It had been two weeks. Two weeks since the "classroom fiasco" as Abhay had started to call it in his head. Two weeks since Piya had started avoiding him, right after kissing the daylights out of him in front of his mother. He didn't even see how that was supposed to be his fault, but- in typical Piya style- she volunteered no information as to how or why they were playing stranger-danger with each other. Well, Piya was, he supposed. He was staying away from her- this time to get a handle on his own emotions. Abhay had tried to tell himself-repeatedly- that he was past caring about stupid humans, that he didn't give a hang over whether Piya was with Kabir or not- but motivational talking had failed him a year ago, when Kabir and Piya had first been an item, and he didn't have any reason to believe it would work now. Everytime he saw them toether, chatting away like no tomorrow, he had a strong desire to smash something. Or uproot something. Either way, create some kind of destruction. Ms Gupta seemed bent on making his life as hellish as possible, too : by pairing Kabir and Piya for all kinds of scenes. He knew she did it on purpose, and it only intensified the desire to punch a hole in something. And today, it looked as though someone shared his feelings.
"Piya, I need to talk to you. Alone."Abhay glanced from his seat, careful to be discreet. Jeh to looked to be almost fuming. "Say no," he pleaded mentally. "Please say no, Piya, please, just-" "Sure," Piya replied, looking politely interested. Abhay cursed in his head. Why couldn't she stay away from things that were bad for her? Piya glanced at Kabir. "You don't mind, do you, sweetheart?" Was it his imagination or did she glance his way? "No problem, baby, see you," Kabir replied, and Abhay felt like gagging. What was with them and the stupid nicknames? Did Piya look like a toddler? But Jeh was already leading her out of the canteen and through the corridors. Swiftly and silently, Abhay got up and followed them. Twice, Piya turned back, and he was forced to duck behind the nearest pillar. Great, he was becoming some kind of spy hero for her.
Jeh stopped in front of an empty classroom and ushered her in, closing the door behind them. Piya swallowed. It was the History classroom. She pushed back the memories back of Abhay and her, in this very classroom, not so long ago... "What do you want to talk about?" she said. Her hand clenched around her bag, where her dagger lay hidden. "What are you doing with him?" Piya's eyes widened. "What are you talking about?" she replied, deciding her best chance lay in playing dumb. "Kabir," said Jeh, and Piya almost sighed in relief. "What are you playing at? Suddenly you two are together- if this is about making me jealous-" "I don't want to make you jealous," she snapped. "We were over a long time back. I never liked you like that anyway. Kabir has been very dear to me for a long time. Now, if you're done-" She moved swiftly to the door, but he was there before her, blocking her way. "I knew it," he said, triumph in his voice. "It's for Abhay Raichand, isn't it? You want to make him jealous." Outside the classroom, pressed against the wall, Abhay stiffened. Jeh was voicing the same question which had plagued him for days. This was one question whose answer Abhay really wanted. "Of course not!" said Piya, sounding shocked. "Are you mad? Why would I use him to make Abhay jealous?"
Abhay felt like hitting himself. Damn. Was Piya really falling for Kabir? "Oh." Said Jeh, sounding surprised and contrite. "Sorry. It's just that, well, you know, I've always liked you, and Kabir is a nice guy. I thought-well-" "Oh, please." Piya's voice dripped coolness. "You were hardly in love with me. You only wanted me because you wanted to compete with Abhay. No, don't look like that. And I think it's funny that you care so much about Kabir, but you didn't give a damn about your sister when your mom and you kicked her out of the house."
"That's not-" Jeh began, but Piya cut him off. "Are you really that spineless, Jeh? You couldn't stand up for your sister to your mom. You went about spreading stories to us. Just what kind of a dog are you?" Abhay winced. He'd never thought he'd ever pity Jeh Khurana, but he'd also rarely heard Piya talking with so much cold contempt. "Piya, this is my family's-" began Jeh, but Piya cut him off. "Oh, a private matter it is, is it?" she taunted. "Screw you, Jeh Khurana. I'm not interested in your explanations. I don't want to know about your family. You can keep your deep dark secrets to yourself. All I'm saying is don't pretend to be such a good friend when you don't have a spine in your back. You're your mom's lapdog, bowing and nodding every time she speaks, because her words are Gospel truths. I was angry at Alina because she didn't let me in. And you know what? I'm happy she doesn't let anyone in. If her own family's so rotten, who should she trust? The really pathetic part is you haven't even apologized for it, Jeh. You're not even my friend. Although you could have been. But I don't really have a fondness for toe lickers."
