It was pitch black as she blindly trekked in the dirty green prickly maze that she was trapped in, her eyes intensely sore from the lack of light, her entire body uncoordinated as she frequently tripped on the damned moss filled ground the prickly bushes and its thorns scratching her skin relentlessly, making gruesome gashes litter themselves all over her bare arms and legs. She wasn't sure what she was dressed in, or atleast she didn't remember going through that ordeal, but more importantly what she wanted to remember was what was she doing exactly trapped in a deliriously haunted maze not to mention she didn't know where she was headed. She had no destination. She went wherever her legs took her, which to the best of her intuition didn't seem to lead her anywhere concrete.

Suddenly, Khushi saw a faint light erupt from far away, just a tiny speck, but that was enough to send her sprits soaring as she quickened her pace earning all the more gashes and prickly thorns digging themselves in any exposed area of her body. It was not to say she did not feel the pain or was immune to it, it was just she had compartmentalized the pain to be dealt with later, since right now she was fiercely determined to at least get somewhere, anywhere that wasn't this maze that played at her claustrophobic nature and made her sick deep inside, mentally and physically.

Rushing towards that faint light that seemed to be getting larger by the second she found herself in a large expanse of land the sky above turning mysteriously a greyish blue, ominous ancient trees throwing off their shadows at the white marbled graves that were laid out endlessly before her. She gasped at the deathly scene in front of her swaying slightly due to the dizziness the maze had instilled inside her, trying to adjust to her more open and less suffocating but more dreadful surroundings.

Khushi let her eyes wander taking in her surroundings, to see any signs of human activity which by far seemed unlikely, unless you count the dead human friends that seemed to hover everywhere, or well atleast that's what she assumed standing in a cemetery. Horror and dread filled in every pore of her body as she shakily took a few steps forward instantly the wind carrying the sound of feet scuffling much to her complete shock, who whipped her head around to figure out the initiation point of the sounds the winds were leading her to. Heading towards a sinister looking tree the shadow of which loomed above her like her impending doom, she recognized the unmistakable body of a boy leaning against the trunk. Slight relief mixed with a delirious amount of curiosity she made her way towards where the boy stood still unaware of her presence, the light-dark brown of his hair coming into view as she now stood right behind him taking in the scene in front of her.

It was a funeral.

It was her mothers funeral.

She felt the ground beneath her slide as she fell down on her knees with a heavy thud, hot tears trickling down her cheeks, her insides clenching and unclenching painfully inside her. This cant be happening. No. No. This wasn't happening. Ofcourse it wasn't happening. This was a dream. Yes this was a dream. Her mother..Ma..Maa..couldnt die. How could Maa die? No! She shook her head vehemently at the thought, defiantly dismissing the thought from her mind.

"Miss are you okay?" she heard the husky voice of the boy who was now looking at her with concern, and she looked up, sure of the face she would look up into, the face that was so thoroughly etched in her memory she could practically single out each individual line on his face. His molten bronze eyes stared at her with concern, the eyes that she looked into often, however these eyes were different. They weren't the sea of emotions she was so use to interpreting, she couldn't see through this boy, she..she..why couldn't she? A horrible lump that intended to suffocate her formed in her throat as she continued to stare in his confused concerned eyes that without a doubt did not recognize her, confirming as much with her next question.

"Do I know you?" He asked her perplexed staring at this curious girl who seemed familiar yet not a single memory regarding her was anything he remembered.

"You..you don't know me?" She choked out a fresh wave of tears cascading down her cheeks, as she desperately gazed up at Arnav's handsome chiseled face.

"Miss who are you?" He said indignantly getting tired of the pathetic show this odd girl was creating. He had backed away from the crowd to mourn privately away from the remorseful and pitiful faces of the public and suddenly out of nowhere this stupid girl had come who looked familiar to him yet he really had no idea who she was.

"This is my mothers funeral. I am Khushi." Khushi finally answered between hysterics finally summoning enough strength to stand up and look at Arnav from a direct eye view, instead of a bird eye view, seeing rage contort his features in that unmistaken way they always did.

"Excuse me? Khushi you say? Your mother you say? That is my wife and my mother in law's funeral! Who the hell are you?" Arnav hissed at her seething in anger at the horribly disgusting joke this girl was trying to play on him. Was she mental?

"Who...who is your wife?" Khushi asked after a sorrowful beat, confusion attacking her from all sides, as Arnavs nostrils flared before her, his fists clenched looking at her with extreme loathing. She winced at this display of hatred and took a step back her eyes trained on the commotion that had ensued at the funeral as people departed giving her a clear view of the other picture next to her mothers.

It was hers.

