~Best Friends? Maybe Not Forever~

There is a definite possibility of the beast inside you to unleash when someone disturbs the living dreams out of your sleep. Isn't it?

When you've had a rough day and you want to let go of all the tension, you just give in to the body's need of sleep.

Normal people are most likely to do the above said.

Especially when you are laying comfortably on your bed and when you have taken an oath to let go of the only thing that had been keeping your mind in a hustle.

I am definitely most probable to do that.

I had been doing the above said very rightly and with sincere dedication when my precious body and mind relaxation technique, that is, sleeping, met an abrupt and noisy end.

A terrible shrilling sound envelops the peaceful ambience of my bedroom, knocking the sleep right off its feet and far away from me.

Tranquillity just disappears in thin air.

My eyes fly open on the accord of the continuous ringing of a pathetic doorbell that happens to be of my own house. Hoping for it to stop I lie still in my bed, waiting for the intruder to just make their way to hell before I map it out for them but it isn't happening. The doorbell isn't stopping from ringing for even a second and from the distressed person that I have been for quite a while, I now become agitated to the extremes.

My head is spinning like I've just gotten down from a rollercoaster ride.

The crying definitely took a toll on my head.

I press my palms to my temples and squeeze my head between them. That eases the pain by just a miniscule amount.

However, the doorbell continues to ring.

Freaking doorbell monster strikes again.

And who must it be? It's not even hard to guess. It's of course my psychotic cousin.

Devil in disguise.

"COMING!!" I scream at the top of my lungs even though I know I won't be audible to Navya down there who is ringing the doorbell like a freaking mad woman.

No matter how much she tires to keep the peace between us, she can never manage that because of the things she is habitual of.

Like this.

Ringing the freaking doorbell multiple times is cleary an act of disobidience in the rule book of peace maintenance.

She's an animal that has never been tamed.

God, I need to put a leash on her.

I throw my quilt off me, muttering a few cuss words under my breath, while I rub my eyes and yawn simultaneously. I walk out of my room and down the stairs towards the door.

With every step I am taking, my brain is hammering against the walls of my head.

Ugh.

"This is how I'm gonna wake you up from now on, bitch!" I yell in between the continuous sounds of the doorbell and unlock the door, opening it with a jerk.

"Bring it on." I grit, looking right at the person I knew I will be finding behind the door.

Nayva stands in front of me donning a mad look all over her face. I'm mad as well. She disrupted my sleep in a very brutal manner. This is inescapable and she is going to pay.

Navya mirrors my furious look. But the only thing that makes me take mine down is that she looks super angry. Like madly furious. Deadly furious. And even though that is her regular face, why do I feel like I'm in for trouble?

Navya looks at me with her soul piercing gaze and I'm left to think what wrong did I do now besides taking a few extra minutes in opening the door.

"What? Do you need an invitation now?" I put my hand on my mouth as a yawn escapes from within it.

"Where is your fucking phone?" She asks, gritting her teeth.

I look at her suspiciously, "In my room, I guess.. why?" I ask and instead of answering my simple question, Navya pushes me aside and walks right in with clenched jaw. She throws her bag on the floor and bolts all the way upstairs.

Okay, I should have not slept for that long maybe.

As Navya vanishes from my line of sight I turn around to shut the door close and that's when I spot Karan walking away from his car towards my house.

His eyes are fixed on the ground and he is striding towards the door. It is when his eyes meet mine, a wave of relief rushes over his face and he takes a deep breath in and out, as if out of relief.

"There you are!" Karan sighs heavily on watching me and I smile at him.

"Here I am!" I answer back with same excitement and I realise that I am happy to see him. I met this guy a few hours ago and I'm actually happy to see him again. I guess its about the aura he has around him. It's just nice and friendly and warm unlike Manik's.

So I block my mind to all the bad things and all I see is a smiling Karan, taking long steps towards me.

His smile is so dreamy. I could drool.

Hey, do not drool.

I step outside the door and wave my hand, "Hey, what are y-" but before I can complete my words, I find Karan so damn close to me. Within a second he grabs me by my waist and pulls me flush against him. My face crashes against his chest and his hands encircle around me.

That is one nice greeting. I like it.

