Alia P.O.V.
Our shoot was finished and we were back home. It had been three and a half months since I'd moved in with Varun meaning we had just about a month and a half left before we could tell our parents it just didn't work and be done with it.
Varun was behaving strangely though. Ever since we'd come back, things had been odd between us. They weren't bad but very, very weird. He seemed to be determined to spend time with me, even lying to Natasha and telling her that he had shoot to spend the day at home chilling with me instead.
I brought it up twice but it seemed to offend him; he asked me if it was a crime for us to spend time together. Of course, there was nothing I could say to that so I just shrugged it off, deciding to be happy that we had the time to spend together and not question it.
About two weeks after we returned, Shashank and Karan called us into the office to show us the trailer. Given that we'd just finished our final song shoot two days before, I thought it was a bit fast but, from the looks Shashank was giving me, I figured he knew something was up. I hadn't told anyone but Shaheen yet but I'd had offered for some Hollywood fils that would be filming in London. I hadn't really been considering taking them but now the opportunity was beginning to seem like a good one, especially since my sister had told me that she does her best writing in England and was considering moving there for a while. The only drawback was that filming started in two months - right when our movie was slated for release.
I had the feeling Shashank somehow knew about it and wanted to start promotions as soon as possible. Given that Varun's last film had released just after we'd left for our outdoors shoot, we were just about in the clear to start promotions without having concerns about boring people. I figured we had about a week at most before the trailer released. Just as the thought came to mind, Karan voiced it. 'We're releasing on the 17th December.' he stated, pausing for the glance me and Varun shared as though he'd anticipated it. 'We know it's short notice but it's only two months until the film releases; if we want to have a chance at a proper promotional tour, we need to release the trailer within the week.' he explained.
'I thought Dharma's been cutting down on promotions though?' Varun asked.
'As a general rule, yes. But given the scale of this film and the extent of your combined fanbases, we thought it would be to our advantage to do a full promotional campaign.' Shashank told us.
'Okay. How do we do the trailer release announcement?' I asked.
'And please don't say a live chat. It's become overdone.' Varun said, reading my mind.
'I probably should've seen that one coming.' Karan muttered, getting a laugh from Shashank - who probably had seen it coming. 'Fine, no live chat... do either of you have any better ideas?'
'What about not announcing it? Just have a trailer launch?' I suggested.
'Idea has merit.' Shashank agreed. 'But what about media coverage?'
'Let the media in on it.' Varun put in.
'And if it somehow gets "leaked"?' Karan questioned.
'Come on, we can trust these people. We've been working with them for years now and none of them has ever let anything slip.' I persuaded. I got three incredulous looks. 'I mean movie related.'
'I don't know. It might get bad response if we do something like that.' Karan mused.
'What bad response?' Varun asked. 'If anything, it'll stop the trollers from preparing anything.'
'Yeah. Plus our fans are used to us springing things on them like this. They usually like it.' I pointed out.
'Come on Karan. It's a good idea. Start promotions off with a surprise like this. It's unprecedented.' Shashank convinced.
'Exactly! Nobody's done it before so there's no telling how people will react.' Karan countered.
'Karan, just because nobody's done it before doesn't mean we shouldn't do it.' I told him. 'Besides, the whole point is to do something different.'
'You three aren't going to give up on it, are you?' he asked. We all three shook our heads. 'Fine. We'll do a surprise release.' he finally agreed. Varun and Shashank pulled him into a hug, Varun catching hold of my arm and pulling me along while I laughed at the part-bewildered, part-disgruntled look on Karan's face.
***
Eventually, we decided that we'd lay a false trail and say it was releasing on the 19th just to ease Karan's sense of paranoia. Because we still didn't want to do something ordinary, me and Varun refused to be the ones to announce it. Of course, this further exasperated Karan but he relented quickly and let Gaurav - who wasn't a part of the film as far as anyone outside of the crew knew - make the first announcement.
When we let the others in on the plan, the found it more amusing than I thought they would but agreed it was a good idea. So we were all set for the trailer release. And then came the nerves.
As he always is in the lead up to a film, Varun was a nervous mess. It started out as a small about of anxiousness the day after we set the release date and quickly developed into a frantic panic. By the time the 16th rolled around, he was a nervous reck, fretting over what he should wear and how he should behave and what I would be wearing. 'Varun, calm down.' I laughed as he looked between his two outfit choices for the thirtieth time in two hours. 'This is your sixteenth film. Why are you so nervous?'
'Because I'm attached to this film. It's special.' he justified.
'You say that about every film.' I pointed out
'Yeah, but this one's just different. I dunno how to explain it. I just, it's like I'm more attached to this one.'
'We did spend a long time on this one. It's gonna be weird letting go of these characters.' I mused. He nodded his agreement before going back to staring at his outfits. 'Varun, I know you're nervous but staring at your clothes isn't going to help.'
