Kushal paused for a while and said, "Uss din airport pe jab tune Shehnaaz se mera introduction karwaya tha tabhi main samajh gaya tha tu usse like karta hai."

"Yeh t..tu kya b..bol raha hai? Aisa k..kuch nahi hai." Sidharth stuttered.

"Accha toh tu Shehnaaz se pyaar nahi karta?" Kushal again asked.

"Nahi." Sidharth said without looking at him.

"Phir toh accha hi hai. Iska matlab main chahe jitna marzi Shehnaaz ke saath ghumne jau, uske saath flirt karu, tujhe koi fark nahi padhta? Ok."

"Dekh aisa sochna bhi mat." Sidharth suddenly said.

"Ok ok I admit. I love Shehnaaz." Sidharth said.

Kushal started laughing. "Mujhe bolne mein itna time laga diya. Usko kaise bolega? Tere muh se sach sun ne ke liye maine yeh acting ki." He said.

"Toh tu itne dino se acting kar raha tha?"

"Aur nahi toh kya? Main kya kamina hoon jo apne bestfriend ka pyaar chin lunga? By the way I'm happy for you. Your this choice is better than earlier"   Kushal said.

Sidharth smiled.

"Tune Shehnaaz ko kyu nahi bataya?" Kushal asked.

"Himmat nahi ho rahi yaar. I don't think she is ready for a relationship. Meri tarah uska bhi ek past hai. Apne past ko bhul kar woh mujhe accept nahi karegi." Sidharth said.

"Usne tujhse kaha? At least try bro."

"Haan, ussi ne mujhse kaha tha."

"Kya?"

Sidharth started telling him the story.

It was friendship day. That day she didn't come to my house for practice. Her phone was also switched off. So I went to her home to check if she was okay. But she wasn't there. When I asked her parents, they told me that she had gone to her old high school. I didn't understand why she went there. It was near there house. So I went there to meet her.

As soon as I reached there, I saw her sitting on a bench. She was crying. But she immediately wiped her tears after seeing me. I sat on the bench beside her. She looked at me and gave a forceful smile.

"Tu ro kyu rahi thi?" I asked.

"Main kaha ro rahi thi?" She said taking her eyes off me.

I cupped her face and made her look at me.

"Teri aankhon se saaf saaf paata chal raha hai. Isliye mujhse kuch chupane ka fayda nahi. Ab baata kyu ro rahi thi? Aur tu iss school pe kya kar rahi hai?"

"Main issi school mein padhti thi. I mean main aur Rohit hum dono issi school mein padhte the. Aaj friendship day hai... Uss ki bohut yaad...aa rahi thi... Isliye yaaha aa gayi...." She couldn't say further and started crying.

"Shehnaaz, Shehnaaz, don't cry please. Relax, calm down." I said and massaged her hands. I gave her some water and she drank it. After sometime she was calmed down.

"Paata hai Sidharth, usne friendship day ke din hi mujhe propose kiya tha. The moment was very funny. Aaj bhi yaad karti hoon toh haasi aati hai... Aur saath mein aanshu bhi."

"Accha? Kya hua tha? Zara mujhe bhi suna." I said to make her feel better.

She didn't reply and keep looking at me.

"Arrey kya hua? I'm your friend. Aur friends ko share karne se dil halka hota hai."

She smiled and told me about that incident.

Flashback

Shehnaaz was sitting on the bench wearing her school uniform. She was in class 10. That time Rohit came to her. It was their tiffin period. Rohit kept standing in front of her for a long time but couldn't say anything.

After sometime Shehnaaz herself asked, "Tujhe kuch kaam tha mujhse?"

Rohit nodded.

"Kya?"

"Woh actually tujhse ek bohut hi important baat karni thi." Rohit said.

"Ok, I'm listening."

"Jo main tujhe bolne jaa raha hoon uske baad tera answer jo bhi hoga uss se humari friendship ke upar koi affect nahi padhna chahiye."

Shehnaaz stood and said, "Seedhe seedhe bol kehna kya chahta hai."

"Woh main yeh kehna chahta tha ki... Main... umm... tujhe....Woh actually...."

Before he could complete his sentence, Shehnaaz said, "Propose karne wala hai kya?"

"Haan but tujhe kaise paata?" Rohit asked innocently.

"Teri sakal dekh kar hi paata chal raha hai idiot. Propose karna hai toh seedhe I Love You bolte hai. Aur tu? "Woh main kehna chahta tha..", "Humari friendship ke upar affect nahi padhna chahiye." Kaisi kaisi stupid jaisi baatein kar raha hai." Shehnaaz said angrily.

