'What's going between you and Zara?' was the first question that Siddharth asked, as soon as they entered into their room. Agastya almost choked the red bull he was drinking, while Anirudh froze.

"N.. no! Nothing is going in between us" Agastya said, as he bit his lips. Siddharth could tell he was lying from the nervousness on his face. The way his face flustered, his cheeks reddened, Sid no longer doubted- he just knew that there was a thing.

"This idiot!" Siddharth whispered, as he palmed his face. "I'm too done"

"Wh.. why Sid?" Agastya asked, his ever confident voice trembling as he looked at him.

"You like her? Yes or no" Siddharth questions, when Agastya was too confused to reply.

"AGASTYA YES OR NO?" Siddharth asked, repeating his question when Agastya couldn't even gather the courage to look in his eyes.

He weakly nods, as he lowered his eyes. His face looked like he committed some serious crime.

"I won't kill you, relax!" Siddharth said.

"It really doesn't matter you?" Anirudh questioned as he hurriedly sat against Siddharth.

"Unless it's harming anyone... I mean I'm understanding, I'll not break your ass until my sister is happy with you, one tear because of you, and I'll kill you"

Siddharth said, when Anirudh let a humourless chuckle to handle the situation. The situation between three of them was more than awkward— of course, guys and emotional talks can never go parallel.

Agastya lowered his face, as he stared at the floor. Siddharth picked a packet of chips as he sat along with Anirudh.

"So how is it going?" Sid asked, when Agastya simply shrugged his shoulders.

"Nothing.... I like her... and about her— I can't say" Agastya said, as he pictured her.

Siddharth coughed a bit, as he and Anirudh took a glance. "Look Agastya, my sister is not the one who talk in circles, she'll say clearly whatever is going on in her head. She won't twist these feelings" Siddharth said confidently, his voice turning awkward.

"I hope so..." Agastya said, as he sat on the bed.

*****

On the other side, Zara was sneezing heavily.

"Are you okay, Zara?" Aaradhya asked, concerned as Zara simply wraps a blanket around herself.

"I don't know if I'll be able to survive sneezes I can handle anything but not cold and fever..." Zara said. "I'm dead"

"Take medicine, no?" Shreya suggested.

Zara simply rolled inside the blanket, as she denied.

Her fingers curled slightly around the blanket, eyes avoiding Shreya's.
"I'm fine," she said quickly."I'll just sleep it off."

Aaradhya frowned. "Zara—"

"I don't need meds," she interrupted, forcing a tiny laugh. "My stomach can't handle anything right now anyway. You know how it gets."

Aaradhya's expression softened instantly.
"Okay," she said quietly. "We'll stick to warm water then."

Zara nodded, grateful and guilty at the same time, but still not taking the cup.

She hugged the blanket tighter, almost hiding inside it.
"It's just a cold," she murmured. "If I take something, it'll get worse... I'll feel worse."

And that wasn't a lie.
For her, meds meant nausea, dizziness, that spiraling loss of appetite she already struggled with.
And she couldn't risk spiraling tonight — not in a place that wasn't home.

"Okay! Just sleep" Shreya said, as Zara slept as soon as she closed her eyes.

*****

The next day came way too quick, when Zara woke up with a bit of headache, and cold. She wore a black sweater- with blue pants... her clothes baggy as always. She had opened her brown hairs, as she avoided looking at herself in the mirror.

"Let me put some eye liner, it'll look good on you" Aaradhya said, as she pulled Zara. "Your eyelashes are so beautiful, honestly"

Zara felt her stomach tightening, whenever she heard compliments— as if she was never able to accept the beauty.

"Hmm, thanks" she said, nodding.

"Zara..." Shreya said, as she was setting her hairs. "Do you like someone, by the way?"

"No.." Zara said, blandly

"I'm going to propose Anirudh on this trip" Shreya threw a bomb on girls as soon as Aaradhya completed eyeliner on Zara's eyes.

"What??" Both Aaradhya and Zara asked in unison— confused.

"See, I don't think so he's enough courage to propose me, so I think, I'll" Shreya said, when she looked at the girls biting her lips. "About Aaradhya- she wants to focus on her studies way too much, but you're free for sightseeing no Zara, vaise bhi it'll be awkward if I'd be the only one dating"

"We won't mind or judge you, but honestly I don't want to date anyone, not right now" Zara said, hesitating.

"I am not forcing you" Shreya said.

***

It was half an hour later, when the kids were called for adventurous activities.

