Two weeks later.....

Natalie's POV

I had been avoiding Harry ever since our dance debacle. It was laborious enough to avoid him as he was my dance partner, but he didn't make it easy for me either, he always tried to get a hold of me whenever we were alone which was seldom, as Naomi made sure we were never alone. The engagement party was strenuous enough, stealing glances of the curly  haired, while keeping away from him. My heart wanted to be by his side, hold on to his hands once again, get those jitters, those little butterflies in the stomach, that eagerness and thirst of being in his arms, wrapped in his embrace. While my mind wanted to steer clear of him, anxious and apprehensive of what the consequences might be if anyone found out the true inkling and fondness that was growing in the core of my soul for this green eyed boy.

It was Sangeet the next day, bhai had already reached home with his "friend". We shared our room with her, she seemed pretty pleased with our little dwelling place. I got to know that her name was Gemma.
Bhai also let us know that she wasn't just bhai's friend but his 'girlfriend'.

I turned towards Naomi and said,
"Naomi, I wonder what's going to happen tomorrow? There are gonna be so many people. We have to perform really well."

"Couldn't agree more. I'm not tensed about Bradley Cooper, as I know he'll pull it off. The one I'm tensed about is my blondey." Naomi said keeping down the brush, with which she was combing her hair.

"Blondey?? Huh? Is that what you call him nowadays." I smirked.

"Pretty much yeah." She nodded.

"Chill girls its gonna be alright ..." Gemma patted on my shoulder and sat in front of me in the bed.

"I don't know Gemma.... I just hope it goes well."

Holding my hand she said, "Natalie it's gonna be alright. You need to stop worrying now."

"Hey, bhai was telling you wont be home tomorrow morning." Naomi got up and tucked herself under the blanket.

"I've gotta go to the salon and make myself look presentable, at least if not pretty. I was thinking I'd tan."

Tan? Why tan? Here, people from my family were trying to make the girls look fairer, and there she was going to tan herself. I guess they've said it right, "Grass is always greener on the other side."

"There's a salon here two blocks away." I informed her. Pointing towards the direction it was in.

"I know, it is not the first time I'm coming here." She said, giving a warm smile.

"You've been here before?" Naomi crawled in.

"Yeah....." She stopped for a moment and continued. "Anyway girls go to sleep its a big day tomorrow."

...Next day...

It was morning. Gemma had already left for the salon, Naomi and myself were getting ready. Waiting for the boys to arrive.

"Heya ladies."
The boys enter walking through the front door, looking at us, and staring at us while getting in.
"Niall......" said Naomi in an awestruck manner.

She was pretty impressed, I could tell this...by the tone in which she called out to him and the way she stared at him.
"What!" he paused, then putting his hand on his waist and nose up in the air he continued,
" I know I look scrumptious..."

To cover up the fact that she was actually impressed she continued,
"was asking you to move...." She pushed him slightly with her right hand and walked straight towards Harry.

"Mr. Cooper. Somebody looks handsome." Naomi stated.
"Somebody looks gorgeous." Harry replied.

"Naomi." I called out to her in a way which meant that she shouldn't have told Niall that, but she didn't pay any heed to what I was saying and left .
"Niall you look really nice." I told him.
"Thanks Nat." He ran after Naomi.

"And me?" Harry asked. Him he looked stunning, in his Bengali Kurta, like it was made just for him,he looked extraordinary, impressive, alluring, appealing. " Nice." That's all I could articulate. I turned around and hid my face in my hands.
Interrupting our conversation bhai came out of nowhere and asked.

"Who's this?"

Harry's POV.

Interrupting our conversation, out of nowhere comes in a tall, husky, bearded arrogant looking bloke who came in and said,
"Who's this?"

I'm sorry. I'm very very sorry but you never come up to someone you know and ask them who they were talking to on their face.
Why was he even so over protective of her? Something was a tad bit wonky about this chap.

These were the kind of thoughts that were running through my mind, when Natalie started speaking,
"Bhai, this is Harry. My  um um friend from school." She paused as if she had lost the plot in some shambles.
"And that's Niall, Naomi's friend." Natalie continued.

He stared at me. Kept staring at me. Not at Niall not for once, but at me all through the while, when Natalie was busy presenting my resume in front of him, as if he was the HR of some company and I was a bloody interviewee with no job experience.

"Hi Harry, Niall. Enjoy the day." He gave Niall a smile, but gave me that death stare, which Naomi describes her mother to give when Naomi has done something terribly wrong. I don't even know where I went wrong, he looked at me as if I had ask for both his kidneys agreeing to pay the half price for one. He looked at me as if I was a proper cock up or some chav ole plonker.

He then left, he walked a few steps, turned, looked at me, pointed at his eyes with his index and middle finger and then pointed at mine in the same fashion. This made me proper freeze down the spine.

"Natalie, who is that?" I asked bending towards her. "Oh that, that's my brother Noah."

Everything....Everything was crystal clear.
His death stare. His cold welcome. His hard voice. Everything.
I knew, brothers were protective, I mean, I would have done the same for my sister. I understood why he did that, his difference in behaviour with Niall and myself was justified.
I would have done the same if I had a sister like Natalie, then I realised that I imagined Natalie in a sister like figure.....

I looked at Natalie, and realised that she could never be my sister. I would never let her be my sister. Never.

"Okay, guys Niall come here , Harry stand beside Natalie." Naomi commanded.

The photographer counted, "1.....2.....thr.."

"Heyaaa ladies...."

Piercing through the crowd, came this guy in a blue sherwani , walking towards Natalie.

"Baccchhhhhhhhhaaaaaaaaaaaaa." Natalie screamed, running towards that guy, almost climbing over him,

I didn't really understand what they spoke for the next moment. I was trying to though, until I saw Naomi pulling her skirt upto her knee level and rushing towards that guy.....
"Dugguuu...." yeah that is exactly what she said.

I was about to ask them who this guy was, when both Natalie and that guy just walked off hand in hand as if she had just walked down the aisle and her father had placed her hand in his. Blimey they just walked us off.... forgeting we existed. My eyes hadn't shifted from Natalie after what she did to me, when Niall called out.

"Naomi ..... are you alright. What is wrong? With you? Natalie? And who is that guy?" Niall blabbered.

Naomi with her hands joints and stuck to her chin, with a big smile, and continually swinging like a pendulum said,
"That....is the hottie, ....Ranbir Raichand ......Our family friend." Pausing at necessary places. This Ranbir chap had nicked Nat off and Naomi here is oscillating like a gyroscope.She proper gives me the nerves sometimes.

"He seems like anything but your friend." I commented.

Niall shook her up, "Hey, what are you dreaming in daylight." He held on to her shoulders making her stop swaying.

"Arghhh. Leave me man. What is the issue with you?"

"What is the issue with me? Would you care to explain who is that guy?"

"He is Ranbir. I just told you."

"Stop lying, neither you nor Nat called him by the name you are stating is his."

"There's something called nick names..... duh!" She rollled her eyes.

" Why on earth would you call somebody dooooooog?"

"Not dooog idiot , duggu ."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

"Nothing its just a nickname.!"

"But Natalie didn't call him that, she called him something else." I interrupted curiously.

"Yeah . She calls him baccha and he calls her bacchi."

"Same meaning less words. How do you guys get so many names without meaning?"

"Oh please both mean something." Naomi turned towards us.

"Really? What?" We asked together. Niall in sarcasm, and me in curiosity.

"Baby!"

"BABY?"