TWISTED TUTORING

26. One Week Left

Meera's POV

Only one week.
That was all the time standing between us and the semester exams, and for the first time in my life, I wasn't panicking about my own grades. I was panicking for someone else - specifically, for Reyansh Verma.

It had been a month since that stupid bet - the one I never should have agreed to - and I had spent every single day since buried in the library with him. My goal was to make sure he scored at least seventy percent in all subjects; his goal was... well, to win the bet so I'd give him "whatever he wants." He didn't even try to hide how much he was looking forward to that. In fact, not a single day had passed without him reminding me, in some smug, infuriating way.

If anyone had told me a month ago that Reyansh Verma - the arrogant, impossible boy who thrived on irritating me - would willingly sit in the library for hours, pen in hand, actually studying... I would have laughed. But here we were.

Of course, that didn't mean it was easy. Oh no.
Reyansh had the uncanny ability to act like a grown-up toddler - one who wanted attention, snacks, breaks, and my constant presence. Somewhere along the way, in the middle of revision schedules and explaining concepts for the third or fourth time, he had become... clingy. Not just during our study sessions, but all the time. It was like I had accidentally signed up for full-time babysitting.

The worst part? I was starting to get used to it.

I sat at our usual library table - the one tucked away in the farthest corner, half-hidden between tall bookshelves. The afternoon sunlight poured through the high windows, landing in golden streaks across the old wooden table. I tapped my pen against my notebook, my eyes scanning the financial management notes in front of me.

Accounts and finance.
Those two subjects had been my constant source of dread for him. No matter how much effort he put in, they didn't come to him easily. And right now, with the clock ticking down to the exams, my stomach twisted with anxiety.

I adjusted my dupatta over my pastel peach kurti, brushing back the strands of hair that had slipped from my clip. Across from me, Reyansh leaned back in his chair, sleeves rolled up on a crisp white shirt, a lazy smirk on his face as if he didn't have a care in the world. His hair was a little messy, like he'd run his hands through it too many times, and the afternoon light caught on the faint shadow of stubble along his jaw.

He wasn't reading his notes. Of course.
He was watching me.

I raised an eyebrow. "You're supposed to be revising, not staring."

His smirk widened. "I'm revising. Just... different subject."

I rolled my eyes and went back to my notes, pretending his words hadn't made my pulse skip. This was what the last month had been - an endless tug-of-war between my determination to keep things academic and his determination to turn everything into something else entirely.

Still, even I had to admit... he'd been trying. More than I expected. Which was why the thought of him failing, even after all this work, made my chest feel tight.

My pen stilled against the paper. Because despite the routine we had now, there was still a shadow over the past month - one that kept creeping into my thoughts whenever I tried to focus.

It had been ten days ago.
The day that almost ruined everything.
The day he vanished without a word.
Flashback (10 Days Ago)

Meera’s POV

It had been one of those afternoons where the library was almost too quiet.
The kind of silence where every turn of a page, every scratch of a pen, sounded louder than it should. I had spread my Accounts notes across the table, determined to drill depreciation into Reyansh’s head before the concept slipped out again.