name:- the break up saga
word count:- 2900 words
published on:- 16th October 2018
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M A N I K
"She slapped me!" Cabir cried again, repeating the same statement for the hundredth time and I munched on the packet of potato chips in my hand as he continued his sob story and I rolled my eyes at him.
"She said she wouldn't date me anymore. She does not love me!" He murderer the feather pillow in his hand and I tried giving him a weak smile, not knowing what to say ahead. Aryamman was great with this love advices and stuff while I sucked at it. All I could do was smile which made him cry more.
"Cabir, why don't you go to Aryamman with your sad story?" I tried saying it as politely as possible and he snapped his eyes at me.
"Meine tujhe paal poske bada kiya, aur tu mujhe yeh kahega? Yeh? You just asked me to go away? Yaad kar voh din jab tu sirf fifth standard ka tha and you liked this girl called Priyanka. Kya kiya tha usne, hmm? She called you an Eiffel Tower and poked a pencil in your arm when you told her. Tu mere paas aaya tha roh ke And I took your revenge from her. And you do this to me, send me away when I need you? You don't love me anymore Manik, jabse tune Nandini ko kiss kiya hai na, the bromance has died!" He blamed casually and I rolled my eyes at him.
He did have to remind me of that, isn't it? That was like what-... an hour back? I got my first kiss and my first punch together. And that too from a potato. First she kissed me, and then she punched me. What logic was that?
"Then why don't you go and talk to Navya? What did you do? Tune hi kuch kiya hoga na," I scolded and he looked at me with sharper eyes. "Tu meri side hai ki uske?" He shouted and I sighed. He always used emotional blackmail against me. A best friend's favourite work to do!
"Uske. Ab bata tune kiya kya hai?" I raised my eyes and he smiled sheepishly. "She said she wanted to dance toh meine bas usko thoda dance karke dikhaya. And guess what? She slapped me. She said agar meine usse yeh pehle dikhaya hota toh she would have never dated me. Me? She rejected The Cabir Dhawan?" He went into the sobby mode again and I squared my eyes. Why would she hit him for dancing?
Isliye logic simple hai. Don't fall in love. Either you destroy love, or love destroys you. The choice is yours.
"I think we should go and meet her!" I concluded. "I don't want to talk about Navya!" He shouted at me and I nodded, eating my potato wafers again.
"But what if she thinks that I don't love her anymore, isliye meine call nahi kiya?" His face showed fear and I nodded again. "Possible hai bhai, she's Navya. Aadhi filmi duniya mein rehti hai. Don't be shocked is you find her married to someone else tomorrow morning in her anger. She keeps getting inspired by daily soaps!" I laughed to myself and then immediately stopped when I saw Cabir staring at me with narrow eyes.
"You're just making it worst. Tujhe kyu nahi samajh raha ki mujhe Navya ke baare mein baat nahi karna?" He shouted louder and I sighed, whispering an okay.
"But I think you are right. Ek call se kya hoga?" He smiled a bit picking up his phone and within the next ten seconds, his face was covered with anger and before I could decipher, the phone went crashing down and broke into two, the screen breaking away. My eyes were stuck on the phone with sympathy for it.
Cabir was still flaring. "She didn't even pick my call see. Tere vajeh se mera phone bhi toot gaya! Bola tha meine I don't want to talk about Navya. Tu hai ki chodta hi nahi!" He shouted and I looked away, eating my potato chips again. Small tip: never talk to a friend who is hungry and angry in love at the same time and if the friend is someone like Cabir, then toh bilkul nahi. Orelse the news headlines of the next day might be about your death. So kindly stay away.
"But yaar what if you are right! What if she is actually angry and my naive girl takes some inspiration from the television and gets married or something. Vaise bhi abhi abhi eighteen hui hai, I don't trust her Bollywood mind!" He nibbled on his fingers. Sometimes, the way Cabir cares for Navya even makes me jealous. I wish I had love in my life too. Someone who would care for me and someone whom I could care for.
"Why don't you call someone else and ask them to talk to Navya? Mukti or Aliya?" I suggested and he raised his eyebrows. "Tujhe kyu nahi samajh aa raha hai that I don't want to talk about Navya. Throw that ten rupee potato chips in the dustbin before I kill you" he threatened. Yes right, he doesn't want to talk about Navya.
"It's not ten rupee okay. Fifty rupees ka hai! And it's not just potato chips, it's with tomato and salsa. Lays ka new flavour hai, you must try!" I smiled offering the lays packet in my hand and he looked at me angrily before snatching it away from me and eating. No matter how angry we are, true foodies can never reject food.
