Chapter 7

Part 10

Kripa groaned as Harshini continued to drag her around the costume store, piling costumes in her arms as she went.

"OoOh Kripa! This would look great on you!" Harshini squealed excitedly, holding up a very frilly princess costume. Kripa eyed it skeptically.

"I don't do frills, Harshini," she replied simply. Harshini frowned and shook her head in disapproval.

"Well, now you do!" she exclaimed, placing the costume in her arms. Kripa must have been holding at least 10 costumes.

"What am I supposed to do with all of these?" Kripa exclaimed exasperatedly. Harshini looked at her with surprise.

"Why, try them on, of course!"

"Aren't you going to get a costume too?" Kripa pleaded. She needed a break from this girl. She was bloody insane.

"Of course I'm getting a costume! I'm just helping you pick out yours first."

"I'll make a deal with you Harshini… you give me fifteen minutes to look around the store for a costume. If I don't find the perfect one, then I will let you help," Kripa told her. Harshini beamed and readily agreed. Kripa placed the stack of costumes in Harshini's arms and went off in search of the perfect costume.

'Hmm… cute, but not me,' Kripa thought as she eyed an angel costume. Her eyes widened as they rested on the costume behind it, though. 'It's perfect!' Kripa thought, taking it off the hanger. She had some nifty ideas that would definitely work with this. Attached to the costume was a matching mask, making the ensemble complete. Kripa smiled and headed towards Harshini. 'Yes! No frills!' she thought as she walked towards the girl who took one look at Kripa's costume and smiled brightly. Yup, this was the one.

The two girls walked out of the store an hour later, Harshini talked animatedly while Kripa pretended to listen. She would put in the occasional 'uh huh' and 'oh, really? Cool'. Other than that, Harshini wouldn't let her get a word in edgewise.

'How does Prithvi put up with her? She's so… girly,' Kripa thought to herself. She spotted the boys coming out of a store and quickly ran towards them. She latched on to Angad just as Harshini was beginning to speak again. Angad smiled at Harshini and she blushed again. Kripa rolled her eyes. She pulled him down so she could whisper in his ear.

"Can we go now? She's driving me crazy!" she whispered urgently. Angad chuckled.

"I had to suffer Prithvi, you have to suffer Harshini. At least for a few more minutes." Kripa glared at him.

"I hate you."

"I know, honey, I love you too," he replied, grinning at her. Kripa couldn't help but smile back. His grin was contagious.

'His grin is contagious? What's wrong with me? When did his smile start affecting me like this?' It was true that Angad had a great smile. It just wasn't seen often. He was always smirking around her. Angad slipped his hand into hers, lacing their fingers and gently squeezing her hand. Kripa smiled to herself. 'Maybe he's not so bad after all.'

"So what have you two been up to all day?" Angad asked Harshini and Kripa. Harshini grinned and Kripa hid a grimace.

"Shopping for costumes, of course! The Halloween Social is in a week! We got the masks and everything today," Harshini announced. Kripa rolled her eyes again. Harshini didn't see her, though, which was good.

"Oh yes. It was… fun," Kripa added. Angad smirked in amusement.

"I bet it was." Kripa glared at him again.

"What did you and Prithvi do all day?" she asked them. Angad scowled. Prithvi crinkled his nose in disgust.

"It was horrible! How could you two just leave us! All day, too! Not that I don't forgive you, but please, don't do it again!" Prithvi complained. Kripa shrugged, but she noticed Harshini smile evilly. She couldn't help but think she had something to do with this.

"I'm sorry, guys. You forgive me, right Angad?" Kripa asked. Angad looked at her with amusement.

"I might take some convincing," he said suggestively, a cheeky grin on his face. Kripa smacked him on the arm playfully.

"What must I do to earn your forgiveness, oh wonderful boyfriend of mine?" Kripa asked him. Angad smirked.

"A kiss," he replied smoothly. Kripa snorted. Prithvi stared at her, wide-eyed.

"Kripa! You can't kiss him!" he protested. Kripa raised an eyebrow at Prithvi.

"Why not?" she asked him. Prithvi looked rather flustered, trying to think of an excuse.

"Because… because… he's… Angad!"

"So what? He's my boyfriend, Prithvi," Kripa snarled. On the inside, she was jumping for joy… at least she should have been.

'Why am I not ecstatic that Prithvi is so jealous? A month ago I would have been so excited… what happened?' Kripa wondered. She knew what happened, though. Angad happened.

"Prithvi? What's wrong with you?" Harshini asked. Kripa noticed her features had darkened in anger. "Come, let's leave these two. We need to talk some," Harshini snapped, grabbing Prithvi's arm and dragging him off towards the school. Kripa could tell they were having a heated discussion.