"You'll all be divided into the groups of 6," the instructor said, as he put the chits— the students were of class 11 and 12th only, so the kids were separated quickly.

Six of them— Anirudh, Shreya, Agastya, Zara, Siddharth and Shreya were in the same the group.

"The first task is, trekking!" The instructor said, while kids gasped. The least thing they wanted to do early in the morning was to trek, that too a whole ass mountain.

Zara rolled her eyes, as she remembered how she's skipped enough of the food... all drained and out of energy.

"I'll die for sure," she muttered as she'd already feel the heaviness of her head.

Agastya's eyes were on her— as if he was studying her. While everyone else was busy with their own work, he looked at her as if it was the last time he'd see anything, his eyes lingered on her way too long.

He'd sense every discomfort she was facing.. and knowing her well, he already kept some food in a tiffin box, along with some fruits so that if she felt weak so he'd help her.

As soon as Zara looked at him, his eyes went somewhere else, as if he was trying to press those feelings.

As they started walking, the cold morning air hits her head, her vision blurred as she proceeded to walk. She'd feel the lightness in her legs.

While Aaradhya was busy fighting with Siddharth over random topics, and Shreya and Anirudh were busy blushing, Agastya walked slower— his steps slower... each one letting her walk first.

"I'm just tired" were his words when anybody asked for his slow steps.

He first started to play with the straps of his bag. He'd wore a light blue jacket, paired with a jeans. His hairs were messy, as the rays of light fell on his face. He was playing with the strap of his bag, when the instructor asked for a break.

Zara heavily sighed, as she quietly walked to sit under a tree. It was quiet until Agastya decided to step.

"What happened? Are you okay?" He asked, when Zara simply nodded at him.

"Yeah, actually... no, I'm not okay," Zara said, as Agastya looked at her. "I'm feeling dizzy. Can I go back to my room?" She asked, as Agastya took his bag and handed her an apple.

"Eat it, I saw you ski.." Agastya cuts himself, as he was about to mention about her skipping her meal. "You didn't eat anything... so I packed some food" he said, when Zara's hands trembled.

"Hmm"

Zara hummed, as her hands hovered on the apple.

"You don't want to eat apple?" He asked, when Zara looked at him. He takes out a tiffin.

A packet of biscuits were kept in it— foiled with aloo ka parantha.

Zara's eyes stayed on the tiffin for a moment. The smell of the paratha hit her first — warm, buttery, heavy — and her stomach twisted almost instantly.

Her fingers tightened around the apple instead, knuckles whitening.

"I... I'm not hungry," she said, her voice light, dismissive, the same tone she'd used a thousand times before.

But her body betrayed her, her hands trembled, her lips were a little too pale and the dizziness wasn't fading.

Agastya noticed every detail and still didn't push.

He quietly placed the tiffin on the ground beside her, not between them, not in her face, just close enough that she knew it was there.

"Okay," he said gently. "Don't eat if you don't want to."

The instructor called out again, announcing the next stretching round before the trek resumed.

Zara pushed herself up slowly, brushing dirt off her sweater. Agastya rose with her, staying half a step behind as they walked back. She didn't miss the way he subtly positioned himself, just close enough to catch her if she swayed again.

A sudden wave of dizziness crashed over her, blurring her vision with white static. The ground beneath her felt like it tilted for a second, and she blinked rapidly, trying to hold onto something—her breath, the tree trunk, her balance.

But nothing cooperated.

Agastya barely managed to catch her before she hit the ground.

"Zara—ZARA!" His voice cracked. Her head fell against his shoulder, eyes half-shut, breath thin.

His hands trembled as he laid her carefully against the tree trunk, but his voice was already loud, sharp — the kind of panic he never let anyone see.

"Sir! SIR!" he shouted, waving frantically. "SIR, COME FAST!"

The instructor, who was talking to a group of students a little distance away, turned immediately.
He rushed toward them with startled eyes.

"What happened?!" the teacher asked.

"I—I don't know," Agastya said, his breath uneven. "She just... she said she was dizzy and then—she fainted."

He sounded terrified.

The teacher knelt beside Zara, checking her pulse.
"She's exhausted... maybe dehydrated. Did she eat in the morning?"

He just looked at her — her limp hand, her pale face, the way her lashes stayed still.

"Sir, we need to take her down," he said quickly, already getting up. "We can't keep her here."

The teacher nodded. "I'll call the support staff. You help me lift her."

Agastya didn't wait for instructions.
He slid one arm under her knees, the other around her back, lifting her carefully as if she were made of glass.

