Aarav and I went to cafeteria, where he was telling me about what he did in Delhi in the past two years.

He is an Oncologist. Although he went to Delhi to attend a workshop about new development in the treatment of cancer patients, he decided to stay there and expertise in it hence, he attended two more workshops back to back. And then a short vacation.

Research and experiment has always been his favorite. He loves his work with pure dedication. He even organised a free medical camp for cancer patients before going Delhi.

He was telling me about what other things he did in Delhi. He also loves exploring new places, he told me about 'The Garden of Five Senses'. It's a very peaceful place, the flower beds, impeccable hedges and my most favourite stone-cut elephants. Yes, I too visited the place once when we went to Delhi to attend one of my cousin's wedding. The serene fountains add magical beauty to it. That's a must-go place.

He told me that when he was exiting the place, a shimmery handkerchief fell before him. He picked it up and started searching for the owner, he found a girl ten feet before him. He followed her but to his bad luck the girl went on and on taking too many turns. She had wore headphones, so all his calling was wasted and when he finally caught her, he found her to be 'him'. He was already breathing heavily and looking at 'him' he went numb.

I giggled at his narration, he was giving all types of weird expressions he could.

I felt as if someone was watching us but when I turned around I found none.

Aarav excused himself when he got a call, he signed me to continue with my work as it was a important call and would take hours.

As soon as I stood up, I felt as sharp pain near my ankle.

I tried to walk but the pain shoot around my whole leg. I never realized I got hurt.

Holding the wall, I started moving towards my cabin, limping with horrible sharp pain.

That handsome jerk came near me and started bossing around.

Why do he even care?

I don't owe him any answer.

But that hopeless pig, picked me up in his arms and even dared me to shut my mouth otherwise he would throw me on the tiled floor.

Seeing his face, my anger was rising.

Did he call me careless? What is he? Slept without a blanket even when he knew he can't tolerate cold.

Stupid

But where is my blanket?

~You are still concerned about your blanket? More than your leg?

my brain again mocked at me.

Fine

But that blanket was special, beeji made my initial on it.

Anyways what can I do now?

But wait, he called me careless.

~Two times sweetheart.

Oh yes, two times. How dare he?

"Still arrogant" I shouted near his ears.

Great. Now we have equal points.

Suddenly, he pulled something off my ankle, I unknowingly, clutched his shoulder tightly.

He said"tears don't suit you", wiping my tears.

He said this same line so many times.

He remembers 'us' then how did it all change so drastically.

Why did he break my heart?

He went away, asking a nurse to dress my wound.

He went away without turning to look at me . Why it is so easy for him to walk away. why it is so easy for him to step on my heart then crush it into pieces.

Oh yeah! how can I forget he is the same Veer Malhotra.

Every time my mind flashes past memories, it just pains my heart when I see we were so close.

It all started on such a beautiful note. It all started with us being frenemies.

The nurse treated my wound and left giving me a small smile, I too tried to reciprocate.

But my stubborn heart didn't back away from reminding me of our "old us".

How can a person change so much, the Veer I knew was so different from him. who could never see me in tears, who left a stone unturned to make me smile, whenever I felt low.

~but he still can't see your tears.

Oh shut up! it has all changed now. Nothing is the same now.

I couldn't help but travelled to our beautiful past...

Sitting in my room for the last thirty minutes, I was trying to cheer up a dragon who was breathing fire and telling me the side effects of being Veer's classmate.

The previous week we had our exams but that was not the real bad news it was Veer sitting right behind vaidehi according to the roll numbers. In all the exams, for the whole three hours, he kept irritating her by trying to copy her sheets or by poking her again and again, asking for answers.

She denied it every time but he poked her back with his pen and when she turned to glare at him, the teacher caught her and scolded her. The teacher thought she was cheating. Poor her. It happened with her for the fifth time.

After irritating the hell out of her and getting her scolded he looked at me and winked as I was sitting right beside him in the other row.

My jaw dropped to the ground. His nerves to do that.

Vaidehi was in a cranky mood the whole week. She would throw his things, stomp her feet on his but that pig-skinned Veer never left a chance to annoy her.

I doubted if they were five years old.

