bachna ae haseeno

To make up for it, Nikhil figured it would be nice to finally take her out to see the sights and learn her way around, likewise treat her to a nice dinner and talk a bit. dressed casually -- a light blazer with jeans and a nice shirt, nice was fine the entire drive over until her reached Devika’s door. It was then that the nervousness kicked in and he hesitated before knowing. He only in that moment realized that he should have given her time to get ready instead of just showing up, but also that he didn’t have a clue what she liked and could have asked and planned again. Now her was gulping, thinking about retreating or alternate excuses he could make when the door opened. “ Uh... Kaise hai tu? I mean ...hi.”

The thought alone of Nik being involved with drugs, needless to say, upset the brunette. So she abruptly came to a sudden halt. “Listen to me, Nikhil Rai. If I ever see you anywhere near drugs, I will apane gadhe ko laat maaro.” The phrase came out in Indian, despite Scarlett not speaking the language in years. However, it stuck with her, probably because she’d used it often, especially with Nik. Once he shared the real reason for arriving to the US, she flashed him a smile— happy both for him and herself. Ever since her parents had moved back to India she had zero family members around. “Do you know how long you’ll be staying?” Her gaze lowered to the suitcase. “I expect you to bring your stuff too, there’s no way I’m letting you stay in a hotel.” Not when she had about a dozen empty guest rooms. What he said next didn’t come as a surprise at all. Indian overprotective parents (and relatives) always thought they knew what was best for their son or daughter and didn’t even consider their feelings. “Doesn’t matter, you’re here now, you have some time to decide how to–” Did she hear it right? Her Indian was rusty and the echo in the mansion was sometimes confusing. “Sister-in-law? You’re getting married? To who?! –Nik, don’t tell me it’s that horrible neighbor of yours who made fun of my full lips– she called me bada munh until I was 12!”

There was a moment when he was being scolded where he froze. She was serious, he could tell, but he knew it just meant that she cared, which was the reason he smiled in response. “ It was a joke, Didi.” He chuckled.  “ My stuff? No, no, I found a place to rent -- I might be here for some time, so I decided to put down a deposit. “ He informed her.  Finally in a sitting room, Nik plopped down comfortably on one of the sofas, knowing Scarlet wouldn’t have minded and relaxed a bit to tell the story. Her surprise was expected, but Nikhil nodded in return and shrugged. “ Yup. I’m tying the not soon. Well, soon-ish. Ma aur bauji decided it was time and...” He ended with a shrug. Who was he to go against tradition, after all?With a chuckle he shook his head. “ No, no, it’s not that neighbor -- I ... actually haven’t spoken to her that much. But she’s a nice girl Mom picked her.  But she’s a nice girl... Pretty. She speaks English, comes from a good family...” He excused, as if that was all that mattered. To his family, it was, so it was all he had to offer to the his cousin about the woman he’d barely spoken to.

Jojo gave the male a smile, finally nodding her head. “That’s sweet of you,” she said as a way of acceptance, not wanting to get into an awkward series of denials and insistences. If he wanted to pay for her, she may as well let him. “I’m a vegan. So I go for the dairy free options. Which usually evokes a reaction that starts with some sort of grimace or screwed up face and ends with a ‘that can’t taste like actual ice cream, right?’” Jojo said, a small laugh leaving her lips as she explained. “Trust me - I’ve never cared what other people think. Especially about something as banging as vegan ice cream. People can think it’s gross - more for me then, right?” 

With a small smile, Nikhil’s face didn’t contort as she admitted her dietary restrictions to him. He admittedly found it strange that people would react the way she said they did, knowing that more and more people were going Vegan and that it couldn’t have been that surprising. Still, he offered her some comfort. “ I’m from India -- land of the vegetarians. People look at you stranger where I’m from when people find out you’re non-veg.” Nik shrugged. “ Eggs aren’t used in many things either.” He added before licking his cone again. “ And I’ve found cashew milk ice cream to be delicious. It doesn’t taste too much like milk, but you get more of the flavor out of it and it’s good for people who can’t handle milk. Not that strange to me.”

Andie watched in amusement as the grown man in front of her’s excitement reflected that of a child being rewarded with a visit to the ice cream truck after soccer practice. It had been too long since she had felt that level of excitement, which had led to to a drastic career change. As soon as the man stepped aside, she stepped forward, a satisfied grin taking to her lips. “Well if you’re offering…I’ll have two tubs of chocolate peanut butter and mint chocolate chip on a waffle cone. And do those flippy things?” After ordering she stepped aside, turning to face him. “By the looks of it, this isn’t your first time here…consider the next one on me.”

