Arshi FF: Jeene Laga Hoon (NOTE pg. 68) - Page 27

Khushi eagerly looked forward for the day to arrive. When it did, she was up before the crack of dawn. When Arnav had said he owed her, she immediately knew what she wanted from him, and today she was going to cash it in. She quickly got out of bed and got ready. She was dressed in a blue, sleeveless salwar with tan loose kameez. Her pink dupatta was pinned to one shoulder. After brushing her silky hair, she slid on her silver bangles and slipped on her shoes. Khushi packed her satchel and headed out the door to Shantivan, which was about a forty-five minute drive from her small apartment.

By the time she had arrived, dawn had broken. It was early morning and she knew the only one who would be awake at this hour was Nani. She laughed internally as she parked the car. It was weird how she became accustomed to everyone's schedules in Shantivan. Ever since NK had brought her here and introduced her, Payal, and Lavanya to everyone, she had become attached to the family members. As she stepped into the house, Khushi immediately caught sight of Nani with a pooja thali in her hand. She ran up to her and took aarti, then smiled at Nani, who smiled in return.

"Khushi bitiya, you're here earlier than usual," Nani said. "Are you and Anjali bitiya going to the mandir again?"

Khushi shook her head.

"Then what brings you here so early?"

"Woh Nani, I'm actually here to take Arnav out."

"You? And Chote...?"

"It's nothing like that. He just owes me for something and I intend to make him pay me back. However, in my own way."

Nani let out a laugh and nodded, "Good. Chote needs to take a break away from work and enjoy himself. Make sure he has fun, okay?"

"I will, Nani. Don't worry. Umm...Nani-."

"He's still asleep upstairs."

Khushi huffed, "Well this is not going to do. We are losing daylight! I have to go get him Nani. We might be back a little late."

"That's fine, bitiya. I know you two will be fine as long as you are with each other."

Khushi nodded and went up the stairs to Arnav's room. She knocked on the door and when she didn't hear any noise on the other side, turned the knob. It was unlocked. She slowly opened the door and stepped in, shutting the door behind her. The room was brightly lit as the sunlight came through the sliding doors. Her gaze immediately went to the bed where she found Arnav fast asleep. He was lying on his stomach, with papers strewn around him. His laptop rested beside him, but hadn't been opened. Next to it was his phone. It looked like he had been working well into the night. She came to the side of the bed where his head was laying and knelt down.

Arnav looked exhausted. He was dressed in his black track pants and black sweater. His hair was a ruffled mess and his mouth was slightly open. She wanted to run her fingers gently through his hair, to feel the softness of it. But as soon as she realized what she was thinking, she shook the thought out of her head. Khushi had these feelings when she was first falling for Arnav back in Manali. She couldn't let that happen again. She didn't want to be heartbroken. She dropped the thought of his hair and paid attention to him. She knew better than anyone that he needed a day where he could just be himself, without a care in the world. Today, she was going to do that and get to do something she wanted to do.

Khushi leaned forward and moved her hand closer to his ear. She shook her hand so her bangles chimed loudly. Hearing this, Arnav groaned and shifted, pulling his pillow over his ear.

"Di, knock it off," he grumbled. "I swear I will break all your bangles."

She stifled her laughter as she heard him talk in his sleep. Khushi stood up and leaned over Arnav to grab the pillow beside him. Without a second thought, she jumped on his bed and began beating him with the pillow. He shot up like a rocket and covered himself, trying to figure out what was going on, only to be shocked to see Khushi sitting on her knees on the bed with a cheerful smile on her face as she continued to hit him.

"Wakey wakey Arnav Singh Raizada," she laughed as she hit him again.

"What the! *smack* Khu- *smack* Khushi?! *smack* What are- *smack* Khushi! *smack* Okay, I'm awake! Stop!"

Khushi put the pillow back down on the bed and smile, "Good morning!"

"What the! Do you even know what time it is?" Arnav said incredulously.

"I do. Do you?"

He glanced at his nightstand, which read 6:15 a.m. "What are you doing here this early?"

"It's time for you to pay me back."

"What?"

