When a man and a woman stepped outside for a date (or supposedly a date) for the first time, it was a joyous occasion. In Adhvik and Pallavi's case however, it wasn't as much.

“And why can't we go to the Venice mall? It's such a nice place. We can eat, watch a movie, play games, take photos... There's so much to do there,” Pallavi reasoned. Besides, she had only checked the timings of that multiplex which matched with the time they had right now. They could easily watch the Disney film Aladdin.

“And I keep telling you, idiot— we need time to go on a place like that. Time which we don't have,” Adhvik emphasized at the time on his wrist watch. “Besides, it's far away.”

“Other boyfriends crossed states to be their girlfriends from college. You can't even cross a city districts,” Pallavi grumbled quietly, crossing her arms.

“I'm not your boyfriend.”

Pallavi let out a sigh, disappointed on various levels. The place she was insisting to go to was a well known mall outside their city— The Grand Venice mall. As the name suggests, it was an Italian themed mall, meaning the entire structure was designed to look like a mini version of the Venice city. The mall had showrooms, restaurants, multiplex like any other mall but it's main attraction was the gondola (Italian boat) ride that floated across an artificial river built on the ground floor. You know, mini Venice.

Seriously, what else could be more romantic than going on a Venice themed city-- as artificial as it was?

Deep down, Pallavi knew Adhvik was right. They were on a time shortage. So she suggested to go on AT mall instead which was three kilometres away. Adhvik denied. He was adamant to visit a plain mall that was just past his street.

Why, you ask? Because it was cheap.

In the end, Adhvik won the argument. He had given the ultimatum to either watch a movie in this plain- ass theatre today or postpone it to later. Pallavi couldn't afford to miss this chance.

After walking a mile, Adhvik and Pallavi reached their destination in the form of a three storeyed glass building. They stopped in line near a booth that sold movie tickets. Adhvik returned after checking out the available movies and their timings. They only had two choices of Bollywood movies.

And both of them sucked.

See, there were two kinds of bad movies. One in which people expected a lot but turned out to be ‘Babaji ka Tullu’. While in the second, you took one look at the trailer and decided it's future. There was no point in watching the full, paid version of the movie as trailers summarised the whole story for you.

“Just look at how berserk you are going. I, Adhvik Dhawan is taking you out to a movie. I, the cheap Adhvik Dhawan is paying for both of our tickets and popcorn but madam here is too busy throwing tantrums.” Adhvik dramatized, hoping to break the disputed silence between them. Pallavi rolled her eyes, displeased.

“If it's so painful then I can pay for us, no problem.”

“Aree, no, I was just kidding. I'll pay this time.” Adhvik insisted quietly. The man who was in line ahead of them left with his ticket.

“Come on! This mall looks so small, stingy and dead. See, there aren't many people here. It's not too late. We can still go to AT mall. Please!” Pallavi tried to convince one last time.

Adhvik craned his neck behind in a hurry. “Look, we'll go some other time, okay. We won't go to my house or anywhere else. Only mall.”

“Sir, Ma'am?” The counter woman inside the booth tried to intervene the arguing pair. Pallavi threw her arms in exasperation, giving up. Adhvik proceeded to speak with the counter woman.

“Tickets for two please.”

Just hearing those four words dissipated the disappointment away from Pallavi. Those words itself were a confirmation of an event becoming a reality. She was right here standing alongside Adhvik to spend the next three hours inside a cinema hall.

Just like a normal couple.

The thought alone made her heart dance. She couldn't help but smile back when the counter lady handed over the tickets. “Enjoy the movie, Sir, Ma'am.”

“Oh, God!” Adhvik exclaimed with a hand over his mouth as they stepped inside the mall. Together. “That lady totally saw us as a couple, didn't she?... See, that boy looked at us too. Do we look like a couple? We must totally look like one.”

Guess Pallavi wasn't the only one feeling giddy.

“Calm down, idiot! This is not a couple fashion walk. Its normal.” She assured him, laughing. More like assured both of them. She had the urge to take things further by linking arms with him but held back. Too soon, she told herself.

