*Viraj*

Ye toh nahi aane wala tha. Ye kyu aa gaya ab? Ek inning khatam hone ke baad vo bhi.

When his eyes fall on Aslesha, his face lightens up jaise Diwali aa gayi ho!

"Aashi oh wow! Tum yaha?" he comes forward and directly hugs her.

She hugs him back smiling a little, startled. "Hi Jay" she says and uncomfortably leaves him.

"Arree ha, tum team me ho na" she nods. "I know Viraj so he invited me over" she turns towards me and gives me a dimpled smile. My favourite.

"Yep! Aslesha toh meri best friend hai. Hai na?" I say encircling my hand over her shoulder and grinning at her. She gives me a light punch.

Jay eyes us sceptically and I internally smirk.

Take that bitch!

He is a good player but a selfish one. Team se pehle vo khud ke liye khelta hai. I remember two days ago when he didn't take a run, when we were in the partnership because he wanted the strike to be with him. Harami saala. Such strategies can make us lose.

He suddenly sits on the place where I was sitting and Aslesha sits beside him.

"Waha mai baitha tha" I tell him.

Ok, this is really immature, but I wanna sit there. That's my permanent place while watching cricket. Agar waha na baithu, toh hum hamesha haar jaate hai.

And it has nothing to do with sitting beside Aslesha.

Absolutely nothing.

"Ab mai baith gaya hu lekin. Kahi aur baith ja bro" he says and starts talking to Aslesha again, taking a bottle of beer.

"Aashi 9 bajj gaye, I think we should go" Pari says looking at her watch.

"Hey no! Mai abhi aaya hu. Aslesha wait na yaar" Jay pleads.

Khud late aaya aur wait na kya? Uske ghar walo ko tu jawaab dega kya idiot?

"Bass aadha ghanta ruk jaao Pari please. Bass aadha ghanta. 5 over ke baad chale jaana" Rudra says holding her hand and whining like a kid. I glare at him.

I don't actually want Aslesha to leave but I don't want her to get in a problem.

And also not stay around that Jay asshole!

"Ha please Aashi. Please" Jay says and she sighs and agrees. I shake my head and go to the kitchen, suddenly feeling really hungry.

I keep the beer bottle in my hand on the counter and try to find something in the fridge. Nothing.

I start shuffling through the shelves and still nothing except for bread. Sandwich khane ka mann hai but banayega kon. Last time I was in the kitchen, I almost blew it up.

I just sit on the counter, eating a pack of chips and finish the beer.

Why do I act like that around Aashi? This is just insane. I just wanted to show Jay that I'm better than him at everything. Bass yahi hoga. Warna itna desperate nahi behave karta mai.

When I look up, I see Aashi leaning on the door frame of the kitchen.

She comes inside and looks around the kitchen and stands in front of me leaning on the counter.

"Yaha kya kar rahe ho?" she asks softly.

I just shrug. "Tum?" I ask.

"Tumhaare faaltu comments ke bina maza nahi aa raha" she says and I chuckle.

"Mere comments faaltu hote toh tumhe maza nahi aata" I point out.

"Shut up" she says and we stay silent for a few moments, the voice of our friends and the TV seeming far away.

Why does it feel better now that she's here? Dimaag ka check up karwana padega jald se jald.

"Tum akele rehte ho?" she asks abruptly.

"Maa ke saath. Vo filhaal hai nahi ghar pe. Out of town for a conference" I tell her. She slowly nods, her eyes not leaving mine.

I know she wants to ask more. About my dad, I guess. But she doesn't. She holds back.

"Are you hungry?" she suddenly asks when she sees that all the shelves are left open.

"Err ya, I'll just order something" I say.

"I can make you something" she suggests.

"Really?" I ask hopping down the counter.

"Why not. But nothing fancy ha.. 20 minute me mujhe nikalna hai" she says opening the fridge.

"Chicken hai. Chicken sandwich chalega?" She asks and my stomach growls in hunger.

Just what I needed!

"Daudega!" I say and rub my hands together excitedly.

She tells me to butter the bread and I do so telling her where all the spices and stuff are kept.

She adds oil in a pan and sautes the minced chicken adding salt and garlic to it. It's already smelling good.

I'm standing right behind her and seeing the way she's doing her work like she's doing magic.

"Ho gaya, ab kya karu" I ask her following her when she goes to wash the tomatoes in the sink.

Paaltu kutte wali harkate wapas.

She takes an onion and a tomato and slices it half and gives me half of the onion to chop. She starts chopping the onions at a surprisingly fast speed and I gape at her.

I tear away by gaze and try to chop the onion. Easy hi lag raha hai. I push the knife harder but there is nothing but a little dent on the onion. Aise kaise?

"Hey tumne achhi wali knife li hai. Meri wali se katt nahi raha kuch. Mujhe vo wali chahiye" I whine pointing at her knife and she chuckles.

"Oye dummy! Sharp wali side upar pakdi hai tumne. Isse aise pakdo" she takes the knife and turns it smiling a little.

Shaabaash Viraj! Dikha de tu kitna dumb hai.

