Hey Lovely people,

In this part,Naina's thoughts,which I would like to call 'Mind Voice', will be in Italics.

"Naina,Do you take Rishab to be your lawfully wedded husband?"

"I do"

"Rishab,Do you take Naina to be your lawfully wedded wife?"

"I do"

"I hereby pronounce you man and wife.You may now kiss the bride"

Rishab moved closer to Naina and just as he was about to lean in to kiss her...

"WHAT?! "Naina sat up in shock and wiped the sweat beads on her forehead.

'Rishab and Naina?I mean.. Me! Marriage? Church?'

Her mind was still disoriented and she switched on the bed side lamp and drank water from the bottle on the side table.

She took a deep breath and tried to calm her racing heart. Why the hell did she get such a dream?! Why were they getting married in a church?

'So you would have been fine if it had been a temple ?' her mind voice questioned her, effectively making her bid goodbye to her night's sleep.

What followed,was a thought provoking conversation between her and her mind voice.

"Okay,it's just a dream. Rishab is my best friend! I can't marry him! I am pretty sure he doesn't like me that way either".

'How can you assume?'

"Oh come on! I know him inside out!"

'You think so?'

"I know so! What's your problem anyway? Making me think about things I would have never thought of otherwise?"

'Well just a perspective,you know?'

"Whatever! I am sleeping. Don't make me dream anything on those lines again!Got it?"

'I don't have a control over your dreams,sweetheart!' her mind voice smirked at her.

"Argh.Go to hell!"

'Sweet dreams,' her mind voice chuckled,knowing pretty well that sleep was far far away,probably planets away.

And Ms.Mindvoice was right! Naina kept tossing and turning on her bed but all she could think of was the wedding scene. Her mind kept playing it as if it was a DVD that had stopped working and was stuck at one place.

Finally realising that it was pointless to try sleeping anymore,she let her mind wander to all the moments spent with her best friend,aka,the hero in her dream.

The initial phase with a silent and hesitant Rishab,the way she had initiated the first conversation ,him opening up to her slowly but steadily,his voice which was nothing short of pure magic to a listener,his sense of accomplishment after the culturals,his giving up all inhibitions and befriending the gang,the birthday surprise which he never stopped talking about,the innumerable conversations between them,Rishab being their lecturer and their group study sessions,the number of places they had visited together and Rishab getting to experience most of the things for the first time and his excitement about it,their most recent trip to the marine drive with the scenic sunset that gave a sense of calm..-she relived every single moment and didn't realise until her cheeks started hurting,that she had been smiling broadly.

'Nice memories,I know!'Ms.Mind voice was back.

"Go away! Oh no..How will I react when I face him tomorrow? I hope I don't remember this dream in the morning.Dream dream go away,come again another day. Actually, don't come back at all! I don't want to think of things that won't happen."

'It won't? How can you be sure?'

"Falling in love with Rishab seems..quite funny actually. I have literally spent all of my free time with him the past few months and this thought has never crossed my mind.He is my best friend! Um..You know what? You are confusing me now".

'Hahaha good to know that I am.And remember, he invited you to his place'.

"He invited US to his place.The whole gang! Don't twist facts to suit your needs."

'My needs can't be different from yours for long,darling' Naina could sense her mind voice shaking her head,mocking her.

"Goodnight. You will realise soon, how very wrong you are about the whole thing."

'Who is the first person that comes to your mind whenever you want to share anything,happy or sad?

"Rishu of course. But he is my best friend, so I would obviously want to tell him,right?"

'Whose words have the instant soothing effect whenever you lose your calm?'

When Naina was in deep thought,the mind voice continued..'Why do you always feel the need to protect him , support him and just always be there for him?'

"Because,remember he was an introvert and everything was new to him?"

''Was' yes. Not anymore , it's been a while since he started talking to everyone and he can pretty well get his point across.You even lied to your friends so that you could avoid going to the party,just because he was uncomfortable'.

