As she turns right to the adjoining corridor, she stops abruptly on seeing the person who succeeds in skipping her heartbeat each time he comes across her, without fail. As her heart and mind register his presence, a smile creeps on her lips. Her eyes start sparkling out of happiness and shyness. On the other hand, as Rajveer who was crossing the horizontal corridor feels Naina's presence around him, stops the process of folding the sleeve of his black shirt and turns his head towards his left to assure himself that it is indeed Naina!
His creased brows and the wrinkles on his forehead justify perfectly his shocked state! Yes shocked! But not in a negative way but a totally pleasurable shock! He stares her for few moments, accepting that what he is witnessing right now isn't one of his dreams that he has been dreaming lately but it is indeed the reality! A sweet and sour reality.
Sweet because he is seeing Naina in something he wanted to see her since a long time now - a saree! And sour because he knows that they don't have any function in the academy right now or in the near future, so why is she wearing a saree? Has someone asked her to wear it on purpose? Has any of her male mates asked her to wear it? If so then who asked and why?
He notices that she decided to wear a simple red saree. 'Simple', that is how he likes it. That is what his taste is like. He likes simplicity and that is one of the many reasons that he gets attracted towards her, each time he looks at her. And to enhance the simplicity, he notices that she hasn't taken any pain to put extra make up apart from putting the kaajal and her hanging pair of silver earrings.
With a smile on his lips, his eyes glued on her and controlling his racing heartbeat, he walks towards Naina, slowly, taking his own sweet time to cherish her simplicity and beauty.
(Rajveer-Naina tune runs in the background throughout this scene)
As Naina finds him walking towards her, her eyes glued on him this whole time, Naina realizes she has to walk ahead and not just stick to the spot. Not because he is walking towards her, she is forced to walk towards him but because she herself wants to reach him. Wants him to look at her closely and give his approval to her wearing a saree. And to cut short the time period of the wait, she also needs to take up the initiative equally.
As they reach closer to each-other, having only a certain amount of gap between them which is certainly necessary, not only because they are standing at the corridor where anyone can come any moment but also because it is to ensure each-other and to some extent to themselves too that they won't end up doing anything that they might regret later. And according to both of them, since they haven't conveyed their true feelings for each other to each other, therefore, the mere shaking of hands privately, would also be considered as a sin.
But then what's the hurry? When they both know that both of them have immense patience! Secondly, they are going no where, they are here in KMA with each-other, they can always take it slow, in the way they both wanna enjoy this new unconfessed relationship between them. They stare each other for few more seconds, then Rajveer lets his eyes to wander upon her from head to toe, with a smile on his face. His heart swells on the mere sight of her. Naina doesn't fail to notice the feeling of satisfaction and admiration for her in his eyes. This increases her blush and smile too, that she had all this time on her face, since the moment she saw him. Unable to understand what should she say, she keeps staring him expectantly.
After observing her from head to toe up to his satisfaction, he rests his eyes on her eyes. The satisfactory smile still intact on his face. Naina tucks a strand of hair behind her ear out of shyness and self-consciousness. But the soft blowing wind doesn't stop playing games with her hair. Rajveer admits silently, the little blowing of her hair is making her to look even more beautiful. Naina raises her now lowered eyes to look towards him. Rajveer realizes that her eyes are enquiring him, 'aap kuch bol kyun nahi rahe?'
And as if her wish is his command , he utters, "Naina!"
His merely taking her name, without any rush to add some more words to her name to convert it into a meaningful sentence, explains the depth of his feelings for her. Explains how speechless he has turned, mesmerized by her natural beauty. But does he know that his merely uttering her name, has explained her everything? Everything that he desires to tell or ask her! Uttering her name, he keeps staring her with that satisfactory smile on his face.
Waking up from her trance, Naina feels that she needs to explain, "ahmm... Sir wo Huda ne shart lagayi thi ki agar main saree pehn ke aa jaungi to wo revolt mein humara saath dega!", says Naina in almost a single breath, as if she doesn't want to keep anything from him for long, and wants him to know everything about her. But only if she could realize that there is something that she is keeping from him! Something that he has a full right to know, her true feelings for him! The acceptance of the fact that he means more to her than a teacher or a mentor. Is it too much to give him? To a person who has never asked anything from her, apart from may be a bit of her attention. Is it too much to let him know, something that he deserves to know?
But then being a gentleman himself, he should take the initiative to take the first step. How could she expect her to come forward and confess? And truth be told, would Rajveer himself appreciate her forwardness, when this is another of the many reasons that he admires her for, her shyness?
