💗Chavi💗

After pulling away from the basketball court and leaving the chaos behind, Janvi finally released my hand. We stopped, both of us taking a moment to collect ourselves. I could feel my pulse still racing from the confrontation we’d just had with the seniors, my palms slightly clammy. Janvi, on the other hand, looked like she was doing everything in her power not to explode with anger.

She let out a deep breath, shaking her head. “Unbelievable,” she muttered under her breath. “Of all things to happen on the first day…”

I stayed silent, not knowing what to say. I had never been the confrontational type, and Janvi knew that. So when she turned to me with a reassuring smile, I understood she was trying to comfort me more than herself.

“It’s okay, Chavi,” she said, her voice soft but still carrying that familiar fiery edge. “We’re fine. It’s over. There’s still time before our first lecture starts. Why don’t we walk around the campus? You know, explore a bit and calm down.”

I hesitated. The idea of roaming around after what had just happened made my stomach churn. The last thing I wanted was to run into those seniors again, especially HIM. Just thinking about HIM and his intense, unnerving presence made me anxious all over again.

“I don’t think so,” I murmured, avoiding her eyes. “Let’s just go to class.”

Janvi looked at me for a moment, as if weighing whether to argue, but then she sighed. “Fine,” she agreed, her tone resigned. “Let’s go.”

We made our way toward the classroom building, and the familiar quiet between us settled in. Despite Janvi’s fiery personality, she knew when to let things go, especially when it came to me. We had been best friends for so long that she could read me like an open book. She knew when I needed space, and right now, I was grateful for her understanding.

As we entered Room 3A, I instinctively gravitated toward the front row, and Janvi followed. It had always been our thing—sitting in the front, making sure we never missed anything important. We’d both worked hard to be where we were, earning scholarships to this prestigious college. Despite our families being wealthy enough to afford the fees without any assistance, we had always been driven to prove our intelligence and earn our achievements on merit. That was what set us apart from many of the other students here.

Settling into our seats, we both exhaled, finally feeling a sense of relief that the confrontation was behind us. The classroom was still empty, with only a few scattered students filtering in slowly. There was a calm in the air that felt safe, away from the tension of earlier. But Janvi, of course, couldn’t stay quiet for long.

“I still can’t believe that guy,” she began, her voice filled with frustration as she leaned back in her chair. “Agastya, right? What a jerk. No one deserves that kind of crap on their first day, especially not us. Who does he think he is, talking to us like that? Bullying freshers like he’s some kind of big shot. Ugh, I could have slapped him.”

I listened quietly, nodding along, though my thoughts had already drifted elsewhere. Yes, Agastya was rude, obnoxious even, but it wasn’t him that had unsettled me the most. It was the other guy—the one who had stopped him.

I don't even know his name, but there was something about HIM that stuck with me. The way he carried himself, the way his deep voice had cut through the chaos so easily. He hadn’t done much, just put a hand on Agastya’s shoulder and told us to leave, but that brief interaction had left a lingering impression I couldn’t shake.

“He was so cheap and indecent,” Janvi continued, her anger bubbling to the surface again. “But the other one, … at least he had some sense.”

I blinked, snapping out of my thoughts as she mentioned HIM. “Yeah, he was sensible,” I agreed slowly, still trying to piece together my feelings. “But… he was scary, Janvi. Really scary. His voice, it was so deep and commanding. It wasn’t like anything I’ve heard before. And he was just as tall as Agastya, maybe taller. He looked like a giant standing there.”

Janvi raised an eyebrow at my description, but I couldn’t stop myself from continuing.

“And he was so muscular. Anyone could tell he spends a lot of time at the gym. He’s the kind of guy that could intimidate anyone just by standing there. His presence was… overwhelming. And his eyes…” I trailed off, shivering slightly as I remembered the way his gaze had felt. “They were so deep and dark. Almost like he was seeing right through me.”

Janvi was quiet for a moment, and when I glanced at her, I saw the playful smirk spreading across her face. I realized what I had just said, and my heart sank. I had never, ever talked about a guy like this before. Not even once.

“Oh, my God, Chavi,” she said, barely holding back her laughter. “When did my shy, introverted friend become an expert at observing boys? You’ve never cared about any guy before, but here you are giving me a detailed description of Mr. Tall, Dark, and Scary.”

“I— I don’t know,” I stammered, feeling my face heat up with embarrassment. “It wasn’t like that, Janvi. I wasn’t… I didn’t mean to notice all that. He was just… impossible to ignore.”

She raised her eyebrows, the teasing glint in her eyes making me even more flustered. “Sure, sure. Whatever you say. But you have to admit, you noticed a lot more than usual. Maybe you’re finally starting to—”

“No,” I cut her off quickly, shaking my head. “Don’t even think about it. I’m serious, Janvi. There’s nothing to it. He was just… there. I didn’t want to notice anything, but he’s hard to miss. He’s intimidating.”

Janvi chuckled, but didn’t push further. “Okay, okay. I’ll drop it. But honestly, Chavi, I wouldn’t mind running into him again if it meant he’d keep Agastya off our backs. He seemed like the kind of guy who wouldn’t tolerate too much nonsense.”

I frowned, the thought of running into HIM again sending a shiver down my spine. “I hope we never see him again,” I muttered, almost to myself. “I don’t think I could handle his presence. It was… too much.”

Janvi shot me a sideways glance, clearly amused by my discomfort. “You’re being dramatic. He’s just a guy. But fine, I’ll pray to the universe for you if it makes you feel better.”

I rolled my eyes, but the conversation was cut short when the door opened, and the professor walked in. The chatter in the room died down as everyone turned to face the front, the first lecture of the day about to begin. I breathed a small sigh of relief, grateful for the distraction.

The professor introduced himself, giving us a brief overview of the course and how the college operated. He had a friendly demeanor, his voice calm and steady, which immediately put me at ease. For a moment, I managed to push all thoughts of the earlier incident aside and focus on the task at hand. This was why I was here, after all—to study, to learn, to make something of myself.

As the lecture continued, I found myself getting absorbed in the material, my nerves finally starting to settle. Janvi, sitting next to me, was scribbling notes furiously as usual. I smiled to myself, feeling a little more like my normal self.

But even as I tried to focus on the class, HIS face kept flashing in my mind, uninvited. His deep voice echoed in my head, his intense eyes replaying in my thoughts. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t completely shake the memory of him standing there, larger than life.

I had always been careful to avoid drama, to stay out of situations that made me uncomfortable. I wasn’t the type to get involved with people like Agastya or HIM, and yet, here I was, haunted by a mere few minutes of interaction.

I bit my lip, trying to concentrate on what the professor was saying, but I couldn’t help but wonder—why did I notice so much about him? And why, despite all my efforts to ignore it, was I so bothered by it?

Maybe Janvi was right. Maybe this was just a small, inconsequential moment in the grand scheme of things. Or maybe, this was only the beginning of something I wasn’t ready to face.

I could only hope that my instinct was wrong, and that this unsettling encounter would fade into the background as I moved forward with my college life. Because the last thing I needed was more complications.

And HE felt like a complication I didn’t know how to handle.