Ruhi's POV
Yesterday was exhausting, and we were too tired to go to college today. I freshened up and got ready, we are going to meet Isha di.
Radhika and I went to the hospital and met her, she was recovering really fast and will get discharged in a few days.
After meeting her, we went home. I changed into some comfortable clothes and decided to study for a while. I have a lot to cover up. I made myself some tea and started watching the lectures, while simultaneously making notes. I got stuck on one particular topic. I tried to understand it but couldn't. I decided to skip it for now, I will ask someone to teach it to me.
I studied for the next 3 hours and then did some chores. It was already late, so I made myself dinner and then decided to call Raj bhai. The last time we talked, he said that he was going to come to India soon, but here we are.
He picked up the call and we greeted each other. I asked, "When are you coming here? You know, mummy and papa said that they won't be able to come any time soon. Do you even know how much I miss you all?"
He said, "Ruhi, I know you are alone there, and I promised you that I will be coming to meet you, but...things here are not going as planned. It's my last year and I have a job too. So... "
I pleaded, "Please bhai, you have to come!"
"Try to understand, Ruhi, I want to come there, too! But it won't be possible until...next year. "
"What? That's not fair! I thought you would come on my birthday, if not that, then at least come here for Diwali! I don't wanna be alone during the festival!"
He sighed, "It's not easy to get a leave here, so I can't promise anything. Achha, come on now you sleep, I have some work. So, happy birthday in advance and byee!"
I sighed, "Yeah, thank you, bye!"
I hung up and muttered, "Maybe I've to celebrate this Diwali without my family."
I looked at the time, in just a few minutes, I will turn 19.
I don't know what we are going to do tomorrow. I don't know if Aditi would be able to buy some time for my special day. I sighed again, we were supposed to be in Lonavala right now. On my birthday, we were supposed to go on a trek. We worked so hard in planning this trip. Even though coming back from Lonavala was for the best, I still feel bad.
However, the few days did help us make a lot of memories. The games, the jokes, Radhika's birthday, movies, the swimming.... pool... The pool, as soon as I think of this word, I am reminded of him, of Siddharth. He was looking so...good. I hate myself for thinking this about him, but it's the truth, he is handsome.
The images of him, shirtless in the pool, his hair damp, tiny water droplets clung to his face, his body looked as though it had been carved by a sculptor, nothing less than a Greek god.
I still remember how water droplets were running down his face, to his chest, and his abs. He-
My thoughts were interrupted with the sound of my doorbell. I checked the time, it's exactly 12:00 a.m.
A smile crept on my face as I walked towards the door, knowing that my friends came to surprise me.
I opened the door, and my smile immediately vanished. No one. I looked around and found no one. Seriously? Is this the time for ding-dong-ditch? I sighed and closed the door, locking it.
I then received a call from my parents, they wished me and then we started talking about random things. After talking to them,I went to the bedroom.
I washed my face and was wiping it with my towel, when I heard some noises from the living room. I first thought that it was my imagination, but then I again heard a sound. Shit! Who the hell is it?!
I grabbed a hanger and a pillow for defense and opened my bedroom door. With slow and hesitant steps, I made my way to the living room, I could still hear the noises. Hugging my pillow, I reached out to turn on the lights. As soon as the lights were turned on, I heard people scream 'Happy birthday!'
Due to the sudden noise, I let out a scream, "Aaaaaa", my eyes shut.
I then realized, it was a surprise, and the voices were of my friends. I slowly opened my eyes. There they were, the 5 of them, holding a happy birthday banner, with Aditi holding the cake in her hands, everyone standing in a certain weird pose, everyone except Siddharth, obviously, he was standing in a corner, with his hands in his pocket, unbothered. I wonder why he is even here.
I was just looking at them in surprise, when Rishi mumbled, "At least react Ruhi! We are standing here in this awkward position!"
