Raglak Few Shots by Bela: Cocktail (Shot 5)

Okay, So Bela is here and so sorry for the delay guys. You see, I was preparing for an entrance plus my last exam didn’t go REALLY well which made me kinda depressed. I hope you all understand.

So yes, coming to the winner, these three are on the top in this order:

1. KitKat (her ideas were really close to what I had in mind)
2. Ria (some really romantic and really original ideas)
3. Guitargirl (I loved her idea of including the gang in Raglak’s meeting but as I said, I would do it my way)

Congratulations to the winners, they get NOTHING! 😛

And their ideas will all be incorporated slowly, throughout the stay (Raglak are humans, how much will they enjoy in a day? 😛 )

So yes, here we go!

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“Thoos le, Thoos le. Aur thoos le. Le, ye bhi thoos le!” Kunj said to Twinkle as he handed her a pakora. She was frantically shoving food down her mouth and snatched the pakora from Kunj’s hand and passed him a thankful look. He smiled sarcastically and looked around to find something else to give to his lovely lady (read: Bhukkad).

We had all gone for a volleyball game and just returned, sweaty and famished. While we were taking turns at the bathrooms, Twinkle decided to bathe last, preferring to help herself to food. Joining her in her noble quest were Sanskaar and I and assisting us, was Kunj. Swara was showering since an hour and I had half a mind to stop the water supply to her bathroom………………..

SPLASH! I turned around to see what the noise was about. Turns out, Twinkle was very dissatisfied with the service Kunj was providing and had thrown a glass of water on his face. Sanskaar quickly snatched the cutlet dipped in Schezwan sauce from his hands and guffawed at the sight of Kunj.

Kunj took the sauce bottle and toppled it over Sanskaar’s head in anger. The latter shrieked as he punched the former. Twinkle decided to poke her nose in between so she took another glass of water and poured it over Sanskaar’s head in order to clean it. Sanskaar looked at her in shock and then threw a cutlet at her which, amazingly, went in her mouth. She choked on it and Kunj, infuriated at this insult to his beloved, poured vinegar over Sanskaar’s head next. Sanskaar screamed in anger and then threw a fork at him which missed its mark and fell on a cushion on which, unfortunately, Kabir sat at the next moment. He yelled in pain and hopped about the room with his hand on his butt, hissing in pain and cursing everyone. Nisha ran behind him and slipped on the sauce and water spilled on the floor and landed on Radhika who fell backwards at Twinkle. The cutlet dipped in mayonnaise in Twinkle’s hand went flying and landed on the face of one Arjun Mehra who had just come out after his bath to see to the commotion. All around me was a chaos.

I sighed in exasperation. I am surrounded by idiots. IDIOTS! Someone save me!

Little did I know that my prayer was soon going to be answered in the form of a handsome man riding high on a future photoshoot. Had I known, I would have saved him from a rather painful predicament.

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“Yes Mr. Khanna. A female model? What for? Am I not on the cover alone? Oh, okay, for a page inside? Next to my interview? Okay. You have selected the model? She has been finalized for a month? No, no, what would I do after knowing her name? I don’t care who she is. My work is to give the interview and shoot for the cover. Who the model is, is none of my concern. Okay fine. Yes, I am in my car, I am heading for the airport. She is there already? Good, good. What? Interview first and the shoot day after tomorrow? Why? Technical issues? Okay fine. But I won’t tolerate another change in schedule, okay? The crew has been accommodated, right? Any issues? Fine. Thanks. Goodbye, see you in Goa.” I said as I hung up the call.

I was on my way to Goa to meet with PSL and shoot for the cover. A female model? Why? I am hot and handsome enough to set the cover on fire alone. But then, they must have some vision in mind. It is okay. I just hope the model isn’t Kavya. Who knows, where else she may come?

