The thrills of speed when one drives the bike at its maximum speed limit.
The chills one feels as they violently hit the accelerator and rashly compete in a deadly car-race set across the steepy roads at sundown.
The inexplicable rush of nervousness one feels in their veins as they jump from the aircraft having the time of their life during skydiving.
The profound satisfaction one gets at being able to feel like the master of the universe, having riches, success, achievements, and love delivered to them as a default gift from nature and inheritance.
At the age of merely 19, Neil Khanna had seen and felt it all.
The feels.
The blessings.
The success.
And the adrenaline rushes.
But there was no adrenaline rush that could define the intensity, the gravity of what he felt, when he had felt that precious woman of his life tumble down the stairs in front of his own eyes.
He saw red.
He saw terror.
He saw futility.
.
.
He had been frozen from inside, but his body remained indefinably agile, as he had rushed her to the hospital, driving the car at an inhuman speed, violating all the traffic rules. He hadn't paid two hoots about many things in life, and right at that moment, he possibly couldn't think about his own.
He had felt his heart pound loudly against his chest as his subconscious mind kept counting the minutes and chanted, "Please let her be okay."
.
.
Seeing her unresponsive, lifeless, and hurt.
That was something he had never ever given a thought ever since he had known her. And now that he witnessed it with his own eyes, he felt his world crumbling down.
.
.
The doctors had said that she was lucky, since she only suffered a hairline fracture in her leg. Her head wound was fortunately not as deep as the incessant bleeding portrayed it to be.
But despite the convincing words of the doctor, and the very fact that she was okay, his Avni was okay, Neil couldn't brush off what he was feeling from the core of his heart.
If something ever, ever happens to her, he simply can't be.
He knew that he needed no validation EVER that what he felt for Avni was more than attraction, more than care, and more than passion.
But today he had realized in the simplest and crudest way that he was irrevocably and immensely in love with her. That she was the only one under the whole wide horizon who could test his extremes, who could drive him insane, and at the same time, who could make him the happiest.
.
.
"Neil.. I am okay. Sachii (truly)!"
He heard her say for the umpteenth time as he only looked at her with a stoned expression, his mind somewhere still stuck in the frenzy of whatever ruckus happened an hour ago.
.
He knew she was okay, but not completely. The little band-aid on her forehead, and plaster on her ankle were enough to still make him sulk.
The only time he had laughed faintly and found a puny humor in something through this whole hour was when Avni had adamantly asked the doctor to put a purple colored plaster on her leg instead of the blue one that he was initially going to go ahead with.
Well, that was her.
The feisty tigress, who was a kid from her heart.
.
.
He took out a bar of dark chocolate from his pocket as she saw him with widened eyes, and that expression soon turned into happy giggles as she merrily snatched the bar from his hand and unwrapped the whole thing in a second and started munching on it.
He had gotten it for her long back as a part of his planned date with her of course, but alas! Destiny had other plans.
Like he thought, only she could make him the happiest, and pull him out of the darkest tunnels, as he felt a flood of relief and finally smiled genuinely, seeing her binge on that bar of chocolate like a little bunny munching on something in the woods.
.
.
"You know.."
She started, a little incoherent as she spoke between her munching sessions.
"I take a vow today.."
Neil looked at her as he signalled her to continue.
"I vow, that I will Never Ever.. I swear.. Never Ever buy such expensive heels again! They betrayed me!!"
Neil frowned at her words, the whole incident suddenly flashing in front of his eyes once again as he tried hard to evade it somehow.
"Such expensive shoes, yet such a cheap sole?! That it broke just like that?? I should sue them! I swear I should sue them!"
She cursed the shoe making company, making Neil finally burst into laughter.
.
This was magic.
Seeing her in her true form.
Talking nineteen to the dozen, behaving like a mature , girl, mature woman one minute and being like a 7-year-old the next.
.
.
"But thank god, nothing happened during the performance, and it went well, otherwise toh-"
Avni stopped at her track of words as the sudden realization dawned in her head, making her frown and almost break down.
Neil got too concerned as he cupped her face with one hand, and looked at her intently to know why she stopped?
He got his answer soon enough as she lowered her gaze and said in a tone barely audible,
"I forgot! How does it make any difference how my performance went? I anyway can't dance with this fracture in the coming month."
Neil felt his heart clench seeing her crestfallen face.
No, he couldn't afford to see her like that.
This wasn't her.
Not able to take it anymore, he blurted out, "Avni stop it! Your performance was phenomenal and the ENTIRE college knows that. So, what followed and the whole accident deal doesn't matter. Sh*t happens."
She looked at him as he said that and mumbled to herself, "But the challenge.. the West-Gala.."
"SCREW the challenge!"
Neil retorted, not being able to hold it anymore.
.
All he wanted was to see her healthy and hearty.
See her smile, fight with him, flirt with him.
And all she managed to think of was that bloody, stupid, challenge!
His sudden outburst had caught Avni off guard. She knew he was overly concerned about her and her conscience suggested her to not nudge him further and only worsen the situation more.
"Hmm.."
