Thank you for the encouraging feedback to the first part of the story. Here's Part 2 of this story! Hope you all like it! :) 

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Rohan was on the phone, "Ahaan...hmmm hmm...theek hai...10 baje....haan...okay".

He hung up suddenly as he saw Sameer enter the drawing room. Sameer was slightly surprised seeing Rohan on the phone, that too this early in the morning.

"Wo dost ko padhana hai aaj subah jaake," Rohan offered an explanation even before Sameer could ask.

Sameer just nodded as he sat down at the table for breakfast. 'Masala Pohe...!' The mere sight of the dish made Sameer nostalgic as he recalled how Naina had taught him how to prepare poha for the first time. She'd still been angry at him that time, yet Sameer remembered those moments fondly. At least, he'd got to spend some time with Naina in private that day.

"Sameer...kya hua? Itne upset kyun ho? Naina ki chitthi late ho gayi hogi....," Rohan consoled his step-brother. Sameer just hung his head in gloom.

"Kya naseeb hai mera yaar...usse itni door aa gaya...mil nahi sakta, phone pe baat nahi kar sakta...aur ab ye Bharatiya Post bhi hamari love story ki villain ban gayi hai!" Sameer exclaimed in frustration.

Rohan patted his shoulder and joked, "chinta mat kar...pehle nashta kha le...Mummy ne banaya hai, Keshav ne nahi!"

Sameer couldn't resist a slight grin at this amidst his disappointment.

Post breakfast, both Sameer and Rohan got ready for school. It was the first day of his new school and Sameer already hated everything about it! He felt like he was a kindergarten kid back again, and he was fighting with his mother, wailing, because he didn't want to go to school. As compared to Pragati Vidya ka Mandir's bright blue and white uniforms, St. Peters had a dull grey and white combination. Sameer longed to go back to his own school, back to Ahemdabad, back into Naina's arms.

"Sameer...chalo...!" Sameer's reverie was broken by Rohan's call.

He sulked as he came down the stairs and sat inside the car with his step-siblings, step-father and his mother. As they drove along, Sameer focused on looking out of the window. Ten minutes into the ride, he spotted a temple on the way.

"Roko, roko, roko...," he shouted urgently to the driver.

"Sameer...kya hua?" Vishakha asked as the car screeched to a halt.

"Mandir!" said Sameer briefly, as he got out of the car in a hurry and rushed over to the temple behind.

"Mandir?" Mr. and Mrs. Somani looked at each other, utterly clueless, while Rohan tried to hide his smile. "How love changes people!" he thought.

Everyone got out of the car to see what Sameer was up to. They followed him to the temple and saw him at the entrance, taking out his shoes before rushing up the stairs. The family too took their shoes out and followed him inside the temple. The sight that greeted them left them amazed and swelled Vishakha's heart with pride. "If only her mother-in-law was here!" she thought.

Sameer had closed his eyes and folded his hands in prayer in front of Lord Shiva. "Hey bhagwanji...aap to bholenath haina...aap to sabki sunte hain...sabke dil ki baat bhi jaante hain...18 din ho gaye hain, Naina ka koi khat nahi aaya...Munna, Pandit, Preeti, Shefali kisi se bhi kuch bhi pata nahi chal paa raha hai...bhagwanji meri Naina theek to hai na...mujhe aapse kuch nahi chahiye...bas aap Naina ka khayal rakhiye, main bas uske chehre pe khushi dekhna chahta hoon...wo khushi jo main kabse dekhne ke liye taras raha hun!" Sameer concluded.

He recalled Naina's words the first time they'd met at the temple, "Sacche dil se mango to bhagwaan zarur sunte hain...shayad tumne sahi se maanga nahi hoga isiliye tumhari baat bhagwaan ne nahi suni!" He sighed as he opened his eyes. He knew this time his heart was truly praying for some news of Naina. He took aarti which was offered to him by Panditji there, and touched his feet in respect. Then Sameer took the charnamrit and Prasad. As he turned to go back, he saw his entire family there, looking at him totally flabbergasted. He realized it must have been a shocker for his mother and her husband. After all, even after years of insistence, she hadn't been able to convince Sameer to visit the temple even once with her. What she could not do in these twelve years, Naina had done in their first meeting. Vishakha patted his back proudly as they retreated back to the car.