I blinked, and then realized, they are standing like this for too long now. Just like that, my face broke into a smile, I chuckled softly. "Oh my god, guys! I... I don't have words to say! Oh god! Thank you so much, yaar!", I said, as tears formed in my eyes. They finally stood up straight and Aditi kept the cake down on the table and both the girls came towards me, before they could reach me, I ran and threw myself on them. They wrapped their arms around me and whispered, "Happy birthday Ruhi!"
After breaking the hug, I looked at Naman and Rishi, standing there with wide grins on their faces. I went and side hugged both of them. I then turned towards Siddharth, as soon as I saw him, memories of just a few minutes ago came back to me, about me thinking about him, particularly his body.
I immediately looked away and cleared my throat. I again looked back at him, and he was already standing in front of me, before I could say anything, he moved past me, saying, "Let's cut the cake, we have to leave too."
I rolled my eyes. "If you are so desperate, you may leave! And wait, I would love to know how you agreed to come here in the first place!", I said.
"I had no intention of coming here too!", he said, throwing a glare at Naman and Rishi. Naman said, "He didn't know we were coming here; we tricked him."
I snorted, "So you are saying that you fooled a fool? Wow!"
Siddharth took a deep breath and said, "Can't you just cut the cake?"
I rolled my eyes and finally took the knife in my hand. I playfully threatened Siddharth with the knife, my eyes narrowed. He gave me an 'Are you serious?'
I smirked and proceeded on cutting the cake. They sang the happy birthday song. I first fed the cake to Radhika, then Aditi. They fed me back. Then Rishi and Naman. I cut a piece to feed Siddharth, one with more cream on it. I made my way towards him and offered him the cake, bringing my hand up to his lips.
He looked at me for a few seconds, a bit hesitant and then finally opened his mouth, just as he was about to take a bite, I put the cake on his face, covering his face with the cream. He instinctively closed his eyes, and I immediately moved back and clicked a photo of his face, saying, "The best birthday gift I could ask for!"
He slowly opened his eyes, stunned. We all burst into laughter looking at the joker in front of us. He narrowed his eyes at me. He moved forward, took the whole cake and I immediately took a step back. He moved towards me, and I ran to protect myself from the attack. I ran towards my room and was about to close the door behind me, when he placed a hand on the door, not allowing me to close the door. I could hear the others shouting, "Not the cake, don't waste it!"
"Go away!", I exclaimed.
"You really thought you could get away after this?", saying this, he put more pressure on the door, his veins popping out as he continued pushing the door. Those veins resulted in my distraction and my grip on the door loosened. He took the opportunity and pushed the door open. I took a few steps back in defense. He entered the room and closed the door behind him.
I gulped, mumbling, "No, no, no, don't do it! It was just a small prank!"
He took a step forward, I took a step back, this continued until I bumped into the wall behind me. He smirked, placing a hand on the wall beside me, caging me in between. My heart raced in the speed of a bullet train. He raised his hand to attack me with the cake, I closed my eyes, preparing myself for the attack.
A few seconds passed, no cake. I waited for a few more seconds, nothing. I opened an eye and looked at him. He looked at me for a few seconds more and then his smirk widened. Before I could know it, the cake was on my face. My eyes closed as a reflex action. I then heard a click; he took a picture too. I wiped the cream from eyes and opened them.
He was still standing at the same place, so close to me. He said, the smirk still plastered on his face, "It was just a small prank!"
A little bit of the cake was stuck on his fingers. He put the finger in his mouth, cleaning off the cake and said, "Payback's sweet, isn't it?"
I made a face and mumbled, "This was too much, you wasted the whole cake!"
"You set the bar yourself, I just took it to the next level."
He then leaned closer, his lips just inches away from my ear, he whispered, "Happy birthday Ruhi!"
I don't know why, but my stomach did that thing when he said my name. That's when I realized, this was the first time he took my name, and I couldn't quite understand why I liked it.
He moved away and out of the room, not before flashing me his victory smirk. I stood there, frozen.
