Flames Of Fire ✗ (A PaNi FF)

Chapter 15

She shrugged her shoulders, while her face still hung on her neck lazily. "Nah-nahi toh... crying? ME? Haha... Come on, Parth." She tried to fake a laugh or two, and I didn't like it. We were a couple onscreen, but nothing in real life. We spent so much time working on our characters together, that slowly I started seeking a Nandini in her, and I wanted her to reciprocate the resilience I promoted.

She was a lot like Nandini. She was a silent fighter, who hid her fears and tears and thought of those emotions as a weakness that people around her shouldn't have access to. She was always there to spread joy and give a shoulder to those who needed it on sets but never did she selfishly throw in her problems in the way of anything between the crew. She dealt with them alone. No actors from the show knew much about Niti, but she knew everyone quite well in the few months we've hung out. Even though she and I had tiffs, she co-operated to maintain a cordial relationship when we hung out as a group–NH3 and FAB 5.

I wanted to be her Manik. That was what the world wanted, too.

"Nandini... Come with me?" It sounded more like a plea; I desperately wanted her to trust me without asking me any further questions to seek validation. I meekly extended my hand out before her, requesting her to take it. When she looked at me with uncertainty, I blinked in assurance.

"Kahan?"

"Manik ke saath nahi chalogi?" She sighed with a smile and placed her hand over mine and they fit perfectly. I'd noticed that before too, but we were on square one then. Maybe this could be the turning point. I gently tugged her over to where my bike was parked.

I gestured her to sit on the vehicle, which she politely complied to until she couldn't. She tried to hop on to the seat when the bike was parked by pushing the curb with her feet, but she was so short, and it was adorable to watch her scuffle have her ways. I pressed my lips together to control the infamous little smirk that popped right after admiring that woman. What was there to not like about her?

My hands intuitively reached for her waist, just like Manik would. Once my sanity kicked in, I forced them down to my sides midway to not creep the living shit out of her. She eyed me from between her lashes hoping for some assistance, but she would never clearly tell me. I resorted to help her up by kicking the leg rest down, which she forgot to notice initially. Her face turned red, and while stealthily studying me, she clumsily sat on the bike.

The mad boy wiggled for a second in imbalance, and her hands sought my shoulders instantly. Her gorgeous eyes gleamed into mine under the moonlight, gratifying me as her savior. Somehow, I was always present in all of her accidents, to save her from the pits of troubles she dug for herself. She did trust me, but she was a woman of actions, just like me.

When a person lacks something that another person has an abundance of and vice versa, they can say they complete each other. They could define their relationship. That's what Manik and Nandini were, people who filled each other's voids and in turn, were flawless together.

In our case, she and I were the same parts of identical puzzles, just copies. We could never fill each other's missing pieces, but we could help each other conquer them and build ourselves together.

I took both her hands in each of mine and held them securely as my eyes locked into hers, seeking and reflecting assurance. "When I was a young boy, I was put into a boarding school that I hated." Her eyes widened suspiciously. She wasn't sure if I was cooking it up or genuine with my story. "Yeah... Every boy in Panchgani went to that school, and they were all nasty. It was horrible! My parents would visit me once in two weeks, and bring me one box of homemade food because..."

"...you love food." She completed for me. I smiled, nodding playfully. I noticed her eyes shift to my loose long bangs, that flicked with the jerks my head made. I saw the smile lines around her eyes, though her lips were straight and firm. The genuine happiness that beamed off her face, even when she didn't even twitch her mouth was contagious. She weirdly enjoyed my company, I could tell.