I rubbed my temples as I thought of her. Sometimes, I think Dad was right when he said that dating her was a disaster. Not only for me, but also for my reputation. I am filthy rich and she is basically a pauper. I am established while she is still struggling. And then, her notorious ways to gain ‘contacts’ are known by everyone who knows her. It could have been harmful for my reputation. I mean, she buys things from Sadar Bazaar at the wholesale price which Ragini tells me, is really cheap. If such a girl becomes the daughter in law of the Maheshwari family, then God forbid what would become of our respect. No, I am not judging her, I know that she has no choice, she is bankrupt, but still. Why buy things you cannot afford? Buy quality rather than quantity. But it is of no use thinking of it now. Her chapter has been closed in the book of my life now. I need to focus on my work and that new recipe of a marble mawa cake which I had already burnt twice. PSL would anyways demand to try it out. I need to succeed fast.

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“Listen Janki, pass the salt, won’t you?” I asked my wife. She had been playing around with her food for a whole minute now and this was rare. My wife and my daughter NEVER lost their appetites. NEVER.

Janki and I were in Manali, in our private lodge. There were just two servants here, one a housekeeper who I had forced to become a cleaner and the other, a driver who I had forced to become a cook. There was no need for a gardener in this weather and frankly, I wanted our time to be private. We had been enjoying but she was worried since she had attended a phone call an hour ago. I had to know what happened.

She looked up absentmindedly and uttered an “Uh?”. I smiled at her and repeated my request. She passed me the salt and then huffed in indignation.

“I am not liking this affair. I want it to stop!”

I did a double take. Affair? Was she having an affair with someone? When? How? With whom? My life is over! But wait, she is not liking it. She wants it to stop. Maybe there is hope…………………

“I will talk to Durgaprasad Ji and ask him to stop it for a while.”

What? Durgaprasad? She is having an affair with my best friend? My heart sunk in its cage. My eyes were becoming moist. I love Janki so much. Why did she do this? Am I not good enough?

“Shekhar, let us talk to him. I can’t let this continue. I love Lakshya too!”

Wait, what? She is having an affair with Lakshya too? He is the age of her daughter! Well, not exactly, he is a bit older but then, this is wrong! I looked at her as the first tear,which I had been controlling for a while, finally rolled down. I felt my heart shattering into a million pieces. Janki looked up and saw my tear and smiled.

“You got emotional because I think so much for Lakshya? Arre, he is like our son only! Could have become our son in law if things had been favourable…………”

Wait. Son? So that means that she isn’t dating Lakshya. Okay. She feels for him as her son and probably doesn’t want him to know of it. But Durgaprasad…………………

“We will talk to Annapurna first. I think that would be okay. And I would talk to her myself, this is a delicate subject for her, after all!”

It is delicate for me too! Poor Annapurna Ji! When she comes to know of her husband’s affair, that too from the other woman herself, how would she react? My blood boiled. Durgaprasad Maheshwari! I won’t leave that son of a……………..

“So it is decided! I will talk to Annapurna and you talk to Durgaprasad Ji. Okay?”

Talk? I would break his jaw! I would ruin his face! I would scratch out his eyes that dared to look at my wife……

“I will gently tell Annapurna that this affair is too awkward for Lakshya………”

For Lakshya? And what about Ragini? She won’t believe in it……………….

“And that he is in a complicated relationship which he needs to sort out first, so he needs time before he settles down…….”

Wait again. What? Lakshya is settling down? When? How? With whom? This was getting confusing. I decided to take the reins of the conversation.

“Janki, what exactly are you talking about? What is this affair?” I asked cautiously. I didn’t want to break down and beg in front of her to give our relationship a chance. Yet.

Janki looked at me and rolled her eyes. “Didn’t Durgaprasad Ji tell you? They are showing Lakshya photos of potential brides for him every week! That poor boy is already dealing with a gold digger and is now being forced to choose a wife for himself. Isn’t this a serious affair? He needs time!” she said.

Oh. So THIS was the affair. Not that waala affair. Just a simple affair. My shattered heart joined itself again as it lifted in its cage, back to its place. I felt happy again. My Janki wasn’t having an affair with anyone. She loves me. Only me. And she is mine and I am hers. YES! And moreover, she is so concerned for my dear best friend’s son. So kind she is! So sweet……………..

“Shekhar Gadodia, are you even listening to me?” she asked in a deadly calm voice. The tone I had started fearing. I gulped down my tasteless saliva and smiled belligerently at her. She narrowed her eyes in a way my mother used to when I would commit a crime, like stealing a cookie or sneaking off to meet Janki when I should have been studying. In slow motion, I saw Janki getting up from her seat and coming over to me. I sat still, sweating profusely as she advanced on me like a predator on his prey. She reached over and………………….stole an omelette from my plate.

