ALWAYS YOU

Chapter 5

I was meddling with my phone and tapping my legs impatiently looking around the library. It's been one whole semester and I haven't even entered into my college library. I could see a lot of students studying, typing vigorously with their laptops. Gosh such nerds . I wish I could be like them . I glanced at my watch. It's been nearly half an hour still Akshay and Dhruv haven't turned up.
I still could remember Dhruv telling me in class
" Turn up on time , I don't have all the time in the world " Such an ass. He's actually not what I assumed him to be. He's a pretty mean person. Hardly can see him smile , and only with his friends.
Tanisha wasn't sitting with Dhruv today at lunch, she was with us. I didn't talk to her much, and she was too not bothered in the least to talk about Dhruv or what happened at the party. I could see her stealing glances at Dhruv and he was least bothered to look at her. I mean he slept with her, maybe she deserves much better treatment than this, either way it was none of my concern .Tariq on the other hand is too cute to handle. He came to our table to tell just a hi to me.
I mean it's not a big deal he's my friend but still I could feel myself blushing at the thought of it.
I was interrupted from my thoughts by a book falling hard on my table. I jumped up to look at Dhruv dragging a chair to sit opposite to me while Akshay sat on the chair beside me.
" Hey made you wait long ?" Akshay asked flashing his million dollar smile.
" Not long enough " I said giving my fake smile to them.
Dhruv rolled his eyes. He hates me already.
"Let's get started shall we?" Akshay said excitedly. I wish I had half as much enthusiastic as him to study I would have rocked my grades.
We started on the design and Dhruv took the lead in assigning us work, and I surfed the Internet for some books to start with the information to work on.
" Look I need to get this over with as soon as possible, so better finish this fast " he said glaring at me.
What did I ever do to him ? He acts like he detests me from the bottom of his soul. How did I even end up having a crush on such a cold person ?
" Geez if you want to get rid of me so fast , you should have told me before " I said frowning.
" Well I wish I could , but I don't think I have a choice " he said rolling his eyes
Damn that hurt. Okay it's official he hates me. But what is even the reason ? Akshay noticed the hurt in my eyes.
" Just ignore him sweetheart , he's such an ass " Akshay said giving me a side hug.
" Yeah I'll get to it as soon as I can . Are we done ?" I said collecting my belongings and getting up .
" Yes indeed we are " Dhruv said getting up too and sprinted towards the entrance door.
" Your friend is such an egoistic dickhead " I said nearly shouting and the library incharge glared at me and a few giggles from the students.
" Sorry " I said nearly in a whisper.
Akshay chuckled. " He's just had a bad day today, he usually isn't this harsh but I guess it's your bad day "
I rolled my eyes at him.
" Yeah another person trying to walk over me, anyways I'll get going " I said shrugging
" Well Tariq can cheer you up " Akshay said winking
" What do you mean ?" I said raising my brows at him.
" I always taught girls can know if a guy has the hots for her, that's what my girlfriend tells me " he said
" Well yeah indeed we know, but I'm not just another girl ain't I ? " I said shooting a wink at Akshay. He chuckled.
" Well well well Tariq has a handful to handle " he said
" Oh please! Tariq is just a good friend.I'm totally not his type or any guy's type " I said sighing
" Geez ease up girl! A girl with insecurity issues is a red flag for guys" he said
" Dude me as a whole is a red flag for guys, lI'm the shy awkward introvert. Don't you boys always like flirty confident girls? " I said rolling my eyes.
" Yeah cause they give us what we want,
THE ATTENTION"
" They have the most bland personality and an IQ of a 5 year old yet you guys act like the she has this mysterious aura around her"
" Okay wait are we here talking about a particular girl ?"
" The fuck you are coming or I'm dumping you're ass here with Ms.All knows it " we were interrupted by Dhruv's voice.
" Heyy enough with the names " I said annoyed. He didn't wait to listen to me as Akshay rushed behind him.