As they finally stepped out of the car at the gates of St. Peters, Sameer looked at the magnificent building. A series of impressive edifices, sprawled over an acre of lush green lawns, playgrounds, cricket courts, badminton courts, etc. etc.

"School hai ya 5-star hotel," Sameer thought irritatedly.

Vishakha sensed Sameer's growing unease and gave him a tight hug. It was Sameer's turn to be shocked now. He could not even remember when was the last time his mother had hugged him, or even how it had felt. He closed his eyes, trying to devour the love he rarely got from his mother. A few minutes later, Vishakha and Mr. Somani bade the kids goodbye asking Rohan to take care of Sameer.

As their car sped out of sight, Deepika ran over to a bunch of little girls by the swings, eager to meet and chatter with her friends before the school began. Rohan led Sameer inside the gates. As they were about to enter the premises, Sameer stopped dead in his tracks. His instant reaction was fear and then his lips curved into a huge smile and he jumped. Just two months back, if someone would have told him he would jump with joy seeing his father-in-law around, Sameer would have rolled his eyes at that person, thinking he'd gone mad. There were two things which could never be changed- Rakesh's dislike towards Sameer and Sameer's dislike towards Rakesh.

Sameer turned to Rohan excitedly, but as if the sight of Rohan bought him back to his senses, his smile faltered. Sameer immediately realized he must be dreaming. He was in Delhi! There was no chance Rakesh could be here. Sameer looked in the front again. But the man did look like Rakesh!

"Kya Sasurji ka koi judwa bhai bhi tha jo kumbh ke mele mein bichad gaya tha?" Sameer thought incredulously.

And then he heard that familiar fractious voice, "kya hai....andhe ho kya tum Dilli ke log...dekh ke nahi chal sakte...sirf naam ki rajdhaani hai Dilli...arey mehmaan ke liye koi adab koi tameez hai ya nahi?"

"Saala...ye to sach me Safari suit aa gaya...," the words escaped Sameer's mouth as he stood staring dumbstruck in front of him. "Ya fir ye koi bhoot to nahi? Naah! Safari suit se to bhoot bhi darte honge!" Sameer thought, quite serious this time.

He was in for another shock, as he saw another familiar sight and this time it was, "saala...". Yes, it was Sameer's saala-to-be, Arjun, standing meekly behind his father, his cricket kit dangling from his shoulders.

Sameer immediately turned back, deciding that he was hallucinating. Maybe Keshav had put something in the food last night? Sameer contemplated. "Ya...it was a bad dream...haan sapna hi hoga...lekin yaar sapne mein bhi Naina ki jagah ye khadus Safari suit aur saala aa gaye...kya bhagwaan ji...sapne me to ye villain chod ke meri Naina ko mere saamne lao na...," Sameer exclaimed dejectedly as he raised his eyes to the skies, pleading to God.

Probably Godess Saraswati was present on his tongue, when he said that. For the next moment, he felt himself pulled by his arm into an empty corridor in the school. As Sameer looked at the person who'd pulled him inside, his heart skipped a beat. He saw the familiar doe-like eyes glinting with happiness. Those same pink lips parted into a wide smile. The cute face, her hair tied in two pigtails. The girl of his dreams was standing in front of him, in that familiar green churidaar.

"Naina...," Sameer managed to utter. Naina smiled, tears in her eyes now. Before she could say anything, Sameer started laughing, "Naina....yaar tumhare pyaar me na main pagal ho gaya hoon...Dilli me bhi tum dikh rahi ho....pakka pagal ho gaya hoon...Agra jaana padega ab pagal khane me bharti hone ke liye...Haan! Ye dadi aur Keshav aur Mr. Somani ne mere dimag ka dahi kar diya hai...".

"Sameerrr....," Naina shook him by his shoulders, "main sach me tumhare saamne khadi hun...!"

Sameer kept looking at her in disbelief and then his eyes darted over to her hands on his arms.

"Yes, it was her familiar touch...that familiar warmth!" Sameer felt.

With great hesitation, Sameer moved his hand up near her cheek, as if to touch to see if she was indeed there for real. Naina did not move away and as Sameer's hand touched the creamy skin of her cheeks, reality dawned over him, tears of happiness crept into his eyes.

