*Aslesha*

I am removing my books from the locker as I hum a tune to myself. Yesterday was so.. unpredictable.

I thought ke bass assignment kar ke nikal jaayenge but I had fun. Viraj is fun when he is not being a rude asshole. I wish he remains like that. College life aasaan ho jaayegi.

Time to get to class.

"BOOO!!" someone screams behind me and I almost fall on the floor with a squeal.

But I don't, my books do.

I look up to see Viraj laughing loudly as he leans on the lockers.

"You know, tumhara ye jo shocked expression hai na, bada mazedaar hai. Your eyes almost popped out" he says and starts laughing again.

And here I was thinking meri college life aasaan hogi.

I glare at him and pick up my books. "Dumbass! Idiot!" I say as I hit him with my book.

"Ok ok, no need to get violent! Aur ye kya tum mujhe dummy, idiot vagera bulaati rehti ho? Sab ko ajeeb naam dena speciality hai kya tumhari?" he says.

"Ajeeb logo ko ajeeb naam" I say smirking at him.

"Ok paglet" he smirks back and I roll my eyes.

He walks beside me to class and I look at him suspiciously.

Ye itna achhe se kyu behave kar raha hai. Kal tak he couldn't spare a glance and now he's walking me to class.

"I know I'm handsome, but itne besharmi se stare karna koi achhi baat nahi hai" he says smirking, without looking at me and staring ahead.

I look away. "Shut up. I was just wondering tum kyu mere saath achhe se reh rahe ho? Kal tak you couldn't bear my presence. And now you act like we're chaddi buddies" I say as we enter the class.

He takes his place beside me. " Aren't we? As long as I know, hum ek dusre ko bachpan se jaante hai" he says looking at me.

"Oh yes! That's the reason why you gave me toothpaste filled oreos once!" I say folding my hands, as my face cringes in disgust.

He starts laughing loudly. He has a beautiful laugh. Carefree and it just sounds good. I instantly forget about the toothpaste Oreos.

"You were the one who gave me mayonnaise with donuts first" he says between his laughs and I start laughing with him too.

Oh yes, that was fun!

"But seriously.. why are you doing this?" I say getting serious.

"I want you to participate in the competition remember? So I'm just persuading you with my irresistible charms" he says smiling cheekily.

"You're just wasting your time".

"We'll see about that" he says and just then Mrs D'Mello enters class.

"Good afternoon class, today we're going to learn about the Bhopal gas tragedy. Also I just want to remind that the assignments are due next Monday. I hope everyone is done visiting their respective place and started writing the reports. If not, hurry up" she says.

"What about our report? When should we do it?" I ask Viraj.

"College ke baad I've got practice till seven. Aur aaj India vs Sri Lanka ki final match hai. All the boys are coming at my place to watch it. Can't miss it" he says shaking his head.

Arre ha.. aaj toh final hai.

I just nod my head and start writing the notes. Fir kabhi kar lenge.

The day is hectic and dekhte hi dekhte it's 2pm. Finally lunch break. Bhook lagi hai zor ki!

Going to our lunch table, I open my tiffin. Aaj maine pulav laaya hai. Shabnam and Pari start talking about some new cafe in town and I just listen to them eating my lunch.

I text Saumya asking her to come and join us and keep my phone back in my pocket. Why hasn't she come yet?

The boys come after a few minutes and Viraj, instead of sitting in front of me like he always does, takes the seat beside me.

"Hey bakaasur" he says grinning like a fool.

"Get lost" I say with my mouth full.

He takes my tiffin and the spoon in my hand and starts eating my lunch like it's the most casual thing to do. "Kisse puch ke tumne mera tiffin liya" I shout at him.

"Tumne kal mere bhajiya khaaye the uska kya" he says.

"I asked you first" I say trying to take my tiffin box from him.

"Vo tumhari galti" he says and I hit him on the shoulder. "Mmm.. teekha thoda jyada banaa hai but I'll manage. Aachaar hota iske saath toh mazaa aa jaata".

"You know I can slap you right now right?" I warn him.

