Manik and Nandini reached college and headed towards the canteen. There they met Fab 4, who were already waiting for them to come. Navya and Aryamann joined them too.

Alya : Kaha the tumlog guys?

Dhruv : Haan buddy.. Humlog kabse se tumlog ka wait kar rahe hai. Aur tum dono phone bhi nai utha rahe the.

Cabir : Dhruv, Alya tumlog bhi kya puch rahe ho? Ofcourse vo dono saath hi honge na. Kal raat bhi toh saath hi the.

As soon as the words were out of Cabir's mouth, he realized what he had just said. Everyone stared at him with wide eyes. Nandini glared at him. Manik looked at him suspiciously.

Manik : Tujhe kaise pata ki mei kal Nandini ke saath tha? Maine toh yeh kisi se nahi kaha tha.

Mukti facepalmed. Everyone gave a death stare to Cabir. If looks could kill, he would be a dead man. Because of his one mistake, their surprise could be spoilt. Everything would have been in front of Manik if they didn't think of an excuse soon.

Cabir : Woh.. woh..

Cabir stammered. He couldn't think of an excuse.

Navya came to his rescue.

Navya : Woh Cabir ke kehne ka matlab hai ki Chacha-Chachi yaha nahi hai naa. Toh tum dono kal raat saath hi honge naa. Hai na Cabir?

Navya eyed Cabir. Cabir took that as a cue.

Cabir : Haa haa. Mera woh hi matlab tha.

Manik nodded his head as if he bought the excuse. Cabir mouthed a 'thank you' to Navya. Everyone breathed a sigh of relief.

Aryamann : Lekin tum dono ko itna late kyu hogaya?

Cabir : I think kal raat yeh dono soye hi nai honge isliye inhe late hogaya.

Cabir pulled their legs. Everyone started giggling except MaNan. Manik didn't like the comment at all.

Manik : (Angrily) Shut up, Cabir! Tujhe hamesha sirf mazaak hi sujhta hai na? Sab kuch mazaak nahi hota hai Cabir.

Everyone was appalled. Their laughter had died down at his outrage. This demeanour of Manik was a very rare occurrence.

Mukti : Manik yaar, chill kar. Cabir mazaak kar raha tha. Tu itna furious kyu ho raha hai?

Manik : Har baar mazaak sahi nahi hota hai Mukti. Isne kabhi yeh socha hai ki iska yeh mazaak kisko hurt bhi kar sakta hai? Aur mei itna furious kyu ho raha hu? Tu yeh mujhse puch rahi hai? Isse puch na ki isse hamesha sirf mazaak kyu karna hota hai? Kabhi serious kyu nahi ho sakta hai yeh? Haan hum kal raat saath the. Toh? Haan mein nahi soya tha raat bhar par uss wajah se nahi jo tu samajh raha hai. Lekin tujhe usse kya? Tune toh pucha bhi nahi ki aisa kyu? Yeh tak jaane ki koshish nahi ki, ki hum late kyu aaye? Ofcourse tu yeh kyu karega? Tujhe toh bas mujhe aur Nandini ko tease karne ka mauka chahiye. Kabhi yeh sochta hai ki hamari lives mein kya chal raha hai? Do you even know what happened yesterday night? Nahi, tujhe kaise pata hoga? Tu toh kabhi puchta hi nahi hai. Bas apne assumptions ke basis pe kuch bhi bakwaas karta rehta hai.

Nandini held Manik's arm and stopped him.

Nandini : Manik, Cabir ki kya galti hai? Tum uspe kyu chilla rahe ho? Woh toh kuch jaanta bhi nahi hai. And he was just goofing around. Ismei itna kyu gussa kar rahe ho Manik?

Manik : Nahi Nandini. Mujhe bolne do. Bohot hogaya iska mazaak. And he doesn't know because he doesn't bother asking. Yesterday Nandini..

Remembering yesterday's incident, Manik shut his eyes in pain and took a deep breath. He lowered his voice.

Manik : Kal raat Nandini.. She wasn't even in the condition to say a word. She had a splitting headache. Uski haalat itni kharab hogayi thi that she fell unconscious and we had to rush to the hospital. The doctor said that she needed to rest. Par phir bhi woh college aayi. Pata hai kyu? Just to make sure that we practice for the upcoming concert. Par tujhe kya fark padta hai? You just know how to tease and make fun of everyone and play pranks. Tujhe kya farak padta hai ki hamari life mein kya chal raha hai.

Saying this, Manik stormed off from the canteen. Nandini called out from behind but he didn't stop. Everyone was shocked after hearing about the occurences of the previous night.

Alya : Nandini tum thik ho na? Doctor ne kya kaha?

Nandini : Haan, mei thik hu. Doctor ne kuch tests karwaye hai. She said we'll know more once the reports come.

Manik's words were still ringing in Cabir's ears. His outrage replayed in Cabir's mind continuously. In a low voice,

Cabir : Usne aisa socha bhi kaise ki mujhe koi farak nahi padta? Just because mei hamesha joke karta hu, iska matlab yeh nahi hai that I don't care. Nandini do you think the same? Do you also think that I don't care about you guys or what happens in your life?