I came out of the room too and saw everyone trying to suppress their laugh. I ignored them and went to the washroom to wash my face.
After the chaos finally ended, we all sat in the living room talking nonsense, I mean, what else do friends do?
I asked, "How did you guys come in? I remember locking the door."
Radhika shrugged, "You once gave me the spare key, so we used that."
I nodded, "Oh yeah, I did!"
Then we started planning what we'll do tomorrow.
So the plan is, we are going to the beach and are going to celebrate my birthday there.
After discussing a few more things, they decided to leave. After bidding farewell with them, I went in my room and laid on my bed. I sighed, a soft smile forming on my face as I recalled everything. The surprise, the cake cutting, Siddharth's face, the chasing, everything was fun.
I whispered, "Happy birthday Ruhi! " and slept.
I opened my eyes and sat up on the bed. The sun rays peeping from the curtains, the birds chirping in the distance, everything felt good. I stretched my arms and stood up.
For me, birthdays are always pleasant. A day dedicated to yourself, a day you should cherish. I completely pamper myself on my birthday.
The start of the day happens by visiting the temple. I showered and slipped into a simple yellow chikankari kurti and wide leg jeans.
I went to the Radha Krishna temple. I closed my eyes, bowed my head and prayed before God, for mine and my people's well-being and thanked him for everything. I opened my eyes, saying, "Jai Shree Radhe Krishna!".
I then sat in the temple for a while, the peace calming my mind. After that, I went to a cafe and ordered myself breakfast. I savored every bite, letting the flavors burst in my mouth. I like enjoying every moment peacefully on days like these, no rush, just me, all by myself.
I finished the food and went back home. We are going to the beach in the afternoon, so that it would be less crowdy.
We were supposed to meet in an hour, so I started getting ready. I wore a pretty white dress, with minimal accessories and makeup and was ready.
I called the others, and they were ready too. They were supposed to come at my place and then we will head to the beach. I didn't really know if Siddharth was joining us or not, though everyone asked him to.
In 5 minutes, I was outside my house, waiting for them. They arrived in a few minutes, with Rishi and Naman on the bike, Radhika and Aditi on the scooter and Siddharth on his bike. I was a bit taken aback by his presence; I didn't expect him to actually come with us. Seeing my expression, Rishi said, "We dragged him, but don't worry, he will neither ruin the cake, nor your face!" They all chuckled.
Siddharth said, not making eye contact with anyone, "I am just here because these guys hid my books and laptop!" He threw a glare at Rishi, who just gave him a bright smile.
Radhika said, "Ruhi you are looking really beautiful! Nothing less than a princess!", I smiled, doing a small curtsy, saying, "Why, thank you!"
Aditi said, "Anyway princess, please bring your chariot so that we can proceed."
We chuckled and I sat on my scooter, I tried starting it, but it didn't. I tried again, still not working. I said, "Guys, it's not working!"
They groaned and Radhika said, "Ruhi, it's high time, you need to buy a new one, this is happening too much now a days!"
"Yeah, I guess you are right! But, what now?"
They first looked at each other and then looked between me and Siddharth. As we understood what they were trying to say, both of us shouted, "No way!"
Naman said, "Guys, come on, it's not a big deal!"
After a bit of insisting, we both agreed. I sat behind him, making sure there is enough space between us. I said, "I hope you can ride it well; I don't want my birthday to be my death day."
He didn't say anything. He started the bike, and we were soon moving with full speed. The air hitting my face resulting in my hair flying, I felt like the heroine of a movie, the main character vibes this ride was giving me was just amazing. I opened my arms wide feeling the air and it felt so good.
We stopped by a restaurant, buying some food and stuff and then continued the ride.
We reached there after a few more minutes and found a quiet place under a tree. There were few to no people on the beach. We spread out a mat and sat on it. We placed the food items and other things on the mat. It looked like it was directly out from Pinterest. Radhika opened a square box and revealed a cake. We cut the cake, and I fed it to everyone. When it was Siddharth's turn, I said, "Don't worry, I won't do that again."
