The next day when Neil entered the kitchen, he saw that Avni was already invested in preparing breakfast. It seemed to him that she was going to be preparing parathas, as he saw her mixing some dough. She placed the dough aside on the kitchen slab, washed her hands and walked forward towards the refrigerator to grab a can of milk. Not realizing he was in the kitchen, she bumped into him. Startled, she took a step behind. "So, what's cooking Miss Avni?" he asked smirking. "I am making some aloo parathas" she replied, giving him a nonchalant look. "Paratha? Again?" he sulked. "Yes Parathas! It's my turn to cook today, so you better just eat whatever I make.", she said irked. "God please save me!" he said looking upwards, while she rolled her eyes in response. They moved in opposite directions. Neil walked up to the stove, and being totally unaware that the flame was on, touched the burning hot plate with his right hand in order to see what was inside. "Aaaaaahh" he yelped in pain and pulled it back suddenly, causing the plate to be displaced from its position, causing it to land on the floor, causing a loud noise as it tumbled onto the floor. Avni on hearing him yell, suddenly turned back and instantly ran to him. She held his hands in hers carefully, and dragged him by the wrist towards the kitchen sink and placed his hand under the cold running water running from the tap. She quickly grabbed a tray of ice from the fridge and placed them in a bowl. She quickly retired back to him and slowly grabbed his fingers and placed them in the bowl of cubes. "Couldn't you look before placing your hand on the stove? How are you this careless? Your fingers must be hurting real bad now!" she said, reprimanding his actions with a sad face filled with tonnes of concern, as she constantly continued to dip his fingers between the cubes to alleviate his pain. His eyes were transfixed on her face and refused to leave them the whole time. It seemed that more than the effect of the ice cubes, it was her visible concern and chiding that was soothing his pain. His heart skipped a beat at the thought of her being so apprehensive about the amount of pain he was going through. A small smile graced his lips as his eyes never left her face, even for a second. "Now sit here until I am back. Don't you dare move!" she commanded him. He just ended up nodding his head in response, as if he were in a trance. When she returned, she observed that his fingers had swollen up in the form of circular blobs as a result of the burn. Avni's heart constricted in pain seeing him in that state. She sat beside him and gently began applying the anti-burn cream on his fingers. "Please tell me if it hurts you and I shall stop" she said concern writ all over her face and evident in her voice. The minute the cream came in contact with his fingers, his fingers fumbled a bit due to the pain. She immediately blew some air over his wound in an attempt to alleviate his pain. He didn't utter a word, and couldn't stop himself from gazing intently at her. Many random thoughts flit across his mind as he continued to look at her – Why can't I stop myself from looking at her? Why is she so concerned for me? How am I able to forget my pain just by looking at her? Why doesn't this feel wrong at all? Is it possible that I am getting attracted to her? He had too many questions for which he had no answers! After she had applied the cream, she looked up at him and said "Please go and rest for a while on my bed. I shall get you the parathas as soon as I finish preparing them." 

