Ishika's POV

I was halfway through solving a chemistry problem when Vanya dramatically dropped her head onto my shoulder.

'Aishuuuu."

I didn't even look up from my notebook.

"Hmm?"

"I'm in love."

I closed my eyes.

Here we go again.

For the past two weeks, Vanya had somehow managed to bring every conversation back to the same topic.

Kabir Singh.

Her boyfriend.

The boy who had apparently gathered enough courage to confess to her two weeks ago.

According to Vanya, it was the greatest love story ever written.

According to me, it was just two idiots finally admitting what everyone already knew.

"You know," she continued, twirling a pen between her fingers, "he called me before sleeping yesterday."

"Congratulations."

"And then he texted me good morning."

"Wonderful."

"And then—"

"Vanya."

She paused.

"What?"

"You've told me this three times already."

She gasped dramatically.

"A true friend would listen every single time."

"A true friend would let me study."

The girl sitting beside me narrowed her eyes before grabbing my notebook and closing it.

"Enough studying."

"Vanya!"

"No."

"My notes."

"No."

I sighed.

Sometimes I genuinely wondered how we had become best friends.

We were complete opposites.

She loved attention.

I avoided it.

She loved socializing.

I preferred silence.

She collected gossip.

I collected notes.

Yet somehow, we worked.

Before either of us could continue arguing, the classroom door opened.

The entire class turned.

Several students from Section A walked inside.

Confused whispers immediately spread throughout the room.

"What happened?"

"Why are they here?"

"Did something happen?"

I frowned.

Students from Section A never entered our classroom unless there was a specific reason.

A few teachers followed behind them.

One of them clapped her hands.

"Listen everyone."

The room fell silent.

"Your chemistry teacher will be unavailable for the next few weeks."

A collective groan filled the classroom.

The teacher ignored it.

"Since both sections have the same syllabus, the chemistry classes will be combined from now on."

More students entered the room.

The empty seats quickly began filling up.

And unfortunately...

I immediately recognized one particular face.

The football field guy.

The same boy who had practically blamed me for ruining his assignment even though he was the one who kicked the ball.

Reyansh Malhotra.

He entered with two other boys.

One of them was Kabir.

The other was the guy who had stopped Reyansh from yelling at me that day.

Aarnav.

The three of them walked inside like they owned the place.

Then again...

Knowing their popularity, maybe they did.

I quickly looked away.

Not my problem.

Unfortunately, the universe seemed determined to make them my problem.

"VANYA!"

Kabir's voice echoed through the classroom.

My best friend immediately brightened.

The next thing I knew, he had reached our bench.

Without a shred of embarrassment, he kissed her cheek.

In front of everyone.

My eyes widened.

"Seriously?"

Vanya looked equally embarrassed and pleased.

"You're impossible."

"I know."

Then Kabir looked toward me.

"Hi, Ishika."

I offered a small smile.

"Hi."

"Still surviving Vanya?"

"Barely."

"HEY!"

Both of us laughed.

A moment later, another voice joined the conversation.

"Good morning."

I looked up.

Aarnav.

He was standing beside Kabir.

Unlike the football field incident, this time he was smiling.

A friendly smile.

"Hi," I replied politely.

The teacher began arranging seats while students continued moving around.

A few minutes later, Kabir looked at Vanya.

"Come sit with me."

Vanya blinked.

"What about Ishika?"

"I'll survive," I said.

She immediately turned toward me.

"Are you sure?"

I nodded.

She still looked guilty.

"Aishu..."

"Go."

"You're the best."

"I know."

Within seconds, she had disappeared with Kabir.

Traitor.

Absolute traitor.

I shook my head and returned my attention to the desk.

At least I could finally focus.

Or so I thought.

A chair suddenly scraped against the floor beside me.

Confused, I looked up.

My breath caught.

Reyansh Malhotra.

He had taken the empty seat next to mine.

Out of all the seats available in the classroom...

Why this one?

For a few seconds, neither of us spoke.

Then he cleared his throat.

"Hi."

I stared.

He stared back.

Awkward.

Very awkward.

"I'm Reyansh."

I almost laughed.

Of course he was.

The entire school knew who he was.

"I know."

"Oh."

A faint smile appeared on his face.

For some reason, he looked slightly nervous.

Which made absolutely no sense.

Boys like Reyansh Malhotra didn't get nervous.

"Ishika, right?"

I nodded.

Another brief silence followed.

Then he sighed.

"About that day."

I already knew where this was going.

"The football field?"

"Yeah."

I waited.

He rubbed the back of his neck.

"I was angry because my assignment got ruined."

I raised an eyebrow.

"I noticed."

A guilty smile appeared on his face.

"Fair."

For the first time since sitting down, he looked directly into my eyes.

"I'm sorry."

The sincerity in his voice surprised me.

I hadn't expected an apology.

Especially not from him.

"It wasn't your fault."

I blinked.

Maybe I had judged him too quickly.

"That's okay."

"No. It wasn't."

The seriousness in his voice caught me off guard.

"I shouldn't have spoken to you like that."

For a moment, I didn't know what to say.

Eventually, I simply nodded.

His shoulders visibly relaxed.

Then a small grin appeared on his face.

"Can we start over?"

I frowned.

"What?"

"Friends?"

The word surprised me.

Friends?

Why?

We barely knew each other.

And yet he looked genuinely hopeful.

Not wanting to be rude, I gave him a small smile.

A very forced smile.

"Sure."

The exact moment I said it, the chemistry teacher entered.

Class began immediately.

Thank God.

Because I had absolutely no idea how to continue that conversation.

---

Reyansh's POV

I didn't know when it had started.

Maybe it was the football field incident.

Maybe it was before that.

Maybe it was the fact that unlike everyone else, Ishika Sharma never seemed interested in who I was.

Whatever the reason was...

I found myself noticing her.

Not in a dramatic movie kind of way.

Just little things.

The way she always sat near the window.

The way she focused completely when studying.

The way she listened more than she spoke.

The way she smiled.

She was different.

And that difference intrigued me.

Which was exactly why I found myself sitting beside her today.

Honestly, I hadn't planned it.

My brain just made the decision before I could stop it.

At least the apology went well.

Kind of.

The smile she gave me looked forced enough to make me question all my life choices.

Still.

It was progress.

As the chemistry teacher started explaining a chapter, I opened my notebook.

Or at least pretended to.

Because every few minutes, my attention drifted toward the girl sitting beside me.

She was taking notes.

Of course she was.

Meanwhile, half the class had already lost focus.

Including me.

A strand of hair had escaped from her ponytail.

She absentmindedly tucked it behind her ear while continuing to write.

Not once did she look distracted.

Not once did she stop paying attention.

How was that even possible?

Eventually she noticed me looking.

I immediately turned toward the board.

Smooth.

Very smooth.

Thankfully, she didn't say anything.

The rest of the class passed surprisingly quickly.

Soon the bell rang.

Students immediately started packing their bags.

The moment class ended, Ishika stood up. Within seconds, Vanya appeared beside her.

The two girls began talking about something.

Probably something important.

Or maybe not.

With Vanya, it could go either way.

I watched them leave the classroom together.

A strange feeling settled in my chest.

Not disappointment.

Not exactly.

I just...

wanted to talk to her a little longer.

"Reyansh."

Kabir's voice interrupted my thoughts.

I looked up.

He was smirking.

Never a good sign.

"What?"

"Nothing."

"Then stop smiling like that."

Aarnav immediately started laughing.

Great.

Now both of them were looking at me.

I already knew this wasn't going to end well.

And unfortunately for me...

they knew me far too well.

❤️❤️