Chapter 4

Arnav glared at his sister and cousin and received a wide grin and an apologetic shrug in return. Ever since the Guptas had returned to their lives, nothing seemed to be going according to what he wanted. Firstly, he had to put up with incessant wedding preparations and on top of that, there were two more people occupying the house. He didn't mind Payal that much. She kept to herself most of the time and he barely interacted with her. But she was a completely different matter altogether. Two days of having her in the house and he already felt like banging his head on the wall. She had completely changed the atmosphere of the house and he was finding it very difficult to concentrate on his work. Sure, she hadn't directly disturbed him but that didn't make it any less annoying. And it was thanks to her that he was being dragged to dinner at a five star restaurant.

A few hours ago

"Anjali di, let's go out for dinner tonight!"

"Dinner? Umm...I'm not too sure about the idea Khushi."

Khushi pouted and turned towards her recently acquired ally.

"Akash convince Anjali di please! It's been ages since we've all gone out together."

Akash smiled at her doubtfully but Khushi was not going to give up so easily. She looked at him innocently and spoke.

"That's too bad then. Payal really wanted to go out and eat tonight but I guess if no one's willing then-"

"Di! Actually even I don't think its such a bad idea. Plus, Khushi's right, all of us haven't gone out together for such a long time. It'll be a nice change."

Akash completed his speech and looked towards Payal who was blushing lightly and trying desperately to concentrate on a very interesting bit of dust on the lamp. Khushi grinned at the success of her plan. Just then the phone rang.

"Hello? Yes Mamaji... What? You and Mami won't be coming home for dinner? Oh... Ok, that's fine. Have fun at the Sharma's reception."

Anjali put down the receiver and sighed before acceding to Khushi's wish. Khushi jumped up and down a few times before an idea popped into her head. She went over to Anjali and whispered something into her ear. A smile slowly formed on Anjali's face and her eyes twinkled mischievously, mirroring Khushi's expression.

...

"Hari Prakash! Hari Prakash! Where is my tea, damn it?!"

Arnav fumed inwardly as he marched down the stairs. He was terribly hungry and that stupid Hari Prakash hadn't brought him his regular evening meal. Oh he was going to get it today!

"Chote? What happened? Why are you shouting?"

"Di, where's Hari Prakash? Why hasn't he given me my tea yet?"

"Oh I'm sorry. I forgot to tell you. Hari Prakashji took the day off today. You see, Mama and Mami have gone for a wedding reception and the four of us are going out for dinner so when he told me he had some work to do, I gave him the day off. I'm so sorry Chote. I completely forgot about you. What will you eat tonight?"

Arnav glared at her.

"You forgot about me? How could you Di?"

"I'm really very sorry Chote."

"Well Anjali di, I guess we'll just have to cancel the dinner plan and you'll have to cook for all of us. I know you were looking forward to spending some time with Satvik bhaiya, but what can you do now?"

Khushi came up towards them and sighed. Arnav felt the guilt creep up inside him as he gazed at his sister's down cast face. He cursed inwardly and finally muttered in a low voice.

"No. Don't cancel the plans. I-I'll also come."

Anjali's disappointment was immediately wiped off her face and she smiled brightly. Arnav shook his head in amusement and walked up to his room to change. He glanced once more towards his sister and his jaw dropped. She started giggling helplessly as Khushi winked at her and gave her a thumbs up. Arnav clenched his fists in frustration. So this was all Khushi Kumari Gupta's idea? Damn it!

...

The car suddenly jerked to a stop causing Khushi to unceremoniously fall on him. He glared at her and she quickly tried to get up but bumped her head into his chin. He swore inwardly while rubbing his chin. His eyes narrowed and he sent murderous glances at her. He was a little surprised to see a faint color on staining her cheeks. And to top it off she was desperately trying to not catch his eye. What the hell was wrong with her? She was weird enough as it was. She didn't need to add this to her strangeness. He was drawn out of his thoughts when he heard Satvik's voice.

"The engine's over heated so the car's not starting. Unless we get a mechanic, there's no way to get it going. I don't see any garage nearby so dinner might be a little delayed."

Right on cue, Khushi's stomach grumbled eliciting amused expressions from everyone and a cold glare from Arnav.

"Umm... I'm a little hungry. Isn't there any place around here where we can eat?"

She quickly got out of the car and walked away in search of a good eating place. She came back a few minutes later, eyes sparkling in excitement and a spring in her step.

"There's a dhaba here! Let's eat there Bhaiya! Please please please!!!!"

Satvik looked at Anjali enquiringly and when she nodded in assent Khushi squealed in delight while Arnav groaned in frustration. As much as he wished to not take part in any activity involving dhabas and Khushi Kumari Guptas, he didn't have any other choice as his own stomach was pretty much screaming for food and he honestly couldn't wait any longer. The six of them trudged off and made their way to the homely dhaba with comparatively less people as it was off the main route. Arnav excuse himself to go wash his hands while Khushi excitedly asked everyone what they wanted to eat and then went over to the owner to place their order. By the time Arnav had found the way to the washroom, managed to get the tap working and then find his way back, the food had already arrived. He scanned the table and frowned. Butter chicken, tadka dal, butter naan, kadhai paneer and murgh do piazza. Every freaking dish was sure to rage a fire war in one's mouth.

