January 2006

Vikram sat by his desk, drumming is fingers on the wooden surface. He was attempting to study but the pages of the book wasn't able to hold his attention. His mind was somewhere else, on someone else.

With the onset of new year, Aditya got a little busier with his work. Since it was the holidays, he had requested Gaurav to let him work normal hours and Gaurav had agreed. Although Vikram tried to talk him out of it, knowing that the exams were approaching and Aditya needed to study, Aditya assured Vikram that it was fine. He could still study in the evening after work and it was manageable so Vikram finally agreed.

Because of Aditya's work and study schedule, Vikram didn't want to disturb him much so he decided it was best to not try and meet him as frequently as he wanted to. It had been fifteen days since the break had begun and Vikram had met Aditya only once, on a Sunday at Aditya's house.

Right now, sitting by his desk in the middle of the afternoon, Vikram stared at the calendar. The dates had been marked crossed for all the days he had not seen Aditya this month and out of fifteen, only one had a circle instead of a cross. He was about to cross the 16th day of the month off as well when his cellphone rang.

It was an unknown number.

"Hello?" Vikram said picking up.

"Hi." came a voice from the other end and Vikram's face immediately broke into a smile.

"Aditya." he whispered.

"Hi." Aditya said again. Vikram could hear Aditya smiling

"Are you home?" Aditya asked.

"Yes." Vikram said. "Where are you calling from?"

"Phone booth near my house."

"Where did you get my number?"

"You gave it to me, a long time ago."

Vikram remembered he had slipped his private number among the books for Aditya. "And you still had the paper?"

Aditya laughed. "No." he said. "I had it memorized."

Vikram smiled. "I miss you."

Aditya breathed on the other end. "I miss you too."

"I want to meet you."

Aditya laughed. "That's funny. You're saying exactly what I want to say."

"Really?" Vikram asked, "You're not working today?"

"Took the day off." Aditya said and paused. "Can you meet me by the lake in one ho..."

"Yes" Vikram immediately said, without letting Aditya finish. "I'm leave right now."

Aditya laughed again. "In an hour, Vikram. I need to drop by the school first."

"Why?"

"I'll tell you when I see you."

Vikram nodded to himself. "Okay. I'll see you there."

"Bye." Aditya said and hung up.

Vikram felt the beating of his heart against his chest. He turned to the calendar and marked the 16th day with a circle.

Patience was not Vikram's friend today. The moment he hung up, he changed and drowned himself in antiperspirant, thinking if he had to wait, he would wait at the lake itself.

He jumped out of his room and hopped off the stairs. Just as he was about to reach the foyer, he heard his name being called out. It was his father.

A sense of dread filled him from the inside. Was something wrong?

He rushed to the living room to find his father sitting there with another set of newspaper in his hands. The TV was off and he looked better than he had in a long time.

"Are you off to somewhere?" Deepak asked.

Vikram nodded. "I'm... I'm going to meet a friend."

Deepak looked like he wanted to say something but he didn't.

So Vikram spoke. "Dad..." he said and walked near him. "Are you okay?"

"Yes." Deepak said, "Why?"

"You recognize me, don't you?"

Deepak gave a loud laugh. "Of course I recognize you." he said.

"What day is it?" Vikram asked.

Deepak looked at him in confusion. "What is this about?"

"Do you know what year it is?"

"Yes, it's 2006." Deepak said. "Why are you asking me this?"

Vikram couldn't believe it. His dad was perfectly lucid. He had been carrying the guilt of speaking to his father so harshly that the moment he realized Deepak was lucid, Vikram felt tears surface in his eyes.

"Dad..." Vikram said, approaching him. He would not chicken out this time. This time he would let his father know that he was very sorry for what he had said and that he didn't mean it. He would not let this opportunity slip by.

Before Vikram knew, the tears began strolling out. Deepak looked at Vikram in concern and stood up.

"Vikram, what happened?"

For the first time ever, Vikram saw genuine concern in his dad's eyes.

"Do you remember the last time we had a fight?"

Deepak tried to think, then slowly nodded. "I... I remember, I just don't remember when that was."

"I told you something really awful." Vikram said. "I shouldn't have said that. I am so sorry, dad."

