ArHi FF!! Event Horizon - Ch 8(A), Sep 11, Pg 25 - Page 14

Originally posted by: boyznaka

How complicated and yet how simple is everything! I think I love Arnav here more than I love Khushi(And it's the exact opposite in CN's story's case.) I don't know, but somehow the characters you know less about are more intriguing. And Arnav here is a charmer, frankly. Would love to see what happens next.

P.S. Khushi reminds me of Alice, the one who went to wonderland again when she was eighteen in the movie? That.

Chapter 6(A):

The conversation was flowing freely and so was coffee. They were in the coffee shop for two hours already and they were on third mug. She had dug into a large size of black forest pastry in enthusiasm and had moaned loudly drawing attention of other patrons in the cafe as the first bite melted in her mouth. Arnav has smiled widely behind the mug.

"Are you ever going to tell me what was bothering you last week?" Arnav asked when the conversation slowed down and the gaps between words became wide. It was also the first time he had walked past obscure topics and started on one that was bothering him.

"Home stuff," she replied vaguely. She ran her index finger on the rim of coffee mug – an action he found endearing and for a strange reason, distracting.

"How bad was it?" He asked halting for a moment. "I am sorry if I crossed a line," he added biting his lips.

"I always found that line weird," Khushi said ignoring his question. Arnav raised an eyebrow, 'What?'

"The mystical imaginary hypothetical line drawn from chalk on a dusty floor which is visible only when the air is stale and wind is still. One gust of wind unsettles the dust and smudges the line making it dotted. The line is corrupted but no one notices. Or they just don't care?" She stopped to take a sip of coffee while he looked at her intently. Her voice was strong and her eyes never left his. She continued. "Time passes, wind relaxes, air stales and dust settles. The lines get trampled upon, forgotten and redrawn. And during this redrawing process rules change, moral implications get dislodged and the balance of acceptance of right and wrong gets tilted." There were tears in her eyes.

He couldn't formulate a response as he felt something was stuck in his throat. Memories of past year bombarded his mind screaming in crescendo about the lines crossed that weren't meant to be.

"I am sorry," he whispered hoarsely not knowing what he was apologizing for but it felt as the apt thing to do. She shook her head vigorously at that.

"I am just messed up," she said after taking several deep breaths to calm herself down. The tinge of red on her cheeks paled as the distraught on her face lessened.

"I think everyone is." Arnav replied humorlessly. Khushi looked at him questioningly. "I live with my grandma Khushi and once she remarked casually – 'Arnav, my son and daughter-in-law were two people who had children. They were never parents. Don't become like them.' It was an odd thing to hear about my own parents in that context but I couldn't blame her. These days almost everyone is messed up Khushi. The concept of contentment is long removed from humanity. We live under the aberration of happiness and fool ourselves to believe that it's semi-permanent."

"When in reality it doesn't exist in the first place. It's just a reflection of our heart's desire," Khushi cottoned on.

"It's a mirage," Arnav finished.

They smiled at the same time. The mood was sober but it wasn't dark anymore. Monsoon was late but that day it decided that the two needed to cool off and showered pleasantly.

"Are you up for another round of coffee?" Khushi asked already feeling light as if a burden had lifted from her shoulders. She hadn't told him anything yet she felt as if she had explained him every waking second of her life.

"I got this round," he said getting up. "Want to share a brownie?" He asked waggling his eyebrows. She nodded her vigorously making him laugh at her enthusiasm.

She checked her phone which was buzzing in the bag on her lap signaling that her sister was worried about her. In one selfish moment, she ignored the messages and the phone call which had followed twenty minutes later.

"Is everything alright?" Arnav asked placing tray on table.

"Payal is freaking out that I am not home yet." Khushi said typing a short response stating that she would be home after an hour.

"Payal?"

"My older sister who was asking me if I am kidnapped or lost my way home. I told her that I will be home soon," she replied pulling what was probably the last cup of coffee for the day.

"Tell me about your grandma," she asked before he could get a chance to ask about Payal. Arnav sighed dramatically. Khushi looked at him amused.

"She is drama obsessed old woman whose primary goal in life is to annoy me," he stabbed the brownie showing his annoyance. "She keeps telling me stories of these serials which make absolutely no sense. I tell her to stop messing around but she doesn't listen." The stabbing got worse making Khushi grab his hand.

He was completely stilled at the contact.

"If we were in a drama, this would be the cue for our theme music," Arnav said noticing their hands one up on another.

"It would be something cheesy and have no lyrics. A male singer, probably," Khushi added not bothering to remove her hand.

"It would be a slow tempo at first," Arnav said and turned his hand. Khushi's palm was now in his. "And then song reaches crescendo," he said and squeezed her palm.

"And then it stops at most abrupt moment leaving fans panting for more chemistry," Khushi squeezed his palm back and withdrew hers from his grip.

"Cliche but romantic," he said.

"Cliche but overtly done," she said wryly.

"That hurt," he said dramatically clutching his heart.

They smiled at each other at the same time for the second time in one hour.

To be continued.