The Enigmas Of A Kiss : A Swaron and Kriyansh FF (chapter3 in page 14) - Page 11

"You've gone mad. Certifiably insane. That show you watch "the Simpsons" have finally gone to your head." cried out Neha. Kria grimaced. She was fairly certain Neha would react like this. But, still she felt the need to justify herself, or more specifically the show she loved. "There is nothing wrong with The Simpsons'. Also, I need to do this."

"What you need is a prompt psychiatric revaluation" Neha howled even more hysterically this time around. She was losing her cool by the minute and Kria needed her calm for the plan to move forward. "This will not work, Kria."

"Why not? Stranger things have worked onthis planet. Are we not all developed apes on a huge orange doing merry go round around the sun? If that can work, this will work as well." Kria reassured her not sure of what she had just said. Neha gave her a bemused look probably questioning her sanity again. Kria was irked. Neha's attitude was getting to her, making her question her moves. And questioning her moves was the last thing she needed at the moment.

"Why are you hell bent on Swayam?" asked Neha, not keen on forestalling and directly addressing the real issue. Kria blanched at that. She could easily tell Neha that she was in love with him. But lying has never been her strong suit. And moreoverher friend was really perceptive. Kria wanted Swayam because he was safe. Yeah, pathetic explanation. But then that was the only explanation she had. Swayam was dependable, secure and also they knew each other inside out. Given time, she would fall in love with him, she was sure. But, she knew that was not the answer Neha was looking for. The need to escape Neha's keen eyes was overwhelming. She wanted to run. But Neha's cooperation was crucial to the plan. "I do not want his heart broken. And Sharon Rai Prakash has quite a history in this regard" well at least, that was somewhat the truth. Kria waited with bated breath while Neha paced the floor. Finally, after what felt like a lifetime, Neha stopped. "I really hope you know what you are doing, Kri. I still maintain that the whole thing is ludicrous. But, if there is any one that can pull this off, it's you." Kria's face lit up with a smile. She knew what this meant. Finally, finally Neha was on board.

Kria tried the pirouette for the umpteenth time that day and fell flat on her face... again. Shit, this was not good. Kria prided herself on being able to dance with her limbs tied behind her back. But now she was not able to get a simple bloody pirouette right. She huffed with exasperation. She was aware of the reason behind the consecutive botch ups. Distraction and...fear. Yes, she was afraid. Afraid that everything will crumble down on top of her. Nobody understood the compulsion driving her. They thought she was obsessed with Swayam. At least Neha did. But her urge ran deeper than that. She went back to the first time she had met Swayam.

It had been during the first year of high school when she had first met Swayam. Pigtails, braces and spectacles were switched with contacts, straightened hair and short skirts. The normal tees were handed in for tees that fit the body like a glove. But for some reason, puberty had decided not to pay Kria Ghai a visit. Her parents called her a late bloomer. Well, apparently the boys in school had not known that.

"Hey, beanpole. You ready to accept your masculinity yet? You can always come hang out with us. We would love a new boy in the gang" Reyansh'svoice resounded in her ears. She gritted her teeth as the urge to knock out some of the guy's pearly white teeth consumed her. But she had to let it slide. The bullying only gets worse if she fights it.

"Leave her alone, Reyansh." a male voice said behind her. Wait that had never happened before. Nobody had ever stood up for her.

"It's none of your concern, man. Move outta the way." Reyansh retorted. Kria turned around to see a tall, lanky guy confronting Reyansh. They had some sort of a staring match on. "It sure as hell is my concern. I am a prefect so do not think of sassing back to me. I won't hesitate going to the principal." Both of the guys refused to back down until finally, Reyansh retreated but not before throwing her a glare. She shuddered both overwhelmed and overawed at the turn of events. "Hey, you alright there?"

"They always keep on teasing me." Kria found herself saying to the guy she had just met. His face broke into a reassuring smile while his beautiful eyes twinkled. "Hi Kria, I am Swayam. It's alright. Don't worry about them. They won't bother you anymore. You can count on me."

And count on him, she did. Her unique knight had arrived in checkered shirts and long pants. She had committed mistakes over the year as she made her way through the turbulent teens and into adulthood. But, she had always had him to fall back on. He had always been around to clean her mess and pick up the pieces. He was her guardian angel. Her savior.