" Sorry darling we'll continue this chat later" he shouted while leaving. I sighed and picked up my books and dragged my ass out the library. It was half past five. Realising Kyra would have left by now I decided to book an Uber. Dad really should consider getting me a car.
" Someone's in a deep thinking mood today " I heard a voice and I turned to look at the owner of the voice. There Tariq came into view flashing his cute dimpled smile.
" Well yeah my ride ditched me " I said smiling. That's when I got a good look at him. I've never really noticed Tariq much since my attention was always towards Dhruv. His eyes usually got covered by his fluffy hair which sloppily falls of his face was now in a perm. It's Tariq's eyes that stands out among all his other features . His eyes were kind , with their inviting rich brown hue, a warmth emitting from them like an ambers reflection in the sun. In the sun , his eyes shine with patterns and flashes of gold, amber, honey , coffee , chocolate and bronze. I can get lost in those eyes.
" Take a picture it lasts longer " he said showing off his lopsided grin.
" You got a perm?" I asked. I noticed a little amusement in his eyes.
" Umm yeah , you noticed ?"
" Well it's a perm it's hard not to notice and yeah you're hair usually hides your eyes but now it's not. You should never hide you're best features "
Okay why am I saying all this ? I'm not supposed to show that I pay a lot of attention to people's features. There had been situations where people have found this habit of mine extremely creepy.
Tariq looked down and away finding it difficult to maintain eye contact with me and his ears reddened. Okay that's his way of blushing at my comment. I gave him a chuckle.
" Sorry if I made it sound weird "
" No it's just no one has ever said my eyes are my best feature "
" Well  they didn't get a good look at you " I shrugged.
" It's not that you always look at me" he said with a tiny hint of disappointment in his low adverb voice .
" I'm not any Joe Goldenberg, but I'll try to be hereafter if that's what you want "
He chuckled and said
" I'll give you a ride home , it's on my way before you try to decline "
" Please I never tell no to free food and ride " .
He shook his head laughing and guided me to his car with his hands touching my back as he did at the party. This habit of his is oddly satisfying for me like chills running down my spine but with a comforting feeling. He opened the front door to his dark grey Volkswagen Jetta and I hopped onto to the car while he closed my door and got on the other seat of the car. I lashed onto my seat belt and Tariq played some music.
" What were you doing till now ? " he asked
" I was with Akshay and Dhruv, we were working on the project"
"Oh yeah Akshay was telling me this afternoon"
" You and Akshay are pretty close huh ?" I asked
" Yeah he's been my neighbor for as long as I can remember and then same college too so we had to stick together " he said smiling
" Dhruv ? " I asked
" Dhruv is Akshay's cousin" he said
Wow. Okay that explains both of them always up each other's back.
" He's Menon and he's Mehta"
Tariq smiled and said
" Akshay's dad's a Menon and mom's a Mehta "
" That explains " I said grinning .
" Me and Akshay can bond over the South Indian background" I said
" Anyhow Akshay will bond with you, he likes all girls "
" I wonder if that's a compliment or an insult "
" you'll never know" Tariq said again showing off his lopsided grin.
" Geez you smile a lot" I said
" You should too , you shouldn't hide you're best features isn't it ? " Tariq said wiggling his eyebrows. My face reddened at his comment and gave him a smile spreading across my cheek.
" There you go, not so hard"
He's officially taking the place of cute
from Aarav. We reached home .
" Thank you for the ride , I owe you " I said and opened the car door that's when he got a hold of my hand . I turned to look at him.
" Go out with me " he said
Out ? What ?
I blinked at him to make sure I heard what he said .
" We are friends right ? We should hang out outside college too " he said nervously biting his lip
Duh ! He obviously meant as friends. Remember Zara you are a demagnetiser when it comes to boys.
" Yeah .... of ... course , why not ? " I said my words hanging in the air
" This Saturday works for you ?"
" Yeah totally " I said smiling
" Cool Saturday it is " he said grinning.
" I guess you can leave my hand now " I said motioning that he was still holding my wrist.
