Unfortunately for many and fortunately for some, the next morning croaked in a Sunday. There was no where to go and nowhere to hide. Nandini had no option to slip through the house and avoid Fab 5. For once, she wished they went as fast as they came in her life. She was heart broken by their actions and hurt was an understatement. She was torn, ripped and shattered, was the grim truth. The only difference was that she had somewhere not given up completely, though she had thought about it a lot. Life was unfair, she understood, and innocence though it was important and nice to have, didn't work in this world. Where she was black and white at extremities, the world and unluckily, now even her heart stood in the grey- convulsed and wrapped in the many shades of it.

She decided not to step out from her room today but instead use the benefits of her room's low-lying window to sneak out to different places for fresh air again. She hated to be tied and confound to her room in her own house, but, she couldn't risk making herself fall for the man that sat outside sipping his coffee royally. She didn't detest him, she didn't hate him. First love always has a special place in heart for him but, may be she was ready to outgrow him. He had done enough damage and though in his absence, she wanted him and a confession that cleared the air between them, she now had herself with her and this was suffice.

Her analysis of her decisions was stoned and she looked around her room in search of something that may keep her busy for the day. Generally, Sundays would mean springing around with Aryaman and helping Ms. Gonsalvez but today, neither of that was an option. It was too early to roam around outside, so that wasn't a viable option for now and so she searched for something to do in the vicinity of these four walls. 

She hated herself to be organized so much that she didn't have anything to clean either. She also being her very meticulous self had also already short listed the school books for the week and the plans were all typed. Her weekly goals of keeping a Sunday free were totally back firing and the laughs were on her. She huffed at the boredom and stared at the clock that glamorously ticked away- a minute was much shorter in exams, she thought. Soon bored of the clock, she roamed her hands on the cold bed sheets and doodles using its creases. 

A heart, a font, her name, a few letters, a flower.

 It was only in the next 10 minutes she ran out doodle ideas too. She looked back at the clock. 8 am and the house was still in utter silence. If her estimates are right, everyone slept late last night and knowing their habits, no one would wake up until 11,so. Ecstatic at her discovery and effectiveness, Nandini jumped off the bed, patted her back herself proudly and swung the door open to run to the kitchen.

A hot coffee with bread on the side? Or, may be a cake and a glass of milk? Even better... a chocolate chip cookie freshly out of the oven and ready to dunked in a glass of cold milk? Her breakfast ideas were as swift as her descend from the stairs. Breakfast is so hard!

She was the last step and swirled to take the  turn that led her into the open kitchen when a voice called out to her.

"Nandini!" A sad unison brought her to a halt. 

The voices of the people were chilling and she didn't dare to turn back to glance at them. Her smile that radiated thinking about her self satisfying breakfast melted into a grim straightness.

"Nandini. How are you? " Mukti asked in a brave voice.

"Was better before" Nandini urged to reply back curtly, but only a "good" resonated in the air.

"That's great." Mukti replied half-laughingly responded to the awkward start of their conversation. It was evident that in less than 5 seconds, the small talk would diffuse and Nandini would be more than happy to continue on her way.

"Nandini, hum!"Cabir hesitated but gathered his words finely. "We are here, as you can see and hum..  we want to apologize for all that happened. I.."

"I have nothing to offer. I see raat chali gayi hi, you all can continue on your way!" She answered back straightforwardly. Her tone wasn't giving, it wasn't forgiving, or ungiving. It was balance enough to even confuse Cabir' s face reading and analysis.

Fab 5 knew their mistake was grave but her indifference hurt them. They knew that such a response was how it was suppose to be but still an inner voice in them had powered them to believe that Nandini being Nandini would forgive them.

After her determined dismissal to them, Nandini was about to continue towards the kitchen when Dhruv's voice held her back. 

"I am sorry, Nandini." he sighed and paused. "Words are not enough, neither are any make-up actions. The pain, I have inflicted on your and Manik's relation, it will haunt me the rest of my life. I am not here to ask for forgiveness. I know I can't get one. I am not even asking you to forget. I know the void that I created in yours and in fact, all of Fab 5's heart, will never be filled again. But, it could be covered, covered with sweet memories and happy moments." 

He was right and the truth resonated in her insides. He was guilty. A part of her was happy and proud of him to realize what situation he got them into but, a part of crumbled at the sight of her reflection in his words. His words pinched her heart, and her tears stung her eyes. 

"I don't expect you to turn around on us all happy and forgiving when he suddenly arrive to apologize- that's not how emotions play out. Your anger is valid, your complaints are valid. But, among all this, Nandini, I just want you to be mature. Mature enough to get back to Manik. He needs you. My buddy needs you. Don't ever forgive, I will be fine with that, but please," Dhruv's voice cracked with sobs that threatened to flow out. He sniffed in his guilt and continued, "Please come back to him. Don't let my foolishness further ruin his and yours relation. He wasn't at fault, I... "

Before he further continued to stab her heart with his apologize, that may be honest, Nandini swirled on her feet and looked at Dhruv with hurt eyes,

"Jawab do-tarafe hote hi. Ek tarfa bohot bewafa hota hi. I learnt it the hard way, but tum log yaad rakhana. And for the betterment of you guys, the later you all take off the harder the traffic will be and seeing that it's kind of cold here, the hotels would also fill up. So, it would be better agar you all leave early."

