Chapter 3 that is how I got my idea

"Great, you're the fifth girl to do that today." He said looking annoyed.

I can't believe this is happening. This could not have been more embarrasing. This could not have gone more out of hand. This, could not have made me so angry that I would do something more stupid than what I had already done.

Well, it could. In fact, it did.

"Wow, and you're the first guy to make me do this ever." Saying that, I grabbed whiny Will's water bottle from him as he entered the class, and poured down its contents over Darien's head.

"My water! Oh why would you do that?" whined Will, deprived of his mineral water.

"What is wrong with you?" yelled Darien, drenched in that mineral water.

"Arrogant, are we? See, the water would wake up your brain, which would wake up from its dreams and bring your ego back to reality. Excuse me." I said, went to my seat, grabbed my things and marched out of the room, before the professor could enter, while Darien just stormed out of the corridor. No way I would attend the lecture now.

I decided to go to the library, to escape from everything that just happened. Nobody hangs out there anyway. I walk to one of the inner row of shelves, sit on the floor and take a deep breath.

What in the world was Darien's problem? Does he think he is some high school bad boy everybody crushes on? How much inflated could one's ego get?

Says the person who couldn't even handle a rejection from someone she barely knew.

Okay, maybe I overreacted back there.

Maybe just a tad bit.

Oh God, what the hell have I done?! What am I, in high school or something? This is college. I can't believe I just threw that water on his head. What was I thinking? This is all Kelly, Sam, and Rhythm's fault.

Really convenient. Everybody's at fault except for me.

Oh fine.

I guess it's time I take some responsibility now. Take some responsibility for myself. I have to move on from this incident. The incident has probably already spread like wildfire, I won't be able to avoid it today, obviously. But, people would hopefully forget about it by tomorrow, what with the dance this weekend and everything.

The dance! It was never supposed to be that big a deal for me. I shouldn't have messed up my thoughts regarding it. If I have any self-respect left, I should probably skip going to the dance after all.

"Just try to enjoy your time at the university. You know it won't come back." The memory of Rhythm flashes in front of my eyes.

Damn you, Ri-Ri.

Okay, I will go to the dance to spend time with my friends. That's it. I am done thinking more about the dance.

I check the time and realise my next class starts in about five minutes. I get up from the floor and walk to the room with my head in my notes, pretending to be engrossed in them, and quietly take a seat. Surprisingly, nobody says anything, nor do they stare or point at me.

Wow, I guess some people do know how to keep their noses in their own business. That's a first the world has probably ever seen. But, this is a Mathematics lecture, attended by students who opted for it by choice, so I am guessing they don't have the time to indulge in unproductive gossip.

"So I got to hear what happened." says Sam as he sits beside me. Huh, I forgot Sam also opted for mathematics.

I know he doesn't seem so, but he is intelligent.

"Look, there is no denying that what happened should not have happened, but it did, so no point of pondering more over it. But you should know, Darien is not happy with you." he tells me.

"Well, Darien should know I am not happy with him either."

"I think you made that evident to him with the water action." He laughs a little.

"Ughhh, I don't want to talk about it." I groan. "I admit that was the height of stupidity displayed by me, but he just made me that mad. Both of us can't undo the damage caused. I'll just stay out of his way."

"I guess so. Kelly wants me to tell you she is sorry for going on and on about the whole partner thing, she wouldn't press you more now, but she still wants you to come to the dance." He says in an apologetic tone.

"I will. Thanks for your concern, Sam. I know that came from both Kelly and you." I say with a smile.

"Hey, I can be nice to you sometimes. You have been my friend ever since Kelly's been my girlfriend." He says and adds, "If it weren't for you, Kelly and I wouldn't have been in a relationship."

"It's okay. You're not that bad, Sammy." I say with a wink.

"Great, now let me focus on the lecture." And with that he moves his attention to the professor.

