This story is a sequel to my first fanfiction on SamAina (Love in Mt. Abu). This book goes a step further and explores Samaina's struggles to get married and includes their romantic journey from school to college. 

This story would flit in between different time periods. I hope that's not much of a hindrance. 

That said, for all Samaina fans, you can either read Love in Mt. Abu first or enjoy this as a standalone book. Would eagerly await my readers' feedback! 

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SECTION I 

1994: 4 Years Later 

Part 1: Hero aur Heroine 

Tuesday, 13th September, 1994:

It was almost noon when a snazzy bike dashed into the college campus. The tall, slightly lean young rider parked it in the student's section and disembarked from the bike. His brand-new, expensive sports shoes gleamed in sunlight as his feet touched the ground. As he took off his helmet, his beautiful, shiny locks were let loose. He combed his hand through his hair and looked into his bike's rear view mirror to set them. As he was doing this, his eyes fell upon a group of girls ogling at him from behind.

Sameer smiled, and turned to look at them. He took the shades off to reveal a pair of eyes sparkling with mischief. The girls were oomphhed. Had 'Dilwale Dulhaniya Le Jayenge' been released a year earlier, it would have seemed as if Raj saamne aa gaya tha! Sameer had transformed from Prem to Raj. He had retained Salman's innocent looks, but had now got hold of Shahrukh's boyish charm. Sameer chuckled apologetically at the girls and shook his head and fingers in a big NO. The girls were dejected to see that this handsome guy was already taken. Little did they know, he had lost his heart to his Simran, four long years back!

Sameer took out his books and headed straight to class, bike keys spinning on his finger. Whistling, he checked his watch and realized he was already quite late and dashed towards the class. Being late for class did not bother him. What bothered him was that he had lost out on those one hour and fifteen minutes that he could have got to spend with her.

"May I come in sir?" he asked the teacher from the doorway, his eyes on the mid-bench on the third row.

"Sameer Maheshwari, kal bhi late, aaj bhi late...kya chal raha hai?" exclaimed the literature professor.

"Ummm sorry sir, wo bike me kuch problem ho gayi thi toh...ummm...," he muttered not taking his eyes off the girl on that bench.

She was now fuming. He could see it in her eyes. More than trying to enter the class, he wanted to go and pacify her anger as soon as possible.

"Roz tumhari bike me problem kyun ho jati hai? Chalo aao andar," rapped the piqued professor as he turned to write on the board again. Sameer entered- his eyes on the girl in that bright yellow top, with frills on the collar and the sleeves, paired with dark blue jeans, her hair let loose, clamped onto her forehead with a matching yellow hair band. So she was wearing the top he'd gifted her last week, he thought and couldn't help but grin. She was looking right back at him and her eyes told him he'd had it today!

"Girlfriends are very hard to please," he sighed. He smiled furtively and sat down on the seat next to her. For the past four years, he'd been sitting besides her- on the adjacent bench in school and on the same bench as her since college began.

Naina gave him another piercing look before returning her focus on the lecture. Sameer started humming softly, "rooth na jaana, tumse kahun to, main deewana ban ke rahun to...hmmmm hmmm". Naina glowered at him and Sameer immediately put his hands to his ears.

"Sorry", he mouthed.

Naina whispered, "aaj bhi late Sameer...tumne subah ki bhi class miss ki...".

"Tum ho na...meri teacher...vaise bhi tumse acha mujhe koi nahi padha sakta...," Sameer whispered back. Naina did not answer but flipped the pages of her book loudly. "Vaise na abhi mujhe kuch ladkiyan ghur rahi thi...tum gussa ho to main unse jaake baat kar lu...?" Sameer muttered slowly.

"Nahiii! Koi zarurat nahi...tum mere ho...chup chap baithe raho idhar aur class me dhyan do...," Naina snapped at him, but not before her cheeks turned bright pink. Sameer grinned. This was a sure shot way to tame her anger- make her jealous! He loved to see her turn possessive for him. He would often tease her intentionally, just to hear her say that he belongs to her.

"Sameer Maheshwari!" he heard the professor's voice boom at him as a piece of chalk hit his shoulders. "Ek to tum class me late aate ho...fir Naina jo dhyan se padh rahi hai...use disturb karte ho...ab tum dono ki baatein ho gayi hon to aap log class me dhyaan denge?" shouted the professor.

