“No. No way,” I protested, my voice increasing with every word I said, “How could you do this to me?”

“Oh, come on, Akshara,” Aarohi pleaded, “It’s not such a bad thing.”

“Yes, it is!” I retorted, “I don’t even know the guy! He could be a creep for all I know!”

“That’s the whole point of a blind date, Sweetie. You meet someone you don’t know and see if you like him or not,” Aarohi told me slowly as though I was a little kid who was struggling to learn something new, “And I can promise you he isn’t a creep. Am I right, Akshu?”

Aarohi averted her gaze from mine momentarily to look at Neil, her boyfriend, who was sprawled on the floor beside her, looking utterly bored as he tossed his car keys from one hand to another.

Neil looked up at Aarohi and then turned to me, nodding his head slightly, “He isn’t a creep. Abhimanyu wouldn’t set you up with just anyone, Akshu.”

Aarohi turned back to me and smiled proudly, “See? You’ve got nothing to worry about. And besides, Neil knows him well. They’ve been friends since forever.”

I knew better than to argue with them both. They were like the undefeatable duo.

“I can’t believe you set me up on a blind date with Neil’s best friend,” I groaned as I buried my face in my hands.

“It doesn’t hurt to meet new people,” Aarohi attempted to rationalize with me as she scooted over to sit by my side, “And you don’t have to keep seeing him if you don’t like him. It’s just one date.”

I looked up abruptly, my eyes narrowing on Neil, “Wait. Did he actually agree to this?”

Neil shrugged and averted his gaze from mine.

Well, that was convincing.

Aarohi glared at Neil before turning to look at me, “Of course he did. Just meet him, alright? He’ll be waiting for you at the mall by the fountain on Saturday at 12pm.”

Aarohi sighed when I continued to eye her skeptically.

“Come on, Akshara,” Aarohi urged, “It’ll be fun. Get out and live a little. I’ve met him a few times and he seems pretty decent. And even if he isn’t, I made sure that you met him in the afternoon so that he can’t try anything.”

Neil coughed as he looked up at Aarohi, “Now you’re making him sound like a pervert.”

Aarohi shot Neil a look before turning back to me.

In what I recognize to be the most persuasive voice she could manage, Aarohi said to me as she smiled, “Just meet him, okay?”

I am not going.

I’m not.

I was sitting on my bed as I attempted to read a book to distract myself.

It wasn’t working though.

I glanced over at the clock unconsciously for the tenth time in the past three minutes and noted that I was going to be late even if I left right at that moment.

Guilt slowly crept in but I managed to catch myself before I could make a stupid decision.

I snapped my gaze away from the clock and back to the book in my lap as I took a deep breath.

What am I feeling guilty for? Even if he had agreed to go on a date with me – which I doubt he did – I’m pretty sure that he wouldn’t want to be there as much as I did.

I was doing him a favor by not turning up, aren’t I? That is, if he even turned up in the first place.

He could’ve told Neil that he’d show up but do the complete opposite.

I definitely do not want to be the one who gets stood up.

I willed myself to read the book in my lap but the words didn’t seem to make sense together.

I read the same paragraph for almost five times when that annoying voice crept back into my mind.

.… But he wouldn’t want to be stood up either.

How awful would it be if he showed up just to be a good friend to Neil and here you are – in your bed, still wearing your pyjamas while attempting to read a book that didn’t even make any sense?

No, Akshara. It doesn’t matter.

It’s not my fault that my bestiee Aarohi betrayed me and tried to set me up with a stranger.

I have the rights to not show up for something I was forced into…Don’t I?

Don’t I?

God damn it.

I hate my conscience.

Before I could convince myself otherwise, I jumped out of bed and headed for the washroom, tripping over my own feet in the process.

I took the fastest shower that I’ve ever had and stumbled out of the washroom.

I yanked my closet door open as I wobbled over to my dresser and plugged in the hairdryer.

I dried my hair frantically before hopping over to stand before my closet.

Fifteen minutes later, I was fully dressed.

I stood in front of the mirror and inspected the light makeup I had managed to apply hastily and tugged at the helm of the blue dress I had yanked on.

