Arakshi SS: So Cliche Chapter 3_Page 3!!

Suddenly, I was ripped apart from the creepy guy, and strong hands held me in place. The creep was lying on the ground. I looked up, and saw a man holding my arms, preventing me from falling. I couldn't see his face, but I could tell he was looking at me.

There he is. My hero.

"Kya yeh tumhe pareshaan kar raha hai?" My hero asked.

"Does it look like a friendly get-together?" I asked him in a truly sarcastic manner. Well, he was quite dumb but nevertheless, MY hero.

Suddenly, we both were pushed back and I fell on the ground. I looked up to see my hero attack the creepy man.

I'd never seen a real life fight, but even when I watch them in the movies, they give me an adrenaline rush. Regardless, I was shivering, and I couldn't stand. I took a few deep breaths and tried to calm myself down.

I looked up to see my savior punch the creeper in the face, making his nose bleed. Okay hero was winning. I'm gonna be fine, I'll be able to get home safely... I hope. But more importantly, I hoped my hero was fine too.

Current score: Hero-1; Creep-0

Oh yeah!

My hero had to be careful because that creep had the advantage of his weapon. Still, my hero managed to slam the creep on the ground, making him grunt in pain. As soon as I saw him on the ground hurt and bruised, I felt relaxed. But only a little.

Hero - 2

Creepy - still 0

The creep started to get back up on his two feet, but then my hero kicked him in the gut.

"Ooh yeahhh!" I shouted and punched my fist in the air. My hero turned around to look at me; although I couldn't see his face, I knew he was shaking his head and giving me a disbelieving look.

He walked towards me, and reached out to help me off the ground, but I lifted myself off just fine without his help.

"Tum tikh toh ho?" He asked, concerned.

"Yeah, I'm fine. Thank you." I said with a small smile. I bet he could still me shaking and my voice breaking a little, but he didn't push it. He simply nodded.

"Kya TUM teekh ho? Tumhe koi chot toh nahi lagi kahin?" I asked, hoping that he was fine.

I could tell he was shaking his head. "I'm fine!" He said.

"Kaun ho tum?" I asked him. I could never thank him enough; agar woh nahi aata toh... I shuddered. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

Don't think about it Sakshi.

"Knight in shining armour," he replied in a playful tone. Even if I couldn't see his face, I could clearly tell he was smirking.

I scoffed. The gratitude I felt was unexplainable, but why wouldn't he tell me his name?

Stupid.

Kaash mein uska chehra dekh paati.

"Tum kaun ho?" He asked me, just like I had asked him moments ago.

"Bob the builder." I replied flatly.

He chuckled. "So is your house nearby?"

"Yeah, just around the corner." I replied to him.

I would've gotten home by now if I hadn't looked back while I was running away from that creep.

"Achha teekh hai, ab tumhe ghar jaana chahiye." He said.

"Haan... Aap vaakayi mein mujhe nahin bataayenge ki aap kaun hai?" I asked him.

He took a step or two forward, and came closer to me, whispering in my hear, "Nope, just keep wondering."

I gulped loudly; he was so close to me.

I stepped away in a nervous manner, "M-Mujhe jaana chahiye." I said and turned around, walking towards my house. After a few steps, I paused and turned around, and he was still there looking at me.

"Thanks," I said quietly. He nodded, and I continued to my house. Just as I opened the door, I looked back at him.

He was still standing there. Knight in shining armour. I smiled a little, and went inside thinking about the dashing mystery guy.

Bob the builder? Seriously? What was I thinking? I shook my head.

I slowly dragged myself up the stairs, and immediately immersed myself into the hot water in the shower. As I lathered my hair around, small increments of tonight flashed through my memory. After getting out, I dressed into my PJs and got inside my bed.

What would have happened if that stranger hadn't come to my rescue?

I didn't even want to think about it. I had controlled my tears in front of the creeper and that psycho, because I was never one to cry in front of people; I found it very embarrassing for me. However, now that I was alone and started to think about tonight's events, out came the waterworks. I cried for hours.

Once my face began to ache, I wiped my tears away and realized that I got luck tonight.

