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Chapter 3:
After having checked in their baggage, everyone sat and waited for boarding time. However, the Malliks and the Guptas made sure to sit on opposite ends of the room to avoid another confrontation between Abhimanyu and Nikhita. Suddenly they heard an announcement, "The Flight A123 to Paris, France is completely full. Please do not request to exchange seats with anyone or get another seat, as there are none available."
No one paid much attention to this announcement, thinking that it's just a flight. It's not like anyone's going to be with their worst enemies.
Well. They were in for quite a surprise once they started boarding the flight. Surprisingly, Riddhima and Armaan had gotten seats next to each other. "So apparently destiny did want us to meet again" winked Armaan, as he settled down next to her.
"Apparently it did. An entire plane ride" smiled Riddhimai, thinking at least she got to sit next to somebody she knew.
Next came Muskaan-Rahul. These two were seated next to each other, two rows in front of the other couple. Riddhima, seeing who Muskaan was sitting next to, came up to her and asked her if she had any problem sitting there. Muskaan, finally looking at Rahul for the first time, quickly turned to her sister, and whispered "Di. Why would I have any problem sitting here when he's so cute?"
"But…" Riddhima began, wanting to tell her younger sister about how she had yelled at Rahul previously for bumping into her. However, seeing that her sister didn't seem to have any problem, just shrugged and turned around to leave and sit next to Armaan.
Rahul was just sitting there, slightly shocked, Was the girl crazy or what? Why would she want to sit next to him after yelling at him before? She must be crazy he thought to himself. However, he just chose to stay in his seat, not really having any other option either.
"Hi! I'm Muskaan!" smiled Muskaan, putting out her hand.
"Rahul here" he smiled, placing his hand in her own. The two of them felt an instant shiver down their spines, and parted their hands slowly, not really wanting to let go. Yeah, after that, neither of them really wanted to move away from each other!
Finally. Abhimanyu-Nikhita. These two were given seats next to each other, and they were a few rows in front of the other couples, so no one else seemed to notice.
"YOU?!" screamed Nikki, noticing that Abhi was already seated next to her.
"Yeah. Why do you seem to have such a problem? It's not like you're the one sitting next to me" asked an irritated Abhi, just annoyed that she was even talking to him.
"Well Mister. Whoever you are. I AM the one that's supposed to be sitting next to you, so it would be great if you could just move. I don't want to sit next to you" said Nikki, settling herself down, and putting her bags away.
"Ugh. I'm going to try and switch with my brothers. You're right. There is NO WAY that I want to sit next to you either" replied an angry Abhi, getting up and heading first to Armaan.
"Hey Armaan! Would you mind switching with me? I'm stuck with that crazy girl again, the one that was screaming at me before by the check in line" said Abhi, standing right in front of Riddhima and his brother.
Armaan took one look at the woman next to him, Nope! There was something about her. He wanted to talk to her and get to know her. He definitely was not going to lose this one golden opportunity he had to go and sit next to some crazy lady!
"Um..Woh…Sorry Bhaiya. Ugh I don't feel like getting up. My legs are killing mee. Why don't you ask Rahul?" said Armaan, not really able to look his brother in the eye.
Abhi just raised one eyebrow in a questioning look, "Uh. Ok. Whatever your reason is for not getting up, I swear I'm definitely going to get your for it later" said Abhi, giving his brother an I know you're lying, but I won't embarrass you now look, and turning away to head to his younger brother's seat.
Rahul and Muskaan were chatting away, discussing where they were heading off to, when Abhi suddenly came in. "Rahul? Can you switch seats with me? I'm stuck next to that crazy lady and ugh. I really don't want to sit next to her" said Abhi, a pleading look in his eyes.
Rahul was ready to say yes, when suddenly Muskaan interrupted. "NO! I mean, um no, uh the flight attendant said we can't switch right, so uh, no. We can't get in trouble now can we" said Muskaan, slightly excited and nervous and just not wanting to let Rahul go.
Rahul just kinda shrugged and looked at Abhi, who decided that this girl was just as crazy as the other one. Sigh. Either way, guess I'm stuck next to a crazy person today.
Sighing, Abhi returned to his seat, and giving a helpless look to Nikki, sat down and opened up his magazine, beginning to read once again.
Nikki was furious, His own brothers wouldn't agree to switch seats with him? Sigh. Now it was up to her. Her sisters would definitely agree.
"I'm going to try out my luck, and trust me, I won't be coming back here" said Nikki, giving Abhi a cold glare before getting up and heading towards Riddhima's seat. However, as she walked there, she was shocked at seeing her sister talking to the man next to her, Armaan, so freely, laughing and conversing as if she had known him for years. Unknowingly, a smile formed across Nikki's face. Her sister seemed really happy with this guy, and well she had another sister would gladly switch seats with her – or so she thought.
Nikki walked backwards to Muskaan's seat, "Hi Muskaan!"
Muskaan was startled to see her sister near her seat. "Di?! Do you need anything?"
"Um well, yeah. I was wondering if you would switch seats with me. I'm stuck to this crazy guy and ugh. I don't want to sit next to him" Nikki said, the frustration and exasperation evident in both her voice and on her face. Abhi just sat there, wondering how Muskaan would react to her Di wanting to switch seats.
