Love blooms in the Neighborhood

15|Outdoor Indoors

Chapter 14 was too short, so I expanded it. For those who haven't read it yet, go check it out!

"Pardon, Mr. Singhania, we can't call him. He's not in the country right now," she replied.

Then he turned his face, and we could see him clearly.

"Rohan?" I muttered.

"Singhania!" Ruhi exclaimed.

"S," we both said simultaneously.

**

"I can't believe Rohan is my stalker!" I exclaimed in shock. How in the world could it be him?

"Let's go and show him how dangerous it can be to mess with a girl!" Ruhi said angrily.

I held her hand back. "No! We should get close to him and find some clues against him so we can get him arrested. And we still don't know if he's really my stalker or not," I explained.

**

I dropped Ruhi off at her place and headed home. I doubted that he's the stalker because he wasn't in our school. Whoever the stalker is, they're likely from our school. But Rohan is on my inquiry list from now on.

**

*4:50 pm*

I stepped into my house, and a shuttlecock hit my face. I raised my eyebrows and saw who the shooter was-Divye! Divye and my parents were playing badminton inside the HOUSE!! House!!

"What in the world is going on here?" I exclaimed, dodging another flying shuttlecock.

Divye shrugged. "Just a friendly game of indoor badminton. Wanna join?" he grinned.

"Outdoor game indoors?" I retorted, folding my arms across my chest.

"Why not?" Divye shrugged again.

"Wanna join, gudiya (doll)?" Dad asked.

"No, I-" I started to say, but Divye cut me off.

"Leave it, Uncle. She's afraid of losing!" He smirked at me.

I glared at him. "Who is even speaking! A loser!" I retorted.

"Let's play then, and everyone will figure out who's the real loser!" He challenged me.

**

We stared at each other with killing eyes, ready for the match.

Dad and Mom had taken sides with boards showing our names; Dad had my name, and Mom had Divye's name.

Dad whistled from the stairs

And we started to play. Divye shot the shuttlecock at me, and it hit my nose. I picked up the shuttlecock and hit it back at him. It hit his shoulder, and he laughed. I stood proudly.

"You're so childish!" he exclaimed.

"And you're so jerk!" I shot back.

**

We started playing again, and he missed the shuttlecock. I scored. I started jumping cheerfully.

"JERRY ONE, TOM ZERO!" Dad shouted delightfully and came to hug me with a penguin walk.

Mom and Divye hugged each other with puppy faces. I giggled.

We went back to the game, and Divye and I were giving each other a tough competition until he aimed the shuttlecock to the other side, so I couldn't return the shot.

Cheater!

"SON-IN-LAW ONE, arrogant daughter one!" Mom shouted. Divye held back his laughter, and Dad stared at her in shock.

I glared at her and folded my arms across my chest.

"Stop giving me a death stare!" Mom retorted. "I was just kidding!" she complained.

I sighed.

**

We started to play again, and he shot the shuttlecock at my nose, hitting me again.

And He laughed!

I gave him a death stare and aimed the shuttlecock at his nose, hitting him! I smirked proudly. He hit me back with the shuttlecock, and we started hitting each other. A white pot broke from one of our shots, and we turned the living room into a battlefield.

Mom tried to stop us, but I picked up the whole box of shuttlecocks and threw them at him. He caught most of them and threw them back at me. I started hitting him with my hands.

He suddenly grabbed my hands and pulled me closer. I stopped. I felt nervous at his touch. I looked into his eyes, and we locked eye contact for a few seconds.

He had dark brown eyes, and they looked dreamy. My heart started beating fast. I raised my hand to touch his face, but suddenly Mom came and pulled us apart by our ears.

"Ouch!" I groaned.

Divye didn't seem bothered at all; he was still looking at me.

"Do you both look good fighting? You aren't kids anymore!" Mom scolded us.

"Your Divye started it," I argued.

"And you are milk washed??" she retorted

Divye smirked and raised his eyebrows at me. I didn't say anything and stood there with an angry face.

"And you!" She turned her gaze to Divye, and he swiftly stopped smiling. Jerk!

She continued, "Stop being a child! She still act like a kid, and if you act childish too, how will it work? In future, when you both get married, will you still keep fighting like this?" She teased.

"MOM!!" I said, irritated.

Divye laughed.

"How much will you even tease our daughter?" Dad smiled.

"Okay, I won't pull her leg now," Mom smiled. "You both go and freshen up, then we'll watch a movie." She told us.

**

I jumped on my bed, feeling tired.

Maybe Divye wasn't as much of an enemy as I had initially thought. Despite our rivalry, there was an unexpected connection and togetherness in our playful interactions. Does he also feel the same?

I came out of my thoughts and went to take a quick shower.

I wonder, is Rohan really my stalker?

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