In Every Story of Mine (A Jassi-Hardik story)

Convenience

Jassi couldn't figure it out.

Rohit bhaiya might expected he'd be able to, but he couldn't.

And it was a miserable feeling, being unable to figure out what had gone wrong between him and Hardik. If he tried to think carefully, he didn't recall the last time they'd spoken properly. A large reason of that, of course, was that Hardik was being weird ever since they'd flown to the US.

But before that?

They'd spent the IPL in silence, too. Both of them, individually, and with each other.

What did that mean?

Were they friends? Were they acquaintances? Were they friends-turned-acquaintances?

The last was the worst.

No, he couldn't figure anything out.

Jassi muttered a good night to Rohit bhaiya and sprinted where he was sure he'd get answers and advice and no disappointed look—Virat bhaiya was never disappointed in his younger brothers.

He was little blind that way, and normally Jassi didn't get to exploit it since he didn't give reasons for him to be disappointed—but today he needed to.

_______________

Virat bhaiya was holding court with Jaddu bhaiya, acting out some extraordinary story to an admiring audience of Shubman, Yashasvi and Kuldeep, and a sniggering audience of Yuzi and Rishabh.

"Hi, Jassi!" Yuzi hailed. "Join us—Jaddu bhaiya had a crazy encounter with a cop the other day!"

"Did he indeed?" said Jassi drily.

"Sit," said Jaddu magnanimously, "and I shall banish all your doubts."

"I'd love to, Jaddu bhaiya—but I need to talk to—"

"Come on, Jass," cried Virat bhaiya.

"Virat bhaiya—" A protesting Jassi was dragged by Virat's overbearing arm to join him on the bed.

"We should call the others, too," said Shubman. "Where's Hardik bhai?" he asked Jassi.

"I—I don't know..."

"I'll call him!" Shubman jumped up and bolted for the door. "Don't resume till I'm back, Jaddu bhai!"

As Jaddu assured him he wouldn't, Jassi felt faint with an unnamed horror. He couldn't face this strange, underconfident Hardik without knowing what was up with them.

"Virat bhaiya," he whispered. "Will you please come outside with me once?"

Virat, engrossed as he was in enacting Jaddu's story, couldn't not hear the desperate note in Jassi's voice.

"Sure," he said, surprised, and told the others, "Jassi and I'll be right back."

________________

Jassi dragged Virat bhaiya up to the terrace to avoid any chance encounter with Hardik and Shubi.

That got Virat even more concerned. "What is it?"

"The thing is—" Jassi paused, wondering how best to frame it. "Virat bhaiya, I don't know what's...what's wrong with..."

"Jaddu's recklessness?" A bulb lit up in Virat's head. "Don't worry, Jass, his stories are really exaggerated. The cop did not actually shoot at him, y'know."

"That was where the story was heading?" said Jassi in disbelief, before he realized they were deviating. "No, Virat bhaiya, I'm not worried about Jaddu bhaiya's recklessness!"