A/N: Hey there everyone! :D :D Since it's been a year today for our show to end, I couldn't resist but write a piece to mark its anniversary. So here I am with an OS (that I could turn into a series of random one-shots depending upon the response), and I hope you all like it! :D :D
Not keeping y'all for long,
Happy Reading! :D :D
An impression always leaves a lasting impact upon someone.
That's what her father always told her as a child. Although why she remembered that now out of all moments, she couldn't understand. Maybe it was because Ranveer had pulled her arm into a back lock with his thumb burning an impression against her wrist. But it was all in good faith. She could feel Ranveer's breath tickle her neck, his soft laughter ringing in her ears when she tried to put up a fight against him. Call her whatever he might, but he was much stronger when it came to things like these. And even though she could defeat him in an arm wrestle any day, she always found herself incapable of breaking loose from his thumb lock. Atleast not until he loosened his hold upon her.
"Ranveer, let me go!" she giggled, torn halfway between laughing and struggling. Ranveer laughed at her antics, relinquishing his hold upon her.
"No, not until you promise me that you won't tell Mota Babuji about this, Ishaani!"
"He should know that you were drinking! You promised that you wouldn't!" she reprimanded, giving him a glare. She was sure that Ranveer had rolled his eyes at her, his scoff a easy give away.
"I told you, I wasn't drinking! I was just giving Baba company, that's all!" he defended, the helplessness in his voice evident.
He'd told her this for the second time that night. The first time had been outside his room when she'd come to take him to Chirag's house. He'd barely been in his senses that time, poking and prodding her on her arm as though he couldn't believe that she was there for real. It was rather curious, his behaviour, but she'd been too absorbed in her want to put down the guy who'd rejected her sister to take too much notice of his refreshingly childish behaviour.
She knew that she'd been rather rude to him when she had dragged him to the car and forced him into the passenger seat, driving up to Chirag's house without another word to him. She'd taken him along because nobody had volunteered to come with her and her sole strength in things like this had always been her best friend. But she knew that her curt behaviour hurt him when he refused to step out from the car and accompany her to the house. And when he was on the verge of tears once she'd returned, she knew that she'd perhaps taken it a little too far.
She'd apologized to him for her behaviour, telling him all about how she'd rejected Chirag's proposal while he heard on with rapt attention. And suddenly he'd cheered up, his intoxication no longer interfering with his senses, which in itself had taken her fancy even though she didn't ponder too much upon it. So to celebrate her little tit-for-tat (and mainly to cheer him up), Ishaani made a detour to the samosa wala before heading back home, knowing that samosas with chutney was what Ranveer required whenever he was upset. And even though he'd not eaten anything and had packed a few for himself and his father for the next day's breakfast, she knew had he'd considerably cheered up as he watched her relish the samosas instead.
But it was when he choked upon his cup of tea and she rubbed his back to ease his breathing when she noticed it for the first time. A strange fear lurking in his eyes that he camouflaged a moment later. He was too quick in hiding things like these. And it was through walking back home amidst jokes and light banters that she realized what had unsettled her in the first place. He had the same look in his eyes outside his room when she'd seen him. And being the inquisitive brat that Ranveer famously termed her as apart from Sunny Deol, she decided to nose around a little.
"Do you think I'm stupid?" she asked, turning her head in his direction as much as she could while sticking her tongue out at him.
"What?" asked Ranveer, his hands suddenly loosening around her wrist. Taking her opportunity, Ishaani pulled her wrist out of his grasp and massaged it, his thumb leaving a prominent mark. She turned around to see confusion cloud over his cheerful features.
"You think I didn't notice your eyes when you came outside your room to meet me?"
"What- what's that supposed to mean?" he asked, suddenly paling. Gone was the happiness from his face and the joy from his smile. He suddenly looked like someone who'd been caught in some wrong-doing.
"I know the truth, Ranveer," she continued boldly, knowing that she was on the right track of extracting the truth out from him. Her statement dropped like a pin upon a silent room, the impact magnanimous in the quiet house.
"What truth?" countered Ranveer, pretending to feign innocence even though the fear in his eyes grew more and more pronounced with every passing second. If only she could read his mind as well as he could hers. She sighed, suddenly turning serious.
"You were upset about something. And it wasn't because I treated you like a driver even though you know you're my best friend. You may have been behaving childishly and talking nonsense, but your eyes told me another story entirely. Impossible though for the world, you read me like an open book even though you're a closed one. But that doesn't mean that I don't know you or understand you completely."
"Ishaani, trust me-" began a now-harassed looking Ranveer, but she didn't give him a chance to continue.
"I know you won't say anything. I know you that much atleast by now."
"Then why are we even discussing this?" he asked, looking considerably relieved. But this time, Ishaani smiled confidently. She knew that she was right here even if she didn't know the whole story.
"Because I know that something has affected you a lot today. It's why you got drunk. You look... afraid. As though you're holding on to something that you know isn't yours to hold on to. It's as though you're trying to hold on to something that's temporary... something that's soon to fade."
