VruShan OS: Just Friends

He loved her,

She loved him,

Everyone knew

Except the two.

Sharon Raiprakash, diva of St.Louis, loved and cherished by all who knew her. Swayam Shekhawat, the tall, lanky dude who danced really well, eye candy of many girls in college. While both liked each other from the start, they never showed it or made an effort to show it. Shantanu Maheshwari, Vrushika Mehta; actors potraying the roles of Swayam and Sharon respectively.

"We. Are. Just. Friends!" Sharon told her avid group of listeners, emphasizing on each word. "Right. Which is why, you keep making plans and blush whenever he is around", Simmi remarked smirking. "I do not! We hang out because we are friends, and we are dance partners", Sharon retorted, half wishing they were more than friends. "Whatever rocks your boat.", Simmi replied casually, taking one last look at her reflection before heading out of the girls's room. "And anyways, why do you care? I know you like Nil and you dont seem to be doing anything about that" Sharon replied, teasing her a bit as they walked down to the rehearsal hall.

"Maybe I do like her, but what if she doesn't see me that way?", Swayam asked Rey, a bit mournfully. "How do I know, she likes me too?" he asked again, looking at his now smirking best friend. "Glad you're finally accepting your feelings bro, I was starting to think you were gay." Rey replied, chuckling while Swayam glared at him in disgust. "How do you know if she likes you, hmm...that's a tough one..." Rey said, gazing away thoughtfully. "Well...maybe if I know she likes me as well, I might do something about it" Swayam muttered. "Will you?" Rey asked in surprise. Knowing Swayam and the big introvert he was, he doubted it. "Of course I will, bas ek baar mujhe pata lagana hai ki wether she likes me too or not" Swayam retorted shortly. "Chal theek, aaj tho test karke dekh lenge!" Rey replied happily as he and Swayam made their way towards the rehearsal hall.

"CUT!", Ameeta maam called out. "Acha chalo aaj ke liye ye kaafi hai, kal dance sequence ka shoot hoga. Abh jao ek break le lo sab, phir rehearsals shuru karte", she told the group of young amateur actors but brilliant dancers. The group dispersed to their own rooms, to change refresh and rehearse after a comparatively short shoot. Shantanu and Vrushika walked to their rooms as well, their thoughts in a flurry while talking to Maccy and Sam respectively. That scene and its coincidence.

A brief session of hi fives and wassups, the team finally settled down to practise. "Chalo guys, aaj kuch naya karte" Nimit called out. "We'll switch partners and try dancing" he said to his team mates and others. "Vrushika dance with Kunwar, Shantanu handle Ms. Kolkata, Maccy partner up with Priyanka and so on" Nimit went through the crowd pairing up people. Ms. Kolkata was a nickname for Huma, a girl who'd signed up for dance solely because of Shantanu and her initial days went in showing off a few moves she'd picked up. "Alright then, 5,6,7,8." The practice session for the day focused on couple dances and by the end of the first session changes had been made to every couple but Shantanu and Vrushika. Maccy seemed happier with Sam, Amar and Priyanka and so on. They eventually moved on to the group dance that was to be shot the next day. A few glitches here and there but the gang was close to perfection. Nimit called out for a break.

During the break, she kept observing him and Huma, who stood near the mirror, laughing at some joke which she seemed to have told. They stood pretty close, just like him and her when they talked. He kept smiling down at her as she spoke, and suddenly the two if them erupted into laughter which ended up with her hand on his shoulder, just like she did when he cracked a joke. Curious to know what the joke was, the gang also listened in and burst out laughing, while she gave out a polite laugh. Post break, they resumed their practice session. This is what they did off screen, before shoots of dance sequences, danced away evenings for upcoming sequences much like their on screen characters. 

