No Strings Attached

two

oh, wow. easier said than done. 

even though her life didn't revolve around him and she'd just know him for a while, getting into a relationship was like one of those hypothetical milestones that she'd set up for herself. it's what everyone did, right? you complete your degree, get into a stable relationship and get married if the guy's good enough? (ananya really didn't want to think about what came after that, because that was just a one-way ticket to a quarter-life crisis)

"wow. great advice, ish—" ananya scoffed instead.

"—no, nya. hear me out." isha interrupted with a frown.

ananya just sat back, crossing her arms. she didn't really think isha could convince her of anything right now.

"you're giving way too much of your energy to this guy. he dumped you! just tell him to fuck off and move on! he was too much of a prick anyway!" isha exclaimed, turning ananya towards her.

. . . well, she couldn't even say anything at that because isha was right. kabir didn't deserve half of the energy that she was wasting on him, and she knew that. and he was more than just a prick. which fucker dumps their girlfriend to go and marry some guy he'd just talked to a few times? 

and would it be too much if she wished he would be miserable?

"what would you have me do, then?" ananya frowned at her.

"you want me to give you ideas?" isha asked, raising her brows at her.

now, isha was a connoisseur in not giving a fuck. she'd dealt with break-ups before (including her parent's divorce), and she handled it all like a fucking champ too. there was nothing that isha couldn't handle with a bottle of vodka and drunk sex, if she was being honest. and maybe she'd let isha help her in moving on, because like her friend said, she didn't wanna give too much of her energy to that fucking jerkface (with the ridiculously good jawline)

". . . let's see what you've got." ananya said.

"i won't disappoint." isha smiled at her.

honestly, isha was the only one who got her through a lot of situations.

. . . and isha's smile was fucking contagious. so ananya threw the used tissue and the empty packet of chips in the waste-bin behind the sofa, and returned her smile.

"well, i've got tinder and vodka, for starters. and clubbing, if you're sure that you can handle something that strong." isha said, crossing one leg over the other.

"tinder and vodka it is." ananya nodded sarcastically. "right."

"hey, don't look down on tinder, okay? you never know where your prince charming comes knocking." isha laughed, getting up to her feet, probably to get her bottle of vodka.

"hopefully not on tinder." ananya replied, "tinder sucks." she laughed. nothing personal.

she'd take literally anything to get her mind off him and how badly things went down between them.

💋💄

three months later . . .

the music blaring from the speakers felt like a steady rhythm in her bones, and her 'hypothetical milestones' were the last thing on her mind as she moved to the beat of the music.

saturday night at a club with isha was the best way to end a weekend (yes, saturday. because being hungover on a monday morning because she'd gone clubbing on sunday wasn't really ideal 'work ethic', was it?), and also the best way to ignore her phone which was now buzzing in her clutch with a series of texts from her latest (not so serious) tryst.

honestly, it was easy to start things with a 'no strings attached', but then feelings got in the way. and ananya wanted nothing to do with those sort of feelings right now. she was still figuring out where she stood after things ended so abruptly with kabir, so it was easier to just cut them off. and that's what she did.

"nya!" isha called over the music, "let's hit the bar!"

feeling a bit too giddy herself, ananya pushed her way out of the crowd of drunk revelers.

and god, these heels were killing her! she should've gone for sandals. but she couldn't, because she really needed to get her nails done.

'badtameez dil' was playing right now, and the crowd was going crazy. that was the 'ranbir kapoor effect' to her, personally.

"excuse me," ananya said under her breath, getting out of the crowd of people in the dance floor at last.

she saw isha standing next to the bar, waving her over. she was holding both her heels in one hand, so it was safe to think that isha was feeling just like she was, and she terribly needed a drink. again.

so ananya waved back at her, taking off her heels with her other hand because she was sure she was gonna break her goddamn ankle if she didn't.

the music was still blaring in the background, and everyone around her seemed to be having a grand time. and ananya didn't know what it was, but it felt like this sort of excitement was contagious, because it was everywhere in the air and she was starting to feel it too for some reason.

it's like everything was still moving forward, but she was just going with the flow, and just waiting to see where it takes her—

and that's when she felt someone slamming into her shoulders as they brushed past, and she stumbled a few steps back at the impact.

what the fuck?

the guy who's slammed into her turned around, "i'm so sorry—" he trailed off.

oh? god, this guy looks so fuc—wait. oh no. he looked really familiar.

she had to know him, but the dim lighting of the club made it so hard for her to place him.

the guy blinked once, as if confused, then his eyes lit up in recognition.

"ananya?" he asked, leaning closer so that she could hear him over the blaring music.

oh. oh fuck.

"dhruv?"