|Chapter Fourteen|

Smiling to herself, Aisha snuggles into her quilt on her bed, her eyes skimming through the pile of YouTube and Tumblr notifications. She can't find time to reply to every message and having such a huge amount of comments doesn't help her situation either. But this admiration does make her feel loved.

Nobody changes you; Vivek's words reverberate within Aisha, making her smile wider.

The loud bang of a utensil jerks Aisha out of her thoughts. It's followed by a series of muffled arguments from an adjacent room. Sitting up straight, Aisha throws the quilt away and rushes out of her room, following the voices. Nitya's asleep and it's about ten in the night when the quarrel has broken out.

Reaching the kitchen area, Aisha stands at the doorway, gaping at her parents.

"...is this how you avoid me?" the latter parts of Pranjol's words reach Aisha.

"You and I both know that this party was meant for you and your business partners," Tulika speaks, arranging the plates on the rack. "My presence wasn't all that mandatory."

"But I wanted you to be there, by my side," Pranjol sighs, exasperated.

"And I had a meeting with my client, Pranjol!" Tulika yells back. "Can't you understand that my work comes first and your flamboyant business parties later?"

"Flamboyant, huh?" Pranjol asks, smirking at his wife with bitterness. "Is there anything in this world that is more important to you than your court clients?"

"Pranjol-"

"No," he cuts her off. "The fact is that you, Tulika Medhi, can't even spare time for your own daughters. It's always been you and your ambitions-"

"Enough!" Aisha yells over both of them, making her parents turn and look at her.

"Aisha, go to your room," Tulika tells her stoically.

"Hasn't it always been this way?" Aisha asks, glancing back and forth between her parents. "You two, fighting like bloody enemies, and when I or Nitya show up, it's always a 'go to your room' so that you can continue insulting one another."

"Aisha," Pranjol says, raising a hand to gesture that she stops.

"I'm sick of this situation," Aisha sighs, her eyes welling up. "You both are going equally wrong!"

Before either of them speaks, the raven-haired girl turns on her heel and heads out of the house with furious steps. Yanking the front door open, she rushes out and as she does so, she bumps into someone recklessly.

Glancing up with her tear-glazed vision, Aisha blinks twice. "You?" she asks, unable to decide on how to react.

"Um..." Veer mumbles, thrown off-guard. "I was just coming up the stairs... wasn't eavesdropping at all, promise."

Sighing, Aisha slams the door shut behind her. Turning, she grabs Veer's wrist before heading up the stairs that lead to the terrace.

"You're not gonna suicide, are you?" Veer asks as he gets dragged up the stairs.

"Wait..." he murmurs with a horrified look. "You're not gonna push me off the terrace, are you-"

"Just shut up for a minute!" Aisha interrupts his rant.

Nodding, the brown-eyed boy places a finger on his lips, indicating his muteness. Reaching the terrace, she lets go of Veer's hand and strolls over to the edge, resting her arms over the safety rails. The cool breeze feels like a soothing caress to Aisha, cradling her face and whispering peace to her soul. Closing her eyes, she lets the remaining tears to spill out, hoping that they take her worries with them.

But tears are just a sign; a mark. They can only fleetingly lessen the burden which is levied upon the heart. Pain and grief returns the instant these tears vanish, only to complete this cycle of remorse and agony, followed by similar tears.

When a pair of arms wraps around her from behind, she eventually leans back, resting herself against Veer. The nightfall is pretty and enigmatic with the canvas overhead painted in hues of indigo and darkness spilling an aura of tranquillity all around. It's all so distinctly contradictory to the situation downstairs, in her home, that Aisha smiles paradoxically at the skies, as if wanting to ask the universe the reason to her parent's miserable marriage.

"You're okay?"

"What do you think?" Aisha asks back softly, her eyes still peering at the skies.

Loosening his arms from around Aisha, Veer steps back and turns her so that she faces him. His features are barely visible but the starlight is enough for Aisha to tell that he's looking at her with concern.

"I've fought with my parents as well in the past," Veer tells her. "Nevertheless it's always been about stupid things. But... your situation seems serious, Ash."

"Doesn't it?" she asks back, nearly laughing to conceal her sorrow.

"I'm not joking, Aisha," Veer speaks softly. "Your parents need to consult for help."

"And who's gonna make them understand?" Aisha asks.

"You."

"What?"

"You heard me," Veer shrugs.

"Veer," Aisha sighs. "They hardly listen to their life partners, how the hell will my words make an impact?"

"I know you can persuade them, Ash," he says, smiling at her. "You just gotta trust yourself with it."

Thinking about it, Aisha feels the idea isn't as impractical as it seems. Her parents, as individuals, love her dearly. So chances are that they would consider her words as well!

