Armaan, Riddhima, and Khushi were about to get inside the elevator when Rahul came up from the stairs, huffing and puffing for breath after climbing the 14 flights of stairs. Not having the breath to speak, he waved his hands to signal not to get on the elevator.

"Did you forget we have an elevator?" Armaan questioned.

Rahul placed on his hands on his hips and in between sharp inhales and exhales, explained the matter. "I know that! You seem to forget the media."

Armaan groaned, "Are you serious? How do they find out?"

"That's their job, pal." Rahul answered, "We'll take the back way, come on. I already asked your security to clear out the area."

Armaan spoke otherwise, "No, it's fine. You get them through the back. I'll go down the elevator."

Rahul shrugged his shoulders, "Your death wish."

Nevertheless, Armaan got in the elevator. He didn't feel right sneaking out, even though he was in no mood to face the paparazzi this early in the morning when the sun had barely come up. He only cared about getting Riddhima and Khushi to the car without being hounded by them, and so decided to take that on himself.

Rahul nudged them, "Come on," towards the stairs. Thank the God it was effortless to go down the stairs compared to coming up.

Khushi asked him, "Is it always like this?"

"Sort of." Rahul answered, "I hated it at first. I mean, I couldn't get to my own apartment in one piece, you know? But then you learn how to deal with them. And, let's just say they've learned to leave me alone – thanks to Muski."

All three chuckled at that, for they knew Muskaan had her own talented manner on dealing with people who bothered her. She could go full on banshee on them.

He texted Armaan's driver to get him from the front while he drove Riddhima and Khushi out of the garage where he had parked his car. Meanwhile, Armaan got ready to face the crowd.

"Armaan, you're going home after long. How do you feel?"

"How long do you plan on stretching this vacation?"

"Lately you've been staying on the low, Armaan. Any reasons?"

"When is your next song going to come out?"

"We've heard you're dating Anjali Batra, the model. Care to comment on that?"

"Is it true that you're leaving the industry?"

He could just laugh at all the questions. Where do they get some of the ideas from? His security worked on getting him through the crowd and to the car. He motioned for them to wait on opening the back door as he turned to the cameras.

"I love you all, really. But aren't you all sleepy? I know I am." A few chuckled while others were in no nonsense mood and tried to fire questions again. He held up a hand towards them and continued, "Sorry guys, I have a flight to catch. I'd stay and answer your questions otherwise, but you're free to get a hold of my manager for some answers. One for the road: no, I am not quitting. Singing and composing is a passion and I'll continue on that as long as I am able to. Now... check my social media for vacation pics. Ciao."

He slipped inside the car and the driver knew to start moving instantly and not stop till they reached the airport. He texted Rahul to just go straight to the airport in case some of the media followed him to the airport.

Rahul informed, "He'll meet you guys inside."

"Thanks Rahul." Riddhima said, for he seemed to be going out of his way to help them.

"Don't sweat it, hun." He replied, helping them load their luggage on a cart. "I'll be seeing you two soon. Enjoy the vacay."

"You too." She gave him a quick hug while Khushi nodded at him. Rahul didn't push her for a hug or a handshake either, having learnt that she preferred to maintain her distance. As they were going inside the gates, Riddhima asked her, "You okay?"

She nodded, "I guess. Armaan would tell me about all this, but it feels a whole lot real now."

Riddhima nodded along knowing just what she meant. She had known a bit of what to expect on the perception of how celebrities are treated. But, actually knowing him was getting real from here as compared to from a distance.

===

Riddhima woke up to Armaan holding her firmly to him when his phone buzzed on his side table with a call. She couldn't even move to slip her arm out from under his. "Armaan," she quietly whispered to wake him up. He was still deep in sleep. She twisted her wrist to shake his arm. "Armaan."

He grumbled, shifting barely and muttering still in sleep. "Mmm."

She tried to struggle against his hold to reach for the phone, but realized she was only grinding against him and making him harder.

"Stop it, Basket." He tried to snuggle back into his pillow.

"Wake up. Your phone..." She tried to speak to get him to slip out of his dream.

"Can go to hell." He snapped, irked at being pulled out of his dream. No, he wasn't irritated at her. He knew how light her sleep was. He was mad at whoever was calling that woke her up who in turn woke him up. Reluctantly, he unwrapped from her to pick up his phone and peeped through one eye at the Caller ID.

That started the busy day right there when he answered Suvarna's call who asked him to get ready and that a car would be waiting for him in fifteen minutes to bring him to the studio. He didn't want to go, but she said Mr. Malik wanted to talk to him before he left for his trip to the US that had come up last minute. Not thinking much of it, he got up from bed and took a quick two minute shower.

