Broken Hearts and Strange Girls || Shivika AU FF

𝐗𝐈𝐈

When Shivaay came down the next morning, he knew to expect an unusual sight. Hence, he was not as surprised as he might've been to see Jhanvi and Tej Singh Oberoi smiling and speaking to one another about Aishwarya's bright and lively little sister.

"Mom, Dad," he greeted. Tej frowned. "Good morning to you, too, son."

It was no secret that Tej was disappointed with Shivaay, who was once the apple of his eye. Shivaay and Tej shared the same love for business, the spark for which had diminished in Shivaay as of late. Jhanvi smiled, and ushered for Shivaay to join them at the table. As expected, he refused, going to the living room instead.

It was then that Annika arrived, making her presence known by wishing everyone a good morning. She grinned when she saw Shivaay seated on the couch, scrolling through his phone.

Time to put her plan in action, she thought with a smirk. She plopped herself in front of him and waited for his eyes to look up at her expectantly.

"It is basic manners to reply with a 'Good morning to you, too,' when one has the courtesy to wish you a bright beginning to your day," Annika said, rather loudly to catch his attention.

Shivaay huffed and went back to his phone. When Annika noticed she wasn't going to get a reaction, she tried something else. Aishwarya was passing by to wake up her lovely son, when Annika's mind gave a little kickstart and she began her naatak.

"Aishu, I was just coming to meet you. I have to go jogging, and I wanted to go with you. I don't know how to navigate around the city yet, so I was thinking maybe we could go together?" she asked.

Aishwarya shook her head. "Oh, I can't, Ann. I've got to drop off Adi at daycare, then get to the supermarket."

"Maybe Om can take me then?" Annika offered. "Om will be at work today."

"Oh, then I guess I'll just have to break routine and skip today," Annika lied. She never went jogging back home. But he didn't need to know that.

It was then that Jhanvi entered after overhearing what had just ensued. "No need, Annika! Shivaay can take you! Right, Shivaay?"

Tej appeared beside his wife with a disapproving look. "Come on, Shivaay. It's not like you have anything else to do," he said, rather tauntingly. Shivaay snapped up, and shrugged his shoulders. "Fine, let's go."

Annika and Shivaay were walking through the park. While Annika enjoyed the natural surroundings, Shivaay had his hands dug into his pockets, his gaze fixated on his sneakers as he walked alongside her.

"You're the same age as Aishu, right?" Annika asked, springing into conversation with the dull man beside her. Shivaay nodded simply, and Annika acknowledged it and continued.

"You don't talk much, do you, Shivaay?"

"Not more than needed," he replied monotonously.

"This walk is rather boring without conversation."

"Yeah, I guess."

"Here's a thought. Let's get to know a little bit about each other. I'm Annika, I'm 23 years old, I'm a strong Leo. My hobbies include journaling, playing air hockey with my friends, and solving puzzles! My passion is photography, and I love my job as a photojournalist. What about you?" Annika prodded.

Shivaay shrugged. "I'm Shivaay. 25 years old. I don't know my zodiac sign. Hobbies? I don't know, listening to music, playing with Adi, stuff like that."

"And work? What do you do for a living? What are you most passionate about?" Annika asked.

"I used to be a businessman like Dad and Om."

"Used to? What happened?" Annika asked. Shivaay stopped, and so did she. His eyes changed from a deep blue to a cold grey, and Annika had to avert her gaze after a moment, for his was far too piercing. "Something killed me," he dropped in a serious tone.

A moment of silence followed his confession, in which his gaze got harsher, his posture stiffened and his fists crushed in their pockets. Annika broke the silence by clearing her throat. "Well, it's interesting that you liked business! Kush is also a businessman," she informed, purposely bringing up her nickname for Kushal, hoping to plant some seeds of envy in Shivaay's mind.

"Kush?"

Laga na, teer nishane pe, Annika praised herself. She shrugged, biting back her smile. "Kushal."

"Oh. You call him Kush?" Shivaay inquired. If Annika didn't know any better, she'd say he was jealous that Kushal Thakur had his own nickname and he didn't. The thought of something that absurd made her want to chuckle, but she suppressed it as best as she could.

"Yeah, you can nickname your friends, right? My friend Enrico is Rick, Luna is Lu, Marina is Mari, Valentino is Val, Alessandro is Alex—"

"Okay, I get it. But, you don't even know Kushal that well. He's already your friend?" Shivaay questioned. Annika looked at him confusingly. "Well, I mean, like—you trust that he's a good human being and worthy of your friendship based off of, what, three-four hours of witnessing his good side?" he asked, appalled.

Annika nodded. "Why not? I consider myself a great judge of character, and Kushal seems honest, hard-working—" Shivaay snorted here. "—And kind. That's enough for me to befriend him. You, on the other hand," Annika looked at him pointedly, "are distant, cold, and lifeless. No offense."

Shivaay scrunched up his face as Annika started to walk away from him. "How is that not offensive?" he called behind her, jogging lightly to keep up.

"Opinions can't offend people?" Annika shrugged. Shivaay shook his head. "You have really weird logic. Like, barely knowing someone and making them your friend. Or calling someone cold and lifeless to their face and considering that as unoffensive."

"I take time to be understood."

"How much?" Annika looked at him. "Depends on the person."

The two walked in silence after that. A few moments later, they reached the children's area, where a large and colorful playground stood. There was a stone wall, about three feet high with a single clay pot sitting there.

Annika observed the pot closely. "Shivaay, look!" she pulled Shivaay back, who was getting ready to head right past it.

"What?" Shivaay asked, to which Annika gestured towards the pot. Shivaay looked to see a small tree-like plant withered away.

He looked back at Annika in confusion. "You stopped me to look at a dead tree?" Annika facepalmed herself and shook her head. She pointed at the pot again. Shivaay looked again. "What?!" he asked exasperatedly. "Use your damn words!"

Annika rolled her eyes and sat on her knees in front of the plant. Pulling a hesitant Shivaay down, she slowly outstretched her finger towards the bottom of the tree, where a tiny little green steam was holding onto a tiny little green leaf. Shivaay would have, and had, missed the little leaf if not for Annika. The girl surprised him once again with her observance and attention to such small things.

"This is the most inspirational plant in this entire park," she said, gently brushing her fingertips across the new leaf. "How?"

"It teaches something. Everyone passing by, even you considered this plant to be dead. But, even when all had lost hope in its survival, it never let its own waver. It held on, and sprouted new roots. There was barely any life left in it, but it tried and it lived." As she spoke, Shivaay's mind drifted back to her earlier statement. "Distant, cold and lifeless," she'd described him as. But what if he was like this plant?

What if there was a chance for him to sprout new roots and try again? Shivaay looked back at Annika's, who was still admiring the little leaf, and for the first time in a long time, his stone grey eyes softened. They flicked into a soft green that mimicked honeydew. Annika, knowingly or unknowingly, had just introduced him to a new hope. One that he would try to nurture, regardless of the culmination.