Meant to be

Chapter 6 :Shine on me

For a person without any personal stake in the matter, it was clear as day that Sidharth and Shehnaaz were on a collision course. For the two of them ofcourse the awakening was yet to be but the audience could sense the energy and a simmering something that was fresh exciting and promising. For the contestants the strongest competition in Sidharth was expected but the charm of Shehnaaz was a curve ball, and the two together was something that could ruin even the best plotted game strategies. What was particularly strange was that the more people tried to scuttle them the more they gravitated towards each other and races ahead of the others.
Sidharth was having a tough time dealing with Rashmi and he could feel the anxiety building up in him, especially because she had predictably but dangerously resorted to her usual gamut of lies and pretense but this time she seemed to have gone one step further by implying that he is physically trying to come at her. She knew this would set Sidharth on the edge and it actually did. An allegation like this was too big for Sidharth, he felt that for his niece watching this would be very damaging. He was so flummoxed and he really did not know how to react. Not knowing what to do and forced into a corner he went to his bed and decided to calm himself first and then decide how to counter this.

While he was lying there he felt the bed dip and before he could open his eyes he smelt the familiar floral and fresh fragrance that was only from Shehnaaz. He in equal parts wanted her there and wanted to be alone at this point. He did not expect her to empathise with him nor was he ready to bring her in on his issue with Rashmi. He did not know her well enough and he could not bring himself to ever be that much of a content or footage seeker. He sighed deeply and decided that maybe Shehnaaz next to him was a good distraction and unbeknownst to him a smile started playing on the corner his lips anticipating some drama from her. Strangely he could feel she was there but no noise, sound or even chatter was forthcoming. With a suspicious and sarcastic tone and with his eyes closed he said "Shehnaaz itni dher chup? Aisey kaisey? Socho abhi shayad iska bhi promo cut karenge bb vaaley "

All he got in response was a mild "chup" and felt her fingers playing with his hair in the front. " mujhe patha hai ki tu kuch bolega bhi nahin or dikhayega bhi nahin. Lekin apni satisfaction ke liye big boss sey jaakar clear kardey. Nahi toh iss chakkar mein apni game ki natural flow kharaab math karna. Iss ghar mein main aisi Ik lauti hoon jo tere character par tipanniyan de sakthi hain. Aur main bol rahi hoon na ki tu bohot acha hai Sidharth, tere saath safe feel karti hoon, voh aisay hee easy shot le rahi hai, tu math giriyo uss mein . Theek hai?" Saying this she lightly clutched his front hair and shook his head.

Sidharth was so taken aback at this, because it is exactly what he needed to hear and this was completely unanticipated,
How did this girl know what was troubling him? He took a deep breath opened his eyes and allowed her to see his raw emotions. His gratitude for what she had just done. There it was again those eyes piercing into her soul owning her inch by inch. He did not have words so he looked at her with all the warmth that was filling up in him and he puckered his lips at her in an air kiss and nodded his head in acknowledgement and got up from the bed to request into the mic for a meeting with Bb.

Later in the day it so happened that both of them ended up in jail, secretly Sidharth was pleased because he would be away from the drama of the house and who better than Shehnaaz to be locked up in the jail with! What was not anticipated was the heat and discomfort. It drove him really mad and he could not control himself so locked himself in the bathroom and started punching the walls.

Shehnaaz on the other day was really puzzled by his behavior. Why did he allow circumstances to get to him? Otherwise he was one of the most collected persons she had met. He never let his emotions out and did not allow anyone to get near him, sometimes, not sometimes actually, most times she herself was taken aback at how he behaved with her. It made her feel special, it made her feel celebrated. In fact at times she felt that Mahira at times was more upset at her bond with Sidharth than the bond she once had with Paras. She wanted to calm him down, she also knew with Arti constantly around she could not really get through to him. She had also noticed that Arti was slightly rankled by the growing closeness between her and Sidharth. She sighed thinking that even without wanting or intending to she had befriended the most wanted 'launda' in the house!

Once everyone had gone into sleep, she started fanning Sidharth because he was really flustered with the heat "baby it's ok math kar tu bhi thakh jaayegi aur phir tereko aur garmi lagegi. Bas kar meri jaan. Thank you!

She stopped but cheekily said "abey kya garmi, koi garmi nahi hai. Tere gussey ki vajah sey tereko lag rahi hai ki garmi hai!" As soon as she said this she looked at him and he could feel his jaw clench and she immediately regretted saying it. So caught her ears and genuinely said "sorry sorry mera na koi control
Hi nahi hai. Jo bhi dimaag mein pop up hota hai mein bhak deti hoon! Pls na bura math manna! Pls!"

He chuckled and nodded his head "tere baaton sey gussa chakna choor ho jata hain. You are a gussa crusher meri jaan" he ruffled her hair gently as he said this.
"Tere mom ke baarein mein bolna. Mein humesha poochthi hoon tu bathaatha hee nahin." She shifted onto his bed and by his waist as he was lying down and took his hands in hers, without him noticing to check his hands to see if he hurt himself. He noticed at how she did this and he felt nice that this girl was looking out for him and he started telling him about how tight knit his family is and how loved he was "mummy ne bade bravely sab kuch sambaala hai , voh hamaari family ki mardaani hai. Matlab beta beti ka koi funda nahi tha! Hum teenon ko without gender and without compromise paala hain. Kabhi mom, kabhi friend, kabhi teacher, kabhi partner in crime, kabhi khud bacha bankey life ke saarey lessons unhonay Jeekay dikhaya hai. Matlab agar mein television star na hota koi aur job karta ho jo issey kam Paisay mein jeena ho tho tab bhi hamaari life bilkul aisay hee rehti. Unkay tootnay sey darta hoon mein. Mere dono sisters unke husbands aur mein team mom pooray ke pooray 😄 aur voh bhi itna pyaar aur comfort aur confidence deti hain na." Saying this he looked at her eyes directly and smiled because this was healing for him. She did it again. Brought him to a safe zone.

But when he looked at her she had a very glazed and sad expression which took him by surprise "Kya hogaya apnay mom ko miss kar rahi hai?"
She gave a cynical laugh and said "soch rahi hoon Kay Jab parents apna role nibhaatey hain na to bachon ko kitna kuch life mein honsla milta hai na? Mikwayega apnay mom sey?" She said this partly because she really wanted to see the lady who mounded this gentle giant and also because she did not want to open up about her family on national television. She also did not want to show him her hurt, she never showed it to anyone. People either had in the past used it against her or pitied her and she hated both.

"Arre ofcourse milwaoonga na! After this before you go to Chandigarh you come home sab sey milena! Bohot chilled family hai mera! Ek hi complex mein Rehthay hain, to most days it is full house"

"Chal achi baat hai, baath toh Aisa kar raha key hum log saath saath jayenge idhar sey finale ke din." Saying this she shifted to her bed and got ready to sleep but before doing that fanned Sidharth so that he would sleep comfortably.

This man made her feel safe. She was unfamiliar with that. She had started to like it. Was she making herself vulnerable, friendships in this house no matter how genuine hardly lasted beyond the walls of this make believe world. When he spoke about his family somewhere deep inside of her a desire had taken seed, to belong the way he belonged to his family. "Pyaar ki bhooki! Sana dramey likhnaa bandh kariyo aur soja!"

She checked if he was asleep and settled in herself. If there was anyone she wanted next to her right now, it was this man. Strange because she hardly knew him but everything about him screamed familiar and her own. She successfully brushed all of these thoughts aside and settled into a reasonably good sleep.

Hope you all enjoyed this update. Thanks for stopping by.