This is a collection of few shots summing up to a concept. It is a prequel of the previous chapter - and gives us a preview of how Annika learnt to make "Pasta" for her Billuji 😛

Concept courtesy - missingmypassion
Some ideas courtesy - arshi-suchi

Dedicated to Karthisundar for her Happiest happy birthday ❤️

Dear Karthiga, Let your birthday be filled with lots and lots of fun & love and a little bit too much  food😎

PS to all Readers - This chapter contains more of Annika and less of Shivaay. Just an FYI 😉

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Shot 1 - Some random day

Annika walked into Oberoi Mansion after a tiresome day at work. She was greeted by Omkara in the main hall.

“Hi Bhabhi. You already came? Thought you would be late” said a tensed Omkara. Seemed like he was rushing somewhere.

“Haa Om. I was done for the day. Waise, looks like you are in a hurry?” she asked him.

“Haa Bhabhi. Going out with Gauri to her friend’s place. Will be picking her up on the way! Shall I make some tea for you? You seem tired” he asked with concern.

“Arre no no. I will manage. You carry on!🙂” she smiled. “By the way, where are the others?” she questioned as she found the mansion almost empty.

“The Goyals’ function. Remember? They all just left” he informed.

“Accha. Completely slipped out of my mind!” she facepalmed. 

“All of us will be late mostly. Shivaay might be here in a while” he told her teasingly.

“Haa haa. You don’t worry! I will handle the dinner as well” she replied confidently.

“Wh..what?? Are you serious?😳” he gasped in shock.

“What?” she blinked.

“I mean. Are you s.. sure..sure? That’s what I asked” he smiled sheepishly.

“Haa haa.. I will make something simple” she assured and he had no option but to nod his head.

“God Bless!” he murmured and she glared at him, not able to get enough clarity on his words.

“Gotta go, Bhabhi. Bubye! Have a great time” he smiled and left without waiting for an answer, not before making a mental prayer for both Shivaay and his Bhabhi.

“Waah Annika. You have got a great opportunity to explore the kitchen now” she took pride in herself.

“What shall I make? Mmmm.. I don’t have much time. So, let me think of something simple” she concluded, thinking of a dish.

“Wow, IDEAAA😎” she squealed like a little kid moments later. “Let me make some PASTA! But, pasta is a very simple dish. Atleast that is what that Billuji will say” she twisted her lips.

“Kyaa karu. kyaa karu? Accha. why not try something different and unique? Maybe, something that is a mix of his and my choice. His favorite is pasta, my favorite is Aloo puri! Great! Waah, you are smart Annika. Let me make 'ALOO PASTA'. Wow, a new dish by Khidkithod Annika. An INDO-WESTERN dish! Let me make it and prove how good a cook I am to Billuji. He will be proud today😎” she raised her kurta’s collar.

In about ten minutes time, she placed all the items required around her and came up with a quick recipe for it on her own. Meanwhile, she had boiled the potatoes for her NEW dish.

“Living with Billuji, I am becoming smarter” she thought to herself. “No no! That’s not how I should say it! Mai smart hi hu already” she praised her own self with a smug smile, peeling the potatoes parallely.

She switched on the pan and began adding the Ginger Garlic paste, onions and tomatoes one after the other, along with her other Aloo masala contents. Every now and then, she patted herself proudly since there was no one around to praise her.

Just when she had added the potatoes and began wondering how much water would be required for the pastas to boil, she received a call.

“Hey Rudra.. “ she exclaimed.

“Hi Bhabhi. Got a break between the shoot! Badly felt like talking to you! That is why I called. You busy?” he asked her.

“Arre no no. Even I missed you! But, you are coming tomorrow, na?” she asked him doubtfully.

“Haa haa. Wanted to confirm that to you! Waise, you came home? What are you doing?” he probed.

“Arre. good you called me at the right time. I was making Pasta. I was not sure how much water to add. Can you help me?” she pleaded.

