• •

It was already quarter past twelve and all the clouds were scattered in the sky, allowing sunlight to pass through the tiny gaps between all those huge trees, in the woods.

Unlike other days, today the sun rays were different. Warm and Gentle.

And for the nth time, Suhana looked down at her hands, glaring at the one single white flower they had collected so far, since the past 2 hours, in the woods.

"It has been found that people with a grumpy face die sooner than normal people" Suhana eyes stayed down, admiring the flower but she could still figure out the gaze glaring down at her.

Understanding that in no way she was getting a reply, she sighed and turned to her right.

"What's wrong with you?" She asked out aloud, unable to figure him out.

"Nothing" Vikram replied, with his jaw tightened.

It didn't take much of an effort for Suhana to make Vikram agree to this flower collecting mission. He stood there speechless, staring at her face, blatantly for 5 minutes straight and then silently grabbed a hiking bag, without saying a word and then they both had entered the woods.

"You should return back with 5 white flowers without fail. You should take this game seriously" Rohit said with a serious face, before bidding them goodbye along with some winks. Though everyone present there found his behavior to be kiddish, except Megha.

"It's utter bullshit" Vikram thought to himself, for being instructed as if he was going to dismantle an atomic bomb.

"I am rooting for nothing but for some sparks and crackers, if not some bombs to explode between those two during this flower hunting" Rohit muttured to Megha.

Rohit and Megha had slipped outside the village to the nearby Waterfalls for some alone time, while Anika had moved back to home unable to intake the love sick couples. Not one, but two.

"Nothing? You haven't even looked at me for the past 4 days!" Suhana whined.

"Why did you even ask me to join you?" He asked calmly, trying to hide his frustration.

"Because I was asked to do this stupid dare by your stupid brother with a stupid condition saying 'anyone-whose-name-starts-with-V-and-ends-with-M-can-accompany-you"' Suhana mimicked Rohit, as she continued, "Initially, Varun Dhawan was my potential partner for this but then he couldn't join because his name didn't end with an M" Sarcasm dripped down her words as she glared at Vikram, with a smug look.

"Then you could have asked Vivaan." Vikram turned his head to face her. "I bet he would have risked everything to travel back in time, so that he could change his name from Vivaan to Vivaam on his birth certificate for this very moment" He maintained a straight stare at Suhana as her mouth was almost on the ground.

"Wait--are you--" Suhana glared at him, startled, with her hand on top of her mouth, suppressing her giggles.

With his mouth zipped, not uttering another word, they both kept walking forward.

"Don't tell me this is the reason why...you have been sulking all this while? No way!" She fake gasped, mocking him.

Guessing that he wouldn't give a reply, "Come on...tell me!" Suhana nudged him lightly.

"Tell you what? That you should have brought your the-memorable-kiss partner here instead of me? Though I'm not sure if you were referring to Vivaan or another one of your fans" Vikram raised his eyebrows, as he started pacing forward, while Suhana stopped behind, her feet glued to the ground.

"No way" Suhana shook her head as she ran immediately to join him. "Are you...jealous right now?" She raised her eyebrows with her mouth automatically dropping down.

"Huh, you wish." He looked away, fixing his eyes straight on the pathway.

"Well then, you shouldn't have underestimated my experience in THAT department. I told you I had quite the number of fans" Suhana lied flawlessly, yet so proud about herself, ignoring his reply.

"Okay very well then, ask your fans to join you from here. I am leaving" Vikram turned away and started walking in the opposite direction.

"Well okay fine! I hope you lose your way back" Suhana called out.

"Yeah and I hope you have a tea party with all the wild animals here." He cupped his mouth with his hands and said on top of his voice.

"Ugh! Come back" Suhana screamed back at him, half shivering thinking about the possibility of her being curled up as a ball and being thrown up and down, between all the carnivorous animals.

Vikram turned back and glared at her, with at least a 30 feet gap between them.

"Fine sorry" Suhana declared with two hands on her hips. She knew that she had no other way but to cling on to him, if she wanted to leave this place safely.

