Akdha FF- |Married To A Stranger...| Ch:1-3 20.6.18 #3

Chapter 1

Richmond, London

"Mom, I am coming back to India.. I want to get settled, as soon as possible.." For the first time ever, he'd felt that strongly for a girl, and now. It was all over. She'd cheated on him, with that Lew he so hated.

His blazing eyes fell on her, this time not regarding her with awe, rather despising the very persona he'd once so adored. Her blonde, shoulder length tresses he'd loved to caress, deep brown eyes that seemed to hold back a secret of temptations known to her alone. She was perfect. And evil.

"Hey, you can't blame my girl!" came a retort soon after he'd scrutinized a girl who'd been his the day before. It was from Lew. Wrapping his arm around her waist as he pulled her against his chest, he kissed her forehead, letting his lips linger on her skin a little longer, just to make him jealous.

"Oh really!" He sneered, disconnecting the call. He'd really not bothered to hear his over excited mother's reaction. Rather, he would settle scores with his old enemy. "Shall I reward her or something for cheating on me?" He took a pause, just to confirm that his ex- object of fascination was all ears for his tirade. "That, with a jerk like you!" His lips moulded in a smirk, his life had completely changed over the course of one evening!

"Cheating on YOU?" Lew spat, "Dude, get a life! It was just a spark between you two, which ended soon.. She loves me!"
"Like I give a damn to her and YOU." He emphasised on the last word, letting it roll off his tongue smoothly.

"Don't talk to him like that!" A low, muffled voice rang in his ears as he watched her lips forming those words, amused. Purely amused.

"You both can just go to hell." He whispered, his eyes darkening as he neared Lew, grabbing his collar for just a second before he pushed him, deriving a sadistic pleasure as he tumbled a bit, Rebecca Ross throwing her arms around his neck to protect herself.

~~~

Delhi, India

A phone buzzed, as Erica tossed it around, still unwilling to sacrifice her sleep. It buzzed again, and as the voice faded away, so did her sleep. Irritated, she grabbed the piece, almost ready to throw it around when the name that flashed brought a confused frown on her face.

Jo: Open the door fast! Damn sleepy, got a surprise for you babez.

Where are you?
Open the door in 10 secs. Or I'll break it!

Jo? God! Texting me now? What happened? Is she here? Scratching her head after rubbing her eyes, she finally sacrificed a few minutes of her sleep to greet, or beat her crazy friend.

"Hii darling!" Came her cheerful greeting as she side hugged Erica, who just slept on her shoulder.

Woah.. She thought, giggling as she shook her a bit, "wake up sleepy head! I got you something.." Teasing up her bestie, she nudged her gently as she fluttered her lashes open, staring at her. Innocent and confused as ever.

Signalling to her left hand that held a box, she sweetly smiled as she let Erica connect the dots. She stare at her hand, then shifts it to the angelic face of her friend, before averting it to the box again. Glancing at the wall clock, she looked up at her face in disbelief. "You got me a pizza at 11? Do you have fever or something?" She dragged her hand to check her forehead, but she was perfectly alright.

"Yeah..We have to celebrate!" She shrieked, jumping up and down as she held the Dominos Pizza in front of her.

"Yeah right.." whispered Erica as she pulled her inside, taking the box from her hand, resting it on the side table. Once done, she gazed at her friend with renewed irritation, and confusion! "And to what do we exactly owe this celebration to?"

"Ohh that.." Her spirit seemed to droop down for just a second before it glittered once again. "guess.." Nope, she wouldn't give in now.

"Fine by me.." Walking over to the door, she held it open, grabbing the edge of her crop top as she let her out. "Have a good time! See ya.." And the door was about to be closed, when her voice resonated. "Okay fine I am telling.!"

"good girl.."
"You're one crazy mind Erica.. Anyways, guess what! I broke up with that idiot.!" Her eyes twinkled with mirth, not an ounce of sadness clouding her radiant features.

"Really?" A soft smile spread over her face as she embraced her friend. "Congrats Jo! Oh god you deserve better than him!"
Once free from the hug, she held her shoulders, excited, blabbering "I know right! God you know he just messaged me and said "Jo, come down I need to talk to you.." I was like what.. but you know me, pitying him I just went down and oh my! He was there, with a beautiful bouquet and he was like. "I love you Jo.. I really do." And I was like.. "Yeah, I know.." He looked so funny! I mean he was just there in his cartoon T Shirt and PJs.. Can you believe it? Proposing your girlfriend in PJs?"

God! This guy is really crazy! Erica thought, smiling as she prodded her friend to continue, what with the story being so interesting to be left unfinished.

" And then he goes, "I know you want me just as much as I do.." and all that filmy drama. After he finished his drama I just said "This isn't gonna work.." and god! The way he looked at me, he really made me regret that decision! But me being me I was like.. "I know you like me a lot. But frankly I don't think its love.. and come on, don't we both deserve better than each other? And he was like.. okay. God! Such a cute puppy he was at that time.." She chuckled, reminiscing the event that occurred an hour ago, surprised how she found the whole spectacle hilariously interesting!

"So.. lets begin the party!" Successful in controlling her excitement, she pulled her pal to the table as they together did the honours, keeping the pizza safely on a plate. "Pizza..." Whispered Erica, her voice dreamy as she adored it. It had been no less than a week she'd even seen the face of the mouth watering dish, and the credit goes to her dieting. Glancing at her denim shorts for just a moment, she wondered if losing on a few grams was actually worth missing out the celebration. Nah!

"No wait!" She shouted, willing to complete her narration before beginning it. "You have some champagne or something?" She quizzed, her brow shooting up elegantly.

"I guess so.. but how does that.." Erica trailed off as her intentions began to become clear; drinking, that too at almost midnight, that when she has to drive back to her home miles away!

"No Jo.. You aren't drinking and that's final!" A voice went off in the background, distracting the ever ready to argue girls as Jodha Singh reached for her phone. A wide smile gradually touched her face, and when it had finally become an eye to eye one, she shoved the instrument in her pocket.

"As per our college group, its International Drinking Day today.. so.."

"Nothing changes my word babez!"

"Hold on! I wasn't finished!" Protested Jodha as realisation struck her- she hadn't fully recited the PJ drama! "Yeah! So he proposed me and the first thing I said was, "You do realise that I am your girlfriend already?" I mean he was being so funny! I ended up laughing on his face.!"
"Gosh! You're heartless Jo!" Erica murmured softly, not that she wasn't acquainted with this side of her friend, but she has so many shades to it that often she founds herself wondering, what is she?

"Oh I know that.." Brushing aside her pal's gentle taunt, she continued. "And then he said, you are a rose to me. And I was like, no.. Tulips are better. He looked like an idiot!" The tinkle of her soft laughter echoed in the room as she settled on the chair, pulling her bestie on the other chair.

"But you do like roses, don't you?"
"I love them!" She gazed at her, a cynical look that could only mean one thing- isn't that obvious? "But I find it insulting if such idiots like Fred hold them, and worse, give them to me!"
"Yeah.." She finally broke out into a light hearted chuckle as she kept a slice of pizza on Jodha's plate. "Here, to your freedom!"
"Okay, so wait.. I am confused! Are we going to cheer, by any chance, with this plate?"
"Why not?" The corners of her eyes twinkled as Jodha nodded excitedly, and they both held the plates in their hand, slowly clicking them together as they whispered, "To our friendship, and singlehood!"

They were the best of friends.
~~~
NIFT Campus, the next day

"Oh god! I just love Ed Sheeran! I mean how can he come up with such amazing lyrics?" Muttered Jodha as the duo walked to their classrooms.

