Chapter 1

Pearl_Oyster

@Pearl_Oyster

"Like a sunflower, that follows every moment of the sun,

So I turn towards you, to follow you, my Lord"

The loud chorus could be heard even outside the massive gates of St Xavier's School as hundreds of students sang their morning prayer, their voices reverberating in the silence of chilling morning of early-January.

It was one of those rare ground assemblies of winters and most of the eyes were forcibly closed, hands joined in dedication as teachers of their respective classes inspected the rows with full-fledged attention, giving occasional taps on the shoulder of the students who tried opening their eyes or sneaking glances at random objects.

In between those myriad pair of closed eyes were a pair of hazel green eyes, which were rebellious enough to remain wide open even in the presence of discipline loving Mr. D'Souza, who was hovering around the row of XII standard students. These almond shaped, oceanic eyes belong to our female protagonist Khushi who as of now was vehemently staring at another pair of closed caramel eyes which were a part of the boy's row of same standard.

Her gaze, after lingering on his closed eyes, travelled down to his nose and then to his lips, which constantly moved as he recited the lines of that decade old prayer.

She was about to avert her gaze when all of a sudden those caramel pools opened and caught her red-handed, making embarrassment suffuse all over her countenance while the latter seemed to enjoy the moment. Khushi was quite taken aback by the small smile which was developing on the corner of his lips. This was the first time she had seen him smile. But even before she could cherish the moment, his smile was abruptly pulled off his face and replaced by a serious composure.

Ever since the new session had started and he was enrolled in their class as a new student, Khushi had found a strange feeling invading her heart and taking a permanent residence in there. And to her surprise, this exotic feeling had caused two serious problems with her. Whenever his eyes rested upon her face, she could feel a loud hammering in her heart, which said sounded more like Dhak-Dhak'. And the bigger problem was that whenever he'd be somewhere around her, she could actually feel his presence.

Acidity. She had named it. And this acidity would worsen every time he'd call her name in his throaty, husky voice.

This acidity had been continuous for the past six months, and the problematic part was that she was loving this acidity.

Pushing back her thoughts she once again lifted her gaze to see him, but surprisingly or not so surprisingly his intense gaze was already focused on her. As if already on queue, her heart once again started hammering and she could hear the 'Dhak-Dhak'.

"Pehla nasha, Pehla khumaar, Naya pyaar hai, Naya intezaar" Payal, who was standing right behind Khushi hummed the lines loud enough for her to hear.

"Jeeji" Khushi said in a suppressed warning tone.

"What? I was just telling you that the prayer is over" Payal leaned in a bit and whispered in her ear which made Khushi realise that her hands were still joined and she instantly pulled them apart, earning a giggle from Payal.

Enough..!

She mentally screamed. This was enough. This couldn't continue this way. She wouldn't let it.

She'll have to talk to him and know what was he doing to her.

That Arnav Singh Raizada! What does he thinks of himself? Why the hell he keeps giving her those intense looks but never dares to come and talk about it?

Well, if he can't she will. Deciding that, she deliberately channelized all her attention to the speech of the principal who was vocalising as to how to keep the college neat and clean and maintain the decorum of the institution.

~~***~~

"Hi' a sweet, tinkling voice reached Arnav's ear and recognizing the owner of it, he instantly looked up from his notebook.

This was their Physical Education period and since the teacher was absent, all the students had a made a run to the playing ground declaring it a 'free period'.

It was only Arnav who had stayed back and sitting on the last bench of the classroom, he was involved into writing something in his notebook. Khushi knew this was the best opportunity to go and have a tete-a-tete with him, so she was here.

"Hi' came Arnav's terse reply while she recalled the fleeting glint she had noticed in his eyes which he at once masked well.

"Can I sit here?" She asked hesitantly while he went back to writing.

"Why? Your seat is in that row" He replied, not looking at her.

"I mean just for this period. I want to talk to you" She said, forcing a sunny smile on her face which took real efforts as his petulant attitude wasn't helping.