"I'll try," she mumbles.

"What was that?" Veer asks. "I couldn't hear you over your hesitance."

"I will try," Aisha repeats louder.

"That's more like it," Veer grins at her. "Come on, let's get back in. It's freezing cold out here."

"Veer?"

"Yeah?" he asks back.

Reaching out, Aisha wraps her arms around his neck, hugging him warmly. Chuckling, he hugs her back, patting her shoulder affectionately.

"Thanks," she mumbles into his shirt, "Teddy."

"Not again!"

_________________

The school auditorium is scantily occupied by a small group of juniors who are busy preparing for a play which is supposed to be presented the coming week. Amid this little commotion, the harmonious and sweet tunes of a keyboard linger in the air all around, tying all the components together effortlessly.

Smiling to himself, Veer continues with playing the instrument, passing a usual nod of his head to anyone who walks past with admiration lacing their eyes.

"The moron does know how to charm people's pants off," Payal states to Aisha, leaning against the wall a few steps away from Veer.

Smiling a faint smile, Aisha nods in agreement when she spots a group of junior girls eyeing Veer like obsessed lovebirds. She knows that tomorrow the Editor's cabin's letterbox will be flooding with new proposals for this boy.

"You seem so lost today," Payal states, while looking at Aisha with all her attention. "What's the matter?"

"Nothing specific," Aisha shakes her head dismissively. All day her mind has been making up scenarios in which she is trying to persuade either of her parents to go for marriage counselling, and in almost every one of them, they decline adamantly.

"Hey, Aisha Medhi...right?" a voice drags her out of her reverie.

Turning, Aisha meets those honey-brown eyes and it takes her a moment to recognize him to be Jayden. He looks phenomenal even when he is simply dressed in a black T-shirt and khaki shorts, a look of hesitancy crossing his features as he peers at Aisha.

"That's me," Aisha nods.

"I'm Jayden Spears," he introduces himself, offering her a hand to shake. Smiling, Aisha shakes his hand.

"I hope you're enjoying the rehearsals so far?" he starts a general conversation, glancing up at the people on the stage, practicing their roles.

"Yeah," Aisha nods. "I bet the final performance is gonna be just as amazing."

"Um...Payal, could I talk to Aisha for a minute?" Jayden asks the spectacled girl who is standing right next to Aisha.

"You can talk here," Payal shrugs casually, her eyes trained on the juniors onstage.

"Uh..." Jayden mumbles, glancing at Aisha for help.

"I'll be back in a second, Payal," Aisha tells her.

Throwing the raven-haired girl a look of disbelief, Payal turns her eyes back to the stage with wrath. "Drama suits the stage more than your face, Payal," Aisha tells her with a grin, poking a finger into her cheek.

"Everything suits me, honey," Payal flips her hair with a smirk, gesturing that she's all good.

Nodding at Jayden, Aisha heads off to a secluded corner of the amphitheatre. Once they face one another, Aisha looks at him quizzically.

"I guess you remember that I was one of the people on that table in that café, when Tarika said that stuff-" Jayden speaks.

"I've let that go already, Jayden," Aisha waves off with a smile. "And I don't blame you."

"No, I came here to tell you that Tarika's my sister," Jayden blurts out, making Aisha blink at him confusedly. "A cousin, I mean," he adds explanatorily. "So... No matter what happens, I won't leave her side."

Aisha smiles at him. "It's adorable that you love your sister so much," she tells him. "I too have a little sister, so I know."

Jayden smiles back mutely.

"But make sure you support her in the right stuff, Jayden," Aisha adds, her smile fading away. "I don't want you to start being unfair or disrespectful to someone because you see your sister doing the same things."

"Uh...I'll try-" Jayden mumbles uncertainly when someone from the stage calls for him. "I gotta go," he tells her apologetically before sprinting off back to the stage, his hair ruffling about with his strides.

Walking back to her friends, Aisha spots Veer still playing the keyboard and Payal leaning against his seat, trying to understand how he plays the keys so swiftly.

"Hey," Aisha says with a grin when she reaches them.

"What did you guys talk about?" Veer asks, curiosity lacing his voice.

"Why do you care?" Aisha asks back, a smirk drawn over her lips now.

"Fish off!" Veer cringes at her suggestive tone and turns back to resume to his instrument, while Payal and Aisha laugh at his etiquettes.

_____________

Author's Note:

Me doesn't have anything to say
So how 'bout me rhymes in the A/N today?

This book's got so much love
That this work is something me is very proud of.

I really hope y'all are enjoying the story so far
The new update will be up soon!

Yeah, I know the last one didn't rhyme, but I exhausted my word-stack!

See y'all at the next update!
*waves a buh-bye*