Manik's POV

As soon as Nandini had disappeared from our sight, Cabir pulled me to face him, and said - ''Haan, toh ab bol'' .

''Kya bolun?'' I asked, pretending as if I didn't know what he was talking about.

''Yahi ki tu ek nayi 'friend' ke liye apne saare purane rishtey bhool jayega?'' He said dramatically, pretending to wipe off a tear.

''Pagal ho gaya kya?! You guys are my family!'' I replied, as sincerely as possible.

''Then.. Why did you let her go? Usne Fab 5 se panga liya dude.. Aur woh tujhe itna suna ke bhi gayi, tu ne kuch kiya kyun nahi??'' Mukti asked.

''Haan Manik, aisa tu ne pehli baar kiya hai.. Chal kya raha hai buddy?'' Dhruv added to the flood of questions directed towards me.

I stayed quiet.

''Kya yeh mera pehla, pehla pyaar hai? Sajnaaa..'' Cabir started singing to tease me, and I glared at him.

Alya came up to me and put her arm around me, saying ''Manik, if this is your first love , then I don't mind being pushed by her. It will be so much fun seeing the angry young man become a lover-boy''. She then laughed, and joined Cabir's song ''Yunhi rahe har dam Pyaar Ka Mausam, Yunhi milo humse Tum Janam Janam..''

''Stop It Guys!! I do NOT love her'' I screamed exasperatedly.

''Then... Prove it. Deal with her, the way you would deal with anyone who messes with Fab 5.'' Mukti said, smirking. This girl and her challenges.

''Fine'' I replied coldly and walked off.

I got inside the college, and went towards a staircase, where usually no one would be there. I just needed some time to clear my thoughts.

But, today the place wasn't empty. Seated on the top most step, her head on her knees sat Nandini, all alone.
She must have wanted some lone time too. I went up to her quietly, and sat
beside her. She was sobbing silently.

All because of me. Fab 5 ko toh kehdiya I'll deal with her, but how can I? I just can't seem to see her in pain.

I pulled her body towards me, so that her head now rested on my chest, and my arms wrapped around her petite frame. Her sobs stopped, and she looked up at me. For a few seconds, she just stared at me, as I wiped the tears gently off her cheeks. But the next moment, she pushed me off with a jerk.

''Nandini, I don't want to lose you as a friend. Please, I really didn't know it was you...'' I said.

''It is not about just me, Manik.'' She cut me off ''You know In the past few days, I had begun believing that you were my guardian angel? You gave me comfort and hope when I needed it so badly.I'm just so, so disappointed with you''.

This was heart-wrenching for me.
''I'm sorry..'' I apologised.

She ignored my apology, and continued
''I couldn't even imagine that you could go down to such levels.. Nahi chahiye tumhare jaisa dost! Aaj dekhliya tumhara real face. You and your Fab 5 torture poor students and make them suffer so much, for what? To get cheap thrills?!''

''Enough Nandini!'' I screamed. I had enough of this. Here, I was apologising to her even after she pushed Alya, and she had the audacity to actually speak this way about Fab 5.

''Why enough? Isn't it true? What do Fab 5 think of themselves, woh...'' She was showing no sign of stopping.
I grabbed her arms and put them behind her ''I said .. Enough!! Tumhe kya lagta hai, tum Fab 5 ke baare kuch bhi bolti jaogi, aur mai kuch nahi kahunga?! You are highly mistaken, Nandini Murthy - Fab 5 is my family! Samjhi?!'' I screamed.
I glowered at her, and she glared right back into my eyes. Must admit, this girl has some guts.

''And now darling Nandini, you will see the real Manik Malhotra, who isn't this whimpering, forgiving mess. You will have to pay for what you did and said'' I added threateningly.

She replied ''Bring it On, Manik'', even though her voice shook as she spoke. I left her hands , and angrily walked away.

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The next day, Nandini was a nervous wreck stepping inside the college. Surprisingly, she didn't see any of the Fab 5 members and her day went pretty well, she had even enjoyed her classes. She had told Navya about Manik being her neighbour, but skipped all the details.

As Nandini and Navya were leaving college,a girl from the same batch, Saniya approached them, saying ''Guys, tum log bhi Party mein jaa rahe ho?''

''Party?'' Nandini and Navya asked in unison.

''Haan, Hum freshers ke liye Madh Island mein ek cool party organise ki gayi hai!!'' Saniya said, excitedly.

