Despite what the popular notions said about him, Sameer Maheshwari wasn't always lost in his thoughts. It was quiet the opposite actually. It was now, during this particular time period that he had found himself lost in thoughts, ranging from cricket to Naina to the people who can potentially cause some sort of harm to her. So right then, he was walking down the corridor, weighing all the clues he had till then.

"Kaha khoye rehte ho Sameer?" Asked a high-pitched, unfortunately familiar voice at his right.

He turned, facing the owner of the noise. Sunaina was at least a head shorter than him, even in her ridiculously high heels, and was wearing about a pound of makeup on her face, maybe to hide the wrinkles that were beginning to form, his mind supplied. Secretly, she might even be the Simi Garewal of Karz. Old, wrinkled and evil. This didn't sound like a particularly pleasant sight though.

And, she was also far too close for Sameer's liking.

"Tumhare khayalo mein toh bilkul nahi, lekin tumhein isse koi matlab nahi hona chahiye." He muttered irritatably, stumbling back a few steps and glaring all the while, hoping that she would give up and walk away.

Unfortunately Sameer didn't have luck on his side this time.

Swooping forward like a vulture in high heels, she was at his side again almost immediately, battling her eyelashes at him in a way that made Sameer shudder a little. "Manly," he knew. The smile showed where her lipstick had bled, and the slightly yellowed teeth behind them. Sameer wondered if he was going to vomit.

"I am sure mujhe iss baat se zaroor matlab hona chahiye Sameer," She said, pressing her chest up against his shoulder in a way that definitely let her intentions be known, "In fact ab toh tumhare khayalo par kisi aur ka koi haq hai hi nahi." She cooed, chuckling in a way that was probably supposed to sound flirty, but to Sameer, it just sounded creepy.

Sameer stepped away, trying to figure out a way to let her know he wasn't interested. "For the final time," he hoped. Some people simply can't take a hint can they? But Sameer knew he had to tread carefully. They were family friends, but most of all, she was a girl. There was no excuse for him to be disrespecful. And they were related through buisness too. A wrong move could result in the factory losing money.

What he didn't know was, what did Sunaina mean? And why the hell did she sound so confident?

But that wasn't the point. The point was, he needed to get out immediately, before something bad or embarrassing happened. He didn't actually trust himself for not snapping at her and ruining everything. He began making his way toward the door of the nearest classroom, trying to calm his nerves down to an acceptable level.

"Dekho Sunaina mujhe nahi pata ki tum kya aur kis baare mein baat kar rahi ho, lekin mujhe abhi kaafi kaam hai toh main tumse baadmein- ya thode din, ya phir thode mahino baad-"

"Mazaak ki aadat gayi nahi na tumhari? Chalo accha hai baad mein rishte mein humour toh hona hi chahiye." she slurred. Sameer stared at her in confusion. Maybe she had gone crazy. But seeing the look on his face, she rolled her eyes and said, "Samjhe nahi? Chalo main samjha deti hoon. Munshi kaka ne tumhare Nanaji se humare rishte ki baat ki thi. Ab jald hi rishta pakka bhi ho jayega. Haina acchi khabar?" She asked, standing up to press her mouth right into his neck.

He shuffled uncomfortably out of her reach, but the damn woman still kept coming forward. Sameer didn't know what to do, or what to say. He couldn't believe her for even a single moment. She wasn't exactly the most trustworthy person on this planet after all. But the way she said it, all confident and a bit.... happy maybe? He didn't have a clue. Was she telling the truth? Had Munshi kaka really talked to Nanaji regarding their alliance? How had Nanaji responded? Did he... god it hurt to say...agree to it? No. His Nanaji wouldn't do that. Not without consulting it with him.

But there was no way he was every going anywhere with this woman, and it was getting harder to breathe with every second and he couldn't-

He couldn't misbehave. Wouldn't. Ever.