And honestly speaking, she had been content with it. But the recent happenings have forced her into action. She knew all about Swayam and his fixation on Sharon Rai Prakash. Swayam for his part has always abided by his promise to look after her. Except once. Kria shuddered to think of that day. It had been the worst New Year party in the history of New Year parties and had put her off parties for quite a long time.

She had come to the party with Swayam. But had slipped away when he was not looking. Swayam did not want her anywhere near Reyansh. But before leaving school she wanted to mend bridges with the guy who had tormented her since kindergarten. She did not want to leave the school with a grudge. And with that in mind she had gone looking for him like a fool. She had found him with his friends doing. On discovering her, he had jeered"Hey, look it's the beanpole. Where is the guard dog, gal? Or is it dude?" she had wanted to flee that instant. But the foolhardy part of her managed to stop her. "I wanted to say i do not hold a grudge against you. I won't hold you in bad regard for whatever had happened." She had managed to say that with utter conviction despite the quivering in her stomach. Only to be laughed at. "Is this the part where you expect me to say sorry?". She was startled as a suspicious looking green slimy stuff was poured down on her by some of the jocks. The next ten minutes felt like an eternity as they continued to taunt and insult her. Her feet were rooted to the spot, unable to move. And amidst all the sneers and mocking, her heart had uttered silent prayers hoping for Swayam to come and find her "Consider it a farewell gift, beanpole. Also I hope to remain in your bad books". That final line got her feet moving and she had run from there like a cat out of hell. She had found Swayam later.

It was not until a few days after that Swayam had talked about the angel he had met in the party. Sharon Rai Prakash was the angel's name, he had found out. But the only thing she garnered from the picture was hazard. Peril from the so called angel. The angel who had engrossed her knight so, that he had failed to come to her rescue. A girl who had managed to hook Swayam at first sight. She could only imagine what would happen if they got together. She would lose Swayam forever, she was sure of that. No, she was not complacent enough to allow that to happen. She will be damned if she allow one kiss to rob her off her anchor, her best friend.

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Sharon stared at the painting in front of her trying to clear the mess in her head. Blue waves splashed in the background as fiery hued leaves formed a sort of halo around a girl's head. A girl with no features. It was a peculiar painting and more than once her father had asked her to get rid of it. She admitted the painting was strange. Her father was a collector and she had seen her fair share of world-renowned paintings. Paintings with picturesque sceneries, paintings that had ranged from abstract and vague to ones so realistic, it had caught her by surprise. But never had she put one of them in her bedroom, excluding this one.

She had found it in one of her trips to the exhibitions she escorted her father to. It was not on display like the others. It lay discarded in one of the corridors. For reasons unbeknownst, she felt inexplicably drawn to it. The art dealer had thrown quite a fuss about selling it. But she was Sharon Rai Prakash and she usually ended up getting her way. The painter had requested her to at least let one of the artists in the house finish the painting. She should have probably let them do that. But something in her had been sickened at the thought of someone spoiling something so beautifully incomplete. She felt an unfathomable connection to the painting as if she knew the faceless girl from somewhere. The fiery hued leaves looked so much in contrast to the water surrounding the girl as if the painter had tried to engage and fuse both infernos and tornadoes together in the canvas. At times she felt envious of the girl in the painting. Each limb and line has been drawn with such extreme caution almost as if his life depended on it. A lucky girl indeed to have someone so utterly engrossed in her. On second thought, maybe not that lucky. How could someone abandon an effort of such diligence and tirelessness? It just went on to prove the callousness of human nature. Perhaps, someday in the future, she would be able to solve the mystery around this girl. Maybe someday in the future she would be able to associate features to this girl in the painting...

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Her forehead broke out into a cold sweat as she stared at the oaken embellished door. Her mind urged her to turn tail and run. She debated with herself for the umpteenth time that day. Was she supposed to be doing this? But then she had come all the way to his house. There was a fair chance she would lose him. A large risk of everything going wrong. But she won't go down without putting up a fight. She did not want to look back at life and wonder "what if ". Kria mustered all her courage and rang his doorbell. And with that one move she handed over this gamble of love to her childhood bully, Reyansh Singhania.

So, finally Kria makes an entry. Her character will grow over time. also, Kriyansh are about to meet. Was this chapter long enough, people? How do you like my neha? As you know, 30 likes and 25 comments is our deal.

MUCH LOVE,

KISHI