||Just One Breath Away-AN FF~VM pg 122|| - Page 3

The whole of Sanjeevani was abuzz about the match last night, where Armaan Mallik had lost to Abhimanyu Modi. Most of the nurses were gushing about how good he was looking yesterday in that vest, and how he had defeated Dr. Armaan.

Nikita entered the hospital, last night's incidents still flashing in her mind. She had cried her eyes out yesterday in Abhimanyu's arms…and he happened to be her boss. She still couldn't figure out why she had broken down in front of him, why she had lost control over her emotions. She didn't trust him enough to bare her heart to him…or did she? The kiss they'd shared in the gym room…it had been so unpredictable, yet it had felt so…right. But why? Were her feelings for her arrogant, uptight, insufferable boss changing? No way… Nikita shook head slightly to rid herself of the disturbing …no, nightmarish thoughts, and found herself in the locker room.

"Hey Nikki!" Anjali greeted her, and she smiled in return.

"Nikki…" Riddhima pulled her into a hug and asked her, "Are you okay? You look like you're sleepwalking!"

Nikki shook her head and smiled. "I'm fine…how is Armaan?" she asked her, worried about her other best friend.

Riddhima shrugged and sadly said, "He's okay…"

"What happened? You two had a fight?"

"Yes…" Riddhima sighed. "He can never be sensible…by the way, how is Dr. Modi?" she asked Nikki eagerly.

"Modi?" his name brought back certain uncomfortable memories to Nikki, and she looked elsewhere. "He…he's okay. A few bruises and cuts, that's all…"

"You took him home yesterday, didn't you?"

"Er…"

Anjali, Atul, and Muskaan jumped on hearing Riddhima's words. "WHAAAAT?"

"You took that mosquito home?" Muskaan asked her loudly, her eyes wide.

"No way!" Anjali exclaimed.

"Gosh! Really Nikki?" Atul questioned disbelievingly.

Being bombarded with questions, Nikki couldn't figure out what to say. Thankfully, Riddhima came to her rescue.

"Guys!" she shouted, trying to calm them down. "Dr. Modi was hurt too…he needed someone to take care of him."

"But why should Nikki take care of that sadu?" Anjali asked her.

"Come on, guys…he needed help."

"But still…" Atul started.

"Nikki, you shouldn't have done that", Muskaan told Nikki angrily. "You should have left him to die…who knows, he might have succumbed to his bruises, and simply died…" her eyes lit up at the thought.

Nikita and Riddhima gaped at her while Atul said, "Come on, Muskaan…he isn't that bad."

"What do you mean 'he isn't that bad' Atul? He is very bad! No bad enough to be killed, but still…a total khadoos!" Anjali told Atul off.

"Sorry Anjali…I didn't know what I was saying. Of course he's bad!" Atul said in his cute way. "You said he's bad, Anjali, then he has to be bad…by the way, Anjali. You're looking very nice today."

"You already said that."

"I know, but still…you're looking so beautiful that I thought I should tell you again…"

"Shut up Atul!"

"GUYS!!!" Riddhima screamed at them to clear up all the confusion. They looked at her, stricken.

"What?" they asked her simultaneously.

"Don't you think we should go to the nurse station now? If we're late, then Dr. Keerti will eat us alive."

They grabbed their lab coats and immediately rushed to the nurse station. Dr. Keerti came and gave them their duties, and they all went off to work.

Nikki slowly walked up to Abhimanyu's office, and debated whether to knock. She stood outside the door, wondering how to face him. A crisp voice from behind made her jump out of her skin.

"Do you intend to go inside or are you planning to work in the corridor?"

She turned around to do what she had been dreading the whole day – face Abhimanyu Modi.

She blinked up at him, and he raised his eyebrows at her and moved past her to open the door. He went inside, leaving the door open for her to follow. She took a deep breath and walked inside his cabin. He had settled himself on his chair, and was peering at her through his glasses over the top of a file.

"You want to work or not?"

She flared her nostrils at him, suddenly feeling very irritated, and sat down on the chair opposite to him with a huff.

"Take your attitude somewhere else, Nikki…ta", he told her, immediately correcting his way of addressing her from personal to professional. She looked at him with slightly narrowed eyes and he said, "You can glare at me later…now we need to get back to work."

She gaped at him and rolled her eyes. She wondered what was wrong with him. He had been so sweet last night, and now he was back to his usual annoying self. Sadu, she thought angrily. Yet she doesn't fail to notice that even though he was still strict, his outright arrogance was missing. He seemed a bit…soft. There was a subtle softness to him tone…There was just enough warmth to make her feel comfortable, but it was strict enough to make her understand that he was still the disciplinarian he used to be.

They worked on the project with full concentration, but the memory of the recent incidents refused to leave their minds. They felt the discomfort when Abhimanyu came around the desk and sat beside her, trying to explain to her a point she couldn't understand. The close proximity reminded them of their kiss, and they both looked at each other from the corner of their eye, wanting to see whether the other also felt the same.

Seeing her twist her hands nervously in her lap, Abhimanyu realised that she was feeling the same as he was. He remembered how she was crying in his arms yesterday night. She had bared her soul out to him, exposed her deepest insecurities to him. It hurt him inside to think that he had made her cry so much, and he couldn't fathom the reason why. She had just seemed so weak then, almost…breakable. He had never seen her cling to someone for support before. She had never seemed to need someone. It was unbelievable that the same woman who was crying helplessly in his arms last night was giving him death glares in exchange for his sarcasm today. He liked this Nikki. She had spunk…she was strong and interesting. The one who had been sobbing her heart out had been so different…he was amazed at her inner insecurity.

"Abhimanyu?" her voice snapped him out of his reverie.

"Huh?"

"You were staring", she pointed out to him.

"Wha-oh. I'm sorry…I was…never mind", he fumbled, embarrassed at being caught.

"You were?" she asked him, her eyes twinkling in mirth. Obviously, she was highly enjoying his embarrassment.

"Nothing. I told you, just forget about it."

"Okay…" she laughed.

"Stop laughing."

"I'm not laughing."

"Yes you are!"

"Why are you getting so worked up?"

"Because…oh, just stop laughing at me!" he told her angrily, turning slightly pink. What had he been thinking all this while?? This was Nikita…Nikki, the crazy girl who refused to let him be in peace. How could he possibly like her? He mentally kicked himself for even having thought on those lines.

She looked at him, still smiling, when she saw his cheeks turn pink. Okay…so it wasn't that bad after all. They could still get along…well, as much as they could get along with each other, being their typical bickering selves. That kiss had been…strange, and nice…but everything was fine, she supposed. He had been so understanding last night…he had even held her when she was crying. And he hadn't mentioned last night once. That was nice of him. So maybe he wasn't really that bad. Wait. Did she just think that? He was bad…and an idiot. And he was also arrogant, stupid, uptight, stubborn, irritating, arguing, annoying, insufferable, shameless, awful…and completely crazy. And he was going to drive her crazy as well. Yes. He was the reincarnation of Hitler. She mentally reprimanded herself for even having thought of him as nice. He was…in no way, from no angle…nice, she decided.