purvi stood at her usual spot, waiting for her bus. Only for something unusual, like ishita joining her, happened today. 

"hey.." said ishita awkwardly, as purvi acknowledged. 

"so...bus?" asked purvi, as she nodded in disagreement. 

"woh, poonam..." responded ishita. 

"so, now you guys are friends..." remarked purvi. 

"haan woh, uhmm, after the accident, her mom wanted ki she's around people who are 'better influences'....and since i was helping her with physics and we lived nearby..." explained ishita. 

"so, i was a bad influence for her?" confirmed purvi. 

"no...obviously not....that's just something, you know, moms call any of their child's friends if they are not exactly, studious....i, i didn't mean that.." clarified ishita, as purvi scoffed. 

"what? i..." confused ishita. 

"there was a time, when poonam and i used to make fun of you...you always pretended like you were this perfect girl, with great grades....and literally, is just so innocent...but all you needed was your first party to get drunk and sleep with a guy you knew for what, 2 minutes?" taunted purvi. 

"how is that any of your business?" questioned ishita. 

"you do realise he's like my best friend right?" argued purvi. 

"i made one mistake, i lost him, i lost poonam, and what happened to you? you got both of them, just because you put out the front of  being this miss little perfect! i mean, what is so special about you that after so many years, your that one night stand is falling all over you!" yelled purvi. 

"well, for starters, you killed someone! you really expect forgiveness for that? and whoever i slept with, even if it's your best friend, is none of your business! and hell, of course poonam isn't your friend now! pata hai na agar ki minor kisipe gaadi chadata hai, toh uske parents ko saza hoti hai! woh uske dad ki car thi, not only she would have gotten into trouble, her father could have gone to jail! if you really want them to forgive you, maybe you should just have the decency to give people the time they need...." lectured ishita. 

only for the bus to arrive. 

"you should go..." said ishita, as she looked away from her. 

purvi, today, had swallowed a pill that was hard to, of the realisation, that her guilt doesn't change her actions, and leaves their impact. If it wasn't imprisonment, she'll still have to, do her time. 

                                                               ***

"mujhe yeh samajh nahi aa raha hai, ki aaj tum dono hi late kaise ho gaye!" scolded meera, as she served breakfast. 

"aur nahi toh kya, dushyant ne alarm lagaya hone chahiye, kavin ko band karne ke liye uthna chahiye, aur phir mera intezaar karna chahiye, dushyant ki pitaai karke uthane ka....itna ache plan mein, kya gadbad ho gayi?" joked satish. 

"batana, kahan hui problem..." nudged kavin, as he stuffed the paratha in his mouth. 

"woh, main kal  alarm lagana bhool gaya..." confessed dushyant. 

"nahi beta, bura kyun lag raha hai, bilkul sahi kiya tumne...ab jab uthane ke liye papa hai, toh kyun alarm lagana! " taunted satish, in most typical way for dads possible, as dushyant just gulped down his coffee, glaring at his father with annoyance. 

"acha, chalo thik hai, ab ho gaya na jo hona tha, ab jaldi karo nashta!" exclaimed meera, as she tried to hold in her chuckle. 

"aur haan, waapas aate hue, woh bijli ka bill deta hua aayi yo!" ordered satish to dushyant, as meera glared at satish. 

"maine tumse parso kaha tha bill dete hue aane ko...." claimed meera. 

"yaar mereko das kaam hote hain, bhool gaya main...aur waise bhi, iske AC ke kaaran sabse zyada bill aata hai, ab yahi bharein..." defended satish, as meera rolled her eyes. 

"rehne do, main hi bhardungi!" announced meera.

"ok, mera ho gaya! main chala..." said dushyant as he got up to leave. 

" only you, have a good day!" said dushyant pointing to meera, as he glanced at satish. 

"ok...main bhi chala! bye mom!" said kavin as he too left. 

"yeh phal mila isse paalne ka..." grumbled satish as meera chuckled. 

                                                        ***

kavin was unlocking the door to the appartment, when purvi appeared behind him. he ignored her and continued to unlock the door. 

"kavin, i...." choked purvi. 

"purvi, don't..." said kavin, without even looking at her. 

"i wish i could turn myself in kavin...it's just that my mom would..." purvi expressed her desires. 

"fine, confess to your crime. i lost a father too, maybe then we can be even." retorted kavin, as he looked at her with his arms crossed. 

"kavin?" questioned purvi. 

"bura lag raha hai, ki you might have to loose your mom, well i have already lost my dad, dammit!" yelled kavin. 

"toh main kya karun, huh! mujhse bhi galti hi hui thi uss raat..." argued purvi. 

"galti nahi, crime..." corrected kavin. 

"kavin, i have to live everyday with the fact that i killed someone, isn't that a punishment enough!" yelled purvi. 

"well you could suffer for a few more years, maybe then i'll think about if it's enough..." quipped kavin, as he unlocked the door and got inside his appartment. 

                                                                ***

ishita was walking to the society, when dushyant followed to her. 

"ishita.." he called as ishita ignored and kept on walking.

"ishita, ishita!" he called again, as he now appeared in front of her. 

"ishita, yaar, hua kya hai?" asked dushyant. 

"you told purvi that i slept with you?" she questioned. 

"ishita, woh..." flustered dushyant. 

"who else have you told?" she interrogated. 

"ishita, woh galti se.." he attempted to defend himself. 

"woh humare beech ke baat thi dushyant!" yelled ishita. 

"ishita, i am so sorry.." he aplogised as she started to walk away. 

he followed her, to catch hold of her. 

"DON'T touch me!" she ordered as she left. 

                                                             ***

author's note: ok, so every one has a fight right now, but don't worry, the next few chapters have a surprise where they'll be forced to resolve these issues, so stay tuned.