Bass ek chiz bolni hai. Listen to the song ISHQ BULAAVA from Hassi toh Phasee and TUM TAK from Raanjhana during the end of the chapter. You'll know when. Okay ab chapter ke end me milte hai. I'm so excited! Heheh.

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*Aslesha*

The day has finally come.

I'm going to dance on the stage today where so many people will be watching me. Viraj told me not to worry because today is just the selection and there will be students from just our college present. Unlike on next Friday. That day there will be students from all over Goa. But for that I'll have to get selected, which is highly unlikely.

I went to the dance studio today early morning to take Trupti Tai's blessings and also to do a little rehearsal. She was on cloud nine.

Papa was excited too. So much that he was thinking of taking a holiday today to come to college and see me perform. When I told him that parents are not allowed, that's when he went to office, very sadly must I say.

But he is really very sure that I'll get selected and represent my college in the Dance Utsav competition, where he'll be present to see my dance. Even Viraj and Pari are sure about that.. And me? Not so much.

The door bell rings and I'm broken from my reverie. Paro aa gayi shayad. I open the door and my best friend jumps on me, hugging me tightly and squealing loudly.

"Tu finally stage pe jaayegi aaj, meri jaan I'm so happy. It's like mai hi jaane wali hu" she says hopping inside the house and goes inside the kitchen.

"Lunch tayyar hai kya?" she asks looking inside the fridge. Ye ladki! "Baith ja. Parosti hu" I say and she sits on the table playing some beats with the spoon.

"Tu nahi khayegi?" she asks when she sees that I took just one plate. "Na, bhuk nahi hai" I say and her eyes widen. "That's the first time you ever said that. Baap re" she says and starts eating the fried rice I made.

"It's like mere pet me gola sa ho gaya hai. Kuch gale se utar nahi raha" I say keeping my head down on the table.

"You are gonna be wonderful up there Aashi. Don't worry" she says squeezing my shoulder a little and giving me a reassuring smile.

After she is done, I pack my bag taking the dress and other necessities and leave for college. Abhi aur 2 ghante hai competition shuru hone me. Yaha se tayyar ho ke jaane me koi matlab nahi.

When we reach the college, my nerves get on the edge again. What if I just run away? Hm ye sahi hai bhaag jaati hu. But Viraj will surely track me down.

Mai chakkar aane ki acting karu toh? But then I remember Viraj's words. 'Tumhe ghaseet ke le jaaunga'.

Oh god. Kya karu?

Ek hi option hai ab. Perform karna. Ab no backing away.

"Moti? MOTII?" I hear Rudra running towards me. Isse kya ho gaya?

"Hi Pari, you look beautiful. Ek minute ha" he says to her and turns towards me.

"Tumne mujhe nahi bataya? Mujhe? How could you do this. Yahi dosti na? Roz tumhe burger fries samose khilaye.. achha silaa diya tune mere pyaar ka" Rudra goes on ranting.

"Shut up Majnu" I scold him.

"But seriously? Kathak? Wow dude" he says pulling my cheek.

"I hope tumne aur kisi ko bataya nahi hai. Pata chala mai select nahi hui aur bada sa pachka ho gaya mera" I say and he laughs.

"Viraj ne jis tarah se describe kiya hai tumhara dance.. I think select toh tum ho ke rahogi" he says and I am dieing to ask 'kis tarah se describe kiya hai Viraj ne mera dance?' But I don't obviously. Desperate lagungi.

"By the way vo idiot hai kaha?" I ask him and he gives me a sheepish smile. "Tum dono na.." he starts but just shakes his head and doesn't finish the sentence. Oh god hum dono kya? HUM DONO KYA??

"Vo already hall me hai. Abhi singing ke selections shuru hai. Subah six maar ke ek window ki glass toda tha. Detention mili hai kaminey ko sab supervise karne ki" he laughs.

I shake my head as we walk inside the hall. And what.. what??

There are about 2 to 3 hundred people in the hall and looking at the crowd I quickly turn back to leave to run away as far as possible when I bump into a hard chest.

"Oh sor.." my voice fades away when I see who it is.

Aur kon? Viraj Singhania hi reh sakta hai aise time pe.

He is wearing our college's t-shirt. Black polo t-shirt with the logo of our college near the heart above faded jeans. He looks good.

"Hall uss taraf hai" he says nodding his head towards the hall.

"Viraj achanak se bahot zor se mera pet dukh raha hai.. aahh oww oh god" I say cluthing my stomach and making a pained expression.

"I guess I won't be able to perform. I need rest, mujhe ghar jaana chahiye na?" I say looking at him and praying that he buys this shit.

