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Chapter -30

Writer's POV:

"Entropy is the measure of randomness of a closed system. It can also be defined as the amount of heat energy available per unit temperature of the closed system." Aditya Vishwanath read out loud attempting to push out the thoughts which occupied his mind. He pursed his lips not being satisfied with his attempts and closed his thermodynamics textbook. He had his exams going on and the thoughts in his mind were making it tough for him to concentrate.

"Aditya, you were up from yesterday night trying to study isn't it better if you take a break now?" His mother, Geetha Vishwanath advised stepping into his room after knocking the door.

"I have been studying from yesterday night but I have hardly completed the portion mom. Taking a break now isn't good." He acknowledged ruffling his hair.

"Is everything alright? You seem to be extremely distracted." Geetha stated gently stepping closer to him while he nodded passively.

"Yeah, mom! Can I get a cup of coffee I guess that might help?" Aditya pleaded as him mom looked at him worry lines creasing her forehead.

"Adi if you have something to talk about you know na I and dad are always there to listen? I am not gonna force you to talk about it though just take your time. And mister you aren't getting any more coffee now you already have lots of caffeine in your system!" His mother exclaimed as he flashed her a grin.

"Ok, mom understood! Anyway, I spoke to you na so I feel much better now." He added and his mother left his room after making sure he was actually feeling alright.

"She never tried contacting me in the past 9 years so why did she call now?" Aditya muttered to himself staring at the fancy number on his phone screen.

"And why did I save her phone number? it's not like I am gonna call her." He said to himself again reminiscing all the memories he had with her.

"Let's not go down that path now Aditya! She was your biological sister once but she is Nandini Malhotra to the world now. Trying to reconnect with her may bring you more pain." He explained to himself and his eyes landed on the family photograph which was taken 3 years back when his parents and he were on a trip to Sydney.

"I guess I should just be thankful for having a good family now. Being greedy for more isn't advisable." Aditya decided and kept his away phone concentrating on the book he was reading.

Nandini's POV:

"Comrade Nandini!" yelled Dhruv in my ear and I jumped standing at my place.

Whoa! RIP my poor ears. I am sure his yell has wakened up the entire neighbourhood even before Sun could wake them up.

"This is our last chance to prove our enemies wrong and win our freedom! Let's prove to those smirking jerks that we lazy heads are capable of doing the impossible! Give me your blood Nandini and I will give you freedom!" He exclaims pointing at Manik and Aryaman who are busy laughing at us and I glance at him wide-eyed.

"I guess Dhruv was a freedom fighter in his previous birth." DJ Nandini states lazily tying her shoelace and I try to wrap my head around the present situation.

"I will meet you on the other side Comrade! Let's win or freedom!" He says energetically saluting me and I control myself from laughing at his drama.

Confused over what happened? Well, I and Dhruv were fussing over going to the gym and Dhruv was saying that he needs freedom from a prison called the gym. Manik and Aryaman overheard our conversation and challenged us to win a relay race and offered that we can skip the gym a week. So here we are in a local park which was empty for the most part except for a few vendors here and there.

I hope we win though. I mean I have been going to gym from past 2 weeks so I am not a sloth I was.

"Sloths are like Usain Bolt when compared to you." DJ Nandini teases me and I scowl at her.

Can't she support me for once? Bitch!

"You are so gonna lose this Chipmunk! It's sad that I am gonna win against a granny though." Manik teases me and I punch his arm. He just didn't call me old.

"That dumbass! No one gets away with calling us old and hurting our ego." DJ Nandini states and I shake hands with her.

"You are so naive kiddo! Get ready to lose in my hands." I say patting his head and he smirks at me.

"Comrade Dhruv! Let's win and get our freedom. Do or die!" I say to Dhruv and Manik sneers at us snobbily.

"You guys should be in Bollywood for all that drama! It certainly lacks good actors like you." Aryaman taunted us and I stopped Dhruv from countering.

"Leave them, Arya! You know na empty vessels make more noises. Both shorties are gonna lose !" Manik added and I rolled my eyes at his words.

"Well let me repeat the rules again. Aryaman and Dhruv will start the race and reach the tree over there, Manik and I will continue the race from that point onwards." I explain pointing at the tree and three of them nod in agreement.

