FF: Love Like This (Complete-July 4)

Four Years Old

It was the first day of school. A four year old Arohi was
standing with her brother Sanchit and her friend Shefali. She was excited to
meet new people and make new friends as she was a bubbly and loud child. While standing
there she noticed a boy with big brown eyes which were filled with sadness.
There was another boy and a girl with a really pretty dress playing next to
him.

Arohi was confused. Why was he so sad? She decided that she
would go ask him. She walked towards the other side of the playground ignoring
Shefali who was calling her back. She went right up to him and tapped him on
the shoulder. The boy turned around shocked.

"Hi, my name is Arohi. Do you want to be my friend?" She
smiled at him and noticed that he didn't look sad anymore.

"I am Arjun." He said shyly, "Okay."

Arohi dragged him to the swingset and they took turns
pushing each other. She learned that the other two kids were Romit and Rashi,
his brother and sister. That was the day Arjun and Arohi became best friends.

Five Years Old

Arohi was sitting in the corner of the room all by herself because
she had pushed Chiku, an annoying little kid because he called Arjun stupid. So
the teacher gave her a timeout in a small roo with no toys to play with or
anything. Her face slipped into a pout and her chin was quivering. She crossed
her little arms over her chest.

" Arohi, kya hua?" asked Arjun as he ran to Arohi.

"I'm in timeout," she pouted.

"Kyun?"

"Meine Chiku ko push kiya." Arjun smiled his crooked
grin, his dimples showing and ran off. Arohi was sad that he left.

She watched him run over to Chiku and knock over his block tower.
Chiku started crying. The teacher ran over to Arjun and scolded him, pointing a
finger in his face. She picked him up under the shoulders and carrying him over
to the timeout room. Arohi stayed silent until Arjun had been placed next to him
and the teacher left.

"Tumne aisa kyun kiya?" Arohi asked.

"So I could be in timeout with you," Arjun explained and
took Arohi's little hand in his. "Tum akeli bored ho jaati aur phir sad ho
jaati." Arohi smiled and rested her head on his shoulder and he rested his
head on her head.

"Arjun, what's married?" Arohi asked remembering my hearing
it on tv.

"Jab Mommy and a Daddy
same ghar me rehte hai aur have kids, hamesha sath khelte hai, like best
friends" explained Arjun. You have to do it when you're old"

"Really?"

"Yup."

"So hamari shaadi hui hai?" Arohi asked, confused. "Hum
hamesha sath khelte hai!"

"No," Arjun
laughed, "We're too little."

"How old do you have to be to be married?" Arohi asked. Arjun
thought about it for a minute.

"Old,"

"How old?"

"Seven."

"Arjun?"

"Yeah?"

"Jab hum 7 saal ke ho jayenge will you marry me? " Arohi
asked. If Arohi had to be married with someone then she wanted that someone to
be Arjun.

"Sure Arohi."

"You're my bestest friend Arjun," she told him.

"You're my bestest friend Arohi," he replied.

"Really?"

"Really, really."

Six Years Old

Arjun and Arohi were walking home with Rashi, Romit and Arohi's
two older cousins, Lovedeep and Rajveer. Arjun had moved in to the house next
to Arohi's, they lived with their grandma who was Arohi's grandma's best
friend. Arjun's parents were always busy so they sent Arjun, Rashi and Romit to
live with his grandmother.

Rashi and Romit weren't Arjun's real siblings, they were cousins.
Arjun's parents had died when he was really young. But he didn't like to talk
about it so Arohi never asked.

Arohi was at Arjun's house in the garden. They were both laying
the grass making pictures with the stars, Arjun found it boring but it made
Arohi happy, and Arjun always wanted Arohi to be happy.

"There's a smiley face,"Arohi said lifting her hand to
trace the outline in the sky.

"There's a rocket ship," Arjun said.

"There's a flower," Arohi said.

"You keep seeing girl things," Arjun complained.

"Arjun, mein ek ladki hoon, toh mein girl things hee dekhoongi na"
Arohi hit Arjun in the arm.

"Oh yeah" said Arjun.

"Arjun, upar taaron mein kya hota hai?" Arohi asked
because she knew Arjun was smart and always knew the right answer.

"Heaven. Planets. Aliens," he said in a spooky voice.

"What else?"

"Dead people."

"Dead people?" Arohi said.

"Yeah. Jab meri mom or dad mar gaye thai tab mujhe dadi ne
bataya tha ki jab koi mar jata hai toh voh taara ban jata hai. I don't get it
though. Agar voh asman mein hai toh voh wapis kyun nahi aate? I miss them." Arohi
hugged Edward around his belly. His eyes were watering and he looked like he
was going to cry. Arohi knew that Arjun barely ever cried, so she knew he was
really upset and hugged him tighter.

