Page 17 of A Lab Rat’s Guide to Fated Love

Eight

A Cluster of Crescent Moons

Nori

N ori rolled over to her side the next morning, still half-dreaming of golden-browned mushrooms in creamy Alfredo sauce.

Only, it wasn’t a dream, but a lingering memory of dinner from last night.

There were probably leftovers in the fridge.

The thought made her hop out of bed and rush through her shower, before she made a beeline for the kitchen to scour the refrigerator for pasta that wasn’t there.

But a different delicious aroma hung in the air.

A blend of aromatic spices, caramelized onions, roasted peanuts, and a sharp tang of…

mustard oil? She didn’t know she had mustard oil at home.

Her mouth watered in sync with her stomach making a demanding grumble while her eyes swept across the spotless kitchen counters.

There were no pots or pans on the stove and no trace of food in sight.

Vir had already finished whatever it was he’d cooked .

Nori pressed her lips together, ignoring the burning disappointment in her chest and another loud grumble from her stomach.

Whatever. She could roast her own damn peanuts, thank you very much.

With a huff, she reached for the cupboard in front of her to look for ingredients. She had no idea what she was going to cook, but she sure as hell was going to cook it in mustard oil—that she definitely had somewhere in her pantry.

“Aha!” she exclaimed, locating the bottle on a lower shelf, right as the front door swung open and Vir stepped inside holding a bunch of leaves in his hands.

“Hey, you’re up.” He beamed. “Look! I found these growing right outside.”

Coriander leaves. He’d found her grandpa’s old herb garden. Or whatever was left of it.

Nori chuckled at his barely contained excitement, before catching herself and quickly looking away.

When she glanced back a moment later, she found him watching her still.

His careless grin widened as their eyes met and she clenched her jaw against the familiar warmth as it began trickling down her chest.

She hated it.

“Yes,” she spoke calmly, ignoring the sloppy contents of her ribcage. “There used to be an herb garden outside. Not much left of it anymore.”

With a quiet nod, Vir took the leaves to the kitchen sink to rinse before making his way to the dining table.

“I’m making sandwiches. Would you like some?” she offered, still salty, but not enough to not at least offer him the food she was making, anyway. Unlike some people.

“Oh, do you not like poha? I just made some.” Vir frowned, taking the lid off a large bowl on the table, before twisting off some coriander leaves from the freshly washed bunch and sprinkling them over the fluffy yellow rice cuisine.

The subtle resultant change in aroma instantly made Nori’s mouth water, and she pressed her lips together to keep them from quivering. That was the only place she hadn’t looked.

“It smells really good,” she mumbled, watching the fragrant steam rise in swirls from the bowl. She was so hungry she could cry.

“Help yourself,” Vir said, stepping away. “I’ll be right back. ”

Nori filled up her plate and started shoveling spoonfuls of hot, delicious poha into her mouth, all while resisting the urge to let out a satisfactory groan as perfectly roasted peanuts crunched between her teeth.

Vir reappeared with another small plate that he slid next to hers before taking his seat.

Nori’s next spoonful paused inches from her mouth at the sight of what was on the plate, neatly cut and resembling a cluster of small crescent moons—guava slices. With the seeds removed.

She bit down on her bottom lip to make it stop quivering again.

Vir looked up from his plate, likely sensing the abrupt shift in her mood. Because of course he did.

She glared at him.

Cutting a guava for her? And scraping the seeds off each slice? Who did he think he was?

“Is something wrong?” Vir frowned. “Why are you so… so angry?”

Nori slowly lowered her spoon to set it beside her plate with a small clink. Then, as calmly as she could, a calm she didn’t feel in the slightest, she spoke, “Why are you being so nice to me?”

“What? I’m nice. Didn’t you know that?” Vir chuckled.

“When did you even buy these? There weren’t any at home.”

“I went out to get some groceries last evening and got these, too. I thought you liked guavas. Did I cut them wrong? I can—”

“Who asked you to do any of that?” Nori interrupted, her voice turning acidic. “And why did you scrape off the seeds? Am I a child? I can cut my own fruit if I want to. Why can’t you just—mind your own business? What’s wrong with you? Do you really like me that much?”

Her grip on the table’s edge tightened as she spat the last bit out as a taunt, not an actual question. Of course, he didn’t like her. Nobody in their right mind would .