“Cook..cooking?” he almost choked his water. Luckily enough, he was on call and she couldn’t see him. Now that he had no choice, he decided to help her. Moreover, it was just PASTA, so he was a little relieved.

“Bhabhi. Open the draw below that kitchen slab” he suggested and she followed the same.

“Do you see two glasses – a green and a white?” he asked.

“Haa haa.. I do” she concurred.

“Use the green for the water and the white for the Pasta in 2:1 ratio, that is, for one glass of pasta, two glasses of water” he explained as clearly as possible.

“Waise Rudra. Why two glasses? I mean we can use the same for both na” she blinked since the glasses were of different sizes.

“Bhabhi. If you take water and then Pasta in the same glass, pasta will stick to the glass na, that is why we bought two separate glasses” he clarified.

“Arre waah, Rudra. You guys are so smart, just like me” she appreciated him. Little did both of them know that, there was another white glass placed a little behind and Annika had picked the wrong one.

“Bhabhi. They are calling me for the shot! Let’s meet tomorrow” he said hanging up. “Hey Bhagwan, save my Bhaiyaa and Bhabhi” he made a small mental prayer.

Annika quickly followed what Rudra had told her. She once again wondered why the glass reserved for water was much larger than the one for Pasta. She, however, brushed off the thoughts and continued to work on her dish.

She waited for over twenty minutes but the water was still boiling and there was no sign of it to evaporate. Finally after a few more minutes which felt like ages, it started getting clearer and she heaved a sigh of relief.

But, as she placed the ladle inside the pan, she was in for a shock. 

The entire dish had become so soggy and looked absolutely terrible. She switched off the flame and tried mixing it to figure out what it had become, but in vain.

“Yuck! Yeh kyaa hai.. Yewwww” she felt so disgusted at the very look of the dish. “Forget about Shivaay! How would I eat this in the first place?? Chee yuck” she shrugged. 

Just when she was almost in the verge of throwing it off in anger, her phone buzzed yet again.

“Hello. Jhanvi aunty?”

“Annika. You came home? Accha. We kept some Parathas in the refrigerator, for you and Shivaay. You can reheat them and have for dinner. Forgot to tell you!” she informed cooling down a super vexed Annika.

“Thank Goodness! Kuch toh hai for me and Shivaay. Warna, I would have messed up this entire place in anger” she sighed, all set to clean the mess before Shivaay arrived.

“But, one thing! I am not giving up! I will try again soon!” she convinced herself after clearing the place, when the doorbell rightly rang.

“Shivaay is here! But, more importantly, the bell sound is giving me good vibes!😁” she smiled in amusement.

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Shot 2 - About a Week later :

It was a Sunday afternoon. Shivaay, Tej and Shakti were out of town for a Business Meet. The remaining family members had gone to visit a temple in the outskirts of Mumbai since Gauri and Pinky had insisted. Annika chose to stay back as she had to co-ordinate with some designers and caterers for an upcoming wedding.

She was just done with setting up few arrangements and discussing various stuff on call. She switched on the TV to kill time, as there was quite some time left for the family to return, when she was surprised to see a cookery show playing on it. That's when an idea struck her mind!

“Wow. Waise bhi mai bored hu. Why not try making the Pasta again today? I am sure it will come out Khidkithod today! 😎That day, probably I was tired after work and that was why I messed it up. If not, I would have slayed it😏” she smirked.

“Aloo and all?!" She thought if she really had to try putting in so much efforts on a lazy Sunday afternoon. "Koi Nahi. Let me try today, without those potatoes and tomatoes” she decided. 

“But, agar I mess it up today also? No no.. better not to take risks. Let me watch some recipe tutorial on Youtube and try it. That day, Rudra said something and I misunderstood it. So, it is better to be careful this time” she concluded.

She quickly went and brought her tab, switched on a video of a famous cook, while she continued setting up the ingredients simultaneously.

