Can we make it last?

three

"Pacific chale?"
After a while of suffocating silence, Neil chose to break this moment for better. Her little words and he knew Aarohi was somewhere deep down upset and had not yet come up with the fact that her family had flushed out all the memories of the time when Aarohi was at the place of Akshara, marrying Abhimanyu.

Every member of her family had forgotten how happy she was that time and they didn't even realized or maybe they did but chose to let go, how hurt and upset she was when all that came out to be nothing but a misunderstanding.
In this process, how easily they forgot what must have happened to this soul, how heartbroken she might have been and how much pressure she had, to look happy because and for her sister's happiness.

She WAS happy for her sister, indeed, afterall she was getting married to the love of her life, not the false one but the real happy.
But the fact can't be ignored how many times she'd laughed when all she wanted to cry, she'd put fake smile on her face when all she wanted to run away and go hide in a dark place, probably where no one would be able to find her and she'd have to put on her happy face, once again.
She isn't expected to be sad in her own sister's marriage,no?

"Dekh lo..paise hai bhi tumhare paas itne? Ladki ki behen hu, saste me kaam nhi banega.."

"Ladki ki behen ho tabhi toh gaadi me bithakar, khud Neil Birla aapko shopping ke liye le jaa raha hai..itna special treatment aam logo ke liye nahi hai."

"Whatever." Rolling her eyes at him, she glanced outside the windows taking in the fresh air.
.....

A small smile grazed his features as he leaned back on a wall folding his hands across his chest and saw her moving her hands on the clothes in front of her, contemplating what to choose in the heap of those dresses.

After a while, she sighed and took out two dresses and moved her eyes across the surroundings in search of something when her eyes met with him as he stood at a distance from her.
He immediately averted his gaze from hers to not to be caught.

"I'll just go and try these." He interpreted as she said from her eyes and he could only nod at her.

Neil was in a dilemma as he had started getting some new unknown feelings for this girl.
She was different, he always had known and a composed character whom he always wanted to unravel but she did not let him or anyone to do so, ever.

She liked to stay in her shell. Not showing her feelings.
She and her sister were poles apart.
Akshara was a social person, always so outspoken about what she feels and someone who would easily initialise conversation with strangers and would make them friends.
So was Neil. Akshara and Neil had many qualities in common while on the other hand, Aarohi and Abhimanyu were somewhat alike.
Composed and Calm.

But as they say opposites attract and same happened with them.
Although in Neil's and Aarohi's case, it had a long way to go, yet.

"How's this?" Neil turned to look at an overexcited Aarohi who had a wide smile on her face as she twirled around to give him a better view of what she'd been wearing.

He got so lost in her for a moment that he forgot she'd asked him something which he needed to answer and that she had to shake him to bring back from his lost world.

He uncomfortably cleared his throat. "Yakeen toh nahi ho raha, par aaj tum achi lag rahi ho Chipkali."

"Mai hamesha hi achi lagti hu. Bas kabhi nazre tikakar dekho."
"I'm taking this one. I really liked it."

He just nodded at her and when he watched her going back to the trial room, he sighed as he realised what she'd just said.
They had never really tried to have a civil conversation with each other, observing each other was a lost cause. They just had fighted since the first time they met.