Part Four - Making Twinkle Taneja Desirable
"So how did it go?"
Kunj glanced at all the worried faces staring at him in anticipation. He had just completed his resit paper and was welcomed home with a series of outbursts and several concerned questions. He looked at the 4 faces gazing back at him, trying to hold back his laugh at how on edge everyone was.
"Dudes you can breathe. It went well. I answered all the questions this time around" He said, finally breaking the silence. A wave of relief washed over everyone's faces and the smiles soon broke out.
"You trained him well Taneja" Said Cherry, praising Twinkle for her hard work to which she just smiled. Truth was, she was glad that he thinks it went well but they weren't safe until the result was officially out.
"I'm going to wait for the result to be released before I officially take the credit for gracing all your lives with such immense happiness" Twinkle remarked sarcastically. The boys broke into grins and agreed that they'd wait out the next two days before going out to celebrate Kunj's victory.
"Okay, well now that that is over and done with, Taneja, I believe I owe you a date" Kunj said.
"Excuse me?" His statement caught Twinkle off guard. The rest of the guys seated themselves comfortably, awaiting the drama that was about to unfold judging from Twinkle's tone of voice.
Kunj rolled his eyes at her before explaining that it was time to make a move on fixing up her date with Laksh Verma. Twinkle's face adorned understanding, remembering the deal that was made between them, a date in return of her tutoring.
"We're going to a party tomorrow, and you Taneja, are going to accompany me" Kunj confidently said pointing at her. Her eyes narrowed at him in accusation.
"Why exactly would I do that?" She questioned. Tutoring Kunj Sarna was one thing but going out with the guy was a completely different matter altogether. If he thought that she would happily accept and jump into his arms then he had another thing coming.
"Relax Taneja, why are you always up for a fight?" He cut her off before she had a chance to speak up again. "First part of the plan involves getting Verma's attention. You said you didn't want a sympathy date so here I am helping you out. You walk into the party with me and you will have the attention of all the guys there" He finished.
"How exactly does that work?" Twinkle asked, confused at how going to a party with Kunj was going to help her out with Laksh. Why would he approach her if she attends as someone else's date? No. Not a date, definitely not a date. This was just a plan. She saw Kunj let out a deep sigh before he spoke up again.
"You're not going to like what you hear but hear me out. Going to the party with me makes you look desirable. Everyone knows that Kunj Sarna doesn't do girlfriends so they're all going to be curious about who you are and why you're attending the party with us. You come across as a mystery and there you have it, every guy will be tailing you all night, including Verma."
"WHAT?" Twinkle couldn't believe what she was hearing. The idea was completely absurd and messed up. Why are all men such idiots?
"It's a guy thing. Right guys?" Kunj told her like it was meant to be some kind of logical explanation before turning to the other lads who were watching them with great interest. They all nodded their heads in approval.
"I don't believe you guys, seriously?" The hint of disgust didn't go unnoticed by any of them. Yuvi cleared his throat eventually trying to help his brother out.
"Look Taneja, Sarna has a point. As far as I'm aware, everyone is already curious about you, I know even you've noticed the change of behaviour and weird looks right?" Yuvraj glanced at Kunj seeing Twinkle ponder on his words. It was true, of course she noticed how people she didn't even know said hi to her these days, how the supposed mean girls were suddenly no longer mean, even some of the guys from the team acknowledged her on campus... all because she agreed to tutor Kunj Sarna.
"Let's just go to the party. If it doesn't work then atleast we all partied but if it does work, then that's great for you Taneja, you'll have yourself a date. What do you say?" Twinkle looked at Yuvi and then at Kunj. No wonder these two are best friends, she thought to herself, they really knew how to pull the right strings and damn their adorable faces too, urgh! Watching them all gaze at her with such expectation, she eventually gave in to their demands.
"Fine." What could possibly go wrong, right?
*****
Twinkle looked at herself in the mirror once again, adjusting the straps of her dress and brushing through her straightened hair one last time. Kunj had told her to wear something nice and classy and nothing spells class like good old black. The knee length dress still fit her like a glove. She doesn't remember why she even bought it anymore but atleast she finally had a chance to wear it. Hearing the horn blare outside her apartment, she quickly applied a coat of lip gloss and darted for the door.
"Wow. Erm... you look good Taneja" Kunj finally managed to get out. He was awestruck. The girl really brushed up well... or was she always this pretty? Twinkle slid into the passenger seat mumbling a small thank you, trying hard not to blush at the compliment. The journey in the car was weird, maybe because Twinkle was now feeling very self-conscious about the dress and the whole idea seemed to sound stupid now. Her fidgeting didn't go unnoticed by him.
