invisible string ✓

thirteen

• ADVIKA •

FIVE HOURS LATER…

Ved Singh, the most relatable character of You Belong With Me, was found at the car park, waiting for us. The moment he saw us, he broke into squeals and jumped on Ishaan in the name of hugging.

“Bro! You made it, finally! Thank you so much!” He squealed as if a five-year-old had got his favourite toy after searching for hours.

“Okay, just leave me, asshole. I'm tired as fuck,” Ishaan grunted and pushed Ved down, allowing Ved to look at two other people who accompanied him.

“Hi, Fior! How do you do?” He smiled at Fiorella and waved in a friendly way. After Fiorella mouthed, “I'm fine,” Ved shifted his gaze to Advika Bansal the Alien of their universe.

“Ummm… This is…?” Ved tried his best to recognise me but failed as it was the first time we met each other.

“Yeah! Let me introduce the special person of my life. Meet Advika, my…” Ishaan paused right there and looked at me, searching for words to introduce me to Ved. “She's my… Friend.”

“Oh,” Ved exclaimed and broke into a smile while greeting, “Hi, Advika. How do you do?”

“I'm fine, Ved. Thanks for asking. How about you?” I tried my best to smile, yet couldn't suppress the tingling sensation that was crawling up my chest from my stomach.

Though I was in Amalfi Coast, my mind went into delusion, rewinding the moment when Ishaan introduced me as “the special person”.

“Uh… Fiorella.” I dragged all of my senses back to reality the moment Ved called Fiorella. “Go to Room Number 306 and stay with my sister Vedika for this night. Ishaan and Advika, I have allotted Room Number 301.” Leaning close to Ishaan, Ved whispered, “Just for you two,” in a tone that matched the ones from the condom advertisements.

“Awww, thanks!” Ishaan whispered with a coy smile and looked back at me with a straight expression. “Shall we go, Advika?”

“Yeah, sure. Good night, Ved,” I greeted Ved and followed Ishaan and Fiorella, my mind living in its delusional slump and making the best plans for the night.

What do you think is the similarity between Twisted Hate, The Spanish Love Deception, The American Roommate Experiment, The Love Hypothesis, and The Hating Game?

One bed.

The “one-bed” thing was the biggest dream for me ever since I watched Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge when I was fifteen. And, reading these books added oceans of petroleum to the fire of my desire named “one bed”.

The way Ved whispered, “Just for you two,” and the way Ishaan thanked him had provoked my mind to make plans for our “one-bed” night.

It wasn't like I would take advantage of the situation and seduce Ishaan to fuck me for the night. Maybe, I would stay awake till he enters the deep sleep zone. Maybe, I would admire the way he opens his mouth during sleep. Maybe, I would dream of running my hands through his hair. Maybe, I would have the jackpot chance of seeing him half-naked: shirtless and in grey sweatpants (oh, you don't know about the “iconic” scene in You Belong With Me, right? That's the story for another day).

We entered the lift as Ved pressed the numbers 1 and 3 and the door closed. I sighed like a man missing his chance of meeting Mia Khalifa, wishing that it was just me and Ishaan so that we would…

If you know you know.

As the lift reached the first floor, the doors opened, allowing Ved to leave the lift.