"I want you to take me to Agra. I want to see it all, and who better to go with than you?"

"Why do you want to go there?" Arnav asked as he rubbed the sleep from his eyes.

"I want to see the old buildings and the amazing sights like the Taj Mahal."

"It's a three-hour drive to Agra."

"So? You owe me, and now I'm cashing in my I.O.U. So you can't say no'."

Arnav chuckled as he ran as hand through his hair, "You will be the death of me, Khushi Kumari Gupta."

Khushi laughed and got up from the bed before going to his closet, "Hurry up and get ready. We are losing daylight."

"Ummm...what are you doing in my closet?" he asked as he stood up.

"Taking out your clothes. You are not going with me to Agra dressed in a suit. You may as well set up a table at the city limit and do everyone's taxes."

"What the!"

"No what the! What the!'. Just take these and get dressed."

Khushi handed him a pair of clothes. He looked at it. She had given him a pair of black jeans and a white sweater. This looked like more of the stuff he used to where during his college days. Before he could even say anything, Khushi shoved him into his en suite bathroom. When he disappeared, she sat down on the recliner and waited for him. Just as she was about to sit down, Khushi noticed some papers spread out on the ground. She wondered why she hadn't seen it earlier. She knelt down to observe the papers more closely, only to realize that they weren't papers, but photographs.

Her eyes widened as she picked up a few. She scanned all the pictures lying around. They were all from the Manali trip eight years ago. There were pictures of them at the camp site, in town, during Holi, even in the forest with the fireflies. There were group pictures and even single shots. Each snap brought back a wonderful memory that warmed her heart. But as Khushi looked at more and more of the pictures, she noticed that there were more pictures of her than anyone else. In fact, she was in 98 percent of all the photos. Half of them were just single shots of her.

It was while she was looking at all the photos that Arnav had come out of bathroom ready to go. He saw Khushi on the ground and walked towards her, then noticed what she was looking at. Last night, he felt nostalgic and had pulled out the photos from the Manali trip. He went through all of them, spreading them out on the floor to get a better view. He realized he had a lot of pictures of Khushi but wondered what she would think about it. He knelt down beside her. She seemed to have noticed his presence because she didn't appear fazed as he moved next to her.

Khushi looked at him, confused, "These photos..."

"I took them," he said as he took the one out of her hand.

"I know that, but there's so many of me."

"I know."

"Why?"

Arnav paused before looking right into her eyes, "You remind me that I'm only human. That I'm not perfect, and that I make mistakes, and that it's okay. When I look at all these pictures of you, it reminds me that there's someone out there who I can share everything with, knowing that they would understand."

Khushi was speechless. She was touched to think that Arnav trusted her so much that he wasn't afraid to share everything with her. Arnav, on the hand, felt an odd warmth radiate through his chest as he confessed this to Khushi. He knew she would understand what he meant, and didn't have any fear telling her. She was one of the very, very few people in this world who understood him. Then and now. Arnav couldn't figure out why he didn't want any secrets between them, but just knew that he couldn't hide any part of himself from her. Because he felt that she knew him better than that, and would know if he was keeping something from her. He smiled as she gave him a huge grin, flashing her bright white teeth at him. The shine almost matching the twinkle of her silver-stud on her nose.

After a moment of eyelock, Arnav and Khushi looked away from each other.

She looked over at the clock and saw that it was a little passed seven.

She gasped, "It's after seven! We have to get going!"

Khushi grabbed her bag that she had put on his recliner. Arnav went to his closet and pulled out his camera. He hadn't taken photos in a long time, but today he felt would be a good opportunity to do so. He handed it to Khushi, who put it in her bag. Then she dragged Arnav by his arm out of the room, down the stairs, and out of Shantivan. They got in Arnav's black Audi convertible. He put the top down and started the car. As they pulled out of the driveway and onto the road, Khushi held his arm excitedly. Arnav glanced at her through his aviators as she looked at him then at the road ahead and shouted excitedly.

"Agra, here we come!"

**********

Yes, they are going to Agra ladies and gentlemen! Let me know what you think by leaving your comments and feedback below!

Next update: Arshi in Agra!

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