Song: Meri Duniya Hai Tujh Mein Kahin - Vaastav 1999

He inhaled sharply at the news and quickly spoke in the phone. "Hi." His first thought was that if Riddhima was calling, something bad had to have happened. In the past month, she had made it quite clear that she did not want to talk to him. "Are you okay? Did something happen to Khushi?"

She could understand why he must have gotten worried. Not only was she calling him, but she was calling him on the eve of the day the worst thing possible had happened to the trio. "No, Armaan. We're fine." She quickly assured him.

He released a breath he had been holding back, then leaned back against the bed frame. Now, he really wondered what made her call.

She expressed, "Thank you... for the chocolate."

"Oh." He let out, recalling the text he had sent Arnav the night before. "Ofcourse." There was an awkward pause, and that had never happened between the two of them. There were many things he wanted to say, to ask, he had been constantly thinking of it since the day she left, but now when she did call him, he couldn't think of a single thing to say. His mind was blank and there was only one thing it was registering. "You're really talking to me."

As soon as he said the words, Riddhima feel the need to apologize. If he was at fault, she wasn't completely innocent either. "I'm really sorry, Armaan. I shouldn't have been so immature about this. It was..."

He exhaled, adding in his two cents, "Don't apologize, Basket. I've my own shares of things to be sorry for."

She agreed, "Yeah... neither of us were thinking straight." She was talking about the night they had the huge argument.

"I didn't mean any of it," Armaan went on to speak further, "You know that, right? I regret all of that. There's no excuse, but I was mad and I wasn't thinking before I said those things. I did mean what I said a few days ago. You mean everything to me. I just said it too late. I thought I had all the time in the world... but then suddenly, you were leaving. You and Khushi both... I snapped realizing everything was going to change. I don't want anything to change."

He was saying that, but Riddhima had her reservations. "Armaan, everything is changing... it did."

"It doesn't have to." He tried to argue.

Riddhima shook her head, but realized he couldn't see it. She spoke, "Yes, Armaan. It does. We're not kids anymore. We both need to grow up, and live in the real world. And, in the real world, people go to different colleges, they start living in different places, make new friends. It's silly to think things aren't ever going to change. I have to move on and so do you."

He asked, in a sharper tone than intended, "So what are you saying? We're not going to be friends simply because you live in a different country? Come on, Basket. That is stupid."

Riddhima sighed, finding it a tad bit difficult on how to make him understand. He was stubborn about not changing things, but everything has to change! They don't live in the same town anymore, nor can they be friends. She wanted to remind him if he had forgotten that he had kissed her. That itself changed everything between them, even if they did live in the same geographical location. They had to be practical.

"Armaan... why don't you get it?" She asked in an estranged voice, fighting her emotions to not let her cry right now. She had to remain strong. It wasn't easy for her to admit, but she knew what had to be done.

He exclaimed, "Get what, Riddhima? We've been friends for as long as I can remember!"

She scoffed at the word, "Friends." He never gets tired of saying it, but she was getting tired of hearing it. "Armaan, we're not friends."

At her comment, he did understand what she was talking about. Friends don't kiss each other, and they certainly don't hide their deep feelings from each other. He had first convinced himself that whatever he felt for Riddhima was only because they've been friends since they were kids and as they were growing up, he was simply being caring, protective and looking out for her as a best friend should. He didn't realize that he had confused his feelings of love for friendship.

"So that's it?" He asked.

What he really wanted to say instead of asking her that question was to discuss what had happened. He wanted to talk about why he had kissed her, why he had taken so long to, but the direction the conversation was steering towards based on her words were a clear indicator to him. She was trying to get out of this. For months, even before the kiss, she had been trying to distance herself, talking about how she needed to create a separate life of her own where she could focus on her goals and everything she wanted in life compared to just being teenagers and staying in her comfort zone.

"For now... yeah." She answered in a painful voice that she was trying to conceal. "This is what I need... what's good for me." She added, more trying to convince herself so she wouldn't back out.

Before calling, she had thought she could try and be friends, but as the conversation continued, she kept remembering... how she had wished this would have happened sooner. If he had expressed his feelings earlier, this might have been different. But it was too late, and she needed to think about herself. For once in her life, she needed to be selfish.

