May 2006

The summer was at its peak again and Vikram couldn't believe how fast the past year had gone by. It seemed that only yesterday Vikram had begun his final secondary year. And now it was already time for Aditya to leave.

The past two weeks, Vikram hadn't been able to meet Aditya much because first, Vikram had been attending to his father lately since he had been complaining of minor health issues and secondly, Mohit was in town and wanted to spend time hanging out with Vikram. But here he was, finally, having dinner with Aditya on the night before he was supposed to leave.

"I am so glad we're here." Vikram said, relaxing a little into the chair he was sitting on.

"Me too." Aditya smiled, holding his hand out of the table, waiting for Vikram to take.

"Stop." Vikram said warningly, "People can see us."

Aditya looked around and saw a few people mind their own business while some eyes turned towards them occasionally.

Vikram sighed. "Why did we have to come to the restaurant of all places? You know we'd be intruded by Gaurav more than these weird people around."

"I wanted to talk to you about something." Aditya began. Over the past few months, Aditya had been struggling to come clean with Vikram about the entire Mohit thing. He knew he should have told Vikram the moment Mohit had left that envelope at his house, but he wanted to pay that back first and then tell Vikram about it.

Things just kept getting in the way one after the other each time Aditya wanted to tell Vikram the truth but he knew he won't delay it any longer. Aditya was leaving for Paris the next day and this would be his last chance to come clean.

"Yea, go on." Vikram encouraged him.

Suddenly, Aditya was nervous. More nervous than he had ever been before.

"I... I wanted to tell you that..." but before Aditya could finish, they were interrupted by Gaurav.

"My lovely little people" Gaurav said, walking up to them with arms open. "How wonderful to see you two here tonight"

"Hi Gaurav" Vikram said passively.

Vikram was right, they shouldn't have come here. But Aditya didn't go to restaurants much so he had no idea where else they could meet. So The Blooming Orchid it was.

"Hello Vikram, can you please tell my sister to answer my calls?"

Vikram scrunched his eyebrows. "She doesn't answer your calls?"

Gaurav shook his head. "I took over her room and she's not been speaking to me ever since"

Vikram tried to wrap his head around it all. "Yeah, okay. I'll tell her"

Gaurav then turned to Aditya. "All set for tomorrow?"

Vikram felt something heavy deposit in the pits of his stomach. Tomorrow!

Aditya nodded, trying to cut the conversation short so he could speak to Vikram alone. "All set"

"I can't believe you're going to my Alma mater"

Ah, Vikram thought. It finally made sense to Vikram why Aditya wanted to study in Paris. Because Gaurav had done just that and Aditya looked up to Gaurav a lot.

Gaurav went on to tell Aditya more about the culinary institute Aditya had enrolled into and only stopped when he realized neither of them had ordered anything yet.

Once the orders were placed, Gaurav disappeared.

Aditya looked at Vikram and his expressions hardened again.

"Ugh I feel like time flew by faster the past few months than it has in years." Vikram said.

"I feel the same... Listen, Vikram..."

Vikram shook his head. "I wish we had more time."

Why was this difficult? Why couldn't he just get the words out? "I am sure we will have all the time we need in the future." he replied instead, a sad smile erupting on his face.

"I want to come with you." Vikram said.

Aditya wanted that more than anything else.

Vikram smiled at Aditya. "Wouldn't it be wonderful?" he asked. "To live in a city where no one knows us, where he have nothing to worry about and just can be with each other?"

Aditya nodded. "Do you see us, like that?" he asked. "Living together in a new place?"

"I do. Maybe in Lyon?"

That sounded nice. Lyon sounded nice. Maybe they could even have a small house and live together. Maybe they would grow old together. Maybe Vikram would love him forever. There were a lot of maybe's but Aditya knew he needed to tell Vikram the truth first.

"Oh..." Vikram interjected, "You could have one of those traditional restaurants that you could run and a place nearby where we walk to every night after closing."

It would be a dream come true to Aditya.

"And you make you breakfast every morning to make sure I eat before I leave for my photography adventures" Vikram's eyes twinkled. "And you also make dinner for when I am back."

