||CHAPTER 41||
《¤》
What Vansh had said two days ago kept on ringing in my dying ears when I met him the next day and he smirked; when I accompanied them to lunch the same day; when Mrs. Negi scolded me for not attempting the Advertisement question in her Revision test; when I had roamed the library during the free period with Armaan, when I suprisingly completed my math homework.
And even now, his tantalizing words did little to help me concentrate on the fact that Arnav was sneaking in some raisins in the mixing bowl infront of me.
"Just because I'm not reacting, doesn't mean I'm okay with your raisins inside my cake," I warned him, as he sat on the countertop.
He gave me a toothy smile. "No one bakes a cake for their self consumption."
I smiled at him sarcastically, "Watch me."
He did, all along emptying the new packet of raisins into the gooey batter.
"ARNAV!"
"Hey, I am watching you!" He shrugged, smirking.
Panicking, frowning, I grabbed a spoon from the stand and started collecting the drowning raisins; no matter what my brother thought, I was not baking another chocolate-raisin cake. "Arnav, I swear to-"
Ding-Dong.
Great, just great. I wasn't even allowed to threaten him now. Arnav got off his throne to see who it was, since no one was at home: Daadi was babysitting her favourite grandson because Jolly Bua was busy making arrangements for the party, and Dad was in Udaipur, finalizing stuff with the Yatis Hotel before coming back tomorrow for the party. And since none of the adults were home, we took the liberty of giving Ratan Kaka a much needed vacation until Monday.
I had successfully spooned out twelve raisins from the batter, when I heard his voice, and this time I was sure it wasn't ringing in my head.
"Holy Shit," he had whispered, "is that Arvika?"
I pretended I didn't hear them whispering, I wanted to hear them while collecting the remaining raisins.
"Yeah, she's baking. Her cakes are awefuckingsome. Especially if you add some raisins," my brother replied. "I'm irritating her though, because, why not?"
I don't know why people thought he was the logical one out of us.
I heard their footsteps before I felt their presence behind me. "You guys need to work on your whispering skills, you know," I turned around with the spoon in my hand.
He looked gorgeous. "You should work on your manners. Eavesdropping is bad."
"Wait," I pretended to remember something. "I think I have seen you in my brother's Good manners book. Right, Arnav?"
Arnav was busy emptying another packet of raisins into the batter. "Ek aur packet aya kaha se?! ARNAV!"
The telephone rang right when I was about to shove him to the side, "Me thinks me is very lucky. Don't bother removing kishmish, I have loads of them."
Narrowing my eyes at his retreating form, I turned to face his bestfriend. "Do you just pretend to be smart, or are you really stupid enough to hang out with my brother."
His stance looked amusing, like the fact that he didn't have any expression on his face, but still managed to make me feel something when he grabbed my hand and fed himself the raisins covered in chocolate cake batter. "Or maybe I do like kishmish."
I do not know why I was shocked at such an upfront gesture. I was not a girl who was fazed by intimate gestures, but Vansh Mehra was dismantling me with each theory that he conjured up about me. Finally, hiding away my shy self, I mustered up some courage to speak. "Too bad, I don't."
"You don't like black coffee either, but I think we both know who drinks it in this house."
He was looking nowhere but at my eyes. His were dark brown, and up close, they were mesmerizing; soul searching. I gave a tilted smile. Thick brows, competing eyelashes. "Your eyes are gorgeous, but I kinda need to add some poison into the cake I'm baking."
His expression didn't waiver, not that he had one to begin with. His grip on my wrist tightned, restraining me, "We need to talk."
I almost laughed to cover up the fact that I knew what he wanted to talk about.
"Lets cut it short, Vansh. I am not telling you why I lied about meeting Armaan."
He wasn't completely devoid of emotions, he frowned. "Why?"
I chuckled, "Would you mind if I say it's none of your business?"
I didn't miss his expression of annoyance, but it vanished right when Arnav strolled in.
"Kaun tha?" I cleared my throat.
"The Pizza delivery guy," he shrugged, "Kahi aur hi pahuch gaye woh. And oh, you might want to bake a bigger cake. Ishita aur Ritwik Karan ke saath aa rahe hai."
¿¤?
With my legs on the armrest, and back against Ritwik's shoulder, I was scrolling through my instagram feed while the rest of them watched American Odyssey on the flat screen in the living room. Snacks were spread out on the coffee table, while laps were filled with half empty pizza boxes.
