I entered Asif villa opening the main door,scanned the living room to find nobody. Hearing some noises coming from the kitchen,i walked in to find Shaista Aunty making food,i tip-toed to her and hugged her from the back
"Assalamualaikum Aunty" i chirped
"Arre...Walaikum Assalaam,kab aayi meri beti?" She asked radiantly turning around to look at me
"Bas abhi" i said
"Accha kiya breakfast par aagayi,Chole puri banaya hai" she said patting my cheeks
"Nahi aunty me breakfast karke aayi hun" i replied
"Mujhe kuch nahi sunna,tumhari mama batarahi thi ke bohot laparwah hogayi ho khaane ke maamle me,dekho kese sukh gayi ho" she said feeling concerned
"Accha to ye saari baatein batayi jaati hai phone pe?" I asked folding my hands across my chest
"Kyun sirf tum best friends saari baatein share karsakte ho,hum nahi?" She asked mimicking me and i just chuckled at her cuteness
"Bilkul karsakte ho.." i said pulling her cheeks making a kissy face
"Accha ab jao aur dekho wo dono kahan hain,subah se nazar nahi aaye mujhe" she told
"Jee dekti hun" i said and left the kitchen.
I went upstairs and stood in front knocking their door but no voice came from inside,i twisted the knob and opened the door slowly to find nobody,i stood in the middle of their room and called out
"Oye mere mundeyon...kitthe hoo..?" i asked flaunting that little punjabi i know
"Itthe.." Shehry's voice came from the washroom
"Aur duja kitthe hai ?" i chuckled at my own fake accent
"Itthe hi" he replied
"Hain?" my eyes widened
"Don't tell me,you guys are taking shower together?" i asked raising my eyebrows in utmost shock
He broke into laughter and replied
"I mean ghar pe hi hai,must be in backyard" he stated
"Ohh..,i'll go see him" i said laughing and left the room
I walked through the hallway,opening the french door i entered the marquee which was set up in the backyard. Drawing aside the curtains i scanned the area to find Hussain standing near the trampoline working out,i tip-toed and hid myself behind the trampoline,i slowly crawled and reached the near spot where he was standing. He was totally unaware of me being here
3..2..1..
"Boo..." i go at his face loud enough
"Whoa.." he squealed in horror,not able to balance,he stumbled and fell over the ground with a thud
"Tu.."
I broke into guffaws holding my stomach seeing his horrified face,he still in ground breathing heavily and i laughed even more plopping on the ground next to him.
He lifted himself up,dusting off his pants and hands,he smirked at me. And turning around, he opened the tap and lifted the garden hose to his face widening my eyed
"No Sain,you can't do this to me" i said frightened and took a step back. He takes a step forward,water falling off the hose
"Pagal hogaya hai? Mere kapre geele hojaenge" i fake cried,both my hands in front to defense,i took few more steps back
"Tujhe ye pehle sochna chahiya tha" he said and lifted the hose in my direction
I started running and he ran after me,i bumped on to Shehry and quickly hid behind his back,Hussain not seeing him watered on him.A loud gasp escaped my mouth whilst Shehry who was all looking dapper in grey round-collared full sleeved t-shirt was wet now,he threw a look at Hussain who stood their pressing both his lips tightly controlling his laugh
"You are soo dead now" Shehry pulling his sleeves up,ran after him and there started their water fight,i stood their watching and laughing at them for a while,they were drained in water from head to toe.My eyes caught sight of a tap,i ran to it,closed the tap and detached the hose from it. I stuck my tongue out out at Hussain teasing him and Shehry laughed giving me a thumbs up. I winked at him. Hussain not giving up still ran to the tap by hopping into the huge trampoline but slipped and fell in it. Shehry and I got into it and started jumping,which made Hussain jump as well while still laying flat trying hard to balance himself,we were laughing madly,we had a ball in trampoline untill we got exhausted and laid there perpendicularly breathing hard,our heads touching eachothers.