Dhruv and Aryaman start the race while I and Manik stand at the points assigned to us. I curse to myself and tap my feet nervously as Aryaman's pace was faster than Dhruv's. Within no time Aryaman reaches Manik and Manik starts running. Dhruv reaches me a few seconds later and I start running straining my leg muscles to their maximum to reach Manik. I try to keep up with his pace and try to keep my breathing steady so that I can move faster. I grin to myself as I overcome him and continue leaping forward.

I could faintly hear Dhruv's excited yelling as I crossed the finish point before Manik did. I drop down to my knees immediately and pant loudly.

"How- how did you manage to cross me?" Manik asks shocked and I inhale some air trying to form coherent words.

"Comrade Nandini! We won! We did it! We got our freedom back!" Dhruv shouts and pulls me into a tight hug.

"What the fuck! Get away from her." Manik roars and pulls me away from Dhruv before I could hug him back. We both stare at him amused and he gulps visibly.

" There are elders walking around here! I don't want them to get the wrong idea." He explains smacking the backside of Dhruv's head and I wince.

"I am sure no one would mind Manik. Old people nowadays are very cool." I add and Dhruv nods along with me rubbing the side he got smacked.

"Whatever look at you guys showing off so much for a silly win." He complains and Aryaman snickers at this.

"Even you would do the same if we won Manik." Aryaman offers and he shrugs his shoulders.

"They won because they cheated." Manik asserts with a poker face and I scoff at him.

"Yeah yeah, Manik they definitely cheated you didn't know kya Nandini has invisible wheels attached to her feet!" Aryaman joked and I laughed at this and Manik mimicked me.

"Look at you being all petty! You know what Dhruv we should definitely celebrate our win. Come I will treat you with some coconut water for now." I said to Dhruv and we went towards the coconut vendor leaving behind Manik who was busy pouting and huffing.

What's wrong with him though? He's never the one to act petty and all. Well, he's a kid after all so acting petty should be expected.

My sight then lands on Dhruv who's walking beside me merrily humming a random tune. Awe! This guy is really cute. He reminds me of a pomeranian dog.

"You know Dhruv you are really cute! You remind me of a Pomeranian dog." I say sitting on the lush green grass and he sits beside me while passing me the coconut water bottle we bought.

"You feel sleepy after all the running you just did?" He questions as I let out a yawn passing me an amused look and I nod yawning again.

"I was up late yesterday night going through a few documents. Couldn't get my share of beauty sleep." I answer taking little sips of my drink.

"You must feel really accomplished na? Working in such a high position at a young age." He states and I shrug my shoulders.

"Well, I do feel happy and fascinated by my work most of the times. But you know with great powers come great responsibilities so I gotta keep working always. Disappointing my superiors in work and not fulfilling my responsibilities are like nightmares to me." I explain and he nods in understanding.

"Dhruv take Alex for a walk. He has to pee and poo." Manik ordered walking towards us and Dhruv sighs.

"I do it all the time! It's your turn this time." He complains and Manik scoffs at him.

"Just do it or else I will tell Paridhi that you logged into her Instagram account and read all her texts." Manik blackmails Dhruv and I wonder where's the sweet Manik gone.

"I did that to make sure no guys were flirting with her!" Dhruv exclaims worried and Manik chuckles.

"Your sister trusts me more. I will say that you are lying." Manik answers and Dhruv leaves uttering a string of curses.

"You are such a bully Manik!" I say punching his shoulder and he gives me a blank look and grabs my drink.

"I will buy you a new one! Don't drink that-" I try to warn him as I drank from the same bottle but Manik ignores my words and downs the entire bottle at one gulp.

"Well, I gotta adjust with this now. Since you were busy with someone else" he mumbles sitting beside me and I stare at him confused. What's the matter with him?

"Whatever! Now lend me your shoulder. I gotta sleep for some time or else I will have a headache." I say feeling super sleepy and lean my head on his shoulder.

I feel him going still for a few moments before relaxing and adjusting his posture so that I can be comfortable.

"Chipmunk! Hey, wake up!" I hear a few whispers trying to wake me up as I groaned and wrapped my hands around my torso because of the cold wind. I was still lying on Manik's shoulder and stared at him groggily totally unaware of my surroundings.

"The twilight, the cold breeze, the scent of lush green grass, the twittering birds and your head on his shoulder. What a perfect romantic moment!" Monkey Manik gushed jumping around.

