© 2025 Alena. All rights reserved. No part of this chapter may be reproduced, stored, or transmitted in any form without the author's written permission.
They said secrets bind souls. But what if the truth shatters everything?
The late afternoon sun spilled softly into the art room, casting golden slivers of light onto the floor. Seated in her usual corner, Shanaya Kapoor leaned over her graph paper, her pencil dancing in delicate curves and sharp lines. Her world was silent, safe—built on symmetry, patterns, and a kind of peace only design could offer.
A small smile touched her lips as she shaded a petal's edge with careful strokes. She didn't hear the footsteps. Not until the cold splash hit her hand.
Shanaya gasped, jerking backward. Water soaked the page, blurring the ink, curling the edges of the sheet. Her breath caught as she stared at the ruined design, her heart plummeting.
"Well," a mocking voice rang out, "looks better now, doesn't it? You should thank me."
"You—" Shanaya's voice trembled, fury and disbelief twisting inside her chest.
Standing beside her was Kritika, the queen of spite and whispers, a smirk playing on her lips as she casually tossed the empty bottle aside. Her gang chuckled in the background.
"WHERE'S MY NOTES" Kritika yelled
"I w-was just-t going t-to do it-ttt" Shanaya stammered like shattered glass
kritika let a dry chuckle escape from her mouth "you were Shanaya? am i your fan who's going to wait for you huh!"
"I'm sorry really sor-"she apologized but that girl cut her and wishper in her ear
"you need a punishment Stupid daughter of rich parents"
Her hand shot up, mid-air, instinctively about to slap her.
But before she could—
"Touch her and you'll lose that hand."
The room froze.
Prakriti Malhotra stood at the door, her gaze burning with a fire that could melt steel. She strode forward, each step echoing dominance. In a flash, she gripped Kritika's wrist and twisted it behind her back.
"Aaah! Let go!" Kritika shrieked, her smirk gone, replaced with panic.
"really after knowing whose BESTFRIEND she's you still messed with her and now pay for your action!" Prakriti snarled, her voice low and terrifyingly calm. "Try me next time."
"Prakriti, stop!" Shanaya cried, rushing forward. She reached out, her hands trembling as she tugged at her best friend's arm. "Please… leave her. She's not worth it."
Prakriti's jaw clenched. Her eyes stayed locked on Kritika's terrified face for a beat longer before she finally let go.
Kritika stumbled back, clutching her wrist. "You're crazy," she muttered, eyes wide with humiliation before storming off, shoving past the curious crowd that had gathered.
As the room slowly emptied, the tension hanging in the air faded. Shanaya looked down at her destroyed graph paper and bit her lip.
"I spent hours on that," she whispered, her voice cracking.
Prakriti stepped beside her, wrapping an arm around Shanaya's shoulder. "We'll redraw it," she said firmly. "Together. And next time someone messes with you, make sure they regret it."
Shanaya nodded, blinking away the sting in her eyes. In that moment, despite the chaos, she felt safe. Because with Prakriti by her side, the world didn't seem quite so cruel
The Last commotion had barely died down when a peon appeared at the art room door, his voice echoing across the walls.
"Prakriti Malhotra, Principal's office. Right now."
Both girls froze.
Shanaya blinked, turning slowly toward the door. "Did I just hear Your own name in the death sentence tone?"
Prakriti raised a brow. "Yes You did. And guess what, This Time I didn't punch anyone"
Shanaya chuckled, still dabbing at her soaked sketch. "But What did you do this time? Sabotage the vending machine again?"
"I liberated it," Prakriti said proudly, grabbing her blazer. "Besides, Dadu probably misses me. It's been, what, two whole days since he last threatened to disown me?"
"Best-case scenario, I charm my way out of it. He's basically my innocent dadu" prakriti flipped her hair with mock pride. "I've known Dadu since I was in diapers. He once gave me chocolate for coloring inside the lines. I'm practically a school legacy."
"You're impossible."
Prakriti smirked and gave her best friend a salute. "Try not to cause another dramatic scene while I'm gone."
