He took out his iPad and started browsing some random stuff, gloating from within at the stunt he pulled on stage 10 minutes back.
He could very well spot her flustered face from where he sat and mentally patted himself for his oratory skills that awed the audience but more than that, it taught someone feisty, a very necessary lesson.
.
.
Avni was still in a dazzled state of mind. Did he actually point it all at her?
Someone's mind was oozing with daring and audacity.
Directly or indirectly, her boyfriend had made a public registration of being affected by something. By someone.
And as much as she was angry, for him being pissed off at her for a reason as frivolous as her dancing with her old friend Ali, she was happy in an inexplicable way that he was affected so much by her.
By what she did.
By everything that she did.
And this was in itself a big milestone, for it was no hidden fact that Neil Khanna had always been renowned for being carefree, callous yet intense in his own mysterious ways.
So today Avni Mehta despite her big fat ego didn't mind tripping it, because she knew how big of a deal it was for that someone to do something like that, that too in a public speech.
She saw him busy with his iPad and thought of ways to approach him, without inviting any unsolicited gazes towards them from the others around, when she suddenly saw DD run to Neil and whisper something in his ear.
Neil seemed a little surprised by whatever DD told him and then made an agitated face before his best friend ushered him out of the classroom, leaving Avni to think what happened now?
.
.
"You gotta be kidding me DD!"
He spoke in an irritated tone.
"No bro, no kidding. But Sahil had to leave in an emergency and you have to take his place, bhai. We have no other options and-"
DD reasoned only to be cut midway by a furious Neil who shot back at him,
"You are out of your mind DD! No way in hell am I gonna do this!"
"But dude please try to understand. There's no one else who can do this at the 11th hour and we all can only count on you."
"Yeah? Why don't you do it then?"
Neil retorted as his brother looked at him with a puppy dog face and said, "Bhai, don't you think I would have if I could have? Prof. Verma has called me for a discussion on the research paper sometime back. I should be there right now, but I just simply can't leave till this issue is fixed!"
Poor DD tried beyond his perimeters to convince the stringent Neil Khanna, but the latter was synonymous with stone carving.
.
.
"Bhai, our department's reputation is at stake."
.
And DD wasn't called an avid manipulator, just like that.
DD had to have some amount of those manipulative tactics genes, which Neil had in abundance.
But the only difference was DD only used it when it really called for it, while Neil used it like it was his first name!
.
And DD could already see his word mojo do wonders in mere seconds as he could see an evident change in Neil's expressions.
DD used the trump card aptly for he knew his brother-like best friend so well. To him his reputation came first and second came his department-- which of course included academic pride, achievement, and swag.
.
He noticed Neil thinking for a brief period of time as he eagerly awaited his response and in no time his fervent prayers were answered as Neil muttered a silent "Let's go!" simultaneously giving DD a you-owe-me-and-don't-you-dare-forget-that look.
.
.
.
Avni glanced at her wrist watch impatiently for the 5th time.
5.10 p.m.
It had been 20 minutes since Neil had disappeared from her sight with DD and she had no clue where he was.
She had a dance rehearsal scheduled at 6.00 p.m. with Ali at his place and there was no way she was going to leave the college premises without a proper talk with Neil so that he doesn't end up delivering some more hefty sarcastic speeches as a jealous boyfriend the next day.
And on a second thought, she also wanted to say sorry to him for ruining his mood and making him that hyper to vent out things in an extempore contest.
.
She dialled Neil's number for the second time now but once again it went unattended.
She considered sending him a WhatsApp message but then again the number one clause of their clandestine relationship flashed in her mind.
"Oh! And we shall never send text or WhatsApp messages. That's a total restricted zone! Anyone can read messages and we are busted! Come what may, we will only call each other on phone if need be!"
.
"God! What the hell should I do!"
Avni helplessly muttered as she felt nothing fruitful happening.
.
Ali had already left the hall as he had some other work before they got started with the dance rehearsal.
She looked around and couldn't find Sunehri either. Maybe she was in the loo or somewhere else.
The debate as well as extempore competition was over long back and now only the drama thingy was gonna happen, for which Avni had neither the time nor the interest.
As much as she wanted to wait for the results that were to be out by the EOD, she knew she had to leave before 5.30 p.m. if she wanted to make it to the rehearsals on time.
"Damn you, Neil!"
She cursed her now invisible boyfriend under her breath.
