The next few days were a blur for Aziza. She was still haunted by the mystery of the midnight calls and the song that kept playing on a loop in her head. Tujhse Naaraaz Nahi Zindagi—the song that had become her unintentional lullaby. On the other hand, every time she crossed paths with Ayaan, her heart did this ridiculous thing where it started doing the bhangra inside her chest. But she brushed it off. 

While, Ayaan was very concerned for Aziza, her muffled sobs last night, her weak voice... just left him thinking of how he could help her. "should I call her again?" he muttered to himself, pacing. "What if she thinks I'm a creepy stalker now? Wait, but I'm not creepy... I just... have good taste in music."

Ayaan stopped mid-step, scratching his head. "Yeah, that sounds convincing. 'Good taste in music' , sabse acha excuse for calling someone at 1 AM. Genius." 

 "Okay, fine. Maybe I am a little creepy. But she doesn't know it's me... so it's okay, right?"

At exactly 1 am he called her, it was like his fingers worked faster than his mind and the call rang- same routine, no voice just music.

but surprisingly Aziza was in a different mood this time, she pick up the call and started shouting in an angry tone. " kya hai? ab konsa OTP chhiye are! subh se dimag khrab kr diya hai ab raat ke 1 bje bhi? nhi tumko kya lagta h mujhe apne bank me se sare aise nikal kr random scammers ko dene ka shauk h."

"NHI! aaj tum  chup rahoge and hum bolege, OTP OTP OTP nhi h yar OTP paisa hi nhi h bank me kya kroege mere OTP ka!!" Ayaan silently smiled because well- he had not uttered a single word since the call had started.

Just before Aziza could cut the call, the beautiful melody of 'pehla nasha' spilled through her phone.

"ohh... ye toh kal raat waala caller h"

Chaahe tum kuchh na kaho maine sun liya

Ki saathi pyaar ka mujhe chun liya

Chun liya... maine Sun liya haa!

Pehla nasha, pehla khumar

Naya pyaar hai naya intezar

Kar loon main kya apna haal

Aye dil-e-bekaraar

Mere dil-e-bekaraar

Tu hi bata... mm..

Pehla nasha, pehla khumaar...

But, today she just leaned back and let the music sink in...

***

The next morning, Aziza stormed into class, her eyes wild with sleep deprivation. She slammed her bag on the desk and grabbed Naina's arm.

"Naina... main ek bhoot ke pyaar mein pad rahi hoon."

Naina choked on her water. "Kya?! Bhoot? Behen, tu theek toh hai?"

Aziza dramatically plopped into her seat. "Woh same unknown caller phir raat ko aaya... aur pehla nasha bajaya! Matlab, ek taraf scammer hone ka pura chance hai, doosri taraf dil ka matter bhi lag raha hai!"

Naina blinked. "Haan toh tu kya kar rahi thi? Block kyun nahi kiya?"

"Main block karti usse pehle... usne gaana chalu kar diya..." Aziza sighed, lost in thought. "Aur kya hi kar sakti thi... sone ke liye gaana sun liya."

Naina facepalmed. "Behen! Kahi tu scammer ke pyaar mein toh nahi pad rahi?"

Aziza sat up. "Agar scammer hota toh OTP mangta na! Yeh toh bas... sirf gaana sunata hai."

"Toh shaayad woh ek bhoot hai jo apni pichli zindagi ke gaane sun raha hai?" Naina whispered dramatically.

Aziza gasped. "Ya phir ek aashiq jo sirf music ke zariye pyaar jata sakta hai!"

Meanwhile, across campus, Ayaan was once again debating his life choices. "Aaj kya bajana chahiye... 'Tum se hi' ya phir 'Channa Mereya'? Kahi zyada sad vibe na de doon..."

"Aur bhai kis bare me sochra hai", Rohan asked patting Ayaan's back.

"kuch nhi kuch nhi"

"bhai tu ajakal sus hogya h pyar vyar me toh nhi padh gya? cheat toh nhi kr rha merepe"

"bhakk yr"

"ROHAAANNN... aaj Naina sleep over kri h papa ko bta dena pleawsee tu unka favourite haina.." Aziza asked her brother clinging to his arm

"hat! tujhe es cockroach ke saath kyu soona h bhai akele need nhi aati kya"

"raat me soyega kon" Naina said with a smirk

"KYAAA?? meri bhen h voh chudialll"

"che che gande dimag wale tum ho, mera matlab hum log baattien krege maze krege"

"haan chal chal hat"

"haan toh tu aajayo shaam ko 6 bje"

"okieeee"

"maine haan kab bola?

"tere haan bolne ka wait kon hi kra tha vese bhi"

***

"AAGYAIII NAINAA!!! AB TOH MAZE KAREGEGE"

"HAAAN AAHHAHHAHA!!" both the girls jumped and scremed seeing eachother while Rohan just gave them looks.

"ghur kisse rha h be!" Naina shot back

"ladai shuru mat kro, chal Naina mere kamre me"

"Kya khayegi pehle ye bata??" Aziza asked offering her juice 

"Uh.. um juice to nhi peeti mai aur abhi bhook nahi hai mujhe baad me dekhlenge" Naina replied  hesitantly tough her eyes lingered on the juice like she really wanted to have it.

Naina slammed her hand on the table. "Sun, ye jo tera mystery caller hai na... isko pakadne ke liye humein bhi thoda dimaag lagana padega!"

Aziza raised an eyebrow. "Matlab?"

Naina leaned in. "Hum iska secret test lenge!"

Aziza blinked. "Test? Kaisa test?"

