|PRIYANKA|

It has been a couple of weeks since that entire club blunder. The day after was probably one of the most embarrassing days that I have ever been through. I could only remember a few things I had done the day before. One memory that stood out the most was me calling Anurag Giraffe. I called him that not once but twice.

Nyra had the time of her life tormenting me by withholding the information about the things I had done after drinking those shots. I sang! I freaking sang in front of an entire audience and I was almost going to dedicate the song to Anurag.

I thank god every day that Nyra pulled me off the stage at the right time. Somebody had uploaded a video of me singing on Instagram but again I got lucky because my face wasn't seen that much at all. My memory is a bit fuzzy but I remember telling Anurag good night Giraffe after Aarav and he had given us a lift back to our apartment.

I groaned and banged my head against the table. Every time I remember that, I feel like burying myself somewhere. Why did I have to call him that? That too in front of everyone! Nyra had the time of life by teasing me the entire weekend. She cooed at me when I told her that I genuinely liked him.

The blog that I had written that day had gotten the most crazy amount of comments. My eyes widened the moment I clicked on the comment section.  Someone commented I should just be honest about my feelings and ask him out. Someone else commented that I should kiss him that would get a reaction out of him other than the frowns.

Whenever I thought about that particular comment I couldn't help but blush. How would it feel to have my lips against his? I bit my bottom lip and swiveled the chair from side to side. I sighed and shook my head, unfortunately, I hadn't seen him since last week.

My mind went back to the time when Nyra had told me about the video and the last time I had seen him. Although getting to know about the video wasn't the best part of the memory the things that took place after that always made me blush. I couldn't stop myself from smiling every time I thought about it. Mr. No smiles only scowls smiled at me for the first time. I couldn't help but feel giddy.

|Flashback|

Nyra called me from the living room, apparently, there was something important that she wanted to share. I walked out of the living room and plopped on the couch waiting for Nyra to tell me what was wrong. Jay was here as well.

"Ohh right here's the thing. Umm someone posted a video of you singing on stage last night." My eyes bulged out of my head and I snatched the phone from Nyra.

"Noo!" I screamed when I heard my voice on the phone. Jay and Nyra sat next to me to get a better look at the video.

"Hey, it's not so bad. The club was pretty much dark the entire time and we can barely even make out your face." Jay muttered squinting his eyes as if he were examining the video from every angle.

"Priyu it's okay. Besides everyone is complimenting you and also they are curious about your crush." Nyra said scrolling through the comments. I pushed the phone away and walked towards the kitchen. I poured a glass of water for myself and went back to the couch.

Anurag's face once again flashed in my mind. Stupid stupid stubborn man. It's all because of him. I shall avenge this incident. I don't like him anymore! I screamed in my mind and slumped further into the couch.

"Stop whining. It was a fun night!" Nyra said, A few seconds later I heard Jay and Nyra laughing loudly. I screeched and threw a pillow at them.

"Shut up!" I muttered and covered myself with a light blanket. They stopped laughing after a minute trying to catch their breaths. I glared at the television waiting for this day to get over.

"Anyway, how are you going to woo Anurag now?" Nyra asked wiggling her brows. She was quoting the words from my blog. Jay nodded enthusiastically.

"Oh stop it both of you. Just shhh! Be quiet!" I said they were going to tease me further when the doorbell rang.

Nyra slapped her hand on her forehead and stood up. "I almost forgot I had asked Sana to come today because she missed one of the weekday classes."

"What!?" I jumped up and sprinted towards my room. "Knock the door when her class is over okay? I'm not going to face Anurag especially not today."

Nyra rolled her eyes. "Don't be silly Priyu. Sana always asks for you. Do you want me to lie to her?"

"Wait who is Sana and why would Anurag be with her?" Jay asked.

"Sana is Anurag's sister," Nyra replied.

Jay muttered Oh and nodded. The bell rang once again.

"Ugh! Nyra just tell her I'm sleeping because I am unwell that's all!" I shut the door before Nyra could argue further. I sighed leaning my head against the door.

I need to sort out my feelings and thoughts about Mister who shall not be named—so much for not thinking about him at all. For the next couple of hours, I sorted through some of the paperwork of the trust foundation, I completed a couple of writing assignments although the deadline was for next week I didn't want to think about him right now so I kept myself occupied.

Just when I was about to finish up my things there was a knock on my door. I opened the door to find Sana smiling brightly at me. "Hey, Priyanka Di! Hope you are feeling better now Nyra Di told me that you were unwell."

"I'm better now Sana bug." Sana hugged me, I smiled hugging her back. She is the sweetest girl ever. "I made a get well soon card for you." I chuckled as I traced my fingers over the colorful splash of hearts on the front page. She had written Get well soon inside the card. My heart melted, she is so considerate.

"Nyra Di said that chocolates always make you feel better. So here you go." She passed me a dairy milk silk bar. I ruffled her hair and hugged her. "Thank you, Sana!"

"Woah! Your room looks even more colorful than the last time. Ohh new pictures!" She ran towards the collage wall and looked at the new pictures with an awe-struck face.

"Wow Sana wasn't wrong, your room is colorful." I turned to find Aarav standing at the threshold of my room. I sighed a breath of relief that means Anurag isn't here today. Just to be sure I looked over Aarav's shoulder because there were times when both of them showed up to pick Sana.

"Don't worry Anurag isn't here. He went shopping to get some paint supplies for Sana." Aarav said and crossed his arms across his chest smirking at me. 

"Yeah well I wasn't looking for your brother, I was searching for Nyra," I stated calmly composing my posture. 

