02

Dating app.....

Hi cuties....

So this is the first chapter of a fake date..

Enjoy it and vote and comment ✨

Apke vote and comment se thora acha lagta hai post karte time .warna Aisa feel hota hai koi hai hi nhi read karne ko ....

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Happy reading 🎉🎉

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                        Anaya

The morning sun in Banaras was already stinging, but for me, the heat inside the college gates was worse. I parked my dusty scooty in the corner of the lot, adjusted my backpack, and took a deep breath.This is a rented scooty, I don't have enough money to buy my own.

“Just reach the class, Anaya. Don’t look left, don’t look right,” i muttered to myself.

But as luck—or my "bad kismat"—would have it, the "Fantastic Four" were already there. Four girls who lived for drama, standing near the main corridor like a welcoming committee from hell.

As soon as they spotted me, the leader, Kriti, smirked. "Arre, Anaya! Good morning. Waise, where is your boyfriend today? Or does he only exist in your stories?"

I felt my blood boil. 'Mera toh para high ho gaya tha by God',.

I hadn't slept well the night before, finishing a chapter for my blog, and my patience was paper-thin. I wanted to scream, but i knew if i started, they might actually end up crying from my words.

Taking a calm, fake-sweet breath, i looked Kriti in the eye.

"Busy hai vo," i replied with a shrug. "Tum logo ke boyfriends ki tarah bunk nahi maarta. He has a serious job, time nahi hota uske paas faltu ghoomne ka. (He’s busy. He doesn’t bunk classes like your boyfriends. He has a serious job; he doesn't have time to wander around aimlessly.)"

Before they could grill me further,i turned on my heel and marched toward her classroom, leaving them whispering behind her.

The lecture hall was noisy, but i slumped into my seat and buried my face in my arms on the desk. I was exhausted. A few minutes later, i felt a tap on her shoulder.

It was Noor, my only true friend and the only one who knew the "up-down" reality of my life.

"Tu kab tak jhoot bolegi, bhen? Sab se... aur apne aap se bhi?" Noor asked softly, sitting beside her. (How long will you keep lying, sister? To everyone... and to yourself?)

I slowly lifted my head, my eyes tired and slightly glassy. I looked at Noor with a pout that was half-frustration and half-defeat.

"Toh kya karun, Noor? Kahan se laau aisa banda? (Then what should I do, Noor? Where do I bring such a guy from?)" She let out a dramatic, fake sob, wiping away non-existent tears.

"I need someone who is actually busy, someone with a real job so I don't have to show him around every day. Par Banaras mein aise ladke ped pe thodi ugte hain! (But guys like that don't grow on trees in Banaras!)"

Noor sighed, shaking her head. "Tu pagal hai. One day, this lie is going to bite you."

I just stared at my notebook. "Let it bite. Right now, I just need a shield."

After 4 classes....

The humidity of the afternoon was setting in as i and Noor sat in the corner of the crowded college canteen. I was aggressively stirring my cold coffee,my mind still replay the morning’s encounter with the "Chudails" at the gate.

"Seriously, Noor," i sighed, leaning back. "My brain is fried. Roz wahi sawal, wahi taane. (Every day the same questions, the same taunts.) By god koi superpower hoti na in chudaiIon ko gayab kardeti ajj hi. I feel like I'm living a double life—one where I'm a cool writer online, and another where I'm the 'lonely loser' of this college."

Noor bit into her samosa and looked at me thoughtfully. "Toh solution nikal na, Anaya. (Then find a solution, Anaya.) Why don't you actually get a boyfriend? Problem solved."

I rolled her eyes so hard it hurt. "Nahi chahiye, yrr! (I don't want one!) You know my family drama. Already life 'up-down' hai. I don't have the energy for real dates, real fights, and real heartbreaks. I just need... a ghost. Someone who exists but doesn't show up."

Noor chuckled, leaning in closer. "Acha? So you want a high-profile, working man who is never around? Ek kaam kar... (Do one thing...) Download a dating app. Find someone who lives in a different timezone or travels for a living. Use his photos, tell everyone he's your guy, and boom! Problem solved."

