Chapter 7 - Palkein Chamakne Lagi Hai, Ab Khwaab Kaise Chupaaye!
It was performance day. The gang was hanging out at the venue of the function, having finished their act they were now waiting for lunch. For the last few days, Rey had been busy with rehearsals, but not as much as Taani had been with her work. They hadn't spoken at all for 2 days now as Taani wanted to be able to come for this event and was working overtime to make up for the break. Throughout the event, Rey had been stealing glances at Taani, not really in a subtle way and the guys had noticed and gotten suspicious. Rey had been looking really joyous since she was here. The final nail in the coffin was that immediately after the performance, Taani announced that one particular song they danced to was her all time favourite. Rey had been very stubborn about that very song and had convinced everyone that it was perfect for this performance. The guys were beginning to piece things together.
"Guys, ye apna Rey thoda.." Vicky started to which Nil added,
"Thoda nahi zyada hi.."
"Taani ko hi dekh laha hai" Amar joined in and Bharat completed,
"Bhai log, gadbad hai.."
They all huddle to a semicircle and the concerned boys come up with a plan.
"Kuch toh kalna chahiye hume.." Amar expressed what they all felt.
"Ye toh engagement me bhi.. pehle wo mehendi aur fir..."
With Vicky's words everyone collectively remembers him happily looking at the T inside a heart on his palm, him saying Taani would come to him by herself and then his dance of sacrifice. They immediately try to shake off the memory of sad Rey..
"Nahi nahi no bro.." Vicky almost shrieks,
"Aise hi nahi chhod sakte hum isko" Bharat adds,
"Ye toh ab tak Taani se.." Nil says, too scared to complete the statement.
"Gadbad hojayegi.." Amar says and Nil adds,
"Taani ko toh Vishesh.."
"Aur Rey agar.." Vicky dreads the possibilities and Amar says out loud the one nightmare they wish they never have to see,
"Upal se Swayam bhi.."
"BOYS! Hum sab kuch karenge, Apne dost ko hum hurt hone se bachayenge" Vicky declares,
"Bachayenge!" Everyone repeated in chorus.
"Usko Taani se door rakhenge"
Vicky added and the others echoed,
"Rakhenge"
"Kaise?" Vicky asks and they repeat again before questioning each other randomly.
"Kaise?"
"Kaise bro?"
"Guys! Hum Taani aur Rey ko apne paas aur ek dusre se door rakhenge." the plan was substantiated.
"Rakhenge."
"Mission Rey Taani se door"
"Mission Rey Taani se door!" Everyone agreed to it when they heard,
"Kya horaha hai yaha?" Swayam walks in having heard only the last two words, startling everyone who just spread out chanting the words "kuch nahi, kuch bhi toh nahi", admiring the floor tiles and the roof like connoisseurs.
"Kuch toh khichdi paka rahe hai ye log.." he walks off after a sigh.
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The guys see Taani with the girls, laughing at something and Rey staring at her. Bharat and Nil walk to Rey quickly,
"Arey Rey wo kya hai?" Bharat points to something randomly, desperate to make him look away,
Rey questioningly looks in that direction as Bharat aggressively gestures Nil to do something who responds with equally strong movements and freezes as soon as Rey turns back to them,
"Wo toh darwaaza hai," he says still confused when Nil holds his shoulders,
"Rey mere dost mere bhai kya karraha hai tu?"
"Huh? Dude me yaha tere saamne hi khada hu, clearly kuch nahi kar raha hu." He answers, slightly annoyed at being interrupted in between his adoration session.
With Taani, Vicky and Amar walk up to her and pull her away from the main group covering her completely from Rey's view.
"Aley Taani maine na ek nayi lecipe tly ki thi.. wo.."
"Wo?" Taani asks,
"Wo?" Amar looks at Vicky for help, Vicky sees an empty plate with a bowl of chutney on the neighbouring table and ends up spouting loudly,
"CHUTNEY!"
