Dil Jaanta Hai | ✔

sixty one

||CHAPTER 61||
《¤》

An hour and a half was left for departure. Arnav still wanted me to hide in a dingy hotel instead of going to Shimla for a week. The thought was tempting, but we both knew Dad had kept people to check up on us. This was something we couldn't pull off.

We were learning to choose our battles.

"You will call me if you don't want to stay there, right? If anything goes wrong, you will call, right? Wait, do you even have my number memorised?" It was so strange to see him so concerned about me.

"I do know the number of the Pizza Hut there," I pursed my lips.

"Why do you even know that?"

"Mom couldn't take me to Switzerland once because she had some work in Shimla. Shimla out of all places," I scoffed.

The driver standing outside, in a tense posture, was the only sense of privacy we were going to get. "Did you talk to her about this?"

I played with the zipper of my hoodie.

"Arvika, she could have gotten you out of this!" He fisted his hair at my very obvious stupidity. "Dude, she still has your custody, if things got ugly!"

"Why would we want to let things go ugly, Arnav? I'd rather go to Shimla for a week than go back to Mumbai and live with those stupid Vahiyad Insaans."

"But she needs to know this, Vika."

"There are indeed many things that need to happen, Arnav," I shrugged, unlocking my door and getting out. "Like me catching a flight to Himachal Pradesh right now. And then hauling a cab to Shimla maybe? You telling Dad that you are not interested in the Deewan Industries, and would much rather be on the Fox Traveller? But of course, our priorities, needs, and desires enjoy a tricky sense of humour where they never coincide and have a good laugh at our messed up lives."

He wasn't shocked that I knew. Rather, it would have been shocking if I didn't. He picked up a bottle of Appy Fizz from the back pocket of the seat in front of him and handed it out to me. "In the name of good humour then."

I accepted it. "I wish it's poisoned."

"Since you'd much rather sulk inside the airport than spend some time with your brother, I decided to punish you and not comply to that wish of yours."

"Nah," I shook my head, "You're not getting a goodbye from me."

"Goodbye's are for losers anyway. I'll see you in a week. Can't believe I'm gonna miss this spoilt brat."

We didn't hug. I just waved him off, sliding out the handle of my trolley bag. "Oh, boohoohoo."

And off to Shimla, I was.

¿¤?

The seat beside me had been vacant a few minutes ago. Somewhere between me not paying attention to what the flight attendants had been demonstrating and me shuffling my playlist six times, some one had occupied the seat on my left. The chain of the eerily familiar grey hoodie was up to the top, and the hood was covering his face. I paused the shuffling. This was strange.

I could have been mistaken, but I also knew how highly unlikely it was for the person next to me to not be Mickey. I leaned back in my seat as the plane started speeding up for take off. No matter how murderous he looked, he did have some brains in him so as to not slew me inside a damn plane for whatever reason he had.

He tapped the hand rest, I stared at the seat belt sign. It wasn't until the cabin crew turned it off, and were gliding in the air that I cleared my throat. "I thought about the big bad wolf."