||CHAPTER 53||
《¤》

"Woah, I really won't mind it if this becomes a regular thing, you know."

I bit my lip, unsure of why I was back, stationed outside the doorstep of the Mehra Residence.
From inside, I heard Mrs. Mehra shout, "Kaun hai Vansh? Arey, Arvika! Baahar kyu khadi ho, andar aao. Vansh, bad manners!"

Vansh moved aside to reveal his mother standing a few feet away, looking at her quizzically due to the accusations.

"Bad manners, Vansh," I teased him while enterring, receiving a scoff in return. "Namastey, Aunty!"

"Hellow," she came forward to hug me, "Kaisi chal rahi hai padhai?"

"Aunty, aise kyu embarrass kar rahi ho?"

She laughed humourously at what she though was a joke. "Baitho, Arnav nahi aya tumhare saath?"

"Nahi, mai uske best friend ko churane ayi hoo."

It was only after the words were out and I saw the smug look in Vansh's face that I realised my joke was taken a bit too seriously. Mrs. Mehra was smiling too, "Chalo, acchi baat hai. Tum log upar jao, mai naashtha bhijwati hoon."

"Uski koi zarurat nahi hai Aunty," I pointed to my bagpack. "Mai padhne ayi hoon."

"Well, in that case, tum Vansh ke saath jo bhi padhlo, Math mat padna-"

"Mamma, bass, its okay, we understand, we'll be upstairs!" Vansh successfully muffled her words, pulling me upstairs behind him. I smiled at her apologetically, and she reciprocated, going towards their library.

"What's wrong with your math?" I asked, once we entered his room.

"Nothing," he shrugged it off. "So, kya hua? Mr. Oberoi called again?"

Now was the instant I could safely revert back to my fallen guards, because in this strange universe, he had become my problem solver. No, it wasn't that I felt safe with him, hell no. My Dad could very well recruit Body Guards for that purpose, and I'm pretty sure that the only way Vansh could shoot someone, was in video games.

But I couldn't hide the fact that he did make me feel a few things, and for some reason, I wanted to hold onto that. Probably why I found myself not complaining when his hands rested on my knees.

"Arvika?"

I shook my head. "Did you talk to Karan?"

His posture immediately went rigid. "He made it pretty clear that he did not want to see either of our faces."

I sighed, getting up from his bed, "This is bad."

"What's worse are the things you told him, Vika," he replied. "Why did you hint that you wanted something, when you clearly don't!"

"Because I did want something in the beginning!" I defended. "I-I told you Vansh, I'm not someone you tell secrets to. I exploit them!"

"Then why are you repenting now?"

I didn't reply until I took a long breath. "What about you?"

He scoffed, lying down on his bed with his legs dangling out, "I never was interested in blackmailing him Vika. I thought I'd made that clear."

"Exactly!" I pointed out. "Why were you in this? Karan isn't talking to you either, and it isn't even your fault!"

"He's my friend, Vika," he slightly raised his voice. "I wanted to protect him!"

"Bullshit," I said to his form on the bed. "Agar baat Karan ke protection ki hoti, then you would have not waited for me to start looking into his matter."

"But now that I know about him, do you think I really want to do something about it?"

With my back against the wall, I looked away from him. The tears were finally making an appearance, at a time they weren't welcome.

"I don't want to do something to him either Vansh," my voice shook. "That's why I'm scared."

I hadn't realised I had slowly slid down on the floor until his hairy legs appeared in my blurry vision. I wiped my eyes with the back of my hand.

He was kneeling infront of me. "Vika, tell me. Kya hua?"

Tears were flooding my vision again. "I know I am a bad person Vansh, don't defend me," I added quickly when he opened his mouth to say something. "You out of everyone should know. I bullied you into being our friend-"

"Because you knew Arnav was shy when we were four!"

"No, that's not the point Vansh! Even back in Mumbai, I was the girl who people called bad. And trust me, I had no objections! Mujhe sabke secrets pata hote thhe, and jab koi mujhe gussa dilata tha, uski poori social life khatam ho jaati thhi Vansh!"