“Today I am making it perfectly” she said with determination.

She followed the instructions carefully from the video and was almost done, except that the pasta had to boil for sometime. Exactly about that time, her phone buzzed drifting her attention.

“Let me pause it and go” she paused the video in her tab and went to receive the call.

“Hello. Yes Nia. Tell me.” It was her assistant Nia on the other end.

“Annika Ma’am. We found a great caterer. Seems some of his cooks have won a lot of awards for their innovative dishes and have worked in some star hotels as well. One guy's name has entered Guiness also. I have booked them since they had dates. They said they will contact you later” Nia explained and Annika hung up after collecting few more details.

“Waah. I can’t believe I am hiring some of the best caterers. Tcch.. If only I had cooked that dish well the other day, it would have been considered innovative too. And, if that was done in some cookery competition, just like the one I saw in TV today, I would have won a prize too, kyaa patha, first prize too. Waah! Who knows, there would be some dish with my name by now in some Five Star Hotel too😎” Annika drifted into a web of imaginations. 

She visualized herself winning an Award in a cookery show and a swarm of reporters surrounding her and interviewing her. Also, Shivaay witnessing all this with a sense of pride and a wide smile plastered on his face.

“Annika. Confidence is okay. Don’t you think this is over-confidence?” she gulped as she heard the sudden voice of her alter ego drifting her back to normalcy.

“That’s also true. I am going overboard. Let me concentrate on this now” she sighed, when her olfactory senses got activated.

“What is this weird smell?” she pondered when her eyes yet again widened in shock.

“Nooooo.. not again!” she almost screamed switching off the flame. This time, it was not soggy, rather something else had happened. She had burnt the food beyond repair. In fact, it was even worse than the first time Shivaay had tasted the burnt Pasta she had prepared. She frantically coughed for few seconds till she poured some water to put off the smoke.

“O bete ki! Good that the smoke detector didn't sense the smoke thereby triggering the fire alarm! Warna, this Khanna would have complained to Shivaay😱” she gasped. Last thing she wanted was Shivaay coming and scolding her as to why she tried such experiments!

“What the hell?! Why does this always have to happen with me? That too, when I am alone. Waise bhi, I did not even try something tough. I wanted to try Just Pasta, simple Pasta. Is destiny trying to signal me that I better not try such stuff?!” she sniffed, getting set to clean the place.

“More than cooking, this useless cleaning only takes time” she was devastated now.

“But, aise kaise?! I am Khidkithod Annika. I can do anything and everything! I will not give up till I achieve my goal. Kuch na kuch din, I will surely make yummy Pasta and make Shivaay taste it too! So what if I failed twice, three is a lucky number. I will surely succeed😎” she convinced and motivated herself with great difficulty.

And, as usual, just as she made the decision, the pendulum clock in the hall struck three, indicating her favorite signals – the “sound” of hope and of course the lucky number “three”.

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Shot 3 - Few Days later :

Annika was looking for some stage designs, when a grumpy Krish walked towards the dining table to gulp a glass of water. Krish was the groom of the upcoming wedding Annika was organizing. Over the last few weeks, Annika visited his place regularly, and both Annika and Krish had grown quite fond of each other.

“Krish.. kyaa hua?” she walked closer and asked him.

“Had a fight with Meghna, Annika. It is so hard fighting with her, and even harder not talking to her” he expressed sadly and Annika smiled gently. That was almost similar to what she felt whenever she and Shivaay fought.

“Krish.. It happens. Just don’t  think too much about it” she advised.

“That’s not the thing, Annika. I have to convince her now! Not sure what I am going to do!” he said worriedly.

“Just do something she likes. Maybe, take her to her favorite movie, get her something she has been thinking to buy from quite sometime, spend some quality time with her or just do or give her something she likes – could be anything, books or clothes or even food” she chuckled thinking of the foodie in her.

“Food? That sounds great!” he seemed excited now.

