Listen to this song when you see 🌹 https://open.spotify.com/track/5Ex6g8OvszJAB7KbhqeXwp?si=119b82aef6f44c0d

Saanvi looked at her wristwatch furiously while fumbling with the bag strap that was on her lap. She looked at her classmates of hers in the car of Abhay's who have held her captive as if she would run away from them if they didn't hold her close to them. It's not like I would run away even if I wanted to. She thought to herself.

Once her classmates decided ‌they would go to the stadium in three different cars, Saanvi reluctantly agreed with them. She would say nothing to them ‌because that would mean that she would lose the privilege of watching her favorite K-Drama series she loves to watch. She mentally rolled her eyes at her situation and reminded herself of the reason ‌she was doing this.

All you have to do is go through this whole thing making no faces, and Voila! You and your life will be the same again! She reminded herself and looked at her friend, who had asked her what was going on in her head.

She shakes her head, and then they all walk towards the line at the ticket counter. Saanvi, who had a sharp memory, announces. "Why are we buying tickets suddenly? Weren't the tickets for this match free?" She asks.

Abhay, who was the one who almost lied about the free ticket thing, rubs his neck awkwardly and says. "My friend was the one who told me that the tickets were free, but I got his message now. He was just making fun of me."

Saanvi, who was saving her money for hiring a taxi by making an excuse during the middle of the game, sighed. She then tried to see if the place where the match was held was familiar to her. When she realized that the match was being held in Sarasbaug, she took a sigh of relief. This place was close to her house, all she has to do is message her sister to be ready to back up for picking her up from here.

She smiled a little and paid for her share of the ticket. Technically the money she was using was for emergencies only and this wasn't an emergency at all. She just had to pay with the extra money she saved so that her monthly expense balance doesn't get disrupted by this single match.

One of the more reasons for her to hate this sport again. She was standing with her classmates when a child came and hugged her. When she noticed who hugged her, she crouched down a little, which made the boy be away from her, and said, "Hey, Champ! How are you?"

She started looking all over his face and his knee when that boy giggled at her and replied. "I am fine, Didi."

Saanvi smiled at him and asked him. "How did you recognize me? Dupatta covered my face in the morning when we first met."

The boy in return giggled at her and in a matter-of-fact tone replied. "That's because you are still in the same dress you were in the morning."

Saanvi slapped her forehead in her foolishness and laughed at herself. "I forgot that." That boy who was still laughing at her poked her cheek.

"You have dimples!" He announced as she was still laughing at her and then he added. "The bhaiya from the morning is also here. He is playing cricket today!"

Saanvi nods her head cutely at him and asks, "Oh, and where are your parents?" She tried to look for his parents when that boy announced. "They are going to come back for me after the match ends. Saatvik Bhaiya asked if I could stay with him till the game ends. He hoped ‌he would meet you."

After hearing that name, all of their ears perked up. Adhya, ‌one girl from her class, asks, "Saatvik, as in Saatvik Sardesai?"

Saanvi, who looked at her friends in curiosity, shake her head and replied, "I don't know his name."

The boy who also didn't recognize the surname pointed his finger towards a billboard of Saatvik's photo and said, "He is the guy we are talking about."

The girls screamed in excitement after they saw ‌it was indeed Saatvik and they started shaking Saanvi while asking her so many questions like How does he look like in real? Does he have an engagement ring on his finger? How is he in person? Does he have an attitude problem as he shows on the television? And so on.

Saanvi scrunched up her eyebrows in confusion. She was sure that the boy her classmates were asking about and the boy she met were different because the way they interacted with each other was ‌normal for her. Isn't that how normal human being interacts with one another? She mentally asks herself and her trance broke when the small boy got her attention by pulling a small corner of her kurta.

"Didi, are you okay? You seem lost." He asks.

"I am fine, bachcha. Just thinking about something." Saanvi replied to him and then looked at her friends who were looking at her for the answers.

"We talked only for a few minutes, so I don't know what kind of person he is," Saanvi replied to them. "And does that matter at all? He is a normal human being like us, right?"

"You know nothing about Saatvik at all?" Adhya asks her, at which Saanvi shakes her head.

Before she could reply to her, Sachit comes from behind and yells her name. "Hey, Saanvi! You are here too!" He says and stands beside her.

"Hi!" His sudden appearance startled Saanvi at first but then greets him back and then looks at her classmates. "Oh, he is my neighbor."

