ArHi SS: Do Deewane | COMPLETE | Link to Thread 2 | PAGE 1 | (4/10) | - Page 11

Originally posted by: chotidesi

😆

(that being said, update should be up sometime today!)

Chapter One

She took in the room, silently looking around.

A rectangular, black couch sat opposite a large, flat screen TV. There was no furniture other than the couch and the TV, and the floor was cold, white tile. There were random pieces of paper everywhere, covered in illegible scribbles that she assumed was Arnav's handwriting.

She lifted a piece of paper, squinting as she attempted to read the yellowed sheet. The large brown coffee stain had smudged the ink, making it nearly impossible to read.

"What are you doing?"

She heard his gruff voice behind her, and she dropped the paper as if she had been burned, nervously fiddling with the edges of her bag.

"Do you have something against color?"

He simply raised an eyebrow, trailing his eyes down her figure slowly, lingering on the bright yellow kurta and the chunky red necklace.

"You certainly don't seem to have anything against it."

She flushed deeply at his slightly mocking tone, glaring at him with disdain.

"At least I am not boring. And I'm clean. You leave papers everywhere."

He glanced at the clock, before looking back at her with an amused smirk.

"Impressive. Ten minutes, and you're already criticizing my apartment."

He set the chai down on the simple black side table, handing her a cup as he sank down into the hard couch.

"You're friends with Aman?"

"Geet. We were roommates in college."

"Of course. The quintessential best friend story. Roomies in college, live together for a couple of years after college until one of you gets married... And now that she and Aman got married, you don't... want to live alone?"

She stiffened slightly, and he realized he had hit a nerve.

He had recognized her.

Almost immediately, in fact. He couldn't forget the flashing hazel eyes that had challenged him that night to fight with her for that taxi.

He took another glance at her hand, confirming that the engagement ring was gone.

Had he mistaken an arbitrary ring as an engagement ring?

Or had something happened?

"I moved in with my parents after Geet's marriage. Amma doesn't exactly think environmental lobbying is a profession, and she thought getting married would help me settle down. But... I couldn't get married. I wasn't ready. So I... left."

"You're the kind of person that believe in soulmates and all that nonsense, aren't you?"

"Do you always analyze people and situations?"

"Professional hazard."

He said dismissively, studying her carefully. She shifted uncomfortably, not liking the slightly mocking tone in his voice.

"And you're the kind of person that thinks love is created by Hallmark and find the need to be cynical about everything, aren't you?"

"Isn't it a little early in our relationship to be having this conversation?"

"You brought it up."

Her voice was blunt, and she looked at him with a hint of disapproval. Shrugging, he nodded.

"You're right. I do think love is for Hallmark, and I am cynical about it. People make a big deal over nothing. If you want it badly enough, a relationship with anyone will work."

"Anyone? You don't actually believe that."

He gave her a lopsided smile, rolling his eyes.

Of course she was the idealistic type.

He should have guessed. Save the Whales environmentalist had to be idealistic, if she actually believed she could make a difference there.

"I do indeed believe that. Relationships are about work. If you put enough work into it, it'll happen."

"I can't believe you wr-"

He heard her faint mumble, and strained to hear the last bit of the sentence. But she broke off, looking slightly disgruntled as she crossed her arms over her chest.

"Cheating girlfriend you were desperately in love with?"

She asked, giving him a sardonic smile.

"My sister married a serial cheater. He proposed to her when he got caught the first time, and she accepted- thinking it was the solution. When she finally got out of that relationship... two years after a messy divorce, and she's still healing."

"That doesn't mean all marriages are doomed."

"No, it doesn't. But too often, people use marriage as a solution to everything. If your brother-in-law is hitting on your aadhi ghar waali, chances are, marrying her won't do the trick."

Her eyes widened in surprise, a slow smirk curving her lips.

"You watch KDHI?"

He seemed to realize his mistake and quickly backtracked, throwing it onto her.

"You certainly seem to, since only the die-hard phankis call Kyun Dard Hai Itna 'KDHI'."

"Phankis?! Definite fan. Forum fan too."

"What bull. I don't go to any forums. Buaji watches it, and I happen to know."

"What's your username? Bunaira1212? Kabiti5evah?"

He narrowed his eyes, grabbing the cup out of her hands as she continued to chuckle behind him.

"I think someone is a little sleep deprived. Room all the way down at the end of the hall is yours."

***

Khushi gingerly opener the door into the adjoining bathroom to her room early next morning, taking in the musky scent of... cologne?

This was... her bathroom.

She glanced at the black brush sitting in the cup holder, a bottle of aftershave sitting on the counter next to the cologne.