"How..why..but..I am alive!" She screamed hysterically rushing back towards him who was past the point of entertaining this insanity.

"Will you just leave from here God damnnit and let me mourn? Who the hell are you anyway! What do you want?" Arnav bellowed clearly have had enough of this nonsense. First she comes barging in at the funeral then starts making some deliriously mental claims, and now she was shouting about how she was alive? What in the name of God was wrong with this weird girl?

Khushi wasn't taken aback by his outburst to say the least she felt all her brain cells die in a matter of seconds seeing Arnav's pitiful helpless broken state. How should she make him believe that she was still here? She was alive..she would..never..leave him. She would never. Someone would help her. Vivek! Ofcourse Vivek would help her convince. She had to find him as soon as possible. Letting her eyes wander at the scene before her she tried spotting the familiar noticeable demeanor of her best friend finding him nowhere, her spirits plummeting down dully as she looked at Arnav who was still patiently waiting for her to leave.

"Do you know where Vivek is?" She questioned him seriously, who seemed to have resolved into letting another huge wave of anger consume him, his eyes literally cutting daggers inside her making her dread what exactly was the reason behind this intensely violent reaction. What..what had happened to Vivek now?

"Yeah I know where he is. I can send you there if you don't freakiing shutup! (Khushi is quivering uncontrollably by now but raises her voice to say something but Arnav effectively shuts her up) What kind of mind games are you playing with me girl? Vivek died 10 years ago! What do you want with him? What do you want with my wife and mother in law? Who in the name of God are you?!" Arnav was shaking her already completely shaken form uncontrollably, almost breaking her bones with his harsh hold on her as tears made their way down her cheeks seeing the tormented look on his face and the warped up truth he had presented to her.

"He..wouldnt..he..would never leave me." She finally choked out from her trembling lips still standing upright courtesy to his iron hold on her because she was fairly sure she didn't have enough strength in her to breathe, let alone stand.

"That's..that what she told me..but people leave. Everyone leaves." He said dejectedly letting his hold on her falter as she instantly crumpled to the ground keeping her hand on her ears to block out everything, to block out his face, to block out this memory, this event, this dream, this occurrence, whatever it was from her mind. This couldn't be! This..she had to wake up. She had to wake up. Yes this was a bad nightmare, and she would wake up ofcourse she would wake up. This wasn't her life. She wasn't dead. She was alive. Very much alive.

"No! No! You are wrong! People don't leave! No one leaves just like that! You are wrong! You are wrong! This is a dream! This is a bad bad dream! And you don't exist! You are not my Arnav! You are not him! This is a farce! YOU are a farce! I will wake up from this nightmare! This is a nightmare! Wake up! Wake me up! I will wake up! Wake up!" She started screaming at the top of her lungs, not bothered with her surroundings, not bothered with what would happen, but only being fueled by this fierce determination that pushed her forward to wake up, to escape this absurd horrifying nightmare. This wasn't true. Ofcourse not! She would..never leave him. This wasn't true. She had to wake up.

She felt the edges of her surroundings blur and lose focus, even though the image of his face and twisted sneer remained etched clearly, blinding her as she spiraled down succumbing herself to the black once and for all, the echo of his bitter laugh being the last thing she heard.

"Gupta! Gupta! Wake up! Wake up damnnit!" She heard a distant hysterical voice that sounded oddly familiar waking her up, restoring sensation in her leaden body, as after a one full minute of internal struggle she let her eyes open instantly closing as a whirlpool of illumination hit her making her squint, and she jumped up into a sitting position, opening her eyes wide and taking in her surroundings which were more or less two molten bronze eyes scared witless staring at her, frightened and confused still shaking her by her shoulders, though the pressure seemed infinitely less from the last time she had gone through the same motion with him. Him. It was him.

Without any conscious control she picked up her hand that seemed remotely detached from her entire body and traced his familiar jaw line, her eyes boring into his frightened baffled eyes slightly relaxing at her touch but still as confused as ever, taking in every inch of her profusely, doing a mental scan to make sure she was alright. That thought claiming her mind, she realized, with a start, she could read him, see through him, that it was him. It was him. Her Arnav.

"Its you. Its really you." She whispered, wonder and relief in her voice as she continued to let her palm rest on his cheek, her thumb forming circular patterns still locked in with his perplexed gaze which seemed to be getting befuddled by the second.

