Chapter 3
I wasn't surprised when Zavi got accepted into an Ivy League college. He had always been an overachiever. It came easy to him, given that he was the king of a freaking magical world. It wasn't fair to students like me, who worked their asses off to get good grades, while he breezed through his textbooks a day before exams and still aced them.During my teenage years—the period when I was a woman stuck in a child's body—my attraction to Zavi was at its worst. Whether it was hormones or some other inexplicable factor, I didn't know, but the mere sight of him made my heart race.Zavi had long since transitioned into the adult category. Seeing him with his grown-up college friends was like salt on my open wounds. Not that I expected him to suddenly be nice to me. He had stopped bullying me; instead, he downright ignored me now, as if I were invisible. I should have been happy, but I wasn't. The indifference hurt just as much as his harsh words once had.Ashu, on the other hand, had grown more attached to me. Whenever I was at the Bhaskar family's house, Ashu spent most of his time either on my lap, by my side, or curled up beside me. Zavi wasn't as close to Ashu as he used to be when he was younger. He was busy now, not to mention wildly popular in college. As far as our small town was concerned, he was more or less a celebrity, with girls flocking around him like bees to honey.The Bhaskar family was throwing Zavi a college graduation party. I sat on the stairs, looking down at the sea of people. Priya was busy with her school friends. I knew why they were here. Everyone thought they had a chance with Zavi. The obnoxious way our classmates flirted with him made me want to throw up. They were painfully obvious, and so was Zavi's disinterest in them. Not that he was a saint—he flirted with older girls, girls his age.God, I felt so young when I looked at them. He was seven years older than me. At fourteen, I was just a schoolgirl with newly acquired boobs, which I bet he had no interest in. Meanwhile, he was surrounded by women with big, luscious breasts, all pushing themselves toward him.Mr. and Mrs. Bhaskar were liberal parents who let their kids do whatever they wanted. That's why the music was still on after 10 PM and booze was allowed at the party. Priya was technically barred from drinking, but from the way she was giggling, I bet she was already drunk.I sat upstairs, my legs dangling from the railing, my face pressed between the gaps. I could have gone down, but I had no friends at the party. I preferred Ashu's company anyway.Zavi was standing at the far end of the living room, sipping beer with his college friends. They had flown in from different cities just to attend his graduation party. Talk about commitment. He was, after all, a star friend. People said there was a charm about him, something that made you feel drawn to him.I was definitely attracted to him for reasons I didn't understand, but charm was not it.The girls laughed at something he said. Their laughter could only be described as hyenas' mating calls. One of them placed her perfectly manicured hand on his shoulder and whispered something in his ear. My heart throbbed with a weird ache as I saw Zavi's whole face light up with a smile. He smiled the way he never smiled at me. In fact, he smiled at everyone that way—except me.I bit the inside of my cheek, trying not to let him get to me. It didn't help that he had grown even more beautiful than he was as a kid. It made ignoring him so much harder.Zavi was a heart-winner. Everyone was in his good books, except me. Every time he had to speak to me, his eyes narrowed, his teeth clenched, and his face twisted into a scowl. It hurt. It hurt so badly.I didn't want to be like the other girls, salivating over his looks, but how could anyone help themselves around him? He was a walking, talking masterpiece, impossible to ignore. So intelligent. So intense.As mean as he was to me, he was never harsh toward others. I'd seen him go out of his way to help people.I sighed and stared at him—or more precisely, at his back, which was turned to me. He was tall, taller than everyone else in the crowd. I could see why his female classmates drooled over him. He wasn't handsome in a boyish way. He was the kind of handsome you'd see in men's perfume commercials.I rested my chin on my hand, waiting for the party to end so I could finally go to bed. These beautiful girls made me feel so small. When I looked at them, I realized I was just a silly, chubby girl—a girl Zavi would never notice.Ashu was the only bright spot in my teenage turmoil. Even though he came from a different world, I had grown used to it. Ashu had become a huge beast, almost the size of an actual tiger. The stripes on his fur had lightened and now meshed with his silver coat. He looked almost like a saber-tooth tiger. His massive, pearly white canines jutted out like two daggers.Though he couldn't exactly be called cute anymore, I loved him just the same. His teeth didn't bother me. I knew Ashu would never hurt me.I narrowed my eyes when I saw the girl from earlier slide her hand up Zavi's arm and press her chest against him. I had no idea how these girls could be so blatant and get away with it. He had to be blind not to see what she was doing. Maybe he liked it. He didn't seem bothered.Jealousy boiled inside me, but then something fuzzy brushed against my back. I turned around and smiled at Ashu, running my fingers through his thick fur. He loved that. He rubbed his head against my arm, demanding neck rubs like the oversized cat he was."It's not very royal of him to entertain lowly peasants and let them touch him, is it? I thought he hated humans," I said, glaring in Zavi's direction.Ashu turned his head, stared at Zavi for a moment, then went back to enjoying his rubs."She's not even pretty," I huffed. I was glad Ashu wasn't human. I'd be mortified if he told Zavi how jealous I was of his female friends."Do you think she's prettier than me?" I asked as if Ashu could answer. He stopped rubbing his neck on my arm and looked up at me, tilting his head as if considering the question. Then he made a sound in the back of his throat that could only be described as a barking laugh."Are you laughing at me?" I tickled him, and he rolled over at the top of the stairs, enjoying my torment.Ashu licked my cheeks, and I swatted him away, giggling like a maniac. My laughter died abruptly when I felt eyes on me. I froze and looked down, only to realize everyone was staring up at me with frowns on their faces. I could tell exactly what they were thinking—what the situation looked like to them. I could almost hear the collective judgment in their heads: There goes crazy Kirti again!Zavi's eyes were the only ones that stood out, intensely boring into me. He excused himself from the group and walked up the stairs. A few seconds later, everyone else went back to enjoying the party, and I exhaled in relief.But my respite was short-lived.Zavi came closer, stopping just a few feet away. He glanced at Ashu briefly before locking eyes with me. My breath hitched—it always did when those steely brown eyes focused on me. It didn't happen often, but every time it did, a jolt of electricity ran through my body.Was this what every girl felt around him, or was it just me?I swallowed the lump in my throat, bracing myself for the scolding I was sure would follow. But Zavi didn't yell. He simply scowled before brushing past me and retreating to his room.My heart was still racing when he suddenly paused at his door. He turned his head slightly, his voice cold as he said, "Don't you have to study? You waste an awful lot of time sitting around doing nothing.""How am I supposed to study with this loud music?" I retorted, surprising even myself. It was a skill I had only recently learned—standing up for myself.Every time I spoke back to him, I noticed the way his eyes darkened, something dangerous simmering just beneath his controlled expression."If you can't study, then at least stop sitting around and staring at people like a creep," he snapped before disappearing into his room.I had vowed not to let his words affect me, but no matter how hard I tried, I couldn't help it. He had this uncanny ability to make me feel utterly pathetic.I thought I could move on from him, that I could train myself not to feel anything for a man who seemed to hate me so much. But no amount of determination could erase what I felt. It was inexplicable—like an invisible rope pulling me toward him, stronger with every attempt I made to pull away.Ashu licked at my tears, snapping me out of my thoughts. I chuckled sadly, burying my face in his fur.