F/F- Adi/M "Touched by an Angel" Ch11 P14 - Page 2

Thanks for all your comments. Here's the next part. I apologise for the very slow pace of this story but please bear with me, I promise to have plenty of Adi/Maithili interaction soon. Hope you like it.

Chapter 3

A few days later, Maithili was working on an announcement for Janki Devi when the door to her office was pushed open and Suyash Mehra walked in. He looked at her unsmilingly, "Where's Janki Devi"? he asked curtly. Maithili told him about the Seminar that Janki Devi had gone for. He frowned and muttered something under his breath. Something uncomplimentary, Maithili was sure, it was so obvious that there was no love lost between Janki Devi and Adi's grandfather. "Can I help you in any way Sir," she asked, a little timidly. She couldn't help feeling slightly awed by him. It was his persona, his looks, the way he carried himself, the natural arrogance that emanated from him. He narrowed his eyes to turn a stern gaze at her and she stood up uncertainly. He handed an envelope over to her, "See that she gets this. It's confidential and for her eyes only." She took the envelope from him and nodded. "Thank you," he said curtly as he turned and strode out of the room.

She walked towards Janki Devi's room and placed the envelope on her desk. She quickly printed "Mr. Mehra has left this for you" on a post-it note and stuck it on the top of the envelope. 'Mr. Mehra was so cold,' she thought, as she walked back to her seat, 'never a smile, never anything other than that forbidding, stern expression.' 'Did he ever smile!', she wondered. Well, even if he does, it's not like you are going to be a recipient! She laughed suddenly, imagining the aloof and forbidding looking Mr. Mehra smiling at her. Ya! That's sure gonna happen, Maithili! 'Why, Maithili!' Nothing's impossible!' she told herself, 'for instance, did you ever visualize yourself having lunch with Vikram Aditya Mehra in this lifetime?' Absolutely Never! 'And yet, it had been quite a pleasant experience', she thought, smiling as she recollected his utter confidence in the fact that he could help her out with Pranay, whom he so clearly detested.

She leaned back in her chair, remembering that conversation. She couldn't help smiling as she recalled Adi's efforts successful ones at that! to wind Pranay up["Getting a little repetitive, aren't you, old chap?" "Why don't you try asking her another question?"] In truth, she had wanted to laugh when she had heard that but only the fact that Pranay would have been very mortified at the very least! if she had done anything of the sort, had made her keep a straight face then. Mortified! He would have blown his top, Maithili She knew Pranay absolutely detested Adi Hello! Weren't you also of a similar thought some time back? She closed her eyes, still leaning back in her seat, processing this thought.

Adi's face flashed before her eyes. He was smiling at her, a superior, arrogant very Adi-like smile on his face, but she could see the dimple in his right cheek that dimple was so cute! Suddenly, several flashes of the past few months just flew into her mind arranging themselves around each other like a collage ['Adi taking care of his mother' 'Adi in tears at his mother's bedside ' 'Adi dancing with her at Janki Devi's party' 'Adi cutting into Pranay's dance with Mallishka, Pranay coming over to her and Adi's wink at her which had made her realize that he'd done that for her' 'Adi asking her to tell Pranay of her feelings' 'Adi offering to help her with Pranay' 'Adi offering to carry her books from the library to her room the other day when she was staggering out with a huge load in her arms' 'Adi waving at her as she walked past their class']She sighed softly.

It was true that she had detested him at first, who wouldn't have? She had thought him to be a rotten spoilt arrogant brat who thought the sun rose and set in his backyard and that God had created other people in the world only to rush to do his bidding. But in the last few months, she had seen shades to Adi that were, to be strictly honest, very endearing. And she had slowly realized that there were actually certain things about Adi that she actually liked. Heavens! If anyone had told me I would say this at the beginning of the Term, I would have branded them as certified lunatics!

But, it was true, she no longer detested Adi. 'He was still a brat,' she muttered, 'but an appealing brat at that!' She smiled. 'And it was a very cute dimple!,' she mused absently, 'deep and in the middle of his right cheek, even when he was speaking, you could see it. But when he smiled…… it absolutely, sort of, came alive and…and it just transformed his face....one could see why so many girls made fools of themselves over him.' What! Did I just think that! She blinked suddenly and Adi's face vanished. Yes, I did! So, what? Hardly a capital offence! She suddenly realized that Pragati had walked into the room and was waving her hand before her eyes.    

"Hello, madam, what are you day dreaming about?" Pragati asked her, her eyes gleaming mischievously, "or should I say "Whom?" Maithili smiled. Prepare for a shock! "Take a wild guess Pragati", Maithili told her, her eyes sparkling with amusement. "Akshay Chopra?" Pragati queried, referring to the best looking guy in college. Maithili shook her head, trying not to laugh. "Dhruv Raichand then?" Pragati asked her, grinning widely and getting into the spirit of things. Dhruv Raichand was Adi's best friend and was an incorrigible flirt. Maithili burst into laughter, "That was close actually, Pragati. Believe it or not, I was thinking about Adi" About what a fabulous smile he has actually, dimple and all! She watched with amusement as Pragati's eyes rounded with amazement. "Vikram Aditya Mehra!" she asked, "you must be kidding!"

Maithili laughed. "Let me shock you further Pragati. I was thinking that Adi has a great smile with a killer dimple" "No Maithili, He has an absolutely fabulous smile with a killer dimple," Pragati responded immediately with a mischievous wink and Maithili looked at her shocked and speechless. "What!" Pragati asked her smiling, "I'm not blind, you know. I'm married, that's true but hardly in self proclaimed hibernation. Besides, I don't have to like him in order to appreciate his good looks" Maithili smiled. "But, tell me, Maithili, what prompted this analysis of Vikram Aditya Mehra?"