He ate the cake from my hand and said, "Yeah, because you've already seen the consequences."
I rolled my eyes but still smiled. Then we played songs on the speaker, and sang them on top of our voices, while simultaneously enjoying the food. Then came the song Ghungroo.
As the beats started, Rishi suddenly stood up and started singing
Met the sun in the sand
And the sea in the night
And we're feeling alright
Yeah, we're feeling alright
Radhika and I stood up too, moving in rhythm. Rishi continued singing along the lyrics
Kyu lamhe kharab kare
Aa galti behisaab kare
Do pal ki jo neend udi
Aa pure saare khwab kare
Aditi and Naman joined us too and we all were dancing and flaunting the best of our steps.
Kya karne hai umro ke waade
Ye jo rehte hai rehne de aadhe
Do baar nahi ek baar sahi
Ek raat ki karle tu yaari
We twirled and moved our hips along the beats, enjoying every bit as we sang the lyrics simultaneously.
Subah tak maan ke meri baat
Tu aise zor se naachi aaj
Ke ghungroo tut gaye
Ke ghungroo tut gaye
We did the hook step, shuffling our legs just like they did, trying our best to replicate the steps.
As the lyrics continued, we girls sang along,
Chhod ke saare sharm or laaj
Main aise zor se naachi aaj
Ke ghungroo tut gaye
Ke ghungroo tut gaye
We continued dancing as the song continued, dancing on every beat and finally stopped when the song came to an end.
All the while, Siddharth sat there, just looking at us. I couldn't help but ask, "You don't know how to dance?"
He replied, "I don't want to dance!"
"Yeah, it means you don't!", I smirked.
He rolled his eyes, saying, "Think whatever you want!"
Aditi suggested, "Guys, let's play truth and dare!"
We all agreed and obviously dragged Siddharth in it too. I grabbed an empty bottle of cold drink and spun it. It landed on Naman.
I asked, "Okay, truth or dare?"
He said, "Truth."
We thought for a few seconds, when Radhika asked him, "What's the most embarrassing thing you've done in a public place?"
Yeah, stupid questions, that are way better than questions like 'Who was your crush?' Or 'Who is your girlfriend?'
Anyway, we know the answer to these questions.
He thought for a while and then answered, "I was too young at that time, I went out for shopping with my dad, and I... I peed in the trial room! That day was way too embarrassing, my father shouted at me in front of everyone, and I cried a lot too. And I also had to buy the jeans I was trying at that time, even though it didn't fit me. So yeah, that's it! "
I made a face, saying, "That's pretty bad. "
I again spun the bottle, and it now landed on Radhika. She confidently said, "Dare!"
I said, "Okay, go up to a stranger and ask for his or her autograph as if they were a big celebrity."
She thought for a few seconds and then nodded her head, grinning mischievously. She stood up, grabbing a pen and as we didn't have a paper, she took the restaurant bill, and made her way to a girl who was casually roaming around.
She stopped her and said, "Omg! Is this really you?! I can't believe I am meeting you! I am your biggest fan! "
The girl blinked a few times, and then suddenly broke into a smile. "You recognize me? Wow! You are my first fan! I can't tell you how happy I am feeling right now! "
Radhika's smile faltered, but she masked it with a wider grin, "Can I please get your autograph? I would love to show it to my friends!"
The girl's smile widened, she immediately took the pen and paper and gave her the autograph.
Radhika smiled as she saw her happiness, she said, "Thank you so much! I will never forget this day!"
Saying this, she came back towards us, grinning ear to ear. Aditi said, "Girl! You just made her day! "
Radhika said, "I know right! I feel so good, right now! Thanks Ruhi for this dare, I brought a smile on her face!"
I just flipped my hair and said, "Anytime!"
We chuckled and continued playing, this time, the bottle landed on Siddharth.
