CHAPTER 2
More Than ‘Just Friends’
We were in the office for the final submission of the documents and reports we made so far. To our surprise, Aakriti, our dealing partner, was the same girl with whom Varun was in love with. We saw her photograph earlier that day but it wasn’t that much clear but we can have an vivid idea that it was her.
Aakriti, a perfect girl with blue eyes and
green flecks in the irises. A kind expression, pretty smile, pink lips—those were enough
to make anybody go crazy. Her curves were enough to entice all the men in the morning
when she entered the bay. Her cute face was pretty as if she had been made only to
support such a perfect structure. Yes, the moles on her neck, just below her right ear,
always made her different from other girls…three moles in a triangle had made her
famous in the office.
‘Aakriti, I heard you teach French part time. Is that true?’ I asked her as we
sit in her cabin.
‘Yes.’ Aakriti answered.
Though Varun had no interest in learning French but decided to learn as it was the
perfect opportunity to get close to her.
‘Well one of my friends want to learn it. Would you mind teaching him?’
‘No. even I’ll be glad.’ She answered.
‘That’s great I’ll pass your number to him. Is that fine?’ I asked on the
behave of Varun.
We exchanged numbers rather than completing our reports.
It was Friday, and we have weekend as a gift to our plan. We decided to
stay back at Delhi with Varun and roam with him.
Later that day at Varun’s house.
Kavya was out to meet her relatives.
‘What’s wrong, Mr Stud?’ I asked patting him on his back.
‘Nothing,’ Varun said as he continued walking alone, lost in thoughts of Aakriti.
‘Maybe I can help you. I’m good friends with her,’ I added.
The moment he heard I say I was friends with Aakriti, he jumped up in joy. His happiness
had no limits. He pleaded with me to make a case for him with Aakriti so that she saw him
favourably.
‘What will I get? I deserve something in return,’ I winked.
‘How rude! You can’t do something this pint-sized for your best friend?’ Varun pleaded.
‘No. If you are willing to give me whatever it is that I ask for in return, I’ll do it.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘I need a promise from you. Promise me that once you get into a relationship, nothing will change
between us and you won’t act like one of those emotionless guys who forget their friends once they find
a girlfriend to love. Promise me, everything will
be the same even after you’re committed to her,’ I said.
Varun hugged me and assured me that nothing would alter his love for me.
‘Don’t worry. When I’ll ask her out, I will clearly mention that along with a smart, handsome guy,
she’ll need to deal with a stupid, dumb, and idiotic boy too as a complementary gift.’
I pinched him and smiled.
I had
already plotted a plan to get Varun and Aakriti closer and started to implement it on Aakriti.
I called Aakriti and made a meeting with her.
We were
chit-chatting when Varun joined us. Aakriti gave him the cold shoulder, making Varun feel uneasy. Just
then, he received a call from his uncle and went outside to answer it. In the meantime, Aakriti and
me continued talking, Varun being the topic of discussion. I flaunted his positive attributes to
impress Aakriti although in reality, Varun couldn’t even keep his room tidy. I kept praising him in
front of Aakriti till Varun returned.
‘Let’s leave, buddy,’I told Varun as he walked in.
‘Where to?’ he asked in a surprised tone.
‘I am taking Aakriti and you out on a date. Up for it?’ I teased him.
Varun felt like hitting me with a hammer that very moment.
‘Chill, we are going for a movie. I hope you don’t mind,’ Aakriti said in her sweet voice looking at
Varun.
‘Are you mad? Why would I mind? I am on cloud nine,’ Varun added, elated.
‘What?’ Aakriti said giving him a puzzled look.
I nudged him with my elbow and signalled him to come with us. Varun followed both of us
out without uttering a word. There were no office all through the next day so I had planned for a
movie to give them an opportunity to spend some time together.
All three of us reached E-Square cinema and booked tickets for the next show of 500 Days of
Summer. Varun was overjoyed since it was his first outing with Aakriti. He prayed it would turn into a
date in the future. She swept him off his feet whenever their eyes met. For the first time he felt special,
like he had been searching for someone special all these years and had finally found her. But he felt a
void inside since he didn’t know how to act around her.
