Te quiero, mi amor.|LovingTheOpponent(ArHi)|Pg5| - Page 2

"Hello Ms. Lovely. How are you this morning?" I asked her as I walked towards the reception.

"Good morning Dr. Ridz! I am fine, thank you. You?" She greeted me with a wide smile.

"Very well. So, where is my duty today?"

"Actually, the interns have no duties today." I was surprised. No duties today?

"Why so?"

"Because Dr. Kirti wanted to talk to you all."

"About?"

"I have no clue. All I know is you interns are supposed to be in the locker rooms."

"Okie dokie. Thanks for the info!" I smiled and walked away after stealing her chocolate.

"Hey!" She called out and I turned around. I winked at her and then walked away. I faintly heard her say 'crazy girl' but smiled. I knew I was crazy and I was proud to be. I walked towards the locker room in a happy mood while eating my chocolate.

When I reached the locker room, I was not at all surprised seeing the scene in front of me. Yuvi and Naina were arguing like any other day. Why do they argue so much? Because they love each other! Surprised? Confused? Well, let me kinda brief it up a li'l. About 3 months had passed since our first day here and we all had become pretty good friends. These people were very dear to me. Well, obviously not more than my besties. There were for eternity. In these 3 months, I had gotten very close to these people. Yuvi and Naina had started off fighting and arguing, but then they fell in love. Their relationship is very strange. Yeah, they do romance with each other, but more than that, they fight. No, not in bad way or anything serious. It's just gonna be trival things that set the two off and they'll go back to fighting with each other. But they love each other a LOT!

Then we have our very own JP. JP is always looking around for beautiful, hot girls to get married. There have been many hilarious incidents regarding this and we all STILL laugh over them. Hehe! Then comes Sid and Tamanna. In the beginning I used to find Sid a bit too creepy because he would stare at me and one day he totally got me off-guard by asking me out. Of course I said no because, hello! I didn't like him! Well, as a friend I did, but other than that, nope! A weeks passed by after that and I started to see sparks flying between Sid and Tamanna. They would be lost in each other's eyes, stare at the other when they weren't looking, etc., etc., etc. I am soo freaking sure they like each other! Just hope they confess it soon!

And then comes... Armaan. He and I had become very good friends! Armaan was just like the others. Happy and fun to be around, but there was something about him which always pulled me towards him. Was it his friendly, dimpled smile that always brightened my day, or was it those hypnotic black eyes which always told me something? Was it his charming, dashing personality that attracts everyone towards him like a magnet, or the mysterious tinge he carried with him that sent shivers down my body. I don't know. I've bumped into him so many times and all those times I'm going to find myself lost in his gaze. Many times I'm gonna find him staring intently at me with this-this strange look in his eyes that I couldn't decipher, but I would just avert my gaze as I couldn't handle the intensity in his.

"Hey." I looked up and saw Armaan standing in front of me, flashing those adorable dimples. When did he come in front of me? "Back to Earth sweetie." He joked as I giggled.

"Hi. What's the topic today?" I inquired, referring to the argument between Yuvi and Naina.

"Aah... Naina asked him how she looked and that poor guy made a huge mistake." He spoke sadly while I looked at him in confusion.

"Explain please?" He chuckled and looked towards me.

"He said she looked just the way she looks everyday and she got mad. I just don't understand why you girls keep asking us about your looks? Geez! Just be satisfied with your looks! Don't gotta act like such preps!" Armaan spoke casually, but with every word he spoke, he was pissing me off!

"'Xcuse me! Who the hell are you calling preps?" I asked.

"Well, apparently you girls! 'OMG! Is my makeup ok?' 'Oh my God am I looking good?' Geez! Chill out dude!" He tried to mimick us, in which he failed badly, adding fuel to my anger!

"Just a sec. We ask all that because we wanna look good and presentable. Not like some retarded chick that doesn't have a clue about what and what not to wear!"

"But you don't gotta nag us 24/7 about your looks!"

"We nag you?!" I spoke exasperatedly. What the hell did this Armaan dude think of himself! Gosh!

"Duh! I mean, come on! You girls are such confused souls! If you know this thing looks good on you, what the hell is the point of asking us?"

"Uh, because we wanna know what you boys think!" I argued back. No way in hell was he winning this!

"And if we say you look ugly, you're gonna be all mad!"

"Yes, because there's a way of saying things! I could say the same thing in a nice manner. Don't gotta be all rude and obtuse!"

"Did you just call us obtuse?"

"Duh!" Hah! In yo face!

"Hey! We are straight forward creatures! We don't beat around the bush!"

"We don't beat around the bush." I mimicked him. "Yeah right! And you boys don't even care about us!" I said angrily and loudly. We didn't even realize when the others had stopped talking and were staring at us. We were yelling at each other!

"Bull!"

"ENOUGH!" We heard a loud voice and jumped with fear. The voice was so familiar. We could recognize it ANYWHERE. It was none other than Dr. Kirti.

We quickly composed ourselves and stood in a line, with our heads hanging in guilt. We knew today was our dooms day and we were so prepared. I did a mental countdown in my head. 5... 4... 3... 2... 1...

"Interns! What do you all think you are doing! This is a hospital. We come here to treat patients, not fight with other people like kindergarteners!" she reprimanded us. I stole an angry glance at Armaan and he did the same. I hated him so much at the moment! I got into trouble just because of him! That same moment I felt those words ringing in my head. I got into trouble just because of him! I had said those same words for someone eleven years back. They were for my Armaan. I found myself moving back into the old memories as Dr. Kirti's voice faded in the background.

We were in 5th grade. Mrs. Hinkle, my homeroom teacher, had moved me beside Armaan because I couldn't stand that Alyssa chick I was sitting next to before. She was a biatch so I asked Mrs. Hinkle to move me which she did. From the day I was placed next to him, him and I fought like crazy. That moron would make fun of me because when I was in Belmont, my elementary school, I would... um... bring 'paranthas' to school so yeah. He and his stupid group of friends would make fun of me so I would get into an argument with them and guess who would get in trouble? Me! My teacher wouldn't say a word to them! I hated them so much at that point. Ugh!

"Dr. Riddhima!" I heard Dr. Kirti's loud voice call me, making me jump in my spot.

"Yes ma'am?" I asked almost instantly, not knowing why my name was called.

"Where is your mind Dr. Riddhima? I have been calling your name for the past 2 minutes! Come out of your dream world and pay attention to what I am saying!" She spoke angrily. I swear, I could see devil horns hanging up from her head at the moment!

"Ye-yes ma'am." I stammered and looked down. Dr. Kirti glared at me and then diverted her gaze from me.

"Anyways. As you all know, you interns don't have any duties today and nor will you have one for the rest of the week. The reason is because we all are going on a medical camp. As you know, New York is a very big state and there are many people here that don't have enough money to go to any hospital for their treatment. So we have decided to go on this camp to Manhattan and treat the people in need for less or no money at all. We are going to leave this afternoon, so I suggest you interns get everything you need. Remember. We are leaving at 3:30 PM, sharp. Understood?"

