Hiii~ 🌷
Here's the chapter as promised.
I've never been to Nainital but I did as much research as I could to write about this trip. If there are any mistakes, please ignore 😅
Jaldi jaldi vote karo.
Also, should we do a QnA on my Instagram account? Please let me know🤍
Enjoy🫶
Author's POV
As they reached Nainital, a head count was conducted and after all the necessary checkings, everyone left for the hotel in buses arranged for them.
While Raghav, Prisha, Swati, Reva, Aarav and Anuv were busy talking amongst themselves, Siya kept staring at the surroundings passing by while Sid kept staring at her face which had a wide smile.
Soon, they reached the hotel and after having breakfast, everyone went to their allotted rooms to get ready. According to the plan, they were going to visit a temple located on the outskirts of Uttarakhand. Later, they would visit the bazaar for a shopping spree and then in the evening, they would go boating and explore the lake of Nainital for which Nainital is famous for.
Each suite occupied 4 people, thus, Siya, Swati, Prisha and Reva were allotted one room and they were super excited to spend time together.
The boys, Sid, Aarav, Raghav and Anuv went to their room, freshened up, got changed and reached the hotel lobby within half an hour. An hour passed by but the girls didn't show up.
Sid kept calling Siya but she didn't pick up his calls. The other boys tried to contact the girls too, but no response.
17 missed calls later, Swati finally picked up Aarav's call.
"Kya hai?" she asked irritatedly.
"It's been an hour. We have to go," he said.
"Let us get ready at least," she said, her tone laced with irritation.
"Haa poori trip khatam ho jayegi aur tum log ready hote rehna," he said, taunting her.
"At what time are we supposed to leave?" she asked.
"11am," he replied.
"What's the time now?" she asked.
He looked at his smartwatch and replied, "10:48"
"Abhi 12 minutes baaki hai, hume sukoon se ready hone do. Aur wapis call kiya toh hum block kar denge sabko," she said in anger and hung up the call.
"Ajeeb ladki hai," Aarav muttered to himself and informed the boys what Swati had told him on the behalf of all the girls.
Not wanting to get blocked by any of them, they kept waiting silently.
Soon, it was 10:55 and the girls joined the boys. While Prisha and Reva wore long kurtis, Siya and Swati were adorned in simple anarkali dresses with dupatta, jhumkas and bindi.
Sid, who was busy scrolling through his phone, looked up only to get starstruck by the beauty in front of him. Siya looked adorable in the anarkali and suddenly, everything else around them started to blur out of his vision, his focus fixated on the most important person, his Siya.
Aarav was mesmerized by Swati but would he admit it infront of her, never!
"Hayeee kitni pyari lag rahi hai meri besties. Nazar utarni padegi inki," Raghav said dramatically.
"Haa haa, utar lo nazar. Ye Swati toh pehli baar ladki lag rahi hai," Aarav said in order to tease her but he was completely oblivious to the fact that he unknowingly triggered some of her insecurities.
She didn't say anything and engaged herself in chats with Siya, Prisha and Reva.
Soon, they left in the bus to their 1st destination, Mukteshwar Dham temple which is located a bit far away from Nainital. It was Lord Shiva's temple.
When they got down, everyone started walking inside. Soon they reached the top of the temple after all the climbing but the view was totally worth it. Everyone was taking in the view, some capturing it through their cameras, while some imprinting it in their hearts.
While the girls and the boys were busy clicking pictures, Sid found Siya alone, gazing at the view deeply. He took the opportunity and made his way to her.
"Beautiful view, isn't it?" He asked in her ear and she flinched a bit.
"Sid, you scared me," she said, slapping Sid's arm slightly.
"Arey don't worry, tumhe dhakka nahi dunga yaha se," he said playfully.
"Very funny," she said and gave him a tight lipped smile that made him chuckle and she laughed too.
"Aur haa, the view is really beautiful," she said.
"Haa. Waise, you look beautiful today," he said and she smiled widely.
"Hai na? Swati aur mujhe pata tha that we would visit a religious place toh humne ek sath shopping ki thi. I love this dress, it's so damn comfortable. And it's pretty too, hai na?" she said, twirling around.
"Everything looks pretty on you," he said, giving her a cheeky smile.
"Let's go and pray," she said and dragged him along with her.
Everyone prayed and once they were done, they were roaming around exploring the place. Sid noticed a florist near the temple. He excused himself and brought a gajra for Siya.
While the girls were busy getting their photos clicked, Sid was contemplating whether to give her the gajra or not. But he gathered all the guts and decided to give it to her.
"Siya," he called her out.
She went near him and asked him what happened.
"I thought tumpe ye accha lagega toh I got this for you," he said, forwarding the gajra in his hand.
Siya's heart did somersaults at his gesture. She gladly took the gajra and tried to pin it up in her hair but she couldn't do it.
Sid chuckled which made Siya angry.
"Ab haste hi rahoge ya help bhi karoge?" she asked.