‘Let’s go eat something. We still have an hour left,’ Varun said looking at his watch.
Aakriti agreed and all of us went to the food court.
‘Aakriti, you’ve never had a boyfriend?’ I asked her on purpose.
‘No, I am kinda afraid of relationships,’ she said resting her hands on the table.
‘Me too. I think we’re a perfect match for each other,’ joked Varun.
‘Relax. Aakriti, he thinks he’s a stud. In reality, his brain is the size of a peanut. Ignore him,’ I
replied.
We had a good laugh and spent some time getting to know each other. Varun found that he was
extremely similar to Aakriti, personality-wise. They had the same taste in movies, food, sport etc. and
even had the same attitude and perspective towards things. Though he was never too loud or outspoken,
whenever he talked to Aakriti, he would metamorphosize into a completely different person. The glow
of her electric personality energized his brain as well as his heart.
It was time for the movie to begin, so we went inside the cinema hall and took our seats. The
theatre was normally vacant on weekdays, and almost all the seats were unoccupied.
The movie turned out to be really boring and we soon started to feel sleepy. I saw a couple
who were seated one row ahead of us and they were busy making their own movie. They were so
engrossed in kissing each other that they hardly looked elsewhere. Both of them had closed their eyes
and were feeling every inch of each other.
‘Look at those dumbos,’ I whispered and continued, ‘Varun, you should lend your flat on rent to
such couples who are unable to find places to have sex.’
‘Yeah, why not. I will even install a condom machine next to my door. Happy?’ Varun said
sarcastically to which Aakriti smiled. This brought a smile to his face too. He felt like he was on top of
the world.
‘I think we should videotape them on our phone. What say, guys?’ I added.
‘Have you lost it?’ Varun said, annoyed.
‘Awesome idea. It will be fun. Let’s tease them later during the interval by showing them the video,’
Aakriti said excitedly.
Varun was shocked and felt trapped between the two devils. Earlier there was just me, and now even
Aakriti had joined my troupe of crazy devils, it seemed. Aakriti took her cell phone out and started
recording them in the act. She angled the camera in such a way that both were clearly visible in the
frame. The couple didn’t have the slightest clue about what was happening. They got wilder with each
passing minute and were almost on top of each other. Looking at them, all three of us started to laugh loudly.
‘Hey, what are you doing? I will complain about you,’ screamed someone from the back seat.
Aakriti dropped the cell phone in fear and it rolled down a row.
‘What are we doing? Look at them. We are just protesting,’ Varun shouted to show that he was not
afraid of the person who was threatening them.
But our luck was terrible because the guy actually went to the authorities and complained about the
three of us and the racket we were creating. The authorities asked us to delete the video of the
couple and threw everyone of us out of the hall.
‘Don’t you have a place to have sex, you assholes?’ I screamed on their way out.
‘Should I book a room at a nearby hotel for the two of you?’ Aakriti added. She seemed to be having
fun teasing them as well.
Our trio ran to the parking lot towards Varun’s car as the authorities were hot on their heels. We
laughed thinking about how we got thrown out of the hall for shooting an MMS. Varun hadn’t expected
his first meeting with Aakriti to turn out to be so adventurous.
As Varun drove the car, he kept checking out Aakriti several times through the rear-view mirror. The
smile on her face transported him to a dream world and her naughty eyes made him crazy for her. With
each passing minute, he was falling for her more and more, while Aakriti was drawing close to Varun
and me; she was starting to enjoy our company. When Varun had met her for the first time, he
wasn’t planning on falling in love. He wasn’t even looking for another best friend. But she changed all
that. Everything started with a little crush and slowly turned into something stronger. The attraction was
electric and unexpected. She entered his world and turned it upside down. His mind tried to take
control, but his heart would always win over the mind.