"Sorry for what?" Vikram mocked, as he placed his hand right behind his ears,"Can't hear you!"

"I lied to you and I am sorry! Are you satisfied now?" Suhana walked forward, closing the distance between them, and started dragging him towards the initial direction they were heading to.

"Lied about what?" Vikram smiled to himself, self proud of poking fun at Suhana .

"I lied...about having lots of fans, boyfriends and about the...kiss. I have been single all my life. Happy?" Suhana grit her teeth, clenching her wrist on watching all her lies go down in the drain.

"Anyways, that's the only downside of studying medicine. But that doesn't mean...I lack anything"

"And for the record, it wasn't about Vivaan. Well why did you even drag him inside this conversation " She shrugged her shoulders.

"Hmm, well I knew it wasn't about Vivaan, I just wanted you to confess the truth about your FANS!" He gave a smug look as Suhana interrupted, "What do you know about Vivaan? I don't think...I've told you anything about him" She muttered the last line to herself, confused.

"Everything, maybe"

"Everything? I bet you don't know...like anything" She shook her head in denial, because she knew for sure that she hadn't shared anything about Vivaan to Vikram.

"I don't know about anything? Wait are you referring to the airport proposal? Or his rejection? Or..."

"Wait" Suhana paused her words, "How do you about that....Are you a...stalker?" Her eyes bulged out in amusement, as she continued, "Or...have been obsessed with me all this while?" She pulled her hands across her chest and took a step away from him.

Vikram scorned at her mini mono-acting performance, as he hit her head gently on her head.

"Enough, now look at that" He pointed somewhere behind her.

••

'Look at this shameless guy, changing the topic', I sighed to myself as I turned back.

Maybe I was too busy bantering with Vikram, that I had failed to notice a huge and beautiful tree with pretty white flowers on the top.

The tree very much resembled the Magnolia trees, though I knew it wasn't, considering this tree had a strong and huge trunk unlike the usual Magnolias.

How can something be this beautiful?

The white flowers hanging around at the top were too pretty to be real. And never I have ever come across a tree similar to this.

The more I stared at it, the more it reminded me how much I loved trees and plants.

"Are you just gonna keep staring at it?" I turned back and saw Vikram gaping at me.

"There are no flowers fallen on the ground" I said slowly in dismay.

Which means no easy work. If it were lying somewhere on the ground, I could have just picked it up.

"Don't pout, I can get it" Vikram glared at me.

By climbing?

But I never pouted okay, I swear. This guy just loves to exaggerate everything.

And the next second, he tossed his bag at me, as I held it by my arms against my chest.

"What do you even have inside this?" I flared up with curiosity, staring at his bag.

And as usual he ignored me and was about to place his hand on the trunk, when something lit up inside my brain."Stop!"

"What?" He turned to his left, waiting for me to continue.

"I'll do it" I raised my chin up, proud of myself.

Oh hello Indiana Jones, my brain mocked me.

"Do what?" He raised his eyebrows, confused.

"I'll climb and get the flower." I replied self-satisfied.

"You're kidding right?" He faked a chuckle.

"Of course not" I pulled my hair into a bun, as I shoved his bag back at him.

Thank my sexy brain for reminding me to wear only a simple top today along with my favourite sneakers and no trench coat today as it wasn't cold.

Or else I am pretty sure I would have tripped on my coat while climbing this huge tree.

"You better don't "Vikram held my arm, before I could launch myself on the trunk like a monkey.

"Why not?"

"I neither want to witness you fall from there and watch you break your teeth nor want to spend the rest of my life staring at a toothless version of you " I gasped at him, stunned.

"And what makes you think that I can't do this?" I snorted.

"Because I know what you're capable of" He scorned, possibly in the most anti-positive way.

"Wait--" I rasped. "Are you an anti-feminist?" I narrowed my gaze at him.

"What--" He opened his mouth as I interrupted him, shutting him up.

"Of course you are! Look at you being a...male chauvinist, literally mocking me, with the thought that women can't do these kind of stuff"

"I never--"

"I won't encourage you with this misogynistic behaviour Mr.Vikram Malhotra and let me prove it to you, that you're wrong" I glared at him with my hands on my hips.