"So how 'bout that kiss?" Angad teased. Kripa laughed.

"You weren't actually serious, were you? Prithvi and Harshini are gone… you can quit acting," Kripa told him. Angad shrugged.

"Who said I was acting?" he asked. Kripa stopped and looked up into Angad's eyes. She quickly looked away, the emotions in them were confusing her.

"Angad…"

"No, don't say anything," he whispered, before pulling her to him and placing his lips on hers. Kripa gave into the kiss, enjoying the feeling. The kiss started out as a soft peck, but then it turned more intense. After a few minutes of intense kissing, she abruptly pulled away. She shook her head, backing away from him.

"No… I can't… I'm sorry," she said quietly before bolting off to the school leaving Angad standing alone on the path.

'Why does she always run?' he thought sadly. He shook his head quickly. No, he couldn't think about her like that. It would never work out. He tried ignoring the voices in his head, but one point rang out clear: What are you so afraid of? It was the only question that he couldn't come up with an answer to.

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One Week Later (The Day of the Social)

"Kripa! Wake up! We've got tons to do today!"

Kripa groaned and rolled over. It was too early. She blinked and glanced at her alarm. 8:00 am. It was a Saturday, and she intended to sleep until at least 1.

"Kripa!" the voice whined again. Kripa sighed and sat up, glaring at her friend.

"Alliyah! It is 8 o' clock in the morning! What in the world could you possibly want?" Kripa demanded.

"Don't you know what today is?"

"Yes… it's Saturday… the day that normal, sane people like to sleep in!" Kripa snapped. Alliyah rolled her eyes at her friend's words.

"Oh, just get up already! I know you're not the happiest person in the morning, but we've got work to do!" Alliyah exclaimed, throwing the covers off of her friend.

"ALLIYAH!" Kripa yelled, recoiling from the cold air hitting her body. She sighed deeply, knowing there was no use fighting Alliyah.

"Fine… just tell me why we're getting up so early," Kripa muttered. Alliyah smiled.

"Because we're getting ready for the social, silly!" Kripa's eyes widened.

"That's not until 7!"

"I know… hardly seems fair. We definitely don't have enough time to get completely ready… don't worry, though. If we start now, I'm sure we'll be done in time for the social," Alliyah assured her. Kripa snorted.

"Now, go take a shower! Be quick about it! Like I said… we've got work to do!"

"Okay, okay, I'm going!" Kripa yelled, grabbing a pair of sweatpants and a T-shirt to change into after her shower. If Alliyah was going to make her do girly stuff all day she was going to be comfortable.

Twenty minutes later, Kripa emerged from the bathroom clean and smelling like vanilla. Alliyah grabbed her arms and sat her in a chair, beginning her work. Kripa just sat and let her do her thing. This was what Alliyah was good at, after all.

By the time 6:30 rolled around, Kripa had been plucked, primped, made-up, and hair done. It was rather exhausting, but she was excited about the social. (A/N: Next is a costume description, if you're not interested in reading this skip two paragraphs).

Alliyah's costume was a deep purple medieval dress, with gold trimmings on the sleeves and v-neck. It was a princess style dress, and very classy. Her long brown hair was tied up in an elegant bun with pieces framing her face. Her mask was purple and had golden stars all over it. She wore diamond earring with a matching diamond pendant. Dainty golden shoes adorned her feet. Kripa thought she looked very regal.

Kripa's costume was an earth fairy. Her dress was green and ended just above her knees, the ending jagged (think the end of Tinkerbelle's dress). Fairy wings protruded from her back. The wings glinted silver in the light. She had on green slippers and her hair was long and curly. She wore a green mask (the same color as her dress) that had silver stars all over it. Her earrings were silver chains with stars at the end and she wore a matching star necklace. She had glitter in her hair that shone whenever she moved.

"Ready to go?" Alliyah asked her from the door. Kripa nodded and put her mask on.

"Ready," she replied. The two girls exited Kripa's dorm and starting walking down the stairs into the main Room. Kripa immediately spotted Josh. After all, he was hard to miss.

Kripa and Alliyah approached Josh and Prithvi, who were in a discussion.

"Where do you think Kripa is?" she heard Josh ask. Prithvi shrugged.

"I don't know. Her and Alliyah have been up in her room all day… you would wonder what could possibly take all day," Prithvi replied. Kripa stepped in between the two and they eyed her curiously.

"Um… do we know you?" Josh asked uncertainly. Kripa smiled at him.

"I would hope so. I'm your date." Josh's eyes widened.

"Kripa? You look… wonderful," Josh told her, not taking his astonished eyes off her. Kripa blushed.

"Thanks, Josh. You don't think it's too much? What with the wings and everything?" she asked, suddenly feeling unsure of herself. Josh shook his head vigorously.

