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Hey!! I'm really inactive on I-F now and I've practically given up on writing. However, somebody over here inspired me to give writing on KiSha a shot again😆 so this is dedicated to my friend Rhapsody 😊
BTW, just so you know this is inspired by KiSha in pre-college days, like right in the beginning. Consider it an Alternate Universe fic really 😆
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KD always believed that first impressions were in no way the deal-breaker in relationships. You could be absolutely charmed by someone, only to discover that person was a scheming, mendacious little git, and you could also be repulsed by someone only to discover their better qualities later.
The need for this philosophy in life was particularly felt by him as he stood sipping a glass of the finest whisky at the 25th anniversary bash of one of Mumbai's most famous socialites and her industrialist husband. The women were mostly half-drunk and sprawled over the couches (Imported from Italy, as the hostess never failed to mention every two seconds), and to be fair, the men weren't in a good shape either. The level of discussion had somehow gone from the situation in the Middle East to the situation in strategic areas of their mistresses.
It's okay,' he told himself. At least you got free alcohol.'
Hey.' KD was startled as Ranveer Shergill, his best friend and worst professional rival, slunk upto him, his hands conspicuously free of vodka or the assets of a foreign beauty. So, how soon can I get out of here?'
Why?' KD smirked. I thought you would were desperate to come here. Let's dump our wives and kids and go attend a party! This is the one chance to break free of the shackles of domesticity! We'll flirt, drink, dance, eat as much non-veg as we want, crack some non-veg humour too...
Yeah well, it's not going as well as I planned,' Ranveer confessed. I...I just keep thinking about the kids all the time. I mean, what if some thief sneaks into the house? You can't even trust the pizza delivery men nowadays yaar. I'm sorry, but I have to get the hell out of here before my mental health goes to the dogs.' He cringed as he remembered a particularly excruciating conversation about the relation between pedigree and the color of dog poop' he'd had.
Hey,' KD hissed, you can't leave me over here. I promised my wife I wouldn't be back before 12:00 am! If I come back early I'm going to get smothered with questions about whether something went wrong, and then I'll have to do the kids' homework-'
So do it na,' Ranveer said, looking confused. What's the problem? Like how is it worse than staying here and making aimless small talk?'
I...we had a fight,' KD said, twisting his marriage ring. Ranveer raised his eyebrows. Buddy...whatever I won't push you.' He frowned as he noticed someone else enter the party. Damn, look who's here.'
KD swiveled his head and his jaws nearly dropped as Kiya Gujral entered the party, wearing a little black dress that accentuated her hourglass figure perfectly, and a pair of deadly seven-inch stilettos that looked more like a murder weapon than a fashion statement. Her hair was swept up into a bun, and she looked mature beyond her years.
I'm seriously gonna leave now,' Ranveer muttered, try not to start World War 3 heh?'
KD was still surprised as she walked in and introduced herself to the hostess. Of his own volition, his mind was dragged into the past, into an era where he wasn't KD, the business tycoon, but this little toothless nerd called Keshav Desai who had just been accepted into one of the most prestigious schools in the city on scholarship as part of their social responsibility' program, which felt like social hara-kiri' more like. Who were they kidding, giving him his right to education? Might as well as handed all his rich classmates the Right to smite underprivileged peers.'
Keshav Desai.'
Present Miss,' little KD said, giving his most adorable smile. The first grade teacher, Leela Miss was pretty, intelligent and the only person who had not threatened to pull out his underwear and stick him in the boy's toilet.
Kiya Gujral.'
Present Miss.' KD turned around and saw a toothless girl who had a bob cut and a pink hairband in her hair in strict defiance to the Plaited hair with black hairbands only' rule. She had become the trendsetter in the class right on arrival. KD sniffed, already showing a glimpse of his adolescent derision, and turned to face the teacher again. She looked like a bigger brat than everybody else.
The first period was Art and KD realized that as talented as he was in mathematics and speed-reading, expressing his feelings on paper' as the teacher put it wasn't his cup of tea. Apart from drawing three stick figures standing in the sunlight-his father, his brother and himself-there wasn't much he could do.
Hey KD, where's your mom?' KD looked up to see the towering figure of the class bully, a pimpled but obnoxious kid who belonged to a film family.