Abhay shot behind a pillar as Piya opened the door, and he saw her walk away, her posture stiff and rigid, pale and furious. And T , who was passing by, was rather surprised to see a small, proud smile on Abhay's face. But she didn't comment on it. Abhay's mood swings had become more and more frequent those days.
Misha splashed water on her face in the washroom , staring at herself in the mirror. Faint patches were beginning to form below her eyes. She had not slept for quite a few nights, but it had been quite easy to show everyone she was still the same as ever, hyper, loud, tomboy Misha. She'd always rather liked being called a tomboy- it meant she was something special. Different. But now it felt like a curse. What really bothered her was how easily Kabir and Piya seemed to have forgotten her. Kabir had always known when anything had bothered her. He'd always been there for her. But clearly, she'd underestimated the power of love. Those two didn't give a damn- about her, or anyone else. She should be happy actually, she supposed. Piya was smart, beautiful and quite a celebrity. She had a good heart, too. Jackpot for Kabir Rathod! She let out a harsh laugh. She could never, ever hope to compete with Piya, even if she wanted to. Piya defined perfect, while she-Misha- would forever remain the girl who could play decent volleyball and down some shots with the guys, with pimples on her face and unevenly cut hair that was always tangled. She didn't own a single dress, given that she'd binned all the ones that her mother got her, until Madhu stopped buying her clothes at all. The door opened and T strutted in. Not wanting to trade insults with her, Misha left, taking no note of the fact that her class was due to start in ten minutes. She reached the canteen just in time to watch Kabir and Piya walk off for classes. She watched them walk off laughing, the sour taste in her mouth intensifying. She leaned against a pillar, closing her eyes. Heartbreak was a very horrible thing. Because Misha Dobriyal was admitting it- only to herself- that she'd actually gone and lost her heart. To the guy whom her sister was dating. Karma was such a bitch!
It was a week since Alina had rejoined Sid's office. It had taken her a week to think it over, and Sid had been behaving surprisingly well- although, there were still quite a few times she had badly wanted to throw something at him. But he'd reduced some of her workload, and she was grateful for it. She also noticed he was more serious these days, more careful...and she'd almost missed the old Sid.Almost. "Alina, can I speak to you for a minute?" She was interrupted from her thoughts by- speak of the devil- Sid himself. "In my cabin, please." She went in, cautiously. "What?" she said, trying to maintain her cool denamour. "I'll be brief," he said quickly. She noticed he seemed more...fidgety...than usual.
"What is it?" she said in a softer voice. On impulse, she touched his arm. His gaze shot up to hers and his whole body tensed as if a firework had exploded in front of him. "There...is a personal favour I need," he said with difficulty. "I would ask someone else, but I...can't tell just anyone, and you're a supernatural yourself..." He looked more agitated than ever. Alina took a deep breath. "If this is about Maithali-" she began. "No- not about her," he replied, almost too quickly. "Of course, you're free to leave if you want-" Alina held up a hand. "That's enough. Sit." "What?" he said, looking confused. "Sit,"she repeated, all but pushing him down on a chair. "Right then," she said, businesslike, "what is this problem?" Sid took a deep breath. "If I- if I asked you to find someone...would you be able to find her?" Alina's eyebrows rose. "Who, exactly?"
"It's a friend. An old friend," he said. "She- I- we were friends when I was a human. I thought she died, you know, but then- I think she is a vampire too." Alina did a small victory dance in her head. "You don't know where this friend is, then?" she said, casually. "No," said Sid, sounding forlorn. "I don't know how...but since you seem to be pally with a lot of people- vampires and witches- I thought you might know." "Witches?" repeated Alina sharply. "What do you mean?" Sid smiled. "I've seen you cast spells. You did it the day I turned, I saw you. Werewolves can't work magic on their own, unless they're the Luna of the clan. So I concluded you must know witches, too...and you seem to know my ex-family pretty well." Alina almost sighed in relief . "Let me get this straight," said Alina, taking the conversation back to the original topic. "You, a vampire, want me- a werewolf- to find a vampire, whose whereabouts you have no idea of." "Well, I don't have too many contacts, do I?" said Sid, sounding irritated now. "Look, you could just give me a straightforward no'. There's no need to be so damn mocking." Alina felt herself smile inspite of herself. Sid was adorable when he wasn't cocky. "Doesn't sound so good when someone does it to you, does it?" she quipped. "I'm not saying no. I'll see if I can find Piyali- and arrange a meeting, I presume?" Sid nodded slowly, and Alina left. Sid watched her go. "I never mentioned her name, Alina," he said softly, to the empty room. "How did you know that?"
