Maine Pyaar Kyun Kiya?

Jealous?

'Kabhi Kabhi aisa kyun hota hai ki apne paraya ho saate hain?' 

~ Hrithik Roshan in Kabhi Kushi Kabhie Gham 

Varun P.O.V. 

I stared at the girl stood in the doorway, unable to do more than gape at her like a stunned fish. She looked at me, clearly expecting some kind of explanation but I wasn't sure what I was supposed to say. Complete, tense silence settled over the three of us, the only movement Alia's fidgeting. 

After a minute or two, I received an elbow to the stomach, jolting my brain back into gear. I coughed out a groan at the sudden pain in my gut and Alia seemed to realise she was fidgeting. 'Oh shit, I'm sorry. I didn't mean to hit you.' she apologised immediately.

'It's okay.' I mumbled, unwrapping an arm from around her to rub at the sore spot. Unconsciously, my other arm wound around her a little more tightly, making her squirm as she tried to get away from me, cutting her eyes to Natasha who was watching us carefully. Clearing my throat a little nervously, I straightened, reluctantly unwrapping my arm from around Alia who pouted jokingly. I had to hold back a laugh at her expression, fighting to keep a straight face as I turned to Natasha. 'Okay, I know what you're thinking right now but it's not what it looks like.' 

'Seriously? That's the best you can do? A pathetic overused line that people only use when it's exactly what it looks like.' she scoffed. 

'It's really not.' I persisted. 

'Then what the hell is it Varun?' she demanded, crossing her arms over her chest. 

'Look, I can explain. Just come inside.' She glared at me and I smiled at her, hoping it would soften her slightly. It didn't work; I got a harsher glare. Unsure of what to do, I shot a pleading look to Alia. 

'Okay, let's not make this into a bigger deal than it is. Just come inside and we can talk about it like adults.' Alia spoke up. Natasha looked from me to Alia and back again before nodding and stepping inside. Alia led the way to the sitting room, asking Natasha if she'd like a drink and shooting me a triumphant smirk over her shoulder. I groaned internally as I followed them, fairly certain that this wouldn't end well for me. 

***

We spent almost two hours trying to convince Natasha that, despite what it looked like, the situation really was innocent. The fact that Alia was still in my hoodie - and it made it look like she didn't even have shorts on underneath - didn't exactly help but, once it was explained as a matter of convenience and I'd pulled on a pair of bottoms, we managed to move passed the matter and explain that we're friends, best friends, and habits developed in the beginning of our friendship are hard to break. 

Eventually, she was convinced, or at least pretended to be. The too long hug and the oddly intense kiss I got as she was leaving made me think she was a little jealous but I tried not to pay it any attention. Obviously, Alia had notice too, given that Natasha had made sure to do it where we were still in Alia's line of sight, only she's not the type of person to let something like that pass without commenting. 'Well, somebody's a little insecure.' she remarked as I came back into the room. I rolled my eyes at the bluntness and flopped onto the sofa; usually, Alia's no bullshit policy is one of the many things I love about her but the comment wasn't exactly necessary. 

'Come on Alu, it's not like your boyfriends have never been jealous of us.' I returned. 

'Of course they were.' she agreed with an eye roll. 'But that's because any guy on the planet would be insecure when you're the competition.'