"Chacha vastegana huiyaann."

Dev moaned and blew air straight into Prithvi's left ear.

Prithvi, who had been completely absorbed in his notes, flinched and glared at him.

Dev burst out laughing and fell back onto the bed, delighted with his own mischief.

"Tu usey pareshaan kyu nahi karta?" Prithvi shook his head and went right back to studying.

(Why don't you just go and annoy him instead?)

"Uss kans mama ko? Beta wo meri jaan le lega," Dev said, hopping onto the bed. "Ek din galti se uske upar takiya phek diya tha, yaad hai usne kya kiya? Pehle khana khilane le gaya, phir usi takiye jaise peeta. Wo gunda hai bhai, gunda."

(That demon? Brother he'll kill me if I do so. Once I accidentally threw the pillow at him. You remember what he did? He took me out for dinner first, then he beat the shit out of me using the same pillow. He's a gang member, I'm saying you.)

Across the room, Shresth had his headphones on and was studying at the opposite end of the desk.

"Aur mai?" Prithvi asked, glaring at Dev.

(And what about me?)

"Tu toh meri biwi hai, tu kuchh nahi hone dega mujhe." Dev said sweetly, reaching out to touch Prithvi's chin.

(You're my wife, you ain't gonna let anything happen to me.)

Prithvi gave him a small, helpless smile, then turned and waved his hand in Shresth's direction. Shresth pulled his headphones down to his neck and looked at him, questioning.

Dev's eyes widened.

"Wo Dev kuchh-" Prithvi started to say, but Dev was already on him, covering his face with both arms.

(Dev is saying someth-)

"Mujhe bawasir ho gaya hai, isliye mai medicines maang raha tha iss keede se," Dev said, laughing nervously. Shresth shook his head and put his headphones back on.

(I'm suffering from hemorrhoid. That's why I was asking for medicines from this dirty micro-organism)

"Kya be, maarunga tujhe mai. Tu chal bahar." Dev nudged Prithvi's shoulder.

(What the hell! I'm gonna beat you. Come outside)

"Chal chal. Fattu." Prithvi adjusted his specs.

(Whatever, loser)

"Haan, uss din kaun bin wajah pit ke aaya tha? 'Chudail hai, Hanuman Chalisa padh.' " Dev mimicked him perfectly and dissolved into laughter.

(Yeah and who was the one getting beated that day? 'It's a witch, chant Hanuman Chalisa' ")

"Tu toh jaise nahi pita tha," Prithvi muttered, cheeks burning red because of embarrassmen.

(As if you weren't hit)

"Mai atleast baat toh kiya. Communication skills, Pritu." Dev threw an arm over his shoulders.

(Atleast I talked to them properly. Communication skills, Pritu)

"First of all, mera naam Prithvi hai and I hate nicknames. Second of all, tu merese dur reh, tere lakshan theek nahi hain. Third of all, tu padhta kyu nahi? Fir end moment aake ChatGPT ko bolega 'chaar kitaab ko ek paragraph mein detail mein summarise karke de' aur pagal jaise sirr pe naachega."

("First of all, my name is Prithvi, and I hate nicknames. Second, stay away from me. I don't trust your intentions. Third, why don't you ever study? Then, at the last minute, you'll come crying to ChatGPT asking it to 'summarize four entire books into one detailed paragraph,' and you'll end up running around like a headless chicken.")

"Dekh, tu mere aur mere ChatGPT ke conversation mein matt ghus. Personal space, bro. Aur agar itni hi himmat hai, toh uss ladki ki bracelet ab tu hi lautayega. Mai nahi jaa raha."

("Listen, stay out of my conversations with ChatGPT. Personal space, bro. And if you're so brave, then you can go return that girl's bracelet yourself. I'm not going.")

Prithvi's eyes widened.

Last time, the girl who had kicked and punched him, her bracelet had gotten stuck on his shirt button. He'd been too embarrassed and too shy to confront her, with zero communication skills and too much guilt to keep it. What if it was important to her? He'd begged Dev to return it.

"Please bhai... sorry, mai toh joke kar raha tha."

(Please bro...sorry. I was just kidding.)

"Nahi, tu hi usko ye deke aayega. We have to work on your communication skills, baby. What if you don't find a girlfriend?" Dev said dramatically.

("No chance. You're returning it to her yourself. We've got to work on those communication skills, baby. What if you end up single forever?")

"Khudki Zareena banjar aur dusron pe ungli utha raha hai," Prithvi murmured.

("Your own romantic life is completely barren, and you've still got the nerve to point fingers at other people.")

"Kuchh bola?" Dev asked.

(You're saying something?)

"Konsa tujhe sunai deta hai waise bhi," Prithvi said.

(As if you can hear anything.)

