Nothing More, Nothing Less [AnuPre FF] Part 4 updated!

Posted: 5 years ago
As promised, here I am with my first story on the forum. Hope you like it. 
Please feel free to leave comments if you appreciate my humble writing or suggestions on how to make it better. 

~ Tanu 

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PART 1


Mr. Padhaku was always supposed to be just Mr. Padhaku, nothing more, nothing less. Sure, Anurag was handsome in a wholesome, admire my drawl, chiselled perfection kind of way. But from the day they first laid eyes on him, he had Anjali stamped all over him. Even if his smile could make the coldest heart melt and make every girl in a twenty-mile radius swoon in unison, Prerna never looked his way in that way.


Because, he was the Anurag she had known for 10 years, and Prerna knew he was Anjali's crush. There was no point in looking at him in that way. This was the way of their world.

So Prerna was struck dumb when Anurag's small act of aggression nearly bowled her over.

Yes, he had threatened the political party workers in a similar manner, but he was never going to throw that punch. That, like much of what he did that week, was only meant to keep Prerna from resorting to similar violence. With them, he was Anurag the Good playing at being bad, but on the surface he was still exactly what they thought he was. He was still the eternal buddy, even with his fist raised.

This time there was something thrumming under the surface that wasn't there before. There was no humour in his eyes this time when he was facing Naveen Babu. He was all seriousness and the air was thick with the hostility oozing off of him. Everyone was seeing the scene play out, but Prerna was sure that no one else was really seeing it except her. She could feel it, the buzz of barely restrained fury. She was honed in on it, compelled toward it, because it was the same beat that vibrated deep in her chest. And though, he didn't throw a punch this time either, his control over himself and the way he dominated the situation made her insides flutter.

Suddenly, Prerna could see herself seeing Anurag that way. It should have been an unwelcome change, but, oddly, it wasn't. It was different, yes, but it didn't change everything. He was still Mr. Padhaaku, first and foremost. He played the part of her moral compass for far too long for him not to revert right back to that role. Ninety-nine percent of the time, she ignored the ear to ear grin that made other girls giggle, bat their eyelashes, and fan themselves. Now that she knew about that other one percent though, there was a twinge of attraction when he got a certain look about him. But it wasn't anything more than that.

Anurag was still Anjali's daydream, hers for the taking when she was ready. That was the way of their world. Besides, Prerna was still hung up on true love for the most part. One unattainable thing to pine over was enough for her.

Even if sometimes her daydreams belonged to sparkly hazel eyes, attached to the drawl, stopping her from making irrational decisions.

That was just where it started. It was not their beginning.


Part 2: Continued on Page 1 

Part 3 & 4: Page 2




Edited by Tme0w - 5 years ago
Posted: 5 years ago

PART 2

The ambiguous, they said, that nothing was just black and white, good or bad, right or wrong. But Prerna was still young and, with a life like hers, it was easier to draw a line between the two anyway. There were two sides to every coin and things were simpler when a person understood which side he or she fell on. When Prerna drew the line between Affluent and Middle Class, she knew which side belonged to her and knew who was trapped on the other side. In her head, she was on the wrong side of the line while Chandrika and Anurag were on the side of wealth and goodness. That worked for Prerna. As long as Prerna was alone in this and stopped herself on time, she couldn't be hurt. The point was they were supposed to occupy opposite sides of the line. That was the way of their world.

Now she knew that they were more alike than she ever thought. And now that she knew, it was hard to see how she had missed it? No one was one hundred percent anything; they couldn't be packed into one singular box, no matter how hard she tried. Prerna liked dichotomy because it made everyone easy to define, but easy wasn't necessarily true. There was no set line between black and white, just the gray area that they all occupied. Take Anurag, even when he was bad, there was good in it. He got into fights because of her, true, but it was always to protect his friends. He held back when the truly bad would plunge forward with fists flailing. He couldn't even bring himself to say out loud what he was so bothered about, he always had to investigate in private. The truth was, that people had both sides of the coin in them; the key was figuring out which side landed up most of the time.

Prerna didn't like that, because everything rode on people being either-or. As long as he was Anurag, the righteous knight and she was Prerna, optimist but slightly impulsive, then they were nothing alike. They had nothing in common. There was nothing to bring them together. She needed their differences to be absolute, because that was the only way that their similarities couldn't give her hope. Because having hope on the wrong person was a heart breaker, a killer, an end all to the way of their world.

For so long, she was blind to their similarities, but now that she had clarity, she saw them everywhere. They grew and expanded to fill her vision. They were squeezing even Anjali out of the picture and that was no good. It couldn't be that way. Prerna wouldn't allow it.

