The afternoon sun bathed the city in sharp golden hues, shining brightly across the sky. It wasn't the kind of day that brought peace; instead, it was the kind where the sun showed no mercy, blazing at its brightest and leaving a trail of heat in its wake.

Two girls, giggling and laughing to themselves, walked side by side along the narrow street.

"We will watch a movie today," one of the girls declared excitedly.

"But we've got a lot of work to complete today," the other reasoned.

"Ohoo, Miss Topper, you know, right? It is our golden chance to enjoy alone since your mom is not at home, and mine will be busy with office work." Akshita jumped in anticipation.

"Fine, we will watch a movie but not before completing our work," Vamika declared, a hint of finality in her tone.

"Yeahhh, yeahhh, whatever Miss Topper says." Akshita saluted mockingly as they walked together, laughing and complaining about the tiring day at school.

The wooden door of the Thakur Nivaas creaked open, yet Akshita and Vamika, unaware, continued their battle , pulling each other's hair.

"You were the one who pulled my rubber band first!" Akshita gritted out.

"Haww! You were the one who pushed me first!" Vamika shot back, tugging at Akshita's hair, both lost in their bickering.

Then suddenly, Vamika tried to free her hands from Akshita's grip, pushing her-making Akshita lose her balance.

AND

BOOM.

˜"*°•.˜"*°• Akshita's pov •°*"˜.•°*"˜

I was bracing myself to crash onto the tiled floor when I felt someone's arms grip my shoulders, steadying me before I could fall.

For a second, I thought it was Vamika but she was standing behind me.

A chill ran through me just then, as his deep voice reached my ears. My heart thudded violently.

"Careful," he muttered, his voice low ,and that was enough for me to want to disappear in embarrassment.

I looked messy. Pathetic. Dirty.

Slowly, I lifted my gaze from the ground to the person still holding me.

And my eyes met his deep brown.

Oh, his eyes.

To others, they might just be a pair of deep brown eyes. But for me... I don't know. There was something about them. Something that pulled me in, like a magnet, drawing me closer, deeper-until I felt myself drowning in their depths, unable to resist, unable to look away.

Atharv Virani

And me stupid, messy, pathetic Akshita Thakur.

I hurriedly straightened myself creating a decent distance between us. My mind screamed in chaos.

What do I do now?

Run away?

Say thank you?

Or sorry because I bumped into him?

What am I supposed to do?

Ahhhhh!

Why had my brain suddenly stopped functioning?

Okay. Breathe.

Just say thank you. He saved you from breaking your teeth.

Yes. Just say thank you. Breathe. Calm down. Simple.

I tried to speak, but my throat felt dry as if I had lost the ability to form words.

Akshita, just fucking speak. You look like a complete idiot, I screamed at myself.

"T-thank you," I muttered, barely audible but enough for him to hear.

All this while, my eyes wandered everywhere but him.

Never him.

Or else my stupid heart would betray me.

"Hm."

That was all he said before viransh bhaiya's voice called out from behind him.

"Atharv, bring the files quickly."

He glanced at viransh bhaiya, then back at us, and walked out.

Vamika came up from behind and muttered, "Oye, sorry."

I shot her a glare, but my mind was elsewhere still stuck in the moment from a few minutes ago.

His deep voice.

His deep brown eyes.

His steady touch.

As we walked upstairs to my room, I stood in front of the mirror, staring at my reflection disheveled, utterly messy.
I shook my head in embarrassment.

I looked like this in front of him.
But wait-

Why do I even care? However I looked to him shouldn't matter to me.

Moreover...

who is he? Just my brother's best friend. Nothing more, right?
I tried to reason with myself.

After changing out of my school uniform, Vamika and I went to the living room for lunch.

We settled onto the sofa, watching our favorite series while eating.

"Come on, I am very tired now. Let's get some break," I heard my brother's voice as he walked out of his study, Atharv trailing behind him.

From the corner of my eye, I stole a quick glance at him only to look away instantly.

What the hell is wrong with my fucking brain?

˜"*°•.˜"*°• Author's pov•°*"˜.•°*"˜

Viransh and Atharv walked into the living room, settling onto the sofa adjacent to the one where Akshita and Vamika were sitting.

"So, what's the plan for today, you chaotic duo?" Viransh teased, a hint of amusement dancing in his voice.

"Nothing, bhaiyaa," Vamika replied casually.

"How was your first day as twelfth graders?" Viransh asked, leaning back slightly.

"Tiring," Akshita and Vamika chorused in exaggerated unison.

"You both say it as if they asked you to climb Mount Everest on the very first day," he chuckled.

"Don't ask, bhaiya. They literally kept teaching us for hours continuously. Like, who even tortures students on the very first day itself?" Akshita complained, dramatically slumping against the sofa.

"That's important. It's your most crucial academic year," Viransh reasoned.

"Yeah, yeah, we've been given that lesson a thousand times now," Vamika muttered, rolling her eyes.

"Uhh... w-where is she, by the way?" Viransh asked, his tone suddenly shifting losing its teasing edge and turning noticeably softer, almost hesitant.

"Whooo?" both Akshita and Vamika sang in union, clearly aware of exactly whom he meant.

"Tujhse raha nahi jata na," Atharv nudged him, joining the teasing with a smirk.

"Tu chup reh, janmo se single aatma," Viransh shot back instantly.

"Haan haan, batao bhai ko, bhabhi kahaan haii," Atharv continued, clearly enjoying himself.

"She's with her friends, working on some college project," Vamika answered.

