The Distance Between Us - An AR FF (Link to TDBU#2 - Page 1) - Page 32

Previously On...

Armaan sings for Nikki & Jaan. We find out that he is Reve, a famous singer, but that his identity is a secret because he doesn't want people to look into Jaan, Tamanna or Rahul's past which would be inevitable if the media found out who he was.

Armaan and Tamanna spend time together and fall asleep on the sofa.

(A/N : Okay. So here it is, guys. A brief summary so people know what's happening. For those who don't know, Dr. Sonakshi Bose is the lead character in the show Kuch Rang Pyar Ke Aise Bhi. That show follows the story of Dev & Sona - two people madly in love. So, Dev's mom, Ishwari, who means the world to Dev, falls sick. The doctor suggests a controlled diet for her so that she becomes fit again. Dev employs Sonakshi for the same. She's supposed to be the best dietician in Delhi. Over the course of his mother's treatment, Dev falls for Sona & Sona for Dev. They hide the relationship for a few months before their families find out. Sona's family is thrilled because they've always liked Dev. Dev's family, barring his mother is happy too. His mother is afraid that now that Dev has someone new in his life, she won't be as important to him. But, for her son's happiness, she keeps quiet & tries to accept the relationship. Dev & Sona marry. However, Ishwari is still not able to let go off her hold on Dev and still resents Sona. A lot of problems arise and Dev and Sona end up separating. They meet 7 years later. Dev has by now left his home and stays out of hotels, only going home on occasion to check on his family. Sona has become a successful businesswoman after selling an app for a nutritious life. She also has a daughter - which, you guessed it right, is Dev's. They meet again, there's a lot of melodrama and hurtful comments passed. But, in the end, they get back together and Ishwari accepts Sona as her daughter. That's the basic gist of the show. Yaar, aur detail mein jaanna hai toh Google karo ya show dekhlo.

Now, what you need to know. Armaan & Sona went to college together and are really, really good friends. After Nikki left, Sona was the one who was there for Armaan throughout. After college though, they grew apart & though they talked on occasion, they weren't as close as they used to be. After Dev & Sona separate, Sona gets back in touch with Armaan because she has no idea what to do. Dev had taken over her parents' house which she had mortgaged to pay back the money that he had lent to her and her brother so that they could make the app. She had no one else to turn to, so she hoped that Armaan would be able to help. Armaan came to her rescue immediately. He had her entire family flown to New York. He let them stay with him. He invested in Sona's business and helped her every step of the way. He became Dev's stand in for her daughter in every way. He was there when she found out she was pregnant, through doctor's appointments, the mood swings, the tantrums, the cravings. He was also in the delivery room when Suhana was born. He became a pseudo father for Soha in every way. When Soha was 6 (which was only a few months before this story began), Dev moved to New York with his family for expanding his business. He got in touch with Sanjeevani for medical facilities for his employees. Armaan was the one who was handling everything for Dev. They became kind of friends. When Dev & Sona got back together, he was there every step of the way and helped Soha in transitioning into her new life. However, the closeness between Soha and Armaan irked Dev a lot. He knew that Armaan had been there for Soha when he wasn't, but he couldn't help but loathe Armaan because Soha compared Dev to Armaan in everything he did. Sensing that Dev needed to bond with his daughter, Armaan took a step back in his relationship with Soha. It hurt him like hell to do it, but he understood that Soha had a father now. Her real father and she couldn't depend on Armaan for anything now. Sometime after everything was settled down, Dev & Sona went on their honeymoon to Paris. They never were able to take the trip when they first got married because of problems in Dev's sister's married life. In this chapter, Dev & Sona have just gotten back from Paris and Sona has come to know that Jaanhavi was in an accident.)

Track 11 - Umbrella, Rihanna

As usual, Riddhima woke up early in the morning. She didn't know why, but today, she felt something different. Like she was safe. Something had happened last night that was giving her this sense of security, but she didn't know what. The only time she'd felt so safe was when she was with Armaan. So, she chalked it up to sharing a roof with him after so long. That must have given her some sense of peace.