"Dare!", he declared confidently. I smirked, saying, " Okay, you have to dance!", to which Rishi added, "A couple dance!"
My smirk widened and I said, "Better!", to which, Radhika added, " With Ruhi!"
"Perfe-", my smirk faltered. "What? No way!"
Radhika said, "Come on Ruhi, it's just a dance and you are so good at it!"
I thought about it for a moment, even if I agreed, he would never. Hence, I agreed on dancing with him.
He raised his eyebrows and looked at me. I bit my lower lip nervously.
Please say no!
I don't know what he saw in my expression, but he said, "Okay, I will! Let me show you my dance skills!"
Rishi and Naman's jaw dropped, they together said, "You agreed?"
Siddharth replied, "I don't like anyone underestimating me. I have to show her my talent, right?"
Rishi said, "What happened to you Sid? The old you would never have said that!"
He just rolled his eyes and stood up. I frowned but stood up anyway.
We stood in front of each other, he moved closer, I did too. He placed his hand on my waist and looked at me, making sure I was comfortable. I placed my hand on his shoulder and slipped the other in his hand. Aditi played the song Ajab si.
I took a deep breath and looked up into his eyes. Why are they so beautiful? We started dancing as the lyrics started.
Aankhon mein teri ajab si, ajab si adayein hain
Ho, aankhon mein teri ajab si, ajab si adayein hain
Time seemed to slow down as we started dancing. Our steps were slow and deliberate, matching the rhythm of the song.
Dil ko bana de jo patang, saansein yeh teri woh hawaayein hain
My heartbeat fastened due to our proximity and I was completely lost in his eyes. We moved our feet in sync, the steps were so smooth that it felt like we had practiced it a thousand times.
Aankhon mein teri ajab si, ajab si adayein hain
Ho, aankhon mein teri ajab si, ajab si adayein hain
Who would have thought this guy could dance so well? So gracefully? We sway side by side, maintaining eye contact.
Dil ko bana de jo patang, saansein yeh teri woh hawaayein hain
He then twirled me around, once, twice amd thrice, and then pulled me closer, wrapping his arms around me, I instinctively wrapped my arms around his neck.
The world seemed to fade away in that moment. Looking in his eyes, the song now a distant hum, long forgotten. We stood there, lost in each other when we heard the sound of clapping and applauding.
He came out of his daze and abruptly pulled away, making me lose balance. I stumbled back but balanced myself just in time. He didn't even look at me and sat down with the others. I observed him for a few seconds, noticing the way he was avoiding eye contact, but shrugged, thinking he might have got a bit awkward because he doesn't really do such things.
I sat with the others and Radhika said, "Wow Siddharth, I didn't know you danced so well!"
Naman said, "I know him since class 11, and I've never seen him like this!"
I noticed Rishi looking at Siddharth with a warm smile, he seemed really happy seeing Siddharth dance for some reason.
Radhika said, "Well, well, let's not forget about the chemistry they shared. I mean they ate it, guys!"
They all agreed to Radhika and complimented us and teased us, and we skillfully ignored the last part.
We then decided to play something else, when Naman suggested, "Guys, there they are playing volleyball, should we join them?"
We looked at where he pointed and saw that a group of people were playing volleyball, jumping and laughing as they passed the ball. We agreed and went towards them.
Rishi went near one of them and asked, "Hey, if you don't mind, can we join you guys?"
He looked at all of us, and then at his friends, and then finally agreed. We smiled at him and thanked him for letting us play.
At this moment, I don't even need to mention Siddharth, he definitely denied, and we didn't force him.
Aditi, Naman and I were on one side, while Rishi and Radhika were on the other. Siddharth was standing just a few feet away from where I was, busy scrolling his phone.
The game started and we played skillfully. It was a 15 points match. As we continued playing, we were ahead of them and just needed 2 more points to win.
I can say that I am good at this game, so is Aditi. In class 10, our school won the interschool volleyball tournament, with Aditi as the captain. We were infamous in school for our co-ordination.