"Now Manik it's your turn! Just say something romantic and heartwarming! Please!Please!" DJ Nandini begged staring at Manik and I rolled my eyes at this drama.

"Eww! You drool while you sleep. Did you drool on my shirt sleeve too?" Manik asks appalled by it and checks his sleeves and I let out a humourless chuckle.

"I am gonna go on a hunger strike! We all deserve a romantic scene." Monkey Manik cries out loud and starts a strike.

"I am gonna go kill the writer! She always trolls us." DJ Nandini states taking out her shiny katana and runs to attack the writer.

Let's meet in the next update if the writer is still alive guys! Now back to our story.

"Drooling while I sleep huh? I could drool only if I had the best sleep in ages. All your stupid shoulder gave me was an ache in my neck! That adamantine shoulder belonging to a dingleberry like you." I say pinching and hitting his shoulder and he scoffs. Why does he have to annoy me always?

"People should learn gratitude from you Chipmunk! Abusing the shoulder you leaned on." He says faking hurt and I stick out my tongue at him. Serves him right though!

"Now tell me why did you wake me up?" I inquire tying my hair in a high ponytail.

"The sun is gonna rise in a few minutes, Thought of watching it together with you. It's a beautiful experience. " He replies smiling shyly pointing at the sky and I giggle feeling warm listening to his words.

Funny how I was annoyed by him moments ago and now I am here giggling at his words.

"Sunrise huh? It was always a bittersweet ordeal to me Manik." I say taking a deep breath and noticing the tender sun rays as they spread at every nook and corner claiming their territory over the blue sky.

"Bittersweet? How can something this beautiful be bittersweet?" Manik asks looking at me intently and blood rushed to my cheeks because of his intense stare.

"Well, for me sunrise was always about endings. With every new sunrise, people just left my life without valuing the promises they made to me and their journey in my life just ended. And I just had to live through them desperately hoping that one day all the bruises those broken promises caused me will stop hurting." I confess gulping the heavy feeling in my throat. Damn! I said too much.

I turned my face away Manik hoping that he wouldn't talk about it and probably Manik might have sensed my discomfort so he didn't pry me about it. All he did was hold my hand and silently admire the sunrise. His silence and his hold on my hand were enough for me to feel comforted.

A few days later,

"Chipmunk yaar! Where is my Avengers printed T-shirt? And also where the heck are my yellow coloured socks? " Manik yells across his bedroom and I huff pouring the dark chocolate melt into the icing bag.

God! This fool! He has eyes na can't he search for them. This is the fourth time he is interrupting my cake baking. From the past half an hour he has been troubling me saying that he can't find his tracks and other T-shirts but when I searched his closet I did find them.

"Manik see properly! It will be somewhere in your cupboard. Use your eyes." I yell back poking a toothpick into the cake layer to check if it's baked properly.

"Chipmunk, please! This time I really can't find them. Just come and check na" he says running into kitchen and yelps as he lost his balance and fell down.

"You are such a damsel in distress Manik! I told you to stop wearing socks since you always lose balance and fall down. But no you never listen to me." I scold him bending down to help him stand up and he makes a bad face at me.

"Stop scolding me ok! My arm already hurts and your scolding doesn't make it any easier." He argues rubbing his arm and I laugh at his drama.

"Now come with me and search for that Tshirt. It's my favourite one!" He says and drags me to his room. I wince at the mess he created in his room and peak into the closet digging through the bundles of clothes.

"See here it is! All you need to do is see properly Manik!" I say glaring at him and he looks at me shocked.

"I did search there though! How could I not find it and you found it? You know what today I am confident that wives and mothers have this superpower of finding lost things." He asserts like a wise guy and I shake my head in disappointment. My eyes then land on a pile of used socks and I lose my calm again.

"Manik! Didn't I ask you to put all the used socks of yours to laundry day before yesterday? What are you waiting for Christmas?" I chide him and my hands automatically raise up to pull his ears.

"I promise I will do it today! Just let go of my ears it hurts," he begs and I let go of them.

"Do it now or else I am gonna burn your entire sock collection!" I exclaim and his face pales at this. He immediately throws all his dirty socks into a laundry bag and dashes towards the washing machine.

Whoa, who knew he loved his socks this much. People collect shoes, watches, cars, stamps and here we have Manik Malhotra collecting socks.

