Lots of apologies!! Very sorry for being so late. The tiredness of the preparations of the fest along with studies take most of my time. Will try to be regular. I'll try my best to post two updates a week after Diwali. Till then, an update a week is all I can afford.

Happy Reading!

It was the time of sunset. The sun was visible on very little surface above the lake. There was a good amount of crowd but as the darkness made its way the crowd started to disappear and only few of them were present, walking around the lake or sitting in the benches.

Naina was still fidgeting with her fingers. When Khushi saw her being so nervous, she held her hand and took her to a nearby bench which was facing the lake.

"Naina, kya hua? Bata na..." She wanted to know the whole thing.

"Dekh, main bata rahi hu tujhe...but tu promise kar ki kisi ko nahi batayegi...aur jyada details wagera bhi nahi mangegi. Promise kar.." She put out her hand in front of her.

Khushi kept her hands above hers and assured her, "Promise baba, kisiko nahi bataungi! Tu tension mat le"

Naina started, still reluctant, "Main jaha pehle padti thi waha ek ladka tha, main...main usse pyaar karti hu" She closed her eyes.

"Kyaa?? Tu kisi se pyaar karti hai? Sachme Naina...Waoo!!" She stood up and started shouting like a maniac.

Some people who were around them stared at the Khushi. Naina embarrassedly smiled at them, gave a glare to Khushi and made her sit, "Pagal hai kya tu? Marwayegi ek din!"

"Sorry sorry...wo main na thoda excited ho gayi thi...but Naina, tu toh chhupa rustam nikli yaar...tu sachme kisi ladke se pyaar karti hai? Like wo serious wala pyaar??" Khushi was not believing her ears. As much as she know Naina, she never puts eyes on any boy, or doesn't even talk with boys unless its a matter of study. For the Naina, she have known, loving someone was a very big deal. She never expected this to hear from her.

"Serious wala matlab kya? Aur kaisa pyaar hota hai?" Naina looked at her like she was so stupid because according to her love was meant to be serious everytime, and if it's not serious, it's definitely not love.

Khushi laughed at her naivety. How can someone be so innocent? She thought.

"Tu wo sab chhod aur bata puri kahani starting se" She was very excited to hear a love story.

"Hawa aane de...Tujhe bata di na baat, utna kaafi hai, ab mujhse story mat puch" Naina was not ready for this.

"Bata na yaar...aise nahi chalta...mujhe raat bhar neend nahi aayegi!" Khushi whined.

"Theek hai, theek hai, bata rahi hu"

Flashback

Swati and Naina were talking in the corridor about the incident that happened a day before. A boy named Sanjay wrote a love letter to her, which she had no idea about. It became a great scandal. When got to know her family, the person in question was her. When everybody found the culprit, Sanjay, she was asked to tie rakhi on his wrist, in order to treat him as his brother.

The very next day, she swore to God to never love someone in her whole life. 'Main kya meri saat pushte bhi kisi se pyaar nahi karegi' is what she had told Swati. That's when, while walking to the class, she almost bumped into a boy and in order to save themselves they had a swirl, that's when she saw him, an alike of Salman, with long hairs, dark brown eyes, a face, chiselled and cute at the same time. Her heart stopped beating, when she saw him, in a way that it could not beat the same again. She loved him at the very moment she saw him for the first time. Love at first sight, as they call it.

"Waoo yaar, kya filmy shuruaat hai!" Khushi's eyes sparkled.

There was a sad smile on her face, "Jaruri nahi hai shuruaat filmy ho toh, end bhi filmy hota hai"

"Matlab?" Khushi was confused.

"Wo ek hawa ke jhonke ki tarah aaya, aur mujhe apna bana liya. Uss mulaqat ke baad humne sirf ek ya do baar baat ki thi, wo bhi theek se nahi. Ye sab chal hi raha tha ki mujhe yaha admission mil gaya, mere tenth ke percentages achhe hone ke karan. Jis din ye hua uss din Headboy competition bhi announce ho gaya, aur usne mujhse madad mangi padhai main but main yaha aane wali thi ki uski madad nahi kar paayi"

"Phir kya hua? Tune usse bataya?"

"Nahi, nahi bata payi...jab aakhiri baar usse notes dene gayi thi toh ek letter uski copy main daal diya tha...pata nahi usne padha hoga ki nahi.." Tears made a way through her eyes.

Khushi hugged her and consoled, "Padh liya hoga usne Naina...dekhna ab jab tu Ahedmdabad jayegi na...to woh bhi tujhe apni dil ki baat bol dega..."

"Kya uske dil main bhi wahi baat hogi jo mere dil main thi?" Naina wiped her tears. "Zaroori toh nahi hai na? Aur vaise bhi wo bahut alag hai mujhse...mujh jaisi ladki se bhala kyu pyar karega wo? Hai hi kya aisa mujhme? " She always felt insecure about herself when compared to Sameer.

"Tujh jaisi matlab kya Naina? Kya kami hai tujhme?" Khushi frowned.

