Part 17
After Sid and Riddhima were over and done with their fights, they had talked for hours and hours about how life had been for these past two years. They both were having an awesome time, having met each other after such a long time. Sid and Riddhima had been best buddies since childhood. Sid was 3 years elder to Riddhima and when Riddhima's family decided to move to Australia, he was the only one who opposed the idea. But then, they had moved and Sid felt like his world had come crashing down. He had a crush on Riddhima at that time, and he thought he was in love. Now, he chuckled at that stupid thought.
"Me in love with Riddhima? What was I thinking?" He thought.
"Sid, when do I get to meet bhabhi?
;)" Riddhima asked with a wink.
"Kaun bhabhi? Sid, you are with someone!" Anjali asked, as her mouth hung open in shock.
Sid glared at Riddhima with the
I-so-hate-you look. He looked at Anjali, gulped and started explaining himself. "Umm… ya, it's… aa… we haven't been together for too long -"
"Just some 6 odd months di!
=)" Riddhima continued smirking.
"6 months!? Sid, I… you could have told me! I thought I was like your elder sister! I cannot believe it! You didn't tell me out of all the people?" Anjali spoke, hurt.
"Di, I was going to tell you! It's just that, it wasn't a concrete relationship until only a few weeks ago. And then Riddhima told me that you guys were headed to India, and so I was going to introduce her today. But this moron, she ruined it all! Ghadi!" Sid justified himself.
"Riddhima! You ruined the surprise for me! Idiot!" Anjali starred at Riddhima while she starred back with a shocked look on her face. "Anyways, when do I get to meet her? And what's her name?"
"Tamanna, that's her name. And she… I invited her over for dinner… if that is okay?"
"Oh no, no,
no! How could you invite her without asking us Sid? You should have taken our permission."
"Oh, I am sorry!"
Anjali chucked. "Sid, ghade! This is your own home! You do whatever you want to! Get it?"
"Oh, thanks. You gave me a heart attack."
"Hmph! And no one cares about me!
=(" Riddhima pouted.
"Ole ole ole. Poor baby!"
"
Sid! Don't call me a baby!" Sid grinned and Riddhima sighed. "Anyways, at least show her photo to di. I know you keep Tammy's photo in your wallet!
;)"
"First of all, don't call her Tammy, her name is Tamanna. Secondly, she looks better in reality than in the photo. So, di will see her in the evening."
"But Tammy is a cute name! If she agreed to it, what's your problem?"
"You talked to Tamanna?
=O"
"Ya, she called on your mobile when you were in the bathroom!
=P So, I talked to her for like, two minutes. She is so shy! Lord knows what she sees in an ass like you!"
"Riddhima, I am-"
"You two, don't start again!" Anjali said. "And we have a lot of work to get done. So, can we get started. It's my marriage, remember!?"
"I know it's your marriage di. And trust me, it's going to be perfect! My promise!
=)" Riddhima smiled at Anjali and then looked at the others. "Right guys?"
"Oh ya, of course it's going to be perfect." Nikki said with an uncomfortable smile. "Riddhima, I was going to say, ummm, dad is coming to pick me up tomorrow. They live here na, so of course I am going to live with them."
"Okay, I will talk to uncle about this issue tomorrow. No point talking to you!
=P"
Nikki sighed. "Riddhima, look. I want to live with mom and dad! Please, understand!"
Riddhima looked at Nikki and she knew something was wrong. She looked at the others, who smiled at her, but she knew there was something. "Okay, so what is wrong? Since when have you guys stopped telling that something is bothering you all?"
"Nothing Riddhima. We all are fine. Nikki wants to go live with her parents, let her go!" Muskaan spoke with a hint of bitterness in her voice and that was enough to tick Riddhima's patience meter off!
"Oh, great. So now you are going to test my patience and not tell me what is wrong! Fine by me, rot on the insides!" And she walked away in a huff up to her bedroom while everyone starred at her, shocked by her words.
