*Veeba* - Random Oneshots (New OS - Lean on Me - P.6) - Page 2

Lovesick

His long fingers were tangled and meshed together. His forearms rested on his thighs as he sat, bent forward in anticipation. The honey eyes had been flitting between the reception desk and the exit door for the past ten minutes. He could hear the cogs in his head whirring as he plotted his escape.

What am I doing? he thought. I should just walk out. See if anyone dares to stop me.

Rugged features locked into a determined expression, his brows low and menacing, he set his gaze firmly on the exit door and stood up with purpose. It was simple enough. Nobody had even noticed his movement. He was just about to make his bid for freedom when he heard a smattering of conversation behind him.

"...oh yes, our first graduate is a special girl. Veera..."

At her name, he froze. A dozen images of the feisty, young woman came crashing into his mind.

Shining eyes and mischievous smiles. Eyebrows that danced upon her forehead. Scorching glares that matched the fire in his own burning eyes...

With a large sigh, he rather ungracefully slumped back in his seat, his head in his hands. Breath, he told himself sternly. He ran his fingers repeatedly through his wavy locks trying to calm his chaotic mind and heart. His eyes scrunched tightly shut, tucking his chin into his chest.

How could he even think about leaving the appointment? Sometimes his ego was too much, he thought. She told me that yesterday...

As her luminous face swam into view again, he groaned, tore his hands from his scalp and pushed his palms against his forehead.

No, he would not run away today. This had gone on for long enough. He needed to understand what on earth was wrong with him.

"Baldev Singh!"

Opening his eyes, he raised his head wearily at the woman seated behind the desk.

"The Doctor will see you now."

Nodding his thanks, he gritted his teeth, took a deep breath and stood up once more. Walking straight past the exit, he arrived at the white door beyond the reception, rapped his knuckles upon the wood and without waiting for a reply, entered the room.

The Doctor was a middle-aged man. The dark hair and beard were flecked with white. The face was slightly wrinkled, yet his eyes were youthful. His mouth was kind. Sat in his chair, he grinned toothily at the troubled young man and indicated that he take a seat in front of his desk with a casual movement of his right hand.

"Ah Baldev. I must say, I'm surprised to see you. You always seem to be in the best of health, roaming around the village and keeping out of trouble." At this the Doctor winked and Baldev, feigning confidence, smirked, readjusted the collar of his jacket and relaxed in his chair.

"Well, yeah. I've never had much illness in my life..."

"So what seems to be the problem?" The Doctor looked down at Baldev's previous medical notes.

Silence covered the small office. The Doctor glanced up and found the usually talkative rogue deep in thought. His eyes were gentle and confused.

"Baldev?"

Visibly jolting himself back to reality, Baldev pasted a lazy smile onto his face and laughing boyishly replied;

"Oh it's not much. I've just been having chest pain and an increase in my heartbeat. It's not when I exercise. It doesn't happen all the time. It's just when..."

He drifted off, falling helplessly into a gold and pink memory. Swinging earrings behind solitary ringlets of silky hair, swaying to the strings of the guitar playing deep within his chest...

"Baldev!?"

The Doctor was staring at him in concern. Baldev felt the now familiar warmth in his cheeks return and he blinked rapidly, embarrassed. The Doctor smiled encouragingly at him.

"You should not be experiencing chest pain at your age. And it is odd that the pain is not related to exercise. If you will please move to the medical table, I can examine your chest more thoroughly."

At this, Baldev rose from his chair, walked over to the medical table and sat down on its edge. Removing his leather jacket, and grasping the bottom of his red kurta, he pulled upwards towards his chin, his kurta bunched in both fists, and kept it in place.

The Doctor placed both ear pieces of his stethoscope in his ears and positioned the round end upon Baldev's bare chest.

"Deep breath. In and out." The Doctor instructed.

In the silence of the room, Baldev could hear his heart beating slowly, rhythmically. He took a breath and glanced absentmindedly out of the window to his left. And suddenly there was no breath left in his body.