He sighed. It was difficult to explain this feeling in words. Wasn't exactly pleasant though. He shut his eyes to concentrate, and took a deep breath, he shouldn't shout at her "Dekho tumhein koi galat fami huyi hai. Mere Nanaji ne iss baare mein mujhse koi baat nahi ki hai. Waise bhi main tumse shaadi karne mein interested nahi hoon. Woh puchenge toh bhi main unhein mana hi karunga."

Sunaina instantly snapped her head up and moved a few steps back, narrowing her eyes. Sameer breathed a noticeable sigh of relief, and felt his anger calm down ever so slightly. Only a bit.

"Itna kis baat ka ghamand hai tumhein Sameer? Mere jaisi ladki tumhein dhoondhne par bhi nahi milegi. Just because main tumhein like karti hoon iska matlab yeh nahi hai ki tum mujhse kaise bhi baat kar sakte ho. Trust me tumhein logo ki dhang se pehchaan nahi hai, isliye toh meri jagah uss Naina ko prefer karte ho," Sameer's eyes widened in surprise. She knows about us? "Kya lagta hai tumhein? Tumhara aur uska koi bhi future hai? Tum dono ka caste, status sab alag hai. Phir bhi pagalo ki tarah uske peeche pade ho." She snarled, and Sameer stared at her in disbelief.

It was one of those roller coaster rides, where you barely get the time to deal with the fall in hand, when another one suddenly comes your way, even more profound and thrill-filled than the first one. Only this time, in his case, the falls could be regarded as problems. The dilemma of his and Sunaina's marriage negotiations..... wasn't that big. It can easily be dealt with. He would simply say no to his Nanaji and ask for more time. It would be okay. However, he didn't actually know how to....react to the second one. The fact that Sunaina knew about his and Naina's relationship, or past-relationship....was unbelievable. They had been so careful...but maybe not careful enough.

"Tumhein mere aur Naina ke baare mein kaise pata chala?"

She practically snarled at the him. This is all he had to say? After she had practically declared that she liked him and wanted them to get married, she thought she did deserve some appreciation. What had Naina done to him?

"Main baaki sab ki tarah andhi nahi hoon Sameer. Meri aakhen aur mera dimaag dono intact hai. Mujhe sab samajh aata hai. Lekin zyada tension mat lo, maine kisi ko kuch nahi bataya hai, aur na hi main aisa kuch karne waali hoon. Agar logo ko pata chalega ki tumhara standard itna low hai toh meri insult hogi."

Though Sunaina hadn't won the award of the "most trustworthy person of the year," he knew he could trust her on this one. Telling anyone about him and Naina would be like accepting her inferiority to Naina- that the 1st year had something that she didn't- which as far as he knew, she would never.

He let out a long, deep breath. Time to be patient and truthful. Perhaps for the very first time ever, he felt sympathetic towards Sunaina. He pitied her for actually seeming happy about this alliance, about thinking that a person like Sameer was capable of keeping her happy. Keeping anyone happy. Right now, he simply felt....defeated.

"Kya karogi mujhse shaadi karke?" he asked in a broken whisper, and though it wasn't implied, the question seemed rhetorical enough. "Sunaina humara koi future nahi hai. Agar shaadi ho bhi gayi, tab bhi hum dono dukhi hi rahenge. Humesha isse regret karenge. Yahi wish karenge ki hum dono koi aur insaan hote ya ban paate." Seeing the lost and the almost.... searching look on Sunaina's face, he willed himself further, "Main tumhein khush nahi rakh paunga Sunaina. Main toh Naina ko hi-"

As Sameer trailed off, and refused to meet her eyes, the color drained out of Sunaina's cheeks, and she began to step back slightly, shaking her head in disbelief. Sameer stood there for a few more minutes, trying to regain his lost strength and old sense of life. The latter didn't seem possible though.

Deciding that he had probably said enough, since Sunaina still seemed to be in a daze, he turned to leave. He had hardly taken four steps further, when Sunaina called him out again, but this time her voice didn't seem to be her own, not the one he was accustomed to anyway.

