Somebody asked me to do a series from my previous OS. So I'm giving a different shot to it.
I have divided this story into two halves. Let the first part be an innocent one. The second part will be slightly 16+
I hope you all enjoy this.
Kindly ignore my typos. I'll edit later.
***
Part -I. The innocence.
A fifteen year old Raavi kept bickering with Shiva in the kitchen of the Pandya House. Dhara had called her to taste the kheer she has made. To Raavi's unfortunate luck, Shiva didn't let her eat in peace. She stared at him for vexing her mind to this extent. Their fight intensified for the last few bits of kheer left on the pot. They kept pulling the vessel towards eachother. On a firing extreme, the silver pot fell from the hands straight to the ground. Wide eyed and tensed, they looked into the direction of a glaring Dhara. They were told clean the place. Both of them eyed glared at a laughing Krish and pulled him to mop the floor along with them.
**
Raavi argued with Shiva Pandya at the store, being irritated by his intimidations. She was partially mad at her Maami for sending her to buy things from the store. Kaka had to stop their rants in midway to avoid embarassment from people. And yet, Raavi smiled at an angry Shiva saying "Sudhar Ja...jaane man. Abhi bhi mauka hai"
A furious Shiva came forward gritting and seething, muttering "Teri toh."
Raavi ran away with the bags of groceries, sticking his tongue out at him.
***
Raavi cycled merrily on a rainy forenoon, enjoying the weather. She peddled all through the lane, cherishing the pour with immense joy. She then noted a certain Shiva Pandya walking around with an umbrella. An evil smile ployed on her face and she sped to the Bhoothnath. Screaming "Sambhaalke," she littered Shiva's clothes with puddle. She stopped her cycle to watch his dangerous glare.
"Kya Shiva? Dhek ke nehi jaa sakta hai?"
When Shiva walked towards her again, she sped with her cycle.
**
Raavi screamed loudly in the middle of the class. The tiffen box filled with nothing but dead cockroaches fell down on the ground with a thud. The girls around her shrieked as loud as her and ran out from the class. Raavi noticed a small note and picked it up.
"Meet your best friends Chipkali."
And then she knew who did it.
***
A seventeen year old Shiva was cussed black and blue by a sixteen year old Raavi. Their fight turned nonsensical enough for them to throw stones at each other. One of those stones had hit Kanta Kaki's dog "Shyam Lal" and the gates to her house were open. Shiva and Raavi were wide eyed when they saw Shyam Lal sprinting towards them. They ran as fast they could. Shiva held Raavi's hands and they kept running and running till they reached the Pandya Store. Shiva locked themselves up in the store room and tried to recollect his sanity. They kept panting, shocked by the events that place. They kept looking into eachother's eyes, feeling stunned, feared and frightened.
"Yeh Kanta Kaki ka kutta toh bilkul unke jaisa hai. Ek dum peeche hi padgaya." Raavi muttered, brown eyes wide; mouth opened in fear.
"Sach mein. Pata nehi kya khilati hai usko." Shiva replied, agreeing to her point.
Then they looked at each other again. They bursted out laughing at their situation. That was the first time in their life to agree with something mutually. And who brought that agreement? Shyam Lal. What could be funnier than that?
***
Raavi wasn't affected much by Shiva's behaviour for a while. They did bicker but she understood that Shiva's laugh could be entertaining too. She had tried to be repulsive with him but the factor never remained the same. She found the change when Shiva had fallen down from the ladder over ground, his left had got pricked by broken glass pieces. Raavi was left worried. There was none at home and she was lucky to be here. She came to his house to give Dhara the bangles she brought for her. It was Navratri, the colours and Raavi wanted to gift her something for a change. She ran towards Shiva and helped him walk to his room.
She used to hate his presence but did not hate him enough to enjoy watching him getting hurt.
"Aee Chipkali, mein theek hoon, chod." Shiva retorted. Raavi rolled her eyes.
"Haath dheka hai? Khoon behraha hai.." She was annoyed not by his actions towards her but his actions towards him. She would cry out loud for attention if she had pricked even a pin on her finger. This boy was bleeding so much and he was saying 'he is fine?'
Raavi removed his shirt and cleaned his wounds. The big glass piece stuck on to his should brought tears over Raavi's eyes. She held them back while pulling the thing out. What was this stubborn person made up of? Was it not paining? Did he hide all his pain like this? She couldn't bare the thought of anybody hurting him anymore.
"Tu mere liye ro rahi hai ya iss khoon ko dhek ke dar gayi hai?"
Raavi looked at Shiva. That question left her baffled. Raavi crying for Shiva? She was stunned at the prospect. Why was this affecting her? This was Shiva the gadheda who leaves no stone to irritate her. She didn't speak a word later and kept dressing his wounds. She stayed beside him till Krish came home depsite Shiva's arugable protests.
"Dhek Shiva, aaram karo...aur haan mein Dhara dhi ko boldungi doctor se milwane ke liye."
