*Aslesha*

I am deep in sleep when the ringing of my phone wakes me up. What the hell! Looking at the flash of the screen I squint my eyes and pick up the phone without looking at the caller ID.

Agar ye Pari rahi toh bahot maar khaayegi. Raat ke dedh baje hai.

"Hello?" I say, my voice thick with sleep. No answer. Kya mazak hai? "Hello?" I say again.

"Hello" he whispers.

It's Viraj. Even though his voice could barely be heard, I know it's him. Hello se hi pata chal raha hai ke koi problem ho gayi hai.

"Viraj?" I say and sit up on my bed. "Kya hua?" I ask rubbing my eyes.

What's with this sudden phone call? Itni raat ko vo bhi. Aunty toh thik hai na? Damn why isn't he speaking? I'm getting restless here.

"Aslesha" he says and his voice breaks. He breaks down too as I hear him crying on the other line.

Oh my god!

"Hello Viraj? Kya hua" I say but just then the call is cut as my battery goes dead. Fuck my life! Ye bhi abhi hona tha.

I quickly get up and take the keys to my scooty. Papa ek conference ke liye Jaipur gaye hai so vo tension nahi hai. I lock the house securely and get on my scooty.

The roads are fully empty and I'm completely freaked out as I ride towards Viraj's house. During one turn I see some young guys and girls smoking. And it's not cigarette. A shiver runs down my spine when one of the guy eyes me. Please mera peecha mat karna bhai.

Hey Bhagwan meri rakshaa karna. Meri nahi karoge toh bhi chalega, Viraj ki karna please. Kya hua hoga?

Is he in pain? Is he hurt? Kyu mai college nahi gayi aaj... Usse meri aaj jarurat thi. Damn!

I speed up. Itna tez kabhi chalayi nahi hu mai. The cold wind is not helping my situation. November ki raat me, dedh baje mai scooty se, pajamas pehen ke, mere dil todne wale ladke ke ghar ja rahi hu.

Taaliyaan bajni chahiye mere liye. Ya gaaliya padni chahiye. I don't know! Pyaar me har insaan itna pagal hota hai ya mere case me itna extra ho gaya hai sab kuch?

I reach his house and run towards the door. I'm about to ring the bell but I see that the door is slightly open.

Itni raat ko darwaza khulla? Koi andar ghuss ke Viraj ko kuch...

My hands literally start shaking as I push open the door open and step in. It closes behind me with a soft click.

It's all dark. Vo ghar pe nahi raha toh? Ye toh maine socha hi nahi. Living room me toh koi nahi hai. Bedroom uska upar hai. Hopefully he is safe.

I tiptoe upstairs and see that his door is open too. I walk inside and breathe a sigh of relief when I see that he is alone and there's nobody torturing him or anything.

But then again my breath catches in my throat when I look around his bedroom. Sab idhar udhar fekaa hua. Ek flower vase toota hua, his study table lamp on the floor. One of the chairs turned upside down.

He is facing away from me and his head is in his hands as I see that his bare back is shaking due to heavy breathing.

Kya hua mere dummy ko?

He senses my presence and looks back and stands up. I gasp. His eyes are bloodshot and he looks miserable. His shoulders are slumped and he looks at me like he can't believe it that I'm here.

Even I can't believe it actually.

"Aslesha" he breathes. He looks at me like he just found some water in a dessert and then his face crumples up. I run towards him and throw my arms around him as his body starts shaking with sobs.

I hug him tighter, standing on my toes. He puts his hands around my waist and his face is buried in the side of my neck. I can feel the wetness of his tears on my neck.

This is scary. Aisa kya hua Viraj ke saath? I just hold him tighter, trying to pull him closer. I just wish aisa kar ke uska saara pain mujhme aa jaaye. We stand there for I don't know how long but eventually his breathing comes back to normal. I still don't leave him.

I don't ever wanna leave him. He slowly breaks the hug and looks at me. "You're really here" he says. "Yes I am. I'm right here" I say and wipe his tears gently.

"Please don't leave me" he says and again pulls me into his arms. "I'm never gonna leave you Viraj" I say and gently run my hands through his hair again and again to calm him down.

