It was Friday evening, Shehnaaz was getting ready to go and cheer her friends for the face off. In a simple sleeveless white top paired with denims, she called for a cab to her academy, avoiding the metro rush for a few days.

"Look who's here!" Ana rushed and hugged her friend, followed by Shubh, some came to ask her if she was fine.

"Kaisi hai?" Shubh asked.

"Bikul thik hu abhi.. Tum Logo ne mujhe miss kiya ke nahi!" she pouted.

"Kiya na! Tu nahi thi toh idhar bikul maza nahi aaya! Yeh kamini bhi chup rehti thi.." he answered. She looked at Ana, who nodded.

"Awww! Chal ab mai aa gayi na! Tum log kab nikloge?" she enquired.

"Abhi thode der me.. Gaurav sir ka wait kar rahe.." Ana answered.

"Tujhe pata.. Mujhe call kiya tha Gaurav sir ne.. Hal chal puchne ke liye!" Shehnaaz wrapped an arm around Ana, smirking at her, teasing her. Actually Ana had a crush on their handsome dance senior, but to her hard luck, he was a happily married guy who had a baby daughter too.

"Ha toh? Kya karu mai?" Ana shrugged.

"Nahi.. Bas bata rahi thi.." she chuckled.

"Sali kutti.. Kabhi kabhi mujhe lagta hai mujhe chot hi lag jaye.. Toh us Gaurav ko mai dikhayi de jau.." Ana said and Shehnaaz had the loudest laugh.

"Tumlog ko us lambu me itna kya dikhta hai? Usse acha toh mai dikhta hu.." Shubh brushed them off, running his fingers through his hairs. The girls only laughed at his misconception.

"Toh..kya kiya itne din ghar me.. Bahut bore huyi na tu?" Ana asked her while doing her makeup and Shehnaaz was correcting her hair.

"Ha.. Thoda bahut.." she trailed off, recalling her long drive with Sidharth.

Flashback:
Sidharth was driving them out of the city to get some empty roads, to drive in peace. They were on one of the flyovers, Shehnaaz was looking down at the busy roads like a kid, vehicles all over, flashing their headlights. The weather was amazingly cold, there were moving dark clouds in the sky and the moon was peeking in and out of them. She removed her rubber band that held her hair in a rough ponytail and wore it on her wrist before resting her head on the open window panel, her hair flowing out in the direction of the wind that was hitting them and her face. She was loving the beautiful weather in the company of her neighbor. He was sitting relaxed, yet focused on the road, his left hand also resting on the window panel like her.

"Tujhe pasand hai long drives pe jana?" she asked, after noticing how effortlessly he drew them out of the traffic, like he knew the road maps by hard.

"Hmm.. Road trips.. Bahut kiye hai.." he answers. "Bachpan me.. Friday raat ko ek chote se bag me saman pack karke nikal jaate the hum.. Dad, Mom aur mai.. Koi specific jagah nahi.. Bas aise hi.. Unplanned.." he smiled recalling how fond of road trips his father was. They never really planned their weekends, just a bag-pack and the three of them were out. She looked at him, his smile just made his face more adorable under the moonlight.

"Phir to bahut maza karte hoge na tumlog?" she asked in anticipation. "Ha! Dad bolte the.. life ka moment enjoy karo.. Might sound cliché.. But that song -Zindagi ek safar hai suhana.. was his favourite.. Usko jaise apna motto bana liya tha unhone.." he added.

"Cliché nahi hai bilkul bhi..Bahut kam log hote hai jo life ko leke aise perspectives rakhte hai.." she replied.

"Baat to sahi hai.." he agreed.

"Tu bata.. Any road trips?" he asked. "Meri roadtrips toh sirf Mohali se Amritsar tak hoti thi.. College se ghar vacation me.." she chuckled, her 4hour bus journey every summer and winter could be considered a road trip she thought.

"Ha! College me gayi thi trip.. Delhi le kar gaye the professors ek baar.." she recalled, every college trip holds a special place in the students heart.

"Acha.." he said, nudging her to continue.

"Ek laboratory me lekar gaye.. New Delhi.. Excursion pe.. I think 2014 ya 15 me.. Mera 2nd year tha.. Pehli baar mai friends ke sath bahar aayi thi.. Itna maza aaya tha na! Kya batau!" she perked, folding her legs one across the other.

"Ghar ki tarah koi tokne wala nahi.. Koi rokne wala nahi.. Matlab professors ache the.. Vo apne me hum apne me.. Bada maza aaya tha!" she added, she had witnessed the real meaning of freedom after stepping out of her house.

"Ghar pe kafi rokte the tujhe.." he noticed, her face would always scrunch up when she used to mention her home. Enjoying the peaceful and cold environment was long gone, this topic, her back story seemed important for the moment. He wanted to know what had happened.

