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Manik was on cloud nine when he finished his novel, the 3rd that week. He felt a bit selfish for behaving sternly with Cabir but he really wanted to finish his novel. The college workload was less but with his mom being out of town, there might be some juggling between his college and the office and he might not find time to complete his ongoing novel. He went to Cabir's room to say sorry to the kid but one of the butlers informed him about Cabir feeling himself as a robot due to all the studying he has completed and hence going out to experience what a sane human felt like. Manik rolled his eyes before thanking the butler, who was trying hard to stifle his laughter. He went to his room, grabbed his keys, and went for a long drive.

Manik loved the evening breeze of Mumbai. The city was crowded and there were so many people around that one felt the world at a single place. The traffic was as bad but there was something about the city that grips everyone. He didn't remember what he had left behind while going to England but after returning to India, between getting frustrated to reach the college on time in the morning traffic and sneaking out to get some light breeze, he fell in love with the city of dreams.

One hour into strolling around, Manik ended up in a secluded street. He sighed. Directions were never his strongest point. He clicked his mobile to check the location when a call from an unknown number interrupted him. It was international. Frowning, he answered it.

"Bhai", he heard the over-excited scream of a girl. It might be a wrong number. No girl had ever called him on his mobile.

"I apologize for asking but who's this? Have you misdialed the number somehow?", he asked.

"Bhai, it's me, Navya. Remember?"

Why would Navya call him? "Hello, Navya. I hope you are doing fine?"

"I am fine, Bhai. How are you?"

"I am fine too. Listen, Navya, Cabir isn't with me. I actually came out for some air", he told.

"I called to talk to you. Can't I talk to my favorite Bhai?"

Manik chuckled at the drama. Of course, his brother wouldn't choose a girl who doesn't have a bone of drama in her body. "Of course, you can. I apologize for the miscommunication."

He bit his lip when he didn't know what else to speak and felt grateful as Navya started blabbering. Looks like he didn't have to worry. Manik climbed down his car and leaned across the side as he listened to her nonstop chatter. Cabir was in a few relationships but never did he introduce anyone to Manik. Navya was the first one and he liked her as much as he had heard about her from Cabir. He felt she was perfect for his baby brother from the way she was making him smile. He felt she could become a part of his family if the easy way she was mingling up with Manik was anything to go by. He felt he didn't know enough about humans to compare if Navya was as perfect as on the surface because every cute novel comes with a twist and a bad person who makes the hero's life hell. His baby brother was the hero and he never wants anyone to hurt him ever.

Manik shook his head because he shouldn't assume things about people he didn't know properly. He blamed the recent mystery novel he finished behind all the paranoia. While he concentrated on whatever Navya was blabbering, his heartbeat sped up and the words caught in his throat in fright when a girl crashed on his chest.

"Excuse me", he asked, pushing the girl off him. His fear turned into worry when she glanced up at him and he found Mukti? "Mukti? What are you doing here?"

"Manik, baby", she slurred, "Why are you roaming outside?" She clutched his shirt in her fists. You are not safe here, baby. There are bad boys here. Go home", she whispered. She was drunk.

"Bhai, are you okay?", he heard Navya asking him.

"Yeah, Yeah. I am okay. Navya, can I call you later?", he told her and stuffed his mobile inside his pockets.

He cursed when he found a bunch of men at the far end of the alley and dragged Mukti towards the passenger seat before putting on the child lock. He raced to the other side and concentrated only on getting as far as possible from them without caring about any directions. Once they reached the main road, Manik stopped the car at a corner making sure there were people around and sufficient lights.

Mukti was gaping at him in some kind of fascination. "Manik, when did you become a superman?"

Manik sighed. One problem down. The next was to take her to her home. Thanks to Cabir and his adventures in England during his vacations, Manik knew how to handle a drunk person. He handed a bottle of water to Mukti. "Have some water, please. You will feel better."

"Manik, why are you so cute?", she asked him.

"Mukti, what were you doing there with them? Why did you get drunk when there wasn't anyone with you? You weren't safe", he asked. He didn't like the blank look on her face as she pouted. Mukti was sweet. It was one of the reasons he hated alcohol. It turned people into something they weren't. He felt stupid about himself to ask her questions at this time. "Mukti, I apologize for asking stupid questions."

She grinned at him and patted his back.

He sighed. "Can you tell me where you live? I can take you home."

It must be the wrong question to ask because she was bawling. "My house got drowned. Where will I live now?", she said in between hiccups and he rushed to stop her.

"It's okay. Let me think something, yeah?", he told. "Stay in the car. I need to make some calls."

