09: heavenly

Nila was not going to lie and say she wasn't excited to see Vijay. Because she was. As soon as she landed in Chennai, she thought of seeing his face. It set off loud blaring alarms in her head but for now, she was going to ignore it.

Nila tried to peep inside the bus to get a sense of where Vijay was standing but she couldn't spot him. The crowd wasn't bad but it wasn't see-through either. She climbed in and was glad to have the conductor right next to her. She quickly got her ticket and found a good handle to hold onto it.

Then, she resumed her search.

Her eyes caught the familiar brown pair of eyes somewhere in the middle of the bus and she smiled. Nila waved at him and only then spotted another pair of eyes looking at her. Vijay whispered something to the other guy next to him after which his friend glanced at her again and smiled. It was almost a smirk. She couldn't tell.

When the next stop came, the human traffic cleared out a bit and she could see the rest of the guy. Vijay's friend was lean, had silky-soft hair and perfect jawlines — all angles and planes. He was taller than Vijay and lankier but he was the kind of man artists would pick as their muses. But even though he was handsome and model material, her eyes preferred the rugged messy beauty of Vijay.

They moved next to her. "Hi," Vijay said. They had been bickering like old friends in the chat but it felt like they regressed back to their initial stages of awkwardness. She hated it. Nila was so bad at rapport building and small talk so she had been so glad that phase had been over with Vijay. She couldn't imagine doing that again. "This is Krish, my best friend from college," he said, pointing to his friend.

Vijay laid open a palm towards her side. "And this is Nila, my favourite garbage can." He winked at her.

Nila grimaced and knocked him with her elbow. "Is this how you introduce me to your friend? What will he think of me?" she hissed, breaking the ice, thankfully.

Vijay chuckled. "Chill, Nila. I told him about you already. He knows who you are."

"And I hope you said good things."

Krish looked back and forth between the both of them and tucked in a smile. "Oh, he did. He wouldn't shut up actually. I've never seen Vijay so whi—ow, man!" He hopped on the leg that Vijay kicked him on.

"Don't listen to him."

"So, Krish, how long have you known Vijay?"

He adjusted the bag on his shoulders and that's when she noticed how heavy it looked. What was he carrying inside? Bricks to build his classroom?

"From undergraduate. He used to flunk in his papers because he never used to attend classes. He was always on the ground, practising and training his ass off. The profs told him he needs to at least do the bare minimum in his academics so he shoved his big ego aside and asked the topper of the class for help."

"Oh, who?"

Vijay snickered and Krish was disappointed that Nila couldn't tell it was him. She knew but she liked to pull his leg.

"Me, obviously. I am the topper."

"Wow, I'm glad you could help Vijay. He must have struggled a lot without you," she said, sounding thoughtful. Vijay only kept laughing and Krish wasn't pleased. "I'm sorry, I couldn't help it. I really do respect your grades. Not everyone can do it. Some try, like me."

Krish waved her off. "Nah, that's fine. It's nothing new. I get constantly mocked by him and Farah."

"Man, you make it seem like we are evil. It comes from a place of love. We love your nerdy ass."

"Yeah, yeah, I know," Krish said. "So, as I was saying, as I helped Vijay, we built a nice kind of friendship. He was very helpful in a lot of ways. He is a good friend that way. With him, came Farah. They were like a package. And ever since, we've become the best of friends. It was a miracle we got into the same college."

"Yeah, that rarely happens. My undergrad friends and I are all split up even though we are in the same city."

"Aw, that sucks. You can at least hangout when you are free," Vijay offered. Nila didn't worry much about it but the fact that Vijay wanted to comfort her was touching. "Oh, your stop is here."

Nila's disappointment must have shown on her face. "I'll text you," Vijay whispered, leaning in a bit. She saw Vijay everyday and she would see him in the evening as well so she wasn't too worried about him. She liked talking to Krish because he was surprisingly one of the few people she didn't have to force herself to keep the conversation going. It was easy to talk to him and he was interesting. Nila wanted to be friends with him too.

"Will Krish be joining you this evening?"

"No, he's going home. Why?"

"He's nice. He's fun," she shrugged and Krish looked up from his phone, a wide grin on his face. Vijay didn't look too pleased with it.

