Bit Broken.

Cold.

The cold was biting me now. Was it even real? How the f**k did he feel that? Was I too close to him? Did he read me wrong? Did I hear him wrong? "What?" I repeated.

"I wanted to tell you this for so long but..." He jumped at his place as if not able to contain his excitement. The sound of the crushing gravels were really annoying.

"I..I cannot..."

Vijay scoffed. "I have loved you for so long...The first time I saw you...At Tara's house...You were so small back then an..." He kept blabbering.

"Stop...." I yelped. "I cannot...I love Tara!" I shouted loud. Silence. Dead silence prevailed for some moment.

He opened his mouth to say something. He didn't say anything. He kept moving  his mouth as if eating the air. "How?" He gulped. His smile was changed to a smirk. "No...You are kidding right? I am not that stupid!"

"No." I exhaled closing my eyes. I just wanted this weird conversation to end. "I love Tara. Tara loves me. It's that simple and ...."

"Stop...saying that." He shouted. His hair covered his eyes again. He brushed them back with his fingers again. He slapped his forehead with his hand. "You are telling me that...that I made a fool of myself all these years?" His voice strained. 

"Look...We  need your help...Tara...."

Vijay turned around to his bike, stood there for a while and then kicked it and literally came gushing towards me and held my hand. "I do not need to know about your love story..."He gritted his teeth. "I love you and that's what I know..." His chest moved up and down. His eyes covered with tears. A drop of sweat traveled through his forehead and got lost as it fell. I stared at his face. It suddenly appeared new. Unknown. Frightening.

"Leave my hand!" I shouted. A tear drop landed on my cheek. I tried to get myself out of his cold hold but he held me so tight. "It's hurting!"

"Good...it should!" He shouted on my face.

"Vijay...We are friends..." My voice was trembling.

"Stop that bullshit!"

"What! Are you going to force me..."

He brought his face closer to mine. His nose were touching mine. His breath falling on my lips. I didn't know what to do. I didn't know where to look. I closed my eyes tight.

"You are not as strong as you think!" He pushed me with a thrust. I was on the ground. He looked down on me and tutted. "Tanvi..."

"What are you going to do?" My heart was racing.

"I don't know if I can make you mine or not but..." He came closer to me and brought his face closer to mine. "I'll make sure you don't get Tara."

"Bloody..." I clenched on the soil.

He burst into an hysterical laughter. He still had tears coming out of his eyes. "The pain I feel today...I'll make sure that you feel the same until you love me back...I'll be the villain to your love story until that love is me!" He wiped his tears and got to his bike. He went away. I still was on the ground thinking about what just happened. Getting myself together. What is coming to us next? What do I tell Tara? Vijay was mad. He would surely tell everything to the king.

As I walked to my house through the empty roads, limping, holding myself together, I feared what was to come.  My fear vanished as I saw Tara standing in front of my house.

"Hey! Why are you out like this? You'll catch cold..." I walked straight as I saw Tara. I hoped she  wouldn't notice my pain. "Let's get inside."

"No...Uncle must be sleeping." She uttered."What happened to your legs? Why are you walking like that?"

"Nothing..." I paused. " Tara...Vijay..."

"I knew he would understand...He's the best!"

I looked at her pretty face, she looked so happy. "Actually Tara..."

"Princess Tanvi...Happy Birthday!" She placed a peck on my cheeks.

It had completely slipped my mind. My birthday.

"Let's go out tonight somewhere..."

"But your dad?" The king was in the mansion.

"I have told him...it's your birthday. He said it's fine for friends to hang out after the results!" She winked.

"He said that?" It was really strange. Did he just consider me as Tara's friend...at least....at last? "Aren't you afraid?...it's really late."

"Not tonight...I have you." She smiled. The dimples! I missed them ...I missed looking at her smile like that...fearless. I wanted to tell Tara everything that happened between Vijay and me but that would take away the smile. I decided to tell her everything but after she had enjoyed a bit. I wanted to spend at least some time where we would not worry about the future. It would be just Tara and Tanvi...unbothered from the outside world. Unbothered of what the future holds for us.

We walked to the ice cream parlor holding hands. Just walking beside each other. The cold was not that cold anymore. The fear was not that fearsome anymore. I could walk for hours like that though I was limping...the pain was not that painful anymore.

After we had the ice-creams. Tara wanted to go to the lake which was at the other side of the market.

"Won't it be close at this time?"

"Yeah..."She widened her eyes and bit her lower lips. "There would be no one...just us!" she winked.

"But the gates would be closed...How would be enter..."

"You can climb the tree right? Won't you be able to cross the wall?"

"But you are ill and..."

"Please, I want an escape!" She smiled and looked at me wistfully. How could I deny that face?

I nodded. She held me tighter. "I want to gift this night to you!" She almost whispered keeping her head on my shoulder. "It has been days since we felt each other..."

We entered the lake by climbing from the broken side of the wall, still it was quite high. I made sure Tara was not hurt. She still got some red marks on her palms.

"It's alright.." She uttered while I brushed the dust from her hands.

"It's not...You are hurt and ...." I was stopped by her soft lips. Her tongue penetrating in my mouth. Her hands gliding over my back. I loosened my shoulders, I didn't even realize the tension I was carrying on my shoulders.

"Let's get to the lake..Shall we?" She whispered in a husky tone. She walked with her arms open. She sat on the grounds, plucking the grass and playing with the soil.

"Don't get yourself dirty!" I sat beside her.  Facing the lake. The moonlight was enough to see her face. See the sparkling eyes. The moist lips I had just touched.  "I love you..." I uttered and looked at the water. Serene. Sparkling.

"Why?" She asked softly with a strange thirst to her voice.

"I don't know..."I said without looking at her, staring at the silence. "Why do you love me?"

"You bewitched me..." she giggled.

"What?" I scoffed. "I did what?"

"The first time I saw you...in my house. The way you looked at me. That gaze. That smile. That moment...You bewitched me."

"And that was the very moment ...you made me breathless princess!" I took her hands and kissed. We slowly blended into each other. Kissing each other like it was the first time.  We  did nothing more than kisses. We laid under the sky, the moon and the stars... holding hands, holding each other.  "I wish the world stops here..."

"I wish that too..." A tear reached her ears travelling from the angle of her eye. A saw a shooting star falling from the sky.

"Are you worried about us?" I asked.

"No..not anymore." She answered with a strange confidence looking straight to my eyes with the liveliest smile. She came closer and kept her head on my chest. "Whatever happens...remember I love you more than anything..." The tear drops from her eyes fell on chest and reached my skin penetrating through my tee shirt. I was suddenly cold again.