Karthik’s POV.
“It’s good to see you out of that room.” Naksh said as I arrived at his house.

Almost everyone was present,except her. I knew I wasn’t supposed to look for her when there was nothing left between us. But even after whatever happened, some part of me was dying to see her.

“She’ll come. She has gone to the main road to pick up someone.You get your butt inside.” Naksh said, leading me in.

I greeted everyone, putting on the same good old smile. It felt good, being in a different atmosphere. My messed up room, where there was hardly any place for one to walk, had become boring.

It was really annoying to get those sorry looks from people. I wondered how the news spread like a fire, but I wasn’t happy with that at all.

Not wanting to ruin Naksh’s promotion party or anybody’s mood, I choose a corner to sit alone and grieve. All I did since last couple of days, was to feel sorry about myself and try to hate Naira. Well you could say that I was successful in doing the first thing, but the second one was the toughest one !!

I was trying to divert my attention, when my eyes fell on a girl standing far away from me. She was talking to Naksh and I immediately knew who that was, the one I wanted to stay miles away from — Naira !!

Wearing a high waisted black shorts and a cream coloured sweatshirt, she flaunted her perfect figure. She wasn’t too curvy, but neither she was too skinny. Didn’t matter what she wore, she always managed to take my breath away. I had almost forgotten that she wasn’t alone.

She was with him !! Rithvik !!

I guess that was the only thing left to see. A few minutes ago, I felt so good. Like I needed this change. But now, I felt like throwing up. I was just better off in my room, amidst old unwashed clothes and stinky shoes and what all crap.

I didn’t even realize that I was staring at Naira, until someone tapped my shoulder. It was her. I snapped out of my thoughts of finding ways to kill Rithvik, and looked at Naira who stood right in front of me.

It’s weird how she managed to make me go weak every time she looked into my eyes. But this time, I composed myself on time.

‘Not anymore !!’ I thought and put on a brave face.

“What ?!!” I asked trying to be as rude as possible. Even though it hurt.

“Nothing. I came to get a drink.” She replied with a sweet smile which indirectly sent the message, mind your own business.

“I’m sorry, but do I look like a bartender to you ?!!” I asked, trying to be rude again.

“Not really, because of that jacket. But if you remove that, I’m sure there will be no difference.” She said, pointing at me jacket.

C’mon now,insulting my fashion sense was no less than insulting me !! Watch out sherni !! I am not someone you want to mess with right now.

“Really ?!! You know what you look like ?!! If you take off that shirt, you surely look like a whore.Ohh wait !! Who am I kidding ?!! You are one, aren’t you ?!! Falling in love with other boys the moment your boyfriend leaves the city !!” I said.

The moment I said that, she just,changed. Like in a fraction of second, she went from acting all rude to being an innocent puppy. She was tearing up, and I immediately regretted what I had just said. I could’ve kept my mouth shut and walked away, but I didn’t. Instead, I made it all worse.

“I didn’t mean that.” I said coldly.

I wanted to hug her and apologise right at the moment, but this stupid ‘EGO’ always comes in between.

“No.” She said in a cracking voice. “You meant that.”

Okay, maybe I did. But that was just a snide comment. I didn’t intend to hurt her that much. I could never do that on purpose.

“I did, okay ?!! But not in that sense. You started it and I just replied back.” I said and shrugged.

“Ofcourse I started. Right !! At least I didn’t call you something so cheap.” She said.

“You want to talk about cheap ?!! I say a word to you and that’s cheap. You are in relationship with somebody else even when you know what’s between us and that’s perfectly alright ?!!” I asked and didn’t even realize that I had actually raised my voice on her. People were looking at us and it got more and more awkward.

“Ofcourse I do !! Why shouldn’t I ?!! Give me one good reason to stay with you. You said I cheated. You called me a whore. What are you ?!! Think about what you’ve done and then get back to me.” She said. She seemed really pissed off and so did I.

“There’s nothing left to get back to you for !! How can you even blame me for whatever happened ?!! It was you and him. I was the one who loved you since the beginning, but all you did, was to take me for granted. You did so many mistakes, and everytime I covered up for you. I thought let it be. She’s going through a lot. But I was wrong !! You used me, Naira !! Open your eyes and see what you’ve become and then get back to me.” I said, letting out everything that I had buried inside myself for days.

