Together

06

Mallika's POV

"Sumedh, now leave the phone and have your food," I shout for what seems like the hundredth time. It has been almost ten minutes since I kept the plate of maggi infront of him, but he didn't even care about it. Sumedh wasn't such a phone junkie, what happened to him all of a sudden?

"I swear I'm going fry your phone now. What the hell are you typing since fifteen freaking minutes?"

"Shh! I'm busy doing something really important right now. I'll have the maggi soon, pakka!" he speaks in a jiffy, without even glancing at me for once. Why doesn't he understand that I can't see a plate full of maggie kept infront of me when I've already cleaned my plate clear? Damn it. Why do I always end up finishing my food first? And I really cannot understand what important thing he is working on right now.

"Sumedh you are–"

Even before I can complete the sentence, he shouts, "Oh damn!" His eyes, that haven't got fatigued even after staring closely at the screen without a break, dilate like anything, taking me surprise by the way his lips curve into a broad grin, the way his face brightens up indicating a strange kind of contentment, and the way his eyes suddenly start twinkling as if something is burning bright behind those idiosyncratic orbs.

"What–"

"Damn yes,” he strikes the table with his hand, his gaze still fixed on the phone.

"Will you just tell me anything?" I'm seriously dying out of curiosity.

"It's finally happening," he smiles at me.

"Can't you notice the big question mark on my face?" I ask, exasperated.

While I continue to stare at him with a perplexed expression, he leaves the hold of his phone and rushes towards me.

"You deserve every bit of it, Mallika," he says and even before I can shoot another question at him, I am pulled into a hug. Squeezing his arms a fraction tighter, he gently rubs my back. The warmth and affection that shields me everytime he holds me like this, the feeling of protection that I get everytime my body presses against his, it is ineffable. Resting my head on his shoulder, I say, "Stay like this, please, don't move," and close my eyes. I wish I could stay like this in his arms forever, away from all the anxieties and chaos, away from all the caustic people who invest their everything in an attempt to make me feel worthless.

"weloveyoumallika is trending on twitter."

Wait, what?

"You've gone crazy or what?" I ask, pulling apart.

"The fans had decided to celebrate the milestone you reached yesterday, so they started tweeting with this hashtag since the evening! And it is finally trending! Congratulations, my queen!"

"Wait, were you busy doing the same thing since then? You were literally tweeting for me?" My voice is clearly explaining how surprised I am right now.

"Yeah, obviously! I am your fan too, why won't I tweet for you?"

"It's happening for the first time and I can't believe this. They are actually tweeting about me?"

"Mallika," firmly holding my hands, he speaks softly, "You deserve all of this, trust me! You deserve all the love, all the respect. You are one precious, absolutely precious person. We love you, okay?" Sumedh Mudgalkar and all the fans, they always manage to find unexpected ways to make me feel special.

”Come on, you have to read the tweets. We've written long notes for you and you have to read each one of them.”

“And oh--taking it as a gift from your side, your plate of maggi is mine now,” I flash a sweet smile at him.

“What? No? No!” Following his shout, we both rush to grab the plate, and he reaches first. But the maggi is mine now, I know. I just know.