Rot on the insides."Err… I'll go see what's wrong with her." Sid got up and ran to her bedroom, wondering what had suddenly happened.
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~OShe slammed her bedroom door shut, not realising that she had just missed hitting Sid's face.
"Okay, now this is bad, very bad. I am still scared of her temper and I so don't want to be shredded to pieces." Sid spoke to himself.
"You got that right dude! You should be scared of my temper, so go away. Or I'll rip your head off! I am in no mood!" Riddhima yelled.
"Err… no, I am not going to go! And you are going to tell me exactly what is wrong with you?"
"Um, no. I am
not going to tell you what exactly is wrong with me and you are going to butt out of this
now!"
"No, I am not -"
"
Sid! Go! I just met you, and I don't want to end up fighting with you! Can you just leave me alone, please!"
"Fine, as you say. But… just let me know when you want to talk, okay?"
"Hmm… I'll let you know!"
Riddhima's POVWhat exactly is wrong with these people? Hell man! Why can't they just tell me straight away? I have been noticing it since morning, well… since Sid came! Armaan has been sulking, Rahul and Abhi haven't been talking to me, and I noticed Muskaan and Nikki talking about something, glancing at me a couple of times while I was talking to Sid. What is wrong with them? Fine, you don't want to tell me…
Don't!!
Music blasting off in the background, I sat down on my bed with a sigh. I know I have not been able to give them as much time as I should have, but then again, I am seeing Naani and Sid after 2 whole years. Now, that is a long time. And I need to spend time with them.
I lied down and relaxed a bit, cooling my temper down. Thinking over the whole day's events, I realised that it was my fault my friends weren't talking to me, it was my fault they all were angry with me and it was my fault that Nikki didn't want to stay with us! I had been ignoring them since morning, since Sid came, and that is not the right way to treat your best friends. I sighed and yelled into my pillow. How could I be so stupid? How could I not realise my own mistake and yell at them? What's done is done, now I need to go and apologise.
I got off my bed, my words ringing in my ears.
Rot on the insides. Why did I say that in the first place? I really am an idiot! As I walked down the stairs, 8 pairs of eyes starred at me, 6 of them angry and 2 that wore a look on their faces that said,
I understand! Yup, Armaan and Sid smiled at me reassuringly, and that was enough for me to get through this.
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~O"So Nikki, umm, you are still going to go?" Riddhima asked, nervous still.
"Mom and dad want me to go and live with them. I would love to stay, but you know them right?" Nikki sighed and sat down on the couch.
"You are staying with us and that is decided! I am not going to let you go! The fact that I can convince people pretty easily, it will be easy to get him to agree to let you stay here! Don't you worry!" Riddhima smiled and then looked down. "I am really sorry guys, really sorry!"
"Eh, shut up ya!" Rahul said.
"Seriously Ridz, we are over it, and you get over it too. Please!" Abhi smiled, genuinely this time.
"Ya, Abhi and Rahul are right! We love you and so we forgive you! Right Armaan?" Muskaan smirked, and Riddhima let out a small sigh.
"Yup, we all love you Basket! Even I love you! Is that what you wanted to hear Muskaan?" It was Armaan's turn to smirk, and Riddhima chuckled at everyone's expressions! "Of course I love Basket, as a friend that is!" And then everyone groaned!
"Just when I thought it was all going to be fine and they would get together!" Sid sighed.
"How do you know about our story?" Riddhima narrowed her eyes and starred at Sid.
"I have been talking to Muskaan and Nikki, and they told me! And don't kill them, I squeezed the information out of them. Oh, and go get ready. I am going to go pick up Tamanna. Please look decent in front of her! Don't look jungly like this!"
"
Sid! I am going to
kill you!" But before she could do anything, Sid ran out of the house.
"You just wait and watch Sid." Riddhima yelled and then ran upstairs to her room.
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~O"Basket, stop grinning like an idiot please! It does not look good!" Armaan whispered to Riddhima, who was sitting next to Armaan on the couch with everyone else around. They were waiting for Sid and Tamanna to come home.
