Chapter 14: Parties or Confrontations

“I don’t understand why you have a problem with him being here? He seems to be a decent and cool guy?” Ankit asked.

Akshi though being very ignorant at the moment did hear his question and took a deep breath and turned to him.

“It’s just that I don’t like him much, and now Dhruv had to invite him to a family affair, he knows it would irritate me and …”

“And?”

“Nothing… just let it be, come let's go and see if chachu has done with the rice or not.” Akshi stood up from her place and was about to walk but only got crashed with a huge wall in front of her.

The very pleasing and captivating scent that engulfed her made her want to stick to whatever it was. For the first time, she liked the way a particular person smelled like. It made her feel giddy and exultant at the same time.

As she took a step back and looked up, her eyes went wide. Wasn’t it really good to have no face or name to the things that you like? It at least makes you feel frantic and once you get to know it there won’t be any fun.

But seeing Abhi standing so close to her made her want to know things more. Though she knew what was there beneath that turtleneck t-shirt she wanted to explore it.

As her eyes met with his, she then wanted to know him, his whole being, she wanted to answer those questions which at the back of her mind had been eating her up the whole week.

But as his voice fell on her ears, his soft yet unexplainable tone and tenderness in his voice, were like a splash of cold water.

It wasn’t daily that she went on such a roller coaster of emotions. Maybe her time of the month was coming soon, but her thoughts, they made her want to gag.

She wasn’t this, she wasn’t this hormonal kid, and she wasn’t this desperate and eager to know why the hell she wanted to be with him.

And this stupid behaviour of hers only made her more confused.

“Akshi, I wanted to talk to you in private,” Abhi said, his eyes strained on Ankit who sat there on the log as if he owned the place, completely ignoring the small request like an order from Abhi.

While on the other side, Akshi had her own battle going on. She was happy to be wanted to talk to in private yet her nerves were on fire. What could it possibly be that he wanted to talk about and mostly in private? Why …. Did he know about the morning occurrence?

But then who would tell him about it? None other than her knew about that incident. But somehow she knew rather than coming to conclusions it was better to get it out with a talk.

The battles that Akshi fought in her mind were never-ending. She took a deep breath and then looked at him square in his eyes and said,

“Alright come with me, I have to get a few things from the kitchen before the dinner starts, mind helping me?” Akshi asked her mind, completely forgetting Ankit who sat behind her, visibly hurt and shocked.

Never had someone’s existence been so imperative and off-putting for Akshi that she would overlook him, and somehow Abhi seemed a threat now. At present when he could clearly see the way Akshi behaved in a certain manner before him.

It was as if she was a completely different person. It seemed she would say the same thing that her mind said, while her heart sang a different song.

And if it was so, then it was very unsettling, especially now that Ankit had so many plans for her – for them.

As Akshi made her way towards the kitchen, her nerves were starting to get over her. Never had she thought that there would be a day when she would have a private talk with Abhi, but then looking at the scenarios it seemed the unexpected was happening.

As the two reached the empty kitchen, Akshi pulled out a glass and sneaked towards the fridge and took out the bottle of coke, and poured a bit in two glasses. She then turned towards Abhi, trying to be as cool as she could be and whispered.

“We don’t have any secret but this is one and none should know about it,” Akshi said, eyeing the classes and then looked at him with a serious look on her face.

“You really think this is a secret, I mean you coming in here with me pulling out a chilled coke bottle and sharing some with me is a secret?” Abhi asked, his eyes widened the way they did when he would be surprised and taken aback.

“Yeah, well essentially just don’t let any of my family know about it, not even Ankit and Dhruv I hope that could be done?”

“I cross my heart, this would be our hush-hush, and will remain in my heart till I would be buried under the ground.” Their innocent mirth filled the kitchen.

Akshi took a sip of the drink and looked at him. The very first time that she was so close up to him, almost that now she could even tell the distinction in their tallness. She somehow was now able to observe him, how his eyebrows would lift while sipping the drink from the glass, how they would scrunch as the drink burned his throat and then gave a delightful sigh as he gulped it down his throat.

It was fascinating to watch him have his drink, with a peaceful look, and out of the ordinary aura always surrounding him. It only made her want to comprehend him more, something just more than what anyone else would ever do.

A slight blush appeared on her face as she realized what her thoughts actually meant if let out loud. The clearing of her throat brought her out of her thoughts, the shivers of jumpiness making their way back to her.

“What wrong did I do Akshi that you are ignoring me, I hope everything is alright,” Abhi spoke in a calmer tone. His voice though wanting to give out his nervousness, yet the control he had on himself made him look as well as sound much confident.

“Everything is alright, and I wasn’t ignoring you, I was just staying a bit away from you…” Akshi trailed off, in the end, her words sounding stupid to herself.

“And that is what I assume is called ignorance.” He smiled at her and walked closer to her, their breaths mingling with each other.

“I – I mean…”

“Akshi it’s clear, you are that friend of mine who had always been there for me, though from behind the curtains but you did, your words, your small arguments have made me feel comfortable around, I don’t know if you consider me as your friend or not but I surely do… you are my friend Akshi, one whom I would never want to leave.” Abhi stepped more closely and pushed away from the stray of hair that had fallen on her face. It felt weird doing it, but somehow Abhi felt it was right – as if it was only his right to do that.

“Say something?” Abhi asked as both came back to the present, their hearts beating louder as each minute passed by.

“It isn’t that I don’t consider you as my friend Abhi, but I can’t be with the new set of friends of yours, I don’t want you to back off from new friends because of me, I am not comfortable around them and that’s the only reason, our school is different from other Abhi, on every single step there is a politics or two and I don’t want to be the yet another hot topic, we can be friends but please don’t hope that I would be friends with your other friends as well.”

Though it made him wonder what wrong would happen if she would ever get into contact with the other lot, yet he had a gut feeling that he should do what she had asked him to.

It gave him a weird relief to know that now he was somehow related to her, just more than mere classmates.

As the two walked out of the kitchen – Akshi a bit relaxed yet anxious of every step and move that she did, while Abhi still in a daze, planning various ways he would spend time with her, what all he would do, and how much fun it would be to know her, to reach that part of Akshi which was hidden layers beneath.

As the night went by, Abhi loved the environment more and more, he enjoyed the way her family made him feel at home, for the first time he was the envy of Akshi.

How each and every person again and asked her what she wanted, how they bothered her with all the possible crushes that she would have, and even loved how a small faint blush would evolve on her cheeks without even having an idea what it really was.

It was spellbinding to watch. It seemed like that beautiful view which was so beautiful from afar and even more beautiful from up close.

He was still standing at the faraway end of the garden looking at Akshi, Observing how she laughed with her cousins and would wheeze at every tease and that they made of her when he heard that small voice beside him.

“I have never seen you around.” The voice was sweet, it somehow reminded him of Akshi, and when he looked at the person, the small smile and wrinkles on their face didn’t do any justice to her beauty.

He smiled at his own thought, he couldn’t point out what it was, but there was something that got him comfortable with her with just the small smile that she gave him, even though there were a huge amount of questions on her face.

He stood properly, his hands coming in front of him and clasping together as he offered a smile and with a polite voice said

“I am Akshi’s new friend Abhishekh; it’s nice to meet you.”

And was it just him or did it actually feel nice to call yourself Akshi’s friend? He thought, as all of his beings were lit with glee and content.