One whole day had gone by with no signs of Neil anywhere. She had not been able to reach him by any means , however much she tried.His aloofness was worrisome but the thought of facing him wasn't an easy choice either at this point. His unresponsiveness to her calls and text remained constant yesterday as it was today. Whenever she had gathered enough courage to go and check on him in person the very next day , she had found his door locked.

It was her birthday today and it wasn't exactly a happy one . Neil acting distant , wasn't the kind of birthday she had hoped for this year. She wondered if he even knew it was her day today. She had never told him , then expecting him to show up and wish her wasn't reasonable and yet that's what she kept wishing for.

If it hadn't been for Neela's call , she would have never even gotten out of that bed that she lay wide awake in .

" Good morning Maa!!"

" Happy birthday my princess ! May God bless you with all the happiness in the world and more ."

Neela's voice was exactly what she needed ; the cure to her gloomy morning.

" Thank you . I love you Maa and I miss you so so much ."

" I love more my Avu. So birthday girl , what all have you planned for today ? After all its your first birthday as an independent adult. I am so excited !! Tell me everything ."

"No plans Maa. I am still lazing around in my bed . I wish you were here though; making me my favourite food and desserts and pampering me with gifts all day ." She cuddled back into her warm blanket , feeling a bit homesick . In the past few months she had forgotten what being homesick even felt like but suddenly with the way things had been Neil , she missed her mother a bit more the usual.

" You only told me not travel , remember ?" Neela sipped on to her tea as she spoke.

" I know , I know. I didn't want you to travel when you aren't feeling a hundred percent health wise ." Neela hadn't been keeping well since more than a week now. Fever , sore throat and dizzy spells had taken over Avni's mother's strong persona , making Avni forbid her from travelling back and forth unless unavoidable circumstances arise.

" Forget about that now. It's your day to enjoy Avni. Its first birthday away from home .......make every minute of it memorable . Forget your worries for a day and go have a blast with your friends ." Neela encouraged her daughter however she could , sitting miles away from her.

" Hmm...ummm....let me see. I don't really feel up for it actually. Still have to mail my write up and have to do laundry .."

" What's wrong with you ? Are you okay my love ?" Hearing her usually cheerful daughter in an unusually sullen mood on her own birthday worried Neela.

" I am absolutely fine .It's nothing . Just feeling lazy I guess ." If only she could tell her mother the state of affairs inside of her , she would have told her the perfect solution . But then she would also have to answer a truckload of unwanted questions that she wasn't ready for.

" You sure ?"

" Totally !!" she amped up her pitch to sound chirpier to convince her mother of her well being.

" Okay then hurry up. Get out of that bed and call Meera and you girls go have fun. What about Neil and Aarav ?"

" I don't know where he is or if he even knows its my birthday today ."

" Who ? Aarav ?"

"Neil"

"Oh ! That's okay.Invite him too and then he will definitely know."

" Like that's going to happen !!" she muttered to herself.

" What did you say ?"

" Nothing . You are right , I should get up now and go find Meera." She tried to cover up her state of mind from being dissected by her mother who was an expert at reading her mind.

" Good girl ! Off you go then . Enjoy your birthday my birthday girl. I want all the details at night though."

" Yes Boss !!" . Neela wished her daughter one more time before ending the call.

Even though she had succeeded in convincing Neela , she couldn't convince her restless heart to feel better. Her restlessness took a back seat when she heard the door bell ring. Jumping out of her sheets she rushed to open the door only to find Meera standing outside. She couldn't hide her disappointment behind her wide smile and loud " Meera !!" like she wanted to.

" You look disappointed !! Were you expecting someone else ?" asked Meera.

" No...Not at all. I am just ....not in a good mood ..yet..I guess. Nevermind. Did Mom set you up for this ?"

" What ? No . Its your birthday idiot ! I came to wish you ...Happy birthday Avni." She gave her friend a tight hug which she seemed to be in dire need off .

" So am I the first one to wish you this morning ?"

" Second. Can't beat Mom."

" I meant after her . So I did beat Neil han ?" Meera looked pleased with herself.

"I don't think he knows ." Everytime she thought of him or spoke of him , the shattered look on his face that night kept re-emerging in her eyes making them hazy.

" He does" Meera answered mindlessly.

" He does ?" Avni was taken by surprise at the revelation.

" I mean he does , doesn't he ?"she quickly realised her folly " I mean you guys have been pretending to be engaged ....so I thought you must be aware of each other's birthdays."

