Running From The Truth (by Emma)

Chapter 13 - Apprehension

Chapter 13 - Apprehension

"A bottle of wine please!" said Lavanya cheerily.

"And a glass of water for Khushi" said Arnav.

NK and Khushi looked at Arnav, confusion written all over their faces.

"What? She doesn't drink, right Khushi?" Arnav asked.

"You don't drink?" asked NK, and Khushi shook her head in negative.

"But Arnav, how did you know that?" asked Khushi.

Arnav tried to hold in a laugh as he remembered the last time Khushi had consumed alcohol. "How do you expect me to forget?" he asked.

"Forget what? Come on Nannav, tell us too" said NK.

Arnav smirked. "Well in high school, there was this big house party thrown by one of my friends, and basically the whole school was invited. Anyways, someone had spiked Khushi's drink and she'went a little crazy" he snickered.

Khushi felt the heat rising to her cheeks, and she turned away in embarrassment. "Oh god, please don't remind me"

"What do you mean crazy?" asked Lavanya curiously.

"Well...there were many things" he expressed his amusement by hiding his laugh, and looking at Khushi for permission to continue.

"Arnav, shut up! You're not telling anyone, anything" she exclaimed, laughing slightly.

"Come on, please!" he pleaded.

"Ugh...fine, whatever. I don't even remember half of the stuff I did; I just remember waking up the next morning in my head with a really bad headache. But if you really want to disclose the horrible things that I did, you're free to do so!" she glared at Arnav who chuckled in response.

"Well as soon as she finished her drink, she had about 5 more. And I wasn't around for that part, but I found her while she was breaking a bunch of vases around the house. And then she decided to grab a random phone, call everyone on that contact list and asked if they had any jalebies'" he paused to take a deep breath and not burst into laughter. "And then, she dragged me to the park because she wanted to go on the swings. And then, she made me cross the street and she expressed her desire to go into a hookah bar, where she played poker with a bunch of old men, who by the way probably still have nightmares about a girl name Khushi threatening them to play poker or else she would kill them" he laughed.

NK's jaw dropped as soon as he heard that Khushi had gotten that drunk, but hearing all the crazy things she had done on top of that, just made him even more astonished.

"Khush...?" NK said shocked and started to chuckle. This made Lavanya start to laugh as well.

Arnav looked at Khushi and before they knew it, both had burst into laughter, eyes never leaving one another's.

NK noticed the easy conversation between the two, and couldn't help but wonder about the kind of relationship they had back then. They seemed close, yet neither of them had talked about anything since now. Usually when you meet an old high school friend, you get excited. You talk, catch up, and learn about each others present lives. Yet when Khushi had seen Arnav at the house for the first time, she seemed upset, sad even. It confused him, but he let the thought slide for now as he wanted to enjoy the evening.

Dinner was pleasant. Arnav kept bringing up many childhood memories about Khushi, and every time she couldn't help but laugh at how silly she was. NK noticed how she was gradually starting to open up. This was definitely the most he had ever seen her laugh in one night. He already felt like she was a slightly different person from the girl who had entered the restaurant about an hour ago. He would have to thank Arnav for the great idea later. NK touched his suit pocket again for the umpteenth time to feel the little velvet box. And he concluded that it was not the right time or place to propose. This dinner was about Khushi reliving her past, and right now was not the time to think about the future. He would do it later tonight'at her apartment perhaps. He would have to go and make preparations very soon.