Hmm.. wow. He's so tough and warm and soft too. The butterflies are readying themselves for the flight of their life in one, two and thr-

Karan pulls away- but hey, the butterflies were about to float! -and places his hands on my shoulders keeping us at one arm distance. "Where the hell have you been all the fucking day Nandini?" He asks, wearing a concerned look.

Okay, and what the actual fuck, Nandini? Control them darn butterflies.

"I was at college then home. Why?" I move away from his hold before butterflies rise from the dead again.

"We were worried sick and-" he stops mid sentence when we hear Navya stomp down the stairs in fury. Why is she trying to bring my house down?

"You can come in Karan." Navya says to him while she makes her way towards me with my cell phone in her hand.

"What the hell are you doing with my phone?" I ask as I move away from the door, clearing the way for Karan to enter in.

He enters in and closes the door.

"I'm doing exactly what you should have done around about 2 hours ago!" She shouts and jerks the hand in which my phone is, towards me.

I take it from her, eyeing her skeptically.

She crosses her arms across her chest and looks at me expectantly.

Am I supposed to do something because if so then I need to know what?

I look back and forth between Karan, whose expressions I can't decipher, and Navya, who is angry. Like evidently very angry.

"What did I do?" I ask, feeling really uncomfortable about this situation.

"Oh, absolutely nothing." Navya says in a way that obviously means she is being sarcastic and also that I have done something.

But what?

I look away from her. "Mind giving me a heads up? I feel lost." I ask Karan.

"That is exactly what we were feeling about you around 2 hours ago when you decided you wanted to have a slumber party all by yourself!" Navya yells.

"What is wrong with you?" I ask her and then look at Karan, "What is wrong with her?"

"We th-"

"You open that goddamn phone right now!" Navya yells again.

"Jeez, why?" I flip my phone back and forth. I look at Navya for an explanation but she just keeps her eyes fixed on me, waiting for me to do what she said.

So I open my phone.

The screen lights up.

"What the hell is this all about?" I gape at the screen with my mouth open as the notification bar shows me,

46 Missed Calls.

24 New Messages.

1 Missed Video Call.

I unlock my phone instantly and check the missed calls.

There are 30 missed calls from Navya and 14 from an unknown number. 2 from another unknown number. And the video call is from Cassandra, my best friend back in NYC.

"Why the hell were you calling me so many times? And who the hell called me 14 freaking times?" I say out loud.

"That would be me." Karan says.

"Why?" I shake my head and open the messages.

4.00 pm. Navya :

Hey. Class over.Where are you?

4.09 pm. Navya :

W

4.09 pm. Navya :

H

4.09 pm. Navya :

E

4.09 pm. Navya :

R

4.09 pm. Navya :

E

4.09 pm. Navya :

A

4.09 pm. Navya :

R

4.10 pm. Navya :

E

4.10 pm. Navya :

Y

4.10 pm. Navya :

O

4.10 pm. Navya :

U

4.10 pm. Navya :

D

4.10 pm. Navya :

Umbass mofo bitch?

4.15 pm. Navya :

Where the hell are you Nandini? Take my call.

4.21 pm. Navya :

Nandini you have your dance audition in like 9 minutes. Where in the world are you? Are you pooping?

4.25 pm. Navya :

Okay, I checked the washroom you're not there. Where are you?! Are you lost? You can't find your way?

4.29 pm. Navya :

I swear to god I have never been ignored by someone this many times, Nandini. This is taking a toll on my ego and if you don't reply right now I will ruin your peace!

4.35 pm. Navya :

I am going to complain to your mother you motherfucking asshole! Witch where the fuck are you? I'm seriously so angry right now, Nandini. Your phone is ringing and you aren't picking up wtf happened to you? Are you okay? Call me ASAP.

4.37 pm. Unknown Number :

Hey Nandini. Karan here, are you okay? Navya is freaking out real bad. If she said something to you and you don't want to talk to her, you can tell me because we're both worried sick right now. At least tell me you're alive.

5.00 pm. Mom :

Hey baby, how are you today? You didn't call me last night Nandu. I hope college's fine. Call me soon or just text me. -Mom

5.18 pm. Navya :

Oh god, Nandini are you kidnapped?! I have searched the entire college and bitch, trust me, if I find you at home I will rip your heart out and feed it to your neighbour. You're both blood sucking leeches!

5.18 pm. Navya :

You better have an explanation worth this shit I'm going through. I swear I will never sign up for baby sitting ever again.

