Chapter 8
Next morning Aarti went to Scindia house as she heard what happened last night but she didn't know how to meet Yash. Gayatri was going to room with a tray of tea cups she asked her about him.
"You are Yash's friend?" She smiles, Aarti nods.
"Actually he never made a girl his friend before. You must be lucky." They walked up stairs.
"Give him, I'll have to give this to Yash's papa." She hands a cup to Aarti before leaving. Aarti enters the room only to find Yash sleeping.
"Yash." She called him. He stirred in sleep.
"I'm dreaming about alien." He murmured, smiling.
"Dumbo I'm here, not in your dream and when will you stop calling me alien? Now you know my name." She pinched his arm tightly. He flinched in pain and instantly sat with his eyes wide open.
"You." He was happy seeing her first in the morning.
"Stop smiling like a fool and here your tea, I'll get going, see you." She gave him a cup and was about to leave when he stopped her.
"Hey." He kept the cup aside and gripped her wrist.
"Thanks." He kept his feet on the floor but didn't get up from bed. She raises her eyes in question.
"For coming here." He pulled her and she landed on his lap.
"Leave me" She wriggled surprised but he snaked his hands around her small waist.
"First tell me you come here to see me, right?" He smiled.
"Um, I ...Ishita, told me about last night. I mean, I feel bad for you." She looked at his red cheek, unknown to herself her hand went to grace his cheek.
"Does this still hurt?" She asked as her thumb gently rubbed on fingers marks.
"Not anymore." He closes his eyes and leans more into her touch.
"Yash" She called.
"Huh" He looked at her.
"Chhoro mujhe." She gave a push on his shoulders.
"Kyun?" He brings her even more closer. Her eyes widened.
"Kitni achhi toh lag rahi ho mere lap pe" He says.
"Kya?" She give him a weird look. He nods.
"Tum kitne cringe ho" She smacked him on the arm.
"What cringe? Don't tell me if we start dating you won't kiss me?" He frowned.
"Keep dreaming." She laughed.
"Isme dream wali kya baat hai, just see my soft and red lips." He pouted cutely. She can't help but smile at his nautanki.
"Never" She was stubborn. He made a baby face then became serious, remembering their last meeting.
"Yesterday I asked you something, but you ran away without answering." He glanced at her eyes.
"I don't remember anything." She shied and looked down wriggling again uncomfortably, remembering how he confessed about liking her and also asked if she felt the same about him.
"Maine poochha tha kya tum bhi mujhe pasand karti ho?" He tilted her chin and still held her in place with one hand. She looked at him, she definitely liked him but was never going to admit it to him.
"Nahi" She moved away.
"But why not?" He got up.
"Aise hi" She smiled teasingly to see him whining.
"Yashu" Gayatri enters the room, Aarti steps back and Yash picks his tea cup.
"Main chalti hoon" Aarti smiles at Gayatri moving out.
"Shaadi karadon tumhari." Gayatri jokes seeing his eyes still on the door.
"What?" He was shocked, she laughed.
"I like her." She teased. Yash almost blushed turned away from her in excuse of keeping tea cup.
"Your first girlfriend." She hugged him from behind, and couldn't believe that her shameless Yash was blushing for real.
"We are just friends." He moved away and pretended that he didn't feel anything.
"Oh I see, just friends." She can't stop teasing him.
********
Later Yash was sitting outside, on bikes with his friend. Radha was going from there holding two bags full of vegetables and fruits. A polythene bag slipped from her hand and all the oranges fell on the road. She picked some and put in her saree pallu. Yash came forward to help her. She smiled as he picked a few oranges and gave them to her. Yash picked her other bag as she was holding all the fruits in her pullu.
"Beta my home is near." She forwarded hand to take the bag.
"This is so heavy, let me carry it." He told her. She smiled and gave up. They come to her house.
"Maa aap aa gayi." Aarti came out of the room. She was surprised to see Yash there.
"Alien" He glanced at Aarti then her mother in realization that it's her mother.
"Haan beta, I need to wash these fruits." She says.
"Beta paani pioge tum?" Radha asked, taking a bag of vegetables from Yash.
"Ji aunty" Yash nods. She went to the kitchen. Yash looked at Aarti smiling, who does not understand what he is doing here.
"You're stalking me?" She asked in a low voice.
"I'm not that obsessed with you." He told her arrogantly, not liking how she always accused him of stalking her. She made a baby face, getting that she offended him.
"Beta tumhara naam kya hai?" Radha comes out of the kitchen and gives a glass of water to Yash.
"Yash" Aarti murmured and Yash spoke at the same time.
"Pata hai Aarti abhi bahar sare fruits gir gaye thhe road pe, Yash ne meri madad ki." Radha told Aarti what happened a while ago. Yash saw a few pictures in the living room.
"Aunty yeh kon hai?" He touched a photo frame in which a small girl of 6 year wearing a pink frock and holding a magic stick in her hand.
"It's me, don't touch it." Aarti snapped his hand. Her mother smiled knowing how possessive Aarti is about her things.
"You don't look this cute. I thought that's aunty" Yash said and surprisingly Aarti could understand the sarcasm in his voice. Radha laughed. Yash continued to touch other frames asking who is in the pictures.
"He is my husband." Radha says as Yash points at a picture of Vijay.
"Alien ke papa" Yash remembers Prashant Nikasi where he helped Vijay with a box of paintings.
"Ok I gotta go now" Yash said.
"Phir aana beta" Radha smiled. Aarti looked at her mother unbelievably.
**********
Suraj was sitting with his parents.
"Maa bauji I'm booking tickets for Mumbai." Suraj told them that Yash doesn't want to stay anymore.
"Beta kuch din aur ruk jao, itni jaldi kya hai." Savitri says. Gayatri also joined them soon.
"Haan beta, Yash toh bachcha uski baaton ko itna seriously nahi lo." Virat also told Suraj to stay longer. Suraj looked at Gayatri who nodded.
"Fine, we will stay two more days only because today I got a call from Yash's school teacher." Suraj agreed. Savitri and Virat were happy that they're not leaving for two more days.
*******
Precap: Awkward closeness.
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