"Aah...feeling good" Hussain stated
"Kasmay.." Shehry and I spoke in unison and chuckled at our coincidence
I smiled internally lying there watching the Sky thinking of those Infinite smiles,millions of memories,thousands of laughters,hundreds of fights and numbers of tears and all behind these the reason being only one,these two - My Best friends
After relishing Chole puri to the peak,we drove off to the mall. We bought musical and dance equipments needed for the studio,few interior decoration stuffs,wallpapers,etcetera.We paid the bill swiping our joint bank account credit card,and made the staffs deliver our stuffs at particular delivery address.After hours of power shopping we felt tired and cranky,so we headed to the food court.Whatever I order doesn't matter,it end up going in their tummys,though i ordered Mayyo fries,nutella parfait and peppermint hot chocolate,i only had peppermint hot chocolate all by myself,i now after years finally became cautious and order more than two dishes everytime,so that i can have atleast one all by myself.
Best friends, i tell you
We left the food court and the first thing our eyes caught sight of was X-box "Just Dance",we looked at each other and without further due we ran to it. A huge monitor attached to the wall,in which was an animated dance being played on,we have to dance accordingly to it,monitor screen scans our moves,those who match with it the most wins the game,we played the game three times,Hussain won the first round,and Shehry won the second,it was hard for me to match their level of dancing,when the third dance played i was soo happy to find out that it's a barbie dance,how bad a dancer a girl can be,no guy can do this better than her,I won the third round though Shehry gave me a tough competition,watching them moving on barbie's move was soo much fun but embarrassing as well,few people stood and cheered for us,but few passerbys gave us a weird look possible but who cares,we were soo high on life.
Hussain's POV:
We were strolling in the walkway of the mall when suddenly a girl bumped onto me making my phone slip out of my hand and fell to the ground but i catched it midway,but she lost her balance over her bags which fell to the ground
"Woah.." i uttered and bent down to help her pick up her bags
But she yanked her bag from my hold and stood up
"Sorry..mene dekh.." before i could complete she retorted
"You better be"
"Excuse me?" I asked confused at her rude reply
"Tum jese larkon ko acche se jaanti hun,khoobsurat larkiyon ko dekh kar jaan buch k dhakka dete ho" she said flipping her hair
I couldn't stop but laugh at her statement
Seriously? Itna attitude?
I chuckled but before i could say anything to her Iram came blowing the gasket and stood at her face
"Oh hello,usne apologize ki na,jabke galti sirf uski nahi thi,aapko bhi dekke chalna chahiye tha"
"Aap.." She was interrupted by a cute little kid who stood there shooking the girls dupatta
"Didi..didi..chalo na,mene icecream khani hai,aap itnaaaaa late karogi to melt hojaegi icecream" kid insisted her
"Haan" She said and went past by us harshly,dragging the kid along.
Shehry cocked an eyebrow and got a smirk from me,her angry reaction took us unawares.We went forward and started rubbing her arms at either sides as telling her to relax more or less sarcastically
"Kya hogaya yaar? Itna gussa toh tum kabhi nahi karti" Shehry asked
"I just can't stand such girls,i mean how can she judge someone without even knowing them,aur upar se itna attitude" she frowned folding her hands across her chest
"Wese larki dikhne me itni bhi buri nahi thi" i tried to tease her
"Seriously Hussain?" She asked with a disgusting face and i shrugged
"Chill yaa kishmish,she must have been in a hurry,hojata hai,it's okay" Shehry said casually,she threw a look at him and went frowning without saying any word.
