(Sunday)

||Abhay||

"So, what's the plan?" I ask Riya while applying some gel to my hair. All four of us are visiting a lake today which is situated in the outskirts of Delhi.

"I don't know, I just want them to spend some time together" she replies.

"You think it'll work?" I ask, "we can at least​ try" she says and I nod.

We were still getting ready when I heard the doorbell. I was​ expecting it to be Shubman and there he is. He's wearing a black shirt and jeans. He came inside and we sat on the sofa. I was ready but Riya wasn't done yet so we had to wait a little.

"Where are we going?" Shubman questioned.

"A lake adjacent to a people's park" I reply.

"Where is it?"

"It's in the outskirts"

"Why there? We can visit some amusement park or mall instead, I'm damn sure it'll be more fun" he says narrowing his eyebrows.

"Cause we have been to those malls and amusement parks a billion times before" Riya says joining in. "C'mon Shub, let's explore and it's a quiet and beautiful place" she adds.

"Fine" he said.

After this we moved to the car. I took the driver's seat and Riya sat beside me. Shubman was at the back seat. I started driving and Shubman gave me the directions to Anya's house and we reached there in twenty minutes.

"I'll get her" I say, "I'm the only one who's left unintroduced to her family" I add.

"Okay" they both say in unison.

I got out of the car and went to their doorstep and rang the bell. After a few seconds a girl in her twenties opened it, she must be Anya.

"Hello, you're Anya right?" I ask giving a smile.

"Ya and you're Abhishek Sharma" she says returning the smile.

"You know me?" I ask, "who doesn't know you" she replies, "please come inside" she adds and lead me to her living room. As I entered, I saw her whole family sitting there. All of them smiled looking at me and I reciprocated.

"So Abhishek that's my Dad, mom and my brother" she tells me pointing at them.

"Hello son" his Dad approached me and we shook hands. "Nice to meet you sir" I reply.

"Hello ma'am" I greet her mom. "Hello beta" she replies.

"Hey I'm Aryan" her brother smiled.

"Nice to meet you Aryan, I'm Abhishek" I introduce myself.

"Where are the others?" Her Dad asked confused.

"Shubman and Riya are sitting in the car. Actually I was the only one you people didn't know about so I thought I should just introduce myself" I explain.

"That's totally fine, where are you guys going by the way?" He asks.

"It's an old lake outside the city, we have never really been to that place so it'll be fun I guess" I reply and he nods.

"Shall we go now?" Anya asks me. "Yes sure" I reply.

I turn to her dad and say, "we'll be back before 9 and we'll take good care of her"

"I know you guys will, have fun" he smiled at us. After this we left her house and walked towards the car.

"You're really sweet Abhishek" Anya compliments me while we were walking towards the car.

"I know" I laugh, "and call me Abhay, thats how my friends address me" I smile. "Okay" she replied.

I opened the back seat's door for her. Our motive was to make sure Anya and Shubman stay together most of the time so Riya intentionally took the front seat. After Anya sat I closed the door and went to the driver's seat and started driving.

||Anya||

"Hey Anya" Riya said giving me a big smile.

"Hey Riya, how are you?" I ask.

"I'm good, and see I convinced him to come with us" she winked at me.

"I'm impressed" I laugh.

I turn to Shubman and found him already looking at me. I mouthed a "hi" to him.

"Hi" he mouthed giving a pressed smile. By his expression it's easy to guess that he didn't want to come. Is it because of me? Or he never had any interest in travelling? I was pulled away from my thoughts by the loud music that Abhay played. None of us said anything for few minutes then finally Shubman spoke.

"Dude my ears will start bleeding any moment, volume kam kar" he groans keeping his hands on his ears.

"Nhi karunga, kya kar lega?" He laughs and made me laugh too. Shubman extended his arms to the front and turned off the music device.

"What the hell? You've turned into such boring person man" Abhay rolls his eyes.

"I told you that I don't wanna come. Now you have to bear with this boring Shub" Shubman smirks.

"Stop behaving like kids you two" Riya scolds them.

"Sorry mom" they say together and started laughing. I too was giggling and Riya rolled her eyes.

"And tumhe kabse loud music nhi pasand?" She asks Shubman.

"Do I need to answer that question?" He replies and everyone went silent because all of us knew the answer. Riya told me since the time Siya has left, Shubman has turned into a completely different person. She said the old Shubman was more lively but he's gone now. I wish I could know the old Shubman.

All us kept chit chatting about random things except for Shubman. He was silent most of the time. He did talk to Riya and Abhay but didn't even look at me once which didn't surprise me.

After about half an hour we reached our destination. I stepped out of the car and damn! This place was aesthetically pleasing. I wonder how can such a beautiful place even exist in Delhi?

"I'm impressed Abhishek Sharma" I heard Shubman say.

"I'm impressive you know" Abhay smirks at him.

"Whatever" Shubman rolls his eyes.