I walk to the kitchen again to ice the cake scrolling checking WhatsApp for any messages and status updates. I let out a gasp seeing Cabir's name in status updates as he rarely updates any.

"Is he stress eating again?" I question to myself going through his status as all I find is pictures of food and him eating that food. I decide that it's better to call him and confirm if he's doing good.

"Hey, Cabutar face! Wassup?" I ask him as he takes the call after a few rings.

"There we go again with that stupid nickname of yours! Thanks to your sweet sister my life has lots of spice in it." Cabir answers and I nod icing the cake.

"Nandiniji I need a verbal reply ok! We aren't on a video call that you nod and I understand that you are listening." He says again and I smile a little to myself and answer.

"Haa! I am there. And thanks to your dear little brother I have to exercise and drink milk every day. He's so annoying!" I complain and he laughs.

"Wait! Did I hear it right? Nandini the lazy ass is working out and even drinking milk? I and Navya tried so hard to make you exercise but you never listened to us. Well, obviously when Manik asks you listen to him! You loveeee him na!" Cabir teases me and I control my urge to hit him.

"It's nothing like that ok! He was compelling me a lot hence I had to." I counter back and he laughs again.

"Ok, madam! I quite well understand what you mean by 'it's nothing like that and all'. Acha but make sure that you tell him an 'I love you' once in a while. You are professional in hiding your feelings, I pity my adorable brother he has so several struggles ahead-" He adds dramatically. Trust me Cabir and Navya are made for each other! Drama king and drama queen.

"Blah blah blah! Are you done? Now listen to me I have a prediction for you!" I add interrupting him.

"I hate your predictions! Remember how you predicted that my first girlfriend was a lesbian and it was 100% true. Damn that was the moment I understood what Ross went through when he got to know his wife is a lesbian." He reminded me and I chuckled at that memory.

"Haha, that was the best! But right now I predict that in a few months you are gonna have huge tummy similar nine-month pregnant one and gonna go bald." I say trying to hold my control my fits of laugher as I imagine Cabir with a potbelly and bald head.

"Wtf! Hey, Nandini you want me to haunt you as a scary ghost after my death huh?" He questions and cries like a ghost and I laugh out lol.

"Aree what else should I do then? You are stress eating a lot nowadays and I am sure you are gonna have a bad hair loss with all the stress" I complain and he sighs.

"Fine! I can't even hide anything from you. Best friends for a reason ain't we? I have some stuff going on and I want to handle it by myself but sometimes it gets tough." He says quietly and I feel guilty that I didn't call him soon. He sounded vulnerable which was very much, unlike the cool and chirpy Cabir.

"Cabutar, it's not necessary that you alone bear the load always. You know na you have Navya, Manik and me to lean on? So for once stop being the mature adult you are who handles everything singlehandedly." I advise him softly and he sighs listening to my words.

"Yeah! Share it with three of you and ruin your peace of mind too and worse hurt you guys too? I would never want that Nandu" he retorts and I groan due to his stubborn nature.

"Ok, there are chances of us being hurt if the stuff you are hiding is unpleasant. But Cabir remember this we all will be together in this. We three would like to go through the hard times by standing by your side rather than you facing it all alone and being stressed." I reply patiently trying to knock some sense into his brain.

"What if Manik will be hurt by this or worse what if he will start hating me? I don't want him to misunderstand my actions." He asks being unsure.

"We both know very well that Manik isn't the type to misunderstand people. He behaves like a kid most of the times but he is really mature. And he has us by his side to take care of him if he's hurt ok? So stop overthinking too much." I explain patiently hoping that he opens up to us.

"Well then let's meet two hours later if you both are free? There's something I should share with you people. You decide on the spot and text me." He adds excitedly and I smile as my attempts were fruitful.

"I and Manik are free for you 24/7 jaaneman! I will text you soon regarding the meeting spot"  I declare and he hangs up laughing at my drama.

"Manik suggest a restaurant na Cabir said he along with Navya wants to meet both of us.'' I ask him and he stares at me mischievously.

" We both and those both huh? Are we gonna have a double date then? But I want to go on a proper date with you before any double date!" Manik teases me playfully and I purse my lips at this holding myself back from cursing at him.

God, why do I out of everyone has to deal with an antique-like Manik?

"Cabir said he has to talk to us about something important. And that's why we are meeting them. So quit teasing me and suggest a place soon." I say and he starts thinking seriously.

