Chapter 7
"Mmm...nice coffee!" Armaan sipped the coffee and continued, "thank you!" he smirked. It was not a mystery that Anjali wanted him to continue with the story, due to which she wrapped up the coffee job so fast. "Will you continue or not!?" She glared at him, as Armaan decided not to test her patience...
"Hmm, so Riddhima called me on my cell...kinda freaking me out! Before I could ask her about her whereabouts the call got disconnected...further taking the life out of me...so I ran back into the college immediately..." Armaan looked into the space...trying to recollect the incidents....
*Flashback*
Armaan ran as fast as he could and then stopped in front of the board which read LIBRARY...Taking in a deep breathe, he banged the door.."Riddhima...are you in here?"
The dark room made her cry, as Riddhima sat on the floor, holding her ankle which gave her so much pain...Tears had already began rolling down her cheeks..when she heard a familiar voice banging the door..."Riddhima...are you in here?"
A huge wave of relief engulfed her, bringing a small smile on her face...It was him..Armaan! She wiped her tears and called out his name..."Armaan, Armaan! Please help me...I-I'm scared...It's dark in here..please do something...please!"
"Get away from the door.." Armaan ordered her in a cool but stern tone...Riddhima followed. She groaned in agony as she withdrew her steps..
The library was locked, so Armaan kicked the door hard once and again...till it opened...and he saw her, sitting on the ground and sobbing....his heart twisted in pain ono seeing her in pain...
Immediately he ran to her rescue... "Riddhima.." He ran to her and took her in his arms....Riddhima hid herself in his chest, trying to absorb in the warmth.. She knew he was here right now, she felt safe...Armaan noticed she was shivering and tightened his grip around her waist protectively..
After a while they separated, and he found her sobbing continually.
"Stop crying Riddhima. I'm here now. Nothing to get scared of, alright?" He wiped off her tears with his thumb, while he saw her nod. He looked around and asked her, "How did you get stuck here?"
"I...don't know. I had informed the librarian...and then the it was all dark and the door was locked...." The thing really had its effect on Riddhima...she was stumbling...but Armaan had it all figured in his mind...It wasn't hard to put the puzzle pieces together and sort the entire matter.
He had seen his ex, Shelly, around the library after practice...thought he din't pay attention to it then...but now he knew what she was upto. She wanted revenge....and was partly successful too! He looked at the broken cell phone in the corner and figured what must have happened. Riddhima had probably tripped while she was talking to him on the phone and the result was a broken cell phone...
"Lets get outta here..." Armaan stood upright and held Riddhima's hand as she tried getting up.
"Ow! Its paining.." Riddhima closed her eyes...trying to absorb the pain....Armaan could see that she was in immense pain, hence, picked her up in his arms....
Suddenly all of her pain seemed to vanished as she felt his arms around her...She couldn't feel the ground underneath her..On opening her eyes, she found herself in Armaan's arms, in the college corridors....
She had never felt so protected since she arrived to NY, as right now in his arms. The feeling so warm and secure, made her rest her head on his chest...that made him hold his breathe....He could smell her sweet scent, which was partly intoxicating him....
"Thank you Armaan.." She mumbled as he made his way towards the college entrance and snuggled closer,
So involved in each other, both din't notice that it had started raining. Thankfully, Armaan had come to college in his car and not bike. But the car was parked at the distance, the realization hit him. Neither did the rains bother him or Riddhima..both seemed satisfied in each other.... Who knew that the rains could bring such sweet pleasures? She looked at him drenched wet. His transparent white shirt had clung to his body, making him looking hotter.... Armaan felt a constant gaze on him and looked into her eyes.... She was looking heavenly right now, and made him fall for her all over again. She dreamily closed her eyes and rested her head on his chest...trying to capture the moment in her heart.... Armaan smiled to himself while the two vanished in the empty dark street....
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"Riddhima?" He did not have the heart to wake her up, but had no choice. It had been about ten minutes since Armaan-Riddhima had reached to their destination...They were in the car outside Riddhima's building..Armaan tried to wake her up softly, but she seemed sleep deprived days.
Sighing, Armaan stepped out of this car and reached out for Riddhima's door. He opened it, and took the sleeping Riddhima in his arms. He was completely out of options! He had hell of a day...hence his tired body was almost giving up...but his heart wasn't ready yet... He pulled her out of the car carefully, and shut the door.
