A/N: This chapter is kind of Maya and Jai centric. I really feel as if you guys should get a view into their lives as well. I never intended to make Maya a hateful character, there is a reason she behaves the way she does. Jai, on the other hand, has no excuse. xD He's a character who's going to eventually change for the better. Just not now, though. And if you really don't like Maya and Jai, then substitute all the Maya's for Shilpa and all the Jai's for Armaan, and consider this a random, out of the blue oneshot! :) Don't hate on me for not focusing completely on ArSh, not everything in the world is about them, right? RIGHT? :D
Chapter 18: Encounters of Fate
Maya exited the small, warm, and homely cafe with a large ice cap supreme and a big smile on her face. As soon as she stepped outside, she was greeted by the shining stars above her head and the cold spring night breeze. Enjoying the beauty of the night, Maya decided to walk home instead of taking the bus.
Days like these were a rare event in her life; days where she could be all alone by herself without the constant pressure of her parents demanding her to be 'perfect'. Maya scoffed at the thought and wondered if her parents had ever heard the phrase 'Nobody's perfect'. 'Guess they haven't.' Maya sighed.
Her life, like everyone else's, had many different phases to it. There was the infant phase where she could do whatever she wanted. Maya liked this part of her life the best even if she didn't remember any part of it.
Next came the pre-tween phase, where her parent's constant need for perfection kicked in along with their numerous fights concerning her. This phase of Maya's life was bleak, but she vaguely remembered her parent forcing her to quit her studies at school, to become a child model. She was home schooled and it was a very dreadful experience. She wasn't close enough to her friends at school to miss them quite a lot, but the feel of sitting in class, the warm, friendly teachers, and recess were all unique experiences that she wished were a part of her childhood.
After that came the tween phase. This was a very dark phase of Maya's life where she only remembered crying herself to sleep every day. Her parents' fights had gotten worse, and now instead of taking their anger out on each other, they took it out on her whenever they could. Her father had become a drug addict and her mother an alcoholic. They had only stayed together for her, but Maya wished every day for them to be divorced already. By the end of this phase, Maya had become a lot quieter than she was but kept modeling for child catalogues in foreign countries.
Lastly, came the early and mid teens phase, where Maya started building up walls and transformed herself into someone everyone envied. She met a lot of people during this phase; people that she'd never forget even if she wanted to. This part of her life was very special to her because here she realized her goals, her dreams, and just the kind of person she wanted to be. She realized that she wanted to be a career-oriented person, since she barely even had a family who needed or for that matter wanted her. Her parents had finally divorced and she was currently living with her grandmother who she wasn't very close to, but she was glad it wasn't any of her parents.
While Maya was busy drowning in the waters of self-pity, she hadn't seen two very slightly-drunk men exit the bar that she had just passed by. Suddenly she was pulled out of her reverie as she heard one the men holler loudly. Maya turned around and saw that the whistle was aimed at her. A look of disgust passed over her face, and she increased her walking speed only slightly. The men behind her shared a look before running to catch up to her. They were almost beside her now. Maya put on a facade and pretended not to be bothered by them what-so-ever.
"Running away from us are you?" One of the man asked grabbing her elbow and pulling her back.
"Paradise" the bright visible sign read. The fancy writing was neon blue, and the sign was very hard to miss.
Jai didn't know why he was even here. He really didn't want to be here, yet he was. All thanks to his older brother who refused to pick his cell phone up.
Taking a deep breath, and flashing his ID to the security guard outside the bar, Jai stepped inside.
Jai was tempted to put his hands over his ears due to the loudness of the music inside. He wasn't aware that this was also a night club and not just a bar. Surveying the large space, Jai quickly spotted his brother along with some of his friends. He wondered for a moment how to approach and interrupt his brother without seeming like a total loser.
'Eh, what do I care?' Jai shrugged merely before walking towards his target.
"Um, hey." Jai spoke casually as he approached the table.
"S'up, bro!" His brother exclaimed as he saw Jai and got up to put an arm around his shoulder. "Meet my brother, Jai."
Jai nodded stiffly before whispering to his brother, "Dad wants you home, right now."
Jai's brother laughed, "What's the rush? It's only 7."
Jai looked straight at his brother's face and blinked a few times, "It's 11. And unless you're living in Toronto, and I'm stuck in Alaska, I don't think so."
