NDC was over and St. Louis had been declared the winners. Rey was really happy with the progress in Taani's attitude and perspective about life. Now he was really desperate to have her back in his life. But he also knew that winning back her trust was not going to be easy. He then decided to call up Sharon and ask for her help.
Sharon: Hello
Rey: Hey Sharon! I hope I am not disturbing you...
Sharon: Oh yes you are disturbing me to the core. Of course you are not idiot. Agli baar galti se bhi pucha to mujhse bura koi nahi hoga remember that.
Rey: Accha sorry yaar. Ab main kuch bolun?
Sharon: Taani ke baare mein hoga.
Rey: Tumhe kaise pata ki main Taani ke baare mein baat karna chahta hun?
Sharon: Best friend hun tumhari. Itna to credit do yaar. Vaise what about Taani?
Rey: Well I believe its time.
Sharon: Time for what Rey?
Rey: Time for the truth to be revealed. Sharon tumne dekha na ki uska ab perspective badal gaya hai. Ab vo Taani nahi rahi jiska koi aim nahi tha, koi solid maksad nahi tha. I want her back into my life. Please help me Sharon, main kya karun jisse vo maan jaye?
Sharon: Rey, sach kahun to mujhe khud nahi pata ki kya karna hai. Rather main tumse khud help lene vali thi ki...
Rey: Swayam tumhari life mein re-entry mare. Ab mat puchna ki mujhe kaise pata... Best friend hun tumhara, itna to tumhe jaanta hun.
Sharon blushed a lot.
Rey: Ab blush karna band karo aur bolo ki kya karen?
Sharon: Ek kaam karte hai, lets meet in college tomorrow. Phir dono milke kuch sochte hai. What say?
Rey: This is better. Chal, let me inform Swayam, phir kal tujhse baat karta hun.
Rey then called up Swayam and informed him about his intention of revealing the truth, but did not mention anything about Sharon and her intention.
Rey: So kya kehta hai?
Swayam: Ye sab to thik hai Rey. But tum ek baar use sach bolo. Phir jo karna hai karo.
Rey: You are right. Main use college mein kal sach bolta hun. Ho sakta hai vo believe nahi karegi. I want ki tu mere saath ho. Vo teri baat zarur manegi kyunki tu uska bhai hai.
Swayam: Thike. Let's meet in RH. College mein event ke bahaane use rok lunga, phir tum use baat karlena.
Next morning
The whole gang met in the RH. They were just chit-chatting amongst themselves when VP sir entered the room with Taani.
VP: Well done all of you. I never thought ki jis team ke liye is college mein unka passion ko ban kar diya, aaj vohi team is college ka naam itna uncha karenge. I am very proud of all of you. Swayam, I must say excellent captaincy. Jis tarah se tumhare leadership ke under team united thi, it was wonderful. I will also give credit to the GS of this college. Taani, wonderful job!
Sharon: I agree sir. In fact, I believe ki hum as a dance team bhi agree karte hain ki Taani ne hum sab ko timely information diya jiske bina shayad hum sab itna accha perform nahi kar paate.
All looked at Taani and nodded in agreement. Then VP sir spoke.
VP: Agar itni mehnat ki hai to uska reward tum sab ko definitely milna chahiye. And your reward is that today you all are excused from attending your classes. And if I know you guys well, tum logon ke liye enjoyment ka dusra naam dance hai, so you all can dance to your heart's content today. You can all enjoy yourself as long as you do not create any kind of chaos.
Saying so VP sir left. All hooted loudly. Suddenly Sharon's phone beeped. It was an sms about an event for the D3 team. She then spoke
Sharon: Guys humein ek award function mein perform karne ka offer mila hai. And they are offering us 3 lakhs for it.
Everyone hooted and hi-fived each other. Swayam looked at Taani and spoke to her.
Swayam: Taani mujhe tum se kuch zaruri baat karni hai.
Taani: Thike hai bhai.
Swayam looked at Rey and nodded to him. Rey smiled and then looked at Sharon. He then took out his phone and messaged her. Sharon's phone beeped. She looked at it and read it. It said
"Get everyone out of here except for Swayam, I am gonna talk to Taani now"
Sharon understood and gestured the team to move to the canteen so that she could give further details. Once the team was out, Taani went to Swayam and spoke to him.
Taani: Haan bhai, aapko mujhse kuch baat karni thi.
Swayam: Actually mujhe hi nahi, balki Rey aur main dono baat karna chahte the.
Taani: Kaisi baat?
Swayam: About your break-up.
Taani: Bhai, mujhe is baare mein koi baat nahi karni hai. It will hurt me even more. Jis insaan par main khud se zyaada trust karti thi, usne mere saath ye sab kiya. I really don't think I can trust him.
