SS:A Little More Than Friends---ON HOLD!! - Page 4

Originally posted by: Rhysenn

This seems interesting!

Fabulous start!!

Originally posted by: sweetlove4barun

haha the shaggy scooby thing was so funny

loved the update

thnx for the pm

Originally posted by: -Mayuri-

Interesting start!

Hey guys...here is the second chapter...here goes nothing!😊

Chapter 2

As Arnav entered his home preoccupied with the conversation he had with Khushi, he was almost thrown off balance as he was tackled by a woman. The woman clutched at his shoulders as if she was holding onto him for her dear life and everything fell into place. But before he could say anything, the woman broke the hug and cupping his face spoke up,

"Chotte! I missed you and Akash so much! Are you'll so busy that you'll couldn't call me once? I'll understand if Akash couldn't call me considering the fact that he actually studies, but you! You don't even attend college! Or have you finally decided that attending lectures is not " bad for your image"? I have to talk to Khushi about this. If you start attending lectures, the end of world must be near, oh--"

Arnav kept his hand on his elder sister's mouth to muffle her complaints. Arnav knew that if given a chance, she wouldn't have stopped talking even if there were a divine intervention. No wonder she and Khushi got along so well, Arnav thought as he saw his beautiful sister struggle under his hand trying to speak her heart's content.

Then, hoping that she would stop her struggle, he smirked and said," Di, when people meet they are meant to begin with a customary pleasant "Hello" or maybe a "Hi" and then give the opposite person a chance to reply. It's weird how a month in London can make you forget the basic social conventions."

He heaved a sigh of relief when she stopped struggling. He was about to let go off her but he was a moment too late because the next second, he felt a sharp pain in his palm covering her mouth as she bit him hard making him yelp in pain as he took his hand immediately from her mouth to soothe his stinging palm.

Looking at him sweetly as he tried to ease the pain on his palm, "Hi, Chotte. Was that conventional enough for you now?"

He flicked his palm once or twice to lessen the dull pain and said," I'll have to warn people never to say 'Hi' to you if you find it so offensive. Anyways, I missed you too Di." Then giving the warmest and rarest smile which were reserved for only a few chosen people in his life, he went and hugged his sister.

She hugged him back and scolded him lightly," How many times do I tell you don't call me 'Di'? Mom and Dad didn't name me Anjali so that you would call me 'Di'. Plus, it makes me feel so much older!"

Arnav broke off the hug and said," The whole point of calling you ' Di' is to annoy you Di. Besides, you never stopped calling me 'Chotte' which makes everyone think you are talking about a five year old till they have seen me. So, 'Di' is a nice way to compensate for it, isn't it Di?"

She narrowed her eyes at him knowing that he was lying. No matter how much he frustrated her by calling her Di, only she knew that he called her that out of love. That was what he had called her when he was a two year old in an attempt to imitate Khushi calling Payal, and then he had stuck with it.

Arnav looked at Anjali's narrowed eyes and realized that a storm was near. He put his arm around her shoulder and leading her to the living room and to divert her attention from kicking him he put on a mock-serious face and asked her," Uhh...So, how was London? I did hear something on the news about police chasing a crazy woman running on the streets shouting, "Apocalypse is close! Apocalypse is close!" Was that you, by any chance?"

Scowling, Anjali swatted away his arm away," London was really nice but it's not even close to Delhi, thank you for asking. And you should hang a sign on head saying, "Beware: High Voltage Sarcasm and Cynicism."

Arnav grinned cheekily not getting offended in the least, "I suggested that to Mom and Dad. They just rolled their eyes at me. No one takes me seriously." Putting in a fake yet adorable pout, he said," Why don't you give it a try? They always listen to you." And when she scowled some more, he finally decided to let it go and asked," So, how many employees got fired and how many ran away because they loved their life more than you?"

This made Anjali smile genuinely. She said proudly," Only two! Can you believe it? Wait till I tell Dad, he is going to be so happy! I think some will even miss me. I tend to leave a mark on people."She winked at him and he laughed at her achievement.

