Prologue 1

"Tera dimaag theek hai ya repair karwana hai?"

Shrishti shouted, her voice echoing across the college corridor.

Aayansh smirked, completely unbothered.

"Main theek hoon. Tere notes ki tarah boring nahi hoon."

They were standing in the middle of the hallway — a battlefield lined with confused classmates, shocked juniors, and amused seniors. Everyone had stopped to watch. It wasn’t the first time Shrishti and Aayansh were fighting. But this time? It was louder. Personal. Real.

"Bas karo dono!"

Shrishti’s friend Neha pulled her back.

"Yeh college hai, akhada nahi!"

Beside her, Arjun tried to calm Aayansh down, but he simply crossed his arms and leaned in closer.

"Accept kar le Shrishti, tum mujhse hamesha peeche rahogi."

Her eyes flared.

"Tujhse toh mera pen bhi zyada intelligent hai!"

Before it could go any further—

"Enough!"

A sharp voice silenced the chaos. Professor Mehra stood at the entrance of the corridor, furious.

"Both of you — principal’s office. Now."

---

Minutes later, they were standing side by side outside the principal's door. Still fuming. Still blaming.

Inside the office, Principal Sharma removed his glasses and stared at them.

"What happened this time?"

Neither answered.

"I said, what did you two do now?"

Shrishti stepped forward, arms crossed.

"Sir, he purposely snatched the whiteboard marker while I was solving the equation—"

"Because you were taking years to solve a basic sum!" Aayansh interrupted.

"Sir, she acts like she owns the board!"

"He’s arrogant!"

"She’s bossy!"

"He thinks he’s a genius!"

"She thinks she’s perfect!"

"SILENCE!"

Principal Sharma slammed the desk, glaring.

"Enough! I don’t care who started it. You both are a disturbance to this college!"

A long pause.

Then calmly, but firmly:

"You’re both on a warning. One more fight, and I’ll suspend you. And for now — you’ll be punished together. Clean the entire reading hall for the rest of the week. Together."

Shrishti gasped.

Aayansh groaned.

As they walked out of the office in complete silence, still fuming, still refusing to look at each other—

Both of them muttered at the exact same time:

"It’s because of you."

---

Prologue 2

"Move, Aayansh!"

Shrishti stood in the library aisle, arms folded, glaring at him like she was seconds away from throwing a dictionary.

"No. I picked this book first."

Aayansh leaned casually against the bookshelf, flipping through the last copy of Advanced Economics. His smirk was criminal.

"You snooze, you lose, topper."

The entire library was holding its breath. Even the librarian had stopped typing.

"You hid this book behind the fashion section. Are you twelve?"

"Strategic planning. You wouldn’t get it."

She reached to snatch the book from his hands —

He pulled it back.

She tried again —

The book slipped, fell…

…hit the librarian’s desk with a loud thump.

"OUT! Principal’s office! BOTH OF YOU!"

Madam Ahuja had had enough.

---

Cut to: The Principal’s Office

Principal Sharma rubbed his temples as the two entered, still glaring at each other like sworn enemies.

"Again you two?"

He didn’t even ask what happened this time.

"Sir, he’s immature."

"Sir, she’s dramatic."

"Sir, he ruins every class."

"Sir, she acts like a professor’s pet."

"SIR, SHE—"

"SIR, HE—"

"ENOUGH!"

The principal slammed his file shut.

"I don’t know whether to scold you or enroll you in couples therapy."

The room went silent.

"You both are on your final warning. Starting tomorrow, you’ll tutor the junior batch. Together. Maybe you'll learn maturity — or at least how to exist in the same room without burning it down."

They stormed out of the office — tension sizzling, still blaming each other with their eyes.

And just like fate intended, they said it in sync:

"This is all your fault."

---