IPKKND FF | The Story Of Us (UPDATE: Ch5 Pg13) - Page 3

interesting FF...

thank you for the pm... a lovely update... khushi's character has been very well etched! eagerly awaiting future episodes when the tragedy that lies in her past will be revealed... the teasing convos between akash and arnav and khushi and payal were very realistically done: a typical banter between siblings...

nice strat ..w.aiting to c how it turns out...n thnx 4 pm

"And we all know love is a glass which makes even a monster appear fascinating."
- Alberto Moravia

"It's the unknown that draws people."
- E.A. Bucchianeri

Fascination

If looked up, fascination can be defined as the state of being intensely interested. Now this can be interpreted as being out of admiration, or even horror - but either way, it brings about a sense of powerful enchanting attraction; a sense of mystery.

And what is love without a little mystery? Without an excitement that draws you to any given person? If the fascination is not there in the first place, it is a likely possibility that said relationship shall fail to blossom in to something more. To keep someone on their toes, is to keep them interested. To keep them guessing, is to keep them wanting more. To fascinate someone, is to hold their attention.

The story of Arnav and Khushi is therefore just this... a story of fascination.

Chapter Two

Arnav sat at the table next to a beaming Akash. His expression was as such that no one would dare look at him a second longer then necessary, for fear of broken bones.

He sat there, it seemed for the millionth time that week, listening to the inane conversation of two idiotic girls, who had made it a point to sit either side of him - revelling in his presence; fawning over him like he was their new pet. He felt sick. To block them out, he found himself, once again, resorting to his favourite new chant

'Shut the f**k up. Shut the f**k up. Shut the f**k up.'

Drowning them out, he looked at his surroundings and felt a great sense of odd serenity at feeling of being in such a lazy atmosphere. Looking out over the white sands of the beach as he sat in the open bar, the cool air almost seemed to soothe his annoyance as the suns' warm rays washed over him.

His thoughts instantly rested on his sister as he noted that she would love to come here. His Di loved this type of relaxed environment - it calmed her. And knowing his sister was happy, made him feel at ease. 'I really need to give her a call' he told himself as he realised how much he was missing her.

Arnav snapped out of his trance as he heard Payal's slightly frantic questioning travel though the breeze around him.

'Khushi Kahan hai? Where's Khushi?'

Payal looked exasperated... The constant worry for Khushi was exhausting. She always did what she wanted without giving a second thought to the people that care about her. Not that she blamed her, back in England she would literally do what she wanted. Khushi didn't know how to live any other way.

'Oh! Sorry Payal, I forgot to tell you that she's gone to that bookshop across the street. She said she won't be long... so that means she'll probably turn up in an hour!'

Payal shook her head and returned to her conversation with Akash and Arnav, feeling a little more at ease. Arnav saw the concern etched on her face and gave silent nod of admiration. The love she had for her cousin was fully apparent. He could proudly relate to this.

Arnav liked Payal. Sure she seemed a little annoying with her bashful glances and timid voice - but she wasn't as overt as the usual girls he'd have the pleasure of meeting and fighting off, with their wanton advances. She was nice, and more importantly, perfect for Akash. He grimaced slightly; shuddering at the sudden thought of how (un)interesting their intimate encounters must be. 'Probably as timid as her' he thought with a sly smile. He'd have to teach his brother a thing or two... clearly they hadn't progressed much in the two years they'd been together.

~

Khushi was in heaven

Her hand moved along the rows of fresh books, inhaling in that new-book smell as she scanned the shelves for one that caught her interest. She loved bookshops. Especially quiet ones like this. They were peaceful. She saw them as a world filled with lots of other worlds, waiting for you to be transported in to any one of them. She loved reading. In fact, she could safely say that her books were her life. Books gave her something to think about; something to look forward to and something to immerse herself in - away from her own life.

Books were her saviour.

The only thing she hated was that books gave her hope. Hope was unreliable and gave people false expectations. 'Hope.' She thought with a sigh. She had done nothing but hope for more or less the whole of her life. Hope that her family would come back. Hope that the nightmares would stop. Hope that her smile would one day reach her heart. All these hopes were pointless.

Books always have a happy ending - but the rest of the story? That's not written is it? And Khushi put this to the fact that the rest of the story is real life. And real-life was not a story.

Khushi's hands halted on one particular book. It was black with thin gold lettering on the spine. 'The Left Hand of God' it read. 'Hmm' she thought with a slight grim chuckle as she read the preface... 'I guess I'm the mood to delve in to the world of violence.'

As she went to pay for her book, a strong gust of wind came in with the person entering the shop - blowing a newspaper off the counter in the process. She bent down to pick it up when a picture on one of the strewn pages had her unexpectedly transfixed. She could feel her heart thudding violently in her chest as the blood rushed straight to her head; bile rising up in her throat.

Taking a closer look, she held the page up as she slowly stood up, her eyes hypnotized by the boys weak features; his sullen eyes highlighted by the deep scars above his eyebrows. That mark... it was so familiar. She gasped.

'It can't be. He looks like...'

She made a move, as if hypnotized, to read the rest of the article, when all her thoughts were suddenly thrown from her mind as she was brought back to reality by the tinkling of bells from the door. She gave a sudden jolt as she realised she was supposed to be with her cousin right now. She shakily took out her money to pay for the book and hurriedly left the shop, glancing back at the newspaper that now lay eerily still on the counter. She shook her head and scolded herself as prickling tears threatened to pierce through her eyes. 'Stop it Khushi, Stop it! Not again!'

