57 -
"TARAAAA", Darshan yelled at my ear and I rolled to the other side. "Wake up, we're going to Har Ki Paudi", he added with excitement.
This is annoying.
"We went last night", I said.
"Ugh", I sat upright. "Why did you take a shower?", I asked him.
"What, I didn't", he smirked.
"No, we're going there to bath only wear something that isn't like this", I got up looking outside the window. "You don't even have the decency to get tea or coffee", I added, looking at the chaos.
Now it feels like Haridwar.
"Apparently, this hotel does not has a kitchen", he rolled his eyes.
"There's a tea stall and Chinu is right there", I looked at Chinu who was getting tea packed.
"Show, show me", Darshan pushed me aside. "I knew obviously", he added. "Am I your servant? You need tea get it yourself", he said shutting the bathroom door close.
He didn't knew about the teastall, this idiot.
*
We all met on the main road.
"So, listen up, no. 1 ganga ji, no. 2 breakfast and then we can go shopping or anything as Nitya saw a market. At exact 4, we leave for Rishikesh. Clear? So, if you're not at the tempo traveller till 4 you as well may stay here. Okay?", Dhruwal instructed.
"Yes sir", we all said in unison.
"Waah, Dhruwal!", Darshan patted his shoulder walking besides him and I walked alone, putting earphones in my ear while I looked by the shops.
I'd a weird feeling in my stomach. I don't know how to explain it. I was feeling it. Maybe it was the universe trying to tell me something or maybe it was my sub consciousness building a defence mechanism, reminding me: it's too good to be true. Either way it was something.
*
We all reached at Har Ki Paudi and we occupied a distant ghat. The number one thing the boys did was take off their shirts and go in the water while I just looked on.
I've to mentally prepare myself to go in, and edure the coldness.
"Taran you gonna watch literally everyone is in here?", Hardik asked.
"I'm being the photographer Dick", I opened my phone while everyone posed.
There is a plastic mat that you'll see often being sold when you're on a ghat of Haridwar or any famous ghat in that perspective, it's to keep your stuff at it and sit down there.
I quietly laid back keeping Nitya's scarf on my face to escape from the sunlight and my head hurt.
I'm just feeling sad for no fucking reason on such a cool trip.
"Well, you look pretty suspicious over here. Keeping real quiet", I heard Darshan and I smiled under the scarf.
"I know you're not accusing me right now", I said.
"Not accusing. Just observing", he said. "What's wrong Vaid?", he chipped and I opened a little portion of the scarf to see him.
He had a towel hung around his neck in a U shape while his chain dangled around his chest.
Holy smokes.
"Stop checking me out! Didn't I ask you something?", he asked without looking, a smirk on his crimson lips.
I think he lowkey steals my herbal lip balm and applies it. How do you get so good lips otherwise?
"I am not checking you out, okay?", I lied, getting up. I slid my head on his shoulder. "I feel sad for some reason. I don't know what I want to do anymore. Can you ignore me for a while?", I said, shutting my eyes.
"Oh hell no", he stood up and held my wrist, forcefully making me step into the water.
A continuous session of Hardik trying to drown me and I trying to drown him while everyone else didn't interfered. It was good.
"First off she doesn't wants to go in the water, now she doesn't wants to come out", Rudra said sarcastically.
"Look at you, being jealous that she's beside Darshan and not you", Anuska joked and everyone chuckled expect Rudra.
Me and Darshan were standing next to each other, his skin on mine and although I did had my t-shirt on it was getting hot.
"So, those chains are for basically if you somehow go in the water you can hold it and stop there", he said and I looked at him mostly.
"I'm telling you Chole Bature", Nitya fought.
"Too heavy. Utpam", Dhruwal concluded.
"You know what", I whispered in Darshan's ear. "I really wanna do something to you right now", I pushed myself back while he stared at me for 15 seconds blankly before understanding what I meant.
"Aren't we at a religious place?", he said the stupidest thing possible.
"You're making out with me in the woods", I said, getting out of the water.
"No way in hell I'm gonna do that", Darshan protested.
"Do what?", Sid asked.
"Yeah, do what Darshan?", I looked at him pressing my lips while I dried my hair with a towel and Darshan threw me a look.
"Um, uh...wear a saree", he said and I snapped my head at him, suppressing my laugher.
"WEAR A SAREE?", Sid shook Darshan. "Bro, are you okay?", he chuckled.
"But it would be a nice sight to see him in a saree", Jyugal said.
"Acha, Jugni tu gaa ke suna na kuch. Rudra", Darshan said and Rudra upheld his vlog camera that slowly went into Jyugal's face after he hit it.
"They're going to do this shit, Yashika let's go change", Yashita said.
"You didn't asked me", I pulled a sad face.
"Aren't you gonna change with Darshan though?", Anushka said as we all looked at Darshan and Dhrwal laughing.
