Upd!SS:Love in Delhi University#2:CHP19:Pg135 - Page 22

"It's just been like two months.. It's stupid to crack up so soon!" something inside his head gnawed but he was feeling extremely low today. His heart knew how much it ached to stay away for even a day, let alone months. Even work wasn't enough to keep his mind off her anymore. It was getting too much to handle. He was in restless and fidgety, pacing to and fro in his shared room. "PMS-ing are you, ASR?" joked his goofy roommate, Alex. "Why don't you come down to Neil's party tonight? You've been to hard lately, Dude.. It's time you slack back a little" suggested Alex good naturedly but shut up when he saw a deathly pair of eyes glaring back at him. Without a word, Arnav pulled in his jacket, fixed his shoes and head out. It was night of walk again.

He walked down the usual path, crossing different concrete department building, the lawns, the fountains and finally exited the campus as a whole. His feet maintained a steady pace. He walked down to his familiar park, railed his fingers on the iron mesh boundary as he walked on, let the cutting winds kiss his face but nothing could do their assigned job: Soothing him. He turned around the corner and entered the park and walked towards his usual seat, the swing but this time his steps were cut short. As he neared his vacant seat, his gaze fell on the broken swing beside. He was never the kind who believed in omens but for some reason, this sight a broken seat beside his own had started haunting him like it was a reflection of his own life. He had tried passing it off as something not logical but it remained in his mind, unperturbed. Maybe he came down to this park almost every other day to check if the swing had been fixed; if his life had been fixed and every time, all he got was a major let down.

He stood there without any expressions playing on his face. There were no tears tonight, there were no feelings. Unable to keep him up anymore, his knees gave in to the bitter winds and he walked up to his swing and sat down. His head hung low and his palms were locked by his fingers as he tried fighting the monsters inside. He was getting sick and tired of fighting it. Thoughts of Nani, Anjali, Lavanya, Shyam, Akash-NK came flooding back with a bitter-sweet hint. His mind went into a swirl and something inside him cracked. He got up in jerk and started walking away, trying to run away from all of it. Eight months of living an inhuman life had started getting back to him. Without any conscious effort, his feet took him to the party Alex had mentioned in passing.

He pushed open the wooden door to be welcomed by frenzy lights and blaring. Nothing affected him; all that he noticed was the temperature change and he welcomed it. He didn't know he was so cold until then. He looked around, scanning the place and found the bar on the extreme left corner. Without a thought, he walked towards it.

"Negroni, on the rocks" he ordered as he slid into the counter, unzipped his jacket and took his back hood off, revealing his messy hair. He started with his favourite cocktail and moved on to further areas, trying to drown the screams inside him rather than the ones outside. Bartender kept refilling, sometimes the same and sometimes moving up the ladder and he noticed Arnav's eyes drooping. "Call it a night, bud!" said the bartender in an uninterested voice as he moved to the other customers. Taking a deep breath in, he stood from his stool, trying to steady himself. He walked but the ground seemed uneven. He was about to tumble when he felt a soft pair of hands holding him up. He turned to look at who the person was but couldn't make out anything. His vision was blurry and the lights were too scanty to figure anything out. He felt a tug and looked down to see two fists clutching his jackets and drawing him into the crowd from where all the noise was coming.

It felt good. He could feel nothing anymore. All the buzz killing him was now gone. It was like he was being pulled into an inferno and liked it. He gave into it. He could feel himself making his way through the crowd; someone was leading him by the wrist. Green, red, blue lights hit his eyes, blinding him even more. He felt himself getting pushed against a wall as his captor secured him in.

Soft, tender fingers trailed down his stubble. His hands moved up and held it in place; it was comforting after all these days. A felt a gentle body clash against his, making him feel wanted and needed. His hands twined around the tiny waist, pulling in the person closer. It felt like home.

Michelle was having the time of her life. She had her eyes on her prey the moment he had walked in and she had waited patiently for him to lose his grip till she attacked and now she was dancing with THE ASR! The music blared, killing her conscience in it. She took a step forward as she swayed to the beats and started feeling his skin. Her fingers traced his face, his stubble, his neck, his chest over layers of clothing. She felt his hands around her waist, pulling her in. They were now facing each other. Arnav's eyes were drooping a little more by every passing second.

