Song: Tu Tu Hai Wohi (The Unwind Mix) by Jonita Gandhi

===

New Year Eve.

Armaan could not believe in few hours, it would be a different year. Nikita, Rahul, and Muskaan were all holed up in the apartment having their own party instead of going over to one of the college parties. Armaan watched as a drunk Muskaan and Rahul bickered. He had forgotten what had started their argument, but he doubted even they remembered what they were fighting about.

It caused him to terribly miss Riddhima.

Putting his mind in the back seat, he grabbed the bottle of beer in Nikita's hand and took a swung. Nikita gaped, "Armaan?" Hours ago, Armaan had denied, saying he didn't drink. Neither of the three had insisted, knowing very well by now that someone forcing him to do something never ended well for the other person. He did not respond well to peer pressure.

If he had a soft spot, he had a terrible temper as well.

If you were here... you'd scold me. But hell, you aren't. Armaan thought to himself of how Riddhima would have reacted as he swallowed another huge gulp and shut his eyes as it burned slightly down his throat.

Nikita suggested, "Dude, take it slow if this is your first time."

"I'm fine, Nikki." He answered, putting his head back against the couch that was behind him as they sat on the floor, moving the table that was between the two couches.

Nikita took the bottle back, taking a sip. "So, how long before they realize they're drunk?"

Armaan glanced up at Muskaan who was laughing in her weird laughter. One couldn't describe it. They just had to hear her laugh. It was abnormal, but that's one of the things that made her Muskaan. She had been an old friend for him. They had briefly met back home in Shimla. Muskaan's father was in the army, so they moved around a lot. The last year, 12th, she had spent few months going to the same school. In those months, she had hated him. But, after they met again at University, they somehow managed to call it peace and try to be friends.

Though, Armaan believed that the only reason she stopped hating him was because she had transferred that hate over to Rahul.

Muskaan sighed and started to go off in her colorful Punjabi language. Rahul was no less. He gave her tit for tat, and her shoulder slumped against his shoulder, tired from fighting for the last half hour. "I hate you." She mumbled.

Rahul leaned his head sideways over hers. "I hate you too."

Armaan answered Nikita's question, "About now."

Nikita chuckled as their two friends calmed down and started mumbling in coherent sentences. Still, the two managed to keep up with the other.

"What the hell are they talking about?" Armaan finally questioned, unable to understand. "Why can't they just talk in simple Hindi or English?"

Nikita shrugged her shoulders, "They probably are." She offered the beer bottle to him again, and instead of denying, he accepted it. "Now, mind telling me what made you change your mind about drinking?"

"I don't want to think about her." He answered. Growing close to Nikita, he had told her he had feelings for someone, but he hadn't given Nikita a name even though she had tried to get it out of him multiple times.

Nikita bobbed her head, "Right. The mystery girl. Are you sure she exists? I'm starting to think you've made her up."

Armaan rolled his eyes, knowing it was another attempt of hers to get a name. "She's quite real." He assured her, drinking some more.

"Tell me something more about her." Nikita asked, liking the way he often got a spark in his eyes when he would talk about the said mystery girl.

Armaan was reluctant, "No... let it be."

She sat back, leaning her head back on the couch, not realizing his arm was around the back of the couch. Even when she realized her head was on her arm, she didn't move. He briefly looked at her feeling her head but didn't say anything as she complained, "Oh come on. Don't be a spoil sport. You've idealized her so much, I want to know more. You won't tell me her name. It's only fair you tell me something about her."

"Nikki, you're ruining the whole point of drinking, you know?" He pointed out looking at her amused for some reason.

She lifted her head, rolling her eyes, "Whatever. I'm only looking for some romantic deets 'cuz Rahul and Muski are hopeless over there."

"What are you talking about?" Armaan asked, needing to confirm if what she was implying was true.

Nikita nodded, "Our friend over there is crazy about her. Why do you think he keeps fighting with her?"

"You're kidding?" He said as things started to clear up. Rahul only fought with her to hide his feelings from her, and it was another way to be around her. He recalled all the times Rahul had dissed the guys Muskaan seemed interested in. "Damn. How did I not see it before?"

Nikita teased, "Easy, you were too busy being Devdas."

Armaan grumbled, "I'm not that miserable to be around."