"Chutney?" A startled Taani and a horrified Amar repeat,
"Ha chutney," Vicky continues trying to cover up, "Arey Amar wo special chutney thi na teri.." he pats Amar's shoulder and then presses it suggestively with a stern look,
"Haa chutney wo...." Blankly Amar tried to justify, "wo waali jo khatti hoti hai.. imli, ha imli ki!"
"Oh!" Taani still confused responds and clueless Vicky and Amar look at each other, worried because they were stuck in this attempt.
Rey on the other hand senses some unspoken words being exchanged between Nil and Bharat and asks,
"Guys tum logo ko kuch kehna hai?"
"Kyu kyu, humko kyu, teko kuch bolna hai!" Bharat responds defensively.
"Arey?" Rey questions but Nil interrupts, building up on Bharat's stance.
"Ha bro tujhe hi hume kuch bolna hai, tu hi chupaata hai humse!"
Rey's eyes widen, he feels a sudden guilt for not having told them about him and Taani. No specific reason there, he just didn't know how he'd explain to them about the engagement or whether he could do that. He kept forgetting to ask Taani who was too busy with her work.
"Mai kuch bhi chupa-wupa nahi raha" he walks off with lowered eyes, adding fuel to the boys' suspicion. They follow him, continuing their plan.
With Taani, she feels a silence settle between them and asks Amar and Vicky about a formation in their performance, comparing it to one in one of their NDC routines. The boys get slightly nostalgic, mainly excited and they explain to her how they came up with it, the story behind that specific formation, replete with demo steps. Taani admires their passion for dance, interested in the nitty gritty of the performance which Vicky obviously punctuated with random anecdotes. One particular story of Sharon screaming at the boys makes her laugh really hard and her voice catches everyone's attention. Rey too looks at her, admiring his girlfriend to the fullest and Nil and Bharat pull him away with,
"Kya chupa raha hai tu bata abhi nahi toh.."
"Nahi toh kya?" A fed up Rey questions, "Kuch nahi chupa raha hu Mai yaar.." he walks to Taani to discuss with her about telling the gang the truth just when Aashi goes over to Taani, curious about what was making her laugh so much.
"Taani mujhe tum se kuch baat karni hai.." Rey address her while Vicky and Amar hold her and all boys scream together,
"NAHI!"
Taani and Aashi flinch.
"Kya nahi guys!" A frustrated Rey asks, massaging his ears as Aashi continues,
"Haa kyu nahi? Unko baat types hi karni hai toh karne do na!"
All boys give her an angry glare and Bharat walks to her,
"Abey bola na nahi!" He threatens and then laughs awkwardly at the others who also start laughing and in one upping each other the awkward laugh gets louder, they begin to clap in fake amusement. The boys continue laughing and in gestures and nods communicate and pull Rey and Taani in opposite directions. Confused Aashi stands there looking at both the groups and at Taarey turning to look at each other. She smiles at the lovebirds. Aashi had spoken to Taani. She told her about her and Rey's "relationship" and when it was mentioned, had questioned Taani's shocked reaction. Taani couldn't avoid the direct question and had blushingly admitted to having gotten back with Rey and about the engagement just being to help Vishesh go abroad. Aashi sighs and decides to help them talk.
Rey was annoyed and kept questioning Bharat and Nil about why he couldn't go talk to her and in response they only brought up other supposedly important, actually irrelevant stuff to change the topic. Taani was too polite to interrupt Vicky and Amar who were basically leaping around her like monkeys to make sure her attention remained on them. Miscommunication between the boys had resulted in both Taani and Rey being brought outside the hall and the girls and Swayam too had followed them out, trying to understand what was going on. Rey sees everything in front of him and losing his patience ends up screaming,
"SHUT UP GUYS!"
Everyone stops and looks at him as he steps forward.
"Ye kya mazak horaha hai yaha? Why the hell is it ki tumlog mujhe apni hi girlfriend se baat karne nahi derahe!" A collective gasp is heard. Rey and Taani too are shocked at how it had come out and everyone starts talking together,
"Koun girlfriend?" Simi asks,
"Arey Aashi hi hogi na" Rini answers,
"Kya?" Bharat questions and Nil responds with,.
