There are some nostalgic moments which make us smile without reason and some which make us cry till our eyes are swollen and sleep takes over our sadness.

He

Nehar was a simple, nice and down to earth guy, before she moved in her life. They were together for almost a year. But he never found the love he was waiting for, the kind of love he always dreamt about. Don’t get him wrong, he liked her but she was not what he was looking for. Besides what she did to him was beyond comprehension. She betrayed him and that too for his best friend, Abhishek.

He was in a state of complete shock as he found his best friend involved in backstabbing him. First it was his parents and now his best friend, Abhishek. After his parents’ divorce he never got the love and affection he deserved, neither from his dad nor from his mother. It was Abhishek who gave him emotional support and from that time he was the only one Nehar relied on.

However, he was shattered now, betrayed by everyone who mattered, his parents, his best friend and his girlfriend. He decided not to let anyone come close to him; never again did he want to get betrayed.

The once so sweet guy became an arrogant jerk, who was a total cynic and rudeness personified. He never let anyone come close and if he did find someone doing so, he would ensure his behaviour drove them away. Yet, he was still searching for his soul mate, his eternal love.

She

Julie was a sweet little nerd. Unlike Nehar, she had got a lot of love and support from her family; she had a small set of friends she could always rely on. She never knew what love was, she never had a relationship. She lived with a belief that nothing bad could happen with good people. She landed up in the same class as Nehar, after her father’s transfer to Delhi.

They met and he thought…

Miss Singh announced a name, Julie Vandervine, and a beautiful, sweet girl walked inside the classroom. As usual all the boys were gawking at her and I was sure she was going to make the boys fall for her soon. She was too sweet for my type though. The next minute I wanted to kill Miss Singh as she made her my partner for all the projects in the coming year. Julie sat next to me and gave a warm smile, god she had a breath-taking smile!

Hello I am Julie!

I am Nehar.

I tried my level best to be good with my tone but the arrogance was now a part of me. During the class, silence filled the air between me and her, which I guess was good for me.

She tried talking to me and started a few conversations but I gave her monosyllabic answers, which was now my habit. She did not like my behaviour, something which I am used to, but this time it hit me somewhere. The day went by and I guess she realised I was so not her type. I did not know whether I should have been happy for it or sad.

They met and she thought…

As soon as I came back from my new high school, mother started asking me how was my day at the school. I told her it was good. Nehar had left an impression on my mind; he seemed to be a good guy although a bit harsh with his words but there was something different in him. He looked amazing in his simple worn out jeans and white tee. There was something in his eyes too, whenever I saw him straight in the eyes, I found something deep, as if he wanted to say something but could not. His eyes mesmerised me, the dark black eyes were a pool of mystery. Well I liked his company although I found him a bit uncomfortable.

She...

The next day in school was awesome. I saw him laugh for the first time. He was talking to me as well and I felt as if I had found a good friend. I started knowing him better. We shared things with each other and I told him about my family. When I asked him about his, I saw a sudden change in his mood and decided not to stretch it further. I found him to be a loner, but I enjoyed his company.  He was fun to be around. Our friendship had begun.

He…

I don’t know how but she managed to be with me, an arrogant jerk, when all the other boys were being sweet to her. It was nice to have her around.  I could not believe someone could be so positive in their life. Even when bad things happened to her she would say something better is waiting for her ahead in life. I gave her a nickname CHERRY, she was as sweet as one and her cheeks as red as one. I still don’t know how she stood by my arrogance, but I was glad it happened! It was not bad to let someone into my life and so I let her be with me. It was almost two months since we became friends and it was a nice to be cared for, and accepted the way I was. She asked me a couple of times as to why do I behave so harshly with other people, but she always changed the topic sensing my discomfort in answering. She would know what I felt before I could say anything.

She…

It has been two months since we met, but he was still quite a mystery. He never talked about his family and friends. Whenever I tried asking him about them, there was a sudden change in the way he looked, a mix of anger, sadness and a lot more which I could not figure out, and so I would drop the topic. We kept meeting for our projects and this ensured I was able to handle his arrogance, or rather fake arrogance. He called me Cherry and whenever I heard that name I would have butterflies in my stomach, and my cheeks would get a natural blush.

It was all good till Aditya asked me out. He was a popular snooty guy who was cynosure of many eyes. He was attractive looked great but I seriously did not know how to react, as I had never thought about it. But in the end I said yes. I told Nehar and he hugged me and wished me luck. After that I started spending more time with Aditya, not because we were seeing each other but because Nehar started ignoring me.

He…

Julie has changed a lot after that dog asked her out. She does not even walk with me to the classes; she would go with that dog’s gang. I did not want to see her ignoring me, and so before she could get up and go with him, I would run to the next class. A whole week went by.  At the end of the week, Julie turned Aditya down by apologising and saying she was in love with someone else. Now I do not mind whoever it is, but one thing was sure, she, like others would also turn me down and hurt me. So before she does that I must change myself into a hard rock again. I was sure I would miss my Cherry though.