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Soon he was standing at her door step...now he HAD to wake her up or would be standing in this posture the entire night... He looked at the sleeping angel in his arms and smiled... Due to her constant crying, the tip of her nose that grown red.....there was a small smile on her face....successfully taking his breathe away...
"....Riddhima we're home.. wake up!" He tried waking her up..when he saw her frown...
"Almaan...stop bothering me okkay? Why are you dishturbing me huh?..Go away! Shtop evading my dreamshh...." He heard mumble in sleeps. He loved Riddhimas drunk (sleep) talks! So Riddhima Gupta was having dreams about him....the big secrets revealed...he grinned...
He leaned on her naughtily with a glint in his light blue eyeballs and whispered... "If you don't wake up...I might just kiss you.."
At this Riddhima opened her eyes with a jerk and found a grinning Armaan in front of her...
"Alm...Armaan?" She shook her head, trying to grip the situation and then looked around...
"We...we're home?"
"Yep. Now can you tell me where are the keys?" The proximity between the both faces was alerting...so was the darkness and the rhythm of the rains hitting against the window glasses...Armaan alerted her a bit more by leaning on her more and whispered.."my hands are paining..", when he found her lost in his eyes... So he still had that effect on her? In spite of having a boyfriend?
"Um....It...It..." He saw her fumble....and his heart felt skip beats...she closed her eyes and opened it again..clearly trying to take control of herself...but it wasn't that easy with him around..."in my purse.." she mumbled and looked away...
She pulled her purse and took her keys, when she noticed it... She was still in his arms!
This guy could really slow her cerebral functions.
"Arm...Armaan..I think I can walk....you can leave me now.." He saw her fumble and nervously try again..
"I know your ankle is hurting Riddhima. Its okay..."
"...Your hands must be aching too...Its okay..I can waa.." Riddhima's sentence was incompletely as he NEARLY had placed his lips on hers...a shiver ran down her spine...
"Shhhh..you speak a lot.." He spoke against her lips and looked at it as if it was inviting him... Her big, night-like black eyes were horrified, while those lips trembled slightly... Silently she handed she opened the door...and let Armaan do the job...
She had no guts to speak, he could see that.
"Your room mate is not home yet?" Armaan looked around the massive apartment and then looked at her. His heart took somersaults, as he caught her staring at him....
"..Ummm...No..she is at her boyfriends place.." Riddhima hesitated and then dropped her gaze...
Armaan placed her on the black couch and continued, "I'll stay with you here tonight...I had figured that you wouldn't like to be alone tonight...is that fine with you?"
Riddhima looked at him startled...it was as if he had read her mind..Of course she wanted some company for the night..the incident that really shook her up from tip to toe...moreover, Armaan made her feel good...secure...
"Thank you.." She nodded..
"Okay, I will go lock the car...fine?" Armaan waited for her to answer...but only saw her smile at him...
"Okay, I'll be right back..." Armaan walked out of the room...
Riddhima immediately picked up the phone and dialed a number...
"Hello...Niths?"
"Ridzi? Where are the hell are you? We're suppose to study together tonight remember? And whats wrong with your cell phone?" She couldn't blame her friend, Riddhima would have done the same...probably end up going around the college searching for her..
"Um, sorry...actually I have just come home..I had got stuck somewhere...and I've hurt my ankle.."
"Ridzi, are you alright? Do you need me there?" The last phrase made Riddhima leap from her couch...
"Ow!" She held the spot giving her immense pain and closed her eyes dropping herself on the couch...
"Alright I'm coming right now!" She heard her friend declare on the phone and then announce.."Guys, Ridzi is hurt..we're going over to her place..." But the very thought of her friends seeing her with Armaan scared her...Had they seen him at her apartment, the news would sure be another 'hot topic' of the college the very next day.. People who craved for such hot gossips to talk about would start cooking stories about Armaan and she spending nights together which she did not want right now! She had to find a way to stop this from happening...
"Oh, Nitz! Nitzi! Listen to me..." She yelled sternly, making sure that she had caught her friends attention..
"Ridzi, you are on loud speaker.."
She took in a deep breathe and continued...."Guys, the weather outside isn't good..looks like a storm...it'd be better if you stay there for the night..."
"Good point, Riddhima..But you take care...and let us know if you need ANYTHING!" She heard another friend speak..she smiled..
