The table goes quiet.

Dead quiet.

No jokes. No fries crunching. No donuts being bitten into. Just the scraping echo of chairs and the clatter of forks dropped mid-air. The canteen is so still you can hear someone’s ringtone buzzing three tables away.

I unlock my phone. One notification. From @/campustrolls. The same gossip page that posted the slap video yesterday and got me more stares than I’ve ever had in my life.

The first slide of this post hits like a slap in its own way.

"Campus tea is brewing hottest in June. Rumor has it something is going on between Ivansh Kapoor and Maya Oberoi. The new girl has stolen Queen Tanya’s man. A homewrecker. A whore. Swipe for proof."

My stomach drops.

My fingers hesitate but swipe anyway.

The next slide loads and it feels like the floor caves in under my chair.

What. The. Hell.

It’s a blurry picture of what looks like me and Ivansh, standing too close near the lockers. But it’s edited, a horrible cut-and-paste job that makes it look like his hand is cupping my jaw and our faces are tilted like we’re about to kiss. I know for a fact this never happened. But to anyone else? It looks real enough to ruin me.

And a fun fact. This page is a public account, anybody can have access to it. Even my parents.

I don't want to embarrass them—

My throat goes dry. I blink at the screen like maybe if I close it and open it again, the image will disappear. It doesn’t.

I glance up.

Simran’s donut is halfway to her mouth but frozen. Yashika just blinks at me, wide-eyed, phone still clutched like it’s leaking poison.

Aman raises his eyebrows, like I got some explaining to do. Hira is mouthing what the actual hell.

Aryan just looks like he has seen something very dirty and terrible. Himani is refreshing the page so fast I can hear the tap-tap-tap of her thumb.

I hope they all don't believe this shitty post.

And Ivansh?

Ivansh is just staring at me.

Expression blank.

Eyes dark.

Like he’s calculating a million things at once but keeping them locked behind that calm face of his.

I drop my phone face down on the table. I can feel eyes on me now; not just our table but the whole canteen. Heads turning, whispers behind hands. Some people pretending they’re not looking but the second I glance over, they flick their eyes away.

I can hear my heart pounding in my ears. I thought that I'll have a great experience in my new college but damn it—

Nobody says anything for one heavy second. Then Himani mutters just loud enough, “Look at the comments.”

I don’t want to. But my phone is already in my hand again. My thumb opens the comment section.

"She’s such a pick-me. She literally slapped someone yesterday and now this?"

"She’s buying him. With her body?"

"Poor Tanya. He’s her man. This bitch is ruining them."

"She’s so desperate. Did she bribe him to stand near her like that?"

"Ew. Attention seeking bitch."

I feel my teeth clench. Each word is a tiny dagger nicking at the edge of my pride. I am not hurt. But this is cheap. This is dirty.

I force myself to read more.

"Lol Tanya’s so much hotter. Maya can’t compete."

"Maya Oberoi? More like Maya the WHORE."

"We stan Tanya."

"Aren't Tanya and Ivansh gonna marry each other in the future? This new girl ruined THEM."

A nasty laugh two tables behind us. Someone says my name out loud. I don’t turn but I hear it. And I swear if one more person spits my name like it’s dirt, I will slap someone again.

Hira leans in, voice soft by my ear. “Maya, don’t say anything. Don’t give them anything to twist.”

I nod but the nod is tight. I want to throw this phone across the canteen. I want to stand on this wobbly metal table and scream that it’s fake, edited, pathetic. This has been uploaded just to ruin my image.

But I don’t.

Because that’s what they want. A reaction. A bigger story.

Aryan tries to cut the tension. “Hey, remember when they said I was hooking up with Aman just because we sat next to each other in Chemistry?” He forces a laugh. “These pages survive on fake drama.”

Aman smacks his arm. “Dude. You literally posted a reel with a rose filter.”

Aryan shrugs, trying to grin. “Valentine’s Day, man. Sue me.”

Some half-laughs float around our table. But I know everyone can feel it—the sticky, stinging silence pressing on all of us. Every student here is waiting for me to break. To scream. To cry. To storm out.

I sip my Pepsi instead.

I glance at Ivansh. He still hasn’t said a single word.

He’s not smiling. He’s just watching me. And that unreadable expression makes me more angry than all these whispers combined.

Then, like a gift from the gossip gods — she appears. Ofcourse—I was waiting for her to come and create more drama.

Tanya Sharma.

Hair perfect. Lip gloss shiny. A smug grin painted so wide I can see her molars. She walks right up to our table, heels clicking like a drumroll.

She doesn’t even look at me first. She looks at Ivansh.

"So this is your new whore?"

The word lands like a slap. I feel Aryan stiffen beside me. Hira’s mouth drops open.

