FF : Curiouser and Curiouser!(Ch17pg104)DISCONTINED.See Pg106 - Page 56

Originally posted by: Kit_Kat

aww abhay kissed her❤️
abhiya r so so cute...
love them
nice update

Originally posted by: sukugeny

aww it was cute update...loved chemistry book part..learning thing.Then photo clicking ..aww.wish v had abhiya some more of cute moments in show too.
nice update..looking forword if pia gng clg thn misha n T r thr.waiting for next update.

Originally posted by: BLUEPARROTS

Hey!! I just finished reading this story

Unique concept!

Thanks for the pm

Originally posted by: mahi4ever

Nice update 😃 da chapter name is perfect as slowly abhay n pia's life is getting filled with different colors . Thanks for pm .

Originally posted by: ILoveMe.

shreya amazing job👏👏

piya learned the whole periodic table n the elements wohoo.

she is genious😉

abhay n piya definitely have feelings fr each other but theres a long way to realize that.

party ,and all even the elements learning parts were described brilliantly.looking forward to abhay college journey.thanks fr pm.continue soon

Originally posted by: Abhiya_Visu

Brilliant update

Why cannot Piya go college

I mean she is very eager to learn and explore like the periodic table

I hope soon she will b able to go

Sorry for late reply

Originally posted by: harinisriram39

Oh Shreya, finally you updated. Thank you so much for the same.

Reading this chapter brought a real big smile on my face.

It was really interesting to read the things going on in the minds of Abhay and Piya. Abhay thinking that he might be a rebound of Vikrant and Piya cant imagining Abhay having any feelings for her other than friend especially after he had seen her killing a human. But how long will this go on before they realize that the feelings they have now are for each other. Obviously there are going to be many such instances like the zipping of the gown (naughty me 😉)

Let's see. Not too many such instances now, lol.😆

Finally Abhay began to live life as he used to. Piya is getting to know in being human, being sensitive seeing the difference in Abhay. If at all she has to go back to Faye and become the Princess she might bring new rules, I suppose, the treatment of vampires towards mutants. By the way, the vampires are supposed to be immortal, right. Unless ofcourse they are killed by the were wolves or other such supernaturals or hunters. So are the King and the Queen to remain eternal and the Princess to be princess all the time?

Not quite immortal. Vampires just live longer than humans.😆

Abhay started to note and appreciate Piya's abilities and also started to voice it out to Chand and Haseena. They seem to welcome it too. Am I wrong in thinking that Haseena has something on her mind with respect to Abhay and Piya. Then why did they have to announce Abhay and Piya as cousins? Oh God yeh kya hogaya? Now Abhay would be joining college and may be in a near future Piya might be joining him. But she cant attend a day college, right? because of the sun and she cannot be always covered fully. Chand and Haseena have some kind of protection? If at all Piya gets a chance to mingle with humans and their being cousins known to the world, baaki ladken aur ladkiyaan toh chance maarenge na Piya aur Abhay par. Tab kya hoga.

Haseena...who knows. she might and she might not.

baaki ladken aur ladkiyaan chance nahi maarenge toh maza kaise aayega😉😆

Neha seems to have taken the role of our PKYEK "T" 😆 Will we get to see more of her. Abhay seems to have been practically irritated by her. Wonder what he would do if he sees her again.

I really enjoyed reading the party sequence. Piya's dressing sense to her conversations with the people and things she got to notice.

Abhay had been away from this human life for a very long time. He said that Piya is from Dubai. Any reason for Dubai? Because Dubai remained Dubai all these years (No please dont hit me, you know how my questions are 😳 )

Because a lot of NRIs live there?😆

Will Abhay start taking lessons for Piya about Dubai as she has to be confident when asked questions about her life. Abhay cant always come to her rescue as he did this time.

He has to equip himself also. Burj Khalifa , Burj Al Arab and the Atlantis are latest additions.

Naah. Not really.😆

Abhay comforting Piya while she was sleeping - That was too touching. Would there be any chance of they both getting to read each others minds in future - like by exchange of blood?