"Ammy, she is going to be my future-bhabhi. You know how exciting that is!"
But before Armaan could reply, the door bell rang and Riddhima got up and ran to the door. She opened the door and couldn't help but stare at the girl standing in front of her. She was just perfect. She had fair skin, jet black straight hair and she was wearing a simple churidaar. Her black orbs were shinning and Riddhima could swear she had never seen a smile prettier than that. That had to be Tamanna.
"Riddhima, don't stare at her like that! She's all mine okay? Keep your eyes, hands… keep yourself off her." Sid said, keeping his arms around Tamanna's shoulders as if to protect her.
"I am straight Mr. Siddhart! You are the one who is hiding being gay!
=P"
"=O You! Urgh!"Riddhima laughed. Ah, the joy she got from annoying Sid. "Tamanna, what do you see in him? Tch, he just doesn't deserve someone as pretty as you!"
"I guess, Sid is just… Sid! And I guess I love him! And love is blind, so… that explains it all. Doesn't it?"
"Impressive. Okay, you passed your test."
"Test?"
"I was just seeing if you love Sid enough or not! Because he loves you like crazy!
=)" Riddhima noticed the red colour creep up Tamanna's cheeks as she starred at her feet. "Come on in! Di is eager to meet you!
=)" As they walked in, Riddhima held Sid's hand and pulled him back. He looked at her questioningly, wondering what she wanted to say now! "She is pretty! And I know she is just perfect for you! I was kidding before! Jokes only, don't take me seriously!"
"Ya, I know that! Since when have you started justifying your actions to me? Come on, let's go!" Sid pulled Riddhima inside the house while she grinned from ear to ear, feeling happy!
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~O"Tamanna, we all are going shopping tomorrow, us girls. Would you like to join us?" Anjali asked. They all were sitting in the lounge area after dinner.
"Oh sure, I would love to!" Tamanna smiled and then looked at Sid, who nodded his head.
"Tammy, you are asking for his permission?
God! He is not your hubby as of now! I know he will be in a few years, but abhi se practise start kar di hai?
;)" Riddhima smirked while Sid glared at her.
"Can you keep your mouth shut? Gosh this girl has not changed one bit! " Sid sighed, while Tamanna turned a shade of crimson red.
"As if you have. See, you are still the same idiotic, moron, ghada sa, kiddish types person who also happens to be an ass who's name is Siddhart! Nice na! We both haven't changed at all in this past 2 years!
=D"
"Let me finish! For your information, she is not taking my permisson okay! She was just looking at me, like Armaan stares at you almost all day!
;)"
"I know, he loves me so much!" Riddhima pretended to blush and then winked at Sid with a mischevious look on her face, who sighed in anger. "Aur kuch kehna hai aapko?
;)"
"Cut it out you two! Why do you fight so much?" Anjali asked, exasperated.
"Because, it is a tradition we have to follow!
=) =P"
"Umm, I think I will get going now!
=) Thank you for the nice dinner and inviting me to your place. It was nice meeting you all!" Tamanna said.
"It was our pleasure having you over for dinner Tamanna. See you tomorrow!" Anjali said.
"See you tomorrow Tammy!" Riddhima started to walk towards the door with Tamanna and Sid when Armaan pulled her back.
"Let them be alone you moron!"
"Gosh, he is going to drop her anyways! They can romance in the car! Let me go see her off!"
"
No! Stay here! You are just so dumb!"
"Gosh, ismein
dumb hone waali baat kya hai yaar?"
"Basket, do you not understand anything?"
"Fine, fine! I will stay!" Riddhima rolled her eyes and walked over to the fridge.
"There is not coke in the fridge. Don't even bother looking!" Anjali understood what Riddhima wanted. Her daily dose of coke!
"Urghh! Why?" Riddhima frowned. Out of everything, they don't have coke at home?
"Because it is winters and cold drinks will make you sick and -" (Remember, they are in India in December!)
"Blah blah blah! Who is coming with me to the shops to get some coke?"