"Yes Gupta its me. Ofcourse it's me." He said calmly, much to his complete surprise considering he had been scared witless when she had suddenly started thrashing widely and demanded over and over again to be woken up. He had done exactly that, but seeing her awake he hadn't fully realized frightened him more than the sudden wild crying while she was still sleeping. Before he could ask what exactly was going on he felt hot tears roll down her already flushed cheeks as she threw her arms around him clutching on to his shirt, her fingers digging into his back holding on to him for dear life. After one surprised beat of non chalance had passed he hugged her back fiercely burying his face in her hair inhaling her intoxicating scent, rubbing her back as she sobbed uncontrollably on his shoulder saying phrases that he not even in a million years could make any sense of.

"It..was just a dream. It..was just a dream..I would never leave..you ..they would never leave..it was just a dream" She chanted over and over again until she had completely exhausted her supply of tears and pulled away still looking into his eyes intently cupping his face in her tiny hands,her gaze firmly locked with his.

"I would never leave you Arnav. Please know that." She said softly, yet her voice was firm and slightly desperate as he visibly nodded still too shaken by her overwhelming burst of emotion and the suddenness of her declaration. He wasn't sure where it was all coming from, and what had lead to it, but he knew for sure that fear was its driving force. She was saying it out of fear perhaps, her trembling said so as much.

"I know Gupta." He assured her a huge smile spreading on her face at that but what was more of intrigue to him was the fact that her eyes lingered on to his lips, alight with desire and a sense to assure him completely, but before he could so much as contemplate the possibilities of this look she had leaned forward and pressed her soft velvet lips on his. Instinctively his hands wound around her waist as he deepened the kiss desire coursing through him letting all the tension of the past few weeks ebb away into that one heartfelt kiss which he knew was a once in a lifetime occurrence and had to be enjoyed while it lasted. She balled his unruly light brown hair into her hands, as she gripped at them tightly pressing herself closer to him so that now they were visibly sticking to eachother sharing the same air.

After a few minutes when reality showed its harsh face and knocked unceremoniously on her conscience Khushi immediately pulled away, blushing furiously and she hastily backed away from him almost falling away hadn't it been for his arm snaked around her waist holding her in place, causing her to turn into an even deeper shade of red much to Arnav's complete amusement.

"I..I am..I am..so sorry Raizada. I..dont..know..what ..came over me..that..stupid..horrible dream..I am so sorry." She muttered embarrassingly, her face heating up, eyes averted from him as a grin involuntarily etched itself on his face but he quickly not wanting to appear a prick just now, he extracted his hand from her waist and kept his finger underneath her chin tipping it up so she would look at him with a rather flushed embarrassed face.

"Well I am certainly not sorry. (Khushi looks up at him her face blushing furiously) *pause* what was the dream about anyway? You kept screaming to wake you up." Arnav asked her curiously seeing her features instantly getting withdrawn and a huge lump formed in her throat reminding her of her fresh vivid reality driven night mare. With a gulp looking at Arnav's expectant expression she decided she didn't want to hold a experience like that to her heart and let it suffocate her every single living moment.

"It..I..was lost in a maze. And couldn't get out..but when I did I..found myself in a cemetery. And you were there..(her eyes meets his concerned look)..but you..werent the same..you..werent..my..(reformulating her actual string of thought) you weren't who you are. You.. I know you are..(Arnav looks at her confused but refrains from questioning urging her to go on) It was Maa's funeral (a tear escaping from her eyes) and..and mine. (Arnavs entire form tenses) I kept telling you..that I was alive, but you were so angry..I mean dream you was so angry and then I asked about Vivek..and..(a lump forming her throat she choking on her words) you told me he died 10 years ago. (Arnav stiffens) but I said..that he would never leave me..and I would never leave you like that..but you said people leave, everyone leaves..and then I..I started screaming at you..you..I mean dream you just laughed bitterly." She concluded finally her entire form shaking uncontrollably reliving the horror she had experienced gaining some sense of strength at Arnav's comforting touch on her shoulder, his eyes communicating deeply with hers silently, enough to calm her and restore her to a rational state of mind.

"It was just a dream Gupta. Aparna Aunty is sleeping in her room, you can go and check. She came back half an hour ago (Khushi nods fearfully) And Vivek I am sure is goofing around somewhere annoying the hell out of some unsuspecting victim. (A faint smile lighting up Khushi's face) And you are here, and very much alive Gupta. I mean well its not everyday that you kiss me like THAT do you?" Arnav reasoned smugly at his last comment as she punched him hard on his chest and got up haughtily from the bed shooting daggers at him.

"I said I am sorry! You are such a prick Raizada!" She hissed, seething in rage and embarrassment as she stalked away to the washroom shutting the door loudly behind him leaving Arnav behind grinning, a rare show of that, from ear to ear. His spirits quickly went downhill though replaying her account in his mind as he whisked out his phone from his pocket waiting for the call to be received.

