FF: Unloved (Complete) - Page 11

Rudra was ready to go to Parvati's house an hour after he had gotten off the phone with her. It was only two o'clock. He still had so much time on his hands, and no matter what he tried to do his mind went straight back to her, wondering whether or not it was time to pick her up. He had tried to continue reading his book, but that didn't work out as he couldn't sit still. He tried going in the kitchen to talk with his mother. Unfortunately, he hadn't realized he was eating the almonds she spent the morning toasting until half was gone. She pulled his ear and sent him out, saying that he would eat everything because of his nervousness. Each time he checked his watch, Rudra felt more and more strange. He had never been this excited to take someone out before. So why was he practically ready to run to pick up Parvati?

He had gone out with beautiful girls before, certainly not as beautiful as her, but very pretty. Rudra wondered if he was nervous because he liked her. He had seen guys act the same way he was when they were taking out girls they liked. So did that mean he liked her? Rudra laid on the couch and pondered the thought. He had disregarded the idea before, but this time decided he should explore it. Well, Parvati was nice. She was straightforward. She was thoughtful. When they were together in the library, he was comfortable around her. That was an understatement. He actually liked being around her. She was always on his mind. Rudra sometimes couldn't stop thinking about her. Thinking all of this over, he wondered if he did like her. He would figure it out after the Mela.

He looked at the time again and jumped up from the couch upon seeing it was time for him to go. Rudra shouted that he was leaving, and received a have fun' response from his mother. Rudra hopped into his black Audi and sped off down the road to Parvati's house. He followed the directions using his phone, and made it there within thirty minutes. Upon arriving, he pulled up to a quaint, small home. It was similar to the other houses on the street. He doubled checked to make sure he had the right address. The place was fairly nice, making him wonder why Parvati was hesitant about having him pick her up. It's not that her home was in a bad part of town. It was actually a pretty nice area. The dirt road had many people walking around it, with vendors and carts lining down the lane. Rudra could smell the frying of delicious delicacies, such as pakoras. He remembered how he would go to the market with his mother when he was younger and she would buy him something unhealthy and delicious from the sidewalk vendors. He began reminiscing about that until he realized that he was in the middle of the road and the rickshaw drivers were waiting for him to get out of the way.

Rudra shook himself out of his thoughts and walked up to the tan-colored home. He walked up the steps and stood on the porch. He took a deep breath and then knocked on the door. He waited to hear a response from the other side of the door. He heard some muffled sounds and noises before he heard the lock on the door click. It opened to reveal a middle-aged woman. The pallu of her white and pink bordered sari was draped over her head. She looked at him and smiled warmly, and Rudra couldn't help but smile back at her.

"Hello aunty," he said. "Umm...I'm looking for Parvati. Does she live here?"

She nodded, "Are you Rudra?"

"Yes."

"Please, come in. I will call her."

The woman gestured him in and he entered. The interior was similar to the exterior of the house: simple and cozy. He stood in the middle of the living room with the woman. She turned around and looked down the small hallway.

"Paro!" she shouted. "Your friend is here!"

Parvati's voice came from the hallway, "Coming!"

The woman turned her attention back to Rudra, "Can I get you anything? A snack? Water?"

"No no aunty," Rudra replied. "Parvati and I will get something at the Mela. Thank you though for offering. Forgive me, but I don't know who you are."

"Oh! How silly of me! I am Rajeshwari Desai. But everyone here knows me simply as Mami-sa. You may call me that as well."

"Really? Mami-sa?" Rudra grinned. "You look like you could be more like Parvati's sister than a Mami-sa."

Mami-sa covered her mouth with her pallu to stifle her laughter, "Oh you are so shameless! A typical flirt!"

Rudra laughed and rubbed the back of his neck. It seemed that he made a good impression with Mami-sa.

She moved her pallu and looked at him, "Do you go to the Mela every year?"

"Yeah," He replied. "Usually with friends. And don't worry aunty. I will make sure not to keep Parvati out too late."

"Oh no. Don't worry. Honestly, Parvati doesn't get out much, so if she is late I won't worry. She is with you, and you are the son of the BSD General."

"You know?"

"Of course. Paro told me."

Rudra was surprised to know that Parvati spoke of him, "She talked about me? Really?"

