Part 8

~~

"Par Virat! Oye, ruko yar!"

Virat ignored Prem's protests and dragged him ahead.

"Dadaji se nahi mile toh, you know...voh kaise react karenge! Ab chalo, Prem.."

Dadaji stood by the entrance door, glancing around the place, probably enjoying his moment of peace.Virat pushed Prem towards the door.

"Sasriaarkaal dadajii!" Prem greeted him cordially, his hands joined in respect.

Dadaji looked over in his direction, gave a curt nod and walked away.Prem grimaced.

Virat shook his head.Why did he have to spoil Prem's fun? He was perhaps, trying to spend some good time with Maanvi. Was that too much for him? He, well, no matter how much he hated the fact, he really didn't like seeing them together! No,it was not that! Prem was always trying to flirt with her and how could he, being the nicest guy from the Vadhera pariwaar, let him do that?! This was all Prem's fault!

"Yar, tum..bura math maano, kamsekam dadaji ko yeh patha laga ki tum yaha ho, hai na..." Virat tried comforting his mate.

"Oh, that! Its okay dude! Dadaji aur kaise react karenge? I was expecting this!" Prem was clearly upset.

"I'm sorry!" Virat offered his apology.Now he was starting to feel guilty.

"Its okay..." Prem replied, as he rubbed his palm's in satisfaction, remembering how Virat dragged him
away from Maanvi.

"Maanvi sahi keh rahi hai, yar! Main Mannu se baat kartha hoon, toh tumhe kya problem?"

Prem was satisfied, as Virat threw an annoyed look, "Problem- I don't have any problem! Chodo yaar,
I've gotto go!"

"Oh right!" Prem watched him disappear and whispered, ' nahi yaar, abhi bhi nahi!'

Virat choked, "honestly, yar, ab tum bhi..bandarnii ki tarah baat kar rahe ho! Of-couse, mujhe koi problem nahi hai.."

Virat assured himself, that was partly- no completely true!

"Are you sure..mujhe lagaa ki shaayad tu use pasand kartha hai!" Prem chuckled at his mate's reaction.

"Pasand kartha hoon, mathlab!? There is nothing like that! Main apne dost ke saath kuch vakht
ghuzaarna chahtha tha bas uthna hi.."

Prem chuckled again, "good to know! Thanks for that dude! Ab main apne plans ke saath aagee badh
saktha hoon!"

"Plans?!" Virat was perplexed.

"Yeah, you know...I think, I really like her..I mean achhi hai, funloving hai and- I dunno yar..I just wanna be
with her.."

Virat turned faintly pink as Prem went on, "Khubsurat bhi hai..achhi naachthi hai!"

It was unbearable for him, Virat crinckled his nose.Was it that he was feeling..bad?

"Dude, you okay?" Prem inquired casually.

Virat nodded,"I'm okay!"

He knew he was lying and wondered if Prem could see that!

"Oh, then, will you help me out?" Prem asked.

Virat's eyes widened, "Kya, keep me out of your girl stuff!" he retorted, "and leave me alone!"