He was mid licking the side of his cone to prevent dripping when he paused. Admittedly, he was surprised when the blonde woman accepted his offer so easily, happily placing her order and setting the server to work without hesitation. It made him smirk after the initial reaction, holding in a chuckle at her making the most of the situation. When her attention turned back to him, he shook his head. “ Second.” Nik admitted with a shrug. “ But I’m sure it wont be my last; I can go through that entire gallon of double chocolate in a few days, I’m sure.” He chuckled, almost bragging about his brain freeze tolerance.

Cherry let out a small scoff. “Yeah, if I don’t like Kim’s selfie, she’ll DM asking me if we’re still friends,” she joked, putting her phone back in her pocket. “I mostly use it for work. My instagram is my online portfolio.” Feeling as though she needed to justify her excessive screen time. “I didn’t notice you were getting so much ice-cream, are you having some kind of dairy craving?”

There was a moment where a curious brow cocked, wondering if the brunette was bragging or not.  While he himself wasn’t a fan of the family of reality stars, it was still somewhat impressive to know them. He nodded along as she explained herself, assuming her to be among the likes of the Insta-famous and understanding more now.  When she turned the topic to him, he jolted a tiny bit, expecting her to keep going on about herself. He knew it was wrong to judge an assume things about people, but he also know people enjoyed talking about themselves. “ Oh, well, kind of... It’s so warm out I thought it’d be nice to treat myself, and it turned out to be so delicious that I decided to take some home for later.” He shrugged, omitting that ‘later’ would be a few hours where he would most likely polish off an entire pint.

Peanut butter and jelly, peaches and cream, Hall and Oates—those were all things that went well together. Gabby Hess and ninety degree weather? Not so much. The heatwave that had invaded Portland had left Gabby searching for ice cream, the cold dessert necessary in these conditions. The line at the shop was unsurprisingly long; clearly, everyone else had the same idea as her. To make matters worse, the guy in front of her was taking an eternity to order. She was biting her tongue, resisting the urge to say something, when he turned around and spoke. “Oh, wow,” she said, shaking her head. It was only customary to refuse an offer the first time around. “You really don’t have to.”

Gleeful with every lick and growing more and more cheery as he did, Nik was all but bouncing on the balls of his feet and willing to spread the joy. Naturally, she politely refused, but Nikhil still smiled widely. “Please, I insist.” He offered before gesturing to the cloudy case before them for her to make her choice. He was just about done, ready to finish his treat at a corner table before heading home with his icy bounty to freeze it safely, so this way two birds were killed and out of the way in one swift go.”

During breakfast, Jaime declared through a mouthful of eggs and pancakes that he wanted to visit the penguins because he thought the heat wave was making them sad. And while she found his sincere concern for the penguins adorable, Maggie had to gently remind him that he had school. Not making much fuss, he went back to eating his breakfast and Maggie felt the pang of guilt that most single parents felt whenever they had to say no to something. Which was why after a long morning at work, being riddled with guilt, Maggie decided that if she couldn’t take Jaime to the zoo, she would bring the zoo to Jaime. With a penguin balloon in one hand and a hotdog in the other, she used her hour-long lunch break to buy him the balloon. As the balloon bounced behind her, she made her way back to the Oregonian newspaper building, ignoring people’s jeering looks at her.

Stopping at a street corner, Maggie took another bite of her hotdog and became in engrossed with her lunch. She was midchew when the sight of a familiar face made her choke. The last thing she expected was bumping into someone she knew in another lifetime. In fact, she had thought she would never see him again and had been determined to forget all about him despite seeing his eyes every single day.

Coughing, she couldn’t take her eyes off of Nik. His smile so sweet, reminding her how much she had enjoyed she had enjoyed her time with him. “Nik!” She croaked, trying to catch her breath after nearly choking on a hot dog. Which honestly was not the first time that has happened in her lifetime. “What are you doing here?” She asked, panic bubbling within the pit of her stomach, wanting so badly for the ground to swallow her whole. 

