Natasha

What. Just. Happened?

Goodnight, Natasha. Love you.

I turned around, my heart racing a mile. For the first few seconds, I couldn't do anything except open and close my mouth like a fish.

“Di- di- did you...?”

I didn't even finish my damn sentence when I heard him utter a sound that seemed like a titter.

He was laughing.

“You thought I was serious. God, look at your face,” he pointed out with another laugh. “Priceless.”

I felt like someone who was splashed cold water. So he was kidding. He was actually kidding. Thank fucking heavens! Relief washed over me. I slapped his arm, “Stupid ass. Don't play bad jokes like that.”

“I could say the same to you.”

“Huh?”

“What I mean is, I love you.”

“Huh?!”

Rithik placed his arm to the adjacent wall, laughing at my abashed face. He repeatedly slapped his arm against his lap, mumbling ‘this is good, so good’ to no one in particular. With one last peck on my lips and a sick smile on his face, he bid goodbye and vanished out of my sight.

It was quite an anticlimactic end to my otherwise romantic night.

* * *

To be honest, I didn't waste a shit of my lifespan to think about what would happen in college on Monday. I mean, what could happen, really? People would gossip, backbitch, and gossip about the events again.

Looks like, I should given a shit about it.

Khushboo, Ayesha and I entered the college together today. While I had my farewell on Friday, the remaining two had theirs on Saturday. Which is why it was no wonder that students were still living in their farewell euphoria. It was all they were talking about.

It didn't seem weird as we made our way towards the college building at first. Not when we entered the first floor reserved for first and second years. When we entered the second floor, there were few glances. However, nothing compared to the stares and whispers we received on the third floor, packed with third and fourth years. Some were even pointing fingers. The three of us exchanged a puzzled glance.

“Were you cosplaying Bella Hadid?”

“Nope.”

“Were you?” Khushboo asked Ayesha to which she shook her head in a negative. “If none of us were then, why is everyone eye- fucking like we kissed one of the professors?”

“Ew!”

It was when we walked a little ahead, we began to hear voices.

“O, look, that's her.”

“Who?”

“Natasha Patil. She danced with Rithik this Friday. You know the hottie from that fashion show. They were together the entire time. Holding hands.”

“Ah, what a bummer! I can't even bitch about her ugliness. She's pretty.”

“Her nose is too small though.”

Then another. “You mean to say that Arora is committed? Argh, my single heart can't take it anymore!”

“No wonder he looked disinterested when I talked to him.”

And another. “Ah, man! All the pretty girls around us keep getting hitched. Take this woman for example. We'll be forever single because of them.”

“That's the fate of a mechanical engineering boy. Accept it.”

All this while, we walked, listening to these voiced tweets. I flinched at each gossip about me. My ears burned. Not from anger, but from embarrassment. It didn't help that the two bitches walking side by side, were smiling ear- to- ear.

I stopped walking when I was just a few steps away from my class. If this was the situation when we walked the corridors, imagine the horror inside my own class. I held my stomach. “Argh, I'm not feeling well today. I just got my period. Cramps are such a motherfucker, you know. Ow!”

I knew they didn't buy my lie. I bet Khushboo remembered that I got my period two weeks ago. So when I turned to the opposite direction, they stopped and pushed me.

Towards my doom.

“You can't do this! You can't put me in that shithole. People will—”

“Oh, we can and we will do this.” Ayesha cut me off, wearing a malicious smile.

“That's what friends are for, right?”

It wasn't like I had a choice. Colleges weren't like schools where you could afford tutions, in case you missed something. Classes meant everything.

It seemed like a scene straight out of a horror movie where the victim entered a dark room, only to be devoured by supernatural bitches. A shiver ran down my spine as I felt not one, not two, but- several pairs of eyes on me. I paled. My hands clutched to the traditional designed handbag as if it were my shield. Somehow I mustered the courage to look around for a spare seat. I just about made my way when someone called my name, making me flinch. I recognized her as the hoe who used to nag me for answers during exams. She almost dragged me by the hand for a small talk with her group when we heard something that made her stop.

“Sir is coming.”

Never did these three words sounded like a lifeline in the past four years of my college. I could kiss his feet right now. I slipped away from her and found an empty seat at the back. I wasn't a back bencher, but today was a an exception of all exceptions.