"Let's meet at the restaurant we both visited the time we went to the nursery. I really liked that place." He states smiling merrily at the memory of that restaurant.

"You will obviously like that place! You had a wonderful opportunity to smile and wink at the waitress there. Why would you want to miss it again?" I ask acidly recollecting how he flirted with the waitress that day.

"Well, the waitress was quite pretty! But the primary reason I am visiting it again is because of the cheesecake I had there   It was delicious" he explains and I scoff at him in disbelief.

"Cheesecake huh? Do I look like an idiot to believe that reason Manik? You better not do any monkey business like flirting with the waitresses there." I warn him and he stares at me surprised.

"Chipmunk! I am Manik Malhotra ok? And I live to eat! Food is my only bae for now so don't worry about me being disloyal to you while we are married ok?" He says pulling my cheeks and I slap his hands away.

"Who the hell said I was worried about you being disloyal to me? I just don't want Cabir or Navya to doubt us. And I don't care ok flirt with any girl you want" I say defensively and he makes a mock-serious face.

"Ok then! Megha who was one of twenty girlfriends tried flirting with me few days ago. I ignored those texts thinking that you wouldn't like it but that's not the case anyway. Let me reply to her texts!" He says seriously and my eyes widen as he types something.

"Stop wasting time with your stupid texting and go get ready! We gotta leave in soon." I order snatching away his phone and rushing into my room.

"Jealousy! J-E-A-L-O-U-S-Y! Jealousy is a sickness get well soon my friend." DJ Nandini screams in my ears and I push her away.

Jealousy my ass! Nandini Malhotra is too cool to feel such emotions.

"Want some burnol dear? You still seem to be burning with jealousy! Burnol will cool you." Monkey Manik offers me a cream tube gently and I throw away the tube a mile away smiling sadistically.

"Wtf? Why did you throw away the tube he offered? I am gonna punch you if you do that again!" DJ Nandini warns me side hugging Monkey Manik who is crying bitterly.

"Weren't you guys busy with killing the stupid writer and going on a hunger strike just go ahead with that and stop pissing me!" I reply haughtily combing my hair and she laughs bitterly.

"The writer is the sweetest and cutest person I ever met! In fact, we both love Korean men. She's my best friend too. Just wait I am gonna complain about you to her!" DJ Nandini says stomping her feet and walks away carrying Monkey Manik in bridal style.

Did she just carry Monkey Manik in bridal style? Whoa! Crazy world.

Pushing all my thoughts aside  I get ready to meet Navya and Cabir.

"How could you? How could you do that to me? Wasn't I loyal to you? Wasn't my love enough for you? How could you choose him over me? You know I had so many dreams for us! But I guess I was the only one in love all this time." Navya says sadly glaring at me and I look around to make sure that no one in the restaurant is hearing to her words.

People will think I cheated on her or something if they listen to this monologue. Well Navya is crazy mad at me as I never went to the gym when she begged me multiple times to join her but when Manik asked me once I did it without any complaints.

"Navya! There's nothing like that it's just that -" I try to clarify and nudge Manik for some  help but that idiot is busy drooling on his cheesecake.

"No! I don't want any explanations. You broke the sis code. You gotta work harder to earn to my trust and love back. And Cabirji will you stop overdosing yourself with caffeine and speak up? I can't stay here staring at this cheater's face." She finishes nudging Cabir who was successfully avoiding the actual topic from past one hour. How could she call me a cheater though?

"Haan! Cabir Bhai stop with suspense and tell us what is this about. I can't even concentrate on my cheesecake because of all this suspense!" Manik says and I stare at him shocked wasn't he basically drooling at the cheesecake moments ago?

"Ok guys I have something important to say but before all this, I really really hope no one misunderstands me." Cabir adds and we all nod.

"Ohk the thing is I and dad have been searching for Mukti's whereabouts from the past six years and we got to know that she is part of a bike racers group who roam around the country conducting bike racing competitions. And currently, she's a part of training faculty for bike racing academy situated in Tamgaon." Cabir drops the bomb all of a sudden leaving three of us speechless.

"How is she now? And when we are gonna meet her?" Manik asks recovering from the shock and I stare at his face trying to access what is he feeling now.

"She seems to be doing fine. And we are going to meet her very soon hopefully this weekend. We both need to talk to her and bring her back to home Manik." Cabir says surprised by the fact that Manik was so calm about the entire topic.