Misha did not know how long she sat alone in the canteen, till she felt herself being shaken quite strongly. "Misha!Misha! Earth to Mish, where are you?" She looked up to see Piya shaking her, worry on her face."Misha, are you ill?" Something burst inside Misha. She glanced around, looking for Kabir. He was looking at her, concern on his face...but not saying anything.She felt a sob suddenly clog in her throat. "Let go of me!" she snapped, so loudly that half the people around her turned around to look at her. "Just leave me!"She yanked her hand from Piya's and walked out, trying to stop crying. She could hear voices after her, but she didn't care, almost running down the corridor in her haste to get away...until she banged into something very solid. She blinked some of the moisture from her eyes and realised it was Abhay- a rather shocked Abhay. "Misha, wait," he said, stopping her. "Are- are you crying?" Misha opened her mouth to returt, but instead burst into tears. "Whoa!" she heard him mutter. "I'm sorry-" Abhay began awkwardly. "Misha!" Piya, who had finally caught up with her, pulled her around to face her. "Misha, I'm sorry, look- why don't you tell me what's wrong?" "Go away," said Misha, ignoring the tears that was making her voice thick now. "Go to your Kabir, why don't you?"
Piya stared at her, completely ignoring Abhay. "Misha? Are you- are you jealous ?" "Yeah,maybe I am!" snapped Misha loudly. "Just go!" "Just tell me, Mish," said Piya quietly. "Are you..do you have feelings for Kabir?" "No," said Misha quickly. Too quickly. "I don't love him. I don't. I don't. I-" To her own horror, she began to cry again. "Oh, go away," snapped Piya to a few onlookers. To Misha, she hissed, "For God's sake, Misha. Admit it, why don't you? You-like- Kabir." Misha hiccuped. "Doesn't make a difference. He's always liked you. I'm not going to be able to measure up to that-" Abhay glanced at Piya. Was she upset? On the contrary, she was smiling. "Go," said Piya. "Go, Misha. He's still there, in the canteen. Go!" Misha stared at Piya in shock. "Piya- what? You're his girlfriend, I-" "Oh, shut up," said Piya, rolling her eyes. "Go kiss him, you idiot girl." She reached out to give Misha a quick, one-armed hug. "Go!" "You were pretending," said Abhay, realizing at last. "You were pretending...to make Misha jealous." Misha stared at Piya, wide eyed. "You-what-really?" she said, hardly coherent. "Are you going or not?" said Piya, giving her a push.
Misha didn't need telling twice. She took off down the corridor like a small hurricane. Piya couldn't help smiling as she watched her go, shaking her head. "Why the hell didn't you tell me?" barked a voice near her. She looked up, startled, to see Abhay standing near her, his face set in a heavy scowl. She rolled her eyes. "You never asked me, did you? You just made assumptions." Abhay had the grace to look slightly abashed. "And besides," she continued, "why does it matter?" "It doesn't matter to me," he snapped coldly. "I just think you could've shown a bit of consideration for her feelings- she was crying just now." Piya, who had turned away,preparing to leave for office, whirled back to glare at him. "Consideration for her feelings?" she hissed. "I was acting so that she could realize her feelings for him! I'm not the sister who romanced a guy publicly because she wanted to keep her sister away from him! I'm not the one who didn't give a hang when her sister cried! You want to act all noble, fine, but don't you dare be a hypocrite. For you, everything I do is wrong, isn't it?" She turned on her heel and flounced off, outside the college, her head held defiantly high, blinking away the prickliness from her eyelids. She hailed a taxi and spent the ride to her office trying not to dwell on the fact that he cared more for Misha's tears than hers.
Abhay stared her disappearing figure. She'd avoided hinting at it in recent times, but clearly that wound hadn't healed yet. He glanced sideways to see Misha and Kabir,too, watching her go. Misha turned to look at him, and he could see his own guilt mirrored in her eyes. Not wanting to dawdle, he turned swiftly and went off to find Piya,in case she did something stupid. He was just in time to see her get into a taxi and go off. His mouth set in a grim line, he got into his own car, screeching out of the parking lot.
