Arnav kept the cell phone on the glass table grumpily, and went inside the room where Khushi was crying more furiously then before, and he handed her the glass of water, looking at his mother desperately who was moving uneasily around the bed, while Anita Raizada, using her doctor equipment tried her best to rest the situation at home, but was growing more and more unsuccessful in it.

Outside Vivek had just parked his car right behind that of Anita Raizada's car and had jumped out of it, slipping the keys in his pocket, taking two steps at a time towards the front door of the Gupta house, and backing away a bit seeing the door open.

"Chun? Chun?" Vivek entered the Gupta house feeling increasingly worried seeing the front door wide open, no sign of Khushi anywhere in the living room.

In the room she felt as if she heard the familiar faint call of her best friend, she turned around and walked out from the room, only to find Vivek utterly worried standing on the front door roaming his eyes here and there in search of her. Upon seeing him, she couldn't control herself, the overwhelming rush of adrenaline consuming her as she made a sprint towards Vivek directly, throwing her arms around his neck and hugging him tightly crying away bitterly, not having noticed the silent spectator who was seeing the scene from the corner of his eye.

Arnav looked as she hugged a confused Vivek, who was trying to calm her down, remembering the way she had earlier hugged him, and that moment was the one when truth dawned up on him, this was different, she didn't need a 'You can share' assurance to pour her out to Vivek, she didn't need to hesitate even a moment with him around, and that is what, Arnav realized made the two of them different, because he was just not the same to her as him.

"You wanna share?",he offered, hoping that she might say something. The last time he made been in such a strained situation was back with Karan, but that was a long time back, and then he was his best friend, it was an entirely different case with her being in his place. He had no or very little experience with girls, his sister-brother banter was a successful one and they would always catch up on to each others life without including him.

His mind had positioned himself to think rationally, he was comparing situations right now, in front of him stood the two friends intertwined in each others arm, he had seen everything right from the beginning, she had just hopped right into his arms, there were no words spoken he felt like an alien in between all of this.

Her eyes were glistening like pearls, as she finally looked into his eyes filled with concern for her, and moved her self closer to where he was sitting the corner of their thighs rubbing against each other. Seeing her actions he slightly flinched mildly scared now, she was frightening him now, it looked like if he as much touch her she would break before him in a hundred pieces, but he need not do that, because she was already broken.

He looked in front of him, as Vivek slowly pulled her apart from himself, steadying her shaking body with his hands, their eyes looking into each others, but he noted carefully the look in them, it wasn't the same like the one she had had that day, it didn't look like that at all, this was of one of understanding one of knowing it was like he had shared her pain without any words, it was like eyes were communicating. With him, it had been different, she had looked at him in a different way, astonished at first, and then slowly getting comfortable, it wasn't this sudden. He couldn't understand, was he even a friend to him, was she more, why was he suddenly comparing himself with someone whose relationship with her had been very well defined in front of him?

"Whatever that is, that's bugging you will be alright",he made a feeble attempt to calm her down, keeping his hand on her shoulder, as she sobbed breathlessly, not being able to control the rush of emotions inside her threw hers arms around him shaking him to the core. It would be an underestimation to say he was shocked, because he felt something that was way beyond that degree of surprise. She clutched on to the red and white striped hoody, her hands completely wound around him, as her tears wettened the cloth covering his upper side of the shoulder where her head was resting now.

She hugged Vivek once again, and this time the confusion was gone, but he was trying his very best to console her rubbing his hands all over back, and slowly holding her by her shoulder he firmly kept his grip steady on it and shook her slightly to get her to compose herself.

"Chun listen to me now, stop crying will you? It's doing no good to you, you have to be strong right? (Making a face) Gosh! I so suck at this consoling speech" he said cheekily, successful in bringing a small smile lighting up her face. She punched him hard on his shoulder and then clutched it tightly tears still running down her eyes.

