Tw: slight mention of physical abuse. Nothing descriptive.

....

Crack.

The sound resonated in the silent room, where an argument took place just seconds before, silencing her, as she stood in shock.

Her cheeks burned in flames, and before she knew it, he grabbed her hands, backing her and slamming her against the wall, screaming in her face.

She yelled back colourful words, returning the slap with a kick of her own, grabbing her phone and backpack, making a run for it, and out the gates of the bungalow, before he was in the right senses to recover from the blow in a very sensitive spot.

She ran and ran to the only house she knew in this city, far away from Somnath, because that was the only place she could go right now. Continuously looking behind her to see if he tailed her, she climbed up four flights of stairs until she reached the house.

The wooden door stared her back in the face, as she frantically rapped on it, gasping for breath and scared to her wits end. Her hands were trembling, her legs would have turned to jelly if she had stopped running mid-way, and right now she was close to collapsing from fear.

She could swear she heard footsteps, and her heart would stop right there and then.

But it came from the other side of the door, and the moment the door opened, she was greeted with an unfamiliar face.

It didn't matter, she barged in and locked the door behind her, looking around frantically for her someone to calm her down, with his rough words, his voice.

"Aap hai kaun, aur aise ghar mein kaise ghus gayi?" The man who opened the door asked impatiently, and she turned around.

"Woh-Mai... Shi-Shiva kaha hai?" Her voice trembled.

"Shiva? Aapko kaise pata-" He asked, until he realised he had seen her before. Somewhere...

"Kaun hai yaar, Gaurav, itni raat ko-" Shiva emerged from his room, rubbing his eyes until he registered who was in the living room.

Raavi.

What was she doing here at this hour? And why did she looked so damn scared?

Raavi looked at him, took in his presence, and leapt into his arms, trembling, shaking and crying, reeling from the aftermath of the last few minutes.

"Shiva, kuch kar- please usse aane mat de, mai... I can't..." She sobbed, as Shiva wrapped his arms around her, to calm her down.

"Ae chipkali, kya hua? Aise kyu ganga jamuna baha rahi hai?" He asked worriedly, she wouldn't stop shaking, and her legs gave way, as she sat down on the ground, taking Shiva down with her.

"Woh aa jayega, lights off..he can see me... Arjun- nahi, off....lights off...bandh kar, woh-" Raavi waved her hands towards the door, nestling herself closer to him, her nails piercing the skin on his back.

"Arjun? Uska kya conn-" Shiva asked, confusedly.

"OFF KAR NA PLEASE!" She screamed, and Shiva signalled for Gaurav to turn off the light, "Kar band, JALDI!"

Gaurav turned all the lights off, and stood where he was, her sobs and Shiva's words echoing in the room.

"Bas dekh, lights off kar diye. Koi nahi aayega. Koi nahi aa raha, Raavi." Shiva caressed her head, his hand rubbing up and down her spine.

"Nahi, woh aayega... mujhe nahi jaana waapas, Shiva. I don't want to-" She hiccuped, more sobs making their way, her throat getting dry.

"Shhh. Bas. I'm here. Mai hoon yahan. Koi tujhe kahi nahi leke jaayega, theek hai? Koi bhi nahi. Rona band kar, chipkali. Stop crying. Koi nahi hai yaha. Just breathe, listen to me. Just breathe." He pressed the side of her head which rested on his chest, closer to his heart, which was beating fast enough to know he was worried.

He was worried to shreds and he didn't have a single clue as to what was going on. She was a crying mess in his arms, and he didn't even know why. She was blabbering random words that didn't help.

"Breathe, okay? Follow kar mujhe, haa? Follow me. Itna kar sakti hai?" He gently said, shaking her a bit to get her to register what he said.

Raavi nodded, and followed his breathing pattern, eventually calming down her racing heart, his voice in her ears, his arms around her, and his heart beat sharp and loud to bring her back to her senses.

She sat up slightly, disentangling herself from him, still in the dark room.

"Lights on kar du?"

"Haa." She meekly said, and blinked to adjust to the sudden brightness, before bringing herself to look at him.

Worry lines on his forehead creased against his skin, a certain confusion running on his face as he stared at her teary, red eyes and quivering lips, reaching for the bottle of water and pouring it in a glass.

"Pi." He demanded, and thrust the glass in her hands, which she downed in seconds.

She steadied herself onto her feet, walking towards the sofa and sinking into the comfort of it, holding her head in her hands as Shiva sat down beside her and the other guy on the single sofa.