She hummed like a child as she lowered her gaze again and spoke softly,
"Now it will be better that they don't make me the winner for that round anyway."
"What the?!"
It was Neil's turn to be taken aback now.
This girl. This very girl sitting in front of him: Whose Instagram bio was a one liner that read: Born to Win, was saying she didn't want herself to win that round?
What just happened?
"But why?"
Neil asked her, confused.
"Because winning the segment would hurt me all the more."
She stated blatantly.
Neil was all the more perplexed now.
Seeing his confused expression, she straightened herself up on the cozy hospital bed as she tried making her next words vividly comprehensive,
"I mean.. I believe it hurts less to get no opportunity at all than getting an opportunity and not being able to make the right use of it."
.
.. God this girl and her thought process.
.
'It will sure drive me crazy one day'
He thought to himself, as he leaned closer to her and tried to ease her tensed demeanor by trickling her nose with his index finger, while she stared at him with puppy eyes in return.
He smirked seeing her flushed cheeks as he leaned a little more towards her and whispered in her ear,
"Tum pagal ho!(You are crazy!)" making her feel tickled with his breath fanning on her sensitive skin.
And as if that wasn't enough, he bit her earlobe softly as he stated in a hushed tone, "Par cute bhi! (But cute too!)" finishing his sentence before pulling himself back, while she only stared at him with wide eyes, making him smugly look at her.
.
They stared at each other for what felt like eternity, both not uttering a single word but just lost in the gratifying silence in each other's company and that's when the sudden ringtone of Neil's phone broke their trance.
.
.
"Yeah.. Hmm.. Yeah.."
"She is fine now.. It's a fracture though."
"No, not to worry.. Hmm."
"15 days rest to foot, minimum."
"Hmm.."
"Oh!"
"Hmm.. Okay. I see. Hmm."
"All right."
.
Avni observed him as he said those monosyllables in a series and asked him through her eyes 'Who was it?' as he disconnected the call.
.
"It was Ali. You guys won."
He stated directly.
AND he knew her emotional surge would sky rocket in no time as she heard that news and before she could even reach that gateway of the place called emotions-overflow-land, he wore his tough armour, aka the typical Neil Khanna demeanor, as he picked her up in one swift motion, still careful not to hurt her plastered leg, while she only managed to gasp out loud.
"Enough with the tragedy-queen look Missy. Time to head out of that zone!"
He said in his signature devilish tone as he walked out of the hospital ward and started heading towards his car in the parking lot.
He was paying no heed to this little tigress in his arms, who squirmed, but his hold only tightened, as if telling her once again, like he always did ever since they got together, 'The more you struggle, the stronger my grip will be. So, stop struggling.'
And as if she understood it at one go, she stopped her protests and wrapped her arms around his neck for support, while he flashed a happily proud smile at that.
.
.
"Where are we?"
She asked inquisitively, as he hit the brakes of the car, making it come to a halt and undid his seatbelt.
He wore his aviators as he opened his side of the door, not before muttering to her, "Chup chaap baithi raho yahan(Just sit quietly here!)"
.
.
Avni waited with bated breath, as she looked around her surroundings.
It was an isolated place. A huge garden to be precise, but she could hear the birds chirping, signalling their return to their nests as she saw the almost crimson sky thanks to the sun, which was about to set.
Before she could ponder more about where they were, she heard her side of the door open and he leaned closer, undoing her seat belt as he picked her in his arms, closing the door of the passenger's seat behind them with his right foot.
.
.
He made her sit carefully on one of the lawn chairs as he sat on the one opposite to her, lifting one of his hands in the air, as if signaling something to someone.
Avni's confused brows reached the north pole as in a fraction of second, she saw five chefs come to their table, with five different dishes, the smell of which made her spirit high as she looked at Neil, surprised before darting her gaze on the dishes again.
Hyderabadi Biriyani
Shaahi Paneer
Poha
Brownies
And last but not the least,
Chocolate fudge cake.
She felt she was teleported into a paradise filled with her favourite foods as she clapped her hands together in joy and began tasting each one of them sporadically.
Neil's heart experienced immense joy, a different kind of pleasure as he watched her amused, happy, and overjoyed expressions, a part of him finally breathing a sigh of relief, for it had daunted him seeing her all glum throughout the fiasco that happened.
.
.
"Yum! Yum! Yum!"
She squeaked like a bunny as she devoured her favourite poha, while Neil couldn't resist her any longer and held her free hand.
Avni immediately stopped as she felt his touch and looked at him, only to find him already staring at her with pure love in his eyes.
.
.
"Don't do that to me, again."
He said in a soft but serious tone.
"..What?"
She asked, confused.
He sighed as he replied,
"Trip, fall, hurt yourself, give me hell, make me feel dead. Don't do that again. Get it?"
.
Avni smiled a faint smile at that as she nodded at him and softly uttered, "I won't. I promise."
Neil felt relieved hearing her promise as he brought her hand closer to his lips and placed a small kiss on the back of her palm.
She blushed at this gesture of his and looked at her half-eaten food once again.