They sat their in the same position as she hugged him tightly, her finger nails gripping his flesh through the light cotton hoody. Slowly the pressure of it eased out, as she opened her eyes and realized what she was doing, get flustered all of a sudden and loosened her hold on him as he mechanically did the same, realization seeping into his brain as well. Moving her hands away from him, she pulled away from in a hurry and inched backwards from where he sat her vision still blurry looking very much flustered, and more than that highly embarrassed.

"I..I..am..reall.y..sorry..", she mumbled, catching her breathe, her voice still choky due to all the tears she had recently shed.

She hadn't said sorry to him, he noticed and noted it down in his mind. She didn't apologize because she didn't feel it was wrong of her to hug him, she didn't fluster or blush as if she had done something wrong, but she had done that with him, he countered, why hadn't she said anything to him, was it about the comfort level, was I about the different in statuses, no wait, the more important question why was he thinking so much about her? And for the trillionth time now his conscience questioned him, who was she to him?

"How did..I mean why did you come here? How did you know that my mother was not well?" Khushi asked Vivek, escorting him inside, when he stopped and looked briefly at his cell phone then at her again, turning to answer her question.

" Arnav told me, he happened to receive my call when I called on your cell phone *pause* (looking at her seriously) You called him but you didn't think of calling me? Why Chun? " Vivek asked her metallically, apparently displeased over her first preference of Arnav rather than him.

"I was going to call you only, but erm, I thought his mother is a doctor she could check Maa and..I needed a male around..I couldn't handle everything alone..Arnav was the one" she said modestly, trying to keep as less eye contact as possible, with Vivek looking at her fishily but tend to not ask any more questions.

He had been happy for no reason at all, Arnav sighed to himself, Vivek had been her first choice, it was his mother being a doctor that had enabled her to call him and not Vivek. His eyes were steel now, because their was a burning rage in him, he felt scared to define it as jealousy, he was never jealous of anyone, never in his personal life, school and studies was another thing.

"Khushi, Arnav come inside, we need to carry Aparna to the car, I think she's got a stroke" they heard Anita Raizada's worried voice from inside the room and the three of them rushed inside the room, seeing Anita hustling about to keep her things back in the brief case, looking at Khushi and Arnav her eyes setting on Vivek her look quizzical.

"Who is that?" Anita Raizada asked Khushi in a shrewd tone, she quickly answering to Anita's question addressing Vivek as her best friend. Arnav looked down sized just then and moved in towards a very fidgety Aparna Gupta, him picking her up, but being too heavy for him to carry, Vivek quickly rushed to his aid, receiving a no response look from Arnav.

"We can do it together, you won't be able to do it alone" Vivek said sensibly, smiling a bit, fueling the rage within Arnav. If it hadn't been for the situation Arnav was in a very good mind of pushing him off, but right now he realized that drama was the last thing needed and the two of them together, picked up a wary looking Aparna Gupta, Khushi now calmer than before right at their heels, while Anita Raizada made in space and took the lead, in order to open the back seat of the car.

The party walked outside and carefully the two laid kept Mrs.Raizada on the back seat of the car, Khushi moving back to allow them space. Arnav backed away and so did Vivek, Vivek walking towards his car to take the wheel to allow space for Anita's car to move, and while they were on the driving seat Arnav and Khushi standing alone looked at each other, and suddenly Khushi grabbed his hand and pulled him to a corner.

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Anjali wriggled out of bed rubbing her smudgy eyes, roaming her palms all over her face, her head still dazed with the events of last night, but a lot more better than she had been in the morning her head in a whirl due to her sleep not having had completed. She jumped out of bed, her legs still wobbly and made her way out of the room searching for her mother snapping out of her sleep upon finding nobody other than her and a sleeping Aakash in his bedroom.

She went inside Anita Raizada's room and called out for her, but her eyes lingered onto a small note lying on the stool headed wooden side table, and she picked it up reading it to herself.

Gone to Khushi's place with Chotte. Will be back soon. Don't worry.

Confused at first, thinking she might still be under the effect of sleep she rubbed her eyes furiously and re read the note, but it said the same thing that it said when she had read it first. Nothing had changed. A uncanny, queasy kind of look came to her face, her mind buzzing with a trillion questions. What is the world did her mother and brother go to Khushi's house for so early in the morning for? No wait, she looked at the watch and corrected herself, it was a good ten minutes to twelve, so the early morning phrase was cancelled. But that still left the question of them going at her home, when today was Sunday, and today as per the house agreement nobody would go out anywhere, or have any one over, since it was the day the only day the family got time for themselves. Itching her scalp the note in her hand, she clumsily walked out of the room and went inside Aakash's room where he upside down was snoring heavily and sleeping away like a horse.

She shook her head in irritation at his 'obsessed with sleep' position, and went over to his bed, shaking him away mad, rattling the living daylights out of the poor bloke. Aakash woke up with a horrible murmur, almost pushing Anjali off the bed, who had apparently to prevent herself from falling, clutched tightly on his hand, bringing him down with her on the ground form the bed. Aakash looked at her grumpily, his eyes bursting with fury, as he rubbed his bump the fall to hard for someone who wasn't even fall awake.

"Anji What the hell? Are you in your right mind? Why are you playing London bridge is falling down over here?" Aakash grumbled busily, straightening up himself, and hopping into bed back again, but Anjali was done with his nonsense, and turned him around once again smacking him hard on his back.

"Get up now! You have been sleeping too long its 12:00!" she wailed in his ears, having him put his palms firmly on them to shut out her annoyingly shrilly voice.

"Stop being such a cock for God sakes! I didn't sleep the whole night, I have the right to sleep now, leave me alone and go back to bed" he told her in utter vexation, until another punch or two from her made him realize, that wither she had completely lost it, or there was some trouble barging in through their door.

"Fine. Over with your quacking, I am all ears now, c'mon go on, what happened?" he finally told her, rubbing his eyes, resting his back against the wooden plank of the bed, with Anjali still in her pajama's sitting next to him, and pushed in the crumpled chit of paper in her hand right into his face, making him glare once more at her until he read the note.

"So what do I do? The note clearly says 'Don't worry' right? Then why are you being such a dame?" he said annoyingly, almost muttering curses at her under his breathe.

"Dame? I am being a dame? Didn't you read they went to Khushi's house? What did they go there for right now?" Anjali asked him quizzically, his look not flinching as he bore his eyes straight into hers in a dumbfounded expression.

"What? Are we playing James Bond over here? Its not like Hansel and Gretel went to a sweet cottage, and got caught in by an old evil witch over there. They went to Khushi's house not a haunted castle, what is it with you, did that Shyam guy take away all the matter in you and leave back hay?" he snapped at her rudely, causing her to react violently enough to shake him tightly, by holding him with his two shoulders, shaking him as if he a rattle to a one year old infant.

"Don't you get it? Today is Sunday, nobody goes anywhere today unless it's an emergency do you think something is wrong?" Anjali asked him worriedly, with him making a non chalant face at her right again, the leats bit of interested in anything she was saying.

"Look Anji, if you are crazed enough to play Strawberry Shortcake right now, just count me out alright? I am in no mood right now, let me sleep, I promise I'll play with you when I know that your five senses are working perfectly" he told her sleepily, and pushing his legs forward to the end of the bed, he grabbed the sheets in his fists and put them all over his face, leaving a baffled yet highly annoyed Anjali sitting on the corner of the bed, in a very good mood to throw a mighty punch right in the middle of his face.

"Fine. I'll go, but if anything's wrong then don't tell me that I did not tell you before" she said haughtily, marching out of the room, after hearing his not so interesting What Ever.

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"Raizada, I need you to do something for me" she said earnestly, that hope of instant understanding flashing in her voice, her eyes locked with his communicating in the language that did not require words.

"Keep going" he told her, not letting that eye lock break as he tried to see through the mist in her eyes, those blood red corners in them making him fidget a bit.

"I want you to tell Vivek everything" she said her voice on the verge of cracking but she kept it steady for the sake of communication, the expression on his face darkening and he suddenly took four steps backwards from her.

"Tell him what everything?" he asked her a bit scared at what she was going to tell him to tell Vivek. His mind was racing at some immeasurable speed, he couldn't comprehend things right now, what if she had realized what was going on in his head? Did she want him to tell Vivek all that, but why? Another part of him questioned him, why would she want that, and even if she did, who was he to obey her? He did what he liked, he wouldn't listen if she was going to ask him to tell Vivek something that sounded unreasonable to him.

"Everything. About my father." She said in a broken kind of voice, the eye lock was no more there she was looking everywhere else but not in his eyes, because she knew if she made direct contact, their were very likeable chances that she would burst into tears all over again.

"Me? But why? Aren't you supposed to tell him all that? *pause* I can't do it. He's your friend, and this is your secret, honestly speaking he wouldn't like it a bit if I would tell him everything" Arnav told her in a reasonable sort of manner, but somewhere inside him he felt a bit contented, though he couldn't understand why, that Vivek even though being her best friend did not know about her biggest secret, which he unknowingly had come to know off.

"Please Raizada, please you have to do it, for me please. I..cannot..face his reaction right now..I don't want to be reminded of everything..again..everything..because of which my'(looking at the rear mirror inside the car) Maa..has to go throw all this..I can't talk about..that Man..I don't want." She said in a shattered kind of voice, and even though he didn't know what it was like to be raised up by a single parent, he couldn't help but feel sorry for her situation. But this sounded utterly unreasonable to him and he had only earlier promised himself that he wouldn't do anything that he did not like the sound of.

But even before he could react, she had taken his hands into hers and was holding them in a not so mistakenly helpless manner looking at him pleadingly as if her life depended on him right now.

"Please Raizada, please for a last time please , can you help me?" she said in a soft yet shaky voice, and this was the last straw for his rigidness to give away, as he drew his hands away from hers and kept his hand on her shoulder.

"Alright, I'll do it."

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Anjali hustled near the front door, waiting for Aakash who was taking an eternity to come out. After what had been an hour of persuading him, he had finally agreed to come with her to Khushi's place and check out if everything was alright. The truth was that she had very aptly convinced him of something being wrong, dissecting her moms small note in and out so that Aakash simply had no arguments left to counter her thoughts.

"Aakash stop goofing around, and hurry up the note said 'soon' its 4:00 in the afternoon right now, something is wrong" Anjali called out to Aakash who was shuffling through his wardrobe to find a fresh pair of clothes when she impatiently waited at the doorstep for him to come out.

"We are not going to a ball and there are no slippers being dropped on steps by Payal! Stop dressing up and come one out!" she shouted out loud again, going frenzy minute by minute getting irritated with Aakash's care free attitude who only a second later slammed opened the door patting his ruffled hair grumbling something non audible under his breathe most probably curses directed at Anjali.

"Now are you going to stand here like Statue Of Liberty or should we wait until your rock breaks?" Aakash lashed out at her rudely, grabbing her hand in one go and yanking her out of the house, locking the door with the free one and slipping the key back into the pockets of his Bermudas.

Fifteen minutes later Aakash pulled in his small alto where he had heard Arnav tell him about Khushi's home and the two Anjali more worried amongst the two walked up the path way to the front door, and exchanged horrified looks with each other once they were standing their, all sense inside them going numb.

"I told you! I told you from the beginning, I knew something was wrong! The house is locked where are they then?" Anjali asked him back furiously, her eyes glaring at him, who too now looked slightly taken aback by the lock in the front door latch. Their was no use ringing the bell the lock said it all.

"Be quiet Anji, and let me think. Where would they go on a Sunday that too without us? (thinking) Did something, to maybe Khushi..her mother?" Aakash rolled his eyes around in a thoughtful manner but she simply shook her head, and a terrifying look surfaced her face.