Before Dev could reply, Shresth lowered his headphones and looked at both of them deadpan.

"Waise Dev."

(By the way, Dev)

"Haan? Bata, kuchh chahiye? Samose lau?" Dev asked with a grin.

("Yeah? What is it? Need something? Want me to get you some samosas?")

"Mere headphones mein charge khatam hue pandrah minutes ho chuke hain."

("My headphones died fifteen minutes ago.")

"Haan toh charge kar-"

(Yeah so just charge the-)

Dev froze mid-sentence. His eyes widened.

Which meant Shresth had heard everything Dev said about him.

"Wo... bawasir ki dawai laane jaa raha hun," Dev said nervously smiling.

("Uh... I'm going to buy some hemorrhoid cream.")

"Bawasir ka matlab bhi pata hai, ya memes se bolna hi seekha hai sirf?" Prithvi commented, a smirk tugging at his mouth. He knew.

("Do you even know what hemorrhoids mean, or do you just throw the word around because of memes?")

"Ab toh teri fielding set hai," Prithvi added and went back to studying.

(You're dead, Dev)

Shresth glared as he got up from his chair and started walking toward him.

"Shit. Duaon mein yaad rakhna." Dev turned to Prithvi.

(Shit. Remember me in your prayers)

"Shresth, wo dekh-" Dev pointed behind him.

(Shresth, look at that-)

Shresth turned. Nothing.

The moment he turned back, Dev was already at the door.

Dev ran.

Shresth ran behind him.

________

"Ye uss white shirt ki id mili, public hai."

Swaha announced as Dharna straightened up and stared at her tablet. Prisha came running too.

(I just found the id of that white shirt guy!)

"Dev Shukla. Eww." Dharna said as they scrolled through his profile.

"Dosti ke liye kya kya karna padta hai," Swaha sighed.

(Things I have to do for friendship)

"Par mere chikne chashmish ki id dhundho naa," Prisha whined.

(But Where's my Chikna Chashmish's id!)

"Ruk jaa meri maa. Iski id bhi kitni mushkil se mili," Swaha said.

(Wait dude. I found this id after so much research)

She was the expert at internet stalking. She had to be. Somehow her roommate had developed a crush on the exact man they'd all beaten up together.

"Kyun uske peeche padi hai, aur bhi better ladke milenge," Dharna said.

Prisha looked at her and placed a hand dramatically over her heart. "Wo kitna bhondu sa cute sa tha. And uske upar se he was so shy." She closed her hands around her face and shook her head.

(Why are you after him? You can get better guys.)

(He's such a nerd and cutie...and on top of that he's a shybaby)

Both Dharna and Swaha judged her openly.

"Ye ladkon ko eww eww karne wali ek ladke ke baare mein soch ke aise sharma rahi hai," Dharna said.

(The girl who always says eww to guys is now blushing while thinking about a guy?)

"Yaar par wo cute hai na, bohot. Mera chikna chashmish," Prisha said, dreamy.

(It's because he's so cute...my Chikna Chashmish)

"Kaisa code name hai yaar," Swaha said, disgusted.

(What kind of code nam is that?)

"Ab uska naam nahi yaad aa raha toh kya karu? Tumko bhi yaad nahi aa raha. Kuchh toh P se hi tha pakka, maine achhe se nahi suna," Prisha said.

"And wo recording kya zarurat thi delete karne ki? Abhi uska naam bhi pata lag jaata." She glared at Swaha.

("What do you want me to do? I can't remember his name. You don't remember it either. I'm sure it started with a 'P'-I just didn't hear it properly. And why did you have to delete that recording? We could've figured out his name by now.")

"Bas karo. I've got a picture of him, in his highlights," Swaha said.

(Enough girls. I've got a picture of that nerd, in his highlights)

Prisha practically jumped on her. She snatched the tab from Swaha's hands and hugged it. "Kinna sona kuda hai." She squealed.

(He's so mesmerizing)

Swaha and Dharna were traumatized by this version of Prisha.

"Are you sure tu pagal nahi hui hai abhi tak?" Dharna asked, putting a hand on Prisha's shoulder.

(Are you sure you've not gone insane for a guy?)

"Bas chhota sa crush hai yaar uspe," Prisha said and blushed.

(It's just a small crush on him)

"Wait, par isne usko tag kyu nahi kiya?" Prisha frowned at the story again.

"Wait, let's see the next stories," Swaha said, and they kept swiping, talking over each other.

(Wait but his id isn't tagged here. Let's see other stories)

"Eyy dekh ye akdu," Swaha said. It was a picture of Shresth.

"iski Id mil gayi. shresthh_irl," Dharna said as she clicked on his id.

(Oh see that coldie. I even got his Id. shresthh_irl)

It was private. 742 followers. 61 followings.