"Yes Dr. Kirti." We spoke together and she left.

"OMG! This is so awesome!" Naina exclaimed.

"I know right! I never thought we'll be goin' on camps here!" said Tamanna.

"But I'm just glad we'll get outta this boring place, even if it's only for a week." Sid said with a sigh.

"OMG! We'll get to see so many hot, sexy girls at the camp!" I just rolled my eyes at his comment. I swear, he acts like a despo some times!

"JP, we're going there for work, not to see girls there!" Yuvi reprimanded him, making us giggle. JP just rolled his eyes, making Yuvi step forward to punch him, but I held him back and shook my head. Did I mention Yuvi and JP didn't gell that well?

"Anyways guys. We better get to packing or else Hitler is going to murder all of us!" said Armaan. We nodded and walked to our lockers to get our stuff. Just then I heard a very familiar voice call me.

"Riddhima!" I turned around and felt my lips curving upwards seeing one of my best friends in front of me.

"Michael!" I screamed in joy and ran up to him and hugged him tight. Dude, I was seeing him after such a long time!

Michael Berry was one of my best friends. During my freshman year, I had become kinda lonely since I didn't have that many classes with my friends, but Michael had become a very good friend of mine. Michael was known by pretty much all of my friends because they had been to the same elementary school but the first time I met him, was during lunch. I had never seen Micheal and when I saw him, I was kinda surprised. He was a tall, blonde, very friendly and I loved him for what he was. I didn't have any classes with him, but the way our schedule was, I would bump into him every now and then. He's a sweetheart! One more thing about him. I had found out he liked Alice, our very own Nikki, a lot. He liked her since their elementary days, but Nikki was just too gaga over Abhi at that point. During the 8th grade summer, they had started to date each other but I found that out a bit late. When I did find out, I teased Michael to no ends. He and Nikki would always be texting each other, so I would read them and then tease him like hell. It was always fun to see Michael turn beet red, though later he and Nikki broke up and now, he's married to another good friend of mine. Her name is Bianca. I've known her since 7th grade and she's a very sweet girl. Coming to Michael, he's the best friend anyone could ever wish for. I could confide in him and share anything in the world with him. I really love Michael.

"Dude! How are you!" I broke away from him and asked him with a wide smile.

"I'm good as usual!" He replied back with a cheeky grin.

"What brings ya here? And where's Bianca? Gosh I haven't seen her in ages!"

"Well, Bianca's home, resting. And I'm here to invite you."

"For what?"

"Actually, we're going on a little trip. All of us were free, so we thought to go on a little trip to Manhattan. You wanna come?"

"OMG! That is soo awesome! Guess what, we all are going on a camp too!" I replied excitedly. It would be so fun to see all my friends together again!

"That's great!"

"I know right! It'll be soo much fun to hang out with ya guys again. I miss you guys a lot!"

"Aww... we miss ya too." He pulled me in a hug and I smiled widely. I pulled away from him to have a look at his face, but was a little surprised when I saw him. He was looking straight ahead with a tensed expression. I followed his gaze and saw him and Armaan looking at each other, or should I say glaring. But why? My head kept moving to and fro between Michael and Armaan. Did they know each other? If yes, why so much hatred? If no, why were they glaring at each other? I could feel the tension rising in the atmosphere and thought to lighten it up a little, but before I could say anything, I heard Michael talk.

"Riddhima, I guess I should leave now. See ya at the camp." He spoke to me, still glaring at Armaan. I just nodded with a small smile. He turned his gaze towards me and pecked my cheeks in a friendly manner and quickly walked out. I was so confused. What was going on?

"Armaan, where are you going?" I heard Tamanna ask him and looked at him.

"I just remembered something. Be back." Saying this, he quickly walked out before either of us could question him. I was fixing to go after him to see what was going on, but just then my pager rang, asking me to immediately come to the reception. I had no choice but to go to the reception, but that question was still playing in my mind. What was going on? I went to the reception and got to know I had left my car key there. I was kinda mad because I couldn't figure out what was going on because of a petty thing like that! But there wasn't really anything I could do now. But I was gonna ask Michael and Armaan about this and I knew that had to be done soon.

I flopped myself down on my seat, taking a deep breath. I was sitting beside the window on the bus with my headphones plugged into my ears. We were loading the bus to leave for our camp and I was just happy. I'll finally get to see all my friends! Isn't that amazing! I suddenly felt someone flopping themselves down on the seat next to mine and turned my head to see Armaan smiling at me.

"Oh my God, not you again!" I spoke angrily. I was still angry because of the argument early in the morning. "What the hell do you think you're doing?" I asked with a sugar coated smile.

"I'm playing basketball." He spoke with sarcasm dripping from his voice. "Mtch. Are you so dumb Riddhima? I'm sitting here!"

"Why are you sitting here? Go sit somewhere else! This is such a humongous bus!" I said angrily and turned my head to the other side.

"I'm sitting here because I love you." I froze at his words and slowly turned to look at him. His black eyes bore into mine, piercing through my soul. I felt as if he was touching my soul, as if he knew what was going on in my heart. There was this strange emotion in his eyes that told me something, that was screaming something to me, but I just couldn't understand it. Those eyes... they were so familiar to me. Where have I seen them? I know I have, but where? Why were they so familiar to me? I was pulled out of my thoughts as the next moment he was laughing like crazy. I was confused. Why was he laughing like that?

"Oh my... oh my God... lo-look at your face! Haha! You... haha... you were so scared!" Armaan spoke, trying to speak through his laughter. What the hell!

"Why are you laughing like that?" I asked, totally confused of his behavior.

"Dude! I was joking! Did you really think I was in love with you?" I sighed in relief as I heard him.

"Dude! You really scared me there!"

"Sorry. But I just wanted to mess with you." I laughed along with him, but somewhere, I didn't like this. Was he joking? The way he said it, the way he was looking at me... it all seemed so real and true. But why did I even care? Brushing the thoughts off my mind, I laughed again.

"Anyways. Tell me some things about yourself." I asked him.

"You already know me. What more do you wanna know?" he said casually, as if there was nothing to say, but I wanted to know him more.

"Mtch. Come on Armaan! Don't be such a bore! Yeah, I know you, but only a little. You're my friend and I wanna know you more. Tell me something!" I said with a excited smile. Armaan rolled his eyes, probably at my childish excitement.

"Fine. Shoot." I smiled widely and turned my body a little to his side, ready with my questions.

"Your age?"

"26."

"Birthday?"

"August 17th."

"Umm... favorite color?" I kept asking him questions and he kept answering them. It was very fun, getting to know someone like that. True, I knew him, but apart from his name and his occupation, I didn't know anything else. I don't know, but the way he was answering the questions, I couldn't help but compare him with my Armaan. Even his birthday is on August 17th and if I'm not wrong, he should also be somewhere around 26 years old. How could there be so many coincidences at the same time? But there are so many people in the world. There can be some coincidences!

"Hmm... let's see... what should I ask you now?" I asked myself, trying to think of a good question. "Yes! Do you have a girlfriend?"