When I was certain that I looked okay, I grabbed my purse and shoved whatever important thing I could find into it before bounding down the stairs.

I managed to catch a glimpse of the clock as I yanked the front door open.

#*#*#*#*#

At 12:15pm.

Oh crap!

I stepped through the doors of the mall and sucked in a deep breath.

I froze at the overwhelming number of people and groaned inwardly.

I wasn’t a fan of crowds.

This was why I’d always spend my weekends in the comfort of my home – much to the displeasure of Aarohi.

A guy bumping into me brought me back to reality.

I fumbled to regain my balance and once I did, I scanned the throng of people gathered by the fountain in search of Neil’s friend.

It was practically impossible from where I stood not only because I was too far away but also because people kept walking in front of me and blocked my view.

Go, Akshara.

Go find him.

You’re already here so you might as well find the guy.

Goodness, the annoying voice in my head was back.

Come on, Akshara.

This is an opportunity.

You could still turn back around and leave.

You could tell Aarohi that the place was so crowded hence you couldn’t find him.

You can’t lie to Aarohi, and besides, it’d be awful to ditch the guy.

After a few seconds of battling with my conscience, I willed myself to walk closer to the fountain.

I hesitated for another minute before I began to circle the fountain.

Uncertain of whom I was actually looking for, I tiptoed around the fountain slowly – registering every single person seated along the fountain and evaluating if it could be the guy I was supposed to meet.

I felt incredibly stupid as people looked up at me and shot me looks.

I couldn’t blame them though.

I probably looked mentally unstable as I scrutinized every face in the crowd and walked hunched as I grabbed onto the strap of my bag so tightly till my knuckles were white.

What are you doing, Akshara? You look like a weirdo.

If you had seen someone who was acting the way you are, even you would’ve avoided her.

Just forget it already.

At least you’ve made it this far.

That itself is surprising.

I straightened myself up and whirled around.

Wait a minute…That guy looks like….,

I shook my head in an attempt to clear my head.

No. No, Akshara.

You’re seeing things.

It’s not him.

It can’t be him.

Cussing my conscience for what felt like the hundredth time today, I turned back around to take a better look at the guy whom had caught my attention.

Neil had told me as they were leaving how I could easily identify his friend.

“He’d be the one in black. He’s always in black,” Neil had said as he stopped walking abruptly in the middle of the pathway leading to my house and turned around to face me.

The guy that had caught my attention was definitely in black.

He was wearing a black T-shirt along with faded black jeans and black sneakers.

He had black hair. He was seated next to a boy on a bench and had ear buds on.

I couldn’t see his face from where I stood since he was hunched forward, his arms resting on his thighs.

Oh my god.

Is that him? He showed up? Or could it just be a coincidence?

I froze like an idiot again as I struggled to take in the fact that he had actually showed up.

Is that really him?

Just go, god damn it.

Hesitantly, I walked over to him.

I stopped right next to him but he didn’t notice.

The boy next to him did notice my presence, however, and eyed me weirdly.

My hand that had been reaching for him stopped mid air.

I am so going to regret this.

I extended my hand fully and tapped him lightly on the shoulder, my cheeks burning instantly.

He jerked at my sudden touch and looked up at me, surprised.

He pulled his ear buds out of his ears and stared at me with a look I couldn’t understand.

I felt my cheeks burn even more.

The first thing about him that caught my attention was his dark brownish-black eyes which looked even more beautiful because of his love for black.

His hair was messy – as though he had just woken up – but it somehow fitted him.

Although he had a sharp nose and jaw, he looked boyishly cute.

He continued to stare at me and instinctively, I reached up to touch a strand of my black hair, feeling very self-conscious all of a sudden.

I had left my wavy hair loose and it ended just below my shoulders.

Now that he was staring at me, I wished that I had done something to my hair.

I was conscious of my brown eyes too which were nowhere near pretty as his.

I couldn’t help but to fidget slightly and his gaze continued to burn though me.

It’s you, idiot.

You’re supposed to say something to him.

All you did was tap him on the shoulder.

He has no idea who you are and he’s waiting for you to say something.

I cleared my throat as I shifted my weight from one foot to another, “Uhm, Abhimanyu, right?”

