Hello everyone!! I'm extremely sorry for giving false hope yesterday! Especially to
Mrina and
Appu, my bad. I was really, really tired so I totally zonked out. Anyway, in order to make amends, I've put up a longer part here haha. And I'm proud to say, no one guessed correctly this time :p
Something Anything: Part 3
Zoya sobbed into her hands, her heart had grown too heavy
for her to continue keeping the faade up. She stopped suddenly, when she felt
a warm hand rest on her shoulder. She quickly rubbed her face dry and removed
her hands from her face, her eyes flying open to see Asad staring right at her.
She raised her eyebrow, before rubbing her eyes. Okay, this was bringing
hallucination to a whole new level.
"Miss Farooqui, aap... um, aap... ro rahi ho?" Asad asked
awkwardly, as Zoya's already wide eyes widened further. Miss Farooqui? She
couldn't be hallucinating that. She swallowed nervously as Asad moved her
backpack a seat further, and sat down next to her.
"Aap? Yahan...? Um, kaise?" Zoya questioned in response, still
trying her best to get over the initial shock of seeing him there. He shrugged,
fiddling with his fingers casually as she stared at him continuously, as if
she'd seen an alien.
"Mera kuch kaam hai Delhi mein, isliye..." Asad responded at
long last, and that's when Zoya noticed the ticket lying on his lap. He'd
bought a ticket to Delhi, just to see her she assumed, and yet here he was,
refusing to acknowledge it.
"Accha, toh aapko kuch kaam hai Delhi mein, on the very same
day I happen to be flying to Delhi to catch a connecting flight to New York?
And you're also on the same flight as me I see. You were the one who booked my
tickets for me anyway. Did it not occur to you to tell me that you were going
to be on the flight as well? Oh yes, and where's your luggage?" Zoya voiced out
her concerns in a long rant, glaring at him as she snatched the ticket off his
lap and peered at it.
"It's not my fault Prasad just told me about. As for my
luggage, I'll be flying back by evening anyway, so I don't need any," Asad
answered carefully, attempting to keep his poker face on. The truth was that he
had called Prasad a few minutes after Zoya disappeared from his view, the pain
in his chest overpowering any chance of rational thought as he told Prasad to
book him tickets on Zoya's flight immediately. And now here he was, flying to
Delhi with Zoya... and still making excuses.
"Whatever, do you have something more to say? Maybe
something not as far-fetched as the rubbish you just told me?" Zoya mocked
openly, making Asad narrow his eyes at her. His pupils rolled upwards for a
second before he nodded, taking in a deep breath. Zoya straightened up in her
seat, secretly crossing her fingers behind her back.
"Why were you crying?" Asad ended up asking, more out of
concern than just to put her in a spot. But it did put her in a spot, and so
she clicked her tongue in irritation, uncrossing her fingers as she brought her
hands to the front and rested them on her knee.
"Aapko kya? I felt like crying, so I did. Leaving a place
where I'd met such wonderful people will obviously leave me sad," Zoya snapped,
shooting him a side-long glare. To her irritation, that statement seemed to
have perked Asad up even more.
"Who are these... wonderful people?" Asad inquired unabashedly.
He leaned forward in his seat a little, contemplating whether he should reach
out and hold her fidgety hands in his over her knee. He began to lift his hand,
but Zoya moved her hand away at that point, to count.
"Phuphi, Najma, Raabert, Humeira and..." Zoya began listing
the names on her four fingers, before sticking out her thumb to say the last
name, adding a dramatic pause on purpose. She contained her smirk as she
watched Asad edge forward on his seat even further, practically falling off as
he waited for her to complete her sentence.
"All the shopkeepers near the Badi Masjid who didn't try to
kill me despite my incessant questioning," Zoya finally said, and Asad sunk
back into his seat, crossing his arms across his chest as he heaved angrily.
"Accha, anything else left to ask? Or say?" Zoya asked
brightly, earning a scowl from Asad. He shot her yet another glare before
shaking his head once. She pursed her lips, not sure if she was doing that out
of anger or amusement anymore.
