Shayantani, Sahil, Ananya and Mitali  were headed  towards the hostel after an hour long cleaning process and lectures, when suddenly,

Shanu: Hey guys, mujhe bohot bhukh lagi ha. Kahi khane chale?

Mitali: Itna khana saaf karke pet nahi bhara?

Shanu: Khana saaf kiya, khaya thori na!

Ananya: To thik ha na, bol, kaha jana hai.

Shanu: Umm..... Janet's chalte hai. I really like that place. Khana bhi acha hai.

Ananya's face fell hearing her. Mitali noticed.

Mitali: Kya hua, Anu? Pasand nahi vaha ka khana?

Ananya: Nahi....matlab....ha.....thik hai chalte hai.

Shanu: Ok fir...thik hai....

Mitali: Pehle change karle? Is halat mein jayenge to dhakke mar kar hume nikal denge!

Shanu: True.(Turning to Sahil) Tum chaloge?

Sahil: I'm sorry par mai nahi aa sakta . Mujhe kuch kaam hai.

Shanu: Alright then, see you tomorrow.

Sahil: Yeah,bye.

Sahil turned to leave while Shanu kept looking at the retreating figure with a smile plastered on her face. Ananya and Mitali exchanged looks. Mitali coughed to bring back her attention.

Mitali: Ab use tarna ho gaya ho to chale change karne?

Shanu: Ha...ha chalte hai.

Ananya giggled.

Ananya: Matlab tu use tar rahi thi?

Shanu: Ha.....matlab ........nahi....Mai kyu use tarungi bhala!

Mitali: Acha abhi gussa mat ho.

Shanu: Tumlogo ka ho gaya ho to chale.

Saying that, she walked towards the hostel huffily , followed by Ananya and Mitali.

After approximately 30 mins, they left for Janet's. It was a 10 mins walk from their hostel. It was a lovely space for hanging out.

They decided to sit inside as it was too cold outside.The place had a beautiful dining as well as the artwork was really pretty. 

Though awestruck by the surroundings, Mitali couldn't help but notice the frown on Ananya's face. She was clearly upset. But why? Mitali didn't know. They ordered two brownie sundaes and a Chocolate Milkshake for Ananya. They started chit- chatting.

Mitali: So, Shanu, what's the deal with Sahil?

Shanu: Meaning?

Mitali: Oh come on! you know what I am talking about.

Shanu: No , I don't.

Mitali: Ananya told me that you had....sorry correction - still have a crush on him.

Shanu looked at Ananya unbelievably.

Shanu( to Ananya): Tujhse koi baat share karna hi bekar hai!

Ananya: Are isme galat kya hai? Mitu hamari friend hai, to uska janna banta hai.

Mitali: Exactly. Aur isme chupane vali baat kya hai?

Shanu: Tu nahi samjhegi. 

Mitali: Samjhane se samajh bhi sakti hu.

Shanu: Achha baba fine! Yes, I did have a crush on him.

Mitali: There you go! Ab mujhe puri details chahiye.

Shanu: Shut up. Koi details nahi dene vali mai!

Mitali: To fir thik hai. Mai Ananya se hi jaan lungi, kyu Ananya?

But Ananya wasn't listening. Her eyes were fixed on a couch at the corner which was currently occupied by a couple. Mitali followed her line of sight and noticed the lovey- dovey couple.

Mitali: Argh!

Shanu: Kya hua?

Mitali: Dekh uss taraf.

Shanu looked at the direction where Mitali and Ananya were looking. She looked at the couple and said,

Shanu: Kya hua? Ache to lag rahe hai dono!

Mitali: Isiliye to maine kaha 'Argh!'

Shanu giggled.

Mitali: Par Ananya vaha aisa kya hai jo tune meri baat hi nahi suni?

Ananya didn't respond. Mitali nudged her by her arm.

Mitali: Ananya!

She came back to reality.

Ananya: Ha..

Mitali: Kya ho gaya tujhe? Kaha khoi hui ha?

Ananya: Kahi nahi to....

