Chapter 37

DUSKY PATH

STARRING HARROLD BANES AS ROBERT

MARY HUGHES AS JANE

DIRECTED BY- MARK STEVENS

The movie was on for some time now and Robert, aka Harrold Bane, the lead had made his entry in jet black tuxedos, gelled hair and heroic charms..

Khushi- *pink. Red. And redder *

Arnav raised his eyes towards Khushi's face, lightly illuminated by the light falling on it from the brightly lit up screen. He didn't miss the changing shades of his favorite color adorn her face..

He checked out Robert momentarily. WHAT was so extraordinary about this whateverhisname? Cheesy, talked too much(Perhaps that's why she likes him. Likes attract or something? No,that was opposites attract. Opposites like them.hold on. What? Ok, forget the damn idiom)...as long as this Harrold Bane was behind the screen, he didn't give a shot to whether Khushi turned red, yellow, or green seeing him. As long as he was behind the screen..what was this guy by the way? British? Why would Khushi ever go to Britain? Even if she did, when would this whateverhisname meet her? Even if he did, so what?... Ok, so A LOT! He would positively make sure she never visited Britain..what if-

His thought process was interrupted at the sight of Nihaal and Anjali on the seats below.Anjali was sharing some joke or something with Nihaal while he nodded, grinning..and touched her hand.

Touched.her.hand. How dare he touch.her.hand. Di is smiling? How. Can. She.smile.

"by the wa-" Khushi turned her face towards him as she spoke

She stopped mid-way as she had a look at exactly what Arnav was focusing his eyes on. Nihaal and Anjali.

She cleared her throat audibly.. "Arnav?"

"what?" he spoke without shifting his gaze..

"i guess you are having a small misunderstanding..the movie's going on over there" she pointed towards the screen...then rolled her eyes...

"whatever.."

Meanwhile in the living room, nani looked at Mrs Raizada as she spoke..

"Manu, I still can't believe it you actually went all the way to a library to spy upon Payal bitiya"

Blowing slightly over her well manicured nails, still wet with polish Mrs Raizada spoke in a huff..

"i had NO idea , she was the one. I just heard Aaaksh meets someone in the central library and i-"

"went all the way to SPY on her?? what if she comes to know of it Manu!"

"big deal..i can't believe Aakash's choice...in fact, when I came to know SHE was Payal, I was flabbergasted"

nani sighed..

later-

Khushi was nearing a high level of impatience , as the leads just refused to admit their feelings for each other..

"why can't they just ADMIT it!! ONLY a fool would miss the fact that they are TOTALLY in love!! WHY can't they just realize it!!"

Arnav raised his eyes from his blackberry to the screen. The leads were together staring into each other's eyes without a word. There was a tense silence before Robert slowly began moving towards Jane.

Khushi immediately had a rush of delight as she bit her nails with one hand while with the other, she unconsciously gripped Arnav's hand..

Arnav widened his eyes at her but she seemed to be too lost in the movie. A slow smile lit up his face as he saw her almost bubbling with excitement..

"he is going to say it! I am damn sure he will say it. I-" she giggled and stopped mid sentence as she felt a tightening grip on her left palm. She realized it was under the grip of Arnav's own and her eyes widened as she tried to catch his expressions in the dim light..

what she saw had Khushi Kumari Gupta flabbergasted. Arnav was eying her with an exceptionally teasing smirk on his face and the grip on her hand just tightened as she felt his index finger move lightly over the golden band of her engagement ring..

going red till the roots of her hair, Khushi tried to withdraw her hand..she had seen a mad Arnav, an angry Arnav, an amused Arnav, a worried Arnav..but a...flirting Arnav??

"wh..what are you doing?" she hissed..

"what?" he asked, cool amusement in his eyes as a devilish smirk ruled his face.. "you held it first and I just held it back"

"i..um..i didn't know yo-" she flustered..

he slowly let the hand loose and she immediately brought it back to her lap. WHAT was wrong with this cement pile? Khushi immediately regretted her consent upon the seating arrangements.

The movie soon took upon a tragic note and Khushi's mind was thus diverted from the incident of a while ago..Aakash and Nihaal were twisting and turning uncomfortably in their seats. The movie had turned out to be a total chick flick. A teary one at that. The kind men are generally allergic to..Arnav, as we know, was hardly watching the movie..

Nihaal- "F.E I can't believe you picked this movie"

Aakash- "believe me when I say,i had NO idea..wait a sec, F.E.?"

Nihaal- "Fire Extinguisher"

silence..

Aakash- "Payal , I think we need to talk about this"

Payal- "just ignore him"

Anjali- "i can't have any idea why would you call Aakash a fire extinguisher"

Aakash- "do you hear me seconding you on that di?"

Nihaal- "L.O.L"

Khushi- "Can you all just let me watch the movie?"

Payal- "Thanks Khushi! But don't think I miss the fact that it's just because Harrold has made an entry"

Khushi- "it's not that"

Anjali- *giggle *

Nihaal- "why can't I hear your fiance Khushi?"

