If the reality didn't break the spell, it did when a lady who lived in the building announced when she saw them after getting out of her car, "You kids better get inside before you get sick."

Recognizing her voice, he answered. "You're right, Mrs. Baker," while looking at Sanam a second longer before switching his gaze to acknowledge her. "How is your daughter doing now?"

She took a second longer to stay there and process things. She couldn't just string him along because it felt right for the moment. She was never the 'in moment' person anyway. She recalled something Arjun had said at their first date... that she was one to always think through every situation before making her move.

What happened to that Sanam?

Oh, that's right. Arjun. Arjun happened in her life.

What was I thinking?

But that was it. She wasn't thinking and that's where the problem was. Atleast, that's what she believed. She was fighting this. She was the kind of girl who put her thoughts and logic over her feelings. Once they kissed or gave in to any of the attraction between them, they wouldn't just be friends. He wouldn't just be a guy who'd helped her out of a predicament. It would be real, and was she truly ready for that?

Sanam watched the interaction, wondering how he knew her or her family to be asking about her daughter. He slipped his hand in hers and all three walked in, running almost till they reached the elevators.

"She's doing alright, Arjun." Mrs. Baker answered while pressing the elevator button. "I still can't thank you enough for getting her that job. How do you know people at such fine places?"

He smiled kindly, "It's no problem, Mrs. Baker. I know a friend who works there so he just asked his boss for me to get her an interview. Your daughter did the rest. She's a very smart girl, I'm sure you know."

She gave a sad smile, "She is... she just got mixed up in the wrong things and made some poor choices." Once inside the elevator, she switched her smile to a polite one. "You must be his girlfriend? I think I've seen you leaving early most of the times. I'm Mrs. Baker. I live on the 7th floor with my husband and our 18-year-old daughter."

"Sanam. Nice to meet you, Mrs. Baker." She introduced herself while shaking her hand.

Arjun's hand came around her waist as he corrected, "She's my wife, actually."

"Oh really?" Mrs. Baker asked in pleasant surprise. "Well then, I suppose congratulations are in order." She directed towards Sanam, "You got yourself one of the nice ones."

She smiled looking at Arjun with adoration. "Don't I know it." It was a different kind of happiness hearing it from others; it made her feel as if somehow, she had to be proud of him. He belonged to such a rich family. He could've been a total snob and ignored those around him and mind his own business. But he was a friendly neighbor who made it a point to learn their names and even learn a bit about each other – even though he lived in the penthouse and they were on the 7th floor making them less of neighbors and more like just people who simply lived in the same building.

"That's my stop." Mrs. Baker said as the door dinged open. "You two take care."

"You too." Both answered at the same time just before the doors would close again.

He rubbed her arm to offer some warmth as he felt her shivering in the wet clothes. After reaching the penthouse, he suggested. "How about you go in and change while I make coffee?"

Sanam grabbed a fresh towel to wipe herself off before she pulled the shirt over her head and started to walk towards the walk-in closet to get a dry one. Before she even reached the closet, he cleared his throat behind her. She froze, scolding herself for absent mindedly taking off her shirt before getting in the closet. She also realized she hadn't locked the door to the room.

"I'm just going leave this here." He mumbled awkwardly as she continued to stand there, frozen with her back still facing him.

She heard the door click behind her. She had been too dozed off in her thoughts of their moment out in the rain while drying her hair that she had forgotten everything, or even that it had been ten minutes and he had had plenty of time to make a cup of coffee.

~

Quickly changing, she walked out with the cup of coffee. Just as she stepped out into the living room, she felt a sneeze coming. He stood up and took the mug away, least she sneeze and spill hot coffee over herself. A second later, she sneezed. "Bless you." He said in a quiet voice before returning the cup to her.

"What are you watching?" She asked as she took a seat on the couch and pulled her legs underneath the blanket there was always kept at the ends of the couches to snuggle in and watch movies during downtime.

"It's still hot, Sanam." He quickly scolded when she was about to tap a sip without checking the steam. "Life time."

