An Innocent Crush ✓

22 | Icecream date.

As he walked toward the exit, he saw them arguing. Inhaling a deep breath, he shook his head at them before heading toward his foolish students.

"It was your fault—" Kiara started, but Vikram cut her off mid-sentence.

"Yeah, so should I let them say nonsense like that?" he argued.

They began pushing each other, but Dhruv intervened in time. "Shut up! Both of you are troublemakers," he separated them before turning toward Vikram.

"You knew the girls were with you, so why did you take the risk? Did you want them to get beaten up along with you? Is there any common sense in that tiny brain of yours?" Dhruv scolded.

Dhruv's voice grew stern, a potent mix of frustration and disappointment. "This isn't a game. It's real life! They trust you to keep them safe, not to lead them into trouble. You endangered their safety! How could you be so reckless?"

His anger was palpable as he addressed Vikram. "You're responsible for their well-being, not to act impulsively and put them at risk. And you!" He turned to Kiara, his tone softened slightly, reflecting his concern. "Don't encourage unnecessary fights."

The tension hung thick in the air, and Dhruv's disappointment was evident. "Learn from this. Be responsible for each other, not liabilities."

“I… I didn't do anything—” Kiara tried to defend herself, but Dhruv silenced her with a hard look.

“Did I ask you to speak? And you, Reshmi, thanks for calling in time,” he said before glaring at Vikram again.

Dhruv suddenly held Vikram’s face, eliciting a groan from him. He started checking his jaw. "I'll tell your mom all of this. Aunt should know that her well-mannered son is indulging in hooliganism outside," he said, taking out the ointment from his pocket.

“Sorry, Bhaiya, please don't tell my mom,” Vikram pleaded, his eyes went towards Kiara. He knew if his mother got to know about this incident, Kiara’s parents would also know about it.

Dhruv didn't say anything and started applying medicine to his reddened jaw. Kiara kept staring at her shoes, her chin wobbling a little, her eyes blurring with unshed tears. Reshmi held her hand trying to comfort her.

Once Dhruv was satisfied that Vikram was not seriously injured, he released him and turned to Kiara and Reshmi. "Want to eat anything?" He asked gently, his gaze slowly went to Kiara, who was wiping her tears with the back of her hand.

All of them shook their heads, Kiara keeping her head low, not wanting to let him see her tears. Dhruv let out a sigh; he went a little overboard with her. "Let's go get some ice cream, and then we’ll head home," he said, trying to lift up their moods.

As they started walking towards the ice cream parlor, Dhruv kept glancing at Kiara. He wanted to check on her too, his blood ran cold when he saw the guy holding his shoulder; he was about to react aggressively but refrained from doing so as it would only get them in more trouble.

Once they entered the ice cream parlor, Dhruv went towards her, “What flavor do you want?” He asked, his voice soft and gentle. Trying not to scare her again, Kiara let out a shaking breath before blinking her eyes, “A… anything?” She replied, her voice trembling, making Dhruv’s heart clench in a weird way.

“Anything is not an option. What's your favorite flavor?” He asked again.

“Chocolate…” she said, her voice barely audible. Dhruv nodded before turning to ask the others.

They all sat at an empty table as Dhruv went to get ice cream for them. After a while, he returned with their ice creams and took a seat on the chair across from Kiara. He handed her the chocolate ice cream and then distributed ice cream to everyone else as well.

"Sir, I had come for winter shopping. If I go back empty-handed, my mom will suspect," Reshmi said, looking up at Dhruv, taking a bite of ice cream.

Dhruv raised an eyebrow at her. "Fine, go and get them, and no need to worry about those guys; the security guards threw them out," he said, scooping some of his mint ice cream.

"Bhaiya, I also needed to buy shoes," Vikram said in a small voice without looking at Dhruv, who was glaring at him. He let out a sigh and turned to face Kiara.

"And what did you come to buy?" He asked, raising an eyebrow at her.

Kiara looked up from her chocolate ice cream to Dhruv. "Food," she whispered. Dhruv frowned, not hearing her clearly.

"What?" he asked.

"I came for free food; they promised to buy food if I accompanied them," she replied in a hurried voice.

Dhruv chuckled softly, shaking his head in disbelief.

“Free food, huh?” he signaled both Reshmi and Vikram to go; they nodded their heads before heading out of the ice cream parlor.

They were alone now, “Well, this ice cream is also free, it's a treat from me,” he said, a small smile tugging on his lips.

Kiara blushed, her cheeks turning rosy; she slowly bit on her lower lip. Dhruv noticed Kiara's bashful demeanor and couldn't help but smile at her adorable reaction.

She hesitated for a moment before taking a small bite of the chocolate ice cream, savoring the sweet taste.

"Chocolate is your favorite, right?" Dhruv asked with a small smile, watching her expression brighten up as she nodded enthusiastically.

He leaned in a little, speaking in a conspiratorial tone. "You know, chocolate has magical powers. It instantly turns sad moments into happier ones, just like that!" He snapped his fingers lightly, making Kiara giggle softly.

“What's your favorite, sir?” she asked.

Dhruv was glad she came back to her normal self, “Mint, it's cool and calming. And it's unique, only a few people like it,” he said, taking a bite of his ice cream.

"Only old people like mint," Kiara blurted out and immediately regretted it. Biting her tongue, she glanced slowly at Dhruv, who raised his eyebrows at her in an offended manner.

Dhruv chuckled softly. “Bandar kya jane adrak ka swad" he said, taking another bite of his ice cream.

Kiara gasped, “Monkey? Do I look like a monkey?” she asked, furrowing her eyebrows.

“Tsk, no, you act like a monkey. Otherwise, your face is very lovely,” he replied, his expression serious.

Kiara attempted to say something, but nothing came out, and soon, a blush spread across her face.