Expectedly Unexpected: A SamAina FF

Part 5: I can't stay away from you!

Time passed by as Naina and Sameer decided to limit their acrimony and became friends. They tried to ignore the aspect that they had been physical with each other and instead relied on a healthy, platonic friendship. How long this would last, they both did not know. The bond that had been developing between them, was again showing red alerts, which both were ignoring- again.

And then one day, Sameer decided to see if Naina indeed wants to sit besides him or was it more of her anti-Tibrewal mechanism in play. He left his usual mid-bench and settled down on the last desk in the corner row. Naina entered as usual and saw Sameer sitting at the back. She felt a little surprised at this sudden change, but eventually she came and sat down next to him. And as she did so, Sameer smiled on the inside. "Aaj piche?" Naina asked as a matter-of-fact. Sameer just shrugged his shoulders. Perhaps the truth was that he'd been sitting on that mid-bench, just so he could sit near to her all along. The truth that he himself hadn't realized till then!

Sameer too acted as a shield for Naina against Tibrewal. And somehow, he tried to break all association with Meghnaa. He didn't know why, but he felt livid whenever he saw her beautiful face around. He'd never cared who she kissed or did not kiss. But the way she and Tibrewal had acted that night, had made Sameer super angry at Meghnaa, in addition to Tibrewal. He'd decided that Naina was a simple and nice girl and after what all had happened between them that night, it was his duty to keep Tibrewal and Meghnaa far away from her. All the same, Meghnaa continued to hang out with Tibrewal and other men- before, during and after Tibrewal. But she had her eyes set on Sameer parallely. After all he was still available and too rich to be left alone. So she tried to find ways to bug him, and ignored his rude jibes, taunts and excuses that he always made to get away from her.

Naina remembered the time when Sameer had bunked college once. At the end of their lectures, Tibrewal had taken full advantage of Sameer's absence and had strolled over to Naina, glaring at her, as she was moving out of the class. Naina had turned a blind eye to him, but Tibrewal followed her in the corridors. By then, Naina was scared of Tibrewal's intentions and was trying to move away from him as quickly as possible. But Tibrewal had increased his pace as well. In panic, Naina didn't know what to do and she closed her eyes, and wished for Sameer. And just when that Tibrewal was about to catch hold of her, like a miracle, Sameer appeared out of nowhere and slid in between her and Tibrewal. Tibrewal stopped dead in his tracks and so did Naina. Sameer had crossed his hands across his chest as his eyes gleamed menacingly at Tibrewal. Sameer stood silent and kept looking at him in a "dare-you-come-an-inch-closer-to-Naina-again" look. And then, "Mujhe Naina se baat karni hai," Tibrewal had dared to utter. "Nahi kar sakta!" Sameer had responded coldly. "Kyun...kaun rokega mujhe...tu?" Tibrewal gathered courage, this time, trying to prepare himself in advance, for a fight. "Obviously...!" Sameer rolled his eyes at his stupidity. "Kyun teri kya lagti hai wo...tu uska boyfriend hai?" Tibrewal had yelled. "Haan....hoon main uska boyfriend...hai wo meri girlfriend...tujhe koi problem hai...," Sameer had snapped. "Aur problem ho bhi to mujhe koi fark nahi padta...bas apna ye thobda Naina se door rakh," he added and then said, flexing his arms once again, "aur haan mujhse bhi!" As Sameer turned to leave, he sensed that Tibrewal was trying to pounce upon him from behind. So before he could do so, Sameer coolly shifted to a side. Tibrewal lost balance and fell flat on his face. Everyone in the corridor started laughing at him. Even Naina and Sameer couldn't help but chuckle. Tibrewal felt ashamed as he got up and left from there in a rage. Naina smiled at Sameer in gratitude, which he returned. From that day on, Tibrewal didn't dare to bother either Naina or Sameer- at least directly.

***

2 months later, Naina and Sameer, being benchmates were put together on a project. So, they inadvertently had to spend some alone time with each other- in empty classrooms, under trees in college campus and in the canteen. And each of those moments, further strengthened the connection that had started a few months back. Sameer started behaving much less rudely whenever he was with her. And Naina too, became kinder towards him. They realized if they could only set their differences aside, they could really work in tandem.