"Obviously Cabir Bhai! I let Mukti di run away last time. But now that I got another chance I am not going to mess it up. " Manik states confidently and Cabir smiles a little.

"Manik aren't you angry with me? You know I didn't say about this to you." Cabir adds guiltily and Manik laughs.

"Why would I be? I am just happy that Mukti di will be back. You know for these many years I felt that I would never meet her again. But thanks to you our family is gonna be complete finally." He states and Cabir let's out a loud sigh.

"Thanks for being so understanding Manik! You know what I am finally guilt-free after so many days. We should celebrate now." Cabir says cheerfully.

Navya and I grin at each other admiring both brothers. As we continue chatting I couldn't stop myself from stealing glances at Manik. He seemed to be delighted and chirpy but he didn't even have a bite of the cheesecake he ordered excitedly.

Manik's POV:

"Manik do you want me to warm some milk for you? You didn't even have dinner properly." Chipmunk asks me worriedly and I shake my head in a no.

"Nah! I already had a lot in the restaurant and I feel that my stomach will explode soon." I joke around and she nods deep in thoughts.

"Fine then! Good night Manik! Sleep well." she says patting my head and retires to her room.

Crashing on my mattress I toss and turn around recollecting today's events. Cabir Bhai declaring that he found Mukti di's address was definitely a shocking revelation and I feel numb about it even now. I am obviously happy that I am gonna meet her after such a long time but I feel guilty that Cabir bhai had to go through all by himself.

Searching for a lost person is not really easy. You feel hopeful the moment you find some positive information and equally worse when you get to know that the person you are searching for is not even in this world. Cabir bhai should be appreciated for holding his shit together for 6 long years.

I know dad and Bhai hid this from me because they didn't want me to worry about it but there's this annoying voice in my head that keeps screaming that Dad didn't tell me about this because he doesn't trust me to be helpful and responsible enough in handling this matter. Does dad think that I am not fit to handle such matters?

Arghhh! Quit whining Manik Malhotra. Stop letting your insecurities rule your thoughts. Wow, all these insecurities will only make me more miserable. The only remedy now is food! Yeah, food will help me to distract from everything. Food is bae!

I open my locker where I store all the snacks and pick out packets of Lays and Hershey's cookies. I also switch on my laptop and search for a series to binge on. The series starts playing and I open the chips packet but strangely I find myself overthinking again.

What if dad really gave up on me and thinks that I am no good?

Wow! I am such an insecure brat. Manik for god's sake remember that you are 22 years old? How can you be so immature to have such negative thoughts? You are so annoying and selfish Manik. I guess I  should bang my head somewhere. I am a bad person. Who the hell will feel insecure about such little things?

"Manik you didn't sleep yet? Are you ok?" Chipmunk asks me from the other side of the door. I stay silent and hope that she leaves soon cause it's really embarrassing to share such silly thoughts of mine with her.

"Manik stop being mum and say something! I am not gonna leave until I make sure you are ok. I am gonna stand the whole night. " She says again and I groan to myself.

30. Stubborn!

"Chipmunk I am totally alright!" I try telling her and she knocks the door again.

"Open the door and let me in then! You didn't eat anything from the afternoon Manik. I am counting till 5 open the door before I go all Daya on it and break the latch ." She warns me and I pout.

She breaking the latch is an impossible task to accomplish. But let me just open the door at least she will stop worrying about me if I say her that I am fine.

I get up from my bed to open the door only to find Chipmunk stumbling as she lost balance and we collide into each other as she had one of her feet pressed against the door trying to break the latch. My hand instantly wraps around her midriff to prevent her from falling down.

"Damn my nose! It hurts." She yelps rubbing her nose and moving away from me as  I look at her dazzled.

Have you guys ever crashed into a  mattress of flowers and soft cotton? That's how colliding into her like was. She smelled great and was so fluffy.

31. Can be an awesome cuddle mate!

"Manik please be honest with me,  are you okay?" She asks glancing at the snack packets sprawled across my bed and I nod coming out of my trance.

"I am fine. What makes you think otherwise?" I question as she narrows her eyes and stares at me suspiciously.

"You eat a lot ok! Like sometimes I feel that you should participate in eating competitions. But I have been noticing from the afternoon you didn't even have a bite properly. Even now you have so many snacks untouched." She reasons and I stare at her wide-eyed not knowing if I should feel insulted because she indirectly called me a glutton or delighted that she notices stuff about me.

