That Desi Romance

7. WHAT HAPPENED IN SCHOOL?

"Yeah, I remember him."

Me and Priyanka are sitting at the window booth of our favourite book cafe with two half empty coffee cups and a cold pizza on the table.

I was showing her Yash's Instagram posts and she looked at it like she was just about to crack Da Vinci's code.

I know, I know, we shouldn't have this conversation about Aakriti's boyfriend without her knowledge . But something feels really off about all this.

Thankfully, Pri gave me the answer I was hoping for. I raised an eyebrow with curiosity when I saw her scrunching her face, seemingly trying to push her school memories to the front.

"Honestly, I'm surprised you don't." She said with such spectating eyes like of all people, I was particularly supposed to know this dude.

"Well, I remember some stuff. He was our classmate in 9th grade, then he just...left mid-year right? I just don't know why. Was something off with him?"

Priya's eyes sparkled as if all the memories just came rushing back to her.

"Oh yeah! I remember now." She exclaimed and then froze for a dramatic pause. Gosh, this girl.

"Well?" I ask her to elaborate, drinking my leftover coffee. This is going to be interesting.

"Lakshya beat him up."

I almost choked on my coffee hearing her words. What the actual fuck?!

"What?!" My surprised voice rang through the relatively quiet cafe.

All the attention and stares of the people around were on me now.

"Oh my god. You didn't know?"

"What do you think?!" This time, the judgemental stares came with a few hushes.

"Why?!" I whisper yelled, rolling my eyes at the crowd and leaning forward to make sure I hear her right.

"I'm not sure, I just heard the school gossiping about it the day before Yash left the school."

"You're kidding me right? I think I would've remembered something like that. Or at least heard someone talk about it."

"I'm also surprised you didn't. The talk was all over the school for like, a whole week." Priyanka took a sip of her coffee.

Wait...

"Hey, wasn't it around the time I told you he seemed a bit creepy and was almost everywhere I went?"

I do remember that guy following me around the school being all winky face and what he probably thought was flirty smirks, so I told Priyanka about him, only to find out a few days later that he just left the school.

It was odd. But I didn't think much of it at the time. Besides, I was simply relieved, if anything by him leaving.

"Oh yeah, you also found a half naked picture of him with heart eyes in your locker." We both scrunch our noses at the memory of that picture.

"Did you ever tell Lakshya about all that?"

"What? No. Just you and Aksh."

"Ahh. Maybe Aksh told him to do it. He was pretty protective of you in school. And you know how 14 year old adrenaline junkie teens can be." I nodded my head at her theory.

That made sense. I remember thinking how weird it was that Yash left just a few days after I told Priyanka and Aksh about the weird coincidences that kept happening where I always found myself running into him.

I also asked a few people about what happened to him after he left but they wouldn't tell me anything. And as I said, I didn't really care enough about him to press on the matter.

I realise now how weird it was when the news was apparently all over the school, yet I didn't hear a single gossip about it. My brother probably had something to do with it.

"Well, I guess we cracked the code." I shrugged as Pri put a piece of cold pizza in her mouth, immediately regretting it.

I should tell Aakriti about all this. I really don't know how she'll react, but at least she'll know the whole truth. And after all, what happened was way back in high school; who knows, maybe Yash is a completely different person now.
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"He did what?!" Riti's shocked voice rang through her quiet room.

A few hours after mine and Pri's little date, Aakriti called me saying she needed some help painting and modifying her room. I thought this would be the best time for telling her about the little incidents with Yash. I carefully left out the part where her brother beat the shit out of him. That wasn't my story to tell her, especially when I didn't know the entire truth.

"You're kidding me right? You must've had some misunderstanding. My boyfriend is not a creep." Aakriti reasoned, pacing around the room.

"I'm sorry sweetie, I'm just saying it as I remember it." I get that she's trying to defend her boyfriend, but being in denial is just going to bite her back eventually.

She paced around the room a few times before coming to a halt and turning her face to me, eyebrows furrowed.

"Wait, is this the thing where you say all this stuff to me to make me break up with him because you don't like him for some reason? Did Lakshya put you up to this?" She was looking at me with such scrutiny, like I was a prime suspect in some crime documentary.

"What? No! Riti, I'm just trying to protect you." I raised my hands in surrender.

"God, you sound just like him right now." She folded her hands and shook her head before coming up to sit beside me. Damn, I've never seen this girl so....undone. Not even when she had her NIFT entrance exams and she had only studied the week before giving them. She must really like this guy.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to lash at you. It's just..." she trailed off, seemingly lost for words. Wow, that's new.

"It's just, ever since I told everyone about me and Yash, they've been treating me like a I'm a clueless baby who doesn't know any better. I mean, I get that I'm not much experienced in this area, and everyone's just looking out for me, but can't they just treat me like an adult for once and let me have this experience by myself? I really like this guy Avi, and I want to get to know him and know what an actual relationship feels like. Is that too much to ask?"

I sigh, realising that I was so caught up in trying to do what I thought was the right thing that I never realised how it would make her feel.

"No, it's not. And I'm sorry, I was being judgmental about a person I barely know. And maybe you're right, maybe I did have a misunderstanding in the past." I can't get myself to be convinced by it, but for her sake, I'll believe it.

She hugged me tight. "Thanks for always being the one person who gets me."

We stayed like that for a moment, before I pulled away and looked at her in an all serious manner, "Accha ye sab toh thik hai, but tell your amazing boyfriend that he better make a good second impression at the sangeet, I'm not gonna let him off easy."

"I will. Speaking of...I've got a favour to ask you." She made those familiar puppy eyes of her that no one could escape.

I rolled my eyes. This better be good.

"For some reason only god knows, bhai is just set on despising Yash with every cell in his body. And I'm almost certain he will create a scene in the sangeet. Can you please keep an eye on him that day? Maybe, keep the hungry tiger away from the poor lamb?"

I laughed at the point where there were tears in my eyes, "Yeah right, like I could keep that guy in check." God, she was funny.

There was no humour in her voice when she said, "Trust me bro, if there's anyone in the entire world who could keep him in check, it's you."

"What?"

"What?"

"Kya matlab?"

"Kuch nahi."

Gosh, either this girl was going crazy in love, or I was sleep deprived to the point that I was hearing things.

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