"Maybe ek din hum dono waha jakar tumhare mom or dad se
milenge?"Arohi suggested. She would love to go to the stars with Arjun. She
loved going anywhere with Arjun.

"I'd like that. We can take a rocket ship and fly
around.." He had a smile on his face and he looked happier.

"Let's play rocket ship!" Arohi yelled and started
running around with her arms out to her side, making rocket noises. Arjun
instantly forgot why he was sad and chased his best friend around.

Seven Years Old

"Arjun, humari shaadi kab hai?" Arohi had turned 7 two days ago
and was anxious to get married.

Arjun was sitting next to Rashi who was playing in her big
dollhouse.

"Tumhe ab bhi shaadi karni hai?" He asked. Arohi nodded and
smiled.

"OOO. Can me and Lovedeep plan your wedding?" asked Rashi.

"Sure" said Arohi. Lovedeep and Rashi dragged her upstairs and
when they came back Arohi was wearing a red chuni like it was a saree.

"Ab kya karna hai?" asked Arjun.

"Ab tum dono mere samne betho aur mein mantra padunga aur tum dono
uth kar saat bar circle mein ghoomna" Rajveer said.

"Okay" said Arohi laughing.

Rajveer started to mumble and say words which no one understood,
Arohi knew he was making them up. Arjun held Arohi's hand and ran around the
dollhouse 7 times and stopped.

"Ab hamari shaadi hogayi?" asked Arohi.

"YES" said Rashi, Lovedeep and Rajveer.

"Arjun! Ab hum hamesha sath khel sakte hain!" Arohi and Arjun were
both grinning happily.

"ARJJJUUUNNN AAA" yelled Arjun's dadi from the next room. "Aa ki
shor machaye jande ho?" she asked walking into the room. She stopped when she
saw Arohi wearing a red chuni.

"Dadi! Arjun bhaiya or Arohi ki shaadi ho gayi" Lovedeep said.

Arohi's dadi followed Arjun's dadi into the room and laughed when
Lovedeep said that.

"A dekho, a dono te hune hi shaadi kar ke begaye. Koi gal ni 15-20
saala cha pher vya kar da ge" Arjun's dadi said to DJ.

Arohi just smiled because she was married to Arjun. The two of
them ran off to play.

16 Years Old

High
School is horrible. Thought Arohi. All the girls were mean to her because Arjun was
her bestfriend and they all liked him. He was the cutest boy in school. All my
friends started being mean to Rita, Mona and Navi.</i>

<i>He's
like my brother. Why are they so jealous? Thought Arohi. There was
one girl, Gauri, who was really mean to her. She moved to their school last
month from England and decided she was in love with Arjun.

"Hello Arohi," said Gauri.

"Hi," Arohi replied wishing she would leave.

"How's Arjun
today?" she asked.

"Fine," Arohi answered.

"You know, he told me otherwise," she said slowly. She
looked at Arohi and her eyes were full of pity and sadness.

"What are you talking about?" Arohi asked her,
frustrated.

"You mean, he hasn't told you yet?" she asked, her eyebrows
shooting up into her bangs.

"Told me what?"

"I don't know if I should be the one to tell you this. I
mean, it's kind of personal between the two of you," she whispered

"Just tell me," I said.

"Okay," she said uncertainly. "Well Edward's been
telling everyone that you two aren't friends anymore and that he hates you. He
thinks you're ugly and look like a boy and that he never wants to see you
again." Arohi's eyes widened.

She
couldn't be serious'could she?

"You're lying " Arohi said but her voice sounded unsure.

"I wish I was. I'm sorry. I wish I didn't have to tell you
such hard news," she said sympathetically.

Arohi felt tears sting her eyes. Hold them back, she commanded
myself.

She's
probably lying. You and Arjun are best friends.

Just then Rita came up to us.

"I'm sorry to hear about you and Arjun," she said and
she smiled apologetically.

Oh no! It is true. Thought
Arohi.

The teacher came into the
room then and Arohi ran up to her.

"Ma'am can I go to the nurse? I'm not feeling too well,"
she whispered.

As soon as Arohi was out of the classroom, the tears fell down her
cheeks.

Why
would Arjun say those things? I thought we were best friends!

She ran to the bathroom and sank onto the floor, still sobbing
quietly.

Arjun,
my best friend, had turned against me, just like everyone else. It was only a
matter of time, I thought bitterly. He'll probably end up dating Gauri or
someone like her.