" No .Somehow all this while we never got around to doing small talks ." It was surprising how they never had to make an effort to get a conversation going , somehow with him the conversation was always effortless and flowing even if it was just nagging each other.

"Nevermind him. I am here for you. We are going to have a hell of a birthday today."

" Thank you Meera. What would I do without you ."

"Be grumpy and sleep in on your birthday !!"

" I still plan on doing that !" Avni stepped inside her kitchen and started setting up a pot of coffee.

" Not happening my friend ! I have planned the whole day for you. We are going out for breakfast at my favourite place , followed by hours of shopping , then a movie and we can fit in a lunch somewhere between that." Meera happily unfolded her plans except the part that involved the party .

" Do we have to ?" Avni couldn't even fake excitement with her heart still feeling restless and preoccupied with sentiments going all over the place . She knew it was a probably a good idea to give herself a necessary distraction but her heart was not into it.

" Of course we have to. Now you .." Meera held Avni by the shoulders and started pushing her out of the kitchen "....get out of this kitchen and go freshen up and get ready for a girls day out." She stopped when she had pushed Avni inside her washroom. " No excuses. I will meet you outside in about an hour , okay ?"

" Fine" Avni agreed in a disgruntled voice.

Meera quickly dialed up Neil as soon as she got out of Avni's apartment. After a few rings he finally picked up.

" Dude where are you ? I have done everything according to the plan. I am taking Avni out in an hour."

" That's great. I am out of town for some urgent work but don't worry everything will be ready on time ."

" What !! Why aren't you here ? And who will make the arrangements."

" You need to stop freaking out. Just do your part and leave the rest to me ."

" Fine. I am trusting you."

An hour and thirty minutes later , Meera had to drag an unwilling birthday girl out of the confines of her own house , to enjoy her own birthday. Reluctant at first , Avni finally gave in to her friend's persuasions , begging and scary warnings . She did not repent the decision at any time. Weather was lovely and so was their outing. It was filled with laughter , food and fun . But something still felt incomplete ; every time she laughed she felt this tinge of guilt , every time she smiled she couldn't bring it to a full bloom, every time she thought her mind was deviating ,his memories came rushing back. It was her birthday and all she could think about was him; where he was and how he was. There was a void in all her moments without him in it.

After ticking off every single thing on Meera's to do birthday blast list , it was finally time to head home.

Avni and Meera reached her apartment late in the evening carrying with them lots of shopping bags each. Meera stepped back as Avni opened the door to her apartment and got greeted by total darkness ,though she vaguely recalled not having switched off the lights while going out. Brushing away that thought she flipped on the light switch , and just like magic her whole apartment got lit up with starry twinkling lights followed by a chorus of people wishing her happy birthday in sync . Meera shoved a surprised and dazed Avni into the room as her favourite blackforest cake was brought in with candles on top. It was not until she had blown out the last of the candles that more light filled in the room , finally making her see the faces properly. Her own apartment suddenly looked all new and different. Every corner and pillar was decorated with black and golden balloons in bunches. Every inch of her space was shining and the walls were adorned with small glimmering stars. It was simple yet beautiful just like she liked it .The room was also filled with many known faces from work and a very few people she could call friends .Her eyes immediately searched every corner of the house for that one face in the crowd , but he wasn't there.She was finding it increasingly difficult to hide her disappointment at his absence , when so many others had turned up to celebrate her birthday. She tried to smile as much as she physically could as people came to wish her personally . As the crowd started mingling with one another and enjoying the party food , Avni settled in an secluded corner of the house relieved to be alone at last. Despite knowing that he wasn't there , she couldn't stop herself from thinking about him or her eyes from looking longingly at the door hoping for him to surprise her .

" Great Party !!" Aarav had spotted her long back but seeing her looking lost he had waited a while before approaching her.

" Oh Aarav !!" she half smiled seeing him by her side, " It is a great surprise party. I am glad you came ."

" Avni" he hesitated a bit before taking out a small velvety box from his pocket, " this is for you. Happy birthday ."

Avni warily accepted the gift after Aarav kept holding it out to her . With her unsteady fingers and skeptical mind she opened the box only to find an innocent bracelet sitting in it. " Oh its very pretty ,but I cannot accept this ... it too expensive ."

" Don't do that please . It's a gift ! I didn't see whether its expensive or not.....I just saw it and knew it was for you ."

