Two years later

It was approximately midnight when Naina Aggarwal found herself leaning on her home's swing, checking out the clock on the wall as "occasionally" as possible. After all this time, she didn't actually expect Sameer to be the most punctual man in the world, but the least he could do was be only half hour late. But here she was, waiting for him for him so eagerly and there he was, only 45 minutes late- she thought bitterly.

She prided herself in being the most understanding girlfriend in the world, because of course the factory was very important and Sameer obviously didn't want to let his Nanu down. But how much of his time will a phone call take?

She sighed and touched the necklace around her neck. It was not just a necklace. Instead of the usual pendant people preferred, it was a symbol of the promise Sameer had made to her shaped in the form of a ring. A promise ring. It had been her birthday, she recalled, when Sameer had gifted her this beautiful diamond studded jewellery, with a striking S&N engraved on it. He promised to marry her and make her his.

And Naina? She believed him.

She had let go of all her insecurities long time ago. Once he had his love for her clear, it was much easier to forget all those people and all those things that stood in between. But of course. It was easier said than done. Her family was still in dark regarding their tiny affair, but the gang had decided that Naina should finish college before they make any move to convince them. On the brighter side, Nanu was already convinced and seemed very eager to welcome Naina into his home as the daughter-in-law. Come to think of it, a person can only think about all the maybes of the future before they actually start to well, happen, and once they do, that did-this-really-happen feeling still lingers, creating doubts about if all this really took place ever. If it wasn't for the ring, solid and so real around her neck or Sameer, always beside her- Naina might not believe all this.

It's a different kind of feeling- so surreal and deceiving- realising it's all dangerously real.

That was the moment Sameer picked to finally make the phone call. It had been nearly 3 years since they had gotten together, yet the melody of his phone calls always fills her heart with anticipation and yearning. She gave a quick glance at the clock before picking up his call.

"Namaste Maheshwari ji. Aaj aap bas ek ghante late hai." Naina sassed

She heard a chuckle from the other side, sending a bunch of familiar butterflies down her stomach. "Nahi madam ek ghante nahi. Bas chauvan minute late hoon. Woh kya hai na, Pandit mahoday ko yahi time milta hai mera sarr khane ke liye."

Naina sighed good-naturedly, "Ab kya kar diya mere devar ne?"

"Arey woh kya karega. Bechara aaj bhi keh raha tha ki 'main kunwara hi marr jaunga. Sabki seeting ho gayi lekin meri reh gayi'-" he imitated Pandit which caused Naina to giggle, "-lekin main bhi kamaal ka dost hoon. Maine bhi keh diya ki tu akela kunwara nahi marega. Arjun hoga na tere saath."

This extracted a laugh from Naina, who immediately covered her mouth. Stupid girl. She immediately ducked when she heard the door of her father's room open. Her heartbeat quickened. This was it. This is the moment they will get exposed. God. Why was she so silly? Her family wouldn't understand. They will force her away from Sameer. This shouldn't be happening. Couldn't she just keep her mouth shut-

Arjun strode into the living room.

The effect was instantaneous. The pressure inside Naina's heart lessened and the big "Aggarwal khaandaan" shaped weight floated away. Her trembling knees finally relaxed. God. Her head was swimming with the relief she wasn't prepared to feel.

She stood up after her quick heartbeats finally subsided. Arjun bhaiya raised an eyebrow at her, and she pointed at the phone and mouthed "Sameer" as an answer. Arjun sighed and mumbled something about not giving his permission for this, but he still headed to the kitchen. From the sound of it, he was probably looking for water.

She again pressed the phone to her ear. "Ha Sameer tum bolo. Woh na bhaiya the. Bach gaye hum dono."

Sameer scoffed. "Tumhare bhai ne hi meri life kharaab kar rakhi hai. College mein the toh hum dono ko kabhi akele nahi rehne deta tha, aur ab toh baat tak nahi karne deta shanti se. Khud ki toh setting ho nahi rahi. Meri bhi bigaadne mein laga hua hai."

Naina giggled, earning another raised eyebrow and a frown from Arjun. "Sameer woh na kitchen mein hi khade hai. Agar mere bhaiya ki aur buraai ki na toh main unhein phone de dungi-" she whispered and headed to her room. Preeti was sleeping soundly on the other side of the bed. Naina extracted a box from her cupboard and sat down on the bed, fidgeting with its contents. "-phir pata chalega tumhein."

He groaned, "Yaar ab yeh mat karna. Mana ki woh mera best friend hai lekin ek insaan bas din ke kuch ghante ke liye hi cricket ki baatein sun sakta hai. Jab se uska state team mein selection hua tab se usne mujhe paagal kar rakha hai."