Everyone greeted him and then when Adhya was the only one left to greet him, Sachit glares at her and asks, "You wanted to know about Saatvik, right?"

Adhya nods her head in confirmation and smiles a little, pretending to be shy. Looking at her act, Sachit mentally rolled his eyes in annoyance and then adds. "He is a person who likes his personal space if anyone met him in real even though it was for a few minutes they don't know the real him and only his family and close friends know about him and his life, so next time when someone says that they don't know about Saatvik, just remember that they are telling you the truth."

He then looks back at the kid close to Saanvi and adds, "Anyway, I came here to pick up this champion." He kneels to the kid's height and says. "Saatvik was looking all over for you. Why did you come running here, Sujoy?"

Saanvi, who just got to know about the kid's name, asks, "Your name is Sujoy?"

That kid nods his head and then looks back at Sachit with pleading eyes. "I want to stay with Didi." He grabs her hand and makes a puppy face at her while requesting. "Didi, can I sit with you? I promise I will say nothing during the match and I will not make you feel like I am irritating you."

Saanvi melted a little at his puppy face and nods her head while saying, "He can stay with me, Sachit Bhaiya. I won't mind."

Sachit looked at Sujoy and then at Saanvi while thinking if it was a correct decision to do this, but with the way Saanvi was comfortable with Sujoy, told him that maybe it was okay. "Fine!" he sighs. "But, You both will have to make sure that no one will make a distraction during the match."

They both nod their head in unison and Sujoy high-fives Saanvi in joy. All the time, Abhay was watching their conversation in envy, one of his friends Sumit nudges him and says, "I think that you have a competition, bro. She may not remember him, but she actually met Saatvik Sardesai in person."

Abhay scoffs in return and slyly says, "So what she met him in person, we know that they both are poles apart and there's no way Saanvi will fall for someone like him." He looks at Sumit and adds, "Besides, I will make my move today. So, it's not like he will get between us."

Saanvi, who was now in a cheerful mood, was not aware that someone who she thought was a good person was thinking about her and not in a good way. Sachit, who saw the way Abhay was looking at Saanvi, knew that something was off. He slowly bends his head towards Sujoy's ear and whispers, "You have to stay with Saanvi Didi no matter what. If you want to leave, take her with you as well, clear?"

Sujoy nods his head and Sachit adds, "If you did this well, I will give you anything you want to eat."

Sujoy smiles a little and then nods his head again. Before leaving the place, Sachit shows them their seats and then winks at Sujoy. They both nod their head in unison and he leaves towards the ground.

Meanwhile, on the ground, Saatvik was doing his warmups when he saw Sachit walking toward him. Sachit had a wicked smile on his face while looking back at the sitting area from time to time. Saatvik, who found his best friend's behavior weird, asks, "Is something going on in your head?" He tried to look where Sachit was looking while adding, "Someone you like is here to watch the match?"

Sachit shakes his head and replies, "Well, someone is here, but it's not the person I like, it's someone related to you."

"Will you stop making riddles and come to the point?" Saatvik asks in annoyance while he started doing lunges.

"Saanvi is here." Sachit replies, at which Saatvik stopped suddenly and stand straight.

Saatvik knew that the game that was held today was just for fun and he also knew that the entry is open for anyone to watch, but he didn't think that Saanvi would be out of all those people who usually come to match often would come. (He didn't expected she would come) It's not like he wasn't waiting for her. He was eagerly waiting for her, but it shocked him to see that his wish to see her again will fulfill.

"Saanvi, as in the one who is your neighbor Saanvi?" Saatvik asks just to clear his doubts.

Sachit nods his head and pointed his hands toward where Saanvi was sitting with her classmates. "I thought ‌you haven't met her in real, but you were so sneaky!"

Saatvik, whose eyes were wandering towards where Sachit had pointed his finger, zeroes on the girl who was tying her hair in a bun and was standing with Sujoy. Sujoy the boy he is taking care of until that kid's parents arrive was clutching close to the said girl. He tried to see her face but he couldn't because she was talking to someone behind her seat.

"You know, someone as sneaky as you should get an award for keeping things from me, such as you have met her in person!" Sachit almost yelled at Saatvik, at which Saatvik shut his friend's mouth with his hand.

"Shut Up!" Saatvik says. "I just saw her eyes, but I really don't know what she really looks like. What I ‌know is that she has long brown hair, dusky skin tone, and brown eyes."

