An AsYa TS - The Co-Passengers. Updated - Last Part - 28th Oct. '13 - Page 5

PART - 2

"Miss? Excuse me? Hello? Miss, please wake up!"

Zoya jolted back to her senses. That had to be the weirdest dream ever.

The driver had started the engine and she had been resting her head on the window pane. The munchies were pizza flavored and were magically lying on her feet.
Thanks to her random playlist, the headphones were booming with heavy metal music.
Things were finally settling into place, except... the cologne?

She adjusted her glasses and looked down, only to find the Hippo lying proudly on her feet, mocking her in the process. Why you little!
Sensing someone's presence beside her, she turned her head to look.

Asad observed her minutely. He noticed his co-passengers swan-like neck, her head resting on the window pane, her beautiful long lashes which refused to hide behind those thick glass shields, her soft, plump lips forming a cute pout, her stubborn silky hair slipping out of her bun and... furrowed brows?

He couldn't help but admire the sight. Her simplicity was just irresistible. How could someone be so effortlessly beautiful?

Clearing his stupidly romantic thoughts, he settled himself on his seat.
Mentally kicking himself for checking the lady out, he let out and inaudible groan when his phone decided to come to life and dive on the bus floor with a thud.
Never own a Notepad. Lesson learnt.

Before he could pick it up, a very lady-like hand grabbed it. He looked up, only to find a pretty girl clad in pink, grinning foolishly at him. Not again.

'Pink Ex' handed him his phone, but before she could speak, a voice interrupted.
"Bhaisaab ticket." T.C. to the rescue!
He extremely gratefully handed over his ticket to him, thanking his stars for the perfect timing.
"Madam ticket. Madam?" The T.C. looked helplessly at the lady on the window seat and then at Asad. "Bhaisaab, please?"

It was then Asad realized that the sleeping beauty beside him was, well, sleeping.

Feeling nervous for no apparent reason, he tried his best to wake her up.

"Miss? Excuse me? Hello?" But all his efforts were in vain.
Finally, gathering his courage, he gently shook her. "Miss, please wake up!"

She jumped up as if her bum was on fire! He saw her struggling to register the scene, adjusting her glasses and then robotically look at her feet. Hey, were they the round round munchies?

He saw her lifting her head and turning it towards him. he could swear to God that the moment his eyes met the pair of startled, but undoubtedly gorgeous doe shaped ones, his heartbeat stopped.
Stupid heart! Pump blood, idiot! I need to stay alive, I'm too young to die! Resume beating right now buddy!

To say he was dumbstruck would be an understatement. He practically momentarily DIED.
"Um... er... Ticket?" He managed to fumble out, only Allah knew how.

***

Holy Moly! The cologne!
What's up with that perfectly sculpted jaw? And the absolutely toned body peeking through the white see-through shirt of his? Dafuq!
The bow shaped lips and...
Get a grip lady! Stop drooling! You aren't that kind, remember?

Technically, this wasn't the first time Zoya was fancying someone, just so to be clear. She did fancy Mads Mikkelson. But the world refused to acknowledge it just because Mads didn't even know Zoya existed! How utterly irrational reasoning is that?

Now fully conscious of her surroundings, Zoya handed over her ticket to the T.C.
"I'm so sorry! I didn't mean to bother you. I was reading my book just a second ago. how strange is that?! Shoot! This is embarrassing. Anyway, Thanks for waking me up."
"Um, I'm Zoya Farooqui." She ranted off really quickly, giving a nervous smile, which looked more like a twitched upper lip.

***

"I'm Asad Ahmed Khan, and you're welcome! Its alright, there's no need to apologise for it".
Formalities were exchanged, and then they were engulfed by an awkward silence which was broken once in a while by the inconsistent crackling of the snack pack.

The last of the series was followed by a loud growling, probably of an empty stomach.
Asad looked at Zoya who was busy stuffing the empty snack pack into her backpack.
Suddenly aware, she asked him, "Was it that audible?"

