• •

I could feel my heart thumping, crashing and struggling back and forth against my ribs with an average of 180 bpm.

Yeah, you heard it right!

Anytime now!

Heart attack it is.

It's better to be long gone to hell, than to figure out the genre of the soap opera that was unfolding in front of me.

I looked down and found my hands shivering, not sure if it was because of the cold weather or the strong gaze that was fixed upon me.

"What the hell do you mean by that Vikram?" Zaara yelled on top of her lungs, an attempt to damage my eardrums.

"You asked me to kiss the girl in front of me, and I am planning to complete the dare, that's it" I looked up and found Vikram smirking at Zaara, standing in front of me.

"It's not that difficult to interpret, I guess" He completed his sentence.

The girl in front of him.

And...that would be...

Me.

Yeah, me.

Wait-what?Me??

He is referring to me!!

What in the name of satan?

Holy crap! He is freaking referring to ME!!

I decided to run towards my right, just so that I won't be the one standing in front of him.

Before my reflexes could work fast, Megha held me by my arms, from my side.

"What are you doing!!" I eyed her.

"Just helping my brother-in-law, so that this situation gets nominated for the most romantic scene in the romantic world !"

"You rat! You literally hated him till yesterday!" I spat at her.

"Yeah....right! But that was yesterday!" She grinned, as Rohit chuckled from behind.

Rohit was standing a little away from me but I could still figure him out from the corner of my eyes, as he eyed Megha to move away from me.

"This wasn't what I meant Vikram! And you very well know that!" Zaara tried to say it in a calmer tone, but still everyone in the village could have heard it.

"It's okay, let's move on to the next question! You don't have to do the dare!" Harshad interrupted, shocking all of us.

Harshad was surprisingly silent all this while, except for manipulating Vikram into doing this dare and now asking him to back off.

What are these siblings upto?

I don't why, but I was honestly disappointed with his fluctuating behaviour.

And I couldn't ignore, but notice his indifference towards Vikram, especially.

Past feud?

Were they always like this? With bitter hostility running between each other?

"Well...I ain't a scaredy cat, you know." Vikram smirked using Harshad's own words against him, as I snapped out my thoughts. "So let me complete my dare" Vikram said in a calmer tone than before with his last sentence almost like a whisper.

"Ohhhhhh sassy Vikram!!" Anika hyped him as she was standing behind Vikram, opposite to me.

I could no longer take in the drama unfolding in front me, I was almost on the verge of having a panic attack. As I was wondering, Vikram took a step forward, towards me,making me gasp.

Unknowingly I took a step backwards, and then another one continued with another one, slowly trying to get away from the situation I was caught up with.

With another step forward, he kept moving forward and suddenly he was so much closer than I expected him to be. Hastily I tried to step backwards, as my slippers flipped.

I slipped out of balance and was about to hit the ground and witness the stars and moon revolving around my head, when two strong arms wrapped around my waist, catching me before I could sprain my legs.

I could feel myself staring at his cognac eyes, and for some weird reason, I couldn't withdraw them.

And without any notice, Vikram pulled me by my waist abruptly, towards him, as I ended up crashing against his chest, with my hands on top of his shoulders.

I could hear everyone hooting behind us, and I didn't even have to turn around to guess who it was.

Yeah everyone. When I say everyone, then it means that it's 80% Anika and 20% Megha and Rohit.

Vikram was staring right into my eyes,with his arms still around me, as I could slowly feel my whole body freeze under the weather, sending chills all over my body.

Yeah only because of the weather.

From the corner of my eyes, I could see Harshad and Zaara stomp out of the place. Before Zaara could leave, Anika stopped her on her way, "Ahh you shouldn't leave before the dare is completed my dear! Afterall you were the one who asked him to kiss!" Anika mocked her.

Oh please let her go!

Frustrated, Zaara moved towards us,"Vikram. Babe, please don't do this! I don't want you to kiss this.....please Just don't do this"

"Oh please Zaara, I never go back on my word"

"Uh..huh...I swear this won't happen again, so let's please ditch this woman away"

Woman? Ouch.