" Oh yeah sorry " he said
Then he got out of his car and opened the door for me again. He sways me with his chivalry.

The following week in college was pretty much the same boring classes and evenings me completely immersed in learning my design basics from Aarav. Friday evening we were sitting in this really cute cafeteria a few minutes away from campus. It's a tradition for me and Kyra to hang out every Friday afternoon here. The iced latte and biscottis here is heaven sent. Since Kyra had back to back classes she bailed on me today and I was too bored to go back home. So I dragged Aarav so that he can help me out in the recent work Dhruv dumped me on with. He's such a meanie. When I say this I mean it. He's been nothing but an asshole to me the whole week. I shouldn't shudder at his sight and be silent for all his snide comments but it's just impossible to talk back at him. He's a jerk who thinks he knows it all but keeps telling that I act like I know it all. Akshay keeps telling me that whenever he's in a mood he lashes out on new people . And these kinds of mood lasts for weeks with him. And I'm his target for his new found mood this past week. I needed a break from him so I stood him up today. He must have been  really pissed today I suppose . Well I texted Akshay and he was cool with it.
" Here's your iced latte and biscotti " I was shuddered from my thoughts by Aarav taking a seat opposite me with our coffees.
" Ah Thank you " I said taking a sip of my coffee.
" So I'll come to you're place tomorrow?" He asked
" Why ? " I asked still sipping my iced latte.
" We can use this weekend to get you to practice more on the deigns. Dhruv had given you some very complicated models " Aarav said
" He's just testing my patience. I don't know why I still have a crush on that asshole. He treats me like dirt and I can't tomorrow I'm going out " I said annoyed
" Maybe you should try talking to him about how he should treat you and you're problems instead of hiding it , I have no problem helping you out but he has to know too so that you guys can work it out and make it easier for you. "
" Maybe I should tell him but he already hates me if I tell this he'll hate me more that I'm some loser who's good for nothing " I said sighing
" Zara it's a group project and he's our senior he's meant to help you out . They didn't pair us up with seniors for no reason "
" Yeah you're right , I'll talk to Akshay first though he's more understanding "
Aarav nodded .
" So who are you going on a date with ? "
I choked on my drink .
" Why are telling me it's a date ?" I asked
" Cause it's Saturday and you're family never goes out on Saturdays , and you always mention if you're hanging out with Kyra or any of us , and you're social life pretty much sucks without us so I assumed it must be a date "
" Hey I do have friends beside you guys " I said pouting.
" Yeah sure " Aarav said smirking.
" It's not a date , Tariq is taking me out "
" It's a date Zara " Aarav said
" No you know right ? I don't attract men at all "
" Oh god ! You have to get over these stupid thoughts of yours. You are beautiful and honestly looks doesn't matter  "
" Then will you be my boyfriend?" I asked
" What? No !" He shrieked and said
" See ! You're shrieking even at the thought of this " I said defending him
" Sweetheart I cannot be your boyfriend but we can have fun you know I'm good in that " Aarav said shooting me a wink
" Ewww... that's not happening"
" You're loss" Aarav said casual shrugging .
" Are you showing our designs to the other team ?"  I heard Dhruv's husky voice taken a new epitome of growl . I turned to look at him . He was exceptionally pissed today.
" I ..... no ..."
Zara you gotta stop the shuddering in front of him !
" I was just helping her out " Aarav defended me . I nodded
" You are another team , I don't care if you are her boyfriend but those are my ideas." He hissed at Aarav .
People were starting to look at the drama happening in our table. I got up took Dhruv by his hand and pulled him outside the cafeteria which was very hard considering how firm he was on not to budge.
" Sorry , my design skills are horrible . I needed help , it was embarrassing to ask you or Akshay, cause you already despise me , I didn't want to give you a reason from my side to hate me more. And Aarav is not my boyfriend " I said
Really ? Not my boyfriend? Ugh great Zara .
" Monday , meet me in the library sharp at 3" he said and turned to walk away.
" I don't despise you" he said and walked away to his car.