I let out a sigh of relief as Janki smirked at me. We grinned at each other and I reached out to take her in my arms. She giggled softly against my chest and I smiled widely as I smelled the comforting fragrance of her vanilla shampoo. We are strange, but we are fantastic together. And this is exactly what we want for our daughter too. And somewhere in our hearts, we are sure she would get it.

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We had been exploring the local kiosks and stalls since the afternoon. It was now almost dark, though the time was hardly six. This happens in winter. Not that it was an issue, even though we were walking along a forest like path in pairs. Which again meant that I was alone. Carrying a DSLR around my neck too. What a life!

“Guys, look over there. See, the sky. The view is so amazing!” Radhika exclaimed happily as she ran towards the cliff. Arjun smiled and followed her. We looked at the beautiful pink sky as the red sun was setting. Radhika was waving her hands in excitement while Arjun was embracing her from behind. Seeing them made me smile.

Arjun and Nisha Mehra are twins whose parents are rich diamond merchants. It was a surprise for all when he announced that he was dating Radhika, who was his college classmate and a budding writer. People didn’t believe it initially, since she belongs to a middle class family. Her father is a retired army man while her mother is a homemaker. People thought it was just an infatuation for him, that he was excited about being with someone so different. But for us, his close friends, it wasn’t all that difficult to realize that Arjun Mehra was madly in love. And we all love Radhika too, who wouldn’t? She is calm, level headed and kind. They are perfect.

Another perfect couple is Twinkle and Kunj. They, along with Arjun, Nisha, Sanskaar and Kabir, have been my classmates since sixth grade. They hated each other back then, squabbling all day long about who was better: Tom or Jerry? Whenever they saw each other, loud noises were a must. It was as if they were ‘fight friends’, even though we were all convinced that secretly, they had always had feelings for one another. It was finally Kunj who admitted his feelings first. We all remember that day. We had been in ninth class. It had been a trip to Ranthambore and Twinkle had lost her way. While all of us had become worried, Kunj had gone berserk. He looked for her himself, almost crying in anguish. It was he who found her at last, sitting near a pond and trying to find a sea shell. He had cried and laughed together at that moment, as we all watched from a distance. He approached her and told her that sea shells weren’t found in ponds. And being Twinkle, she had retorted that if HE says that it is the case, then it was obviously false. Kunj had pulled her in for a tight hug and it was then we saw that even Twinkle was crying. Kunj had then outright told her that the two hours she had gone missing were the most torturous he had ever spent. He had confessed and we all had witnessed a beautiful relationship take birth that day, amongst smiles and tears and abuses and promises.

Coming to Kabir and Nisha, they were a strange sort. Kabir and Sanskaar had been the incorrigible flirts and while Sanky was notorious for his casanova ways, Kabir was infamous for flirting unsuccessfully with Nisha. Nisha had liked him since we were in class tenth but had kept it hidden, thinking that he was just fooling around with her and would never see her as more than a friend. One day, when our class 12th Boards got over, during a game of truth and dare, she had to admit that she liked him and she expected him to laugh at her or blast her off. Instead, he gave her his famous lopsided smile and said, “Took you so long baby! I started feeling that you would confess after you would become the mother of my ninth child!” While Nisha sat there shocked out of her wits, Twinkle and Kunj had immediately started a debate about the safety of giving birth nine times. It was a mess but in the epicentre, Nisha realised that her feelings had been reciprocated long before she even developed them. Kabir had liked her since playschool, when he would purposefully pull her hair to gain her attention. But he was always scared that she would break even their friendship, which was true. So another story took off. And stories like these made me think that even I could have a similar one, where Sanskaar would one day realise that he likes only me and then I would confess that I have always liked him.

All the couples were now posing for selfies with each other and yet again, I felt lonely. Even though they tried their best, even they knew that having someone who was your special one was an irreplaceable feeling. I smiled as I clicked a candid picture of all of them. It had come out beautiful.

