Wishing you all Merry Christmas and Happy and Prosperous New Year. Have a blast and part hard, people :)
Chapter Eight.
XXX
Manik's P.O.V.
When Eric had come up with the excuse of 'urgent work', for a moment there, I did really doubt him. What was I to make out of the whole situation that was unwrapped few moments ago? When he did all but pretend to be surprised about my presence, he knew it though.
However, his reasons are not known to me, I wasn't in a mood to listen either. All that was keeping me from hitting him right then for his act was the presence of the cute kitten who was already fuming with annoyance. It was their time of the week; she didn't like it to be shared. She hadn't let any other plans her friend, Shelly made intervene with hers' and Eric's time.
Hell, I wouldn't have agreed to wait for him to arrive while my dinner plans were ditched by a cousin of mine, if it was known to me. I thought she'd know and would have agreed but she was clueless. Here, Nandini might even assume that I knew about what-so-ever stupid plan or prank Eric was playing, or even that I was involved.
God knows, what she would throw when she learns about her brother's act? She is furious enough for the night, I wouldn't wish to witness the kitten red with furry. I had received almost gazillion of glares and cold shoulder throughout the dinner, I didn't want her to pounce on me with this topic and probably rip a limb or two, where I am nothing but innocent.
Though one glance at him and I was assured that whatever his important work was, wasn't some made up plan of his. He was serious and genuine; very much genuine.
Since the situation landed me with another opportunity to accompany the package of cuteness and drop her back home, I was rather looking forward for it. I might have even thanked Eric for this, if he wouldn't have manipulated things the way he did. Anyways, I get a chance to spend some quality time with this intriguing specimen.
She is unusual, and probably that's why, sparks interest in me. At times, she is too silent, while at other times, she is goes on with her banter that can leave anyone drawn to her and at the same time be irritated as she wouldn't stop, even if asked to.
The reaction when she realized that I was to have dinner date - well, it was only dinner, though we like to call it dinner date - with my cousin, she gasped almost in horror. Her wide terrified eyes stared back at me and I didn't really know whether to laugh at her antics or to pull her cheeks. However, her features later softened and she pretty much seemed more calm than before; thankfully.
We managed to finish the rest of the meal in silence. Just for the sake of it, I kept stealing glances at her. I mean, who knows when she'd yet again have another mood swing and snap me with words.
She seemed fine until I cleared the bill and offered her an out stretched hand.
"I am capable of helping myself out, Manik," she spoke calmly; rather too calm than her usual self.
I pinned my eyes at her, stern yet cautiously. Daring her to speak further, I stayed silent.
She sighed, "I still think, I should take a cab or something, back home." Fishing out the unacceptable reason, she strayed her eyes to the floor and then everywhere but me.
"Why? Are you scared that I'd bite you, kitten?" I couldn't help but chuckle. I grasped her hand in mine and pulled her, "Come on, kitten." I dragged her out, ignoring her protests. Eventually, her protests died and I felt her shoulders slump as she sighed.
Our steps faltered as we reached the exit gate, where an old man sat at a desk with a bowl of candies. He greeted the two of us and smiled cheekily at Nandini. "Have some candies, sweet lady," she giggled at his animated way of offering but obliged anyway, murmuring a thanks in response. Her hand fell apart from my grip and instantly my hands were shoved into the pocket.
After having offered her the candies, he set the bowl back at the desk. I wiggled my brows at him, "Wouldn't you offer me some of those, old man?"
He let out a throaty chuckle and eyed Nandini with amused eyes, "Some company you've got here," he pointed playfully at me.
She giggled, softly replying, "That's true." I frowned internally as the two behaved as some friends who have known each other for long.
"Why can't I get some candies, when she clearly can?" Eyeing them sternly, I added further, "I might be willing to take some for a few kids I know, or maybe offer some sweetness to this girl," I jabbed a finger at her, to which her eyes widened reasonably and shot an amused glare my way. Ignoring her, I continued further, "Just so that I can try my luck to impress her." I stated with a suggestive note.
He then picked a candy and held it in front of me, "This wouldn't help you for long." Handing the candy to me, he leaned forward whispering softly into my ears, so that only I could hear, "though she wouldn't need anything much fancy to be impressed."
He moved a step back, leaving me all confused and astounded. Rolling a shoulder, he casually added, "Just a suggestion."
His eyes turned softly at Nandini once again and smiled warmly at her, "I hope you enjoyed your time here."
Why do I think, there's an 'and' there? Anyway, I leave the thought, making a note not to over think.