'It's better than the alternative.' he mumbled, not looking away from the hangers.
With a sigh, I got off the bed and stepped up behind him, wrapping my arms around his waist and resting my head on his back. 'VD, you can't keep yourself up all night fretting over nothing.'
'It's not nothing.' he muttered.
'Okay, but you being exhausted tomorrow isn't going to be any good now is it?' He sighed, not giving me an answer. 'Come on, let's go to bed.' I told him, tugging at his hand gently. He let me lead him to the bed, flopping onto it with a sigh, pulling me down with him. Used to this by now, I let him, waiting until he was comfortable before making myself comfy.
'How are you so calm right now?' he asked.
'Do I have something to be nervous about?' I questioned, brow furrowing.
'Alu, it's the first time we're gonna be in front of the media together like this since all of this started. You know they're gonna take advantage of it.'
'Okay, so what? Just because the media is gonna ask questions, that doesn't mean we have to give ourselves more stress.' I reasoned.
'You're way too chill about this.' he said with half a laugh.
'Because I don't give a shit about what anyone says about my personal life. And you never used to either.' I pointed out. He sighed again, shifting his gaze to the ceiling. 'Is this because of Natasha? Because you're worried what she'll think if she sees it?'
'No.' he denied with a shake of his head. 'I mean, I know she's not going to be very accepting of the way we are and the way we behave but that's not what's bugging me.'
'Then?'
'I'm worried about you, about how they'll behave, what they'll ask. I don't want them to make you uncomfortable.' he admitted quietly.
'Varun, I don't care what they say. You know I never take any of it seriously.' I placated.
'I know. But that doesn't make me feel any better about it.' he mumbled.
'VD, don't let I bother you.' He looked at me like I'd gone insane. 'Your policy has always been in one ear and out the other, keep to that.'
'That's when it's me they're talking about. It's different when it's you.' he argued.
'Why?'
'Because I don't like to hear a bad word about you. I don't care who's saying it.' he told me. For the first time in months, I felt the once familiar fluttering of my heartbeat - or rather my heart picked up pace more than it usually did, surpassing the slight spike that happened so often that I'd gotten used to it over the past few months.
'Ignore it Varun. I mean it. Neither of us have ever cared about it and I don't see why we should start now.' I persisted. He nodded, still a little reluctant but seemingly willing to let it go all the same. I looked up at him and gave him a small smile before turning onto my side, fidgeting around to get the blankets out from underneath us and settling down to go to sleep.
I was just falling asleep when I heard him murmur, 'Maybe it matters now because maybe things are different now.' If I hadn't been on the edge of the void that was sleep, I might have asked what he meant. But just after he spoke, I tumbled over the precipice into a dreamless sleep.
***
The next morning was a hectic rush. Given the need to try to keep things secretive until the launch was about to start, we were to try and make it seem like our morning outings weren't movie related, so the both of us would go in different cars and meet up beforehand so we could make our entrance together. To give the photographers some time before the launch – and because Varun loves to make dramatic entrances – we'd once again be making an entrance on a bike – a quad bike this time – which was why we had to meet before the actual venue, only adding extra stress to leave the house on time.
Because Varun would be the one actually driving the quad he needed to get there first so Manoj would be picking him up twenty minutes before Sunil came to get me. This completely threw off our morning routine because it meant that Varun had to be ready first which meant he had to shower first. Used to having a lie in while I showered, the boy was reluctant to get out of bed first which meant I had to almost literally drag him out of bed. Given that it took thirty minutes to do so, our schedule was completely blown out of the water and our usual regard for space and privacy went out the window. Varun said nothing as I bustled about the bathroom while he showered and I didn't bat an eye when he walked into the closet, frantically searching for his leather jacket, while I was getting dressed. Thankfully, he kept his eyes covered as he walked in, allowing me to finish pulling on my top and avoiding another embarrassingly awkward morning, uncovering his eyes only when I told him to.
Due to his panic over his jacket – which I found in thirty seconds as it was hanging in its usual spot - he was only half dressed. He hadn't deigned to put on a shirt and apparently, the realisation that he had no idea where his jacket was had hit him as he pulled his jeans on because they were unbuttoned. He hair was a complete mess, the towel he'd been using to dry it slung around his shoulders. He'd done a supremely bad job of drying his hair; water still clung to his locks, occasionally dripping onto the floor or the towel or - as he shook a few strands from his face, hair flicking upwards - falling down to join the droplets scattered across his skin, merging with them and sliding down his body. My gaze caught on one as it travelled ever so slowly over his chest, down the well-defined line of his abs and the hard planes of his stomach, coming to a stop at the waistband of his boxers.
