-Meredith Grey

His steps were measured, when he paced about the medium size exterior of his room, his hands holding on to the phone, beads of trepidation causing his grip to flinch from time to time.

"Yeah. We are getting closer." He informed in an expressionless tone, his voice seeming so professional yet only he knew how many emotions lay masked behind his stony timber. His mind reverted back to the memories of the day and of those earlier with her, a small smile lightening up his handsome features and though a part of him felt ashamed of being like this to her, but then he was smart enough to know, loved ones came before his own personal feelings.

"Good. I want you to keep me updated about her." The steely, voice from the other end told him, as he nearly dropped the phone from his hand due to the way his palm had gotten slippery, keeping the phone back on his ear in a hurry, trying to hide the increasing annoyance and regret in his voice.

"Is it not possible that I can tell her my relation with you?" He said once again, fairly hopeful that he might get an answer against what he thought, and maybe he could rid himself off the guilt.

"No. Do as you are told Nikhil." The man on the other hand clutched the phone tighter, resting his head against the bed rest of his king size bed, grumbling over the radical thoughts about fiery teenagers roaming about in his ideal mind. Foolish teenagers, he grunted under his breathe. When he heard only a sigh from Nikhil on the other end, who had now seated himself restlessly on his bed, shaking his head in disappointment. The man concluding that there was no more the annoying teenager had to offer him, he was about to disconnect the call when the vague sound of Nikhil's voice caused him to keep the mobile back on his ear.

"I told her I am Purab's cousin." Nikhil said fear masking the otherwise calm quality of his voice, waiting for the man on the other end to answer. The man seethed in anger hearing this bit of disturbing news, gritting his teeth against each other. Never should have trusted a teenager. He told himself, but he knew there were no delusional thoughts he was keeping, he had no other option, he had either this or nothing.

"You shouldn't have done that. (An evil smirking drawing on his lips) You do realize I am the only one who can take care of her in Bulgaria? If you spoil things with Khushi, you know how severe I can get." The man said in a plain subdued tone, his emotions failing to reflect in his figuratively dead heart.

"I know. I understand the consequences of my action but I need to gain her trust. I guess you do know, that Khushi is not dumb. And for that matter, she has her best friend and Arnav Singh Raizada looking out for her all the time. It is difficult to get close to her with them around." Nikhil reasoned back, trying not to show that none of these reasons were so much of a hindrance to him as his own inner guilt was.

"I am warning you to be careful kid. *pause* (voice deeper) Careful." The man in a threatening modulation of his voice said, dismissing all of Nikhil's reasoning and disconnected the call, leaving Nikhil to ponder over his next step. The warning was enough for him, he knew guilt was going to get the better of him some day, but till then he had to tread carefully, this was dangerous, he had never done something like that before, Khushi was no ordinary girl like he said, and the people around her weren't ordinary either, but the more important fact was he had people, he had her, depending on every step he took, if keeping her safe meant he had to go behind Khushi's back then he would do it.

Jumping into his bed, he dimmed the light of the lamp, fishing out a Kodak snap shot from his drawer and looked at it painfully, his eyes dark with longing.

"We will be together soon." He murmured in a soulful voice to himself, before kissing the picture and placed it ever so lightly on his side table, switching the lamp light off and drifting off to sleep.

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Khushi fidgeted with her fingers nervousness overcoming all of the other emotions that she felt at the moment, her eyes down cast and mind lost in thought of what was going to happen at the auditions. Two days earlier Vivek had told her of the drama auditions and she had decided to try her luck, as now he sat beside her in the driving seat, looking at her from the corner of her eyes smiling a bit to himself.

"Don't smile. I am dieing of nervousness here. (Vivek grins harder) Stop grinning you, or be prepared to be dead meat. (Vivek lets out a throaty laugh now, while Khushi grumbles some undecipherable garbage to him) I hope the auditions go well." She said once more, biting her lips so hard Vivek almost thought she was going to bleed them out.

"Hey, you are going to do good. Relax." Vivek told her confidently putting his hand on her shoulder comfortingly then went back to looking at the road ahead of him, as she tight lipped smiled at him.

"Let's hope I get a good male co-star too." She said again, pouring out the thoughts in her head into words. Vivek looks at her momentarily then smirks to himself quickly getting rid of it before she saw it.

"The male auditions were held yesterday. The male actor was finalized yesterday." He told her ideally immediately activating all her curious senses within her.

"Who is it? Who is it?" Khushi asked now hyped as Vivek grinned at her wanting to tell her, but he knew it was only wrong to spoil the surprise for her.

"I don't know I left before they made the final decision. But don't worry who ever got finalized is handsome, so atleast you get a handsome guy to stick around with." Vivek joked and she hit him hard on his shoulder about to ask him who were the ultimate finalist before he parked the car in the Stanford High parking lot, un buckling his seat belt.