Ranveer looked stricken, as though he couldn't believe that she'd read his soul like an open book. He remained quiet for several minutes with his lips pulled in a taut line and his face blank as though pondering upon whether or not to tell her what was going on in her mind. And then just like that, he shook his head with a broad smile breaking out on his face.
"You read too many novels for your own good."
Ishaani laughed in spite of herself, knowing that she was arguing in front of a master who no one could beat when it came to hiding his emotions. But she wasn't someone who gave up easily. She was glad to see his smile get smacked away the next moment when she made a statement, the power of her penetrating gaze shaking his soul.
"Say what you might, but I want to know what's left such a lasting impact on you. And one day soon, I will."
Destiny had strange ways.
If someone had told her that entire life would change forever in a single moment, she'd have laughed and told them that no such thing happened in reality. And yet her father's death had proved her naive approach wrong. Nothing in her life was the same anymore. But was it really her father's death that had changed her life or was it the sudden departure of her best friend who she'd not seen after that night?
Her world certainly wasn't the same anymore from the time he left.
Everything felt like a sham, a forced glitter of sanctity and happiness even though deep down, she felt none. How could she, when the person she'd trusted the most, even above herself, had deceived her the way he did? Weren't they the best of friends; two people who couldn't live without each other no matter what? Then why did love have to come into the picture? They loved each other as best friends! Then why did that not suffice between them? Why did that love have to make them both pay such a heavy price? Have to make Disha pay such a heavy price?
No, that she would not believe. She knew him. She'd seen it in his eyes when he swore upon her head in front of Ganpatiji that he hadn't touched her sister. And yet... he'd crossed the boundary of loyalty with love. A boundary she never believed he was capable of crossing because she'd never seen him that way. But was it really his fault or was it hers? Could it not have been the fact that she was so blinded by her friendship that she'd never really noticed his true feelings for her? She'd sworn to herself to never see his face that night after she'd bailed him out of jail with an anonymous identity. That would be the last time she ever did anything for him because she couldn't stand to face him after everything that had happened. If he ever returned back to her, she'd have...
What would she have done, she didn't know till date because he never gave her the chance to think upon an alternative.
He'd vanished from her life after that night like the stealthy mist of a spring morning.
He'd left her like a dream that'd turned into a nightmare for just enough time to leave a bitter taste in her mouth every time she thought about it. And he'd taken her smile and her father's spark alongside until his absence left a mark upon her father's business. And soon after, her father had passed away in an office mishap that to the world was known as a cardiac arrest, leaving them all drowning in an unexpected debt. And apart from her father's life, they lost their house, their wealth, their dignity and the Parekh legacy.
Through aimless meanderings towards stability, hardened times for survival, no emotional backbone and even more strained relations with her family in these two years, she found herself crumbling to the world a little more everyday until she was tired. She had Chirag, who she'd chosen to trust above her best friend, but she still didn't have the essence of her best friend or the solace of her father who could assure her that everything would be alright. They'd both left her at a time when she needed them the most, and perhaps it was why she hated her him so much. She couldn't hate her father no matter how much she tried to for leaving her at a time when she was barely coping with the loss of her best friend, so she hated her once best friend twice more - for her father and for herself.
Then why was it that she was standing upon his threshold today?
Through all the ups and downs, difficulties and added responsibilities, aloofness and loneliness, she'd lost hope of ever finding her emotional sanctity back in a world that was too fast for her to cope with. She'd learnt to live with the burdens of her emotional unrest and the taunts of the society with a lot more patience. Or was it indifference? She didn't know. Nothing mattered to her much after she lost the two most important people of her life, the two people in whom her heart resided in. Maybe that's why she'd learnt to live without everything except the two of them.
Is that why her heart caught the spark of flame when their eyes met after two long years?
She'd only gone to the cabin of her new boss to plead for forgiveness. For mercy. For another chance at her job after stealing those twenty-five thousand rupees. But it was only when the fire of his brown gaze scorched against the cold of her own did she find herself come alive for the first time in so many years. She should have understood that the unexpected and violent rains must have had something in store for her, seeing the way she was drenched to her skin in spite of an umbrella. Didn't he always used to her that unexpected rains always meant that God was crying upon something?
Was that what God was crying upon today? Her existence?
But what kind of existence was she leading in these two years, really? Was everything meant to be an illusion? Her supposed happiness, her apparent contentment with life, her gratitude to God for keeping them safe and sound in spite of everything? Who was she fooling, really? And yet as brown met black, their fifteen years of friendship and togetherness flashed before her eyes in rapid succession till until two years ago.
Ah...
The spark aflame now roared into a blazing fire of rage. Why wouldn't it, when she was hated him for so many things? For ruining their friendship, for leaving her when she needed him the most, for leaving her father when he needed him the most, for being the indirect cause to all of their miseries? Yes, he was the one she was supposed to hate! Perhaps hating him enough would take away her own emotional clots and would set herself free of everything that had bound her in all these years. Yes...
Through the shock of the revelation spilt the first words of acknowledgement from her lips. She'd deciphered the biggest mystery of her life. The mystery behind RV, who was none other than her once best friend, Ranveer Vaghela. But who would decipher the mystery of Ranveer Vaghela that no mortal man could solve up until now? And so she took a shot in the air, letting her hatred vent through her words. He'd always called her a master at it anyway, and he deserved to hear them all. He deserved to know the pain she was suffering under in his absence even though it probably made no difference to him.