"I lied by the way" Kunj said as he drove towards their destination.
"What do you mean Sarna?" Her stance suddenly became very defensive. What was he talking about? Were they not going to the party? Was he taking her somewhere else? She couldn't help the slight feeling of panic that rose within her but her face remained calm.
"The guys won't just be just tailing you tonight. They'll be chasing you" He smirked at her. "Relax, you look great, Verma will be clean-bowled." She let out a laugh, somewhat of relief but she couldn't help but appreciate that Kunj Sarna knew how to make her feel at ease.
*****
So it turns out that Kunj Sarna isn't kidding when he makes such obnoxious claims. When they had pulled up outside the venue, Twinkle was taken aback by the number of people at this party. She even contemplated making a U-turn and heading home but her plans were foiled as the passenger door opened wide and Kunj stood there with his hand held out to her. For a moment, she forgot her tensions and chuckled at his chivalry. Who would have thought, the Kunj Sarna and that too such a gentleman? She finally accepted that she looked great, or rather hot, after the other lads let out low whistles of admiration upon seeing her. She giggled at Cherry's cheesy lines but appreciated his unique way of lightening up the atmosphere. So here she was now, sat at the pseudo bar with a coke in her hand. She didn't fancy a drink and quite honestly, she felt an uneasiness being left alone. The looks she was getting from several guys was not helping her feel any more comfortable. She had already politely declined 4 guys and most of them seemed curious of her presence. Was it really because she walked into the party with the boys? This was such a bad idea, she reprimanded in her head.
"Yo Taneja" Relief washed over her as she heard Kunj's voice. Turning her head, she saw Kunj walking towards her followed by... Oh my God. What is he doing? She thought. She quickly straightened herself up and tried to compose her rapidly beating heart.
"Verma, this is Taneja and Taneja, this is Verma." He introduced them casually. Twinkle glanced at Kunj and she saw him nod his head in assurance, magically calming her nerves. She politely smiled and forwarded her hand to meet Laksh's in a friendly handshake. Eventually Kunj excused himself so that the two could be left alone. She laughed inwardly at his pretence, he was such a bad liar but she was glad to see that Kunj Sarna was a man of his words.
"Hello?" Came a voice which snapped her out of her thoughts. Verma stood there waving at her. Sudden panic ran through her as the realisation dawned that she was finally speaking to the guy that she had been crushing on for such a long time.
"I'm sorry, what did you say?" Twinkle asked, embarrassed that she didn't hear his question because she was too busy in her own world.
Their conversation remained quite formal yet casual but guess who asked to meet up with Twinkle Taneja again? That's right, and she most readily accepted his offer. Twinkle was on cloud 9. She was going on a date with Laksh Verma. She had to tell Kunj. But where was he?
She made her way to look for Kunj through the crowds of people sweating from the excessive dancing and too drunk to realise what they were doing. Kunj was nowhere to be seen.
"Boo!" Her heart jumped as she turned around instantly. Cherry stood there laughing like there was no tomorrow, Yuvraj and Anand shooting him disapproving looks. "Your face..!" Cherry gasped out between his chuckles as Twinkle calmed her startled heart. She eventually let out a giggle at his ridiculous antics. "Come on Taneja, let's dance!" He said excitedly, pushing her towards the dance floor.
"Errr no thanks, I'm fine where I am, I don't really..." Twinkle rejected hesitantly. It wasn't that she didn't like dancing but her last time was really uncomfortable and awkward and she did not fancy going through the groped-by-drunk-guys experience again. Her worry must have been evident on her face because Yuvi spoke up.
"We've got you Taneja. You don't have to worry" He said. His words were sincere and his expression conveyed that nothing bad will happen to her as long as they were all with her. She felt herself relax and a smile begin to appear...
She was having the time of her life. She doesn't remember the last time she let herself go loose like this, dancing and singing and laughing. The latter credit goes to Cherry obviously, he was an absolute clown on the dance floor and tears streamed down Twinkle's face as she clutched her paining stomach. The guys stood by their word and didn't leave her alone once. She was so used to defending and sticking up for herself but for once, it was nice to feel protected.
She was truly enjoying herself until she saw one of the sleazy guys from earlier make his way towards her on the dance floor. From the way he was walking, it was obvious that he was drunk. Discomfort consumed her as she felt herself beginning to stiffen. Suddenly, she felt a hand slide across her waist, her petite frame now sheltered in front of his hard body.
"We've got you Taneja. I've got you" he whispered into her ear echoing Yuvraj's words from earlier. Realisation struck her as she turned to look directly at the reason for which she felt so safe and protected after such a long period of time... Kunj Sarna.