"C'mon now. No more questions, We should get going the auditions must be rolling." He told her as they both stepped out of the car, walking inside the campus, and even though Khushi was nervous to the optimum she still couldn't resist inquiring about the male lead.

"Who were the finalist?" She asked and Vivek cringed a bit, not wanting to give away the names just now. He didn't reply for a few seconds praying to his stars to find a good enough to answer to get rid of her question, when thankfully he saw Casey James, a fellow script writer, speeding towards him, and speaking something in quick English she held his wrist and dragged him away behind her, leaving him only enough time to wave Khushi off and wave her the best of luck.

"So much for the names" She grumbled to herself, and walked into the hall where the auditions were taking place, the entire area jam packed with girls from all the three grades years. She joined the freshman year group where some familiar faces met her eye, the group next to them being sophomores where she instantly spotted Anjali and the last ones being the seniors. She waved at Anjali, having caught her eye and walked towards her smiling her usual smile.

"So you are auditioning for Lindsay Dawson's role too?" Anjali asked, causing Khushi to escape into a moment of confusion until she un sure of what Anjali meant nodded in the affirmative hoping she had given the correct response.

"You haven't read the script have you?" Anjali asked, smiling good naturedly at him as Khushi shook her head, turning into a deep red.

"That's okay the script is still going through the final edits. Aakash just happened to tell me the character names. (Khushi is about to ask about the male lead, Anjali guessed her query) Nope. I don't know who got finalized for the male lead. Aakash wouldn't tell, nor would Chotte. (Khushi looks at her apprehensively) Actually he auditioned for that role, Jamie Dawson, don't think he would have gotten it though. They usually hand out lead roles to the seniors or sophomores and keep the fresh men's back stage." Anjali told her, and a bit of Khushis confidence went down even lower, now knowing how less of a chance she held for getting this role.

"So I guess it's between the sophomore and senior girls for the role then."Khushi sighed, however Anjali kept an encouraging hand on her shoulder.

"Doesn't hurt to give it a shot does it? You never know, they are going for the very best. Talent really doesn't depend on age. (Khushi smiles) And then's their always next year and the year after for you right?" Anjali told her and she nodded, still a bit down that she wouldn't be able to get it this year, since the chances seemed next to impossible but who knows anything could happen.

The start of the auditions was announced and all the girls got seated waiting for their names to be called out. One by one the names were called out, and they appeared before the jury show casing their talents. Khushi nervously gave her auditions, surprised to find Vivek and Casey, with four other students from the sophomore and senior years standing behind the jury. So he knew who was the male lead, she figured out, instantly annoyed at Vivek for not revealing the name, and she passed an annoying glance at him, the very next second being handed over an exemplary scene to show her acting skills. Once she was done she walked, more perplexed then annoyed, waiting for the other to give their auditions. It was approximately 2 hours later that the whole lot of girls had been auditioned and judged, and soon the judges would announce who was going to be playing the female lead, Lindsay Dawson's character this year.

About half an hour was gone, before they heard the sound of their Drama Teacher conquer the chatter surrounding the hall, sending everyone in a pin drop silence.

"Good morning Students. Thankyou for auditioning for this year's female protagonist role of Lindsay Dawson today. I thank you all for your patience and cooperation, and as per the decisions of the judges the results will be announced. *pause* The name of the final four contenders for Lindsay Dawson's role are, (The girls in the hall chant silent prayers) Anjali Raizada (Anjali is stoked with happiness) , Eve Davis, Alexis Charles, and surprisingly there is a freshmen in the competition this year, *long pause* Khushi Kumari Gupta." As the drama teacher announced the final name a round of applause surrounding Khushi, several pats on her back by various girls, congratulating her for making it to the top four.

"Silence please. (The hall falls silent) the final winner will be selected as per the protocol agreed upon by the judges on the basis of the best looking and most appealing chemistry between the male and female lead. The final four contenders are requested to proceed inside the judging room for the final judgment procedure to be carried forward. (Khushi, Eve, Anjali and Alexis move towards the judging room after acquiring the best wishes of their friends) Rest of the candidates are kindly requested to evacuate the hall as soon as possible." Saying that, the drama teacher, Mr Brendon Angels walked away from the microphone stand proceeding inside the judges room, moving towards the four remaining girls who were standing at the door chatting.

"So we are head to head on this one. A freshmen in the top four is a big achievement Khushi." Anjali complimented as they walked together inside the hall where the drama teacher was taking them too.

"Thanks. *pause* I wish I knew who the male lead was." Khushi wondered, but before Anjali could say anything they were already in the hall standing face to face with this years male protagonist, Jamie Dawson.