"Well, yeah. Sort of. I've got grilled cheese and veggie sandwiches with me. Like some?"

He noticed her face turn red with embarrassment. Of course, who wouldn't be embarrassed if they had an obvious grumbling stomach?

But then it turned redder. he couldn't really guess if it was embarrassment this time. Could it be blush?

"No, no! I'm perfectly fine. There's no need... " She tried refusing politely only to be interrupted by an even louder grumble.
"Yes, you are fine. I can hear that. Here, try it. I promise you won't regret. It's delicious!" he pursued, more like ordered her as he took out the few sandwiches he had, packed neatly with cellophane. Mothers.

He knew that she was very hungry. He tried his best to hide the smile that was involuntarily forming on his face as he watched her bite a morsel, trying her best to not look desperate while he himself took a bite of the surreal Grilled Cheese Sandwich,

It was amusing to watch her eyes shy away with awkwardness, narrow with scrutiny and finally widen with delight.

"These are the best grilled sandwiches I've ever had! Where did you get them from? I've experimented with almost every bakery in Bhopal, but I couldn't find any like these!" She spoke with amazement, eagerly waiting for him to respond.

"Actually, my Ammi made these for me.She was all set with a 3 course meal but I convinced her to make these. I'll hardly be having such luxuries from now. So its justified!", he replied, earning a smile in response. It clearly implied that she was impressed. Not by him, but by his Ammi, of course.


Their brief interaction was interrupted by the loud ringing of Asad's phone. He grinned into it and happily picked it up. "Assalamo Alaikum Ammi!"
"Waalaikum Salaam! Is the journey okay Asad? Did you eat the sandwiches? You didn't. I knew it. Take care of yourself Asad, you're a big man now. How many times do I have to remind you..."

Dilshaad sped off the questionnaire as he held the phone at a distance from his ear, not really willing to answer any of those. But he did. She was his Ammi, afterall!

"Ammi. Breathe! Yes, the journey is fine. Yes, I did eat the sandwiches. They were delicious and much appreciated" , he said with a smirk while looking at Zoya.

"You shared your snack? With whom? Oh, with the person sitting beside you, of course!" "So, is he fine? Did he compel you to give him the sandwiches or you did it on your own?" Dilshaad interrogated further.
Calls me a grown up man and talks to me like I'm 7. Talk about Ammi and logic.

"Ammi, she liked it a lot and is immensely impressed with you. She even... " "She?", Dilshaad chimed in, "She's a girl! Is she pretty? How old is she? What does she do? Is she married?"

"Allah Hafiz Ammi", Asad cut the phone, exasperated. How could he even talk to his Ammi about her age, job or marriage with her sitting in the critical perimeter!

***

"... Hardly be having such luxuries? Are you relocating?", she asked partly out of curiosity and mostly out of the urge to continue the conversation.

"Haha! Yes, my first job. It's in a law firm. I hope I survive, people say that the competition is cut throat." she heard him say in a nonchalant manner, but the anxiety in his voice was inevitable.

"Don't worry! Everything will be just fine. It's your first job, it is supposed to be tough! And a first time is always meant for experience!", she tried lightening up the mood.

"Um, Asad?", "I mean, if you're fine with me calling you Asad?"
"Of course, you won't call me Ammi now, will you?!"

"No need for leg pulling Asad! Actually, you've got some cheese on your face. Here", she said while gesturing towards the left side of her upper lip.
"Oh! Excuse me!", he said as he frantically took out a tissue and started wiping his face vigorously, obviously missing the cheese spot.

"Its still there!", she said, enjoying his sudden self consciousness. "Wait, let me help." . A huge grin adorned her face. Asad couldn't help but notice the deep dimples that added to the beauty of the already charming smile.
Hey, she had dimples too! Isn't it adorable!
Stop being such a girl Asad!