Go away,' KD muttered, but soon a medley of boys was standing and chanting KD doesn't have a mommy.' KD looked for his teacher's help but she was nowhere to be seen. So much for thinking she was the perfect teacher.
Stop it.' Like an angel who arrives to save the hero in a fairytale, Kiya Gujral was shooting dagger-like glares to the boys as she chewed her favourite pink strawberry bubblegum-again in strict defiance to school regulations. My momma says people who stay in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at others.' The boys stepped back, amazed and terrified at once. They had no idea what she meant. Was she cursing them?
Kiya had no idea what the saying meant either, but somehow it seemed apt for the situation. Besides, she knew what divorce was at least, and most of the kids here had seen it. She looked at KD and wondered whether he was like her, the product of a eight-month marriage. She decided against it. The pain in his eyes was different.
The boys decided to walk away, realizing that the mystic force called Kiya Gujral was too much to handle. Besides, she was pretty. Prettier girls had more cooties in them.
KD went back to making random scribbles on his paper. Hey, aren't you going to say thank you?' Kiya was glaring at him, hands on her hips.
I...uh..' There was something tremendously attractive about the way those black eyes were boring into him, as if trying to figure out the mystery of his soul. The sunlight shining down on her hair only contributed to her fairy-like aura. Kiya Gujral was the kind of girl you read about in storybooks-a princess. He had known right from first sight that he would always feel like a pauper in front of her, no matter how accomplished he became. He would never be good enough for her, and yet he would always desire her. She made him...speechless.
Thankfully Leela Miss returned just then and Kiya obediently trotted off to her place. However, he could still feel her shooting laser beams out of her eyes at the back of his head. He knew then that for the rest of his school life, they would always be at each other's throats.
KD pretended to be staring out at the Mumbai skyline through the balcony as Kiya made his way up to him. He was hoping his indifferent attitude would turn her off, but it only brought a bemused smile to her face. She gently tugged on his arm and whispered, Wassup Desai?', like it was school days all over again.
He turned around, and was realized that up close, she was even more breathtakingly beautiful. He had always known that. Whether her hair looked like a bird's nest or she mistakenly spilled protein shake on her shirt or she had another fight with her mom and forgot to put on any makeup-she always looked gorgeous. Maybe it had something to do with the diva-like attitude in her posture, the honesty in those coal black eyes. She didn't care what the world thought about her, and that would always be her most attractive attribute.
C'mon KD, don't ignore me,' she said playfully. You almost treat me like a pariah you know.' KD closed his eyes. He knew this game very well. She was always polite and well-behaved, even with her worst enemies, but secretly, she was mocking them. Making them realize that the reason why they wanted to avoid her was not because they wanted to compete with her, but precisely because they knew they could never compete with her.
You treated me like a pariah in school too you know,' she continued. I mean, no matter what I did, good or bad, you just didn't care. By the way, that's the best way to attract a girl's attention you know?' She laughed; a short and bitter laughter. Is that what you were doing? Trying to attract my attention?'
He wondered what kind of a game she was playing. That was always the way it was, they would bump into each other and they would start talking, little conversation at first, but one that always turned into a full-blown, passionate battle of the wits afterwards.
You started it first,' he said carefully. I mean, calling me a Junglee' and refusing to be paired up with me for assignments, and bitching about me to your friends...'
Yeah well, I don't forgive bad manners easily you know,' she said airily. I mean, you are yet to say Thank You to me.' He raised his eyebrows. She remembered? However, we had good moments too you know,' she said quickly, before either of them could retrieve the memory of that incident. Indeed they had. The camp in tenth grade, when he had saved her from a snake. The concert in eleventh grade, when he had salvaged the show by substituting for the guitarist who had fallen sick at the last moment, the twelfth grade graduation ceremony where they had gotten drunk and taken a spin in her Mom's Ferrari and ended up tearing each other's clothes-and souls-on the backseat...
Yet, you never said those words to me. The ones I always wanted to hear,' she breathed.
He closed his eyes and struggled with himself for a moment. The bigger a man's bank account was, the more inflated his ego got. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been polite to anybody-but he owed her, more than she could ever imagine.
Thank you,' he said seriously, and she burst out laughing. You idiot,' she said almost fondly, though her eyes were filled with resentment. Suddenly, he felt a strange kind of dj vu. He had been in this situation before. He had always thought she was referring to his long-pending apology, so he'd ignored it. However, it was impossible to neglect the weird sensation invading his limbs and his consciousness right now-this toxic cocktail of regret and guilt, like he'd done something terribly, terribly wrong.
