Ishqi Pov
"I found this really cool place that makes giant pancakes!" Carson yells, running down the stairs.
I quickly break out of Ahaan's embrace and roll away as fast as I could. Thud. The hardwood floor slipped my mind, and my shoulder had to break my fall. Luckily, the bed was fairly low, so it's not broken, but definitely is going to bruise later.
"Oh, shit. You okay, Ishqi?" Carson comes and helps me up.
Ahaan starts to wake up from the commotion, flipping the blanket so that it reveals his naked torso. He uses one hand to ruffle his hair and the other to stretch.
"Yeah, I'm fine. Just not a morning person." I flash Carson an awkward grin before going to rummage through my clothes. My mind is in disarray, so I randomly grab a pair of jeans and a t-shirt. Since I have no sense of fashion, most of my clothes combinations are basic and so my outfits turn out acceptable for casual wear. Within a flash, I'm in and out of the bathroom, changed, teeth brushed, face washed, and hair sort of brushed. Since I'm using the hallways bathroom, which the boys are using, there isn't much of a wait. At Vamika's house, the morning after sleepovers, I have to strategically wait until one of my friend pulls away from the mirror with their mascara wand to spit out my toothpaste.
I wait downstairs with Carson while the others get ready. He sits at the kitchen table, tapping away at his phone to find places and things to do. I munch on some of the leftover pizza since I'm too impatient and hungry to wait for Olivia and Esha to help Vamika pick out an outfit that would catch Ahaan's attention and admiration. The pizza tastes a little stale while I think about it.
"What does Vamika like?" Carson leans over the table so his face is close to mine. He asks in a soft whisper.
"Huh? I don't know. That's a little broad," I reply.
"Fine, does she like carnivals?"
"I guess. She needs something thrilling though because she's rarely scared. Don't expect to get the chance to play her knight in shining armor," I tease.
Carson eyes widen when he realizes I've read his mind. He goes back to his phone with and releases a frustrated groan.
A head dips down over my shoulder and towards the right hand that I'm holding a bite of pizza left with. I see Vincent's dark locks sweep past me, leaving a lingering scent of pine behind in front of my nose. I feel the pizza leaving my grip, followed by a soft brush of his lips against the pads my index and thumb. Ahaan lifts his head up, chewing happily on the pizza he stole from me. I'm not sure how to respond, and tried to casually finish my meal by licking the remnants of scales and cheese grease off my fingers. I stop once my the thumb is against my bottom lip. Ahaan's lips were on my thumb, and now my thumb is on my lip. Is this an indirect kiss? It's not right? Why am I thinking about this? Why would this matter? Ahaan looks intently at me for a response since I have a perplexed look on my face.
"Oh, sorry. I forgot I was sick yesterday," he shyly looks away, thinking that I was grossed out by his germs.
"Oh no. If I was worried I wouldn't have let you hug-" I stop once I realized Carson was still sitting there. Luckily, he seems too occupied with his phone. "Anyways, you look a lot better." I instinctively stand up and reach for his forehead. The back of my hand stays on his forehead for ten seconds, my hand tingles and I can't even tell the temperature of his head. His eyes meet mine for a few seconds before I quickly retract my arm. "Let's get breakfast," I suggest in a voice that made me seem like I lost my breath. I think I did for a second.
"Sure," Ahaan replies in the same voice, breathy and short.
Vamika comes down the stairs and steps in front of Ahaan cutting the thick, almost palpable air between us.
"You seem better today," Vamika says, placing her hand on his forehead, where my hand was a few second ago.
Ahaan pulls away and chuckles, "Yeah, Ishqi looked after me last night." He brings his hand up to the nape of his neck and nervously rubs it.
Vamika stiffens, her shoulders hunching slightly and her toes, poking out of her new sandals, curl. Even at the mention of my name, she doesn't even glance at me. I know she's upset, and that she's playing the silent game.
"Doesn't this dress suit Vamika?" I say in an attempt to appease her.
