Hello everyone! Here's chapter eighteen, please let me know how you guys like it :)
Remember to participate in trends for IPZN S2, mail/call/spam- Stream the videos Sony uploads of IPZN almost everyday. Help maintain the hype!! After all these efforts maybe we'll get a season 2 💛
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Ishqi gazed at Ahaan while his gaze was focused straight ahead, she was stunned and couldn't understand the reason behind his quick step, "inhe aaj ho kya gaya hai?!" she thought-
While he carried her all the way to the parking lot, "AVM?" Ishqi asked him- "Y-Yeh aap kya kar rahe hai?! Rahul aur Rhea kya sooche ge?!!"
Ahaan: Kya? Tumhe chot laagi hai na toh buss issiliye, he stated quite plainly-
Ishqi: AVM, agar aap bhool rahe hai toh mein aapko yaad dila deti houn ke aapki to-be finacee Rhea hai aur mera Rahul...woh mujhe utha ke le ata car tak...aapko takleef karne ki koi zaroorat nahi thi..
Ahaan: To-be fiance(s) hai, abhi baane toh nahi hai na?
Ishqi: Hain?! Yeh aap ko- She stopped mid sentence when she spotted Rahul and Rhea approaching them from behind. "Chup kyun hogayi" he asked- "piche dekhiye aagye hai humare to-be fiance's"- she replied-
Ahaan turned around, while Rahul and Rhea hurriedly advanced towards the duo, "Come, I'll take her now" Rahul said extending his arms and desperately wanting Ahaan to let go of Ishqi-
Ahaan glanced at Ishqi and was just about to hand her over to Rahul when she yelled, "NAHI", all three of them stared at her, "Ishqi?" Rahul questioned her- Ishqi mentally facepalmed herself, "I meant ke Rahul tum ghadi kholo, AVM aap please ghadi mein baitha dijiye, mein bacchi thodi na houn ke logon ki goud mein se switch karti rahoungi"
Ahaan's lips curved into a slight smirk while Rhea rolled her eyes, Rahul sighed and opened the door of his car as Ahaan carefully lay Ishqi on the passenger seat. He buckled her seatbelt when she mumbled a quick "thank-you" to him. He didn't meet her eyes but smiled and backed up, Rahul said bye to Rhea and Ahaan and they left.
There was an awkward silence in the car, neither Ishqi nor Rahul said anything for a few moments, then he spoke, "Ishqi, Ahaan and you? Kab se jaante ho ek dusre ko?"
Ishqi: Hmm, woh almost a week-
Rahul: Oh sirf ek hafta! But you guys seem really comfortable with each other and-
Ishqi cut him off, "We are! Jis insaan ke saath aapki itni intense hate chemistry ho uss ke saath toh aap comforatable ho hi jaate ho"
Rahul: Hate chemistry?
Ishqi: Gi, matlab aapne mujhe aur AVM ko kabhi ladte hue dekha hai? Ek baar shuru hojai toh dono mein se koi chup nahi hota- Har choti choti cheez par toh humari ladai ho jaati hai-
Rahul: Really? he asked jealously, "But abhi lag toh nahi raha tha ke tum dono ladte ho..matlab bohot care-"
Ishqi cut him off again & began speaking finding herself lost in talking about him completely forgetting she was making her feelings for Ahaan, which she denied visible to Rahul, "Hmm care toh karte hai woh meri...help bhi karte hai, jab bhi mujhe zaroorat hoti hai wahan ajaate hai, mujhe girne se bhi baacha lete hai aur parso raat-
"Parso raat?" Rahul questioned her and she shut up, realizing that she'd blabbered way too much.
Ishqi: Parso raat...p-party thi na- t-toh wahan bhi humari ladai hogayi, she lied- Ishqi obviously couldn't tell him that she'd gotten drunk and Ahaan had spent the majority of the night taking care of her, that would sound wrong..because it was..right?
Rahul: Hmm, chalo ghar aagya- a part of him thanked god that they'd reached the house because he was tired and jealous of hearing Ishqi continuously praise and talk about Ahaan and herself. He was about to be her fiancee but she couldn't stop talking about Ahaan!
He parked the car and carried Ishqi inside her house, as Rahul carried her in his arms she couldn't help but realize that she didn't feel the same secureness and contentment she did when Ahaan carried her close to him.
Sania (Ishqi's mother) was there along with DM, Rahul carried Ishqi to the lounge and lay her on the sofa while Sania and DM greeted Rahul and rushed to Ishqi's side after spotting her bandaged foot, "KYA HUAA?!!!" they asked concerned-
Ishqi: Offo maa, DM- mein bilkul theek houn- woh toh buss AVM ne itni barhi patti lagah di- Choti si chot hai, bilkul pair ke side pe laagi hai aur aab toh dard bhi nahi horaha-
Sania: Ishqi beta! Tum kitni careless kaise hosakti ho!