He remembered how when she had joined Dad's company, she had fired fifteen people just in the first month. Dad had been devastated and had to immediately hold interviews to cover up those posts. When asked for the reason for sacking them, she had simply said, " They were inefficient and lazy."

Yeah, that was Anjali Singh Raizada. That was precisely the reason Dad had sent her to London to handle the projects there. He suppressed a shudder thinking how the employees must have been terrorized by her workaholic attitude.

Anjali stretched out on the couch and asked him," So how has everything been here? How is Khushi doing? Tell her I want to meet her. Where are Mom and Dad? Shouldn't they be home by now? It's nearly seven! And where is Akash? Don't tell me he is studying in the library! Doesn't he have the books at the tip of his tongue by now? And--"

Once again, she was cut off by Arnav," What's with the interrogation, woman? They are all alive and safe. Khushi is still crazy. You have her number, you have your fingers intact, call her yourself. Mom and Dad will be back home any minute--"

The doorbell rang and he gave Anjali an I-told-you-so look before getting up to get the door. On his way to the door he said loud enough for Anjali to hear," Akash will probably late tonight. He is on some sort of a date."

Anjali who had just taken a sip of water from a glass, nearly spat all of it out and said," What the--!! With whom? How do you know?"

Arnav didn't answer immediately as he opened the door to his smiling parents. If Asha Singh Raizada and Ashwin Singh Raizada were surprised to see him early, they didn't show it. Skipping pleasantries, Asha asked him," Is Khushi unwell today?"

Moving aside to let them in, Arnav frowned, "Not that I know of. I just came home with her from the cafe. Now how about asking your son about his day?"

His mother replied smartly," Is Akash home yet? I'll ask him at dinner about his day."

Ignoring the scowl etched on his youngest son's face, Ashwin laughed at his wife's successful attempt at smothering Arnav's sarcasm which happened very rarely in the house.

They entered the living room and were engulfed in a warm hug by their eldest daughter, Anjali. The surprise evident on their faces, Ashwin asked, "Why didn't you tell us you were coming home today? We would have come to pick you up!"

Anjali didn't get a chance to reply as Arnav answered the question leaning against the entrance of the living room," Mom, Dad don't ask silly questions! The Devil never informs before coming!"

He smiled wickedly and ducked out of the way as a cushion was thrown his way and said," Try harder Di. Even if that hit me, it couldn't hurt my hair."

Anjali glared at Arnav as their parents smiled fondly at the light banter between them. The house had indeed been quiet without the verbal and sometimes physical fights of Anjali and Arnav, settled most of the time by Akash.

Ashwin decided that the fight would have to be brought to an end now or it would be beyond their control to stop them. He intervened saying," Is Akash up in his room?"

Anjali who had momentarily forgotten about Akash, thanks to her highly infuriating brother, widened her eyes and looked at Arnav pointedly and asked, "Oh yeah!! You were about to tell me with whom he was on a date with when Mom and Dad came. So, who is it? Tell me quick!! The suspense is killing me!!"

Asha and Ashwin Singh Raizada couldn't help it but their eyes widened in shock and they said in unison, "What??"

A highly amused Arnav looked at his the faces of his family and decided that it was time to break the suspense. He would have kept it a secret but he is not so nice to anyone, not even his elder brother. So he simply said, "The girl whom he has probably had crush on ever since he was a zygote--it's none other than...* Imaginary drum rolls*... Payal Gupta"

His mother was so overjoyed that she shrieked like a teenage girl meeting her rock star crush; his father who was usually maintained a neutral expression exclaimed, "Finally!! I thought I would have to talk to her for him!" and his sister was as happy as if she had been declared the winner of "Who Wants To Be A Millionaire?" without even participating.

He shook his head at their over-the-top reaction and asked what he had been itching to ask after they had calmed down a little, "So, who is in for teasing Akash at dinner tonight?".

Much to his surprise, three hands rose without hesitation at his idea and it was foreseen that that night at dinner, a particular Raizada would be blushing many different shades of red.

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At about ten o'clock, after ensuring that Akash couldn't get any more redder, everyone patted him on the back for plucking the courage to do something other than topping in the college and retired for the night.