I let out a sigh of relief. Finally, I was alone.

“Na-ta-shaa~” Someone called in a sing- sang voice. I whipped my head to see Shivani and Devki heading towards me. I gulped.

Guess I said that too soon.

Surprisingly, they didn't interrogate me during the class. Just made a small, normal conversation. However their attitudes changed drastically after the classes ended, successfully trampling my faith on all humans.

“What did she say again, Devki?” Shivani asked. Her face turned mockingly serious as she tried imitating my voice, “Chill ladies! Being single is no big deal.”

“I mean we will be committed for half of our lives. Even more so why the desperation?” Devki joined her with a scoff. “Be single, my foot!”

“We actually felt good when you said that before. It reassured us that if girls like you can be single, then we can be, too.” Shivani's face was literally slapping against mine when she glared at me. I drew back, getting uncomfortable. “But no! You trolled us big time. Not only you happened to be dating, but the man you were with, just turned out to be the heartthrob of our class. Do you know how many girls are burning with jealousy right now?”

“I...” I tried to find my voice of reason admist her outburst. I forced a nervous smile. “But I'm not dating him. We were just... hanging out. ”

“Oh~” Devki raised her brows. “Let's see. Rithik was invited to 'hang out' with a couple of girls but he rejected them and came for you. His intentions were clear as day. Anyone could tell he was head over heels for you, just from the way he was looking. You were no better either. We weren't watching, but whenever we happened to cross paths, we were convinced you were not the Natasha we know. You were lost in your own world, completely carefree and happy with him. I don't know much about the dating world but even I can tell that it looked nothing like ‘hanging out’ or a ‘one time date’ to me.”

“Aw, would you look at that? It reminds me of the time when Rithik kissed your cheek.” Shivani chuckled when I put my head down on the desk to cover my face in embarrassment. “So when did it all started?”

“Stop, just stop!” I told them with my covered face. I felt humiliated. What Devki said kind of ringed true. I was so lost in our supposedly 'date' that I hardly paid attention to my surroundings or how people would perceive us. I was put in the spotlight for no reason. It wasn't like I was the only gossip around. There were a lot other nonsensical things that students were talking about. Like for instance, how Hemant— the most wanted guy in our class danced with Kriti, the event manager. Or the speculations over why Megha, the miss World of our class didn't show up. That amongst few other things. I only knew this because Devki and Shivani were talking about it. It was relieving to hear.

Just when things started to calm down a little— like just a little bit— a storm happened.

He showed up.

No, I'll repeat that again. Rithik showed up in- my- goddamn- class.

“Natasha, are you listening? Oye!” Rithik called from afar. From the corner of my eye, I could see him making his way towards me. I could also feel several curious eyes on us. As for me, I had my face towards the window. Maybe if I'd look at the sparrow perched on a branch long enough, he would go. The classes would end and the afternoon would turn to evening. The reality I was in would cease to exist.

“Natasha!” He slammed his hands on my desk, making me flinch. “I've been calling you for the past minute. What's wrong with you?”

It was nice seeing you, sparrow.

“What's wrong with me?!” I pulled his ear, making him welp. I tried to keep my voice low. Keyword, tried. “And what do you think you are doing showing your stubborn ass to class, making us look more bloody suspicious than we already were? Do you have any idea—”

“I messaged you, didn't you see?” He cut me off while rubbing his ear.

“Sorry but unlike you losers, I actually switch off my phone during classes,” I defended while switching it on. There were indeed three messages from him. It stated that there was something he wanted to show me immediately.

“And you couldn't find a better time than now?” I verbally replied to that message, staring daggers at him.

Rithik was going to reply when Shivani who was temporarily out of the picture, came in. “Um, can I interrupt you guys for a second?... Rithik, actually, I've been wondering. Did you happen to befriend Natasha at the Barista where you worked long ago? The three of us met you there, remember?”

“Oh, I was wondering the same...” Devki added.

Rithik turned to Shivani, “Of course I remember, Shiv. Well, we didn't befriend right away. I knew her a bit before, but yeah, it started from that Barista.” He then threw a mischievous smirk at me before turning to the girls. “Actually it was Natasha who started chasing after me. She was already crazy for me, you see. She would make a point to visit the bar where I worked every Friday to flirt—”

“I swear to God if you—”

“Wow, that sounds kinda like her.” Devki interrupted which made me wonder if she knew something. “By the way, are you okay with her? She seems to be furious with you half of the time.”

