It was a little after 9 in the morning and she was on her way to Panvel for the shoot. Calling her nervous would be a massive understatement. She kept looking outside the window in a daze as a thousand thoughts zoomed in and out of her head, all at once. As the car headed to the same set which was previously the 'Bigg Boss' house and had now been turned into the MSK house, she questioned everything she had agreed to become a part of. She had signed this show three weeks back instantly, the moment Siddharth had said "karle sign". She did not read the tone or the intention behind the 'karle' which in the hindsight seemed hesitant and lunged for it. Regret was now haunting her each minute.
Last night, after the BB results, her father went crazy and argued with the producers. And honestly, it was very reasonable of him to worry for her reputation, she felt. Her family did not want anyone to mock her on national television and she had been too hasty of think of repercussions, like everything else in life. She was one of those who thought after having proceeded with something. The argument between her father and the production turned ugly and Sidharth decided to step in and be a part of the deal as well. After two hours of negotiation and Siddharth proposing alternatives, they all agreed to her stay in the bigg boss house itself for 5 days a week. She could thankfully, go out over the weekend. Shehbaaz was going to stay in the house at all times with her. Another major relief was the fact that she could take her phone inside the house and was not 'obliged' to marry anyone at the end of the show, to explain it in simpler terms. It all sounded like a good deal to be fair, but only her heart knew, how miserable it felt to head to the same house where she would be seeing the same bed, couch, garden area where she had made memories with Sidharth. Feeling restless, she picked up her phone and gave him a ring but heard "please try again later" in Marathi. She tried again to hear the same message again. She sighed in disappointment and dejection and closed her eyes. Her parents had left for Shirdi to fulfil their spiritual/touristy desires but her brother was thankfully by her side. She looked at him as he swiped away happily on his phone. He was happy for the exposure he was going to get on the show and she smiled – at least somebody was happy about her decision.
Shehbaaz looked up at her and one glance was enough for him to see through her pretence of happiness. They hadn't been able to talk very clearly about what her relationship with Sidharth was but little things about and between them had made it very clear that his sister's heart had been taken.
"Chal Tiktok banate hain, waise hi aagey poore raste traffic laga pada hai!" , he proposed happily, shifting closer to her. He knew how she would be distracted from her sullen mood in an instant by the activity.
"Chal aaja", she smiled happily, taking away his phone to sift through the songs they could groove to.
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It was late afternoon and they were in middle of the shoot. There was a lot of hustle-bustle around her and people were hovering around her. She seemed confident and chirpy, but her heart was sinking. She wasn't used to this. At least here, in Mumbai. Makeup, script reading, costume, spot-boys and on top of it Parth's annoying company! She was thankful for having Shehbaaz right by her side.
She had already shot the 'meeting' with three of her suitors and three ladies for Parth and felt least interested in any of them. Anxious and stressed, she was asked by Shehbaaz to check her Instagram video post for the massive number of views her story and the TikTok video had received. Looking at her phone meant thinking of him and she could still only guess why he had been ignoring her. Still, she pulled out her phone and gasped! Shehbaaz chuckled at her reaction, not knowing that the gasp was at the notification which said "realsidharthshukla and 38k others liked your video". She quickly went to the post and found his name absent from the list of people who had liked it. Her heart was galloping at a speed which was making her feel dizzy. What was happening? Did he actually like it or was it a mistake? And why had he not bothered to speak to her?
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Manash, the host of the show kept her calm amidst the overacting and fake flirtatiousness of the contestants which was in her heart, quite sickening to receive but she managed to laugh and giggle and show them the "fun Shehnaaz", she was being paid to bring to the television sets. Yet somehow, all of this felt so unnatural. It was just the first day of the shoot and every moment of it kept reminding her of the blunder she had committed by agreeing to be a part of it.
For the next task, Manash blindfolded her and asked her to choose one of the five suitors. She nodded but felt sceptical of touching these men and she wondered why. She hadn't been like this before. Touching, hugging and spreading joy came to her easily. Yet here, she cringed at the thought of it? It just felt so wrong, but she went ahead, to do what was required of her by the contract. Manash prompted her and she felt them, with her finger tips, as if she would get muddy if the touch lasted longer than a second. She wanted the task to get over by the time she reached the fifth person standing for her. With a sigh and a heavy heart, she repeated the gentle prodding. The top of her tiny fingers touched the man's arm and her breath hitched. She could smell him- the warm musk. Curiosity got the better of her as she touched using more than just the tips and touched his frame by her palm. She could feel the bump which seemed familiar. She used both her hands this time, the other one feeling his hair. Her heart was thumping loud enough for the entire room to be heard. Manash joked about her openly 'frisking' the man, and she dismissed the idea and moved back. Why would he be here when he had no business? When he did not even bother to call her or for that matter, pick up her calls despite knowing how nervous she was?
She moved away, but confessed how the man reminded her of Sidharth Shukla. Manash laughed as he took away the blindfold and jeered at her "Sidharth Shukla? Bigg boss a winner yahan kyun aayega?" and her heart sank at that statement. Of course, why would he be here! It was so silly of her to even expect that. Disappointment was clear on her face when Manash brought to fore the man she had chosen, the one who had reminded her of Sidharth. She whined while others laughed and then, there was a tap on her shoulder and her heart stopped beating.
He stood tall. In an orange jacket looking extremely handsome with a wide smile and open arms, ready to engulf her into a hug and in that moment, she was infinite, as she dived right into his chest, with a sob erupting out of her lips.
YOU ARE READING
Perfect Mismatch
FanfictionSidharth and Shehnaaz were destined to meet on the stage that day but little did they know what future held for them.