Rubbing her eyes tiredly, she pulled out her bright yellow toothbrush, quickly brushing before tugging on her running shorts and grabbing her iPod.

She jogged down the stairs, the memories of last night returning to her as she took off down the street.

It hit her full force, and she struggled to contain the overwhelming doubt.

She had left.

She forced herself to take a deep breath, pausing for a minute at a traffic light.

She had left.

A slow smile broke her face, and she began to jog faster. It was an entirely new beginning for her, independence that she had never had before.

Even in college, she had remained close enough to go home every week. She had come to rely on her parents entirely too much for someone her age.

This would be a good experience for her.

She would have a chance to be... herself.

She stretched leisurely back in the apartment, taking the time to cool down before heading into the bathroom for a much needed shower.

She carefully locked the door to the shower, rolling her eyes slightly as she did so.

It wasn't like he was going to invade her bathroom. He had his own, didn't he?

She wrapped a towel around her soaked hair, pulling it up until it was piled on top of her head. Tugging the other towel securely around her body, Khushi stepped out near the sinks, pumping aloe Vera gel onto her hands and rubbing it carefully into her flushed skin.

She felt distinctly like someone was watching her, and glanced up into the foggy mirror to see her own reflection.

Shaking her head at her ridiculousness, she went back to rub the remainder of the gel back into her skin... until something made her pause.

Her head shot up in horror, and she swung to the right to see Arnav completely frozen, staring at her blankly with a toothbrush in her mouth.

Swearing in mortification, she attempted to flee the bathroom quickly, holding the towel tightly to her body-

Only to slip on the towel doubling as a rug on the floor.

Bracing herself for impact, she shut her eyes tightly, fisting her hands in the towel and hoping it wouldn't fall off.

A pair of warm hands broke her fall, and she vaguely heard a soft "uff" as they tumbled to the floor, with her landing squarely on top of him.

She froze, held captive by the dark caramel eyes looking directly at her. She was uncomfortably aware of his warm hands around her waist, the swells of her breasts pressed against his chest.

Her breath came out in hoarse gasps, and she felt herself leaning closer, her eyes fluttering shut as her lips hovered above his. He followed the droplet of water sliding down her neck, and he found himself wanting to drag his finger along the path as it slipped into the fluffy folds of her towel.

He felt her slipping slightly, and his hands immediately tightened around her, sliding up her waist. The tips of his thumbs unwittingly brushed against the undersides of her breasts, and she forced herself to hold back a moan, cursing her body for wanting him to touch her more fully.

She adjusted herself, only to feel something pressing...

Her eyes widened in horror as she felt it press distinctively against her thigh, and she scrambled off of him, breaking the spell.

Clutching the towel to her chest, she whirled around to face him, her eyes glinting with embarrassment and anger.

"What the f***, Arnav?! Don't you have your own bathroom? Why are you using mine?!"

"This happens to be my bathroom as well. There's only one bathroom, and it's connected to the two bedrooms. This wouldn't have been a problem if you had actually paid attention!"

"Shouldn't you have heard the shower?! What the hell were you doing?"

"I'm sorry, I was deafened by the person singing a mashup of "jumme ki raat hai, chumme ki baat hai" and "chipka le saiyan faavical se"."

She blushed deeply, shooting him a glare as she grabbed her clothes, sprinting out of the bathroom and slamming the door.

***

She heard soft footsteps as she made her chai, stopping directly behind her. She pointedly ignored him, trying to keep her dignity intact.

"Khushi, I'm- er...- I- Uh. I'm s-s-"

She focused intently on the boiling water, ignoring her rapidly reddening cheeks.

"I- well... didn't um, expect you to show up in... you know. That."

She turned around, determinedly staring at the floor as she pushed past him. She could see him run a hand through his hair out of her peripheral vision, groaning in frustration as she continued to blatantly ignore his attempts at an apology.

She wasn't so much angry at him as completely, utterly mortified. By the looks of it, he seemed just as embarrassed.

And, well... it was fun to watch him squirm.

"Come on! I'm trying to say s-s- that word here!"

She rolled her eyes, straining the chai carefully into her cup as he fidgeted behind her. She could tell that he felt bad, but his inability to say "sorry" was ridiculous.

"I'm- I'm sorry, Khushi. I should have warned you."

She turned to face him, an embarrassed, apologetic smile on her face.

"I'm sorry too. I overreacted. To new beginnings?"

He smiled and took her hand, shaking it firmly.

His smile was... too innocent.

She looked at him warily, not liking the mischievous glint in his eyes.

"What?"

"You know... if you really wanted to get even with me for yesterday, you should have just... dropped the towel entirely."

He gave her a saucy wink, grabbing the chai out of her hands and walking towards his room as her mouth fell open in shock.

