Thread #2 for Asad-Zoya FF: The Monster I Loved (new update 3 on pg 6)

"Abbu, NO! Just NO" Zoya's shout made two scared pigeons flapping away.

"I am NOT gonna meet any random guy who happens to be your friend's son and happens to be a filthy rich NRI guy who is on a vacation to India with the sole purpose of finding an Indian girl fool enough to marry him." Zoya fumed. 

"Zoya beta, please listen to me will you?" Siddiqui sahab's pleading got drowned as Zoya unleashed another firestorm.

"I mean, this cannot be a coincidence, right? Allah, does none of your friends have daughters? Either all of them are blessed with stupid sons or I am being set up for a big fat 'phorein' wedding...and I suspect the later because this is the 10th time I am going to meet such a guy and going by the combined IQ of the last nine prospective grooms, I doubt whether all your friends were unmindful enough to drop their sons on their heads as infants." 

Zoya blew a strand of hair out of her face in disgust.

"Zoya, calm down right now and LISTEN TO ME." Siddiqui sahab's voice turned stern. "You are going to meet this guy, Ashraf, TODAY...and you are not gonna make a fool out of your father. Remember what values we have taught you at home. You are the daughter of Ghaffur Siddiqui, not some roadside teenager."

"But Abbu, please." Zoya's eyes started watering. She had heard this voice before. Her father was not gonna retreat.

"Don't try that tone with me. It's not going to work. Do what I SAY. and Don't fail me this time, Zoya." Siddiqui sahab voice was cold. He disconnected without another word.

"This SUCKS LIKE HELL!" Zoya kicked a harmless empty can of diet coke flying to the trash can.

"You mean, this guy is coming NOW? Like NOW now!" Tanya rolled her eyes "In our college?"

Zoya and Tanya were sitting on their favourite hiding place, on the staircases for fire escape, but today, even this place didn't feel safe to hide from the impending Danger' (as per Zoya).

"Apparently, he is returning to Montreal in a week, doing a great favour to his motherland, ofcourse. So he's a little out of time, I guess." Zoya buried her face in her hands, "I don't know yaar, samajh mein nahi aa raha hai kya karoon?"

"Well, is he HOT? Have you seen him? If luck favours, he may as well turn out to be your prince charming." Tanya tried to sound cheerful.

"TAN! Shut up." Zoya fiddled with her mobile.

She was trying Tanveer's number for 20 straight minutes, but each time the auto generated voice informed her that her phone is out of reach. Tanveer was probably attending her economics class.

"Uff! Yeh Tannu ko bhi abhi gayab hona tha! This is unbelievable, yaar!" Zoya groaned.

"Excuse me, Zoya Siddiqui?" an unfamiliar voice came from behind.

"Monu, abhi main tujhe chemistry nahi samjha sakti, tu baad mein aaja pleeease. Abhi meri phati padhi hui hai." Zoya dismissed the guy with a wave of her hand, without even bothering to look behind.

"Zoya, he is not Monu!" Tanya nudged her and whispered in a low voice.

"Huh!" Zoya turned around in confusion and saw a tall frame standing on the doorway.

The guy was undoubtedly tall, with bulging muscles. The captain America' T-shirt looked two sizes too small for him. He had pierced eyebrows and a diamond stud glistened on his left ear.

A stupid grin was plastered on his face which screamed wannabe' with a capital W'!

"Allah! Not again!" Zoya sighed and stood up.

"That would be me...and you must be Ashraf?" that was not even a question.

"Yo, that's definitely me." The guy gave a toothy grin, revealing unnaturally white, almost canine-like teeth.

"OMG! He's creepy." Tanya muttered under her breath.

"So, this is your college canteen? Are you sure we should be here? I mean, it's kinda hot here." Ashraf licked his lips.

"I think this place should do fine." Zoya couldn't think of a better place to dump a guy...and honestly, another five minutes with this guy and she could very well forget about her famous Siddiqui' blood-line and do something regrettable to this moron.

Being in a familiar environment could help her keep her calm.

"Look, Zoya, we both know why we are here...and trust me, it's kinda CRAZY for me too! My mom, Allah knows what got into her, wants me to get married to an Indian girl only.

At first, I was like "NO WAY IN HELL I AM GONNA MARRY a girl from the land of snake-charmers and stuff, you know! But SHIT HAPPENS! So they just like packed my bags. Dad said no pocket money, no hanging with friends unless you get me a bahu'...you know how batsh*t crazy old folks can be." The guy snickered.

"But honestly, Zoya, when I first saw you, I was kinda relieved to see you in denim and top. You have the figure to carry it off, you know!" Ashraf flickered his tongue again.