For a moment, he stared back at her, still smiling even though her shocked reaction has taken him by surprise.  Mostly, Nikhil expected her to smile and run into his arms like someone would in a movie. They’d not seen each other in years, but they shared something special once, and while he wasn’t sure in the end what it was for Maggie, for him, it was first love.  Making his way over, he couldn’t help but notice that no time had passed on her face at all, making Nikhil feel a bit of awe that she was still the same. He himself had began to feel old and boring in time. “ I’m...” He paused. There was something in her voice that didn’t sound like joy; it was more like panic and regret as she asked him why he was here. “ I could ask the same of you. I thought you went to New York.”  He chuckled a bit.

She didn’t offer, but rather than stand and draw attention, Nikhil invited himself to sit, looking fondly at her. “I’m here doing some work.” He finally said, drumming his fingers on his knee. The air around them felt awkward. Maybe it was the way things ended; sudden and abruptly and without full explanation on his end. He was still a boy back then; inexperienced and wide-eyed and carefree. He knew what he was supposed to do in his future, but he knew he couldn’t explain to her that he was falling in deep and couldn’t allow himself to. Maybe that was the reason her face looked worried instead of happy. Maybe she resented him for ending things and leaving her behind.

“ My family’s... We’re doing some work out here and I’m helping, I guess? But that’s not important -- look at you. You look amazing. How have you been? Well, I hope. It’s been... It’s been so long...”

A bit taken aback by the way his features softened sadly, Norah immediately shook her head knowing full well that she probably looked like an asshole. “I —” Apologizing wasn’t her forte, but this dude didn’t seem malicious enough to be able to handle her ability to be cold and unfeeling. So, after taking a deep breath, Norah gave him a polite smile. “I didn’t mean to come off like a dickhead,” she started, hiking her purse further off of her shoulder. “I just got off of a sixteen hour shift and I’ve gotta go in for another one in a bit, so I’m a little on edge,” she dug through her purse for her wallet, taking out a couple of bills before handing them to the cashier. “I’ll have a chocolate cone — and whatever he’s having,” The brunette glanced back over to him. “So — uh, yeah. Sorry about that, I guess.”

He often underestimated people’s ability to be rude and because of that was caught off guard, but Nikhil simply didn’t have it in him to talk back against injustice towards himself. Even in his hometown he was ridiculed for not being manly enough, only standing up to someone for those who couldn’t themselves when it called for it. Realizing he had yet to grow out of that quietness, he felt a bit embarrassed. Still, in an unexpected turn of events, the woman changed her tune and seemed to feel guilty, her words something like an apology, which he offered a soft smile in return to. “ It’s okay; we all have bad days now and then.” He excused, accepting her apology.  With another swipe at his cone, he put a touch more distance between them for her to get to the teller, looking on silently as he feared his usually attempt at making conversation.

Sometime at work Bianca got a voicemail from her roommate Heather howling up a storm that she had been stood up on a second date. An accomplishment in itself to reach the second date, Bianca thought to herself listening to her roomie grossly sob in the phone begging for a pint of ice cream on her way back home. Not an issue, Bianca was close by to on her way home, but she wasn’t anticipating the guy ahead of her to act like a child in a candy shop about it. He looked thrilled for someone his age. And she on the other hand, must have looked annoyed. It was her resting bitch face as she watched him, nothing more. “F-flippy thing?” She asked with a peculiar smile. 

He couldn’t resist eyeing all the flavors, making mental notes on which ones he wanted to try next time he came around, but Nikhil still tried to make eye contact to the woman talking to him out of respect. “ Oh yeah -- they do this thing with the scoops where they throw it in the air and catch it in the cone or whatever. It’s amazing.” He admittedly with glee. The act of it probably didn’t impress many people, but Nik knew it was something that took time to learn and therefore would show his appreciation. Part of it reminded him of things street venders would do while preparing food back home, which added hints of nostalgia to the show they put on for simple ice cream. “ And if you’re a fan of chocolate -- go for the double chocolate. It is literally heaven frozen and served in a waffle cone.” He chuckled.

