"Aise na dekho! Kahin pyar na hojaye!"

Did he just say that?!

Whether he said or not

Ai dil bata ye tujhe kya hua

Kyun hai to bekarar itna

Kahin pyar na ho jaye

Kahin pyar na ho jaye

The lyrics of the song started playing in my mind voicing what I was actually feeling then. Lyrics! Oh yeah! Lyrics "Wrong Lyrics" I quipped.

"Hein?"

The confused look on his face gave me confidence. 

I straightened up a bit, probably broadened my chest too and did a yet another witty remark 

"Sirf singer jaisi awaz hone se kuch nahi hotha lyrics bhi sahi honi chahye" 

Good going Ishita! Your mind has started working. Appointment with Neurologist cancelled. Yoo hoo! I mentally did a disco deewane step.

"Miss confident! Aap zara ye batane ki kripa karengi ke achanak se Indian Idol ke judge ki aatma aapke andar kaise prakat hogayi" he bowed down and folded his hands in front of me. Yesss! I did a victory dance on the spot.

Uhuh I cleared my throat. Another witty remark on your way Mr. NotSoConfidentRightNow! 

"Aise na dekho aur Kahin pyar na hojaye do alag alag gaane hain. Aisena dekho from our own Kolaveri boy's debut hindi movie Ranjhana aur Kahin pyar na ho jaye title song of Sallu Bhai's rom-com"

"Free me gyan bantne ka bahut bahut shukriya bollywood baba. Hum dhanya hogaye aapke darshan paakar" he bowed a little more this time.

Wow! Ishita! You are amazing. Psychiatrist ka appointment bhi cancel. Super irukku.

"Theek hai, theek hai! Abhi zyada chadhaane ki zarurat nahi" I faked, although I loved being flattered. Bhai image banaye rakhne keliye ye sab karna padta hai.

Chalo chalo ab main point pe ate hain "Yahan aise hi khade rehna hai ya ab chaloge bhi?"

"Of course! After you Ma'am"

Hmmm...chivalrous! Plus 1 to banta hai I thought as I started moving forward. 

"Waiseyyy! Mujhe nahi patha tha ke tum mere sath waqt guzarne keliye itni bechain ho" smirked.

Oversmart! Minus 2! Come on Ishita! Play a fair game. Plus 1 for chivalry and Minus 2 for oversmartness? So not fair. Ok Ok! Minus 1. But that brings him back to ZERO. And right now our equation comes back to Zero too because I will keep a stern face henceforth. 

And I did exactly that. Stern face & stumping foot. My body language must tell you Mr. MindReader7thSenseCommonSenseWhatever that I am not bechain to spend time with you.

He followed quietly. Smart enough not to mess with me at this time. Well that gains him Plus 1 right? Ok. Total score now is 1.

We walked for a while in silence. Neither did I quit my stern face, nor did he try to mess with me. It was literally becoming bin kuch kahe, bin kuch sune. was starting to get bored. 

"Ice cream?" He asked pointing towards an Ice cream vendor.

"Hmmm" I nodded agreeing. 

Signalling me to wait there, he went to the Ice cream vendor and returned with two heavily scooped cones.

Black Currant! My favourite! 

"Tumhe kaise patha chala ke mujhe black currant pasand hai" for a moment I forgot about the stern face I had to carry.

"Guess kiya" he shrugged.

"Kaise?" 

"Ye jo apne Black black ankhon se Current marti rehti ho na, isise guess kiya" 

How dare he say that? If eyes could kill, I would be very soon sentenced to death by the Supreme Court for killing a stranger for his offensive remark.By the way! That gets him Minus 1. Back to Zero baby!

"Mazak tha yaar. Itna seriously kyun le rahi ho. Actually black currant mera favourite hai. Mujhe laga ab mai tumhein pasand ane laga hun  to mera favourite flavor bhi tumhe pasand aa hi jayega" smirked.

Urghhh! Overestimates himself! Minus 1 again. Total score Minus 1 too, and another deadly glare. Bonus for smirking.

He gulped silently and we continued our walk savoring the Ice cream.

"Tch...Ice Cream ke paise barbaad hogaye"

"Kyun? pasand nahi ayi? Muhe to achhi lagi" I said, stern face maintained.

"Achhai to lagi, par jis maqsad se liya tha wo poora nahi hua"

"Haan?"

"Dekho na! Ek to dhoop ki garmi. Upar se tumhara mood garam. Socha tha Ice Cream khakar tum thandi ho jaogi. Par dekho abhi bhi tum itni garam ho ke Ice Cream pighalne lag gayi"

"Kuchh bhi?" I could not stop myself from letting out a chuckle.

"Ye hui na bath. Aise hi muskurate raho. Ice cream nahi pighlegi"

I saw a wide smile plastered on my face in my reflection in his bewitched eyes.

Can make me smile. Earns him a Plus 1. Total score back to Zero. Take a smile for a bonus. I smiled wider.

"Hello! Ice cream freeze karne keliye bola tha. Khud freeze hone keliye nahi"

"Sudhroge nahi na. Achhe moment ko apne one-liner se kharab karna zaruri hai na?"

"Ab kya karun! Tum itne achhe reactions dethi ho ke sudhrne ka dil nahi karta" he said ever so dramatically.

"Kuchh bhi!"

"Hmmm...yeh kuchh bhi sunne keliye to mai kuch bhi kar doon" he placed his palms on his cheeks and said with a dreamy look.

Cute. Plus 1. Total score 1.

Ye dil maange more. I became greedy. I wanted to know what else could he do to woo me. But I can't let him know. Can I? Actually should I? I was still having a mental debate when I heard a voice

"Batao kya kya kar sakte ho?" Woah! That sounded like me!

Did I just say that!?