There’s a famous saying that goes ‘Don’t try to understand a girl completely. If you do, then either
you’ll go mad or you’ll start loving her.’ Varun had started loving Aakriti. She had stolen his heart before
he could do something about it.
Shortly afterwards, we dropped her home and left for our apartment.
Once we reached the apartment, he sent her a message:
I had a great time with you. You’re the reason I smile these days and I think I have found that someone who can make me have
faith in love all again. Someone who can make me believe that even if things are hard in life, I don’t have to worry as I have
found that someone who can help me make it through. Someone who fills an empty space in my mind and heart. Someone who
makes me feel complete. Someone who’s enough for me. Someone who can accept me the way I am. Someone who is not
insecure. I have been hurt so many times in the past that it takes a lot for me to trust someone now. The first time I saw you, I
had this gut feeling that you and I were going to be together for a very long time. I hope I’m not irritating you with my silly
talk, but I need to tell you that you are special. Thank you so much for coming into my life.
Once he sent the message, he kept the phone next to his laptop, waiting for her reply. But no message
came. He scrolled through the pictures he had of her on his phone since he was missing every moment
he had spent with her.
We recall every moment and shared it with Kavya. We were so much involve in conversation that he forget to check his phone.
But his eyes lit up seeing one message from
Aakriti.
‘I love your company too. Hitesh and you are full of life. See you tomorrow. Miss you.’
Varun started jumping on the bed with glee when he read the last two words—‘Miss you’. Though the
message was not overtly romantic or anything, he was happy because at least she had replied. He had
never thought that he would meet someone as special as her. True love is a constant battle between the
heart and the mind. Only when both are in sync with each other that true love comes into being. And
Varun’s mind and heart were both shouting only one name in chorus. He lay on the couch trying to
imagine her next to him. He was so excited that he was unable to figure out what to do next. If I
wouldn’t have warned him, he would have asked her out right away. He wanted to tell me about the
message but it was quite late and I was asleep by then. He switched his laptop back on to check
whether she was online or not. She wasn’t either. He went to sleep that night with a smile on his face.
More Than ‘Just Friends’
We were in the office for the final submission of the documents and reports we made so far. To our surprise, Aakriti, our dealing partner, was the same girl with whom Varun was in love with. We saw her photograph earlier that day but it wasn’t that much clear but we can have an vivid idea that it was her.
Aakriti, a perfect girl with blue eyes and
green flecks in the irises. A kind expression, pretty smile, pink lips—those were enough
to make anybody go crazy. Her curves were enough to entice all the men in the morning
when she entered the bay. Her cute face was pretty as if she had been made only to
support such a perfect structure. Yes, the moles on her neck, just below her right ear,
always made her different from other girls…three moles in a triangle had made her
famous in the office.
‘Aakriti, I heard you teach French part time. Is that true?’ I asked her as we
sit in her cabin.
‘Yes.’ Aakriti answered.
Though Varun had no interest in learning French but decided to learn as it was the
perfect opportunity to get close to her.
‘Well one of my friends want to learn it. Would you mind teaching him?’
‘No. even I’ll be glad.’ She answered.
‘That’s great I’ll pass your number to him. Is that fine?’ I asked on the
behave of Varun.
We exchanged numbers rather than completing our reports.
It was Friday, and we have weekend as a gift to our plan. We decided to
stay back at Delhi with Varun and roam with him.
Later that day at Varun’s house.
Kavya was out to meet her relatives.
‘What’s wrong, Mr Stud?’ I asked patting him on his back.
‘Nothing,’ Varun said as he continued walking alone, lost in thoughts of Aakriti.
‘Maybe I can help you. I’m good friends with her,’ I added.
The moment he heard I say I was friends with Aakriti, he jumped up in joy. His happiness
had no limits. He pleaded with me to make a case for him with Aakriti so that she saw him
favourably.
‘What will I get? I deserve something in return,’ I winked.
‘How rude! You can’t do something this pint-sized for your best friend?’ Varun pleaded.
‘No. If you are willing to give me whatever it is that I ask for in return, I’ll do it.’
‘And what’s that?’
