Ayaan did everything he could to calm her down.
Aarshi sat quietly in his arms, finally feeling safe after what had happened. Gently, he patted her head and spoke in a soft voice.
"As long as I'm here, Aditya doesn't have the courage to let anything wrong happen to you. I'll help you with everything... but only if you agree to one request."
Aarshi slowly pulled away from his embrace and looked at him with confusion.
"What do you mean?"
Ayaan let out a tired sigh.
"I know you're going to dislike what I'm about to say, but please... stay away from Shanaya. I don't think she's truly your friend. I think she's holding grudges against you."
Aarshi immediately shook her head.
"I don't believe that."
Ayaan looked at her seriously.
"She's still in contact with Aditya."
For the first time, genuine surprise appeared on Aarshi's face.
"How do you know that?"
Ayaan hesitated for a moment before answering.
"Because Zayn and I hacked Aditya's accounts."
Aarshi stared at him in complete shock.
"You did what?"
Without saying anything further, Ayaan showed her a picture from his iPad.
It was Aditya.
Smoking.
Aarshi's eyes widened.
"He's smoking? At this age?"
Ayaan scoffed.
"We already know he's a different breed of demon. Why would smoking surprise us?"
Aarshi couldn't even argue with that.
They were sitting on opposite sides of the same sofa now, facing one another.
After a moment of silence, Aarshi suddenly asked,
"Where's my ice cream?"
Ayaan froze.
Slowly, he turned his head toward the floor.
A melted pool of ice cream had spread across the tiles, creating a sticky disaster.
Ayaan winced.
"Sorry about your ice cream."
Then he looked at her and added quietly,
"Next time, I won't leave you alone at home."
Aarshi simply nodded.
After a few moments, Ayaan spoke again.
"If you don't mind... can you tell me what he said to you?"
Aarshi lowered her gaze and shook her head.
"Just know that I lied to him about us."
Ayaan immediately understood.
"No worries," he said with a small smile. "I'll handle your lie. This time and forever."
Aarshi looked up.
His eyes seemed unusually bright, sparkling like stars.
Ayaan's expression softened.
"Did he do something to you?"
She shook her head.
"No. He just said bad things about you."
Ayaan rolled his eyes.
"What else could he do?"
For some reason, hearing him say that made Aarshi feel lighter.
Ayaan reached out and gently fixed a strand of hair that had fallen across her face.
"Why did you lie to him about us?"
Aarshi sighed.
"He asked me, 'Don't you think you and Ayaan are getting pretty close?'"
"And?"
"I told him, 'Yes, so what? It's none of your concern.'"
A smile immediately appeared on Ayaan's face.
"There's nothing wrong with saying that."
Aarshi instantly pinched his arm.
"You're encouraging his assumptions."
Ayaan laughed.
"Says the person who lit the fire in the first place."
Despite herself, Aarshi smiled.
Then she shifted closer and rested her head on his lap.
For once, neither of them found it awkward.
"Ayaan."
"Hmm?"
"Promise me that when I call you after the vacation, you'll answer."
Ayaan thought for a moment before nodding.
"I'll try. But don't call too often. It won't always be easy to answer."
"Why?"
"My iPad isn't always with me. It travels more than I do."
Aarshi raised an eyebrow.
"What does that mean?"
Ayaan sighed dramatically.
"It keeps roaming between Karan, Natasha, and Mishtha."
"What about Zayn?"
"Zayn lives with his parents. He's not in the hostel. Why would he need my iPad?"
Then he explained,
"Hostel students like me, Natasha, Karan, and Mishtha aren't allowed to keep phones. The only reason I have my iPad is because I'm a scholarship student. You have the same privilege in your school."
Aarshi nodded.
"Ishika uses mine all the time too."
Ayaan looked at her.
"Didn't someone break it once?"
"I didn't break it."
"What happened then?"
"Someone stole it."
Ayaan frowned.
"What?"
"I found it in the dustbin the next day."
The smile vanished from Ayaan's face.
"How did you tolerate that?"
Aarshi looked away.
"I think Aditya did it."
"Think?"
"I don't have proof. Nobody saw anything."
