11:23a.m. [Hi Sexy! How is it going? Missing me much? ;) ]

Shivay woke up in the morning and was taken by surprise to see Tia's message. Where was she all of Saturday? And How come he never tried to find out? Oh, right he was busy worrying for Anika. Shivay gave himself the mental shake - he was worrying unnecessarily for that Anika, she was obviously not bothered about him worrying for her - he should focus and worry about Tia - she was sweet, pretty, cute and also hot - she would make an amazing girlfriend smiled Shivay and replied to her text.

11:27a.m. [Hey babe, where were you all of yesterday? Missed you. Wanna do lunch?]

11:30a.m. [Sweety I would love to, but I am out of town - came with a few friends. See you tomorrow? And let's do dinner tomorrow instead?]

11:32a.m. [Your wish is my command, princess. Have a safe trip!]

Shivay met up Om instead that day, Om was sulking, and that surprised Shivay. He had hitched with a beautiful girl and had spent most of the weekend with her, then why was he low? Upon enquiring he told him that Amaya had had an ugly fight with her boyfriend and hence had spent the last two days with him - she rebounded on him - and last night after patching up with her boyfriend, she had snapped ties with him.

Shivay tried very hard to not laugh at his state, but it was difficult. He sniggered and after cursing Shivay, Om soon joined in. Shivay briefly filled Om with whatever was going on and also mentioned the Anika incident in the club.

"WHAT? Like really? You guys LEFT her? How irresponsible of you guys!" jerked out Om in dismay. Then he wondered why Anika never called him, and realized he had told her he was leaving with Amaya - maybe that's why she didn't call. He quickly called Anika, and Shivay was soon very alert to eavesdrop - but all he heard was Om say, "Hello Anika? Yeah, okay. Sure." And he hung up. Shivay looked at him questioningly, Om informed Anika was out with friends for a movie. Shivay frowned - out with friends? Where did these friends suddenly turn up from? Didn't Somu ask him to befriend her because she didn't have any friends? Suddenly the image of that dancing boy from last night flashed in his mind - dancing with Anika - pretty idiot boy he thought.

***

Anika had met Mallika and Daksh for the movie, but later thought it was prudent to leave them alone for a bit - citing assignments as her excuse, she came back to Mallika's hostel - she still wasn't ready to head home.

Mallika and Daksh had gone to a caf, Mallika sat quietly, a little far from Daksh. She smiled at him politely, but the twinkle in her eyes were missing - Daksh didn't notice that. He was feeling better today - more hopeful about their future today than yesterday. He smiled at her with satisfaction. He enquired if she wanted something to drink - a glitter almost came back to her eyes as she opened her mouth to ask for "Cold chocolate with whipped cream and choco chips and red velvet cake for a side" but her smile faltered, she remembered her sister's advice - to be matured around Daksh - did mature people have these? Probably not. She changed her mind in the last moment and asked for a simple cappuccino. Daksh smiled and asked for the same - her eyes shone to see they had similar taste - but did they really? She didn't like cappuccinos! Daksh however seemed more impressed. He began,

"After yesterday, I thought you would order silly things like those fancy chocolatey drinks you know! The ones you see silly school kids fawn over? I guess Anika was right, you aren't as childish, you were only happy to see me suddenly last morning!" Mallika's stiffened, and internally thanked her stars for not ordering those - it hurt her to finally see what Daksh felt about her true self, but at least he thought better now - she smiled. She only had to behave matured around him - that's it. Simple.

***

Anika decided to call back Om in the evening. An anxious Om wanted to meet Anika right then - though Anika tried to calm him telling him she was okay, Om wouldn't budge. He told her that no matter what, he wanted to talk to her and they needed to meet. A reluctant Anika agreed.

In half an hours time, Om met Anika at a caf near the hostel. He apologized for the incident in the night club - he solely considered himself responsible for whatever had happened, he told her he should have ensured her safety - Anika had a tough time convincing him that he was the one person she didn't blame. Seeing her hurt tone, Om asked her softly, who had hurt her the most - Anika always thought her answer was Soumya, but upon Om's enquiry, she didn't know how, but the name that escaped her lip was - Shivay.

Om wasn't surprised. He didn't laugh either, like Anika expected him to. He frowned on the contrary. "Anika, you really like Shivay don't you?" asked Om with a considerable pause. Anika never thought she would own up this to anyone, but Om felt like a safety net for her - he looked out for her like a true friend - she didn't feel like lying to him. "Yes, I do." She whispered softly, with eyes lowered, then she quickly said, "Om I know you're his best friend, please don't tell on me?"

"Of course not Anika, I would never do that. But I need to tell you something - I know this will hurt you, but it better that you are hurt and aware and strong beforehand than dealing with it later when it might get difficult" breathed Om.

"What is it Om?" she asked feebly.

"Anika, I think you know this too, I want to just confirm. Shivay doesn't see you that way - true his judgement over you has changed over time - initially he included you in our group just because of Soumya's request, but over time I think he has learnt that you're not a bad person - he has accepted you as a part of the group, maybe not his friend, but someone he knows and is okay with - but fact remains that he likes Tia. And if I know him well, he will soon make a move at her - I want you to be ready beforehand and not get shattered whenever that may happen okay?" explained Om gently.

