Chapter 8 - Pyaar Dosti Hai!

Shweta

@2111_shweta

"Yaar tum dono abhi tak naraz ho?" Rey asked both, Sharon and Swayam.

"Hum hote kaun hai naraz hone wale?" Sharon taunted.

"Guys, I wanted to tell you. But main yeh baat phone pe nahi batana chahata tha aur tum dono wahan aa nahi sakte the." Rey explained.

"Kyun nahi aa sakte the?" Swayam asked.

Rey realized his slip of tongue and signaled Sharon for help.

"But Rey, you do realize that we didn't get to be there for the ceremony?" Sharon covered up for him.

"I know. But it's not like meri engagement hogayi hai. Why are you two acting this way?" Rey didn't understand why they were making a big deal out of it.

"Out of the blue tu aake bata raha hai ki tera roka hua hai and you want us to act normal?" Swayam rolled his eyes at him.

"Okay fine. But, at least don't be pissed at me. I know ki tum dono ko wahan hona chahiye tha par main kya karta yaar?" Rey sulked.

"Chal abh aisi sadi hui shakal mat bana. You owe us a treat!" Sharon demanded.

"Wherever you want!" Rey agreed.

"Kya hua aaj itni tensed kyu hai?" Arjun asked Taani.

"Ek ladka aur ladki kitne close friends ho sakte hai?" Taani asked back.

"Hain? Yeh kaisa sawaal hai?" Arjun gave her a confused look.

"Arre bata na." She asked getting irritated.

"We are friends and we are quite close to each other. Right?" Arjun tried to answer even though he didn't understand what she meant.

"Yes, we are. But is it possible for two people to be really close and just be friends?" Taani asked thinking deeply.

"Okay what?" Purvi asked this time.

"Arre yaar, tum log answer dene ki jagah ulta mujhi ko questions puche ja rahe ho!"

"Toh tu pehle bata na ki aise ajeeb-o-gareeb questions kyu pooch rahi hai. Fir hum kuch bata payenge." Arjun rolled his eyes at Taani.

"Voh erm.." Taani hesitated.

"Yes, go ahead." Purvi nudged her.

"Voh kal main Reyansh ke saath video call pe thi aur phir unki voh friend.." Taani stopped as she saw both Arjun and Purvi hiding their smiles. "What?" She asked.

"You're jealous!" Arjun teased.

"Phir se bakwas shuru kar di na tune." Taani glared at him.

"Main kabhi bakwas karta hi nahi." He acted saint.

"Tu bata kya hua?" Purvi asked, ignoring Arjun's antics.

...

"Juhi, tum yahan?" Tanya was surprised to see Juhi at the door. "Andar aao."

"Mujhe dekh kar itni chounk kyu gayi?" Juhi asked.

"I wasn't expecting you."

"Well, I was just passing by and decided to visit."

"Kuch kaam tha ya bas aise hi?"

"Tumse itne arse baad mili hoon. So, I thought why not catch up."

"Well, that's not completely true. Hum pichle kuch dino mein kaafi baar mile hai." Tanya chuckled.

"Baat toh sahi hai." Juhi smiled. "But thanks yaar. I know ki yeh rishta Taani ke liye kuch jyada hi jaldi aaya hai, but I didn't want to delay."

"Isme thanks kya? Tumhe idea nahi hai ki main kitni khush hoon."

"Aur Taani? Usse kabhi jyada kuch bolte bhi nahi dekha? Roke ke din bhi sehmi sehmi si thi."

"Tum sab log naye ho uske liye isiliye itni sehmi si hai. Usse logon ke saath mix-up hone time lagta hai. Jodhpur mein agar kisine sunn liya ki Taani itni sehmi si rehti hai, toh koi yakeen nahi karega." Tanya laughed.

"Waise, tum Mumbai kab shift hui?"

"Kuch teen saal pehle, Taani ko Mumbai mein college attend karna tha aur usse yahan akela main bhejna nahi chahati thi."

