An Os chain...

Hi
I am Indu. i had written a couple of Os long back when the forum was alive and active. there was on that i had plans to continue.. then there was an idea that i thought of turning into an FF. but sadly it didn't happen. but here i am again with another idea... a chain of Os... random one shots which could be roughly stringed together to form an SS.
my idea for stories are triggered mostly by songs... and the first one I present here is one of my favourites... you can say it has haunted me for a while and i could imagine only Manaan and no one else for this song... but enough of the chit chat welcome to Indu's Manaan land.

1. TO BE OR NOT TO BE...

PART A

"Move in with me" his words echoed in her mind as she folded the clothes neatly and put them away. Her fingers traced the intricate embroidery of the top that Ams had gifted her on her last birthday.

"Move in with me," his suggestion echoed in her mind as she kneaded the dough, following the tricks that she had seen her mom follow to make the softest chapathis.

"Move in with me," the intensity of his eyes had defied the casual manner in which he had he had made the suggestion, she remembered as she tossed and turned in the bed, trying to capture that elusive sleep.

His suggestion had come as a surprise ... no that wasn't entirely accurate.. well may be a part of it was.. the living together part but not the intimacy it implied.

Giving up the pretense that lying in bed quietly with her eyes closed would make her sleep, she threw back the blanket and stood up to walk towards the table to switch on her computer.

"Manik!" she sighed as his image filled the screen. her fingers caressed his face, trailing down his cheeks to that mole placed so strategically near his lips.. tempting the fingers and gaze to slip a lit lower to touch those lips. her fingers lingered on those smiling lips.. It was becoming so hard to resist... she sighed as the screensaver was activated which presented the images of them together which she had collected over the years.. the years of being Manik Malhotra's girl friend... and the unofficial member of Fab 5.

'Girl friend', she smiled thinking of the way Manik loved to gesture the friend part in quotes..because she had wanted them to be friends first.. because he considered her to be too innocent even to know her mind... But that was changing .. the teasing caresses had become more ardent.. the gentle kisses more passionate.. the cocktail of love mixed with desire was making the lines blurred. So yes, his invitation to move in with him had profound significance ... was she ready to take the next step in their relationship.. was she ready to be his Lover?

Her thoughts went back in time .. to a time before Manik. She had been watching Silsila with her elder cousin who was madly in love with someone. Geetha di's support of Rekha's character in the movie had shocked her. Di had told that if she had to face a similar situation and separation from the man she loved, she would not let any dictates of the society to cheat her of the chance of belonging to him body and soul. It had not felt right to to her then.. but then what did she know about love. She was just a thirteen... not exposed to the all consuming fire called love or this variation of love that blinded you... no no.. a love that broadened your horizon and opened your mind to embrace the changes it brought along.

Living together.. yes she was not a fool to think 'mangal sutra' and saath phere accompanied this. But the past years away from him was pure torment... the years he had insisted that she should take as an opportunity to 'spread her wings' .. away from the tag of being Manik Malhotra's girl friend. she had fought with him over the issue and had tried every trick to sway his recommendation, but he was adamant. finally she had taken Am's ill health to cave in.. to go back to Mangalore to complete her graduation.

But neither the distance nor their respective life schedule had diminished their love. In fact she felt it was just the reverse.. the years that passed had only strengthened their love because it proved that there could be never anyone else ..

Manik had given her a week to decide... a week when he had to be abroad to handle his father's business.. another responsibility that he handled brilliantly. It showed how versatile her man was... she smiled proudly as she touched her fingers to her lips and transferred the kiss to his image.. Her Manik.. who had deliberately kept their contact minimum while she was in Mangalore so that he was true to his promise given to Ams.. that he would let her have a life beyond him, an identity other than being Manik Malhotra's girl friend.. would give her the right to choose rather than being smothered by the choice she made when she was too young to know her own mind.

She had learned about this from Navya... but it had been too late to avoid the terrible fight with Manik when she had accused him of not just avoiding him but had demanded if wanted to break up with her.

"Just tell me if you want us to end? You don't even seem to care if I live or die!" she had cried before cutting the call, not willing to hear his explanations.

She had refused to accept his calls for the next couple of days..refusing to be pacified fuming and moping around alternately.

Then he had sent the message across through navya to watch Fab 5's interview on NTV

"Do you even miss me a bit?" she had asked and he gave her his answer through the national media. Declaring what she meant to him before the thousands of fans who watched the interview of the leader of fantastic band that was making it's sensational entry into Bollywood.

PS: this was supposed to be an OS but it became so lengthy and i didn't have the patience to wait until i finished typing to start off... hope you will like this bit enough to come back to read more..

plz do leave your comments

part B

"Just tell me if you want us to end? You don't even seem to care if I live or die!"

