tryst - an ashaangi ff

viii.

Sivaangi was sure she was dreaming. Few moments from now, she'll hear her mom shout at her to wake up and she'll be back in her bed at home. But that didn't happen. What was happening was, she dancing with Ashwin, her hand clutched tightly with his. She couldn't process what the hell was going on and fumbled with words when the anchors asked her why she looked so flustered.

And then she pulled him aside like he did during the immunity challenge week. She stared at him silently and he stared at her , worried if she was alright because she had been staring wordlessly for almost 5 minutes now. He waved a hand infront of her, trying to bring her back to Earth.

"What are you doing here?" she questioned him. He snorted, finding her suprised face funny. He didn't know she would be this shocked. "You act like I'm a wanted fugitive, I'm here for you." he said.

The reason why Sivaangi was so shocked was one, no one had done stuff like this for her and she had learnt not to expect anything of that sort. Two, she didn't know he cared this much. To go along with her antics in CWC is different and to put himself in a unfamiliar set with such tension between them is another thing, and she can't believe he willingly put himself in that situation for her.

She cleared her throat, "I thought you had a music video shoot?". He shrugged and smiled knowingly, "Last minute changes." She chuckled, still not believing it. She stood on her tippy toes and pulled the hair on his head. He yelled in pain, rubbing the area looking at her confused. "Enna?!"

"Just checking if you're real." she said, smirking a little bit. It was his turn to laugh and shook his head looking at her. She looked unusually pretty today. She always does, in his eyes, but there was something different about those captivating eyes he liked staring into so much. She seemed so grown up. "Dinner?", he asked and she nodded, perking up at the mention of food."I need to change." she said, already walking towards the dressing rooms. Ashwin nodded, telling her he'll order some food.

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Sivaangi walked in and saw pizza. Not even noticing anyone else, she sat down and picked up a slice and saw Ashwin in the corner, staring out of the window as usual. She walked towards him, perching herself on the windowsill. It was a beautiful night, a crescent moon light up the sky like an ornament and stars twinkled near it in joy. She shifted her focus to Ashwin and saw the same stars in his eyes.

"Do you know the difference between cardinal north and true north?" he asked, and shifted his gaze to her.

He reached out his hand, impulsively, and brushed the back of his fingers on the apple of her cheeks. Sivaangi jerked back slightly at the sudden touch. "Thoosi." he replied, regretting it slightly. She nodded again, feeling her cheeks swell in coy. She cleared her throat and asked "Etho north something soningale?"

Ashwin hummed, "There are different ways to find direction. Finding your true north is how you go on the right path. Someone who feels like home, someone who will always set you on the right track and will make you feel safe.." he finished slowly, looking at her. Whenever he looks at her, he could feel his chest tighten with no space to breathe. Her hair reminded him of the dark sky, and her eyes of the stars that glimmered in it. Sivaangi felt numb under his intense gaze and couldn't speak for a minute.

She snapped to her senses, and asked him teasingly, "Ithellam enagenthu pudikaringa?"

"Daily paper la poduvan paathathilla?" he replied back, the same smile on his face. She rolled her eyes, and was about to reply when cut off by a loud tapping noise. Frightened, she jumped off the windowsill and looked out to see a gray pigeon on the other side tapping on the window endlessly. She and Ashwin looked at each, and burst out into laughter.

Ashwin walked towards the window, ghost of his laughter still bubbling on his face and cracked open the window slightly, and kept down some garlic bread crumbs for the bird to eat. Sivaangi bent over next to him, looking at the bird curiously. "Paaravai ku vantha vaazhvu, garlic bread lam sapduthu". He chuckled watching as it's beak pecked at the crumb, "Per vaikalama?" he asked her, looking like a child during Christmas.

She almost instantly answered, "Pugazh."

"Athu enna, entha animal paathalum avan peru solra." he asked, grinning widely and whipped around his head to look at her and suddenly found his face very close to hers.  The stared at each other for a good few minutes, not knowing what to do in this sudden proximity. He backed off first, walking a few steps behind and told her he'll back after using the restroom.

Sivaangi sighed, finding herself alone suddenly in his dressing room. She didn't know what had gotten into her today, she felt like a love sick puppy around him, turning into a shy bubbling pool of mess. And today was worse, with the tension between them increasing with every moment spent alone. 

She looked at Pugazh (the bird) who was almost done with his meal, and sighed again "Enna da nadakuthu inga?".

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Sivaangi was beat when she got home, her whole body was screaming at her to go to sleep this instant and she tried but not before her phone rang. She clicked her tounge in annoyance, wondering who could it be at literally 3 am. She stared at the caller ID. If was Ashwin. The man was full of surprises today, she wondered if it was actually him or an imposter. She picked up the call with an amused and tired smile, breathing in a weak hello.

"Veetku vandacha?" he asked. Sivaangi tried to answer yes but that transformed into a yawn, and she made a distinct noise. He chuckled quietly from that side. "Enna sir thidirnu phone lam panringa?" she asked.

"Enna pandrathu, phone ethukavathu use pananum la." he replied, not wanting to admit he wanted to hear her voice. She hummed amusedly, and fell on her bed. This fell surreal, to be cuddled up in her bed, talking to him late at night. Today was more than perfect and she was surprised at how he could turn around her day with simple gestures.

"Enna vishayam?". There was silence on the line for a second, and Ashwins deep voice broke out from it.

"Weekend veetku variya?" he asked her hesitantly.

"Eh??" she exclaimed, that definitely woke her up a little bit. She knew today he was acting like he usually wasn't but this was even out of her imagination.

"Athu, uh, erm, ellarum irupanga, CWC team full ah. Oru lunch mathri, chumma." he said panicking into the phone, wondering if she had mistaken him. "Oh.." Sivaangi sighed, falling back into her soft pillow.

"Varene, appa amma kitta kettu solren" she said, feeling her eyes droop. He hummed, "Seri phone a vai, thoongi vazhiyara."

"Phone pannuathu neenga, neengale phone ah vainga" she said, a huge smile on her face. She was thankful he couldn't see her right now. Ashwin laughed, he didn't know the last time he felt so free and happy.

"Rowdy" he said softly into the phone, before hanging up. He felt warm all of a sudden, and leaned on his balcony railing, the soft breeze brushing through hair. He took himself to bed, unknowingly hoping to dream of a doe eyed someone with a voice as sweet as nectar.

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hi hi makkale!!

i hope you liked this part, im looking to develop their bonding a bit more before anything huge. i don't know if this is boring, but tell me so if it is. this is the longest chapter so far!

don't forget to vote! thank you so much for the love and support.

love,
sai