Imperfect but mine

Prologue

Will you come to the summer carnival with me? 

Sorry, who is this?

You Know Who.

The nose-less serpent king! Wow.. 
My loyalty lies with the Aurors, though.
Sir, I have to kindly refuse.

Amaan, c'mmon!
Please.
Pretty please.

NO.

Martino and I host the weekly sports' podcast for the university campus radio and currently are at the cafeteria, discussing what topics we need to cover next week. He peers over my shoulder, sees the texts and says, "Why don't you just go out with her? I mean, she is gorgeous, she is smart, she is perfect and she has been asking you out for months now. The whole campus envies you, bro!"   

"182 times," I correct him, out of habit. I just love numbers.

He quizzically looks at me and says, "You keep a count on how many times she asked to go out with you. Huh! Remind me again why you are saying no."

I remain silent, because there is nothing I can tell him. My brain doesn't allow me to do certain things - one of them, is to pursue a relationship...especially with her. The problem, however, is that my body and my heart don't align with my brain. And every time, she is within a 500 metre radius, my heart starts bouncing around in my rib cage and my body stands on high alert. The bigger problem is that even though I have turned her down every 182 times, I have wanted to say yes every single time.

And there she is. Walking across the lawn with her best friend Asiya, who also happens to be my sister - umm, the daughter of my adoptive parents.

They see us and walk towards us, her eyes never straying away from mine. She sits down at the empty chair next to me and starts:

"Will you-?"

"Nope!" I reply.

"You didn't even listen to what I was going to say."

"I don't need to."

"Are you sure?" She tilts her head to one side and peeks at me. Damn, those eyes!

"The answer is still no." 

She pulls her chair closer to mine, leans in toward me and asks: "Why? At least, give me a reason."

"I don't have to."

"You don't have a reason, do you?"

Damn! She's gorgeous. I can't lose my focus like this.

"I don't want you," I said, looking straight at her.

"You are lying. And do you how I know? Your breathing becomes erratic every time I am near you and the tips of your ears turn red. So, I will ask again. Will you go out with me?"

"It's a 'No' in every language."

"You have to understand that the more you turn me down, the more I want you and the more I am going to push you," she says.

I rest my elbows on the table and say, "You have to understand that if the situation was reversed here, society would consider this to be harassment."

She looks hurt for a second realizing what I meant. But she recovers fast, smiles and tells me, "You and I.. We are meant to be."

"Oh yeah? It's not going to happen. See-ya. Bye, Martino!" I get up and wait for Asiya to retrieve her things & say her goodbyes. 

"Okay... So, you are crushing hard on my best friend" she says asks as soon as we are out of earshot. "Don't act dumb. I just saw what happened there."

"Sis, she's a-"

"Stop! She's a nice girl - yes, she can be manipulative, bitchy, vain and overtly confident at times. But, everybody makes mistakes. You were awfully rude to her. She honestly likes you and-"

"No, Asiya. She doesn't like me; she only thinks she does. She likes the chase and this back-and-forth banter. Once I say yes, she'll forget who I even am. Aina and I are never going to happen," I say, as I get into my car.

"Besides, I don't deserve her. She has a future laid out in front of her. I am not letting her waste her time trying to go out with a criminal like me."

"You are not-"

I cut her off and say,"Oh yeah? Do you think she will be happy to date me when she knows my truth? Will she be overjoyed and ready to take me home to her family when I tell her that I have been in juvenile prison? Will she be ecstatic to get married to me when she hears that I murdered my parents and my baby sister?" I stare at Asiya and see her silently fidget with the stereo controls of the car.

Exactly..! This is why Aina and I can't happen. I have convinced my brain and I will never allow it to slip up. Now, I just have to persuade my heart to do the right thing. For her. 

*************************************************

It's a new day and it's a new story with Aina and Amaan. There will be some tears- some ugly and some happy.

But it's going to be different from the original drama and the previous fan-fiction I penned down.
Hope you all enjoy this.