As much as full on Prerna liked chaos, she knew there was a reason why they needed order. They needed order because rules and structure were the thing that was supposed to keep Anurag from following her out into the wild, unpredictable yonder. Rules wouldn't allow him to be "just like" her. Order made it so she didn't have to answer questions like, "what do I seem like to you?" Because the acceptable answers are all lies.

Prerna was not allowed to say that she saw something of herself reflecting back at her when she looked at Anurag that close up. She was not allowed to say that he had the potential trapped in him to be persistent if that was what he wanted. She wasn't allowed to say that because he wasn't allowed to want that and she wasn't allowed to want him to want that. There was no use in creating that possibility. It was better if he thought he was the meant for better, and that was the only acceptable ending for their stories. It was as simple as that. She had enough difficult in her life; she didn't need Anurag to complicate things for her even more.

This was not their beginning, because they were never supposed to have a beginning.

 

Edited by Tme0w - 5 years ago
Posted: 5 years ago
Thanks a tonnn!! I was actually gonna just leave it like this 😆
Can you suggest what I can add to make it more interesting maybe?! 😳
Posted: 5 years ago
It's beautiful, would love to read more
Posted: 5 years ago
Thank You folks!! Will think of something to continue 🤗
Posted: 5 years ago
Originally posted by Tme0w


As promised, here I am with my first story on the forum. Hope you like it. 
Please feel free to leave comments if you appreciate my humble writing or suggestions on how to make it better. 

~ Tanu 


Mr. Padhaku was always supposed to be just Mr. Padhaku, nothing more, nothing less. Sure, Anurag was handsome in a wholesome, admire my drawl, chiselled perfection kind of way. But from the day they first laid eyes on him, he had Anjali stamped all over him. Even if his smile could make the coldest heart melt and make every girl in a twenty-mile radius swoon in unison, Prerna never looked his way in that way.


Because, he was the Anurag she had known for 10 years, and Prerna knew he was Anjali's crush. There was no point in looking at him in that way. This was the way of their world.

So Prerna was struck dumb when Anurag's small act of aggression nearly bowled her over.

Yes, he had threatened the political party workers in a similar manner, but he was never going to throw that punch. That, like much of what he did that week, was only meant to keep Prerna from resorting to similar violence. With them, he was Anurag the Good playing at being bad, but on the surface he was still exactly what they thought he was. He was still the eternal buddy, even with his fist raised.

This time there was something thrumming under the surface that wasn't there before. There was no humour in his eyes this time when he was facing Naveen Babu. He was all seriousness and the air was thick with the hostility oozing off of him. Everyone was seeing the scene play out, but Prerna was sure that no one else was really seeing it except her. She could feel it, the buzz of barely restrained fury. She was honed in on it, compelled toward it, because it was the same beat that vibrated deep in her chest. And though, he didn't throw a punch this time either, his control over himself and the way he dominated the situation made her insides flutter.

Suddenly, Prerna could see herself seeing Anurag that way. It should have been an unwelcome change, but, oddly, it wasn't. It was different, yes, but it didn't change everything. He was still Mr. Padhaaku, first and foremost. He played the part of her moral compass for far too long for him not to revert right back to that role. Ninety-nine percent of the time, she ignored the ear to ear grin that made other girls giggle, bat their eyelashes, and fan themselves. Now that she knew about that other one percent though, there was a twinge of attraction when he got a certain look about him. But it wasn't anything more than that.

Anurag was still Anjali's daydream, hers for the taking when she was ready. That was the way of their world. Besides, Prerna was still hung up on true love for the most part. One unattainable thing to pine over was enough for her.

Even if sometimes her daydreams belonged to sparkly hazel eyes, attached to the drawl, stopping her from making irrational decisions.

That was just where it started. It was not their beginning.






@BOLD : I loooveeedd that line! And the WHOLE thing! Please continue as soon as you can. You write beautifully. You got me hooked with the very first line ❤️
Posted: 5 years ago

PART 3

Prerna's innocence was so all encompassing that it followed her around like a tangible aura. This became clear near the beginning of their Final Year. Before then, through the years, there had been a few almost fights. Sid kept running his mouth and Anurag felt obligated to protect him. It never went further than Anurag showing a little aggressive flair. That was when he was dating Mishka, so even though Prerna would give a shiver every time she witnessed that little bit of bad in him, she didn't let anyone else see that. It was one thing to look at him like that when they were kids, and were all friends on an even field. It was an entirely different thing to covet her someone else's boyfriend every time he got a certain spark of fire in his eyes.