"Has anybody told you ke tum bilkul ghatiya acting karti ho" he says folding his hands and I sigh.

"Vo mai..." I start speaking but he gives me a long disapproving look.

"Okay fine meri fatti padi hai, I'm totally freaking out" I say throwing my hands up in the air exasperatedly.

He looks at me for a moment and bursts out laughing. "What the hell is wrong with you?" I ask him getting irritated. I'm here nervous as hell and he's laughing like a dumb maniac.

"Fatti padi hai? Kitna ajeeb laga tumhare innocent se muh se ye words sunn ke" he laughs and ruffles my hair. Ugh why does he keep doing that.

"Mai itni bhi innocent nahi hu" I defend myself.

"Mere saamne tum bahot innocent ho" he chuckles.

"This is not funny Viraj! You said sirf 100 log rahenge aur dekho, there are almost 300 students here" I say glaring at him.

"Ha 100-300 same hi hai. Bass chalo ab andar. Meri duties bhi khatam ho gayi hai" he says turning me around and pushing me ahead while grabbing my shoulders.

100 aur 300 same hai? I feel like screaming at him. Jhuta kahi ka!

"You're gonna be fine paglu. Trust me" he whispers in my ear and I gulp trying to calm down my nerves.

I hope so.

I see Pari and Rudra sitting in the 6th row in the extreme corner and we go and sit beside them, Pari and Viraj on either side of me.

"Bhai ye le tamatar" Viraj says passing a small plastic bag to Rudra.

"Ande nahi laaya?" Rudra asks him and he shakes his head.

"Bahot baas aayegi. Tamatar se kaam chalate hai" he tells him.

What the hell? I look at Pari and she too has the same confused expression as me.

"Ye tomatoes kyu laaye ho?" I ask Viraj when the lights become dim and a girl comes on stage to sing.

"Fekh ke maarne ke liye ofcourse" he says looking at me like I don't understand the simple equation of two plus two.

"Are you kidding me? Tum aisa kuch nahi karoge!" I scold him. "Watch me" he smirks.

Kyu Bhagwan ji kyu ye itna ajeeb hai?

"Do you even know inme se kuch kitna ghatiya gaate hai. I mean sab ko freedom hai participate karne ki but bina matlab humare kaano se khoon nikaalne me kya maza aata hai inko?" he says wincing like he's in too much pain and I roll my eyes.

"Drama queen" I murmur as the girl starts singing. She is pretty good. The song she selected, iktara, is one of my favourite.

I give a questioning look to Viraj when her performance is over. "Ye thodi thik thi. Abhi aur 3-4 performance baaki hai tab dekhna" he says and I sigh.

After that again a girl comes and.. ok she's not that good. Her beats are all over the place. She's singing Heer from Jab tak hai jaan. Not awful but aise toh mai bhi shower me gaa leti hu.

Mai kon hoti hu bolne wali. Sabse darpok ladki toh mai hu.

I see Viraj looking inside the plastic bag. "Sochna bhi mat Viraj!" I glare at him.

"She's awful" he says groaning and I hit him on the arm.

Itni bhi buri nahi thi.

Next a guy comes and starts singing bheege honth tere.

What the actual fuck?

I mean achha song hai, but competition me ye gaana? Vo bhi teachers ke saamne. The judges give each other weird glances and I get totally uncomfortable.

For god's sake Viraj is sitting right beside me. This is so inappropriate!

But Viraj on the other hand is anything but uncomfortable and is laughing loudly. I see Rudra snickering beside Pari too.

"Wah bhai" Viraj shouts. He leans towards my ear and sings "Whoa oh oh ho" and I laugh.

"Shut up asshole" I say pushing him away but then he sings loudly standing up, "Whoa oh oh hoo.. yeaahh".

The whole hall starts laughing. I lean down and hide my face. Ye pagal ladka marwayega. Mai bhi meri hassi control nahi kar paa rahi.

I was feeling uncomfortable just a few seconds ago and ab dekho kaise daath dikha rahi hu mai. I seriously have issues.

One of the supervisor scolds him and he settles back after applauding loudly for the guy.

"Himmatwala ladka tha" he says sitting down. "Kuch jyada hi" I say. Now is the last performance and again a guy comes on stage.

Oh my god. He is a disaster.

Owww my ears. He is awful. Surr vagera kuch nahi aur lyrics saare galat. He is singing kuch na kaho. It's a beautiful song but he seriously ruined it.

"Do tamatar. Isko toh padne hi chahiye" he says pulling the bag but I don't give it to him. Is he seriously thinking of hitting him?

"Aaah mere kaan Aslesha. I'm gonna die" he says putting his hands on his ears and he leans down and drops his head on my lap like he's seriously dieing in pain.

