Unedited.

~Playlist for this chapter~
What makes you beautiful - 1D

(This song makes me nostalgic)

~For all my Hindi Listeners~
Kyon - Barfi movie

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Chapter 5:

~Yash's POV~

Kishore Kumar's song crackled through the old caravan radio in the kitchen. I whistled to the tune while rapidly dicing coriander before adding it to my sabji as a garnish.

I loved cooking and it was something that I had learnt from my nani. She had polished my culinary skills and had even shared her secret family recipes with me, which mom was yet to know. I had countless spent my summer vacations in her small kitchen and knew it like the back of my hand.

I hummed as I retrieved the bottles of spices from the cabinet when I heard a few whispers from the adjoining corridor.

I recognised the two voices that belonged to my grandparents

"Is he Ok?" My nana asked.

"He seems more than Ok to me—almost happy." Came the reply of my nani.

"It's good to know he isn't locking himself in that room all day, throwing tantrums like a small kid."

"You know I can hear you guys!" I said as I ushered them in the kitchen before handing them each a spoon filled with a small tasting portion of my paneer makhani.

"C'mon. Taste it." I said as I licked the hot sauce off my thumb.

"Paneer? Are waah!" Nana asked as he eagerly eyed the pan.

"You're not having paneer. Your cholesterol level will shoot up the next day." Nani gently swatted away his sneaky hands away before they graced the sauce in the pan.

"C'mon nani, we are celebrating my admission at the new college. He is allowed to have some." I said as I retrieved some plates off the cabinet.

"What's to celebrate about this new college? You were better off in IG." My nana said, distaste clear in his voice.

My nana wasn't the one to back down when things didn't go his way. He paid no heed while voicing out his decision against my sudden transfer in VZ. He thought it was a huge misstep in my academic life. I thought too until I met the crazy bunch here.

VZ might not be the international academy shining in my CV but it was definitely the perfect getaway I needed before I completely lost my sanity there.

"We're not discussing that at the table if you want paneer. Son, the sabji needs a bit more salt and you can enhance the colour by adding—" Nani started.

After a few discussion on the flavours of the sauce and the spices, we settled ourselves around the counter, enjoying the dinner.

"Did you get all the documents right?" Nana asked.

"Yeah," I replied as I spooned some paneer and sneaked it into his bowl, giving him thumbs up.

"How's college? Did you check out their campus?" Nani asked, glaring at his bowl overbrimming with fat, white cubes.

"It's pretty cool. I guess I'll grow fat again with the amount of junk I'm eating at the canteen. I also made some friends there"

"Already?" Surprise evident in her voice.

"Yeah. I'm the newest member of their group. They all are a bit...weird but they are nice." I said. They shared a knowing look.

"Good at least—"

My phone blared with a ringtone that I had saved for a specific someone. 

"He rang at house thrice today. Pick up his call before he shows up outside our door tomorrow morning." Nani said, smiling. My grin reached my ear as I attended the call.

"Abbey saale kutte! Tu bhul gaya mujhe!" Manish's voice made me a bit emotional as I excused myself to the privacy of my room.

(Hey, bastard, dog! You have forgotten me!)

"Abey haramkhor! That's impossible." I say as I stepped in the balcony, enjoying the light evening breeze.

"Uhm, uhm, so what's up with the whole 'black jacket' thing online? Did you scare the chicks in your new college with your ugly face?"

"Why is everyone stalking my Instagram?" I groaned on the phone as I reminisced the horror of reading all the comments online. As ego flattering as they were, they made me want to drown myself in a three times oversized hoodie and pyjamas on my next visit to the college, just to escape all the creepy stares of girls.

Juniors were scary.

"I don't stalk, that's not my style."

'I didn't stalk you! It was just a basic check-up'

My lips curve up in a small smile as I remember Agni's glaring emerald eyes that sparkled like jewels. She couldn't get any hotter than that. Damn those eyes, damn those lips and—

"You there? Do you know this girl, Ashika? She commented something about your ass and how she wants to lick—" His voice broke the train of my thought.

"Enough! Get off my page! You don't even follow me on Insta!" I said as I clicked on the app, quickly shuffling through its setting before switching my account privacy from 'public' to 'private'. Should've taken Ahana's advice more seriously.

