The Distance Between Us - An AR FF (Link to TDBU#2 - Page 1) - Page 33

Previously on...

Riddhima finds Armaan and Tamanna asleep on the couch and assumes things. She is rude to Armaan and her and Rohan talk about it.

Sona, a good friend of Armaan's makes an entry.

We find out about Rahul's love life, or lack thereof, a little.

Track 12 - You've Got A Friend In Me, Randy Newman

Armaan actually shuddered when he heard the voice. His expression morphed from playful to scared in a matter of seconds.

"Oh, she's awake! Shit! Armaan exclaimed.

"What did you do? Nikki asked.

"Um... Armaan hesitated, but it wasn't necessary because the next minute, Tamanna was standing in the dining room and everyone knew what was wrong.

Looking at her, it was impossible to not to laugh. Armaan had painted her face, badly. She looked like a clown. For real. He'd painted a clown face on her.

As everyone started laughing, Tamanna got even more pissed at Armaan.

"You better run, she warned him.

Armaan who'd been laughing really hard, looked at her and stopped laughing abruptly. Her eyes were flashing with anger and he knew that she wouldn't hesitate to hit him real hard. And when she hit, it hurt. Armaan should know, he was the one who taught her to fight.

"Uhh... Welcome home? He said, but it came out more like a question. Tamanna moved toward him purposefully and Armaan shot out of his chair, running away.

Tamanna followed him and the cat & mouse chase began. Armaan ran outside the house, getting more confident by the second. He was a little ways ahead of Tamanna and he was sure that she wouldn't be able to catch him. So, he turned around to taunt her about it. But, he hasn't realized that they'd reached the swimming pool area. As he wasn't paying attention, his slipped on the water and fell into the pool.

It was Tamanna's turn to laugh then. Armaan made a face at her and held out his hand, silently asking her to help him out.

"Oh no, you don't, mister, she answered. "I already know how that story ends. Help yourself. I'm gonna go clean up.

Saying so, Tamanna left Armaan in the pool. He sighed. Of course she would have guessed that he'd use the opportunity to pull her into the pool with him. He really was getting predictable these days. That meant he'd have to up his game when it came to pranking.

Armaan lazed around in the pool for sometime, because why not? Then, he let himself out. As he went into the house, he pulled his wet tee shirt off, putting his body on display. The eight pack really was something. Armaan had worked hard to get it. Sure, you could see the outlines of his abs earlier, but they weren't as well defined, and they were just six. But now, now they were eight and they were taut. Armaan was proud of it.

Muskaan whistled when she saw Armaan. He was taken aback on hearing it and looked around to see who might have done it. When his eyes met Muskaan's, she winked at him. Armaan smiled sheepishly at her and shook his head. She would never change.

Everybody was sitting at the dining table and Tamanna was fixing herself breakfast. The tee shirt she was wearing was a little too big for her and it slid off her shoulders, exposing her upper back. Used to it happening, Tamanna didn't give it a second thought.

"You guys have matching tattoos! Naina exclaimed gaining everyone's attention, looking from Tamanna to Armaan, who had come into the kitchen for a cup of coffee, still shirtless.

Sure enough, both Armaan and Tamanna had an Ohana tattoo on their back on the right side.

"Oh that? Tamanna asked, knowing what Naina was referring to. "Yeah, we do. As do Rahul and Jaanhavi. It's from Disney. Ohana means family. She explained.

"Family means no one gets left behind, Rahul and Armaan said in unison. They looked at each and other smiled. Really, it was a reflex after all these years. If someone said Ohana means family', they always replied with this phrase, just like in Lilo & Stitch.

"Wow. That's so nice, Naina commented.

Armaan smiled. "Thanks, Naina. It was all Jaan, really. She made us get them about four years ago when... He stopped short as he remembered why exactly they'd gotten the tats.

Tamanna, knowing the reason for it, stepped up and stood beside him, rubbing her hands down his arm reassuringly.

"Yeah, she continued. "Jaanhavi made us get them shortly after I came here. She didn't bother elaborating.

Armaan sighed and kissed her head. "Excuse me, he muttered before hurrying out of the room.

"Armaan! Tamanna called out, hurrying behind him.

Knowing Armaan wouldn't want Tamanna to see him in that state, Rahul stopped her. "I got this, he told her, giving her a tight hug. "Don't worry about him. You know how he gets. He'll be fine in a couple of hours.