Mitali: Kuch to baat hai.Mai kabse notice kar rahi hu...tu bari weird behave kar rahi hai. Is everything alright?

Ananya: Ha yaar.......Everything's alright. Mujhe kya hoga?

Mitali: Sure?

Ananya: Ha baba , I'm fine.

Mitali returned a small smile. She surely wasn't convinced. But she felt that the timing wasn't right to ask further. So she kept mum.

Their order arrived soon after. It was really tasty.

They were just appetizing when they heard a loud squeaky voice saying," OH MY GOD!!!". It came from the exact same corner they were peering at earlier.They went to check what was wrong.Mitali made her way through the crowd and asked," Who died?"

Fortunately except Shanu no one heard her. She signaled Mitali to be quiet. A boy was kneeling down on one knee. He had a ring in his hand. And a girl was sitting in the couch, with her hands cupping her mouth.

Boy: So what's the answer? Is it a yes or a no?

Girl(standing up): Ofcourse, it's a yes. I love you too!!!

Saying that, they both hugged each other.The whole crowd applauded.Mitali cringed.

Mitali(whispering): Someone just take me out here!

Shanu was busy clapping.

And amidst all this was happening, Ananya's eyes were brimming with tears. Her past  was once again haunting her and she couldn't do a thing to stop it. She quietly came out of the crowd and went back to their table. Her cheeks were wet with tears. She fidgeted with her hands. 

" Please.... make.... this.... end. Please..... make...... this end. I .....can't .......go.....go....back......there.....Please not again....please not again." She prayed.

But nothing happened.Neither did  her pain heal nor did her tears stop.

And Daksh stood there silhouetted in the doorway of the cafe, quietly gazing at her. Not saying a word or trying to call someone for help. Maybe he knew that whatever was bothering her was not something that could be easily stopped.........

                                         ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Adi noticed Ruhaan's jolly face and broad smile when he entered the dorm room late in the evening. He was as merry as a sandboy. He practically danced his way into the room. Adi couldn't help but asked,

Adi: Bro, you look extra happy today. What's the occasion? 

Ruhaan: Nothing.....absolutely nothing.

Adi: Oh come on! Tell me.

Ruhaan: Adi, it's nothing.

Adi: You are grinning like anything! Come on! Spill it!

Ruhaan: Alright , Alright! I might have had a moment with Tapasya.

Adi jumped.

Adi: What?!! Seriously?

Ruhaan nodded, still grinning.

Adi: Wow man! That's excellent news! Finally you did something about this!

Adi had found out about Ruhaan's crush last year when he found him staring at her picture for hours at night. He was surprised as well as happy for his best friend. He knew that Ruhaan was the only one who would be perfect for her. He was the best guy he knew.

Adi: So what happened?

Ruhaan narrated the whole parking lot incident to him. After hearing all of it, Adi said,

Adi: Wow man! That's so romantic. 

Ruhaan: I don't think she sees it that way.But whatever dude, I am happy!

Adi: I can't see why you shouldn't be! Way to go, man!

Ruhaan: Yeah. I hope everything stays the same.

Adi: Meaning?

Ruhaan: Even if she starts feeling something for me, I just don't want it to be awkward , you know.

Adi: You are such a dork! She is finally getting with you and you're gonna be like ' I don't want it to be awkward'!

Ruhaan:  You won't get it!

Adi: Why?

Ruhaan: Because you don't know what love is! 

Adi: Yes, I do.

Ruhaan: No, you don't! Have you ever been in love?

Adi: No.

Ruhaan: That's the thing, dude. You don't know until you fall into it.

Adi: Lo lecture shuru!

Ruhaan: Lecture nahi sach hai! Loving your best friend is hard because one step further will either make you fall harder or ruin your friendship. It's all about that step. And I can't risk my friendship with her for anything.You understand, Adi?

Too late. Adi was already snoring in his sleep. Ruhaan slapped his forehead and ran his fingers through his hair. 

"Jab pyaar hoga na, tab ise samajh mein aayega!", he thought.

                                 ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~