"You sound more and more like my possessive girlfriend!"

"Did my sweety pie have his dinner?" I screamed-talked in a hyper-nasally voice, mimicking his tool of an ex.

"Fuck off! Since we're on the topic of girlfriend, congratulations on your break up with Shruti. How does it feel to be back in the playing field?"

When I didn't reply, he released a frustrated groan. "Don't tell me you miss her! I found her in my building elevator today digging grand canyon in her new toy's neck. Poor soul!"

"I do—I mean—not exactly but I just liked her a lot, you know. Genuinely liked her. I feel like a dick to break up with her over the phone." I say as I watched the twinkling, yellow headlights of cars lighting the city roads in the dark. From the distance, they sparkled like precious jewels adorning this city of dreams.

"I feel sorry for you—but that's a lie...I never really liked her! Good riddance!"

"Who's sounding like a jealous girlfriend now?" I let out a laugh at his cherry tone.

Till date, I couldn't understand his childish grudge against Shruti. It used to irk me a lot when two important people in my life couldn't seem to find a middle ground but at least I had one less problem to worry about now.

"On a serious note, you can do so much better than her." 

"You sound like Tanvi right now!" I chuckle at his serious tone. 

"Tanvi? The double date girl? When did you have a heart to heart talk with her?"

"This morning. I met her at college today. We're sharing the same class."

"And I assume her friend is too? What's her name? Aag?"

"Agni! Yes."

"Do I expect heart sand cliche couple goals wale pictures online anytime soon?"

I scoffed at his question. If only it was so easy. Getting her to speak just one compound sentence seemed to be a task. Holding a decent conversation for two minutes seemed like a faraway dream. Gone was the girl who had dragged me out of the cafe and ferociously confronted me, calling me off, and was now replaced by a quiet, timid statue who hardly spoke a word.

"Fuck off." I say as I checked my phone at the ping. My screen lit up with an Instagram notification. A click on it directed me to the list of follow requests. On the top was the person who shocked me.

"Is Huma back in Delhi?" I asked as I clicked on reject before flinging the device on the bed, following suit. His silence confirmed my answer.

"Did she do anything?" I asked as I sensed a headache threatening to overpower all my previous merry mood.

"Except for barging in our farewell party, threatening Shruti and almost tearing her hair extension off? No, nothing much. You're lucky you missed that show!"

Oh right, that damn farewell party. Our college went full out with our twelfth farewell party. It was grand and well, flashy, a perfect opportunity for free publicity.

It was a week ago, and as I had to fly early to Mumbai, I had missed it.

"Why didn't I see anything online about it?"

"I might have politely requested people not to post anything about it. You know, how convincing I can be."

Of course, I knew. Manish was basically an electronic worm. He lived and breathed technology.

In sixth grade, I had asked out his ex-girlfriend to irk him and as a revenge, he had hacked my school ID and professed his undying perverted love in a mail to our classmate. Unfortunately, she just happened to be our principal's daughter. I almost got rusticated for that stunt.

Asshole.

"Look dude, don't stress about her. Just focus on your new college Kay?"

"Fine." I breathed out a sigh. Despite Manish topping the list of an A grade asshole, I knew I could trust him.

"Hey Yash?"

"Hm?"

"Do you remember ninth grade, Soham's birthday party?"

It was a pretty wild night. Soham was the president of student council of our college. He was popular, rich, and infamous for throwing grand parties where people often ended up on the floor in the morning, with almost no memory of past night shinanigans.

Of course drinking was illegal. That just made it more fun and reckless.

I met the similar fate, waking up on a stranger's bedroom floor, butt naked. Naked as the day I was born.

Till this date I have no memory of how I ended up there.

"What about it?"

"I might have clicked a picture of yours before you woke up."

"What?!"

"And I might have, mistakenly, posted it online for your fans to enjoy! Ok, bye!"

I almost throttled his imaginary neck in my hands when I saw multiple notifications flooding my phone.

The picture was grainy and not of the best quality but the undeniable defined outline of my butt was highlighted by the flash in the dark. 'Butt' naked, pun intended. The caption read.

Someone was going to be dead. Soon.

****

I don't understand where all this sleep is coming from!

****

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