By now, Vikram was sobbing hysterically. Deepak immediately reached out and hugged his son. "It's okay." he said. "Fights between a father and son are common."

Vikram shook his head. "What I said was horrible. I didn't mean it, I swear I didn't."

Deepak patted his son lightly on the back. "It's okay, Vikram. I know you're sorry. You don't have to beat yourself up for it. I made a mistake too." he said. "I shouldn't have hit you. I am sorry too."

Vikram stared at his dad in surprise. Vikram had always thought that his dad wasn't the type of person to apologize. The man had always been too proud of what he had done in his life, starting from rags to riches so that he would never be treated like he didn't matter.

But Vikram realized that he was wrong. It was not that he never apologized, it was just that he never did anything that would make him want to. And when he did, he didn't hesitate.

Deepak looked at Vikram and wiped his tears off. He slowly patted his cheeks. "Go now, your friend must be waiting."

Vikram slowly nodded. Closing his eyes, he took a step back. Suddenly, he felt like a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"I am sorry again, dad." he said.

Deepak smiled at him.

Vikram retracted and was about to reach the door when he heard his father again. "Be back home before dinner. You have a lot of study to do if you want to beat that Aditya in the board exams."

An involuntary chuckle escaped Vikram's lips and he shook his head. If only his dad knew!

By the time Vikram reached the lake, he felt like a new person altogether. He felt like there was nothing tying him back anymore. He felt free and like he could do anything in the world. And now he was going to meet Aditya.

Only Vikram knew how hard these past days had been for him. Somehow Aditya invaded his thought more now that they were together than he did before. It was crazy how this was happening but the more time Vikram spent away from Aditya, the surer he got of his feeling for him.

He didn't want Aditya as just someone who was there temporarily. Vikram wanted to share a lifetime with him and although they had never talked about this before, Vikram was sure he'd find a way for them to be together even after the school was over.

Aditya arrived a few minutes after Vikram did and the moment he saw Vikram, he ran towards him.

Aditya crushed Vikram in his arms, refusing to let go.

"God I missed you."

Vikram tapped Aditya on his arm. "Too... tight..." he said, "Can't... breathe."

Aditya let him go immediately. "I am so sorry," he said. "I just got too excited to see you."

Vikram inhaled a lungful of air and gave out a light laugh. "It's okay." he said and walked closer to Aditya. "I missed you too." Vikram whispered against his lips.

Aditya didn't hesitate. He immediately took Vikram's lips in his, dazing his off his senses.

When Aditya finally let go of him, Vikram reached out involuntarily to take his lips again but Aditya pulled back.

"I have something huge to tell you."

Vikram opened his eyes and looked into Aditya's hazel orbs. "What is it?"

Aditya flashed him a smile. "I received a scholarship."

Vikram blinked. "You what?"

Aditya nodded enthusiastically. "Crazy, isn't it?" he asked. "I didn't even apply for it."

"You... you got the scholarship?" Vikram asked again, not sure if he had heard it right.

"Yes." Aditya said. "Apparently Mr. Jha submitted my file and I have been granted full scholarship for my under graduation and graduation in Paris."

"Master's as well?"

Aditya nodded again, not able to contain the smile on his face.

Vikram looked at Aditya and smiled back. He had been so scared that Aditya's scholarship might get rejected that he had begun looking for other options to help him. Now that he got it, Vikram felt like he could finally put his mind to rest.

Reaching out, Vikram hugged Aditya. "Congratulations." he said, trying not to cry. Aditya wouldn't have to sell his dad's house anymore. "I can't believe you got the scholarship." Vikram said, pulling back and then hugging Aditya again.

Aditya wrapped Vikram in a tight embrace.

"This is so huge." Vikram said and looked at Aditya. "We have to celebrate."

Aditya shook his head. "I just want to spend today with you. That will be enough for me."

"But..."

Aditya shook his head again. "Please." he said. "I missed you so damn much. I just want the two of us and nothing else."

Vikram looked at him, wanting to say something but his mind was blank.

"Is that okay?" Aditya asked but what he heard in response knocked the breath out of him.

"I love you." Vikram blurted out all of a sudden, without really realizing what he was saying.

Aditya blinked.

Vikram panicked.

