part two~

Maanvi laughed as Virat ran into a pillar.

"Outch!"

"There!" Maanvi began breathlessly, "serves you better.Things like that happen if you go teasing innocent people like me."

"Innocent, and you?" Virat gave her a questioning look while rubbing his head,"I wish I could find a replacement for bhabhi, I wonder how she puts up with you."

"You'll find a replacement? Are you nuts?" shrieked Maanvi and the chase began again.

They were running around the place not knowing where they were heading to, little did they notice Dadaji rounding the corner.Maanvi nearly collided with the old man.It was Virat's turn to laugh.

"What's happening here?" Dadaji's voice boomed in the empty hall way.

"D-dadaji, voh..actually-" Maanvi stuttered not finding any reasonable explanation.She bit her lip and her eyes were filled with fear and confusion.
Virat smiled gleefully, he was certainly enjoying her discomfort.

"Dadaji, " Virat piped in, "humne ek chooha dekha!" He couldn't wait long to have his dinner.

"Chooha? Here, at Vadhera mansion?"

Maanvi forced a fake smile and nodded in agreement.

"We were wondering the same, right?" Virat elbowed her and she spoke quickly, "yeah, we were close to catching it, but it escaped."

"Its really strange, " Dadaji commented looking unsure, "but then, don't let it spoil your fun tonight.Don't be late for dinner!"

Maanvi breathed a sigh of relief as Dadaji walked past her.She silently followed him into the dining hall with Virat by her side.She smiled at her di and jiju who waved at her.She quietly took her seat between Virat and Dabbu and shook her head.

She couldn't believe her luck, always messing up with things.There was certainly some manufacturing defect in her.
The others were eating dinner merrily chatting with one another, Maanvi sat there staring at her plate with interest while her thoughts were off somewhere.

A tap on her shoulder brought her back to reality.She turned to look at Virat who was smiling down at her.
He leaned a bit closer, gave her another sly smile and tilted his head.Somehow, his fingers found their way towards her left ear as he tucked a loose curl of her silky smooth hair.He quickly brought his face even more closer.

"You know, " he whispered.His hot breath tickled her ear and Maanvi was on the edge of her seat, "you owe me another!"

She lifted her gaze to see Virat leaning back casually into his chair while talking animatedly with Dabbu.

What was wrong with her? Surely, she couldn't imagine things like that! That was when Virat turned to wink at her while mouthing something that seemed like 'bandarnii' to her.
She sighed it was a reality then.Virat did whisper to her.Why did she have to keep getting herself into trouble? And why did Virat had to be her saviour, everytime when she messed up things?

She shook her head and released her breath which she wasn't aware she had been holding till then.She gulped, drank some water, relaxing as her heartbeat returned to normal.

"Mannu, " Jeevika's voice reached her and she looked up, "what's wrong?"

Apparantly, her di had sensed something was wrong.

"Nothing, di," Maanvi replied, "I'm okay."

She gave a slight smile before chewing her food.She glanced up one last time at her companion who was busily eating as if nothing had happened.

"Khadus!"

Virat looked up from his spot to meet her eyes.

"Bandarnii!"

~~ the next evening : the day of sangeet

Most of the day had been uneventful.Everyone was busy arranging the flowers, monitoring the decorations.Virat and Maanvi were equally delighted- it was the day of sangeet, a day to have fun.

The stars lit up the sky, the evening breeze was warm.Maanvi was so excited.She quickly got dressed herself in a brand new ghaghra that her di had chosen for her.She put on a bit of make up, some jewellery and stepped out onto the stairs.
Her di was already there, surrounded by her jiju,Beeji,Swamini, Dadaji, all enjoying the light music being played.She smiled as she saw the cute couple.

For Maanvi, everything seemed just perfect, even her health was better.Sangeet would start anytime soon, that implied she could have loads of fun.She was casually flickering her gaze around the hall when she felt someone's eyes on her.She almost slipped her balance as she met his eyes, the dark brown ones she had often stared at.Virat held her gaze for a while, watching her with interest as she stepped down.

"Virat bhaiyya!!" came an irritated voice from behind, "VIRAT BHAIYYA!!"

"Kya hai?" Virat replied nonchalantly annoyed with the kid.

"Can't you speak in a low voice?" he asked softly as Shlok, the kid, pouted.

"Aap to kahi kho gaye the! " the boy replied innocently.

"Aisa kuch nahi hai, " Virat replied glancing up at the source of his distraction.He wasn't quite sure himself why he was watching her.Perhaps just to corner her and tease her again? May be? He let his eyes wander towards her again.

Beeji was adjusting her jhumki and Maanvi smiled.

"You look beautiful!" Beeji complimented her, "kisi ki nazar naa lage!" She hugged her close.

Maanvi gave another shy smile which Virat never knew she was capable of giving.She never did girly things, let alone looked so shy.But then, she looked really cute that way, smiling shyly.He shook his head.Where did that last part come from?

"Bhaiii!" the kid wouldn't leave him alone.

"Kya hai?" Virat was clearly pissed off.

"Apka cell chahiye, " Shlok smiled innocently.

"Kyoun?" Virat turned to the impatient kid.

"I need to play the superman game!"

"Game?" Virat couldn't believe his ears, "tum phir se khel rahe ho? Mamma ne kya kaha yaad nahi?"

"Yaad hai, papa ka cell kharab mat karo!"

"Theek hai!" Virat sighed handing his phone over, "that doesn't mean you can spoil my cell!"

A punjabi tuned reached his ears indicating the ceremony had begun.He walked over to stand beside chachu.He greeted everyone and saw Maanvi standing by his side. He couldn't help but smile at her.

"Tum bahut achhi lag rahi ho, Maanvi," he whispered quietly into her ear.

Her heart started beating furiously against her chest as a familiar feeling arose in her and suddenly she was nervous.Her eyes widened as she took in his words.She looked up only to see him glancing around the place refusing to look at her.
And he called her Maanvi! Not bandarnii or shernii! It was a miracle. He finally met her eyes and smiled.

"Thanks," she hung her head and smiled shyly.Something was seriously wrong about her, she was acting weird.May be it was her health or may be his complement?

He smiled back.

The music was loud, people started dancing.Virat cheered and jumped as he joined the group.Maanvi smiled again.Perhaps Virat had been right back then, perhaps he wasn't that bad.

~~
Done! Love it? Hate it?

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Next part-

"Humara chota - Virat, " Dadaji introduced Virat to Rahul, "Virat meet Rahul, he is from US too!"

"Hi, Virat! Glad to meet you," Rahul extended his hand, "you stay in US then, what do you do?"

"He used to do some business, never suceeded, " Dadaji remarked casually as hurt flashed across Virat's face.

Maanvi's eyes widened at this.She felt like she could feel his pain.Sometimes Beeji would hurt her the same way.