The sun had completely set by now. It was dark and we decided to reach the hotel quickly. We again walked along the jungle. It was a very narrow path with space for only two people at a time. All pairs were walking together and I was behind everyone. I started checking out the pictures in the camera. And I didn’t realise when I lagged much behind them all. My attention was focussed solely on the device in my hands. I heard a twig snap behind me and I looked back but there was no one. I frowned and started walking ahead. And then I heard a deep voice behind me, singing creepily in the quiet of the dark.

Ek ladki bheegi bhaagi si
Soti Raaton mein Jaagi si
Mili ek ajnabee se, koi aage na peeche
Tum hi Kaho ye koi baat Hai………….

I started walking faster but the voice was always clear, as if its owner was following me. I looked behind and saw a man in a hoodie following me, whistling softly and singing. I stopped abruptly and the man stopped too. His hands were in the pockets of his black sweatshirt.

“Who are you?” I asked him. He chuckled and I swear, he was creepy. I huffed in irritation. “I asked you, WHO ARE YOU? Why are you following me?”

He started stepping closer to me and I started moving back, feeling helpless and freaked out. Was he stalking me? Is he a rapist? Damn! Where were the others? I kept moving back as he moved forward and soon, my back collided with a tree. I gulped in fear as I saw the hooded man approach me.

“Listen, stay away from me! Get away! Do you know who I am? Do you know my father? I will get you behind the bars. Stay away!” I warned him. However, he continued coming closer. I decided to teach him a lesson.

As soon as he was within an arm’s length, I swung my leg forward and kicked him in the shin. He yelped in pain and as he bent down, I punched him in his back. He fell to the ground, howling in pain.

“Rags? RAGS? Are you there? Where are you?” I heard my friends’ voices. I called out to them and they reached us and saw the man trying to get up.

“He is stalking me! He was whistling and singing songs at me!” I told them and everyone pounced on him. No invitations needed. The man was trying his best to shield his face and front and was screaming at them to stop. He hit Sanskaar on his nose while Kunj attacked him from behind.

“RAGINI! Ask them to stop! It is hurting dammit!” He shouted. Everyone stopped and looked at him. “How do you know her name? How long have you been following her?” Kabir asked. They again launched an attack on him while I wondered how I had missed this man if he was indeed following me………………………..

“How do you know my name?” I asked him as he yelled and screeched in pain. He again called me by my name. Twinkle held my hand. “Ragini, let us go from here. We will hand him over to the police, you must be in shock, you need rest…………”

“NO! RAGINI, ASK THEM TO f**kING STOP!” he screamed as he kicked Kabir out of the way and tried to come near me. Radhika shielded me and Twinkle pulled me away.

The man was now on the ground and trying to fight the boys. I don’t know why but I felt strange seeing him getting beaten up. I turned around and started walking again while the boys continued asking him how he knew me. And then I froze in my tracks as a loud shout came from behind me.

“PSL! RUKK. ASK THEM TO STOP YAAR. It is me. FFL.”

Shit! I turned around quickly and pushed Sanskaar away who was about to kick him again. I removed the hoodie from the man’s head and sure enough, found my best friend Lakshya Maheshwari slouched on the ground, bruised and beaten.

“Lakshya? What……..where…………why……….you here?” I asked him as I stroked his face gently. He heaved a sigh of relief and smiled a little. Somehow, watching him in that condition, my eyes started watering. I hugged him tightly as I muttered apologies after apologies. He hugged me back as I sobbed on his sweatshirt, patting my back awkwardly.

“I came here to surprise you. Reached the penthouse and got to know that you all had come this way. When I saw you alone, I thought of playing a prank on you. The tables turned on me though!” he replied. I hit him on his shoulder and he yelled in pain.

“You IDIOT! Who told you to try this prank? Are you nuts? Are you bananas? Crazy, lunatic donkey! I was shit scared. And I am shit guilty now. blo*dy moron!” I screamed at him. He stood up with my help and I turned around to witness all my friends looking at me in confusion.

I looked at Lakshya who brushed the dirt off his sweatshirt and looked at everyone. He gave his best charming smile as he said, “Hi. I am Lakshya. Lakshya Durgaprasad Maheshwari!”

