It was almost an hour before he saw her stepping out of the resort....he could see how she wasn't limping anymore, and he could sense, from her warm smile, that she felt much better than before....as she made her way towards the others, her glance briefly rested upon him, but he turned away from her......He didn't understand why he did that after all that had happened between them in the room......It was almost as though he wanted to run away from every moment that they both had had together.....He wanted it all to be a dream, far from reality......it wasn't her image that scared him, but rather, it was his own new one that he found most perplexing and doubtful of all.......He wasn't what he used to be.....and this feeling of unfamiliarity with his own self was what was ailing him the most.........Why was this happening to him??? He kept on repeating how much he hated her, hated her over and over again!!!! but to no avail.....he knew his rage was self-provoked which made his hatred seem almost on the verge of absurd......He would have given the world to make himself hate her like he used to...... but for some unknown reason, he found his hatred subside whenever he accidentally happened to gaze into those innocent and hear-wrenching eyes.....turning away from them was the only means of escape that was left to him.......
As everyone chatted heartily, it soon began to grow dark......most of the visitors had left the beach, and gradually, it became almost deserted except for the Viraanis......Laksh, looking at the sky, suddenly suggested that the should all make a bonfire......it would be fun.......to add to that, he went even further, and put forth the idea that they should put up tents tonight instead of sleeping inside the resort.......after all, since they were staying there for a couple of days, they'll always get a chance to sleep inside any day, but for that night's pleasant weather, an outdoor sleep over seemed more exciting........ 'but, it's only a suggestion, of course....those of you who want to go in and sleep in their comfy beds are most welcome to serve their own comforts, all I'm saying is that some of us should hang out outside since it's so nice here.' All this while he was eyeing KT, who returned his gaze with a sweet, unsuspecting smile.....
In the end, it was decided that except for Baa, Gautam, Damini, Tulsi, and Mihir, everybody was going to spend the night outside........it was already ten 'o clock when those who had opted for the resort moved inside, leaving the rest under the star-filled sky........KT suddenly remembered that she had left her purse inside her room, and she felt that she might need it....although tired as anything, she resolved that she had to go get it.....besides, it was safe if her personal belongings stayed by her side all the time....Grudgingly, she got up, and almost automatically, Manthan's eyes shot off in her direction........as she made her way towards the entrance door to the resort, he noticed that the moment she left, Laksh had followed suit, almost like an unshakable shadow.......
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It was a good thing Baa slept deeply because the noise she was making in the room while rummaging for her purse was enough to wake the dead......all the while, she kept glancing at Baa in apprehension, making sure that she was still sleeping soundly........while looking under the table, she felt something soft and leathery.....Ah, she finally found it!
Clasping her bag in her hand, she finally left the room in peace........as she was going out, she unexpectedly bumped into Laksh who seemed to have been standing there all this while looking at her.........She looked at him confusedly while he just kept on smiling at her........she raised her eyebrows, as though inquiring what he was doing there, but all she got in return was his meek smile.......tired, she rolled her eyes at him in exasperation, and was about to walk away, when her duputta, somehow, got stuck to Laksh's cuff.......the sudden force on her duputta forced her to stop midway and turn back..........she noticed Laksh looking down at his arm, and she followed his gaze to where her duputta was stuck, and moved closer to untie it...........while she was desperately trying to untangle her stubborn piece of cloth, she could feel Laksh looking down at her.......she was agitated to find that he was making no contribution, whatsoever, at helping her untie the thing, but was looking shamelessly on........she knew they were terribly close to each other, but as she struggled to get out of such an awkward position, she was frustrated that Laksh just stood there, doing nothing......
Annoyed, she looked up, and started to say, "Laksh, will you please try to...." when she suddenly stopped midway in her statement......
Looking over Laksh's shoulder, she caught a glimpse of a figure standing in the darkness, observing them..........Her eyes darting towards it in uncomprehensible fear and apprehension as she began to recognize who it was.......Her heart almost collapsed when realization dawned upon her that it was none other than 'him'.......he had been watching them all this while, his figure loomed into the darkness of the shadows yonder......this silent venture of his somehow scared her.......Although certain of whom she believed it to be, she desperately tried to make out his face, but it was too dark where he was standing......She looked at Laksh briefly, who didn't seem to notice the fear in her eyes, but was gazing at her still, and by the time she looked back at where she had seen the figure, it had already disappeared..........an unimaginable anxiety took over her whole being at that moment........she kept looking here and there frantically as though trying to look for an answer to that unknown feeling developing inside of her.......looking up at laksh, she could no longer stand this unbearable proximity, and without paying heed to his sudden confusion at her reaction, she pulled away, and the duputta tore apart at the edges because of her sudden force.........she moved back, and stood a couple of feet away from Laksh, looking at him like a total stranger.........she looked back at where the figure had stood almost a few seconds before, and without uttering a single word, ran out, the torn duputta sweeping the path gently behind her.........