Carson pops up from the chair and exclaims, "Yep!"
An awkward silence follows until Olivia, followed by Esha and the twins come down. They start to head out the door and we follow. Vamika grabs Ahaan by the arms and drags him with her. Carson quickly follows behind her, trying to keep up with her pace and join the conversation she tries to start with Ahaan. I'm the last to leave, tagging a few feet behind the group.
After breakfast, we head to a carnival. Despite Luke's complaint that it would be too boring to ride Ferris wheels and throw rings at bottles all day, Carson said that there's a haunted house that opens once it gets dark. In the meantime, we went around different booths.
I sigh as Carson tries to win Vamika a giant octopus for the 5th time. He spent 50 bucks on rings to throw on the glass bottles. I'm convinced the game is rigged, and Logan tried to convince Carson to try another booth. However, Vamika had specifically pointed out the one stuffed animal that the other booths didn't have. I'm sure she did that just cause she wanted to distract Carson while he dragged Ahaan off to hang out with her. Vamika says octopuses give her the creeps.
"This is taking forever! Come on Olivia, let's get churros," Esha whines and takes off with Olivia.
"Esha's right, Carson. Let's just go," Logan sighs as Carson takes out another dollar for three more rings. Vamika's playing him, and he's too stupid to realize it. Out of frustration, I grab the three rings and toss them randomly towards the bottles. I grab Carson by the arm, but Luke stops me.
"Ishqi, you won."
I turn around and sure enough, a single ring was around the neck of a bottle.
"You can pick one for Vamika," I say to Carson.
He pouts, "Nah, it's not the same if you won it." He sulks and walks away.
"Hey, Carson," I call after him and he turns around, "she likes kittens better than octopuses anyways." I point to a darts booth with a giant, stuffed tabby hanging from it.
"Thanks!" Carson replies and starts to run towards the booth. I sigh and examine my choices for a prize. I'm not sure what made me choose the octopus, possibly the fact that I was exhausted and didn't want to bother to pick another item, or the fact that Vamika hates the octopus. Maybe I felt like the octopus, a pawn to help Vamika get closer to Ahaan.
I take the octopus with me to buy a soft pretzel, before sitting down on a bench. I sit alone, slowly munching. How did I come with seven other people, but ended up sitting alone with only a stuffed octopus to keep me company? After finishing the pretzel, I bury my head into the octopus and start to drift asleep. I'm close to complete sleep when Esha shakes me awake.
"What are you doing, ishqi? You should be having fun!"
"Yeah, let's go on a roller coaster," Olivia urges while she starts to tug on my shirt.
"I can't."I hold up the giant octopus in my arms.
"Isn't that what Carson was trying to win for Vamika?" Esha takes the octopus and examines it.
"Yeah, well I accidentally won it. He changed his plans and I'm pretty sure he's trying to win a giant stuffed cat right now."
"Well, we're going to go to the roller coasters now." Olivia gets up with Esha and they walk away.
The octopus is snatched from my arms a second later. Ahaan stands over me, his eyebrows knit together.
"Did Carson win this for you?"
"No, I accidentally won it for myself." Vincent expression softens. [author- oooo someone's jealous]
"Come on." Ahaan grasps my wrists and takes me towards the parking lot. He opens the car trunk and tosses the octopus inside. He slams it shut and turns around, looking at me. "How about we go somewhere that suits you better?"
"Huh?" Ahaan grabs my wrist once again without waiting for my response. We walk instead of taking the van, Ahaan keeping his hold on my wrist the whole time. I felt too shy to tell him to let go, or to even pull away myself. At least that's what I guessed was the reason why I didn't do anything about it.
We stop in front of an ice cream shop. Ahaan finally lets go of my wrist, which tingles from his lingering touch. He opens the door and gestures me in.
"What flavor do you want?"
"Cookies n Cream."
