Not so Fairytale-ish

Chapter 23

Jaimi, Darshan, Jyugal, and Hardik sit in the living room. The boys put on a cricket match while Jaimi grabs her glasses and iPad. She starts drawing again while keeping an eye on the score. She looks at the boys and travels down her memory lane.

Darshan looks to his side to see Jaimi staring at the floor for a few minutes. He looks down to see Hardik and Jyugal on the floor enjoying the match and making some comments. Jaimi hasn't even blinked. He moves his hand in front of her, but she is unresponsive. He holds her shoulder and shakes her a bit. She quickly blinks and looks at him.

Darshan: You okay?

Jaimi nods. She looks down at the iPad and continues with her work. It's 2:30 in the morning. Jyugal and Hardik are rubbing their eyes like a little children to stay awake for the last two overs of the match. Jaimi continues to work not bothering to look up. Darshan keeps stealing glances of her every few minutes.

The match ends after half an hour or so. Darshan wakes Hardik and Jyugal up and sends them to bed in the guest bedroom. He takes Jaimi's iPad and she looks up at him.

Darshan: Go to bed now!

Jaimi: I just woke up from 8 hours of unconsciousness, so I'm good.

Darshan: Abhi sone jao! No bahana.

Jaimi: Mujhe abhi neend nahi aa rahi hain. Mein baadme so jaungi.

Darshan: Abhi jao warna utha ke le jaaunga.

They both have a staring competition for a minute. He gets irritated as Jaimi takes him lightly. He leans down to scoop her but throws her hands up.

Jaimi: No need! Mein jaa rahi hoon.

She grabs her iPad and moves towards his bedroom. She continues to work in the bedroom, but he decides to check on her and sees her working. He grabs the iPad out of her hand and saves the work before putting it away in his closet.

Darshan: Abhi sone jao!

Jaimi makes a face like a teenager getting yelled at by a parent for staying up late. She lays down and he covers her with a duvet.

Darshan: Good night!

Jaimi: Night.

He moves towards the door but walks back around. He presses a chaste kiss on her forehead and leaves the room, closing the door behind. Jaimi shakes her head to snap out of the daze. She inhales and exhales a large quantity of air. She realizes the bedsheet, cover, pillow, and everything around her smells like him. She shrugs off the thought and closes her eyes.

On the other hand, Darshan goes to the guest bedroom and fits himself in between Hardik and Jyugal. He tosses around in the limited space thinking about the day's events.

Darshan: What the hell Darshan? Usko kiss karne ki kya zaroorat thi? Pagal ladke abhi woh tere baare mein kya soch rahi hogi? Tujhe gaaliyan de rahi hogi aaj locker room mein jo hua, uske baad woh paparazzi aur phir ab uske ghar nahi jaane diya. Mein bhi kya kar sakhta tha? Usko akela bhejna thik nahi hota. Woh ghar pe akeli jaati aur tab usko kuch hota toh? Woh kuch bhi soche par abhi uska yahi rehna thik hain. Don't divert the topic! Tumne usko good night bolne ke baad kiss kyu kiya? Kya soch ke kiya tha? Pagal ladke!

Darshan's mind runs haywire thinking about the day's events. He tosses and turns in the limited space. He gets up hearing the sound of thunder. He steps out of the room to go to the studio but stops seeing the door to his room crack open. He moves towards it to close it but sees a shadow on the door.