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The atmosphere in the party of people outside was pretty cheerful......apparently, eklavya had unexpectedly come up with the idea of antakshiri, and his dominating presence was the only thing that was keeping peace between bhumi and nakul.......at first, the antakshiri seemed like a forced play, but gradually, the songs added softness and calm into the atmosphere, and soon even bhumi was enjoying the sound of the singing.............
In the midst of this new found harmony, there were only two faces who refused to join in with the others.......it wasn't boredom or exhaustion that kept that from it, but something much more deeper and obscure......
She could feel his eyes burning into her, piercing the entirety of her soul.......they slashed at her heart and numbed her mind beyond imagination.......a sudden breeze made her shiver, and unintentionally, she looked up......He was the only thing that her eyes took in........Manthan, oblivious to the cheerful chanting around him, had fixed his eyes upon her fiercely......his gaze made her shudder, as she continued to return it with her own.......his look was almost inhumane, and his eyes seemed to bore into her with a cruel intensity which she had never before witnessed.......she could almost feel his fury diffuse through the breeze and onto herself.....she could feel his unspoken words tremble her soul, and his overwhelming rage rooting inside of her.....not having the courage to meet his fiery gaze anymore, she silently got up, and went inside her tent to sleep............
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The night was silent. Nothing was audible except for the occasional plunging sound of the waves and the rustling of displaced sand........Try as he might, Manthan could not find a moment's worth of rest.......even after countless modes of tossing and turning in his tent, he could not get that engraved image out of his mind.......the image of her with that detestable Laksh, almost holding his arm, with her forehead occasionally grazing his face........he could feel his blood boiling when he recalled how shamelessly that idiot had smiled at her that morning, and she.........she had returned that smile.........He could feel that familiar feeling of mad fury developing inside of him and he longed to shake it off, but as soon as he even tried doing that, her and that loverboy's image returned to his head.....he turned on his back in frustration, thinking why he should ever care, when he noticed a shadow move past his tent........
He looked at his watch, and frowned as he noticed that it was well past midnight......wondering who might be out of his mind to go and take a stroll at this hour of the night, he got up and crawled out of his tent.......everything was peaceful, and he could hear someone's gentle snoring being echoed into the silence of the night.......the fire was out, and it had began to get a little nippy.......
His vision aided by the expanding moonlight, he could make out the outline of the figure in the distance.......grabbing a light sweatshirt for himself, he made his way towards it, following as stealthily as he could........
As he moved faster and faster towards the figure, he began noticing how aimlessly it seemed to him how the figure was moving......the head was bowed down, as though, in resignation, and the movements were un paced..........as he got closer to the figure, it got darker and looking up, he noticed that the moon had abandoned his mission of pursuit and had gone in hiding behind a thick cover of grey clouds.......the figure was now almost impossible to identify, as it seemed to get more invisible in the darkness........
His eyes slowly made out the curves of the figure......it was a woman.......her white dress was loosely flowing in the light breeze and so were her long, dark hair........as he got closer, her every movement, though aimless, left an enchanting effect upon him.......whether it was a dream or not, his feet continued to carry him forward, into a perpetually deep pit of mesmerization.....
Whether it was intuition or his sound behind her, he didn't know, but at that moment, the woman turned around.......he didn't gasp or look stunned and bewildered........for he knew that some where all along, he had known that it was her......it was just her inescapable mesmerization that had pulled him along all this while.....
As KT turned around, she was ready to scream out loud at noticing a figure behind her, when that figure hurriedly rushed forward and put a hand on her mouth........
It was at that moment that the moon sauntered out between a rift in the clouds, and poured out it's incredible light onto the two close figures below.....and that was when they truly saw each other.......
Seeing her so close brought back all the emotions that he had gone through during his restless night.......looking into her eyes, he, once again, relived the moment when he had seen her with Laksh.......she had been almost holding that idiot's arm like she was now holding his......his eyes burned with torment as those agonizing flashbacks came back, rebuilding all the rage that he had so unintentionally been stored inside of him..........