"Besharam!"

"I'm flattered that you think I can carry off that incredibly sexy shimmering golden suit."

"Arnav! Mental image! It's been one day, and we already need to have a conversation about boundaries?"

"Touche, sweetheart, touche. I'm not the one that paraded around in the towel this morning."

His lazy drawl echoed throughout the apartment, and she could hear the smug satisfaction in his voice.

Ignoring him, she quickly made herself another cup of chai. Pulling her hair into a neat bun, she sat down at the table, dipping the Parle-G biscuit into the steaming liquid.

Halfway through her third biscuit, she became aware of a pair of eyes focused on her, and turned slightly to see Arnav watching her from the couch. He was lounging comfortably, his fingers flying across the keyboard despite the fact that his eyes were focused solely on her.

"What?"

His eyes dropped to her lips, and she brushed them self consicously. His burning gaze shifted into one of amusement as crumbs fell into her lap.

"You can't eat a biscuit without getting it all over yourself."

"Don't you have to go to work or something?"

He gave her a slightly confused look, regarding her with narrowed eyes.

"Surely you have heard of my name before this."

She tilted her head slightly, her expression betraying nothing.

"Should I have?"

"Do you read?"

She looked at him incredulously, insulted that he even dared to ask such a question.

"Of course I do. Why?"

He opened his mouth, and then closed it, staring at her in disbelief.

"Every book of mine, right from my very first book, has been on the New York Times Bestsellers list. Arnav Singh Raizada. Does the name ring a bell?"

"You're an author! Right. I vaguely recall Geet mentioning that she is your editor before I moved in."

"You've never read my books."

She shook her head, and his jaw dropped.

"I cannot believe- I have never met a woman who hasn't read my books!"

"Clearly, modesty is not one of your stronger suits."

"Every woman likes a confident man."

He tossed her a careless wink, and she rolled her eyes, downing the last sip of her chai. She opened her mouth to respond, but noticed that he was immersed in his work, his eyes scanning the screen as he edited his work.

The loud, obnoxious tune of her ringtone broke the silence, "mujhe apni bana le caller tune soniye" blaring out into the room.

"I wish I had known about your trashy music fetish. I would have never let you into the apartment."

Glaring at him, she took the call, cutting off Neeraj Shridhar and Neeti Mohan before they could start up again.

"Stellar job on the apartment, Geet Mathur. I'm living with an arrogant ass that sleeps in the buff."

Geet quickly masked her snort of laughter, clearly amused by Khushi's situation.

"TMI, Gupta. I did not need to know that my husband's best friend sleeps nude. Waise, is he as well endowed as he claims he is?"

Khushi's mouth fell open as Geet burst into laughter, relishing her embarrassment. She could feel her face burning as she attempted to answer with as much dignity as she could muster.

"I didn't realize marriage transforms you into a pre-pubescent teenage boy."

"Haan, haan. Accha listen, I'll be by sometime soon to drop off some of your stuff. Don't be so distracted by his body that you forget to open the door for me."

Before Khushi could respond, she cut the call, the remnants of her laughter ringing through. Khushi shook her head, glaring at the phone. Glancing up, she saw Arnav looking at her with an odd expression, clearly trying to restrain his own laughter.

"Oh, go to hell."

She stalked out of the room, irritated by the fact that she once again had an unwelcome, disturbingly clear image of Arnav's naked body in her mind.

***

The doorbell rang later that evening, interrupting Khushi just as she finished putting on her nightclothes.

She glanced down at her lace trimmed, light pink top with the shorts that bordered on indecent, wondering whether it was appropriate to open the door wearing them.

While they would definitely not be aunty approved, Khushi wore them because they were comfortable in the stifling summer heat. It didn't hurt that they were soft, and they made her feel good.

"Khushi! Get the door!"

The doorbell rang impatiently again, and she swore quietly at Arnav underneath her breath as she opened it.

It was probably Geet anyway.

She swung it open to reveal a portly aging woman, a young woman with an expectant, rounded face, and a tall man with grey streaks in his hair that eerily resembled Arnav.

She was jolted out of her temporary reverie by a loud exclamation from the portly woman, her eyes flying up to the skies.

"Haye re Nandakishore! Tumne... Tumne shaadi karli, babua?!"

***

Note: And that's where I'll leave you for today!

I had a great response to the prologue- but I have to also give credit to Semanti for suggesting that Khushi's fiance resemble Arnav. Thank you for helping me conceptualize this story and for giving me that wonderful idea!

The teaser for Chapter Two will be up on either Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. I hope you enjoyed this chapter! As always, please follow @ipkchotidesi (or buddy me) for update notifications.

Love always,

Choti