She freshened up and made her way downstairs, wanting to get some coffee to start her day. Nikki had also woken up by the time she got out of the washroom, so both of them went downstairs together.

They were both surprised at the sight that greeted them in the living room. Armaan and Tamanna were sleeping. Armaan had his head in Tamanna's lap, while Tamanna was resting her head against the sofa. An opened book lay on Armaan's stomach, Tamanna holding it.

"Ummm... Nikki started to say something, though she was really tongue tied. She didn't know what to say to Riddhima in this situation.

"It's okay, Nikki. Don't say anything, Riddhima said, before Nikki could say something further.

"Riddhima... Nikki started again.

"Don't. Riddhima said, her voice taut. Nikki nodded.

They were still debating on whether to wake the two or not when Rohan came downstairs. "Morning ladies, he greeted them.

"Morning, they whispered together, not wanting to wake Armaan or Tamanna up.

"Why are we whispering? Rohan asked in a whisper.

Nikki indicated her head to the sofa where the duo was sleeping. Rohan laughed. "These two are such dorks! Never gonna change.

"What, they do this often? Riddhima asked.

"Oh, all the time! I've found them sleeping by the pool, in the garden, the studio, the dining table. Everywhere in the house, really, Rohan answered.

He moved forward and punched Armaan's stomach playfully, causing him to wake with a jerk.

"Ow! Armaan exclaimed. He looked at Rohan. "Was that really necessary? He asked.

"The opportunity presented itself and I couldn't resist, Rohan replied, smirking. "Wake up, he commanded. "The two of you fell asleep while reading again. And, I don't know about you, but Tamanna's neck is going to be suffering badly.

Armaan sat up with a jerk and took in his surroundings. "Oh shit! He whispered. "I didn't even realize.

He stood up and thanked Rohan. When he saw Nikki and Riddhima standing there, he wished them a good morning before turning back to Tamanna.

Sighing, he pried the book out of Tamanna's hand and kept it aside. He expertly put Tamanna's arms around his neck and locked her fingers at the back of it before he held her in his arms, as if he'd been doing it forever.

"I'll just put her to bed, Armaan told Rohan, moving upstairs.

The familiarity of his actions cut Riddhima deep. He was so comfortable with Tamanna. There was a time when he was so comfortable with her. In another life, it would have been her in whose lap he was sleeping, her who was reading to him. She always knew that reading soothed Armaan. He read whenever he was upset or sad. It was a sure shot way to pull him outside his funk. On occasion, when he'd been too riled up, Riddhima had read to him softly, trying to calm him down.

She still remembered one time when it had been at Armaan's house. She didn't remember what had happened to put Armaan in a tizzy, but she'd come over to visit him and he'd been incredibly antsy. So, she'd read to him, laying beside him as he caged her in a tangle of arms and legs, making sure she didn't go anywhere. He'd fallen asleep to her reading to him that night. He'd looked so peaceful and content then. She'd seen the same expression on his face this morning. Which hurt her. Because, after that night, when she'd met Armaan at the hospital the next day, he'd told her that he hadn't slept that well in a long, long time and that her being there and reading to him had made the difference. Had Tamanna being there made such a difference too?

She shook herself out of those thoughts as she saw Nikki and Rohan laughing and talking, lounging on the couch. She sat next to them and listened to them chatter. But, her eyes were trained on the book on the coffee table, the one they'd been reading last night. She couldn't help it. She picked it up to look at it.

It was one of those kid fantasy novels that were so in these days. Everybody seemed to be reading them. It was called Six of Crows' and apparently it was about a bunch of thieves. It sure seemed interesting. Maybe she'd read it. Later. Right now she was wondering why Armaan was reading this book. Before, he would always read Harry Potter. Riddhima would joke and call him a kid, even though she loved the books just as much.

"It's a great novel, Armaan's voice drifted through the air, pulling her out of her thoughts.

She looked up to see Armaan staring at her.

"What? She asked, flabbergasted that Armaan was addressing her.