Just the thought of Arjun with one of those girls brought the
tears on faster. Then suddenly the door was opening. I didn't have enough time
to hide myself.

"Arohi!" the person shouted. It was Rashi. She sunk onto
the floor next to Arohi and wrapped her arms around her.

"Arohi, kya hua? " she asked.

"Arjun -hates m-me,"

"Arohi," Rashi sighed. "You can't believe
everything you hear honey. Tumhe kya lagta hai, would it even be possible for Arjun
to hate you?" she asked.

"I don't know,"

" Because aisa ho hi nahi sakta. Jab hum apne mom and dad ke
paas rehne gaye thai he was miserable. Woh tumse bahut pyaar karta hai aur koi
bhi ye badal nahi sakta, not even Arjun. Okay?"

"But what if he does hate me?" Arohi asked in barely a
whisper.

"Wait right here," she said before jumping up.

Arohi sat there for a few minutes, not quite sure what to do. Then
she heard a soft knock on the bathroom door.

"Arohi." The voice was soft but Arohi would know it
anywhere. It was like velvet, like music to herears. "Come out. Mein andar
nahi aa sakta."

"Go away Arjun," Arohi mumbled pathetically. It was bad
enough for Rashi to see her like this but for Arjun to see it would be a
hundred times worse.

"Arohi please," he said. I sighed.

"No."

"I will come in there Arohi," he said in a warning tone.
"I don't want to, but if you don't come out then I will." Arohi knew
Arjun would, he always did what he said. She sighed and stood up slowly. She
opened the door to see his cute smile.

"God. Mein to dar hi gaya tha mujhe laga mujhe andar jaana hi
padega," he said with a slight chuckle. But he saw Arohi's tear stained
cheeks and red puffy eyes and he wrapped his arms around her, pulling her into
his chest. He had gotten taller and was six feet tall now. Arohi felt dwarfed next
to him, at only five foot six. "Arohi, kya hua?"

"Gauri," she answered simply.

"Ab uss bhootni ne kya kiya?" he sighed.

"She said you hated me," Arohi whispered. "And that
everyone was going to hate me." Arjun gently placed his hands on her face
and lifted her head up to look at him.

"Aur tumne usko believe kar liya?" he said, his tone
clear and firm. "I will never hate you. You're my best friend and I love
you. No one can ever change that. We'll be best friends forever. I
promise." He was looking her right in the eyes and her face broke into a
watery smile.

"Thanks Arjun. I love you too. You're like the brother I
never had," she said, leaning into his chest again.

"Your brother. Of course," Arjun said softly.

21 Years Old

Arohi's cousin was coming from Canada today, Rajveer and her
dad went to get her from the airport. Arohi was glad that she was coming and
decided to invite Rashi, Arjun and Romit to meet her.

"Hey Rashi! Guess what?" she said into the phone.

"You finally realized you're in love with Arjun aur tum chahti ho
ki mein tumhari dusri shaadi bhi plan karu?" she guessed, half joking, half
serious. Everyone thought that Arjun and Arohi were in love but Arohi always
knew that Arjun only loved her like a sister.

"Ha ha ha, no," she said. "Meri cousin, Simmi, Canada se
a rahi hai, aur mujhe lagta hai ki tum sab yaha akar usse milo"

Rashi agreed excited to meet her and brought Arjun and Romit with
her. Arohi's mom had made a cake for her that said "Welcome Simmi" Rashi was
excited and was jumping up and down.

"Oye, ms. Bunny rabbit. Pehle Arohi ko toh usse mil lene dena then
hum usko milenge gain a, kahi who darke bhaag hi na jaye ye sochkar ki Arohi ke
dost thode zyaada hi pagal hai" Arjun teased Rashi.

"Shut up." Rashi said. "She's here"

Rajveer and Arohi's dad came in with a girl following. The whole
family hugged her and welcomed her. After introducing herself Arohi introduced
her to her friends.

"Hi! It's so nice to meet you! You look just a lot like
Arohi. We have to go shopping sometime! Your clothes are adorable I love that
dress!" Rashi said rapidly.

"Excuse her, she's a little hyper." Arjun's velvet voice
cut Rashi off. "I'm Arjun," he said, holding out his hand. Marietta
ignored it and kissed his cheeks instead.

"He's my best friend," Arohi added.

"Oh?" she said curiously. "He's hot," she
whispered to Arohi.

"Oh." Arohi said, she didn't like the way she was
looking at Arjun. She looked dazzled and impressed. "Um, that's Romit and
Shefali" Arohi said pointing them out.

"It's very nice to meet all of you," she said.

"You too" Rashi said sweetly.