He glanced at Riddhima who was looking up at the glow stars on his ceiling when he stepped out dressed in his pants. "I'm sorry for this. I'll have Rahul pick you up for college."

She looked at him at his voice and smiled, "No worries, I'll uber or something."

"He doesn't mind, you know?" He pointed out, opening his closet to pick out a tee.

"I know," She replied, getting up in a sitting position. "I wouldn't want to be a third wheel between him and Muski though."

Pulling his tee down his neck, he walked up to her in concern, "But your face is out there, Basket." He didn't want anyone harassing her.

She gently squeezed his shoulder to assure him. "I'll be fine, Armaan."

He wasn't easily convinced and so he suggested otherwise, "Okay, how about this? I'll swing by to pick you up after this meeting. I'll be on time, promise."

Realizing he was taking this more seriously, she caved and nodded before nudging him to get going already. She had an hour and a half so she decided she would run the treadmill in his makeshift gym for a few minutes before getting ready for the day. She found one of Armaan's recordings from Dr. Kirti's lecture and plugged in the headphones, listening to the podcast and killing two birds with one stone: study & exercise.

===

Once they had checked in their luggage and walked to the terminal, they found Armaan waiting there. The only reason he got there first despite leaving after was because he didn't have to check in luggage unlike Khushi and Riddhima who had their suitcases they'd carried back internationally. For him, it was a domestic flight and he already had his boarding passes while the girls had to collect theirs after the check in.

Armaan had his sunglasses on and Khushi went to sit next to him. He smiled at her, ensuring in his own manner that she was okay. Thankfully about 20 minutes later, their flight was called for boarding. Once inside, Khushi simply slid inside towards the window seat, letting Armaan deal with putting her bag in the overhead. He didn't mind doing it either.

Riddhima had to scold herself to look away. Armaan's shirt kept on sliding up each time he lifted the three bags and went on to adjust them so it'd all fit.

Khushi and Riddhima were on one side while Armaan was on the other. Khushi had a plan. She waited until everyone had boarded and when it seemed that no one was going to be seated next to Armaan, she asked him, "Bro, mind switching seats with me?"

"What's wrong with sitting next to me?" Riddhima questioned.

Khushi put it simply. "I'd like to stretch my legs and sleep for the next 12 hours." It wasn't a lie. She did want to get comfortable and sleep, but she also wanted Armaan and Riddhima to sit together, and perhaps talk. While dinner last night, it had been just light conversation and then straight to bed. Since they had landed in Mumbai yesterday, the two hadn't really talked.

Both knew what she was doing. Riddhima internally sulked, making a point to call her best friend a traitor when it would be just the two of them. Armaan on the other hand was happily on board with her idea and stood up. Riddhima was forced to stand and move out so Khushi could slip out as well. She waited for Armaan to go in, but he nodded instead. "Go on."

She didn't want to admit her fear, so she went and sat in the window seat. She much preferred the aisle seat. When there, she wouldn't be forced to look outside during landing and take-off. It scared her of the uncertain turbulences. She had only found out she was afraid when in a plane the first time she had been in one while going to Australia.

As routine went, the audio was played for emergency exit tutorial while the air hostesses demonstrated. Having seen enough of those whenever he traveled for promotions and concerts, Armaan ignored it and picked out a magazine from the seat in front to kill time. Within a few minutes, the captain greeted them and announced they'd be taking off momentarily.

As her anxiety started to build, Riddhima squeezed herself in the seat as much as she could. Armaan reached over to push up the window cover so the view outside could be seen. "Don't do that!" Riddhima hissed, but he didn't listen. The wheels rumbled and the aircraft started to run on the airstrip.

Inhaling, she closed her eyes. Armaan watched her at first, debating whether or not to do something about it. As the speed gained, her eyes squeezed further. Her hand unintentionally held his wrist in a death grip. Yeah, he was definitely going to do something about it.

He leaned in to speak softly in her ear. "Look outside. The view can be quite distracting." She didn't. She was too scared to face her fears, but he wouldn't be Armaan if he didn't push her to grow past it. "Open your eyes." That order didn't work either. He sighed and she could feel the puff of air at her ear before he continued, "The fear will never go away unless you open your eyes and face it, basket."

It had been a while since she had heard a philosophical advice from him. Mix the name 'basket' to it, and it did the trick. A bit nervous, her eyes fluttered open. He smiled at that when her head turned in his direction, and then shifted back upon realizing that his face was right there in her personal space.