"The novel, Armaan said again, indicating towards it with a shake of his head. "It's very good.

"Oh, Riddhima replied. "You like it?

"Yeah. A lot, Armaan told her.

"Well, then how can I like it? She asked him, a little rudely before keeping the book down and moving to the kitchen.

Rohan looked a little puzzled at Riddhima's response while Nikki just looked sad.

"That was rude, Rohan commented. "And you, he turned to Armaan, "someone talked smack about Six of Crows and you didn't say a word. Are you okay? Rohan knew how much the book meant to Armaan. He would always say that if he hadn't found Rahul and Jaan and Tamanna, he would have become Kaz Brekker, the lead guy in the novel who shied away from all emotion and came across as greedy and ruthless and monstrous.

Armaan just shrugged his shoulders. "That's Riddhima. I'm used to her behaving like this with me. I don't take it to heart anymore, lied through his teeth. Truth was, he would never ever get used to Riddhima behaving like this with him. She'd been doing that for years. She'd behave nicely with him, then brush him off. After she got married to Sid, she was rude and curt with him all the time, but he still couldn't handle it. Someday, he hoped that they would be able to have a decent conversation without biting remarks.

Rohan looked absolutely shocked at what Armaan had said. The Riddhima he knew would never be so cold to anyone. She was always polite.

"Don't look so shocked, Rohan. Riddhima and I have never seen eye to eye on things. It's just how we are. And, we survived three years of working together without killing each other. We can make it a few weeks, Armaan told him.

Rohan still looked unconvinced. He shook his head and moved to the kitchen. He needed to talk to Riddhima.

"Armaan, Nikki whispered after Rohan had left. "Are you okay? She asked.

Armaan just looked upwards before shrugging his shoulders. "Will I ever be able to get used to it? He asked her. "I know... I know things ended on a really bad note with us. I've moved on from all that, but is it too much to expect her to be civil to me?

Nikki didn't have an answer to that so she just hugged him tight.

Once Riddhima was sure she was out of sight, she broke. It had been so difficult to behave that way with Armaan - to be so cold and unapologetic. But, she needed to maintain her distance. She didn't think she could handle even being near him at this point. There was just too much history there. When she looked at him, Riddhima felt her heart would literally shatter to pieces because of the pain and the guilt. She'd told Sid she was maintaining her distance from Armaan for his own good, but she was doing it for herself as much as she was doing it for him. She didn't have the strength to face Armaan after all she'd done. Yes, she was taking the coward's way out, but she knew she wouldn't ever be able to look Armaan in the eye again. She'd shattered every bit of trust he'd had in her, in them, in their love. And she'd made it seem that she didn't even care that she'd done it. Armaan should hate her, but she knew that he was too good a person to do that. She knew that he may resent her, but he'd never hate her. And that broke her. Because she knew if she'd been in his place she would have hated him. She wouldn't want to see his face ever again. She didn't want to face the reality that maybe Armaan felt the same. So, she felt it was better to remove herself from the equation on her own.

Rohan found her in the kitchen, looking for coffee. "Third shelf, fifth bottle on the right, he told her.

"Thanks, Riddhima replied before removing the coffee and turning to the stove.

Rohan observed her for a few minutes, standing silently, before speaking up.

"Riddhima, he said, making her look up.

"Yeah? She asked.

"What was that? He questioned her.

"What was what? Riddhima asked back, confused.

"That, Rohan replied, pointing to the living room. "Between you and Armaan. You were so cold. Why?

Riddhima looked at him, unsure of what to say. Truth was, it was always easy to behave this way with Armaan than to tell him what she was actually feeling. Ever since she'd met him, Armaan had had some sort of power over her. She didn't know what it was about him that made her do stuff she normally never would have done. And that scared her. She'd always been good at denying her feelings for Armaan because she didn't want to admit the truth and let Armaan know that he affected her. She couldn't let him win. It was the same 7 years ago and the same today. All these years hadn't changed that feeling either. Just like she still loved him, she was still afraid to say it out loud.

