Chapter 6

Khushi went to sleep that night with a bitter heart and tears pricking at the back of her eyes. She was happy that Arnav had finally opened up about his past and was slowly feeling better about it but his actions had made her remember something. The way he had held on to her and cried, the way he spoke to her and the way he looked at her - it all told her that he saw her just as he did ten years ago. Nothing more, nothing less.

Arnav slept peacefully that night. He did not have any dreams and when his deep slumber was broken, he found that it was already morning. He stretched and looked around his room. He was surprised to find that it was so lifeless and unwelcoming. Realizing that he had some time before breakfast, he got down to making a list of things he needed to make his room more pleasant.

...

"Anjali di, you'll be shopping for your wedding clothes today right?"

Anjali smiled shyly and nodded at Payal. She had spoken to Satvik last night when she was missing her mother terribly. He had been so comforting and had promised to accompany her during her shopping spree. She knew that Satvik preferred not to go to malls and outlets but the fact that he hadn't even thought twice before promising to accompany her made her heart swell with happiness. She was indeed the luckiest girl in the world.

Now, the girl seated opposite Anjali was having the exact same thoughts. Payal Gupta truly believed that she was the luckiest girl in the world. After they had cheered up Anjali a little bit, Akash had asked her to come up to the terrace with him. What she saw there made her heart skip a beat. There were two wooden chairs and a small round table in between them. A guitar lay near one of the chairs and she wondered what it was doing there.

Her question was answered when Akash took the guitar in his right hand while holding out his left for her to take. She took it hesitantly and he led her to one of the chairs. Once she was comfortably seated, he lifted his right knee onto the other chair and placed his guitar on it.

He started off with a few soft strums and then slowly broke out into a soothing melody. She had never known that he could play the guitar so well. She basked in the soft music and was a little disappointed when he finally stopped. She didn't know when she had closed her eyes but when she opened them, she was greeted by a red rose held by a young man whose presence always made her heart fill with happiness.

She took the rose from him and looked down at her lap. She felt his hand come near her face and tuck in a loose strand of hair behind her ear. She blushed lightly and unconsciously tucked the same strand again, a shy smile playing on her lips.

"Ahem... Payal, just where are you lost so early in the day?"

Payal gasped as she realized that she was seated at the dining table in the midst of so many people. She didn't know when she had started day dreaming about last night's events.

"Waise, our Akash is looking equally lost. Once you've found yourselves, do let us know what was so wonderful that you both were staring into nothing and smiling like love struck fools."

Both Akash and Payal looked down in embarrassment as Anjali and Khushi giggled at them. Arnav was, however, completely lost, and wondered exactly what was so funny. He looked questioningly at Khushi and her face lost a bit of its sparkle before shaking her head in a negative.

"Satvik bhaiya's also coming? Really? Wow! Anjali di, he never goes shopping anywhere! But when it comes to you, he's super enthusiastic! Kya baat hain?"

Anjali blushed before hitting her arm lightly as the cheeky grin on Khushi's face grew wider.

"I'd have loved it if my two little brothers would also come with me. Akash? Will you? I'm not even asking Chote, because I know he'll bite my head off."

Akash laughed before nodding his head in agreement. He turned slightly to catch a glimpse of Payal and ask her something but Anjali answered before he had even looked at her properly.

"Yes yes, don't worry. She's also coming. How can I go wedding shopping without my two wonderful sisters."

"Two?"

"Yes Chote, Payal and Khushi are both coming with me. They have to buy clothes for the wedding as well, don't they?"

Arnav was intrigued by the fact that Khushi was going shopping for clothes. From what he remembered of her, she had never been very interested in dressing up and shopping. He didn't know why but he wanted to see her reaction when she was put into this different kind of atmosphere. So he did what he was famous for and startled everyone with his unpredictability. He agreed to accompany his sister while she shopped for her wedding attire.

...

Khushi could feel her uneasiness increasing as they went through different clothes for Anjali to try on. She really hoped that she wouldn't be made to try on anything and she gulped nervously every time someone mentioned the trial room.