"I am up for it!" and "Ya, I'll tag along!" was the response Riddhima got from everyone. She poked her tongue out at Anjali, who could do nothing because she knew Riddhima would get her way, and then walked out of the house with the others, leaving Anjali, Atul and Naani alone at home.
"Anjali, why did you let them go alone? What if she gets lost? It's so late in the night!" Naani asked, tensed.
"Naani, she is not a baby anymore!" Anjali smile. Naani still considered them as kids who could not take care of themselves. "She is 15 and plus she is not alone. They are a group of six people who can scare anyone away! Jokes apart, she will be okay! Trust me!
=)" Anjali smiled reassuringly and Naani nodded, understanding what Anjali was trying to get across to her.
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~O"Ah, the joy of drinking your favourite drink! You guys sure you don't want anything? Because I am feeling like… like I eat too much." Riddhima said, taking a sip from her can of coke as they strolled out on the street.
"I am fine! Plus I don't want to get sick before the marriage. I catch a cold pretty easily!" Muskaan said, shivering a bit!
"Ya, me too!" Nikki added.
"Actually, I am going to get a drink!" Rahul said.
"Me too!" Abhi and Armaan said.
"Okies, just don't get sick ya! Di is going to slaughter me otherwise!" Riddhima said.
"We won't get sick, promise!
=D" Abhi said.
"So, what do you guys want? Coke, Limca, Pepsi -"
"Cheeku shake!" All the three said together.
"You want cheeku shake?"
"Ya, what's wrong with that?"
"Oh nothing at all. I was just wondering why I didn't think of it before!
=P Man I miss cheeku shake! Hey, Muskaan and Nikki, you guys can drink it too right? It won't be cold. I'll tell the dude to make it with normal milk!"
"Ya okay then." So they all walked to the shop in the next street and had their cheeku shakes. Sitting in the tiny corner shop sipping on their cheeku shake, they planned out everything for the marriage. Just how their dresses were going to be, that was the hot topic for Muskaan and Nikki. The boys and Riddhima, however, were bored to death. After sitting there for good long 45 minutes, they decided to go home and rest after having a long day.
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~ONext MorningRiddhima woke up early for a change and got ready. She woke up Anjali and then went to wake up Muskaan and Nikki. She didn't want to get late for the shopping trip! She wasn't excited about shopping for herself, what she wanted was a perfect dress for her di! It was
the day of Anjali's life, and Riddhima wanted to make sure it was
perfect!They shopped the whole day, and Anjali was the one who was
the most exhausted. Riddhima had made her try a million sarees and lehengas and what not. That is what Anjali thought, but to Riddhima, she still wasn't satisfied with the dresses. Anjali somehow had managed to convince her to shop for herself and finally head home.
The boys had been out finding the perfect Sherwani for Atul. Armaan had said, "You have to beat bhabhi you know! She will give you some tough competition!
;)" and Atul had just rolled his eyes at the remark.
All six of them entered the house at 7:00 PM, exhausted to the max. They sat on the couch, sipping on nice hot drink that Naani had prepared for them. As they were sipping, out of the blues, Anjali yelled, making everyone jump.
"Oh my god! We haven't even booked the hotel and we haven't even decided the designs of the cards," Everyone went back to being lazy, not really paying much attention to Anjali's concerns as she rambled on, "and we have to book the venue for the reception, engagement and the sangeet! Oh my god! We will so not be able to find any hotel or venue anymore and there is less than a month and a half. And you guys don't even care!" A frustrated Anjali yelled at all the others, who had no signs of tension on their faces.
"Ho gaya? May I speak now?" Anjali nodded at Riddhima who continued, "Look, the cards are done and regarding the venue and stuff, well, mom and dad wanted you to get married here, at home. Err, I hope that is fine."
"I was hoping you would say that. I always told mom and dad I wanted to get married in my own home.
=D"
"Oh, perfecto!!"
Anjali beamed, her face was glowing. "I love you all so much!! And Ridzy, don't say
You love jeeju more! because I do and the whole world knows it.