I don’t flinch. I just raise an eyebrow.

"Whore?" I say, calm. Too calm. "Big word for someone who can't get attention from others without editing a fake picture."

Tanya snaps her head at me. "You kissed my boyfriend. And now you're blaming me for that post. You think you can buy him with your money?"

I laugh. Not because it’s funny but because it’s so painfully stupid; it’s hilarious. "Your boyfriend?" I repeat, just loud enough for people around to hear. "Ex, sweetheart. Ex-boyfriend. You should get your labels right."

Tanya’s nostrils flare. She actually stamps her heel like a spoiled toddler. "We were gonna get back together. Everyone knows it. We were gonna marry each other!" she exclaims. "But you...you just slithered in with your face and—"

I tilt my head. "My face? Should I apologize for being prettier than you?"

A sharp gasp from someone behind Tanya. Tanya’s eyes go wide, then she narrows them like a snake.

"You think you’re better than me?"

I lean back in my chair, cross my legs. "I don’t think. I know."

Tanya’s hand twitches like she wants to slap me. She doesn’t dare. She just spits words instead.

"You’re gonna regret this. You think you can steal him? He was mine first. We’re gonna get married, you bitch."

I roll my eyes so hard they might stick. "Good luck sending invites to your imaginary wedding."

I see it in her eyes—that spark when a petty girl realizes she’s losing control.

But then Ivansh moves. Finally. He stands up, so calm it’s terrifying. His chair scrapes back. The whole table freezes. He looks at Tanya like she’s gum stuck under his shoe.

"Boyfriend?" His voice is soft but sharp enough to cut glass. "What boyfriend, Tanya? I’m your ex. You’re embarrassing yourself. And I'm not marrying you."

A ripple of gasps. Someone’s phone camera is definitely out now. I do not care.

"Our parents want us to marry, baby. I'm sorry, I know you are trying to make me jealous," Tanya says.

Ivansh looks at her for a moment before saying, "Our parents don’t get to decide who I marry."

Tanya’s lip quivers. "Ivansh, she’s—"

"Stop." Ivansh’s voice slices through. One word. Enough. "If you want to spread rumors, do it somewhere else. You edited that picture, didn’t you?"

Her mouth opens. Shuts. Opens again. That’s all the answer everyone needs.

Ivansh leans in, his voice so low only our table hears but enough that the echo carries.

"Apologize. To. Her."

Tanya’s laugh is fake, high-pitched. "What?"

Ivansh steps closer. "You heard me. Apologize to Maya. Right now."

The canteen goes so quiet I swear I can hear my own heartbeat.

Tanya sputters. "You’re siding with her? With this bitch? Over me?"

Ivansh’s jaw ticks. "If I hear you say her name again with that filth in your mouth, I’ll make sure you never show your face here again."

Tanya opens her mouth to spit something back but her eyes dart around. The faces watching. The phones lifted. The whispers.

She glares at me. If looks could kill I’d be a smudge on this table.

She doesn’t apologize, not really. She spits out, "Sorry," but it tastes like poison on her tongue.

I smile. Sweet. Fake. "You’re forgiven."

Tanya whirls around, hair hitting my shoulder, and storms out. I watch her heels stab the floor all the way to the exit.

The moment she’s gone the canteen explodes with noise. Whispers. Snickers. Phones out. Fingers tapping.

Ivansh looks at everyone else, not just our table but the entire canteen room.

"If anyone, I repeat—anyone — says Maya’s name again like that, try me. Just try me."

His voice is steady but the threat in it feels like a storm about to break.

He sits down. Picks up his phone like nothing happened.

Hira exhales. Aryan lets out a low sigh. Aman mutters, “Holy shit.”

I just look at Ivansh. He’s already got his phone pressed to his ear.

“Take it down. I don’t care how. Remove the post, ban the account, and block the admin. I want it gone in ten minutes.”

His voice is so calm it feels dangerous. He cuts the call without waiting for a reply.

Hira reaches over, her hand brushing his arm. “Ivansh. Bhai, calm down. It’s not that deep. People will forget tomorrow.”

Ivansh glances at her, softer for half a second, then nods once. “They won’t post about her again.”

Aryan tries to change the subject. Aman mutters something about football. The normal noise returns, but it feels fake.

I sit there, fingers tapping my Pepsi bottle.

Why is he doing this?

Why does he care? I don't even talk to him properly.

He barely knows me.

Is this just about Tanya? Making a scene?

Ivansh leans back in his chair, scrolling his phone like nothing happened.

I keep my face blank.

Because whatever this is, him playing hero or just bored, but I’m not stupid enough to trust it.

Hey! 🖇️

Do you think Ivansh is just being sweet or damn serious about Maya?

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Thankyou! Hope y'all liked the chapter.