"Well, I blame you." She quickly answered back.

"How?"

She wasn't going to answer, but he kept looking at her. She sighed, for he was going to make her say it. Not looking at him, she fessed up. "You walked in on me."

He pulled her to his side, "Relax, sweetheart. Your back was facing me. If anything, I just saw your bra strap." At her silence, he realized he wasn't helping his case. "Okay, how many times have you seen me without a shirt?"

She mumbled rolling her eyes. "It's different, and you know it."

"Just stop thinking and drink your coffee." He instructed, nudging her hand to bring the mug to her lips. Their moment in the rain kept playing at the back of his mind though his eyes were fixated on the TV screen.

Leaning her head back, she questioned. "Don't you have work in the morning?"

"Yeah."

"You should be sleeping."

He pulled her back to him and instead of leaving his hand on the couch behind, he dropped it to rest around her waist and over her thigh. "Just stay like this for a few minutes." He spoke in a sleepy voice, but not yet ready to let go of her.

Today had been different.

Today had been the day he had spent the most time with her in the last few months. Her summer term was ending. He'd have known her for almost 8 months, but she was nowhere close to admitting it to him. He wasn't ready for it to end.

"I like these rare times." He confessed, speaking against her hair as his chin rested on top of her head. "Just us. No meetings. No hospital. No books."

He considered books to be his arch nemesis. They were always around. And when they weren't physically around, they were still mentally at the back of her head. "Me too." She whispered back, for even she had to agree today had been a good day over all.

Staying like that in comfort, it snapped something in her. Why had she frozen a few minutes earlier when he had asked if she was okay with this turning real? He was. And since they had met, he had always proved to her that he wasn't like her father. He had always proven he was with her. He did little things for her. He noticed her little quirks. He did care for her and she didn't know when, but by letting him around her even if she had physically kept him at an arm's length, he had worked his way into her heart.

The fact that her heart would beat faster whenever he was around was proof enough that he wasn't just a friend. It was proof that whatever they had wasn't just for show. It was already real. If it had been for show, it would all have been happening when others were around. But it never did. And it never made her feel as if anything between them was forced. It had always felt natural. He had never made her feel uncomfortable or pushed her limits. It's as if without saying it, he understood her.

The realization that she too had fallen for him slapped her in the face. "Arjun?"

"Hmm."

She tilted her head sideways to look up at him. His face was right there. She was suddenly conscious of her heart beating at an accelerated rate. Her palms were turning sweaty. Was she really going to do this?

He was gazing right into her eyes, as if both were in an enchanted gaze. Even though he had said all of that downstairs, he couldn't help his eyes from flickering over to her lips. She didn't have to say it for him to get the impression of what she too was thinking about. Without knowing it herself, she was unconsciously leaning closer.

He didn't think he could go any longer. His feelings only grew by the day and he didn't even know what exactly it was that he was falling for. He just knew that whenever he was with her, all his worries diminished as if they didn't exist at all. All his fear disseminated into thin air. He didn't mind being vulnerable around her. He wasn't afraid of getting hurt. He knew with every fiber of his soul that he wanted this. He needed this thing with her to be real. A deep part of his soul screamed out to him that Sanam was the girl for him.

Just when his own face was just a breath away, she snapped and pulled back. "You were right." Her own voice sounded alien to her. Confused, he blinked. "This can't happen." She was suddenly up and walked off towards the bedroom.

That night, Sanam reminded herself of all the reasons she'd always run from the prospect of being cared by someone, loving someone and having them return the feelings.

~

Arjun walked up to the dining table where Sanam was studying, "Hey, have a minute?"

Without glancing up, she answered, "Sure, what's up?"

He wished she'd look at him, but didn't force it. In the past month and a half, she had been more distant than he could ever remember. Compared to summer semester, her fall semester kept her busier. She was always gone in the mornings and she'd return late in the evenings. He'd never feel like carrying on a conversation, feeling as if he'd only be bothering her even though he wanted to talk to her about anything and everything. To say, they lived in the same place but he missed her.

