3. 1
WHATSAPP CHAT- 1 (19 December 2013, 10.48 pm)
Arjun: Chloe…
Chloe: Wat ?
Arjun: U busy eh?
Chloe: No...tell!
Arjun: What you wearing tomorrow? ;)
Chloe: Dress! HUH!
Arjun: Umm wear white…
Chloe: Y
Arjun: It suits you! It makes you look prettier than you already are! It brings color to your
cheeks.
She read and re-read the message. He had been flirty for quite some time, but this sounded
formal, almost as though he meant it. She tried to brush these feelings off, after all, it was
Arjun…he had refused any commitment after his last relationship. Trying to get hold of her
thoughts…
Chloe: Now that you say…
Arjun: Hmm..?
Chloe: I‟ll make sure not to wear white! :D
Arjun: Chloe…
Chloe: Gtg…someone‟s at the door. Ttyl8r!
4. Arjun: Wait! Listen, I need to tell you something!
Arjun: I need to ask you something...
Arjun: Chloe?
Frustrated, he threw his phone, but it managed to land safely on the pillow covers. He swore
loudly, before vowing that he would do it tomorrow. With a grim smile on his face, he thought,
tomorrow, there shall be no running away… she will have to choose!
5. 2
The doorbell rang two more times before she finally managed to run all the way down and open
it.
“Hazellll! Finally…you are here. Was there traffic? What took you such a long time?”
“No traffic. I had a thing or two to take care off at home! Am sorry! So how is your prep going
on, huh?”
“Prep? I haven‟t done anything! Dude, I didn‟t even do my nails!”
“You have to do mine too…remember!?”
“Yeah! Well…common in…it is gonna be a long night!”
“Well…I had a feeling”, she said smiling.
They made their way to her room. Her usually messy room was messier, and Hazel wondered
silently if she would ever manage to clean up!
“So Shark is coming right? Don‟t tell me he has come up with some shitty excuse!”
She laughed. Sean aka Shark, her boyfriend for about a year had almost an inhumane ability of
coming up with excuses so apt for the situation that one would almost believe what he is saying
is true.
She nodded her head sighing, “Yeah! He is coming. I managed to convince him.”
“Good for you. So before we do anything else, take a look at my wardrobe! I think we might as
well have to do some late night shopping. I don‟t really have a dress to wear, you know!”
“Are you shitting me? You have that pretty white frock with polka dots! And didn‟t you buy that
violet wrap for this event?”
“I did but...”
“No buts Chloe…wear the white one!”
“No!”
6. “What? Are you mad?”
“I won‟t wear that, no matter what!”
“Chloe!”
“Hazel!”
“Dude!”
“No!”
“Oh god! Fine, wear the violet wrap then. It is way too plain though!”
“We could go shopping maybe!”
“Yeah! Right, all shops are open at 11 in the night! Don‟t shit me!”
“Hmmm…I‟ll have to do with the violet one then! So what about you? What have you bought
for yourself?”
“Well…” she cleared her throat.
“You are blushing? What‟s going on, huh?”
“Well, take a look yourself”
She handed over the little carry bag she was carrying. Chloe eagerly opened the bag to reveal a
beautiful baby pink dress with little shimmer.
“It is sooooo pretty! Wow! Where did you buy it from?”
“Ask him!” she said smiling.
“He bought it for you? Wow! How sweet! Well he has got good taste”
“That he has” she said nodding.
“Well then Chloe; let‟s get started!”
“Yeah! Why don‟t you go get two cans of soda from the refrigerator while I set stuff up?”
“Sounds good” she said and made a dash to the kitchen downstairs.
Chloe and Hazel had met on the very first day of college; it had been two years since they met.
They had more in common than not, and over time had grown into besties. The next day‟s event
was an annual fest of their engineering college. They being third years had a lot on their head.
Other than voluntary work, they had the sole responsibility of organizing the entire program.
7. Though they thought of turning in early, their little beauty treatment turned into a gossip night
with a romantic movie and tons of soda and popcorn. It was way after four when they finally
managed to get their asses on the bed and doze off!
3
Their idea of not putting alarm turned out to be worse than they imagined. Though they had the
program only at 5 in the evening, and they thus had no worries whatsoever of oversleeping, they
didn‟t really imagine it would turn out to be this disastrous!
So when the sun started streaming in through the windows and literally burning them alive,
Hazel finally stirred.
“Chloe...”