Rey: Maana ki hum dono ab saath nahi hai. But main tumhe humare break-up ka real reason bataana chahta hun.
Rey then explained to her as to why he pretended to be irritated with her, and feigned the break-up and his real intention. As soon as he finished, he looked at her, only to see her shocked face. She then turned to Swayam and spoke to him.
Taani: Aur aap ye sab jaante the?
Swayam: Haan. Mujhe ye sab Sharon ne bataya. Aur hum teeno is plan mein Rey ko support kiya
Taani did not know exactly how to react to the situation. She was having mixed feelings. Her heart was saying to give another chance to Rey as he loved her dearly and it was indeed difficult for him to hurt her intentionally. But her brain was saying to be practical and one can't deny the fact that however noble his intentions were, the path he chose was wrong. She then took her brain's side and spoke to Rey.
Taani: Ek relationship ko sustain karne ke liye sabse zyaada zaruri hai bharosa. Agar vo nahi hai, to is relationship ka koi faayda nahi hai. Main ek baat aapse sach kahun to haan main hurt hui hun. Is baat se nahi ki aapne mujhe sahi raasta dikhaane ke liye ye natak kiya, balki is baat se zyaada hurt hui hun ki aapne mujhe trust nahi kiya.
Saying so, she left the RH. Rey was definitely hurt by her words. Swayam then turned to him and spoke to him.
Swayam: Now what?
Rey: Don't worry dude. She is just facing an emotional turmoil. Par main haar nahi manunga. After all I am Reyansh Singhania. And like I said earlier, main isko apni life mein vaapis woo karke apni life ko beautiful banaunga.
Swayam: Par tu karega kya?
Rey: Just wait and watch. Tu samajh jaayega.
In the afternoon
The rest of the team returned back after getting to know all the details. Rey quickly messaged Swayam
"Just follow my lead"
Swayam read the message and nodded. Just then Taani entered the RH. Rey saw this and thus put his plan into action
Rey: Well guys, we have finished NDC on a high note. And you have to agree ki ye competition ko nahi jeet pate agar boys nahi hote to.
Sharon: Hey tum aisa kaise keh sakte ho? Agar hum girls nahi hoti to tum competition to jeetna to dur, usme participate hi nahi kar paate.
Swayam: Oh please!! Aisa koi rule nahi tha ki dono ko saathe mein participate karna tha. Chalo maana ki tum girls team mein thi, par tumhe dance ke time lift to humne kiya tha. And the beauty of dance is enhanced because of such lifts.
Sharon: But lifts hi sab kuch nahi hote hai. Grace ki bhi zarurat hoti hai, which I sincerely believe that you boys lack it. And one more thing, just because tum log lifts kar sakte ho, does not mean tum itne khush ho jao. Itna khush hone ki koi zarurat nahi hai.
Swayam: To isme itna irritate hone ki bhi koi zarurat nahi hai.
Soon the rest of the gang also joined in this argument. Taani was listening to the usual argument of boys v/s girls, tolerated it for sometime. When she could not take it anymore, she screamed on top of her voice.
Taani: GUYS!! Main yahaan par important report bana rahi hun, and you guys are shouting on top of your lungs. Stop it now!! Kahin par bhi argue karna shuru ho jaate ho. Give it a rest please!!
Rey (smirking): Right boys!! Argue karne ka koi faayda nahi hai. Kyunki koi point nahi hai jisse girls apne aap ko defend kar sake. This means that she herself is saying that boys are the best.
The boys hooted loudly. Taani then stood up and went to Rey, and spoke in a cool manner.
Taani: Itna ego bhi accha nahi hai Rey. Pehle se hi sab kuch assume karna, aur vo bhi galat assumption, is just plain stupidity.
Rey stood up and replied to her in an equally cool manner.
Rey: Ye mera ego nahi, mera confidence hai khud par.
Taani: Agar aisi baat hai to face-off ho jaaye!!
Rey (smirking): Sochlo!! Haar jaogi.
Taani: Aapki girlfriend aur student dono reh chuki hun. Bahut acche se jaanti hun aapko. So, BRING IT ON!!!(The boys duo started with some hip-hop moves)
Rey & Swayam: Jahaan hum jaayenge, vahin hum jaayenge.
Jahaan vo jaayegi, vahin hum jaayenge
Rey: Khud ko kya samajhti hai, itna akadti hai
College mein nayi nayi, aayi ek ladki hai.
Khud ko kya samajhti hai, itna akadti hai
College mein nayi nayi, aayi ek ladki hai.
(Here, Rey approached Taani and sang these lines, teasing her by making an hour-glass figure by his hands and jumping up and down)
O yaaron ye humein, lagti hai sar phiri
(He then went back to Swayam and twirled his index finger near his right temple)
Aao chakhaade Mazaa
(Hi-fived Swayam and folded his hands)
Swayam: Khud ko kya samajhti hai, itna akadti hai
College mein nayi nayi, aayi ek ladki hai.