Anjali saw Akash looking at some shirts on display and smiled at him indulgently. He was basically a quiet boy and didn't have too many demands. He wore simple shirts and his casual clothes were also pretty modest. So when she saw him fingering a couple of bright t-shirts, she knew that she wanted to get him a few.

"Akash, why don't you try on a few t-shirts. Don't worry, we're all standing right here to give you our approval."

She winked at him and he reddened before nodding and going into one of the changing rooms.

"Payal, you should try something on as well. I want to give each of you something for my wedding. So don't you dare refuse! Khushi - "

Before she could finish the statement Khushi jumped up and cut her off.

"For all of us? Thank you so much Anjali di! That means you'll be getting something for Arnav as well. Why don't you ask him to try on something too. Maybe something like Akash tried on. It'll do him good to step out of the black and white film he's intent on living in."

She finished and looked at Arnav challengingly. Normally, that would have sparked off the rage inside him but instead he felt a strange kind of warmth that she had been observing so much about him.

Anjali was just about to tell Khushi that Chote would never try on anything that even remotely had a dab of color, when she saw him march into the changing room, armed with quite a few bright bits of clothing.

Akash came out almost as soon as Arnav had gone in and everyone approved of the purple polo neck that he had worn. Anjali immediately ordered him to change out of it so that she could put it into their shopping bag.

Akash was just about to enter the changing room, when a sight stopped him short.

There stood Arnav wearing a yellow, collared t-shirt and looking refreshingly young. Anjali's mouth hung open, while Payal's eyes widened a little. Satvik was also surprised but he quickly recovered and gave him a thumbs up. Arnav nodded at his gesture but what he really wanted to see was her expression.

And what an expression it was!

Khushi couldn't believe her eyes. She knew that she was uncannily handsome but when she saw him in casual wear, the material of the t-shirt perfectly framing his lean and chiseled torso, she felt her heart beat accelerate and she just wasn't sure of what to do next. He had been quite cute as a kid but it was really unfair how good looking he had become! She looked into his eyes and saw him looking at her expectantly. She knew he wanted her opinion but frankly, she was just too flustered to give him a coherent reply. She gave him a half nod before moving away from them.

Arnav felt disappointment and, unsurprisingly, anger course through him as he watched her walk away. What was the damn girl's problem?

...

An hour later, everyone's clothes had been taken care of except Khushi's. Anjali had tried several times to get her to try on something, but each time, she had skirted the issue. Now that everyone else's was complete Anjali was determined to get her to select something. She thrust a beige anarkali with pink borders towards her and lightly pushed her into the changing room.

Several minutes later, the door burst open and Khushi ran out, avoiding everyone and making her way out of the shop. Anjali stared at the anarkali which lay on the floor and was just about to go after her when she felt a hand on her shoulder, stopping her.

She looked up and saw Satvik looking at her. He shook his head slightly and she understood that it would be better if he handled it.

...

Arnav saw Satvik walking down the stairs and intercepted him. He had been really bothered by what had happened in the shop today. Even if everyone else had missed it, he had clearly seen the tears glistening in Khushi's eyes as she had run out of the store.

"Umm... I wanted to ask you..."

"About Khushi?"

Arnav nodded his head and waited for him to continue.

"Khushi's not very comfortable when it comes to shopping for clothes and stuff. Amma always had a lot of difficulty getting clothes for her while she was growing up. She's very fussy and only wears a few set things."

Arnav was very puzzled by this. Fussy about clothes? Now that he thought about it, Khushi only seemed to wear loose kurtas and baggy jeans. He had seen Payal wearing all kinds of clothes but Khushi stuck to this set religiously.

"Why Bhaiya?"

"Because of what happened on Payal's eighth birthday."

Arnav frowned. Why would she become rigid about the clothes she wore because of what had happened on Payal's eighth birthday?

He went to sleep that night puzzled by Khushi's actions and Satvik's words.

...

"Akash, Akash are you listening to me? Hello? Akash?"