"I have few thoughts running in my mind and they are embarrassing ones ok. They are not even worth worrying about." I explain quietly.

"Anything that disrupts your peace of mind is worth worrying about Manik!" She mutters.

"You will feel that I am an immature brat!" I exclaim and she shakes her head in a no.

"Fine! I give up. So this is what I was thinking about -" I finally give up and tell her what was going on in my mind and she listens to me attentively.

"So your thoughts went from understanding why your dad and Cabir didn't share their plans to blaming yourself for being immature and selfish huh?" She pretty much concludes everything I felt and I nod.

"Whoa! You are an idiot Manik!" She says slapping my forehead and I stare at her taken aback.

"See! I told you na that even you will feel that I am being foolish-" I grumble and she interrupts me.

"Manik! First of all, having insecurities doesn't make someone immature or selfish ok. What makes us an immature person is when we let those insecurities erase our common sense and go around hurting others." She states firmly.

"Bu- but I was having negative thoughts na! I mean I should be grateful and happy that Dad and Cabir Bhai found Mukti di finally instead here I am thinking that dad doesn't trust me enough. Like my behaviour is worst!" I clamour and she shakes her head in a no again.

"Ok let me put it this way. As soon as you got to know about Mukti from Cabir did you shout at him or even complain about him hiding such an important matter from you? No, you didn't. Instead, you appreciated his efforts and understood that he had his reasons for not revealing. And even when insecurities are ruling your sanity you are trying your best to not be a victim to them. And that matters the most Manik!" She assures me in a soft tone and I find myself relaxing a bit.

"And I am not a bad person na?  People do feel insecure sometimes and it's normal right?" I question her again.

"Nope, you aren't a bad person. And feeling insecure once or twice is human nature. But trust me when I say this Manik, you are not an irresponsible or immature guy. Neither are you selfish or incapable to handle sensitive matters. Your dad might not say it out but he has not given up on you Manik. So please let go of such silly insecurities. " She suggests and I grin cheerfully feeling sorted finally.

Talking to Chipmunk is really comforting.

32. Her soothing voice and sweet smiles solve half of my troubles.

"Thanks for being there!" I say gratefully and my stomach decides to betray me at the same moment as it grumbles loudly.

"Seems like you are finally hungry! Let me heat up the food." She says chuckling at me and I follow her.

"Acha Chipmunk tell me something! You said Dhruv reminds you of a Pomeranian puppy. So what do I remind you of?" I ask having the food and she thinks for some time.

I am sure I remind her of the cutest puppy out there!

"Umm...a street mutt." She replies pouring water into my glass and I spill the food I was eating.

"A street mutt? You know what if I am street mutt then you are a street mouse. Chipmunks are way too cuter than you!" I exclaim angrily walking into my room along with my food.

"What the fuck? How can you call me a mouse?" She complains and I nod in a yes.

"In fact from today onwards, your name is mouse and not chipmunk. Street mutts are 1000 times better than stupid Pomeranians anyway" I exclaim and close the door.

Street mutt huh? Stupid Dhruv this is all because of him!

"I guess you are burning too! Need burnol?" Monkey Manik offers me with a toothy grin and I growl at him trying to throw away the tube he gave.

"Try throwing the tube away and I will end up chopping you!" DJ Nandini warns me showing her shiny katana and I gulp.

"I am not a street mutt!" I cry to myself sadly and crash into the bed.

        *************************

~All that you are is all I ever need~

A/N :

me : *getting ready to sleep after a long day*

Monkey Manik: Writerjiiiiii! I need more romantic scenes! *the romantic dreamer*

Me: let -

Dj Nandini: Writerjiiiiii! I need more respect from Chipmunk! *the complaint box*

Me: let me-

Chipmunk: Writerjiiii! I need Chipmunk to be my name not some fucking mouse. How dare that ass call me a street mouse! *the angry young women*

Me: let me, please-

Ostrich: Writerjiiiii! I am not a street mutt! *the dard-e-disco wala Devdas*

Me: let me please sl-

All together: Writerjiiii! We hate you! You never listen to us. *came, complained, left*

Me: let me please sleep 😭😭. * goes to sleep as Acha chalta hoon duaon main yaad rakhna plays*