"You called, Mom," said Jeh. His mother-Dipannita Khurana- was lounging in one of the armchairs. Rarely had he seen her so happy. She looked happy and content. "My son," her voice was caressing. "Guess what? We shall finally have our revenge on Abhay Raichand." Jeh smiled, but something niggled at the back of his head. "And," continued Dipannita, " we will give him a nice welcome gift. We will kill Piya first in front of him." Jeh stood rooted to the spot in shock. "What?"
Dipannita's smile dimmed somewhat. "Don't be so shocked. If Piya is dead is dead, the bloodsucker will lose his will to fight. Don't you think it's an absolutely fail safe idea?" "B-But, Mom," said Jeh,"Who will be involved in...killing..."
He couldn't say the name. "Why, you, of course," she replied cheerfully. "Don't you think it would be fitting?" "Yeah...of course..."Jeh fumbled for words. "W..when?"
"Tonight,of course," said Dipannita, as though it was a stupid question. "It should be easy enough for you to persuade her to take a walk with you- and then-" His mother laughed again. "I'm sure you can fill in the rest. I've spoken to a few others, as well. In case you need help, although I have full faith in you, my son..."
Jeh had no reply. He turned ad walked to his room. Once in, he shut the door and collapsed on the bed, his head in his hands. Yes, he had always wanted revenge on Abhay Raichand...but now, he would have to kill Piya.
It was wrong, wrong on too many levels. What the hell was going on? Piya was a human. Werewolves didn't kill human. It went against his grain to kill, anyway. Piya's words of that morning floated into his head.
Was he really a coward? Was he simply a minion of his mother? He'd always regretted not speaking up for Alina, but it had been a choice he had forced to make : he had chosen his mother and clan over his sister. He'd never thought he'd question it...but now, he wasn't so sure. How did Piya know the truth? Had Alina told her? What had she let slip? He got up and paced the room restlessly.Jeh didn't like having to make choices. But this time, he was on the brink of killing someone. He suppressed the feeling of bile rising in his throat. He'd never directly killed a human. Would killing Piya be worth revenge on abhay? Jeh wished he didn't have to keep asking himself. It would be easier, no doubt, if he had no regard for Piy. But he did like her- enough to settle for a tentative truce.
Then again, killing Piya would be as good as killing Abhay...half the job would be done by killing her. And he had wanted revenge for so long...
Jeh collapsed on the bed, again.
Piya had been ultra careful with Sid since that night. He must not know..could not find out. She also suspected something was going on between Alina and Sid. From what she could see, there were times Sid allowed Alna to overrule his decisions without much of a protest. She'd also seen him staring at Alina on various occasions, although she couldn't determine if there were any romantic overtones in his gaze. As far as Piya could see, Alina remained largely unaffected, though Piya had a feeling Alina masked her true emotions : once or twice, she was sure she had seen her blush in front of Sid. She shook her head. She had enough problems on her own without attempting matchmaking. Besides, Sid was with Maithali, anyway. Sighing, she went back to her work, making changes in the designs she had been given. Her email pinged : she opened it to find a mail from Sid. She had expected it to be work-related, but instead it was a pretty informal note. "Baby brother hit a new low today? You looked like you've got lemon in your eyes." Piya couldn't help but grin. Siddharth had always made her smile...she shook off the emotions which threatened to overwhelm her. Instead, she typed back a reply, "It's not really your business, Sid." The reply came two seconds later- Piya put it down to vampire speed. "He does it to get your attention, you know. Give him some TLC, he'll be fine. ;)" Piya frowned. "Stop it, Sid. I'm trying to work." It was a full minute before he replied back. "Stop hanging around my secretary. You're actually starting to sound like her!" She didn't reply back after that and logged out, deciding to ignore him. She threw herself into her work, with the result that it was quite late when she left the office-alone. When she went out,the roads were empty. It sent a pang through her. In the past two weeks, she had come to expect Alina to wait for her, but Alina had gone home early, it seemed.Well, it seemed she would simply walk home.
She had a lot of work to do. Her finals were approaching and Piya had to revise History. The past two weeks, she had kept herself as busy as possible. With all her preparations, she was reasonably confident that she was going to do pretty well. Lost in her thoughts, she did not realise she had someone following her till she felt a cloth clamped over her mouth. Her eyes widened in shock and realization and she tried to speak, to scream for help, but darkness was already consuming her, swift and overpowering. Her hand remained clutching her bag, even as she lost consciousness.
Anupamaa
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