"Riddhi! Rohan exclaimed, bringing her out of her thoughts. "I'm talking to you. What was that?

Riddhima shrugged. "Don't bother, Rohan. Armaan and I... We've always been that way, she replied, her voice low. "Armaan knows not to take it to heart. Riddhima hoped so anyway. After all these years, she suspected her words didn't even mean much to the man. She wasn't even an afterthought in his life, she was sure.

"Tomaar matha ekdom kharaab! A screechy voice thundered, causing Riddhima and Rohan to break their conversation.

Riddhima looked confused while Rohan just laughed. "Ah! She's back, he muttered. "Today of all days. This is gonna be fun!

Rohan looked gleeful.

"Who? Riddhima asked.

"Dr. Sonakshi Bose, Rohan replied. "She's very good friends with Armaan. Apparently they went to college together. Over the years, she's become really close to the rest of the gang too.

"Oh, Riddhima replied. Sonakshi. One more important person in Armaan's life that Riddhima knew nothing about.

Rohan put his hands on Riddhima's shoulder and guided her to the living room. The sight that greeted them made Rohan guffaw. Even Riddhima allowed a small smile to pass her lips.

A tall, lean girl, who Riddhima had to admit, was absolutely gorgeous, was shouting at Armaan in god knows what language. She had one hand on her hips and was using the other to point a finger at Armaan. She was definitely pissed. Armaan was standing in front of her, hands clasped at his front and his head down, facing the floor, but Riddhima knew he was smiling. Every so often, he would peek at the girl before looking back down.

"Um, Sona? Nikki said after a few minutes. "You're shouting in Bengali again. You remember that not all of us understand it, right?

Sona looked away from Armaan and said, "Nikki, yaar! Why do you always have to do this. You broke the flow! She chided and turned back to say something to Armaan.

However, before she could say anything, she realized what had happened and turned back with a surprised expression.

"Nikki? Sona asked, amazed.

"Hi, Sona! Nikki replied, waving her hand and smirking.

"Oh my god! Nikki! Sona shouted. Armaan long forgotten, Sona closed the distance between her and Nikki in quick strides and pulled Nikki in for a tight hug.

"I missed you! They both exclaimed at the same time.

After they parted from the hug, Sona hit Nikki on her shoulder. "Etta ki? She asked angrily?

"What? Nikki asked confused.

"Nikki, yaar! It's been so many years! You don't even understand this much? Sona asked miffed.

Nikki shrugged her shoulders carelessly.

"I meant, what's this? You just disappear on us like this for so many years without telling anyone anything! Sona told Nikki.

Nikki smiled sheepishly. "I'm sorry, she replied, pouting, holding her ears.

Sona looked at Armaan who nodded. "Fine, fine, Sona replied. "Don't do it again, she warned. Nikki nodded.

They started chatting, both of them talking a mile a minute before Sona realized that she was actually late for work.

"Shit! She exclaimed when she looked at the time. "I'm so late! I have a meeting in 15 minutes! Ugh! She turned to Armaan. "This is all your fault, Armaan! You're an idiot. Without waiting for anyone, she turned back round and rushed out of the house, much like how she'd come in. Rohan smiled at the exchange and made his way back upstairs. No one else was up. He could catch more sleep. He'd only come down so early because he was worried that everyone would be awake and Armaan wouldn't be able to handle the crowd alone.

Armaan looked at Sona's retreating back, smiling and shaking his head. He turned to Nikki. "She was the one who showed up here half an hour before she had to be at work, she was the one who shouted at me for almost 15 minutes and she was the one who wanted to tell you everything about her life and know about yours. Yet, it's my fault that she's late. Yeah, he told Nikki, rolling his eyes in exasperation.

Nikki laughed on hearing him. "She hasn't changed, has she? Nikki asked him.

"Not one bit, Armaan replied. "Same old Dr. Sonakshi Bose, he said, smiling fondly.

"Awww, Nikki said, smirking. She pulled Armaan's cheeks. "You still got a crush on her, don't you? She asked him, smirking.

