One Shots #VariaSquad

Mere Dil Vich Hai Hum Tum

Mature content. You all know the drill by now. Don't like don't read past it's hard to remember all the reasons why they shouldn't give into them.

Also, try to keep in mind that things aren't always what they seem so don't judge anybody's actions till the end 🙈🙈

They're supposed to have moved on. He's gone back to his high school girlfriend, again, supposedly for good this time, says he's accepted the fact that she's the girl his parents want for him.

She, on the other hand, finds it much harder to accept the fact that - despite the fact that they'd finally managed to get past the point where they'd stubbornly denied their feelings, despite admitting to there being a physical attraction, and laughed at people's comments about their couple like behaviour and almost managed to do something about it - they've ended up right back at square one. So, in her attempts to get over yet another lost chance, she does something that's possibly incredibly stupid and throws herself into a fake relationship that she didn't want and is slowly draining the life out of her.

For a while, they succeed, each of them living their lies. Maybe they aren't as happy as they could be, as happy as they would be if they weren't hiding behind the falsities that they constantly portray, if they weren't putting on façades, but they make it work.

And then, Kashmir happens.

When the shoot for Kalank takes them to the northernmost part of the country, they both begin to feel ever so slightly on edge. They have history in Kashmir, history that will make it hard, if not impossible, to stop themselves from giving into their feelings.

Because Kashmir is where it all started. It's where they filmed their first love song, where she spent hours huddled up in a blanket with him, sitting on his lap as she tried to dispel the cold that had seeped into her body in the time they'd been out in the snow, her short skirts and dresses doing nothing to ward it off. It's where she discovered most his ticklish spots and where he found out all about her favourite movies and books. It's where he kissed her one night just because they were together and she was laughing and he was enchanted and it just felt right.

Kashmir is where they really began to discover themselves and each other. And coming back now when everything seems to be falling apart, well in a way, she thinks it almost poetic. Poetic and painful but she has to appreciate the beauty of it all the same.

***

For the first few days, everyone watches them. They all think they're being discrete but it doesn't take a genius to figure out that the entire cast and crew are keeping an eye on them, endeavouring to keep them apart.

But, by the third day, everyone seems convinced that, despite their behaviour with each other remaining unchanged, they won't do anything too outrageous if they're left alone so they begin to back off, allowing them some space.

The two don't hesitate to take advantage of it. When they're told they're free for the day, they decline the offer to go out to dinner, claiming exhaustion and the need for an early night, and head back to the hotel. As the two get out of the lift on their floor, they're laughing at a joke that isn't nearly half as funny as they find it in the moment, high on the sheer joy of being together, being alone together.

The giddy feeling they get from being around each other is dangerous, they both know that, but they can't help it. It's never been something they control and, as much as they might have hoped to stay away from each other, to keep to the promises they'd made so many months ago, promises made on the tail end of a fight, promises that were supposed to eradicate the cause of the fight, they just can't.