Nikita eased a smile, "No, when you are around us you try to put on a smile and sometimes, you even mean it. But you're not as happy as you are when you tell us stories about your school days."

"Yeah, I'm trying..." He muttered. It was tough for him. Even when he thought he was better and enjoying his days, some days would just pull him down.

"Hey, one minute countdown to midnight!" Nikita spoke excited, though when she tried to sit up, she felt dizzy from all she had been drinking. She was small in height and petite. It was normal for her to be a little drunk and feel the side effects. "Okay, bad idea." She mumbled instantly, leaning back down.

Armaan threw a pillow across to hit Rahul and Muskaan at the same time, but neither stirred. "They passed out on us!" He complained, causing Nikita to giggle. He knew why. Both were making big promises about how they don't get drunk.

Nikita moved her head on his arm, trying to find a comfortable spot and relaxed when she found it at the crook of his neck. "They owe us 500 rupees."

"I think neither is in a position to pay up right now." Armaan said, chuckled to himself as he pulled out his phone. Both watched the time until it changed.

12:00

He somberly said, "Some new year."

Nikita leaned away to look at his face scolded him for being a buzzkill, "Hey, come on. It's not that bad. Now put on a smile instead of that frown and hug me, Mr. Supercool!" She put her arms around his neck and hugged him. At first, he only lightly placed his hand on her back. She hit the back of his shoulder, "You call that a hug?"

A smile appeared on his face and he gave her a proper hug. Count on Nikita to call him out on everything and make him do things the proper way. "Happy New Year, Nikki." He wished her as they parted.

She grinned and with her forehead against his, greeted back. "Happy New Year."

Armaan opened his eyes and looked at her. Really looked at her. A drunk part of him trailed his eyes to her lips and back into her eyes to catch her looking at him too. She was sitting very close to him, her face was right in front of her. He was going to pull back when she leaned in and her lips grazed his lightly. He was shocked at first at what was happening. Before logic would try and hit his brain, the heat of the moment made its decision for him.

His hands wrapped around her back once again and pulled her closer, kissing her back. By all means, Nikita was beautiful. She may look to be one of the pretty girls who could be a mean girl, but she had the heart of a gold. It is what had sparked their friendship initially.

Friendship.

He pulled back sharply just when the kiss was heating up, realizing how wrong this was. He started listing all the reasons, his hand on her nape as he put distance between their faces. "Nikki, no. We're friends. You're drunk. And I love..."

She sighed, moving her hand to his wrist, "Right, the mystery girl. Sorry, I guess I am more drunk than I thought. Uh... forget this ever happened?"

She tried to get up, but he stopped her, "Hey, you're not leaving are you? Don't go all embarrassed on me now."

"Armaan, I may be a tough girl, but I am still a girl." She pointed out she had all the reasons to be embarrassed. For her as well, he was one of her closest friends in college. She had always known he wasn't interested in anyone else because he had feelings for someone, and yet, her drunk mind decided to tread that relationship and put her friendship with Armaan at risk.

She tried to stand up again, but stumbled. Exhaling, he caught her before she would fall on her butt. She was clearly in no position to walk back to her flat. "You can be embarrassed tomorrow." He said casually, "For now, you can sleep this off in my room."

She tried to deny, "No, I'll have some water and I'll be fine to go back."

He didn't agree, but he still went to get water for her. He eyed his living room at all his friends the time he returned. Nikita was laying on the couch with eyes closed. Muskaan had slipped her head down on Rahul's lap, laying on the floor while Rahul sat, his head hanging in an awkward position with no support. Shaking his head, he picked up the pillow he had thrown at them and put it on the couch behind Rahul to support his neck. He got one of the blankets from his room and placed it over Muskaan, covering Rahul's leg as well.

Then he went over to the other couch where Nikita was. His index finger gathered her hair off her forehead and tucked them behind her ear. Her eyes fluttered open momentarily. Finding Armaan, she lightly smiled and whispered, "I hope our friendship isn't ruined by this."

He smiled softly at her, his thumb caressing her cheek. "Not possible, Ms. Wow." He told her, calling the name he had first called her by when he didn't yet know her name.

"Good." She answered, feeling at ease and closed her eyes again. She didn't have a strong family growing up, and friends meant everything for her. She didn't know how she would survive if she lost Armaan's friendship.

