||Just One Breath Away-AN FF~VM pg 122|| - Page 11

Nikita sat on the stands of the basketball court, still fuming from her recent argument with Abhimanyu. What is with him? All these days he was being so nice to me, why is he acting so rudely all of a sudden? She exhaled in frustration, and picked up a dried leaf that was lying beside her. His angry eyes flashed in her mind and she crumbled the leaf in her palm, muttering furiously under her breath.

"Hey Nikita…what're you doing up here?" a crisp voice from her side startled her out of her murderous thoughts. She looked up, and watched the speaker walk slowly towards her and settle himself on the stands beside her.

Shehnaz stood outside Abhimanyu's office, debating whether to go in. She had overheard the argument between Abhi and Nikki, and wondered what would have caused Abhi to blow up suddenly. She remembered watching Nikki storm away in fury, banging the door behind her loudly. The sound of it had made her flinch.

One thing she was sure of, Abhimanyu's anger had not changed one bit. He must be livid… The very thought of having to face his fury made her tremble slightly. He could be very hurtful without actually meaning to.

Akash mimicked Nikki's position on the stands and watched the anger burn in her beautiful eyes. It was evening, and the moonlight streaming upon her ivory skin, bouncing off her raven hair made her look even more angelic. The only thing that disturbed the peaceful image she created was the fire in her eyes as she stared ahead, glaring at nothing in particular.

She had only acknowledged his presence by glancing at him at the sound of his voice. Otherwise she was still deeply immersed in her own thoughts. He watched her for some time, loving the vision she made.

"You could tell me, you know", he broke the silence between them.

"I don't want to", she shot a reply, still not looking at him.

Hiding the pang of hurt that shot through him, he continued, "Maybe I can help."

"I don't want it. Could you leave me alone?" It was obvious that she was in no mood to talk.

He sighed and got up, and walked to the parapet. It wasn't her rudeness that disturbed him; it was the fact that such an easy-going girl like her was suddenly so angry that hurt.

Staring into space, he kept his voice soft and soothing, not wanting to aggravate her fury further. "It will be fine, don't worry."

He could feel her eyes burning into the back of his head. He turned around and met her confused glare. "He's the only one who gets on your nerves", he explained.

"How do you know?" she asked quietly.

"I noticed", he said simply and turned back again.

"It's none of your business", she told him off crossly.

"I know", Akash sighed. "But I just thought I should tell you that maybe he was just a bit disturbed…" he waited for her to say something. When she didn't, he went on, "He doesn't seem the type to do such a thing. Let it go…why are you stewing here in the basketball court?"

"You should get to work."

"So should you."

"I'm on my break."

"Ah", he smiled slightly, his back facing to her. He gave her a small smile and walked towards the door. Pausing at the doorframe, he said, "He's your friend. Forgive him." With that, he walked off, leaving her glaring at his retreating back.

Shehnaz knocked on the door, and went in when she got the permission to do so.

"Yes?" his eyes blazed at her.

Pursing her lips, she sat down on the chair opposite to him. "The Project…I've a bit of confusion."

"I explained it to you nicely the other day. If you had any confusion you could have asked me then. I've no time for this now", he growled at her.

"But I just need to –"

"I don't want to hear it now. I'll clear it tomorrow morning, not now. Is that understood?"

"Why are you acting like this?" her soft voice cut through his anger, and he blinked at her.

"Why do you want to know?" he asked, his voice carefully controlled.

"I care, that's why. I could help you with whatever is bothering you."

"No you don't care. And I don't need your pity. Just go."

"You hurt her, you know", she told him.

The blaze returned once more in his eyes, and he turned them on her, burning her with the intensity in them.

"You were listening outside my office?" he scowled, his voice disbelieving yet rough.

Uncomfortable under his gaze, she looked down, refusing to answer.

"I should have guessed. You can never stop spying on me, can you!" he barked angrily.

"I wasn't spying!"

But he was too furious to listen to her explanation. "Just leave…please", his anger was about to go out of his control, and she hurriedly obliged, shutting the door behind her and resting her head against the wall, sighing deeply.

He laughed and pinched her cheek.

"You're terrible, Kavya!" he gave her a one-armed hug, and she ruffled his hair fondly.

"You think I'm bad?" she pretended to pout.

"Not bad, simply evil!" he corrected her and they again burst into laughter. "That was one of the best pranks I've seen!" he told her breathlessly, and gave her a hi-five while the others roared with laughter.

"One of the worst, Abhi…not the best!" Vishal poked him from behind and he grinned at him.

"It was awesome, wasn't it!" she winked, and he sniggered. "Yeah, it certainly was! The look on his face was priceless!" he grinned at her. "Really, Kavya, you're great!"

"I know that!" she lifted her collar and smirked at him in mock smugness, and they all again broke into peals of laughter imagining the fate of one of their friends whom they had pranked. After the laughter had doused, Shehnaz approached them.