Ishqi: AVM ne bhi bilkul yehi kaha tha-
Rahul (inner voice): Phir se "AVM"!
Ishqi: Mein theek houn!!! Mein chal ke dekhoun?..she stood up, yeh dekho kuch nahi horaha-
DM: Puri ki puri drama hai yeh ladki! she playfully smacked Ishqi on the shoulder while Ishqi giggled-
Rahul: Okay DM, Sania Auntie- mein chalta houn-
Sania: Thodi der baitho na beta!
Rahul: Woh actually dad ne kuch kaam diya tha toh buss issiliye- Mein chalta houn-
Ishqi: Bye Rahul- And thanks!
Rahul: Your welcome, he said to Ishqi and touched DM and Sania's feet and exited the house-
Ishqi (inner voice): Waqai mein itna dard nahi horaha...phir AVM ke cabin mein mujhe itna rona kyun aaraha tha?! Aur chala bhi nahi jaa raha tha?? Aab toh ek dum theek houn....Saari galti AVM ki hai, he's such a bad influence- she giggled while being lost in her thoughts-
Sania and DM stared at Ishqi and smiled, "Rahul ke baare mein sooch rahi hogi" Sania whispered to DM but little did they know that she was thinking about the one and only Ahaan...
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~ R E C E P T I O N ~
----
The pale crescent moon shone like a silvery claw in the night sky, there was a sense of celebration in the air...for some people at least.
It was the reception of Sonu and Raj which was being held in the Rathore Bungalow- Everyone got ready and gathered there to celebrate the after wedding function of Sonu and Raj.
The Verma's were already present when the Malhotra's and Mehta's entered the house. They all greeted each other, Ishqi felt a tinge of jealousy seeing Rhea's arm around Ahaan's, "Itna chipak kyun rahi hai, abhi engagement hui thodi na hai!" she mentally said- But her being herself ignored it and continued with greeting other guests.
Ishqi didn't make eye-contact with Ahaan once, she'd decided it was better to avoid him rather than to face her feelings. Ishqi's mindset was "the feelings would fade if I don't pay any heed to them"...this obviously sounded very dumb and she knew it so she didn't voice it out but kept silently repeating it in her head.
She engrossed herself in the event, minimizing contact with Ahaan, after the "incident" in the office and the non-stop blabbering about Ahaan in the car, one thing she'd realized was that Ahaan was slowly capturing over her heart and she couldn't control nor stop it!
"Tera finace Rahul baane waala hai...AVM ki fiancee Rhea baane waali hai...tu Rahul pe focus kar...shayad tujhe usse pyaar hojai" were the lines she'd memorized and that she kept repeating in her head.
A few moments later the Oberoi's entered as well, Rahul greeted Ishqi with a hug, she touched the feet of his parents and hugged Naina.
Ahaan stood at a distance and observed them with a sad smile on his face, well- the smile was just for show. Sadness and jealousy was what he was actually feeling. He'd been trying to catch a chance to have a talk with Ishqi but she seemed to be avoiding him.
Well, it was not like Rhea was leaving his side anyways, she'd just gone with her mom for a few minutes that he'd gotten the chance to peacefully gaze at Ishqi. He knew the smile Ishqi had plastered across her face wasn't real but more than that he noticed the slight discomfort on her face, which would've gone unnoticed by anyone because she hid it so effortlessly but not him.
Ahaan saw Ishqi standing in the corner talking on the phone, he thought of this as the perfect opportunity to have a quick talk with her. Just as he'd started taking small steps towards her, someone tapped him on the shoulder. Much to his dismay he turned around to see Rhea standing there. "come on!!!" he thought, clearly annoyed-
Ahaan: Rhea, why don't you go and socialize with others? Mein yahan par hi houn kahin nahi jaa raha... he fake smiled- while his gaze was still glued to Ishqi-
Rhea (inner voice): Kahin jaane hi nahi doungi...especially uss Ishqi ke paas!
Rhea was about to say something when there was an announcement for a dance. Everyone gathered on the dance floor with their partners, Rahul grasped Ishqi's hand and took her with him while Rhea dragged Ahaan with her.
Everyone now stood on the dance floor with their partner's opposite them, before the song began there was another announcement by the beloved DJ, "Okay everyone! Now there is no fun without some twists and turns! So for this song they'll be two switches meaning two rounds! BOYS! Twirl your girls to the right when switching! ALSO, No switching for the newly weds! All the best and enjoy!!!" he concluded as the music started blasting.
