Ranbir was many things but he definitely wasn't patient. He never really was the one to wait for something for an unknown period of time and still be calm and composed as if it didn't matter when in reality it actually did. But today was different, well, these days everything seems to be different and somehow Prachi always seemed to be the epicenter of it.
If he were to list a few changes that he made in his life just because of Prachi, he would definitely keep the following at the top:
1. Slow driving speed - Slow, as in really really slow. Apparently slow enough that even people travelling on foot would reach the same destination earlier than he would by his car.
2. Waking up early - Who wakes up at 4 in the morning when you need to be there in college at 10? Ranbir Kohli does. Earlier he used to wake up at 8 in the morning but now he wakes up at 4 and follows the same routine as Prachi that includes doing yoga and also finishing up the pending assignments and stuff.
3. Twilight - It was by accident that he found that novel in Prachi's bag when he was just looking for her cell phone so as to check the names using which she had stored his and Rishi's contact number. He wasn't curious about the novel but he absolutely loved the little notes that Prachi had penned down. It was hilarious at first but then those notes were all about how sweet and loving Edward is and how hot that Jacob guy was and Ranbir couldn't read more. But that didn't lessen his interest in the book. This is why he ordered the complete series the very next moment and as of now, he is on the third book.
4. Getting sick - Now this doesn't exactly come into the "changes in life" category but this is the most serious issue that has to be dealt with. Since he had started being close to Prachi, he seems to be suffering from various diseases. His heart would start beating fast, his emotions are out of control and a total mess, he even started to stammer! And these days he skin had been turning red as if a rash was breaking out or something.
And this was the exact reason why he was at the hospital from the past few hours getting various tests done, numerous samples being taken and now he was patiently waiting for his family doctor to bring in the reports.
Another half an hour later, Dr. Khurana came inside his cabin carrying various reports in his hands. "So doctor uncle, kya hua hai mujhe?" asked Ranbir. His tone was still calm but serious as he feared that he must be suffering from some deadly disease.
"Kuch bhi nahi hua tumnhe! Yeh saari reports normal hai. There was no abnormality found in your system." Dr. Khurana informed but Ranbir couldn't believe it. If everything was normal that why was he experiencing these weird symptoms?!
"Uncle aapne achhe se dekha na? Ek baar check kar lijiye, kya pata kuch miss kar diya ho aapne." Ranbir said similingly.
Dr. Khurana shook his head in negative and said, "Maine 2 baar check kiya hai Ranbir, koi problem nahi hai tumhe. Tum physically fit and fine ho!"
"And those symptoms?"
Dr. Khurana stared at Ranbir intently. He was genuinely concerned about his best friend's son who was behaving unlike him. If the problem wasn't physical then maybe, "I think your problem is psychological in nature. Tum aisa karo, 5th floor pe Dr. Ishaan ka cabin hai tum unse jaakar milo. Dr. Ishaan is a Psychiatrist, he might be able to help you. Main unhe message kar ke tumhaare baare mein inform kar deta hoon."
"Hhhmm.." Ranbir just hummed in response and went to meet Dr. Ishaan. There he was greeted by a young guy who looked in his early thirties. Dressed in semi-formal attire, Dr. Ishaan greeted him with a wide smile on his face as he was talking to someone of the phone.
"Haan, of-course hum kal zoo dekhne jaayenge, Aaliya. Okay now listen main tumse baad mein baat karta hoon." Dr. Ishaan gestured him to take a seat.
"Yeah, ek patient hai. It will take an hour at max." said Dr. Ishaan looking at his wristwatch. He then smiled widely and muttered, "I love you too. Bye." he ended the call.
"I am sorry, woh.." Dr. Ishaan was about to apologize but Ranbir interrupted him in mid, "It's okay. It must be difficult to be there for your daughter when you have such a busy profession."
Ranbir's words had Dr. Ishaan laughing, "Arre no! That wasn't my daughter but my fiancee on the phone, Aaliya."
Ranbir reddened in embarrassment, "I am sorry."
"It's okay." said Dr. Ishaan, "So tell me why are you here. Call me by my name and feel as if I am your friend. Share with me the reason behind why you are here."
So Ranbir began, "Pata nahi ki ho kya raha bas hota hi chala jaa raha hai. Itni mast life chal rahi thhi par ab pata nahi kya ho gaya hai. Pichle kuch dino se ajeeb ajeeb cheezein ho rahi hai. And all those symptoms! Mujhe lagta hai ki I am seriously sick."
"Kaise symptoms?" asked Dr. Ishaan.
Ranbir began counting each and every symptom on his fingers, "Sabse pehla issue is the increased speed of my heartbeats. You know itni zor se dhabad-dhabad hoti hai jaise koi drum baj raha ho!"
