Chapter : Thirteen   

The sounds of water splashing out of the sink tap and the occasional clanking of metal intermixed with the voice of Anne Marie which streamed out of the laptop from the living room while Abhi washed the dishes which had been piled out of sheer laziness. He had put aside the plates from morning's breakfast and afternoon's lunch to be cleaned later on. Only now that there were no more plates to be used for dinner was he regretting his actions.

Kirti silently chopped the potatoes and beans for dinner as she perched over the dining area chair. She worked mindlessly as she thought of the most ideal way to announce about Sekhar's plans to stay over at their home tonight. It wasn't like the group would protest about this in any manner considering how they have an extra room in case Sekhar ever stays over for the night anyway but Kirti thought it'd be convenient if the friends knew beforehand.

But what reason would I state when they ask why Sekhar's gonna stay over, she wondered.

"You know, today those five boys made it the most difficult class for me to take," Abhi spoke, bringing Kirti out of her thoughts. He stood facing her as he wiped his hands over the pink apron which he was wearing.

Kirti's lips upturned into a smile when she realized how oddly cute Abhimanyu looked in that floral printed apron which ruined his otherwise handsome features. Following her gaze he sighed out exasperatedly and untied the apron hastily.

"I swear I need to get some aprons for myself," Abhi muttered to himself, "Can't keep wearing Shruti's ones all the time,"

"I think floral prints suit you," Kirti suggested, suppressing a good laugh when Abhi scowled at her.

Hanging the apron over one of the vacant chairs, Abhi settled down beside Kirti as he tapped his hands over the table in a rhythm which matched the Chainsmokers' track which was now streaming from the living room.

"How come the boys troubled their Abhi Sir today?" Kirti asked whilst busy with the vegetables.

"Every five minutes they kept asking about the 'new didi'," Abhi spoke and sighed with a shaking head as if to gesture how tired he was.

"You mean me?" Kirti asked, glancing at him once and averting her eyes back to her knife.

"Uh-huh," Abhi nodded, "Their curiosity is outrageously perpetual!"

Kirti giggled at Abhi's choice of words. Having spent enough time with him she concluded that Abhi tended to use long, unique words whenever he felt overly excited, happy or agitated about anything.

"And while trying to answer their questions, I realized how little I know about you," Abhimanyu admitted, shrugging as-a-matter-of-fact.

Kirti stiffened at that. She fretted over what question Abhi would ask her now.

"Well... you'll get to know me with time," She responded coldly and shrugged, her eyes fixed over the knife and bowl of potatoes and beans.

Abhi sensed how she suddenly clammed up and it did hit him in some way. He kept looking at Kirti for a moment, observing her slender face and long, dark lashes which shielded her chocolate brown eyes from revealing any emotions to him. Sighing internally, he forced a smile on his lips and resumed to playing his fingers over the table.

Shruti entered the dining area and passed a quick wave to both of them as she opened the fridge to grab a bottle of water. Walking over to Kirti, she peered down at the bowl and frowned confusedly.

"Won't it be too much food for the six of us?" Shruti asked.

"Um," Kirti paused for a moment, "Sekhar would be joining us and will stay over for tonight-"

"What?!" Abhi's loud exclamation cut Kirti off and she gazed at him with a surprised eye.

"Uh... Sekhar will be joining us-" Kirti barely repeated herself.

"No! He can't!" Abhimanyu spoke, his eyes widening a bit with panic.

"Abhi," Shruti piped in with a concerned face, "What's the matter?"

Abhi looked back and forth between the two girls and sighed, slouching back on his seat dejectedly.

"I met Anika before school ended and she told me that she'd come over for tonight and I may or may not have agreed to it," Abhi explained in a meek little voice, shrugging and not meeting their eyes.

"WHAT?!" Jiya yelled from the living room as she scrambled over to the doorway of the dining area with a horrified expression, "Did I hear the name right?!"

"You look so happy about it already!" Paras exclaimed sarcastically as he walked past Jiya only to earn a death glare which made him raise his hands in apology.

Kirti wondered what big a deal it would be if Sekhar met Anika. Another thought overlapped her question: Why did Abhi have to call Anika over? Wasn't it enough already to stay glued to one another the whole day at school anyway?

Shruti took notice of Kirti's confused expression and leaned closer and spoke to her in a whisper while the rest were busy bickering. "Basically, Anika and Sekhar have met once before and it didn't end on a good note. Sekhar felt that Anika was the wrong person for Abhi and had told the same to Anika on her face which didn't lead to a pleasant conversation,"

Kirti nodded at the words and tried to stop that smug smile from appearing over her lips. She never loved Sekhar so much before. The way Sekhar announced his thoughts about Anika straightaway to her was something that made Kirti feel happy. Her consciousness smacked a hand on her head and shook its own head disapprovingly at her but she couldn't help it.

"Text Anika and tell her that the plan's cancelled," Paras suggested, "Simple,"

Nodding, Abhi pulled out his phone and barely began typing the message out to Anika when they heard the doorbell ring. Yash, who was still in the living room, answered the door. He exclaimed, "Oh Anika! How come you're here?"

The entire group looked at one another with widened eyes and gaping faces. Jiya shook her head with a smirk.