I am pretty sure, he got scared considering the fact that he is gaping at me, perturbed.

"I swear, I won't tend to your broken tooth or bones" He replied as I was already half-launched on the trunk.

It was easier than I thought it to be, the branches at the bottom, which somehow had the capacity to carry my weight, made it easier for myself to climb up, with my hands on the bumpy trunk.

I pressed my hands down, lifting my body upwards, as I settled myself on the first biggest branch, from where I could easily pluck a flower.

"See that's how easy it was" I shrugged my shoulders, with a proud smile.

"Okay first get that flower and get down safely and then I'll launch a congratulations party for you" He answered back in a nervous tone.

"Now don't ignore the previous topic" I looked down at him,"How did you know about me and Vivaan...are you really a stalker?" I dragged, waiting for him to continue.

"Yeah I am so obsessed with you, so I'm planning to bury you somewhere within this location so that no one can find you or try to pursue you" He replied with a sardonic look on his face.

"Why? Did you binge watch YOU on Netflix last night?" I chuckled as I bent towards my right, and plucked a flower.

"Enough of talking, now get down" He rushed with his words.

"Why are you rushing me!" I replied back as I struck the flower between my hair bun as I placed my hands readily on the branch.

Okay, now how should I get down?

Crap!

Where should I put my leg now?

"What are you thinking?" He looked at me, confused, as I gulped.

And this is why I always tell you to keep your mouth shut, my mind raged at me.

Sighing to himself, "Put your leg on that hollow hole on that side" Vikram came forward and pointed at the trunk, as I mentally thanked him and placed my leg there, without opening my mouth.

"Now put your other leg here" He pointed to the small branch beside me as I put my leg forward, slowly moving down. Step by step.

"Now put your right leg here, carefully" He pointed at the branch, exactly above him.

I immediately launched my right leg on the branch, but it was a bit further away than I had expected it to be, and suddenly I lost my balance on the left leg as well and stumbled upon the branch.

"Hey hey" Vikram alerted, as I plunged down, with my back grating against the last branch.

With literally nothing to catch, I yelled on top of my lungs and closed my eyes ready to get a mud face pack and a broken tooth, as Vikram held me before any other disaster could take place.

I opened my eyes and found his eyes vividly fixed against mine, with his arms wrapped around me, carrying me. And for once I was taller than him, with my body certain feet above the ground.

I could literally feel his arms gripped around me, and his palms placed against my back, touching my skin.

And I could feel the warmth from his palms on my back. Confused, I withdrew my eyes from his and turned back as my eyes grew wide.

There was literally no T-shirt on my back. The torn piece of cloth from my shoulders was hanging down near my waist leaving a huge hole on my back.

I turned forward, facing Vikram with my eyes almost on the verge of falling down. And the next second his eyes grew wide as reality hit him.

He immediately removed his hands that were around me, as he put me down.

"Ahem" He cleared his throat as he turned his face away, fixing his hair.

Embarrassing. This is shit embarrassing.

I would rather drown and die in that pond, I mentally slammed myself.

"Is your t-shirt..." Vikram dragged as he stared at me, waiting for an answer.

"-Yes" I gave a nervous smile, with my hands behind me, trying to cover my back with my bare hands.

"You are joking right?" He narrowed his gaze at me, giving the I-told-you look

Here we go. Vikram mocks poor Suhana.

"Sorry" I pouted this time for real, as I magically tried the torn piece that was hanging down to fix itself back to the original way.

"And this is exactly why you should have just stayed here and watched me get the flower" He replied in a stern voice as he bent down and grabbed his bag.

It would be better if you keep your mouth shut, my mind gave it's golden advice.

"I told you to keep your leg at that branch carefully. You never listen to what I say" I could feel him gritting his teeth as he opened the first zip.

"But--" Golden advice, golden advice, I reminded myself.

"But, what?" He stood up standing opposite to me, as I shook my head from left to right with my hand motioning an imaginary closed zip on my mouth.