Armaan seemed absolutely horrified at the idea. "What?! He shouted. "No! He denied vehemently. "Ewww. Never.

Nikki laughed. "That's not what you were saying 14 years ago. Then it was all, Sona is so sweet, she's so cute, man, she's the best, Nikki teased Armaan, reminding him of the time he used to moon over Sona in college.

Armaan blushed. And Riddhima's heart broke. She hadn't seen Armaan blush over a girl. Ever. Not even her. She remembered when Anjali or Muskaan called Armaan jeeju jokingly, hoping to elicit a blush from him, but the only thing they'd get was a smirk. Talking of their marriage had never made Armaan blush, but the mere mention of an age old crush was doing it. She didn't know what to feel about it.

"Oh my god! You're blushing! Nikki teased. "You so like her.

"Shut it, Nik, Armaan replied, this time forcefully. "Don't. Don't try to do it again. Never imply something like that between me and Sona, his voice taut. Dev already had enough issues with his relationship with Soha. At least he didn't think that there was something romantic between Sona and him. And he'd like to keep it that way. He didn't need more reason for Dev to resent him. Before finding out that Armaan and Sona were really good friends, Dev and Armaan had been on the way to become friends too. And Armaan liked Dev. He was a great guy - smart, dedicated and just overall nice. When Dev had suddenly turned cold towards him after meeting Soha, Armaan had been hurt. But, he understood. Now, he was trying his best to maintain peace between the two of them and he didn't want to tickle Dev's feathers with this.

Nikki, noticing the seriousness in Armaan's voice, nodded. "Fine. I won't do it again.

"Thank you, Armaan replied.

"So, what were you doing, sleeping on the sofa like that? Nikki asked Armaan after she settled on the dining table with Rohan and Riddhima. Armaan was in the kitchen, puttering around. He'd already given Riddhima her coffee which had been brewing when she'd been interrupted by Sona's shouting.

Armaan laughed. "Tammy and I were just reading. I didn't even realize when we fell asleep, he replied.

"Awww, Nikki said. "You still do that? It's so cute, Armaan!

Armaan rolled his eyes. Nikki always did find it cute that he would fall asleep while reading. She'd found him asleep in a funny position with a book on his chest countless times.

Before Armaan could say anything, Rahul came and plopped down on a chair forcefully. It looked like he'd woken up and made his way here without bothering to even check his face in the mirror. His hair was a mess and he had sleep lines all over his face. Riddhima thought she saw some drool on the corner of his mouth too.

"Good morning, Rahul, Nikki greeted him, but Rahul glared at her, indicating he was in no mood for any conversation, and put his head on the table.

Nikki was taken aback by Rahul's sudden hostility and looked at Armaan puzzled. Armaan just shrugged his shoulders. Rahul was not a morning person. In fact, he didn't even utter a single word till he had coffee in him. He was crabby and snappy till he got his fill of caffeine and then was he was an angel. Armaan never understood this. Sure, he needed his morning coffee as much as the next person, but he wasn't so dependent on it that he couldn't behave like a decent human being without it. To each their own, he thought.

He placed Rahul's coffee in front of him forcefully, the cup making a loud sound as it banged against the table. Rahul looked at the cup and took it, smiling gratefully at Armaan, though the smile came off more as a grimace as it did every morning.

Once Rahul had downed the entire cup faster than anyone thought was possible, he sat back and relaxed. After a few minutes, he opened his eyes and sat straighter. "Sorry, about earlier, Nikki, he said, turning to her, "I'm not a good conversationalist early in the morning.

Nikki nodded, laughing.

One by one, the others started filtering in, leaving just Jaanhavi, Tamanna and Rohan sleeping. Armaan served them breakfast and everyone was impressed because it didn't taste like dirt.

"Oyye, Hero! Muskaan exclaimed. "Tune kab seekha itna achcha khana banana? She asked.

Armaan smiled. "Arre, itne saal ho gaye, yaar. Agar khana banana nahi seekhta na, toh bhooka mar jaata, he replied, shrugging his shoulders.

