal space.

2. Endearing words.

3. Players.

And he? He fit all the categories. I knew he fit the third given what Amanda had been going off about before he had appeared. There was no reason why I shouldn’t despite this guy.

“And stay away from Amanda.” I walked off focusing on my ragged breathing to bring them back to normal least I slip off in a panic attack. Amanda may not be a close friend but she was still a friend and she was a nice girl. She didn’t deserve to be played by a douchebag, ass of a guy - even if that guy happened to be Kripa’s cousin.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

I hated the rest of the semester. Why? Studies. And the fact that Kripa’s cousin, whose name I had learned to remember was Arnav, was always around. I didn’t want to admit it so I could ignore it but he made it impossible.

I had also learnt that he was quite protective of Kripa. It was one thing when she told me about it when cribbing but another when I had seen it myself. Once, a guy was flirting with her and he’d happened to be around. Let’s just say… he’d scared the living daylights out of that poor guy just the way he deadly glared at him.

It didn’t grow any respect for him in my mind whatsoever. No. It only made me dislike him further. Such a hypocrite. Some rules for others and different for himself. He was doing worse than the guy who was just flirting. That guy looked genuinely interested in getting to know Kripa. But Arnav? He had a different girl at his side almost every other week.

Kripa snatched the book out of my hand. By now, she was past manners. In these four months, she’d deemed it proper to barge in my room at any given time without knocking. So, if I needed personal time with no disturbance, I’d have to lock the door. Not that it stopped her sometimes. She’d used the spare key kept for emergencies. Her emergencies were defined as ranting about Arnav.

She announced, “Alright, that’s it. we’re getting you out of the house. We’re going shopping and then dinner and movies.”

I asked, snatching the book back. “Says who?”

“Says me!” She demands, “Now get up! You’ve been in the house almost whole winter break. Tomorrow is Christmas. You have to get out.”

“Yeah, no. I don’t think so.” I mutter reopening my book to the page I was on. “Thanks for the offer though. Bye now.”

Seriously, this girl had a family. Why didn’t she just go home?

Next thing, she screamed making me cringe and cover my ears. “Riddhima!” Seconds later, she walked in. “Get her right hand.” Riddhima didn’t even question Kripa and just grabbed it while Kripa got my left.

“What the…” I trailed off having realized they were going to force me out of bed and drag me out. “You two cannot be serious!” Some best friend Riddhima is.

They were serious. They dragged me till the living room where I saw Arnav, Amanda, Ron, Jasper, and Abhimanyu. I stopped struggling and stood up straight, fixing my shirt as I quietly hissed at Riddhima, “A little warning would have been nice.”

She returned a sorry look. Somehow, I don’t think she meant it.

“Now that someone has stopped throwing tantrums, can we go already?” The person speaking just had to be Arnav, riling up my anger merely by his presence.

I was not throwing tantrums! Okay… maybe I was but still, the fact that he said it makes me mad.

I asked Kripa, “Why does you cousin have to hang out with our friends all the time?”

“Because we have the same friends?”

“Isn’t he a year older than us? Someone tell him to get his own friends.” I muttered ensuring he couldn’t hear our conversation. I did not want any private conversation or interaction with him. in these four months, we only had those two interactions. Rest, we were always around someone or the other. He didn’t directly talk to me and neither would I. I appreciated it but I would appreciate it more if he weren’t around altogether.

Kripa muttered back, “Be my guest,” and I sighed. She loved her cousin but even she preferred her freedom without having him interfere in everything. And that? That made me happy to have her on my side on this matter.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .

We had been shopping for the last two hours. By we, I mean we girls were. The guys had gone off to the food court and then wherever it was they chose to disappear off to. I could be least bothered.

Amanda asked, “Khushi, why do you always get loose shirts. Not that you don’t look great in them. I feel like you can pull off any style but why not get your size?”

“These are comfortable.” The answer I give is the half-truth. Years ago, this wasn’t all my wardrobe consisted of. I did dress like normal people would. Situations made me otherwise. They changed me. Now, the only way I feel comfortable are these oversized outfits that may as well swallow my entire being.

She held up a top, “Try this. Trust me, this will be comfortable too.”

“No, really. It’s fine, Amanda. I already have enough tops. No point in wasting money.”

“Then I will buy it for you. Just go try it on!”

“What? No,” I continue to deny, “You don’t need to do that. I told you; I don’t need it.”

Alas, she does not take no for an answer. Forcing the shirt in my hand, she began to push me towards the fitting room. “Consider it a Christmas gift. Get in the spirit now. I want to see how it looks on you.”

Reluctantly, if only to get her to stop pushing me, I gave in. the second it was on, I hated how it glued to me like second skin. Though, when I looked in the mirror, I understood what Amanda meant. Honestly, years ago, I would have instantly bought the top. I would have loved it. it was my style and something I would wear without a second thought.

If only… things that happened hadn’t happened.

I walked out of the fitting room are hoping Amanda would be right there so she could see it and I could change out of it quickly. Only, I scowled when instead of her, I saw Arnav. “You.”

He commented after he eyed me top to bottom. “Wow… you look different.”

It was meant to be a compliment but I discarded it. “Whatever. Where’s Amanda?” I wasn’t fishing for compliments from people, him or anyone else.

“No, I really mean it.” He went on to insist picking up on my tone, “You should wear such clothes often. You’re…”

I cut him off rather rudely, “Look Raizada, you’d be the last person I listen to or ask for fasion advice. And I’ll wear what I want to, not what you tell me to. Now, where is Amanda? Or your sister or Riddhima?” It was impossible to not get irritated when all I wanted was a simple answer and to get out of this top.

He made the smart decision to give the answer I was looking for, “They went with others to the restaurant. We didn’t realize you weren’t with us. It’s not our fault, you know? You barely say anything. And then Amanda realized she’d sent you to try something on. Riddhima was going to come get you but it wouldn’t be safe for her to walk back alone so I came.”

I muttered, “Like you care,” not understanding why he was giving me the entire explanation. He wasn’t one to speak much either so why was he rambling?

On a side note, I need to yell a Riddhima for leaving me here alone. Today of all days, she is being the opposite of how a best friend is supposed to.

I walked back to change and when I returned, he was leaning back on the wall. When I put the top on top of the return pile, he pushed off the wall, “Aren’t you going to buy that?”

“No.” I was trying to not make is obvious that I did not like him very much.

“Why not? It looked good on you.”

“Again, I didn’t ask for your opinion.”

I was keeping my replies short and curt but he wasn’t taking the hint that I didn’t want to carry on a conversation with him. he was making it harder for me to be civil.

Out of the blue, he changed the track by asking, “Why do you hate me?”

“I don’t.”

He snickered, “That is such a lie.”

“You don’t know that.”

“I do. Know why?” he stepped closer. I took three steps away. He noticed but didn’t comment on it as he continued, “Because you replied too quickly.”

Scoffing, I continued to walk. “That is no reason to believe I lied.”

Confidently, he pointed out. “Then how about this? You were picking at you left hand index finger with your thumb. Everyone had a ‘tell’. That is your tell. Every time you lie.”

I momentarily fell behind on walking, too shocked to tell him he was making it up. It wasn’t a lie. How did he know? We didn’t even talk much! Our only previous interactions had lasted no more than a minute or two. Riddhima and Armaan knew me my lifetime and even they hadn’t figured that out. Well, Armaan almost did once. I had manipulated him into thinking otherwise. That wasn’t the point here though. The point was… he has observed me closely to figure that out.

Just who the hell is he?

“So?”

I blinked and walked off ahead, “You’re wrong.”

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .