I hadn't cared about how I looked until now.

I was going bonkers thinking how I was doing so far. The lights were flashing on my eyes, the white walls were blinding me and for a second, I had forgotten how to stand straight. With the opaque helmet on my head and tight suit to accentuate my curves, I was doing what other men were asking me to.

I had been given a spare tyre in my hand to stand and pose according to the lights and the shadows that the photographers were behind. Thankful for the conditioning I had taken, it had become easy for me to hold and smile holding those heavy beasts without any difficulty.

It was an early photo shoot at five in the morning. I was happy that I had skipped jogging for the day, but was doomed when I learnt that I had to stand in the freezing cold with the costume that I was in. At least, jogging was never this torturous. 

I was frowning the entire time the photos were clicking, internally bad-mouthing almost everyone in the set for making me do this. But, I was happy that they had agreed to let me not expose my face. I couldn't have lived with my sleep deprived eyes on the front sheet of VS magazines.

Robert was being a sweetheart. He drove me to the photo studio with his new green convertible. Though the gesture seemed sweet, I knew that he had chosen to be my driver with that car only so that he could boast it all around to gain publicity for his talents. He had disappeared in the middle of the sessions and had come back an hour later.

Now, he slept on his car, cradling his knee on the door handle as he put his spare shirt on his face to avoid the light spoiling his slumber. But he made sure to keep an eye on me. Every once in a while he would make sure that I was just around the set, posing to the cameras.

"How about that angle?" Cole asked. His question was directed towards the photographer, but I knew internally he was making me pay.

He hadn't liked it when I said that I was not selling my face to his company. He kind of made it in his books that he was going to make me suffer for my actions. He had volunteered to stay back for my shoot, making sure that I saw hell in there once a while.

"Sure." The photographer said. "Let's take a five though. The girl's been there holding that tyre for almost half hour."

I sighed a sigh of relief. At least that guy had understood my plight. Just because I was holding up quite well, didn't mean that I was okay with the tyre lifts. The only reason I hadn't talked back here was because they had agreed to keep my face hidden.

Cole's face fell at the mention of a break. I guess he was only wishing to make his every penny worth with me. I rolled my eyes at him, sure that he couldn't see it. I kept the tyre aside and went to Robert who was slightly snoring.

I took off my helmet and pushed Robert's knee aside as I opened the door. Robert jerked for a second and then, removed his shirt away from his face, yawning as he made space for me to sit down.

"They are going to hell." I said as I slumped down on his leather seat. "They snatched away my beauty sleep, made me dress like this," I ran my hands down on my costume. "and they are also making me hold that damn tyre for so long. I mean, I hadn't even gone through such tough conditioning."

Robert put his hand around my shoulders and pulled me to him with a smile on his face. I rested my head on his shoulder, trying to forget the pains I had to endure.

"I can hear you agree that I'm a wonderful coach." Robert said, his inner meaning evident on his words. "Even if it is in your own words, I'll take it."

I pulled away to glare at him. He only smiled back sweetly. He pulled me to him again to go back to our original spot. "I'm liking this look on you though. This costume makes it easier to do this." He ran his hands from my hands to stomach and then it started moving upwards.

"You know what?" I slapped on his hand. "You can die alone."

I got out of his car as Robert followed me closely behind with a rumble of laughter to my disgrace. "Babe, come on. You know I was only kidding." I turned back to look at him, my eyes telling him silently if he was kidding me. "Okay, maybe I wasn't. But you know I wouldn't do that with these people around us, right?"

"Go to hell." I said and walked away. But before I could take another step, he caught hold of my hand and spun me around so that I was facing him.

"Fine, I'm sorry." He said, holding me captive in his arms. I looked away. "You were so uptight and I wanted to bring some color to your face." I glared at him. "Though the color is same, I was hoping for a whole different reason."

I let out a small snort.

Ever since he came out clean with me, we had become a little more closer than we were before. His strong, tall walls were completely broken when he was with me and I was more than happy to reach out to him without them. He stayed over at our house like before and his sudden disappearances had come down too.

I had asked him to meet his mother and sister, but he had always found one or the other reason to say he had other errands to run. I knew he was running, pushing it far away, buying time in return. But I didn't know for how long he would survive with that alone.

I had asked him once why he had come back to the town, knowing that he might come across his family one day or the other. But he only replied that it was the financial conditions that led him here than other things.