(He went towards Sharon and made diva like gestures, teasing her)
Here, it had started to irk the girls. But Taani and Sharon gestured them to stay still and watch
Rey: Tauba tauba ye adaa, deewani hai kya pata
He pucho ye kis baat pe itna itraati hai
(Rey walked like a girl and made a gesture as if he was removing his hair from shoulder and showed attitude to Taani and Sharon)
Swayam: Jaane kisko bhul hai, ye gobhi ka phul hai
Billi jaisi lagti hai makeup jab karti hai
(Swayam pretended to offer a flower to Rey. Rey put his hand forward to accept it when Swayam threw it away and Rey fake pouted. Then both of them went to their respective girls.)
Rey: Gaalon pe to laali hai
Swayam: Hoton pe gaali hai
Rey: Ye jo nakhrevali hai
Rey & Swayam: Ladki hai ya hai bala
(Now both Taani and Sharon had enough. Just as the boys were going back, Taani and Sharon stuck their foot out and tripped the boys. They fell on the ground and turned around only to find their girls now ready to take over)
Taani: Khud ko kya samajhta hai, itna akadta hai
College ka naya naya, majnu ye lagta hai
(Taani started flexing her muscles and pretending to set her hair)
Humse ho gaya, ab kiska saamna
(She hit her forehead in despair)
Are aao chakhaade Mazaa
(She then dusted off her hands and gave a Tashan vala look to Rey)
Sharon: Khud ko kya samajhta hai, itna akadta hai
College ka naya naya, majnu ye lagta hai
(Sharon pretended to look at Swayam dreamily and pretended to swoon over him)
At first, Rey and Swayam were both shocked by the gestures of their girls, but then Swayam turned towards Rey. He had a huge smile on his face. He then understood that it was a part of his plan to bring Taani's mood back to normal, and was also happy that Taani had thrown a challenge to him without a second thought
Taani: Humko deta hai gulaab, niyat iski hai kharaab
O saavan ke andhe ko to hariyali dikhti hai
(She got a rose out of her bag and pretended to offer it to Rey. Rey gestured to accept it only to find her throw it away. When he moved his head in the direction of the rose, she stamped his foot hard. This made him scream in pain and started jumping on the spot, holding his foot)
Sharon: Kya isko ye hosh hai, ye dharti pe bojh hai
Mard hai ye bas naam ka aakhir kis kaam ka
(She went to Swayam and gestured him from top to toe. When he looked down, Sharon also stamped Swayam's foot just the way Taani did)
Taani: Chehra ab kyun laal hai
Sharon: Badli kyun chaal hai
Taani: Are itna kyun behaal hai
Sharon &Taani: Hum bhi to dekhen zaraa
Taani: Khud ko kya samajhta hai, itna akadta hai
Sharon: College ka naya naya, majnu ye lagta hai
(Here, both the girls pushed the boys from the front. They fell on the floor and started to rub their bums in pain, while the girls laughed heartily)
Rey and Swayam looked at their respective girls and could not help but smile. They looked so cute and pretty when they laughed. They then looked at each other and gestured through their expression to call off the face-off. They then went to their respective girls and stood in front of them.
Rey: Humse aanken chaar karo
Swayam: chodo jhagda pyaar karo
Rey & Swayam: He yaaron ke hum yaar hai ladna bekaar hai
(They both lifted their respective shirt collars and folded their hands)
Taani: Ho uljhan mein ye pad gaye
Sharon: shayad humse dar gaye
Taani & Sharon: Daave karte pyaar ke dekho ye haar ke
(They both turned away facing their backs to the boys. The girls were about to walk away when their respective boys held them by their wrists. They slowly turned to face the boys.)
Rey: Pyaar ki ye reet hai
Swayam: Haar bhi jeet hai
Rey: Sabse badhke preet hai
Rey & Swayam: Lag ja gale dilruba
(Rey and Swayam both pulled their girls such that they came crashing on their chests, and then gave a sweet peck on their cheeks)
Both Taani and Sharon stood shocked while the rest of the gang hooted loudly and went towards them.
Vicky: Vaise manna padega Taani. Kya jawaab diya tumne Rey ko. Mind blowing!!
Ashi: Vaise hum sab bhi is baat se agree types karte hain ki hum boys and girls ek dusre ke bina adure types hain.
Everyone agreed to what Ashi said.
Bharat: To isi baat par dance ho jaaye??
Everyone hooted and started to dance and freak out. Sharon blushed and ran away from the RH. Swayam too smiled looking at her. Rey then gestured him to go to her as she wanted to talk to him. While all this was happening, he did not notice Taani slip out of the RH too. When he looked around, he could not find her. He then understood as to where to find her.
