FF:When good girl meets the bad boy (AR)

Life is all about changes; one moment it is something, the next moment its something else. Time changes, people change, nothing can ever remain constant. You can never tell where life may lead you next; no matter how much you plan, none of it is going to matter in the end.

We both sat across each other, neither of us speaking anything, and both of us avoiding looking at each other. As I looked through the glass of the restaurant I was seated in, I tried to imagine what my life would be like from tomorrow. How was I supposed to cope up with not having my best friend around me anymore? Of course, initially, both of us will put efforts to keep in touch everyday; call each other, text each other and chat, but as time passes everything will change. We both will get busy in our lives, keep less in contact and eventually, I will be just another person she once knew. I tried to imagine what our meeting will be like- awkward. We will happy to see each other, of course, but not ecstatic, I imagine. Neither of us will attempt to hug each other out of awkwardness and will begin with an awkward "hello". Like the present scenario, both of us will sit in silence (although a different type of silence, that one will be), quietly stirring our drinks. I imagine Muskaan eyeing me from head to toe, checking on how I had turned out. Beginning with an awkward cough, she would begin with a very common ice-breaker.

"So, Riddhima, how are you doing?"

"Good." I would be determined to avoid her gaze, as I mumbled awkwardly. The smile on her face would fade quickly, as she was expecting something more warmer, perhaps a "how about you?".

"I see you are doing really great. You look absolutely beautiful, Muski." I would choose to begin on a warmer note and watch a smile appear on her face.

"Aw, thank you." She would mumble and looked away, without attempting to return the compliment. That would mark the return of the awkward silence, which would last for the rest of the night, till we finally part our ways.

I imagine, I still would be extremely delighted to finally meet her and see it she was okay, if she was happy. But after the extremely awkward night, she would have decided that it was best not to be in touch, as everything had changed. After that I imagine, we would part ways, to never to meet again. My heart sank.

"Maybe, it won't be that bad. I mean we will be in touch. We will talk, everyday!" She smiled at me, trying her best not to cry. I squeezed her hands lightly.

"Of course, Muski." Although, I was sure that it was not true.

"We will be in touch, right?" She asked me, in a very quiet and shaky voice, and I knew that she was about to cry.

"Of course. I don't know about you but I will die without you, Muski." I smiled at her.

"I don't know-" she choked, a drop of tear appeared and vanished quickly, "what I will do without you, Ridz."

"Muski." That was it, I couldn't take it anymore.

Tears broke its barrier and we started crying, hugging each other.

"I love you, Ridzi."

"Will you promise me something?" I asked her finally.

She pulled away and looked at me, looking surprised and confused.

"What promise?" She asked, looking at me.

"You will never let go of me. No matter what." I locked my eyes with hers and watched her expression change as she understood what I was trying to imply.

And then she hugged me again, sobbing heavily.

"Oh, Ridz. We will always be best friends, no matter how awkward things get between us."

"Sisters." I corrected her, trying to calm both myself and my best friend down, since I was supposed to be the strong one.

"Sisters." She repeated.

Muskaan will surely do great without me. She is beautiful, extremely talkative, affectionate and has a great sense of humor. People love her and get attracted to her charming personality very quickly. She has, exactly what I call "magnetic personality" which makes people swarm around her where ever she went. I, on the other hand, according to Muskaan Chadda, am the most introvert person she has ever seen. Well, I mostly like to keep to myself, except for a few friends and Muskaan of course. Muskaan is the only one I can actually share everything with. She is the only one who I can tell what I feel. We have been friends forever and hopefully will remain friends for ever.

It is funny how we became friends, then great friends and finally sisters. Muskaan is that one support that has stood by me through all my ups and downs and the other way round too. Muskaan would always take me to our favorite spot and treat me with some absolutely fabulous food, when she broke up or "got rid of some loser", as she would put it. As a part of the traditional ritual, she would develop feelings for some new guy, who suddenly seemed very "attractive and funny" to her, no matter how ugly and lame he was. She would spend hours and hours talking about him, while me (the poor soul!) was not allowed to comment on it. And eventually, I ended up commenting on it and that would piss her and she would storm out of the room. During the next few days would the most melodramatic days of the ritual, when Muskaan would avoid me, cry and howl about how much I had changed. And the very next moment we would end up talking, forgetting that we had a fight about some lame-ass duffer, and become best friends again. Then I had to tolerate (you would be surprised how much tolerance capacity I actually have) stories of Muskaan and her "super-cute boyfriend", until she finally realized what a dumbass her boyfriend was and break it off with him.

It was not always that she was happy when she had break up; sometimes she would cry her eyes out, mumbling about how they were "meant to be". To cheer her up, we would go to our nearest and dearest ice-cream parlor and end up having a massive plate of humongous and delicious ice creams (mine was a black forest always) and chatting about some random guy who Muskaan thought was "cute". She would try to hook me into the guy stuff, but I would dismiss it, since I was frankly not interested. It was not that I didn't want to date, it was just that I didn't find anyone here good enough for me. Most of them were either morons, dumb asses or just a plain ass, or a combination of the above. Of course, I was not some extra terrestrial creature who didn't have crushes. I, too, was a regular chick, who have had a few crushes and has done some really dumb things, but I really am who I am and nothing can be changed about that.

"I have to go now." I told her, once we finished eating and she nodded.

"I have to do some packing"

"Okay. So, I will see you tomorrow?"

"Yup, sure. Tomorrow we will go shopping. YAY!" I squealed awkwardly, trying too hard to sound enthusiastic. In reality, I hated the idea of shopping. Muskaan looked at me, studying my expressions for a while then giggled slightly, smiling for the first time since we had arrived.

"And then you will leave at night, tomorrow." She looked away quickly, sobbing slightly.

"Hey, thats still faraway. Lets not think about that, alright?" I hugged her.

"Uh-huh."

"Okay, so I will go now. Dad must be waiting."

"Okay." She was unusually silent right now, which scared me a bit.

"Bye." I smiled.

"Bye."

And then I looked at her one more time, unsure.

"why don't you come with me?" I asked her finally.

She looked at me surprised.

"Help me pack, you know? You know how I will just end up stuffing all my clothes anyways." I rolled my eyes, shaking my head at the truth and saw her smile.

"Okay, I will help you pack."

"Lets go" Smiling, she followed me out. It was silly how I thought that Muskaan could ever let go of me. Of course, Muskaan couldn't survive without me, like I'd die without her. No one else has the courage and patience to keep up with her nonsensical talks and drama, except me. And as I walked with her, I was sure that we will always be sister, no matter how distant we were. There were somethings that couldn't change, afterall.