One fine day, Raina, vaidehi and I were sitting in the canteen while Aarav had went to bring a vanilla shake for vaidehi, I saw veer coming towards us. Usually, he was used to sit with his friends. He was directly looking at me and I was getting hell nervous looking at him.

Had he gone mad? why was he coming here? Didn't he ask to be secret friends? what would I tell others? I thought.

He barged in our group uninvited and sat beside Raina and right before me. He smiled cheekily at vaidehi who was giving him murderous glares while eating her dhokla.

After passing a sweet smile to Raina, he turned towards me with a straight face. He deserved Oscar for that acting.

I arched an eyebrow at him. Although he was glaring at me, I could see him trying to stifle his smile.

He winked at me and started looking here and there like he was the most innocent child on the earth. I opened and closed my mouth like a fish. But that was not enough, he planned to give me more shocks in a single day.

He did the unexpected, my eyes popped out of my sockets, Raina choked on the water and Aarav who came by then stilled at his place with his mouth wide open.

That freaking pig dared to pick up a dhokla from vaidehi's lunch box and gobbled it down his throat.

I looked at vaidehi who was raging. Her face turned red in anger, her palms were tightly closed in a fist, she was digging holes in veer's skull with her laser glares. She would share everything except her precious dhokla. He did a grave mistake.

I could see her turning into a fireball.

"V... Va... Vaidehi Re... I tried to say but my words refused to come out of my throat looking at her seething anger.

" Tell me he didn't. He didn't eat my dhokla " She said biting her own fist.

Looking at her it was clear if she was left alone with veer she would have multiplied his bone with two.

Aarav gulped his saliva

We were trying to calm her until then Veer finished eating dhokla, he closed his eyes to feel the taste so he didn't saw her anger. He was again about to take another piece when vaidehi quickly grabbed her tiffin near her heart and glared at him teary-eyed.

Yeah! that is what happens. She starts crying whenever she is extremely angry.

She turned her chair around and quickly begin eating the rest of the food while tears were flowing from her eyes.

Although she looked cute, I was scared looking at her red face with tears rolling down.

Veer looked at us perplexed.

I passed him an awkward smile and resumed talking to Vai. While Aarav patted his back sympathetically.

"So Hi veer! I am Raina." Raina batted her eyelashes, shaking hands with him. I rolled my eyes at her. I told her how he helped us, fought with Viren and since then she is behaving like a crazy fangirl. She was already crushing over him which only increased after listening to his "heroic stunt".

They were talking when vaidehi finished her lunch. She banged her hand on the table and glared at Raina.

Raina looked at her horrified, she quickly shifted her chair away from Veer.

" Why he is here? " She asked gritting her teeth.

"well, I don't have another place to sit...All the seats are already occupied see yourself" he said smirking which only intensified her anger.

I looked where his group was sitting I could easily see a chair on which a bag was kept, Veer's bag to be precise.

That meant he was intentionally doing it.

Vaidehi huffed in anger, turning her face away.

"Suha kick him under the table" She whispered in my ears.

"Bu...But... It's rude vai. Leave it" I tried my best to ignore her angry glare and calm her down.

"I can't believe you are the same girl who wanted to throw him in a pool of mud" She shook her head shocked.

But we were friends now, I thought.

"Vai.. he helped us that day remember? "

"so? we are his slave till eternity is it Suha? " She frowned at me.

I was finding ways to get away with the situation smoothly but certain someone's naughty smile was distracting me.

He was enjoying my state too much.

"Fine I will do it myself " She said and kicked under the table but instead of Veer, Aarav shouted in pain.

"Aarav shit sorry" She quickly stood up blurting a series of sorry.

Raina and Veer burst out laughing while I was trying to process the things in my mind and how should I react.

Since that day Veer has occupied a great place in Vaidehi's bad books.

And then she was crying because even though Veer copied from vaidehi, he scored more marks than vaidehi and stood second in our class.

While I was first and she was third. I passed another tissue box to her. She was crying looking at the results while breathing fire.

Raina was painting her nails and Aarav was patting vai's back.

"Vai let's go to your favourite place today after our coaching"

I tried to cheer up her again. She cleaned her nose loudly in the tissue paper and threw it at Raina.

Raina made a disgusted face looking at her. But I signed her to shut up.

