"Abhi!!" Nikki exclaimed. "Jaldi karo! Armaan ka phone aaya tha. Mujhe help karne ke liye bulaya hai."
Abhi sighed. "Tumhe bulaya hai. Mujhe to nahi na. To tum jao."
Nikki looked at Abhi and threw his jeans, along with his white shirt and white coat, on the bed beside where he was sitting. "Abhi, stop joking around aur chalo!!!"
Abhi got up and hugged Nikki. He honestly didn't want to go. He wouldn't have mind if the interns liked him and wanted him there. But he knew he wasn't accepted in their group and would never be.
"Come on Nikki! Just go without me na!" Abhi shouted irritated.
Abhi's sudden anger startled Nikki. "Wha-? Yeh tumhe kya ho gaya hai Abhi!? What is wrong with you? Main to sirf tumhe is liye aane ke liye keh rahi hoon kyun ki decorations mein tumhara decision aacha hota hai. In our wedding you choose all the themes and it was gorgeous! So mujhe laga ke tum Rahul aur Muskaan ke bhi wedding mein help karoge!"
"Nikki! Seriously! Humhari shadi bahut special thi meri liye. Aur mein nahi chahta ke tum kisi aur ki bhi shadi humare jasi special karo."
"Fine Abhi," Nikki snapped back. "Agar tumhe aisa lagta hai to thik hai. Mujhe koi farak nahin padta. Mein ja rahi hoon. Bye."
As Nikki opened the door, she turned back and said, "And just for your information Abhi: Hamari shadi bahut special thi kyun ki tumne aapne haatho se tayari ki thi. Agar main chaho bhi to Rahul ki shaadi ko itni special nahin bana sakti. Lekin Abhi Rahul is one of my best friends aur mujhe usko madat karni hi hogi. Chahe tumhe aacha lage ya bhura."
Saying this, Nikki closed the door behind and left.
Abhi sighed and sat down on the floor against the wall. "Damn it," he said. "Yeh maine kya kar diya. Useless argument. Ugh. Ab to jaana hi hoga."
Abhi quickly grabbed the clothes Nikki had put out for him and ran in the washroom.
* * *
"Nikki!" Armaan shouted. "Niks, jaldi aao!!"
"Ek minute, Ammi!" Nikki shouted back from the other room trying to balance a basket of flowers, a checklist, a pencil, some flower garlands and some colour samples while she was standing on a ladder checking if the lighting was done properly.
"Can I help?" a voice asked behind Armaan.
Armaan turned around and found Abhi standing behind him with his hands in his pockets.
"Tum!" he shouted at Abhi. "What are you doing here!?"
"Uhh…" Abhi started. "Nikki – I mean Dr. Nikita ne kaha tha kal ke usse help ki zarurat hai…is liye main aa gaya."
"Nikki aisa boli thi?" Armaan asked surprised with his eyes widening. "Jhoot! Let me tell you one thing. Nikki hates you. Why the heck would she call you here to help her?"
Abhi let out a small laugh. "Did she literally tell you she hates me? Ya phir tumhe lagta hai aisa?"
"Dr. Modi, meri choice aur meri best friend ki choice kaafi milti hai. So if I hate you then obviously she hates you too. Samjhe?"
"Nahin. Kyun ki friends don't always agree. Aur waise yeh pink flowers yaha aache nahi lagta. I think that –"
"Ohh! You think! Ha! That's something new," Armaan said interrupting Abhi. "Well…I guess aacha hai. Soochna brain ke liya aacha hota hai."
"Yes I know," Abhi said smiling. "Is liye main kabhi kabhi soocha karta hoon. Too bad tum yeh bhi nahin kar pate."
Abhi grabbed an apple from the table and said, "And as I was saying, you should put red or white flowers. It will look better!"
"He is right Armaan," Nikki said walking towards them. "Budhu ho tum. Why the heck would you use pink flowers on the stairs if we used red and white everywhere else?"
"Kyun?" Armaan asked embarrased. "Tum dono ko shaadi plan karne ka experience hai kya?"
"Actually – " Abhi started as Nikki elbowed him in the stomach.
"Stupid," she interrupted. "Obviously no. Lekin come on yaar. Just imagine – aacha nahin lage ga."
"Yeah whatever," Armaan said walking off to go find Ridhima.
Abhi watched Armaan walk off and burst out with laughter. "Yeh tumhara dost hai na…bahut hi entertaining hai yaar."
Nikki made a face and pushed Abhi aside. "Haato. Mujhe kam hai."