Then what are you? A chimpanzee? My mind voice hit back at me throwing facts around like confetti.

"You should have thought about that before you plan to push someone into an uncomfortable situation" Vikram spat back with a cold tone.

Dude, please forgive her.

Dude? That's your husband tho, my mind voice kicked back in, which was probably chilling inside my head, witnessing the drama unfold, while my heart was trying it's best to pull all of my senses, organs, weird hormones together, fighting for my damn life.

Placing a hand over her forehead, Zaara slowly walked backwards, staring at us.

Before I could comprehend, the hand grip around me slowly loosened, as Vikram withdrew his hands around my waist.

Thank God!

Praise the Lord for putting some sense into this guy's head!

I am free, I am finally free!

I took a step backwards, when Vikram's hand slipped into my hair out of the blue, caressing my right cheek.

My cheeks, which were freezing under the cold weather, were no longer cold. Heat started gushing right into my face.

I could feel my cheek burning as he bent forward towards my face with barely a few centimeters left between us.

"No...what..are you doing?" I muttered under my breath as he moved in closer to my lips, with his hot breath fanning against my face.

Holy crap!

Holy crap!

No no no! Not like this!

I don't want my first kiss to be like this!

This is not what I had imagined it to be!

Definitely not for a mere Truth or Dare game!

With his eyes boring against my lips, he moved a little further with only a few millimeters away from mine.

I shut my eyes tight, shivering under his touch.

"Relax!" He whispered against my ears in his deep voice, as I could slowly feel his face move away from mine.

Before I could grab a few seconds for myself to contemplate what was happening and whether I should open my eyes or not, I could already feel his lips on my forehead as he planted a gentle kiss.

Kiss.

Yeah!

Gentle it was. So subtle.

Holy crap!! He kissed my forehead.

I swear, my stomach just did a somersault.

I opened my eyes and stood still like a statue, unable to move from my position.

It's okay. Friends kiss each other. Not a big deal. But still--

Friends? Lol, my mind snapped me for the millionth time, as I mentally slammed myself.

"There it is! It's over!" Vikram moved a few steps backwards as I immediately opened my eyes and remained standing there, blinking.

The look on Zaara's face was... evil? Evil would be an understatement.

"Atleast you didn't go for the lips" She grit her teeth glaring at me, as she stormed away with frustration.

Yeah thank God, he didn't.

But somewhere, in one abandoned corner of my heart, I was disappointed. Just 0.0001% disappointed, I swear.

Yeah something was definitely wrong with me.

Maybe I should run all scans and tests for my heart? Cause for Lucifer's sake, I shouldn't be feeling this way!

I turned back and found Megha blushing, while hitting Rohit continuously on his arms with both her hands.

"That's not fair!!" Anika wailed. "We were like waiting for an hour for you both to kiss....atleast we deserve to drool over a proper kiss!"

"Then Zaara should have put forth the conditions clearly. Though she would be glad now, for not mentioning where the kiss should have been." Vikram smirked.

What is this guy made of? Bricks?

I was already melted into a pool of embarrassment and this guy was jumping on top of that.

"Oh come on Anika, how can we expect them to continue with us gaping at their faces?" Rohit teased.

"Yeah, it all starts with a forehead kiss, and then cheeks and then....you know " Rohit winked.

They have lost their minds.

"Oh yeah, they would proceed with other stuff only if we give some privacy" Megha interrupted, with her hand over mouth from laughing out loud.

"That's right, let's leave then." Anika pursed her lips trying to control her laughter.

The three of them left, giving us a mocking look, as I could figure out their laughter until they had reached their tents.

I placed my hand on top of my chest, considering that I could no longer feel my heart beat.

Am I dead?

I turned to my side, and could feel him staring at me....probably smiling?

He chuckled, as I looked up at him confused.

"What is so funny that is making you grin like that?" I glared at him with my hands still on my chest.