Her voice was groggy due to oversleeping. Since there was no reply from her, she somehow
managed to hunt her phone from the bedside table, and power it to look at the time! At first, she
thought she was dreaming, and turned the phone upside down to see if she was reading it right.
“CHLOOEE!”
“What the hell! Can‟t you let me sleep in peace?”
She had barely opened one eye and she was already telling her off for waking her up!
“It is 3‟0 clock, sleeping beauty! We may not even make it to college. Get your ass outta bed!”
“What the fuck are you talking? Give me the damn phone.”
Chloe extended her arm, but her eyes were still firmly closed, and Hazel placed it in her palm.
After she looked and re looked, confirming all her suspicions, she jumped out of the bed with a
start.
“We are screwed!”
“Oh! That we certainly are!”
Her house was about 40 km from college and unless they raced, there wasn‟t any chance of
reaching college in time.
“What are we going to do?” Hazel said. Wrinkles had started forming between her brows.
“Calm down Hazel. You go for a shower. I‟ll make us something to eat. Let‟s hurry.”
8. Though there were about 20 missed calls and about a dozen messages in her phone, she didn‟t
bother to check them and instead rushed off to shower. She showered as quickly as she could,
and put on her pink frock before rushing down for lunch. Chloe had managed to make some tea
and pasta was simmering away.
“Dude, this pasta will take some time. I have timed it, so you needn‟t worry. Why don‟t you dry
your hair, and stuff, I‟ll take shower by then and we can eat together.”
It sounded like a good plan and both of them rushed back to Chloe‟s room. It was almost quarter
to 4 before they finally managed to extract themselves out of Chloe‟s room and come down for
food.
As they gobbled the steaming hot pasta, they almost forgot about the tea. Just as Hazel was about
to wash the dishes, she remembered.
“The tea!”
“Shit! It would have become cold by now”
“Well let‟s drink it anyway!”
In a hurry to pour it into cups, Chloe fumbled and a lot of it fell onto her new dress.
“Crap!”
“What hap…?”
“Shit! What are you going to do Chloe?”
Ever the optimist, Chloe, for the first time was almost on the verge of crying.
“Calm down! We‟ll get it dry cleaned.”
“There is no time!”
“There is darling. It is OK. We can be a little late.”
“You have to present the bouquet to the guest of honor. You go! I‟ll come in some time.”
“Don‟t be stupid Chloe. I am gonna stay right here with you, no matter how long it takes. I‟ll ask
someone else to present the bouquet. OK?”
“No! Don‟t! You were so excited about the whole thing. I‟ll just change into a pair of jeans!”
“Pair of jeans? Put on your white frock and don‟t argue. I‟ve had enough! And we are getting
late!”
“But…”
9. “Please Chloe?”
“God! You always get your way! I‟ll be back ASAP!”
When she finally managed to come down, Hazel was rooted.
“You look so pretty Chloe. Told ya...white suits you! You know, if I weren‟t with Shark, I would
as well have asked you out today!” she said winking.
Chloe let out a high pitched laugh.
“I‟ll get my keys.”
“Your keys? We‟re going in my car!”
“We‟ll never reach then!”
“Chloe! Am offended! Dude, you don‟t wanna spoil your dress going on your bike!”
“Hmm…point! Well we‟ll go in your car…but I‟ll drive!”
“Well…umm...fine! Let‟s go then!”
10. 4
They managed to reach college with just a minute to spare, and rushed off towards their
auditorium.
“You are early, darling!”
“Early? What? Sean! Wow! You look hot…that tux…wow!”
He kissed her cheek before replying, “And you stop my heart!”
“Ahem…ahem! I am still here people! Sean, could you please explain, what the fuck is going
on? Why is no one here? Have we got our date wrong or is my watch running fast?”
He laughed and added, “Neither Yang! Don‟t you guys know, the event has been postponed by
an hour because the guest of honor has some other arrangements to attend to!?”
Sean called Chloe, „Yang‟ because he liked very much the character Chloe Yang of Grey‟s
Anatomy and found them similar in many ways.
“Seriously?”
“Shit Chloe, we should have checked our messages! Huh!”
“Hmm…yeah! So is it just the three of us then?”
“Nope! Not really, I saw some of your friends; they were at your block!”
“Alright then am heading off there, you coming Hazel?”
“Umm…”
“Go ahead darling, I have a couple of things to take care of, I‟ll see you at 6 then?”
“Yeah…alright!”
She rose to her toes to give him a quick peck and then joined Chloe. As they neared the CSE
block, they heard the whirring sound of a bike.
