My father always said that the people who are essential to your life will always find a way to be in your life. He doesn't know it, but honestly, his words helped me through a lot of friendship breakups, one-sided crush realizations, and just about every other teenager problem.

His advice was the closest thing I got to familial advice about boys, before breaking the golden rule of Never discuss boys.

I felt like I hit an all-time high in my loneliness levels. Talking to Varun the past couple of days filled some void in me. It left me to have someone to talk to, and not being completely and utterly alone with my thoughts.

An existence with not even a single other person whom you could disclose your days to was painful. The times Varun and I talked were becoming the highlights of my days; that's how alone I felt.

Which is odd because we never really even had deep conversations, but as I was saying, I was seriously deprived of human connection. And, when people are desperate, it could lead them to doing some pretty heinous things.

***

The next morning was quite an awkward one. It would be the first time I saw Varun since our little fight, and it would be the first time I saw Ajit since he mindlessly punched his very best friend in the face.

Yeah, I was still pissed about it.

Mom picked up an extra shift this weekend, so I knew she wouldn't be there either.

I slowly walked downstairs to see Varun and Ajit eating sunny-side-up eggs together at the kitchen island. Varun sat in the same spot he was sitting at last night, when we talked.

Ajit was talking on and on about god knows what, and Varun looked out of it. He looked emotionless, not even mad. He just stayed fixated on his eggs.

Ajit was insane. He was acting as if nothing happened. Maybe, he didn't want me to know. Was he really that delusional?

I wanted to test my theory, but I also couldn't risk Ajit suspecting anything. I couldn't let Varun get beaten again.

I looked over at Varun's lip again. It was bruising now. I guess it was healing, but it still looked horrendous.

Fuck it, if Ajit didn't want me to know, he wouldn't have made it so obvious.

Even though most of my senses knew this would be a bad choice, I spoke, "Varun, what happened to your lip?"

Ajit immediately perked up. He gritted his teeth looking at me with eyes full of anger. Oh shit, maybe I shouldn't have said anything.

I swallowed hard feeling intimidated.

Varun's eyes widened as if he were asking me what the hell I was doing. He subtly tried to shake his head to get me to change the topic. I stayed staring at him. I needed to know if Ajit would come clean.

Ajit and Varun exchanged a quick glance, and that right there confirmed it for me. My brother was an asshole.

"I, uh, fell," Varun lied.

I scoffed, "Right," I said.

Ajit stood up quickly, taking his dishes to the sink. Trying to change the topic, he said, "So, why is it, you're not coming over tonight?"

Varun took the hint and said, "Oh, uh, it's a carnival thing I'm going to."

A smile formed on my face immediately. He was talking about the state carnival, the most magical place. Okay, it may not sound magical, but the energy at carnivals is unmatched.

The fact that Varun was going made me immensely jealous. I wished I could go. I wished I had people to go with.

Ugh, why must my life be so incessantly boring.

"Well, it's no worries," Ajit said, grabbing Varun's dirty dishes, "I have this huge project anyways."

My eyes twinkled as a devilish thought passed in my mind. It was quite sinister and entirely wrong, but I wanted to live life right?

"Uh, Ajit," I said, trying to grab his attention.

Ajit turned around and faced me.

Maybe what I was doing was a bad idea, and incredibly wrong. Maybe, no, most definitely if I got caught, I'd have enormous repercussions, but I continued."I kind of had this project, too, for my business class," I lied.

Ajit raised an eyebrow, "Kind of?" he asked. I also felt Varun's glare on me, now. Ajit was definitely challenging me to see if I had enough confidence to back up my story. He was also probably testing out if my story was even legit.

I forced a chuckle, "No, uh, most definitely. It's like a semester-long thing." I tried saying it with as much confidence as I could muster up.

Ajit tapped his foot, "Hmm semester-long?" he asked.

I nodded. Maybe he was buying it.

"Those tend to be worth a lot, so yeah, I guess you could go," he agreed, hesitantly.

I felt an internal victory. I wanted to smile and maybe even thank him, but I had to play it cool or he'd be suspicious.

Before I could get too excited, Ajit spoke again, "Just be home before ten," he asserted.

I nodded at him and rushed out of there. I couldn't afford him changing his mind.

I was about to pull a sinister plan. I'd be attending that carnival, even if that meant I'd be completely alone. I'd just have to be careful to steer clear of Varun, which couldn't be that difficult.