"I..." Vikram began, shaking his head and taking a step away from Vikram, "You don't have to say anything." Vikram said. "You don't have to answer. I was just telling you how I feel, you don't have to feel pressured or anything."

When Aditya didn't respond, Vikram continued. "I know you don't like it when someone confesses what they feel for you and asks your reply in return..."

Aditya cut him off. "Who told you that?"

"I..." Vikram paused. "I heard when Shruti said she loved you."

Aditya laughed. "I wasn't really dating her." Aditya said. "It was all fake and this was the arrangement from the beginning. I told her I needed time because I didn't want say yes and neither did I want to hurt her feelings by rejecting her flat out."

"Okay" Vikram said. "That makes sense but even then, I really, really do not expect any answer from you. I was just coming clean with my own feelings."

"Do you want to take it back?" Aditya asked. "If I give you a free pass, do you want to take back what you said?"

Vikram looked at Aditya in confusion. Why would he want to take it back?

"No." he said firmly. "I will never take it back."

"Good." Aditya said.

"Good?"

"Yes..." Aditya said. "Because I love you too."

Aditya walked closer to Vikram and held him by the waist. "I love you so goddamn much that I feel like I can't breathe when you're not around. I've loved you since you showed up, shivering and crying at the hospital when I got injured, since you first kissed me, since you first made me smile, since I first noticed your freckles." Aditya said and Vikram notice he was going in reverse chronological order.

Vikram felt an overwhelming surge of emotions inside of him. He had no idea Aditya had loved him since that long.

"I've loved you even when you hated me." Aditya finally said.

Vikram kept glancing at his watch every two minutes. Why was it talking so long for Ruvee to come back?

Vikram looked at his watch again. He knew he still had time, but he was still very impatient. He had been planning for Aditya's birthday for days and now that it finally was the day, he felt like everything felt flat.

He looked around. Ruvee had generously offered to let Vikram use her rooftop for the small celebration which consisted of just Vikram, Aditya and Ruvee herself. And then she had conveniently forgotten about it all. So now here Vikram was, with the wood and a fire pit for the bonfire, while Ruvee told him she'd go to the bakery and quickly come back with a cake for Aditya because she hadn't preordered any, like she promised that she would.

Aditya would be here any minute and they literally hadn't even made arrangements for the food and drinks yet. Vikram heard the door bell and ran downstairs to attend. Hoping it was Ruvee, Vikram opened the door, only to find Aditya there.

He looked at Vikram and gave him a big smile. He would have reached in and hugged Vikram but they were in someone else's house so Aditya kept his distance.

"Hello Mr. Ahuja." Aditya said instead.

Vikram laughed. "Good evening Mr. Varma." he said. "What brings you here?"

"A certain Ms. Raghuvanshi extended her kind invitation for me to attend, so here I am."

"Come in." Vikram said and Aditya followed.

"Where is Ruvee?"

"She's... umm... she'll be back soon." Vikram said. This was supposed to be a surprise.

Aditya raised an eyebrow and turned towards Vikram. "Are you telling me you and I are all alone in this house?"

"No." Vikram said. "Her parents are upstairs in their room."

Aditya sighed regretfully and took a seat on the sofa. "So what's the plan? Are we going to watch movies?"

"Or we could just go up to the roof and sit."

"Rooftop?" Aditya asked, "It's freezing outside, Vikram."

"Come on." Vikram said, taking his hand and dragging him out to the open are.

"Whoa!" Aditya said when he saw the logs of wood and the pit. "Are we having a bonfire?"

"Yes." Vikram said and proceeded to the open area to place the pit in between. Covered the bottom of the pit with crumpled old newspaper and placed the logs of wood on top of it. Pulling a matchbox out of his pocket, he lit the paper which burned slowly before the wood caught fire too.

"Come on..." Vikram said, pulling a chair from the side and placing it by the fire and then two more. "Have a seat."

Aditya walked to where he was and sat down. "What is this?" he asked.

"Nothing." Vikram said. "I just wanted a break and it's getting so cold so I thought it might be nice to hang out together around a bonfire for a while." Vikram pulled his chair closer to Aditya's. "Do you like it?"

Aditya looked at the fire and then at Vikram. "Yes." he said. "I love bonfires."

