Shraddha Kapoor
He actually said that out loud.
I don't understand why my cheeks heat up when I know he is telling a white lie.
"Yeh toh bahot achi baat hai" Sarojji smiles "Let's do one thing. Shraddha beta, tum front pe aa jao..you and Varun will be good pair"
"NO"/"NO"
We both shout simultaneously. Sarojji stares at us appalled at our outburst.
"Sarojji what I mean is..if we do any changes now..all the sync will go for toss" Varun tries to salvage the situation.
"You don't worry about that. She is your girlfriend, she should dance with you" Sarojji says firmly as she looks out for her assistance. 3
Varun shoots killer looks at me while crackling his knuckles silently telling me if I don't act right now I'll be dead in next five minutes.
"Sarojji" I intervene "Actually I'm not feeling well. I came here just to meet Varun and tell him that I have got the doctor's appointment at 5" I was getting good at lying. My stepmom has inadvertently taught me that.
I notice Varun's shoulder drooping in ease.
"Varun is very caring and doesn't let me work even if I hurt my tiny toe" I tease and he shrugs like 'whatever'
"Okay beta then you should take rest" Sarojji says warmly. "Aur yeh Sachin kaha marr gaya hai?" she goes on to find her assistant. 1
As soon as Saroj Mam is out of earshot, Varun grabs my hand and drags me inside dressing room. He makes sure the room is empty only then he latches the door from inside.
I will be lying if I say I'm not little scared right now.
"Don't you have any better clothes to wear?" he criticises his eyes scrutinising my dress.
I pull my top over my belly but it exposes my cleavage so I pull it back up. I should have taken a stole, I whack myself...but wait a minute..why is acting like he is my real boyfriend?
"I'll dress as I please" I retort.
"No you won't. Not when you'll be roaming as my girlfriend" he mutters under his breath and I wonder when will he stop speaking to me without snarling his lips or grinding his teeth?
"And what's deal with this unkempt hair?" he tweaks at my locks "Have you ever entered a salon in your entire life? You know, there is place called 'Salon'" he begins in mock explanation as if I didn't knew "You'll find one almost anywhere, it's place where ugly chicks are morphed into beautiful swans by experts called beautician. But in your case we might need more of a magician to work on that face yours" he chuckles.
Ouch. That hurt.
"I'm not changing my look. I'm happy the way I'm" I remark feeling offended "Also Karan didn't mentioned anything about changing the look" I remind him sternly.
"You won't be dating Karan but Varun Dhawan. And if you are going to be with me, it has to be the way I want" he wobbles cockily.
"Why are you making it sound like I'm the one dying to be with you? Honestly I don't give rat's shit what will happen if people will find out it was me whom you kissed last night, because it won't matter to me, as you see, its not my image or my career or my future that is at stake!" I vent my voice rising octane high.
He reacts immediately pushing me on mirror wall and covering my mouth with his hand to muffle the crescendo.
Our bodies get drawn dangerously close in the process. He places finger of his other hand on his lips as my heart races against my will.
He slowly uncovers his hand and moves away from me. Suddenly atmosphere in this small room is too electrified to breathe.
"Also" I say composing myself "No touching in private"
He closes his eyes and I'm sure he is counting till ten and he opens them after exactly ten seconds.
"Shraddha" he says more calmly this time. I realise this is first time he has addressed me properly.
"I'm..." I wait till the word comes out "Sorry" he says with great effort. 3
"You should be" I cross my arms.
"Look" he folds his hand "We are mature enough to handle this situation without bringing Karan in every time. Also you are right. It's my image that is at stake. But what you don't know is once the word about us dating is out in media, they will make your life living hell. They would want to know everything about you. What she was wearing..how she was carrying herself...and all that crap. They will be on your back 24/7" his brow furrows in worry.
Varun is finally talking to me like I'm human and not duck. 1
I nod in understanding "but still I won't chop off my hair" I say in ultimatum.
He sighs "Can you at least get new outfit for tomorrow?" he requests.
"What's tomorrow?" I inquire.