Kyun bataun?😉

But it wont be long before they realize the feelings for each other. How long these emotions will be hidden. Now that they have only have each other.

I some how feel that Sid might land up here soon and expecting lot of fun. Its just a feel.

Maybe. Maybe not.😊

Thank you once again Shreya for the update and please you dont have to answer my questions as you will any way answer them in your future updates. And please dont hit me for my stupid questions. I will try to keep them at minimum :-)

It's okay. I don't mind questions.😊

12. Learning...?

When Piya woke up the next day, Abhay had already left for college. She dressed and brushed her hair, turning to smile at Haseena, who had just arrived.

"Well, look at you," said Haseena cheerfully. "You're holding up very well. Very well, indeed."

Piya blushed.

"We'll do something fun today," said Haseena. "We're going shopping for your mobile phone?"

"Mobile phone?" Piya let out a small whoop. She'd learned the basics of it, watching Abhay with his own. "I can have one of my own?"

"Of course you can have one of your own," said Haseena. "And you're getting a laptop."

Laptop...Piya had to pause for a minute. "But I don't- I've never used-"

"You'll learn it today, all of it," said Haseena, smiling. "Now I'm sending up breakfast- find me when you finish eating. And wear something nice."

She slid away from the room gracefully.

***********************

"Psst!" Abhay looked up as Misha, sitting next to him, elbowed him during Physics class. "What?" he hissed, careful to keep his head down so that professor didn't see him talking. He was supposed to maintain a good profile, after all.

"So?" said Misha brightly. "Where is she?"

"She?" he repeated blankly, writing down the formula he'd just derived. Without so much as asking for permission,Misha pulled over his copy and began to write on her clear page.

"Your cousin, dumbo," said Misha in a scandalized tone, as if he should know who she was talking about. "Where's she?"

"She's not here," Abhay told her, tugging at his notebook. "Now give it back."

She tugged it right back, finishing the last few lines of the derivation. "I know that! Why isn't Piya here?"

"Erm...she wanted a few days to settle down," Abhay said, shrugging easily. "She isn't, you know, accustomed to India."

"Oh...right," said Misha. Then, suddenly : "Did you grow up together?"

Depends on how you see it, thought Abhay wryly. "Not really... I mean we used to be mates when we were younger, but later, of course, we had our own groups of friends..."

"That's what I thought," said Misha cheerfully. "Anyway, I liked talking to her at the party. Bit shy, though, isn't she?"

"Yeah," Abhay agreed- and then both abruptly stopped talking as the professor began demanding that everyone who had finished the derivation raise their hands.

Abhay raised his. A quick glance around showed him that this was a mistake : no one else had done it. Shoot. He should have checked first.

He glanced at Misha next to him, who had raised her hand too. He shot her a frown. "You cheated," he hissed. Misha shot him a droll look. "Dude. I don't cheat. Friends should learn to share stuff."

He felt himself grin.

When the class got over, Misha left his company to go talk to T, whom he remembered from the previous night as being the stylish girl with a red streak in her hair. She'd been a tad reserved, unlike Misha's easy friendliness. And she also had her next class with Misha- Botany.

Unlike Abhay, whose next class was Chemistry...practical.

He found himself partnered with a short guy with rectangular glasses and curly hair. "Ritesh," he said, pronouncing the "sh" as "s". Abhay nodded to him. "Abhay."

"Heard about you," commented the guy as they began drawing tables on the notebook and setting the apparatus. "You're the Raichand guy, right?"

Abhay simply nodded. "Yes."

They worked in silence, though not in discomfort- Ritesh didn't seem the talkative type, and to his own surprise, Abhay realised he had become used to not talking to people. Now he simply didn't feel like engaging everyone in conversation.

He wondered what Piya was doing. Was she thinking of him?

Likely not. She had been fast asleep when he'd left. For all her adjustments, she still slept soundest at dawn.

He focused on reading the level of iron sulphate, tuning out the old professor's barks as he walked around the laboratory criticising the many students. Abhay didn't like him.