"Huh?" Abhi said confused. "Kam to mujhe bhi hai. Hospital main. Lekin main phir bhi yahan hoon. Tumhe help karne aaya hoon. To ab kya problem hai jaan?"
"Abhi seriously?" Nikki said as she turned to face him. "Tumne muhje help karna soocha is liye thanks. Lekin ab mujhe tumhari zarurat nahin hai."
And yet again – she rushed away.
"Dekha!?" Armaan said coming back. "Usne kaha ke ab usse tumhari zarurat nahin hai. So go!"
"Main ja hi raha hoon. Lekin yeh mat samaj na ki tumne bola is liye. I am going because I have more important work than organizing a party. Lekin mein shyam ko shaadi mein zaroor aa raha hoon. So see you then buddy," Abhi replied patting Armaan's shoulder and walking away.
* * *
Abhi opened the door of his house, returning home from the hospital extremely tired. The house was quiet and empty. Where was Nikki? Wasn't she supposed to come home and change?
"Nikki!" he called. "Are you home?"
Abhi saw the red light blinking on his answering machine and clicked the button to play his message.
" One new message: beep: Abhi mein Armaan ki ghar hoon aur agar tum aana chahte ho to tum change kar ke aa jaana."
Yep. It was Nikki. And she still sounded mad.
"Damn it," Abhi said. "Aaj kuch to karna hoga. Warna pata nahin iska mood kab badlega."
Abhi quickly ran up the stairs into their bedroom and saw that Nikki had put his clothes on his bed. He smiled and quickly changed into the beige sherwani and left the house.
* * *
"Madam yeh phoool ka kya karo?" a man asked holding a basket of flowers.
"Us table pe rakh do," Nikki replied pointing at a table in the corner. People had been asking her questions the whole day. Rahul and Muskaan obviously were not decorating for their own wedding and Armaan and Atul were busy flirting with their beloved girls the whole day. She had felt so lonely. Nikki missed Abhi. She wished she could hold him tightly and kiss him and be kissed by him.
"Yeh tu kya sooch rahi hai Nikki," she said to herself. "Abhi to tumhari saath rehna nahi chalta. To phir tum kyun usse yaad kar rahi ho? Usse aana hota to woh kab ka aa chukka hota."
Suddenly Nikki's heartbeat fastened. She felt his presence nearby. He was here. Nikki turned around and saw Abhi standing there. He looked so perfect in the beige sherwani. Nikki smiled helplessly as Abhi stared at her.
Abhi looked at the smile on Nikki's face and knew that she has forgiven him. If not forgiven – then she definitely would soon. He looked at her beauty. She looked even more beautiful in the pink and beige sari that she was wearing.
Nikki looked around and a couple of people were starting to stare. Ahem. She cleared her throat and started walking away.
"Nikki," Abhi called softly. "You look beautiful."
Nikki smiled unwillingly again and then remembered what had happened that morning. So she turned around to face him and snapped, "Yea, I know. Aur kuch chahiye?"
Abhi looked down to force himself from avoiding laughter but the truth was that Nikki looked really adorable when she was mad at him. The way her nose flared up, and the way her eyes widened. He especially loved it when she started laughing in the middle of yelling at him. It was all so cute.
When he looked up, she was gone.
"Yaar…yeh ladkiyan bhi na!"
"I know yaar," Atul said joining in. "Yeh ladkiyan bhi na."
"Tumhe kya hua?" Abhi asked Atul. "Anjali ka koi problem hai?"
"Obviously yaar."
"Don't worry, champ," Armaan joined in. "Anjali ke problem mein main help kar sakta hoon. Lekin…yeh….yeh Modi…tera dost hai kya? Tum meri badle uske saath aapni problems share kar rahe ho?"
Atul looked from Armaan to Abhi and bit his tongue. "Are yaar! Mujhe to pata bhi nahin chala!"
"Koi baat nahin, Dr. Joshi," Abhi said calmly. "Mujhe dosto ki koi zarurat nahin hai. I have more than enough friends. Lekin agar apne Dr. Malik ko chod diya…to phir unke saath kaun rahega. So I suggest to stick with the friendless. Who knows, I might even give you points for that?"
Armaan's mouth dropped as Abhi left and Ridhima and Anjali came laughing to him.
"Bechara Armaan," Anjali said laughing. "Poor guy."
Atul looked up and saw Anjali looking amazing in a red and black sari.
She looked more breathtaking than she'd ever looked. Ridhima was standing right behind her and obviously Armaan couldn't look away from her red sari as it matched with his green sherwani.