"Aur Shivam? Uska job and all?"

"He was more than happy to shift here. Maine socha ki dono bachho ko yahan shift hona hai toh main wahan akeli kya karti. So, we came here."

"Yahan aane ke baad ek baar contact nahi kar sakti thi?" Juhi complained.

"Tumne bhi toh contact kahan rakha? Meri shaadi pe aayi thi uske baad abhi mil rahi ho." Tanya complained back.

"Rannvijay aur uske trips! Main ek jagah hoti kahan hoon jo kisise contact rakhu? Abhi do saal se Mumbai mein hoon kyunki Rey wagera New York mein the aur iski wajah se Rann ko yahan hona pad raha tha."

"Matlab Rey yahan hota hai toh voh akela sambhalta hai sab?" Tanya was surprised.

"Akela kahan? Yeh teen partners hai na SRS ke; Singhania, Rai Prakash aur Shekhawat, yeh teeno pakke businessmen hai. Bachho ne company join karte hi unpe company ki responsibilities daal di aur khud ghoom rahe hai. In the name of business trips, if I may add. Aur responsibilities bhi sab nahi di hai. End of the day the kids have to report to them." Juhi laughed.

"Poor things." Tanya laughed as well.

...

"Mumma bhai kahan hai?" Taani asked as soon as she entered the house.

"Aate hi chillana shuru? Shivam ki koi meeting hai, voh late aane wala hai. Kya kaam tha uss se?" Tanya replied.

"Meri gaadi pick up karni thi garage se." Taani wailed and stepped in to see Juhi sitting next to Tanya. "Aunty, aap yahan?"

"Tumse milne aayi hai." Tanya joked.

"Haan maine socha ki apni hone wali bahu se mila jaye." Juhi smiled.

"This is not fair. Mujhe bhi apne damad se milna hai." Tanya complained.

"No worries, abhi usse call karti hoon." Juhi replied.

Before Taani could process what was happening, she saw Rey gleaming at them through the screen.

"Not bad Maa, aapko bhi meri yaad aati hai." He chuckled.

"Don't get your hopes high son, Tanya ko tumhari yaad aa rahi thi."

"Hello aunty." Rey greeted Tanya.

"Hi beta, kaise ho?"

"Main? Ekdum first class. Ouch!" They heard him scowl and saw that a pillow had landed on his head. "What the hell!" He exclaimed.

"Hi aunty!" Sharon appeared for a split second on the screen.

"Hi Sharon." Juhi laughed seeing Rey glare at Sharon.

"Sharon? Yeh toh wahi hai na? Sharr? Voh wahan kya kar rahi hai?" Taani thought bitterly.

"Abh kya kiya tumne Rey?" Juhi asked.

"Isse koi reason nahi lagta meko maarne ke liye." Rey rolled his eyes. "Waise aapne call kyu kiya tha?"

"Maine hi usse call karne ke liye kaha. Voh yahan Taani se milne aayi toh maine socha ki main bhi apne damad ki khair khabar loon." Tanya chuckled.

"Maa, apne aisa kya kiya ki wahan Taani aise ghost banke khadi hai?"

Taani was standing like a statue since the time the call started. She flushed knowing that he was observing her and quickly went out of sight to calm herself.

"Arre Taani, wahan kyu khadi ho? Yahan aao." Juhi called her.

"Hi." She smiled at Rey. He smirked back.

"Tum aise kyu dekh rahi thi?" He thought of teasing her.

"Main kuch soch rahi thi." She lied.

"Kya?" He asked.

"Voh.. kuch nahi.."

"Rey tumhara kaam kaise chal raha hai wahan?" Tanya intervened when she saw Taani getting uncomfortable. Last thing she wanted was for Taani to go back into her shell.

"Kaam toh kal hi khatam hogaya tha."

"Phir bhi wahan rukne ki wajah?" Juhi asked.

"Aapki ladli mujhe chode toh main aau." Rey retorted.