He is shirtless. I'm realising it now. And I'm just wearing a cotton grey t-shirt and pajamas. I suddenly become conscious at our proximity.

"You wanna speak about it?" I ask and he breaks the hug. He struggles with his words so I take his hand and lead him towards his bed.

"It's fine agar tumhe abhi baat nahi karni. Tell me when you feel comfortable. If you want to..." I say.

I don't know if this is the right thing that I'm doing. All I know is that he needs me right now. And I wanna be there for him anyway possible.

I get in his bed and pull his arm so that he gets beside me. He sleeps and I take the blanket and pull it over us.

The next thing he does makes my heart turn into melted mush. He puts his arm on me and pulls me close and buries his face inside my hair.

He. Is. Shirtless.

I'm done.

All the coldness is now gone as I feel warm all over. I'm dieing to know what has happened that he broke down like that but I guess I'll have to wait.

"Mom dad ka aaj divorce ho gaya" he says suddenly and I pull away to look at his face. Just a little so that we are face to face.

"Maa ka phone aaya tha thodi der pehle" he tells me. "Mumbai me hai vo. Aaj hearing thi. Mujhe laga tha aur mahine lagenge so.. I was not ready for this. But.." his voice fades away and his face fills with sadness again.

"You know what Aslesha, mujhe laga nahi ke mai ye kabhi accept karunga, but kahi na kahi I had hope ke dad ko unki galti realise hogi and he will come back to us. And we will again be a happy family. Maine socha tha ke mai thoda, nahi bahot, ke mai bahot bhaav khaaunga vo sorry bolenge toh, but eventually I will forgive him too" he says and I put my hand on his cheek and caress it lightly.

"But he never said sorry, and now he's never coming back. Now it's too late. Divorce bhi ho gaya. Saare hopes khatam. It's over" he says and a tear escapes his eye.

I wipe it away with my thumb and lean ahead and kiss his forehead gently.

"Vo mere dad hai. Aur vo ab jo bhi ho, ek time pe I considered him as my hero. Ek time pe we were a happy family and I'm always gonna remember that. Memories kabhi nahi chhod ke jaayenge mujhe unki tarah. And I'm gonna miss him so much, the old him. I miss him already. Jo kabhi kabhi guitar pe maa ke liye Kishore Kumar ke gaane gaate the. Jo mere saath ghanto tak cricket dekh ke zor zor se chillate the. Mere sports day pe mujhe cheer karne aate the. Jo bahot hi achhi khichdi banaate the aur maa ke khaane ki mere saath buraai karte the. I'm gonna miss him" he says and again breaks down in a new set of tears.

I pull him towards me again as he cries his heart out. I wish he could accept my love, because he deserves so much of it and he has never seen what real love is.

I wish I could tell him how much I love him and that I'll never leave him.

"Viraj, look at me" I say and take his face in my hands. "Mai bol sakti hu that it will all be okay one day and you'll be fine, but.. aisa nahi hota. Life me there'll be some people who are just temporary and they teach you lessons. You just have to learn and move on. Yes you'll miss them and yes it'll hurt you. But ek din you'll get used to it. You'll get stronger and learn to live with that feeling. Aur tum bahot strong ho Viraj. Baaki logo ka pata nahi but I'm here to stay alright" I say and give him a small smile.

"You're the best Aslesha" he says and smiles weakly. His eyes seem heavy and they are slowly drooping close.

"Sleep now" I say and touch the faint circles under his eyes.

"I got a nightmare. A really bad one. Isliye I called you. Tum jaao mat" he says with his eyes already closed.

"Yahi hu mai. Sleep tight dummy" I say and run my hand through his hair.

So he got a nightmare and he called me. I look at his face closely and my heart reaches out for him. Aisi situation me pyaar blessing kam aur curse jyada lagta hai. I mean who could blame him for having such views on love.

And I'm not gonna ignore him or stay away from him now. He needs me. Mera pyaar one sided hi rahega toh vohi sahi. I know he cares for me and trusts me. Maybe he even likes me. But pyaar kya hai ye usse khud pata nahi aur mai usse ye chiz me pressurise karna bhi nahi chahti.