"Ha ha pata hai. Mai toh dekh raha tha tumhe pata hai ke nahi" I say suppressing my smile and she shakes her head and continues chopping the onions.

Just after 5 seconds my eyes start burning and I can't bloody open them.

"Aslesha, fuck! My eyes!! I can't open them. Masala jhok diya jaise kisi ne meri aankhon me" I whine rubbing my eyes.

What the fuck! Is this her plot to kill me in my own kitchen?

"Arree aankho ko mat haath lagaao!" she swats my hand away. "Yaha baitho chup chap" she scolds me making me sit on the dining table.

My eyes slowly become normal as I see her mix the chopped onions, tomatoes and some spices in a bowl. She adds mayonnaise to it and then the sauted chicken in the bowl mixing it well as she keeps the buttered breads on the pan for a little while.

She keeps the toasted bread in front of me and spoons the mixture on it and covers it with another bread. I'm literally jumping on my seat like a kid craving for some candy.

She cuts the sandwich in half and pushes the plate towards me. "Here" she says and I take the first bite.

She just takes half of it, leaving one and the other half for me

"Mmmm Aashi" I say with my mouthful. "Ek number!!

This girl knows to make food and she knows it well. She could become a cook if not a dancer.

"Thanks" she says when she is done and washes her hand. She starts looking for a towel to wipe her hands and I take the hem of my t-shirt and point it towards her.

She shrugs and wipes her hand on my t-shirt and starts keeping all the ingredients in their place.

"Hey I'll do it" I say and wash my hands.

"Thanks paglu" I say and ruffle her hair.

She slaps it away. "Mat naa" she whines straightening them.

I laugh and encircle my hand around her shoulder leading her towards the living room.

"Hey mai abhi tumhe hi dhundne aa raha tha. Itna time lagta hai kya paani peene me?" Jay questions her a little sharply and I have an urge to stab a sharp pencil down his throat.

Why is he acting like he's her boyfriend? Fucking bastard.

"Vo.." Aashi begins but Pari cuts her off. "Aashi lets go now come on" she says eyeing my hand around her shoulder.

Aashi sees her when she does that and tries to get away. I tighten my hold and she looks up at me for a moment with such innocent confused eyes, I let her go.

What the fuck was I doing?

Jay keeps babbling something to Aashi about how they didn't get to spend time bla bla as she takes her bag and starts leaving.

They exchange their numbers and I suddenly feel like throwing Jay out of my house. But that thought disappears when Aashi looks at me and smiles.

All the girls except Trisha decide to leave. Joel decides to drop Saumya and Shabnam in his car and Pari and Aashi go together. I go out with them.

"See you in college tomorrow" I say as she wears her helmet. Pari sits behind her as Rudra comes and stands beside me.

"Pari Rani, byeee" he shouts.

"Jyada mat peena dummy" Aashi says looking at me straight in the eyes and then leaves.

I smile at her last line even though she is long gone and finally sigh and close the door. Rudra is standing right behind me giving me a goofy smile and is wiggling his eyebrows.

Fuck! How long has he been standing here.

"Kya hai?" I snap pushing him away.

"Kya hai?" He repeats following me.

I sit on the floor as Rudra sits beside me watching me closely instead of the TV.

"Maar khaayega Rudra tu" I say without looking at him.

"Mai kya kiya?" He says chuckling and starts watching the match.

"Do dil mil rahe hai magar chupke chupke.. Sab ko ho rahi hai khabar chupke chupke... Do Dil.."

"Tu sahi me maar khaayega" I warn Rudra as he starts singing this stupid song. He laughs.

"Gaana bhi nahi gaau kya?" He asks.

The other guys are totally into the match and not hearing our conversation. Thank God!

"Ye gaana mat gaa" I snap at him as he suppresses his smile and nods.

Then he keeps quite. Hmm samjhdaar hai aakhir.

"Kuch toh hua hai, kuch ho gaya hai, do chaar din se lagta hai aise, sab kuch alag hai sab kuch naya hai. Kuch toh hua hai kuch ho gaya hai.."

Iski toh... Ab toh maar khaayega hi ye.

I topple him over and start punching him. He just laughs harder which makes me punch him harder.

"Arre kya hua" Sid asks as I continue punching him.

"Match dekho na yaar!" Neel, the captain of our team, who has not said a word since he came here and sat on that bean bag, suddenly shouts at us and we sigh and watch the match quitely.

The rest of the night is just like this. I don't know why I don't feel like drinking more. Rudra keeps teasing me every now and then singing stupid songs the whole night earning almost 50 punches from me.

That dumb fuck deserved it!

And then we lose by 18 runs. I feel bloody horrible and angry and.. I don't know.

But like before, I don't feel like turning the house upside down and breaking everything that I see in sight. I used to literally lose my shit when India used to lose in any matches, especially finals.

Instead I just clean up all the mess when everyone leaves and then go to sleep.

That night, I dream of tasty food and dimpled smiles.

~•~•~•~•~•~

Naya update!!! Kaisa laga please bataao.. achha laga toh vote aur comment karo. Nahi achha laga toh bhi bataao. Abhi bass shuruwat hai.. there's a loooonnng way to go. So please keep supporting and loving me. Ily :)