Arnav- * takes a break from blackberry *

Khushi- "that's because he is not watching the movie, *turns to Arnav * will you just STOP that 'blackberrying' "

Arnav- *continues 'blackberrying' *

Payal- "will you guys just SHUT UP?"

Silence..

Nihaal- "ooo..bookworm rules"

"but really" Anjali whispered to Nihaal.. "this is not exactly my liking..i am more interested in rom coms"

"you bet!" Nihaal agreed..then mimicked the style in which the heroine of the play was ululating and Anjali burst into laughter..

"exactly! Gosh! You just duplicate her!"

"i have an old past with acting. I have been a witch in a play once.."

"witch? I am sure you mean wizard"

"no. witch. In kindergarten. I was supposed to be a tree,banyan tree but the witch gave the final day a miss, so I was the witch. A crying witch who insisted till the last moment on being a banyan tree"

"aww...do you have the picture? Do show me..o gosh! Nihaal! Can you believe she is still crying?"

"oh hell man, why doesn't she just attach two water hoses in place of her tear glands? Or mini water fountains. Imagine Robert's expression if that actually happens. Buy lover, get indoor fountain free.free.free.."

"shut up Nihaal.."

Jane..Jane..

Robert! Please don't go! Robert!

Darling..

Robert!!

Arnav- what the!

Khushi- *sniff *

Nihaal- L.O.L

Anjali- shut up Nihaal

Payal- Harrold emotes well doesn't he..he is doing Robert complete justice..

Aakash- yeah right..but there could have been better direction

Payal- hmm...

Khushi- I can't believe THE HERO is dying and you are checking your blackberry

Arnav- he's not dead as yet?

Khushi- you are unbelievable *snifff *

Arnav- (back to blackberry)

Nihaal- Jane looks more like laughing than crying to me..

Anjali- great! Thanks for ruining the final scene for me too! Now she looks like laughing to me too!

Nihaal- I mean seriously! Who cries like that?

Robert! No! Robert! Wake up! I can't live without you...Robert!!

Nihaal- and the tube light lights, albeit a little too late, rotten luck Jane, that romeo is *whistle *

Anjali- Like seriously? That is how you react to people dying? Whistle?

Khushi- *sniff *..* sniff *

Arnav- Khushi stop crying dammit!

"Nihaal for heaven's sake shut up..you are making me look like a total sadist. The hero is dying for God's sake and here I am, giggling like a fool!"

"oh by the way" Nihaal turned and raised his head to the seat above them..

"ARNAV! BRO! Has Khushi started her elephant trumpeting as yet?tissues won't do.just warning! She requires bed sheet size handkerchiefs"

while Khushi darted visual daggers at her brother,Anjali came in between.

"Nihaal, two people out here are ACTUALLY interested in the movie! Let's respect their presence at least!" Anjali gestured towards Aakash and Payal , two people giving the four of them- 'for heaven's sake shut up!' looks..

"ok..ok.." Nihaal sighed and looked at the screen yet again..

Robert was dying, a heart broken Jane by his side, Khushi meanwhile was an emotional mess on having to see the hero take his last breaths..

while Arnav still couldn't get even a remote idea of why Jane wouldn't tell Robert that she loved him and not Rupert when the damn guy was dying anyway. And he had almost as much idea of why Khushi was close to shedding buckets on the same..

"Khushi!"

"hmm?" she stared at him with her teary eyes..large.teary.eyes.

(Arnav Singh Raizada- note to self- Harrold Bane is an idiotic moron)

"you are crying because that fool is dying?"

"can you please be a little sensitive!" Khushi widened his eyes at him as if he was the angel of death standing on Robert's head "he's dying!"

"he should. Cuz he's a jerk" he spoke with immense conviction..

"he shouldn't! Because he loves her! And she loves him! Love stories are supposed to have happy endings! Why can't.. * sniff * they get such a simple thing?"

"Khushi, you knew it was a tragedy. Then why the hell did you watch it?"

Khushi sniffed into his handkerchief as she slowly muttered..

"well..Harrold Bane is a very..good *sniff * actor.."

"unbelievable.." Arnav muttered as he sat helplessly before a movie, which he couldn't alter, and beside a fiance, he couldn't understand.

"They won't kill him right?" she asked him with such hope in her voice and 'you have the crystal ball' look in her eyes that Arnav gulped..

"he won't die k? Jus' stop crying!"

he said in a soothing voice as he raised his right arm from his lap and slowly, carefully snaked it across her shoulders..he was clueless why he did it, it just came as the first instinct within him upon seeing her distraught state, a sudden urge to kill that idiotic Robert on the other side of the screen with bare hands for approaching death(yeah, I know, ironic) and to console her in distress as if it were a very obvious responsibility..he suddenly hesitated..what was he doing? What if she... as if in sudden realization he immediately moved to withdraw it to himself,when Khushi, on her own accord, snuggled closer within his enveloping arm , not consciously, but as if it was the most natural thing in the world..

