Zaroorat

Chapter 13

The next morning Arjun drove Aditya, Zoya and Noor to the airport.

As they picked up the Siddiqui girls, Aditya noticed Zoya kept her eyes on her lap and fidgeted with her dupatta (scarf) but he wasn't really sure why. They had spoken the day before and cleared the air after what happened at Aditya's party so why was she behaving this way now?

Noor also kept her eyes out the window. Once Zoya got home from the office, Noor had received a massive scolding for what she did. Noor didn't fight back because she knew she was wrong and it was the guilt that kept her from saying much to her Appi.

Zoya's discomfort that morning was due to her remembering more of the incidents from the party. She had sat on Aditya's lap and didn't want to let go. She was also becoming more and more confused about how she felt about Aditya. When she had been speaking to him the night before and apologising, she felt like he had dismissed her. Like he couldn't wait to get away from her but she didn't want to let go.

Her emotions were everywhere and she didn't know how to deal with them but for now, they had a job to do. She would have to sweep her feelings under the carpet so they could pull off this wedding successfully.

The car ride to the airport was mostly silent with only Arjun asking the odd question.

As they walked into the airport they saw the rest of their team. All 17 of them. As they picked up their boarding passes, Zoya realised that her seat wasn't next to Noor. She became even more nervous than she already was and began to chew her lip.

Flying was her biggest fear and she had even considered taking a train but the rest of her team was taking the flight. The train would take too long but mostly, Zoya just wanted to face her fears. She was tired of being afraid and she decided she would conquer her fear but without Noor by her side would she really be able to do it? And then there was Aditya. Would he be willing to stick by her...

While Zoya was lost in her thoughts, Aditya stood at a distance from her as Mithilesh ji spoke to him but he wasn't paying attention to their conversation. His eyes were fixed on Zoya. He saw her look down at her boarding pass, chew her lip and look around nervously. He knew exactly what she was thinking and so he decided to be the support she needed and go speak to her.

As he approached Zoya, she looked up at him expectantly.

'Zoya, what happened? Why do you look so nervous?'

She looked at her boarding pass and showed it to him.

'Aditya, you know how I am with flying right. And my seat isn't even next to Noor. How will I get through this flight?'

Aditya looked at her seat number and then his boarding pass and smiled'

'Zoya, you're sitting next to me. Look.'

She looked at where he was pointing and realised he was right. She would have Aditya. A smile spread across her face and he reciprocated.

'And this time you can grab onto my arm as tight as you want. You can even dig your nails into my arm as hard as you want and I won't say anything.'

Zoya giggled. 'I'll try my best not to hurt you but I can't promise.'

Her words suddenly took on another meaning, subduing both of them. They stood around awkwardly for a few minutes before they were called to board the flight.

Zoya took the window seat and Adi sat next to her. Noor was sitting a few aisles ahead of them, next to Mona. As she sat down, she turned around and gave a thumbs up to Aditya.

He knew it. It had been her doing.

Even before the flight took off Zoya grabbed Aditya's arm while she closed her eyes tight. Suddenly she felt him pull her hand off his arm and she immediately opened her eyes and glared at him.