Naina
A week has passed since the first day of college, and I’m thoroughly enjoying my time here. Avani, Alana, Ira and I are closer than ever and our friendship has deepened very quickly in such a brief span of time.
My brother is also returning from London earlier than he had planned, and I’m so taking him up on his restaurant treat. In fact, I have made reservations for a restaurant tonight and he has no idea. I’m planning on surprising him.
“Maa, when is Akshay Bhai coming?” I sit at the table, grabbing a bowl of strawberries. “He landed in Mumbai at 9 in the morning, and now he’s in his Colaba apartment. He’ll come home this evening, I think around 5ish,” Maa says, pouring something into a pan.
She glances over and snatches the bowl of strawberries from my hand. “I already told you, I’m going to make chocolate-covered strawberries! What is your obsession with eating anything that I keep in the fridge?” she exclaims. “Now, I only have a dozen of them. You need to go to the market and get me some more.” “Fine, I’ll go,” I grumble.
I get on my scooter and drive to the market. After spotting a woman selling fruits, I park near her and bargain for some strawberries. My mom had asked me to go to the market, but she never said anything about stopping to grab a bite.
I stop at my favourite place to eat vadapav. The crowd at the stall makes it difficult for me to reach the front. “Ek vadapav dena, aur do samosa parcel kar dijiye,” I shout slightly over the overlapping voices around me. The vendor nods and quickly hands me my vada pav.
I pay and grab the packaged food, Maa and Akshay Bhai love Samosas lean against my scooter and start eating my vadapav, humming happily. I glance over to the end of the street, pause mid-bite when I spot them — Avani and Veer, sitting shoulder to shoulder on the low wall at the end of the street, a paper plate of chaat balanced between them. They look… close. Closer than I’ve ever seen them.
Veer says something and laughs loudly, nudging her arm. She gives a small, hesitant laugh, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear. He takes a spoonful of chaat and offers it to her. She takes it silently, avoiding his eyes.
They’re not touching. Not exactly. But their knees brush every time one of them shifts. His body leans into her space like it belongs there. And Avani… she doesn’t move away.
I stare, biting into my vada pav. They look like a couple. The kind that shares inside jokes and evening snacks. But as much as I know Avani, I recognise that smile, polite, the one she wears when she’s unsure if she should enjoy this.
Veer, on the other hand, looks at her like she hung the moon. His eyes track her every move.
It’s not sweet. It’s intense.
And Avani looks like she’s still trying to pretend it’s fine. Like they’re just friends. Childhood friends, according to Alana. Avani told me the other day that they practically grew up together, ever since she was 2 years old. Then, he left for London suddenly when he was 14, without telling Avani. She was at her grandparent’s house when he left, and he broke off all contact with her during his time there.
She was heartbroken and had sworn off talking to him or even looking in his direction, but now, he’s back in Mumbai, in the same college as her, for his bachelor’s.
I start walking in their direction before I can overthink it. My sandals slap against the pavement as I cross the road, and Veer’s laughter cuts off the moment he sees me.
Avani’s eyes widen. “Oh. Hi, Naina, didn’t expect to see you here.”
Her voice is soft, startled. She shifts slightly, creating just a sliver of space between her and Veer, but not enough. Not enough to miss the fact that she hadn’t done it before I arrived.
“Didn’t expect to see you here,” I say, my tone light. My eyes flick to the food. “Lunch date?”
Veer smirks. “Just catching up. Like old times, right, Avi?”
She laughs slightly. “Yeah. Just… catching up.”
She won’t meet my eyes. I can tell she’s shocked, seeing me here, with Veer, the man she’d sworn to hate, but Veer doesn’t notice. He leans back on his palms, all too relaxed, watching me like he’s trying to figure out how much I’ve seen.
“You want to join us?” he asks, tilting his head. The question sounds friendly, but something in it feels off. Territorial. I glance at Avani. “Only if you want me to.”
Avani beams, scooting over, “Please do.” “So, what are you snacking on?” Veer asks. I point to my Vada pav and munch happily. For a few moments, all I hear is silence, as we are all busy eating happily.
I swallow the last bite and ask, "What are you two doing here, together?" Avani fumbles through her explanation, tripping over her words like they’re stones. “Oh, we were just—just, we weren’t together. I was out running some errands and then I bumped into Veer. Yeah, that’s what happened.”
She glances at me quickly, then looks away, her fingers fussing with the edge of the tissue in her lap.
I raise an eyebrow but keep my voice light. “Right. And now you’re… sharing chaat?”
Veer chuckles, scratching the back of his neck. “Guilty. I convinced her to sit for a few minutes. Thought it’d be nice to catch up. Haven’t seen her properly in ages.”
There’s no edge in his voice, just an easy warmth. His eyes flick to Avani, and for a second, I catch something quieter there. Not obsession. Maybe just hope.
She doesn’t respond, just offers a small smile.
“Guys, I have to get going but I’ll see you tomorrow, alright?” I stand up and throw the waste in the dustbin. “Yeah, see you then,” Avani smiles and waves her hand as I walk back to my scooter. The last glance that I see is Veer handing her a bottle of water and their fingers brush against each other.
We are all ready to head out for dinner in the evening. Akshay Bhai is finally back, and I had gotten reservations for a fancy restaurant that Maa was dying to visit. I had put on a white bodycon dress with some gold hoops and Maa was in a cream-coloured saree. Dad originally had a burgundy shirt on, but after seeing Mom in her outfit, he changed into a cream shirt to match her.