I stared at her. "Are you crazy? Dating app pe toh sirf 'hookups' aur 'timepass' milta hai. (You only get hookups and timepass on dating apps.)"

"Arre, main mazaak kar rahi hoon, pagal! (Hey, I'm joking, you idiot!)" Noor laughed, packing her bag. "Chalo, library chalte hain. (Let's go to the library.) We have that assignment due."

The Banaras Hindu University (BHU) library was silent, smelling of old paper and dust. While Noor was busy buried in her textbooks, my  mind was stuck on Noor’s "joke."

A man who is never around... I pulled out her phone and hid it behind a thick history book. my fingers hovered over the Play Store.

"Ek try maarne mein kya jaata hai? (What's the harm in trying once?)" I whispered to myself.

I downloaded a popular dating app and started setting up a profile. I didn't use my real name or my  clear photos—i used a blurry aesthetic shot of me looking at the Ghats.

"Bio mein kya likhu? (What should I write in the bio?)" I typed: 'Looking for a professional who is too busy for real life. Need a casual boyfriend to keep the world quiet. No strings, no real dates. Just a digital shield.'

I  hit 'Save' and tossed my phone into my  bag, my  heart racing. "It’s just a joke, Anaya. No one is going to agree to this," i thought.

Author pov:

past 2:00 AM. The only light in the room was the blue glow from Anaya's laptop as she typed away at her latest chapter. Writing was her sanctuary—the only place where her "up-down" life felt like it made sense.

Suddenly, her phone, lying face down on the bed, began to buzz incessantly. Bzzzt. Bzzzt. Bzzzt.

"Arre yaar, ab kaun hai? (Hey, who is it now?)" she muttered, reaching for the device. When she unlocked the screen, her eyes nearly fell out of her head. The dating app she had downloaded as a joke in the library was exploding.

"167 requests in five hours?! Are people really this desperate or is my 'aesthetic' photo that good?"

She pushed her laptop aside and started scanning the profiles. It was a disaster zone.

Profile 1: "Looking for a soulmate/Long term." "Nahi baba, maaf karo. (No thanks, spare me.) Left swipe."

Profile 2: "Here for fun/Hookups." "Gross. (Ghatia.) Left swipe."

She scrolled and scrolled, rejecting 89 guys who either wanted a wedding mandap or a one-night stand. Just as she was about to delete the app in frustration, a profile popped up that made her finger pause.

The photo was of a man in a crisp white Navy uniform, standing against a backdrop of endless blue ocean. He wasn't smiling for the camera; he looked like he’d rather be anywhere else.

Anaya squinted at his bio. It was short, blunt, and almost robotic:

"Merchant Navy Officer. Always at sea. Different time zones. No Love. No Dating. No Meetings.  If you're looking for 'forever,' move on."

Anaya let out a small, tired laugh. "Finally! Ek aur mere jaisa namuna mil hi gaya. (Finally! Found another weirdo just like me.)"

She was just trying to zoom in on his ship in the background, but her thumb, slick with the humidity of Banaras, betrayed her. She swiped... RIGHT.

The screen transitioned into a giant, flashing "IT’S A MATCH!"

"AAAAAAA! NOOO! GODDD! WHYYY YAAR?!" Anaya yelled, accidentally dropping her phone on her face.

In the next bed, Noor bolted upright, her hair a mess and her eyes half-closed.

"Kya hua?! (What happened?!) Kyu chilla rahi hai, pagal? (Why are you screaming, you psycho?)"

Anaya scrambled to hide the phone under her pillow, her heart hammering against her ribs. "Kuch nahi! Vo... vo story ka character galat ho gaya! (Nothing! Just... a character in my story went wrong!)"

Noor groaned, grabbed her pillow, and whacked Anaya over the head with it.

"Character ki bachi! (You and your characters!) Sone de yaar, subah 8 baje class hai! (Let me sleep, I have an 8 AM class!)"

Anaya ducked under her blanket, staring at the glowing screen again. There it was. Ishaan. A man who didn't want love, matching with a girl who was terrified of it.

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Ajj ke liye itna hi milte hai next chapter mai .

Tab tak ke liye vote and comment .

And comment mai bta dena konsa part sabse acha laga ....

Bye bye Happy reading ✨....

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