Armaan gazed at her a second longer, wondering why this happened. She was drunk so he couldn't hold her responsible for kissing him. But he? He wasn't drunk. Not even close to being tipsy. He was just lightly buzzed. What excuse did he have for kissing her back? Just the fact that he was a guy wasn't enough.

He removed his hand from her cheek. He liked Nikita a lot, but strictly in a friend's way. He did not have romantic feelings for her, and just for a second, he wished he did. It would make everything simple. Nikita was a great girl.

Like Khushi had once jokingly told him to find a girl with some personality... Nikita was just that. She was real. She didn't fake things. She didn't keep one thing in her heart, said the other, and did completely different. She knew who she was, and she was proud of it. She didn't try to be something she wasn't to fit in and be accepted. She didn't worry about what people thought of her. As long as she was happy with herself and her actions, she ended it at that. She lived in the moment, and its what Armaan needed right now... to be able to live in the moment as well.

But, he could never do that to Nikita especially when he didn't feel that way about her and had Riddhima in his heart. Nikita deserved better and he wasn't going to toy with that. The old Armaan, the immature teenager, wouldn't have been as considerate about her.

===

I grunt, trying to push Armaan's leg that was tangled up with mine, "Why are you so big cuddling?" I mutter the question to a half-asleep Armaan. Given the size of my bed, he ended up close to me, sleeping on his stomach and having his arms and legs over mines, crushing one side of my body while the other was pushed against the wall. I need a bigger bed, or I need to move my bed so it wasn't lined up against the wall. My brain tells me, 'Or, you could make Armaan leave and both problems will be solved'. Yeah, I should probably listen to my brain.

He grumbled back, shifting to his back. "Why aren't you?" I blew out a huff of air, relaxing my muscles now that I was free of his weight.

I sat up, ignoring his rhetorical question, "Hand me my phone." I said, since it was on top of the side drawer closer to his side of the bed. I didn't want to have to lean over him to get it.

He answered, "Hmm." but made no effort to retrieve it, or even open his eyes.

I scolded. "Armaan!" It was too early in the morning for him to irritate me. Ofcourse, he barely moved. Letting out a sigh, I shifted on my knees and leaned over him to grab my phone. Just as I had it in my hands, he made the smart decision to move, causing my knees to buckle and fall on him. I slap his chest, barely catching myself before my chin would have hit his forehead. It would have hurt badly.

He retorted, "I was getting it for you! You couldn't wait a second?"

I snapped back, "A second? More like twenty."

He rolled his eyes at my exaggeration, but he couldn't blame me for that. He might have hummed in response, but his lack of movement right away had given me the impression that he wasn't listening.

I felt something weird and my brows narrowed. Before I could even ask, he spoke. "Male anatomy, basket. Get up."

Beyond flushed and embarrassed, I pulled away from him faster than either of us could have blinked. How did I not connect that earlier?

From the corner of my eyes, I could see him sit up. I turned and decided to get out of bed from my side. Walking towards the closet to get my school uniform, I suggested, "You should probably leave before mom or dad come in."

It was seven in the morning, but I knew my parents had to be awake. They always woke up super early. We barely had half hour to get ready and get to school as morning assembly would start at 7:45.

"Yeah." He answered, pushing the covers back and getting up. I looked around for my towel and noticing it was draped behind the back of my desk. By the time I reached it, I heard a door click behind me. I looked back to realize he was in the bathroom attached to my room. I sighed and sat down on the chair. He could have atleast informed me he was going to freshen up before leaving.

My eyes then fell on the bed, and I decided I might as well save some time. I stood up again to make my bed and then make sure the books I would need for today's classes were in my bag. I then sat back on the desk and started going through social media apps. I looked up when he grabbed the towel off my shoulder.

I gasped seeing him use it to dry his face. I pulled it back with some effort, "That's my towel!"

"I'm just drying my face." He muttered, grabbing it back and wiping it off. I wanted to yell at him. He could have asked me and I would have given him a hand towel or another spare. But no! He just has to take it as if it is no big deal. The only reason I didn't continue to scold him was because I was too taken aback at his wet, glistening hair sticking to his forehead.

I blinked when he threw the towel at my face. My face scrunched up, pushing back the feelings that had briefly risen to the surface. He was ruffling his hair with his fingers. "See you at school." He said, starting to put his shoes on.

