November 2005

Vikram was in the lobby with Ruvee, waiting impatiently as Aditya was taken into the hospital. Mr. Jha had accompanied Aditya in the ambulance that had arrived thanks to Ruvee's quick thinking who had pulled her cellphone out and called her dad immediately.

Neither of them were allowed inside so they were now waiting by the lobby at Ruvee's dad's hospital, holding each other's hands in nerve racking stress.

They waited, and then they waited some more.

Vikram was beginning to get impatient.

"What if something is seriously wrong with him?" Vikram asked, his voice breaking. "It wouldn't be taking so long if he was fine."

Ruvee, who was almost as stressed but more composed, squeezed his hand lightly. "I'm sure he'll be fine."

Vikram stood up. "I have to check on him."

"They won't let you in unless you're family." she said.

"I can't just wait here, Ruvee." Vikram said, beginning to tear up.

"Okay." Ruvee said, "Wait here, I'll find out what's going on."

This made Vikram feel a little better. He nodded and Ruvee quickly left. It would be easier for Ruvee to find Aditya as it was her dad's hospital that they were in.

Vikram bit into his nails, staring at the clock in front of him on the wall. Each tick and each tock hit him like a hammer. Seconds passed, and then minutes.

Why hadn't Ruvee returned yet? Vikram was beginning to lose it. He didn't care if there was security at the main entry. He would find Aditya on his own.

Vikram was about to rush to the entry when a woman, in probably her late twenties came up to Vikram.

"Are you Vikram Ahuja?" she asked. Vikram presumed she was a staff at the hospital.

Vikram nodded.

"Ruvee asked you to take the elevator to the eleventh floor and go to room 1108."

"How is Aditya?" he asked hurried.

"I am sorry." she said. "I don't have any information on that. I've just been told to inform you."

She asked Vikram to follow and they reached the main entry. The woman nodded at the guards and they gave Vikram a free pass.

Vikram walked to elevator and pressed the button. When it arrived, he got in. As he pressed the button to the eleventh floor, Vikram realized that his hands were shaking. He was probably shaking head to toe but he didn't care.

"Where is he?" Vikram asked the moment he saw Ruvee. His eyes fell on the door number and it was 1108, just as the woman had said.

"Vikram..." Ruvee said but Vikram asked her to move and gently nudged her to the side.

With hands still trembling, Vikram opened the door.

All the strength he had built came crashing down and he felt his knees would give in when he saw Aditya, sitting on the bed, talking to Mr. Jha.

Both heads turned towards Vikram.

"Okay then." Mr. Jha said. "I must get back now. You take care Aditya and let me know if you need anything."

"Thanks sir." Aditya said and Mr. Jha walked out, patting Vikram on the shoulder once.

The moment he was gone and the door closed behind him, Vikram turned at Aditya, unsure what to say suddenly.

"I hate you." Vikram said but all Aditya did was smile.

"I know." Aditya said in a soft voice. "But could you hate me after I recover?"

Vikram sighed in relief. Aditya was making jokes. This meant that his head was fine. That he wasn't hurt, right?

For the longest time that Vikram could remember, he stood where he was, eyes fixed on Aditya, fighting every urge to cry.

Aditya probably sensed the state Vikram was in because all he did was offer an empathetic smile. "I am sorry. Did you have to wait for too long?"

Yes, Vikram wanted to say. He wanted to tell Aditya that it felt like a lifetime and that at one point, he was scared that he might never see Aditya again and that moment was the most terrified he'd been, but he chose not to. Vikram shook his head, but then, despite his best efforts, the tears he'd been fighting to keep at bay, finally found their way out.

"Come here." Aditya said, raising his hand for Vikram to take and oh, Vikram took. With all that he had. Without any hesitation. He walked over to where Aditya's bed was and took a seat next to him.

"Look at you." Aditya said, rubbing his hand on Vikram's arm. "You're shaking."

Vikram did not move. He continued wash his tears away and stare immediately back at Aditya like closing his eyes even for a second would make Aditya vanish.

"I am sorry." Aditya said, "Did I scare you out in the field?"

Maybe it would be best to call Ruvee in because Vikram didn't think he was doing anything to make the situation better. Aditya was already hurt and all Vikram was doing was making the situation worse. If there were words Vikram could say, he could not bring himself to say them out loud. He continued to tremble like he'd been out in in the cold for hours and hours. Vikram kept telling himself to stop crying but it seemed impossible. He wished there was a switch he could flip that would make him more stable to be able to talk to Aditya, but there was none.

Just as he was about to get up and leave, Aditya came to Vikram's rescue.

Aditya's thumb lightly brushed on the back of Vikram's palm and something warm spread across Vikram's entire make. The tears had stopped, but the trembling, not so much.

