"meri nazarein tou gilah karti hai

tere dil ko bhi sanam tujhse shikayat hogi."

°°°°

He was descending the stairs in a hurry when he's foot slipped accidentally and fall down on the ground, after gaining his consciousness he felt something warm underneath him and when he's eyes landed on the figure beneath him. His breathe hitched for a moment.

"Zahiah." He whispered her name like a silent prayer. He's eyes were assessing every feature of her face but before he could touch her, Zahiah pushed him away harshly and this time he landed on ground with a thud.

"What the Fvck!" Zahiah got up from the ground and cussed looking at Dawood. Before she could say anything harsh to him, she saw bunch of students looking at both of them. She didn't wanted to create a scene thats why she left from their giving him a sharp look.

Meanwhile Dawood was still sitting on the ground. He didn't understand what has just happened. He was Seeing Zahiah after a week and just like their first meeting she misunderstood him.

He shooked his head and got up from the ground. He looked and saw students looking in his direction. Some were whispering silently and this was enough to boil his blood he hates this kind of people who have nothing to do in actual but loves to gossip about others.

"Whats so funny going here? Out everybody!"

Dawood growled like hulk and the students disappeared from the corridor.

***

"Hey. Zee!"

Zahiah was going in her classroom when she saw Ayesha at the entrance. She wanted to go straightly into the class but Ayesha greeted her midway.

"Hi." She passed a straight lined smile and sit on her sit besides Varun.

She smiled looking at varun and greeted her whole gang with a chirpy voice.

Ayesha was looking at this whole scenario and she felt a bit uneasy she didn't understand why Zee behaves like that with her.

The lecture ended and Zahiah got up from her sit when varun stopped her in midway.

"Zee."

"Yes Varun."

Zahiah looked at him suspiciously because it was the first time he was invading her personal space.

"Actually i wanted to ask you about Dawood?"

Zahiah furrowed her eyebrows. She didn't understand what he meant and seeing her expression Varun took out his phone and showed her a picture.

Her mouth fell open it was a picture of her and Dawood. It has taken from a wrong angle due to which it was looking like Dawood was laying flat on Zahiah. She couldn't believe what is happening with her.

She looked up at Varun, she was trying hard not to lose control on herself. All sorts of thoughts were clouding her mind, but the thought which was making her squirm in panic was of her mother, if she got to know about this..then she will lose this little freedom.

"Who took this photo?"

Zahiah asked Varun, her eyes blazing with fire.

"Zee it was on Sameer's Instagram account!"

Varun took his phone back and put it in his pocket.

"Sameer who?"

"Sameer is our senior. He's in final year student.....and...." Varun bit his lower lip in anticipation.

"And what Varun?"

"And a good friend of Dawood."

Hearing his last sentence Zahiah didn't wasted any minute and walked out of the room taking long strides almost running.

She was looking around the canteen, when his eyes landed on Dawood. He was sitting with a group of boys. He was smiling and laughing with them and this was enough to boil Zahiah's blood.

She walked towards their table and tapped on Dawood's shoulder. Dawood looked back and his yes met with Zahiah's blazing eyes with anger complimenting her ginger red hair. She was looking like a angry bird and unintentionally Dawood smiled at her showing his one sided dimple. Zahiah's heartbeat stopped for a moment but when she saw him smiling she thought that he was intentionally knowing that. And without thinking twice she slapped Dawood.

Whole canteen goes silent, only the 'goonj' of her slap echoed. Dawood was holding his cheek with his palm and his eyes were now holding the same anger as Zahiah.

Zahiah stood their motionless. She just wanted to wipe that mocking smile off his face. She didn't wanted to slap him but it happened and now the damage has done without knowing she had created an enemy out of Dawood.

"Why?"

Dawood whispered to her.

"Why?"

He asked her again calmly but she didn't replied.

"Why?"

This time Dawood shouted at her and Zahiah came back out of trans. She didn't knew what to say or react but she holds her ground.

"I...."

" I what Miss Joseph? I what? May i ask you why you feel the need to Slap me?"

Dawood growled at her.

Zahiah got scared like a kitten but when she knew she had to protect herself right now at the moment because she had created this mess.

"I slapped you because you deserves it!"

Zahiah fold her arms to her chest and said raising her eyebrows in a mocking way.

"I deserve it." Dawood repeated her words gritting his teeth.

"Yes you deserves it Mr Dawood Qureshi. Because you don't know how to respect a girl and this was very low of you to post such inappropriate pictures."

Zahiah continued spewing venom against him.

"What pictures?" Dawood didn't understand what she wanted to say.

Zahiah took a step closer to him and staring into his eyes, she wasn't the one to back down.

"Ohh what a great actor you're Mr Dawood Qureshi don't you see your Friend Sameer's post?"

Zahiah poked her index finger on Dawood's chest.

"Sameer what is she saying?"

Dawood shouted without breaking his eye contact with Zahiah.

Sameer who was already terrified just thinking about the consequence that he was going to face later because of an stupid post he shared on social media thinking that Dawood will never got to know about this because he wasn't a social media person.

"Dawood i ...."

Sameer didn't said another word because Dawood took his collar in his hands and dragged him out of the canteen not before giving a piercing look to Zahiah. Who walked out of the scene flipping her hair in a mocking way.

"Tu tou gaya Saale."

Dawood said to Sameer.

***

Zahiah was sitting in her room reading a novel on wattpad, it was her favourite past time. When she read a quote and it reminded her of today's incident in her University.

Today she did wrong. She later got to know through Lara that it was sameer who took her and Dawood's picture, and Dawood didn't even use Instagram. And that made her guilty. In her ignorance she literally said so many mean things to him and on top of that slapped him too.

"I will say sorry to him. It was my mistake." She whispered to herself and putting away her phone. She switched off the lamp and got comfortable in her bed.

Sleep engulfed her in its embrace.

But what she didn't realized is that this was the last time she was sleeping peacefully. Because soon the horror of her past is going to cameback.

•••••••••