"Nothing " He shrugged calmly, as he removed the small table away, the one we were using to spin the bottle and sat next to the campfire.

"Nothing? Seriously?! You nearly gave me a panic attack along with an anxiety attack, with my stress level reaching the skies above" I threw a punch on his left arm as I sat next to him.

Though I knew, that punch would have induced no pain on him.

He tittered as he turned his face away and I swear I could literally figure out his small titters transitioning into uncontrollable chuckles.

"Vikram!" I called him out, as he tried to suppress his chuckles and turned towards me.

I was dying to know what kind of behavior he just pulled a few minutes before.

"You should have known" He stared at me with his lips curved slightly upwards straight at me.

"Known what?" I shook my head trying to decipher his words.

"That...I wouldn't do something like that..." I gaped at him confused, "That I wouldn't push into an comfortable situation like that..." his gaze softened, "atleast not in front of everyone" he completed his sentence while I was still hanging around his initial words not able to figure out anything.

Was I born dumb? Or being with Rohit and Megha turned me into something like this?

"I don't under--" I began as he interrupted, "I wouldn't steal your first kiss, just to prove some dumb lunatic doctor and his sister what I am capable of. " He muttered as he stood up, '' I thought you were smart enough to figure out the act! Though my sole purpose was to scare...you know who"

"I am leaving to my tent" He said casually, leaving me gasping at his words.

For a split second I was the happiest person ever on hearing him, and then--How dare he?

I turned to my right and saw him a wee bit away from the campfire, as I stood immediately and paced towards him, and yelled,"How can you just assume that"

"Assume what?"

"That it was my....first kiss" I turned away from him with the last word, as he remained still.

"I never told you anything like that" I continued and shrugged as if it was no big deal.

"You didn't, but your entire body gave you away" My stomach just did a flip stunt as he entered his tent.

He knew.

He knew what he was doing out there.

He knew how his touch had affected me.

He was freaking teasing me!!

And now way in hell, he can get away like that.

I followed him back inside the tent and cleared my throat.

"I have kissed many people" I snorted.

He turned back at me and gave a little nod, as I continued, "...and I don't even have count, you know...I was quite popular in school..college...everywhere "

I lied. No one even batted an eye at me in my school and college days.

But, Doctors and Lawyers can lie. Right?

"Okay" He said in a calm tone, making me burn with anger.

"There were men lined up for me ever since my early college days and..." I dragged trying to figure out what to say next, in order to continue the chain of lies I was feeding him.

"Okay" He said again, as I snorted disbelievingly.

"And my best friend's brother fell in love with me like crazy...and was head over knees for me and....we shared the most memorable and exciting kiss and I can't even exp--" I paused feeding him with my lies as I found him staring at me with no expression on his face.

A look that didn't look good on his face. A smile did tho.

"Have this" His hand came forward, lending me something, avoiding the topic of my non-existent boyfriend and the kiss that didn't even take place.

I collected it from him and looked down. It was my inflatable pillow.

The one he had deflated this morning, saying it wasn't comfortable. But I had no idea when he had blown air in again.

While you were busy lying about Vivaan, my brain snapped at me.

That wasn't about him! I was just spinning stories about some non-existent guy.

It was about Vivaan

It wasn't about him.

It was.

It wasn't.

It was.

Even if it was, Vikram has no idea about the girly crush I once had on Vivaan.

Whatever I was feeding him, was just white lies.

It won't affect anyone.

I snapped out of the debate with my brain as I realized Vikram had already settled down with a book.

"Aren't you going to sleep?" I asked with a low voice.

He remained still with his eyes fixed on the book, as usual.

Is he mad?

But I didn't even say anything!

"Megha and Rohit are probably in my tent...so I kinda guess I have to settle here today as well" I chuckled nervously, trying one of the famous psychology methods to figure out if he was mad at me.

No reply.

"Can I?" I asked again, as his eyes didn't even budge a little from his book.

