25. Rooh

Ruhi's POV

Aditi and Naman were quite emotional after they completed narrating their story. Completely valid though. I mean, they had such a deep bond, and their hearts were broken just when they were realizing what that bond truly meant.

We then decided to leave as it was already pretty late and we had another exam the day after tomorrow. Nothing really went as planned. We were supposed to discuss our 'love story' for the whole pretend thing and we ended up discussing about Naman and Aditi's love story.

Yes! That definitely counts as a love story.

Right now, I am on my way home with Siddharth walking beside me. Yes, we are walking side by side, in peace.

In peace because we haven't spoken to each other. We know we'll end up fighting if we talked, so we don't talk at all.

It just became a mutual understanding to ignore each other. Works so well for a fake relationship, doesn't it?

People don't care much about our relationship, because if they looked closer, they'd know then and there that it's not real.

I mean, do we even have chemistry? I don't think so.

Do we?

I glance at him. Hm... If I think about it, he for sure is handsome, and I'm nothing less that beautiful too, so we'd be that 'Hot dating hot' kinda couple.

If we were to actually date that is, we would make a great couple look wise.

Other than the looks? I highly doubt we are compatible for each other. I mean, just think about it! We are complete opposites.

He is boring, I love adventure.

He hates movies, I can't think of a life without them.

He is reserved, I am loud.

He is kinda grumpy, I qualify myself as a sunshine.

See? No match at all.

The only few things common in both of us are that we both are focused, don't believe in relationships and hate each other.

Which keeps me relaxed, because none of us will catch feelings in our fake dating situation.

I sigh. I think so correct, don't I?

Suddenly, Siddharth looked at me, "Why are you smiling?"

My eyes widen slightly, "What? I am not smiling?", I touch my lips.

Was I? I don't remember.

"You definitely were smiling. Don't tell me you are secretly enjoying walking with me now.", Siddharth smirked.

I stared at him in disbelief, "Oh please! Don't get ahead of yourself. First of all, I wasn't smiling. And secondly, I do not enjoy walking with you. It's actually quite boring."

"I prefer keeping quiet instead of wasting my energy in talking.", he said.

I roll my eyes, "There you go again with your wasting time and energy dialogue. Tell me, what do you plan to do with all the energy you are saving?"

He had to pause for a second before answering, "I would study... Build a career."

"And then? Work day and night until Yamraj himself doesn't tell you it's time to stop?", I retorted.

He just rolled his eyes and didn't answer.

How would he even answer if he doesn't have one?

"You really are boring.", I stated as a matter of fact, "You know what? You need to watch Zindagi na milegi dobara. You literally sound like Arjun right now."

"I didn't ask for your advice.", he sounded annoyed.

HAHAHAHAHAHA it's so fun to annoy him.

"But you clearly need one.", I pointed out.

He scoffed, "Oh, I don't! And clearly not from someone who prefers to live in her delusional world all day."

"At least my delusions make me happy. Delulu is the solulu!"

He looked at me, confused, "What did you even say?"

I sigh, "Forget it."

Exactly my point.

No match.

He doesn't say anything after that, and a comfortable silence gets wrapped around us. 

I wonder what he might be thinking right now. Is he thinking how annoying I am?

I smirk. If he is, he is absolutely correct. I am exclusively annoying, just for him. I just love irritating him so much.

I am sure he is contemplating how long he has to bear with me. 

You have chosen the wrong person as your enemy, Siddharth. I love getting on the nerves of those who are easily annoyed, and you top that list.

I snort involuntarily at my own thoughts.

"What is wrong with you?!", Siddharth suddenly asked.

I blink, "What is wrong with me?"

"Why are you smiling and making those little noises continuously?", he questioned.

I shrug, "I think really well, so, you know, my thoughts make me smile."

He scrunches his face, "You're weird."

"I am happy.", I stated.

"Yeah? And what makes you so happy?", he raised an eyebrow.

I grin, "Annoying you!"

Siddharth glares at me, his gaze focused on my grin.

"Stop smiling.", he ordered.

I smile wider.

He sighs in frustration, pinching his nose, "Why am I bearing with your antics again?"

"Because I am your girlfriend, remember?", I say in a sweet voice.

He rolls his eyes, "Fake girlfriend."

"A girlfriend is a girlfriend. Can't you even bear with your girlfriend, baby?", I blink at him innocently as I touch his arm.

He coughs harshly, pulling his hand away. I press my lips together to suppress my laugh. 

"Stop it, Ruhi!", he said, his voice a little hoarse from coughing.

I continue my act, looking at him with puppy eyes, "Stop what, baby?"

He took a deep breath and then turned fully towards me. 

We were now facing each other, standing on the foot path.

Suddenly, his expressions completely softened. 

And then, he spoke, his voice low, "You know what? Don't stop. Call me baby again."

"Huh?"

He nodded, "Yes, I like it when my Rooh calls me baby."

My eyes widened. 

MY WHAT?!??!?!!

I blink rapidly as I try to understand if what I heard was correct.