"Oh! We did," she returned, smiling similar to that of the old man, yet politely. "Thanks once again," she tipped at her candies that were ready to be plopped into her hand purse. And with that she stepped towards the exit, after exchanging goodbyes with the old man.
"Have fun, kids," I looked at him over my shoulder to have him smile goofily at us. When his eyes caught mine, he winked at me.
Not happening, old man, I thought disapprovingly. Though Nandini was fun to be around and I like to tease her, even flirt with her; but that didn't change the fact that she was off limits. So if I was to enter into such a thing, I'd have to give a lot of thought to it; not to forget the number of people and their emotions I'd have to consider.
I might be playfully flirting with her at times but that's nothing but harmless; and we both know it. Apart from that the physical pull or the spark of interest that she ignites within me; is something I can fight; for my long lasting friendship with Eric; for the newly found friend in Nandini. I wouldn't wish to mess up with any of it. With a lot of things at stake, there's a fear of interjecting awkwardness between us, if things would be nothing but a fling; something casual and short lived. And that was a big possibility; a big time possibility.
Thus, a sane conclusion was to not chase something that leaves one with nothing in the end.
Shrugging the thought, I stepped beside Nandini. "So, had fun, huh?" I asked casually.
"Of course," she giggled before adding, "that is, until Eric left," her eyes shimmered with mischief and I knew she was anything but serious. Even her voice had a hint of amusement and playfulness to it.
"Way to blow my ego, kitten," I stated with mock seriousness. Narrowing my eyes at her, I queried, "You've got something from the old man, kitten, now haven't you?"
Her eyes instantly flew in the direction of the restaurant and her voice came out tender as she spoke, "He was good."
"Sure thing. But he is also contagious." Her eyes wiggled at me in confusion, "You've been giggling and smiling ever since he offered you candies," I shrugged, elaborating on something that I had observed.
A thought nagged my mind and I couldn't refrain from questioning, "Is that all what it takes?" She eyed me as if I was speaking an alien language to her, "I mean, just a few candies and you bless the person with the best of your smiles, giggles and laughter. Is that all it takes to have you smile?"
She rolled her lips out and raked her brain for a few fractions of a second before replying, "Yeah! Pretty much," marching a few steps away, she spoke while walking in the direction of the parking space, "if I chase for more and do not appreciate the things I get, I might not find any happiness. In fact I might just end up struggling to grab happiness and by the time I realize that there were so many reasons lying around me while I went for the chase, I wouldn't even be left with it." Her eyes were trained at a distance while she spoke with a commendable maturity for someone of her age; our age, if I point out so.
"And who in the world doesn't like candies?" She beamed, turning on her heels to face me with her wide astounded eyes. As if candies were the greatest jackpot one could hit, though for her it really seemed like a jackpot, guessing from the way she reacts. "Even you asked for some," she stomped and pointed out accusingly at me.
And the fury in the cute kitten is unwrapped, I thought. Without wanting to ignite her fury any further, "My fault," I raised my hands in surrender and took a step back.
She huffed approvingly as I stepped to march towards my car, grabbing her hand in mine and pulling her to the destined spot.
"I'd still prefer to take a cab or maybe walk back home," she beamed excitedly as if the idea of walking back home was some adventurous ride that she couldn't miss out on. I wonder why the idea of walking excites her; not that I didn't enjoy the experience and would like to experience it all over again, but damn the girl has a thing for walk.
Or maybe she is just scared of you and your car in the dark night; or you, a voice snarled in my head.
She was willing to walk all the way to her house which was like at least an hour away if we chose to walk. My eyebrows knitted, boring my eyes at her, "No," I barked back at her, but added with a chuckle, "Not until you want to flaunt a fractured ankle in front of Eric or you want me to flaunt more than just that," the last bits were after Eric's thought kicked in.
"You just have to drag Eric in almost everything to make me agree to you," she flared her nostrils and huffed in annoyance, "now don't you?"
Stomping her feet, she walked a few steps away but halted, turning her head back, "Now are you waiting for Eric to come and break your bones," she asked furiously. I shook my head and led her towards my car.
After a few moments of silence, she had cooled down and muttered sliding in the passenger seat, "I never really pegged you to be the one for cars," I furrowed my brows, thinking as to what this topic was about, as I took my seat.
"You seem more into the bad boy category," unable to control, I snapped my head at her, pinning her under the scrutiny of my blazing eyes, "I mean, you've got this streak of danger in you," she quickly added.
Too bad, I had already heard about being categorized as a bad boy. She surely didn't want to come across the deeds a bad boy could conduct.
"You surely don't want to be the one to see how bad and dangerous I can be," I hissed. Not that I was going to show her that side but she needs to watch that mouth of hers.