"No promises."
As Prakriti swaggered out of the room, Shanaya glanced down at her ruined design one last time, then quietly slipped it into her folder. The tension was gone, replaced by a strange calm. She stood, brushing off her skirt, and picked up her tote bag.
The sun outside had mellowed. The school garden beckoned—lush, quiet, and peaceful. Her safe place.
She took a deep breath and made her way toward it, the soft crunch of gravel beneath her shoes as familiar as her own heartbeat. She didn't look back.
She didn't notice the staff members whispering quietly in the hallway.
She didn't feel the subtle shift in the air around her.
As she stepped into the garden, the wind played with her hair gently, almost like a final moment of stillness before chaos.
And somewhere, not too far away, Prakriti was walking into the principal's office, about to hear something that would tilt everything sideways.
Both bestfriend left the room and went towards their destination unknowingly soon their journey will going be start from hate, love, revenge and don't forget passion!
And they definitely didn't expect that stepping into that office or garden would mark the beginning of a storm neither of them was prepared for.
Because sometimes, life doesn't sendwarnings—it just knocks.
Where Shanaya is water—calm, deep, and healing—Prakriti is fire—passionate, volatile, and warm. One soothes, the other defends. Together, they balance each other.
A glance from Shanaya is enough to calm Prakriti's rage. A joke from Prakriti is enough to pull Shanaya from her silence. They've built a friendship that's more like a sisterhood, laced with teasing, loyalty, and late-night pinky promises.
But... Change is Coming:
Neither knows that life is about to test their bond in ways they never imagined. Loyalties will be shaken. Truths will unfold. And they'll have to ask themselves—what are you willing to lose to protect someone you love?!
FLASHBACK — Five Years Ago
The hospital corridor was too white. Too cold. Too quiet.
A twelve-year-old Prakriti Malhotra sat on the waiting bench outside the ICU, her fists clenched, sleeves pulled down over her hands. Her school bag lay forgotten beside her—still half-zipped, her math homework sticking out.
Inside that room, her world was changing.
Her mother had collapsed that morning. Stress, the doctor said. Overwork. Emotional breakdown.
And Prakriti—brave, reckless, dramatic Prakriti—had frozen.
She hadn't cried. Not yet. She just sat still. Too still.
A pair of familiar shoes stopped in front of her. Black leather. Polished. Predictable.
Principal Ranvijay Malhotra, her grandfather, crouched down slowly to her eye level.
"Kriti," he said softly. "Look at me."
She didn't.
He placed a hand on her shoulder. "Beta, your mummy going to be fine."
Her lip trembled. "They said she's having problems to breathing."
He nodded. "That's why she's resting. And when she wakes up, she's going to be proud of how strong her daughter is."
"I wasn't strong," Prakriti whispered. "I froze. I didn't know what to do."
"You're twelve," he said. "You're not supposed to know. You're just supposed to feel. And I've seen you, kriti—you feel everything so loud, so deep, it scares even the grownups."
She finally looked at him, tears brimming. "Then why does it feel like I'm not enough?"
"Because you care too much. And the world doesn't always understand that."
He paused, wiping her tears with his thumb.
"But you're going to grow up into someone who doesn't let anyone hurt the people she loves."
"And if they try?" she asked, voice small.
His smile curved with mischief. "Then you'll break their nose and call me later to lie about it."
She laughed through her sniffles. "You'll cover for me?"
"Always."
Back to Present
As Prakriti approached the principal's office, she could still hear that promise echo in her head.
"You're going to grow up into someone who doesn't let anyone hurt the people she loves."
And she had.
Only now, she didn't know that the next hurt coming—would be one she couldn't punch away.
________________________
The Basketball Court — Same Time
The crowd roared as the final whistle blew. The scoreboard blinked: 67 - 63.
Vedant Singh Rajput dropped the ball with a lazy smirk, sweat dripping from his jawline. His jersey clung to his body, and his knuckles were red from the force of that last-winning dunk. The school's "bad boy" had just carried the team—again.