He leaned closer, his cologne reaching my nose, "Call me baby, Rooh."

I swallow hard as I feel my ears turning red. Our faces were inches apart, and I could feel his breath on my face. I know he is doing this on purpose, but I can't bring myself to say something. 

How do you form words again?

I want to look away, I know I should, but my eyes just won't cooperate. There's just something so captivating about those hazel brown eyes that makes it impossible to look away.

I can feel my heartbeat increasing.

He suddenly snorts.

And then- a full-blown laughter erupts from him as he steps back.

I look away, releasing a breath I didn't know I was holding.

Shit! Calm down, Ruhi.

I run a hand through my hair as I try to compose myself.

He is still laughing, and mind you it's not just a chuckle or a little 'Haha', nope, he is literally having a stomach-clutching-body-bending-laugh.

I clear my throat, "Nothing funny is going on."

His laughter finally subsided, "Nothing funny? You should have looked at your face! You had literally turned into a tomato."

I try to save my face, "Don't exaggerate it now! My face is completely fine."

"Yeah sure!", he said sarcastically.

I avoid meeting his gaze, "And... what was that nickname?", I asked almost timidly.

He suppressed a smirk, "What nickname? Rooh?"

I look into his eyes for just a second before looking away immediately, "Y-yes."

"Why? Only you can give me a nickname? You're my girlfriend, so I should give you one too."

"Fake girlfriend."

He smirked, "A girlfriend is a girlfriend."

And just like that, my words came back to me.

Karma is real. 

I hate Karma. And Siddharth Thakkar.

I throw my hands up in surrender, "Okay, you win!"

He grinned devilishly.

I clenched my jaw, "You're impossible."

"I am happy."

I roll my eyes, "Of course."

Why wouldn't he be happy? He has just turned my own game against me and won.  He successfully annoyed me.

After that, I walk a little faster. He doesn't say anything else too and then we finally part ways.

What the hell was that?

My Rooh?

I can't believe he just called me that.

Had he been thinking about this name or did he come up with it on the spot?

It's not creative, it's just my name without an i but still...

The way he said it made my stomach flip. I would be lying if I said I wasn't affected.

I clearly was.

But that's not my fault.

I was just too stunned and hence I was so affected. I mean, it's not everyday I see Siddharth flirt and laugh like that. Of course my brain malfunctioned.

And the biggest problem is his eyes. They somehow trap me and I just can't look away.

Rooh.

My Rooh.

That's what he called me.

It's such a cute nickname though. Turns out he might not be that bad of a boyfriend if given a chance. Like, he can flirt well too.

He flirted with me. Siddharth Thakkar flirted with me. How on Earth did that happen?

Well, I brought that upon myself. He just did it to get back at me for annoying him.

Turns out, it was my fault after all.

Ugh!

Okay, no more thinking about him.

You have exams, you have work, focus on that, I tell myself.

I sigh as I reach home and flop on the sofa. 

Good thing I don't have work today and tomorrow as it's weekend. 

I spend the next day buried in books to keep my mind busy. I can't afford to thing about Siddharth while having an exam the next day. 

What if he is doing all this on purpose? 

What if he just want to distract me from my studies so that he can score more than me?

No way! I can't let that happen.

FOCUS, RUHI!

Later that night, as I was winding up with my studies, I got a group call from Radhika and Aditi.

"Helloooo!", I greeted them.

"Ruhi, guess who is going to the event committee with Radhika?!", Aditi exclaimed. 

I frown, "Who?"

Radhika replied, "Rishi."

"Ooooooooooo!", I teased her.

"Shut up, Ruhi! I didn't even know he'd be there.", she said.

"Okay, okay. Tell us everything!", I said.

"So, as I said earlier, I was thinking of joining the committee, so today was their meeting. I just went there to see how things work, and we were all sitting there, and then he came out of nowhere and I was so shocked to see him..."

She then continued narrating everything that happened at the meeting.

Something is definitely going on between them.

After the call ended, I went to sleep.

I enter the college with a little caution. 

I don't want to see Siddharth right now, because if I did, and if Rohan sees us together, we'd again have to act like a couple.

Or maybe I just don't want to see him after that day.

Radhika and Aditi went to their respective classrooms already because they wanted to revise. 

I look around to make sure he isn't somewhere around before relaxing. 

Just as I sighed in relief, I felt a tap on my shoulder.

I turn around.

"Good morning, Rooh."

UGH!

I glare at him, "Drop that nickname. We don't need to act right now. Rohan's not here."

Siddharth shrugged, "I know. I was just messing with you."

I roll my eyes at him.

I turn away and start walking to my class.

He falls into step beside me.

I look at him, "Why are you following me?"

He scoffed, "Don't start dreaming. My classroom is this way. I am not following you."

I don't say anything after that. We both don't even look at each other as we walk.

I clear my throat, "You know, no one's going to believe we are dating if we behaved like this."

"No one needs to believe that anyway. We are only doing this in front of Rohan and Verma. Meeting Verma together is really rare, and Rohan is not around either.", he points out, and then continues with a smirk, "Or are you just trying to find reasons to get close to me?"