"S**T!" Jai's brother swore. "Sorry guys, I have to go."
Jai's brother ran to the door and Jai followed him suit.
"Dad'll be so MAD!" Jai's brother exclaimed.
"Yes, he will." Jai nodded.
"Not helping." His brother glared and Jai bit back a grin.
"Jai! You've got to help me, come on." His brother whined and Jai sighed.
"Fine! Go in the car and I'll go home on foot. When I get there I'll tell Mom and Dad that I couldn't find you at the bar, and that your friends told me that you left an hour ago."
"And how'll that help?" Jai's brother asked.
"Well then, Mom and Dad will get worried as to where you are." Jai spoke.
"And?"
"Then you can just arrive home 15 minutes after me, and then win them over with your sob story." Jai grinned.
"What sob story?" Jai's brother looked curious.
"That's your problem, not mine. You've got to do something for yourself too. Hey, how about you tell about how you were on your way and an accident happened in front of you. Then you being the hero you are, took charge of the situation and took the girl or old lady, it HAS to be a girl or old lady, to the hospital, and then dropped them off at home. And that's why you're a hour or two late!"
"That could just work! Thanks Jai, you're my favourite brother."
"I'm your ONLY brother. Therefore I HAVE to be your favourite brother." Jai commented.
"Okay, call me when you get there, and I'll leave then." Jai's brother smirked.
"You're going to leave THEN!? Why? You'll be at least half an hour late then!"
"The more the better." Jai rolled his eyes at his brother's typical statement.
His brother ran back and Jai sighed. He turned around and saw a girl pass by the bar, and he smiled for reasons he didn't comprehend. She was walking with a partially melted ice cap in her hand, but she seemed lost in thought. Suddenly a smile crossed her face as she passed the bar and Jai saw two men walk out of it looking slightly drunk.
The two men shared the look before smiling at each other in a way that bothered Jai. He saw both of them whistle at the girl, and she turned around to give them a dirty look.
The girl started walking faster and the guys ran to catch up to her. One of them caught her by the elbow and said something that made the girl give them another dirty look as they turned her to face them.
Jai contemplated whether to go there and save the girl or just ignore her. His good side and his 'realistic' side battled for a few seconds, but Jai decided that it might be too late by the time they both reached unto a conclusion.
Jai jogged up to the sidewalk all the while thinking of how to best approach this situation. He knew that he couldn't fight the two alone. They were both well-built, and this wasn't a cheesy Indian movie where the guy beats up 10 guys single handed.
"Running away from us are you?" One of the man asked grabbing her elbow and pulling her back.
Maya shot both of them a dirty look and pulled her elbow for their grasp. She turned around swiftly on her heel and marched away, but both of them came behind her.
"You seem lost." The other one spoke "We know a great place for you to spend the night."
"I'm not lost. Thank you very much, but if you're lost then there's a police car if you walk back a couple blocks."
"Feisty, isn't she?" One of the guys grinned.
"I like 'em feisty! They're so much better..." The other trailed off chuckling.
Maya continued walking ignoring their comments.
'Okay, Maya, you can do this. All you have to do is pretend that they aren't bothering you, and they'll leave you alone.'
In the distance, Maya heard footsteps that belonged to some other than the two men come closer but she didn't turn around to see who it was.
"Hey, where were you? I was looking all over for you, honey." Jai ran and spoke loudly as he put his arm around Maya's waist creating space between Maya and the guy who grabbed her elbow. .
"Excuse me? Who the hell are you?" Maya whispered and tries to shrug his arm off.
"Shhh. Play along." Jai whispered in her ear.
"She yours?" One of the men asked Jai who pretended that he just saw the two men.
"What does that have to do anything with you?" Jai asked raising his voice and trying to sound angry. "Who are you, anyways? And why exactly are you walking this close to my girlfriend?"
Jai talking advantage of his height and strong build towered over the guy.
"Uh, we're just tourists and we were asking her about the way to our hotel, but she doesn't know, so we'll just leave. Let's go Jim!" The guy ushered his partner-in-about-to-be-a-crime and scurried away.
Jai grinned as soon as the men were out of sight and turned to face Maya.
"What?" Maya asked narrowing her eyes at him.
