Fairy04092002
Nobody at Symbiosis Pune expected Aryan Deshmukh to show up for lectures. Third Year B.Com, captain of the cricket team, and heir to the Deshmukh Constructions fortune - he had better things to do than sit through Business Law.
To the entire college, Aryan was two things: a topper who never studied, and a wall of ice who didn't spare girls a second glance. Confessions, love letters, fake "accidental" run-ins near the nets - nothing got through. Every girl had a crush on him. He ignored them all equally.
Meher Shinde was in FYBA. Bubbly, sunshine, kurti and jeans, love for jhumkas and a strict rule: no boys. Her dad, Retd. Colonel Vishwas shinde, had made that clear the day she got her college ID. So she stuck to her girls, her books, and her seat in the second row. Boys were trouble. Seniors were worse.
Trouble started when Prof. Joshi paired them for the annual inter-college fest. "Aryan, you'll handle cricket event planning. Meher, you're handling the literature quiz. Coordinate."
Coordinate. With _him_. The senior who once made a junior cry just by saying "move".
He didn't want a partner. She didn't want a senior.
But slowburn doesn't ask permission.
It starts with shared deadlines, stolen glances across the ground, and him noticing she's the only one who doesn't try to impress him.
He was cold to the world.
She was warm, but only for her people.
And somehow, the college was about to watch ice meet fire.
---
1. *Proximity*: Fest work + he's her event senior. Forced interaction.
2. *Contrast*: He's ice, she's sunshine. He's feared, she's adored by her friends.
3. *Her Rule*: She doesn't talk to boys. He's the exception she didn't plan for.
4. *His Rule*: He doesn't do girls. She's the first one who isn't _trying_.
---