"Nope." I was surprised. I was actually expecting a 'yes' as an answer because seeing how handsome he was, he should have gazillion girls drooling over him. How could he not have a girlfriend!

"Are you serious?"

"Does it look like I'm joking?" I just shook my head, forcing myself to accept this fact.

"But why? I mean... you're such a nice guy. You should have girls drooling all over you!" I stated as a matter of fact. It was true after all!

"Well... yes, I do have girls all over me... but that's not what I want." I was confused once again.

"What do you mean?"

"I want someone to actually love me, for what I am. Anyways. Forget it. Next question please!" I nodded and thought of another question.

"Hmm... first girlfriend?"

"Don't remember."

"Do you love someone?" I carefully examined his face. A small smile was playing at the corner of his lips. After a moment, I heard him.

"Yes." He said softly, as if remembering something very precious and special.

"Who?" He laughed softly and leaned his head against the seat.

"Someone very special." I felt something prick my heart as I heard him. Who was he talking about?

"Have you told her yet?"

"Yeah. I told her a while back."

"What did she say?"

"She said no." I was shocked once again.

"Why?"

"I had asked her the same." He turned his face towards me." She said because she didn't like me and walked away." He said with a small smile, but I saw through it. There was so much pain in his eyes as he said those words. But those words were so familiar. Why wouldn't they be? I had said those same words to my Armaan. That day flashed before my eyes and I felt tears brimming in my eyes. I covered my eyes with my lashes and then looked out the window. A tear slipped out of my eyes as I remembered that day.

It was October 24, 2011, my freshman year. I was sitting in the cafeteria with my friends, waiting for the dismissal bell to ring. As soon as the bell rang, I jumped out of my seat and started to walk towards the door when Armaan called me. He came up to me and asked me out. AT first I was just so shocked. My mind completely went blank and so many questions had filled my mind and as much as I wanted to say yes, I said no. When he asked me why, I said because I didn't like him and walked off.

Only I knew how much it hurt me to say no. I couldn't even look into his eyes when I said all that. I just couldn't. If he knew me well, he probably had caught my lie. Why did I lie? Because I wasn't allowed to date. Hell, I wasn't even allowed to visit my friends' house! Mumma-Papa were very strict. They just wanted me to focus in school. That's it. How could I go out with him? My friends said I could keep it a secret, but how? Mumma knew me very well. Maybe even more than I knew myself. She would catch lie in a fraction of a second. Plus I loved my parents too much. I couldn't lie to them about this! I was jsut so broken after that. I would smile, but for the sake of it. Talked, but only to hide the pain I carried in my heart. Everytime I looked at him, I felt this sudden urge to cry, to go to him, hug him tight, tell him how much I love him, but couldn't. My life wasn't mine. I had no say in it.

The next day, I told my other two friends, Kim and Machayla about this and they were so mad. They knew how much I loved him and they were mad because I said no. They asked me why and I told them the reason. I even told them the questions I had in my mind and what I found out, was shocking. Turned out he liked me since 8th grade and told Siraj about it, but also told them not to tell me. Machayla even told me how he broke up with his girlfriend, Megan, just for me. I felt horrible. I regretted my 'no' so much, but I couldn't do anything. I pacified my heart saying it's just a crush, I'll get over it, but I knew I couldn't. It was just a lie.

I closed my eyes and more tears rolled down my cheeks. I felt a big warm hand cupping my cheek, breaking my trail of thoughts. I looked at the hand and turned my face. I was shocked seeing Armaan so close to me. His eyes were staring at me with such passion and intensity that was enough to shake me from the inside. I could hear my brain screaming at me, telling me to push him away, he was a stranger, I shouldn't let him close to me but I couldn't. My heart was just being pulled towards him. His eyes held my gaze, making me drown in the black oceans. I felt his thumb wiping my tears as his gaze fell on my lips, telling me what he wanted. I could see the crave, the desire in his eyes.

The bus took a sudden turn, backing me up against the window, with his body pressing against mine. His hands rested against the window behind me, blocking all my ways of escape. He was dangerously close to me, making it difficult for me to breathe. His strong cologne filled my nostrils, making me dizzy. His cold, minty breath hit my face as a sigh escaped my lips. I closed my eyes and breathed. I could feel my heart pounding inside my chest in excitement. I didn't even know what was happening around me and neither did I care. What mattered to me was Armaan was close to me.

I opened my eyes and looked at him. He was staring right into my eyes, probably trying to read them and so did I. They held so many emotions, but there was something in them that just left me speechless. I just wanted to stare into those black oceans for eternity. They were just so familiar to me. Why? Where have I seen them? His hand moved to my face, moving a lock behind my ear. I closed my eyes as his warm fingers softly brushed across my forehead. I felt like I had everything in the world. Nothing else was needed now. I just felt so complete.

His hands cupped my neck and slowly brought me closer. I felt his soft lips kiss my forehead softly, slowly moving down to my closed eyes. He covered my face with soft, feathery kisses, but tortured me by not kissing me where I really wanted him to; my lips. I didn't do anything, but let him kiss me wherever he wanted to. My heart raced wildly as he brought his lips closer to mine.

His lips gently touched the corner of mine and a gasp escaped my throat. He placed his lips on mine and kissed me gently. I just stayed there still. I had never kissed anyone and I didn't know how to. I shivered as his manly lips moved against my virgin ones. His hand went into my hair and around my waist, pulling me into him and giving me all the warmth I needed. I absorbed the warmth of his body and clutched his shoulder. Slowly, I let go of the guards around me and kissed him back. I was just transported into another world. He kissed me, licking and sucking my lips one by one and I did the same. A moan formed inside my throat as he bit my lip and then licked the same spot.

I broke apart from him and breathed, filling my lungs with oxygen as much as I can. Our lips were still in contact making my heart beat wildly. I could feel his heart thumping against my chest. Then next moment I heard him whisper.

"You're beautiful." I opened my eyes and saw him staring at me intensely. Everything around me suddenly felt so nice and beautiful. As if I was in heaven.

But the next moment I was pulled back to reality as a jolt of realization struck me. I had just kissed him! I just kissed a guy I didn't even know that well! I looked at my hands which were still on his shoulders and pulled them away. I turned my face away from him, not being able to meet his eyes. The next moment I felt him moving away from me. He mumbled a small 'sorry' and moved out of the seat. I looked at his retreating back, still trying to grasp what just happened.

How could I just kiss him like that? Why didn't I push him away like I should have? These questions filled my mind, but I didn't have any answers to them. What hurt me the most was he said sorry to me. Why? For kissing me? Was it just a mistake for him? Of course it was! Why would this mean anything to him! Another tear dropped out of my eye as I remembered a promise, a wish I had made a long time back- if I'll ever be kissed by anyone, then it'll just be by my Armaan. But why did it even matter now? He wasn't gonna come back in my life. He was gone. I closed my eyes and then looked out the window, wiping that tear off. I was so glad we were sitting all the way in the back of the bus. No one saw us thankfully!