He went down when she gave him a thumbs up. Taking his mobile out, he dialed his first number in an emergency, his baby brother but Cabir had cut his call, and instead, a message popped up in his mobile. I can't talk to you over a call without apologizing to you face to face. Wait for me. I am coming home and we can talk.

Manik rolled his eyes when he redialed and got the same message twice. Out of all the situations in the world, his brother had to be stubborn only now. He called the head girl but it went to her voicemail. Finally, it was Abhimanyu who picked up the call.

"Hey, bro. What's up?", came the cheerful voice of his friend.

"Abhimanyu, I need a favor. There has been a situation here. I found Mukti and she isn't in her right senses. She isn't telling me the address of her home. Do you have any safer place in mind?", he explained while keeping an eye out at the girl.

"Bring her to my place. I am texting you the address. Is she fine?"

"She is, I think. I will be there in a few minutes."

He rubbed his forehead and started his car. Mukti was pushing the buttons, messing with the music player, and grinned at Manik as soon as she saw him. He gave her a smile of his own. "Why don't you listen to music while we go somewhere?"

She blinked her eyes owlishly. "Where?"

"Somewhere. It's a surprise", he informed, before typing the address on the GPS and concentrated on the road. He hated alcohol.

XXX

Abhimanyu was pacing in front of his house when Manik reached the place. He carefully opened the door at her side while Abhimanyu jogged towards them.

Mukti blinked her eyes at Abhimanyu first, followed by Manik. "You said surprise? Why is Abhimanyu here?"

"Abhimanyu is your surprise. Did you like it?", he asked.

She nodded but the moment her feet landed on the ground, she stumbled and Abhimanyu was quick enough to hold her against him, steady and safe. "Abhi."

"Manik, thanks a lot for saving her", said Abhimanyu.

"Abhi, just take her in. We can talk later", he assured and waited till they were inside the house before going to his home.

XXX

Cabir was waiting for him when Manik reached his room and tackled him in a hug. Manik sagged against him, hiding in his brother's embrace.

"When did you come back?", he asked Cabir.

"A month back", told Cabir.

Manik felt the joke at the tip of his brother's tongue and he already felt his energy drained out of him. Cabir probably might have felt that too because the next moment there were comforting hands running through his hair. "What happened, Manik?" He broke the hug but Cabir grabbed his hand and pulled him towards the bed.

Manik rested his head on his shoulder and the comforting hands were back in his hair. "I found Mukti in an alley, drunk and running away from a bunch of boys", he told. He explained their adventure until the time they reached Abhi's house. "I was scared."

"Manik, I am really proud of you", said Cabir. "You saved her from some goons. It's the most heroic thing you have done ever. You are the hero tonight, bro."

He shook his head. "It was all luck. What if she was in a really worse situation and I couldn't have managed to sneak past them? I could have hurt her real bad." That's the issue. He somehow got past them and there were many what if's that kept on replaying inside his head during his journey back from Abhimanyu's place.

"Manik, you didn't know she would be there and that's luck because she shouldn't be wandering off getting drunk. Baby, you can't hurt yourself with all the what-ifs. Rest your head a bit", explained Cabir, stroking his hair. "Anyways, what was she doing alone on roads during the night?"

He shrugged and stood straight. "I don't know. Maybe she had a fight at home. She told her house got drowned."

Cabir rolled his eyes. "Yeah, that explains everything." He stayed quiet for some time as Manik went to freshen up

When Manik returned after changing into his pajamas, Cabir was still as Manik left him. "Kid, what's running inside your head?"

It took a minute for his brother to snap out of it and process his question. He let out a sigh. "I was just wondering if everyone is fighting their own battles? There is something wrong in everyone's life."

"Maybe, life wouldn't be life without it hazarding a few lives. Otherwise, everything would have been a fairytale", he told. The hurdles that life throws in only makes you stronger and prepared for the next phase of your life, Nyonika said always.

"Sometimes it feels good to just wrap everything up and jump into fiction. At least there would be a happily ever after", muttered Cabir.

Manik knew the strong urge to escape reality but it was so unlike Cabir. His brother believed in living life to the fullest without giving a damn about the world. It might have something to do with whatever his brother has done during the evening after his escape from his studies because Manik refused to believe Cabir worked himself up for Mukti. Getting drunk and wandering off was normal for the younger twin.

Since Manik was short of words, he dropped a kiss on Cabir's head and ruffled his hair when Cabir wrapped his arms around Manik's middle, burying his head in his brother's stomach.