We halted for some personal shopping,I showed Iram a maxi dress worn by the mannequins,but before checking out the dress,she searched for the price tag
"Bohot gandi aadat hai ye tumhari,pehle dress to dekhlo" i frowned at her
"It's beautiful,isiliye price tag dhoond rahi hun" She replied casually
"Sahi ki kanjoos hai,Alhamdullillah itna paisa hai,designer outfits bhi pehnti hai,price tag dekne ki aadat nahi choregi" i rolled my eyes
"Alhamdullillah hai,but iska yeh matlab nahi ke kuch bhi bina price dekhe lelun" she smiled at me
"Aadat daallo yaar kishmish,you are the future rockstar,aise kanjoosi nahi chalegi" Shehry said
"Wo pata hai kya karegi,outfits bhaade (rent) pe leke pehenegi,fuzool kharchi you see" i stick out my tongue at her,giving High-five to Shehry laughing. Her jaw dropped at first but later she spoke
"Good try but bad joke" she made a face and i grinned
"Aisa bhi nahi hai,har cheez ki price hoti hai aur price reasonable honi chahiye,chahe wo designer outfits bhi kyun na ho" she explained
"Excuse me?" a young man called us
"Jee.." i responded
"Sorry for disturbing but i need your help,do ghante se kuch dhoondraha hun aur mil nahi raha hai" He laughed
"Jee,how can we help you?" I asked again
"Actually lady,would you ?" He asked addressing Iram
"Sure" she nodded
"Mujhe apne special one ke liye birthday gift leni hai,yahan itne saare expensive products hain aur mujhe samajh nahi aaraha kya loon" he informed ruffling his hair
"Why don't you search for something special instead of expensive? aisa kuch gift karein jisse wo pasand nahi pyaar karein" She smiled
He shrugged not getting her
"If you could tell me who this special one is,i might help you in a better way,i mean only if you want to" Iram said
"Childhood Best friend" he uttered and earned a chuckle from us as we looked at each other
"Best friend ke liye itne formality karne ki zaroorat nahi,kuch bhi dedo,aur badle me khud party maango yaar.." i winked and patted his shoulder
"Nahi aap samjhe nahi,wo bestfriend hai but me usse pyaar karta hun aur aaj use...use dil ki baat batane jaaraha hun" he blushed
"Woo ooo .." Shehry and Iram cooed at him but somewhere it hit me,i forced a smile
"Uhm...wait" Iram informed and scanned the whole area and brought a dairy which was half pink and half red and had a silk bow tied over it.
"How about you write down your feelings in it for her in a very beautiful way possible ? Am sure you got an idea what to do further with it" she winked at him and a huge smile crept on to his lips
"Fantastic idea" he squealed
"Try to keep it as simple as possible and one thing not to forget,she is your best friend and not any random girl" she said emphasizing the last sentence
I know what she meant
"And this chocolate from my side" she said handing over a box of chocolates to him
"Oh please,no need of this" he said hesitantly
"Please have it,best wishes samajh ke rakhlein" she smiled
"Thank you,been a great help" he said gently
"My pleasure,she is lucky to have you" she gave him a assuring smile
"Nah..Am lucky to have her" he stated
"Boss,Dilwale dulhania lekar hi jaana" Shehry said putting his arm around his shoulder all friendly with a huge grin
"Best of luck Man" i greeted shooking his hand
"Thanks a lot" he said and left
"Banda bada pyaar karta hai" Shehry chimed
"Yeah but am afraid" Iram pouted
"Afraid of what?" Shehry asked
"What if all this doesn't turn out in his favour? What if she doesn't feel the same way he does? Am afraid,he might lose a best friend in this process"
Her face turned pale.And so did mine,my heart ached inside as if someone have stabbed a knife,that someone is no one but my best friend whom am in love with.The thought of losing her just shattered my heart into million pieces.
I can't lose my bestfriend
Am never going to confess my love to her
Just because of my one sided love,i can't afford to end my friendship with her
Shehry pressed my shoulder gently,breaking my chain of thoughts i smiled at him reassuringly but he didn't quite buy it
Isse koi baat chup nahi sakti
"Aisa kyun bolrahi hai? Dekha nahi kitna pyaar karta hai apni best friend se?" Shehry asked little upset by her response
"Haan,isliye i hope ke sab uske haq me accha ho" She gave a assuring smile
I smiled back not wanting my eyes to mirror the pain of my heart.It's hard, it's really hard but i've to do it.
"Accha ab chalein" i asked plastering a grin on my face to look normal
"Yeah..wait" Shehry halted rubbing his hands around the pockets
"I left my mobile in car,am going to get it,you guys carry on..i'll join" he said and left
We came out and i felt a hand on my shoulder
"You okay?" Iram asked concerned
"Haan,mujhe kya hona hai?" I smiled
"Kuch nahi.." she shook her head
Iram's POV:
"Kuch nahi.." i shook my head
He look lost,is he hiding something from me ?