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I dipped the cotton ball in the Dettol Solution as I blowed gently on his wound. As I applied the ointment and continued blowing, I saw Lakshya wince a little. We were currently in our penthouse, in my room. He was shirtless and I was applying the ointment on his bruises and cuts.

Needless to say, everyone had been mortified on knowing that they had beaten up their host. They all had apologized profusely (with the exception of Sanskaar), and had been duly forgiven by Lakshya. They were now ordering the dinner while I was tending to his wounds.

“Your friends are crazy!” He said to me as I dabbed at a cut. He shrieked in pain. “Go slow woman! Why are you injuring me more?” he asked. “You are right. My friends are crazy. ALL of them. Especially the new ones!” I replied. He frowned at me.

“I was just playing a prank, okay? Who knew you all would react that way? I have been grievously injured and my beautiful skin has been marred with the tortures it has witnessed in the past few hours at your and your gang’s hands!”

I snorted in amusement. “Grievously injured? Beautiful skin? Marred with tortures? What did you watch last night, a melodramatic Hindi TV soap?”

He sniffed in mock hurt. “I had to look my best for the shoot which has, by the way, been postponed to the day after tomorrow, and you all have created an unpleasant, rather offensive art on my clear skin!”

“Wait a sec. What shoot?”

Lakshya looked at me with wide eyes. “Oh God! Didn’t I tell you about it? Of course I didn’t! I was going to, however. I am here for work and fun both. I am having a photoshoot with MenXFashion India. I am going to be on their cover next month!”

“And I met Queen Elizabeth II in a pool! Idiot, tell me the truth!” I screeched at him. MenXFashion India with Lakshya Maheshwari on its cover? Who was he kidding?

“I am being perfectly honest about this. I AM GOING TO MODEL FOR MENXFASHION INDIA!” he said in a high pitch. I looked at him as if he had sprouted another head. Wait, did he get hurt on his head when everyone was beating him? I gingerly touched his head and felt around for a bump or scratch. I found none. Maybe it is some internal wound. This is serious. This man is hallucinating!

“PSL? What exactly are you doing?” he asked me calmly as I started tapping his head. I gestured him to keep quiet as I continued my important investigation. Lakshya shoved my hand away and held my wrist in his iron grip. He raised an eyebrow and I looked at him in worry.

“You have hit your head somewhere. This is why you are talking nonsense. I am trying to look for the wound, let me check!” I said as I struggled to free my wrist. He now held my other wrist too and shoved me away as I tried to come near.

“Leave me!”

“Promise me first that you won’t act like a stupid bimbo!”

“Me? Stupid Bimbo? You must be talking about Kavya! Oh sorry, sorry. You love her, don’t you loverboy?”

“We broke up. I wanted to tell you earlier but decided that it was a story worth sharing in person.”

“WHAT? BROKE UP? AGAIN? Give me the details man! Quick.” I said. He left my wrists and I quickly sat down on the bed with him. Our knees were touching lightly as we were facing each other.

“Kavya was being an insecure girlfriend. She kept thinking that I couldn’t fly down to Mumbai to meet her because of you. I told her, it was about work, but she started abusing you. I couldn’t tolerate it, so I broke up with her. YEAH PSL, don’t look at me like that. I initiated the split this time. Wait, I will show you. She was like, ‘Lakshya, I am fed up with your behavior. I can’t be with you if you continue!’ So I told her that okay, let us break up! And before she could say anything, I broke up with her and disconnected the call!” he cackled. I burst out laughing as I imagined the look on Kavya’s face. Must have been priceless!

Then a thought struck me. He broke up with his love for me. FOR ME. And not because I had any issue with her, but because she had an issue with me. He chose friendship over love. He chose me over Kavya. A sudden surge of happiness coursed through me as I looked at him sideways. He was still chuckling and seeing him so happy with me, I felt a surge of pride. It made me happy seeing him happy and the fact that I was a reason was the icing on the cake.And his gesture warmed my heart.

“But really FFL, you shouldn’t have done it. There was no need to break up with her just for poor old me……….” I stopped as I saw him narrow his eyes at me.

“What were you saying again, huh?” he asked me. There was a certain spark of anger and indignation in his voice and I smiled sweetly at him.

