*Aslesha*

Then in the blink of an eye he comes back on the bed and pulls me into a hug.

"I'm so sorry. I'm really very sorry. Shit I'm so sorry paglu" he says holding me tightly and I instantly relax in his arms.

Oh I missed this so much.

The musky smell of wood and spices and just Viraj. It calms my nerves. The feel of his arms around me soothes me completely.

I was so wrong about him. I judged him too quickly. He has faced a lot in life. Although the thing about assuming that I hurt him was completely wrong.

Dumb ass! Dummy is seriously the right name for him.

I break the hug and take a pillow and start hitting him.

"Bloody idiot, dumb ass, stupid, judgemental freak, brainless donkey, mand budhhi.." I say hitting him along with each word.

"Arre.. I said na sorry" he says taking the pillow from my hand as his eyes light up with humour.

He has the nerve to laugh!

I start hitting him with my hand, giving him punches on his chest and stomach.

"How could you blame me like that without knowing the whole thing. Did you know how much you hurt me, you retarded fool!" I say still hitting him.

"Oww violent aurat! Mujhe lag rahi hai" he says falling back on the the bed and clutching his stomach, trying to shield himself from my hard blows. I get on top of him and hit him more.

"Okay honestly, now it's not hurting because I'm loving the position we're in" he says smirking evilly looking at the way I'm sitting on his stomach, straddling him.

Fuckity fickity fuck fack!

"Tharki insaan! Kaisi soch hai tumhaari? Shee" I say getting away from him but he pulls me back on the bed and this time he pins me down below him lightly chuckling.

My breath catches in my throat as I gulp down, realising that we're too close.

"Look at your face. You are so liking this position, hai na?" Viraj says smirking again and my mouth drops open.

"You fucking pervert! Get off me" I scream and then he starts tickling me.

Oh no no no no no...

I can bear anything in life but not this.

"Viraj.. nahi na.. nahi please. St.. stop!" I say in between laughs trying to wiggle away from him. He continues the torment as I laugh loudly, trying to hit him and kick him but to no avail.

"PLEASE" I shout and he finally plops down beside me. We both are breathless and I feel like taking badlaa but vo aasani se rok lega mujhe and kya pata wapas mujhe tickle karne lage. I won't be able to bear that.

I look at him and see his eyes closed and a little smile on his lips. I turn towards him and mera dagaabaaz haath, without my permission, goes towards his hair and starts caressing them. He sighs contently and I run my hands through his hair, lightly, repeatedly.

"Viraj?"

"Hmm?"

"Tumne isliye vo din kaha tha ke you can't be friends or even civil towards me because you thought I broke the promise?" I ask.

He frowns and nods.

"And all the talks between us. Everything that happened. It was not fake na?" I ask again.

He opens his eyes and turns towards me and I remove my hand from his hair.

"Bilkul nahi. In fact itna real mai kisi ke bhi saamne nahi raha hu. You have the ability to make a person like that. You make people reveal their darkest secrets with your magic" he says.

I nod smiling a little and he closes his eyes again.

"Is this the reason why you can't sleep at night" I ask him and he opens his eyes again to look at me.

"How do you know?" He asks.

"What?"

"Ke mai raat ko so nahi paata".

"Tumne ek baar kaha tha" I say.

"Pata nahi. Mumbai me so nahi paata tha mai when all this happened. Toh I guess aadat lag gayi hai" he says and takes my hand and brings it to his hair and I smile shyly. He liked it.

I start running my hand through his hair again.

I am sleeping beside Viraj Singhania.

I am sleeping beside Viraj Singhania.

Kaha se kaha aa gayi yaar life. I hated him. Then we became friends. Then I hated him again and now everything is back to normal again.

Back to normal. Viraj ke saath rehna ab normal lagne laga hai. Jab ke ye sabse abnormal chiz hai. Agar college ke pehle din koi bolta ke kuch dino baad I'll be lying down on a bed beside Viraj at 1 am, I would laugh at his face and call an mental asylum for that person.

