Days fly by, some passable and some painful with too much reminder about my dad but nonetheless we manage to stay strong through it.
I had even snuck some of Pa's jerseys he had gotten during his sports-club-secretary days of his college years. Otherwise, almost every single aspect of his was left untouched.
Despite my lost hope, Nikhil and I seem to be growing closer and I can't seem to stop myself from falling harder for him every day. He still hasn't said the word back but we were in no hurry. We had all the time in the world and I'm also determined to give LDR a try when I change school.
I don't know why, but some people around me have become oddly bipolar.
Ved goes from teasing that I am a nerd to nervous throat clearings within seconds when Harsh comes in front of us or in our topics.
Harsh goes from harmless flirting to angry fist clenching in 30 seconds flat in the mention of Ved or whenever Ved is present in person.
Sh— DQ goes from remotely nice to super bad bitch whenever we walk in front of a more-than-five-people crowd.
And not to mention two dickheads that I call my brothers who were crazy enough for me until now.
My sanity is safe only because of my mom and Nikhil being one of the few rational ones in my life.
Not to mention your Paps...that man-child...
Oh don't add to the list!!
I turn and look at Mia as impassively as I can while she keeps poking a push pin against my arms increasing the force with every poke while furrowing her brows in utter concentration as if she could calculate my pain endurance using a formula.
"Mia, move your ass and give me that cellophane tape instead of poking at Vicky!" Harsh shouts from where he's standing, his hands stretched up, holding the chart against the wall.
His shouting doesn't attract any attention because the entire class is chaotic with students sticking their charts on the walls while some arrange extra props on the desk in front of them.
The class had been rearranged; benches were pushed against the walls in a single row along with their desks—appearing like counters—and two desks alone were placed together in the middle of the entire classroom like a big rectangular table while the rest of desks and benches...well they either went to places that needed more of them or if not, I don't know where they went.
It's the Saturday slot of the school's exhibition and just like we had planned, Mia, the twins and I had arrived on time and now we are setting everything up.
Harsh was assigned with sticking the chart since he was the tallest of the twins and Mia should be helping him with the tape while Darsh and I set up the props on our table.
Our biology teacher moves around the room assessing our works and remarks about changes if any required.
Mia hands Harsh the newly torn piece of tape and Harsh secures the last corner of the chart against the wall with it.
"That's it right?" Darsh asks as he places the last prop on the table.
"Yeah just this one." I reply as I place the last one and finish our work.
I check the time and it's almost 8:25 a.m. so we all go over everything and call out for our biology teacher and ask her if our arrangements are alright.
Once she gives the affirmative, she leaves for other students while the four of us sit on the bench behind the table given for our props display.
"Anyone got any food?" Mia mumbles as she rests her head on my shoulder.
"You must've just eaten in your home dude! How're you hungry?" Harsh muses with a raised eyebrow.
"Hey, but we've brought money right?" I butt in, feeling the overwhelming need to defend a fellow foodie.
"But I forgot mine." Harsh grumbles.
Ah so that is why he's against the idea of food considering he's just as insane as us when it comes to food.
"Yo! Don't worry man, we'll share. Or let's take our turns in buying food from canteen and we'll share whatever we get okay?" I pat Harsh's back in a gesture of comradeship.
He lights up and gives me an air kiss muttering, "Have I ever told you how cool of a best friend you are?"
"Nope, but go on, I won't mind." I tease.
Students start settling inside the classroom and people slowly start coming.
Our topic was about 'Natural Medicines' so our table involved various medicinal plants' fruits or seeds or any part of them that are used for medicinal purposes.
Time goes on and we explain to everyone who stops by our table about the benefits and nativity of the plants. Some had even taken interest in some specific ones and had asked more particularly about it.
A teacher whom we know stops by and after we explain, she makes some small talk about how our studies were going.
"Does this really work?" She suddenly asks, pointing to the Myrobalan on the table.
Harsh was supposed to explain about it, so he dives in and tells her about its advantages.
"The Terminalia nebula is native to South Asi—"
"Terminalia nebula?" The teacher questions skeptically, while Mia, Darsh and I try to stifle out chuckles.
This is what happens when you watch Guardians Of The Galaxy movies in an excessive repeat.