‘I need a promise from you. Promise me that once you get into a relationship, nothing will change
between us and you won’t act like one of those emotionless guys who forget their friends once they find
a girlfriend to love. Promise me, everything will
be the same even after you’re committed to her,’ I said.
Varun hugged me and assured me that nothing would alter his love for me.
‘Don’t worry. When I’ll ask her out, I will clearly mention that along with a smart, handsome guy,
she’ll need to deal with a stupid, dumb, and idiotic boy too as a complementary gift.’
I pinched him and smiled.
I had
already plotted a plan to get Varun and Aakriti closer and started to implement it on Aakriti.
I called Aakriti and made a meeting with her.
We were
chit-chatting when Varun joined us. Aakriti gave him the cold shoulder, making Varun feel uneasy. Just
then, he received a call from his uncle and went outside to answer it. In the meantime, Aakriti and
me continued talking, Varun being the topic of discussion. I flaunted his positive attributes to
impress Aakriti although in reality, Varun couldn’t even keep his room tidy. I kept praising him in
front of Aakriti till Varun returned.
‘Let’s leave, buddy,’I told Varun as he walked in.
‘Where to?’ he asked in a surprised tone.
‘I am taking Aakriti and you out on a date. Up for it?’ I teased him.
Varun felt like hitting me with a hammer that very moment.
‘Chill, we are going for a movie. I hope you don’t mind,’ Aakriti said in her sweet voice looking at
Varun.
‘Are you mad? Why would I mind? I am on cloud nine,’ Varun added, elated.
‘What?’ Aakriti said giving him a puzzled look.
I nudged him with my elbow and signalled him to come with us. Varun followed both of us
out without uttering a word. There were no office all through the next day so I had planned for a
movie to give them an opportunity to spend some time together.
All three of us reached E-Square cinema and booked tickets for the next show of 500 Days of
Summer. Varun was overjoyed since it was his first outing with Aakriti. He prayed it would turn into a
date in the future. She swept him off his feet whenever their eyes met. For the first time he felt special,
like he had been searching for someone special all these years and had finally found her. But he felt a
void inside since he didn’t know how to act around her.
‘Let’s go eat something. We still have an hour left,’ Varun said looking at his watch.
Aakriti agreed and all of us went to the food court.
‘Aakriti, you’ve never had a boyfriend?’ I asked her on purpose.
‘No, I am kinda afraid of relationships,’ she said resting her hands on the table.
‘Me too. I think we’re a perfect match for each other,’ joked Varun.
‘Relax. Aakriti, he thinks he’s a stud. In reality, his brain is the size of a peanut. Ignore him,’ I
replied.
We had a good laugh and spent some time getting to know each other. Varun found that he was
extremely similar to Aakriti, personality-wise. They had the same taste in movies, food, sport etc. and
even had the same attitude and perspective towards things. Though he was never too loud or outspoken,
whenever he talked to Aakriti, he would metamorphosize into a completely different person. The glow
of her electric personality energized his brain as well as his heart.
It was time for the movie to begin, so we went inside the cinema hall and took our seats. The
theatre was normally vacant on weekdays, and almost all the seats were unoccupied.
The movie turned out to be really boring and we soon started to feel sleepy. I saw a couple
who were seated one row ahead of us and they were busy making their own movie. They were so
engrossed in kissing each other that they hardly looked elsewhere. Both of them had closed their eyes
and were feeling every inch of each other.
‘Look at those dumbos,’ I whispered and continued, ‘Varun, you should lend your flat on rent to
such couples who are unable to find places to have sex.’
‘Yeah, why not. I will even install a condom machine next to my door. Happy?’ Varun said
sarcastically to which Aakriti smiled. This brought a smile to his face too. He felt like he was on top of
the world.
‘I think we should videotape them on our phone. What say, guys?’ I added.
‘Have you lost it?’ Varun said, annoyed.
‘Awesome idea. It will be fun. Let’s tease them later during the interval by showing them the video,’
Aakriti said excitedly.