Sachit takes off the hand that covered his mouth and gives Saatvik a look. "WHAT?!" Saatvik asks as it weirded him out with the way Sachit gave him a look.

"You almost described her and you still say that you didn't see her face," Sachit replied and gave an exhausted sigh. "Look, I will introduce you to her, but for now, think about the match we are going to play right now. I promise ‌I will do what I just said."

Saatvik nods his head but before he gets more focused on the game, he glanced a little towards where Saanvi was and he still didn't get the chance to see her face as she was playing with Sujoy. He sighed a little and then focuses on the game that would start at any minute.

In the sitting area, Abhay was not happy with the way Sujoy was with Saanvi almost every time. Whenever he tried to talk to her, Sujoy distracts her by asking some questions and if he tries to get close to her, Sujoy hugs Saanvi and glared at him. Never in his whole life did Abhay think ‌he would hate a kid for getting the attention of someone he likes.

As Saanvi was still playing with Sujoy, Abhay looked at the ground when the players came to start the game. His eyes then landed on Saatvik, who was smiling at the audience while stretching his body. He looked at him in envy and then remembered the conversation he heard outside the ticket counter.

He never thought that a girl like Saanvi would meet someone like Saatvik. He knew that Saatvik's family has always been in the news for such a long time. The Sardesai company scandal was not new for the people living in Pune. It still is a hot topic as it was before.

Before he could have thought any further about telling Saanvi about Saatvik's family scandal, his train of thoughts came to a halt when he heard Sujoy asking Saanvi a question. "Didi, do you play cricket?"

Saanvi nods her head in approval and replied, "Yes, I do. I was even the woman of the match once in the match we had in Nagpur."

"You are from Nagpur?" Sujoy asks tilting his head.

"Yes, I am from Nagpur. In my family, whenever we meet each other once a year during any function, we have a tradition of playing cricket. I may not look like I know about Cricket, but I do know some knowledge about it." Saanvi replied while smiling, thinking about the good old days.

"Do girls play other sports as well?" Sujoy asks to which Abhay replies. "They do play sports, but it's not worth it."

Saanvi looked at Abhay with a questioning look in her eyes and asks, "And why do you think like that?"

"Well, even if girls know how to play sports they like, it doesn't mean that they will be in that field for a long time. At one point, they do get married to someone and if their family didn't allow them to play sports anymore, they leave that field." Sujoy replied calmly.

Saanvi, who saw this side of Abhay, felt shocked. "So, what do you think of those girls who have a government job and are also the only ones who earn the bread for the family?" She asks as she waited for him to answer.

"Well, that could never happen. A guy is the one who is supposed to earn bread for the family. Why do you think I am in this institute in the first place?" Abhay replied, but he regretted his decision as soon as possible.

"May I remind you, Abhay Khaitan, that your family already has a business? Also, If I am correct, you are in this institute which also teaches girls to get a government job as well. So if by any chance you have liked someone from this institute, I am sorry for the girl because after getting married to you, she will not be an independent woman but a slave for you." Saanvi replied to him as calmly as she could because she didn't want to show anyone her outburst. Especially Sujoy.

"That's not what I meant–" Abhay said, but the single glare from Saanvi made his mouth shut.

"Also, just so you know. Girls who are in the sports field can do both professional and personal life. Just because girls don't get enough recognition in the sports field doesn't mean you can say whatever you want. I may not be a sports person, but I ‌know ‌girls can also play all sports they want to. If I got the chance to, I can do archery and shooting as well. People just need to give them a chance to show their talent, that's all." Saanvi replied and then looked around the place to change her seat.

She didn't want to sit with someone who had this type of mindset. Before she could change her seat, Adhya, who was sitting behind and had heard the entire conversation, said, "Saanvi, let it be. Just forget about what he said. The match has already started, and it's not worth changing the seats now."

Sujoy, who noticed the way Saanvi was furious, so to change the atmosphere asks her. "Didi, do I tell Sachit or Saatvik bhaiya about this?"

Saanvi shakes her head and replies, "No, you are here with me, right? Then I don't need to change my seats." She plays with his hair and adds, "We will watch this game, without no one interrupting us, okay?"

