Virat's POV -
I entered the dorm to relax but I saw Sakshi, Ritsy and Ananya with Mr & Mrs Dhoni sitting together. Sakshi was going on and on about one of her and Mahi Bhai's legendary fights and they were all having a good laugh at that. It was the first time I saw Ananya so happy. I cleared my throat to gain their attention. They all glanced my way and Ananya skipped towards me like a kid and taking my hand in her's dragged me to where her parents were sitting. I greeted them and they smiled at me. Although I was meeting them for the first time but their was something that made me feel comfortable around them. Just when I was going to take a seat beside her father when Mahi Bhai's face crossed my mind and I stopped. I stood straight and they all glanced at me probably confused by my sudden change of behaviour. What was I going to do? I was gonna sit beside the people who were responsible for every single tear of my best friend from the last 7 years. I couldn't do it. I felt like if I did so then I'll be betraying him. It won't feel right but why does it don't feel wrong?. The battle of whats wrong & right continued between my heart and brain.
"Whats wrong Vee Bhai?" , Sakshi asked ending the uncomfortable silence.
"I can't.. I really can't.. ", I whispered.
"What? Are you okay?" , Ananya said looking worried and came to stand by my side.
"Son I understand if you don't want to talk to us", Uncle said keeping a hand at my shoulder.
"And tbh I feel happy seeing this hesitation in you. It means you care about his feelings.We have been a bad family and we were never there for him but all this while you are the one who kept him sane. Ananya has told us everything about you.Thanks for keeping her secret and don't worry we'll tell him about her as soon as this annual celebration thing is done. I don't expect you to treat us as your best friend's parents but I do have a request if you don't mind" , He added with a smile at his face.
I was left dumbfounded by the way he understood everything without me even uttering a word about it. He seemed like a great person not a bit like how I pictured him all these years. I used to think he would be some rude arrogant businessman who would care about money and nothing else. To him what others feel will not matter at all but here he stood infront of me leaving me completely speechless. To say I was surprised would be an understatement.
"I know I am no one to tell you what to do and what not to do but it would mean a lot to me if you'll listen to what I has to say" , He said snapping me out of my thoughts and I nodded as a cue for him to continue.
"Mahi trust you a lot. He would be hurted badly if he will come to know about you keeping Ananya's real identity as a secret from him. We want you to step out of this mess" , He stated.
I was taken aback by what he said. I glanced at Ananya straightaway and saw her smiling at me. It didn't took me a second to figure out the person behind all this. It's her. She want to protect me. She knows very well the significance of my friendship with Mahi Bhai in my life. We both might not survive without each other but as much as this sounded like the perfect thing to do I felt wrong about it. It would be so cowardly of me to walk away from the reality and watch everything go down from the front row. I can't leave Ananya alone in this. I snapped out of my thoughts as soon as Ananya crossed my mind. Right then I knew my answer.
"Thank you so much uncle for looking out for our friendship", I cooed gratefully then I glanced at Ananya for a split second before meeting his eyes again.
"But it is not what I want. The day Ananya tell him about her identity I wanna stand right next to her and tell him that I knew it. It will hurt him hell its gonna be tough for me as well. I know how much he trust me. If I have started this then I will be the one ending this. Its already done and me, you or anyone else can't change it. I will tell him myself that I knew all this. I will face him myself not from the front row but standing right in front of him. Only that way I'll be able to do justice to our friendship" , I said and felt like some burden has been lifted off my chest.
I saw pride in his eyes and not just his but each one of them had proud tears in their eyes. I felt a tear roll down my cheeks as well. It wasn't out of guilt that I had felt in last few days but they were happy tears. I felt light telling out all that to him.
"Thats exactly what I told them you'll do bhai. We are not gonna leave Ananya alone in this" , Sakshi said giving a soft squeeze to Ananya's hand.
"Ananya have all of us", Ritsy added happily.
"I am proud of my kiddos choices of friends", Devaki aunty said grinning at us.
"Honestly aunty there is nothing in this world that I will take in exchange of Mahi Bhai's friendship" , I replied and her smile only grew.
"You're a great human being Virat. I'm happy that he met you", Uncle said patting my back.
"Oh god I am so foolish I haven't even introduced myself fully yet. I am so sorry uncle and aunty" , I said smiling sheepishly.
"I am.... " , I started to say.
