Opposites attract

Chapter 10(Neil)

We ate the rest of our dinner in silence. But there were all sorts of sounds going on in my head. Sound of Ashika laughing. Sound of the rain while we stood there in the balcony with coffee. Sound of the TV playing in the background while we were discussing about her mother and her problem. I was so enthralled by the fact that even though Ashu and I are so different from each other, we have such a similar problem.

Is there seriously no solution in the world for our parents pressurizing us to get married and settled. Oh yes there is, the same one as I told Ashu, to actually get into a relationship and tell our families about it. But I am not in the right mental space and I don't think I ever will be. Actually the fact is I don't even want to be anymore. That's right, I don't want to move on. I don't want to have a girlfriend. I don't want to put those efforts again. I don't want to go through the whole process again. Because I know it's going to end up with one of us getting our heart broken and I can't survive another heartbreak. The last one was as brutal as they come.

This is one of the moments I wish fictional worlds to be real world. Like all the movies I have watched with Yakshi and those books that she loves so much and tells me every week about a new fake dating couple that she had read about.

This is the very moment I wish that things like fake dating actually existed in real life. But who on earth would someone want to lie about being in a relationship with me just so that I can escape all the questions from my parents.

Nah, that's not going to happen because this is a real life. No girl with right mind is going to run to me and kiss me in the hallway just to show her friends and family that she has a good life and a hot boyfriend.

And that's when everything clicks in my mind. Maybe there is someone who would be ready to pretend to date me just to show her friends and family that she is having a good life and a hot boyfriend. Someone who doesn't have the courage to tell her friends that she has broken up with her boyfriend. Someone who is as pressurized by her family for getting married as I am. There is someone and she is really close to me.

She is here in my house. Under my roof. In the next room. Sleeping on my sister's bed. But would she agree to this. There is only one way to find out.

I hop off the bed and pick m y t-shirt from the chair and exit the room wearing the t-shirt. This can be the best or worst decision of my life depending on how Ashu reacts to my plan.

I walk to Yakshi's room and press my ears to the door trying to guess whether Ashu is sleeping or not.

"What are you exactly trying to do here?"

I hop off at the voice and turn around in shock seeing Ashu standing in the hallway with a bottle in her hand.

"wedding", that's the only response I could blurt out.

"You are trying to do.... wedding? What is that even supposed to mean?"

I need to think of a response quick. But how can I with her standing so close to be that I can count each one of freckles. I can tell the exact shade of her hair, just the exact brown. And her scent is not only invading my nose but also my mind at such close proximity.

I need to step away. I need more distance from her.

"Okay, then what's stopping you. Please do step back."

Did I just say that out loud????

"Yes, you did."

"What??"

"You did say that out loud."

"How do you know what I was thinking."

"Trust me Neil you have a very bad poker face."

"Oh that." I hope I have a good enough poker face to not let out the actual reason I was her. I am sweating. I can feel sweat running down the back of my neck and beads forming on my forehead. My throat is as dry as the Sahara dessert.

And without thinking I grab the bottle rom Ashu's grip and chug every drop down my throat. After putting the lead of the bottle back on, I take a step towards my room.

"Wait, you haven't answered my question."

Her question, right. How do I tell her that I wanted to date her. I mean fake date. Forget about it. I can't do this. She will kill me.

"I did."

"You just blurted out one word. wedding, like that's supposed to mean anything."

"Yes, it is. It is supposed to mean that....... I want to learn the whole dance before the wedding.", I know it's a bad excuse but what else would make sense at this point.

"Well isn't that obvious, considering who are going to perform it on the wedding."

"Ya, I am just glad we are on the same page."

She opens her mouth. But I beat her, "I am sleepy. Aren't you sleepy? Yes, you are I can see it. So go sleep. See you in the morning popcorn."

I walk so quickly to my room that it can even be considered as running and bang the door shut.

Forget about it, I am never going to ask her about the fake dating. Never ever. I love my life too much to do that. Especially now that she is kind of my boss .I know it's a temporary arrangement but it's still really scary especially when the person is Ashu. Everything about her is scary. Scary is her second name. I didn't sleep the whole night tossing and turning in bed. By the morning, I am nothing more than a walking and talking zombie.

The reason of my sleepless night is not Ashu but my self- helplessness. I couldn't stop wondering the whole night how wonderful would it be, if we actually started fake dating.

It would be perfect for both of us. Our parents would stop pressurizing us to get married. She wouldn't have to lie to her friends about Sreshth. We know each other since high school, so I don't think acting would be an issue. I don't think any girl would be a better person to play my fake girlfriend if not her. The odds are too good to be true. I know this is going to be good, but how to I explain it to Ashu. I guess to I will have to fill her on the details of my life first. Details about my life, my problems, and my ex.

This is not going to be easy. But right now this is the only option left.

But how do I convince he with the plan when I myself am not fully convinced. There are so many plot holes in the plan. So many things that can go wrong. The two of us haven't even talked to each other nicely in the last three years. How will we convince out parents that we are actually together. Yakshi knows both of us like the back of her hand. One look at our faces and she will know exactly what's going on.

Ashu owns an advertising agency while I am a gamer. That's not even a teeny tiny good match. How do we convince everybody that we like each other.

But all these problems can be addressed and fixed once I talk to Ashu. Convincing her is the main problem in my head right now.

Absentmindedly, I step into the hallway, thinking about how to convince Ashu to fake date me. As I walk towards the living room, I get a glimpse of someone working in the kitchen. I blink twice before I realised it was Ashu. She is wearing one of the floral dresses that my sister owns. Ashu is taller compared to Yakshi so the dress is only reaching her lower thig. Her hair is tied in a cute bun and a few strands are falling on her eyes while she is preparing something that looks time a sandwich.

She feels my presence and turns around to see me. 

"Good morning", she says in a not so pleased voice.

"Hey, good morning."

She turns back to her sandwich with a pissed sigh. I wonder what I did to piss her off.

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