"Of course." Aditya said, smiling at Vikram and his plans that he wanted to turn to reality. "That goes without saying because let's face it, you'd probably burn the whole house down."

"That's true." Vikram said, laughing. "I shouldn't be trusted with feeding anyone." Vikram sighed. "Do you think we could live like that?"

Aditya looked at him intently. Yes, he wanted to say. Come with me, the words were almost on the tip of his tongue. But asking Vikram for something like without telling the rest of it, felt like cheating.

"Vikram, there is something I haven't told you"

Vikram scrunched his eyebrows and looked at Aditya in surprise. "What is it?"

Aditya was about to begin again, but it seemed like luck wasn't on his side tonight.

"Oh what do we have here?" Mohit asked as he approached the table. "Vikram and Aditya, having dinner without pulling each other's hair out. What a magnificent sight."

"What are you doing here?" Vikram asked, not expecting Mohit to show up without notice.

"I am here with my family. What are you two doing here?" he asked mockingly. "You two on a date or something?"

Vikram's suddenly looked at Aditya worriedly. Had Mohit figured it out?

"Why?" Aditya asked. "Do you want to join too?"

Mohit looked at Aditya and rubbed his chin. He then let out a laugh. "I can't believe my money was put to good use, huh?"

Aditya froze. "Shut the fuck up" he said and looked at Vikram immediately.

"What?" Mohit asked, turning to Vikram and then back at Aditya. Vikram looked lost.

"Vikram doesn't know yet?" Mohit asked further.

"Don't I know what?"

Mohit laughed. "Oh man, this is going to be awkward."

"Aditya..." Vikram said, looking at him. "What is he talking about?"

Aditya was still figuring out how to explain it all to Vikram but Mohit beat him to it.

"I paid him to be your friend when I was here." Mohit suddenly blurted out and Vikram looked at Aditya, unable to believe what he had just heard.

"Is this true?" Vikram asked, eyes brimming with tears.

Aditya looked at Vikram pleadingly.

"Aditya, tell me if this is true."

"Of course it's true, why would I lie to you?" Mohit asked.

"Aditya..." Vikram said, "Tell me what Mohit said is a lie."

Aditya finally looked at Vikram. "It's not a lie. He did pay me but..."

Before Aditya could finish, Vikram got up.

He was fighting his tears with every ounce of strength in his body. He would not cry, he would not let them see him cry. "You were paid to be my friend?"

Before Aditya could reply, Mohit interrupted. "I guess being poor leaves you with no dignity." He said and turned to Aditya. "You didn't tell Vikram how I helped you with the school fee in exchange for your friendship with him?"

Vikram had heard more than enough. He looked around and all eyes in the restaurant were on them. The sir suddenly became so thick that it made breathing impossible for Vikram. The world seemed to be spinning. What was happening? He tried to take a step back but his knees didn't support him for some reason. Vikram grabbed the table to steady himself.

"Vikram..." Aditya's voice reached him but he didn't care. He didn't want to hear his voice. He didn't want to see his face. He didn't want to believe Aditya anymore.

The place suddenly seemed smaller than it was. Vikram knew he needed to get out and get some air, or he would pass out.

Steadying himself again, Vikram took steps away from the table.

"Vikram, stop." Aditya begged but Vikram didn't hear his words. He decided to go after Vikram but Mohit stopped him.

"Whoa, where do you think you're going?" Mohit asked, holding Aditya by his arm. "We have to talk."

Aditya jerked his hand away. "No, we don't."

Mohit gave out a humorless laugh and walked closer to Aditya. "I got all your money back, you know? But that wasn't enough to compensate for how you made me look like a fool twice."

Something set in Aditya's jaw.

Mohit had smugness all over his face. "This..." he said, patting Aditya on the shoulder, "... is how you take revenge." he began and then smiled. "... fag!"

Mohit laughed again and sat on the chair Vikram had left unoccupied. "Shruti told me everything." He said. "She saw you two snuggling up when you were at your house after exams and called me immediately after."

Aditya looked at Mohit with rage in his eyes.

"Did you think I'd let you off to easy for turning my best friend into a fucking faggot?" he asked. "He was already a pathetic loser and now, he's also a fag, thanks to you."