"I know, right! Thinking Out Loud is a master piece!" Appraised Erica, waving to her friends as they passed them. Anne, a new college friend, joined the duo as they smiled.

"No one beats 1D, obviously.. but still.. he has its own charm." She uttered, softly humming her current favorite' song, "When your legs don't work like they used to before.. And I can't sweep you off of your feet.. Will your mouth still remember the taste of my love? Will your eyes still smile from your cheeks?"

Recognizing a voice utterly familiar to her, she turned back, somewhere hoping it wasn't the guy she thought he'd be.

He was Frederik Carter, her ex boyfriend.

"Hey Jo.. I wanted to talk to you.." God, she could have sworn she'd never seen him as confident as he looked today. Not even on the day when he proposed her for the first time.

"Not now Fred." She mumbled, mentally adding- and never in the future.

"Its urgent, I won't ask if it wasn't.."
"And it is about..??"
"Us."

Knowing she would later curse herself for her indifference, she retorted. "Not interested."

Oh my! She thought, glancing at him for just a moment, his black orbs holding back a weird emotion. Intense. Danger. She gasped, having suddenly detected what she hadn't witnessed in their relationship of 3 months. Tears.

The only thing she wanted to do at the moment was, despite her initial anger and irritation at his nerdy behaviour, was to wrap her arms around him and comfort him. For good old times' sake. And she would have done that had Erica not placed her hand on her shoulder, soothing her, drawing her out of her confusion.

Sparing her a look, almost deciding what to do, they both reverted their gazes at the guy who was almost on the verge of breaking down. "Listen, I would have sung Nobody compares for you.. Its first few lines suits the situation. But, you see, you don't look pretty when you cry. You look like an idiot.. and yeah, I wasn't waiting for you to say goodbye, because, umm you know.. I have moved on?"
"Moved on?" He looked alarm, averting their gaze to the charming lady that stood before him from the handkerchief he'd stuffed his nose in. Trying to stop his uncontrollable sobs, he looked at her with those large, black eyes of his, shining and drowning with tears. "You.. you like someone else?"
"No.." She stepped back almost immediately, "Not that kind of moved on!" She gasped, shocked at his interpretation of her words and proud of her decision to leave him.

"Then what kind of moved on?" He quizzed, his pea sized brain unable to process it all, what with his continuous sobs resulting in a slight pain in his chest.

"The I'm-over-you kind of moved on." A firm pull from the back and she turned back, "Leave him alone Jo.. He's not worth your time. Seriously an idiot!"

"Yeah.. I am doing that only.. at least sort of.."

"Jo.. I love you.." He sobbed and sniffed for the nth time as her blood boiled, inadvertently turning again as she shouted "Can you keep quiet for a second?"

He shivered, the anger reflecting in those blue eyes, the blue-est he'd ever seen has totally shocked him. For a moment he felt his heart flutter as her tresses flew while she turned, her honey brown locks that cascaded down to her waist. She was an angel. A devil one.

"Hey.!" Anne intervened, sensing the tension that heated up the already hot scenario. "We're getting late, aren't we, Jo and Erica?"
"Y..Yeah.." Erica murmured distractedly as she nudged her bestie in her chest. "Jodha Singh, we are getting off this guy. NOW." She whispered, only if she was listening. But no, she was busier in staring at her nerdy ex boyfriend.

"You know what Frederik Carter, I had a good time with you. But its over and for god's sake accept it!" She burst out, things were going out of hand and this guy was nowhere to listen to her.

"Are you..." His dark, black orbs averted their gaze from the handkerchief again as he sniffed and sobbed. His words, she thought, were utterly incoherent and childish, a trait she believed only she should possess. "S..Sure? We.. We can talk..talk thi..this out.. I..I kno..know we can stand b..by this storm... P..Please Jo.. Gi..Give me a ch..chance.. I..I am so..sorry if I. I did something to..to anger y..you.."
Freak! She thought, her eyes widening as she tagged his stutter to be a deliberate one. Was he copying her damn style?! The guts of the guy!
"You jerk, moron, idiot.. are you poking fun at me?! Damn you.." Letting her fingers uncoil from his shirt, a habit she'd unknowingly picked up whenever she was incensed, she added "I can't believe you are trying to copy me.! I am so better off now! Do the entire race of humanity a goddamned favour and go and drown in some lake or whatever..!" Her eyes were ablaze, a seductive curl bouncing up and down as it framed her face.

Damn! She's beautiful! How will I live without her? He panicked. A life without her, he calculated, was equivalent to a life he'd been and never wanted to live- boring! She was his sunshine, she couldn't get away from him!
"I.. I lo..." He paused, another spark in her otherwise playful eyes instilled fear in him, yeah, he was scared of her. A deep breath followed. A remedy he'd thought of to calm down his stutters, lest she misunderstands his intentions yet again! "I love you Jodha Singh.." He whispered, and as his voice faded away in the part muffled part raised voices in the backdrop of NIFT, a prestigious college she'd always been proud of, she felt bad. Really bad.

And she regretted feeling bad for him, a moment later.

Lowering his face, his nose tickling hers, he let his lips near hers, tender feelings he'd failed to barricade. Shocked, she punched his face, but he didn't let go. Au contraire, his arm, sensing her reluctance, imprisoned her waist, pulling it slowly as her chest banged against hers.

Almost as if set on fire, her fist marked his face once more, this time with an intensity that he feared he'd have to get a dental appointment to ensure all his teeth are prim and proper. "Hell!" He cursed, and discerning her hand movement, he attempted to blockade the blow with a strike, when her feet raised, her knee pointed perfectly as she hit him in the abdomen. "This, is for being the jerk that you are!"
And crash!! A slap followed, a real tight one, aimed with great precision as she was successful in turning his eyes black with her punch, his cheek red with the latest blow. "And this, for touching me and trying to get away with it!" She proclaimed, her soft blue eyes turning the shade of red as she heard him.

"You're a heck of a girl, you bloody..." Another punch! Erica and Anne, the silent audience of the spectacle, what with Jodha having silenced them with her its-my-matter glare, broke out into a gasp, so loud that they were sure half the college heard them.

"Mind your words, you bast**d!"

"Hey you both, come over here!" A voice went off in the background, surprising the ruckus creating ex couple. Turning around, Jodha gulped- there stood Ms. Barret, the teacher who loathes her and she responds in kind. Damn! She pressed her lids close, and the moment she did, images of her in the counsellor's office troubled her. No! No freaking way! Throwing her eyes open, she walked confidently to the aghast lady, leaving Fred to follow.

"What were you doing there, Miss, exactly?" And there started her questions!

"Miss Barret, he.. He tried to kiss me.. He.. I.. I was defending myself.." Successfully feigning tears in her eyes as she looked away, she was anything but sad. Nah! It wasn't her fault he tried to kiss her, and she wouldn't let others blame it on her. She was angry, shocked, shaken and maybe even a tad bit scared and insecure too, but sorrow and regret, they just couldn't make it to the list!

