*Viraj*

I feel something move below my arm. Bed hill raha hai? Lekin pura bed nahi hill raha, bass mere arm ke neeche kuch. Aur ye jo bhi hai vo bed ki tarah toh feel nahi ho raha.

I slowly open my eyes and my eyes land on her angelic face.

Aslesha.

A smile appears on my lips as I sigh. Yesterday when I couldn't find her, Pari told me that she went to sleep. Then when we were going upstairs I pushed Pari into my bedroom so that Rudra and her get to spend more time.

Or so that I get to sleep beside Aashi.

I don't know why I tend to get proper, sound sleep beside her. Two consecutive days, sleeping beside a girl, just sleeping. And that too, Aashi. Who would've thought?

Meri number one dushman, we literally made each other's life hell in school, now she's sleeping beside me peacefully. I take a look at her features, remembering how she always goes pink when I catch her staring.

Her long deep lashes, fanning her cheeks. She has a beautiful face structure. That perky nose and pouty soft pink lips. My eyes linger a little longer than necessary on her lips.

She is beautiful. Not in the Barbie doll  kind of way where it seems unrealistic. She's a natural beauty. She has the kind of face which a person can never forget. Which will make you stop and turn to take a better look.

I see that my arm is on her stomach and I slowly remove it as I feel a little warmth in my chest.

I brush off the tendrils away from her face as she curls up into a ball and mumbles something inaudible. I stiffen, afraid that I woke her up. But then her breathing gets even again and I let out the breathe I didn't know I was holding.

What the fuck am I doing? Behaving like a sappy hero from those dumb romantic movies. Romance and love are something off my list. I'm allergic to it and don't wanna get ruined by that feeling. Ever.

'Tis better to have loved and lost, Than never to have loved at all.'

That soft voice rings in my head and I know it's time to get away right this instance. I need to clear my mind. I should go for a run.

It's still 8 am so when I go down nobody is present except Neel. He is making coffee and I sit on the stool of the counter.

"Morning little lover boy" he says when he sees me.

"Morning Captain Chaddi" I reply and he purses his lips.

"Mere liye bhi coffee banaa" I say rubbing my eyes.

"Tere baap ka naukar nahi hu" he retorts but still hands me a mug of coffee.

"Itne jaldi kyu utha hai tu?" I ask taking a sip of coffee.

"Unlike you, I don't have someone to cuddle with for the whole night" he smirks. Oh god, not again.

"We were not cuddling" I snap at him.

"Oh, so you did sleep together" he smirks.

"Chup bey" I roll my eyes and he laughs.

"Aaaa-shi" he sneezes. Or should I say fake sneezes.

"Really dude? Second grade wale bhi tujhse better hai" I say. What's wrong with this guy?

"Arre cheenk aa rahi hai yaar. Aaaa-shi.. aaa-shi".

I look at him blankly and he laughs. Saala haramkhor!

Time to change the topic before he irritates me more.

"Teri kabhi girlfriend nahi rahi hai kya? I've never seen you dating a girl. Gay hai?" I smirk. He rolls his eyes and then his face suddenly turns serious.

My curiosity gets elevated. "Kya hua bhai?" I ask eyeing him closely. He has spaced out and doesn't hear my question.

"Bhai tu thik hai?" I ask shaking him a little and he blinks. He then looks at me chuckles lightly.

"Arre neend puri nahi hui shayad meri. Ja ke thodi der aur so jaata hu" he says and leaves the kitchen.

What the hell was that about? I shrug and go out for a run. I put on my earphones and start running towards a random direction.

The path is rocky and uneven but I hardly acknowledge that. I run for some time and suddenly remember how Aslesha was whining yesterday.

Pata nahi itna kha ke bina excersise kiye bhi itni fit kaisi hai vo. Bachpan me hua karti thi.. not fat, but she was really chubby. I remember how I wanted to touch her dimple when I was a kid. Pagal ladki, asli trek pe jaayegi tab haalat kharab ho jaayegi. I smile.

Why the hell am I thinking about her? Again. I wanted to clear my mind with this run and it is just wandering back to her. I shake my head to clear my thoughts and push myself harder, running really very fast.

My surroundings pass behind me in a blur and I shut down my mind.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

*Aslesha*

"Aashi.. AASHI!"

I jerk up from my bed and look around. "Kya hua?" I ask Saumya who is standing in front of me and place my hand on my heart from the sudden shock.