She was taken aback. All she did, was turn around and leave. Everybody, except me, stood dumbstruck with whatever scene was going on, and I, on the other hand, not knowing how to deal with all this shit in my life, walked out of the party !!

Naira’s POV.
I ran away. I stormed out of there and ran as far as my feet took me. I didn’t want to be there. I was a liar. A selfish liar.

The way he shouted on me, I felt there was a bit of truth somewhere in his words. But then again, all those things which Rithvik had told me,it was not possible to ignore them too.

I didn’t know what was the truth. I didn’t know whom to believe. The man who was there when Karthik wasn’t, or Karthik himself who claims to have loved me every second of his life.

I knew Karthik didn’t even want to see me again. But somehow, his words hit me hard. He called me a whore in front of everyone. He shouted at my face in front of all those people. Did I deserve it ?!!

Who’s fault was it ?!! Mine ?!! Because I lied to him about being in love with Rithvik ?!! I lied because I didn’t trust him. I wanted him to feel what I felt when I found out that he had cheated on me.

Or was it his fault ?!! Because he had completely blocked me out from his life ?!! Had it been anybody else, they wouldn’t have seen me again. But he did.

Or was it Rithvik’s fault ?!! Because he was always supportive and there for me when I needed a friend. When I needed somebody to tell me about my past, he was there.

So who’s fault was it ?!!

I didn’t know where I was. But I just ran away, and came across a small, dark alley. The rocky road, broken brick walls, it all seemed strangely familiar. Have I been here before ?!! I didn’t think so. I didn’t remember anything.

I don’t know what happened at that particular moment, but I closed my eyes and went back into the past……

”Don’t touch me.” I said.

“C’mon !! We just want to have some fun !!!” He said. I don’t know who he was. He pushed me back, pinning me against the wall. He was not alone. There was somebody else. But I couldn’t see their faces clearly.

The next thing I remember was that everything went black, and suddenly I saw a familiar person.

“Don’t dare touch any girl again.” He said, punching the hell out of the other two men.

I could only see his back. His veins popping out because of anger and he was breathing heavily. Before I knew, he turned around. Karthik !!

I shot my eyes open sweating heavily. Everything around me was spinning. I could hear multiple voices echoing in my ears.

I tried taking support of the wall, but before I could reach out for it, I lost my balance.

The next thing I remembered was that I was being carried away. I had no idea where, with whom, but I was in somebody’s arms. I was too weak to open my eyes and see.

Lost and tired I closed my eyes completely and gave up !!

Karthik’s POV.

She stormed off leaving everyone dumbfounded. What was I doing there ?!! The people have had enough of drama for the night. I ignored all the looks from then and walked out.

I didn’t bother to drive. It wasn’t even safe to drive in this condition. Instead, I just walked somewhere. Ofcourse, I planned on going back to get the car, but only after cooling down a bit.

As I walked down the road, I came across a small, dark alley. Not wanting to attract any problem, I decided it would be better to turn around and leave. Such places aren’t really safe.

Just as I was about to leave, my eyes fell on something,Or rather someone. A small figure, standing numb in between the alley. It was a girl and from what I saw, she didn’t seem so fine.

I couldn’t help but walk upto her. As the distance between us became shorter with each step, she was becoming oddly familiar to me.

It was until a couple of steps away from her, when I realized it was none other than Naira.

Seriously now ?!! What does destiny plan for us ?!! We were coming in front of each other again and again.

I walked upto her, only to see that she was sweating. She looked weak and tired. Like she had just run a marathon. She looked at me one last time and her eyes just rolled back into her head.

Before she could hit the ground, I caught her. Unconscious, she laid in my arms.

“Naira ?!! Naira, get up. Shit.” I said, shaking her, trying to wake her up. But she didn’t respond.

I couldn’t process what all just happened. One moment she was on her feet, and the next she just collapsed !! Having no other option left, I picked her up in my arms and carried her back to Singhania sadan.

It wasn’t a long way back. I walked as fast as I could, and while doing so, I took a look at her. She had her eyes half open, but she was still in that sleepy zone.

“You saved me !!” She said, almost in a whisper. I didn’t know what to say. I just wanted to get her back home.