"OMG!" Anjali gasped, her jaw dropping open upon seeing the boy standing in front of her. Not even in her wildest, or most vaguest dreams she would think that he would win over all the guys in school. She had never doubted on his talent, but to defeat the rest of the contenders, emerging as a victor that too being a freshmen was beyond perception.

"Someone tell me I am dreaming." They heard Eve next to them say, in a completely smitten voice, her eyes glued on the handsome image of the boy in front of her.

"More like a nightmare" Khushi groaned to herself, feeling sick to the stomach, and suddenly it occurred to her why Vivek had lied to her earlier. So he knew. She gritted her teeth in anger. Danm him. This is the worst nightmare ever. Out of the four contenders it was safe to say that Alexis seemed the least affected by the presence of the male lead, and took it head on to acquire the role no matter what it took of her.

"Meet this year's male protagonist, Arnav Singh Raizada." Sir Brendon announced in a voice that radiated happiness and satisfaction from within him, as Arnav mildly smiled at the four girls in front of him, his eyes peacefully resting on Khushi, making her feel more uncomfortable then she already was.

"Danm you Khushi! You have got this in the bag." Anjali whispered in a hushed tone in her ear, having Khushi make her famous googly eyes expression at her. She suddenly felt more giddier than ever when two other people walked in, standing next to Arnav shaking his hands with him, and then looking at the four girls.

"These are our two choreographers for this year. Mr Jenkins Reddy and Ms Julie Baker." The drama teacher introduced the four of them to the choreographers and they nodded at them, all of them acknowledging each other's presence.

"Girls please take your seats. (Pointing towards a bench sideways to where the judges panel was seated) This is what shall be done now. Mr. Jenkins and Ms.Julie will be doing a set of sample steps for you people. One by one you shall all imitate the same exact steps with Arnav and thus the final results will then be declared on your performance collectively." The drama teacher explained and all the girls nodded, though in her mind Khushi was figuring out a Plan B to leave the hall, and quit. She felt like she was going to lose consciousness any moment, this was becoming her worst nightmare. Dance with him, meant close proximity, and that was the last thing she wanted, she just couldn't risk falling in love with him again.

As that thought crept into her mind, another more horrifying thought crossed her mind, if she quit, that would leave three other people behind, and one of them was bound to get selected then. If it was Anjali she would still be okay, but even she knew the chances of that happening was less then even a percent. That left Eve and Alexis and when she weighed herself against them she knew she had some grave competition. Either of them winning the role meant, 3 long months with Arnav, close proximity, after school hours, No, just No, her mind immediately told her, she had to win this one over, she just had to. With that daunting thought in her mind, she put her games face on ready to take her buried feelings head on. Falling in love with him was okay, jealousy was so not.

"Anjali Raizada." The drama teacher called, and Anjali stood up Khushi giving her the best of luck sign, as Anjali smiled at her queasily walking towards Arnav who was facing the same awkwardness as Anjali was.

"I would have never imagined you would win that role over. Seriously how did you beat Roger and Julian? " She grumbled standing next to him, as he shot her a subdued annoying look, nudging her slightly to concentrate on the steps the choreographers were doing.

"Di, maybe if you concentrate there (pointing ever so inwardly at the two choreographers) you might get the role." Arnav advice and she looked at him irritated, focusing her eyes to the pair in front of them. Once they were done, Anjali and Arnav got into position in acting the same steps, or atleast they were trying, none of them clumsy or anything but anyone could see the chemistry they had was far from anything romantic.

"Trying to be romantic with your younger brother is like your worst nightmare come true." Anjali said under her breathe, and for the first time in his whole life, Arnav seemed to agree whole heartedly with Anjali's comment. He lifted her up from his waist, trying to be as soulful as possible, but the more he tried the more impossible it seemed.

"I know you want Khushi to get the role." She said as he brought her back to her feet, keeping her hand around his neck, his hand on her waist, both drawing away from each other as the judges signaled 'stop' to them. Arnav registered Anjali's question in his head, and momentarily looked at Khushi who has her eyes trained on him, but quickly tore them away the moment she realized he had caught her staring.

"Yeah. Definitely." He told Anjali, and despite the grave grievances that Anjali held against Arnav, she smiled at him finally realizing, her brother had started to come into terms with his feelings for the girl he loved.

Anjali took her seat back, informing Khushi once again, that she was going to be a clean winner for this one. Everyone in school knew, nobody complimented Arnav better than she did. Khushi just shook her head giving no such response to Anjali's compliment who smiled inwardly to herself, completely understanding Khushi's situation.

"Eve Davis" The drama teacher announced, a sultry Eve walked towards Arnav making Arnav groan inwardly. The last thing he wanted was another wanna be girl to dance with. His glance lingered on to Khushi who seemed more uncomfortable then he was, drawing her eyes over and again from Eve and him, trying not to pounce on Eve and kill her dead. The choreographers repeated the same steps for the two of them, Eve's eyes thankfully fixed on what they were doing, however her mind figuring out ways to seduce Arnav.