"Oh it's gonna be one heck of a dinner tonight," Jiya remarked.

***

Annoyance was the only word Kirti would've used to describe her apparent situation. She kept cooking supper over the stove with a silent look plastered over her face while Abhi helped set the table. Anika, meanwhile, was settled over the countertop, dangling her legs right next to where Kirti was working. Kirti ignored Anika with all her might while she kept making weird, so-called adorable faces and talked to Abhi who answered her whilst working.

Helping us out instead of blabbering meaninglessly would've been better, Kirti thought.

"You guys should get a chimney," Anika stated, fanning a hand over her face in a dramatic manner to express how bad it was to not have one in here.

It was as if on cue that Jiya entered the dining area when she heard Anika and smirked at her.

"Tell your daddy to pay for that," Jiya said, "We'll happily get one installed,"

Kirti bit her lower lip to stop herself from laughing out loud. Anika meanwhile made a hurting frown and looked at Abhi who looked back and forth between her and Jiya helplessly. He didn't know which side to take while both the girls looked at him expectantly.

"Dinner's ready," Kirti interrupted the situation and passed Abhi a smile when the girls got distracted.

Abhi sighed and blew her an adorable imaginary kiss from over the table with a grateful smile when neither of the girls was looking his way. Kirti quickly averted her eyes from him, trying in vain to hide her blushing face. The weird feeling was back in her gut and she hated it the most. She told herself that Abhi was simply thanking her but it didn't help her situation.

She then laid the dishes over the table while everyone slowly joined them. Yash was busy texting over his phone as he settled down with a gleeful face. The group knew already that he was conversing with Payal, the girl whom they had stalked early morning the other day.

Kirti shot a look at Abhi and gestured for him to start talking to Anika. It was a now or never situation. Abhi made a face as if pleading to her. Kirti glared at him with an intimidating look and he immediately nodded an 'okay'.

Abhi then turned to look at Anika who was settled over the countertop. "Um... Anika,"

"Yeah, sweetie?" She responded with a smile. Kirti internally rolled her eyes.

"Uh..." Abhimanyu stuttered, "You gotta leave,"

Just great, Abhi, Kirti sighed inwardly.

"What? Why?" Anika asked, genuinely confused at the sudden statement.

Abhi paused at that. "B-because... Your dad called me and... he told me that he was waiting for you... yeah, that's what happened,"

Anika frowned at his words and crossed her arms over her chest.

"Dad's abroad to Maldives," Anika stated plainly, "How could he possibly be waiting for me at home?"

The entire group looked back and forth between Abhi and Anika with sheer anxiousness. Jiya, meanwhile, was smirking and enjoying the scene being unfolded in front of her.

"I...Actually...This-" Abhi fumbled with his words, making Anika frown further.

"Never thought you despised my company so much," Anika muttered, her voice a mere whisper while her eyes turned glossy at the thought. Kirti frowned and looked at Abhi who had a guilt-stricken face now. The poor guy didn't know how to fix this up.

"Anika, it's nothing of that sort," Shruti spoke, sounding soft and comforting.

"Oh yeah? What's the reason that he wants me out then?" Anika fired a question which made Abhi gulp helplessly.

"Alright now!" Jiya interrupted as she got up from her seat and advanced towards Anika, "I heartily enjoyed enough of this drama and sorry to break it to you, sweetie, but it's our house and we'll decide how long the validity of our hospitality lasts. And in this case, the validity's expired; so, sayonara!"

Anika gazed at Jiya with a staggered look while she waved a hand at her with a tight smile. Clenching her jaw hard, Anika jumped down the counter and threw an icy glare at Jiya before storming out of the living area with her handbag slinging around her shoulder. Skipping out of his seat, Abhi followed after Anika, calling out to her as she reached the exit.

"Anika," Abhi called as he stopped her by her arm right before she opened the door to the exit way.

She didn't respond.

"You know that Jiya is outspoken," He explained, "Don't take any of her words by heart,"

"Either you take her side, or mine," Anika stated coldly before jerking her arm out of Abhi's grasp as she opened the door.

The moment she flung open the wooden door, she stilled momentarily when she met those brown eyes and that annoyed frown. Sekhar stood at the doorway, his hand about to ring the doorbell which froze in mid-air the moment Anika opened it. Narrowing her eyes at Sekhar, she walked past him and stormed down the hallway with loud, furious steps, leaving Abhi and Sekhar facing each other.

"Hey, brother," Abhi addressed Sekhar with a nervous laugh while Sekhar narrowed his eyes on Abhi.

Sharing no words, Sekhar simply walked in and headed for the extra bedroom while Abhi sighed in a relieved manner. Somehow, Abhi realized that Anika's sad outburst didn't have the kind of effect it used to have over him. Why's that so, he wondered with a frown.    

Author's Note:-  

How was the chapter peeps? 

I seriously adore Jiya as one of my creations because come on now! She's the life of every argument and happening!! XD

Oh and any ideas over why Sekhar looks so pissed off? Is it simply because he faced Anika or is there something more to it?

Here's an AWESOME AF cover made by none other that dreamcatcher0105!!!
I seriously fell in love with that boat thing!! ❤️

Meet y'all at the next update!! *waves a goodbye*