"Where's the bathroom?" she asked, turning to Arohi.

"Upstairs, middle
door," she said.

"Thank you," she said gratefully before hurrying up the
stairs. Arjun came over and leaned down to whisper in Arohi's ear.

"What do you think of her?" he whispered, sending
shivers down Arohi's spine.

"She seems nice," Arohi said.

"She's very pretty," Arjun said. Suddenly Arohi felt a
stab of jealousy, but pushed it away. She always said she wanted Arjun to get a
girlfriend. "She looks a lot like you."

Did he
just say I was very pretty? Or did he just mean she was a prettier version of
me? Arohi thought rapidly.

He straightened up and Arohi noticed Simmi coming back downstairs.
She came back up to Arohi and Arjun.

"Are you two together?" she asked curiously. Arohi blushed
furiously.

"No, we're just friends," Arjun answered. Simmi looked
surprised

"Oh. I just thought'I mean the way you look at each
other'" she trailed off awkwardly.

"We've been best friends basically since we were born,"
Arohi explained.

"Oh."

"Where are you from in England?" Arjun asked changing the subject.

"London"

"Do you miss it?" he asked sympathetically.

"Yeah. But Inda has it's perks too," she said, raising
her eyebrows slightly, her voice seductive.

"Yes, although I'm sure London has some perks as well," Arjun
murmured, smirking back at her.

Arohi's jaw literally hit the floor. They were flirting. Simmi was
flirting with Arjun. Arjun was flirting with Simmi.

"Well maybe you could show me some of these Indian
perks?" she asked. Arohi was instantly jealous of her alluring voice and
accent. She waited for Arjun to politely decline, like he did with every other
girl.

"I'd like that," he said. Arohi stared at him in shock.
Arjun looked at Arohi and his smirk grew more pronounced. Arohi wrapped her
hand around his and squeezed his fingers, getting him to look at her.

"Arjun, can we talk?" she asked. He nodded.

"Excuse me," he said to Simmi, who was watching Arohi
with curious eyes. She dragged him away from her.

"What the hell do you think you're doing!" she whisper
shouted. He looked taken aback, but Arohi thought she saw some smugness flash
in his eyes.

"I am talking to your cousin," he replied.

"Nahi, tum besharmo ki tarah uske saath flirt kar rahe
ho." Arohi snapped.

"So? Tum hi to hamesha kehti ho ki mujhe girlfriend dhoond
lenee chahiye. Maybe mujhe Simmi pasand hai." Arohi narrowed her eyes at
him, she didn't notice the smug look in Arjun's eyes.

"Fine. Theek hai. But how would you like it if I dated your
cousin?" she asked.

"I wouldn't like it. I wouldn't like it if you date anyone
Arohi," he said quietly. Arohi was about to ask him what that meant when
they were interrupted.

"Arohi" Simmi said timidly.

"Yeah"

"Your mom is looking for you." She said.

"Okay. Thanks." Arohi said walking to her mom.

When she turned around she saw Arjun talking to Simmi. For some
odd reason it bothered her.

"Kya hua mama?"

"Arohi, mene Simmi ka samaan tere kamre me rakhwa diya hai. Agar
usse kisi bhi jeej ki zaroorat ho toh uski help kar dena." She said.

"Okay." Arohi said walking towards Arjun when Rashi and Lovedeep
stopped her.

"So, mujhe lagta hai ki Simmi or Arjun ki bahut ban rahi hai"
Rashi said casuslly.

"Nahi, who sirf friends hai. Waise bhi mujhe kya fark padta hai."
Arohi said.

"Aro, ofcourse tumhe fark nahi padta hai. Itna toh hame bhi dikhta
hai" Lovedeep said laughing.

"You guys are so'ugh. Mein chali."

Soon after dinner everyone left and Simmi followed Arohi up to
their room.

"Arohi." Simmi asked suddenly. "Do you..like Arjun? More than a
friend I mean?"

"No" Arohi answered too quickly. "We're just friends."

Is he single?" she asked eagerly.

"Um, yeah," Arohi mumbled. She could feel myself getting
angry, but didn't know why.

"He's very good
looking," she giggled.

"Yeah. But he doesn't really date," Arohi said. It was
the truth, but she had a feeling that Arjun thought Simmi was "very good looking"
too. The thought hurt her much more than it should.

"Oh. Well I can try," she decided finally.

"Right. Well goodnight Simmi," Arohi said, ending the
subject.

Needless to say, Arohi didn't get much sleep that night. She was
up wondering why she was jealous if Arjun liked Simmi. She wasn't sure why she
felt that way, it wasn't like she loved Arjun as more than a friend'did she?