Post break, they rehearsed for one last time before calling it a day. The final rehearsal was a success though lacking a little energy, but it'll be alright tomorrow. Vrushika started towards Shantanu wanting to discuss tomorrow's shot amd their next performance, when Huma got to him first amd they continued their bangla connection. Like as if the track that was going on wasn't enough. A little disappointed, Vrushy walked off in the opposite direction, unknown to her though, a pair of eyes followed her exit, equally disappointed. An all knowing look was shared between Nimit, Maccy and Sam unnoticed by none but the two of them. "Okay guys, we're good for tomorrow, next up Shantanu aur Vrushika. Tum dono ka dance sequence ka bhi shot hai na kal? Satrangi re ka?", Nimit asked, switching off the music. "Kal hai ya parso? Kal group dance sequences kar rahe hai na hum?" Shantanu asked, slightly confused. "Maam ne bataya ki aap dono ka sequence bhi shoot karni hai..shayad scene hoga...anyways tum dono ruko, hum satrangi ka bhi rehearsals kar lenge aaj..." Nimit said and then left to attend to the others and correct certain mistakes.

"Vrushika kahan gayi?", Maccy asked when it was time to rehearse. "Kyun? Wo abhi tak aayi nahi?", Shantanu asked slightly worried. Her face generally scrunched up only if she was sorta upset. "Wo girls room mei tho nahi hai", Sam announced walking up to the boys. "I think I'll know where to find her", Shantanu murmered and left the hall. 

He found himself on the terrace of the studio, a place where quite a few scenes had been shot in the span of nearly 3 years. He cleared his throat, trying to get the attention of the person standing a little distance away from him, gazing at the stars. She royally ignored him by turning away. 'Okay. Not a good sign', he thought to himself as he approached her. "So....Nimit aur Maccy bula rahe hai hum dono ko...rehearse karne ke liye..." he spoke quietly, as he leaned over the terrace casually by her side. "Tho? Tum uss Huma ke saath dance kar sakte the, waise bhi mei thak chuki hoon", she replied a little angrily. 'There you go.', he thought to himself as he phrased his words carefully. "Lekin hum dono ko hi tho rehearse karni hai humare sequence ke liye...", he trailed off watching for her reaction.

God she hated the hums and humares. Rather the feeling that came along with it. "Meine bola ki mei thak chuki hoon, meri tabyat acchi nahi hai", she replied evenly, turning to face him. God, if she didn't have such pretty eyes. "Are you sure?" He asked her softly. "Won't I know how am I feeling Shantanu?", she retorted back. "So how are you actually feeling?", he prodded on. "Fine.", she replied immediately. "Abhi abhi tho bola ki tabyat kharab hai aur mei rehearsals nahi karungi", he replied using a mock voice to quote her. Could he BE anymore annoying? Caught in her own trap she fumbled for a retort. He smiled as her cheeks reddened slightly, he could see she wanted to retort back somehow. "Abh tho batao ki tu kyun gusse mei ho" he asked. "Kyunki tune meri chocolates bhi chura liya, gift segment mei. Abh khush?", she asked sourly. "Agar ye baath hai tho tu wahi se wahi jagada kar leti mujhse", he replied thoughtfully. "Baath kuch aur hi hai. Kahin Sid ne kuch bola tho nahi?", he asked again amused, referring to her childhood crush. "Sid tere jaisa nahi hai, har waqt mujhe tang nahi karta wo", she replied back. "Defensive and all huh? Acha beta, tu track par acche se chal rahi ho", he guffawed. "Defensive nahi, bas bata rahi hoon ki wo tujhse accha hai", she retorted. "Kuch tho ho raha hai", he teased her laughing at her angry face. "Kuch nahi", she insisted. "Sure?", he asked her. "Haan Shantanu haan!", she insisted with a bit more force, slapping him lightly on the arm. "Kuch hoga bhi kaise, feelings jo te...kisi aur ke liye hai", she replied her face flushing a little when she corrected herself. Te. Te. Te. Is there one name that starts with te? Or was it tere? Te?! What if it was tere? Does she feel the same way too? Shantanu wondered as they kept quiet for a minute. "Kisi aur ke liye....", he began again slowly, "Kon hai ye kisi aur?", he asked her, his tone dipped with curiosity. "Wo tu jaanta nahi hai usko", she lied lightly, her face sheepish, mind wondering how to get out of this one. She knew him. He would turn the world upside down for an answer. "Phir bhi bata na", he asked her once more. "No. Nahi bataungi", she replied firmly. "Arrey kisi ko nahi bataunga", he pleaded. "Kya nahi batana hai hume?", Nimit's voice came floating over to them. He stood at the door smirking. "Agar tum logon ka baatein khatam hui, tho rehearsals bhi karein?", he went on as VruShan stared at him in surprise. "Haan haan, mei tho bhool hi gaya rehearsals ke baare mei." Shantanu replied sheepishly. "Uh...haan haan chalo!", vrushy replied and the two of them hurried for rehearsals.