We all of a sudden heard a girls scream from the exit area,we looked at each other
"Choro mujhe...help" again a voice came from the exit area but we were unable to see anything as the huge crowd was gathered
"What's happening there?" I asked
"Let's go see" he said and we ran towards the exit area
We moved the crowd and made our way to the point to see the same girl who minutes ago bumped on to Hussain was being dragged by few mens who more of looked like goons.
"Choro meri didi ko.." kid who was with her bit one of the goons hand,he yanked his hand and pulled him to the floor,kid dropped right at my foot
I gasped and lifted him up
"Beta aap theek to ho?" i asked cleaning his arms and knees
"Meri didi.." he cried
I turned to see Hussain standing next to that girl with one of his hands holding girls hand and the other firmly gripping one of the goons hand who was holding onto girls
"Chor uska haath" Hussain said,his eyes blood shot
"Teri pehn lagti hai ?" they chuckled
"Mene kahan chor uska haath" He spoke more sternly this time as if warning
"Chor diya" he yanked her hand out of his hold
Hussain gently pushed her behind him asked her to move back,she was all shivering out of fear,i took a stole from my bag and made her wear and tried calming her.
"Sain..nahi" i mouthed as my eyes welled up
"Hussain.." i screamed as i saw fist coming on his way from the left
He grabbed it midway and twisting it,he jabbed his knee on his back making him slid to the ground,he dodged another punch that came on his way and kicked another goon right at his abdomen,he too fell down moaning in pain,as i was standing there my eyes met a goon who slowly tip-toed to Hussain's back almost trying to jab him with a knife on his hand
"Hussain.. " i cried out in my fierce breathe
A hand came forward and held it strong enough that made him lose the grip over the knife and it fell to the ground,it was Shehry.
I exhaled a deep breathe with tears tripping down my cheeks
Ya Allah
"Ye kya hijron ki tarah peeche se waar karraha tha,jaa mard banke aa" Shehry punched him right on his face, he fell to the ground with the bleeding nose.
I cried looking everywhere for someone to stop them but no one dared to come forward,soon the manager along with securities and two police officers came up,and the officers took the goons under charges and left the mall
I instantly ran to them both and hugged them
"Guys...tumlog..theek to..hona..?" I asked panting
"Relax yaar...dekh hum bilkul theek hain" Shehry assured me and Hussain blinked his eyes once with a forced smile
"kya zaroorat thi ye sab karne ki? Meri jaan nikal gayi thi" i scowled at them
Shehry lifted his hand to my cheek and wiped away my tears and tried to calm me .
Shehry's POV:
"Meri wajah se ye sab hua,Am extremely sorry" the girl came forward with her heads down as she cried
"We are extremely sorry sir" the manager said feeling embarassed.
Iram who stood their frowning burst out
"Sorry? Are you even serious? Aap log aise kisi bhi gundon ko andar aane kese desakte ho,for god sake ye public place hai aur public ki safety aap ki zimmedaari hai" she yelled at the manager
"and Yeah..speaking of public," she continued in a mocking tone as she now faced the crowd which stood there watching all this going on
"Yahan kisi k saath bura horaha hai aur aap sab log khare tamasha dekrahe ho,agar aaj iss larki ki jagah aap ki beti,behen,biwi,maa,ya girl friend hoti to kya tab bhi aap isi tarah khare rehte? Aur ladies aap log,chaar haath bhi miljate na toh inn gundon ki aisi ki tesi kardete but nahi,aap logon ko to khade rehkar show dekna tha,to bas hogaya show khatam,ab jayein yahan se" Iram yelled at the crowd who stood with embarassment and later one after other left the area
"Aur aap manager,make sure ke next time se aisi koi bhi harkat nahi honi chahiye" she warned him pointing the index finger at his face
"Aap jayein sir,we are alright" Hussain said and he left
We heard that girl sniffle,i asked Iram to comfort her
"Jo hua so hua,sambhalo apne aap ko" she rubbed her arms
"Wese wo log the kaun?" Hussain asked
"Pata nahi,kaafi dayr se peecha karrahe the,isi jaldi me mene aapko bhi dhakka dediya tha,Am extremely sorry,mene bohot kuch kehdiya" she said and sobbed
"It's okay,galti meri bhi thi, mujhe dekh kar chalna chahiye tha" Hussain replied
"Agar aaj aap log nahi hote toh.." she trailed off and sobbed again,Iram pulled her in her arms
"Ssh..Aisa kyun sochrahi ho,agar hum nahi to koi aur hota" she pulled her away and continued "but promise me agar Allah naa kare next time aisa kuch hua to you'll try to protect yourself,hmm?" Iram asked wiping off her tear stains.She nodded with a smile .