"What I think is-.....," he started explaining again but I stopped him midway. "That you don't want to talk about Navya, isn't it?" I prompted and he frowned. "Tune phirse Navya ki yaad dilaadi!" He blamed.
"Par ab tu itna insist kar hi raha hai toh okay! I will go and meet Navya!" He faked a non interested look and I smiled nodding in disbelief. He was so much in love with her, I knew he couldn't stay away. And before I realised, I was pulled with him to the car.
"Meine Nandini ka Number tere phone mein store kar diya hai. Until I go up and talk to Navya, I don't want you to get bored. So you can talk to her, you know!" He winked and I frowned. As if I was interested in talking to that potato.
I immediately opened my phone and typed Nandini, and yes, there it was saved, 'Nandini ❤️🌎'. I looked at him rolling my eyes before I changed it again and saved it 'Potato Girl 🥔'
We stopped at the garden, the back side of Navya's house and I looked at him in confusion. "I always knew you were dumb, Manik. What do you expect me to do? Ring the door bell and tell her mom, 'aunty aunty, I am your daughters boyfriend. Can I sneak into your house and ask her why she slapped me at ten in the night?'" He acted and I nodded negatively. Navya, the drama queen and Cabir, the drama king. What a rab ne banadi jodi it is.
"Yeh dekh!" He showed me the path to Navyas room, a floor up by the pole. "Yeh kya?" I squeezed my eyes and he smiled naughtily. "No! No! No!" I shouted once I got to know his intentions from his smile. "I am not climbing this pole and going all the way up to just say sorry. You have to say sorry! Do it yourself!" I raised my eyebrows.
"Manik, you can't even do this much. Darr gaya kya? Mein tere aur Nandini ke bachcho ko kya bataunga, that their father was a coward?" He teased and I frowned.
"Their father is not a coward. Ego hurt math kar!" I argued and he smirked.
"Matlab you don't mind having kids with Nandini?" He teased and I mock laughed.
"You wish!" I snapped before putting my foot on the pole and crawling up. People die for friendship, all I had to become was a spider man. I can do this!
Almost peeping inside her balcony, I saw Navya standing in black shorts and a blue tank top, her back facing me and her hair kept open, and it looked as though she was dancing on something. When did my black and white madhubala sister start having such hot moves? Cabir was a lucky guy!
I whispered to grab her attention, not trying to scare her and I think I was successful as the music was stopped and she turned. But the moment she did, my breath stuck in my throat.
It wasn't Navya, it was Nandini! I threw my hands to cover my mouth from the shock and thereby fell down, and ultimately upon Cabir with some kind of thud noise. I just didn't become a spider man, I think I died for friendship too.
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N A N D I N I
"Are you serious Navya? Tumne Cabir ko thappad mara?" My And Mukti's mouth was in an 'o' shaped. I had just come, but I could already tell Cabir and Navya were very much in love. She sobbed nodding.
"Mein kya karti?" She sniffed. "I told him I want to go to dance because it's been a long time since we've all gone clubbing. And Nandini bhi yahan hai, it's time to celebrate. Mujhe thodi pata tha that he will start dancing on zara zara touch me touch me touch me, zara zara hold me hold me hold me, zara zara kiss me kiss me kiss me oh yay oh yay," she mimicked him making seductive faces and tracing her hand all over her body making it hard for both of us to control our laughter.
"Can you both imagine your boyfriends doing like this, behaving like gays?" She sniffed again and I smiled proudly, "Isliye toh I don't keep boyfriends, free ka drama everyday se acha hai, breathe single!". When I completed the dialogue, both of them were glaring at me and I gulped sheepishly.
"Navya! I don't know a lot, but what I've seen is that Cabir really loves you. If you tell him one sorry or even one puppy face battling that eye lashes the way you were doing two minutes ago na, he'd melt easily. Trust me!" I explained keeping my hand on hers and she smiled gratefuly.
"Tumhe sach mein aisa lagta hai?" Her face was written with hope all over and before I could answer, my phone rang. "Tum call attend karo, hum tumhaare liye snacks laate hai!" Navya smiled getting up and Mukti followed her behind while I was left alone in the room, so I picked up the call.
"Hi Abhi!" I grinned. It had been a day, and I missed him like nothing before. "Nandini, it's your first day there! And tum mujhe bhool gayi? Acha voh sab chodo. Tell me how was your day? Did you make new friends? And hot boys toh honge hi! Do you like any of them? Actually don't like, I'm there for you na. And did you eat dinner? And what about your medicines, I'm sure you haven't taken them hain—......," he could go on if I hadn't cut him off.
I think I heard something like a whistle while I danced talking to him and listening to his complaints but when I turned behind, I saw no body. Weird.
