A Walk On The Beach..-AR[New Page Link: Page 150] - Page 9

Part 8:- Messed Up!

"I can't believe you're leaving tonight!" I sighed sadly as I saw Nikki packing her bags...

"I know...I'm so sorry but I couldn't even wait any longer...You know Abhi...."

"Not really...We don't know why he's such an idiot to have chosen you of all the people..." Armaan grinned; leaning on the door...I glared at him and shook my head...

"Stupid people say stupid things...Ignore..." I said rolling my eyes, as Nikki continued packing...

"I know...And anyway, I don't speak Stupid, only Armaan has done a PhD in that language..." I sniggered at Nikki's reply...Armaan smiled sceptically at us...

"I dunno how I'm gonna pack any of this in like 3 hours! I have to be at the airport by 10.30..." Nikki sighed, exhausted and perched herself on the bed....

"It's just 6.30 now...If you hurry up, and not waste your time right now, I'm sure you'll get through!" I picked up the second bag and began packing for her...

"Thank god you guys are here...I dunno how I would have packed so much without your help!"

"I'm just here so that you pack fast and leave even faster!" Armaan grinned...Nikki rolled her eyes...

"So Ridz...You thought about coming to Delhi yet??" Nikki looked at me expectantly...

"Niks I really can't take a decision till I go back home, so you'll have to wait another week or so...But I really don't think I'll make it...Don't think Mum will let me..." I shrugged...Nikki pouted...

"How rude!"

"Yeah Munchkin, if I'm coming all the way from here, I'm sure Mumbai to Delhi won't be such a big deal..." Armaan frowned..."Who else have you told by the way?" He continued, turning towards Nikki...

"Erm...I told Ridz yesterday...And I told Alex and Sid as well...I'll call the rest once I reach back...Once it's all fixed..."

"So are Alex and Sid coming?" Armaan asked, looking at me meaningfully....

"Yeah they are...Mostly...." Nikki turned to me, looking at me wide-eyed...

"Guys stop looking at me that way...I'm fine...And Sid coming or not, isn't gonna change my decision..." I glared at the pair, and they looked away...About time, I thought...

They remained silent after that, but I could sense from the corner of my eyes, the way Nikki was commuting to Armaan through gestures and signs...

"I would rather if you'll talk rather than annoying me by gesturing behind my back...I'll leave....I anyways have to get going, I have to pack as well..." I picked up my coat, and left the room....

"She still believes in her 'escape the awkward questions theory' then..." I heard Nikki say as I shut the door behind me...Armaan's 'Yeah' wasn't completely inaudible either...I sighed...

*****

"That was kind of rude..." Armaan yelled as he entered my room...

"What was?" I said nonchalantly...I knew this would annoy him more, but somehow I wanted to annoy him...

"Uh let's see...Your friend, wait let's make that one of your best friends, is leaving tonight, and you just leave without any reason...Then you have the audacity to drive MY car back home...Ever thought that maybe, just maybe someone was supposed to come back home with you...Oh wait a second, that someone was ME!" Armaan yelled as I shut my ears with my hands...

His expressions gave me the sudden urge to laugh....But somehow I managed to stifle them...It didn't go unnoticed by Armaan though...

"And now you're laughing..." He sighed, massaging his forehead with his hands...This gesture of his always made me feel like the biggest headache in his life...

"Well the car part was kind of funny..." I murmured sheepishly...He glared at me; I looked down...

"I fail to understand you sometimes..." Armaan shook his head...This time even I didn't find anything funny....

"You know what? You would have understood if you could have just spared some thought to your best friend who just went through a break-up with a guy she was with for 3 years!" I yelled back this time, not being able to hold back...I silently thanked god for making Uncle and Aunty go out...But unfortunately Rhea was still home...

"What's going on?" Rhea walked in, confused with all that yelling...

"Can you please go back Rhea..." Armaan mumbled angrily...

"Well forgive me, but I would appreciate it if you could keep it down a little....I have studies to do..." Rhea snapped back...

"We're sorry Rhe, we'll keep it down, promise!" I smiled at her...Rhea nodded and smiled back and left, giving Armaan one last nasty glare...

"And shut the door behind you!" Armaan shouted back...Rhea slammed the door to my room hard in response...

"Don't remove your bad temper on her at least..." I sighed...

"Oh please, you don't preach me Riddhima, because that's something YOU have to learn..."

"Well excuse me for being angry, and removing it on you, when you're the reason I'm in a bad mood for a start..." I said sarcastically...

"No Riddhima...You're in a bad mood, because YOU broke up with Sid...When you knew from the very beginning, you'll weren't gonna last too long anyway! When you began dating him, I told you this day would come, and you would be left hurt....But you didn't listen...So what the hell was I supposed to do!" Armaan's voice quivered, barely being able to keep his anger out of his voice...