And he stromed away.Prem smiled, "nahin, nahin mere dost..picture abhi bhi baaki hai! Yeh toh bas shuruaath hai..how, can I leave you alone!?"


~~~A few minutes later

"Prem!"

Prem turned around seeing Puja and Maanvi.

"What's up girlz?" he asked cheerfully.

Puja smiled, "are you okay?" Beside her Mannu was tensed.

"Hey! Mujhe kya ho saktha hai, Poo.." he began casually.

"Humne dekhaa..dadaji aapse.." Maanvi trailed off, as Prem's face hardened.

"What happened?!" she asked as she watched him tense, "humesha dadaji Virat ko bezzath karthe hai
aur aaj..unke doston ko bhi..Kyoun?"

"Its a long story Maanvi ji, aap ki di ki shaadi hai, we must not discuss about that! Poo ko patha hai kya
hua...Jo bhi hua hai, its all my fault, dadaji kaise mujhse-"

"Its not your fault!" Puja piped in, "agar unke khaandaani ghar nahi bachpayaa toh..ye unki galthi hai,
humari nahi.."

"Woh tum isliye kehrahi ho,...kyon ki you like me, hum dost hai..aur tumhe, aur kaisa lagega!"

"No, Prem, main ye baath ek dost ki tarah nahi..par ek-"

Maanvi interupted them, "may be I can judge it for you, why won't you share it, Prem? I wanna know,
please!"

Prem sighed and began narrating the story, "Chaar saal pehle ki baath thi..humne graduation ek saath
puri ki, ek company mein cheh mahine kaam karne ke baad, humne US mein khud ki firm shuru ki..Hum sab ne bahut mehnath ki, Newyork ke ek top company se hume ek project mila..humare team mein pure cheh log shaamil the, Hum sab ne us project pe bahut paise kharch kiya, Virat ne bhi apne purane ghar ke kaagzaath ko bank mein rakhke loan leliya..aur- voh project bas pura hone hi wala tha- Ek dost ne humara project bech diya!"

"KYA!?" Maanvi shrieked in horror.

"Aur humare saare paise khathm ho gayye! Virat- woh bechaara, sahi vakht pe loan vaapis na karne ki
vajay se..bank walon ne woh ghar unse cheen liya!"

"Oh no!"

"Jab tak dadaji vahaan pahunche the, bahut der ho chuki thi..zahir si baat hai, dadaji aaj bhi mujhse
naaraz hai! Kahin na kahin, uska zimmedar main tha!"

Prem finished, now almost teary eyed.

"It isn't your fault," Maanvi assured him, "mogambo hai na, woh nahi samjhenge!"

"Mogambo!?" Prem wondered, "you mean dadaji..right!"

"Phir kya hua.." she urged him.

"Phir hum ek saal keliye India aagaye, apne liye jobs dhoodhliya aur sab log khush, par aaj bhi hume us project ka khayaal aatha hai, hum aaj wohi project ka advanced version banaana chahthe hai..and you know what! Har vakht, har pal..mere dost mere saath hai! Voh nahi honge toh..." Prem trailed off.

"Hum toh tujhe nahi chodenge!" Atul and Shekar stepped in, "kyon puja!"

"Bilkul!"

"Whoa! Tum log kab aaye?" Prem asked them.

"Abhi, Prem, chalo..ab hume us bank manager ke paas jaana hai..vaise aaj mehendi hai toh, we guys
aren't allowed!" Atul grimaced.

"Why is that?" Prem was confused, "I wanna know what they do! Kisliye yar..."

"Ithne saare ladkiyon ke beech aap akele honge naa..isliye!" Maanvi reasoned him.

"Ithne saare ladkiyon ke beech main akaela?! That would be fantastic!" Prem smiled.

"Argh! You're impossible!" Puja shot him a wierd look.

"Just kidding yar!" Prem replied, "Maanvi ji, after mehendii can you meet me down in the hall?"

Maanvi smiled, "okay!"

Why was it Prem wanted to see her? Nevertheless, she was going to see him.


~~A few hous later, after the mehendi ceremony

Virat sighed for the upteenth time, he was thrown out of the mehendi ceremony by none other than, swamini maa and Maanvi, ooh she was obviously enjoying his discomfort all the time! She was laughing all the way, he couldn't help but feel warm and fuzzy when she smiled at him, it felt good, she was not any more angry with him, the pizza incident forgotten long back.He was now, standing by the stairs examining his bruises, how could they be so forceful, throwing them out! Yes, they had been a bit sharaarthi, sneaking into the mehendi ceremony, but still!

'Outch!' something hurt him in the forehead, he lifted his hand to examine the place, but someone else's hand got there sooner, wiping the place with ice water.

He shivered a little and let his gaze drift towards the angel before him.Maanvi was wiping the little amount of blood that lined up over his fore head.His head was throbbing, but he was amazed how less painful it seemed with her aiding him.She was now applying some cream, cautiously as if he would
break if he had not been handled properly.

"Outch!" he grimaced as she rubbed the spot over his head a little too hardly for his liking.