He expected her to wipe off the cheese herself, the way shown in cliche'd romantic movies. He closed his eyes, anticipating the feathery touch of her fingers on his lips.

Feeling like a fool for having shut them for a while, he opened them, only to find a Zoya busy with her phone.
She turned the Secondary Camera on and held it in front of Asad's face. "Better?", she asked a dazed Asad.
"Mm hm". He could just nod in response, wiping the cheese spot in the process.
Beauty with brains. Nice.


"And what about you? You live in Indore, right?", he asked.
Both of them couldn't risk ending the conversation. No, no! Never!

"Yes. I'm doing my internship in medicine. So I keep visiting Bhopal for some health camps and check ups". It was his turn to smile that dimpled smile.
Beauty with brains and a job, working for a social cause! He couldn't ask for more!


Consumed in their own little world, they didn't realize how time flew by. They talked about everything... from travelling, to books, to their extended families... the list was endless.
It was hard to ignore the subtle eye-locks and the sparks that flew when they had even the tiniest of accidental physical contacts.

Undoubtedly impressed with each other, they were oblivious to a pair of prying eyes, which had been stalking their every move since the past 2 hours and 17 minutes.

***

"We'll be taking a break of 20 minutes now. Please be back by 8:40 pm sharp", the conductor announced as the bus stopped in front of a Highway Treat Station.

As the crown began to disperse, Zoya realized that her book had been open all along. Hell, she didn't even bother keeping her headphones back. She was never this careless.
Unhappy with the subtle change, she kept the book and the headphones back in place and absent mindedly stepped out, unaware of Asad's voice following her trail.

"Hey! I've been calling you out for a while now. What happened? Is everything alright?", Asad said while catching up with her pace, his face etched with worry.
"I'm fine. Just need to freshen up a bit. I'll be back in a while". She gave a tired smile.

"Are you a coffee person or a tea one?" She heard him amplify his voice behind her, longing for a reply. "Coffee will do", she turned around with a genuine smile on her face as she headed towards the restroom.

... And she was back from remorse. All she needed was a worried Asad, and then an Asad offering her coffee. Funny!

She blushed as the memories of the past 2 hours came flooding back.
After freshening up, she undid her bun and decided to let her hair loose, untangling them with her bare fingers.

While doing so, she saw 'Pink Ex' coming out of the loo, and standing beside her.
'Pink Ex' quickly grabbed her make-up kit from her purse. She applied her strawberry lip gloss, more kohl on the already kohl lined eyes and a light coat of pink blush.
Completely ignoring Zoya, she rushed out of the restroom as if her life depended on it.

Zoya was content. More than content, to be precise.She felt as if she was floating with glee!
Mentally moon-walking towards the counter, she witnessed something puke worthy. The furrowed brows were back again.

***

Asad freshened up and made his way to place his orders on the counter.

"Bhaiya, 2 coffees please.", he said, waiting patiently for the billing to end. Out of nowhere, he heard a sugar coated voice at an alarmingly close distance.

"Hey, there. I tried talking to you in the bus, but you were sooo busy! So I thought, how about now?
I'm Aditi, by the way!", said the source of the sugar coated voice as she extended her hand, waiting to be encased by his.
He unwillingly extended his hand as well, for the sake of formality, of course.

"And you are?" He heard her sharp pitched ( now sugar uncoated ) voice again.

"Asad", he replied disinterestedly. He was in no mood of spoiling his day today.

"2 coffees. Here's the bill. That'll be 25 rupees." said the counter boy.

"So sweet! You ordered coffee for me too? Adorable! Thank you!", Aditi shrieked and before Asad could reply or even pay the bill, she linked her arm with his, sticking to him like parasite.

"Er.. yeah. Bhaiya, make it 3 then", he placed his order again, frustrated at the sudden situation at hand. "Aw, Baby! I don't need 2 coffees. One is enough, for now. Let's order something else!".

