I was feeling like a corpse, just like my roommates. And all the other students who were in the same situation. My limbs were aching, and I was sure I had broken my back while trying to impress Priyaank.

Oh well, can't help it. He was just so sweet and kind, unlike someone I knew.

Priyaank was like an angel while Ved was like a devil. No, Ved was a devil. I knew if it hadn't been for Ved, I wouldn't be here in the first place, but he was a headache to be honest. He always did something which would blow me off and make a bad impression on my crush.

Keeping the curse words was a struggle in itself, but because of Ved, I had to control my punches too. I really wanted to beat him up for that, but I knew I would be only wishing death upon myself by doing so.

Moreover, I was getting the same dream again and again. The same young boy sitting in a black room while crying and calling out my name. But last night, one more boy around his age joined him.

The other one didn't say anything, just sat beside the other boy who was crying. I tried to see their faces clearly, but couldn't. It felt like there was a blurred barrier between us, and I was unable to cross it.

"Sandhya, yaar. I feel like I will die," Surbhi whined and rolled beside me on the bed.

"Same here, girl. My body has given up," I replied and glanced at our roommate who was also lying on her bed, her face contorted due to pain.

"Are you okay?" I asked her, and she shook her head.

"I will kill Mayank for torturing us." Surbhi punched the air, but soon winced as the pain jolted through her arm.

I started laughing which made the muscles in my stomach ache. I had to control it before I damaged myself more. Our roommate grudgingly got up from her bed and went into the bathroom to take a bath.

Yesterday was amazing, but really tiring too. We overworked because of Mahek, and though my team had completed the task before 6 pm, Mayank saw what happened between me and that nuisance.

He was not happy with it as he was worried about his reputation in front of the Sarpanch and villagers-that's what he thought. So, as a punishment, he made my whole team work for one more hour to help another team which hadn't met the deadline.

I apologized to everyone, but my teammates were not angry with me. They didn't mind doing extra work as long as I took care of Mahek in my own way. Priyaank told me that he would do any amount of work to keep the 'leech' off of him.

That time, I laughed out loud at the nickname he gave to Mahek, and when I told the same to Surbhi and Parth, they also shared the same thoughts as me. Everyone was tired of her-she was worse than Farha.

"You can go now," our roomie announced as she exited the bathroom.

Surbhi and I started pushing each other and fighting over who would go first. Both of us wanted to have some extra minutes of relaxation, but when we realised that the clock was ticking, both of us ran into the washroom at the same time.

Since we were best friends and had been over to each other's places, we weren't shy with each other. We took a bath while making fun of random people and shared some gossips, not caring about anything else.

We got ready after about an hour and walked out of our room. We noticed other students who were complaining about some or another body part aching and how they wanted to rest more.

Surbhi and I giggled while talking about yesterday. I thought about telling her about my crush on Priyaank, but decided to do it later when I got fully sure of my feelings.

We reached the diner and took a vacant table. The place was pretty full, and everyone seemed to be either yawning or eating breakfast. I roamed my eyes all around and stopped when I spotted Ved on a table in a far corner.

He was sitting with Parth, Nikhil, Shree, Karthik, few others guys which I remembered from the junior basketball and football team, and..... Ayush.

When did he arrive? I didn't see him for the last two days.

I stared at him for a minute, trying to make out if he was feeling good or not. I felt relieved when I saw the smile on his face and his forehead free of any creases. He wasn't wearing his specs, indicating that he must be wearing lenses.

"Stay away!"

I snapped my head in the direction of the familiar voice. Shreyas was sitting alone on a table, a little away from my spot, his face twisted in anger. I moved my eyes to the annoying figure of Farha standing beside him.

"Come on, Baby. How long are you gonna run away from me? I know you like me too, you just don't want to accept it." Farha plopped down beside him and shifted closer.

She ran a finger on his cheek and smiled. Shreyas went rigid, he didn't move, and his eyes darted around the place to find an escape. After a few seconds, he shot up from his seat and walked to another table.

But Farha didn't leave him alone. She trailed behind him, and soon her friends also joined her. They surrounded Shreyas and kept making fun of him. He looked so uncomfortable-I feared he would start crying any minute.

He moved away from the small group and walked towards where his brother was sitting. I sighed in relief when Ved protected Shreyas from the bullies, and his one glare sent the blushing girls away in a snap.

"I really don't understand her," Surbhi said.

"Me too. I am sure she wasn't taught about it, or she is just too stubborn to accept that consent is not gender biased," I agreed.

We shook our heads and dismissed the topic. After eating our delicious breakfast, everyone joined Mayank in the big garden. After asking us about our stay, he instructed us about today's work. Fortunately, nothing was bone breaking.

We only had to plant tree saplings, three for each student, and then prepare for trekking. He gave me a warning to not cause any trouble after laughing his ass off about yesterday's event. He also enjoyed it, but he was also responsible for everyone's safety; I understood his concern.

Everyone was given spades and three saplings: coconut, banana, and grapefruit. We could select any spot we wanted to plant our trees in, so Surbhi and I decided to plant ours in the same place.

"Shall I ask other girls to join us too?" Surbhi suggested.

"Ummm... If you want to, then sure," I replied as we walked towards the spot we had selected.

"I won't do it if you are not okay with it."

"Surbhi... It is okay, man. You don't have to worry about me every time. I have already moved on. Moreover, I don't believe in holding grudges." I smiled.

Surbhi also smiled in return but narrowed her eyes at the last line. I caught on what she meant by that and gave her a challenging look to speak whatever was on her mind. And as my best friend, she did.

"What about Ved then?"

"I knew you would ask that," I grumbled and rolled my eyes.

We had reached the ground where we were going to plant our beautiful saplings. We crouched down and started digging up the soil with the spades.

