Pyaar Dosti Hai

Why Can't You Get Along?

Varun knows it isn't the best idea to bring his girlfriend to set, not when his costar happens to be his best friend.

It's not like Alia ever actively makes Natasha feel unwelcome, but they have never been fond of each other and they make no effort to hide it.

Ever since the first time they met, they've been wary of each other, Natasha more so than Alia.

***

Natasha thought she was well prepared to meet Varun's best friend. She'd been told a multitude of stories about the girl her boyfriend claimed was the most important person in his life. She thought she had it all figured out.

Turns out she was woefully wrong.

From the adventurous tales she had been told, Natasha had been expecting a young girl, someone Varun would look at like a baby sister. This belief was enforced when he came back from Delhi with a small teddy for his friend, saying he always brought her something when he went out of town. Somehow, in all the many stories she'd been told, the age difference between Varun and his best friend never came up. Let's just say it was way less than she assumed.

When he had picked her up that morning, Natasha couldn't fathom why her boyfriend was so nervous. She herself wasn't anxious and she was the one meeting this person for the first time. The confusion was increased when he told her, in no uncertain terms, that the opinion of his best friend matters more than anything so she better make an effort to impress.

Of course, thinking his best friend was a child, she didn't know just how hard it would be to impress the girl.

Hardly fifteen minutes had passed before they pulled up in a driveway that had no other cars in it. Again, this increased Natasha's curiosity; did that mean this girl had been left at home by herself? 'Come on. We didn't come here just to sit in the car.' Varun told her, already having gotten out of the car. She quickly got out of the car and followed Varun up the path to the front door, a little astonished when he let's himself in.

He toes off his shoes as they enter and she follows his lead. 'Alu! Kya cho?' he calls as they walk through the foyer.

'Kitchen!' comes the reply. The voice doesn't sound childish and that just serves to confuse Natasha some more.

She doesn't get time to think on it; Varun's started walking four times faster and she has to increase her pace almost to a jog to keep up. 'Tu kitchen ma su karache?' (What are you doing in the kitchen?) he asks and she sees he looks almost worried.

'Arre, hu pani peeu chhu.' (I'm drinking water.) Varun relaxed visibly at the reply and starts smiling as he rounded the corner.

There's a full blown grin on Varun's face as they enter the kitchen and the girl who's stood by the counter is wearing one that is almost identical. They hug and it seems like neither is planning on letting go.

Natasha stood there, feeling very much like a kabab mein haddi, and wondering if maybe this girl is Alia's sister, she's definitely not old enough to be her mother.