Scarlett pulled back from the hug but kept her hands on his arms, squeezing them affectionately. She kept her gaze on him to convince herself he was truly real– and briefly go through those memories which resurfaced. As happy as she was to see him, Nik represented a part of her she’d parted with a long time ago. India, family, the language, some values and traditions long forgotten. He was supposed to be home her home but Scarlett had a hard time figuring out what home was nowadays. The realization saddened her in a way; tears even began pooling in her eyes. “Come on in, motu.” However, it’d be rather inappropriate if she began bawling in front of him, so she invited him inside– using an old childhood nickname, from the time when he was adorable and chubby. “Honestly, if you didn’t come to see me, I’d be offended,” she even gave him a threatening look to show she was serious. “What kind of business? Do your parents know you’re here?” She teased back lightly, knowing all too well his parents were more traditional and strict than her own. As he mentioned the mansion, she took a look around. “Yes, this is my home now.” Even though it didn’t quite feel like it either. “I sure would but that’s why I’m not telling them about it.” Their relatives were… A lot to handle. They worried as much as they cared and Scarlett… Well, she wanted to spare them the trouble. “How are things back home?” Once again, she used the word without meaning it. “Is everyone alright?”

He noticed her tearing up, and if he were less oblivious, Nikhil might have asked why. Instead, he assumed they were tears of joy to see him and gave her arm a gentle pat or two before moving his thumb to wipe the corner of her eye.  Making his way inside behind his cousin, he tsked at the old nickname before nudging her playfully. “ What kind of business? Drug smuggling.” He said with a straight face before chuckling. “ Actually, Chacha-ji ki business -- the frozen foods thing -- he’s expanding to US and thought it could be good to have me along.  You know how his English is and since they all call me and NRI now, him and Ma agreed that it would be good for me.” Nik shrugged. Once inside away from the now closed front door and the security that guarded it, Nik relaxed a little and looked around her home. Of course, his family had money of their own, but Western people were a different kind of extravagant with their wealth.  Settling the suitcase in a corner for later, he followed behind with a small smile. “ They’re okay but -- you know, everyone is as they always were.” He half shrugged, swallowing before the bomb dropped. “ They hoped that this trip would spark an interest in business finally and get me to stop travelling.  They don’t know that I know, but they hope to get it all out of my system so I can go home and stay their for good. I can’t really blame them, but I haven’t decided how I plan to tell them that it’s not going to work even if they use aapki hone vaale bhabhi as an excuse...” He threw out, waiting for a response to the news that he was getting married.

Cherry was happily scrolling through her Instagram, waiting her turn in line for ice-cream. She hadn’t even notice time flying by as the gentleman in front of her took his time with his large quantity. “It’s cool,” Cherry waved his offer away. “This is the first time I’ve stopped all day so I’ve been doing some serious scrolling over here.” Her delicate hands held her phone up. 

“Serious scrolling...” He echoed, a brow cocked as his eyes flashed to her phone. He wasn’t as up on social media as a man his age should have been, but Nikhil also just didn’t get the appeal of looking at photo’s of stranger’s in their day-to-day lives.  Without a special occasion or a special person, he didn’t even take ‘selfies’ or himself, any any photos taken during his travels were to show family back home or for his own enjoyment.  “Well if you’re sure you don’t mind, then I am sorry I interrupted your scrolling. I’m sure a Kardashian posted something in the last 20 minutes to remind us that stars are just like we are, only more glamorous.” He joked.

Ice cream. Isabel was craving ice cream. In fact she had been all day, even through the messiest parts - scrubbing in on a surgery? Still craved ice cream. Taking a patient history? Still craved ice cream. Helping to debride a wound? Still craved ice cream? - After a while she had learnt to become desensitised to some of the things her clinical rotation involved, and she was only going to become more accustomed as time went on. What she hadn’t anticipated was for the one person in front of her to take so long making their decisions. It was just her luck, well that’s what she was telling herself until he spoke up. “Really?” She questioned in surprise, she’d encountered various people who had done exactly what he had but none had offered to pay for her in apology. “In that case I’m going to get a double scoop.” She commented with a laugh, looking through the flavours on display.

“Really. Please.” Nikhil was quick to insist and clarify. He wasn’t doing it to brag, though he had the money to do it without worry -- he just liked to pay people for their time, as made obvious by the tip he gave to the server before she had even served him. Still, with a chuckle, her eyes seemed to light up at the offer the way his did when he saw anything sweet, making him amused at the notion that he looked like this to people. “ Anything you want.” He added, holding back a snicker at her eagerness to take full advantage of the situation without hesitating. He would have done the same had it been him. “ You heard the lady -- better get the waffle cones.” He joked to the server as he stepped out of the woman’s way. “ I recommend the chocolate.”