Chapter 5 I can't stay away
"Ridzi, please come! It'll be a lot of fun. I haven't seen you in weeks, I miss you!" Anjali pleaded her little sister. "Fine di, I'll be there, okay?" "Awesome, so I'll see you at seven! Okay? Bye Darling." "Bye Di", Riddhima said before she hung up. Anjali was asking Riddhima to come party with her at a club and she did not want to go at all. Infact, she did not want to do anything at all. The way life was taking her these days, all she wanted to do was scream. She was dealing with complicating cases in the hospital, her dad was being stubborn to come to his own daughter's wedding and to top it all Armaan Mallik had probably made it his life mission to ignore her. After that incident in the hospital, she saw him once again at the traffic signal parked right next to her. They both looked at each other, Riddhima's gaze piercing into his and then he looked away and refused to even look it her while they were there, which was a long ten minutes because there was some construction going on ahead and the traffic police were trying to clear the lanes for these vehicles. At first Riddhima felt disappointed, she did not see why he was ignoring her, they got along so well the last time they met and to be honest she was missing his company. Then she felt hurt, no matter how much she tried to forget him it hurt her even more then she felt frustrated because he was messing with her mind. So she decided she will ignore him if he ever comes in front of her.
Armaan on the other hand felt rotten about ignoring her. His only justification was that he was an FBI agent who would probably endanger her life if he got too close. But why would he get close, aren't they just friends? His mind asked while his heart rebelled. But he did miss her as much as she missed him if not more, her smile, her eyes, her laughter, her independence, her Jackie Chan moves and he laughed about that one. She was probably one of the few girls who could take down a bunch of goons that easily. To avoid her thoughts, he drowned himself in work, work and more work, sometimes even working as late as four in the morning. Apart from his work, apologizing to his cousin sister and his bestfriend cum brother-in-law became another distraction. Nikki almost killed him that day when he went over for dinner and Abhi had to calm her down. They both have given him a hard time for not letting them into his life and why wouldn't they? Abhi and Armaan have been bestfriends and family friends since the age of three and Nikki has always been his favorite cousin. Abhi and Nikki have been the only ones who have supported in his decision to become an FBI officer, they even went against their family for him. He always felt bad when they questioned him of his love for them, but he couldn't help them either. Thinking of love made him miss his parents a lot, he still remembered the day he left the house because he did not want to join the family business or become a doctor like his mother. It was a nasty fight that broke loose and he left home. He hadn't spoken to his parents in the past five years, but always kept up with them through Nikki. Just as he was about to go through another criminal file, Atul came into his cabin. "Hey, Armaan we're all going to this club called Senza, come with us it'll be fun!" "No, Atul mera mood nahi plus I have these files to go through", he said trying t convince Atul. Atul sighed, "Tu mera bhai haina? Common! Please for me", he asked cutely. Armaan just shook his head and said yes, no one could say no to Atul. He got really close with all of them in these past few weeks, especially atul who became champ for him now! He finished with his work and left home to change for the evening. But as he was leaving he saw a sullen Muskaan with swollen eyes walking to the parking lot. "Hey, Muskaan are you okay?" he asked her. "Ya, Armaan I'm fine! It's just that I have a headache, I think I'll go home you guys have fun tonight!"But she looked slightly unwell as well, so he asked her "Do you want me to give you a ride?" "No Armaan, it okay, I'll leave", she smiled slightly and left. Armaan didn't feel like pushing it but he knew that something was amiss with her.
Riddhima entered the club wearing a red halter evening dress looking absolutely stunning. She went up to her di and hugged her and greeted her friends as well. She was talking with Atul when, Armaan came upto her, "Lo, yeh bhi aagaya, Ridzi you two know each other right I..", just then Anjali called him and he excused himself. Armaan looked at her and his heart skipped a beat. She looked so beautiful in that dress. The green hues help the blue orbs captive for a while. Even through the dim lights he could see the questions building up in her eyes. Riddhima on the other hand was lost in his eyes, he looked like a greek god in that black shirt, but then she remembered how she planned to ignore him and looked away from him as he continued to keep looking at her. She got irritated, one day he ignores her and another day he looks at her like her like he is lost in her, so she moved to the bar to get a drink. The spell broke for Armaan as she walked away, he couldn't believe he was so stupid to stay away from her. He realized the moment she walked away he couldn't do it anymore, he couldn't stay away anymore. So without thinking it over, he walked up to the bar and stood next to her.
"Hi, Riddhima", he said softly. Riddhima looked at him, glared at him once and looked away. He smiled a little, this was expected, even with that scowl she looked so cute. "Uhh…how are you? Hows everything going", he asked her trying again. And this set her off completely, "Why do you care Mr. Mallik", she asked him indifferently. "Ofcourse, I care about you Riddhima…", he said slightly surprised he asked her that. Of course he cared, this was the reason he even stayed away from her, but the way he ignored her that was probably what anyone would ever think. This irritated her more, "No you, don't Armaan. You don't ignore people you care about. Besides why am I even talking to you. You're so unpredictable, who knows if you'll talk to me tomorrow." "Riddhima…", Armaan sighed what else could he do, so he just let her walk away thinking of how to make it up to her. Riddhima felt more annoyed than ever, so she just made an excuse to her di about not feeling well and she left. Armaan saw her leaving and made an excuse to leave and followed her.
