Previous Part: Page 70
Part 18: First Steps
Riddhima woke up the next morning and realized that her eyes felt dry. As if she'd cried out all the moisture in them last night. She looked towards the couch right away and saw Armaan sprawled across it, one arm and foot of a leg hanging off of the side.
He looked so adorable sleeping that way, she couldn't help but smile. When her phone vibrated on the phone, she was pleasantly surprised to see a text message from Kripa.
Hey. I hope u feel better. He's gonna have a hangover. I guess he missed u 2 much after u left. Take care ;)
She saw the time the text was sent at. 4:45 am. That meant he wasn't about to wake up anytime soon. She got up, brushed her teeth and stepped out to make the bed. He was still asleep.
After she took a shower, she made breakfast and walked in to check on Armaan. He was stirring every few seconds. She went into the kitchen and came back with a pain killer and a glass of orange juice. In the exact moment she walked into the room, Armaan sat up on the couch. He stretched lazily and Riddhima stopped dead in her track, suddenly nervous.
"Can't we be happy like them?" Armaan's words from last night echoed in her mind. She took a deep breath to steady herself and walked around the couch to face Armaan. He froze, looking at her feet. Not wanting to look up and see her bitter expressions.
"Good morning" she said making his head jerk in her direction. She gave him a small smile and extended the tray with the pain killers and juice towards him.
Then there was awkward silence for a few seconds because Armaan had lost his voice. When he found it again, he stammered. "Uh...g-good morn-morning." He took the painkillers and washed them down with a sip of juice. "Thanks."
She nodded. "Breakfast is ready. I'll see you in a bit."
Armaan stared after her once she left. What the hell was that? He decided to disregard it as one of her mood swings and walked into the bathroom for a shower.
As usual, the two had an awkwardly quiet breakfast. After the breakfast, Armaan picked up his backpack and headed for the door.
"Armaan?" Riddhima called out to him and he froze, with his hand on the door handle. "Where are you going?"
Armaan sighed exasperatedly. "Library. I have a test tomorrow."
"Oh. Are you going alone?" Riddhima asked.
Armaan turned around suddenly and gave her a dirty look. "Yes. I'm going alone."
"When will you be back by?"
"When I want to come back." And with that, he left the house, leaving a stunned Riddhima standing in the living room.
Riddhima stood there, stunned. She couldn't understand what she'd said to upset him so suddenly. After clearing the table, she sat down with her own studying material.
On the other hand, Rahul and Muskaan were talking on the phone.
"Yeah, I'm happy for them." Muskaan said, referring to Angad and Kripa, but her voice had a hint of sadness to it.
"What's wrong? You don't sound too happy."
"Well...I am but I'm confused'"
"About what?" He prompted
"About us Rahul." She said. When it came to relationships and issues, Muskaan was just as down to earth as Kripa.
When Rahul didn't say anything, Muskaan sighed and went on. "I'm so confused about us. I don't know what's going on'I don't know where we're headed'I used to fight with you so much but then all of a sudden I started liking you and right now it seems like we both really like each other. We've been on a number of dates'but'but neither one of us consider this a serious relationship'I mean...what are we doing?"
After a few minutes of silence, Rahul spoke. "Muski, I wanted to ask you if you were looking for a relationship because I'm happy with what we have. I don't need to address this relationship. Whatever it is, it's beautiful. I feel like putting a name to this will somehow change it all'and I'm afraid of it changing...what if we end up like Armaan and Riddhima?"
"But we could also end up like Kripa and Angad!" Muskaan exclaimed.
"Muskaan'do you want to make this an official relationship?"
"Rahul'do you want to?" she countered.
"Like I said'I don't need to put a name to this'.you know what'Lets meet. It's weird to talk about this over the phone."
"Fine'where do you want to meet?"
As Rahul and Muskaan met up somewhere in the city, Angad and Kripa were up and about finishing up setting up their home. Once they were done, they both fell back on the couch, satisfied, exhausted.
"I'm starving." Angad groaned. In response, Kripa's stomach growled. Angad laughed out loud while Kripa pouted and frowned at him. He stood up and extended his hand towards her.
