Riya

I was fuming as I walked the corridors of my college. Fuming felt like a puny word for the rage I felt. At this point, I would've gladly killed the roach that I called my cousin. How dare he?

I think your brother might've beaten up arjun.

What?

Yeah, Rudra told me. I went to their place. He had a purple eye.

It was my last conversation with Sia.

If I killed him, I think my family would've understood.

The commotion of the corridor felt like a distant noise. My feet turned left and took me to the gym, where he hung out with his football friends. I was not a person to have a public reaction to anything. It was the epitome of embarrassment. But today, I was a woman possessed.

He was the one embarrassed when I interrupted him in his shenanigans, but now he did the same to me. If he was trying to send some message, the message was received.

I opened the gym door. It was the most expensive section of our college, and it poured down from every single brick and training gear.

As I tried to ignore the fact that the root word for gymnasium was gymnos, which meant naked in Greek, The smell of rubber mats and sweat greeted me. For the most expensive area of our college, it smelled too vomit-inducing.

The gym buzzed with activity. The treadmills in the far right, behind the glass wall, were filled with some familiar and some unfamiliar faces, most of which held expressions of anguish and frustration. The noise of sneakers against the treadmill distracted me for a minute.

I walked into the weight room. Rows of dumbbells and some machines I didn't even know the names of decorated the room. I knew what I needed to google tonight.

The weight room was empty, and I audibly groaned. I didn't want my rage to disappear by the time I found that dumbass.

To stop that from happening, I opened my WhatsApp again and read the chats. I felt it coming back. Good.

I decided to check out the locker room but contemplated a while before opening the door. The door had our college's logo. I opened it and peeked inside.

The locker room was empty. I walked a bit inside. The overbearing smell of disinfectant hung in the air. The showers in the back were also devoid of any sound. So, he was not here.

I pulled out my phone from my pocket and tried to call him again. He didn't pick up, again. Why did he even carry his phone?

"Look who decided to grace our locker room." I turned around to find Abhay with his annoying eyebrow up as if taunting me.

I would've ignored him if it wasn't for the fact that he was also there with Dhruv. I got ready to give him a piece of my mind.

For the last year or so, I had ignored this monster of a human being. But if he had decided to step in my zone, I couldn't put it under the rug.

And here I was thinking that this person might have some human side to him. The warmth from the pottery class felt like a fever dream. 

"You." I gritted out. "What is your problem?" His brows furrowed at my tone. I had never confronted him head-on.

"I should be the one asking that. You're the one standing in the boys' locker."

"I wouldn't have to do that if you guys didn't go and beat up a guy who has nothing to do with you."

Recognition flashed in his eyes, but I didn't let him speak.

"What the hell is wrong with you?"

I stalked toward him, not caring about the space between us closing quickly. I was close enough to feel the heat radiating off him, but I was not going to back down. Not today.

"You and Dhruv jumped him. You beat him up because I went on a date? Are you really that pathetic?"

My voice cut through the air like a blade. I could hear the distant squeaks of shoes and machines.

His eyes narrowed, "He was asking for it."

My jaw clenched as frustration bubbled over. How could he talk so casually, and why did he look almost pleased with himself?

"I don't know where he is, but let me make one thing clear. He doesn't get to decide who I see. You don't have to decide it. Who I—"

He interrupted my rant, stepping forward and closing the remaining distance. His voice dropped low.

"You think I give a damn who you date?"

I froze, my breath catching at the intensity in his voice and at the way his eyes burned with something sharper. For a person who was not able to read people and their emotions, I was getting quite well at reading his.

"Clearly, you do, since you felt the need to play caveman with Dhruv."

He scoffs, shaking his head, his eyes narrowing.

"It wasn't about you. It was about him thinking he could run his mouth about things he knows nothing about."

"Oh, right, because you're the noble protector of everyone's honor now?"

My words barely hid the anger simmering beneath, and he stepped even closer. The room started feeling warmer and warmer.

"I don't need to protect you. You're the one who has a savior complex." He seethed, "but I sure as hell won't let idiots like him use you for fun."

His words hung in the air, sharp and biting.

Use me? It was Sia who set us up. He seemed like a good guy. But right now, I was not in the mood to clarify things even when some part of me wanted to.

"You don't get to decide who's good enough for me. We're not friends. We're not anything. You hate me."

I hated how my voice wavered at the end.

His gaze locked on mine, his jaw tightening, and for a moment, something flickered in his eyes.

"Ah! I do hate you." His words pierced through me for some reason. "I do hate that you're an annoying little Miss Savior who thinks she can solve everyone's problems but can not solve her own."  

I swallowed hard, ignoring the sinking feeling in my stomach. The way he was looking at me, it felt as if he was challenging me.

"I don't care. I just don't want Dhruv getting dragged into your stupid games."

His lips curled into a smile, a dark, almost mocking smile that sent a shiver down my spine. He was never outright angry at me like this. What had happened? What changed?

"You sure about that? Seems like you're a little too worked up for someone who doesn't care."

My fists clenched at my sides, and an image of me shoving him in the chest flashed in my mind before I tucked it away.

He had barely moved from his place, but the tension was radiating off him. His eyes flashed with something, something that made my pulse spike for reasons I refused to acknowledge.

"You think this is funny? You think you can mess with people's lives because you have some twisted idea of control?"

For a moment, his smirk faded. His voice was low and harsh, but there was an edge of something else. Something almost vulnerable buried deep under his anger.

"You think everything's a game for me, don't you?"

For a second, I couldn't move, couldn't think. I was caught between my boiling anger and his words. All of it was happening too fast for me to catch up.

"You don't get to twist this around! You've always hated me!" I gritted out.

"Yeah, I do. But that doesn't mean I'm going to stand by watch and let someone use our rivalry to hurt you."

What?

"Stay out of my life. Both of you." My voice was low, but it was not as firm as I wanted it to be. He watched me for a beat, his expression unreadable, before turning away.

"How about you follow your advice?"

I was doing that. I was trying so hard to not come in between anyone. Saying yes to whatever anyone said. Don't chase me around. Okay. Date this guy. Okay. Do this. Okay. Do that. Okay.

My shoulders felt so heavy. Everything seemed so pointless. What was I even doing, standing in the boys' locker room fighting a person who hated me to his core? I had no friends in this place. The person I thought was my friend had drifted apart, and I had no idea where my life was heading. 

My throat clogged up, and my nose tingled.

"I did, didn't I?" He stopped in his tracks at my words, "I left him alone. I'm sorry that I was an annoying fly in his life." Horror spread through me as my voice cracked in the end.

My eyes teared up, and he turned just in time to watch a lone tear falling down my cheeks.

I was officially at my lowest. With hurried steps, I walked by him to the door. 

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