;) =P"
"Well, good to know you got your facts right and you are out of your
shy shell.
=P"
"Dinner is ready!" Naani yelled from the kitchen and they all ran to have dinner.
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~OThe next month zoomed past. With all the work finished within 30 days of their arrival to India, everyone went on a roadtrip to the
Fun'n'Food Village and then went for long drives for the next few days.
They had hired a Tavera and somehow, everyone had managed to fit in the car. Anjali sat in the front, with Atul driving. Rahul, Abhi, Muskaan and Nikki were cramped in the second row, whereas Riddhima, Armaan, Sid and Tamanna sat at the back. They put the music on a high volume but made sure the noise didn't escape the car. Althrough the drive; they sang, pulled each others leg, cracked jokes on the to-be-couple, teased them and embarrased them to the max, and most of all, had a hell lot of fun. The best memory for all of them was when they all sung
I feel good from
Anjaana Anjaani together.
I Feel Good - Anjaana Anjaani[As the music started to play, Muskaan yelled, "I love this song! Such a sweet song to dedicate to a friend!" They all agreed and as the lyrics began, so did their singing.]Teri meri, teri meri kahaani;
Ik daastan, nayi purani.
Chori chori, yeh kahani chali hai;
Theheri thi jo, tere aa jaane tak.[ "We'll be friends for life." Nikki yelled over the music.]Teri meri, teri meri kahaani;
Ik daastan, nayi purani.
Chori chori, yeh kahani chali hai;
Theheri thi jo, tere aa jaane tak.
Tere aane se, maine jaana ke;
Tu hi jeenay ka, hai bahana.
And I, dont know why;
But I feel good.
Tere aane se, maine jaana ke;
Har safar, ho gaya suhana.
And I, dont know why;
But I feel good.[They all knew their life had changed somehow or the other after they met each other. Life definetly had become a lot more beautiful and yes, they did feel good around each other.]Har disha, rastaa naya.
Har kahin, raahein nayi nayi.
Meri raahein, tujhe paake,
Tujhpe hi tham gayi.
Humsafar thi, magar tu hi,
Manzil ban gayi.
Teri meri, teri meri kahaani,
Yeh raastein likhte jaaye bas.
Tere aane se, maine jaana ke;
Tu hi jeenay ka, hai bahana.
And I, dont know why;
But I feel good.
Tere aane se, maine jaana ke;
Har safar, ho gaya suhana.
And I, dont know why;
But I feel good.[As the music played, Sid, who was sitting right opposite Riddhima, said in a dramatic tone, "Riddhima ji, humari dosti aise hi khatam to nahi kar dengi aap? Hume bhoolengi to nahi na!?"
"Ji, abhi tak aapko bhoole hai?"
Riddhima replied in the same tone, while the others laughed at their stupid antiques. Well, stupid yet cute antiques."Ji nahi!"
"To phir ye khayal apne dimaag se nikaal dijiye!
=P Aur rahi baat dosti khatam karne ki, to aisa ghatiya khayal humare dil mein to kabhi nahi aaya, toh phir aapke dil mein kaise?"
Riddhima raised her eyebrow and then burst out laughing, joining the others.]Roshni, aisi mili,
Raat ka, chehra khila.
Andhero se, gile the jo,
Maaf woh ho gaye.
The jo maile, sheeshein dil ke,
Saaf woh ho gaye.
Teri meri, teri meri kahaani
Jaise raat ko, subah mil jaaye bas.
Tere aane se, maine jaana ke;
Tu hi jeenay ka, hai bahana.
And I, dont know why;
But I feel good.
Tere aane se, maine jaana ke;
Har safar, ho gaya suhana.
And I, dont know why;
But I feel good.[As the song ended with the faint I feel good in the background, everyone yelled out the three words I feel good.
Just another example of the ever-growing strong bond of their friendship.]