Everyone was there. Now, the only couple that was missing – was the one getting married.
"Are yaar, Rahul aur Muskaan kab aayenge?" Armaan complained.
"Lo," Ridhima said. "Rahul aa gaya."
And soon…Muskaan joined in wearing a beautiful dulhan outfil and the rituals began. Abhi and Nikki watched, remembering their wedding as time passed. Time had passed so quickly. It only seemed like yesterday when Abhi had brought Nikki home as his dulhan. Both lives had changed since.
Nikki remembered how Abhi used to sneak into her house by climbing the tree in front of her balcony. Even after her parents knew about them. Abhi had said sneaking in was more fun. Nikki laughed at the memory.
"Kya hua?" Abhi whispered from behind.
"Kuch nahi," Nikki replied frowning. She was not going to make it easy for Abhi to apologize. She liked it when Abhi gave her extra attention.
Abhi suddenly came beside her and held on to her shoulder with his hand tightly.
"Abhi!" Nikki exclaimed. "Yeh kya kar rahe ho tum? Chode mujhe."
"Nahi," Abhi said.
"Nahi? Abhi seriously. Ridhima dekh rahi hai. Chodo mujhe."
"Nahi, Nikki."
"Abhi…yeh kaisa tarika hai maafi mangneka? Seriously. Let me go."
"No Nikki. Now shut up."
"Abhi!"
Armaan looked up as Ridhima elbowed him pointing towards Abhi and Nikki.
"Dekho, Armaan," Ridhima said smiling. "They look so cute na?"
Armaan's eyes widened. "Cute? Ridhima! Yeh…yeh Modi kya kar raha hai Nikki ki saath!?"
Ridhima sighed. "Armaan! Calm down. Nikki aapna problem khud sambhal sakti hai. So don't even think about going there."
"Par…Ridhima. Dekho! Nikki is trying to get his hand away. Usko bhi nahi aacha lagta."
"Armaan! Uff. Sorry mujhe tumko dikhana hi nahi chahiyata."
Armaan sighed as Rahul looked up from his wedding rituals and eyed towards Nikki and Abhi with questioning eyes.
Nikki looked at Armaan and Rahul and noticed how they were eyeing towards her. "Abhi please. Armaan aur Rahul bhi dekh rahe hai. Unko shak ho jaaye ga."
"Hone do," Abhi replied casually not taking his eyes off the wedding rituals.
"Abhi!" Nikki snapped. "What the heck is your problem? Chodo mujhe."
"Nikki," Abhi said looking at her. "Mujhe nahi…mandap ki taraf dekho."
"That's it!" Nikki said. "Chalo meri saath."
She took Abhi by his second hand and pulled him towards the empty room in the corner.
"Abhi!" she exclaimed. "Yeh kya ho gaya hai tumhe? Agar maafi chahiye to mujhe naraz karne ki kya zarurat hai? Just leave me alone!"
Abhi sighed. "Nikki. Um…tumhara blouse piche se chula hai. Aur tumhari piche camera man tha – jo bilkul aacha nahi hai. So – I didn't want him to take advantage of you or even film the wedding like that. Aur main tumhe keh bhi nahi saktata…kyun kit um mauka bhi nahi deti."
Nikki looked at her open back through the mirror and gasped. "Uff!" she exclaimed slapping herself on her forehead. "I'm so stupid! Sorry Abhi!"
"Woh to tum ho," Abhi replied.
"I'm so sorry, jaanu."
Abhi smiled as Nikki walked towards him. "Please…yeh…band kardo?"
Abhi quickly tied Nikki's blouse together and the both were about to leave as Armaan stepped in.
"Modi!" Armaan exlciamed. "How dare you? Nikki ko chadte sharam nahi aayi?"
"Dekho Armaan main to sirf – " Abhi explained as Armaan cut him off.
"Sirf kya?" Armaan said angrily pulling Nikki to his side.
"Armaan – baat to suno," Nikki said.
"Nahi Nikki," Armaan said. "Mujhe kuch nahi sunna. Abhi Rahul bula raha hai…so we'll finish this disscusion after the rituals are done."
And that was it. Armaan dragged Nikki out of the room as Nikki looked and Abhi and smiled, assuring that everything would be alright and she would fix everything after the wedding was over.
The wedding ended soon and Muskaan bidded her family and friends goodbye as the couple, along with Rahul's family, left to visit the temple.
After the guests left Nikki went to all the interns followed by Abhi to clear the misunderstanding.
"Armman," Nikki called. "Dekho, Abhi ne kuch nahi kiya tha…now don't interrupt and just listen."
