Edited on April 6th, 2018

| . . . C H A P T E R . . . 1.8.5 - A L O N E - W I T H - H E R . . . |

Khushi said she wasn't mad at me but I knew she had lied. As soon as her eyes had fell on me, her jaw had tightened. After that, she didn't look at me at all. It did bother me. What had I done? It couldn't just be that I didn't tell her our plans had changed. I couldn't tell her when I didn't have her number. Besides, our plans hadn't changed too drastically. I was still going to show her what she needed to see.

I had to do something to talk to her privately.

Kripa asked once we had all gathered in the parking lot by our cars and luggage was fit in the trunk. "What's the seating arrangement?"

I jumped to answer, "It's 6 of us. Split 3 and 3? It's a long drive so might as well travel comfortably."

No one challenged the logic.

Ron asked, "How are we splitting?"

While they argued who didn't want to be stuck in a car for long hours with him, I texted Khushi. I had managed to get her number from Kripa's phone when she had been changing in the washroom while I had been trying to zip up her bag. She had left her phone on the bed and I had quickly copied Khushi's number. If Kripa found out I had touched her phone or that I knew her password, she was going to kill me.

Arnav: You're with me. - A.

After she checked it, she looked at me - challenging me to make her. I glared her down for I wasn't giving her a choice. She finally looked away, giving up.

I put an end to everyone's argument, "There's no way I am letting Kripa drive with you two jerks." As much as Ron and Jasper were my friends, I wouldn't leave them Kripa. I was well aware of their flirtatious nature and Kripa's rebellious side. The three together would surely end up in some trouble or the other that I would eventually have to bail them out of.

Best to put an end to it before it happens.

I added, "And I'm pretty sure Khushi will stick with Kripa."

Jasper feigned hurt by dramatically putting a hand over his chest, "No trust on us, mate? I see how it is."

I chuckled sans humor, "You'll get over it. Now, let's go. It's starting to get dark already."

Amanda, Ron and Jasper walked to Jasper's car while Khushi and Kripa followed to mines. Khushi proceeded to sit in the back when Kripa beat her to it. "Uh-uh. There is no way I am sitting shot gun when Arnav is driving. Especially when on the highway."

"Why?"

Kripa gave a baffled expression, "Have you not seen him drive? He drives way too fast and recklessly - as if he were driving on some stupid race track."

"I do not," I countered. Well... I did. Sometimes. The boring drive was just not for me. I couldn't handle driving in a straight lane for hours behind people who drove safely and as per speed limit.

But, I could see why Khushi seemed surprised and confused. That one time I had driven her back to the apartment, I had been careful to not over-speed or make it a bumpy ride.

One less reason for her to hate me, right?

Kripa answered in disbelief, "Tell that to someone who doesn't know you," and stepped in the back.

When Khushi was about to follow, I countered. "Hey, I'm not a driver! Someone is sitting in the front."

Khushi glanced at her friend who betrayed her easily, "Nuh-uh. Won't be me." She sighed and reluctantly got in the passenger seat. I walked around and turned on the car, pulling out of the parking lot with Jasper's car following us as I knew the way - they didn't.

Kripa tried to turn on the music system but I swatted her hands away. No one touches anything in my car except for me. I had nothing against music but right now, I desired peace and there was a plan in my head.

Half hour passed before Kripa could no longer take the dead silence and whined, "You two are so boring! I'd rather ride with others."

Inwardly, I grinned. Kripa was known to sooner or later complain about it being a boring ride. I pulled over, "Be my guest."

She stared at me, "Seriously? You're letting me go."

I shrugged my shoulders to not make it seem a big deal. "Mhmm. Though be warned, I will beat them up if they try anything."

"I can handle myself," she said with a mischievous smile.

Seeing us stop, Jasper had pulled over as well. "Go," I said and she didn't have to be told twice.

She was out of the car in a blink and while she turned to shut the door, Khushi looked like she was going to follow. I pinched her sleeve to hold her back. When she looked at me at the tug, I shook my head at her. I didn't drive Kripa into boredom and get her to leave the two of us alone for Khushi to go and ruin my efforts.

She rested her head back in the seat with a sigh. Trusting she wouldn't leave, I released my hold on her sweater and pulled back on the road. A minute later, I started the conversation seeing she was quite comfortable with the silence. "Mind telling me why you're mad at me?"

She crossed her arms, "I told you. I'm not."

"See, I don't even have to look at you to see if you're fumbling with your fingers to know you're lying."

From the corner of my eyes, I noticed her stop picking at her fingers that she had tried to hide my crossing her arms.