I look at Viraj who I guess is already asleep. His breathing is even and I look at the slow rise and fall of his chest. He really is asleep.

I take a moment to look at his features properly, hoping that he won't catch me gawking at him again.

His hair is soft and wavy and totally messed up now that I've been running my hands through them. They look good though. More than good actually. His eyes are closed and his deep lashes have formed shadows on his cheeks.

The little darkness under his eyes can be seen by looking closely. This guy should seriously get more sleep. Itne vigorous practice aur work out ke baad bhi isse neend kaise nahi aati?

My eyes move down to his lips and stop there. Inke baare me ab kya kahu? Kuch na kehna hi better hai. Aise khayaalo se paap lagega mujhe, I think and press my face in the pillow suppressing a smile.

But I guess above all the physical features, the best part about him is his heart. This guy has so much to him than visible to the eye.

Itne kam age me vo itna kuch face kiya hai. Aur kitna hurt hota hoga khud ke dad ke baare me aisa kuch pata chale toh. I'm so glad he stuck by his mother's side. I'm so proud of him. Vo apni uss smile ke peeche kuch dikhne nahi deta. Itne problems life me hone ke baawjood bhi dusro ko hamesha smile karata hai.

Yes he's completely an asshole and rude and always troubling everyone but that's his way of showing love. Bada hi ajeeb tarika hai jab ke.

I yawn and put a blanket on him as it starts raining again. Should I go sleep in another bedroom?

Um.. Mai kyu alag bedroom me sou, ye toh mera bedroom hai right? Ha toh mai toh yahi soungi. Viraj ko kahi aur sona ho toh vo so jaayega.

That point is invalid because he's already asleep.

Okay okay I admit it, I want to sleep beside this cute looking peaceful Viraj. Best enemies forever saath me sote hai kya?

Obviously not!

Why am I overthinking so much. And why the hell can't I stop looking at him. I've literally been staring at him for more than half an hour. This is becoming creepy. I have issues.

I take a blanket and turn towards the other side and close my eyes. There is lightening and thundering outside and I have an urge to lean towards Viraj and sleep snuggling into him.

What the hell is wrong with my head? Such thoughts are definitely not allowed!

Neend puri nahi hone ke wajah se ho raha hai ye. Ya fir travel kar ke dimaag thoda heavy ho gaya hoga. Nahi toh Viraj ki puri story sunn ke mera dimaag kharab ho gaya hai.

Yes yahi hoga. Aur kuch nahi.

Or maybe you have started to like him. A little more than best enemies forever would like each other.

Where did that thought come from?

I should definitely go to sleep. Kal jab mind clear hoga tb ye sab thoughts nikal jaayenge. Hm okay now I'm just going to sleep. Not paying attention to the steady breathing sound of Viraj beside me.

I close my eyes trying to relax and when my subconsciousness fully takes over, a last thought invades my mind —

Am I really getting attracted to Viraj. In that way?

~•~•~•~•~•~•

I slowly open my eyes as sunlight glares at me through the windows. Ye konse bedroom me hu mai? Arre ha Chaddha's farmhouse. Slowly the memories of last night start coming back.

Viraj.

I look to the side and Viraj is soundly sleeping beside me. A smile forms on my lips. So we actually slept together. The whole night.

I need to get up before he gets up and things get awkward. I try to sit up and I realise that Viraj's hand is over my stomach.

Something inside my heart flips looking at his hand. Oh. My. God.

Okay heart calm down. He did it unconsciously. Not purposely.

I slowly remove his hand and take my clothes from my bag and tip toe in the other room to shower.

When I'm done, I wear my army green coloured shorts and a grey t-shirt with the quote 'Making magic happen'

Party ke liye I have a separate outfit which I'll wear raat ko. I start making aloo parathas for breakfast. Viraj Ko hopefully pasand aa jaaye. Parathe kisko nahi pasand yaar. While making it I decide to call papa and Pari.

Bada hi busy din hone wala hai aaj ka.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

*Viraj*

The faint smell of something delicious being cooked hits my senses. I slowly open my eyes and squint my eyes at the harsh sunlight.