“Oh, trust me, that's just her pathetic attempt to hide her embarrassment. I've seen way more interesting expressions than—”

“Rithik!” I slapped the desk, abruptly cutting him off before he exposed me in a very inappropriate manner. “You seemed to be in a hurry to show me something. Can you take me there? I'm suddenly having this wild curiosity...”

“Well, that's—”

“Take me there. At once.” My voice grew cold, making the three of them go stiff. Rithik agreed, standing up at once. He got going but not before promising to continue their conversation to where they left off. As if I'll let him.

“Chances are you're not going to like it.” He informed as we headed downstairs. “I only called you because I think this is something you would like to know beforehand. Thank me later.”

“Depends on the level of surprise.”  Now I was genuinely curious. What was it that made him walk up to my class and miss his own?

Let's just say that my quota of shit induced shocks wasn't over yet.

“Holy mother of God!” I placed a hand over my mouth, when I came across a photograph pinned on the bulletin board. I blinked, once, twice but the picture refused to change. I didn't even realise when I took a step back and hit my back against the wall. I was that shocked.

There were various photographs (about fifty of them) from the farewell parties that happened in the last three days. Apparently, there were two pictures which featured Rithik and me. One of them had us laughing on the left corner with another couple focused in the front while the other one had us, facing next to each other, smiling. Smiling.

The first one wasn't the problem even though I looked ugly as fuck, laughing like a duck. It was the second one. It wasn't the fact that it was a picture of me but rather the sick smile I had while looking at Rithik. We almost had our foreheads touch. It seemed way too private to be noticed by anyone else. It was as private as having a topless photo shared. I couldn't even bear to look at it for more than three seconds and now, it was on fucking display for the whole University to see. Ludicrous.

Without wasting another second, I called our head of the media team for an urgent meet. Rithik tagged along. The media head girl called Deepak, one of the photographers who shot these pictures. At first, it was difficult to convince to remove that embarrassing photo. Deepak explained how these pictures were like a work of art for him and that, he wanted it to be displayed in public, no matter what it was, that selfish prick. He further added that this was his favorite because of how candid it was. Granted it was his art but it was our photo to begin with and if we wanted it out, we had the right to do so. Surprisingly, Rithik stepped in, offering to double the price of the photo. I think he intimidated Deepak a little with his menacing stares but regardless, it got my work done. That photo was removed. My prideful ass was saved.

~

If there was one thing that didn't change, it was Rithik's brats. Some of them were from our college but even after being aware of the sudden popularity of their beloved 'Bhai' and their 'Bhabhi', they remained neutral. They have already seen me and Rithik together several times already. Honestly, it was relieving.

It was the same two days later, except when there were unexpected guests. Four gangster look- a- likes in total. Yash whispered they were the oldest acquaintances of Rithik from the gambling world. Three of them were cousins brothers while the fourth one was a friend. The one Rithik was talking to was the oldest one, named Raj. Standing over more than six feet, having short hair that barely made an inch with two narrow cuts on either of his side and two piercings above his narrow pair of eyes, he looked intimidating. Amongst them, was a young woman around my age. Her presence was highly appreciated in a room with eight men right now. Thereafter, they settled down on the table with Rithik for a long boring chat.

Least bothered with their gambling shit, I sat away, playing android games in the meantime. But even as I engrossed myself in subway surfers, I could feel a slight tension in the air. I could be wrong but ever since these guys stepped in, Rithik's loudspeaker boy- friends haven't been so loud anymore. Either they had huge ounce of respect or they were afraid. I was leaning for the latter.

I heaved a sigh of relief when Raj announced his departure. He was saying something to Snorlax when his eyes landed on me, in mere curiosity. “I haven't seen her around. One of your friends?”

“Correction, my girlfriend,” Rithik answered proudly, draping his arm around me tightly. What was with the alpha- beta vibe all of a sudden?

“Who goes by the name Natasha,” I added before removing Rithik's possessive hand on me.

“So you were born near Christmas?” When I said no, Raj added with a laugh. “That's what your name says in Russian. It was a logical conclusion.”

