'That soft tug - what was that?' A Shivika OS

One Shot

"That soft tug - what was that?"

[Shivaay's POV]

I couldn't work. I couldn't sleep. I couldn't eat. I couldn't function in this way. And I knew this - I knew this feeling - frustration. Yes that was it; I rationalized, this was frustration. But there was something else too, was it anxiety?

Anxiety. Yes, now this was certainly a first. Shivaay Singh Oberoi was anxious?

Why? This was absurd. Even the word sounded so alien. Tiredly, he rubbed his forehead. Wincing as he realised that his head was still a little sore. Of course there were some major issues circling his family again - but for the first time in his life it seemed that his mind refused to prioritize his family. But even as the thought crossed his mind, he immediately (more like an involuntary reflux) started grappling with the whole murder mystery instinctively.

It was obvious that Gayatri had been trying to harm his family since the last few months - and she had been murdered? How? Wasn't she hiding and running from him?

And even as he struggled with the memories of the accidents' and incidents' of the last few weeks, suddenly, his eyes flew open as he settled on a most recent memory.

That night - the last phone call - when he was with Anika - yes - Gayatri had mentioned others? There were others? Others who would like to harm the family? Some who would go so far as to commit murders?

He groaned as the throbbing in his head worsened.

But that was it, as soon as he had thought that name; he was again pushed into this new labyrinth of alien emotions. Anika. Even within the constraints of his mind, the name sounded almost like a reverent murmur - a plea - what was this?

In an instant, he was taken back to the previous night when he had fallen asleep in her lap. And for the first time, Shivaay Singh Oberoi admitted to himself that this alien anxiety and this confusion affected him. She affected him.

But why? This was the question that he struggled with the most.

In the quietness and the privacy of his mind, he grudgingly admitted that he had been completely wrong about her. She was not only deserving of his respect, but he had started admiring her. And even as he accepted this foreign revelation to himself, he realized that he was drawn to her in ways he had never imagined possible.

She intrigued him. But why? That was his final thought as he succumbed to exhaustion for the night.

This confusion, this uncharacteristically absurd assault of his own emotions - they seemed to now have taken up his entire focus - hence leaving him outwardly dysfunctional it seemed. Wherever he went, these emotions, they seemed to always be at the back of his mind - resurfacing every now and then - especially when he was doing something that his mind could reconnect with her.

Like now, when he was drinking his morning coffee, and he was immediately rewarded by the memory of her recalling the name of the coffee - Sairabano - Americano? What? He remembered correcting her with mild indignation - it was an espresso for crying out loud. But what had actually thrown him completely off was the hint of a smile on his face that he had caught on himself in the mirror as he walked past it - and the hurricane of warmth that had surrounded him as he played out that memory. Of course there was no end to this invasive torture.

Because even as he turned the corner in the passageway, he slowed down involuntarily as she came into view on the other end of the corridor.

Even before he had finished that thought, he felt the full force of the emotion hit him for the first time. He had felt some of this before - but he had never felt its full force till this moment.

Involuntarily (again, he reveled in fascination) his eyes were drawn to hers - and for a moment he could swear that time had stood still.

She had beautiful dark honey brown eyes he noted.

And even as his legs continued towards her, he could feel the full force of emotions engulfing him and he struggled to break the eye-lock - a necessity he realized if he wanted to keep to his original plan.

Trying to understand these different emotions - he struggled to even remember where he was actually going then. Why were his palms all of a sudden slightly sticky? He felt the familiar wharf of warmth as his senses recognized her presence - but this time there was something else too.

His heart felt a little heavy - and for the first time he felt his heat beat quicken.

Moments felt like years as they started to cross each other - and then a jolt. A soft tug at his right hand brought him to a complete standstill.

Feeling completely vulnerable for the first time in his adult life, he turned around only to come face to face with her fully.

This proximity left him momentarily incapable of movement - which seemed to have given her a chance to try and gently tug at his offending sleeve that had stuck to her bracelet again.

She was tugging at his cufflink gently he realized; and that's precisely what brought him back. Even as he stared into her eyes for the second time in that corridor, he realized that the vulnerability that he had been battling with now and every single second of the day was reflecting back in her beautiful almost doe-like orbs too.

Even as he battled with this vulnerability - he realized that there was an even more overpowering emotion. He was feeling protective. He didn't want her to be thrown into this mess - she should not have to deal with such demons.

Could I make this better? Should I tell her something?

Instinctively he reached to unhook the bracelet from the cufflink - and even as he gently tugged on it - he could feel a familiar pull at his heartstring.

Even as the bracelet fell free - he felt both him and her turn instinctively away from each other.

As if needing to put as much physical space as possible between them; he hurried to the nearest exit corner and turned.

Still reeling from the burst of emotions, he leaned back into the wall to try and gain back some of the control on his extremely foreign emotions.

But he was slowly realizing that he had lost the battle (again), he was drawn to her in some sort of a magnetic way. Because suddenly he had this uncontrollable need to look at her one more time.

Possessed, he turned and half peeked back through the corner. But he couldn't see her - and he wasn't ready to feel that slight pang of disappointment that rushed into him as he turned back into the wall.

What was this? What was happening to him? He closed his eyes in defeat and reveled in that moment when he had felt her softly tugging at his sleeve where her bracelet had been stuck.

His eyes flew open in shock as he realized that that soft tugging mimicked the exact rhythm that he was reeling from when he had felt the slight tug at his heartstrings.

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So what do you guys think? Any thoughts?