Neil: avni ek race ho jayien

Avni:ready..and good luck to u because I'll win this race

Neil:acha itna confidence he said ..

Avni: yup

Neil:let's see who wins then

Avni:chalo phir

Neil took of his shoes and socks placing avni sandals besides his and that's when avni noticed Neil had been holding her sandals

Neil:ready

Avni:I'm always ready u should know that by now

Neil:that we will see. .

They got ready taking their position

Neil:3, 2, 1...pyjamas he said...avni was about to run when Neil said pyjamas and stopped looking at Neil with her hand on her hips

Avni: Neillll

Neil:ok ok... 3, 2, 1 go he said and both started to run

Avni was a little ahead of Neil but soon enough he caught up with her and started to increase his pace while avni was not any less

But Neil won while avni looked at him trying to catch up with her breath

Neil:not bad yaar u wasnt far from me

Avni:that's because I allowed u to win otherwise been a police officer and losing a race would have been so bad.

Neil:acha he said smiling at her excuses

Avni:ofcourse now chalo let's go home she said

Neil:let's take our stuff and all he said while avni nodded and both headed back to collect their shoes.

As avneil reached home they had dinner with the family with bebe and shweta on going bickering in between while the rest enjoyed

In avneil bedroom later on

Avni:goodnight neil

Neil:night night chatter box he said smiling

The next day during lunch time Neil was working from home whereas avni had come back with shweta from an NGO event as she didnt have to go to the orphange and both sat down on the couch

Shewta:avni beta let's see if lubch is ready warna if nothing is ready and when bebe comes back na she will bring the house down she said jokingly

Avni:uh no bebe wont do that she would understand she said looking behind shweta

Shweta:of fo u dont know bebe.. I mean u do but I have known her since I came to this house as a daughter in law.

Avni was trying to gesture shweta to keep quite and look behind her but she wasnt getting it

Avni: shwets stop joking she said with a fake laugh

Shweta: arien avni y would I joke when bebe is not here..I mean haan if she was here then yes I would joke for the sake of it

Avni facepalmed herself

Bebe:acha... tell me how would u joke for the sake of it

Shweta:arien the thing is she said turning around and stopped speaking looking at bebe with eyes wide open

Bebe:continue I'm waiting she said

Shwwta turned around looking at avni who was giving her a helpless look

Neil who came down saw how shweta was coming up with excuses

Shweta:I'll go and see if lunch is ready u must be
Hungry na she said getting up and walked to the kitchen

Bebe:oye madam modanna

Shweta:ji bebe she said turning around giving a sheepish smile

Bebe:tonight we would be having guests coming so make sure dinner is ready on time

Shweta nodded and headed in the kitchen thinking she will ask bebe later on as to who is coming

Avno:bebe who is coming she asked

Neil came and sat next to avni waiting for bebe to speak

Bebe:I had gone to the metha house so i invited your friend sahil over

Avni:ohh that's great she said smiling

Neil in his mind:great.. how is that even great...is there even a day where sahil doesnt meet u he thought annoyingly

Bebe:Neil...Neil what happened

Neil came out of his thought when bebe spoke

Neil:nothing bebe I was just thinking about a...before he could complete bebe spoke

Bebe:a case which u always do.. avni chuckled while Neil looked at her tensed about sahil coming over

While having their lunch bebe, shweta and avni were deciding what could be made for dinner while Neil was thinking what can be done to keep sahil away from avni

Neil :bebe I'll also invite the gang then too

Bebe:ok puttar

Bechara for him the time went so quick

Soon the gang came first they hugged and all and chatted and after few mins the metha family arrived with sahil and riya

Riya :sahil come they will surely be in the garden as they r always there

Sahil:ok he said smiling

As they reached there sahil saw all were sitting on the grass with legs spread

Riya:hey guys

Sahil:hey..

Neil gritted his teeth but smiled as avni made space for sahil to sit next to her

They continued chatting about random things while Neil just wanted to move sahil away

While talking they decided to play teen patti (card games) where neil was actually winning

As they continued playing

Shweta came to call them to come inside as dinner was about to be served

They all got up to go inside..