Very soon, we reached the hotel we were supposed to stay in for the next few days. The hotel was magnificent. I was in awe of it the moment I layed my eyes on it. What was even more beautiful was my room. The room was colored with creamy white walls, beautiful marble floors, and exquisite white furniture. There was this ceiling-to-floor window which gave a beautiful view of the sea in front of the hotel. I was in love with this place already!

In a short time, all the interns were called to the dining area to have our dinner. I was freaking famished! I walked to the dining area along with Naina and Tamanna while chatting about a few things. I pulled up a chair and we all sat down to have our food.

"OMG! I am freaking starving right now!" said Naina.

"I know right! I thought I was gonna die with hunger on the bus!" Tamanna complained.

"At least you guys weren't about to puke! Dude, I get car-sick pretty easily so the ride was a torture for me!" I said, remembering how I was so close to kill myself because of the nauseous feeling I had during the ride.

"Sucks for ya then!" said Sid.

"Haha! Yep!" I laughed along with the others, but my laugh came to a halt as I saw Armaan pull up a seat in front of me. Our kiss came back to my mind and I looked away. But why was I so scared in facing him? I mean, who said friends don't kiss? I mean, yeah, it's awkward, but it's true! That kiss was just a... mistake? I mean, both of us were having our little depressing time so I guess it just happened! Big deal! Why was I making it such a big issue! God! Chill out Ridzi!

I looked up and saw him looking at me. I just smiled at him, which he returned back. We all just jumped on our food and talked like forever! We had so much fun while the Maccoroni and Cheese. That was some good stuff! While we were talking, I suddenly felt a pair of hands covering my eyes and I became alert.

"Who is it?" I said in a dangerous voice, ready to attack.

"Sis." I heard a voice say. I froze at that word and felt a smile forming on my lips. I knew who it was!

"Bubba!" I shouted and immediately got up and turned around. I looked at the person with a big smile. It was Rahul, my Bubba! I put my arms around him and gave him a tight hug! I couldn't believe my Bubba was standing right in front of me! "OMG! How are you Bubba! It's been such a long time!" I started with my rant again and he just smiled. I frowned. "What? Why are you smiling like that?" he chuckled and pulled my chubby cheeks.

"You're so cute sis! You know what? You haven't changed at all!" I smiled widely hearing him.

"Neither have you!" we chuckled and hugged each other again. Gosh it had been quite a long time since we had talked to each other! I pulled away and looked at him with a frown. "Rahul. Where is everyone else? Michael said everyone's coming." Just then I heard some people talk in unison.

"Riddhima!" I turned around and saw my other friends looking at me with a wide smile. I ran up to them and hugged them! Atul, Anjali, Rahul, Muskaan, Abhi, Nikki, Sapna, Bianca, and Michael were there, right with me! Could life get any better?

"OMIGOSH! I can't believe you guys are here! Please tell me this is real and not a dream!" They chuckled, probably at my childish behavior. Did I ever say how childish I was?

"No Ridzi, this isn't a dream! We are actually here!" said Muskaan.

Ok, did I ever say how much my Lexi had changed since 8th grade? She wasn't the quiet, timid Lexi anymore. Hell, she was feisty now! She wasn't afraid of anyone! This is what I loved about my Muskaan. She perfectly justified her name. A smile was always playing on her lips and I just loved that part of her!

"OMIGOSH! I missed you guys like hell!"

"Same here Riddhima. I so hate this now! We can't even see each other that often now!" said Nikki!

"True! We should hang out more often now!" Atul said and I nodded.

"Uh, guys! We're here too!" I turned around and saw Tamanna looking at us. I mentally kicked myself. I never introduced my friends to each other! I am soo stupid!

"Sorry guys! I am very stupid! Okay. Let me introduce you all to each other. Guys," I turned to my gang and spoke to them "these are the interns at Sanjeevni. All of us are very good friends. This is Sid, Tamanna, Yuvi, Naina, JP and Armaan." I said pointing to everyone and they smiled at my friends. "Guys," I was talking to my fellow interns now "these are my best friends from my childhood. Atul, Anjali, Rahul, Muskaan, Abhi, Nikki, Michael, Bianca, and Sapna." I pointed at them too and even they smiled at the interns.

"Hey! Nice to meet you all!" said Anjali.

"Same here." JP replied with a dreamy smile. I so knew he was dreaming about Anjali and him now! Before he could do anything else, I quickly spoke up.

"Umm... Anjie. When are you and Atul getting married?" I said, looking at JP to grab his attention, in which I was very successful. I saw his face turn into a shocked one as I said those words. I wanted to laugh seeing him, but controlled it. I turned to look at Anjali and found her and Atul blushing.

"Aww... guys. You two are blushing!" I said, making them turn a deeper shade of red and chuckled. They were so cute!

"Anyways. Guys. Let's eat. I am famished!" said Bianca. We all nodded and turned to head towards the table. Soon we all were sitting at the table, eating up all the food and talking like there was no tomorrow. All of my friends were bonding together very well. If you looked at them now, you won't even believe they just met! Once we were done with dinner, we stood in the middle of the corridor, thinking of what to do.

"Guys. We are meeting after such a long time. We should definitely catch up!" said Sapna.

"Yep! I agree with you! But what should we do?" asked Michael.

"Let's set up a bonfire tonight! We can play some games and have lots of fun! What say?" Yuvi suggested and I smiled.

"Yes! That would be so awesome!"

"So it's done. We'll meet up outside today and have a bonfire. Okay?" said Armaan.

"Okie dokie!"

I walked outside to the little beach that was located near the hotel along with Bianca and Sapna. It was starting to get a little chilly in New York since it was the beginning of September so I wore a long sleeved black shirt and comfortable jeans. We reached the bonfire and they walked ahead of me as I came to halt.

I looked at the dark night sky. It was so beautiful. Just like a beautiful painting. I couldn't help but admire the Almighty's creation. There were dark blue clouds overlapping one another in a beautiful manner. I could see the small, bright stars twinkling in the sky and the round moon shining its light on us. A chilly breeze brushed past me making me shiver a little. I wrapped my arms around my body to protect myself from the cold. I could feel my lips curve up into a slight smile, sighing. I closed my eyes and absorbed the cold breeze.

"Hey beautiful." I heard a husky voice whisper in my ear and opened my eyes and turned my face to see him staring intently at me. There were those same emotions in his eyes which were pulling me towards him again but I looked away before I would drown into those black seas again and smiled.

"Hey Armaan. What's up?" I asked, pulling my hair behind my ear in nervousness.

"Nothing." I looked back at the sky, mentally trying to count the stars in the sky.

"Isn't the sky beautiful?" I said in a whisper, expecting to hear a yes, but his answer made me astounded.

"Yeah... but not more than you."

I gasped and looked at him with astonishment. I was taken aback by the amount of passion his eyes held. I was scared by the intensity of those eyes. I was afraid I'll drown into the depths of his eyes. My heart beated frantically against my heart, threatening to pop out. Not wanting to face him, I looked away and started walking away but he caught my arm and pulled me back. I was shocked by his boldness and the way he was looking at me. I swear I saw a tinge of anger in those eyes, but why? I looked at his hand which was on my arm and struggled, but he grabbed my other arm too and pulled me closer, if possible. What has gotten into him? Why was he doing this? I just couldn't understand. One minute he's all friendly and nice and the other he's talking to me as if... as if I'm his property. He pushed my hair behind my ear and looked at my lips and then back into my eyes and asked me.