Sujoy nods his head and then sat on her lap. Saanvi looked at Abhay with hatred and kept a distance from him. To divert her mind, she looked at the ground and then at the sky, where clouds covered the whole stadium. Being living in Pune for quite a while now, she now knows that the weather here in the city changes drastically. She may be a girl who knows how and when the weather changes, but sometimes her assumptions can also get wrong. She shakes her head and then focuses her attention on the game.

In the morning rush, she may have met Saatvik, but she remembers some features of his face. He had blue eyes which she had rarely seen throughout her whole life, black hair which had a simple haircut and he had a trimmed beard. He has the feature of a model boy she had seen on billboards, but she never thought that he would be a cricketer.

After what seemed like half an hour throughout the game, the batting team, who also won the toss, scored one hundred runs in thirty balls with no wicket, and they had fifteen overs left.

Throughout the game, Saatvik's focus was to finish the first part of the game as soon as possible because, during the break time, he was going to meet Saanvi in person again, but with a better version of him. He never thought in his whole life that he would try to impress a girl by playing cricket, by scoring only six and fours throughout the complete match. He got a look or two from Sachit when he was playing, but he ignored that and focused on the situation at the hand he had first.

As they were the ones who won the toss and batted, the ball was in their court about the outcome of the match. He was a left-handed Batsman, but a right-handed bowler. For him, batting is one of his strong points, but he is ‌weak at the bowling criteria. It was lucky for him to be selected for the team, but a part of him (the part that he hates the most) reminded him ‌he was on the team because of his family's reputation.

He looked at the sky when he saw clouds covering the whole stadium and he knew ‌it was going to rain soon, so he tried his very best to finish the first part of the match as soon as possible before it rains. Once he got ready for the 60th ball of this match, he saw that the guy in front of him had a smirk on his face. He knew that smirk; he had got that smirk for a while now and he wanted to slap that smirk off of the baller's face. That baller smirks at him again and shows him an unimpressed gesture with his hand as if to discourage him. He almost got into the trap when his mind reminded him ‌he has to do well to impress Saanvi.

He took a sigh and looked ahead. That baller was a spinner and Saatvik knew that, so he already decided what to do in this situation. He waited for the baller to throw the ball first and when that baller threw the ball; he got into his position and gave a six.

It was the last ball of the tenth over and he sighed in relief; he gestures to his friend to give him a bottle of water to drink and while he was drinking the water; he looked at the place where Saanvi was sitting. Looking at the way his friend's eyes were, Sachit says, "She has gone to call someone on her phone. Looks like she will leave after the first half of the game."

"What? But why? Did she find the game boring?" Saatvik asks in shock.

"That's not the case. According to what Sujoy told me now when he came here, Saanvi fought with the guy she was sitting next to. Something about girls is not the same as guys or something. I could say that her 'friend' annoyed the shit out of her. I know Saanvi and I know that if someone pisses her off, they should keep their distance from her, otherwise she would kill them to get into her personal space." Sachit replied and saw the way Saatvik scowled in return.

"Don't worry about her. She can keep herself safe. I know ‌she is strong, so focus on the game. By the way, you are trying to impress her, right?" Sachit says as he noticed the way Saatvik looked at the boy who was sitting next to Saanvi's seat, but after hearing what Sachit said in the end, he looks at him in confusion.

"What do you mean that 'she can keep herself safe'?" Saatvik asked.

"Trust me, she knows self-defense, so if that guy tried to touch her inappropriately, he would be dead afterward," Sachit replied calmly and saw the way Saatvik was still confused. "Let's just say I saw someone trying to harass her sister while I was on the balcony, and the way she almost killed that boy is still hilarious to me. She could kill anyone with that skill."

Not sure if what he heard was true, Saatvik decided ‌he would still keep an eye on Saanvi from afar. "Where's Sujoy?" Saatvik asks when he saw ‌Saanvi was sitting with herself

"Oh, she sent him here so that if she leaves before hands, she will be sure that Sujoy is safe," Sachit replied and saw the way his friend's shoulder was tensed. "Come on! We still have ten more overs left. Focus more on the game, please!"

Saatvik nodded and left for batting again. This time, his friend got out and one of his other friends got out too. It was almost two hundred runs for now, with four wickets and five overs left. He was now batting with one of his friends when he saw the way a boy was making his move on Saanvi. He still couldn't see her properly, but he was not happy with that.

So, when it was his turn to bat, he did something he didn't think he would do to anyone in his life.