I felt his gaze on me, hot and heavy, and suddenly the air seemed to get thinner. But I didn't take my eyes off him, allowing them to linger at the spot where the water droplet had disappeared a moment longer before dragging my gaze back up over his body languidly, taking my time.
His eyes were dark by the time mine met them and he watched me carefully with them as I stepped forward, slowly, purposefully. Not saying a word, I reached my hands up to his shoulders and then, torturously slowly, slid them back around his neck, lifting the towel and gently drying off his hair. He let out a low sound, the most sinful thing I'd ever heard, and leaned his head back into the touch, his eyes closing.
I bit my lip as I debated what to do, my body hating my brain for its decision as I let my hands drop and stepped back. 'Hurry and get dressed before we're late.' I told him, keeping my voice soft, sensual just to tease him a little more. He blinked at me, astounded, and my heart hammered in my chest as I turned and left, a small secretive smile on my face.
***
I felt slightly bad when I got downstairs, realising that I'd just further delayed Varun and he wouldn't have time for any breakfast. Still, I couldn't find it in me to regret my actions, just decided to make him a coffee in his thermos cup to make up for his lack of nourishment. By the time I'd made his coffee, he still wasn't down so I called up the stairs, telling him to get his ass in gear and hurry the hell up. His reply of don't you mean my cute little ass? earnt him an unsavoury nickname for the morning and an eye roll he couldn't see but apparently anticipated if his call of don't roll your eyes at me, I'm coming, was any indication. I bit back the retort on the tip of my tongue, not wanting to delay him any further, and stood by the side of the stairs to wait.
He came rushing down the stairs at the same time as the double beep of a car horn sounded from outside, signalling Manoj's arrival. If I hadn't called his name, he probably would've run straight out the door but he stopped at the sound of my voice and turned to look at me. With a grateful smile, he accepted the lidded coffee cup I held out to him and dropped a kiss to my cheek before hurrying out the door. I stood statue still, staring at the spot where he'd just been in shock at the gesture, the domesticity of it; in all the time we'd spent behaving like a married couple, not once had either of us done something that so perfectly portrayed the act in the way that simple action did. Sure, the kisses were commonplace between us and I'd long since gotten used to them, even begun to expect them, but it felt different this time.
I thought on it for a moment and realised that the whole morning had been the same: one long, perfectly enacted scene of the life of a married couple as one might've found in the Karan Johar movies of old. The realisation hit me like a ton of bricks yet for some reason, I found myself smiling as I made my way to the kitchen, aware that I would just barely have time for some toast before Sunil would come to pick me up but I couldn't manage to feel sorry about it.
***
The launch was the most fun I'd had at a promotional event in a long time. Promotions with Varun were always more fun than they were with anyone else but, maybe because it had been such a long time since we'd last promoted together or maybe it was because everyone seemed to be in a playful mood, but it seemed to be more fun than ever.
When we got out and were in the car, Varun checked his phone, sighing as he saw his notifications. 'What's up?' I asked, looking to him and seeing the tired expression on his face.
'Nothing. Just, Natasha doesn't understand that this is work.' he sighed, showing me his notifications: half a million missed calls from his girlfriend.
'Wow, okay, she has zero chill.' I said, half expecting him to make some excuse in her defence but he just sighed and nodded.
'I've told her so many times that I can't answer the phone while I'm at work, that I usually don't even have my phone on me at work, but she just doesn't listen.' he complained.
'Did this happen when you were promoting last time?' I questioned, fairly sure the answer was no.
'Uh, no. But it happened a lot while we were filming.' he answered, apparently seeming to think it was perfectly normal.
'Varun, I hate to break it to you but your girlfriend doesn't trust you.' I told him, getting a confused look in response. 'It happens when you're with me, meaning she's checking up on you.' I explained.
'But what for? What does she think is going to happen?'
'Considering she thinks we're married, knows we're living together and has seen the way we behave together, I'd say she probably thinks we're sleeping together.' I deadpanned. His face went red and he spluttered something that sounded vaguely like preposterous, and I laughed. 'To you and me, yes. But think how it looks to her. Just like it did to all the guys I was with.'
'Well, yeah but it's still nuts.'
'That it is.' I agreed. 'But that doesn't stop people from believing what they want to.'
'So what do I do now?' he asked
'You figure out a way to show her that I mean nothing to you.' I answered quietly, as though I could take the edge out of the words by keeping my voice soft.
'So, add more lies to the list?' he sighed.
'No. Make it the truth.' He stared at me like I'd started speaking Archaic Latin and I looked away from him, the expression on his face something I didn't want to see.
A/N: cue the dramatic music.
Has Alia gone insane or does she have the right idea?
Will Varun listen or will he toss the idea out the window?
Find out this Friday 😁
That's all from us today. See you Friday