Shiva stared at her for a long while before breaking down into fits of laughter. "Samjh gaya! Tu mujhe April Fool banane aayi hai naa?? Accha mazak tha! Mujhe bada wala shock lag gaya!", Shiva laughed hysterically but his laugh faded away when Raavi stood there with a poker face. His fear grew when he realised it wasn't even April. "Tu - tu mazak hi kar rahi hai naa? Hai naa?"

Raavi didn't say anything; just kept staring at him without a word and Shiva's heart started beating wildly in fear. "Tu-tu mazak nahi kar rahi hai?"

Raavi shook her head.

"Tu serious hai?" He asked again.

She nodded. Shiva went silent, trying to absorb this bit of information before he exploded.

"DIMAG KHARAB HAI TERA??? NIKAAL YAHA SE!" Shiva shouted at her, as he hurriedly scrambled away from her when Raavi moved nearer with her palms raised in a 'I come in peace' way.

"Shiva, ek baar thande dimag se soch baat ko," Raavi tried to placate him, but he grew more agitated.

"THANDE DIMAG SE SOCHU?? TU SOCH! PA-PAGAAL HO GAYI HAI TU!! ILAAJ KARA APNA! AUR-AUR CHALI JAA YAHA SE!!!"

"Dekh Shiva, tu shaant ho jaa. Tu mujhse puchega bhi nahi main yeh kyu bol rahi hu? Pehle meri baat toh sun le. Accept karna hai ya reject woh tu baad mein decide kar liyo."

"Ac-accept?? Kuch accept nahi karna hai! Tu nikal yaha se!" Shiva took a deep breath, trying to swallow his panic down.

"Shiva, dekh 10 mins de mujhe? Please? 10 mins de apni baat rakhne ke liye tere aage aur phir main yaha se chali jaungi. Please?" Raavi begged him, watching him anxiously; she could almost see the cogs of his brain whirring, and she waited for his reaction. Sure enough, after a few moments of thinking, Shiva nodded.

"10 min. Jo bolna hai bol aur nikal yaha se!"

Raavi squealed, clapping her hands like an excited seal, and gestured to backroom. When she saw Shiva stiffen, she sighed, "Sirf baat karni hai, Shiva. Private hai. Fikr mat kar. Tere izzat par attack nahi karungi."

Shiva shook his head before asking Kaka, who was tending to some customers, to keep an eye out on things, and he followed her into the backroom.

Raavi was already sitting on the cot, cross-legged as she patted the space next to her, when he entered the room. Shiva gave her a hard look before taking the chair instead. She pouted but didn't object.

"Ab bol. Dekh main teri baat iss liye sun raha hu kyunki mujhe curiosity ho rahi hai. Aisa bhayanak khayal tere dimag mein aya kaise yeh jaan na hai mujhe."

"Jo bhi baat ho Shiva. Main bas khush hu ki tu meri baat sun raha hai. Lekin open mind ke saath sunna please. And mere point of view se bhi sochne ki koshish karna," Raavi said handing him the halwa container.

He dragged his gaze away from the tempting treat and looked up to see her falter just a bit.

"Pata nahi kaha se shuru karu."

"Shuru se shuru kar. Pehle yeh bata ki subah subah afeem chaat ke ayi hai kya??" Shiva gave her a look.

"Haha. Not funny Shiva." Raavi deadpanned.

"Nahi, funny toh tu hai. Bakwas joke marne aa gayi subah subah." Shiva rolled his eyes.

"As if tu toh bada funny hai na?? Din bhar sadi hui shakal banake ghumta hai! Kabhi kabhi dil karta hai tujhe bandh ke rakh du!" Raavi's nose flared adorably, and Shiva was distracted for a moment, before he shook himself out of it, schooling his expressions into his usual scowl.

"Yehi bakwas karni hai toh main jaa raha hu," Shiva moved to get out of his seat.

"Arre nahi nahi! Sorry sorry sorry! Main-main batati hu....." Raavi pleaded before going silent, trying to find the words, and Shiva sighed deciding to help her out.

"Accha bata. Kal phir se kuch hua kya? Usne kamine ne kuch kiya?"

Raavi stiffened and her eyes hardened again, all hesitation evaporating. "Kiya toh hai. Pann uss kamine nahi, uski kamini item ne." She snarled and the anger in her voice made Shiva double back in shock. What exactly happened in half a day?

"Kya kiya usne??" Shiva asked confused.

Raavi took a deep breath, trying to control her anger as she told him everything about that photo and voice note.