Khushi sighed in exasperation as Akash continued to gaze at his phone screen, lost in his own world. He had been like that ever since Payal had left in the morning to visit a few of her old friends in Delhi. She was supposed to be back by evening but he wasn't satisfied. He had been continuously messaging her from his phone and staring at the reply with a blissfully lost expression.

Normally Khushi would have found this very adorable and would have jumped at the opportunity to tease him. But Akash had forgotten to inform her about some important wedding arrangements which needed to be made in an hour ago. Satvik had told him to tell Khushi but he had completely forgotten resulting in Khushi getting a very rare telling off from her cousin.

She tried once more but on getting no response, she huffed angrily and walked up the stairs. Just as she reached the third floor, she saw Arnav pacing about and muttering under his breath.

"Stupid Akash! He's been behaving so weirdly for the past few days! Like - like -"

"Like some alien life form who's left his brain behind before travelling to earth to steal our peace of mind?"

Arnav gazed at Khushi for a little while before nodding his head in agreement.

"I know what you mean. Satvik bhaiya had asked him to tell me to call up the caterers and fix up the menu by one in the afternoon and it's almost two thirty and his highness is busy staring away at his phone! The nerve I tell you!"

Arnav felt his irritation towards his cousin slowly seep away as he watched Khushi rant about 'his highness'. Anger didn't seem to stay with him for long these days and he found himself enjoying things a lot more than he used to before. Suddenly his brain came up with an interesting idea and he decided to try it out.

"I absolutely agree with you Khushi. Now what do you suppose we do to punish Akash for what's he's done to you?"

Khushi was a little puzzled by his reaction but she caught the twinkle in his eyes and her own face brightened up considerably. She motioned him towards her and whispered her plan into his ear. Arnav couldn't help but smirk when he thought about Akash's fate.

...

Khushi waited carefully for Arnav to give the signal and perched herself precariously above a sleeping Akash on the living room sofa.

Arnav had sprayed shaving cream on Akash's open palm and also on the screen of his phone a few minutes back. Now it was Khushi's turn to finish the job.

He gave her a quick thumbs up saying that he was ready with the video camera.

Khushi grinned cheekily before taking the feather in her hand and tickling Akash's nose lightly. Almost immediately his hand moved up to remove the itch and lo and behold! He was now the owner of a fabulous shaving cream moustache!

Arnav had to struggle to keep his hand steady while watching Akash unwittingly embarrass himself and Khushi desperately trying to not burst into giggles.

Phase One was complete. Now for Phase Two.

Khushi picked up the landline and dialed Akash's number. On the second ring, a highly flustered Akash picked it up while saying only two words.

"Hello Payal?"

That was the last straw. Khushi burst into peals of laughter while Arnav put the video camera down on the table and clutched his sides as well.

It took Akash a few minutes to realize the situation he was in. As soon as he understood, he glared at the miscreants and prepared to attack.

"You two still haven't changed! Even after all these years? Grow up would you!"

"How do you expect that from us when you yourself haven't changed a bit?"

"That's right Akash. Don't think we don't know how you used to hide a bit of candy that Manohar uncle used to get for all of us just so that Payal could have extra."

"And let's not forget what happened in the garden that winter."

Khushi gazed at Arnav, not knowing what he was talking about. Akash on the other hand had turned bright red and was trying in vain to make Arnav stop.

"Alright fine. You've got me. Now would you please drop it?"

Akash shook his head in disbelief before going up to his room to get cleaned up.

Khushi put up her hand and high fived Arnav. His face was young and creaseless and his eyes were sparkling with joy and mischief. She couldn't believe that this was the same person who had been so rude and cruel to her a couple of weeks ago.

"You haven't changed at all, have you Khushi?"

That question brought Khushi out of her thoughts as she looked away and murmured something about finishing Satvik bhaiya's work.

Arnav stared after her incredulously. What had happened this time?"

...

How was it? Please do like and comment. I really appreciate everyone who does. Thank you so much. It's because of you all that I continue. And to silent readers, please unbuddy me so that you don't receive PMs regarding a story you have no wish to review.

Chapter Seven