"Abhi!" I shouted and he stopped. "I made many new friends and yes there are hot boys but I don't like any one because i have you. I'd never replace you with anyone, okay?" I whispered and I could almost imagine his grin.
"See, I knew you would never do that. Mein hu hi itna hot, sexy, dashing, handsome, rich, and with four pack abs. How would you even replace me if you try to?" He teased and I mentally rolled my eyes. Boys will be boys, self appreciation always remains on their tongue.
Before I could reply, the phone suddenly went dead. He cut the phone abruptly. I couldn't understand why, maybe by mistake hoga. And just then the phone rang again and I picked it up in one ring. "Abhimanyu!" I scolded.
"Nandini!" There was a tired panicky voice. I looked at the phone screen, it wasn't Abhi, it was an unknown number. Why don't I see before I act? I cursed.
"Oh potato, answer karo!" There was another shout and my eyes widened listening to the familiar yet non familiar voice. Manik Malhotra?!
"Murthy, please come to the balcony!" There was a whisper before the phone went dead again. My eyes widened and I rushed to Navya's balcony. Why did he call me to the balcony?
"Oh potato!," the murmer came again and I looked down and my eyes widened just as I saw him on the pipe, climbing half way up, a rose stuck in between his teeth and he managed to balance and talk at the same time.
"Manik! Tum yaha kya kar rahe ho?" I almost whisper shouted snatching the rose away from his mouth and he almost breathed a thank you. "Pipe ko measure kar raha hu. Kabhi ki nahi hogi na?" He mocked and I stared at him confused.
"Oh Einstein, of course upar aa raha hu! Now help me!" He whisper shouted back and realisation struck me. I held one of his arms trying to pull him up but he was too strong to do it himself. He climbed and sat on the rails, his feet still hanging outside.
"Manik, was my punch not enough ki tum mere liye rose leke aagaye," I faked a sweet voice rolling my eyes at him. He mocked a laugh back. "Koi rose vose nahi laya mein, yeh toh Cabir ne bheja hai Navya ke liye!" He explained and I sighed nodding. Love birds, after all.
"Toh tum yaha kya kar rahe ho?" I teased again and within a swift move, he pushed his feet inside the balcony while I looked at him dazed. "Mein tumhe sorry bolne aaya tha!" He said sheepishly and I blinked my eyes at him. He was not that bad after all.
"Why Manik?" I asked sweetly and he blinked his eyes innocently. "I just ate a few of your dead cousins, tumhe bura lag raha hoga na!" He whispered innocently and I stared at him confused but then he removed a wrapper of red coloured potato chips from his jeans pocket.
The anger rushed back. "You! You! You're so lame!" I shouted in irritation and he smirked, jumping inside totally now, standing beside me. "Abhimanyu kaun hai?" He asked generally and I rolled my eyes to myself.
"Mera boyfriend. Tumse kya matlab hai?" I replied frustrated and he smiled. "Aise toh kuch nahi but you know we boys feel deeply about emotions of other boys. I think you should tell him that you cheated on him by kissing.......—," his voice faded as he pointed towards himself.
"I didn't!" I argued and he put an arm around the railing, and I was sandwiched between his arms and the rails behind.
"I think I need to remind you then," his finger tucked my hair strands behind and I kept blinking at him. This was the closest to him I had ever been and I could see the mole above his lip towards the left and when I looked up at his eyes, they were a deep hazel, captivating me in then.
"Nandini, you're really pretty!" He whispered and I felt everything in me churning. "Thank you," I think he must have not even heard me, my heat beats were just so fast.
"But still not pretty enough to get a second kiss from me!" His voice was hoarse again, bringing me back to reality as I pushed him away, irritated by his presence all together again.
"Who even wants to get kissed by you?" I shouted and followed him inside the bed and he smirked. "You do!" He argued and I mock laughed.
"Manik, that's my phone!" I shouted snatching it away from him. "Do check your contacts!" He winked before waking out and leaving me alone again. I immediately opened my phone. "Boy friend hai toh lock bhi lagana seekho!" He shouted from outside and an unwanted smile covered my face as I clicked at his contact.
It was stored, 'The Best Kisser 💃🏻' I gritted as soon as I saw this but the description caught my eye again, 'and the guy you wish to marry one day ;) p.s- don't get mad, I know you crush on me'.
"Manik!!!" I gritted my teeth shouting in frustration. One kiss and one day down, my beliefs were just a bit stronger. I and Manik Malhotra were still never getting together well.
~ from fighting with each other, to fighting the world for each other, it was going to be a long love story ~
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Thank you!