"I'm sorry, so sorry, Virat! I'll go get some band-aid instead, I shouldn't have brought this cream! Kya patha agar yeh koi allergic reaction dediyaan toh! Oh, yeh toh safromycin hai! Oh rabji..mujhe poochnaa chahiye tha, kya tumhe safromycin se.."Maanvi trailed off, feeling his intense gaze upon her.

He was wearing that billion watt smile and looking at her lovingly, and her heart skipped a beat.What was wrong with her! This was chep! No one else!

He took her tender hand in his, placing the first aid kit on the table beside.

"You know, yeh choti si chot hai!" he whispered in her ear, she she dropped her gaze, turning pink.

"Aur mujhe, koi allergy nahi hai!" he clarified, still smiling down at her.

A faint blush lined up her cheeks, how did he get that close to her?! She quickly distanced herself,her heart racing inside her chest, this was the second time she was feeling all fuzzy around him.For the first
time, she had experienced this when he had said she looked beautiful during the sangeet! She blamed
her health back then, but now, she was all perfect, that was until she decided to follow him.

He took in the sudden change in her, how she tensed up around him, when he stood closer to her.How she blushed, when he complemented her, how worried she was when she was working on his bruises.Somehow, he liked it, the care, the babbling and her blush.

"Tum aaj bahut khoobsurat lag rahi ho!" he smiled at her, while speaking in a low voice,"bahut zyaada!"

Her eyes widened and she met his eyes to know, he wasn't making fun of her, then she looked away.

"Khaaskar, jab tum aisi sharmaathi ho, toh.." he placed his palm over her cheek, forcing her to look up at
him.

She couldn't help but smile at his sweetness.Was this the same Virat who ate her pizza? She found
herself drowning into his soulful orbs, that held so many emotions, something she had never seen before in his eyes.

"Tum aise jab bina ruke bolthi rehthi ho.. toh aur bhi zyaada! Bataa na zaraa.. Ithni phikr hai meri? "

She found herself unable to answer him.She knew he was hurt and she ran to him, why did she do that!

He wasn't really kidding, when he sneaked into the hall, where mehendi ceremony was on, he found
himself glancing up in her direction, she looked utterly gorgeous in her cream and purple ghaghra.She almost took his breath away, standing close to him, healing his bruises.And he was feeling all light and he honestly had no control over what he had been doing! They were standing by the stairs for god's sake!

Reality drawned on him, he surely didn't want to present a scene in the hall.Shlok came running into them causing them to break their eye contact.

Virat let go of her, what just happened!

"Uh..thank you, iss first aid keliye.." he cleared his throat.

She nodded and broke into a run, never looking back.

Virat took in a shaky breath, whoa! He had confessed to her, she looked beautiful! What was all this
feeling inside him!


~~NEXT MORNING

Maanvi yawned as she got up, she couldn't sleep peacefully thanks to the chep's strange behaviour.He was confusing her with his antics, sometimes, he would call her 'bhoothnii', 'bandarnii' and 'shernii' and the next moment, he would say she looked 'absolutely adorable'.Then he would go on to thank her, gift her some jhumkis.She shook her head.It was her di's shaadi and she must not think about him or his whatsoever behaviour.

It was then she remembered Prem's words.How could she forget that!

She quickly got dressed, kissed her di on the cheek and stepped onto the stairs.
Prem was there, busily whispering something to Shekar, Atul and Shlok.Puja was eyeing them with interest.She moved towards them, he acknowledged her and whispered something else into Shlok's ear, they all ran from the spot, leaving Prem behind.

Maanvi raised a brow, but greeted him.

"Hello, good morning Prem," she began, "Kaise ho? Everything okay? I'm sorry kal raat.."

She trailed off as the picture of Virat appeared in her mind.

"Yeah, I'm okay.." Prem smiled back.

***Flash back**

A few minutes back~

Prem and his friends met in the hall.Shlok was a part of the meeting too.

"Kya hai yaar!" Atul inquired.

"I think, Virat Maanvi ko pasand kartha hai.." Prem replied.

"Oh..that's great!" Puja cooed.

"Abhi nahi Poo..Voh abhi yeh baat manne keliye tayyar nahi hai!"

"Toh hum kya karsakthe hai yar!"

"I have a plan.."

"Kaisa plan, Prem?"

"I'll go try to talk with Maanvi and you guys just make sure that Virat is watching us..Shlok its your task to get Virat there! Okay! Atul, Shekar! Mujhe phone karke baataana, jab Virat humare aaspaas hoga toh.."

"Sure yar!"

"Done, bhai! I'll get him," Shlok smiled.

The plan was on.

