Hello Guys, this chapter is comparitively shorter - But I peomise a longer chapter with a lot of things happening soon!
Happy Reading! And do leave in a comment for me here!
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Chapter 5
11:23a.m. [Hi Sexy! How is it going? Missing me much? ;) ]
Abhi woke up in the morning and was taken by surprise to see Tanu's message. Where was she all of Saturday? And How come he never tried to find out? Oh, right he was busy worrying for Pragya. Abhi gave himself the mental shake - he was worrying unnecessarily for that chashmish, she was obviously not bothered about him worrying for her - he should focus and worry about Tanu - she was sweet, pretty, cute and also hot - she would make an amazing girlfriend smiled Abhi and replied to her text.
11:27a.m. [Hey babe, where were you all of yesterday? Missed you. Wanna do lunch?]
11:30a.m. [Sweety I would love to, but I am out of town - came with a few friends. See you tomorrow? And let's do dinner tomorrow instead?]
11:32a.m. [Your wish is my command, princess. Have a safe trip!]
Abhi met up Purab instead that day, Purab was sulking, that surprised Abhi. He had hitched with a beautiful girl and had spent most of the weekend with her, then why was he low? Upon enquiring he told him that Amaya had had an ugly fight with her boyfriend and hence had spent the last two days with him - she rebounded on him - and last night after patching up with her boyfriend, she had snapped ties with him.
Abhi tried very hard to not laugh at his state, but it was difficult. He sniggered and after cursing Abhi, Purab soon joined in. Abhi briefly filled Purab with whatever was going on and also mentioned the Pragya incident in the club.
"WHAT? Like really? You guys LEFT her? How irresponsible of you guys!" jerked out Purab in dismay. Then he wondered why Pragya never called him, and realized he had told her he was leaving with Amaya - maybe that's why she didn't call. He quickly called Pragya, and Abhi was soon very alert to eavesdrop - but all he heard was Purab say, "Hello Pragya? Yeah, okay. Sure." And he hung up. Abhi looked at him questioningly, Purab informed Pragya was out with friends for a movie. Abhi frowned - out with friends? Where did these friends suddenly turn up from? Didn't Aalu ask him to befriend her because she didn't have any friends? Suddenly the image of that dancing boy from last night flashed in his mind - dancing with Pragya - pretty idiot boy he thought.
***
Pragya had met Bulbul and Suresh for the movie, but later thought it was prudent to leave them alone for a bit - citing assignments as her excuse, she came back to Bulbul's hostel - she still wasn't ready to head home.
Bulbul and Suresh had gone to a caf, Bulbul sat quietly, a little far from Suresh. She smiled at him politely, but the twinkle in her eyes were missing - Suresh didn't notice that. He was feeling better today - more hopeful about their future today than yesterday. He smiled at her with satisfaction. He enquired if she wanted something to drink - a glitter almost came back to her eyes as she opened her mouth to ask for "Cold chocolate with whipped cream and choco chips and red velvet cake for a side" but her smile faltered, she remembered her sister's advice - to be matured around Suresh - did mature people have these? Probably not. She changed her mind in the last moment and asked for a simple cappuccino. Suresh smiled and asked for the same - her eyes shone to see they had similar taste - but did they really? She didn't like cappuccinos! Suresh however seemed more impressed. He began,
"After yesterday, I thought you would order silly things like those fancy chocolatey drinks you know! The ones you see silly school kids fawn over? I guess Pragya was right, you aren't as childish, you were only happy to see me suddenly last morning!" Bulbul's stiffened, and internally thanked her stars for not ordering those - it hurt her to finally see what Suresh felt about her true self, but at least he thought better now - she smiled. She only had to behave matured around him - that's it. Simple.
***
Pragya decided to call back Purab in the evening. An anxious Purab wanted to meet Pragya right then - though Pragya tried to calm him telling him she was okay, Purab wouldn't budge. He told her that no matter what, he wanted to talk to her and they needed to meet. A reluctant Pragya agreed.
In half an hours time, Purab met Pragya at a caf near the hostel. He apologized for the incident in the night club - he solely considered himself responsible for whatever had happened, he told her he should have ensured her safety - Pragya had a tough time convincing him that he was the one person she didn't blame. Seeing her hurt tone, Purab asked her softly, who had hurt her the most - Pragya always thought her answer was Aaliya, but upon Purab's enquiry, she didn't know how, but the name that escaped her lip was - Abhi.
Purab wasn't surprised. He didn't laugh either, like Pragya expected him to. He frowned on the contrary. "Pragya, you really like Abhi don't you?" asked Purab with a considerable pause. Pragya never thought she would own up this to anyone, but Purab felt like a safety net for her - he looked out for her like a true friend - she didn't feel like lying to him. "Yes, I do." She whispered softly, with eyes lowered, then she quickly said, "Purab I know you're his best friend, please don't tell on me?"
"Of course not Pragya, I would never do that. But I need to tell you something - I know this will hurt you, but it better that you are hurt and aware and strong beforehand than dealing with it later when it might get difficult" breathed Purab.
"What is it Purab?" she asked feebly.
"Pragya, I think you know this too, I want to just confirm. Abhi doesn't see you that way - true his judgement over you has changed over time - initially he included you in our group just because of Aaliya's request, but over time I think he has learnt that you're not a bad person - he has accepted you as a part of the group, maybe not his friend, but someone he knows and is okay with - but fact remains that he likes Tanu. And if I know him well, he will soon make a move at her - I want you to be ready beforehand and not get shattered whenever that may happen okay?" explained Purab gently.
