Superstar

Choosing

Saket was with her most of the time, just like he had said. Jo was happy, but she missed Palash. One night, as Jo sat at the dinner table with her family and Saket, her thoughts kept drifting to Palash. Where was he, and why wasn't he trying to meet her?

After dinner, she quietly crept up to her room and texted him, but she received no reply. Then she thought of texting Adele, his best friend. Adele replied quickly, informing her that Palash was down with fever. "What? I'm on my way." Jo texted back. She stormed downstairs, grabbed her coat and shot out of the front door. Saket was just getting in his car, leaving for his house. On seeing Jo, he said, "Its late and you shouldn't be going out right now. Better get indoors. And you haven't fully recovered yet." "Just shut up. I can go wherever I want. ALL BY MYSELF. Why do you care?" she snapped.

"God. Someone is in a bad mood. Anyways, I care enough to make sure you're safe. Where to? I'll drop you. Besides, I can't let you wander alone this late." he said, trying not to sound irritated. She was hesitant to enter the car, but when he opened the door for her, she didn't want to hurt him. She sat in quietly and buckled up as he took his seat. He asked again,"Where are you headed to?". "Palash's house. He's... umm.... unwell." she said, so softly that he could barely hear her. Without any questions, he started the engine and they drove off.

The journey was terribly quiet, and it was killing both of them. Just then he asked, "May I ask why?", a little desperation in his voice, but his voice was clear and demanding. "He's unwell." "You told me that. Why does it bother you? That's what I wanna know, Jo." 

"I don't know. I really don't. Its just that... I want to make sure he's okay." she replied, hesitating. She knew deep inside that Saket wasn't a fool to believe what she'd just said. He would know that she loved him. Still. Dead silence followed and 'Midnight Memories' broke it as Jo's phone went off. She attended it to the call to hear Syd's voice as she yelled at Jo. "Di. Where the hell are you? Its almost midnight! Get back home, mum's worried!" Jo didn't know what to say. Saket asked her to put it on speaker phone. "She's with me. I'm taking her out with me. Ask mum to relax and apologize for me, will you?" he said. "Oh. Fine then. WIll she be staying over?" Syd asked. "I don't know. I have duplicate keys. She won't wake you up then." he said. "Ok" and the line went dead.

When they got to Palash's house, Saket got down too. "I owe him an apology. Besides, he's my friend too. I think I should inquire about his health." Jo nodded and followed Saket to his main door. Saket knocked but no one answered for a long time. Then a weak and tired-looking Palash opened the door. He looked surprised to see them standing there.

Saket walked in without a word and then casually asked, "How're you doing, buddy?Just came to see you." but Jo had shut the door and was supporting Palash, who had an arm around her shoulder, too weak to stand alone. Saket turned around and saw that. He realized Jo wasn't strong enough herself, so he offered help instead, which Palash gladly accepted, knowing the reason well.

Saket helped him into the couch in the living room and him and Jo took seat on either side of him. "What happened to you? You look so frail. Oh my god. Why can't you take care of yourself?" Jo asked, without pausing for even breathing once. Palash managed a smile and said, "The girl who has NEVER taken care of herself gives some piece of precious advice. Oh and is it experience that talks right now?" Saket burst out laughing. "You're right. She's always so weak, one of us had to always be there." he said.

Jo got up, angrily, and began to walk out of the room, but Palash grabbed her wrist. His grip was surprisingly strong for someone this ill. "Now, don't be mad at me. You know I can't stand that. So..." he turned to Saket, "could you excuse us for a second, Saket? Just need a private word with your Jo." He stressed on the word 'your' so that it almost sounded sarcastic.