"Why do you keep running away from me? You always do this. Run away from me when I'm near. Why?" he whispered in a husky voice. I was just shocked. What was he talking about? I always ran away from him? What the...

"Armaan?" I said, trying to understand what was going on in his mind.

"Riddhima." he whispered and leaned in to kiss me.

"Riddhima! Armaan! Where are you guys! Come-" I heard Atul call me and immediately moved away from him. He stopped talking as he saw me and Armaan standing away from each other. I was shocked as I saw him glaring at Armaan. He never did that! What the hell! He walked up to me and grabbed my hand.

"Let's go Ridzi. Everyone's waiting for you." Saying this, he pulled me and walked away from Armaan. I looked at Armaan, who was staring at me and then at Atul. What the hell was going on? Once we were out of Armaan's sight, I stopped and called him.

"Atul." he stopped and turned to me. "What's going on?"

"What are you talking about?" Really? Was he actually gonna play innocent with me?

"Dude! Cut it! Don't try playing innocent with me! I know something's up here! First Michael was glaring at Armaan and now you. What the hell is going in! Tell me, now!" I said angrily. Effin hell, I wanted to know what was going on! They couldn't lie to me like that!

" Look Riddhima... just stay away from Armaan. He's not right for you." What the hell!

"And you are saying this because?" he looked around, probably trying to control his anger, but I didn't give a damn! I wanted answers!

"Because he is-" he started off but was cut off by Anjali's voice.

"Atul!" We looked at Anjali who walked up to us and held onto Atul. "What are you two doing here? Come one guys! Everyone's waiting for you! Come on!" She grabbed mine and Atul's hand and pulled us to where everyone was. I had so many questions in my mind but I knew my friends weren't gonna tell me anything. I knew them too well. Giving up, I walked with them and sat down in my spot.

Very soon the others came and sat down and we were thinking about what to play.

"Truth or Dare?" I suggested and saw everyone look at me.

"That's a pretty good idea! Let's play that!"

"Bring the bottle please!" A bottle soon arrived and Armaan spun it. The first time he spun it, it landed on Naina. She picked dare and she was told to go kiss Yuvi on the cheek, which she did happily. When she spun it, it landed on Sid and she asked him about his feelings for Tamanna and he said the truth. He told her how much he loved her and how he wanted to spend his entire life with Tamanna. When he asked her about her feelings, she said even she loved him. It felt so good to see my friends getting the love of their life. I knew I had a big smile on my face when she said she loved him too. After a few more spins, the bottle landed in Armaan.

"So Armaan. Truth or dare?" Bianca asked.

"Truth." Bianca nodded.

"Okay. I have a very simple question for you."

"Shoot."

"Okay. Then tell me something. If you've hurt someone very badly... How will you make it up to them?" she questioned him with something I would prefer calling apprehension. Armaan just looked at her for a moment before answering.

"I'll never hurt them again." I was just so confused hearing this. What were they talking about? All I knew was Armaan meant what he said. I could see Bianca smiling at his response, as if believing him. He then took the bottle and spun it and it landed on me. I looked at him, afraid while he just smirked.

"So Riddhima. Truth or dare?" he asked with this mysterious look in eyes. I weighed my options carefully. I could pick dare, but he could give me anything. Uh-uh. No dares!

"Truth." I said impulsively. He smirked.

"Fine. But remember. You gotta say the truth." I nodded, wondering what he'll ask me. He looked at me dead in the eye before asking me the question. "Have you ever been in love?" I looked at him in shock. Tears started to form in my eyes as his words rung in my mind. Yes. I had been in love. I had been in love when I didn't even know the meaning of love. I had dared to love someone when I couldn't. I looked at my friends for help, but what could they do? They couldn't bring my Armaan back to me. I suddenly felt so angry. Why had I ever fallen in love with him? Controlling myself, I looked him dead in the eye and answered.

"No. I've never been in love and never will be." My words came out more bitter and harsh than I had expected, but I didn't care. I excused myself and walked away as quickly as possible. I could hear my friends calling me, trying to stop me but I didn't stop. I started running as I couldn't control myself anymore. I couldn't stop my tears from falling. I ran to the other side of the hotel where there was a sea and fell on the rocks there, hurting myself, but I didn't care. The pain in my heart was much greater than the small injury. I finally let the tears flow and cried.

"Why? Why Armaan? Why did you come in my life? Why did you make me fall in love with you? Why! My life was so simple before you came in my life. But after you came, everything changed! I wasn't me anymore! My-my thoughts started revolving around you... and only you. If you were the person I thought about before going to sleep, then you were the only one I wanted to see when I woke up. If I only had a glance of you, my day would go very well. But if I didn't see you... I couldn't think of anything else. I would keep thinking if you were okay. If I would see with another girl, I would feel so bad. My entire day would go bad. If you even had a scratch on your body I would get so worried. I spent 3 years of life only thinking if you felt anything at all for me. The thought of you liking me made me fly. But the thought of you looking at me as only another girl in school tore me apart. If you looked at me even once, I would become so happy. And if you didn't. I became so sad. I found solace in just looking at you because I knew that was the only thing I could do. I would try so hard not to look at you and stop thinking about you, but my gaze would always look for you. You were the only thing I could ever think about. When we didn't have school, I always waited for the days to go by fast so I could see you as soon as possible. When I found out you were going to a different high school, I became so sad. I just wished that somehow you would go to the same school as me so that I could at least see you. When high school started, I wasn't happy. I didn't look forward to school. Why would I? You weren't there. Then after 2 weeks when I saw you at County... I was just so happy. Then... when you asked me out that day, I was so happy. I wasn't even able to breathe afterwards. But I knew I couldn't say yes. Why? Because Mumma-Papa wouldn't let me. Yes, I could've told you I liked you but couldn't go out with you, but couldn't. I kept quiet for 4 years and when you suddenly came... I was just so shocked. My mind just stopped working. I thought you were joking. And the only reason I walked away was that I knew if I stood there for another second you would've caught my lie. I know I probably sounded like an insensitive bitch, but I didn't have another choice. I thought I'll forget you after that but-but I couldn't. I tried so hard to forget you. I tried to like other boys, think about them, but I always ended up comparing them to you. Knowingly or unknowingly... you had become my life. My world started revolving around you. For 11 years I tried to forget you but couldn't. Why don't you just go away Armaan! Why do to you keep coming in my life in one way or another! Why does everything remind me of you! Please go away from my life Armaan! I don't want to remember you!" I cried bitterly, not being able to keep this pain inside my heart anymore. I kept all this to myself for about 11 years, but couldn't hold it anymore. I was a human damn it! I laid down on my side and cried. I didn't have the energy to act all bold and daring any longer. I couldn't put up an act again. "I don't want to love you Armaan." I whispered the part to myself and sobbed quietly. I didn't even realize when I had cried myself to sleep and saw him smile at me in my dreams again.

