Stranger Love [completed]

Chapter 15 : Friendly Kiss

Arjun and Rohini developed a friendly relationship which they both enjoyed. They played games, danced for random songs, sang karaoke and what not. He is the most fun roommate she could ever dream of.

One day Arjun was sitting on the couch watching TV, Rohini thought of using his idea to make him get out of the couch like he did with her. She sat on the couch, stretched her legs. As she was a bit shorter, she struggled to reach him, but she did and she touched him with her feet. He saw what she was trying to do. He pulled her down keeping her feet on his thighs and started tickling her feet. She couldn't stop laughing. She couldn't pull back her feet as he held it firmly. She cried with laughter. Her stomach hurt with too much laughter. After Rohini begged him to let her go, he left his hold. She couldn't control her smiling even after he let her go.
She sat next to him with her legs down on the floor. As she looked cute with laughter and smile, Arjun couldn't resist himself so he kissed her on the cheek. She didn't respond anything. She left to her room.

"Hey are you mad at me?" Arjun followed her and asked.
She walked without answering. He grabbed her hand and asked again.
"Are you mad?"
"Yes"
"Don't lie" he said
"What?" she asked without a clue
"You were so cute. How can I not? Don't pretend that you didn't like it. I know you wanted it, that's why you were all acting cutesy, right? "

Rohini wasn't angry before she felt shy actually but after hearing his words she really became angry.

"I don't want anything. I don't like you. Don't talk to me" she shouted at him and slammed the door at his face.

"Hey come on. It was just a friendly kiss. Sorry" Arjun said through the door but no response. He left after waiting for few minutes.

Rohini was part happy and part angry. She liked the kiss but she did not like Arjun knowing how she felt about the kiss. She decided not to talk to him until he begs her forgiveness.

Next morning she didn't see Arjun come out of his room for a while. She thought he probably went to gym but as time went by she knocked his room to check if he was there. He was in the room, sick shivering with fever. She went inside his room and checked his temperature with hand. It was a high temperature and he was shivering and blabbering with discomfort. She calmed him and prepared him hot soup. She gave fever medicines. He was blabbering saying everything hurt him. He was almost about to cry. She couldn't understand why he was behaving like this for fever. She couldn't see him suffer like a baby although he's a well grown man. He asked her if she could massage his head, as it hurt so bad. She sat on the bed near his head and massaged. He felt better with her to help him. She massaged for sometime but he continued blabbering and didn't sleep. She asked him to stay calm and try to sleep.
"Everything will be OK if you sleep" she said to him.
"But I can't. God it hurts. I want to go to my home. I want to see my mom and dad. I don't like it here. The only thing I like here is you Rohini. I hate it here I want to go home now." he started crying
"Hey Arjun, it will be alright. Give some time for the medicine to work. You can go home when you get better. OK? I will be here with you till then. Don't worry"
He pouted and agreed to her in silence.
"Do you feel sleepy if someone ruffles your hair?"
"Yes" his voice was broken with the crying
She ruffled through his hair slowly. He fell asleep slowly. She identified that he's asleep with his snoring. She pitied him that he missed his home. She could relate to that, but she didn't expect him to cry like that. She wondered how much sadness he held back inside to break down like that. Living in a town far from her hometown she could relate how he must be feeling living in a totally different state, where language, food, climate everything will be different. Even after he fell asleep she stayed there watching him sleep like a cute puppy, feeling bad for his homesickness. Before leaving she planted a soft kiss on his forehead, wishing him to get well soon.

It took a couple of days for Arjun to recover. Rohini took care of him patiently. She liked to see this vulnerable side of his, although she was feeling bad for his sickness. Once he recovered he was back to his old self which mocked and played with Rohini. She was happy to see him normal again, so happy that she let him tease her to his heart's content.

"I felt someone kissing me when I was asleep."
Rohini didn't expect that. She made sure he was asleep. Was he pretending? She doubted. She couldn't say a word.
"Must be a dream?" he asked playfully
"I guess so" she agreed to him
"No. I think it's you. How can you kiss me? I'm so mad at you right now. Don't talk to me. I don't like you at all" he imitated her words
"It was on forehead, just wishing you a quick recovery" she said in her defense
"Yeah. Same. You were so cute that day, just friendly kiss" he said hoping for her understanding.
She totally forgot about that since he fell sick. She wasn't angry anymore, she decided to let this slide. The two shook their hands and made up. He thanked her for taking good care of him.