Just Roommates

Dive

All of them walked through the farms, drowning in nostalgia, remembering the little things they did as children. While Diya only listened, she had nothing to say. 

Her childhood was nothing like this, she hated the summer holidays, she couldn't stand to stay at home, hearing someone or the other in the house shouting at each other. Her cousins and aunts would come over for a few days and then realize the high tension in the atmosphere and leave. So she did what she could, go away and play basketball for hours straight and come back to her room and immerse herself in the books. In the night she'd let Meeta tell her a story or listen to Meera tell her all about her dreams and fantasies, but Diya liked the childhood that Arjun and his cousins had, full of dirt and dust, and stories of knights and damsels, plucking trees from the mango or laying cow dunk on the path of some villages, it sounded hilarious to her. 

So she walked and listened and saw Arjun, Nikhil, Dev and Aman play pranks on each other. She saw Arjun today, well she saw him today morning too and noticed his bare chest like she had never before, he wore sunglasses and a t-shirt with boxers, even though she liked his transformation, she always abhorred good things, she knew that if something good was happening then it was just the calm before the storm. 

 She sometimes wondered if he had begun to care for her, when she'd notice him observing her or when he'd obsess over her eating and sleeping and then realized that why would a man whose 5 years were taken away, with nothing in return begin to care for someone who was responsible for it! Besides her insecurities about her appearance made it almost impossible. 

The finally landed near a chikoo tree, Nikhil quickly pulled a few twigs and made himself a catapult and everyone followed him, they all began shooting at the fruits on the tree, there was suddenly a competition between who'd have the most. While Diya just stood there watching them all.

"Bhabhi, you should try this?" dev called her. Diya to whom all this seemed pretty new gestured him saying that she was fine. On dev's insistence, she picked up a catapult and tried to shoot as Dev had instructed her both the stone only fell a few centimeters away. Arjun noticed this and took this as an opportunity to tease Diya, it had been a long time anyways.

"Leave it Dev, she's a very bad student" he said as he smirked to her

"Oh really? Why dont you teach me then, if you think you're such a great teacher" Diya said pretending to be miffed. Arjun walked over to her and slowly moved behind her. He then held both her hands that were already holding the catapult. He came closer to Diya, His face was on her shoulder now, Diya could feel the weight. His stubble, touched her cheeks and she stiffened. "What's the matter" Arjun whispered, he was so close to his ear lobe. Diya could barely process anything. 

"Yo-your-stub-ble-its poky" Diya replied. Arjun held her tighter and came closer so the stubble could poke her more. "And now" Arjun asked as He pulled the string attached with Diya's hand, "you should shave" Diya said in a very low voice. Was this some new technique of torture Arjun had discovered, giving her a churning in the stomach. It wasn't like she hadn't been touched by other men or that she was a virgin, physicality was never a slow, sacred or impending concept, it was quick, feeling less and easy to get done with. She always had a one time thing and even with Akhil, it never gave her a churning in the stomach, there was no delicacy to it.

"Shoot", Arjun said and she suddenly felt her hand release something, there was some rustling of leaves and she saw a round brown chikoo fall down as everyone else clapped. 

"Wow bhaiya, your student turned out to be very good" one of them remarked, another attempt to pull their leg, gah when would they stop she thought to herself.

"Well, who is the teacher" Arjun said in pride as he bowed down. Was he even aware of what's going on with me right now Diya thought, her heart beat was racing.