Fidgeting with her mobile phone, she thought to give herself two more minutes before leaving, knowing very well that she wouldn't be able to keep her worries at bay if she leaves just like that without meeting him once.
.
"So, everyone, now the drama segment. Since we don't have much time, we won't see the complete pieces, but just the enacting of one scene from each stream."
The president of the Drama Club announced, and Avni only yawned at that.
'Two minutes are over.'
Her conscience reminded her while she only felt irked and cursed herself for even giving the two-minute wait thing such prominence.
"Could have rather cooked maggi and eaten it by now!"
She muttered, finally making her mind to leave, though her heart wasn't really following the propaganda.
.
.
"So, the science stream is going to enact one scene from Shakespeare's Julius Caesar, while the students from psychology stream will be enacting a scene from Shakespeare's Romeo and Juliet."
Many whistles were heard at that announcement, majority of the students becoming abstractly lost in the wonderland of love hearing the words Romeo and Juliet, being in love with the feeling of being in love, while Avni only rolled her eyes.
"Remember everyone, now whatever you will see is what you need to believe. You need to take a deeep dive in the world of these epic, priceless, and immortal Shakespearean stories, because these characters will now be real.. Till the end of this hour, these are not our students playing these characters, but these are the characters themselves, becoming aliiive , once again..."
"So believe it.. to live it."
Chelsea, the drama club president spoke ultra-dramatically, enunciating several words harder and longer than necessary, making majority laugh realizing the absurdity of her dramatic innuendos, while the others seemed to enjoy such exaggerations.
"Drama president? Na-uh Drama Queen!"
Avni mumbled to herself before finally getting up from her seat, fixing her dress, tucking a lock of hair behind her ear when all the lights of the hall suddenly got dimmed and the ever-dramatic Chelsea made the next announcement--
And we start with the science department, enacting a scene from Julius Caesar.
And the participants are:
Nishant Rastogi
Atharv Wadhwa
Preeti Sinha
Rishi Parekh
And
Sahil Meh- Oh sorry! Neil Khanna!
.
.
"WHAT?!"
Avni shouted instantaneously, oblivious that her voice was heard by everyone who sat in the row before her. Some of them gave her a curious and confused glance but thanks to the dimmed lights, no one could actually pinpoint the shocked to the power of infinity expression that her face showcased at the current moment.
She landed back on her seat with a thud as her brain froze.
"Neil Khanna in a Julius Caesar drama?!"
"No bloody way!"
.
.
Neil had been shell-shocked when DD had whispered in his ear that Sahil Mehta, their classmate who was supposed to be a part of this play had to rush home due to some emergency. His shock had turned into anger when DD had requested Neil to take his place.
And if that wasn't enough, he was told that he needed to play the part of Mark Antony on stage!
Raw anger flooded in his veins at that but his soft-spoken brother-like DD with a puppy dog expression etched to his face, was hell bent on cajoling him with every excuse under the wide blue sky.
Worst thing was that they were to perform only one scene from the play like the judges suggested due to the time constraints, and here that scene was Mark Antony's final speech at Caesar's funeral. So technically, he was the one who had to speak and speak, while the other participants had to simply stand and express awes and guilt, like it had been in the Shakespeare's play.
DD had played his cards well leveraging the context of science department's reputation and although Neil had tried to switch places with DD since the latter too was a great orator, his attempts bore no fruits as DD had another genuine engagement in the name of a research paper.
.
.
"Damn it!"
Neil muttered under his breath as he stood in front of the mirror in the green room back stage, and tied the button of the regal, long maroon robe that supposedly served as one dimension of Mark Antony's personality.
He was damn irked, but he couldn't let it show. With one final look in the mirror, he walked out of the green room as he heard their names being announced by the Drama Club President.
Something in the back of his mind shot at the predicament his best friend had put him in,
"Et, tu Brute?"
Err, no..
"Et, tu DD?"
..
Avni chewed her nails as she waited for it. She really didn't know what she was feeling right now.
She had messaged Ali five minutes back saying she would be late for the rehearsal. There was no way in hell she was going to miss this. Her secret boyfriend playing a role in a Shakespeare play!
She gasped at that thought for the nth time.
"What happened Avni? You look lost.."
She turned to her left and saw Juhi, her classmate sitting beside her with a concerned look.
"Oh, no. Nothing. Just like that. Was wondering since when did this arrogant Khanna become a part of the drama club!"
She replied curtly.