I stare at him in disbelief, "Aren't you flirting a little too much these days?"

He nodded, "Yes. Because I made an observation."

I raise an eye brow, "An observation?"

"Uh-huh. You get annoyed when I flirt with you.", he stated. 

"So what now? You are going to turn into Rishi just to annoy me?", I asked.

He stopped to look at me, "No, when Rishi flirts, he means it," he said, "I don't."

And with that, he walks away.

I stand there for a few seconds, staring at his back until he disappears around the corner.

'I don't'

Of course he does not mean it. 

Why would he?

He is my enemy.

And he shouldn't.

He should not mean it when he flirts with me, because that's what it is supposed to be.

Fake.

I ignore the weird feeling I get in my chest and go to my class.

The whole exam, I kept thinking about all our recent encounters. Since we agreed to this little arrangement, I am getting too affected by him.

I can't let him get under my skin like this. 

After the exams, I leave before everyone, not wanting to face him again for some unknown reason.

I make an excuse of getting late for work so they don't get worried.

I don't want him to get in my head and distract me again.

I reach my office and Nandini assigns me work immediately.

Good. Work will keep me focused. I won't think about Siddharth again.

Rohan seems to be late today. He isn't here yet.

As I work, my mind again drifts to him.

The way he called me 'My Rooh', the way he leaned closer than necessary, the way his hazel brown eyes stare into mine, the way he circled his arm around my waist and pulled me closer, the way he-

Shut up, Ruhi!

He doesn't mean any of these things, so stop thinking about it.

As he said, we don't need to pretend in front of the others. 

Rohan doesn't ask much questions and Avinash Verma won't see us together anyway.

So, it's better I just forget about this whole thing. 

Yes. Forget it.

I jolt out of my thoughts when someone taps on my shoulder. I look up to see Rohan, "Oh- hey.", I said.

He said, "Sorry, didn't mean to startle you like that. You didn't hear me when I called your name."

I blink, "Oh.. It's okay. I was just..."

He asked, "Everything alright?"

"Huh? Yes, of course. Why?", I ask back.

"It's just, you look lost in thought."

"Did I?"

He nodded, "Look at your computer screen."

I look at the screen and see a series of 'o' typed on the screen, my finger still pressed on the key.

I immediately lift my finger and delete the whole paragraph of o's.

I rub a hand down my face.

What the hell is wrong with me?  

I look up to see Rohan still looking at me with concern, I wave a hand at him, "It's nothing, really."

"Okay then. I am right here if you need help with anything.", he said.

A gave him a small, grateful smile and turned back to my computer.

Stop messing with my head, Siddharth Thakkar!

I somehow manage to finish work and pack up.

After bidding farewell with my colleagues, I leave the office.

I feel completely exhausted for some reason. I haven't even worked that much today, but still I feel tired.

As I walk out of the building, I see a guy leaning against my scooter.

"Raj bhai!", I called out, my mood suddenly lifted.

He sees me coming and opens his arms. I bury my face in his chest as soon as I reach him, "How come you are here?"

"I was nearby, so I thought we could go home together.", he explained.

I smile, "Good. I was feeling really tired anyway."

He caressed my head, "Let's get you home, baby."

He drove the scooter and I clung to him like the baby I am in front of him.

We had dinner together while he narrated his funny stories from his life in New York because he knew I felt low.

I listened to him as he talked animatedly with a smile.

After dinner, I was sitting on the couch, scrolling through my phone when he came and sat beside me after doing the dishes.

I immediately rested my head on his lap, keeping my phone aside.

He ran his fingers in my hair lovingly, "Why are you so quiet today?", he asked.

"Am I?"

He nodded, "Yes. You didn't even rant about work, exams... or Siddharth."

I roll my eyes at the mention of his name.

"So, it's Siddharth who is running on your mind."

I click my tongue, "I don't know, bhai. Sometimes, he is just so...."

"Irritating?", he asked.

I shake my head, "Weird."

"Weird how?"

"Like, one moment, he is the boring monster that everyone knows, and the next moment, he is annoyingly mischievous. He literally flirts and teases me just to annoy me nowadays!"

"And you get annoyed."

I huff, "I don't like that guy! He knows exactly how to get under my skin."

"As much as I know my sister, you won't remain quiet either."

"Actually... I was the one who teased him first to annoy him."

He raised an eye brow, "Oh yeah? Then why are you upset? He just got back at you. Tit for tat."

I scrunch my nose, "Why do you seem to be talking from his side?"

He sighed, "I am not taking anyone's side, Ruhi. You're just upset because he won in this little teasing game of yours. Don't let it affect your mood so much. Don't let him affect you so much."

I don't say anything.

I know that everything he said is correct, and I have already thought about it all day.

But I still don't understand why I feel so low.

It's not even the first time he won against me.

Then why can't I stop thinking about him?

Maybe I know exactly why I feel this way.

Maybe I am too afraid to even let that thought cross my mind.

Ugh!

I am sure he might be sleeping peacefully after taking my peace away.