The Distance Between Us

Track Fifty Two - Apollo

Track 52 - Apollo, Noah Reid

"I can't believe today was real," Muskaan murmured.

"It was," Rahul replied. "Very real. I'm sorry it took me so long."

He pulled her into another hug, probably their twentieth in the last half an hour. Muskaan snuggled in and said, "Don't be. We're here. That's what is important."

Rahul smiled and dropped a kiss on the top of her head. "You're right," he said. "But I am sorry. It took us so long to get here. That's my fault."

"In a way, I'm glad it took us so long," she murmured. "At least now, we're both completely sure this is what we want."

"When did you get so smart?" He asked her, making Muskaan whack his arm. Rahul chortled. It was so reminiscent of their times before. He liked that. They'd both grown up and had matured, but this childish innocence in their relationship, their banter, their silly fights... he never wanted to lose them.

"Muski! Muski! Muski!" Riddhima's insistent voice broke their moment. She was knocking furiously on the door, making both of them startle. Rahul rushed to the door and yanked it open. The sight on the other side stopped him cold.

Riddhima was clearly not having a good night. She was crying, had been for a while, if the red, swollen eyes were any indication. Her face was wet with tears and snot and her words were coming out garbled.

"Ridzy?" Muskaan asked, pushing Rahul aside, who seemed to have forgotten he existed as he just stood there and watched Riddhima, absolutely aghast. "What happened?"

"I... I... Armaan... Muski... I... I... told... Armaan... I told... Told him... Him. Armaan... Armaan... he... he... He knows. He... He... He hates me. He hates me!" She sobbed, falling to the floor. Muskaan immediately sat next to her and pulled her into a hug.

"It's okay," she whispered, running her hands up and down Riddhima's back in a soothing gesture. "It's okay, Ridzy. Everything will be okay."

"Nothing will ever be okay again, Muski. He... you didn't see him. He's... he's so mad. He... He said he could... He could never... never trust me again. He... He just... he was so upset... he never... Never wants to... To see me again. He'll... he'll hate me. The one... One thing... that I... one thing that I didn't want... It's... it's happening. He hates me," Riddhima cried.

Muskaan kept one arm around Riddhima, holding her tight, and used her other to tug on Rahul's pants, pulling him out of whatever it was he was thinking. Rahul yelped, surprised.

'Armaan,' she mouthed to him, spurring Rahul in action. He nodded and hastily made his retreat, all but stumbling to Armaan's room.

He was absolutely not ready for the sight that greeted him. Armaan was sitting on the floor, his knees pressed tightly to his chest, sobbing into his hands. It reminded Rahul of the early days, when Armaan had just arrived in New York and his past still plagued him. He fell to his knees next to Armaan and immediately pulled him into a hug. Recognizing Rahul, Armaan's sobs grew louder as he pushed himself closer into Rahul's arms, seeking any and all comfort his best friend was ready to provide.

Rahul wasn't sure how long they sat there. It could have been days and he wouldn't have noticed. All that mattered was Armaan. His sobs transported Rahul 7 years into the past and for a second he felt that he'd dreamt everything. That none of it had been real. Armaan and him slowly moving on with their lives, finding Tamanna, watching Jaanhavi and Rohan fall in love, meeting Shilpa again, reuniting with their friends, meeting Myra, confessing to Muskaan - all of it felt like a dream, a different reality. But, when he opened his eyes and saw where he was, he couldn't deny that it had all been true for he opened his eyes to stare directly at the photo they'd taken a few days ago - all his friends bathed in cake, laughing. That had happened a couple weeks ago, he remembered. So, it was real then. And Riddhima had broken Armaan's heart again. He didn't know if it was for better or worse that he hadn't dreamed it all up.