"Oh... she didn't tell me," Viransh murmured, almost to himself.

"I'm leaving now. Got some work to do," Atharv said, standing up.

Akshita's gaze instinctively flickered toward him for a brief second before she quickly looked away.

"Arre, stay for some more time. We've already been working for hours," Viransh offered.

"It's something important. Otherwise, I would've stayed," Atharv replied before walking toward the door.

"Okay, do send me the finance records of this week," Viransh reminded.

A brief silence followed Atharv's departure soft, lingering broken only by the sudden ringtone of Vamika's phone.

She glanced at the screen-Shyana's name flashing.

"Hello?"

"Hello," Shyana's voice came from the other side, instantly catching Viransh's attention. Vamika quickly put the call on speaker.

"Hello, dii!" Vamika and Akshita greeted cheerfully.

"What are you both doing?" Shyana asked.

"Nothing. What about you?" Vamika replied.

"Nothing. We just took a break, so I thought to call. Also, I wanted to inform you that I'm staying here tonight t, he project might take some more time to complete," Shyana said.

"Okay, I'll stay at Akshita's house for today," Vamika informed.

"Hm," Shyana hummed in response.
"By the way... someone was missing you tooo," Akshita added in a teasing tone, her eyes drifting toward the silent listener Viransh whose entire attention was already fixed on the conversation. The only giveaway? The faint pink creeping onto his ears.

"Who?" Shyana asked, clearly not catching the hint.

"Ask yourself," Vamika said, passing the phone to Viransh, adding mischievously, "Baat kar lo, aapki hi girlfriend haii."

Viransh shot her a stern look before taking the phone and immediately switching it off speaker, bringing it closer to his ear.

For a moment, he hesitated. Then, drawing in a quiet breath, he spoke-his voice dropping into something softer... something reserved only for her.

"Hello."

"Arre, mere bholuraam, itni formality kya kar rahe ho?"

That didn't help at all. His ears turned an even deeper shade of red as he walked a little away from the duo, trying to hide his flushed expression.

"Why didn't you tell me you'd be busy today? I was messaging every five minutes," Viransh said, his tone laced with a quiet concern.

"Ohh, sorry. I forgot to check my phone," Shyana apologized lightly.

"No... I was just worried. Nothing more. Don't worry," he replied quickly.

The conversation began to flow effortlessly ,Shyana teasing him, her voice filled with playful warmth, while he simply listened, a faint smile lingering on his lips, enjoying every word, every note of her laughter.

Viransh was never someone for loud gestures. His love lived in the quiet ,in small, unnoticed moments, in concern hidden behind casual words. He had never been the kind to believe in love or its expressions... until he met Shyana.
Her ,

his complete opposite. Loud, dramatic, chaotic.

And somewhere, without even realizing it, he had begun to fall ,slowly, silently learning to love all the things he once never did.

•✯ ━━━━━━ ✿ ✫ ✿ ━━━━━━ ✯

The evening had arrived with a mild wind blowing-calm and peaceful. The sky was painted in hues of pink and orange, the sun having long set, leaving behind a warmth far more bearable than the scorching heat of the afternoon. Children rushed out of their homes to play, their laughter echoing through the streets. Vendors roamed around, calling out as they sold their goods, while Vamika and Akshita walked along, lost in their own little bubble.

Suddenly, a bike sped toward them at full speed. Vamika's breath hitched , before either of them could react, it came to a screeching halt just inches away from her.

"Are you mad?" the boy probably in his early 20's shouted, sliding off his bike.

"I should be the one asking that," Vamika shot back, narrowing her eyes.

"Don't blame me. It's you two walking on the street, lost in your own world," he retorted.

"Yeah, because we didn't know a blind person would come riding his bike straight at us."

"You-" he began, but Vamika cut him off sharply.

"Shut up. Stupid kahi kaa," she glared.

"Mujhe stupid kaha? You idiot!" he snapped back.

"Go away before I punch that stupid face of yours."

"Bas!" Akshita intervened quickly, stepping between them before their argument could draw more attention in the middle of the road.

"And you,say sorry to her," Akshita said firmly, pointing her finger at him.

"Me?" he asked dramatically.

"Yes, you."

"Tum log jaante bhi ho main kaun hoon?"

"Yes, we know you're a chapri," Vamika spat, her gaze fixed on him with calculated sharpness.

"Shut up. I won't apologize."

By now, a few people had started gathering around them, drawn by the raised voices.

"What's the matter? Is this guy troubling you two?" one of them asked.

"Yes, uncle," Vamika answered instantly.

"Aeee-" the boy tried to warn her, but his voice was drowned out as more people stepped closer.

"Ab ayega mazaa," Vamika whispered to Akshita under her breath.

"Uncle, I didn't do anything. She's lying," the boy stammered, taking a step back.

"Wait, uncle," Vamika interrupted before anyone could act, making him sigh in visible relief.

"Say sorry, and I'll let you go," she said, a smirk playing on her lips.

The boy hesitated, throwing her a deadly glare.

I'll surely take my revenge for this humiliation, he muttered under his breath, barely audible.

"Sorry," he finally said, his expression stiff and unwilling.

Vamika smiled, satisfied.

"Uncle, he's learned his lesson. Let him go."

The crowd nodded, dispersing gradually.

The boy quickly rushed back to his bike and rode off.

Vamika turned to Akshita, and the two exchanged a triumphant high-five before bursting into laughter, walking back home while replaying the incident in amused disbelief.

Unaware...

that this moment had just marked the beginning of another story.

•❅───✧❅✦❅✧───❅