His first period had been theory in chemistry, and he'd hated to see the professor blowing a gasket over petty stuff. He wondered if the man's blood literally boiled when angry, and if so, when would it come rushing out through his nose and ears?

Having finished his bit, he looked up, catching sight of Sumit, partnered with the irritating Neha Tripathi. Sumit caught his eye and made an expression that said he was about to hurl.

Abhay grinned in sympathy and looked back down at his work.

Class finally got over, and he had a period free. So did Sumit, and the two of them went over to the basketball courts.

"You play?" asked Sumit, idly dribbling the ball. Abhay smiled slightly. "Sort of. Are you good at it?"

"Good?" Sumit grinned. "I'm great. I'm going to try out for the college team when the trials happen."

Abhay raised an eyebrow, impressed. Sumit was too lean and lanky- not the ideal athletic type- but something told him that this was no idle boast, coming from him.

He set his bag down. "Let's have a game, then."

*****************************

Piya was beside herself with pleasure. The mobile Haseena had bought her was a different one than Abhay's, but she loved knowing that it had been a design she'd chosen.

For more than an hour, she leafed through the manual given with it, exploring the new phone.

She quickly found that there were funny games on it, which she loved.

One she especially liked was a car racing game.

When she got tired of it, she went to read through the books on Chemistry stacked on her table. She didn't know when they had come, but she made a mental note to thank Haseena for them.

Around afternoon, she was called downstairs, to see her brand-new laptop. She sat with Chand as he patiently explained how it worked, then, overcome by a sudden desire to explore her new possession herself, she excused herself- laptop tucked under her arm- and went to her bedroom.

She was so busy that the hours flew past, until she realised that it had become dark and she went to switch on the lights. She stood for a while in the warm yellow light, still slightly unaccustomed to seeing electricity used so casually. In Faye, electricity was used only when absolutely needed, except for the Omnius, which ran completely on electricity.

She wondered if Abhay had arrived yet, and went to his room to check. He was sitting at his desk, clearly working on something.

He sensed her, and rose, turning to face her. "Hello. Good evening."

"Hello," she said, pleasure filling her at the sight of him. "How was your day?"

He smiled, and gestured for her to sit on the couch. "It was nice," he said, resuming his seat once she had complied with his unspoken request. "Misha asked about you."

Misha...Piya had to think. Ah, yes. The girl in the man-clothes. "Me?"

"Yeah. I told her you needed time to adjust to this country."

"Oh." He was already on first name terms with her, thought Piya bitterly- and immediately clamped down on her envy. "So- what other friends did you make?"

He shrugged. "Sumit Kapoor. You remember him?"

Piya did not. "Sorry," she said apologetically. "I just can't put a face to the name."

"It's all right," he said easily. "You'll be meeting the same people- two weeks, right?"

"Yes."

"So?" He prompted her. "Did you try going in the sun today?"

Piya shook her head. "Not directly. We went out to buy a phone for me."

One eyebrow rose. "Is it like mine, or different?"

"Different," she said, pulling it out of her shirt pocket and handing it to him. He looked it over. "Nice," he said, "But you haven't set a wallpaper."

"I have set one," she said, frowning. "It's a very nice wallpaper of a desert."

She saw Abhay's lips twitch, and was sure he was struggling to not laugh at her. Her frown became deeper.

"It's normal to put a picture of something which is related to you," he explained. "Like this- hold on-"

He held up the phone at her- there was a snicking sound and a blink of white light. A camera, she realised. He'd taken her picture.

She blinked. "Why did you take a picture of me?"

"Hold on a sec," he muttered, fiddling with her phone. She held out for ten, and then he handed it back to her. "Look."

She found herself looking down at herself on the screen, her eyes wide and her mouth half parted. "That's me!"

"It's you," he confirmed. "Did you learn how to use the camera?"

"Of course I did," said Piya. "Wait- I'll show you some pictures."

She took her phone from him, opening her gallery and showing him a slideshow of the few photos she had taken. "Look- that's my room," she said, as both of them bent over the phone. "That's Haseena, that's Chand, that's both of them...that's...me." The last one was the one he'd taken of her, and he grinned down at the picture, her confusion so apparent. She looked up and glared at him. "Don't laugh at me!"