"You know what Armaan, this is an extremely bad time to say 'I told you so!'...So please, just keep it to yourself, and if you can't make me feel better, it's better if you just leave me alone!" I strained to keep my voice calm, but I knew I was failing miserably...I could feel the anger and hurt dripping from it...And I bet Armaan could too...

"If that's what you want..." Armaan mumbled quietly and left the room...

I sat down on the bed, my head buried in my hands....

"I know you're still put there..." I mumbled feeling Armaan's intent gaze on me...I looked up to see my bedroom door close behind his retreating figure....

I sighed and reached for my bag, pulling out my notebook, my best friend, after Armaan of course...If anything, going down memory lane would be the only thing which could cheer me up...

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FLASHBACK:- 3 years ago, that fateful day in Burger King...

"Call me..." Her voice trailed off in a whisper and she leant forward to kiss his cheek...I rolled my eyes as I saw the dreamy expression on Romeo's face, once she was gone...

"Are you really gonna call her?" I said as I seated myself in his car...Armaan nodded his head...

"Of course..." He said, looking at me as if I was mad to ask such a stupid question...

"May I ask, what is so 'of course' about that?"

"She's hot..." He said simply and shrugged...I massaged my head, which was now in terrible pain...

"Boys..." I muttered...Armaan smirked...

"Get used to it..." Armaan murmured...I looked at him nonchalantly in response...

"I'm already used to perverts like you..." I smiled sardonically...

"Every guy has a pervert inside him...Just like every girl has b*tch inside her..." Armaan smirked at me...I smiled sceptically although I couldn't agree more...

"So is she your new girlfriend...?" I grinned at him with raised eyebrows...

"I dunno...Haven't even been on a date with her yet...Too far too soon..." He shrugged...I sighed and looked out of the window..."What?" He asked at my response...

"Nothing...She just looks your type..." I continued looking out of the window...This time my voice didn't have any amount of joke or laughter in it....

"My type? Even I dunno my type...How do you know my so-called 'type'...?" Armaan looked at me confused...

"I know, and that's enough for you to know...I'm your best friend...I know your choices..." I shrugged...

"Well there are many other things you should be knowing then..." Armaan muttered under his breath...

"You said something?" I asked, not sure of what I heard...

"No nothing....We're home..." He said as he stopped the car...I held his hand before he got out...

"What?"

"Suppose, she is that girlfriend...One of those, bitchy, annoying, jealous type...And by the looks of it, I'm sure she doesn't like me...So, you won't, you know, forget me, or ditch me or something right?" I asked uncertainly...Even I didn't know from where that insecurity had cropped up...

I looked at Armaan and thought he was going to laugh; I knew I would if I were him...But he didn't....His eyes looked at me with sheer understanding, and he had never looked at me that way...

"No one in this entire world, can take my best friend away from me...Not even you Munchkin...So 'ditching you' or 'forgetting you'...Is completely out of the question...How will I live without you?" He looked into my eyes, arousing the same feeling he always did, that unknown gripping feeling, which I felt every time he was anywhere close...I smiled, yet not satisfied...

"Nothing's ever gonna change anything between us....I'll make sure of that..." He promised me...My smile pulled wider, because I knew he meant every word of it...

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PRESENT DAY:-

"Riddhima.....! C'mon down here, an SRK flick is on....And our pizza's here too..." I heard Rhea call me from downstairs, breaking my intense reading...

"Yeah...I'll be right down..." I choked, gulping down that lump in my throat...Furiously wiping away those two tears which had crept down my face, I got off my bed, shutting the book...

Although I couldn't bring myself to accept that Armaan didn't keep his promise, I still couldn't help but think how much had changed between us...His priorities, his attention; it felt like his love was divided, his world split between Andrea and me...

And yet it wasn't something he had done intentionally, and nor was it Andrea's fault...I knew she hated me only because I hated her, ever since I first saw her in Burger King...But yet, I felt betrayed...But then I knew, beside my parents, no one in this world cared for me more than Armaan...But where was that care now? When I needed him the most...When everything was about to change yet again, and for the very first time, I wasn't welcome to this change...

I sighed and looked at my Mum and Dad's picture on my table...It felt good to be going back home...Finally after 3 long years...But why did it feel like I was missing out on something very crucial...Leaving behind something really, really important...My eyes zoomed to mine and Armaan's picture...

"Riddhima you coming or not, dinner's cold...C'mon down, I'm waiting..." Rhea yelled again...

"Yeah coming...!" I put off that deep thinking for now, and marched down the stairs....

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I know it's pretty short, but this was all I could manage...! So I hope you'll like this part...And I know AR's emotions can get pretty conflicting sometimes, but hell they were that way in DMG as well, so big deal!😛 But anyway, the point is, all emotions, feelings, misunderstandings, and the reason behind every action of their's will be justified as the story unfolds! But there's still time! Hope you enjoyed the part! 😊