Naina smirked. "Aaj raat, jaise hi call aaye, tu apni awaaz badal ke 'Daya' ban jana aur kehna, 'Abe tu phone pe rah, humne tera location trace kar liya hai, bas ek minute mein tujhe pakad lenge!' Dekhte hain reaction kya aata hai!"

Aziza burst out laughing. "Aur agar usne sach mein dar ke phone kaat diya toh?"

Naina grinned. "Toh samajh ja, ya toh scammer hai... ya tera ek secret aashiq jo sirf chhup-chhup ke pyaar jatata hai."

 The 'Mission Caller Pakdo' Begins

Aziza stared at her phone, waiting. "Agar aaj bhi wahi unknown number se call aaya, toh test shuru!"

Right on time—1:00 AM—her phone screen lit up.

📞 Unknown Number Calling...

Aziza took a deep breath, pressed 'accept,' and, in her most dramatic cop voice, growled, "ABE TU WAHIN RAH! HUM CID SE BOL RAHE HAIN! TERA LOCATION TRACE HO GAYA HAI! EK MINUTE MEIN TUHARE DARWAZE PE HONGE!"

Silence.

Phir... click!

Phone kaat diya gaya.

Aziza and Naina screamed. "SCAMMER DAR GAYA! BACHAAO!!"

Meanwhile, Ayaan's Room – The Poor 'Criminal' Freaking Out

Ayaan stared at his phone, horror-struck.

"CID? Location trace ho gaya?! Abbe yaar, maine sirf 'Pehla Nasha' bajaya tha, koi hacking nahi ki thi!!"

He panicked, jumping up from his bed. "Mujhe phone fake dena chahiye... ya sim todna chahiye?! Kya CID waale mere peeche aa rahe hain?!"

He started pacing. "Ya fir main khud jaake surrender kar loon aur bolun, 'Sir, main bas ek brokenhearted banda hoon jo sirf music bajata hai!'"

Ayaan dramatically flopped onto his bed. "Ye pyaar kitna risky hai, yaar!"

Aziza's phone buzzed.

📩 New Message from Unknown Number:

"CID se ho? Toh bolo Pehla Nasha ke composer kaun tha?"

Aziza and Naina screamed again. "BHAAGOOOOO!!"

Naina grabbed Aziza's arm. "Behen... yeh toh asli bhoot lag raha hai! Yeh humein CID ki jagah Bollywood quiz de raha hai?!"

Aziza squinted at the message. "Composer kaun tha... uh... Koi toh RD Burman ya Jatin-Lalit hoga?"

Naina facepalmed. "Nahi re, Pehla Nasha Jatin-Lalit ka tha! Padhai likhai kab kaam aayegi, hamesha confusion hi rahega!"

"Haan yahi padhti haina tu college me"

Aziza, now fully invested in the drama, took a deep breath and replied:

📩 Aziza: Pehla Nasha – Jatin-Lalit. CID ke naye officer hone ke naate, humein sab pata hai!

2 seconds later...

📩 Unknown Number: Hatt, Wikipedia pe search kiya na?

Aziza screamed. "BHAII YEH JASOOS HAI! YA TOH MERE ROOM MEIN CHHIPA HAI YA PHIR YEH MERI ROOH TAK DEKH SAKTA HAI!"

Mission 'Bachpan Ka Pyaar' Continues:

Ayaan, lying on his bed, burst out laughing. "Pagal hai yeh ladki!"

📩 Unknown Number: Accha batao... SRK ki sabse iconic background music theme kaunsi hai?

Aziza and Naina looked at each other in shock.

Naina: "Bhai, yeh toh asli filmy aadmi nikla!"

Aziza: "Behen, mujhe laga OTP maangega, yeh toh srk ka puchra h!"

Naina scratched her head. "Matlab 'Kuch Kuch Hota Hai' wala theme? Ya phir 'K3G' ka sad wala violin?"

Aziza smirked. "Arey nahi! DDLJ wala tune!"

She quickly typed back.

📩 Aziza: DDLJ violin tune! Ab tu bata, asli naam kya hai tera?

Silence.

Aur phir... 1:30 AM sharp!

 Aziza's phone rang...

the same unknown number.

.A sudden melody poured into the night.

🎶 "Ho gaya hai tujhse pyaar sajna... laakh karle tu inkaar sajna..." 🎶

Aziza's phone speaker filled with the soulful voice of Lata Mangeshkar.

Naina's jaw dropped. "BEHEN. YEH. PUBLIC. PROPOSAL. LAG RAHA HAI."

Aziza, frozen, whispered, "Mujhe lagta hai... yeh banda filmy nahi, full 'Mujhse Dosti Karoge' mode pe hai."

Naina dramatically held her chest. "Pehla Nasha se shuru hua tha... aur ab 'Ho Gaya Hai Tujhse Pyaar' pe aa gaya? Agle hafte dulha-dulhan wala gana na bajne lage!"

Meanwhile, at Ayaan's room, he was pacing. "Ye gana chalu karna sahi decision tha ya zyada over ho gaya? Kahin yeh mujhpar FIR na likhva de?!"

Back in Aziza's room, she slowly lay back, letting the music play.

Aziza (murmuring): "Yeh scam hai ya saccha pyaar?"

Naina (serious tone): "Agar agla gaana 'Jab Koi Baat Bigad Jaye' hua na... toh mujhe shaadi ka card abhi de dena."

Both of them screamed into a pillow.

"wait eska number save karleti hu"

"kis naam se kregi?"

"tere dil ka srk?"

"HAT!"

" Radio Majnu FM 1 am", she typed and saved his number