He looked back up at her, and something leapt to life in the air around them, making it tangible and heavy.

Piya broke the eye contact first, snatching the phone away. "Well- that's that. Can you take a nice picture of me, not this one?"

He cleared his throat. "Of course."

She held it back to him, and sat rigidly in her seat, her lips pressed in a tight smile.

Abhay frowned. "You're not supposed to look like that," he said. "You're supposed to...smile, Piya. Don't look like you're ill."

"Right," she said, flushing. "So...um..."

She widened her smile, and Abhay shook his head. "This isn't like...sitting for a portrait, Piya. Look..do something. Think something nice. A nice memory of something, all right? Don't think about me taking a picture."

She cast about in her mind for something nice...then she focused on a dream. Being held, soothed, in arms that felt safe...seeing Abhay's face, hearing words meant to comfort.

She came back to earth when he called her, his voice harsh. "Piya? Piya!"

She looked back at him : he was handing his cellphone back to her. She looked down at it : he'd changed the wallpaper so her face stared up at her, her eyes soft and a small smile playing about her mouth. She looked...happy.

"Thanks," she said, looking up at him, surprised to see his face closed off to her, his expression blank. "Pleasure," he returned in a clipped voice. "Now, could you leave me alone, Piya? I have a lot of work." He turned away from her, his back to her, clearly having dismissed her. Piya stared at him in confusion, before her throat clogged.

Wordlessly, she swallowed the ball of cottom wool down and stood up. She left the room silently.

Abhay sat still, his pen poised over the page. He sensed the exact moment when her scent left the room.

Something had shifted in the moment he had raised the mobile camera. When Piya had let go of her stiffness, her eyes unfocused.

Something in her then...something had shifted. And he had seen something he hadn't before : something had made her smile, her eyes shine, actually shine...like it had in her memories. And that had shoved a direct one-two to his gut. He wasn't supposed to feel like this. She was his friend.

He'd sensed the hurt he'd caused her, and yet he couldn't really apologise to her. What would he say, anyway?

He shoved a hand through his hair, his pen digging a dark blue hole in the sheet.

Cursing, he tore it off and ruthlessly applied himself to work.

Piya went over to her own room, absorbing herself in the thing she loved, till Haseena came over. "Aren't you asleep yet?" said Haseena. "Come now, Piya. You need to be up at dawn tomorrow, remember?"

Piya blinked. "Oh, right."

"And have you spoken to Abhay?" said Haseena. "About-"

"No," said Piya. She'd forgotten to mention it to him, and now she didn't want to. "I don't want him to know. Can we keep this from him?"

Haseena frowned. "Why?"

Piya shrugged bad temperedly. "I just don't want him to know. He can live his life- I'm cool with mine."

Haseena raised one elegant eyebrow, but made no comment. "Very well. Now you must get to sleep."

Piya nodded and obediently set aside her notes and books. She cleared the bed, then switched off the lights.

She had to be shaken awake by Haseena at the crack of dawn. "Piyashree!"

She got up, blearily opening her eyes. "Yes, yes. Getting up."

She yawned widely, then hurried to dress.

Once she was done, she hurried downstairs. The sun hadn't risen yet, but there was a bluish tinge to the sky now, a lightness.

"Very good," said Haseena approvingly. "You are on time. Except...take off that shrug. See how much of the sunlight you can take on bare skin."

She obediently slipped off the black shrug which covered her now-bare arms, and slipped out after Haseena into a garden she had only visited at night.

She did not bother to pretend to herself that the prospect of sunlight didn't bother her. But Haseena and Chand could go out in sunlight, couldn't they? They'd adjusted, so could she.

Haseena dropped down on the damp grass beside her. "Have you ever watched a sunrise?"

