[The Unknown]AK FF -Ending Summary: Page 43 - Page 4

Kripa took a deep breath staring at herself in the mirror. I don't look too bad, she thought running a hand down her leggings. The tight skirt was a bit uncomfortable as she wasn't habituated to wearing skirts at all, but it was a BBQ event in winter. This was the best she could do. Pulling on a sweater, she grabbed her house keys and locked the door on her way out to find Riddhima waiting outside in her car. Kripa ran over to the car and stepped in, taking a seat in the passenger side smiling. Riddhima whistled as she started the car, causing Kripa to turn a beet red.

"A skirt, Krips? Now, isn't that interesting?" Riddhima teased pressing her foot on the accelerator. Kripa rolled her eyes in response and ignored her as usual. Just as they arrived at the back of the Hyatt Hotel, the two girls spotted the Gupta sisters crossing the street towards the hotel.

"Who wears a dress without leggings in winter?" Riddhima asked exasperated eyeing Khushi with disgust.

"Rids, you're just jealous of them and you know it. Can you please try and be nice tonight?" Kripa pleaded, following Riddhima's gaze. "They look beautiful to me." Riddhima scoffed parking the car and stepped out followed by Kripa.

"Beautiful my ass." She muttered under her breath walking off flipping her hair with an air of arrogance. Kripa shook her head pulling her hair to one side and slowly walking behind her, nervous to see the gorgeous new guy again. Is he going to like my outfit? She thought biting her nail. She was brought out of her thoughts when Riddhima smacked her arm with a questioning look. Kripa shrugged and walked past her, leaving Riddhima confused.

***

As Kripa scanned the crowd for Sahil, she spotted Armaan and walked over to him, tapping his shoulder to get his attention.

"Kripa!" Armaan said surprised, his face lighting up at the sight of her. "You.. look, wow, beautiful." He gasped rubbing the back of his head, almost embarrassed.

"You might wanna look over here too." Riddhima said appearing behind Kripa grinning. Armaan laughed and put an arm around her.

"You look just as gorgeous Miss. Gupta. But knowing you, you don't need to be told that." He chuckled, pressing a fist to her cheek. She pushed his hand off and stepped away.

"Have you met Sahil?" She inquired. Armaan rose an eyebrow at her, before he realized who she was talking about.

"Oh! The new guy? Yeah, I met him. He's a nice guy. He was asking about you, felt a bit out of place obviously so i introduced him to some people. He's around, I think." Armaan mumbled looking around, scratching his stubble. Kripa jumped up and down a bit, anxious to ask Armaan who Sahil was with last. Anything to find him but she kept mum. Instead, Riddhima grabbed her arm and started walking away.

"Let's go find the Starbucks guy." She said, excited. Kripa bit her lip, thanking her Stars for a friend like Riddhima. Just as they walked past a line of BBQs, Riddhima paused gasping.

"Sharma, look! The Kundra brothers!" She exclaimed, squealing, signalling the direction with her eyes. Kripa's mouth dropped open and she put a hand over her mouth to stop herself from squealing. The Kundra brothers stood off to the side with Khushi and Madhu with cups of coffee in their hands. Kripa and Riddhima watched as they laughed at something the sisters said. Rishab slowly reached over and pulled Madhu into a tight hug and kissed her head smiling causing Riddhima and Kripa to gasp once again.

"No. Effin. Way. These sisters are such gold diggers!" Riddhima spat out crossing her arms across her chest. Kripa rolled her eyes pulling at Riddhima's hair.

"Don't be jealous Gupta. They're adorable. Leave them alone." Kripa chided grabbing her arm and continuing the search for Sahil. About 5 minutes later, the girls found him chatting with Riddhima's father, Shashank Gupta, the head doctor at the hospital of the town. Kripa took a good long look at him as they slowly approached them. He was wearing blue jeans, with a few spots of splashed paint and a black hoody. His hair, as usual was dishevelled and all over the place, like he just got out of bed.

"Daddy!" Riddhima squealed hugging her father who seemed pleasantly surprised to see her and Kripa as he pulled Kripa into a hug with Riddhima.

"How are you beautiful girls doing this evening? I was just talking to Sahil, here. He told me that you, Riddhima, invited him to this event? I'm very proud of you for being so mature." Shashank said with a great big smile on his face. Riddhima just nodded. Moments later, Shashank went off when Armaan's father appeared.

"Didn't your Uncle come?" Riddhima asked Sahil, interested to learn more about the mysterious Brijesh Kapoor. Sahil shook his head grinning.

"Nope. He said he was too tired. Besides, he's not a social guy. Likes to be alone." Sahil explained.

"Like we didn't know that already." Riddhima muttered under her breath disappointed. Kripa slapped her arm and threw her a warning look to which Riddhima shot Sahil a smile.

"Why don't you two get to know each other while i go bug Malik?" Riddhima suggested pushing Kripa forward before running off. Kripa stood there awkwardly shocked with Riddhima. Sahil just smirked as she gulped and looked at the ground.

"You look beautiful Kripa." Sahil said causing Kripa to turn red.

"Thank you." She whispered twirling her hair.

"So, how long have you been living in this town?" He asked stuffing his hands in his pockets.

"Ever since I was born. My mother's best friend, Riddhima's mom, lived here so we moved here as well." Kripa said quietly playing with her hands.

"Oh, i see. How's your mom?" Sahil asked, with nothing else to say. Kripa froze and just bit her lip to keep from crying.

"She's uh, she's not alive.. anymore. She had cancer." Kripa mumbled. Sahil bit the inside of his cheek, embarrassed for doing that to her.

"I'm so sorry Kripa." He mumbled ashamed. Kripa shook her head and laughed.

"It's OK. You know the feeling too, don't you? You said your parents were dead." Kripa inquired, staring at this beautiful face. With a sad smile plastered on his face, he nodded.

"Your dad? Too?" He asked studying her carefully. She took a deep breath and shrugged.

"I don't know who he is." She stated simply, making it obvious she wasn't going to say anything more than that on that topic. Sahil nodded understandingly. A long awkward silence followed as the two looked around at the others, chatting, laughing and eating.

"I like this town." She heard him say. "Especially the people." A smile crept on her lips as she looked at him with the corner of her eye. He was looking at her with a slight, warm smile on his face. And so began, their friendship.