"Hey! I called you earlier, going good with Chun?" Vivek's cheerful voice greeted him from the other end at which he routinely rolled his eyes, getting straight down to business and skipping the whole formality part.

"How fast can you get here?" Arnav asked him directly in his no nonsense tone though the lingering hints of concern in his voice he was sure Vivek hadn't really missed.

"Uhh..10 minutes? Is Chun fine Arnav?" Vivek questioned worriedly his tone going from cheery to grim in a matter of seconds hearing Arnav's troubled voice no doubt knowing the answer to the question he had asked already.

"Not really." Arnav replied non-comittally, getting slightly edgy with Vivek's questioning though he had to say that Vivek had put commendable effort in not irking the hell out of him by his constant sunny presence but then again those were probably the side effects of his impending disease that weighed down him every single waking second.

"I'll see you in 20 minutes. Bye." Vivek said hurriedly in an urgent voice as he disconnected the call giving Casey a brief recap of his conversation with Arnav who immediately consented to him leaving and ushered him out blushing when he hugged her and raced off to his car headed at top speed towards Gupta residence.

Back at the Gupta residence, while Khushi attempted to gain some control of her hyperactive emotional state inside the isolation of the washroom, Arnav outside quickly cleared away the stack of video tapes he had seen, extracting the one in the dvd player as well, placing it neatly on the corner of the side table along with his note pad and headed outside of her room, still in a relatively uptight mood, pacing uneasily in the living room side, a state in which Khushi found him when she stepped out of her room, more collected than before.

"Raizada?" She asked apprehensively, halting him effectively in his tracks as he turned around to face her, dissolving the previous manic expression on his face. Much to his complete annoyance Khushi as usual saw through it.

"Do you want to go for a walk outside?" She offered him quietly and dully he nodded as they fetched their respective coats from the coat stands and walked out in the slightly warm March air of Stanford. It was a starry night black in its extreme but illuminated with tiny spots that shone above them as they descended down the front steps of Gupta residence, passing the much gardened lawn and out into the street walking in complete silence. The tension in Arnav's body that had momentarily left him, returned back with a vengeance as his eyes wandered to the closed door of the Ahuja's residence his entire body stiffening and becoming alarmingly immobile due to the effort it took for him to not pound his fist on the door at that very second and rip Nikhil's throat out. Noticing that Khushi was standing next to him focusing on his every movement he staunchly marched away quickly, averting his gaze from her as he did, though she quickly caught up holding his hand tightly in an attempt to stop him. He felt like ripping his hand apart from her firm grip but did nothing of that sort and instead turned to face her sporting a highly irritated and disappointed expression on his face.

"Why did you let him off the hook so easily Gupta?" He said raspily, his entire frame demonstrating a miraculous show of anger but she remained calm and steady unfazed by his irate nature.

"You don't know my father like I do Raizada. He will never hesitate on exposing somebody for his benefit and that's what he did to Nikhil. Nikhil was just the wrong guy at the wrong time with a wrong vulnerability showing through him, the chance at which my father springed on. He has been waiting for it, for a while now I believe since I really wont let him in and after seeing that I am involved with the Raizadas he has all his over protective psychopath weapons out for the fight. (Arnav snorts) I..Arnav..let him go. I don't want anything to do with him in future Arnav..I just..feel like I should protect atleast one victim from my fathers impending evil" Khushi explained to him rather quietly, the effort draining away every ounce of energy inside her letting the extent of her emotions and hatred for her father fuel her to even keep up basic talk. She let go of Arnav's hand who didn't make an attempt to hold on to it much to her dismay, but she refrained from saying anything letting him brood privately.

"I told you to stay away from him. It wouldn't have gone so far if you had just listened to me." Arnav accused her in a hurt offended tone, taking her fairly by surprise at the tone of vulnerability and disappointment in his eyes. That surprise had quickly dissolved into anger at his self centered thought processes. Wow did he have one art of making everything about him self, she thought to herself vehemently.

"You hated him, no wait hate him, because you were jealous Raizada! Why would I take into consideration your biased view of him?" Khushi exclaimed looking at Arnav with astonishment, shaking her head at his self consumed thought processes. Why in the name of Devi Maiyan did he have to make everything all about himself? He really could not see beyond himself, she shook her head disgustingly as the thought entered her mind.

"I was not jealous of him! I knew he didn't like you like..like that. He was fishy around you all the time and that's why I told you to stay away Gupta!" He retaliated defensively, their eyes meeting defiantly each holding on to their own thoughts and point of view not at all willing to let the other win.