Ayaan felt the familiar ache of frustration.
Every time he heard stories about her school life, it left him angry.
"Why have you tolerated him for so long?"
Aarshi leaned back against the sofa.
"It's not like it's always been that way."
She smiled faintly as old memories surfaced.
"When I was in junior school, I had a male best friend."
Ayaan stayed silent.
"He was a complete gentleman."
A softness entered her voice.
"Back then, I wasn't exactly pretty. Most kids bullied me because of my appearance. But he always defended me. He'd literally fight anyone who bothered me."
Ayaan listened carefully.
"It was me, him, and Ishika. We were inseparable."
Her smile faded.
"Then Shanaya joined our group a year later."
"What happened after that?"
"He left."
Ayaan blinked.
"Just left?"
"He changed schools without telling me."
The disappointment in her voice was impossible to miss.
"After he left, some boys in my class started making my life miserable."
For the first time, Ayaan truly understood how much she missed her old friend.
"Do you know where he is now?"
Aarshi shook her head.
"No."
"What if you found him someday?"
Without hesitation, she replied,
"I'd hit him first."
Ayaan burst out laughing.
"That's absolutely the correct thing to do."
For once, their conversation felt effortless.
There were no arguments.
No sarcastic attacks.
No competition.
Just honesty.
Just peace.
And somehow, both of them found it strangely therapeutic.
After a while, Ayaan asked,
"Why does Aditya keep following you around anyway?"
Aarshi sighed.
"He used to bully me in middle school because he thought I was ugly."
Ayaan frowned.
"My best friend always beat him up whenever he did that, so Aditya stayed quiet."
She looked down.
"But after my best friend left... Aditya became much louder."
Ayaan stared at her.
"I still don't understand what you mean when you call yourself ugly."
Aarshi shrugged.
"I wasn't fair-skinned. I wore huge glasses. My teeth were uneven."
Then she smiled slightly.
"But puberty fixed most of it."
Ayaan shook his head.
"You really judge yourself too harshly."
Before she could respond, he asked another question.
"If Shanaya isn't good for you, why don't you stop being friends with her?"
Aarshi answered without hesitation.
"Because she's still my friend."
"And she'll always be."
Ayaan didn't argue.
Some battles couldn't be won with logic.
At that exact moment, the front door opened.
Momo had finally returned home.
The moment she stepped inside, she froze.
There, on the sofa, sat Ayaan and Aarshi completely absorbed in their conversation.
And to make things even more shocking, Aarshi was resting her head comfortably on Ayaan's lap.
Momo blinked.
Once.
Twice.
Then she decided to test something.
Quietly, she sneaked behind them.
And suddenly shouted—
"I'M BACK!"
Nothing happened.
Not a single reaction.
Neither of them even flinched.
Aarshi simply said in a tired voice,
"Finally. Momo's home."
Momo stared.
"You're not happy to see me?"
Ayaan answered immediately.
"We won't be happy for at least four days."
Momo frowned.
"What happened?"
Aarshi sighed dramatically.
"A barking dog got inside the house."
Momo looked confused.
"A dog?"
Ayaan nodded with complete seriousness.
"A stray dog."
Aarshi continued,
"I accidentally opened the door, and it came straight to my room."
"It kept barking."
"Very loudly."
"I got scared."
Ayaan added,
"I was out buying ice cream when it happened."
Aarshi nodded.
"Then Ayaan came back."
"And the dog ran away."
"Out of fear."
Ayaan nodded again.
"Exactly."
Momo looked between them.
Something about this story felt suspicious.
Very suspicious.
Then Aarshi pointed dramatically toward the floor.
"My ice cream died because of him."
Momo followed her finger.
Only then did she notice the melted ice cream spread across the floor outside Aarshi's room.
Suddenly, the story seemed believable.
Momo sighed.
"So there really was a dog."
Ayaan and Aarshi exchanged a brief glance.
Then both nodded with perfectly innocent faces.
Neither of them intended to explain that the "dog" they were talking about had actually been Aditya all along.
And Momo, completely unaware of the hidden meaning, accepted the story without another question.