She dared to lie again, "I'm not lying."

I answered in disappointment, "And here I thought we were getting somewhere."

Silence followed for atleast ten minutes whereby she only looked outside the window in the darkness - as if the darkness was peaceful to her... to stare into nothing, into emptiness which the eye could not spot. I can only assure this for I myself feel this way at times.

Then, she finally gave in to what she was contemplating. "Amanda. I told you to stay away from her."

My forehead crinkled feeling lost. "Huh?"

She elaborated, "I've told you before, Raizada. You can go mess around with other girls and I don't really care given it's none of my business what you do with your life. But, not Amanda. She's too sweet to be your victim."

Victim? She was making it sound like I was out to get her friend. What am I, a predator?

"And I've done nothing!" I had no idea why she thought I hadn't listened. Ever since she had warned me months ago, I had stayed away from Amanda.

Even if she hadn't, I knew Amanda wasn't a one-night stand kind of girl. She was more of a relationship person and I didn't do relationships. I wouldn't have approached it myself for I had no intention of ruining someone's idea of love and romantic relationships. I didn't believe in them but I was not ignorant that I wouldn't acknowledge it when someone else did.

Khushi refused to believe, "I'm not a fool. It's not possible that you do nothing and Amanda continues to like you."

I answered desperate for her to trust me, "I swear on my sister, Khushi. The only time the two of us talk is when we're in a group and even that is all meaningless stuff like 'how was your day' and the likes."

She had to believe me. I wouldn't swear on Anjali for anything. I even called her by her name instead of sweet pea so she'd know I was serious.

The defending touch in her voice decreased as she explained, "She's still taking that to be hints."

"Then I don't know what to do of it. I am not purposely leading her on or giving her any hints. I'm sure she's seen me with other girls so I don't know why she'd think I like her."

She exhaled and her shoulders untensed as she expressed, "I just don't want to see her hurt, Arnav."

I briefly glanced at her. She was very serious about this. She wasn't looking back at me. Her gaze was again fixed on the dark road out of the window but she looked like her mind was very distant. It may be the first time she had said my name instead of calling me by my last name as if to always mock me.

I promised as I focused back on the road, "And I will do anything I can so she won't be hurt because of me."

She replied with a low hmm to acknowledge my words.

I asked, "Is there anything else you aren't telling me?"

"No."

Again, I could tell she was lying. "Khushi..."

She didn't let me finish chiding, "Not everything in my life concerns you."

I debated whether to take her word for it. This time, it was hard to tell. I couldn't rid the feeling that there was something else bothering her.

She turned the topics, "Isn't it the wrong time of the year to go on a road trip?"

"It was only supposed to be us," I informed and when I quickly glanced at her, I could see the curiosity that she was controlling. "Ron and Jasper asked what I was doing for the weekend and I wasn't going to tell them I'm taking you somewhere so I lied and said I was going on a road trip. Those two dumb heads invited themselves and this is what it ended up being."

As she often did when she wasn't picking a fight with me, she answered by nodding. I noticed she was starting to feel uncomfortable. Her legs kept shaking. I turned down the air on realizing she didn't do it herself having noticed I hadn't let Kripa touch the system.

This girl... she had to know, it was a ploy! If she was feeling hot, she could have changed it. I wouldn't have swatted her hand away like I did with Kripa. I knew what the slightest touch did to her. I wouldn't risk that. And if she still feared it, she could have just asked me. I wouldn't have said no.

"Better?"

She nodded.

I suggested next, "It'll help if you take off that hoodie."

Even in the evening, it was 73 F and she was yet wearing a hoodie. Ofcourse she was feeling hot and her nerves were on edge. She was born and raised in Shimla. I doubt she's familiar with hot weathers and this is Australia... the country where seasons are flipped. Winter when it's summer everywhere else and summer when the rest of the world experiences winter.

She shook her head.

"Are you sure?"

Her head bobbed up and down.

If she was going to keep answering like that and I had to keep looking at her, we were going to get into an accident. "You can speak, you know?"

"I know." Her mumble was low and barely audible.

I began to ask, "Okay, other than..." but her phone rang. She glanced at her lap to read the name before she pressed her lips together grimly and silenced it, turning it upside down. "You aren't going to answer?"

She shook her head.

Yup, something was surely the matter with her. Else, by now, she would have snapped at me, telling me to mind my own business.

Given she was adamant on not talking, I was left with no choice but to turn on the music system.

. . . ∞ . ∞ . ∞ . ∞. . .