Nila moved towards the doors. "It was nice meeting you, Krish. We'll hang, if Vijay's not too grumpy about it," she said, making Krish laugh. Vijay rolled his eyes. But she knew she wasn't wrong. The look on his face was disappointment and possessiveness. "I'll see you in the evening, Vijay."

He waved.

Nila got down and looked at him as the doors closed shut. She smiled to herself.

He was too cute.

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As soon as her professor left the room, she turned towards Sanjay, whose seat was in the back row unlike hers in the front. He was saying something to Maya, making her roll her eyes and hit him with her Kindle.

"I just said that's so unrealistic!" Sanjay said, as Nila walked up to them.

"And remind me again, who asked for your opinion?" Maya said. Nila paused in front of them, a feeling the conversation was going to get interesting.

"It's bad for your health, Maya. I am merely concerned for my best friend's love life," he said. "I am telling you, no man will go to the trouble of villainising a rival mafia gang just because one of the member happened to 'look' at his girlfriend."

"If he wanted to, he would," Maya shrugged.

"God, this shit is all over my Instagram. I get it but that is in case of gestures like peeling oranges or pomegranates or leaving cute little notes and bringing flowers."

Maya glanced at him like he had grown a new head. "Wow, you'd do all that for someone?"

"Obviously. If I love the person, isn't it the bare minimum?" he asked.

"Wow, okay, um, wow. I thought you wouldn't since you act too nonchalant and arrogant to do things like that."

Sanjay winced. He visibly winced and Nila had never seen him take a hit so badly. "I'm your best friend, I thought you'd think better of me, Maya."

"Then act like it."

Sanjay glanced at Nila and placed a palm over his chest. "Why is she doing this to me, Nila? Too many arrows to the heart."

Nila rolled her eyes. "Don't be dramatic. I need you to come with me."

"No, I'm wounded. I am in pain." He flailed his arms.

Maya scoffed. Nila simply took his arms and dragged him out of the chair. "How do I deal with you every single day?" she huffed, pushing him away when he put all his weight on her.

"Hey, Sanjay?" Maya called, placing her Kindle down and looking hesitant.

"What?"

"I agree with you on that... the unrealistic part," she said. Sanjay grinned. "But just so you know, this is fiction. There's a reason it's called that."

"Yeah, I know. But don't let it get to your head."

"I'm not that naive," Maya deadpanned before going back to her chapter. The conversation was over.

Sanjay had a disgusting grin plastered on his face as if he won the international debate competition. It made Nila shudder.

"Okay, come down from your high of winning an argument with Maya. I need you to focus!"

"What's up?" he asked, calming down. They were in the stairwell and no one was around. She didn't want anyone asking questions or overhearing them.

"Can you please please tell me not to fall for this guy?" she said, finally giving in. "Tell me love is horrible. Tell me love is disgusting. Tell me it is pain. Tell me love is not worth it, that it's a romanticised idea of suffering a bored poet created to delude people into thinking we all need it."

He framed her body with his palms cupping her shoulders. "Okay, deep breaths, Miss Wannabe Love Cynic."

She had been so distracted in class today. All she could think of was Vijay and their conversation. His rolled sleeves of his white shirt. His disobedient curls. The disapproval on his face when she showed interest in his friend.

Looking back, she'd never openly expressed her desire to hang out with Vijay, somewhere out of the bus. It must have stung. But she kinda revelled in the fact that he cared enough to let it sting. It was a crooked thought but she blamed it on side effects. Side effects of having a crush.

Sanjay leaned on the wall. "Okay, is it the bus dude? Damn, Nila. You really went and fell for him, huh?"

"No! I didn't say that. I mean, I haven't fallen for him yet. And yet is a big word. But I can see it happening, Sanjay. It's terrifying. But I also want to give in for the first time. On the other hand, I know the situation at home. It will never happen even if it happens, you get it? I am just so torn. If this is not going anywhere, I don't want to lead him on or anything, you know?"

"Did he flirt with you or explicitly show interest in you?"

"Not exactly. He calls me pretty sometimes but you do too. He teases me and pulls my leg all the time and you do the same. He has been a little possessive but you get like that sometimes too when I talk to Maya's brother for too long."

"That's because I don't like to share my best friend with assholes who only pretend to be your friend to score some good sex." Sanjay said, his eyes turning a little dark. "God, I hate him. I hate that he is Maya's brother. Can't believe they share genes."