Juhi only chuckled at that as she averred, "Well, he isn't. But I guess his classmate had an emergency, so he is playing it on his behalf. Such a nice friend he is and super talented too yaar, else who would be able to play a role like that in the last minute and risk his reputation in front of an audience."
'Oh, so that's what DD might have told Neil and hence, he couldn't receive any of my calls.'
Avni thought to herself and faintly smiled, nodding in approval for whatever Juhi said.
"Waise you shouldn't hate him so much you know Avni. He seems to be a nice guy at heart."
Juhi spoke, while Avni only uttered "As if I don't know it already!" in her mind and they both together looked at the stage where now the scene began.
.
.
The curtains were raised and they could see a coffin placed on one side. Avni assumed it was Caesar's coffin and hence, the scene depicted now was the funeral of Julius Caesar, who was killed by his own men as a part of the conspiracy, but nothing could beat the fact that he was backstabbed by his friend he had relied on so much: Brutus, who had betrayed him after being brainwashed by the others.
The set up showed the forum where Caesar's funeral was being held in the backdrop of Rome. On one side stood the girl who played the widow of the late Caesar-- Calpurnia, and on another side stood the members of the senate, including the assassinators of Caesar: Marcus Junius Brutus and Gaius Cassius Longinus.
Avni's eyes darted at all directions waiting for that one man, her man, and it seemed her wishes were granted earnestly as she saw him walk up to centre stage from the left wing of the huge stage, decked up in a royal looking maroon robe, his tall and athletic build adding a multidimensional charm to his already appealing personality.
His hair was gelled back, and for a moment Avni felt it was indeed a character from the Shakespearean era that she was visualizing right now.
This guy!
Was there anything he couldn't do?
Surprise package, he is!
Avni smiled to herself, while Neil began his speech. Correction: Mark Antony began his speech.
"Friends, Romans, countrymen, lend me your ears."
Well people had lent them already. His voice and personality had a natural aura that garnered people's attention instantaneously.
If looks could kill?
Yeah, but when it came to Neil, even his voice could kill!
.
.
"I come to bury Caesar, not to praise him."
His voice modulation was a blessing to him as people listened to him keenly.
Avni did too. Alongside another thing.
Wondering how it would be to just run into his arms at that very moment and kiss him like there's no tomorrow.
"Stop it Avni! Since when did you become such a pervert!"
"Oh! Sangati ka asar hai! (It's because of your company these days!)
She admonished herself for her wanton, in her mind, but she couldn't defy her pounding heart that dramatically beat twice its normal speed seeing him in that magnetic attire and there was some part of her that wanted to claim him as hers openly, regardless of what everyone else around thought.
.
.
"Come I to speak in Caesar's funeral.
He was my friend, faithful, and just to me
..But Brutus says he was ambitious;
And Brutus is an honourable man."
He spoke in the apt dramatic tone while people watched him keenly.
Nobody was allowed to whistle or hoot until the play was over but our darling Avni felt these strong urges from the pit of her stomach and her erratic heartbeats that said "Go girl! Clap for him! He is YOUR guy!"
But alas! She controlled herself.
The guys playing Cassius and Brutus too did their part as they looked spell bound towards Mark Antony as they felt the beliefs of the Romans on them shattering and felt the impending jolt of shock coming to hit them in some moments.
.
.
"I thrice presented him a kingly crown,
Which he did thrice refuse: Was this ambition?
.. Yet Brutus says he was ambitious;
And, sure, he is an honourable man."
.
Avni could feel her eyes moisten at that, her over-sensitive heart feeling all the empathy in the world as she felt the pain of Caesar's assassination and the loyal strings of Caesar and Antony's friendship.
She was feeling the pain out of a Shakespearean play?!
Good gracious god! What has this guy turned her into?
She thought to herself.
.
"O judgement! Thou art fled to brutish beasts,
And men have lost their reason. Bear with me,
.. My heart is in the coffin there with Caesar
(He pointed at Caesar's coffin)
.. And I must pause till it come back to me."
.
And with that, he concluded the speech.
.
There was a mysterious lull in the auditorium as Mark Antony ended his speech.
The next line of the scene came to fore as the Romans started shouting against the traitors, the assassins of Caesar, and the curtains finally began to drop, making the audience's applause, whistles and cheers echo to the moon and back in the magnanimously huge Grace Rodge Hall of Hillridge International.