I look at his lips for a moment. "Viraj?" I whisper. He doesn't answer.

I look at his face for a few moments to be sure that he's in deep sleep. Then I lean ahead and peck his lips and quickly pull away. This is really a wrong thing to do but I couldn't help it. I close my eyes and sleep, listening to his steady breathing.

~•~•~•~•~•~•

*Viraj*

I hear a soft voice beside me and I lazily open my eyes. My eyes feel so heavy. And who is with me in bed.

My eyes adjust to the light and focus on her face. This little angel.

I smile as I see her mumble something. Neend me baat karti hai Aslesha?

"Pareshaan mat.. pasand ho.. bahot" she mumbles and those are the only words I catch. Who the hell is she talking about?

Kon pareshaan kar raha hai mere paglu ko? Konsa ladka pasand hai isse?

"Dummy..." She says and a smile forms on my face. She's dreaming about me. Wow. I suddenly feel really happy and proud of myself.

Wait wait wait... Does that mean she likes me? Fuck!

I mean it's obvious that we both like each other. Sab ko college me ye bhi lagta hai that we're dating. But for her to accept it. Actually she's not in her senses but fir bhi.

"Kiss.." she mumbles and my smile completely fades away.

Kiss? Kiss what? She's still thinking about our kiss? It has somehow changed our friendship now waise. Is she scared that I'll kiss her again and isliye she was avoiding me?

Waise possibilities hai kyu ki kal bhi jab vo aayi ghar I just wanted to grab her and kiss her. I just couldn't believe it. I mean vo seedhe phone cut kar di thi. Toh I had not expected it. But when I saw her, I just wanted to kiss her and keep kissing her.

Even now that she's being all cute and talking in her sleep, I just wanna kiss her.

She grunts a little and that's when I notice that I'm almost sleeping above her. My hand is clutching her waist and my leg is thrown across her legs, pinning them down.

I remove my leg and hand and just then her eyes flutter open. Ooops.

She looks at me and smiles, the dimple popping up. Jesus, I wanna lick her dimple.

Then she frowns and blinks a few times looking at her surroundings as a look of understanding crosses her face.

"Morning" I say and take her hand in mine and press a kiss on her palm.

"Good morning" she says as a little colour rises to her cheeks. She looks so beautiful when she blushes. In fact she looks beautiful all the time. Even now.

Hair sticking out in all directions and face without a trace of makeup. And she looks so bloody cute in those SpongeBob print pajamas and a grey t-shirt. She looks sexy. Sexy and cute both at the same time.

"Did you sleep well" she asks looking at my abs and then looking at my face again.

"Yes, I always sleep well next to you" I say. Her eyes go a little wide at my statement and they again move down to my abs. I smirk. Kya karu mai iss ladki ka.

"Enjoying the sight?" I ask.

"Yes" she blurts out and her eyes widen again as she quickly gets up. "No. I was not looking at your abs" she says and cringes that these words left her mouth.

Just yesterday I was crying like a madman and now I'm already feeling better. Damn this girl has that power over me.

"Maine kab kaha you were looking at my abs" I say and put both my hands behind my head. Mera kitna bhi ganda mood ho ye sahi kar sakti hai. Kaise karti hai kya pata. Bina koi effort liye.

"Um.. I guess I should leave now" she says.

"Wait what? No!" I say as I sit up and hold her hand.

"Viraj mai already raat bhar ruki hu. Ab mujhe ghar jaana chahiye" she says.

"Tumhare dad chillayenge?" I ask her as the thought now crosses me. Shit I hope he doesn't scold her.

"Nahi he is out of town" she says absentmindedly.

Oh thank God!

"Toh fir kyu jaana hai?" I whine. I'm acting like a ziddi kid now but I can't help it.

I don't want her to go yet. Or ever.

Ever? Where did that thought come from. Kabhi na kabhi toh jaana hoga usse ghar.

"Viraj. I.. I.." she stutters as her eyes keep moving down to my abs. She's trying hard not to look.

I smirk and lean ahead. "I can make you stay you know" I say and she gulps.

Then suddenly she gets up. "You.. you can't talk to me like that" she says and starts walking out the door. I sigh and follow her as I wear my t-shirt.