"Let's go inside" Riya announced and all of us followed her. The park had a narrow entrance such that only one person can get inside at once. Riya entered first followed by Abhay. Shubman and I unknowingly tried to get in at the same time and had a small crash.

"Ouch" I say, "I'm sorry" I apologise.

"It's okay, you go first" he said. I went inside first followed by Shubman.

The park looked even more beautiful from the inside. It had a cemented path around the lake for the people to walk. With hardly any person there, it was the perfect place for a hangout.

"Okay guys, we're going. Enjoy your time together" Abhay said taking Riya's hand in his.

"Wait! Where are you guys going?" I asked.

"To spend some time together, you wanna third wheel between us?" He laughed.

"Wasn't it supposed to be a group hangout?" I asked raising an eyebrow.

"That doesn't mean we can't spend some quality time with each other" he said, "tum dono bhi toh couple ho, go spend some time together" he added.

"WE AIN'T A COUPLE" Shubman and I yelled at the same time.

"Abhi nhi ho, future me toh banane wale ho na" Riya said. Oh really? Doesn't look like after the start we had.

"Mujhe pata tha yahi hone wala hai" Shubman said making a disgusted face. Abhay and Riya laughed at this.

"Bye guys!" They said and left.

Shubman and I were standing there alone and after few seconds he turned and started to walk. I didn't know what to do so I stood there just like that. When Shubman realised I wasn't coming with him he turned to me.

"What? Vahi khade rehne ka irada hai kya?" He asked

"Nhi" I replied.

"Toh chalo mere saath" he said and started walking again. I ran to catch up with him. I was happy that he wasn't at least being rude to me. It wasn't normal but somewhat better.

We continued to walk by the lake. We've been walking for fifteen minutes now but none of us initiated a conversion which surprisingly didn't seem awkward to me. I was busy admiring the place's features all the time.

"Can we take a break?" I asked after another fifteen minutes.

"Tired already?" He asked.

"A bit" I replied. "Okay then, let's see if there is any bench to sit" he said.

"Can't we just sit here by the rocks?" I asked referring to the rocks between the path and the lake.

"Are you sure? I don't want you to fall over" he laughs.

"I'm not a kid" I glared. "Okay okay, let's go" he said. He went first and then gave me his hand, in case I lose balance. I placed my hand in his and he made me sit in one of the rocks.

"Thanks" I smiled. "Welcome" he replied. The scenery looked prettier from where we were sitting.

"This place is beautiful, isn't it?" Shubman asked.

"Very, lekin tum shayad yahan aana nhi chahte the" I said. He laughs.

"I would have regretted later to be honest" he said.

"Why didn't you want to come?" I asked looking at him.

"My past" he replied. I expected him to elaborate his answer so I waited for few seconds but when he didn't, I asked him again,"your past?"

"You already know about it, don't you?" He asked.

"I do, but I want to know it from you Shubman" I said, "if at all I have that right" I added. He didn't say anything for seconds, then took a deep breath and started speaking.

"She didn't love me. All these years she was just using me and my fame. Now that she has everything she ever wanted, she left me. She didn't even think twice before crushing my heart into pieces" he said. I could feel his voice getting heavier. I placed my hand on his shoulder to comfort him. He continued speaking.

"I know she's a bitch but still I just can't get over​ her. How can I forget those three years just like that? I did everything I could to ensure she carries that million dollar smile on her face all the time. I even fought with my family sometimes because they didn't like her. I loved her with everything I had, but she never felt the same for me! I regret everything I ever did for her. But even after all this I can't see someone else take her place in my life.

That day in the cafe, I yelled at you for no reason! But trust me Anya, I'm not that guy. I never shout at anyone, I just don't know what happened to me that day, I realised it later that I was too harsh on you. I don't understand what that girl has done to me, I hardly have any soft feelings left in me. I don't want to be this person, I hate myself now!" He finished.

"You okay Shubman?" I asked. "I'm" he replied.

"You don't seem okay" I say.

"Did I say too much?" He asked making an eye contact.

"Not really" I reply.

"I'm sorry Anya, I never wanted to hurt you"

"It's okay Shubman, I'm not mad at you anymore" I tell him. "So I was the reason you didn't want to come?" I ask.

"Not just you, but these places remind me of the time I spent with her. I always took her to such places, we used to take pictures, kiss under the blue-hued sky, play around and do all the happy things together. But everything is gone now" he replies with a sad face. I was genuinely feeling bad for him, no one deserves this. From everything he said I can make out that he isn't a bad guy, circumstances made him do everything.

"Shubman, are you sure you're ready for this marriage?" I ask him.

"I know I'm not" he replies. "Neither you are" he adds. I ignored the latter part of his reply.

"You don't have to do this Shubman, I know you don't want this. We can end this right here, I'm sure your family won't pressurise you for anything"

"Vo toh tumhare bhi nhi krenge kabhi bhi, then why're you doing this? I know you aren't happy either. I told you my story, it's your turn now" he says.