"Yes. Not much, but she did when I inquired about you."

"Oh I see. Well I hope it was all good things."

"It was. You know, I've seen your father a few times on the streets. You look like him."

"Well thank you. I take that as a compliment."

Before the conversation could continue any further, Parvati came out from the hallway. Rudra's attention turned to her, and he found himself unable to look away. She was dressed in a three-quarter sleeve, white salwar with a loose, navy blue kameez. Her navy blue dupatta was draped on one shoulder. Parvati had an assortment of silver, white, and blue bangles on both wrists. Her hair was half-pinned back. She looked up at Rudra.

He was wearing black jeans and a dark blue, button up shirt. His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows. Surprisingly, he seemed a bit overdressed for a Mela. Thankfully, he was wearing sneakers rather than dress shoes. His hair contained that natural bounce as always. Parvati was surprised to see that they had matched, without any intention to. When she finally stopped before him, he caught a glimpse of her silver nose ring. Parvati walked up to him and Mami-sa calmly. Rudra noticed that she still wasn't smiling, but she was fiddling with the edge of her dupatta.

"Wow," Rudra said. "You look...really nice."

"Thank you," she replied softly.

"Are you ready to go?"

"Yes."

"Oh and Mami-sa don't worry. I'll keep her safe."

Mami-sa could sense the honesty in his voice. She nodded in agreement. She was assured that he would hold up on his word.

"Have fun," she said to them, while looking directly at Paro.

Rudra and Parvati exited the house. Mami-sa closed the door behind them. The two of them walked towards Rudra's car, him a few paces ahead of her. He glanced back to make sure that she was still behind him. When they reached his car, he went to the passenger side and opened the door for Parvati. She hesitated for a moment before she silently got into the car. Rudra closed the door and got into the driver's seat. As he buckled his seatbelt, he glanced over to see if Parvati had done so. She did. He put his hand on the steering wheel and the other went to the key. Before he started the car, Rudra looked directly at her, and sensing his gaze on her, she looked at him.

"Ready?" he asked.

"...Y-yes," she replied.

Rudra dropped his hand from the key in the ignition and frowned, "You hesitated."

"What?"

"Yeah, you hesitated. Do you really want to go to the Mela?"

She looks down at her hands in her lap, "Yes."

"Can you look me in the eyes and tell me that?"

Parvati slowly lifted her gaze to meet his. He was looking at her curiously. She was about to tell him that she was ready to go, but when she looked in his eyes, Parvati found her words had become lost somewhere. Her mouth opened, but nothing came out, even as she tried to answer him. Seeing her struggle, Rudra knew the answer to his question. She may not, but he did.

"Hey," he said with a smile. "If you don't want to go to the Mela then we don't have to."

"We...we don't?" she managed to say.

"No. I don't mind. I go every year. I doubt anything will be different."

"Oh, so then what do you want to do?"

"Well, actually this is my way to thank you for helping me with Sengupta's class. So why don't we do what you want to do?"

Parvati was taken aback. She was surprised that Rudra had said that. No one had ever asked her what she wanted. She was usually forced to do things that others wanted. Now that she was being asked, she didn't know what to do or say. She was truly overwhelmed that he had even bothered to ask her. Even though he casually asked her, Rudra would never understand how much his question mattered.

"You're asking me?" she finally asked.

"Yeah?" he raised his eyebrow in confusion.

"To be honest, no one has ever asked me what I wanted to do before."

"Seriously?"

She nodded.

"Well, now someone has asked. What is your answer?"

"I don't know."

Rudra looked out the window and thought for a moment before speaking again, "Hmm. Well if not the Mela, then...what about movies?"

"What about movies?"

"Do you like them?"

She nodded.

"Then how about we go to a movie? You can pick one. Any one that you want to watch. I promise I will sit through the whole thing."

When Parvati looked him in the eyes again, Rudra was shocked by what he saw. In her eyes, there was a small glimmer. A small smile tugged at the corner of her lips. The hazel eyes suddenly came alive with that very little spark. She seemed almost hopeful, and Rudra was completely lost in them. This was the first time he had seen such emotion in her, and it was both surprising and alluring. However, he could also see a hit of hesitation in them. She seemed afraid to ask him, probably because she felt that he would reject it. But Rudra found himself suddenly so lost in her that he realized he would have said yes' to whatever she wanted if it kept that glimmer in her eyes.