And I eventually fell asleep, thinking about my knight in shining armour.

I hope y'all didn't get bored with this chapter. I promise there's A LOT of Arjun and Sakshi coming up, this was just an intro

Again, Sakshi's thoughts are in italics.

Chapter 2: Introducing Arjun Rawte

SAKSHI POV:

Mein apni college mein sabse popular hoon.

Gee, no. Mazaak tha.

I am nowhere near the "popular" crowd, and neither do I want to be.

"Hey Sakshi," I heard someone say behind me. I turned around to see Chotu, a hopeful look on his face. Chotu WAS part of the famous crowd, but he was better than the others. He would never bother anyone without reason; he was calm, and a lot less cocky than the other guys.

"Hi, Chotu. Kaise ho tum?" I asked.

"Mein teekh hoon. Umm acha suno Sakshi, mujhe tumhari maddad ki zaroorat hai." He told me.

Oh, maine toh socha tha ki hum saaf seedi kehlenge saath mein, I commented sarcastically to my conscience.

I then looked at him more closely, and saw that he looked worried.

"Kya hua?" I asked him, more concerned.

"Actually woh, mujhe aaj Anya ke saath date pe jaana tha, and aaj subah hi mere parents ne mujhe baataya ki unhe kahin jaana hai aur mujhe ghar par hi rehna hoga apni behen ke saath. But I really don't want to cancel on Anya, toh mein soch raha tha ki agar tum mere liye Shruti ko babysit karogi?" He asked, nervousness clearly apparent in his voice.

Chotu just so happened to be my neighbour, a great one at that.

When I didn't respond, he pleaded again. "Please na Sakshi; tum jo kahogi, mein wahi karoonga. Kuch bhi. Please??"

I pondered and thought about this for a moment, vaise bhi I didn't have anything planned out for today. "Alright, I will." I told him. His eyes brightened instantly, and I smiled at the same.

"You're awesome." He said, beaming at me.

"Kitne baje aana hai??" I asked him.

"Uh, saare saath baje? Mein zyaada der tak bahaar nahi roonga. Thanks." He said, running off to join his posse.

* * *

"Tum rori thi?" I looked up to see Karan, my study buddy looking at me with dubious eyes. I then realized that my eyes were still a little swollen from all the waterfalls of tears that cascaded down my eyes last night.

"Nahi toh. Woh kya hai na, maine kal raat ek bahot bura sapna dekha. You and me were the last people stranded on the island. Imagine that, so I just cried buckets of tears on the thought of sharing my personal space with you," I said, making a sad face. I couldn't tell him the truth, I didn't want to share that incident with anyone.

"The sarcasm is not appreciated," Karan said, glaring at me as we entered our lecture. I ignored him and asked, "Acha Simmie ko dekha hai aaj?"

Simran was my other best friend. Karan and I were friends practically since daycare, whereas I met Simran two years ago in college, when I saved her from getting in trouble for beating up a guy.

"Nope. Lagi hogi, koi bechare ko peetne mein. Kya haalat bana di hogi uski, " He said, and then we focused on class as the teacher started teaching.

Karan was kind of popular; he was liked by everyone, and he knew most of the individuals in our year. He's my best bud. On the other hand, Simran hates the popular crowd. She's the hottest girl in school, but nobody dares approaches her, plainly out of fear. Her deadly and lethal glares are enough to send somebody running in the opposite direction.

Weird friends I know, but I am no less.

The day went by - same as usual. I was walking out of my last class, when suddenly I felt a harsh tugging on my hand, as someone started to pull me in the opposite direction.

I looked up to see the familiar face of Simran.

"Simran! Oye, yeh tu kya kar rahi hai?" I asked, confused as she kept pulling me further down the hall.

"Just run along, and I'll explain." She said, urgently. Something was really wrong here, and Simran looked worried.

As we rushed through the corridors and reached the front of the school, Simran continued to explain about this huge fight show-down happening between two rival groups on campus.

This reminded me of yesterday's fight, when I was... I shook my head, shuddering at the horrific thought.

