You've Received A New Text [A Manveeer OS]

Turning on her side, she buried her face onto the pillow, shutting her closed eyes tighter. She drew the blanket all the way up, tugging it above her head, as if to shield herself from some invisible element. But it barely helped, for the disturbing thoughts rushed their way back into her mind, robbing her of her peace. Groaning, she sat up exasperated, jumping a little in her soft mattress due to the sudden movement.

His smirk. His eyes. Those penetrating, brown orbs...

"It's not because of him. Not because of him!" she asserted furiously, addressing some invisible spectator in her room, unaware of the fact that if there actually was such a spectator lurking in the darkness of her room, it would have been the fifty-seventh time it was being addressed to, in the past one hour.

Her exhausted mind screamed in protest of the ceaseless ordeal it was being subjected to since the past few weeks. She couldn't recall the last time she'd had a good night's sleep.

Ever since Akash has proposed me... she stopped abruptly, as soon as she realized the way her thoughts were headed to.

Her eyes briefly flickered to the diamond ring resting stoically on her finger and she couldn't help but feel for the umpteenth time that something was amiss.

"Enough Manyata!" she scolded herself aloud. "You love Akash, remember? Akash!" she attempted to make herself see sense. "Besides," she continued, trying to ignore the sudden wave of uncertainty fogging her mind, "You've accepted. You can't be having second thoughts now!"

But her adamant heart was far from being done with teasing her. It was almost giggling with pleasure as it yet again projected before her eyes the subject of her restlessness.

His smirk. His eyes. Those penetrating, brown orbs...

She closed her eyes as her heartbeats kicked into full gear. She cursed him for having such an effect on her lately. And the fact that he was supposed to be her best friend infuriated her more.

Huffing, she climbed out of her bed and shivered involuntarily as her feet touched the cold floor. She trudged up to the window inadvertently, and gazed up the pitch black sky, splattered with contrasting silvery stars. Sighing, she sat by the window seat, hugging her knees and wished she could borrow a tiny share of the eternal calmness that the night seemed to possess.

She could barely be her easy, careless self these days. There was a constant suffocative restlessness in her heart. What pissed her more was the inexplicability of it all. She could tell that she needed something, desperately rather, but just couldn't put her finger on what it exactly was.

The only momentary solace that she was blessed with was when Uday was around her. Her foe-turned-helper-turned-best friend. A smile slipped past her lips as she recalled the countless times Uday had helped her out. Him guiding her through each step of achieving her crown, him saving her from every fall, him fulfilling her crazy little wishes. His attempts to make her smile never went defeated. As if these were less to make her grateful to him for a lifetime, he even selflessly supported her and convinced her family of her relationship with Akash.

She could never thank her God enough for blessing her with a friend like him. A partner in every little aspect of her life. Except...she thought glancing back at her ring. An incomprehensible urge began to overwhelm her, an unmistakable load tugging at her heart. She was having these urges far too often these days, the urge to see him at odd hours, the urge to hear his promising voice console her that everything would go about just fine.

She groaned frustrated as her mind was a surging tide now, impossible to be calmed until its desire had been met. Desperate to calm her stubborn mind, she decided to give in to her insanity. Grabbing her phone, she started typing a message.

Halkat Veda!

Satisfied, she pressed open her recent recipients. She was about to press the second name on the list but paused abruptly. For Uday was first on the list. It has been so, she recalled, since yesterday. No, a few days...Actually a few weeks, she admitted a bit dazed.

Akash and Uday seemed to have interchanged their positions on her call as well as message logs. She felt a strange sensation amidst her chest at the realization. Was her heart fluttering? Wasn't she supposed to feel guilty? After all, Akash was her fiance!

She huffed in annoyance at her helplessness and went back to edit the message. After staring at it for some time, she added I hate you! and dabbed at the send button so hard that it took a good few seconds to restore itself back to its initial shape.

She rested her chin on her knees and stared at the black screen of her phone which reflected her sulking face in the dim moonlight. Though she was completely aware of her stupidity, a small part of her hoped for him to respond in some way, hoped for the tiniest of signals to assure her that he was with her still. She kept gazing at the blackness of her phone with pleading eyes, ignorant about the seconds ticking by.

