Chapter 7: I am there for you
Zoya stirred in her sleep as the morning sunrays filtered through the tent sheet and fell upon her angelic face. Irritated she rolled over so that her face was hidden in the sack. After a few futile attempts of going back to sleep she gave up and sat straight in her bed and stretched her hands in the air yawning. A sudden blush appeared her face as she started remembering the last night's events… Kevin and Kate's dance… her tears… the rain… his touch… the song… their dance… those unsaid feelings… she flushed remembering how close they were yesterday… after the dance he had carried her to her tent as she was shivering partly due to the rain and partly due to the new feelings she had encountered… She wondered what is happening to her… Is Asad becoming much more than a friend to her? She hit her head for even thinking about that… Probably he was just doing that to support her to forget Kevin. This very thought disappointed her but let it go. Embracing herself she got ready and got out of her tent.
Soon everyone was gathered outside their camping area. Zoya was hard time controlling her blush while looking at Asad. Asad's situation on the other hand was no different. He was feeling embarrassed to face her after what he had done yesterday night. He doesn't know what had come over him in that night, but he couldn't see tears in her eyes, especially for that good-for-nothing Kevin.
How much ever they tried to avoid each other, eventually they end up drowning in each other's eyes, thanks to Najma. Najma had bumped into Zoya which made Zoya fall straight into Asad's arms. She found him gaze at her intensely. His expressive eyes were telling her many things. Their eye lock was broken by a jealous Kate who cleared her throat to get everyone's attention.
Their next destination was a nearby village where the local fair was going on. The girls went towards the stalls to do shopping while the boys rolled their eyes seeing this. Zoya's eyes lit up seeing the bright coloured bangles which were displayed in a stall. She ran towards it forgetting about any other things. She picked up the bangles and tried one by one. She could feel someone's gaze on her. She looked up only to find Asad staring at her. She couldn't help but to blush at his intense stare. Diverting her mind back to bangles she started selecting. She was confused as to which color bangle she should select. She took the green coloured bangles and decided to try it on.
"That doesn't suits you"
She jumped as she heard the sudden voice near her ear. She blushed crimson red as she identified the person who possesses that voice. She slowly turned towards him and their eyes locked. She felt herself drowning in whirlpool of emotions. He slowly neared closer to her as her breathing increased. Bending a little he picked up a set of red bangles. He took her hand in his and started putting those bangles one by one slowly. All the time their eyes remain locked. Zoya tried to read his eyes but all she could see was her own reflection. After putting the bangles in her hand he slowly bend down and kissed her where now the bangles lie. The crimson shade again crept up in her cheek. She lowered her head not able to face him. Smiling lightly he put his finger under her chin and lifted her head up.
"Zoya…"
As she looked up she could see a different kind of emotions in his face.
"Now you look beautiful Zoya… This color bangle matches with the color in your cheek…"
Hearing this she again blushed giving her dimples in full display. Asad's heart skipped a beat seeing the beautiful sight in front of him. Without thinking much he leaned closer so as to capture that blush on her cheeks with his lips. His lips were an inch apart from meeting its destination when suddenly Zoya pushed him and ran away from there giggling. Chuckling Asad fingered through his hairs and lovingly looked at Zoya's antics.
Even though Zoya ran away from Asad she was still in that trance when suddenly out of nowhere somebody caught her hand. Sensing the strange touch she turned around only to meet 5 guys.
Guy 1: "Hi beautiful… Where are you going alone?"
Zoya: "That's none of your concern. Let go of my hand..."
Guy 2: "How can we let you go… a beautiful girl like you should not be alone… come we will accompany you…"
Zoya: "I SAID IT'S NONE OF YOUR CONCERN. And I AM NOT ALONE. LET ME GO…"
Zoya's anger grew as she saw the guys were not in a mood to let go of her hand. She hated such men who don't care about the girls. When she felt him grip her arms tighter, she raised her other hand and slapped him across his cheek. Silence prevailed in the area as the sound of slap echoed everywhere.
Asad who was watching Zoya's movements from far got alarmed as he saw some men grabbing her arm. He ran towards her as she struggled to free herself from their clutches. He stopped to a halt as she slapped on of the men. He felt proud of her for standing on her own shoes. The worry returned as he saw the 5 men approaching her dangerously as they were enraged with the slap.
The result of the slap was what Zoya was expected. As they moved dangerously closer to her she inhaled a deep breath remembering all those action sequences she watched in her life. She knew she won't able to beat them, but still being one hell of a girl she is she decided to stand there and fight them. But what happened was what she least expected.
