As Sameer looked at the scene that unfolded in front of his eyes, his heart sank. Not because he saw Meghnaa with her tongue down Sanjay's throat. But because he felt worried for the girl in front of him, watching this horrendous spectacle! Sameer moved his eyes away from the kissing figures to Naina. She was already glassy-eyed. Shock would have been an understatement to what was emanating from her face. Sameer was trying to think of something to say to her, when at that instant, Naina collapsed. And the next instant, before she could hit the ground, Sameer had his arm around her. "Naina! Naina! Chalo yahan se....," he needed to get her out of there as soon as possible. Before he realized, he'd lifted her in his arms and bought her to a secluded spot away from the kissers, and settled her on a bench in the park there, where no one was in sight. He sat down besides her, his arm still supporting her, and patted her cheeks to bring her back to consciousness. As Naina opened her eyes, she found herself ensconsced in someone's arms. She turned and saw it was Sameer. He was looking down at her, worry writ across his face, waiting for her to react. He was still holding her in his arms for support. Naina just peered at him, her eyes extremely sad and moist. And there, Sameer felt the unexplained need to comfort her.

Why was it that all men in the world were such liars? Tibrewal had been after her since the past three years, trying to make her fall for him, and when she'd finally thought of giving him a chance, he was busy in kissing the hottie of the college. And this Sameer- he was the perfect picture of a spoilt brat, yet he was the one who was helping her now. "Tumhe pata tha...?" Naina demanded from the 20 year old, who'd got up now and was standing in front of her. Sameer nodded and shrugged his shoulders. "Bataya to tha abhi tumhe...door rehna usse..," he spoke. Naina's eyes were filled with tears now. "Tumhe kuch farak nahi padta kya? Pathar ho tum? Kisi ko kuch bhi bol dete ho...aur wahan wo tumhari girlfriend use k k...kiss kar rahi hai aur tum yahan aaram se khade mujhse baat kar rahe ho...!" she started telling him off. "Pehle to...Meghnaa meri koi girlfriend-virlfriend hai nahi...Nainital me school me tha 1 mahine ka affair...but maine pehle hi kaha tha tumhe...kameeni hai wo...aur kameena hun main... jaise wo college ke har ladke se chipakti hai...vaise wo mujhse paise aur chehre ke piche chipak rahi thi...Tibrewal ke peeche padhai ke liye chipak rahi hogi. Meghnaa aisi hi hai...aaj iske saath soti hai...to kal kisi aur ke saath soti hai...," Sameer responded hotly, as if trying to defend himself. Naina was taken aback by his blunt words. Even in this miserable situation, she felt a slight sense of satisfaction in the fact that Meghnaa was no longer Sameer's girlfriend. But this satisfaction was short-lived as she looked over at Sameer again. "Aaj iske saath soti hai...toh kal kisi aur ke saath...," his words rang in her ears. The sense of ease vanished as soon as it had come. Sameer would have slept with her too! And then, Naina felt utterly hopeless as her tears lent way to rage. She immediately got up from there and strode over to the bar, waiting for Sanjay to show up.

Half an hour passed by, but there was no sign of him. Sameer had come back and adjusted himself next to her and was busy drinking again. He hadn't even given half a glance at Naina, till she ordered the bartender to make her a drink. Sameer looked at her as if she'd grown horns. "Tum piyogi?" he couldn't help himself. "Kyun peene ka...sare gande kaam karne ka haq sirf tum ladkon ko hi hota hai...?" she snapped. "Okay! Okay!" he raised his hands in defeat. "Dimag hil gaya hai iska...baat baat pe baras rahi hai!" he thought. Naina took a big gulp of vodka that was offered to her. And her face contorted at the taste. "Chee.....," she remarked, and then saw Sameer eyeing her amusedly. She turned away and determinedly gulped down the whole glass at a go. "Aur pilao sir koi dusri wali...tagdi wali...," Naina ordered the bartender again. "Sameer...aise cigarette-sharab pi ke gham nahi bhula sakta koi...wo nahi to koi aur hogi...,"Sameer spoke, imitating Naina's manner. "Bhashan sirf dusron ko deti ho kya?" Sameer chided her. Somehow he did not like Naina drinking irresponsibly. Naina looked at him, "tum apna muh band rakho samjhe...dimag ka dahi kar diya hai tum ladkon ne!" Sameer made a face at her and turned in attitude, as he ordered another glass of Vodka for himself. Time passed and soon, Naina had had over 5-6 glasses- of God knows what all- Vodka, Whiskey, Rum. "Ab bas bhi karo...chadh jayegi...," Sameer couldn't stop himself from advising her. Naina looked over at him mockingly. He then read her "as-if-you-care" expression, rolled his eyes in an "upto-you" expression, and went back to his own drinking.