"Mat puch itna karte the.. Chote kapde mat pehno vala toh bataya tha.. Meri pehli performance vali dress jala di un logo ne.. Shaam ko ghar se bahar jana mana tha.. Kisi school friend ki birthday party tak me nahi gayi mai.. Ek baar kisi ladke se baat karte dekh liya tha mujhe toh maar padi thi.." She counted the number of restrictions they had laid on her. Being totally unreasonable, biased and crude towards her. A huge part of her past she had carried inside till now was coming out and was almost over the edge now. This guy right next to her, had the capability to let her heal herself and not bury those things inside. She knew he wasn't just someone who would hear her sob story and then console her, he was someone who would very patiently listen to her and just let her be. Because she just needed to let it out as if it was a nightmare and not carry it with her. In these months she had learnt from him that what has happened cannot be changed, so better accept it.

"What?! That's so.. Too much!" he wanted to cuss. He wanted to rant out on those people who were so hard on their own child, whoever they were, but they were still her family members he didn't want to disrespect.

"Bache pe itni rok nahi lagani chahiye.. Woh khud bahar jayega toh akele kaise samna karega duniya ka?" he questioned, obviously how would one survive outside all alone, if you don't even let them socialise?

"Were you.. treated this way because you're a girl? You know.. Ladka ladki me farak rakhte the?" he asked, that seemed to be the most probable reason for an orthodox mentality to keep girls home and let the boys lead.

"Ha.. Farak toh karte the thoda bahut.. Ladkiyo ko zyada padhana likhana zaruri nahi samjhte the.. Lekin mai.." she stopped herself to give a thought before revealing it to him, the sole cause of miseries in her and her mother's life.

"Ha..bol.." he nudged as if she thought he wasn't paying attention. She looked at him and said,
"Secret hai.." and looked away.

"Chalna.. Abhi mere se kya secret? Kisi ko bataya kya tera purana secret maine!?" he chided, the first thing she had shared with him was still between them, that she had disturbed sleep and anxiety issues. Now they were losing the intensity in the topic.

"I was adopted.. They never accepted me as their child.. Ma mujhe gurudware ke bahar se layi thi ghar.." came out whispered. She thought she trusted him enough to let him know that but saw his blank face then, not even a single expression held his face nor there were any emotions in his eyes. Her heart pricked when he looked away, at the thought if this thing could ruin the friendship they had. He focused back on the road. After not being able to look at her, the pain in her eyes, she had faced such crudeness and sick behavior for not being a blood of that family! For fucks sake, she was treated so recklessly for this truth??

"Kya hua? Tu chup kyu hai?" she asked and pulled her legs back down, her voice was so heavy, choking and almost breaking.

"Nahi.. Kuch nahi.." he answered, he didn't know how to react and what to say. But he could notice his silence was not helping.

"Tujhe is baat se koi problem hai..ki mai..That..that I'm an orphan?" she finally asked, she almost choked and looked outside to avoid the tears.

"Nahi! No! Not at all.." he slowed down the car, eventually stopping it to the side.

"Idhar dekh!" he said, unbuckling his seat belt and facing her properly.

"I..I don't know what to say.. Mujhe samajh nahi aa raha.. Pata nahi kya bolna chahiye.. Mujhe bas is baat se farak padta hai that you've been through so much.. And for what? Just for not being their real child?" he said. He was upset just with the fact. She felt nice when he said that, he was so genuine.

"Hm... It's okay.. Mat bol kuch.." she replied, it would be better if he won't sympathize with her because she had mend her ways with it and with those people. Just that, those days were really dreadful. She felt a warm palm on her cold thighs.

"Pata nahi yadi isse bhi zyada bura ho sakta hai kisi ke sath toh.. Mere samne baki bacho ko itna pyaar karte the.. Godi me bitha kar khelte the unke sath.. Mujhe naye kapde ya khilaune nahi chahiye the Sidharth! Mujhe vo apnapan chahiye tha! Mai jisko apna baap samajhti thi usne mujhe ek baar bhi beta nahi bulaya tha.. Chhoti thi toh samajh nahi aata tha.. Mujhe pyaar kyu nahi karte.. Mai sochti thi shayad mai utni sundar nahi thi ya ache se padhai nahi karti.. Ma se puchti thi toh unke paas koi jawab nahi hota tha.." she blabbered looking outside, with her throat heavy, wiping her tears with the back of her palm.

"Actually Ma couldn't conceive.. Unhone vo IVF treatment bhi karvaya tha..Woh roz gurudware jati thi path karne.. Seva karti thi ki ek din Babaji unki sun lenge.. vaha ek din koi apni bachi chhod kar gaya tha.. toh unhone vaha kaam karne valo ko kuch paise diye us bachi ka dhyaan rakhne ke liye.. Vo treatment successful nahi hua.. her womb was very weak, the doctors said.. Bohot toot gayi thi vo.. Tabi unke man me us bachi ka khayal aaya.. Mai thi vo.. Mujhe ghar leke aaye vo.. Kisiko yeh god lene vala idea pasand nahi tha.. Lekin Ma bahut dukhi thi.. Toh unki khushi ke liye rakh liya mujhe sab ne.." she completed her story. Yet he had no words to reply with so he simply pulled her into a hug, wrapping her close and tight for a while. She shed some tears in the embrace and hugged him back. They resumed their ride back home, keeping the conversation light this time and enjoying the breeze.

