Finally, the last chapter rolled around, and Anuj nearly wept tears of joy when he saw the heading of Surface Markings—the concluding topic of lower limb anatomy.
Aarav told them to mark a few topics and then closed his book with the air of a man finally seeing the end of a long and painful tunnel.
"That's it for lower limb. The important topics are marked. Still, don't ignore the rest, but these topics should be your first and foremost priorities."
Anuj practically wept tears of joy.
Nikhil was fairly certain the boy would cling to Aarav's feet in gratitude if social norms, dignity, and basic human self-respect didn't exist. Who knew? Maybe Anuj was already doing it spiritually. The thought made Nikhil frown.
Tch.
Why couldn't he cling to Karan's feet or something?
Anuj looked up and found Nikhil suddenly glaring at him with deep personal offense. He had absolutely no idea what crime he had committed this time. Existing, perhaps. Breathing incorrectly. Being in the general vicinity.
Frankly, he didn't want to know.
Nikhil eventually tore his gaze away and stood up, stretching lazily. The movement made his shirt ride up slightly before he casually adjusted it again.
"Thanks, boss," Nikhil said, taking his book from Aarav's hands. His voice carried a warm, almost sincere note. "This was actually really helpful. I will study these markings diligently."
The sincerity caught Aarav off guard.
For a second, he opened his mouth, fully intending to say something cutting.
Nothing came out.
Because what exactly was he supposed to say?
Nikhil wasn't grinning like a maniac. He wasn't provoking him. He wasn't blackmailing him into midnight meetings. He wasn't saying something outrageous.
For once in his life, the idiot seemed genuinely thankful.
Being annoyed right now felt petty.
Even by Aarav's standards.
So instead he nodded stiffly.
"It's my responsibility as your senior. Just...study them properly. Try to pass the exams."
Nikhil smiled.
And that was honestly unfair.
It wasn't even one of his usual cocky smiles. It was softer. Unfiltered. The kind that somehow made his face look younger.
The yellow light hanging over the hostel benches caught in his hazel-green eyes.
Aarav immediately wished it hadn't.
"I'll pass," Nikhil said.
A tiny pause.
"For you."
There it was.
There was the problem.
Aarav instantly regretted every decision he had made over the past hour.
He grabbed his book so quickly he nearly dropped it.
"I have to go. Get coffee."
The sentence came out with all the grace and subtlety of an emergency evacuation order.
Then he turned and started walking away. Fast.
Not running. Definitely not running.
Just walking with remarkable urgency. Very normal.
Nikhil watched him leave.
Half of him wanted to follow.
The other half wanted to follow while carrying flowers and making direct eye contact.
Fortunately, the tiny remaining fragment of self-control won.
Barely.
"Alright, goodnight, boss," Nikhil called after him. "Don't stay up too late studying. Leave some insomnia for the rest of us. As pretty as dark circles look on you, I'm not sure they're healthy."
Aarav nearly tripped.
He recovered instantly and continued walking.
Nikhil considered that a victory.
Aarav considered murder. Unfortunately for him, murder was illegal.
So he simply walked away while muttering about disrespectful first years, horrible upbringing, declining educational standards, and possibly the collapse of civilization itself.
Anuj watched the entire exchange.
Then he looked at Nikhil.
Then at Aarav's retreating figure.
Then back at Nikhil.
The expression on his face suggested he was witnessing a natural disaster unfold in real time.
"You're impossible," he informed him.
Nikhil looked pleased.
The days that followed were filled with marking sessions.
Sessionals were closing in. It was only natural.
On all those marking evenings, Anuj arrived armed with highlighters, sticky notes, three pens, a pencil, and enough academic anxiety to power a small city.
Every evening, Aarav arrived with his books.
And every evening, Nikhil arrived with absolutely no intention of making things easy.
By the third session, Aarav didn't even wait anymore.
The moment Nikhil extended his textbook with that innocent expression that fooled absolutely nobody, Aarav would simply snatch it from his hands and start marking it himself.
