Upd!SS:Love in Delhi University#2:CHP19:Pg135 - Page 2

Chapter Twelve

Their lips clashed, gently initially but raged by every passing moment. It was like returning to his oasis. He held her in deeper as if never to let go. It was satiating to hold her in his arms like this. Khushi's fingers ran through his damp hair as the restrained tears finally let themselves out. The storm waged wildly around them but even then it wasn't powerful enough to perturb the peace inside the two. They snuggled in deeper, if that was even possible. Arnav hands had cupped her cheeks and Khushi realized how much she had missed his touch. Her palms moved on to feel his biceps.

Arnav's palm held Khushi, covering her ears and cheeks steadily as he broke the kiss to breathe. Her eyes were closed, he noticed. As he tilted his head to the other side and dipped back into continue the spell they had created, Khushi's eyes slightly fluttered open as she moved her head away. She clutched Arnav by his wrists, indicating his stop. Arnav's heart missed a beat. "Kya hua, Khushi?" (What happened, Khushi?) he asked gently but all that got in reply were broken sobs from Khushi. No one knew what she was going through. Everyone thought it to be pain of being held back from Arnav but they were wrong. She knew in her heart that their relationship couldn't be hindered by such petty issues. It was something more that bothered her to no end.

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NK and Lavanya watched with a smile on their face as Arnav and Khushi embraced each other. They turned to look at each other; their eyes were gleaming with a sense of satisfaction of doing something good. Lavanya looked down to her twiddling thumbs, breaking their eye contact. "We should get back to the celebration" she said, looking up to meet his eyes. "Privacy" she added mischievously as she covered her mouth on one side, gesturing a whisper. NK let out a small as they headed back inside. Walking down, Lavanya noticed NK's warm palm twine around hers, gently. She smiled and continued heading forward.

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Arnav tilted her head so that her eyes now met his but she looked away. Her face was red from the sobs. The rain poured mercilessly around them and the cold drops felt like needles on their body. Arnav took Khushi by her arm and led back inside the stadium. They crossed the hallway and the main door which led to the basketball court. Khushi looked up at him confused as they passed the big wooden door, playing deaf to all the noises of cheer which was emanating from it. They crossed a couple of more hallways and archways when Arnav stopped before another big double door. He jangled the latch a couple of time before it opened. He walked in to enter a dark secluded room. He tagged Khushi in but she didn't budge. Arnav looked back and saw uncertainty written all over her face, which was pretty valid anyway. Arnav sighed.

He walked back to Khushi and cupped her face and moved it to look into her eyes. "Do you trust me?" he whispered as he walked further in, diminishing the space between them. He held a confident gaze and that was enough to swipe Khushi's insecurity away. She nodded in affirmative like a child. "Then follow me" he urged as he walked back into the dark and led her by her wrists. They turned a couple of times. She tried keeping her feet where Arnav but her knees hit against something hard. "Ah!" she squeaked. "Be careful, Khushi" Arnav reacted to the 'thud' and turned back to caress the hurt. He bent down and touched her near her thighs and Khushi felt a spark go up through her spine. "Kahan laga?" (Where does it hurt?) he asked, worried. "Hum theek hain!" (I'm ok) she replied urgently. "Ap kahan leke aye hain humay! Light kyun nehi hain?" (Where are we? And why is it so dark here?) she asked, trying to keep the panic out of her voice but failing miserably. "Was it naive to trust a boy like this? Why are in such a dark room? So many incidents are reported daily in the news" ghastly thoughts played in her mind.

She felt Arnav's hand leave hers and panic gripped her hard instead. "Arnav Ji!" she screamed. She was dead scared of the dark, didn't he know that already? "Arnav Ji! Kahan gaye ap?" (Where are you?) she squealed again before she heard a jang of a machine. As she turned to the direction of the noise, entire room lit up. She looked at Arnav, who was smiling and holding down the long switch used to light up the surrounding. Khushi looked around saw she was standing in the centre of another indoor basket ball court. It was pretty similar to the last one; hard wooden floor, blue bleachers all around and massive and powerful lights illuminating the entire area, the only difference being that this one was completely deserted. Khushi looked around in awe as Arnav walked up behind her. "It's a sports complex" he informed. Few balls lay astray around them.

Arnav touched Khushi by her shoulder and she flinched at it as she turned around to face him. "Kya hua, Khushi? Relax! Hum sirf yahaan baat karne aye hain. This was the only secluded place" (What happened, Khushi? Relax. We're here to talk. This was only secluded area) explained Aranv as he laughed a little. He thought he would be hurt by such a reaction from Khushi but was surprised when he felt glad instead. "She doesn't trust so easily. She has doubts, even with me. It's only but natural. I'm glad she can take care of herself when I'll be away" a logical voice inside soothed him. He was Khushi let loose her tension as she slumped a little.

Trying to brush past the hurt with a smile, he sat down on the floor with legs apart and hands on his knees. He patted the empty space beside him, ushering her to sit and Khushi did so, tentatively. Arnav noticed her hands were clamped near her bosom as she shivered from the cold. Arnav moved and settled around her such that his legs were on either side of Khushi from behind. He engulfed his arms around her as she rested her back against his chest.  Her head leaned back on his neck, letting Arnav nuzzle her ears as they poured their hearts out. All her fears vanished into thin air.

"Khushi, the next two years are going to be hard for both of us" explained Arnav, secretly wondering why Khushi wasn't reacting. She was just listening peacefully. She didn't utter a word as Arnav told her about his past, his mother, about 'Malik'. Her face contorted in pain as he told her about the gunshot that ruined his life. It was almost like she could hear it herself. Arnav couldn't see her face and thus missed the tears welling up in her eyes. As he told her about his last face-off with Malik, Khushi tugged his around her even closer. Their bodies were like one. Arnav smiled as he thought Khushi was reacting to his pain with sympathy but he was wrong.

Khushi Kumari Gupta was a girl of spirits. She had faced the gravest truth of life when she was only five years old. She was a fighter and the tears which were streaming down her face were because of her helplessness. She could do nothing to help her Arnav Ji out of this. She listened to him intently as he revealed the plan he had in mind. She knew he would have nothing in hand when he'll come back to India after his degree. She knew he had to start from scratch and that was enough to light the fire inside her. She was no petite doll as many mistakenly thought her to be. She would help her Arnav Ji in building his dream 'Empire' and she would go up to any extent to train herself right for the job. Oh yes! She would.

"Give me two years, Khushi" she heard Arnav say as he turned her around by her shoulders. She looked at him with eyes which he couldn't read but hugged her in anyway, trying to make up for their future fleeting separation. She wanted to be his pillar and she would make sure she would be a good one for the future, she swore to herself as she wound her arms around him tightly, as if locking the resolve in her mind for better days ahead.

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 Disclaimer: I know the campus has a sports complex but I've never gone inside it.. So, the stadium and everything is a figment of my imagination

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Chapter 13: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/72842609

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