Faith grunted when we faced a huge crowd already covering all the glass windows of the practice room where Axel was.

She and her friend, Claire, tried to get us a spot, but no one was budging from their positions. Everyone was talking about Axel and some even had their phones' cameras on.

Axel seems to be really popular. This scene reminds me of how I used to fangirl for The Emperors, especially Tejas.

Tejas... I miss him.

I checked my phone and noticed that he was offline. I was worried, so I messaged him if he was okay, but instead of him, I received a message from Hriaan.

Hriaan: Let us sleep, Shorty. I know you miss us, but don't disturb by continuously messaging in the middle of the night.

Me: Middle of the night?

Hriaan: 😐 you are not in India, dimwit. Check the timezone difference. Aren't you jet-lagged? You should rest.

Me: I didn't realise that. Sorry. Is Tejas asleep?

Hriaan: Finally he slept an hour ago. It is all your fault, Shorty.

Me: Take care of him and sleep now.

Hriaan: You should too. 👋🏽

The timezone difference didn't even cross my mind. The memories of leaving my family and friends behind started clawing my heart, and I feared crying.

"Bhoomi, Claire has got a spot," Faith told me and dragged me with her.

She fit me between her and Claire and squealed about Axel starting his rehearsal. While others were busy admiring him, I zoned out. I checked my phone and hovered my thumb over Tejas's contact number.

Damn, I want to call him and hear his voice. I know he is asleep, and I don't want to disturb him, but I really want to see him.

Bhoomi, I know what you are feeling, but think of Tejas too. He must be really tired, and this is not the right time to call him. He needs rest. I think it is better that you catch up on your sleep too because your schedule will be very busy from tomorrow onwards.

I closed my phone and stared ahead of me. Slowly, I came back to reality and furrowed my eyebrows when I saw Axel doing something on his laptop.

"He didn't start yet?" I asked Faith.

She looked at me weirdly. "He just completed a whole set. You didn't see anything?!"

I shook my head. "I think I missed it."

"Wow, how could you be distracted with Axel in front of you?" Claire asked in a dreamy voice.

"Actually, I don't know much about him," I said. "Anyways, I am jet-lagged, so I will go now. Thank you for today."

Faith smiled. "Okay. Let's meet tomorrow in the class."

I waved her and Claire bye and went to meet Sarthak. He and Taylor were busy in a discussion in Taylor's cabin, and I got sad when Sarthak told me that he would be leaving in the night itself.

"Aren't you going to stay for even a day?" I asked him.

He gave me a small smile. "If possible, I would have, but you also know why I can't. Don't worry, Taylor is here. You can come to him if you need any help."

I nodded, and Sarthak gave me a hug. He patted my head and told me to use this opportunity to learn everything I could. Taylor assured him that I would not face any problem, and like this, Sarthak also left, leaving me behind.

Taylor directed his assistant to show me the dorms, and I was surprised on learning that there were no separate dorms for girls and boys. While most trainees preferred sharing rooms with their respective genders, there were some dancers that shared rooms with the opposite gender.

Wow, I have seen this in some movies, but experiencing it first-hand is really different.

Taylor's assistant showed me my room, and since I was here only for a short period of time, I didn't have a roommate. The assistant left, and after admiring my minimalistic room, I spread myself on the bed.

As soon as I laid my head on the pillow, I fell asleep. And because I hadn't set any alarm, I was late for my first class. Thankfully, I wasn't scolded or missed anything important as I was new, and it was basically an orientation class for me. I observed everyone and how the teachers conducted their classes. I checked the kinds of assignments given, and what parameters had more weightage while evaluating our progress.

Half of my day was spent like this only when I realised that I didn't have any breakfast. Since I had ended up sleeping through the night and morning, I was again in the same situation like yesterday. Tejas had seen my previous messages and replied to me, apologizing that he didn't revert instantly, but I wasn't able to chat with him in real time. And because of that, it was again midnight in India, while I was wide-awake here in the afternoon.

I need to do something about this time problem. I don't want to trouble Tejas like this. For me, he will even stay awake the whole night. Today, I will note down the timings where I can call him without disturbing his schedule.

