Nandini clutched on the curtain breathing a sigh of relief. She looked at her phone and noticed Navya's number.
"It's really not time for you to call. That was a close one. Aiyappa, ab mein kya karoon. Why does everything go wrong when I'm around this Monster? Am I going to spend the whole night here?"
She closed her eyes and gulped as the thought began to take over her mind.
Manik on the other hand was sitting down with all of Fab4 members. All were chilling out and enjoying their time while Manik felt like he was sitting on hot lava instead of a chair. "What brought them all here?" He mumbled to himself. "I need to do something and make them leave, but what should I do?"
"Ummm. ..Guys the weather looks pretty nice out there. I think it would be great if we all went outside and enjoyed the cool breeze. What do you guys think?"
"No, I'm not going anywhere until Dhruv comes." Mukti cut in killing Manik's hopes.
Manik raised his hand towards his forehead trying to wipe the drops of sweat that were beginning to form.
Just then Dhruv came in walking through the main door with his guitar.
Speak of the devil." Mukti said laughingly which made Manik's eyes light up.
"Hey Dhruv!, Buddy." Manik went to greet him looking as happy as if he just won a million dollars.
"So glad you're here." He said hugging him. The Fab4 members began to look suspiciously at Manik's behavior and Manik calmed himself as he noticed their looks.
"Ahhh..Ummm... Let's go outside guys Dhruv is here." Manik's nervousness was getting the better out of him.
"I'm feeling really lazy. Let's just stay here and enjoy some drinks."Mukti added as she spread her legs on the couch.
Manik cursed his fate for playing this wicked game with him. While Cabir was pissed off at having lost the chance to reveal his secret after collecting some courage to speak to Manik.
Nandini paced back in fourth in Manik's room waiting for him to come. She looked at the clock hanging on the wall. "Its eleven O'clock, aiyappa chachi will be so worried now. These dumb Fab5 people, don't they have a home to go to? Aren't their parents worried for them?"
After two hours, Manik came rushing through the door.
"Hey, commoner, they all just left." He said trying to catch his breath.
Now go before..."
"Honk! Honk!" The honking of a car interrupted him before finishing his sentence. He rushed towards the window and there was Noyonika exiting her car. Manik's eyes grew wide in disbelief and he lifted his hands towards his hair unable to believe what was happening with him. "This got to be some kind of joke." He muttered to himself. Seeing his pale face Nandini rushed to the window to see what he was talking about. "Aiyappa!" She gasped in shock.
"Even your Aiyappa can't do anything to help us." He dragged her with him towards his closet and carefully lifted her and placed her there.
Noyonika entered the house and ordered the maid for a cup of coffee. She plopped herself onto the couch and began to review a pile of papers in her hand. Manik descended down the stairs and noticed his mom sitting there. He took a deep breath and managed to put up a calm face as he walked towards her.
"Madam Noyonika here? what a miracle." He said mocking her as he grabbed the magazine on the table and acted like he was interested in it.
"Am I not allowed to come to my own house? Or do I need permission from you?" She replied to him with the same tone. "I have to review some paper work and I needed a calm place to do it, so I thought why not my own house."
"Aha of course your work is the only thing that brings you here."
Noyonika ignored him and looked into her papers while Manik had his eyes on the clock checking the time. After three hours of Noyonika checking papers and Manik staring at the clock, Manik gave up on Noyonika leaving the house and decided to head toward his room.
He moved his legs towards the stairs and carefully entered his room shutting the door behind him. Once he got inside the room he rushed towards the closet and pulled the door open. There was Nandini who had fallen asleep hugging her legs. Manik's eyes softened at the sight of seeing her. She looked like a sleeping doll. He carefully lifted her in his arms and continued to gaze at her. Nandini wrapped her hands around him comforting herself in her sleep. Manik felt his heart beat stop as he felt her little hands wrapping around his back. He tried to push away all the besharam thoughts that were beginning to invade his mind and walked towards his bed and laid her down.
The sun was up and the birds were singing their morning tunes, while Manik and Nandini were still sleeping. Manik started to slowly wake up and to his surprise he found Nandini's head resting on his chest while her hand was placed on his cheek. He could feel her breath brushing his neck and a warm feeling took over him. He was too busy gazing at her that he didn't notice his hand was wrapped around her waist. Nandini began to wake up and the first thing she saw was Manik's face so close to hers. Her face lit up in shock. They jumped away in surprise both feeling uncomfortable.
"Why...Why are you sleeping next to me?" Nandini asked hesitantly.
Manik looked at her with a serious look.
"Excuse me? What did you just say? You still haven't woken up after that shower have you? Do you need another shower? If you still haven't noticed this is my bed it's very normal for me to sleep in it. You are the one sleeping next to me."
Suddenly Nandini remembered yesterday's incident and yelled. "Aiyappa!"
Manik rolled his eyes. "You and your Aiayappa."
She quickly rushed to the bathroom and changed into her clothes. "What am I going to tell Chachi?" she mumbled to herself worriedly as she began to change. "I will just say I was working on a project with Navya and fell asleep. I don't want to lie but I have no choice." She opened the door and stepped out and noticed Manik standing in her face.
"Please leave now before someone else comes." He joined his palms together and acted as if he was pleading her.
Nandini placed his clothes on the bed without uttering a word and headed out the door. After she left Manik's eyes fell on the clothes and he lifted the shirt and reminisced how Nandini had worn it. A small smile appeared on his lips while he continued to hold the shirt.
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