Maithili recovered her voice, "Pragati, I was just thinking that I think of him so differently now, I mean, there was a time when I couldn't even stand the sight of him. I used to hate basically everything to do with him. I would never ever have noticed his smile, even if it was the best smile in the world, I just detested him so much. But over the last few months, I have seen a different Adi and the Adi that I see now is someone whom I actually like," she told Pragati, "at least, most of the time," she amended, smiling. Pragati was just staring at her. "Yeah!", she told Pragati, her smile deepening, "I know, I was very shocked when I first realized, sometime back, that I don't really hate Adi anymore."

Pragati came and sat down in the chair next to her, "Maithili, it is one thing to not hate anybody and it is another thing to say that you actually like them. So, anything more you want to confess to me, my dearest friend," Pragati's eyes had turned downright mischievous, "like how you want to become Mrs. Vikram Aditya Mehra, throw lots of socialite parties and create dozens of spoilt arrogant little brats with killer dimples." Pragati burst into peals of laughter and Maithili eyed her sourly, "Go ahead! Have fun at my expense, but remember Pragati, when I'm Mrs. Mehra, I shan't invite you to any of my parties," Maithili told a laughing Pragati, looking down her nose condescendingly at her.

Pragati collapsed onto the desk with laughter as Maithili finished. "Stop, Stop Maithili,", Pragati told her in between spurts of laughter and holding her sides, "I can't take anymore" "By the way, Maithili, imagine Pranay's reaction if he heard any of this?" Pragati told her, her eyes brimming with amusement. Maithili rolled her eyes, "Pragati, I don't even want to imagine that reaction," she told Pragati frankly, "Vikram Aditya Mehra is Public Enemy No. 1 for Pranay and Adi takes delight in increasing the animosity between them. Honestly! They both are silly in their dislike for each other… but enough about Adi, how come you're here right now? Don't you have class?" "Professor Mehta gave us the last fifteen minutes of his class off, so I thought I'd pop in and see you. Anyway, I should be getting back now, I'll come back after my last class and we'll go home together, okay." Maithili nodded, smiling.   "And stop thinking so much about V M please, it's not healthy," Pragati told her with a cheeky smile. Maithili laughed and waved her away.

'But it's true, I am thinking about Adi too much these days', she thought, frowning, ' ever since he's offered to help me with Pranay, I can't help thinking about Adi.' 'And Pranay had been so unreachable lately, ever since the day she had seen him during lunch time, she hadn't seen him at all, he had been very busy with his book events. On the other hand, everywhere I look these days, I run into Adi!

Pragati had told her this morning that Pranay was going to take them out to dinner tomorrow evening and she was really looking forward to it. Hopefully, with Pragati around, Pranay would not persist in his Mallishka-chanting! But strangely, she no longer felt like weeping at the mere thought of Mallishka. Thank heaven for that! She detested being such a watering tap! But she suddenly felt guilty that she was thinking so much about Adi. 'Maybe, I should just tell Pranay how I feel and then everything will be back to normal,' she thought. Or maybe not! 'I should get Pranay a little gift for his success,' she thought suddenly, 'maybe I'll look at some shops on the way back home.' She then thought a while about options for Pranay's gift and finally sighed, 'Maithili, get back to work,' she sternly reprimanded herself, 'stop this time wasting! Janki Devi does not pay you to come and fantasize about Pranay.' Or Adi, for that matter! She pushed aside all thoughts and devoted her attention to the announcement.

Next evening…..

Maithili had spent ages looking for a perfect gift for Pranay. Given her limited resources, she had had to browse in a lot of shops before she found something that she liked. It was a leather desk organizer, it looked really elegant and the paper quality was also very good. 'It would be very useful to Pranay,' she thought. And the best part was that the store was having a sale, as a result of which the organizer was available at an affordable price. She walked out of the store happily, thinking that she would personally gift wrap it at home before leaving to meet Pranay and Pragati for dinner.

Maithili decided to just browse through the new shoe store on the second level before leaving for home. She loved shoe shopping. Well, make that shoe 'window shopping', she laughingly amended. She walked slowly, enjoying the ambience of the mall, it was a new mall and it was really super. One could spend ages here without realizing it. Lost in her thoughts, she absently turned a corner and bumped into a lady coming the other way. The other lady halted suddenly and as a result dropped her bag. Maithili immediately bent to pick up the bag, "I'm so terribly sorry," she said smiling apologetically. As she looked up to give the bag back, she found herself looking into the lovely face of Mayuri Mehra. Maithili was startled for a moment but she regained her composure immediately and smiled at Mayuri, "I'm really very sorry Ma'am. I wasn't looking where I was walking," she said as she held the bag out. She was handing the bag back to Mayuri when a tall suit clad guy came and slipped an arm around Mayuri's shoulder, "Sweetheart, what happened, are you hurt?" He glared at Maithili, "Shouldn't you be more careful when you are walking?"