He gave her that, "Okay." But deep down, he couldn't... he didn't know if he was strong enough to do that. The two most important people in his life were far from him. He felt as if he was losing them both, and there was nothing he could do to stop that. He felt helpless, and he hated the feeling. Inhaling, he requested, "Can I still call you sometimes?"

Could he? She didn't know how it would affect her. She imagined that she could be having a good day with her life in Australia, but then how she would feel if out of nowhere, he called? Everything would come crashing down. "I don't know." She answered in the nicest way she could.

Still, he received the unsaid words clearly. 'Maybe its best you don't.' He could always pick up on the things she said, versus the things she wanted to say. And yet, he couldn't pick up on what she felt for him earlier. Perhaps, he didn't want to see that because a part of him knew how real it would make things then. It knew that if he acknowledged her feelings, it would validate his own – and like he hinted at earlier... change was one thing he was always against. He hated it with every ounce of his being. Change always ruined all the beautiful things in life, even if it meant something better would eventually come along.

"Take care, Basket." He said softly before ending the call. Seeing twenty minutes ago when she had called, there had been a hope in his heart. A hope that things would go back to the way they were. A hope that he would convince her, apologize and sort everything back.

He had the whole conversation in his head the way he wanted for it to play out. Alas, it couldn't be as he had no control over the dialogues he had allotted to Riddhima in his head. She didn't stick to the script he had rehearsed so many times over the past month.

Ending the call, Riddhima's eyes fell on the photo frame on her desk of herself and Armaan that Khushi had taken. She remembered the moment quite clearly.

===

Getting tired of me cramming for a test, Armaan tickled me out of nowhere, making me jump and yelp. Khushi grabbed the opportunity to steal my books away. I slapped Armaan, and then scolded Khushi, "Khushi, give that back! The two of you might be okay with failing, but I'm not."

Khushi rolled her eyes, "You've been studying for this test for a week! There's no way you're going to get less than an A."

"You don't know that." I mutter, trying to reach for my books back.

"Armaan, quick." She yells and throws it over to him.

"Stop playing catch with my books, you idiots!" I yell at them and hold my hand out, clearly indicating Armaan to return the book. This was my textbook, not a basketball. Ofcourse, he doesn't listen and throws it to Khushi again. When I turn to walk towards her and get it back, I squeal as Armaan's hands wrap around my waist, holding me back.

I start to swat his arms and release his hold, but he laughs and tells Khushi, "Quick. Run."

I groan, "Armaan!"

"What?" He cheekily answers as I turn my head slightly to glare at him. The glare doesn't stay on for more than a second as the proximity of his face dawns on me.

"Why can't you let me study?" I complain, trying to lean my head away from his to put some distance.

He shakes his head, the smile still playing on his lips. I have been next to him multiple times, but being held in his embrace, flush against him, and looking into his eyes from this close distance was fluttering my insides. Let's not forget his dimples when he's smiling like this with that spark in his eyes. Instead of reminiscing this moment, I tried to strike a conversation so I could get myself to not dwell on my feelings.

"You need to learn to relax, basket." He answered, bobbing the side of his head with mines. "You know this material better than me."

I frown, "Unlike you, I wasn't born with the smarts."

He chuckles, "Need I remind you it's your dad who is the doctor? You're born smart too. You just stress too much and then forget everything you read."

"Yeah, well..."

I don't get to finish as Khushi yells, "Cheese!" We turn our head in her direction to realize she took a picture.

I grumble, "Gah, delete that." Neither of us were smiling even though she's said 'cheese'. One can't just pounce on someone out of nowhere for a picture.

"Fine. One more." She allowed, just as Armaan adjusted his arms around me properly and rested his chin on my shoulder, making me lean my head back.

When I continue to not smile, too taken back by the moment, Armaan warns, "Need I tickle you again to get you to smile?"

"No!" I exclaim right away and pose a smile. Khushi smiles after seeing how it turned out, and I assume it's good if she approved. I turn to Armaan, "Now tell her to give me my book back."

He rolls his eyes, releasing me and reaching for the book in Khushi's hand. "Amy!" She tries to stop him, but he still hands me my book back, for which I grin back at him.