"Zoya!", her monologue was interrupted by Asad's voice as he hastily unlinked his arm and stood at a considerable distance from Aditi.
At the same time, he realized how much prettier Zoya looked, with her dark black tresses framing her perfectly oval face and flowing down her petite waist. She didn't even try, but she looked ethereal.

Aditi once again rushed and stood beside Asad, resting her hand on his arm, as if claiming her authority over him. "Hi, I'm Aditi.", came a sickly sweet and cold voice.
"I'm Zoya", Zoya replied half heartedly, hurt written all over her face.

"Would she be joining us too Baby?", Aditi screamed in Asad's ear, earning a death glare from Zoya.
Baby? Seriously?

"Bhaisaab, your bill and order." interjected the counter boy, clearly enjoying the drama unfolding before him.

An idea instantly popped up in Asad's mind. "Aditi, how about you choose something to eat? You must be hungry. Meanwhile, I can find us a place to sit. We hardly have 10 minutes more... I hope you understand."

"Sure do, Asad! Go on, I'll find you! " She said as she winked at him and turned towards the counter.

***

Asad quickly collected his order - 2 coffees - in a tray, and grabbed Zoya's hand. He dashed towards a distant corner, tagging her along with him.
As soon as they reached there, panting, he saw her laugh whole heartedly for the first time, with her eyes twinkling. The sight made his heart swell.

"Seems like even you didn't like her. May I ask, why?", he asked mischievously and saw her smile falter. " Have you seen her Asad? She practically bleeds PINK! And just so you know, things between me and pink have not been good lately." She quickly covered up, wishing he would believe the secondary reason for her odd behavior.

Asad had sensed her desperation to hide the real reason, but decided to let the boat sail on its own.

"Hold them", he said while placing the coffee cups in Zoya's hands. "I'll be back in a jiffy."
He took the tray and practically threw it on the nearest empty table he could find. He came back in no time.

Suddenly, the lights in the Station went out, which was followed by noises of panicked women, crying children and some unnecessary murmuring.

"There is no need to worry people. Everything's under control", the manager tried calming the mob. "Unfortunately, the inverters have stopped working as well. But our technicians would be here any minute. Please cooperate with us."

People started freaking out even more.

"Zoya, are you fine?" Asad shouted, as he thought of following the trail of her voice.

"Yes", came a feeble reply.

"Keep talking Zoya, I'm coming over."

"It's okay Asad. I'm fine. You don't need to..." .
He felt his hard body collide with a feather like, soft one. It didn't take long, heck, even a second for him to realize that it was Zoya's.

He decided not to use his phone as a flashlight.
Why ruin the one in a million moment, when the universe had already planned it all along?

His hands automatically went around her waist, as he held her firmly, with her back facing him.
Leaning in more closer than necessary, he asked, more like whispered, "Zoya, is that you?"

***

She could feel his erratic, hot breath on her neck.

"Yes", she managed to verbalize her thoughts. She could sense goosebumps all over her body as Asad excessively slowly slid his hand from her petite waist to her shoulder and then along the length of her arm.

Enclosing her hand with his, he gently took his coffee cup and stood in front of her.
Invading her personal comfort zone, he huskily spoke. "Have you ever tried drinking coffee in pitch darkness Zoya? Because I haven't. How about we try it? After all, someone told me that a first time is always meant for experience"

Was this supposed to have a hidden meaning? She couldn't think through. His proximity was intoxicating enough to let her think straight, or even think.

Pulling her towards him, his free hand encircled her waist. Their faces were barely inches apart, making it hard for them to resist each other's fragrance.
She tilted her head as she snaked her free arm around his neck and tip toed to reach his level.
Bending his head till his nose touched hers, both held their breath for the moment they had been waiting for.

X-X-X

A/N - Liked it?
I hope that I didn't disappoint you! (O.O)
Do let me know your views!
Thanks for reading - All the members and non - members too!

Stay Tuned!

PS - Please buddy me for PMs!