"Movie date" he smiles despite himself "Today the word will be out. And tomorrow we'll be going on our first official fake date" 2
I wished he had left the word 'fake' out but at the same time I'm glad he didn't..as it will keep me grounded in reality. I can't get carried away in this make belief fantasy.
But either way, fake or real, this is actually first time I'll be going out on proper date with a guy.
And I hate to admit but I'm pretty much excited.
Cinderella story- A Varun Dhawan fanfic
Re: chapter 9- A Varun Dhawan fanfic
Varun Dhawan
Actors have most difficult job in this world. 1
I'm not exaggerating, I mean c'mon it's not easy to fake emotions that aren't present inside you. 2
And I'm one of those unfortunate ones who have to keep on acting even when the camera has stopped rolling.
I see Shraddha paddle out of her residential building.
Must say she has put considerable effort in making herself presentable.
She is wearing a dress that stops just above her knees. The colour, that is mix of blue and green(I'm sure my stylist has a word for it) suits her pale complexion. Those dreadful mess of hair are curled nicely into locks. The duckling did take my advice of visiting a salon then, I smirk. 2
I observe her from rearview mirror, she stops and comtemplates about getting into backseat of car.
"Hello Mam, I'm not your driver get in front" I yell through open window.
She moves at snail's speed crossing from front to other side of car eyeing me through the glass. It's with great difficulty I control the urge to run her over as my left foot manoeuvres over break. 1
"Nice dress" I compliment as she gets in and notice the blush on her cheeks turning shade pinker.
"You look good" I blurt out before I can stop myself. 3
Shraddha Kapoor
"Thanks"
I say strapping my seat belt on. I wasn't expecting him to notice me adorning the only elegant dress I own.
He shakes his head "You bought that? You're so naive, Shraddha. I'm an actor, I have been trained to lie to people on their faces" he smugs.
There he goes again at being what he is best at..I might as well get used to his prickly self.
"You drive your own car?" I ask surprised.
"Hmm. I believe a man should drive his own car till he has hair on his scalp or hasn't developed a paunch" he chortles out a laugh.
I smile but it is hard to imagine Varun losing his thick mane eventually or his six packs turning into paunch. I force myself not to peek at his tight tee hugging those abs or imagine my hands running through his hair. 2
"The only person in our family to have chauffeur driven car is my big bro, Rohit" he continues "The way he is, I always knew he was going to age prematurely" he smiles genuinely, the one that reaches his eyes
"My Mom is cool but my bro, he is like warden of our house, always maintaining discipline, orderliness" he quips.
I like the way he sounds so animated talking about his family and my heart sinks thinking about my own broken family.
I swallow the lump forming in my throat "Which movie are we going to?" I ask to divert the conversation.
"2 states"
"2 states? But didn't it released few months ago?" 2
"This is one time private screening for only friends and family with special invitations, sent to those who had missed out a chance to watch it back then" he explains, his voice guarded. 1
"Oh" I frown "Can't we watch some other movie?" I suggest as I have watched 2 states and I'm not sure if I want to watch it again when there are so many others options available.
He doesn't answer but I could see tension building in his tendons. Is it because he thinks he exposed himself too much earlier revealing titbits of his family life, when he is supposed to be only rude to me?
"And if it's private screening, isn't the purpose of public appearance lost?" I persist and get a look from him like I have made most unintelligent comment of my life.
"You'll find out the purpose" he replies after eternity.
But I get his point once we reach there.
Photographers are already positioned outside theatre as they know private screening ensures lot of celebrity turn out.
Before we get out of car, Varun wears baseball cap, checks his reflection in front mirror miming 'Showtime'. He then winks at me and my heart flutters in response.
He holds my hand all the way through the entryway as shutterbugs click on us firing questions at the same time.
"Varun is she the girl you kissed that night at award show?"
"How do you both know each other?"
"How long have you been dating?"
Varun ignores their questions but stops to pose. His hand runs on my waist as he draws me closer.
"Smile" he whispers in my ear but I shiver as his lips slightly brushes my earlobe.