Unaffected, he nudged his head past her, "Look." The aircraft lifted in the air and at each passing second, the ground was seeming smaller and smaller until she could see the entire buildings and the waters. The city scape with the morning sky and the sun just coming up made for one heck of a view.

He knew she'd admire it. It wasn't the view of valleys and clouds as they could see when they were in Shimla, but it came pretty close. "It's beautiful."

He agreed, though he wasn't focused on the view outside. His entire focus was on her face, her frown slowly turning into a peaceful look on her face and then the corners of her lips turning up in a smile. Even the death grip on his wrist loosened. Within her, her heart still raced slightly but atleast she could control her exterior appearances.

"It is."

As if feeling his intense gaze at the back of her neck, she glanced in his direction. His eyes. His sparkling blue eyes. Her gaze shifted to his wrist when she felt the warmth, and realized it had been her holding it, not the other way around. Slightly embarrassed, she pulled it back, leaving her hand in her lap. "Sorry!" As soon as she moved her hand, she could see the skin had turned white and blood started to rush to his wrist, giving it color again. "Why didn't you say anything?"

She hadn't realized her grip on his wrist that been that strong.

He shrugged it off, "You survived the take-off."

There was a ding, signaling that seat belt sign off. She removed her seat belt and leaned closer to the window, choosing to look out of the window. At the sound of a camera clicking, she turned. Armaan held his phone out, taking a picture. She warned, "Armaan."

He spoke through a teasing smile, "Chill, no one is going to see it." She blinked and while she debated if to believe him, he leaned in to take a picture of the view out of the window without getting the sides of the window in the frame.

Her head shifted back till it was against the aircraft and suddenly, she was conscious of close he was to her once again. His jeans scrapped against her own. Despite the two layer of jeans, she could feel his body heat radiating off to her.

He moved the camera again, noticing a building. "Hey, look." He pointed towards an area, explaining to her where exactly to look at and how it was the film city. He went on to suggest, "You have to come visit one day. The sets are all huge, and you know how you see in TV shows of couples getting lost in the forests? There is this whole..."

Riddhima eventually stopped listening to him and could only focus on his face right there. He was too lost in sharing that he'd look out the window at times, and smile as if he had said something he found funny, and then back outside. She tried to glance back and forth between outside and him, but the reality was that the outside view didn't matter. She only would look outside so she wasn't constantly staring at him or making her gazing obvious.

"Would you like something to drink, sir?" Armaan turned back at the voice of the male attendant who had started a first round of refreshments.

Riddhima took that moment to compose herself, sitting back properly in her chair and pulling the arm rest in between their seats. "Yes, do you have apple juice?"

The guy nodded and asked her, "And for you?"

"Just water, thanks." Then she asked Armaan, "You've still not grown out of apple juice?" It was her teasing, ofcourse. People his age would ask for soda, coffee, etc. But as if a small child, he still preferred juice.

"And you still go for plain old water." He teased her right back. "Atleast my choice has some flavor. And haven't you heard, an apple a day keeps the doctor away."

She had to laugh at that aphorism, "Armaan, you're in medical school."

Actually, the original wordings were '"Eat an apple on going to bed, and you'll keep the doctor from earning his bread.' He certainly shouldn't be the one to say that saying. Going to be a future doctor, he should be looking for patients to come his way, not run from him.

He gave a smart answer, "Oh hush."

Grinning she accepted the water and the guy moved on to behind them. She looked over to see Khushi had pulled her feet up across the empty seat and with her head on the back of the seat she had closed her eyes and went to bed.

Following her gaze, he asked, "How is she doing with Arnav?"

She answered sadly, "I'm sure you know they haven't talked since your dad's..." She didn't have to finish the statement for him to know what she was referring to. The sudden heart attack that had caused him paralysis after Arnav told his father that Khushi had been raped when she had been 17, and then had went on to call him out on what kind of a father didn't know that and was now heartlessly setting up her marriage as a part of business deal.

Riddhima asked, "How can you forgive Arnav?"

Armaan explained his perspective, "It wasn't easy, but atleast now my parents know... and dad can't say anything still, but atleast mom won't be pushing the marriage on Khushi. If anything, it also helped stall this marriage so in a way, I owe him that. And, now with what I've been earning, I can invest that in dad's business and we can call off the engagement."

"What if that's not what Khushi wants?"

He narrowed his eyes in confusion, "What are you talking about?"