Avni's heart skipped a beat as the curtain fully dropped and she suddenly felt herself teleported back to reality from wherever she was lost a moment ago.
.
She heard the Drama Club president appreciate the performance of the science stream and announced the next line of participants of the Romeo and Juliet play from the Psychology department, which would be the last performance for the day.
But Avni couldn't care less as she eagerly waited to see Neil come out of back stage so that she could at least see and talk to him once before leaving.
.
She bit her nails out of her impatience and tried to spot him but to her utter disappointment, he was nowhere to be seen. She saw all the participants from the Caesar play come out of back stage and take their places in the audience, except him.
Confused and hurt, she stood from her seat and walked towards the backstage herself.
Enough with the waiting!
.
.
She made her way through the backstage, her eyes searching for that self-obsessed weirdo who she loved like no tomorrow, who was busy playing hide and seek with her today without any reason.
She walked through the narrow passage looking behind her trail at regular intervals to make sure there was no one else around.
Her patience seemed to give up once and for all and she thought it wasn't a good idea to come here after all, and that's when she spotted him.
.
With his back facing her, he stood in one of the green rooms, wearing the same maroon robe that he had worn for the play, the sleeves of which were now rolled up in a three-quartered style as he struggled to open the collar buttons of that costume.
She sighed as she took in his athletic build, his chiselled frame that was prominent despite the opaque material of the outfit he was wearing. His muscular arms that validated he was very much into sports and then of course, his magnetic manly cologne that enveloped the whole room in its essence.
Avni fiddled with the straps of her sling bag that was hung across her shoulder and was lost in her own paradise momentarily, her la-la land of boyfriend admiration, when his husky voice unexpectedly broke her reverie,
"If you are done checking me out, you can come in!"
She gasped at those words and mentally slapped herself in the embarrassment of her secret session being caught by her overly-intellectual boyfriend.
"I-I-uh"
She stuttered, but couldn't frame anything further as he reached her in three long strides and grabbed her waist tightly, pulling her close to himself.
She looked in utter shock at their sudden proximity and couldn't fathom what he was trying to do!
"Wha-What are you doing?"
"Ssshhh.. Bahot bolti ho tum! (You speak so much!)"
He mumbled to her, giving her goose bumps as his breath fanned on her face. She appeared only so tiny in his embrace, in his manly build, but never had she felt so indefinably happy before, the way she was feeling right now.
"I speak so much? Says who? The one who delivered TWO back to back long speeches in less than 2 hours?!"
She remarked, trying to sound like her usual feisty self but she knew she was failing miserably at that attempt of hers.
Her legs felt like jelly and she seemed to be on the verge of falling due to the butterflies in her stomach and heat emanating from their proximity and it was only his strong hold that acted as an anchor and helped her stay rooted.
"Well, the TWO back-to-back long speeches in less than 2 hours (he mimicked her words).. seemed to have worked WONDERS, for I just found someone checking me out!"
He winked, making her mouth open wide in shock and he only smirked seeing her reaction.
"I, I wasn't checking you out."
She defended herself while he only said,
"Yeah right! And Brutus was an honourable man!"
She looked at him as he said that, the levity of the situation doing its best as both of them suddenly burst into laughter, knowing very well, their wordplays had no definite ends.
Neil still held her close as he tucked a lock of her hair behind her ear and she closed her eyes, feeling the touch of his finger against her skin.
She had missed this.
As of now, she suddenly hated the whole no-touch deal that she had herself incorporated in the constitution of this challenge and made him ratify it against his will.
And now, only a little over 24 hours, and she was missing all of it. All of him.
Hypocrisy Avni?
Bad psychology!
She reminded herself.
"So..."
Her thoughts broke when she saw him about to say something.
"Care to tell me about your dance with that Ali?"
Oops! Wasn't this the reason why she was so impatient to meet him before leaving in the first place? And here, she was all lost, with agendas forgotten, with everything forgotten, with just his one look and once touch.
The Khanna charm you see.
"Well.."
She prepared herself before she spoke, "That's precisely why I have stayed back for this long when I should have already left an hour ago for the rehearsals."
"I was searching for you the whole time after that extempore but then you weren't there and then the drama and then-"
"Avni.."
He shushed her with a finger on her lips and said, "Breaking news! I'm here now. In front of you. So, shoot!"