Piya shook her head, watching as the horizon lightened. A pink tinge began to replace the bluish hue, and Piya watched in silence and fascination, waiting for her body to start burning. Strangely enough, her body faced no discomfort, and she watched as orange began to streak across the pink. She could see the pale silver of the moon, and then the sun rose, a ball of glowing orange.

Its rays fell across her directly, and for the first time, her skin itched slightly.

She hugged herself without conscious thought, and Haseena immediately tugged them apart. "Not yet, Piya."

She turned to Haseena. "Then when?"

Haseena smiled. "Why don't we talk for a while?"

"Talk," she repeated disbelievingly.

"Yes, talk," said Haseena. "We haven't done much of it lately, have we?"

Piya shrugged. "About what?"

Haseena smiled. "About your work. How are you progressing?"

The itching intensified, but Piya ignored it, welcoming the distraction. "Very well. I-thanks for the books. They have been such a blessing."

Haseena leaned back, smirking. "I did not get you the books. That was Abhay, too."

So she owed him again, both for the idea and this.

"You aren't going to thank him?"

"No," snapped Piya. The sun must be hitting her eyelids now. No other reason for her eyes to burn.

Haseena raised her eyebrows. "Why have you fought with him?"

"I haven't fought with him," said Piya angrily. "He has two personalities. I can't deal with both."

Her face stung, and she turned it away from the sun, hugging her arms, watching the skin of her hands redden.

"Do you want to go inside?" said Haseena calmly. "Not yet," muttered Piya.

"Very well," said Haseena. "And tell me something, Piya... Kabir Hasding. You loved him?"

Piya looked up sharply. "Yes, I did."

"The same way as you once loved Vikrant?"

Piya expected the mention of his name to sear through her, but in truth, it only reverberated as a dull ache. "No," she said quietly. "Not like that. Never...like that."

"And yet you say you loved him. Pardon me, child, but I saw what you felt for Vikrant, and that...yes, that was love."

"It was different," said Piya. "I was different. He was...everything I needed, Haseena. Everything I needed. He accepted me, spoke to me...brought me books. And he loved me in the way you mean. Perhaps I did not love him the way I must love my mate. But he was my friend, at least."

"And so was Abhay, was he not?"

Piya turned to Haseena, shocked. "How...how do you-?"

"I asked him," she said simply. "He said you had been friends, once upon a time. He did not elaborate."

Piya shrugged. "He never told me who or what he was. He was my best friend- my only friend- and then he stopped visiting me. We never even met face to face except for maybe once or twice before...before he died. He stopped wanting to be my friend because he thought I'd be happier with Kabir. And because he was a Mutant, and Kabir a Strategist. "

"So you are saying, that you once held the same regard for him, that you now do for Kabir?" said Haseena quietly.

Piya shook her head. "No. Not the same regard."

She swallowed. "And now- can we go inside, please?"

Haseena rose fluidly to her feet, stretching out a hand to help Piya up. "Of course. You have held up far better than I would have expected. I shall ask someone to run you a bath."

She let Piya lean on her as they went inside.

Piya saw Abhay hurry down the stairs, before he reached the ground, and his eyes went to hers. She saw his mouth open, perhaps to talk to her, or berate her. She didn't care : she was miserable with pain.

Now that she was silent, the pain of her burns hit her in full force. Not wanting to appear weak in front of him, she pulled away from Haseena and trudged to her own room, not looking back at him.

**************************

Abhay swallowed back a curse as he saw the blisters on Piya's arms and face. He stretched out a hand to help her, but she had already turned away, her hands gripping the railing as she leaned onto it.

He turned to Haseena. "Why is she so badly affected?" he asked, his tone clipped.

"She spent three hours under the sun," said Haseena, sounding impressed. "She will get better with time. There is no cause for worry."

"You said it wouldn't harm her!"

"That is because I underestimated her will," said Haseena. "It will not happen again."

Abhay opened his mouth to protest, when Chand said, "You are wasting your time. You will be late if you do not hurry."

To hell with college, Abhay almost said. He almost turned and went up to see if Piya was all right- then the memory of her face, just before she had turned away, crashed through him.

Without a word, he strode out of the room and to his car. His presence would only cause her distress- no point in upsetting her further.