Abhi happily hi-fived Sameer and hugged Kavya for some reason, and the others also pounced on them in a group hug. Trying her best to smile, she walked up to her boyfriend and dragged him away to their special place on the terrace.

He was excitedly narrating the story of the prank, and she studied his face, not really listening to what he was saying. His eyes sparkled with mischief, and he guffawed happily while recounting what Kavya had done.

"What?" he questioned her breathlessly, his cheeks slightly flushed from laughing so much.

"Why were you hugging her?" she asked him, trying to keep her voice as innocent as possible.

His expression sobered. "She's my best friend, Naz. You know that."

"Yeah, but still. I don't like it…" she tried to explain the jealousy she had felt.

"What do you mean? I can't hug my friends because I already have a girlfriend?" he gaped at her. "I mean, how silly is that!" He continued in a serious tone when he understood that she wasn't in a mood for jokes. "You can't expect that of me, Naz…try to understand!"

"But I don't want you to hug other girls!" she told him hotly.

"What do you mean 'other girls'? I never ask you to stop being friends with guys, then why are you being so childish?" his temper was rising, and she knew it.

"I don't know…I hate it!" she informed him angrily.

"But I can't help it!" he pounced on her crossly. "You seem to have a problem with every female friend of mine!"

"Maybe I do. Can't you understand my stance?"

"No, I can't. And I don't want to, either", he delivered seething, and walked off in a huff.

She remembered the fights they'd had because of her insecurity, and sighed deeply as the memories of how they hadn't even spoken to each other for a whole week after that fight resurfaced.

Nikki looked up at the moonlit sky, musing over what Akash had said and getting angrier by the minute. Then she remembered how Abhi had come and sat beside her right here after her fight with Armaan. He had been so nice, so understanding.

Akash's words flashed in her mind. He doesn't seem the type to do such a thing.

She sighed and wondered what had made him so angry anyway. Her pager buzzed, and she walked to the ICU to help Dr. Subhankar, all the while thinking about Abhimanyu and his weird mood swings.

Abhimanyu seethed in his office, a few old memories of him and Shehnaz rushing back, which he pushed to the back of his mind once more. He needed to focus on Nikki. He didn't know why, but he just did.

Slamming the file on his desk, he went to attend a meeting that was scheduled to start now, trying his best to forget the argument.

*****

Abhimanyu walked down the corridor, concentrating on a file. All passing people avoided him, wary of knocking into him and getting told off. Nikita walked down the same corridor in the opposite direction, immersed in thoughts about Abhimanyu's strangely rude behaviour in his office.

She was muttering to herself under her breath, wondering what to do to improve his mood. She sighed as she turned around the corner, and bumped into something hard and muscular.

She was instantly pulled back by a pair of strong arms prevent her from falling, and she looked up to see that the hard and muscular something was her boss's chest.

The file fell to the floor when he grabbed her waist and pulled her against his chest instinctively, but he didn't notice. Her surprised eyes caught his attention, and he found himself staring into them lovingly.

His arms were strong, and it felt very warm and secure in them. A familiar feeling, her mind registered. One hand was trapped against his chest, and the other had bunched up his shirt to hold on to it automatically when he'd pulled her close.

The musky smell of his aftershave filled her senses, and she took it in, taking deep breaths and unwillingly allowing her mind to go fuzzy with the impact. His eyes were burning…not with anger this time, but with intensity. She found herself getting lost in the dark chocolate pools that were his eyes. They looked into hers longingly, all trace of anger having vanished from them.

She shyly looked up, feeling very contented in the confines of his arms. He sucked in the flowery smell of her shampoo, and sighed softly, pulling her closer.

They stood there, lost in each other, while all passers-by stared at them. But they were oblivious to their surroundings, gazing lovingly into each other's eyes, wishing to hold on forever.

She sighed and relaxed her hold on his shirt. Her soft movement broke his reverie, and he immediately let go of her waist, almost throwing her off balance. They steadied themselves and glanced at each other awkwardly, occasionally glaring at those who had stopped to ogle at them.

He spotted the file lying on the floor, its contents scattered all over. His anger came rushing back and he glowered at her again.

"Can't you see?" he scowled. "You dropped an important file."

"Excuse me! You were the one who bumped into me! It's your fault", she shot back at him, regaining her senses once she couldn't smell him anymore.

"My fault!" he repeated incredulously. "You need glasses, Nikita. Watch where you're going."

"Well, you need to change your glasses, Modi!" she glared at him, crossing her arms over her chest.

He ignored the jab at his glasses and went on, "You're impossible. Can't even walk properly and blame it on me! Wah!"

She narrowed her eyes at him and sneered, "Well, so maybe I can't see. But you can, na! You should have seen me coming and avoided colliding!"

He glared at her. "So you mean it's my fault?"

"Yes, of course it is! Everything is your fault!" she made a face at him, and he moved closer.

"Don't you blame everything on me!" he glowered at her, not remembering the reason for their fight in the first place. Her eyes were boring into his, and no matter how angry she was, she still looked beautiful.