Naina checked her watch. It was 10.30pm, still no sign of Sanjay. It was as if Naina had placed a bet on how many glasses she could down before he showed up. After a while, Sameer's own glass lay forgotten as he looked at Naina incredulously. This was an entirely new avatar of her. It was 11pm when Sameer could take it no more. He snatched away the glass from her and struggled to keep her straight. She was bickering, murmuring something about cheating, about guys not being responsible in love, about she not looking hot enough, about hating drinking, about how she was going to give a piece of her mind to both him and Sanjay. Sameer looked around. There were only a few people remaining now. Sanjay had obviously left with Meghnaa, without even bothering to check on Naina. How history repeated itself, Sameer thought as he propped her onto the back-seat of his bike. The last fresher's night also, that Fevicol had ditched her. And tonight again, he'd dumped her. He started the engine and wrapped Naina's arms around his waist to support her. To his surprise, she clung onto him tightly and rested her sleepy head on his back. Sameer did not know why, but that did not feel even a tad bit unpleasant. Her touch provided him with a strange comfort, a satisfaction unknown to him till now.

Sameer rode towards her hostel. The wind whizzing by post the vodka was having its effect on Sameer as well. He struggled to keep himself steady just so he could drop this girl to safety. "Sameerr....mujhe acha nahi lag raha...Sameer...please 2 minute rok do....," he heard Naina's muffled voice from behind. He immediately stopped the bike and helped Naina over to the side. And as he expected, she started vomiting there. Sameer patted her back and held her steady as she puked. Once she was done, he took out his handkerchief and wiped her mouth with it. As he did so, another strange emotion engulfed him- care. Naina's innocent eyes were following him like an obedient child and his hanky was caressing her beautiful lips. Sameer took control of himself, averted his eyes from her face and steadied her up. But Naina definitely had too much to drink. She wasn't able to walk. It wasn't right to leave her alone in the hostel in this condition. In addition if her warden got to know, she could even be expelled from the hostel and her family informed about the same. And Sameer had had more than his share of her unpleasant family members already. He was well aware of the extent some of them, especially her father, could go to, to make lives hell for people. He stood there, thinking for a minute and then steadied her on his bike once more and strode off towards his own hostel room.

***

Sameer made sure no one was outside his room as he hurriedly ushered her inside. He quickly snapped the door shut and took her to the bathroom, where he made her rinse her mouth and face with cold water. He braced her with one arm around her shoulders, while his hands squeezed the toothpaste out from the tube. He then put the toothpaste onto her teeth and started brushing it about with his fingers. Sameer was feeling peculiar emotions tonight. Why was he so much concerned for this girl? Here he had bought her to his room, at a risk of having himself expelled from the hostel, was taking care of her, washing her vomit ridden mouth with toothpaste, holding her in his arms, patting her head. It was more than once Sameer resisted the urge to kiss that mouth of hers. Soon, he made Naina lie down on his bed and pulled the blanket over her. Her eyed her, looking all innocent with her eyes almost closed, muttering something random under her breath. Sameer could not tear his gaze away from her. "Was she really such a bad person...? Why was it that he had always been interested in knowing what was going on in her life...? Why had he warned her about Tibrewal...? Had he always hated her...? Or had it been quite the opposite...?" Sameer put a brake onto his thoughts. He was too drunk he decided, and that is why his mind was feeding him with weird ideas. He did not want to think on those lines- ever.

As he was about to leave, Naina grabbed his hand and opened her eyes slightly, "Sameer...mat jao...tum bhi mujhe akela chod ke jaoge...?" There was something in her voice that made him halt in his tracks. He gulped and stood silent, looking fixatedly at her. "Tum hamesha mujhse door kyun jaate ho...kya tumhe dikhta nahi main tumhare pass rehna chahti hoon...tum hamesha mujhe daant dete ho...kyun itne bure se baat karte ho...itni buri hun kya main....sorry wo papers wali baat ke liye...aaj tak roz bhagwanji se maafi maangti hun uske liye...," Naina was mumbling incoherently. Sameer's heart became heavy now. He too had dragged the issue for quite long, hadn't he? But what was making him uneasy was her hold on him. Sameer had been with a few girls before, but none had been able to ignite the spark that Naina's mere handhold did. Sameer tried to focus on the matter at hand, and pull his hand out of her grip. And he succeeded in doing so. He started moving to the opposite end of his room, when he heard sobs. He quickly turned to see that Naina was weeping hysterically. He knew he shouldn't go close to her at this moment, but then his mind and his heart were clouded by alcohol and emotions respectively.