"Ye toh mujhe uss din bohot darawna laga. Mere side pe khada tha, itna chup chap aur uski aawaz suni? Puri ki puri villain jaise dheere dheere," Swaha said.

("That guy genuinely creeped me out that day. He was just standing next to me without saying a word. And his voice? He talked so slowly, like some movie villain.")

"Wo sab chhoro, mere chikne chashmish ko dhundho yaar," Prisha said from behind.

(Leave all that guys...please search for my chikna chashmish)

"Uski shayad instagram id hi nahi hai," Swaha replied after searching for a while.

(Maybe he doesn't use instagram?)

"Hein?" Prisha sounded heartbroken.

(What?)

"Wahi na, dekh kahin pe bhi he's not tagged...and he looks like a padhaku," Dharna said.

(Exactly...see there is nowhere  he's tagged.)

Prisha slammed her head against the pillow while still holding the tablet and took a screenshot of Prithvi's picture.

"Tum sab mera tab tod doge, idhar lao," Dharna reached for it, but Prisha stopped her.

(Y'all are gonna break my tab! Give it back to me)

"Ruk ruk, mai iss photo ko pehele khud ke paas send karti hu."

(Wait let me send his picture to myself first from your Id)

And then her eyes widened.

"Shit."

"Kya hua?" Swaha asked.

(What happened?)

"I accidentally followed Dev," Prisha said, looking up at both of them.

Both their eyes widened. "Arey that's my fake Id," Dharna said as she took the tab.

"Thank god," Prisha and Swaha exhaled together in relief.

Dharna was about to switch the account to her main one when she froze.

Her eyes widened.

She was already on her main account.

Which meant it was her who had followed Dev by mistake.

A scream ripped through the room.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAA MUMMMAAAAAAA"

Dharna screamed and threw the tablet at Swaha.

"Kya hua?" Both of them gasped, looking at the screen.

(What's wrong?!)

"Oh." Swaha said as she looked at the tab

Swaha's hands flew to her mouth. "Yeah shit."

"Koi baat nahi, ham same University mein padhte hain. What's the big deal of following someone from your uni?" Prisha tried to console her.

("It's fine. We go to the same university. What's the big deal about following someone from your own uni?")

"Maine follow karte hi unfollow kar diya. He must think that I'm stalking him," Dharna said, her voice muffled inside the pillow.

(I unfollowed him immediately after following him. He must think that I'm stalking him!)

"Meri love story toh shuru hone se pehele hi khatam ho jayegi...ab itne bade University mein kahan dhundhu usko?" Prisha sighed

("My love story's going to end before it even begins... How am I supposed to find him in a university this huge?")

________

"C'mon Pritu baby. You can do it."

Dev straightened his posture, pumping confidence into Prithvi, who was practically dying of social anxiety.

After searching the entire university, they finally found Dharna and Prisha in the campus cafeteria.

Shresth had a smirk on his face. "Another show today?"

Prithvi sighed. Dev turned to say something to Shresth, then thought better of it after catching Shresth's glare.

"Tu jaa, kuchh nahi hoyega," Dev said. "Ek kaam kar, practice kar mere saamne kya bolna hai."

(You just go, nothings gonna happen. Do one thing, practice infront of me what I taught you, and how you're gonna say that)

Prithvi took a deep breath and adjusted his glasses.

"Hi. Mera naam Prithvi. Maine uss din daaru ka bottle pakad rakha tha and aapne mujhe sharabi samjha and bohot peeta tha... peet te waqt aapka bracelet mere shirt ke button mein lag gaya tha and it looked expensive and mai nahi chahta ki aap mujhe chor samjhe aur mere upar case file kar de isliye I wanted to return this to you, respectfully."

("Hi. I'm Prithvi. We met the other day... I was the guy holding the bottle of booze, and you thought I was drunk. Then you beat me up... quite a lot. While you were beating me, your bracelet got caught on one of my shirt buttons. It looked expensive, and I didn't want you to think I stole it or file a case against me, so... I wanted to return it to you. Respectfully.")

He said it all in one breath.

Dev facepalmed. Shresth took a deep breath and raised a hand to pat Prithvi's back.

"Dekh, you don't have to explain too much. Just go there, and say, 'Hello, this is your bracelet, I found it,'" Dev said.

Prithvi just stared at him. "Tu hi karle fir."

(Why don't you do it instead?)

"Dekh, demo deta hun tujhe. Soch Shresth wo ladki hai aur mai tu hun," Dev said.

("Look, let me show you how it's done. Imagine Shresth is the girl, and I'm you.")

Shresth glared at him again.

"Wo, just for example," Dev said and laughed nervously.

Dev walked a little way off and then strolled back casually.