"Virat Rawat the eldest of the Rawats siblings. Mahi's best friend more like a brother. If there is someone he trust with his life then its you. You met him the very first day when he came here. You're his smile keeper..." , Aunty chirped and I nodded.
"Also stop with this aunty and all. Call me 'mom' instead. You're my son's best friend" , She stated happily.
I smiled at her and nodded. They both seem like such great people. God only knows what went wrong with such a perfect family.
"I know what you must be thinking son but believe me its not our place to tell you that" , Uncle said smiling sadly and I nodded.
Mahi bhai rarely talks about his family but I know there are things I don't know about his past. He was a kid back then. A kid leaving his family behind is not something common. There must have been a big reason that forced him to take such a big decision. Also the fact that they never showed up here before Ananya came here makes it more complicated. I didn't wanted to know the reason or go into the depth of the hidden secrets. All I wished was the happiness of this family. Its tough to see someone you love treat you like a stranger. Mahi Bhai need to overcome the demons of his past to live happily. I see pain behind his smiles. I see emptiness in his life. I can't always stay by his side. He need to have more people whom he could trust fully apart from me.
"Let's get something to eat for you guys", I said and walked outside making my way towards cafeteria.
"Virat wait!!" , I heard Ananya call out for me.
I gave her a confused look and she awkwardly shifted at her position.
"What?", I asked when she didn't say anything.
She started to play with her dress's hem something she does when she is nervous. What is she upto this time?. I turned to walk away before she start with one of her 'STAY AWAY FROM ME blah blah blah blah' lecture.
"Viraaaattt" , She called out again and took few steps towards me.
"Yes Ananya?" , I asked irritated by her childish behavior.
She cleared her throat and tugged few strands of her hair behind her ears which came out by running behind me I guess.
OKAY BUT NO MATTER HOW MUCH SHE WAS IRRITATING ME BY THIS WEIRD BEHAVIOR, SHE STILL LOOKED BEAUTIFUL WITH THAT NERVOUS LOOK AT HER FACE.
Urgh Virat Rawat snap out of it you idiot!!!!.
When she didn't say anything again and kept looking at me like I have grown two heads I turned to walk again but I knew her stubborn self will follow me and stop me again in next 7 seconds so I started the count down beforehand.
7......6.....5....4...3..2 & here I turn. My sudden turn took her by surprise and she stumbled back after nearly colliding with me but my reflexes were fast enough and my hand reached out for her before she fell.
I pulled her up and she collided into my chest. I DID IT ON PURPOSE. Okay now stop eyeing me that way y'all!!!.
"Youuuuu.." , She huffed as she kept her hands at my chest to get out of my grip but I just tightened it smirking a little as I heard her swear under her breath.
"LANGUAGE YOUNG LADY" , I said winking at her and she rolled her eyes.
CUTE.....I HEARD MY CONSCIENCE SHOUT IN MY HEAD.
"Will you let me free now?", She asked pouting.
"Not till you promise not to follow me like a stalker like hey I know I am irresistible but don't be so obvious if you're stalking me. It is embrassing" , I stated holding back a laughter seeing her eyes getting wider & wider with my every next word.
"You're sickkkk if you think that. I was just.... I wanted to... I came... uh-huh nevermind" , She ranted.
"God this girl has lost her senses because its way too overwhelming for her to stay in my arms. Ananya I didn't took you as one of those people who...." , I teased her.
"Who what? Shut up... Will you? I just wanted to do something", She said with a red tinge at her cheeks.
"The blush at your face tells me your intentions aren't good. Well did you came to harass me or something? You know you shouldn't think of kissing a boy when your parents.... " , I stated to add fire to our teasing session.
VIRAT - 1 , ANANYA - 0. Ha.
"Shut up or I'll murder you any second" , She said punching my chest.
"You're threatening me now. You really have lost your senses today. Who are you and what you did to my shy Ananya?" , I asked chuckling a little earning an unladylike snort from her.
"You talk way too much" , She said looking in my eyes with a mischievous glint in her eyes.
Before I could figure out what was happening she started tickling me and I lost my grip on her as she jumped out with a victorious smirk playing at her lips.
"Oh no! you did not Miss Ananya Singh Dhoni" , I said taking threatening steps towards her as her eyes grew wider and she started to look around for an escape.