Ahaan turns to the girl at the register, her cheeks turning pink as Ahaan faces her. "She will have a Cookies n Cream cone and I'll have a vanilla one." Ahaan's taste for vanilla ice cream is as basic as his taste for glazed donuts. I find it sort of cute. I blank out while staring at Ahaan's back.
"Here, Ishqi." Ahaan holds out my ice cream, which is already starting to drip from the warmth of his hands. I take the ice cream, my fingers sweeping against Ahaan's hand.
"Thanks," my voice quieter than I intended.
Ahaan leads us to a nearby park, slightly desolate since its hidden behind a forest that can be entered by a tiny trail. Overgrowth further masks the path. We find a wooden bench and sit down, careful not to get the splinters on our pants. The heaps of orange and yellow leaves signal the start of autumn. The smell of aged wood and mint wafts past my nose. We sit in silence for the first few minutes. I finally understand what Ahaan meant by a place that suits me, quiet and desolate.
Ahaan finally breaks the silence. "I accidentally found this place last year. You reminded me of it."
I laugh, "Why? Because its empty and boring?" I kick the pile of leaves beneath my feet.
"No. This place is pretty. It's my secret, undiscovered treasure. I feel bad for it, but I wished no one else finds out about it because I want it for myself." Ahaan looks at me without saying anything else.
I'm taken back by the sincere tone of his voice. His words are too kind and I dismiss them as a friendly compliment. I can't be bothered to over analyze the meaning behind his words. In an attempt to avoid his gaze, I scarf down the ice cream.
"Wow, this ice cream tastes really good. I'm pretty sure they make it fresh," I say, finishing it in less than a minute. I feel a brain freeze coming onto me, but I'm too fluster to be concerned.
"I knew you would like it," he chuckles.
"Do you see me as some food shoveling fool?" I regret the question. It's not far fetched since I'm constantly eating.
"Didn't I just tell you what I see you as?" Ahaan is referring to what I'm guessing as his description of the park. I choke on the bit of ice cream that's at the back of my throat.
"Where's Vamika anyways?" I ask, changing the topic.
"I left when Carson was talking to her."
"You can't just leave her like that!"
"Why not? It's not like we're on a date."
I pause for a second before replying. "Well, you know how she feels about you."
"What about how I feel?"
"What do you mean?"
"Have you ever stopped to think that maybe I'm not interested in Vamika?"
I burst out laughing, but when I see that Ahaan's face is serious, I stop. "Wait, you're not serious are you?"
"Yes. It's not like every guy would like Vamika."
"Actually, I'm pretty sure every guy would. That is, if they're straight."
"I don't like Vamika."
"You're gay?"
"No, just cause I don't like Vamika doesn't mean I'm gay."
"Are you positive? I mean, haven't you seen Vamika? She is the definition of the ideal girlfriend."
"I'm interested in another girl." My chest hurts a bit when he says this. She must be even nicer and prettier than Vamika. Probably the type of girl to attend church, do lots of charity work, smart, perfect at everything, and looks like she was born off of the cover of a magazine. I can't tell why my chest is tightening. I must be pitying Vamika.
"Does she go to our school?"
"Yep." Ahaan takes the last bite of his ice cream.
"She must be a senior then."
"She's a junior."
"I don't see any juniors that are prettier or nicer than Vamika."
"She is to me. Maybe not to others." I think hard about the mystery girl. Maybe if I looked up once in a while from my desk or in the hallways I would be able to have a close guess as to who it is. "It's impressive how dense you can be," Ahaan sighs.
"I'm not dense. It's just that there's no other girl more perfect than Vamika in our grade."
"We should head back. They might be looking for us." Ahaan gets up and starts to walk off. I quickly follow behind him. he walks silently and seems to be in deep thoughts. The mystery girl is probably the same person who shot him down for homecoming. I feel bad for him and Vamika, though my chest hurts more than I expected. I probably got too deep and involved with their love triangle. Is it too late to back out now? Vamika probably won't care anymore since she seems to be upset with me for a reason. However, if I stop helping her, she might get even more mad.