In a soft voice, Parvati asked him, "Can we watch DDLJ?"

"DDLJ?" Rudra asked as he broke out of his trance.

"Dilwale Dulhania Le Jayenge. They play it at this theater in town."

"Is that what you want to watch?"

She nodded.

He smiled, "Okay then. DDLJ it is then."

Rudra turned the key in the ignition and started the car. He pulled out into the dirt road and began heading towards downtown Delhi, where he and Parvati were going to watch a classic Bollywood movie.

~

Rudra reached the theater and parked the car. Downtown was fairly crowded, but not as much since the Mela was going on. Many people were going to be there, so the streets weren't as packed as they normally would have have. Once he had found great parking, Rudra got out of his car and went to open the door for Parvati. She slowly got out of the car, and stood on the sidewalk. When he closed the door, he turned and saw her standing and waiting for him. She was still fiddling with her dupatta. Rudra knew by this gesture that she was still nervous, but he didn't know how to alleviate the tension between them. So, they quietly made their way to the theater and stood in line to buy tickets.

While they did so, Parvati's gaze wandered around their surroundings. The sun had not fully set, but it was setting rather quickly. Groups of friends and couples were walking down the street, laughing and joking with each other. She glanced over at Rudra, who was looking ahead of them, counting the number of people in front of them. Parvati was still curious as to why he was being so nice to her. He had said that tonight was just a way to say thank you for tutoring him, but she didn't feel that it was the only reason. She was unaccustomed to such kindness and deep down she felt that she was going to get hurt. Parvati knew that if Mami-sa had not insisted, she would not have called Rudra. But now that she was here with him, she felt she should at least give him the benefit of the doubt. She turned her head away, and in that second Rudra looked at her.

He didn't want to admit it to her, because he felt that he would sound like a complete idiot, but tonight she did look breathtaking. She was simple, yet elegant in her own way. Her bangles chimed as she moved a strand of hair from her face. Rudra looked back ahead of them again. He realized he was getting too caught up in her. He had only known her for a week, and she was already consuming his thoughts. And now, here he was thinking about how pretty she looked. Rudra shook his head. He needed to keep himself in line; tonight was just about two friends hanging out. It's a way to show his appreciation for all the hours of tutoring.

However, his attention suddenly became diverted elsewhere. Rudra noticed a group of guys around his age walking passed them. They had slowed down by them, and were taking generously long glances at Parvati. They were all smiling and nudging each other, trying to get the others in their group to look at her. Parvati wasn't looking in their direction and hadn't noticed the looks she was receiving, but Rudra was and had most definitely seen. His casual stance immediately stiffen and he straightened up. His jaw clenched and his one hand that wasn't in his pocket closed into a fist. Without thinking, Rudra moved closer to Parvati, but didn't touch her. He glared at the group of guys, who had seen him move closer to her. Their smiles had faded as they whispered to each other and quickened their pace passed them. Rudra watched until they disappeared out of sight before turning back.

When he looked over at Parvati, he found her looking at him confused. He immediately relaxed and gave her an assuring smile. She took it as a sign that he was fine and moved forward with the line. Rudra, on the other hand, couldn't believe he had just done that. He didn't even know where that came from. This natural protective instinct kicked in, one that he didn't even know he had. He glanced over at Parvati. He really needed to keep himself in check.

After Rudra had bought the tickets, they entered the theater and took their seats. Parvati had denied wanting any snacks or drinks. So the two of them sat in the partially filled theater and watched the commercials before the movie had started. Rudra tried to think about something to say to her, try to start up a casual conversation with her, but he didn't know what to say. Soon enough, the lights dimmed and the movie began to play.

Rudra had seen this movie a few times before, and although he liked it, he felt that three times was enough for this lifetime. He leaned his head on his hand, knowing that this was going to be a long three hours. The movie began with the title and famous tune playing. As it progressed from Raj failing, the Eurorail trip, to the part where Raj and Simran were drunk, Rudra found himself silently repeating the dialogue. God, I have seen this movie way too many times, he thought. Now, that Simran was dancing in her intoxicated state, Rudra looked over at Parvati to see how she was liking the movie. What he saw made him do a double-take. He couldn't believe it! Parvati was smiling and stifling her laughter!