Nandini was startled upon hearing this question.

Nandini : Cabir are you mad? Tum yeh kya bol rahe ho? Mujhe aisa nahi lagta hai. Aur Manik ko bhi aisa nahi lagta hai. Cabir, I'm sorry. Manik ki taraf se. Usne yeh sab gusse mei bola hai. He doesn't mean any of this. Kal jo bhi hua uske baad Manik bahut darr gaya hai. He thinks that he will lose me. He said all this out of his concern for me, Cabir. I know usse yeh sab nahi bolna chahiye tha. He had no right to throw a fit of temper at you like this. But Cabir, please Manik ki baato ka bura mat maan na. He didn't mean what he said.

Cabir got up and left the canteen without uttering a single word.

Dhruv : Cabirrr...

Nandini : Ohh God. Yeh Manik bhi na. Kya zarurat thi itna sab bolne ki? Ab Cabir bhi..

Mukti : Nandini tum tension mat lo. Tum jaakar Manik ko sambhalo. Iss waqt woh sirf tumhari hi baat sunega. Mein Cabir ko dekhti hoon.

Nandini nodded and went to look for Manik. She searched for him everywhere but she wasn't able to find him. She scanned through the corridors, classrooms, jam room, even the auditorium. But she couldn't find him anywhere.

Nandini : (to herself) Manik tum kaha ho?

Suddenly, she remembered a place and rushed towards the staircase. She climbed the stairs as fast as she could. She reached the college terrace and found the door to be open. It was the terrace where they shared everything, where they went when they were in pain and didn't have each other by their sides. The terrace was the only place where they found peace apart from the one they found in each other's embrace.

Nandini : Tum yaha ho?

As soon as Manik heard Nandini's voice, he turned around. Looking at his face, Nandini knew something was wrong. She ran towards him. When she looked at him closely, she noticed tear stains on his cheeks. She gasped and cupped his right cheek.

Nandini : Manikkk...

He fell down to his knees. She knelt besides him too. He threw his arms around her and hugged her as tightly as humanly possible. She hugged him back, as tight as she could & caressed his back. Manik was sobbing like a baby. Nandini's heart twinged at his state. She kept on caressing his back until his breath became even. They broke apart. She wiped off the tear stains from his cheeks.

Nandini : Manik? Kya hua hai? Why did you burst out at Cabir in the canteen? Why did you say all of that? Manik, I know that you didn't mean any of those words. Then how did your anger reach its peak? Cabir toh hamesha hi mazaak karta rehta hai Manik. Tumne aise toh kabhi bhi usse baat nahi ki hai. In fact kisi se bhi aise baat nahi ki hai. Toh aaj achanak aisa kya hogaya Manik?

Manik took Nandini's palms in his.

Manik : I don't know Nandini.. I don't know what happened to me but..

Nandini : But kya?

Manik : Nandini, I am scared..

Nandini : Scared of what Manik?

Manik : Scared of losing you Nandini. I don't know but I still have that weird feeling. Mujhe nahi pata. I know that you'll never leave me and nor will I but.. My heart isn't ready to accept it. I thought that the feeling was just there yesterday. But.. but today when Cabir joked about yesterday night, that feeling came back. And.. and I just lost my cool. I know I shouldn't have done that. But mei kya karu Nandini? I can't shake this feeling off. I swear I tried doing it but it isn't going away. Nandini, I've lost you once. Because of my own mistakes. I can't lose you again, Nandini. I just can't.

He looked down.

Nandini : Manik, look at me.

He lifted his head to look at her.

Nandini : Mein kahin nahi jaa rahi hu Manik. You are not losing me Manik. You never will. In fact, I will never leave you Manik. You know that, don't you?

Manik : Nandini I know.. I know that you'll never leave me. I know you won't even think of leaving me, not even in your wildest nightmares. But I just don't know. I don't like this feeling at all but it's just.. there.

Nandini didn't know how to reassure him. She didn't know how to rid him of this feeling. She just took him in her arms.

Nandini : Manikk..

They stayed there for a bit and Nandini broke the hug.

Nandini : Manik, whatever the reason, tumhe itna sab nahi bolna chahiye tha. Tumhe pata bhi hai Cabir ko kitna bura laga? He's hurt, Manik. Especially with that last statement of yours. The one where you said that he doesn't care about what goes on in our lives. Manik, he does care.

Manik : I know he does.

Nandini : He's your childhood friend, Manik. You guys have spent your childhood together. Usse kitna bura laga hoga jab uske bachpan ke dost ne usse aisa kuch kaha. Manik I know that you didn't mean any of those words. But Manik I think you need to apologise to him. No matter what, you shouldn't have spoken to him in that tone.

Manik : You are right. I need to apologise. I had no rights to say all those things to Cabir. Let's go and find him.

Nandini nodded. Manik got up and helped Nandini stand. They left from the terrace, with their hands entwined, in search of Cabir.

Hey guys! Here's the next update. I hope you'll liked it. Do leave your votes and comments below.
- Sakshi❤️