"What?" She gasped, shuddering, her hands cupping her mouth in the most dramatic way ever as she glared at the guilty man, despising him, seeing the topper of the school in a whole new light. "Is THAT true, Carter? Did you try to force her? Did you...??"
He looked up. Yeah, he was hoping for some softness, after all, he'd made them all proud time and again. But there was none.

Flabbergasted and unsure of what to say in his defence, he let his head hang in fake guilt as Jodha bit back a victorious smirk. HE, would finally get the punishment that serves him right, expulsion!

"I am sorry, Ms. Barret.. I shouldn't have.." There! Her little hope that her bright student wouldn't stoop this low and this certain diva is bluffing, was scattered and butchered in tiny little pieces. Blown away.

"how dare you??! Trying to take advantage of our trust on you?! You wait till the Director hears of this!"

A few more harsh exchanges followed between the duo, but Jodha seemed oblivious of them. Her dazed mind couldn't process anything after the mention of the Director. Did she thank her stars? Yes, a thousand times! Fred had always been the favourite of the old man, a fact she hated to accept. No wonder then that this amazingly brilliant student (or as the stout man referred to Fred) would be reported to his favourite guy! Of course, it'd its own problems. For one, he might try to shush her up. Or he might let him get away with it. Or worse, she feared, he might even blame her, what with his stupid little heck of a mind going crazy when it comes to her!
But no, she smirked shamelessly, he won't, or he couldn't do any of that, having known her for past 2 years. If he'd learnt anything about Jodha Singh in these 24 months, then it was a fact that she didn't think twice about blackmailing anyone, and yeah, anyone! She would have no qualms in involving the media if it's about her, her self respect is the first thing she cares for, truly!
He gasped, did she just say that?! Pulling the Director in would only ruin his reputation in the old guy's eyes, and with his final year approaching, he seriously didn't want that to happen!

"Ma'am..I.. I ensu..ensure you it won't..won't happen again.. I prom..promise.." He stuttered, as she swore out aloud, this guy and his stutters, won't the word 'inseparable' suit them?

"You, go to your classes.. Now." With that, Jodha Singh was safely ushered back to her friends as Fred glared at her. That woman! Gritting his teeth, he scowled at his ex, all the while she jogged to her friends.

"W..what just happened?" Anne whispered, cocking her head to Erica as she shook her head.

"I don't know.." She uttered, before Jodha joined them.

"That was some drama.." Murmured Jodha as she grabbed their hands. "Anyways, let's get to our next class, or we want another trip to Miss. Barret's office?" She teased

Signalling to Anne, Erica asked her to leave as she went away, before hugging Jodha softly. "He's really an idiot.." Erica whispered in her ears.

"A perverted one. Now let's get going.." Breaking free, Jodha sprinted to catch up with Anne, and Erica was left wondering.

What's it about her? Why does she never say what she feels?
~~~

Delhi Airport

"So here we are.." Muttered Jalal, his deep brown eyes scanning the airport. Awkward. Three years since he'd last seen India, and still there was something holding him back here.

"Hey.." His keen ears took in a familiar, squeaky voice as he turned around, surprised to see his younger brother, Mirza. Flashing a cheshire smirk, he waved as the lad winked. "I missed you, brother.." He said, and Jalal nodded. He didn't remember a thing about his brother.

"Same.." He replied. "How is Mom?"

"She's doing good. Anyways, we better get going. She's really missing you!" Mirza averred, Jalal smiled- his mother, can never change.

~~~

"She sent you to pick me up?" Jalal quizzed, walking through the security check up as they exited the airport.

"Yeah. I mean I was excited to meet you and all, but you know, she was freaking out. Like you will get lost if someone doesn't come to get you." Chuckling at his own joke, he aimed for a hi-five with Jalal, who apparently took no notice.

"She's still the same, isn't it?"
"Yeah. But her love for you has only got stronger." Patting his shoulder, Mirza muttered as Jalal turned back- taken aback by the sudden show of 'maturity' his college going brother was putting up!
"You've changed, too, Mirza.." Jalal smiled.

"We missed you.." Mirza whispered, and before that sunk in, he went off to get his car.

"I've missed on a lot of things.." Jalal wondered, three years back- the last time he came to India- Mirza was a royal brat, spoiled rotten high schooler. Haven't things changed drastically?

Shaking his head, he snapped out of his thoughts as he jumped in the car beside his brother. "Mom's looking for a girl." He informed courteously.

Interested, Jalal casted him a glance before saying, "For you? You're still young Mirza."

"For you!" he squealed, as Jalal nearly jumped- what did he just say? "For me?" He questioned, just to make sure his ears haven't taken in the wrong words.

"Save your head!" Mirza joked, laughing as Jalal rolled his eyes, now why did he jump?

Sensing disappointed, he quickly covered it up. "Yeah, I mean she's all- Jalal HAS to get married now. And she said you said yes for this marriage thing. So, better get ready for meeting a lot of beauties over the weekend!" His eyes twinkled, as Jalal sighed- his brother had really not changed!
"Yeah, right. Beauties." Jalal whispered, his head hitting the headrest as he closed his eyes.

Things were going to change.

~~~

At Mohammed Mansion,

"Mom! We are here!" He shouted, a goofy smile on his lips as an elderly lady, presumably their mother, appeared from a room.

"Missed you, Mom." Jalal uttered, embracing his mother softly as she chirped, "You're back, finally!"

"Yeah, I guess so. Wooho!" Resonated Mirza's voice as the duo shook their head mentally. Another bad joke of his! Sporting a goofy face, Mirza chuckled as the mother- son parted, smiling at him with that you're-crazy look. He loved that!

"You look a bit jetlagged, just go and rest now. A drive with Mirza around Delhi later in the evening, what say?" She suggested, and Jalal nodded, he didn't really know how to behave with his family, what with not being with them for such a long time!

"Yeah, Mom.." He smiled.

With Mirza by his side, cracking senseless jokes every now and then, he knew for sure his life was going to be hell here. Hell.

And what he didn't know was, it would get the hell out of him, too.

~~~

Outside the NIFT Campus,

"Bloody Retard.. Stupid, moron, jerk, idiot, psycho..!" And on went Erica's tirade as Jodha elbowed her in the chest, her aim- precise.

"Shut up Erica, I mean that idiot tried a move and it didn't work, get over it, okay?!" Rolling her eyes, she scowled at her best friend who'd surprisingly taken the incident more seriously than herself!
Anne gaped at Jodha, probably wondering, what the heck did she just say? "Yo..You're.. not affe..affected by wha..what he di..did?"
"Freak!" Cursed Jodha, before returning her attention to another friend of hers. "No I'm not, Anne. That stupid little piece of litter doesn't deserve the time I'll waste on thinking about him and acting all crazy like Oh my god, he tried to kiss me! That is so rude, I hate him.. I hate him.. and cry buckets. I'm not the cry thing, you know me."

Anne, the stutter-one of the group, remain silent, apparently flushed by her words as Jodha turned around, walking backwards. She loved to do that!
"However," And with this, the twinkle in her eye resurfaced. "No one gets away after messing with Jodha Singh." She fished out her shades from her purse, those darn pieces she absolutely adored.

"and that means that we..." Erica gulped, she knew this crazy girl well enough to guess what she had up her sleeve.