Tamanna nodded not knowing what to say or do. She couldn't blame Armaan for the reaction he'd had. She didn't want to remember the events from that night 4 years ago that had changed her life so drastically. If Armaan hadn't reached on time... She shuddered at the thought. She would be eternally grateful to Armaan for rescuing her when he did. If he hadn't been there when he had, she was sure she would have died that night. Armaan's presence had made all the difference in the world.

"Um... Tamanna, I don't mean to pry, Yuvi began hesitantly, "but is everything okay?

Yuvi hadn't interacted with Tamanna all that much. She'd been shy and quiet. And, whenever he did try to talk to her, she'd balk. He didn't want to make her uncomfortable, so he'd kept his distance. But, he still considered her to be a friend of his. And, she was a really good friend of Naina's. So, his concerns were deep rooted.

Tamanna looked surprised at the fact that Yuvi had directly addressed her. In the few months they'd been working at Sanjeevani, he'd maybe had 5 conversations with her that weren't work related. Sure, it had been her fault because she would be stumped anytime he tried to talk to her, but still, this was surprising.

"Don't worry, she replied. "Everything is fine. A's just getting all emotional because of the wedding. As the date has been approaching, his mood swings have increased. I swear, he'll cry at the drop of a hat, she rambled, making up stiff along the way. But, living the life she had for 2 years, she'd gotten really good at evasion.

Everyone else looked confused but Nikki nodded in understanding. "He's having a hard time letting go, isn't he? She asked Tamanna who nodded.

"He cries himself to sleep most nights now, Tamanna said. "Don't tell him I told you that!

Nikki laughed. "I won't.

Tamanna smiled her thanks.

"He actually tried to bribe Rohan Jeeju into staying her after the wedding. Let's just say there were a lot of laughs that day. Everyone thought that he was joking but then he started showing them all the elaborate plans he'd made and Rahul made a comment about giving them the pool house before we realized he was serious. Apparently, him and Rahul had worked out an entire game plan to get everyone to agree to it. They were pretty bummed when Jaanhavi and Jeeju refused, Tamanna explained.

Nikki shook her head fondly. "Yeah, that sounds like Armaan.

The rest of the table laughed along with her. They didn't know how close Armaan and Jaanhavi were but everyone was very aware of the fact that Armaan would do anything for the people he loved. And it literally did mean anything.

Breakfast was a loud affair with everyone swapping stories. Rohan and Jaanhavi, who'd joined in sometime later, did most of the talking as the gang interrogated them about their relationship.

Chote Papa and Juhi Ma had also come to visit Jaanhavi and she was currently being loved up on by her in laws. They'd been really worried about her and had actually wanted to come straight here after she was released from the hospital but between Armaan & Rohan, they knew they'd never catch a glimpse of her, much less get to spend some time with her. So, they'd gone home and straightened up stuff and tended to their guests, making sure everything would be okay in their absence and then come to visit her.

Everyone was seated in the hall, chatting and watching the kids play, when the doorbell rang.

Rohan opened the door to see Peyton standing there, looking extremely livid.

"Where is he? She asked in a no nonsense tone, pushing Rohan aside as she strode in the house.

"Uh, where is who? Rohan asked, following her inside.

Peyton rounded up on Rohan. "Don't you play coy with me. Armaan. Who else? Where is he? He hasn't answered my calls for two days and I don't like that.

Before Rohan could reply, she turned around and walked away briskly. However, she did a double take when she saw Jaanhavi spread on the couch with a bandage on her head and a plaster on her hand and neck.

"Jenny! She cried. "Are you okay?

Jaanhavi looked up and smiled at her. "Hey, Peyton. I'm just peachy. Thanks for stopping by, but really, you shouldn't have. Jaanhavi assumed that Peyton was here to see her because as always, Armaan must have blabbed everything to her. She was surprised that Haley hadn't come along.

"Oh, honey! Peyton replied, moving towards her and hugging her. "Of course I had to. But that's not why I'm here. I didn't even know.

Jaanhavi was surprised. If Peyton didn't know about the accident, why was she here? "Why are you here then? She asked.

"Armaan hasn't been answering my calls, so I thought I'd come see him, Peyton answered. "Though, now that I know why he wasn't, I won't shout at him for making me sick with worry thinking he was mad at me.

"Wait, what? Armaan's mad at you? Jaanhavi asked. "We both know that's not possible. He would never be mad at you for anything.

Peyton sighed. "Oh, but he is. We got into a nasty huge fight the day before and I said some things I didn't mean and he did too and it got kind of ugly before he stormed off. Once I thought about it with a clear head, I realized he was right and I wanted to apologize but he just wouldn't answer his damn phone! She ranted.

Tamanna who'd been listening in, cut her off. "Armaan didn't tell me anything about a fight.