Rohit stood silent.

"Kya hua? Ab toh kuch bol." Shehnaaz said.

"Aur kya bolu? Tujhe toh sab kuch paata lag hi gaya. Ab answer bhi de de." Rohit said.

Shehnaaz got more angry.

"Tera dimag thik hai? Ek toh tu mujhe valentine's day ki jagah friendship day par propose kar raha hai aur upar se itni ghatiya tarike se, agar teri jagah koi aur hota na dekhte hi reject kar deti. Tu mera best friend hai, isliye tujhe second chance de rahi hoon. Thik se propose karna hai toh kar warna ladko ki line lagi hai mere liye." Shehnaaz said the last few lines with full attitude.

"Valentine's day par itne ladkon ko rejection milti hai isliye unhe dekh kar himmat nahi hoti. So I thought friendship day would be better. Thik hai main tujhe acche se propose karta hoon." Rohit said. He knelt down and hold her hand.

"Dekh Sana tu chahe mujh par kitna bhi chillaye, mujhe daante aur baatein sunaye, phir bhi mujhe sirf tu acchi lagti hai. I know hum dono mein koi match nahi hai. Tu talkative hai, main shy. Tu smart hai, main stupid. Mujhe padhna pasand hai, tujhe bilkool bhi nahi. Tu bohut acchi singer hai aur mujhe singing ki abcd bhi nahi aati. But still I love you Sana and I think we will make a great pair. So kya kehti hai?" He said.

"Waise toh mujhe daring ladke pasand hai. But tujhe toh main maana bhi nahi kar sakti. Aur agar maine maana kar bhi diya, tujhe toh koi acchi ladki milegi bhi nahi. Isliye..."

"Isliye?"

"I also love you." Shehnaaz said while blushing.

Rohit stood up and hugged her tightly.

"Arrey kya kar raha hai? Control. School mein hai hum." Shehnaaz said.

"Oops sorry." Rohit said and broke the hug.

Then he took out a friendship band from his pocket and wrapped it around her wrist.

"Mere paas ring toh nahi hai but yeh friendship band de ke main promise karta hoon, puri life tere saath rahunga." Rohit said.

"Pakka promise?" Shehnaaz asked.

"Pakka promise." He said

Flashback ends...

Shehnaaz became lost while telling me all these. I could clearly see the love in her eyes. After hearing everything I said, "Kya baat hai Shehnaaz! Tu toh badi dominating thi. Bechara Rohit."

She laughed a little and said, "Tune sahi kaha. Bohut dominating thi main. Humesha uss par gussa karti thi. Actually I never got a chance to show my love. Pyaar toh karti thi but kabhi waise express nahi kar payi jaise woh karta tha. Ab toh woh chala hi gaya. Kaash mujhe ek second chance milta apni galti sudharne ka."

"Aise mat soch. Galtiyan sabse hoti hai. Aage se kabhi aisa mat karna. Jis se pyaar karti hai usse express bhi kar dena." I said.

"Aage se matlab?"

"Matlab aage jaa kar agar tujhe dobara kisi se pyaar ho...."

"Aisa nahi ho sakta." She suddenly said. "Rohit ki jagah main kisi aur ko kabhi nahi de sakti. Maine puri zindagi sirf ussi se pyaar kiya hai aur aage bhi karti rahungi."

"I can understand but life mein move on karna bhi toh zaroori hai."

"Apne kaam ke through mein move on kar rahi hoon. Lekin Rohit ke alawa kisi aur ko apne dil mein jagah dena.... Yeh mujhse nahi hoga." She said.

I didn't say anything. That day I decided that I would never tell Shehnaaz about my feelings. It'll be good if she loves me someday but if she doesn't, I will respect that.

After completing Sidharth looked at Kushal and said, "Ab paata chala maine usse kyu nahi baataya? Main apni sabse acchi dost ko khona nahi chahta."

"I can understand bro. But ek na ek din toh tujhe usse baatana hoga. Aur jo tune mujhe kaha woh bohut pehle ki baat hai. Ho bhi toh sakta hai ab woh tujhse pyaar karti ho. You should talk to her." Kushal said.

"I think you are right. I should try." Sidharth said.

"Aur agar tune try nahi kiya toh main try kar lunga. Waise bhi Shehnaaz ko main accha lagta hoon." Kushal said intentionally to irritate Sidharth.

"Abe, apni limit mein reh. Shehnaaz sirf meri hai, thik hai? Aur main usse kaal hi baataunga." Sidharth said.

Kushal laughed in his mind.
_______________________________________

Will Sidharth finally tell Shehnaaz?

How will she react?

Stay tuned...

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