"So you're on your own now, yeah?" 

Rohit was walking Annika down the corridor after she was done for the day, and asked the question dissappointedly. His mother had finally finished discussing with Annika everything that needed to be discussed, and Annika had declared that she would start with the preparations now. She had refused to take any help from either him or his mother anymore, much to Rohit's dismay. He wouldn't be able to see her beautiful face for hours on end anymore, and the thought was making him feel empty.

"Yep, I guess so," She said with a smile. She kept on checking her watch every couple of minutes, and he wondered if she had somewhere to go to.

"Somewhere you need to get to?" He asked, and Annika looked up from her watch in confusion.

"What?"

Rohit pointed towards her wrist with his eyes.

"You keep checking your watch. Getting late for somewhere?"

Annika hesitated a bit before shaking her head, making her unruly hair move and spread a sweet fragrance that Rohit dutifully inhaled.

"Oh no, nothing like that." She said, and Rohit mustered up some courage to ask her what he did next.

"Wanna go out for a coffee, in that case?" He asked her hopefully. Annika looked up, startled by the sudden request.

"Oh um," she started, not wanting to reject him, but not being able to say yes since she did have somewhere to get to, "Actually, I'm supposed to, um, help my brother with this project of his," she said with a gulp, feeling terrible about lying so blatantly, "so maybe some other time?" She added.

Rohit felt dejected, but shrugged it off. He desperately wanted to take her out sometime, spend some time alone away from this work environment and also from his mother's knowing gaze, and he would wait for it if he had to.

"Sure," He said with a smile, "We'll have a lot more opportunities to go out, I hope." Annika smiled at that, and nodded. They had reached outside now, and as they neared the front gate, Annika's eyes widened seeing something. Swallowing hard, she turned to Rohit, who was oblivious staring down with hands in pockets.

"Uh, Rohit, you should go now. I'll leave from here."

"Oh, it's not a problem. In fact, I can drop you home if you want?" 

He hadn't so much as finished the sentence that Annika yelled a horrified "No!" Rohit looked at her with furrowed brows, and she gave an awkward laugh.

"I mean," She said, stealing a glance towards the gate again, "I have my Champa here, you know." 

Rohit looked on in confusion.

"Champa, who's that?"

Annika then got into her speech on who Champa was, and how she couldn't leave Champa alone, while Rohit looked at her cute expressions with a smile. When she was done, he gave a soft chuckle.

"Okay fine, you can go on your Champa. But at least introduce me to her?" He asked her expectantly, and Annika mentally slapped her forehead, crying over her phooti kismat. Seeing no other way out, she bluntly denied.

"I'm sorry Rohit, maybe some other time. I'm getting late, bye!" Saying so, she practially ran out of the gate. Rohit stared after her incredulously for a while, before making his way back in. 

As soon as Annika saw he was gone, she put on a stern face and approached the black SUV standing near the gate. Entering, she came face to face with a lazily grinning Shivaay.

"Hey, babe," He greeted her casually, starting the car as she took her seat. Annika glared at him, hard.

"Don't you dare 'babe' me! What's the meaning of this?"

Shivaay gave her an innocent look that did nothing to fool her.

"Meaning of what?"

"THIS!" Annika yelled, gesturing around flamboyantly with her hands, "This randomly popping up at my work place!"

Shivaay smiled cheekily at that.

"Oh, this. Why is it so surprising, anyway? I'm your boyfriend, after all," Annika was about to retaliate here, but he continued sensing her rebuke, "and don't start on how it's just a drama and all, because for all intents and purposes, I am your official boyfriend now." Sighing deeply with the realization that nothing could be done of him, Annika sat back grumpily, arms across her chest. She asked him what would happen to her Champa, who was waiting for her in the garage, and Shivaay told her he woud get the lovely Champa home safely through Khanna. 

"What if someone had seen you? What if Rohit had seen you?!" She asked, turning to him again.

"That was the whole point," Shivaay mumbled, and thankfully Annika didn't hear him.

"Why do you care so much about that Rohit, anyway?" He asked her, annoyed. Annika raised an eyebrow at that.

"It's not just about Rohit, Shivaay? It's about the fact that all this is just a lie, and will affect my career if people think I'm with you." Shivaay gripped the steering wheel hard at that. Any reminder of their relationship being a lie had him infuriated, for some reason. Couldn't she, like him, pretend like this was normal?

The rest of the ride was silent, the air thick with their tadi. Reaching her house, Shivaay stopped the car and told her he would wait in the car as she got ready for their double date with Mallika and Sidhhart. Annika sensed that he was pissed, and somehow, wanted to pacify her Baggad Billa.

