𝙰𝚌𝚌𝚒𝚍𝚎𝚗𝚝 II A Shreyas Iyer Fan Fic II

⁘ Chapter 9 ⁘

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

"Wait, what?" Mridula whipped her head around to her mother, who was beaming.

"Can I talk with you for a second?" Mridula switched her gaze to Aravind, who nodded in agreement.

"What the heck?" She hissed under her breath, the moment the two of them were out of ear-shot.

"Before you blame me, I didn't even know that it was your house till you came down." Aravind sighed and massaged his temple.

"Look, we're friends." Aravind started, and Mridula raised an eyebrow. Aravind drew a breath to continue, "What if this isn't such a bad idea? We're already well acquainted with each other, it makes sense."

"I get your point," Mridula admitted receding a bit of ground in their conversation.

"I'm just startled," It was Mridula's turn to sigh, and Aravind grunted his agreement.

"My mom tricked me, she made me think that we were visiting a family friend's house." Aravind retorted and Mridula contained her laughter.

"Well, If I'm going, to be honest, I'd prefer getting married to a friend than a random person." Aravind ran a hand through his hair, and Mridula couldn't help but agree. She preferred the idea of getting married to a person she knew, other than a guy that she would have to get to know after their marriage.

Aravind wasn't a bad catch either, he had a decent sense of humor and she knew him for around three years now. They worked together at the same hospital.

"I'll have to think over it." Mridula bit her lip and brushed past a strand of her hair.

"Mridula? Aravind?" Sudha's voice came across clearly from the living room.

"We're about to leave to the restaurant," Aravind's mother, Lakshmi, added.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

"She's getting married?" Shreyas demanded with a look of rage on his face, and Rakesh nodded, for the fifth time.

"Yeah," Rakesh hesitated before adding. "To Aravind."

"WHAT?!" Shreyas was angrier than before, if possible.

"Dude, look. They're just coming to check out the house and so on..." Rakesh attempted to calm down his friend, but Shreyas was having a hard time settling his emotions.

"She's probably going to reject him, so chill." Rakesh retorted, knowing the fate of all the other suitors who'd come to their house.

⁕ ⁕ ⁕

"Kumar just stared at me!" Aravind threw his hands in the air, narrating the tale of his first time doing surgery by himself. Mridula doubled over laughing, recalling the scene vividly.

"Seriously! I kept thinking I was doing something wrong!" Aravind grumbled and Mridula managed to contain her laughter. Their families were busy discussing something else.

"Two Truths and One lie?" Mridula suggested it was something the two of them had done to pass the time frequently over the years.

"Sure," Aravind shrugged and sipped his juice, a waiter passed out the starters that they'd ordered.

"Um... I used to be a swimmer, I love Italian food, and I know how to play the guitar." Mridula chose her three facts and Aravind looked deep in thought.

"You don't like Italian food," Aravind decided, and Mridula face-palmed herself.

"I love Italian food!" She shoved him gently and rolling her eyes. "I literally ate Italian Take-Out yesterday!"

"I don't look at what people are eating, I'm not some creep." Aravind snorted making Mridula nearly spit out her Mango Smoothie.

"I don't know how to play the guitar though, I'd love to learn," Mridula said, and Aravind had an idea.

"I know how to play, I could teach you." He suggested, Mridula shook her head. She scoffed, "I will not believe that you know how to play guitar! You're tone-deaf."

"Oh please, I can play." Aravind rolled his eyes, it was true, he knew how to play and was a pretty good musician. The waiter came by with the bill, and Aravind smiled thanks, taking the bill away from Mridula.

"I'll pay," He fumbled around looking for his credit card.

"It's fine, I can do it." Mridula smiled sweetly at Aravind, but both of them had a little staring contest.

"We'll split it?" Aravind suggested, breaking away from the intense staring competition.

"Sure," Mridula agreed to the compromise, their parents gave them an approving look.

"So?" Sudha prompted when the two families were walking back to the parking lot.

"So?" Mridula raised an eyebrow and repeated the word, her mother sighed with exasperation.

"Yes or No?" Sudha gestured to Aravind, who was deep in conversation with his mother. Mridula bit her lip, debating whether or not she should agree.

"He's a really sweet guy," Sudha added with a nudge, Mridula knew her step-mother was on Team Aravind. 

Mridula drew a breath to give her verdict.

***

You should know by now that I won't be letting you off without another cliff-hanger.

***