Now this is a first. I usually wake up when the sun has not even risen. And now it feels like afternoon. I look around the room as I remember the events of yesterday. It's 9 o'clock now.

I don't remember when I fell asleep. Vo bhi Aslesha ke room me. Shit where did she sleep? Koi alag bedroom me chali ho gayi kya?

But no, I can smell that familiar Aslesha's scent lingering in the room. It's faint but that answers my question. She slept right here beside me. I wish I could watch her.

Warna toh kabhi neend nahi aati aur aaj kumbhkaran ke tarah soya mai.

Again a first. Kisi ladki ke saath sona nahi. So ke kuch na karna. That's a first.

I take the pillow beside me which I assume Aslesha slept on and bury my face in it, inhaling deeply.

Definitely yahi soyi thi vo. It's the same mix of strawberry and coconut milk smell that exclusively belongs to her.

I brush my teeth and go downstairs. This delicious smell is making my stomach growl in hunger.

When I enter the kitchen I see Aslesha  flipping parathas on the pan. She is such a pro in cooking. She hasn't realised that I've entered, because she is wearing earphones and is humming a song I don't recognise.

She is also dancing a little in the place, moving her hips and bobbing her head. Phone hota toh jarur video nikaalta mai. I rest my face on my palm and enjoy the view.

She turns back and yelps when she sees me, her eyes going big like saucers. Oh how I missed this expression.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

*Aslesha*

"Good morning" he says cheerfully.

Oh this boy! Kab se khada tha ye idiot yaha? If my life is made into a movie, the title would be 'embarrassed forever'.

"Morning" I say and smile. He looks delicious. Hair messier than ever, a hint of a smirk playing on his lips, and eyes bluer than the clear sky outside.

He looks at the quote on my t-shirt and smiles a little. Then his eyes come back to my face and he slowly starts walking towards me.

Okay what's this? Yaha kyu aa raha hai vo? Meri taraf..

He comes and stands right in front of me as I press myself back into the kitchen counter.

Oh my god, again my heart with the flipping thing in my chest!

He slowly leans towards me and I gulp. His face is just inches away from me and still he doesn't stop coming close. I can feel his minty breath on my face.

My eyes close on their own accord and I.. my mind goes blank.

"Paratha jall jaayega" he whispers in my ear and there is a click behind me.

"Huh?" I say and then realise he was leaning to reach towards the gas stove to turn it off.

"Kya huh? I know I'm sexy and all but control yourself Aslesha" he teases taking a step back and I slap his chest.

"Shut up idiot" I mutter under my breath and turn away to hide my blush.

He's right. He's sexy and all but I really need to control myself. Ugh!

"I'm damn hungry. Chalo naashta karte hai" he says taking out a ketchup bottle from the fridge. He keeps two plates on the dining table and I take the parathas and sit on a stool as he sits in front of me.

The conversation then is easy and we talk about today's party and just random stuff. He helps me in washing the dishes, but there's not that much stuff so it's done quickly.

He goes to take a shower and I decide to take a look at the house from outside now that's it's sunny.

The house is like a dream home. This place is beautiful. There is a small garden in the front with a swing set and many different flowers.

Chaddha had told me that the caretakers of this house come once a week to clean and maintain the house. Mere paas agar aisa ghar hota toh mai apni life yahi guzaar deti.

To the back, there is a swimming pool! Oh my god wow. There are some leaves and twigs fallen into the pools and I try to remove them with a nearby net.

Pari told me that the others will be coming around 2 or 3 and also that they'll be bringing lunch so that I get a break. I really don't mind cooking because I don't see it as some work. I actually like it.

When I go back to the front side Viraj is in the lawn tying his shoe laces. He is wearing grey jeans and a maroon long sleeved t-shirt. His hair is damp from the shower and he looks really handsome. As always.

Why do I even bother to mention how he looks. He always looks handsome.

He looks at me and gives me a smile. "Chalo thoda ghum ke aate hai. Ye peeche jo chhoti si hill hai, lets get to the top of it" he says pointing towards a small hill in the distance.