Sameer mumbled a sorry to the professor and lowered his eyes onto his book, whilst Naina became hushed. She still felt bad whenever a teacher scolded her; though with Sameer, she'd become quite used to it. Naina listened attentively throughout the rest of the class, though she was well aware of Sameer's eyes back upon her. More than once, she looked at him and whispered "blackboard udhar hai...udhar dekho". Everytime Sameer smiled and shook his head in a big NO. His eyes told her that he wanted to look at her- only her, and would continue to do so until she yielded. Naina finally blushed, unable to stop herself from smiling slightly. Soon the bell signalling the end of the lecture rang, and as if jolted into consciousness, Naina remembered her anger again. She almost slapped her palm on her forehead. Sameer's charm made her forget everything in a jiffy. But then today she mustn't relent! How could he do this to her? He didn't call her last night at 12 to wish her on her birthday. In addition to being extremely mad at him, she was also upset. He always used to be the first one to wish her. This was the first time since she'd met him that he'd forgotten her birthday.

Before Sameer, Naina's birthday had never been a happy memory for either her or her family. Her mother had hardly held Naina in her arms when she was born, when she began palpitating. And soon, Naina was told, the doctors had rushed inside. Her second pregnancy had been high risk and the doctors had advised against it. Yet she'd chosen to go ahead with it. And just half an hour into her birth, Naina had lost her mother. The only comfort Naina had was that her mother had held her in her arms at least once. That was the only warmth of motherly love she had got from her, even though she did not remember it. Taiji had immediately labelled Naina as an unlucky girl- a curse on the family. As for her father- Naina didn't know if her being a girl was what disappointed him, or the sorrow of the loss of his wife at her birth. Whatever it was, Rakesh never showed any care or concern towards her. Chachaji and chachiji though, accepted Naina like their own daughter. They always insisted on doing Naina's aarti on her birthday, and chachi always made her favourite besan ka halwa at home. Naina too had never liked to celebrate her birthday, because her birth reminded her of the void in her life- the void which even though chachiji tried her best to fill, still existed- the absence of her mother's love. That is till Sameer came into her life. Sameer knew this history and hence always made sure that the day Naina was born was as special as the person she was. He would start with a birthday wish at dot 12, over the phone, or from down her balcony at night; and the next day, they would go out for a movie or a date. But today, Sameer had missed his routine. And somehow, it pinched Naina.

Naina prepped herself and got up haughtily, ignoring Sameer. Before she could leave, Sameer held her hand and pulled her back down on the desk.

"Gusse me tum na aur bhi hot lagti ho," he quipped, accompanied with a wink. Naina's face flushed with colour as she looked around to make sure no one heard that.

"Miss kiya na mujhe? Sorry na jaan! Kal se pakka jaldi aaunga!" Sameer tried to mollify her.

"Bas itna hi kehna tha tumhe?" she asked hopefully.

"Aur bhi kuch kehna hai na..., " Sameer said with a twinkle in his eyes.

"To kaho na!" Naina said impatiently.

"I...Love...You!" he said and grinned. Though she did blush, for the first time, Naina felt disappointed at him saying those three magical words. She'd hoped he would pair them with "A very Happy Birthday to you" as well. Naina loved Sameer beyond what he could comprehend- more than she loved her life. He was a gem of a person she knew. But why was he not wishing her? This was so unlike Sameer. He never forgot even the tiniest of their moments, any of their anniversaries, any of the dates which held even the slightest of special memories for them. It was really strange for Sameer to forget her birthday. Naina decided to wait and watch if he recalled it anytime soon.

After they were done with the lectures for the day, Sameer and Naina headed to the canteen for lunch. Sameer was ordering their usual, "do aloo parantha...dheemi aanch pe karare kiye hue...", when he noticed a guy strolling over to their table.

"Hi Naina", Ravi hesistantly waved at her. Sameer felt annoyed at the way he was staring at Naina- that too, with a red rose in his hand. Ravi had obviously assessed that Naina's birthday would be a good opportunity to tell her about his feelings. Naina and Sameer always used to be together, had been teased, speculated over, yet they'd never revealed the secret that they were a couple in the college. Sameer and Naina were not the kind for public displays of affection or PDAs as later generations came to call it. Moreover, they did not want this fact to reach unwanted ears- like any of Naina's family. So they maintained that they were best friends- only friends. And only six other people who were the closest to them- Munna, Pandit, Swati, Preeti, Arjun and Shefali, knew about their love story.

"Ye...Ye tumhare liye hai Naina...wo wo...," Ravi started. Before he could complete what he wanted to say, Sameer got up from his chair and snatched the rose from his hand, "Naina teri didi hai samjha chamanchooze...didi ko koi red rose deta hai?"