He leans forward smirking at me. He brings his mouth towards my ear and every hair on my body stands to attention.

"You know I can make your video go trending right now right?" he whispers so that only I can hear him and my mouth falls open.

He chuckles and sits straight as I curse under my breath. That's when I realise all eyes on the table are at us. Shocked and confused and suspicious eyes. Also, everyone had become totally silent during our little conversation.

When they see that I'm noticing them, they all look away and start up a conversation of their own like they were not curiously staring at us just two seconds ago.

Viraj doesn't notice them and if he does, he doesn't care. What's wrong with them.

I glare at Viraj. "Tum waise bhi do tiffin laati ho na. Ek khud ke liye aur ek sab ke liye. So stop glaring at me like you wanna strangle me" he says and finishes my tiffin, not even leaving a single grain of rice.

Somebody was really hungry!

I give my other tiffin to the others who eat it together.

"If this is how you get me to participate, you're really wrong!" I say.

"Bhai, Sid ka message hai group me, apni girlfriend ko laa raha hai vo shaam ko apne saath" Rudra says looking at his phone and frowning.

"Kya musibat hai yaar! Ek din ladki ke bina nahi reh sakta kya? This was supposed to be a boys night" Viraj says getting irritated.

"Fir Shabnam tum bhi aa jaao" Joel says smiling at Shabnam. I see Viraj rolling his eyes as Shabnam looks at Viraj nervously.

"Of course you are welcome Shabnam" Viraj says shaking his head but smiling a little. Rudra is about to say something when Viraj cuts him off.

"Ha ha. Pata hai. Teri Pari Rani bhi aayegi. Aur tum bhi" he says looking at me.

"Mere papa mujhe chillayenge" Pari says shaking her head.

"Arre Aslesha bhi toh hai. Tell him you're with her. Please aao na" Rudra says making a puppy dog face.

Whoa! He's better than Pari at it.

She looks at me and I give her a small nod. She sighs and agrees.

"Can I bring a friend of mine please?" I ask and Viraj frowns but eventually nods.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

"Rudra just texted me Viraj's address. He just stays 15 minutes away from your place" Pari says looking at her phone as I wash my face in the college's washroom.

I see Saumya nervously looking at me in the reflection. I have forced her to come with me. She doesn't have any friends and lives here with her mama mami. Her parents live in America.

"Saumya.." I say turning and putting my hands on her shoulder.

"I don't know anyone there" she whines.

"You know me" I say.

"And me" Pari and Shabnam say in unison.

She still looks unsure. "I guarantee you that you won't feel left out, fir bhi nahi aana tumhe toh thik hai" I say shrugging and showing her that I felt really bad.

"Ok I'll come. I'm sorry" she says and I grin at her.

"Good" I say and run my hands through my hair, fixing them a little.

"Come on. Joel is blowing up my phone" Shabnam says and we almost run outside.

Pari tells me to go with Saumya on my scooty and that she and Shabnam will take a cab.

I reach the location and see that it's a simple but beautiful 2 stories house on the end of the road. There is a small garden in the front which I don't get to see properly as it's dark now. I can already here screaming and shouting from the inside.

I ring the bell and Rudra opens it. "Moti!!" he greets me. "Majnu!" I say back.

"Saumya. This is Majnu. Pari ka Majnu" I say entering the house and he rolls his eyes. Saumya smiles a little. "Actually it's Rudra" he says and we enter the living room.

Not everyone has come yet.

Viraj looks back and then in the front again. And then again looks back when he realises it's me and comes towards us. I smile.

"This is my friend that I told you about" I tell Viraj and he frowns, but then smiles like something just got clicked in his brain.

"Ohh.. ohhhhhh" he says

"Hi. I'm Viraj, Aslesha ka crush" he says giving me a goofy smile.

"I know" Saumya says and I gape at her and so do Viraj and Rudra.

"I mean I know you're Viraj. Sorry" she says shyly, her cheeks turning pink.

We all laugh when a guy appears beside us. He has small eyes which seem really calculating at the moment. He is really tall. Like tall tall.

