Chapter 11 (Part 3):
"Uffff Teriiii Adaaaaa..."
Mayank stuffed a finger into his ear instinctively as he dragged Nupur from the dance floor, finally, once the song was over.
"Mayank, I want to daaaanceee... Lemme goooo...I'm having so much funnnn!!" She drawled as she tried to shove him aside unsuccessfully.
"Nupur, you have had enough action for the night!" He pulled her along with him and turned towards her sternly "Now you just NEED to get home and go to sleep!!"
Nupur started fake-sobbing and stopped once they were out of the door, pulling her hand from his roughly "You are sooo MEAN to me!! Why are you always so mean to me?? You also don't like me, no??"
Mayank was annoyed at first with her Over-the-top behaviour but her last innocent question compelled him to look at her. Surprised with this unexpected question, he didn't answer at first.
She continued to talk, lost in her own world "Nobody likes me... I'm so borrring, so rude, so mean... I'm not nice na??" She looked up at him with big innocent eyes, searching for answers.
"No Nupur... You are really nice... It's just that you don't like to make a show of it..." He smiled at her reassuringly and started to walk again when she pulled at his hand to stop him.
"Just like you..." He froze. Slowly he turned around to face her. She was smiling at him. "You are not as bad as you try to portray yourself..."
He smiled despite himself. Shaking his head slowly he started to walk again. This time, she quietly walked with him, leaning on his shoulder for support.
"Mayank??"
"Yes Nupur..." Mayank heaved a sigh of impatience.
"Have you ever thought why we are like this?"
"Like what?"
"Uffo... Like ' like we are the meanest creatures on this planet!!!" Nupur exaggerated.
Mayank chuckled at her description. "Umm, lets see..." He pondered for a few seconds "I would like to call it self-preservation..."
Nupur gave a look of total shock to him. "What?" He asked.
"Don't tell me we have something in common! I too feel that if I don't build up expectations for myself..."
"I'm saved from getting hurt myself." He completed for her. She giggled. "Wow, we do have something in common..."
"That's why I'm telling u, let's daaaanncceeeee...." Nupur squealed.
Great! The randomness of this momentary euphoria and heart-to-heart is over. Back to task at hand, Mayank.
"No Nupur... Not again..." He pulled the already bouncing Nupur along with him when he heard his name.
"Mayank!!!"
He turned around to see Samrat walking towards him. "Can I speak to you for a minute?" Samrat asked.
He glanced at the over-excited Nupur. "I'm not sure if this is a good time... I'm kind of in the middle of something." He explained as he struggled to calm Nupur down.
"Just one minute, Mayank... It's really urgent." Samrat's serious tone caught his attention.
"OK, just a second...Nupur, you stay right here, I'll just be back!!" He told her as if talking to a 9-yr old and then followed Samrat.
Samrat sighed once they were alone. "Mayank, I guess it's over... Gunjan was never really into me...You don't need to carry out this drama anymore.."
"What do you mean?" Mayank was confused.
"What I mean is that it's finished... There's nothing I can do about it! She's gone..." His words reeked of his hopelessness. His eyes had a faraway look, as if he was here but still not here.
"Samrat..." Mayank shook him from his shoulders when he didn't respond "Samrat!!"
"Yeah..."
"Do you like this girl or not??" Mayank asked him.
"Yes I do..."
"I mean do you really like this girl or not?"
"That's what I said, Mayank...I do!" He answered impatiently.
"Then what's stopping you? Did she say to you that she can never like you? C'mon, be a man!!"
Samrat looked at him and smiled, relief etched on his face.
"You can't give up without a fight, can you??"
Samrat shook his head. "Great! Now I really ought to go, before Ms.Bhushan decides to do something more adventurous..." He smirked.
Mayank started to leave when Samrat spoke up "Thanks a ton, dude!"
"Don't mention it." Mayank nodded curtly and left.
"Crap!" The word instantly slipped out of his mouth the moment he walked to where he had left Nupur. He groaned. "Where are you now, Nupur???"
Annoyed beyond words, he started searching for her (yet again!).
**********
Gunjan grimaced as another rowdy friend of RV's joined them. She was feeling really awkward in the presence of so many guys and most of them were drop-dead drunk and reeking of alcohol.