He smiled remembering the time that Rohan and him had enrolled themselves in cooking classes, not long after he'd come to New York. Armaan needed to learn how to cook and Rohan wanted to impress this girl he'd been dating then. Apparently, she found men who could cook hot. Armaan didn't even remember her name, let alone face, but for sometime Armaan had thought that Rohan would actually marry her. He'd been smitten with her during their first few weeks of dating. But, something happened and they called it off a few months later. Armaan didn't remember what. But, he always thought that that was when Rohan had started developing feelings for Jaan. He hadn't even realized it but Armaan had noticed that Rohan seemed to compare the girl with Jaan, even if it was unintentional. Rohan hadn't dated anybody after that girl till he realized he loved Jaan. It had taken the doofus almost a year to realize that also. God, the idiocy. And then, he took, like, six months to ask her out. At first, Jaan had said no because she thought he'd been kidding, but slowly, she started to realize that he was serious about it. She was really skeptical about it because they were such good friends and she hadn't ever thought of Rohan that way, but he'd managed to break her down and she agreed to go on one date with him. If she didn't feel differently about him by the end of it, that would be it. Safe to say, Jaan had started seeing Rohan in a different light after they'd gone out and they started dating exclusively only a few months after their first date. Now, almost 5 years later, they were getting married and Armaan couldn't have been happier for either of them.

Sid snapped his fingers in front of Armaan to bring him out of his thoughts. "What are you thinking about?

Armaan blinked and looked around, suddenly remembering that he had company. "Uh, nothing, he replied, shrugging his shoulders. "I was just remembering when I started taking cooking classes.

"You took cooking classes?! Sid asked, surprised.

"Of course, Armaan answered in a well, duh' tone. "You think I just miraculously started cooking so well?

Sid shrugged his shoulders because that's exactly what he thought.

"Sid, we used to live together. Do you not remember how hopeless I was in the kitchen? Armaan asked him.

Sid remembered that vividly. Armaan had managed to actually destroy his kitchen once. It had taken the labourers a week to get his kitchen back to normal. Sid shuddered at the memory.

"Yeah. See, you remember, Armaan said, looking at Sid.

"Rohan took the class with you, didn't he? Rahul asked.

Armaan nodded. "Yeah, he was trying to impress that girl. What was her name again? He asked Rahul.

"Katy? Rahul replied, but it came out more like a question. "Hot, blonde, legs for days. Right?

Armaan shook his head. "No. That was her best friend. But, was her name Katy? You should remember Rahul, she was so into you. Remember that time we went clubbing and she actually threw herself at you, put her tongue down your throat and then threw up all over you?

"Oh my god! Rahul shrieked, shuddering. "Can we not remember that? God, I feel like puking every time you bring that up. She was not a good kisser. It felt like I had her slobber on me for days after. Don't even get me started on the puke. I must have taken 10 showers after I got home to get rid of the stench.

Armaan doubled over laughing when Rahul said that. "Dude, she was hot. All my efforts to get you two to go out went down the drain after that night. So much wasted potential, Armaan lamented.

"God, let it go, man! How many times do I have to tell you? I don't want to date anyone else. Leave it be, Rahul replied, getting annoyed.

Which was a good thing because when Muskaan heard that some other girl had kissed Rahul, she about had a heart attack. She couldn't believe that Rahul would do that to her. Especially after everything that had happened between them, after that night, how could he even think about doing so? But, listening to Rahul talk, it seemed obvious that Rahul had no part in the kiss and the girl had just caught him unaware. And he said he didn't want to date anybody. That was good, right? Right? But, what if he didn't want to date her either? She would have to talk to Rahul again, explain to him that she wanted to be with him. That in all these years that they were apart, she hadn't been able to move on, that she hadn't married despite her family's repeated requests and threats. And she would have to do it soon. She needed Rahul back.

"ARMAAN MALLIK! A voice thundered around the house, dragging everyone's attention toward it.