Her dark eyes were glowing with luminous energy as she giggled, a mobile phone pressed to her ear. In slow motion, he saw her throw her head back in pearls of laughter, her long dark hair billowing around her pretty face. Desperately trying to control herself, she bit down on her bottom lip in an attempt to stop laughing, but it bubbled out of her small frame once more...

The Doctor was alarmed. Baldev's heart had been beating normally a minute ago. Now however, he could hear a rapid pulse, thumping loud and strong in his ears. The Doctor stared confused at the round end of the stethoscope, still resting on Baldev's chest.

"Baldev are you alright? Are you having an attack now?" he asked worriedly.

"..Yes..." came the soft, breathless reply from above.

The Doctor glanced up at the young man's face. Baldev's caramel eyes were glazed over with an intense emotion, a tiny smile lifting either side of his mouth. He wasn't blinking. His chest rose up and down with dramatic speed. His gaze seemed to be fixed upon something over the Doctor's shoulder.

The Doctor shifted his eyes in the same direction as Baldev's. He looked out of the window and for a moment, couldn't see anything out of the ordinary. He scanned the scene. The street was not very busy. He saw a group of children playing. He saw an aged, married couple arguing. He saw Veera...

Realisation dawned upon the Doctor. He glanced back at Baldev, who hadn't even noticed that the stethoscope had been removed from his torso. He continued holding his red kurta, displaying his bare chest. He was still staring out of the window, drinking in the sight with thirsty eyes.

Oh yes, the object of his intense stare was most definitely the young woman chatting on the phone.

A large smile spread across the Doctor's face. Poor boy, he thought amused at the situation unfolding.

"Baldev? The examination is over, please be seated" said the Doctor loudly and walked back to his desk.

Baldev almost leapt out of his skin, fell of the table and landed in a heap of limbs and kurta on the floor. Shrugging off his embarrassment, he set himself straight and arranged a look of cool confidence upon his face. He put on his jacket and sat opposite the Doctor once again.

"So, did you find out what's wrong with me?" he asked casually.

The Doctor placed his folded hands upon the desk and said seriously;

"Yes. But unfortunately there is nothing I can do about."

Baldev's eyes grew round and wide. He forgot his coolness' and spluttered;

"But you're a Doctor. You must be able to help me. Am I that sick?!"

The Doctor sighed dramatically and said with bright eyes;

"Well, you are sick. But just not in the medical sense..."

Baldev's handsome features crumpled in confusion. What nonsense is this, he thought frustrated.

The Doctor, taking pity on him, looked him in the eyes and said;

"Baldev, listen. Your symptoms point to one thing. A matter of the heart. Now I'm not going to say anymore, but remember that and you'll figure it out for yourself."

And at this, the Doctor rose from behind his desk and ushered Baldev out of his seat.

"Take care of yourself and good luck" he said cheerfully.

Confusion was still etched all over Baldev's face, but he shook his head slightly and headed for the door.

Once Baldev had left the room, the Doctor chuckled and wandered over to the window.

Sure enough, Veera was still on the street. She had just finished her conversation and was placing her phone in her jeans pocket, when a rugged young man strutted confidently up to where she was standing.

The Doctor couldn't hear their conversation, but their facial expressions were enough to describe the situation. He laughed as Veera's eyes blazed furiously at whatever Baldev had said to her. The warring two grew closer and closer in their argument, as they tossed and flung heated words at each other.

Both had irritated expressions until Veera decided to lay a hand upon Baldev's chest. The hard lines of his face melted immediately, his expression softening involuntarily.

Surprising the Doctor, Veera then elevated her hand and pinched Baldev's right cheek before raising her eyebrows at him twice, flipping her hair and sauntering off.

Poor boy, thought the Doctor, not for the first time that day. Baldev stood stunned as he slowly raised a hand to his cheek, his eyes once again glazed and dreamy. As soon as he came to his senses, he hurried off after her, an annoyed expression back on his face.

The Doctor laughed heartily once again and said to himself;

"I wonder how long until poor Baldev realises that the only disease he has is extreme lovesickness..."

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