"Aunty maine isse yahan rok ke nahi rakha hai." Sharon's voice came from the background.

"Rey, Sharon, chalo yaar late ho raha hai!" Swayam called out for them.

"Maa gotta go. Aaj dono ne meko bankrupt karne ki thaan li hai. Bye aunty. Bye Taani." Rey ended the call.

Juhi and Tanya laughed at his expense. Taani excused herself and went to her room. She had, by now, concluded that Sharon was Rey's friend. But there was something about Sharon which bothered her. She was not able to point at it. Not before she reached her room, she received a text.

"All cool? You looked tensed."

"Everything's fine." She smiled and texted back.

"Meko laga Maa ne tumhari class le li." He replied.

"Aisa kuch nahi hai. Aur waise aap text kar rahe ho? Mujhe laga aapko texting nahi jamti!" She typed biting her lips.

Next thing she saw was a call from Rey flash on her screen.

"What was that?" He asked as soon as she answered the call.

"What?" She acted innocent.

"Mera na tumhare baare mein opinion kaafi galath tha. Asli rang abh dikhayi de rahe hai." He laughed.

Before she could reply, she heard, "Reyansh Singhania, you are so dead! Swayam ko hum pe shak hogaya hai. All thanks to you! Kya jarurat thi subah voh sab ishaare karne ki? Aur yeh phone, yeh Mumbai jaane tak mere paas rehne wala hai!" Sharon switched off his phone.

"Yeh sab kab hua?" Purvi was gobsmacked.

"Kal." Taani propped her chin on her hand.

"Are you sure ki yeh uski friend hi hai?" Purvi confirmed.

"What else can she be? Tum log jyada hi soch rahe ho." Arjun hushed them.

"Then what did she mean by unn dono pe kisiko shak hogaya hai?" Purvi asked.

Arjun glared at her to keep shut and then at Taani, who had mixed emotions of worry and anxiety.

"This is the reason why I told you to get to know him. Par tu toh meri sunti hi nahi!"

"Tujhe kya lagta hai ki meri unse kabhi baat nahi hoti?" Taani retorted back.

"Of course hoti hai, warna tujhe kaise pata chalta ki voh wapas New York gaya hai? But have you ever spoken about anything other than usual greetings and stuff?" Purvi shouted at her.

Purvi was concerned about Taani. Since the time she came to know about her alliance, she was always on the lookout for her. She knew that Rey was few years elder to Taani and feared that he might have had a past to which Taani was unaware of and which might hurt her sometime in the future. Her fear strengthened on learning about Sharon. She refused to believe that she was just a friend of his.

"Are you trying to imply that she investigates him?" Arjun asked.

"Yeah!" Purvi replied.

"Are you crazy?" He asked horrified.

"Why are you acting this shocked? I did the same with you. That's another thing that you didn't realise it back then." Purvi stifled her laughter on seeing Arjun's horrified face.

"Sorry. But I'm not turning into a detective." said Taani.

"Exactly. Don't do such stupid things." Arjun agreed.

"I'm not telling you to go all Sherlock Holmes on him, but you could normally interact with him and get to know him better." Purvi explained herself.

"Okay Dr. Watson, but this will have to wait for a week." Taani ended their discussion.

"Swayam chal na ice cream khane jaate hai."

"Sharon pagal ho gayi ho kya? Itni baarish mein teko ice cream khani hai?"

"Abhi kahan ho rahi hai baarish? Chal na." Sharon wailed.

"Do one thing, take Rey with you. Waise bhi he's your partner in crime. Aur secret projects plan karo. Jao." Swayam taunted.

"Kyun? Gift pasand nahi aaya?"

"Yeh mere liya tha? Kyunki mere hisaab se yeh tera move in gift hai. Apne liye!" He taunted.

"Yeh na Rey ne humare liye plan kiya tha. Tu na bas meko taunt karne ke reasons dhund. I'm leaving!" Sharon stormed out of the house and went next door to Rey's.