"Dhabad-dhabad?!"
"Arre waise hi jaise Balveer Returns mein Duba-Duba ko feel hota hai." explained Ranbir.
Dr. Ishaan chuckled, "Tum Balveer Returns dekhte ho?" and to his question Ranbir just smiled fondly and replied, "Woh actually Prachi dekhti hai na, bas isiliye."
Now that caught Dr. Ishaan's attention, "Prachi?" he looked at Ranbir with curiosity in his eyes.
Ranbir sighed as he was reminded of all the times when the symptoms that he had listed would appear, "Arre wahi toh hai iss sab ke peeche. Ussi ke vajah se kuch hua hai mujhe. You know jab bhi woh aas paas hoti hai na tabhi mera dil dhabad-dhabad karne lagta hai."
"Zara achhe se explain karo. Does your heart beats faster than normal only when Prachi is around?" asked Dr. Ishaan.
"Not always. I mean woh saath hoti hai tab to dil zor se dhadkta hi hai lekin jab woh kahin aas paas bhi ho na, I mean chahe mujhe na dikhe lekin bas aas- paas ho tab bhi mera dil dhabad-dhabad karne lagta hai aurr main paglon waali harkatein karne lagta hoon."
"Jaise?" Dr. Ishaan poured himself a glass of water.
Ranbir leaned back on the chair comfortably, "Abhi kuch dino pehle ki hi baat hai, Prachi ke chakkar mein maine woh Rishi, arre uske bhai ko kiss kar diya!" he pouted and hearing this Dr. Ishaan choked on the water that he was drinking.
"Tumne Prachi ke bhai ko kiss kiya?"
"Arre hua yeh ki uss din Prachi office nahi aayi aur jab main uske ghar pohoncha toh wahan Rishi bhi thha. Ab mujhe nahi pata thha ki Rishi uska bhai hai toh mujhe gussa aa gaya as I thought ki uska boyfriend hoga toh maine usse bohot sunaya. Lekin jab mujhe pata chala ki woh uska bhai hai toh..."
Interrupting Ranbir in mid, Dr. Ishaan spoke up, "Tumhe bohot relieved feel hua hoga na jab tumhe pata chala ki Rishi Prachi ka bhai hai. And khush bhi bohot hue hoge tum aurr issi khushi mein tumne Rishi ko kiss kar diya!"
Ranbir was wowed by this and looked at Dr. Ishaan with amazement, "Exactly yahi! Aapko kaise pata chala."
"Bas pata chal gaya. You continue." and Ranbir did the same, "Main kabhi itna gussa nahi karta, lekin Prachi bhi na! She is too much! Abhi recently maine usse bola ki hum na ek ddosre se baat nahi karenge aurr woh khush ho gayi! Sirf itna hi nahi usne toh Rahul ka pen bhi accept kar liya!"
"Ek pen ki wajah se itna gussa?" Dr. Ishaan was trying his best to hide his smile.
"Haan toh! Maine bhi toh offer kiya thha na usse apna pen, mujhse toh nahi liya lekin Rahul se le liya! Arre uske kehne par maine apni driving speed slow kar di! 15 kmph pe chalata hoon aajkal apni car aur woh mera pen nahi le sakti?"
Dr. Ishaan shook his head as he chuckled and chose not to comment about the 15 kmph speed, "Tumhe naaraazgi kis baat ki hai? Prachi ne tumhara offer kiya hua pen nahi liya ya usne Rahul ka pen accept kar liya?"
"Mujhe dono baaton se masla hai. Usse mera offer kiya hua pen lena chahiye thha aurr Rahul ka pen nahi." commented Ranbir.
"Hhmm. Dr. Khurana ne message kiya thha that your skin is turning red these days, almost like an allergic reaction. Kya iska bhi reason Prachi hai? Is Prachi an allergen for you?" asked Dr. Ishaan though he knew what must be the reason behind Ranbir's skin turning red.
"I don't know exactly but the first time my skin turned red was when Prachi had kissed me on my cheek. Usse award mila thha best story in the supernatural romance genre. Yellow colored suit mein toh woh already bright and beautiful lag rahi thhi lekin award milne ki khushi mein jab usne smile kiya na toh I felt as if her face was glowing. Usne khushi khushi mein mujhe hug kiya aurr kiss bhi kiya, ussi ke baad my skin started burning and turned red in color. Mujhe lagta hai ki iski lipstick mein hi kuch gadbad hai ya uske perfume me?! I am not sure." Ranbir looked as if he was really contemplating hard.
"And the next time?"
