Tangled Fates!! ( Manan ff)

10~ The City lights..

"I am a grenade and at some point I am going to blow up and I would like to minimize the casualties" I looked for any trace of tease but found none, only a stoic expression to affirm the same.

"Well, in that case I at least get to have some say in who hurts me" I replied softer than ever as I leaned in towards her.

"Besides, it would be my honor, Nandini Murthy, to have my heart broken by you." I smirked.

And in the next instance we burst into fits of laughter only what stayed with me was the aloofness looming in her eyes as she spoke, as if she was not just quoting the book it was deeper something more personal and I was determined to find out if she will let me, to know her...all of her.

"Guess, I wasnt just the only one bawling my eyes off mourning Augustus" She spoke chuckling.

"That is an exaggeration!"

"Oh common! drop the act already that was hard on all of us you can say। a collective mourning phase"

"Fine. maybe just a tear or two" Okay! that was hard on me, I may come off as one but I ain't an insensitive swine, it was just too soon for her to know my intense hibernation of grief that lasted 3 days long followed by a firm belief that they managed to hold on to each other in a parallel universe.

"Sure Malhotra Sure!" she scoffed making me chuckle and graw my attention back to the now dimming lights.

" I could have never got myself to believe that you have this mushy romace reader side to you if I didnt see it for myself."

"Cliche everybody loves reading a good romance or two, if they say otherwise they are lying" I said, matter-of-fact-ly.

"Aacha! (really) why so?"

"Beacuse everyone somewhere yearns for a love like that, the kind that tingles all those parts of you, you had no clue existed the kind that makes you realise about the indefinite love you are capable of giving and maybe because we humans, we are real cowards...

The idea of such raw, unfiltered love which blurs the line between existence of two souls it scares us, we are afraid and hesitant to let love consume us in its purest form because what if it demands too much? what if it takes all of you with it and leave only ruins behind but then it is too late. We are so calculative even with something as pure as love and so we dive into our fictional realities just to feel once even if secondhand, how it is to be loved like that"

Love for me has always been a ride or die, it is a gamble which when either works or does not but the rules remain the same either go all in or nothing at all, now, there was never a nice game with hesitancy involved.

"Was that too much philosophy for the night? if so my apologies" I spoke, slightly embarrassed addressing the few seconds of silence that followed my monologue.

" Maybe you are right, we are just bunch of people absolutely terrified by the notion of being in love neck deep and yet somehow own this aching want to experience love in its rawest forms. That is such a screw up, no?" She chuckled, making my lips tug partly too.

We let the biggest scam of our lives sink in as chilly late october winds worked as a balm to our wounds. The immense comfort shared by the silence between us was interrupted by the loud buzz of my cell phone.

Maa the screen displayed.

It had both our attention, I answered after sharing a look with Nandini and complying to her gesture of keeping it on speaker phone.