When Vaibhav had imagined Shweta walking into the school campus, he had thought it would be with Riddhi. Having spotted Riddhi in the ground, he'd hastened towards her only for her to greet him coldly.
"Where's Shweta?" He'd demanded, taking her by the elbow.
"Do I look like her secretary?" Riddhi had said, taking her arm away from him and pushing him out of her way.
Quite taken aback, he'd panicked and followed her which had only aggravated her further, "What do you mean?" He'd said.
"I meant exactly what I said. I'm not her secretary." Riddhi had said, refusing to give him an answer.
"But.." He'd trailed off, almost about to add you always know where she is.
"But?" Riddhi had glared at him, daring him to go further and he was certain he would end up with a punch on the face. It was best not to provoke the saintly Riddhi for when her temper broke free, hell cascaded with the wrath matching that of Satan. He had witnessed it more than once when they were children and he had pushed her to her limit.
Instead, resorting to a plea he had asked again, "Could you please tell me where she is? I really need to know, Riddhi. "
Riddhi's eyes had softened and she had relented only to inform him that she had had a fight with Shweta following which she dramatically proclaimed that she wouldn't even be attending 'that girl's funeral. Vaibhav was not interested in funerals, epitaphs, and anything of that kind at the moment and he had only let a sympathetic ear to her grumbling, his impatient eyes scanning for Shweta in the crowd.
When Riddhi had finally finished her list of complaints, none of which Vaibhav heard but was pretty certain it had something to do with snakes, Taylor Swift's new song lyrics, graveyards, ungrateful best-friends, and silly fortune-tellers who didn't know what acetic acid was. Not even bothering to process the colorful information that had been presented to him, he had dashed off to wait at the entrance hoping that Riddhi's droning hadn't made him miss Shweta.
Number two thing that Vaibhav hadn't anticipated was that Shweta would be flanked by the company when she walked into the school gates. Followed by a short-haired, short girl who looked suspiciously like her sister Shruti, of whom Shweta always spoke about, and another guy who seemed to be a bit older than Shweta, most probably her sister's friend.
Not wasting another moment, he had marched on towards her, desperately hoping that Shweta's sister wouldn't have anything untoward to say to him. He hoped she didn't know of the little pregnancy fiasco.
But the condescending "Hey, Vaibhav"Â which Shruti drawled was proof enough that she knew. All the gory details, while Shweta stood next to her looking abashed and surprisingly meek.
Without even waiting to gauge his reaction or give him a chance to respond she'd moved onto Shweta, smirking as she said, "This is the little boyfriend, huh? Well, I'll leave you both alone now."
And just as she was walking away, she'd turned back to walk up to Vaibhav and glare up at him. With so much ferocity brimming her strikingly green eyes, almost a foot shorter than him.
"See the thing is." She said cordially, as she stepped back as if she hadn't just given him a death stare. "I actually think you're nice. And maybe good enough for Little Miss Modern over here. Don't make me change my mind."
And with that threat delivered in a very cordial manner, she was off without so much as a second glance at him or her sister. The guy, who Vaibhav had rightly judged as her friend, hurried to follow her with a bewildered expression on his face.
"Don't mind her," Shweta muttered darkly at her sisters retreating back. "God knows she's parading around with a date as well."
Vaibhav, rather flummoxed but not very interested in the parades that Shruti did, had asked her, "Can we talk?"
"High time we did." She said with a wry smile.
"I'd been meaning to talk to you since the.." He pauses not sure how to best address the scare.
"The pregnancy debacle." She says, wincing slightly at the memory of it.
"Yes, about that." He says and just as he tries to continue, Shweta interrupts him." I know. I have been meaning to talk to you about it as well. But with everything that has happened since then, reaching out to you didn't seem like the best option. Besides, my mother still has my phone."
"I thought the same. I mean that's what Riddhi told me when I asked her to get you to talk to me." He says and then willing up enough courage within himself to add, "But that's not all that I wanted to talk to you about."
"I figured," Shweta says, as she gives him another tired smile. "And I wanted to say that it was very kind of you to have taken it the way you did."
The defeatist tone in which she was talking made it seem as though, she had gone over the issue in her head and decided to cut all ties with him. Break up with him before they had even started anything that could be broken up.
"Of course, not Shweta. It wasn't your fault. It was just as much mine as it was yours. It takes two, remember." Vaibhav said, trying to circle around to what he really wanted to say.
"I know that. But people don't agree and you had a choice not to as well. I'm thanking you for being wonderful enough to have done that." Shweta says again, the words sounding so foreign and almost apologetic; the role not quite suiting her.
"It was human decency. You don't have to make a huge deal and thank me for it." He says, exasperated in the way in which the conversation was proceeding. "And don't you see it, I meant what I said then! I'd been meaning to ask you out all this while and I would have done the same had you gotten pregnant or had had an abortion."
She looks at him as though she couldn't quite believe what he said and it makes him adopt a slightly softer tone, "Don't you believe me?"
Taking his hand, her eyes tearing up a bit but fighting back her tears, she looks at him only daring herself to allow, "I do believe you."
The area is getting crowded by the minute with the influx of students and it's not the place best suited for an ardent declaration of love. As if sensing his thoughts, she adds, "Can we go someplace quieter?"
