???? ??? ????? ?????

Soon after we "welcomed" my new research partner with a small talk I felt a strange vibe from Nina

She was usually friendly and receiving to new people she met, but now she was apprehensive about him, observing him like he was a threat to her

I nudged her shoulder to remind her to shut down the "face subtitles" she was projecting the minute Reyansh entered the scene

She cleared her throat and looked away not looking too happy about how their conversation went

An awkward silence filled in the situation, until Reyansh came to the rescue

"That was the most heartfelt conversation I had in a while" he said sarcasm obviously clear in his tone

Nina's gaze turned sharp and annoyed by the passing second but held her head up high not wanting to back down

Before Nina could speak and turn the conversation more hostile, I quickly stepped in to diffuse the situation

"Well Reyansh enough chit chat for now, we need to discuss the upcoming project we need to work on.... so I guess I'll meet you in the cafeteria"

"Aren't you free now?" He says obviously bored and didn't want to prolong the project

"She's busy with me, so you can go ahead Mr.Nerd" Nina says her voice laced with subtle annoyance

His eyes drifted to her again tension palpable between them

"Then I'll take your leave Aarna, I'll meet you in the cafeteria at 4" he says giving one last glance at Nina, his eyes darkened with a hint of anger before he left the premises

"GURL, what the hell does he think of himself?" she says gritting her teeth

"He has a reputation of being cold and rude, maybe it's just his nature Nina don't feel bad"

"Oh I feel bad for the people who bear him on a daily basis" she says rolling her eyes

"Technically we are gonna bear him almost everyday soo.....be prepared bestie"

She groaned in annoyance, so I offered her to buy her favourite chocolate chip cookies at Brew Verse....

Her mood returned to normal but I did notice she was strangely fixated on his behaviour from the day one itself

Few days later

I think it was safe to say we formed a gang by now, and by "gang" I meant

Me, Nina, Varun, Reyansh, Satwik, Dev, Tarini and Sejal

Satwik : Varun's best friend
Dev : Reyansh's best friend
Tarini and Sejal: Nina's classmates

3 months passed which meant we were required to Collab with other courses, so here we are discussing our projects in the cafeteria

We had a good rapport, except the two - Nina and Reyansh, constantly bickering with each other was their routine now to the point we just gave up to make them Friends

Tarini : "Guys we need to meet often for the project so any ideas?

Satwik : "I think library is fine"

Sejal : " But the library is undergoing slight renovations right we can't gather there"

Varun : " We all live in dorms so it's quite impossible to gather afterhours"

Dev: "Except one person"

We all looked at Dev confused about whom he was referring to

He looked at Reyansh with his mischievous smirk which made him groan in annoyance

Reyansh : "Nope not gonna happen"

Dev : "Come on buddy you live alone in that big ass mansion right next to our university the place would be perfect for our meetings"

"And besides it's easier to commute instead of long distance travels to another library just for the sake of this project....right guys?"

We all nodded in unison

Reyansh visibly frustrated agreed

"Fine I guess"

"While we are at it" Dev spoke a bit more enthusiastic than usual, "Why don't we play some games, do something fun?"

Nina : "Wow still a kid to play games huh"

Dev : "Let's spice them up to adults level then"

Nina : "Oh please we aren't gonna fall for the cliché truth or dare shit

Dev: " I agree it's cliché but it would be fun knowing about each other, I'm sure Aarna and Reyansh will get an idea on how people think for their psychology courses"

Sejal : "That's the most dumbest excuse I've ever heard"

Varun : "Guys calm down, we'll decide what to do once we reach his house, we need to work on the project first the remaining comes after that"

I looked at Varun, thanking him internally for saving the situation

His eyes locked with mine for a second longer than usual and quickly turned away and I could see a hint of blush crept onto his cheeks

Was I dreaming....I can't believe we were acting like little kids feeling butterflies for the slightest interactions in the worst scenarios possible

Dev: "It's decided then, but I must admit you guys are of no fun" he says taking his phone for mindless scrolling

For someone who is smart enough in his studies, he is adverently carefree for some reason

Soon we parted ways

Aarna: "So a meetup at Reyansh's house huh" I say to Nina trying to understand what she might be thinking

But in return all i got was "Gurl I'm done with his nonsense" expression

And I shook my head in defeat....