“You’re always saving me,aren’t you ?!!” She asked in a low, weak tone.

I had no clue about what she was saying, but I knew the only way to keep her awake, was to talk to her.

“Somebody has got to.” I said. She smiled weakly and closed her eyes completely.

‘No, please don’t !!’ I prayed.

“Naira, babe just hold on for a while. Stay with me, jaan. We’re almost there.” I said, trying to keep her awake, but I couldn’t. She was cold, and wasn’t responding to anything I said.

I was there within ten minutes. Not to my surprise, Naksh was standing at the gate, pacing around impatiently. I expected him there after whatever happened inside.

“Dude !! Where did you disappear ?!! Are you nuts ?!!” He said, pissed off, but stopped midway as he looked at an unconscious Naira.

“What happened to her ?!! Is she okay ?!! Where were you guys ?!!” He bombarded me with his questions.

“I’ll tell you later. We need to get her in.” I said and he quickly nodded, walking inside followed by me.

As we went inside, I noticed that everybody was gone. Hardly an hour passed since all that drama and people had already left ?!! There was no single soul in there, except Keerti.

She was sitting on the chair, rocking back and forth, and got up as soon as we went in. Ofcourse, she was worried. Worried would be an understatement, because she was freaking out after seeing Naira.

“Naira ?!! Oh my god !! What happened to her ?!! Is she okay ?!! She’s not waking up, Karthik !! What happened ?!!” She asked.

“I don’t know. She passed out.” I said, as I walked into Naira’s room.

Carefully, I placed her on the bed. She wasn’t moving a bit, and that was starting to scare the hell out of me.

“I’ll get some water. She’ll be okay.” Naksh said, walking out.

I sighed and buried my face in my hands. I felt miserable. I felt like laughing at my own condition. How happy I was before this whole accident thing, and how life has changed now making me the most unlucky person on this planet.

I felt a light tap on my shoulder. I looked back to see Naksh. He sat beside me. I held on to his hand. Keerti sprinkled some water on Naira’s face, and all we could do, was to hope for her to wake up soon.

After a few seconds, she moved a little. She scrunched her eyebrows, making a weird face. Slowly, she fluttered her eyes open, looking around.

I sighed with relief as Naksh patted my back.

“You scared us.” I said. She looked really confused, obviously not aware of her surroundings, and tried to get up. I helped her sit up straight.

“What am I doing here ?!!” She asked.

“You passed out. Thank God, you are okay.” Keerti said, almost crushing Naira in her arms. I wish I could do that…..

“I passed out ?!! When ?!! Where ?!! How ?!! Why I don’t remember anything ?!!” She said, panicking.

“Hey, hey. Its okay. You are okay. Stuff like this happens to everyone and its normal. Don’t worry !!” Naksh said, calming her down.

Naira,who was almost ready to lunge on us, sunk back on the bed, holding on to her head.

“No !! Its not normal bhai !!” She said, barely in an audible voice. We just waited for her to continue.

“I don’t know what happened back at the alley. But I saw something.” She said, looking at her hands. She was on the verge of crying, and before we knew it, a few drops of tears rolled down her face. Somehow, I still dreaded seeing her crying.

“What did you see ?!! ” Naksh asked. All I did was staring her, trying to figure her out.

“I saw that, I was there. In that alley, and then these two guys, I don’t know who, but they just came and said something I don’t remember clearly, but the next thing I saw was Karthik. He was beating them up.” She said.

I heard her and I didn’t know what to say. She remembered,that night when she left her house and got into trouble. She may not remember it clearly, but at least she remembered something and that was more than enough.

“You should rest Naira.You’ll feel better.” I said. I surely didn’t want her to think about her past and torture herself more. She looked at me for a couple of seconds and then nodded.

As she laid back in the bed, Naksh and Keerti walked out of the room.

“I should go too. Take care.” I said and was about to leave when she stopped me. I wasn’t expecting it !!

“Karthik” She called out and it just felt so right. Hearing her calling me like that again. It felt like the old good times.

“Can you stay here with me ?!! I just don’t want to be alone !!” She added.

As much as I wanted to stay, I also knew it would probably be one of the biggest mistakes of my life, if I had stayed. I knew it for sure, that I wouldn’t be able to hold back, and I would fall for her more.