Maithili opened her mouth to apologise again when Mayuri Mehra intervened, "Shikhar, it wasn't her fault, I was looking at this display here and really I should have been more careful." She took her bag from Maithili, smiling at her, "thank you" Maithili smiled back. She's so pretty! Suddenly, she was conscious that Mayuri Mehra was scrutinizing her face carefully, "Sorry, but have we met before?" Mayuri Mehra asked her softly. Maithili just stared at her, not knowing what to say I only accused you, at your house, of trying to attack me, that's where and how we met, she thought wildly Shikhar Mehra turned his gaze on her carefully and suddenly his gaze narrowed, "Oh! it's you," he said coldly, "any more accusations you want to make against my wife?" he asked her bitingly. 'Oh! no, what do I say', thought Maithili desperately. But before she could say anything, Shikhar Mehra looked down his nose at her and walked away, his arm still encircled protectively around his wife. As Maithili looked after them, Mayuri Mehra looked back at her and turned to say something to her husband. And as Maithili looked on, Shikhar Mehra tucked a flyaway strand of hair carefully behind his wife's ear and dropped a light kiss on her brow. Maithili turned away quickly, conscious that she was staring at them, her mouth open.

She felt terrible. 'True, Shikhar Mehra had been quite rude but she deserved it,' she thought sadly, 'she had been unpardonably rude to Adi's mother the first time she'd met her at Mehra house. Inadvertently, of course, but there was little consolation in that.' Adi had been so utterly furious! Maithili sighed, 'it felt horrible to be the recipient of such dislike'. And Shikhar Mehra had stared at her with utter dislike, the moment he realized who she was. 'The dislike,' Maithili realized, 'was because she had slighted his wife. Shikhar Mehra adored his wife, a blind bat could see that. She turned to see if she could still see them and she could see them laughing over some store display, their hands entwined, and they looked very sweet and ridiculously young, like two teenagers out on a date. That's so adorably cute!

She thought back to Adi's accusations at the party at Agarwal House. He had accused his father of being uncaring and unfeeling when his mother had fainted there. But this was not a guy who was uncaring or unfeeling…… not at least towards Mayuri Mehra. No way! And she was so beautiful, Adi's mother. 'She was also very sweet, unlike the rest of the Mehra clan,' Maithili thought with a wry grin. It was great that Adi's mother had recovered from her illness. She had heard something of the sort from Pragati who had overheard Trishna dadi speaking with Rajeshwari Mehra, Adi's grandmother.

She recalled the last time she had been in Mehra House, the struggle with the knife, the pain when the tip of the knife had sliced into her palm. She opened her right palm and traced the faint scar at the base of her thumb, the scar she had gotten when she had tried to assist the nurse to wrestle the knife from Mayuri Mehra's hand. Adi had just stood in the corner, his face white, his eyes filled with fear, she remembered. The moment the knife was taken from his mother's hand, he had rushed to her and hugged her, she had seen the tears on his cheeks. At times like that, it was so difficult to not totally like him! She had stared at them then, feeling ridiculously close to tears herself, forgetting that her hand was bleeding right on to their carpet as she stood staring at Adi and his mother. If not for the nurse who had led Maithili away and treated her cut, she would have just stood there looking at them.

'Yes,' thought Maithili, 'it was so great that Adi's mother was alright.' That boy was completely crazy about his mother. She again remembered all the times she had seen him with his mother, he was so protective about her, so loving, so caring, it had been an eye opener, a completely new side that she had seen to Vikram Aditya Mehra. That was when she had stopped being rude to him and insulting him all the time. She had thought initially that he was a completely horrible person but she was slowly realizing that that was not true. Not true at all.

'Lucky Mayuri Mehra!' she thought suddenly, 'she inspired such complete devotion from both her husband and son, both of whom would not be winning any popularity contests in the near future.' 'There was something terribly appealing about it,' she smiled softly, 'when a person normally so cold and arrogant showed such intensity of feeling for another person.' 'What would it be like', she wondered, 'to inspire such devotion in any other person.' She closed her eyes suddenly, the thought was so very sweet and dear, and wished with all her heart that she would feel such love at least once in her life. She tried to think of Pranay looking at her in the manner that Shikhar Mehra gazed at his wife. 'Like she was something precious, a treasure he had discovered, like she completely belonged to him and him alone, like she was the one thing that mattered most to him, like his world would be meaningless without her in it.' She felt tears welling up in her eyes. 'Would Pranay ever feel like that for her?' 'Could he feel like that for her?' 'Was it ever going to happen?'

She suddenly realized that she was standing in the middle of the path, with her eyes closed, probably looking like a complete fool. 'Let me just go home, its getting late,' she thought, 'I've got to gift wrap Pranay's gift, shower and then meet Pranay and Pragati' Stop feeling sorry for yourself Maithili! She blew some air into her eyes, feeling the tears evaporate as she did that. 'Honestly! She had to get a grip on herself, she was becoming super sensitive,' she thought crossly, 'it was ridiculous.' She turned and walked towards the bus stop to catch her bus, hoping she would not bump into any other Mehra today. Somehow, they had a disturbing effect on her!

That's it for Chapter 3. I know it's moving very slowly but I promise you, I will make up for this soon.

have i mentioned how much i enjoy your writing?
i luved it, absolutley loved the detailing!
cheers to a very impressive first fanfic = )

Edited Edited by queenpersephone - 16 years ago

da part was just awesome 👏 cont soon!

i really cant wait fer more...ths is amazin....truly amazin....

qp..... it was great......
and by the way yesterdays epi turned out 🤢
the fan fics r a big crutch!!!
update again soon...
and i think ur speed id fine...half the fun is the buildup of the story... 👏

Oh My God very very very very good writing. 👏
i luved it...... Plzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz cont 👏 👏 👏
i think u r already writer and if u r not u should start writing books. 😛

wow...this is just amazing...plzz continue...I am loving it 😊

When r u gonna continue?😡 I've been waiting so long😳😳 Sorry can't help myself since ur fanfic is so captivating😳 Plz don't make us wait so much😭 Post soon😃

Thanks so much for all your comments. It feels really great.

