"Hey, Nikhil. Can I talk to you for a minute?" I asked him.
He shook his head and started walking past me. I stopped him and he glowered at me when I accidentally touched his arm. I controlled myself from rolling my eyes at him. He moved away and I told him to relax.
"Look. I am not here to argue or something. I know that you have a free period now so I just wanted to have a little talk with you. Nothing more," I explained.
"Talk about what?"
"I will explain later. Meet me behind the library and please bring Shree along with you."
"What are you planning this time?" He narrowed his eyes at me.
"Chill. I am not going to murder you both. It will only take a few minutes and it is really important. So, just come and don't worry, you will not have to bother with me again."
His eyes darted around my face for any sign of lies. When he couldn't find any, he replied, "Fine. I will meet you there."
He adjusted his bag on his shoulder and left after glancing around him. I made my way towards the library. I thought a lot about what Ayush had said yesterday. I couldn't sleep properly as his words kept haunting me.
That's why I decided to close this chapter for once and for all. I was debating on whether to apologise or not and still was not clear about it. I decided to just go with the flow and see what happens. I just wanted to state my point and get out of their hair without much trouble.
I reached behind the library and as usual, no one was here. I started walking around the inner circumference of the square ground while waiting for Nikhil and Shree.
If Shree brought Mahek along with him, I might have to rethink my decision of not murdering them.
But fortunately, he didn't. Nikhil arrived after ten minutes with Shree in tow and the first thing Shree did when he saw me was to show his utmost displeasure.
I motioned for them to make themselves comfortable but Shree snapped and told me to get over with what I had to say quickly.
"Chill, dude. I am not here to confess to you. So relax," I taunted.
Both guys exchanged unamused glances and then looked at me. Nikhil noted the time and told me that I only had five minutes as I had earlier mentioned to say whatever I wanted to tell them.
"Okay, guys. I will start. So don't disturb me while I am talking. I will tell you myself when I am done."
They both nodded and I continued.
"First of all, I would like to say sorry for causing all the trouble. I know some of my actions were extreme and I take full responsibility for them, I accept it. I am apologizing because no matter what I did, I ended up hurting you guys in the end which was totally not my intention.
"I know you guys hate me for what I did, but I just wanted to say that it was all for your own sake and there were no ill intentions whatsoever. I would have preferred if you believed me but I will not force you to do so. It is your choice and you have the full right to decide whether you want to be associated with me or not."
I took a short break to collect my breath. I wondered how those politicians went talking on and on for hours. I checked Nikhil and Shree's reactions and they were nowhere looking convinced.
"It is okay if you don't believe me. I won't even mind if you guys never talked to me again. I just wanted to make a request to you. Don't mistreat Parth and Surbhi because of me. They are just acting as a shield and they have done nothing wrong.
"They are your friends too, so please don't act rude towards them just because you can't tolerate me. And I have realised my mistake; I worry too much and I care too much. So, I am going to stop doing that from today onwards. I won't bother you both ever again, no matter what the situation is.
"I just don't want you to be hostile towards my best friends. I don't like you guys fighting with each other when you don't have to. I know you also hate it but have no other choice. And it is all okay with me if anyone doesn't like me because I don't care. I seriously don't.
"So, I am just asking you to forget about me and just focus on your lives and your friends. I know I can't undo what happened but you guys can move forward, right? And I don't think there is any benefit in living while holding grudges. I have realised that it does no good."
I sighed and drank some water. I was actually surprised that none of them said anything all this time. They were both looking at me in disbelief with a bit of shock mixed in it.
"I am done but if you guys still don't believe what I said, then I can give that in writing too if you want," I suggested.
"You don't have to be so dramatic. We got your point," Nikhil retorted.
"Cool, then. What about you, Shree?" I asked.
"I don't care about me. I will only forgive you if you apologize to Mahek first. You hurt her the most," he said through gritted teeth and clenched his fists.
"In your dreams, boy. Don't even expect me to say sorry to her. I would just say one more thing though. Keep that bitch to yourself."
Shree stepped towards me but Nikhil held him back. I stared directly in Shree's eyes and crossed my arms across my chest.
"I understand how much you want to him me, big guy because I want to hit your girlfriend with double the intensity. Moreover, I am not scared of you. But guess what? I am not going to do it." I narrowed my eyes at him.
"Relax, bro. She already said she won't bother us. Calm down," Nikhil rubbed Shree's back.
"Don't worry. I said all I had to say. Sorry if I hurt your feelings," I gave a fake smile. "I promise I won't touch your girlfriend but you will have to make sure that she doesn't irritate me."
"You just stay away from her," Shree warned.
"Done." I gave him a thumbs up.
"Let's go, man. Five minutes are already over. And you, Sandhya. Remember what you just promised," Nikhil announced and I nodded.