After few clicks, he waves at them languidly as he scurries inside dragging me along with him.
"I'm going to spoil it for you" I warn him about the movie.
"I have read the book" he sticks out his tongue as we find our way to our seats.
Once the lights are out, I become extremely self conscious. I keep as much space between us as two adjacent chairs can allow.
Well, it's normal to feel uncomfortable when you're sitting next to very hot guy and characters of Aaliya and Arjun start making love on 70mm screen. 2
While I feel unsettled on my seat, Varun looks chilled out to the core, occasionally digging his hand on popcorn.
He hoots and whistles showering generous compliments whenever Aaliya comes on screen. I understand they share special bond as they have begun their career together. 1
But there's no way I can possibly be jealous of her, I console myself. 2
The chest burn I'm feeling right now is because I've eaten too much and..
My heart is undigested.
Actors have most difficult job in this world. 1
I'm not exaggerating, I mean c'mon it's not easy to fake emotions that aren't present inside you. 2
And I'm one of those unfortunate ones who have to keep on acting even when the camera has stopped rolling.
I see Shraddha paddle out of her residential building.
Must say she has put considerable effort in making herself presentable.
She is wearing a dress that stops just above her knees. The colour, that is mix of blue and green(I'm sure my stylist has a word for it) suits her pale complexion. Those dreadful mess of hair are curled nicely into locks. The duckling did take my advice of visiting a salon then, I smirk. 2
I observe her from rearview mirror, she stops and comtemplates about getting into backseat of car.
"Hello Mam, I'm not your driver get in front" I yell through open window.
She moves at snail's speed crossing from front to other side of car eyeing me through the glass. It's with great difficulty I control the urge to run her over as my left foot manoeuvres over break. 1
"Nice dress" I compliment as she gets in and notice the blush on her cheeks turning shade pinker.
"You look good" I blurt out before I can stop myself. 3
Shraddha Kapoor
"Thanks"
I say strapping my seat belt on. I wasn't expecting him to notice me adorning the only elegant dress I own.
He shakes his head "You bought that? You're so naive, Shraddha. I'm an actor, I have been trained to lie to people on their faces" he smugs.
There he goes again at being what he is best at..I might as well get used to his prickly self.
"You drive your own car?" I ask surprised.
"Hmm. I believe a man should drive his own car till he has hair on his scalp or hasn't developed a paunch" he chortles out a laugh.
I smile but it is hard to imagine Varun losing his thick mane eventually or his six packs turning into paunch. I force myself not to peek at his tight tee hugging those abs or imagine my hands running through his hair. 2
"The only person in our family to have chauffeur driven car is my big bro, Rohit" he continues "The way he is, I always knew he was going to age prematurely" he smiles genuinely, the one that reaches his eyes
"My Mom is cool but my bro, he is like warden of our house, always maintaining discipline, orderliness" he quips.
I like the way he sounds so animated talking about his family and my heart sinks thinking about my own broken family.
I swallow the lump forming in my throat "Which movie are we going to?" I ask to divert the conversation.
"2 states"
"2 states? But didn't it released few months ago?" 2
"This is one time private screening for only friends and family with special invitations, sent to those who had missed out a chance to watch it back then" he explains, his voice guarded. 1
"Oh" I frown "Can't we watch some other movie?" I suggest as I have watched 2 states and I'm not sure if I want to watch it again when there are so many others options available.
He doesn't answer but I could see tension building in his tendons. Is it because he thinks he exposed himself too much earlier revealing titbits of his family life, when he is supposed to be only rude to me?
"And if it's private screening, isn't the purpose of public appearance lost?" I persist and get a look from him like I have made most unintelligent comment of my life.
"You'll find out the purpose" he replies after eternity.
But I get his point once we reach there.
Photographers are already positioned outside theatre as they know private screening ensures lot of celebrity turn out.
Before we get out of car, Varun wears baseball cap, checks his reflection in front mirror miming 'Showtime'. He then winks at me and my heart flutters in response.
He holds my hand all the way through the entryway as shutterbugs click on us firing questions at the same time.