I'm posting two chapters this time. I must frankly admit that I'm not too happy with the way this has turned out, I tried re-writing portions of this several times but I'm just not very happy with the result. Anyway, it fits in with the rest of the story that I'm planning to write, so I'm posting it. I promise to try harder with the next chapters. Thanks for all the encouragement, I really appreciate it. So, here are Chapters Four and Five.

Chapter Four

At the Mehra House: Dinner time

Adi sprinted down the stairs, taking the last few steps in a leap as he came downstairs for dinner. "Darling, do take care," his mother smiled as she hugged him. "Those stairs have just been waxed this morning. Don't run down the stairs at least for the next week. Adi grinned mischievously at his mother, "Mamma, you worry too much! These stairs are my old friends, whether waxed or not, I doubt I'll ever come to grief due to them". His mother tousled his hair affectionately and asked him about his day as they sat down to dinner. As he was speaking with his mother, his grandfather and his father entered the room and walked towards them. Adi chattered away about his day, about a new project that he was going to work on, a new model of a sports car that he had seen that evening ("Can I have that Daadu, please?") His grandfather looked at him affectionately and nodded "Tell me the details Adi and I'll arrange it for you." His mother protested, "Papa, Adi is already utterly spoilt. He's already conned you into getting him three cars. What does he need another one for? You really shouldn't, Papa." Adi groaned, "Mamma, come on, it's only a car." His grandfather smiled at his mother, "Mayuri, I just have one grandson to spoil, let me indulge him, his happiness means everything to me. Besides, his birthday is just round the corner. So, Adi, come and give me the details after dinner and you'll get the car for your birthday" he smiled at Adi and Adi quickly got out of his chair, went round to his Daadu and hugged him, "thanks Daadu" His mother rolled her eyes at him and looked to his father for support. His Dad shook his head laughing "Arre…Keep me out of this, Mayuri" "Shikhar, be serious, he doesn't need another car….." "Like Papa said, it is his birthday coming up, c'mon Mayuri, let him enjoy, let it be." His mother gave up, shaking her head. Adi grinned. Yes..sss! Dhruvie's gonna be so jealous..s...ssss!

As they were finishing dinner, he was distracted from his thoughts about his to-be new car as he heard his mother say, "Shikhar, who was that girl we met at Lifestyle this evening? You just changed the topic when I asked you." Adi watched curiously as his father frowned, "Mayuri, she was not important, just forget about her." "Which girl Mamma?" he wanted to know. "I don't know Adi, I felt like I had seen her somewhere before. I wasn't looking where I was walking and nearly dashed into her. I dropped my bag, she retrieved it for me and apologized very sweetly, your dad barged in, glared at her, told her off and then asked her whether she wanted to accuse me of something, really, I was completely clueless. And ever since, he's refusing to talk about it." His mother paused thoughtfully and continued softly, "She was a very pretty girl and really sweet too." His father snorted, "Sweetheart, you find the whole world to be sweet, that's the problem. Anybody associated with Janki Devi cannot be sweet. Besides, you've forgotten, but she's the girl who created a ruckus in this house sometime back, pointing her finger at you and screaming that you were going to attack her. Now, what do you have to say?" His mother looked thoughtful, "Oh! okay, no wonder! I knew I had seen her somewhere. But Shikhar, you can't blame her for that, it was just a mistake I'm sure, you know how sick I was. Poor thing, she looked so mortified, Shikhar, really, you shouldn't have been so harsh" His father just shrugged.

Adi stared at his parents, "Mamma, did you hurt yourself?" he asked quickly. When she shook her head, he continued, "I know her, her name is Maithili. Actually, she apologized to me a couple of times for that incident. She even came here to apologise. Although I didn't think it at that time, I have come to realize that she was sorry about what happened. But, I understand Dad's anger, when it happened, I too, was utterly furious, I mean, imagine trying to say something like that about you. I said some pretty nasty things to her myself after that. But later, when she tried so hard to apologise to me, to you, I realized that it was unintentional. Actually, Mamma, when she came here to apologise, you had a knife in your hands, she helped the nurse get it out of your hands, she even got hurt in the process, Nurse told me later. At that time I was still very angry with her, so I didn't even acknowledge her efforts, but she's helped me after that so many times…." Adi broke off as he felt the combined stares of his father and grandfather. His mother smiled and turned triumphantly towards his father, "See Shikhar, I told you she was a sweet girl." She looked at Adi, "Adi, you should have made sure she was alright after that incident with the knife; that was bad of you, my son." Adi looked down at his plate I know! "Well, if she helped Mayuri in any way, I am thankful for that," said Shikhar, "but I cannot forget that she's associated with Janki Devi." "But Janki Devi actually helped Mamma get okay, didn't she?" asked Adi tentatively. He knew his father (and grandfather) absolutely hated her.

"Adi, you may have forgotten how your mother was brought into this house after her so-called accident," his father told him angrily, "but I can't…..she was so still, blood all over her face," his voice faltered slightly, "I thought she was…" His mother leaned over and took his father's hand in hers soothingly and he watched his Dad quickly raise her hand to his lips and kiss it. "But I WILL NEVER EVER forget that! Do you think your Mamma just fell over?" he continued furiously. Adi instantly quietened, truly that day had been a complete nightmare, he had thought that his Mamma was lost to him forever. It's over now Adi, it's over. Chill! "Remember that, do you understand Adi?" His father's words penetrated his gloom. "Dad, do you mean to say that Janki Devi pushed Mamma from that cliff?" he asked horrified. There was a moment's silence as Adi looked around at his father, mother and then grandfather who were looking at him with serious faces. "Of course not Adi," replied his mother quickly, he saw her glance meaningfully at his father, who looked away quietly, "Janki Devi did not push me off that cliff Adi" she told him firmly, "that is just not true, it was just an accident." Adi nodded and turned his attention to his food.