"Meko ice cream khani hai. Chal!" She dragged him out of his house.

"Abh kya kiya bechaare Swayam ne?"

"Don't you dare pity him. Itna atcha gift uske liye plan kiya aur voh meko bol raha hai ki I had some selfish motives behind it."

"Well technically he isn't wrong." Rey smirked.

"I know! Abh chale?" Sharon yelled at him.

...

"This place is so beautiful. Maine pehle kabhi yeh notice kyu nahi ki?" Taani wondered as she stopped her car in front of a garden.

It was a fenced-up garden at the end of a road. It had benches along its periphery and in the centre was plain open lush green ground. In one corner, was a small shop which had a neon ice cream sign. It caught her attention and she decided to explore the place more. She called home and informed that she would be late.

She saw a few couples sitting in the garden and adored them. Just as she turned her car engine off, she saw another couple on a bike stop in front of her car. The girl got down, removed her helmet, gave it to the guy and rushed into the shop. The guy removed his helmet and Taani couldn't help but stare at him.

"Reyansh yahan?" She thought that she was dreaming but then he looked at her and smiled.

"Hey." He came to her car and greeted her.

"Hi." She got down and he closed the door behind her.

"Tum yahan?" He asked her.

"I took a wrong turn and landed here. It's beautiful."

"Three years Taani, abh tak tumhe routes pata hone chahiye." He teased referring to their early meets.

"Routes pata hai. Voh bas iss road pe first time aayi toh socha ki dekh loon kahan tak jaata hai aur yahan aa pahuchi."

"Being adventurous is good, par tumhari history kaafi strong hai to get into troubles."

"That was three years ago. Aur waise bhi uske baad aise akele kahin jaana hi band kar diya maine."

"Toh aaj jab pata chala ki main Mumbai mein hoon toh tumne socha ki chalo risk le leti hoon. If at all I get into trouble, Rey will magically appear from somewhere. Right?"

Both burst out laughing and slowly made their way into the shop. They placed their order and occupied a bench near the shop.

"Toh tumne aunty se pucha kal ke baare mein?" Rey asked after they settled down.

"Nahi. Mumma se abhi tak baat nahi hui hai."

"What are you so scared of? Uss din bhi video call pe dari dari si thi."

"I'm not scared. It's just that I'm not comfortable meeting new people."

"I must be careful. Tum mere saath slowly comfortable hote dikh rahi ho. Pata chala main tumhe scaredy cat samajh ke tease karu and you pounce on me like a tigress."

"Reyansh, aap humesha hi aise mazak karte hai?"

"Dekho, I know ki I'm what, three years elder to you? But yeh aise aap bolke realise toh mat karwao yaar." He made a sullen face.

"Sorry. Main aapko aap kehke nahi bulaungi." Taani bit her lips hiding her smile.

"See, the tigress is waking up."

"No. But the cat isn't scared anymore." She smiled.

"Good progress Rey." He patted himself on his back.

"Reyansh, voh aapki, I mean tumhari friend hai na?" She pointed at Sharon who was seated on the opposite side of the ground and was constantly hopping from one bench to another, avoiding a guy.

"Yeah ignore them. Unse kal mil lena dinner pe."

"Them? You know that guy who is troubling her?"

"Yes, I know him and it's the other way around. She is the one troubling him." He chuckled.

She let that go as she knew that if the guy was really troubling her, Rey would have gone to help her.

"Waise aapki friend yahin hai toh aap yahin pe kyu nahi milwate? Kal dinner tak ka wait kyu?"

"Again aap?"

"Sorry."

"Main milwa sakta hoon. But this is a public place, and I don't trust my friends. Ghar ki chaar walls ke beech, it will be much safer."

"Aa.. tum.. tum yahan humesha aate ho?" She immediately corrected seeing him glare.

"This is one of our places to hang out since college days. Aur tum? Tum kahan ghumne jaati ho friends ke saath?"