She could see why Aarav wanted her to have it...the bracelet was lined with trinkets of tiny books , pens and stars.....all that her dreams were built of.But it looked way too expensive to accept it as a birthday gift. She tried to turn down the gift again but the hurt on his face made her accept it with a smile instead.

It was nightfall by the time the last of the guests left, except for Aarav who was still there. He sat on one corner of the couch , with Avni on the other extreme end with awkward silence occupying the air between them. Aarav had just braved the awkwardness to speak up when Meera walked in with large bouquet of red roses in her hand.

" This had come for you earlier this evening" she said handing over the flowers to Avni and taking the seat besides her on the couch. Avni took in the fresh fragrance of the flowers before picking out the card from their midst. 'Happy Birthday Avni...........Neil' read the card in her hand.

" Well atleast he wished.....on a card, couldn't even come in person to wish.He couldn't spare two of his precious minutes to show up at the party ." She set the bouquet down on the coffee table with a thud.

"Well he planned the party for you !!" Meera slowly uttered seeing how pissed off her friend looked.

" What ? I thought you planned it ."

" Well it was my idea, but that was because he had no idea it was your birthday until I told him a week ago."

" He did all this !!" Avni's voice was almost a whisper now " then why didn't he show up !" she probably knew the answer to that but she somehow wished to be proven wrong this one time......she wished he would just magically turn up and everything would go back to how it was before.....before he ....said it...

" Avni !" It was not the voice she was  wishing to hear but the one that was near her. " Avni, could I talk to you for sometime ...umm..." Aarav didn't have to complete the sentence for Meera to take the hint. She excused herself into the kitchen to get some water. Left with no other option , Avni followed Aarav to her balcony to get some privacy. Aarav stood there gathering up his courage before he finally spoke.

" Avni , I don't know if I am doing the right thing or not, but I don't want to left with regrets again ."

" I don't understand ." Avni looked towards Aarav who for the first time looked vulnerable and terrified at the same time.

" Just let me say it." Avni nodded to let him finish . " Avni , I have always liked you. The first time I saw you in college I had fallen for you. I know love at first sight sounds a bit cliched but I don't know what else to say . You probably don't even believe in it , neither did I . Probably that was the reason I couldn't say it to you then . But years later when I saw you again I realised how strongly I felt for you. But this time I got to know the real you and the more I got to know you , the harder I fell for you.I don't know what your answer will be but I don't want to have this lifelong regret that I didn't even try telling you about how I feel about you. I don't even know what your feelings are for me but Avni, but I.....I love you and I have always loved you."

Before Avni could absorb the shock waves that had just hit her she heard something heavy drop on the floor . Before she or Aarav could understand what happened , Neil quickly picked up his present and started pacing towards the door with Avni in close pursuit.

" Neil !! Stop !! Just listen to me once" she yelled at the top her voice .

Neil stopped at the brink of the door and turned to face her . " Happy Birthday !" he shoved his gift in her hands before walking out .

" Neil !! Wait !!" she ran behind him . Seeing no other way to stop him , she ran in front of him and blocked the door to his apartment .

" Avni , let me go "

" Don't you want me to see your gift ? Don't you want to know if I like it or not ?"

" You can tell me that later too. Its  nothing great" Dismissing his proposition , she tore apart the wrapping to see first edition signed copies of two of her all time favourite books. Her eyes glistened with overwhelming joy as she looked up at him " How did you even know ? How did you even manage to get this ?"

" Its nothing. I just asked Neela Maa. And its not like its anything in comparison to the gift you just received ."

" What gift ?" she wiped the tears of joy as she perceived the sadness on his face " what are you talking about ?"

" Oh come on. What he......Aarav just said .....isn't that what you wanted all along ? My gift is nothing compared to what he gave you." She could feel the difficulty with which each of the words were articulated , as if he was choking on every single one of them. " Well I am happy for you , Avni."

" You are ?" She looked straight into his eyes looking for her answer . " You are happy for me Neil ?"

" He proposed to you....isn't that what you always wanted ? "

" I thought I did..... up until now. You know what... I am glad that Aarav proposed ." For the first time in three days she could feel her restlessness going away and in its place there was a sense of calm . The straining lines on her forehead had been replaced by a smile on her face. Her heart felt at the right place after having wandered so long. Her heartbeats weren't going all over the place for once since that night.

" I am glad too. Congratulations. Now let me go ." He tried to push past her but she wouldn't budge.