"Nainaa...Nainaa...," he couldn't speak anything beyond that. The two lovers were so overcome by emotion seeing each other after such a long time, that they hugged each other, hard and tight. They stayed in each other's arms like that, crying out of joy, not even bothering if anyone was around to catch them.

After few long silent moments, they broke apart a little. Sameer cupped her face with adulation, as he asked, his voice laced with profound happiness, "Naina...ye kaise...tum yahan kaise aayi....?" as he moved her hair away from her face.

"Bhai....ab side characters ke bina hero-heroine ki story thodi na chal sakti hai...," Sameer heard Pandit's familiar voice boom from behind. He turned and saw Munna, Pandit, Rohan and Preeti smiling. Munna and Pandit ran over to Sameer to greet him and hugged their brother from another mother intensely. Sameer's happiness knew no bounds.

"Ye sab kaise...?" Sameer asked again.

"Ye sab tere bhai Rohan ka idea tha...tum do prem panchiyon ko milwane ke liye...," Munna explained.

They elaborated on how Rohan had hatched a plan to somehow bring Naina along with them all to Delhi and had collaborated with Munna and Pandit for the same. Preeti had been the point of communication as Naina was being suspected of having an affair. They colluded with Shefali who agreed to tackle Arjun. On the other hand, Rohan here spoke to his best friend, Amit, the cricket team captain of the school, who in turn convinced the principal to allow for some special coaching to their team.

Amit told the principal about Arjun, a 12th pass-out from Ahemdabad, who'd been selected for the inter-state team from Gujarat. He sang such praises of Arjun that principal sir felt that no coach could be better than him for his school team. And what with the upcoming inter-school cricket matches, Principal sir got in touch with Arjun and offered him a handsome compensation in lieu of coaching his students for a week.

Rakesh, being greedy for money as always had jumped at the opportunity. Arjun did sense something cooking at the mention of Delhi and tried to dissuade his father from accepting the proposal. But there Shefali had intervened and literally blackmailed Arjun, that if he wanted to see her or meet her again, he would have to do exactly as she told him. If he wanted Shefali's respect and admiration, he would need to earn it. And the first step would be to show that he was a man of character, who knew how to respect the women in his own household.

He could start-off with Naina, she'd said. If he could do this to bring a smile on his sister's pained face, Shefali would believe that he's different from his father and would allow him to maintain a friendship with her. And Arjun had succumbed to the blackmail. He disliked the idea about taking Naina to meet Sameer, but then his own love story was at stake. So Arjun cleverly convinced the family that since the exams were over and the summer break had started, and as Naina and Preeti too had never been to Delhi, he would like them to accompany him there while he taught cricket to the students in school. Since Rakesh would be there to supervise, chachaji had made everyone agree.

"Dilli to hamare rashtra ki rajdhaani hai...Kitna kuch hai wahan dekhne aur seekhne jaisa...India Gate, Sansad Bhavan , Lal Quila, Jantar Mantar, Qutub Minar...Aakhir bacche bahar ki duniya dekhenge tabhi to kuch naya seekhenge...," he'd said. Chachaji's broad-mindedness always came in handy, much to the relief of the schemers.

And finally, Naina and Preeti accompanied Rakesh and Arjun on a week-long trip to Delhi. And there, Munna and Pandit had taken permission from their parents to go and meet Sameer during the summer vacations, and had booked seats on a separate train, lest Rakesh saw them and raised another hue and cry.

Sameer was overcome with emotion. He pulled Rohan into a tight hug and Rohan responded with the same affection.

"Thank you Rohan...tum jaante nahi tumne kya kiya hai mere liye!" Sameer spoke, trying to control his tears.

"Arey bhai ke liye kuch bhi!" Rohan responded good naturedly, and added, "aur vaise bhi mujhe bhi to bhabhi se milna tha...jinke pyaar me tu itna badal gaya!"

Rohan looked at his Naina bhabhi with respect and admiration in his eyes. And Naina blushed at the mention of the word, 'Bhabhi!'.

Seeking an opportunity, Preeti gestured Sameer to come over to the side. Sameer was surprised but followed her to another corner of the corridor.

"Wo jijaji...ek baat puchni thi...," asked Preeti hesitantly. "Pucho na saaliji...," Sameer asked, unable to guess the reason behind her reddening cheeks. He'd never seen Preeti blush, ever!