I love you,' she said huskily, her fingers tapping the rim of his half-empty glass. How difficult it is to say that?'
He gulped. He wondered whether it was because he was drunk, or because she was giving him the same piercing gaze she had given in kindergarten, but he found it difficult to stand. He felt a kind of cold haziness envelop him. It had been fifteen years, and he had been hoping Kiya Gujral would never ask this question, but she had.
There were a number of reasons running through his mind. The fact that her mother wanted her to be a rockstar, and his father would never accept someone like that his daughter-in-law. They came from different socio-economic backgrounds. He would look like a buffoon in her world, and continue to be that way, no matter how prosperous he got. He wasn't good enough for her. She was the queen of everybody's hearts, pure and innocent for all her snarkiness and attitude. He was self-righteous, manipulative and greedy. He would corrupt her. He was too busy chasing his own dreams to care about hers.
It all came down to one thing really-his cowardice. Once again, KD was speechless.
I heard you got married,' she said dully, snapping back into socialite mode again. The mysterious look in her eyes had been replaced by a vapid stare. Congrats.'
Yeah,' he said, shaking. He felt like somebody who had just been exorcised. He didn't even bother to remind her that it had been six years since he had married, and though he had sent her an invitation, she hadn't confirmed her RSVP. He really wished he had taken Ranveer's advice and gone home.
Bye,' she said, leaning over to give him a kiss that sent chills down his spine. Before he knew it, she was off introducing herself to somebody else. He put his glass down on the counter and stared at her retreating figure for a moment. He felt like stopping her, explaining himself, but what justification could he give apart from, it was just a classic case of wham, bam, thank you ma'am, so stop being so sensitive about it?
So he just did what he always did. He told himself that he had never deserved her anyway, and it had been for her own happiness. Then he looked at his phone wallpaper, a shot of him with his wife, two kids and pet Labrador in front of their South Mumbai bungalow, and assured himself he had made the right decision.
That somewhere, something inside him hadn't gone speechless forever.
---
I hope you liked this! Please press like button and comment if you did 😊
BTW, just so you know this is inspired by KiSha in pre-college days, like right in the beginning. Consider it an Alternate Universe fic really 😆
-----
KD always believed that first impressions were in no way the deal-breaker in relationships. You could be absolutely charmed by someone, only to discover that person was a scheming, mendacious little git, and you could also be repulsed by someone only to discover their better qualities later.
The need for this philosophy in life was particularly felt by him as he stood sipping a glass of the finest whisky at the 25th anniversary bash of one of Mumbai's most famous socialites and her industrialist husband. The women were mostly half-drunk and sprawled over the couches (Imported from Italy, as the hostess never failed to mention every two seconds), and to be fair, the men weren't in a good shape either. The level of discussion had somehow gone from the situation in the Middle East to the situation in strategic areas of their mistresses.
It's okay,' he told himself. At least you got free alcohol.'
Hey.' KD was startled as Ranveer Shergill, his best friend and worst professional rival, slunk upto him, his hands conspicuously free of vodka or the assets of a foreign beauty. So, how soon can I get out of here?'
Why?' KD smirked. I thought you would were desperate to come here. Let's dump our wives and kids and go attend a party! This is the one chance to break free of the shackles of domesticity! We'll flirt, drink, dance, eat as much non-veg as we want, crack some non-veg humour too...
Yeah well, it's not going as well as I planned,' Ranveer confessed. I...I just keep thinking about the kids all the time. I mean, what if some thief sneaks into the house? You can't even trust the pizza delivery men nowadays yaar. I'm sorry, but I have to get the hell out of here before my mental health goes to the dogs.' He cringed as he remembered a particularly excruciating conversation about the relation between pedigree and the color of dog poop' he'd had.
Hey,' KD hissed, you can't leave me over here. I promised my wife I wouldn't be back before 12:00 am! If I come back early I'm going to get smothered with questions about whether something went wrong, and then I'll have to do the kids' homework-'
So do it na,' Ranveer said, looking confused. What's the problem? Like how is it worse than staying here and making aimless small talk?'