The rest of the day goes by in quite a blur. That's the thing with college. You don't get time to daydream, or ponder over external thoughts. You just get engrossed in your classes so much that the rest of the world doesn't bother you at all.

Well at least till the last class of the day.

After class ended, Kelly and I made our way to the sandwich bar. We sat at a table for three, as Sam was also going to get free in another ten minutes.

"Well, what's your plan now?" Kelly asks.

"You know, I will go to the dance after all."

"Wow, I am so proud of you Mel!"

"Okay, okay, chill."

"So anyway, how's the writing going? Thought of something?" She asks, whilst taking out her phone to text Sam.

"No progress yet. I haven't been able to give it much thought, what with the assignments and the whole Darien fiasco." I say.

"You know, inspiration is everywhere. Try to take a pause and notice your surrounding. I am sure you will find something you could write about that people would want to read." she says with a thoughtful look.

"Wow Kels, you have become woke." I say and give her a high five.

"Oh stop it. I am just really aware of my environment- SAM! OVER HERE!" she shouts towards him in front of everybody, as Sam makes his way towards us. He puts our usual combo on the table and sits beside Kelly.

"So, what did I miss?" he asks, as he puts his arm around her chair.

"Nothing much, lover boy. Where have you been?" I ask.

"In my thoughts, thinking about my awesome girlfriend." He says with a wink to Kelly, who blushes.

Ughh, couples.

I decide to give them some privacy and go to the counter to pick up my free french fries.

"Good evening Mr. Singh, how are you?" I greet him with a smile.

"Hello kiddo, how was your day?" says Mr. Singh, whilst going through his ledger.

"Not my best, but it was okay." I say, as Mrs. Singh brings out my french fries.

"Why? What happened?" Both of them ask me together.

So I narrate the incident to them.

"What did the young man look like again?" asked Mr. Singh, while Mrs. Singh started going through the ledger herself, after giving me a sympathetic look.

"Well, from what I noticed from our brief encounter, he was tall, and had black wavy hair." I tell him.

"This is a wild guess, but are you referring to the man sitting two places behind your seat?" He asks.

I turn and immediately my eyes meet Darien's. Oh My God.

"Yup, that's him." I say.

"You know honey, I really think you should straighten things out with him." Mrs Singh says, keeping the ledger back in its place.

"I'm too embarrassed to face him. I can't even go anywhere near him." I say, banging my head on the counter.

"Well, you would have to eventually. Because he just got up and is heading in this direction." says Mr. Singh, nodding at me.

"All the best dear! We will give you two some privacy." Mrs Singh said, and with that, the couple leave me all alone to face the devil. Oh why, did I get myself into this situation?

"Hey, we need to talk." Darien says as he approaches me.

"Yeah. Let's go outside." I say, and as I go out the door, I notice Kelly and Sam giving me a thumbs up.

We go towards the park and start walking on the trail.

"Well, congratulations, you're the first girl to throw water at me ever." He begins with a small laugh.

"I am sorry about that. That was childish of me." I say, without making eye contact.

"You bet that was. Well, I think I owe you an explanation." He says, while moving his hand in his hair.

"Go on."

"Well, I just got out of a relationship. Ever since, girls from everywhere have been trying to ask me out or get me to ask them out. It gets annoying AF. So, I decided to adopt this strategy of being a jerk to keep them at bay for a while, until I get back into the game. You know how chics dig badboys. Seeing your reaction though, that jerk image is definitely not working in my favour." He says. I immediately burst out laughing.

"You guys never understand, do you? Well, thank you for sharing this information with me." I say, wiping away my tears of laughter.

"We would, if only you all stop making things complicated." He says with a shrug.

"Whatever. I'm sorry about your breakup."

"Ah, don't worry about it. Life goes on." He says and we continue walking some more.

"So you're still coming to the dance though, right?" He asks me.

"Yes, I am. I was anyway going to hangout with my friends. What about you?"