But something was bugging him and so after a while, he again broke the silence that had spread across the table. "I do not understand this whole fuss that is being made about Janki Devi. Why do all of you hate her so much?", Adi asked quietly. "Adi," his grandfather said, "believe me, my child, there are some things which it is better you don't involve yourself in at the moment, okay. Just focus on your studies, your friends, be happy, don't worry about anything else, Okay." Adi nodded quietly. "Trust me Adi, Janki Devi is a person who does not deserve that we spend so much time on her, Trust me, no one knows that better than me." Adi nodded again and the conversation flew back to normal things. But Adi was quiet, he wondered about the bitterness in his Dadu's voice, the mystery of how his Mamma knew Janki Devi, Janki Devi's picture in his Mamma's diary, what was all this. His father had told him not to ask his mother any questions about Janki Devi as it could have repercussions on her health and so he didn't dare ask his mother. Would Maithili know anything about this, he wondered. Maybe I should ask her.

Meanwhile……

"This is such a nice gift Maithili, thank you so much," Pranay smiled at her across the table. Maithili smiled back, "I'm glad you liked it Pranay and I hope it will be useful." "Of course, I will keep it on my desk tomorrow morning itself," replied Pranay and she smiled again. They had just finished dinner and were having coffee. It was a nice restaurant, the food was great and the ambience very nice and romantic. Fat lot of good it's doing me though! The coffee and liqueur shop was located on a different level from the restaurant and had a dance floor where couples could dance if they chose to. The music was soft and slow and Maithili watched Pragati and Ankit move in rhythm with the music, totally lost in each other. As she spoke with Pranay, Maithili kept looking longingly at the dance floor, she wished Pranay would ask her to dance, Should I ask him myself! Go on Maithili, It's just a dance!

"Maithili," Pranay's voice broke her out of her reverie, "my new office is simply wonderful, the dcor is absolutely out of this world" I know! You've only mentioned this twenty eight times during dinner! "You must come and see it sometime." I feel like I've seen it a million times already! She just nodded, conscious of a faint irritation simmering within her. Pragati and Ankit's presence was not sufficient to keep discussion of Mallishka at bay. Far from it because Ankit apparently knew Mallishka quite well, she had helped in the publication of a Law Journal that he had edited sometime back.

Throughout dinner, all they had spoken about was Pranay's new office and how Mallishka had created a heaven on earth for him to work, how Mallishka took such care of every detail for him, how Mallishka had provided him with goldfish to keep him company when she was not around If she wasn't so irritated, she'd laugh loud and long at this one! and so on. She looked at Pranay, he looked happier than she had ever seen him before. His eyes were sparkling and he looked so very earnest. Her heart softened. Maithili, stop being mean, remember he went through such misery over this book. 'He deserves to be happy, what's wrong with you?' she chided herself quietly. 'Yes, but how long can I just sit around waiting for Pranay to look at me and feel something', she silently argued. Don't be so selfish! She smiled at him, "Pranay, would you like to dance?" she asked him suddenly. Please don't refuse? Please! He looked at her surprised, "Okay" he nodded. Maithili stood up smiling and walked with Pranay towards the dance floor.

The music was still soft and slow and they joined the couples waltzing on the floor. "I'm not very good at this," Pranay told her apologetically, after he'd stepped on her toes twice. "Never mind," she reassured him with a smile, "I'm not too good at it myself." Ouch! My toes! "So, Pranay, how are things at home?" she asked him, "your parents must be thrilled." Pranay nodded, his smile bright, "Yes, Mom is totally thrilled, Dad's not in town right now but I'm sure he will be pleased too. I'm really happy Maithili" "I'm glad Pranay," she told him, wincing slightly, Third time! She looked at him thoughtfully, "So, how's the new book getting along?" she asked him. "Great, actually, Maithili, suddenly, it's like, I've got so many ideas, I feel like writing a dozen books all at once, I'm all geared up. I just hope this time, everything goes well," he told her, looking excited and worried at the same time. "Think positive Pranay," she told him softly, "things have worked out for you so well right now, haven't they?" He nodded. "So, I'm sure your next book will be an ever bigger success," she told him smiling. He brightened, "Thanks Maithili, for all your support. Truly, you are such a good friend, I hope I can always be as good a friend to you as you are to me" he told her. Pranay, why are you so bloody clueless! If Adi can decipher my feelings, why can't you?

"Pranay, why are you looking towards the door every two minutes?" she asked him after a while, observing his distracted glances. She thought he looked slightly sheepish as he looked at her, "Actually Maithili, Mallishka is coming over here any time now, she messaged me that she would come and get me, we are going on to Incendio later, I was just looking to see if she had come in." She wondered why she didn't feel surprised at all. Incendio was the latest discotheque to hit the city and it was currently a hot favourite with the young elite. 'Even when she was not physically present, Mallishka would always be between them' Maithili thought sadly. Maybe I should just give up! "There, she is," Pranay stopped dancing suddenly, looking straight ahead, "I'll just go and get her." He walked off, leaving Maithili standing on the dance floor. Maithili looked around her, Ankit and Pragati were still lost in each other's eyes, the other couples were also engrossed in each other and she was very conscious of the fact that she was standing alone on the dance floor. She flushed slightly and walked away, thinking about what to do, whether to join Pranay and Mallishka at their table or just stand here and wait for Ankit and Pragati. Maybe I should just go home! 'No, What will I say to Pragati?' she thought. She walked slowly towards Pranay and Mallishka, wondering why she felt more embarrassed than hurt and feeling thankful that she didn't feel like crying. At least, not yet!