"Put this on" He plunged a piece of cloth against me, as I looked down and saw a grey hoodie, with Forever written in white in the center.

"Huh?" I looked up at him, my mouth hanging down, one hand holding the hoodie, the other one, protecting my exposed back.

"Put it on" He insisted.

I remained silent, glaring at him, stunned.

Saviour in disguise?

"Why? Do you want to go on a ramp walk with that t-shirt on?" He gave me an you-are-impossible look as I opened the hoodie completely.

"No I--" I hesitated as he interrupted immediately.

"What are you waiting for, change it now! " He rushed, with his head flipping in all directions, nervous.

"How do you expect me to change with you gaping at me like that" I caterwauled as he stood there frozen with his legs fixed on the ground.

"Oh.."He said in a low voice, as he stood there mute, his cheeks burning bright.

He immediately kneeled on the ground and opened his bag again as he pulled out a blanket from it.

What? Is he for real?

I bet he has a mini clothing store inside that bag of his'

I stood there, wandering my eyes, watching his actions as he opened the blanket and tied it to one of the branches, which was at least 7 feet above the ground.

The blanket was large enough to cover a bed. As soon as he tied, he swirled around me and tied the other end near the initial branch, with the blanket surrounding me and the tree behind, from all directions.

After tying, he walked in front of me, and lifted the blanket that was lying loose and held it above me, as I was covered from all sides, with my back facing the tree.

"You can change now" He said in his deep voice as he turned away, facing his back, though I could still figure out his actions with the semi-opaque blanket in between us.

"You could have just turned, this wasn't necessary " I muttered as I removed my backless top.

"What would you do if someone else passed this way while you were changing?" He replied as I smiled to myself and slid the hoodie through my head.

"Are you hurt anywhere?" He asked, concerned.

Not concerned. But, CONCERNED!

"No, you? Are you hurt?" I asked, as I slid my hand inside the hoodie.

The blanket was enough to hide me for anyone passing by. But not Vikram, he was only a wee bit away with a blanket in between, but still he could have witnessed everything if he had just turned back at me.

And I'm thankful he didn't.

"Yeah, I think...I just sprained my arms" He faked as if he was in immense pain.

"Shut up"I slammed my hand against his back, with the blanket between us, as he imitated another noise as if he was in pain.

Smiling to myself, "I'm done" I replied as he turned back and dropped the blanket, as it fell down with all its four edges still tied to the branches.

He glanced at me as he swiftly moved behind me to remove the tied blanket.

"Nice hoodie" I chuckled as I bent down tracing my fingers across the FOREVER embroidery.

"Looks good on you" He said calmly in a low voice, busy removing the knot.

"How come you had all this stuff in your bag?" I asked him, open-mouthed.

"I didn't want to bring anything. But then...I remembered I was actually accompanying Suhana and not a normal human being, so I had to pack all the stuff and come prepared" He said casually, yet embarrassing enough for me to jump off the cliff.

"Hey, why did you bring a shampoo?" I glared at him, as I randomly went through his bag.

"Suhana diving her head directly into the mud water....Felt like something you would do, so had to bring it" He smirked as I hit him lightly.

After watching him fold the blanket and dump it inside,"Did you bring anything for me to eat?" I peeped from behind his shoulders, my eyes prowling inside his bag.

Without saying another word, he dug his hand inside the bag and grabbed a shiny brown foiled bar and pushed it inside my palms.

"Woah, not bad Vikram" I patted his head as I stood up, my fingers busy unwrapping the brown foil, discovering a dark chocolate bar inside.

"Woww" I had said unknowingly, shaking my hands vigorously, as the chocolate melted inside my mouth.

"Want one more?" I flipped my head as I nodded my head, grabbing another one from his hand and then slid it inside my hoodie.

His hoodie. Yeah

A smile slipped from his mouth, as we resumed to walk, to collect 3 more flowers.

"You seem to be a completely different person these days" I smiled as I picked the wrapper.

He glared at me, with a What-do-you-mean expression.

"Earlier whenever we had a conversation...which always ended up as an argument " I tittered, remembering all the moments.