Sad for her as we were in a closed hallway which separated dorms from the main building. I did a little victory dance knowing I had a upper hand this time. I will have the last say no matter what. I evilly grinned at her but what she did next took me by surprise. Instead of running away and hiding somewhere she took a step ahead and hugged me. It took few second for me to realise she was actually hugging me. I stood like a statue not being able to process the sudden hug from her. I am not used to getting something like this like a way to show affection from her. Honestly when you come to know Ananya you understand well that she isn't the most affectionate person out there. Apart from Mahi Bhai or Ritsy and surprisingly Sakshi these days I have never seen her showing someone that she care about them. Don't get me wrong she might be the most caring person I have ever met but she is not a big fan of showing how much she care about them to people she love.
"I am sorry I just wanted to thank you. I didn't meant to make you feel uncomfortable by... " , She started to rant as she stepped back to leave looking a little embarrassed which left me slightly confused but then it hit me.
I didn't hugged her back or atleast acknowledged what she did. She started to turn to leave when I hugged her from back. She stilled for few moments but then relaxed.
We stood in a comfortable silence like that till someone cleared their throat and we both stood straight glancing around for the person behind this sudden interupttion. I turned and found a smirking RITSY with an evil like you know that extremely playful glint in her eyes.
OKAY NOW THIS IS AWKWARD.
"We were just..."
"Its nothing like what you think"
Me & Ananya said at the same time and her smirk grew.
"I better leave and go get some snacks", I said to escape the situation and started to walk away.
"Sure sure by the way don't worry I'll keep this a secret" , Ritsy said and I rolled my eyes giving her an thumbs up while Ananya gave me one of her famous 'Shup up' looks. I winked at her before walking towards the cafeteria.
"WHAT ABOUT YOURS 'Ewww, never in my life will i date my brother's best friend' NERDY? DOESN'T SEEM LIKE YOU FEEL THE SAME NOW " , I heard Ritsy say loud enough for me to hear and I chuckled.
This girl is crazy. I kinda like her as a friend. She is someone who is always there for you. She can make you laugh in the worst of times and well its better to stay in her good books because once she gets mad you're screwed bro. Remember what she did with Nate?. Haha that a hole deserved that though. I am happy Ananya have someone like her as her best friend.
People often underestimate this word 'Best Friend'. Its not a tagline or a label. Its a responsibility. When you call someone your best friend then you're automatically accustomed to deal with all their problems & give them the best of solutions and well if you fail to give the solution them solve it by giving them a bigger problem so that they forget about the previous one. SIMPLE.
KIDDING. DON'T GO AROUND GIVING MORE PROBLEMS AS THE SOLUTION OF YOUR BEST FRIEND'S PROBLEMS NOW. OKAY? yeah.
Sometimes all we want is someone to listen to us so the key rule to become a best friend is to LISTEN. Now enough of my philosophy on BEST FRIENDS AND STUFF. Let's get back to the drill.
I returned with coffees and snacks. I told them few of the best memories I have with Mahi Bhai and they seemed to be actually interested in knowing more about him and his choices. This gave me a kind of satisfaction. They're not here to force themselves on him. They're here to win him back just like Ananya. Ritsy kept giving me and Ananya teasing looks but we successfully ignored them.
YOU KNOW THE MOMENT WHEN YOU FEEL LIKE YEAH THIS IS PERFECT BUT THEN UNIVERSE SHOWS UP WITH THAT ONE SCENARIO OUT OF ALL THE INFINITE POSSIBLE SCENARIOS THAT JUST RUIN EVERYTHING.
Just like that we heard the sound of someone coming towards the dorm. It could have been anyone but universe has its own ways to turn everything upside down so it happened to be the one person whom I least expected to be here at that moment, Mahi Bhai.
We all stood up abruptly. Devaki aunty tried to reach out for him but he held out a hand distancing himself from her.
"Mahi", Uncle said in a broken voice.
A voice that held no emotion yet spoke so many words.
Mahi Bhai looked distant as if trying to reason his own actions to himself.
I saw tears roll down Ananya's eyes. Mahi Bhai glanced at Ritsy and she took Ananya in her room followed by Sakshi who seemed ready to cry as well. He turned his gaze back to his parents. His mom was continuously crying. It hurted me as much as it was hurting them. I wanted him go & comfort her. I wanted him to hug them and leave everything behind but I knew his anger is still bigger than anything, the love or care or affection and it worried me a lot. He started to walk past them and before I could stop him or say something Aunty spoke up.
"Mahi wait just let us explain. We're sorry", Aunty said and he stopped in his tracks.
"Explain?", He said in a low voice chuckling.