"What the hell do you mean fishy? Fishy as in spy fishy? Because I am sure even you aren't that smart to figure something bizzard like that out Arnav Singh Raizada! (Arnav closes his eyes in an attempt to hide the tide of emotions inside him) You were jealous! Are jealous of him! You thought of him as competition since you had clearly rejected me! (Arnav opens his eyes his expression hurt) You thought that hey, she probably might fall for him what with his good looks and totally friendly personality so let me just go on and pester her to stay away from him! (Arnav glares at her) Don't tell me you were trying to protect me, or be my knight in shining armor when your problem with him clearly had everything to do with your own God damn insecurities!" Khushi was yelling at him now her arms tightly crossed around her chest, cheeks flushed with color and eyes a sea of a myriad of emotions refusing to break the gaze that they had both been entrapped in. Why did he have to be such a controlling weirdo? She was more perplexed by where all these pent emotions were coming to surface from, bottling up inside her for God knows how long, and here it was out in the open finally, even if the timing couldn't have been worse, but she didn't regret giving a piece of her mind to him, clearly he needed someone to show him the mirror more often than not.

"Gupta you are blowing this out of proportion for no reason at all." Arnav said cooly in a calm frigid tone refusing to see the truth in her words or show the way they affected him. This was a good time to skip out and go off on his way home, but somehow his legs did not seem to cooperate and he stood rooted to his spot letting her stomp in her place not daring to come any closer to him.

"Yeah Raizada I am use to of blowing stuff out of proportion. Specially when it comes you. Since you clearly are so good with proportions aren't you? Like maybe rejecting the girl you like when she asks you out? And then being jealous of a guy she could potentially like but doesn't like? And kissing random sales girl for getting a dress? Kissing the girl out of spite and proving a point? Or how about you know harboring her best friends secrets? That's an excellent record for keeping things in proportion Arnav!" She snapped at him viciously, tears streaming down her eyes by this point but with a flick of her hand she removed all traces from it turning her back on a stunned Arnav and walking back towards her house slamming the door behind him with a loud bang leaving him alone on the isolated street with nothing but an erry quietness and the sharp echo of her words surrounding him.

Before he could indulge himself in the rather mind and time consuming processing of dwelling on Khushi's word two yellow cat eyes blinded him into oblivion, an ear splitting screech sending his hearing on a permanent holiday to hell, as after having only momentarily recovered, a tall lanky disheveled boy walked towards him shaking him aggressively by the shoulder, knocking whatever living daylights in him remained intact.

"Arnav! Arnav are you alright? Did you see a ghost? Man speak up!" Vivek shook Arnav worriedly, rattling himself with the effort it took to move Arnav's body who had quickly freed himself of his grasp and was yelling profanities at God knows what speed.

"Get off me you idiot! God damn Vivek! How thick is your skull?" Arnav shouted clearly trying to come to terms with Vivek's uncalled for presence, now that he remembered not so uncalled for since he had asked him to come here, but that was besides the point. He didn't have to freaking scare the shit out of him and paralyze him physically and mentally.

"Where is Chun? And what in the world are you doing scaring unsuspecting people at 10 at night?!" Vivek asked him perplexed standing away a safe distance from Arnav just in case he had a strike of violent mood swings again and started to pounce on him or more dangerously beat the shit out of him for no apparent reason.

"Scaring what? You were the one who blinded me with those ass hole headlights! (Vivek snickers) And Gupta's inside. As for me I am leaving" Arnav replied back icily, giving a furitive glance at Khushi's closed door but Vivek's restraining hand on his shoulder stopped him dead in his tracks.

"You aren't going anywhere before telling what the hell is going on here!" Vivek told him firmly, his eyes clouded with anxiety and worry, skepticism filling all of his being seeing Arnav's withdrawn frustrated look.

"Why don't you go ask your best friend and leave me out of this for once? (Vivek is about to interrupt) No go ask her for whats up with her and her life and whatever it is that you want to ask but just keep me out of it! I have had enough of her accusing me to keep your secrets like I am doing it by choice! (Vivek looks at him guiltily) I am done!" Arnav bellowed harshly, shrugging out of Vivek's hold which had already considerably faltered stunned into silence and guilt by Arnav's truthful bashing.

"I'll tell her. I'll tell her right now." He announced quietly, almost inaudibly, resolving himself to do so at the same moment he spoke the words aloud, driven by his recent encounter with Casey. If she knew, could figure out more like, what stopped Khushi from doing the same? If she find out by her own devices that would be him knowingly dragging their friendship to the point of no return, and that was something that he did not consent on doing knowingly or unknowingly in a million light years. He had to do it. No matter what it took from him.