5.45 pm. Navya :

I'm coming home. You better watch out. But if you're not at home and lost or in trouble just tell me already I am fucking worried sick!

Oh, my God.

I totally forgot.

How can I be so stupid?

Navya will bury me six feet under.

I lift my eyes up to Navya who is smiling at me with the finest sarcastic smile of hers.

Oh, no no. She will bury me deeper, like twenty four feet under. Or worse, she will burn me alive with that look of hers.

I forgot to text her. I forgot to tell her that I left early from college. I was so angry about all that happened today with Manik, that I just came straight home after my classes ended. I took a cab straight to here. Luckily, I had the Uber app downloaded.

I had my audition today!

You're such a fail right now, Nandini Murthy.

Oh God. This is not good.

"What? Cat got your tongue?" Navya mocks.

I look back and forth between them, "I can explain."

As soon as those words leave my mouth, Navya grabs Karan's hand and Karan takes my wrist. "Oh, you better have a good one, Nandini." I immediately flinch and take my hand out of his.

My wrist still hurts.

Manik's hold on my wrist was so firm and tight that it left a livid bruise on my wrist. Two of his long slender fingers made their impression on my wrist so bad that their imprints are still resting over my wrist with the consequences of him giving me these imprints hurt underneath my skin.

"What happened?" Karan asks and Navya looks at me impatiently.

"Uh-" I start but Navya interrupts and grabs my other wrist, which doesn't hurt so much, and drags us both to the living room.

"Sit." She orders me once we're in there and I follow her order, seating myself on the sofa.

She takes a seat across me and Karan sits next to me.

"Start talking." Her eyes penetrate through my own.

And then I start talking.

I tell them about what happened when I was searching for my classroom and I explain to them about my mysterious dissappreance earlier.

After I ran out of that room in tears, leaving Manik behind, I skipped that period. I was a crying mess when I left that room so I rushed straight for the washroom. There I looked myself in the mirror and told myself to stop crying. That was the place where I came to terms with the fact that Manik was no more interested in keeping any sort of connection between us.

This was a very clear thing which I should have accepted five years ago, but I didn't. I mean, that would have saved me so much of pain all these years.

But anyway, it's true what they say that Best Friend breakups are worse than relationship breakups.

It's unbelievably true.

I don't know what a relationship breakup feels like but I can say I will never feel as worse as I have felt today.

Relationship breakups break your heart.

But best friend breakups crush your soul.

Because best friends are soulmates. Or so I used to think until today.

Manik and I had been friends since we wore pampers and huggies until he left them and I switched to different things to wear of that sort. Well..

But he anyway broke my heart and our friendship. I was tired of just holding on for five long years. Holding onto nothing absolutely.

I was living a good life before coming here. I had good friends, I had good grades, I was going to have a good college too. One day or another, I would have fallen in love with someone and life would have turned out just... perfect, as it really is. But all through the 'good life' that I lived there, something was always missing. There was a big void in my life.

And that was my best friend.

I mean, best friends are like, best friends dammit. You love them for life and beyond. And that is what I did. I was just being a best friend, holding on, waiting for five sick years of my life, letting no one take his place but instead he fills my place up with four new people! And that guy has the nerve of not giving me an explanation!

When I was coming here, I had it engraved in my head that one chance and once question is all I will ask him. Just one question and if he answers me, I will forgive him for keeping us apart for five years but if he didn't, I will never ever walk on that same path again. I will walk back on the road that led me to him and I will keep walking until I find the distance impossible to cover in this lifetime.

Now that I got nothing but another question for my question, that was nowhere near to what was the concerning issue, I am going to take the road that will lead me away from him. Because five years is a long enough time, and I can't keep holding onto my first crush, and my first best friend, hoping he and I can still be what we used to.

So yes, the moment I walked out of that room today, with tears in my eyes and my questions still unanswered, I knew I had to take the road back to start and never walk on it again.

There's a limit to a person's patience. And mine just lost all strings and broke today.

"Oh, that son of a-" Karan starts to speak but is interrupted by Navya.

"Do not abuse his mother, cookie."

Ignoring Navya's remark, he continues. "He's going to repay, Nandini. Don't worry. I will make sure he doesn't get away with this." Karan looks at me, determined. His nostrils flaring with anger.

That makes him look kinda cute and hot at the same time. Just saying.