"It's okay." Aditya softly said before pulling Vikram close until his head rested lightly on Aditya's chest. Aditya smiled and ran his hand along Vikram's hair. "I am sorry." he said. "It happened so suddenly I just didn't know what to do."

Vikram lifted his head up. "Stop saying you're sorry."

Aditya tried shaking his head but it didn't move much over the neck brace that he was wearing. "I need to apologize."

"No, you don't." Vikram said angrily. "That idiot needs to apologize who hit you."

Aditya smiled again. At least Vikram wasn't trembling now. "It's not his fault. Accidents happen in sports. But that's not what I am apologizing for."

Vikram looked at Aditya in confusion.

"When I was on the ground, just before I was knocked out, the only thing I could think of was how I didn't tell you. I need to apologize for that."

"Didn't tell me what?"

Aditya took Vikram's hand in his and held it tightly. "That I like you." he said, knocking the breath out of Vikram almost immediately. "A lot. More than I ever imagined I would."

Vikram froze. He opened his mouth to say something, perhaps to refute but none of the words came out.

So Aditya continued. "I know you want us to be just friends, I know you don't want to be with me but when I was lying there, all I could think was how crazy it is that I was dying..."

Vikram cut him off. "You were not dying. Stop being so dramatic."

Aditya's jaws flung open in shock. "I am being dramatic? It was you who basically flew into my arms when you saw me here."

He closed his eyes and shook his head. "I did no such thing"

"But you wanted to, didn't you?" Aditya teased him and Vikram's face flushed. There was a part of him that wanted to launch himself into Aditya after Mr. Jha had left but he didn't act on it. It was crazy how Aditya even sensed that out.

"Anyway, as I was saying," Aditya continued. "I thought I was dying, but instead of thinking about my life, I was thinking about you and how I had never really told you how I feel. So I don't care if you want us to be just friends. I don't care if you want me to just stand next to you in silence, I will do whatever you want because I don't think I can live without you. I like you, Vikram."

For a second, Aditya thought Vikram would pull away and dash again because Vikram was beginning to tear up again.

But instead, what he said made Aditya's knees go weak.

"I like you too."

Vikram had been denying his feelings for so long that these words seemed alien to him. But everything that had happened in the field, had not only made Aditya realize how deep his feelings ran, but made Vikram come to a decisive conclusion too. That he was wasting his time thinking so much about what other would think when the only person who mattered was Aditya.

It took Aditya a minute to realize what Vikram had said, but when he did, he didn't quite believe it. "You do?" he asked.

Vikram nodded. "I've tried to deny it so hard but when I saw you getting hurt, I felt like I couldn't breathe. The waiting at the lounge, when I didn't know what had happened to you, is the worst time I have ever spent in my entire life. All I could think of how stupid I had been, trying to push away each time. I tried to think of reasons why I had done that but in that moment, nothing stood strong enough"

"I am sorry you had to go through that." Aditya said, wiping the tears away from Vikram's eyes.

"Stop saying sorry or I swear I will punch you."

Aditya laughed. "With those lanky hands?" he teased and Vikram hit him lightly on the arm.

"Come here." Aditya said, turning Vikram around and pulling him near until he lied next to Aditya, with his back pressed against Aditya's chest.

A knock on the door separated them, only for them to find that it was Ruvee.

"You love birds made up yet?"

"Leave us alone." Aditya complained but Ruvee just flipped him off.

"My dad said you need to stay here overnight for observation, so someone has to stay with you."

Aditya looked at Vikram. "He can stay."

Ruvee shook her head. "Family members only."

In response, Aditya pulled Vikram back in again and wrapped his arms around him. Vikram turned red in embarrassment, trying to free himself but Aditya's grip was too strong.

"Ugh!" Ruvee said, pretending to gag. "He can't stay here."

"Ruvee..." Aditya said, "It's your hospital, make it happen. You owe me."

Ruvee's mouth flung open. "How the fuck do I owe you anything?"

"Had it not been for you, Vikram and I could have been together a lot sooner."

"Had it not been for me, this idiot wouldn't have even known that he likes you".

Aditya looked at Vikram and Vikram nodded. "She's right."

Ruvee pulled a smug face and crossed her arms. "Who owes whom now, bitch?"

Aditya was about to say something else when another knock at the door followed and Vikram hurled himself away from Aditya.

They all turned to see none other than Shruti walk in.

"How are you feeling?" she asked, looking at Aditya and not even acknowledging Ruvee and Vikram in the room.

"What are you doing here?" Vikram asked but Aditya stopped him.

"It's okay." Aditya said and turned to Shruti. "I am fine. Thanks for asking."

Shruti nodded. "I wanted..." she began, looking at her feet and just about anywhere but the three of them, "I wanted to apologize for everything I did." she said.

