ARSHI SS | Of Chai, Fights and Lonely Nights
****These beautiful gifs are from ageeb-ho-tum's tumblr**** INDEXPrologue: Scroll Down......PrologueWHEN HE saw her, he crashed his car.
The day was gloomy, the sky overhung with a blanket of grey, so much so that he could scarcely differentiate between the road and clouds. It had been like that for months, but something about the whispering hum of sheets of precipitation plunging to the ground irritated him.
He loathed it; Delhi traffic was already abhorrent and the rain merely exacerbated it.
Letting out an annoyed sigh, he tapped his fingers impatiently on the wheel and fixed his eyes upon the muddy puddles forming in the potholes. He had nearly finished tracing all of them when his gaze landed on her.
She stood in a crisp salwar suit, tightly clutching an umbrella that was doing a piss poor job keeping her dry. The designer in him assessed her white kameez and decided that it was from Chadni Chowk. No other place would have gota work so inferior. Nonetheless, she looked bloody good in it. So good that when the traffic in front of him began to shift, he had pressed his foot down on the accelerator a little too hard.
He didn't see his precious SUV crash into the auto in front of him or hear the screech of his tire against the gravel. He was too busy looking at her and her hazel eyes. She squinted at him, craning her head every so slightly that the mole hidden under her dupatta surfaced.
"Arre bhai, don't you know how to drive? Kitna nuksan kiya."
He vaguely registered the auto driver banging his hand violently against his window as he watched her scurry between cars to come to his. It was only when she raised her hand to gently tap against the glass that he broke out of his trance.
He watched her pause as he rolled the glass down. Did she forget him?
"Raizada?"
Guess not.
**********
Northeastern University 5 years ago HE SAT on the edge of his plastic chair; this was studio art 101, his chance to shine. His peers seemed to come alive in science class, amongst the microscopes and graduated cylinders, but for him the sight of pastels and fine charcoal pencils was the heaven he craved. Science was beautiful; science was amazing, but not in his hands which craved to sketch all day long.
He pressed the brush harder against the canvas, watching extravagant brush strokes and bold greens blend together. He was almost done painting the leaf, focusing on its lacy, cellulose network--fragile, natural--when he felt his work dampen.
In an instant, his pristine canvas had turned into a messy, muddy blob of brown. He narrowed his eyes, his head snapping to the girl in front of him.
Of course. "Can you see where you're going?" He ground his teeth without much difficulty.
Khushi Gupta flushed in anger. "It's not my fault your paper," she gave it a harsh shove. "And your bag," she gave another push. "Are in the way."
He sneered. "Anyone with two brain cells would walk around the other side. But that's asking too much. There is nothing," he tapped her head once. "Except for air."
Her eyes narrowed. "Don't touch me Raizada."
Somewhere in the back, he heard Professor Singhania cough. "Alright you two, get back to your seats."
"Or what Gupta," he jabbed back. "What are you going to do?"
He felt water hit him. Spluttering, he nearly lunged towards it. "That's f*cking it. I'm done with putting up with your bullshit. You're going down."
"Mr. Raizada! No profanities in my classroom," Singhania yelled. "And Ms. Gupta, we don't attack students. I've had it with the both of you. Detention tonight!
His eyes widened. "Sir, she destroyed my semester final! And I have a football game--"
"Sir, try to understand. This is all Raizada's fault! He thinks he owns this place," she sent him an accusing glare. "And I have a dance recital--"
"No excuses, I will not tolerate this type of immaturity in my classroom," Singhania seethed, pushing his glasses back so that it touched his oily hair. "If you two can't act like adults in my classroom, I'll gladly let the headmaster know."
"But sir-"
"I'll see you tonight."
Arnav shot her one last glower before picking up his bag and storming out.
**********"KHUSHI," he breathed out after what felt like ages.
Her gaze flickered to his forehead. "You're bleeding."
He touched his forehead tentatively before looking into the rearview mirror. His face closed in a grimace as he noticed the small gash above his brow.
"Arre bahenji hatiye," the auto driver on his left had made his way to her. Khushi staggered back slightly. "Tu dekh ke nahi chal sakti? Bewakhoof!"
Had it been another day, Arnav would have yelled back. But he was at a loss of words as he watched her furrow her brows and open her mouth.
"Sh," she whispered. "He's having a bad year. Arre bhaisaab, you don't want to know what happened to him." She dropped her arm around the auto driver's neck who flushed deeply.
"Kya hua?"
"His wife passed away," she shot him a look of pity. "And then his son was kidnapped yesterday. He was going to the police station right now."
"The station is the other way..."
"He came to pick me up," she returned naturally. "I'm his lawyer. Can you still accost him after hearing this? Don't you have a wife? A child? Imagine if this happened to you. Hai Devi Maiyya, I wouldn't wish it upon everyone." She fluttered her lashes. "Especially to you."
"Bhai, maaf kijiye. I didn't know."
He simply nodded. "Get in the car...Ms. Gupta. We need to go to the station as soon as possible."
Her eyes widened, the lies she whispered a few seconds ago suddenly dawning on her. "Of...of course."
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Edited by AnaayaArshi - 7 years ago
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