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Neil walked towards her room and rested himself against the headboard of the bed. He closed his eyes and all that flashed in front of his eyes was her concerned face and her worried eyes. 'Why is she so concerned about me? Does she like me? Is there a chance that she has some feelings for me? Does she feel the same way as I am starting to feel about her? Wait what am I exactly feeling for her?' – his mind was in a frenzy trying to seek answers. 'Or it could just be some general concern you know - something that one would call humanity' his sane mind retorted back at him. He lowered himself down on her bed, pulling her quilt over him and closed his eyes in an attempt to dismiss all those thoughts about her – or at-least trying his best to dismiss them. Meanwhile Avni prepared the parathas and entered his room with a plate and a glass of water. She saw him sleeping – He looked like an innocent little child all huddled up under her quilt. She felt the sudden urge to feel and pinch his fair cheeks, but she dismissed those frivolous thoughts. He looked so angelic while sleeping that she didn't have the heart to wake him from his slumber. She advanced slowly towards him and placed the plate and glass of water on the table beside the bed. Her eyes suddenly fell on his fingers which were slightly peeking through the side of the blanket. They had swollen up more by now. She knelt down beside him and held his fingers in her hand and saw that they had now inflamed due to the fluid. Her heart tugged on seeing him in that state and almost involuntarily her eyes teared up. She had no clue why she couldn't hold back her tears. She slowly ran her hand across his hairs affectionately. He stirred a bit feeling her touch and she immediately withdrew her hands. When he opened his eyes, he saw her face right in front of him staring at him with tiny tears glistening through her eyes. 'What the hell is wrong with me? Why is that every time I open/close my eyes, I only see her face?' he thought to himself, not realizing that she was actually sitting beside him. Seeing him open his eyes, she asked in a concerned tone, "Neil, how are you feeling now? How is the pain in your fingers? Has it subsided? You really need to eat. The parathas are ready." She placed a small table in front of him as he straightened himself up leaning against the headrest. She placed the plate on the table in front of him. "Thank You Avni" he said softly on hearing her voice and finally understanding that it indeed was her. She smiled in response. "You are welcome. If there's anything else you need, please let me know." she said and walked towards the kitchen. As his fingers were swollen, he found it difficult to break the parathas with his hand. He struggled with his left hand which didn't go unnoticed by Avni. She had been observing him from a distance and realized that he needed help. She walked and sat beside him. She held his struggling hand and stopped him. He looked up at her perplexed. "May I?" she said gently and broke a piece of the paratha and brought it close to his mouth. His mouth immediately opened to take in the food, but his gaze never left her face even for a second. Each time her hands accidentally brushed his lips, her heart skipped a beat. His dangerously handsome face coupled with their proximity was killing her slowly-She had to get done with this as soon as possible, but little did she know that he was adamant on not making this easy for her. He chewed slowly, taking his own sweet time, savoring the food. He wasn't sure why he was enjoying this so much-was it because he was so close to her beautiful face or whether it was the food which was made to perfection. He made the most of that moment and the pain of his burns were long forgotten. As she continued to feed him, he noticed a small lock of her hair blocking his full view of her beautiful face. He wasn't sure if he was jealous of that lock of hair or whether he just wanted to capture her beauty in his eyes all for himself without any hindrances, that he slowly touched her face and shifted that lock of hair and gently tucked it behind her ears. She was startled a bit at his sudden touch, and her eyes which were lowered all this time fighting the urge to look directly at him, now looked up to meet his eyes. They captured each other in their gazes. His left hand held her head lovingly, while one finger lingered below her ear stroking it gently. Their faces slowly advanced closer narrowing the gap between them. Subconsciously this was something that both of them wanted though they never realized it. Avni's sane mind jolted her back to reality and she immediately placed the next piece of paratha in his mouth and looked away, bridging the gap between them. Neil literally felt a blow on his stomach and immediately withdrew his hand from her face. She removed the table, gave him the glass of water and walked away with the empty plate. Seeing her walk away, he immediately spoke up "Avni, thank you for taking care of me.", still sounding hesitant. "You don't have to thank me. I had a motive in it for myself. If you don't feel better soon, who will take me to the masquerade party?" she said bluntly. Her acidic words pained him more than the burn ever did, and as she walked away tears just poured down her eyes like a flowing river. She was getting attracted to him just like a magnet. This wasn't why she had come here for in the first place-her mind was way hurtling nothing but the truth at her. The only way she could distance herself from him is by being extremely harsh towards him. Reality hit him in the face when he realized how he had misinterpreted her concern for feelings. She was always here for Vidyut - He was just a stranger to her. Why would she ever have feelings for him? But why did it hurt him so much if she didn't have feelings for him? His mind again had only questions-but no answers. 'Time to get back on track and focus on Juhi' he decided.

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Afternoon and night were a silent affair with him managing eating by himself with a spoon. She had prepared some rice and curry. They hadn't spoken a word after their encounter this morning. The next morning his hands were much better and the swelling had gone down significantly, but the acute pain was still persistent. He was struggling to button up his shirt when she walked in. She walked up to him and held his fingers. He withdrew his hand from her hold and asked her angrily, "What are you doing here?" "You are struggling with that shirt. Let me help you" she said softly. "No thank you madam. You have already done enough for me. I should learn how to live independently without your help. I shall manage with a tee shirt. Please leave!" he bit back at her. As he saw her retreating, his anger got replaced with melancholy. Being rude to her was the only way he could distance his feelings for her. Unable to bear his harsh tone, she bolted herself in her room and cried her heart out. She wanted to distance herself from him-but why was she finding it so hard? She had no answers.

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Updated😀 Hope you enjoy it and haven't forgotten me😬