Manik's POV

She was practising with Harshad. She hadn't taken him off the band.
'I trust you Manik'. That's what she had said earlier. And I had immediately placed my trust in her too. I had intertwined my hands in hers because her words had moved me. She had begun meaning so much to me, but she too had betrayed my trust like so many others have done all my life. I shouldn't have broken down the walls around me, I shouldn't have let my heart feel so much for her. I should have been ruthless with her right from the beginning.

I reached the house as fast as I could, in my shocked, hurt state. Cabir, Dhruv, Alya and Mukti lay sprawled lazily all over my couch, all busy fidgeting with their smart-phones. They had come home with me after college for practise.

''Itni jaldi aagaya tu? Date ke liye pooch bhi liya?'' Dhruv asked, raising his eyebrows.
I stayed silent. Thank god, I saw her real self before asking her out.

''Kya huwa? Usne mana kar diya?'' Mukti asked, noticing my crest-fallen expression.

''Maine us se poocha hi nahi'' I replied, my voice shaking and very low.

Cabir laughed ''Tu kabse darne lag gaya? Kahan gaya hamara bold and daring Manik Malhotra?''

''Woh Harshad ke saath practise kar rahi thi.'' I plainly stated, my voice barely a whisper, but I knew they heard me, because for a moment, they too looked surprised. Suddenly, the door bell rang.
Must be her. She had noticed me on the balcony at the last moment.

Cabir shook his head, and said ''Manik yaar.. It's not a big deal. Tu pooch le us se, usne aisa kyun kiya?''.

''It IS a big deal for me, Cabir. You know how important trust is for me. From today I don't know any Nandini Murthy. Without trust, there's no reason to continue. Aur koyi bhi uske liye darwaaza nahi kholega'' I warned them. She had begun banging the door now.

''Manik, tu khud ke dil se pooch. Tujhe lagta hai Nandini aisi type ki ladki hai?'' Dhruv asked.

Somewhere deep in my heart, I knew Nandini couldn't be the evil, plotting types. She had helped me through so much, and given me so much hope.
But, I was listening to my brain now. I can't trust her again, my brain screamed. I can't let her hurt me again.

The banging on the door stopped. She was gone. I took a deep breath, and shook her off my thoughts.

''Tomorrow is the first round of selection for Musicana.. Let's practise'' I said and walked away.

I just want Music right now. Music can heal everything. We're gonna rock Musicana like never before.

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Nandini ran after him, as soon as she registered what had actually happened. She could sense Harshad and Navya's confusion, but she didn't stop. Unfortunately, he was gone by the time she reached downstairs. Without thinking twice, Nandini went up to his house and rang the bell. Once. Twice. She then banged the door, but it didn't open. His hurt expression kept playing on her mind. She knew what must be going through his mind.
He must be thinking that like so many others in his life, I too broke his trust. I am just another person who betrayed his trust now. He must be so hurt because of me.

She went back home forlornly, her face clouded with worry and pain. Harshad and Navya had come downstairs, and had a puzzled look on their faces.

''Kya huwa Nandu? Tum aise bhaagi kyun?'' Navya asked her in concern.
Harshad too came and placed his hand over Nandini's shoulder.
She immediately jerked it off much to his annoyance, and said ''Umm.. Guys, can we continue tomorrow? I'm exhausted'' .

They seemed to understand she was in no mood to explain and simply left.
I need to explain Manik everything as soon as possible.

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The next few days went by in a flash. The Musicana selection rounds had gotten over, and now practise for the main event was in full swing.

The 4 bands that had gotten selected to represent SPACE at the event were - NH3, Fab 5, X-Pistols and Omega.
Harshad's expertise indeed helped Navya and Nandini to fine-tune their performances and stage-delivery. Musicana was a huge affair and could even turn out to be a life-changer for aspiring musicians . It was extremely difficult for all participants to find any free time these days. Nandini tried talking to Manik in the minimal free time she got, but he was being very difficult. Whenever she approached him, he would either shout out his lungs at her, asking her to get lost or coldly ignore her and walk away without even listening to a word of what she had to say. Infact, he had been staying over at Dhruv's for the past few days in order to avoid Nandini as much as possible. Each time he saw her singing with Harshad, it felt like a fresh stab to him. What was worse was that NH3 hadn't been eliminated either, allowing Harshad to rub it in their faces.