Avni was walking with riya and juhi talking while sahil was talking to vidyut

Neil walked behind the girls as he wanted to sit next to avni at the dining table

Luckily he got to sit next to her happy that sahil didnt get to as juhi had sat on the other side of avni

There was a big smile on his face when his phone rang

Shweta:tillu atleast no phone calls during dinner time

Bebe:a police officer is always on duty so he has to answer his phone

Vidyut:right bebe

Neil:sorry wont take long but got to answer this

Ketan :its ok Neil finish of your call

Neil got up from his seat excusing himself when he got a call and after few mins when he finished speaking to one of the police officers he stopped In his track when he saw sahil taking his seat

Neil:my seat..that my was seat next to avni...he knew I was sitting there yet he went and sat there..is sahil ki toh band baja ne ka mann kar raha hai he mumbled to himself

Prakash:neil puttar chal come and sit

Neil nodded and looked at sahil who was smiling at him

Neil came and sat down opposite avni

Sahil:avni look he said showing kush pic with his new adopted family..and seen their faces closer while looking in the phone woke the jealousy in neil.. he clenched his teeth and looked away but his eyes would always end up on them

Ali:hey did u hear about how few youngsters played basket ball in heels for a charity event for some kids and raised a huge amount for those homeless kids

Aladdin:yes i saw it on the news...its commendable.. we all should help those ppl in needs.

Bebe:u r right Aladdin If we can make someone happy by helping them then that would be a blessing for us

Avni:talking about basket ball then u know sahil plays basket bell really well...but even we were good and played well na Neil.

Neil:yup he said smiling but soon that smile disappeared from his face hearing what sahil said

Sahil:all players may be good but I believe that nobody can win against me and that is my guarantee for sure.

Neil:acha?... so much confidence he said raising his eyebrows

Sahil:not so much but yes I am confident enough as I have been a basket ball captain till the last year of my college

Neil didnt like sahil confidence ...somewhere it felt like he was trying to show he is the best...

Neil:if that's the case then let's play a match and see whose better he said looking at sahil challengingly

Sahil looked at Neil for a sec and then nodded

Sahil:ok then accepted

Neil nodded and both looked at each other challengingly with fire blazing from Their eyes

Avni:r u sure about this she said looking at both of them

Sahil:yes besides i havent played basket ball since a long time. It would be fun

Vidyut; ok then tomorrow is Sunday let's have the match then

Riya:perfect

Dayawanti:atleast make teams then

Sahil : I want my lady luck to be in my team... all wondered who he was talking about while avni smiled normally

Neil:who is his lady luck he thought

Shweta:and who is your lady luck

Sahil looked at Neil smirking

Sahil:avni is my lady luck he said proudly while Neil was not happy hearing that

Sahil: avni since u r my lady luck u have to be in my team as i need u in my team...no cheating haan forget your husband your friend should matter over here

Avni:ok baba relax I am in your team.

Neil looked at both of them and huffed slightly

Neil:fine ...u chose avni as she is your lady luck right (he said stretching on lady luck)...but I will choose the rest of my team if that is fine for u... as according to u..u r the best player so it shouldn't matter right

Sahil:as u wish he said

Neil: ok then I have decided I want riya, juhi, Aladdin and aman

Daywanti:ok then that mean sahil will have neela, vidyut Ali, it and avni

Bebe:chalo now eat.... basket ball is getting more attention than the food

After dinner the rest left... avni came into the bedroom and saw Neil

Avni:what happened?...worried about tomorrow match she asked teasingly

Neil:u would probably think that as sahil considers himself a best player and u r his lady charm. He said jealously

Avno:well I know u r not Less to she said giving him a smile and went to the washroom to change while Neil slightly smiled at what she said

The next day

At the basket ball court

Both the teams had formed two round circles.. making their own strategy

Neil:see we can win this match its not like u cant...just play it your way and do anything that can make you get a basket ok...rules r not for us understand ..all agreed with it

