Beautiful Stranger (How I Met Your Mother)

13. Unexpected

Nisha hurried down the stairs. She wanted to be as far away as possible from Ted and his friends. She needed to think. She wanted to stop feeling so stupid in matters of love once again. It had been nearly eight years since her last heart break, and here she was, on the verge of another one. As she approached the last set of stairs, Nisha found herself tearing up. Her heart was pounding faster than a few seconds ago. She needed to let her emotions out. Not here, she thought to herself. 

She could wait for a cab right outside Ted's building but that night Nisha decided to walk a few blocks first. She wanted some fresh air and tire herself enough to fall asleep immediately as she got home. Thinking about what she heard was only going to hurt her more, or make her hope for things to get better. She didn't want to be stupid again. She needed time away from everything. It was too soon for her to be feeling such vivid emotions for a guy she knew only for a few weeks. But, somewhere inside she felt like Ted was all that mattered for her right now. That thought disturbed her. What was she doing with her life! Ignoring everything else - her career, her classes, her own little stock marketing were all getting hit because Ted was getting most of the attention, even though they barely talked. 

Nisha walked for as long as her brain thought less of Ted and Robin and more of the onset of a sharp pain in her toes that had been squished into thin, blue stilettos her roommate had insisted her to wear. She had hated them for being too wretched but tonight that pain was a refreshing break for her overworked brain. She suddenly began to feel numb- physically and emotionally. She had walked good three blocks when she saw a familiar face walking toward her with a huge pretzel in his hand, half covered in tissues. 

It was Barney. 

Nisha wasn't ready to talk to him if he ever decided to stop for a little conversation. But the closer he got, the more confused his face got as he saw Nisha limping toward him, and clearer that he was going to stop and ask something. 

"Wrong day for high heals?" Barney asked, with a smirk Nisha didn't care for. Not tonight.

"Yeah. You can say that." Nisha looked toward the road, hoping for a cab to appear from somewhere so she didn't have to answer any more questions. 

"Are you okay?" Barney asked again, this time with concern, something that Nisha had yet to witness in him. 

"Yeah. I am. Thanks." 

"Are you sure? Because your forehead is full of sweat in this cold." Barney added. 

"It's nothing really. I have been walking for a while." Nisha replied, not looking at him. No cabs yet, she thought, disappointed.

Barney gave out a short smile. He didn't say anything for a few seconds. But he hadn't left either. Surprisingly, he chose to stick around, giving Nisha an unwanted company. "You wanna talk about it?"

Why, Nisha wondered. Why did he have to be nice tonight of all days. Her heart was jumping to explode her emotions onto someone. But she knew she couldn't show her soft side to a friend of Ted's. Yet somewhere she didn't care. She wanted to talk even if it was to Barney. "It's all messy you know, with  Ted and Robin." Nisha said, looking at Barney. She continued, "I can't speak for all, but most women will be uncomfortable around their dynamics."

Barney said nothing to that for more than ten seconds. He then replied, "you're right. And I know it's kinda weird, but Ted really likes you. Maybe more than her."

"Yeah. MAYBE. That's what I am worried about. I will have to keep wondering maybe he likes me more, maybe not."

Barney saw her point. "Do you wanna sit down and talk?"

Nisha wanted to say no. "Yeah." She answered.