Fated to be with you - Chapter 12: BEST-DAY-EVER?? - Page 13

Hey..plz update ASAP buddy :) me waiting eagerly for it :)) lagta hai Arohi se zyada mein sochi rahi hoon ki kal dance session me kya hoga!! LOL!!!

Where r u? Waiting 4 ur update yaar

ur ff is awesome👏
👏loved it
plz pm me too

hey ur ff rox!
its to good...
luvd d wy arjun arohi are...
kp writin
n do pm me

where r u dear??? update soon..

Hv u 4got abt dis ff dr? Plz dnt. M egarly waitng 4 d nxt part.

Hi guys... sorry for having kept you waiting for a week for this update. But romance, especially the beginning of a beautiful romance, is very hard. It cannot be rushed, it cannot be too much or too little, it cannot be easy, it can be so confusing... And I'm trying to get it just right - believe me, it's SO difficult.
Our Arjun and Arohi are in that phase, and I want to make it just right for them. And you all know, your suggestions and feedback will make my job easier :)

CHAPTER 7: ALMOST

"Arohi, will you please open the door?"

"Ek minute!"

"Ek ghante se ek minute, ek minute keh rahi hai. Tu kar kya rahi hai?"

"Just getting ready," Arohi smiled at her reflection.She was finally done. She had spent extra time on her kajal and lip gloss, and had brushed her hair more than 10 times! Earrings and footwear had taken another half an hour to decide.

Relax, Arohi, you're not going on a date! It's just dance practice, she told herself, but couldn't help glancing at herself in the mirror again.

"Oh my God, you're finally ready," Shefali grumbled. Then she noticed Arohi looking more dressed up than usual, pretty in a pink sleeveless cotton top and pale blue denims.

"Arre wah! Aaj kis ko pataane ka iraada hai?"

Arohi tried to hide the sudden colour on her cheeks. "What do you mean?"

"Teen ghante se tayyar ho rahi hai, zaroor kuch baat hai."

"Ek ghanta hi toh liya. Don't exaggerate!"

"Ok, ok. Ab chal meri maa, we're already late for the first lecture."

Once they were in the auto on their way to college, Arohi told Shefali all about last evening.

"Hmm... Dekhne mein toh kitna khadoos dikhta hai. Is it just me, or do you also think that Arjun might have been hitting on you yesterday?"

Arohi shrugged, pretending not to care.

"I think you're reading too much into it Shefali," she said, but quietly hoped it was true.

Arohi couldn't imagine her disappointment, when she found out that they were going to practice on the girls-only songs that evening. Gurpreet had informed them last week that Wednesday onwards, the boys and girls would be practicing the separate routines for the next few days.

While the two groups were practicing in the same hall, Arohi found it a bit difficult to spot Arjun without doing so inconspicuously.

"Arohi, this step is killing me," complained Shefali, trying to match her feet to the tune of Que sera sera playing in the background. "Kya idhar udhar dekh rahi hai?"

"Nahi, kuch bhi toh nahi!" Arohi replied, clumsily trying to replicate the moves taught by Gurpreet.

"Tera partner udhar, left corner mein practice kar raha hai," Shefali said with a knowing grin on her face. "And from what I can see, he's doing a pretty good job of it."

Arohi looked in the direction in which Shefali was looking, and her heart fluttered when her eyes finally rested on Arjun, tall and lean in a slim fitting jeans and a black shirt. He was laughing at one particular step they were being made to do, and Arohi found it difficult to look away from him. Suddenly, as if he sensed she was looking at him, his eyes moved to where she stood and locked in on hers. What he did next made her cheeks burn. He smiled widely and winked!

That devil, thought Arohi, as she quickly looked away! Thankfully, nobody around her seemed to have noticed. He sure did have some nerve, winking at her like that from across the room. But then again, it could have been a friendly wink.

Arohi shook her head and muttered, "Ye Arjun bhi na..."

"You know something Arohi, I don't think you think he is a jack-ass anymore," Shefali said, poking her with her elbow.

"Don't be silly. He is still that," Arohi countered, but she knew somewhere in her heart that Arjun was not the kind of person he portrayed himself as. He had a caring and considerate side to him. Even if he teased and taunted her, he still was concerned enough about her. Why else would he have insisted to accompany her to the dry-cleaners' and then treated her to dinner afterwards?

The practice was over and Arohi was feeling a little low considering she had been so excited about the practice and it had been such a downer today. Arjun had probably left with his friends already. As she was leaving the campus premises with Shefali and Sanchit, she suddenly found out that her phone wasn't with her.

"Guys, wait a minute. I think I've left my phone in the hall."

She ran back to the hall, worried that the security guard would have locked up the hall, or worse still, someone else might have picked it up.

The hall's doors were open and she rushed inside, hurriedly looking around, under the benches and tables, on the window sills. How could she misplace her BB? She had only just bought it, that too from her own pocket money that she'd saved up for months!

She was on the verge of tears, when she heard her someone clear their throat. She spun around and saw Arjun leaning on his shoulder against the door, hands in his pockets.

"Hi," he gave her a crooked smile, and for a moment she forgot why she was there.

"Looking for something?" he asked, coming towards her.