"Sameer agar tum sachmein usse..... mera matlab agar usse......" She whispered quietly, her voice soft and lacking the same jovial and coyness tone it had a minute ago. She shut her eyes to concentrate. "Tumhein use bata dena chahiye." With that she took off, neither explaining the words she had just uttered, nor waiting for him to make sense out of them himself.
____________________________

Sunaina's words might have both, surprised and confused Sameer at the same time, however he didn't actually have the time to dwell upon them. And that is why he was perched upon the sofa of his room at this time of the night. It wasn't that late though. Just 12:30 am. But let's get to the damn problem in hand. He was still very much concerned about two people: the one who had seen him and Naina at Roshan factory, and the one who took and sent their pictures to Pandit. He wasn't even sure if there were exactly two people involved. Might have been more.

Well, the culprit of Roshan factory had unfortunately for himself, (and fortunately for Sameer) left his "S" clad and absolutely wierd handkerchief in the factory.

So, the culprit should be a wierd person with the name starting from "S." That's a great help. People of Ahemdabad always seemed pretty wierd to him, and how many people with "S" live here again?

Or maybe, the "S" was some sort of nickname or a gang sign. Not a name. Another great help!

The culprit of those photos was..... still unknown. The photos were definitely from the speech day though. And blame his bad luck, there were around a thousand people present around the conference hall at that point of time. It could be anyone! Literally anyone! But thousand is still less than the entire "S" named population of Ahemdabad.

He strode over to the dressing table of his room and extracted the said photos from the drawer. He had borrowed the infamous brown packet and the....snaps from Pandit some days back.

Unfortunately they had neither stopped existing, nor have they erased from history.

Yep, they still seemed as disgusting and embarassing as they had been the last time. Him and Naina kissing. Pandit had seen these photos. Munna was about to.

Whatever.

Do not dwell on that.

Though he didn't like to admit it, in the safe confines of his room, they even turned him on a bit. Remembering that day, that moment. Now that was a situation he had imagined and recalled more times than he could count. And to be honest, he'd imagined it both ways. Naina initiating the kiss, him initiating it, Naina's tongue entering his mouth, her face as red as it had been then, looking breathless and beautiful-

Stop.

She isn't yours to think about.

Not now anyway.

He tried to remember the events of that day. The speech. The crazy rally that followed it. Lunch in the red rose. Nothing special. He hadn't conversed with anyone special that day. Just his friends, Sunaina and Mitali. Karthik maybe. The cricket team. Some students he didn't even remember the name of. He hadn't picked any fight that day, even though Karthik was trying his best to instigate him. There had been a tiny disagreement.... between him and the second-year Prem. That's all. But he had fixed him later on. Not on the same day but still. He brought his gaze to the photos yet again.

Their kiss.

It feels like everything has changed, like something fundamental has shifted inside him.

And then Sameer felt something in his chest lurch and flip and he stared down at the pictures yet again. Because that had felt remarkably like his cold, shriveled heart doing something idiotic like coming to life and proceeding to skip a stupid beat. Sameer thought about the kiss - thought about Naina - and the effect was immediate. His heart raced, pulse roaring in his ears, and Sameer felt... electrified, a rushing, tingling awareness that spread throughout his body. It wasn't just passion or desire, it was... warmth and affection and a want so fierce Sameer thought it might just break him.

Just like a nice robot doing his job, he dialled the person responsible for all this mess and waited for the phone to ring back to life. Exactly 3 minutes later, a very sleepy and possibly grumpy Pandit answered the call, his voice unmistakably hoarse,

"Hello kaun hai itni raat ko? Khud neend nahi aa rahi toh kya auron ki bhi udaoge?" In Sameer's opinion, it was Pandit who had chased away his sleep. A little payback wouldn't hurt would it?

"Pandit main Sameer bol raha hoon. Mujhe tujhse kuch important baat karni hai." Sameer could practically hear Pandit's eyes widening and the hair on his skin standing upright.