Mallishka looked at her assessingly, as she joined them. Pranay introduced them enthusiastically. "We've met before Pranay," Maithili told him quietly, smiling at Mallishka. "So, are you joining us at Incendio?" Mallishka asked her with a bored look on her face. She shook her head but Mallishka had already turned to Pranay, "I have a couple of passes, Pranay, you should invite your friend along. She will have fun, I think" "No, thanks, I don't wish to come," Maithili spoke out a bit more forcefully than she intended. How dare she talk about me as if I'm not there! Mallishka looked at her surprised and Pranay reproachfully. I don't care! Ankit and Pragati joined them at that moment. "Hey, Mallishka, what a pleasant surprise," Ankit greeted Mallishka with a smile, "Pranay didn't say that you would be joining us. I mean, he's spoken of you every second minute but he forgot to mention this relevant bit," he joked. Pranay went beet red as Mallishka asked flirtatiously, "Really! Pranay, I didn't think you thought of me so much!" Pranay mumbled something in response and Mallishka laughed. Maithili looked on sadly. Give it up Maithili, this is a completely lost cause!     

Ankit was game for the Incendio plan, Maithili realized with dismay as she snapped out of her thoughts. Pragati was convincing her to go along for some time. "Maithili, come for some time, even we won't stay for too long, after all, we have college tomorrow. Come on, we will drop you home later." Pragati was too insistent and Maithili decided at last to go along. She looked out of the corner of her eye at Pranay and Mallishka. Pranay had his arm around Mallishka, she observed with a pang. Stop this Maithili!


Chapter Five

Some time later….at Incendio

It was so crowded that she wondered how anyone managed to dance in here. But, the music was simply brilliant, Maithili acknowledged, her foot tapping in tune with the music as she stood leaning against a corner of the bar watching Ankit & Pragati, Pranay & Mallishka dance with some other couples, all friends of Mallishka. Pragati had already come and pulled her in a couple of times but she always came off after a while. 'Pranay didn't look so distracted now,' she thought bitterly, 'he's totally focused.' Wake up from your stupor Maithili! Pranay really doesn't fancy you at all! 'I need to get over Pranay,' she thought firmly, 'I need to.'

Meanwhile…..another corner of Incendio

Adi was having a great time. He was with Dhruv, Rajveer, Ranjeet (Rajveer's twin), Kookie (who was seeing Ranjeet), Divya, Akshay and four other people whom Adi had not met before. Siddharth, Karan, Tara and Madhulika, they were all friends of Ranjeet and were from his college. They were, as usual, attracting a lot of attention. Akshay was related to a popular movie star and looked like one himself, Kookie was extremely attractive, Karan, he learnt, was actually acting in a television soap and apparently was quite a popular character, lots of people kept coming up to them and dancing near them, saying hello and doing some silly things to get their attention. He looked at the girl dancing with him. Nice! Madhulika ("Call me Madhu, please") had come up to him and started dancing with him, she was very attractive with a sexy body and a pout to match and he could not help flirting with her. Dhruv, Adi noticed with amusement, was looking very besotted with Tara. So, what's new! Today, 'Tara' Tomorrow 'Zara! He winked at Dhruv as he caught his eye. They kept interspersing their dancing with drinking and soon they were all in very high spirits.

Suddenly, a female voice hailed him and he turned to figure out the source. He saw Mallishka trying to make her way towards him. He signaled to her that he would join her as there was too much of a crowd at their side. "Excuse me for a while Madhulika….I mean Madhu," he said as she pouted prettily, "I'll just be back." He made his way to Mallishka. She hugged him and then asked him to join her for a drink. He agreed and walked with her to the bar. When he saw Pranay sitting there waiting for her, he groaned, "Mallishka, you know I can't stand this idiot, I'm going back." "Adi, come on, just come along, please, I need to speak with the two of you together, come on, you never attend our meetings also nowadays, there is no escaping this," she told him firmly, pulling him along.   He allowed himself to be dragged by Mallishka to the bar. Very well! Let's play Wind-Up-The-Loser then! It's such fun! Adi enjoyed seeing Pranay turn all red and furious when he caught sight of Mallishka pulling him towards the bar. Pumpkin head! When they reached Pranay, Mallishka glared at Pranay who had opened his mouth to voice, Adi was sure, an angry protest, "I won't have any nonsense from you now, honestly! Pranay, what's wrong with you? Adi's my friend, he's been my friend even before I knew you. I'm nice to your friends, so you just be nice to mine, understand! And anyway, I refuse to have two discussions on everything, from now on, all our meetings in office also will be together." Take that you dolt! Adi looked at Pranay's reaction and smiled inwardly. Cat's got his tongue! Yikes! And the poor cat died of shock! Pranay just blinked at Mallishka and nodded. 'What a sissy boy!' thought Adi contemptuously. 'What on earth does Maithili see in him?' he wondered. Honestly! there's no accounting for taste! Adi ordered his drink and stood as close to Mallishka as possible, Lookie! Lover boy's angry! only half listening to what she was saying, looking around him lazily, basking in Pranay's furious glare and enjoying Pranay's discomfiture. What a Loser!