"Are getting back at him. Jodha style." Flaunting her shades, she smirked, turning around, and the duo wondered if they would ever be able to understand her.

~~~

"But how?" Anne whispered, leaning in her ears as Jodha sighed, annoyed. "First, it isn't a 007 case that you are whispering in my ear, Anne. And second, I don't know. Let's drop the topic for now. I want to chill out."
"Hey guys!" Erica beamed, her attention finally averted to the girls in front of her from her phone. "Chris is here, she just messaged me!"
"What the hell!" Jodha jumped, too surprised to take it in!

"Yeah!" Shoving the piece on her face, Erica began collecting her belonging, ready to sprint off to meet Christie.

"Holy shit, she's here!" She swore, her jaw wide open before a look of excitement dawned upon her features. "Let's get going, girls. Ms. Sexy is here!"

"Hey Chris!" She chirped, pulling her in a light hug as Christie waved at the seemingly breathless trio.

"Is it just a coincidence or you knowingly call me that?" Brows furrowed, hand touching her hips, damn! That Christie Waters angry look. How she missed it!

"Neither.." She giggled, shaking her head. "I just love calling you that. Jesus, Chris is such a cool name!" Her lashes fluttered, lit up with unexplainable joy at the corners.

"But that's calling me names." She pouted, her green eyes shining as they widened a bit.

"No, silly.." Another chuckle, and she said- "That's calling you Chris!"

"Damn!" She smirked evilly, almost teasing Jodha, "That was a bad one.."
"Shut up!" She retorted, fumed "It was cool, damn!" Christie giggled as she mimicked her accent, this girl loves her accent! "Everything about me is cool!"

"Exaggerating a lot, are we?" She teased

"Nu-uh.. It's like, I am cool and I know it. You won't understand! You know, Fred was all, "You're so cool, Jo. Wish I could be like you.." Poor kitten, there's only one me. What I mean is the topper of the college, no, my ex-boyfriend thinks I am cool, duh! That means something!"

"Ex-boyfriend? You two are over?" She gasped at the sudden bit of news. The last time they skyped, Fred was so into her!
"Yeah.. umm.. quite a long story, you see." She whispered,

"Must be your this isn't gonna work drama, isn't it? Damn! I have a real thing for break ups!"

"Sure you do! And well, yeah, you're right. He was being such a stupid piece of-"

"Well that's enough," Christie uttered, shutting her mouth tightly.

"But that was your second break-up since the semester started!" Christie gaped, almost wondering, how many hearts can she break?
"No-no.. It's technically three, you see, I and Devin broke up at exactly 12 in the morning, the first day of semester had started already! Now before you ask me why, it was getting a bit complicated, and I am not a fan of long distance relationships. They are boring, no fun, nothing!"
"boring?" Christie gasped, clutching her mouth in fake horror, "They are adventurous. Crazy, and adorable!"

"Says the one who is in this boring thing with a not so boring guy," Jodha winked, "That's partial!"
"They call it intellectual!" She retorted, embarrassed.

"Philosophy?" She gave her damn! You've become boring look as Anne jumped in.

"Jo.. what.. what abou.. about your re..revenge?" She whispered through slurred words.

"Yeah, we'll get that later baby. Chris will be our accomplice." She grinned wickedly, planning out the whole thing in her mind.

"Fine by me if its going to be some fun, but not today, Augustus is coming here!" She squealed, and Jodha gaped at her, dumbstruck. Did she just say that Augustus is coming here?!

Chapter-2

Following the announcement of the flight that had just arrived on the airport, a young guy, probably a fresh college graduate came into their view as the girls let out a high pitched shriek.

"Augustus!!" Jodha squealed, jumping up from her seat and rushing towards him. Throwing her arms around him, she laughed as he replied. "Missed me much?"
"No, I was really busy to even think about you.." She replied, her sass fully on as she smirked. "You haven't changed."
"Neither have you." She retorted, before taking in his appearance.

Okay, so maybe he has changed a bit. His hair were no longer gelled to perfection, instead were worn down- a messy and unkempt look she was sure she'll adore in no time. After all, it suited his personality, and not to mention that she thought his brown hair were way better when kept down.

Dressed in a comfortable Tee and his favorite pair of jeans, he pulled off an effortless look. His golden-brown eyes twinkled a bit as he scrutinized her, looking cute in her light blue top and white shorts.

"Come on, let's go.. college is over for the day and you sure have got lots to catch up on!" She informed, and Erica casted a glance at him. She'd never been too fond of him, his rude comments and snarky behaviour always got in the way. But with this new style, he looked a bit.. nice?

Stop it Erica. He's the same self obsessed guy you met an year ago. Nothing has changed!

"Hello there.." He grinned at Erica as she took an involuntary step back. "It's been a long time, eh?"
"An year." She answered politely.

"That's a lot of time.. what's up?" He winked at her. She found it incredibly hard to stay unaffected when this supposed 'rude' boy was being so nice, and even flirtatious to her. Where has the guy who called her names and asked her to start dieting gone?

It's not just you.. he probably does it with every girl he meets.

"Let's leave?" Jodha stated, more as a question as she witnessed the two enemies being annoyingly polite to each other. Or so she thought.

"Yeah.." Both answered in unison, and Jodha locked eyes with Christie before walking out of the airport.

~~~

"The joy of freedom..." Remarked Jodha as they entered the apartment rented by Christie and Augustus. They'd decided to take a year's break and had come flying down to India. Their jobs, however were unaffected as they worked from home.

"An apartment of your own? That's so cool!" Erica smiled, her eyes roaming all around the living room before finally getting caught with another golden-brown ones.

"I know.. We can hang out here, it'd be fun!" He suggested, looking a bit nervous as he expected a response to his idea.

"We?" She questioned, her eye brow shooting up.

"Yeah.. we.. Like me, you and the others maybe?" He smiled a bit at her embarrassed face.

Of course he meant all of you. Not you and him, alone. Her sub-conscience taunts her as she looks away.

Once done with the setting up of the apartment, which included breaks and snack sessions after every 15 minutes, they all plopped down on the floor.

"Okay so, Jo tell me about you and Mr. So In Love?" Christie threw the much awaited question as Erica spotted what she suspected was a hint of uneasiness in Jodha's eyes. But then again, she can never be sure about her.

"That's not a really big thing, Chris. He was being such a nerd, and it felt wrong. It was like it wasn't meant to be, we weren't meant to be. And..."

"And?" Augustus prodded further as Erica bit her lip. She was having a hard time trying not to look at him. It was stupid, she never felt any of this before. Must be his stupid hair. She tried to reason with herself.

"And I never really liked him that much, I guess. He was being unreasonably stupid, and expecting me to support him or something. I didn't want to be with him anymore." She breathed.

"Oooh.." The group said in understanding as Jodha gave a small smile to all of them. "what about you and Chase? Still going strong, yeah?" She smirked as Christie blushed a bit.

"He's no fun!" Augustus complained, his hands up in the air as Christie swatted his arm. "No he's not!"