The mall was generic like any other but as Pallavi stated, it didn't have the spark. The glass walls didn't look like it was washed for a year. Half of the shops were closed, the crowd was less than half of the population in her society, and few of the lights were out. Moreover, it had no restaurant. Unbelievable. It was as if the mall had cancer and was going to breathe it's last after a year.

Still Pallavi chose to ignore that as they stepped inside a glassy cylindrical tube like lift that took them to the third floor. They snapped a picture of themselves on the way.

Upon ascending the movie hall, they were greeted by several rows of maroon recliner chairs, grounded on a carpeted floor. They climbed the flight of stairs until they reached row E to settle down. The loud volume reverberated throughout as the big screen played advertisements and trailers, thus illuminating the room. The movie was due to begin by five minutes.

“This is my first time...” Adhvik commented all of a sudden, looking appalled. “The first time in my twenty-eight years of my life that I'm watching a movie with a girl. I always wanted to you know... You made it true for me, Pallavi. You have my thanks.”

Her heart must have skipped several beats during his confession. That's how blissful she became as she smiled earnestly. Atleast he had other wishes than sex. “I couldn't tell you how many times I felt envious of the couples I saw in the theatres. I would accompany with my friends or family and look at them, wondering how their lives were. Today, it feels like we are one of them.”

“Hah, it does, doesn't it?”

“Yes...”

They shared a warm smile, letting that realization sit in silence for a while. It was astonishing how similar their lives have been in terms of love. It was then she had an epiphany. An epiphany that they were probably experiencing all their firsts-- sexual and non- sexual with each other.

Eventually, the little circular lights on the maroon curtained walls were switched off and the entire focus was on the big screen that showed the UA certification of the movie. They surely had the worst possible timing to come across a movie like this.

The movie was Student of the year 2.

Pallavi swiveled her head around. She swore she had never seen the theater so empty. There were barely ten people in it. The theatre was that unknown and cheap. It disappointed her more and more until she was forced by her mind to voice it out.

“How do you come and watch a movie in this cheap, dull mall? That too, without a popcorn. Who does that?”

“Apparently me. Look, a cinema hall is a cinema hall. Nothing more than that. They all are designed the same.” He shrugged, implicating the obvious. He was starting to believe Pallavi was high maintenance. He recalled her expression of disgust when she passed through his locality. Though he didn't like the surroundings either, he realized she had slightly higher expectations. She wasn't to be blamed either. It was just the mount of difference they had in their individual lifestyles.

* * *

The movie was as unrealistic as the fictional physics in some South Indian movies. Instead of studying for the semester exams, the students in the movie were preparing for a monumental looking dance competition, fighting goons in Tiger Shroff style, riding luxury cars, and getting tangled in love triangles. Not to the forget the main characters who were adults forced to fit into a college uniform.

So what would you do with a shitty film like this?

Simple, you made fun of them.

That was what Pallavi and Adhvik did whenever any character did something out of logic (which was most of the time). They laughed at them. At one time, Adhvik even dubbed the actor's conversations with his own dialogues, thus cracking her up. They moved on to share their own school and college experiences regarding events. Shared how small they were compared to the gigantic ones in the movie. Even the group of men behind them rarely paid attention to the movie as they talked amongst themselves. Although Pallavi wanted to shove something in their throats to stop them from making noise.

Adhvik being a caring gentleman made sure to ask whether Pallavi was doing alright multiple times. Though she was feeling sore between her legs, she was doing fine for the most part. It was why she was able to come to the movies with him.

And just like that, it was intermission.

Adhvik purchased the popcorn while Pallavi went to the washroom. When they returned to the theatre, she looked frantic. “What happened?”

Pallavi wiped a bead of sweat off her forehead, “I'm bleeding.”

“What...?” His face grew pale. “But you already bled that time, then why now? Geez, does it hurt?”

She scrunched her brows at him before chuckling. “Relax. It's normal bleeding. Kinda like how girls bleed during periods. I've placed some toilet paper to cover it up but... is there a medical store around here or something? I need pads.”