“But, I can’t make anything that is too tough. Maybe something easy” he thought.

“Anything. But, make sure she likes it🙂” Annika suggested.

“She likes. She toh likes all western Khaana. Let me try something simple. Well, then what about Pasta?” he exclaimed and Annika’s eyes twinkled at it.

“Wow. That is too good an idea! I will also help you” she volunteered and he looked at her with shock painted all over his face. Krish was Shivaay’s friend and Shivaay had already told him once about Annika’s cooking skills.

“Hey don’t look at me like that! I will just assist you” she told him and he somewhat agreed. The main reason Annika chose to assist him was so that, she could learn the recipe herself. Moreover, how could she miss the opportunity when he was making Pasta itself?!

In about fifteen minutes, the dish was made and Annika observed each and every thing carefully. There was no looking back this time!

"Wow, it's so easy?!It was done so soon!" She exclaimed.

"Of course it is! Annika..it is just pasta ok, come on!" Krish teased her. Though the dish had come out really well, the place was completely messed up! With onion and peas peels scattered all around the kitchen counter!

Meghna who had come there casually about ten minutes back, could not control her laughter at their atrocities and recorded a video of all their activities.

Before Annika and Krish could comprehend what was happening, she came forward and took him in a tight embrace, surprising both him and Annika.

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Shot 4 - Task completed 😎

Annika went home after their reconciliation in a very happy mood to surprise her own Billuji.

"Today is my day! Billuji, wait and watch, I am gonna slay" she hummed her own tune and walked down after changing.

"Ritu, if you are done, I need the kitchen for sometime. I am going to cook!" Annika announced and the cook Ritu dropped the knife in shock. 

"Mam..aappp??😳" She asked horrified, as Shivaay had already warned her once that she had to take the responsibility of making sure Annika never tried anything in the kitchen. 

"Mam but .." she blinked.

"Ritu. See it is not anything so serious! Just give me half an hour, I will be done!" Annika assured while Ritu gulped.

"Nothing will happen to your job!" She whispered and Ritu's eyes widened in shock. However, she also had no option but to leave the kitchen, though she had other inhibitions.

As promised, Annika was done in exactly half an hour leaving Ritu speechless.

"Now I am all set! Just that Bhagad Billa needs to come home!😁" She smiled heartily.

Shivaay walked home that night in a very good mood, as Oberois were merging with one of the best retailers in the market! He was whistling his favorite tune after changing when Annika entered the room.

"Shivaay, you seem soo happy today?" Annika asked chirpily.

"Yes Annika. The merger is confirmed.I am so happy!" He replied taking her in a tight embrace.

"Wow Shivaay. That Khushi calls for celebration. And I have something special for you😎" she almost jumped.

"Special?! For tonight?!" He asked huskily playing with her hair.

"Chee! Such a cheapda you are! I said I have made something for you. Come now" she almost dragged him.

"Made?! Matlab?" He still could not relate it to food!

"Of course, dinner! Now come" she sighed leaving him petrified.

"Wh..what??! Annika, no..no please ! I am in good mood today! Please don't make me upset, jaan🥺" he pleaded only to receive a sharp glare from her.

"Itna bura toh nahi hai! Now come and try what I made!😏" She commanded.

"Annika. No! I am not coming!" He whined.

"Shivaay, if you don't come now, I am uploading those baby photos of yours in Insta, DOT! Well, you know the repercussions if Rudra sees them!" She warned him.

"Annika.. this is too much! These days you keep threatening me with this reason, whenever you want to accomplish something! It is not fair you know" he whined like a cute little kid.

"Everything is fair in love and war, Shivaay!😏" She smiled sarcastically, dragging him all the way till the dining table. 

His brothers were waiting for him, while all others were already done and had retired to their rooms.

"Guys, let's dine" Annika was quite excited. She served parathas to Om and Rudy, while she moved her pasta bowl towards Shivaay lovingly.