''Wow, Nandu.. Chalo na hum bhi chalte hai'' Navya pleaded.

''Par Navya.. Are you sure? Hum toh kisi ko jaante tak nahi.. Aur waise bhi, hum jayenge kaisey?'' Nandini asked, hesitantly .Saniya jumped in before Navya could respond - ''Arrey, itna kya sochna? Mera driver bahar hi hai, hum teeno ko le jayega.. Come on, it will be so much fun''. Nandini was finding all this a little fishy, but seeing Navya's excited face, she agreed.

On the way, she called up Chachi, and told her she would be late because of this fresher's party.

It was already dark by the time they reached the place. Nandini and Navya gasped as they entered the party. The lighting was very dim, and loud rock music blared in their ears. Girls in ripped shorts, crop-tops and mini-skirts were dancing wildly with guys. Many held weird drinks in their hands, and couldn't even stand properly.

''Ayyapa, yeh kaisi jagah hai.. Chee. Mujhe bohut darr lag raha hai. Navya, chalo yahan se'' Nandini looked around to talk to Navya. But Navya had all of a sudden, disappeared.

Nandini panicked, and made her way between the crowd, trying to find her best-friend. Suddenly, she felt a hard shove. She looked around to see who pushed her.

''Alya? Mukti? Tum log yahan pe?'' Nandini asked them. ''Humari party me aakar humse hi puch rahi ho what we are doing here?'' Alya countered.

''Woh .. mujhe pata nahi tha ki yeh Fab 5 ki party hai. Waise bhi, Main yahan se jaa hi rahi hoon, I just need to find Navya first'' Nandini responded giving them a cold shoulder.

Mukti burst out laughing at this, saying ''Aur tumhe lagta hai, ki hum tumhe itni aasani se jaane dengey? Agar tumhe apni friend se milna hai aur yahan se nikalna hai, toh kuch dares complete karne hongey''.

''No way.. I'm not going to fall for..'' Nandini was about to refuse, when she noticed her phone light up. It was a message from Chachi, which read - 'Rishabh isn't feeling well, he needs you.'

Nandini sighed - I have no choice. She then turned back to Mukti and hissed ''Fine''.

''Actually, You don't look dressed for a party' ' Alya looked at her red kurti in disgust and pulled out a dress from her bag, saying ''Toh your first task - Wear this!''. Nandini took the dress in her hand, and gulped. It was a short, backless black dress.(see media box)

''Par main aise kapde nahi pehenti..'' She told them. ''Why do you think we gave you this task then?'' Mukti shrugged. Nandini went to the washroom while the two followed, mentally slapping herself for coming to the stupid party.

A few minutes later, she appeared in the short dress, tugging at it nervously. ''What a transformation!'' Alya exclaimed , and grabbed her hand ''Chalo let's go, the boys have come'' . Nandini bit her lip anxiously, at the thought of facing Manik.

Manik, Cabir and Dhruv stood in the middle of the crowd, sharing a few drinks.

''Guys, look who's here!'' Mukti announced and gestured towards Nandini. The boys stopped and looked at her.
Manik gasped as he took in Nandini's changed appearance, and Nandini blushed at his reaction. All he felt like doing was to take her in his arms and stare at her care freely . He shook off his thoughts, and tried looking elsewhere to distract himself.

''Good Job Girls.! Behenji ko modern bana diya.. Okay, time for Task 2!'' Cabir shouted excitedly as Alya and Mukti hi-fived each other.

''Nandini, the second task is simple. You have to ask any boy over here for a nice, romantic dance with you'' Cabir continued. Nandini felt appalled at this dare and first looked at Dhruv, who was staring at his shoes nervously.

In an instant, Alya possessively linked her arms with Dhruv noticing Nandini looking at him.

''Come on .. Anyone''  Cabir said impatiently, gesturing towards the crowd. Nandini looked at the boys in the crowd, ogling at her dirtily from head to toe, swaying dizzily.

Nandini sighed - I dont think I'll feel safe with these boys.. If there's anyone I feel completely safe with, its him, unfortunately .

''Anyone?'' She asked Cabir for confirmation and he nodded in response.

''Okay... I choose .. Manik Malhotra'' Nandini spoke slowly and went up to a stunned looking Manik. Everyone stared at her in surprise, until Cabir laughed and shouted ''Okay then.. Some romantic music please!!!''

Nandini shyly placed her hand on Manik's shoulder and he, still looking a little surprised , slid his hand around her slim waist, capturing her other palm with his free hand.

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