Pragya whimpered softly and Purab gently hugged her, he knew Pragya was a very nice person. He knew that she genuinely loved Abhi, and Abhi was lucky that way - only he knew how superficial Abhi was when it came to women - he didn't know if he should be happy that Abhi didn't show interest in Pragya (because if he got her involved and left her it would shatter her) or sad because Pragya really liked him.
"Does Tanu like him as much as he likes her?" asked Pragya after sometime.
"Tanu is as impulsive as Abhi - I wish Abhi realized your value Pragya" whispered Purab.
"But Tanu is your sister Purab" replied Pragya surprised.
"Even so." Muttered Purab. Then he continued, "Pragya, I think, even if you can't get Abhi to love you, I think you should work towards earning your own respect before him - stop letting him run over you so" Pragya understood what Purab said - and after last night, he had every intention of not letting them run over her - but she wasn't going to fight to get his respect - from now on she will not let Abhi accept her as a part of their group just because of Aaliya - she will refuse the favour - she will leave the group she thought. If he couldn't respect her, if Ali could be so hurtful, she was better of without them - true she would still do his assignment - but that would be because she had promised him to do it for him all through this semester - not because of her feelings. And also she will equally prioritise her own assignments - Abhi couldn't take all from her. Then she looked up thoughtfully at Purab,
"Thank-You for being there Purab, it means a lot. From tomorrow, I wont be a part of that group - but you will remain my friend." Purab smiled. Finally Pragya had taken a good decision. He hugged her and said, "Well done Pragya! And yes, we are friends for life now!"
***
Bulbul had returned back to the hostel after spending the whole day with Suresh - she was very happy. She chirpily told her di about much she loved his company, how she didn't realize the day had gone by - she told her Suresh was very impressed with her, as she just behaved a little less childishly. Pragya smiled seeing her sister so happy - she hoped things would work as smoothly between Bulbul and Suresh. They were chatting when she received a text from Suresh.
8:13p.m. [Hi Pragya, Bulbul's phone is dead I think. Did she reach home safe? How are you doing?]
8:17p.m. [Hi Suresh, yes she reached safe, we are chatting right now. So, all set for tomorrow?]
8:20p.m. [Yes, quite excited! We are in the same class right? You want me to pick you up?]
But before Pragya could reply, another text came in - from Abhi.
8:21p.m. [Hi chashmish, was wondering if my assignment is ready, then I would like to collect it a bit early before class from you. Could you take me through it before class in the canteen?]
Pragya was surprised, why did Abhi need to read up on assignments before submission? He never did that. Plus what assignments? There weren't any to work on over this weekend, did he forget? But she decided to reply to Suresh before Abhi, but she mistakenly sent Suresh's reply to Abhi.
8:24p.m. [Yes we are in the same class, but you needn't pick me up! I will see you in class! Goodnight : D]
Abhi stared at the text message he received incredulously, it didn't make sense - when did he offer to pick her up? And what was new about them being in the same class? Unless -and exactly that moment he received another text.
8:28p.m. [Sorry, wrong text sent. There is no assignment for tomorrow.]
Abhi read and re-read the text message, wrong message? So someone had offered to pick her to college? Who was he? Then he told himself that he was fretting unnecessarily, it could be a girl too! And damn those assignment - could they never come in use? The one time he tried using them as excises to buy sometime alone with chashmish and talk about the clubbing night, that very time they didn't have assignments? He frowned at the text - unless he was over reading, the text felt very oddly cold and the "new" friend who offered to pick her up, seemed like a guy. He would find out tomorrow, at least he would get to see her, and oh, Tanu was returning too.
***
Suresh was sipping a cup of coffee and thinking - true, whenever he thought about his impending wedding with Bulbul in the last few years, it made him jittery - after all they were children when had taken the soul-mate thing seriously - who knew their parents would take the words of two silly teenagers so seriously. He had hoped Bulbul would also grow out of it when in college, but he had heard from his sister Rachna that she hadn't ever gotten over him - she was still head over heels about him. Suresh had freaked out, and had thought of telling his mother to talk to the Arora's and cancel all this - citing that Suresh has grown out of it, now that he was old enough to understand how silly it was, in the first place - But Rachna had shared a few photos of Bulbul, and he couldn't ignore how pretty she was - hence he had decided to come down to the same college and give it a shot before telling his parents to cancel all plans.
Upon arrival, he had freaked out seeing how obsessed she was with him - her childishness and loud personality irked him, embarrassed him. He was decided that he couldn't deal with this woman, but he also realized how his refusal could break her heart - he didn't want that either, after all she was his childhood friend - but Pragya had seen through his confusion - she had told him Bulbul wasn't as immature and he shouldn't be judgemental at the first go, he should give her time - he had agreed and met her today - to his surprise, Pragya was right, Bulbul was quiet, polite, and well behaved today. He enjoyed her company - she spoke less and listened more, she was shy and cautious - she was very different from yesterday and it was a blessing for him - though he hadn't taken a decision regarding there wedlock yet - at least she wouldn't be a pain to be around for the entire semester he thought. As for classes, he thanked his stars that he was her senior, and would be in Pragya's class - Pragya was nice, she was understanding and a good friend to have in a new class thought Suresh and smiled. That's when Pragya replied to his last text message.
8:41p.m. [Yes we are in the same class, but you needn't pick me up! I will see you in class! Goodnight : D]
Geet - Hui Sabse Parayee
Bade Achche Lagte Hain Naya Season
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