That was 3 years back.

Now, sitting in the Jhalak reheaesal hall, thinking about that night on the terrace, he wondered 'Would things have been different now if that question had been answered?' But after that night in every interview that asked about their relationship status, they'd replied "We're just good friends". She started it anyway. Alisha walked up to him to ask whom would he want to ask for teen ka tadka. "Vrushika", he mumbled. "Are you sure? I mean I know you both don't like fuelling those link up rumors and stuff", she said uncertainly. "Haan lekin, that'll be our strength too in the audience, humare jo fans...well wishers will also be happy", he reasoned smiling slightly. She beamed back, "I'd love to have her on board, it'll be just like old times", Alisha said and left to make arrangements. Shantanu grinned at himself in the mirror. Maybe the time had come to answer a few unanswered questions.

There she sat, in her make up room getting all buffed up to step into a new role. As the blusher went across her cheeks, she closed her eyes and sighed quietly, Oh how she missed the D3 sets! She missed her makeup dada, she missed the vibe on that set. She cherished every memory from D3, it was her first show, it was for dance and it had made her who she was today. It also had lead in a strange way to love. Initially all they did was fight, or in her case cry often, so much so that he got super annoyed sometimes and would stalk off the sets. Sometimes, initially when they did scenes it was pretty awkward, he, on bad days would sit sulking while she cried because dialogues and Palki maam would be hovering over the two of them trying to ease the tension. Today for some strange reason a certain night replayed in her memory and she couldn't do anything but wonder what would've happened if she'd given away her secret? After all, the squabbles had lead to friendship and friendship kinda grew a little more into a feeling more intense. Her phone buzzed, two minutes later she was beaming. Maybe it was time to answer a few unanswered questions.

They started rehearsals in full swing. The style chosen for the trio was a fusion between contemporary waltz and freestyle. They rehearsed day and night for the performance, because elimination or not there was a lot of expectation flying around and excitement. The excitement of seeing VruShan dance together one more time. Of course there is no such thing as one more time when it came to VruShan. You could the excitement everywhere. During the small breaks they took in between the two of them would check their phones, to go through edits and other things fans kept tagging them in. They'd sometimes sit together and go through them. Commenting on the ones they liked, reliving memories through the edits made. Six out of the seven days they had to rehearse was spent in focusing on the routine and reliving memories. On the day of technical rehearsals, as they took a break, they sat together and came across a video of satrangi re. "Do you remember that night on the terrace?" He asked softly, his eyes hopeful. "Yes, tu muje pareshaan kar raha tha...aur mei gusse mei thi", Vrushika replied, heart picking up its pace. "Mei kuch pooch raha tha, aur tune jawab nahi diya", he replied accusingly. "Abh bhi mei uska jawab nahi doongi", she replied nonchanlantly. "Yaaar, this is not fair! Wo baat ho kar teen saal ho chuka hai! Abh tho bata ki wo kaun tha", he exclaimed. "Tha nahi hai", she replied quietly, smiling lightly. "Tho bata..Wo kaun hai jo teri feelings ko abh tak pakad ke rakha hai? Kaun hai ye maha insaan?", he asked dramatically, waving his hands. She giggled and playfully slapped his arm.They smiled at each other as they sat there eyes locked. "Tho...bataugi bhi?", he asked softly. "Abhi nahi...kal shayad", she replied looking away, her heart pacing again. With that she got up and held out a hand for him. "Chal rehearse karte hai ek aur baar", she said. He took her hand, quietly hoping he would never have to let go of it if he ever got a chance.