"I know."

"Sorry, let's get back to the topic," he straightened his back. "So, maybe right now he is looking to get to know you. If he is genuine, he won't explicitly be flirting with you in fear of accidentally making you uncomfortable. Unless you encourage him."

"Um... I actually don't know. I think there was this one incident with his jacket where he did flirt with me," Nila said, trying not to turn pink at the memory. "I just don't want to lead him on and put him in the friend zone later."

"Forget about leading him on. Focus on getting to know him first. He might be an asshole too, you know. So don't get too excited. You'll know what to do once you spend more time with him, okay? You'll know whether he's worth all the trouble," Sanjay said.

"Really?"

"Yes, babe. And don't fight against it if you feel it so strongly. Allow yourself to feel it. Your parents have no say in it." Sanjay put an arm around her and pulled her into a side hug. "You deserve someone who loves you as much or more than I do."

Nila laughed. "Thanks but the last line was so corny."

"I stole it from Maya's book," he said, very seriously.

Nila pursed her lips and looked at him for a second before both of them burst out laughing. "It sounds like a Dad line."

"You know what? It was."

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head or tail?

head.

Nila pocketed her phone and climbed into the first entry of the bus. Vijay was right next to the driver's seat, having one leg stretched out abnormally. When Nila came, he pulled his leg back so that she could take its place.

"Hi."

"Hi, how was college today?" he asked. She liked Vijay in white shirts. It looked heavenly on him. Honestly, he should wear it more often.

"Good. Yours?" Nila had thrown some change into her bag because she was lazy to stash it in her wallet and now she was paying for it. She didn't know where the coins went.

"Yeah, alright," he said. When the conductor came to them, Nila was still searching. But Vijay handed a twenty-rupee note to him and told her stop's name. He got the ticket and handed it to her. "So, you looked pleased to meet Krish today."

Nila hid a smile. "First, thanks for the ticket. And second, yes, I was. You should bring him more often."

Vijay made a disgruntled noise. "That's not going to happen."

"Why not?"

"It was a one time thing. We went for a movie last night and my mother emotionally blackmailed him to stay the night. He lives very far."

"Oh, bummer. It's fine. He gave me a request on Instagram. I'll text him." Nila said, smirking.

As expected, Vijay whipped his head towards her. "He did what?"

"Yes. He didn't tell you?"

"That fucking idiot." He ran a hand through his hair.

"Is he single?"

"Nila."

She gave him an overly sweet smile. "Yes, Vijay?"

"You're doing this on purpose, aren't you?"

She tilted her head. "What do you think?"

"It's just not fair, you know. I knew you first! You knew him for two minutes before you already asked him to hang out with you. How do you think it will make me feel?" Vijay said.

"I was kidding. Okay?" Nila said. Vijay relaxed. "I saw your face when I said that and I wanted to see it again. I'm sorry if I made you upset. I was just... teasing. Don't get serious, okay?"

"I'm not serious."

She snorted. "Yeah, sure."

"I'm not."

"Like I believe you when you won't even look me in the eye."

Vijay held her chin and turned it toward him, making the air leave her lungs. His touch was cold against her warm skin and it was like a soothing balm. She wanted to lean into his touch. "I'm not serious. I am not mad about it. I am not upset too. Alright? I know how to take a joke, Nila. I just didn't know it was a joke all this time."

His warm brown eyes softened like chocolate as they looked into Nila's black ones.

"Fine," she said, swatting away his hand and quickly turning her head to the other side. Gosh, why was it so hot suddenly? She blew through her mouth a few times.

Nila searched her bag and fished out the sports drink she had picked up on the way to the bus stop. She gave it to him. "Here, I got this for you."

"Why?"

Nila rolled her eyes. "To keep it in your room and pray to it." Vijay looked puzzled. "To drink obviously!"

"You didn't have to," he said, but there was a soft smile on his face. She loved those smiles.

"But I wanted to. I was grabbing a drink for myself and I saw this in the shop and thought of you. So I bought it. It's no big deal."

"Thank you." His hands brushed hers on the railing.

"Just so you know, I don't buy things for just anyone. And definitely not for someone I talked to for only two minutes."

Vijay looked towards the front. He didn't say a word.

He just smiled her favourite smile.

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a/n: long chapters or short chapters?