Chapter 9

Chapter 8

            

             Angad and Kripa enter the hall and quickly move towards Kavya, Anjali, Neev and Prachi, who are eagerly waiting upon their arrival. They all sit down and to discuss in full detail about what happened on the third, fourth, and fifth floor. Neev starts the conversation, "Well first off Prachi needs some self control, She kept holding my hand so tightly I thought it would break off! (Prachi gets red in the face and whines along with playfully slapping him and Neev laughs)…so anyways me and Prachi go to some door and knock really hard, then we ran to hide, then this big hippo man A.K.A. Prachi's boyfriend (Prachi whines, "Neev!!") comes out yelling 'whose there' and he keeps turning his head back and forth like a bobble head doll like we would magically appear. And Prachi's boyfriend is only wearing a towel…and while running it FELL OFF" Everyone laughs and Neev gasps for air while continuing, "HAHA and the best part was he was wear…wearing pink boxers wi… HAHA with clouds and shhh …HAHA sheep HAHAHA!" Everyone starts imagining this guy and laugh hysterically, while Prachi shivers in disgust.

When they settle down, Kavya talks about his floor, "Ok ok my turn, So Anju and me are walking down the hall and then we hear people shouting so…" Anjali continues, "So Kavya being his nosy self presses his ear against the door and the guy was apologizing for being FORTY YEARS OLD and LIVING with his MOTHER and they SHARE the SAME BED!" Kavya butts in and says, "AND the guy was really eager to continue doing what they were doing but the woman says eww you have DIARRHEA  and have been PASSING GAS the WHOLE DAY so get away from me" Everyone laughs so hard and Neev especially, so much in fact that he falls backward and off his chair and then acts like nothing happened. By now they have attracted lots of unwanted attention and people are staring at them like they are crazy.

Kavya notices that Angad and Kripa seem sort of spaced out and asks them to tell what happened on their floor. Angad comes back to earth and says, "Oh, well we went up to some door and knocked really hard. Then before we could go dash out, we heard the elevator sound and some guy was coming our way and we were stuck." Kripa pipes in, "Well then I saved the day, cuz this idiot is totally blind and we hid in the janitor's closet.  The guy was saying something about getting complaints about people knocking on their doors to some guest. It was the guest whose room we knocked on and then the guy was leaving but the guest picked up his wallet and there was a picture of a GUY. You could tell by the way the guy sounded that he was lying, he was like 'uhhh that's my brother….' guest is like, 'riteee and said dude its cool if that's the way you roll' and the guy was like screaming on top of his lungs 'HE'S MY BROTHER!!!'" They end up laughing so hard they catch the attention of the whole room at one point. Talk about awkward. In any case they aren't ones to dwell on that fact that they are loud. Now Angad and Kripa have only one thing on their minds, which was their proximity in the closet. Only they know how close they were to kissing AGAIN, and they decide to exclude that part from their little story and keep that piece of info strictly between themselves.

So after discussing their own run ins, everyone is told to go on the dance floor. Now the older couples dash to the floor, whereas the youngsters feel sort of out of place. Its not like it is a club or anything, it is basically ballroom dancing, which is awkward in itself. Naina, Dilip, Gayatri and Surya come back to the table and pull Neev and Prachi, Kavya and Anjali, and finally Angad and Kripa to the dance floor. Well it is more shoving then anything else, these kids are so reluctant, but of course then finally give up. Now these pairings seems to have upset all the other young guys and girls present, because basically everyone has their eyes on at least one of the Khanna or Sharma kids. To their dismay they are all taken.

 

**********

Neev and Prachi and enter the dance area and Neev this time put his hand out signaling Prachi for a dance and said, "May I be so unlucky as to have this dance with you, Prachi?" She shyly replies, "Of course….WAIT WHAT? Kya kaha tumne?" Neev smiles at her innocence. Neev thinks that Prachi is just so adorable sometimes. Prachi questions, "So how come your dancing with me this time?" Neev grins, "Pity" Prachi says, "Acha… ok fine I'm leaving!" and she turns to leave, letting go of his hand. She barely walks two steps before Neev pulls her back and holds his ears. Prachi smacks his arm groaning, "Neev!! God your just so impossible I swear!" Neev grins, "yea… I know". Neev is dancing with Prachi, but old habits die hard rite, meaning he keeps checking out the girls dancing in a group towards the far end. He is basically gawking at them. Prachi is actually trying to make conversation, but than notices that Neev isn't responding. She starts yelling his name, but alas NOTHING! Prachi finally gets frustrated and follows his stare, which leads her to the group of girls.