“I can’t. I’m sorry.” I said, regretting every word.

“Please, I need you.Please !!” She said, her voice cracking in between as tears welled up in her eyes. This was only getting more and more difficult for me. I couldn’t stand it when she cried.

I wiped those little tears before they could roll down further.

“What are you crying for ?!!” I asked, sitting beside her on her bed. She shook her head and move aside, giving me some space.

“Because I need you.” She said and after a long time, I saw truth in her eyes. I smiled and put an arm around her. She was still cold and weak.

“I’m always there for you. Don’t you know that ?!!” I asked.

She nodded.

A long comforting silence engulfed us. Sometimes even when you don’t say anything, you’re just able to understand what the other person wants to say. Suddenly, the words aren’t important. Only making sure, the person you need the most is right beside you can make you feel better.

She rested her head on my shoulder and started playing with my fingers and I don’t know for how long, we sat there without saying a word.

“You saved me ?!! Didn’t you ?!!” She asked, staring into the blank space.

“I did.” I said.

We spent the next couple of hours, cuddling. We didn’t even talk much. Just cuddled together. It was like the old times, the difference being that, that was the time when we were actually happy. We knew nothing could come between us and now, we weren’t sure about anything……..

Naira’s POV.

His scent. His arms wrapped around me. His chin resting on my head. Our legs tangled under the blanket. I felt complete. It was him, not the blanket which kept me warm all night.

I had accepted the fact that I didn’t have the strength to stay away from him anymore. When I had decided to stay away from him, that was only because I didn’t want to hurt myself again. But staying away from him hurt the most.

After spending the night with him in my room. I couldn’t stop thinking about the night. Even though we didn’t talk much, I felt good in his presence.

One thing I worried about was Rithvik. He had gone missing all of a sudden and that too without informing me. How could he ?!!

I called him to make sure he was alright.

“Rithvik.Where the hell are you ?!!” I asked.

“I’m home. Why ?!! Is everything okay ?!!” He asked, as if nothing happened last night.

“I should be the one asking you that. Where did you disappear last night ?!!” I asked.

“I had some urgent work. So I just left. Everybody left early last night. Where were you ?!!” He asked.

“Long story. I kinda passed out in the middle of nowhere, and then he came and carried me back home.” I said, narrating the whole incident in short.

“Wait, by him, you mean Karthik ?!! He took you home ?!! And you guys what, slept together ?!!” He asked, raising his voice, which startled me.

“No, we didn’t sleep together, but yeah, we like slept together. You won’t understand.” I said causiously.

“How could you sleep with him !!” He yelled. Okay, now, I was worried. He never shouted on me like that. He sounded like a typical abusive boyfriend.

“I didn’t !! And what’s it to you ?!! You just promised me to stick around and left without even informing me !!” I snapped back.

There was a long silence before, he finally spoke up. “I’m sorry. I just feel very protective of you. I didn’t mean to shout.” He said, calmly.

I felt like I was talking to some different person altogether. He didn’t sound like a typical abusive boyfriend anymore.

“Its okay. I need to get my mind off everything. I guess, I’m going shopping. Wanna join ?!!” I asked.

Shopping for me was like a remedy for every problem in the world. I need to shop right now to get my mind off things !!

“Yeah. Sounds cool. I’ll pick you up by twelve. Okay ?!!” He asked. I muttered a quick yes and hung up.

I was relieved that at least I wouldn’t be thinking about Karthik for the next few hours.

Karthik’s POV.

“Dude, but I dont want to see this movie !!” I said what looked like a hundredth time.

But Naksh insisted on watching this movie. I didn’t even remember the name. He had practically kidnapped me from my home, and pulled me straight into the mall. He had emotionally blackmailed me stating that I didn’t give him enough time nowadays !!

I also knew that Keerti had basically gone to her parents house and Naira was busy somewhere. So this guy didnt want to be all alone thus he wanted me to tag along !!

“Trust me, you’re gonna love it.” Naksh said as we entered the theatre. I was in. I had no way to get out.

Two hours. Two whole hours of pure shit. The movie wasn’t even scary. Yeah, it was a horror film. But for a horror film, it sucked. Calling it scary would be an insult to all the good horror movies.

“Ohkay, I agree it sucked !!” Naksh concluded.

