Truly Madly Deeply - FF upd 6/10

Divya felt incredibly adventurous as she walked out of the hall, her hand in Amar's. She had barely known the guy for fifteen minutes, but God help her, she was falling for him. She hadn't known it would be like this. She really hadn't.

****

He had begun watching her as soon as she entered the hall. She knew it. She could feel his piercing gaze on her, searching for something, asking questions she knew not answers to. And then he had slowly begun moving towards her. At that, she couldn't take her eyes off of him. His gaze was so intense and his eyes so dark, she couldn't look away even if she wanted to. It was as if he was the predator and she was the prey - but unfortunately (or fortunately), she wanted to be caught. She watched, with her heart beating faster as he came towards her. Five steps, four, three, two…

"What time is it?" He asked.

She blinked and then blinked again, as if coming out of a daze. The intense gaze was gone but his eyes were just as dark. There was a hint of a smile around his lips. She slowly looked at her watch, "5:30"

"5:30? So today is April 28, 2008, at 5:30 PM. Thanks, I just wanted to be able to remember the exact moment I met you." Saying that, he extended his hand, "I'm Amar."

Divya smiled hesitantly and slipped her hand into his, "Divya."

Still holding on to her hand, he smiled, "Divya, what say – you and I, we get out of here?"

Normally, she would have turned away disappointed. Any other guy – she would have been angry, wondering what he meant. But him, Amar, there was just something about Amar...

Divya surprised herself by putting her hand in the crook of his elbow and whispered softly, "Ok."

****

3 years later...

Part 1

Divya sighed impatiently - patience wasn't exactly her virtue. She tilted her head to the side to get a view of how long the queue was - it seemed never ending. She couldn't believe her luck. Just the day when she needed to buy a few stamps, the post office had to be crowded.

Divya jerked as she felt her cell phone vibrating against her in her pocket. She quickly slid it out and looked at the caller ID - Shalu maasi. Sighing, she hit silent and put her cell away again. This was the third time this week Maasi was calling. Divya wanted to scream in frustration. She could take of herself and her brother. She needed no one to help her. But her family just didn't seem to understand. Ever since their mother passed away 8 months ago, Divya's life had turned upside down. She dropped out of college, got a full time job, and was just now beginning to get a hold of her life. She didn't need fake sympathy from anyone - especially from someone who hadn't been there when she most needed a family. She was happy with the way things were right now. Her and Armaan - that's all the family she cared for. The phone vibrated again and this time she answered without checking the caller ID.

"Ms. Divya Sharma?"

Sensing the urgency in the caller's voice, Divya panicked, "Yes?"

"I'm calling to inform you that your brother, Armaan, has been in an accident. He's being rushed to the Emergency Ward of St. Claire's."

All kinds of thoughts and questions were rushing through Divya's mind but only a single word slipped out of her lips before she dropped the phone, "Armaan..."

****

Divya watched her little brother, with tear-filled eyes, clutching the bedcover as if it were her last hope. Tears were flooding down her cheeks as she watched her brother silently, sleeping like a baby. He was only six years younger than her but she'd spoiled him rotten. She knew it and so did he. But neither seemed to care. They only had each other.

Just then the nurse entered and Divya quickly wiped her tearstained cheeks. "Will he be alright?"

The nurse smiled sympathetically, "He has a few broken bones and fractured ribs, but he's strong. He'll pull through safe and sound. Trust me."

For the first time that night, Divya smiled, a shimmer of hope rising in her heart. Her Armaan would be okay. Nothing would happen to him. She won't let anything happen to him.

Her mind resolved, she rose and left the room. Turning around the corner, she pulled her cell out of her pocket and checked through her missed calls. She pressed talk when she scrolled down to Maasi's number.

wow dats great i loved it
plz UPDATE DE NEXT PART SOON<33 IM A FAN OF URS ALREDY<33

Sravani (its your name hopefully!!)

Nice start! 👏 👏 Reads like the first rains of the season..Sravan...hehehhehe

Please continue..
You write so beautifully...as if its unfolding infront of my eyes!

I love the fact that Divya is so independent...

When is the next update? 😛

gr8 start,,but wat happnd to amar

Sravi!!