"You reminded me of that hot Indian actress, umm, what's her name..." Ashraf scratched the tip of his nose "yeah, Bipasha. I like them HOT, you know!"

Tanya squirmed in her seat. "Zoya, I think I should get going." She spoke in a low voice.

"That would be nice, little lady. We could use some privacy right now." Ashraf shrugged.

Zoya jaw hung open in disbelief. *How could someone be so rude?*

Tanya's face turned crimson as she hastily walked off without so much even throwing a glance at Zoya.

"Ouch! Did that hurt?" the guy flashed his pearly whites again.

At that moment, Zoya could have done anything to wipe that smirk off his face.

***************************************************************************

"You know who you remind me of?" Zoya asked innocently to Ashraf.

"I would definitely like to know." Ashraf leaned across the table.

"Ashrafi, my cat." Zoya grinned.

"uh huh!" the guy was visibly disappointed, struggling to decide whether she was serious or just taking a potshot at him.

"Too bad she's no more." Zoya shook her head sadly.

"Oh, I am sorry. How did she die?" Ashraf was still unsure where this conversation was going.

"Who said she died? She eloped with the neighborhood Canadian dog." Zoya sighed.

"Erm, I see. Uh...do you want something to eat? I am sure I won't get my subs (subway sandwich) here, but maybe they can serve something edible." Ashraf snapped his fingers without waiting for Zoya's answer.

"Hey, waiter, come here!"

Zoya's heart jumped to her throat as she saw Asad walking towards them with the menu-card in his hands.

*No! This can't be. He had to choose today, out of all possible days, to serve at the Canteen!* Zoya cursed under her breath.

He was clad in a plain white shirt and a pair of navy blue denims, yet managed to look devastatingly handsome.

Zoya felt the heat creeping up her face before she dropped her gaze to the table.

Asad, however, had the usual calmness in his voice when he asked "How may I help you, Sir?"

"Get me some chilled beer, dude! Zoya, would you like a cocktail?" Ashraf's lecherous gaze was fixated on her in such a way it made her want to slap him hard.

"Sorry, sir. This is a college canteen. We don't serve liquor here." Asad's voice was polite, but his eyes darkened.

Or was it Zoya imagining things?

"Oh cut the crap, Man! Allow me a sneak peak at your store room and I bet I could get my hands on some hot stuff there. I come from the land of free beer and pots, Man. So don't give me that sh*t." Ashraf waved his hand in a dismissive way.

"This is India, Sir. So you may as well get used to it. Sorry, we have nothing to offer you here." Asad turned around and was about to leave.

"Bloody Indians!" Ashraf spat on the floor.

Asad whirled around and hauled him from the chair, grabbing his collar.

"Don't you EVER say that!" Asad's eyes were dark with fury.

"I am afraid I've to ask you to leave." He regained his composure after a few tense moments and slowly let go off Ashraf's collar.

Ashraf was totally thrown off guard with this sudden outburst, but in a desperate attempt to save his pathetic face, he started hurling abuses at him "Doh kaudi ka waiter, teri aukaat kya hai mujhse iss tarah se baat karne ki? You know who you are talking to? My father have a dozen like you slaving their a$$ off for him!" He yelled.

"SHUT UP." Zoya's voice was so shrill she thought she'd hurt her vocal cord. "Don't say another word or I will make sure you'll regret it." Her voice was trembling with rage.

"He is not a waiter, understand? He freaking owns this place, and you should thank your stars that he has the generosity to allow a scumbag like you to set foot on this place!" Zoya never knew she could feel such deep hatred for anyone in the world, but this guy had crossed all the limits.

"Duniya mein iss se zyada badtameez insaan maine aaj tak nahi dekhi!" Tanya was standing beside Zoya now, her hand wrapped around Zoya's shoulder. "This moron doesn't know how to behave with women. The way he was looking at you, Zoe, makes me wanna scratch his eyes out! You PERV!"

"That's none of your business, you little twerp. She's my girl. I can take good care of her. Come on, Zoe baby, we will go someplace cool." Ashraf grabbed Zoya's wrist and forcibly dragged her with him.

"Ashraf, mera hath chhodo!" Zoya struggled to free herself from his grip.

"Oh come on, babe! Don't spoil the fun. I know your type. Ek taraf toh aisi kapdo mein sab ko apni taraf attract karna chahti ho, dusre taraf sati-savitri ban ne ka natak karti ho." Ashraf's face distorted with a mirthless laugh.

Before he could take one more step, however, he stumbled against something solid, like a wall.

"Let her go." Asad was blocking his path. His face had turned a deep shade of red, his fingers curled up in such a tight fist his knuckles had turned white.

