Chapter 1 – The New Roommate
The door swung open.
Aarav stepped inside, expecting an ordinary dorm room.
What he found instead was chaos.
Clothes were scattered across the floor. An expensive leather jacket hung carelessly over a chair. Empty energy drink cans covered the desk.
And sitting on the bed beside the window was a boy.
A very attractive boy.
Dark hair.
Sharp jawline.
Piercing eyes.
The kind of face that belonged on magazine covers.
The kind of face that made people stop and stare.
The boy looked up.
Their eyes met.
Silence filled the room.
Then the stranger smirked.
“You must be my new roommate.”
Aarav blinked.
For a moment, he forgot how to speak.
The boy’s confidence filled the room like expensive cologne.
He sat sprawled across the bed as if he owned the entire dormitory.
Maybe he did.
“I’m Aarav,” he finally said.
The stranger smirked.
“I know.”
Aarav frowned.
“How?”
“Everyone knows the scholarship kid.”
The boy sitting across from him looked nothing like the students he had seen during orientation.
Everything about him screamed confidence.
From the expensive watch around his wrist to the careless way he lounged on the bed, he looked completely at home.
As if the room belonged to him.
As if the entire university belonged to him.
The stranger’s smirk widened.
“What?” he asked. “Never seen a handsome guy before?”
Aarav immediately frowned.
“There are mirrors for that.”
The boy laughed.
A real laugh this time.
Not offended.
Amused.
“Interesting.”
Aarav set his suitcase down.
The room suddenly felt much smaller.
Two beds stood on opposite sides.
One desk by the window.
One bookshelf.
One wardrobe.
And one roommate.
Unfortunately.
The stranger stood up.
He was taller than Aarav expected.
Broad shoulders.
Dark hair falling over sharp eyes.
The type of person who drew attention without even trying.
He held out a hand.
“Vihaan Malhotra.”
Aarav froze.
The name sounded familiar.
Then it clicked.
Vihaan Malhotra.
The student everyone had been talking about since morning.
The university’s golden boy.
Top athlete.
Top grades.
Rich family.
Campus celebrity.
A walking headache.
“Oh,” Aarav said.
Vihaan raised an eyebrow.
“That’s all?”
“What do you want me to say?”
“I don’t know. Most people look more impressed.”
“I’m not most people.”
The grin on Vihaan’s face only grew.
For some reason, that annoyed Aarav even more.
“Good,” Vihaan said.
“What?”
“Most people are boring.”
Aarav rolled his eyes.
He grabbed one of his bags and started unpacking.
Clothes.
Books.
Notebooks.
Everything neatly organized.
Behind him, Vihaan watched silently.
Finally, he spoke.
“You color-code your notes, don’t you?”
Aarav paused.
“Maybe.”
“You definitely do.”
“What’s wrong with being organized?”
“Nothing.”
Vihaan sat back down.
“I just didn’t expect my roommate to be a human study planner.”
Aarav ignored him.
Five minutes later, Vihaan was still talking.
“Where are you from?”
“Delhi.”
“What course?”
“Literature.”
“Hobbies?”
Aarav turned around.
“Do you ever stop talking?”
“No.”
At least he was honest.
For the first time that day, Aarav almost smiled.
Almost.
Then Vihaan pointed toward a stack of books.
“You actually read those for fun?”
Aarav looked at him in disbelief.
“You don’t?”
Vihaan shrugged.
“I prefer people.”
“People are exhausting.”
“Exactly why they’re entertaining.”
The conversation continued despite Aarav’s best efforts.
And before he realized it, nearly an hour had passed.
The sun was beginning to set outside the window.
The room glowed orange.
For a brief moment, everything felt strangely peaceful.
Then Vihaan spoke again.
“You know.”
Aarav sighed.
“What now?”
“I think we’re going to be a disaster.”
Aarav looked up.
Vihaan’s expression was unreadable.
A little amused.
A little curious.
As if he had already decided Aarav was interesting.
And that was dangerous.
Because Aarav had come to university with a plan.
Study.
Graduate.
Build a future.
Simple.
Safe.
Predictable.
Getting involved with someone like Vihaan Malhotra had never been part of that plan.
Unfortunately, fate seemed to have other ideas.
