By Your Side..Forever & A Day!

24. A kick in time saves nine

Dedicated to shubhjn, without whose constant backing I wouldn't have written this chapter even in another month's time :P
Happy reading :)
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Tamanna's PoV :

The centre stage. The illuminating spotlight. The unconfident yet accomplished performance. The deafening applause. The proud father's teary eyes. The final bow of boosted self-belief. The only thing missing was my mother's presence.
My heart craved to call out loud her name so that the heavens brought her down to me for the tightest hug ever exchanged. But all I could do was dream of her gleaming, smiling face.
"I love you," she mouthed to me.
"I miss you," I mouthed to her as the curtains rolled down.

"Tammy, you were extraordinary out there," Marcus' words withdrew me from my reverie.
"Thanks, Captain. So were you," I returned the compliment.
"Huh, nothing in comparison to you. Nobody can hold themselves back from falling in love with you if they watched you in motion today," he flattered as we walked to the backstage across an empty pathway.
"You know I don't like flattery, Marc," I reminded.
"No, it's true. I couldn't, to say the least," he said.
"What do you mean, Marcus?" If that was meant to be a joke, it was rather annoying.
Without a warning, he blocked my way with one of his arms and said, "I love you, Tammy!"
My annoyance turned into fuming rage. Was this lad even thinking straight?
"You're kidding, right? Is this some dare someone gave you? I know you do a lot of those stupid challenges", I blurted.
His eyes expressed a hurt feeling and he briskly pinned my body to the wall behind me. His face was dangerously close to mine and I could feel his breath on the nape of my neck.
"Get away from me! How dare you, Marcus!" I struggled in vain to free myself from his grasp.
"How dare you, Tammy? Wasn't it you that night at the club doing the touchy-touchy dancing with me? I know you like me too. You agreed to replace Cindy only because I asked. All the fun time we spent together preparing for this show..."
"It was mere friendship," I interrupted, stressing more on the last word. How he had misunderstood!
"I already guessed you'd be too shy to acknowledge your feelings for me. So I corrupted your drink, wishing you'd confess your true emotions for me subconsciously," he revealed.
"That was you?" I confirmed if my ears had heard right.
"Yes, that was me. But all you did was chant one name - Ironman! Who the hell is this Ironman?"
"I am!" came a vexed voice standing at the exit door of the backstage. Aryamann! Even a fan-girl wouldn't have been so aroused by her favourite hero's entry than how I was by his.
He wasted no time in sprinting towards Marcus and shoving him away by clenching his shoulder. Aryamann then stood like a protecting boulder between us, his face growing red from apparent anger.
Marc attempted to fight Aryamann out of the matter but failed to overpower his strong physique, a result of everyday workout.
Just when Aryamann raised his fist to punch him straight in the face, I held it back and shook my head in a 'no'.
"But he spiked your drink, Tamanna", he reasoned, pronouncing my name in full. That was enough proof of the extent he could go to to teach Marc a lesson.
"It's OK. I had a great night at the club because of it," I said just to avoid any violence.
"And he also misbehaved with you now." Aryamann wouldn't leave a reason to paint a few bruises on Marcus' skin.
"It's a very important day for me, Aryamann, and I don't want to give him the liberty to ruin it. I'm glad you showed up just in time before things got any worse. But let's deal with him later," I suggested.
Entangling my fingers in his, I was dragging him away from the crime scene when Marcus outcried from the rear. "Oh, I get it now. You two are a thing, isn't it?"
His pinpointing made Aryamann all the more agitated and he was about to take a U-turn to send a fist across Marc's face, but reluctantly left the strong wish aside on my denial.
Nonetheless, there was no stopping for Marc's nasty comments that evening. "Does the rich brat pay you for love?"
I had never in life known the extent of damage that rejection could cause to one's thought process. What had happened to the sensible friend I once owned? Had he flipped off his humanity switch?
Even before Aryamann could react to the ugly side of Marc, I hastily walked closer to him and kicked him in the favourite spot in such situations. "That's none of your d!*k's business!" I declared, while he winced in pain.

"Thank goodness for the rest of my final year is only academics. I won't have to see that a$$#ol3's face too often," I murmured as we walked towards the green room, where Baba and Sha were waiting to meet me.
"By the way, did I tell you the professor personally told me how much he liked the case study? All credits to your abundance of pounds, which I'm always alleged of taking advantage of," breathlessly ranted my slightly hurt self.
"Actually it's the other way round. I'm into this friendship with the intention of taking advantage of you someday," came his mischievous reply.
"Why can't you pervert men keep your thoughts to yourself?" I snapped in disgust and he happily pinched my nose in response.
"But I swear, Tommy, if that b@$+@rd ever sets his eyes on you again..."
"Don't worry," I interjected and placed a comforting hand on his shoulder. "He'd surely not want to risk his ability to produce his own children again."
The low chuckles that followed helped to lighten the atmosphere around as we approached the dressing rooms.
All other appreciation on one side of the balance and a parent's on the other. My father's joyful whistle upon catching the first sight of me was the superlative of all the compliments I received.
When Baba and Trisha engulfed me in a group hug, they had their backs facing Aryamann. I signalled him not to utter a word to my family about what occurred backstage. He gestured in reply that his lips were sealed.
But he did tell me how much Tina aunty wished to come watch my performance, and had to cancel last minute due to her work obligations.
"She'll have to be satisfied with just the video I recorded," he added.

Since my dad hadn't brought along his resale-valueless-junk-scooter to the venue, Aryamann naturally had to drive us all back home. It was funny to have a childlike curious adult riding with us, Baba of course, who kept quizzing Aryamann about every minute specification of the Veyron.

Who knew a surprise was awaiting me after I successfully managed to carry my slump frame upstairs.
A beautifully arranged bunch of red roses was placed on my bed-side table with a note attached, that read, 'I was overconfident that you'd steal the spotlight on stage. So I had these little buds already lined up to welcome the star of the night. Congratulations Tommy! You made your bestie proud! :)"
The note ended with a smile and so did my day.
Why wouldn't a girl stick around a guy who erases the dark moments from life? If you call that being friends with him for "benefits" (in air quotes), then yes, I'm as guilty as charged!
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Am I supposed to apologize again for the wait? I think you'll pass :P
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