GULMOHAR (COMPLETED)

Chapter 10

(Contd...from last part)

Flashback continues...

SAANCHI
✨

'Why is he here Anna?' I asked looking at him sipping onto the orange juice.

'Wellll maybe because it's his brother in law's birthday!!!' Mehek said and I scowled looking at her. She and Imran gave each other hi five and giggled. Imran was Mehek's cousin and was studying MBBS in Chandigarh. He was also Mehek's secret crush.

'Another time you say that I swear I'll pull out your tongue Mehek!!!' I muttered under my breath.

'Oh so what should we call him...Jeeejuuuu??? Or ji ja ji (brother in law)' said another friend of ours Gurpreet. We had a small group already in the apartment.

Gurpreet, Mehek and I were classmates. Imran was a rare one yet knew all the gossip thanks to his Doordarshan (national tv channel) cousin Mehek. My brother Sachin had also joined this stupid clan and now there was this new entrant whom I absolutely vexed!!!

Nishchay Mehra!!!

Everybody else's Nishu!!!

I don't know why they would tease me with him. Because absolutely there was no logic behind this matchmaking.

Because from the last two years of we being neighbours, our aunts being besties, he being my senior in school I hated him and he hated me too!

But our stupid friends loved to tease us. I don't understand how one stupid incident caused them tease us both.

We both don't talk to each other. But since the day I performed at the talents day fest in our college things I don't really know what happened. He was staring like an owl without blinking and for my bad luck Mehek and Gurpreet both had clicked pictures of him gawking at me while I was dancing on 'Bole Chudiyan' from my favourite Hrithik movie K3G. But the way he was staring at me made me mess up my dance as well on stage and since that day till date. He doesn't talk to me but states like an owl.

No...nothing has changed between us. We still don't look at each other. No we still don't talk to each other but....there is this strange awkwardness between us.

I still remember a few weeks ago I was taking the elevator and we being the same floor couldn't avoid being on the same elevator but neither of us looked very comfortable. I didn't know what was odd but the minute the elevator door opened he ran out of the elevator and before I knew I heard the main door of his apartment shut with a thud.

His behaviour was wierd. It was as if he was running away all these days from anything and everything I was associated with and look now he's my brother's best friend. Such that he is here in his birthday party.

'Now doesn't he know that Sachin Prabhu is my brother?' I whispered into Imran's ears and he chuckled saying...

'You know Saanchi in medical terminology there is a term called 'Limerence'!!!'

I raised an eyebrow asking 'What is that?' to which Imran sipped his cold drink and said

'Wellll it's a state of mind where a subject's state of mind is on its object of desire. The state of mind which pushes the subject to be in an involuntary state of desire and involves intrusive thinking about a limerent object with characteristics that involve shying away from approaching the limerent object fearing no reciprocation or even tragic past could also be fear of rejection!!!' he said it all and I only kept blinking and finally said

'English please!!!' to which he chuckled saying

'In layman terms let's just say the boy is seriously developing fatal attraction towards you young lady and maybe fears of being rejected by you!!!' He smirked while Mehek almost choked on her cold drink and burst out laughing while my eyes almost popped out as Imran signalled me to look towards Nishchay and I noticed he was staring at me intently but the minute our eyes met he turned away his face and began talking to a random classmate of my brother's!!!