"Tu ye sab chhod. Aur koi baat nahi agar wo mujhe nahi bhi mila. Maine usse ye shart par thodi pyaar kiya hai ki wo bhi mujhse kare...pyaar toh pyaar hota hai...jo sirf kiya jata hai..."
She had a serene smile on her face while Khushi had an emotional one. Naina was a gem of a girl, she doesn't deserve this. She was a girl who was made to be happy and cheerful all the time. She prayed to god to fill her life with happiness and give her the love she deserves.

Naina put her hand above Khushi's and explained, "Tujhe pata hai Khushi, Har kisi ko apna pyaar nahi milta, jaise mujhe, aur wo log bahut lucky hote hai jinhe unke pyaar milta hai, jaise ki tujhe" Khushi jerked her head and asked, "Matlab?"

"Aditya" Naina smiled.

Khushi widened her eyes as never before. "Ye...ye kya bol rahi hai tu?"

"Wo pyaar karta hai tujhse Khushi" She couldn't stretch her eyes more, hence she took her hands off Naina and looked away, "Bakwas mat kar Naina..."

"Ye bakwas nahi, sach hai...tujhe manna hai man, nahi manna hai mat man" Naina shrugged.

"Usne khud bola tujhse?"

"Nahi, usne kuch nahi bola mujhe, uski aankhon mein dikhta hai...saaf saaf"

"But Naina...main...main uske liye aisa kuch feel nahi karti...wo toh hamesha se mazak masti karta hai mere saath...isliye main usse daant deti thi..." Khushi confessed.

She made Khushi look at herself, "Mujhe pata hai...aur zaroori bhi nahi hai ki tu bhi usse pyaar kare...bas main tujhe itna bolna chahti hu...ek mauka dene main koi burai nahi hai...tujhe Adi se achha koi nahi mil sakta...aur usse jyaada pyaar bhi tujhse koi nahi kar sakta...baki...pasand toh tu bhi usse karti hi hai na..." Saying this, she started running, and Khushi also started chasing her.

Next day, Naina and Khushi were in the canteen talking about the syllabus and upcoming exams when Naina thought to clear her doubts, "Khushi tere papa ka transfer yaha hua hai right? Phir tu hostel main kyu rehti hai? "

"Yaha nahi Jaipur main hua hai transfer, aur banasthali jaise best school main admission mil raha tha toh yaha aa gayi!" Khushi shrugged.

"Par yaha se Jaipur jyada dur thodi hai, tu roj aana jana kar sakti thi na bus se, aise mummy papa ki yaad nahi aati tujhe?" Asked Naina, biting the second samosa she had on her plate.

"Nahi mujhse travelling nahi ho pati jyada, agar roj roj karungi to beemar pad jaungi." Khushi said while glancing at the entrance of the canteen.

Naina made an oh face "But tu week main ek baar toh ja hi sakti hai na? Ya uncle aunty aa sakte hai, nahi?"

"Tu bhul gayi meri basketball practice rehti hai saturday aur sunday ko?"

Naina slapped her head when Khushi continued, "Aur rahi baat mummy papa ki toh woh aate hai mujhse milne, abhi papa ka kuch important kaam chal raha hai toh nahi aa paye kuch din se" Khushi frowned while glancing again at the entrance of the canteen.

"Achha. Par tu baar baar canteen ke darwaze par kyu dekh rahi hai? Kisi Ka intezaar kar rahi hai kya?" Khushi was still in her own world when Naina moved closer to her ears and whispered, "Aditya ka intezaar kar rahi hai kya?" Khushi absentmindedly nodded in a yes. She came into sensed after hearing Naina giggle. "Nahi nahi...mera matlab tha..." that's when both of them saw him entering the canteen.

He smiled at them and sat at the table beside them as they both were sitting on a dining table of two.

Khushi frowned and moved to his table and sat down in front of him. Naina followed Khushi and stood there.

He greeted both of them with a smile, "Hello Khushi, hello Naina"

Naina reciprocated, "Hi Adi"

Khushi, ignoring the greetings, took out a key and asked him sarcastically, "Gaadi nahi chahiye tumhe?"

"Chahiye na...yaad nahi tha bas..." Aditya scratched his head. When he looked at her again, saw her glaring.

"K..kya hua?" He was visibly terrified.

Naina was still confused as to what was going on.

"Tumhari gaadi ka number kya hai?"

"Khushi...wo chabi dena...mujhe kahi jaana..."

"1012 right?"

He nodded reluctantly.

"Naina mera birthday kab aata hai?" Khushi turned her face in her direction. 

"10 december ko" that's when it hit Naina and her lips curled up for the affection Aditya has for Khushi.

Before Khushi could scold him more...Naina intervened in order to calm her down.

She took the key from Khushi's hands and gave it to Aditya.

"Kya baat hai Adi...I am impressed." Naina whispered into Aditya's ears to which he smiled wide.