He blinked at me a couple of times as though he was surprised I could talk before groaning and burying his face in his hands for a moment.

He shot up suddenly and I stumbled a few steps backward.

“I’m going to kill him,” he muttered so softly that I almost missed it.

“I’m sorry?”

He looked up to meet my eyes and shook his head slightly as he reached up to scratch the back of his head, “I just can’t believe Neil introduced me as Abhimanyu. I wanted to make a good first impression but he ruined it for me now.”

I blinked at him, confused.

He gave me a small smile, “Nobody except for Neil has called me Abhimanyu throughout my whole friend circle. I’ve told him many times to stop calling me that but he refuses to.”

I was about to nod when someone bumped into me again.

I staggered forward and was about to crash but Abhimanyu caught me before I could.

Really, Couldn’t people see me or something?

“Hey, you could at least apologize!” he yelled after the guy.

He was still holding on to me, his hands gripping my upper arm firmly to keep me from falling.

My cheeks flushed when I realized that the side of my face was pressed against his chest.

He helped to straighten me up and looked me over before letting go of me.

“Are you okay?” he asked, sounding genuinely concerned.

I nodded, unable to meet his eyes from my embarrassment.

He chuckled, “Do you want to start over?”

I snapped my gaze back to him to find him grinning at me.

“Would you like to pretend that didn’t happen?” he asked, “Shall we pretend that you never heard that my name is Abhimanyu and that you didn’t just crash into me?”

Well, I wasn’t expecting that. But I’ll take it anyway.

“Yes, please,” I murmured.

Still grinning, he offered his hand, “Hi. It’s glad to meet you. I’m Abhi.”

I reached out and shook his hand, “Hello. I’m Akshara. It’s nice to meet you too.”

“That’s better,” he smiled as he pulled his hand away, “To be honest, I didn’t think you’d show up.”

My mouth hung open slightly at his honesty, uncertain of what to say to that.

I managed to recover quickly though.

I decided to be truthful, “I wasn’t going to but I figured you might and it’d be awful of me not to. I didn’t think you’d show up.”

“I don’t like to be set up with someone but I didn’t like the idea of having you waiting without me showing up even more,” he shrugged.

I nodded in response.

He glanced around quickly before meeting my eyes again, “I know that neither of us signed up for this but do you want to get lunch with me anyway? We might as well since we’re already here.”

I was surprised at his suggestion but nodded nevertheless, “That’d be nice.”

He slid his hands into the pockets of his jeans and leaned back slightly, “Do you want to get out of here? It’s a little too crowded for me. I know this diner nearby. It’s pretty good.”

I smiled at him and nodded.

“So, what’d they say about me?” he asked suddenly as he glanced at me, “Neil and Aarohi. What did they say to make you even consider showing up?”

We were walking down the pavement lined in between countless number shops and the road.

I wasn’t familiar with the area and he had to lead me – throwing out directions from time to time as to when I had to turn or continue walking.

“Uh, they didn’t say much,” I told him as I gripped onto the strap of my bag, “But they did make me suspicious as to whether you were a creep or not though.”

He laughed and shook his head, “Wow. Neil really can’t introduce a person decently.”

“How about you? What did Neil say about me?”

“He just called me one day and said I had to go on a date with you,” he grinned at me, “He just told me the details, told me that I had to show up or else his girlfriend would kill him and then hung up.”

“Had to go on a date with me?” I asked, horrified, “Neil definitely can’t introduce a person. He made me sound so…pathetic.”

He grinned again and shook his head, “Nah. But hey, at least he didn’t tell me you were a creep.”

I couldn’t help but to smile at that.

He ran forward slightly and stopped in front of me, smirking when I almost crashed into him again, “I promise you I’m not a creep. I’ll try my best to prove it to you,” he jerked his head to the right, “We’re here.”

I looked over and realized he was right.

We were standing outside of a quaint diner.

Check red and white tablecloths covered the tables and waitress and waiters dressed in white uniforms with red aprons tied to the lower half of their bodies filled the diner.

I stared at the shop in awe. It was beautiful.

“Shall we?” Abhi asked, snapping me back to reality.

