You could just stare at her and fall in love.Perfectly full pink lips.A cute nose which was just a tad too big for her face.Her complexion was like golden-yellow cream with a pinkish strawberry tinge.The top of her nose merged beautifully into her forehead and spread its wings in the form of long perfectly formed black eyebrows.They seemed to have been painted by an artist with undying love and patience.And just below her eyebrows was the exquisite set of eyes which surpassed the artist's delightful creations in their beauty.Two black pearls,two deep pools of magic-protected by delicate long eyelashes.You would want to be transformed into tiny crystal-clear drops of water,so that you could rest on those eyelashes and never want to leave.She had that big smooth forehead that one's mom would just love to kiss before putting her baby to sleep.
It was just too easy to fall in love with Priyanka.
And there she was in Suyash's car;in a glittery pink salwar with a white dupatta.Her kohl-lined eyes gave Suyash a high which he never got even after downing 3 bottles of beer.The soft pink lipstick beautifully accentuated the natural pristine pinkness of her lips.The sensual fragrance of her apple-scented shampoo and Davidoff perfume turned him on in a way he had experienced rarely with other women,if at all.He just felt her curling into a ball and laying in her lap all night.Her fingers could be caressing his hair .He could be looking mesmerized at the pale moonlight being reflected off her smooth face,and it could light up his whole night!
He just had to get that kiss today,dammit.
They were passing a McDonalds' outlet when Priyanka spoke."Suyash,pull over.I am famished.I think I could use some McVeggie."
"Of course."smiled Suyash and started to pull over into the driving lot."You want to go inside or would you like it in the car itself?"
"I don't feel like getting out of the car now,"she moaned.
"No problem, sugar!!!!!"Suyash said as he sprinted out of the car to place Priyanka's order.
Fifteen minutes later Suyash was back with a Coke and McVeggie,expecting to see a big smile on Pri's face.What he saw knocked the wind out of his lungs.
On his windshield,the word screamed in big letters!!!"SUY-ASS"!!!!!!!!!!!!!
There was no sign of Priyanka.
With a sinking feeling in his gut,he came closer to his dad's car.The seats had been scrawled on too.With the choicest abuses.
"YOU UGLY FILTHY TWO-TIMING DIPSHIT!!" was the most respectable among them.
What the .....??
Suyash,on instinct,started trying to rub them off.Damn!!!!!!!Permanent ink!!!!!
Heaven was witness to the amount of coaxing and cajoling it had taken him to wrest the keys to the Lancer from his father's hands.He had made all the routine promises of how he wouldn't let a scratch fall on his car.How the hell was he gonna explain THIS??!!!!!Life had just scrambled the letters of the word THIS to hand him SHIT!!!!Serious big-time SHIT!!!
He must have been sitting dazed and clueless in the car for about five minutes,when his cellphone beeped.It was a text from Priyanka.
"Hi Suy-Ass,I hope u lykd the new interior decoration of ur car.It certainly luks a lot jazzier nw,dsnt it?U chose to 2-tym wid the wrong gal,shithead!!!!This is sumthin 4 u 2 remember me by.And dnt try 2 do nythin nasty or stupid with me or Rishab.Or else,a breakup betwn u and Shruti is just a phone call away.GN and gudby,Suy-Ass.Lots of luv..muaaaaahs!!!"
How the hell did Pri find out?And no way could he let her open her mouth to Shruti.His birthday was just round the corner.And Shruti had promised him a Christian Dior limited edition watch.No way could he allow himself to lose out on that.
Shruti suddenly started seeming a whole lot closer to the ideal gf as the prospect of losing her started looming large in his mind.He paused and looked at the sms one more time before deleting it.He just had to accept it.That witch had knocked him out cold.
***
One hour ago
Priyanka was all dressed and waiting for Suyash to pick her up,when Rishab's sms arrived.
"I know u r mad@me.But for chrissakes,plz check ur mail.U'l undrstnd evrythin."
She wondered what Rishab meant as she logged into her Gmail.The very first item in her Inbox was a mail from Rishab,with a video attachment.
She clicked on the attachment and her eyes grew wide with wonder as she saw Suyash's face in it and heard what his face was saying.
"Hey Rishab,I heard you and Priyanka had a misunderstanding or something?Tch..Tch.Too bad.Hey,can I be of any help to you?You know,like,convincing her you ain't the bad guy?Telling her it's me who to watch out for????"
.....Snatches of the conversation between Rishab and Suyash that morning followed.
Rishab's voice could be heard saying-"Listen to me,Suyash!!!!Priyanka is a damn sensitive girl!!Can't you imagine what she'll go through when she learns the truth?It's gonna shatter her.She loves you like hell.Thinks the world of you.She doesn't deserve this.You know that.So I'm begging you,just stop playing..."
Suyash interrupted-"Life isn't fair and life's no fairy-tale,partner!!!I will get rid of her when I'm done with her,do you hear?Until then you can keep your moral science lectures to yourself." Suyash's face turned away for a second,then turned back,his smirk back on his face.
"And besides,look at the bright side." he continued."When I'm finished with her,she is gonna be needing a shoulder to cry on.You can then just sneak your butt in and do the needful.You can be her rebound guy.I'm actually doing you a favour,hot-shot!And yeah,you are welcome!!"
Rishab had switched on the camera of his phone after getting off the call with Megha.He had put the cellphone in his shirt pocket,with the camera side facing Suyash so that it could capture all what he was saying.Rishab had known the moment he had seen Suyash approaching him that Suyash would probably say something which would blow his cover.And he hadn't been wrong!!!!!