"Abe Sameer tu? Itni raat ko? Bhai mujhe pata hai match aa raha hai. Practise kar toh raha hoon. Ab sounga nahi toh accha kaise khelunga." Pandit still refused to allow Sameer to join the already one-sided conversation, "Ab toh naye cricket bat bhi le aaya tu humare liye. Unke liye hi shaant ho ja"

It was Sameer's hair's turn to stand upright now. "Are bat se yaad aaya. Arjun ka bat kab tak ayega? Teri baat huyi thi na Trivedi ji se."

Pandit was pulling at his hair frustratedly, or that's what Sameer could make out from the noises in the background, "Abe baat ho gayi thi. Ab imported bat mangayega toh yahi hoga na. Shipping mein time lag gaya hoga." Sameer still wasn't allowed to reply back though, "Lekin tu chinta mat kar. Tune yeh duty ekdum sahi insaan ko di hai." Sameer could practically hear Pandit's voice dripping with pride, "Arjun ke birthday se pehle bat aa jayega. Aur maine aur Munna ne use gift ka shak bhi nahi hone diya. Yeh bol diya ki humare purane bat mein deemak lag gaya, toh naye laane pad gaye- " Sameer rolled his eyes. What else can he expect from Munna Pandit? " -aur tu dekhiyo Arjun ko pakka yakeen ho gaya hoga."

Sameer sighed. No point of arguing with Pandit. "Pandit tu yeh bata, tujhe uss din meri aur Naina...matlab woh photos kisne di thi?" A tense silence followed and the phone line suddenly seemed grim to Sameer. He took a deep breath rather uncomfortably and whispered, "Dekh mujhe pata hai ki tujhe iss baare mein baat nahi karni hai, lekin mera yeh jaanna bahut zaroori hai." Still no answer.

Pandit finally gave up and replied back, utterly defeated, "Mujhe nahi pata Sameer. Dekh woh dugla-patla sa tha. Mota sa chashma laga rakha tha usne. Humare college se toh bilkul nahi tha. Yeh photos brown packet mein thi, woh toh hai hi tere paas." He took a minute to recall, "Dekh kholne se pehle maine usse poocha tha ki ismein kya hai? Use khud nahi pata tha. Bas Munna ka pata pooch raha tha. Lekin uske Munna tak pahuchne se pehle maine usse doosra packet cheen liya tha aur use bhaga bhi diya. Mujhe lagta hai use kisi se bheja hoga. Main bhi pagal hoon" Pandit reprimanded himself, "Gusse mein naam waam poochna hi bhool gaya."

Sameer's thoughts again zoomed to overdrive, but he immediately caught back on the reality and replied, "Yaar tu usse dhoondh sakta hai? Matlab aas paas ke colleges mein?"

Pandit listened to him quietly, "Dekh mujhe pata hai ki tu yeh sab kyu....." he trailed off for a while. Sameer knew what his friend wanted to say. But before he could start his efforts to convince his friend, Pandit answered back in a much former tone, "Chal chodd. Main ek-do dinon mein pata karke batata hoon."

Sameer smiled gratefully, even though he knew that Pandit couldn't possibly see him. He cut off the line, and accidentally missed Pandit's remaining part of conversation, "Abe Sunaina aur tera-"

Sameer sighed, stuck the pictures in its place, and put the phone back on the nightstand table. He hugged the nearest pillow to his face and drew in a deep breath. He was still perched upon the stupid sofa.

He rolled over onto his side facing his closet and took the pillow with him, peeking out from the top of it at the stack of books that sat against the wall. He let his gaze travel, giving his room one more sweep before settling on the open closet, where lines of clothes hung rather neatly. So unlike him.

Pushed to the back of the shelf at the top of the closet, there was a heavily carved sheesham wood presentation box. His family heirloom and his 10th birthday's present from his Nanu. Of course, it was what was inside that held his interest. He closed his eyes and flopped backwards on his bed, burying his face in the pillow. He could feel his cheeks heating up, flushing with an embarrassing stab of want that started low in his belly and slid lower still.