She huffed in anger, resuming painting her nails. Aarav was trying to stop his smile.

"Okay" Although hiccuping, she said it with lightning speed. We chuckled at her.

All of us were in the same coaching since we were preparing for NEET and that coaching was closest.

'Punjab province' Was just a few minutes away from the coaching centre and it was our favourite place. They served the best food in the world. Just behind it, there was a park too which we called 'our place'. It was our routine to sit in the park, enjoying the food from "Punjab province"

No matter what occasion it was, we would go there happily. That was our solace.

We created a lot of memories there.

That day again we went to the same place. It was all of our favourite.

I was sitting on the bench with vaidehi, reciting a poem for her about our friendship.

She squeezed the life out of me after listening to it. Raina and Aarav too joined for a group hug.

She was happily chirping then.

Not properly ten minutes, someone stood there in front of us holding two ice cream cones with a toothy grin.

I groaned when I looked at his face. I looked beside me to see vaidehi already digging a grave for him.

How did he come here? was he following us?

Raina and Aarav already looked at me with we-are-not-part-of-this-again.

I facepalmed. Not again

"What are you doing here" Vai asked him of course gritting her teeth.

"Oh! I was just chilling with friends then I saw you people. I thought let's give you company" He said with his signature charming smile.

Don't know about vaidehi but Raina was already flat on that smile.

"Did we invite you? " Vai asked him trying to stop herself from launching on him.

"Not at all. But I thought you might like my company" he smiled wide which looked so fake.

I was trying to control my laugh when he battled his eyelashes in front of vaidehi "Please let me be in. Pretty please "

Vaidehi huffed, turning her head away.

"See I bought this for you " he forwarded an ice cream towards her, looking at me for a brief second and then averted his gaze towards her.

A sweet sensation crawled on my cheeks when he looked at me like that, I could not help but smile to myself.

Vaidehi just glared at him.

"Please " He sounded genuine.

"I will give you a treat of special Dhokla to make it up to you for irritating you all the while" He said sincerely.

"Promise? " She asked raising her eyebrow.

"Of course" He smiled at her.

Vaidehi accepted the ice cream. He gave another one to Raina. He asked then to eat it quickly as it was already melting.

He turned towards me.

"So Chocolate? " He said in an obvious tone.

"Butterscotch" I mouthed.

He winked at me and dragged Aarav along with him.

Was not he winking too much? God he and his wink.

Thank god Vaidehi was busy eating ice cream and did not saw that.

I never talked much with boys except for Aarav.

Aarav was always like a brother to me. We shared a special bond. He was always soft and caring towards me.

But Veer, he came just a month ago and already made a place for him, became my secret friend

He would wink often but that didn't make me uncomfortable. He used to make fun of me and vaidehi earlier but since our friendship, his teasings were only left to vaidehi.

He came back and offered me a butterscotch Ice cream.

He cautiously looked at vaidehi and then slowly sat beside me. I laughed at his antics but my heart was rushing, It made me quite nervous but still, I continued to act like I wasn't bothered. No words were exchanged between us, I saw him smiling looking downwards eating his ice cream that made me smile too. A knowing smile was playing on both of our lips.

"You like butterscotch?" I asked him, breaking the ice.

"Yes, from today" he said the last part to himself but I heard it. I couldn't stop a deep smile from forming on my lips.

I felt something sweet. It was all new to me but I felt something very beautiful about it.

Everyone was talking around us but we were sitting in comforting silence.

Soon we all finished our Ice cream. Vai started dragging me after muttering a thank you to him.

We all bid bye to each other. We started walking...I felt an urge to turn around. I turned around to find Veer already looking at me with a soft smile. I waved him bye and his face broke into a thousand-watt smile. It felt like he was waiting for me to turn around and wave bye at him.

Vaidehi shook my shoulders "what happened to you?"

"N... N... Nothing"

"Then why are you smiling like a fool...god...you need treatment Suha" She said widening her eyes and I chuckled at her.

I was still smiling, remembering our innocent past and a lone tear escaped my eyes. Wiping my tear, I went to my cabin and indulged myself in the work.

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Please ignore grammatical mistakes.

Editor :- ❤

'The Garden of Five Senses'

Image source :- Pinterest

Thanks for reading❤.