He then went to the fire exit, only to find her sitting there with her head down, crying silently. He was not able to see her in such a condition. He too went inside and stood near her. Taani lifted her head and saw him there. She was angry with him. She stood up and tried to run away but he caught hold of her wrist and pulled her towards him and made her face him.
Rey: I am sorry Taani. Please mujhe maaf kardo.
As soon as he said these lines, Taani started beating him on his chest and spoke tearfully.
Taani: Mere bhalai ke liye aapne itna bada step liya. Aapne mujhe hurt kiya. Magar use bhi zyaada aapne apne aap ko aur hurt kiya. Aap mujhse itna pyaar kaise kar sakte ho Rey?
Rey then cupped her face and gently wiped away her tears. He then spoke to her.
Rey: Kyunki tum mere liye bahut precious ho Taani. Aur shayad agar main tumse baat karta to tum mere baat ko seriously nahi leti. Mujhe laga ki tumhe ek jhatke ki zarurat thi, so maine kiya. Main nahi chahta tha ki tum apne talent ko waste karo.
They hugged each other, released all their pains and moved towards happiness. They both wept in each other's arms for quite a long time. They looked into each other's eyes and found themselves and their love embedded there. . Though nothing had to be said in between them and their hearts conveyed their feelings but the silence still existed. Anyone of them could have broken it and started the talk but both were apprehensive because in each other's eyes apart from the immense love they could see there also exist a pain which they had endured during their separation which only the other could understand. Outside everything might seem serene and anyone looking at them that there was no problem in between them.
Yes there was no problem in between them but some unspoken thought, some unspoken feelings; some questions still resided inside them. Some feelings had been housed in them from a long time and had never found a way out while some had crept in during their relation and some during the separation. Love is the way you can understand other's feeling without any words. They could do so but the pain that had to be vented out of them. Holding the feelings and pains longer was no longer an option. They knew they had to let out them, but waited for the right time to do so.
Rey then broke the hug and spoke to her
Rey: To, ab jab sab kuch thik hai humare beech. Kya mujhe mera gift nahi dogi?
Taani: Kya chahiye aapko?
Rey did not say anything, but smiled naughtily, looking at her. Taani at once understood his intention and she then blushed hard. Rey started to move towards her, and she started to move back. She then hit the wall. He then placed his arms on either side of the wall and trapped her. He then leaned forward, but she turned her face to the other side. He kissed her shoulder and moved his lips up to her neck, feeling her soft skin and inhaling her scent.
As soon as his lips touched her shoulder, she closed her eyes and moved her hands to his chest. He then slid his hands inside her top, feeling her waist and jerked her forward. He then started kissing her neck and shoulders, while his hands caressed her waist. She turned her neck in the opposite direction, giving him more place to explore. She then turned around and he placed his hands on her stomach. Her top was a little short, so her stomach was bare. She shivered on his touch.
He slid his hand down her arm and squeezed her palm, intertwining his fingers with hers. He then moved her hair to one shoulder and slid his fingers down the interlaced strings of her top, feeling her at some places. She felt a shiver down her spine and felt goose bumps erupt on the places where he touched her. She could not resist the temptation any longer and she turned around. He placed his warm lips gently on hers and kissed her slowly. She slid her hands up his neck and then to his hair, massaging it. This drove him crazier and pulled her close, sucking her lips and feeling her sweetness.
They broke the kiss due to lack of air, but still held each other, their foreheads and there nose touching. Rey moved back a bit and looked at her flushed face. He then jiggled his eyebrows up and down, smiling mischievously. She blushed hard and looked down. He just shook his head and hugged her tight, she also hugged him back.
Taani: Promise me Rey, ki aap kabhi mujhse door nahi jaayenge.
Rey: Krishna ji ki kasam, aaj ke baad aise khyaal kabhi bhi nahi sochunga.
They stood still hugging each other for quite some time. Then Taani broke the embrace as her phone beeped. She then checked her phone.
Rey: Kya hua Taani?
Taani: VP sir ne bulaya hai. Mujhe ab chalna chahiye.
Rey (pouting): Jaana zaruri hai?
Taani laughed a little. She pulled his cheeks and answered him lovingly.
Taani: Haan Rey, varna problem ho jaayegi.
Rey sighed and agreed. He gave her company till the door. She was about to leave when she kissed him on his cheek and spoke to him
Taani: Kal milte hai college mein. Take care and love you.
Rey smiled at her and nodded a yes. She then blushed and left. Meanwhile Rey just smiled thinking about her and became happy with the turn of events that took that day. He looked up smiling.
Rey (thinking): Thank you Taani ke Krishna ji for bringing her back into my life.
Financial markets and global economy
Ishaani
44