"Oops. Thoda jyada zor se chilla di. I was just here to wake you up" she smiles guiltily and I fall back on the bed again.

"I don't wanna wake up. Good night Saumya" I say and close my eyes again and go back to sleep.

I'm woken up again by soft voices in my room. Ye log mujhe sone kyu nahi de rahe yaar?

"Don't worry mai dekho kaise usko 10 minute me neeche laata hu". I hear his voice. Oh no. I pull the blanket over my head and close my eyes shut.

The bed sinks beside me and I can feel his strong presence near me.

"Wake up sleepy head" he says pulling the blanket down from my face.

"Don't even try Viraj. I'm gonna wake up in the afternoon. Okay then bye" I say turning to the other side.

He pulls me back so that I'm facing up and I open my eyes cursing under my breath.

"Kya musibat hai" I mutter under my breath.

"Good morning to you too" he replies and I groan inside the pillow.

He is freshly showered and is sleeping on his stomach with his hand supporting his face. I can smell the familiar Viraj-ish smell coming from him.

What a sight to wake up to.

Subah subah bhi yahi khayaal? Oh god.

"I went for a run and came back and still you're sleeping. Mujhe bhuk lagi hai" he whines and I frown at him.

"And?"

"Kuch banaao na chalo. I wanna eat something made by you" he says sitting up and takes my hand and drags me up into a sitting position.

"You are so bloody irritating" I say as he gets up from the bed.

"Oh fuck meri maggi. Shit Aslesha, you better come down in 10 minutes or I'll drag you down by your hair" he says and runs away as I stand there dumbfounded. Kaisa ajeeb ladka hai.

I get inside the bathroom and slam the door shut. Mujhe aur sona tha. Bass 9.30 hi baje the.

Idiot.

When I'm done, I wear a stripped t-shirt and light blue boyfriend jeans and tie my hair up in a high ponytail.

"Maggi kaise jalaa sakta hai koi insaan. World ki sabse easy chiz banane me aur tu usse bhi jalaa diya" Chaddha is laughing at Viraj and I internally face palm myself.

"Isme Aslesha ki galti hai. Mai usse uthaane gaya tha aur vo uth hi nahi rahi thi" Viraj defends himself.

"Shut up Viraj. Ek toh Maggi jaisi aasan dish jalaa dete ho aur mujhpe blame daal rahe ho" I say and everyone starts laughing on him more. Viraj glares at everyone and then sits in a corner.

I look at Pari sitting on Rudra's lap as they are eating cookies and I smile at them.

So in love.

Saumya is watching TV in the living room with Tej and Joel. Shabnam is making something in the kitchen.

"Need help?" I ask her. "No no.. Hum sab ne Maggi kha li lekin jo last do packet bache the vo..."

"Iss dummy ne jalaa diye" I finish the sentence and Viraj huffs angrily.

"Kya banaau tumhare liye?" she asks. "Arre tum jao bahar mai banaa lungi kuch" I say and push her out of the kitchen.

"Chaddha, tum kuch khaaoge" I ask. He shakes his head and shows me the pack of Doritos that he is eating.

"Mujhe bhi nahi khana by the way. Tumhare puchne se pehle bataa raha hu" Viraj says scrolling through his phone and I have a hard time controlling my smile.

He is acting like a kid who is been denied his favourite candy. I remove eggs from the fridge and some other ingredients and start making cheese omelet.

From the corner of my eye, I see Viraj looking at me intently. I suddenly feel cautious that his eyes are upon me, following every moment of mine.

He is just looking at the cooking. Not me. Like that. He will never look at me like that.

When I'm done, I pour some coffee in 2 mugs and take the plates on the table. He looks at me and then glues his eyes back on the phone.

"Maine kaha tha na mujhe nahi khana" he says.

"Okay" I simply say and continue eating my omelet. After a moment he pulls the other plate towards him.

"Itni mehnat se banayi ho toh kha leta hu. Waste jaayega warna" he says and starts eating.

I just nod and suppress my smile looking at him. What a drama queen. Mera dummy.

If I gaze at him like this, he'll definitely know that I'm attracted towards me. I quickly divert my eyes and drink the coffee.

When we go out, nobody is in the living room. But their voices can be heard outside.

"Jaldi aao yaar. Teams banate hai" Joel says when he sees us.

"Teams?" I ask.

