Ch.7 – Misunderstandings
Hey guys, I was too busy with exams and finals so I couldn’t continue writing for a while but you guys have been so patient that I couldn’t help feel bad about my absence. This is a long chapter so I hope you guys enjoy :)….And yeah, I hope you all saw the title change that now its a JannEdh/ReemArth fanfic 😀 I realized that people want the traditional couple from Ashoka and I saw a potential in Sumedh and Jannat’s story so here it is…It will take a while for Aliya to come but you will see her soon…now lets get reading!
“Mumma I am leaving!” Anya picked up a banana off the table and ran out.
“Wait!” Astha came rushing out of the kitchen in a pink apron as she handed Anya a box, “Your favorite. Fried paneer.”
Anya raised an eyebrow in suspicion, “And why so suddenly?” She knew her mother way too well to accept that she would cook for her out of the blue. There were many things her mom wasn’t good at, and cooking topped the list.
“For yesterday.”
Before Anya could make a move Astha planted a kiss on her forehead. A honk from outside was enough to get Anya running through the streets to catch her bus.
Scene Shift: College
“Hey Mahi! Hi Riya.” Anya waved to her friends as the college gates opened. Mahi was quick to respond and Riya even quicker.
“How was yesterday??” Riya’s words traveled faster than lightening and she saw the change in Anya’s expression. “I mean how was Valentine’s Day for you? Must have been good. Everyone’s day was at least better than mine for sure. I got dumped. That a*sh*le Ronak dumped me yaar.” Riya complained.
Anya got her composure back and all three began to fill inside the college corridors. The place was a nightmare come true. The halls were decorated. Decorated with posters and familiar faces. There was Anya, Sumedh, Aliya, and even Sid on some of the papers.
One posted right on the front wall had a broken heart on it, one side Sumedh and the other Aliya. In between them stood Anya’s picture wearing the same dress she had yesterday. There was no mistaking with the royal blue color. Everyone was clustered around the countless images on the walls and pillars, occasionally turning their heads to Anya.
Another poster she noticed was hideously photo shopped to one of the Kuch Kuch Hota Hai cover. Aliya’s face was stuck to Rani’s image as she sat on Shah Rukh Khan’ s lap, whose face was covered with Sumedh’s, and Anya’s image was photo-shopped on to Kajol’s body as she leaned on him. A muffled laugh came out of her mouth, instantly followed by a stream of hot tears.
All around she looked, she found mocking images of her and Sumedh and Aliya with quotes forcing her to answer the unasked questions. Some of them blamed her for coming in between Sumedh & Aliya while some blamed him for two-timing. The bit of her strength she had was broken when saw a poster with her face on some pregnant lady and Aliya’s on a woman with 2 kids in hand. Sumedh was photo-shopped on a man standing in between the two women saying, “You know nothing.” to a sullen Siddharth near by. That was the limit!
Riya’s POV:
I will not leave her! How could she! That b**ch. Riya ran down the halls in hopes of finding Fiza loitering with her useless friends. A good 5 minutes passed before she saw a beautiful dainty figure flaunting a rich green Michael Kors dress. That was undoubtedly the one she was looking for.
“Fiza!” Riya screamed, making her turn around. “How could you!” She lunged at her, nails out like a cat to catch hold of Fiza’s shoulder. Before she could lay even a finger on her Faisal pulled her back by the waist. He struggled to hold Riya as she fought against his body, legs flailing midair.
“Calm down Riya. What’s wrong with you?” Faisal was clearly irritated by the situation. When he felt she finally had no strength left to attack Fiza, he let her to the floor. “Stop acting like a wild animal and speak up.”
“Ask your sister. All this shit was done by her.” Riya retorted, pointing to the posters on the wall.
“Woah!Back off. You can’t just blame me for this.” Fiza said scrunching her face in disgust.
“Oh I sure can. You were the one recording all this yesterday.”
“You’re no innocent soul. You were there as well.”
“Recording?? Wait. Where were you guys?” Faisal shifted his gaze between the 2 girls.
Scene Shift: College Entrance (Sumedh’s POV)
Shit…What the? Sumedh was beyond surprised by the colorful blobs of paper posted everywhere as he entered. He saw the mocking images decorating the Academy. Pictures of him, of Aliya, who he secretly wished was here for him. It was so hard to stay without her for more than a few days considering the year they spent together. Even pictures of Sid were up, ones where he could be seen smiling a bit.
And then there was Anya. On every single poster she was there. Sumedh’s eyes traced to a particular image on the announcement board, larger than all the rest. It was their picture from yesterday, obviously their parents were cropped out. It was made to look as if Sumedh was holding Anya but in reality they just met each other for the first time. This is an utter mess.
He saw the looks he received from everyone as he walked around. Damn you coach. Not even a day back and I am the center star thanks to your family date. He cursed his father under his breath trying his best to avoid the earnest stares. Maybe I should check on her. He moved past the crowd to the lockers where he had seen Anya and Kabir yesterday. Kabir…Does it mean they weren’t together?? If they were, I am sure everyone would know better than to link his girl with someone else without getting bones broken. Guess they aren’t together after all. Then she’s a bit more welcome in my family…Or maybe their relationship is a secret. God knows. Just going to see if she is okay. He kept assuring himself as he neared the lockers. She wasn’t there and neither were her friends. Maybe class?
“Wohooo….Look who we have here.” Sumedh turned around to see a group of boys and girls snickering at him. “Searching for your girlfriend?” Another of them joked.
Gathering all his will not to stab the guy’s eyeballs Sumedh began to say, “Listen we…”
“You better go after her. She ran to the terrace. God knows on whose lap she will fall next. Or maybe the hard cold concrete road.” A girl in an ugly grey shirt tried to scare him and he admits, he WAS scared.
WTF! Suicide? For something so stupid? She’s crazy! Sumedh ran through the halls, trying to find the staircase. Obviously he hadn’t forgotten the building in just a year, but navigating around with such a big crowd was hard.
“This is all your fault! You did this!” He heard a distant but familiar voice. Riya?
“Blah blah blah…Keep barking. As if I care what you say.” Fiza was about to walk away but Faisal jerked her back.
“I swear if you are involved.”
“Faizu not you yaar. Why would I do that? As much as I hate nerds, I don’t waste my time on useless people. At least you believe me.” She was surely hurt by his mistrust.
“But what Riya says.”
“To hell with her! You’re acting as if she is the epitome of truth. I mean use a little sense. I care for MY friends. And if I were to do it, I would think better than to have a loud mouth like her know about it.” Fiza’s words were full of disgust aimed mainly at Riya.
Riya turned to Faisal and said, “Check her phone. She has all the pictures and videos. I saw her take them myself.”
There was pin drop silence before Sumedh joined them at the center of the circle, absolutely furious.
“No. No no no…” Fiza said in a low tone afraid of what was coming next. “Sumi we haven’t even met yet. Please don’t misunderstand any of this.” Fiza pleaded him as she moved closer.
“Whatever it is. If even an ounce of this is true, if you have anything, and I mean anything, to do with this, forget about ever meeting me.” Saying so in a low hiss Sumedh moved away from the crowd to the stairs, an invisible stab hurting at his heart as he walked off.
EL FIN!
-Ruch <3 🙂