Who am I kidding? It's past 2:00 am for god's sake! What for would he be awake now?

She let the phone drop with a dull thud on the cushion and propped herself up reluctantly. No sooner had she turned to leave, her phone buzzed to life, its unmistakable message tone reverberating in her ears.

Shocked, she grabbed her cell up and stared at it, as if unsure whether her mind was playing tricks on her.

You've Received a New Text, her screen read.

She plopped back down on her seat, not bothering to pay a hoot to the childish excitement that suddenly overcame her.

"I swear if it's another network message, I'll flush this damn phone down the-"she stopped mid-threat.

It was from Uday. She pressed open hastily.

Love you too, bhootni kahin ki.

Her breathing hitched; though she knew he must have meant it as a joke, though the rest of the text suggested just that, though he always said silly things like this, though she was supposed to feel whatever she was feeling right now, for Akash.

Her phone bleeped again, breaking her from her reverie. It was him again.

What are you doing up so late, princess?

Can't sleep.She texted back, truthfully.Did I wake you up?She added after a moment.

Yeah. You are so going to pay tomorrow! X(

She felt stupid for the zillionth time for acting so impulsively. Her impulse did that to her- clogged her better judgment. Just how desperate would he think she was?

But then, she couldn't really recall herself ever being bothered about what he opined of her. That was something she was forced to worry about, with Akash. With Uday, she could be her clumsy, brainless self without a tad of self-consciousness weighing her down. That was a good feeling, she admitted.

I'm sorry she started typing but was interrupted by another text.

Just kidding. Stuck up at this stupid company party Dad has dragged me to. What's keeping YOU up, btw?

A party? Her fingers worked on their own accord.

Are there girls?

A second later, she gasped in horror.

Did I just send that? No. No no no no no.

She yanked her phone up to her eyes. There they were, those horrific three words having just been delivered to him.

What is he thinking? What was I thinking? Stupid, STUPID Manyata!

She groaned, hanging her head helplessly. She could practically see that obnoxious smirk creeping its way up his face. The phone bleeped. She pressed a shaky open.

Plenty! ;) Hang on.

Before she had the time to even react, a MMS file arrived and a photo sprung up to cover the dimensions of her cell phone's screen. There he was, his hand draped around the bare waist of a brunette, her nothing-less-than-a-model-like-body clad in minimal clothes possible. She was holding a glass of champagne up to his lips, her other hand waving a hi at the screen.

"Damn that s**t!" She cursed, unable to hold the accusation back any longer. She bit her lip to control the urge to strangle the stranger.

A new text arrived.

Natasha says HI.

Her mind was working overtime keeping her emotions in check. All her rational thinking evaporated, she clicked open Google and began searching for the goriest picture that suited the subject of her thoughts. Scrolling down through a couple pictures, she sighed satisfactorily as she found it. Even scarier than my imagination, she noted with a wicked smile.

HIV says HI. She typed after attaching the downloaded image of the scariest HIV patient and sent on without a second thought.

There was a brief silence before the phone bleeped.

You just got my shirt ruined!

A picture sprung up showing a wet brown patch spread against his previously immaculate shirt. The picture had evidently made him spill his drink.

A satisfied smile spread across her face. Serves him right.

Another text arrived.

I wasn't going to, you know, sleep with her. But thanks for the heads up!

She felt a much awaited breath return to her lungs, her mind relaxing after what felt like ages. Huh? Am I supposed to even bother?

She resumed typing to keep her thoughts at bay.

Mention not. Pleasure is mine, to warn you against potential dangers. That's what best friends do, right? :)

Right. Lucky to have you! :) Why are you still up, princess?

She hesitated.

I don't know

Hey, what's the matter?

She could imagine his tight knitted brows as his text emanated a silent wave of seriousness. A sudden lightness spread through her heart just at the thought of him being there for her. Because his concern always came with a silent promise to rid her of her distress. Little did he know that the feeling wasn't one-sided.