I was almost ready to barge out and kick Rohit out my tent when Vikram finally replied back, in a low voice, "Yeah"

Okay. It's confirmed.

He is definitely mad at me.

He probably figured out that I am a big fat liar, and was planning to trap him with a web of lies.

• • • •

"What?? Did he lose his mind?" I pulled my phone away from my ears as Ankita screamed in.

"What exactly is your point here Anki?" I sat comfortably on the ground, grabbing my knees against my chest.

"He should have grabbed the opportunity and kissed you on your lips! That's my point!"

"Huh-please, I feel like alienating you" I rolled my eyes.

"--Or at least when he had planted a kiss on your forehead, you should have grabbed his neck down and for hell's sake you should have kissed him on his lips" Ankita was really losing her mind.

"Come on Anki, this is Suhana we are talking about, not you" Aisha interrupted, chuckling.

It took almost an hour for me to narrate what had happened ever since we stepped into this medical camp to two dear Satan's daughters.

When I say everything, it includes Vikram as well, and these two girls casually turned this call into call

I was tired defending myself to them already saying that there was nothing going on between me and him.

With the banter continuing, I put my hand on my forehead. But somehow my thoughts trailed away, I could still feel the warmth of his touch on them. The way his lips felt on my forehe--

"Suhanaaa" Ankita yelled into the phone as Aisha interrupted, "Where are you lost?".

Crap!

"See this is what I am talking about! This girl has already fallen for her husband, but still pretending as if she hasn't " She snorted.

"What did you ask?" I asked, embarrassed.

"I asked when will you return back?" Aisha chuckled.

"Huh, we are leaving tomorrow, I guess" I replied.

"Your voice is breaking " Anki put forth, as I realized that even standing on top of the hill won't let me have a good network.

I had sneaked out of the tent early in the morning to the hill, hoping I could get a sight of the sunrise from the same place we had witnessed the other day. Yeah, WE.

"Yeah I am at the highest place possible and still the network here sucks, and the other day we couldn't even make calls, today it's way better" I answered, reminiscing the day when we couldn't get a hold of Vikram.

Probably because the weather is clear today, I told myself. It was no longer freezing cold, rainy or anything. It was sunny, warm and especially, I no longer had to wear coats to cover myself from top to bottom, but yet I was wearing THAT trench coat.

I don't know why, maybe because I loved the way it felt on me?

With the network constantly buffering and going on and off, I disconnected the call with them, though I was glad to talk to them for over an hour.

Days had passed away in a blink.

I slowly started walking down the hill carefully, trying not to trip and fracture myself, everywhere.

3 days!

3 days had passed since that utter failure of the camp fire happened.

And we were barely talking to each other.

Vikram was busy avoiding my glances, Zaara had already fled this place the very next day. Harshad tried to talk to me a few times, but I bet it was definitely awkward. And Megha and Rohit were living their lives to their hearts' content.

"Suhana" I turned to my right and found Harshad walking towards me.

"Hi.." I dragged, wondering what I should say.

"We are all returning back today" Harshad looked at me, eagerly waiting for my reply.

"Weren't we supposed to return tomorrow?" My eyes grew wide.

"Yeah, but everything got over soon, so we thought--"

"Yeah but we are leaving tomorrow " Megha replied as she walked towards us along with Rohit and Anika.

"Huh..why? Let's all go together--"

"Ahh no need Harshad, We have important tasks to complete " Rohit interrupted this time, glaring at me.

Well yeah, here we go.

"Yeah, you can leave though" Anika pointed away, asking him to leave, as Harshad waved a bye at me, awkwardly.

"I hope you haven't forgotten about the--"

"No I haven't" I fake smiled at them.

They are talking about my so-called DARE to explore the forest or woods whatever it was, which was put forth by Rohit the other day and most importantly to return with 5 white coloured flowers and accompany with someone whose name starts with V and ends with M.

I honestly thought they would have forgotten about that part of the dare, considering everything that took place after that, but they reminded me yesterday once again, only to push me into trauma.