I didn't say anything. I always feel a sharp pain in my chest whenever I think about Dad. I always start crying midway.

"It's okay if you don't want to" he said bringing me out of my thoughts.

"It's not like that Shubman. My dad-" I broke down. "It's okay" he said patting my back.

"He is suffering from cancer. Doctor said he hardly has a year left with him. He wants to see me get married to a nice guy before he leaves all of us. How can I say no to him? He's done so much for me and I'd have been selfish to say no" I tell him.

"I'm really sorry I didn't know any of this" he replied in an apologetic tone. "Here, take this" he said passing me his handkerchief.

"Thanks Shubman" I said taking the handkerchief from him and wiping my tears.

"Are you sure you want to marry me?" He asks me. "That's the only thing I'm sure of" I reply.

"Same here" he replies looking down.

"I'm sorry but I can't love you" he says after few seconds. I was hurt hearing that but I understand why he said that.

"I don't expect anything from you Shubman" I tell him.

"You can" he says making an eye contact.

"What?" I asked confused.

"We can't love each other that doesn't mean we can't be friends, we're in the same situation and it's better if we're friends. That way it won't be this awkward" he explains. He was actually right. We understand each other more than anyone else because we are in the same situation and yes, I want this awkwardness to die between us.

"So friends?" He asked forwarding his hand.

"Friends" I smiled shaking hands with him.

"I think we should leave now, it's getting late" Shubman​ said. I hummed.

We started walking back to where Abhay and Riya left us. We kept talking all the time, especially Shubman. He was smiling a lot, he looked happy for the first time since the time we met.

"Are you hungry?" He asked me, "very" I said making a pout which made him laugh.

"Ice cream?"

"Yesss" I replied in a excited state. We went to an ice cream stall and took two chocolate ice creams and started walking back.

"Calm down girl, koi tumhari ice cream cheen kar nhi le jayega" Shubman​ commented at the way I was eating my ice cream.

"I'm hungry" I defend myself.

"At least eat like a human, you're eating like some monstress now" he laughs.

"So mean Gill" I said making a face and he stuck his tongue at me. He looked so cute that I felt like pulling his cheeks right there.

We walked back to the park with Shubman and me cracking lame jokes all the way and laughing on them.

"You even laugh like some female monstress" he teased me.

"Shut up Gill" I laugh.

"Woah, I wasn't expecting this scene to be honest" Abhay says joining in. "Me too, looks like you guys had a great time together" Riya said.

"Yeah it was nice" Shubman replied grinning.

"Toh hum vapas walk par chalein?" Abhay asked laughing.

"Nhi koi zarurat nhi hai, late ho raha hai and we need to drop Anya home on time" Shubman said.

"Haan right, I think we should go back. I'm really tired" I say.

"So am I, chalo Abhay" she tells Abhay. He nodded and all of us left the park and went to the car.

Abhay drove to a restaurant nearby which was thankfully empty. Shubman ordered food for us. After few minutes the waiter came with our order and served all of us dinner. After we finished eating, Shubman paid the bill and we left.

On the way back home Abhay and Riya took the back seat because Riya said she was really tired. She slept on Abhay's lap. Shubman sat on the driver's seat and I took the front seat. All of us were tired to such extent that we didn't even talk. I turned to check on Abhay and Riya and found them fast asleep.

"Sleepy?" Shubman asked me.

"Very" I replied in an exhausted tone.

"Just few minutes more, you can sleep after that" he said. I was yawning all the way but somehow managed to stay awake. After few minutes he stopped the car outside my house.

I was about about to open the car door but he stopped me. He stepped outside the car and came to the other side and opened the door for me like a gentleman. I was surprised at his change of behaviour.

"Thanks Shubman" I say.

"Well now that we're friends, you can call me Shub, and no need to say thanks for anything" he said giving a smile.

"Okay Shub" I smiled back.

"You guys are back on time" came a voice and we turned around to find Dad standing near the gate grinning.

"Hello Mr Singh" Shubman greeted shaking hands with Dad.

"Hello beta, did you guys enjoy?" He asked.

"Yeah, we really had a great time" I smiled looking at Shubman which he reciprocated.

"Mai ab chalta hoon uncle, mom aur dad mera wait kar rahe honge, goodnight" Shubman said.

"Sure, goodnight beta" dad smiled.

"Goodnight Shub, bye" I said.

"Goodnight Anya" he flashed his brightest smile of the day flaunting his perfect teeth. He went back to the car and left. I went inside once the car was out of sight.

I went back to my room smiling to myself thinking about Shubman. Nothing special happened today but his company is all I want have the rest of my life. He way he laughs and makes me laugh, he way he teases me, there is something really special in him and can't wait to meet him again.

Hey peeps! Sorry for this late update I was quite busy. Please ignore the mistakes because I wrote this chapter in haste. I'll try to update soon!

Thank you 🌸