IIT meets DU ** Removed** Note on Thread 2 Page 105 - Page 48

' Oh Shit ' - She was in love.

Bloody Hell !

When did it start ?

We were dating casually , right ?

I was dating him just to be happy , right ?

I can't fall in love , right ?

' Wrong ' Devi Maiyya mused, sitting in heaven, with her legs stretched out and a bag full of popcorns in hand , all geared up to watch the drama unfold.

It was official - Khushi Kumari Gupta had fallen in love with Arnav Singh Raizada.

( note - This is the same Khushi Kumari Gupta who had proposed a non - committal relationship because love was supposedly bullshit )

" This can't happen to me "

" This can't happen to me "

" This can't happen to me "

" But dear earthling this has happened to you " Devi Maiyaa smirked, taking a sip of cold drink.

Just then her favourite earthling saw the face of the root cause of all her misery - Anjali sleeping blissfully , smiling in her dream.

Khushi hit the leg of the bed with all her might.

" Ouch "

" Ouch "

" Ouch "

Every action has an equal and opposite reaction.

You can't sleep like this after ruining my life with your stupid ideas.

" Anjali wake up "

The smile turned into a grin and Anjali turned and tossed in the bed.

" WAKE UP " Khushi shouted and shook her violently.

" Huh.. Wha.. What happened ? " she woke up startled and began looking frantically in all directions.

" Shut up. It is all your fault. Why did you push me in this mess. Why ? " Khushi shook Anjali as if she was the Nescafe Coffee.

" It is all your fault. And now I have fallen in love " Khushi declared with her head buried in her hands, finally stopping her shaking routine.

" It is all your fault. Why did you encourage me to date him, why did you say that he will make me happy ? Why Anjali , why ? " she wailed like a heroine of the 60s.

In the meantime Anjali's anger and confusion at being shaken out of her sleep gave way to a mental salsa upon seeing her friend's misery.

" You love Arnav Bhaiyya ? "

Idiot

" No , Osama bin Laden "

" Good luck with your trip to hell "

Khushi gave Anjali a deathly glare which effectively shut her up.

" Khushi I think ..."

" Don't you dare think again " Khushi warned poking her finger right into her face.

" I have already seen the consequences of your thinking. He will go to States after two months if he gets the job letter and here I have fallen in love with him "

" You really love him , don't you ? "

" Should I write it on a stamp paper ? How many times do I have to repeat ? "

" Just confirming. By the way what do you plan to do now ? " Anjali asked sitting up straight and giving Khushi her undivided attention.

" I dunno " was the dejected answer.

" But I know, just tell him that you love him "

The love Guru was back in action.

" And then bid him ' Happy Journey ,it was wonderful falling in love with you. Best of luck for your future. Do invite me at your wedding ' "

" Spare the sarcasm for some other time and listen to me. If he loves you I am sure he will find a job in India. India never experiences a depression for IITians"

" But he has to prove..."

" What prove - prove , is it a Maths Theorem that he has to prove and write - 'Hence Justified' ? Khush I don't know what are his family problems , but you do. Please make him see sense."

" What if he doesn't love me ? " she asked in a small childish tone , tangling untangling her fingers.

" Atleast you will be free from the burden. And as it is India has no dearth of boys , even the sex ratio is in favour of boys " Anjali winked.

Khushi chuckled at her reasoning. Anjali Malhotra was really the panacea of all her troubles.

So it was decided Khushi Kumari Gupta will confess her love to Arnav Singh Raizada.

Finally at 5:00 in the morning the two friends back to sleep with smile firmly plastered on their pretty faces.

Khushi was happy because her problem was supposedly solved.

Anjali was happy because her friend was happy. Sounds cliche ? Right.

Anjali Malhotra loved to play Cupid and who better guinea pig for her experiments than Khushi ? Her Arnav Bhaiyya can claim to be a serial flirt but she was confident that Khushi was his final casual fling which is for keeps. The two were made for each other , in her eyes.

The next day was one of the best days in Arnav's 4 years of existence in IIT. He was successful in the interview and had secured his dream placement in New York, his escape route from all his troubles. He would no longer be dependent on anybody for money. Life would finally rock, just the way he wanted it to be. Hefty pay package and beautiful blondes were just two months away.

Arnav had told Khushi about his placement and had asked her to meet him the next day.

Arnav , Aakash and two more of their hostel mates were sitting in their room celebrating their successful placements. Aakash had arranged for vodka , chicken, lime,ice and beer. All the unholy items were smuggled into the hostel room with the precision matching that of cross-border terrorists.

It would have been easier to believe had Aakash arranged for some havan or pooja praying for their future but vodka and beer was so un - Aakash.

" One more Arnav , New York here comes our Daredevil " Aakash literally pushed the second drink down Arnav's throat and was himself 3 drinks down.

All of them finally went to sleep or rather passed out at 3:00 in the morning , which meant that Arnav had to postpone his rendezvous with Khushi for the evening instead of an afternoon meeting.

"Arnav when do you have to leave for States ? " Aakash asked whilst picking up the empty beer bottles and chicken leftovers after the party.

Secret parties were fun but cleanup drives weren't specially when any attendee doesn't cooperate and all the burden is shouldered by the host.

" In about 2 months " Arnav answered while putting on his blue T -Shirt.

" What about Khushi ? " he paused midst his cleanup operation.

" What ? "

" Have you told her ? She is your girlfriend right, so planning for long distance relationship ? "

" Of course I have told her that I plan to settle in States. It was just casual dating. She doesn't love me or anything like that. And long distance relationships don't work "

" So what's the plan ?"

" Of course break up. And I don't think I need to tell her even that, she will understand and then we can remain friends. Moreover it was not a proper relationship in the first place."

" So what it was? All girls are the same, are you sure she has no feelings for you? " Aakash questioned while packing up all the empty bottles in a black polythene bag.

" Talking from experience ? " Arnav raised a questioning eyebrow.

" General knowledge "

" I see. Don't worry about Khushi she will be fine" He answered with a furrowed face, converging all his attention to set right his hair.

" I have a bad breath ? " Arnav asked , inhaling and exhaling near Aakash's face.

Aakash pushed him away and issued the customary advice " Use some peppermint spray "

" What it is between you and Khushi then ? " he questioned again.

" It is not a relationship, neither are we just friends. It's something more than friends and less than relationship " he finally answered.

" It is complicated ? " Aakash offered.

" No, nothing is complicated, she is a wonderful person to be with - very sorted and clear headed. Infact it was she who had made it clear that she ain't willing to commit "

For Arnav Khushi wasn't his love interest, she was just an interesting person he loved to be with.

He loved her sarcasm and her witty replies.

He loved her curvaceous figure and delicious lips.

He loved the fact that she never complained about him not giving her attention or gifts.

He loved her confident and self assured persona.

He loved the fact that he could be himself around her.

But he didn't love her enough to let go of the tempting job offer in States.

How could he let go of his dream and ambition , just for a casual affair ? Or could he ?