~~~~Present

"Bhaiyya!"

Virat looked around to spot Shlok running around.

"Hi, Shlok!" he greeted him, he was tired, events of last night still playing inside his head.He just couldn't
shake Maanvi's image, her caresses out of his mind.'That was brilliant!'

He was struggling a lot to shake off these wierd feelings.

"Bhai, chalo naa.." Shlok whined.

"Kahaan?! Shlok, ruko!"

Shlok dragged him into the hall.

"Stop it Shlok!" Virat grimaced, "why did you-"

He stopped in his tracks seeeing Prem and Maanvi at the other corner.

~~~~ scene shift

"Maanvi ji, " he began as she smiled, " aapki madad chahiye..please, naa mat kahiye.."

Maanvi thought for a moment, "I'll try, kya baat hai!"

Good, everything was perfect, according to the plan.He narrated a fake story, the one he had planned.

"I, well, " he shook his head, for effect, "I really like Puja..aur.."

"Aur.."

"I just can't ask her out and.. well, aap madad kardengi toh, I mean..I wouldn't really want to ruin our
friendship so.."

"So..?"

"Aap mere saath bahar chalengii toh , may be I can judge her reaction.."

Maanvi narrowed her eyes.

"Please, Maanvi! Koi galath matlab math nikaaliye plz.."

"Ofcourse nahi nikaaloongi!" Maanvi smiled, "wow! Aapko patha bhi hai..aap donon ek saath kithna cute lagoge! " she clapped her hands, "kya karna hoga?"

"Aap ko mere saath dinner par chalna hoga, please! You won't be alone, Puja, Shekar, every one will be there, please!"

"Okay, Prem! If its for such a nice thing, you don't need to ask me! I'll come!"

~~

The other side Virat couldn't help but feel curious.He moved a bit closer, close enough to hear them.

~

Prem's phone rang ,"hello, Atul, kya? Aagaya?" he looked around, to spot Virat well with in his reach, "done!"

"Kiska phone hai? Kya hua?" Maanvi inquired.

"Really, n-nothing Maanvi, " Prem replied. Out of the corner of the eye, he could feel Virat's intense gaze
on them.

"Toh, tum dinner pe chalna chaahogii??" he asked loud enough for Virat to hear.

"I'd love, to Prem!" Maanvi shook his hand and chirped away.

Virat was lost.Anger bubbled up inside him, he felt like he wanted to hit Prem, he took a deep breath
and walked away.

~~~

Looong update!! Hope u liked it!! I worked a lot!! Lot on this,I promise its gonna be so much
fun in the nxt part.

~~

PRECAP~

Virat and Shlok reached the paradise restaurant.

"Maanvi di!!"

"Chup..chup raho Shlok!" Virat covered the boy's mouth with his palm.Oh dear! What if Maanvi noticed
he had followed her!

~~Later

Atul shrieked, "tu Virat aur Maanvi ke bare mein kaise jaan saktha hai, jab tumhe khud ye nahi patha ki Puja tujhe pasand karthi hai..."

Prem's eyes widened, "Poo..puja mujhe!"

Atul shook his head, did he really tell him? Oh no!


**************

TDA!! Chaos ensured in the next pa