Vikram beamed with joy. He hadn't planned much for the night, because he knew Aditya wasn't into a lot of extravaganza, so all he wanted to do was create a memorable birthday for him.

"When is Ruvee coming back?"

Vikram looked at the watch. She should have been here by now. He was about to answer when he heard the doorbell again. "I'll be right back." he said and quickly went downstairs.

This time, it indeed was Ruvee.

"Sorry." Ruvee said, carrying the box of cake with her which Vikram took from her, only to realize that she had more things in her hand. "I also stopped by to get something to eat."

"Good thinking." Vikram said. He rushed in and placed the cake on the counter before returning back to carry the rest of the things.

"Aditya's already here." he said. "Let's take the cake first and I'll bring the other things later."

Ruvee nodded.

Vikram carried the cake with him as Ruvee walked ahead. Before stepping out, they carefully placed the candles on the cake and lit them up. The stairs by the rooftop immediately lit up because of all the burning candles.

And then, they stepped out.

"Happy birthday." Ruvee and Vikram yelled as they walked out with the cake.

Aditya looked at them and stood up. For a few seconds, until they walked from the door to the bonfire, Aditya didn't move, he didn't even blink.

And when he did, a drop of tear fell down his eyes.

"Happy birthday, Aditya." Ruvee said, kissing him on the cheeks.

Aditya couldn't take his eyes off the cake. He had completely forgotten it was his birthday. He had been busy working all day and it had just slipped his mind.

He looked up at Vikram, eyes moistened.

Vikram nodded towards the candles. "Make a wish and blow the candles out."

Aditya smiled. He closed his eyes for a few seconds and then with one single sweep, blew all the candles out.

Vikram placed the cake on the table and approached Aditya. They embraced each other in a warm hug. "I'm so glad you were born." he said with a smile, making Aditya laugh a little.

Ruvee cut the cake into pieces and Aditya offered to bring it to her parents himself. Ruvee handed him two plates and quickly excused himself, saying he'll be right back.

"He totally didn't expect that." Ruvee said once Aditya was gone.

But Vikram's mind was on something else. He turned to Ruvee. "I wonder what his last birthday was like." he said.

"Must have been torturous." Ruvee said.

"I can't believe I hated him through all that."

Ruvee patted his shoulders. "It's okay, you didn't know."

Vikram sighed and sat on one of the chairs by the bonfire. "He'll be gone to Paris in a few months." he said, staring into the fire.

"What will I do without him?" he asked.

Ruvee took the seat next to him and held his hand. "You'll talk on the phone, you'll Skype, you could even pretend to be 19th century lovers and write to each other occasionally."

"What if we break up? Or if he forgets me? I don't think I'll be able to live through that"

It was a thought that had been lurking in his mind a lot. From what he'd heard and seen, Vikram knew long distance relationships didn't work much. And who was to say Aditya even wanted a relationship after he moved to Paris? Vikram's nights of late had been occupied with the thoughts that Aditya would soon be off, to a whole new country, meeting entirely new people. And What if he found someone better than him?

"Have you seen that boy?" Ruvee asked. "He's so disgustingly in love with you that even I have started believing in romance novels and you know I hate them. You've turned that monster into absolute mush, Vikram. Even if he has amnesia he'll still remember you."

Vikram let out a light laugh, casting his apprehensions away when Aditya surfaced back.

He took the seat next to Vikram and rested his head on Vikram's shoulder.

"See what I mean?" Ruvee asked, looking at Aditya. "Monster to mush."

"Hmm?" Aditya asked.

"Nothing." Ruvee said. "How did you like the surprise?"

"I have no words." Aditya said after a pause. "I never thought anyone would ever do this for me. How did you even remember my birthday?"

"Oh, you now..." Ruvee said, "Mr. Jha and people..." she tried her best to lie when the truth was that she was the only who had submitted his scholarship file to Mr. Jha and that's how she found out.

Thankfully, Aditya was still so overwhelmed that he didn't ask anything any further. They talked about their preparations of the exam and then talked about their plans for their respective future life and time flew by. In between, Ruvee's mom was kind enough to bring the food up to the roof and they sat in merriment, taking in the warmth of the bonfire under the moonless cold sky.