“I told you. Lets go home. I hate malls.” I said.

“You have been hating everything. So I figured out, that you need to spend some time out of that room of yours.You know what, lets just hang around here for a while. There’s not so much crowd as well.” Naksh said.

I shook my head in defeat, knowing that saying a no wouldn’t mean anything. He wasn’t going to let me go, plus, there was sense in what he said.

We sat in a café, on the top floor.

Suddenly, I felt the urge to use washroom. “I’ll be back.” I said to Naksh who was busy talking to Keerti on the phone.

I washed my hands and came out of the washroom. As I was walking towards the table, I ran into somebody.

She carried three to four shopping bags in her hands, and looked like she was in a hurry. As I bumped into her, her bags fell down on the floor. She gasped and sat down immediately, picking them up.

“I’m sorry.” I said.

“No, its okay.” She said and looked up.

Again ?!!

Its funny how Naira Singhania and Karthik Goenka seem to run into each other all the time !!

She got up straightening her dress. “Hi,are you stalking me or something, now ?!!” She said, in a rather cheerful tone.

I laughed. “I could ask you the same thing. But no, I’m not. What are you doing here anyway ?!!”

She gestured to the bags in her hand, holding them up. I nodded. “What about you ?!!”

“Ah. Well, I was working peacefully in my house, when your brother literally kidnapped me and dragged me to watch some film. It sucked.” I said.

“Oh !! Yeah, since I and bhabi were out of the house he didn’t wanted to be alone !! Anyway, I gotta go now. Rithvik’s here too.” She said.

My heart sunk at the bottom of my stomach knowing that she was no more mine. A part of me was convinced that she loved someone else now, but the other part of me wanted to hold on. It didn’t believe what I saw. It wanted to believe what I thought. And I thought that, Naira still loved me.

“Oh, okay. See you around later, then.” I said. She nodded and turned around to leave. But something inside me wanted to stop her and so, I did.

“Naira ?!!” I called her out.

She stopped and turned around.

“You, you’re happy, right ?!!” I asked.

If she said yes, I would convince myself to leave. I would try to stay away from her and try to forget her. I won’t look back.

But if she said no, then I would stay back and wait till she realizes how much I love her.

I literally had my fingers crossed behind my back, as I prayed to hear a no. She looked at me for a minute, and walked a little closer.

“Yes !!” She said. And again, I felt like somebody had snatched my heart from my body. Suddenly, I was empty.

She said yes !!

She was happy. That meant only one thing — I was no longer needed in her life. If she didn’t love me like before, if she was happy with someone else, then it was the best if I left.

I would have left. Hell, I should have left. But I couldn’t. If she was happy, then why did her eyes tell that she wasn’t ?!! Was I assuming things ?!! Was she happy or just pretending ?!! I wanted to ask her again, but I was interrupted by someone.

“Naira ?!!” Someone called out. It was Naksh.

“Hey, why didn’t you tell me you are coming here ?!! You just left without telling me anything. We would have had come together !!” He asked.

“I am sorry. I didn’t know you were coming to the mall. I was in a bit of hurry at that time !!” She answered.

“Anyway. Join us. We were just heading out for lunch after sometime.” He added.

What ?!! No !! Why do things always turn against me ?!! Here I was trying to get over the Naira Singhania hangover, and there, this so called best buddy of mine was planning to ask her to join us for lunch. But then she was his sister so I couldnt do anything !!

She looked at me awkwardly, asking me for my opinion. Saying ‘No. Don’t join us’ would be rude. I had no option but to give in.

“Yeah. Join us.” I said.

“I would actually love to. But Rithvik is also here.” She said.

“Ask him too. The more the merrier.” Naksh said. I rolled my eyes. I so want to kill this boy.

“Okay. I’ll call him up.” She said and went away to call Rithvik.

Now here, I would have to have super self control.

Rithvik was the guy whom I was slaughtering in my dreams since a week and today I had to be friendly with him and have lunch. I had to smile in front of him pretending to be happy, instead of punching the hell out of him !!

Precap : The lunch. Rithvik forcing himself on Naira.  Karthik beating the Shit out of Rithvik. Naira hurt!!Naksh and Keerti revealing one more misdeed of Rithvik to Karthik !! Naira getting a call from Rithvik, asking her to come...