FF: Asleep - C12

‘Mr. Angad Zaib Khanna! You better let me finish this chapter or I’m going to kill you!’ Kripa screamed at the man below her.

He sighed and continued with his push-ups. Kripa was sitting on his back reading her book. ‘Kripa, that’s what you said the last time I wanted to stop.’

‘Angad, you’re the one who wanted his body toned! Now let me finish this damn chapter. Then you can argue with me all you want.’

Angad sighed again. This was what his life had become. For the last three months, he had been working out and getting in shape and Kripa had nagged him to death. He loved her nagging and her chatterbox attitude, but he was very hungry. Living with Kripa had also given him an appreciation of food. She was such a foodie! He smiled thinking about how much they had both eaten last night. Hence, the extra workout. He sighed again.

‘Angad, stop sighing! I can’t focus!’

‘Kripa, if you’re not going to shut up, I’ll drop you on the floor, I’m warning you!’

Kripa just nudged him and continued reading.

‘Kripa, we need to talk.’

It was her turn to sigh, ‘Do you have to sound this cheesy? Kripa, we need to talk,’ she imitated him. ‘It sounds like we are going to break up; not that we’re dating or anything.’ She rolled her eyes to the ceiling.

‘Kripa, I’m serious. I think it’s time to take the next step.’

Kripa froze. ‘Are you sure?’ Although she really wanted him to get justice, she really enjoyed being with him. The sooner he accomplished his mission, the quicker he was going to be out of her life. She didn’t want to think about that.

‘Yeah, I think it is time.’

It was now her turn to sigh, ‘I think so too. You don’t think the plan is too lame, do you?’

He asked her to roll off his back, sat up and cupped her face, ‘Kripa, no, it’s a good plan. It’s lame and dumb, but it just might work. Don’t worry.’

Kripa managed a small smile. She couldn’t imagine life without him anymore. She had always been cheerful, but she hadn’t ever been this happy the way she was with him. He simply lit her life up.

‘I hope everything goes well. I hope you get your justice, Angad.’

He smiled, ‘With you by my side, everything’s going to be great. Let’s start our plan on Monday then.’

‘Let’s do that.’ She shook herself from her melancholy mood. ‘But first, we’ll have to take full advantage of this weekend and have the time of our lives, what say?’

‘I’m up for it.’ And he hugged her.

Kripa squealed, ‘Yuck, Angad. You just worked out and you’re sweaty! Go shower!’

He pinched her on the cheek and left a smiling Kripa.

**

She took him everywhere she enjoyed. She took him to the theme park where they laughed so hard that their stomachs ached. She took him for horror movies and screamed and held each other tight in fright. They went to the park and savored all the junk food from the street vendors. They finally came home at the end of the weekend and sat on the couch exhausted.

‘You’re such a whirlwind, Kripa. It’s so hard to keep up with you. You’re like a little excited kid who wants to do everything at the same time. I’ve not had this much fun in a very long time. I think I was with my parents when I was this carefree.’

She laughed and snuggled against him on the couch, ‘Welcome to my world, Angad. This carefree and crazy person is up for anything!’

He grinned, ‘After all this is sorted out, we should go skydiving.’

Kripa made a noncommittal sound and did not respond. She was just staring into space.

‘So is that a yes or a no?’ Why wasn’t she saying anything?

‘Let’s not make plans for the future. Let’s not think about what’s going to happen after Sonia is behind bars and you get your life back,’ she spoke still staring into space.

Angad was confused, ‘Why are you saying that? And why won’t you look at me while saying that?’ And why did her saying not to think about the future with him hurt him so much? Was that all his space was in her life? He always felt that she had feelings for him, the same he did for her.

She turned to face him, ‘Look, you’ll get your life back; the people you used to be friends with. You’ll probably not want to hang out with me anymore or you just won’t have the time,’ she mumbled. It felt good to finally tell him what her fears were.

He stared at her disbelievingly. This was why she didn’t want to think about the future with him? This was why she didn’t want to make plans with him? How could she not know how much she meant to him? How could she not know how his life revolved around her now?

And this was definitely not the time to tell her how exactly he felt. But he could assuage her fears for now. Or at least he could try.

‘Kripa, you’re the best friend I could ever have. Of course I’m not going to forget about you. I can’t believe you’d even thing that. We’re best friends and we’ll always be best friends.’

‘Best friends,’ she muttered. The person she finally fell in love with considered her his best friend. Oh well, just because you loved someone did not mean that the person loved you back. And it was true, they were best friends.

‘Best friends,’ she repeated brightly. ‘That’s true. Sure, let’s go skydiving after this is over. And for now, let’s go to sleep. We’re going to have an insane day tomorrow. Goodnight Angad.’

She kissed his cheek and spent another sleepless night.