Arjun's POV:
Why did I ask her to hug me?
I mean, it worked, right? Those idiots actually believed she was my girlfriend. But what was I thinking? Was I losing my mind?
She didn’t even hesitate. Then again, she was so stressed out, she would’ve probably jumped into a pond if I had told her to. I shouldn’t read into it. What she did wasn’t because she felt anything for me. She was just in a panic.
I did go a bit overboard though.
I just hope things work out the way I planned. At least she’s safe from those jerks... for now. But what if they show up on the bus again? Should I ask her to come with me on my bike tomorrow too?
She really should be more careful today.
After lecture, I headed to the canteen with Vinoth and Arul. Shalini showed up a few minutes late, as usual.
We ordered chicken fried rice and started digging in.
“I hate Srini sir!” Vinoth declared dramatically, pointing his fork in the air.
“Why?” Arul asked, amused.
“He gave redo on my sheets. Again!”
“Take mine, trace them with a bulb,” I said, not even looking up from my plate.
“Wait, how did he accept yours? Didn’t he ask for a redo on yours too?” Shalini cut in, eyeing me suspiciously.
“That...” Before I could explain, Arul decided to jump in.
“Deepika is helping him.”
I shot Arul a look. Great, just great.
“What?” Shalini’s eyebrows shot up in surprise.
“Yeah, she did. She’s also helping Sanjay and Manoj,” I said casually, trying to steer the conversation away from the topic.
But no, of course, Vinoth had to chime in. “Should I ask her to help me too?”
“You can,” I said, shrugging.
“No, don’t,” Shalini interjected, frowning.
“Why not?” I asked, irritated.
“Can’t you guys see? She’s just acting all nice by helping everyone. But I bet she’s not telling everything she knows. I would’ve given you my sheets if you asked, Arjun,” Shalini said, flipping her hair like she was doing me a favor.
I laughed, shaking my head. Shalini’s designs were copy-pasted from Pinterest. She was a walking Pinterest board trying to act like an original designer.
“Shalini, her sheets were actually pretty good,” I said, trying to put an end to this nonsense.
“Oh really? And what was her total internal score in Building Construction?” she shot back, crossing her arms.
“How would I know? I just saw her work, and I know it’s good.”
“Let me get this straight, Arjun. You think her sheets are better than mine? Even though I have the highest design score in our class?” Shalini's voice was dripping with sarcasm, her ego bruised.
I was starting to lose my patience. “I don’t care about her score or yours. I just felt comfortable asking her.”
Shalini’s face tightened. “Don’t tell me you’re getting closer to her.”
“So what if I am? I can be friends with whoever I want,” I said, standing up.
“She’s a geek. A weirdo,” Shalini huffed.
YOU ARE READING
My Ex - Crush
General Fiction"I wish I had never met you!" Deepika's voice echoed across the classroom, each word a dagger to my heart. "Excellent! At least we finally agree on something!" I fired back, even as a tear betrayed the storm of emotions within me. With those final...