"Let's go grab lunch"
After they had lunch, they came back and got down to studying again. Even though they now lived together, they both knew their priorities well. Angad had turned one of the four bedrooms into a Study room. All the bookshelves were in that room; fully accompanied with two desks that each had brought from their own places, and their accessories and computers on them.
A few blocks away from Angad and Kripa's condominium, Riddhima sat in her house, looking out the window as the sun was setting, and the last of the leaves were falling onto the ground. It was about 6pm and Armaan still wasn't home. He hadn't called either.
She picked up the phone and called him. It rang a couple of times, and then she got the busy tone. He'd disconnected her call. A few seconds later, her cell phone chimed.
It was a text message, from Armaan:
"Still In the Library"
An image of Armaan hugging Kripa in the mall popped into her head. She flinched internally and closed her eyes, trying to diminish the seed of doubt in her mind. Absently, she speed-dialled Kripa.
The phone rang once, twice, third time, and then Kripa finally picked up. She was breathing heavily, as if she'd been running.
"Hey Riddhima. What's up?"
"What's wrong with you?" Riddhima asked, confused.
"Uhh...nothing'AH'.dont worry OUCH about it."
"What's going on, Kripa?"
"Nothing'Angad's just being stupid. What's up?"
"HI RIDDHIMA!" Angad screamed into the phone while Kripa giggled as if he were tickling her.
"Angad stop it! Let me talk to her!" Kripa groaned and then spoke into the phone "uh yeah hey. Sorry about that. He's being a little mischievous. What's up?"
"Oh um...nothing too special...just getting bored at home..."
Kripa and Riddhima talked for a bit and then Riddhima hung up, saying that she was going to take a shower. Riddhima put her palm against her forehead, she felt guilty.
"what is wrong with you Riddhima...Kripa is serious about Angad...she wouldn't betray you by crushing on your husband...but...what if Armaan gets attracted to her?"
Riddhima pushed aside all the negative thoughts out of her head and actually walked into the shower. She needed to distract herself.
That night, for the first time since they'd been married, Riddhima fell asleep while waiting for him.
The same pattern continued until the end of the week, and by Friday, Kripa saw a visible change in Riddhima's personality. She was lost all the time. Kripa decided to ask Riddhima about it while on their way to the club 'Babyface' for their girls' night out.
"What's wrong Riddhima?"
Riddhima played with her bracelet. "What do you mean?"
Kripa scoffed and shook her head, looking at her rear-view mirror. "You know what I'm talking about. Something's bothering you and you want to talk about it. So just spill it already."
"Not tonight. Okay...fine...I've been meaning to ask to talk to you about this...how about Sunday? Let's not ruin our girls' night out?"
"Why not tomorrow? Why Sunday?"
Riddhima giggled taking Kripa by surprise. "Well...after not being around you for today...I'm sure Angad's not letting you go anywhere tomorrow..."
Kripa smiled. Riddhima was right. "Alright, Sunday it is."
The two girls parked beside what they knew was Anjali's car. Anjali and Muskaan stepped out of the car while Kripa and Riddhima stepped out as well. The four girls shared hugs and squeals. Kripa quickly tossed her flats in the trunk of the car and put on her heels. Riddhima rolled her eyes.
Anjali: let's go girls.
The four girls strutted out of the parking lot and walked straight towards the entrance of the club, not bothering to line up. The guard at the door, as usual, unchained the entrance to let the girls in. As they walked in, the music blaring from the speakers greeted them. Kripa, Muskaan, and Anjali's bodies started swaying with the music as they walked.
After grabbing their drinks, they found a place to sit and chat, catching up on each other's week. Riddhima obviously didn't say much.
"So Anjali...How's Atul?" Kripa asked.
Anjali shrugged and rolled her eyes. "The usual. Still chasing me. It's so annoying."
"He just really likes you Anjali...maybe you should be nicer to him." Muskaan said.
"Oh please. He's just childish. He likes joking around like that. All men are like that. They want to make you feel special..." Anjali retorted. Riddhima lowered her eyes. Muskaan just looked at Anjali. Kripa ignored her entirely and sipped her drink.