She saw Asad running towards them and engaged in a fight after pulling her to safety. As she looked at the fight with horror filled eyes she could see Kevin also jumping into the middle of the fight. Even though Asad and Kevin were good at fighting they were outnumbered as two more people joined the thugs. She could see Asad and Kevin getting beaten up the thugs. They were bleeding. Not able to control herself she also jumped in the middle of the ensuing fight. She was able to kick the two boys in their balls who were attacking Asad. Asad pushed her out of the fight while he blocked a blow which was intended to be on Zoya… the fight was getting more bloody and horrible. She heaved a sigh of relief as she saw her other friends running towards them. With the help of Aditya, Yug and Varun, Asad and Kevin were able to fight them off. The thugs ran from there realizing that they are fighting a losing battle. Tears started flowing continuously from Zoya's tears as she saw the condition of her friends. It hurt her to the core knowing that it was all because of her. She stood there, tears continuously flowing from her eyes while Najma, Vedika and Kate move towards the boys to help them. She looked at Asad who was looking at her keenly with unfathomable expression in her face. She teared up more seeing the blood oozing out from his forehead and hands. With a quick pace she ran towards him and hugged him tightly while he responded with equal passion. She sobbed in his chest murmuring sorry each now and then. He patted her head trying to comfort her. She broke apart from him and looked at his condition. Quickly taking the scarf that she was wearing she started cleaning the wound carefully. She felt her heart break as she heard him wince in pain. As a result, more tears found their way through her eyes. Asad was about to tell something to her when suddenly Kate pulled Zoya out of his arms.
Everyone was shocked seeing this. Kate was seething in anger. She pushed Zoya while Zoya fumbled across trying to keep herself steady.
Kate: "You… you are the sole reason for all this… Everything happened because of you… Because of you my Kevin also is suffering…"
Zoya: "What… what are you saying Kate? What have I done?"
Kate: "Huh? You are asking me what have you done? If you hadn't slapped those men, this situation wouldn't have occur. To save you everyone put themselves in danger…"
Zoya: "I didn't mean this to happen… Please believe me…"
Kate: "Believe you? How can I believe someone who is as low as you…"
Zoya: "What are you saying Kate?"
Kate: "Wah Zoya wah… you are really good at playing innocent… with this innocence you are trapping every men na? You already trapped Asad. You are trying really to trap my Kevin and now you were successful in trapping those thugs as well… bravo Zoya…bravo…"
There was complete silence everywhere as they tried to comprehend Kate's accusations. Zoya couldn't believe her ears. She stood there dumbstruck. On the other hand Asad was seething in anger. He wanted to slap Kate for accusing his Zoya of something soo low… his Zoya…he walked towards Zoya who was whimpering like a fallen leaf. He put his hand around her shoulder pulling her close to him. Hiding her in his embrace, he cast a pure loathing look at Kate. Kate who was ready pounce on poor Zoya again was cut across by a visibly raged Najma.
Najma: "Enough is enough Kate… One word about my Zoya, and I swear I will forget that you are Kevin's fianc…"
Kate: "What the hell Najma? Why are you speaking in between? And why do you support her? Don't you see she is trying to play with two men at a time…"
Najma: "That's it. Congrats, you successfully broken the last string of self-control I had. Now I will tell and you listen. Who are you say such cheap things about Zoya? What you know about her, us or your loving Kevin, huh? Do you have any idea how much pain Zoya went through because of you darling fianc?"
Kevin: "Najma stop it."
Najma: "No Kevin, not today. I was keeping silence till now. Now I won't keep silence. I won't let anyone hurt Zoya. I have let her alone for bearing all the pain since you both were important to me. I couldn't be there for my best friend because I was also your friend."
Kate: "Najma, what are you trying to prove?"
Najma: "I am not trying to prove anything. I am just telling you the truth. You want to know what happened between Kevin and Zoya right? Then listen, they were in love. Zoya loved him with all she had. She was the perfect lover any guy could ask for... She had done his assignments, helped him financially whenever he was in trouble, covered up his mistake and what not. But Kevin here doesn't give a hoot about her. He took her for granted. He never gave her priority. Never gave her his shoulder to cry on. Never thought about spending time with her. During exam time, she used to sit overnight preparing short notes for Kevin so that he will be able to remember all the main points. And you know what he used to do? He used to call her library early morning. Even though she can't study sitting in a library she always go there for him. But always he leaves her alone there for playing football and all. He will be giving her an excuse of 10 minutes and he will come back by 2 hours… Still she tolerated all these just because she loved him a lot. She even changed herself for him… And what he did? He broke her heart. He got engaged to you without informing her… that poor girl was devastated… she cried and cried… slept everyday hugging her pillow sobbing to sleep…she was no more the same Zoya I knew…"
Najma's voice trailed off as she remembered the past.
