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I would've punched him if Leah hadn't pulled me back.

"It's not worth it, Laila. Don't do it, love." I relaxed hearing Leah's honeyed voice in my ear, her familiar British accent soothing me. My hand was still clenched in a tight fist, however.

Leah was incredibly calm and in control of herself. She was amazing at deciphering her own emotions and others' as well. As of now, her sleek red hair was pulled back in a high ponytail as she tore me away from the boy I was about to pummel.

"Yeah, be a good girl and listen to Leah," Akash, my best friend, sneered.

"You're so insufferable. Mark my words, one day-"

"What era are we in today? No one says 'mark my words' anymore, you dramatic buffoon..." Leah hushed our friend, Vikrant, abruptly as he arrived at the table and set his tray down. His eyes widened as he zipped his mouth shut with his hand.

"And who the hell says 'buffoon'- woah! What's going on over here?" Adonis asked, hopelessly confused. I gave him an irritated look, and he didn't give this a second thought. Adonis sat down straightaway and shoved his burger into his mouth.

I sighed, focusing once again. "Look, Akash..."

My best friend's harsh expression softened. He ran his fingers through his black hair, making it stand up. "I'm sorry, okay? I just hate losing to you, Laila."

"You say that like I enjoy losing! You of all people know how competitive I am. I hate losing, like I can't do it. That doesn't excuse cheating!"

"Huh, so that's what this is about," Vikrant noted thoughtfully before sipping on his apple juice. Duh, what else would it be about?

"Well, yeah! I don't cheat when he beats me at HORSE all the time."

"Okay, but I'm not as morally responsible as you."

"That's why I'm here, idiot: to give you good values."

"I'm pretty sure you're only here because your mom forced you to be friends with me at daycare when we were six."

I rolled my eyes. "That doesn't change anything. Say sorry again, and promise to never ever cheat against me in car racing games."

"Ever?!"

"Dude, your voice just jumped two octaves," Adonis pointed out.

Akash glared. "Not helping bro." He scoffed. "And besides, I can make it go higher; I did Indian classical singing for 5 years, you know."

"Don't do that! Please," added Leah. I noticed her wince behind me. I couldn't blame her for saying that- the last time Akash showed us his singing skills, our eardrums ruptured.

"Fine, but only because I don't want to distract, sorry enchant, the cafeteria while they're eating their meals. Lunch is the most important meal of the day after all."

"I'm pretty sure that's breakfast, dumbass," my gorgeous friend, Miya, said as she took a bite of her sandwich. She had been sitting there, observing our fight, erm- civil mishap- since the beginning of lunch.

"No, it's definitely lunch," said Adonis. He polished off his burger loudly and smacked his lips. "Who cares about breakfast?"

I groaned, interrupting Vikrant before he could speak. I laughed and gave him and his pout an apologetic look before returning my attention to Akash. "Akash Kaur, can we please stop changing the topic?"

"Fine. I'm sorry for cheating in the car racing game."

"And?"

"And I promise to never cheat against you in car racing games ever again. Okay, happy? I swear, you won the game! Why do you even care so much?"