"La de ye rose mujhe...chal fut yahaan se...!" Naina couldn't help feel amused as she saw Sameer squabbling over with Ravi in front of her.

Sameer couldn't stand any guy even remotely trying to flirt with her. She loved seeing him get envious if any other boy approached her. She recalled the time, when during the first year of bachelors, a charming young classmate of theirs, Atul, was pursuing her. Atul would often try to find reasons to talk to Naina, much to Sameer's disgust. After every conversation with him, Naina would have a hard time either trying to pacify a smouldering Sameer or to cheer up a sulking Sameer. She remembered one such day, when Sameer was walking her back to her home (they decided to go by walk sometimes just so they could spend some more time together) and he'd been in a pretty bad mood. Atul had approached her in class and had dared to ask for her notes, that too, in front of Sameer. And Naina's fault was that she hadn't been able to say 'No' and thought he genuinely needed help with studies. She had given him her notes and thus earned Sameer's wrath.

"Ghar main chod aaun ya wo bhi usi ke sath jayengi aap?" he had exclaimed angrily.

"Arey maine kya kiya...," she had said.

"Haan haan tum to kabhi kuch nahi karti na. Ek main hun jo kisi ladki ko dekhta bhi nahi, aur tum ho ki use has has ke notes de rahi thi huh," Sameer snapped in anger.

"Arey Sameer...usne bas notes to maange the...main kya karti...use help chahiye hogi na padhai mein...," she defended herself.

"Naina yaar, tum kitni bholi ho...," Sameer's anger was turned into exasperation at her innocence. "Wo saala ek number ka padhaku hai...raat-din bas padhta rehta hai...use help-velp nahi chahiye...wo na bas tumpe line maar raha tha...," he explained. "Bada aaya notes maangne wala...class me bas tumhi notes likhti ho kya...," he added in a huff to himself.

"Chodo na Sameer...humein kya...? Hum apna mood kyun kharab karein...?" Naina had tried to calm him down.

"Pata hai Naina, zindagi me pehli baar lag raha hai...kaash ki tumhare wo Hitler papa, Rakesh sir yahan hote to aaj is namune ko chaar thappad lagate aur Rakhi bandhwa dete....lekin nahi...thappad khaane ka department to sirf Sameer Maheshwari ke liye khol ke rakha hai na unhone," he muttered.

Naina giggled and said dramatically, "haaye main mar jaavan, lagta hai 'The Sameer Maheshwari' ko jalan ho rahi hai....".

"Jalan...kuch bhi...," Sameer tried to brush it off.

"Tut...tut...," Naina clucked her tongue in mock sympathy.

Sameer started sulking again. "Tum bas usse baat mat karo...mujhe acha nahi lagta...," he put forward his request in a child-like manner.

"Haha...sach me jalan ho rahi hai tumhe....," Naina laughed. "Haan ho rahi hai bas....," he admitted, sulking sadly.

"Arey meri jaan...main teri, tu mera...fir duniya ki kyun karein parwaah...," she'd said as she had entwined her fingers in his hand tightly. It was then that Sameer had finally smiled!

Naina came out of her reverie when Sameer clicked his fingers in front of her. Ravi had left the canteen dejected.

"Ye lo jaaneman...ye tumhare liye", Sameer gave the red rose that Ravi had brought to Naina with a smile. The aloo paranthas had come by then. Sameer tore a piece and offered her with his own hand. Naina took the bite and made Sameer eat as well.

Post lunch, they strolled in the college corridors chatting with each other. Naina was still waiting for Sameer to wish her Happy Birthday. Half an hour passed by, but Sameer was lost in another world. It was already two in the afternoon- time to go home.

Finally, Naina had said sadly, "wapis chalein?"

Sameer shook his head and pulled her into an empty corridor, "Ek baar...ho jaye???" Though Naina had become used to such sudden hugs and pulls by Sameer, she couldn't deny they still made her feel as jittery as she had felt in his arms the first time he'd embraced her.

Naina blushed and said, "tumhara to roz hi ek baar hota hai....". Sameer sniggered and looked about. Seeing no one in sight, he looked at her with all the love in his eyes and moved towards her lips. Naina happily thought, "Ohh! So he's going to wish me with a kiss!"

At that instant, the college bell signaling the end of another lecture chimed and Naina watched in despair as the kiss and the birthday wish- both were interrupted. Sameer grinned at the unsuccessful attempt.

Well, life was all about hits and misses!