To say Arnav was shocked, would be an understatement. He still hadn't recovered from his sudden urge to act superman (of course, sans costume) for her ,and her reaction was, to say the least, far from what he had remotely expected it to be..

(note to self. Arnav Singh Raizada- Harrold Bane is a ROCK STAR!)

Khushi was too immersed in the story to give two hoots to her current position, she had assumed it very naturally and sought a pleasing ,comforting refuge in the strong arm around her.

Arnav Singh Raizada had not given one damn to the movie the entire while , which could be very well attributed to the mail-checking he had been indulging in all through.

But currently he knew just one thing. This whateveritsname movie had some weird guy in it who was NOT supposed to die. Damn him if he did..

moments later,Robert died.

Was there any way he could re-kill the guy? Arnav had all kinds of sadistic thoughts floating in his mind. Any way he could ensure that moron never attained salvation after death?

He heard Khushi's light moan "they keeeld *sniff * him"

Not knowing what else to do, he just patted comfortingly on her arm..as he grumbled..

"stupid movie"

"exactly" she vehemently agreed "stupid stupid movie"

"he's a moron"

"excuse me?" Khushi lifted her red eyes to his face "HE is not stupid. He is the perfect lover"

"you mean he was"

he immediately regretted that as she blew into his handkerchief again at that...

"Khushi that guy is very much alive and might probably be doing salsa somewhere in America. Shut .up" he spoke trying to ignore the increasing dampness of his shirt as well as the weird sensations erupting within him as with his other hand, he removed the strands of her hair from his face and tightened his hold around her...

Anjali, despite having totally lost the essence of the movie by now, was trying to concentrate on the final few scenes when suddenly a thought of apprising Khushi on a particular thing crossed her mind and she moved to turn her head around when she felt a tight grip on her wrist...

She widened her eyes at Nihaal who gently whispered in her ears.. "don't look back"

she eyed him with a confused look.. "why?"

he simply looked into her eyes, amusement and mischief shone clearly in those deep brown orbs as he slightly cleared his throat..

She gazed into his eyes for a moment ,and then,as if infectious, his amusement soon enough was shared by an Anjali who bit her lower lip in mirth, as she whispered an 'I see..' and still smiling glued her eyes upon the screen in front..

after two seconds ,they looked back at each other and then quickly looked away, in a desperate attempt to restrict the laughter bubbling within them, from finding an escape..

The light slowly faded away as the credentials started appearing on the screen..

Before they knew Aakash had lit up the lights back..

everyone slowly blinked their eyes adjusting to the light..and that's when reality hit Khushi. And yes, Arnav.

The radius of the slits of her eyes kept on increasing dramatically as she grew conscious of the fact that she was comfortably snuggled beside Arnav , within his arm, the left of his coat, damp with all her weeping..conscious of the sudden proximity suddenly too palpable in the harsh light..

her internal sanctuary in all its mighty glory making its presence felt, she drew in a sharp breath..

Arnav, who had been displaying saintly levels of control all the while stiffened himself as she gasped..

Panic of being caught, overcame any other emotion as she suddenly shrugged her shoulders to free herself from the hold, which itself loosened as quickly...

When the rest saw them, they saw a tomato red Khushi, partly by virtue of crying, mainly by virtue of her intense blush, and an Arnav who had a look akin to a one who suddenly realizes at the submission time in an examination, that he had been answering the wrong paper all along..

"Enjoyed the movie?" Anjali questioned the tomato before her..

"yes..i...no..i..mean..wonderful...horrible..movie"

"wonderful, horrible, movie" Anjali turned to look at Nihaal.. "i guess we are left at that to decide for ourselves what exactly was 'wonderful' and what 'horrible'"

Aakash scratched his forehead with his index finger trying to conceal his amusement at Nihaal's statement while Payal pretended to remove a pop corn from the seat, giggling with her head bent as she did that..

for why, she knew her sister too well...

Nani and Mrs Raizada turned their heads to have a look at the couples descending down the stairs..

"i guess it was a comedy"

Mrs Raizada muttered as she cast a look at the Nihaal- Anjali duo which was descending down with Anjali laughing and Nihaal having a wide grin on his face..

"comedy? I guess it was a tragedy"

Nani exclaimed as the next couple of Arnav and Khushi descended down..with Khushi, her nose bright red, eyes moist and an Arnav making an 'I am responsible for dodo extinction' kind of expression..

"or...an educational documentary"

Mrs Raizada muttered as Aakash and Payal made their way down..engrossed in deep discussion, she expressing views on the critical, analytical, moral, ethical, social aspects of the film and he, on it's chances of bombing on or hitting the box office charts..

Nani and Mrs Raizada shrugged shoulders and exchanged bewildered looks as nani slowly muttered..

"they watched 3 different films in the same theater?"

----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Up next is a very much intentional, 'letter' precap/update/whatever..

Friends, if you ever find any typos in the update, kindly do feel free to inform me.All honest opinions and reviews heartily welcome!

that said, hope you enjoyed.PMS not sent as yet.