“He‟s here!”
11. “Who?”
“Who owns the bullet around here Chloe?”
Before she could answer, the bike zoomed into view and stopped a millimeter from Chloe‟s foot.
“Shit!” she muttered under her breath.
“Chloe!” Arjun said with a smile.
As fate would have it, her phone started ringing at the very moment, and she walked off without
a word.
“You look pretty Hazel.”
“Thank you! You don‟t look that bad yourself!”
“Was that supposed to be a compliment?”
“Kinda!” she said laughing.
When he responded with a mirthless laugh, she asked “What‟s going on Tiger?”
“Am I invisible to her?”
“Hmm…well she has had a bad day…easy Tiger…you are gonna ask her, aren‟t you?”
“Woa! How did you…”
“It is pretty apparent! Good luck buddy!”
“You think…”
“I think nothing” she said cutting him off.
Before he could say anything more, Chloe walked in.
“You look better than you usually do!”
“You look like a princess…”
“But this isn‟t a fairy tale Arjun. We better go up and find our friends.”
Hazel wondered why Chloe didn‟t reply in kind. She could smell trouble boiling, but decided not
to comment lest everything turned messy.
Their walk to their classroom was short. In spite of it being a Sunday evening, the place was
noisy and filled with people.
12. Even before Chloe and Hazel could enter the classroom, they were greeted by Divya, Anam and
Sebina. Arjun had to again remove himself and walk off to talk to the guys.
“You all look so pretty people!”
“And you look the prettiest Chloe. White suits you!” said Sebina.
“Jeez! Any of you tell that one more time and I swear to God that am gonna pour something over
this dress so that it changes its color!”
“Is something wrong?”
“Don‟t worry Sebina; Chloe is on a dropping spree since morning!”
“You needn‟t tell everything now Hazel. Let it rest in peace.”
“Hmm...”
“So Hazel, we need to be there near the stage, we have to look after a couple of things.”
“OK Anam, let‟s go then. Later people!”
As Anam and Hazel walked off, the other three walked over to meet the guys.
As the time neared 6, people started vacating the room. Arjun waited patiently so that he could
get Chloe alone. He thought and re thought his proposal, he was tensed, yet excited. He realized
he hadn‟t felt that before, he thought with grim satisfaction the surprise that he would inflict on
her. He knew, despite everything, she would accept him. They had become very close after his
breakup. She had helped him cope, and he was grateful, and realized, there couldn‟t be anything
better than pure unadulterated love that he could give her in return.
“Arjun?”
Snapping back to reality, he saw he was surrounded by Divya and Sebina and they had
completely blocked his view of Chloe.
“Yeah”, he said warily.
“You need to come with us.” said Sebina.
“Now?”
“Yep! We don‟t have time to waste.” said Divya
“But, I am a little busy right now. I‟ll join you guys in sometime.”
“Dude! It is almost 6 by now. We need to be there. No arguments! Let‟s leave!”
13. Arjun knew it was pointless arguing with Sebina. So he got up resignedly, and peeked a look at
Chloe. She was merrily chatting away with Sameer. He sighed and followed Sebina and Divya.
5
“You look mesmerizing babe!”
Chloe let out a laugh before saying, “Thank you Sameer, I better go now, it‟s getting late.
Everyone must have already reached the auditorium.”
“What‟s the hurry darling. No one will notice even if you are a couple of minutes late.”
“I am leaving!” she said ignoring his last comment.
She wondered why he was acting so weirdly. She silently wished that she could escape from the
place before things got out of hand. She quickly spun around and made her way to the door, but
just before she could turn the handle, Sameer caught her hand and spun her, locking her from any
movement.
“Jeez! What are you doing? Get off me!”
He didn‟t give her an ear and bent down and kissed her forcefully. The impact was so powerful
that Chloe was breathless. She felt so dizzy when he finally let her go that she stumbled
backwards.
“You son of a…”
“Goodbye Chloe.”
He shoved her inside the room and firmly locked it before making his way to the auditorium. Her
screams were muffled by the closed doors. There wasn‟t a single soul to listen to her cries. She
pound and kicked the door but in vain.
Finally resigning herself to her fate and trying to calm herself down, she sat down on the floor
crossing her legs and putting her head in her hands.
As Sameer neared the auditorium, he smiled inwardly. The evening was turning out to be better
than he expected. He smiled thinking of everyone‟s reactions…especially Arjun‟s!
14. 6
“Sameer! Where have you been? I hunted the whole place for you. We need a little help with the
…”
“Sebina”
“What? See I don‟t have time for...”