It was the night before the Pre-Musicana Event, which was like a small glimpse at all the participant bands and sort of a welcome by the host of the event, SPACE academy. The contesting bands selected as representatives from all over the country were to arrive the next morning.

Proffessor Raghav had organised a small congratulatory party for the selected bands from SPACE that night.
Since the party had been decided at the last moment, and wasn't anything grand, everyone just showed up in casual outfits.

Nandini had decided that this would be the perfect oppurtunity to talk and sort things out with Manik.
Proffessor Raghav spoke into the mike first ''Hello, Students. I know all of you must be extremely nervous for tomorrow's performance. After all, Musicana is no joke. But, I want you guys to relax and have fun tonight. You've reached until here, and that means all of you are talented individuals.. Enjoy the party. I'll be taking your leave now.''

The party began, and everyone had started dancing and enjoying themselves. A few even started couple-dancing encouraged by Alya and Dhruv waltzing, lost in their own world. To everyone's surprise, Cabir walked up to Navya and asked her for a dance to which Navya blushingly accepted.
Looking at this Harshad too offered his hand to Nandini for a dance. Nandini immediately refused and walked away. Harshad fumed in anger. The whole week, he had made several advances towards her, but she dodged it each time and her interaction with him was limited to their Musicana performance. Things weren't going as he planned, and he couldn't bear it anymore. I haven't formed a band with them to be solely their mentor. My main aim was to score with Nandini, apart from putting Fab 5 down, ofcourse.

An idea struck his mind, and his face broke into an evil grin. He spiked a glass of fruit-punch, and paid a waiter to go and give it to Nandini.
He patted himself, as she took the drink and downed it in a go.

Nandini felt nervous about talking to Manik because she was scared he might lose it at her yet again, but the drink she just had made her feel much better. She was about to go upto him, when a hand grabbed her wrist.

''Nandini, kahan jaa rahi ho? I need to discuss something about our performance tomorrow '' Harshad said with a tone of urgency.

''Abhi? Let's do it later na. Navya's also busy..'' Nandini responded with an annoyed expression and freed her wrist from his hand.

''It's urgent. We can inform Navya about it later. Let's go to the music room.. It's too noisy here'' Harshad replied and Nandini nodded, sighing.
Manik noticed them going out together, and he couldn't help feeling anxious. He looked into his wrist watch - It said 9:45 pm.

The whole college is empty, sparing this auditorium for the party. Where could they be going, that too at this time? And Nandini can be extremely careless at times .. thought Manik, recalling the incident where she had been attacked by a goon.  She did betray my trust, but I cannot leave her with that guy at this time.
He ran out to find the two.

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By the time Harshad and Nandini reached the music room, Nandini had begun feeling a little dizzy and she held the wall for support.

''My head.. It's kinda spinning.. '' She groaned.

''Here, let me help you'' Harshad offered cunningly, and started massaging her temples.

''Don't touch me.. I'll manage.'' Nandini tried thinking clearly, and shoving away his hand.

''No , Baby. You've been away from me too long. Aaj mai tumhaari nahi sunne wala'' Harshad cooed and tucked her hair behind her ears . He started carressing her cheek when sudden, urgent footsteps could be heard.

''Nandini..?'' A loud voice pierced the room.

''Manik, I'm here!'' Nandini shouted back happily. She could recognize that voice anywhere.

''Shit! Manik yahan?!!'' Harshad mumbled ''Last time, Nandini ke saath band banane ke liye itna maara tha. Agar aise dekh liya toh pata nahi kya karega..'' He shuddered, and noticing an open window, leapt out. Fortunately for him, they were on the ground floor, and he escaped unscathed.

''Nandini!!!'' Manik broke into the room, and he sighed in relief as he saw her standing safely there.

''Harshad kahan hai? Wasn't he with you?'' He looked around and enquired.

''Who cares? Tum mere liye aaye ho na..'' Nandini said gleefully. By now, The drink had taken its effect on her.

Manik gave her a baffled look ''Main yahan tumhare liye nahi aaya hoon.. Woh toh main...'' Before he could complete his sentence, Nandini ran upto him and wrapped her tiny arms around his waist. Manik was taken aback by her sudden action.

''Tumhe pata hai, I missed you so much this week.'' Nandini complained like a child.

Manik extracted himself from her hug, and asked her ''Tumne pee rakhi hai? You're not being yourself..''

