Stranded Bickers | ✔

ELEVEN

❝Kiss it better, will you?❞

“You sure you wanna do this?” Ifrah asked her husband in a whisper.

Aayan, who was staring at the scene in front of him quite interestingly, rolled his eyes before turning his head in her direction.

“For the hundredth time, woman; my answer is yes!” his voice raised at the end, making her hiss, and she narrowed her gaze.

“I was only asking!”

“You've been doing this shït for the past fifteen minutes!”

“Oh don't exaggerate!”

“I'm not exaggerating! I'm the one who's been listening to your annoying question, okay?!”

A gasp escaped her lips at his words this time. “Annoying? I'm only asking because I don't want you to jump from here, bang your head on a rock and die! If my stupid concern is annoying you then so be it! Mein he pagal hun jisay tum jaisy jahil ki fikar ho rahi hai!” (I'm the stupid one for showing concern for an ignorant man like you!)

She whipped around and stormed away from there, leaving a very befuddled Aayan behind. She had surprised him with her words, because it didn't cross his mind for a single second that she could be concerned about him. As far as he knows; they only showed negative emotions to each other, not the positive ones.

Aayan heaved out a breath while rubbing a hand down his face and cringed when he felt light stubble on his jaw.

Waah, ab shakal bhi jangliyon jaisi ho jaye gi!

(Oh wow, even my face will look like it belongs in the wild, now.)

He stared at his wife who was standing near a tree, facing away from him, and searching for something in her bag. Aayan knew she was just trying to distract herself because she'd been moving her hand quite aimlessly.

Knowing each other since childhood has its own perks.

He sighed and came up to stand behind her and said; “What are you doing?”

Ifrah's body went rigid after hearing his voice but she soon snapped out of it and continued her fake search with a scowl. “None of your business.”

Aayan clicked his tongue.

“Okay... ” he trailed off and scratched the nape of his neck before; “Look, I'm— ”

Ifrah had turned around to give him a glare before he could finish his sentence. “What are you still doing here? Don't feel like jumping from that edge anymore?”

Aayan snapped his mouth shut at her tone and gave her a glare. After they had left their hut to see if they could find a way out, they came across an edge which looked over a large lake with a waterfall at the opposite end. The sight was breathtaking to say the least, and for a moment, both of them forgot that they were stranded on an island and not on a vacation. When Aayan had shook out of his awe at the sight, his adventurous side came out and he decided that he was going to jump into the lake to experience this amazing moment, and Ifrah's brain had screeched to a halt.

She wasn't a fan of heights and he was talking about throwing himself off from here as if he were freaking Spiderman!

“Oh, I just came here to tell you that I'll be jumping right now.”

The raven haired guy didn't let her make a retort and pulled off his shirt in an instant along with his vest. While Ifrah's eyes went wide at his sudden shamelessness, he bent down to remove his boots and socks before straightening up and passing her a wolfish smile. The poor girl couldn't even process what was happening before he threw her a wink and turned around to run to the edge.

“Aayan— ” her heart dropped to the stomach when the realization finally dawned on her but it was too late because her husband has already jumped off.

“MOVE OUT OF MY WAY, FISHES!”

Aayan yelled out with a laugh before diving into the lake, and Ifrah ran over to the spot he was previously standing at as her heart felt like it would come out from her rib cage any moment now.

“Aayan!” she shouted his name with fear as a loud splash resonated across the forest and she waited for him to emerge from the water.

Her hands flew up to her mouth when he didn't appear on the surface even after some seconds and a sob escaped past her lips.

Oh God! What if the lake wasn't that deep and he actually banged his head on a rock?!

Ifrah backed away from the edge with shaking legs and covered her face as tears fell down her cheeks. A sudden thought made her head snap up and she looked around to see if there was a path that led down to the lake. She told herself to calm down and searched around the area to find it.

There has to be a way, dammit!

After some very long seconds which felt torturous to Ifrah, she found a sloped path which went down and she quickly followed it without thinking twice.

The sight that welcomed her when she arrived at the ground near the lake brought two feelings at once; relief and anger.

Hot, boiling anger being the prominent one.

Aayan was standing by the lake, shaking his hair out of his eyes while wiping his face to get rid of the water. His head turned up to stare at Ifrah and he gave her a full blown grin, but it soon died down when he caught her red face and heavy breaths.

