Hi guys back with an update ,hope it lives up to your expectations.

A Month later

Lavanya had always been persistent when she set her mind on a course and it was with that persistence, she had tried to gain the friendship of Vihaan .

A month later she had to admit defeat. Because Vihaan was alone not because no one tried to befriend him , it was because he avoids them as if they are contagious.

The first time after her decision to befriend him they met in the Library and this time she managed to make herself say the two words of greeting " Hi Vihaan " which was met with a silence as if he didn't recognize her .

The next time she took the advice from her father and visited Vihaan's orphanage with snacks and juices . Her father had told her, if she couldn't trust the proprietor then she could help the kids by being more direct .

That was why she went to the orphanage with snacks in form of biscuits, cake and fruits . It was met with such a warm welcome from the kids she decided to do so whenever possible .

But her encounter with the proprietor after made her realize it won't be welcomed as he advised her eating snacks may ruin kids appetite for dinner.  Also more or less asked her to contribute towards feeding them for everyday than one meal .

So Lavanya decided that it was for the best to never cross path with him again, and yet she knew she can't stay away from helping the kids as well .

She hoped to see Vihaan that day but didn't got a chance till the next visit , he was working on the orphanage when she stumbled inside carrying and dragging the big bag of clothes she brought the kids based on what she noticed from the last two visits .

She didn't notice him but he apparently did as his hands took over her luggage from her,  her eyes kept wandering to him throughout the day, but he refused to acknowledge her. Lavanya was disappointed to be always the one who was intrigued by him while she remained a stranger to him.

It was only when she walked away from the orphanage that day, she found herself facing him again . He looked at her for awhile before spoke up .

" Be careful , once he notices then you might not be welcomed again " with the vague warning he went back inside and Lavanya realized that for all his nonchalance he cares about the orphanage .

If he risked his job to feed the kids in the orphanage and being a medical student who works part time job finds time to visit the orphanage, he is someone who cares about the kids .

He might be aloof and distant but each aspect she learns about him made her admire him more than before yet he still avoided her .

Their path crossed again when she went to Akash father's hotel with his family for a dinner and saw him working , she wanted to use the said information to visit often but decided that would be unfair to him as it would be like disturbing his work environment. And expect those few incidence they never crossed path with each other over the month .

In the last one month, life moved on as well.  After the initial weeks of leisure, the classes became more taxing, She had assignments that needed her to stay awake over night , she had finally managed to make two friends who didn't think Akash is worth avoiding her. A fact she was proud of as she missed her family and friends so very much each passing day .

The phone call, the video chat, the text message weren't enough,  Lavanya never used her phone as much as she did this last month. Sometime she would talk over a hour with her family, sometime just to say a brief greeting but in spite of all those talks she missed them .

The time flew away so fast and yet she remembered and recollected every encounter she had with him.  As if her days in college were solely focused on him .

She had two hour breaks between classes that day, so decided to watch her brother's football match. Her father had recorded everyone of his son match so that she won't miss seeing them, it had been one of the family tradition she missed after moving to Delhi .

She had a found a secret place behind the cafeteria where the trees provided shade and fresh air. She took her place behind a big tree and played her brother's match on her phone .

She made her family never reveal the score so she watch as if it a live match, she let out a cheer when her brother scored a goal and looked around to notice if anyone overheard her only to saw two faces starring back at her from few feet's away

That was when she noticed him with his girlfriend. She had seen few times over the month, but he was always alone that she briefly forgot the girl friend from the first meet .

" It was because of her right " his girlfriend voice lashed back and Lavanya was briefly taken back as her accusing glance.

" Leave Lavanya out of it, and I told you it isn't my fault if you built castles on your own. We never dated, just because I drove you around per your father's instruction doesn't make it so , I worked for you father and obeyed him that was all " Vihaan words made her realize the connection between the expensive car and him .

Also it was the longest he has ever spoken so far, but her mind was still reeling from the fact he knows her name .

" I told you, I would ask father to rehire you, if the word get around that we are no longer dating I will lose face among my classmates" her words made Lavanya aware the girl clung to him only to brag she was dating her senior.

The thought someone would use him like that made her angry, and then his voice was directed towards her.

" I am sorry, " his words made her aware he was speaking to her. And she saw his girlfriend has already left .

" No need for that. " she replied back with a smile as she looked into his face which held a bit of worry. He turned around to walk away when she found herself calling him

" Can you do me a favor ?" her question stopped him in his tracks as he turned back towards her. He waited for her to speak up with just barely a nod indicating he heard her .

" I need to know when I can visit the orphanage without the proprietor being present, I wanted to feed the kids a proper meal. But I don't think I could do it with him around " she spoke up hoping he would understand her .

" I will see what I can do " with the words he left and she wondered if it would be possible. Her questions were answered when she saw him the next time waiting for her near Akash's car .

" Next Thursday he would be out of town for a wedding, he won't come back the whole night " his words were always short, but still she was thankful that he went to great length to fulfill her wish .

" I will prepare the dinner then , I can't possible cook for over 40 kids but I find somewhere they can cook in such a short notice . " she answered back as she wondered how she will execute it now that she had a opportunity.

" Your boyfriend hotel does catering service, maybe they would give you a discount as well " he answered back surprising her with his statement.

" He is not my boyfriend. And I will ask Akash's  dad tonight " she answered back as if replying only to the boyfriend comment would be like stressing her availability which wasn't how she wanted him to think of her.

She wanted to be his friend and she disregarded her conscience which told her it was because she thought he already had a girlfriend till now, after realizing he didn't, her mind did ponder over it a lot much to her surprise .

                 *******************

Vihaan waited till she disappeared from his line of sight before relaxing his strained muscles. It was a torture to avoid her when all he wanted to spend more time with her .

She managed to crack his armour ,one punch at a time. It was the reason he had decided to approach her with the schedule of the monster .

And he kept his facade in check all the awhile believing she had a boyfriend and now it will be much worse. As his heart felt a flicker of hope. He squashed it down immediately still he couldn't forget the relief he felt at her words .

She represented happiness. Love and innocence in life that he never had before and it was the said attributes of her that always managed to capture his attention. .

He decided he owed her a favor ,one last time he will help her with the visit, then warn her away from the orphanage. She was alone in the city and she didn't want her to see the darker side of the monster .

If she kept visiting often then she may notice more than the kids showed to the world. And he didn't want her to be marred by the world yet .

His mind drifted back to Anjali and he hoped the little girl would survive without his constant presence. The only regret he had of walking away from the orphanage was her. And it was also the only reason he volunteered to work there as well.

Back then Vihaan didn't imagine how a single night will be able to change his life upside down. If he did he never would have brought her to the orphanage that night .

P.S : " That it for now , Let me know your thoughts and feedbacks .Hit the votes if you liked it "

Love

Juanita Reid