"Riddhima", he called her and she just ignored him and went to the parking lot. He just sighed and away for a moment, when a guy completely drunk tried to manhandle her. She was struggling in his hold. Armaan saw this and it angered to him for no reason, he was surprised she hadn't beaten him up yet, so he decided to play it cool. He grabbed the man's hand and pushed him off. "Oy, What the hell. She's mine", he said greedily. This completely broke his cool, he just punched him really hard and the guy fell on the ground. He got up again and was about to punch Armaan, when he hit him again. This was when Armaan realized this guy was some hard core criminal. Two other guys came to attack Armaan and he took them down as well. He looked at Riddhima grabbed her hand and dragged her to his car, ignoring her protests. "Leave me Armaan", she demanded. "Look Riddhima, those guys aren't typical goons, possibly legitimate criminals related to.." and he stopped. "Please, just let me drop you home", he pleaded sincerely. And Riddhima couldn't say no to that, "Fine this doesn't mean I'm not mad at you", she crossed her arms looking more like a little girl. Armaan just giggled, "Waise, How come you didn't beat those guys up? I contemplated whether to come and fight them for half a second", he asked her. She just looked away, pretending not to hear him. He sighed, "I'm sorry I ignored you Riddhima, I just …I don't know what I was thinking", he told her sincerely. Riddhima looked at him for a moment and turned away, "I was too tired to fight them", she answered him. "Why, Are you okay?" he asked her genuinely concerned about her. "Why do you care", she asked him while scowling cutely. He sighed, "Riddhima, I do care about you, just the same way you do, like that day when I was stabbed. And I wouldn't be driving you home if I didn't. Would I now?" "You're wrong, I cared about you now I don't, not anymore", she answered conveniently forgetting the second part of his answer. This amused him, "So you don't care about me?" He challenged, "we'll see about that", he whispered. He stopped in front of her house, she looked at him surprised, "How do you know where I live?" "FBI Agent remember, I know everything…", he giggled looking at her irritated face. "I came here once with Anjie and Atul so ya…" he explained. Before she could get up, he got up and opened the door for her, "Thanks", she said trying not to meet his face. "Riddhima" he called out to her, "I'm really sorry about ignoring you and I promise I won't do it again", he told her sincerely. She just looked at him and turned away again. "Riddhima", she looked back again. He looked into her eyes and said, "You look beautiful." She looked at him and got lost in his eyes. "Thank you", she blushed and turned around to walk away but turned around again, "Good night Armaan." He smiled, "good night" and his eyes twinkled a little and she loved seeing that. They said they're byes and he drove home. He looked at the seat next to him, where she sat, the car still smelled like her. He remembered how beautiful she looked tonight in that 'sauce wala red' dress. Armaan had always been able to keep his family away from him, the reason being he did not let himself get so attached to them. But with Riddhima, it was different she was a magnetic pull that he did not have control over and though he would never admit it, his heart rebelled at the thought of staying away from her. Riddhima on the other hand came to her room trying not to get affected by Armaan. And she slept thinking about those blue eyes that always mesmerized her while those blue eyes slept thinking about her green orbs. And they slept through the rainy night, unaware of the fact that their hearts started to beat for each other.
Chapter 6- I find solace in you
Armaan was about to leave his cabin to board the flight to Delhi for Anjali and Atul's wedding when he saw a text from Nikki saying that she'll meet him at the airport. Apparently Nikki was bestfriends with Riddhima and Anjali and the thought of Riddhima made him smile. The last few days they have been talking to each other, more like him talking while she just reminded him that she was still mad at him but at the end of the day she always broke through and spoke to him. Though she denied it to herself, she often found herself looking forward to his calls and Armaan's energy always resurfaced whenever he spoke to her. He had been working hard trying to track the criminal activity for the past week, but this seemed more challenging than he expected and at the end of the day left him more frustrated than ever. As he was leaving, a blue file was peeking out hidden beneath a stack of files on the cupboard farthest to his desk. That was something new that he hadn't seen. He went there and was about to read the file when Nikki called him again. He just grabbed the file and ran to his car, hoping to reach there before Nikki started her rant.