XXX

Nandini woke up to a notification of Abhimanyu adding her to a new WhatsApp group. As if there aren't already so many good for nothing groups. She was surprised when she found Manik and Cabir's numbers in the list of group members. She huffed. Cabir wasn't their friend, he doesn't need to be a part of their group and her street smart best friend didn't make her the admin. He knew she would remove the younger twin. Dropping a rant in the group asking him about the reason, she went to get ready for the college.

Half an hour later, her mobile buzzed with continuous notifications and unsurprisingly it was the Cabir Malhotra staging a protest in their newly created Whatsapp group. She rolled her eyes and ignored the messages while going through the rest of them, one from her best friend informing her about skipping the college. Frowning, she dialed his number.

"Why are you skipping today? Not that I want a reason to skip double chemistry periods but it's surprising coming from you. Talking about surprises, why did you add that Jungli to our group? He forced his friendship on us. He really isn't our friend", she ranted as a good morning.

"Nandini, Mukti is at my place, sleeping. I don't think she is in the right state to attend college today and I am skipping along with her. Do you have some work?", came the voice of her best friend.

Nandini noticed him skipping her questions but the tiredness in her voice worried her. It was just the morning and Abhimanyu is an excited bunny even at the dusk. "I am coming there. Let's talk properly."

XXX

It took her another hour to reach the Thakkar house. She barged into the house and found Abhimanyu in the living room, texting someone.

"Are you fine? Is Mukti fine?", she asked.

Abhimanyu rolled his eyes and pulled her beside him. "Calm down, babydoll. Why are you in a mood to rant today?"

"My morning started with a nightmare where my best friend claimed my arch enemy as their best friend", she told, shooting daggers at him.

He chuckled. "You are just being dramatic."

"What happened? You are procrastinating instead of answering my questions", she asked and didn't like the way the smile dropped off her best friend's face. "Is Mukti fine?"

Abhimanyu nodded. "I hope she is. She is sleeping still. I don't know what happened yesterday but she came home drunk and Manik dropped her."

"She didn't call you? Or a text?"

Abhimanyu sighed. She glanced at her best friend for a moment to access if he is as fine as he was pretending to be. "Do you want me to make some coffee while you go and wake your girlfriend up?"

"Love, my mom needs her kitchen in one piece. Why don't you go and wake Mukti up while I make some hot coffee for us?", said Abhimanyu, horrified.

Nandini gaped at him. "Did you just insult me?"

"Do you think so?", he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"No."

"Good", he replied with the same seriousness.

It broke the unknown tension between them and her mission accomplished when Abhimanyu grinned at her and ruffled her hair on his way to the kitchen.

XXX

Nandini found Mukti in the guest room, lost in her thoughts.

"Hey, best friend. How are you feeling?", asked Nandini. She sat across her and prompted a smile as Mukti stared at her, confused. When her best friend continued to stare at her, she ranted about the group and Cabir and everything under the sun to distract her until Abhimanyu came back with the coffees.

Placing the tray at the table, he sat beside her, wrapping an arm around his girlfriend. "Hello, love. Would you like some coffee to feel better?"

"Why are you behaving as if nothing happened?", muttered Mukti, staring at her lap.

Abhimanyu let out a sigh. "Fine, tell me, what were you even thinking while leaving to get drunk all alone at night? You were hardly in your senses and I know you don't drink recklessly. Mukti, that half an hour was a torture for me as I waited for you after Manik called me. Mom was worried for you, dad too."

Nandini had a guess of what might have happened at her home. She had enough experience of the urge to stay as far as possible from her parents. Even though Mukti's parents weren't as cruel as Nandini's but Nandini didn't trust them. She warned Abhimanyu through her eyes to tone down as Mukti fidgeted with her fingers.

The boy took a deep breath to calm himself down. "Love, I know it's about your parents and you don't have to tell it to us if you aren't ready for it. It's the only case that switches off all the logic in your brain. But Mukti, remember one thing, there are still a lot many people who care for you and are worried about you constantly. At least for them, promise me that if something like this happens ever again, you will call either me or Nandini. I promise, I will pick you up from your home, whatever be the time."

Abhimanyu placed a kiss on her temple when she agreed with him before standing up. "Let me reheat the coffees and come."

As soon as he disappeared, Nandini gave an assuring smile to her best friend, passing on the message that everything is fine.

"I am sorry for scaring you", confessed Mukti.

"I didn't even know it till an hour back but you have scared him. I guess, he is hurt even."

"I couldn't think straight", she muttered.

Nandini reached out for her hand and gave it a little squeeze. "Mukti, you know, I understand, right? I am just glad you are safe."

"It was Manik. If it's not for him, I don't know what would have happened. I have no idea what shit I have uttered. Probably, scared him for life."

