ArHi FF:Adaptation Note Page 35 - Page 24

Haha teeny weeny crush :D

Chapter XI: Gravity

"Do I really have to go?" Khushi whined while Garima fussed around her.

"Anjali invited you specifically Khushi," Garima sighed. "It would be awkward if you don't come with us." Garima ran her fingers on the veil of Khushi's sari ensuring they bunched correctly. Khushi had chosen a simple yellow organdy sari against Garima's chosen red one with heavily intricate gold threading over its body. Garima had given her a blank look when Khushi picked her choice and said, "I am feeling more Hufflepuff than a Griffyndor ma."

"You shouldn't glare at me when I stop talking with people after a customary hello." Khushi said seriously. Garima rubbed her temple.

"The problem is not to get you into a conversation Khushi but to get you shut up." Garima grumbled. Khushi grinned in response. Garima fussed some more and stood back when Khushi swatted her mother's arms away. Satisfied with the serene look Khushi was sporting, Garima leaned on the doorframe to get one last thing out. "Have you taken your medication? You haven't been…yourself all day." Garima asked looking anywhere but Khushi.

"I will be out in few minutes," Khushi replied. Garima turned to look at Khushi who had turned away. Even from her vantage point, Garima could see tension in Khushi's back and the way her knuckles had turned white as her fist clenched hair comb tightly.

Garima sighed quietly and let out a throaty sound, accepting Khushi's answer. She slowly closed the door behind her and bit her lip when she heard a continuous ruffling of crisp organdy. Khushi's labored breathing wasn't noisy on this side of closed door and Garima was oddly thankful for that.

*****

"I see you made it." Khushi whipped her head to see Aman walking towards her in white traditional attire. He looked younger and carefree, the tension between his eyebrows eased. She had parked her lethargic ass next to a small garden which unlike rest of the property didn't should professional maintenance. She concluded it was someone's private space and she was probably intruding. But her state of mind didn't particularly care for that bit of information.

"Mom made me come," she replied with a huff. Aman chuckled at her reluctance. "It's one of the rare Sundays off and I wanted to make the most of it."

"Oh, you had plans today?" Aman enquired. Khushi bobbed her head vigorously.

"I planned to do Game of Thrones marathon to see what the fuss is all about and eat copious amount of junk food." Khushi replied seriously.

"But you are here." Aman noted unnecessarily.

"Yes."

Aman grinned at her pout and cocked his head over her shoulder which only increased the intensity of his grin. Khushi rolled her eyes and groaned dramatically as her nose caught a sniff of familiar woodsy-grassy-morning dew perfume.

"And I wanted to avoid him and everything relating to him directly or indirectly," she grinned sardonically pointing her thumb at the new entry. Aman laughed at her paranoia.

"What are you doing here?" Arnav asked giving Khushi a once over. "You look like a very large sunflower." He commented on her choice of color.

"I rest my case," Khushi sighed.

"What are you doing in this part of the house?" Aman asked turning to Arnav and raising a questioning eyebrow. "Shouldn't you partake in those celebrations?" His tone was now downright accusatory.

Arnav shrugged. "I like my garden and I don't like lots of people. Guess which choice won?" Arnav grinned at his friend. Khushi bristled at that.

'So it is a private garden, after all.' She thought.

"Is that you Khushi?" The three turned around to see Anjali standing by the doorway, hands on her hips. "Can I snatch her from you guys for few minutes?" She asked smiling brilliantly at them.

"Let's go, shall we?" Khushi replied immediately and walked towards Anjali without a backward glance. The noise, new people and unending questions from strangers had gotten on her nerves and the medication she took hours before was wearing off bringing the jitteriness she was feeling since morning. The morning had a creditor from their town demanding them to pay debt and had systematically insulted her father and leered at her at the same time. She'd shouted at the man for the language he had used and had thrown her entire salary on the man's face. The entire incident was a blur – sort of white noise disturbing a video. After that, she had succumbed to darkness.

