ArShi FF: Fragmented Colors

Chapter 1: Hush

"At least eat properly-" Before she could finish, her son stands up and walks over to the sink in the kitchen, washing his hands in a hurry.

"I'm going to be late for the lecture. I'll be back soon,"

Arnav plants a quick kiss on his mother's forehead and she smiles as she sees him walk to the door.

"I love you beta!"

"I love you too, Ma." He replies, before closing the door behind him.

The drive to college is not a pleasant one at all, with the constant titter tatter of the rain on the windshield and the slight traffic on the highway. He turns a nob on the audio system of the car to the right, the volume of the music increasing to his command. Tapping his free finger on the steering wheel to the rhythm of the song, he nods his head while his lips mouth the words.

She says, we've got to hold on to what we've got
It doesn't make a difference if we make it or not

The traffic is easing now, and he pushes lightly on the accelerator. After another 10 minute drive and two other songs, he finally reaches his destination.

He reminds himself why he's here today in the first place.

He didn't have class today and it was pouring rain.

Yet here he was, because he can't seem to get a stranger out of his head – one with gorgeous hazel eyes.

Parking his car, Arnav makes his way to a lecture hall in the campus.

This is much harder than I had expected, he wonders, as he scans the hall, estimating about a hundred students packed in the seats. It would be close to impossible to spot her in such a large setting, that too in the middle of an ongoing lecture. He sighs in despair, his eyes still searching for the sight of the nameless, familiar face when suddenly he feels a tap on his shoulder.

"ASR, what are you doing here?"

"Lavanya! Hi. I just wanted to attend to, um... learn about a topic I know nothing about,"

He quickly realizes that this excuse is a weak one when one of her eyebrows rise in doubt.

"Alright, alright, now that you're here come sit with us!" Flashing a dimpled smile, she leads him ahead and he sighs in relief that she hadn't bombarded him with a thousand skeptical questions like she usually does. He wonders who else she's sitting with, but that is soon answered when Lavanya stops by a specific row. Arnav is unable to to anything but stare, his lips parted in surprise.

"Meet Khushi,"

Khushi... the stranger now has a name. A beautiful one at that.

He extends his hand towards her and watches her hesitant eyes turn to his hand, then his hopeful gaze, then back to his hand again, before raising her own. Something sparks as their hands meet, but he can't pinpoint what. He holds her gaze for a few long moments as his thumb brushes the back of her palm with one small, deliberate stroke of skin, a warmth enveloping him as he witnesses a slight blush rise to her cheeks.

"Nice to meet you Khushi. I'm Arnav,"

The introductions stay brief because of a few students nearby who are visibly annoyed by the chatter in the middle of a lecture. Lavanya excuses herself to the bathroom and seizing the opportunity, Arnav takes the seat next to Khushi.

They sit quietly for the next few minutes, the sound of the professor's monotonous voice resounding the hall. Arnav manages to sneak in glances at Khushi from time to time, watching her as she looks down to take notes. Desperate to start up a conversation, he blurts out the first thing that comes to his head.

"The little girl in your sketch... who was she?"

Khushi looks at him questioningly before her face relaxes, and then answers.

"My niece," She gives a small smile and goes back to taking notes.

Arnav nods at her answer, a part of him dimming.

She clearly doesn't want to talk.

He decides to stay relatively quiet throughout the lecture, breaking his silence to ask her a few questions about the topic being discussed. Apart from that, he knows she is here to learn, not to make conversation with a stranger.

He mentally kicks himself for creating unrealistic expectations for an out of the blue encounter that left him restless for weeks.

Then again, he knew there was much more to her than what meets the eye, a definite pull that gravitated him to her naturally from the very first moment he saw her.

Shaking away his thoughts, he tries his earnest to pay attention to what the professor was pointing at on the screen.

Instead, he finds himself getting distracted by the overpowering scent of jasmine combined with the smell of fresh linen coming from his right.

He takes a quick glance at her, only to find her absentmindedly drawing asymmetrical circles of blue ink on her notebook.

"Is this the new way of taking notes?" Arnav chuckles, breaking her out of her reverie.

She suddenly realizes what she had been doing and lets out a little laugh.

"Oh, no. I was just... thinking about something,"

Before he could ask her about what she was thinking so deeply about, the professor announces the end of the lecture, causing an entire hall full of students to stand up and gather their things. Arnav silently follows Khushi towards the exit since the sound of consistent murmurs and shuffling makes it hard to hear. As they make their way out of the hall, they are greeted by a familiar face.

"Where were you?" Khushi asks, realizing Lavanya had never come back from the bathroom.

"Sorry sorry, I was stuck doing something," She replies, her hands coming up in defense.

"Doing something or doing someone?" Arnav smirks, whispering under his breath.

Lavanya gasps and Khushi can't help but raise her hand to her mouth to keep from giggling.

"Shut up ASR!" She goes to hit his arm but Arnav manages to dodge it perfectly in time.

"Anyway, I wanted to invite you guys to an impromptu party at my place. No plans tonight, right?"

For some reason, Arnav looks at Khushi, waiting to see what she says.

"Lavanya, actually I was thinking..."

"No, I won't listen to anything. You're coming tonight,"

Unable to find a reason to say no to that she nods in an affirmative, smiling.

"I'll be there," He says, feeling Khushi's eyes on him.

"Awesome! See you guys then. By the way, ASR, NK says hi,"

Arnav closes his eyes in dread.

"Oh god. Does he know I've been ignoring his texts?"

"Maybe. Good luck facing him at the party tonight." Lavanya winks mischievously and the two share an amicable laugh before parting ways.

Arnav turns around, hoping to get the chance to talk to Khushi alone about something, anything.

Looking up, he stops in his tracks.

She's already gone.

~

A/N: Let me know your thoughts dear readers - type away! :)