"F*ck off!" Ashraf hissed.

"I am going to say it one more time. Let. Her. Go." Asad s voice was icy cold. His eyes clearly spelt murder'.

Ashraf finally seemed to take the hint, as his face paled considerably. He grudgingly let go off Zoya's arm and took a few steps backward.

"I don't believe this guy, yaar. Tere abbu ko baas aise hi ladke milte hai kya beti ki nikah ke liye?" Robbie was picking at the French fries unmindfully, his brows knotted in confusion.

The little group was sitting around a table in the canteen, still trying to cope with the Ashraf-fiasco'.

Zoya , who was slowly rubbing her temples , looked up and sighed "Pata nahi yaar. Sometimes I feel he hires these guys from chor-bazaar just to make things difficult for me."

"Thank God Asad was present here at the right moment. Our superman saved the day just in time." Nobody had actually noticed Shanaya until she spoke. She was standing beside Asad, blatantly displaying her wide eyed admiration for Asad's physique as she tangled her arm around his.

"Uh..that was nothing." Asad awkwardly shifted on his feet, squirming away from her touch.

"I did what I had to do. Anyone in my place would've done the same." He admitted shyly.

Zoya, who had been very quiet all the time, now, looked up. "I don't think so." She murmured.

Their eyes met for the briefest moment. That was enough to spike up Zoya's heartbeat.

"Look at you! Being so humble as usual. You don't have to so nice all the time, Asad. Most people don't deserve that anyway." Shanaya's fingers traced his jawline, pretending to check for a non-existent injury.

"Oh God! She's at it again." Tanya whispered in a barely audible voice "Shanaya at her flirtatious best. I mean, back off, the poor chap is blushing like the traffic light."

Zoya stole a glance at Asad and had to stifle a chuckle. Asad's expression was priceless!

Mercifully, Asad's phone beeped with a message alert. He took this opportunity to make some space between them and checked his mobile busily.

*Zyada chipko mat. Keep safe distance. - ZS* the message read.

Asad immediately texted back -*Where did you get my number?*

*I have my sources, but you stay clear from her. - ZS* the reply was even faster.

*Do we have a problem here?* Asad couldn't help feeling a little amused at her bossy nature.

*Well, I don't, but you will if you ever date her. She's a toucher'. It gets creepy real fast.- ZS* a chuckle escaped his lips before he could stop it.

"Asad babe, what makes you smile so much? Share the joke with us, na?" Shanaya was right beside him, craning her neck to read the message. Asad quickly hid the screen with his palm.

"It's nothing. Just a friend of mine sharing some silly jokes." The corner of his lip twitched.

*Told ya, she's a psycho.* beeped the phone after a few minutes.

"Asad, can we meet after the college for a few hours? Remember, you promised me to help me with chemistry?" Shanaya flashed him a brilliant smile.

*Don't get fooled by her smile. She has two false teeth.* the phone beeped angrily.

*How exactly do you know that?* Asad couldn't help but ask.

*Ask her who knocked them off in eighth standard? She'll remember :-)* This time Asad broke into a genuine fit of laughter, drawing confused gazes from everyone.

*You seem like a pretty violent lady.* Asad observed.

*Maybe because I watch too many BOND movies.* pat came the reply.

"Asad baby, can we go for our chemistry lessons now?" Shanaya impatiently tugged at his sleeves.

"Private chemistry lessons with Shanaya Srivastava! Wow, dude must be lucky." Robbie whispered in Zoya's ear, drawing a death-glare from her.

*I'm in the mood for killing someone right now, and she looks like a natural candidate for it. She's practically asking for it.* Asad couldn't disagree with the message. Shanaya was getting on his nerves too.

*It's impolite to tell a lady off.* He typed.

*Fine, then be prepared to sleep with her. ALL MEN ARE SAME.*the bold letters screamed from the mobile's screen.

*What should I do?* Asad was clueless.

*Just make an excuse. Lie to her. Tell her that you're gay. ..or You've karva chauth ka vrat'. Whatever!* Zoya tapped her feet impatiently on the floor.

Asad considered both the options for a moment, then decided that honesty, indeed, was the best policy.

"I am sorry, Shanaya. I've...erm...got some other engagements. See you, erm, later." Asad managed to mumble before waving goodbye to her.

Shanaya stood there perplexed for a few more minutes, possibly expecting some sort of explanation from him. When none came, she dragged herself out of the canteen, looking visibly disappointed.

Asad felt tiny pangs of guilt in his heart. He knew he wasn't good at lying. He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed.

The phone beeped again.

Asad stared at the message on screen.