"What? No!" Arnav shouted in horror, pacing back to Viveks resigned form who merrily looked at him with vague curiosity waiting to hear him out of it. What was everybody's problem with him? The day that had started out better than most was turning into one of his sickest nights. Way to go Devi Maiyan, he muttered bitterly.

"But you just said that I should tell her." Vivek reasoned confused beyond his wits trying fruitlessly to keep up with Arnav's ever fluctuating wave of thoughts. Honestly he couldn't believe how Karan even did it, or even if he did, like how do you possibly conjure up man power enough to keep up with all that mood activity?

"Yeah I said that but not now! She's..she's not stable right now." He said exasperatedly running a hand through his hair almost narrowly pulling it out but one look at Vivek's horrified face brought him jerkly back to Mother Earth.

"Is she in the condition to tell me of whatever caused her this instability?" Vivek questioned him apprehensively, changing foots scrutinizing Arnav's face carefully which was now burning bright sporting a mixed expression of evident apprehension and anger.

"I guess not." He admitted uneasily, shooting a furious look at Vivek who didn't so much as give any indication that he noticed and folded his arms across his chest waiting unabashed for Arnav to gather his wits and start with his story. Whatever was probably after a millennia that Arnav in a rather unlike Arnav way cleared his throat and as clearly as he could recalled the events of the afternoon. Viveks expression from plain deadly at the mention of Nikhil being a spy went to being nauseated and fragile when Arnav reached the part of Khushi's dream, also referring to that as the reason for calling Vivek at this late hour. He stopped abruptly leaving out the part where Khushi had walked out on him. Vivek being Vivek did not miss the omission and stood patiently with the same expression however Arnav's face was devoid of any expression blank as a wall, this being Vivek's cue to question much to his complete annoyance.

"And then? After she went to the washroom to collect herself, you walked out of her house just like that and ended up spooking this poor neighbor hood?" Vivek asked sarcastically, aimed with another death glare by Arnav which he efficiently ignored putting on the get- to- the -God -damn point-face of his on.

"What? Story time over. I told you everything you needed to know. Now go in and help her figure out this shit!" Arnav said icily, carefully keeping any emotion out of his voice turning around without waiting for Vivek's reply and stalked off as quickly as he could. Well probably not as quick because Viveks perceptive voice stopped him in his tracks yet again.

"Did you both fight again?" Vivek asked him tensely, seeing Arnav's figure still at the question and turning his face towards him, this time his face a display of pretty extreme emotions the complexity of which Vivek had never been subjected to before; hence taking him by surprise.

"Don't we always?" Arnav answered wryly, though his voice broke with emotion and the internal torment going within him.

"How awful was it? I know it isn't the same old same old scenario this time around." Vivek told him taking a step towards where Arnav now stood, however Arnav held a hand up firmly stopping Viveks in his advancements.

"No. I am not talking about it. Go talk about it with your best friend. (sourly) I don't want her to blame me for stealing her best friend too. She already blames me for everything else." Arnav told him bitterly this time around not turning around until he turned in the corner towards his own street leaving a completely dumbfounded Vivek behind who well with ace points was accomplishing the task of filling in the position of spook Khushi's neighborhood'. Vivek thankfully snapped out of the reverie quickly, the gears inside his brain moving into an overdrive as he rung the bell to Khushi's home standing impatiently on the front step.

"Raizada I told you to..(surprised at noticing Vivek) Oh..uhh Hi punchy." Khushi said awkwardly stepping aside to let Vivek enter who came in silently, not bothering to return her greeting much to her surprise, walking straight towards her room, she following him behind utterly baffled. This day should officially be named Day-to-baffle-Khushi Kumari Gupta-out-of-her-wits', she thought to herself dryly. Even though she couldn't possibly conjure up any more emotion out of her already breaking point exhausted body nevertheless she was worried, with a heavy sigh she sat next to Vivek on her bed who had grown errily silent drawing circles on his jeans, something she clearly associated with him when he was trying to keep his emotions in check or was basically just nervous.

"What is it Vivek?" She asked him slowly, putting her hand on to his circular pattern drawing finger successful in gaining his attention, relieved to find that atleast apprehension was not one emotion on his mind and he wouldn't make her wait all night long for the reason to this unexpected visit.

"I met Arnav outside. (Khushi becomes stiff besides him, Vivek meets her eyes) He told me everything that has happened (Khushi mutters something like besties for life' under her breathe) Why didn't you just call me when you found out Chun? If Arnav hadn't called me were you even planning to tell me all of this?" Vivek asked her in a hurt sorrowful tone, breaking Khushi's inner resolve to keep her emotions in check as suddenly the anger she had been trying to gain some semblance of control on burst inside her like a particularly volatile volcano unleashed.