"Whatever you say, little one.." He teased, messing her hair up as Jodha and Erica laughed at the sight of Chris' hair sticking up in all directions.

~~~

"The Mall? This is your secret place' or whatever crap you called it?" Jalal asked surprised as he steps out of the car, Mirza behind him.

"Mom asked me to help you buy something... like a new shirt or stuff..." He shrugged and watched as Jalal's frown deepened.

"I don't need new clothes, and if I do I can surely get them myself. We're getting out, now." He pulled out his aviators from his pocket and slipped them on, earning an awe inspired glance from his younger brother.

In a twisted, Mirza inspired way, he looked up to his elder brother.

"But where will we go if not for here? If not for shopping, let's go and eat at McDonalds?" He suggested, and Jalal agreed after a minute of contemplation.

In the years that he'd been away from India, Jalal had changed a lot. He was no longer the shy, nerdy teen guy he was when he left for the UK. Not that he'd become a party animal, but he sure loved parties more than books now. Maybe the effect of London, or a change he'd deliberately sought- he wasn't sure. When he left the country, he'd made a promise to himself, he would change. And he did.

"Here's McDonalds, let's go in?" Mirza suggested as Jalal nodded, walking in before him.

"He hasn't changed much." The younger brother concluded.

"So he says, yeah I didn't... anything wrong?' and Ms. Young stares at him like she's seen a bloody ghost, and the whole class goes ooohh... It was awesome, I tell you!" Mirza gossiped, taking no notice of his elder brother who didn't appear as interested as him in his college stories.

"Are you done with your burger?" Jalal asked, sparing him a glance as Mirza casted him a weird look. "My drink isn't finished, I'm not going without finishing it!"
"so much for a responsible college student.." Jalal muttered under his breath.

Fifteen minutes later, after Mirza had finished sipping on the remnants of his coke, Jalal strolled out, followed by his younger brother.

"Where to now, sir?" he joked as Jalal made a face at his jibe. "You're stupid."
"Stupidity is far more fascinating than intelligence. After all, intelligence has its limits."

His head tilted a bit to the side, and he replied- "where did you get that from?"
"I'm a man of intellectuality." He grinned proudly as Jalal shook his head.

"You wish.."
"I wish for a lot of things, a lot really. I wish for a perfect girl for me- the one who'll know which cheesy line I'm going to say to her. I wish for a never ending supply of food. I wish for an awesome career which doesn't require a lot of work, and of course.." He winked, "I wish for a mind blowing sister in law."
His eyes widened a little, as he averred, "Alright that's enough. We need to go back, now."

"How about I show you around Delhi a bit more and then we head back? It's still early."
After thinking it through, Jalal agreed. "I'm not sitting in this car a minute after 8, that's it."

"Bummer.." Teased Mirza.
Raising an eyebrow, he shot a glare at his mischievous brother who wisely decided to shut up for the remainder of the day.

~~~~

Christie's Apartment

Browsing through her phone, Jodha's attention is diverted when Christie begins another of her spiritual' talks. "You know, Erica.. we're all connected to each other in some way, it's a special way.."
Erica looked at Jodha, amused and awaited her sarcastic response which she knew was bound to come.

"Yeah, through facebook. I know.." Jodha smirked at her guess as Christie aimed a pillow at her.

"No idiot, its called- the human soul connection. We are part of something much bigger than just ourselves.."
"Oh right... she's talking about twitter." She donned a serious face and battled Chris' murderous glare.

"Can you let me talk for a second?"
"For what? Listen to you go on and on about this stupid soul thing? No. Soul connection and soul mates don't exist."

"I knew it!!" Augustus jumped in the discussion, "I knew those dumb novels lied!" He had a proud look.

"You mean that you don't dream of an ideal guy, eh?" Christie smirked.

"Yes, yes I do. An ideal guy doesn't drink, doesn't smoke, doesn't do drugs, doesn't swear, doesn't get angry.. and the most important one!" Her eyes shined, " doesn't exist." She finished, her eyes flicking back to her phone screen as Christie gaped.

"An ideal guy might not have all of these qualities, because, may I add, you swear a lot, you are angry practically all the time and you drink like there's no tomorrow.. so what I was saying is, the right guy for you might not be 'perfect', because nobody is, but you'll have that guy in your life. The one who can bring your world down with a blink of his eyes."

"We'll see about that." She challenged.

"We will."

"Pizza or Chinese?" Erica asked. "Chinese sounds good.." Augustus said, and Erica nodded, dialling the number of a Chinese restaurant. "But pizza sounds better.." He winked, as she glared at him, disconnecting the call and throwing the phone at him.

"Order whatever you please." She gave a fake smile. "Thank you for the freedom." He chuckled, a sound that awakened something in her.

"Guys, excuse me and Erica for a minute?" Jodha asked casually, taking her wrist and pulling her out of the room as Erica looked at her, confused.

"We need to talk." She stated clearly.

"Thought so?" Erica replied, more of a question.

"You fancy him. You fancy Augustus." She gushed, jumping in her place as Erica's eyes widened, almost popping out.

"What? NO!" She denied, shaking her head frantically.

How did she know?!!

"Cut the crap, I know you do. The question is, how, and well, why?"
"I..." A glare from her silenced Erica, she knew she had to say the truth. "Fine.. yes I do." Her voice came out as a squeak, and she looked around to make sure no one listened to it. "It's just.. I don't know. He's being so great, he's not that rude guy anymore.."
"And..?"

"I should stop. I know I should. But it's just.. I don't want to." She confessed, her brown eyes boring into Jodha's blue ones as she looked helplessly.

"It's a crush isn't it?"
"I don't even know.. I guess. It has to be a crush."
"Oh god girl.." Jodha sighed, taking her in a hug as she mentally promised herself never to become like Erica.

"WE'RE BACK!!!" Mirza yelled the moment he stepped in the house. Much to Jalal's irritation, they'd reached home after 10.

"As if she wouldn't have known..." Jalal muttered, his eyes rolling silently at the display of immaturity.

"Was Delhi good enough for you?" She asked, before messing up Mirza's hair who made a face at her gesture.

"It's okay." He smiled, "definitely a change from London."
"You'll like it here. It's a great city."

Jalal nodded, glancing around the living room. "Are you both hungry? I'm sure I can manage to make you a quick dinner."
"No, we're fine." "I'm actually dying of starvation." Replied Jalal and Mirza respectively. Jalal glared at his younger brother, wondering why he would want to trouble his mother. But maybe that's how it is.

Alisha Mohammed smiled at her sons and started walking to the kitchen when she turned back and said, "Oh and Jalal.."

"Be ready, we're going to meet someone on Sunday."
Jalal stared at her, aghast and wide eyed as an overjoyed Mirza tried to bite back his smirk.

"What?" The group, joined by Anne gasped in unison as Jodha finally revealed her revenge plan.

"You're such a little devil.." Augustus frowned, he'd definitely not expected her to plan it all out.

"What makes you think I am not?"
"and you're going to go to his house and vandalise the shit out of it? That's... I don't know, immature?" Erica warned her, concerned as Augustus quickly glanced at her, and looked away.

"You're totally nuts!" Chris confirmed.

"Yes and its crazy!" said Erica

"What if you get caught?"

"What if he involved the cops?"
Augustus, who'd been silent all along, seemed to have found his voice as he stated, "This will be fun.." He winked at her, and Jodha had to push back a laugh as she realized something. Her partner-in crime was back.

"We'll totally make him regret the moment he decided to mess with my favorite girl." He said slyly, an idiotic grin covering the majority of his face.

She jumped up to high five him, at the same time when the two girls backed away, clearly trying to talk their way out of this plan'. "Good luck doing that." They both wished them, attempting to run over to the door and escape when two hands covered their mouths and pulled them back.

"You two are so not trying to ditch the plan." Jodha chided, a lame attempt of being intimidating as she wiggled her index finger at them.