Both of them left after glancing at me and I also picked up my bag and walked towards my lecture. Yes, I had a lecture. I knew the teacher didn't arrive for twenty minutes after the bell rang, so I utilised that time.
I told them whatever I had to. Rest was all their decision. Two targets were over and now only one was left. Tanya. If I had to transfer my words to Rashi, I would have to talk with Tanya first. I wasn't worried about her reaction.
I knew that if I explained her everything properly, she would take some appropriate actions. But doing that in college was a complete no. Surbhi would never let me do that nor would Parth. The only option left was to go to her house and then tell her what I wanted to say.
So, I waited for the college hours to get over. After everyone had left for their homes, I called up Dhruv and told him that I would not be able to come to the gym today.
He was really happy. And I was too because I didn't have to make any excuse as to why I was taking an unannounced leave.
I took an auto to Tanya's home and reached there within twenty minutes. I saw her car already parked in the garage and made my way towards her house.
I rang the door bell and after a few minutes, a butler opened it up. He recognised me and welcomed me enthusiastically. I asked him if he could call Tanya in the living room and he looked at me in confusion.
He was used to me going directly to her room without anyone's permission, so it was a new thing for him to see me nervous like this. But he didn't ask anything about it. He just assured me that he would relay my message to Tanya and I could wait for her in the living room.
I did as he said and waited for her to come. Meanwhile, a maid gave me some drinks and snacks to eat. My stomach was growling but I didn't touch anything.
I heard Tanya come down after sometime and I could feel her burning stare on me.
I looked up at her and she raised her eyebrows at me. We didn't say anything for what seemed like hours. Our staring contest got interrupted when a maid came and asked me if I wanted something else. I thanked her and told her that I was not hungry.
"Why are you here? I remember I didn't invite you," Tanya mocked.
"I came here myself. Sorry. I just wanted to talk to you," I said in a low voice.
"If it is about Rashi, then I have no time for you. You can leave." She motioned towards the door and I pursed my lips.
"No, it is not about Rashi. No wait. A little bit is but I am here for something else. Can you please spare me a few minutes? I won't take much of your time." I gave her an innocent look.
She pinched her nose bridge and thought for sometime. She stared at me for a while and then turned towards the stairs. "Follow me."
I quickly got up from the couch and followed her upstairs, into her room. She went in her balcony and stood behind the safety railing. She leaned her elbows on the metallic bar and when she noticed that I was there, she told me to talk.
"I am sorry," I apologized.
"What for?"
"For everything. I know you don't trust me but I swear Tanya, I didn't do anything wrong. But here is the thing, I don't expect you to believe me. Not anymore."
She furrowed her eyebrows and looked at me like I was some idiot.
"Can you please be specific about what you are saying?" she asked.
"Yeah, sure. Actually, I know what happened with Rashi was really unfortunate and even though I didn't do anything bad, I know it happened as a consequence of my earlier actions. I have nothing to prove myself, I know but I have belief in myself.
"And about Surbhi, she is just being herself and playing her role as my best friend, just like you are doing for Rashi. I don't have any complaints and won't ask you about why you guys don't have faith in me. I will just accept it because I have learned that sometimes, we need to accept things as they are."
Tanya put her lips in a thin line but didn't say anything. I was also not expecting any reply or consolation from her. That was not my motive.
"I will get straight to the point. What I did was my own decision. Surbhi and Parth have nothing to do with it. Just like the rest, they were not even aware of what I was doing. I don't want them to deal with the aftereffects of my actions.
"They are really nice people and I love them. You can hate me but please think about them. I don't want to ruin your guys' friendship because of me. I promise I will not talk with Rashi and you guys can sit with us during the lunch.
"But please don't treat my friends like outcasts when they are not at fault. You guys don't have to stay away, I will do that. So, don't fight with each other. I can't see my besties sad and frowning all the time. I am not implying that you are bad here, I am just saying not to punish the ones who are not guilty."
I looked at her after I was done and she took her time to process everything. She called a maid and told her to bring her some coffee. She sat down in her chair and looked deep in thought. I didn't disturb her.
"I can leave if you want me too," I said.
"Yeah, I need some time to think," she replied.
"Bye, Tanya. Thank you for your time." I glanced at her for the last time and left her room.
I walked down the stairs and when I was leaving, butler uncle stopped me. He asked me if everything was okay. I gave him a smile and he sighed in relief. I said my good-bye and left the house.
I felt kind of light and happy. I had managed to talk to Nikhil, Shree and Tanya and just hoped that everything would be alright. I was not concerned about me. I never wanted to be the cause of breaking someone's friendship.
And no one could be blamed here. Just like Ayush said, we can't take people for granted. They have their own views and perspective of things. I would not stress over small things and focus on my life instead of interfering in others' lives.
It wasn't like I was on a vacation or something. I was a college student; what could be more difficult? Others were capable of looking after themselves, so I should worry about myself.
Let it go when you can.