He met Abhi at the airport and walked over to Nikki, who was at the check in counter and was surprised to see Riddhima there, he thought she had already with Anjali and Atul two days ago to help get ready for the wedding. "Nikki, mujhe daar lag raha hai yaar, I mean I know di loves Atul but iss tarah papa ko bina bataye shaadi karna. And beyond that he thinks I've gone to another friend's wedding, I couldn't even tell mama otherwise, everything will be ruined. What kind of a mess is this yaar", she asked Nikki tears almost forming in her eyes. "Riddhima, don't worry yaar, I know lying is wrong, but we don't have any other option. I mean everyone tried to convince Shashank Uncle, what else could we do other than try to support Anjali. You are the only family she has right now Riddhima, we should try to support her", Nikki assured her. Riddhima sighed at this, though she knew there was no other option but somehow her heart felt burdened with guilt. Armaan who heard of her dilemma tried to cheer her up, he came forward and wiped her lowed lid with his finger. Shock and Electricity of his touch rushed through Riddhima as she felt his finger on her face. "What's this Bakset? You're actually crying. Wow, I never thought I'd see a girly characteristic in you. Patha hai Nikki, the second time I met she beat up bulky goons right in front of me and if it weren't for me they would have still been in the hospital now. ", he laughed. Riddhima's jaw just dropped and she hit his arm, "Stop it Armaan", she whined. Armaan just laughed, "I'm kidding Basket, and waise don't feel so bad about lying. I mean they are FBI Agents man, kuch tho exciting karenge na apni shaadi mein. This running away and getting married just adds more thrill into it", and he winked while she just hit his arm again while boarding the plane. He pretended to get hurt and rubbed his arm and said, "See, what I mean accha kassa FBi Agent ko bhi chhot pauchathiho", while Riddhima pretended to not hear me. Nikki on the other was extremely surprised with their Banter. As far as she knew, Armaan never consoled girls, infact her never really paid attention to any to even go that far. Has the stone heart finally begun to melt? That only time could tell!
Armaan and Abhi were placed to sit next to each other, as Nikki and Riddhima, but Nikki wanted to spend some time with Abhi so Riddhima switched seats with him. They spent a while arguing about who gets the window seat, while Nikki just shook their heads at them and Abhi was completely amused at seeing 'Armaan Mallik' argue with a girl for a window seat. They had finally settled down when Riddhima won the Rock, paper Scissors round two times in a row and she took the window seat. She stuck her tongue at him while Armaan just smiled. He saw her fiddle with her dupaata and figured she could do with the distraction so he just argued with her pointlessly. Armaan started to read a magazine when he found something heavy on his shoulder, he turned around to see Riddhima sleeping with her head on his shoulder. He sighed at that sight, her innocence and beauty held him spellbound and completely mesmerized. Before he could think about, he lifted his hand to remove a few hairs that fell on her forehead distracting her sleep. He wrapped a blanket around Riddhima and went back to reading his magazine. Befor he knew it, he fell asleep too, accidently leading his head on hers. To the outside world, they looked a pair of angels sleeping so peacefully.
Riddhima woke up to find something heavy on her head and she turned around and felt Armaan's steady breathing on her neck and despite the warmth of the blanket she shivered. She turned her head to look at him, she wondered how they got in this position and blushed at that thought. But as she looked at him, a feeling of warmth filled her heart. He looked so serene and peaceful when he slept. He was so crazy, unpredictable and caring and she couldn't help but admire him for that. She realized they had about another hour to go before they landed, she tried to free herself, but he just moved closer to her at the distraction turning his face that his face slightly so that his cheek touched her forehead slowly. She realized he was probably really tired and why wouldn't he. He was the big brave wolf who ran around trying to save the world some peace. She giggled at the thought and tried to go back to sleep.
"Sir, the flight has landed", the airhostess shook his hand slightly. The plane landed fifteen minutes ago and the flight was almost completely evacuated. The airhostess waited for Armaan and Riddhima to get up but looking at the way they were sleeping she figured it was best to wake them up. Armaan opened his eyes slightly to look at the airhostess who just smiled and walked away. Armaan couldn't believe he fell asleep and as he examined the position he found something hard restraining him. He looked down to see Riddhima's hand on his waist and her head on his shoulder with a blanket around both of them. He wondered how the blanket got on him. The last he remembered he completely wrapped it around her because she was feeling cold. He shook Riddhima slightly, "basket, wake up, We uhh….landed", he fumbled affected by the close a proximity. Riddhima woke up and blushed at the position she was in, she got up quickly not meeting his eye and quickly started to get off and he followed lead. Armaan just smiled at the way she blushed and followed suit as her grabbed his bag.
Riddhima met up with Nikki and all of them got in a rental car to go to the farmhouse they all were staying in. Armaan kept glancing at Riddhima through the rearview mirror, while she pretended to look outside the window, but whenever he caught her looking at him throught the rearview mirror, the red in her cheeks grew even more pronounced. Armaan kept driving in a daze thinking about Riddhima, while Riddhima was embarrassed about the position they were in. It had been days since she slept that peacefully, what with the drama in her house and the wedding preparations going on and she blushed at the thought of finding solace in his arms. She looked outside and closed her eyes, feeling the winter breeze touch her cheeks while the green tress passed away. Armaan looked at her once and again and smiled at her calmness. He suddenly found himself wishing to be able to gaze at her sereneness endlessly as he drove through the streets into Atul's farmhouse
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