"What are we? Gangsters?" Erica gasped

"Naah, we're the badass gang." She pulled up an invisible collar and smirked

"In other words, gangsters." Augustus laughed, Jodha joining him as the sound of their chuckles resonated through the room.

"When I said I'm up for revenge plan, I totally did not mean a law breaking situation." Chris justified, to which Jodha cocked up an eyebrow.

"It's not a," she pulled up air quotes, " law breaking situation as you call it. We're just gonna go and have fun."

"And get arrested. Wow, this is actually what I wrote in my bucket list, Jo." Came Erica's retort.

"Come on Eri, you're being paranoid for no reason. I swear on every ice cream in the world, we're not going to get arrested."
"Ice cream? Really?" She rolled her eyes as Jodha bursted into giggles.

"What?" He shrugged, " I like ice cream."
"Who doesn't?" Jodha challenged

"Well, the 90-year-old neighbour who used to live next door to us when we were in London hated ice cream." He informed.

"Did you ever cut him a bit and saw blood?" Chris made no attempt to hide her overly shocked features.

"What?" He stared, confused, "what do you mean?"

"I mean, was he human?"

"Chris..." Erica said, extending the syllable as she rolled her eyes.

"So... getting back to the plan.." Augustus brought their attention back to the original topic as the little group plonked back on the couch.

"When are you planning to do it?"
"Easy peasy. On his birthday, that's like, day after?" Jodha smiled innocently.

"Did you just say easy peasy?" He looked at her aghast as she replied, "Jesus, it was a joke."
"No need to call me Jesus, Augustus would be fine." He smirked after finishing the sassy reply, receiving a jab on the chest in return.

" Won't he be out partying? That's what guys do on their birthdays.." Erica pondered upon the possibility, hoping he'd choose to go out and get really drunk just so she didn't have to get involved in the plan. Though, she couldn't deny, the rush of being involved in a situation like this, it was thrilling.

"He's a nerd. Typical nerd. He told me he stays in for his birthday, watching stuff on laptop and drinking beer. He does like to get drunk, so that can be a plus." She had a mischievous glint in her eyes.

"Sounds like a perfect target..." Augustus snorted, probably imagining all sorts of things he could do to his house.

"Oh trust me..." She replied back, her voice laced with mischief and soft as ever, "it's going to be the best night of our lives.."

"Mom?" He knocked politely on her bedroom door. 24 hours and he still wasn't comfortable in the house, his house. Maybe staying away for years really does change everything.

"Come in, Jalal." He could almost hear the smile in her voice, it was that evident.

"So who's this person we're going to meet?" He questioned, he was never really a big fan of small talk, he'd rather just come out with it.

She stared at him for a minute or so, almost trying to remember his now sharp features and subconsciously comparing them with his then round ones.

"You've changed a bit.. you know?" She concluded, closing the book she was reading after inserting the bookmark. "Physically, I mean.."
"Mom, everyone changes.. physically." He answered uncertainly. His mom wasn't being much of a help, she'd changed the topic and he couldn't help but wonder why.

"You work out too much." She stated firmly, "you looked just fine when you left, 3 years ago."

"It was different, back then."
"Your Dad was home when you left.." She shrugged, trying to mask her slouched shoulders as she mentioned the man she'd loved with all her being.

"We used to have fun, didn't we? All four of us.."

"Mom.." He said, his voice barely recognizable as he tried to muster some strength into him. "Who're we going to meet? I'm not going to ditch it or anything, I'm just curious.."
"I know you won't." She smiled, "and as for who, it best remain a secret." Her smile morphed into a grin as she saw a flicker of confusion appear on her son's face.

"Okay okay.." She gave up. "You're not in college anymore, Jalal. You have business experience from London and fortunately, you have your dad's company that you need to take care of. I thought it would be good to invite some key board members of the empire for lunch, you can just talk stuff out with them?"
His eyes widened, out of all the things he'd expected, this was definitely not in the list. Heck, he'd even thought, just for a second, that he was going to meet a girl for marriage.

"You're interested in business, right? Cause I totally understand if you want to do something of your own, you know..."
"Mom it's okay, seriously. Calm down. I was just, caught off guard.. Sure, lunch sounds good." He tried to pull his lips into a smile, but the surprise element still wore too heavy on him to allow him to do so.

"You sure?"
"of course mom." He finally smiled, a small one but a smile nonetheless.

"Okay then.." She dropped the matter, shifting onto another topic that held more interest to her."And Jalal?"
"Yeah mom?" He looked up, only to be caught by her eyes shining a bit.

"what do you think about marriage?"

He choked on the water he was drinking and hurriedly put the glass back on the bedside table.
"Whaat?" He looked at her with eyes widened even more, if that was possible.

First the business meeting, and then possible marriage. No, he was totally not ready for this conversation. Sure when he'd called her up and said he wanted to settle down, he was aware she might think of it that way, but he'd never really thought about it.

"You're going to get married some day, Jalal."

"Y...Yeah."

"Stop stammering." She laughed

"I never thought about it, to be honest." He replied, dodging her sharp gaze.

"Well, I, for one can understand. Take as much time as you want, I mean, it's a big decision, really. We'll wait." She reassured him as he nodded meekly.

"goodnight mom." He wished her and kissed her cheek before getting up and taking hurried strides towards the door.

"But don't take too much time." She chuckled, as he turned back, " no one would want to marry you when your hair turns grey."
And with that, he actually ran to his room, leaving Alisha to burst into uncontrollable fits of laughter as she shook her head.

Chapter-3

Cooking Up A Disaster.

Jodha

"This is a bad idea.." Erica mumbled, trying another unsuccessful attempt to make her friends back out. "I mean, vandalism? Jo, that's illegal, I'm not letting you do that." She huffed at the end of her tirade, unfortunately aware of the difference-or lack of- it made to the group.

"Are you guys even listening? Hello?" she snapped her fingers in front of them, shaking her head. Having fun is one thing, committing a crime- totally another.

"You can go to jail for this, Jo, why do you think it's a good-" before she could complete her sentence, a hand coiled around her waist, pulling her on the couch and on Christie.

"ouch.." Christie groaned, smacking Augustus, who merely snickered.

"What do you think you're doing?" Erica sighed, punching him. "You're her friend, you're supposed to make her understand why this is will be a disaster."

"You're right.." Augustus nodded, feigning seriousness. "Jo, that's illegal, I'm not letting you do that." He shrieked in a high pitched voice, before losing it and bursting into peals of laughter.

Jerk. Erica thought, annoyed. A person can only change so much, she realized, and underneath all that charm- he's still a devil.

"That was awesome..." Jodha chuckled, high-fiving Augustus.

"You guys suck." Whined Erica, turning to Anne for support, who seemed to be fighting a smile of her own.

Quickly catching hold of a pillow, she aimed it at Anne- hitting her squarely in the face.

"Not so funny now, is it?" She smirked, ducking when the pillow returned.

"You missed." Teasing, she did a rather childish move, sticking her tongue out before running away into one of the other rooms.

"I'll get her.." Anne hid a devious smile, breaking into a sprint to catch her.

"So..." Jodha began, quirking up an eyebrow. "We're going to do this, right?"

"Sure we are." Augustus agreed, looking up to Christie who gave them an apprehensive look. "Look," Christie began, " it's not that I don't trust you two, I mean, well I don't" Augustus pinched her, "but mum asked someone" she glared at her brother, "to stay out of trouble."

