"To You, I Was Love." By - Inkelation&co

Ch -02 "To You, I was Love."

Chapter 2 - 

The next morning was routine but still felt different. I stood in front of the mirror, adjusting my uniform, lost in thoughts of her. "It’s like she’s stuck in my head, and I don’t even know her name". I sighed, fixing my hair one last time.

Mom knocked on my door, “Beta, school ke liye late ho raha hai, jaldi neeche aa!”

“Ha, ha, aa raha hoon,” I mumbled, slinging my bag over my shoulder. Breakfast was rushed as usual, my mind still wandering. I grabbed a slice of toast and headed out, just hoping to get through the day.

---

On the way to school, I spotted Naved leaning against a wall with his earbuds in, sleepy as usual. He saw me coming and immediately lit up with his trademark mischievous grin.

“Yo, Jake! Kal ka kya scene tha?” Naved said, flicking my cigarette away.

"Nothing man, let it go." I shrugged, walking faster.

He wasn’t one to drop things easily. "Bullshit, bro. You've been zoned out since yesterday. It’s because of that girl, isn’t it? Saw you eyeballing her."

Before I could respond, Aditya rolled up on his cycle, practically hopping off in one smooth motion. “Boys, you won't believe what happened last night!” he grinned, looking like a kid who just scored a game-winning goal.

Naved rolled his eyes, “Here we go again...”

"Last night with Priya—dude—wild," Aditya said with the energy of a livewire. “We were watching this boring-ass movie, and outta nowhere, we just got close. Like really close. Then boom! We kissed.”

Naved raised an eyebrow, looking utterly unimpressed. “Kya baat kar raha hai, bhai? Tujhe romance ki lat lag gayi hai? I hate romance. That shit's boring.”

“Bro, you’re just jealous,” Aditya said, slapping him on the shoulder. “Not everyone can be a stone like you.”

We laughed it off and somehow the conversation shifted to One Piece and black holes. Aditya started rambling about Shanks again.

“Bro, Shanks is overrated. Dragon's got more depth,” I countered.

“You and your Dragon obsession, man. Shanks is all swag. Watch the next arc, he’ll be the GOAT,” Aditya laughed, shaking his head.

But no matter how hard I tried to focus on the conversation, my thoughts kept drifting back to her. *Who was she? What was it about her that had me so obsessed?* 

---

As we reached school, I saw her again, walking with her friends. My heart raced, but I tried to play it cool, pretending like I wasn’t staring.

The day dragged on, but all I could think about was her. I saw her a couple more times, and each time, the urge to approach her grew stronger, but I held back. What was I supposed to say anyway?

---

After school, we were walking back when I saw her again. This time, she was with a group of guys. My instincts kicked in, and before I knew it, I was tailing them at a distance, curious to see who they were. Just as I was about to get closer, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

"Yo, Jake! Idhar kya kar raha hai tu?" It was Naved.

Before I could answer, the guys she was with noticed us. They glared, and suddenly, I was surrounded.

"What the fuck are you doing, following her?" one of them barked, stepping up to me with an aggressive stance.

I raised my hands, trying to calm the situation. "Chill out, man. It’s not what you think."

But they weren’t having any of it. One guy shoved me, and before I could react, another stepped in closer, fists clenched.

"Yeh bakchodi bandh kar," Naved said, stepping beside me. “We're not here for trouble, but if you want it…”

One of the guys pushed Naved hard enough to make him stumble. That’s when I realized this wasn’t going to end with words. Naved’s eyes darkened, and without warning, he threw a solid right hook into the guy's jaw. The sound of the punch was brutal—a sickening crack that sent the guy stumbling back.

"Fuck this!" Aditya yelled, jumping in with a swift kick to another guy's chest, sending him crashing into the ground. The fight was on.

One guy came at me with a wild swing, but I sidestepped, using my Wing Chun to deflect his punch, twisting his arm and delivering a quick elbow strike to his ribs. He gasped in pain, doubling over.

Another guy rushed Naved, but Naved was in full boxer mode. He ducked under the swing and landed an uppercut straight to the guy’s chin. The dude’s head snapped back, and he collapsed like a sack of potatoes.

Aditya was handling two guys at once, his taekwondo kicks flying fast. He landed a spinning kick to one guy's chest while simultaneously dodging the other’s punches. It was impressive to watch. 

I grabbed the last guy trying to sneak up on Naved, pulled him by the collar, and slammed him into the wall with a quick strike to the throat. He crumpled, coughing and gasping for air.

But even though we fought hard, we were outnumbered. A couple more hits landed on us, and soon enough, we were bruised and beaten. We managed to escape the brawl just before things got worse, hobbling our way back, bruised but still standing.

---

Back at home, lying on my bed, I couldn’t help but replay the fight in my head. My body ached, but my thoughts were still on her. *Why the fuck was I following her?* It wasn’t like me to get this obsessed. But something about her—her eyes, her smile—had me hooked.

As I lay there, my phone buzzed. It was Aditya.

"Bro, guess what?" he said, his voice still full of energy despite the fight. "Turns out, Priya knows Ayesha—yeah, that girl you’ve been stalking. She and Sana are best friends. And guess what, Sana’s birthday party is tomorrow night. You in?"

I sat up. *Ayesha...* So that’s her name.

"Yeah, I’m in," I replied, smirking. Tomorrow was going to be interesting.