Yeh sahi waqt nahi hai, Sakshi...

I immediately spotted Karan - he was lying on the ground, his nose bleeding, lip split open. A huge cut was on his right cheek, and his hand was bleeding as well. I ran to him in an instant flash.

"K-Karan! Are you okay?!" I asked, as I crouched down to his level.

"Haan Haan main toh first-class hoon, khushi se pagal ho raha hoon, itna achha lagra hai mujhe." He told me, sarcasm seething through his tone. "Bewakoof," he murmured under his breath.

"A simple no wouldn've conveyed your message," I said, glaring profusely at him with my eyes. I then looked around, taking in my surroundings. There are a couple or more guys hurt as badly as Karan was. Others looked better. I saw Chotu talking to two guys from the rival gang, or at least, I supposed. They were having some serious discussion, hopefully on peace making.

Together, we helped Karan stand up on his feet again, in an effort to escort him to the nurse's office.

"Hey, dude." Somebody called from behind us. I turned around to see Chotu and another guy that he was talking to earlier, standing behind us.

Karan slowly turned his head around and asked, "Yeah?"

"Arjun is here to apologize." Chotu answered, and then I saw Arjun smile. But it wasn't a genuine one - it was one that gave the aura of "as if."

"Is it really bad?" Arjun asked, nodding towards Karan's wounds.

"A little." Karan replied, wincing as he completely turned around to face him, which ultimately caused his ankle to pain,

"Ladki mat ban. You'll be fine." Arjun said, smirking.

I knew it. Stupid, badtameez Arjun!

Chotu lightly punched Arjun, nudging him. "Tumne promise kiya tha ki tum - " but before he could continue, Simran kicked Arjun. He lost his balance, and fell down to the ground on his back. Subsequently, Simran kept her foot on his chest.

"DON'T MESS with ANY of my friends, asshole. Varna mein tumhara woh haal karoongi jo tumne zindagi mein kabhi socha bhi nahi hoga. Chalna toh door, khade rehna ke layaak nahi hoge!" She told him, removing her foot.

Anger and fury was clearly evident on Arjun's face.

"Dekho! Main ladkiyon pe haath nahin utha tha. LEKEN agar you grow one more hair on that chin, I will NOT HESITATE to take you OUT! Samjhi... ya samjhaun!" Arjun yelled at the top of his lungs, as he glared into her face. With all his might, Chotu barely managed to pull Arjun back.

Before Simran could retaliate and say anything in return, I pulled her back. "Stop it Simran, jaane do." If she got caught fighting (again), she'll be suspended. She already had 3 warnings. She understood the expression on my face, and no words needed to be said any longer. After a few seconds of composing herself, we proceeded to the nurse's office, carrying Karan between both of our shoulders.

(see below for more)

I rang the doorbell, standing outside Chotu's house. He opened the door after a couple of seconds passed by.

"Hey Sakshi! Thank you so much for doing this." He said with a huge smile plastered across his face. "Acha ab mein jara hoon, mere parents already jaa chuke hain. Agar tumhe kisi bhi cheez ki zaroorat ho, ya koi bhi problem ho, toh I'm just a phone call away, okay?"

"Sure," I replied with a smile. I walked inside through the door, while he walked out through the door to the car on his paved driveway.

"Uh Sakshi?" I heard Chotu's uneasy voice from behind me, and I turned around.

"Haan?" I asked, furrowing my eyebrows.

"Main, main teekh toh lagraon na?" He asked, sheepishly.

"Yes. You look nice." I said with a smile; he really did look decent, and I am sure that he's serious about Anya. Otherwise, he wouldn't even have bothered caring about how he looked. He flashed a smile back, and continued down to his car.

I finally got inside and shut the door. I could hear a cartoon show playing on the TV. I tiptoed quietly to the living room, where I found a sitting Shruti, her mouth wide open, and a packet of gummy bears in her hand.

Ah, mujhe toh gummy bears behat pasand hai!

I went and stood behind her, as she still hadn't noticed my presence. I bent down a little, and started to tickle her funny. She let out a surprised squeal, and started laughing uncontrollably, dropping the gummy bears which were really tempting.