He pushed her against the trunk of a palm tree, holding her as tightly as his strength permitted.....his face barely inches away from hers, he removed his hand from her mouth........she was struggling against his grasp, but her attempt was nothing compared to his fixed resolution.....instead he moved his face even closer, his eyes shooting unspoken questions at her........she moved her head to her side, trying to avert them, but soon found her face determinedly pulled back to face him again.........he knew this pained her, but this time, he was determined to get some answers........
"Why...." he stammered, his words laden with uncontrollable fury, "Why is this happening to me, huh?"
She shifted a little in his impenetrable hold, still trying to avoid the intensity of his eyes and tone......
"Tell me," he continued, his voice shaking with rage....... "TELL ME!" he bellowed........
His voice seemed to uproot her entire soul, yet she refrained from uttering a single word in reply to his furious imploring......
"You have NO right......no right to........to......" he stopped............
Sensing the unmistakable fear and anxiety in her eyes, he realized this was hopeless......
suddenly, he let go of her, and pushed her away from him one last time.......
Stumbling, he made his way back...........
as soon as he turned to go, he was stopped by a pair of hands holding his arm...........
she came around to face him, and gently, held his face with her hands.......his eyes still burned into hers with anger and frustration, but this time, she had the courage to look right into them and her gaze seemed to soften their intensity.......
"I can't change what you think Manthan......no one can......" she whispered gently.... "I.....I don't love him......" looking into his still perplexed eyes she added : "this is all that u want to and need to know...."
He moved his face closer to her, and bending down, slowly whispered. "Why are you telling me this?" wanting to hear her say what his heart had been screaming inside for days.......
But she didn't........instead, she slid her hands down from his face, and looked at him with self defeat.....
As she looked into his eyes with her mesmerizing expression, he understood what she meant......words were nothing to them.......their feelings transpired from one another to the other's soul, making speech either boundless or insufficient.......the only thing they knew about was the feeling that they had in each other's arms......and the truth that it conveyed.....the truth that neither had confessed, but which was, beyond even their own comprehension, the greatest pinnacle of their lives.........
He stretched out his arm, and pulled her close to him......for a while they just swayed along with the breeze.......his arm held firmly around her while she rested her head against his chest........Her eyes still closed, she shifted her face towards him.......it was almost as though she wanted to cherish the moment forever, and that maybe, opening her eyes would break the trance........He smiled at her face with the closed eyelids, and raising her head higher with his hand, he gently stroked the tip of her nose with his own, almost as though provoking her to open her eyes.......she smiled at his cute gesture, and looked at him........what she saw made her heart and soul tremble....she saw his eyes burning with a rage and passion that she had never witnessed before......slowly, he moved his face to the nape of her neck, softly caressing his way to her face.....she shuddered under his touch, and even though she was warm in his hold, she felt a sudden chill run down her back........she held his face with her hands, gently stroking it, and eventually pulled away........but his face was still a mere inches away, and without warning, he closed that distance once more, rubbing his mouth gently against hers.......she almost gasped at his spontaneity, not knowing how to respond......she eventually kissed him back when gradually, his kiss became more intensive and demanding.......breathless, she pulled back, her heart racing against his chest.......
As the moon spread it's eternal beams around these two figures, they just stood below, lost in each other's arms, with eyes engrossed into each other's , acknowledging their new found affection and love.....
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Ok, there might be more to come later......but for now, I think this was a long enough update! So hopefully, u guys had a good time reading it......
And also, I KNOW that the kiss scene was a bit 'ahem ahem', but I really wasn't gonna show a simple, cute one yaar.....that would have been too 'Laksh style' u know......I just figured the kiss should sorta reflect manthan's character as well......he's impulsive and gets his way, so the kiss was sorta similar to that........at first I wasn't gonna add this, but then I read a couple of laksh-KT romantic bonding scenes, and they had a lot of this stuff going on as well, so I thought there'd be nothing wrong if I did the same here.......
And thanks soooooooooooooooooooo MUCH for wishing me good luck on my exams!!! got A's in all of 'em!!!! yaaaaaayyyyyy!!!!! but I do still have finals to survive through in like a month! So I'm hoping I'd breeze through those as well! Good luck to me!
Do leave ur comments, and if u didn't like anything, just post it here or PM me......I'll try to work on it...........thanks! And take care!
Soha
CID
Anupamaa
Iss Pyaar Ko Kya Naam Doon
286