*****
"Just tell us dude, how did you do?" Yuvi asked him, now getting irritated. Results had been released and they were all gathered in the living room waiting to hear from Kunj but he was adamant that he won't say until Twinkle turns up. The door swung open and in walked Twinkle with a box in one hand and her phone in the other.
"27 missed calls and 38 messages guys, seriously. Who died?" She let out, annoyed at the fact that her phone continuously kept ringing, distracting her whilst she was driving.
"I will in a minute if Sarna doesn't spill! Look even Taneja is here now, well...?" Yuvi said once more. Worry took over everyone as Kunj became dejected all of a sudden. Glances of understanding were shared and the boys slumped down on the sofa trying to deal with the disappointment.
"I passed" Kunj told them ever so gently. He took in their confused faces before he burst into laughter. "I PASSED DUDES!" Arms were thrown, fists were bumped, palms came together in high fives and the squealing laughter that erupted from Twinkle echoed throughout the house as she was spun around in Kunj's arms.
"I knew you'd pass. Idiot!" She lightly punched him on the shoulder as he let her down to the floor. "Ohhh! I have a surprise for you all, it's actually a congratulations gift for Sarna but I know you guys will love it too!" She beamed as she picked up the box that she had walked in with. "Open it!" She told him, clapping her hands in anticipation.
The lads exchanged confused looks as Kunj ripped open the packaging. His eyes lit up as he looked at her in disbelief. Similar reactions came from the other guys.
"You did not just gift me a PS4"
"I just totally did."
*****
"What do you think I should wear? Should I message him? What if he just wants to hang out?" These questions were being thrown at Kunj for the past half an hour. After the arguments of expense and eventually the excitement about her ever so amazing present calmed down, Kunj decided that they needed to work on the Date Plan, his phase 2, as he liked to call it. Twinkle on the other hand, was now tensed about the date. Her insecurities were blatantly portrayed in her pointless blabbering.
"Relax Taneja, once I'm done training you, Verma will be counting his blessings" Kunj told her confidently.
"What do you mean by done training me? What makes you think I need training Sarna?" The defence kicked in as her eyes narrowed at him in accusation once more.
Kunj let out a sigh, "I know Verma quite well, and he likes girls that are... confident..." He was interrupted before he had a chance to finish but his definition of confident didn't sit well with Twinkle.
"And you don't think that I'm confident?" She said.
"I didn't say that Taneja, I'm trying to help you here" He defended himself.
"I don't need your help. The deal was that you'd get me a date and it's done. I can handle myself from here" She argued.
"You're blowing this out of proportion, I'm helping you out as a friend right now"
"We're not friends Sarna, we had a deal."
"Right, if that's the case then why are you sitting in my room on my bed, when you've fulfilled your part of our deal? I passed, you got your date, why are you still here?" He let out, annoyed at her change of attitude. He regretted his words as soon as he saw her face go blank and she made a move to get up and leave. He immediately blocked her way. "Look, I'm sorry Taneja, I didn't mean that. You're welcome here whenever you want, I just don't understand why you're behaving like this...?"
Twinkle was annoyed, more at herself than at him, for saying that they weren't friends when she knew that they had become good friend over these last few weeks. But the way he was treating her was like she was a 14 year old teenager struck by puppy love for the very first time. She sighed looking at his eyes which held concern.
"You're treating me like I've been a nun all my life Kunj" She finally said. Looking at his confused yet curious expression, she continued... "I'm not a virgin you know." She doesn't know why she just told him that like it was supposed to me some sort of explanation but atleast he'd stop baby-ing her now.
Kunj just stared at her. Did she just say...? He did not see that one coming, but then again, she was a pretty girl, and she had an amazing figure, was he really surprised? But she really isn't a virgin? Double standards Kunj Sarna, you sleep around plenty, so why can't she? He told himself.
"Okay..." He finally said. "When was the last time you had a boyfriend?" She didn't reply to the question at first but his eyebrows were insistent.
"2 years ago" She finally revealed.
"Okay... so when was the last time you kissed a guy?"
She gave him a look which said are you being for real? But replied eventually... "2 years ago"
"So you haven't kissed another guy since you broke up?" Twinkle just nodded.
"Wow. No experience for the last 2 years? Ermm..." He started to say but Twinkle had had enough of his questions now.
"Shut up Kunj Sarna, just because I haven't kissed someone in the last 2 years, it does not mean that I'm not a good kisser. I'll have you know that I'm a great kisser and my experience is pretty good too!" She said fuming, her eyes shooting daggers at him.
"Fine, prove it then" Kunj challenged her.
"What?"
"Prove it. Kiss me."