She suddenly wished she could say something to him, something to ease his worried face back to its flawless features. Him being upset disturbed her in a strange way. It made her desperate almost. Inspite of being well aware of how poor she was at consoling people, she never ceased to put an effort to make him smile. Leaning against the window, she smiled as she recalled him struggling to look happy just to keep her heart.

"What would I do without your silly self?" She wondered aloud; half elated, half dejected.

For the nth time, she glanced back at Akash's ring which had begun to make her finger itch now. Within the next seven days, she'd be wedded off to a man that could never be her best friend. He could never make her feel the way Uday did. His distant, unyielding eyes could never make her breathing hitch like Uday's twinkling, mischievous ones did. He couldn't make her feel comfortable at every odd situation like Uday did. He could just never be Uday. Something tugged at her heart till it became unbearable and a wall of tears welled up behind her eyes. She felt something slipping away from her reach with each passing second. But it wasn't etching away on its own. She was herself pushing it away, unmindful that it was the reason for her sleepless nights, for the perpetual hurricane in her mind.

She felt her own thoughts choking her as she was compelled to imagine her life without Uday. It would be bleak as words couldn't describe. His absence would leave an irreparable void in her life. His heart-stopping smile, his unfailing humor, his irritable smirk, his ceaseless teasing had inadvertently become an indispensable part of her existence. She couldn't trade them for the world, she realized as a tear made its way down her cheek, unnoticed.

Her ring finger protested uncontrollably, siding completely with her thoughts. It pleaded to be freed from the burden of an unsure marriage. Her walls collapsed, tears now freely running down her flushed cheeks as she finally realized what she was distancing herself from. It was her own self, her never backing down self that Uday had constructed piece by piece. It was her heart that had long back chosen its new possessor. It was her love that she had been deluding herself with.

"I'm so-rry..Akash", came her muffled voice as she gripped the ring. A soft, determined pull was all it took to come out of her finger.

"I can't-" she whispered, gazing at her now empty finger. "Its Uday...its always been Uday!" She announced as a smile broke out amidst her tears. Her jealous act suddenly made sense now. She bit her lips to stifle the inexplicable craziness that engulfed her, making her giggle as the suffocating load weighing her heart down for so long, disappeared in a blur.

The bleep of her phone broke her out of her blissful reverie. She patted about the window seat till her fingers enclosed around the familiar shape of her phone.

You've Received a New Text, her phone read. Her eyes widened as she realized an hour had passed since Uday's last message. She opened her inbox a bit dazed. It was him again. Anticipation bubbling within her, she pressed it open.

You look beautiful.

That had her sitting up straight. Reflexively, her eyes dug into the dark depths of her room expecting him to magically appear before her. Her phone bleeped once more.

Look down, princess. :D

An overwhelming fuzziness took dominance in her chest as she deciphered the message word by word. A moment of blankly gazing at her phone later, she flung herself at the window, her now clammy hands fumbling with the lock of the window panes. As her frenzied attempt succeeded, she bent down as far as she could only to find him leaning against a light post, a smile playing at his lips.

Her eyes fixated on his, she rose back up, not sure if her hands could support her as her mind went into overdrive, a million thoughts racing through it. She went on to yell at him but stopped herself, thinking about the others who were peacefully engrossed in slumber, unlike the two of them. She grabbed her phone up and dabbed at the keys furiously.

WHAT are you doing here??!

She glanced back at him to see him jolt a little due to the sudden vibration of his phone. Shaking his head at her, he started typing.

You never replied. Got me worried...

She smiled as it sent sudden warmth through her heart. He sneaked out of a party and drove all the way down here just because...just for me? He just shrugged when her eyes flickered to him. She blushed a deep crimson. He resumed texting.

Are you coming down or am I being the next Romeo? ;)

Hold on.

Clutching her phone, she darted towards the door, only to stop midway.

It would take too long, she decided. Looking towards her open window which was three stories up from where Uday was, a slow smile crossed her lips as she knotted her dupatta at her waist to prevent it from hindering her new formed plan.