Prachi suddenly feels this pain in her heart; she becomes all choked up inside and has formed a lump in her throat. This is the last straw for her and she just hates feeling rejected by Neev. Recently she started feeling like he barely pays attention to her anymore. It is as if he didn't even realize she is a woman and a beautiful one at that.  She always felt this attraction towards him because he was someone she felt safe with. She knows he would always come through even if no one else would. She has always known she is different from the girls he dated, not just in outward appearance but also internally, but she knew for the better. He is her best friend so she knows everything about him as a best friend should and this is what the other girls have always lacked. The other girls just want him for his good looks and popularity, but for Prachi he has become more than her best friend. It is apparent to Prachi that Neev doesn't feel the same way, because if he does he would know how much it hurts when he talks about other girls. She just can't take it anymore.

Prachi turns back to Neev and gave him an angry glare mixed with hurt and heartache. Tears have welled up her eye and will start flowing any second.  She immediately walks and shook off his arm and walked off out the door, leaving a very confused and shocked Neev behind.

                                                                                  

**********

Kavya and Anjali make their way to the dance floor quite reluctantly. Anjali isn't exactly thrilled with the idea of dancing with Kavya, but somehow it always seemed to work out that way. Kavya on the other hand is actually ecstatic about dancing with Anjali because that meant she would be really annoyed. It is rather enjoyable for Kavya to watch Anjali squirm in his grip. Kavya decides to see how far he could go before she really explode. Kavya grabs Anjali really close and twirls her so that she has her back towards him. He draws closer and blows his breath past her ear, giving her a tickling sensation. Kavya knows exactly what effect he has on Anjali yet he feels the need to ask, "Something wrong?" and Anjali replies with her eyes closed while stuttering, "huh… oh nothing, uhh umm y…y do you ask?" Kavya grins, "Oh no reason." Anjali hated Kavya's cocky behavior. It just makes her so mad sometimes. He has his hand on her hip and on her stomach, gently caressing it. This gave Anjali shivers all over and another reason to complain. She always knew he is good at charming girls to fall for him and she doesn't want to be another one of them. He turns her again, making her body collide with his, now holding her close. Anjali is avoiding looking at Kavya's eyes because she is afraid of what she might see in them.

Anjali is trembling at his touch, he is the only guy who ever had that effect on her, but this is something that she didn't want to admit to. There is a fact that even Kavya isn't aware of, that she actually enjoys him giving her attention and annoying her to no end. Anjali blushes as he whispers, caresses, and compliments her. They thoroughly enjoy themselves, but of course Anjali would never tell anyone because to the world she hates Kavya Sharma and she would make sure she keeps up with the pretenses.

                                                                                  

**********

Angad and Kripa dance a little uncomfortably. The image of the janitor's closet flashes before their eyes. When they were so close, it felt so right and the way they looked into each other's eyes left a mark on their souls. They hate being so awkward with each other because they aren't used to being so formal and quiet. Angad and Kripa look into each other's eyes and suddenly don't feel that the silence is so horrible. They actually feel at peace. Angad looks around and notices all the girls checking him out and gloats, "You know you should count yourself lucky your dancing with the hot and sexy Angad Khanna! So enjoy sweety" Kripa laugh, "Ha-Ha, are you kidding? You're the one that's lucky, do you not see all these guys checking me out? So babe you're the lucky one! And if you don't think so you can find yourself another dancing partner" and Kripa is about to walk off, but he only holds her tighter. Angad is rather annoyed with Kripa's confidence, but this is why they were friends. No other girl would ever say half the things Kripa would say to him, that's what made her unique, that's what made them…well them.  Angad is actually really glad their uneasiness seemed to have vanished. Kripa too feels the same way. Angad argues back, "Okay meri ma!! But you gotta admit, no other guy is even close to being as hot as me so y bother dancing with someone beneath you!"  Kripa grins, "Are you complimenting me?" Angad replies mysteriously, "Maybe" Kripa laughs, "Only you could compliment girls so furtively and have them not notice, but I'm too smart for that mister… but it was still sweet (she pinches his cheek)" Kripa and Angad continue dancing and enjoying themselves like always, pushing their awkwardness aside because there is no room for it in their relationship.

 

**********

Prachi has already left for upstairs and is in the room thinking about life and her relationship with Neev. She doesn't know why she couldn't contain or bottle her feelings inside like she is always able to. She feels she has reached her breaking point and this is it. Neev on the other hand goes to take a walk outside because he knows he has upset Prachi and doesn't want their parents or friends asking questions. He has never made her this upset before, which makes him wonder even more. Angad-Kripa and Kavya-Anjali continue to dance until their parents finally decide they should go back upstairs to their rooms, bringing the wedding to an end.

Numera*39201.5091898148