''Nahi toh.. Tumhe pata nahi, I don't drink? I just drank some yummy fruit punch at the party'' Nandini said, shrugging and put her arms around him again, burying her face in his chest. Manik shook his head and muttered  ''Couldn't be just a fruit punch, it definitely had more to it. And if I'm not wrong, that Harshad must be behind all this''.

I didn't want anything to do with Nandini. She got herself into this mess. Par mera dil isko chodne nahi dega.

''Come on Nandini, let's get you home'' Manik sighed.

''No.. I don't want to go to my home.. Please, Manik? I want to be with you'' Nandini said, breaking the hug and looking up innocently at him. Manik looked into her large eyes and cute pout, and immediately felt his annoyance at her melting away. He couldn't take her to her home in this state anyways.

''Okay, I'll take you to my home. But, we'll have to deal with your Chacha-Chachi first'' Manik said, and whipped out his phone.

In a few minutes, Navya and Cabir came running into the music room. ''Is everything okay, Manik? Tu ne mujhe Navya ko lekar idhar kyun aane ke liye kaha?'' Cabir asked, looking confusedly at the woozy Nandini beside him.

''Nandu, tumhe kya huwa hai?'' Navya asked her, panicking.

''Nandini has accidentally gotten drunk. Navya, main chahta hoon ke tum uske Chachi ko call karke bolo ke aaj raat woh tumhare ghar par rahegi.'' Manik quickly explained.

Navya nodded, and understanding the urgency of the situation, asked no more questions. She took Nandini's phone from her bag and called Chachi.

''Hello, Chachi.... Nahi hum Nandini, nahi, Navya baat kar rahe hai...Chachi, aaj raat Nandu humare ghar reh sakti hai? Humein Pre-Musicana ke liye bohat tayyari karni baaki hai'' Navya was saying.

''Mujhe bhi chachi se baat karni hai... CHACHIIII..'' Nandini suddenly screamed. Manik quickly covered her mouth with his hand to suppress her sound. Nandini bit his hand in retort, causing Manik to almost shriek out and double over in pain. He glared at Nandini.

''Kuch nahi Chachi, woh Nandini mazaak kar rahi hai. Aapse baadme baat hogi.. Bye'' Navya said, and cut the call. ''Permission milgayi!!'' she announced.

Manik rubbed his injured hand and sighed ''Thank god..''.

''Par Manik, hum Nandini ko iss halat mein apne ghar kaise le jayenge? Ghar pe hamare parents ko kya bolein?'' Navya asked in confusion.

''Nahi, nahi. Nandini ko main apne ghar le jaaunga. Don't worry'' Manik responded.

''Ohhh.. Apne ghar?'' Cabir exclaimed mockingly and Navya giggled.

''CABIRRR...'' Manik said, gritting his teeth.

''Sorry Bro.. Enjoy your night'' Cabir chuckled, and left the room along with Navya.

''Manik, I'm sowwiee'' Nandini suddenly spoke up after they left. Manik raised his eyebrows at her.
''Mere wajah se tumhe dard huwa na.. I don't like seeing you in pain..'' she continued, and took his hand in hers. She then gently kissed the area where she had bitten him. For a moment, Manik stared in surprise, but a smile broke upon his face. Her feather-kiss made his heart skip a beat.

''Is it okay now?'' Nandini asked.

''Much better'' Manik replied and picked her up in his arms and took her towards his car.

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As Manik was driving back home, Nandini suddenly screamed ''MANIKKK!!!!''. Manik screeched the car to a halt, and looked at her in bafflement, half-screaming ''Kya Huwa?!!''

''Vada-Pav!'' She replied.

''Kya?!'' It was the only word he could come up with.

Nandini pointed to a stall on the side of the road, which was selling Vada-pav ( a vegetarian fast-food involving a deep-fried potato patty, spices and bread).

Before Manik could stop her, she had opened the door and ran out. Manik face-palmed himself and ran behind her.

''Bhaiya, 10 Vada-Pav dena.. 5 mere liye, 5 Manik keliye'' she was saying eagerly when he reached beside her.

''10?!!'' The guy at the stall asked in confusion.

''Nahi, nahi mazaak kar rahi hai bhai .. 2 bas hai.'' Manik said to him in a hurry , and taking Nandini's hand led her to the bench nearby, so that she wouldn't do anything weird that would make anyone suspicious.

