Underlying Chemistry
Underlying Chemistry
It wasn't that he didn't think that she was capable of making it to the position but he himself had no plans to be a part of the royal shenanigans. It had been his dream to be a part of the Suraksha Chakra team since a long time.
"Someone is feeling really smug after clearing just the first round. Counting your chickens before they hatch," a snide voice remarked from behind them.
Mriga pivoted at the rude jab from an unfamiliar voice. It was the whiny partner of Vindhya who had said the provoking words. She stood there with the 'self-proclaimed' winner and four other people, all wearing similar narcissistic expressions on their faces.
Mriga's instinct was to ignore them but suddenly Abhirath shot past her and covered the distance between them.
"Hi guys. Imagine my luck running into you'll here. My name is Abhirath. I have heard a lot about all of you and always wanted to make your acquaintance. May I know your names?" he was using his seldom used charm but in a weird way.
"How has he heard about them if he doesn't even know their names?" Mriga was bemused.
As one of them stepped out to open her mouth, Vindhya's hand shot out and stopped the girl from speaking.
"Please excuse us. We have somewhere to be," with that Vindhya gave a meaningful look to her group and left from there.
Mriga frowned at the perplexing exchange. She swung her eyes to Abhirath's face which was resembling an iceberg now. What happened to him? Was he turning bipolar?
"Uh… have I missed something here?" she asked him.
His gaze finally softened when it shifted to her face and he shook his head in resigned indulgence, "Not something, a lot of things. Nevermind. Let's go."
Too tired to bother with his unclear words, Mriga's stomach overtook her brain muscles and led her towards the foodhall.
Yash saw the two of them approaching the table. Even though it had been just one day since he last saw them, something was different in their equation. It wasn't that Mriga or the guy were making love-struck eyes at each other but the body language between them had changed starkly.
The only way to describe how they looked walking together right now was – 'cozy'.
There was a sense of comfort or familiarity which was visible that had not been present earlier. Mriga was either not aware of it or not averse to it. Under normal circumstances, Yash would have liked to believe that it would be the former but he had an uncomfortable intuition that it was the latter this time.
There was no way to find out what exactly happened in one day for them to have become so comfortable with each other but his heart was being crushed under a giant boulder right now. All this while, he had thought that he would use these days to gain her forgiveness before trying to reclaim her affection. But if things continued the way they were at present, he wasn't sure if he would even be able to come within fifty meters of her presence. The vibes which Abhirath was projecting were no less than that of an alpha male marking his territory.
"What are you thinking with such a serious face? We won today then why the gloomy look?" Nirbhay remarked about the intensity on Yash's face which was unmissable.
Before Yash could form a reply, Vandit butted in and smirked, "Can't you see that the poor guy's heart is on fire? How can you blame him for it? Haven't you noticed that our surly bear has been stuck to Mriga like a leech ever since they returned from the contest and more importantly, she hasn't bothered pushing him away like she used to, previously."
Yash couldn't stop the naked hurt from surfacing in his eyes which made Ishani feel a little bad for him.
She nudged Vandit hard on his ribs and said, "Sometimes you make me wonder about your 'orientation'. I don't think that I have ever seen you pay this much attention to me as you shower on Abhirath. Weren't you and he sworn enemies at one point in time? I wonder what was the reason for you to make a 180° turn from that position to knowing the smallest change in his face's nuance these days."
Chiranjeev, who as always had been watching the proceedings as a bystander, nearly choked on the bite of the food which he had just taken in. As Vandit's face became red like a tomato, he glared at Ishani who looked calmly back at him, with a faintly questioning look.
"Make space for me, Vandit. I want to sit next to Ishani," Mriga pouted as soon as she reached the table.
Without waiting for the guy to react, Ishani pushed him away roughly and took Mriga's overladen plate, helping her sit down.
"Why are you so fierce towards me? Whose orientation needs a check?" Vandit grumbled under his breath.
But Ishani didn't pay attention to his words. Instead, she looked at Mriga's plate and burst out laughing.
"Did someone tell you that the foodhall is shutting from tomorrow? Why is there so much food in your plate?" she asked her best friend.
Mriga gave her an injured look and replied, "How can you even ask me that question? Last night this ogre didn't let me eat anything except a few pieces of meat. And then this morning was the biggest torture of my life, fighting it out without eating or drinking. When I came back, I was in no condition to eat. How can you grudge me a little bit extra that I have got in my plate right now?"