And she forgot how to speak. She stared at him as he stood in front of her, close enough for her to smell his wonderful aftershave.

"Uhmm... phone. My phone. I left my phone here," she finally got out a coherent sentence.

"Is this the one?" he asked, pulling out a Blackberry from his shirt pocket.

"Oh yes! Thanks," Arohi reached for the phone. But Arjun pulled his hand back and smiled. "I'm not giving it to you just like that."

"What to do you mean? It's my phone!"

"Finders keepers, losers weepers," Arjun teased and stepped away as Arohi made another futile attempt at getting back her phone.

"You're so irritating. Just when I start thinking you're a nice guy, you do things like this!"

"Oh, is that so," Arjun said, an amused look on his face. He held the hand that had her phone above his head and laughed at Arohi, who was hopping and jumping and cursing him at the same time.

"Fine, keep it," she said, and stood back, crossing her arms and glaring at him.

"Thank you, I will. In fact I might even gift it to someone in return for a movie date. Maybe Tanya."

Arjun was such a scoundrel! Tanya was this really hot senior in the dance practice, who from what Arohi had noticed, had been very flirtatious with Arjun from day one.

"Go ahead. But from what I have seen, you hardly need to give her anything to go out with you. She'll jump at it if you just ask," Arohi stated in a tone colder than ice.

"Someone's been very observant."

"Someone's been very obvious. It's not difficult to ignore when Tanya is falling all over you."

"I thought that was your hobby," he stated with a grin.

"What?" Arohi asked, embarrassed.

"You keep doing that during the practices."

"Oh." Thank God he didn't mean it any other way!

"But if you really want your phone, I'll give it to you, if you can take it back from me."

"Don't be ridiculous. I'm getting late. I don't have time for your silly games."

"Then you can forget your phone."

"You creep!" Arohi muttered and lunged at him, all too quickly. Arjun was not ready for her sudden attack and he lost his footing. And as he tumbled backwards he brought down Arohi with him as well.

The impact on the ground knocked the air out of his lungs and Arohi saw him flinch as his head hit the floor. Since he had cushioned her fall, she was all right, and she quickly snatched her phone out of his hand. She was about to get up, when she saw that Arjun was still wincing with pain.

"Are you okay?" she asked.

"I told you it's your hobby to fall on me," he grumbled.

Arohi gave him a sharp look that silenced him. She then proceeded to touch the back of his head, feeling for any bumps.

"All intact," she declared. "But serves you right for acting over-smart," she said, moving to get up. The next moment, she froze when she felt Arjun's hands on her waist.

She was lying against him, half of her length on him, half on the floor, and suddenly, she was acutely aware of their awkward closeness.

"Do you think I'm a nice guy?" Arjun asked. She couldn't read his expression. It felt like a million fluttering butterflies were trapped in her chest, making it impossible for her to breathe.

"Huh?"

"Didn't you say you think I am a nice guy?"

"Sometimes," she managed to say.

"Other times?"

"Other times you're just a mean guy who likes making fun of me," she tried pushing her hand against his chest, but he held on tight. She knew she should protest, but somehow it was as if she was hypnotized by those almond colored eyes.

His lips turned up slightly at the corners "Why do you think I'm mean?"

"Oh you've been mean alrite, from the day I met you. But take right now for instance when you didn't give me back my phone," she accused.

"You should have just asked for what I wanted in return. It was a simple thing," his mouth was smiling but his eyes were serious.

"What simple thing? A movie date?" she made a face.

He grinned. "That," he said. "And this."

And before Arohi could realize what was happening, Arjun had raised his head slightly. Her heart leapt to her throat as his lips almost touched hers for a split second –

Her phone rang shrilly and she jolted in surprise, knocking her nose against Arjun's.

"Ouch!" they both said together.

"Awesome timing," muttered Arjun, pinching the bridge of his nose.

"What were you doing?" Arohi asked uneasily as she sat up and checked the phone. Shefali had called.

Arjun's lips tightened and he seemed to be struggling with the answer. "Kuch nahi. Maine kya kiya?"

"I thought you were going to..." she ventured.

"Kiss you? Yeah right," Arjun laughed nervously and ran his hand through his hair.

Her heart fell at the sound of his laughter. She took in a deep breath and squared her shoulders. "Good thing you didn't, else I would have slapped you."

With that she got up and brushed imaginary dust off her clothes, tears stinging her eyes. His casualness hurt her, but her pride didn't allow her to whine and question him. She must maintain an indifferent attitude towards him, even if it meant not asking him all the questions in her head. She wanted to ask him why he had held her if he didn't want to kiss her, why had he hinted he liked her, why did he act like he cared for her. But she knew she would start crying if she were to confront him now.

So she left him without a word, not turning back to see the regret and confusion in his eyes as they followed her till she stepped out of the hall.

~ to be continued ~

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Finaly we get a update. Thank god,u hvnt 4got abt it. U knw m jst luv wid dis ff. The whole situatn,the charactrs n the attitude of charactrs is amazingly matchd. I must say u hv a attitude. Nt only in writng bt in also urself. Super luvng it. Dnt make us wait 4 long. God bless n tk cr.

itz amazin!!!