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This chap is affectionately dedicated to - RupalShah774🖤✨

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"From a mere stranger........ To the someone whom now I can't afford to lose!"

A hush had been submerging the room in complete reticence from last nearly more than ninety minutes, i.e., approximately one and a half hour.... Tranquillity and occupiedness were quite evident around.

Clicking sounds of the keyboard's keys of Shaurya's laptop were the only dins reaching Manjiri's ears. But she was least bothered to take a notice of that as she too was absorbed in finishing her assignments. Both were busy toiling at their own tasks. One was rightly seating at his desk while on the other hand the another one was sprawled all over the bed along with her stationery materials and phone. After being busy in dragging and running her right hand over so many pages for such a long time constantly, she was finally done with her assignments.

Hence, she got up from the bed after taking a fatigued sigh and assembled all her things back in her bag, careful to not miss out anything especially on his side of the bed. As his cranky and neat freak nature utterly disapproves any type of objects heedlessly and needlessly lying on the bed. Crushing the waste and used scrapped file pages into a huge ball she started walking towards his direction.

"Shift a little!"

"For what?"

Still centralizing his entire attention on the screen and without even sparing Manjiri a glance, Shaurya offhandedly quizzed her with a clouded up expression glued on his face.

The trash bin was kept under Shaurya's desk, therefore his legs were playing a role of a hindrance in between her and the bin.

"I've to throw these."

"Then throw!"

"Where?"

"Anywhere you want Manjiri! Now don't disturb!"

Her mind was already fretting up with weariness. And on top of it his absent-minded and careless replies were helping nothing but only fuelling her irritability. So after thinking for a moment, she put down the paper litter on his lap in an aimless manner with an irking look patched on her face and went away.

Stupefied by her this whimsical and unpredictable act, he peeked a glance at her retreating form and rolled his eyes at her child like behaviour. Throwing away those papers into the trash can, he again sank in his work.

Experiencing a hair cramp over her scalp, Manjiri undid her tight ponytail and raked her hands through her hair for letting it braid into a loose braid tail. After making it she went to the washroom to change into her usual night clothes.

Soon Shaurya was also done for the day. He got up from his chair with a thudding sensation in his head. When Manjiri came out of the washroom she found him looking for something in the drawers near his desk. She guessed out what he was hunting...

"What you are looking for is not there..."

"Then where?"

"I removed those all from there."

"Did you throw them all in the trash?"

He turned around and asked her in a loud tone. Seeing his disturbed facial expressions she calmly rationalized

"Why would I throw them?
Day before yesterday Chhoti Maa was having a severe headache so I gave the entire medicine strip to her and then left it there only...
Anyways you shouldn't depend too much on them. I've seen you gulping them down your throat even for minor issues.
And moreover, screen headache is normal which will go away when you'll take some test...."

"Look Manjiri, my head is already drumming with immense pain.
So stop with your nonsense!
If you can't help in fixing it, at least don't escalate it."

Saying this he pinched the bridge of his nose. Whereas her expression turned into a mask of exasperation hearing his words,

"You really want to pick up a fight over those medicine strips?"

"No!
I don't want as I'm in no mood of doing that.
Moreover, I'm pretty sure that even if I pick up then you'll certainly lose."

"Ok fine, I just go and get them.
Stop stressing out!"

"No leave it now.
Maa - Papa must have slept... So don't bother them."

"Is it really hurting too much?"

Hearing her needless question Shaurya clenched his fists in vexation and resisted the urge to react harshly.

"No! No!
Who said?
I'm just practicing on my acting skills Silly Head!!!"

She too was exhausted and irritated. How badly she wanted to hit the bed and peacefully drift off to sleep at one moment. But at the next moment she felt reluctant to leave him like that. This was the first time Manjiri looked at Shaurya with outmost concern and seriousness.

"Apply some balm and sleep!"

"I can't tolerate it's strong odour... my eyes also burn with it."

He replied doing something on his phone.

Hearing this she mentally rolled her eyes and wondered -
"And people say girls have more tantrums.... Oh God!
Despite the headache, still busy with the phone.
Stubborn Head!!!"

Pressurizing her brain she began to think about the possibilities by which she could cure his ache. Suddenly something comes to her mind, so she started walking towards the dressing table.

Returning back to him with a bottle of coconut oil in her hand, she plainly said which sounded him more like a order,

"Close your phone and come with me!"

The moment he raised his head from his phone, she took it from his hand and placed it on the desk. Glancing at her monotonous expression he objectionably but patiently followed her. Reaching the bed, she slowly sat down on the edge of the bed and said

"Come settle down on the floor!"

"Excuse me?"

"What?"

"You really want me to sit there?"

"Yes!
What's wrong with you today? Throwing tantrums at each and every thing....
If you'll not sit down then how will I be able to massage your head with this oil properly???
Huh?
Now sit!"

"A simple head massage won't work???
Umm! I don't want to apply oil...."

He uttered with a sheepish expression.

"Now you have a problem with this too... As far as I know coconut oil doesn't have a strong odour.
So for God's sake sit down."