As they sat down, Nandini began sobbing all of a sudden. Manik cupped her face, and asked ''Ab kya huwa drama-queen?''

''Manik, tumne mujhse itne din baat kyun nahi ki? Tumne mujhe yeh bhi nahi explain karne diya ki maine Harshad ko nikala kyun nahi! You made me so, so sad'' Nandini complained, still sobbing.

''Ok.. Ok, I'm sorry. Ab bata do'' Manik said holding his ears, trying desperately to stop her from crying.

Nandini wiped her tears and nodded. ''Uss din na main jab registration desk pe gayi, toh wahan jo uncle baithe the na, unhone kahan ke 'Registrations are closed.. Aur agar koyi bhi changes maine abhi kiya, toh woh hamein disqualify kar denge.' Main toh disqualify hone ke liye ready bhi thi, sacchi!! Par Navya ke itne saare dreams toot jaate. Pata hai, Uss ke parents ka sapna hai ki woh Musicana jaise bade stage mein perform kare, isliye main kuch kar nahi paayi..'' She ranted animatedly.

Manik didn't know what to say. He was surprised she managed to retain all this despite being drunk. It showed how badly she wanted to tell him all this.

''But Manik, Ayyapa- promise , main ne poore week Harshad se music ke alawa kuch baat nahi ki. Tumne mujhe mana kiya tha na, and I trust you'' Nandini continued cutely pinching her neck.

Manik shook his head at her and responded despite knowing she wasn't in a frame of mind to understand - ''Tum sach me bohat innocent ho.. You haven't realised ke Harshad ke aas-paas bhi rehna isn't safe?! Navya ke liye tum ne meri baat ignore kar li?''. But despite his irritation with her, it also gave him immense peace to know that she had no intention to betray him as such. It was only her innocence and naive mind that made her do it just to make her best-friend happy.

The Vada-Pav arrived and Nandini happily munched on hers while Manik just sat adoring her.

''Tum bhi khao na, Manik'' Nandini said, noticing his untouched snack.
Having grown up in a posh household, he had never been allowed to eat street-food. Thus, he didn't have the habit of eating at places like this. Manik hesitantly looked on. Nandini giggled naughtily and taking his Vada-pav, stuffed it in his mouth. Manik felt his tongue burn because of all the spices, and he flapped his hands while his eyes started watering. He was extremely intolerant towards spicy food, and this surpassed his limits. He grabbed the jar of water placed infront of him and gulped it down as fast as he could.
Nandini laughed uncontrollably.
Manik finally stopped and glared at her, panting ''Toh, tumhe yeh bohat funny lag raha hai?''. She was really testing his patience.

''Haan.. Monster Manik spicy food nahi kha sakta?!!'' Nandini replied and started laughing again.

''SHUT UP!!!'' Manik shouted, irritatedly. He got up in a huff and paid the money. ''Now, come with me'' he ordered. Nandini followed him quietly to the car, her body swaying a bit and her finger on her lips. As they sat inside, Manik glanced her and said ''Now stop making me feel guilty. You can talk''.

Nandini crossed her hands over her chest, and snapped childishly ''Tum humesha gussa kyun karte rehte ho? Monster kahin ke..''

''Haan, toh tum humesha mujhe gussa kyun dilaati ho? '' Manik countered.

''Thik hai.. I know how to make you smile!!'' Nandini suddenly said and leaned over to his side, quickly closing the distance between them.

Manik gaped at her and asked ''Y-yeh tum kya kar rahi ho?''. He didn't want to lose control now and she was making it very difficult, bringing her face so close to his.

''Main tumhe smile karwa rahi hoon, Buddhu!'' Nandini replied like an impatient child.

As Manik looked on puzzled, Nandini pressed her lips next to one edge of his mouth and then slowly moved and kissed next to the other edge. Manik felt like his nerve endings were on fire at the feeling of her soft lips so close to his, yet not quite there. He couldn't handle the tease, and cupped her face in his arms, bringing his lips just inches away from hers.

''Tumne smile nahi kiya?'' Nandini abruptly whispered.

''Huh?'' Manik asked, coming out of his trance.

She pointed innocently to the corners of his lips. Manik instantly smiled at her adorableness. Nandini herself smiled satisfactorily at this, and shouted ''Dekha? I made you smile!''. Manik made her sit back again on her seat and strapped her seat belt.
As he continued the drive back home, the smile still kept playing on his lips.
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