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Se- hmm, well done annika you're doing really better this time.

Annika sighed out through her mouth in relief when she heard this from her. High heels were literally not her thing, she was very skeptical at first but now seemed like she was somewhat average in carrying it. And this total ramp walk thing was again foreign to her , 'practice can do wonders annika' says sejal. She has been practicing with her since noon now, and it's already half past 3 still she couldn't say she got the correct rhythm of it enough. But she says, it's getting better and better, well and good if she says so, she's the expert. Working on the system for a full whole day seemed far better and easy than this , she slipped again , Sejal held her hand from the other side to support.

A- you must have a room full of moov and volini in your home, for the hell lot of sprain and back pain it does give.

There was no reply, she found her distracted by something else and followed her sight to know it rather was 'by someone else'. He was there , working at the stage, trying to fix those lights to be precise. Sejal seemed to be completely lost, she had to shake her hands and bring her back.

A- what do you think he'd do if he knows you've been gawking at him like that?

Se- he'd go mute, like he was when I said how attractive he actually is.

Sejal spoke with a pretty smile on her face , Annika grew curious suddenly.

A- well you both are already together so all this must

Se- wait , you think so?

She asked with a much excitement , Annika was doubtful suddenly.

A- that's a no then?

Se- I do like him, but it's just one sided.

A- oh

She said just that with her eyebrows popping up for a second and settling down the next , followed by her lips which restricted to stay in one place. She bit them, clicked them,twisted them to one side. Like her whole face was working hard to look casually ' not bothered '.

Se- I wish he likes me too, but after all I've done ,there's no chance I guess. You should've seen him then, he got a little shy I'm sure when I expressed how attractive he is.

Annika sighed huge immediately.

A- everybody!

Se- hmm?

A- I mean gauri finds him charming too.

Se- see? I told you. You don't have a taste if you say otherwise. Hmm, come on let's try again.

Annika couldn't focus after that, before she even knew she was stealing glances, at him. He was up there on the ladder, doing his work. Then  he turned to look down at soumya who was seriously complaining about Rudra to him. And then he smiled, she gulped making a slow blink. All of a  sudden her eyes started working differently. As if they were trying to zoom in and out like a camera.He was now pulling up his sleeves , and ruffled his hair once to immediately shake his head and give out the sweat. She respirated through her mouth as her eyes zoomed in to capture all that in slow motion until she dragged herself back and shook her head like it was something made of elastic.

And then, she slipped, fell with a thud of noise which inturn made him wiggle and loose balance, he fell too.

R- Oh my god ! Are you ok?

Luckily he wasn't up high enough to have anything serious , a small ladder it was. He shook his head and then answered.

S- I'm ok.

Only then he realized that concern was not for him, his dear little brother was busy helping Annika there.

A- sss...

Her knees ached a bit, otherwise she was good. They helped her take a seat.

So- baiya

Shivaay smiled faintly and scowled at his brother before taking soumya's hand.

Se- where were you lost Annika?

R- here, drink some water first. My fault, the deadline is so short and I kept pushing you guys. I should've given you time. I'm sorry.

She took a sip and immediately pulled the glass out to stop him from continuing.

A- no please  , it's nothing I'm fine just a small sprain I guess.

S- of course you should be, cause I just fell from a 6 feet ladder and I'm totally fine. I'm sure you're just being dramatic.

He collected the bottle from the table and settled opposite her while stating that. She straightened herself and leaned forward to pierce him with her gaze.

A- what we both encountered are no different from each other.

He rose his brows and looked at her as if she just uttered something dumb, taking a glance of her feet once  , he shook his head slightly.

S- see? dramatic.

Annika gritted her teeth and quickly worked to remove the straps, buckles whatever it was, all the while staring at him. Once it was in her hands she placed it on the table and pushed it forward to his side. He frowned, what was he supposed to do with this now? She kept watching him straight, the others who had already guessed it started stealing light giggles and laughs without him knowing. And when it hit him, what she actually meant by that, he watched her for a second and smirked. Challenge accepted.

Well seemed like it was not a very good idea to have accepted it, he was struggling to take a step, a slow little step. It was as if he was standing on something so tall, so high which had nothing but a point of grip to the floor. Oh shoot, this was bad. He was embarrassed when she smirked , and he started doing it seriously.

S- stop filming Rudy, I'll break your phone.

He sweared even between his struggles, Rudra clicked his tongue and remained unbothered.

R- this deserves a separate screening in our dolby atmos hometheatre baiya, choti maa would love it!

Annika smiled immediately while he grew frustrated. Keeping each step in  hurry he somehow made it forward but again things went upside down soon, and before he could fall he found himself arrested within a pair of arms. She was almost hugging him actually.

Annika could no more keep the smile or the smirk intact on her face as she watched Sejal hugging him, hold him completely.

Se- careful.

S- yeah thanks.

He turned back to look at her with an '  I made it ' kind of face.