She…

I never knew what love was and I still am not sure but I am definitely sure that Nehar brings the best out of me. The whole week was super boring and sad without him by my side and every time he ignored me I felt as if someone had stabbed my heart. One week was enough for me to realise how important Nehar was to me. However, after the Aditya incident there was a sudden change in him. He started acting as if I do not exist, whenever I gave him a smile he would roll his eyes or ignore me. He stopped replying to my texts, and whenever he would it was all rude. I missed his “morning Cherry” wish to “you are too stupid to get these sarcastic comments kiddo”. I was so waiting for him to get back to me but he did not give a damn. I hoped that the weekend’s project might do some wonders.  

Nehar’s pov:

It was hard ignoring her. She on other side never gave up, even if I was all rude and harsh to her, she would give me that one smile which was enough to melt me, but of course I must not make her my habit and that’s why I kept on ignoring her. I behaved as if I don’t give a damn. What I am afraid of is the meeting we are going to have for our project at her place.

As soon as I reached there I ignored our regular chat and hopped onto project work, while we were discussing it, she tried to bring back normal conversation but I ignored. We completed our project pretty soon, I bid her a goodbye, but my legs froze when she held my arm and asked me,

Have I done something that hurt you?

Ah Ju... I am sorry but we should not be personal and limit our interactions to the project, Cherry!

I left. I so did not want to call her Cherry but it just came out. It killed me inside to leave her without an explanation.

She…

“We should not be personal and limit our interactions to the project, Cherry!” it took me a while to register those words in my mind. Initially, I just heard the word Cherry which made me smile. As soon as I registered all his words I was left dumbstruck, not because he said those words but because his eyes said something else. There was sadness in his eyes.

How could he expect me to just be his project companion? He still calls me Cherry! I am quite sure he too wants me to be his friend but something is holding him back. It is beyond my thinking. 

That was the time when I realised I don’t know a single thing about him and he, on the other hand, even knows the name of my pet dog!

It was the third week without him and it was the same old story of me approaching and he ignoring. It was then I realised he had made a new friend, Nisha. She was a good girl but I just did not like her now, especially after she became Nehar’s friend. He would be online throughout and flirt with Nisha but would not reply to my messages.

Can’t he see my care and concern, rather, love for him?

I felt lonely and I wanted someone to talk to, my bad luck, no one was home! I picked my phone and dialled Jamie’s number; she was my childhood friend and a good bouncing pad of thoughts for me. She picked up the phone and I started crying.

Hh...Hi Jamie.

Hey Julie, are you crying?

Come on Julie say what’s wrong, and please stop crying, you know it hurts me whenever you cry.

She waited till I was done with my crying and started explaining. She knew me well and I found no reason to hide my feelings from her. I told her the whole story from our first meeting till the last.

You know what sweetie, stop being this “sweet and I so need you type chicken”. Be with other people and show how happy you are without him. You need to do this or else he will be taking you for granted, tighten your feelings and make him realise what he may lose.

From next day I started spending more time with Aditya, Sheena, Jay and Jenny.  It was hard to ignore him but Aditya helped a lot. My act of ignoring him was doing its work. He noticed. He came to me and gave me a smile, but I walked pass him.

Meanwhile, I had to figure out Nehar’s past as well. I approached Abhishek, who was his only good friend. He told me everything and it was heart-breaking to hear all that he had gone through. I felt as if I had figured the reason of his arrogance and ‘stay away from me’ behaviour. I wanted to go, hug him and say you deserve the best love in the world. I had enough of the ignoring act and started looking for him. I found him quarrelling with Aditya. As soon as he saw me, he stopped and walked towards me, my heart beat fastened. He held my hand and started pulling me towards the building. I kept on asking where was he taking me, but he did not utter a word. We reached our class, which was empty by now. He asked me to close my eyes.

But why you want me to close my eyes?

Just do it, I am not going to kill you Cherry!

He winked, with the mention of cherry and I would give a lifetime for that. I felt something on my wrist. When I opened my eyes I saw a bracelet, a design of a cherry hanging from a silver thread with two letters engraved on it. JN.

My eyes moistened.

Did you like it Cherry?

Like? I am in love with it,

Before I could say anything, he hugged me and said YOU ARE MINE. It was the best day of my life.

He…

Julie’s ignorance was killing me. She never left me even if I ignored her or did rude things to her. Even when I was with Nisha she tried her best to be with me, but now she was ignoring me and looked happy with Aditya. I could not stand it after two days of her ignorance; I was done with my decision. Just because my parents, my best friend and my girlfriend betrayed me, others will not do it, at least not a girl as sweet as Cherry. If I go on being this arrogant rude fellow, I am never going to find my soul mate. Besides, with her it was different; I was cared for, loved and accepted the way I was. It had to be her.

Epilogue

She…
It has been two years of our relation and its magical, we our planning our future together. Now, I don’t find the same pool of mystery in Nehar’s eyes, Infact they are as clear as spring water. I don’t find that fear of betrayal. I am happy I managed to bring back the sweet.

He…
She is an angel who came in my life and changed everything. My sweet Cherry is still the same, though at times she gets angry and her big eyes full of anger only adds to her beauty.

When in love, people say, I still remember the day I started falling for you….but we never knew when and how we fell for each other. It just happened as if it had to happen.