Sticking a leg out the window, her hands searched about for the pipeline that she knew ran down next to her window. Once found, she wound both her arms around it as tightly as she could and carefully hoisted herself on the faithful pipe. Just as she had successfully climbed down halfway, her phone bleeped, startling her. While she wondered why she'd brought her cell with her, she struggled to find her balance but lost her footing. With a shock she felt herself dangling in the air; her arms around the pipe her only support. As her arms started feeling numb from the pressure, her legs madly kicked around, trying to find someplace for hoisting her up again.

"Princess!" she heard his whispered yell and looked down to find him standing right below her, an angry glare sharpening his distinct features. "Are you out of your mind?" he muttered furiously.

Her throat constricted and all she could do was cast him her helpless look. "What do I do now?" she asked timidly. Amidst the semi-darkness, she could see his eyes softening.

"Let go of the pipe, Princess. I'll catch you."

"What?" she nearly shrieked incredulously.

"Trust me." Was all he said in his soft, assuring voice.

She felt her arms go weak on their own accord just at the thought of being in Uday's arms. Her body tensed up, not at the fear of falling, for that was out of question in Uday's presence. But she could not trust her hormones and the way they would make her body react being so close to him.

"Princess!"

Bracing herself, she closed her eyes and unwound her arms from around the pipe. The rush of wind around her did not even last a second before she felt strong arms enclosing around her body. Clutching what she thought to be his shirt, she opened her eyes to lock them with his dark, penetrating ones. His smooth flawless skin gracefully reflected the moon's radiance. Her fingers clutching his shirt could feel his heartbeats underneath, which seemed to replicate hers in frequency. A long awaited breath returned to her lungs making her acknowledge their current position. She reluctantly pulled her eyes away, letting go of his shirt. Out of the corner of her eye, she saw him shaking his head momentarily before lowering her to the ground. Resisting her urge to jump back into his arms, she willed herself to take a step away.

"Are you okay?" he asked in a slightly breathy voice, his eyes running down her body, checking for himself.

She nodded, looking anywhere but at him.

A suffocating silence loomed around them as for the first time they could come up with nothing to say to each other. She fidgeted awkwardly with her phone before stopping abruptly. Better put it to some use! she thought, as her fingers swiftly pressed at her keys.

Thank you. :)

He passed her a confused look before drawing up his phone. Flashing her a slow smile, he started typing.

For dumping Natasha? No big deal!

A soft chuckle escaped her lips. Halkat veda! Before she could reply, a new text arrived.

Where's your ring?

She glanced up to see him staring uncomfortably at her empty finger. After contemplating on what to say, she finally decided.

I'm not marrying him.

She could swear she saw him exhale a long-held breath. He kept his eyes transfixed on his screen. After a few moments his fingers finally moved.

I see. Why the sudden change of heart?

Figured I'm in love with someone else.

Whom?

Just some halkat veda, khasmanu khana!

He glanced up, his eyes wide, unbelieving.

She broke into a smile at his confused state. Not letting go of his eyes, she typed.

I Love You.

She witnessed each emotion flickering through his face- shock, disbelief, relief, ecstasy. The most handsome of smiles flashed across his face before she was pulled in his warm embrace. His arm swiftly snaked around her waist while his fingers caressed her soft hair. Her heart skipped a beat as she felt his cool lips nuzzle her neck. Her fingers desperately dug into his thick hair, memorizing their smooth texture.

Her forgotten phone bleeped, making her yelp in shock. Uday chuckled lightly beside her. Glaring at him, she pulled away bringing her cell up.

You've Received a New Text, it read once again. She did not have to guess who it was from. Uday.

I Love You Too.

Biting her lips, she looked at him with glassy eyes, blinking away her sudden tears. Her phone dropped to the grass with a thud as her hands rushed behind his neck and she hoisted herself up on her toes, smashing her lips with his. He smiled through the kiss, cupping her face tenderly. Her heart flipped wildly, millions of colorful butterflies fluttering about in her chest as she was gifted a new life- the best life possible.