He shouldn't have looked inside it. He knew that. He knew it was wrong. She isn't yours to think about, Sameer thought with a huff, propping the pillow behind his head and staring up at the still ceiling fan above him.

The blue earring was the most beautiful one he had ever seen, mainly because its owner had been Naina. Ethnic Oxidized Jhumkas, his mind supplied. The ones easily available on shops. Simple enough, but with Reconstituted blue Turquoise Beads. Simple and beautiful. Just like Naina. A rich smell clung to it. An old smell, but not unpleasant. Something familiar, sweet, but with a sharp hint of delicacy. Musk and.... Naina.

She had dropped it, he recalled. Dropped it in the locker room on the match day. It must be dear to her, dear enough that she came running back to retrieve it. That's when they had kissed. For the very first time. That's when this all had started. Naina never regained the possession of this piece of jewellery, but Sameer had no intentions of giving it back. Why would he? It was a bright reminder of that day.... the first kiss....them.... the happiness. But most importantly, Naina!

He absentmindedly stared at the photos, his mind still fixated on Naina and her earring and her pain.

A mind catches the greatest of things,

only when it stops looking for it.

Sameer absolutely believed it right then.

He placed a soft kiss on the earring, wishing that it's past owner appeared in front of him. Safe, happy. Carefree. Undamaged.

On the margin of a photograph, taken from a completely different angle was the photographer's bag. Correction. The tiny margin of the black bag, barely visible. With the same wierd letter "S."

Were his two culprits the same person?
________________________

The very next day, Naina Aggarwal strode inside the VJN college with a resolve as firm as iron, accompanied by her sister Preeti. Her fellow students halted their daily activities for a moment just to stare at her. And why wouldn't they? It wasn't everyday that she wore a boho braid, Pink salwar kameez and matching baby pink jhumkas. Her new outfit was definitely a reminder of her newfound confidence and firm resolve.

The duo immediately left for Red Rose though. Preeti actually looked forward to meeting the boys and sharing this "fixed" Naina with them. They would be so pleased!

Preeti pushed open the gate of the Red Rose and that's when Naina saw him. Perched upon their usual table. Surrounded by his friends. Laughing at something Pandit was saying.

Sameer.

Her resolve and confidence wasn't as strong as she thought it had been. It was like a kite. Yeah, light as a kite, so weak that winds, Sameer, could easily take it away.

But Sameer didn't seem sad and broken. His face still had that trademark grin that shined brighter than stars.

Stupid, Naina berated herself as she felt the familiar sting in her eyes. So stupid. She should never have come here. God what had she been thinking? That she will be filled with confidence when she laid her eyes on Sameer. That she will be able to smile to Preeti after she had heard his voice. That Sameer might actually be missing her as much as she was missing him, a voice inside her head answered unhelpfully. What a joke. Obviously Sameer didn't miss her and Naina had the proof of that seared in bright colours in her mind's eye. Because whatever she did, she couldn't stop the memory of Preeti telling her about Sameer and Sunaina's alliance.

Just hearing that, that horrific news, had felt like being run through with a sword. It had been a bright, white-hot pain searing through her insides and every time she replayed the lines in her mind, it hurt just that much more - like someone was standing over her and grinding their heel into Naina's open, bleeding wound.

Damn, she can't even bring herself to say it. Just the thought of Sameer happily married to someone that wasn't her hurts so much and—

Will she take care of him like she should?

Will she soothe and comfort him when he is sad and vulnerable?

Will she understand him when he isn't able to understand himself?

Will she make him laugh?

Will she love him like he deserves to be loved.

Could she love him like her?

She hopes so because Sameer deserved the whole wide world. Galaxy. Universe

But hearing him brush her off like that, forgetting her so easily hurts. It hurts so much. Like being stabbed a thousand times.

