The Favour (COMPLETE)

Chapter 16.

Leyla

"Zara Larsson?" Rahul says. We are trying to 'get-to-know" each other so we are lying at the furthest end of the school field (I've still not told Ajay we're going out) and trying to see what sort of music we listen too. It's not going well.
"No," I reply, "Dolly Parton?"
"No," Rahul scoffs, "Justin Bieber?"
"Ew, no," I laugh, "Whitney Houston?"
"Erm, no," Rahul mumbles, "Sia?"
"No, Elton John?"
"No way," Rahul laughs, "Adele? You must listen to Adele?"
"Sometimes, Celiné Dion?" I mutter-so much for being the 'perfect match'!
"Isn't she the one who sung the Titanic theme song?" Rahul asks sitting up and looking at me. I nod and Rahul shakes his head.
"Fall Out Boy?"
"Rahul?" He turns and Matt is striding across the field towards us.
"Heard of them," I smile sitting up.
"Rahul what the hell?" Matt collapses onto the floor, his cheeks flushed red and sweat beading at his hair line, "I've been looking everywhere for you!"
"Sorry man," Rahul laughs playfully punching his arm, "what's up?" Matt takes a moment to catch his breathe as I play with a blade of grass.
"You left your phone in the library, it's been going nuts," Matt pants, "it's almost two o'clock."
"Shit," Rahul jumps up off the grass and brushes his jumper down, "I've gotta go." He mumbles jogging in the direction of the main school building.
"Rahul?" I call after him but he just waves back. I look at Matt expecting him to have answers.
"I physically can't breathe," he lies back on the grass rubbing his forehead with the back of his hand. I look down at the blade of grass between my fingers.
"Matt?" I ask and he grunts, "do you think me and Rahul are going to be okay?" I hear Matt sit back up again.
"Yeah why?" He asks. I shrug. Maybe because we are very different people, not in the sense that he's a millionaire and I'm not or that he has parents and I don't but in the sense that we don't seem to have anything in common other than the fact that whenever we see each other our stomachs flip, our breathe quickens and our hearts skip a beat.
"Well... We're not very similar," I mumble. Matt laughs.
"Rahul doesn't know who he is yet Leyla," Matt says, "he's going with the trends because he thinks that's cool. A few weeks in your company and he'll be listening to Celiné Dion and reading novels by Dickens." I smile looking up at Matt.
"You really think so?" I ask furrowing my eyebrows.
"I think you're the only girl who'll put up with his crazy ideas and world war three family," Matt smiles, "I mean Lacey Brown just wants to get in his pants." I laugh at this and grab my bag.
"Thanks Matt," I say as I push myself off the ground.
"No problem now can I please just rest," Matt collapses back on the ground as I walk towards the main building.

********************

I can hear Rahul laughing and I smile as I'm about to take the corner to see where he's been but then I hear a lighter laugh-like one a woman would do. I stop and listen again. It's too real to be Lacey Brown's but too light to be Jessica Harps. I furrow my eyebrows, he wouldn't be two-timing on me... Would he? I'm about to turn around and walk away when I feel someone walk into me.
"Leyla!" Rahul chirps putting his arm around my shoulder and pulling me towards him. I get a full view of the girl he's with. She's wearing a two-piece grey suit with a white blouse and a pair of nude heels. She looks slightly older than Rahul, with brown eyes and brown hair tied into a pony-tail.
"So this is Leyla?" The woman looks at Rahul approvingly and I look from her face to Rahul's and back again.
"Leyla this is my sister, Ishita," Rahul points to the woman, "and yes Ishita this is my sorta girlfrind/fake fianceé Leyla." I smile awkwardly. Oh mi God, I had literally just thought Rahul was seeing another woman! How naïve of me.
"Hi," my voice comes out as a squeak and I internally curse myself.
"I've heard great things about you," Ishita smiles, "I mean I've tried for years to bring our family back together and haven't managed it!" Ishita laughs and I laugh along awkwardly. What the hell is she on about?
"I didn't realise I had such an influence?" I look at Rahul for some form of help but he seems oblivious to the situation.
"Coffee?"Rahul says guiding me along the corridor with his arm still around me, "Ishita is staying around London for a couple of days then going to my parents."
"Cool," I say. Cool? Cool? I never say cool!!!

Recap! Ishita Khanna is played by Aishwarya Rai Bachchan 😄