~ F I R S T R O U N D ~
The partners for the first round were:
~ Ahaan & Rhea ~ Ishqi & Rahul ~ Kartik & Tara ~ Zayan & Naina ~ Raj & Sonu
The song for the dance started, it was ~ HUMSAFAR ~
~
●Sun mere humsafar, kya tujhe itni si bhi khabar ●
●Ki teri saansein chalti jidhar, rahunga bas wahin umrr bhar ●
●Rahunga bas wahin umrr bhar, haaye ●
All the couple's slow-danced, swaying to the rhythm of the song...but for two of them it was different- Ahaan couldn't stop looking at Ishqi while she danced with Rahul. As Rahul's hand slid across her waist Ahaan gritted his teeth, he hated the view more than anything else! He recalled Aryan's case, where he pulled Ishqi in his arms without a second thought...but now it was different, he felt a weird sense of helplessness and as the time for the second switch came he thanked god. Rahul twirled Ishqi to the right as he twirled Rhea to the right.
~ S E C O N D R O U N D ~
~ Ahaan & Ishqi ~ Kartik & Naina ~ Zayan & Rhea ~ Tara & Rahul ~ Sonu & Raj
~
● Jitni haseen ye mulakatein hain, unse bhi pyari teri baatein hain ●
● Baaton mein teri jo kho jaate hain, aaun na hosh mein main kabhi ●
● Baahon mein hai teri zindagi, haaye, sun mere humsafar, kya tujhe itni si bhi khabar ●
Ishqi landed right in his arms, she perfectly fit there. He wrapped one hand around her waist while the other held her hand. Ishqi put one of her hands' right above his heart, she could feel his heartbeat fasten. Ishqi had promised herself she'd avoid him and here destiny had them come closer again. "Ishqi" Ahaan said as he twirled her around but not to switch because he pulled her back towards himself.
● Main toh yun khada, kis soch mein pada tha, kaise jee raha tha main deewana
Chup ke se aake tu ne, dil mein samaa ke tune, ched diya kaisa ye fasaana ●
"Hmm" Ishqi replied as she encircled her arms around his nape and his went across her waist. "Tumhara pair kaise hai?", "theek hai" she replied- he spun her around and pulled her towards himself, he back hugged her and in a husky voice whispered in her ear, "tum naraaz ho mujhse?"- His breath fanned her neck sending shivers down her spine, she thanked god no one could really see or hear them due to the dim lighting and loud music.
● Muskurana bhi tujhi se seekha hai, dil lagane ka tu hi tarika hai ●
● Aitbaar bhi tujhi se hota hai, aaun na hosh mein main kabhi, baahon mein hai teri zindagi, haaye! ●
Ishqi turned back around while he pulled her closer with a jerk, her hands were on his chest. They swayed to the rhythm of the song, "Baatao na, naraaz ho?" he asked her once again, "N-nahi, bhala mein aapse kyun naraaz hogi..." she replied- "Accha? Toh phir itni der se ignore kyun maar rahi ho?...kuch kehna chahati ho but keh nahi paa rahi..right? he said- "N-no nothing, m-mujhe kuch nahi kehna.." she nervously replied-
●Hai nahi tha pata, ke tujhe maan lunga khuda, ke teri gaaliyon mein iss qadar
Aaunga ab har pehr ●
● Sun mere humsafar, kya tujhe itni si bhi khabar, ki teri saansein chalti jidhar ●
● Rahunga bas wahin umar bhar ●
● Rahunga bas wahin umar bhar, haaye ●
They continued slow-dancing, he tightened his hold on her waist, "Ishqi- hum dono ke beech-" she abruptly cut him off and blurted out, "kuch nahi chal raha, kuch nahi hai aur na hi hoga"- she looked away immediately felt her heart beating faster than it already was.
The song ended with loud claps, Ishqi pulled away from him and left the dance floor. "isse kya hua? I was gonna say "awkward" but she misinterpreted it completely!" he thought while his conscience stated something completely different, "No Ahaan, you just wanted to hear "something" from her mouth...she didn't misunderstand it...she understood exactly what you meant!"- "shut up!" he told his own self-
"First of all I'm not Kartik and secondly, I am not shutting up this soon...I am stubborn like you after-all....And waise bhi mere bina tumhara kuch nahi hone wala Ahaan Veer Malhotra!"
//To Be Continued//
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That's all for today guys!! Hope ya'll enjoyed it! { Word Count: 2400 } Next part'll be updated after 50 votes! 💛
Suggestions are always welcome ⚡️
Pls ignore any mistakes 😙
Lots of love and stay safeee ❤️
~ Vera 🌸