"I didn't mean it in that sense," she cried, defending her earlier statement.
"All I wanted to say was that you somewhat fit into the whole typical bad boy image; with blazers instead if leather jackets and car instead of bikes but you've got the dangerous streak," she blabbered in a rush, "So you seem like an advanced version of bad boys," and ending with that she playfully beamed at me, "A new, better and advanced version," flashing her toothy smile at me as my steely expressions might have slipped.
Shaking the thoughts and letting the playful expression slip back at its place, I teased while roaring the car into life and pulling it on the road, "So you've given a lot of thought to this," because she had to, for having such long readily elaborate speech for a better understanding.
She rather rolled her eyes at me in response. "You fancy the whole good girl and bad boy fictions," the idea of her going around the school and being attracted to the bad boys, somehow bothered me.
Not because of the attraction; or maybe the slightest of tad bit reason for it but majorly because she along with Eric is a friend of mine. I might have not known her for long but the time duration was long enough for me to realize that she isn't someone to be crushed and crumpled. She deserves better than bad boys.
"Not really," her nose twitched in disgust. "By the way, there's no one in this world who can just be good or bad," I'd hate to voice my agreement, though she is somehow correct, "Also, it's an individual's choice whether to be good or bad."
So very true, I thought inwardly. However, her deep thoughts do make me wonder from where she had picked such in depth yet a simple vision to life.
"Does that mean you've got a bad girl, hidden in there," I pointed out at her as I held her eyes with my twinkling ones and shifted my gaze back at the road.
"I never labelled myself as a good girl," I could imagine her lips rolled out in a pout as she shrugged.
"Yeah right," and with that I sped up to her house, while she gazed into the endless sky out of the window.
"Here we are," I announced as I halted the car near her house. She had kept her gaze set outside with a distant thought.
Tilting her head in my direction, she whispered a thank you' and held the door open. I slid out of the car as she did. Turning around to her side, I placed a hand at the small of her back, pushing her slightly towards the main door.
Her eyes shot at me, followed by an eye-roll, "You know, I can walk this short distance. It's not like something is going to jump out of the bushes and try to hurt me; not that I can't handle that but still," she spoke while padding towards the door, following my lead.
"Could you just comply without complaining?" I requested, irked. But the irritating feeling disappeared into the thin air as she stuck her tongue out at me.
Did she just do that?
She has behaved a lot more casual ever since she and I became friends. And such an immature yet innocent and animatedly put behaviour was now a usual sight, though it was the first time she had her tongue sticking out at me.
She stepped ahead unlocking the door and once she did, she turned on her heels meeting my eyes. "Thanks," she said and glanced at her wrist watch. Something flicked through her expressions and her brows furrowed, "Coffee?" She asked politely.
God knows what thought passed her head that she is offering me a coffee. The instant thought that ran into my head was, whether it was some sort of an invitation?
"You really want me to join you for coffee, kitten," she simply nodded while a puzzled expression washed over her features as though such an offer was an usual occurrence.
I leaned forward, dipping my head into her as I whispered into her ear, "You and me," I purposely voiced suggestively in a husky tone, "in Eric's absence," biting my lips to refrain from chuckling, I straightened to announce, "Sure, why not?"
Instead of lowered lashes and flushed cheeks, I was welcomed with smacking on my arms, deadly glares and her nostrils flaring at me. "You surely don't deserve a 'thank you coffee'. You have that perverted mind of yours at alert like all the time." She scrunched her lips in distaste.
"Go away you, pervert," she shoved me, making me stumble a few steps back. I hadn't called for it.
I eyed her innocently, "I wouldn't turn down a good cup of coffee for anything in the world," I walked past her, entering the house, "and with you being the one to offer, it seems like a perks of dropping you home." I smiled knowingly. She might behave casually but I still know the ways to get her riled up.
The night pretty much passed away in a blur yet more or less as expected; with getting her furious, bringing out the angry kitten in her and then calming her down, some general conversations over the coffee and a few moments of silence settling between the two of us. Later, I departed, after getting a confirmation from Eric that he wasn't gone for too long and would be back pretty soon.
My steps fell next to Eric's, as the two of us moved across the hallway and towards the parking space.
"Come on," he pulled me, dragging me out, "Nandini must be already waiting for us."
I was about retort back at him, when a moment caught our eyes. It wouldn't have been difficult to drag our eyes away with disinterest any other day, if it wasn't for that one face that had us both worried and fuming.
Nandini was pinned against a car with Leo's body looming over hers. Shock registered across her features and her eyes widened.