The next day was a good day. They rode into the studio, each one in their own thoughts. After today, they won't have a lot of excuses to hang out unless segments and bytes were to be given. They wouldn't sit together chatting, fooling around or just simply be there by each other's side. The last few days had left them wanting the same feeling for a lifetime. That warm fuzzy feeling, where you're happy all the time, smile when that person is around, that overwhelming feeling of being in love. Their theme for teen ka tadka revolved around fairytales, just like fans claimed the swaron story was. Vrushika and Shantanu were obviously the princess and the prince while Alisha depicted the villian an evil witch. They started with Alisha and Shantanu and Vrushika doing freestyle on a instrumental number, showing how the evil witch never let the princess meet her prince. 30 seconds later the tune flowed into a familiar tune, the tune of pehla nasha, where Shantanu and Vrushika took centrestage, eyes locked as if in a trance. They waltzed to the tune of pehla nasha, nailing the lifts and the expressions. Soon the tune changed into a evil tune, where the evil witch was back freestyling to capture the princess. Against all the odds, the prince emerges victorious in the battle and he reunites with the princess, by setting her free. The tune changed into another song, Tere Liye from the movie Fitoor. As the duo waltzed to the tune, Shantanu softly reminded her of the question. Vrushika just smiled as she turned away, prepping for the last lift. As he pulled her back to him, lifting her slightly off the ground, so that she wrap her legs around his, a similar pose to the one in satrangi re. She looked back her eyes fierce as she mouthed the final bit of the act. "Tere liye".

Tere liye. They stood in their pose, eyes locked as the audience broke into applause and the judges rose for a standing ovation. His face broke out into a smile as did hers, when he let go off her, reminding himself they were shooting. Everything around them had grown quiet suddenly. "Zor daar taaliya ek aur baar, Shantanu Vrushika aur Alisha ke liye", Manish Paul announced as he came on stage. They held hands and took a bow and waited for the judges comments. "So Jaqueline, tumhari sautan mil kar tumhe kaisi lagi?", Manish asked referring to Vrushika once the applause had died down. "Manish, Manish, you should know, jo bhi ho mei Jacqueline ka hi hai", he replied laughing into the mic. While Jacqueline gushed, Vrushika who stood next to him, pinched him lightly unnoticeably. He winced  and turned, to see her giving him a quelling look. It made him laugh a little, she sure was possesive. The comments were good, obviously and so were the scores. Before leaving, Manish asked them one last question, THE question everyone had asked them several times before. "We're just good friends", Shantanu said into the mic, emphasising on the good as he shot Vrushika a smirk. She started it and he would end it. 

Backstage, post all the hugs and cheers, they strod off quietly, holding hands. "So....tere liye.", he said looking down. "Tere liye" she replied confirming it. "Muje bhi tere liye hi feelings hai, aur kisi ko nahi", he said looking at her. She looked up at him. "I think...I think I may be in love with you", she said. "So do I", he replied. "Sure?", she asked. "Haan, Mei tumse pyaar karta hoon", he said solemnly and then paused. "Not Huma, not Jacqueline not anyone else", he counted off his fingers as he named the girls. She bumped his shoulder with hers lightly. "Aur mei tumse", she replied."So no more good friends?", he asked. "Nahi, hum good friends hi rahenge kuch din ke liye...to everyone else but us", she replied slowly,emphasis on the good friends. They caught each others eye and laughed. Taking her hands in his, they walked back to the studio, smiling all the way. 

And then, let's just say they always always stayed as VruShan, with their silly little nok jhoks, dance and a love that probably seemed a little like SwaRon.

                                   ~END~

A written gift from a PaZi, VruShan, SwaRon fanatic to the Pari known as Priyanka di, or the Pari Di.