Anshika's POV :
The coke had one job—to hit the menace.
But like everything in my life lately, it missed the target. Spectacularly.
And now, it was dripping from the white shirt of a boy I had never seen before… and honestly, I would've remembered if I had.
Tall. Lean. Effortlessly calm in the middle of chaos.
Sharp jawline. Long lashes—on a boy, really? Unfair.
Eyes like they were made to look through people, not at them.
And that expression? Slightly raised brow, like he was calculating whether I was stupid or dangerous. Or both.
He didn't shout. Didn't flinch. Just stood there, drenched in coke and judgment.
His white shirt now a canvas of my clumsiness.
I opened my mouth to apologize again, but before I could—
"Perfect timing, Anant bro!" Sumit burst out laughing. "She's been dying to meet you. Couldn't wait, so she attacked you."
I glared at him. If looks could kill, he'd be ashes.
"Anant , this is Anshika. The human tornado who turned my vacation into a nightmare."
"She's living with us for two months," he added, like he was announcing a jail sentence.
The coke-soaked boy— Anant, apparently — finally spoke.
His voice was low, calm, annoyingly composed.
"So this is the girl you've been complaining about?" He looked at me.
I hated that it made me blink first.
"I expected worse," he said, lips tugging into a slight smirk. "She looks almost normal."
Almost normal.
What was that supposed to mean?
And why did it make my stomach do a weird flip?
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Anant's POV :
First five minutes back , and I get hit in the chest with a coke blast.
Welcome back, Anant.
Sumit was doubled over, laughing like this was the funniest thing since he discovered memes. I didn't even bother wiping the coke off my shirt. Instead, I looked at her —the one standing there like she'd just been caught robbing a bank.
Big eyes. Frozen mid-panic.
Hands still holding the bottle like a smoking gun.
I was amused. Just enough to hide the fact that I was curious.
"I'm so… so sorry… I didn't mean it… really," she said, words tripping over each other.
I nodded slowly, taking her in—not in the creepy way, but like… people-watching. She was a contradiction. Fierce and flustered.
Sumit finally decided to be useful. "Anant bro, this is Anshika. The human tornado who turned my vacation into a nightmare."
She shot him a glare. He grinned wider. Classic Sumit.
"She's living with us for two months," he added, like he was announcing a jail sentence.
I raised an eyebrow.
Two months?
I looked back at her. She was trying hard not to look annoyed—or embarrassed. Failing at both.
"So this is the girl you've been complaining about?" I asked, mostly to mess with Sumit.
Then I turned to her.
"I expected worse. You look almost normal."
Her jaw dropped just a little. She blinked, clearly thrown off.
Sumit laughed again, but I saw her clench the coke bottle tighter.
Interesting.
"Nice to meet you too," she muttered finally, tone clipped.
I smiled a little—barely.
Something told me she wasn't going to make these two months boring.
________________________________________
I had come back from my relatives marriage to my home and my parents returned to town X because they work there.And the bad news was that I left the key of my house with my parents And the spare key which was left at Sumit's house was now lost.
So Swati aunty requested me to stay at their home until the key is recovered.
I sat on the far end of the sofa, a safe three cushions away from her. Not because I was scared or anything—it just felt like the kind of silence you don't walk too close to.
She didn't look at me. Just stared ahead like I wasn't even there.
Cool.
I stole a glance. Black hair, a little messy. Skin without makeup, but her features didn't really need it. Lips pressed into a flat line like she was holding back a comment.
She noticed me looking. "You're staring."
I shrugged. "You hit me with a Coke bottle. I'm allowed."
"That was meant for Sumit."
"I figured," I said dryly. "I'm just collateral damage."
"You walked into the battlefield. That's on you."
She still didn't smile. Not even a smirk. Which was impressive, because I was at least half-funny.
"Do you usually throw soft drinks at people, or am I just special?"
"That depends," she said, voice calm, eyes sharp. "Do you usually barge into gardens uninvited?"
"Technically, I live next door."
"Technically, you got hit. And that makes you the victim, not the hero."
I let out a quiet scoff. "You talk like we're in some indie film."
She looked at me for a beat, finally making eye contact. "And you talk like you think you're the lead."
We went quiet again.
Not awkward. Just... still. Like we both knew this wasn't a friendly chat. It was two people silently agreeing.
Then Sumit's voice echoed from somewhere inside, and I stood up. Not because I was done talking. But because I didn't want to keep talking.
"Nice meeting you," I said, casually. "Try not to throw more beverages at my face."
She didn't reply.
Fair enough.