I...we had a fight,' KD said, twisting his marriage ring. Ranveer raised his eyebrows. Buddy...whatever I won't push you.' He frowned as he noticed someone else enter the party. Damn, look who's here.'
KD swiveled his head and his jaws nearly dropped as Kiya Gujral entered the party, wearing a little black dress that accentuated her hourglass figure perfectly, and a pair of deadly seven-inch stilettos that looked more like a murder weapon than a fashion statement. Her hair was swept up into a bun, and she looked mature beyond her years.
I'm seriously gonna leave now,' Ranveer muttered, try not to start World War 3 heh?'
KD was still surprised as she walked in and introduced herself to the hostess. Of his own volition, his mind was dragged into the past, into an era where he wasn't KD, the business tycoon, but this little toothless nerd called Keshav Desai who had just been accepted into one of the most prestigious schools in the city on scholarship as part of their social responsibility' program, which felt like social hara-kiri' more like. Who were they kidding, giving him his right to education? Might as well as handed all his rich classmates the Right to smite underprivileged peers.'
Keshav Desai.'
Present Miss,' little KD said, giving his most adorable smile. The first grade teacher, Leela Miss was pretty, intelligent and the only person who had not threatened to pull out his underwear and stick him in the boy's toilet.
Kiya Gujral.'
Present Miss.' KD turned around and saw a toothless girl who had a bob cut and a pink hairband in her hair in strict defiance to the Plaited hair with black hairbands only' rule. She had become the trendsetter in the class right on arrival. KD sniffed, already showing a glimpse of his adolescent derision, and turned to face the teacher again. She looked like a bigger brat than everybody else.
The first period was Art and KD realized that as talented as he was in mathematics and speed-reading, expressing his feelings on paper' as the teacher put it wasn't his cup of tea. Apart from drawing three stick figures standing in the sunlight-his father, his brother and himself-there wasn't much he could do.
Hey KD, where's your mom?' KD looked up to see the towering figure of the class bully, a pimpled but obnoxious kid who belonged to a film family.
Go away,' KD muttered, but soon a medley of boys was standing and chanting KD doesn't have a mommy.' KD looked for his teacher's help but she was nowhere to be seen. So much for thinking she was the perfect teacher.
Stop it.' Like an angel who arrives to save the hero in a fairytale, Kiya Gujral was shooting dagger-like glares to the boys as she chewed her favourite pink strawberry bubblegum-again in strict defiance to school regulations. My momma says people who stay in glass houses shouldn't throw stones at others.' The boys stepped back, amazed and terrified at once. They had no idea what she meant. Was she cursing them?
Kiya had no idea what the saying meant either, but somehow it seemed apt for the situation. Besides, she knew what divorce was at least, and most of the kids here had seen it. She looked at KD and wondered whether he was like her, the product of a eight-month marriage. She decided against it. The pain in his eyes was different.
The boys decided to walk away, realizing that the mystic force called Kiya Gujral was too much to handle. Besides, she was pretty. Prettier girls had more cooties in them.
KD went back to making random scribbles on his paper. Hey, aren't you going to say thank you?' Kiya was glaring at him, hands on her hips.
I...uh..' There was something tremendously attractive about the way those black eyes were boring into him, as if trying to figure out the mystery of his soul. The sunlight shining down on her hair only contributed to her fairy-like aura. Kiya Gujral was the kind of girl you read about in storybooks-a princess. He had known right from first sight that he would always feel like a pauper in front of her, no matter how accomplished he became. He would never be good enough for her, and yet he would always desire her. She made him...speechless.
Thankfully Leela Miss returned just then and Kiya obediently trotted off to her place. However, he could still feel her shooting laser beams out of her eyes at the back of his head. He knew then that for the rest of his school life, they would always be at each other's throats.
KD pretended to be staring out at the Mumbai skyline through the balcony as Kiya made his way up to him. He was hoping his indifferent attitude would turn her off, but it only brought a bemused smile to her face. She gently tugged on his arm and whispered, Wassup Desai?', like it was school days all over again.
He turned around, and was realized that up close, she was even more breathtakingly beautiful. He had always known that. Whether her hair looked like a bird's nest or she mistakenly spilled protein shake on her shirt or she had another fight with her mom and forgot to put on any makeup-she always looked gorgeous. Maybe it had something to do with the diva-like attitude in her posture, the honesty in those coal black eyes. She didn't care what the world thought about her, and that would always be her most attractive attribute.
