It's Complicated

Six

"Hey, could we take a break?"

"Oh thank god, I was hoping you'd ask that!"

Ashwin and Kavya collapsed onto a bench in the private park, tired and sweaty from their long run. They both were avid fitness enthusiasts and decided an outdoor run was a perfect outing for them.

Kavya took a long sip from her water bottle.

"You know, once I did a marathon in Italy where they throw tomatoes and grape juice at you the whole time."

Ashwin gasped.

"Seriously?!"

"Serious. But I somehow made it to the finish line!"

He laughed.

"You're quite a bold girl, you know that?"

"Well, I wouldn't want to be anything less."

They both shared a smile, until they were interrupted by Ashwin's phone ringing.

"One second, I have to take this."

As Ashwin spoke to his publicist, Kavya went on her phone and scrolled through Instagram mindlessly. Ever since she had started dating Ashwin, her explore page had been flooding with his pictures and fan edits. Before her parents set them up she had no clue who he was. She had lived in Australia until last year and never really followed cinema or entertainment news. But now she had been trying to catch up and understand his world better.

As she swiped through she noticed one video of him with a girl synced to a love song, with clips of them laughing and dancing. She swiped again to see a video of the same girl teasing Ashwin and reciting a pickup line to him in an interview.

As Ashwin put down his phone, Kavya turned her phone towards him.

"Who's this?"

Ashwin felt a pang of anxiety, getting a flashback to Ajay's interrogation.

"That's Sivaangi, she's an old co-star of mine and someone in my close circle," he replied evenly.

She tilted her head.

"Apdiya? Then why is she flirting with you here?"

"Oh that's just some fun for a show, she's just joking around."

He paused wondering how to explain this situation.

"Basically there are a lot of fans for our equation, like how people love srk-kajol, and so neriya edits and fan pages irruku."

He paused.

"The reality is that I have a lot of respect for her, and I'll always support her. She is always there for me when I need it, like many times when I was low she helped me. But there's absolutely nothing between us. I promise."

Kavya kept a serious face.

"Sathiyama?"

Ashwin blinked tensely.

"Enna neenga ipdi kekkaringa, yenga na unmai thaan soldren."

Kavya stared at him in silence, then suddenly burst out laughing.

"Prank panna Ashwin, just kidding around! I can tell you guys aren't like that, she's just a chirpy kid, no? But her voice is really so cute."

He relaxed, lightly chuckling.

"Sorry, I was just messing with you. Of course I know there would be nothing between you guys, I mean come on. And girls and boys should be allowed to be friends without being scrutinized."