Apulki Chapter 6 - Of Scooty Peps and Heartbeats
- Hansa
- Nov 4
- 4 min read
Recap Chapter 5: Isha and Yamini’s late-night mission to secretly dump a burnt pan takes an unexpected turn when the police return it to Isha the next day. While Yamini deals with the stubborn pan yet again, Isha opens Neerav’s medical report – and learns he may have cardiomyopathy.
Late-Night Worries
“Never heard of it," said Yamini. "Lemme check.”
Yamini’s thumbs flew across her phone screen. The blue light flickered on her face as she scrolled.“Ishu,” she said after a pause, “it’s a form of heart muscle disease… but in most cases, it can be cured.”
Isha stared at the report as if the letters might rearrange themselves into something less frightening. Yamini walked over, peered at the paper, then hugged her.
“Don’t worry, Ishu,” she said softly. “It can be cured. He’ll be fine.”
Isha's throat felt dry, as she nodded. If it could be cured, why did the word still sound so heavy?
She switched off the light, and lay down. Yamini slipped back to her own bed. For a time, the room was silent except for the fan’s steady whirr.
On her back, eyes open, she kept seeing the same words looping in her mind – cardiomyopathy. Her gaze drifted to the faint shadows on the ceiling. Her chest felt tight – part fear, part disbelief, part memory. And just like that, her mind wandered back to where it had all begun – to a day when the only thing about Neerav that worried her was his pink Scooty Pep.
Because once upon a time, Neerav had been nothing more than Scooty Pep guy.
Scooty Pep Days
It was while she and Yamini had been sitting by the cafe window, halfway through their cold coffees, when Isha spotted him. “Never seen a guy drive a pink Scooty Pep before,” she’d remarked, eyebrow raised.
Yamini leaned over. “Arre, he’s the same guy who attends the Tarla Dalal cookery classes. Right next to my dance studio.”
“Then he’s definitely gay,” Isha had said with the confidence of a crime detective announcing her verdict.
That should’ve been the end of the story – except fate clearly had other plans.
A few nights later, Yamini’s birthday party had turned their apartment into chaos: girls in pyjamas, popcorn everywhere, music blaring. The doorbell rang, and Isha went to answer it.
There he was – Scooty Pep guy – holding a cake box.
“Oh, Scooty Pep guy! Come in,” she’d said cheerfully. “Girls, Yammu’s birthday cake is here!”
The reaction was instant. Screams, giggles, frantic dives behind cushions.
“Girls, chill,” Isha announced. “He’s gay.”
The silence that followed could have powered an entire solar panel. Neerav glared at her. Every girl in the room turned to look at him with new interest. One even walked right up, gave him a slow once-over and sighed, “So good-looking… what a waste.”
The cake hit the table with a thud, and Neerav stormed out.
The next morning, Isha was cleaning up confetti and crushed chips when the bell rang. She opened the door – and nearly dropped the dustpan.
“You? Don’t remember ordering anything today.”
Neerav brushed past her without a word.
“Excuse me! I didn’t give you permission to...”
“We need to talk,” he said.
“We?”
He turned, eyes blazing. “First of all, I’m not a delivery guy. I’m an apprentice at the bakery. Second, there’s nothing wrong with being gay. Third, driving a Scooty Pep doesn’t make a guy gay – just like riding a Kawasaki Ninja doesn’t make you a lesbian.”
“Mind your language, you...”
Before she could finish, he cupped her face in his hands and kissed her. Isha was so taken aback, that for a moment she forgot to be angry.
“Does that prove I’m not gay?” he said lightly, glancing toward her bedroom. “Or do you need more proof?”
“How dare you!” she spluttered, grabbing the nearest weapon – a small chain saw from her workbench. “Get out now, or I’ll...”
Neerav’s grin was infuriating. He sauntered out, humming, as if he’d just pulled off a grand victory.
Days later, she’d been backing out her bike when it collided squarely with another. “I’m so, so sorry,” she’d begun – then stopped short. Neerav again.
“No, I’m sorry,” he said. “I was way out of line.”
“Well,” she replied, “I shouldn’t have assumed things either. For that – and for this – sorry.”
“Shall we call it quits?”
“Good idea.”
He nodded towards the cafe. “Coffee?”
“No. Pastry.”
Their eyes met; a smile broke out. Truce sealed with sugar.
The Time of Your Life
And then they’d gone out to dinner. At the restaurant door, he’d stepped ahead and held it open.“After you, ma’am.”
Isha laughed. “My my, such chivalry.”
Inside, he’d even pulled out her chair before sliding a tiny box across the table. Inside lay a delicate silver chain with a bike pendant.
“I… I’ve never been treated like a girl before,” she whispered, half-embarrassed, half-amused.
Neerav smiled. “Stay with me, and you’ll have the time of your life.”
The memory faded, leaving Isha staring again at the darkness of her ceiling. The same line echoed in her head, but this time it sounded fragile, uncertain. Stay with me, and you’ll have the time of your life. Followed by cardiomyopathy. She wished she could laugh it off the way she once laughed at his Scooty Pep. But the night stayed quiet, and her mind didn’t.
She turned to her side and closed her eyes.
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Classy neerav!
'Want more proof?' Lmaoo
That going inside and then straight kissing her was so badass move .omg.
I was like 'wtf' when isha said 'he is gay' but yes afterwards it was good turnaround and cute moments to make compensate it.
I really liked this chapter :)
Posted 7 hours ago? That's strange cause I checked for new update an hour ago and I couldn't see the chapter
So the start of Neerav and Isha's relationship was kind of problematic....but this was a heavy chapter I hope the next chapters would be more light hearted.
What happened to Sunil Waghmare subplot? Also it's been long since we saw Akash....Will we ever get to see the much talked about "Dragonosaurus" in the upcoming chapters? I want to know the origins of this nickname 🤣
Oh my.. pink scooty and all misunderstanding.
Confusion to comfort.. interesting flashback but what's with neerav heart now
And ya I just randomly opened the site to see update 😉😂😂