"You should fill this form and give it to your department student head, dear. You can collect your library card from them." The librarian said kindly to Mallika.
"Thank you, Mam." She greeted her politely and walked out of the library with her backpack hanging loosely over her shoulder.
She straightaway made her way to the football ground, where Shivani had gone to watch the tournament between two departments of their college.
She is a football freak for the record.
Mallika looked around for her friend amidst the crowd. It was just the fourth day in their new college. They didn't get to mingle with many students yet. She walked around in an attempt to see her friend without getting anyone's help.
"Love you, Sumi!!" She suddenly heard a shout of one girl and looked at her casually.
"Shut it, dumbo! His girlfriend is here only. She will kill you if she hears it." Another girl, who seemed like her friend warned her gesturing to Mahathi, who was standing with Hameer and cheering up her besties, Sumedh and Anirudh.
Mallika bit her inner cheeks, controlling her emotions, as she thought, "So, he is already in love with Mahathi. I am so stupid to develop feelings over him. Dad is right, I am an immature idiot, who thinks attraction as love."
She went out of the stadium, when the crowd erupted with cheer, as Anirudh gained one more point for their team. She ran along the corridor, not precisely knowing where she was going.
Finally, she stopped in her tracks, as she reached the pond in their college below the huge tree. She sat there down and hugged her knees close to her chest.
It seemed like the whole college had gone to watch the match since the place was students free. She was grateful for that, as she wished to cry her heart out.
"Why did I meet him? It hurts! His heart and love aren't meant for me. Why does it hurt me this much when I just mistook my attraction as love towards him? Please, god, rush this six months as fast as you can. I don't need to be around him. It hurts me a lot." She cried, closing her eyes.
As she lifted her face, a water droplet fell on her face. Before she could understand anything, it started raining heavily. But she cared less.
Her teardrops mixed with rainwater. She was soaked wet, but she didn't even move a little from her place. Soon her peaceful space was disturbed when she heard an enjoyable scream of a few people.
She opened her eyes only to find her department boys or more precisely football players were running there happily. They carried Sumedh in their arms and bounced him in the air from one student to another.
Sumedh laughed and accidentally his eyes got stuck with Mallika, who was watching them. It didn't take a minute longer for Mallika to understand that they had won the game.
Sumedh's heart clutched with an unknown pain, as he identified the teardrops in her eyes. Once they all settled Sumedh down and engaged in doing crazy stuff, acknowledging their victory.
He took slow steps to Mallika, who was looking at him in a lost state. He wiped away the water from his face and held her hands, pulling her up to stand.
Without saying any other word, he dragged her to his hostel, which was a nearby building. Mallika was too weak to say anything and started shivering for drenched for long.
Sumedh went to his room and came back with his towel and jerkin. He started drying her hair, but she moved back, "It's fine. I can manage."
She said without meeting his gaze. But he was already angry at her stupid behaviour though he didn't know the reason. So, he pulled her close to him and continued drying her hair.
Mallika's breath hitched at their proximity. She tried hard to make her heart believe that he was just being concerned since she was his classmate. But her heart said otherwise, that he too had the same feelings for her as her.
It became hard to shut her heart. To her good luck, there weren't any students in the hostel, since it was college time. She didn't wish to be like a fool by being the centre of attraction with someone else's boyfriend.
"Here, it is my jerkin, wear it and go straight to your home." His voice was cold but filled with love and care.
"No, it's..." But she was soon cut off when Sumedh dominated, "Just do what I say."
Somewhere she liked his domination because she could feel the care in it. But she ignored it, as she didn't wish to hurt herself.
She took his jerkin silently and turned her back to him to wear it. He chuckled at her innocence that though she was just going to wear it above her cloth, she had turned her back to him.
He had an urge to wrap his arms around her waist and kiss her cheeks. But he controlled himself, adoring her cuteness.
"By the way, can you help me?" Mallika turned to him and took out the forms from her bag, which she had kept inside her file and escaped from being drenched, unlike her other books.
"I and my friend need a library card to access the benefits of it. We need to submit this form to our department student head. Can you tell me, who it is?" Mallika asked without looking into his hazel orbs yet, which were just on her eyes throughout.
"It's that bandaria, Mahathi." Sumedh chuckled and continued, "You just fill it and give it to me, I will give it to her. I will collect your cards and give them to you tomorrow."
Mallika's fairy world of being close to him shattered just by hearing Mahathi's name. She remembered her heart that Mahathi was his girlfriend and just nodded her head to Sumedh before taking out a pen from her bag.
She kept the forms on the side table and bent down to fill them. Sumedh adored her fallen hair strands without realising that she was controlling her tears.
~~~
So, guys, Sumedh is in a full love mood whereas Mallika is just in the web of misunderstanding.
How will their relationship take a lead?