"We mostly go to a cafe or some indoor place. Aur evenings ko kabhi kabhi seaface. But bhai mujhe raat ko jyada der bahar rukne nahi dete."

"Protective much?"

"Very much."

"Reyansh tum.."

"Yaar tum Rey bulao. Don't spend so much energy in saying my name."

"Tum humesha aise hi hote ho?"

"Nahi. Tumhe ek secret batata hoon. Main usually itna masti mazak nervous hone pe karta hoon."

"Rey tu yahan hai? And who is she?" Sharon appeared in front of Rey and Taani with Swayam.

"Tu Swayam ke saath busy ho gayi. I needed someone to give me company." He replied.

"Look at him! Pehle bina bataye roka karta hai. Fir uss ladki se milwana toh durr uski ek photo tak nahi batata. Aur abh yahan kisi aur ke saath garden mein baith ke ice cream kha raha hai!" Sharon exclaimed.

Taani covered her face to hide her smile hearing all the accusations on Rey.

"Excuse me miss? What are you laughing at? Didn't you get the cue? He's booked. Leave." Sharon directed her to scoot away.

"Shar." Rey reprimanded Sharon on her tone.

"What? You already have a girlfriend? Then why were you flirting with me?" Taani acted shocked.

"Well you see, I really liked your personality. It's vibrant unlike my girlfriend who is very shy." Rey played along making Taani flush at his indirect compliment.

"I'll leave." She managed to say and got up to leave.

"Let me drop you." Rey followed her out to her car.

"What the hell was that?" Sharon asked Swayam.

"I have no idea." He was as confused as her.

...

"Shit!" Taani cursed as they reached her car.

"Kya hua?" Rey asked.

"I left the keys inside." She pointed at the keys which hung from the ignition.

"Chalo, main tumhe ghar chod deta hoon." He sat on his bike shaking his head at her. "Iss se pehle ki voh dono bahar aaye, baith jao." He instructed.

She sat behind him and they left.

"Keys andar kaise chod diye?" He asked.

"Voh main peechle kuch din bhai ki car chala rahi thi. Unki button start wali car hai jisme key ignition mein daalne ki jarurat nahi lagti. It should be near it for the door to open or the engine to start. I guess I forgot ki main apni car chala rahi thi." She was embarrassed.

"Agar car automated bhi hoti toh keys toh apne paas hi rakhti na?"

"Haan but voh pocket mein hoti hai na full time. Bhai will kill me. This is the second time this has happened."

"I was right. You are a trouble magnet." He laughed.

"That's not.."

"I'm joking." He clarified.

Midway through the ride, Taani's phone rang.

"Haan bhai bas pahuch rahi hoon. Five minutes."

Before Shivam could start shouting at her for being late, she ended the call.

"Five minutes mein pahuchna hai ghar?" Rey asked speeding up.

"No don't race. Late hoga toh bhi chalega." Taani immediately replied and he slowed down.

"Afraid of speed?" He asked.

"Not much, but yahan yeh gullies mein darr lagta hai." She answered truthfully.

"Aapko bikes bohot pasand hai na?" She asked after awhile.

"Haan, par tumhe kaise pata?"

"It's not hard to guess. Aapko humesha maine bike pe hi dekha hai."

"Yeah. I didn't realise that. Aur tumne phir yeh 'aapko' shuru kar diya?" He scolded by the end.

"Main aise hi baat karti hoon." She whined.

"Apne friends ke saath bhi?"

"Nahi unke saath nahi."

"Then why so biased with me? Am I not your friend?"

"Yes, you are." She finally coined her relationship with him.

Hello everyone
I've updated early this time. Proud of me?
No? Okay. Never mind. I like this chapter. Don't really know why. Maybe because of the edit. I know self-praise isn't good, but did you see that masterpiece? I don't know how I managed to make it.

Anyway, let's get to the ritual, that is the question of the update.
What do you think will happen when Taani officially meets Sharon and Swayam?

Please comment down below

Posted: October 30, 2017