"Nandini..." he tried to calm her, not exactly sure how to go about it without revealing too much. but he didn't have to find a believable excuse because she had cut the call. he called back immediately only to have her disconnect it.

"Nandini," he sighed looking at the phone." how do I make you understand that I don't want to be away from you either. "

His hope that she would calm down soon proved to be futile. she was really upset this time, he had to accept a few days late when she still refused to accept his calls. what was more she unfriended him from her social network site too.

So he sought to approach her through his friends. They were gathered in the music room and the practice was not going right because he couldn't concentrate. After the second failed attempt he called for a break to call Nandini yet again.

"Kabir give me your phone, i need to talk to her."

"Why do you need to call Nandini from my phone?"

"Because she is not taking my calls."

"Why is that?" Mukti asked

"She is upset with me."

"Why so?" Dhruv questioned.

"What is this ? Twenty questions?" Manik retorted grabbing the phone from Kabir. "Just give me the damn phone!"

He paced away and took a couple of deep calming breath as he waited for her to respond. then stared at the phone in disbelief.

"Disconnected again! How did she know it was me?" he ran his hand through his hair in frustration. Returning Kabir's phone he tried again with Mukti's and Dhruv's but with the same result.

"Damn! Damn ! Damn!" he swore as he started to pace again. " How can she do this?" he raged " And that too after talking about breaking up!"

"Well Majnu Saheb, you brought this on yourself!" Kabir pointed out.

"You guys know why i am doing this. I want her to have a choice like Ams said."

"But it has been so long since you went to see her," Dhruv mentioned.

"And Nandini complained you didn't even call her for more than a week the last time she called" Alya joined in.

"Do you think I am happy being away from her. As for keeping our contacts minimum, it is for the best. This way i won't influence her decision."

"It is for the best!" Mukti scoffed. "There you go .. Manik Malhotra, the Alpha male!"

"Guys, I am trying not to be selfish here and you.."

"Of course Mukti, haven't you met this selfless Manik before? Who makes stupid decisions in the name of Selflessness?"

"Dhruv, I thought we had settled that ..."

"How can you say that buddy when you still make the same mistake? You are still imposing your will on her , robbing Nadini the chance to decide herself. You are giving her unnecessary sorrow."

"And you are saying I am happy being away from her? But this is what I promised Ams. he turned away. "And how can she say that I do not miss her... when i do, with every breath I take."

The friends exchanged looks, understanding now what inspired the brilliant song that Manik had created just the other day.

"Manik, you need to tell Nandini." Kabir placed his hand on Manik's shoulder.

""yes Manik, how can you even think this is the best for her" Alya demanded, "It is not okay to let her worry like this."

"Yes buddy, you should go to Mangalore."

"Why don't we surprise her, let us all go and cheer her up. We can handle Ams while the Laila- Majnu have their reunion." Mukti winked.

just then Kabir's phone rang breaking their enthusiastic planning.

"It is Jenny, " Kabir said looking at the screen , "you have to give credit for her persistence."

"Hello Jenny," he said with mock cheerfulness. he listened , impatient to get back to plan their Mangalore trip. "Well I'm sorry.." and stopped when he saw Manik gesturing. "Shall I call you back? I am kind of busy right now."

"So you guys want me to tell Namdini. Okay then I will.. But we are not going to Mangalore. We are going to that chat show.."

Manik smiled brilliantly, "Nandini Murthy, I am going you answer your question ...Manik Malhotra style... and you are going to listen no matter how pissed off you are!"

PS: about 50 views and not even a single like?

Wow Indu!!! Read both parts in one go!!!! Sooo awesome!! Manik and his buddhuness! Uff waiting for Manik's style answer 😆
Do continue , waiting for next part

Originally posted by: siya_16

Wow Indu!!! Read both parts in one go!!!! Sooo awesome!! Manik and his buddhuness! Uff waiting for Manik's style answer 😆
Do continue , waiting for next part

thanks a lot for the comment... i was kind of feeling down that my effort didn't even get a like 😭
but your comment has boosted my spirit. 😃
this story ends with other part. will post that too soon

Originally posted by: pooja123456

Pls do continue

thank you for replying. sure I will update the last part soon

Originally posted by: Manan_fab5_ky2

Do continue

It's really good

thank you very much for appreciating 😊

waiting for update Indu.. 😳

Originally posted by: siya_16

waiting for update Indu.. 😳

Originally posted by: -indulekha-

Sorry for the delay.I couldn't complete typing with unexpected guests and all.

No worries!! Take your time.. post whenever u get free!