With slightly reddened cheeks, Harsh replies, "Yeah, uh—um, sorry. Terminalia chebula."
He somehow manages to tell the rest of it without any mix-up.
"Yeah, but does it really work? The remedies you talked about; do they actually work?" She asks again.
"Yes ma'am. My mother had used it and she's got some good results!" Darsh chirps to which the teacher beams back replying, "I'll try it then. I'm taking your word kid."
Once she leaves, we look at Darsh with a 'what the fuck was that?' look.
"Hey, Ma did use it okay? I swear. Hell, she even told me to use it once." He gave a shudder.
"Food?" Harsh quips and I roll my eyes before asking, "Who wants to go?"
No one volunteers, so I take the money and happily leave for the canteen as a chance of escaping the numerous times of repeating about how the medicinal plants helped.
I pass by Nikhil's classroom and demand him to explain his stuff and tease him for every single time he stutters in between or forgets what he was supposed to say.
I leave his place but before I could, he steals a kiss from me for which I glare while gesturing at the others in the room.
He simply shrugs and waves goodbye as I make my way to the canteen.
After buying some food I pay and turn around, almost dropping everything as a tall body stands right in front of me.
"Oh hey, sorry Vicky." Ved apologizes sheepishly while scratching his head and moving back from me to make some space.
"It's okay. You're here today as a spectator or you've chosen today's slot?" I ask him after he buys food from the canteen.
"Ah, I've chosen the slot actually." He replies while paying and once he does we walk back from where I had come.
"Same way?" He asks me.
"Yeah, I'm in the third floor in your block." I reply distractedly while trying to juggle all the food I've gotten.
"Here, let me help." He says and grabs some of the food from my hand—even though I protest—and I thank him for that.
"So who're all there with you?" He asks with his eyes narrowed.
"Um...Mia, the twins and I." I answer.
"The twins? You mean Harsh and Darsh?"
"No. Alicia and Max Banes." I retort to which he looks back at me confusingly.
"Yeah, yeah, Harsh and Darsh. Can't understand a SUPERNATURAL reference." I mumble the last part to myself and after a beat he questions me, "So Harsh is also with you?"
"Yes..." I answer warily confused as to what's going on between Harsh and him.
He slightly struggles with the food in his hands—all the while lost in thought—so I tell him to wait and go back and fetch a couple of paper bags from the canteen.
I tell Ved to put all my food in a bag and his in a separate bag and he complies distractedly, all the while staring at me intensely—as if he was searching for an answer.
We then continue walking back to our block and all the time I can feel Ved's eyes burning a hole on the side of my face.
Right when we were about to turn into the lobby, he suddenly grabs me and pulls me to him with his brows furrowed in thought.
"Ved what are you doi—"
The rest of my question doesn't come out of my mouth as it gets sealed—like, literally.
Ved plants his lips on mine, hard, and kisses me while I stay frozen, not moving an inch at all.
His lips start moving more desperately as if it would make me kiss him back or make him feel my lips more than he already can.
The shock subsides and I finally get a hold of my brain.
Placing my hands on his chest, I push him but he grasps my hands and only kisses me harder, but that doesn't stop me from struggling to get away from him.
He finally pulls away and I wipe my lips by the back of my hands harshly and raise my hands to give him my best possible knuckle sandwich.
"SON OF A BITCH!" I yell and notice him not even regarding my presence in front of him while he mutters something under his breath while running his hands through his hair and pulling at the scalp.
Wow, did he go cuckoo?
The boiling anger within me simmers and I lower my hand as I look at him while he curses at himself and pulls his hairs as if he was scolding himself.
Shit, is he mentally unstable now?
I don't know!
Yeesh, poor guy.
Slowly I reach out and place one of my hands on his shoulder, "Are you ok—"
Ved flinches away from my touch as if it burnt him and mumbles, "I'm sorry. I'm so so so sorry."
And he ran away.
Like, took off towards the ground.
What about his presentation then?
Dude! I'm thinking about 'what do I tell Nikki?'
Good point.
I know.
A/N: Thoughts? Vote and comment, please and thank you!
P.S.: I lub Groot!! Don't y'all? He's so smol.
*makes starry-eyed faces*