"No! No! I love the wings!" he exclaimed. He held out his arm to her and Kripa took it. The two headed out of the room, leaving a shocked Prithvi behind them.

Angad entered the Hall about an hour after the social had started, his gray eyes unconsciously searching for Kripa.

'What am I doing? She's not even my date!' he scolded himself. He headed for the refreshment table, noticing a girl standing there. When he got close enough, he found that the scent of vanilla had filled his senses, and he couldn't help but think it was familiar. The girl had long curly brown hair and seemed to be wearing a fairy costume. He poured himself a glass of punch and smiled at her. She looked up at him and smiled back.

"What's a pretty thing like you doing all by yourself?" Angad asked, leaning on the table slightly. The girl shrugged and sighed.

"My date decided he wanted to pursue other interests," she told him, an icy tone in her voice. Angad frowned. Who would want to ditch someone like her?

"Well… would you dance with me, then?" he asked her. She looked up at him, surprised, before agreeing. The two reached the floor just as a slow song started up, and she uneasily put herself in his embrace.

'What am I doing? I don't even know this guy! Yet, he seems familiar…,' she thought. Kripa (A/N: if you haven't figured it out Angad and Kripa are dancing ha ha) stared up at her dancing partner, observing his costume. He was dressed as 'Red Death' from the Phantom of the Opera. Kripa recognized this because it was one of her favorite musicals.

'He must know a lot about the American culture. Maybe he's born in the U.S?' she thought to herself silently. Not many of her Indian friends knew about The Phantom of the Opera. The two soon engaged in a discussion, finding that they had a lot in common. Kripa was surprised about how easy this guy was to talk to. She had never felt this way when talking to Josh or Prithvi. She always had to choose her words carefully whenever she was talking to them.

The two danced the entire night, and no one even seemed to notice the couple. Except one pair of angry eyes that had been watching the pair ever since their first dance together. Midnight came before they expected it, and the unmasking was about to begin. Kripa was about to remove her mask, but Angad stopped her.

"Wait," he murmured before kissing her. Kripa lost herself in the feeling, that nagging sense of familiarity becoming clearer. She pulled away and realized who he was before he had a chance to pull his mask off. Her eyes widened and she stepped away from him, tears springing into her eyes.

"I… I have to go!" she exclaimed, rushing out of the Hall. Angad stared after her, confused. Shaking his head, he regained his senses and bolted after her. She wasn't too far ahead, and he knew he could catch up with her.

"Wait a second! Hold on!" he yelled. Kripa ignored him and kept running. She didn't think he would actually catch up to her… until he had grabbed her from behind and lifted her clear off the ground.

"No! Stop! Put me down now!" she demanded. Angad shook his head. He walked into an empty classroom shutting the door behind him.

"What was that about? You didn't even stay for the unmasking!" he exclaimed. Tears were flowing down Kripa's cheeks over the velvet of the mask. Angad reached to remove it, but Kripa turned away violently.

"No! Don't. If you do, you'll only be disappointed," she spat bitterly. Angad was confused. What was with this girl? He grabbed her chin and forced her to look at him. Chocolate brown eyes, brown hair, intelligent. Suddenly, it hit him. How could he have been so stupid?

"Kripa?" he asked softly. Kripa reached up tentatively and took off her mask. Her makeup had run from her tears and she refused to look at him.

"I told you," she whispered.

"Why did you run?" he asked. Kripa looked at him sadly.

"Because… because… it wasn't supposed to," she sighed, stopping. Angad caught her drift.

"It wasn't supposed to be me," he replied. Kripa nodded.

"Don't you know how it feels? To finally find someone just to have your heart ripped out because it will never happen. It'll never happen because they hate you, and you can't change that. It can't happen because they won't accept it… because my heart can't take it anymore! Do you know how much this hurts? Do you have any idea?" Kripa sobbed, sinking to the floor. Angad eyed her sadly.

"I know," he whispered, but not loud enough for Kripa to hear. "Maybe we should just end this now… before we get in too deep," he said, a bit louder this time so Kripa could hear him. Kripa looked at him, her eyes shining with the tears that she had yet to cry. Her tear stained face was contorted in pain and she cast her eyes downward.

"I suppose."

"That's it then, I guess," Angad said, sighing. Kripa nodded. "See you around, Kripa."

She didn't reply. He walked out of the classroom, only looking back once. Kripa was staring at the wall, no longer crying, but not doing anything. He turned away and headed back to his dorm room, thought and images of her plaguing him.

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A Note:

Okay, that's one of the more serious chapters. Hope you liked it. I'm sad to say that my story is coming to a close. There probably only one or two chapters left. And don't worry I have an idea for another story already! Anyway, please comment. I would appreciate it!

-Natasha