"Right of course you weren't looking for him," Aarav said, with a teasing smile on his face. He's making fun of me not a problem two can play a game.

"How does Nyra look today?" I asked him causally. He muttered the word beautiful without even thinking for a second. I pressed my lips together, attempting to stifle my laughter. Sana who was done admiring my wall came and stood next to me.

She chuckled and pressed her palm against her mouth. "Priyanka Di, I think Aarav Bhai has a crush on Nyra Di. He always keeps staring at her."

I chuckled and whispered back, cupping my palm around my mouth, "I think so too Sana bug." She giggled.

"Shut up both of you," Aarav muttered, his cheeks were slightly red.

"Bhai is blushing!" Sana sang and Aarav glared at her. 

"Anyway, I want you to know that Giraffe's I mean Anurag's favorite chocolate is the silk one that you are holding in your hand." I closed my eyes and let out a breath. He was right next to Anurag when I called him Giraffe. This Giraffe thing isn't going to die down anytime soon.

"Ohh I didn't know you had such a good memory. Beautiful's sorry Nyra's favorite chocolate is Diary milk the crackle one."

I smiled sweetly at him, Aarav cleared his throat and scratched his neck. I chuckled at his expression. Aarav genuinely likes Nyra. How cute, I wish he asked her out. Meanwhile, Sana was already on the other side of my room looking at some of the kid's books that I had arranged on the side table.

"Well played Red well played." I rolled my eyes and crossed my arms across my chest. 

"Red?" I asked.

"Yeah, your fiery attitude and the hair color go together. Besides only a Red like you can handle my brother." My cheeks heated up slightly but I gave an exaggerated sigh, attempting to hide my reaction.

"Anyway, I think we should go now. Cupcake come on let's go Mom texted me that she's here to pick you up." Sana was now busy looking at the pictures that were being displayed on the digital picture display which was on my table and squealing from time to time. She got down from the chair and hugged me one more time before running to her brother. I ruffled her hair and waved my hand at her.

"Bye Sana Bug. Have a good weekend!"

Aarav chuckled and Sana waved her hand at me. Sana danced out of the room and began chattering loudly with Nyra.

"I think you might be exactly what my grumpy brother needs,"  Aarav whispered before walking away. I blinked repeatedly, attempting to process the statement he had just uttered.

I shook my head, this is crazy. Too much to take in, I had acknowledged my feelings for him only yesterday and now I don't know I need time to think! I have never felt this way about anyone. I went to the living room to grab my water glass that was on the coffee table. Nyra was giving some instructions to Sana about the next painting class, and Aarav patiently waited for them to finish their conversation. 

The doorbell rang, maybe it was Jay he had left to finish some chores and promised to bring back some ice cream. I opened the door with a massive grin on my face. I gasped softly when I found Anurag standing there with a canvas board and some paintbrushes in his hand. He looked even more handsome than yesterday. How is that even possible?

Someone cleared their throat behind me. "Hi," I whispered, Anurag raised his brows and his lips tugged into a small smile. Is he smiling at me? Did he just smile at me? What happened to the don't talk to me pact?

Before Anurag could greet me Sana rushed past me and hugged him. His eyes twinkled as he patted her head. "I got them for you. Have fun painting!" 

"Thank you, Bhai!" Sana squealed jumping up and down. My heart melted, who knew Mr. No smiles only scowls was this sweet? I sighed and bit my lip.  

Anurag ruffled her hair and held her hand. "Mom's waiting for you downstairs. Let's go. Bye Priyanka, bye Nyra." Anurag said. Nyra bumped her shoulder against mine. I cleared my throat and shook my head. 

"Uhh bye, Anurag," I muttered, he nodded and walked away along with Sana who was talking excitedly. 

"No Giraffe today," Aarav muttered, he smirked as he walked past me, and Nyra laughed. 

"Shut up! Annoying people." I grunted and walked inside. 

"Bye Red," He waved his hand and followed his siblings. 

"Oh, you are so gone Priyu!" Nyra teased, I scoffed at her and shut the door. Before I could process or think about an intelligent comeback to shut Nyra up my phone vibrated and I had to take the call as it was an important client that wanted a write-up.

***

I couldn't help but replay the smiling or at least an almost smiling face of Anurag again and again. I snapped out of my thoughts when my phone vibrated. It was a text from Papa. He rarely texted me. We already had our once-in-a-week robotic conversation.

I clicked on the message to find a Google Meet link. Below it was a short and crisp message typed out. "Priyanka join the call today at 6 pm. I want to discuss something important with you."

A twinge of sadness hit me. Is this what our relationship has come to? Couldn't he at least call and tell me what it was? Why couldn't we ever have a normal conversation? When Ma passed the two of us handled grief in different ways that's when the strain in our relationship started. I lost him and he lost me. Now I don't know how to fix it. 

My eyes automatically went to the photo frame on my table. I miss Ma, I missed the ease that she brought between all of us. 

I sighed and checked the time on my phone. It was only 1 pm there were still a few hours for this call. I clicked on the other message which was from Nyra. It was a picture of her in a paint gallery. I am glad that she was having fun. I locked my phone and continued completing my assignments for the following week and wondered about what Papa wanted to talk to me about. 

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A/N: The interactions between Anurag and Priyanka always make me swoon! What do you guys think, will Anurag acknowledge his  feelings for Priyanka soon?

Also I know you guys want more moments between them and you will get more! The upcoming chapters will make your heart soar! Hehe!

Today I want to thank each one of you for showering so much love on this story! Thank you!

Hope you guys liked this chapter! If you did please do vote and comment! I would love to know what you guys think!

Priyanka be like......