"What's all this Di? Every item here is spicy! You know I can't tolerate such spice. What will I eat now?"

Anjali looked at him guiltily and searched for some way to pacify her livid brother.

"I'm sorry Chote. In all the excitement, I forgot that you don't eat spicy food. Just hold on, I'll go and order something for you."

'No need Anjali di."

A new plate was thrust in front of Arnav's face and stared at its contents and then at the person who had given it to him. Khushi was standing there with a grin on her face as she placed the plate in front of him.

"Palak paneer and roti. You still like them right?"

For a moment Arnav was lost for words as he realized that she had ordered his favorite food without anyone telling her to do so. A memory flooded his mind and he was transported to twelve years ago.

"It's too spicy! My tongue is on fire Amma!"

"Well you should have been careful while ordering Khushi. I told you that would be very spicy but you didn't listen to me. Now don't make a fuss."

Khushi crossed her arms over her chest as water started coming out of her eyes and nose. She wanted to try a big kid's dish like Satvik bhaiya so she had ordered kadhai paneer. But it was so spicy that she could barely feel her tongue anymore. She gazed around sulkily and watched everyone else eat.

"Here try this. It's not spicy but it tastes really good."

Khushi looked at him uncertainly but opened her mouth for him to put a small piece of roti dipped in a green color curry. Her eyes brightened as she savored the delicious taste entering her system. She smiled widely at him and got an equally wide grin in return.

"It's tastes amazing Arnav! What is it?"

"Roti and palak paneer. It's my favorite!"

Arnav couldn't help a smile from forming on his face. She still remembered after all these years. Somehow it gave him a warm feeling inside to know that she had remembered.

Dinner went off much better than anticipated. Arnav's mood was no longer as sour as it had been in the car. He occasionally joined in the chatter. He was highly amused by Khushi. The girl ate like a hoard of teenage boys who had had starved for a few days and then let loose on the unsuspecting dhaba. Satvik and Payal did not seem to be too surprised by the amount she ate so he assumed that she normally ate like this. He glanced towards his Di and Akash. Even they didn't seem to be fazed by the sheer quantity she was consuming. He realized guiltily that he had not paid any attention to her in the past two days. If he had then he wouldn't have been taken aback by her eating habits.

After dinner was over Arnav once again made his long journey to the washroom and when he came back he saw Anjali chatting happily with Satvik as Akash and Payal kept gazing at each other. It was quite unnerving actually and soon he got tired of their shy eye locks and that's when it struck him. Where was that whirlwind of activity?

He walked towards the direction of the car but couldn't find her anywhere near it. He looked around the nearby area and stopped short when he saw her sitting comfortably on one of the sturdier branches of a mango tree. He walked towards the tree purposefully and yelled at her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing up there?"

"Sitting on a tree and eating mangoes of course. Can't you see?"

Arnav glared at her and received a cheeky grin in return.

"Khushi get down immediately!"

"No I won't. What will you do about it?"

"Khushi don't play around with me."

"I'm not scared of you Arnav. You'll never be able to catch me up here!"

"Oh really?"

"Of course! You're such a khadoos guy that I'm sure you won't be able to climb this tree."

That was the last straw. Arnav threw of his jacket and unbuttoned his waist coat. He loosened his tie and proceeded to climb up the tree. Once he had reached the branch she was sitting on, he looked at her, a triumphant grin on his face. He expected her to be shocked but instead got a mischievous chuckle. Damn it! She had tricked him into climbing the tree. He narrowed his eyes and watched her as she peeled the skin of the mango and bit into its juicy flesh. Sticky yellow fluid trickled down her chin and he impulsively moved his fingers towards it and wiped it off.

Khushi stiffened immediately at the touch. Her eyes grew wider and she jerked her head towards him. He was oblivious to her shocked expression and continued to clean her face with a frown on his face. When he had finally finished, he raised his eyebrow at her and proceeded to climb down the tree. Once he was back on the ground, he barked at her irritatedly.

"Khushi! What are you doing? Chalo!"

Khushi was snapped out of her thoughts and she deftly got out of the tree and hurried away towards the others. Arnav stared at her retreating back and groaned in frustration. This girl was completely nuts!

...

By the time they got back, Satvik had managed to find a mechanic and the car was ready to start. They all got in but Khushi insisted on sitting next to Payal which earned her a glare from Akash and a disappointed look from Payal. Arnav on the other hand was relieved to have his infinitely more normal cousin sit next to him and the rest of the ride passed uneventfully. Satvik dropped them off at Shantivan and himself drove back home. While walking back into the house Arnav accidently brushed against Khushi's arm and was surprised to once again find her cheeks tinted a fait shade of pink. Not paying much attention to her, he walked into his room, mind full of thoughts of paneer, mangoes and a pink cheeked one of a kind specimen.

...

How was it? Next chapter later. Planning to update Masquerade before that. Like and comment please!

Chapter Five

tennismaniac192012-05-31 00:09:34