Even when he had come out clean, he still lived under the shadow of doubts and misinterpretations. He was on the constant look out for what people said or did around him. Now that his face was out to his family, he had become more vigilant and observant than ever before.

"There's the smile I was looking for." Robert said mirroring my grin. "You are going to be fine, love. I'll be right here." He curled his fingers and pointed his thumb behind him at his car.

"Yeah," I rolled my eyes. "You only came here like ten minutes ago. Where had you been? It's still six on the clock."

"You want me around while I do nothing but lay down?" He asked, his tone had the underlying humor was hard to miss.

"Yeah," I said, tucking my hair behind my ears. He had caught me red-handed. I played with the button on his shirt, not making eye contact. "I mean, what are good coaches for? You are supposed to stay back and make sure that the pupil is okay."

"Is staying back this close okay?" He asked, his voice suddenly turning husky as he pulled me further to him.

My eyes widened for a second as I looked at his brown ones. The humor had vanished leaving behind a feeling that was completely new. All the other things sidetracked as I drunk in his features. It was only me and him, finding solace in each other's arms.

We were only few centimeters away from each other and if either one of us leaned closer, then our lips could have touched. Robert volunteered to go at it first, trying to reduce the distance between us.

"Stone!" Cole Wills shouted, ruining the moment for us. "We have been shouting your name for the past ten minutes, what the heck are you doing with that guy? Get back in here!"

"Shit!" I murmured, thinking back to how close I was to forget everything and lose it in front of all those people.

"Now, I understand why you hate the man." Robert said, pecking on my cheeks before I could respond. "He's definitely a pain in the ass."

I laughed shaking my head. That, he was right. "Got to go, honey."

Robert nodded his head, but the smile in his face was hard to miss.

"Get to work!" Cole said, his eyes bulged as he pointed his index finger at the studio where I had been posing. "You can flirt in your own time."

I held my tongue before I could get the best out of it and put the helmet back on my head, making sure that all of my hair was completely inside it. Since whole of my body was covered with the tight suit, there was no need to put any makeup. A sports car was made to stand in the studio, with which I was going to pose.

"Could we go out and shoot?" I asked hesitantly. "I mean, its almost sunrise and we could get some great shots with the natural lights."

"That's a great idea!" The photographer clapped his hands, as if he hadn't thought about that before.

We changed our location to outside. It was a normal road with buildings and other vehicles. When we came out with all our equipment the early morning jogger and dog walkers stood for a minute to stare at what was happening.

To get a good photo was a challenge and it sure was intimidating. The car was driven to the driveway beside a tree that was at its peak of blossom. I sat on the hood of the car, balancing tyre on my foot, bending back to give a pose.

Another hour was spent with the same settings while I sauntered around the car giving my best poses with the car as well as the tyre. Cole sat at the monitor section viewing everything in full detail making sure that it had come great.

At around seven of clock they called a wrap. By then, I had lost all the energy. Carrying that bloody tyre all around was more than enough to ruin my early morning. I was hungry and tired and wanted nothing more than to rest. But I had to go to school and I cursed Cole for it. I was pretty sure that he had planned this to make sure that I would suffer when I had to go to school after this.

As I came around, getting changed, Robert opened the car door for me. Though I would have jumped up the door to get in during normal times, I was grateful that he had done that. I tucked myself in putting on the seat belt.

"I'm tired." I stated once Rob was in the car starting the engine.

Since I didn't know how long this torture was going to be, I had made breakfast for Dad way before we left house, pasting a sticky note on the table asking him to microwave it before having.

A chilly breeze flew around us, making me shiver.

"Did you really have to get the convertible today out of all days?" I asked, rubbing my palms together to generate heat. I had forgotten my jacket with the errands I had to run early in the morning. I had been throwing all my best words at Robert for manipulating me to get into the convertible than my car where there was a luxury of heater. "It's freezing, Rob!"

Robert only grinned back and pushed one button at his left. The car shook for a second and I looked at him in alarm. Was he trying to kill me because I was being a bitch to him? I looked at him, my face mortified with thinking all the possibilities that button held. With a small creak, the roof of the convertible slowly launched itself on top of our head. I looked at Rob and at the metal moving above me.

"Wow!' I said, completely impressed. "It was inside the car all this while?"

"Yeah." He smiled, running his hand over his curly hairs. "Wanted to see what you had to tell about that."