"Turn around," he said and carefully tucked the gajra with her hairpin.
Both their hearts were running marathons and all they could feel were butterflies swarming inside them.
While they were busy in their little moment, Raghav and Aarav snapped some pictures of them.
Swati cleared her throat to gain their attention which brought Sid and Siya back to their senses.
"Click pictures with us," Swati said and soon they got their group photo session done.
"Alright everyone, gather your stuff and get ready. We are leaving in 5 minutes," the staff announced and everyone got ready to leave.
The next destination was a local market. They roamed around in the market and bought some stuff for their parents and for each other too. While Siya was busy selecting jhumkas for herself, she saw Sid entering the shop along with Raghav.
"What are you doing here?" She asked.
"We want to buy some stuff for our moms," Raghav said.
"Okay," Siya nodded and got busy with what she was doing earlier.
Raghav started searching for perfect jhumkas for his mom and his 'friend' Ishi. Meanwhile, Sid had already selected a purse for his mother as she loves to collect them. As he was about to pay for it, a pair of anklets caught his attention.
'These would look perfect on Siya,' he thought. Without a second thought, he bought those anklets for her and stuffed the box in the pocket of his jacket.
After the long shopping spree, everyone halted at a dhaba to have lunch. After the lunch, they roamed around for a while and then finally left for their final destination of the day. After the journey of about 2 hours, they reached Nainital lake.
It was such a pretty lake. Anyone would drown in the beauty of this city and its lakes.
After having chaat and trying various types of food items, the boys and the girls decided to go boating.
Sid, Siya, Aarav and Swati went in a boat while Raghav, Prisha, Reva and Anuv went in the other one.
Sid and Siya were enjoying themselves to the fullest while Swati and Aarav were sitting in awkward silence. Aarav had noticed her change of behaviour this morning but he wasn't sure what exactly he did to piss her off as she was being nice to everyone but completely ignored him.
She looked a bit relaxed at the moment, so he decided to let her enjoy her moment and talk to her later.
Meanwhile, Siya was pointing at various things they could see from the boat like a little kid. Sid chuckled at her actions.
"Siya?"
"Hmm?"
"I have something for you," he said and passed her the box of anklets.
Siya quickly opened it and got extremely happy when she saw the anklets.
"You got payal for me? That's so cute. Thank you so much," she said excitedly.
"Did you like it?" he asked.
"I loved it!" she exclaimed and wore the anklets.
"How do they look?" she asked.
"They look very pretty on you," his comment made her blush.
"Waise, I have a gift for you too," she said and gave him the box that she was carrying.
He opened it to find a vintage watch.
"Siya. This is amazing. How did you know that I love vintage watches?" he asked.
"Jaise tumhe mere favourite dishes pata hai," she said with a wink.
"But it must be expensive, hai na?" he asked.
"Ab tum pyaar se diye hue tohfe ki kimat puchoge toh agli baar tumhe gift dungi hi nahi," she said and giggled.
"Sid, you have done so much for me. I can't thank you enough. And no, this gift isn't a token of thanks. This is umm....to celebrate our friendship? So I hope that you please accept it," she said with puppy eyes.
"Thank you so much," he said, quickly swapping his smartwatch with the watch Siya had just gifted him.
"Dosti mein no sorry, no thank you," she said dramatically. She was about to explain the movie reference but he said, "I know. Maine Pyaar Kiya movie ka dialogue hai."
"Thank God. You know something at least!" she said with a sigh.
Soon, the boat ride came to an end. Sid got down first and helped Siya to get down. Aarav dramatically said, "Mujhe bhi help kar na please," he said and Sid held his hand to help him but somehow, Aarav still stumbled upon something and fell straight into Sid's arms.
"Dekh ke nahi utar sakta kya," Sid said.
Aarav whispered in his ear, "What if it was Siya at my place? Tab bhi tu aisa hi bolta huh?"
Sid's ears turned slightly red after hearing his comment but this scene left Swati confused. She was curious to know what Aarav said to Sid that made him blush?
She cleared her throat, breaking their trance. Aarav quickly straightened himself and held his hand out to help Swati. But Swati being Swati, she royally ignored him and got down on her own.
Suddenly, it started to pour and everyone started running in search of a shelter. Aarav dragged Swati along with him to a nearby shade while Sid held Siya's hand and took her to the shade of a shop to save themselves from the rain.
Siya who was completely drenched by now looked divine in her white anarkali suit but since it was fully drenched, it made Siya a bit uncomfortable. Sid noticed her discomfort and immediately gave his jacket to her. She thanked him and sat on the bench in the shade.
She sat there, humming a song and moving her feet. Her humming, the sound of the rain and the anklets created a sweet melody. Sid couldn't help but admire her.
'I can listen to this melody of love for the rest of my life,' he thought to himself, with a smile dancing on his face.
Chapter Aesthetics:
Siya's Outfit
Swati's outfit
Nainital ki wadiyaan
The temple