"We won't get caught, Chris." Jodha said, rolling her eyes. Seriously, why did none of her friends believe her criminal skills?

"Well, what if we do get caught? What's the master-plan, then?" she prodded, thinking if she were to agree, she should at least know what she's getting into.

"Well, on his birthday, which is today, in case you forgot.. we go there, surprise him with a little birthday bash, take our spray cans out and paint." Jodha grinned, quite proud of herself at the seemingly perfect plan, before having her assumptions shattered.

"How do we get in? And if he'll still be inside, as you said, then how will we vandalise it?"

That got her thinking. She hadn't really thought about it. "I haven't thought that far, Augustus can help me." She shrugged, looking at Augustus for help.

"We can use the simple pick-the-lock technique." He said casually, like breaking the law didn't matter to him.

"And if he's inside, what then, genius?" Taunting her brother, she busied herself with her phone- when he snatched it from her.

"My Baby sister has a point.." he pondered, waving the phone over his head so she couldn't reach it. "What do you say, Jo?"

"Well, we'll have to get him out, right?" She suggested, but fell silent after that.

A short spell later, an idea finally hit her, causing a grin to light her face up. "Oh, I know this!" She shrieked, throwing another pillow up in the air.

"Enlighten me." Christie said, sarcasm dripping from her tone. Catching the pillow Jodha threw at her, she placed it on her lap, before waiting for her to continue with her idea.

"We'll do this the old fashioned way." Jodha revealed, grinning so wide Christie wondered if her jaw would be sore.

"Elaborate?" Augustus asked, too interested in this plan to back out now.

"Well, a few of us distract him while the others get in through the backdoor."

"And how will we get in through the backdoor?" Christie asked absent mindedly, her mind still stuck on her phone that hung in the air.

"Huh?"

"It will be locked from inside, dumbo." It was her turn to laugh, while Jodha scrunched her nose up. This was going to be a lot trickier.

~~~

Jalal

"No, Mirza, I'm not going anywhere near the kitchen." Rejecting his brother's rather absurd suggestion of cooking up a feast for their mother, Jalal slumped down on the couch. Adjusting- or trying to, at least- had proved to be quite stressful. Having lived a life of late-night parties and days of hangovers, it was definitely hard to play the role of the 'good guy.'

He wasn't complaining, though, as hard as it was, it felt nice to be with his family again. Family, he let that sink in- this absolute joker of a brother- whose one liners made him cringe more often that it made him laugh, and the mother who was too understanding of everything. It was weird, he thought, that he'd already taken a liking to this weird family.

But he let all those thoughts go, thinking later, because he was home now. This was his home, and he quite liked being here, and he decided he wouldn't go anywhere soon.

Although, that might change, he added as an afterthought, fed up with his brother's relentless persuasion.

"Why?" Mirza quizzed, clueless.

"Because, I can't cook and I don't think you can, either." He retorted, giving him a cynical glare.

"So?" He prodded, before earning another Are You Crazy? Look from his elder brother.

"We can't cook, Mirza." Jalal continued, though he'd begun to comprehend the rare chance of his brother understanding it.

"But we can try!" There was a glint of mischief in his eyes, and a flash of blur, before Jalal was pulled into the kitchen.

"Mirza.." He threatened, warning his brother.

"Stop acting like you don't want to do this." His laugh added to his words.

"This might surprise you, Mirza," Jalal said, aiming a packet of biscuits at his brother, "but I actually don't want to do this."

Catching the packet effortlessly, he began devouring it. Jalal looked at him with wide eyes, before realizing that any expectation of normalcy was quite impossible, as far as his brother was concerned.

"Come on, do this for mom, she'll love this, you know that.." said Mirza, showing a rare mature tone in his voice, before immediately shaking his head. "can't believe I got serious for once." He muttered under his breath.

Shaking his head at his brother's antics, he mumbled "might as well" before joining his brother.

"So, what are we making?" He asked, his expression giving away his doubt of this plan.

Surprised he'd given in so easily, Mirza held back a smirk.

"Okay.. so we might have made a tiny mistake.." Mirza sighed dramatically, struck with shock as he saw his plan crumble. Granted that they didn't know a thing about cooking, but to face an epic failure like this- it was humiliating.

"Ouch." He whined as a drop of boiling oil fell on his hand. "F**king hell.." Jalal uttered, before reaching out to dab his brother's hand with a wet cloth.

"This is what you get for being an idiot." He remarked dryly.

"What do we do now?" Mirza groaned, before giving up entirely, sitting on the floor with his knees crossed.

"We failed for the 5th time, you idiot." Another packet thrown towards Mirza, who was distracted with the burn on his hand, and as a result- got hit.

Jalal couldn't help but laugh at the sight, the flour packet was open- to Jalal's pleasant shock- and did its magic on Mirza's hair. His black, shiny hair- now completely covered in white, remnants falling on his face.

The next moment, Jalal was cracking up, while Mirza blew flour out of his mouth, flabbergasted.

"MY HAIR" He gaped in shock, running out in search of a mirror.

A minute later, Jalal, who'd barely recovered from his laughter, ended up in another fit of chuckles as he heard Mirza's horrified scream.

He could get used to this, he thought, a smile tugging on his lips.

~~~

Jodha

"I mean, the idea isn't so bad, Chris, but I really don't want to call him.." Jodha said, trying to get out of the insane idea Christie had suggested. Not that it wasn't good, but it was simply not something she was willing to do.

"Jo, this is perfect." Augustus piped up, "You call him, ask him to meet you, and then when he's out, we all go."

The evil smirk just wouldn't leave his lips, Erica noted.

"I don't know, guys.." Jodha reiterated, "I mean, do I have to?" She groaned at the thought of having to talk to him. But even she knew this idea was genius, it would definitely work. She just had to subside her ego for a bit.

Met with a couple of stares that clearly screamed This Was Your Plan, Not Ours, the irritated lady gave up, frowning.

"Fine, fine. God, I will do it." Erica couldn't bite back her giggle at the admission, and was smacked on the head, before being asked to pass Jodha's phone to her.

She dialled the number with reluctance, knowing fully well what she was getting into. Muttering, "stop staring.." to make the group steer their eyes away from her, she waited impatiently for him to pick up, while hoping he wouldn't.

But of course, he did.

"Oh, um.. hey.. Frederik.." she smiled uneasily, before rolling her eyes.

"Jodha, hey.."

"Happy birthday!" She suddenly remembered, squeaking, annoyed as she heard him laugh.

"You remember?"

"Well of course I do, I mean we dated, remember?"

"Of course I do.."

The dreamy voice he'd used nearly made her throw up, before she pulled herself together, reminding herself of the plan'.

"Right, so I have a surprise for you." She lied.

"Woah. That's.. nice.." He uttered on the other line, finding it weird that she was being so nice to him when she'd got him nearly expelled the day before. Shaking off his suspicions, he decided on the theory that maybe Jodha realized her love for him, too.

"I know, right? So.. can you come over?" She asked, making sure her voice was convincing.

"What, like right now?"

"NO!" She yelled, before realizing she probably scared him, and took a deep breath before continuing, "I mean, like in an hour or so?"

"That's fine, I'll meet you there, then."

"Okay.. goodbye!" She grinned, her excitement taking over. Hurriedly disconnecting the call, she broke the news to the group. "We have exactly an hour to prepare."

