Life is... Beautiful?

Chapter 4: Pool

"Do you have a swimsuit? We're going to be by the pool, and if the weather is nice enough, we might end up swimming," Paru said. 

"Yeah, I brought one just in case. You know me, biggest overthinker of India," you replied, pulling out the black Speedo one piece you brought. "I think I'm just gonna wear some shorts on top, do you think that's okay?" you asked.

"That should be okay. Now let's go get ready, we're already running late!"

---

The two of you arrived at Ajay's house, meeting the other guys at the pool. 

"Hey guys! You're finally here!" Rakesh came up to you guys, giving you a hug which you lightly reciprocated. Suresh walked up to you guys, putting an arm around Paru.

"What took you guys so long? Busy putting on makeup?" Suresh joked, making you a bit irritated.

"Haha, it wasn't makeup Suresh. y/n here was making the both of us wear sunscreen," Paru explained. 

"So basically makeup then," Suresh said. You rolled your eyes, happy that again, your sunglasses and big hat hid your expression. 

"Bro, it's literally skin cancer prevention. Forgive me for not wanting me or my friend to get cancer," you said. 

"Please come, have some food," Ajay offered, showing you guys to some chairs. You thanked him and took a seat, grabbing a can of Sprite and a bag of Little Hearts.

"You know," you said to Paru, who was sitting next to you, "I missed these things so much. I fucking love Little Hearts," you said, before popping one into your mouth. Rakesh noticed and smiled, seeing your smile once you had one in your mouth. 

"Do you like snacks?" Rakesh asked.

"Dude, I love food in general, but I love really spicy food and desserts," you said, still very happy that you got one of your favorite snacks.

"Oh my god, do you remember that one incident at Disney World?" Paru said. 

"Oh no, please don't bring that up again," you said, making puppy eyes at her. 

"Well now I have to share it. So we were in Disney World back in high school, when I went to visit y/n, and y/n's literally going for the food, right. She's practically inhaling the food, and then we look up, and this guy is just staring at her in shock, as if he's questioning how much she can eat," Paru explains, making everyone chuckle. 

"Ok, but to be fair, we had been standing in lines for like four hours," you tried to defend yourself. 

"You know what the highlight is? Even after looking like she hadn't eaten in days, the guy slipped her his number," Paru said. 

You covered your face with your hands and hid your face in Paru's shoulder, feeling embarrassed at everyone's laughter. 

"Aww, our little y/n is so cute," Rakesh commented. You immediately stiffened, not expecting anyone to say something like that to you.

"Yes she is," Paru agreed, pinching your cheek. 

"Hey, just cause I'm shorter than you doesn't mean I'm a baby," you said, pouting at her. She just laughed at poked at your dimpled cheek. 

"Did you notice, both y/n and Rakesh have dimples," Ajay pointed out. 

"Haha, yeah," Rakesh said, eyeing your cheeks. 

There was some disturbance nearby, as some other guys came. 

"Pay us our 30000 and then you can leave," Nagi was saying. 

"What do you mean, 30000?"

Suresh and the others were insisting on getting the money, getting up in their faces, while Rakesh just watched, waiting to intervene. 

You and Paru went up, seeing three other younger girls, one around your age and two that were younger. 

"Guys, just chill. Why do you guys have to fight all the time?" Paru asked.

"Paru, just leave okay? It's just some B-phase shit I have to deal with," Suresh said. You hated the way he just ignored Paru without giving her respect. 

"Fine." Paru walked away, while you lingered behind, shooting Suresh a scowl before following Paru. 

"Paru, Paru, Paru! Can you stay and settle this matter? Out of everyone here you're the most sensible person," the lean B-phase guy said. 

You both looked back, smiling a bit. "Simp," you coughed, making Paru look at you and hold back her laugh. She walked away while you stayed, wanting to see how this would play out. 

"What? Why are you calling Paru, huh?" Suresh pushed him down. His friends pulled him up.

"Forget this, just pay the 30000 and leave," Nagi demanded.

"Hey, he's a student, he can't pay. Just give me a day, I'll bring you 10000," one of the B-phase guys was saying. He had a thick Telangana accent, stronger than Ajay's.

"The fuck do you mean, 10000?" Nagi yelled.

"Along with that take this." The short guy threw another chocolate bar at Suresh.

"Huh?"

"Based on my analysis, Paru will leave you in two months and 10 days," he said cheekily. You had to physically cover your mouth to avoid bursting out in laughter. Luckily, no one was really paying attention to you. 

"Nee abba!" Ajay yelled as Suresh became angrier, pushing the guy around. 

Rakesh stepped in, finally. "Guys, just let him go." He looked to the guy with the accent. "Nagaraj, bring the 10000 tomorrow, okay? Go, chalo, leave," he told the guys to leave. They started to leave, but one of the younger girls came back.

"Hey! Don't you have any shame, getting together to beat one guy up like this?" She yelled at Suresh, who immediately yelled back, grabbing her hand. The youngest girl, probably in elementary school, tried to pull his hand off her sister. 

You rushed forward, ready to fight Suresh at this point for daring to touch that girl, but her brother bypassed you, pushing Suresh into the pool. Their friends ran, while Rakesh and the others ran after them. You rolled your eyes in frustration. Serves him right, you thought, before leaving for Paru's house.