Aditya did not listen to his reasoning after that. He did not stop his hand from crashing against Mohit's face as he stumbled back and fell down.

Aditya got up, walked over to Mohit and receded to the floor, holding Mohit by the collar and hauling him up.

"If you call Vikram a pathetic loser one more time, I will fucking kill you." he said before letting Mohit go and finding his way out of the restaurant and hopefully find Vikram.

Vikram did not know how long he'd been driving but he only stopped once he pulled up by the lake Aditya and him had shared so many times. There was an ache inside of him that was too painful to bear. Mohit's words were still fresh in his mind but he had told himself to not cry over what had happened, at how suddenly his world had been turned upside down.

Vikram stepped out of the car and walked over to the clearing by the lake where he had first taken a seat, watching as Aditya swam across. They weren't quite friends back then, and that probably was the only truthful memory Vikram could hold on to him because everything else, was after Mohit had paid Aditya. Everything else, was a lie.

Struggling to breathe, Vikram's hand reached his chest. He felt like there was something stuck there, preventing air from reaching his lungs. How he wished he could rip his heart out and throw it away just so it wouldn't hurt anymore. How he wished it was all a lie. How he wished he had never met Aditya to begin with.

Despite all this, what hurt Vikram more was the fact Vikram had lived in oblivion for almost a year. For a year Aditya had been making a fool out of him and Vikram had thought of it as love. All these years, Vikram had built walls after walls around himself, which Aditya had climbed over. No- Vikram let him climb over. Vikram had chosen to trust Aditya and he had chosen to love him, despite the odds that were there against the two of them. Vikram had decided to break free of the chains and accept his feelings and for what? For all of it to turn out to be a lie?

He had trusted Aditya, but all he got in return was his own broken heart.

As the realization sunk it, Vikram finally let the tears flow.

He walked back into his house at an ungodly hour. He had spent the entire night by the lake, feeling aimless and lost like a madman. He didn't remember when he had driven out to the place. All he remembered was that at some point, when his tears had dried up, he had crawled into the seat of his car and slept until the sun came up.

When he opened the door and walked inside, he found only Vaibhav there.

"Where the hell have you been?" Vaibhav asked, emerging from the living room. "I have been calling you since last night"

There was a hint of alarm in Vaibhav's voice that Vikram immediately picked up on. "What\s wrong? Did something happen?"

Vaibhav shook his head and Vikram followed after him.

"Dad had some problem breathing last night." Vaibhav said.

"Fuck!" Vikram said regretfully. "Where is he now?"

"Mom's taken him out. He didn't want to go to the hospital so mom said they're going driving. She's going to pull up in front of the hospital once she thinks dad's calm enough."

This had been happening since over two weeks now. The minor health issues that Deepak was suffering from were beginning to pile up but everyone someone mentioned the doctor or the hospital, he would get agitated and break whatever things he could find around him. His agitation seemed to be increasing day after day with the smallest of the things- not wanting to wear his shoes, not wanting to take his medicine, not wanting to wear the seatbelt when he was taken out driving and of late, he had even begun refusing to eat.

"I am so sorry." Vikram said. "My phone turned off and..."

"That's fine." Vaibhav said. "I think mom will manage. But that's not what I am worried about. Where were you? I thought you had plans with Aditya, but he came by looking for you at night."

Vikram's expressions suddenly changed. "I don't want to talk about it."

Vaibhav sighed "Fine, but he left this for you." He said, pulling what looked like a folded note from his back pocket.

Whatever it was, Vikram wasn't in the state of mind to read. So he quietly accepted the note and quietly retreated to his room.

After a quick shower, Vikram got into fresh clothes and decided to rest on his bed. His eyes momentarily fell on the clock on his desk that read 9 am. Aditya's flight was only two hours away. In two hours, Aditya would be gone and Vikram didn't know when he would see him again.

Shaking his head, Vikram discarded the thought out of his mind. That didn't matter. None of it mattered. What Aditya had done, was not something Vikram could find himself forgetting. Not now at least.

How he wished Ruvee was here to talk to. It was way too early in the morning to call her so Vikram decided not to. Instead, he walked over to his desk and opened the drawer.