Her revelation was met with cheers, hoots, apprehensive looks, but most of all, the addictive rush of adrenaline everyone wanted.

"So are we ready, ladies and gentlemen?" Jodha questioned, putting up a deep voice, before breaking out into laughter.

" Spray cans, check. Masks, check. Black clothes, check. Gum, check."

"Why do we need the masks and the clothes, anyway? It's not like anyone's going to see us, right?" Christie reasoned, causing Jodha to make a face.

"Whatever we do, we do it style. That's why." She explained as if it was enough justification.

"And the gum? What's that about?" Erica asked. By now, she'd given up on hoping to be left out of this little fun activity/ potential criminal activity and had began praying to God that they wouldn't get caught.

It was only for a bit of fun, after all.

"Because I like gum, it's nice." She said, giving a sickly sweet smile, which made the hesitant duo shut up.

"Let's go, then? We should be out of the complex before he arrives.." Augustus said, ready for a thrilling evening.

~~~

Jalal

Alisha Khan was having the time of her life, quite literally.

It isn't every other day that her two grown up sons (or at least one of them is), tries to cook up a meal for, and fail so miserably the kitchen looked like it'd witnessed a war. However, that wasn't the reason why she couldn't help laugh, but the guilty and horrified looks her sons sported.

Oh, this is hilarious. She thought, but wisely kept it to herself, knowing it would only add to their misery.

Putting up a serious front, she asked, "Why on Earth would you two go anywhere near the kitchen? You can't cook to save your life!"

"We were only trying to do something for you.." Mirza offered, before Jalal pinched him.

Biting her lip to prevent the burst of giggle, she continued, "by renovating the kitchen for me?"
"It doesn't look that bad!" he argued.

"Yes it doesn't, it's only covered in flour and ketchup and half burnt vegetables, which weren't even cut properly, by the way. Spilt milk, butter all over the floor. It's not bad at all.."

"Well, when you say it like that.." His head slumped in shame.

Unable to resist her laugh any longer, she finally gave in, chuckling at her embarrassed sons.

"Well, let's go out to eat, shall we?" She offered, to which the hungry sons gave a quick nod.

~~~

Jodha

"Erica, for the last time, shut the hell up before I punch you." Jodha threatened, her head aching with the warnings her best friend couldn't stop offering.

"But Jo-"

"Yes I know this is seriously irresponsible, reckless, stupid, a crime, we can get into loads of trouble and potentially jail time, anything else?"

"Well,if you know this.." She retorted, angry, "then why are we here?"
"Because, Erica," sighed Jodha, explaining herself for the last time, "this is fun, okay? I'll maybe hate myself tomorrow for doing this, but I want to do it anyway. And weren't you the one who wanted me to react about Fred? Well, this is me reacting about it. Why are you so pissed?"
"Because it's stupid, reckless-" She broke out into another rant of hers, cut off by an incensed Jodha.

"We're doing this, Erica. Trust me, you won't die." She gave a sarcastic smile, before jumping out of the car and in front of her ex boyfriend's house.

"Well, well.." she grinned.

As a hesitant Erica followed her, Jodha allowed herself a mental pat on the back. "Let's begin, should we?"

Spraying a simple J on the wall above the bed in his bedroom, a devil smirk curved on her lips. Augustus frowned, asking, "Do you want to get caught or something?"
"No. I only want him to know who it was." She shrugged, jumping off the bed.

"Do you think everyone's done by now?" She questioned, referring to the rest of the group who'd chosen different rooms to thrash.

"Yeah, I guess.."

Next, she watched as Augustus took the gum out, carefully chewing it for a few minutes before fixing it on the doorknob. "Exactly what I was thinking.." She said, excited, high-fiving Augustus as it hit her again, he was really her partner-in-crime.

"So, what next?" he asked, casually leaning against the side table.

"Nothing, he'll be back in about," she checked her phone, "ten minutes or so.. so now," she smiled wide, "we get the hell out of here."

They chatted as if they hadn't just committed a crime, walking out merrily to join the others.

Jodha couldn't push back the smile that took over her face. For others, it was just for fun. Nothing else, no hard feelings. But for Jodha, it was revenge, served cold to her ex-boyfriend.

Reminded of something, she fished through the side bag that was strapped around her shoulder. She took out a gift wrapped present, leaving it on the dining table along with a hastily scribbled note.

Erica and Chris exchanged curious glances, and Augustus quirked up an eyebrow. Shrugging, she answered, "Well, it is his birthday after all.."

At that, the entire group snickered, even the nervous Erica. She really, really hated Frederik, because no matter how big of a star student he might be, he messed with her best friend- and you don't mess with the people Erica Jones loves.

So she let out a laugh, quite satisfied with her art as her eyes flitted to the window, where she'd finished her entire spray can. She'd written a string of spicy, rude words she'd probably never use, but ones Frederik Carter definitely deserved to be described by.

Augustus caught her eye, giving her a thumbs-up, signalling to the window appreciatively. Truth be told, he didn't really think she'd do it. The timid, goody-two-shoes Erica he'd known would probably faint at the mention of 'illegal'. Yet, here she was, being a badass and acing it.

She did a little bow, running high on the rush of adrenaline, before winking at him.

Yes, he would think later, she was definitely acing it.

Their moment was cut short, however, when they heard the sound of a car being parked.
"Oh fricking hell.." Jodha swore in a hushed whisper, quickly signalling the group to be silent. They obeyed, panicked, before she pointed towards the backdoor. Quickly gathering their things, they took off, but Jodha stayed back. Removing her mask, she smiled mischievously, leaving it with the present, before running to join her group.

She left the house just when she heard the jingle of the keys, and snorted silently. This had been so much fun.

The group broke out into a sprint, the high of adrenaline pulsing through them, keeping them going until they reached near the car. Pausing to catch their breath in the middle of the road, they looked back at the house, revelling in the distant scream they heard.

"This was.." Jodha panted, "so great.."

"I agree."

"Yeah!"

Finally deciding to call it a day, they walked the short distance to their car. Amidst their chatter and appreciative hoots, they failed to notice a man walking down the road.

~~~

Jalal

Having dropped Alisha and Mirza home, he'd promised to be back by half an hour. It was quite spontaneous, he thought, for Jalal had never been a fan of late night strolls. But things can change, and as he continued to walk down a road, he found it peaceful.

The silence that was around him, it was beautiful. He'd always preferred silence over noise. Well, who wouldn't?

However, the silence didn't last long- broke abruptly by a group of rather excited youngsters. Jalal frowned, did they not have anything better to do ?

Deciding to ignore the noisy bunch, he continued to stroll leisurely, and to his surprise, he was whistling a low, sweet tune.

Of course, when he'd decided to ignore them, he hadn't exactly thought he'd bump into- quite literally- one of them.

Brought to a pause, he quickly observed that all of them were wearing masks, all of them- except the one he'd bumped into. He raised his eyebrows at the suspicious attire, a black hoodie and tight black jeans, hair tamed into a messy ponytail. That might have surprised him, but it was the eyes- her eyes- that did him in. The blue in them stood out in a bright contrast to the dark night, flecks of grey swirling around.

The stranger furrowed her eyebrows, and Jalal supposed he'd stared for too long, muttering a quick "sorry.." before walking past.

Originally posted by: -Kavya_P-

Interesting tzr
Update soon

Originally posted by: -Kavya_P-

Thanks for pm