"Wohh.Woh. Diiiii! I reeeeeeeeealllllly wouldn't mind switching seats with you, but you know, I can't. Because they said no one was allowed to, remember?" Muskaan questioned, praying her sister would leave and let her sit in peace with Rahul.
"What? When did they say that?" Nikki questioned.
"Well they did Di. So uh sorry. Tough luck" said Muskaan, quickly, turning away quickly.
Needless to say, Nikki was annoyed at her younger sister's behavior, and didn't have the heart to interrupt Riddhima and Armaan. Sighing, she made her way back to her original seat, I mean, How bad can it possibly be?
Abhi smirked, seeing that Nikki was returning to her seat, a grumpy face and a slight frown. "Hmm. So someone isn't that good at convincing her sisters either" he said.
"Ugh shut up. Just shut up." said Nikki, turning away and staring straight ahead, not looking at Abhi. Shrugging, he returned to his magazine, thanking god that at least she shut up for some time.
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The other two couples were far from silent though. Riddhima and Armaan were really enjoying the time they spent with each other. Riddhima, the usually shy, booky, and quiet type, felt so different, so free and at ease with Armaan. She didn't know why, but she knew she definitely liked the way he made her feel.
"So Riddhima, what else do you do?" Armaan asked, his eyes bright and shining.
"Well, actually, I'm into art. I love it, painting, drawing, photography, anything. It's just a hobby though, but whenever I get some free time, I try and work at it" she replied, a bright smile on her face.
"Art?! Really? Me too! Well, I'm kinda just into it for fun. I actually am doing my residency but yeah. I do some photography here and there.."
Riddhima was definitely surprised. This guy was not only quite charming, funny, attractive, and easy going, but he also enjoyed art! That definitely came as a shocker to her, as most of the guys she had talked to before, laughed at her or didn't take her seriously when she mentioned that she loved panting.
"Oh wait. Have you ever tried to make something out of it? Ever like sent it in to competitions or something? I could help you out in that regard" he said, wanting to encourage her.
Riddhima was overcome with happiness. "Thanks for that! That would be great!" she replied, casually placing her hand over his, which was already lying on the armrest. Before she could move it away though, he held it back, grasping it softly and giving it a slight squeeze, before answering "No problem. Anything for a friend" and giving her one of his genuine smiles, not the usual flirty Armaan smiles.
She turned a slight red at his words. His touch was doing unknown things to her, as she felt the jitteriness in her stomach, and a tingling sensation down her spine. He smiled instantaneously seeing her reaction. For some reason, she was affecting him a lot.
And so the two continued talking, still holding each others' hands.
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Rahul and Muskaan were another couple lost in their own world. The two were engaged in their own conversation, with Muskaan doing most of the talking (obviously!) and Rahul being the more silent one , who listened and added his own input.
"So yeah, I love shopping, but with university and school, I just never had any time to do anything" said Muskaan excitedly, as they were discussing what they liked to do.
"Ah shopping? Yeah, I took a design course this past semester" replied Rahul, smiling. Although he did think that this girl talked a tad too much, for some reason he didn't really seem to mind it. He actually liked her nonstop talking, it just seemed fun and childish.
"Really?! You like fashion designing too? My sisters both say that I'm crazy sometimes for thinking so much about this" said Muskaan.
"Haha Yes. I like designing too, even though it is more of a hobby. I actually am studying to be a doctor" smiled Rahul. The two discovered that they both were actually headed to the same university, that they actually liked many of the same things. The comfort level between them grew and soon they were talking away as if they had known each other for years.
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So we have all three of our couples. Abhi-Nikki forcing themselves to look away from each other and not interact at all, Riddhima-Armaan discovering their love of art with a little romance brewing, and Muskaan-Rahul going to the same university, finding their interests match.
The announcement on the plan that suddenly came on startled everyone. "Well hello everyone on Flight A123. This plane is being rerouted and yes, for those of you who pray. Start praying now because your countdown is about to begin" spoke a menacing voice, one filled with wrath and anger, and an evil cackle followed. A man began to emerge from the front, a gun in his hand. He announced to everyone "Hands up. And we don't want anyone moving unless we say so."
Everyone sat rigidly in their seats, surprised at this sudden turn of events. Abhi and Nikki slowly looked at each other, and the fear that Abhi saw in her eyes surprised him. He calmly blinked his eyes, in a way reassuring her that everything would be fine, and attempted to give her a small reassuring smile. Although this gesture was very small, for some reason, it assured Nikki immensely, and she smiled back nervously at him, and raised her hands like the man had told them to.
Riddhima was terrified as to what was happening, and the panic and nervousness were obvious to her. Her hand was still in Armaan's and he just squeezed it tightly, reassuringly, and the two also lifted their hands above their heads. For some reason, Armaan's gesture was also very helpful in calmng down Riddhma, who was utterly terror stricken.
Muskaan had tears in her eyes from her nervousness, and Rahul saw how scared she was. The guy was nearing them with his gun, so he quickly mouthed an "It's ok" to her and nudged her, telling her to listen to what the man was saying.
Before anyone knew it though, another man appeared, a gun in his own hand and walked down the aisle, giving everyone fierce, mean looks.
Two men with guns on the airplane, and no chance of escape. What happens next?
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So I hope you all enjoyed this part :) Please do read and comment!
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