Saving Her

III

♪♫ Saath chhodunga na tere piche aaunga,

Chheen lunga ya khuda se maang laaunga,

Tere naal taqdeeran likhwaunga,

Main tera ban jaaunga... ♪♫

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Two weeks.

It's been two weeks since Aarav's encounter with Noor.

He didn't know if she was really busy or if she was ignoring him intentionally. Every time he tried to meet her she would give him excuses. At first he thought that his sudden appearance has shocked her, which would explain the behavior but two weeks time is more than enough to wear off the shock.

He tried to give her a little space, but now he is restless. He has to go and meet her, make sure she is okay. And that's exactly what he did.

He knocked on her apartment door he knew she shared with her friends.

A girl with deep brown eyes and long brown hair opened the door.

"Yes?" The girl asked rudely with a bored look on her face.

Definitely Ahana.

During the years he was with Noor, she had told him all about her best friends. The only difference he knew to differentiate between her best friends even without knowing their faces was Ahana was the rude type and Inaya was polite and soft-spoken.

"You must be Ahana, right?" He tried to act casual because he knew that Ahana was a hard nut to crack.

"I am. And you are?" She was assessing him, contemplating if he was a threat or not.

"Hi, I am Aarav." He offered a polite smile which wasn't returned.

Nope. Not helping.

He didn't know why he was feeling nervous, but Ahana had this undeniable intimidating aura around her which made him nervous.

"Um... I was hoping to meet with Noor." He gave another smile and instantly added, "Only if you don't mind."

"She is not home." Ahana answered curtly.

"Oh! Okay."

He turned around to go back when Ahana's voice stopped him.

"You can come inside and wait for her, if you don't have anything important in your schedule." She offered and he took the opportunity without thinking twice.

He entered the spacious apartment—it was elegant and tasteful—and sat on the couch.

"Would you like something to drink?"

The question was so sudden that he thought he imagined it, "Huh?"

She rolled her eyes, "Would you like something to drink? Tea, coffee, water... rum?"

"What?" He eyes grew wide in surprise but he composed himself, "I mean, I didn't know you guys drink."

"We don't." She said with a flat tone, "That was me trying to joke to put you at ease."

"Oh!" he said and immediately stated amused, "You don't know how to joke."

"Clearly." She muttered under her breath but he still heard her.

"Um... water would be fine."

She nodded and disappeared around a corner which he assumed was kitchen and came back with a glass of water. She handed him the glass and sat opposite to him.

"What do you want from Noor?" She asked suddenly.

"What do you mean?"

"Look, she would be here any minute now, so I'll come straight to the point."

He nodded not knowing what's coming next, so, he sipped at his water.

"Noor is naïve and innocent. And I know she left you two years ago and you must be angry, but she had her reasons. So if by any chance you are here to hurt her, I'd like you to leave her alone."

"I'm not here to hurt her and I assure you that I'm not angry either."

"Then why are you here? What is the meaning of you showing up in her life after two years?"

"I would like to tell that to Noor first."

She nodded. "I can understand. Just don't hurt her or I wouldn't think twice before hurting you."

Aarav would be offended if it was anyone else, but he realized that this rude and tough looking girl is actually concerned for her best friend. He too understood that Ahana meant every word when she said that she wouldn't think twice before hurting him and she wouldn't hesitate in doing so because that was her way of showing love towards Noor.

He gave a reassuring smile, "I would never hurt her, I promise."

This time she smiled back. It wasn't a full blown smile; it wasn't even a smile just a twitch of her lips but that was enough for him to know that she believed him.

"What did you mean when you said she had her reasons?"

"I'm afraid that's not my story to tell."

"Okay."

The doorbell rang, Ahana stood up to answer the door.

Aarav was anxious and excited at the same time to see Noor. Anxious because he came to her home without any notice and excited because he would finally be able to talk to her.