"Oh my god, is that Cameron Dallas?" I heard Ishita squeak, and without looking at the screen, I replied, "Yeah. Just don't fall for him in this one."
"I said no spoilers!" Karan complained, for the tenth time after he came to know that I had already completed the series, and I aimed a popcorn at him.
Too bad, it landed on Vansh beside him, who had been giving me a cold shoulder after the kitchen confrontation(?). His eyes landed on me, and with an impassive glare my way, he turned his attention back to the screen.
"Can you pass me the popcorn?" I had to shake my chair- Ritwik- to get me the bowl. He was just too engrossed into the scene unfolding infront of him.
The second popcorn that had been aimed by me did land on the target, but Vansh didn't feel it over his black hoodie. So I aimed the third one at his nose. Imagine my disappointment when it landed inside Karan's yawning mouth. His shock subsided when he realised it was me, winking at me. I grinned at him before motioning him to scooch down. He did immediately, sliding down onto the carpeted floor. And I resumed on my mission.
Vansh had probably assumed it was me, because he was not stirring, even after the seventh shot on his chest. I was left with no option but to start with my bullet shots at him. It irritated him, he was glaring at the screen now, and didn't stop until his hand wrapped around the popcorn pool on his hoodie.
I couldn't help but smile when his glare repositioned itself on my face. Then, I did the most daring thing in the dark: I blew him a kiss.
Before I could judge his expression, Ishita broke our trance. "Oh my god, what is that guy doing?! Main yeh nahi dekh sakti, please fast forward."
No one paid any heed to her request, because the very next second, the guy was being killed. "Shit," she whispered, crouching into a fetal position on the single couch, wrapping herself in the blanket.
It was nearing midnight, and I cozied up in Ritwik arms. He was pretty comfortable when he was not being disgusting.
I kept my phone aside and focused on the episode instead. The protagonist was escaping, and I admit, even after having watched the whole show, I could keep watching it again.
"I'm gonna grab some coke," Vansh stood up abruptly, dusting off the popcorn. Without a glance my way, he walked away towards the kitchen.
"Use jalan ho rahi hai," Ritwik whispered in my ears.
"He's not gay, is he?" I stated the obvious.
"Aur bakwas kiya na, tho neeche gira dunga, bol raha hoon," he warned me.
I elbowed him, standing up. "I'm going to the bathroom."
"You mean the kitchen?" Karan guffawed.
"Probably, so beware when I bring back some popcorn for you. It might contain urea."
Arnav, beside him, aimed a cushion at me, but since he was my twin, his aim sucked. "Bring back more blankets."
The lights were switched off, but the fairy lights guided me to the kitchen. Vansh was raiding the fridge, the light from its inside falling on his features. He wasn't this attractive seven years ago.
"Maine cake me kishmish daale the," I stood exactly behind him, leaning against the centre counter. "Phir bhi tumne nahi khaya. Itna gussa?"
I could hear him scoff, as he wafted through the veggies tray. "Jaake Armaan Qureshi ko woh khila do na. Oh wait, tum tho ab usse bhi nahi milti ho."
I could suffer his taunts, they weren't miserable. "Jaankar kya kar loge?"
He closed the fridge door, turning around. "Hmm?"
"Mai kisse milne gayi thi, yeh jaankar kya karloge?"
He thought for a while, "Jo maine last time kiya tha? Tumhari madad?"
"Vansh," I breathed out. "I'm not your broken mantle piece that you need to fix. Haan, I was lost, but I'm not venturing that path again."
"I am just looking out for you," his frown deepened. "Because, if you haven't noticed, then maybe you're not just my best friend's sister."
"Maybe yeah, because seven year's ago, I was your best friend too!"
"Well, if I am just your best friend from seven years ago, why are you suddenly pushing me out when all I'm trying is to reach out to you?"
To that, I had inexplicable answers. I folded my arms over my chest, looking at the fridge behind him.
He was silent for a while. Then, "Let's go back, I don't want to talk to you right now."
He didn't check if I was following him. Why did that feel like the worst thing ever?
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Namoshtaii!
Idk y but I was really waiting for the chapter to be out, because the next chapter is important and this was like the chingari to the aag kinda idk i am rambling i should stop.
I had my math midsem today, and i realised that i ain't in tenth anymore. (Only twelfthies/ ex-twelfthies will understand what i meant i guess).
Anyways, how were ur exams?
(Has anyone read a good indian teenfic in a while?)
Well, stay tuned, and read, vote, comment and promote ;)
~emcee.