She made her way down to the bar, burying her head in her book in an attempt to drown out the thunderous thoughts in her head, one more time.

~

Arnav was now fed up.

He was about to get up and leave when he stopped in his tracks and sat straight back down as if an unknown force had him pinned to his seat. His eyes failed to leave the form of the girl that had just walked up the steps of the bar out of nowhere. He'd be lying if he said he hadn't seen a more beautiful person then her, because he had. She just seemed... different.

She was treading carefully, her eyes trained on the book in front of her, shifting back and forth as she studied it intently. As she came closer, he studied her further as he took note of her attire with approval.

She wasn't wearing any makeup he noticed; she looked so fresh-faced... ethereal almost. Her hair was long; spilling over her chest in barely there curls. As she came closer still, his gaze lingered on her face.

'Her eyes,' he thought. They looked unhinged - glazed over with apprehension and confusion. So expressive. Her lips quivering slightly as she tried to concentrate on the pages beneath her. This interested him even more then he himself could imagine. It's like he was absorbed in her; she looked so deep. She looked so... graceful

His thoughts ended on that particular word, just as it was thrown out the window in response to her next performance.

Khushi, her head almost in the book itself, inevitably did not see the two small steps leading up to the bar. She buckled as her foot slammed in to the top step causing the hem of her skirt to catch under her. She saw Arnav in front of her as she felt herself hurtle towards him in slow motion. The last thing she saw was his eyes, full of shock and amusement as she tried to stylishly manoeuvre herself mid-fall, away from him.

She landed unceremoniously by his feet as her book came crashing after her with a thud, straight in to her lap.

Everyone was silent for a few seconds at the sudden unexpected entrance, before Khushi flushed a deep shade of red, muttering as she attempted to get up in hurry.

'Devi Maiyya why?!' she groaned as she looked to the sky, her hands waving about comically. She didn't think she could possibly be more embarrassed then in this moment. She had almost literally watched herself falling in his eyes as she nearly landed in his lap - She knew she had looked ridiculous. 'Great impression Khushi Kumari Gupta' she shook her head just as she saw a hand in front of her.

She looked up, smiling apologetically as she took his hand. He lifted her up with ease and she appreciatively took in his strong stature. She could still see him smirking at her though as she willed the ground to open up and swallow her whole. She would have said thank you but she was distracted by his silence. He just simply stared at her, a slight smile imprinted on his rugged face. She stared long and hard at him, struggling to decipher the odd look in his eyes. She held out her arm as she finally spoke.

'Hi, I'm Khushi... It's nice to meet you'

She had a flawless English accent which caught his attention all the more. He took her hand in his and noticed that it was soft and warm - a stark contrast to his own cold, rough hands. It made him shiver under the warmth of the Goan heat

'Arnav'

They stared at each other for a little while longer, as if willing one and other to speak. Arnav was the first to cave.

'So... is that usually how you introduce yourself?'

She did a double take as she slowly realised what he was implying

'Kya?! What do you mean by that?'

'Well, you know, the whole nearly falling on my lap performance. Makes quite an impression'

She was beyond embarrassed now, there was no recovering from this.' See Devi Maiyya, if you'd have listened to me and let me fall in to a never ending hole, I wouldn't have had to hear that, and my cheeks wouldn't be burning up!' she groaned inwardly as she tried to think of something quick smart to wipe the grin off his amused face.

'No... I'd say you were one of the lucky ones'

Her tone was challenging, her face transformed in to a flirtatious mask as she raised an eyebrow, almost daring him to say something back.

'Don't even bother listening to her... You should see her. She falls over thin air!'

Khushi whipped her head round to her tell-tale friend, mouth wide open as she gaped at her - the question of 'what the f**k?!' dying on her lips.

'Pri!!'

Priya held her hands up in mock defense laughing at the accusing glare of her friend

'Hey... I'm just saying!'

If that wasn't enough, Payal decided she wanted to join sides with Priya as she laughed heartily at her cousins antics

'It's true Arnav, she's like a walking catastrophe... and that's an understatement!'

'Jiji! Aap bhi na! You guys couldn't even back me up for even one second. Kaise behen ho aap?!'

'She speaks Hindi as well... Interesting.' Arnav didn't understand why he was latching on to every single piece of information that was being said about the girl in front of him, who was currently trying to stare her cousin out with crossed arms and squinted eyes - brows furrowed as she glared at everyone else while they burst out laughing at her previous falling etiquette.

It took Khushi all of 10 minutes to calm down and revert back to her usual cheery self. Throughout the course of the afternoon, Arnav tried hard not to perk his ears up whenever she spoke, but something about her behaviour had him hooked. She was so distinct. He couldn't help but take note of every single detail about her... The way her eyes would light up when she smiled, the way she was babbling incessantly about anything and everything. The way she devoured her food, and the way she looked as if she couldn't care less about what people thought. But most of all, Arnav just couldn't get to grips with how he could so easily read her expression, as if he could sense it - Just like the way he had known there was something wrong when he had first laid eyes on her.

It was the first time someone had held his attention in a long time, and Arnav was more than intrigued...

He was fascinated

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Chapter 3:https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/66445167

nice update..love how khushi falls into his lap..and arnav is already attracted to her..thanks for the pm

awesome... plz pm me when u update

awesome thank u for pm me

nice update 😃

I'm a sucker for dramatic first meetings!