“I asked Chloe out.”
“Whaaaaaat?”
“She said yes. We shared a kiss you know? It was the best thing ever.”
“But…I thought...”
“What?”
“Never mind! I am so happy for you guys. Congo! Where is she by the way?”
“Well she really didn‟t feel like coming down here. Am gonna go back to her. You‟ll take care of
stuff, won‟t you?”
“Umm…yeah. I‟ll manage!”
If there was one thing Sebina practically couldn‟t do, was to keep such exciting news to herself.
So she raced off to meet Hazel.
“Dude! You won‟t believe…”
“What?”
“Wait; let me call Anam and Divya as well!”
“What‟s going on Sebina?”
“It took about two minutes for all of them to get together.
“What is it Sebina?” said Anam
“Yeah! What is it? You sounded excited!” said Divya
“Guys! Sameer and Chloe are seeing each other. He asked her out today! They even managed to
share a kiss! IMAGINE!!!”
15. “What the fuck! Don‟t shit me. That cannot be true!” said Hazel.
“It is! Isn‟t that awesome?”
“Awesome? It is super awesome Sebina! Wow! I never really thought she would you know hook
up with some one! Good for her anyway!” Anam said smiling.
Divya was way too shocked to say anything. She always had a thing for Sameer. She staggered,
and caught Hazel‟s arm. Then without uttering a word, she marched off to her workplace.
Hazel was more surprised than sad. She immediately started trying Chloe, but her phone was
switched off.
“Hazel…I heard...”
“Arjun, I think there was a misunderstanding. It cannot be true ok? I‟ll find out, but I don‟t
know…”
“It is true…!”
She could see his voice falter, and before she could say anything else, he walked off.
“Arjun…wait! Listen…”
But he didn‟t give her an ear and continued walking until he reached the green room, and finally
collapsed. Over her lifetime of 18 years, she had seen people cry, but never with so much passion
or emotion. It was as though a part of him had been taken away, it was agony flowing out. After
his last breakup when his love had left him for another person, he had almost sworn that he
would never see another girl again. It had taken Chloe over a year to carefully remove all those
shells of pain. This outcome had never been thought of!
“Arjun…”
When he didn‟t respond, she managed to take off her stilettos and seat herself beside him.
“Hey…” All she could see was tears blocking his vision, he couldn‟t speak.
“Come here”
They hugged till his tears reduced to sobs, and till he finally managed to speak something.
“She couldn‟t have done that…”
“I know…Go home Arjun…get yourself some rest. You need it.”
“But I need to speak to her”
“You know you can‟t! You won‟t be able to. Go home now. I‟ll cover up for you. Go!”
16. He managed to stand up finally and pulled her up as well, trying to give a smile, he walked off
towards the swinging doors of the auditorium.
7
Just as Arjun stepped outside, he encountered Sameer. Trying to get away from him, he moved
to the sidewalk.
“Hey Arjun…maybe you could lend us a room at your place…you know?” Sameer called out
with a grin.
“That is enough! You are getting nothing. Get outta my way!”
“I already got her” he said smiling.
“Look Arjun…you can‟t run away from facts!” he continued.
“Fuck off Sameer!”
“You dare…”
“Yes I dare!”
As Sameer closed in on Arjun, Arjun said, “Back off…or be prepared for the worst.”
Sameer gave a sarcastic laugh before hitting Arjun right across his face. Sameer being bigger and
stronger than Arjun made him stagger backwards. After he regained control, he managed to kick
him above the abdomen before sucker punching him.
The commotion, called in the attention of few other students, who immediately went in and
called a couple of volunteers for help. The fight was getting dirty, with a high chance of one of
them getting seriously injured.
Vinay, Krish and Karan came into the situation just in time. While Vinay struggled to keep
Sameer from hitting Arjun, Karan and Krish forcefully pulled Arjun away from the scene and
managed to take him till the nearest waiting hall. News spread quickly enough and soon people
started pouring in to see if the two were ok.
When Divya got to know about the incident, she immediately rushed to the scene.
“Vinay! Where‟s Sameer?”
With a lot of effort, Vinay and some others had finally managed to get him into the refreshment
area of the auditorium.
17. “Divya, you better not meet him. He is not cool yet.”
“I can try to calm him…”
“No! Don‟t. Go meet Arjun instead. He‟s in the waiting hall.”
“Hmm…well, if you say. Tell me if things get out of hand.”
“I will.”