This was the kind of talk girls had with girls, not boys but she was kind of in a dire situation.

“But I cannot leave in the middle of a movie. I mean, the authorities probably wouldn't let me in the cinema hall without buying the tickets again...” He craned his neck behind towards the hall before facing Pallavi again, his expression grave. “We'll buy once the movie ends. Will you be able to hold up until then?”

She wanted to say that it was not upto her but her fucking vagina. Instead, she nodded, almost convincing herself. “Yeah... yeah, I guess it should hold up until then.”

* * *

A movie was indeed incomplete without snacks. Now that the duo settled down with it, coupled with sandwiches and cold drink, Pallavi finally got the cinematic experience down. Especially if involved a shared popcorn.

“Ah, wake me up when this shit ends,” Adhvik yawned, proceeding himself to rest his head on her shoulder. Pallavi scolded him to get up to watch the movie but honestly, she didn't want to. There was something sweet about someone resting themselves on you like they trusted you. A small smile escaped her lips as she watched him close his eyes besides her. She tilted her head back at him, reveling in the feeling.

He didn't sleep for long though as he soon resumed watching the movie. In the midst, he enquired again if she was alright, almost as if he was guilty of what he did to her.

“You women sure have it tough. You get periods every month, you bleed while you have sex initially, you bear children...” He commented, diverting her attention to him. “Men don't have to deal with that shit. I couldn't imagine going through all of that. Women are strong.”

“Seeing blood freaked you out a bit, didn't it?” Pallavi squinted her eyes, scrutinizing his face. He nodded in affirmation. She shot a courteous smile. “On behalf of me and all women, thank you. I'm glad you realize that... Also, I'll be fine. It is paining a bit but it won't last long, okay.”

“Okay.”

Sometime later.

“Can we hold hands?” Pallavi asked towards the end of the forsaken movie. It was nearing it's climax and was crystal clear on which girl the character of Tiger Shroff would choose as his partner.

Adhvik regarded her with a raised brow until he laid his free palm at the arm rest of the seat. “Here.”

Pallavi intertwined her fingers with his while he gripped back. She smiled, feeling giddy. Often she told herself to stop behaving like a high school girl but it was beyond her control. It was her first movie kind of date after all.

Thus, they held hands throughout the climax of the movie.

* * *

“It was okay- ish.” Pallavi answered about the movie as she and Adhvik exited the mall, descending the flight of stairs.

The evening sun has already sunken down halfway, bringing darkness in its wake. She had already received a call from her mother, asking about her whereabouts. She answered them confidently, convincing she would be back soon. Just then, her gaze fell at the stall selling colorful artificial flowers. She pointed out the same. “See this. You should gift me these flowers.”

“Why?”

“To showcase your chivalry of course.”

“Hatt!” He dismissed with a wave of his hand. “I'm not your boyfriend.”

“Ouch!” Pallavi exclaimed dramatically by placing a hand on her chest while he rolled his eyes.

They talked on their way to the autorickshaw stand. Adhvik asked whether she needed to buy pads but Pallavi refuted, deciding she would wear them after reaching home. She glanced at his profile for one last time, wishing their walk could stretch longer. Wishing their evening stretched longer. A lump formed in her throat as she wondered about when they would meet again.

“What?” Adhvik called her out after he caught her eyes on him.

“When we will meet again, Adhvik?” She breathed out.

“Hmm, we'll see. Either on a Sunday or on a holiday. Oh, and one more thing...” He stopped walking as they nearly reached the roundabout that led to three different roads. Cars wheezed by, illuminating the roads with their white, red and blue headlights. He tugged her arm towards him as a car dashed by near her side. “Let's avoid my room for a while. We'll go outside next time. ”

“Really?” Her eyes lit up like a Christmas tree.

“Yeah, it doesn't feel right inviting you to my room, get physical and send you home like you are a call girl. You are not.”

“I don't like it either but that's because we don't get enough time.”