Smiling at her innocent answer, "bohot hi kamal ki shart lagayi hai Cadet Huda ne!" he tells her, staring into the beautiful eyes of hers without ending the eye-contact throughout. "Kyun?" asks Naina, creasing her brows, smiling and blushing at his comment. Her eyes not ready to end their precious eye-contact, yet. And Rajveer doesn't fail to give a tough competition in their secret game. "Kyunki iss khoobsurati ke liye koi revolt to kya, apni jaan bhi de sakta hai!" utters Rajveer, without realizing that he shouldn't have uttered those words. The blush on her face on hearing his words and her lowering of her eyes as well, make him to realize that he shouldn't have said that. Come on, he is better than this at controlling his feelings. Then what has happened today, why couldn't he keep a check on his words? Has she become so much irresistible today? Is the traditional look of her making him to feel all those feelings which he had been trying to avoid lately, until now?
And in the process of trying to rectify his error, he stumbles, "I... mean..." he starts with his explanation, lowering his eyes and trying to figure out the correct words to frame a sentence that would justify his previous actions. Looking back into her eyes, blushing, he continues, "Tum iss saree mein... I mean ye saree achi lag rahi hai... tum iss saree mein... I mean ye saree tum par bohot... actually tum dono milkar... a..." unable to put his feelings into words properly, he blushes, closing his eyes tightly, feeling shy and embarrassed on realizing his current state, he sighs. Opening his eyes, he looks at her and somehow succeeds in framing a proper sentence, after so much chaos, "tum iss saree mein bohot achi lag rahi ho!", he succeeds in giving her compliment at last and smiles while trying to control the exhilarating speed of his heartbeats and keeps staring her, smiling and blushing throughout. His eyes reflecting the extent of his approval and liking on her wearing of a saree. This makes her to feel beyond happy, that he approves! And during those moments she actually forgets for whom she actually got ready for! The only thing that matters to her at this moment is that, he is happy to see her wearing a saree, he approves of it!
"And... maine... kabhi... tumhe... aise... college mein... I mean... KMA mein... you know..." he manages to say somehow, smiling and blushing throughout. His hands tucked into his jeans' pocket, he keeps staring her, going speechless.
Smiling and blushing on witnessing Rajveer's state, Naina replies sweetly, looking into his eyes, "thanks... for the compliment!" And as if Naina has given him an idea which can prove to be helpful to him to escape from his current state of shyness, so he quickly grabs the opportunity and says, "of course... it's a compliment... just a... compliment!" says Rajveer, looking intently into her eyes, trying to keep a check on his increasing heartbeat, blushing. Naina blushes harder and tries to control her smile and blush on witnessing Rajveer's state.
Staring at her for sometime, he realizes that he must stop this right now or he might end up doing something that he shouldn't! Lowering his eyes out of shyness and hesitation for fraction of seconds, he again looks back towards Naina and says, "you know... I have got to go..." and stares her for few seconds then continues, "but... good night... and..." he tries to find words, staring her throughout this time. Naina bends her head a little, gesturing him to continue what he wants to tell her. Her eyes focused on him, enjoying his each reaction and word. Waiting for him to say something! Something she wants to hear, although she isn't sure what exactly she wants to hear from him!
On the other hand, deciding that it isn't a right moment to say anything of that sort, and also he has no right to speak to her that way, he ends up saying, blushing, raising his shoulders, "have a good night!" Holding his breath, he shakes his head a little, looking at her, indicating her that he is leaving now. He adjusts his collar, sometimes looking at her, sometimes lowering his eyes out of sheer shyness. "Main... chalta hun..." he says at last. His mind says he should leave before it gets too late, and his heart requests him to stay and enjoy few more moments with her and scolds him that it is indeed too.. late, he must confess here and now! He finds it difficult to get away from her, although he wants it desperately to distance himself from her, not because he hates her presence but because he knows, if he stays with her for few more moments he might confess what he doesn't want as for yet to let her know!
Holding his breath, he crosses by her, and as soon as he walks a little away from her, he looks heavenwards, thanking god silently that the situation has actually come to an end and he won't have to stay longer in front of her and torture himself, although a sweet torture but a torture is a torture!
Hiding himself behind a pillar quickly, he pushes himself on the pillar and sighs in relief, placing his hand on his heart which is beating at an accelerating rate after seeing Naina in the red saree! Although it becomes too hard but he tries to make his sigh inaudible, which causes him to feel a little more of the sweet pain! Looking heavenwards he scolds himself, "Captain Rajveer Singh Shekhawat, apki iss harkat ke liye apka court marshal ho jana chahiye!" and blushes too hard!
Resting her back by the other side of the same pillar, Naina scolds herself, blushing and smiling, beating her back head lightly, "Stupid! Kaise school ke bachon ki tarah sharma rahi thi! But I think he liked me!" she tells herself, smiling and blushing wholeheartedly.
(Rajveer-Naina tune continues in the background)
Kyunki Saas Bhi Kabhi Bahu Thi 2
Mannat Har Khushi Paane Ki
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