In His Custody ✎ | (MaNan)

✰ 28 - cursed stars

I keep aiming to write smaller chapters so I can be more consistent but it does not feel intuitively satisfying to cut a chapter midway through when there's more to tell, so I apologise for the delayed updates :")

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Through the gaps in diamond shaped green grills, the group was immersed in an intense game. Cheers, elaborate curses and relentless trashtalk could be audible from several hundred metres away. By the sounds of them, the scores were marginally higher on Manik's team.

With a glimmer of pride in my heart, I circled the premises with Navya by my side, who had come over to my place to invite me once she had arrived on the field. She looked over at me a couple of times, seemingly to make a remark but decided against it in the last minute. A good decision on her part.

Manik was wearing a long tank top and black sports shorts, sweat gliding off his muscular frame effortlessly, while he deftly weaved through his opponents. Those eyes focused on the ball entirely while Cabir urged, "Aryamann, pass it here," Despite it, Manik shuffled through the crowd and almost dribbled the ball out of Aryamann's hold.

He, my brother and Alia seemed to be part of the same team given how they were trying to tackle my poor classmate, who had been increasingly intimidated by the opponents. They were not going easy on him... they showed no mercy.

On Aryamann's side were Cabir and Mukti, all equally hyped to score a point by hook or by crook.

Cabir stood along the long edge of the court and hysterically waved, "Shoot!" Aryamann sprung in his spot a few feet away from the ring and the ball charged onto the white board, dashing on the rim of the hoop but tactfully slipping out.

"Damn it!"

"Chill Cabir, it's his first time playing..." Mukti comforted.

Navya and I made our way through the creaky gate, grabbing everyone's attention on our entry. Four pairs of eyes gleamed at us–Aryamann who was on the court, Dhruv who was on the cement steps where I usually sat and watched the game, Manik who was smirking while combing his hair with his fingers and Mukti who had been excited at the sight of me finally accepting her offer.

"Nandini, come join us," She suggested as she skipped towards Navya and I. I took one step forward, separating from Navya as Mukti's hands clasped mine and she dragged me in. "You can be on my team, come."

Manik's face dropped and he glowered at his sister, while I rejoiced for once that Manik was not having his way. While the emotional intimacy and comfort I felt around him significantly contributed to my lifted spirits over the last few days, I often had to remind myself that he was the same guy who left me at the drop of a hat several weeks ago... abandoning me without a reason I could comprehend. And if it had happened once, there was a surefire chance it would happen another time.

Be it whatever it was he was battling with, the way he cut me out was brutal and I was not quite ready to be on good terms with him again... or put myself through another wave of loneliness in his absence.

Abhimanyu too had something to add as he approached us. "Yeah, go to the weaker team, it'll make our victory a lot easier!" I took quick strides, swatting his arm swiftly to which he yelped, "Ow!" The boys from his group chuckled at him.

"You deserved that, bro!" Cabir laughed heartily, while Manik locked eyes with me. His lips curved into a sly smile of some sort and within a second, one of his eyes closed at me. Did he just sneakily wink at me? My mouth fell ajar but I otherwise managed to keep my reactions subdued so as to not give room for other suspicions. He smirked and continued chewing the gum in his mouth.