AT THE PARIKHS' HOUSE

It had been 6 days since the Pandyas had moved and safe to say, the Parikh house had become chaotic. The chaos was driving Aastha crazy and she just wanted to bang her guitar on the dining table. She didn't do that after all; her guitar was her first and only love.

Eating together with everyone on the dining table was pretty much the most awkward part of everyone's day. Mostly for Jay though, because the guy had to tolerate unhappy stares from Aastha, it was now something he was used to.

AASTHA'S POV

(Her outfit)

I came back from tutions and changed into my favourite comfortable pair as soon as I came to my room. Then I called Priya to come to my place to help me out with my guitar sessions.

Yes, I play the acoustic guitar. Not many people know about it as I'm just doing it as a hobby. Priya has known about it since the beginning. So, since my 8th grade started, once every week me and her sit in her or my room and I try to play or shall I say practise some songs.

It's mostly Bollywood as Priya madam doesn't listen to western music but I convince her sometimes to let me play Western songs. Today was my lucky day. I was gonna play Night Changes by One Direction— a song that honestly gives me butterflies today. It was my favourite song, I have almost perfected the first two verses with basic chords and that's because I've played it uncountable times.

'Ah, only if the band came back together.' I thought to myself.

My thoughts were broken by the very annoying voice of Jay, obviously. He was talking to his friend apparently and decided to do it in front of my room, I guess.

I chose to ignore him and rather set up my chords and lyrics tab on my iPad such that the camera could still capture my guitar and I could read it.

END OF POV

Someone rang the bell and Aastha went to receive it thinking it had to be Priya. To her surprise, it wasn't. It was actually Dhruvit Gupta, Jay's closest friend whom Aastha hated with a passion. For once, she could tolerate Jay but she could never tolerate this guy. She tried her best not to roll her eyes, but eventually she did.

"What do you want, Dhruvit?" She asked the guy, in a sarcastic tone.

"Where's Jay?" He replied, not paying any heed to that tone.

"Do I look like his assistant that I'll know where he is or even care about it?" She said, still standing at the door in such a way that Dhruvit wouldn't enter.

That's when Priya came inside and she let her in. Priya glared at her, signalling her to let Dhruvit in and stop acting like a baby.

"He's on the terrace, come with us." Aastha said, in a childish tone. She said it just because she didn't want to disappoint her friend.

She took Dhruvit upstairs and then immediately went to her room. She went inside and kept the door a little open so that echo doesn't come in the videos Priya and her iPad would record.

She starts with C then D then G and repeats the pattern till where the lyrics start. As the lyrics start, she goes according to the chord sheet open on her iPad.

"Goin' out tonight, changes into something red

Her mother doesn't like that kind of dress

Everything she never had she's showin' off

Drivin' too fast, moon is breakin' through her hair

She's headin' for somethin' that she won't forget

Havin' no regrets is all that she really wants"

She sang, her eyes still focused on the iPad tab. She starts playing a pattern of the chords C and D again and she continues with the lyrics, although this time, she keeps the chord pattern the same as it was in the break.

"We're only gettin' older, baby

And I've been thinkin' about it lately

Does it ever drive you crazy

Just how fast the night changes?

Everything that you've ever dreamed of

Disappearing when you wake up

But there's nothing to be afraid of

Even when the night changes

It will never change me and you."

This time, she stops. She put her guitar on the bed to go and end the recording on her iPad. She looks over at her friend who then smiles cheerfully at her.

JAY'S POV

(his outfit)

I had come intentionally on the terrace to just piss her off, it was like a sweet little comeback from me. I was talking to a friend when Dhruvit came upstairs with Aastha and her right-hand, Priyadarshini. Both of them are so annoying, ugh.

Dhruvit comes towards me while the girls go inside Aastha's room, keeping the door a little opened probably just to hear what Dhruvit and I were talking about.

Dhruvit was talking about plans to go for the IPL finals when the sound of an acoustic guitar with Aastha's voice which sounded quite beautiful in that moment came out from that room.

That's when I gestured Dhruvit to stop talking for a second so that I could hear what song was she even playing. Finally, I heard it and it was none other than Night Changes.

If it weren't for my self respect I would've gone to her right now and praised her about how much I loved her voice when she was singing and how nicely she was playing the guitar. But I would never, not even in my wildest dreams.

END OF POV

She then changed her tab to Jaane Kyun's lyrics; she also played this song quite often, she had never played it in front of her best friend before. It was like a tiny surprise from her side, a little vacation surprise she had been preparing.

Before starting the lyrics, she said, "This one's for you, Priya." She then smiled and started playing the required chords and singing the lyrics.

Jay also heard her playing Jaane Kyun, and was honestly quite surprised by the fact that she knew how to play the guitar. He had always thought that the guitar in her room was a showpiece.

After playing the song she properly packed her guitar and then looked towards the now blushing Priya. These two had a really close bond, one that was probably impregnable.

Honestly, Jay was a little disappointed when she stopped playing because she played nicely but brushed it off and started talking to his friend again.

Dhruvit looked at Jay with a weird look on his face for a second but again started talking about what was more important to him— the upcoming IPL finals even though they were still 3 weeks away and the stadium tickets hadn't even been opened for booking.

~

It was around 1 AM and Jay was lying on his side of the bed, with eyes wide open. He was thinking about the evening, how she sang and played; he had never seen that side of her. He decided to pretend that he didn't even know that she was playing to make it less awkward. He smiled at his own thoughts before falling asleep.

a/n~
Idk how to end at cliffhangers this early in a story 😭
Also if you thought this chapter was too cheesy, it is what it is.
And he DOESN'T have a CRUSH on her yet <3

Love,
Tithi <3