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~O15 days to the marriage, and Anjali's tantrums began. One tiny mistake, and she would blast of the person responsible. Since Riddhima was her sister, everyone would put her in the danger zone of cooling Anjali down. And… she always failed and got told off. Anjali and Atul's parents had already arrived in India, and they were quite impressed to know that the
kids had done the work they were assigned to. It was evening and as the sun was setting, Riddhima stood outside, getting the house draped in different coloured lights. Muskaan, Nikki, Abhi and Rahul were still sleeping, tired from their dance practise for the sangeet. Anjali had gone out to catch up with some college friends. Well, they all had chucked her out, since their was just another little surprise for her they needed to finalise. Armaan and Atul were sitting inside with their parents, Shashank, Padma and Naani; rewieving the lists of all the items for one last time and making sure that everything was there and whatever they had left out was on the shopping list.
"Riddhima!" Padma yelled.
"Haan ma!" She yelled back, "Nahi, ye waala colour yahan nahi, wahan lagao!" She instructed the person, half - yelling at him, loosing her temper and irritated that he was not doing his job properly.
"Come here! We need to talk about something!"
"Aa rahi hoon!" She turned to leave, giving a few intructions. "Ya, what is it?" She said, as she approached the lounge room.
"Basket, go wake up those four sleepy heads!" Armaan sighed. How lazy are these people!?
"Kill me now! Waking them up is
not an easy task, you are helping me!"
"Right. You wake up Muski and Nikki, I'll handle Rahul and Abhi."
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~O"Muski please ya, get up! You are such a pig!" Nikki and Riddhima yelled, and the guys chuckled.
Muskaan sat up in her bed, glaring at them.
"Don't call me apig!" She yelled back.
"So you are getting up now?" Riddhima asked for the nth time.
"Ya, fine!"
Riddhima had easily managed to wake up Nikki, and Armaan had been successful in waking up Rahul and Abhi. But Muskaan, she did not budge. Riddhima had tried eveything, starting with asking Muskaan to wake up very politely, then yelling, then slapping [and Muskaan had hit her back with a pillow], then kicking and punching [Muskaan had cursed her so bad, everyone was shocked] and then finally calling her a pig [which seemed to have work].
"We are waiting downstairs. Freshen up and be there." And Riddhima walked out of the room.
"Err, did I do something wrong?" Muskaan asked, confused.
"Muski, you know how perfect she wants this last surprise to be, right?"
"Oh crap! I know where I went wrong!" And she rushed to the bathroom to wash her face and get read.
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~O"So, have you guys thought of what you are going to do?" Atul asked.
"Yup, Muskaan, Nikki and I planned everything out!
=D" Riddhima replied.
"So, how is it going to work out?"
"See, you guys are moving to your hotel tomorrow, right?" Atul nodded and Riddhima continued, "And didn't you say you have a massive hall booked there for all the rasamein and stuff?"
"Ya, what about it?"
"Well, we can use that hall as an excuse that we want to go hang out with the guys and have fun. We will get all the work done for the surprise there! What say?"
"But, you can do that in your room as well right?"
"Err, no! What if she comes in my room? What will I say then?"
"Hmm, true! Alright then. So, work starts tomorrow."
"Yup. But on one condition!"
"And what is that?"
"You are not allowed to see us when we are working on the surprise!"
"But -"
"I'm gonna call the surpise off!"
"Fine. So I won't see the surprise till the reception then?"
"Yup.
=D By the way, aren't you getting late? You have to pick up di, don't you?"
"Oh sh*t! Bye bye!" and Atul ran.
"Hmm, so they think it's one surprise. But they have
no idea what's in store for them!" Riddhima smiled from ear to ear. She seriously could not wait for the
surprises to be revealed!
O~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~o~O
Hey guys
The last part till November! I hope you all like it! I know it is not a nice place to leave it at, but studies... *sigh* I am going to miss writing this FF so much. But I might come here with an occasional OS. =D
Do comment and let me know how it was! And please do hit the like tab if you like this part! =)
Thank you for all the support you all have given me! =)
Bye for now
Love you all
Jyotika
🤗
Ye Hai Mohabbatein
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