"Next time Diwali party mein hua thha aisa. Usne mujhe cute aurr handsome bola! The first time, for the very first time Prachi ne mujhe cute and handsome bola!" and as if on cue his skin really turned red and he giggled.
"Achha chalo, ab main tumse kuch sawaal karunga tum mujhe unke jawaab dena and aakhir mein we will play a Bollywood inspired game. Are you comfortable?" asked Dr. Ishaan.
"Yeah."
"Okay so my first question is, ki kya tumhe Prachi ko kissi aurr ladke ke saath as in apart from you and her siblings, jab Prachi kissi doosre ladke se baat kare, uske kareeb ho kya yeh wajah hai tumhaare gusse ki?"
Ranbir didn't think before saying, "Haan."
"Woh tumhse baat kare toh sab achha lekin jab na kare toh tumhe bilkul achha nahi lagta?"
"Haan! Kehti hai ki main usse baat na karun toh woh khush rahegi, ab yeh toh galat hai na. Main usse baat nahi karunga aur woh mujhse baat nahi karegi toh kaise chalega?!" Ranbir felt saddened at the thought that Prachi didn't want to talk to him.
"Woh khush hai toh tum khush. Bura lagta hai jab woh udaas hoti hai?"
"Bura? Arre mera mann karta hai ki us wajah ko hi khatam kar doon jiski wajah se Prachi udaas ho!" his reply was exactly what Dr. Ishaan wanted to hear.
"Uske aane se life mein aaye changes ko ek word mein describe karo."
Ranbir smiled fondly as he thought about his moments with Prachi, "INteresting. Uske aane se pehle life smooth chal rahi thhi par jabse woh aayi hai tabse cheezein interesting ho gayi hain."
"When will you be most happy - jab Prachi saath ho ya jab Prachi tumhaare saath na ho?"
"I am happy when she is with me. Woh saath hoti hai, jab aas paas hoti hai toh bohot achha lagta hai."
Dr. Ishaan smiled widely as Ranbir's answers had confirmed his doubts and now was the turn of the final step that will solidify his claim and it will be enough to make Ranbir realize as to from what disease he is suffering from.
"That was the last question, ab game khelte hain. Tumne Kuch Kuch Hota Hai dekhi hai?" questioned Dr. Ishaan.
"25 times!" Ranbir answered proudly.
"Toh phhir woh game bhi khelni aati hogi where I will give you one word and you have to say the word that comes in your mind as a reaction to the word I said."
"Haan I know. We can start with the game."
"Hhhmm...baarish."
"Badal"
"Music"
"Passion"
"Parents"
"Best Friends!"
"Dil"
"Dhadkan"
"Dosti"
"Aryan"
"Pyaar"
"Prachi...."
And that was the moment, that moment when Prachi's name left Ranbir's lips in reaction to the word 'Pyaar' that Dr. Ishaan clapped his hands once and Ranbir finally realized the meaning of all this. The realization left him speechless and shocked to the core.
Dr. Ishaan smiled at Ranbir who was shocked and still, "The increased pace of your heartbeats is the reaction of your heart to Prachi's presence that makes you nervous, excited and utterly happy. Your emotional imbalance is actually jealousy that you feel whenever Prachi is with another guy and you get extremely angry whenever Prachi ignores you. And the reason behind your skin burning and turning red in color is not some kind of rash but in reality, what you do is blush and the reason for that is Prachi as well."
"It's not a disease Ranbir, these aren't symptoms of any disease. You are actually in love with Prachi. Tumhe Prachi se pyaar hai."
Ranbir couldn't get out of the shock that the realization had brought along. He was in love with Prachi but didn't he love Rhea for whom she was trying to get close to Prachi so that he could break her heart?
"Ah!" Ranbir winced suddenly, his hand involuntarily raised to rub soothing circles on his chest where his heart lied.
"Are you okay Ranbir?" this had Dr. Ishaan worried.
Ranbir looked up at him and said, "Usse dard hoga yeh sochkar mujhe dard hua." he said, his tone like that of an innocent clueless child. Dr. Ishaan didn't say anything but just smiled in response.
Ranbir thanked Dr. Ishaan before leaving his cabin. After walking aimlessly for a while he came to sit on a bench in the hospital garden still lost in Prachi's thoughts and the fact that he was actually in love with Prachi. He was in love with the girl whose heart he had decided to break to make his crush, his girlfriend. If Rhea got to know about this? And if she told Prachi that he started getting close to her only for that bet? How will he live if Prachi broke all ties with him and what if she left?!
Ranbir ran his hands through his hair as he realized the mess that he is now stuck in just because he agreed to Rhea's stupid bet. He sighed and started taking deep breaths to calm himself down as he really needed to get out of this mess and just be with Prachi.
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