Nandini chuckled. The boy amazed her. She didn't know he had a superman hidden deep inside him. She didn't realize when Abhimanyu came back again and this time with Mukti's mobile along with their coffees.

"Why are there so many missed calls?", asked Mukti, swiping her mobile.

"Manik called to enquire about you. He is worried for you", informed Abhimanyu.

"Will you talk to him, please? I can't face him right now after last night."

"But Mukti, you have to at least thank him", protested Abhimanyu.

"I will. Tomorrow. Can I pretend yesterday didn't happen just for today?", she asked.

She must be embarrassed like hell, thought Nandini before pulling both her best friends into a hug. She officially hated all the parents in the world.

XXX

The next day in the college, Manik didn't find Mukti, Abhimanyu, or Nandini in his class but it was expected. He himself had a long conversation with Cabir the previous night and the brothers only had a few hours before college. The first half went in a blur. When Manik frustrated their Chemistry professor enough by answering every question, he moved onto the next victim making the boy sigh in relief. The rest of the class was uneventful.

It was the Programming class just before the lunch break when due to the absence of a professor, chaos erupted in the class. Programming was newly introduced to all the batches, irrespective of the year after a new faculty was appointed. He was nice but Cabir whined. He didn't get a hang of them whereas Manik excelled at it, getting fascinated after the first class during his high school. Taking advantage of the non-availability of an authoritative figure, Manik sneaked a text to Abhimanyu to ask about the well being of Mukti. A text turned into a chat when Abhimanyu responded.

Manik had half a concentration when the peon arrived to announce the shifting of the venue of their classroom to the seminar hall. This has never happened before. Learning Programming in the classroom was absurd when they can't get their laptops but he didn't understand why they were having them in the seminar hall.

He followed his classmates towards the seminar hall, took a seat in the middle row, to avoid craning of his neck. The seminar hall of their college was large enough to echo the voices of a quarter filled students. There were times when Manik wanted to go back to England to complete his education and this was one of them. If the students are ignored, even the faculty wasn't as serious as they should be except one or two.

He took out his notebook and resumed his conversation with Abhimanyu on phone, who was again on a thank you spree.

I already have a seat reserved for this class, girls. I wouldn't trade this one for the world. Better luck next time.

Manik heard a familiar tone but didn't pay much attention as he tried to convince Abhi it was okay and it was just a coincidence that he saved Mukti. It wasn't saving even. He just gave her a lift when she wasn't sober and dropped her at her friend's place. That's it.

"May I have the privilege to have a seat beside you, mister?", asked someone.

Manik nodded. It wasn't like anyone was going to sit beside him. Except for the trio, hardly anyone wanted anything to do with him. He all heard the whispers about him being the weird fresher who joined the sophomore year but ignored it. Really, he can't change them or their opinions.

"Seriously, Bhai, I have done so much for you and you don't even pay attention to me. I demand attention", screamed someone.

No. It was Cabir. Definitely Cabir. Manik raised his head and frowned when he found his brother in front of him. He looked around the students, who were gaping at the two, before pulling him in the seat beside him. His brother's voice must have attracted all the attention he wanted. "What the hell are you doing in my class?"

Cabir smirked. "Why do you think there is a change in the classroom?"

He raised an eyebrow. This wasn't good. "What did you do, baby bro?"

"Just a showcase of my perfect management skills to take the class with my favorite person", told Cabir, crossing his legs in a poor show of arrogance.

Manik protested. "Baby, you don't have an ounce of management skills in you", he told.

Cabir sulked and pouted. He grabbed Manik's arm and shook it in protest. "Bhai, trust me. The professor even praised my skills." He even pinched his throat as a promise.

Manik chuckled and shook his head. "I R.E.F.U.S.E." He quickly typed the reply to a new text from Abhimanyu when his brother whined.

"Bhai, seriously are you texting again. Who is more important for you than me?"

Manik ruffled his hair. "Kid, it's Abhimanyu." He updates Cabir about the updates of Mukti and they talk until the professor arrives. 

Apologies, please. It's just a chapter of filler situations but these are important. Since I too wanted to wrap this up early, I merged two chapters into one. Read Ma & Nan while you wait for Manan. Even though I haven't yet started writing the next part, I am sure there are at least a few Manan moments in the next one. Finally. :P

Coming to this one, we get to see the Hero Manik who saves the girl in his own style instead of punching the goons as in Bollywood movies (or getting punched because he sneaks his novel reading instead of workouts). ;)

Nandini has a problem sharing a Whatsapp group with Cabir but not Manik. Hint Hint. :P

Any questions regarding the chapter or story in general?