"And you let me freeze in the morning." I crossed my hands, but my impressed smile hadn't worn off yet.

"I was there to make you hot back then, wasn't I?" He asked, winking me.

I laughed at his flirty comebacks and hit his shoulder. "I'm going to sleep in for a bit, is that okay?" I asked and he only nodded at me. We still had an hour of journey back to our place. I let go of the seat belt and made my way closer to him.

"What are you doing, Scarlet?" He asked, eyeing my seat belt. "When you are with me in my car, you have to follow rules and wear your damn seat belt!"

"Rules are meant to be broken, Rob." I said rolling my eyes. I leaned over and held his arm, trying to rest my head on his shoulder. "Now it's better. No need of a pillow at all."

Robert laughed in spite of me breaking rules. He kissed the top of my head and sighed. The warmth of his body was enough to get me closer to him. I shifted further closer, but the gear box objected my movements.

"Rob?" I asked.

"Yes, sweetheart?"

"In your next design, get that damn gearbox somewhere else." I said, closing my eyes. "It's not letting me get closer to you."

Robert laughed, his shoulders shaking and that movement alone made me feel comfortable. "How am I going to shift the gears then?"

"You are the designer." I shrugged. "Figure it out."

After around half hour, we had stopped at the road side, with a burrito on each of our hands. We sat on the hood of the car, watching the sunrise drinking water instead of coke. Rob had been silent the whole time I wondered if there was something that was bugging him.

"Where had you been in the morning?" I asked, taking the last bite of my burrito. I wanted to take his mind off the matter that was eating him. Even if my talks gave him a little peace for sometime, I was up for it. "You had been to see a customer for your car?" I patted the hood next to me.

Robert smiled looking at me, slowly biting the contents in his mouth. "Is it you or am I that easy to read?" He asked. I stared at him, taking in the question he had casually thrown at me. He was never the easy one to read. I mean, I hadn't even known that he was Ratan all this while. "But no, that was not the plan."

"Then?" I asked, licking my fingers. "Were you off to see that Chinese girl that you were so fond of?"

At the mention of that girl, he frowned. "No," He said looking at me as if he was telling me that he was still sane. "I do have a life outside races and cars."

I wiped my hands using the tissue that we had brought along with us. Then, suddenly it struck me. I knew where he had gone. "You were supplying illegal goods?"

He looked away and I knew I had gotten it right. I sighed, it was after all another one of his tactics to make some money for himself. I stretched my legs on the car bonnet looking at the greenery that was spread in front of us.

"I can't help it, okay?" He said, putting his hands far apart from each other. "It's one of the ways that I learnt to keep my hands with money."

"Okay, I didn't say anything about it." I said, raising my hands in mock surrender.

"Well, then stop looking at me with those eyes!" He said, his voice saying that he was annoyed with me. "As if... as if you were observing and analyzing me for what I am doing."

"I'm the analyzing one?" I asked, sitting straighter. If he was pulling that card with me, then I had wonderful stories to prove him otherwise. I had all the theories and facts ready to be thrown at his face and if he did sit to play that game with me, he sure was going down. "I am?"

"Yeah!" He said, getting off the car. He paced around the car, trying to form words of accusation to be hurdled at me. "I mean, ever since you came to know about my past, you are digging deeper at every step of mine."

"What?" I asked, horror taking over my expressions. Ever since he had told me about his past I thought we were close enough to know each other's day to day stuffs. Was I wrong in assuming that? With his words, I knew I was. "You think I'm judging you?"

"Yes!" He said looking at me. For a moment I thought I was getting to know the rogue part of Robert who was familiar with almost everyone. The Robert I knew was very sweet and gentlemanly, not the guy nagging about how I was judging him. "You want to know everything that happens with me, like where I go, what I do, what plans I have. And yesterday you even asked me when I went out for a loo. I mean, what is this?" He wagged his burrito alternatively between me and him. "I'm not having that freedom to do anything without telling you. I didn't sign up for this."

"What the heck are you talking about?" I asked, not able to believe what he was saying. I got down and looked at him as if he were crazy.

I was angry. It was as if he was using me when he was low and when I tried being a friend to him, he started to question about my intentions?

"Yes!" He said. "You heard me." I stared at him wondering who this person was. It was painful, as if he was putting his hand right into my heart, plucking it out and squeezing it with all his might. I looked away, not wanting to cry. I heard him sigh. "Why can't we go back to normal, Scarlet?"