"VSR VSR VSR!!"students was hooting and cheering for the captain of the basketball team
Girls in the front row clapped a little too hard. Teachers nodded in approval. But Vedant didn't care.
But He wasn't playing for cheers.
He scanned the court, eyes narrowed. "Where's the new player?" he asked, swinging his towel around his neck. "I told him to show up today After warning."
His friend Ravi gulped, shifting from foot to foot like a squirrel caught stealing snacks.
Vedant raised a brow. "Don't go mute now."
"He's… uh…" Ravi mumbled. "He didn't come."
"I can see that." Vedant stepped closer. "Why didn't he come?"
Ravi looked like he was calculating his options. "He… might be on a date."
Dead silence. Then—
SMACK.
Vedant whacked the back of his head—not too hard, just enough to make the boy stumble.
"A date?" Vedant's tone was low, dangerous. "I told him this match was not optional."
Ravi rubbed his head. "I tried stopping him! But he said it was an emergency date!"
"Emergency date? What, she was gonna evaporate if he didn't show up?"
"And You know most interesting part you won't believed vedant according to him he fall in love at first sight" his friend burst into laugh to make Atmosphere little stable Unfortunately he can't.
but vedant didn't found that funny not even a bit
he punch his friend on stomach to stop him from laughing
he scoffed "falling for someone body is not love is called lust bol usse kal mujhe mile tab btaunga love at last sight"
("Tell him to meet me tomorrow, then I will tell him about love at the last sight")
The other boys tried not to laugh—but failed.
"Looks like someone's jealous," Ritik grinned, elbowing Vedant. "Don't worry, bro. Your secret girlfriend still likes you."
"What secret girlfriend?" Vedant snapped.
"Oh come on," Ritik smirked. "You disappear from class, roam the corridors like a villain in a series, and you never let anyone touch your phone."
Vedant rolled his eyes and pulled his hoodie up over his head. "Idiots."
A playful smirk tug on Ritik face
" bhai sach bata teri koi secret bandi to nahi hai na wo mujh-"
(Brother, tell me the truth, do you have any secret girlfriend, right? She is with me-")
before he can uttered more words vedant hold him from his collar and drag him to the corner "ruk milawat hu mai tujhe teri bhabhi se"
("Wait, I will introduce you to your sister-in-law")
his friend lightly pushed him and runaway and he started running after him
"abe ruk"
("you stop")
"Come back here, you piece of—!" Vedant growled, lunging toward Ritik
Ritik yelped and bolted, laughing. "Violence won't fix your love life, Vedant!"
Vedant charged, fist cocked, fully prepared to deliver a light punch that said 'shut up before I bury you.'
But just as he turned the corner—
BAM!
He collided hard into someone.
The impact sent the girl stumbling backward—and Vedant instinctively reached out, grabbing her arm to steady her.
"ahh" she pressed her temple and looked at him annoyingly
"Watch where you're—" he began, but then paused.
Because the girl wasn't just anyone.
She had fallen against him, her sketchbook hitting the floor. Her long dark hair fell over her eyes, and she looked up, startled—eyes wide, chest rising with shock.
Shanaya Kapoor.
The girl who barely talked in class. The one who always had her headphones in, lost in her own world. The one who looked like she belonged in a painting more than a school hallway.
"Oh—I'm sorry, I didn't see—" she started softly, bending down to grab her book.
Vedant stared for a second too long.
She wasn't his type.
Too quiet. Too soft.
But there was something about her—something that made time pause for half a second.
Ritik peeked from behind the pillar. "Brooo… did your secret girlfriend just crash into you?"
Vedant glared.
"I'll punch you later," he muttered without looking back.
He leaned down, picked up her book before she could, and handed it to her wordlessly.
Their fingers brushed.
She blinked up at him.
After that what happened he never had was unimaginable for them But IT wasn't Love at first sight One Thing for sure it was going to be a real crash course in love.
The storm had begun.
They just hadn't heard the thunder yet.
TO BE CONTINUED….