Arnav entered his room, which was covered with posters of the Arsenal football club plastered on to the blue walls of his room. On every wall there were posters of Arsenal legends--the Invincibles of 2003, Thierry Henry, the man who changed the face of England football in the late 1990s--Arsne Wenger with a tagline of "In Wenger we trust" and the current team of Arsenal.

He could have stood there admiring his favorite team all night but his thoughts went back to Khushi. He sighed and went to the balcony adjoining his room. Looking at the stars that shone more brightly that night, he closed his eyes and remembered the conversation that he had had with Khushi about 2 days ago.

2 days ago, The Cafe

Like any other day, Arnav and Khushi were sitting at the cafe sipping on to their respective Cappuccinos and talking about the random happenings in college when Khushi suddenly asked, "Arnav...How well do you know NK?"

Arnav was caught off guard but recovered soon and said, "Pretty well, we are team mates after all...but where did that come from?"

Khushi searched around for an answer, hesitating a lot before saying, "Oh. . .Uhh... I don't know... just like that...you know to keep the conversation alive. So...would you consider him as a good guy...you know...like actually nice and not just on the outside?"

Arnav couldn't believe his eyes for a whole minute. Khushi was hesitating. She took time to form a complete sentence. And to top it all she was not able to meet his eyes. And if he was not wrong, was that a slight blush on her cheeks which she was failing to hide because it was as clear as a red rose on the snow?

He voiced his thoughts wanting to know what was wrong with his best friend, "The conversation was very much alive when you were talking about you playing the cupid between Aman and Priya. I would say it is dying right now!!" He softened his tone a little seeing her shocked face,"Just say Khushi, what is wrong? Why are you asking about NK all of a sudden?"

If there was any sign of life in the conversation before, by now it was definitely dead!

Khushi, who couldn't decide whether she should look up, down, right, left or in Arnav's eyes, decided to look somewhere behind Arnav and said it as quickly as she could,"IreallylikeNK".

Arnav who couldn't decipher a word asked, "Come again? And this time slowly. Okay?"

Khushi gave him a frustrated glare and repeated more clearly, "I. Really. Like. NK. Now will you tell me if he is nice guy?"

Arnav felt as if a football had been kicked with all the force on his abdomen. He knew that there would be a day when he and Khushi would like or maybe love someone else. He hadn't thought that it would hurt so much though. And the worst part was, he didn't even know why it hurt him so much. They were just best friends after all. He should be happy that she has finally decided to date someone. He should go ahead and tell her that NK was a nice guy. Only that NK wasn't. But Khushi was surely smart enough to know that much right? So he should go on tell her that he is nice. She can't be that serious about it after all.

And that's what he did. He had no idea why his throat was so parched all a sudden but he said as casually as possible," Yeah. He is a decent chap. So what are you going to do? Ask him out?"

He thought she would drop it.

He thought she would burst out laughing and say "I was just kidding, you doofus. Me and dating. Pfft".

He thought she would laugh it off as a crush.

But only Arnav Singh Raizada knew a minute later that he had never been more wrong about his best friend. Because, a minute later, Khushi Kumari Gupta spoke," Actually, I was thinking, that maybe you could get me a date with him."

If previously he had felt like just one football had been kicked, then now he had felt like the whole team had bombarded him with footballs. Shock came rarely to Arnav and this was one of rare moments. His eyes widened and he said without a moment of hesitation,"What? Are you insane? No ways!!"

Was it not enough that she was going on a date with NK that now she was asking him to also get a date with him? That was not happening----.EVER. Not over his dead body. If she wanted she could go and ask NK herself or ask anyone else to ask him. But not him. Not because he couldn't. But because he didn't want to. He didn't know the reason behind it but even if he came to know the reason, he was sure that his decision wouldn't change one iota.

He was brought out of his confused thoughts and feelings by a hand on his shoulder. His eyes snapped open and he turned to look at the person who had interrupted his chain of thoughts. He turned so quickly that the person got startled and nearly stumbled back because of his quick reflex.

1)SS:Abandoned Eyes

2)SS:A Turning

3)SS:The End

ohh yeah...please like and comment!!!😃

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DEVANSHI