Weren't things simpler when there was just him and Ruvee and their friendship? Vikram found the tiny notes that Ruvee had left for him in his books. They all contained the name of a book, it's author and a page number. That was before the exams, before the holidays and before Mohit had come here and destroyed Vikram's life.

Picking up one such note, Vikram unfolded it.

Written inside were the words 'The Book Thief by Mark Zusak', along with a page number.

That was strange, Vikram didn't remember the name of this book or what the corresponding line was supposed to be. He picked up the other notes one by one and all of them were the same, with the exception that Vikram had written the words on the back of the page, just to keep himself reminded of what Ruvee had chosen for him

But for some reason, Vikram had completely missed The Book Thief out. Not that it mattered anyway. That was almost a year ago. Ruvee wasn't here anymore. No one was, except Vikram.

Slowly, Vikram placed the note back inside but then, his eyes fell on the Library Card that belonged to Aditya. Vikram picked it up and glanced over his, feeling the ache in his heart all over again. He read the names of a few books off the card and some of them were starkly familiar.

And then, his world came to a standstill.

The drive to the library was very dangerous and reckless because Vikram was shaking with nervousness. When he reached his school, he didn't even bother with anything or anyone else. He headed straight for the library.

Mrs. Sengupta sat behind her usual desk when Vikram approached.

"How are you Mrs. Sengupta?"

Mrs. Sengupta looked at Vikram in surprise but then smiled. "Just the old age, you know?" she asked. "What brings you here?"

Vikram smiled at her. "I am wondering if you have any copies of The Book Thief."

Mrs. Sengupta nodded. "In the 'Fiction' section under 'War'."

"Thank you." Vikram said and quickly left.

There were a total of five copies of 'The Book Thief.'

Vikram picked each out before finding the copy which had a few lines highlighted at the page number that he was looking for. And when Vikram read it, he was knocked off all his senses.

The words read- 'The only thing worse than a boy who hates you: a boy that loves you'

"Fuck!" Vikram said as the realization set in.

The notes, they had not been from Ruvee. They had all been from Aditya and he had sent them to Vikram way before Mohit came back during the vacations. He had believed Aditya to have betrayed him but in truth, Aditya had loved him all along.

How could he have been this naïve? How could he had just believed whatever Mohit told him without giving Aditya the benefit of doubt? Vikram knew if he didn't act soon, he would miss Aditya before he flew off.

Vikram needed to go to the airport and fix this, before Aditya left but the school was on the other end of the airport and it would take him over an hour to reach there.

Vikram pulled his phone out to call Aditya but he remembered that Aditya didn't have a local card and the international plan he had bought before flying off would only activate after he arrived at Paris.

"Shit" he muttered to himself before hurrying out of the library after thanking Mrs. Sengupta. He still had an hour's window left before Aditya would fly off. Vikram believed he could make it in time.

Just as he reached his car, Vikram remembered the note Vaibhav had given him. Before leaving the house, Vikram had took it along, just in case. He pulled it out and unfolded the paper slowly.

Inside were the words- 'I'll wait for you at the airport. If you still love me, please come. If you don't, I promise I'll never contact you again.'

"Fuck!" Vikram screamed and rushed into his car.

Vikram rushed through the traffic, hoping and praying to be able to reach on time. Vikram knew Aditya was a man of his words and if he said he would never contact Vikram again, he would do just that. All of it was staked at Vikram showing up on time now.

Suddenly, Vikram's phone rang. It was Vaibhav. Vikram had already missed Vaibhav's call last night so he picked up.

All he heard from the other end were sobs. Something dreadful crept up inside Vikram as he thought something had happened. Immediately, Vikram pulled the car over.

Vikram tried to collect himself when he heard his brother's voice. Vikram's heart sank, like he knew something was wrong. Because Vaibhav didn't cry. He never cried.

"Vaibhav..." Vikram said, breathing heavily. "What happened?"

"You..." Vaibhav was trying to manage through his tears. "You need to come.... to the hospital."

"Are you okay?" Vikram asked, panicking, "Did something happen to you? Are you hurt?"

"No." Vaibhav said, trying to find words between his tears. "It's dad."