A- well?

S- I'm sure I can improve with some practice, not anything impossible .

A- sure. I heard they manufacture high heel stilettos  for men in Jupiter , purchase it in online and practice everyday.

Everyone laughed while he cringed at her sense of humour.

S- stile what?

So- it's a type of slippers baiya... look it's already 4 . Rudra I won't  lift a pin now until and unless I ate anything.

R- Oh god, I'm so sorry I didn't see the time.

So- it's okay but I will

She stopped on realising it was again not for her , he was talking to Annika actually. She kept glaring at him all the time when suddenly felt a pat from behind. It was shivaay, he blinked quickly and shook his head insisting her not mind Rudra only. He then picked some cash and gave it to her.

S- have whatever you want.

So- thank you so much baiya, you're the best.

Annika who was still talking to Rudra and Sejal did notice all that.

R- yeah, that restaurant should be fine. Come then, baiya I'll only drive.

S- ok, take this.

He passed the keys, Rudra frowned.

R- you're not coming ?

S- no Rudy, I have to finish the stage and go look the seats then. You guys carry on.

Se- you aren't hungry? We can order something here itself oresle.

S- no it's fine, you should go. It's very stuffy here, coolers will be ready by tomorrow I guess.

R- ok we'll buy something for him then. Bye baiya.

S- hmm.

They settled near the corner table and waited for their food, all the while chitchatting about stuffs. Sejal wanted to stay under the radar so they chose an isolated spot.

R- I can't believe he actually did that.

A- simple Rudra, touch his ego and he's ready to do anything, one second.

Her phone flashed immediately, she picked the call .

A- what are you doing?

G- di are you at home, come pick me up. I'm at the bus stop, didn't bring my two wheeler.

A- excuse me.

She stood up and came somewhere private.

A- speak normally first, don't rush. What happened? Fought with her again?

G- I didn't even do anything this time.

A- that's a lie.

G- ok wait, I just ... We were just chatting randomly and ended up talking about wedding and relationships out of a sudden. I just told ,in a relationship, both must equally take effort if they really care for the other. That's it, she started asking, didn't I do that, didn't I do this for your dad , though I didn't even point it out on her.

Annika sighed rolling her eyes as she knew what exactly would've happened.

A- you know her, then why did you?

G - I said nothing di, still if she really felt so offended, she must be guilty then.

A- don't tell me you spoke like this to her Ri.

G- it wasn't intentional but I just did. See, if we really care we tend to make efforts, to comfort them, to make sure they're ok.  I didn't even blame her or anything, I just spoke in general and she started fighting suddenly.

A- gauri, gauri I'm not at home. I can't pick you now, will call you later bye.

She hung up , opened zomato and kept clicking the cancel order button continuously but no, if was already delivered, said the notification. Annika ran her fingers through her hair in tension and cringed .

Shivaay came to the entrance on hearing someone's voice, he saw a delivery man standing there. Rudra, he thought and collected the order.

𝓗𝓸𝓷𝓮𝔂'𝓼 𝓴𝓲𝓽𝓬𝓱𝓮𝓷 , the logo looked vibrant on the package. Inside were some of his favorites, leafy salad with walnuts and sausage pepper burger.  Since when did his little brother become so considerate , he wondered, stared at the package and the name on it for sometime soon before hunger took over him . He just ate then.

Annika couldn't just concentrate on her food, her mind kept hitting her with questions. Why did she even do that! We put efforts if we care, gauri's words disturbed her again. Why! When her head was about to blast with this, she confidently put forth a reason saying, it was just a mere help and she'd have done it for anyone who stayed behind to work. Nothing more, nothing less than a basic human nature.

What if he finds out, then?

Urghh! Who invented these takeouts? She hollered in her mind.

R- let me ask baiya what he wants.

Annika panicked seeing Rudra take his phone. Just then he got a ping from him,
' Great food, glad that I stayed back for this '

R- ohh... seems like he ate already.

A- uhh maybe be ordered something himself.

R- hmm.

He just replied with a random funny sticker then, which pops up to burp.

She sighed in relief and hoped none finds out or even talks about it further, neither him nor Rudra.

The event was a success, Rudra could say it from the way those clients approached him with curiosity. Sejal's presence turned out positive for him, his work, the event , the pictures and everything were trending along with her name. Well, the crowd wasn't very big but for an amateur , it was more than enough. They were not any international ones with big franchises to handle but he did get some decent contacts, to make a good start.

He was very happy .

Annika was present with the other models in their respective table. She smiled automatically when her sight fell on Tej who was talking to some people there, seemingly describing something in full excitement. That gesture spoke a lot, maybe he didn't go up and cheer for his son just yet but he looked confident, confident enough to realize and believe that his son would be able to take care of himself. Like finally he could let go of his worries.

Seeing the way he had organized everything A to Z correctly, he would've now known Rudra isn't a kid anymore.

