So yep. The title totally gives it away. So here's a birthday one-shot specially for one of our dearest mods (who actually thought that we forgot her birthday! Aisa kabhi ho sakta hai kya? 😆), SHIFALI! [Special thanks to Radz and Meera for proofing this for me.] Here's hoping she likes it! 😳
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Pyaar Toh Hona Hi Tha
He was the guy that every guy wanted to be, and that every girl wanted to be with. But for the life of him, he couldn't fathom what they saw in him. Sure, he worked out. And he got good grades. And he supposed he was good-looking. But in his eyes, he was quiet and tremendously shy. Yet somehow that seemed to increase his appeal.
She was the girl that every guy had his eye on, but that no guy could get because she was the type of girl that didn't date. She was sweet, helpful and worked at Subway after school.
The very same Subway that he went to for lunch faithfully every day. It wasn't that he loved Subway. He'd probably eaten way more cookies than he should have been eating in a week. But it didn't matter.
Because he got to see her every day.
After seven months, she knew by heart that he would have a Veggie Delight in a 6-inch hearty Italian loaf, with a drink and two cookies.
Her days revolved around seeing him. She spent her days longing for the two or three minutes of conversation, for the moments she spent looking into his warm, chocolate brown eyes.
He looked forward to the smile that lit her face and reached her honeyed eyes, to the sound of her voice that would echo in his head hours after he had left the restaurant.
Both of them loved the moment when she passed him his change: her hand would brush against his, and both of them would blush, each wondering if they had imagined the electricity that they had both felt.
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Today was a special day for her. It was her birthday.
But it felt like any ordinary day. Mainly because she had to work, because Maddy darling decided to skip out on work and go on a date with Preet.
But today, he hadn't shown up.
At first she had passed it off as him being late (which he ordinarily never was), and that he'd come later.
But as the hours passed with no sign of him, she had slowly grown more agitated, worried that something had happened to him.
The different possibilities ran through her mind, ranging from the mundane (he'd been working on a project and had lost track of time) to the wild (he had been hit by a car while crossing the road) to the downright impossible (he'd been abducted by the swarms of girls that swooned over him).
As she dried the freshly-washed containers in preparation for the next day, she glanced at the door, wondering if he would show up. She sighed. This was not a fun birthday.
Ravjot came out of the back room, in a black sequined sleeveless shirt and jeans, and in a pair of stilettos she usually shied away from.
"Alright, bye, Shifs!" she said, giving Shifali a hug from the back.
Shifali frowned. "Tum kahaan jaa rahi ho?" she asked.
Ravz blushed. "Hello? Hot date with Yug tonight! Yaad nahin hai kya?"
Shifali tried not to show how annoyed she was that her best friends all had "hot dates" on her birthday. She forced a smile. "Right. Have fun."
Ravz had barely left when her boss Kiran came out of the back room.
"Shifs, lock up tonight, please?" he asked, tossing her the keys (which landed where the pickles had been an hour earlier). "Kulraaj needs me."
Shifs couldn't tear a husband away from his pregnant wife. She nodded, smiling, and Kiran left with a sigh of relief and a "thanks, dear!"
With Ravjot and Kiran gone, Shifali was all alone. She looked at the clock. 8.45 p.m. Well, might as well call it a day.
As she headed for the back room, she heard the door open. She groaned silently. Didn't people understand that a 'Closed' sign meant that they were closed? "Sorry, we're close – "
The words got caught in her throat as she saw who it was.
He stood at the door, wearing a dark blue t-shirt, jeans and a nervous smile, and holding a small plastic bag.
They stood in silence for a moment, her in shock, him wondering how to say the things he wanted to.
He finally cleared his throat. "Hi. I'm Prem."
"Um…I'm…uh…I'm…" Shifs couldn't believe she had forgotten her own name.
"Shifali?" he prompted.
Shifs turned as red as the tomatoes she had worked with earlier. "Shifali. Right." She looked down at the floor, feeling utterly stupid.
Prem moved closer towards her. "I…uh…I wanted to…um…Happy birthday."
Her head whipped up at those two words, amazed that he knew it was her birthday. He held the plastic bag out towards her, still smiling uncertainly.
Her lips curled into a shy smile as she took the bag from him. "Thanks," she said softly.
They shared another awkward silence.
"You can open it now, if you want," he told her.
"Oh, right." Shifali opened the bag and pulled out a CD. She stared at it, her eyes widening as she recognized the cover. "Strings? Oh, my god! How did you…?" She looked at him, wonder and surprise mixed in her eyes.
Prem let out a breath he hadn't known he'd been holding. "There's something else inside."
Shifali peered into the bag again, pulling out an envelope this time. She slowly opened it. There was a ticket inside. Her eyes widened again, and she let out a scream. "How did you get tickets to the Strings concert? It's been sold out for months!"
Prem grinned, happy and immensely relieved. "I bought them a while ago, and I…I couldn't find the right time to ask you if you wanted to go with me," he said sheepishly, his hands in his pockets.
Without thinking she threw her arms around him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you! This is the bestest present ever!"
Then she realized what she was doing, and she pulled away, turning bright red again. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, looking away.
Prem smiled, watching her as she bit her lip, closing her eyes as if chiding herself mentally before glancing up at him and turning a deeper shade of red. "Have you had dinner?" he asked.
She shook her head, wondering if he was going where she thought he was going.
"Would you, um, would you like to go for dinner with me? I know this great sandwich place…"
Shifali winced. "No sandwiches."
Prem grinned. "Mexican, then?"
Shifali smiled back at him. (Prem thought his legs were about to give way.) "Mexican sounds good…"
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From behind a bush across the street, Ravz 'aww'-ed. She set her binoculars down and turned to Kiran, who was kneeling beside her, watching as Shifali and Prem left the store, with Shifs remembering to lock up.
He turned to Ravz. "I can't believe she agreed to go for dinner with him."
Ravz grinned. "Kiran, for seven months he's been coming here just to see her. Pyaar toh hona hi tha! By the way, I won, so you're paying me double now."
Kiran groaned.
-|end|-
Ta-dah! Happy birthday Shifali! I so totally hope this made up for you thinking that we forgot your birthday, because we honestly could never forget your birthday dear! Have an awesome year ahead!
Love,
Bhav (:
CID
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