"Call Choote"

"I checked his cell phone it was on the side table in the living room"

"I hope everyone's alright. (snapping her fingers) Call Payal, they are cousins right? She would be knowing if anything has happened." Anjali said smartly, and Aakash quickly nodded taking out his cell phone from baggy pockets on the back of his Bermudas.

"Hi, I was expecting you to call, how is Arnav?" Payal said in a sweet voice from the other side of the phone, making Aakash smile a bit, while Anjali kept pinching him busily standing next to him, to talk fast and not waste time in senseless jibber jabber.

"Hey. Arnav is fine. *long pause* Erm, Payal I just thought, erm maybe, do you know where Khushi is? In the morning Maa and Arnav came to her place while the two of us were sleeping, Anji and me decided to check out why they weren't back,..but erm..the house is locked over here..you have any idea where they might be?" Aakash said taking untimely pauses in between, fidgeting and shooting angry irritated glares at Anjali who was hyper ventilating and urging him to tell what was going on.

"No erm..no..I don't know..I hope everything's fine.. I haven't talked to Khushi since..last night..you could check with Vivek..maybe he would know.. *pause* and please..if you come to know anything..do let me know too" Payal answered back in a low, anxious kind of tone, waiting for Aakash to answer, who quickly answered I the affirmative and disconnected the call, the very instance bombarded with Anjali's questions.

"She doesn't know anything. I'll call Vivek he is sure to know something"

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Vivek sat on the driver's seat of the car following Anita Raizada's car, in which Aparna Gupta and Khushi were sitting in, while Arnav due to the necessity of the situation had decided to come along in Vivek's car. Arnav fidgeted about, gaping in some disgusting fashion now and then trying to find the right words to tell Vivek everything. He couldn't understand why in the world was he getting so fidgety all of a sudden, it was a simple thing, he wouldn't wait for a reaction, he would just tell whatever Khushi's had told him, and that's it. End of Story.

"Vivek, Gupta said I have to tell you something" Arnav said finally breaking the silence between them, and Vivek looked for a split second at him oddly, then continued to look in front.

"Huh? Chun told YOU to tell ME something?" He asked her in a kind of flabbergasted tone, making Arnav want to strangle him to death.

"Don't ask questions. Just listen." He lashed back at him rudely, and Vivek looked at him for a good two minutes now, but then shook his head and looked back in front.

"Fine. Then go on, tell me" Vivek said in a mild kind of tone, and continued to look in front making as less eye contact as possible much to Arnav's greatest relief.

"So its about her father'" Arnav said taking a deep breathe, but before he could continue any further Vivek had already but him short.

"About here FATHER?" he asked him in a highly astonished tone, his eyes wide as pot holes, aware of the fact that how much Khushi hated to talked about her father. She had never told him why she did so, and here suddenly sat someone who she hated or loved or whatever, telling him that he wanted to tell about her father.

"Yeah. Don't over react, just listen" Arnav said in a rowdy kind of voice, and quickly refreshing everything that she had said in his mind to him earlier he told Vivek everything of whatever he knew, ignoring his wide eyed stares in between and all the questions that he kept popping out of no where. Vivek who was too shocked by the end to even say something was clutching the wheel of the car so tightly, the rubber around it was cutting through the skin on his fingers. Suddenly he stopped the car with a wholesome jerk, sending Arnav flying right into the front mirror, rubbing his forehead furiously, cursing his seat belt for being nothing much then a belt. Vivek's eyes were boring into his figure like a angry ravished beast, as Arnav straightened his clothes and gave a hard look to Vivek, jolted right out of his wits seeing the furious composure of Vivek. Before Arnav could even say something, words had been thrown right at his face.

"Get out of the car!"

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Regarding the Title

At The Brink-

Title Suggestion By: AllSmiles86

Explanation given by the reader:

With the provided teaser, I suggest 'At The Brink' to be the title of the chapter since Khushi is changing the dynamics of the relationship by asking Arnav to reveal everything to Vivek. And, Arnav realizing that the easy camaraderie between Khushi and Vivek is just that; an easy going bond unlike what he shares with Khushi.