Vikram stared at her in shock. Shruti never apologized. So he presumed Aditya's injury must have shaken her up too. Well it made sense. She did love him once.

"It's okay." Aditya said. "I've forgotten everything already."

Vikram looked at Ruvee who was staring at her with wide eye as well. Vikram was sure even she didn't expect an apology from Shruti.

"Also." she said, "If you guys don't mind, I would like us to be friends again."

Vikram was sure that she had asked everyone else but it was really Aditya's decision because he was the one she'd hurt.

Vikram noticed Aditya was looking at him for an answer so he just shrugged. He really wasn't the right person to make the decisions here.

"Okay." he said and Vikram and Ruvee both looked at him in shock. "We can be friends again."

Shruti's face immediately erupted into a big smile. "Really?" she asked and looked at everyone else. Vikram and Ruvee gave her their best empathetic smiles. "Thank you." she said. "Thank you so much."

Shruti stayed for some time and Vikram felt like he had been deprived of oxygen for the entire duration.

"She can never find out about us." Vikram said once Shruti was gone and it was just him, Aditya and Ruvee.

"Why?" Aditya asked.

"I've known her all my life, so just trust me, okay?"

Ruvee was sitting on the couch by the window next to the bed and Vikram was sitting on the bed, facing Aditya.

"You really scared the shit out of us today." Ruvee said after a while. She looked exhausted. "I don't think I have ever heard Vikram shout that loud."

Aditya looked at Vikram and smiled. "I am sorry." he said again and Vikram curled his fingers into a fist, reminding Aditya that he would really punch him if he apologized.

"Who won, by the way?" Aditya asked about the game.

"We did." Ruvee said and Vikram looked at her. How did she even know that? She was with Vikram in a taxi, right behind the ambulance when it had left.

"What?" Ruvee asked. "I have to stay updated, it's my job."

Vikram laughed and shook his head. Ruvee really was a wonder.

"How much longer can you stay?" Aditya asked.

"Why?" Ruvee asked, "Do you want me gone so you can have some alone time with your boyfriend?"

Vikram was stumped by what Ruvee had said. He hadn't even thought that far, he didn't even know what Aditya and Vikram were to each other and he was sure Aditya would disagree with it too.

But then, he found Aditya nodding. "Yes, I do want to be alone with my boyfriend."

Vikram blinked. It felt so weird, but so good at the same time. He couldn't help but blush.

"Uh hu!" Ruvee said, "I am not leaving you two alone."

"What do you think will happen, Ruvee?" Aditya asked, "This is a hospital for god's sake."

"Two hormonal teenagers in one room?" Ruvee asked, "Anything can happen."

Aditya shook his head and placed his hands over Vikram's ears lightly.

"Don't listen to her." he said, like Vikram was a kid Aditya was trying to protect. Vikram laughed and Aditya withdrew his hand. "I am so glad you guys broke up." Aditya added, "She would have spoiled you completely."

Ruvee cleared her throat. "You know you're at a hospital, right?"

"So?" Aditya asked.

"So a lot of people die at hospitals under mysterious circumstances. If something were to happen to you suddenly..." she paused and whispered the last few words. "No one will ever find out."

Aditya sighed and turned to Vikram. "I think Ruvee will be very famous one day." he said casually and turned to Ruvee. "I really do think so. One day we'll read about you in the newspaper."

Ruvee tried to look like she wasn't affected by what Aditya had said but Vikram knew it was a trap waiting to get her. Ruvee had no resistance to when someone praised her.

"Except the headline will read..." Aditya continued. "Idiot serial killer caught by the police after she revealed her murder plans to two boys in a hospital."

Vikram laughed. He had really missed these jabs.

Aditya was met by the cushion from the couch that Ruvee had thrown.

"Anyway." she said. "I talked to my dad when Shruti was here. Vikram is allowed to stay."

"Really?" Vikram asked in blissful shock.

Ruvee nodded and turned to Aditya. "I told dad that your uncle was out of town and there was no one else who could stay so he agreed."

Aditya smiled at her and held his hand out. Ruvee got up and grabbed it.

"Thank you." Aditya said before pulling her hand to his lips and kissing it lightly on the back.

Ruvee shook her head and smiled. "You two better be on your best behavior while I am gone." she said, almost ready to leave.

Ruvee walked to the door and turned around. "It's so good to have the two of you back." she said.

Vikram smiled at her. He too had missed the three of them hanging out together. "I'll inform Gaurav that you'll be unable to work for a week."

"What?" Aditya asked as Ruvee reached the door. "I'm here only for tonight. I can go back tomorrow."

"A week!" is all Ruvee said and waved them goodbyebefore leaving.