“Heard of this new rumor?”
“What kind?”
Anshu smirks, “It goes something like this, ‘If you want to know where Dr. Sandeepthi is, find Dr. Nikhil, and you’ll find her automatically, and vice versa’.”
“Yeah. I heard.”
“It’s kinda cute”, Anshu grins, placing her chin on her folded elbows.
“It’s not”, I snap, “It’s incredibly judgemental.”
“It is” , Anshu shrugs, “But there’s also some truth behind it.”
I open my mouth and shut it multiple times.
The point is, there actually is truth in the rumor. Nikhil and I have been spending quite a good amount of time with each other.
“Who I spend my time with is not the world’s business.”
“Why are you getting so worked up about it?”
I sigh, exasperated, “I’ve just heard this so many times, and I’m getting odd looks. So it’s kind of irritating me now.”
“You are getting affected by rumors?”, Anshu snorts, “And it doesn’t matter. Truth is you are seeing each other, unless you have a diplomatic disagreement to this statement.”
“Stop being a savage”, I mumble.
Anshu frowns, then checks her mobile, “Oh. That’s the thing behind your brilliant mood. You’re PMSing, aren’t you?”
“Which medal do you want?”
“What?”, Anshu blinks.
“For your great discovery.”
“Ouch”, she mutters, “Let’s go for a walk. I’m getting bored.”
“We could munch on chips and watch Orange Is The New Black?”
“No. My butt’s getting bigger with all this binge watching. Get your ass up. And let’s leave.”
“Anshu”, I whine.
“Did you invite Nikhil over?”, she gives me a suggestive look.
I throw a pillow at her, “No.”
“So no make out session in private. Why are you cribbing?”
I glare at the creature in front of me, letting her drag my foot.
“Alright, alrigh-Ow”, I wince when I fall off the couch, glaring daggers at my laughing friend.
I mutter to myself, walking behind her.
“It actually feels good to get out of the room”, I sigh, letting cool air breeze past me.
“You’re welcome.”
I roll my eyes, “Where’s Avyukth?”
“I’m not his personal assistant.”
“You are his girlfriend.”
“So?”
“Same thing”, I grin.
“Bullshit.”
“What are you not telling me?”, I narrow my eyes when Anshu makes the ‘Uncomfortable’ face.
My suspicion is clarified when her tone gets high pitched when she speaks, “Not telling what?”
“Ansh-”
“Isn’t that Nikhil’s sister?”
I narrow my eyes at Anshu.
“Really, moron. Look”, she points a few feet ahead of us, at the hospital entrance.
“Yeah. It’s her”, I say.
“Looks like she’s waiting for Nikhil”, Anshu mumbles, “But isn’t he the-”
“Uh. What?”
“Nothing. Come on. Let’s leave.”
I wince, although agreeing, “I think she saw us.”
“It’s fine.”
“Why are you behaving so weird?”, I ask.
“I-”
We’re interrupted when Ananya waves a hand at the two of us, walking towards us.
“Waiting for Nikhil”, Ananya said, after the mutual greetings.
“Oh. But I think it’ll take some time for him.”
Ananya smiles, “No. He said he’ll be home early today. And asked me to meet him at the hospital so we could go to his place.”
“Oh. Cool.”
“Yeah. He’s inviting a couple of friends of his. So he wants my help to set things up apparently”, Ananya rolls her eyes, although a smile plays on her lips.
“Oh”, I try to keep my voice neutral, “That’s nice.”
Who all were in this ‘ Friends’ list that he invited.
I look at Anshu, irritated when she avoids eye contact.
It’s difficult for me to grill her in the presence of Ananya.
But.
Why didn’t Nikhil tell me about it?
I brush the thought away. It’s not like he has to tell me everything.
“Finally. Here he is”, Ananya says.
Nikhil approaches us, giving his sister a quick side hug, and smiles at us.
He frowns, raising his eyebrows when he sees my face.
I smile, subtly shaking my head.
“Come on. Let’s go?”, Ananya asks her brother.
“Yeah”, Nikhil says, “Go get some snacks from the store there?”, he points to the general store a few yards away from the gate, “I’ll get the car.”
“Okay.”
“Um. I’ll help you?”, Anshu offers.
“Sure”, Ananya smiles, “Let’s go.”