"Ye hui na baat,ab chalo,we will drop you home" i told her
"Nahi,i've my car,aapne itna kiya yahi bohot hai mere liye,me khud chali jaungi" She replied sniffing
"Are you sure?" Hussain asked her
But before she could reply,a little voice came from behind
"Mai hoon na didi ke saath" he boasted and we smiled.
Hussain lifted him in his arm
"Bilkul janab...agar aapki didi ko kisi ne pareshan kiya to kya karoge aap?" Hussain asked pulling his cheek
"Me dhishum dhishum maarunga unhe" he replied throwing both his fists left and right on air looking hella adorable
"Baap re...to kya bare hokar aap super hero banoge like spiderman,batman,hmm?" Iram asked ruffling his hair
"Nahi me inn dono ki tarah hero banoonga,a real-life hero" he smiled gently addressing me and Hussain
Words failed in us as we stood there touched by his sentence.Iram kissed him on his cheek without saying any word
After saying goodbye to us leaving a peck on our cheek,he left along with his didi.
"Guys,Am soo proud of you" Iram said pressing our shoulder gently and we had a group hug,as her hand unintentionally touched Hussains he screamed
"Aah.." holding his one hand with other
"Oh my God,itni chot aayi hai" she gasped scanning his bleeding knuckle
"Kya yaar..." i exhaled
Iram grabbed him with her to the chair near by and made him seated on it,she pulled out a mini first-aid kit from her bag,she cleaned the blood using cotton and distilled water,she applied antibiotic ointment on his cuts and he flinched making her jump
"Dard horaha hai?" She asked tensed
He smiled and nodded.She blew air from her mouth at his cuts and finished applying ointment,she took a gauze and wrapped around his hands and finished off the dressing.She gave him a huge smile.She looked at me and i gave her a thumbs up.
Inn dono ki ye hansi aur khushi mujhe dil-o-jaan se zyada azeez hai,bas hamesha aise hi barkarar rahe
"Ab chalein?" Hussain asked and we all left the mall
"Hussain,let me drive,tum jaake peeche baitho" she ordered and he agreed.She ignited the car engine and drove off to our home.
Hussain's POV:
Shehry rang the bell and mama opened it with that ever so beautiful smile of hers but that soon fade away as she saw my hands
"Ye kya hua tumhari haath ko?" She gasped
"Kuch nahi hua mama,andar to chalo" i hugged her and dragged her to the living room were dad was present
"Hussain ye kya hua?" He raised a same question
"Uncle,aunty jab aapko pata chalega aapke shehzaadon ne kya kiya hai aaj toh you'll be soo happy" Iram said standing between them
"Kya kiya ?" they asked in unison and she told the whole incident.
"Ya Allah" mama uttered
"Tumlog theek to ho na? Zyada chot to nahi aayi?" Dad asked us both,scanning our whole body
"Nahi dad...hum bilkul theek hain,sirf Hussain ke haath me thodi cuts aayi thi but Kishmish ne dressing kardi" i explained and he felt relief
"Am soo proud of you beta" mama cupped our face as she got emotional. Dad smiled at us but didn't uttered anything but i know,he was proud of us as well
"Hanjee..have this" Iram came with a tray having two glasses of yellow coloured drink
"What's this?" Shehry asked furrowing his brows
"Haldi ka doodh" she replied handing us one glass each
"Am not being a guinea pig to you,i suppose?" i creased my eyebrows at her
"Pehle first-aid without any nursing experience aur ab ye haldi wala doodh" i gulped
"oh ho,chup chap pilo,it's a natural antiseptic" mama frowned "And it helps in relieving pain" Iram finished her
"Sab star plus ke dramon ka asar hai" Shehry shook his head dramatically, dad and i laughed along with him and earned a hit on arms from the ladies
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