God this is not good. This is not even bad because this is worst. This shouldn't have gone this way. I need to do something but what?.
"Explain what mom? Or should I call you Mrs Dhoni. Apologies for my behaviour but you lost your chances of explanations a long time ago", He said looking them in their eyes.
To be honest the person who is speaking can't be the Mahendra Singh Dhoni I know. He is kind hearted and loving. The person standing in front of me had this darkness around him which frightened me in so many ways.
Tears started flowing through his eyes and he turned not wanting to show himself getting weak.
"What is going on here?", Yuvi asked as he entered.
All others silently followed him. Shit this is not good at all. I should have taken them somewhere else. This is all my fault. Neither of them were ready to face each other this way yet.
His mother's sniffles were only audible sound in here. He turned and glanced at us all not sparing his parents a single look.
"Nothing just Mr and Mrs Dhoni over there were leaving right now", Mahi Bhai seethed through gritted teeths.
They all gasped as the realisation dawned on us. Hazel started to walk towards him but he stepped back. I took into his parent's condition and it hurted me a lot. No parent deserve to be treated like this. They started to leave but I blocked their way. He need to face them someday. Its better if he overcome the demons of his past and stop letting them destroy his present and future.
"Bhai don't do this", I said looking into his eyes.
I knew what I was doing will be wrong in his pov but I needed to do this. I am tired of seeing him getting hurt. I know all the pain he had went through. I have seen him cry all because of his family. I had to do it for him.
I dared to meet his eyes and all I saw was emptiness. He seemed lost. One look at his face and I felt like someone have just passed a dagger right through my heart.
Hazel tried to interrupt but he stopped her. He took a step towards me but before he could reach me a whimper left his mouth. He held onto his head and cried in pain. I rushed towards him but he stepped back. I stood helpless as he crouched down and lost his consciousness infront of me.
We tried waking him up with water and stuff but his body's temperature started rising suddenly. Afraid I called Dr Armaan and he came up with an ambulance. They took him to the hospital after a brief discussion with Dean and his parents.
Me & others followed them by cars and gave the responsibility of handling things till we're back to Priyanka and called Ajju Bhai & Zee To help her. Thankfully they were free and agreed to come over to help.
We reached the hospital and they plugged him in to those weird machines. My heart was beating abnormally seeing him on the hospital bed again. Not able to control anymore I rushed inside the hospital room although we were asked to stay outside.
"Bhai bhai I am sorry please wake up bhai", I helplessly cried hoping for him to wake up and hug me.
"Please step back. We need to do few check ups on the patient", The intern who was handling Mahi Bhai other than Dr Armaan stated.
Everyone told me to stay calm and that he can't hear me right now but I knew he heard me. My Mahi Bhai will hear my voice from miles away.
5 Hours Later
"He will wake up anytime now", Dr Armaan said.
"You said the same thing 2 hours ago", Hazel said sighing.
"I will come back again", He replied and came out.
I entered the ward without permission ten times in the last few hours so they banned me from entering. Dr Armaan made sure that they don't kick me out of the hospital but he asked me to be a little patient and that he will allow me in once he wakes up. I was counting every single second.
"But ummm Virat actually everyone of you guys I have something important to tell y'all" , He said looking a bit unsure glancing at Dean who nodded his way.
I looked between them confused but then it dawned at me. Its about Mahi Bhai. We followed him into his cabin and he started to explain us what happened.
"Its called trauma in medical terms but its not due to any physical pressure or exhaustion but it happens when the patient experience something that challenges his emotional balance. This might sound simple but it can be lethal at times. Mahi already suffered a big head injury. As much as I have known that boy he is not someone who can be easily traumatized. I am afraid if something like this happened again he will suffer an amnesia or a total memory loss. It might get even worst and he lose his mental balance and well it's most severe case is one in which a patient's mind stops working and you know what that leads to. Right? The point of telling y'all this is to be extra careful around him. Don't let him feel insecure or alone. I don't know why this happened today but if it happened again we might not be able to help him" , He finished and I could feel everyone's eyes on me.
I should have been there for him. I failed to protect him.
"Nobody tells him about it" , I whispered but I knew everyone heard because of the pin drop silence.
"He need you guys" , Dr Armaan said patting my back.
"Dr the patient is awake" , A Nurse entered and informed Dr Armaan.
He took into our conditions and suggested us to get ourselves together before coming to see Mahi Bhai. We agreed and took few minutes before we went back.