"Sit" He said, giving her his intense glare and she could practically feel the temperature rising up.

She obeyed his voice and joined him on the bench which was spacious enough to accommodate two students. Now they sat next to each other and he resumed his writing.

"Talk now! Or are you waiting for your Devi Maiya to light some signal for you to start?" He said gruffly, still not looking at her.

"How do you know?" Her question came promptly. She was surprised to know that he knew about her habit of talking to her Devi Maiya.

Her question made him smirk.

"Five months are more than enough to know a person inside out" He replied, looking at her face.

"But we hardly talk" She out cried.

"How does that matter?" He replied with that smirk returning back to him and it dawned on Khushi that like her, he too had been observing her meticulously.

"Whatever. I am here to discuss something else" She told him with down casted eyes.

"Huh?"

"Why do you stare at me that way?" Mustering all her inner strength and courage she delivered the question to him.

For a second, Arnav seemed perplexed and then his jaw hardened.

"What do you think? Why do I do it?" He asked, his each word clear and controlled.

She hadn't expected him to counter ask her but the answer was ready in her mind and on her tongue.

"I don't know exactly but I think you like me" She blurted out and immediately regretted it. She saw his fists clenching and unclenching, his nostrils flaring and his eyes shooting anger.

"I think you should get up and leave now" He replied, while his heart took a painful torsion.

To say that Khushi wasn't scared was going to be the biggest lie of the century. She was very scared seeing the person he was turning into. It was like a completely different person was splitting out of him.

Why was he getting this angry? She was just proposing what she saw in his eyes.

And she was surely not going to budge from that point. She had to be aplomb.

This was high time to dust the book and read what it contained within and she was determined to get rid of her six month long acidity.

"No, I won't leave. You have to accept that like me. Or you have to tell me why do you stare at me? Why do you look so morose every time Shyam hangs around with me? Why the hell you don't leave the class until I have packed my bag and left. Tell me" She kept speaking until he got up from the bench and pulled her out too.

"Stop talking and leave Dammit..!" Arnav said in a raised voice, catching her by the shoulders.

"I won't! Tell me that every time you see me, you feel the same acidity too. Tell me that you too can hear the Dhak-Dhak. Tell me you can feel me around yourself"

"Shut up, Khushi, Shut up" Arnav said, backing her almost into the wall of the classroom.

"I know it was you who had punched Shyam for trying to be inapproriate with me on New Year's Eve party. He was trying to kiss me and you had seen it. I know you like me..I am pretty sure of it. I also know..." And before Khushi could talk more, she was silenced by Arnav as he placed his lips on her, momentarily making her body go numb in shock.

And even before she could senses could kick into action, he had already withdrawn his lips, leaving behind a stinging sensation on her lips. The peck changed a lot, confirmed a lot.

"You love me" She declared aloud, smiling at Arnav, locking her gaze with his. She was sure he more than liked her. Why else will he do what he just did?

"Khushi, this is wrong. I am sorry" Arnav murmured back, loathing everything. Loathing his weakness for he had failed to keep his feelings contained. No one was supposed to know of his love. Not even Khushi. He just cofirmed everything she was saying.

"This is wrong" He repeated again, stepping back from her.

"No Arnav, this is not wrong! Loving someone is never wrong" Khushi said desperately, seeing the remorseful look on his face.

"It is, Khushi. It is wrong to love when you already know that you can't be with that person" He said, walking back to the bench and sitting on it.

"What do you mean?" Khushi asked, her heart making different wild assumptions.

"Khushi, I have lost my parents. Seven months back in Lucknow" He started in a voice laden with pain.