"Well then...every time Angad tries to make me feel special, it works." Kripa giggled. She looked at Muskaan. "Anything new with you Muski?"
Muskaan cleared her throat knowing that this was the time to spill it all.
"I kind of have news for you guys..." Muskaan paused, looking at the other three's faces. Kripa leaned forward, clearly interested with a slightly devilish smile as if she already knew. "Rahul and I are official!" Muskaan blurted. Anjali choked on her drink. Kripa squealed and cheered. Riddhima just stared wide eyed.
"Muskaan what the--" Riddhima started but shut up when Kripa shot a glare in her direction.
"What?" Muskaan said panicking. "What is it? Too soon? We're no good together?"
Kripa put her hand on Muskaan's knee. "Relax darling...it's not too soon and you guys are adorable together...Riddhima is just annoyed that you didn't tell us earlier." Kripa gave Riddhima the do-as-I-say look. "Right Riddhima?"
Riddhima nodded. Muskaan sighed in relief. But then Kripa and Anjali started their usual teasing and when Muskaan got tired of blushing and shying away, she got up.
"I'm going to go and dance now. You three can sit here and talk."
"Wait!" Kripa exclaimed. She finished her drink and got up. "I'm coming too."
Once Kripa and Muskaan disappeared in the crowd, Anjali and Riddhima were left alone.
"Ridzie...how is it going with Armaan?"
"Di...I'm doing everything you said but...he's angry with me. He avoids coming home as much as possible."
Anjali raised her eyebrow. "What does he do if he's not at home?"
"Studies in the library for midterms."
Anjali just stared back wide eyed. "And you believe him when he says that? What about the girl you saw him hugging? Have you seen them together again? I hope you're making sure what he's up to when he's not at home."
"Di Please! I don't want to talk about this. I've been doing everything you've told me to and he just keeps getting angrier."
Anjali waved her hand. "He'll come around. Let's go."
Anjali grabbed Riddhima's hand and walked into the crowd to find Muskaan and Kripa.
One the other hand, Angad and the guys sat at the bar. Armaan was just upset. He didn't contribute much into the conversation. Rahul had given them the news about him and Muskaan as well. Angad and Armaan had congratulated him.
"Oye Devdas. Cheer up." Rahul jokingly punched Armaan's back. "Its not like she's here...you can have fun you know...let's find you a hot girl for the night."
"Rahul" Armaan groaned.
"What?" he said innocently.
"Shut up." Angad and Armaan chimed simultaneously.
Armaan did turn around on his bar stool to face in the same direction Angad and Rahul were staring.
Armaan scanned the crowed slowly before turning around towards the bar again when his brain registered something and his head jerked back towards a particular spot in the crowd. Riddhima. Oh no.
Angad followed Armaan's stare and found Kripa. His smile was so bright, it could be bottled to use during a blackout. Rahul was just as delighted. Rahul slapped Armaan's back, almost pushing him off the stool.
"Nice work my man. Let's go."
"Uhh no. No. No no no no no." Armaan tried to pull his arms back as the other two tried to pull him off the table.
"What's the matter? Why won't you go?" Rahul asked, Annoyed.
"Look at her...Riddhima I mean...see how she's dancing right now. She's...well...fun right now. If I go there, she won't be and the girls will kill me for ruining their girls' night."
"Just shut up and get you *** down there. I'm going first." Angad said before jetting from there.
Kripa and the girls were having a good time dancing when Kripa felt a hand on her waist. She didn't even bother to turn around and look thinking that it was just some random guy trying to dance with her at the club. Before she would have taken up the offer but now that she's taken, she wouldn't. Then she felt a hand on the other side of her waist. This time she slapped it away instead of being nice like the first time around.
Then the jerk put both of his arms around her waist. Annoyed and angry, Kripa turned around in a whiff. "What the **** is your'Oh...OH MY GOD!" She exclaimed and threw her arms around a laughing Angad. After sharing a kiss very suitable for the club setting (ahem), Kripa looked at his face.
"Are you following me Khanna?"
"Nah...Just got lucky...we're here for our guys' night out."
