𝟏𝟔 - 𝑻𝒉𝒆 𝑪𝒉𝒂𝒊 𝑫𝒂𝒕𝒆

After school, Parvati met Pavitr at the gates. Neither of them had bothered to change out of their uniform, which just proved how lazy they had become after attending a boarding school. He looked as nervous and as jittery as she felt. In all honesty, they didn't need to act this anxious. But maybe it was because of the situation they were in. Going on a date really changed people's attitudes.

'I, er- hi!' Pavitr started, a little awkward, 'You... you like nice.'

Parvati laughed, 'This is just my uniform. You saw me in this for most of the day.'

'Oh yeah... well, er-' he paused, 'You look generally nice.'

'Aw that's sweet of you. Thanks.'

'No problems!' he blushed slightly, 'So... should we get going?'

'Sure.'

They both walk along the busy streets of Mumbhattan's central city district. Pavitr seemed to be extra cautious and made sure nobody bumped into her. The gesture was pretty normal, but it made Parvati feel loved and special to him. At one point Pavitr placed his hand on the small of her back. Ideally it was to help guide her through the traffic, but instinct told her that that may not be the prominent reason in his action.

He noticed her looking, 'Oh- er. Is this okay?'

'Yeah it is,' she smiled back shyly.

He grinned and looked forward.

After a while of walking, they reached a small vendor shop selling little glass cups of chai. They ordered one each and sat down onto the small makeshift table created from discarded boxes and random plastic stools. Parvati sipped on her chai, looking at the view in front of her, which was in fact Pavitr blowing on his chai to cool it down. She considered him a view: he was that magnificent to look at.

Pavitr noticed her looking and smirked slightly, 'Cannot seem to take your eyes off me, huh?'

She grinned, 'Yeah I can't.'

'Okay well I'm not complaining,' he laughed, 'I'm quite a view.'

'You are.'

He paused in the middle of taking a sip of his chai, 'Wait what did you just agree?'

'Mhm,' Parvati rested her head on her hand.

He grinned bashfully, looking back down again, reading the many advertisements pasted on the box-table, faded from the harsh light over the sun beating on it for years. For a while they sat in silence, listening to the symphony of the sounds of Mumbhattan's traffic. 

'I swear,' Pavitr started, 'If I were to give a tour of the city to anyone, I would just tell them where the traffic is. This is where the traffic is, this is where the traffic is, this is also where the traffic is, there's traffic here too! Honestly!'

Parvati smirked, swirling her chai cup around using her wrist, 'What about the Taj Mahal Palace?'

'This is where the British stole all of our stuff!'

She laughed, nearly spilling her tea over, 'You really make the most stupidest jokes.'

'Mhm I know. And I know that you like them.'

Parvati grinned and they lapse into a bout of silence again. A slightly breeze began to blow, winding through the streets and relieving everyone from the bane of the hot sun. Pavitr's hair flowed slightly in the wind, and he pushed his blue headband up slightly to keep his hair out of his eyes and mouth as he drank the chai. He still seemed to be having difficulty.

'Hey, let me tie your hair up,' offered Parvati.

Pavitr agreed and she stood up behind him, gently tying his hair into a loose bun so he could drink the tea in ease without stray strands coming in the way. She had to admit: he looked cute in that hairstyle. Pavitr leaned his head back, resting it on her stomach and looking up at her.

'Thank you, Miss Prakash.'

'You're- you're welcome,' Parvati blushed at the sudden contact.

He grinned mischievously, 'Someone's red.'

She bent down slightly and planted a small kiss on his forehead, making him gasp, 'Now look who's talking.'

Pavitr grinned happily and looked back down shyly. Parvati took this as a chance to wrap her arms around his neck and resting her chin in his head, breathing in the scent of his hair. She stayed like that for a bit, leaning against him, before she heard an electronic beep coming from somewhere on Pavitr. He pulled back the sleeve of his blazer, exposing his strange watch for a fraction of a second, before quickly pulling it back over again. Parvati caught the name "LYLA".

'Uh...' Pavitr stood up in a hurry, shaking his sleeves, 'Parvati, listen, I'm really really sorry-'

'Sorry about what?' she looked concerned.

'I'm sorry! I'm sorry! I'm sorry!' he kept on repeating, slinging his school bag over his shoulder, 'I have to go, er, somewhere right now.'

'Where?'

'I- I can't tell you. I mean, if I could, I honestly would. But I can't!' Pavitr put both his hands on her shoulders gently.

Parvati stared at him, 'If you're doing something dangerous-'

'I'm not! I promise,' he looked scandalised, 'I just can't tell. It's a sort of a secret...'

'So much of a secret that you can't even tell me?' asked Parvati, putting both her hands on either side of his face.

Pavitr looked at the ground, ashamed, 'Yes. I can't even tell you.'

'Why? I trust you, you trust me. Shouldn't this relationship be mutual? I don't want to force you into telling me Pavitr, honestly. But I'm concerned. You're suddenly being so secretive these days!'

Pavitr sighed, before pulling her in close and smiling softly at her, 'Look. You don't need to be concerned. You worry too much. Take your stress off, especially about me. I know what I'm doing and trust me, it's for the good of people,' he then kisses her forehead, 'I have to go now, but I promise I will make up for this date. We'll go on one that will have not a single interruption so it's only us. Okay?'

'Alright... but Pavitr-!'

He had already run off, his hair flying in the wind behind him. 

***

A/N

Okay, little bit of a short chapter, but it was just off the normal word count by less than 100 words. 

I know you guys wanted them to kiss... but trust me! I have the perfect moment in mind and y'all will know when it'll happen just by reading that chapter. 

Anyways, after I'm done with this book, I plan to make little Chai Tea one shots of Parvati and Pavitr together, so if y'all have any ideas or what you want to see, chuck them here and I'll store them up for future use -->

Stay tuned!

--Jiya. A