Maya

The car paced silently down the forlorn street. The slow music in the car gave the 90s vibe. I glanced at Ajay who had this weird unreadable face. I raised an eyebrow to observe any change in his expression but he didn't bother to look at me; his eyes fixed on the road.

I stared back at the gift box in my hands. It was a crystal white hanging piece with a heart carved in it. 

As the shopkeeper mentioned, there is a myth that whoever finds the hidden message in it first, is supposed to be your future spouse. Even though I don't believe such myths, I am not completely invisible to these things.

The strange part is the sudden change in Ajay's behaviour. I can't make out what is wrong with him. Well, it was none of my concern but still, the drop-dead silence was uncomfortable enough.

Unable to bear the awkwardness, I break the silence. " Do you have car sickness or something?" 

It was a random question and maybe that caught him off guard as he looked perplexed and answered, " No… Why would you ask that?" 

" Nothing. Just that you are acting weird." I could easily say that it somehow relates to the gift but I couldn't figure out the reason. 

" Oh… no, nothing like that," he said, smiling widely to make me believe that he was being quite normal. I decided to give up and stare at the road from the car window. Silence takes over us again. 

" You believe in myths?" He said, suddenly. 

" Ah… yeah and Nah," I said, unable to find a clear answer to it. I was among those who finds this unscientific but still falls into it's trap willingly. Sounds weird, I know.

" Aren't you scared or something?" He asked, out of the blue. 

" Wh...why are you asking that?" I stuttered, finding it difficult to make anything out of his absurd question.

He sighed and took a breath in and he said, "You know this can be dangerous. You almost got yourself kidnapped." His voice sounded… guilty or something. 

I stared at his face for a good twenty seconds to check if he is suffering from short-term amnesia. " Do I need to remind you that it was you who caused it? Anyways, coming to the point, you have gone MAD. Get a check-up." 

" I am serious. Answer me," he replied in a very intense tone.

" God, seriously?! Fine, I am well-equipped so when I feel something is going damn wrong then trust me I can always use my ultimate weapon." I keep my hands in a Taekwondo posture, guarding my chest. 

He didn't look as amused as I had anticipated, instead, he just nodded and kept driving.

He is always the weird one. Better to think about the party and be happy. Soon we will reach there and I will hand this present to Ishaan. I don't know whether he will like it or not but at least he will praise the efforts and emotions. Relax Maya. This is gonna be a long night. 

★★★

Ajay

This is such a long night. It feels as if I am driving for a century.  

I don't even know why I asked her those questions. Maybe, that myth thing is driving me completely crazy.

The hidden message pops into my mind every now and then, making my mind go blank. 

Me and you—forever.

I squeeze my eyes shut for a second before focusing back on the road. I couldn't think straight as those words kept popping into my brain. Why did I have to see that? 

I could feel an intense stare but decided to not get distracted and kept my eyes on the road. I don't know why I feel so uneasy. Maybe because of the future spouse myth… or the carved texts. 

I shook away the random thoughts and soon found a few cars surrounded by cameras and lights. Soon after, I came to my senses and glanced at Maya who was rather amused than nervous. She was looking around with big round eyes in awe. 

I looked straight towards the car as I saw Sarah's car pacing forward and the paparazzo pushing to get her picture— wait. Paparazzi?

Gosh, I don't want us to get captured in their cam but it's too late to get her down. I was already tensed up when I saw Maya looking all excited and amazed. She has no idea what would happen once some kind of rumour starts to build up. 

I have to plan something soon. I take off my dark glasses and put them on Maya's eyes while not getting diverted from the road. 

" What the– What is this?" she asked in absolute cluelessness. 

" Glasses," I said, without looking at her face, which I am sure would have her infamous deadly glare that is capable of killing a person on the spot. I gave her a short answer, uninterested to speak any further. 

" I know these are glasses but why would I need them at night?" After saying that, she was about to take them off when I pressed my hands on her face so that she won't be able to take them off. She kept yelling and struggled to push my hands away.

" Don't take them off unless you want yourself to get featured on every tabloid tomorrow morning. " I didn't want to blackmail her as I was already feeling... wrong to pull her along with me against her wish. But she left me with no choice.

Like magic, she became quiet and froze in her place. I took away my hand to find her face turning nervous as if understanding the depth of this situation. 

" Will I get down?" Saying that she was about to pull out the seatbelt when I grabbed her hand. 

" Don't do such a thing. It will get more suspicious. Let us pretend as close colleagues. Just follow my lead. We can get out of this." At my suggestion, she nodded and gave in to my plans. I couldn't believe how she agreed so easily without any argument or sharp replies.

I parked the car at the parking zone and stepped out first gesturing for Maya to wait inside. I got out and let out a deep breath. I was probably more nervous than anyone on this Earth. 

With those inscribed words on that present ringing in my ears, my heart raced like anything. As I found myself surrounded by cameras in no time, I calmed my racing heart and opened the door for Maya to get down. 