"You know you are so much more hotter than people say so. Guess they underestimated it." Eve said in a low sultry tone sticking to him as close as she could, the green beast inside Khushi going completely bonkers over her ever so seductive moves. Arnav looked at Khushi from the corner of his eye and then at Eve, wanting to push her away, but he knew he was almost next to paralyzed now, so he let it be, trying to more focused with the dance steps than last time.

Once they started dancing the whole thing exceeded beyond awkward, with her making moves that were not only to a great extent vulgar but also offensive. Fortunately for Khushi, the judges had sensed the off mood and negative energy around the room and cut the performance short, having Eve to exit back to the bench next to Khushi after having been clingy enough the whole time. Khushi looked in disgust at her beside her, controlling every cell of her to not dig her finger nails into her bare legs, praying to all of her stars that her name would be called next, because if Alexis was, she didn't know if Eve was ever going to get out of the room in one piece.

"Khushi Kumari Gupta." The drama teacher announced, and Khushi said a quick thankyou prayer in her heart to Devi Maiyan pacing towards Arnav in no time, as far away from Eve as possible, who had already began to loath Khushi, seeing the glow that emanated from Arnav's face the moment he heard Khushi was next.

Technically, this was a dream come true moment for her, but on the other hand it was still a nightmare, so juggling between the two very contradicting thoughts she cancelled the idea of siding with an extreme side, and kept to a fair distance and no eye contact with him. Arnav was least surprised by her ignorant behavior. After all that had happened between them, he had begun to get use to of this side of her, but even he was Arnav Singh Raizada, and what he did not like, he would get rid of it, this would go away too. Soon.

As the choreographers re did the sample steps, Khushi watched more carefully this time, determined to not screw up anything, while Arnav who was though concentrating over and over again, seemed to have aced the steps but somehow he had a feeling he would need a little bit of something extra to match with the graceful dancer Khushi was. The choreographers done with the same steps a third time, stepped away letting Arnav and Khushi take the floor, her arms wound around his neck, his on her waist, them swaying in slow motion coordinating steps with each other while at the same time maintain constant eye contact.

Arnav held her hand steady as she moved away spinning back right into his arms, his hands instinctively wounding around her tightly, a bit of improvisation on the original step but none of them seem to notice the merry fact too lost for words. It had been a long time since they danced like this, in a romantic way, or technically it was the first time, the drunk party dance excluded, and now in their senses the deep feelings that they nurtured for each other came into open space. In his mind, if he could stop time right now, and capture this moment, he would do so, because her eyes reminded him of everything he never was, everything he was trying to be, everything he wanted to be, to be good enough for her, to be just for her.

"You are good." He complimented her full heartedly, a twinkle in his eye, and his small enchanting smile going perfectly with his words, as she continued to stare into the molten bronze ocean of his eyes, her blissful memories with him flashing in front of her, until the last memory of changing eye colors registered in her mind and momentarily the smile vanished from her face.

"Not as good as Eve was." She said in a vexed tone, causing him to smirk to himself, sensing the rise of the green beast in her.

"True. (Khushi looks at him in disgust) You are even better." He said softly, bringing his mouth close to her ears, whispering it, causing her breathe to hitch and for a moment she thought she was going to fall out really soon now, but the way he held her so close she knew he was going to keep her safe, even if she struggled to believe it, she just knew he could be trusted. He lifted her up as per the step, bringing her slowly down, and something in her cringed so bad, remembering her dream at the field trip, tears started to roll slowly down her eyes just in time for him to see, startling him out of his wits.

One of his eyes darted off to the judge's panel who were smiling seeing them, apparently having failed to noticed the dropped tears, and nothing clicking into his mind, he pulled her closer, to himself practically hugging her, taking her completely by surprise.

"Wipe your tears Gupta. Don't let them see it. I want you to get this role." Arnav whispered ever so softly, the warm breathe of his touching the corners of her ears causing them to twitch and curl inwards. Moving her hands up his back, she elegantly rubbed her face against his t shirt just enough to dry her tears and went back into position, the judges signaling stop, and she moved away from him smiling a bit now, going crimson.

"Thankyou." She said before leaving, and he humbly accepted it, stunning her further more with his manners, she never knew this gentle men side of him either, oh alas, she thought, only if she could tell him how much she still craved for him.

"No. THANK YOU." He told her, just in time for her to hear, and she turned back looking at him seeing that twinkle in them returning and it didn't take her much time to figure out what he meant. She knew what it meant. He had figured out without her telling him, that she was ready to give him a second chance.

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nav_bat2013-07-17 11:22:42