Michelle took the moment and started leaning in. She could smell the stench of alcohol on his breath but didn't let it get to her. She continued on her drive. Arnav, with his blurred vision, could feel someone nearing him. Tucking her in, "Khushi.." he slurred.

~

He woke up with a jolt next morning, as Alex removed the curtains, with absolutely ruffled hair and bad breath. His head pounded with a splitting headache, making him curse, the first thing in the morning. He drowned his face in his palms, trying figure out what was happening. The hangover was bad and he couldn't remember coming back to bed. He was still in his clothes from last night, minus the boots. He massaged his temples with two fingers when he noticed Alex getting ready for class.

Alex, as he was tying his shoelaces, noticed Arnav staring at him and greeted him with his usual cheerful smile. "'Tsup? Had a good sleep?" he said, turning back to his laces. "What happened last night?" Arnav grumbled; the ache was getting to him. "Well, to be exact, you were dancing with the hottest chick of the class and then you passed out" replied Alex, as he pranced around the room, collecting his bag and keys from two different corners. "..and before you ask, Neil and I got you back here" he informed. "Save the thanks" he cut in as he saw Arnav turning towards him apologetically and exited the room. Arnav heard the thump of the door.

Arnav checked his watch; he still had two hours for class. He got up and opened the cabinet which held his stuff. Taking out a small bottle, he took out an aspirin and gulped it down with water and returned back to bed, hoping the ache would subside by then.

~

The day was a blur and he walked in a trance. His stubble was a day older than usual, making it darker. Clad in a dark blue zippered polo neck and light blue jeans, he wandered around aimlessly. His hair was a mess like his head. As he turned around the corner in the hallway, he spotted Michelle. Her open long red hair reached her shoulders and flipped as she walked, making her look cute. She was in black jeans and boots and her multi-hued tee was peeking out of her red jacket. Her bag slung on one shoulder and she was talking to someone else. He decided to talk it out with her and let her know her attempts were futile. It would be better if she moved on.

As he walked up, Michelle noticed him from the corner of her eyes. He figured from a distance that she quickly bid goodbye to whoever she was talking to and started walking away. "Michelle!" he called out, making her look back as she had no other. She turned around and their eyes met. Arnav decided to keep the embarrassment out of their conversation; it would be much less awkward for them then.

As he stopped near her, he saw Michelle look down. "I'm sorry about last night" he heard her murmur softly. "Its ok" replied Arnav and before Michelle could continue with her explanations, which she almost started, he continued "Michelle, you should know this. I love someone already and she's waiting for me back home. You're a great girl but I guess I'm not the one for you. There's.. " but stopped when Michelle showed him her palm, gesturing him to stop.

"Khushi? Isn't she?" asked Michelle making Arnav look quizzed. "I know.. You kept repeating her name over and over again" she smiled slightly, making Arnav look away sheepishly. Michelle was about to walk away when Arnav called her out again, making her look back with raised eyebrows. "Umm.. How far did we..? You know?" asked Arnav, scratching his eyebrows as his other hand moved to gesture the 'You know' part of his sentence. Michelle smiled. "Oh! Don't worry. I was just about to kiss you when you collapsed on your knees" she almost laughed. It was infectious, making Arnav laugh too. "All cool?" she asked genuinely with smile. "All cool" replied Arnav in affirmative and both turned away in two opposite directions.

~

Khushi's eyes shot open and she jumped out of the bed. The final two weeks of her long, torturous breaks were finally over and today was her first day of fourth semester. She would get to talk to Arnav Ji after so long and the excitement of it pressed the fast forward button of her life. Buaji stared on. "Buaji, aaj se office bhi hai! Daer ho sakti hain aane mein" she informed as she rushed out. (I've got office today, Buaji. I might get late)

"Achcha.. ruk jao tanik, Titaliya" (Wait for a second, Titaliya). Khushi waited impatiently by the door, tapping her feet as she waited for her Buaji to return. She looked with exasperated eyes as Buaji slowly waddled her way back into the room, holding a small plastic in her hand. Khushi grabbed the plastic from Buaji's hand and rushed away, not bothering to look back and acknowledge the fading screams which she could hear as she almost ran down the roads. "Prasad hoga. Metro mein kha lungi" she decided mentally. (Must be some prasaad. Will have it in the metro)

The metro ride was excessively long and her clock needles just didn't seem to budge. She needed deviation and that's when her mind went back to the plastic her Buaji handed her. She took it out of her jhola and peeked in. Her eyes popped out for a second. There it lay, peacefully, her small black cellphone and charger. Khushi almost squealed in joy and tried switching it on but obviously, the battery was down from months of not being charged. Yet, she kissed it in joy. The recent ghastly happening in the city had made Buaji think enough to give back her cellphone.