"Oh...where are the others?" Kripa asked. Angad nudged his head in the direction and Kripa looked. She only found Armaan.
"It's just you and Armaan?"
"And me!" Rahul said popping up from behind Angad. Kripa gave him a hug and congratulated him for Muskaan. As if on cue, Muskaan walked up to him and they shared a hug too. Then the mama bear side of Kripa took over.
"Alright look it Rahul. You're a nice guy and she's my best friend. Break her heart and I'll break your face."
Rahul gulped. The scariest part of it all was that she said it with an I-kid-you-not smile. Muskaan giggled.
The girls took their respective boyfriends and went to the other two girls. Riddhima's heart jumped to her throat and back to its original position again. If they were here, that meant Armaan was here as well. After chatting/dancing for a bit, Riddhima turned to Angad.
"Armaan...?"
Angad smiled and pointed towards the bar table where Armaan was sitting. Riddhima made her way through the crowd, towards Armaan.
"Um hi..." Riddhima said a little awkwardly.
"Hi." Armaan said curtly.
"Um...are you just going to sit here?"
"Yeah."
"Why don't you join us on the floor?"
"I wouldn't want to spoil your fun. You seem like you're having a good time without me."
"Armaan I--"
"Please Riddhima. Go and enjoy. I'm fine."
He turned towards the bar again. Ouch. Riddhima dejectedly walked back to the group and tried to have a good time. At one point, a sole tear escaped her eye and she tried to wipe it off subtly but the action caught Kripa's eyes.
Kripa excused herself from Angad and went to see Armaan.
"Careful with those drinks Armaan...you don't want to end up like the other night, do you?" Kripa smiled at him.
"Hey. How's it going?"
Kripa shrugged. "It was alright until I saw my best friend crying."
Armaan looked away. Kripa placed a hand on his shoulder. "Look...I know you two are having problems and I know that 99% of the time, it's her. But Armaan...you need to bang two things together to make a sound. You need two hands to clap, takes two to tango and blah blah...these problems between you two are also because two people are contributing to them."
Armaan glanced at Kripa and looked away again. Kripa took that as her cue and spoke up again. "She wants to talk about something and I'm sure that it's related to the issues you two are having...and I'll let you know as much as I can as long as she doesn't make me promise anything...but I will keep the promise I made to you in the mall the other day. I'll make sure everything between the two of you is fine. Do you trust me with that?"
"I do." Armaan said without hesitating. "And I appreciate you trying but...honestly...I don't know if it will do any good..."
"You don't worry about all that. That is my job. Now come on. Take your butt off of this stool. You're making a butt print on it."
Armaan laughed as Kripa tugged him towards the floor. He held her wrist and stopped her.
"Thanks sis."
Kripa pinched his nose. "You're welcome bro."
Armaan smiled and gave Kripa a hug. Somehow he knew that Kripa will bring him and Riddhima together. But just as they were hugging, Riddhima had turned her head to look at Armaan.
Now she stood there, staring at Armaan and Kripa sharing a hug for the second time. Something stabbed at her heart. She let out of a shaky breath and turned to Anjali.
"I want to go home Anjie. Now."
Riddhima looked in Armaan's direction again. He and Kripa were now headed towards the rest of the group. Anjali followed Riddhima's gaze and saw Armaan approaching.
"Let's go Ridzie."
Anjali grabbed Riddhima's hand and led her out of the club. When Armaan and Kripa got to the group, Riddhima and Anjali were gone. The rest of them stayed back and enjoyed their night.
Next part: Page 82
Hey Guys! Here you go! This is the update within two weeks that I promised...Next update MAY be a little quicker...no promises though. Hope you all like this part! Feel free to comment/criticize/suggest/predict. My shy readers can PM me if they want. :) Any feedback is appreciated! Love you all!
Edited by love_iqbal_khan - 13 years ago
Now off too Angad and Kripa...i lovedd their set of rules..such perfectionist, kinda both of them lol! anddd awww Dolce and Gabbana, these two...i completey admire them, theyre sharing and enjoying such a perfect time of their lives, and i really dont wanna jinx it. Because i know if AR are going fine, something will happen to AK...but for some time, can they ALL be happy!!
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