"Great, then take your ticket, and give me my backpack. The
gate has opened," Zoya ordered, as she dumped his ticket back in his lap. He
made no attempt to move, or even look at her, so Zoya reached over Asad's lap,
balancing herself with one arm by resting her palm on his thigh as she reached
for her backpack with her other hand. She slung it over her shoulder and got
up, removing her lingering hand slowly, before abruptly turning to the gate and
walking in, not looking back yet again.
Asad sat on his aisle seat impatiently, shifting
unnecessarily as he tried to crane his neck and catch a glimpse of Zoya, who
sat five rows ahead of him. The flight was pretty full, but surprisingly the
window seat next to him just happened to be empty. Finally admitting defeat to
himself, Asad unbuckled his belt and walked up to her row, holding his breath.
"Excuse me sir, would you mind changing seats with me? My
seat is over there," Asad politely asked the bald man sitting next to Zoya on
the aisle side, effectively blocking Zoya who sat next to the window. Zoya's
head snapped up to look at him upon hearing his voice, and the man, who was
sleeping, looked up at him curiously as well.
"Pagal hogaye ho kya? It's such a short flight and yet you
want to change seats. I can't be bothered. Bewajah utha diya," the man huffed
haughtily, before closing his eyes again and settling his head down into the
headrest. Asad balled his hands into fists, controlling his temper. If it's
such a short flight then why in the world was he sleeping in the first place?
"Miss Farooqui, the seat next to me is empty," Asad informed
Zoya, who just blinked at him blankly in response. Asad pointed at his row
after a short moment, when she tilted her chin upwards as if asking him what he
wanted.
"Haan, toh main kya karoon?" Zoya asked pointedly, shrugging
her shoulders casually. Asad gritted his teeth, lowering his arm as he stopped
pointing. He glared at her openly, and she simply raised her eyebrow in
amusement.
"Accha, you want to tell me something? Kahiye na, I'm
listening," Zoya teased, the dimple forming on her cheek as she grinned at him.
Asad scowled at her, a deep groan of irritation escaping from the back of his
throat.
"Oh hello, will both of you stop this nonsense, I'm trying
to sleep. Talk when the plane lands alright," the man snapped, shifting his
head on the headrest before closing his eyes again. Zoya batted her eyelids at
Asad sweetly, before turning back to the window, leaving him standing there
stupidly. Left with no option, Asad walked back to his row and sat down. He
rolled his eyes upwards and then closed them, slamming the back of his head
against his seat in frustration.
After a while, Asad found himself drifting off to sleep
slowly, having nothing better to do sitting there alone. In what felt like a
dream, wafts of the fruity smell of Zoya's shampoo began to cloud his head. He
jerked out of his sleep in shock, and next thing he knew, Zoya lay sprawled
across his body, her head making painful contact with his chest.
"Wha... what is going on?" Asad groaned, as Zoya lifted her
head cautiously and he quickly replaced that spot on his chest with his hand,
rubbing it to reduce the trauma. Zoya quickly stood up, ending up standing in
between Asad's legs.
"You tripped me!" Zoya accused, as she tried to climb over
Asad's thigh and get to the window seat next to him. Asad grabbed her arm and
stopped her from continuing, holding his hand up for emphasis. She finally
stilled and Asad placed his hands on her waist, lifting her up effortlessly and
dumping her on the seat next to him.
"What are you doing here Miss Farooqui? I thought you were
immensely happy in your own seat," Asad grumbled, as Zoya brushed down her
jeans and settled herself down on the seat properly. She tried to ignore his
question, but he grabbed her elbow and forced her to face him.
"That man next to me, he was snoring, and it was really
irritating. So I decided to come here. Hogaya interrogation? Do you have
anything more to say?" Zoya explained quickly, trying to keep the sheepishness
out of her tone. Asad rolled his eyes as the corners of his lips twitched up in
a slight smile. He nodded, much to Zoya's amazement.
