SOMEONE ELSE IN THE DARK

8) Error: Friends Not Found

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Aashna's POV:

"What!? Seriously?" Mayank questioned, obviously not believing what I had just told him.

"Yes," I said, giggling, before taking a bite of the Aloo Tikki Chaat lying in front of me on the table in a paper plate. "Umm, oh my god, this is so good!"

After my friends left, Mayank brought me to this food stall named Joshi Fast Food. They were selling only two items, Bun Tikki and Aloo Tikki Chaat, so we decided to opt for one serving of each and shared the items equally. We took our orders and sat on the picnic table arranged opposite the stall, on the other side of the road.

"I know... So that little girl just came out of nowhere and asked you to help her?" Mayank questioned as he finished chewing his last bite.

"Yeah... I mean she didn't even tell me her name," I said realising it now.

"Wow... Damn! I wish I had that level of confidence," he said.

"I know, right? Me too!" I agreed, still giggling a little.

What is wrong with you!? Why are you giggling so much!? You must be looking like a fool!

"Well, I wish... but YOU definitely have a lot of confidence?" Mayank said making me narrow my eyes at him.

"Huh? How?"

"Come on," he said before grabbing the water bottle from the table and unscrewing the cap. "Don't tell me you forgot,"

"I did. Remind me," I said, before taking another bite.

"Okay," he said with a mischievous smile.

Better than flowers, Better than shrine...
Better than coffee, Better than wine ...

As I chewed up the Tikki, Mayank suddenly began to sing a familiar song, making me almost choke.

"Are you okay? Drink this," he said, handing me the bottle of water and also trying to control his laugh.

I took a few gulps of water until I felt better before looking back at Mayank with a questioning look on my face.

"You remember that song?" I asked softly.

"Are you kidding me? Of course I do. It's one of my favourite songs. I still listen to it sometimes when I go for a long drive or..... just wanna hear a good song," he said leaving me dumbfounded.

"What... do you mean.... you.... still listen to it sometimes?" I couldn't help but stutter out of anxiety.

"Well, the summer camp people made a video... of all the performances at the talent show, remember?" he explained.

"Yes," I said with a flat face.

"So I just requested them to give me a copy of your performance, and they did.... because they knew we were friends. I converted it into audio and I still listen to it." he smiled.

My eyes went wide in surprise as I listened to his explanation. "Wow. I don't know what to say,"

"Well, do you wanna hear it? I still have it on my phone," he spoke while unlocking his phone.

"Oh my god! No! Stop! Stop it!" I said trying to take his phone but failed.

Chuckling, he raised his hand over his head as if he had already anticipated my reaction. "Why?"

"Because it's embarrassing," I confessed.

His expressions changed as he kept his phone in his pocket. He put his hands on the table and leaned forward. "Are you crazy? At a age where most of the kids, including me, don't even know how to read properly you wrote a song.... in ENGLISH! You should be proud of yourself,"