While on the other hand sahil was telling his group to play wisely by following the rules and giving it their 100%

Neil and sahil stood in front of each other looking at each other challengingly

Sahil:good luck neil because I will win only

Neil:that we will see he said smiling

The match started with bebe throwinng the ball..

sahil had the ball and was bouncing it and moving with the ball while Neil was trying to get then ball..but before he could get hold of the ball sahil easily threw the ball in the goal thanks to his height .avni ran to him and gave an hi fi while Neil looked on with jealously

Everytime the ball would be passed to sahil while Neil would try to grab it from Neil but would be unsuccessful while his team hadnt scored any baskets and sahil was scoring basket after basket

There was a short break ...after the next round was going to be started

Neil:guys enough now do... cheating dont leave anything.

Alladin:I agree.. has sahil been living on a basket ball ground that he keeps scoring basket... jo bhi ho we will do full on cheating

Neil: exactly u all r strong in basketball but here we have to use our own brain.. they want to play with rule while I want to play with no rule so do complete cheating

As the teams agreed and moved away Neil called juhi near him

Juhi:what happend neil.. Neil placed a hand on her shoulder

Neil:will u be able to show some skin

Juhi:hein she said been surprised

Neil:what I mean is try and get vidyut full attention and make him so lost that u can easily fool him

Juhi register what Neil said and then smirked.

Juhi: Neil boy....leave that to me ...after all vidyut ko ghumana mere Bayien haath ka khel hai....i will make sure to get Mr pandit attention she said winking at Neil while he smiled and both gave a hi fi to each other

Neil then went to riya along with juhi

Neil:rii

Riya:hmm

Neil:Riii u know how to trick Ali well ...make him distracted if u know what I mean as I want us to win the next round..juhi had agreed I hope u do

Riya:dont worry neil our team team surely will win the next round she said smirking and hi fi juhi and then Neil

Neil:good u both r strong but u will need to use your brain ok.. the girls nodded

The game started in fact the real game started Neil's team looked at eacth other exchanging looks

avni had the ball ...Neil came in front of her and then moved behind her ..but then her hair started blowing here and there ...blowing all over the place and then started to hit his face when she went past with the ball ... neil got mesmerized with her scent..he watched her go but then he saw her get a basket making him come back to sense..

Neil:shit neil Neil r u doing

Aman who was near him came to him

Aman:Neil jiju concentrate otherwise we will lose

Neil: haan bhai haan .

Next ali got the ball

Riya went to Ali

Riya:hey Ali

Ali: hi he said slowly with a frown

Riya:ouch seems like there is something on my hand she said looking at her hand and on top of that there is something on my waist which is irritating me she said lifting her top

That did it instantly ali dropped the ball looking at riya waist with eyes widend

Riya saw that..

Riya picked up the ball and moved away while ali realised what just happened.

Ali: arien this is not fair its cheating

Riya:what's cheating

Ali:woh woh ...nothing nothing he said and started to blush

Riya threw the ball to Aladdin who scored a basket

Like this Neil team was scoring goals and sometimes sahils team

Ali had the ball and he wanted to score a basket

Vidyut:Ali pass me the ball

Ali:, yaar I want to score too what if riya thinks I cant scored any basket that would be so embarrassing na

Vidyut:no it wont just pass the ball yaar

Avni:, Ali pass the ball to vidyut she shouted as vidyut was near the basket

But before such thing can happen aman took the ball of Ali while the rest glared at Ali who smiled cheekily and looked everywhere else but at them

The score was
Neil 32 sahil 28

Next was with vidyut and juhi

Vidyut had the ball while juhi was trying to get his attention but no luck as he was tall enough for her to get the ball of him..she got an idea and pretented to fall holding her ankle

Juhi:ouch vidyut

Sahil team wondered what happened and was going ahead to check whereas vidyut kneels next to juhi concrnly

Vidyut:what happened juhi

Juhi:my ankle

As vidyut extended his hand to check she grabbed the ball slowly and got up ..avni saw and was about to grab the ball but juhi by then scorned a goal

Sahil team realised and started to shout:cheating cheating cheating

Neil:no no no it's not cheating after all is fair in love and war

Neela:theek hai continue your cheating we will see how long u continue to do that

Aladdin: haan haan dekh lena

Few mins after that

Ali had thrown the ball to avni...