"Honestly, not that I would mind", I stated and Nitya hit me on the head.
"When was the last time you'd sex though?", Kriti asked as we got up.
"Hey, you all, we're going to get changed", Anushka said as we departed.
"It's been a month I guess. One month, 15 something days", I said.
"2 months", Nitya said, disappointedly. "He's busy you know", she added scoffing.
"Tonight, good things will happen tonight", Yashita patted her shoulder.
"I don't like making out in the hotel though. It's just weird", Kriti said.
"Reminds me of Ratlam", Yashika announced and I chuckled.
"Ratlam ki galiyon mei", I added in.
"Oh, Jab We Met", Anushka said smiling.
We reached at a private changing booth. It was five rupees per person.
"Did you get money?", I asked Yashika and she shook her head and pulled a face.
"I bought clothes", she said. "And a polythene to keep the wet clothes", she upheld the polythene.
Apparently, none of us bought our wallets.
"Bhaiya Paytm?", Kriti asked the cashier and he shook his head.
"Nitya", I called out.
"Hmm", she looked at me.
"Call Dhruw no", I requested.
"Arey but why him? You call Darshan", she said.
"I can but I won't", I shook my head lightly, winking at Yashika.
"No, seriously, Nits call Dhruw", Yashika said.
"You call Sid, why him?", Nitya asked.
"Sid and I, we don't do this. We have a strict no involving money in our relationship rule", Yashika said.
"Huh?", Nitya shrugged.
I called Dhruw, "Dhruw", I said looking at Nitya and she looked at me, pressing her lips.
"Haa Tara?", he asked.
"Nits is really missing you around here", Yashika took the phone from me while Nitya tried to take it away from us.
"You know if you could", then it went from Yashika to Anushka.
"Come and like be here", then it passed from Anushka to Kriti.
"Don't forget you wallet", Kriti said and then Yashita ended with, "she's waiting. Be quick".
"What the hell you guys?", Nitya made a face.
"Weren't you", I stretched the words.
"Missing him?", Yashika smiled.
"No absolutely not, I wasn't", she unfriended us in that moment.
Dhruwal came in while I was smoking WITH Yashika at the entrance of the booth.
"Where's she?", he asked.
"She's not here! You came late so she went with another dude", Yashika told him and he rolled his eyes.
"What's with the teasing?", Dhruwal said like Dhruwal.
"Nothing", I shook my head.
"So, listen, I'll do two things - no. one tell Darshan that you're smoking and then do this nothing with you both also, wait you both", he turned around to go.
"Do whatever you can but give us thirty rupees right now", Yashika went upto him.
"Why though?", he asked taking out his wallet.
"De na", she said and took it away from him.
"What if he really does something?", I asked Yashika.
"What can Dhruwal possibly do that will harm us?", she put her hand around me as we went inside.
*
So, we walked all the way to the resturant the boys had asked us to come to.
"I didn't understand, what's with this? If they've the privilege to change at the ghaat only doesn't mean they'll go first and start eating without us", Kriti complained.
"Don't you know how hungry men can be?", Anushka nudged Nitya.
"Fuck off", she said as we pulled the door of the resturant.
There were the guys, occupying so much space. We were a big group of course.
We walked upto them and & Sid was sitting in the corner, then Darshan and then Dhruwal. Across them Rudra, Hardik and Jyugal.
I sat beside Yashika, Nitya across me next to Dhruw.
We all ate talking about random things. Like I talked to the girls only and Hardik was talking about PlayStation 4 or something and how it's a dream.
Then Jyuagl paid the bill as we were gonna contri later.
Darshan was standing at the reception looking outside. I took steps towards him while Dhruwal went quickly and put his arm around Darshan and took him out. He turned and gave me a wink. Sid was already outside buying chips.
"You see what he's doing?", Yashika said.
"Clearly! We underestimated him", I looked at the walking. "You underestimated him", I turned my head to Yashika.
"Arey! But that I didn't knew na ki he's going to have the goa spirit near ganga", Yashika said and I chuckled.
After that we went shopping. I bought a slipper only and Dhruwal neither did let me talk to Darshan and when we were putting out stuff back he didn't let me or Yashika sit besides Darshan or Sid.
Wow! We teased him only once.
And we get this.
This behaviour.
Am I a touch starved teenager?
But then we went ahead on the mountains to Rishikesh. Yashika had her head on my shoulder while she took a nap and I wrote in my journal.
I wrote: sometimes i look at him and he's smiling so beautifully that i want to freeze in that moment and stay there and only there. he talks about growing old but it scares me, how do i say? and he wouldn't know, you know. because he hasn't lived what i've lived. seen things that i see. be what i have become. so let's just sit down quietly and absorb what we're now before it rushes away too fast for the eye to catch.
Bye bye Haridwar!