“Yeah, so we'll roam around next time. Somewhere in the city... We'll decide.” He peered at the group of autorickshaws behind her. “Go home. It's getting late.”

Pallavi took one good look at his happy face, etching every detail into her memory. They were able to meet for atleast four times since Adhvik was on a notice period. Her last fifteen days were surely more eventful than the last eight months in Mansur. However, with Adhvik's new job, she didn't know how he'd spare time for her. Or what lies she would spew to her parents?

“Thank you, Pallavi.”

“Huh?” She tilted her head, startled.

“For everything, you know. For this dumbass movie—” He pointed to the SOTY 2 movie poster on the mall behind them. He leaned his face near her ear, his voice mischievously deep. “And for choosing me to have your first.”

She shook her head, smirking right back. “I'd say the same to you. It was your first time, too.”

“Behanchod ye sahi hai. We never had a boyfriend and girlfriend so we are using each other to fulfill our wishes.” He chuckled though she didn't like how he put it that way.

Adhvik had to literally push her from behind to get her going. He picked one autorickshaw and gave instructions to her house. He even went as far as bargaining for less money since the drivers had the habit to come up with their own charges for the ride. Pallavi stepped inside the vehicle.

“Call me once you return, okay.” He said while bending his head under the entrance of the auto. With that, he turned around.

“Adhvik—” She caught a hold of his two fingers, then gradually covered his palm. His gaze shot downcast at their hands and then at her. Tears burnt at the back of her eyelids but she suppressed them away as uncertainty took over. “I'll see you soon... right?”

Were goodbyes supposed to be this hurtful?

Adhvik regarded her in a slight puzzlement, failing to notice the anxiousness behind her voice. “Of course yaar. Chal, bye.”

“Bye.” Pallavi said, untangling her fingers from his with a certain heaviness in her heart. Soon enough, the autorickshaw turned on its wheels towards her home. Sniffing, she let a few tears spill her face this time.

I miss you. I like you. I like you so much. I'll miss you terribly, too. Please meet me soon. Were the unsaid words from Pallavi's heart, reflected behind her glassy eyes. Sadly, she couldn't see the same reflected in his. He was a simple man who was tired after a long day with someone. He just wanted to go home.

And that was okay.

She knew Adhvik was nowhere near her when it came to the ‘feelings’ department. She was aware of that. Yet, she was oddly fine with it. It was as if her heart knew something from the future that she didn't know yet. That one day. Perhaps one day...

Looking on the brighter side, she got to spend the whole afternoon with him. She got to go to the movies with him. And she would spend time with him in the near future, too. He spelt it out himself. It almost felt like they were dating. This was exactly what novels termed as ‘seeing each other.’

* * * *

The following day Pallavi left a message for Tulsi in her WhatsApp. Adhvik had previously told Pallavi on how Tulsi had been a little skeptical about them and was trying to fish out details from him when he was still in Mansur. Damn was she clever. ‘Whether you want to tell her about us or not, I leave that upto you.’ Was his message to Pallavi.

‘Went to see SOTY 2
movie with Adhvik
yesterday. 😝😝’

‘Omg, really? 😍 That's
great. I was wondering
what u guys were upto. I
asked Adhvik but he told
me to ask you.’

‘Yeah, he told me
about it.’

‘So you guys are a
thing now?’

Good question. Even though, Adhvik and Pallavi didn't label themselves yet, they couldn't deny that they were pursuing something with each other. A casual relationship of sorts.

‘I don't know. We'll see.’ Pallavi replied instead. She even left out their sexual details. Tulsi was still working in Mansur and Pallavi didn't trust her enough to keep this secret to herself. For now, this was enough. She didn't forget to thank Tulsi though. She did play a role in bringing them together, no matter how it was.

She looked forward to their future.

* * * *

Hope you liked this chapter as it was a bit different from the previous sexual chapters lol. Overall thoughts. Was their movie day worth it?

See you next week. Also, look forward to chapter 41. You'll love it, it's kinda special. 😊😊