She turned around and gasped in ecstasy. "Sakshi didi!!" She gave me a wide smile, and hugged me, almost crushing me to the core.

"Hello little girl! Kaisi hain aap?!" I said, hugging her back.

"Main acchi hoon." She said in her baby voice, smiling at me, and I kissed her cheeks. She is the most adorable thing ever.

"Acha, aapko abhi khelna hai ya TV dekhna hai?" I asked her as I picked her toys that were scattered on the floor.

"Let's pway." She said, jumping up and down on the couch.

"Okay, what do you want to pway? Chupan chuphai?" I asked, commenting her cute accent.

"Yes!!!" She said, clapping her hands and beaming at me. I clapped my heads as well.

"Chalo." I said, picking her up.

* * *

The doorbell rang. I looked at the clock - it was only 8:45 P.M. I pondered, hmm. Chotu is back so soon, hope everything went okay.

I opened the door to find Arjun standing on the porch. He looked at me, confusion clearly written on his face, and I'm darn sure I had the same dumbfounded look.

"Tum Chotu ki girlfriend ho kya?" He asked randomly, out of nowhere. WHAT?!

"Well hello to you too, and nahi, I'm not." I replied sarcastically. He then raised an eyebrow at me.

"Toh phir tum yahaan kya kar rahi ho?" He asked. Oh ya know, kuch nahi. Is ghar ki chori kar rahi hoon.

But before I could reply, he threw another question at me. "Chotu kahan hai?" The irritation and impatience in his voice definitely did not go unnoticed.

"I'm here to babysit his sister and Chotu date par gaya hai." I replied simply. He profusely groaned in response. Then, he muttered something under his breath, which I couldn't understand. Seeing that this was a clear stalemate, I started to close the door on him.

"Arey," He called out as he put his hand on the door to stop, an annoyed look on his face.

"Ji?" I asked, raising an eyebrow. What did he want?

"I'm supposed to stay here tonight, so move." He said, moving to get inside the house.

"Ruko. Main tumhe andar nahi aane de sakti." He then looked annoyed. I continued, "Chotu ne kabhi mujhe bataya nai ki tum aare ho, aur mein aise kaise kisi ajnabi ko andar aane de sakti hoon." As I explained the situation to him, the expression on his face turned from annoyed to frustrated.

He sighed profusely yet again, and pulled out his phone. I think he was calling Chotu.

Before he could get out a word to him on the other line, Chotu spoke first.

"Toh meri galti hai kya ki tu ghar par nai hai! Aur tune is babysitter ko bataya nahi ki main aane wala tha. Who mujhe andar hi nahi aane de rahi." He glared at me as he spoke. What's his problem? It's not like I said anyting wrong; I'm just trying to keep Shruti, myself, and this house safe. Is that so wrong? Idiot.

He held out his phone to me as Chotu said something on the other line. I gladly took the phone from his hands.

"Hello?"

"Haan, Sakshi? I'm so sorry maine tumhe Arjun ke baare mein batana bhulhi gya. He's supposed to stay at my place tonight. Use andar aane do, aur don't mind him, woh thoda sa bad mood main hai aaj." Chotu told me.

"Sure, no worries." I said, giving the phone back to annoyed akdu arjun in front of me. He disconnected the call and looked at me.

"Kya mein ab andar aa saktaon?" He asked me, his voice again seething of sarcasm.

Nai nai, mera bas chalta nah, toh mein toh tumhe laat marke seedha ghar se bahaar nikalti.

My eyes widened, and I instantly covered my mouth with my hands, as I realized that I had said my saracastic comment out loud in the open air of the porch. Oops, I told my conscience, muttering something in Marathi.

Arjun looked annoyed for a second, but then smirked, lifting the corners of his lips.

He pushed me aside lightly and went inside. The smirk was still in place on his lips.

I huffed in irritation.

Chotu you better come home soon, if you don't want to see my homicidal side.

OKAY DONE! Well, I guess I kind of left you guys with a cliffhanger to see what happens between Arjun and Sakshi... :p Any guesses? ;)