"Usne kya kiya!?" The outrage in his voice seemed to placate her. "Aur tu ne kuch nahi kaha use?? Waise toh badi sherni bani ghoomti hai. Unko kuch nahi bol payi?"

"Isi liye toh aayi hu tere paas. Unko jawab dene ke liye," Raavi smirked.

"Ae gadheri! Yeh unko jawab dena nahi hai. Yeh bewakoofi hai. Tere dimag mein bhoosa bhara hai yeh saabit ho gaya aaj." Shiva huffed irritatedly. "Chal mere saath. Uski haddi todke hospital mein phenk ke aata hu. Uss kamini ko tu dekh lena. Main tujhe bata dunga kaha attack karna hai."

Raavi shook her head, and Shiva paused. "Abhi bhi tu naa keh rahi hai?? Abhi bhi bachana chahti hai?"

"Nahi Shiva. Main use bachana nahi chahti. Main use hurt karna chahti hu. Itna ki woh apne khud ke existence ko kose. Itni gehri chot dena chahti hu jo kabhi na bhare. Itni gehri chot jo woh marte dam tak bhul naa paye," Raavi lounged back casually, as if she didn't just plotted to torture someone.

That admission had him sitting up a little straighter, mouth dropping open in shock. Who was this girl and what did she do with his Chipkali? Shiva composed himself and swallowed, not sure if he wanted to bring her focus back to his part in all of this. "Aur tujhe lagta hai yeh - yeh sab karke - tu usko hurt kar legi?"

Raavi sighed and flippantly said, "Baat seedhi si hai, Shiva. Use lagta hai mujh par uska haq hai. Main usse woh haq cheenna chahti hu."

That was not what he was expecting, "Yeh sab karke? Aur tu mere paas kyu ayi hai??" Shiva asked genuinely confused.

"Shiva, tu bhi jaanta hai Raunak tujhse kitni nafrat karta hai."

"Haan toh?"

"Tu samajh nahi raha. Raunak tujhse nafrat karta hai. Shiddat se." Raavi emphasized the words, eyes wide. "Yaad hai tujhe jab main uss din bike se takdane waali thi aur tu ne mujhe bachaya tha? Yaad hai na woh kitna gussa hua tha?" Shiva nodded remembering the incident vividly. "Uske hisaab se main uski girlfriend thi, toh mujhe bachane ka haq sirf uska hai. Aur jab tu ne mujhe bachaya toh use laga ki uska haq tu ne cheen liya. Uska dimag ghum gaya tha, hosh udd gaye the uske."

She leaned into him and Shiva started to feel the air shift around them.

"Aur toh aur, Shagun ko tujh pe bohot bada wala crush hai."

Shiva gulped at her words, and he stared at her incredulously.

"Shagun ne kaha mujhe ki mujhe woh feeling kabhi experience karne nahi milegi because koi bhi ladka mujh mein interested nahi hoga," Her smile turned decidedly evil. "Toh maine decide kiya ki main ek teer se do nishaane lagaungi. Raunak ko tujhse nafrat hai aur Shagun ko tujhse pyaar. Un dono ko hurt karne ka isse better rasta kya ho sakta hai?" Raavi inched closer to him, holding his hand in hers.

Shiva watched their joined hands in surprise, her thumb rubbing circles on the back of his hand. Her nearness was affecting him a great deal more than he would ever admit. She leaned in very close to whisper in his ear, "Plus, I don't know tujhe pata hai ya nahi, Shiva but tu Somnath ka sabse hot ladka hai."

Shiva couldn't help but shiver at her words. What was she doing to him? His head began to spin as he processed this information, when suddenly Raavi moved out of her seat, and bent down to hover over him. She curled a finger under his chin, and lifted his face up, not saying another word. He realised Raavi waiting for him to say something, but his voice seemed to fail him.

"Shiva, tujhe main force nahi kar rahi. Tu mana kar sakta hai. Mujhe unse dushmani nikalni hai, tujhse nahi." Raavi whispered as a seductive light entered her eyes, and his breath caught at her smile. "But promise me tu ek baar sochega iss baare mein, hmmm?"

Shiva couldn't help but nod, almost hypnotized by her words. She gave him a dazzling smile, and placed a feather light kiss on his right cheek, before sauntering out of the room, with a deliberate sway to her hips.

Shiva's mouth fell open, his throat parched, and he desperately grabbed a bottle of water from the fridge, gulping it down in record time. Dear god! What the heck just happened???

.............to be continued

Apologies for the errors.

To everyone who thought Raavi was being innocent in her request, please do not kill me!