Anika whimpered softly and Om gently hugged her, he knew Anika was a very nice person. He knew that she genuinely loved Shivay, and Shivay was lucky that way - only he knew how superficial Shivay was when it came to women - he didn't know if he should be happy that Shivay didn't show interest in Anika (because if he got her involved and left her it would shatter her) or sad because Anika really liked him.

"Does Tia like him as much as he likes her?" asked Anika after sometime.

"Tia is as impulsive as Shivay - I wish Shivay realized your value Anika" whispered Om.

"But Tia is your sister Om" replied Anika surprised.

"Even so." Muttered Om. Then he continued, "Anika, I think, even if you can't get Shivay to love you, I think you should work towards earning your own respect before him - stop letting him run over you so" Anika understood what Om said - and after last night, she had every intention of not letting them run over her - but she wasn't going to fight to get his respect - from now on she will not let Shivay accept her as a part of their group just because of Soumya - she will refuse the favour - she will leave the group she thought. If he couldn't respect her, if Somz could be so hurtful, she was better off without them - true she would still do his assignment - but that would be because she had promised him to do it for him all through this semester - not because of her feelings. And also she will equally prioritise her own assignments - Shivay couldn't take all from her. Then she looked up thoughtfully at Om,

"Thank-You for being there Om, it means a lot. From tomorrow, I won't be a part of that group - but you will remain my friend." Om smiled. Finally Anika had taken a good decision. He hugged her and said, "Well done Anika! And yes, we are friends for life now!"

***

Mallika had returned back to the hostel after spending the whole day with Daksh - she was very happy. She chirpily told her di about much she loved his company, how she didn't realize the day had gone by - she told her Daksh was very impressed with her, as she just behaved a little less childishly. Anika smiled seeing her sister so happy - she hoped things would work as smoothly between Mallika and Daksh. They were chatting when she received a text from Daksh.

8:13p.m. [Hi Anika, Mallika's phone is dead I think. Did she reach home safe? How are you doing?]

8:17p.m. [Hi Daksh, yes she reached safe, we are chatting right now. So, all set for tomorrow?]

8:20p.m. [Yes, quite excited! We are in the same class right? You want me to pick you up?]

But before Anika could reply, another text came in - from Shivay.

8:21p.m. [Hi Anika, was wondering if my assignment is ready, then I would like to collect it a bit early before class from you. Could you take me through it before class in the canteen?]

Anika was surprised, why did Shivay need to read up on assignments before submission? He never did that. Plus what assignments? There weren't any to work on over this weekend, did he forget? But she decided to reply to Daksh before Shivay, but she mistakenly sent Daksh's reply to Shivay.

8:24p.m. [Yes we are in the same class, but you needn't pick me up! I will see you in class! Goodnight : D]

Shivay stared at the text message he received incredulously, it didn't make sense - when did he offer to pick her up? And what was new about them being in the same class? Unless -and exactly that moment he received another text.

8:28p.m. [Sorry, wrong text sent. There is no assignment for tomorrow.]

Shivay read and re-read the text message, wrong message? So someone had offered to pick her to college? Who was he? Then he told himself that he was fretting unnecessarily, it could be a girl too! And damn those assignment - could they never come in use? The one time he tried using them as excises to buy sometime alone with Anika and talk about the clubbing night, that very time they didn't have assignments? He frowned at the text - unless he was over reading, the text felt very oddly cold and the "new" friend who offered to pick her up, seemed like a guy. He would find out tomorrow, at least he would get to see her, and oh, Tia was returning too.

***

Daksh was sipping a cup of coffee and thinking - true, whenever he thought about his impending wedding with Mallika in the last few years, it made him jittery - after all they were children when had taken the soul-mate thing seriously - who knew their parents would take the words of two silly teenagers so seriously. He had hoped Mallika would also grow out of it when in college, but he had heard from his sister Diya that she hadn't ever gotten over him - she was still head over heels about him. Daksh had freaked out, and had thought of telling his mother to talk to the her family and cancel all this - citing that Daksh has grown out of it, now that he was old enough to understand how silly it was, in the first place - But Diya had shared a few photos of Mallika, and he couldn't ignore how pretty she was - hence he had decided to come down to the same college and give it a shot before telling his parents to cancel all plans.

Upon arrival, he had freaked out seeing how obsessed she was with him - her childishness and loud personality irked him, embarrassed him. He was decided that he couldn't deal with this woman, but he also realized how his refusal could break her heart - he didn't want that either, after all she was his childhood friend - but Anika had seen through his confusion - she had told him Mallika wasn't as immature and he shouldn't be judgemental at the first go, he should give her time - he had agreed and met her today - to his surprise, Anika was right, Mallika was quiet, polite, and well behaved today. He enjoyed her company - she spoke less and listened more, she was shy and cautious - she was very different from yesterday and it was a blessing for him - though he hadn't taken a decision regarding there wedlock yet - at least she wouldn't be a pain to be around for the entire semester he thought. As for classes, he thanked his stars that he was her senior, and would be in Anika's class - Anika was nice, she was understanding and a good friend to have in a new class thought Daksh and smiled. That's when Anika replied to his last text message.

8:41p.m. [Yes we are in the same class, but you needn't pick me up! I will see you in class! Goodnight : D]