"There you were Ahaan! I was looking for you." Vamika runs up to him without acknowledging that I'm following right behind him.
"We should head for the haunted house," Logan suggests. He sounds excited after waiting the whole day for it.
"I think I'm going to sit this on out. I don't do well with scary stuff," I admit.
"No, you have to go. You haven't done anything all day," Esha demands, taking me by the arm before I can protest.
I honestly hoped for a low-budget haunted house, with maybe some props and people to scare us for about one minute. However, the tent set up was larger than I expected, and the people in extravagant and detailed costumes walking in the front weren't easing my nerves either.
"I don't think I can do this, " I groan.
"Don't worry. It's only ten minutes," Logan tries to assure me.
"Ten minutes? I think I'll have a heart attack before two minutes."
"You'll be fine. Just keep walking even if you're scared. The actors aren't allowed to touch you anyways. Just remember that."
Once we step inside, I'm already regretting it. There's an eerie echo of footsteps that seems to make everyone excited except for me. The tent is dark and plastered with decorations and props, making it hard for me to see and walk without tripping over something or running into a wall. We walk by a dimly lit table of fake candles and I see Vamika walking closely next to Ahaan. Vamika has a smile plastered on her face and Ahaan seems indifferent. Vamika had always been a fan of horror. Ahaan doesn't seem to be fazed by it. They're a good match for a each other.
A grotesque figure lunges out of a window in the wall. I thought it was a picture and immediately jump back, bumping into Ahaan. Makeup and silicone make it so that the figure's skin seems to be melting off of his face, with seems irritated with masses of blisters that bleed. I think I'm going to puke. I keep walking, but I start to lose my balance and sense of direction. I keep my eyes on the ground, squinting once in a while to look where I'm going. Screams and growls up ahead are starting to get over bearing, so I cover my ears with my hands. Eventually, so much goes on around me I completely shut my eyes and try to slowly make it through the haunted house. I flinch when my head bumps into someone's chest.
Ahaan looks at me amused. "I see third graders handling this better than you," he teases.
I'm too paranoid of another person springing out to be offended. "Hurry, I just want to get out of here." I nudge Ahaan forward and grab onto his shirt, closing my eyes and letting him lead me. My body is stiff and I'm too nervous, causing me to shuffle awkwardly behind while Ahaan takes long strides.
"This isn't going to work. The others are probably done by now, " he sighs.
I feel Ahaan's shirt lower and open my eyes to see what's going on. Ahaan is crouched down with his back towards me.
"Get on my back."
"No!"
"Fine. I'm leaving you then cause this is taking to long." Ahaan starts to get up, butI lunge towards him.
"Okay, fine."
"Put these on first." Ahaan holds up his ear buds that are plugged into his phones. I put them on and Ahaan starts a playlist full of ballads. I never took Ahaan as a ballad kind of guy. It's no surprise why girls fall for him; he's a romantic.
I hesitantly wrap my arms around his neck and Ahaan's arms hook under my legs to support me. My face next to his ears and my body is pressed against his back. I could feel his heart pounding against mine. Maybe he's actually scared of haunted houses. He doesn't seem to be though.
I hear Ahaan speak despite the music in my ears. "You don't have to look if you're scared."
I nod, even though I'm not sure if Ahaan could see. I close my eyes and look down. Slowly, the music soothes me to sleep and I nuzzle my faces on Ahaan's shoulder. I hope he doesn't mind, but my head feels too heavy with sleep. His shoulders are firm, strong and muscular. However, it feels so comfortable with my cheek resting against it. I couldn't fight my weariness anymore, and so I fell asleep while Ahaan piggybacked me out of there.
*****
END OF PART 6
Im sorry for being late today I just had a lot on my plate. I really appreciate you guys just even reading the story, but for those who even go above and beyond to take the time to add, comment, or vote makes my day honestly. Thank you <3
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