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March, 2015 (6 years later)

"You know, this might be a bad idea—coming from this side of the street at night. Do you see those street dogs on the left? They look ready to jump us any second now," I said, watching the dogs from the corner of my eye.

"Don't look at them, don't walk fast, and most importantly, don't you dare run," Virin commanded in a tone that suggested he was already blaming me for whatever disaster might unfold.

"I'm not promising anything," I replied, quickening my pace, my full attention on the dogs that were now following us.

"What is it with you and dogs? Even Darsh's dog seems to hate you," Kyra said, laughing.

"How would I know? Last time I checked, I don't speak dog," I muttered, trying to avoid the topic.

"Oh, wait. I know that horrible expression you make when you're trying to cover something up. What did you do to my cute Rocher?!" Virin shouted as if Rocher were his own dog.

Ugh. I wished this topic had never come up. Virin would never stop pestering me until I confessed. "It's not what you think. It's just that she might have caught me... stalking her owner once or twice," I mumbled under my breath, praying they hadn't heard me. But of course, my prayers went unanswered. The second I finished, they cackled like hyenas.

"What?! I just went into his room, that's all. Besides, she's always stuck to him. Like, you don't even have to search for Darsh and her separately—she's always somewhere around him, licking the ground he walks on," I said, unsure of what point I was trying to make.

"Are you jealous of a dog?" Virin snickered.

Oh, no. He shouldn't have gone there. "Priti," I said, turning to her with a sly grin, "do you know who Virin has a crush on?"

The look of pure horror on Virin's face was priceless.

Suddenly, he wrapped an arm around me dramatically. "Ava! My God, you should have told me Rocher was bothering you that much! It's not too late—let me make an anonymous call to animal control right now," he said, pulling out his phone.

I snickered. He could be so cute sometimes, but this wasn't working. "What's happening here? Virin has a crush? On who?" Priti asked, her curiosity piqued.

Kyra gave me a knowing smile, and I raised a brow at Virin, who looked like he was holding his breath.

"It's... your si—," I started, but Virin clamped his hand over my mouth and whispered, "Congratulations, you've won a year-long N*****x subscription for free," in my ear.

I pulled back with an exaggerated look of confusion. "Crush? What crush? Are you hearing things, Priti?" I said, feigning innocence. Priti rolled her eyes and called us weirdos before moving on.

The four of us were walking home from the mall, just a half-mile away. We were planning to crash at my place. "I forgot to tell you—Darsh and his family are having dinner at my place tonight," I informed them as we waited for the elevator.

"Hey, that's cool, considering he hasn't come out since he fractured his hand. We can hang out," Priti said.

We settled in for dinner after greeting everyone. It had been six years since Darsh's family moved in. Our families had grown close, as we lived on the same floor. Weekly meals together had become a tradition.

"What's that sound?" Tara Aunty asked, glancing at the window as the pattering of raindrops grew louder.

"Darsh! I forgot to bring the clothes in from the balcony. Can you get them?" his mom asked, a hint of panic in her voice.

"Tara, he's got a fractured hand," his father reminded her.

"Yeah, let Ava go," my mom offered casually.

"It's not that bad, Dad. I'll go with Ava. I need to feed Rocher anyway," Darsh said, standing up.

My heart raced at the sound of my name.

"Let me come with you guys," Virin butted in, snapping me out of my la-la land. Ugh. Couldn't he take a hint? I kicked him in the shin and leaned closer to whisper, "You can come with us, but forget about the revenge you planned on Kyra."

The mention of his twin rivalry was enough to make him back down. Finally! I could spend some time with Darsh after a whole week of not seeing him.

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