They did the serve, and the ball flew towards my side. But then, I realized, it was going to hit Siddharth, who was still busy in his phone. My eyes widened and I rushed towards him and jumped in front of him, hitting the ball away with my wrist, which did hurt.
The ball bounced to the side. I turned around and saw a wide-eyed Siddharth. My wrist was hurting, so I twisted and massaged if, as I scolded him, "Are you out of your mind? The ball was going to hit your head! If you are not playing, at least move aside!" My eyes filled with anger. I gave him a glare and didn't wait for his reply. I made my way back to my position and the game continued.
It hurts my wrist whenever I hit the ball. I ignored the pain and played the game. Guess what? We won!
Then I noticed Radhika and Rishi talking about something and Radhika's face looked a bit pale. She noticed my gaze and looked at me. I raised my eyebrows in question. She blinked in assurance, signaling that everything was alright, I nodded in response.
Siddharth had already gone back to the place where we sat in the beginning.
After the game ended, we went towards the guy who allowed us to play with them. Rishi shook hands with him with a smile and said, "Thanks man! We enjoyed a lot!"
The guy smiled back, saying, "The pleasure is all mine!"
Just as we were going to leave, the guy said, "Hey, it's almost sunset, why don't you guys stay for some time, we are doing a bonfire."
We looked at each other and Naman asked, "What say?"
Radhika replied, "Let's stay!"
We all agreed, and I went back to where we sat before, to grab hoodies for me and my girls, which we brought for if we feel cold. As I was going there, pain shot up in my wrist and I groaned. Ignoring the pain, I reached there and saw Siddharth, chilling. Here I am roaming around with a swollen wrist because of him, and he is doing what? Scrolling through his phone? So ungrateful!
I reached there and aggressively shuffled around in the bag kept beside him, muttering, "Yaha mein dard se tadap rahi hu or kuch logo ko thank you bolna bhi nahi aata!" Throwing a glare at him, I continued, "Bloody ungrateful people!"
He ignored me. HE BLOODY IGNORED ME AFTER I SAVED HIM!
I sighed in exasperation and grabbing the hoodies in my other hand, turned to leave. But I suddenly felt a hand grip my arm. I turned around to face him and he pulled my wrist towards himself and started examining it. Thank God, he finally decided to thank me. He said, "Hmm, it really is bad. Who asked you to save me, huh?"
I snorted. Here I thought he is going to thank me. I jerked my hand back, saying, "Get lost! You monster!"
He again grabbed my wrist and kept something in my hand. I looked at it, it was a pain relief spray, without making eye contact, he said, "Use it, it will ease your pain and... also...umm...th-thank y-you."
I smirked and dramatically said, "What did you say? I didn't hear you, repeat it once, will you?"
He rolled his eyes, saying, "I- I don't repeat myself"
Still smirking, I shook my head and said, "Anyway, you are not sitting here anymore, come on, everyone is sitting there by the bonfire."
"I am not coming."
"That was an order, and you can't deny the birthday girl!"
He sighed and stood up. We went to the bonfire and sat with the others. The other group introduced themselves. The guy who invited us, his name was Akash, and others were Piyush, Sakshi, Aditya, Shiv, Rohan, Neha, Tamanna, Kartik and a few others whose name I didn't catch.
We were all casually chatting, when the Piyush guy brought a guitar. Radhika's eyes sparkled as soon as she saw the guitar, but she didn't say anything. I noticed that and said, "Hey, would you let us borrow the guitar, my friend Radhika is really good at it."
He immediately agreed and gave the guitar to me. However, Radhika was a bit hesitant, she said, "No, it's okay, I am not that good at it."
Rishi insisted, "Come on, Radhika! You have to sing a song, for the birthday girl!"
Everyone cheered, "Yes, for the birthday girl! Radhika! Radhika!"
She raised her hand in surrender, and said smiling, "Okay! I'll play it!"
Write a comment ...