It was supposed to be a chill Saturday.
No assignments. No lectures. No 7C drama.
Krisha had planned it perfectly — a quiet afternoon of shopping and snacks at Phoenix Mall with Anish, her engineering buddy, and the only person who didn't constantly ask if she liked Abhishek.
She was wearing a simple lavender hoodie, her hair in a half-tie, and sneakers made for walking through endless stores. She didn't know why she'd spent extra time on her eyeliner though. No reason. Totally not to look cute. Definitely not because someone wasn't replying to her texts today.
Anish met her at the entrance, grinning in his usual easygoing way.
"Ready to spend half your scholarship on earrings you'll never wear?" he teased.
"Absolutely," Krisha grinned back. "And coffee. Lots of coffee."
Across the same mall, at that exact moment, Abhishek stood outside a high-end café, looking like he was being punished by the universe.
He was in a crisp shirt, nice jeans, and a forced expression.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered under his breath.
"She's the daughter of one of my clients," his mother had said earlier that week. "You don't have to marry her. Just have one coffee, beta."
And now here he was, awkwardly waiting for someone named Rhea — a law student from another college, apparently "sweet, cultured, and very pretty."
The only person he wanted to have coffee with? Currently ignoring his messages. Probably with Anish again. Laughing. Smiling. Forgetting all about him.
"Hey, Abhishek?" a voice said.
He turned to see Rhea, tall, elegant, polite smile on her face.
"Hi," he said, shaking her hand. "Nice to meet you."
They sat down, ordered coffee, and began the most boring small talk of his life. She was nice — genuinely — but his heart wasn't in it.
He kept glancing around the mall. He didn't even know what for.
Until he saw her.
Krisha and Anish were at the food court, laughing over a plate of shared fries. She had ketchup on her cheek, and he was wiping it off with a tissue, laughing like a fool.
And Abhishek's world tilted slightly.
Krisha saw him at the same moment.
Her eyes widened.
His jaw tightened.
Anish followed her gaze and froze too.
"Is that Abhishek?" he asked.
"Oh no," Krisha whispered. Then, her eyes slid to the girl sitting across from him. Pretty. Classy. Laughing.
"Oh no no no."
Anish raised a brow. "That's not his cousin, is it?"
"Definitely not."
The tension could've powered the entire campus back at HVU.
Rhea noticed Abhishek's stare. "Friends of yours?"
He blinked, snapping out of it. "Yeah. Just... classmates."
She smiled. "Do you want to go say hi?"
"No," he said a little too quickly. "It's fine."
But it wasn't fine. He stood up anyway. "Give me one sec."
He walked straight to Krisha and Anish.
"Hey," he said.
Krisha forced a smile. "Hey."
Anish gave him a polite nod. "What are you doing here?"
"Blind date," Abhishek said bluntly.
Krisha's eyebrows rose. "Oh wow. That's... new."
"You seem surprised."
"I just didn't think you were into... that."
"And I didn't know you and Anish were on a date either."
"We're not!" both Krisha and Anish said at once.
A beat of silence.
Abhishek smirked slightly, almost smug. "Really? Could've fooled me."
Krisha folded her arms. "Well, not all of us get set up with 'cultured daughters of clients'."
Anish was now awkwardly sipping Coke like it was tea in a courtroom.
Abhishek's tone dropped. "Why do you care?"
"Why do you?" Krisha shot back.
Before either of them could say anything more stupid, Rhea walked over.
"Hey," she said kindly, looking at Krisha and Anish. "Friends of Abhishek?"
Krisha smiled sweetly. "Apparently classmates."
Rhea glanced between all three and chuckled. "Well, this looks like the start of a dramatic college novel."
"You're not wrong," muttered Anish.
By the end of it, Rhea tactfully excused herself, saying she had another appointment. Abhishek didn't even protest.
Krisha and Anish continued wandering the mall, but the mood had shifted. Her smile didn't reach her eyes anymore. She kept checking her phone, even though no new messages came.
Back in his dorm, Abhishek stared at his phone too.
Typing. Deleting.
Typing again.
Then finally:
Abhishek:
"You looked good today. I'm glad you're not dating him."
He hit send. Closed the chat. And lay back on his bed, heart racing.