Love Bites

To Be With You (10)

"Maine khwabon mein tumhara noor dekha hai, Dil ne bhi tumko kahin toh, zaroor dekha hai!"

Two days had passed since the picnic & the last two days had been fairly uneventful. The Sunday after the picnic was spent while resting & the Monday thereafter kept both Avni & Neil busy with the classes & assignments. 

It was just quarter left to midnight when Neil had finished his assignment & had retired to bed. He was tired but not sleepy. So, thinking that some music might help, he plugged his earphones as he played some song on his phone. However, before he could lose himself to a sweet slumber, his doorbell rang. 

An involuntary smile spread on his lips as he thought who it would be. Smiling, he opened the door only to find Ali & Rhea standing there. Even though he was happy to see his besties, his smile faltered a little, when he didn't find the person who he had thought would be on the door. Placing the cake on the table, Ali & Rhea hugged Neil as they wished him birthday, making him smile again. 

Ali - Aa jayegi, Saale! Woh bhi aa jayegi, humse toh mil le pehle! - he teased while Neil just rolled his eyes.

R - Issi shakal dekhne layak thi jab gate khola tha! - she laughed while Neil just waved them off with a grumpy face.

"Happy Birthday to you, happy birthday to you!" - Neil heard as quite a few voices mingled together.

Turning his head towards the entrance of his apartment, he saw Avni's parents, his Bebe & his father. 

Still not the face he wanted to see!

But he felt happy to see all of them there. He walked up to them as he touched all of their feet & they blessed him. Neela placed a motherly kiss on his forehead, while Ashish gave him a hug. His Bebe kissed his cheeks as she hugged him tightly & though awkward, his Dad tapped on his cheek as he wished him birthday with a small smile on his face. 

"I'm sorry, late hogyi! Yeh party-popper mil hi nhi rha tha!" - Neil finally heard the voice he was craving to hear from so long now!

Avni walked up to him & gave him a toothy grin as she grabbed his hand & led him to the drawing room so that they could cut the cake. 

Everybody sang him a Happy Birthday & wished him as he fed them the cake. However, he couldn't feed Avni as she was busy taking pictures. 

All of them sat together for a while & talked about how Neil & Avni's college was going & how Ali & Rhea's job hunt was going & all other regular stuff. 

Bebe - Neil, Beta! Mujhe toh yeh kudi Avni badi pasand hai! Kitni pyaari hai na! - she said as she hugged him.

N - Ji, Bebe! Bahut pyaari hai! - he told without even thinking twice. 

Bebe - Tu usko chahta hai na? - she asked with a teasing glint in her eyes.

N - Kya? - his trance broke as he heard what she just said. Nhi. Nhi, Bebe! Dost hai meri! - he spoke so fast as if he had recited the sentence hundreds of times now. Ab aap apna dhyaan rakho, thik hai? - he quickly changed the topic as he kissed her cheeks.

Though Bebe chose not to tease him anymore, but she could feel her heart swell with happiness when she saw the calm & peace in Neil's demeanour that he had been missing all these years. She knew for a fact that it was Avni's doing. Smiling to herself, she left his apartment along with Prakash. 

Neela & Ashish left too. And, Ali had to leave soon as he had drop Rhea home who had strict curfew at her house. Avni chose to stay for a while & had just shut the door of his apartment when she found him sulking over the sofa.