“I………I mean Lakshya, understand her situation. We gave her such a show that night that it is perfectly natural for her to be insecure. You see, it is not about me, even if there would have been someone else in my place, she would still have reacted in the same manner.” I reasoned.

Lakshya heaved a sigh. “But she was dragging you in between. And she was abusing you and your character. I couldn’t let that happen. You are my best friend!” he whined as he huffed.

A smile broke out on my face as I regarded him with sheer gratitude and respect. It was a big thing for me. I pulled him towards me and gave him a bear hug while he reciprocated the gesture and nuzzled my hair. I was happy he was here. Very happy. Very very happy.

“Ahem! Umm…………are we interrupting you both?” Twinkle asked as she entered. Behind her, was Sanskaar and both of them were looking at each other apprehensively. Lakshya and I parted and looked up at them expectantly. I don’t know why, but I was feeling a bit irritated with them for interrupting us.

“No, not at all Miss Taneja, in fact, we both were just coming downstairs………..” Lakshya trailed as his eyes followed Twinkle’s gaze. I looked too and found her gawking at Lakshya’s abs. Lakshya turned pink around his ears in a very cute manner and coughed uncomfortably.

Sanskaar spoke up, “Yeah, good to know that you remembered that we all are having dinner downstairs. It is rude to keep your companions waiting!”

Lakshya smiled calmly at him while I gasped in shock at Sanskaar’s rudeness. Twinkle, now done with her inspection, smacked Sanskaar on the back of his head and narrowed her eyes at him. He scowled at everyone and stomped off like a petulant child. Twinkle smiled awkwardly and followed him.

“So THAT is your Sanskaar! Hmm…….he is okay but what is his age?” Lakshya whispered to me as I helped him wear his shirt. I smiled in mock humour at his diss of my crush while he grinned at me.

When we came downstairs, everyone was huddled up together and whispering among themselves. It stopped as soon as we arrived. Everyone smiled nervously at us and we made our way to the table.

“Aha, you guys ordered Manchow noodles? Thanks, I really like them!” Lakshya remarked as he sat down. There was an awkward silence as everyone expected the other to start a conversation with the famous Lakshya Maheshwari. I decided to break the ice.

“So Lakshya, I have already told you who is who. Guys, this is my best friend Lakshya. Lakshya, you know, everyone was looking forward to meet you.” I said as I looked at the most sensible ones in the group i.e. Arjun and Radhika. Radhika took the hint and smiled at Lakshya.

“Hi again. I am Radhika. Actually, I just wanted to thank you for upgrading us to this penthouse. I know you did it for Ragini, but since I am enjoying this favour, I would really like to thank you. This place is bomb.” she said. Lakshya smiled at her pleasantly. “The pleasure is all mine Radhika, if I may call you that?” he replied. She nodded and smiled back at him.

“No man, seriously, thanks for being so considerate. Staying close to each other is much easier for us here than what was possible in the rooms. And the view, the hospitality, the food and the service, everything is top class. I am glad I got to meet you and thank you for this in person. And yes, a really big sorry for beating you up. ” Arjun added. Lakshya tilted his head in acknowledgement. “You are welcome. Literally! I mean that if in the future you come here again, feel free to contact me in advance and use these facilities. I won’t mind.” he said.

I gaped at him in shock. So much sweetness? He is French Fries Lover, not French Vanilla Ice Cream Lover! He turned to me and smiled at me.

“So, Lakshya, you must be here for the photoshoot with MenXFashion India, right?” Swara asked as she delicately took a bite of her steamed dimsum. Lakshya turned to her and nodded softly. My mouth opened in wonder. What? Was he saying the truth?

It seemed that everyone had the same doubt as me as they all were looking at Lakshya in confusion. That jerk deliberately chewed his food slowly, raising the suspense and then took a long sip of the wine and then dabbed at his mouth with the napkin. Then, he finally looked at us and said in a clear voice, “Actually, I have been approached by them to feature on their cover for next month, to celebrate their silver jubilee!”

“So you weren’t bluffing? You are actually going to grace the cover of a fashion magazine?” I asked him in shock. He nodded gingerly, smirking at the look on my face.