He thinks, he decides.

And just like that randomly her eyes ended up stuck with his, cause even he was doing the same standing on the opposite side. He seemed to be staring at Tej too.

She somewhere knew that even he thought the same, on seeing Tej. A whole crowd was there , some seated, some standing, some media, and something or the other going on, yet she had to end up in his eyes only. Both shared that stare for almost a minute until he dropped off when Om came to ask him something.

After sometime, the dinner was set and  everyone had started eating already.

A- Rudra

R- excuse me, yeah?

A- I see most of them have gone for dinner, can we change now or is there

R- actually, the group photoshoot is still pending.

A- oh ok sure.

R- I shouldn't keep you waiting, please do one thing . Baiya knows where the backdrop is set, take the crew there and get started with it. I'll try to catch up soon, stuck here with something actually.

A- sure no problem.

R- thank you!

' mam, yeah can you please come forward and stand with him. Sorry not familiar with the names yet '

' Hrithik '

The model who the photographer just pointed out , spoke his name and sat on the stool like he was asked to. Annika looked hesitant but then came foward .

' little closer mam, you both are  coordinated actually, themes match so let's make use of it. Yeah, to the left, turn towards him . '

' should I stand? '

' No no you can sit, she'll stand by your right. Just lean closer and hold her, and mam you too please put your arm around him. I don't want you guys to smile, just give me a clear stare, an intense one, others same position please.'

Annika didn't move for a few seconds only, she then noticed the man asking her permission once. Soon she released her stiff self and gave him a nod before pulling herself closer to him like they wanted. His hand circled around to hold her waist, she couldn't help being consious.

' Mam can you be a little loose please, just take a deep breath and let it down. Yeah, close, closer, Hrithik you can look at her and mam you look upfront at the camera. '

A- ok.

He was standing at the corner, scrolling through the stuffs on his mobile screen. And when he casually looked up, he saw it and remained immobile for a second. He couldn't believe she's actually doing that . Shivaay kept watching her every move intently.

' And yeah, perfectly done guys . Thanks alot! '

Annika exhaled deep through her mouth and started searching for something.

Se - soumya has the keys for our green room I guess, I'll go get it.

A- hmm.

He went and stood by her.

S- you need anything?

A- I can't find my napkin, you have any tissue or something ?

She grabbed the cloth as soon as he lent it and started wiping it over her plams roughly. They looked dripping wet.

S- did you by any chance study in girls only school  ?

She narrowed her eyes at once when he asked this out of nowhere.

A- stop being judgemental.

She sat on the stairs there, and he joined her being seriously engaged in the conversation.

S- no , what I mean to say is these days you find all sorts of people in college, school and workplace . There are gangs with one girl and 10 boys, vice versa. It's normal . Not all boys are bad, and not all girls are good. No need to be so cautious you know.

It was getting cold and her sleeveless dress made it more difficult only. She kept rubbing her hands  continuously.

A- I've had friends too, but after the incident I told you I mean I was telling your mother and you eavesdroped , I started to change. Couldn't easily trust or let my gaurd down ever since.

He understood  how big all this must be for her, to come out from her comfort zone.

S- you know I  got so uncomfortable and disturbed by the sight when we visited the snake park once, I was 6 or 7 then I'm not sure. Thick long pythons, anacondas, cobras, the sight was unbearable that I could feel this weird thing on my skin, there was nothing happening and I was absolutely alright still, something was not right with the way my skin felt. After that, even till now whenever there's this topic about snakes going on in Discovery, Animal planet or anything I never miss it. I visit zoos, snake parks regularly. And  I even visited Brazil once, these snake charmers are famous there, I've held it around my neck too.

At the end of the story her face almost shrunk into something small, she cringed badly.

A- is that supposed to mean I should go become a model  , and pose with men everyday. Like touch them, fall on them everyday?

S- what , of course not!

He laughed aloud and shook his head immediately, is she mad or something to think like this?

S- I mean, I did that because I didn't like the feels it gave me . I wanted to go numb of that sight. My case is different, you, you can overcome it only if you believe you can handle it, be it anything. If at all anything should happen, aren't you ready with your HCL acid bottle? You can let go and be free.

She was still stuck up with his laugh, his smile. Since he was seated one step further up from her, the angle was different, with him needing to look down and she up while they talked. And suddenly again he smiled after mentioning the acid, she was found staring at his curved lips shamelessly.

For the first time, he was smiling at her and she couldn't move on from this moment just yet, just easily. He was busy setting his hair to notice her look though .

She was freezing .

A- are you cold?

S- hmm? No.

A- then

The next second she mentally stabbed herself to death for doing that. He bent down to see what she was pointing , there was nothing, just him. It took him sometime to realize what she wanted.

S- okay.

He clipped out his blazer buttons, Sejal came back with the keys just then. Annika stood up immediately .

A- it's ok thanks, I can get my things now.

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