"Aashi nahi Taani guys."
"Taani?"
"Rey aur Taani?"
"Girlfriend?"
"Kaise?"
Rey sighs and takes initiative to clear out the confusion. He looks unsurely at Taani but announces anyway before the speculation gets out of hand,
"Guys Taani aur mai saath me hai, wo engagement fake thi, Vishesh just needed help since his parents weren't letting him go abroad without committing here."
Taani nods at him and he relaxes.
Everyone tries to absorb this information.
"Oh"
"Oh my God"
"Iska matlab Vishesh?"
"That means Taani and Rey.."
It takes them a few seconds before they all begin celebrating, high fiving and hugging each other while screaming their congratulations at Taarey. They smile as Vicky walks to Taani,
"Arey bhabhi ji, congratulations! Hogaye aap wapas saath!"
Swayam who couldn't bear this conversation, awkwardly excuses himself, making everyone laugh.
Amar turns to Taani and says,
"Ha Taani pehle bata deti hum toh yuhi tum dono ko alag kalne ki mehnat kallahe the.."
"What? Alag karne ki, what? Why?" Rey questions annoyed again and the guys, all simultaneously swat Amar and change the topic, leaving behind their stupid plan like it never happened.
"Yo aaj se Taani humaari bhabhi" Nil says and Aashi makes a face, still unconvinced about the boys' motives.
"Aise toh Rey bhi humaare jijaji types hue" Aashi walks to Rey and suddenly everyone gets awkward. It strikes her that they think of her as his ex. Taani, forgetting her embarrassment, quickly covers it up for Aashi with,
"Ha waise bhi saali aadhi gharwaali hoti hai" and wraps a hand around her shoulders. Aashi laughs and side hugs Taani as shocked Rey smirks, realising Taani knew everything. He walks between them, side hugging both as the gang absorbs this weird threesome. That's when Swayam walks in and Nil asks,
"Kabtak chupa ke rakhne waale the tum dono, humse chupake koi kabhi secretly relationship me rehsaka hai kya?"
"Ha last time also we came to know" Simi agreed, but at the mention of a secret relationship Swaron look at each other and Taarey notice them. Swayam again walks off, citing some work with the organisers. Sharon looks down with guilt and Rey is shocked to see Taani hold her hand comfortingly and suggest going behind Swayam with her expressions. The gang too starts moving in, as Sharon follows Swayam with determination. Rey looks at Taani questioningly.
"Kya?" She asks him,
"Tumhe pata hai?"
"Kis baare me?"
"Swayam aur Sharon.."
"Oh woh! Ha. Wo bhabhi ne bataya.."
"Sharon ne? Wow."
"Wow kyu?"
"Usne saamne se tumhe us secret relationship ke baare me bataya! That is some progress! Wo toh sabke saamne.."
"Bohot sorry hai bhabhi, unhone mujhe sab bataya tha us hi din jab hum saath hue, aur rone lagi."
"Sorry toh hona hi chahiye after what she did with Swayam, infact I'm surprised ki tum angry kaise nahi ho!"
"Angry toh hu, kaafi galti ki unhone par ab mujh se zyaada important bhai ka anger hai"
"Toh tum chahti ho ki wo dono saath.."
"Obviously Rey! Bhabhi ne jo kiya bohot hi galat tha par hai wo bohot sorry and changed bhi, I mean apne abhi hi bola ki mujhe batana unke liye kitna ajeeb hai, wo mujhse bhi apologetic thi and sab kuch karrahi hai bhai ko manane keliye, unko special feel karane keliye.. this is the love my bhai deserves.. anyway I just hope dono saath ho ya nahi, atleast ek dusre se aise naraaz na ho"
"Naraaz nahi hote toh kya reason hota saath na hone ka.." he held her hands.