Oh my god oh my god.. Viraj is laying on my lap. Oh my god oh my god oh my..

He is not actually laying on my lap like that but he is! Kya karu kya karu?

"Aslesha.. mai marr raha hu. Won't you give me a goodbye kiss?" he asks innocently and I push him off my lap.

Idiot, donkey, jerk, dumb ass!

Mai bhi pagal hu. Kya soch rahi thi?

"Arreeyy bhai kuch na kaho. Please bass ho gaya" Viraj stands up and shouts at him as everyone starts booing. He stops singing and glares at Viraj.

I kinda feel bad for him. Bichara. Mere saath bhi yahi hone wala hai shayad, baap re!

My thoughts are broken when suddenly the guy speaks up. "Kab se tujhe dekh raha hu. Samjhta kya hai tu khud ko? Udhar baith ke criticize karna bahot aasaan hai. Himmat hai toh idhar aa ke gaa" he says angrily.

Uh oh.

"Okay, you asked for it baby" Viraj says getting up. I look at him wide eyed as he gets on the stage.

It's proved. Viraj Singhania pagal hai.

"Side me khade reh ke dekh ab" he smirks at him and I rub my forehead with my hand. Ye kar kya raha hai?

He says something to the one playing the music and the whole hall goes quite. Baaki ke performances ke time itni shaanti nahi thi. But ab obviously hogi. Viraj Singhania is holding the mic.

I recognise the music of the song. Ishq bulaava.

He starts singing and I am shocked, amazed, awestruck, astonished. Ye toh gaana bhi best gaata hai.

His deep velvety voice fills the room and I know everybody is mesmerized just like me. Wow. Just wow.

Tainu takda ravaan, Baaton pe teri hansda ravaan..
Pagal main khud nu banaanda ravaan. Tu hansdi rave, main hansaanda ravaan
Tainu takda ravaan...

This. Is. Not. Fair. Bhagwan ji ne ispe kuch jyada hi mehnat ki hai ha. Not fair!

And just like that the song is over. Itne jaldi kyu?? Mujhe aur sunna tha. Will it be appropriate if I start screaming 'once more once more'?

Everyone starts applauding and the other guy just leaves pushing Viraj purposely. Arre ha iske baare me toh bhul hi gayi. Aur izzat ka faaluda hua bichare ka.

Viraj walks down the stage like he owns the crowd. He actually does.

He comes towards me and tips my chin up closing my mouth and chuckles. Wah, mera muh bhi khula reh gaya tha.

"Aise nahi dekhte Aslesha. I mean I know you want to smother me with kisses but yaha nahi ha. Bahar ja ke pakka" he says and I glare at him.

Sab best hai, ye ocean sized attitude ko chhod ke.

"Itne bhi khaas nahi the tum" I say and he laughs. "I saw you drooling. Don't lie now" he smirks and I scoff. I was actually drooling.

"Time for the dance auditions now. First are the group dance, then duet and then solo" one of the teacher announces and my heart starts pounding in my chest.

Bahot hass li mai. Ab rone ka time AA gaya hai.

"Duet performance start honge tab jaate hai tayyar hone" Pari says excitedly and I nod.

After a moment Viraj takes my hand in his and I get startled as I look at him. His gaze is in the front. "You'll ruin this shirt by pulling all the threads" he says and that's when I realise what I was doing.

The group performances start but Viraj doesn't let go of my hand. He starts playing with my fingers and draws patterns on my palm. I get this tingly sensation which I can't shake off as my body slowly relaxes. The only feeling for now is his soothing touch which makes me forget about everything else.

Why am I feeling so tingly, like there is something fluttering in my tummy. He is just holding my hand.

After around half an hour the group performances are done and Pari says that we should go. I nod and Rudra gives me a reassuring smile.

I look at Viraj who is still holding my hand. He gives it a lights squeeze and moves his hand towards my shoulder rubbing it a little. My hand suddenly feels empty.

"I won't say all the best because I know you are the best and you'll give your best. Your life is gonna change paglu. You're gonna be amazing up there. Mera naam roshan karna. Now go hurry up" he says nudging me up. With a final glance at him, I and Pari walk towards the backstage.

The backstage is buzzing with students running everywhere with props and costumes. "Hey where's the changing room for girls?" Pari asks a supervisor and she points towards a room behind us and rushes away.

When I enter the room, the first thing I see is Trisha and her minions. When her eyes fall on me her expression becomes scornful.

"Aww look who's here. The Kathak girl who's gonna make us all go to sleep with her boring dance" she says and the girls around her start laughing. Pari is about to snap at her but I hold her back.