"Yes we are playing rugby. Lekin thode different tarike se. Ghar ke pichli taraf we have placed this bucket and dono team ball le ke vo bucket tak pahochne ki koshish karegi. But ek team ghar ke ye taraf se aur dusri team opposite taraf se jaayegi. You have to stop the other team from going first. Kaise bhi. No rules. Samjhe?" Tej explains.

"Um.. kind of" I say.

The teams are made and my team members are Neel, Joel, Tej, Saumya and me.

Viraj is in the opposite team with Rudra, Pari, Sid and Shabnam.

"Aur game ko interesting banane ke liye, jo bhi team haaregi vo dusre team ko agle ek hafte tak canteen se jo bhi khaana hai vo khilayegi. What say?" Rudra suggests.

"I say yes" Viraj nods looking at me and smirking. I make a face looking at him and he laughs.

Our team huddles up together. "Guys, the only thing you have to do is run as fast as possible and ball jyada der khud ke paas nahi rakhna kyu ke fir they'll pounce on us. So keep passing it. Okay? And girls please lightly mat lo iss match ko. Aashi.. remember.. free food free food. Keep chanting that" Neel says and I roll my eyes.

Itni bhukkad bhi nahi hu yaar mai.

"And hum sab ek player ko cover karenge. I'll cover Viraj, Saumya will cover Pari, Aslesha you'll be behind Shabnam, Tej for Rudra and Joel you cover Sid. Okay?"

The way everyone is planning strategies and stuff, it seems like we are playing for the Olympics. But free khaane ke liye.. I can do this!

"Come on losers. Itna kya discuss kar rahe ho. Faayda nahi because haarne wale ho tum log" Viraj says as we stand facing each other.

"We'll see about that kiddo" Neel smirks.

Neel throws the ball up in the air and everyone jumps to catch it but Sid catches it first and quickly passes it to Rudra and our team starts running behind them.

Tej is chasing Rudra and gets hold of his t-shirt and he yanks him back due to which Rudra looses his balance. Before Rudra falls and Tej can take the ball, he throws it towards Shabnam.

I'm covering for her so I push her aside and catch the ball.

"Sorry Shabnam" I shout as I run towards the opposite direction. This is fun. Everyone starts chasing me and I run like I'm being followed by cheetahs trying to kill me, all the way screaming.

I throw the ball towards Saumya and when everyone starts following her she throws it again towards me.

Yes!!!!

"Bahot achha kar rahi ho girls" Tej shouts.

I start running fast again with a big grin. "Hey looser" I scream when I see Viraj running behind me. He chuckles and fastens his speed and catches me from behind. I squeal in surprise and throw the ball towards Neel.

"Asshole!" I push Viraj and he stumbles back and I again start running towards Neel.

"Aaj badi tez bhaag rahi ho" Viraj says running beside me. "Free food" I say breathlessly and he laughs loudly. "Of course" he says.

Rudra has somehow snatched the ball from Neel and is running towards the other direction. Viraj goes ahead and then Rudra passes the ball to him.

We chase him and when Neel grabs Viraj from behind, he falls ahead holding the ball to his chest and Neel falls on him. And then Rudra is above both of them. Pari jumps on Rudra and I follow suit. Soon we become a human mountain.

I get pressed down and start laughing loudly. Ye kya kar rahe hai hum log. Everyone is shouting in each other's ears. I guess Joel is above me.

"Ayee meri pant kon kheech raha hai?" I hear Neel's voice screaming from below and I start laughing hysterically.

"Rudra haramkhor ye Pari ka nahi mera face hai jo tu sehlaa raha hai. Haath nikaal!" Viraj screams and I laugh more loudly.

Oh fuck my stomach is hurting because I can't even laugh properly. I somehow remove my hands and start tickling I don't know who below me.

"Heyyy no tickling" Pari squeals and everyone falls to the ground.

Viraj stands up and puts the ball inside his t-shirt and we literally tear off his t-shirt for the ball.

"Here Viraj" Shabnam shouts from a distance and Viraj quickly throws the ball towards her.

Aree yaar ye achhi trick thi. She runs towards the basket and we all chase her but it's too late as she throws the ball in the basket.

Oh noo!!!

"That's my girl" Joel says kissing her proudly. "Hey gaddar insaan!" Tej shouts at him.

I sigh as the other team members start dancing. "Loser loser" they sing and Viraj start dancing in front of me.

"Shut up guys, aur chaar games baaki hai" Neel says rolling his eyes.

