invisible string ✓

twenty two

“Oh! Then, what are the genres you prefer?”

“Science fiction, dark comedies, thrillers, fantasy, you name it.” He shrugged as though it was obvious of him. “Do you prefer only romcoms?” Noticing my “Are you judging me?” frown, he added, “Of course, I'm not judging you. I asked.”

Giving a reassuring chuckle, I replied, “Not really. I mean, yes, I root for good rom coms. But, I also prefer watching movies and shows of other genres. But, if you ask, I love old movies. They're my sweethearts.”

“Anyway, who could hate old movies? They're the textbook definition of aesthetic, good plots, great songs, and iconic acting skills,” he countered as his gaze returned to the TV, where Kabir and Imraan were mastering the art of roasting Arjun as the “Mentally Challenged Buoy”. “I love the movie already. Imraan is such a pookie.”

“I know right! He's a vibe for a reason,” I replied with my eyes glued to the TV screen, pride filling my chest as if I was Zoya Akhtar.

***

AN HOUR LATER…

Though I knew what would happen next the moment Laila asked, “Can I borrow your bike?” to Nuria in Spanish, I felt immense pleasure when I saw her vrooming in the Royal Enfield bullet bike.

She went on and on and on, despite the seemingly humid weather in Spain, leaving her viewer scream, “Come on, Laila! You can do it.”

A few seconds later, you could see Laila spotting the blue convertible car with Arjun, Imraan, Kabir, and Natasha in it. Just when you believe Laila would go closer to it, the car vanishes from her sight.

Oh, shit.

Then, as a second chance of hope, Laila spots the car again and tries to speed up in order to overtake our Three Musketeers. But, she could never overtake them owing to the extremely long distance between the car and Laila. The most pessimistic first-time viewers would assume that they would never meet.

Until Imraan finds Laila's car in the rearview mirror.

“Come on, Imraan! Stop the fucking car!” I yelled in a tone contrasting the midnight silence, unable to suppress my excitement to see what happens next. “Stop it!” I yelled again in slo-mo as if I was in an airport, trying to stop my lover from flying across the globe.

And, just as I expected (it's not like I didn't know it, either), Imraan asked Kabir to park the car at the roadside, allowing Laila to reach the car.

Arjun, with a lot of perplexity, got out of the car. Laila parked the bike near the car and got off the bike, adding silence to the existential silence in my room. With that, I knew that it was the moment for Arjun and Laila to kiss each other.

“Come on. Come on. Come on. Kiss each other, guys! Come on! Just fucking kiss each other.”

Though it was me watching that movie for around infinity times, I would behave like I don't know what happens next.

The moment they kissed each other, I went like, “Yay,” pumped my fist in the air and clapped my hands with a grin as wide as elastic. I suddenly remembered the existence of Ishaan and looked at his side, believing that he would celebrate the kiss as well.

But then, there he was, dozing off with his eyes closed and leaning on the handle of the couch despite Arjun kissing back Laila.

Ignoring what was going on on the screen, my focus was on Ishaan, whose face resembles those of the waves that would hit us subtly at the beach. They, being the piece of attraction, left me in a dilemma of what to focus deeper into. His forehead, lips, closed eyes, wrinkle-free face… My goodness! If someone would ask what God was doing instead of replying to our pleas, I would say He must be busy creating masterpieces like Ishaan.

His forehead and my lips were in a forbidden romance while my eyes told my senses that his forehead deserved some touch of my lips. With the war against my rationale and my romantic urges, I succumbed to my romantic urges as I leaned closer to Ishaan's forehead. While we were less than half an inch away from each other, Ishaan's line echoed in my ears.

“I know, it takes time to trust people. And, I'm not ready to force you. Let's take this one at a time. Baby steps. Okay?”

“Fuck it.” I kicked out those echoing hesitation from my mind with a groan and consumed the remaining gap, thus decreasing the distance between us to zero and increasing my comfort of meeting his forehead with my lips to infinity. And, God! When people say nothing lasts forever, I want this to be my sweet nothing.

After being satisfied with the touch that felt like forever, I broke the contact and shifted my focus back to the TV when a sudden sound boomed through the silence.

“You could have kissed me when I was awake. Why so stealthy, Mia Anima?” Ishaan asked with no expectations in his tone, shifting his posture with his eyes remaining close.

“Oh!” I raised my eyebrows, trying not to be surprised by the fact that he wasn't asleep. “So, you weren't sleeping.”

“I did. But, you woke me up,” he countered with his left eye open.

“Anyways, wake up, man!” I shook his body fervently in an attempt to help him get rid of sleep physically and mentally. “Laila and Arjun kissed each other.”

“So did we.” He tossed to his left and pursed his lips like a man asleep.

“I mean, they kissed on the lips,” I emphasised on “the lips” and continued shaking him. “Wake up, Ishaan. Please!”

“Okay,” he sang and sat upright, further singing, “For you and those Mentally Challenged Buoys.”

Then followed a fit of laughter with Khaabon Ke Parindey delivering a romantic aura to the room.

***

Hey, peeps! On the occasion of my third Wattaversary on tomorrow, I have posted this chapter (though I planned for a double one). But, I have actually completed half of the next chapter. You guys might get the next chapter by next week.