"Varun is she the girl you kissed that night at award show?"
"How do you both know each other?"
"How long have you been dating?"
Varun ignores their questions but stops to pose. His hand runs on my waist as he draws me closer.
"Smile" he whispers in my ear but I shiver as his lips slightly brushes my earlobe.
After few clicks, he waves at them languidly as he scurries inside dragging me along with him.
"I'm going to spoil it for you" I warn him about the movie.
"I have read the book" he sticks out his tongue as we find our way to our seats.
Once the lights are out, I become extremely self conscious. I keep as much space between us as two adjacent chairs can allow.
Well, it's normal to feel uncomfortable when you're sitting next to very hot guy and characters of Aaliya and Arjun start making love on 70mm screen. 2
While I feel unsettled on my seat, Varun looks chilled out to the core, occasionally digging his hand on popcorn.
He hoots and whistles showering generous compliments whenever Aaliya comes on screen. I understand they share special bond as they have begun their career together. 1
But there's no way I can possibly be jealous of her, I console myself. 2
The chest burn I'm feeling right now is because I've eaten too much and..
My heart is undigested.
Re: Chapter 10- A Varun Dhawan fanfic
Shraddha Kapoor
He hasn't called me since our movie date which was three days ago.
And now I feel like everything happened was indeed a dream within a dream and I have finally woken up from pleasant state of limbo.
But I wish I could say I got back to my normal life after our brief rendezvous. 2
Our pictures from our movie outing were there next day on page 3. The only difference from the previous time was I saw my name printed below it. People came to know 'the girl Varun Dhawan kissed' on award night has a proper face and name.
The first one to react to the news in my family was my youngest sister,Aditi. I woke up to her screeching voice inside my eardrum next morning.
"Shraddha is this really you?" she demanded pointing at our picture when it was very much obvious it was me unless there is clone of me somewhere who has same turquoise dress. I nodded at her rubbing my drowsy eyes.
"YOUR BOYFRIEND IS VARUN DHAWAN!!!!" she squealed excitedly waking up the whole society. 3
"I want to meet him! I want to meet him! Say you'll take me to meet him. Please. Please please" she jumped on my bed..and out of fear of my croaking bed's fragile life, I said yes.
Soon the news spread like wild fire. The landline phone in our house which was dying a slow death started ringing zealously. People started calling from everywhere.
"For God sake cut that wire off" Mom yelped through kitchen "She is only dating him not getting married to him. He must have thousands such girlfriends hidden everywhere" she said irritated. I was in the kitchen right there but I was used to getting addressed as third person in my presence.
I chopped the veggies on board without uttering a word.
She was furious with the fact why I didn't tell her first. She wasn't exactly bestest of my pal with whom I confided everything so what did she expect? Also never before she had bothered to find out about where I work or who do I work with, all she was ever interested in knowing was how much I earned.
"See Ariha. Learn some tips from her" she scowled at her eldest daughter.
Ariha, seated on dining table, was busy texting someone. She was in junior college and I had forgotten what her face looked like as whenever I saw her, her head was always burrowed low typing ferociously on her smart phone.
"Ariha!" Mom smacked her "I'll throw your mobile out one day" she growled at her own daughter for a change. 3
I secretly enjoyed watching her growing vexed knowing I'm the reason making her pull her hair in madness.
Sitting here in my room it makes me realise that I can laugh while I can but if they found out it was all sham then it will be their turn to laugh at me.
Varun Dhawan
I sit for the hundredth interview of the day.
Okay maybe it's only third but the repetitive questions they are throwing at me makes me want to scoot up and punch on their faces.
And the annoying part is they ask about everything accept the movie.
Although not all of them are as bad but there is this one journalist who irks me more than his contemporaries.
His questions are direct and often shameless.
"Was Sonam Kapoor indeed the reason for you kissing your girlfriend before media?" 1
"When did Shraddha enter your life? Before Sonam or after Sonam"
"Before Christ" I snap at him with straight face. But he laughs like I was sitting here cracking jokes for his sake.