Naina took Khushi out of the canteen, "Khushi chal mujhse na maths ka ek problem nahi ho raha, please bata de".
While leaving, she signalled Aditya to not worry, she'll take care of everything.

"Naina tujhe pata nahi hai, wo bahut bada..." Khushi glared at him for the last time to which he smiled, like always.

That's when the bell rang, "Chal na Khushi abhi bell bhi baj gayi...jaldi chal" Naina literally pushed her to the classroom.

The day marked the end of February. The sun started to rise early and set later. The days started to become longer than usual as summer was near.

In PVKM, Headboy competitions were round the corner. Only a month was left for the exams and fifteen days for the cricket match. Sameer's preparations were in full swing and so were Arjun's. Yes, Naina's brother Arjun was also up for the Headboy Competition against Sameer.

Rakesh used to dedicate his whole day in scolding Arjun for not preparing well and make him practise more and more. He doesn't want anything but seeing Arjun as a headboy. He was not at all ready to accept Arjun's failure. It was like do or die for Arjun. It pressurised Arjun to its own level, which couldn't help but make it tougher for him.

One fine day, in the early morning when Arjun was about to go for the cricket practice match, Rakesh as usual started rambling about how he couldn't do anything in his life and how he wanted Arjun to earn his name so everybody could respect them. Arjun was fed up from all of this, therefore he left home early and was not back until evening too. Everyone was very worried about him. When he came home at 10 am at night, that's when everyone knew where he was. He was actually in the ground only, and was having a alone time but due to his father, he lied to everyone that he was in the library, studying for the exams.

On the other side of the city, the days ended well for Sameer. In contrast to Arjun, Sameer was very cool and calm in his preparations as Nanu never pressured him, rather supported him in his preparations.

After so much practice, Sameer was still not confident about Maths. Maths was always his weakness, first he didn't pay heed to it, but later he found out that he got decent marks in all subjects, but maths, which made his grades go down.

Sameer's mother Vishakha used to call him once a week to cheer him up but ended up comparing him to Rohan which upsets Sameer for the whole day, but also motivates him for further preparations. According to him, she is not his mother anymore. He believed only in his Nanu, he was his everything. Apart from him, Munna and Pandit were the people who knew him very well and were always there with him.

Fifteen days later, It was the day of the cricket match. Both the teams were equally good. Arjun's team had good batsmen, while Sameer's team had best of bowlers and fielders. But both Sameer and Arjun were all rounder.

The toss was won by Arjun, which made Rakesh really happy and sure about his win. Arjun decided to bat first which was a happy moment for Sameer as he could have also chosen to ball first.

The match was a tough one. In the first inning, opened by Arjun and one of his best batsmen, they scored 45 runs in the first five overs. The match was of ten overs. The other five overs were pretty bad for Arjun's team, as they lost two wickets and were only able to score 30 runs, Arjun not out. Sameer used the fielders and ballers of his team very efficiently, leading their fours and sixes to turn into ones or twos. Overall the score of Arjun's team was 75 runs.

In the second inning, Sameer was very careful with his strategies. He thought of sending a good batsman and a medium-level batsman as openers, so that they could score well in the last overs of the match with the remaining good batsman as they will have a lot of pressure in the last five overs. Arjun was also very determined to take wickets of the opposition team, so that they could not score much. Arjun's best ballers took 5 wickets but when Sameer came in the field, the chances of his win were back again.

In the last over, Arjun came for the final balling, when the runs were 60 by Sameer and his partner. The pressure was at its peak for both the teams. Sameer's team had to score 16 runs in 6 balls which was not seeming possible for anyone watching the match, including Rakesh. He was very happy and was sure that Arjun would win this match. Sameer hit a four in the first ball, which raised the hope again for his teammates as well as his supporters. Munna and Pandit were not tired of shouting his name through the whole match. The second ball was a dot ball. The third and fourth ball gave them 4 runs. In the last second ball, Sameer hit a Six, by which the whole audience shouted his name. Everybody was very serious and tense about the last ball. As it will decide the outcome of the match. Sameer looked at his Nanu sitting on the guest side of the audience, being proud of him.

Arjun, spinned the ball in such a way, that its speed nearly doubled. As the ball was hit by Sameer, it went to a great height, everyone's eyes were on that ball only, when the ball crossed the boundary, It was a SIX!

Sameer and Sameer's team shouted and celebrated the win by hugging each other. Sameer ran to his Nanu, touched his feet and hugged him tightly. "I am proud of you, mere sher" is what Nanu said to him.

Munna and Pandit came to him and picked him up on their shoulders. It was a great win for him after all. For the head boy competition, half battle was won, finally.

On the same afternoon, when Preeti called Naina, and told him the outcome of the match, Naina was in a very big dilemma, of being happy at Sameer's win or she should be sad for Arjun. She couldn't decide about it and cut the call after some more talks with Preeti, in which Naina replied by only monosyllables.

Guyss...Samaina will meet (again) soon. Excited?

Also, please let me know who want the face reveal of Aditya and Khushi.