"A thank you would be nice." Jai replied still grinning.
"Why? I didn't ask you to help." Maya answered before turning around and continuing walking towards her destination.
"Wow, here I save you from bad men, and you're not even the least bit grateful." Jai replied running slightly to catch up with here.
"Why should I be thankful? I never asked you to "save" me." Maya turned her head to look and Jai, her poker face masking the relief she was feeling.
Jai cocked his head to the side and narrowed his eyes slightly as if he was scrutinizing her.
"What?" Maya asked taking a step back.
"Do I, by any chance...know you?" Jai asked still looking at her oddly.
"What was that? A pick up line?" Maya asked rolling her eyes and turned around again.
"No." Jai stated simply and matched his pace with hers. "I've seen you before, I'm sure!"
"Sorry, I don't remember seeing you." Maya replied not even bothering to glance at him.
"What's your name?" Jai's tone was serious and made Maya glance at him.
"Maya."
"Maya." Jai spoke slowly letting the word roll off his tongue.
"Maya." He spoke again. "That sounds familiar. Are you sure I haven't seen you anywhere."
Maya stopped and turned to look at his face closely. "Sorry, I don't remember anything."
"Oh. Nevermind. Probably a mix up." Jai shrugged his expression the complete opposite of his words.
Jai and Maya walked together to Maya's house in complete silence slightly unaware of each other's presence until Jai's cell phone beeped.
"Hello?" Jai spoke into the cell phone and was greeted by his brother yelling.
"Where are you!? Why aren't you home yet?!"
"Shoot!" Jai's eyes widened much to Maya's curiosity. "Sorry, I got sidetracked. Just leave now, since I'm almost there."
"Okay, whatever." Jai's brother hung up the phone without as much as a goodbye.
"Sorry, it was my brother. Apparently, I need to be home right now." Jai mumbled.
"It's fine." Maya smiled slightly and pointed at the large red and beige house that was a few houses down from him. "That's my house."
"Okay, then I'll just drop you until there." Jai spoke and started walking.
"You know you don't have to, right?" Maya asked stopping on the sidewalk suddenly.
"I know," replied Jai smiling at her genuinely "I'd like to though."
"Go, now!" Maya commanded.
"You're just going to make me a lot later than I'll be if you just start walking."
Maya huffed and Jai smiled, "Fine!"
"'Kay, see you later." Jai spoke as soon they got to the steps of Maya's house.
Maya nodded and Jai turned around to head to his own house where his parents were awaiting him and his dear, older brother.
"Hey!" Maya shouted at the retreating figure and he turned around only his upper body to look at her. "Thanks."
"No problem!" Jai winked while a huge grin decorated his face.
Jai was about to continue and say something else, before his cell phone started ringing.
"Shoot! Mom and Dad!" Jai muttered as "Home" flashed on the screen of his new Blackberry.
Maya watched in amusement as the expression of Jai's face changed dramatically. He was peering at his cell phone and it looked like he was debating whether or not to answer it.
Without even realizing it she yelled, "Run!"
Jai momentarily looked up at and flashed a smile at her before taking off.
Shaking her head and laughing, Maya opened the door only to be greeted by darkness.
She sighed happily after closing the door, but two voices from the kitchen interrupted her.
"Finally, you're back!" Her dad exclaimed shortly followed by her mother who commented on how happy she seemed to be.
Her eyes snapped to the kitchen and she found herself staring at her parents - the same parents who she hadn't seen for the last 10 years and had yet managed to completely evade and control her mind despite not being physically there. She then turned to look at her grandmother who face was blank like always, devoid of any emotion.
Maya closed her eyes and sighed. She felt the sudden longing to sit down on the ground, but she managed to overcome the urge. Taking a deep breath and opening her eyes, Maya got ready to face whatever her parents threw at her.
A/N: Cliffhanger, much? xD I know! Sorry again for the whole Maya and Jai centric chapters with absolutely no mention of ArSh, RM or AA. I was meaning to write the end of the beach "date", if you could call it that, but I somehow ended up with this. Yeah, don't know how, but I was really fascinated by the idea once I started and yeah. As an apology for sticking by me this far, the next chapter WILL be LOOONG, and Armaan-Shilpa centric! Happy? :) Edited by xxdevilishxx - 14 years ago
Arjun