"Hey, maine tumhe pehle kahi dekha hai. Hum pehle kabhi mile hai?" he asks Saumya to which we all frown.

"Vohi ghisi peeti line Tej! Shee yaar naam kharab kiya tune mera" Viraj says shaking his head as we settle down on the couch. Viraj and Saumya beside me, as I sit in the middle.

"Aree nahi yaar. Sahi me" he says looking at Saumya closely.

"Saumya please don't mind him, bada hi ajeeb banda hai ye. Science le ke dimaag kharab hua hai iska".

"Err no. He's in my class actually. Waha dekha hoga" she says.

"Exactly! Bola tha na mai. Saumya right? Agar murgi ne diya hua andaa non veg hai toh gaay ne diya hua dudh vegetarian kaise?" he asks seriously sitting on the floor and I and Saumya get a what-the-fuck-dude look on our face as Rudra, Joel and Viraj start laughing.

Just then the door bell rings again and I see Pari and Shabnam enter.

Joel kisses her and they both huddle up on one of the chair together as Rudra and Pari sit on the floor with Tej.

"He's Shabnam's boyfriend Joel right?" Saumya asks and I nod.

There is another guy sitting on a bean bag totally engrossed in the game with a beer bottle in his hand like he doesn't give a damn about the others in the room.

"Bhai sorry last minute pe plan change kiya ha mai.. meet my girlfriend Trisha" a guy enters the room with none other than khoon peene wali Trisha.

I hear Viraj groan beside me and I chuckle.

"Out of all the girls in this college, isse Trisha ko hi girlfriend banana tha" Viraj murmurs and takes a bottle of beer which is on the table and I eye him.

"What?" He asks.

"You're 17" I say looking at his beer bottle.

"And?" He asks raising his eyebrows in amusement.

Sid and Trisha also sit on one of the chairs. Actually Sid sits on the chair and Trisha on his lap.

The openers are playing well and Trisha, everytime is making the mistake of calling a four as six and six as four. I can't help but laugh everytime she does that.

Viraj is getting really irritated by her constant 'Wide matlab kya?' and 'No ball is what' kinda questions.

Viraj and Rudra are their usual self. Cracking up jokes every now and then.

"Aur no ball daal! Sab free hit me hi run de do"

"Ye bhaag kyu nahi raha yaar boundary rokne? Isse achha toh so jaaye ground pe! Yeda saala"

"Arre full shot mat daalo"

The boys are screaming every now and then and Rudra who is sitting in front of Viraj is getting a tapli everytime there's a six or four.

Bichara.

Viraj is totally engrossed in the game as if ye zindgi aur maut ka sawaal hai. I don't know much about cricket but I can see he does. You can see it in his eyes how passionate he is about the game.

Finally Angelo Matthews hits the ball really high, but not long enough for it to go for a six and it lands directly in the hands of Suresh Raina.

"OUT!" we all scream together, except Trisha who doesn't know what's going on.

"Yes yes yes" Rudra screams and kisses Viraj in excitement to which Viraj shoves him away rubbing his cheek and we all laugh louder.

The very next ball, Bumrah clean bowls the batsman and Viraj stands up on the couch and starts dancing.

"Bumrah Bumrah shaam rang Bumrah.. aaye ho kis duniya or bagiya whatever se" he starts singing and I almost fall off the couch, laughing too loudly.

Oh my god my cheeks hurt!

Then the players are not able to score really well and our team starts getting wickets fast. We also order pizza and I see that Saumya is mixing up with everyone really well.

Sri Lanka make 170 runs in 20 overs and the first inning is over.

"Hey sorry mai pehle inning ke liye nahi aa paaya" I hear a familiar voice from behind and I look back to see Jay Maurya standing behind us.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

Sorry thoda time laga update karne me but I'm giving you a really long chapter so I hope I'm forgiven... Too many characters introduced today. They are not really the main ones but they'll be seen in the story every now and then. The night is not over yet so stay tuned for the next chapter!! Keep reading and keep loving.. ily :)