"He didn't hurt you did he?" Navya asks me, worry starting to settle across her face.

Oh, hurt me? If breaking my trust in our friendship and also crushing my hopes and soul means hurting then yeah, he hurt me girl. Badly.

Navya jolts up from her seat and paces around the room, to and fro, in vexation, "See why I took the slightest opportunity to ruin his party? He's evil, Nandini. They are all evil. He is nowhere even close to being what he used to be." She shakes her head in dismay, "He is a descendant of Satan's bloodline. And you know who makes him like that? His bunch of bunnies. They are always looking for someone to trouble, always eager to create a mess out of someone's life. Always hurting people, always breaking hearts, always making people cry, just running away when they're comfortable. They're all-" Navya stops mid-sentence when Karan approaches her and calms her down.

"Okay, we got it, Navya.. Stop." Navya's emotiones are heightened all of a sudden. She looks angry but somewhere between all that anger, I think she too is hurt.

I get it she hates them but what is the reason that she loses control of herself in this? That hateful look on her face is hiding something and that tells me there is so much more to all of this than just stupid college rivalry.

"Yeah. Okay, I'm calm. I'm fine." She says as Karan sits her down on the sofa.

"I'm glad Navya's list of possible things that could happen to do is scrapped off entirely." Karan laughs faintly and shakes his head. "She can't control her emotions at all. She just lets them all get to her. Anger, rage, love.. all of them. She can't control them and we were really worried about you, Nandini." A crease forms between his eyebrows.

"I am really sorry about all of this. I know I should have at least dropped a text or something but honestly, I just didn't think about it. I was too engaged in my own thoughts that it never occurred to me that I have to at least inform you guys."

"You could have texted her the second you left that jerk."

"I know, but I just told you I was not in the correct frame of mind. There was a lot going in my head. I just needed to breathe alone and think."

"Well your thinking made me question my baby sitting skills." Navya remarks and that causes me to laugh.

"Now, we both know you suck at that."

"No kidding." She chuckles.

"By the way, I took an oath." I say and smile sheepishly.

"What?" Navya shrugs while Karan fixes his eyes on me.

"Well, while I was admonishing myself of crying, and making the tears stop in the washroom, I looked myself in the mirror and told myself I will let go of this friendship. I can't just keep holding onto this when he clearly never did. It will only hurt me because apparently he seemed not a bit moved by my tears. There was once he could not watch me cry and now he was the reason I cried. And well, I think it's high time to just let it go."

Friendships means a hell lot to me than anything else. Always and forever, bros before hoes and chicks before dicks.

Manik just put everything and everyone else before me, so I have got to do the same for myself now.

Navya arches her eyebrows up, "You'll break that in days."

"I won't." I argue.

"You will."

"I won't!"

"Oh trust me, honey. You will." She says with confidence.

"Oh trust me, sugar. I won't." I say with conviction.

She narrows her eyes at me, "Fine. Prove it."

I gape at her, "Are you serious?"

"Yeah."

"How will I prove it?"

"The Blood Oath." Navya grins.

"The what?" Karan and I, look at her incredulously.

She is one crazy female.

"Yep."

"What is that?" Karan questions.

"It's an oath or a promise that you make by slicing your palm a little and dropping blood from it into fire." I explain to him and then turn to Navya, "And, No. This is not some Vampire Diaries or some other stupid show, Navya. Stop being ridiculous." I say.

"The Vampire- what?" Karan looks at me.

It's a show, Karan, but I don't think he's interested in knowing that.

"Nevermind." I brush it off, "Navya, I am serious I won't do that kind of shit. Do you know how long I held on to this invisible thread of friendship? Five fucking years. Without a call or text, I waited like a complete asshole and that's a hell lot of time for one to move on and find a new bestie and be happy forever. But, God knows why I didn't do the previous said thing? Like hell, I wish I would have done that."

"All he cared about was his freaking party!" I grit. "Tell me you did it. You broke into my party. I saw you, Nandini!" I mock in a manly voice.

"Yeah, we knew already." Karan says, "That's why Navya asked you to bust it. Manik might have made a bet with someone."

"Bet?"

"Yeah. Well, there's this thing here. All the rich dudes throw parties every week and they bet on whose party is going to be better. They're all rivals here, from different colleges. Some stupid fucked up game they play." Karan elaborates.