Oops?

He opened his mouth to say something but snapped it shut too when he saw her tears. Aayan cursed under his breath and took a step forward but his wife paused him in his tracks with a loud exclamation;

“Dafa ho jao yahan se, ullu ke pathay!”

(Get lost from here, son of an owl!)

She whirled around to go back and Aayan immediately followed her in a haste.

“Ifrah, yaar— ” he called out her name but something sharp grazed his bare foot, making him yelp at the sudden pain and he lost his balance. “Ow!”

His loud cry made Ifrah stop in her tracks and she turned around to see him on the ground, his face contorted in pain as he held his right foot in his hands. Her anger faded away in an instant and she hastily made her way back to him before crouching down in front of his frame.

“W-what happened?” she asked with her heart in throat, hazel eyes searching frantically for the cause of his pain. Aayan stared at her with his jaw clenched due to the stinginess and replied.

“I think I stepped over a broken glass... ”

She moved his hands away from his foot and he used them to lean back on the ground as she inspected his sole. Ifrah bit her lip when she saw the little gash with blood pouring out of it.

“It's okay,” she lightly nodded her head, mostly trying to calm herself down, while stealing a glance at her husband. “Nothing serious, just a mild graze.”

Then why the eff is your heart beating like it's running a marathon?!

Her thoughts made her clench her jaw and she closed her eyes to take some deep breaths. Aayan was staring at her as she collected herself, and an unusual feeling of guilt started clawing at his heart when he realized that he might've worried her.

“Tumhara dimag kya chanay baichnay gya hai?!” (Have your brain went to sell chickpeas?!) her sudden outburst startled him and he looked at her face with slightly rounded eyes.

“What were you thinking when you jumped off from the freaking cliff, huh?! Did it not cross your mind for a single stupid second that you'd be endangering your life while we're stuck on an island?!”

She was now full on screaming as she voiced out her frustration and Aayan listend to her with his mouth zipped shut. Somehow, he knew that if he said something, he could end up with a few slap marks on his face along with that gash.

And he really didn't want that.

“Dil tou kar raha hai ke tumhy aesy he chorr dun.” (I really feel like leaving you like this.) she said with a murderous glare and his husband pursed his lips.

“Chorr do.” (Then leave.) he couldn't help but retort back, and watched as her wife's glare intensified.

“Is this all a joke to you?”

“Nope.”

Ifrah was a breath away from strangling him. He was staring at her with his tongue in cheek and eyes twinkling with humor. What else could he do? She looked like a mad cartoon character to him at the moment.

The chestnut haired girl shot up from beside him in fury, ready to actually leave him there, but Aayan quickly caught the hem of her shirt in his hand (because he couldn't hold her injured wrist).

“Acha yaar, tum tou serious he ho gai.” (You actually took it seriously.) he said while looking up at her and Ifrah narrowed her eyes.

“Let go of my shirt!”

“I can't, you'll leave me here.”

“At least your brain is functioning a little bit.” she replied sarcastically, making him give her a straight look.

They both went quiet and Ifrah crossed her arms over her chest while facing away from him, her shirt still in his grasp. The caramel eyed man watched his wife for some very long seconds before heaving out a sigh and said;

“I'm sorry.” he apologized with so much difficulty, while internally whacking his head with a pan.

Ifrah's breath hitched at his words because it was a surprise he was actually apologizing, even if it was forced. She stared at him from the corner of her eyes and he smiled awkwardly, making her inhale a sharp breath.

“Fine,” she said while facing him. “I'll go and grab our bags and then treat your foot.”

Aayan nodded his head and let go of her shirt. He waited for her to reach the sloped path before smacking himself on the face. “Don't ever say sorry again, samajh aai?” (understood?) he scolded himself, and waited for Ifrah to come back while running a hand through his damp curls.

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Ifrah closed the kit after finishing her work and looked up at her husband who was inspecting the bandage on his foot. He caught her gaze when he turned his head in her direction and she quickly averted her stare to the bag in front of her. They were sitting near the lake and the only sound which was cutting through the awkward air was that of the waterfall on the opposite side. Ifrah moved her hair out if her eyes before looking back at her husband and said;

“Our whole day has went to waste because of your stunt. We could've found a way out by now if we kept trecking.”