Aman: didu carefully your laces r undone he said conernely

Avni looked down with the ball in mid air when she felt the ball been taken from her hand

Aman:solly di he said smiling and took the ball throwing it at Neil who was near the basket and scored

Vidyut was bouncing the ball when juhi went behind him tracing vidyut back seductively making him drop the ball instantly while Aladdin came and grabbed the ball ... sahil closed his eyes frustratingly

While playing Neil had the ball but then sahil would get it and sahil tried to get a basket but Neil jumped moving the ball away from the basket ...sahil looked at Neil annoyingly.whereas Aladdin got the ball while sahil and Neil looked at each other seriously as they were trying to compete with each other

All were into the match.. neil n avni were playing
Avni was bouncing the ball ..as Neil was behind her she was blocking him from getting the ball

neil stopped moving and smiled naughtily...after few secs he touched her waist softly moving his hands around her whole waist like a featherly touch

Avni stopped bouncing the ball when she felt Neil doing that on her waist ..she felt her breath hitch ..where as Neil moved a little closer to her and leaned his face into her hair smelling it

She held on to her ball tightly controlling what she was feeling

Neil smiled and then slowly touched her arm from behind whereas avni stiffened

Neil felt her stiffen and moved his hand forward and lifted the ball over her head and took it

Avni turned around seen Neil bouncing the ball

Avni: this is cheating

Neil stopped and turned around raising his eyebrows with a mischeivious glint in his eyes

Neil:kya cheating hai tell us

Avni:woh woh...mai..tum

Neil:mai..tum kya he asked raising his eyebrows

Avni: kuch nahi she said with her cheeks flushed

Neil smiled and was about to turn when

avni : Mr.cheating khanna...I will see u

Neil: dekhenge dekhenge he said as he threw the ball and scored a basket

Vidyut:its ok dw u did your best he said as avni came near him.nobody noticed what Neil did to avni...

Few mins after that

Aladdin Aila...Maaa aap

Neela who has the ball looked at aladdin she said

Neela kaha kaha she said looking around

Aladdin came closer and gave a quick peck on neela's cheeks taking the the ball from her hand while neela realised what happened

Alladin: sorry darling.. i love u but this is a game he said starting to walk away

All the youngsters were shocked where as daya n bebe smiled sheepishly and shweta had her mouth wide open

neela: Aladdin kuch toh sharam kro.. sab bacche ko samne ( alladin have some shame...in front of all the kids...)

Aladin : relax baccho ko sikhna chahye unke uncle se romance.. sab boring h (relax the kids should learn romance from their uncle.. all r so boring )

Neela: Besharam. Kis admi k sath pala para hai mera

Neil, vidyut ,aman, ali blew a whistle dramatically while shweta also joined them

Avni went to neela hugging her joined by riya and juhi as she was smiling shyly covering her face due to her husband

Daya blew the whistle as it was half time

Few mins later During half time
Avni :sahil what will we do they r scoring baskets after basket

Sahil was also tensed thinking the game is slipping out of their hand

Sahil:we will continue to play the way we r..let them cheat as much as they want

Ali:sahil sorry we didnt know they were cheating

Sahil gave a warm smile

Sahil:its ok dw u didnt do it on purpose.. just concentrate on the game

Neela:sahil is right

The game started while sahil team scored a basket

Now the score was the same and both the team wanted to win this round and not let it be a tie

avni was bouncing the ball while Neil was behind her blocking her from passing the ball to anyone when avni bumped into Neil somehow as he got hold of the ball avni tried to grab it of him but she tripped and held on to Neil for balance but as he didnt see that coming he held on to avni as they dropped on the floor with avni on top of him...avni opened her eyes and looked at neil....both lost staring at each other..while the ball was next to them