"Whatever." I mumbled and proceeded to pick up my clothes. He had left me barely fifteen minutes to shower, dress, eat breakfast, and get to school. I already knew I would be late. Fifteen minutes wasn't long enough.

Before I would disappear behind the door, he pointed out, "Oh, hey, I'm calling if off with Priya."

I made a comment, "Wow, less than a week. I think you just broke your own record." This must have been the shortest he dated someone.

He shrugged his shoulders, getting up after having put his shoes on, "Yeah, well, our talk last night helped me see a few things."

"Good for you. Bye now." I quickly commented and shut the door.

From the other side, he asked, "Don't you want to know what made me change my mind?"

Already picking up my toothbrush, I answered, "Not when I am getting late for school. Bye!"

He must have gotten the hint, for I didn't hear him say anything back. I went on with my morning routine at a rushed speed. I did want to know what from last night made him decide that, but if it is something important to him, I think he'll find another time to tell me about it. If not, that's his choice too. I don't think I have the right to ask him for explanations on every decision he makes related to his life. Though, there was still a tiny part of me that wouldn't let me be indifferent.

===

Armaan woke up in the morning, startled to have a presence next to him in bed. He moved his arm off Nikita's side and sat up at once. He thought back to last night, and recalled it clearly. He had left Nikita to sleep on the couch after putting a blanket around her as well. She frowned, feeling the warmth leave her. Opening her eyes, she saw Armaan. Still half asleep, she asked.

"What are you doing in my bed?"

He looked at her amused and waited for her to realize it wasn't her bed, or even her room. A few seconds later, her eyes flew open and she sat up. "What the hell?" She let out and looked around the room. Her eyes widened seeing Armaan without a shirt on. "We didn't?!" She sharply spoke, her eyes at once looking at herself. She somewhat relaxed at the fact that she was fully clothed. Armaan held off a smile as she exhaled. "We didn't."

He then asked, "Now, my turn. What are you doing in my bed?"

She groaned, clutching her head and shifting back to her back would be against the frame. A few seconds later, she answered as she recalled. "I woke up in the middle of the night thinking I was going to throw up. Came in here to use your bathroom. The walk back to the couch felt too long."

Armaan didn't tease her about choosing to share the bed when she asked closing her eyes and tilting her head up to the ceiling, "God, what happened last night? How long were we up?"

"You don't remember?" He asked, wondering.

The way he asked, she grew concerned. Opening her eyes and looking at him, she answered uncertainly, "No? I last remember you throwing... a pillow? Why, don't tell me I did something crazy." She groaned, muttering to herself, "Nikki, when are you going to learn to not overdrink?" Glancing back at him, she asked, "What did I do this time? Did I... say something?" She was worried she might have expressed her feelings relating to her parents.

He shook her head, "No, and you didn't do anything you need to worry about remembering." He had noticed that she was already concerned things would fall apart between them. Given she didn't remember, he didn't feel the need to remind her and cause her worry.

She picked up on the unspoken confirmation, "So I did do something."

"Nothing crazy that I am going to hold it over your head, so relax." He answered, putting her at ease if she was worried that he would use whatever silly things she did to blackmail her. "Anyway, do you have a hangover?"

"Unfortunately." She answered. "I'll be fine when I get back to my place and take something for it with coffee."

He offered, "I got it." He stepped out of bed and pulled on a shirt over his head before heading out to the kitchen to make a cup of instant coffee. Recalling Rahul and Muskaan, and how they were drunker than Nikita, he put in a whole pot for them as well to have ready when they'd wake up.

Briefly, he recalled Rahul having feelings for Muskaan. He decided he was going to have to talk to him, and speak from his experience with Riddhima. He had committed the mistake of admitting it too late, but he wanted to help Rahul from making the same mistake. He almost felt like hitting himself. Recently, he was surrounded by girls worthy of keeping, Nikita and Muskaan, girls with personalities.

===

authors note:

and so things take off with Armaan in both present and past! No Riddhima in present but she'll be back next update :) Whatever caused him to change his mind about Priya? ;) More on that on next flashback. 

There are undoubtedly tons of better pics of DD, but this is the Muskaan we had in DMG... and I love that jhalli personality. Had to search a lot for this pic :P

Chapter 12. All Yours on Wednesday. Enjoy the weekend!