Vir

H e didn’t understand why Nori was suddenly livid and so…

sad, when only moments ago her insides were crackling fireworks of pure joy at the sight of the poha.

It looked like her favorite fruit had irked her for some reason.

At least that’s what her inner turmoil showed, while her face remained the stoic mask he’d gotten used to by now.

With the way she sat glaring at him, she was clearly waiting for him to answer. And it looked like she’d flip the table, if he didn’t answer soon.

Did he really like her that much?

It’d be an understatement, if he simply said yes. But anything beyond that was guaranteed to make Nori pack her bags and run in the opposite direction; the experiment be damned.

“Yes.” Understatement it was.

Seconds ticked by, each growing lengthier than the one before, till she finally showed some sign of having heard him.

“What?” she mouthed without sound, before her pupils dilated, seeping outwards into the brown, paused, then shrank back into tiny black dots. Her formerly stoic expression changed first into disbelief, then into an angry scowl that became angrier the longer she stared at him.

Vir took a small sip of his coffee in an attempt to appear as nonchalant as he possibly could.

He hoped it wasn’t obvious how hard his heart was hammering against his ribs, ready to jump out of his throat at any moment.

He’d just told Nori he liked her, while demonstrating an exceptional range of vocabulary. With a deadpan, yes .

Yes. Please clap.

Of course, she was mad.

Fuck. Be cool. Be cool.

But him having feelings for her… why did it bother her so much?

“I was being sarcastic.” Nori huffed; her expression composed again.

“I wasn’t.” Vir leaned back, crossing his arms against his chest while he tried to keep the hurt from seeping out into his features.

“Are you out of your mind? ”

“I hope not.”

They glared at each other, unblinking. His icy stare to her burning embers. Neither made a sound.

If the situation wasn’t what it was, he would’ve praised her top-notch stare-off abilities. He’d yet to meet anyone who didn’t blink first when he glared at them like that. He’d finally found a worthy opponent. And of course it was Nori.

His jaw clenched while his fingertips dug into his arms. The whole intense eye-contact thing was making him want to lean across the table and capture her angry mouth with his. To run the tip of his tongue over her lips till they weren’t sulking anymore.

He blinked, forcing himself to look away, baffled at the impulsiveness of his thoughts. She really, really seemed to dislike him. Yet he couldn’t stop picturing himself with her.

Nori huffed again before straightening in her seat. “Look, you’re mistaken. I’m just doing my job. There’s no other reason.”

“What?”

“There’s no other reason for you to think you have feelings for me. You don’t. It’s only because you think I’m saving your life or something. There’s even a word for it. It’s called transference. Look it up—”

“I know what transference is, Nori. That’s not what this is.”

“Stockholm syndrome then. I mean, I did abduct you. Sort of. Not really, but—either way, you don’t actually like me. That’s absurd.”

“Why do you hate me so much? Don’t tell me you don’t. You know I can feel it. All of it.” His voice wavered at the end.

Nori bit her lip, but didn’t answer.

“You do, don’t you?” he asked again, his voice barely more than a whisper.

Nori’s hands moved up to cover her face, and a long moment passed. She was no longer angry, just sad. And knowing that somehow made everything so much worse.

Guilt rolled heavy in his gut. He didn’t need to have said all that.

“No.” Nori sighed, letting her hands drop to her lap. “I don’t hate you. I didn’t think my emotions would come across as that… out of context… I didn’t mean to hurt you. I’m sorry. ”

His grip on his arms loosened slightly before he replied, “I can feel how pissed you are, Nori. And… sad. I don’t know what I’ve done to offend you so terribly. But I—I won’t bother you. I promise. I’m not asking you to reciprocate or anything. Just…”

Don’t hate me.

Nori

N ori stared at her hands while moisture pooled in her eyes. She blinked, willing the wetness to go away. Vir was waiting for her to reply.

“I think it’s my fault,” she said, once she could trust her voice. “I might’ve said or done something to lead you on in some way.”

“No. You haven’t.”

“Vir…”

“Is the treatment failing?”

“What? Why would you think that? No.”

“Then why have you been avoiding me so diligently?”

“I—when did I ever—why would I do that?”

“You can’t even be in the same room as me lately. If it’s because you don’t want me to know yet, I haven’t had my hopes up anyway. It’s okay, you can just tell me—”