"Define normal." I said, not bothering to look at him.

All my life, I had never been a normal. With life's own twist being thrown at me, I knew there was no such thing called normal when it came to me living my life. And with Rob-freaking-Bert, nothing spelled normal.

"Scarlet," Robert started and for once, I didn't try to stop him in his sentences. I wanted to hear him out and see what he had to say about me. "I'm a guy who has worked things out on his own. I was not questioned before or asked about my whereabouts. With you, asking me about all that, it makes me feel as if a part of me is being snatched away."

I looked away, still angry at him. After all, what had I done wrong? Was it too much to ask him what he was going through?

"I don't want to feel that way at all." Robert continued. He threw his burrito into the nearest dustbin and wiped his hands. "I had been wanting to tell you for a long time now... but your questions here got me off hook. I'm sorry if I shouted at you."

"Great." I said, crossing my hands. There were a lot of things I wanted to tell him, to shout at him, but I swallowed it all down. He didn't deserve any of it. "I'm glad we could clear that up. I couldn't possibly imagine all those things all by myself."

"Scar, it's not like that." Robert said, coming near me. He had cooled down a bit and I could see the mature Robert, but his behavior and his words alone had given me a whiplash. I was not ready to forgive and forget. "I couldn't stay at Gary's when he started asking me..."

I held a hand to stop him. "Save it, Rob." I said, looking deadly on him. "You wouldn't want me to know and worry about it."

"Why the fuck are you acting like this?" He asked, anger back on his features. I didn't know why he was angry out of all people. "I... I'm not yours to handle as you wish."

Those words hit the spot and I looked at him, my eyes wide. It was as if I felt a boulder pass through me, crushing me in the process. After all that we had gone through together, he didn't have the right to say those words to me.

"Of course," I said, my eyes had become harder, not letting out any emotions play. "I'm just another girl with whom you sleep and get out in the morning."

"Scarlet, you know I didn't mean that." Robert said.

"No, no." I said, holding my hands up and giving him a fake smile. "I should have known when you came around my place, in the name of cooking."

"Look, whatever happened, I didn't make it up." He said, running his hands over his hair. "I really did enjoy your company."

"Yes!" I countered back. "It's only now that you are thinking about it. I get it."

I should have known it by now. After all, wasn't he a racer who played with girls? Nothing came into my life for free. Even if it did, it was always snatched away when I got comfortable.

He had been so cunning in getting all my information from my friends and family while he zipped his mouth shut when it came to his. How was that fair for me?

"It is not like that." He said again and I couldn't believe how else it could have been. He was a runner and he sure will continue to be one. I was stupid enough to think that he was going to change. "All my life I've been on my own. I've taken a few decisions and some have turned out good and some didn't."

"What are you trying to say, Robert?" I asked, fed up of his explanations.

He took a deep breath and started moving from one end to the other. His curly hair was disheveled and he looked restless for someone at eight in the morning.

"With you and your constant question about my whereabouts, it makes me feel like there is no way for me to mess up." He said honestly. He looked away, not sparing to look at me. "It feels as if you are there to say I told you so, when I go down the road."

Now that his doubts were out in the open, it made me question my own faith in him. How did he come to such a conclusion with that one question? This was way too deep to be dealt with this early in the morning. And Robert had done a good job in ruining the day for me.

"We have known each other like four-five months." I raised my voice. "This is what you figured out after my interactions with you? That I'll monitor your actions and take that up against you?"

"You've been doing exactly that all this time!" He put his hand up in the air, trying to make me understand. "You have been going through my stuffs and people who know me. You went to Kapoor's café, talked to Mon, met Gary and you found me out."

"For God's sake!" I shouted, not able to believe him for a second. "I went to the café to work. Not everything revolves around you! And Gary was too open to let me know!"

"But you did it anyway!"

"You know what?" I said, picking up my bag from the back seat. I had had enough of his doubts and questions at me, making me feel like a convict who was put in the jail for doing nothing. "I thought you were different from other racers. But I was wrong."

"Scarlet..."

"No, by the end of the day, you are just another racer." I said, pulling my bag on my shoulder. "I just didn't realize it soon enough."

With that, I walked away, in the direction of my school. But the hardest part was when I realized that he didn't once call me back.

---

A/N: This fight is a wee bit bigger than the other fights. Don't you think so? Can you guess who would come to apologize first? But then again, can they forgive?