If it did, he wouldn't have left her in the first place.
Through accusing him of acquiring everything that was once her father's and letting him know that she wouldn't stay at job, she felt a sadistic approval thrive in her heart. Finally, she had an upper hand over something! But in spite of the master job she was doing in her opinion, his eyes remained cold, indifferent, distant - all three of which made the sadist in her grow more and more vicious with every passing word. Why couldn't she inflict pain upon him like the way she could earlier? She'd once treated him like a driver and the pain in his eyes was identical to someone being stabbed in the back. And even though she accused him today for several unjustifiable things, he remained unscathed. Like nothing made a difference to him anymore except power. Fame. Money. Success. Revenge.
Until he spoke only one sentence - she couldn't leave his job because he wouldn't allow her to.
She wouldn't stand there being ordered around by him when the bridge between them was clearly burnt. For a moment, deep down in her heart she'd hoped that through her accusations, he would pull her into his arms and console her, giving her the solace her heart so terribly yearned for. But he'd only remained a mute spectator to her monologue, his eyes mocking of her predicament as they both stood across the boundaries of rich and poor, although this time on the opposite side. She no longer had that right upon him, and so she wouldn't let him have any on her either.
But then how was it that she was leaning against him suddenly with her arm pulled into a back lock and his thumb pressing on her wrist harshly?
Even as she silently wrestled against his grip, she secretly enjoyed the pain that came along with it. Gone was the playfulness from their tussles about how strongly he held her hands with his back locks that always left a mark upon her hand. There was no caution or tenderness in his strength this time. There was only a gaping intensity that exuded from his aura as she stood against him, feeling his breath fall upon her neck heatedly while her wrist began to ache.
And yet she remained silent, unwilling to cave first. All her life, she'd caved to him when it came to his hold upon her, but not this time. She would not let him have the upper hand this time! She simply wouldn't! Ranveer would have to...
Ranveer?
Did he even exist anymore in the facade of RV?
Her mind suddenly wandered along all the times he'd held her wrist like that to make her listen to his point, but there had always been love and gentility in it. The way he held her today was with a strength she didn't enjoy anymore than she did their equation. Were they even the same people anymore? Ofcourse not! But then why did the flame in her heart only flicker stronger?
She was suddenly taken back to the last time he'd held her the same way. It was the day he'd gotten drunk and she'd taken him to Chirag's house in the same condition. She almost let crack a nostalgic smile at the thought of how she'd threatened to tell her father about him and he'd held her in his playful lock warning her not to. And then through their childish banters, she'd read his eyes and had tried to read his fears-
And then it hit her.
The fearlessness in his eyes today was a product of the exact same fear she'd seen in his eyes back then.
The same fear that he'd always mask with his laughter.
But today, there was none of it. His breath that would once tickle her to giggles made every pore of her body erupt in goosebumps today, his aloof, rhythmic breathing replacing the laughter that would once made her heart burst with joy. And suddenly she was conscious of his rich scent that momentarily caught with her senses, their damp clothes and his warm grasp making everything a lot more real. She felt her chest tighten while her breathing grew slightly hoarse, but it was not at their proximity. It was at the daunting realization that had just fallen upon her.
The fear in his eyes had not been for anything else. It had been for her. Of losing her, to be more precise. She was the something temporary he was desperately trying to hold on to, knowing that she was soon to fade away from his life. Even though late, but she'd learnt of his biggest fear at long last.
But did it matter to him anymore?
Where once she could see only love and admiration for herself she now saw indifference and... hatred. A hatred not unlike the once she felt for him, but only more... intense and real. Was it another illusion with her mind playing tricks on her and seeing what it wanted to or was it really there? She didn't care. He was a past she'd locked in the depths of her heart and never wanted to set free. And she would keep it that way, no matter how much her heart quivered or longed for the essence of his friendship to make her whole again.
A longing that made her shiver involuntarily in spite of being drenched to the skin.
And as she wrenched her arm free at long last, she stared at the raw print that his thumb drew upon her wrist, astonished by the mark he'd left upon her. She'd never understood the gesture behind his action, but she'd always assumed it to be a form of showing his right upon her as her best friend because he was the only one she would ever listen to, no matter what.
But today, she realized that it was not about him showing his right upon her. It was about him marking her as his own. Her father would often tell her that an impression always left a lasting impact upon someone, but for the first time she understood what he meant by it. Ignoring his flowery apology, she rubbed her wrist to ease the pain when a thought crossed her mind, which in turn made a rueful smile grace her lips in spite of herself. She could defy everything that she once thought and felt about him, she could bury her past with him in the most remote corner of her heart and could treat him like the biggest nightmare of her life who she now hated because of her inability to deal with his absence, but she couldn't escape one thing.
Ranveer Vaghela had certainly left a lasting impact upon her, and it was not just upon her wrist.
Constructive criticism will be more than welcome and sorry for any typos. :D :D
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