He sat beside me on the floor, pulling my legs over his, and bringing me closer. Slowly rubbing my back, he indicated me to continue. I sniffed.

"What I did with my mother and Mr. Oberoi is also another example of how sinister I am, Vansh. And yet, I have absolutely no regrets about it. I did that to my own Mom, Vansh! And yet I was so damn happy about the fact, how bad can a person be?!"

Vansh was listening intently. I took a long breath before I continued. "But that night? When Karan found out about this whole thing? I was devastated Vansh! Mujhse uska itna uthra hua chehra nahi liya gaya! Uska gussa jaayaz hai, I know... But he used to... trust me maybe? Use kya, mujhe khudko khudka chehra nahi dekhna! Suddenly, I'm not okay with being the bad girl. I'm not okay with being the manipulative bitch. I... I hate myself Vansh, for almost going on with the plan I had thought I'd execute with the information! Mai aisa kaise kar sakti hoon? And I hate myself for not going on with the plan too! I don't know what's happening to me, Vansh. I feel guilty!"

I was a completely sobbing mess by the end of my confession, wondering if he even understood my words. My head was burried in my hands, and I wasn't even making an effort to wipe away the tears. I was alright with him seeing my vulnerable side; he had already seen how ugly I could get.

But he didn't speak anything, his forehead was against my shoulder. He didn't need to say anything either, it was in this silence that we found solace. He didn't unwrap his hands from around me, and I didn't want him to. Sometimes, ugly people needed confirmations too.

¿¤?

Next day, at school, wasn't very different, except for the fact that both Karan and I were seated with our friends for lunch. Ritwik noticed something was wrong, "Aaj sooraj konse disha se nikla hai?"

Truth be told, everyone knew something was up. No one dared to question what it was. And hence, no one replied to him.

"You know," Ishita broke the awkward silence, "Mystic High is supposed to be the posh school of this city? But God knows what they do with the canteen facility here, I mean, look at this."

All of us stared at her fork stuck inside a block of noodles. Indeed, the food here was just plain amazing.

"Sticky Maggi!" Ritwik pranced for her fork. "Mujhe bohot pasand hai."

"How am I not suprised?" She scoffed, passing her entire bowl to Ritwik. "Disgusting. Tu hi kha ye aliens ka khana."

It was clear they were trying to ease the tension, but weren't being entirely successful.

"By the way," my brother intervened, "is anyone of us going for the school trip this year?"

"Where are we going anyway?" I asked.

"That's supposed to be the secret, bhullakkad," Ritwik snorted.

"Well, then Arvika will be having a field day finding it out, right?"

And that's how Karan decided to break his silence. By digging on me. I cleared my throat. "If that's a challenge..."

"Oh, it's not," he scoffed, scraping out his chair. "It's just your nature. I've to complete my Maths homework, I'll be in the class."

I could only look at Vansh when Karan departed, his head was in his hands. Somehow, I had worsened the situation.

I was a fcuking disappointment to my own self.

Arnav cleared his throat. "Frooti, anyone?"

¿¤?

That evening, for the first time I felt jittery, standing outside the Bahl residence. Just one car was stationed in the garage, and judging from the maroon Skoda Rapid, I knew Karan was home alone. I knew this would be a failed cause- Karan was so angry that he wouldn't even open the door for me, and honestly, I knew I deserved it. But I had to make this stupid boiling feeling go away. It was becoming too much to handle.

I rang the doorbell again, and just as expected, no one opened the door. Sighing I turned to leave, before I heard the clicking sound of the door opening.

"What else do you want?"

His eyes weren't bloodshot, nor was his hair disheveled. There was absolutely no sign of him being affected by the fact that I knew about his Dad, but I knew he had managed to look okay. I knew he was trying hard to act okay. He had almost succeeded.

So swallowing my pride, I replied, "To settle things. Can I come inside?"

_____

Namoshtaii!

I know none of u are going to to read this because it's a triple update, but if u are, make sure you read the A/N in the next chapter.

Read, vote, comment, promote!

~emcee.