"Jaane de. Kutto ka toh kaam hi hai bhokna. Kuch bolne pe aur bhokenge" I say smirking as she mutters curses under her breath.

"Achha hua iska last performance hai. Warna log hall chhod ke chale jaate aur apna dance koi nahi dekhta" she says and I roll my eyes.

Typical highschool bitch. Iski problem kya hai?

I sit on one of the corner chairs and Pari starts french braiding my hair. This girl is a pro in all this stuff. Meri toh simple braid bhi aadhi tedhi aati hai.

"Make up nahi Pari please" I say turning my face away but she pulls me towards her.

"Thoda sa hi lagaaungi. Stage pe zaroori hota hai. Expressions uth ke dikhte hai" she scolds me and I sigh and lean back on the chair, closing my eyes. I hope she doesn't paint it drastically.

Suddenly she giggles and I open my eyes looking at her questioningly. "Remember jab tere baal lambe the aur tu mujhe apne baalo ko haath tak lagaane nahi deti thi" she says grinning and I chuckle.

"Ab mai nahi sambhal paaungi utne lambe baal. Yahi nahi sambhalte" I say as the memories of that night come back.

"Viraj ab waisa nahi raha" she says and I nod smiling a little.

When she is done, I look at my face, quite happy with her work. A little blush, pink lipstick, winged eyeliner, maskara and hair braided to perfection.

"Now go change quickly, solo dance shuru hi hone wala hai" she says giving me the bag with my dress and pushing me inside the changing room.

"Yahi rehna tu" I say nervously and she rolls her eyes. I can't be here alone with these bitch trolls.

"Ha yahi hu. Go now". I go inside and change into my peach coloured anarkali.

It has elbow length sleeves and golden embroidery near the chest area. It ends just above my ankles to show the step movements. I wear the same colured chudidar below. Chudidar pehenna iss duniya ka sabse mushkil kaam hai seriously.

I love how flowy this dress is. Twirls karte time pura ghoom jaata hai. I look at myself in the mirror. Okay not bad. Taking a deep breath, I step outside.

Everyone in the dressing room turns and looks at me a little shocked.

"Wow Aashi you look amazing" Pari whispers and I give her a smile.

"Aunty lag rahi ho" Trisha glares at me and leaves the room.

Isko toh kabhi mai dande se maarungi.

I tie the ghungroos tightly around my ankles praying that they won't get loose and slip.

Just 3 performances more and it's my turn. I start getting more and more nervous.

Aakhir Viraj ne mujhe manaa hi liya. Aur mai pagal ki tarah maan bhi gayi. Ugh.

Pari goes and gives my song CD to the music guy as I stand there biting my nails.

From behind the curtains I see Trisha performing on Kamli. Lord, she's actually good. I can hear whistles and cheers from the crowd area.

When the song is over she comes back and smirks at me. "Looser" she says and purposely pushes my shoulder with hers.

I seriously want to slap her but now's not the time.

I take a deep breath and close my eyes when my name is announced and walk towards the centre of the stage. The lights are fully off and I look where I was sitting to see blue eyes gazing intensely towards me.

I take a deep breath and suddenly the spot light falls on me making me momentarily blinded.

There are gasps and everyone starts whispering among each other. Some even get up to leave and I feel like crying. I look at Viraj again and he gives me a small nod.

I can do this.

I do the namaskar and take the position looking straight at the wall in the end right in the front. I can't meet anybody's eyes. It'll get me more nervous.

The melody of Tum Tak from Raanjhana echos in the hall and I start dancing, losing myself in the music.

I love the beats, lyrics, music, everything related to this song. A. R. Rehman sir is truly a legend.

I slowly start enjoying the song as my body relaxes. I don't know why, my eyes go towards a certain someone with blue eyes who's mouth is slightly open as he is gazing at me.

And then it's like the whole crowd disappears.

Ik tak ik tak, naa tak... gum sum
Naazuk naazuk dil se hum tum....
Tum... tum tum tum tum tum tum!
Tum chaabuk naina maaro
Maaro tum tum tum tum tum tum!
Tum... maaro na naina tum
Maaro na naina tum.

Tum tak..

The song comes to an end and I do the final chakkar and take the ending position as my breathing gets shallow.

I did it!

The whole hall goes quite and suddenly my knees seem weak.

No reaction? Iska kya matlab hai?

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*Dances in excitement* Kaisa laga kaisa laga kaisa laga? Aslesha finally did it!!! Everyone give her a round of applause. And did you like the song selection. I love this song and the beats are just perfect for kathak. Ishq bulaava bhi mera bahot favorite song hai. I'm very eager to read your comments on this one. Toh aaj ke liye itna hi.. ily :)