At that moment, Rudra lost all interest in the movie. His attention remained solely on Parvati for the remainder of the film. He found that he couldn't look away. Even when he had tried to imagine it, he never thought her smile would look like this. It was something else...just like her. She was focused on the movie, and didn't notice him staring at her, which allowed him to watch her to his heart's content. Throughout the rest of the movie, her expressions went through a spectrum of changes. She smiled when she was happy, frowned and almost cried during the sad parts, laughed at the funny parts, and bit her nail at that adorable, romantic parts. Through it all, Rudra watched her facial expressions change, memorizing them all and reflecting the same expressions on his face. Even though he tried to look away, he couldn't. He couldn't help but enjoy watching her, and wondering when was the last time she had smiled like that.

Parvati glanced over in his direction, and that was when Rudra went back to watching' the movie. By then, the movie was over and Simran was running alongside the train and caught Raj's hand. The ends credits soon rolled up, and the screen went blank as the lights came back on. It was then that Parvati and Rudra stood up and left the theater. It was dark now, but there were still people roaming around the streets. On their way out to the car, Rudra looked at her from the corner of his eye. The small smile was playing on her lips, and this soon reflected on his face. They stopped in when they reached the car and stood in front of one another.

"So did you like it?" Rudra asked.

She nodded, "Yes."

"I can't believe you have never seen that movie. I'm a guy, and I've seen it three, now four, times."

"I've seen it before."

"What?"

"Yes. How did you think I knew it was playing? I've seen it several times."

"You have?"

She nods before looking up at him, "It's one of my favorite movies."

"Hmm."

"What?"

"You know that's probably the first personal thing you've told me about yourself."

Parvati flinched and her smile slightly faltered. She did realize that this was the first personal thing she had told Rudra, and she had done so unintentionally. She usually didn't disclose personal details about herself. She had built walls to prevent herself from doing so, but this was a complete slip of the mind. It felt natural to just tell him, and that made her anxious to some extent.

Rudra saw the look on her face and could tell that she was receding within herself again. The smile was fading, and the glimmer in her eyes was disappearing fast. And, for some reason, he didn't want that. So he made an attempt to distract her and try to get the glimmer to stay, just for a little while longer.

"So if DDLJ is one of your favorite movies, what is your favorite movie?" he asked.

He watched her pause. The smile came back, and the small sparkle in her eyes returned. Rudra let out a sigh of relief, knowing that he managed to keep it there for a few more minutes.

"Kuch Kuch Hota Hai," Parvati answered. "That's my favorite movie."

"I should've known," Rudra laughed. "Every girl loves that movie."

Parvati rubbed her arm nervously.

"So what do you want to do now?"

"Huh?"

"Is there anything else you want to do? Your Mami-sa said I can keep you out as late as you want. So is there anything you want to do?"

Parvati thought. Before she was baffled by this question, but now she actually thought of something. However, she wondered if Rudra would agree to it.

"Umm...the Mela...," she said.

"Yeah?" he asked.

"Does the Mela still do fireworks at night?"

"Yes," he looked at his watch. "They actually should be starting soon."

Parvati fiddled with her dupatta, and Rudra knew what she wanted. He wondered why she didn't just ask him if they could go. He could tell that there was hesitation on her part, but just couldn't understand why. But he knew that she wanted to see the fireworks, and he was going to take her to see them.

He smiled, "You want to go see the fireworks, don't you?"

She nodded nervously, "But if you don't want to see them, then-."

"Hey hey hey! We can go watch the fireworks. I have no problem with that. But I'm not going to take you to the Mela to watch it."

She looked at him puzzled, while his smile still remained.

"I'll take you to the best spot to watch the fireworks. It's not that far from the Mela, but it has the best view. What say?"

Parvati nodded. She and Rudra got into the car, and they drove the mysterious destination to see the fireworks of the Mela.

**********

Awww!!! How cute was that?! Let me know what you thought by leaving your comments and feedback below!

Next update: The fireworks of the Mela, and Rudra finally asks Parvati about the reason for her sadness! What will her response be?

Thanks for reading!