She played along as she got down, holding the ends of her dress with a smile on her face. She looked around in a composed manner unlike when she was gawking at the celebs from the car. 

I carefully held her wrist. I couldn't believe how naturally we pulled off the act as we walked inside after giving a short glance at the camera. I could hear some murmurs among the paparazzi and could slightly make out.

" Who is this girl with Ajay?" 

" Can she be his girlfriend? But why is she wearing the black glasses at night?" 

" Did you hear that a non-celeb will come to the party? We need to capture her tonight. She can be the highlight of the news." 

I glanced at Maya whose face went through a flood of emotions and finally, we were inside the gate. This is solely why I don't like going to parties. So tiring already. Better to stay at home and enjoy a novel.

I heard her heave a sigh when we reached the lawn in front of Ishaan's bungalow. It was then that we both noticed our fingers were linked together. 

Yanking our hands away, we glared at each other before I turned at the familiar voice breaking our gaze. 

" Hi, guys. I thought I was running late. But guess I am not alone." Sarah, who always seemed excited, linked her arms around mine and Maya's. 

" Maya, right? Sorry, we couldn't introduce ourselves yesterday. Hi, I am Sarah. You must have heard my name before." She shook hands with Maya and slowly they both got engaged in their talk. 

" Yes ma'am, I really like your movies. You are awesome." 

" Oh really. Gosh, I never knew I was so famous. Call me Sarah." 

They continued their talk with all smileys while I stood, stealing glances at both of them. Even though Maya seemed a bit nervous, it didn't take much time for them to get along. 

I turned when I heard someone calling my name and saw Saira and Lisa, the popular stars, advancing toward me. They two were probably the most irritating creatures alive. 

The last time I got stuck in a conversation with them resulted in nothing except me, standing like a pillar, with all smiles as they continued their 'important discussion'. 

" Looks like this party is gonna be a lot of fun, now that Ajay is also here." 

" But I thought you don't like parties." 

Yes, I don't. The reason is that I don't find anything worth attending parties. Loud music, drinks and most probably socialising. I hate all of them. 

I don't get why people like it so much. Maybe, because it is like recreation or maybe, just for fun. 

" Hello, Saira and Lisa. Wow, you both look gorgeous." An excited voice interrupted in between, cutting the forever going conversation.

No wonder it was Sarah. She got involved with them as she usually does whenever Ishaan or I get stuck between them. She widened her eyes and rolled them in the other direction as if saying to run away but she wasn't doing it to me.

Suddenly I felt a sharp hold on my hands and turned only to find Maya pulling me with her. After a short while when they got out of sight, I pulled my hands out of her strong hold. 

" What were you doing?" I almost yelled when she averted her eyes with a shrug showing a total uninterested look. 

" I have no idea why I get into such things every time even if I don't want to."

For a second I couldn't understand what she meant but soon remembered the time when I was getting bullied on my first day of school. I had seen Maya taking all the pleasure in seeing my pathetic state but her angel brother and her best friend, Akash came to my rescue. For their sake, Maya had to fight the bullies.

Did I mention she was the tomboy of the school? You can guess what she was like after hearing that all the bullies of the junior classes feared her. 

" You know you really didn't have to do that. There's no need for you to get yourself into things you don't like. But th...thanks" However glad I was for someone to get me out of their deep conversation, I didn't wish for her to rescue me. Anyways a 'thanks' solves all the things. Probably.

Her eyes went big her and mouth dropped. " Hey, say that again. I couldn't hear you." Her face beaming with a sly smile. I knew exactly what that meant—a ' hard to believe' look. 

When I was about to give her a sharp reply, I heard an enthusiastic voice behind my back. "Hey, I am back." 

Turning at the voice, I noticed Sarah running with her heels on. " Slow down. You will fall on your face," I said, afraid that she will hurt herself. 

" You say stuff unfiltered but since I made a new record, I am forgiving you." She was as excited as always. I wonder how she remains so energetic every day.

" What are you forgiving me for?" I asked with a light chuckle.

" Oh, whatever. You don't know anything. Right, Maya?" She turned to look at Maya who gave a slight nod with a smile. When did they become so close?

" What is going on here without me?" Ishaan pops out of nowhere and gets into the conversation. As we all started chatting among ourselves, I noticed Maya was exceptionally quiet except a few times when she answered Ishaan or Sarah.

Her face was bright red as she chatted with Ishaan and she averted her gaze whenever she felt like she was staring at him too much. 

" Maya, I hope you accepted my sincere apology." 

" I will let you know once the night comes to an end." Her playful voice made him giggle out. 

" I don't want this night to end at all." I could see how Maya's face blushed red at his words. 

Oh, this is so annoying. Why am I between their love story?

I was quietly exchanging glances between them when Sarah whispered into my ears.

" They look cute together, don't they? "

~•~

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