I glanced over and saw Tevin. He turned his face towards me and asked, "You okay, Rehaan?"

"Yeah, I'm fine," I replied. There was blood on his lips, but he still looked at me to make sure I was okay. We locked eyes for a moment.

When the Professor arrived, the students scattered in different directions. I grabbed Tevin's hand and we ran towards the field, finding ourselves alone. I helped him sit down and hurried to the storeroom to get a bandage. I also grabbed a bottle and returned to his side. He was examining his wound. I sat beside him, trying to smile, but he didn't smile back. I could tell he was furious and didn't want to talk to me, all because he had just been slapped because of me.

Tevin," I say as I pull out the bandage from my pocket, "Here, put it on your wounds."

"Oh! I just hit him for you and you can't even treat my wound. Do you hate me that much?"

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"No, I don't hate you," I say, looking at him. "I just... I just can't bear to see you hurt because of me."

"Rehaan, it's not your fault. I was the one who took that slap instead of you. And if you're worried that I'll hate you for it, my answer is no. No matter what, I can't hate you," he says, looking at me.

"Thank you and sorry for saying those things to you that day," he says. I try to understand his words and hesitate to move closer to him to treat his wound. He keeps his face forward, waiting for me to act.

"Ouch, it hurts," he says, looking at me and touching his lips.

"What's wrong? Does it hurt? I'm sorry, Tevin," I say, realizing he just wants my attention. I look at him and ask, "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, my friend. Tevin is always there for his friends," he says proudly.

"It's a relief that the seniors informed the principal about the fraudulent activities the students from the other college were involved in. Otherwise, it would have been a big problem," I mention.

"Huh, are you just going to stand there? Please, treat my wound. It's hurting", he insists.

"Rehaan," he said softly.

I responded with a gentle "Hmm."

"Rehaan, are you interested in boys?" he asked.

To be continued....