Then, suddenly, he wasn't Mishka's boyfriend. In the summer before senior year, Mishka decided that, while he was her first great romance, Anurag was not her forever love. What prompted this realization, even Prerna didn't know. Whatever may have brought it on, Anurag seemed to agree. He even said that he was a couple weeks off of calling it quits himself. As sudden as it was, it didn't change much. The couple dissolved and they all went back to being friends all around for the rest of the summer. It should have been fine, but everything changed again.

That September, even Anjali expanded her social circle and starting dating someone new, someone they hadn't known. Busier with other things, she left Anurag and Prerna to their own devices. With the amount of time they were spending together while he tutored her on Accounts in college, as colleagues in office, and when dropped her home, Prerna feared she was too bad an influence on him. He was in a real fight within a few weeks of the start of the semester.

Prerna never got around to hearing what provoked the fight, nor was she around to see it. She had been closed up in the library studying for her exam when the fist fight broke out in the boys' locker room. Rumours spread like wildfire though and by the time Anurag joined them at their lunch table sporting a shiner and split lip, Sid had heard he had Kung fu'd his way through twelve guys, Anjali had collected three separate accounts that said the other guy was in the hospital, and Prerna wasn't sure who threw the first punch. Anurag evaded their questions and kept his head down in a move eerily familiar to the way Prerna acted after receiving a scolding at home.

"You're lucky you didn't get caught, or killed, or expelled," Anjali said in between glances toward her boyfriend's table across the cafeteria. With the lunch hour half over, it was almost time for her to head over there. She tried to split her time evenly, but the boy always seemed to come out with a little more of her.

"Think about your goals," Sid added. "You can't let someone else's stupidity ruin your future."

"It's nothing," Anurag insisted, digging his fork into his plate. "It won't happen again."

Anurag making light of the situation, like it wasn't a big deal, doubled with the fact that Prerna's first thought after seeing him was that he could do with looking a little less perfect, made it obvious that she couldn't let this happen.

When Anurag walked with her to class after lunch, Anjali was with her boyfriend and Sid's next class was on the other side of the building, so it was just the two of them together everyday, he bumped his side against hers. She was still like she had always been and the slight nudge almost sent her sprawling. She would have gone over if his quick reflexes hasn't reached out and caught her by her elbow, pulling her back in close to his side. He didn't apologize, just matched her stride and kept going.

"You were quiet at lunch," Anurag said. His tongue poked out to probe his split lip and Prerna wanted to pinch herself for letting her eyes fall to watch it. "Is it because you agree with them? You gonna tell me I shouldn't be fighting?"

Prerna stopped short of her classroom and Anurag pulled up to face her. She squinted her eyes as she looked up at him. It was hard to meet his eyes; he shone so brilliantly that it was almost like trying to stare at the sun. She was almost blinded by him. Even with his battle wounds, there was no stopping the inherent gorgeous quality of his features from shining through. Before she could stop herself, she reached up and brushed her thumb over the bruise forming under his eye. Maybe she imagined it, but he seemed to lean into her touch. She snapped her hand back to her side before she could find out for sure.

"You shouldn't be fighting," Prerna said each word carefully, because if she didn't, her tongue might spit different ones out.

"You know what it's like, Prerna," Anurag licked his lip again, but Prerna was not looking at his lips. "If you had heard what he said"

"It doesn't matter what the guy said about Sid" Prerna replied.

"Who said anything about Sid?" Anurag's eyebrows knit together.

"The fight wasn't about Sid?" Prerna matched his frown. "Isn't it always about Sid?"

Anurag shook his head slowly. "You've always wanted us to stick up for you. I've kept up my end of the bargain. You'd do the same for me, wouldn't you?"

"You know I would," Prerna fought off the hint of smile that threatened to appear as she realized this was about her. She couldn't encourage him. She took a step back and turned her eyes to the floor. "But the others are right. You have a future to worry about. You can't be doing things like this, especially for a nobody like me."

Before Anurag could see through her, Prerna pivoted around and went straight into her classroom.

"You aren't a nobody, Prerna, that's the point," Anurag called after her.

Prerna pretended not to hear him, because she had no other choice. The Mishka on him might have been fading, but there were still traces of it. Even if Anurag was throwing his first real punches in years for her, Prerna couldn't paint herself over him. It would end up ruining them both.

This was not their beginning, because she couldn't let it be.