"Shraddha Kapoor, as we've come to know, is a back dancer. Why would you want to date a commoner?" he asks and I close my fist inside my pocket. 2
"Why? Aren't they humans? See, when you fall in love at first sight you really don't have time to do background check, do you?" I ask rhetorically.
"But don't you think your timing to bring out your girlfriend was bang on right, just when on that day Sonam.."
"Do you have any questions related to the movie?" I interject "or else I'm off" I'm very close to exploding..and I don't want to get in anymore trouble by smashing a reporter's front teeth.
"This is your third movie after a dream debut. Do you think expectations are higher this time around?" he asks in bored voice.
"There is always pressure to consistently perform better than before..." I start modestly controlling my nerve churning out repetitive scorned off answers.
After the interview winds up, I have an appointment with Parimal.
Parimal is my Dad's manager who has also been managing my career side by side. And yes I have to take an appointment to meet her as she is more busy than me.
In the beginning of my career I was overtly confident, thinking I was smart enough to handle my own schedules. But as the work started flowing in I just couldn't figure things out anymore. I decided to take Parimal's help when I missed my flight for the fourth time in a row.
"Tomorrow at 10 you have an ad shoot in Mehboob studio" she reads from tab as soon as I enter her cabin not even bothering with pleasantries like 'hi' 'hello'
"At afternoon you'll be visiting R-city mall with Ileana, after that you are free till evening. You have couple of reality shows lined up but that will be shot once you are back from your trip. Your flight tomorrow is at 11.20PM. First, you'll be flying to Singapore, then Dubai, Kuwait and finally New York." she finishes and looks up from tab "Ileana will be joining you in Dubai" she informs. 4
"So you mean I'll be flying to Singapore alone?"
"No. Not alone. You'll be taking your pretty girlfriend with you everywhere" she smiles.
There is hint of 'I-know-what-you-did-last-summer' kind of underlying her smiling face. She has known me for too long so I knew I wasn't fooling her here. 7
"I had got a call this morning from Karan. He asked me to book..what's her name, Shraddha right? He asked me to book Shraddha's ticket as well" she says narrowing her eyes "I have never before seen a mentor so concerned about his protégé's relationship" she says cheekily.
"Not everyone is as professional as you want them to be" I say crossly grabbing the envelope containing my passport and plane tickets from desk.
"I would like to meet her" she yowls at my retreating back.
"No you don't" I retaliate as I head out of her cabin.
"Shraddha" I sigh once I'm inside the safe zone of my SUV. I take out my cellphone and scroll down on phonebook stopping on 'Donald duck'. 3
I swipe on the green side of screen.
He hasn't called me since our movie date which was three days ago.
And now I feel like everything happened was indeed a dream within a dream and I have finally woken up from pleasant state of limbo.
But I wish I could say I got back to my normal life after our brief rendezvous. 2
Our pictures from our movie outing were there next day on page 3. The only difference from the previous time was I saw my name printed below it. People came to know 'the girl Varun Dhawan kissed' on award night has a proper face and name.
The first one to react to the news in my family was my youngest sister,Aditi. I woke up to her screeching voice inside my eardrum next morning.
"Shraddha is this really you?" she demanded pointing at our picture when it was very much obvious it was me unless there is clone of me somewhere who has same turquoise dress. I nodded at her rubbing my drowsy eyes.
"YOUR BOYFRIEND IS VARUN DHAWAN!!!!" she squealed excitedly waking up the whole society. 3
"I want to meet him! I want to meet him! Say you'll take me to meet him. Please. Please please" she jumped on my bed..and out of fear of my croaking bed's fragile life, I said yes.
Soon the news spread like wild fire. The landline phone in our house which was dying a slow death started ringing zealously. People started calling from everywhere.
"For God sake cut that wire off" Mom yelped through kitchen "She is only dating him not getting married to him. He must have thousands such girlfriends hidden everywhere" she said irritated. I was in the kitchen right there but I was used to getting addressed as third person in my presence.
I chopped the veggies on board without uttering a word.
