Chapter 64
It had been a week since they returned from Pohick Bay and she had still not spoken to him normally. She had woken up the next morning and had behaved as if nothing had happened...she had guised as a bubbly chirpy girl, something that everyone could see she was not. The rest of her trip went in ignoring him and his questions. She had felt suffocated to be around him by the end of it...even though her mind had not come up with an answer why she was being so harsh to him. She knew she was being unfair and totally irrational in her behavior, but she couldn't bring herself to act otherwise. And so, she had kept safe distance from him, avoiding his calls and texts after their return. She had also reduced her conversation with Simran to a bare minimum...not telling her what exactly had happened that had ticked her off so much. She avoided the library as much and stepped out of her apartment only to attend classes. He could have easily cornered her by coming over to her place but he didn't and she was eternally grateful for that. The last thing she had wanted was to break her control and spit venom at him...which she knew she would do any minute if she was pushed to her limits.
There was only one place she couldn't avoid seeing him and that was at the AID BOSTON meetings for their upcoming fundraising event. She had already committed to participate in it and so couldn't back out on the last minute when the event was upon them. He was still persistent in seeking her out which was apparent when he entered the room and went and sat on the seat next to hers...and she had still not forgiven him for something he wasn't even guilty of because she slid on the seat next to hers which was empty. He felt as if someone had forcefully pulled off the bandage dried on a wound...the pain was that much severe. He closed his eyes hoping that would take the edge off his aching but it didn't.
Once everyone was present and seated, April started speaking, distracting him from his hurt "Alright folks...we have less than a month to prepare so we need to be on the run continuously..specially the performers. Okay, now..." she read at her notes and spoke again "Sanjay is dancing with Rima..they are opening the show. Next is Al and Anne. Next we have Kabir who's doing a filler, a mimicry act I believe..." she said with a smile looking over at him and he gave another one of his silly grins. "Next we have Pankaj and Ruth followed by a filler by Rohan and the show will end with the finale dance by Sharan who...still doesn't have a partner?" She asked looked at him and he shrugged as if to say no one wants to dance with me. "His charms don't seem to be working looks like.." and everybody broke into a laughter then.
Before anyone else could talk though, Sanjay spoke up "Rima is not even here today and she lives quite far from my place, so practicing with her is going to be a challenge. How about..uh... Naina?" he pretended to have thought of her right then after scanning the room but he had been thinking about proposing to dance with her all along. This caught Naina by surprise and by instinct she looked over at Rohan who very faintly shook his head, not to make it obvious to everyone. "Actually I am not up for a performance. I'm only helping backstage and with all the arrangements." she told him in an apologetic tone.
"Alright so you are back with Rima then. And what about Sharan?" April looked over at him who still hadn't a clue what to say and that's when Keerti stepped in as his partner although she had not signed up for a performance. She had shocked not only Rohan by that but also April, Naina and Sharan. They all looked at her in disbelief making her a little conscious then. Sharan put her at ease when he distracted everyone by asking "Rohan is going to do a filler? Are you sure?"
April nodded with a smile acknowledging his disbelief ..."For all you know, his "filler" is probably going to end up being a show-stealer." Shran said with a wink looking at him and he winked back with a wide grin. It was always nice to see their camaraderie. Even though he should have been jealous of Rohan, he wasn't or at least he didn't show it. He had never been expressive about his feelings...ever. It wasn't that he was ever apathetic. But his feelings were waiting to be discovered...
AID BOSTON was Rohan's life...he gave his heart and soul to any and every event conducted by them and so he quickly gathered his small little group for his filler performance and got started. Even though his focus was entirely on the discussion going on in his group, his eyes drifted time and again towards the couple that was practicing only a few feet away. He didn't feel jealous either...because he thought she had done it on purpose to hurt him... but the truth was, she had stepped in only to help her friend out. Sharan had taken good care of her while on the trip and even afterwards. He had kept tabs on her via texts and had made some successful attempts to get a laugh out of her too. She only wanted to help him...
The next several days were crazy busy with everyone practicing their own little act while attending classes and submitting assignments and attending to their on campus jobs and what not. She was glad she still hadn't gotten a job because every spare few moments she had on her, she spent them practicing, either alone or with Sharan. He had been coming to BU to practice with her every evening...they really had less time on their hands and being the last act of the event, they had to make it conquering.
A couple days after their meeting, Rohan had stopped seeking her out, much to her relief...he had finally given up hope. It had hurt her to ignore his endeavor and had honestly wanted him to stop...but it hurt her even when he stopped. She was a confused soul...a typical girl not knowing what exactly she wanted..she wasn't happy with a yes and neither with a no. Everything she did or tried to ease herself up a little would only aggravate her further. The last straw was when she saw Naina walk out of Rohan's apartment at 6 in the morning while she was on her way to the gym...she noticed her eyes half closed, her hair messy and a yawn on her lips. She had suddenly become alerted on seeing Keerti in front of her...she had not expected anyone to see her like this at that hour which was why she chose to go back home at that time...but fate always had its own way and the only person who should not have seen her had seen her. Her eyes widened and her jaw dropped...her heart accelerated in its pace and her eyes instantaneously moistened. Naina tried to stop her but she wouldn't...instead of walking to the gym she took off in a run. She didn't stop even when she reached the gym...rather, she kept running around the campus for a whole two hours and halted only when she bumped into Sharan who was standing outside her apartment building...her eyes swollen and red, her feet sore and her lips dry and blue... She stood there looking at him and then burst into a sob when she hugged him...it was only for a moment that she cried because right after putting her arms around him, she fell unconscious...Edited by dolphinUSA - 12 years ago
comment:
p_commentcount