"Waise Sameer, bhaiya aaj kal kitne khush lagte hai na. Mana ki bahut mehnat karni padti hai unhein, lekin woh khush hai." she seemed pleased.

Even Sameer's tone immediately changed from "whining" to "relaxed" in seconds, "Ha yaar woh toh hai. Kaash hum saare dost pehle ki tarah time spend kar paate, lekin kya kare. Sab busy hai apna career banane mein."

And that's when the topic of their conversation changed and it shifted towards the well being of their friends. But it wasn't something they both didn't know already, Naina mused. That one single year in college together had somehow proved succesful in sealing the gang's lifelong bond. And if Naina is honest, it did turn out pretty good. Preeti, Swati and her were in the final year of college, but they couldn't actually think about career options until they are married off. It had something to do with unmarried girls and family's honour and other bulshit like that which Naina still failed to understand. Sameer had started working in his Nanu's factory immediately after college, and it has been doing extremely well since. Even Munna and Pandit joined their respective family businesses, though Pandit takes it upon himself to remind everyone that Munna has a girlfriend (i.e Swati) whereas he was going to die a lonely old man. Arjun didn't have a girlfriend either, but he was much more focused on his cricket now, pleasing their father infinitely. Rohan had busied himself in his own work at Delhi, but he never forgets to call Preeti atleast twice everyday. As for Sunaina and Mitali, the last she heard was that they both were married and well settled. Sunaina had actually ended up marrying an air force officer.

God where did the time fly away?

As Sameer recounted the events from his day, Naina again peered into the box she had opened earlier. A box full of snippets from their life. A box full of their love. She took out a photograph from the pile of things scattered in the box. The photo was from Sameer's graduation. Pandit had insisted on capturing the moment, though she and Sameer weren't aware of this. They both were gazing into each other's eyes, their expressions soft yet escatic. Preeti had teased her for days with her trademark cheeky and annoying voice. Every single statement from Naina was answered with a quirky remark and "......warna Sameer ki aakhon mein phir se kho jayegi."

Well, that's Preeti Aggarwal everyone. Let's kick her out with a huge round of booing.

Naina's eyes then fell on a bunch of dried petals she had preserved carefully. They weren't always dried up and weren't always individual flowers. They were a part of a bouquet. A big, beautiful and misfitted bouquet, very much like their lives. It wasn't even a special occasion when Sameer had brought it for her. Naina didn't fully appreciate the posy at first because she was much more focused on the fact that the individual flowers were so different and definitely didn't resemble each other. Instead of the usual flowers she was accostomed to seeing in a bouquet, it had more...diverse flowers. Sameer just chuckled and proceeded to explain the flowers. Red rose indicated true love, Daffodils were a symbol of eternity, Dandelions for faithfulness, Freesia for trust and Heathers meant protection. He had gifted these all flowers.... all these things to her.

The individual flowers might not match, but they made a beautiful bunch. Misfitted. But belonged with each other. Made much more sense and impact when huddled together.

A smile broke out on her face. She interrupted whatever Sameer was trying to say, "I love you Sameer."

"Yaar factory ki nayi machines ke baare mein sunkar tumhein ek dum se mujhse pyaar kaise ho gaya-" he teased and Naina just huffed. Her Sameer. "- lekin main tumhein kaise blame karu. Mujh jaise ladke se kaun pyaar nahi karega." So toh hai.

Naina just smiled and gazed at the night sky through her window. "Ab waapas bologe ya nahi?"

A long sigh. "Yaar phasa toh liya hi hai tumne mujhe. Chalo theek hai ab bol hi deta hoon." then with a much softer and considerate voice, "I love you too Naina." Her heart brimmed with an emotion too familiar.

A long and comforting silence followed. She knew Sameer was staring at the sky too.

Something caught Naina's eye. There, against the blanket of pitch black night sky, she could see a single star, shimmering across majestically.

But no.

She had missed something

It wasn't a single star.

Two.

Two stars that were brighter together, so bright and so close, you couldn't tell them apart even if you wanted to. They couldn't be forced apart. They were made to burn together and light everything in their path.

She looked at Sameer in the photo, lowered her head just enough to press a kiss to Sameer's forehead, then gazed out of the window again.

"Tum bhi wohi dekh rahi ho na," she heard Sameer mumble through the phone, his voice softer than the purest of velvet out there.

"Kuch aur kaisi dekh sakti hoon", Naina whispered, heart pounding.

I belong to the stars and only the stars

And no matter how much you try to dull the sun

It will shine

And you will burn

And I will find my way back home.