Priyanka was aghast at what she had just witnessed on her computer screen.Just then her cell beeped again.It was Rishab's text again.
"Hey hav u seen it yet?If not,plz do @ d earliest.It's really important!!!U'll see dat I wasn't lying about Suyash."
Her eyes started stinging.But she fought her tears back.There would be time for that later.Now wasn't the time to get mad.Now was the time to get even.
She texted back."I'm so sorry Rishab.I shud hav blived u.Plz 4give me.N dont worry abt me.I'm alrite.But very soon Suyass is not gonna be.Dis I prmise u."
***
Priyanka was sitting with her knees close to her chest,arms curled around her legs.A blank stare sat in her swollen,red eyes.Getting over Suyash was more painful than she had ever imagined.The wet pillows and the crumpled bedsheets had been her sole companions as she had cried herself to sleep last night.
She loved him so much that she never wanted the smile on his face to disappear.Seeing him happy made her so happy.She had been desperately trying to save money for buying a birthday gift for Suyash.Besides skipping lunches and evening snacks,she had been walking daily 5 kms from college to her home to save on the auto charges.Bit by bit she had accumulated the three grands necessary to buy the Titan white dial leather band watch which she had caught Suyash stare longingly at,while they had been to the mall once.
And whenever Suyash had been sad,it made her so,so sad.Every emotion in him was amplified in her several times,because she loved him.He didn't deserve her love and she didn't deserve to be put in overwhelming emotions of pain because of him.Her heart literally felt as if it had disappeared.Just an empty black hole existed.Sucking up her entire existence.
Several emotions were flooding her mind now.Anger,regret,bitterness.But the biggest one was sadness.She again felt herself on the verge of crying.Tears started brimming at the corners of her eyes.She even started to shake a little.She felt nervous lest someone should catch her crying.
"Now we can't have you dying of dehydration,can we now?"A voice called out from above her.
She looked up to see Rishab looking down at her with his characteristic silly grin on his face."Let's see,you must have shed 20 gallons of ears already!!!"Rishab continued."It would be such a shame to see tomorrow's news carrying the headlines of 'Girl cries and dies of dehydration after being betrayed by a loser'."
A silent tear rolled down her cheek.Rishab racked his brains to come up with something funny or outright silly to say.But all the swiping of his ingenuity card at his brain's ATM resulted in just invalid transactions."Still thinking about that shit-head Suyass?" was all he could come up with.Why his wit and inventiveness always took unannounced leaves in these kind of situations was something he could never fathom.
Just something insanely smart or freakishly silly to crack those beautiful pink lips into a smile,dammit!!!!!
She sat quiet for about ten seconds before she finally managed to speak between sobs."I've been so crazy,Rishab.And stupid.I should have seen where he was taking me,but I just chose to be blind.I should have believed you.I should never have let him talk me into this.But I just screwed things up!!All I can do is screw things up!!!"
"Well,you managed to screw that ass as well!!"Rishab quipped,and then immediately realising the literal meaning of what he just said,added with a sheepish grin,"In a strictly figurative sense,I mean!"
Rishab saw the corners of Priyanka's lips twitch a bit.She was beginning to smile.It was working,dammit!!!!
"He had it coming,don't you think??"
"Hell,yeah!!!"Rishab grinned a grin of satisfaction."Now he'll think twice before pulling his cheap shit on other gals."
"But none of this would have happened had I not stupidly believed every word he said.I just can't even begin to explain how he made me feel.Cheated.And used.Gaawd!!!!Can't I just do anything right???"She cried out in frustration.Rishab noted with dismay that her smile had evaporated.
He sat down next to her,wondering what to say.He was quickly beginning to realize that nursing a girl's heart back to health after it has been bruised and fractured wasn't exactly his cup of tea.It was a mighty difficult thing to understand what to say which could provide her any semblance of comfort.And he used to think understanding Quantum Mechanics derivations was tough.
"Actually,you do a plenty of things right.You get more marks than I do,you have friends who adore you and..And you pulled off the lie about our fake relationship perfectly.Thanks to you,I got Megha.And no thanks to you,I broke up with her."
"Whhaa...at?" She looked at him,her big teary eyes now surprised."Why?I thought you liked her."
"Yeah.I figured if a lie is what is needed to get me close to a woman,I'm better off without her.I mean,I'm no better than Suyash,if I stick around with her,having to depend on the crutch of a fake fling with you to keep her interested in me."
"You could have told her the truth.And seen if she still likes you."
"I couldn't have told her the truth without making me look like a monumental loser,could I now?I mean which chic would hang out with a guy who asks his best friend to pretend to be his gf?Just so that he could hook up with other women.Definitely not Megha."
"No.Rishab.You are much more than that!"She said in a sweet affectionate voice which made Rishab's heart soar."You look out for your friends.I got hurt before.Another stupid loser had ditched me when I was fifteen.I was crushed then.Do you know why?Because then I didn't have you to watch my back.But now I do."Saying this,she reached out,took his hand in hers and squeezed it tightly.Rishab felt like having just reached dizzying heights in a hormonal roller-coaster ride.
"He he.Thanks."He somehow managed to blurt out."So you coming down to my place tomorrow?"
They were supposed to complete their Digital Electronics lab assignment tomorrow at Rishab's home.
"Sure,I'll be there."She forced a smile.
To be continued...
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