"See, she hasn't said anything to me. I have noticed it though. Before Arnav did all that, she was starting to like him. But after, she went on to hate him completely, and its justified. He did do the one thing she didn't want and Sashi uncle almost died because of it. But... I don't know. Even after all that, I have seen the way he affects her till date. She lets him affect her. I think somewhere, deep down, she still likes him. If she can find a way to look past what he did..." After expressing her thoughts, she asked for his opinion. "Do you still think Arnav could be the one for her? Over the years, hasn't he ever said anything to you? I tried, but he just distanced himself from us so much he made it impossible for me to reach him."

"Honestly, I don't know why he does what he does anymore." Armaan hadn't been able to talk to him either. "Maybe... we can find out." He concluded getting an idea and pulled out his cell to text him, find out where he was these days.

She muttered, "That reminds me..." and went on to pull out her own phone. Abhi is going to be so mad. She kept on forgetting to text him.

She turned on her phone to see she already had a few messages waiting from him. 

These were the five messages sent in the span of last two days. She laughed at his dramatic texts. The caller ID it was saved under (best boyfriend ever <3) was something he had changed when she had kept it simply 'Abhi'. He had claimed it was too boring, and being lazy, she had never went back to change it.

Armaan unintentionally oversaw who she was texting. His jaw clenched upon reading the name the contact was saved under: Best Boyfriend Ever <3

===

Small bladder problems.

Riddhima had only a cup of water, but with the cold air blasting, she couldn't hold it back. She got up to use the lavatory and Armaan got up as well so she could easily get out. While passing he had raised a brow at her as if to tease her. She rolled her eyes, muttering. "Oh, shut up." It wasn't her fault.

Minutes later, she came back. She motioned for Armaan to not bother getting up and squeezed herself in. Almost immediately, she regretted it. She thought she could make it, but she couldn't. To avoid her fall, he held her hand and helped her in, his other hand on her waist.

She mentally scolded herself. You just had to deny, didn't you?

Putting his long hands to use, he twisted the outlet to turn off the air directed at her. Really, Riddhima should have done it herself. She would have if her mind had been at the right place. In the process, Armaan unknowingly pressed the button calling a flight attendant over.

"Yes sir?"

He glanced up at the young and beautiful female, "Sorry?"

She turned off the light, asking. "You turned that on. Did you need something?"

"Oh, no. I must have pressed it accidentally."

She smiled, "That's alright."

Just as she proceeded to leave, he asked. "Now that you are here, do you mind getting me some more apple juice?"

"Certainly." She took the empty glass with her as she left. Within a minute, she returned with a clean glass and an unopened mini juice box, leaving for him to pour out as much as he needed. "You're Armaan Gupta, aren't you?"

Armaan smirked at her, bringing out his dimples that girls usually swooned over. "That's right, beautiful."

Riddhima rolled her eyes, looking away from the two. If only Riddhima could turn a deaf ear as well.

"You know, I'm like a huge fan of yours. I just love your voice."

"Thanks, sweets." He accepted the compliment with confidence, "What's your name?"

Riddhima couldn't stop herself from passing a comment, "She has a name tag, you know?"

Armaan briefly turned to her, burrowing his brows with confused eyes. That tone she had used was certainly not a normal voice of hers. It was snarky almost.

Ignoring Riddhima, she offered her name. "I'm Priya Sehgal."

Hearing the word, Armaan cringed slightly and despite her instant irritation with the flirting that had been going on, Riddhima found it in herself to be satisfied. He held a strong dislike for that name due to a certain someone from 12th grade.

He was forced to put on a smile and turn to face the attendant, "Well, Priya... thank you for loving my songs. It means a lot. Now, I'm trying to keep a low profile. You get it, right?"

Priya batted her lashes, "Oh ofcourse. I'll make sure you have your privacy. I hope you enjoy the rest of the flight, and if you need anything else, please don't hesitate to ask."

"Thanks." Armaan quickly answered, suddenly not in the mood ever since he had heard what her name was.

When they were left alone, Armaan opened the juice box to pour out the juice. Riddhima said, "Good to know some things haven't changed."

He wondered if her words were hinting at something else as well or just his reaction to the name Priya. "That supposed to mean something?"

"Hmm? No, just the flirting."

"Riddhima, that wasn't what... forget it." He changed his mind halfway through it. He didn't understand why he had to justify anything to her when she was still in a relationship with Abhi. Seeing that she had been texting him earlier, he had mistakenly taken that in the wrong impression.

===

authors note:

Gosh, this miscommunication! Both of them jealous, haha. Riddhima's definitely changed. She never got jealous before. 

Question: Why do you think she hadn't told Armaan of her breakup in all these years when she broke up with Abhi so she could give Armaan a chance?

As always, vote and comment!