********

Saanvi after making a call to her sister came back to her seat and sighed in relief when she got the message from her sister saying yes. She had had enough and she couldn't stand anymore to sit with someone like Abhay throughout the game; it was fun for her to experience this game in a stadium, but she didn't want to stay here anymore with the way Abhay was trying to get close to her.

What did he think? That she would never notice how he tries to spread his arms and almost tries to get her close to him. Before today, Saanvi thought ‌Abhay was a nice guy who was trying to be friends with her, but now she knew his actual intentions.

She tries her best to get away from him, but he tried more to get close to her. But she lost all of her cool when he puts his hands on her shoulder and started rubbing it.

She gets up and was going to slap him when she saw a ball approaching her. As a quick reflex, she caught the ball, but she felt her hand hurt, as the ball was hard. She threw the ball on the ground and put a smile on her face to not to show the way her hand was in pain. Once she was sure that the ball was back to the ground, she left the place silently and stood outside the sitting area.

🌹

When the ball came back to the ground, everyone was too stunned to speak. It shocked her classmates to see her skill, but mostly the whole stadium was shocked by the way she threw the ball back at them. They thought ‌she would keep the ball with her as a souvenir. Saatvik, who knew that she shot that ball at full speed, was worried about her. He intended to hurt the guy who was hitting on her, but he didn't think she would catch the ball. Yes, it impressed him with the way she caught the ball, but he was worried about her.

Just at that moment, the rain started pouring over the stadium, and they stopped the game in the middle. Without caring to take out his guards, he threw the bat toward Sachit and ran towards where Saanvi walked to. He skipped steps or two while running towards where she was and saw her back facing him when he came there. Her hair was still in a bun and her hands were clutching her bag on her side.

He took slow steps toward her while making sure she was comfortable with him coming there. When he was just behind her, he asks. "Are you okay?"

She turns her head toward him, and he was awestruck by her beauty. He looked at her as if she was something that came out of the paintings he saw at an art museum, and she looked at him in question. "You are Saatvik Sardesai, right? We met before in the morning."

Saatvik nods his head and then opens his mouth to say, "Yes, I am."

Just like he was noticing her feature, she noticed his features as well. As if getting his image printed on her brain. For no reason, she somehow felt safe around him. She accidentally took a step back, which almost made her fall on her back when Saatvik's arm surrounds her waist and he saved her from falling. The stick from her bun fell and her hair was flowing as if it was a waterfall. Her beauty already mesmerized him, but after seeing her open hair, he fell more for her. They heard a thunderclap out there in a far way in their daze but didn't stop looking at each other.

Saatvik's blue eyes bore into hers and they said nothing for a few minutes. Droplets were falling on them, but they said nothing if they were getting wet from that. After a few seconds, He asks. "Are you okay? Are you hurt?"

Not leaving her eyes from him, she replied. "Catching that ball hurt my hands a little, but it's okay. I will leave for home, anyway."

His other hand slowly made its way towards the hair that was covering her face. He tucked that part of hair behind her ear and says, "Beautiful."

Saanvi, who had never blushed in her life before, blushed at this compliment and was going to reply ‌to him when they heard someone clear his throat.

"Saanvi, your sister is here," Sachit announces, at which reluctantly Saatvik releases her. "She is waiting for you in the car."

Saanvi, who was still in a daze, nods her head and blinked her eyes continuously. She clears her throat and turned red in embarrassment. Before leaving them, she says. "You played well in the match! It was nice to meet you, Saatvik."

She ran towards her sister but stopped and looked back at Saatvik, who was still standing there with his hands in the same position he had when he held her. She chuckles a little and then smacks herself and reminds herself to be normal.

Saatvik, whose mind was still replaying the current incident, had a faint smile on his face and lightly smacked his head for getting thoughts about her.

Saatvik and Sachit made their way back to the stadium. In his cheerful mood, he didn't notice that someone behind the bushes took a photo of them in that pose. That guy who was following him since the morning from his apartment complex had a smirk on his face after he clicked this photo. When he was sure that he got Saanvi's face as well, he said to himself, "Now, I got the perfect picture for tomorrow's headline."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, the iconic scene finally happened. What are your guys' opinions on Adhya and Abhay now? Let me know your opinion in the comment section down below.

Sorry for the delay, I was searching a lot about Cricket for this part of the story, so I hope you guys aren't mad at me for that.

I hope you all will enjoy this chapter. Until then, Bye!

R. S. Gajbhiye