Varun was shocked and felt trapped between the two devils. Earlier there was just me, and now even
Aakriti had joined my troupe of crazy devils, it seemed. Aakriti took her cell phone out and started
recording them in the act. She angled the camera in such a way that both were clearly visible in the
frame. The couple didn’t have the slightest clue about what was happening. They got wilder with each
passing minute and were almost on top of each other. Looking at them, all three of us started to laugh loudly.
‘Hey, what are you doing? I will complain about you,’ screamed someone from the back seat.
Aakriti dropped the cell phone in fear and it rolled down a row.
‘What are we doing? Look at them. We are just protesting,’ Varun shouted to show that he was not
afraid of the person who was threatening them.
But our luck was terrible because the guy actually went to the authorities and complained about the
three of us and the racket we were creating. The authorities asked us to delete the video of the
couple and threw everyone of us out of the hall.
‘Don’t you have a place to have sex, you assholes?’ I screamed on their way out.
‘Should I book a room at a nearby hotel for the two of you?’ Aakriti added. She seemed to be having
fun teasing them as well.
Our trio ran to the parking lot towards Varun’s car as the authorities were hot on their heels. We
laughed thinking about how we got thrown out of the hall for shooting an MMS. Varun hadn’t expected
his first meeting with Aakriti to turn out to be so adventurous.
As Varun drove the car, he kept checking out Aakriti several times through the rear-view mirror. The
smile on her face transported him to a dream world and her naughty eyes made him crazy for her. With
each passing minute, he was falling for her more and more, while Aakriti was drawing close to Varun
and me; she was starting to enjoy our company. When Varun had met her for the first time, he
wasn’t planning on falling in love. He wasn’t even looking for another best friend. But she changed all
that. Everything started with a little crush and slowly turned into something stronger. The attraction was
electric and unexpected. She entered his world and turned it upside down. His mind tried to take
control, but his heart would always win over the mind.
There’s a famous saying that goes ‘Don’t try to understand a girl completely. If you do, then either
you’ll go mad or you’ll start loving her.’ Varun had started loving Aakriti. She had stolen his heart before
he could do something about it.
Shortly afterwards, we dropped her home and left for our apartment.
Once we reached the apartment, he sent her a message:
I had a great time with you. You’re the reason I smile these days and I think I have found that someone who can make me have
faith in love all again. Someone who can make me believe that even if things are hard in life, I don’t have to worry as I have
found that someone who can help me make it through. Someone who fills an empty space in my mind and heart. Someone who
makes me feel complete. Someone who’s enough for me. Someone who can accept me the way I am. Someone who is not
insecure. I have been hurt so many times in the past that it takes a lot for me to trust someone now. The first time I saw you, I
had this gut feeling that you and I were going to be together for a very long time. I hope I’m not irritating you with my silly
talk, but I need to tell you that you are special. Thank you so much for coming into my life.
Once he sent the message, he kept the phone next to his laptop, waiting for her reply. But no message
came. He scrolled through the pictures he had of her on his phone since he was missing every moment
he had spent with her.
We recall every moment and shared it with Kavya. We were so much involve in conversation that he forget to check his phone.
But his eyes lit up seeing one message from
Aakriti.
‘I love your company too. Hitesh and you are full of life. See you tomorrow. Miss you.’
Varun started jumping on the bed with glee when he read the last two words—‘Miss you’. Though the
message was not overtly romantic or anything, he was happy because at least she had replied. He had
never thought that he would meet someone as special as her. True love is a constant battle between the
heart and the mind. Only when both are in sync with each other that true love comes into being. And
Varun’s mind and heart were both shouting only one name in chorus. He lay on the couch trying to
imagine her next to him. He was so excited that he was unable to figure out what to do next. If I
wouldn’t have warned him, he would have asked her out right away. He wanted to tell me about the
message but it was quite late and I was asleep by then. He switched his laptop back on to check
whether she was online or not. She wasn’t either. He went to sleep that night with a smile on his face.
Eagerly waiting for next chapter sir 😊😊😊
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