Aayan rolled his eyes before replying. “Can you please stop scolding me like a child? Our way out wasn't confirmed, so what if I enjoyed a bit? It didn't harm anyone.”

Ifrah deliberately looked at his bandaged foot and he scoffed. “I got this because of you.” he told her.

His wife gasped.

“How can you say that?”

The raven haired guy narrowed his eyes. “Really? I was trying to stop you by following you and it was then I got this fücking gash!”

Ifrah matched his expression and replied; “You shouldn't have bothered! I didn't ask you to follow me.”

“You're right.” he clenched his jaw, and Ifrah snapped her mouth shut immediately.

Shouldn't have said that.

She thought guiltily as she watched him scowling in the direction of the lake, facing away from her. She let out a sigh before asking in a quiet voice; “Is the bandage okay?”

Waah re waah, kya swal kia hai!

A beat of silence passed before; “Yeah,” Aayan grumbled.

She searched for something else to remove the awkwardness and said; “Has the pain lessened?”

Aayan's lips twitched to turn into a smile at her try of chatting and he slowly moved his head in her direction. He saw her already staring at him which made his heart do another one of those weird flips before he cleared his throat and answered;

“No, it's still throbbing.” When his wife frowned at his reply, he added; “Kiss it better, will you?”

He watched as the colour appeared on her cheeks while her light hazel eyes slowly went round and an involuntary chuckle escaped past his full lips. Ifrah's expression immediately morphed into a scowl but that was also the moment when she caught his bare chest and realized that he was shirtless all this time.

And then she fell into a coughing fit.

Aayan frowned at her sudden change of condition and asked quite worriedly; “You okay there?”

His wife hastily nodded her head and stood up from there. She wasn't meeting his eyes anymore and Aayan's own went wide when he caught her face as red as a tomato. He jumped up to his feet, hissing when he put pressure on his right one, but ignored the bite and neared her.

“Why the fück are you coughing all of a sudden?!” he was actually freaking out and started rubbing her back. Ifrah shot away from his touch like she was electrocuted and his frown deepened.

“Hua kya hai tumhay?” (What happened?) he asked once again. By now, the chestnut haired girl had gathered herself and she patted her chest a few times before throwing him a glare.

“Shirt kahan hai tumhari, jahil insaan?!” (Where is your shirt, insolent man?!) she exclaimed, and Aayan's jaw went slack.

He stumbled for some words before smacking a hand over his forehead, his caramel brown eyes still focused on his stupid wife.

“Is this why you were coughing?!” he asked with disbelief, and when Ifrah's face coloured once again, he added; “Oh my God!” he groaned.

“Shut up! Just wear your shirt!”

“Yaar!” he couldn't help the laugh that tumbled out from his mouth and looked heavenward while shaking his head. When he turned his head back to look at her face again, he said with a large smile; “This stuff still bothers you? We're freaking twenty-five, Ifrah, not fourteen anymore.”

“I don't care how old we are! I'm not comfortable with it, okay? Just wear your damn shirt.” she said with a glare and stormed towards the lake.

Did she just curse?

Aayan whipped around to stare at her back in a mixed state of shock and amusement before he realized that it was really bothering her if she had to use a swear word. He didn't know how to react to this revelation so he wordlessly picked up his shirt from near his backpack before pulling it on, while his mind started filling with questions.

I didn't know that she was still uncomfortable about it...

Seemed like he was finally realizing that both of them didn't know each other that well like they used to, and the fact bothered him way beyond his liking.

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N O T E

*author thinking why she made these two like this*

I have a complain from Aayan about you guys 👀

You see, he thinks that you're always taking Ifrah's side (which is true lol) and don't care about him 🙂

We could clearly see that Ifrah was rude in this chapter; when she mocked him of jumping from the cliff when he came to apologize for his rash behavior, which resulted in his ego getting wounded and he backtracked from it before actually doing what she told him not to.

Same thing happened in chapter four when he was trying to be nice but Ifrah cut him off before he could say anything and told him to "leave her alone".

But you guys took her side 😐

I know that she had just faced death and her mind wasn't functioning well, BUT that was not the case this time, was it?

My point is; Ifrah is as much flawed as Aayan, and it's kinda biased that you guys are always taking her side. My poor boy has a heart too, okay? 🤧

So, keep that in mind and stay blessed ❤

(P.s You guys are awesome 😎🤘🏻)