While OmRu remained puzzled, Shivaay blinked at every action of hers. He felt like he was stuck in a maze and there was no way out from there.

"Annika.. please" he tried his puppy eyes technique one last time.

"Shivaay. You know what I can do right?" She smirked raising her brows and tapping her phone.

"O, yeh toh bhaiyaa ka dialogue hai na?" Rudy muttered and Om nodded in agreement. 

"Eat guys" Annika said sharply and OmRu obliged in fear.

"Eat Shivaay" she served the pasta on his plate. He gulped.

He closed his eyes, made a lot of mental prayers and slowly and very carefully placed the fork into his mouth.

Annika, on the other hand, was eagerly waiting for his review, precisely a compliment.

"Hmm.." he hummed and OmRu wondered if his lips got stuck together or something.

"Nice..not bad at all" he spoke slowly surprising not only Annika, but also Om and Rudra.

"Yayyy.. I knew it! Thank you so much, Shivaay😍" she almost jumped as though she had really won a medal.

"You guys can try some too" Shivaay extended the bowl towards them leaving OmRu shocked. They, for a moment, thought it was sarcasm, until Shivaay clarified it himself. Annika's experiment finally succeeded!

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Shot 5 - Later that night : SSO and his Deal!

"Shivaay. You really liked it?" She asked with her head rested on her arm while he was scrolling the mailbox on his phone.

"Of course, Annika. I told you. I wouldn't say it was great, but for a first time, it was good" he told her and she was happy that he was being honest.

"You know I learnt it today only…" before she could complete, his phone beeped and a notification popped up. On opening it, he was surprised to find the very same video of Krish and Annika making pasta during the evening. Krish had sent it accidentally to him, instead of Annika.

"Annika. So Krish made it and you are claiming that you tried and all, huh?!" He questioned her as his eyes popped out after watching the video.

"How rude Shivaay? I am not so bad okay. I took so much efforts, learnt the recipe and made this for you by my own and you call me a cheat? So mean. Don't even talk to me😏" she muttered grumpily and turned to the other side.

"Annika. I was just joking" he tried convincing his Billi but she pulled herself away from him.

"Jaan. I just tried to pull your leg. It was just for fun" he pleaded and she already began melting.

"Whatever" she murmured and he smiled pulling her back towards himself.

"You always taunt me Shivaay, that you don't know this, you can't make that etc etc. But, have you ever taught me something?" She complained and he was completely taken aback.

"Have you ever thought of teaching me a simple dish? You have always been so judgemental about my cooking skills, if not other things. Don't even say NO" she continued.

"Annika, aisa kuch bhi nahi hai."

"Aisa hi hai, Shivaay" she cut him off making him feel guilty.

"Waise bhi she is right! I always tease her but never bother to teach her! She learns stuff so quickly, but I always troll her cooking skills! That's indeed kind of rude only" he thought.

"Accha suno" he cupped her face "you are right! I have never taught you anything. But, I promise I will teach you something from now on" he said patiently leaving a peck on her forehead and her eyes immediately twinkled at that.

"Sachhi??" She was excited.

"Hmm.. pakka. From this weekend. But, only simple ones" he insisted and she agreed joyfully, though she did not understand why.

"Thank you. Love you❤️" she hugged him leaving no space in between them.

"But now, I am going to teach you something else" he whispered and she immediately looked up at him with questioning eyes.

Before she could bring herself to ask him what that meant, his eyes had turned a deep shade of green and he had hovered over her.

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Well, I am not sure how this turned out🙈 I tried to write it in a very little time and so please ignore grammatical errors if any!

Please leave your comments in the box below😁

And, yeah birthday girl Karthisundar , let me know your thoughts too! It may not be as funny as you are, but yeah, tried something like this for the first time 😛

Once again, a very very happy bday to you 😍❤️ have a wonderful day and a Khidkithod year ahead!❤️