"Doctor? Mein yehan maut se nehi lad raha hoon. Sirf zara si chot hai bass, over react mat kar haan. Aur yeh kya hukum chal rahi hai mujhpe tu? Bhaag yehan se."
Raavi froze at the word 'Maut'. Something told her she will not let that happen to him, she wil keep fighting till he agreed to it. Otherwise he would be killed by Raavi herself.
"Aee..ruk" Shiva stopped Raavi.
"Tu yehan kya karne aayi thi?"
Oh that just went out of her mind.
"Woh. Dhara di ko chudiya dene aayi thi Navrathri ke liye."
"Navrathri? Theen hafte hai uske liye."
Raavi frowned, he was speaking more than the need. "Ha toh? Haar kaam tujhse pooche karon kya? Meri marzi." Raavi replied and ran back to her house. She couldn't sleep that night, worry fretted her. Did the Bhootnath consult a doctor? Was he alright now? Was Dhara di taking proper care of him?
Relief hit back her senses the next day when Krish told informed her about his well being. Raavi couldn't do enough with that. She didn't find satisfied, she wanted to see him to make sure of it. Well, that marked the change in her mind.
**
Shiva couldn't understand Raavi's actions. Ever since he fell down from that cursed ladder, she was into his aid. The girl did not speak back much often, did not argue with him with dispassion, did not pull his legs or tease him. She did not prank him even. What has gotten into her? Did she think he was weak enough to be sympathized? Shiva got angry. Raavi's action was more irritating than her presence right that moment. When she came forward that day asking how he was? He screamed at her, kept screaming till she got aggressive. If he didn't do that, she would not have pushed him and he would not have fallen on the bed with Raavi on top of him.
And for the first time, Shiva noted the intensity in her big eyes. They were brown, drawing his attention unreservedly. The lightness of her eyes reflected through the rays of sun coming from his window. They ocean of brown, dripping down in the lightness of hazel looked so unfathomably beautiful. Did her eyes always look this beautiful? He wondered. How did he not notice them before? Raavi stood up, fixing her dress and asked a 'sorry' before she left from there. Shiva in that moment, sensed his heartbeat skipping.
**
Shiva didn't find Raavi around him later and damn, he couldn't stop thinking about the lapse ever since that day. He expected her to come around the next day to ask about his well being, to irritate him with that stupid care. He wanted check if those brown eyes were beautiful indeed. There was a battle running inside his head. This could be the theory of his mind too. There's no way Raavi's eyes would look that beautiful. He was cooking things in his mind. That was what he kept thinking on the gharbha night.
He was taken aback when found Raavi enter the ghrabha ground wearing a maroon and black ghagra choli. The duppata covered her waist, yet a slight creamy part was left to the display. His eyes then landed on her brown orbs. They looked spellbound; Shiva couldn't help but feel a jittery thrill swoon over him. Everything about her looked stunning, the smile, the eyes, the glow on her cheeks. The bindhi between her eyebrows made the elegance more piognant. When she rushed to her friends with all the jingling sounds made by her anklets and bangles; Shiva was left blown away. How could somebody look this beautiful? How can somebody carry theme selves with such a grace? Shiva tried looking at the other girls surrounding the place that day and to his dismay, none of them were like Raavi.
Raavi was something else.
Phenomenal.
Bewitching.
**
Raavi never knew somebody could look this ethereal. She has seen Shiva in sherwani before, but not with the first few buttons open and not with the look in his eyes he has for her right now. The guy was totally gorgeous, absolutely handsome. Or maybe even more. Otherwise why would he agree to oil her lamps after being forced by her Maasi whom he hates the most? They have been glancing at each other silently. Raavi could not figure how their focus shifted from bickering to stealing glances. She hoped to Shiva in the store when she walked from school. She has played with her friends in front of his house on wanted. She couldn't stay away even if she wanted to. She tried hiding from him, not wanting to let her feelings dominate her beyond control.
All her efforts just seemed to go in vain after watching him standing on the terrace with her. Raavi was holding a light lamp, cladded in a dark pink sleeveless salwar suit matched by white pearl drop earrings. Was she looking pretty? Did Shiva like her in this? She tried to look for an answer in his eyes. He was already robbing her heart in brown, what did he feel about her?
Raavi walked forward and lighted the lamps that Shiva oiled, they moved in a sync. None of them spoke a word to each other. Their hands kept brushing, neither of them seemed to do anything about it. Raavi's heart thudded on feeling the spark coming from each brush of his finger on her.
"Brown suits you." Raavi said as she lighted the lamps. She regretted her words immediately. What would he think about her now? Desperate? Stupid Raavi, she cussed herself. Her world froze the moment she felt his eyes land on her, the smirk on his face clearly made her breath hitch. What was he doing to her? Raavi felt breathless.
"I thought of matching with your eyes."
Blood flushed over Raavi's cheeks. They burned when his eyes kept staring at her. The thumping of her heart beats were making it worse for her. A smile formed on her face nevertheless.
"Now you are matching with your dress." Shiva stated, pulsing Raavi further.