This was impossible! Unbelievable! Unfathomable! This was ignorance! This was the end of Rational thinking! A business tycoon on a fashion magazine cover? What has the world come to? Has everyone lost their sense? And wait, how did Swara come to know of this?

“Swara, how do you know that FF…………Lakshya is here for the shoot?” I asked her. She flipped her hair arrogantly.

“Because I am going to model with him for the shoot!”

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I sneaked up towards the room on my left. The light was not switched on but I knew that they were all waiting there. Behind me, Twinkle tip-toed silently. I twisted the knob and entered the dark room. A torch was switched on and I found everyone sans Ragini and Swara sitting on the bed in a circle.

“What took you both lovebirds so long?” Kabir demanded to know. I shrugged in reply and quickly sat beside him. Twinkle snuggled close to me and I wrapped my arm around her shoulder.

“Yes, so everyone is here. Let us discuss the issue at hand. The Curious Case of Ragini and Lakshya!” Radhika said. Everyone nodded grimly.

“See, when I went up to call her for dinner earlier, she was trying to get close to Lakshya while he was pushing her back by holding her wrists. If I didn’t know any better, I would have assumed that she was trying to force herself on him!” Kabir said. Everyone looked at him, shocked.

“Then, when Sanskaar and I went upstairs to see if what he was saying was true, we found them in a rather compromising position. Like, he was shirtless and he has really hot abs……………….” Twinkle was saying when I frowned at her. She bit her tongue and gave me an apologetic look. She continued, “So he was shirtless and they both were hugging each other really tight. Like, their chests were pressed against each other!”

“And he was nuzzling her hair, like a horse!” Sanskaar grumbled. Everyone again looked at each other in surprise and shock.

“Look here guys. Ragini is not that sort of a girl and even Lakshya seems a good man. So I think that either we are over thinking or………………….they are hiding their true relationship from us!” Arjun said. Everyone nodded gravely.

“We cannot ask Ragini outright whether there is something between her and Lakshya or not. She would obviously deny and get angry that we are doubting on her.” Nisha said.

“So what do we do? You guys may be going gaga over him but let me tell you, I don’t trust that man a bit! Did you see how he was trying to stay longer? I am sure he was trying to stay the night here. And okay, he owns the place, but he has rented it to us. All of us sleep in our rooms with our partners and there is only one room left which is beside Ragini’s and those two rooms are on the opposite side of this penthouse, far from our rooms. And Ragini sleeps alone. Who knows what he may try at night? Don’t look at me like that, don’t you all remember how we met him in the first place? He was stalking her! I don’t trust this man. Where did he come from, anyways? Like, suddenly popped up from nowhere? Till a day back, I am her best friend and now suddenly, this Lakshya has replaced me!” Sanskaar muttered.

All of us looked at each other and I know that we were all thinking the same thing. Someone was jealous. Someone whose name started with an S.

And then, it struck me! “We are here for a few more days. Let us observe both of them. If they show signs of liking each other, well and good and if this Lakshya is a shady character, as Sanskaar here is convinced he is, then we would throw him out of Rags’ life. Done?”

Everyone nodded in Union. Then Radhika smiled slyly. “I think Ragini likes him. Did you see her expression when Swara told everyone that she was modelling with Lakshya? She looked ready to murder!” she chuckled. We smiled (except for Sanskaar) at that. He had just had a fight with Swara. Turns out, she had been selected for a long time and it was her good luck that she was already here. Had she been required to travel somewhere else, she would have done it, leaving the trip in between. Sanskaar wasn’t happy about this attitude and moreover, the fact that she was shooting with Lakshya.

“I think he may like her too. Like, come on, he was watching her throughout the dinner and don’t forget, he had pre-arranged this penthouse as a surprise for her. And he invited us to stay here whenever we visited. That is rather sweet!” Twinkle said dreamily. I kissed her cheek and she whispered to me, “Not as sweet as us, though!”

“So ready? Plan on?” Arjun asked. We put our hands on top of each other and raised them in the air in agreement. Mission was on!

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So? How was the chappy? Next, I think all of you know what is going to come. So no spoilers. Okay? Now go and comment fast because I am really down and I need a lift of spirits.