"Raizada called you? The nerve of him! That over bearing self consumed prat! What does he think calling you up so late at night to drop by here? Pretty sure it didn't get him any brownie points with me, more like rock cake points if you ask me! (Vivek is about to interrupt) And I was going to tell you first thing tomorrow at school Vivek. Unlike you I don't really feel the need to let secrets doom our friendship." Khushi exclaimed venomously, ending on a cold note here as she looked away from Vivek afraid that the tears she had been holding in for so long would come out once and for all, making her succumb to this moment of weakness, something she didn't couldn't do no matter how much she wanted that to happen.

Vivek kept silent, lost in his thoughts for the longest time ever, the ability to form coherent thoughts abandoning him completely leaving him to either be aided by sign or troll language both of which were least fascinating to put mildly considering his delirious condition. Seeing the hurt and heartbreak consume her body, made him hate himself all the more, but one look at her haggard expression and he knew that Arnav was right. He couldn't tell her about his disease. Not today atleast.

"Do you want to talk about the thing with your father and Nikhil Chun?" He asked her carefully tentative, masking away the sorrow that was gnawing hungrily at his insides making everything inside him clench painfully but the same internal pain seemed a far away thought when she finally met his eyes and he slowly saw her resolve break and tears spring to her eyes.

"Will you...will you listen to me?" She stammered her misery reflecting clearly in her hazel orbs that were devoid of the light they usually carried, searching his eyes which were filled with limitless compassion and finally bringing down the last of her barriers down she let the sorrow and anger and every emotion that she had been keeping at bay engulf her completely as she seeked solace in the company of her bestfriend.

"Always Chun." He said quietly, wrapping an arm around her shoulder as she kept her head on his shoulders, letting the tears making their way down her face and the continuous sobs accompanied with them that wracked her body; take full control of her.

"I just...I don't know what to say Vivek. It is all so..so weird. I cant..I..I don't blame Nikhil..(Vivek stiffens but doesn't say anything, Khushi looks up at him) please..Vivek..its the one thing I am sure of. Yes he made a bad choice which only resulted in trouble for him..but I cant summon up any hatred for him. I..I cant. How can I Vivek when I know how..how Paa is? Can I blame the unknowing kid he set to keep tabs on me who he for that matter struck a horrid deal with? How can I hate or say anything to Nikhil Vivek? How? (her tone pleading) Do you..do you understand it Vivek? This hopelessness, this urge to protect someone from a fatal tragedy? This feeling to..to minimize the number of casualties from the grenade that my father is?" Khushi let out frantically, her voice a slow drawl and eerily hysterical almost to the point of madness, the only shreds of sanity that she was holding on to coming from Vivek constantly rubbing her arm.

"Chun..your father has a warped up mind that tells him to look out for you. Because he's your father Chun. No matter how much you hate him he will always look out for you, even if that means resorting to simply unacceptable ways for the lack of a better word. (Khushi looks up at him blank faced) I am not saying that you letting off Nikhil off the hook was the right thing to do (Khushi shoots him a desperate look) you should have atleast made him realize the full extent of his actions..it doesn't matter what mind set he made that decision in..but he went making that decision without being consciously aware of how it would effect the people concerned. He didn't know you Chun. And he didn't know his uncle is your father. What if it was somebody else Chun? What if somebody actually meant harm to you and Nikhil was aiding them with information? Would you still mark him as innocent a victim as you do now Chun? (Khushi looks away from him mortified) No you wouldn't. You would be ready to have all hell break lose on him. You would despise him. I don't..I don't hate him Chun. And I get your minimizing the casualties logic, but will you at least try to give him a hard time for his sake if not yours?" Vivek explained to him her calmly, doing his best to not cajole her into making a decision and let his own emotions interfere with her thought processes.

"But..But you should have seen his face when he came here Vivek! He looked at me like I could make him my servant or something, like if I told him to jump off a cliff he probably would! How can I let someone torment themselves senseless when I know I can stop it by just forgiving him and helping him move on from this nightmare? You know he is a nice guy Vivek." Khushi said in a more downright helpless tone, the image of Nikhil's face in her mind rattling her insides painfully.

"Chun but he needs to face the repercussions of his actions! What is to stop him from doing something this foolish if you let him get away with it just like that? What is to stop him from doing something even more drastic next time and morally inappropriate for his own desires?" Vivek questioned back irritated now at Khushi's failure to grasp the logic behind his views apart from the whole disturbing charade that it presented.

"So you want me to make him realize that what he did was not something that he should let pass him casually and well should be extra cautious thus forth?" Khushi asked him slowly after a few seconds, evident relief breaking out on Vivek's face as he nodded. Khushi slumped her shoulders in acceptance, deciding to keep quiet for the rest of the time period.