She somehow managed to control the bile that rose in her throat on seeing all of them trying to stand as close as possible to her.
She searched around for her Di, hoping to take off on seeing her, but there was no sign of her anywhere.
Only one thought kept recurring in her mind ' What had she landed herself into?
"Ranvijay, I think we should go now... It's getting really late..." She spoke softly to RV, who was busy laughing at one of his friend's joke and didn't pay any attention to her.
She frowned and on noticing that she wasn't really wanted here, she slowly slipped away. Her heart was pounding as she realised that she was all alone. Annie too had left some time ago and she had declined driving back with her, thinking RV would drop her. She turned back to look at him. He had still not noticed that she wasn't there anymore.
God, why didn't I listen to Di?? Where are you, Di??
Just then she spotted someone in the crowd. Her heart soared. It was Samrat. He seemed to be searching for someone. She quickly walked over to him.
"Hi Samrat!!" She tried to sound cheerful.
He turned to look at her. At first, he smiled, but slowly that smile faded as he looked away. "Hi Gunjan... Hope you're having fun!!"
His indifference somehow hurt her. She didn't understand what could have caused it. "Umm, I don't know about that..." He glanced at her for a second "I mean, yes, I'm having fun." She bit her lip at her blatant lie.
They stood in awkward silence for some time. Finally, she broke it. "Samrat, I really want to go home... Can you drop me? I can't find Di..."
"Oh, she was with..." He broke off suddenly. "OK, I'll drop you home..."
"Thanks Samrat... You're the best..." She smiled broadly at him. He simply nodded in return. She was puzzled yet again. Nevertheless, she followed him outside, where he led her to his bike.
"Bike!?" She looked at him quizzically and then at her dress.
"Any problem?" He asked, concerned.
"No ' no...No problem...It's fine..." She quickly covered her folly.
"Then let's go..." He put on his helmet and kick-started his bike. She gulped as she sat behind him. Though she would never admit to anyone openly, this was the first time ever she was sitting on a bike, so naturally, she was nervous.
"You look really pale... Is everything ok?" Samrat asked as he watched her sitting cautiously. "Are you scared?" He added.
She threw him a disapproving look. He chuckled. She was too naive for words. "Don't worry, just hold on to me... It'll be fine!"
"No, I'm fine..." She adamantly caught the back of the bike to support herself.
"Ok, suit yourself!" The moment he pulled the bike ahead, Gunjan was pushed on him with the jerk. She quickly straightened herself and placed a hand on his shoulder to steady herself.
Quietly, he reached for her hand and placed it around his waist. "It's all good, Gunjan..." He reassured her when she looked at him with shock.
I can't tell you how good it really is...Seriously! Samrat thought to himself as he made his way towards her house.
**********
Mayank looked around once again at the diminished crowd, but there was no sign of Nupur there too. He was thoroughly frustrated by now. He had searched every place possible for her, but she was nowhere to be found.
He was contemplating leaving her here and going off, when he spotted the backyard door. One place he had missed.
He quickly rushed out of the door and heaved a sigh of relief. Nupur was sitting on one of the swings, gazing up at the sky.
"There you are, Nupur... I've been searching left, right and centre for you! Didn't I tell you to stay where you were and that I would BE RIGHT BACK??" He started scolding her angrily once he reached her.
"Even Maa must have told Papa that she will never leave him. But she also didn't stay..." She spoke quietly, a lost look in her eyes. She had never looked more vulnerable before.
Mayank cleared his throat and sat down at the adjoining swing. She kept speaking, lost in the flow.
"Even he told me that he truly cared for me... But he also didn't mean it!" She turned to look at him, who was utterly confused with this sudden insight into Nupur's true emotions. "So how could I believe that you would BE RIGHT BACK?"
"I guess you're right... It's not easy to trust someone you don't know nor like!" Mayank added.
Nupur's eyebrows knitted together. "Who said I don't like you?" She leaned towards him and smiled dreamily as she gazed into his eyes. "Hey, your eyes have a lot of brown in them! How cute, By God!" Mayank smiled softly at her randomness.
And then she bent down and vomited on his shoes.
**********
😃
Next part will be the last 'Party' part....Plz leave ur comments and dont forget to press the like tab...😳
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Appu
Edited by aparajita.s - 15 years ago
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