A Phone Call

                                    

                                          
A/N:- (a very belated) Eid Mubarak! Hope this serves as a (late but) nice Eidi!!
                          
It had been four days since the event. Four long days where majority of the time only a single thought occupied her mind - 'You really need to call him or else this will eat you up' - that's what the tiny voice in her head had been telling her and for god's sake she had had enough.
                          
She had been contemplating it for the last 75 to 80 hours after all and she was so ready to flush it out of her system.
                          
Besides she knew the voice was right.
                          
Seeing him at the event, hearing him talk, it had touched in her ways she couldn't quite explain. It hadn't melted her heart into a puddle, if that's what you're asking, but it did something. What? She couldn't put into words but it made her realise a few things. Most of all that he had really put himself out there and that it was time she established some kind of contact.
                          
In addition to that she knew that if not talking to him that been bothering her that much, then whatever her pride might be telling her now, deep down she really wanted to do it.
                          
So that evening she sat down on her couch, took a few long hard breaths, and readied herself to call him. She picked up her mobile and dialled his number, hoping that he hadn't changed his number or anything. 
                          
She was doing this in Kirti's absence, otherwise the girl would probably bash her skull in.
                          
Or maybe she wouldn't because above all, she trusted Niti to take her own decisions and that was the most amazing part of being friends with her. They warned each other, they had been worried over each other but they had never stopped the other from taking their own decisions, even if they knew that it would probably blow up in their faces, and they had stood by each other when things had taken a bad turn. So whatever might happen, there was one thing she could be sure of - that she'd always have Kirti to count on.
                          
"Hello" she said, a few seconds after he picked up.
                          
"Hi" Manik's voice came a little hesitantly.
                          
She could have asked 'how are you?' 'How's work?' But their current relationship wasn't like that and she wasn't sure she could handle the conversation going on for that long anyway. She jumped straight to the topic, pleasantries would have to wait for another time.
                          
"I... um wanted to talk to you. I well... I did everything really" she said with a nervous chuckle. "I heard the song, I watched you at the event that day... congratulations" she said softly.
                          
"Thank you" he replied his voice low and quiet; almost a whisper. An uncomfortable silence fell between them when both of them didn't say anything further.
                          
"So do you wanna meet up next week? If you're free that is" she said clearing her throat.
                          
"Yes" he replied with immediacy.
                          
"Okay then see you next week" she said. It didn't escape her how oddly reminiscent it was of their first phone conversation, on the night of the concert.
                          
"I'll text you the date and place yeah."
                          
The phone went dead and Niti exhaled loudly. She had to meet with him, she had to talk to him and she had to see where it went from there.
                          
°°°
                          
He couldn't believe a lot of things that happened just now. He was tempted to punch himself and see if it were real or in his head, but he knew that was stupid. 
                          
He honestly couldn't believe that she had called. He hadn't even let himself go as far as hoping for any sort of communication to start, for anything at all to happen, not so soon anyway. But here he was, having just spoken to her, and granted the conversation was a bit awkward but given the circumstances, that she didn't call to curse the shit out of him, was good enough. 
                          
And not just that, he's now going to see her in person, they're going to meet and talk. He's going to see her after such a long time- the thought brought a smile to his face. But he also simultaneously realised just how fast everything was happening. Just the other day he didnt know if he'd never be able yo talk to her again and here he was - his life was going like a bloody bullet train and the more he thought about it the more he felt like everything was spinning out of control, so he stopped himself. He caught the side of the bed and breathed out; overthinking never did work for anyone. 
                          
"I wanted this; stressing over it now is pointless" he said out loud. 
                          
His mind wandered back to her words. She said she wanted to talk, he wondered what was it that she wanted to talk about? He'd have to wait until next week to find that out. He was just glad that she opened up an avenue for them. If she wanted to clarify things, it would also give him an oppurtunity to clear things from his end and emphasize that he wasn't proud of the stunt he pulled. 
                          
He briefly considered that maybe she was calling to permanently severe ties with him, and in those micro seconds he desperately hoped that that wasn't the case, but then he shrugged the thought off. That was just his stupidity taking over. They weren't on talking terms anyway and he would never intrude in her life if she didn't want him to, even if that broke him, so why would she call him up, ask to meet up and then severe things. She wouldn't even want to see him if that was it. Besides her tone did not sound very harsh or angry or anything, and he hoped he was right about it.
                          
Then he suddenly remembered something that had completely slipped his mind. He replayed her words in his mind.
                          
"I heard the song, I watched you at the event that day... congratulations" 
                          
He still couldn't wrap his head around it.
                          
She had heard his songs and she had also watched him at the event. "So she heard my acceptance speech? Maybe she did and maybe that's what made a difference. I never planned on her hearing it, but every word I said up there was the truth and if that's what reached her, I can't be more grateful."
                          
He sat there with a hint of smile on his lips. Those songs had had lot of her in them too and if she'd heard them and she'd watched him, it made the album all the more special. And it wasn't lost on him that it meant something.