As Divya rushed off to the waiting hall, her mind went back to the moment when Sebina told her
about Sameer and Chloe. She had tried to shrug it off, but couldn‟t. She knew how much he
meant to her, and still couldn‟t believe that such a thing actually happened. Anger simmered in
her as she finally opened the door of the waiting hall.
Arjun didn‟t bother to look up. She quickly told Krish and Karan that she would stay with him
and that they could go back to the auditorium.
Soon after they left, Divya went and patted Arjun.
She said, "Hey! You ok?”
“Yeah!”
As she took his hand, she realized it was covered with thick blood. Shocked she suddenly stood
up.
“You are hurt! Your…”
“I am fine Divya!”
“Let me take a look…”
“No! I am fine.”
She refused to oblige and forcefully removed his hand. There was about an inch long wound on
his head and his nose looked almost broken with blood still oozing out. The head wound looked
almost as if the blood had clotted, so she immediately took a kerchief and wiped off the blood
near his nose, and ordered him to hold on till the bleeding stopped.
“I don‟t need…”
“Shut up and stay put!”
A while passed before he bleeding finally stopped.
“I am gonna kill him! He can‟t take what‟s mine. He can‟t. I‟ll kill him tonight!”
18. Divya didn‟t respond but she could almost feel that urge in herself. She felt cold suddenly and
straightened herself.
“I gotta go. Bye Arjun, take care!”
“Yeah you too!”
Arjun sat for a minute after Divya left to try and gather his thoughts. But it was impossible, he
had a lot going on in his mind, and decided to take Hazel‟s advice and go home.
19. 8
WHATSAPP CHAT- 2 (20 December 2013, 10.23 pm)
Hazel: I m leaving.
Sean: Why? The felicitation ceremony is still not done right?
Hazel: I know…I am going to Arjun‟s place. He must be snoring and sleeping. I gotta set stuff
up for the after party!
Sean: Hmm…heard about their brawl. Things got a little dirty right? What happened?
Hazel: Sameer asked Chloe out. And she said yes…it seems!
Sean: Woa! Yang? But…I thought...
Hazel: We all thought the same thing
Sean: Why do you say „it seems‟?
Hazel: Haven‟t spoke to her as yet…wonder where she is! And her phone is switched off too.
Sean: Hmm...I hope everything‟s ok! Where are you by the way?
Hazel: Just about to get out of the auditorium.
Sean: OK…I‟ll meet you outside in a minute.
Hazel: Ok…am waiting.
It wasn‟t just the cold wind but also the events of the day that made Hazel shiver. She hugged
herself tighter, and waited for Sean.
“Babe!”
“Ah! Finally”
“Sorry…I made you wait a little long. I got caught up in between.”
“Hmm…”
20. “Are you planning to take your car?”
“Yeah! How else will I go?”
“I‟ll drop you off. Your friends may need your car!”
“Hmm…point. I‟ll just call Sebina and tell her to take the keys.”
When Hazel called Sebina, Sean went off to get his car, which was parked a little away at the
SCHOOL OF IT.
Sebina managed to come and take the keys before Sean got his car. Again stuck in the cold,
Hazel wondered if Chloe had actually said yes to Sameer. She wondered why Chloe hadn‟t even
bothered to call her or meet her. She felt something was wrong, but tried to calm herself saying
she was just getting paranoid.
“Jump in” he said cutting through her thoughts.
“Wow! Am cold”
“I‟ll switch on the heater.”
Arjun‟s place was barely ten minutes from the college. So it wasn‟t long before they reached
there.
“Are you going back to college?”
“No…am heading home. No point without you there!”
She blushed very slightly and smiled.
“Alright then, I‟ll see you tomorrow.”
“I‟ll walk you till the gate.”
“I‟ll be fine Sean.”
“I insist” he said and got out of the car.
The chilling December evening, made Hazel grateful that he had insisted on walking her. With
his hands tightly around her, the cold didn‟t affect her. When they finally reached the gate, he
bend down and kissed her gently before letting go. She smiled and bid goodbye and walked up to
his house.
21. 9
“Arjun?”
It wasn‟t the first time she had visited Arjun‟s place, but today it was so quiet that it almost
seemed uninhabited.
When there wasn‟t any response even after she called repeatedly, she climbed the stairs to his
room. The door to his room was ajar, she knocked, but he didn‟t respond, so she finally decided
to get in. He hadn‟t even bothered to take off his shoes and was lying face down on the bed.
“Arjun?”
