Aryan speaks to me in a dramatic tone, "Unbelievable! You're such a jerk, Ansh. How could you threaten and intimidate an innocent girl-and all for just a shirt?"

I reply, "It wasn't just *any* shirt; it was my favorite one-a gift from Mom. So, anyone who tries to snatch something I love away from me is going to regret it."

Karan says, "But Ansh, you could have just asked nicely."

I look at him in astonishment; if anyone else had said this, I wouldn't be this surprised, but hearing it from Karan is shocking-because him taking a stand for someone else is unheard of.

I ask him, "Are you feeling okay?"

Karan replies, "What could possibly be wrong with me?"

Aryan quips, "Don't tell me you started like her."

Karan stammers, "What nonsense... I mean, it's not like that... Fuck, okay guys, listen-you spoke to her friend so rudely; what kind of impression must I have made on her?"

I'm baffled. "What are you talking about? I don't get it-whose opinion are you worried about? You aren't the type to chase after girls. Look, we need to know the truth."

Abhishek adds, "Yeah, Karan, Ansh is right. We need the truth-what's going on in your life?"

Aryan joins in, chanting, "Yeah, we want to hear the truth."

Then Karan says, "Alright, but promise me you won't make fun of me."

The three of us look at each other and agree.

Taking a deep breath, he says, "Actually, I like that girl's friend-I mean, not just 'like,' but way more than that."

The three of us exclaim, "So, all this time you were talking about her friend?"

He nods and says with a smile, "I was coming home from a boxing match one night when some guys were harassing her. I thought I should step in and help, but the way she fought back was unbelievable. You know, your brother was totally smitten by her carefree, fearless attitude. Since then, I'd just been hoping to run into her again-and guess what? I finally found her, right here in our college."

We all look at each other and smile, and I say, "You rascal! You fell for a girl and didn't even tell us?"

Abhishek asks, "So, did you talk to her?"

Karan says, "Forget it; I don't even know her name."

Aryan asks, "What? You don't even know her name?"

Karan shakes his head and says, "Before I could ask her name, Ansh threatened her friend. I was just watching the girl-she looked angry." He adds, "Ansh messed everything up; now *he* has to be the one to talk to her for me."

I say in surprise, "What? Me? I don't even know anyone; how am I supposed to..."

Aryan says, "I have an idea,When her friend-the one who ruined your shirt-comes to return it, try to strike up a friendship with her."

I tell them, "Me, friends with *her*? Never. Our vibes wouldn't match at all; she's so old-fashioned and clumsy. Honestly, once I get my shirt back, I won't even want to look at her, let alone talk to her."

Abhishek says to me, "Ansh, please put your ego aside and think about Karan; this is the first time he's actually liked a girl."

I look at Karan; the guy who usually silences others is standing there quietly, looking dejected. I can't bear to see him like that, so I say, "Alright, fine. I'll give it a try."

Karan's face lights up with happiness; he hugs me and says, "Thank you, bro-thank you."

I pat his back and say, "Okay, but if she does enter your life, don't you dare try to forget your friend."

Breaking the hug, he says, "Are you crazy? We're the only four people who truly understand each other; how could I ever abandon you just because someone new comes along?"

Then, the four of us share a group hug.

At night

Neha is lying in Sia's bed with her legs stretched out, munching on chips, and says, "Siaa yrr tujhe kya jarurat thi uski baat manne ki ."

I said,"I was the one who made the mistake, so I should have been the one to fix it."

She continues, "Honestly, I was furious at him at first-how dare he talked like this to my bestie? But then you told me it was actually your fault; otherwise, I would have craced his skull open!

I laugh about it now-thank God you were in a good mood today and actually listened to the whole story. Anyway, forget all that-tell me, how do I get rid of this stain?"

She pops a piece of a chip into her mouth as she speaks. "just check online," she suggests.

Impressed, I say, "Yeah, you're right. Hang on, let me check."

I pick up my laptop and search for how to remove juice stains from clothes.

Plenty of remedies popped up, but they were mostly for fresh stains, not stubborn ones.

After searching for a while, I finally found an idea that seemed promising: the "boiling water trick."

I invoked every deity I could think of and followed the instructions exactly as written-and thank God, the stain actually came out! Exhausted, I walked out of the bathroom.

Neha was scrolling through her phone.

Seeing me, she asked, "So, what happened? Did the stain come out?"

I put on a serious face as I start to speak, but I can't hold back a laugh; jumping with excitement, I say, "Yeah! The stain is finally gone-now Ansh..."

I trail off, and Neha asks, "Wait a minute, what were you saying? 'Ansh'?" She teases, "My friend is really pulling out all the stops to woo *Jiju*, isn't she? Hmm?"

I blush and say, "Well, you know how it is-first impressions are everything."

Neha says, "Listen, I say when you go to return the shirt tomorrow, you should just propose to him."

Shocked, I exclaim, "Propose? Are you crazy? I like him, sure, but I don't even know if he likes me back-and you're talking about proposing? Plus, you know our first meeting didn't exactly go well."

Neha says, "Fine, forget the proposal-at least try to become friends."

I say nervously, "Okay, I'll give it a try."

The next day at college...

Neha and I are sitting in the canteen, sipping coffee.

She starts to say, "By the way, Ji..."

I glare at her, and she quickly corrects herself: "I mean, Ansh isn't around... doesn't he want the shirt back?"

Just then, I hear a voice from behind me saying, "Hey."

I turn around and see Ansh.

He points to the empty chair next to me and asks, "Can I...?"

I nod, and he sits down.

I immediately take the shirt out of my bag and hand it to him.

He looks at it, appearing both shocked and happy, and says, "The juice stain is gone? Really? That's unbelievable."

Looking at me, he adds, "Thank you... and sorry, too."

Neha and I exchange surprised glances, and I ask him, "Sorry for what?"

He apologized for his behavior the previous day, admitting he hadn't treated me well and should have spoken more politely.

I told him it was fine ... Afterall , the stain had been my fault.

Then, he asked can we make friends extending his hand and saying, "If you're comfortable with it."

I glanced at Neha; I was nervous.

She signaled for me to agree.

So, I shook his hand and said "okay" in a soft voice.

When I looked at the shirt, I was stunned; the stain had been cleaned so perfectly that it was invisible iKarat was truly impressive.

I thanked that girl she genuinely deserved it.

Even though she had initially messed up the shirt, she had removed the stain beautifully before returning it, so she certainly earned that word of thanks.

I also apologized to her because of my yesterday behaviour.

Then I asked to be friends, and of course, she didn't refuse-why would she?

After all, the most famous guy in college was asking to be friends; no girl would say no to that.

We chatted a bit more, and in the process, I knew that her name was Sia and her friend's name was Neha.

I was secretly happy that I had cleared the first hurdle-finding out her friend's name.

I thought to myself, "Damn it, Karan, look at the lengths I have to go to because of you."

Somehow, I managed to get the names and leave the place.