He stopped in front of Shresth. "Wait, aap toh usi din mili thi na mujhse?"

He dropped his voice to a whisper. "Aap kon bol?"

("Wait... you're the girl I met the other day, aren't you?"

He leaned towards Shresth and whispered

"Ask me who I am.")

Shresth closed his eyes. "Aap kon?" he said with a fake smile.

(Who are you?)

"Arey, mai Prithvi. Ye aapka bracelet mere paas reh gaya tha, and I was worried. There's no need to thank- arey nahi nahi mai itna bhi khaas nahi. Umm... itna hi thanks bol rahe ho toh coffee peene chalte hain." Dev winked at Shresth.

("Oh, hey! I'm Prithvi. Your bracelet accidentally ended up with me that day, and I was worried about it. Here. There's no need to thank- Oh, no, no. I'm really not that special...Well, if you're thanking me this much... maybe we could grab a coffee sometime?")

Prithvi gave him a dumbfounded look.

"Uski dost ke saamne mera muh nahi chalega. Tu usko thoda busy kar de?"

(I can't talk to her infront of her friend. Can you distract her friend?)

"Iske badle coffee laake dena," Dev said, and walked toward the girls.

(You owe me a coffee for this)

"Bhai wo legit udhar khada tha, maine dekha. Isliye toh I called you," Dharna was telling Prisha, who kept looking around, trying to find Prithvi.

("Dude, I'm serious. He was literally standing there- I saw him. That's why I called you.")

"Excuse me," Dev said, turning to Dharna.

Dharna and Prisha's eyes widened. They looked at each other.

"Nahi... maine galti se tumko follow kar diya tha. I don't even know you," Dharna said immediately.

("No, no... I accidentally ended up following you. I don't even know who you are.")

Prisha mentally facepalmed.

Dev's eyebrows scrunched. He had no idea what she was talking about. "Yeah, I need to talk about that." He turned back and signaled Prithvi to come.

Dharna looked at Prisha, then stepped aside with Dev.

Prisha was watching both of them when a figure started walking toward her. Her eyes widened.

It was him.

He was wearing a soft pink shirt today, with white pants. The frame of his specs was different, probably because the old one broke that night. He had a bag slung over one shoulder. He looked like a nerdy guy straight out of pinterest.

"Hi, I'm Srithvi Pipodia," he said, and his own eyes widened.

Prisha was too lost in his eyes to catch his words. Then she frowned. "Sorry?"

Prithvi's cheeks went red.

"I-I- this."

He placed the bracelet on the table nearby and practically ran away at the speed of light.

Prisha's eyes widened as she looked down at her bracelet. It was still warm. He must've been holding it for a long time.

"He had it?"

"Shit yaar, I couldn't even say hi to him." By the time she looked up, he was already gone.

"Dekho agar tumko mere liye feelings hai toh bata do," Dev was saying to Dharna, glancing past her, dragging the conversation just to buy Prithvi time. "Mai bohot achhe ghar ka ladka hun aur mai aisi waisi cheez nahi karta."

("Look, if you have feelings for me, just say so. I'm a decent guy from a good family- I don't get involved in that sort of thing.")

"Excuse me? Pagal ho? Tumhare jaise chuchundre jaise shakal wale ko koi kyun hi pasand karega?" Dharna glared.

("Excuse me? Are you insane? Why on earth would anyone fall for someone who looks like... well, you?")

"Oh hello? Chuchndre honge tumhare chacha. And you're probably jealous because everyone's so busy admiring a beauty like me." Dev ran a hand through his hair.

("Oh, hello? The shrew is probably your uncle. And you're just jealous because everyone's too busy admiring a gorgeous guy like me.")

"So self obsessed. Eww. Chhi," Dharna said, folding her arms.

Dev looked back again. "Isliye stalking kar rahi thi?"

(Is that why you were stalking me?)

"Wo toh-" Dharna stopped mid-sentence. She almost said Prithvi's name.

(That was-)

"Wo toh kya?" Dev asked, still faking a fight, eyes darting behind her.

(That what?)

"Dev nahi tum Danav ho."

(You're not Dev! You're Danav)

"Tum bhi paan khane wali didi ho," Dev said, throwing out the first thing that came to mind.

("You're just like those aunties who are always chewing paan.")

Dharna's eyes widened.

"Theek hai, don't think much about me."

And with that, Dev immediately bolted, running in the same direction Prithvi had gone.

(Alright. Don't think much about me.)

______

Danav: Demon. Opposite of Dev which means God.

Chikna Chashmish: Means a clean shaved guy who wears specs

Paan: A traditional South Asian preparation combining betel leaves with areca nut and slaked lime,

How was the chapter? Do comment your reviews <3

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Radhe Radhe

-KriDha

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