"How has your experience in Raizada industries been Khushi?" She found herself face to face with Anjali and they had stopped walking. Her thoughts had occupied much part of sense and hadn't realized Anjali had steered them away to different part of the house which was relatively had a serene feel to it. She wanted to slap herself for being incredibly slow; it was serene because it was a library. Anjali was sitting on a comfy looking couch and was patting on a spot next to her.

Khushi shook her head and sat next to Anjali. "Work is…a little bit too much sometimes but it is great. This is a new world for me so every experience is kind of like first time, you know? I don't have anything to compare this experience against. But I can say that I am really glad I took this job." Khushi replied, with all the honesty she could muster.

"I assume the role you are playing would be hectic and stress inducing but then again Arnav has been known for his aggressive way of dealing things so I wouldn't be surprised if it permeated to his immediate employees too," Anjali mused.

Khushi shrugged. "I think I am a stress-junkie."

Anjali widened her eyes, "What is a stress-junkie?"

Khushi giggled a little. It was a word Payal had come up with when she found Khushi was enjoying a little too much under otherwise dire circumstances. "I like being in those pressure cooker kinds of situations. My performance is exemplary in a high octane overtly dramatic stressful situation." Khushi gushed.

Anjali burst out laughing. Khushi was refreshingly adorable with her oddball confessions and residual hesitancy. Khushi allowed herself a small smile in wake of her declaration. "Oh, it's true. Whenever your brother wants something, he would expect to be on its table five minutes ago. And there are times I am expected to read his mind and give him info which he believes he would need. So yeah, it's pretty much pressure cooker most of the time."

"You don't tell your boss off?" Anjali asked biting her inner cheek to avoid grinning further.

Khushi shook her head after looking thoroughly scandalized. "And to answer your earlier question – I didn't know who Arnav Raizada was till I met him during my interview."

Anjali's laughter died and looked at Khushi. "I know my brother is no celebrity but he is quite popular in the world of economics and-"

"I was never initiated to that domain of...knowledge, you know?" Khushi interjected before Anjali could derail the conversation with a biased perspective. Anjali looked at her passively. Khushi's hand shook a little and she pressed both her palms together to stop them from shaking further. "I come from a small town with access to everything in reality but never really cared much to understand the world around me. My world constituted of my family, our family business and college. I was good at academics and it was just that – academics. I never knew the practical application of the subjects I was studying or-"

Khushi stopped and pressed her palms tighter. There was resigned annoyance in her eyes and before Anjali could say anything, Khushi chuckled nervously. "I apologize for the rant on my boring existence. But the point I am trying to make is that I haven't come across Arnav Raizada in media. My interests lay elsewhere, back then." Khushi clapped her knee and pressed it so that they would stop convulsing. "However it's different now."

"Now she can't get enough of me." Arnav said in a bored tone from the doorway.

Anjali giggled but smothered it with cough trying not to put Khushi in an awkward position.

Khushi whipped her head towards doorway and smiled at his intrusion. "WWMHD?"

"The wha….?" Arnav expressed his surprise.

"What would Margaret Hale do?" Khushi asked seriously.

"Who cares? And who is this Margaret Hale? I don't remember dating anyone by that name nor do I remember firing someone." Arnav replied. Khushi searched his face for humor but found none.

She couldn't help but smile wanly at his confused face. One look at Anjali and the two women dissolved into fit of giggles leaving Arnav confused at the two.

That night when she was teetering on the edge of dream, she realized when Arnav intruded her conversation with Anjali she had completely relaxed and forgot all about her shaking hands and jelly legs. She had leaned back on the couch and the two had bickered back and forth. Her heart was calm and her mind was clear.

It was almost as if he was her anchor.

ME

Can't get enough of this Arnav and Khushi and Aman 😉

Some sort of realisation...love how Arnav and Khushi are accomodating in their world...what's those medicine for??

Brilliant update...wonder what are those medicines for? Is Khushi ill?

wowww...
this is getting more n more interesting...
esp. da convo between khusi n anjali...
awsm...

Why is khushi taking medicines??? And does khushi really have a crush on akash????

whats up with khushi and medicines - is she ill?