"Surely! Thank you Karthik!"
"Good night..Take rest.."
"Good night.." She disconnected the call and immediately saw the door tick open and him enter...Her heart slowed down at the sight... The white shirt was sticking to his body, exposing his body.... His messy hair, blue eyes...was as if taking her as a prisoner..
The idea of them spending the entire night together was giving her goosebumps...She was clear on the thought that Armaan had formed no wrong idea of her...coz he knew her well! He just wanted to..be with her right now...and she could not deny the fact....she needed him stay too....
"We should change.." Riddhima snapped out of her thoughts and looked at him...
"Oh, yeah...I will give you something to wear....wait here.." Riddhima tried to get up but couldn't..
"Ouch!" Riddhima saw him rush towards her and kneel down...he held feet, checking it carefully...
"Its swollen..tell me where the things are kept..I will get them...you stay right here!" Armaan commanded her, she followed obediently.
"It is in the room in the lift from there....its in the cabinet.."
"Okay.." Armaan got up...She continued gazing at him..until he was out of sight....and sighed...
"I'm in love....love with you..." She confessed her love to herself....It was killing her! But there was nothing she could do about it.... coz she was uncertain about him...about how long their relationship... what she din't know was that this was a relation that was going to last till eternity..
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After a while the pain in her leg reduced to tolerable, after which Riddhima tried to get up.
As the swollen area hurt her, she closed her eyes, taking in the pain, while she balanced her body on the bed near her.
"Okay, fine...I can do it.." She told her self and began dragging her injured leg while balancing her body on the other...
"...Armaa...." She pushed open the door to the other room slightly and stared at the scene in front of her...
Soon after Armaan walked inside her bedroom to bring clothes for her, the electricity had been cut off (something that scared Riddhima a little bit more). To her relief, Armaan arrived back soon with few towels. Done drying themselves, Armaan carefully carried her back to her bedroom, leaving her to change by herself. Riddhima changed into her comfy track pants and loose red shirt, and took a painkiller to get rid of the pain. She knew that the painkiller was doing its job, when her pain started to reduce down. But the prevailing darkness was still a cause of all her worries... Giving up ultimately, she decided to go and find Armaan without acknowledging the consequences of it...
She found it hard to take control of herself, when she saw Armaan completely shirtless. Her eyes scanned the perfectly designed, masculine body and got glued to a layer of tattoos on his entire left arm. Meanwhile, Armaan picked up the fresh shirt and turned towards the door, when she realized that he had tattoos on his right arm too...She gasped and looked away the moment she found him looking at her...
Her nervous look, the wet hair over her shoulders and the loose maroon top and black tracks made him forget everything for a moment.. The situation was right, and so was the atmosphere...Everything around was urging him to go and touch her, to take her in his arms, to kiss her and let her know that he wasn't a ghost....to take all her fears away and letting her know that he was here with here now...that there was nothing that could lay its hand on Riddhima when he was there....but there was nothing he could do....
To pacify, he took steps towards her...trying to utter words but stopped the moment he saw her withdrawing her steps. She was scared of him, he realized! Her breathing so uneven, was driving him crazy! Immediately she pulled the strand of her behind her hair nervously, and walked out of the room...A small smile developed in a corner of his lips, which his eyes twinkled with fire of passion and love...
This was going to be an entirely new and different... Riddhima was nothing like the other girls he had been with... Had it been some other girl, things would have been entirely different and in his control by now... But he was had to do a lot more than being shirtless to make Riddhima Gupta love him. She was not any random normal girl who loved good looking, flirty guys...she was one of the haters! He had to convince her that he was not going to break her whatsoever...he had to let her know of how much he loves her...of how many sleepless nights he has spent, just thinking of her... about how difficult was it for him, to make everyone believe that Armaan Malik was booked for just a single girl now but it her rejection or her acceptance...he just needed to tell her how much he cared for her.... how everything seemed worthless without her... how every moment he spent with her was on life lived...how he felt complete with her....
But would she believe him if HE had said these words to her? Of course not! She would joke it off...laughing and then avoiding it....he had tried it earlier....result? Everyone in the freaking college knows about them! Sighing to himself, he took a moment of himself and then walked out of the dark and quiet room..
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Riddhima was in the kitchen making coffee... While the coffee took a while, she was forced back into her train of thoughts... About how her life was nothing but a mess...just like her mind...