Edited by Tme0w - 5 years ago
Posted: 5 years ago
Originally posted by Tme0w


PART 3

Prerna's innocence was so all encompassing that it followed her around like a tangible aura. This became clear near the beginning of their Final Year. Before then, through the years, there had been a few almost fights. Sid kept running his mouth and Anurag felt obligated to protect him. It never went further than Anurag showing a little aggressive flair. That was when he was dating Mishka, so even though Prerna would give a shiver every time she witnessed that little bit of bad in him, she didn't let anyone else see that. It was one thing to look at him like that when they were kids, and were all friends on an even field. It was an entirely different thing to covet her someone else's boyfriend every time he got a certain spark of fire in his eyes.

Then, suddenly, he wasn't Mishka's boyfriend. In the summer before senior year, Mishka decided that, while he was her first great romance, Anurag was not her forever love. What prompted this realization, even Prerna didn't know. Whatever may have brought it on, Anurag seemed to agree. He even said that he was a couple weeks off of calling it quits himself. As sudden as it was, it didn't change much. The couple dissolved and they all went back to being friends all around for the rest of the summer. It should have been fine, but everything changed again.

That September, even Anjali expanded her social circle and starting dating someone new, someone they hadn't known. Busier with other things, she left Anurag and Prerna to their own devices. With the amount of time they were spending together while he tutored her on Accounts in college, as colleagues in office, and when dropped her home, Prerna feared she was too bad an influence on him. He was in a real fight within a few weeks of the start of the semester.

Prerna never got around to hearing what provoked the fight, nor was she around to see it. She had been closed up in the library studying for her exam when the fist fight broke out in the boys' locker room. Rumours spread like wildfire though and by the time Anurag joined them at their lunch table sporting a shiner and split lip, Sid had heard he had Kung fu'd his way through twelve guys, Anjali had collected three separate accounts that said the other guy was in the hospital, and Prerna wasn't sure who threw the first punch. Anurag evaded their questions and kept his head down in a move eerily familiar to the way Prerna acted after receiving a scolding at home.

"You're lucky you didn't get caught, or killed, or expelled," Anjali said in between glances toward her boyfriend's table across the cafeteria. With the lunch hour half over, it was almost time for her to head over there. She tried to split her time evenly, but the boy always seemed to come out with a little more of her.

"Think about your goals," Sid added. "You can't let someone else's stupidity ruin your future."

"It's nothing," Anurag insisted, digging his fork into his plate. "It won't happen again."

Anurag making light of the situation, like it wasn't a big deal, doubled with the fact that Prerna's first thought after seeing him was that he could do with looking a little less perfect, made it obvious that she couldn't let this happen.

When Anurag walked with her to class after lunch, Anjali was with her boyfriend and Sid's next class was on the other side of the building, so it was just the two of them together everyday, he bumped his side against hers. She was still like she had always been and the slight nudge almost sent her sprawling. She would have gone over if his quick reflexes hasn't reached out and caught her by her elbow, pulling her back in close to his side. He didn't apologize, just matched her stride and kept going.

"You were quiet at lunch," Anurag said. His tongue poked out to probe his split lip and Prerna wanted to pinch herself for letting her eyes fall to watch it. "Is it because you agree with them? You gonna tell me I shouldn't be fighting?"

Prerna stopped short of her classroom and Anurag pulled up to face her. She squinted her eyes as she looked up at him. It was hard to meet his eyes; he shone so brilliantly that it was almost like trying to stare at the sun. She was almost blinded by him. Even with his battle wounds, there was no stopping the inherent gorgeous quality of his features from shining through. Before she could stop herself, she reached up and brushed her thumb over the bruise forming under his eye. Maybe she imagined it, but he seemed to lean into her touch. She snapped her hand back to her side before she could find out for sure.

"You shouldn't be fighting," Prerna said each word carefully, because if she didn't, her tongue might spit different ones out.

"You know what it's like, Prerna," Anurag licked his lip again, but Prerna was not looking at his lips. "If you had heard what he said"

"It doesn't matter what the guy said about Sid" Prerna replied.

"Who said anything about Sid?" Anurag's eyebrows knit together.

"The fight wasn't about Sid?" Prerna matched his frown. "Isn't it always about Sid?"

Anurag shook his head slowly. "You've always wanted us to stick up for you. I've kept up my end of the bargain. You'd do the same for me, wouldn't you?"

"You know I would," Prerna fought off the hint of smile that threatened to appear as she realized this was about her. She couldn't encourage him. She took a step back and turned her eyes to the floor. "But the others are right. You have a future to worry about. You can't be doing things like this, especially for a nobody like me."