We all rushed inside the room & relaxed seeing him conscious. I rushed to my side but he ignored. I was hurt and wanted nothing but to crawl into my bed and wake up with all this just a bad dream but it was all reality and I had to live it.
Sensing the tension in the atmosphere Dr Armaan cleared his throat gaining our attention.
"You went in trauma. Your injury hasn't healed yet. It seems like you are running away from something. It happens when patient undergoes a situation in which he want to erase something from his memory. It is uncommon but common in the cases of head injuries", He explained.
"Sorry Mahi we put you under so much pressure knowing your condition. We shouldn't have let you take all the burden of Annual Celebration at your shoulders. Please forgive me kiddo", Dean said walking to his side.
"Don't blame yourself please", Mahi Bhai requested.
"We should have let you rest", Hazel cooed sadly.
"I would have gone crazy that way. You know I can't sit soundly without doing something" , He said chuckling to light up the atmosphere I guess.
"Mahi I have prescribed some tablets. Take them for two weeks. I will keep checking on you from now on. Don't want my little friend getting sick now do I?" , Dr Armaan said smiling at him. He smiled back.
"So he can go back now. Right?"，Yuvi asked.
"Well you can take him but make sure such thing doesn't happen again" , Dr Armaan said sternly.
Mahi Bhai caught it right at that moment and he glanced expectedly at us. I knew he understood that we're hiding something. It would have been difficult to keep it a secret if he wouldn't have just let it slide like that for some reason. I sighed in relief so does everyone else.
I messaged Michael to help Mahi Bhai up and take him to my car because I knew him too well and there was not a single chance for me to get away so easily after what I did.
Michael helped him up and he gratefully nodded at him.
I silently followed and Yuvi brought his car to the entrance of hospital giving me a helpless stare. Mahi Bhai must have asked him. Well then lets be as stubborn as he is being right now so I decided to go in that car but before i could follow in and sit in the same car as he asked Pia & Hazel to come with him loud enough for me to hear. He ignored my gaze all this while and I wanted nothing but to squeeze him with my famous 'cheeky choking hug' for using all these tactics to keep me away but my dearest Mahi Bhai its me your Cheeka Bean and you know very well that these tactics won't work for too long. Yuvi started to drive towards the academy and I followed them.
"Virat Ananya asked me to bring you with me. Her parents want to talk to us", Sakshi said as soon as I got out of my car.
I glanced at Mahi Bhai and he was busy talking to Pia. Well I can leave him alone for few minutes.
"Where?" , I asked.
"In music room", She replied and we left for music room.
"Bhai don't worry about him this much as long as he have you and all of us by his side he'll be fine. You look so pale and distracted. You should rest for a while" , Sakshi said stopping me.
"I am fine" , I said.
"Yeah thats why you were gonna walk right into the wall" , She said and I snapped out of my thoughts and saw a wall infront.
I scratched the back of my head in frustration. God its just that I want to look after Mahi Bhai right now and nothing else. Everything else seems so unnecessary.
"Its okay Bhai I am just worried about you" , Sakshi added giving a light squeeze to my hand and walking into the music room living me behind.
VIRAT RAWAT YOU SHOULD HAVE BEEN THE ONE LOOKING AFTER YOUR YOUNGER SISTER AND HERE I AM GETTING HER WORRIED FOR MYSELF. I NEED TO GET MY SHIT TOGETHER. YEAH MAN I CAN DO IT.
I followed her into the music room and closed the door behind me.
"Kids I got a call" , Uncle said in a hurry.
Looking by how Ananya's expressions changed it seemed like she had no idea about this call before. OKAY SO IS HE TELLING US LIKE ME, SAKSHI AND ANANYA FOR SOME REASON OR?.
"There are few people out there who want to reach out to Mahi. I have managed them this time without giving the clue of whereabouts of Mahi but I want you all to think hard and tell me if you have seen him meeting strangers lately? Like anyone who don't belong to this academy or someone you have never seen around?" , He asked being way too calculative and hiding the identity of those people fully.
I found it creepy. Why would Mahi Bhai meet strangers and who're the people trying to reach out to him? Are they good or are they dangerous?. Countless number of questions popped up in my mind but I kept quiet. Instead of asking him or giving him away anything that Mahi Bhai wouldn't want them to know I preferred to stay quiet and decided to ask him myself when we're done with this annual celebration.
