Aditya was standing in the balcony when Rudra saw him and walked over. At that moment, Aditya was lighting a cigarette. Seeing this, Rudra asked, “You smoke?!”

  Aditya turned his gaze and replied, “Not every day… only when I feel low.”

  Rudra smirked, teasing him, “Then I guess you must be drinking too… to cheer up that sad heart?”

  To this, Aditya replied, “Six years ago… I did. I drank a lot. But after that day, I never touched alcohol again.”

  Rudra raised an eyebrow, “Why though? What kind of sorrow hit you so hard that you drank once and never again? Didn't you feel low after that? Or… did you just not like the taste of it?”

  As soon as he heard that, echoes from six years ago started ringing in Aditya’s ears—his fight with his mother.

  His mother screaming, "You came home drunk… for a girl?! You were ready to die for her! And you didn’t even think about your parents!”

  Young aaditya (in his memories),“Mom… I love her!”

  His mother, “Yeah right! And we mean nothing to you! You’ll realize when we’re dead! Go then… stay stuck in her memories forever!”

  And then came the sound of police sirens and a cop’s voice interrogating him.

  “Did your parents have any enemies? Do you suspect anyone? Who could’ve done this to them? Any idea, son?”

  Aditya wanted to run away from all those thoughts. He threw his cigarette aside and asked, “Why are you here?”

  Rudra said, “Just wanted to ask one thing… Won’t you go and take care of your friend? I mean… I’m just a recent friend. But you— You’ve known him since childhood. You know his pain. Then why…”

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  “Why am I not trying to help?” Aditya interrupted, “Let me tell you something… Aniket is like a masked clown. He finds joy in making others laugh. He can’t bear to see someone sad. But at the same time, he doesn’t want to show his own sadness to anyone either. That’s his ego. And you know, being boys, how precious our male ego is to us.”

  Rudra taunted, “So you’ll let him cry alone?”

  Aditya smiled and looked at him. “If someone ever asked me to choose between my love and Aniket’s happiness… I’d choose his happiness first. Because the breath I’m taking right now, is because of him. If he hadn’t been there, I would’ve died the very day the girl I loved rejected me.”

  Hearing this, Rudra looked away and said, “Then why are you letting him suffer like this?”

  Aditya: “I’m trying to fix everything… without him knowing. But it’s not easy. Anyway… maybe right now you guys are angry at me for not stopping Aniket from going to Bhutan. Right, Anamika?”

  Aditya turned to look at the balcony door—Anamika was standing there, hiding. Saaniya had just walked up and stood beside her.

  Anamika, avoiding eye contact, said, “Don’t you think sometimes we need to show efforts?”

  Aditya walked closer to her, gently placed his hand on her forehead, and said, “You girls are so simple… I wonder when boys will ever be that easy.”

  Saying that, Aditya started walking away. But then he stopped and added, “Anamika… can I say one thing? Some people like to solve their problems on their own. And that’s okay. I had stopped Aniket from going to Bhutan once… but he still went. You know why? Because he wanted to find the solution himself. And I trust him. My friend will find his own solution… because he’s not as weak as I am.”

  Saying that, Aditya left. Everyone gathered in the hall. Aniket had just walked in.

  Seeing the others, he asked, “Where’s Aditya?”

  Rudra replied, “His half-day is over.”

  Aniket joked, “So that jerk just left his manga artist here and disappeared!”

  Anamika said, “I’m taking the day off today. Not going to the office.”

  Hearing this, Aniket exclaimed, “Oh! Are you planning a secret birthday party for me or what?!”

  Everyone looked at him in surprise. Aniket took a deep breath and said while walking away, “I may have grown up, but I still like chocolate cake. I’m not cutting anything else!”

  After he left, Rudra looked at Saaniya and asked, “Did he just ask us to throw him a surprise birthday party?”

  Saaniya rolled her eyes and said, “Both of these jerks are crazy.”

  Anamika, smiling happily, said, “Let’s do it then… a surprise party for both of them!”

  Saaniya made a face,“But I want to sleep…”

  Rudra looked at her with soft, loving eyes and said, “It’s okay! You can rest… I’ll handle your part.”

  Saaniya gave him a sarcastic look,“Okay fine. I may not care about Aniket one bit, but I won’t let the party get ruined! So, Mr. Malhotra, stay far away from me! I’ll handle everything.”

  Rudra, like a sulking kid, said,“What’s that supposed to mean?! Anamika… please talk to your friend!”

  Anamika gave Saaniya a pointed look and said, “You go… we’ll handle the rest!”

  While everyone here was planning the surprise party, on the other side, Aditya and Aniket were lost in each other’s thoughts.

  Maybe this is what they call a best friend bond.

  Aniket agreed to the birthday party—for Aditya’s happiness. And Aditya was letting Aniket go to Bhutan—for Aniket’s peace of mind.

  Both were driving their cars… but in their minds, they were back to that childhood moment… when they first met.

  Aniket was five years old when he moved into the house next to Aditya’s. At first glance, they ignored each other. But who knew that those two neighbors would become the kind of friends who’d be willing to give up their lives for each other one day?

  How did that friendship begin?

  And will it survive what lies ahead?