"I've got her," he murmured — mostly to himself.

He was taking her, when Siddharth gripped on her unconscious body.

"What's wrong with her? She was okay in the morning!" Siddharth muttered as he looked at Zara. Aaradhya and Shreya helped as they dragged her to a side.

They had barely reached the resting shed when Zara stirred.

The teacher opened an ORS packet into water, shaking it fast. Aaradhya kept fanning her. Sid sat right beside Zara, one hand on her back, the other supporting her shoulder.

Her eyelashes fluttered. A soft, confused sound left her throat as she blinked, disoriented. "Wha...?" Zara mumbled as she looked at her.

The teacher handed her the cup.
Zara hesitated—she always hesitated with anything consumable- but sharp gazes from her friends and of course her twin, she'd to gulp it up in a sip.

"Do you want to go back? A teacher can go back with you, and if someone else is also reluctant to go up" The instructor asked as Zara nodded.

"Even I want to go downstairs, I'm tired" Agastya said as he raised his hand, when Zara raised her furrows.

"Even I'll come!" Siddharth said, when Zara shook her hed.

"Sid don't ruin your trek because of me, it's just that I was already feeling sick, I shouldn't have come" Zara said, when Zara Agastya headed with a teacher.

"Tum to nayi lagti ho beta! New admission?" The teacher asked, when Zara nods. "achaa! kaha se ho vaise?" the teacher asked.

"Delhi"

Zara replied, her voice still thin, still a little lost, but steady enough for the teacher to nod.

Agastya walked beside her, hands shoved inside his jacket pockets, but his eyes flickered to her every five seconds — as if checking whether she was still upright... still breathing... still there.

The cold breeze kept hitting her wet lashes; she sniffled softly, tugging the sleeves of her sweater over her hands.

"You can take the shortcut down," the teacher said. "It'll take fifteen minutes."

Zara hummed, adjusting her scarf. Her legs still felt numb — not painful, just hollow.
Like she was walking on borrowed energy.

After five minutes, the teacher got a call and excused himself for a moment, leaving the two of them on the narrow path.

Zara kept her gaze fixed on the ground, on her shoes scraping the stones.
Agastya kept his gaze fixed on her.

"You should've told someone," he said finally, voice low. "You were looking off since morning."

She shrugged. "I didn't want to delay everyone."

"That doesn't matter," he said, and his tone surprised even him, he wasn't a person who spoke so calm.

Zara didn't respond. She just kept walking.

A few more steps later, her foot slipped slightly on the uneven rock. Agastya instantly held her elbow, steadying her before she could fall again.

"I'm fine," she said immediately.

"You're not," he said, but gentler this time.

He didn't drop her elbow until she tugged her arm back herself.

He sighed, rubbing his neck. "At least eat something now... anything. That dizziness was bad."

Zara bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't want to talk about food — it always felt like someone was peeling open a door she kept bolted shut.

"Later," she muttered.

He looked ahead, jaw tightening for a second before he forced himself to loosen it.

"Okay," he said quietly. "Later."

*****

"You'd have skipped going if you were feeling sick" Agastya said, playing with the grass.

"As if I didn't said! I told the teacher and she was like I'm overreacting, I'd face this much, and took me" she said, when Agastya nodded at her, his gaze still down.

"And you couldn't say it twice? Or eat food" Agastya said, concern filled in his voice, while Zara's eyes darkened.

"I did say it," she replied, her tone flatter than before. "And I'm not hungry. It's not... it's not that simple."

Her fingers picked at the ends of her sweater, twisting the loose thread until it almost snapped.

Agastya couldn't quite understand, if he was more annoyed at the frustrated on the situation or on her?

"Agastya, take a chill pill, I'll be alright" she said, sitting next to him.

"You need to say that to yourself, you take the stress, why do I care?" Agastya said.

"I know your anger, I've seen you breaking bones and shouting, so you better not act gentleman, just to show me, don't think I'll get impressed" Zara said, as she started playing with grass.

Agastya got quiet for a moment, not knowing what to say.

"Aren't you quite straightforward?" Agastya asked, raising his furrows.

"Baato ko jalebi mei ghumana isn't my work, I can't pretend like I don't know or act fool for long" Zara said, looking at him.

"So, you want me to feel uncomfortable? Don't talk about it, no! I never told you to love me back. I can do anything to keep you happy"

"Things guys will say just to sleep with you once," Zara blurted, and suddenly her eyes widened as if she told her wildest thoughts. Agastya coughed.

******

TBC <3

How was the chapterr?