"No he is always with us. He isn't meeting anyone from the outside world"
"I have never seen him talking to someone I don't recognize"
"He rarely leaves the academy premises and if he goes out then we're always together"
Me, Ananya and Sakshi answered together.
He relaxed visibly so does Aunty who seemed lost all this time. They were hiding something not just from us but Ananya as well.
"His grandfather visited today" , Sakshi whispered and their faces turned pale.
"Ananya did you meet him?" , Aunty asked and Ananya shooked her head.
"Is he by any chance here for annual celebration?", Uncle asked and we three nodded.
"Thanks kids now you can go we have some business to look into" , He continued and we nodded.
We three were walking back to dorm when I remembered that Mahi Bhai isn't in the dorms. Pia messaged me to come over at Dean's residence.
"Girls I'll see you both later. I need to check on him" , I said before leaving.
I saw his parents leave the residence when I got there. They came here. Didn't they said that they have some important business to do?. These people are so full of secrets. Pia asked me to go into the guest room where Mahi Bhai was staying. I knocked twice.
"Yes" , He said.
"Can I come in?" , I asked.
"NO" , He replied in an irritated tone but he knew me well enough to know that no matter what he says I am gonna enter the room.
I took a deep breath and counted 1..2..3 to hold my nerves.
"Bhai I am sorry and I need you to forgive me. Also puleeeeezzzz talk to me... " , I said in one breathe barging into my room.
"Didn't I told you to not come into the room?" , He said trying hard to not roll his eyes at me.
Well its good he didn't rolled his eyes because if so then I deserve an oscar for my dramatic entry not an eye roll.
"Bhai say something", I demanded.
"Chee... Virat I don't want to talk right now" , He said.
S. T. U. B. B. O. R. N.
"DON'T VIRAT ME YOU MR MAHENDRA SINGH DHONI. I TOLD YOU I AM SORRY. COME ON JUST THIS TIME. WE HAVE TO PERFORM TOGETHER AND WITH ALL THIS 'BROkenTENSION' BETWEEN US I WON'T BE ABLE TO PERFORM" , I said.
"BRO WHAT?", He asked confused.
"BREAK UP IN BROMANCE LEADS TO BROkenTENSION", I said in a duh tone.
"It isn't even a word" , He said rolling my eyes.
"God Bhai don't be a 'This isn't even a real word' Nazi. Feel the word instead of looking for it in the dictionaries. Every word must have been said the first time. Lets just say I discovered this new word. Generations will remember me.... " , I started to rant.
"INVENTED NOT DISCOVERED CHEEKU" , He added in between my rant.
"There he goes again now you're being a 'Science Nazi'. Live free Bhai. Its our life. We can call 'discovered' instead of 'invented'. We can do whatever we want.. Right?" , I cooed.
"Well then can I suicide you?" , He stated and i eyed me with confusion.
"You are the one who used 'discovered' for 'invented' just few mins ago so here I used 'suicide' instead of 'murder' AS SIMPLE AS THAT" , He smirked.
MR GOODY TWO SHOES TALKING ABOUT MURDERING SOMEONE. HEY THERE UNIVERSE, YOU'RE WATCHING RIGHT?.
"So you basically just threatened me?", I stated.
"NO SHIT SHERLOCKS. HOW DID YOU FIGURED IT OUT?" , He said and I rolled my eyes.
"Bhai i hate it when you get all 'sassy' at me when you're angry" , I said jumping on the bed and crawling beside him.
"Gentleman kindly move away from my side" , He cooed irritated by my childlishness.
"Not until you forgive me and smile at me" , I said giving him my cheekiest smile.
"Shut up Cheeku" , He replied and covered his face with the blanket.
"Awww such a cutie" , I said in a girly voice tapping his shoulder.
He ignored me and remained silent. Oh so he think he can make me go away this way. NOT HAPPENING MAHI BHAI.
"Bhaiiiiiii" , I said removing the blanket from his face.
"If you didn't speak now I'll tickle you" , I said trying to make it sound like a threat.
Tickle? Seriously. Geez I need to up my threats game but nevermind I already said that out loud so lets just play along with tickling for now.
"I am gonna start the countdown..... 10..9...8...7..6...5..4..3..2..." , I started.
"Okay fine stoppp I forgive you" , He stated and I pulled him into my very famous cheeky hug.
"But since you caused me so much trouble I want you to...." , He added.
"Anything for you Bhai" , I said before he finished.
And I mean it , anything for him really.
"I want you to leave me alone" , He smirked.