His attention was suddenly caught by a girl dancing nearby and he did a silent double take. Can that be Maithili? 'The girl looked exactly like Maithili,' he thought, 'must be Maithili.' Nah! What will Ms. Goody Goody be doing in a place like this! He looked towards the girl again. But she was uncannily like Maithili, the hair, even the outfit Hell! Since when did they start allowing salwaar kameez in this place. 'Am I seeing things', he thought, 'or is that Maithili? Adi, you've had too much to drink! 'But surely, no two people could look so alike'. Why not? Adi grinned. He really had had too much to drink, his head was feeling slightly woozy. He closed his eyes and opened them again. He again looked towards the girl and this time found himself looking straight into the eyes of the girl dancing with her. It was Pragati, Loser's sister. So, it is Maithili! And as he watched, a part of him wondering why he was feeling so happy seeing Maithili, Pragati nudged Maithili and whispered something to her which had Maithili swivel in his direction, her cheeks very pink, a hesitant smile on her face. Now what on earth was that about? Is she blushing? What the heck! Yeesh….Girls! He raised his glass to her in a greeting and she smiled back, looking from him to Mallishka and Pranay. Mallishka patted him on the shoulder, asking him something and he turned to answer her.

After a few minutes, he glanced towards Maithili again, that husband of Pragati had joined them Tsk Tsk! Three's definitely a crowd! He looked at Maithili, 'Was she looking uncomfortable?' What are you, face reader? He placed his glass on the counter, muttered an excuse to Mallishka and walked towards Maithili, Poor thing, I'm just doing my good deed for today! 'Yeah! Right Adi!, he thought sardonically, 'and when was your last good deed'? Oh! Shut up! As he approached them, he saw Pragati say something to Maithili. Maithili stopped swaying to the music and looked at him. "Hi Maithili, may I join you?" he asked her casually. She nodded. He ignored Pragati and her husband No time for riff raff! As they moved in tune with the music, he looked at her, "So, Incendio?" he asked her, his eyebrows raised, "not your kind of thing, I would have thought!" "Why?", she asked him defiantly, "Why can't this be my kind of thing?" So cute! Adi grinned. "No reason as such," he told her, "just that you look dressed for the Mandir not the disco!" She rolled her eyes at him, "Please!" she murmured standoffishly. "Not the dress code, you know," Adi told her, eyeing her pristine white outfit. She smiled suddenly, "Yeah! I know! They nearly didn't let Pragati and me in, you know, but apparently Mallishka knows the Owner and so, she managed to get us in. Mystery solved! But, Vikram Aditya, let me tell you, that wearing a Salwaar Kameez does not mean going to the Mandir, okay," she told him. "Ouch…"he said smilingly, clutching at his heart, "Vikram Aditya! Have I offended you so much, fair maiden?" "No," she told him, smiling brightly at his antics, "do people call you Vikram Aditya only when you offend them?" He laughed, "Not really, but…I feel weird when people I like call me by my full name! He stared at her silently, shocked by this thought Oh my God! Did I say that aloud? and horrified to discover that he actually meant it. She looked at him questioningly, "Adi, Adi, what happened to you? She shook his arm slightly and he blinked, recovering quickly, Whew! Imagine saying something like that to her! "No, nothing, nothing at all," he told her quickly, "just thought of something, is all" She looked back at him, not looking convinced, but she didn't ask him anything more. People I like! This doesn't make any sense! He looked away, wondering whether he had had too much to drink.

He suddenly caught Pranay glaring at him venomously from his seat next to the bar. He glared back, glad to have some outlet to vent his confused thoughts, an idea suddenly coming into his mind. Watch this, oh Useless One! He casually slipped his arm around Maithili's waist and pulled her slightly closer, looking at Pranay to check his reaction. He felt rather than saw her start of surprise, "Adi, what.." "Shh..hh Maithili, listen to me," he whispered, bending towards her, "Pranay is looking at us right now, he won't like seeing you with me, just do what I say, okay." As she hesitated, he frowned, "What! Do you want Pranay or not, silly girl? Make up your mind, okay!" She nodded slowly. Shee…sh! "Okay, just look into my eyes and put your arms around my neck," he told her, ignoring the rush of colour on her face. It's me Adi, not Pranay, why are you blushing?? She looked up at him, slowly raising her arms and placing them hesitantly on his shoulders. He pulled her closer, "Good! Now look into my eyes and don't look away," he instructed coolly, intrigued to see that her cheeks had gone pinker than ever. How pink can it get, maybe I should pull her closer and see! Shut up Adi! She made a slight movement and her hair swished against the back of his hands. 'Her hair was really long,' he observed absently, 'so straight and thick, like a curtain down her back.' It covered his hands at her waist. So soft, just like silk! He carefully opened one palm in order to touch her hair, hoping she would not realize what he was doing. But what are you doing Adi! "Adi, I don't think this is of any use," she told him quietly, "Pranay is just focused only on Mallishka." Lord! Her hair was really silky, so soft. He wanted to run his fingers though her hair! "I think I should give up Adi", she finished softly. "What?, he murmured distractedly, Vikram Aditya Mehra, what in God's name are you doing? Stop this right now! "You have such beautiful hair," he told her instead, Shit! Her eyes widened for a moment and then she burst into laughter, "Adi, Pranay can only see you, he can't hear you, silly boy!" What the heck! Silly boy! She continued laughing and he didn't know whether to feel irritated with her or relieved that she didn't take his comment seriously. Irritated! "No, really, Maithili, I think you have lovely hair," he told her seriously. Her smile faded and she looked up at him, her honey brown eyes looking directly into his. "Really?" she asked him, looking very surprised. "Really," he told her smiling, wishing he could give into his urge of running his hands through her hair. It's just the result of too much drink, Relax!