You're writing a FF! I'm so happy! I love the style you write in!

Please please do continue soon! 😳

First of all 'AHHH'!! Im so happy you're writing a FF! I'll edit this after reading it later. Thank you Sravi! 😃

Wow! It was beautiful!
Amasing start!
Plz cont soon!

- Charri<333333333333333

omg....Srav as u promised u will start a new one.....im soo damn happy...please count soon and dnt forget 😆

Thanks so much everyone for the wonderful comments! I wasn't sure anyone would read it or like it since those who know me know how laaaazy I'm at updating. But I'll promise there will be frequent updates for this FF 😛

And Nishi, yep that's my name 😳

By the way, both Amar and Divya live in the US. So until they reach India, there probably won't be any Sindoora in this FF😛

3 months later...

Part 2

It had been a few weeks since Divya and Armaan had moved into Maasi's house. It took a lot of pleading and complaining on Maasi's behalf for Divya to finally relent. She had admitted that she could use the help and apologized for turning away from then until now.

***

Divya smiled as Maasi entered her room with numerous bags in her hands weighing her down. "More shopping, Maasi?"

Maasi sighed and looked at her chidingly, "Mein kya karu? Ladki ho kar tumhare paas sirf itne hi kapde hai, it's a disgrace. So I've decided to give your wardrobe a complete makeover."

Divya sighed, "You know that's not necessary Maasi. I like things the way they are. I'm not much for new clothes and trends, I guess."

Maasi smiled and sat down next to Divya. Patting Divya's head lightly, she said, "Mein yeh karna chahti hoon. Mein janti hoon I haven't been entirely supportive until now. And I want to make up for it. I want to be a part of your and Armaan's lives. Please humor me and let me spoil you both."

Divya chuckled, "You can spoil me all you want. But beware of Armaan. The kid's already spoiled rotten and if he has any more of his way, his head will be too big to fit through the doorway."

Maasi smiled and hugged Divya. Just as she was about to leave, Divya caught her hand and held her back. "Maasi?"

"Ha Divya."

"I know our families haven't been very close these past few years. But why now? Why did you suddenly want to bury the hatchet now?"

A sudden twinkle in Maasi's eyes surprised Divya. "You just wait and watch."

****

They had left the hall holding hands, seeming to the rest of the world as if they were two young lovers. Only they knew the truth.

Divya watched him from the corner of her eyes as he sped past other cars. What was she doing? Leaving the party with a complete stranger? For all she knew, he could be an axe murderer. She could picture her mother looking at her with disapproval, "Yeh tumne kya kiya Divya? You're 16 years old and that too, a girl. Tumhe apne aap ka khayal rakhna chahiye tha na?"

"Do you want to listen to music?" he said, startling Divya out of her thoughts. She turned to look at him and he smiled, "I'm not, by the way, an axe murderer. So calm down."

Divya's eyes widened and she said with a gasp, "How did you do that?"

Amar smiled innocently, "Do what?"

Shaking her head, Divya replied, "Nothing, I was just..."

Trailing off, she turned her head to look out the window. Okay, so he's not an axe murderer. But then, how many axe murderers did she know who went around telling everyone who they were?

Taking a deep breath, she turned to look at him. "Let's stop here."

Amar looked at her, surprised. "At the coffee shop?"

"Yes."

"All right."

Divya's breathing and heart rate returned to normal as they entered the coffee shop.

As they were seated at a corner table, Amar smiled, "So what would you like? Coffee? Tea? Me?"

Divya narrowed her eyes, "Where do you get these from?"

Raising an eyebrow, he replied, "Get what?"

Divya waved her arm towards him, "This!"


He smiled and spread his arms out, "It's just an Amar thing. You're either born with it or you aren't."


She chuckled and replied, "Tea. I don't like coffee and..."


"And...?"


Smiling, Divya finished, "I like tea."


"That's it?"


"That's it."


"Are you sure?"


"Yes..."


"Positive?"


Sigh...



I'm sure you know this already but Shalu is our own crazy Shalu, except now she's a maasi (well not technically, but we'll get to that later 😉 )

For anyone confused, the part in italics is the flashback to the day that Divya left with Amar.