"Thats not fair. I am here to look after you. You are unwell. I can't roam around leaving you alone by yourself" , I stated frowning.
"You can stay at one condition" , He said.
"Anything" , I chirped.
"You rest too. Get some sleep Cheeks. We are yet to do the final practice and you look tired as hell. So sleep" , He added.
Aah yessss it's my Mahi man , always worried about me.
"Bhai I am absolutely fine" , I said yawning.
It has already been a long day I guess.
"See you are tired so instead of arguing get some sleep. Don't want you to ruin our practice" , He said trying not to sound worried but I knew better.
"FINE" , I said and closed my eyes still sitting beside him on the bed crossing my arms in front.
I could feel his gaze at me all this time.
"Now stop eyeing me and rest" , I said with a slight smirk playing at my lips.
And in few seconds I heard him snore correction pretending to snore.
1 hour later
"Oh my god Mahi" , I heard a shout which woke me up and in the process I fell off the bed but it wasn't important at that time.
"Bhai bhai are you alright? Do you need anything? Does your head hurt? Should I call Dr Armaan?" , I said all at once rushing to Mahi Bhai's side.
I noticed a mischievous glint in his eyes. I glanced at others then at him then at others again and I understood what must have happened. I punched his shoulder lightly irritated by their prank.
"God you guys scared me" , I said running a hand through my hair and they burst out laughing.
Oh so they think its funny?. I gave them a 'Don't mess with me' look and started to walk out of the room. Mahi Bhai rushed towards me sensing my anger I guess while others blocked my way.
"Sorry Cheeks we didn't thought you'll take it this seriously" , He said.
"Seriously? You scared me Bhai. Don't ever do that again" , I replied sighing.
They all glanced at each other and hugged me tightly making me laugh. These IDIOTS.
"Okay okay no need to show your love to me. I know y'all hate me", I joked earning a smack at the back of my head from Mahi Bhai.
"I am gonna report you to child protection department. You keep harassing me" , I added rubbing my head.
"Sure Cheeks" , He replied and I rolled my eyes.
"How do you feel now Mahi?", Michael asked.
"Much better" , He replied and we all seemingly relaxed.
"So lets go now everyone is waiting" , Rohit said.
"Yeah right" , Pia added.
We left towards the Auditorium. Sakshi ,Ritsy ,Raina & Priyanka joined us to update him about the arrangements and stuff. Aditi and Bunny joined us too.
We all got busy with the assigned jobs. I went backstage to check it. I was busy when someone tapped my shoulder out of nowhere and I turned jumping a little.
"Come on out , an interesting banter is gonna start", Hazel whispered and I gave her a confused look.
We went out and I saw Sakshi walking towards Mahi Bhai. OH NO!!! I better stop before they start one of their arguments. I started to walk towards them but Yuvi pulled me back by my collar. Geez these devils are just gonna leave these two to fight?. I sighed and agreed to not intervene in it. We all stood at different places near them silently way to silent actually but they both were too occupied to notice.
GOD I AM EAVESDROPPING ON MY BEST FRIEND AND SISTER RIGHT NOW.
"They're not fighting so stop worrying", Ananya whispered from beside me.
After about two minutes of eavesdropping it became fun. I was trying so hard to stop smiling so does everyone else but we couldn't help but smile. I totally ship them. GOD DID I JUST SHIPPED MY SISTER WITH MY BEST FRIEND? AND ABOVE ALL WHY DO I SOUND LIKE RITSY RIGHT NOW?.
"Mahi stop staring at me please" , Sakshi shouted leaving Mahi Bhai with wide eyes.
I wanted to laugh at his face but then I remembered that we have to not make it too obvious that we were eavesdropping so I made a straight face and within seconds we were all surrounding them.
"Mahi is staring at Sakshi even now" , Hazel cooed bringing him out of daze and he got red in embarrassment.
Haha its fun to see always so composed Mahi Bhai getting nervous.
"I wasn't staring" , He stated trying to get out of the circle we formed around us but got pushed back in by Yuvi & Raina.
Ha! god job boys.
"He was staring" , Sakshi said smirking at him.
In the back of my mind I could feel my conscience doing all kind of dance forms in excitement. He is behaving like such a FAN BOY right now.
"Honestly you both were openly flirting just few minutes ago so whats with this 'throwing imaginary daggers at each other' thingy now?, Pia said winking at them.
"FLIRTING?", They asked together.
Well I won't call it flirting. They both were just teasing each other like they do always. RIGHT?.