Within no time, Eric marched to where they stood and tore apart the filthy guy off. His eyes raked through her frame once, while she sighed. It didn't take me long to reach the spot with mere three strides.
Not missing the look from Eric, I threw a comforting arm across Nandini's shoulder and held her at a distance, stepping a few steps back from the spot.
"Are you fine?" I voiced the question that Eric's concerned eyes held ever since the scene unfolded in front of our eyes. It was impossible to miss his worried expressions.
"Yeah," she sighed, slumping into my arms. "But-" I interrupted, gently rubbing my palm against her arm.
"Its fine," I whispered softly making her eyes shut.
Assured that Nandini was at a safe distance, Eric dragged his eyes apart from Nandini and I; and threw his fist across Leo's face, with enough force to land him on the floor.
Not satisfied with one punch, Eric grabbed him by his collar and punched yet again. Nandini's eyes shit open and she protested against my hold. While Leo tried to speak something, Eric didn't give him a chance to.
Seeing that I wasn't going to loosen my hold against her, Nandini screamed at Eric to stop. However, he chose to ignore her plea and so did I.
"Eric leave him, right now," she yelled at him. When nothing seemed helping to her, she elbowed me in the gut. Clutching my stomach I cursed out loud, though it sounded like a hiss.
She walked to where Eric threw punches at Leo, and grabbed Eric by shoulder trying to tear them apart which went in vain.
Though what stunned me was that Eric was getting rough and she didn't care about having to face a rough push or something along the lines in her direction.
Being sure that Eric wouldn't want to hurt his little sister, intentionally or otherwise, I stepped in. "Stop it before you hurt Nandini in the process." I spoke out loud, while peeling him off Leo, who adorned a bleeding mouth and a few blue-purple patches across his face.
Nandini leaned down, inspecting the face of the jerk and apologized on behalf of Eric, though I didn't understand the reason. She shot a glare in our direction and with eyes pointed at us, questioned, "What the hell was all this fuss for?"
Ask what now? I groaned at the thought.
"He had you pinned against the car," Eric scowled; ready to pounce for another round of punches. He'd have launched himself, if it wasn't for my grip to hold him still, in place.
She let the stern look slip for a moment as her features stumbled in a puzzle, "So, what?"
I frowned while Eric growled at her and zeroed his eyes at Leo. As though finally processing our thoughts, she gasped. Her hands flew to cover her mouth and her eyes grew wider.
Rubbing her palms across her face, she covered it, "It wasn't what it looked like," she answered embarrassingly, while neither I nor Eric seemed convinced.
The guy in question had tried a thing on her just around a month ago, he wouldn't just pin her against a car to check the shade of her eyes, and no one would.
She let her hands fall on either of her sides and looked up at us, "And even if it was, I am capable enough of handling the situation. Also Leo, here," she pointed at him and added further, "Wouldn't try a thing on me after the perks he had received the last time," she had a sly smile curving on her lips.
A look at Leo told the story that we were looking for. He cringed at her words and instantly clamped his thighs together, shielding his jewels. I couldn't decide whether the urge to burst into fits of laughter was stronger than to feel sorry for Leo and his jewels.
"You can't just go around and throw punches at someone whom you think tried a thing on me." She flared, throwing her hands in the air.
"The hell if I can't," Eric muttered carelessly, though if her pointed stare was an indication, then needless to say that she surely heard it.
"Try it," she threw a challenging stare his way as she folded her arms across her chest.
He sighed loudly, "Why in the hell would you try to defend him?" It wouldn't be wrong if I state that he was indeed voicing out my thoughts for now. Even I wanted to know why she was hell bent on saving someone like Leo.
"Because he is a friend," she spoke, leaving not just me and Eric baffled but even Leo seemed surprised, though amusement reflected more in his eyes.
"And isn't that what friends do?" Her eyes trailed at me for a moment and then slid back, daring him to speak otherwise.
"He was about to-" Eric was interrupted midway and for a reason I was glad. I wouldn't want to hear what could have happened or what we perceived to happen.
"He wasn't," she shook her head and twitched her nose with disgust, "all you need to know is that he wasn't trying to harm me." Inhaling heavily, she bored her eyes at Eric, "This conversation isn't over yet."
And with that she drew her eyes away and faced Leo, "You need first aid," she spoke softly, with concern.
Taking his hands in hers, she left the two of us gauging the situation and with a similar thought running in our heads; if Eric's wiggled brows and confused look was any hint.
What in the hell did just happen here?
That's all! Reviews please! ^_^
Edited by -shenz- - 9 years ago
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