"Bhoomi, wanna have lunch with us?" Faith asked me.

"Sure," I replied. "Is there a cafeteria here?"

Faith nodded. "Yes, and the food is delicious. Some dancers like to eat out at the diners, but mostly, everyone prefers the academy's cafeteria only because every dish is prepared under the nutritionist's guidance."

I was impressed. I looked forward to the lunch, but when we reached the cafeteria, I only saw sandwiches, chicken, eggs, and different types of salads. They looked expensive, but I wanted to eat chapatis and my favourite vegetable.

"I am going to stuff myself with chicken today," Claire said.

Since I loved chicken myself, I decided to get that too, but I didn't have anything else to eat it with. I asked the cooks if they had rice, and they told me it wasn't scheduled for the day. I sighed and thanked them for their service.

I sat down with the girls, who were enjoying their meals while gossiping. I wasn't used to their platter, but the chicken was tasty. I started wondering about the dinner when my surroundings suddenly became silent.

I noticed Faith and Claire murmuring while pointing to their left. Similarly, others were staring in the same direction, and when I saw what they were so occupied with, I felt deja-vu.

Everyone's eyes were stuck on Axel. I wondered why everyone treated him like they were seeing him for the first time.

"Is there something wrong with him being here?" I asked my newly made friends.

Their eyes lit up. Like yesterday, they started spilling the tea about how Axel was absent for whole three months and had returned just two days ago. He was a very hard-to-approach guy and only had a few friends. He wasn't popular because he was Taylor's brother but because of his achievements.

Everyone admired him a lot, but since last six months, he was not in a good mood. I asked them why that was so, but suddenly, the girls stopped talking and focused on their dishes.

"What happened?" I asked them. "Did Axel face a serious problem? I also noticed how dull he looked yesterday. I think he must be exhausted. Why aren't you both saying anything?"

Suddenly, a plate was slammed on our table from behind me. All of us flinched, and when I looked over my shoulder, a pair of icy-blue eyes were already locked on me.

"Who the hell do you think you are talking about?" Axel asked me.

His accent was really thick, but I understood what he was saying. I doubted why he looked so pissed off though.

"We were talking about you," I replied to him.

His already cold stare got colder, and he glanced at Faith and Claire. None of them looked at him, and he glanced at me again. While I wasn't much concerned about what he was doing, everyone in the cafeteria began murmuring loudly when Axel grabbed a chair and sat down on our table.

Faith and Claire stared at him with wide eyes, elbowing each other like small kids.

Axel relaxed in his chair and smirked. "Let me also hear what you were talking about me with so much interest," he said.

Faith and Claire didn't say anything, and I realised that what was going on wasn't a regular occurance. The way Axel reacted meant that he didn't like us talking about him, so I decided to clear the misunderstandings.

"Sorry, Axel, but we didn't say anything bad about you," I said. "I am new here and got curious, so the girls were just telling me about you."

Axel gave me a once-over. "Aren't you the girl whom my brother has brought from India?"

What? Did he just say 'brought'? It sounds so weird. Also, why do I feel like he is looking down on me?

"Your brother didn't bring me," I stressed my words. "He invited me. Since you already know that, I will properly introduce myself. I am Bhoomi Devarkar. Nice to meet you, Taylor's younger brother."

Axel's jaw twitched as his eyes narrowed into slits.

"My name is Axel Furn," he said. "Don't try to be oversmart with me. And, if I hear any of you gossip about me again, I will make you regret knowing me."

With that, he snapped from the chair and stormed out of the cafeteria. My friends apologized to me for dragging me into the mess, but I wasn't much concerned. I felt bad that Axel wasted the food.

"His temper is really bad," I said.

"But he looks really hot when he is angry," Claire said.

Faith smacked her behind the head, and I laughed when both girls started arguing about landing in trouble with Axel.

We finished our lunch and went to attend our next class. Almost everything was new for me. I knew it would take me some time to get used to the new environment, but one thing was common everywhere - the love for dancing.

