Way To Home

Twelve

"Thank you, Arjun and Ms. Mehra for the briefing. My team will get back to you with further details soon."

All of them shook hands  after ending the meeting. As soon as their client left, Sunaina slumped in her chair, clutching her stomach, "God, I am so hungry!"

Arjun stole a glance before moving towards the reception to order some food for her. "Hey, can I get two cups of coffee and two chocolate brownie cake please."

The server replied, "Okay Sir. But we will be closing within half an hour, we are having a fan signing event from 9 today, the whole entrance will be blocked from them, as you can see it already has started crowding, and so we will recommend you to leave as soon as possible to avoid being stuck. "

Arjun nodded at him, the server quickly arranged his order and passed it to Arjun. Arjun carried the tray to their table, Sunaina was still typing something on her laptop. "Here, Ms. Hungry Bear."

Sunaina turned to fight back but squealed seeing the chocolate brownie. She started to gobble the cake at a inhuman speed. "Easy there! They are not vanishing." Arjun retorted casually wiping a bit of chocolate smeared on the side of her lips with a tissue.

"You have no idea, how much hungry I am." Replied Sunaina finishing her cake, "Can I have this one too? Please?" Sunaina asked with a cute baby face.

"Yeah okay okay, go ahead." Arjun replied sipping his coffee. "But, have it faster, the place will be blocked with crowd soon."

Suddenly, the cafe boomed with squeals and shouts of the crowd.

"What's happening?" Sunaina asked looking at the excited crowd jumping up and down.

"There's a fan sign today." Arjun assessed the situation. "Are you done? Get done quickly, we will make a beeline to the out as soon as whoever the celebrity comes inside." Arjun told looking at the crowd, when he didn't find a response, he looked at Sunaina, and found her looking at the crowd with a hanging mouth, the last bit of the cake hanging in the air.

"What's wrong?" He asked her, she replied in her still perplexed state, "No way, nooo daamn way!"

Arjun's face scrunched in confusion. Sunaina looked at Arjun and tightly clenched his hands, and said, "Tell me, that's not Shaan Aman!" Arjun was now even more confused, "Who is he?"

Sunaina shrieked, "You idiot! That's my favorite voice actor and author. Now tell me, he is not that!"

"How will I know?" Arjun now replied back in a stern face. Jealousy sprouting their leaves in his heart at the word "my favorite."

The intensity of squeals increased when a man of about late thirties entered inside. A shriek escaped Sunaina's mouth also, she started bouncing up and down.

She quickly took her phone and dialed Niharika, "Nihuuuuuuu, I just saw Shaan Aman! Bro, can you imagine, we are breathing the same air, literally the same air, aaaaaaaaaaahhhh, He is just what about a metre away aaaaaaahhh..." she was jumping up and down while saying all these.

The cafe was now barricaded into two sections, one for the fan signing and the other for regular customers. But, Arjun was seething in anger and jealousy. He stood up and said, "Let's go, it's already 9."

Sunaina replied perplexed, "where?"

"Home, where else?" Arjun replied in a matter of factly way.

"Are you crazy! You can go wherever you want, I am not moving an inch before getting a picture with him." Sunaina replied with her all grinning face.

"I am not, you are crazy! Have you looked at the line outside?" Arjun argued back.

"It doesn't matter! There's no way I won't meet him after getting this close to him!" (Sunaina)

"It will get late and you won't get any means of transport!" (Arjun)

"I will hire a cab." Sunaina was walking towards the never ending queue.

"It's not safe, Sunaina."

"And I don't care." Sunaina replied haughtily.

Arjun got really angry with her stubbornness. "Do whatever you want! I am leaving."

Sunaina didn't even bother to greet him back. That made him furious even more. He went to the parking lot, took his bike and started riding to his house. Everything in him spoke rage, a type of rage he has long forgotten now.

Halfway in his journey, he stopped his bike. Every conscious fibre in his body was thrumming with anger. Her nonchalance towards him, her admiration for the man, every thing was killing him inside. A little spark of another emotion called worry was gnawing its claw in his chest frequently.

He looked at his watch. 10:19 pm. Begrudgingly, he rode back to the cafe. On reaching there he looked at Sunaina all giddy to have her diary signed just after 2 3 people.

"What's so special about him, that she is behaving so out of character?"

He was busy in his daydreaming, he looked at the glass door of the cafe. He looked at Sunaina going inside and getting all flustered over the man, she was very shyly clicking a picture with the man.

"She never looks this beautiful getting shy with me." Something pinched in him. "Why will she, after all she likes that man, but only hates him." His inner sense mocked.

Sunaina got out of the cafe all smiling, but found her phone dead. "Shit, how will I go home now?"

She asked some strangers for help, Arjun came around and honked. Sunaina looked at him puzzled. He silently handed her the helmet and signed her to get on his bike. Sunaina was too chirpy to see his sullen face. Althrough the journey, Sunaina chirped about Shaan Aman, how she is feeling so giddy, why she loves him, how much he means to him.

On the other hand, Sunaina's excitement kept dampening his mood further and Sunaina was completely oblivious to that.

Arjun didn't stop to joke around or say anything while dropping her off in front of her house. He just dropped her and turned his bike moving from there.

"What happened to him?" Sunaina thought. But then she looked at the diary in her hands, and got happy again. She entered the house doing a jiggly dance.

The following day was unnaturally calm for Sunaina, since Arjun didn't once bothered her. Even her efforts of taking dig on him went unanswered.

A day passed by. Two days, three days. Now, Sunaina was missing him badly. She was finding excuses to have conversations with him, but all remained same. Short, dry, formal replies from Arjun. God knows what will happen next.