She was getting mildly irritated and finally shouted out his name loud.
“ARJUN! WAKE UP!”
He got up with a start, a little disoriented after sleeping for about an hour, and almost screamed
on seeing her in his room.
“God Hazel! You scared the shit outta me! Don‟t you have manners?”
“Don‟t you talk to me about manners! I have been calling you for the past 20 minutes. Go
freshen up! I‟ll wait downstairs, we need to get this place all wired up”
“Oh crap! I totally forgot. I‟ll be there ASAP!”
“Sebina?”
“Ya Anam…tell me!”
“I am so tired! I think I‟ll leave now!”
“Now? In between? Seriously? Anam is leaving in between a program?”
“Yeah! This thing is getting on my nerves. The felicitation is so slow!”
22. “Alright then, I‟ve got Hazel‟s car keys. Why don‟t you take her car? Take along Divya as well.
I‟ll come in my car.”
“Sounds good! I‟ll see you soon at Arjun‟s then?”
“Yeah…take care.”
Anam managed to catch Divya and they started walking towards the CSE block. Walking at 11
in the night was not very appealing to either of them but since they didn‟t have a choice they stay
put. When they finally reached the CSE block, they heard some laughter and noises. It was pitch
dark so they were unable to see the source of the noise. As Anam unlocked the car, she suddenly
felt a hand on her shoulder. She almost jumped out of her skin.
“Going somewhere?”
“Krish! God! Shit! Can‟t you be a little more civil?”
“Sorry! Didn‟t mean to scare you!”
“Yeah, Divya and I are leaving to Arjun‟s place. What are you doing here? Is that Karan?”
“Yes, yes…it is me! We just came out for some fresh air, the place was getting stuffy.”
“Hmm…alright.”
“ We‟ll also come with you, if that is ok?”
“Yeah that‟s fine Krish, come along” said Divya.
“So the four of them got into Hazel‟s car and Anam drove off to Arjun‟s place.
Vinay and Sameer soon followed them in Vinay‟s bike. It was as though everyone had forgotten
about Chloe. Still trapped in her classroom and with no phone by her side, she was frustrated,
tired and worried. She realized that maybe she‟ll have to spend the night at college.
23. 10
Arjun and Hazel just finished with all the setting up when Anam and the rest arrived. The place
was one of the best looking apartments in the suburban area and in the night with all the lights
and fittings, it looked better than ever.
The party was in full swing. It helped almost everyone to cool down from the day‟s tiresome
events. There was music, drinks and good good food.
“Sulking?”
“Huh? Oh Anam! No! Not really.”
“Then missing Shark, eh?”
She laughed before adding, “I always miss him when he isn‟t around! Well, that‟s not the thing.
Chloe didn‟t come. Where in God name is she!? I have called her a zillion times. I feel
something is wrong Anam. She always keeps in touch! “
“Hey! Calm down! She must have been tired and gone home. Don‟t be paranoid.”
She nodded, but it was pretty apparent that she wasn‟t satisfied with the answer. As she looked
across the room she found Divya sitting cross legged and toying with some of the knives at the
counter. Though they were just for show, they were razor-sharp and could cut through skin like
butter.
“I am not the only one sulking in here!”
“Yeah! I can see that. Well…Divya and Sameer would have made a better couple than Chloe and
him. But well, who am I to pass such a judgment!”
“You are absolutely right Anam, and that‟s the reason I find this entire shit fishy! It is impossible
for Chloe to have said yes to Sameer.”
“You never know…Hazel!”
“Hmm…”
“Care for a dance Hazel?”
“Uh…” She looked at Anam and motioned with her eyes to give Krish company.
24. “I actually have something to look after.”
“Hmm…”
“I‟ll give you company Krish!”
As they walked off to the middle of the dance floor, Hazel mouthed a quick thank you to Anam
and made her way upstairs. She realized that Arjun was nowhere to be seen.
The door to his room was slightly open just as it had been before. She didn‟t bother to knock and
barged in.
“Shit Hazel! I really should teach you some manners!”
“What are you doing Arjun?”
“Nothing.”
“What is that in your hand?”
She eyed him suspiciously.
“Aspirin! You want it? I have got such bad headache and all this music is killing!”
Her expression immediately softened and she said, “I am sorry. I‟ll tell everyone..”
“That the party is over? Are you mad Hazel? I‟ll be fine in a couple of minutes!”
“Hmm…Chloe didn‟t come.”
Though he tried to put a straight face, his eyes betrayed his feelings. Her very name almost
opened his wounds which he was trying hard to conceal.
