MaNan Drabble (updated)

He stood there, watching the stars that decorated the sky. It always calmed him down, watching the stars did. Not today. Today he was restless, confused. The Manik Malhotra was unsure. He was consumed by the thoughts of a tiny little angelic girl who had wormed her way into his dark life. Lighting it up, like the stars lit up the sky.

He could not understand the attraction he felt towards her. The absolute need to merge himself with her. He was fixated on her. He noticed every small thing about her. He was fascinated with her earings and how they shone and dangled and touched her skin. They were always teasing him, egging him on to touch her. And her hair. Long and black and smelled like fresh flowers. He imagined fisting his hand in her hair as he kissed her deeply. The thought made him tremble. His hands shook with need to touch her. He was obsessed with touching her. All the time. His hands automatically reached out to touch her whenever she was near him, almost as if his mind wanted to confirm that she was real. To confirm that what looked like silky smooth soft skin, really was. To see if the warmth she radiated could be absorbed by merely touching her.

He froze everything in his wake. Such was his reputation. But his icy cold heart melted when she smiled. She stood up for her friends without fear. She withstood his monstrous behaviour. And she retorted. She baffled him. She made him want to believe in goodness and selflessness when all his life he had been taught that in this life, it was all about give and take. She shook all his beliefs. She had that much power. This small girl, half his height, had the power to bring him down to his knees and beg. And that scared him. It made him want to roar, to lash out. And he did. At her. He punished her for being so fearless, so brazen. He punished her for making him think about her all the time. He punished her for replacing the stars in life. He wanted her to break. To stop shining so bright. To leave. Then he would stop thinking about her.

He looked at the sky. Not a single star appealed to him. He wanted the one he did not want to want. Nandini Murthy.

Nandini POV (From another episode and not linked to or as a continuation of the above)

She stood there watching him talking animatedly to Dhruv. His buddy, his best friend, his brother. The only person that Nandini had seen Manik being kind to, almost like a parent, was Dhruv. She had accidentally chanced upon Manik comforting and calming Dhruv during one of his episodes. Much like how she calmed Rishab down. She had never thought the Monster Manik, who had stuffed Navya into the dirty dustbin, who forced Rishabh to jump into the pool and almost drown and who turned her into his personal spot girl, was capable of kindness. But he had proved her wrong. He had put aside all his commitments and helped Chachi take Rishabh to the sick bay, on the day that Fab5 needed him the most. He sacrificed his music to help her brother. She knew now that he hid behind that monster facade. Just shows how little you know people.

She also did not know that the Monster Manik would be so warm to touch. That she would feel so safe in the cocoon of his arms. That when he looked at her like she was the last sip of water in the Sahara, she wanted him to drink all of her. She felt the butterflies in her tummy fluttering at that thought. They had almost kissed a few nights ago. Almost. If she had not stopped him, they would have. And she would have known what it felt like to be kissed by that man, whose gaze was so passionate. She looked at him, at his mouth. They could have kissed. She could feel her toes involuntarily curl.

How could Navya think that Manik was gay? Manik was definitely not gay. She looked at his long lean build. He could easily carry her, and he had demonstrated that on several occasions too! Those arms held her protectively, so close to him that their heartbeats had aligned rhythmically. The way he caressed her arm, like an experienced guitar player knew best which string to pluck. The look in his eyes when he looked at her lips, as if he wanted to devour her completely, thoroughly. No. Manik Malhotra was not gay. Not in the least. He was very straight. Raw. Earthy. And he made her want. He made cool, calm, level headed Nandini Murthy want to throw caution to the wind. To lose all control. And that was reason enough for her to run scared of him, every time he came near. Which, was all the time. And as much as she wanted to deny it, she was glad that he did.

Thank you for reading. I'd really appreciate your comments and criticism. So please do not just read/like 😊 Let me know what you think too. Thank you.