"Ab bataayegi ki hua kya hai? Haa?" Shiva gruffly asked, and she looked down, tucking her hair behind her ear nervously.

"Woh... Actually...." She began, but he roughly turned her face towards him, holding her chin.

"Ye kya hua?!" He yelled, pointing at the redness on her swollen cheeks, and fear flashed in front of her eyes.

Shiva's fist curled in tightly. "Bata mujhe kisne kiya?! Kisne haath uthaya tere pe?! HAA?!"

Raavi flinched and pressed her lips together, but when she didn't meet his eyes and mumbled a name under her breath, he knew exactly who it was.

Arjun.

How dare he? How dare he lay a hand on his own girlfriend? She was his girlfriend, not some damn punching bag. And she ran all the way here to escape from him, that monster.

To him. She came to him.

Rage coursed through his veins, his anger surging through his blood and physically rising on his face.

"Uski ITNI HIMMAT! Mere haathon maar khaana likha hai uski kismat mein-" He got up furiously, folding his sleeves and walked towards the door. Nothing could have stopped him from storming out of the house, but her nimble fingers on his wrists held him back.

"Shiva please, no." Raavi nodded fearfully, as he moved to stand in front of her.

"Ameer baap ka bigda hua beta hoga woh, lekin mai nahi khaane waala uspe daya! Are you bloody serious? You're defending-"

"NO! No way in hell!" She said quickly, sighing. "Mai nahi chahti woh jaane mai hu yaha. I broke up with him, grabbed my things and ran here. Mujhe aur koi jagah jaane ka mann nahi kiya, Shiva please....don't. Mere liye?" She asked him, tears pooling up in her eyes.

He sighed and sat down beside her on the sofa, wiping her tears away gently. He hated when she had her mote more aansu ke tanker mode on. Not because he was annoyed by her tears, but because it always pricked him for some unknown reason, and that was his weakness.

Her damn tears.

"Kyu kiya usne aisa?" Shiva asked her slowly, testing his waters.

"It's... personal, Shiva. Aur mai aise...." She glanced up at the man sitting opposite them.

"Oh um... hi! I'm Gaurav, iska roommate and batchmate!" Gaurav introduced himself to wave away the tension, forwarding his hand.

Raavi smiled softly at him, shaking his hand, "I'm Raavi! Shiva ki-"

"Raavi? You mean, Shiva ki Mami Ki Behen Ki Beti?" Gaurav asked, fascinated, as Shiva's eyes went wide.

"Haa but how do you know? Sirf Shiva bulata hai mujhe ye..." She asked, surprised.

"Shiva bohot baat karta tumhare baare mein, ek baar usne tumhari photo bhi-mghfhdhdjdj" His voice muffled as Shiva covered his mouth, sheepishly smiling at a confused Raavi.

"Gaurav, mere laal," He gritted his teeth and shook Gaurav's head a little too hard, "Chal, kitchen mein, bohot important baat karni hai."

Raavi snickered at a flustered Shiva, who pulled Gaurav away and emerged 3 minutes later, with a handkerchief and ice cube, and Gaurav rubbing the back of his head with a frown.

"Dikha." Shiva held the ice cube in the cloth and raised his hand near her cheek suddenly, and she flinched.

"Oh. Sorry. Le." He handed it over to her,  his eyes softening and his ears just missing the soft 'thank you' that escaped her lips.

15 minutes, some food and talks later, as they all cleared the living room, someone else emerged from the third bedroom that Raavi didn't notice earlier.

"Yaar ye raat ke 2 baje lights kyu chalu hai?" The man irritatedly asked. "Aur ye ladki kaun hai?"

Raavi forwarded her hand, "Hi, I'm Raavi, Shiva ki-"

"Mami ki behen ki beti, we know!" He groaned, dismissing her hand.

"Okay then." Raavi muttered to herself.

"Raavi, ye Shashank hai, humara teesra roommate." Gaurav said, trying to sort it out.

"Tum yaha ruk rahi ho? Kyu?" Shashank groaned, and Shiva rolled his eyes.

"Uski marzi. Tujhe kya?"

"Mai mera room nahi dunga, idhar 3 hi room hai aur mai mera kamra nahi dunga." He groaned again, before slamming his bedroom door shut.

Gaurav looked at them awkwardly, not knowing what to say, and silently left, when Shiva yelled at the closed door, "Zaroorat bhi nahi!"

He turned towards Raavi, "Usko ignore kar, thoda chidchida sa hai. Tu mera kamra lele."

"Nahi Shiva, it's okay. Mai yaha sofa pe so jaaungi. Bas ek blanket dede, I'll adjust."

