The present: At the Mehras'

She stared at the name on the door aimlessly. It was such an absent move. She wasn't even really reading. She was just contemplating her next move. She had finally set up a date with the guy she was chatting with. She had set 'Project Get Over Aarush Iyer' in motion swiftly and refused to go down that stupid rabbit hole another time in her life. She took a deep breath, squared her shoulders, and unlocked the door.

Only to find Aarush sitting in her house, on her couch, nearly falling over laughing over something her grandfather had just said.

Blink.

What.

Was.

Happening.

Aargh!

Aarush looked up at her and wiped his eyes as he continued to laugh.

"Hey Mehra... How's it going?"

She pulled her bag in and kept it on the table. She looked at her grandfather who seemed like he was in the middle of a rather animated story. She shook her head in exasperation and gestured for him to continue as she made her way into the kitchen for a glass of water.

"Dadaji, ek second haan..."

While she quietly sipped her water with her eyes closed, she heard Aarush's voice next to her.

"I'm a little in love with your Dadaji!"

She wanted to laugh. She asked, "What are you doing here, Iyer?"

With wide eyes, Aarush pointed at the hall and said, "Your Dadaji is such a bawse! He found me on Twitter and we've been DMing all evening. He then called me over when he found out I was your friend. Where have you been hiding this gem, da?"

She raised the glass to her forehead and felt the cool surface.

Great. Now Dadaji and Aarush were best friends. Did she really need this? No. Was she going to have to go through it anyway? Obviously.

She grumbled wordlessly and washed the glass before setting off towards her room. Aarush, of course, followed her. He called out to her grandfather and said, "Dadaji, 5 minutes. Main bas yun gaya aur yun aaya!"

Dadaji picked up his phone and said, "Arre betu, take your time! "

Maahi felt an irrational spark of jealousy at that. So, without turning around, she called out, "Dadaji, aapka betu main hoon, yeh nahi!"

Aarush let out a laugh and said, "Geez, so territorial. Although...You know I would have been too. He's so cool! Did you know he designed fighter jets in his youth?"

She turned around to look at him because his voice had actually taken on a note of fanboy devotion. His expression was also one of awe.

She grumbled under her breath, "Kaha se aate hai yeh? Mere hi palle kyu padhte hain?"

She then opened the door to her bedroom and walked in while saying, "You can go play with Dadaji. I need to get ready."

Aarush stood at the doorstep and peered in, a look of pure curiosity lighting up his face. If she were in a better mood, she would have stood in front of him and peered at him, a look of pure curiosity lighting up her face.

Damnit. Focus, Maahi.

She opened her cupboard in a flourish and stared at the contents. She then turned around and saw him still standing there. He was now looking at her with a tentative look. She sighed and said, "You may come in."

With great glee, he crossed the threshold.

It was a nice room. She had spent time in here, trying to make it look the way she wanted to. The colours, the furniture, the little things here and there, were all a part of her story and he seemed to want to read every page. The way his eyes were taking everything in, he wanted to do more than just read. He wanted to savour.

He looked at her bookshelves and pulled out a book with excitement and showed it to her.

"You have the collector's edition of Hitchhiker's Guide!"

She nodded. He ran his fingers over the book and said reverently, "Me too! I love this book!"

She turned around and mouthed silently behind his back, "I know!"

She went back to her observing her cupboard and pulled out a dress. She bit her lip in contemplation as she surveyed it. She then took it with her to the bathroom and shut the door behind her.

Before she could do anything, she heard Aarush from the other side of the door going, "Hey, what is this journal-like thing? And may I see it?"

She looked up, worried that she had left the old college photobook outside. She had pulled it out recently from storage and it was lying out on her desk. It also happened to have the only picture of her and Aarush, a printed version of it stuck between a couple of pages. She couldn't let him see that.

"What journal?" She asked in panic.

"It's dark blue. It looks like a sketchbook?"

Oh good. Not the photobook.

She then said, "Oh. It is a sketchbook."

A moment's silence later, he asked again, "Can I see it, Mehra?"

"You can but the better stuff is on the wall on the far left. See that instead."

She then went on to wash her face and change her clothes without any more interruptions. When she came out, she realized why.

Aarush was transfixed in front of the wall she had directed him towards. He was slowly reaching out to each of the frames she had hung up and absorbing her art.

When he felt her presence again in the room, he asked, emotions brimming in his voice, "Did you sketch all of them?"

Maahi had never experienced his awe directed towards her. She quickly needed to get out of here. She hurriedly walked over to her mirror. As she sorted through her jewellery box for a pair of earrings, she replied simply, "Yes."

Without moving his eyes away from the wall, he asked, "Tell me more."

She sighed and pulled the box towards her. Then in a measured way, she responded, "I...don't click a lot of photos when I'm travelling for pleasure. Occupational hazard, I guess. But I still want to capture the memory of having been there in some way. So, I sketch. That wall has the sketches of the places I really loved. The journal you found has more sketches that I haven't put up on the wall."

After his careful survey of the wall, he turned around and finally looked at her. She was fixing her earrings on when his eyes landed on her. And then realization dawned.

"Are you going on a date, Mehra?" His voice had lost the awe it carried before.

She saw him come up behind her and meet her gaze in the mirror. She nodded silently as she put on the other earring.

She wanted to know what was going on in his mind next because his eyes seemed to reflect so many emotions. He looked at her reflection as she went on to apply kajal. He tilted his head and kept on looking, as though he couldn't really look elsewhere even if he tried. When she looked up again at him, she caught an emotion she hadn't seen before again. It looked almost like sadness. He met her eyes and almost subconsciously, he took a step closer. She didn't know what to say or do at this point, so she picked up her watch from her table, without breaking eye contact and wore it on her wrist. Then she saw him shake his head as though he was trying to shake away a thought and put his hands in his pockets.

He then quietly said, "The watch doesn't match."

She asked, "Sorry?"

"With your dress. It doesn't match."

She felt the watch with her fingers, not willing to remove it just yet. She looked up and saw Aarush looking at her, still with the same look. Half-transfixed, half-sad. So, she shook her head, leaving the watch as is on her wrist, and turned around.

She took a step ahead. She assumed he would get out of her way but he just stood his ground. Without a thought, Maahi put a hand to his chest and pushed him away lightly, saying, "I'll get late, Iyer. Move."

He stepped away at her touch and slowly sat on her bed. As she picked up her bag, she looked at his face again. He didn't sound his usual self at all. She gently nudged his knee with hers. He looked up at her. If only she could read his mind to know what he was thinking.

Stop it, Maahi. Get out while you can!

But she felt like she needed to say something. Replace that utterly lost look from his face with something better. So, she said, "Go talk to Dadaji. Ask him about the clock in the living room. That has a great story."

He finally smiled at her. It didn't reach his eyes but it was still an Aarush smile.

Small joys!

He then reached out and touched her chin lightly.

"You look beautiful, Mehra."

She smiled a small smile and replied, "Thanks, Iyer."

Author's note: Another personal favourite. :P