" Not so fast. You know why I am glad Neil ?" he was in no mood to make any further conversation with words failing him and his throat closing up . " Had he not proposed I would have never known that ......he is not the one for me.It is in that moment only that my heart found out what it really wanted and it wasn't him. You know why ? You know how I know that ? Because he isn't the the one with whom I love to fight. He isn't the one who thinks of me as a robber and still leaves the door open for me . He isn't the one who pulls my leg on every given chance and yet catches me every time I fall. He isn't the one that cancels every important meeting because I am sick. He is not the one who forcibly takes care of me even when I tell him not to. He is not the one who coerced me for bike ride and made it a memory worth treasuring . He is not the one I walk on the beaches with in the middle of the night. He is not the one who could handle a drunken me . He is not the one I enjoy having a simple ice-cream with. He is not the one I had my first dance with. He is not the one who carries me up the stairs because I am too tired to walk. He is not the one who would fight with the world for me . He isn't the person who makes me smile.....every single time I see him. He is certainly not the one over whom I lose my sleep . He is not the one I keep searching for in a crowd. He is not the one who would back out because he thinks my happiness is with someone else. He isn't the one who makes me happy. He isn't the one. He isn't the one.....because.....because.......because he is not you."

She stopped for a moment as did the time. Neil stood frozen still unsure of what he had just heard. There were no more words from either of them but the silence was endearing this time. They stood there ,just looking into each other's eyes not knowing where to go on or how to go on from where they were.

" Neil we have been pretending to be in love for long that I didn't realise.........."

" Pretending ?" Shweta's voice thundered from behind them.

" Mom!!!" They turned to find a bewildered and enraged Shweta standing a feet away with a gift in her hand.

" You were lying to us all this while ?" Shweta was fuming with anger as she confronted her son for deceiving her .

"Mom calm down ! let me explain . Its nothing to get hyper about."

" Calm down ? You lied to your whole family Neil and you , Avni .." She forcibly pushed past her son to get to Avni " we treated you like family....like our daughter and you deceived us this whole time ?!! You even lied to Bebe . Didn't your conscience guilt you a little when you were cheating us like that ?"

Avni was too shocked to even respond , she wasn't prepared for this.....she could have never been prepared for this . Every word from Shweta pierced through her heart and instead of words tears dropped down her eyes.

" Mom stop it !!"

" You are telling me to stop ? What about this girl who.."

" Avni has done nothing Mom !! She never wanted to do it . You want to shout .....then shout at me ....it was all my idea. I dragged her into this . She respects you all so much .Just look at her ....you call that cheating you ....she hasn't even opened her mouth to defend herself."

" What will she say ? She knows I am right......she broke our trust and misused our love ....without even a second thought ! How could you Avni ? What were you getting out of this ?"

" Mom for god sake stop it ! Stop blaming her .....can't you see her ...can't you see how much you are hurting her ?"

" Oh I am hurting her ? So now this girl is more important than your own mother ? You cannot see her hurt but your mother's pain means nothing to you. Thank you Son for showing your mother her place in your life !" Without waiting for any more answers or explanations Shweta ran towards the elevator door wiping away her tears.

" Mom wait ! That's..that's not what I meant .." Before Neil could catch up , Shweta had closed the elevator shaft.

Seeing no other way Neil ran towards the stairs to catch up with her but Avni's worn down face wouldn't let him go ; he couldn't leave her like that . He stopped near her and reached to wipe off those salty watery marks from her face when she spoke.

" Go Neil. I am fine. I will still be here when you return.....but she needs you more than me at this moment." Avni put up her bravest smile to assure Neil that she was alright.

" Thank you" is all he could say before running down the stairs and disappearing .

........................

It was almost midnight when he returned home. He had to chase down Shweta to the Khanna house and then it had taken a whole lot of pleading to convince her to not spill the truth to Bebe . Only after he was fully assured that his mother was sound asleep that he could make his way back to Avni . But what he found instead of Avni was her locked door.....with no signs of her anywhere. She was gone.

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A/N : Hey guys . So how was it ? How have you liked the story till now ? As you can guess the story is moving towards a conclusion. I hope you guys can show a little more patience and be with me till that.

Thanking you for the lovely comments on last chapter. I have read every single one of them and I love all of them and will reply to each one personally once my professional life stops breathing down my neck.

Until next time.....take care

Love Pebbles.