"I was very disturbed and unnerved. They were everything I had. I stopped eating, talking and walking, as a result, my health declined. I have diabetes which accelerated the deterioration. Di, my uncle, everyone was really shattered with my condition. I just couldn't pull myself out from the happy memories. I refused to believe that those happy days were over. I was living in denial. So, the doctor suggested a change of place. That is why I am here in Delhi, with my Naani. But after the end of this term, I'll be going back to Lucknow. I have my parent's memories there, My Di, my ancestral house, my uncle. After finishing the term here, I will go back to Lucknow. And then college? I don't think I'll even be in India for that. Everyone is thinking about sending to USA for my college degree. So, I'll be leaving here soon. That's why I don't want...this. I don't think we can be together even if I love you" Arnav continued in a dejected tone.

Hearing him throughout, Khushi placed her hand on his shoulder, her heart going out for him. She knew what loss of parents meant but one thing she couldn't understand.

"If you knew you won't be staying here, and you will have to leave eventually..then why did you fall in love with me, Arnav?" She asked in pure innocence and Arnav laughed a hollow laugh.

"Khushi, I never wanted to. The first time I saw you, it was like a ray of sunshine had entered my soul that drove out out all the darkness from within. I couldn't stop myself from being attracted to you. That's why I had stopped myself from letting you konw all this, from expressing the deep affection I feel for you. I was thinking that if I maintain my distance, finish the term and leave, you will eventually forget all about me", Arnav confessed.

"But you never thought I'd come up to you and force you to talk about it. Did you?" Khushi asked, with a brightening smile.

"No, I didn't. I did underestimate your guts" Arnav replied, shaking his head at her stubbornnes to get the answers out of him.

"But like you know now, you and I...we cannot be together. School will end soon and then I have to leave. I don't want to hurt you, Khushi. I know how much it hurts when people we love leave us all alone" Arnav said. He noticed how carefully Khushi was listening to him, her eyes full of sadness. Finally she said,

"Arnav, the only thing I can say to that is...what lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. We can't spoil your present just because we are uncertain of the future. You know?" Arnav could see the hopes dancing in Khushi's eyes. She really did not want to give up.

Arnav dwelled upon her words. She was indeed right. He thought about the last few minutes that he spent sitting here talking to Khushi. He thought about the sudden kiss that he couldn't stop himself from sharing with her. These were indeed moments he was always going to remember. Around Khushi, he felt lighter and his pain lessened. Should he give up all that because he did not know what lay before them after a couple of months? Can he afford to ignore her any longer? Arnav realized that there was no use of ruining something this beautiful with Khushi. She was his final straw. He has to hold onto her if wants to feel happy. She is full of love and life and he needs that to fight the darkness and the pain that refuse to leave him. In return, he can offer his heart to Khushi and do his best to keep her happy.

Arnav realized that this was the moment of choosing happiness, of choosing Khushi. As Arnav reached that realization, all the clouds of his painful past scattered away, giving way to some warmth in his heart. He will find a way of keeping Khushi around, of not letting her go.

Because she meant too much to him. He looked at her face, waiting for him to answer or to say something. He leaned closer to him, holding her hand in his, his eyes looking deep into hers as he said, "I do feel the same acidity, Khushi. I too can hear my heart's 'Dhak-Dhak'. Every single time you're around me, I can hear a faint music in the air. Like a slow song is playing in the background. 'Rabba Ve'? Have you heard that song? That's exactly what I hear when you are around me. And you know why? It is because I do love you! So much! You're right. Let's spend the time that we have together. Because like you said, what lies behind us, and what lies before us are tiny matters compared to what lies within us. We have got to relish this wonderful feeling which is budding within us. We have to let it bloom. And I promise you, this would bloom into a flower of love, a love that will only grow stronger. I can feel it", Arnav finished, looking in the eyes of Khushi. But the look was short-lived as Khushi tore away her gaze and found his lips, retruning the peck he had given her. She quickly pulled back from it, smiling and blushing ferociously while Arnav just smiled.

He could once again hear 'Rabba Ve' playing in the background as he hugged Khushi.

❤️ ❤️ "Kyun nasha hai itna, tere ishq mein, Rabba Ve, Rabba ve" ❤️ ❤️

P.S.No one could ever guess who sent the bouquet of roses to the Physical education teacher for being absent that day.😆

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