I looked back at him and nodded, still smiling.

Before I could even take a step, he grabbed my wrist and started pulling me with him into the diner.

I was too shocked to react and instead allowed him to drag me along with him.

We slid into a booth by the window and a waitress came around, smiling brightly as she asked us for our orders.

Once the waitress left, Abhi focused his attention on me again.

“Skiing or hiking?” he asked, taking me by surprise.

He grinned at the confusion etched clearly on my face, “I’m just making conversation. So, which one would you rather do?”

Boy, is he different.

“Skiing,” I laughed in despite of the oddness of the situation, “You couldn’t think of a more normal question to ask?”

“A normal question?”

“You know, the sort of question you’d ask someone you just met,” I shrugged “Like what’s my favorite color or how many siblings I have.”

“Okay then,” he leaned back against the booth, “What’s your favorite color?”

I shot him a look and he raised his hands up, palms facing me, “You suggested it.”

I rolled my eyes, “Yellow.”

“See, that is why I didn’t ask you what your favorite color was or how many siblings you have. I have nothing to say to that,” he leaned forward and rested one of his elbow on the table, “No follow-up question. Skiing or hiking, on the other hand, comes with a follow-up question,” he grinned as though proud of himself, “So why skiing?”

“I like snow,” I told him and leaned forward too, resting my elbows on the table, “How about you? Skiing or hiking?”

“Skiing, definitely. It’s like a family tradition for me,” he told me.

The waitress came over then and placed his coke and my iced tea on the table.

She asked if we needed anything else before moving on to another table.

“Fault in our Stars… movie?” he continued as he took a sip of his coke.

I laughed as I stared at him, wondering if he was serious.

“What?” he asked, “My sister Nishu, She just made me watch Fault in our Stars movie, this morning. I still have the song stuck in my head.”

“Is that why you came out to meet me?” I asked, feigning hurt, “Because you wanted to get away from your sister?”

“I’ve been caught, haven’t I?” he frowned and buried his face in his hands.

I laughed, shaking my head slightly, “Fault in our Stars. I don’t have watch it.”

He snapped his gaze back to mine, looking shocked, “How could you not have seen Fault in our Stars?”

“I just haven’t,” I took a sip of my iced tea.

“I should make you come over sometimes.”

“My sister Nishu could watch it two times a day and still not get sick of it, Coz she just mad for that couple” he rolled his eyes.

“Is that an invitation?” I asked jokingly as I quirked an eyebrow.

Before he could answer, the waitress came over with our food.

After making sure again that we didn’t want anything else, she left.

We continued talking throughout the meal.

He insisted on covering all the ‘normal’ questions – saying that we should get that out of the way.

I found out that he had one sister, the 21 years-old Disney obsessed younger sister Nishu and that he had met Neil by chance at the swimming pool when they were both during college trip.

He was borns on 22nd July, played football in his college, watched movies to pass the time and, to be fair, he told me that his favorite color was Blue.

He found out that I was an only child, had met Aarohi on the first day of school, was born on 9th October and read when I’m bored.

We moved on to his sort of questions soon after and I found out he preferred action movies as compared to horror ones, Italian food over Chinese, checkers over stripes, apples over oranges and Diwali over Thanksgivings.

My answers were all the same except for the checkers one.

We had finished our food a long time ago but stayed in the booth nevertheless – both caught up in our battle of questions.

The endless questioning didn’t feel so weird after a while and it made me feel comfortable with him.

We were finding out things – albeit it being different – about each other simultaneously and it didn’t feel like I just met him.

He was definitely different from any guy I’ve met which probably made him more interesting.

Suddenly, I didn’t seem to mind the thought that Aarohi and Neil had set up this meeting between him and I.

While I was thinking of a new question to ask, he glanced at his watch before looking back up at me, grinning, “It’s almost three. We’ve been here for almost two hours.”

“What?” I asked in disbelief and glanced down at my own watch.

2:53PM.

“Oh my god,” I shook my head as I looked back up at him.

“How about we get out of here and get dessert?” he suggested, quirking an eyebrow, “The waitress has been shooting us glares for the past forty minutes.”

“That sounds good,” I agreed.