This had somehow become their routine.
Aarav marked Nikhil's book and dictated topics.
Anuj diligently marked his own textbook.
And Nikhil stared. Not openly.
Well.
Not completely openly.
Fine.
He stared openly.
What was the point of lying?
At some stage, Nikhil stopped pretending the markings were his primary reason for attending.
Because honestly?
Who cared about distinctions? Who cared about ranks? Who cared about anatomy?
Aarav had two distinctions.
Good for him.
Impressive. Wonderful. Congratulations.
But more importantly, did you know the tiny crease between his eyebrows appeared whenever he concentrated?
Did you know he tapped his pen twice whenever he was deciding how important a topic was?
Did you know the corner of his mouth twitched when he was trying not to look annoyed?
Those were the truly valuable observations.
Those were the things Nikhil found himself memorizing.
Anuj would spend an entire session trying to absorb academic wisdom while Nikhil spent the exact same session cataloguing facial expressions like a Victorian naturalist documenting rare bird species.
At one point Anuj genuinely started wondering whether Nikhil even knew what chapter they were studying.
The answer was probably no.
The answer was definitely no.
The answer had been no for several weeks.
Nikhil found himself constantly distracted.
Not just during markings.
Hours afterwards too.
When he was lying on his bed staring at the ceiling while sleep refused to cooperate.
When he was standing under the shower and his thoughts wandered.
When he sat through lectures while professors droned on about biochemical pathways and physiological mechanisms.
His mind always drifted back.
Back to Aarav.
Back to the way his brow furrowed while explaining topics.
Back to the little frown he got whenever someone interrupted him.
Back to the way he unconsciously pushed his glasses up his nose.
Back to the rare occasions he smiled.
That one was dangerous.
Because Aarav didn't smile often. He smiled like it was a limited resource allocated by the government.
The expressions escaped him rarely, accidentally, and usually when he forgot to be annoyed at the world.
And somehow that made them worse.
One genuine smile from Aarav did more damage to Nikhil's sanity than a hundred attractive people ever could.
Then there was the mess.
He would be eating lunch.
Someone would say something stupid.
A table nearby would burst into laughter.
And Nikhil's thoughts would immediately drift.
His gaze would slide toward the seniors' section almost automatically.
Searching.
Just for a second.
Purely by coincidence.
Entirely accidental.
And if he got lucky and spotted Aarav?
The rest of the meal passed in a series of stolen glances.
It was ridiculous.
Actually ridiculous.
This crush felt so embarrassingly high-school.
And Nikhil didn't do high-school crushes.
He never had.
Not even in high school.
Nikhil had never been nervous about relationships.
Why would he be?
He was charming, handsome, rich, and unfortunately very aware of all three facts.
If he liked someone, he flirted.
If they liked him back, great.
If they didn't, he moved on.
It was simple. Efficient. Effective.
That was the system.
He got interested.
He charmed them.
He enjoyed the relationship for however long it remained interesting.
Then eventually he got bored.
And when he got bored, he left.
In Nikhil's mind, there was nothing cruel about that.
He never promised forever. He never sold anyone dreams of eternal devotion.
Everyone entered the arrangement voluntarily.
If a few broken hearts got left behind?
Well.
That sounded like a them problem.
Harsh, maybe. But true.
The issue was that none of those rules worked with Aarav.
The entire system collapsed the second Aarav entered the equation.
The game didn't break. It simply refused to load.
Because every strategy Nikhil had ever relied on seemed completely useless here.
Aarav didn't react correctly.
He didn't flirt back or melt. He didn't get charmed.
He got offended.
And somehow that only made Nikhil like him more.
Which was honestly beginning to feel less like a crush and more like a medical condition.
A serious one.
Potentially terminal.
If Anuj were asked for his professional opinion, he would probably diagnose Nikhil with Severe Academic Neglect Complicated By Advanced pining.
The prognosis was poor.
Very poor.
Especially because the patient seemed delighted by his condition and had absolutely no intention of seeking treatment.