Why I chose this:

Okay, I don't need to explain much, the reader herself gave pretty clear overview of why she wanted me to name this chapter this. My basic reason for selecting this was because I loved the catch to it, and also that it justified all the events in this chapter. From the part of Aparna-Khushi, and Khushi confusion all other things lying at bay, to her calling Arnav, the banter of Anita-Aparna (still to be disclosed) yet their familiarity to each other, and already discussed the Vivek-Arnav-Khushi trio and their respective feelings. Everybody was on the edge of something or the other, even Aakash-Anjali-Payal are now into the plot, so the tile went aptly, and I would sincerely like to thank the reader for such a delightful suggestions.

All others please don't be disheartened, I loved all the suggestions you gave, it was very kind of you to do so, but a chapter can have only one title, kya karun I was majboor.:P

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Events In The Chapter

Just to make it clear this chapter was not a filler one so don't consider it as one. I made everything clear in the story so I don't have much to say though again I will make it clear I got Pm's requesting me to add more romance between ArHi, and so here is for all those, I stated clearly in the beginning, this is not your normal ArHi FF, there is a age bracket I am following and I intend to go with it so please let your thoughts stay with the flow too.

Again, the Aakash-Anjali scene in the beginning might seem a filler, and it was apparently, but due to the lack of humor in the update, it being a TL update I didn't like the sound of it, and so just a little fun had to be added.

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Song For The Update

Okay, this is my explanation for choosing that song, again I like the catch to it, and also the lyrics go very very nicely with the situation, its about keeping faith, never losing hope something that every character right now needs and that is why I chose this song. Besides that, the movie Ta Ra Rum Pum is one of my personal favorite's so I basically love all the songs in that movie.😆

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Precap

He slipped his arm around her and held her shivering body firm by the shoulders, as she looked slightly puzzled into them and then back at the towering man in front of them who was looking at him in as much surprise as Khushi herself was looking in.

"She is coming at my place" he said in a metallic tone, his gaze not flinching even a bit as he locked eyes with her father, and looked straight into them coldly, his blood rising her words playing furiously in his mind.

"I was ten..when Maa told me about his second marriage. I didn't belive it at first..I couldn't understand how times had changed so quickly..and then..he came later..to tell me I was still his daughter..and he loved..but he woudnt spend time with me..he insisted on getting custody of me..but Ma refused..and the court bound him to financially assist me and Ma..but from them..that day..I lost me Pa..he's dead for me..he's dead..then why does he return..what does he wanna show..that he loves me?,.I don't..I never cant..hes nothing but someone who ditched on my mother..someone who pulled my life and tangled it within..itss roots..I can..never forgive him..", she said hugging him tightly, as more tears wettened his hoody, making the moisture of them touch him skin, sending down sprawling sensation down his perfectly shaped body. He was motionlessly hugging her, not knowing how to console her since it was not wrong to admit, but she had simply rendered him speechless. He couldn't find words to pay his condolences, to her, she had been through too much, whatever he said would be nothing but words to her now. After all he didn't know how it felt to be without a dead, and pain in the heart of being brought up by a single parent, and backed up by a person who you hate.

"And who are you?" Aryan Gupta questioned him back quizzically, searching his eyes like he did when he was defending his country, looking into the eyes of the opponent with such ferocity that it would make him shiver with the effect. But the man was slowly losing his himself to Arnav's unnverving calm and his not flinching gaze on him.

"Her friend" he replied back instantly, he didn't need to think once, he could sort out the complications in their relationships later right now the most easiest name would do.

"Just a friend?" Aryan Gupta asked him slyly, a small smirk spreading on his face, as Khushi examined his face in horror, and then looked at Arnav who was backing down a bit not at all prepared for this question.

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P.S: So how was it, I wont blabber too much this time, and leave you to comment on the update.

Leave back your comments behind and hit the like button to appreciate.😳

Love,

Batool😳

nav_bat2012-07-29 19:54:09