"You didn't answer me~" Surbhi sang teasingly.

"Why don't you go and ask him that?" I retorted as I put my coconut plant in the small hole I dug.

"If you gave me the answer then I wouldn't even need to ask him."

"What kind of logic is that?" I made a weird face at her. She stared at me for some time, and I raised my eyebrows at her. "What is it?"

"Sandhya, I know you and Ved have a history of rivalry, but are you really planning on fighting with him everyday?" She waved her hands around, bits of soil flying out due to the movement.

"Who cares? It isn't anything new to me." I shrugged, and Surbhi gave me a flat look.

"You can at least try to be friends with him. He isn't that bad, Sandhya. He helped you to get here, didn't he?"

"Whatever. I had already asked him to be my friend, but he denied. Not my fault. It is just a matter of two more years, and then, I will not have to see him or his friends again. Simple. He can keep his friends for all I care," I mumbled the last part.

Surbhi sighed and gave up. She knew how stubborn I was about my thoughts. She didn't bring up that topic again, but kept stealing glances at me. I ignored her stares, but couldn't ignore her words which kept ringing in my ears.

He helped you to get here, didn't he?

He isn't that bad, Sandhya.

What about Ved then?

You can at least try to be friends with him.

He isn't that bad. He isn't that bad. He isn't that-Argh!

I picked up the spade and hit Surbhi on her thigh. She yelled out loudly and gave me a murderous glare when she saw the imprint of the spade on her light blue jeans.

"Sandhya! What is wrong with you?" She smacked me behind the head. She dusted her jeans, but couldn't get the mud off. I started laughing at her.

"You brought it upon yourself." I stuck out my tongue at her.

She huffed and pushed me to the ground. I took some soil in my hand and threw it in her direction. It landed on her top, and she fisted her hands. She jumped on me, and we both rolled on the wet soil.

"You ruined my dress." She hit me.

"Then who told you to keep blabbering about Ved?" I laughed.

"You are a jerk!"

We kept fighting, and just when I found the chance to tackle her again, Mayank arrived and shouted my name so loudly that I thought he had a speaker attached to his mouth.

"Sandhya! What the hell did I warn you about?"

I quickly untangled myself from Surbhi who was covered in mud now-just like me. We exchanged a smirk and Mayank glanced between us.

"Who started it?" he asked.

Surbhi pointed towards me, and I slapped her on the shoulder. Mayank shot me a glare, and I retreated my hand.

"Not again," Mayank groaned. "We have to leave in half an hour, and look at both of you!"

"We were not fighting, right Surbhi?" I tried to save ourselves.

"Yes," she agreed, and we both burst out laughing.

Mayank shook his head at us and told us that he would not allow us to come for trekking if we didn't plant our tree saplings within five minutes, got ourselves cleaned and joined the other students who were already done.

Our eyes widened at this, so we quickly did as we were told under his supervision and started running towards our room. "Make it fast, or you know what will happen!" Mayank yelled from behind.

I turned on my heels and made my way back to him. He gave me a warning glare, but I didn't stop. I ran at my top speed and crashed into him on purpose. He balanced ourselves before we fell down, and I hugged him tightly.

"Sandhya, what are you-"

"Thank you for taking care of me. I never got the chance to say it," I said and increased my hold.

"Well, I am glad, but why so suddenly?"

I broke our hug and grinned. He quirked up an eyebrow at me, and I smiled more. After a few seconds, his eyes widened in realisation, and he narrowed his eyes. I quickly got away from him and swung my head from side to side.

"You should get yourself cleaned too, Mayank. Or else you won't be able to come for trekking," I teased.

"You only have three seconds, so you better run now," he threatened as he noticed that his leather jacket was covered in mud and some part of his jeans too. Thanks to me.

"One..." he started counting.

I ran away before he could catch me and almost collided with Ved on the staircase. I lost my footing, but he caught my arm before my face kissed the marble floor, and pulled me up in a standing position.

He gave me a once over, but didn't comment on it. I thanked him, and he left my arm when I told him that I had to go to my room. I took the stairs two at a time and when I reached the first floor, I looked over my shoulder.

Ved was still there, looking in my direction-a blank expression on his face. I wondered what was going on in his mind. He was really great at masking his emotions; unlike me.

He isn't that bad, Sandhya.

I muted off my inner voice which was repeating what Surbhi had said earlier. I averted my eyes and continued on my way. I was sure Surbhi was already halfway done with cleaning herself.

Once I reached my room, I dashed into the bathroom. Surbhi was hurrying up, but I told her to relax as I had brought us some more time by spoiling Mayank's clothes too. She shook her head at me in amusement, and I shot her a grin.

I took a quick shower, hoping that all the weird thoughts would also wash off along with it. But they didn't.

Surbhi is right, Sandhya. Haven't you already seen enough to agree with her? If he hated you that much, he wouldn't have helped you at all-just like how he did just now. He could have let you fall down and break your nose.

Did he do that? No, right? He is not that much fond of you, but you also know there is a big reason behind it. He didn't tell you to keep your distance from his friends for fun; he knows how much trouble you cause. He was just looking after them, nothing else.

I sighed and got dressed up for trekking. Surbhi was waiting for me and informed me that we only had five minutes. After picking our bags, we rushed downstairs and reached the buses on time.

Mayank left me off the hook for messing with him, and I gave him a bear hug. After a few minutes, we left the resort and drove towards the small mountain we were going trekking on.

I managed to grab a seat near Priyaank, dragging Surbhi along with me, but I couldn't focus on his voice. The images of that small boy from my dream kept popping up in my head, and his wailing made my stomach churn.

If I dreamt the same thing again, I would need to confirm if my room was haunted or not. I was scared of nothing in this world, except ghosts-and maybe Ved.