She made a face at that, and finally spoke, "Neil, you know right I started taking Salsa lessons last month, and this time at the West Gala, they have a complete different segment for a Salsa Battle, and call it a happenstance, Ali too is well trained in salsa, so we signed up for the duet. I'm really, really sorry if you got hurt because of this, but I really didn't think of it that way, I-"
She didn't find any words further to say to him regarding the whole dancing-with-NK agenda, and to her utter surprise, it turned out she didn't need to.
"Hmm"
Neil hummed softly, pulling her further close to himself before saying in a low tone, "I detest even the thought of someone else touching you. Tumhe sach mein haath lagana toh bahot door ki baat hai. (Someone else to even touch you for real is a far-off thing!)"
Avni's heart skipped a beat at his admittance.
He slowly pulled her out of the hug and looked intensely in her eyes, with a passion that spoke volumes, possessiveness that reflected infinity.
"But I know how much you love dancing and so, only and only because of that, I won't ask you to change your mind."
Avni's lips curved into a smile at those words, but before she could say anything, she heard him speak,
"But I have a small condition though."
She quirked her brows at that and eyed him questioningly.
"Tomorrow. After the dance segment is over, you are mine. You have to spend the entire evening with me outside, and then and only then, you are allowed to do those dance moves with that noodle-haired Ali!"
Avni listened to him and her smile reappeared. But Avni being Avni, tried to play a little and questioned him:
"Aur agar maine mana kar diya toh? (And what if I deny this condition?"
"Well then!"
Neil pulled her roughly towards him, making her collide against his chest with her eyes widened in shock.
"Avni Mehta, be prepared to never ever dance or do anything for that matter, because I'll lock you up with me in a far-off island and you would repent every moment saying, Kaash mainne Neil ki baat maan li hoti (I wish I had agreed to Neil's condition.)"
He dramatically enunciated the last sentence in Hindi like Avni normally would, making her burst into giggles, before she nodded her head in approval and finally said, "Done! I agree with your condition!"
Neil's lips curved into his signature smirk as he cupped her face bringing it closer to his, making Avni flustered. She was too close to him to even register what was going on, and before she could even react she felt his lips on hers.
.
She never knew the magnitude of her missing his touch till she felt his lips devouring hers like a man who had been deprived of life since eternity. His one hand now clutched her waist while the other caressed her cheek as he kissed every nook of her face, making her heart flutter and dance in joy.
She lost all her control as she held his face between her hands and kissed him back, just the way she had envisioned when he was on the stage during the play some time back. He merrily reciprocated the same as the atmosphere in the room seemed to have turned indefinitely hot and it was only a little later that they realized that oxygen was necessary.
He loved to see her cheeks all scarlet after their heated, passionate moments, and the present scenario was no different. Her chest heaved in the aftershocks of the moment, making some incredulously devilish thoughts pop in his mind, one of which was envisioning the sight of her wriggling beneath him, moaning his name when he would be on top of her, doing wondrous things to her body and how he would... What it would be like to actually feel her that way.. and-
His little innuendo and gushing hormonal stances were broken when he heard Avni speak in a confident yet ragged tone,
"By the way.." She paused for a breath as she continued,
"You touched me! The rules.. The challenge-"
"Na-uh Avni Mehta. I didn't."
He retorted as a matter of factly, making Avni look at him, confused.
"Well, if your memory is really good like you always say it is, then you must remember something."
He remarked.
Avni's confused state only magnified while she waited for him to go on.
"The Drama Club President had said that we are the characters till this whole hour of the play. And since the hour isn't over yet and your classmates are still up there being Romeo, Juliet, and Yada-Yada, it means I really didn't touch you."
"Mark Antony did."
Avni was taken aback at that theory while Neil watched her with an amused expression etched on his face. Boy! Wasn't she adorable when she looked that shocked?
The shocked stance however didn't linger for too long on Avni's face, as she burst into giggles, making Neil question her with his eyes, why was she laughing?
To which she blatantly replied amidst her giggles, "Nothing. I just made out with Mark Antony. Since when do I have a thing for such older men from the vintage era!"
And this time it was a laugh riot for both of them as they stood close to each other, enjoying each other's company after what seemed like ages before Neil pulled her into a tight hug, caressing her back.
He felt it to be that one moment that compensated all the fiasco and haphazard elements of the day and smiled warmly.
Avni too closed her eyes rejoicing every bit of that gratifying feeling, both of them, lying oblivious to the pair of furious eyes that watched them together, in horror, shock, as well as anger.
**
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Bade Achhe Lagte Hain