"Wait, he told you about Peyton? Jaanhavi asked.

Tamanna nodded guiltily. "He told me that they'd had a disagreement but he didn't say you guys were fighting about it.

"When? Jaanhavi asked, miffed.

"Last night. We were both up, wandering around the house like the night owls we are and I bribed him with coffee and reading to know what was bothering him, Tamanna replied.

"Oh, Jaanhavi replied. Tamanna didn't know what to say. She knew that Armaan usually talked to her about stuff, but she also knew that Armaan never wanted to burden Jaanhavi with any stress and so he avoided talking about difficult things if he could help it.

There was an awkward silence before Tamanna got up to go get Armaan.

Jaanhavi kept quiet, contemplating. She knew that Armaan had been distracted by her accident and he had been extremely worried, plus all these people from his past had showed up and he'd been thrown off his game, but it still hurt that she didn't know that Armaan had gotten into a fight with Peyton. Those two rarely ever fought and if they did, Armaan always told her. But, this time he hadn't. She hadn't even left the house yet and still she didn't know everything about Armaan like she used to. Was this the beginning? Would Armaan stop telling her things after she got married? She couldn't have that. For the longest time, they'd been each other's confidantes. After her mom passed away, it felt like she didn't have anyone apart from Armaan. They had leaned on each other to survive the grief of losing her and that had forged a bond between them that she believed nothing could alter. She'd already seen proof of it all those years ago when she'd met Armaan again.

She'd run away from home for her scholarship when she had been 16. And then, she had met Armaan again when she was 23. 7 years gone by. And still, they'd picked up right where they'd left off, as if nothing had happened. As if she hadn't just abandoned him without a word. If their relationship could withstand that, it could withstand anything. Right?

She didn't have time to think more about it before Armaan was downstairs and Peyton had run to him and thrown herself in his arms. She laughed on seeing that. True, Armaan and Peyton rarely fought, but when they did, they always made up by giving each other these big tight hugs that she was sure were so tight that they cut oxygen supply.

"I'm sorry! Peyton kept saying. Over and over.

e"Hey! Shhh. Don't. It's okay, you didn't do anything wrong, Armaan assured her.

"No. I did. You weren't ready. I shouldn't have pushed so hard. And I shouldn't have behaved like a brat when you didn't agree to what I said, Peyton told Armaan.

"I shouldn't have snapped at you like that, Armaan answered. "I knew you only had my best interests at heart. Like you always do. I just got worked up over nothing and blew up at you instead of discussing things calmly. I'm sorry.

Peyton nodded. "Okay. So we both made a mistake, but we're sorry so it's okay now, right?

Armaan nodded.

"For the record, I'm sorry I called you a pathetic asshole, Peyton said.

Armaan laughed. "I'm sorry I called you a conniving bitch.

"We good? Armaan asked.

"We are, if you promise to answer your phone the next time I call, Peyton replied.

Armaan nodded. "Oops! I'm sorry! I didn't realize. It's been crazy the past couple of days.

Peyton nodded in understanding.

After, Armaan introduced everyone to Peyton.

"Guys! This is Peyton, my boss from the recording studio, he said laughing. "And, Peyt, these are my friends from Mumbai. They're here for the wedding. He then introduced her to everyone separately.

"It's so nice to meet you guys! Peyton said once the introductions were done. "And, I just want to be clear. I'm not Armaan's boss. We're partners.

Armaan shook his head. She always did that. He felt like it wasn't true. Sure, he invested in the studio, but Peyton ran it. She was the whole and soul of the operation. Armaan only went there a few days a week and didn't really look into things unless they didn't concern one of his bands, unlike Peyton who would always be on top of everything at work. And, she was his manager. Reve's really. She made sure that everything about Reve remained anonymous just the way he wanted to. She was the reason he was who he was and he'd be damned if he let her downplay her importance in his life.

"Peyt, he reprimanded.

"What? You're a partner in the studio. I have paperwork to prove it, she replied cheekily.

"You know that's not what I meant, he said.

"Oh, hush! Don't get your nickers in a twist. You don't need me. You just like to pretend that you do, Peyton told him.

"You keep telling yourself that, Armaan muttered under his breath, but chose to not voice his thoughts out loud becuase that was just a recipe for disaster. He never won against Peyton in an argument.

"Okay. Now that we've talked, i gotta get going. I don't know about you, but I've got loads to do, Peyton announced. She turned towards the gang. "It was so nice to meet you all! I look forward to seeing you guys at the wedding.

With a quick hug and a kiss on Armaan's cheek, Peyton sauntered out of the house.