An Innocent Crush ✓

20 | Trouble.

"Let's go to the game station!" Vikram said, slurping his chocolate milkshake.

"No, let's shop first!" Reshmi protested.

Meanwhile, Kiara kept staring at the food stalls. Vikram glanced at Kiara, then back at Reshmi, "I have an idea! Let's grab something to eat, then head to the game station, and finally do some shopping. Good plan, right?"

Reshmi rolled her eyes at Vikram's suggestion, but Kiara's face lit up with excitement. She nodded enthusiastically, clearly in favor of this proposal.

"Wait, what?" Reshmi exclaimed, "Kiara! We came here to shop," she said, holding Kiara's wrist to guide her toward the shopping area. However, Vikram also held Kiara’s other wrist, "Didn't you say we were going to play games too?" he asked, furrowing his eyebrows at her.

Kiara looked at Reshmi before turning to Vikram again, “Hey, let's grab something to eat first,” she suggested.

"No!" They both exclaimed simultaneously, startling Kiara a little.

Vikram slowly released Kiara, causing her to slide toward Reshmi. They both teetered but managed to regain their balance just in time. Kiara shot Vikram an angry glare and showed him her middle finger before mouthing a 'fuck you' with an adorable smile on her face.

He rolled his eyes, "Let's play rock-paper-scissors. Whoever wins gets to decide! Deal?"

"Okay!" Reshmi agreed, shooting him a glare.

Kiara shook her head, "You always cheat, you always win! No, I'm not playing," she said, vigorously shaking her head.

"There's no other way out. If you want to play, play; otherwise, you won't get anything to eat," he warned, raising his eyebrows at her.

Kiara let out a sigh before nodding her head,  “Fine, I’ll play. But no cheating, Vikram!” she insisted.

They all put out their hands to play the game. Vikram won two out of three rounds, and with a smug grin on his face, he declared, "Looks like we're going to the game station first!" Reshmi sighed, rolling her eyes at Vikram's victory.

They all headed towards the game station, and once they arrived, Vikram headed to the counter to buy coins for playing games.

After playing a few games, they moved to the punching bag game where a group of teenagers was already present. Vikram quickly turned back to Reshmi and Kiara, "This game isn't for girls. Watch me," he smirked.

Reshmi and Kiara observed as Vikram confidently approached the punching bag game, exchanging glances between themselves. They could hear Vikram bragging to the group of teenagers about his strength and skill. The girls rolled their eyes, aware that Vikram was always a little too eager to show off.

As Vikram stepped up to the punching bag, the teenagers chuckled and placed bets on how well he would perform. "Come on, kid, show us what you've got!" one of them teased.

With the crowd watching, Vikram took a deep breath and threw a punch at the bag. However, instead of the powerful punches he had promised, his attempts were comically weak and uncoordinated, prompting laughter from the college guys.

"You act as if you can throw a good punch," Vikram said to the guy, raising his eyebrows at him.

"What did you say?" the guy replied, turning serious.

Kiara glanced at Reshmi, who appeared visibly scared. She hurriedly went towards Vikram and held his arm, "Come on, let's go. We're hungry... you've played enough," she said, trying to drag him, but Vikram didn't budge.

"Oh, so you've brought girls along for a stroll? That too in pairs," the other guy sneered, showing a smug smile.

Vikram's face turned red with anger, but before he could respond, Reshmi stepped forward, "Don't talk to us like that. Let's just go, Vikram," she said, trying to defuse the situation.

Kiara looked at the guy, her eyes narrowed with anger, "You better watch your words. We don't need to listen to this nonsense," she said, her voice firm and steady.

The guys looked taken aback by the girls' confident and assertive response. Vikram finally nodded and allowed himself to be pulled away by Kiara and Reshmi. As they walked away, the guys continued to mutter insults, but the girls didn't look back.

Suddenly, Vikram turned around and rushed towards the group of thugs. He grabbed the collar of one of the guys who had spoken ill about Kiara and Reshmi, giving him a push that made the guy fall on his butt.

"Never talk about my sister like that again," Vikram growled, his eyes blazing with rage. The other guy looked at Vikram, surprised by his sudden aggression.

"He's going to get us into trouble!" Kiara exclaimed before running towards them. Reshmi paused for a moment, then took out her phone.

****

"This farewell party, are we hosting it or the juniors? We have to do all the work," one of Dhruv's friends grumbled, his frustration clear in his voice.

Dhruv chuckled, shaking his head at his friend's words, "You're right about that," he agreed as they walked toward the auditorium hall. Dhruv's phone buzzed, causing him to stop in his tracks before reaching into his pocket to retrieve his phone.

He frowned upon seeing Reshmi calling him. This was the first time she had called him. He accepted the call and placed the phone to his ear, "hello?"

"Sir!" Her voice trembled.

Dhruv’s frown deepened, "What happened? Are you okay?" He asked, growing restless.

"Sir, um— 'Abey bhag na jaldi!'"

He could hear Kiara's voice. His grip on the phone tightened, "Reshmi, what's happening?" He asked again, this time sounding scared.

"Sir, Vikram got into trouble... Now we're running away... Those guys... Kiara!"

“Where are you guys now?” He asked, running towards his friend.

“At the mall… ladies section…” she said, but the call got cut.

"Hello! Hello! Damn it! Give me the keys!"

"Kiski?" He asked, being confused.

"Tere scooty ki, give them quickly!" Dhruv replied, getting frustrated.

"Why didn't you bring your own bike?"

"You jerk, deta hai ki nahi?"

"Take it, but won't you attend the class? Attendance ho rahi hai."

"Tu de dena mera attendance!" He said, before running towards the parking lot.