"What happened was really bad, bhai aur bhabhi ne bhi na humaari hi tarah communication me gadbad kar rakhi hai, baaki bhabhi ka dar aur unsure hona toh ab kaha bacha hai, that incident was a symptom of a much bigger problem I feel, jaha bhabhi ne properly apne dil ki baat kabhi acknowledge hi nahi ki, bhai ko bas yuhi chod rakha tha!"
"Hmm, but I really don't think Swayam use asaani se maaf karega."
"Pata hai, mere bhai hai, aur ye baat choti bhi nahi hai, par pata nahi kyu mujhe lagta hai maaf kar hi denge.."
"Fingers crossed"
"Aapko lagta hai bhai bhabhi saath me khush honge?"
"Bohot, bas saath me hojaye ekbaar, khush toh maine inhe dekha hai.."
She narrows her eyes at him and slaps his shoulder,
"Mujhe nahi bataya aapne!"
"Arey mera secret thodi tha batane keliye, dono ne mujhse promises liye the mai kaise.."
Taani makes a face, Rey realised that Taani understood his situation but she still couldn't help feeling bad as all 3 of them had left her out of this. He holds her tight and says,
"Sweetheart, I'm sorry. We're sorry. Wo dono khud hi itne doubtful the, infact hai. Infact I didn't know ki abhi bhi tumhe batadiya, Sharon toh kisiko nahi batati kabhi and Swayam, you know wo barely cheeze share karta hai, tumhaar bhai hai afterall.." he smiles, trying to convince her and she responds to his last line by trying to free herself,
"Ye acha hai ab aap mujhpe blame daalo,"
"Arey tumpe kaun kis cheez ka blame daal sakta hai, on a serious note I'm glad I could discuss this with you, tum ho yaha mere saath aur hum samaj sakte hai unki relationship ko, repeat nahi karenge unki galtiya.."
She grudgingly smiles, he was focusing so much on them, rebuilding what they have in a much better way and it made her really happy. She sighs and hugs him.
"Nahi karenge aisi galti, aur kare toh we'll hear each other out okay."
"Ha ha, tumhaare baatein sunna mera favourite kaam hai... All the time.." he smiles and she swats him shaking her head at the cheesiness.
"Chalo ab, lunch karne chalte hai.." and they walk in hand in hand, hiding nothing for people to speculate.
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The week had been exhausting. Settling back in Mumbai, her college work and office work and then again travelling today for their performance. They were in her room, it was afternoon but Taani hadn't slept that night and so was half asleep with her head on Rey's shoulder while he was looking at something on his phone. She suddenly opened her eyes and her hazy mind just saw the side profile of his beautiful smiling face shining in the screen's light. A smile grew on her sleepy face too. The lines between her dreams and her reality seemed blurry, she dopily leaned ahead and kissed his neck. He froze. In her sleepy, sing-song voice, she just says a goodnight Rey and cuddles into him. She misses a very important moment as he blushes before hugging her back and settles down for the much needed afternoon nap.
"Goodnight Taani.." he whispers.
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Heyo guys, what's up?
This was my attempt at a slightly more amusing update, it just felt right to have one scene with the gang in element 😂
Was it funny ? Did it atleast make you smile?
Also Woohoo! Sorry for not showing the Shaani conversation when she tells her about Swaron, I did write it but it's just sad. Since Taani knew about Swaron for a few days now she's been able to absorb and understand the sequence and isn't too actively angry or passionate. I'm sorry if that sequence of Taani's thoughts aren't justified enough, personally I haven't seen the whole Swaron sequence..
Aren't Taarey cute? I really like them (I'm sure you wouldn't have guessed😂😂🤭)
So long update today and long author's note too kyuki mai fast pe hu and I needed a distraction 😂🤦♀️ this fast is supposed to be for a good husband but personally I'm just looking to develop self control and getting better myself💓
Oh and how can I forget, the title is a line from the song Phir Kabhi from M S Dhoni - the untold story that means "How do you hide a dream that makes even your eyelids sparkle?" 🤭💘😉
So what's that dream for you that can give you natural glitter eye shadow?😁
See you!🌷🌷
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