Meant to be

Ch 4 contd....

It had become increasingly difficult for both Sidharth and Shehnaaz to stay apart from each other. Both of them Fifi and nowadays Asim all sat together at most meal times and the 4 of them would mostly laugh at themselves and then sit and engage in banter with the other housemates. All of this their connections, their banter, their laughter and their appreciation of each other was very organic and genuine, in all of this Sidharth and Shehnaaz were drawing to and from each other in a very deep manner. Sidharth had taken some time off for himself and had gone through his emotions and actions and had reluctantly admitted that he had the slightest crush on this chit of a girl. He justified it to himself by saying that it was only because of how uninhibited she was and was part girl part woman part kid part the best mate a guy could have. Irrespective of his pull towards her it was fairly obvious that there weren't too many girls like her around. He felt a certain familiarity with her that he felt only with his mum and sisters and niece. Even without trying even without knowing she had broken into an inner sanctum of his life. One that he was very guarded and protective about. Rashmi had come very very close to cracking in but thankfully he did not make it too easy for anyone to enter that inner sanctum very easily. He shuddered at how close he had come to making a foolish move with her. Here with Shehnaaz he was wrapped up in her innocence and wisdom, her frivolity and maturity but he hardly knew the girl. Somehow the fact that their friendship began inside this house and did not touch his real life gave him a certain casual approach and he decided that he can enjoy the warm feeling she brings out in him without it affecting the rest of his life.

Shehnaaz on the other hand was entirely unaware, all she knew was Paras interested her mildly but this whole Mahira issue plus the fact that he had someone outside all
Of these were huge red flags so she knew well enough to steer clear. All her life no one really noticed her or heard her or saw her. She was at best a mild inconvenience or a person who was unwanted and was very obviously made to feel that. Her talents and her personality were even beyond herself so it always shone through. She had a lot of love to give and amazingly through all of life's struggles that quality of hers to love never went away. When Sidharth sat next to her she felt like exhaling, she felt like finally she can stop swimming against the tide of life. When he looked at her he saw her for who she was, he was always teasing her with his words but his eyes always encouraged and reassured her. It warmed and soothed her insides because he reserved this only and exclusively for her. With anyone else in that house he donned a very formal persona, even with Fifi who he was genuinely fond of he raised up a perimeter, it was not rude but it was always around his interactions with anyone. With arti she noticed that while arti took more than what she was given by Sidharth he listened to her but always did what he wanted to. She liked what she had with him, she felt safe she felt reassured and she liked his exclusivity towards her. What did it mean? She was not ready to go there yet.

The night before weekend ka vaar Sidharth served tea for himself and Shehnaaz and went looking for her. Madam had settled herself on the love seat opposite the main gate the L shaped one and was very very pensive. Her disturbed expression, her body language and her vibe tugged at Sidharth "yeh let moti chai. Kya hua? tension mai hai? Kisinay kuch bol diya?" Saying this he settled himself next to her on the same seat, because somehow sitting next to her was not good enough he wanted to sit with her and he sensed that it is what she also would have wanted. He casually put her arm around her shoulder and rested it there. "Kuch nahi voh gate ko dekh rahi hoon. Jab andar aayi aur voh khulaa tho sochatha ki bas mere liye yeh darwaaza kula wahi badi baath hai! Lekin itni laalchi hoon ki ab dua kar rahi hoon ki ab yeh darwaaza mere liye kholay her naa." Saying this she turned her face to look at him and because it was him he drew her in to look into his eyes . He just keep looking at her deeply with not a stitch of expression on the rest of his face. He tilted head to a side still holding her gaze and finally his lips slightly lifted into a hint of a smile "agar votes na milnay ki vajah sey tu gayi na tho believe me all of us here are then totally off. Ek baat bol tu sahi mein unaware hai Kya, Tera joh personality hain na its very different baby, isiliye toh sab log ka itna bura haal ho raha hai" as he said this he took a few strands of her hair into his fingers and started playing with it. He did not realise what he had done but something about sitting here with this girl seeing her vulnerability and being a part of it, it was special to him.

Thankful for the silent and strong companionship Shehnaaz put her cup of chai on the floor and settled into the seat a bit more comfortably and rested her head on his arm as he played with the few strands of her hair.

"Ab sab game kehlnay lagay na? Tch abhi toh kuch shuru hi nahi hua na? Koi na shayad acha hee hai key mein kal chali jaoon shayad isse pehle kuch ulta karoon ya boloon." She said.

He smiled "abey item, tere ultay chaal ke liye toh laaya gaya hai show mein. Adarsh bahu type ke liye toh line mein khadi hain na itney saarey!"

"Ha ha ha yeh baath sahi Bola tunay.....Sidhaaaaaaaarth!" She whined suddenly just to let out the knots forming inside of her and as soon as she let it out he immediately took her hand from her shoulder and cupped her forehead with his palm and pulling her in closer in the process and in an instant "bol na baby." She once again turned her face and looked at him and his face was much closer this time and for the first time in two weeks Sidharth did not have a guarded expression he was willing for her to see him and was willing for her to draw from him. Something shifted in that moment for both of them. Suddenly she wanted to stay more than ever before because she wanted more of this more of him. He was so real so pure and so good to her. Sidharth looked back at this sweet girl looking up at him. She for the first time showed her vulnerability and oddly looked so ethereal. She was someone who was inherently very honest and straight and that shone through, he realised that it was her honesty which adorned her beauty, her talent, her beauty. He wanted for her to stay, wanted her to sit next to him like this. Never before giving someone his shoulder felt so satisfying, so right.
He chuckled at her scrunched up face "Kya teri tareef karoon?" She nodded so eagerly he laughingly continued "terey nails bilkul size zero hain! Tera jo bina border  Kay lipstick jo tu pehenthi hai na voh toh ek dum mind blowing hai. Tere jo yeh soft soft sey pair hai naa ek dum sey laundo ke dil pe kuchal ke jo gidha karte hain na la jawaab hain!"

"Sidhaaaarrrth!" She whined once agin and they both looked at each other and burst out laughing. He encircled his strong arms around her neck and whispered into her ear "kahin nahi jaayegi tu"and held her in that bear hug while both of them sighed and looked at the main gate and wished for each other's sake that she would not exit the show.

Unbeknownst to them Arti was watching from them afar puzzled more than anything at the unlikely bond she was witnessing before her. She had taken for granted that Sidharth and she would be closer than anyone else in this house and he was definitely closer to her than the others but strangely this girl Shehnaaz held his attention like no other. She knew reacting on it would be petty so she decided to endear herself to Shenaaz and then make sure that Sidharth and Shehnaaz would not have a bond without her in the equation.

Thank you for reading so far! Pls do let me know if my pace or language is comfortable to read. I am
Not a native speaker of Hindi so kindly excuse the grammatical errors.