Shiva had just entered class when Sneha had come running, screaming his name, but he'd only frozen when he heard the other name. "Shiva!! Raavi... Raavi ko, seniors... ground mein..."

He hadn't stood waiting to hear anything else. He'd taken off at a run for the grounds, a couple of his friends following behind him, and quite a few other classmates just for the tamasha. By the time he reached, there was already a crowd standing around. Eerily silent for a college ground and some regular ragging, and then he heard it. The sounds of her sobs, followed by the laughter of a couple boys, none voices that he recognised. 

As a couple students turned around to leave, they realised who exactly was there, the whispers of Shiva bhai hai, hatt bae, began, clearing a path to the centre of the crowd. And at that centre stood Raavi, in her favorite white salwar kameez, the colorful pom poms at one elbow torn halfway and her dupatta in the hands of one of the boys. 

He recognised them as boys he'd told off for ragging a couple freshers, and they'd targeted her, his chipkali, in retaliation. "Abey, Bholenath ke paas jaane ka itna hi shauk hota to pehle kyun nahi bataya bae?"

Raavi turned, her cries stopping, Shiva, tu aa gaya, but if he saw her tear streaked face now there was no guarantee those boys would make it out of here alive. 

"Ey Sneha,  leke chal use class pe, ab to inki haat pao ke saath ye log yahan se niklenge nahin. Vo meri maami ki behen ki beti hain, aur usse pareshaan karne ka haq bhi sirf mera hain."

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It had been two whole days since the ragging incident; two whole days since Shiva had last seen Raavi; two whole days since Raavi had hugged him in the middle of their college grounds and had stuck on like the chipkali that she was. 

And all to keep him from getting suspended because a couple Professors had noticed the crowd and were coming to investigate. In her defence, she had tried to stop him, but he hadn't paid heed to her words till she'd pretty literally thrown herself at him. 

He hadn't been suspended, but both their families had been informed of the incident and maami had blown her fuse. He would have told everyone the truth, but one look at Raavi's wide eyes and he had known it wasn't what she wanted, and he understood too. Maami would never let her laadli beti go to college if she knew she had been ragged, and then had been claimed by him as his. And her education was something very important to Raavi as it was something her parents had wanted for her. 

Which was why he was so surprised when his bhabhi had come running to wake him up that morning.  "Shiva uth, uth!!! Shiva, Raavi ka call aaya tha, Maami ne usse dekhne ke liye kisi ladka ko ghar pe bulaaya hai aaj aur usse abhi bata chala! Dekh, mujhe nahi pata kya hua us din par ab Raavi bahut ro rahi hain Shiva. Vo tumse milna chahti hai, isliye tu chal mere saath pehle! "

He had gotten ready in record time and broken every traffic rule he could possibly get away with.

"Ay Maami, dimaag karaab ho gaya he kya tera, vo kya kisi paraya mard ke saath ta jo tum abhi uski shaadi karvaa rahi ho? " He had then proceeded to bang on her door until he had heard her soft "Shiva? "

"Haan, main hi hoon chipkali, darwaza khol pehle"

The door had opened after that, and Raavi had come rushing at him right with it. "Ey chipkali, tumhare iss harkat ki vajah se to itni saare museebat hain, phir se shuru ho gaye tere aankh ke nal chaalu? " He had scolded her even as he put his arms around her, gently patting her head. 

And then he had turned to glare at his Maami, the cause of all this ruckus. "Ey Maami, isse to Pandya parivaar ka hissa banna ka bohot shauk hain naa, to tujse ye sambhala nahi jaati to vahin pe bech do isse! "

"Aur kya, zindagi bhar vahin rakh lega meri beti ko tu? Bhai, kabi to shaadi karni padegi naa use?"

"Haan, vaise to tu theek hi bol rahi hain kaagdi, jab isse mere Shiva se chipakna ka itni hi shauk hain to kar lete hain inki shaadi, kyun bagodi ki beti? "

And as they all turned around to see Suman Pandya entering the house Shiva looked at Raavi only to find her already staring at him. "Vaise to mera bachpan ka sapna tha, ki main Pandya parivaar ka bahu ban jaaun. "

"Haan haan thik he, tumhara ye ek sapna poore hone dunga, phir mujhse koi umeed mat rakh chipkali. "

"Ey, kya bole jaa rahe hain tum dono? Pehle padai pe dhyaan do, shaadi ki baat badon kar lenge. Kyun Maami? "

Saying so Dhara bhabhi held onto our ears, pulling us apart from each other and turned around, only to find Maa cackling at a behosh Maami on the floor. 

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