Nandini Murthy is the crazy fan of a certain singer named Manik Malhotra. So certainly when she hears the news about him joining Instagram after too much requests from his fans, she cannot contain her excitement. The first thing she does after openi...
"So do you like love that singer Manik Malhotra?" He asked all of a sudden and she just stared at him. Was he that oblivious? Or was she that tough?
"Of course, he's my long term crush and I'm his crazy fan." She replied and his jaw clenched as he gave her a tight lipped smile. Jealous.
"Wow. That's great." He said sarcastically and although she knew he was jealous, she didn't like his tone, as if it was her fault.
"Manik what is so wrong in having a crush on him? You must also have a crush on someone right? Then why are you getting so angry?" She asked without beating around the bush.
She had to know if he was just jealous or there was something more to it. Did he really think that she'll have a chance with a Rockstar? If yes, then he's definitely crazy.
"I'm sorry okay? I know there's nothing wrong in having a crush but it is affecting me because you have a crush on Manik Malhotra but that Manik Malhotra is not me rather some singer of whom I had never heard until you accidentally messaged me." He said all this in a single breath and she could only gape at him.
"And no as of now, I don't have a crush on anyone because I like you!" He confessed easily and once again she blushed looking away. She had lost the count of times he had made her blush just in their first meet.
"You know you should change your name so that you won't feel that bad." She blurted and he looked at her in disbelief. Seriously? She had to say this after he just confessed?
"You seriously are dumb!" He declared and she gave him an offended look.
"Excuse me!" She said and he gave her a look which said 'shutup'. But she didn't and went on blabbering.
"You said this the second time and are we seriously fighting on our first meet─" He was quick to interrupt when she mentioned the word 'meet'.
"Date." He corrected and she just gave him a blank look before realising what he meant.
"Meet." She narrowed her eyes challenging him to defy her but both of them were tough nuts and not going to back down.
"It's a date Nandini." He said sternly staring in her eyes intensely and this time she opened her mouth to protest but nothing came out. She tried again but his gaze was unnerving and made her nervous so she just looked away saying nothing.
"We were discussing something else." She pointed out still not looking at him and he didn't stop staring at her.
"Manik stop staring!" She said irritated when he didn't stop but he just shrugged in return making her glare at him.
"I'm not staring, I'm just looking at you." He said and she rolled her eyes.
"That's one and the same thing. And I was saying that do you think that I have a chance with him?" She asked and he gave her a questioning look.
"Him?"
"Manik Malhotra? Singer? Remember?" She raised her eyebrows and this caused him to look away.
"Why are you asking me? How would I know!" He said grumpily and she seriously wanted to bang her head on a wall. What and idiot, seriously!
"Ugh. Manik you're seriously an idiot!" She groaned and he frowned looking at her.
Suddenly her phone rang and she looked at the caller Id. It was her mother. She picked it up while Manik stayed quiet and listened to her conversation.
"Mom I'll be back by 8pm. And don't worry I'm in the town itself. Bye." She informed and then hung up before looking at him.
"Manik it's 6.30 pm already. I have to go home by 8pm." She said and he nodded in understanding although his face clearly said that he didn't want this to end so soon.
"If you don't mind, I want to take you to a place. Shall we?" He asked and she just smiled at him.
Soon they were out of the cafe and she was surprised to see him having a car. He brought it outside the cafe and then gestured her to sit beside him.
"Where are we going?" She asked once he started driving but he said nothing and just kept driving. She kept looking at him every now and then expecting an answer but he chuckled much to her annoyance.
"Have patience Nandini." He teased and she huffed looking out of the window. He kept stealing glances of her and although she knew that she didn't turn towards him.
"We're here." He announced and she came out of her thoughts and looked around. It was peaceful and she was in awe of the place. Even though she stayed in the town she had never been here and so she wondered how did he know about this place.
Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
(Just discard the couple from the picture please)
"Manik how do you know about this place?" She turned to him to see him staring ahead with a smile on his face. He looked serene and content and she felt her own lips curving upwards.
"I was introduced to this place by my grandfather. He used to bring me here whenever he wanted to spend some time with me. We used to sit here and then he would tell me about stories about how he met his wife, my grandmother." He chuckled still looking ahead but there was this hint of sadness in his eyes.
"They're both happy and together today but I miss them everyday." He looked up and smiled while she could feel her heart ache for him. He really loves his grandparents.
They spoke nothing after that and just stood there enjoying the breeze and peace the place gave them. This time Manik could feel his heart fill with the lost content with her by his side.
✰
I'm going to start another story named "Sweet and Fiery" and the description will be put up soon. :)