Najma: "Why did you do that Kevin? How could you? Is it because she was not Christian? Hell with these religion differences… in fact hell with you Kevin… you are such a spineless ass who can't stand up for the one you loved… you know what, she is better off without you…. You done deserve her…. you would never be able to give her the happiness she deserves… she is an angel and a monster like you can't even touch her…"
Everyone was looking at Najma whose face resembled a fireball now. Kevin slowly took measured steps towards Najma trying to cool her down.
Kevin: "Najma, please listen to me… For our friendship's sake…"
Najma: "DON'T TOUCH ME KEVIN… Friendship's sake? You know what, I don't want a friend like you. To hell with your friendship… We are done… and you Kate, you must be really happy to know the truth, right? You are the person who came between Kevin and Zoya… Now you can live rest of your life happily knowing two truths. One, you broke a poor girl's heart into a million pieces. And second, the guy for whom you felt so called love-at-first-sight, your Kevin, is just a coward… Well done girl…"
As the mocking clap echoed everywhere Asad couldn't help but to feel proud of Najma. She really proved that she really is Zoya's best friend. He looked at Kevin and Kate who were shocked at Najma's outburst. He lowered his gaze down just to look at the girl in his arms. She also was looking at Najma while more tears were falling form her eyes. He closed his eyes. All the moments he spent with Zoya flashed through his mind. That's it. He decided. He could no longer hide his feelings. He could no longer keep her away from him because she needs him as much as he needs her. He won't let anyone raise their finger on her character anymore like Kate did. Taking a huge breath he opened his eyes. Slowly parting her away from him he cupped her cheeks with his hands. She was looking at him, her doe eyes filled with pain and confusion.
"Zoya… I know I don't have the right to say this… but… I can't mask these feelings anymore… I… I love you Zoya… I always did… I fell in love with you that day when we watched the sunset on the beach… you gave me a new meaning to life… you gave me a new hope…a new hope that a brighter tomorrow exists… but without you that future will also will become eventually dull… I know I am not perfect for you… I have done many mistakes in the past… will you be able to accept me with all these? Will you lighten up my world with your love? Will you promise to be with me forever?"
Zoya couldn't believe her ears yet again. She was totally bowled by the sudden turn of events. First Kate was accusing her… and next Najma was roaring like a lioness protecting her… and now… Asad is proposing her… PROPOSING… Zoya was completely baffled… his each word echoed in her mind… he loves her… that too to this extent!!! She closed her eyes as to withstand the sudden pressure built up in her heart… As she closed her eyes all the moments she spent with Asad started replaying in her mind. His care… his honesty… the hugs… the genuine touch… the dance… the pain she felt as she saw him getting beaten up for her… That moment she knew, she has fallen in love with him… She don't know when and where but she knew she have fallen for him, just like he did… She opened her eyes to see the pair of hazel eyes looking at her seeking an answer.
Asad's eyes frantically searched for an answer in her eyes as soon as she opened her eyes. She didn't speak anything for a few moments… That silence was killing him… The mere thought of she rejecting his love hurt his heart… He was about to pull away feeling defeated when he felt her arms around his shoulder and her heart in the crook of his neck.
"I love you too Asad… Love you more than anything in this world…"
Asad's joy knew no boundaries… He hugged her back nuzzling to her hair inhaling its sweet scent while giving occasional kisses at her milky white skin. He hugged her more tightly. They stood there flesh to flesh in each other's' embrace… Among Zoya's friends, Najma was the first one to break out of the trance… She squealed in happy and went and hugged Asad and Najma. She was soon joined by all other friends except Kevin and Kate… They stood there defeated. One lost the only girl who loved him with all she had and another lost the faith in the relation she was going to build up for her entire life…
As everyone broke from the group hug, Asad slowly parted himself away from Zoya. Cupping her face he kissed away the tears… Slowly he leaned towards her while darting his eyes from her lips to eyes. When their lips were inches apart, he stopped and looked at her eyes as if seeking permission. She closed his eyes in anticipation. That one gesture was enough for Asad as he slowly and gently nibbled her lips… He passionately kissed her conveying his love for her through the action. She also reciprocated with the same intensity while her friends wolf whistled in the back ground.
And they became one… For Asad, her love was his salvation, whereas for Zoya his love was her share of happiness that was long due…
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