He rushed over to Naina's side and tried to console her, "Nainaaa...tum ro kyun rahi ho....dekho wo Tibrewal sahi ladka nahi hai...". "Tumhe bura nahi laga...Meghnaa...Meghnaa ko uske saath dekh kar....," she asked through her tears. Sameer knew he was trudging into danger territory, as he drew closer to her. He took her hands in his and said, "Main Meghnaa se main pyaar nahi karta aur na hi wo meri girlfriend hai...infact...meri koi girlfriend nahi hai...ye pyaar vyaar sab filmy baatein hai...". Sameer didn't know why he felt the need to explain all this to Naina. "Tum kisi se pyaar nahi karte...?" Naina asked slowly, her innocent eyes now misty with tears. "Kisi se...?" she repeated. "Tibrewal se to tum bhi pyaar nahi karti...karti ho kya...?"Sameer asked despite himself again. Naina shrugged and then started crying uncontrollably again. "Shayad meri kismet me pyaar hai hi nahi...main is layak hi nahi ki koi ladka mujhe dekhe....aisi kya kami hai mujh mein Sameer...itni buri hun main...?" she asked through her sobs. Sameer felt pity on her. He inched even closer and embraced her into a comforting hug. This was not going the right way, his mind warned him, but seeing Naina's tears, Sameer ignored it. "Dekho meri taraf....koi kami nahi hai tum mein....tum to bahot khoobsurat ho...intelligent ho...achi ho...dekho ye tumhari bholi aankhein kitni pyaari hain...," he said as he gazed into them and felt himself getting lost in them. "Aur ye tumhare baal...itne sundar, kale, ghane baal....ki saawan ki ghata bhi sharma jaye...aur ye tumhari muskurahat...haso...," he prompted her as Naina gave a slight smile, amidst the sobs. "Jab tumhare hothon pe ye hasi khilti hai na...to bas insaan sare gham bhul jaye...," Sameer managed to whisper incoherently. He didn't know if it was alcohol or his hormones or love, but he was being drawn closer to her. Naina too stopped crying suddenly as she looked into his eyes, wrapped in his arms. A terse silence prevailed as the two looked into each other's eyes. And then the distance between them started reducing. Sameer's brain was trying to give last minute signals to stop, but all the warnings went unheeded. He couldn't take it anymore. Sameer slowly moved towards her lips, and he saw Naina inch her face towards him too.

A broken woman is the most vulnerable woman they say. Naina realized it that night. And a man comforting a broken woman is the most vulnerable man. Sameer too realized it that night.

They didn't know how it happened, when it happened or why it happened! All they knew is they were lost in that blissful feeling. They both heaved as their lips touched for the first time. And then time stopped! Nothing mattered. He and she- that was all they could think of. Alcohol for the first time had rendered Naina out of her senses. And her love for Sameer that she'd tried to hide from him and from herself too, had come to the fore. She was as much lost in the kiss as was Sameer. With each fraction of a second, the kiss grew more and more intense as their mouths sought each other, their hands caressed through their hairs, over their necks, their shoulders, and cradled their faces, and moved all along their backs. And then, there was no stopping.

In a matter of less than a few minutes, desire overpowered all judgements as Sameer and Naina started undressing each other voraciously. Sameer's hands slid under her top and touched her waist for the first time. He groaned. Her skin was so soft that it put the satin shielding it to shame. As his hands moved up around her body, he unbuttoned her top, rather quickly and pulled it over to the side. The sight that greeted him made him fiercely yearn for more. Naina writhed in pleasure, and unable to and not wanting to think, she slid his jacket off his arms and started unbuttoning his black shirt. "Ummm....black looked sexy contrasted against his fair chest," she half-thought. Her palms burned as they traversed over his now bare chest as he let out soft moans. He arched his back to allow her hands access to do as they pleased. His eyes met hers again and then he bent over her inviting mouth and started kissing it again- intensely. They moaned and writhed as they explored each other's lips, their bodies crushing against each other, as Sameer's tongue went deeper into her mouth. All that mattered at that moment was that they wanted to feel the other as close as possible. Sameer flung Naina down on the bed as he kissed her mouth, her cheeks, her neck, and clambered down, caressing every bit of her voluptuous curves with his hands. Naina too showered him with kisses in the moments Sameer gave her time to breathe. Her hands clutched Sameer's hair as his lips sought her- sought every inch of her bare skin that he could find. These sensations were new, they were heady, and they were exhilarating. The restlessness grew, the passion intensified, until the two shed all inhibitions. And then, as both cried in ecstasy, the two wandering souls became one.

Their union was an unexpected, yet destined one.

What should not have happened, happened that night! And from there began a turning point in the lives of these two individuals.