"Won't you come inside?" She asked him with a pout. Shivaay shook his head without looking her way. 

"Aww, is my baby angry?" Annika said in a cooey voice, leaning towards him and pulling his cheek. Shivaay shrugged her off.

"We're getting late, just go already." He said, and Annika bit her lip, trying to figure out how to make him relent. Smirking, she found an idea.

"Not before getting my daily kiss." As soon as she said that, Shivaay turned to her with widened eyes.

"And," She continued, grinning now, "We didn't meet each other yesterday, so you owe me TWO kisses today."

Shivaay processed her words, and involuntarily, his face broke into a smile. Annika mentally patted herself at that.

"How about," Shivaay said, placing a hand over hers casually, "I give you a worth of both these kisses in just one kiss?" 

Annika creased her eyebrows in confusion.

"What do you mean?" 

"I mean," Shivaay whispered, voice getting deeper as he leaned in towards her, their noses almost touching, "Why don't I give you a kiss...here." With that, he tapped his index finger against her pouty lips. Gasping, Annika's eyes went as wide as saucer.

"Y-you're SUCH a cheapda!" She exclaimed, before opening the door and practically running away and into the house. Shivaay laughed heartily before following her.

**

"What do I wear?" Annika whined as she stood in front of her newly modified wardrobe. Having gone shopping with Jhanvi Aunty just last week, Annika loved all her new clothes, but was in a dilemma about what to wear. Thankfully, her boyfriend came to her rescue. 

"Hmm, let me see," He said, before standing behind her and wrapping his arms around her waist. Annika was caught off-guard, but his proximity felt great so she wasn't complaining. Resting his chin on her shoulder, Shivaay started scrutinizing her wardrobe.

"How about this?" He asked, pointing to a red off-shoulder gown with some lacy work at the top. Annika shook her head.

"No," She said, scrunching her nose, "It seems too fancy for the occasion."

Shivaay hummed, and continued with his search, before finding the perfect dress.

"Aha, this is perfect!" He exclaimed, protruding a body-fitting, short, dark maroon dress.

 Annika examined it for a bit, before deciding it would do.

"Okay fine, let me change." She said, taking the dress from his hand. Shivaay made no move to leave the room, and she raised her eyebrows at him.

"Shivaay, I need to change?" She said, as if he was a child. He grinned like a Cheshire cat at that. 

"Well, why don't you?" He said, an intense look in his otherwise joking face. Annika rolled her eyes at him, even though feeling a bit dry-mouthed all of a sudden.

"I don't have time for your ridiculousness now, okay? Now go and let me get ready!" She practically pushed him out of the door, locked it,  and proceeded to change and do her hair and make up as he sat waiting in her living room. Sahil had been sent off to Chanda's house till they returned, so Shivaay's only company was the PS4 that he plugged in and started playing, since Annika was taking her own sweet time.

Inside the room, Annika examined herself in the mirror after wearing the dress. She had to admit, it did look amazing. She had never wore something so revealing before, since the dress showed off her long slim legs and even a bit of her cleavage, but she didn't feel uncomfortable wearing it, somehow. A lot of things had changed over the past couple of weeks along with her and Shivaay's relationship, since they had started their drama, and Annika decided that being able to rock these bold looks was just a part of it. 

Styling her hair a bit and applying some light make-up, Annika wore golden stilettos that had been a gift from Prinku, grabbed a clutch, and left the room.

Outside, Shivaay had been playing football with minimal attention to the game, since he wanted to see how Annika looked, and as she finally emerged, the joystick dropped from his hand and onto the floor. Standing up, he checked her out shamelessly from head to toe, while she squirmed under his gaze.

"Wow," He breathed out, making her blush, "How do you always look so gorgeous?" He asked her, honestly not understanding how someone could be so beautiful, not to mention hot. Her curvy figure was enhanced by the dress, enticing Shivaay terribly to trace her curves with his fingers.

"Let's go, we're getting late," Annika said shyly, her cheeks pink. Shivaay came closer to her and pulled her into his chest by the waist.

"Let me just stare at you a while longer?" He asked her flirtatiously, and Annika giggled while smacking his manly chest.

"We're getting late, Shiv!" She said again, writhing out of his grasp. Shivaay heart swooned at her nickname for him, and rubbing the back of his neck, he followed her out of the house.

"And by the way," Annika said, turning back to look towards him, "You can stare at me any time you want." With a wink, she sat in the car, and it took a stunned Shivaay a while to follow.

**

I will try ('try' being the strong word here) to update again tomorrow!