After finishing our last class, I was summoned in the Taylor's office. As expected, he asked me about my first day. He was satisfied with my answers and gave me my schedule for the next two months. I was a bit worried since it was really tight, but I knew I could do it. I also had to handle my studies simultaneously, so when I returned to my dorm room, I took out my notebook and started making a time-table.

While brainstorming, my phone rang, and I grinned when I saw Tejas's caller ID. I picked it up in one go.

"You had dinner?" Tejas asked.

"Not yet," I replied. "Did you eat your breakfast and lunch? How are you? Are you overworking again? I know you are Mr. Perfectionist, but don't tire yourself out. I am not even there to check on you."

"Hamster, you should focus on yourself there," he said. "Don't worry about me. Tell me about your day. Are you liking it there?"

I played with the pen and stared at the notebook sadly.

"It is the matter of only four months, Bhoomi," he said. "Enjoy your time and make lots of friends. Send me the pics of the locations you will visit, and I will make a collage for you."

I sighed, and Tejas kept trying to cheer me up.

"I miss you, Tejas," I said. "I thought it won't be this hard, but it really is."

"Do you think it is easier for me?" he asked, his voice dropping an octave.

Damn you, Bhoomi. Because of you, now Tejas is also sad. Why does he always need to support you? Are you going to worry him like this every day?

"Tejas, are you sad?" I asked worriedly.

"Yeah, I am crying right now," he replied in a low voice.

"What?!"

I instantly switched to video call, and when I finally saw his face, I shot him an accusing look.

"Where are the tears? I thought you were missing me?" I complained but was glad that he wasn't crying.

He smiled, but the smile didn't reach his ears. We both stared at each other, and this time, I decided to not give him any reason to worry.

"Tejas, I promise I will take care of myself and won't cry. I will fully concentrate on my training," I said confidently.

He nodded. "I know my Hamster is capable of everything, and I am really proud of you. Is it okay if I call you at this time daily?"

"Actually, I was going to ask you the same. This timezone difference is really annoying. I am still getting confused."

Tejas offered to help me in managing my schedule. While he told me about how to make an efficient time-table, I wrote down the important stuff. He was mentioning about my health supplements when he suddenly stopped.

"Bhoomi, is your door open?" Tejas asked me.

"What? It might be. I will close it later," I said.

"I can see a hand coming in, Hamster. Do you have a roommate?"

A hand?

I told him I didn't have a roommate, but when I looked back, I was horrified. There was a white pale hand slowly moving through the doorway. Tejas seemed worried, so I quickly went to check who it was.

The moment I was near my door, the person whom that hand belonged to made its appearance.

"Axel?" I asked in confusion.

He didn't say anything, and I noticed that he was totally wasted. His face was flushed red, his messy hair blocking his eyes.

Is he drunk?!

"Hey, Axel, you are in the wrong room," I said.

Axel mumbled something, but I couldn't understand him.

"Bhoomi, is everything okay?" Tejas asked from the other side of the call.

I had kept my phone on the bedrest, giving Tejas the whole room's view.

"Yes, don't worry," I said.

I repeated myself, but Axel just stared at me blankly and didn't move even an inch. I politely told him to leave, but he was stuck to my door. His tall stature only made him look a Titan attacking my room.

"Bhoomi, who is it?" my boyfriend asked.

"It is Taylor's brother," I told Tejas. "Don't worry, I think he got here accidentally."

Tejas told me that he knew Taylor's brother, and while I was listening to him seriously, I sensed Axel move behind me. I thought he was finally leaving, but before I could even react properly, I felt a huge weight drop on me.

Within seconds, my face planted on the floor, and my back felt like it was getting crushed under a mountain.

"Hamster?!" Tejas yelled.

"Ugh... I am okay!" I answered back.

My whole body is hurting.

I moved my limbs and tried to get up, but I couldn't.

Did Axel really drop himself on me? I can't believe this! Why is he so heavy? Did he actually faint? How do I remove him from above me? My bones will crack at this rate.

"Tejas, please call Taylor," I said defeatedly. "I can't move!"