"Friendship ?"

'Something more?'

"I really don't know what has gotten into you all of a sudden,dear Mind voice. I am sleeping now,goodnight."

'Bye sweety. Invite me to your wedding the next time you get married,'her mind voice chuckled before letting her sleep for a couple of hours.

Morning arrived pretty soon and so did the thoughts from the previous night. She shook her head as if that would clear her head from the confusing thoughts and got up to get ready for the day.

The next couple of days saw Naina getting kind of nervous,whenever she spoke to Rishab.

"What is going on? He is Rishab! Come on!"she told herself quite a few times but even his 'Good morning Ms.Smiles'(His new nickname for her)text,seemed to send her heart racing.

She realised that she had started noticing everything about him,from the way he spoke,his hand gestures,his deep voice,how his eyes could speak volumes and a lot more,something that she had never paid attention to,in the past.

"Damn you, dream! And you too mind voice,"seemed to be her constant chant most of the time.

Rishab noticed that something was off with Naina but when she assured him that she was fine,he didn't want to insist further.She would tell him if anything was bothering her.She always did.

It was time for the gang to visits Rishab's house and everyone was looking forward to it. They had planned to stay there for four days and Rishab had decided to show them around the place,though that wouldn't take long,given the size of the town.

They hired a private van,so that they could have fun without bothering others,which would have been the case,had they opted for public transport.

Eating, dumb charades,Antakshari,chatting about every random thing possible-happened over the next couple of hours and they reached his place late evening. Rishab's parents gave them a very warm welcome and Naina couldn't stop the sense of belonging she felt at that moment.

Rishab had taken after his mother in his soft spoken nature and had his father's eyes. They were lovely people who made sure that their son's friends felt comfortable and they were glad that the kids were very down to earth and caring,unlike what they had assumed youngsters from a big city to be like. They were happy for their son and his mother had a soft corner for Naina,thanks to having heard non stop praises about her from her son,from the day they had spoken for the first time.

"You have a very beautiful smile,Naina .Stay happy,always,"his mother had told her when she had bent to take his parents' blessings.

'Nice Mother in law,' Ms Mind voice had commented right then.She was tongue tied momentarily and recovered only after his mother had asked, "All okay?" to her, to which she nodded hastily.

Dinner was a happy affair with everyone telling Rishab's parents about themselves,college, Rishab and other general things. After dinner,the gang had stayed up till late, talking. Soon, they had all gone to sleep except Naina, who found it difficult to sleep in a new place. So she slowly got up to go to the terrace and get some fresh air,when she heard him.

"Naina? Not sleepy?"he asked in his low husky tone. And she noticed how good he looked,with his messy hair,tracks and T shirt.

"Naina?"he snapped his fingers right before her eyes,bring her out of her reverie.

"Uh? Oh yeah Rishab. I thought I will go to the terrace for a while."

"Let's go"

"What? No no you sleep,"she told him hurriedly and added a 'Please sleep. I need time to figure out my thoughts,'to herself.

"I am not sleepy either.Come on,"he held her hand and walked to the terrace,making her look at their intertwined fingers. What's happening to her!?

Rishab slowly climbed the ladder leading to the water tank,the top of which was his most favourite place in the house.Perfect spot for star gazing. He held his hand out so that Naina could climb up.The latter did the same to reach the top and they settled down on the concrete floor beside the tank.

"This is the place I have spent most of my time in,right from childhood. Whenever I feel low or happy,I just come here and look at the stars.They fill my heart with a sense of tranquility, that I used to not want to go back down and sleep. I am glad I got to show you my personal world wonder.Millions of stars across the sky,"Rishab told Naina,who could see what he meant by his statement. The feeling was surreal.As if she was looking at a beautifully painted picture.Her lips curved and lifted to make way for a wide smile.