"Kaise baat na karu" I ask.

"Aise flirt kar ke" she says and starts searching for something on the living room table near the door.

"Kaha gaye keys. Yahi rakhe the" she murmurs. I go and hug her from behind and she stills.

"Viraj" she breaths out when my nose touches her neck. Damn I want to see how it feels to kiss the soft skin of her neck. Even her neck is beautiful.

"Don't. Stop" she says and removes my hand from around her. Huh? No girl has done that to me. I thought girls like it. I mean she's not like other girls but still.. ladki hi toh hai.

"You need to stop flirting with me. And hugging me like that and kissing me. And iske baad we're not gonna sleep together" she says as she starts pulling the small thread from the hem of her T-shirt.

*Aslesha*

How can he just hug me and be all intimate with me like that. Vo mere liye kuch feel bhi nahi karta. And I love him but.. this is wrong.

"Why? We've done it all before" he says frowning.

"Yes. And it's wrong. Friends ye sab nahi karte" I state.

"I guess it's established in our situation that we're not just friends" he says and my eyes snap up to his.

"What?" I say in shock as my eyes snap up to look at him. Did he just call us 'more than friends' friends

"What what? I like you. Itna toh tumhe pata hai na. And you like me too. You said that in your sleep" he says as an annoying smirk appears on his life.

Shit shit shit.. kya keh diya maine neend me? Oh god! Ye aadat kab jaayegi meri neend me bolne ki. Wait but....

"You like me?" I ask bewildered.

He likes me?

He likes me?

Like wala like?

Am I dreaming?

"Of course duh. I feel like staying with you all the time and I care about you more than anyone else and in bad situations it's you that I want by my side. And I feel like kissing you all the bloody time. In fact, I feel like kissing you now. Can I kiss you" he asks and i think my jaw has touched the floor.

How can he.. what the.. is he.. does he.. fuck!

I never knew that he likes me. Like that. Oh my god. I mean what? Mai khushi se rou ya kahi ja ke sarr fod du?

Filhaal second option better lag raha hai.

"You deserve the best guy in the world. But ab tak tumhara prince charming aaya nahi hai na. So tab tak ke liye date me" he says casually and I literally choke on thin air.

"Are you okay?" I ask him. Mom dad ke divorce ka bahot bada shock lag ke ye pagal toh nahi ho gaya?

"Tum pehle andar chalo" he says and takes my hand and leads me into the living room and I follow him in a daze. He makes me sit on the sofa and he sits beside me.

"Can't you see that I like you? Mujhe tumhare saath time spend karne me bahot maza aata hai. Abhi bhi dekho. I'm not ready for you to go yet. And then I don't like it when other guys flirt with you. It gets me so angry. Aur sabse main baat. I feel like kissing you all the time" he says as his eyes move down to my lips.

"So you wanna date me so that you can kiss me all the time?" I ask as I feel butterflies fluttering in my stomach.

"Yes" he says and shrugs.

"VIRAJ" I say and hit his arm. This guy is impossible. Ye baat ko mai compliment samjhu ke kya... Oh god mera dimaag kharab hone wala hai ab.

"Yes. And also so that koi aur ladka nahi pataye tumhe. Aur tum mere saath bahot time spend karo. And so that you cuddle with me. and main matlab you stop doing this 'ye sahi nahi vo sahi nahi' shit" he says the last line imitating my voice and I hit him again.

"But main matlab to kiss you" he says and smirks evilly.

"Mai date vagera nahi karti. I don't even believe in it" I say and his smirk goes away and gets replaced with a frown.

I wanna be with him. But dating ka label deke nahi. In fact ye dating vagera badi temporary chiz hai. Aur Viraj ke maamle me mujhe kuch temporary nahi chahiye.

Suddenly he gets up and kneels in front of me. "Aslesha Mathur, please meri girlfriend bann jaao".

~•~•~•~•~•~•

Dun dun dun... Cliffhanger! This chapter is one of my favourite.. I mean start dekho kaise ho raha hai aur end kaise ho gaya. Please please comment your views on this one. Also, Viraj is such an innocent soul. Lets all give him a tight hug. I hope you're liking where this story is going.. Ily all guys :)