Aiyoo Ayyappa- MaNan FF

Chapter 23 What do I do?

Seconds ticked by as Manik and Nandini continued to gaze into each other's eyes. Manik's eyes had a "why" in them...Nandini didn't know how to answer...what to answer. She continued to gaze back into Manik's eyes. 

"Do U hate me so much?" Manik asked in a pleading tone. "U don't trust me..do U?" A drop of tear welled up in Manik's eye and slipped off his eye onto his cheek. 

"N...No..." Nandini whispered softly as she noticed the tear drop slip down his cheek onto his lip. Nandini wanted to wipe away that drop of tear..and her hand moved up to wipe the tear away. 

Suddenly Manik's phone started ringing. Manik took his hands off Nandini's shoulder and wiped the drop off tear off his lips and cheek with the back of his hand and took the phone out of his pocket. 

"Haan...Kabir...bol!" Manik replied turning away from Nandini and clearing his throat a bit. 

"Yaar...Manik...kaise chal rahe hai tere baatchit...Ayyappa ne confess kar diye ke nahi?" Kabir asked with a little laugh as he looked at Navya who was wearing a long black gown and posing in front of the mirror. 

"H...haan...yes!" Manik replied. 

"Usne itni jaldi confess kar diye that she is Nandini? Wah yaar...tune tho kamaal kar diye ...abhi tu usko leke aa rahe hai party pe?" Kabir asked with a little laugh. 

"Kabir..the party is called off! Call up Dhruv and Alya and inform them and take the girl with you to her home." Manik said with an angry look on his face as he gazed sideways at Nandini. 

"Party called off? Yaar kya iraada hai...planning to spend the night with her?" Kabir asked with a little laugh. 

"No...I'll call U back after I reach home! Hanging up now!" Manik said and cut the call. 

"Arre isko kya ho gaya? Bada serious lag raha hai!" Kabir thought as he saw Navya walking upto him in the long black gown. 

"Kaisi lag rahi hoon main?" Navya asked posing in front of Kabir. 

"Achchi lag rahi ho! Yehi gown select karte hai!" Kabir said to Navya with a little smile on his face. 

"Ok...so what next??" Navya asked. 

"U go and get changed to your churidar...I'll be outside. We'll pack the gown and then off to our next destination" Kabir said with a little smile. 

"Ok..abhi aati hoon" Navya said with a little smile. Kabir dialed Dhruv's number as he looked at Navya entering the dressing room.

 "Haan Dhruv...yaar Manik ne call kiya aur bol diya ke aaj raat ke party cancelled. Haan..pata nahi..kuch bola bhi nahi...achcha chal..tu Alya ko uske ghar drop karde aur Mukti bhi tere saath hai?" 

"Haan Mukti mere saath hai...abhi getting ready for the party." Dhruv said in a soft voice. 

"Ok Mukti ko bhi bataa dena that the party got cancelled and drop her also home! We'll meet tomorrow morning, ok? Hanging up now" Kabir cut the call, stood up and walked over to the counter. 

"The dress that we selected now..the black gown..pls pack it and here's my card" Kabir gave his card to swipe to make payment for the new gown. 

"Navya, ye naye dress waste nahi jaayenge...aise tho nahi na..ke two people can't party together?" Kabir whispered with a little naughty smile on his face. 

"Ok...let's go! I'll drop U home" Manik said without turning to look at Nandini. 

"Par..Manik...U were preparing to take me to the party" Nandini whispered softly. 

"Party?? Haan party...I cancelled it! U don't deserve to attend the Fab 5 party! I don't trust liars." Manik said fuming in anger. 

"Manik please..." Nandini whispered softly. 

"No its ok..U don't have to explain. U never liked me from the start.  U wanted a sorry from me...but sorry to say..U are not getting it." Manik replied as turned away from Nandini walked a bit onto the other side away from the bench. 

"Manik...please...meri baat tho suno" Nandini pleaded with Manik. 

"Kya sunoon?? Kya sunoon Nandini? Tumhaare paas bataane ke liye kya reason hai? Yehi bataaogi ke tum darr gayi mujhse? I had so much hopes...I had so much aspirations...I so wanted to show U the real Manik. But how can I show you now? Agar tum meri jagah pe hote..tho kya karte? Would U trust a girl who even says her name wrong and exchanges it with that of a friend? Trust karte kya?" Manik asked facing Nandini. 

"Manik...I..I am sorry..." Nandini's voice died away into the wind that started blowing "Sorry..." Nandini whispered as a tear welled up in her eyes. 

"Sorry?? Kis baat ke liye sorry bol rahi ho? That U mentioned a wrong name to me? Miss Nandini...when I spoke to U first time over phone...I was happy that there was this girl who was loving our music group Fab 5...I was so thrilled that finally I am getting to talk to a fangirl of Fab 5. Do U know?? I am shy around girls. I feel awkward when I see girls rush to me coz of my songs to get my autographs. They see my external appearance, they see my style, glamour, listen to m y songs and they fall for that. But who is the Manik Malhotra behind that? No girl tried to see" Manik said looking at Nandini as he walked closer to her. 

"Then I found U...found U coz of a wrong number call. I was first very upset...totally upset when I got to know that Dhruv was your 1st choice, Kabir was your second choice...and where was I? I was nowhere and U were judging me by my external appearance. U felt that I was ghamandi because I wore sunglasses. But infact truth was that...I didn't like facing camera...then U said that U disliked me coz I ran away from fangirls. But did U even realize that I am shy towards female fans?" Manik was opening up his heart to Nandini. Nandini continued to look at Manik.

"I misunderstood him so much..so sooo much.." Nandini thought as her heart was burning..burning with pain. She could feel the pain rush up from her chest onto her neck drying her throat. 

"Haan...how will U even know all this? U made assumptions from appearances. For once...I got connected to a girl..who didn't know me... didn't like me much and to whom I wanted to show the real me, so that she will like me..like me more than my friends Dhruv and Kabir..and that girl is U..Nandini...I felt that I could trust U...I felt that U had a purity..a truthfulness in U...when U who cried over phone I felt that had a soft side..an innocent side to U...I felt so connected to U! To me..U became an angel..whom I wanted to meet...to share my feelings with...whom I wanted to not forgive..but whom I wanted to hold in my arms and say..Thanks..Thanks for coming to meet me...to meet the real me!" Manik continued as a new pain entered his eyes. 

"But..but U...U didn't want to meet me...U find Dhruv more handsome...Kabir more friendly...and me? I am nowhere in your thoughts..even today your eyes were all over Dhruv...ok enough is enough..Nandu...sorry! Nandini! No more wasting time talking of the past...let's get going..I'll drop you home" Manik said wiping away the drops of tears that once again slipped onto his cheeks. 

"Manik..please...please meri baat tho suno..." Nandini whispered. 

But Manik didn't turn back..he continued to walk away from her...away from her towards the bike standing on the sidewalk. 

"What do I do now??" Nandini thought as her eyes welled up with tears. "Ayyapppa...what do I do?"