"This is indeed very beautiful, Rishab,"she stated and they spent the next few minutes in silence. That was the first time Naina noticed how comfortable the silence was.She didn't feel the need to talk and bring the beautiful moment to an end. There was a sudden gust of wind which made Naina's hair fly in all directions and Rishab chuckled at how funny she looked.

"You look like you have a bird's nest on your head"

"Rishu!"she replied,the usual feeling of irritation whenever he teased her,coming back to her,and every other new feeling about him momentarily forgotten.

"You look adorable anyway,"he added genuinely,not wanting to rile her up.."Let me help you"

He slowly helped in sorting her hair out to how it should be and finally pushed the last curl behind her ear.And Naina felt something that she had only read in books about.Her heart raced at his touch and she felt a warm feeling in her stomach. What was that? The butterflies?! Woah! She swallowed hard and averted his gaze,after mumbling a small "Thankyou". She didn't want him to notice the faint blush that almost creeped up her cheek.

"I..I guess I am sleepy.Can we go down?"she asked after a moment, not wanting to stay in his presence after what just happened. Why was she reacting this way to Rishab,the guy she had practically spent all her time with all these months?

"Sure Naina,"he got up and held his hand out once again and they got down to the terrace floor and further down inside the house. Naina couldn't sleep much that night.

The next couple of days flew by, with Naina getting very aware of Rishab's presence near her. She took note of everything he did and her eyes followed him everywhere. She missed him,even if he went out to get some work done for his parents, for a little while. She was nervous and she stuttered many times,whenever she spoke to him.

"Naina,are you not feeling comfortable? What's wrong? You have been behaving differently!"Rishab asked her yet again,hoping to get a proper answer at least once but she brushed it away with a "Oh I love this place Rishu.Why will I not feel comfortable? Stop worrying! I am totally fine."

The girls decided to accompany Rishab's mom to the temple,the last morning that they stayed there. They wore sarees of nice bright colours,grabbing the chance to wear something traditional after a long time.

Naina wore a bright orange saree with a dark golden embroidery on it and looked beautiful.

"All of you look very pretty,"his mother had complimented them."I miss having a girl now," she said and was instantly engulfed in a group hug by Naina,Deepali and Nivi.."Aunty, we are there now!"was what they had told her. She nodded smilingly and asked them to come out,once they were ready.

They did after a while and the boys whistled at them."Wow girls! Saree and all!"Ankit teased them and they started pulling each other's legs. Naina,who was standing closer to Rishab,stood still  when she heard him say "You look beautiful,Naina."That made her day. Made her feel like the most beautiful person. He had complimented her in the past but now everything meant and felt different to her.

"Thankyou Rishab," she replied with her signature broad smile and heard his mother call them as it was time to leave for the temple.She excused herself and left along with the others,but couldn't stop the broad smile which was now a permanent feature of her face.

Naina and the others went back to Mumbai that evening,after inviting Rishab's parents to their houses and getting a reply in the affirmative.

"Reached safely.Thankyou for the wonderful time.Your parents are extremely sweet and your place is amazing!"Naina texted him soon after reaching home.

"Your coming here only made it all the more better. Thankyou for coming!"his reply was instant.

It was precisely 30 minutes after that text and after she had recollected all the events,right from the night she had the dream,that Naina realised something.

She had fallen in love with her best friend,her Rishab.

As impossible as it had seemed just a couple of nights back, it had now actually happened!  Had it been that way always? When and how did it happen? She had no answer to these questions but she acknowledged to herself and to her forever correct mindvoice,that the latter had been right. A small smile escaped her lips and it slowly turned into a wide grin. .Her worry about whether he felt the same way about her,took a backseat,as she decided to cherish this moment of realization.

Wow! Rishab? Woah! ...and these were the thoughts that occupied her mind for the next couple of hours, effectively giving her another sleepless night.

A/N

*Nervously looks at the Comments section to know what you guys think about this!*

Hope it wasn't a waste of your time!