"And Manik and his troop of assholes might have made the bet. His party turned out great in the beginning but you eventually brought it down. He might have lost on a lot of daddy's money here." Navya grins, "Anyway, I just feel good he did."

"You're filthy rich too." I point out to Karan.

He grins, "How did you know?"

"You don't get an Audi R-fucking-8 just like that, cookie. She's got eyes and a brain, which you are deficient of." Navya chuckles. "You've got a cookie brain, doesn't function at all."

"Will you stop with the 'cookie' jokes now?" Karan gives her an offended look.

"Neverever. Cookie." Navya smiles slyly.

"Wait till I get hold of your weakness." He says and moves over to sit besides me.

"What the hell is with cookie, though?" I ask, laughing at these two.

Navya opens her mouth to reveal the mystery of 'Cookie' but Karan interrupts.

"No. Nothing. You don't want to know, Nandini." He says and Navya bursts out laughing. "And the answer to your earlier query is, No. I am not involved in all this shit. It's too fucked up. I would have been if this one," he points at Navya, "hadn't met me."

"Okay, well I'm hungry." Navya gets up from her chair and looks at me, "Wanna go out and eat?" She asks.

"Or we can order in, whatever suits you." Karan adds.

"Uh, order in?" I reply.

"Oh, c'mon! I want to go out. Let's go out, Nandini." Navya stands in front of me and grabbing my hand, she pulls me off the sofa. But her fingers slide down to my wrist that Manik's fingers left a bruise on and I hiss.

"Ouch!" In reflex, I pull my hand out of her grip and caress it.

"What's wrong?" Navya asks me and Karan stands up by my side, towering over me.

"Uh, nothing just a bruise."

"Show me." Navya pulls my hand out again and examines my bruise.

"It's pretty bad, did you hit your hand somewhere?"

"Yeah, I might have hit it somewhere.. you know mysterious bruises."

"It doesn't look like a mysterious bruise to me." Karan averts his gaze to me, his eyes penetrating through mine. "He did that, didn't he?"

I pull my hand back, diverting my eyes from his. "It's just a little bruise guys. Manik's grip just got tight for a second or so." I shrug, wanting to bury this topic deep.

"Just a second doesn't lead to this kind of a finger imprint of a livid bruise." Navya says.

"He hurt you." Karan says and its not even a question.

"He didn't. I was just being difficult." I shrug. "It was unintentional."

I know it was unintentional.

Amongst all the things that I am oblivious to, one thing that I know is that Manik will never hurt me physically.

He has bruised my heart though, but I know this was unintentional.

"I can't believe this. He can't get away with something like this, Nandini. He kidnapped you, kept you in that room forcefully, hurt you emotionally and now this as well? How can I let them get away with this? They are always hurting my friends! First one of those motherfuckers hurt Navya, and now they're doing this to you. And guess whose at the work now? Manik himself! I am not going to let him get away with this easily, Nandini." Karan looks in my eyes and his emerald eyes turns a shade darker. It's scary but at the same time its captivating. His eyes hold a promise.

But I don't want him to take revenge. I just want to stay out of Manik's life.

"No." I say firmly, "You won't do anything. Guys, let's not start this from here, let's end it here. I don't want revenge on Manik or his friends, I have nothing against them. I just want to live here in peace, okay?"

"But Nandini-"

"Karan, you don't know how confronting someone who pushed you away feels like. It's self demeaning. I can't see that look on his face every time which clearly speaks to me that I'm not needed around him. I can't always stand in front of him pretending I'm all strong when I know I am not. I am not strong when it comes to him. But I am going to push myself to be strong. I just need to maintain my distance from him and I don't want any revenge. Please."

I look back and forth between Navya and Karan who are exchanging glances amongst each other and communicating.

"Okay, fine. But if he does this again, I won't just sit and watch." He states.

"Yeah, Nandini. Karan's right. You don't want this right now? Fine. You're anyway a weirdo. It's your call at the end of the day but if this happens again or something even remotely close to this takes place once more, them bitches are going down for real." Navya says making me laugh.

"Okay then, we're all settled for now." I heave out a sigh of relief.

"Food then?" Karan asks.

"We're going out, let's get dressed." Navya commands.

-------

Okay, it is just a filler chapter.

Next one, next weekend or monday!

Comment and VOTE!