"Ye..ye sab- (this.. All this-)"
She merely began when Neil cut her midway and said,
"Aur bhi bahot kuch plan kiya tha, but..(Had planned a lot more things, but..)"
And she looked guiltily, for she knew all their special plans for a perfect date were ruined by whatever bad happened today.
She knew he would have planned many other things for them, but as they say, "Man proposes, god disposes."
But nevertheless, she was genuinely thankful for all that he did for her.
If four months back someone would have told her that Neil Khanna would be fussing over an injury on HER, and plan these kinda surprises, she would have reprimanded that person for such words.
But today, today was different.
The present was different and she loved it the way it was.
He loved her. Immensely. And that in itself was bigger than any surprise or anything in the world.
.
.
"By the way there's one more surprise waiting for you."
He broke her thoughts as he said that.
She looked at him questioningly while he only smirked at her and stood up, carrying her in his arms once again as he walked towards the car. The sun finally took a dive into nothingness as only its crimson traces remained in the skyline, the evening all set to pour in.
.
He buckled her seat belt followed by wearing his own, while she continued to stare at him.
"Avni! You are staring!"
He said with a smirk.
"Haan toh?" (Yeah, so?)
She retorted.
"It's creepy!"
He joked, making her eyes widen in shock.
"Kyun? Neil Khanna ko dekhne ka tax lagta hai kya?" (Why? Do we need to pay tax to see Neil Khanna?)
She said curtly.
He chuckled at those words before saying,
"Nooope. Kuch aur lagta hai! (Something else is needed!)"
"What?"
She asked innocently.
He smirked as he made a purposefully thoughtful face before saying,
"Well, a bed.. is needed. Clothes.. (he paused a little, deliberately) are not needed."
Her mouth flung open at that sentence while she smacked his arm, and he broke into a fit of laughter.
God, flirting with her had to be the most epic thing ever.'
He thought in his head.
She too smiled after a while as he put the key into ignition and the engine roared to life.
.
.
"College?"
She asked in surprise as she saw him pull over outside the premises of Hillridge International.
He only smiled at her before getting out of his side and coming to hers, cradling her in his arms like he had been doing for the whole day today.
"Neil.. I-"
"Ssshhh.."
He shushed her as he walked through the now empty corridors of the college while Avni saw that there was no other person around, since the college hours and activities for the day were over long back.
.
.
She stared in awe as they entered the huge domain of the Grace Rodge Hall, where practically she had performed this morning before that tragedy happened. The only difference was that now the giant hall was all empty, a deafening silence enveloping them.
She was still clueless of what was going on as he climbed up the stairs to the stage, with her still in his arms.
.
.
He reached centre stage and very cautiously placed her on her feet, being extremely careful that her injured foot was not strained at any point.
He held her from the waist to give her the much-needed anchor for balance while she only stared into his intense brown orbs, confused.
.
.
"I know I am no match in dancing when it comes to your Ali.." He began in a teasing tone, while she listened to him patiently.
"But then.."
He pulled her flush closer to him and said,
"Since you won't be able to do Salsa for at least 15 days from now, doesn't mean you can't do a romantic slow dance with your hot boyfriend, ain't it?"
.
.
Avni felt an unusual warmth flood through her at that gesture of his while she smiled her infectious smile, making him reciprocate the same.
He leaned closer and lifted her from the ground slightly as now her feet were directly on his, and he played a soothing tune on his mobile phone.
Her favourite song.
She hadn't felt a tug in her heart string so strong, the way she did now.
Right at this moment, in his embrace, cocooned in his warmth.
She knew she loved him.
But at this moment she felt love wasn't even a strong enough word to express what she truly felt for him, because it was beyond words. Every word would be an understatement.
She wanted to spend her whole life with him.
She knew she was barely 19. But she knew it was real. And when it's real, you simply can't walk away.
He moved slowly to the serene rhythm of the song, making her sway too, as she placed her head on his chest and he felt everything that he could ever possibly need in life was right here, with him, in his arms right now.
Not being able to hold his little desire anymore, he slowly pulled out of the hug, cupping her face as he gently pulled her closer.
Their lips brushed against each other and for the very first time they felt it was a very, very different kiss than what they had previously shared with each other till today.
For this spoke volumes of trust, empathy, compassion, caring, and also the fact that they wanted to stay with each other.
Now and forever.
When they pulled out from the kiss, their heated breaths were all that echoed in the atmosphere, before he watched her smile widely thinking something to herself.
.
"What?"
He asked with an amused yet excited expression, to which she only shook her head a little before saying,
"Nothing. Was just wondering.. Who did I make out with this time? Porphyria's Lover or Mark Antony?"
Neil smirked hearing those words before he pulled her dangerously close to him and spoke out loud,
"Neil Khanna. Your Neil Khanna."
.
She smiled warmly at his reply as he now rested his forehead against hers, feeling gratified at how beautifully this day ended despite the troublesome happenings of the afternoon, when suddenly the strong focus lights of the auditorium turned on, one by one, making them confusedly look at the other side and the next breath from their lungs never came as they saw their classmates stand there in unison, spellbound at what they saw.
**
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