He finally sighed and said, “Maybe you should ask Sameer about it.”
“I couldn‟t get him alone.”
He stood up immediately and volunteered for going and asking.
“Don‟t be silly. You‟ll go start another fight! I‟ve had enough for today!”
“I‟ll be civil. I promise.” And without another word he marched off towards the stairs.
25. 11
“Sameer, I need to talk to you.”
“Can‟t you see I am busy?”
“Where is Chloe, Sameer?”
His face changed color, but he refused to budge any information about her.
“Why do you care? She is mine remember?”
“I‟ll ask you one last time, WHERE IS CHLOE?”
Sameer laughed at him and that ignited Arjun.
He screamed, “I‟ll kill you!” and once again bounded over Sameer.
The fight bought immediate attention of others. Once again Vinay tackled Sameer while the
others managed to get hold of Arjun.
“Can‟t you both speak without getting at each other‟s throats? That is enough! You are coming
with me Arjun. And Divya, take him upstairs. Let these people not come even at a feet‟s distance
from each other!” said Anam
Divya obliged immediately and accompanied Sameer while Anam and Arjun went to the
verandah to get some fresh air. The party was as dead as a graveyard.
“Hello…Hazel? How is the party going?”
“Party is dead Sebina! They got into a fight again. Where are you? When will you come
Sebina?”
“The program just got over. I am heading to the CSE department. I can‟t find my bottle. I think I
left it in class. I‟ll see if it is there and then I‟ll start from college. I‟ll be there in about 20.”
“Alright. Umm…”
“What happened Hazel?”
26. “Chloe didn‟t come Sebina. I am worried.”
“Hmm…me too. I hope she is fine. If she doesn‟t call back by the time I reach, maybe we could
go to her place and check out.”
“Hmm…alright. I‟ll see you soon then?”
“Yeah! Bye Hazel.”
The walk up to her classroom was not very pleasant. She was one person who always avoided
horror flicks. With a lot of creaky noises from here and there and the wind whooshing by, she
felt far from comfortable. The third floor where her class was, was deadly quiet. She could hear
the noise from her stilettos very clearly; she could almost hear her own breathing. Shivering a
little not only because of the cold but also because of the fact that the only light came from her
Lumia and the place refused to brighten up she made her way though not by light but by a sense
of familiarity.
She showed her phone towards the door handle and realized that it was firmly bolted. As she was
trying to unlock the door, she heard a feeble breathing. Scared out of her wits, she backed off.
When she didn‟t hear it again, she mustered as much courage as she could and shouted, “Is
anyone in there? Speak up!”
“Sebina? God is that you? Please! Open the door! It is me Chloe!”
Just the voice of Chloe, drove away all her fears, she doubled her efforts of opening the tightly
bolted door and soon was rewarded with a whining noise and the door kicked open.
Chloe almost jumped over Sebina, firing away words of gratitude; she broke down in her arms.
Sebina comforted Chloe who was almost hysterical; she waited for her to calm down before she
asked what everyone had in their mind…
“Chloe! Were you locked in there? Who did it?”
27. 12
“Baby! You always calm me down.”
When Divya didn‟t reply he continued, “Are you angry darling? Cummon! Give me smile!”
“Arjun was right!”
“What are you speaking about, darling?”
“Don‟t! Don‟t call me darling! How dare you use me? How dare you say that you love me and
ask Chloe out!”
“Baby…”
“Shut up! I am not your play thing Sameer! I love you…I always will! But you can‟t be anyone
else‟s and am gonna put an end to all this!”
“Darling listen…”
Before he could utter another word, she closed the distance between them and kissed him hard.
When she finally, let go, he smiled and said, “Baby…ch….”
He couldn‟t complete his sentence because he felt pain sear up his chest. He felt at his chest with
his left hand and felt something solid. As he slowly looked down he realized that a blade had
gone right through him and that Divya was still holding one end of it.
“H..o..w…w..h..y?”
He was getting disoriented and soon fell with a thud on the floor. His breathing was becoming
labored. She removed the knife slowly, the damage was already done.
“Di…..v…yaa…”
“I love you Sameer.”
Chloe and Sebina raced out of their block. Though tired and hurt, Chloe took the keys from
Sebina and drove her car at break neck speed to Arjun‟s. They had a lot of explaining to do and
hoped that they would reach there before things changed for the worse.
28. Just when they entered the house, they saw Divya walking down the stairs. She was still holding
that knife and her dress was stained with fresh blood.