She stared back angrily at him. His glare was way more convincing than hers. He had moved closer to her, and his smell again was starting to dissolve her irritation. Man, he smells good.

"You're to blame!" she managed softly, shivering slightly when she felt his breath on her face. His face was inches away from hers.

"Just get back to work, Doctor", he threw at her in an unintentionally seductive voice, and walked away.

She stood there, trying to gather her jumbled thoughts. Her anger at him shot up once more.

"Cheater", she accused her non-present boss, and stomped away angrily, trying to wipe the memory of how wonderful his voice had sounded in her ear, or how good it had felt when his breath had tickled her neck.

*****

Nikki finally finished her work at 10:30 in the night, and walked to the cafeteria for some coffee before she drove home.

She stirred her coffee absentmindedly, going over the events of the day her mind freezing on her argument with Abhi. Abhimanyu, she corrected herself.

Shrugging these thoughts away, she gathered her things from the locker room and walked out to the parking lot.

Dark, heavy clouds had gathered in the sky, hiding the moon that had been previously shining among the stars. A thunderclap sounded, and she nearly jumped out of her skin.

She hurried toward her car, using the light from her phone to guide her, almost tripping over a random stone. Nikita hated the dark. It was highly disturbing and inconvenient. And even more so because she was afraid of it.

The dull grey clouds rumbled overhead and she quickly rushed inside her car, taking deep breaths to calm herself down.

As she turned on the ignition of the car and switched on the headlights, rain started to pour from the sky in loud drops, making pitter-patter sounds on the roof of her car.

"Great. Rain. What else do I need?" She glowered at the window and drove out of the parking lot.

She drove carefully down the road, the darkness scaring her slightly when she realised that there was a power cut in the area. She gulped and turned on some music in her car in an attempt to calm down.

Even her car seemed to be behaving weirdly. It was not accelerating like normal, and was moving sluggishly. A nagging voice in her mind told her that something was wrong with the car, but in her impatience and fear she didn't dare go out to check.

She stopped at a signal, and looked out of the window. Everything was a dark slithery mess. She couldn't decipher anything outside. She glanced through the windshield, and saw the headlights of her car had lit up the street in front of her, casting an eerie white glow.

She scowled at the road, seeing that there were hardly any cars on it, and yet the signal was red. Finally, the light turned green and she turned the key to start the car, and stepped on the accelerator. But her car didn't move. It simply stood there, and when she tried again, pressing the accelerator much more than was required, it moved ever so slowly, as if in a painful effort.

Something was definitely wrong. She debated whether to get out and see what it was. The darkness terrified her, and she trembled ever so slightly while taking out a torch from her bag and stepping out into the heavy rain.

It was cold outside, and nothing short of a thunderstorm. The wind whipped through her hair, making her shiver, and the rain drenched her to the bone.

She had a vague idea that maybe it was a puncture. Tentatively she walked around her car, observing each tyre carefully in the torchlight. Hoping against hope that it wasn't what she thought it was, she finally reached the front left tyre.

To her utter dismay, she saw that her fears were true. It was a flat tyre. She knew had a Stepney somewhere, but she didn't have the faintest hint how to replace it.

She stared at the punctured tyre helplessly, wondering what to do. The rain fell uninterrupted from the sky, the force and the speed intact. She stood there silently on the empty road in the middle of the night, wondering how she would get home now.

Also the fact that she was all alone in this place bothered her. She could hear only the howling of the wind and the sound of the rain, and she couldn't see anything in the dark. A small voice in the back of her mind warned her of impending danger.

Accepting the fact that she would have to leave her car here and somehow make it back home, she grabbed her bag from her seat and locked the car, turning both indicators on, and leaving the headlights on as well for her convenience.

She went and stood in the bright headlights of her car, making sure that a passing car could see her. It could be dangerous, but she had no other option.

She tried to stop a few taxis and rickshaws passing by, but none of them paid heed to her. The darkness all around was starting to get at her, and she started panicking.

Her frustration increased, the emotionally and physically exhausting day taking its toll on her. She tried to put up a brave front, willing herself not to be afraid as she shivered in the cold…or was it fear?

Suddenly, the glaring headlights of an approaching car almost blinded her, and she instinctively put up her hands to cover her eyes. Something clicked in her, and she put out an arm, waving it in the air, gesturing and wishing the car to stop.

It did stop, a few feet away from her car. The bright headlights from both cars made it impossible to recognise the car that stood in front of her. She couldn't even see its colour. She could vaguely make out that there was only one person in the car, in the driver's seat.

A chill shot through her spine, and even in her relief that a car had finally stopped for her, she was terrified. She had no idea who was in the car, and that scared her the most.

She saw the door open, and the dark silhouette of a man rose from it. She couldn't make out his face, or his clothes, for the light from the cars obstructed her vision so much that it was painful to even try to keep her eyes open. She instinctively took a step back, her mind going numb as he slowly approached her.