"Yeah, same. I mean, not going with a partner, means you can dance with all of them." He says with a wink.

"Woho, player are we?" I say, sounding surprised.

"What to do, have to keep everybody happy." He says with a smirk.

"Oh I see."

"Yeah, so anyway, how is it that we have never met before?" He asked.

"If I had to take a guess, it's probably because we hang out with different people." I say in thought.

"Rubbish, you hang around Sam and his bae all the time. I am just curious as to why we never got introduced to each other."

"Well, 'Sam and his bae' are rarely thinking straight when they are around each other." I say and we both laugh.

"So who else do you hang out with? I know you don't have a boyfriend, or you wouldn't have asked me to the dance." He says, with a skip in his feet as we continue walking.

"Not many people actually. Sometimes I hang around Mr. and Mrs. Singh though."

"The owners of the Sandwich Bar?" He asks with a raised eyebrow.

"Yup, them. They are like my family away from home."

We go out of the park and head to the student apartments, since it is getting late.

"So, what is it that occupies your time, apart from classes and friends?" I ask him to keep up our conversation.

"Well, there is basketball, and after-match parties, and you know, hearing my parents nag me every time I call them."

"Well, I can totally relate to the nagging parents part." I say and we laugh some more.

"And what about you? What do you do?"

"I write." I answer without thinking too much.

"That's cool, but about what?."

"Wow, you hit the nail. See, that's kind of a problem. Writer's block has been taking over my abilities lately."

"Hmm, well not that I am an expert in this, but usually it's best to write about something you have witnessed or experienced, 'cause that's the kind of stuff people like to read as it is relatable to them, or their thoughts." Darien says with a thoughtful look.

"That's some advice I don't think I would've asked you for, but thanks, I'll keep it in mind."

"No problem, writer girl, sometimes all you have to do is think outside the box, but other times, thinking around the box helps too."

"That's creative of you."

"That really made sense?! I must be good."

"Well, you're not bad."

"Thank you for that validation. Anytime you want nonsense lines, just give me a call." He says sarcastically, "I would usually ask for a million dollars for people to use my words, but just for you, they are free."

"Great, you are now my go-to person for nonsense as well as cheesy lines." I say and both of us burst out laughing.

"Well, I must say, it is really easy talking to you." I say as I realise we are already outside the lift.

"That's how it is with friends." He says.

"Yeah, I guess."

"If you don't mind me asking, why did you break up with the girl you had been seeing?" My curious self blurts out without giving the question much thought.

"Well, I don't know if I want to tell you." He replies with a sigh.

"I understand." I drop the matter without pushing further.

"What really? You have that kind of control over your curiosity? I'm impressed." He smiles a cute smile.

"I just know when to stop I guess." I reply awkwardly.

"You know, just for that, I'll tell you. The guys actually found it quite funny. So, I had been seeing this girl from out of town since a few months, and one day, I decided to surprise her by sneaking into her balcony, and then from the glass, I witnessed a hot makeout session going on between her and another guy." He says, looking at his shoes.

"Oh my God, I am so sorry." I say, shocked.

"It's okay, not your fault, besides, it's not like her and I were in love or anything. But that guy and her were. I understood it the minute I confronted them." He says with a small smile.

"Wow, I couldn't have imagined someone like you could've been wronged." I say giving him a sympathetic smile.

"Yeah well, I always thought I'd be the one cheating, not the one being cheated." He says with a smirk.

"Okay, I'm starting to feel it was for the better that you rejected me." I say with a hearty laugh.

"Umm, when did I reject you?" He stops.

"Excuse me?"

"I never said no." He says simply.

"What do you mean?" I ask, a little started.

"What I mean is, that, Melody Johnson, would you go to the dance with me?" He asks, his brown eyes shining, and his knees on the ground.

I stand in shock for the next 2 minutes. Then, I say,

"Wow, I have not seen a smoother move." I am amazed.