*****************************

After her bath, Piya wearily dressed and crawled into her bed to rest. She felt sleepy and lethargic, and irritated, because she didn't want to sleep the entire day away.

And she did so want to explore the internet, which she'd learnt how to use only the day before.

The door opened and she cracked her eyes open to see Chand entering.

He switched on a dim light, and held out...something...to her.

She hoisted herself up and took it from him and almost dropped it in surprise. "Cold..."

"It's a tub of ice cream," Chand explained. "Human food, but vampires enjoy it as much."

She dipped a spoon into the tub and found herself looking at a blob of what looked like milk. "I chose vanilla because you've never tried it yet," said Chand. "It comes in different flavours."

Piya tasted it curiously.

The ice cream was soft and cool on her tongue. And sweet. She let it stay on her tongue, then slid it down her throat.

Her eyes widened.

"You like it?"

Piya looked up. "I can have more?"

Chand smiled. "Of course. The entire tub is yours."

Piya dug the spoon again, this time taking a much larger amount of ice cream- vanilla, was it? She would have to see what it was on the internet.

After a few spoonfuls, she suddenly felt much better. She looked up to thank Chand, but he was gone.

She hopped off the bed and brought her laptop.

Twenty minutes later, her tub of ice cream was finished, and she had found out what vanilla was.

She wondered if the humans knew anything about Faye at all.

She typed it into the search engine, but didn't find any mention of her home.

Biting her lip, she typed "vampires" into the search box.

Bingo.

There were thousands of results- apparently, humans researched vampires extensively. There were video results too.

She clicked on one- it was a clip from a movie. Excitement coursed through her. She'd never seen a movie before.

She watched as an attractive young man came onto the screen, along with a brown haired girl.

From their talk, she understood that the male was a vampire, while the girl was a human.

And then her jaw dropped as the vampire walked into the sunlight...

And began to sparkle.

What?

Outrage filled her. What a cheap trick! Embedding gemstones into one's skin to look different and claiming to be a vampire? Who'd shot it, anyway? She must contact them.

They were dealing with fakes here.

She clicked on another. This one, she thought, this one was better. It had a woman dressed all in black, in robes that resembled the Strategists'. She wanted to watch more of her.

An hour later, she had come to the regretful conclusion that the people in this realm had their own myths regarding her kind. What puzzled her was why there were so many different...myths.

She shook her head. No doubt about it- Humans were an odd race.

One she'd have to find out more about if she was going to coexist with them.

She shook her head and searched ice cream.

This yielded many results- humans seemed to love the food. She was in full agreement with them, opening several websites that showed her the different flavours of ice cream.

Some time later, her eyes began to hurt and her head began to pound from the sensory overload. Regretfully, she shut down her laptop and lay back down on her pillow, closing her eyes.

She'd switched off the lights, but when her eyes finally opened, the darkness of the room did not bother her. She lay still in her bed, wondering what it was that had woken her up and what time it was.

And then her door creaked open.

She stared in confusion as Abhay's figure filled the doorway and then firmly shut her eyes in case he should see her.

But as he walked towards her bed, his steps slow and silent, she remembered something. She had night vision. He- did not.

She opened her eyes to see him by her bed now, looking down at her. She stared at him in puzzlement, not quite understanding the look on his face. Why should he look this...desolated?

She closed her eyes as his hand reached to touch her shoulder, keeping her breathing even. It slid up, from her shoulder to her neck, stopping to cup her cheeks- which had probably been his destination.

His fingers brushed a patch of still-sensitive skin and she bit her lip to stop crying out in pain. Even so, she heard his swift intake of breath, and he pulled his hand away.

She opened her eyes to take a peek of him : he was clearly still unaware that she was awake.

His face was unguarded now, and she saw the pain that etched itself into every line of his face.

Finally, he raised his hand and brushed her forehead in a light caress. Then he turned and left the room as silently as he had come, leaving Piya wide awake.

