Chapter 25

nolee3097

@nolee3097

I am down to 25 Chapters!?  Didn't think I would last this long honestly!
Thanks all for the support! I genuinely appreciate and respect it! 

Chapter 25

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Shiva Pandya was bored. Actually strike that, to say that he was bored would be an understatement. He wasn’t really used to lying on the bed all day alone. Not that his Bhabhi had stopped fussing around him because of the minor injuries that he had faced. His mind had lately been occupied by only one person, his Chipkali. She had promised him she would come to visit in the evening after her college and it had been a long hour since her college would have ended and there was absolutely no sign of her. 

He kept thinking how she had come running in the morning when she had heard about his accident. He had been worried when she had told him she wouldn’t set foot into Pandya Niwas, that there was too much hurt and pain that she had felt here because of him and she couldn’t face it anymore. But today she hadn’t cared for her pain and come rushing for his pain. Ironically despite his physical pain from injuries, he felt like finally things were healing. 

"Bhabhi woh" said Shiva, as he saw Dhara enter the room carrying a tray full of snacks and Chai for him.

"Arrey baba, pichle 5 min mein, sau baar bol chuki hoon, nahi aayi hai, chal abhi chup chap Chai pee le" answered Dhara before he could finish his sentence and left him to his own thoughts.

"Yeh Chipkali ko itna time kyun laga raha hai, ab tak toh aajaana chahiye tha, call kar ke poochoon kya" wondered to himself and dismissed it immediately, "Nahi, nahi, aisa karoonga toh mera mazaak udaayegi"

Hearing footsteps suddenly, his eyes lit up only to be followed by disappointment as he saw Rishita enter the room.

"Kya Shiva, kya main itni buri dikhti hoon ki meri shakal dekh ke tera chehra utar gaya, mujhe laga main tujhe thoda company de deti hoon, tu bore ho raha hoga, pann tu toh—" complained Rishita.

"Arrey nahi Bhabhi, aisi baat nahi hai" said Shiva rather half-heartedly.

"Sab samajhti hoon main, Raavi ka wait kar raha hai na, don’t worry I am sure woh aati hogi" reassured Rishita while Shiva looked subdued. Another set of footsteps were heard but this time Shiva didn’t look up, thinking he’d be disappointed again.

"Le Raavi ab tu hi sambhal, apne bhoothnath ko, usse toh mujhse baat hi nahi karni" said Rishita getting up to leave.

"Bhabhi aap bhi na accha mazak kar lete ho" said Shiva, with a nervous laugh, but his eyes beaming as he saw Raavi enter the room.

"Rehne de Shiva, miss kar raha tha toh deny kyun kar raha, tu dono baat karo main chali" said Rishita mischievously as she left.

"Accha toh mere bhoothnath ne mujhe miss kiya?" asked Raavi teasing him with a twinkle in her eye.

"Nahi toh main kisi ko miss wiss nahi karta" refused Shiva, trying to maintain a serious face.

"Toh theek hai phir main chalti hoon" said Raavi getting up, so sure she would be stopped.

"Nahi rukh woh main…woh…woh" yelled Shiva and finally took a deep breath and said, "Haan, maine tujhe miss kiya" looking down shyly not meeting her eyes.

"Maine bhi" added Raavi smiling at him and taking a seat beside him, making him grin.

Without saying a word, she took the cup of tea from his hand and took a sip, glancing slyly at his reaction, sideways. After she was done, she handed the cup back to him like it was nothing and he stared back at her in amusement. 

"Teri chot kaisi hai?" she asked concerned, caressing his forehead.

"Ek dum first class" he said to which she frowned, disgruntled.

"Aur teri padhai?" asked Shiva seriously.

"Chal rahi hai" she added clearly worried.

"Raavi, main kya soch raha tha, yeh jo maine tujhse deal ki hai, har din sham ko milne ki, isse hum postpone karte hai, tere exams khatam hone tak, mujhe pata hai tujhe abhi padhai pe shayad dhyaan dena hoga, iss liye tu mere chakkar mein faaltu ka timepass mat kar” said Shiva, deep in thought.

"Faaltu ka timepass? Tujhe yeh faaltu ka timepass lag raha hai?" lashed out Raavi, turning red in anger and annoyance. Who did her bhoothnath think he was? Did he think he was so irrelevant in her life that he called her meeting him timepass? 

"Arrey mera woh matlab nahi tha, main bas itna chahta hoon ki tu exams mein bohut hi accha kare, tujhe mauka mila hai yeh, toh tujhe jee jaan lagake padhna chahiye, sab ko aisa mauke nahi milte" said Shiva, voicing out his opinions clearly so that there was no scope for a misunderstanding. 

Her eyes softened at his words and she looked at him warmly, smiling at how smart and understanding he was. She was truly grateful to be able to experience this side of him, the one who was funny, kind, caring, who would push her towards her dreams when she wasn’t feeling motivated enough. 

"Agar tu mujhe bhagana hi chahta hai toh theek hai, main tujhse iss hafte nahi miloongi" said Raavi, pretending to be hurt and pulling his leg.

He could see right through her "nautanki" as he said, "Haan mujhe bhi toh chudail se chutkara milega, zindagi mein thodi toh shanti honi chahiye", flipping the situation.

"Shivaaaa" she said, smacking him on his bicep. 

"Okay, mazak nahi, sach mein dhyaan lagake padhai kar" said Shiva to which she nodded, laying her head on his shoulder, cherishing the comfortable that they shared after that.

—————————Through the week——————————

Next few days, Raavi kept her word and fully immersed herself into her studying, she did keep tabs on Shiva and his health through texts. But she diligently spent most of her days either studying at home or having group studies in the college library along with Krish. Krish would pick her and drop her to college everyday and he was always perfectly on time, which she was sure was Shiva’s doing. 

Sometimes, Dhara Di would come and drop some of her favorite foods on days she was tensed, which she was sure was his doing too. He had somehow sensed her tension through their texts, because Dhara Di would promptly show up that day with a box full of food and some sound encouraging advice. Despite not being around here, he had once again found ways to show his care and concern for her. 

Although she was too busy with her preparation of exams, she had missed him. She had missed seeing his face, his goofy smile, even his messy hair, she was also certain he missed her too although he didn’t convey it through his texts. He had mostly tried to focus on boosting her confidence and talking about her preparation. She had to admit he was the only reason she had not been a nervous wreck yet. He had managed to reinforce all her doubts and helped her channelize all of them to go into her preparation. In so many ways, she had realized that she was blessed to have him in her life. She had quickly learnt that when her Shiva loved someone, he held nothing back to make them feel that way. His ways were always subtle and could easily go unnoticed, but she had begun to see it all lately. She found herself drifting off to sleep, smiling while thinking about him.

———————————Exam day--------------------

Today was D-day. The day of her first exam. It would decide whether all the efforts she had put in in the last week or so, would pay off well or not. She was nervous despite being confident enough about her prep. Not one, not even Shiva could curb her nervousness and tension today. She had, had trouble sleeping last night, tossing and turning in bed. Due to which, she was up at crack of dawn, revising one last time just to ensure she hadn’t forgotten everything. She had also told Krish to pick her up directly from the temple tomorrow as she wanted to visit it first before going to college. She had forced down some breakfast just because she didn’t want to faint during the exam. Hardik Bhai had wished her all the best rather enthusiastically as she left the home.

As she walked up the stairs, thinking about today's subject, of what questions might come, of she might fare, she didn’t realise someone walking right into her and there was a clash.

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I mean, do I even have to ask who she clashed with? 

Not much of a cliffhanger there!

What did you guys think of ShiVi?