He doesn't need to be told twice and they walk along until they come to an area that's entirely secluded and empty. No curious onlookers with cunning smiles interrupt them.
"I do believe you," Shweta repeats and Vaibhav looks at her, the shadow in her eyes and the underlying but haunting him more than her admission did.
"I sense a but there." He says, tucking away a strand of her hair from her face. The gentle gesture is enough to send Shweta into tears; having faced nothing but reproving remarks from all the people who were supposed to love her.
"There is." She says, not meeting his eyes. "I think you're incredible, Vaibhav. Don't get me wrong. But within this span of weeks, I've lost too many people in my life trying to explain why should be a part of it as well. That was the main reason why I never wanted to put a label on anything we did; the moment we assigned it one I would have to start explaining it."
"I don't understand," Vaibhav says, his heart clenching trying to understand what she said but simultaneously hoping that it was not what he thought she meant.
"My mother thinks I'm being distracted and silly. Without so much of a second thought towards the fact that maybe I do have enough capacity and intelligence to not let anybody make a complete fool of me. Riddhi thinks I'm being selfish and unfair. She only sees that I kept it a secret from her not even waiting to think that all of this was so fucking new to me. What was I supposed to do? Shout out from the rooftops that I slept with a boy? And my sister is just cynical and analytical; passing opinions from her goddamn high horse when all I ever asked for was someone to listen! The thing is Vaibhav, these are people who know me, and quite literally they're all I have. I don't want to fight with anyone anymore." She says, letting the words out. Unflinchingly honest and upfront about everything.
Misreading his silence, she gives him a wry smile. "Too overwhelming? What do you have to say to that?"
What he says next isn't something she had anticipated. What she had expected was for him to nod his head, give her an understanding smile and pack his bags to find some other girlfriend who didn't have this much drama. Though of course, Shweta knew, any other Indian girl would face the same slew of problems if she so much as dared to assert herself.
Instead, he takes her other hand as well and squeezing them both looks into her deep brown eyes. So, brown- could almost be mistaken for black.
"I love you." He says. Shaking and hoping she couldn't see it.
"What?" She says, jerking her hands from his, her mouth opening and closing like that of a fish.
"I said, I love you." He says, taking her by the waist and closing the space within them not wanting another goddamn inch of air to come in between them.
"I don't understand," She says, it's her turn to look bewildered. "But what I just said, all my arguments, what about those?"
"Very valid arguments. But I love you just the same." He says.
"Okay." She says, looking a bit uncertain, her nose reddening and still confused by the way in which the conversation had gone. Wanting to kiss her nose but holding back from doing so, he looks at her and asks, "Would it help if I elaborated on it?"
"Yeah." She says, nodding her head. "Please do." Her hands, though are moving of their own accord no longer pushing him away and finding them, placed against his chest instead.
"First, I didn't realize just how hard all of this had been. I mean Riddhi filled me in on how your mother had found out and I knew that wasn't going to be easy, but I clearly underestimated how hard it was. I'm sorry that you had to be answerable to so many people. It's really unfair how nobody gave me any shit about any of this but held you responsible for something that had me to blame just as much as you."
Shweta gives a strangled cough that sounds suspiciously like, Patriarchy.
"Second off, I'm sorry you had to fight with everyone in your life. You shouldn't have to and I don't want you to have to defend me every-time. The next time someone has a problem with me, I'll answer for it. And lastly, you're wrong. Your mother, Riddhi, and your sister are not all you have. You have me added to the list as well and I'm here to stay; if you'll have me. Even just as a friend." He says, and the eloquently put observations and response are enough to send her to tears.
"But why?" She says, miserably. The fights in the previous week having made her scathing enough to not even let an honest admission of love off the hook.
"Because." He smiles, removing one hand from her waist to brush away the sparkling droplets that had formed on the sides of her eyes, threatening to flow down any minute. "Because I love you."
She smiles back at him, her face breaking into a genuine grin lighting up her features. But her arguments are not yet done. "But I don't want to fight with anyone, anymore."
"Maybe you could talk to me about all of those fights and I could help you come to a more rational conclusion?" He asks.
"You want to listen to me talk about the fights I had with my mother, my best friend, and my sister?" She echoes incredulously.
"Yeah, why not." He says, his tone nonchalant and then pauses after which he adds, "On one condition, though."
"What?" She asks, all her defenses melting already.
"If we come to a sane conclusion that does not involve murder or theft, I get a real goddamn date." He says the last words said with so much impatience that she bursts out laughing.
And when she's done, the shadow in her eyes is lifted and she smiles mirthfully at him. "Hey." She says and he can sense the playfulness returning to her.
"Hey." He says, raising an eyebrow at the sudden change of the mood, still indulging enough to play along.
"Did I mention?" She says, raising her eyebrows her eyes large and wide trying to feign innocence.
Not sure where she was headed, he gives her a quizzical look. "Mention what?"
"That." She pauses. "I love you, too."
And with that, she stands on her tiptoes like she had done all those months ago, placing her lips on his.
A/n: Aaaah!
I hope you liked this chapter! Do let me know what you think of it. As always, feedback is highly appreciated.
shortgirlbigbook â¤ï¸