Once he had gone, Piya waited for what seemed an eternity before she finally dared to switch the lights back on. She swung her legs down from the bed and went to the bathroom to splash water on her face, staring at her still-pink patches of skin.

They weren't that bad right now, and she knew that it would probably fade away by morning.

But as she stared at herself in the mirror, she wondered why Abhay had looked like that. She'd thought he was happy... Was he feeling bad over snapping at her? For both times?

She stared at her reflection for several minutes before she came to a conclusion.

Picking up her books and a notebook, she went to his room and knocked once on his closed door.

Abhay stared gloomily into space at his desk, his book lying in front of him, open and disregarded.

He had touched an injury. He had touched it, and hadn't done anything to heal it. Instead, he'd left before she awoke. Before she looked at him like that, speared him all over again.

It had been the icing on the cake for a trying day.

A rap on the door roused him from his stupor, and he rose to open the door, expecting it to be Chand.

But it wasn't. It was Piya, standing there, a set of books in her hand, a timid, if perhaps hopeful, look on her face. "Hi," she said. "Do you- um- are you busy?"

He found that his tongue couldn't quite form words. "No," he said at last. "I'm..do you want to come in?"

"If you don't mind?" she asked. He shook his head. "No. Come in."

He stood back to allow her to pass. She was wearing a long sleeved shirt and a pair of dark blue jeans, her hair twisted into a ponytail.

She lowered herself down onto the couch, looking up at him. "Hi."

"Hey," he said, taking a seat at his desk. "How've you been?"

She winced slightly. "I've been better, I guess. But it was a learning experience."

His gaze went to her cheek again, without volition. "You shouldn't do this again."

"I have to," she said simply. "Haseena says it won't be that bad next time. It gets better."

He wanted to argue the point, but he didn't want to fight with her.

"How was your day?" She asked him.

He tensed, then shrugged. "Fine."

She said nothing, simply put down her books and opened one of them, balancing it on her lap. "You can use my desk," he offered. "Come on."

She smiled gratefully up at him, pulling another chair so that she could share his desk.

As she started to work in silence, he bent his head over his own book.

"So what happened?" She asked quietly after a while. His head went up as he stared back into her dark gaze. "What do you mean?"

She shrugged. "Today, you know."

He broke the eye contact, looking down. "It was fine, actually. I couldn't concentrate much on my class, and the Chemistry professor is a sadistic -" He bit off the curse. "Anyway, I got into an argument with him when he insulted Sumit without reason."

He looked back up at her, to see her eyes narrowed with anger. "Prick," she muttered, then looked down at her notes and made a correction.

"And what else-?"

He paused several seconds. "And I was worried about you. You didn't look too good when I left- and I-"

He ran a hand through his hair.

She smiled. "Next time, just send me a message. I have a mobile now."

*****************************

The days went by as all days do for everyone : sometimes a delight, sometimes trying.

Piya had got much better at handling sunlight : she no longer blistered under sunlight, and only felt a vague itchiness after ten days.

Abhay had become good friends with Sumit and Misha : T stayed reserved around him, but they remained on cordial terms. Even so, he missed Piya during college hours.

He tried not to be bothered by the fact that she wouldn't tell him when she was starting college. It wasn't as if he wasn't hiding stuff from her : she had all the right to hold her own secrets.

As the days passed, Piya grew less and less melancholy and more and more open around him, giving him hope.

Then one day, Chand summoned him to his study for a private conversation.

"Piya will start her classes tomorrow," he said. "You will be amenable to keep an eye on her?"

"Of course," said Abhay.

"She may not be in all your classes," said Chand. "Her schedule is slightly different- I am not aware of the specifics. You can clear it with her, of course."

Abhay nodded.

"And..." Chand paused. "You must maintain the pretense at all times. There should be no suspicious rumours- not even a thought- about the two of you. You must behave normally- and make sure that Piya does not trip up either. She is unused to the ways of this world yet, and it will hardly be fair to make her handle this on top of everything else."

Abhay's brows creased. "Of course."

"I do not say this lightly," said Chand. "We received word from Faye. They are after her now. In earnest. We have no idea what-"

Abhay clenched his jaw. "Don't worry... Dad. I will make sure nothing can get to her."