I frowned as I felt a sharp bright light fall on my eyelids and tried to cover myself up with the blanket which covered my body. I felt weight pushing onto the other side of the bed, but ignored it. A hand caressed my head softly and I opened my eyes slowly. I turned around and saw Anjali looking at me worriedly.

"Anjie?" I muttered and slowly sat up on the bed and felt excruciating pain flowing through my legs. I pushed the blanket away from me and was confused seeing myself. I was wearing clothes from last night, but why? Just then I remembered the game from last night. The truth and everything that happened afterwards. But how did I get here? The last thing I remembered was falling asleep on the rocks. Then how did I get here?

"Armaan brought you here." I looked up at Atul as he answered my unasked question. "You fell asleep on the rocks and he brought you here." I nodded and looked down. I knew my friends weren't really in a pleasant mood right now.

"Riddhima have you lost it! What the hell do you think you were doing!" Muskaan yelled at me and I knew things were worse than I had expected.

"Lexi, calm down." Nikki walked up to her and told her but Muskaan just shrugged her hands off.

"No ways Alice! What does this girl think of herself! How can she just be so careless!" She yelled and then turned to me. "Riddhima. What were you doing crying like that? And who were you crying over? The guy that you don't even see anymore? The guy that asked you out but you just turned him down? Why are you still crying over him! You were over him right? Then why weep over him now?" Her words were harsh, but true. I looked down as I started to feel guilty and spoke in a low voice.

"I'm sorry guys. I don't know what happened to me. I just... completely lost it at that time and... I'm sorry." I could see everyone in the room, especially Muskaan softening up at my words. She held my shoulders and looked at me.

"Riddhima... I'm sorry. I shouldn't have yelled at you like that, but I don't know what to do. I can't see you torture yourself like this. Riddhima 11 years have passed by. How can still love him? How can you still think about him?" She asked me softly, but I could tell she was using all her might not to yell at me and I was grateful for that. As far as her question was concerned... I had no answer to it. I could feel my heart getting heavy but I wasn't going to cry. I didn't have that much energy in myself.

"I don't know Lexi. I really don't. You think I didn't try?" I questioned her, but her knew there was no need for an answer. "No. I tried a lot... to forget him... to take his memories out of my heart... but I just can't. I'm not even gonna lie. I still love him. Maybe more than I ever did. I tried... but I can't forget him. I know you all will think I'm crazy to still love a guy I don't even see anymore, but I can't do anything. I don't have any control over my heart. Simply because I don't even have it. I lost my heart a long time back." I spoke a bit sadly and dejectedly. I was just defeated. How I wished I could go back and delete his memories. Life would be so much easier if we could do that. I heard Michael sigh and sit down next to me.

"Riddhima... listen to me. What happened was for the good. He does not deserve you at all." He said it in a matter-of-fact way, which made me confused.

"Why are you saying that?"

"Reasons."

"And they are?" Michael closed his eyes for a moment before speaking, probably trying to prepare himself to tell me the reason.

"This dates back to out sophomore year. You know, the last two days of it, when you guys were fixing to leave for Gatton. We were at lunch and I heard him talking to his friends. They were pretty much bad-mouthing you. You know... saying how you were a big liar and calling you names and all that shit. Plus he was one of the big ones. I couldn't take them talking shit about you when they didn't know anything and got into a fight with him. I gave him a few punches and made him bleed and all that crap so yeah." I had my mouth hanging by this point. One, he bad-mouthed me. Two, Michael punched him! What the hell! I glared at him for hurting Armaan. How can he! "Then in anger I had blurted out crap." My eyes widened.

"What the hell did you say?" I asked, my voice scared.

"I said I'm glad you turned him down. He didn't deserve you and that he didn't even know what he had missed. You loved him for all these years and that he didn't even care. All he thought about was that you turned him down and never even tried to know the real reason. I cussed him out and told him why you said had said no but before I could say anything else, the teachers just took me away. After that, I never talked to him or anything. Yeah, I came across him during school hours, but that was about it. So yeah." This time, my eyes were wide and my jaws were touching my knees. I was just shocked. I saw his eyes look up at me and look at me scared. "Riddhima I-" He began but I just cut him off.

"YOU TOLD HIM!" I shouted over the top of my lungs. "YOU BLOODY TOLD HIM EVERYTHING! WHY THE HELL DID YOU DO THAT!"

"They were calling you a bitch and all that so I-"

"So! I don't care! Why did you have to tell him anything!"

"Riddhima, Michael was was right in what he did. He has the right to know how you feel about him." I calmed down knowing Atul was right. Armaan did have the right to know how I felt about him, but still.

"Yeah. You're right." I said in a lost manner. Then I suddenly turned to Michael. "Did he say anything after that?"

"Nope. Like I said before, we never talked afterwards. I pretty much abhored him for saying all that about you." I just nodded hearing him. But there still some questions ringing in my mind.

"But... why didn't you guys ever tell me about this? All of you knew this happened, except for me. Why?"

"We didn't tell you because we didn't want you upset. Plus we thought you were over him so we didn't think it was necessary to tell you about this. But obviously you weren't." I just closed my eyes and took a deep breath. They were right in their spot. They just wanted to save me from the pain and I was very touched by the fact that they cared so much. But apart from that, I felt my heart breaking again. So I was right, wasn't I? He hated me. Otherwise why would he say such things about me? I guess Michael was right. What happened was for the good. I closed my eyes and took a deep breath.

"It's okay guys. And... I'm very glad you care so much about me. I mean... it's almost impossible to find friends like you all now. Anyways. I don't want to talk about this now. Come on. Let's go. I need to get to Dr. Kirti. You all are here for fun but I gotta work. I'll catch up later."

"Okay. Fine. We're leaving. But you sure you okay?" Rahul asked and I smiled.

"Yeah Bubba, I'm fine. Stop worrying about me okay."

"Okie dokie." He kissed my cheek and then left along with the others. I just smiled sadly and then stood up to go get a nice shower. I didn't know why, but I had a feeling this little medical camp was going to change everything. Like... something was going to happen. Didn't know if it was anything good or not, but whatever it was, it was going to change things for sure.

After taking a shower, I went straight to Dr. Kirti, where we all were supposed to go. Dr. Kirti had arranged this location for us where we were going to treat all the needy people here. The entire city knew about the treatment happening here and we were sure many people were going to come. Like we had thought, over a 100 people had participated in this treatment. It was a pleasure seeing so many smiling and having a hope to live like a normal person. I felt proud of myself for doing this. This is what I always wanted to be. To be a doctor, to save lives, to bring a smile on people's face and that is exactly what I was doing. I have never felt so proud of myself. Very soon it was the end of the day and we had retired back to our rooms, waiting for the Sun to rise again to shine its brightness on our lives.