Her sister had called her in the morning, telling her about the most romantic proposal her crush, Atul Joshi, had made a day ago and going on...and on about how great he was...how happy and lucky she was to have him.... Riddhima at this knew that she was missing out a lot....a lot was going on in India...but how could she be a part of it? She was in NY confused about her love life!!! The worst of it all....she had no guts to talk about it to her sister...especially in the happiest moments in her life.... Finally her sister had found her soulmate...someone she was meant to be with.... someone who would support her throughout.... some one who loved her bad qualities.... someone who could easily talk her into anything... someone she was crazy about! Anjali hadn't talked to her parents about Atul yet...they had decided to do it once her internship was done....
Riddhima hoped that she would make it to her marriage and was determined to run back to India once the date was set! She din't want to be here...especially when she always ended up with Armaan... the one guy she wanted to be with but was not meant to be with..... Not only confused, but also was she hopeless about the matter.... the only one who was trying to gather the shattered pieces of glass here was Armaan who watched her rub the lone pair of tear rolling down her cheeks.
Silently, he walked towards her until they were just an inch apart... Riddhima was too drowned in her thoughts to notice that the coffee was done... His breathe on her shoulder brought her out of her thoughts, as she held her breathe... Her heart skipped beats as she saw him lean on her and switch the coffee maker off... She made no movement to avoid contact. She was sure that she would lose herself the moment he touched her, or she looked into his eyes...
She felt a grip on her wrist and the very next moment she found herself looking into her eyes... He had given in...he was completely lost in her and she could see that... It frightened her... She knew that it wouldn't end up well once she had given up too.. She was in a conflict... Her heart was in conflict with her mind... Riddhima had always chose to follow her mind until know, when she din't know what to do... Her heart wanted to give in while her mind want to take control of herself... She could feel it...her heart was winning...for the bad boy that she was in love with me... The sound of rain drops clashing against the glass window near them was faintly audible, as all she could hear was his breathe...acting like a magnet for her...
"Don't..." Her breathe grew uneven as she tried to speak...."make this difficult for me..please.." She mumbled, trying to avoid his gaze...
"I know you want to...I know you want this Riddhima... then why are you holding yourself Riddhima? I can see it in your eyes...."
"Armaan pleaseee..."
"Shhhh..." Riddhima's lips trembled as he placed his fingers on her lips....
"Look at me.... Riddhima..." She was determined to hold back... she wouldn't let this happen... not today...not this day....
"Riddhima... look at me.." This time his tone was as low as a whisper... but more passionate... she gave in....
Finally she looked into her eyes and gave up on the struggle... He held her chin and forced it towards him...she gasped... She could see it that he wanted to take all her fears away.... she trusted him....
(A song to go with the scene...)
(Lyrics: Cut by Plumb....)
She closed her eyes as their lips finally locked... He was slow and gentle with her... He was patient, while she took a moment to gather herself... She opened her eyes to give him his answers back... She wrapped her arms around his neck and clenched his hair to pull him closer... What began gently had soon turned into a passionate kiss... They pulled each other closer, craving for more and more... He wrapped his hands around her waist as she lowered herself on her support....
Soon the two parted, breathing heavily....she had no courage to meet his gaze... It din't take her long to realize her mistake... she hated herself for giving up this easily... she was regretting it.... Armaan could see that she was uncomfortable... he din't want to push her..hence set her free.... Armaan let her go, after which she managed to nearly run back to her room with her broken leg...Surely it pained a lot...but a lot less than the pain in her heart...
She locked her bedroom door and let herself sink on the floor...soon she realized that she was crying... trying to relieve herself of the pain...
Armaan looked at the coffee kept on the shelf and sighed... He was sure that she must be crying... it would only make the matter worse if he tried to pacify her. He knew he couldn't pacify her, since he wanted to change her mind. He knew he couldn't be diplomatic or sorry...because he was not! He placed both his hands around his head and sighed....pacing around the room...
Riddhima in her room din't know how to talk to him after the 'mistake'... she din't know how to come out of the room... how to face him.... if she had thought that her life was messy an hour back....then she was proved wrong... but she had no clue that it was just the beginning... beginning to a new story... :)
*Flashback ends*
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Edited by jeflkjfkljfkj - 14 years ago
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