Both team started to shout their names to get up.. suddenly avneil started to hear their name... they turned to look at the rest who were telling each other to get up unaware about their injuries

Both got up and looked at each other and then at the ball

Few secs Avneil started to play again... neil has the ball while avni was covering him

Neil saw avni was covering him and trying to get the ba5l of him which made him chuckle

Neil: chor do koshis karna.. hum hi jeetenge (forget trying.. only we will win)

Avni: in your dreams

Neil: neil khanna ko harana impossible hai

Avni: abhi tum mere sahil k sath nhi khele ho..he was college champion she said casually she said not moving her eyes from the ball

Neil was smiling but the moment he heard 'mera sahil' from avni's mouth.. he got distracted, he felt like someone punched him on his heart.. He hadn't noticed when sahil came from behind and pushed him slightly.. He felt like as if someone snatched the earth from under his feet and he couldn't keep his balance n fell on the floor while sahil hit the ball in the basket scoring a goal.. And Sahil won the match..

But Neil was not noticing that.. All he could see was avni chanting Sahil's name like a mantra.. Her voice echoed through his ears n he felt like someone was continiously pining his heart with a nail.. He could not breathe..

He injured his legs and elbow.. blood was oozing out from it but he couldn't feel anything from the injury.. As if suddenly that wound too conspired against him and instead of its rightful place, it hurt somewhere else.. He felt the pain on his chest.. His heart started hammering painfully, he couldnt understand what it was but he knew something was breaking inside him... he sat there on his knees just staring at avni and seen her so happy but her reason of happiness was not him but sahil...

Neil's team members came to him .they were speaking but he couldnt hear anything as all his attention was at avni , who was running to hug sahil as he swirled her around..

He continued to stare at them(avni n sahil)..few secs later Neil frowned as things started to get blurry as if something clogged his eyes... it felt wet... he placed his finger near his eyes and bought it down to see his hands were wet realising it was tears..and it started falling effortlessly from those hazel orbs..

He didnt know why he had tears in his eyes and for some reason he suddenly felt so empty and lost..

Juhi:Neil r u hurt bolo

Riya:yaar y isnt he speaking

Aman:I guess he is ...look his elbow and leg is bleeding slightly causing him pain..maybe that's y his eyes r watery only if they knew his heart was paining

As sahil twirled avni she was smiling when she noticed something... she moved out of sahil arm and ran to Neil

Avni:Neil what happened happened she asked panicking seem him sitting on his knees on the floor

As neil saw her infront of him he tried to wipe his tears away before she can notice but he was unsuccessful..whereas avni felt Neil is in pain due to his injury but only if she knew where the real pain was and she couldnt see those tears in his eyes

Avni:Neil please seriously bolo what happened..before Neil can say anything sahil came there

Sahil :see neil, i won.. kaha tha na meri ladyluck mere sath hai..( I told u na that I have my lady luck with me)

Neil just stared at sahil and said

Neil:congrats sahil

Avni:guys stop now..come neil let's go to infirmary

Neil nodded as both got up

At the infirmary avni was doing Neil's bandage

Avni: it is hurting alot na she said while making sire his bandage is done properly

Neil : dard na ho islie mujhe hi dhyan rakhna hga.. age se koi dard nhi hoga(to make sure there is no pain I have to look after myself.. after that there wont be any pain ) nk dialogue

Neil looked at avni arm and saw few bruises there ..he stopped her taking the bandage and placed it down while he applied dettol on her wound

Avni:ouch she said as she felt it sting ...Neil shook his head

Neil: even u r injured too... u look after everyone but u cant look after yourself properly na

Avni looked at Neil seen the way he was taking care of her..it melted her heart but then she shrugged her feelings away..

Avni:relax avni relax he is doing it in a friendly way that's it nothing else .. dont think much just dont think much she said in her mind ignoring her feelings

Phew so finally we r done there was many things we had to edit and suku stayed up helping me

Finally we managed to come up with this chapter and trust us we both r excited to see the reposnse like a small child

Will be waiting for those comments and votes so keep them coming

Lots of love
S & S