She was furious with the fact why I didn't tell her first. She wasn't exactly bestest of my pal with whom I confided everything so what did she expect? Also never before she had bothered to find out about where I work or who do I work with, all she was ever interested in knowing was how much I earned.
"See Ariha. Learn some tips from her" she scowled at her eldest daughter.
Ariha, seated on dining table, was busy texting someone. She was in junior college and I had forgotten what her face looked like as whenever I saw her, her head was always burrowed low typing ferociously on her smart phone.
"Ariha!" Mom smacked her "I'll throw your mobile out one day" she growled at her own daughter for a change. 3
I secretly enjoyed watching her growing vexed knowing I'm the reason making her pull her hair in madness.
Sitting here in my room it makes me realise that I can laugh while I can but if they found out it was all sham then it will be their turn to laugh at me.
Varun Dhawan
I sit for the hundredth interview of the day.
Okay maybe it's only third but the repetitive questions they are throwing at me makes me want to scoot up and punch on their faces.
And the annoying part is they ask about everything accept the movie.
Although not all of them are as bad but there is this one journalist who irks me more than his contemporaries.
His questions are direct and often shameless.
"Was Sonam Kapoor indeed the reason for you kissing your girlfriend before media?" 1
"When did Shraddha enter your life? Before Sonam or after Sonam"
"Before Christ" I snap at him with straight face. But he laughs like I was sitting here cracking jokes for his sake.
"Shraddha Kapoor, as we've come to know, is a back dancer. Why would you want to date a commoner?" he asks and I close my fist inside my pocket. 2
"Why? Aren't they humans? See, when you fall in love at first sight you really don't have time to do background check, do you?" I ask rhetorically.
"But don't you think your timing to bring out your girlfriend was bang on right, just when on that day Sonam.."
"Do you have any questions related to the movie?" I interject "or else I'm off" I'm very close to exploding..and I don't want to get in anymore trouble by smashing a reporter's front teeth.
"This is your third movie after a dream debut. Do you think expectations are higher this time around?" he asks in bored voice.
"There is always pressure to consistently perform better than before..." I start modestly controlling my nerve churning out repetitive scorned off answers.
After the interview winds up, I have an appointment with Parimal.
Parimal is my Dad's manager who has also been managing my career side by side. And yes I have to take an appointment to meet her as she is more busy than me.
In the beginning of my career I was overtly confident, thinking I was smart enough to handle my own schedules. But as the work started flowing in I just couldn't figure things out anymore. I decided to take Parimal's help when I missed my flight for the fourth time in a row.
"Tomorrow at 10 you have an ad shoot in Mehboob studio" she reads from tab as soon as I enter her cabin not even bothering with pleasantries like 'hi' 'hello'
"At afternoon you'll be visiting R-city mall with Ileana, after that you are free till evening. You have couple of reality shows lined up but that will be shot once you are back from your trip. Your flight tomorrow is at 11.20PM. First, you'll be flying to Singapore, then Dubai, Kuwait and finally New York." she finishes and looks up from tab "Ileana will be joining you in Dubai" she informs. 4
"So you mean I'll be flying to Singapore alone?"
"No. Not alone. You'll be taking your pretty girlfriend with you everywhere" she smiles.
There is hint of 'I-know-what-you-did-last-summer' kind of underlying her smiling face. She has known me for too long so I knew I wasn't fooling her here. 7
"I had got a call this morning from Karan. He asked me to book..what's her name, Shraddha right? He asked me to book Shraddha's ticket as well" she says narrowing her eyes "I have never before seen a mentor so concerned about his protégé's relationship" she says cheekily.
"Not everyone is as professional as you want them to be" I say crossly grabbing the envelope containing my passport and plane tickets from desk.
"I would like to meet her" she yowls at my retreating back.
"No you don't" I retaliate as I head out of her cabin.
"Shraddha" I sigh once I'm inside the safe zone of my SUV. I take out my cellphone and scroll down on phonebook stopping on 'Donald duck'. 3
I swipe on the green side of screen.