"Wo...wo...mujhe badi sharam aa rahi hai...," quipped Preeti.

"Yaar tum to Naina se bhi zyada sharma rahi ho...kya baat hai?" Sameer prompted.

"Wo jijaji...ye jo aapke bhai hai na..Rohanji...inki...inki koi girlfriend hai kya....mera matlab...bas aise hi...," she muttered hesitantly. Realization dawned on Sameer and his lips broke into a wide smile again.

"Acha ji...aapko badi padi hai...Rohanji ki...," Sameer said, laying emphasis on the 'ji'.

"Wo to bas...matlab...general knowledge...," Preeti stammered.

"Acha General Knowledge...jijaji se aapka dhyan Rohanji pe aa gaya hai...ek kaam karte hain Rohanji se hi puch lete hain na...Ro...," started Sameer.

"Shh...shh...chup...jijaji kya kar rahe ho...," murmured an alarmed Preeti.

"Madam...aapne meri aur Naina ki love story set kar di...ab tumhari behen ko to tumhara ye jija le jayega, to mera bhi to farz banta hai na ki saali ka bhi khayaal rakhne wala koi ho...main pata karke aapko update karta rahunga...," Sameer laughed and winked in understanding.

Naina looked over at the jija-saali duo chattering away happily in the corner and gestured to ask them what was so funny. But once Sameer's eyes had met Naina's, he forgot what he'd been saying and the lovers were lost in each other again. Naina moved over to the corner where Sameer was standing. Seeing this, Preeti excused herself from there and went back to the boys.

"Uhh...vaise Dilli me sabse acha kya milta hai...," Preeti asked, eager to start a conversation with Rohan.

She got a dreamy reply from Rohan, "dil le lo...".

"Kya...?" the combined voices of Munna, Pandit and Preeti jerked Rohan out of his dreams.

He immediately cleared his throat, back in his good-boy avatar and spoke, "I...I mean...Dilli dil walon ki hai na...to isiliye...hehe...uhh...bad joke sorry!" he fumbled.

Preeti looked at Rohan bashfully, "Dilli mein kahaan milega...ye dil....?" Rohan looked at her in surprise, and Munna and Pandit excused themselves.

"Chal ponga Pandat...yahan ek nayi Prem Kahaani shuru hone lagi hai...meri maan to tu bhi koi dhundh le...sabke shaadiyan saath me hi kara dete hain...," Munna quipped and Pandit laughed.

As they turned to go away, Pandit's eyes fell upon a girl who'd just come out of the 11th std. classroom, books in her hand. She passed them by without even the slightest glance at anyone except a slight nod of recognition at Rohan. Pandit's eyes followed her till she was out of sight.

"Geetika!" Rohan's voice told them as they all erupted into laughter.

"Finally...ponga Pandat ka bhi wicket gaya!" Munna and Sameer laughed.

The gang dispered as the bell for the start of the school rang. Naina and Preeti joined Rakesh and Arjun on the field, while Munna and Pandit settled themselves in the canteen. Sameer accomapnied Rohan to their class, though he could hardly pay attention there. During all the lectures, he kept gazing out of the window onto the playground, where he could see Naina dressed in that cream, silk top and that black, flowery midy.

The King of Hearts was eager to meet his Queen. Sameer and Naina had made sure they would utilize this week to the fullest as Sameer mentally thanked 'Bholenath' for giving him what he'd wished for- he was able to witness Naina's happiness, firsthand and what's more hold her in his arms.

His mind was overworking on how to escape his dearest father-in-law and brother-in-law in all the escapades and dates he'd planned with Naina. His thoughts were interrupted when Rohan whispered.

"Wo...wo jo bhabhi ki behen hai...wo achi hain...matlab...kaafi achi hainn...matlab unka bhi koi...koi hai kya...,"he added hesitantly. Sameer covered his mouth with his hand, as he sniggered.

"Aag dono taraf barabar ki lagi hai...," he thought and then responded to Rohan, "nahi Mr. Timetable...wo available hain aapke liye...aur meri maanon to naya timetable banwa lo jisme unke saath romance ka bhi time slot ho...aur haan apni pujya daadiji se mat keh dena...varna wo tumhari love story shuru hone se pehle hi khatam karwa dengi."

Rohan blushed as he heard this, and Sameer went back to his dream world, where he was romancing with Naina at India Gate.