Shaurya wanted to counter her but he stopped when she shot him a mock glare. At then he understood that there was no point in arguing with her anymore. Though a part of him too wanted get relieved from the ache soon.... So unwillingly he settled himself down on the floor turning his back towards Manjiri and the bed's edge.

Soon Manjiri started running her fingers inside his hair gingerly and silently. She gently massaged his forehead too.
In a short while Shaurya sensed the muscle tension around his head slowly - slowly easing up. He soon realized this thing that just like humans, body also craves for attention. And a good massage is certainly the best way to communicate care by touching. Moreover Manjiri's every move was coming as a surprise to him as when a person massages himself / herself, he somehow knows at what place he / she will experience a touch.... but when someone else does the same thing then their every movement provides a great feeling always.
Inadvertently a slight satisfied faint smile unleashed from his lips as if Manjiri's fingers were performing some magic on his head by which his disturbed state of mind was improving a lot. Hence, her focused and conscious touch made him feel a lot better.

"Done!"

Hearing her he got up. She too got up. But while standing, accidentally she dropped the bottle of oil from her hand. Both crouched down in order to pick that up but bumped into each other's head by accident. She gasped in pain a bit loudly. He immediately approached close to her and said

"Let me see!"

She suddenly felt him brushing away some of her hair and lightly pressing his fingers on top of her head. He was examining it as if he was very much concerned about seeing if she was injured or not. To her utter surprise instead of getting overwhelmed by his overly concerned nature, she got amused.

Moving away from him, she tried to go past him. But in the next second, she felt something strange as she found his arms locked around her waist. She anxiously tried to free herself but by now she was held even tighter by him. Raising her eyebrows she asked him

"What's all this?"

Resting his forehead against her's, he breathed out

"How about this?"

Shaurya was taking each and every advantage of Manjiri's hands being oily as she wasn't using them to free herself. Calming her frenzied heart and looking down she timidly complained,

"Instead of thanking me, you're taking advantage of my hands being oily.....
This is unfair!"

He smiled hearing her words still connecting their foreheads together. He again breathed out softly fanning her entire face by his breathe,

"Thank you Silly Head!"

She nodded meekly with a reddened face and softly beseeched,

"Let me go and wash my hands.
It's already very late and I'm feeling sleepy ...."

But Shaurya ignored her words.
After a short while Manjiri came up with something, so she feebly muttered

"Leave me now...
Or else I'll wipe my oily hands by your T-shirt and spoil it."

Stunned by her words he questioned her with an entertained expression still pressing her forehead by his own.

"Are you scaring me by your threat?"

She was looking down. But when she heard his question she slowly peeked at him in time to see him smile a bit. Clarifying herself she said

"No! I really mean it, I'm just warning you."

"Alright then!"

Saying this he released his hold on her and moved his forehead away from her's. This brought a chuckle out of her as her threat finally worked. And this caused him to grin too.

"Can we all agree that pressing foreheads together is an underrated act of affection???"

_

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_

"Remind yourself that your life can turn out differently than how you thought it would and still be better than you could have ever imagined..........."

"Morning greetings Dadi and Dii!"

Manjiri greeted the ladies at the dining table and then joined Adishri in setting up the table for breakfast.

Adishri was contented with the fact that recently her little sister had started acknowledging her presence and efforts. Whereas Manjiri has literally convinced her heart to start seeing everything in a different light since the day she got to know Shreya's reasons behind her unusual behavior towards her. Manjiri has somehow realized that - 'nothing happens or changes by chance, everything and everyone changes due to a valid reason... and such is life.'
Though Shaurya's promising words were the real cause which pushed her to change a bit and trust others but she was deliberately not recognizing this thing.
She now really wanted to sort everything.... But deep down she was still fearing to face the reality. She too feared to get hurt again. So she decided to just keep going with the flow.

Soon Shaurya and Dev came and joined the three.

"Bhai ask your lady to stop messing with me. Gosh! She's supporting Dadi in poking fun at me.
Otherwise today I'll neither drop her nor pick her up from her college...."

Dev complained Shaurya with fake irritability. To which Shaurya replied without even shifting his gaze from his phone,

"Manjiri don't misbehave with your Nanny!"

Hearing this everyone started giggling except Dev. He shook his head and muttered to himself

"Today is literally a bad day for me... all because of Gupta Aunty."

"Gupta Aunty? How?"

His Dadi quizzed him.

"As soon as I woke up today, I went to the balcony and unfortunately her face was the first face I saw early in the morning...
And you know Dadi what I saw her doing?"

"What?"

She asked with interest.

"When she saw that no one was watching her, she threw all the junk and dirt of her gate with the help of a broom at her neighbour's, Mrs. Shah's gate."

"That woman is like that only....
No one in the locality meddles with her due to her combative attitude."

"Dadi get me married to Sam soon and then when she'll be here then we'll arrange a fight of her against Mrs. Gupta....
And at then the whole locality will come to know who is the real combatant."

Dev uttered these words jokingly which made all the other four burst out laughing hard.

"In the best conversations, you don't even remember what you talked about; only how it felt.........."

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This is it for now. Hope you liked it. I am sorry for the mistakes.

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