Before Anurag could see through her, Prerna pivoted around and went straight into her classroom.

"You aren't a nobody, Prerna, that's the point," Anurag called after her.

Prerna pretended not to hear him, because she had no other choice. The Mishka on him might have been fading, but there were still traces of it. Even if Anurag was throwing his first real punches in years for her, Prerna couldn't paint herself over him. It would end up ruining them both.

This was not their beginning, because she couldn't let it be.



Aww! It's okay Prerna, let go! Don't hold back so much. He cares for you. They have such an mazing dynamic and the chemistry is tangible! Great writing! Please update soooneeerrr...! I would love to keep reading this. 
Posted: 5 years ago
PART 4



After that, Prerna had to get proactive. What happened was this: she kept her ears and eyes open for anything that might set Anurag off, and she resolved the problem before it could get back to him. It was better that way, because her dupatta hid bruised knuckles better than the junk from Anjali's makeup bag could cover up a black eye on Anurag's pretty face. Suddenly, there was that hint of good in all the bad she was doing. She was something of a masked vigilante superhero roaming the halls to knockout threats before they could wreak havoc on the foundations her group was united upon. She was protecting her friend from himself. It didn't need to be mentioned that she was also protecting herself because if she could keep Anurag on the other side then she couldn't have him. She could stop hopelessly imagining that he could ever see her in that way too.

She thought she had been mostly discreet about what she was doing behind the scenes. Her stealth was key to her plan working. Like most things in her life, it didn't turn out exactly how she expected. If there was ever time she wished she could have a predictable, ordinary, easy life, it was now.

Somehow, word got around that Prerna had stabbed someone with something stupid and entirely exaggerated. She didn't go around doling out mortal wounds, that wasn't her style. She had only seriously beaten up guys on one occasion when she was trying to help Anurag on the riots. It never took anyone more than a couple minutes to get back on their feet and dust themselves off. if she slapped them So, she had no idea how the rumour originated, only that it started during second period and by the time lunch rolled around, it was her that everyone was looking at. As she headed to her usual table, people stumbled to clear a path for her, which she thought was overkill. Her pocket knife had been bugging her since it refused to shut no matter how much pressure she put on it. But it didn't stop her from carrying her pocket knife in her hand even when walking, because the looks it got amused her.

The looks on her friends' faces when she sat down were not amusing at all. She quickly stowed the pocketknife away in her bag. If she stayed quiet, she wasn't admitting to anything. That was her plan: silent denial. Only, Anjali was glaring daggers and Anurag wasn't looking at her, so it was hard not to speak up when no one else would say anything.

"What?" Prerna finally relented.

"How could you, Prerna?" Anjali launched in.

"You're not going to even ask me if it's true?" Prerna said. "Are we done with giving me the benefit of the doubt?"

"Are you saying you didn't do it?" Sid asked. At least he was looking at her with his usual neutral expression.

"Of course I didn't do it," Prerna said. It technically wasn't a lie. She hadn't actually been in any kind of fight, armed with the pocketknife or not, in more than a week. "Personally, I respect my pocketknife too much to use it as a weapon. I mean, all the blood would ruin them."

"This is serious," Anjali said.

"It wasn't a joke, Angie," Prerna said. "It never happened and I don't know how anyone thought it had. But I'm glad that at least my best friends have faith in me."

Anjali sighed, "I have faith in you, Prerna. But this isn't the first time we've heard about something like this lately. This is just the first time everybody was talking about it at the same time."

"Well, geez, imagine if everyone believed all the rumors about you," Prerna said. "You should hear some of the things people will say behind your backs."

Most of those things were no longer being said in fear of bringing down Prerna's wrath, but she couldn't tell them that.

Her eyes fell on the silent Anurag, "You have anything to say about this?"

Anurag looked up to meet her eyes for a second before he returned his gaze to his tray where he was picking at his lunch with a fork. Apparently, he had nothing to add. At least she had been successful on one front, albeit in a roundabout way. She had pushed Anurag away not by raising him up out of her reach, but by lowering herself to a depth that couldn't be spanned. All at once, she regretted everything.

"Thanks a lot," Prerna said and stood up. She was halfway to the exit before she realized she had forgotten her things, but she wasn't going to turn back now.

"Wait, Prerna! Don't go," Anjali yelled after her, but she didn't turn back.

She didn't glance back until a second before the exit. She expected all eyes to be on her, and they were. Except one pair. His fork had still, but Anurag's head was still faced down at the table.

This was not their beginning. There was a good chance it was their ending.
Edited by Tme0w - 5 years ago

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