I stepped out of the shower and wrapped the soft white towel around my body. I walked out of the bathroom and took out my clothes for the day. A black, tight-fitted shirt and a pair of faded skinny jeans would make the best outfit for a light, cloudy weather. I didn't like make-up that much, so I just used my soft black, Maybelline eyeliner and wore some silver bangles. I checked my apperance in the mirror and smirked. Perfecto! Putting my flats on, I walked out of my room and made my way to the restaraunt available in the hotel.

As I walked to the table where everyone was sitting, I saw them deeply involved in a conversation and then suddenly quieten up when they saw me coming towards them, which was kind of confusing. I pulled up a chair beside Sid and greeted everyone.

"Good morning everyone. How's everyone up so early?" I just asked casually, while they exchanged glances and fumbled with their words.

"Ju-just like that." I arched a brow up and nodded slowly. Umm... awkward...

"Anyways. What's the plan for today? Only Dr. Kirti and Dr. Shubhankar are staying back for the camp thing since not many patients are gonna come. So are we gonna do?" As soon as I asked the question, Yuvi immediately answered.

"I'm just gonna lay back down on my bed and watch TV." The next second, I heard JP speak up.

"Me too. We don't get that much vacation time, so I'm just gonna sleep for the entire day." Wow...

"Yeah. I'm actually gonna call my parents and talk to them for the rest of the day. You know, I miss them a lot! I haven't talked to them for months! Ever since they've left for India, I haven't talked to them properly. So I'm gonna do that." Ummm... nice...

"And me and Tamanna are just gonna hang out together. You know, have a nice time together and get cozy and all that." Yeah... I was dying to know what they're gonna do together.

"And guys. What are you all gonna do?" I asked my friends, hoping that they'll give me some nice answers, but I wasn't so lucky.

"Same, same." They answered together in unison while I just raised my brows. Wow... How can everyone want to rest at the same day? I mean, dude! This is Manhattan! How can you not want to go out or anything like that! But oh well.

"Umm... okay then." I said a bit unsurely. I just knew they were hiding something from me. They kept stealing glances at each other. This was so confusing.

"What are you guys hiding from me?" I asked directly, knowing something was going on and saw about half of them jump in fright. What the hell!

"What? We're not hiding anything!" Abhi said in an over-defensive tone which did nothing, but raise my curiosity.

"Yeah right! That's why all you jumped when I asked that question?" Dude! This was soo obvious!

"We jumped because... because... because you spoke so loudly!" WHAT THE... That was so quiet!

"Excuse me! That wasn't loud! And stop trying to change the topic! That don't work on me!" I talked in a typicial southern accent, where I was pretty good! Haha! Abhi was about to say something, but I saw Sapna stop him.

"Really Riddhima. It's nothing. You're looking too much into it." I looked at Sapna a bit suspiciously. But... why would they want to hide anything from me in the first place?

"Hmm... okay." I said a bit unsurely, letting them know I wasn't completely convinced and went back to having my food.

I didn't even realize when the time passed by and it was already 7:00 at night. I was sitting at the rocks with a gray 'New York' hoodie on with black jeans and my Nikes on. I watched as the water came crashing along the shores and then went back, only to come back with a larger and greater force each time. The sound of the water crashing along the shores was so soothing and peaceful. It felt as if all the worries, all the tensions in my life were slowly fading into the background. The calming sound of the wind blowing soothed my body as I closed my eyes and breathed deeply. Yes, the quiet was peaceful, but nothing couldn't be compared to the feeling a human being would get when they're here. The cold Fall breeze made my hair fly in the air, but that seemed to be far from my mind. I just wanted to sit here and absorb every bit of this beautiful weather.

"Beautiful isn't it?" I heard a deep, beautiful voice speak and I slowly opened my eyes and looked to my side to find Armaan sitting next to me with his eyes closed. I smiled.

"Yes, it is." A moment of silence prevailed as we stared at the sea in front of us.

"What are you doing here?" I heard him question me and shrugged.

"Nothing. Just felt like sitting here for a while." He didn't say anything, but I knew he was looking at me.

"Missing someone?" I looked at him. Yes... I was missing someone. I was missing my Armaan, who unfortunately wasn't mine.

"No. Who would I be missing?" I spoke as I looked away.

"So you don't miss me?" I looked at him confused.

"Armaan, what are you saying? Why would I miss you? You're right here. And there is no reason for me to miss you." I said in a playful, joking tone.

"Really? You don't have any reason to miss me?" He asked.

"Nope." I said in a playful tone, but his reply left me baffled.

"So you don't love me?" I took in a deep breath and looked at him. What was going on with him? I remembered his little joke from the bus and thought he was joking once again.

"Armaan, stop it. It's not even funny now." I laughed a little, though my heart was beating wildly.

"I'm not joking."

"Armaan. Stop it. What's gotten into you? What's up with this question? I don't love you. I love..." I was about to say my Armaan, but stopped as I realized what I was about to say. "It's getting cold here. I'm going inside." I stood up and started walking towards the hotel but stopped as I heard him.

"You love Armaan Mallik."

I froze in my tracks listening to those words. Armaan Mallik. I was hearing this name from someone else's mouth after a long time. I felt my heart racing once again and slowly turned around to look at him. He was staring right into my eyes as if trying to convey something and I somehow knew what it was, but I chose to ignore it. His gaze held mine and I couldn't look away even if I wanted to.

"Wha-what are you saying?" I said in a low voice, trying to show as much courage as I could, but I knew I was failing miserably. He started to walk towards me.

"We met each other in 4th grade in Mrs. Ferrell's class. We were doing this group project and we were grouped together. We never got along. You hated me... I hated you... we didn't like each other. Then in 5th grade Mrs. Hinkle made you sit beside me. I still remember the shocked and angry look you had on your face when she told you to move. We abhored each other. Me and Felicia would make fun of you and you would get irritated. You don't know how cute you looked when you would scrunch your nose with irritation and move your glasses up in anger. You and I would get into these childish arguments and then would remain angry for the rest of the period. I remember finding all kinds of candy on my desk but never knew who gave me those. I never thought it was you who gave me all that.

"When I found out you were leaving 5th grade early because you were going to India, I was surprised but at that time, I never realized why I felt that way. Then in 6th grade you were sitting right in front of me in Mrs. Mahoney's class. I would always ask you to do my homework or help me out. We would make bets and you would win most of the time. I remember the big smile you had on your face when you proved me wrong. Seventh grade... we never had any classes together, but I still remembering staring at you during lunch. I knew you were careful, but I would always catch you staring at me but you would look away.

"Eighth grade... we had most of our classes together until we had our schedules changed. I would stare at you most of the time when you weren't looking or were just too busy doing your work. Then as soon as you would turn your gaze towards me I would look away. We didn't talk but I knew you liked me. Even I liked you but never told you. Didn't have that much courage to do so.

"One day Siraj and Machayla came up to me and asked me whether I liked you or not. I told them the truth. I told them I liked you but also made them promise not to tell you about this. I knew Machayla said no to you because you looked sad during lunch though you hid it very well. I wanted to forget you because sometimes I thought you just looked at me as just another guy in school. In anger I dated other girls, just to keep you off my mind, but I couldn't. I always thought about you. Everything reminded me of you. I just didn't know what to do. I even went to Hoptown, just so that I could forget you but... I guess it wasn't supposed to be like that. Mom and dad hated sending me to Hoptown because it was far so they moved me to County. I remember I was excited but also nervous because I knew you were also there. I was gonna see you after almost 3 months.