Maybe Sameer and Sunaina will be good together afterall. It makes sense. Same status. Same Buisness. Same lives. Same feelings maybe.

Naina started walking. She wasn't really paying attention to where she was going or her surroundings at all, she just knew that she was being led towards the table (towards Sameer) by Preeti.

Is this what it felt like to have your heart broken again? Damn. It sucked.

Their eyes finally met. People might call it cliché, but she could swear that the time had stopped.

She felt something steer in his eyes. For just a moment, something like pain and possibly....longing flashed in eyes, but it was gone before she could place her finger on it. He smiled at her widely (couldn't be more fake) and conveyed how relieved he was to see her, along with the others.

Just seeing a person could get back the memories you desperately wanted to forget.

Naina had been telling herself for the past few days that everything was eventually going to be okay, repeating it to herself like a mantra. She had really believed that she was going to be fine. Clearly, she had been delusional. Right now, she was so far from "fine" that it felt like she would ever find her way back there again.

And all it had taken to make Naina realize how miserable she really was the knowledge - the crystal clear certainty - that Sameer didn't return her feelings and never would. Hell, he didn't even care about her. Everything was fake. Before this morning, Naina had had a sliver of hope that things might turn out differently, with Sameer and her happily together. But no. It wasn't going to happen. And having that hope ripped away had left Naina feeling empty and scraped raw.

She excused herself from Munna's third consecutive joke and lied about going away to place her order, ignoring Rohan's concerned protests and offer to go place it for her.

She skipped over to the line of students waiting to order, and took long, deep breaths to calm her heartbeat. Why was life so unfair?

"Naina?"

She knew that hesitant voice. She spun around only to come face to face with the absolutely last person she wanted to see right now: Sameer. She was not ready for this. She couldn't... not when she felt like this, not when the pain from the fault lines running through her heart was so fresh and sharp.

She stared at Sameer's face and once again the memory of their time together flashed in front of her eyes. She wanted to scream. She wanted to cry and rage and yell because it hurt but she knew ahe couldn't. She refused to let Sameer see how much pain she was in. She had some pride after all.

It wasn't like Naina thought Sameer would enjoy seeing how broken she was. No. Obviously not. It was the exact opposite. She knew the moment Sameer realized that she had stupidly developed feelings despite their otherwise-unclear relationship, he would be so earnestly sorry. And if there was one thing that might kill Naina right now, it was having his pity.

So there couldn't be any anger, any dramatics. No. The only way she was going to get through this conversation was by bottling up every single volatile emotion ricocheting inside her and dealing with them later. She just had to get through this and then she could go home and lick her wounds in peace.

I am the master of my fate
I am the captain of my soul.

She took a deep breath and pasted on a smile, "Sameer."

Sameer was beautiful, even more so out here, under the tubelight. He had broad shoulders and a flat stomach that rippled with muscles as he moved. He had shaved his beard off, leaving his face smooth. He was beautiful, Naina was far past trying to deny that now, and he was going to get married soon, and everything would go back to how it was before. Her eyes stung and she blinked back the wetness, wiping at them with the back of her hand.

No. It was best for Sameer to go now. A deep ache settled in her chest, seeping coldness down into her gut. Sameer has already left her. This was it. Naina thought with a jolt of pain that stabbed at her heart and coiled around it, seeming to squeeze it with an invisible hand.

"Naina kaisi ho tum?" Sameer asked hesitantly.

Sameer is asking that. What an irony!

"Ek dum bhadiya" Naina replied in a rough whisper, blinking back the wetness in her eyes.

This may be a sad chapter

but you are not a sad story

P.S. Please donate whatever you are capable of, to the PM-CARES relief fund. 

Details: https://www.pmindia.gov.in/en/news_updates/appeal-to-generously-donate-to-pms-citizen-assistance-and-relief-in-emergency-situations-fund-pm-cares-fund/

P.P.S And don't forget to listen to Captain America!