"Chill, doll." He told her, "We'll get her back some other way."

"For what?" I question, opening the textbook to the page I was at.

"For being a spoilt-sport." Khushi answers, sitting back down on the picnic bench across from me while Armaan takes the seat next to me.

"Whatever. Don't disturb me. I only have twenty more minutes left before the test." I shut them both out, until I realize I am rereading the same sentence over and over again. My mind doesn't want to cooperate as it continues to flash back to the moment earlier with Armaan.

Why do I let him get into my head?

I am definitely flunking the test now.

I feel a shadow in front of me once I leave the classroom. "I blame you."

"Me?" The voice questioned, causing me to look up. It wasn't Armaan. He had left the classroom early since he had finished his test earlier. So, I had assumed he was the one who had come up to me.

"Oh." I answer, flushing. "No, sorry. I thought you were someone else."

He nods and smiles, "No problem. Maybe you can help me find someone?"

"I can try," I answer, realizing he isn't a student here. He doesn't look older, so I assume he goes to the other high school, or is a new student here. This town after all has only two high schools. "Who are you looking for?"

"Armaan Gupta?"

I groan, "What'd he do now? Flirt with your sister or girlfriend?"

He raised his brow at me, and then chuckled, "Neither? I'm his friend."

At that, I let out a mock laughter, "Friend, yeah right. I know his friends and you're not his friend."

"I..."

"Really," I interrupt him, "You don't have to lie. You can beat him up if you want. I won't mind. You can tell me if he tried to flirt with your-"

"Girlfriend or sister." He finished, amused. "Yeah, I got that, but even if I wanted to, I can't beat him up since I don't have either. Unless you want to be my girlfriend. Then I'll totally beat him up for you."

For a second, I am stumped at the way he turned it around. I realized he just tried to flirt with me. It's never happened to me before. "I..." Then I shake my head, deciding to not encourage him, "I'll just take you to Armaan."

I start walking towards the basketball court, where I know he would be, and this new guy follows me. "By the way, I'm Angad."

"Nice to meet you, Angad." I answer, not offering my name. He smirks, catching on to that.

"So, what were you blaming Armaan for?"

"I should tell you that, because?" I question, hinting to him that I didn't know him at all. Even if he claimed to be Armaan's friend, I doubted him. Never in my life before had I seen this friend of Armaan. Given that I am around the siblings almost all the time, I would have known. Seeing Armaan in the distance, I nod over, "There he is."

Angad yells, "Yo! Armaan! My girlfriend here blames you for something, so I need to beat you up."

My jaw drops, not believing he just called me that. That too, in front of Armaan.

===

That was the day things started to change for them. Angad's arrival stirred things up. Looking at the photo some short few months ago would bring a smile on her face. It definitely had when Khushi had gifted it to her last Diwali. She had said that even though she and Armaan fought all the time, it was these rare moments that she would realize how lucky she was to have them in her life. Now, looking at the photo, it stirred up sorrow in her heart. It didn't bring a smile on her face. It only made her eyes want to tear up. But lately, she had been sad so much that even though she wanted to cry, wanted her eyes to tear up, she couldn't bring herself to.

There was a hollow inside her heart that wouldn't even let her express her pain in the form of tears.

She took the frame and hid it in the bottom drawer of her desk underneath some stationary. If she was to do this... try to move on and have a happy life here, atleast for the coming three years while she completed college, she couldn't have a constant reminder of Armaan by having their picture on her desk, staring at her every time she sat there.

She hoped against hope that this would help bury the feelings.

===

authors note:

Hi hi!! No, no. Don't be too sad with the update... in the present, it's just a small break they are taking from each other (; I picked this song because it just reminds me of how their lives are so intertwined with each others. They just have to realize how much they need each other and how much of a difference it makes not having the other in their life. Riddhima can try to put space and 'move on' but... :P

Next update will definitely be sooner! Wednesday perhaps. Chapter 7. Her Mesmerizing Eyes

Iqbal Khan playing Angad Khanna - character from show Kaisa Ye Pyaar Hai (if anyone remembers that amazing show!)

As always, vote & comment! <33