"BWAHAHAHA" Viraj laughs like Raavan in my face and ruffles my hair. I slap his hand away as we go back towards the starting point.

We play for some more time. I've never had so much fun playing a game like this in my entire life. The best part is when we fall on each other. At the end their team wins. We won twice but they win 3 times so whatever.

Again Viraj can't stop dancing and teasing me. Cheater kahi ka. Cheating toh kuch ki nahi fir bhi cheater!

We go to have a bath again. Bahot gande ho gaye the. When I go downstairs, I see Viraj sitting alone on the couch. His elbow is bleeding.

Oh my god.

I run towards him. "Kya hua tumhe?" I ask and sit beside him on the couch. "Girr gaya tha khelte time. Naha raha tha tab dekha" he says and he hisses when he dabs the cotton with the antiseptic on his wound.

"Aslesha?"

"Ha?" I ask distractedly still looking at his elbow carefully.

"This is the moment jab ladki bolti hai ke vo bandage laga degi. Then the hero heroine have their romantic moment. Toh tum.." he prompts and I roll my eyes.

"Aur mujhe laga tum romantic movies nahi dekhte" I say taking the cotton from his hand and start cleaning his wound.

"General knowledge" he answers. I blow lightly on his elbow so that usse jyada jalan na ho.

"You are flinching more than me Aashi. Tumhe dard ho raha hai ky?a" he chuckles and I press the cotton a little too harshly on his elbow.

"Oww! Are you trying to kill me" he exclaims.

"Tumhare liye kuch achha kar ke faayda nahi. Har chiz me mazak mazak mazak" I say and tear open the bandage forcefully.

He moves his elbow to the other side. "Zor se mat lagaao. Baad me gussa karo. Bandage lagane ke baad" he says and I sigh.

I softly pull his arm towards me and fix the bandage on his elbow. He points towards his knee which has a few scratches and I dab it with antiseptic.

The next thing I do surprises me more than him. I gently kiss his elbow. "Boo boo chala gaya" I smile at him and he gives me a breathtaking smile in return.

I always did that when Dhruv came to me with broken knees. He says ke boo boo ko kiss karne se boo boo jaldi thik hota hai.

"Aslesha Aslesha Aslesha.." he says and pulls my nose playfully.

"Ok now I have to prepare lunch" I say and start walking towards the kitchen.

"Mai help karu"?" he asks and I shake my head. "We don't want to burn down the house now right" I say and he rolls his eyes.

The girls are already present in the kitchen and we together make paneer butter masala and rotis. And just simple jeera rice and dal tadka.

We talk on girly subjects and start digging Pari about the details of her love story. She is really happy and I'm happy for her too. Meri Paro.

We have lunch together and then pack our bags. Ye do din kaise nikal gaye yaar. Mera bilkul ghar jaane ka mann nahi hai. Kitna maza aaya yaha. Sab friends ke saath itna time spend karne mila. Viraj ke saath.

We leave the house around 4. I am in the car with Pari, Rudra and Viraj. Pari and Rudra sit in the front and Viraj slides down beside me.

"Mai toh mast neend maarne wala hu. Raat ko Aslesha ke kharrato ne mujhe sone nahi diya" Viraj smirks and I give him a blank expression.

"Kuch bhi ha" I say and he chuckles. I sigh and look back at the house. Kitne achhe memories banne yaha. I'll never forget these 2 days. Everyone gets in their respective cars and we leave. I look back at the the house for a final time and sigh.

Viraj takes a cushion from the backseat, places it on my lap and sleeps on it. Matlab on my lap. Just like that. Without asking me. Like it's an everyday thing.

I see Rudra and Pari eyeing us from the rearview mirror. Viraj doesn't seem to care as he closes his eyes, puts his feet up on the seat and takes my hand and places it in his hair.

I smile and start running my hand through his soft hair. I gaze out the window, as I get overflowed by my emotions. It is the first time I'm experiencing this.

This, whatever it is, is getting out of control. One thing I realise is that this is not just attraction. This is something more.

I look at Viraj on my lap and my heart skips a beat. I'm falling for him.. and I'm falling hard.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

Hello babu log! Kaise ho sab? Are you liking the story so far? Aage ke chapters me aisa kuch hone wala hai jo aapko hilaa ke rakh dega. I know you guys wanna know ke complain ki kisne. Vo bhi pata chalega don't worry. And don't forget to vote and comment. Comment what you're liking or not liking or what you want to see next. All you guys supporting me are amazing and ily :)