C'mon KD, don't ignore me,' she said playfully. You almost treat me like a pariah you know.' KD closed his eyes. He knew this game very well. She was always polite and well-behaved, even with her worst enemies, but secretly, she was mocking them. Making them realize that the reason why they wanted to avoid her was not because they wanted to compete with her, but precisely because they knew they could never compete with her.
You treated me like a pariah in school too you know,' she continued. I mean, no matter what I did, good or bad, you just didn't care. By the way, that's the best way to attract a girl's attention you know?' She laughed; a short and bitter laughter. Is that what you were doing? Trying to attract my attention?'
He wondered what kind of a game she was playing. That was always the way it was, they would bump into each other and they would start talking, little conversation at first, but one that always turned into a full-blown, passionate battle of the wits afterwards.
You started it first,' he said carefully. I mean, calling me a Junglee' and refusing to be paired up with me for assignments, and bitching about me to your friends...'
Yeah well, I don't forgive bad manners easily you know,' she said airily. I mean, you are yet to say Thank You to me.' He raised his eyebrows. She remembered? However, we had good moments too you know,' she said quickly, before either of them could retrieve the memory of that incident. Indeed they had. The camp in tenth grade, when he had saved her from a snake. The concert in eleventh grade, when he had salvaged the show by substituting for the guitarist who had fallen sick at the last moment, the twelfth grade graduation ceremony where they had gotten drunk and taken a spin in her Mom's Ferrari and ended up tearing each other's clothes-and souls-on the backseat...
Yet, you never said those words to me. The ones I always wanted to hear,' she breathed.
He closed his eyes and struggled with himself for a moment. The bigger a man's bank account was, the more inflated his ego got. He couldn't remember the last time he'd been polite to anybody-but he owed her, more than she could ever imagine.
Thank you,' he said seriously, and she burst out laughing. You idiot,' she said almost fondly, though her eyes were filled with resentment. Suddenly, he felt a strange kind of dj vu. He had been in this situation before. He had always thought she was referring to his long-pending apology, so he'd ignored it. However, it was impossible to neglect the weird sensation invading his limbs and his consciousness right now-this toxic cocktail of regret and guilt, like he'd done something terribly, terribly wrong.
I love you,' she said huskily, her fingers tapping the rim of his half-empty glass. How difficult it is to say that?'
He gulped. He wondered whether it was because he was drunk, or because she was giving him the same piercing gaze she had given in kindergarten, but he found it difficult to stand. He felt a kind of cold haziness envelop him. It had been fifteen years, and he had been hoping Kiya Gujral would never ask this question, but she had.
There were a number of reasons running through his mind. The fact that her mother wanted her to be a rockstar, and his father would never accept someone like that his daughter-in-law. They came from different socio-economic backgrounds. He would look like a buffoon in her world, and continue to be that way, no matter how prosperous he got. He wasn't good enough for her. She was the queen of everybody's hearts, pure and innocent for all her snarkiness and attitude. He was self-righteous, manipulative and greedy. He would corrupt her. He was too busy chasing his own dreams to care about hers.
It all came down to one thing really-his cowardice. Once again, KD was speechless.
I heard you got married,' she said dully, snapping back into socialite mode again. The mysterious look in her eyes had been replaced by a vapid stare. Congrats.'
Yeah,' he said, shaking. He felt like somebody who had just been exorcised. He didn't even bother to remind her that it had been six years since he had married, and though he had sent her an invitation, she hadn't confirmed her RSVP. He really wished he had taken Ranveer's advice and gone home.
Bye,' she said, leaning over to give him a kiss that sent chills down his spine. Before he knew it, she was off introducing herself to somebody else. He put his glass down on the counter and stared at her retreating figure for a moment. He felt like stopping her, explaining himself, but what justification could he give apart from, it was just a classic case of wham, bam, thank you ma'am, so stop being so sensitive about it?
So he just did what he always did. He told himself that he had never deserved her anyway, and it had been for her own happiness. Then he looked at his phone wallpaper, a shot of him with his wife, two kids and pet Labrador in front of their South Mumbai bungalow, and assured himself he had made the right decision.
That somewhere, something inside him hadn't gone speechless forever.
---
I hope you liked this! Please press like button and comment if you did 😊
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