Her sentences made no sense to them and the five were boggled at its cryptic meaning. It was an answer wrapped in they didn't know what. They saw her retreat and climb back up the stairs. None of them had the courage to speak anything. It was awkward but, they all knew they weren't going down just after a first failed attempt. Actions couldn't be undone, words couldn't be taken back but, they were sure that they more it was talked of, the more they would reach somewhere. 

-----------

Navya stood upstairs near the table on the top stair. She had heard everything and was baffled at Nandini's comeback. According to her, this girl had lost her sanity and was un-necesarily being so rude to them. She had told her yesterday that they were changing and were more considerate and loving now. Had she ignored that? How could she be so rude to turn a blind eye towards that and their apology? 

Nandini reached the top stair and turned towards her room when Navya's sight caught her eye. She furrowed her eyes at Navya's angered look and was pulled by Navya into her room. 

"Yeh kya tha, Nandini?" Navya questioned and crossed her arms. 

"What?" she answered with a bored face.

"Don't do that. Tum janti ho hum kya baat kar rahe he? Fab 5. Tum unse yuhn.."

"Navya, stop it! Agar tum hein itna hee hi, then, you have also heard me back there. I have nothing else to offer you."

"Offer?" Navya's voice held a mock in it. "Offer kab se hogaya yeh, Nandini! Since when is this a give and take for you too?"

This is so tangential, Nandini conversed to herself. Though it wasn't said in words and directly on face, but Navya had just compared her Nyonika. 

Again a comparison was drawn and a conclusion was jumped into.

 It hurt her that the friend who was so close to her and knew her inside-out had come up with this, this time. First, Manik and now her. It seemed to her every important person had decided to be blinded to rationality and in the rush of emotions chose to overlook. 

"Navya tum kya keh rahi ho?" Nandini questioned her reasoning. She couldn't loose her calm, Navya was the only person she had after Abhimanyu and Aryaman. She couldn't loose her in this battle between him and her. 

"Shayad sach! Tum kal bhi is taraf behki baatein kar rahi thi, aur aaj bhi tum itni kardwi ho? Ho kay gaya hi tumhein?"

"Nothing. I'm fine. In fact, tum sab itni irrational baatein kar rahe ho. You all just don't add up. Why don't you all see? Woh darare abhi bhi hi, woh dard abhi bhi hi! And I don't know about you, but, Navya, I don't want to be a part of this anymore. This battle has taken enough from me and I'm done with it. I have simply, nothing else to offer." Nandini replied in a squeaky voice while still being rooted near the door. This is the most she had ever talked about this since that day and this was the most that she had accepted. No other thoughts lingered over this belief and no other attempts to convey it made. 

"Par woh badal gaye hi! Tum inti selfish kese ho sakti. They are changing, I have seen it and you should too. Manik needs you, I need you. Forget us, your family needs you, Nandini. How could you do this to everybody? How could you just simply deny all of us and sit here all relaxed with two strangers? Don't you see tum kitna barbad kar rahi ho..." Navya's voice faded into words and more words that breezed through Nandini.

Your family needs you. Her breath hitched at their mention. Her mind blanked at their name. Family. What was that? Who were they? How did a family feel in such times? Her own questions haunted her and Navya's cribbing went past like a giggle. 

"Nandini!" A jolt shook her . She looked at Navya who held her shoulders tight and wide-eyed stared at her. "Tum sun bhi rahi ho? Haad karti ho! Hum tumse yaha sawaal kar rahe hi aur tum se baat kar rahe hi aur tum ho ki.." Navya's train of words continued to catch their pace when Nandini blurted,

"It's over!"

"Farmaye?" Navya dramatically asked in Urdu to sound authoritative. 

"It's over", Nandini didn't budge. 

"Over!" Navya mocked. "Mohtarma, par unki galti nahi thi! You have to understand to give them leverage. It's how they grew up, it's imbibed in them- to be insecure. It's how they were.. "

" How they were-- you hear yourself. It was the past! They were... now they shouldn't be!"

"Yes! They are learning now. They will be better, but time doesn't heal insec.."

" It doesn't but that's where the maturity comes in."

------------------------

Hey, 

Confessions on the row? Whose side are you on?

Hope the story is going well! Let me know.

Happy Reading!

Love, 

HF

(P.S. I hate this... I have been trying to write since yesterday but, no Wattpad isn't going to connect to the internet whereas, all other sites would! Puff. )