"Was there something wrong with the employment letter I gave
you?" Asad inquired, and Zoya's mouth opened slightly, not expecting this. She
shook her head vigorously, and Asad raised his eyebrow. No problem with the
letter, then what was her problem?
"I was still thinking about it, and then you came home with
flight tickets for me," Zoya answered after a while. She watched Asad turn
towards her slowly, adjusting his eyes to meet hers, and she saw confusion
cloud them.
"Tanu told me you weren't getting tickets to New York that
would allow you to reach in time for your Aapi and Jeeju's anniversary, so I
went through my contacts to get them," Asad clarified, and Zoya's frown simply
deepened.
"I also told her that I... wasn't sure what do yet, did she
not tell you that part?" Zoya countered, the story sounding a little off. Asad
shook his head, his lower lip making a pout as he tried to make sense of what
was going on. Then he perked up, realization dawning upon him.
"Miss Farooqui, she must've misunderstood! Bechari. Why
didn't you say what you wanted clearly?" Asad decided, the relief reflecting it
his voice clearly. But it quickly disappeared when he found Zoya narrowing her
eyes at him.
"Accha, so even when she does make a mistake, she's just a
bechari who had a misunderstanding. And when it comes to me, half the time I'm
not even given a chance to explain myself," Zoya mumbled under her breath,
biting her lower lip to stop any actual curses from flying out.
"Kya...? What did you say?" Asad asked incredulously, despite
having caught the most of what Zoya had said. She shot him another glare, a
very different one from before. Asad continued staring at her, but she remained
silent, only shooting daggers with her eyes.
"Kuch nahi," Zoya answered curtly, turning to look out of
the window again, just to see that the plane was already approaching Delhi,
zipping downwards through the clouds. Anger clouded her mind, as she thought
about that wretched Tanu. Everything seemed to be going from bad to worse ever
since that girl entered the house.
"Miss Farooqui, it was a misunderstanding, hogaya ab..." Asad
tried to make amends, but Zoya remained unnervingly quiet, until the plane hit
the runway. Zoya got up immediately after the seatbelt sign switched off, and clambered
over Asad, who intentionally refused to make way.
"Miss Farooqui, please..." Asad tried again, following behind
her as she went back to where her original seat was, to grab her backpack. She
swung it over her shoulder hard on purpose, so that it hit Asad right in the
face.
"What? What is it Mr Khan? You still have something to say?
Then say it," Zoya hissed, turning around to face him just as he began rubbing
his nose. He moved his hand away from his face cautiously, nodding after
weighing his options.
"Yes, woh... Miss Farooqui, woh actually..." Asad started to
explain, stuttering when he realised that half the plane was watching them with
extreme intrigue, including the bald man next to Zoya's original seat.
"Rehne dijiye Mr Khan, and don't follow me anymore. Allah
hafiz, and have a nice life," Zoya cut in, after a pause that was much too
long. She marched out thereafter immediately, leaving Asad behind with everyone
staring at him. He tried really hard not to, but he could still feel his eyes
watering up. He really blew it this time.
"Hey man, I didn't know it was this serious..." the bald man
said apologetically, suddenly feeling bad for not being more accommodating
earlier. Asad just nodded with a wan smile on his face. He began to leave when
the man stopped him.
"Wait, I think your, uh, girlfriend...? Um, she left this
behind in her rush," the man said, picking up Zoya's iPad from the seat. Asad
took it, his eyes lighting up. Maybe this was a sign! Quickly thanking the man,
he clutched the iPad to his chest and ran out, through a series of cheers for
the supportive passengers behind.
XXX
GOTCHA HAHA. Zoya went to the Bhopal airport to take a DOMESTIC flight to Delhi haha. Ab Delhi mein kya hoga, jaanne ke liye dekhte rehiye Something Anything (:
But in order to do that...
Give me
143 likes and comments up to page 83, then I'll start writing the next part. I hope haha.
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