Armaan sighed. "Kya yaar…why are you so nice to this….Modi?"
Nikki shot Armaan a nasty look. This Modi is my husband. Ugh. I wish I can just tell him. I don't even want to do this stupid bet anymore. But I should wait until Rahul is back to tell all of them together.
"This "Modi" as you put it…helped me today by covering up my back because my blouse was open," Nikki said angrily.
"I know! Yeh Modi to – wait kya? He helped you?" Armaan asked as Nikki started explaining the whole story to them.
Ridhima smiled as Armaan stared in disbelief. Modi and good? He wasn't ready to grasp the fact.
"Par – " Armaan started.
"NO ARMAAN!" Nikki yelled. "Seriously, Armaan. Shut up now. Dr. Modi isn't as bad as you put it. He got Dr. Keerti back to Sanjeevni and he gave me a ride the other day. He really is nice Armaan. Just give him a chance."
Armaan looked at Nikki in disbelief. Why was she taking his side?
Ridhima ignored Nikki's angriness and smiled. "I agree Armaan. Abhimanyu itna bhi bhura hai."
Atul and Anjali both smiled and went to Abhi to thank him for helping their friend. Soon enough everyone but Armaan was talking to Abhi as though they;d known him for ages.
"Chale Abhi?" Nikki whispered when the interns went to get food.
"Yea," Abhi said irritated. Now – it was his turn to act mad and ask Nikki for an apology. It was perfect. He knew that Nikki wasn't going to be happy to be ignored by Abhi. She hadn't talked to him for the whole day. How was she going to last throughout the next day?
Abhi got up without another word and walked to the car.
"Anjali! Ridhima!" Nikki called. "Dr. Modi ghar gaye. Ab main bhi jaa rahi hoon. Kaafi der ho gayi. Hum kal hospital mein milte hai."
* * *
Abhi and Nikki got home as Nikki hugged Abhi slowly from the back. "I'm so happy that ab sab ko tumhari pas koi problem nahi hai. I couldn't stand it when they were talking against you."
Abhi pushed Nikki away gently and started walking away. "Koi baat nahi hai."
Uh-oh. Nikki thought. Yeh kya ho gaya. Now he is mad at me. Waise galti bhi meri hai. Mujhe usse shanty se baat karni chahiye thi. Ab to kuch karna padega.
Nikki quickly ran to the CD Player and turned it on getting in the full mood to do some dancing as the song Saiyaan from U, Me, Aur Hum played.
Na na na na, na na na na, na na na na
Oh… maine tho maanga tha, saheli jaisa saiyaan
Haan… maine tho maanga tha, saheli jaisa saiyaan
Mua pale pada, paheli jaise saiyaan
Paheli jaisa saiyaan, paheli jaisa saiyaan
Bhoola bhoola sa rehta hai, jhoola jhoola sa rehta hai
Nayi dilli mein, bareli jaisa saiyaan
Bareli jaisa saiyaan, bareli jaisa saiyaan
Oh… maine toh maanga tha
Na na na na. na na na na, na na na na
Sara din afwahon sa, udta phirta hai gali gali,
Gali gali mora saiyaan
Oh… aake ghar anghithi sa, baatein karta hai, jail jail
Jala jala mora saiyaan,
Bawre ne hi bawri kiya
Haai maine kya panga le liya,
Chuna bhooton ki, haweli jaisa saiyaan,
haweli jaisa saiyaan, bareli jaisa saiyaan,
Haan.. maine toh maanga tha,
Saheli jaisa saiyaan
Uthe hi akhbaar pe, toot padta hai subah subah,
bhooka sa mora saiyaan
Oh… biwi se zyada toh yeh tv se hai juda juda,
Chipku sa mora saiyaan
Bawre ne hi, bawri kiya, kaise na bhala, jale ye jiya
Pade jhele na, jo daily aisa saiyaan, jo daily aisa saiyaan,
Jo daily aisa saiyaan, hey…
Bhoola bhoola sa rehta hai… jhula jhula sa rehta hai,
Nayi dilli mein.. bareli jaisa saiyaan
Bareli jaisa saiyaan, paheli jaisa saiynaan
Oh… maine toh maanga tha, saheli jaisa saiyaan.
By the end of the song, she was sitting on the sofa in Abhi's arms as he kissed her lightly on the lips.
"I love you, Nikki," Abhi whispered as Nikki fell asleep after the long, busy day.
ONCE AGAIN PLEASE ADD ME IN YOUR BUDDY LIST IF YOU WANT ME TO SEND PMs!
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