One Shots #VariaSquad

It's a Date

He let me eat in silence for a while, but eventually he couldn't keep quiet anymore. 'So, about Shaandaar...' he began. My mood dropped again and I set the carton on the bed, my appetite having disappeared. 

'What about it? It was a flop. There's nothing else to be said.' I attempted to avoid the topic but I should have known that Varun wouldn't let me.

'There's a lot to be said.' I sighed, preparing myself for his "I'm sorry it didn't work" speech, but it never came. 'Look, I'm not here to tell you that it was a good film and it should have worked. I'm not going to say I'm sorry it didn't and I'm not going to say that people just didn't understand it. It didn't click, we both know that.' I nodded. 'What I am going to tell you is that you can't let it affect you. It's one movie, so what if it didn't do great? You've had four brilliant movies. Four hits. People absolutely adored Shanaya, they were amazed by Veera and loved Ananya. And it's not that people didn't like your acting in this, Alu, they did. Your character was by far the best thing about the movie. People just couldn't connect with her or the story. Shanaya and Veera and Ananya were relatable. Maybe their stories weren't always, but the character and the feelings were.' I processed his words and a frown formed on my face. 

'What about Kavya?' I asked. 

'What about her?' 

'You said Shanaya was adorable, Veera was amazing and Ananya was lovable. They were all three relatable. But you left out Kavya. What was Kavya?' I queried, genuinely curious. 

'Kavya was...' He had this odd look on his face, halfway between reminiscent and maybe admiration. 'She was relatable, real, funny, a full on pataka, she knew what she wanted and that's what she got. Everyone fell in love with Kavya Pratap Singh. She's my favourite.' 

'Your favourite of the characters I've played?'

'No. Well yeah, but also my favourite out of the movies I've seen in the past five years.' 

'Really? Why?'

'Because she's so real. She's mischievous and wild but she's also so innocent and she loves her family so much. But she loves Humpty more. She would have given him up for her family but then she would have given her family up for him. She fought for him, maybe more than he fought for her. She's the kind of girl who really knows what love means. The hero fought for his love, he always does, but Kavya didn't just let Humpty do all the work, she fought as well. And she's so much like you. That's why she's my favourite.' he explained. I didn't know what to say to that, so I didn't try to find a response. I let my brain wonder a little and it landed on the weirdest thing.

'Kavya Pratap Singh. Do you think she would still be a Singh?' I asked. Varun looked at me curiously but didn't question my randomness, I guess he's used to it by now. 

'I don't know, maybe,' he shrugged, 'I do think she would have married Humpty but would she have changed her name?'

'Why not? I think she would have, for him. He would have wanted her to, so that he could prove to the whole world that she was his.' 

'Kavya Rakesh Sharma?'

'It does have a ring to it.' 

'If you say so.' We lapsed into silence and he went back to eating his food. 

I looked at him, watching as he dug in his noodle carton and I realised how much I had missed being able to talk to him like this. Being here with him like this felt so normal and it made me forget about everything else. I felt a sudden and immense wave of affection and love for him. He was here. Despite us having fallen out of contact in the past few months, he had come here because he knew I would be down and he wasn't going to let me stew in my own self pity. 

He was taken by surprise as I kind of launched myself at him, hugging him. He slowly wrapped his arms around me, hesitating a little but then setting his food aside to hug me back. I buried my head in his shoulder and he let his head rest on top of it. 'What's this for?' he asked.

'For being here for me. For not letting me sink into a pathetic pit of self pity.' I mumbled against the material of his shirt. 

'I'll always be here for you, Alu, always. Anytime you need me, I'm here, you know that right?' I nodded. 'Good. I know we haven't been talking a lot lately, but you're still my best friend. I still love you.' I don't think he realised what he had said until I lifted my head from his shoulder and looked at him. 'What?'

'You... you just said...' I stopped and took a breath before trying again. 'Did you just say that you love me?'

'Um, yeah, is that a problem?'

'No, not really, I don't think, I'm kinda confused. You've never said that before. Did you mean it? Or did you just mean as your friend?' I babbled

'Are you done?'

'Yes.'

'I love you. Take it how you want to, almost any interpretation will work.' 

'Almost any?'

'I don't think of you as a sister, Alia. Anything else, fine, but I draw the line at saying I have strictly platonic feelings for you.' He stated.

'So, not really just as friends then?' 

'If you want to take it that way, it's fine. It's up to you.'

'How do you want me to take it?'

'Alia, it really doesn't matter. I don't want things to be awkward.'

'I don't think I want to be friends anymore. At least, not just friends. If you're okay with that.'

'Okay.'

'Okay.' 

'So, maybe you'd like to go out for dinner this week?'

'Yeah, I'd like that.'

'Right, it's a date.'

'It's a date.' I agreed. 

Maybe a flop isn't so bad after all.