"Dekho maine picnic basket bhi liya hai" he says excitedly looking like a little kid going to the zoo for the first time.

I internally melt looking at him. "Sure" I say. We start walking towards the hill and it's sunny but not like paseene wala sunny. It's warm and perfect for a picnic.

The ground is still damp from yesterday's rain and we have to walk for at least 15 minutes to reach the bottom of that hill.

It's not small.

"Ye paas se itni chhoti nahi lag rahi" I whine. "This is tiny. I'll take you sometime trekking in the Himalayas. Have you been there?" he asks.

"Nope. Physical activities are not my thing" I say.

"Then what is your thing" he asks as we start climbing the slope which has a little foot way leading to the top.

What is my thing?

"Books, Kathak, cooking" I say. We are surrounded by trees and it's really beautiful.

He nods. "What's your thing?" I ask.

"My thing.. I love cricket. You toh know that. But I love adventure sports and travelling. I had gone trekking in the Himalayas last year. And it was such a.. exhilarating yet blissful experience. I tried skiing there. It was really fun though I fell for almost 100 times breaking my neck in the process. I've done scuba-diving once. The world below the ocean in beautiful, I tell you. I had that experience with ma dad" he says as a sad smile appears on his lips.

"And bungee jumping was the best. I love heights. I love adventures related to heights" he says and I see how his face lights up when he mentions all this. The things he loves.

His life is so different from me. Meri life toh bass chaar deewaro me katt rahi hai. Not that I'm complaining. I love my life as it is.

"Wow" I say simply.

"I'm gonna make you try each and everything" he says grinning.

I smile at his words. Kaha iske paas itni fursat hogi ke ye mujhe le jaaye. I'm not that important to him.

Like the way he is to me.

We walk and walk and walk on what seems like and endless path. I am panting like I've run a marathon. I seriously should start exercising. Viraj on the other hand is still fresh like a daisy. He doesn't even have a drop of sweat on his face. Life is so unfair.

"Aur nahi. Bass. Mai idhar baith rahi hu. Tum jaao" I say with my hands on my knees.

"Thoda sa hi bacha hai Aslesha. Chalo ab" he says and takes my hand in his.

The tingly feeling is back and I look at my hand in his as he leads me ahead. Am I seriously attracted to him like that.

All my thoughts of attraction vanish when we reach a clearing. He runs, dragging me along with him, to the edge.

I gasp when I see the view. Oh my god, this is breathtaking.

Green, green and more green. The earth below us is surrounded in a blanket of green. "This is.."

"Beautiful" Viraj says.

It's like the yeh jawaani hai deewani moment when Deepika and Ranbir reach the top of the mountain. We are not that high but I think I'm feeling just like Deepika here.

"Ye mujhe YJHD ki yaad dilaa raha hai" he says with a chuckle.

"I was just thinking about the same thing". I say.

"Deepika's dialogue there was beautiful" he says.

"Waha uss pahaad ke hawa mein ek nasha sa tha, aur woh nasha ishq tha. Maine apni zindagi mein itni khushi mehsoos hi nahi ki thi. Pyaar ho gaya tha mujhe. Aur main sabko uss pahaad ki choti se chilla chilla ke batana chahti thi. Lekin sabse zyaada, main usse batana chahti thi. Pata nahi waha Bhairav ka mandir tha ki nahi, lekin phir bhi ek duaa mangna chahti thi. Bahut simple. In fact ek shabd. Bunny" I say and Viraj looks at me awed.

"You've watched that movie a lot of times I guess" he smiles and I nod.

In my mind I change the last word of the dialogue to some other name. The only name which makes me feel this way.

Viraj.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

As promised a new chapter. I loved writing this one. I hope you guys loved reading it too. Okay ab I need a break so I'll update the next chapter after 3-4 days. College is keeping me really occupied. I hope you guys understand. I loved all the comments on the previous one and that's why I updated this one in just one day. That's how much your comments matter to me. That's it for today. Ily all :)