He later introduced me to his little group, even though it wasn't necessary. He just wanted an excuse to stare at me while I glared at him in the nicest way possible. Obviously, I wasn't the only one who noticed it.

“Raj.” Rithik called, stepping before me. There was no malice in his voice. His eyes however told a different 온라인카지노게임. “Go home.”

“Well, we have somewhere else to go anyway. It was nice meeting you bunch after a long time... your girlfriend as well.” He added casually, his eyes lowering to my boobs once again. Besides me, Rithik balled his fists. Raj's friend, Hemant who was silent during this encounter whispered something to which Raj nodded. He patted Rithik's shoulder three times, in a mocking way. “And your debt, boy. Don't forget your debt. Ever.”

It was only for a split second but I caught a tint of malice on Raj's eyes. It made his words seem like a warning. Rithik remained impassive, standing tall against him. Something along the lines of men competing against their egos. Yash sighed while Rithik cussed under his breath. Just who in the world were these brats?

In the end, I never questioned Rithik about it. Couldn't do so in his foul mood, spreading in the room like a smoke. I simply left him to his troubles.

Maybe I shouldn't have.

A few days after this meaningless incident, something creepy happened. Some familiar faces showed up at the bar where I was at.

“Lo and behold, the return of Rithik's girlfriend.” Raj said after taking a quick once over my figure.

“Fucking insect,” I muttered under my breath, looking elsewhere to avoid confrontation. I couldn't. On top of that, he wasn't alone. Putting up my best 'no fucks given' facade, I turned to him. “That Rithik girlfriend you know has a name.”

“Ah, that Russian name. I remember now.” Raj tapped his chin in thought before saying my name. He extended his hand for a greeting but when I refused to draw my own, he muttered, “awkward,” and gave up. “May I know why a lovely lady such as you is doing in a rotten place like this? Perhaps meeting a sidekick behind your boyfriend's back. Scandalous.”

“If you think meeting my college friends is cheating, then you are in a dire need of 'common sense', boy.”

“Did you see that, Hemant? She's already throwing curses at me. A beginning of a wonderful friendship.” Raj said, chuckling blissfully. He laughed and laughed until he leaned on to my level without warning, stepping closer to my private bubble. His words were slurred, his pupils were dilated, making me conscious from head to toe. “I think we will all get along pretty well. Don't you think so— Natasha Patel.”

I stepped back. “What...?”

“Raj, can we fucking leave already? The loud music is killing my mood,” Hemant cut me off, opening his mouth for the first time this evening. He draped an arm around Raj, wearing a crooked smile. “Laters, pussycat.”

My nose crinkled at his word choice. Before I could even spell 'F' of fuck off, Hemant walked off dragging another smiling asshole (that is Raj) with him. It just dawned on me on how smooth Hemant's voice sounded. Too smooth than the frail voice I heard last time. Not to forget his half closed eyes like he was sleep walking. Definitely suspicious.

***

When I met Rithik the next time, I didn't waste a second in reciting my short encounter with the those madmen. He tried not to be furious by glossing it over but I knew he was. He could barely look me in the eye. I knew he would confront with Raj later. It brought me chills.

“Be careful.” The words were out before I knew it. Rithik, whose gaze was blank on the ceiling, flickered down at me in curiosity.

“That's rich coming from you. You don't normally say that.”

“No, I don't, and I don't intend to pry into your puny side business. I've encountered many boy- friends of yours over the past few months but you never found me warning about anyone. This is just a hunch of mine but there's something really fishy about Raj and his minions. Don't involve with them too much.”

“Aww, my considerate Natty.” I wasn't even surprised when Rithik enclosed his arms around me while facing my side. “Don't worry, I'm aware of these scums. I know more about them than you. The only reason I'm betting alongside them is to clear off the money I owe them. That's all.”

But Rithik, you couldn't even manage to draw a line with our relationship. How can you manage to draw a line with anything else?

* * * * * *

Hello, everyone! 👋🏼 So here it is. Actually I'd already published this chapter before. I unpublished it when I found no readers. Hopefully someone will be around to read this time. I've written many more chapters ahead. Hope you'll like it.

Do comment your thoughts. 💬 Next chapter will be from Rithik's pov. Look forward ❤