Against All Odds

they are not who they seem

The next day at college, Dhriti came rushing towards Kabir.

"Kabir! I've been looking for you all morning! Where were you? I really need to tell you something."

Kabir, distracted, noticed Liza heading into class. "Oh, hey, Dhriti. Can we talk later? I've got something I need to take care of." Without waiting for a response, he hurried off after Liza.

Dhriti, watching him run after Liza, felt a pang of jealousy but kept quiet.

"Liza, wait!" Kabir called out.

Liza turned around. "Oh, hi, Kabir."

"Hey. Listen, I really need to clear the air about something. Please let me explain today."

"We have class right now," Liza said, glancing at her watch.

"No, please, now. I think there's been a misunderstanding, and I don't even know why I'm explaining myself, but—"

Before he could finish, someone interrupted.

"Liza, can you help me with something?"

Kabir snapped. "WHY do you always need her when I'm talking to her? Just leave us alone!"

"Whoa, chill dude. I'm leaving," the person mumbled and walked away.

Liza, visibly surprised, turned to Kabir. "Calm down, Kabir. Come on, let's talk." She led him outside to the campus grounds, where they sat down on a bench.

"What's going on? What do you want to talk about?" Liza asked.

"It's about that story... from the first day," Kabir began, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.

Liza groaned. "Oh my God, Kabir. Why are you so obsessed with that? Just let it go."

"No, please. Hear me out. The story was about that morning, the one where I was entering school. I saw some seniors harassing a girl from our batch. It wasn't just ragging—they were crossing the line. I had to do something."

Liza raised an eyebrow. "What did you do?"

"I pretended to be a pass-out student and ended up ragging them instead," Kabir said, a small grin forming on his face.

"Wait, what? How?"

"I told them I had connections with the dean and threatened to get them expelled. They got scared, started pleading with me, and backed off."

Liza looked at him, astonished. "And they believed you?"

"Well, Kartik helped. He's my family friend and a senior, so he vouched for me later and saved my skin."

"Wow," Liza shook her head. "Kabir, I completely misjudged you."

Kabir smirked. "So... are you sorry?"

"Um, kind of... Okay, yeah, I'm sorry."

"It's fine, Lizu," he teased.

"Lizu?" she repeated, a bit taken aback.

"Yeah, Lizu."

"Never mind," Liza laughed. "Come on, let's get back to class. Serious Kabir is exhausting."

"Okay?!" Kabir laughed with her, and they both headed back to class, the tension finally broken.

Liza sat quietly, feeling a weight of guilt settle on her. She hated herself for completely misjudging Kabir. She shouldn't have been so harsh all this time.

Later, she approached Akshara, her thoughts still muddled.

"Hey, Akshara," Liza began hesitantly. "Do you... like Kabir?"

Akshara raised an eyebrow. "Everyone likes Kabir. Why?"

"No, not like that. I mean, do you like like Kabir?"

Akshara's eyes widened. "Liza? What are you trying to say?"

"Do you, you know... love Kabir?" Liza asked, almost whispering.

"What? No! Where did that come from? I was just trying to set you two up, honestly. You guys look good together."

Liza's cheeks flushed. "No, we don't."

"Yes, you do."

Liza sighed, unsure. "I don't know..."

Akshara grinned mischievously. "Wait, has Liza finally started liking a guy?"

Liza quickly shook her head. "Nah, not really. He's just... better than I expected him to be, that's all."

"Ohho, I see some progress here!" Akshara teased.

Liza couldn't help but smile.

Meanwhile, Kabir was in a great mood, feeling a sense of relief after finally clearing things up with Liza. But something else lingered in his mind. Had he started falling for her? No, no, he told himself. It wasn't like that... at least that's what he kept repeating in his head.

Later that day, Kabir went to meet Kartik.

"Hey, Kartik," Kabir greeted.

"Hey, Kabir! How've you been?" Kartik responded.

"I'm good. You?"

"Busy these days, but managing," Kartik replied with a tired smile.

Kabir nodded. "Yeah, I can imagine."

After a moment of hesitation, Kartik asked, "Are you close to Liza?"

"Not super close, but yeah, we're friends. Why?"

Kabir felt a strange unease but pressed on.

"Can you do me a favor?"

Kabir's expression shifted slightly. "Sure, what's up?"

"Can you bring Liza to the freshers' party?"

Kartik's eyes gleamed with interest, and Kabir immediately knew something was off. "She's not really the party type, but I'll ask her."

Kartik leaned in slightly. "Yeah, do try. A lot of guys in my group are into her. She's got that bold confidence, you know?"

Kabir clenched his jaw. He could sense Kartik's intentions weren't pure. "Chill, Kartik. Liza's not going to fall for someone like you."

Kartik, visibly offended, frowned. "And why do you think that? Who would she fall for then?"

"I don't know. But definitely not someone like you," Kabir replied casually, turning to leave the room.

As Kabir walked out, his mind raced. He had to warn Liza about Kartik and his group. He wasn't the person he had seemed, and once again, Liza had misjudged someone—this time, dangerously so.