"Parso performance hai.. Mai Ana aur Shubh ko cheer karne jaungi.. Aur school bhi join karna chahti hu jaldi.." she grinned because her foot was almost fine, just one more day and she'd join her work and academy from the coming Monday.

"That's nice..Lekin dhyan rakhna! Try not to overwork.." he said out of concern, she nodded.

"Haaye.. Ye mausam kitna acha hai na!" she gushed, they didn't turn on the AC in the entire ride, there was no need, the breeze was enough to soothe them.

"Hmm.." he replied, followed by a yawn.

"Tujhe neend aa rahi hai na..?" she asked, he nodded. She saw it was 2 at night, also he had a busy day, stuck up in meetings and yet took them for a long drive.

"Tu thak gaya hai na?" she asked again, he nodded again.

"Kal subha phir hospital bhi jana hoga?" she asked yet again.

"Tu bolna kya chahti hai?" he asked her, annoyed with questions.

"Toh drive pe kyu leke gaya? Abhi neend poori nahi hogi toh.. Tera sar dukhega kal!" she retorted.

"Tujhe acha nahi laga abhi apan drive pe aaye toh!?" he asked, raising his voice.

"Laga na acha!" she answered.

"Bas phir!" he said, ending the topic, this long drive was to make her feel better. She had a good time and that's what matters, he returns tired home everyday anyway.

"Thankyouuuu!" she smiled, leaning forward to hug and peck his bicep. They reached their building soon, she got out of the car and heard some light whimpers.

"Sidharth! Tujhe kuch sunayi diya?" she asked.

"Nahi toh.." he shrugged, walking out and locking the car.

"Idhar aa..." she followed the sound, it was coming from somewhere in the parking lobby only.

"Abhi suna tune?" she asked. He nodded this time, trying to follow the voice too.

"Awwww.. Ye dekh! Isko bhook lagi hogi tabhi roh raha hai.." she scrunched down and picked up a puppy and then noticed there were many.

"Haaye.. Dekh.. 1,2,3,4..chaar puppies Sidharth!" she chirped.

"Ha.. Dekh raha hu.. Kal. Guard ko bolunga hatane ke liye.." he replied.

"Haaww! Kyu?" she pouted, the puppies were so damn cute!

"Abey..ye parking hai! Yaha koi inko apni gadi ke neeche daba dega galti se toh?" he answered.

"Arey ha! Ye bache yaha safe nahi hai.." she agreed and turned back when she heard a growl.

"Ammaa!" she stepped back, it was the puppies' mother, probably thinking the two humans were going to hurt her babies. Shehnaaz immediately kept the puppy in his place and grabbed Sidharth's arm, dragging him out too.

He chuckled seeing her all fear stricken,
"Has mat! Mujhe kutto se dar lagta hai!" she snapped, he obliged, zipping his mouth and they returned back to their respective apartments.
.

.....

She always had a great time with Sidharth. Coming back to where she was now, she accompanied her friends to Powai for their performance. It was like an assembly ground, a stage in the open. 

"Shehnaaz! Kaise hai?" Gaurav came out of the backstage and stood beside her, their opponents were performing now. 

"Thik hu sir!" she answered. 

The dance soon got over followed by a huge round of applause by their respective friends. She crossed her fingers, wishing for her friends to do even better! Though she was confident about them and Gaurav's amazing choreography. The girls took their positions first and the sound track began, the boys joined them. Syncing bodies with the beats, everybody was doing great. This was the first time she noticed Ana and Shubh looked good together, not just as two dancers, there was something more. Than she saw Dhruv with his new dance partner, pretty comfortable yet his rude face was the same. The dance came to an end with even more loud cheer and applause. She herself hooted the loudest for them and congratulated Gaurav. Her friends came back, Ana jumped on her. 

"How's that?" she asked. 

"You guys were fab! Fabulous! Too good!" She hugged her back. 

Ana composed herself after she saw Gaurav and raised her brows at him, he came forward and side hugged her, "You were good!" he said and moved on to congratulate the rest. 

"Haaye.." She acted as if she's going to faint, while Shubh pushed her stand straight. 

"Hi Shehnaaz!" Dhruv showed up. 

"Hey..Hii'' she greeted back. 

"Look I'm sorry for that day..maine tumhe nahi giraya.." he apologized. 

"Oye! Sorry kyu bol raha hai? Mai khud giri thi!" she chuckled. 

"Ask your friends! Academy me sab yahi sochte hai maine gira diya tha tumhe!" he retorted and left. Was he born rude? She wondered.

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