"It started because you tried to show off to me so it's on me. And later you were having a panic attack so it doesn't count." Olivia looked straight at his face.
Koushik could feel calmness and confidence from her gaze. He knew that she meant her words and did not just say them to console him.
"But still..." he lowered his eyes and felt conflicted.
If he took her words then there really was no fault on his part but he could not just stop blaming himself. He believed that he also also at fault somewhere. He felt that if he just had regained his composure or at least pretended to do so or even just acted cool then this would not have happened. And probably he could have showed that he can also handle a tricky situation calmly like Bikram.
"You look like a Bolognese right now." Olivia rested her chin on her hand and said.
"What?" Koushik asked in confusion.
Olivia lifted her hand and showed him a picture on her watch. A little white cute fluffy furry dog.
"You're calling me a dog?" Koushik sprang up and sat straight.
Olivia nodded with utmost seriousness.
"How can you call me a dog?" Koushik pouted.
Although his cheeks were still a little red he stopped crying. And Olivia found him to be even cuter in this look. Messy hair, glossy eyes, flushed puffed-up cheeks.
"Why can't I?" Olivia raised an eyebrow. "Dogs are cute."
"Are you trying to insult me? Why else would you call me a dog?" was what he wanted to say but he became speechless when he heard the next part of her answer.
'She's saying that there's nothing wrong with calling me a dog because dogs are cute. That means...' his eyes widened and he blushed.
'She compared me to a dog first and then said dogs are cute then she meant that I'm cute like a dog! Like she's calling me cute!' as he connected the dots his face grew redder and warmer.
"Sick?" Olivia asked.
Koushik gave her a confused look.
"You're red." Olivia pointed at his face.
Koushik glared at her "That's because of you."
"What did I do?" Olivia asked flatly.
"You... you called me a dog. I mean you called me... cute." Koushik felt exasperated.
'How can someone say such things with a straight face?'
"Did I?" Olivia asked.
Koushik felt like punching Olivia but he recalled how strong she was and resisted the urge and just nodded.
Olivia thought for a while and said "I didn't call you cute. I said you look like a dog which is cute."
Olivia said it in such a serious manner that anyone would think they were talking about an important matter. Koushik could not decide between laughing and crying. Did her words not mean what he said? She called him a dog and she called a dog cute so that stands for he is cute.
But Olivia seems to think otherwise. According to her, there can never be anyone cuter than a dog so her words meant that at that time Koushik's appearance resembled a Bolognese and thus he looked cute like a Bolognese. Therefore they were similar for a second but not congruent.
Koushik felt like a series of equations passed through his head when he came to that conclusion.
"You must really love dogs to relate them to humans as usually people would use dogs as a form of insult rather than a form of compliment." Koushik sat crossing his legs and faced Olivia.
"I do." Olivia looked straight into his eyes and said without any trace of hesitation.
Koushik was stunned for a moment. That gaze reminded him of something. Of someone. Someone he only met once. That same confident and proud look in her eyes while saying something she means. He could tell that she treated dogs as an equal to humans and not as mere insults. Rather she gave greater importance to dogs than humans.
"Do you always become serious when dogs are mentioned?" He smiled.
Olivia shrugged. She looked at Koushik's face out of the corner of her eyes. His eyes cheeks and nose were still a little red but he had stopped sniffling and the hoarseness of his voice was also lesser than before
'He has finally calmed down.'
"I also came to tell you about something else," Olivia said.
Koushik straightened up and listened attentively.
"Someone took a video of you making a mess out of yourself at the gym and it should have already been published in the school forum by now."
"What?" Koushik jumped to his feet in panic.
Olivia showed him the unofficial school forum on her watch. It contained a video at the top with several hundred comments under it. Most of them were malicious comments directed not only towards Koushik but also Antariksha.
"So I really sullied our group's name? I should have known that I'd create trouble whenever I'm alone." He slumped on the ground dejected.
Olivia saw his eyes tearing up again.
"I'm sorry." She said softly.
Koushik looked at her in confusion.
"I kinda told off those guys at the gym for mocking you and they might cause trouble for you using this incident. I'm sorry for the unnecessary trouble."
Koushik sighed. He could feel her sincerity even though her expression remained the same throughout their conversation.
"It's not your fault. Rather I should thank you for standing up for me when you had no reason to do it. It's my fault for being so worthless. If only I could do things a little more efficiently I wouldn't have constantly caused trouble for us. Bikram and Rishi work so hard to maintain our group's image but I just ruin their efforts with my clumsiness." Koushik turned his head away and muttered softly.
"Ah, sorry. I'm dumping my emotions on you again. You should go away. You don't need to listen to my ramblings. I just feel a little down, that's why I'm babbling. I'll be fine after some alone time. I'm an idol after all I can't indulge in sadness for so long. I should spread happiness among people." He fidgeted with his fingers.
Olivia stood up. Koushik stared at her for some time and sighed.
"Right. You should go now... Bye." He squeezed out a small smile and said reluctantly before looking away.
"Do you want to restore your group's reputation?" Olivia enquired.
Koushik who had thought that Olivia left when there was no sound from her for some time spun his head around hearing her voice. Maybe it was more for she was still there rather than what she said. After he got over his initial surprise he recalled what she said and nodded his head vigorously.
"Then get up and get ready to fight."
Koushik asked dumbfounded "How?"
"I'll help you," Olivia promised.
Koushik was about to refuse when Olivia spoke.
"I played a part in this so I'm also responsible,"
Koushik wanted to tell her that she did not need to do that and she was not at fault but seeing her serious and determined gaze he could not say that. Something inside him told him to believe her. He did not know why but he wanted to follow her. He felt that with her help he could restore his and the group's reputation. Maybe it was just the aura of the school captain, a leader. She had a presence which could make people unknowingly depend on her and follow her guidance.