“Divyaaa!” Sebina screamed.
The music was cut off after someone pulled the plug. Everyone stared at her. She was shivering
but finally managed to say, “Someone had to do it, right Arjun?”
The rest of the night was a blur with the cops and forensic team arriving almost immediately.
Divya was arrested for murder, which she easily confessed to. Inspite of everything, Chloe cried
when they took Sameer‟s body away. After questioning everyone, and taking their numbers for
further contact, the cops gave a green signal for everyone to go back to their places. Almost all of
them decided to stay at Arjun‟s, but Chloe insisted on driving back to her place. Not wanting to
leave Chloe alone, Hazel decided to accompany her. So Chloe and Hazel bid everyone goodbye
and left.
29. 13
It was 3 A.M that night when Chloe and Hazel finally managed to reach her place. Still blinded
with tears, Hazel hugged Chloe before they climbed upstairs to catch up with some sleep. Both
of them managed to find identical pajamas, which they slipped into before going to bed. They
still couldn‟t digest the fact that they would never see Sameer again and that one of their best
friend‟s was the cause.
Exhausted, Chloe fell asleep almost immediately. Hazel was restless and rolled over from side to
side trying to think of something nice which will help her sleep, and that was when she heard her
phone buzz.
WHATSAPP CHAT- 3 (21 December 2013, 3.37 am)
Arjun: Hazel! Awake? Open the door!
Hazel: What?
Arjun: Open the damn front door Hazel! Let me in!
Hazel: Are you mad?
Arjun: God dammit! Open the door. I need to speak to her.
Carefully, she slid out of the bed and switched on the torch in her phone and made her way
down. As silently as she could, she opened the door. The darkness made it impossible for her to
actually see anything, but she felt that he had something big in his hands.
“Where is she?”
“In the bedroom. Don‟t go in there! Can‟t you talk to her tomorrow? She has…”
“Shhh… “
He quietly made his way upstairs, placed the thing which turned out to be a guitar over the closet
and switched on the bed lamp.
“Sitting on the bedside table, he gently caressed her hair and called her name softly. She stirred
but didn‟t open her eyes. When he called again a little more loudly, she opened her eyes with a
start and screamed, “HONEEEYYYYY”
30. “Shhh…calm down. It is just me!”
“Am right here Chloe. Calm down.”
When she finally settled down, he asked, “I am sorry for your loss.”
“My loss? It is our loss Arjun.”
“I know, but he asked you out right. I am very sorry.”
“Asked me? Who? No one asked me. Sebina told me about the entire story he circulated!
Nothing of that sort happened.”
Arjun raised a brow.
Hazel came to her rescue by explaining to him the entire situation including the fact that he had
locked her in. He was shocked but didn‟t utter a word.
Instead, he stood up and took the guitar he had placed over the closet.
“You wouldn‟t wanna play that Arjun.” Hazel said silently.
But he was not to be stopped this time. He played her favorite song, „Beneath your beautiful‟.
The song always did wonders to Chloe and she almost smiled when he reached the chorus.
He then placed the guitar down and held out his hand. Taking her to the middle of the room, he
fell on his knee and said, “I know today has been a really tough day for you and I don‟t wish to
make it any harder. But, if I don‟t do this today, I never will. You are someone I never wanna
lose. I like everything about you Chloe and I can‟t live without you. Yes! I have fallen in love
with you. So, Barbara Chloe Cruze, would you do me the honor of becoming my girlfriend?”
She looked at him for a minute as if to see if he was joking, but all she found was love flickering
in his eyes.
Satisfied, she said, “Yes” and blushed very deeply.
He smiled before getting up and pulling her into a tight hug.
“I‟ll just head out people.‟ But no one bothered to give her a glance.
Tilting his head very slightly, he kissed her. The kiss was smooth and almost close to perfection.
The warmth of the kiss flowed through her. She could feel his heart racing, her own heart refused
to slow down. When he finally let her go, she couldn‟t stop herself from saying, “I love you
Arjun. More than anyone or anything in this world.”
They walked hand in hand to the door and pulled it open.
“Where are you going Hazel? asked Chloe.
31. “I was just…”
They didn‟t let her answer and pulled her in and shared a group hug!
They had all gone through a lot that day, but they managed to smile. They had each other for
support and that was all they needed to get through. Slowly they moved out of the bedroom
towards the hall to have a late night supper.
That’s all folks! As they say it…”All’s well that ends well”
32. This book was distributed courtesy of:
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