"And then I saw you... walking to the gym. I was looking to the other side because I had already seen you. Only I knew how I felt when I saw you. It was like a breathe of fresh air. You looked even more beautiful. The way your wavy black hair flew in the air, the way you walked... everything just pulled me towards you. I knew my presense had affected you, whether you admit it or not. I would see you everyday. Looking more beautiful every single day. I knew you made so many new friends but I just hated how you always hung out with Michael.

"I thought you were dating him which made me very angry. Yeah, I was jealous. Jealous because you hung out with him and talked to him like no one else. Then I started dating Megan, just to see your reaction and she knew it. I sat with her on purpose just to make you jealous. Then a few weeks after breaking up with her, I asked you out, but you said no and walked away like I didn't mean anything to you. I knew you lied because you weren't looking into my eyes. I was hurt, Riddhima. I was angry, because you just said no. Your words hurt me like nothing else ever had. I cried a lot that night Riddhima. Your no had broken me. I wanted to talk to you and ask you the reason, but didn't. I was just so angry.

"I was absent the other day and when I came back, I wanted to see you. Then I heard you ask Daniel where he was yesterday but didn't even look at me. I thought you didn't care about me and decided to go away and stop thinking about you, but couldn't. You were etched in my mind in such a way that I just couldn't erase your memories. How could I? I loved you so much Riddhima." I had tears running out of my eyes as I heard him. How couldn't I recognize him before? How? It was him. He was Armaan. My Armaan! I couldn't express in words how I felt. I felt like my heart was going to explode with happiness. My Armaan was standing right in front of me, telling me how much he loved me! I felt like I had gotten my life back. I cried as I saw tears flowing out of his eyes too.

"Ar... Armaan... Mallik.." I whispered softly in happiness and he immediately pulled me into a tight hug. I hugged him back as we both cried. I couldn't believe this was happening. My Armaan was right here, hugging me! I had never felt so happy in my life! I felt like I had gotten everything in the world. I knew I didn't need anything else in my life now. I had gotten the world. He cupped my face and showered me with all the love I could ever find.

"I love you Armaan."

I whispered and he pulled me into a kiss. He kissed me like he never had. The kiss was fierce and passionate. His lips grazed mine, sucking and biting and licking them crazy and I did the same. I kissed him with all the love in the world. There were no restrictions around me. I just wanted to feel him close to me. My hands went into his silky hair and clutched them, pulling him into me and his went around my waist, pulling me closer if it was possible. Our tongues fought for dominance as I savored his sweet taste inside my mouth. I longed and craved for more and more. I licked and bit his lips as his hands massaged my back. His hands went inside my shirt, setting my heart racing and my body on fire.

He pulled away from me for breath but slid down to my neck. I moaned as he left wet kisses on my neck and licked me. I winced as he bit my throat but the pain soothed as he licked the same spot. He moved up to my ear and kissed it softly. I breathed deeply and kept my eyes closed as he cupped my face and leaned his forehead against mine. I opened my eyes slowly and looked into his. I could see all the love in the world in his eyes. He wiped the tears on my cheeks with his thumbs and I closed my eyes, letting out a shaky breath. I opened my eyes again and looked at him. We stared into each others eyes as the faint sound of the water crashing faded into the background. I wondered if all this was real. Was this a dream? As if hearing the doubts in my mind, he pulled me into a hug, answering the questions roaming around. This was real. Armaan was here, to stay by me for eternity. I knew it.

I sat on the rocks between Armaan's legs and my back against his hard, manly chest. We didn't say anything, yet the silence spoke everything. I had my eyes closed because I wanted to capture this moment in my heart forever. A sudden cold breeze came and I shivered, but the next moment I felt his big strong arms embracing me, protecting me from the harsh weather. I smiled as I felt his lips kissing my shoulder but a question came to my mind.

"Armaan?"

"Hmm?"

"Why did you bad-mouth me?" I felt him moving away and I turned around slightly, seeing him looking at me confused.

"What?"

"In our sophomore year. Michael told me you bad-mouthed me in front of your other friends and then you two got into a fight. Why?" I watched him as realization dawned on him. He looked down, probably embarassed.

"Riddhima... I'm sorry."

"For what?"

"I-I was angry."

"Angry? But why?" I was so confused. What made his so angry that he said all that about me? And people say girls are complicated. WHATEVA!

"Because you were going away." I was stumped. He was angry because I was going away? He probably saw the confused look on my face and spoke up. "I knew you were all smart and stuff, but I never thought you're gonna have to go away from me. Yeah, I had thought I'll never talk to you, but not seeing you in front of my eyes just didn't sound good to me. I was frustrated. At you, for making me fall in love with you and also at myself because I let myself fall for you. I wanted to stop you by myself, but my ego was just too big. So I had purposely talked crap about you in front of Michael so that he would tell you and you would stop, but he never told you about this. But when he told me the reason why you had said no to me, I was just too shocked. When I thought over it, I knew I had made a huge mistake. I thought bad about you for no reason. I had made up my mind to talk to you the next day, but you never came." I was just too stunned to react. His honest confession touched my heart and I just fell in love with him all over again. I cupped his face and made him look up. I kissed his dimples and saw him close his eyes for a moment.

"Do you know how adorable you are?" I whispered and saw his eyes flicker open. I smiled and nodded. "You know what? This is what made me fall in love with you. And now, I'm glad I met you. Simply because there is no one else like you." He chuckled and I smiled.

"That's why you were crying last night?" My eyes widened. So he heard everything, didn't he?

"You heard it?"

"Of course I did. And if I hadn't heard all that, I probably never would have knowned how much I meant to you." I smiled and hugged him. But there was one more question in my mind. So I pulled away from him and looked at him, my hands still around his neck.

"What was up with you this morning? Why were you all behaving so abnormally?" Armaan laughed.

"It was because I told them about you and me." I raised one of my brows. "After putting you back in your room, there was a big showdown between me and your friends. So I pretty much told them everything and they forgave me. That's why we didn't go anywhere today because I had made up my mind to tell you everything. And your friends were pretty good in lying, especially Abhi. Very convincing." I laughed as I heard him. True. Abhi... couldn't lie. What? It's true! I pinched his nose and hugged him.

"I love you Armaan."

"I love you too."

I closed my eyes feeling his big arms wrap around me. This was where I belonged. In his arms. This was my home, my everything. I didn't need anything else. When he was with me, I had the world with me. This was definitely the best day of my life. I had gotten the love of my life, my Armaan back. What else could I need? They said it right. The greatest thing you'll ever learn is to love and to be loved back. I looked at the round, bright moon and smiled, inwardly thanking God for bringing Armaan back in my life. Now I'll never let go of him again. He was mine, I was his, and that was the only thing that mattered.