Inquest (Completed)

Revelations

The girl came taking quick steps towards these two. She was pulling along a guy whose hand she held, as he calmly matched her pace. The guy was a stranger to these two, but the girl wasn't. It took a moment for them to recall her name: Chandrika, Gaurav's rebound after Krupa. Krupa and Dhruv exchanged an odd look when she had almost reached them. Chandrika started the conversation:

"Hey! How are you two!? It's been so long!!!"

Krupa was undecided whether she wanted to talk. Unpleasant memories from the past were resurfacing for both of them. Dhruv, however, stepped in with: "We're well, how are you?"

Chandrika raised an eyebrow when Dhruv used 'We'. She also noticed Krupa's silence, so she said, addressing Krupa: "Krupa, I hope you have  forgiven me for whatever I said back then..." Krupa snorted. Chandrika continued, "This is my boyfriend, Prince," Prince gave a warm hello to the two, "and I often tell him how immature I used to be... Or still am, if you ask him... But we both agree that now it's more childish than stupid... Point is, Gaurav was an asshole --" Prince laughed "--and it took me quite some time to realize that... I'm sorry for the harsh things I said to you and about you back then..."

Krupa's expressions relaxed. She said, "It's alright... I might've said some harsh things about you too, so let's consider it even and start anew..."

Chandrika nodded: "Fair enough... Wait, are you too dating finally? I remember Gaurav had said something about Dhruv having a crush on you, Krupa..."

On seeing Dhruv's shocked face and Krupa's confused one, as she said a no and looked at Dhruv. Chandrika sensed what was coming, excused herself and her boyfriend, saying they were late for their movie and left these two.

"You... you had... a crush on me?" Krupa asked, uncertain as to what to say. "Wait wait, do you still have a crush on me?"

Dhruv opened his mouth for a moment, shut it again, then nodded in affirmative.

"Why didn't you tell me back then..?" Krupa asked, words coming out faster than she anticipated.

"I... I didn't have the courage to..." He was scared of losing her now. Was their friendship so weak? -he asked himself. "And after what happened between you and Gaurav, I felt guilty, I felt responsible for it, in a way..."

"How could you be responsible? I should be the one who should feel guilty... For raising your hopes, unaware that you had feelings for me... Though maybe I knew it, deep down... I don't know..." Krupa's tone was back to normal now.

"Actually, I used to tell Gaurav everything about you... He used that information to talk to you... He probably knew I had a crush on you even then... If I hadn't told him about you, he probably wouldn't have tried to date you... I guess..."

"It's not your fault, Dhruv... Moreover, you never know how a person would behave as a boyfriend or girlfriend, even if they seem perfectly normal as a friend..."

"You know, after what happened between you two, Gaurav told me 'Krupa isn't worth it'..."

"Ohh... That's a pity... You know, even after all this time, that hurts a bit... But it just proves yet again that he's pathetic... So that's that..."

"Yes, after all, it's his loss," Dhruv blushed. He couldn't believe he was saying this, "He lost an angel like you..."

Krupa gave him a smile... "Thank you, Dhruv... I always considered you a friend... Friends like you are rare nowadays... So many are fake you almost stop believing in friendship... You know, I should've talked to you after school..."

Though kind, her initial words split his heart in two, but before he could say anything, she continued:

"But there's something you should know too... I can't bear to keep it a secret anymore, after all, I've completed my part... I just want to say that I did what I thought was right..."

Dhruv couldn't make head or tail of what Krupa was saying: "Huh? What?"

Krupa closed her eyes, let out a sigh, opened her eyes and said in a monotone: "I have been in contact with Dr. Vaid..."

Dhruv's confusion intensified. "Um... Okay, and..?"

"And the survey that I took today is for him. He's that 'friend'."

"But it's just a normal project right? He did that with several teenagers, right? You included? I'm not getting what you are trying to tell me..."

Krupa sighed again. "Let's sit down and I'll tell you from the beginning... A few days after we met in Domino's, the doctor contacted me. He explained that he was doing research for which he needed you, and my help. He said it would benefit you... He said that all I needed to do was to take this survey, but his interaction with me should remain a secret from you. Of course, I didn't say yes to him then. I asked him a number of questions, mainly as to how this would benefit you and why he chose you... He told me exactly what I've noticed about you since school: You're hindering your own progress, Dhruv." Both of them were surprised by how blatantly honest her statement was.

She continued, as Dhruv listened with a constant frowning expression, "There's something weighing you down that you're not letting go of... And it's consuming you in the sense that you're not being your best... You're holding back a lot of stuff, not letting others know what's on your mind, even when it's alright to share, even when you would feel better if you shared... In the end, he told me that he chose me to be the mediator because I was acquainted with him, and because you would never let down your guards when you're with the doctor, or with any stranger, for that matter... But it was likely that you would let down your guards when you're with me, that is, a friend..."

Krupa: "I want you to be your best... The Dhruv who participated in competitions, who excelled in so many things... I feared that at this rate, you would feel depressed about yourself... I know you always strive to do your best... I want you to be your best... That's why I said yes to him..."

Krupa: "I laid down conditions too, like- Neither your nor my name should be revealed in his research; and I won't share anything about you if it were something personal..."

Krupa: "I hope you forgive me, Dhruv... I promise I won't do anything like this ever again... It feels worse now..."

Dhruv finally spoke: "Did you... All this time, were you pretending to be my friend just for that doctor's research?"

Krupa was dumbfounded. She had never expected him to say such words... "No, Dhruv, I am your friend... I didn't know you liked me that way, if I had known, I would never have done any of this... Who am I kidding, I am your friend because I want to be... Regardless of the doctor... I'm really sorry... Can you forgive me? Can we be friends? I don't want to lose a friend like you... I've never had a friend like you..."

Dhruv lied: "I only did what I did, thinking you will realize your love for me someday... Since that's not going to happen... I don't want anything to do with you anymore... Goodbye..."

Krupa called him, "Dhruv wait... I don't believe you... I know you wouldn't do something like that... Please don't do this..."

Dhruv didn't turn around to face her. He said, "Bye Krupa..." and walked away. How could he trust her after what she did? But had she really done anything wrong?

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