My brother and I had gagged at how they were dancing to Chand si Mehbooba after getting ready, but in my heart, that’s all I ever wanted. I wanted to love someone even when my hair turned grey and my voice started turning raspy and hoarse. My biggest dream was to marry someone who would love me at 25, at 30 and at 60.
I put on some lip gloss and we head out for the seaside restaurant, my dad in the driver’s seat. I sat next to my brother in the back, and he rolled his eyes, seeing our parents rock out to old Kishore Kumar songs.
“They’re so cringe,” he whispers, grinning slightly. “You and I both know you want the same thing in your marriage.” I look over to see him nod with an unreadable expression in his eyes.
We reach the restaurant and walk up the stairs to the rooftop, and that’s when I see him. Of all the places in the city, it had to be this one.
I spot him as soon as we’re led to our table. Black shirt, sleeves rolled up, seated with his parents like he has no idea he’s about to ruin my night.
Abhay Rawat.
He doesn’t see me at first, his head slightly tilted toward his mother, listening to something she’s saying—but then he glances over, and our eyes meet. His brows lift, just slightly, like he’s amused. I immediately look away, hoping he’ll just forget I exist for the next hour.
“Rajveer Rawat?” My dad says, way too loud for my liking. “What a surprise!” Abhay’s dad looks up, breaking into a grin. “Mahendra Yadav! Small world, huh?”
They shake hands, all smiles, whispering something that I can’t quite catch.
“And this must be your family,” Mr Rawat says. “Your wife, Rekha, I know, your son… and your daughter, right?” My dad beams. “Yes! This is Akshay. And Naina.”
“Hi uncle, it’s nice to meet you,” I say, trying not to make eye contact. “Abhay and Naina already know each other, actually,” Mr Rawat adds with a knowing smile.
“We don’t—” I start to protest, not wanting my family to know about the way we first met, but Abhay jumps in, voice smooth. “She spilt a milkshake on me.”
Of course, he would say it like that.
Everyone turns to look at me. Abhay is casually sipping his water like it’s the most normal thing in the world to bring up. I’m suddenly very aware of how my face feels like it’s on fire.
“Milkshake?” Akshay laughs, loud enough for half the restaurant to hear. “You spilled a milkshake on him? Really?” “Not on purpose!” I snap. “He bumped into me!”
Abhay smirks. “Technically, you were holding the milkshake, and I was walking. I just happened to walk into the milkshake.” “That wasn’t the problem,” I mutter. “You also blamed me for spilling it on you while I had more liquid on me than you.” “And I had more chunks of banana stuck to my face,” he adds, teasing.
I roll my eyes. “Yeah, whatever.” His mother, who has been silently watching, finally speaks up, smiling kindly. “I take it that was your first meeting?”
“Yes,” Abhay says, still grinning. “It was memorable.” Akshay, still chuckling, elbows me. “What’s the deal, Naina? You were just being extra careful with your milkshake?”
“Shut up, Bhai,” I muttered, wishing I could kick his foot. Akshay looks between us, eyes glinting with amusement. “See? There’s love in the air, I can tell.” I shoot him a glare. “Just because you can’t see beyond your smug face doesn’t mean you’re right.”
“Let’s have dinner together and catch up! It’s been so long, Rajveer, I need to tell you about my recent case,” Papa says, his voice trailing off as they combine the table to seat all of us. Maa is already in a deep conversation with his mom, something about police work. Great. I sit next to my brother and Abhay sits next to me, saying something nonsensical to my brother. Mr Rawat looks between us, his smile widening slightly as the conversation takes on a life of its own.
“Why do you always wear white?” Abhay asks suddenly. I blink, confused. “Maybe because I like to wear white? What’s it to you?” “Nothing, it’s just that being clumsy and wearing white is not a good combo.” Akshay Bhai bursts out laughing, and everyone slowly starts chuckling as well.
“Eat your food, or- “my voice drops to a whisper, “I will stab you with this fork.” His eyes widen and he smiles, scooting a little closer to me, “I will gladly die by your hands.” My cheeks involuntarily heat up and I take a bite of the rice.
Abhay Rawat always knows exactly how to get under my skin. And no matter how much I try to ignore it, he’s still here. Smiling, no, smirking.
The entire dinner consisted of my dad and Abhay’s father talking about the most mundane things. “By the way, are you planning to attend the annual summit?” “This year, I’m planning to attend the event. What about you? “We’re coming too; they’ve already asked me to give a speech,” his dad replied, looking at his wife.
“Well, it was nice catching up, Rajveer. Let’s do it again sometime,” Dad’s eyes crinkle as he smiles. Let’s not. I already see too much of Abhay in college, I can’t handle him around my family when I can’t say anything outright rude.
“See you tomorrow, Naina,” he whispers in my ear and I nod in response. His hand brushes mine when we part, and I feel something in my chest flutter.
Y'all I'm so sorry for the late update, I'm so sick right now. Buttt I got 2000 words so I'm happy.
Do tell which part of this chapter you liked the most!
If you liked my book, don't forget to show some love:)
Word count: 2034
Stay safe, people. War is never the answer.
Love,
Adi<3
(Spicyvixen)
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