"And about Arnav Chun.." Vivek started off hesitantly but was cut off mid sentence abruptly by Khushi viciously.

"No! I don't want to talk about him." She warned him, already feeling her head throbbing only at the mention of his name.

"I am sorry Chun but we are talking about him. (forcefully) And you will be listening. Just let him off the hook Chun will you? He was just trying to look out for you Chun! Yes he is insanely jealous and negatively biased towards Nikhil, but can you blame him for his skepticism? He is after all the one who forced Nikhil to come and tell you the truth! He was there when you woke up from your dream, and I can only guess but I am sure he didn't snap at you or worse try to do anything slimy. (Khushi's eyes signal towards the affirmative) He cares for you Chun. Don't be that hard on him." He pleaded with her in a reasonably soft tone, keeping his gaze fixed on the ever changing emotions on her face, her expression becoming uneasy at his careful scrutinization. Why couldn't they just avoid the topic of Raizada like the plague and let by gones be by gones?

"He broke my heart Vivek. He deserves it. What ever happened to good ol teaching life lessons?" she said resentfully, not bothering to keep the razor edge out of her voice. Yes he deserved it, she told herself firmly, he broke her heart, he would have to pay, yes, yes this was the right course of thought she couldn't possibly stray from it, she told herself feebly even though she half believed it.

"Yeah he did. And he's trying to make repairs every single day. It doesn't help that you two keep taking one step forward and hundred steps back. He broke your heart, and he is protecting my secret from you (Khushi furiously looks away from, Vivek holds her by the chin and forces her to look at him) Chun look at me please..I would tell you right now if I could Chun..please believe me if I could I would..but I cant..I..I am so sorry Chun. I know that you know that Arnav knows. It was..it was an accident. I know I shouldn't be asking you for anything but please Chun..he means so much to you. Don't spoil this with him because of me..or because of what happened." Vivek said in a terribly hollow voice that was downright begging her as the conflicted expressions on her face seem to zero in on his desperateness reaching a final decision.

"As much as I want to ask you why you are protecting this secret from me of all people I wont ask you. (dejectedly) you will tell me in your own time I suppose. And Raizada..I..can't help it. I don't do it on purpose believe me..I just I..why doesn't he tell me what's in his heart? It would make it easier for all of us." Khushi asked in a low voice, the warring emotions in her consuming her entirely with a certain ferocity that robbed her of any hope of fighting it back. So she didn't.

"So are you going to say sorry to him for whatever you told him right now?" Vivek asked her hopefully getting another puzzled guilty look from her.

"Say sorry? What for? I didn't say anything wrong! He was bossing me around and I showed him his place! What was so wrong about that now?" Khushi retaliated angrily scooting away from Vivek and crossing her arms across her chest much to his complete exasperation.

"Look Chun..there is a photoshoot tomorrow. For a ROMANTIC play. And you two are the leads. If you two are out biting eachothers head off how in the name of God do you suppose we will be able to pull this poster gig? Honestly Khushi we are going round and round in circles now!" Vivek alleged infuriated by Khushi's absolute stubbornness. All his work and those countless sermons he had launched into for them all seemed to be tumbling down in a heap of mockery on him right now.

"We pulled off dance practices somehow being on hate terms didn't we?" Khushi countered timidly now, stung by Viveks use of her first name which she tried hard to ignore, dreading Vivek's answer which she knew and had complete faith in her intuition was going to disappoint her.

"That worked out really well didn't it now? Getting you both almost sacked and all?" Vivek commented sarcastically awarded with a glare from her which this time out of a fierce impulse seizing him he rolled his eyes at her as an answer.

"You rolled your eyes at me! You..dont..only Raizada does that! (cupping her hands to her mouth in shock) You are spending too much time with that git!" Khushi accused him shocked, completely mind blown by the fact that her best friend was now picking up Raizada's most infuriating habits, habits that she somewhat grudgingly accepted to herself she had picked up on as well.

"You could change that by being a bit more civil with him." Vivek told her off handedly, this time stunned by her non responsive answer to his suggestion as she stared blankly into space momentarily forgetting that he was even present.

"So should I say sorry to him right now?" She asked him hesitantly, evident relief breaking out on his face as he smiled at her pleased with her eventual decision however grudgingly.

"I could take you to his place." Vivek suggested jovially and she glumly nodded, or atleast she was pretending to do so, though she somehow had a vague idea that Vivek more or less saw through her this-whole-deed-is-sickening-me faade and knew that she was as relieved to get this fight out of the way as he was.

nav_bat2015-09-12 00:06:08