As soon as she entered the college gate, she rushed towards computer room. It was eight-forty in the morning and the person was lazily opening the door. Khushi stood by door, tapping her feet and glaring at person, urging him to speed up. She didn't have a class until twelve thirty. As the Computer Centre started functioning fully for the day, Khushi got back into action.

~

Arnav was in the library, studying. The sun was setting and he could see it from the window beside him. He was drowned in his work when he heard his cellphone ping. Disgruntled, he took it up to check and his eyes widened. Khushi had pinged him on a messenger. "Happy New Year, Arnav Ji!" it read.

Arnav swiftly got up from his place and placed the book to where it belonged. His heart was fluttering like a butterfly. As he walked out of the library, a big smile played on his face. "Happy New Year, Khushi! I love you!" he sent back a reply.

Hours of conversation passed. Arnav sat by a fountain and Khushi in the centre but both of them were oblivious to their surroundings. "How? What happened? Why? Where? When?" Arnav poured his questions in and Khushi answered all of them with the world's patience. "You didn't give up on me?" asked Arnav, his last confirming question. "Haww!! Aap aise soch bhi kaise sakte hain!" came Khushi's reply, making Arnav's heart finally feel at peace. (Haww!! How can you even think that?)

Arnav's face lit up even more, if that was possible, when Khushi informed that she had got her cellphone back. "I'm calling you!" he jumped in but Khushi asked him to wait as the phone was dead and she would charge it when she would be in office. They halted their conversation when Khushi had her classes to attend and resumed when she got to office.

~

Arnav couldn't sit still as his heart was jumping with joy. Khushi was in her class and he had to do something in these two hours to keep himself busy and then an ingenious idea struck him. He went back to his room and opened the door. Alex raised his eyebrows as Arnav entered room cheerfully but did not ask any questions. "Alex! You have a toolbox, don't you?" asked Arnav, smiling. Alex nodded cautiously and pointed towards where it was kept. Arnav deftly took it and walked away, leaving a confused Alex in his wake.

He crossed his usual night-trail but the only difference this time was that he was filled with gaiety instead of remorse. He welcomed the change. He walked down the usual path, crossing different concrete department building, the lawns, the fountains and finally exited the campus as a whole. His feet maintained a steady pace. He walked down to his familiar park, railing his fingers on the iron mesh boundary as he walked on. He turned around the corner and entered the park. He walked up to the broken swing and slumped actively beside it. He opened his tool box and started fixing the broken jamb that had haunted him for all this time.

"ASR!" someone called out to him over his shoulders and he looked back to see who it was. Michelle was on the other side of the netted boundary, walking with her friends. Arnav waved back and returned to his work.

~

Time soon flew by and it was the last day in the university. With Khushi getting back her cellphone, they had been in constant contact which made Arnav a little more amiable to the world around him. He hadn't turned into the friendliest of the people around but he certainly was better off. Alex welcomed the change with open arms and within a few months after the toolbox incident, Alex and Arnav had become good friends. It was before long when Michelle joined their league and with these two people by his side, time passed in a batting of an eyelid.

Graduation ceremony was ostentatious and Arnav was the valedictorian. Alex and Michelle hooted loudly as Arnav got up the podium to deliver his speech. The same night, they skipped the official party and decided to have a small one of their own in their room. They spent the last night together, with Arnav on the bed and Alex and Michelle together (Yes, they were seeing each other) on the couch, talking about the past, present and future.

The next morning, Alex drove Arnav to the airport in Boston. Their ride was a silent one as no one knew what to say. They were both sad about the parting. As Alex took out his luggage from the trunk, the two almost-brothers hugged each other goodbye. "Run back to your Khushi!" Arnav heard Alex scream over his shoulders as he walked into the terminal. The wicked smirk found its way back to his rightful place: His lips.

~

Chapter 15: https://www.indiaforums.com/forum/post/73397635

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Precap: Launch of Arnav's business. ASR is born with Khushi by his side.

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Ignore Typos.. To lazy to proofread

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