“What’s with the face?”, Nikhil points to my face, teasing.
I shrug, “Nothing.”
We start walking to his car, involuntarily, “Is there an issue?”
“No. Just.”
“Sandy”, Nikhil sighs, “Tell me if you have something to talk to me about.”
Apparently, I’m not the only one in a crap mood.
“I… don’t know. I feel weird.”
“What about?”, Nikhil frowns, cupping my left shoulder with his right palm.
I shrug.
You did not inform me about the get together.
Even in my head, my reasoning seems childish.
But deep down, I know I’m not upset because he didn’t tell me.
Dhruv.
What if Dhruv is invited?
And… is it going to change the dynamics between Nikhil and me in any way?
“Sandy?”
I force a smile, “Nothing. Forget it.”
I’m surprised when Nikhil pulls me into a hug, rubbing my shoulders.
I feel myself melting, my worries at a temporary pause as he holds me.
“Sandy”, he holds my hand, “It’s alright if you don’t want to tell me. But if you find it important enough to discuss it with me, I’ll be here.”
“I was just wondering if Dhruv is invited”, I say quietly.
“Is him being invited or not going to make a difference to you?”
I frown at the way the question is framed, “What?”
“How does it matter if Dhruv’s invited or not? Unless it does make a difference?”
I glare at Nikhil, “What are you trying to say?”
“I’m not saying anything”, Nikhil presses his lips thin, “As long as we’re clear, I’m sure Dhruv doesn’t hold too much importance, unless we behave in such a manner.”
“I-”
“What exactly is your issue Sandy?”
I flinch when Nikhil snaps.
I can count the number of times Nikhil has snapped at me on my fingers.
So when someone behaves out of character, combined with my PMS, I’m pretty sure I’m reasonable when tears well my eyes.
“Shit. I’m Sorry”, Nikhil wipes my cheeks, “Why are you crying? Is something the matter?”
I sniff, wiping my cheek, laughing, embarrassed that I felt emotional over such a trivial thing.
“Nothing”, I say.
My eyes slip shut when Nikhil places a gentle kiss on my lips, pulling back within seconds, “You have nothing to worry about, alright?”
I nod, unable to look Nikhil in the eye for some reason, as I step closer to him, my hand in his, “I just don’t want Dhruv to spoil… whatever we have”, I say quietly, “It doesn’t make sense. I know”, I shrug, “But it just makes me uneasy for some reason.”
“Sandy”, Nikhil cups my face. I take in the comfort to look at him, “Dhruv is a … good friend of mine. I promise you I will tell him what we are to each other… at this point. And believe me when I say I won’t let anyone sabotage whatever we have. But with that being said, Dhruv was my best friend. We’re only patching up now, slowly. I already feel like I’m breaking the bro code by… being with you. But it’s something I can’t help. I need it. And if he’s going to be a bigger person about it and still want to be friends, I don’t see any reason as to why I shouldn’t want to be.”
I frown, “Yeah. I get it.”
“I can understand why you’re apprehensive”, Nikhil smiles, a smile automatically forming on my lips too, “Believe me when I say everything will like be fine. Okay?”
“Okay”, I pass him a smile, my heart somewhat calm as I let him kiss my forehead.
We jump apart when we hear throats clearing.
I look away, nervous.
What will Ananya think?
Shit.
I’m relieved and confused when she winks at me, giving me a thumbs up, as she smiles softly at me.
She knows, that there’s something between me and her brother.
No wonder she was so nice to me before Nikhil came, volunteering information.
Although I’m floored, I find myself smiling back when she squeezes my hand, a silent approval, a silent plea. I hope my smile is reassuring as Anshu and I bid Bye to the siblings, watching them zoom past us.
Even as I watch the car disappear into the distance, I couldn’t shake off the uneasy feeling.
I turn to Anshu when she wraps her arm around my shoulder.
“Avyukth is invited, isn’t he? You knew it. And you didn’t want to tell me, because Dhruv might be invited too.”
“Good God”, Anshu gasps, “You’re connecting the dots so well these days. Which medal do you want?”
I roll my eyes, turning to her, “Stop running away everytime Nikhil and I are together. It’s awkward. And unnecessary.”
“You guys wouldn’t have kissed if I was there”, Anshu smirks, walking ahead of me.