"Dekh chipkali, behes mat kar aadhi raat ko-"

"Ye tum logo ka ghar hai, you pay for it. Mai toh bas aadhi raat mein chali aayi. It's fine, sofa pe so jaungi." She smiled assuredly at him, and he brought out a pillow and blanket for her, knowing he wouldn't win this one.

"Jaa muh dhole, chudail lag rahi hai." Shiva gruffly said, and she chuckled slightly at that.

"Aisa lag raha hai jaise someone picked us up and threw us back in time. I haven't met you for what, 6 months? Even though hum ek hi sheher mein rehte hai. Funny na?" Raavi smiled, and left to wash up, their last interaction making a comeback in both of their minds.

"Shiva, just because mujhe tere campus pe scholarship mila, aur tere ghar waalo ne meri patti padayi hai, you can't control my life, okay?" Raavi furiously stomped, grabbing her books and stuffing it in her bag.

"Abe aafat ki pudiya, mujhe koi interest nahi hai tujhe control karne mein. Meri baat sun, woh mera bhi senior hai, mujhe uspe ratti bhar vishwas nahi hai! Woh sahi nahi lagta mujhe!" Shiva yelled back at her, as she hit him with a book on his shoulder.

"Kya sahi, kya galat, mai figure out kar lungi okay? Tujhe mera bodyguard banne ki koi zaroorat nahi hai!"

"TUJHE SAMAJH MEIN BHI AA RAHA HAI MAI KYA BOL RAHA HU?! Mai usse tujhse better jaanta hu, woh nahi hai-"

"Enough, Shiva. Enough! Date mai usse kar rahi hoon ya tu? Mai uske saath move in karu ya nahi, tujhe kya? TUJHE KYA?! Let me do what I want to, damn it!" Raavi slammed her locker door and turned to leave.

"FINE. MERI BALA SE!" He screamed, grabbing her arm and spinning her around, "Lekin ek baat yaad rakhna. Agar usne kuch kiya, aur tu mere paas rote hue aa gayi, mai nahi sambhalunga tujhe. HARGIZ NAHI. Pehli fursat mein bhaga dunga, SAMJHI?!" He snapped his fingers, pointing at her.

"I.... DON'T.... CARE! BHAAD MEIN JAA!" She yelled in his face, jerking her arm out of his hold and walking away, not knowing that was their last conversation for a very long time.

Shiva sighed, his words crystal clear as day, as he laid out the bedsheet on the sofa. Somewhere he knew, that was the last thing he'd do to her.

Raavi felt much better after washing her face, it felt like she washed off a whole layer of emotions. Tying her hair up in a bun, she made her way towards the sofa, which Shiva had just finished setting up, but he stood there awkwardly.

She shrugged her shoulders and settled in, when he moved and she realised; he was waiting for her.

"Okay.... So jaa." He simply said, reaching out to turn off the lights.

"Shiva!" She called out to him, and he stopped. "Lights on rehne de, please?"

He nodded, and turned on the small yellow light, muttering a small 'goodnight' and turned to leave when she called out to him again.

"Ab kya hai?"

"Can you.....Tu... Um... Woh..." Raavi fumbled with her words, not knowing how to make this request.

"Tute hue 90s ke tape recorder jaise kyu bol rahi hai? Seedhe seedhe bol, mujhe bohot neend aa rahi hai." Shiva complained, because at this rate she wouldn't finish her sentence until sunrise.

"Tuapneroomkadarwazakhulachodsaktahai?" Raavi squeezed her eyes shut, pulling the blanket upto her nose.

"Kya?" He scrunched his nose. "Blanket ke andar se superfast express jaise bolegi toh kaise sunai dega?"

"Tu apne room ka darwaza... khula chod sakta hai?" She peeped at him through one eye, expecting him to tell her off, with the expression he was giving her.

"Matlab, only if you're okay, mai aisa-"

"Theek hai."

Raavi blinked at him in surprise. He agreed so quickly?

"Theek hai?"

"Haa. Theek hai." He glanced over at her, dimming the lights. "So jaa, Raavi."

"Goodnight, bhootnath." She whispered, watching him leave the door open wide enough for her to see him.

Raavi drifted off into a weirdly comfortable slumber, him at her eye level several feet away, with one thought running at the back of her mind.

Why was this the first and only place I could think of? Why did I come here only, and not anywhere else?

Shiva drifted off to sleep, her head peeking out from under the blanket, as she nestled herself into the comfort of the sofa, knowing one thing;

I'm glad she came here. To me.