"Thanks", she told him, her cheeks going pink with pleasure, "No one's ever said anything like that to me before." Adi didn't know what to say to that. She was so different from the girls he usually went out with. He was never at a loss for words with them. I don't like this feeling! She smiled brightly at him and he couldn't help smiling back. She opened her mouth to say something and then shut it quickly. "What?" he asked her? "Actually, I just wanted to say, that...Adi, I think you have……., I mean, it's just that…." her voice trailed off and she looked at him shyly. He grinned, "Now I'm curious? What do I have, huh Maithili?" She smiled at him, raised her hand and slowly touched his cheek. He couldn't help it. At the touch of her finger, he just froze, her touch startling him completely, unable to do anything but stare at her, shocked by her gesture and even more shocked by the his reaction. All his nerve ends seemed to have moved directly to his right cheek, it was such a gentle touch, her finger just skimming his cheek but it felt like a hot brand against his skin, his cheek started throbbing wildly He wanted to throw her hand off! He felt like clasping it to his cheek forever! "Adi, what's wrong?" she pulled her hand away quickly and asked him. No! Don't! "Adi, why did you stop smiling? When you smile, you have the cutest dimple I've ever seen," she told him a little shyly. What! "I know lots of people must have told you this Adi," she told him, her smile deepening, "but still, I wanted to let you know." "Thanks," he told her quietly, suddenly wanting nothing more but to get away from there, away from her, from her disturbing presence, his mind was too muddled already and she was really messing with it.

"Adi, you jerk, where the hell have you been? Oh! Hi Maithili," Dhruv clapped him on the shoulder suddenly, startling him. Dhruvie, my saviour! Relieved, he turned towards Dhruv, releasing Maithili with a smile. "Hey, Adi," a feminine voice drawled softly, and Madhulika came over to him, draping her arm around his shoulder, "We were missing you so bad, Adi. Come on." Adi smiled at her. Some normalcy returns to my life! This, I can handle! And wrapped his arm around her waist, "Maithili," he turned to her, meet Madhuli…Madhu, and Madhu, meet Maithili." "C'mon Adi," Dhruv told him, "let's go." He nodded. Yes! Take me away! "Thanks for dancing with me, Maithili, see you around," he told Maithili over his shoulder as he turned away, Madhu at his side. I'm gonna stay away from her from now on! Whew! As he walked away, he realized with a shock that he hadn't even bothered to check Pranay's reaction. That does it! No more helping Maithili with Pranay. Let them figure it out themselves!

"Maithili," Pragati breathed into her ear, as Adi walked away, "what on earth is going on between Vikram Aditya and you?" Maithili looked at her surprised, "What are you saying?" "Maithili, why was he dancing with you? I mean since when have the two of you been on dancing terms?" demanded Pragati. "Come on Pragati, what nonsense, we have been talking a lot lately, you know that, so he just saw me here and he came up and danced with me, so what?", Maithili told her smiling. "But Maithili, you shouldn't be so familiar with him, I think…. just think…." "Yes, Maithili, just think, how many times have I warned you about that bas***d," Pranay had walked up to them and he was looking at her angrily, "how can you dance with him like that?" "You know, the two of you have just lost it," she told them, feeling irritated, "do I question whom you dance with? Besides, he's not as bad as you think." Liar! You don't think he's bad at all! Pranay goggled at her as if she'd lost all touch with sanity. He looked like he wanted to say something but remained silent.

Pragati came and hugged her, "Sorry, my dear, I'm just very concerned. I guess you know best" Maithili hugged her back, "I know, I know"   Pranay just looked at her belligerently. He looked slightly unsteady on his feet, she thought. "Pranay, are you okay?" she asked him softly. He didn't reply. Pragati looked closely at Pranay, "Pranay, how much have you drunk? Pranay, I'm talking to you, look at me. Aren't you ashamed of yourself? How will you go back home like this? Shruti Bua will be so upset. Pranay, how could you?" Pranay looked at Pragati, his face downcast, "Pragatidi, I'm sorry, I'm sorry, please don't shout at me." He really looked ill, he was swaying slightly, a lost look on his face and Maithili felt bad for him. "Pranay, you can't go home like this, you idiot, you'll have to come and stay at our house tonight, I'll let Shruti Bua know," Pragati told him, looking very irritated. Ankit threw an arm around Pranay's shoulder, "Come on Pragati, stop yelling blue murder at him right now, tomorrow when he's feeling better, you can shout all you like" Pragati looked like she wanted to argue, then shook her head and rolled her eyes at Maithili. Maithili smiled and they walked outside to get a taxi. "Where's Mallishka, Pranay?" asked Ankit. Pranay mumbled something incoherent. Maithili smiled. Good riddance!   

She tried looking for Adi on the way out Just like that! but she couldn't spot him anywhere. He had looked at her strangely when she had complimented him. What on earth made you touch his face Maithili! She didn't know what had prompted that, it had just been a sudden impulse, she thought, but Adi had looked at her as if she'd suddenly sprouted two heads. That had been funny, actually! As she walked into her house she thanked her stars that her Dadaji was not in town or she would have been in serious trouble. She recollected the events of the evening and wondered why she didn't feel more upset about Pranay and Mallishka. 'It had been such a weird day,' she thought wearily, 'seeing Adi's parents at the Mall, Pranay's single minded focus on Mallishka, dancing with Adi, so many thoughts in her head'. You have such beautiful hair! She slowly stood in front of the mirror and arranged her hair over her shoulder. She gazed at her reflection. It was just like always, straight, boring with no hint of a wave or curl, no life at all! I think you have lovely hair! "Maithili, the guy's a practiced flirt, Don't get carried away," she cautioned herself aloud. But she couldn't help smiling as she finally went off to sleep.

That's it for now. Please let me know what you think.