"Relax, I meant as friends, no need to go all hyper on me like before." He says, getting up whilst laughing.

I give it a thought. Well, there isn't much to think about actually.

"Sure, sounds great. I'd love to go as friends." I say, and we both smile at each other.

"Well, have a good night, Melody." He turns to leave.

"Wait, Darien. Since we are friends now, you can call me Mel." I say with a smile.

"I like Melody more. So, goodbye, Melody." He says and turns to leave.

"Goodbye." I say and get into the lift.

I can't believe my horrible morning could've turned into a beautiful evening. Life can be so unpredictable at times. I had been regretting my actions, but had I not committed them, none of this would have happened. Imagine, just how differently things might have turned out had I not done something on impulse. Talk about your catastrophic theory! That, is the degree of how unpredictable the future can be.

Speaking of unpredictable, never could I have ever predicted that I would find the door to my apartment open.

"Oh my God, Kelly, Sam, how many times do I have to tell you to let me know before hand if you are going to hang out here in my absence?" I ask as I see her and Sam sitting on my couch eating pizza.

"Relax, Melly, I texted you. Wait, you didn't check your phone?" Sam asks, shocked.

"OMG you lost it somewhere!" Kelly gets up, takes out her phone and begins to dial my number.

"Chill, people. I just didn't take it out of my bag. It's right here." I take it out of my bag and show it to their astounded faces.

"What? It's rare for you to be without your phone for more than an hour. What the hell have you been up to?" Kelly asks, with a raised eyebrow.

"I know. You have been with Darien all this while, haven't you?" Sam asks with a smirk.

"Woah, wait a minute, I know you went with him to sort things out, but I figured that after that you must have gone to the library to work on your writing. You're telling me that you have been hanging out with Darien since the past two and a half hours?!" Kelly's voice is full of shock and surprise. I didn't even realise I had been out for this long.

So I tell them everything, detail by detail, how my evening had been.

"Wow, I can't believe Darien's got a thing for you." says Sam with a laugh.

"This is so cool, you're going out with 'MR. HOT LIKE JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE'!!" Kelly screams.

"Kels, I'm right here." Sam makes a hurt expression.

"Oh come on, you've said it yourself that he is hotter than the average hot male." Kelly brushes him off.

"Okay, first of all, I do not want to hear about Sam's thoughts on Darien's hotness, and secondly, did you guys not hear me? We are friends, and we're going to the dance as friends. End of discussion please." I say, exasperated with their conversation.

"Girl, I can already see the cliche-ness of this situation." Says Kelly with a mischievous smile.

"Well, you can erase that thought right away, because guess what, this is friendzone." I tell her.

"Like we haven't seen people get out of it before." Sam says, with a wink towards Kelly.

"Look, I don't know him enough to fall for him. Love at first sight is just a fairytale concept. I know he is a nice guy, and I know he can be a good friend. That's all there is to this story." Saying that, I go to my room and decide to get some work done.

As I sit on my study desk, I open my notebook where I had previously written all those quotes about life. That is not everything there is to life, I think.

"Inspiration is everywhere. Try to take a pause and notice your surroundings. I am sure you will find something you could write about that people would want to read."

Our life is made up of everything that is important to us. And what is important to me, are the small moments that can make you laugh for years to come. The sweet conversations which you could have with people you couldn't have imagined of even exchanging a word with. The people who surround me, who make my environment, who give me inspiration. Kelly and Sam, Mr. and Mrs. Singh, Rhythm and James, my parents, all of these people have been important in my life. What is it about them that makes them special to me?

They are all couples. They can be annoying, but they know how to love. That is why I love them.

"It's best to write about something you have witnessed or experienced, 'cause that's the kind of stuff people like to read as it is relatable to them, or their thoughts."

I know I have never fallen in love. But I have witnessed it. I have felt it.

And with that thought, my pen starts moving on it's own, filling out the pages of my notebook with words in ink.