"I believe you," said Chand quietly. "When I next speak to the contact, I shall probably be able to provide more details on them."

Neither of them mentioned who "them" was. Neither of them needed to. They understood each other perfectly.

Abhay took his leave, and went to Piya's room, watching from the room as she worked on the chemical properties of aldehydes, her pen caught between her teeth.

"You start college tomorrow?"

She looked up, looking frazzled, and he fancied, nervous. "Yes."

She went back to working.

"You could have told me," he said, working to make his voice sound perfectly reasonable.

"I wanted it to be a surprise," she answered, head still bent in her work.

"Right, of course," he said. "Well- all right then. I'll leave you to it."

She waved at him distractedly, shuffling through her sheaves of paper as she searched for an eraser.

Shaking his head, Abhay left.

The next morning, he was dressed before Piya was, and consequently, had to wait for several minutes.

She came down wearing a red-and-white churidar kurta, her arms covered with sleeves.

She stopped dead in surprise when she saw him, holding her books to her chest. "You're still here?"

"I was waiting for you."

Piya blinked. And then, an odd expression on her face, she said, "Why don't you go on in your own car?"

She didn't want to come with him.

It wasn't a rejection- of course it wasn't- so why did it feel like one?

Frustrated and irritated, Abhay nodded and left in his own car. Let her come alone if she wanted. Find her own friends.

In college, he found Sumit at his usual haunt near the basketball courts, idly dribbling a ball while several girls, Neha included, ogled him.

Sumit grinned in welcome, but then frowned. "What happened?"

"Piya's starting classes today."

"Piya who- ohhh," he exhaled in remembrance, while Abhay cursed himself for being so remiss.

"Yeah, man. No wonder you're pissed- you're going to have your hands full being her brother."

Abhay must have looked confused, for Sumit elaborated, "Well, keeping the boys off her. That's why you're pissed, right?"

"Obviously," said Abhay, seizing gratefully on the excuse. "Man. Sisters are such a pain."

"But she's just your cousin," said Sumit, walking along with him to their first class, Mathematics. "Maybe you can cry off your duties and stuff."

"Mom and Dad'd kill me if I did," said Abhay easily. "You know- cause she's new and everything. I'm supposed to help her."

"Where did you dump her?" said Sumit. "In the Principal's office?"

"She was there when I last saw her," said Abhay,waving a hand carelessly. "I have no idea where she is now."

When Maths ended, Abhay was joined by Misha and T in Physics, but he could hardly concentrate as he began to worry. Where the hell was she?

He typed her a text. "Are you all right?"

He got a reply after two minutes. "Don't text me right now. I'm in class."

Well, that settled it, he thought.

After the class ended, he found Sumit and accompanied him to Chemistry theory. "So did you find her?" Sumit asked.

Abhay shrugged. "She's in class."

They entered the classroom a little later than usual, having stopped on the way to hand over their assignments to Professor Bhatia, the Physics teacher, so the class was in full swing.

They'd taken written slips from their Physics teacher, of course, but Abhay braced himself for a round of bullying from their Chemistry professor.

Instead, both of them froze at the doorway, staring at the person at the teacher's desk, who was speaking to the class.

Abhay felt a flash of intuition, but even so, he felt as though he'd just been knocked over when the woman turned and smiled at them. "It's all right, boys. You've come to the right classroom."

She waved them inside, but Abhay stood at the door, frozen in shock.

Piya. With her hair done up in a bun and rimless spectacles perched on her nose.

Sumit caught his arm and dragged him inside.

"Professor Jain has shifted to a different town," said Piya-the-teacher, sounding perfectly friendly and perfectly aloof. "I do hope all of you will cooperate in my lessons?"

She looked around the room. Several smiles met her gaze.

Abhay's head fell on his desk with a dull thwack.

Teacher Piyashree Myashrowe Gradiola, indeed.

A/N : Last update for a while...sorry guys. will update this one once my exams are done. love and luck to everyone.😳