"I know you have your mid-terms, but Diwali is next week. Our family contributes to a lot of the functions and it's fine if you can't come to all of them. But atleast the day of New Year, would you want to come to the temple with us?"

"Next weekend?"

He nodded.

"Sorry, Arjun. I've got a shift at the hospital. I'm not sure I can get out of it."

He tried not to show his disappointment, "You can't get anyone to switch with you?"

"It doesn't work that way. I'm really sorry. If I'd known earlier, I could have..."

He did wish they could have celebrated with first Diwali together, but he'd always been understanding of her school. That was one thing she'd always been clear about. So, he attempted to understand and nodded with lips pressed together in a thin line. "It's okay, I'll see you tonight?"

She nodded for that, letting out a sigh. Even if she did not go to temples or believe in a higher being, he did. She'd been familiar with him going to temple every Sunday without a fail. She knew what it meant to him and for him, she wished it would have been possible to take the day off from hospital just for New Years.

~

Sanam was sitting in the cafeteria with her colleagues during her night shift. Roselyn dropped her tray on the table, "Does someone feel like feeding me? I have no energy left in me."

Even though they'd all gotten food, truth was that none of them were up for eating. The surgery they had just stepped out of after four long hours had drained all life out of them. To add to it, it was not a successful one either.

Emelia grumbled, slouching in her chair. "This sucks."

Taylor attempted a shot at being encouraging, "Think of it this way, we saved the guy a lot of pain. The cancer had spread everywhere. There was nothing we could've done."

Sanam's phone vibrated in the pocket of her scrubs. She pulled it out while mumbling, "Doesn't make it better." She opened the snapchat from Arjun that he'd just sent. It was of his in his traditional taken at the penthouse with Parth, a frown on both of their faces. The text read 'wish you were here'.

She was about to lock her phone when she received another snap. This one was a selfie of just Parth with the text 'this doofus says hi'. Normally, she would've smiled at their antics. Receiving snaps from Parth and Arjun had somewhat became a norm over the past months.

Inhaling and then exhaling through her mouth, she let the phone be on the table.

One of their residents noticed the four of them around the table. "What are y'all still doing here? Didn't Lee order you to go home and rest?" After losing the patient, the attending in-charge of the surgery had dismissed them from the rest of their shift. As medical students, this patient had been the first who hadn't survived on their watch.

It wasn't a concept new to them, ofcourse. In the healthcare field, one sees many a patient die: perhaps more than they can save. It never gets easier, but the first is always the toughest to accept.

When none of the four answered, she spoke again. "You either go home or start doing rounds."

At once, Emelia, Roselyn and Taylor were up on their feet. Their choice? Go home. Emelia walked back the two steps seeing Sanam was still sitting. Grabbing her elbow, she pulled her up and out of there while Roselyn made sure to get her phone.

They made it to the locker room and while the others were getting their stuff out of the lockers, Sanam sat there on the bench. Emelia and Roselyn looked at each other in concern. They knew over the three years of being in the same program together that Sanam was usually the more self-composed person, the one keeping them above the waters. But this once, they had no clue what was going through her mind.

Taylor snapped his fingers in front of her eyes. She blinked out of her thoughts. "Come on, get up. I'm dropping you home."

She tried to deny, "No, it's okay. I've got my car."

"Roselyn will drive it back for you. If one of us don't take you home, there's no guarantee you'll even get up from here." He expressed his thought closing his locker and bag over his shoulder.

Sanam didn't fight them over this. She didn't have the heart to go home – she knew. No one was going to be there. She'd much rather stay at the hospital, around people, doing work, instead of going back to an empty home and be forced to deal with this. With a sigh, she pushed herself off the bench and pulled out her clothes to change into.

~

author note;

She'll break soon, very soon. Just wait. She'll get tired of running.

Warning: next few chapters might be heavy on emotions so... a short chapter before that. I don't have much to say today. You know the drill! (if you don't, vote, comment share lol)