"Awww look they're both in such sync today" , Ritsy said sending a flying kiss their way and they both frowned.
"We were not flirting we were just discussing something" , He stated clearing his throat and Sakshi nodded.
They both gave each other some looks and I can tell Mahi Bhai was accusing her to get them in this situation and she was silently requesting him to get them out of it. NOT SO SOON SISSY!.
"See now they don't even need words to say things. They're legit flirting right now in signals or whatever you call this 'talking by looking at each other's face' thing" , Rohit said eyeing them suspiciously.
"We ain't flirting also we were not flirting before" , Sakshi said.
"Hey guys what was that he said?" , Raina asked and I smirked.
"NOT"
"THAT"
"I"
"DON'T"
"LIKE"
"TO"
"SEE"
"YOU"
"BLUSH"
Hazel, Rohit, Pia, Yuvi, Michael, Ritsy, Priyanka, Ananya and I said in the sequence.
Mahi Bhai seemed like he have seen a ghost and Sakshi mirrored his expressions. I am so gonna torture them with this for a long time. HAHA I SOUND SO EVIL.
"Stop it you guys" , Aditi said and I eyed her but then I saw her smirk. Mahi Bhai is in trouble.
"We have an even more interesting story to tell" , Bunny added and I glanced at them confused.
What is there that I don't know? Mahi Bhai you better spill it out to me if not today then later but I WANNA KNOW IT SO BAD SEEING HIS EXPRESSIONS.
"Bunny buddy how about we go get some coffee?" , Mahi Bhai said holding his arm and whispering something in his ear.
"But Mahi its very interesting. Sakshi will love to know it as well" , Aditi cooed.
Uh-huh it just got more interesting.
"Addy we have to discuss some stuff right. Lets go" , He said pulling her towards him.
TRYING HARD TO HIDE. I SEE.
"What are you trying so hard to hide Bhai?" , I said looking suspiciously at three of them.
"Me? Haha what would I hide? Its nothing. They're just cooking some story" , He said laughing nervously.
Come on Bhai whom are you lying to? I know him inside out. He is clearly hiding something.
"No we're not" , Aditi & Bunny said in unison.
"Guys lets go get some coffee" , He said trying to drag them out of there.
"BUT WE WANT TO TELL THEM ABOUT WHEN YOU WERE CHECKING OUT SA...", Addy started to say but he kept my hand at her mouth.
"HAHA NOTHING NOTHING NOW GUYS Y'ALL GO BACK TO YOUR WORKS AND I WILL HAVE A LITTLE CHAT WITH THESE TWINS ALONE" , He said and we gave him irritated looks.
"But I want to hear" , I cooed.
"Me too" , Hazel said.
He pushed us all towards where we were practicing before then turned towards Aditi and Bunny who were standing with devilish grins at their faces. I really want to know it but hey I can make Aditi spill it out anytime why worry.
We left them alone to set the stage for the final practice.
"Mahi we're set for the practice" , Hazel shouted for him when we were done.
"Coming" , He shouted back and after few minutes joined us.
We finished the final practice successfully and left to get dressed for the dinner party at our farmhouse. We dressed casually and left the academy with Dean accompanying us as he was invited too. All of our parents were present there. Yes DHONIS as well. I caught Mahi Bhai glancing their way many times but he didn't uttered a word to them or regarding them.
"Bhai are you alright?" , Ananya asked him.
She must have noticed his strange behavior as well.
"Yeah I am fine just nervous for tomorrow" , He replied.
Lie.
"Don't worry it will go well" , I said to change the topic.
"I know since you're with me. What can go wrong?" , He cooed smiling like smiling for real this time.
Thank god!
"After all I am with you till the end of the line" , I chirped.
"Till the end of the line" , He repeated and I found myself smiling ear to ear at that.
We all took our leaves early because we needed to rest as we had. annual celebration the next day. We called it a night and went to our rooms setting our alarms.
I tossed and turned in the bed for a while but sleep seemed to be lost from my eyes. I decided to go sleep in Mahi Bhai's room. Maybe staying next to him will give me peace and I'll be able to sleep. I was a centimeter away from door when I heard the door next to me aka Mahi Bhai's door opening & closing. I carefully opened my door without making a sound and saw him walking towards the door of our dorm.
IS HE GOING SOMEWHERE? If yes then WHERE?.
I did one thing that I found right at that moment. I FOLLOWED HIM.